[hider=Very long Collab Post between Data and Raijin] Carver had to turn away, pinching his nose to stop the nosebleed that he felt coming on. [i]Too cute, way too cute for wolf-boy, the lucky bastard[/i] After he settled himself down, he turned back to the faunus couple with a smile plastered o hus face. "Just ask and ye shall recieve, I'll even throw in a discount just because of how adorable you are." Silme's ears lightly pressed against his head, a sign of slight annoyance and discomfort with the rubbing, a bit of a glare in his violet eyes. However, a ruffling behind him was a sign if his tail wagging though he quickly surpressed the urge as soon as it hit him. One thing he hated about being a wolf faunus, his tail had a habit of giving away what he was thinking. "Yeah, I guess that's true. You're a good friend Sapphire." He gave her a scratch behind her ear in the spot she liked, giving Carver a weird look when he offered a discount. Carver never offered discount to [i]anyone[/i]. Sapphire's face turns a little more red, and she purrs even more when she is scratched behind the ear, taking note that the wolf-boy's tail was wagging. "You're so sweet," She giggles. Her heart thumping, she leans up and gives him a single peck on the cheek, wrapping her arms even tighter around Silme. Turning her head to look at Carver, she tilts her head in slight shyness. She had only just met him, so she did not know how often he handed out discounts. She thanks him anyways. "Thank you for your offer," Sapphire says to him, a shy smile on her face. "I'll be sure to take it up. S-Sometime." Once again, her head switches back to looking at the handsome man in her arms. She lets out a yawn, pressing her head to his chest. "Silme, do you wanna sleep in my bed tonight?" She asks, looking up at his face. Silme gave her an incredulous look as she called him 'sweet', looking over the side at the guy who had driven him here. "I think that guy disagree with you on that front, Sapphire, wouldn't you say Carver. . . . Carver?" Turning his head back to Carver, he saw the man sulking at the corner of the truck, muttering something about how clueless idiots get all the luck. [i]Weird[/i] "As for your offer, I'm fine with it but were are you going to sleep? The couch is comfortable I guess, but wouldn't you prefer sleeping in your own room." He questioned before he noticed something about his current situation. Sapphire was pressed up very close to him, [i]very close[/i] and he could feel her rather sizable chest pressing against his body. His ears immediately flattened themselves against his head, and despite all of his willpower, his tail began to wag furiously, making his already redding face turn a bright scarlet. Some of Carver's men started chuckling at his predicament, only to feel a chill run down their backs as he his head snapped to them, the amount of murderous intent in his Violet eyes sending them scurrying back to work unloading the cargo. Turning back to Sapphire, the blush on his cheeks still rather prominent, Silme cleared his throat to get her attention. "Uh, Sapphire, I don't know how to tell you this but, um, they're kinda touching me. . . alot." He made a vague gesture to her chest as he spoke to clarify things, though it probably didn't need much clarification in the first place. Carver was both reveling in Silme's discomfort, and coursing the fool for not knowing what he had, a sexy cat girl who was begging him for it, [i]literally[/i], and all he could focus on was some intimate contact. It pissed Carver off a great deal it did, so he decided to poke some fun at the boy's embarrassment. "Oh, come now Wolf-boy, don't act like you're not enjoying this. Your tail's wagging so hard I'm half-expecting it to fall off." Turning to Sapphire, he placed a hand on his chest and tipped his head to her, leaning on his sword as he did so like a cane. "I truly feel sorry for you, he's such an oblivious idiot, isn't he, almost to the point where you'd think he's a prude. You have my condolences, Kitten." Raising his head back up, he fund himself staring into angry violet eyes and down the barrel of Scarlet Ravager. Carver merely pushed the weapon out of the way with his sword, giving Silme a look as if to say, 'Is that really necessary?' "Kitten, you'd should probably keep your boy here on a collar, lest he rips someones throat for giving him a bad look. Why so sensitive, Silme, trying to over-compensate for something?" Carver grin grew very wide as he saw the boy's confusion as he tried to work out the hidden meaning of his sentence. [i]It's just to easy to mess with this idiot, really, it's not a fair fight in the slightest.[/i] "Well, I'll be sleeping... With you. In the same bed." Sapphire giggles, watching as his face turns scarlet. [i]Awwww, that's so cute![/i] The cat-girl thinks to herself, starting to purr, before her own face turns red because of his comment about her breasts touching him. It was a little embarrassing, but she didn't care as long as it was Silme that was with her. Sapphire turns and looks at Carver as he begins to speak. After Carver finishes speaking, Sapphire turns back to Silme. She leans up, standing on her tiptoes, and gives Silme a kiss on the nose. Completely ignoring what Carver said (so she would not try to attack him for making fun of Silme), her face turns red. [i]We've been friends for such a long time. If he's not going to ask it... I will.[/i] Sapphire closes her eyes, returning to standing flat on her feet. "S-Silme..." She says, her voice suddenly quiet. "D-Do you think... T-That there is any c-chance of us... Dating?" She asks shyly. "Huh?" was Silme's eloquent reply, unsure if he had heard her right. "Wait, you mean, like, a [b]Date[/b]-date, like, with hanging out, and holding hands and k-k-k-k-[i]kissing[/i]?!?!?" Silme was a man of many skills, but they were all violent or criminal in nature, he was not good with dealing with his emotions, so he honestly didn't know how to feel about Sapphire's request. On one hand, he could openly say he didn't hate her(which for him, was almost as good as a declaration of love), but on the other. . . he was afraid. He hadn't ever let anyone in like he felt like Sapphire was asking him to let her in, not since his parent's had left him. Would she do the same, once he let her in, would she leave him all alone, out in the cold, alone again in the world with his heart ripped out and stomped. He couldn't deal with this, he [b]wouldn't[/b] deal with this. It was just, just too much, too soon. His heart was pounding, his pupils dialated, his ears back and tail between his legs, he disengaged himself from Sapphire, looking like a cornered wolf. Just as he was about to say something, however, a ominous howl tore through the night, and it was soon followed by many, many more, along with the clacking of claws against concrete, and the growls of hungry beast coming towards a meal. A pack of Beowolves burst from the darkness, descending on the group with a savage ferocity that only Grimm could possess. Immediately, Silme's mind was cleared of all his worries, his woes, all of his senses turned towards fighting these monsters. He acivated Scarlet Ravager, shifting them into short sword mode as he ran forward jumping off the truck into the midst of the pack in a swirl of blades, an explosion soon following as he mixed Fire and Wind Dust together in the air, giving him some space and spreading the corrosive air across the pack, blinding them for a few moments at best. Carver's men began to fire on the Grimm that got to close to the shipment, but they were in no hurry to help Silme, as was the Loner way. It was every man for himself in the Loner zone, and you only looked out for others if they were your own. Carver leaped down from the truck on to the ground, swinging his sword around as he called out to Silme. "I fucking told you that killing the guy would attract Grimm, Wolf-Boy, so please do the dirty work while me and my boy's get this cargo to safety. Thank you." As Carver was speaking, a Beowolf came up from behind him, about to strike him down, when he suddenly turned around and stabbed the beast in it's chest with his blade, before pressing a button that caused the blade to become heavily serrated. "I fucking hate it when dogs like you don't know your place. GET SHREDDED, YOU FUCKING FLEABAG!!!" Pressing a second button, the serrations on the blade began to spin around rapidly, turning the sword into a type of chainsaw as it tore the beast insides to piece, before he slashed upward with it, effectively bifurcating the Beowolf. Carver clicked his tongue before walking away from the Grimm's dissolving Carcass toward his men, yelling them to pick up the pace before he turned them into Grimm chow himself. Silme, on the other hand, was in a litte bit of trouble. As he was slashing through the Grimm, his focus wasn't a 100% because he was still thinking about Sapphire's question, what it meant, what [b]he[/b] should do about it. This caused him not to notice as the Bewolves surrounded him until it was too late, and then he was stuck trying to hold them off while he attempted. Every time he tried, a Grim would charge at him from all sides, looking for an opening,and getting a sword in their throat instead, but they still mangaed to keep him effectively trapped, and he was beginning to tire. He was used to using his aura, but he had been expecting to have another intense fight today, so he had used more of it in his first attack against the mech and when he fired at those goons as they exited the store, wanting to make sure the job got done. Now he was paying the price, panting heavily as he fended off a seemingly never ending wave of Grimm, barely able to keep them back. The only reason he was able to keep them all from charging him at once was because he had surrounded an area with a corrosion field using special Dust cartridges he had on him just in case. It was very painful to go through, though essentially harmless, and helped stem the flow of Beowolves coming at him. But it would only last so long, and even if it did last a while, the Grimm were beginning to attack in higher and high numbers as they figured out that it wasn't going to kill them upon entering. Suddenly, Silme got bull rushed from the side by one of the Beowolves, and ad to use more Aura to keep it from tearing his arm of, which it had firmly in its grasp. [i]This is it[/i] he thought with grim finality, feeling himself get weaker and weaker as the struggle continued. [i]I'll die the same way I cam into the world. . . alone[/i] Sapphire felt a little bit like she was going to sob. "Y-Yes... T-That stuff..." She whispers, looking at Silme with an embarrassed look. [i]Shouldn't have asked, shouldn't have asked,[/i] she thinks to herself sadly, her face entirely red. Like starving men fighting for food, her mind fought for what to do. Fragments fought for pushing in, deeper, and making Silme date her, others fought to begin convincing him he should, and a few fragments fought to drop everything she had said, and pretend like she never said a thing. Her lips tremble as Silme parts from her, and tears well up in her eyes as he backs away. [i]H-He... I... I didn't expect this to... Feel so bad.[/i] Sapphire opens her mouth, and sucks in half of a breath -which sounds like a sad wheeze- and opens her mouth to speak, however is interrupted by a howl so loud it makes her squeal. [i]Grimm![/i] She thinks, whipping out Zanishlash and turning it into it's separate shield and sword forms- Just in time, as a Beowolf leapt onto her, the shield protecting her from it's swipes. Sapphire twists around, knocking it onto the ground and rolling out of the way to avoid a swipe from a second one. Rolling to her feet, she manages to clip the throat of the second Beowolf on the way, and spies a third behind her. As the first one gets onto it's feet, she drops her sword, twisting her hand around so that the bottom of the hilt was facing where the blade was meant to be, the blade it'self going along her arm now, so she was holding it backwards. Sapphire did this with great precision and skill, so she was ready when the first Beowolf attempts a swipe. She fires, and the cat-girl uses the blast from the gun to push her arm backwards, straight into the stomach of the third Beowolf that attempted to make sure she wouldn't get home. Suddenly, the battle picked up. Aura helped a lot with avoiding the attacks of two Beowolves that had leapt onto her, looking like some pervert's twist of a girl and Grimm. She kicked her knee up, catching one in the crotch, but she fought with tooth and nail to keep their claws from hitting her head, as she had her shield protecting her chest. Her eyes darted around, looking for a way to escape. Through the blurs of stressful tears in her eyes, she spotted Silme fighting for his life. The sight killed her. Sapphire had just asked him if they wanted to date, she had asked him the question of all questions, and there he was. Fighting. She bursts out with tears at the sight, pushing hard against the Beowolves on top of her. Pushing her shield up, hard, she shoved the Beowolves high before Sapphire turns, her eyes a dark red shade, as if she had just came for a cup of tea and a souvenir to bring back to hell with her. As the Beowolves fall back down behind her, she connects her sword and shield together, forming the strength-draining power that was her weapon's final form. She cries out loudly, charging straight to the Beowolves attacking Silme, causing a few of them to turn. She fires, taking one out immediately, before she slams into another, firing as she does. As she shreds the wolf, another attempts to pounce on her from behind. Sapphire turns, whacking it out of the air with her shield as if she was whipping a fly away. Now that she had a good shot, she fired at the Beowolf clinging to Silme. The beast had let go of Silme to growl at Sapphire, only to get it's head blown off instead. Silme was quick to get back on his feat and was now back-to-back with Sapphire. There were just too many, ad even with Sapphire's Tearfuel, she couldn't hold them back forever. Switching Scarlet Ravager to SMG mode, he prepared himself what was likely going to be their end, when a golden flash appeared before them, revealing Carver standing there with a smile on his face. "Well, lookie here, Wolf-boy, you seem to be in a spot of trouble, so let me help you out, okay. Consider this a favor, one that I expect you to payback in the future." Carver said, his smile turning from charming to devious within seconds, before he turned to face the Grimm that had appeared, tut-tutting at them while he wagged his finger. "Naughty, naughty beasties you all are, attacking my wolf boy like that, haven't you read the villain's hand book, you're supposed to be attacking one at a time, like the proper cannon fodder you filthy excuse for monster you mutts are." Carver, what are you doing, their are too many." Silme began, only to find himself get pelted in the head by a pebble. The thing was, it had fucking hurt, and he reached up to feel the spot on his head, he found that it came away bloody. How had he done that?!?! "Wolf-boy, didn't you know what I used to be before the breach happened, the man was," Carver stated, as a horde of Beowolves stormed through the Aura dorm towards him tied off waiting for their food to shut up. "I was a damn good hunter, so please don't patronize me." As the first Beowolf reached him, it suddenly found it's self split into, as did the one behind it, falling to Carver's side as he turned to face the monster's that surrounded him, his jacket beginning to take an intense glow, 3 colors of red, white and green. In another flash of gold, he was in the thick of it, spinning his blade in a compete circle faster than one could blink, soon followed by the spray of blood as the Grimm's faded away, falling to the ground in a smoking hip. from their on, it was a massacre, completely one-sided as Carver tore through Grimm after Grim, again and again. either flashing from one place to another, or moving his blade at a nearly untraceable speed. For times when the blade wasn't enough, however, he'd use the dust in his clothes to launch either a devastating blade or gust of wind at the beast, or completely incinerate them in columns of intense white flame. He was like a god of war, and soon, the few Grimm left alive fled for the hills,fleeing back into the interior. Carver turned backed to the two with a smirk, knowing that they were probably dumbstruck by mind-numbingly cool he was. [i]I'm a fucking boss, and now they fucking know it, so they better respect me or else I'll be kicking some serious ass![/i] "And that, Silme, is why I never flinched once when ever you pointed any kind of weapon at me, because my Sembalance is Instant Acceleration," Carver explained, enjoying the way he saw the boy flinch when he actually used his real name,"allowing me for a single instant, wither increase the speed of my blade swings, and thus their power, or move near instanteously from one point to the next. So basically, as you are now, you'd be no match for me. So then, you'll be coming with me and my boys now, I assume, not safe for you and Kitten to wonder the upper levels. I doubt that was the whole pack, and neither of you are in any shape tto face off against any Grimm on your way back." Pointing with his blood-stained blade, he showed them the entrance/exit he and his men were using to transport the goods. "Come on now, don't be shy. . . and also be quick about it, we don't have all night." Watching what Carver did, Sapphire was awestruck by his pure power. However, she also took him as a bit of a bragger because of his power. As he killed most of the Grimm, she still took out her aggression on those that were near her. She took heavy breaths, and obliterated those near her. A final Beowolf managed to climb onto her, however a strong punch to the side of it's head threw it off of her before she activated the blade of her weapon and drug it straight into the stomach, doing a pirouette and cutting all the way up to the creatures neck. She pulled Zanislash out and looked around as the final of the Grimm retreated. Wiping stray tears away from her eyes, tears of struggle and sadness, Sapphire looks to Silme as she turns her weapons back to their small, portable form. [i]He's alright... He's alright...[/i] The cat-girl, recovering from what had just happened, looks to Carver as he picks on Silme again. She tried to say something, but now that she no longer had Tearfuel, she felt tired, so very tired. She stumbles her way over, attempting to follow Carver and his men to where they were moving to, when she just tilted and fell over sideways. Now that her Tearfuel was over, it's additional strength had perished with her, and her normal strength had been used in the fight, combined with the drain of Zanislash's combined form, she had stressed herself [i]way[/i] too far and was weak. Sapphire's eyelids drooped halfway closed, and she whispered the word, "Help," laying down on the ground. Silme, who had been walking with Sapphire towards the tunnel, went to catch her before she completely hit the ground. He then decided to carry her on his back, coaxing her on before he followed Carver and his men down the tunnels. Carver was walking next to him, looking at Silme with an expectant gleam in his eye. "I'm not saying thanks, because I know you didn't do that out of the kindness of your heart, Carver, you want something." Silme glared at the older man, but it quickly turned into a look of suspicion and confusion as he thought back to Carver's earlier words. "Tell me, Carver, if you were such a good Hunter, then why didn't you try and put an end to Torchwick, or at least try and fight him like the others did?" "Simple kid, I wanted to live more than I ever wanted to protect the people. Being a hunter wasn't working out for me as well as I thought around the time the breach happened, so when the Grimm began to overrun the city, I took the opprotunity to have myself a little accident, then I changed my name and badda-bing, badda-boom, Carver's in business by creating safe travel routes for anyone who wants to start a smuggling business. Then I took over the business and have become a very wealthy man." "You're a smart guy, but what happened to your team?" "I don't know, and for the sake of my conscious, I'd like to believe they all are alive and kept their heads low." Silme nodded, before he began to recognize the tunnels they were in. He gave Carver a nod, then went down a branching tunnel which would lead to Faunus Plaza, a makeshift underground settlement that is populated mostly by Faunus, though it was more of a patrol station and outpost than anything else. While these Tunnels were great at keeping people safe, Grimm still came in, and Faunus were elected to be the best watchmen due to most having excellent night vision. He navigated through the empty streets until he made it to Sapphire's home, usin his key to open the door. Walking upstairs, he laid her down on her bed, where she curled up unconsciously, since she had fallen asleep along the way. For a second, Silme remembered her offer, but he shook his head of it and walked out of the room. He did't want to give her false hope that he would reciprocate her feelings, he didn't even now if he wouldn't. He needed time to think about this, but it would have to wait until tomorrow, he was much too tired to deal with that tonight. So he walked down the stairs, into the living room and crashed onto the couch, letting the sweet release of sleep wash over him like a river. [/hider] TL;DR: Silme and Sapphire now have awkward romantic tension, due to Sapphire kinda confessing(she asked for a date) and Silme not responding. Grim attack happened, Carver revealed himself to be a hunter of great skill