<duplicate, ignore>

Diamond didn’t even have to go that far before finding something that piqued her interest. Or rather, someone. The anger she was full of a moment ago was shoved in a box and shelved somewhere in her mental warehouse almost immediately. It would be handy later. For now, her attention turned to the object of her interest. Ok, Dee. You just had a major meltdown, but try to be polite. she warned herself.

Slowing down and halting, Diamond leaned against the wall and looked the woman over, being blatantly obvious about it. “Can’t say I would mind if you did!” Tick. Tock. Damn it what did I just say! She mentally slapped herself, Look at that rack though, I can’t be blamed! … Entirely. Diamond pointed her eyes into the eyes of the other woman, deciding to see where this goes. “Didn’t see you around here yet. Are you a new transfer?” She inquired after a second.

@SevenStormStyle

Sapphire was relieved that Oswald was understanding, relieved that he didn't recoil from her, relieved that he didn't make Demetra's problems worse. If he had, well Sapphire might have had to do something drastic. She was the only protector her sisters had after all.

When Oswald said he was an open book Sapphire almost laughed. The statement was so at odds with how she perceived Oswald. Sure he seemed like the kind of guy that would laugh with his friends, sling back a few beers with the guys but she'd always got the impression that he didn't talk about the really important stuff. The incident after their previous mission involving the gym's heavily brutalized punching bag was proof enough that he had some kind pain he was trying to bury. Maybe he really was an open book, she'd never actually asked about the finer points of his past, about what had drove him to become a hunter beyond the circumstances of living in a border town. More likely though was that she just read him better than others. They didn't see the weight he bore so to them he was an easy going guy who could stand to cut himself some slack.

As if reading her mind, not just her emotions Demetra murmured "Only the big ones." more it seemed to herself than anyone else. She brightened slightly when Oswald talked about how draining a semblance could be but a happy kind of bright, more like the kind of look that people have when they commiserate over the long work day. "By itself it doesn't cost me anything... It's just so exhausting being angry, or upset or sad or lonely all of the time. Sometimes it's easier..." She trailed off. Sapphire knew Demetra though, knew her well enough to know how that sentence ended ...it's easier to feel nothing at all. "That's a cool semblance," she said though she sounded almost far away. "Must be nice to be able to," she clicked her tongue to indicate disappearing "Whenever you like."

When Oswald started talking about how semblances reflected their users personalities Demetra turned away from him. "I know where my power comes from." she said it so quietly that Sapphire almost missed it. Of course all of the Rode sisters knew where their semblances originated, with their father. Sapphire had wanted desperately to disappear, to vanish from the situation, at of the way of danger. She'd been given the perfect cloaking system. Demetra had wanted to understand how someone who was supposed to love them unconditionally could do such things and she'd been given the ability to understand everyone. And Cecily, she'd wanted to never forget. Consequently she could bring to mind every memory she possessed in perfect crystal clarity.

Though she'd only given it a moments thought Sapphire sort of felt that Oswald's semblance was a result of him wanting, or rather needing be able to help everyone at once, to be able to be everywhere at once regardless what it cost him. Maybe if he put whatever was in his past behind him his semblance would change. More than likely not though, that was a very rare occurrence.

In the back of her mind Sapphire knew that Demetra wouldn't tell Oswald, or anyone what they'd been through as children. As well as being deeply traumatic, it wasn't just her secret. The three of them, sisters all, just wanted to separate themselves from their father's name. Still Sapphire hoped Oswald wouldn't read anything into the little things Demetra had a habit of saying.

As they approached the gym Sapphire heard the signal for the race to begin. She had of course signed up for it but with Demetra to look after and Oswald as he was she didn't feel she could simply abandon them for some juvenile games of strategy.

"Why don't we head for the firing range? Gren said something about testing new weapons for Emerald, I can introduce you to her sis. She's nice... if a bit, well you'll like her."
@MULTI_MEDIA_MAN

"C-C-C-Cooties!" Lauren squealed, thrusting her pelvis forward in exaggerated shock as Ben attempted his first grab at her ass. It was a little clumsy, definitely not telegraphed well, but all virgins had to start somewhere. She decided not to press him or tease him about it other than that, though - it would be way more useful to commit it to memory and use it against him in case he ever ran for elected office in one of the Kingdoms.

Poor Costa Negasi, whose lustrous coal-black hair had nowhere near the amount of silver streaks in it that raising Lauren should have imparted, was rolling her eyes from beside Sangue.

"So," she asked politely as her daughter continued chattering with her teammates, "San...gue? You must be the quiet one of this gang, child. I know my daughter can be overbearing when she's trying to coax people into hanging out. Do you have an okay handle on her?"

Meanwhile, Lauren was shrugging off Amy's apology with a flippant wave of her hand.

"Ehh, don't sweat it. Like Cap said, I always keep candy in the dorm!" It was an obvious little lie, compounded by pulling out her Scroll and tapping out a message, but the less Amy knew the less could be used against her in court someday.



"If Pops hasn't eaten it all already, anyway..." she groused, putting her Scroll up and sticking her hands in her pockets as they neared the dorm. There was no one standing outside BASL's doorway, but it seemed that the dorm across from theirs was getting a lot of traffic. They were some Mistralian transfer team, a bunch of bad bitches that Lauren had noticed around school once or twice, but the gang outside their door was positively eclectic; a young man with dark crimson hair in a scruffy sky-blue jacket who looked like he was barely Lauren's age was conversing animatedly with some middle-aged aloha-looking motherfucker to the right of the door, while on the left a glamorous blonde woman was hugging one of the Mistralian students, a purple-haired bombshell who was wearing one of the cutest non-BASL pouts around.

"--just give her some time, Evan," the blonde woman was saying, cheerfully stroking the student's hair. "Viv doesn't know how to handle people that well, even you. Even herself. She'll come around eventually."

"Y'promise?"

"I promise, sweetie. It happened with her father, too, you know. The apple never falls far from the aspie, Evan--"

Lauren tuned out of the conversation after a couple seconds when she realized her father was probably taking advantage of her distraction to ransack some more of her stolen swag, and the boxer took point on opening the team's dorm, barreling right in before the door was even fully open--

--and finding no one.

"Pops, I know you're in here, you old motherfucker!"

Sangue stared at Lauren thrusting her hips forward.

As she continued to follow her friends around, her silence came to a brief end when Lauren's mother spoke to her. It was apparent that Sangue did not speak as much as the others had in the team, though Costa seemed more interested in what Sangue thought of her daughter.

She softly glanced between Costa and Lauren, her expression remaining idle and her lips sealed as always. A handle was... something that you could take a hold of. Lauren did not seem to be the kind of person who'd hold back, with few people knowing how to moderate her sometimes ambitious courses of action. Lauren was a very exciting and happy person, and it was impossible for Sangue to think about stopping that.

Being as honest as she could, Sangue turned to Lauren's pretty mom as she answered,

"I... do n...ot. Bu...t... I do n...ot... mind..."

Sangue's orange-red eyes traced Costa once more. The more she looked at her, the more she realized the things that made her daughter resemble Costa. It wasn't just their looks, but some of the more personal traits.

Turning to Lauren's direction, she noticed a couple of other people across the BASL dorm.

Her attention to them fell apart when Lauren burst the dormitory door open.

She quietly followed Lauren's lead.

@Krayzikk@Kaithas@Plank Sinatra

Oswald nodded and let out a small sigh when Demetra mentioned how exhausted her Semblance made her. "I know exactly how you feel, about being overwhelmed by emotions. I lost a friend to something like that. He...chose not to feel anymore. I just wish there was more I could've done for him. We all saw it coming, but...he just didn't want to keep going." Taking a deep breath, Oswald quickly dragged his finger over his eyes, making sure that he wasn't crying again. "Sorry, I'm just...not fully over it. He was a great guy. One of my teammates, before Beacon." Oswald gave the pair a small smile, trying to keep his spirits high. He knew that he'd need to if he wanted to survive the next week without making his injuries worse.

"As for my Semblance, it is pretty awesome, but it's also physically draining. It takes a chunk of my Aura every time I move, though that's usually preferable to letting somebody else get crushed by an Ursa." He didn't pay much attention to the tone of Demetra's voice, mostly because he felt he understood where she was coming from. She reminded him of Blaine, during that last month. It hurt to be reminded of that, but Oswald knew better than to blame the poor girl for inadvertently bringing up bad memories.

"The firing range, eh? Sure, I'd like to see what he's put together for her. I just hope it's not too ridiculous, the last thing we need is that girl wielding something like what he has..." As the thought of Emerald trying to use Gren's weapon crossed his mind, Oswald smirked and shook his head. "The Academy would be a pile of rubble within a week, tops."

@Prince of Seraphs

Andromeda watched Charon rush off, before glancing over at Ferris with a raised eyebrow, a nonverbal what was that about. She didn't press the issue, if he had something to get done, more power to him. Even so, he seemed... jumpy.

She mentally shrugged, and went back to her breakfast. Partly, the majority of her attention was held by her Scroll, which she had propped up against a glass on the table. She absently flicked through some page with one hand, absently taking a bite in between reading with her other. Parent's day, she had almost forgotten, almost. Making a big event out of it was kinda strange to her, she'd spent enough time wanting to get some breathing room away from her parents. A few months wasn't nearly enough time to make her start longing for home again. Home had been nice; idyllic, even; but more than a little cramped at times, and this was freedom at last. Sure she might've still had to share a room, but she got her own Scroll and enough space to actually store all of her stuff.

The food wasn't too bad either. A little sub-par, but some concessions had to be made. Speaking of, her fork struck the plate with the distinctive sound of metal on ceramic, and came up empty. Slightly startled by the sound, Andromeda looked up at her plate, and pushed it to the side. Giving one last glance at her Scroll, she collapsed the device and tucked it away in a pocket. It was still relatively early, they'd call when they could. Andromeda attempted to convince herself that she wasn't fretting over it. She wasn't all that successful.

"What about you?" Andromeda asked her teammate, electing to take her mind off of it, "Got anything planned for today?"

@Crimson Raven

"Not quite. I'm here to visit family." Datura replied, wearing a slightly wicked smile. To tell the truth, there was another reason besides the fear of being recognized that she had thought twice about coming to Beacon. Her semblance, "Poisonous Temptation", manifested in an exhaled powder with an...interesting effect. If inhaled, it caused people to become far more easily swayed by their intrusive thoughts, particularly if they were unaware that they'd been poisoned. In the past, Datura had used it with exceptional results on just about anyone who crossed her. It was perfect for situations where discretion was necessary. However, in the end, it ended up being used as an instrument of recreation more than anything else. For the sake of her husband and soul (if one believed in such a thing), she'd been trying to cut back on that recreation.

This girl was making things hard, though, coming onto her like that. Direct eye contact, too. She seemed pretty experienced, if her confident attitude was anything to go by. "I guess it's a shame, though. We won't be able to get to know each other." To hell with it, I want to know who'll back down first, if anyone.

@Crimmy@Plank Sinatra

Schwarzes and Such

Okay, alright, fine. For the sake of my own ability to think straight, I had to come to terms with the fact that, inevitably, I was going to get drawn into whatever nonsense these two were spewing. As a responsible older brother, it was in my earnest nature to correct every single mistake they made on such things, and with them making so many so egregiously, I was doomed to a life of being the beleaguered mentor, selflessly giving up my time and energy to keep those incorrigible little sisters of mine on the straight and narrow.

...

But really, though, I had to admit that I worked better in the quiet and undisruptive situations that the scenario of April and Dawn being in the same room completely demolished, so despite my best efforts, I was back to getting nowhere fast. Only this time, it wasn't an internally-sourced problem. Drawing up blueprints, albeit basic and rough ones with my artistic skill, and gathering the parts for an assembly of the reverse-engineered bit were pretty obviously my next two steps, but what they required was some level of focus.

"So is the Goldeneye, like, the Millennium Eye?"

Focus that I couldn't get a hold of to save my life with these two. I swore they did it on purpose.

...

Wait. Golden eyes.

"Alright, you two." I piped up, managing to cut in edgewise and disrupt what had become a perfect storm of chatter.

"Yeah?"

"Hai?"

"I've got a job for you. If you're up for it."

Challenge them. Attack with the possibility that there may be something they can't handle...

"Shoot!"

"Try us, nii-chan!"

And they're all ears. Huh. Simple. That was so blatant of me, too.

...Was it always this easy the whole time? Just appeal to their ability, and they'll even listen to me? That...

I don't know what it said about the three of us, but I'm not sure anyone came out better from the revelation.

A-Anyway...

"Since you've gotten the concepts straight in my head, I think it'd do us all a favor if you guys track down Tanner while I finish up here."

Time for payback, you sleazy aloha bastard. If you're gonna dump these two on me, I'll drag you back into the fold.

April, being the firebrand, was quick to respond brimming with confidence as she marched toward the door.

"Is that all? I can find him easy, nobody wears those shirts any more except for him!"

While that wasn't wrong, it was also terribly optimistic. I looked to Dawn, expecting a more level-headed response...

"Well, outside of a vacation, anyway."

...Not what I was hoping for, and really, on the subject of floral out-of-place dress? She wasn't in that much of a position to talk with her yukatas. If uniforms didn't exist, I was fairly sure she'd have gone to Signal in one of a different color for every day of the week.

Well, far be it from me to act against this Disappearance.

"You need him for something, or..?"

Oh, there it was.

"Well," I began, thinking over something suitable, moreso than 'I want to get one up on him for a change'. "I just think it's smart for us all to be in one place whenever Mom and Dad finally make their way up, you know?"

"Ah, that makes sense, if..."

"If?"

If what?

The answer to my question came from the local willow tree jogging in place, a mouth creased into a distrustful grimace.

M-My plan was failing!

"If you don't try to run off on us again, Nii-chan."

What the hell happened to me being a good guy deep down?! I mean, you're right to suspect me of deception, but didn't you just deceive me too by saying all that?!

"I won't leave this place, don't worry. I've got work to do. Remember," I said, raising my hands, "You did find me here in the first place."

...

Suddenly, all smiles again.

"Good point! We'll be back in a flash, bro!"

"Work hard!"

...

I'd never understand their thinking.

But I think I was beginning to understand their desires.

...What did it say about me that they just wanted to trust me, then?

That they were perfectly willing to help me if they could trust me?

...

...

...Get to work, idiot. You've done it now, may as well make sure it's for something.

As for the remaining member, even as I sat back down, I decided to go against everything I'd just said and create some idle conversation of my own.

"So," I began, fishing through the general machinist's treasure box of good fun loot. "I'm sorry if this is being presumptuous, but you use a polearm, right?"

Where had I sent those two off to in finding that guy, anyway?

--20 minutes later--

Said guy was currently in the middle of an animated chat with an old, old friend. As animated as it got for his languid demeanor, true, but to anyone who knew him, he was obviously a little less flippant and a little more friendly than usual.

"So between you, Julia, and Holly, O Immortal one," came the sentence from within the wry grin even as two familiar sets of feet were storming down the halls behind him, "I'm starting to think I'm the only one of us that halfway looks our age. Of course, disregarding Slate, but I personally haven't seen him in years. As for the rest of you, you're all way too young-looking, really."

"There he is!"

"The dorms, of all places..."

He smirked, turning and waving to the closest thing he had to a pair of nieces nonchalantly. "And to speak of youth, the two of you ever meet the girls?"

"So this is where you were hiding, huh? Looking for Nii-chan's dorm?"

"Nah, I just heard the telltale sounds of a search-and-seizure and got curious. Your father did say he wasn't going to make it until the evening, after all. This crotchety old man got a little confused."

"Wait, you can learn to tell how police searches sound?"

"You must hang around Papa more than we thought..."

"Aha. Well, I do hang out with a lot of people." he said wryly, notably having a habit of never sticking around one place long enough to hang out with people. Inclining his head in the direction of the cardinal-headed youngster, he continued with an impish "Like this kid, for instance."

"Oh, you know more students? Hi there! I'm April, Luke's little sister!"

"I'm Dawn, also his little sister!"

"It's nice to meet you!"

@HereComesTheSnow

Galla Mindaro

"Technically, yes."

Galla hadn't particularly cared to watch when the two Schwarz sisters had been talked into leaving their brother alone to find their mother's wayward teammate. However, the aforementioned boy's question drew her dull, hazel eyes towards him once again, the lifeless, unblinking gaze looking up from her tabloid at his face.

She could use something that could fall within the category of polearm.

---

@LokiLeo789@Ayazi@Silvan Haven

Gratia Mindaro - VGGB Dorm

"Good."

The long-haired girl gestured towards the empty bed in the room, now no longer occupied due to the fortunate departure of the previous team member. With the source of irritation now far away, the new member could now take that residence for himself.

"You can set your things up here."

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t break character Jericho, you shouldn’t be so nice, the aristocrats will talk.”

But it meant a lot, what Jericho said. It was hard being independent from someone that funded your every whim. It was a crutch you went back to every single time. But, maybe I could find some kind of balance between taking my dad’s money, just enough – and being independent. I think this could really make Jericho see me for who I am. Yeah, I have these wings, this bank account, this hair, that smile, don’t get me started on my wonderful physique – perfect for a girl my height. And, I mean, I knew how to get what I want. Show some weakness, pout, wrap them around your finger like the easy to manipulate men they were. But, I mean, really I’m down to earth. I know my roots and where I come from!

If anything, I’m probably the most down to earth person I know.

Except for Luke. The kid basically lives in his own grave.

But this, this would make certain that from now on Jer knew I was one of them. The rest of the people.

“Ms. Nuit I’m being told the manager needs you to sign a few papers, to finalize your acquisition of this branch.”

Right.

Shit.

I own this place.

“I’ll have to do that another time, thank you though.” I said waving the woman off as nonchalantly as an Atlesian hunk at war. I turned back to Jericho with a grin. Typical Bianca. I was finally getting back to things being… Just typical.

Thank god.

I felt the grin sustain, not begin to wain and leave my face. It felt nice. Really nice.

Maybe this guy was more than a washboard given a soul.

...

Jericho's brain: O

"Wait."

Jericho's brain after celebration tequila back at Bastion: o

"You bought the goddamn caf--"

Jericho's brain on bird: .

This girl was--

"After that whole spiel, all you got out of that was--"

She'd been left alone for twenty minutes! Less! His seat was still warm!

raaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH

"The only thing that anyone should be talking about is how to best inoculate you from human society," Jer replied caustically, jerking a gloved thumb back at the sheer skyscraper of legalese in the arms of the barista. "Before you do any lasting damage. Sharp objects. Driver's seat privileges. Plastic bags from grocery stores. Kiss 'em goodbye. And if you ever convince yourself that I'm nice again, I want you to let me know so I can trigger my super-classified pickup technique. I'll jump from the top of Beacon to come find you, and you can wait at the bottom. Holding my parachute for me."

His gloved hand clenched. They didn't make them like this at Atlas, that was for damn sure.

He really hated the way he was being ogled. Normally Speer's jury-rigged blind dates had collapsed under the weight of Jer's caustic advice and harsh critiques by now. Bianca seemed to relish it.

Oh, Christ, is she into masochism?

Hell, she liked Quantum of Solace, didn't she...?

No wonder Luke said she was only able to get dates through questionnaires. Poor sons of bitches probably thought they were signing up for an internship and then, wham.

JEEEEEEEEEER.

Like a steak knife through your goddamn temple, man.

Jericho leaned forward and took a sip of his cappuccino.

"You know, Bianca, I'm a little rusty on normal people trends these days, but usually a two million lien purchase with breakfast isn't exactly going to get you raised to sainthood. Does 'let them eat cake' ring any bells?"

@Ryonara This is what Teàr looks like if you don't know where her character sheet is.

Teàrlag Cirsium - "Student Counselor"

The sun's brilliant light shines down upon Beacon's campus, the beautiful radiance a blessing from Hyperion himself. Or to put it in a way that doesn't try so bloody hard to shove poetic stuff everywhere, the weather's pretty nice and warm today. That's why so many of the students are choosing to hang around with their folks rather than stay inside, even if there's nothing really anything shiny and what-not for them to have fun at. I guess there's that obstacle course and race thing where the brats can humiliate each other in front of their ma's and da's to show off how wizard they could be, but I don't think that's super popular. A lot more of them are just doing their own wee little thing rather than sticking to what the faculty wants them to do.

Jammy buggers. Curse their freedom to relax! I don't even get that privilege. That's why I'm here on campus today instead of taking advantage of what sounds like a holiday and staying in my apartment. Not because I want to laze around and hit up the telly or anything. It would've just saved me more time to correct the brats' badly-written essays so I can hand them back tomorrow. Yeah, that's it. Except I had to turn up today, help the other teachers set up this day of fun and celebration for the students and their families. All of the logistical work that was needed to organise the whole thing, and we don't really get even a word of thanks.

Heh, I'm not going to be an Eeyore about assisting with Family Day. As the counselor, my job's supposed to be about helping all these students stay mentally healthy; stay happy in a career path that honestly doesn't give many opportunities for joy. Having the chance to chum with their parents might be considered by some to just be a way of ignoring the awful truth, but it's good for them. You don't want your C-list meatshields to be emotionally compromised in the heat of battle, right?

That logic's honestly an excuse.

It's easier to say that I want to "help them". That's what my contract stipulates.

A bit of a hypocritical thing for me to do when I ramble on about superficiality all the time, but sometimes, a façade might be kinder than the genuine thing.

Doesn't take long for me to run into one of those brats that I'm supposed to help though. It really wasn't that hard to notice, not when she was dressed like a luchador lass. It's a real ourie aesthetic, geez. I'm surprised you could even walk around in that thing with so little shame. People'll judge you for that thing, I guess like I am right now, and if you're not a lucky enough bugger, that image gets stuck with you for the rest of your life.

They're superficial like that.

Still, she looks like she needs somebody to talk to. Brats shouldn't be trying to hide around a corner on Family Day.

"Are you okay?" I ask, walking up to her. A teacher has to look out for these kids.

@SevenStormStyle


For a short while, a thought of turning Gren into a pile of scrap clawed at Diamond’s mind. Woah, where the heck did that come from? She thought as she shook her head to rid herself of it.

Diamond’s eyebrow shot up in surprise at what the stranger said. Family? She doesn’t look a year older than I am. No way she has a kid 17 years old! Or, 15, if you count gun nuts Ozpin likes, the ex-thief analyzed, on the off-hand supplying, and thus probably has nothing of value to be taken, other than a mortgage claim against her.

“Well, one never knows. Mission might just take me where you live.” she winked, “So, are you someone’s big sis? You don’t look the part if you came here for, you know, ‘parents’ day,” she inquired, not quite able to cover all of the venom that came with that word, “ unless you aged like a really fine whisky, in which case - kudos.” she complimented.

Looking at the woman’s face for a few moments, she tried to match it to the students she knew. Nope, I got nothing.

@Crimmy@Silvan Haven@Ayazi

Geni gave Beryl a quick nod of acknowledgment before stepping past Gratia to get to his bunk. "Much obliged." he sighed as he sunk into the plush mattress he claimed as his own.

For a moment, he regarded Gratia and Beryl with an air of curiosity. From what he would gather, the Vignoble team was more of a fraternity than a diversified hunter team. He was acutely aware of the lack of testosterone in the room. Something he was sure wouldn't change anytime soon.

"So I'm the only guy?."

@Crimmy@Ayazi@LokiLeo789



"Yeah." Came the friendly reply. "We used to have Napoli but he got called back home on some family business."

She paused as a thought a occurred to her. The otter Faunus' face brightening with a smile.
"Why don't you leave the unpacking till later? We were all going to meet up at a cafe with some friends. Come with us, it will give you a chance to get acquainted."

@Plank Sinatra @Kaithas @NarayanK

Winky faces are beneath you, babe.

Lauren got a raised eyebrow for that one, directed over her shoulder, though Ben couldn't keep the grin off his face. He'd kept from outright laughing. Barely. Her reaction had been even more exaggerated than he'd expected. Good news, though, was she didn't seem pissed anymore. Thank God for small miracles. Still she was pretty wound up over her Dad already being in their dorm.

If he was anything like her, he could guess why. She'd accumulated a decent amount of loot and if anyone was gonna know where she stashed it, it'd be her Dad.

Well, and someone who lived with her.

So when he stepped into the room after her, raising his eyebrow a little further at her greeting, he steered well clear of the space behind the door. If it were Lauren, he's expect an ambush. Once he'd taken a few steps into the room he leaned over, as casually as possible, to take a look under Lauren's bed.

If it were me, I'd go right for the stash.

"Oh I get it. If I was holding your parachute and you jumped off of Beacon. It'd be like a trust fall and training at once, right? I would fly up, strap you in and you'd pull the chord? How cute."

Well I suppose he’s onto me.

I’m not some random kitchen wench.

I stand out in a crowd.

I’m not sure I could ever win Jericho back from this.

Okay, I’m sorry. I can’t do it. This boy was so wrapped around my finger I don’t even think he knows it.

“Oh Jer, it’s all proportional. Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I’m not in touch with people.” I said taking a sip of my nice coffee. Shooing away the girl who had approached us with my eyes. I may not have it all there, but the one thing I do have is the ability to make men obey. Jericho was different, sure. But that just required a… Different approach. Seduction lead down the path of Jer thinking you were going to murder him. Fair enough. I get that vibe from most of the James Bond films I watch too. Quantum of Solace especially, that one’s my favourite.

Then playing dumb makes Jericho want to kill himself. Also fair enough. Dumb and Dumber was a mediocre movie.

That’s all.

So the third approach was simply yet to be found. I suppose I could try flattery, but I don’t see that working. Maybe… Simple genuine affection?

Surely that couldn’t be it right?

“Oh by the way, Jericho.” I said changing my tone to that of a fairly normal one. Lacking my usual coos and fluxuations. Instead I was just… Calm.

“When we last spoke on the cruise ship, you never mentioned a family. I’d love to hear about your own.” I said calmly taking another sip of my emulating an expression I often found in daytime T.V. and Gratia. One of normalcy, perhaps light interest in the given subject. I did not bounce, nor did I blush or grin. I simply listened.

Perhaps this is what Jericho wanted in a woman. One who, instead of being filled to the brim with life and love, was maybe only filled half way. There was no JEEEEEEEEEER’s. Instead, there was simply Bianca Nuit. I suppose this could become patented.

My Estelle Mode©.

"Well, it's a little complicated." Datura smiled wolfishly at the wink. "I am, according to the law, responsible for a girl here in a way that a parent would be, but I hardly act the part. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I don't even have a decade on her." As she spoke, she closed the distance between her and the taller student until she was at about arm's length. At this point, she was fairly certain that a bit of toxin had escaped her lungs into the air, only slightly intentionally. "Ah, should I...?" She tilted her head up, gazing intensely into a pair of blue eyes. Almost too blue, actually. Interesting. This one could be something, certainly more than her old teammates.

Ignoring the familiar twang in her chest and venomous fizz somewhere deep in her lungs, Datura asked the question now plaguing her thoughts: "How strong do you think you are? You see, I worry that this 'daughter' of mine may not be up to Beacon's cut." Of course, that was only half of the reason she wanted to know.

@Forsythe

@Silvan Haven@LokiLeo789

Gratia Mindaro - VGGB Dorm

"A café?"

The question was one that Gratia Mindaro immediately answered for herself by flipping open her device to check her unread messages. As she had correctly assumed, this supposed café trip was a proposal by Nuit, which just had to fucking coincide with her parents' visit. There was so much shit she needed to do with them and talk about, and drinking overpriced coffee with the other Mistralese girl was far lower on her priorities list than engaging with her family.

Said family, however, had opposing opinions.

"Friends?" asked Valentinian, her father immediately cluing onto Beryl's use of the plural form. "Gratia veux aller prendre un café with friends?"

The Mindaro patriarch's onyx eyes immediately met his wife's. She smiled, and he nodded in return. The message was received.

"I believe that is a wonderful idea," said Severa happily, glancing down at her daughter and placing a soft hand against the younger Mindaro's shoulder. "But you should change out of those clothes first, Gratia. You shouldn't go out all the time in that garb."

"I don't, and-."

"It's been far too long since I've assisted you with your clothing," continued the Mindaro matriarch, cutting off any chance of her stoic daughter protesting (not that she would), "I want to meet your friends, Gratia, but let's get you into something more comfortable for coffee!"

"We'll be going ahead then, yeah?" Valentinian said, looking over at the rest of the room's occupants. "It'll be nice meeting her pals, and-"

He nodded towards Geni.

"- you'd be able to make some nouveaus amis too if you come along."

Meanwhile, Severa was already pulling Gratia towards the girl's wardrobe. Their conversation was growing more distant.

"Do you still have that old scarf of yours?"

"Yes, but that's a shitty choice for coffee, mama."