OOC: w/ Harin IC: As they got off of the stage, Schwarz noticed one of her ‘teammates’ trying to storm off. [i]Wonderfull. We aren’t together longer than five minutes and it’s already breaking up.[/i] she thought, blinking so no one would catch her rolling her eyes. “No need to look so excited, Mr. Kuhaku.” [i]Way to kill the mood, tiger boy.[/i] “We’ve made it to the school!” [i]Alive.[/i] she thought, sparing a quick glance at Ravira. “Shouldn’t we be celebrating, we’ve been working hard and long for this, at least some of us.” --- [B]”No need to look so excited, Mr. Kuhaku.”[/B] His walk slowed as a voice came from behind. [B]”We’ve made it to the school! We should be celebrating, we’ve been working hard and long for this, at least some of us.”[/B] What did she mean by “...at least some of us.”? Was that some sort of prod for him having been knocked unconscious during the important Grimm battle? He halted in his tracks and looked over his shoulder to see who it was. His ears twitching curiously. Ah, it was his new teammate, the Swan Faunus. What was her name...Schwarz? Or something odd like that. Clenching his fists, he turned to face her. Celebrating? For what reason should they celebrate? He and Perry were down for the count when it was most important. When others needed them and counted on them. They were useless. He missed a chance to prove himself. Standing still, he just quietly looked at her. His ears swiveling from side to side, tail restlessly flicking back and forth. Right, she was his teammate. A fellow Faunus at that. No need to be overly aggressive and rude. Sighing softly, he reached up and clutched the side of his metal mask. With a few mechanical clicks, it released from his face and he pocketed it. Doing the same to his gauntlets, he completely disarmed. His gauntlets hung at his side on his belt. He was in a school environment now, now need to constantly have his weapons out. He’d have to find the armory to properly store them after he finished his upgrades. Wiping at his face, he locked and made eye contact with Schwarz to hear if she had anything else to say. If nothing else worthwhile like an explanation, he would remask and simply walk away. --- It didn’t look like the tiger faunus was a very chatty fellow. In fact something in his look was downright dangerous. Maybe it was the mask. She seen some intriguing apparel before, but this was a first. Schwarz wondered if it didn’t get in the way more often than not. But that was not what she had in mind to talk about. “I’ll be the first to admit that assigning the teams randomly is not my favorite thing about today, but i’ve been studying for years to get here, and now it happened. Having to learn to know just three people seems like small price to pay, so why so gloomy?” she said, her tone neutral to friendly. [i]alternatively, feel free to continue giving me the creepy silent glare. That would make for fun four years here.[/i] she added for herself. --- Right. She would be his teammate for the next four years here. He didn’t really have much else of a choice but to interact with the others if only just a little. He absolutely hated talking to other people, though. Breaking eye contact, he looked at the ground and searched his thoughts. Mustering up as much courage as he could to try and talk normally without his strange invented language. He swallowed dryly, feeling his tongue sticking to the roof of his palate. Sighing, he looked extremely uncomfortable. But, suddenly getting angry with himself he shook his head and resumed eye contact with Schwarz. An odd fierceness in his eyes. [I]”She’s just a fellow concerned Faunus and teammate. No need to be uncomfortable with her. Be nice.”[/i] He told himself. Slowly, the words came. [B]”I-...”[/B] He cleared his throat. [B]”A-...At the initiation. I...messed up. That fight with the large Grimm…”[/B] He looked away momentarily before resuming eye contact. [B]”I was...I was useless. I made a stupid mistake. I don’t feel like I deserve to be here.[/B] Looking at the ground, he clenched his fists tightly. [B]”It’s...just hard for me to let go and get over it.”[/B] His shoulders slumped and he absently rubbed at the tattoo on his left arm. [B]”That’s...that’s why I stormed off. I’m still unhappy about it all. I just wanted to get away and have some time to myself. Th-...that’s all.”[/B] His ears drooped, his tail slowly sweeping at the ground behind him. Whatever cold and harsh demeanor he had quickly crumbled and melted away in having to speak to Schwarz. Why didn’t he just ignore her and move on? For goodness’ sake, just from having spoken he was trembling as if he were cold. Truth be told, talking to other people drained him of his will and energy. --- Oh, that’s what is going on. She made a step closer, smiling: “Is that all? You now, while a prestigious one - Beacon is still a school, and we’re students, not yet hunters. We’re bound to make mistakes. I might have done more to the big grimms, but I was left completely drained. Then I went and lent my only weapon to someone who was still fighting and left myself wide open. Not just myself, I also happened to be dragging my former partner to safety. If a grimm attacked us then? I don’t know what i would have done. Most likely there would have been three casualties instead of one.” Seeing how miserable Kuhaku felt about it, she had to fight the urge to give him a pat on the back. ”But none did. Perhaps because you took care of them earlier.” she tried to cheer him up. Some people just expected too much of themselves. It wasn’t healthy for the mind. “And if a team is worth a broken Lien, they are people you can confide to, not ones you need to hide from.” she hinted. Fishing her watch out of her pocket, she checked the time. “Now, should we go grab our stuff and find our room?” she asked, her body putting an emphasis on it as a yawn made it’s way out of her mouth. --- As she took a step towards him, he put his guard up and quickly stepped back. Wary of her smile, he slowly eased up as she continued to talk. Her words held some truth to them, they were all bound to make mistakes at some point or another. Her sharing her own predicament did help to ease his own concerns, if only a little. At least she was kind. But, he was still on guard. Unwilling to fully confide and trust in her. The last time he trusted someone…Well, that wasn’t important. Regardless, he didn’t believe he could ever fully confide anyone. No matter who they were. He would continue to keep to himself and be as quiet and inconspicuous as possible. Falling silent, he slipped his mask out of his pocket and pressed it to his face. With a few mechanical clicks, it clung to his face and he simply nodded in response to her question. As she yawned, he turned away from her and continued his brisk walk to get his things. Well, his uniform at least. Maybe some supplies if he could help it. Lowering his head as he walked away, his face was oddly hot. His cheeks red. Why did he waste his time and energy to talk with her? Ugh… Whatever. --- That went better than Schwarz expected. At least she did get him to talk, perhaps even help. Although if it would took this much chiseling on the ice Kuhaku put around him, she better not push her luck. Sighing as he vanished behind a corner, she set to get her own bags and find their room, desperate for a shower and a change of clean clothes. At least she managed not to lose any feathers. She looked pathetic enough with all the bruises. Finding her scroll, she checked the map for where their room was and got walking.