OOC: w/ Pyromania

When she got back to the room, Schwarz was a bit surprised she was still the only one there. Apparently the others didn’t mind taking their time. Was she the only one this worn out? The thought that she might be the ‘frail weak one’ in the team made her shudder, and the fact that each and every of her teammates looked more sturdy than herself didn’t help. Then again, she DID fight off two giant snakes today. That entitled her to some rest in her mind.

Making full use of the advantage of being the first to pick, she claimed the left windowside bed. Unzipping her bags, she fished out her PJs composed of black shorts and sports bra. As long as her wings could be free, modesty could go stuff itself. Hopping on the bed, she began to sort out and shelve the rest of her stuff. It looked like she had everything, except…

Her weapon. What ever it’s name was again, Francesca had put returning Schwarz Nacht’s weapon in the back of her mind. Beyond assisting in killing the giant spider with it, Francesca had kept it on her person in case she met Schwarz. On a related note, she was surprised that she had not been picked for captain. Sure, she had not been extremely social with the rest of her team aside from Kael. Still, she had still jumped at giving her teammate a chance to escape his bonds from the giant enemy spider. That aside, she wasn’t very fond of her team’s leader. With free time now, she needed to return Schwarz’s weapon... Now where was she?

When she was done sorting out her stuff, Schwarz lied down on the bed and fished the headphones out of her drawer. Putting on some of her boring lullaby tunes, she started drifting off into sleep when someone rang the doorbell. Some of her teammates probably got fed up with the ceremony and decided to get out of there.

"It's open!" Schwarz shouted to be heard through the door.

“Is it now?” Francesca mentioned when she heard. Somehow she found herself at the right door. Funny. “Then I shall let myself in.” Sucking in her disdain, she opened the door and entered with the Faunus’ weapon in hand. “Greetings.”

Hearing the door creak, one red eye lazily opened and looked in the general direction. [i]Oh, it’s[u]you[/u].[/i] Schwarz thought bitterly when she saw Francesca in the room. “Oh, hi.” she said, trying to use neutral tone. She got up and swung her head to throw her bangs out of her eyes. She reached out with an open hand: “I believe you have something of mine?”

“Here.” Francesca said as she tossed the weapon at Schwarz. “I believe I’m finished here then.” She then started to head out the door then...

"You're welcome." Schwarz muttered under her breath. The other girl turned to leave, but Schwarz wasn't done with her yet. The Swansong whizzed past Francesca's ear before embedding itself in the door and slamming it shut. She briefly wondered what to say, but decided to take the easy way. Sighing, she fished in the drawer and pulled out a sketch. "Hey... Could I get an opinion on something?" she asked, handing the paper over.

It was a drawing of the weapon she intended to build. It was a dagger with perforated blade that would hold three spherical dust capsules. The weird thing was a set of unmarked buttons on the grip. "Is it possible to make that blade without it shattering on first impact?" she asked. While she didn't intend to use the weapon for melee, it would still be nice to have the option. But she didn't have the skill to guess if it wouldn't be too thin around the perforations.

“It doesn’t appear I have a choice.” Francesca said aloud. It seemed to be true anyhow. She wasn’t sure how to act around this girl. That aside, she needed to at least see what Schwarz wanted. After grabbing the weapon and returning it to its owner. . . Again. . . She took a look at the plans. “Make that blade without it shattering on first impact?” The song in her ear was some instrumental piece, “Depends on how you plan on the method you plan on making it with.” After a moment of silence and staring at the plans she spoke again, “How exactly did you plan on making it?”

“Well...” Schwarz looked aside. She never did like admitting to weaknesses. “I’m a fire wizard, not a blacksmith. I was thinking I’d just make the whole blade and then melt and burn my way through?” she said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.

“Are you an idiot that thinks that you can literally fight fire with fire?” It was an almost completely serious question. Who actually thought they could sear right through metalworking? “If you try to make a blade like that then you might really break it upon making it instead of the first hit.” Francesca stared into Schwarz’s eyes, “I use the word ‘break’ lightly.” Implying that there should be a stronger word here that she cannot be bothered to think of at the moment.

Schwarz was about to argue back, but was stopped by the stunning set of beautiful amber eyes gazing at her. She could just look back, barely registering what Francesca was saying, until she realized she dragged her gaze way too far into an awkward silence after Francesca finished her rant. “Eh!” she yelped, breaking the eye contact.

“Hey! Do you think I would suggest something I knew I couldn’t do?” she sighed, “Sheesh, after today I thought I could earn some respect at least as far as my skill goes. Man some people are hard to please.” she said, reaching for pencil and setting it in front of her eyes while her other hand brushed against her wand. “I’ll have you know, when I have peace to focus, I have pencil point precise aim.” she said, her eyes narrowing and glowing a faint crimson. In a split second, the pencil split in half, slight char marks across the otherwise smooth surface where the two parts used to be one.

“Congratulations. You can split a pencil in half.” Francesca said slightly aggrivated by this girl’s opinion on making weapons. “Now, putting that into bladecrafting, it would make a still useless weapon for what we are suppose to be fighting. Caring for the metal and blade makes a better weapon than just cutting out the shape. There are many things you need to do to make a great weapon.” She couldn’t help but sigh. She disliked people that were in the business and didn’t really know about weapon making. 

“Well, it [i]is[/i] a dust carrier first and foremost.” Schwarz defended, fighting the urge to deck this woman one in the jaw. “I just like for them to have a practical use as well, although that’s already taken care of quite well by the hilt part.” she said. The mage wasn’t sure how long it would take her to adapt from words to melodies, but she was certain it was a step in the correct direction. “But hey, that’s why i’m asking. Feel free to just leave if my being alive insults you so.” she retorted, thinking of a way to try and play on Francesca’s nerves, “I’ll just ask the Rose girl. She seems to have more vivid imagination for intricate designs.” she said, trying to see what would happen if the other girl’s skill was doubted.

Francesca scoffed, “As if intricate dictates practical.” There was a difference after all. Sure that small girl’s scythe was an intricate design, but it didn’t mean it was the most practical weapon in the world. “If that’s what you think. . .” She just went silent with a look of pity. She rarely ever got this boisterous. Not that her tone was really boisterous.

"Then would you just give me a workable idea already instead of finding every excuse to knock me down a peg?" Schwarz exclaimed. She did catch the subtle hint of wounded pride from the other girl, but it did her no joy. She was just that kind of sucker that would feel like a scumbag herself every time she tried to get back at the others.

“You act like I and those like me are pimples on society’s ass, so why stick around?” Schwarz inquired, “I saw the record of the fight, I know the closed door is hardly an obstacle to you. So why are you still here? Does it make you happy to make me hurt with every word you say?”

She wasn't even angry though. "It's sad. Do you ever smile? Is there still a heart that feels somewhere in there?" the swan asked, "I've had life put me through the ringer, but I can still find some joy in it. I can't imagine what you've had to go through that left you this sorry, abrasive husk of a woman. Do you have anything worth living for?" she put out there, not really expecting an answer other than maybe being punched to the gut, but she had to say it.

“What I’m doing now. This.” With a point of her finger toward the ground “Being a hunter.” Francesca muttered loud enough for Schwarz to hear. “This is what I’m living for. When my father died. . . This is what he wanted for me. To be a hunter.” There was a bit of sincerity in her voice. “Does that answer your question?”

Schwar sighed: "In part. But I understand how that feels. More than you know." she said, barely above the whisper. It was obvious on her face that she was fighting tears. She never got over [i]that[/i] day. Mom, dad, brother, Ashley... Everyone gone in just a few minutes. She pulled her knees to herself and choked down a sob, looking away. It took her a few seconds to compose herself. She wasn't in mood for this anymore though. Or in a mood for living really. "Well, sorry to delay you."

“ . . .” Francesca stood silent for a second before turning and heading to the door. She had originally thought she would just leave without a word but she decided to open her mouth again. “If you plan on making a decent blade, you should probably have someone like me, someone who knows how to work a blade, to help.”

Schwarz perked up a little at that. Despite everything her plan somehow came to fruition. Nodding, she flipped out her scroll and sent over her contact details:

[i]Name: K. Schwarz Nacht
Number: 742 563 541
Message:
I’ll hold U 2 it! - XOXO[/i]