SLVR

At first Sylvia could only watch like a deer caught in headlights as Seymour went on about how important the dance was. Her cheeks flushed a faint pink as he finished with a determined statement to stop at nothing to get her to go to the dance. After a few moments to calm down and for Ellie to reiterate how serious Seymour was about this, Sylvia was chuckling as she held her hands up in defeat. "All right, all right! You got me convinced! I'll go." The silverette couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she started to clean up her own portion of the table. "I'm sure this'll be fun. We'll see you all later!" With that the silverette ushered her team off to classes.

The rest of the day went smoothly, classes going as normal with Sylvia working to make sure Lev didn't fall asleep and Vance didn't interrupt the class with his excitement. All too soon, they were getting ready to set off to CCT Tower to talk to Reyna's parents. Sylvia fidgeted with her casual outfit, out of her normal uniform and in an outfit that screamed 'I'll kill you if you look the wrong way!'. Dark purple leggings, short black skirt, Skull and crossbones muscle shirt with a leather jacket to boot, if she wasn't constantly mothering or smiling she would have looked almost frightening to more than a few passerby's. Vance opted a more simple look, with a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a vest that had a fluffy fake fur lining it. With a quick goodbye to Reyna they headed out.

As the trio entered the tower, Sylvia couldn't help her nervous fidgeting. Vance stared at his surroundings in awe as they moved toward the elevator, having never been in the tower before. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia and crew stepped into the elevator. Vance jumped as a voice suddenly started to speak. "Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?" Vance looked around before realizing it was probably just a robot helper.

"Hi, um, we'd like to go to the communications room, please." Sylvia stuttered out, wiping her hands on her skirt as she tried to get over the nerves that were cropping up over talking to her teammate's parents, especially over such a sensitive subject.

"Absolutely." The voice spoke again. "Could you please place your scrolls one at a time to confirm your identities?" One by one, the students placed theirs scrolls up by the terminal. "Perfect!" The voice exclaimed as the three put their scrolls away. Thank you, Miss Slater, Mr. Castor, and Mr. Faolan." With that the three were plunged back into silence. It only took a few moments for them to reach the floor they needed, stepping out and being greeted by a hologram. "Welcome to the Cross Continental Transmit Center." The hologram smiled. "How may I help you?"

Sylvia blinked before shaking her head and smiling. "We, ah, we already have the number we need, thanks."

"All right. Head over to terminal six and you can input your number. Have a nice day!" The hologram smiled before going back to whatever business it had.

Sylvia sighed as she headed over to the terminal with her teammates. "Can you put in the number, Lev, please?" She asked, fidgeting with her skirt as she sat down and waited. Vance pulled up a seat to her left, almost bouncing as he waited excitedly to meet Reyna's parents. It was too bad that Reyna wasn't able to introduce them, but at least they got to meet them and talk to them! It'd be interesting to see the people who raised their pink titan.
 
Lev sighed as the table talk was wrapped up, fighting off a yawn as everyone proceeded with their day. Reyna rejoined her teammates in class, but was quick to scuttle off when she found chances. It seemed Uriah had her full attention now. Of course, that simply made it easier to ditch her when it came time to go to the CCT Tower. As everyone dressed in casual clothes, Lev found himself paused in admiration of Sylvia's style.

"Look at you, punk." He snickered, bumping against her shoulder playfully. "Quite the first impression you plan on making, huh?" Lev, meanwhile, was dressed in a black and grey long-sleeved shirt and khakis, and his hair was tied in a low pony-tail. Aside from his nails, painted a rich black, the ensemble was a much simpler outfit than the boy usually wore. After saying goodbye to their pink haired friend, who was off to do her own thing as well, the three teammates made their way to the Tower to lay their worries to rest.

Despite being well-read about the CCT, Lev still found himself marveling at the technology poured into the facility. It didn't take long to get to their terminal, leaving Lev to put in the contact. Before putting in the last few digits, the raven haired boy took hold of his partner's hands, giving them a quick squeeze. "Stop fidgeting. You'll ruin your skirt at that rate. And Vance," Lev looked over to the bouncy faunus, "I know you're excited, but remember what we're here for, and take it easy on Reyna's parents. Who knows how they'll feel about all this..." With a sigh, he put in the final digits and sat back with his team, letting Sylvia take the center seat as the call-tone rang out.

What met them was a terrifyingly close, vividly purple eye, narrowed in irritation.

"-no, Marie, I have no clue how to-"

"Reyner, dear, it's on!"

"Wh-What? Where are- Grr, damn these newfangled-"

"N-No, Reyner dear, just sit back. They're on the scre- No, no dear, the screen!"

After a bit more blundering around on Reyna's parents side of the call, the two older figures finally sat themselves in full view. Reyna's father, Reyner, was a heavy-set, black buzz-cut, mustached, bushy-bearded man. His eyes twinkled jovially with flashes of uncharacteristically bright purple, but his expression seemed permanently irritated. His nose was bulbous, and wiggled every once in a while to adjust the mass of facial-hair that hid the rest of his features. Despite the silver hairs scattered around his head and face, he still seemed to be in his prime of strength. Reyna's mother Marie, on the other hand, wore her long, indigo hair like a scarf. Lev couldn't help but run his fingers down his own hair at the sight, jealous of the care that clearly went into it. Her eyes were gold in the purist sense, and despite having sharper features than her husband, her face couldn't have seemed kinder. She was certifiably younger than Reyner, but past her eyes, anyone could tell that she had the most commanding spirit of the two. The only strikingly odd feature about each of them is that each had an ear missing; Reyner's left, and Marie's right.

"ALRIGHT, WHICH ONE OF YOU-"

"Reyner, please, not so loud. No need to shout."

"O-Oh, sorry... Which one of you is, ehh, Castor?"

Lev raised his hand at Reyner's call, only to have the man's eyes narrow further. "...What are you, a girl?" He asked, prompting Lev's hand to drop like dead weight. The black haired boy swallowed loudly as nerves of being called out so bluntly started getting to him.

"N-No sir. I-" Lev attempted to respond, but Reyner didn't seem concerned, simply nodding his head at the confirmation before moving on.

"Right, then that," the hulk of a man pointed vaguely at Sylvia, "must be Ms. Slater, and you," he spoke, moving his finger to the faunus with a raised eyebrow, "are that Vance-fella." Reyner's finger fell after naming each member of the team, then he crossed his arms with a sigh and looked towards his wife. "This is what's getting into Beacon nowadays?"

"Reyner!" Marie gasped, giving a quick, hard chop to her husband's head. As he nursed the wound, Marie picked up the conversation. "I'm so sorry, we don't get to meet Reyna's friends very often. Lev, you made it sound urgent over the phone. I assume that is why our daughter isn't with you right now? Please, if you could tell us what's going on..."

Lev gulped once again before nudging Sylvia. "That's your queue, Syv."
 
Sylvia blinked as Lev gave his commands, taking a deep breath as he squeezed her hands. She gave him a quick squeeze back and smiled. "Right, right. Thanks Lev. All right, let's get started." She turned back to the screen, feeling just a little less nervous as the trio waited for Raleighs pick up. Vance perked up at his name, only to nod and try his hardest to settle down as Lev suggested. It was a difficult task considering he was meeting the parents of one of his best friends, but somehow he managed to still himself enough that he looked somewhat composed. Waiting with bated breath, the three stared at the screen only to be greeted by a large violet eye.

At first Sylvia slightly at the shock of suddenly getting a close up of Reyner's eye, but she quickly settled down as the couple finally got set up and started to figure out just who was who in the team. Sylvia blinked as they passed over her team, bristling at the comment Reyner so casually made. So they weren't the most normal looking team, but that didn't give him any right to judge their abilities as huntsmen! Vance had stared at the couple with his head tilted to the side, ever curious. He beamed at the fact that they knew him by his first name. Even if Reyna was constantly spending time with her boyfriend, he was still important enough to her that her parents knew him on a first name basis. It warmed his heart so much that Reyner's comment flew straight over his head.

Marie's quick scolding calmed Sylvia's bristling, but she was quickly pulled out of her reverie when Lev noted it was her turn to talk. "Oh! Right, right. Well, Mrs. Raleigh, I just want to start by reassuring you that your daughter is perfectly fine. The main reason we called was because of an incident during a mission we had a little while ago." Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Sylvia took a deep breath and started to explain. "See, we had our first mission a while ago protecting a local farm from Grimm attacks. At first it started simple, and Reyna seemed to be doing great. However, we ended up encountering a King Taijitu. When Reyna saw it, she just froze and ended up getting nearly swallowed. Vance here had to pull her out of the thing's mouth and detach her shield which was what was keeping her from escaping in the first place. When we tried to confront her about the incident, she reacted aggressively and insisted that we were playing a joke on her and screaming at us to stop talking about the incident. She even tried to use Vance as a sort of weapon against me when I tried to ask her why she had frozen like that. After we got back and rested up, she acted perfectly normal the next day. It was like the whole thing never even happened. We're all concerned and confused. We wanted to contact you since going to Reyna directly doesn't seem to work. We wanted to know if you both had any idea as to why she reacted the way she did. Has she had any traumatic experiences with snakes? Any phobias?" Sylvia finished with a concerned frown, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked between the couple for some kind of answer.
 
Reyna's parents stayed rather stoic throughout the entirety of Sylvia's tale, arms crossed, and eyes open and observant. After the silverette finished speaking, they took a moment to look at each other, communicating in the way only a couple could. A nod of Marie's head seemed to be the last thing Reyner needed to begin his response, so he stood up straight, crossed his arms tighter, and looked straight into the eyes of the three teammates.

"We were living in Vacuo for a time..." He began, his expression darkening. "It was a few weeks before we moved to Vale, so Marie and I took some time away from work to relax with our daughter. She was already enrolled in Signal for her first semester, so we put her through the ringer just to make sure she was ready for it all. Of course, she took it fine; handled it like a champ! Nothing less from my daughter...but we were caught off guard. Reyna was at school during the day, finishing up her tests 'n whatnot, and Marie and I were packing up what we could find. Then outta nowhere, he busted in with that gang of his..." Reyner paused to take a breath, letting Marie pick up from there.

"By 'he,' we mean a man...no, it would be more appropriate to call him a snake at this point... His name is Set Sera. Reyner and I had been tracking him during our earliest days in Vacuo, but nothing ever came up. He's a leader of a grass-roots movement called The Chain. They claim to be a part of the White Fang, but not even they would condone Set's methods...regardless, he caught us unawares, and before long he had us tied up on the floor of our own house. We had been in that sort of situation before, so we weren't initially worried. After all, Reyner has his semblance, and I have-

"M-Marie, on topic please."

"Right, right... The short of it is that Reyna got home, and that was it. They used her as a hostage to keep us pinned...then they did what they wished. Set forced our darling Rey to watch as his gang began to...to eat us." Despite remaining remarkably calm about the whole thing, tears began to well up in Marie's eyes as she recanted the story. Pausing, she rolled up her sleeves, and Reyner lifted his shirt, both of them showing several large half-human bite wounds turned scars.

"...She screamed..." Marie continued, letting her sleeves fall. "It was unbearable. I-I never doubted myself more! How could I let my child see all that! Gods..." the indigo haired woman cried openly as the memory became too much. Reyner, pulling his wife to his side with a sigh, began to finish the story.

"As parents, we had never been so shook up. We both still have nightmares of it. Being a hunter never meant so little to me in a single moment compared to that. And of course it got worse. Reyna screamed like hell, and it started pissing Set off real fast. I won't say I wasn't proud of her; kid had a set of lungs, for sure. But the next thing we knew, that snake had his teeth into her flank." Reyner pointed to himself in reference, just above the hip, with his hand stretched as wide as possible to replicate the size of the bite. "Set's an anaconda of a faunus, though. He wasn't satisfied with tearing up our baby girl. No, once he had his fill of that, he tried to swallow her whole. That's when she stopped screaming...and we started." Reyner sighed again, gently brushing his wife's shoulder as she sunk deeper into his side. "...if it wasn't for our mangey cat, she would've died. Hell, we all would've. I still don't know how you taught it to do that, Marie."

"*sniff* I-It was simple, really. Spend enough time with something, and you'll see results!" She forced a giggle, though her face was red with tears. "So, now you know the story. I should say you understand the root of her fear too, though don't misunderstand. She's not afraid of snakes. Gods no. She's afraid of being eaten. At first we weren't aware of how deep her trauma was, but there was a boy in Signal that used to pick on Reyna when we first moved. He'd threaten to eat her for one reason or another, and she'd fly into a panic."

"Gwahaha! She sent him to the hospital, and we haven't heard from him since!"

"Reyner! Please show some sympathy... Reyna had to 'wake up' from what she did to that poor boy, and when she did, she had forgotten everything. Whenever anyone brought it up, she denied it fiercely. The more someone pushed, the more stubborn she'd grow. Deep down...deep down she knows, but to admit it would compromise the defense she's built herself." Marie unhooked herself from her husband's side, easing out her dress and regaining her composure. "I think it'd be best if we came for a visit. We thought that letting her alone would help her, but that's clearly not the case. I'd say it's time we took a different approach."

Reyner nodded his agreement. "Right. It might be a little while before we find time though. Until then, be sure to look after her. Especially you, fella." He pointed at Vance, eyes narrowed. "If you ain't a man in charge by the time I get there, I'll pop yer fuzzy little head off for canoodlin' with my daughter!"

"Dear, don't scare the boy!" Marie broke in with another chop to her husband's head. Turning back to the team, she gave a final smile. "Hopefully we'll see you all soon! Oh, and keep it a surprise from Reyna. She may be petite, but she's very proud of her independence. I'd hate for her to think we doubt her in the slightest. Ciao!"

With that, the screen snapped to black, leaving Lev, Sylvia, and Vance to stare at their reflections in silence.
 
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Listening with bated breath, Sylvia frowned as the story seemed to twist and turn with more horrific details one after another. This certainly explained a lot about Reyna's behavior as they recounted how they were nearly eaten alive, saved only by their cat. "Gods... Thank you for telling us this, Mr. and Mrs. Raleigh. I apologize for forcing you both to relive some pretty bad memories, but it really helps explain what's going on with Reyna." Sylvia said after the duo finished their stories. She quieted down as they gave their requests, chuckling as Vance furrowed his brow in confusion. "I promise we'll keep it a secret and look after Reyna. Goodbye!" Sylvia waved as the screen snapped to black, staring for a moment before turning to her teammates. "Well, that explains a lot. I guess we have to just wait then for Reyna's parents to come and talk to her."

Vance frowned, not really listening as her turned to his teammates. "What did Rain's dad mean, 'a man in charge'? And what's canoodling?" He asked. Sylvia bit her lip, trying to muffle her laughter to which Vance pouted. "Why are you laughing? This is a serious question!" He crossed his arms, his ears folded back against his head as Sylvia tried desperately to calm her laughing.

"Sorry, sorry Vance. It's just-I think Reyna's dad thinks you're in a relationship with her. That's what he means when he says you're canoodling, you're cuddling and doing stuff like that with her." The silverette explained, unable to wipe her smile off her face as she watched the wolf boy's face slowly heat up and turn a bright red.

"Wh-what?!" Vance squeaked out, looking absolutely mortified. "B-but Rain's always fawning over that-that Uriah guy! How did her dad-I don't understand!" He looked between his two teammates helplessly, hands dropping to his sides as he tried to figure out how one of his best friend's parents got that idea.

The leader shrugged as she stood up. "I don't know, Vance. Though since the call took way less time than I thought, I think we should do some shopping. I think it's time we pick out the materials for your weapon, Lev. Sides. I need to get some stuff for one of my own projects. You wanna come with us, Vance, or go back?" The silverette explained, turning to Vance with a raised eyebrow.

Hearing that they were going on a shopping trip, Vance perked up, his ears standing at attention as he bounced. "I wanna go with! I wanna go with!" The excitable boy exclaimed, his previous concerns forgotten for the excitement of going out with his teammates.

Smiling, Sylvia started heading out. "All right, then let's go!" With that she lead the trio down the street, off to one of the metal shops in the town. "Now, when picking out materials, it's always important to consider three main factors-" She started to explain, only to be cut off by a sudden shriek.

"Sylvia?!" A voice exclaimed, causing said girl to turn around only to be engulfed in a hug. A tall, black haired girl with dark skin and pink eyes squeezed the life out of the silverette as a shorter, green haired girl joined the group. "Oh, Sylvy, it's so good to see you again! I haven't seen you since Signal! Oh, you should of told us that you got into Beacon, not that we would have doubted you, but really we would've tried to meet up with you if you had just told us!" The pink eyed girl rambled, as she continued to keep Sylvia trapped in her hold.

"Jenny, hun, you're suffocating her." The short, green haired girl piped up. "Besides, she was probably busy, and you never gave her our numbers so she couldn't have contacted us anyway." The girl explained as the taller girl, now known as Jenny, let go of Sylvia and took the smaller girl's hand in hers.

Jenny huffed at the smaller girl's explanation, pulling her closer to her side. "Oh geeze, I'm sorry Sylvy, but you still could of found a way to contact Irene and me! We missed talking to our favorite underclassmen!" She pouted, seemingly trying to guilt Sylvia into apologizing.

"Ah, sorry." Sylvia finally managed to get in, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked over the couple. "I was pretty busy over the summer, so I guess it just slipped my mind. Oh! By the way, meet my teammates, Lev and Vance. Lev, Vance, this is Irene and Jenny. They used to hang out with me a lot back at Signal. My third teammate's back at Beacon right now." The silverette explained as she turned back to the couple.

"Oh, we've already met Vance." Irene explained, smiling as she looked over at the wolf boy. "We told him about the dance. Did you ask someone special to the dance?" She tilted her head, a curious glint in her blue eyes.

Vance perked up. "Oh, yeah, I did! I asked one of my best friends, and he said yes!" He smiled, proud that he had managed to successfully ask one of his best friends to a fun social event like this dance.

Jenny smiled, perking up. "Excellent! Oh, Sylvy, you never told us who the leader of your team was!"

"Actually-" Sylvia tried to explain, only to be interrupted.

"Is it one of these two?" Jenny powered on, her pink eyes looking over the two boys.

"Well-"

Jenny once again ignored Sylvia's attempt to clarify. "Or maybe it's the third teammate back at Beacon? Come on, don't be so shy, we just wanna know! We gotta make sure you're in good hands after all."
 
Lev had been running his hands through his hair in thought when Vance piped up with his questions. The black haired boy had to suppress a grin as Sylvia gave her explanation of the insinuations leveled against the poor faunus.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Vance. If you think he was mad at you, I can't even begin to imagine what he'll say to Uriah, whom apparently Reyna hasn't called him about yet." Lev snickered before turning his attention towards his leader. With a smile and a shrug, he followed along, ready to make new strides in his quest for a weapon that suited him. However, those strides were cut a bit shorter when a couple of girls careened into Sylvia; Jenny and Irene.

Lev was alright with the company, but the more Jenny talked, the more tired he grew. First the conversation was about Sylvia neglecting to keep contact. The moment he blinked, the topic changed to introductions, then it moved seamlessly into Vance's dance-related escapades. He couldn't keep up. Honestly, he didn't want to. Maybe it was hearing about Reyna and her parents. Knowing there were people like that in the world put a knot in his stomach. Or maybe it was his weapon, calling to him after what felt like ages of designing and perfecting, accompanied by a lack of active combat training. Lev's body itched for something, and the popcorn-babble from these new people were driving that itch up a wall. By the time they started asking Sylvia who the leader of her team was, Lev had enough.

"Hey!" He kept his voice sharp, piercing through the chatter like a rifle bolt. The second he saw one of the girls' mouths move, he sounded off again. "Hey! Why don't you slow down for a sec?" He waited a moment, using his spite as a whetstone for his words, and began just as he saw the signs of conversation about to continue. "Hey! When you're done talking over people, you should give my leader some time to explain herself. Hey!" He was becoming less relenting now that he was picking up steam. "If you ask a question, maybe it'd be a good idea to hear the answer. Hey! What do you get out of your baseless assumptions? Hey!..." Lev only stopped when he heard his voice echo back to him. By then, he looked around to see a crowd of eyes locked on him, and all he could do was glare back.

Lev let the glare linger on his face for a moment before turning to Sylvia, dramatically lowering the volume of his voice to avoid bringing her any more shame from his actions. "I'm going on ahead, Syv. Have fun catching up or whatever." Then he walked off, hands shoved deep into his pockets, towards the metal shop, eager to get his hands on something to take his mind off his stint of irritation. The mass of eyes followed him for a time, but upon realizing they weren't slowing him down in the slightest, the crowd went about their business once more, letting the last of Lev's voice fade away with the midday air.
 
Everybody fell silent at Lev's first outburst. Every time Jenny tried to speak again, the raven would continue on his tirade. Sylvia watched with her eyes wide and mouth open as Lev just went off, simultaneously defending her and going off on the two new girl's way of speaking. All the silverette could do was blink as Lev left them, seemingly going off on his own to pick out metals and other things for his new weapon. For a few moments, all she could do was open and close her mouth, mimicking a fish. Vance had shrunk back at the outburst, looking between all of the participants in confusion as they watched Lev just walk off like it was nothing. "I... Sorry about that guys. We'll have to catch up later, I think I should go talk to him." Sylvia sputtered out, taking a step back as she got ready to follow after Lev.

"Ah, that's all right, hun. We should have given you time to respond. We'll talk to you all later!" Irene responded, pulling Jenny along as the two left. Sylvia waved goodbye before running to catch up to Lev.

"I-I'm going to head back to school. See you Sylvia!" Vance called out, turning to head back as Sylvia gave a wave of acknowledgement.

It wasn't hard to find the raven once she entered the metal shop. Slowing down as she approached him, Sylvia took a few moments to catch her breath and sort through her thoughts. "Are you okay?" Sylvia asked, breaking the silence and taking a step closer to the black haired boy. Her eyes were full of questions, but she stilled her tongue until she knew for sure that he was okay and there wasn't anything insanely wrong.
 
Sylvia's voice was a shock that came all too vividly at Lev. He had been poking around the shop in search of material when she appeared behind him. By the way he turned around to look at her, it was clear she had scared him out of his skin. A few deep breaths later, and Lev finally found it in himself to respond.

"I... I'm sorry about that. Those were your friends, and I just...I just did what I do!" He forced a smile and shrugged before turning back to his task. "You shouldn't be here just because of me. I mean, those were your friends, right? I feel bad enough knowing I just let myself go like that, but if you left them for my sake..."

Lev continued to look at various metals as he spoke, though he wasn't looking for anything specific. No, he just needed a reason not to look Sylvia in the eye again. He could feel his cheeks heating up and his eyes watering. No need to give her the wrong idea... Lev thought, recalling breakfast that day. Seymour had his partner on his thumb, that much was clear, and there was no need for him to step in with anything that could ruin their chemistry.

"I mean, I guess I know you well enough now to expect this sort of thing, but... I dunno." Despite telling himself that the conversation was over, that Sylvia was probably leaving, that he had looked over the same metal sample well over three times during his browse, Lev couldn't stop himself. "Maybe I'm just all screwy f-from a lack of exercise or something." He reached for a reason to justify his behavior, he thought. "O-Or that story that Reyna's parents told us, right? That was crazy...knowing there are people who are as nasty as the grimm kinda makes me sick." He reached again. "Then again, maybe I'm just ready to have my weapon. It's hard being patient when you realize you've only been working half as well as you should be." And once more, grasping at straws for a reason to keep talking; to remove the chance of quiet space between them.

"Hey! I-" He spoke the word loud, though unintentionally so. The moment he realized it, his hand reached up to cover his mouth, and he made his mistake. Turning around to apologize landed his eyes straight on hers. The heat in his face doubled, and he had to put effort into blinking to get the water out of his eyes. His mouth opened with the intent of finishing his apology, but all that came out was a dissatisfactory, "Tch." Quickly, he averted his gaze once more, bringing his babbling to an abrupt stop to fight off the butterflies in his stomach.

-

"VAAAAAAANCE!!!!"

A voice in the distance yelled out, rapidly gaining volume as the source approached the wolf boy. Soon something like a pink cannonball had itself jammed into his side. Locking her arms around him, Reyna looked up and gave him a grin.

"What've you been up to, mister? I saw you and the gang all headed up to the CCT Tower while Uriah and I went shopping. Was it something to do with Lev's parents again? If you guys had told me, I would have totally showed up to tell her off! ...well, that, and it would've been nice to see my parents. I haven't called them in a while... Oh, but Vance, I found this really cute dress for the dance! I think I'm gonna buy it once this week is over! Oh, and did you end up finding someone to ask? I'm sorry I couldn't say yes to you, but y'know, Uriah and all... but who is it! Is it Abby? Or Ellie? What'd they say?" Reyna's verbal barrage had been pretty cheery and casual, but at her final inquiry, she released her partner and placed her hands on her hips, making a very serious face in the demand of an answer. Knowing her partner, he wouldn't have given up at her rejection, and despite appearances, she had been burning, almost seething, with curiosity.
 
Sylvia listened patiently, tilting her head as she observed her partner's curious behavior. She let him keep talking, listening to all of his possible explanations as to why he had given an outburst like that. As soon as he finished and turned back, Sylvia took a deep breath and stepped closer to him. Bumping his shoulder with her own, she picked up a couple of samples and put them in his hands. "Here. These two are the lightest you can get with a reasonable amount of durability. I tend to use this one more, but that's just personal preference." Sylvia noted, pointing to the titanium in his right hand. "Sure, Jenny and Irene are technically my friends, but you're my partner and friend. I think that gives you a little more importance. Sides, Jen was being rude and you stuck up for me. So thanks for that." Sylvia gave a smile before turning back to the metals.

She picked up a different metal, weighing it as she continued to speak. "You know, it's all right to call people out when they're doing something wrong. Yeah, it was a bit shocking and a little rude how you did it, but it was better than just letting her keep talking over me." Taking a moment, she flipped a sample over in her hand before putting it back, continuing to look over the samples. "Anyway, we came here to pick out some metals and materials for your new weapon, right? So let's get to it! I've still got a lot to teach you about. Also, I need to grab some stuff for one of my own projects." Sylvia turned and smiled at her partner, getting ready to talk more about what they would need for his weapon.

~~~

Vance yelped as Reyna rammed into him, turning in her grip to look at him. "Oh! Rain! Uh-uh..." He stuttered as she started her barrage of questions. "We-um-we were talking to Sylvia's parents! We were gonna invite you, but since you've been so busy with Uriah and everything..." He trailed off, before perking up at the thought of his 'date' to the dance. "Oh! I asked Gabe to the dance and he said yes! I'm so excited, I get to go with one of my best friends, it's going to be so fun!" The faunus boy lit up as he spoke about his date. His ears perked up, his smile brightening as he spoke. "I still have to find a suit to wear to the dance. I wonder what Gabe'll wear? Do you think there's any suits that aren't super stuffy? Cause the suits I used to wear were super tight and didn't let me do things!"
 
The shoulder-bump caused Lev to shiver. Again she surprised him, acting so friendly in the face of his actions. Rolling the samples Sylvia handed him over his palms again and again, he smiled and listened to her talk. This is good, Lev thought as he followed his partner along, observing materials, comparing and contrasting, taking notes... He was content. Sure, he got flustered easily around her. Sure, it wasn't so easy to breath when she brushed past. And sure, he found himself admiring her style and how confidently she wore it all, from the freckles to the piercings...

"You flatter me, Syv...and surprise me. With how protective you are over Reyna, Vance, and I, it's weird watching someone walk all over you like that. If it had been Azule, I wouldn't have faulted you one bit, but that...well, it was pretty surreal. I guess I'm glad I could help."

...Sure, she had gone from a freak to an idol in his eyes over their time together. Sure, nothing made Lev happier than to shoot the breeze late at night with her. Sure, she was fun to mess with, scary to piss off, and probably the only real friend he had in the world at this point...but this was too good to screw up.

"But slow down a bit!" He broke in, leaning on her shoulder with a sly grin. "Yeah, I need my weapon and all, but you need a dress for the dance, and something tells me your boyfriend doesn't have the greatest fashion sense...I mean, unless you're into the whole Mistral-formal attire shtick." Lev eased off her shoulder with a stretch, still grinning as he sized up her current outfit. "Once we pick up what we need here, let's go reserve you a dress. For yours and Seymour's sake, lest he gets you something two sizes too small."

...Sylvia liked Seymour. He wouldn't argue with that. They were practically made for each other, the way they interacted. Lev didn't want to bother with that. It'd just make life difficult for two more people than necessary. At this point, he thought, chuckling externally at the silverette's reaction to his demands, I'd just be getting in her way. Friends it is.

-

"Aw shoot, Sylvia's parents always sound so cool! You better've mentioned me." Reyna pouted as Vance answered her first question. At his perking up for the second answer, she felt her face go numb for a bit. The smile soon returned though. "Vance, that's great! I-I'll be honest, I didn't even think you swung that way. Heck, I didn't think Gabe would be up for a dance no matter who asked him, let alone another guy! But that's so sweet! You two seem like you'd be cute together."

Reyna stood in thought for a moment before grabbing Vance's hand and tugging him back into town. "C'mon, we're gonna get you a suit. I think I saw the perfect thing while I was out with Uriah, and I think it'd look amazing on you. I promise it won't be stuffy for you. My mom taught me all about dresses and suits 'n stuff, so you're in good hands!"
 
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Sylvia faltered when Lev mentioned how she just let herself be walked all over, but quickly moved on from that, letting the comment just slide on by as if it never happened. He soon broke in again, commenting on how she needed a dress. Her face heated up at the tease. She shoved him lightly in retaliation. "He's not my boyfriend. He's just a fellow leader and friend who's going to keep me company while all of you munchkins go out and dance. Sides, there's nothing wrong with Mistral formal wear! It's just a different kind is all." Sylvia retorted, trying to calm her suddenly blushing face. After taking a moment to calm down, she responded to the last statement. "Hey, who says I'm wearing a dress? Maybe I'm gonna go ahead and wear a suit to the dance." She puffed up a bit in indignation, though the effect was softened by her joking smile. "Though, if you're going to help me get an outfit, then I should be able to help you pick something out too. Or at least be able to do your hair before the dance. You don't know how hard it is to hold back playing with it!"

It took them no time at all to finish up their shopping, now having the materials for Lev's weapon and some extra stuff for Sylvia's own projects. With everything in hand, they headed off to a formal shop, ready to go get Sylvia a dress and possibly Lev a suit. Finding the shop was easy, though Sylvia was quickly swept away as an assistant walked up to the duo. "Ah, welcome to Robes de Mariée. What are you two looking for? A dress for your girlfriend?" The woman asked, smiling as she looked over Sylvia and Lev.

"Ah, he's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend. Though, I was wondering if I could try on a suit, maybe." Sylvia replied, smiling politely at the assistant.

The woman looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly resumed her ever cheerful attitude. "Ah, of course. Right this way." She led the duo off towards the back of the shop, towards where the more androgynous formal wear. "Here's all of our suits for women. If you want to try something on then there are some changing rooms just down the right hallway here with some seating for your friend and mirrors to help you get a better idea of how you look. If you need any help just flag me or any of the other workers down and we'll be sure to help you." With that, the woman smiled and headed off to help other customers.

"Oh, geeze..." Sylvia sighed, looking at all of the different choices. "So, I just try on stuff and ask your opinion on it? Is that how this works?" Sylvia asked, unsure of herself as she looked through the vests and jackets. Taking a deep breath, she started. "Welp, let's just dive on in then, shall we?" Sylvia grabbed the first outfit that caught her eye and marched off to try it on. It took her only a few moments to slip out of her current outfit into the vest and pants combo. She stepped out of the changing room to show Lev, turning this way and that to give him a good look of the green vest and dark pants. "So, what do you think?" Sylvia asked, adjusting the tie so it sat snug against her collar and smoothing her pants.

~~~

Vance blinked as Reyna responded strangely to his choice of date. "What do you mean, 'swing that way'? I'm not swinging anything. And why do you think Gabe and I look cute together? Is it because we're such good friends?" The faunus boy questioned as he followed the pinkette back into town.
 
Lev felt himself laugh harder than he expected at Sylvia's admittance of wanting to mess with his hair. That, along with her reaction to everything else he had brought up, eased his stance and brought a large smile to his face. "Say what you will about your fellow leader, but I'm just calling it as I see it. He's your date for the dance, ergo, your boyfriend. That's usually how these things go, right? As for Mistral wear, I'm just having trouble seeing you in a kimono. Forgive me for judging your tastes based on the countless rants you've had me sit through concerning how you're so misrepresented because of what you like to wear...not to mention, y'know, what you're wearing right now." He shook his head with a sigh as they continued prodding around the shop for materials.

It wasn't long before they were out of the grunge that permeated the materials store, and ended up in a far more formal shop, organized in fancy colors and textiles, dresses and suits, and too many selections to see in one visit. Before he could make a snide comment about it all, they were approached by a member of the staff. Her first comment caused Lev's eyes to shatter open, and once again he felt the need to avoid his partner's line of sight. Sylvia was quick to dismiss the assumption that Lev was her boyfriend, though that caused Lev's core to be rocked in a different direction altogether. C'mon Syv, you're killing me here... He thought with a smile as the duo made their way to the suits. Once the staff left them alone, Sylvia's inquiry brought Lev back to reality.

"Listen Syv, you're asking the wrong guy. My parents never trusted me with these kind of things." He laughed, more to shake himself out of any residual doldrums. "Just try on what you like."

The moment Sylvia left, Lev pulled out his scroll and sent out a quick message. Then, as she walked out, he snapped a picture and sent another message before replying. "That doesn't look half bad! Green suits you, Syv. You look like you're about to go make some sort of financial deal."

-

Reyna's eyes widened as her compliments and comments flew past her partner's head. "V-Vance, I mean..." her cheeks burned bright, thinking that she'd have to explain every detail to get through to him.

"I mean..." she tried again, but found herself shaking her head in disbelief, "...damnit Vance, did you just ask Gabe because he's a good friend? I-I mean I get why you'd do that, but asking someone specific is really important, y'know? It's like...of course you're gonna go to a dance with your friends! Just because Uriah asked me doesn't mean he won't hang out with his team, and it doesn't mean I'm leaving you guys alone either." Reyna realized she was getting off topic with her rant. Taking a deep breath, she worked out what she wanted to say, then started once more.

"Vance," she began, halting to make sure she had his attention, "asking someone to the dance is like asking someone on a date, y'know? When you asked Gabe, did he know you were asking him as a friend, and not something...more?" Reyna tried to think of more to say, but her scroll interrupted her. She quickly whipped it out expecting an easy reply, but her eyes grew wide as dinner plates as she saw the contents of the message. Despite how much she wanted to squeal at the sight of Sylvia in a suit, she forced herself to type, send, and put the scroll away so she could stay focused on Vance. Crossing her arms, she awaited her partner's response.
 
Sylvia turned to look at herself in the mirrors the store had set up. She twisted this way and that, laughing at Lev's comment. "Really? Then maybe I shouldn't wear this to the dance. Though I have to admit, I do look like a boss." She turned back to Lev, standing straight and putting her hands on her hips, almost as if she were mimicking a CEO. "All right, I want those fifty papers done by Monday, and John, schedule me for an 8 o'clock appointment with Dust Inc. I want to discuss why they're wrong. Make sure those profits are going up people!" Her voice dropped as she waved her finger at the imaginary employees before cracking into a large smile.

"Finding everything okay?" The assistant from before walked over to the duo, ever smiling as Sylvia jumped at her sudden intrusion. "I noticed you two were talking about a dance. You wouldn't happen to be talking about the dance at Beacon?" She tilted her head, holding a stack of clothes in her arms.

The silverette relaxed as she responded. "Actually, yeah. Our team's going to the dance, and I don't really have any nice clothes for it, so my friend here thought it would be only fair if he took me out to pick something out." She gestured to Lev, keeping a polite smile as the assistant seemed to light up.

"Oh fabulous! While that suit does look marvelous on you, I couldn't help but find some dresses I thought you might enjoy." She held out the stack of fabrics, now more obviously dresses for Sylvia to reject or accept.

Blinking Sylvia took a look at the dresses before smiling. "All right. Thank you." She made to take the dresses from the assistant, who bypassed her and decided to hang up the dresses in her dressing room. Seeing just how short most of the dresses were, Sylvia turned back and asked. "Are there any tights or leggings I could wear with these?"

The assistant gave a not-so-apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, but we don't sell any type of tights or leggings. Now, why don't you try them on. If you need any assistance, I'd be willing to help." She smiled, before stepping back and waiting expectantly for the silverette to start changing. Sylvia's smile wavered, but she held strong as she stepped back into the changing room. A pregnant pause followed before the assistant called, "Do you need any help, Miss?"

Another pause. "Um, yeah, could you send my friend in, please?" Sylvia finally piped up.

The assistant blinked, turning to look at Lev before looking back at the changing room. "Wouldn't you feel more comfortable having another lady in there to help you?" She asked, frowning as her brows furrowed.

"Nope! Just please send him in here." Sylvia squeaked. The assistant sent a glance over to Lev, squinting as she looked him up and down. Finally with a sigh she gestured for him to enter the room as she headed off to fix up the racks and help other customers.

Once Lev walked in, Sylvia was almost completely dressed, just stuck with the zipper. "Could you please help?" She asked, staring at the mirror in the changing room with an unreadable expression. The dress seemed simple enough, long sleeves and a tight bodice with a flowy, layered skirt contrasting well. For once, Sylvia's prosthetics were full on display. Lines where metal plates were welded together trailed down the gray, shining surface. The joints were on full display, some gears tucked away, but still visible working to make sure Sylvia could bend properly. Screws in the back of the calf and thin lines alluded to a panel that hid a sharp blade. Her boots hid her prosthetic feet, but they would have looked nonetheless as robotic and mechanical as the rest of it. Sure her team had seen them many a time before, but rarely did they see them in the open actually worn and in use. The dress ended just as her ports started, leaving the metallic limbs full on display. "... You can see my legs." Sylvia commented, looking over the silvery dress in the mirror.

~~~

Vance tilted his head as Reyna tried to explain, frowning as she asked if he had simply asked Gabe as a good friend. He puffed up and crossed his arms, retorting quickly to the question. "I didn't ask him just because he's a "good" friend! I asked him because he's one of my best friends! He makes me feel all happy and warm when we're together! He's super cool and smart and interesting, and he makes me feel all special when we hang out! I want to hang out with him all the time, and sometimes I get this weird feeling in my chest when we talk, and he likes chicken! I really, really like him and he's very special to me, so I asked him to the dance cause he's not just a "good" friend, he's a "best" friend and means a lot to me." With that clarified, Vance listened to the rest of what Reyna had to say.

Realizing just what asking someone to the dance entailed, Vance started to lose some of his bravado and indignation. His arms fell to his side as his ears quickly flattened themselves. "Oh..." He mumbled at first. It took a few moments of silence, but he finally managed to create a coherent response. "I... I messed up really bad, didn't I?" He curled in on himself, his ears now hidden in his mess of hair. His eyes shone, the start of wetness forming. His mind seemed to slow and speed up all at once, now trying to figure out what Gabe's response meant if he didn't know, how did he feel about that, how did he feel about Gabe? The poor boy stared at his partner, hoping for some sort of answer or advice to help him figure out just what to do.
 
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Lev shook his head with a smile at Sylvia's impression of a business big-wig. His smile turned into a light chuckle as a staff member startled her out of character with a pile of dresses. Rather than impose on the two ladies' conversation, Lev simply sat back and watched as the assistant became moderately more pushy as she spoke to his partner. It wasn't long before the silverette was back in the dressing room, facing off against dresses she didn't particularly come to find. To Lev's irritation, the assistant stuck around obstinately. If it hadn't been her job, the raven haired boy would have loved to shoo her away without a second thought. As he tried to think of a way to encourage the rather pushy lady to leave, Sylvia called for his presence. Lev's eyes darted to the woman, who, as he suspected, didn't approve. Regardless, he was allowed in for Sylvia's sake. With a blush adding a bit of extra pink to his face, he slipped into the dressing room, eyes squinted to make sure he wouldn't see too much.

However, Sylvia's first comment after he helped with her zipper broke him of shyness in an instant. His eyes opened softly, and he stepped to the mirror at her side, lips drawn tight in thought. Lev took a moment to look at Sylvia as a whole through the mirror, then turned to her with a smile.

"Yeah, I can." He hung an arm around his partner, careful not to ruffle the dress, but none-the-less hoping he could reassure her. "They look good, y'know. You can tell how much work you've put into them. All that dedication to being a huntress..." Lev droned off for a moment, growing quiet as he thought to himself. Then with a breath, he brought himself back to the point. "Anyways, the dress looks nice, though I'm thinking something a bit longer might look better. Also," Lev paused a moment to bring out his phone, swiping to his messages before continuing, "Reyna suggested looking for something red."

-

Reyna was nearly content to leave everything at Vance's first response. If he really felt that way around Gabe, maybe she was wrong. Maybe Vance just didn't know what that sort of feeling meant. It would've been better if she hadn't said anything...but then her partner started to close in on himself. Flat ears, watery eyes...Reyna couldn't help herself. It didn't take a second before she had Vance in a hug, running her hand along his back to relax him as best she could.

"No, you didn't mess up, you didn't mess up." she repeated. "You just didn't know is all. Don't be too hard on yourself for that." After a moment of silence, Reyna simply anchoring Vance to help him regain his bearings, she took a step away, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "Now listen, you've got to sort yourself out before doing anything else. I mean, if you really do like Gabe in that way, then what's the harm of going to the dance with him? We've got our whole lives to figure this junk out, Vance, so don't freak yourself out over it, y'hear?" Reyna gave him a reassuring smile before getting into the alternate scenario.

"But if you don't like Gabe like that, you should tell him about it. If you want to go to the dance together as friends, then let him know that. Otherwise all sorts of drama could happen, and believe me when I say it doesn't end up great. Signal was full of that, so I think I know what I'm talking about." The pinkette took a breath to stop herself from going on a rant, once again bringing back a smile and looking her partner in the eye. "I'll make it simple. First, figure out how you feel. Then, tell Gabe, just to make sure you're both on the same page...now come on. You can think it over while we get you something nice to wear. No matter what happens, you're definitely coming to the dance."
 
Lev's comments and reassuring arm helped Sylvia relax. She leaned into his chest, smiling as she took herself in. "Yeah... yeah something longer would probably look better. And when did you text Reyna?" She moved away to look Lev in the eye, a mischievous grin on her face. "Either way, shoo shoo! I need to try on some more dresses." With a quick push, Sylvia had Lev out of the room and turned back to the dresses the woman had brought her, finding a few that finally caught her eye. It took a bit longer, but Sylvia finally came out in a long, red dress.

"This is just for color purposes." Sylvia noted, adjusting the off the shoulder sleeves as she turned around in the shimmery dress. Her freckled shoulders were completely exposed to the air as the dress dipped to show off just how deep the freckles went on her chest. "I already found something I like, but I can't decide between colors. And before you complain about me not showing you, I gotta keep some surprises!" She smiled with a wink, smoothing the fabric. "After this we should look for something for you, unless you've already got a suit you're gonna wear to the dance?" Sylvia turned to the mirror, watching Lev through the reflection as she twisted and turned in the dress.

After a moment, Sylvia seemed to pause before turning back to Lev. "Hey, do you think everything with Reyna will be okay? I mean, I know her parents are coming, but they never said when and we don't know how Reyna's gonna take everything, and what if something comes up before they get here? I mean, we know what the trigger is, so we should know how to prevent things like this and everything, but..." The silverette trailed off, realizing that she had started to pace as she worried over their pink haired teammate.

~~~

Vance quickly wrapped himself around Reyna as soon as she hugged him. He buried his head into her hair, letting the familiar scent of his best friend help calm the raging questions in his mind. He listened carefully as Reyna explained that he shouldn't worry too much over this, that he'd just not known. He let his hands fall to his sides and lifted his head to look at his shorter teammate as she spoke, telling him to talk to Gabe once he figured out his own feelings. With that, she prompted him to keep walking, giving a final statement that he was definitely going to the dance.

"B-but I don't know how I feel." Vance stuttered out as he walked with Reyna to find a suit. "I mean, I haven't ever really felt like this before Gabe..." And you his mind helpfully supplied as he thought about how similar his feelings were for Gabe and Reyna. "Does wanting to be around him all the time mean I have a crush? I mean, he's super special and talented, and he always treats me seriously, and I feel really happy around him..." For now, he focused his thoughts on the panther boy. Reyna couldn't be included. She had a boyfriend. She was already taken. Gabe, on the other hand, had been willing to go to the dance with him as a date. He seemed to like Vance just as much as Vance liked him.

"I've never had a crush before." Vance admitted, rubbing the back of his head as he let Reyna lead him along. "I don't know what it feels like or if what I feel right now is a crush. I just... I don't know, Rain." He looked over at the pinkette, his whole body drooping. He bit his lip, looking for some sort of answer, some sort of explanation to help him figure it out. "What does it feel like to like someone like... like a date?" The wolf boy finally asked.
 
Lev let himself be shooed out with a grin, glad to be walking out to an empty seat rather than the judging eyes of the store clerk. He didn't need that kind of pressure when he already had a snowball's chance in hell with Sylvia. Of course, knowing that fact didn't stop his face from burning bright red in reaction to the off-the-shoulder sleeves. Something about seeing just how far her freckles reached set his nerves on edge, and he began to laugh as a result. At first it was to hide how completely out of his element he was, what with Sylvia trying on dresses to impress another guy, only to impress him in the moment. It was awkward, to say the least. However, Lev found that stopping his laughter was proving more difficult than he expected. Clenching his gut and leaning to the side, he forced himself to ride the embarrassment through before looking up at Sylvia apologetically.

"I-I'm so sorry!" He began, hiding his face in his hair and shaking his head. "You look great, a-and I love the color. I just..." Lev snickered a bit more before biting down on a clump of his hair to shut himself up. One breath, then another, and he was speaking clearly once more, albeit with a grin. "It's just, I never would've expected to see you in a dress like that. It looks incredible on you, Syv, and if it's not the one that you picked out, then I'll bet the one you'll end up wearing is a hundred times better." Lev smiled, happy with his save of face, but he quickly mellowed as the silverette turned about and asked his thoughts on Reyna. He pursed his lips for a moment before standing up to stop his partner's pacing.

"I think Reyna will be fine. More importantly, I think her parents will know how to diffuse the situation better than anyone at Beacon would, let alone us. We just have to adapt as a team, 'n all that. Like you say, we know what to watch out for now. All that's left is to make sure it doesn't happen again. If something happens to come up that causes another episode, then we just have to handle it..." Lev found himself biting his lip at the blunt summary of the problem. "...We can ask for help, we can do whatever we have to, but the most important thing is that we handle it. If it'd make you feel better, I can try to get ahold of her parents again to check when they're coming, but that shouldn't change how we deal with the situation...now get changed. I don't have anything to wear for the dance. Of course, not like I have anyone to look good for." He sighed with exaggeration, more to diffuse Sylvia's worry and bring up a different topic than to complain about his lack of a date. Even though she'd be going to the dance with Seymour, he had the chance to spend quality time with his partner. In Lev's mind, he was content.

-

"I think you need to have a date to figure that one out."

Reyna walked, or rather dragged, Vance along with her, hand in hand, as she listened to his worries and conundrums. She had to hold back all her comments on how adorable he sounded in order to give sound advice. That was her responsibility now, bringing the whole thing up in the first place and all.

"Don't get me wrong," she began, smiling back at her partner and slowing her pace to remain at his side, "a date is a good start to something, but it's also how you figure out how far you want it to go, y'know? I can't tell ya how many of my friends at Signal just sat around talking about how good or how bad their date was." She paused, trying to find her point, before lifting a finger in conclusion. "Liking someone 'like a date,' is something like the way you feel about Gabe! And maybe you feel that way about someone else too! It's not an exclusive feeling, y'know?"

Reyna could feel she wasn't getting very far in her explanation, so she stopped at the side of their destination, stepping in front of Vance once more to get an idea of how to convey what he wanted to know.

"Okay, so you went to Gabe before anyone else...I mean, aside from me. How's come? You said he was your best friend, but knowing Gabe, he probably hasn't told you outright like I have." Reyna paused to look for some sign of gears turning in Vance's head before moving on. "...so that means you just know it, right? Like, you have this feeling in your gut, and it's all like, 'Woah, this is a really neat person!' right? So, why don't you feel that way about Sylvia? Or Lev? Why didn't you ask them to the dance first?" Again, she paused, hoping she was making sense.

"The most important thing is that you know you want to be around him more than someone...or anyone else, I guess. That's like how I feel around Uriah, so that's why I'm going to the dance with him! You won't know how strong those feelings are until you spend more time together though...or something like that." The pinkette chuckled, running a hand behind her head. "I can't really say for certain, since I'm pretty new to this whole dating thing myself."

Before Vance could respond, Reyna took his hand again, pulling him gently into the store and hailing a clerk. It was hardly a minute before she found what she wanted, and with eyes like a hawk, she sized Vance up, gave the clerk approximations for a sample suits and accessories in similar styles, and got him into a changing room.

"Let us know if you need anything!" Reyna called into Vance's room with a grin, standing aside a rather on-edge clerk that wasn't used to the customer calling such experienced shots.
 
Lev's words helped calm Sylvia down, as she reminded herself that they had done everything they could. She couldn't help but chuckle at Lev's dramatics over not having a date. "Well, if you'd spent more time actually socializing and not just studying then maybe you'd have someone to go to the dance with." She teased, "For now, we'll just have to make sure you look good for you. Sides, that's the only person whose opinion really matters in this situation." Sylvia smiled, before turning back to the mirror. "You really like the red, huh? I was jiving more with the green though... Well, either way, let me get everything all worked out, and we'll go get you a suit." With that, the silverette slunk back into the changing room and put on her punk attire, now holding the mass bundle of dresses and one suit in her arm to put away. "Oh, and just so we're clear, I'm getting a nice dress to look good for me, understand?" She commented, throwing a look towards Lev to make sure he knew that she wasn't working to impress anyone but herself.

Almost as if out of thin air, the assistant appeared and smiled at the duo. "How is everything going? Did you find everything all right?"

After getting over the near heart attack, Sylvia managed to respond. "Yeah, actually, I was getting ready to pay and everything." Sylvia smiled, watching as the assistant's eyes lit up at the successful sale. The next interaction happened far too quickly for Lev to get a good look at the dress Sylvia had picked out. As they checked out, Sylvia was handed a darkened clothes bag that would keep the dress in mint condition before the dance. With that in hand, Sylvia led Lev to go pick out a suit.

~~~

Vance blinked, slow realization dawning in his eyes as Reyna explained. He felt his shoulders relax as she mentioned it was okay to feel this way about multiple people. However, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that these "date" feelings could be applied to Gabe. Suddenly the weird warmth in his chest had a name. Before he could voice his realizations, he was shoved into a room to try on a suit. The process went quickly, and Vance kept his realization to himself for the moment. Instead, he chattered on about the dance and how much fun they were all going to have.

Once the team all got back to their dorm, everyone separated to do what they needed. Vance fell on his bed getting ready to sleep, and Sylvia got to work starting on Lev's weapon and showing him the basics. Teaching Lev forced Sylvia to slow down in her normal weapon making process as she showed him where to start and how to work with their more volatile or sensitive materials. Despite the change in pace, Sylvia beamed the whole time, her excitement shining through. She was showing her teammate one of her favorite activities, and got an excuse to just talk to him while doing it. After finishing for the day with Lev, Sylvia worked on her own projects for another hour or so before finally crawling into bed.

The next morning, Vance was on a mission. He woke with determined eyes and bouncing feet. "Come on, get up Sylvia, we've gotta go to breakfast!" The wolf faunus whined as he shook the sleeping silverette. "We're gonna miss meeting with SAGE if we don't hurry up!" The boy shook her harder, sitting back when she finally started to stir.

"Mmm, Vance, five more minutes..." Sylvia tried to respond before realizing in her sleepy haze that the boy wouldn't leave her alone. Sighing, she slowly sat up before stretching. "All right, I'm up... Hand me my legs?" Sylvia mumbled, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Vance nodded and bounded over to her desk before grabbing the prosthetics. He held them out for the silverette who looked like a zombie. She put on her legs, freezing as the initial reconnection of false nerves to real ones shocked her into a more alert state. Sighing, she got up and headed to get ready for the day.

The wolf boy bounced and fidgeted while he waited for his team to finally get ready. Once everyone was dressed and semi-awake, Vance dragged his team to breakfast. He ignored the yawns from Sylvia and the possible other protests. He had to get everything straightened out first before anything else. He scanned the table, looking for the black haired panther boy. Sylvia blinked as she tried to wake herself up, slumping into her usual seat and taking a long swig out of the cup of coffee she had managed to grab along with her regular breakfast.
 
Lev refused to believe that Sylvia was giving him some sort of hint that he still had a chance with her; that she didn't have feelings for Seymour, and somehow he could ease himself into that position before it was too late. So he simply shrugged at his partner's declaration of looking good for herself, and followed along to find himself something nice to wear.

Reyna, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier to see Vance so chipper when talking about the dance. She didn't know it outright, but it took a weight off her shoulders as she looked on to spending time with Uriah, knowing that Vance would have someone else. It was somewhat bittersweet, considering what good friends they were, but it didn't stop her from stuffing away the memory that she was the first one he asked out.

Eventually everybody made it back to the dorm room. Reyna bugged Sylvia about what she got for the dance before immediately falling asleep on her bed, and Lev relaxed with a long shower to wash away his conflicted thoughts on the upcoming dance before joining his partner to begin the task of making a weapon. It was slower going than the design process, but Lev was all too happy for the extra time spent simply chatting with Sylvia as they worked.

The next morning went about as expected. Lev woke to the sound of Vance blowing a gasket at the still sleeping Sylvia, and Reyna was still snoring in her corner, laying haphazardly off her bed. With a quick, hard inhale, Lev forced himself up and deftly moved himself into the bathroom for a morning bathe, figuring he might as well start joining in on breakfast if his sleep schedule was getting thrown off this much.

Once everyone was up and ready, Reyna bolted off again to be with Uriah, leaving the three to head out to breakfast with various unspoken complaints. SAGE, unusually, wasn't present when they arrived, and it was only then that Lev decided to look at the time. The raven haired boy could only sigh in exasperation as Vance jittered about. Something made him want to get to breakfast thirty minutes early, and since Lev had been using him as his alarm clock ever since he started working on a new weapon, he hadn't been any the wiser. Lev took a page out of Sylvia's book and grabbed a coffee as he waited. At least he was curious to see what was up now.

"Hello everyone!" Seymour waved as he walked to the table with his tray. SAGE arrived about ten minutes after SLVR, though Gabe was not in their company. "You're all here early. What's the occasion?" the gazelle faunus smiled as he often did, but looking at Vance made him purse his lips in understanding. "Gabe is still in the room, Vance. He's having a pretty slow morning, so I don't think he'll be joining us."

Abby was the next to take her place, grimacing when she noticed Lev in the seat in front of hers again. "Don't think this is gonna make me like you!" she growled, using her semblance to superheat and bend a fork in half in her hand to prove a point. Seymour turned to her with a laugh before addressing her angrier-than-usual attitude.

"Abby-"

"Abigale, Seymour! Abigale!" She corrected before he could even begin.

"Right right, anyways, Abby is having a similar morning as Gabe. She's just taking it in a different direction is all." Seymour chuckled at his assessment, but his teammate wasn't so amused. On instinct, she threw a punch at the gazelle boy's shoulder. Seymour, on almost the same level of instinct, dodged it completely. If it weren't for Ellie taking her seat and putting a finger up to stop the lioness's fist from going any farther, breakfast would have turned into a catastrophe.

"Y'all shouldn't be fighting this early in the mornin'." Ellie chided before digging into her food. Abby only huffed as she used her misshaped fork without a care, and Seymour rested his head on his hands with a grin. It looked like everything was normal on their end.
 
The wait for SAGE dragged on as Vance poked at his food. When they finally arrived, Gave wasn't even with them! How could he talk to him if he wasn't even coming to breakfast? Vance frowned. This didn't have to do with yesterday morning, did it? A sinking feeling accompanied the frenzied butterflies in his chest. Oh no, he had to fix this. He had to fix this right away. He turned to Seymour as the gazelle boy explained where the missing panther boy was. Nodding, Vance stood up. "Thanks, Seymour. I need to go talk to him. I'll see you guys in class." With that the wolf ran off, determined to set things right.

Dashing through the halls, Vance felt his thoughts running through his head, trying to focus on what to say once he met with Gabe. He would just have to come right out and say it. No dawdling, no beating around the bush, just telling him straight up how he felt. He dodged out of the way of some students waking up and getting ready to go to classes, ignoring their confused looks. Where was Sage's room again? Vance chewed on his lip, looking past numbers before he finally found the right room. He slowed to a stop, panting in front of the door. His heart pounded in his chest, the dash he just made and the nerves making it difficult to calm it down. Taking a few moments to catch his breath, Vance turned to the door.

Raising a hand, he knocked firmly on the door three times. He paused before continuing to knock until Gabe finally opened the door. Once the panther boy had opened the door to greet Vance, the wolf boy started to speak before Gabe could react. "Gabe, I need to talk to you." He blurted out before quickly going into his next points. "No, this can't wait. Yes, I have to speak to you right now. Yes I need to do this before classes. I won't leave until you talk to me." He spoke firmly, staring at Gabe with similar determined eyes as yesterday. Vance fidgeted, nerves still running in his chest as his ears twitched, switching from facing forward to facing back and back again. Vance could feel sweat begin to form at the back of his neck, but refused to do anything but look at Gabe.

~~~

Despite her efforts not to, Sylvia had started to doze when the sudden influx of noise broke her out of it. She jerked up, quickly mumbling, "I'm awake! I'm awake!" Before blinking and taking a moment to look over team SAGE. "... Ah, sorry, what were we talking about? I was a little out of it there..." She looked around, noting the absence of Vance and Reyna. She knew the pinkette was off canoodling with her 'boyfriend', but where Vance had gone Sylvia didn't know. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out just where the wolf boy could have left to. He seemed so eager to get them all to breakfast, why was he gone now? Despite her efforts, she could still feel herself start to slip back into a sleepy doze, jolting as she tried to keep herself awake.
 
Lev chuckled at Sylvia's sleep-deprevation as he finished up his food, feeling equal parts guilt and amusement from it. "Vance left to find Gabe, and I think I'm gonna head to class early. Why don't you just sit here and take a nap, hmm?" Lev stood from his seat and gave a brief, playful bow to Seymour and his team before Sylvia could think to object. "Please see that she gets to class on time." He requested before heading out. Abby gave the sleep-deprived silverette one look before sticking her nose in the air and leaving without a word. Ellie, after looking to Seymour to see what she ought to do, picked up her tray as well, hauling herself off to catch up with Abby.

"Looks like I'll be taking responsibility for your tardiness," Seymour said with a smile as he picked at his food. "I'll be sure to wake you up when it's time to head out, so please rest if you can."

-

It took several knocks before Gabe opened the door. His eyes squinted as though he were still adjusting to the morning's light, and it became clear that he had only woken up recently. Even more, all he wore was a towel, his skin was still wet, and a toothbrush was stuck haphazardly in his mouth, foam starting to slip form the sides of his lips. Whoever was at the door started talking before he could even register what had interrupted his morning routine. He knew he was late in getting up, but this was still ridiculous. What made it worse was how warbled the voice was. Water in the ears again... Gabe thought to himself while he continued to brush his teeth in the presence of his visitor. When the talking stopped, the panther boy paused in his brushing to see if it would start again. When it didn't, he motioned for whoever it was to come inside, then reentered the bathroom to finish what he had started, closing the door slowly behind him.

After a couple minutes, Gabe emerged from the bathroom dressed in a bathrobe and boxers; only a slight improvement from a lone towel. He also came out with a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses held in-between a cloth in his fingers. Carefully he cleaned each glass of water vapor and dust before placing them on the bridge of his nose, giving them a push before finally looking at the morning's visitor.

In the brief seconds he realized who he had invited in, Gabe's eyes grew to the size of platters, and everything from his nose to his ears almost blistered with red. It didn't help when he noticed how intensely Vance stared him down. It took everything in him to begin moving again, taking slow, tense steps towards the coffee machine by his bed. After readying a pot, he stood back and faced Vance, arms folded more to hide his open chest than to look prepared in any sense, though the pose accomplished both ends regardless. He remained silent, but after a hard swallow, he nodded his head to permit Vance to speak. There wasn't much else he felt he could do after all that.
 
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