Vance hung on Rain's every word as Sylvia watched her teammate. As Reyna finished up, Sylvia gave her a smile, laughing as she insisted it was hers and Lev's turn. "Hey, can't blame the guy for wanting to relax." She noted as Lev worked on his hair. Just seeing how the hair almost instantly frizzed up made the girl wonder how he was taking care of his precious hair. Was he even conditioning it? If it got that frizzy that quickly something was up. Sylvia tore her thoughts away from Lev's hair and toward the actual questions. "Right, story, well I guess I'm a little similar to Reyna's in a way." The silverette adjusted herself, turning right side up for the more serious discussion. "I mean, my mom's a huntress, my dad's a hunter, it kinda makes sense. Though, that changed when I lost my legs." She unconsciously moved to rub at the stumps, feeling the scars around the ports. "Mom and Dad were all convinced that I couldn't be a huntress. So, I was determined to prove them wrong. I built these babies," Sylvia leaned back to pat the prosthetics, smiling at them, "And proved that at the very least I could walk around and do most normal things with them. After that I did your regular old things. Went to the exam. Passed. Got accepted. No cool stories like you two." She shrugged, leaning back in her chair as she looked over at Lev. "Looks like it's your turn."

Before Lev could speak, Vance quickly pounced back on their leader. "You didn't tell us why you wanted to become a huntress though!" He crossed his arm as he gave the silverette a stern look. "You can't ask us to tell then forget yourself! Aren't you supposed to set an example?" He harrumphed, his ears swiveling back in irritation.

Sylvia blinked as Vance caught on to her trying to weasel out of the question. "I thought I answered it though. It's in the family." She shrugged, only to get a glare from the wolf boy that sent her laughing. "All right, all right, I'll tell you. It's a little embarrassing though." She settled her arms behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. "See, there was this story that my mom always used to tell me when I would go to bed. It was always about this amazing huntress. She'd save the day, defeat the monster, and bring peace wherever she went. The secret though was that the huntress only had one arm. Even with such a disadvantage she could do all these amazing things." Sylvia closed her eyes, seeing the fiery blonde hair her mother would describe and the fierce fights between the huntress and grimm. "I wanted to be just like that huntress. Losing my legs only strengthened that feeling. After all, if she could fight with one arm, I could fight with no legs." She finished, opening her eyes and sighing. Looking back at her group, Sylvia felt an irritating pressure build in her chest. "So, Lev time for your story." It amazed the girl how little questions her group asked her, how little pity they showed her. Most would have already demanded details about how she lost her legs. Others gave her that stupid look as if she was just a poor little thing, a forever broken doll. Maybe it was because they had seen her fight. Maybe they just weren't inquisitive people. Whatever the reason, Sylvia appreciated it, though she anticipated questions in the future.

Stone still in his spot, Vance listened with wide eyes and attentive ears. He had a million and two questions he wanted to ask Sylvia-and Rain and Lev and-but those should wait. He couldn't interrupt the flow of the stories now. So Vance bit his lip and looked expectantly at Lev, practically wiggling as he tried desperately to wait until the end of their stories to ask questions, to spark conversations again.
 
Lev paid close attention to Sylvia as she spoke. Her story was a pleasant one, something he expected from most of the Beacon students. Everyone heard of romanticized heroes, and wanted to be like them. It was quaint, at the very least. However, he also paid attention to what she neglected. Not giving her reason why at first was expectable, but that wasn't what caused Lev's eyes to narrow in thought. Her semblance...what is her semblance... He wondered to himself in frustration. Everyone else had given a taste of theirs, so why not her? Some leader she was, not even trusting her new team with info like that. Lev kept that glaring lack of information to himself as he looked up to his team with a smile.

"Alright then," he began, wrapping his mass of hair in front of him as he continued brushing through it, "I got here through...unconventional means, I guess you could say. I'm not related to any hunters or huntresses. I didn't have the benefit of having contacts in Signal or Beacon. My dad is a doctor, my mom is a lawyer, and they both make bank, so they paid my way through enrollment." Lev thought about what he was saying with a smile. Sylvia wasn't the only one who could leave out information. "Anyways, it turns out you don't have to have homebody hunters to tutor you through Signal." Lev shot a glance at Reyna; a bit of payback for her sharp tongue back in the forest. By the glare she wore, it was obvious she knew the reason as well. "I made perfect grades and passed all my tests, and the rest is history." Lev took another moment to think before continuing. "...As for why I'm here... I dunno. Thrills, I guess? Kicks and giggles? I didn't want to be my parents' spawn, so I made my own decisions." That wasn't the truth though. He put on a smile to take away from that fact, but inside he couldn't help but be reminded of why he left.

Before Vance could ask any of his questions, Lev's scroll began to vibrate again. With a deep breath, he got up, set his comb on his bed, and walked to the door. "I have to take this. Don't have too much fun without me." He forced a chuckle, but his eyes held an untapped fear of what awaited him. Before it could be called out, he walked into the hall and shut the door. His voice faded out as he walked away from the room, leaving his teammates in the dark, just as he intended.

Reyna managed to work off her glare before Lev finished his story, replacing it with a smile as she looked towards Vance. "You look like you have some questions, Vance. Ask away."
 
Despite how convincing Lev tried to make himself, Sylvia could still tell something was off about his story. He wasn't telling the group something, but she wouldn't push it. He'd tell them when he was ready. His eyes, however, set her on edge. Something about the scroll call scared Lev. Whoever was calling frightened her partner, and Sylvia would have none of that. She'd get to the bottom of it. However, that had to come later as Vance looked like he was about to explode if he didn't get his questions out. Sylvia chuckled when Reyna finally gave him permission to go to town. Nothing prepared her for the wave of questions that soon came after.

Once Vance got the go ahead, he took a deep breath and started to speak. "Why do you not like Lev so much, Rain? What do you like to do for fun? I like to go out running or swimming or just playing with friends! Do you guys have any siblings? I've got four! Two brothers and two sisters! They don't like me much though. What's your semblance, Sylvia? And what's Lev's semblance? You guys didn't tell us. I wanna know! How did you lose your legs, Sylvia? Does Lev have family? I hope he comes back soon, I want to ask him so many questions! What's your favorite food? Mine's chicken! Why didn't your family want you to become a huntress, Sylvia? Who's that... cat on your desk, Rain?" Vance spilled out, trying desperately to hold back his slight disgust at the cat picture on Rain's desk.

The sheer onslaught caught Sylvia by surprise. "Whoa, whoa, slow down there bud! One question at a time!" Sylvia chuckled, throwing her hands up at the rush of questions. "Well some of those I'd rather wait for Lev to come back to answer, but I can answer some of them. Like for instance, for fun I like to tinker around with weapons and play with people's hair. I'm hoping maybe Lev will let me play with his, but that's just between you and me." She gave a wink, holding a finger up to her mouth. Continuing with a smile, Sylvia said, "As for siblings, I used to have a little brother but he's... he's gone. My favorite food is beef stew, and my parents were scared I'd get hurt if I tried to be a huntress. They thought since I couldn't walk, I couldn't be a huntress." Sylvia shrugged as she leaned back in her chair. "As for my semblance... I'm a technomancer. Basically that means I can control technology with my mind if you want a simple version. I didn't mention it earlier because I don't really use my semblance for fighting." Seeing the excited gleam in Vance's eyes, Sylvia offered, "If you'd like, I could show you when Lev gets back."

Vance gasped and vibrated in excitement. "Yes please! I wanna see your semblance!"
 
Reyna didn't intend to unleash the floodgates, but Vance poured his questions out like a broken dam. Thankfully, Sylvia was ready to slow the wolf boy down, allowing the pinkette some time to sit back and listen. Hearing the snippet about her brother made Reyna purse her lips. What was the story about that? Before she could think of how to ask about it, the silverette's semblance came into the conversation. "I totally forgot to ask about your semblance!" Reyna chuckled. "Y'know, you shouldn't keep that stuff from your teammates. It might sound stupid to you, but it's a matter of trust." Her expression grew serious as she went on, "That's what set you apart from Lev." Tilting her head towards the door to the hall, Reyna listened for any sign of Lev being nearby before returning her attention to her teammates, ready to answer Vance's question in full.

"Alright, I guess now is as good a time as any. You noticed it, didn't you Sylvia? How Lev was obviously leaving something out of his story? ...That's just how he is. I've known him since I first got to Signal. We had a lot of the same friends at the time, and though I never really got to know him personally, I was able to hear a lot about him. He could look nice when he wanted to be, but he's a selfish jerk who only cares about himself!" Reyna surprised herself with the outburst, and cupped her mouth to calm down before moving on. "He was held back through a summer course because he didn't...play well with others, let's say. Any time he was assigned a team exam, someone always came back injured, or ended up 'not pulling their weight' in the professors' eyes...something like that. Sure, he made perfect scores, but that's because grades were based on the end result, y'know? Every mission seemed to have a price when he tagged along...and he was never the one to pay it. A lot of his victims were my best friends. Because of him, some of them felt like they had to give up on being hunters and huntresses!" The next exclamation was very much intentional this time around, and she continued with that kind of passionate anger without hesitation. "He made some of my best friends bite the dust so he could have the spotlight. He was the teacher's pet, the standard, the 'lone wolf' that all the underclassmen looked up to... Everyone was surprised that he got held back at all, but I say he got less than he deserved."

Reyna put her head in her hands, closing her eyes and exhaling deeply as she cooled down again. Running her fingers through her hair, she looked back up, mainly at Vance, with an apologetic smile. "S-Sorry about that. You needed to know 'n all, but I shouldn't have gotten all huffy. Not quite lady-like, huh?" She let a giggle soften her expression as she moved on to the next question. "Erm, as for what I like doing for fun, I used to play rugby, and my parents and I practiced martial arts as our family activity. I also took piano lessons, just as a hobby for myself, y'know? I'm not the greatest, but it was fun to learn before coming here. Um, I'm an only child, so I don't have anything interesting on that front. And that cat, Vance, is mine. Her name is Quetzel, I call her Que, and she's not judgemental of any animal, whether they be cat... or dog." She teased with a grin, "...just like me. I hope you won't stop being my friend for having a cat."
 
As Reyna explained the trust aspect, Sylvia grew a bit concerned. "Ah, geeze, I didn't mean to keep it from you guys. Honestly, I was hoping you guys would let me take a look at your weapons and show you my semblance that way. I guess that's showing off, so probably was better I just told you guys." The silverette however frowned as Reyna noted the difference between herself and Lev. Raising an eyebrow, Sylvia kept a mainly blank face as Reyna explained just how Lev worked horribly in team dynamics. Reyna's whole story sparked a fire in Sylvia's eyes that didn't dim even as the pinkette talked about calmer and nicer things. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia ran a hand through her hair. "Listen." She started, unintentionally commanding attention from her two teammates. Her chest puffed out as her mouth set in a firm line. "I appreciate you telling us that, Reyna. I'll keep it in mind, but for now I'm going to keep an open mind on Lev and how he deals with team situations. For now, I'm going to trust him to have our backs. However, if he does try to pull something that puts us in danger, I will do something about it. I will not let my teammates be put in danger. You can be sure about that." Looking between Vance and Reyna, Sylvia waited a few tense moments before settling back. "Sorry bout that seriousness back there." Sylvia gave an apologetic grin. "Just wanted to let you guys know I wanna keep you all safe." Stretching out, Sylvia grabbed her prosthetics and proceeded to reattach them. With a hiss, she felt all the nerves around the port fire up as they got used to being extended in this robotic form.

Sylvia's tone had immediately turned Vance's eyes to her. The faunus boy watched intently. His ears stood at attention, and his eyes never left his leader. He only relaxed when Sylvia did, smiling at her concern. "Don't worry! We'll keep each other safe! That's what teams do!" Vance exclaimed. Reyna's comment dampened his cheer as his ears quickly swiveled back in embarrassment. "O-of course I'll still be your friend! I just... I haven't had a lot of good experiences with cats." Vance softened to a murmur, crossing his arms. He perked up as he noticed Sylvia standing up from her chair and grabbing a pair of sweatpants. "Where are you going? Why are you wearing pants? I thought you already have shorts on."

Stretching out Sylvia walked over to the door. "I'm going to go check up on Lev. He's been gone a pretty long while." She bit her lip before sighing and answering Vance's other question with a smile. "I'm wearing pants because I'd rather not people assume things about me until they get to know me better." With that Sylvia exited the room, calling out, "Be back soon!" She closed the door behind her, shoving her hands in her pockets as she went to go find Lev.
 
Reyna couldn't help the smile that traced her lips as Sylvia spoke her mind about Lev, and about the team as a whole. "I've worked through a lot worse than that hairball can cook up. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, y'know? Self-sacrifice isn't noble, it's cowardly, and I'll never forgive you if you make that sort of choice!" The pinkette wagged her finger at her leader, giggling at the transition from serious to casual that Sylvia seemed apt to make. Then she turned to Vance with a sly grin. "Well you haven't met my cat." she retorted with a wink. It felt good to unwind with friends like this. She had been so shy in Signal, it was a breath of fresh air to exchange a few teasing remarks for once. Once Sylvia left the room, Reyna got to unpacking the rest of her things, filling her appropriate desk and drawers, preparing her backpack for classes, and taping up posters of various musicians and bands ranging from incredibly dark metal to classical and orchestral. "What'd you bring from home, Vance?" Reyna asked as she put up the last of her posters, curious about the ties the wolf boy had with where he lived.

-

Upon leaving the room, Sylvia encountered her first hall-mate. His wide, black eyes bore into hers the second their paths crossed, and his mouth seemed permanently creased in a small, thin, straight line. His hair fell in long, well combed blonde locks behind his head, revealing elegant, lengthy horns sticking straight up. He was a bit shorter than Lev, but his horns put him at least five inches taller. It was Seymour, a gazelle Faunus, and the leader of team SAGE. "...Your teammate is on the roof, in case you didn't know." He spoke softly, his expression never changing, before walking slowly past the silverette and along the hall without much direction.

...

Once Sylvia reached the door, Lev's voice became audible. "M-Mother, please... no, no I understand... N-No, wait, don't... Please, j-just put father on the scroll... no, I'm not avoiding...just please... y-yes mother... yes mother..." His trepidatious voice didn't stop there. From then on, it sounded like his father was given reign over the conversation, and it wasn't going any better. However, the clarity of his voice diminished from there. He must have walked further to the edge of the roof.
 
Once Sylvia left and Reyna started to unpack, Vance moved to his own bed. He flopped out on the bed, glad to have something so comfortable. The faunus boy was about to just fall asleep right then and there when Reyna asked what he brought from home. Biting his lip, Vance grabbed his bag as he tried to remember what he did bring. Searching through it, Vance shoved clothes to the side to be put away in the closet later. He pulled out his required textbooks and notebooks which he set aside on the desk next to his bed. Searching through different pockets, Vance didn't find much pertaining specifically to his home. The only item he found was a very worn and dilapidated stuffed animal that vaguely looked like a dog. "I don't really have much from home." He shrugged. Vance grabbed his clothes and shoved them into the closet, stuffing them into a corner for later. He hesitated before grabbing a pair of pajamas and sneaking into the bathroom with his scarce toiletries. It only took ten minutes for him to come back out in sweats and no shirt. A bit of water from his quick shower still clung to his hair, but Vance quickly shook it out as he flopped back onto his bed. His eyes raked over the numerous posters that Reyna had put up. "You like music? I haven't listened to a lot of music. I just heard my mom's lullabies. What kind of music is your favorite?" He piped up, turning around to lay on his stomach and cross his feet in the air.

~~~

Running into Seymour had been a bit of a surprise, but it was good to see other teams around. Sylvia smiled and nodded to the gazelle horned boy. "Thanks. Have a good night!" With that Sylvia was off, slowly gaining speed until she was practically jogging up to the roof. She stopped short once she heard Lev, frowning at what she heard. All right, so he had parent issues. Despite how her mind told her eavesdropping was bad, Sylvia still ventured on. She knew she stepped loudly, so the silverette tried desperately to quiet her steps so Lev wouldn't notice that she was following him. Just what was he talking about with his parents? From what she could tell, they were really tearing into him. They must be strict or at least require a bit of respect. She didn't know a single kid who called their parents "Father" or "Mother" seriously unless the parents required it. Sylvia moved closer, trying to hear more to get a better grasp of the situation or at least learn something to help him after his call.
 
It didn't take long before Lev's voice became audible again, his restless moving around the roof benefiting Sylvia's eavesdropping. "F-Father, I don't think that's possible. No father, I...y-yes father...yes father, I'll ask... Y-Yeah, I mean yes! Yes father, I'm sorry. I'll... yes, I'll inform you... y-yes, tomorrow... I-I'll be sure to inform the headmaster... Yes... good night..." There was a short pause after the conversation ended, the only sound emanating from the other side of the door being Lev's burdened breathing. The next moment, he let out a roar, slamming his fist into the only barrier that separated him and Sylvia. The metal door echoed with the impact as he stepped away, crying, from the sound of it, and finally allowing the top floor of the dorm to be cloaked in a downtrodden silence.

-

Vance's lack of anything really sentimental from home caused Reyna's mouth to twist in contemplation. More questions about Faunus to be answered, she supposed. However, Vance's shirtless, showered body put her thoughts on an immediate standstill. It was normal for guys to be shirtless...right? Right! She just had to keep reminding herself of that, and she'd be just fine. After getting over the way he shook water from his hair, and shaking out the glazed-over look that had encompassed her eyes...and rubbing away the blush that overcame her face...and wrapping herself up in her blanket to hide any potentially "odd" looking expressions, Reyna was ready to respond to his questions. "G-Gee, Vance, I really can't say. I like music a lot, but...well, I like a lot of things. I don't have a favorite kind, I can say that for sure. I can let'cha listen to some of my collection sometime, though! But hey, tell me more about you! You can see what I like from all my junk, but you don't have much. That hardly seems fair."
 
Sylvia's frown grew the more she heard. Sure, she couldn't hear what the father was saying, but she knew it wasn't good. She leaned closer. A loud SLAM echoed throughout the hall. Sylvia flinched away, scared by the sudden loud noise. The air settled as Lev walked away crying, Sylvia biting her lip to keep her from calling out right away. Sighing, the silverette decided to try and approach her teammate. Cautiously, Sylvia pushed the door open and stepped onto the roof. Breathing deeply, she called out, "Lev? You up here?" She scanned the roof before finding the black haired boy. She strode over to him, frowning at the tears she saw. "Hey, are you okay?" She asked, reaching a hand toward his shoulder. The silverette prayed that Lev didn't lash out at her. Whatever was going on, she wanted to help.

~~~

Vance blinked as Rain seemed to huddle herself in her blanket, reacting strangely to him coming out of the bathroom. Did he do something wrong? The thought was pushed from his mind as Rain finally answered. He tilted his head as she explained how unfair it seemed that he had little from home. "Well, I don't really need much. I'm usually running outside or playing with one of my younger siblings. We play a lot of different games like tag and hide and seek. Things like that." He turned onto his back and stretched, smiling as he felt a nice crack from his back. "What do you want to know about me?" He asked, looking up at Rain with amber eyes.
 
"Aw gee..." Reyna thought hard, sucking on the base of her thumb in focus, "Well...now that you ask, I'm not so sure!" She giggled, digging herself deeper into her blanket shell before popping out with an idea. "Oh, how's about you tell me about your siblings! How many do you have, and what are they like? I've never had a brother or sister. To be honest, this is my first time staying with other people my age...so maybe hearing a few stories would give me a good idea of what to expect from my new partner. Just say whatever ya want. Then maybe after you're done, I can return the favor. Sound good?"

-

Lev was too torn up to notice Sylvia's presence on the roof when she first called out. It was only as she reached for his shoulder that he could feel an extra body nearby. Quickly, he retreated from her touch, meeting her eyes with an expression akin to disgust only to mask it with a smile a second later. His rigid retreat began to fall into a casual pose, and soon he was the Lev that she had met in the forest. His tears dried rapidly, and his face regained its natural color just as fast. With one final sniff to stuff away any residual sadness behind his mask, he responded. "H-Hey, yeah I'm fine! What brings you up here, Syv? I just got off with my parents, so I was just about to head down. Wanna join me, or did'ja come for the view? The campus looks pretty nice from up here, I gotta say." His smile grew more jovial as he talked, but his eyes were screaming in quite a different manner. "Well I don't know about you," he continued talking, desperate to keep everyone in the dark about his thoughts, especially Sylvia, "but I need some shuteye, especially if we have classes tomorrow. I haven't been late a day in my life, y'know? No plans to start now. W-Well, see ya back in the room, I guess!" He gave a bland, placid grin and scratched the back of his head, as though assigning commands to his body to be natural, before shuffling towards the door, hoping nothing more would come of Sylvia's sudden appearance on the roof with him. Talking was the last thing he thought he needed. There was only one thing that mattered now...
 
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Sylvia's frown didn't lessen. She watched as Lev seemed to morph in front of her eyes, quickly hiding the sadness and-was that disgust?-in his features. Despite his great mask, he still couldn't hide his eyes. "I came up because I was worried about you. You'd been gone for a pretty long while." Before he could leave, Sylvia grabbed his wrist. "You're lying." She spoke softly, but loud enough for her partner to hear. "You're not fine." She kept a firm grip on Lev's wrist, not letting him pull away. "You were crying for a reason. I just wanna talk. When I came up here, I heard a bit of your conversation. It didn't sound good, Lev." Sylvia bit the inside of her cheek, watching her partner with concerned eyes. "You sounded scared. What scared you, Lev?" She took a step closer, still not letting go of the black haried boy. Sylvia tried to steel herself for an outburst, for some type of reaction as she waited for Lev's response. Hopefully he would trust her.

~~~

Vance practically glowed when Reyna asked to hear stories about his siblings. "That sounds great! I have four siblings! Two sisters, two brothers! My oldest sister, Edme, she's the oldest of us five. She's super smart and super strong! She's the prettiest girl I've ever known, sides my mom and little sister, and she always would play with me when Mom was too busy. She was always keeping us in line and keeping us from danger. I remember one time I tried to climb the biggest tree in our yard and ended up stuck. Edme just climbed on up and brought me down herself. She left home a while ago, but sometimes she'll still send me letters. Then there's my older brother, Ferris. He's a total bookworm. I'd try to get him to play tag with me, but he would just sit under the tree and read. Though, he gets angry pretty easily. I remember once I stole one of his books and he went absolutely nuts and almost hit me, he was so mad." Vance's ears drooped as he thought of his older siblings. "He left the house too. He, Dad, and Edme all just kinda went off one day. I haven't seen 'em since." The faunus paused before continuing. "My younger brother and sister are Arthur and Leyla. They're twins and thick as thieves. You wouldn't see one without the other. I tended to babysit them a lot before I went off to Signal and then Beacon. I didn't really babysit them so much as just play with them. One time we ended up going out while it was raining and got ourselves covered in mud. Mom was so mad, especially when they got a cold later that week. I haven't really talked with my family since I started going to school to be a hunter. But that's okay. Your turn." Vance turned to Reyna with a smile.
 
Lev was perfectly content to leave Sylvia in her musings, but she grabbed his wrist. The simple touch jostled something in him. Maybe it was the stillness in the air, or maybe it was because of his parents discussion. Heck, it was likely because he hadn't felt anyone's skin but his own for...longer than he wished to remember. Whatever it was, it caused the black-haired boy to crane his head back towards Sylvia. Finally, the rest of his expression matched his eyes: Something akin to fury, melded with an inkling of fear, all awash with resentment and sadness, a resounding aura of damager and damaged. "Don't touch me!" He grunted, yanking his wrist away so he could about face to meet Sylvia head on. "I said I'm fine. You didn't hear anything. I wasn't crying, and I wasn't scared! You wouldn't understand! I'm perfect! I'm always perfect!" The phrase finally tore loose from his lips, and tears involuntarily formed in his eyes once more as he continued. "I don't care what you think. I don't care what anyone thinks! Everyone here is below me! I fail nothing! I don't cry! I don't get scared! I do what I'm told! I. AM. PERFECT." Lev was gasping at this point, choking on his breath as he attempted to calm down. However, meeting Sylvia's eyes only riled him up more. "...And I won't be bested by some...some synthetic fraud! It should have been me. IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" He finally exclaimed, shoving her away from him before stomping through the door and down the stairs.

Before Sylvia could give chase, a familiar face stepped in front of the doorway. "...Do you want to give chase?" Seymour asked, his expression the same as it was when they first met in the hall. "I was thinking we could chat as fellow leaders, but maybe now isn't the time..."

-

"Well shoot!" Reyna huffed at Vance's conclusion, "Now I got a bunch of questions I want to ask. Oh well, a deal's a deal." Rustling in her blanket cocoon, the pinkette prepared to tell about herself. "Well...you know I don't have any siblings, so I don't have all that many exciting stories. I moved around a lot though. When I was little, and my parents were still active in the field, we traveled all over. Atlas, Mistral, Vacuo...I've seen 'em all. I remember this one time, we had to move to this really shady spot in western Mistral for my parent's mission, and they decided to take me outside to get a lay of the land. They were able to step through the bogs just fine, but I was still really young, so I nearly sunk in and drowned!" Reyna giggled, as though it was something to laugh about, before continuing on. "Erm, the same thing sorta happened with quicksand in Vacuo, but I was more prepared then. It was actually in Atlas that I got the inspiration to use a shield. They were showing off Paladin prototypes in the city central, and their arms were soooo huge, and stuffed with all these little weapons and attachments, y'know? I told mum that I wanted to have arms like those when I grew up, and that's when I really started workin' to be a huntress. Da was the one who started to teach me weapon safety, and it was all uphill from there. The fan part of my weapon actually came from Vacuo. I saw a lot of really pretty and ornate war fans used for shade by fancier citizens, so I decided to learn more about them."

Reyna hardly took a breath before moving on, seeming to be right at home chatting about her life. "Really though, Vale is my real home. It's where I was born, and I always wanted to go to Signal and Beacon for school. My parents tried to convince me to go through Sanctum, then transfer to Beacon when I was a bit older, but I was stubborn. Since my parents were friends with a few professors at Signal, I got to be an in-house student while they did hunter and huntress stuff." She smiled before blinking a few times, realizing how much she had yammered on. With a brief cough, she shook her head, "...A-Anyways, that's all I got. Nothing too interesting, really."
 
Vance listened with wide eyes, excited to hear about the other lands that he never had the chance to visit. He blinked before frowning at Rain's dismissive nature. "Nothing too interesting? That was SUPER interesting! I mean, you got to go and see new places and hang out with your parents doing it! That's super cool! And you found a really cool weapon doing it! That's some of the most interesting things I've ever heard!" He hopped over to Rain's bed before she could protest and hugged her bundled form tightly. "You're so cool, Rain!" He smiled as he settled to cuddle with the girl, oblivious to how awkward it might be for her. "If you were travelling so much, how did you manage to keep a pet? Didn't that mean your pet had to travel all the time with you too? Or did you just recently get her? Did you get to see your parents fight grimm? That would be so cool! To just watch them fight monsters and save people!" Vance rambled on until he remembered Rain mentioning that she had questions. "Oh! You can ask those questions now if you want." He gave the girl a smile, his ears twitching quickly.

~~~

Lev turned on her. She had expected it. At least, she thought she did. Each word stabbed a hole of concern in her heart. This wasn't healthy thinking. No one could be perfect. She was about to respond when he turned on her. His words still cut, but this time they left a stinging aftertaste. Tears built up, trailing down her face. How could he? Was she really just that? A synthetic fraud? As he ran out, Sylvia took a step to follow him only to be stopped by Seymour. She blinked, her heart still aching from the previous interaction. As the gazelle faunus explained what he wanted, Sylvia tried to smile. She managed to get a weak twitch of the lips. "Ah, no... No, it's fine." Her voice sounded stuffed and strained. Sylvia sniffled before continuing. "He probably needs some time to himself right now, to you know, calm down and stuff. We can talk sure, just..." She moved a hand to wipe away her tears, cursing as they kept coming. "Crap, s-sorry, I just..." She rubbed at her eyes, trying to stop the tears. "I'm sorry, this is stupid, I shouldn't be crying. Sorry, I just..." She rambled, harshly sweeping her tears away. With every tear she rubbed away, three more trailed down her face. Her chest ached, burning so unpleasantly she just wanted to rip out her heart. It was just a rash comment. It shouldn't have gotten to her. 'Synthetic fraud' was nothing more than just Lev lashing out. He was hurting. He needed support. He was probably the one bawling his eyes out. She shouldn't be so upset, yet here she was trying to keep the sobs from escaping. "S-sorry, this is stupid, I'm sorry." She repeated, her eyes becoming red and raw at her constant rubbing and crying.
 
Seymour moved to Sylvia's side the moment she lifted her hand to her eyes, shushing her gently as he moved her back to the roof's edge and sat down, inviting her to do the same. "No, I was right. This isn't the time for us to talk as leaders. Strategy and tactics can wait for another night." Lifting his hand, he maneuvered hers away from her red and puffy face, folding them in her lap while keeping eye-contact with her. "Sylvia, right? Let's be friends, if only for tonight." His meek black irises held a wisdom well beyond his apparent age as he spoke. "I...overheard what happened. His name...Lev? He must be very angry with you to target something so specific. It's...your legs. Beautifully crafted. Entirely unique. But his comment hurt you so much..."

Seymour looked out on the campus for a moment, closing his eyes as if attempting to recall something. "I'm sorry if I've pried. My semblance, you see...it's not for combat. I can feel what others feel, and when my aura comes in contact with another, I cannot help the effect..." With a sigh, he opened his eyes again, turned to face Sylvia, and put a hand over her shoulder. "...so I know what you feel, friend, and crying is the least you should want to do. My village has a saying. Let the river flow so it may be filled again in pure abundance. So you must cry, and be filled with emotions you can use in the future. Lev will do the same, and you will meet again on equal ground." The gazelle boy gave Sylvia's shoulder a squeeze as he continued, "Now we may be leaders as well as friends, yes? Because when you meet on equal ground, your teammate must see you. Lev looks past you, to his fear, and his want. A leader is firm, yes? So cry, please, and be filled with the strength that our headmaster sees in you. I will leave if it makes it easier."

-

Reyna squealed as Vance cuddled next to her. Her face was already heating up, but she kept it covered for the most part thanks to her cocoon. At least she still had the momentum of their conversation to keep her going, or else she didn't know what would have happened with her. "N-No no, it's fine! I can answer what you've asked already. I should explain some things anyways. See...my parents weren't always around. A lot of the time they'd both be off on missions. Most days I'd only see one of them for a little while before they had to run off. I considered myself a pretty lucky gal to see both of them in the same house at the same time. That's where everything else I've talked about came in. Rugby, a bunch of other sports, and my cat, all kept me company when they would leave. I had to become self-sufficiant really quickly, so it wasn't too hard for me to find things to do. I would keep the house clean before heading out with my team or a few friends...of course, that was in Atlas and Vacuo. I got Que in Mistral because I wasn't allowed to go out anywhere outside of school. We lived in a pretty dangerous place, and it was enough of a risk sending me to school for my first few years. Of course, because I was so young, I was rarely allowed to play with the cat. I was a very rough child, after all."

Reyna couldn't help but lean on the wolf boy's head as she talked. It was so soft...she could have lulled herself to sleep there had she desired. "...so mum and da would take turns bringing her along on longer missions. She's been to more places than I have, if you count all the strange places my parents have had to stay the night. They'd train her and tame her so I had someone to be with when I got older and more responsible, y'know? She basically became my little guardian angel as I grew up...of course, living that sort of life made my parents fret all the time. They were very protective of me, even after my decision to become a huntress. I've never seen them fight anything except the kitchen appliances." Reyna giggled, nuzzling half into Vance's hair, and half into her blankets.

"Now it's my turn. Really, it's only one question. Why'd your dad, brother, and sister leave? And where? I-I'm sorry if that's personal, I was just wondering. And I get if you don't know, but you said your sister sends letters, right? What does she say in them?"
 
Vance listened attentively, his ears twitching once Rain started nuzzling into his hair, and by extent his wolf-y, fluffy ears. A small blush started to form as Rain rubbed against his hair and ears. He frowned at parts of Rain's explanation, but quickly turned to smiles as Rain implied a good relationship with her parents at the very least. He straightened as Rain announced her turn, his ears quickly swiveling at attention. His form stiffened at her question. His smile strained and his ears quickly hid in his fluffy hair. "Um... well..." Vance swallowed, hesitant. "Can you promise you won't tell anyone else this? Not even Sylvia and Lev? I... I don't think I'm ready to tell them yet... But we're partners, so I trust you." He gave his pink haired partner a smile, though he still seemed far too nervous for this to just be a normal fact. "My dad... He took my older brother and sister and joined the White Fang." Vance finally admitted, keeping his ears down and looking away from Rain. "He wanted everyone to go, but Mom didn't agree with how the White Fang did things. I don't either. I never wanna be part of them! But Ed still sends me letters asking to join her, telling me that she misses us and how they're making strides toward making sure Faunus get equal treatment."

The faunus boy kept his gaze away from Rain, curling up to try and hide himself. "I already get treated different because I'm a Faunus, I don't want others to think I'm gonna hurt them just cause my dad's making a bad decision..." Tears started to form, Vance sniffling as he tried to ignore them. "I don't want you to treat me weird too... People already treat me like I'm some dog, like I can't think for myself or I'm just there to play fetch and for people to laugh at. I don't want you to start doing that too." The wolf boy curled away from Rain, afraid he had said a little too much, that he was scaring away his partner. After all, what are you supposed to say when your partner just admits that his family is in a huge terrorist organization? Vance bit his lip, getting ready for whatever reply Rain might throw at him.

~~~

Seymour surprised Sylvia with his gentle shushing and careful maneuvering of her hands. He only continued to shock her by easily describing exactly what had hurt her so much. His semblance suddenly made so much sense, and Sylvia shook her head at his apology. "No, no, it's all right. You can't help your semblance. Though it probably helps a lot as a leader. You're able to tell what your team is feeling, but it's gotta be super crappy having to deal with everyone else's emotions along with your own." She blinked as the gazelle faunus explained why she should cry. Sylvia bit her lip, tears coming faster and more frequently as the boy talked to her, offering to leave. Before Seymour could do anything, Sylvia wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. The floodgates broke free, sobs coming out in broken gasps as Sylvia buried her head into Seymour's shoulder. She curled her legs-her artificial, synthetic, beautiful legs-and just kept the boy close. She didn't bother to make sense as she just cried, occasionally mentioning something about legs, Lev, and "It hurts". Just being able to hold onto her fellow leader and keep her head tucked into his shoulder helped her as she exhausted her tears, calming down after a good ten minutes.

Once her tears had finally dried, Sylvia finally let go of the poor boy and took a deep breath. "Thanks. That really helped." Sighing, the silverette stood and stretched out. "I'd still like to be friends if that's all right with you. It'd be cool to have another person to talk to especially about leader stuff." Sylvia smiled before turning to help Seymour up. With a big yawn, Sylvia slumped. "Well, I guess I better go find Lev and make sure he gets back to the room. Thanks again for staying with me. It was nice to talk to you... uh..." A few awkward moments passed before Sylvia burst out laughing. "Ah I forgot to ask for your name! Ha! Well if you could please give me your name I would love to talk to you later after I find my teammate and make sure my team gets all properly tucked in." Sylvia gave a large smile, not leaving until she got the boy's name. Once she had his name, she sauntered off, giving a final wave before starting her search for Lev.
 
Seymour was taken aback at Sylvia's sudden attachment to him, wringing a smile, as well as a slight hue of pink, from the Faunus's face. Gently, he wrapped his arms around her and began to thrum a soft tune from deep within his chest. It's sound seemed tribally influenced, and its slow, unsteady yet rhythmic beat matched almost perfectly with the silverette's heartbeat. As her tears dried, he let his sound peter out and stop with her. "I would be glad to be your friend," he smiled, accepting her assistance in standing up, "after all, true friends are few and far. We should make them when we can." As Sylvia struggled to come up with his name, he let out a brief chuckle. "Seymour. Please, call me Seymour. I'll be wandering the halls for a while longer if you'd like to speak again. Pacing helps me sleep. As for Lev, I can see him..." Seymour pointed a finger towards the library as he spoke, "...over there, on a bench. Take care of yourself, Sylvia." He waved as she left before turning back to the view that the roof offered.

-

Reyna lifted her head from his as he asked for her promise. Her smile drooped a bit as she nodded her head, knowing that an unforeseen twist was coming to his story. Lo and behold she was right. The White Fang...she knew plenty about the organization from her parents, and from the news, but thinking that someone as innocent as Vance would have his family split over it jerked her heart around. As he went on, she became more and more engrossed in this new side of her usually perky partner. Before she knew it, she was out of her blanket, holding Vance in a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry you've had to think that way..." she began, starting to sniffle away tears that threatened to emerge, "b-but don't you dare clump me with any jerk that treats you like that. I'll- *sniff* I'll clobber any punk who thinks they can treat you like some animal!" Sympathetic anger fueled her embrace of the wolf boy, causing her hold to squeeze slowly tighter. Her muscles rippled, and her semblance even took into effect as her arms and chin vice-gripped around Vance, refusing to loosen until Reyna finally opened her eyes. Gasping loudly, she suddenly released her partner from her lovingly crushing hold and dug herself back into her blankets. She screwed up this time. He probably thought she was a freak now, and the only thing she could do was hide everything but her eyes as her entire body turned pink with embarrassment. "G-God, I'm- *sniff* I'm so s-sorry..." She managed to whisper from her repaired cocoon, unsure whether she had broken something on accident.
 
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With Seymour's name securely kept in her mind, Sylvia set off toward the library. The night air had started to chill as the halls filled with the yellow lights of lamps. Not many people were still out and about, though those who were gave Sylvia a quick greeting. She gave a smile back, hoping none noticed the traces of red around her eyes and the red mark from pressing into Seymour's shoulder on her cheek. The moon was starting to show, its shattered form lighting the sky for all to see. Sylvia looked up at it as she walked toward the library. She'd always been curious as to why it was shattered. Who had shattered the moon? Was it always shattered? According to her dad, the moon had been shattered since the beginning of the world. It was just made that way. Well if it was made that way, who made it? Those questions poked through her thoughts until she finally found the library. It took little time to find Lev on the bench. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia walked over to the bench and sat down next to Lev. Not too close, not too far. She looked over at the black haired boy before looking up at the ceiling. "Hey." She greeted before quieting. She'd let Lev start the conversation this time.

~~~

Rain's sudden confidence caught Vance off guard as she squished him into a bone crushing hug. Her words warmed his heart, quickly bringing a smile back to his face as she declared that she would crush any bully that dared treat him bad. He tried to return the favor, but Rain's hug soon grew stronger and he couldn't move under her grip. Content to just lay there, Vance was ready to accept the far too strong hug when Rain seemed to realize just how hard she was hugging her partner. As she hid underneath her blanket, Vance tilted his head. His ears popped back up, curious as to why his partner was hiding. He blinked before realizing that she had thought she had hurt him. Smiling, Vance bounced a bit as he spoke. "Wow! You're so strong Rain! Why're you apologizing? You're the best friend ever!" He gave a big smile, throwing his arms wide as he tried to demonstrate just how great Rain was. Sure, his back was now a little sore, but he'd never tell Rain that. After giving another reassuring smile, Vance looked at the door to their dorm room and frowned. "Hey, do you think Sylvia and Lev are okay? They've been gone for a really, really long time..." The faunus tried to think of what could possibly be keeping the two. They should have been back by now, and yet they were still gone...
 
Lev's face was stained red, but he kept it hidden in his hair as Sylvia approached. When she sat down and gave her quiet greeting, he knew what he was being goaded into. Conversation, confession, apologies... out of spite, he wished he could go into another spurt of rage, but the crushing guilt in his gut refused his want. As much as he hated it, Lev parted his hair so his eye could peer out at Sylvia, and he took a breath to prepare his piece.

"You...you aren't a fraud. A-And you're not synthetic. I'm... I'm sorry." he began, refusing to show any more of his face than his puffy, crimson eye. "...but you shouldn't be digging into my business. You might be our team's leader, but...but you have no place to intrude on my life. I had everything handled, as always. Next time, just don't bother butting in..."

-

"O-Oh, I just..." Reyna attempted to respond to Vance's unexpected reaction to the pain she was sure she had put him through, "...I-I just didn't want to hurt you. I can get a bit carried away sometimes...thank you, though." She got out a tearful giggle, coming out of her shell slowly as regular color returned to her skin. It was only when Vance made the comment about Lev and Sylvia's absence that she noticed too, along with how late it was becoming. "I'm not too sure. Maybe they got caught up with someone in the halls. We could look for them if you want." Reyna suggested with a smile. Good thing she hadn't changed into pajamas quite yet. No need to embarrass herself in the halls before the first day of classes, after all.
 
Sylvia kept her gaze up at the ceiling as she listened to Lev talk. Once he finished, she took a deep breath. Letting it out, she began. "I forgive you." Sylvia looked over at Lev and continued. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I was worried. I care about you as a friend, not just as a leader you know. I'll try to keep out of your business from now on." Sylvia rolled her shoulders before leaning forward, looking Lev in the eye. "We're friends, right?" She asked, green eyes hopeful. She sat with Lev for a few more moments before standing up with a grunt. "Welp. We should probably be heading back, huh? Seems kinda late and I'm sure Reyna and Vance are wondering where we are." She shot Lev a languid smile before starting her saunter back to the dorm room, Lev hopefully following her lead.

Back in the room, Vance thought over Rain's suggestion before nodding. "Yeah! Let's go look for them!" He hopped off of Rain's bed, heading toward the door. He was just about to open it when it swung open, revealing Sylvia and Lev. Vance yelped as he stumbled back, landing on his butt. "Ow... Hey! Sylvia and Lev are back!" The faunus boy jumped up, smiling as he scrambled back to his own bed.

Sylvia chuckled. "Yep we're back!" She flopped onto her desk chair, practically sinking into it before shimmying her sweatpants off. "Seems like a good time as any to settle in for the night. We got classes tomorrow after all! We can't afford to stay up all night!" Sylvia chirped as she took her prosthetics off, taking the boots off of the actual legs as she set them on her desk.

Hearing Sylvia's plans, Vance let out a long whine. "Aw, but you promised to answer my questions and show us your semblance when Lev came back!" Vance pouted, crossing his arms. "You can't just go to sleep after promising! Sides, I wanted to ask Lev some questions too!" The faunus boy turned to the black haired sharpshooter, eyes full of excitement. "I've got so many questions I wanna know!"

Before he could start bombarding Lev with questions, Sylvia stepped in. "All right, all right, I did promise. Afterwards I'll answer the rest of your questions, all right, Vance?" Vance nodded vigorously, making Sylvia crack a grin. "Great. Now I need to borrow your weapon if you want to see my semblance. I promise I won't do anything bad to it." Vance obediently jumped up and grabbed his gauntlets, setting them in Sylvia's lap before practically flying onto his bed and sitting up. He watched Sylvia like a hawk as she pulled out a few tools, using mainly a screwdriver to disassemble Vance's weapon. With a practiced ease, Sylvia studied each piece and fidget of Vance's weapon intently. Piece by piece, Sylvia slowly tore apart Vance's weapon. In ten minutes, Sylvia had completely disassembled Vance's gauntlets and had memorized them inside and out. "All right, ready?" She asked, watching Vance's excited nod with a smile. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia focused on the pieces. The pieces of Vance's weapon floated off of the ground, assembling themselves as Sylvia stared. Looking closely, others could see a faint green aura around the weapons and Sylvia's eyes. The weapon finished assembling itself and floated down into Vance's lap. The faunus gasped as he stared at the weapons in shock. "I didn't change them at all, don't worry. I have to study the innards of a weapon if I want to use my semblance properly on them. Otherwise I can only do small stuff." Sylvia smiled as Vance bounced in excited silence, looking his weapon over to try and find the magic that Sylvia had used.
 
Lev let the silverette's question go unanswered. Being partners was one thing, but friends? Friends spelled trouble, and he had enough of that at Signal. Rather than speak his mind, however, Lev simply let his eyes drop. The silence was palpable for the time they sat together, and all the while he wrestled with what he had to do the next day. After all, if he disobeyed his parents, it would result in something far worse than a phone call. He was all too eager to stand with Sylvia when she suggested they leave, making sure to match her pace as they walked back to their room. Regardless of his apology, he still wouldn't be outdone by her.

Reyna had exited her cocoon of fluff when her two teammates finally returned. Her eyes narrowed as she methodically burrowed back once more. "You two were gone for ages." she huffed. "You're lucky it's not even the first day, or you mighta been caught breaking curfew." She exaggerated, finally solidifying herself in the little blanket mass. "And yeah, I wanna see your semblance too." Lev, on the other hand, she could do without hearing about. However, she wasn't going to drown the Faunus's enthusiasm, so she watched and waited as Sylvia began her demonstration.

The prospect of being grilled so soon after the roof incident sent chills up the black haired boy's spine, but Sylvia was kind enough to take the bullet for him, at least for now. On the other hand, he'd finally get to see if his assumptions were accurate, and accurate they were. As the silverette worked and explained her semblance, he could feel the guilt in his chest shrinking. "Something like snapping a weapon's safety in place? That kind of small stuff?" He insinuated, his eyes narrowing as the final dot connected. Before she could answer, he held up his hand with a sigh. "I'm gonna tune out for tonight. Don't worry about me, I can sleep in just about any condition." he said, lying down on his bed and turning away from the rest of his team.

Reyna smiled as she watched Sylvia's semblance unfold, and did her best to ignore Lev's comment as she maneuvered out of her blankets once more. "That's awesome! You must have a million different things you can do with your legs, right? I remember back in Atlas...o-oh, right, I haven't told you yet. I traveled a lot as a kid. Anyways, in Atlas, I saw some Paladin models with legs that could readjust on the fly. They had these giant springboards in the heel, and clamps on the soles for climbing rugged terrain. That's not to mention all the weaponry on them! Of course, they were only for display because the weight was too much all together...but still, your semblance is really cool." She smiled before grabbing some clothes out of her pack and heading into the bathroom to change. It wasn't long before she came out in a bright pink onesie decorated with cartoon-ish puppies and kittens. "...Don't judge..." she sighed, making her way back to her bed and flopping down with a breath of contentment.