SLVR

As Seymour responded, Sylvia had to bite her tongue. She could talk more about this after the whole fight was done and over with. However, the gazelle boy just continued to surprise her as he declared that he would've confessed and instead proclaimed that he would win the tournament for her sake. The statement caught her off guard, aiding the gazelle boy in catching Sylvia off guard. She blinked, watching as he settled his hand against her stomach. For a moment, everything seemed calm. Seymour gave his piece, telling her to use her semblance when she dared not to and sent her flying.

Skidding towards the edge, Sylvia held her breath as she realized she was close, but not quite falling off. Now she had a choice. Use her semblance and get probably one of the best fights in her life so far? Or keep to her own set of rules and try to fight "fairly". As she looked up, the silverette could feel the need to prove herself, to challenge the gazelle boy burn within her. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia closed and reopened her eyes. They held the same glow as her previous match, though not quite as bright as before. "All right. But I'm letting you know right now that this is the one and only exception for you!" With that, the fight started anew.

While Sylvia's strategy didn't change much, her constant changing and rearranging of her boots added an element of surprise that enriched the fight. Sylvia fought hard, not willing to give an inch where she could help it. While she wouldn't mind losing to the gazelle boy in front of her, she wasn't going to let him have it easy. If he was going to win this tournament for her, then he would have to do so by the skin of his teeth. Sylvia fought hard and fast, giving her all into it as she used her semblance to her advantage whenever she possibly could.
 
"I would have it no other way!" Seymour responded as the silverette accessed her powers. Returning the favor, the gazelle took a deep breath and accessed the deep recesses of his semblance. Upon opening his eyes, the mossy green they once were had been tinted with new colors: Reds and oranges running like veins through the calm green, like a forest fire. Then the fellow leaders clashed, finally, with their full strength. Contact between their auras created shockwaves that pushed the other back, but no amount of distance was able to keep one from the other for long. Seymour met Sylvia's kicks with his own rather than redirecting them, and her grapples were met with sharp and precise blows to the side and solar-plexus, as if he exchanged all of his stock in defense for uncanny offensive prowess.

Sylvia hadn't unleashed her semblance for nothing though. Moments when Seymour would slip up turned into catastrophic failures as the silverette's combination of speed and cunning juggled him from attack to attack, taking massive bites out of his aura percent. In the same breath, he would come back with a vengeance, forcing her back towards the edge with open palm after open palm to her center of mass. In the spaces that she found a defense against his pushier attacks, his fingers instead closed together, stinging Sylvia's joints and limbs to open her back up. The back and forth went on for the whole match.

It wasn't until Seymour was at 22% and Sylvia was at 19% that the final blow was struck. The gazelle boy met his opponent's final rush in a way that nobody saw coming. The moment she was up close, he grabbed onto her waist and brought her down in a pile driver. In the next moment, he had her straddled with a smile, his left thumb pressed on her throat, just under her chin, and the other jammed lower down her neck, near the collar bone.

"That was a good fight, Sylvia. Get some rest." Seymour managed to get out despite his exhaustion, just as the silverette began to black out. The last sound to reach her ears:

Sylvia Slater: 0%

Seymour Shen: 0%

DRAW!

-

The peanut gallery really wasn't sure how to handle the battle they witnessed, from beginning to end. They started off with hesitant cheers and unenthusiastic hollers, but then the combatants got serious. Something about Sylvia and Seymour both fighting harder than ever before gnawed at the hearts of SLVR, SAGE, and SPHR in one. Their weak enthusiasm quickly shifted to something much more intense. It started with Abby and Lev, of all people, competing for volume, height, and intensity of their cheers that almost grew into a fight of its own. Their energy trickled down into everyone else, and immediately became contagious to the entire colosseum. It wasn't long before everyone was on their feet in a roar of seamless sound, a deafening roar of encouragement to the two rookies that had taken the tournament by storm. It was, without a doubt, the best match of the tournament. Even the commentators were torn over who truly had the audience's favor, let alone their own.

Then the battle finally ended, and cheers, cries, screams, yells, sobs, fits...all assortments of noise, echoed through the stands. Abby had broken down into tears, torn between calming herself down on Lev's shoulder and pestering him for "rooting for the loser." Ellie was unsurprisingly still in tears, practically hanging on Reyna's fingertips as the nerves finally left her system, leaving her exhausted. Reyna might have been in the same position in a different circumstance, but the battle had been too riveting for her to simply cry. Rather, she was laughing, jumping, clapping, and smiling for her friends on the field. The energy they showed off was nothing short of a real bond between friends, and something about it all put her heart aflutter. Gabe watched over Vance to make sure he didn't get himself into trouble with his energy, but even his breath was stolen by the moment to moment shifts in the fight. At the end of it all, when he found a chance, he stole a rough kiss from the wolf at his side, desperate to vent his own energy in a way that wouldn't cause a scene. And SPHR, still as their own singular mass, sat stock still in a sort of cold sweat, thinking of how outmatched they must have been for Sylvia to hold back against them that much. In the same thought, they could only thank their chances that they hadn't been set up against SAGE instead. With Sora at the head, the team decided then and there to train harder than ever to be at the same level as their new rivals for the next tournament.

-

"It is a reckless move, Seymour. If your back is against the wall, I understand, but you shouldn't be putting it on display like that."

"It was by request, Azule. Not just hers, but yours, too."

"I asked for an explanation, not a demonstration."

"Ah, but I have killed two birds with one stone, no?"

"...How so?"

"I promised I would face her with the same intent as I had you."

"...Nevertheless, I recommend passing it off as a fluke as long as you can. As a hunter, you'll learn that revealing your greatest strength will give you your greatest weakness. Thanks again for explaining it to me...looks like she's waking up. I'll catch you later."

Azule's voice passed from the medical room just as Sylvia began opening her eyes, leaving Seymour to stand alone next to the silverette's resting form.

"Welcome back." the gazelle boy whispered, gently dabbing a damp towel to his fellow leader's forehead with a smile. "I apologize for knocking you out."
 
This was what Sylvia had waited for. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face as she fought against Seymour. Neither one had a clear advantage, and it truly did come down to the wire. In the end, the silverette could only laugh as she slowly started to black out, smiling brightly at the announcement before finally succumbing to the darkness. Even though she was sure Seymour would be chosen to continue onto the next round, the silverette was insanely happy with the outcome. She had managed to prove she could go toe to toe with the gazelle boy when both were going at it at full power. Truly, this was the most fun she'd had since starting her career as a huntress in training.

The whole battle had Vance on the edge of his seat. Once Lev and Abby started to yell, he quickly joined in. With Gabe to pull him back, the wolf boy shouted and screamed for his leader as the fight drew on. He could practically see sparks flying between the two and could've sworn he saw Sylvia smile the whole time. The fact that the two seemed so happy and so energetic fueled Vance's cheers. Once the last blow was exchanged, the wolf boy practically flopped back into his seat and laughed his head off. He accepted Gabe's kiss easily, almost turning it into a make out session before pulling back to cuddle. Despite not even fighting, the wolf boy was tuckered out and surprisingly quiet as he waited for Seymour and Sylvia to get the medical attention they needed and return back to them.

When she next awoke, Sylvia could hear Azule and Seymour discussing. While it was odd to hear Seymour speak so casually with the upper classmen, the pounding headache she was dealing with left her not willing to care. She groaned as she awoke, thankful for Seymour's quiet tone. "No... No, it's fine. I would've kept going 'till I passed out anyway. Just... give me a minute." For the next five minutes, Sylvia just laid against her bed, eyes closed as she tried to get over the pounding and the bright lights and the loud sounds and all of the stimulation was just too much.

Finally, everything seemed to settle and Sylvia opened her eyes to find the world not as intensely bright or loud as before. Taking a deep breath, the silverette adjusted herself so she was sitting up and turned to Seymour. "We need to talk." Pausing a moment to prepare herself, the silverette tried to get her words in order. "... do you like me?" The question seemed too vague, so the silverette started to clarify. "Like, as a girlfriend or a crush or something like that. Because, I know the whole kiss thing happened and that definitely didn't feel real, but apparently that was real. And I know you said we 'sealed the deal' before our fight, but I'm still confused on how you feel about me. Like, you mentioned that Ellie pushed you to try and ask me out so part of me is trying to convince me that you're just doing this to appease her or something. Which would totally be a jerk move, but I mean I can understand wanting to just make your teammates happy and everything. Also, the dance was supposed to be a date?" The silverette groaned as she buried her head in her hands. "Gods, I'm an idiot. I thought you were just hanging out with me as a friend or fellow leader or something!"
 
Seymour took a moment to think after Sylvia said her piece, nodding his head in understanding of her doubts, though smiling at how blunt she was being through it all. "Yes, Sylvia. I like you a lot. I think we would make a fine couple." He began, tapping his chin in thought. "Ellie certainly had her hand at first, but I assure you that the dance was all my doing." The gazelle boy gave a small chuckle, trying to keep it quiet for Sylvia's sake as he continued. "To think I've been holding your hand all this time as though it were already decided. Truly, I must be the foolish one for assuming...of course, I am glad you gave me the privilege without complaint." Seymour spoke as he laced his fingers around one of the silverette's palms. After observing each of her digits through touch, the faunus took a step back and nodded to himself. "...and yes, I definitely kissed you. I am sorry if it was forward of me...I am rather new to romancing, as it were." Once again, Seymour laughed at himself before settling down nearby. "Now, please rest. I will be here until my next fight, but I would like to see you recovered as much as possible. It would put my mind at ease."

Time passed, and before long, Seymour was called to the field once again. And rather than a draw, the gazelle boy was met with a hands-down victory. Then another, then another, until he was placed in the grand finals. Though his opponent had proven themselves on the other side of the bracket, Seymour, once again, took the field as his own. The fight ended 30% to 14%, Seymour's favor, and the colosseum roared its approval as a new champion stepped up to claim the Vytal Tournament title. What followed was an intense amount of pomp and grandeur that certainly didn't seem to fit the small gazelle first-year, but he sat through it all, waving to the crowd and accepting his reward with a smile. Then came the reporters, the fans, the crowds...they were mainly in it for Seymour, but SAGE as a whole was swamped for championing the champ. After the wave of microphones and cameras passed over them, the faunus team fell over themselves on the way to SPHR and SLVR, exhausted beyond anything that the tournament had thrown at them, and thankful that their friends had bothered to wait an extra two and a half hours for their sake. Once they boarded the transport, everything seemed to fall away, leaving the simple picture of three tired teams ready to head home.
 
As the gazelle boy spoke, Sylvia's face lit up in flames. She knew she was blushing hard, but she couldn't help it as she listened to what Seymour had to say. As he asked her to rest, the silverette wanted so badly to just stand up and keep talking, keep questioning him, but he was right. Her prosthetics wouldn't work right so soon after waking up from passing out and using her semblance so intensely. Thus the girl obediently rested up. She could talk to him later about everything. For now, she just wanted to watch him fight. As the tournament went on, Sylvia eventually went back to her friends and watched as Seymour swept through the rest of the competition. Her heart was bursting as she watched Seymour be crowned champion, screaming and hollering with her friends in pure pride and happiness for her (boy?)friend.

It made waiting for SAGE all the more worth it as she greeted Seymour with a smile, for once taking the initiative to weave her hand into his and massage his fingers like he had done hers so many times. Once they were on the transport, Sylvia knew she had to take her chance before she lost her nerve altogether. Turning to Seymour, the silverette gently guided his head towards hers and leaned in. The kiss was long and sweet, the silverette trying to show her appreciation and admiration in one single action. It felt as if the world had dropped away for Sylvia. Only she and Seymour remained as she pulled back, blushing brightly and smiling widely. "There. Now we're even." She chuckled, letting the kiss settle in for the boy before speaking once more. "You don't have to feel bad about kissing me though. As long as you're comfortable with it, I'm comfortable with it. Since... you know, we're like dating now." The words brought butterflies to Sylvia's stomach as she spoke quietly with the gazelle boy. "You were absolutely amazing in the tournament. You and your team deserve a good amount of time off after all of that." The silverette was about to simply go back and keep massaging Seymour's hand when she realized she still hadn't told SPHR about her legs. "Oh! Shoot, Sora, do you think you and your team could drop by me and SLVR's dorm before you all head back? I really need to show you guys something before you all leave so if you could come I would really appreciate it." With that, the silverette leaned back to enjoy the ride.

Once Gabe came back from the interviews and other Vytal Tournament things, Vance practically pampered him with soft affection and gentle touches. He let the panther boy lean on him for support if needed and practically helped hide Gabe away from the world as they boarded the transport. Everything was shaping up for a calm ride when Sylvia surprised them all and kissed Seymour. Vance couldn't suppress his grin as he resisted jumping up and down for fear of jostling Gabe. Instead, he just smiled widely and nuzzled into Gabe's hair. Once the transport dropped them all off, Sylvia dashed toward their dorms, waving her goodbyes to SAGE and noting that she had to get something ready. Vance merely went with it and lead SPHR towards SLVR's room. It didn't take them long to reach the room, Vance bouncing through the door and onto his bed. "Hi Sylvia!" He greeted, rocking back and forth as he waited for his leader to do what she had planned.

SPHR and SLVR first saw Sylvia at her desk working on ironing some dents out on her prosthetics and generally checking up on them. She was running through some last few parts when Vance greeted her, causing the silverette to pause in her focus. She looked up, blinking in confusion at SPHR before realizing that she had asked them there in the first place. "Ah! Oh shoot, I'm sorry guys, give me a second..." Finishing up the last few check overs, Sylvia set her boots aside and pulled her prosthetics into her lap. Reconnecting them, the silverette hissed at the jolt of synthetic nerves connecting to biological ones. "Ah that never gets any easier..." Standing up, Sylvia turned to SPHR and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Uh, so yeah, surprise! I just thought since we were starting this whole kinda friendship thing I didn't want to start it off lying so I decided to show you guys my prosthetics! I built them myself about I'd have to say 4 or 5 years ago. I don't really like people knowing about them, but you guys all seem like trustworthy friends and since one of you shared something extremely personal with us I thought I should do the same." With that, Sylvia waited for them to respond, nerves running marathons up and down her spine.
 
For SAGE, their big moment happened on stage, with the crowds and the fans and the fellow teams and champs. Sylvia kissing Seymour was just the natural progression of things to them. Ellie was smiley as could be, and Abby kept her eyes off the happy couple for her own sake. Gabe sat through Vance's giddiness, happy that the wolf was able to contain himself, and Seymour simply found it in himself to laugh through his blush.

"I am sorry to say, but you will have to think of another way to even us up." Seymour smiled after the kiss. "I cannot be caught off guard by anyone, remember? My semblance does not give me that luxury."

Lev made sure to sit alone during the ride. After seeing how ernestly Sylvia had been waiting for Seymour, and after watching her take hold of his hand for the first time, he knew what was in store. He didn't even observe the kiss, but by the atmosphere of the transport alone, he knew it happened. It hurt, despite the fact that he knew it would happen, but there was nothing to be done. The ravenette took a mite of his hair and began to gnaw on it, both to relax, and to have something to bite back his tears of frustration with. It's just not fair. It'll never be fair...

"Heya, hedgehog." Reyna interrupted his thoughts, plopping down in the empty space next to her teammate. Unlike everyone else, she, too, didn't seem as positive about Seymour and Sylvia finally making things work. It was cute, sure, but after talking with Lev the day before, the pinkette began to see something new about him. Something that she wouldn't have expected, considering everything in the past. "...How're you feeling?"

"R-Rain! I...I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Lev coughed out a response along with his hair, eyes wide at the interloper in his seat.

Reyna gave him a soft smile, finding it easy to be sympathetic with him after all they had gone through in the tournament. "Listen man, we've known each other for a while, and-"

"O-Okay, I'm going to stop you right there!" Lev held up his hands in a blush, eyes widening further. "I'm already dealing with Reese and Abby, and you seem to just be getting over your spat with Uriah, and-"

"EW! Ew ew ewww, gross! Don't even assume that was where I was going, you toad! And he-who-shall-not-be-named SHALL NOT BE NAMED!" The pinkette became huffy, batting Lev in the arm until he apologized. Once the misconception was cleared up, Reyna calmed down and continued. "Ugh, anyways...yeah, we've known each other for a while, and not under the best circumstances, y'know? You've never hid anything from me...well, hid hid anything, because we weren't careful enough with each other's feelings to care, yeah? So I... well, I-I know you like Sylvia."

Lev locked eyes with Reyna, his wide-open whites now narrowed to intense pools of crimson. "...Alright, I'll bite. How do you know?"

"I gave what you said yesterday some thought. You said I didn't 'get it.'"

"Really? That's what you're going off of?"

"Hey, can you blame me? You and I both know how impossible you make yourself to read. After all, you hid your family from the world for who-knows how many years. I'm sure you gave plenty of hints, but nobody wanted to care enough to notice. Mr. Ace couldn't have anything wrong with him, after all. So...yeah, I'm gonna nitpick! It's all you're giving me, and you haven't said that I was wrong!" Reyna pointed a finger into his nose, making sure the point was getting across.

"Alright, alright. You have a point. I still won't say that you're right, but whatever. Continue."

"Well, what else do you expect? I mean, you may be a jerk sometimes, but you're never open about it. Not like that. You don't get it... You've never been that direct. It's always passive-agressive stuff. Hints and slight of hand. And, I mean, you gave me the full rundown. You were upset that after all your planning and strategy, Sylvia still wasn't having it...but I guess that's where you let it slip, huh?" Lev lifted an eyebrow, curious, and Reyna took it as her queue to keep going. "You got what you wanted. That's always where you leave it. The method doesn't matter, but the results do. That's how you were in Signal-"

"Hey, I've changed!"

"And I'm not saying you haven't!" Reyna corrected the ravenette before he could argue further. "...I'm just saying that, even though you know not to put people in harms way for your own gain anymore, that's still a part of you. It's just how you think...but you're getting me off track. You won against Sylvia. You didn't leave it at that. You wanted her to approve of you directly. You wanted nothing more than that, didn't you! Don't answer that. The main thing is that it wouldn't have mattered if Azule and his whole squad came in and said your idea was the best. It didn't come from Sylvia, and that-"

"Okay, okay!" Lev put his hands on Reyna's shoulders, desperate for her to stop digging out his thought process. "I get it. You know. I believe you. I'll admit it. You got me. So what do you want, huh? Blackmail? You gonna hold this over my head or something? Think this isn't torture enough? Think I'm not miserable enough? That I don't have enough hanging over my head? What is it you want to hear from me, huh?" As the ravenette spoke, tears that had been building up since he started chewing his hair finally fell in large drops that dried just before reaching the tip of his nose, turning the skin around his eyes into a puffy red mess. Reyna quickly removed his hands from her, then placed her own on his shoulders.

"Get a grip, Lev!" She hissed, shooting a glance to other seats to make sure everyone was still busy with something else. "...We're friends now, remember? Teammates? Roommates? I use your shampoo? C'mon, dude, that can't be for nothing." She kept her hands on him until he visibly calmed down, then brushed off his shoulders with a smile. "Better. I just want to know how you're doing. Since Seymour and Sylvia are an item for realsies, I thought you'd like some moral support! Like, y'know, 'get back in the game, champ!' or, 'there are other fish in the sea!' ...something like that."

"Thanks," Lev sniffed up the last of his tears, "but I really don't want to hear about my prospects outside of...y'know." The ravenette stole a glance at Reese and Abby, both of which were now talking with one another in a strangely friendly way, as though, without Lev around, they were perfectly capable of being civil people. Reyna bit back a grin and nodded in agreement.

"I see what you mean. Alrighty, then what if I said that I'm still rooting for you?" The pinkette gave Lev a nudge to the side, ignoring his shocked expression and open mouth. "Ah! Don't say anything. You'll just be putting words in my mouth. Let's just say I'm just an underdog kind of girl. So there, you've got me, at least! So buck up. If Sylvia sees you sulking, it'll just turn into another mess, now won't it?"

Lev had to bite back a laugh. "...You're the worst, Rain. Get outta here...and thanks. Shame we had to become friends this late in the game, huh..."

"Bite me, hedgehog." Reyna retorted with a wink, moving back to her usual spot with Ellie for the rest of the ride back to the dorms.

-

Back at the dorms, SPHR followed Vance with mixed expressions. Sora was eager as ever, enthusiastic to see what such an awesome peer had in store for him and his team. Hakushi was completely unwavering in her focus, keeping her eyes locked on Vance no matter how bouncy he became. She had a friend in this strange new place, so naturally, she deserved her undivided attention no matter the situation. That's how these things worked, right? Reese had lucked out, on the other hand. Abby was too tired to hound her competition, so the dove faunus held fast to Lev's arm, latched on like an accessory. Her dazzling whites and blues made for an intensely contrasting color scheme to Lev's black, and the two easily stole most of the campus's gaze as they walked. It was half because of the striking sight they made, and half because of Reese herself, who was flaunting around like the fashion star everyone expected her to be. Last in the lineup was Penn, who simply held behind with his hands shoved into his pockets, grinning like a troublemaker (not like he could help it).

Once they all reached the room, Penn was the first to step up, giving a whistle at the hardware Sylvia sported. "Shoot, girl! So that's what you were kicking me with! No wonder my jaw's still throbbing. I would've asked how the upkeep goes, but after watchin' you fight in round three, I think I've got a good enough idea."

Reese was next, surprisingly, detaching herself from Lev (a moment he quickly and eagerly used to anchor himself to his bed so she couldn't reach him again) to get a better look at the silverette's legs. "Darling, these are fascinating! They look so functional, yet so customizable! I can only imagine the fashion possibilities for something like this...It'd be an exclusive line! A bit of a narrow market, I suppose, but with legs like these, I'm sure you could pull off some dazzling styles! I can see it now! Mystery! Seduction! Firepower! Ah, darling, you must let me-"

Penn dragged the dove girl away before she could go any further into her tangent. She pouted for a moment, but pulled out a notepad and pencil in the next, turning away to jot something down. Meanwhile, Sora leaned on a bedpost, his smile dropped, his eyes barely opened, and his mind clearly wondering. Penn once again assisted, giving him a nudge to say something. The SPHR leader, in response, quickly stood up straighter, gathering himself and putting on a warm smile once more.

"These are incredible, Sylvia! You really are something. I'm glad you trust us all enough with such a big thing. Believe me, we won't let you down! ...and, uh, sorry if I seemed a bit lost there for a sec. It's just that when I saw your legs, it made me think of back home. Lots a' hands-on work, peace and quiet, detailing...I used to help my pop with lumber work, so it brings back a lot of memories. I mean, it's not the same as what you've got going on, but...well, still. Thanks for your trust, Sylvia." Sora smiled again before backing off for Hakushi's sake.

Hakushi, up until that point, was standing just outside the threshold of the door, eyes wide with trepidation. Even after hearing the brief explanation Sylvia gave, she still looked worried, as if she felt guilty. Stepping forward, Hakushi gave a slow, apologetic bow, then straightened and brushed her hair behind her ears. "I...I am sorry. You were compelled to show this because of me." She began, looking into Sylvia's eyes with her own turquoise pools. "I have caused you inconvenience. Again, I must apologize." And so she did, bowing once more, then returning to a stand, and brushing away her hair. "I could not be more honored to consider you a friend, yet I treated you with such hostility at first. I will not...nay, cannot accept the bounty that the friendship of you and yours would bring. It has not been earned. Not while I still stand having wronged you before ever exchanging words. Forgive me!"

Before she could bow again, Sora placed his hands on her shoulders. "Haku, there's no need for all that. Best to let them make their own decisions, after all. You know plenty about that, right?"

Hakushi nodded slowly, understanding a bit of what her leader spoke. Then she turned back to Sylvia to rectify her words. "Yes, then please, will you be my friends? Do not hesitate to test me! I would do whatever it takes to earn my place amongst such honorable fellows!" She made her declaration with a face as steely as ever. Sora had to fight the chuckle bubbling in his throat, and instead looked at SLVR, hoping they'd entertain his teammate's wishes.

"Well of course we'll be friends! I mean, that's why Sylvia had you all come, yeah? Because you're all our friends? Did I miss something?" Reyna spoke out first, giving SPHR a smile before relaxing on her bed.

Lev, on the other hand, waited for everyone else to confirm before standing up and moving in front of Hakushi. "...I have a stipulation."

"Lev! What are you-" Reyna tried to interject, but the ravenette held up a hand.

"Hey, she asked, I'm answering. I have a stipulation." At his words and his proximity, Hakushi gave a hard swallow, then nodded to hear what his demand would be. Lev nodded back, and continued. "...come chat with me. Alone, if you don't mind. There's a nice spot on the roof."

At his words, everyone in the room looked at him like he was insane, but Lev simply waved them off and headed out. Sora's expression looked closer to a glare than it ever had before, but Hakushi patted his shoulder for reassurance, then re-steeled herself, and headed up to the roof, leaving SLVR's room in a silence that felt ritualistic, as though it was not supposed to be broken until the deed was done. Until Lev and Hakushi returned, SLVR's room remained as if it were stuck in time.

-

An hour later, and the two returned, stoic as ever on both ends. Before anyone could speak up, the two long-haired individuals turned to each other and embraced.

"Don't be a stranger, Haku. I'll expect you to have a few exercises ready for me the next time you come around."

"No stranger than you, Lev. I look forward to the clash of our blades. I see much in you that I would like to learn still."

The two crossed the threshold into SLVR's room like a fresh breeze, breathing life back into the stagnant and uneasy silence they had left. Sora's smile doubled up on itself in relief, and Reyna could only shake her head with a sigh. After a few more words between friends, SPHR and SLVR exchanged contact information and said their goodbyes.

"Oh, SLVR!" Sora popped his head back in the room before getting too far down the hall, "Haku and I were talking, and I think we might settle in Vale over Autumn Break. If you see us, don't be a stranger!" Then with another wave, he was gone.

Lev looked up from his bed in surprise at Sora's statement. Once SPHR was completely gone, the ravenette dug out a planner from one of his desk drawers, thumbing through it while gnawing on his lip. "...I forgot about break. We've got the month for exams, then everyone gets to head home..." Lev's expression grew stormy, but Reyna was quick to hop onto his bed, jostling him from his unpleasant thoughts.

"You forgot? I had to go over it with the headmistress, but they gave me a place on campus to board up since my parents aren't available. You might want to jump on that before we get too far into exams." The pinkette gave a fake shudder in an attempt to lighten the mood for her black haired teammate, but he simply returned the gesture with a nod, clearly uneasy about the idea of having a home to go back to in the first place.
 
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As SPHR gave their reactions, Sylvia felt an immediate rush of relief. She couldn't help but chuckle at how blunt Penn was, glad that the boy wasn't making a big deal out of it. When Reese started on her whole tangent, Sylvia couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable with it all. She took a step back, about to decline whatever offer Reese was about to give when Penn came to the rescue. After that, things mostly calmed as Sora gave his two cents, allowing Sylvia to relax into a more comfortable stance. Finally, Hakushi stepped forward and bowed. Sylvia blinked as the she-samurai tried to construe this as a 'her fault'. "No, Hakushi, I wanted to-" She was interrupted by Sora stepping in, settling the situation for her. Of course, Hakushi also had to beg for friendship once more, leaving Sylvia floundering. Wasn't Hakushi already her friend? That's why she went to all of this trouble in the first place! She had expected everything to blow over easily, but Lev spoke up with about a "stipulation". Sylvia's head whipped toward the raven haired boy. What? What was he thinking?! The room was left with silence as Lev led Hakushi out.

Once the long haired duo returned, everything felt normal once more. Sylvia sagged in relief as SPHR left. Before she could turn to question Lev about his 'stipulation', Sora popped back in and informed them that he and Haku were going to stay in Vale for break. The conversation quickly turned to where everyone was staying for break as Lev was reminded that he had no home to return to. Sylvia gnawed on her lip, thinking as Vance piped up. "I'm going to stay on campus too! Maybe we can all hang out during break and do stuff together!" He smiled, practically bouncing in excitement at being able to hang out with his teammates.

Hearing that all of her teammates didn't have a place to stay, Sylvia spoke before she could overthink things. "If you guys don't want to stay at Beacon you all can come stay with me and my parents." Feeling eyes on her, Sylvia rushed to explain as Vance tilted his head in curiosity. "I mean, we'll still be near Vale just not right in the middle of it. My parents definitely have room, though I don't think they'd let us all sleep together in one room like this... and we could all, ya know, stick together and have some fun and just hang out and not worry about school and stuff." Before her teammates could properly respond, Sylvia's scroll started to ring. The silverette nearly jumped as she scrambled to pick up her scroll, paling as she saw who was calling. "Speak of the devil..." she murmured before hesitantly picking up her scroll. "Hello...?" She started cautiously, only to have to pull the scroll away from her ear. The rest of her team could hear yelling, though they couldn't discern exactly what Sylvia was being yelled about.

Grimacing, Sylvia slowly put her scroll back to her ear and started to speak. "No, Dad, I didn't mean to ignore you guys' calls! I just forgot... I'm sorry I worried you guys... It won't happen again... Yes, Mom... Yeah, I promise... Here, I'm gonna put you on speaker for a bit." Pulling the phone away, Sylvia pressed speaker and settled it on her desk. Quite clearly, Flint's voice filled the room as he continued to rant at his daughter.

"-ight, Sweetie. We were just so worried since you were using your semblance and we know how hard that is on you." Sylvia bit her lip. She had been hoping her team would just forget about her semblance, but of course her parents just had to bring it up. "By the way, we're so proud of you and your team! We watched every single one of your matches and we're so impressed. You all have truly grown into some impressive huntresses and hunters in training! Why, Granny Tenko and Nana were thinking about holding a celebration when you came home for break!"

Sylvia chuckled at that, running a hand through her hair. "Granny Tenko and Nana? Are you guys sure that's a good idea?" She looked up at her teammates before adding on, "Oh, by the way I'm in my room with my team and they were saying they were gonna stay at Beacon for break."

Galena didn't miss a beat as she responded, "Sweetheart, it can't be any worse than your 12th birthday. Oh, you said your team's there! Oh hi everybody! Flint and I were so impressed with your performances in the Vytal Tournament! We couldn't take our eyes off of the screen! We just wanted to let you all know that if you'd like you are more than welcome to stay over at our house for break. It'd be great to see you all again. Now, we have to go. Love you, Sylvia!"

"Love you too, Mom. Love you, Dad." With that, Sylvia hung up and turned to her teammates. "So, yeah. If you guys wanted to, you could stay with me. Mom and Dad clearly don't mind."

Vance piped up first, smiling at his leader. "That sounds like fun! We could have a big sleepover! Though, I'd have to talk to Headmistress Wunderland and let her know..."
 
The conversation in the room seemed shift extremely fast once the break was brought up. First Sylvia said some things, then her parents called, then there was talk about a celebration, then something about a 12th birthday...by the time Sylvia set her phone down and wrapped up what she had to say, Lev had his head resting on a pillow. All the chatter made him dizzy. Reyna, on the other hand, picked herself up with a smile.

"That'd be awesome, Sylvia! I mean, Beacon's great and all, but there's seriously nothing fun to do when the campus is quiet. You can count me in!" The pinkette looked to her side to see if Lev was as enthusiastic as she was, but frowned at his mopey state. Pulling him up by his arm, she redoubled her grin. "And Lev! He's coming too, isn't that right?"

The ravenette stumbled to his feet at Reyna's prompting, his hair falling heavy over his eyes with the suddenness. He didn't bother brushing it away as he gave a curt, "Y-Yeah, sure." before sitting back down. It looked like he was about ready to sleep, but something that Sylvia's parents had said finally clicked with him, and he gave his hair a quick flip so he could pierce the silverette with his gaze. "...Your semblance... It's a lot more than tinkering with weapons, isn't it? And what's with that backlash? Is it that easy for you to overextend? What..." Lev bit his tongue before he could finish his next statement. What else are you hiding from us, after all this time?! He wanted to shout, but the ravenette thought better of it. "...What's the deal, Syv? You had us all worried."

Reyna went from cheery to somber as Lev brought up his question. It was true that, after watching her fight in the third round, she had been holding something back that nobody had a clue about. The pinkette's curiosity drove her to silence as she waited to hear Sylvia's response, wondering if it'd be as important as Lev seemed to think.
 
Sylvia smiled, about to text her parents the news when Lev spoke up. Oh boy. Here came the talk. For a moment, Sylvia wasn't sure how to start. Chewing on her lip, she stared at her lap before finally deciding on what to say. "...yeah. It's a bit more than just tinkering. I'm a technomancer. Anything with any kind of technology in it I can control. From a simple piston system to something as complex as our weapons. Heck, it doesn't even have to be weapons. I could probably also control our scrolls if I took some time to take them apart. But, it's like I told you all in the beginning of the semester. I can't do big things unless I know the piece of tech inside out." Sylvia paused there, unsure how to explain the backlash in a way to make her team understand. The silence was thick, all attention on Sylvia as her teammates waited for an explanation.

When the silence stretched on a bit too long, Vance prodded his leader. "Okay, but what about what happened in the third round? You fainted after using your semblance in that fight, but you use it all the time when you work with your weapons here! What made you faint when you use it so often?" With that, the silence returned as Sylvia tried to think up a coherent answer.

It took a few minutes, but Sylvia finally started to explain. "You see, every piece of tech and every weapon sorta has like... like a will to it. Some bend easier, usually those with less complicated systems and machinery, and others take some more work to them. If I try to control something with a hard to bend will, it takes a lot more out of my body and my semblance to get it to do simple things. Like moving a few inches away from where they're going to hit me. However, if I take the time to learn about the tech and look at each of its innards, then it's like... it's like gaining its loyalty. The will becomes easier to bend and it taxes my body and semblance less when I use it. So when I'm tinkering around with my legs and boots, I can do it for much longer without facing any consequences. However, if I do things too rapid fire then I'll still get some backlash at a much more manageable scale." Adjusting, the silverette tried to think of what else to say. "Now, if I do something like... like what happened in the first match of third round, then I'm going to face serious backlash. I'd basically been fighting not only with my opponent, but with her weapon too. To get the weapon to submit, I had to kind of... force my own will on it. When I finally let it go, the resistance comes back all at once and I faint. Afterwards when I wake up, I tend to experience a lot of... sensory overload. Everything becomes too bright, too loud, too much. So I don't like to use my semblance that much in battle. Besides..." The silverette hesitated, unsure whether she should say it.

Vance wouldn't let her leave it at that. "Besides what?"

Seeing she couldn't get an easy way out of this, the silverette decided to bite the bullet. "It's cheating." She stated simply, waiting for her teammates to react to her reasoning.
 
Lev simply nodded his head as Sylvia explained. It was making more sense now, at least. He was about to speak his piece, but the silverette had one last thing to say. "...Cheating?" Lev's eyes narrowed, then his expression softened, then narrowed once more. What Reyna had said on the transport finally hit him. He had changed from Signal, sure, but this was the way his mind worked regardless. Before the tournament, he probably would have been a bit sympathetic to her reasoning. It was silly and childish, sure, but her heart was in the right place. But now, with everything else weighing him down, he just wanted something to get up in arms about. "Cheating, really?! Are you that...a-are you serious? Of all the asinine things...this has got to be a joke. Everything else is perfectly fine! The backlash is completely explainable! When you tamper with someone else's weapon, you tamper with their aura, Syv. It's why our weapons withstand the strain we put them through. Of course that's gonna bite you back in battle! That's fine! If it's that much of a strain, I understand! B-But cheating? That's your last word? That's the excuse?" Lev growled to himself, getting off his bed and pacing the room a bit.

Reyna grimaced at his reaction. He was taking things way too personally. Probably just a result of all his frustrations boiling over, but it was unpleasant to watch none-the-less. "Lev, chill out, she-" The pinkette reached out in an attempt to stop his movements, but he quickly winced away.

"Don't! Don't...don't touch me...I..." Lev gulped, looking around the room before settling his eyes on the door. "...I think I'll stick around campus. Probably for the best...Sorry." And with that, he took up his cloak and stepped out, presumably towards the roof.

Reyna stood stunned, hand still outstretched, as Lev made his exit. After he passed from sight, she straightened out and frowned at the new circumstance. "...He probably just needs some time. It's getting pretty late, after all. Cheering is tiring work, y'know?" The pinkette forced out a chuckle, once again making an attempt to lighten the mood.
 
Sylvia bit her lip. She should have expected this, but it still hurt. As soon as Lev started to leave, the silverette could feel her panic rising. Reyna tried to lighten the mood, but ultimately failed as Sylvia frantically pulled on some sweatpants and grabbed her scroll. "I'm going after him." She said, flying out the door and after her raven haired partner. Her heart was practically in her throat as the silverette thought to the last time this had happened, the last time Lev had just left them all alone. She thanked her lucky stars that she caught up to him quickly and ran up to him.

"Lev!" She called, stopping just a few feet away from him. "Lev, wait, don't go. Look, you can be mad at me all you want, but please just... just don't go. Yell at me instead or we can fight it out or something, but just..." She floundered for a proper reason, for something logical way to explain to the boy why she so feared him going out into the night by himself after a huge fight.

~~~

As Sylvia left the room, Vance was left sitting on his bed utterly confused by what had just transpired. "... why was he so mad?" The faunus boy finally asked Reyna, his ears twitching in confusion. "That seemed like a good reason to me. Why was Lev so mad at Sylvia? And is he really not going to come with us for break?" He tilted his head, chewing on his lip as he tried to figure out why everything had suddenly gotten so bad.
 
Lev looked over the campus from the roof of the dorm, factoring in how many times he had been up in this same spot since the beginning of the semester. The familiar setting always made him uneasy, considering how it was there that he made some of the most regretful choices of his life. In hindsight, the ravenette wasn't so sure why he always fled here, of all places, but the sound of Sylvia's footsteps at his back stopped his thoughts there. Lev turned with heat in his gaze, determined to meet the silverette's stubborn streak with everything that had built up within him over the day...but then she spoke, and he lost the heart to glare any further. His expression softened, though it was clear he was still irritated, and his stance became less combative.

"What...you come here to see me off?" He joked, though his tone and face certainly didn't make it apparent. Lev quickly realized this, and shook his head with a sigh. "...I'd really rather be alone, Syv. I thought I was clear enough when I took my coat and left before you guys could say anything."

-

Vance's words gave Reyna a bit of a jolt, causing her to look at her partner with interest. Maybe...

"Okay Vance, I'll tell you why, but you HAVE to keep it a secret from EVERYONE! Especially Sylvia... Think you can do that for me, big guy?" The pinkette gnawed on the inside of her cheek, not quite sure she should be spouting everything she wanted to. It's just that Vance was the only other person outside of Sylvia and SAGE that she could trust! There was no way she'd blab to SAGE, and no-duh she couldn't say a lick to Sylvia... If she could trust Vance, then why couldn't Lev? It made perfect sense. Now she just had to make sure, so Reyna looked at the wolf boy with anticipation, clearly wanting to spill the beans to the innocent ears of her partner.
 
Seeing Lev not running away, Sylvia relaxed somewhat and started to make her way over to him. Still giving her partner plenty of space, the silverette sat down and stared out over the campus. "Not really. I almost came here to drag you back. That probably wouldn't have gone over well, huh?" She turned to smile at Lev, but frowned as he made it known that he wanted to be alone. "I know, I know, but... last time you ran off alone after a fight we didn't find you until the next day, unconscious with your aura so low Seymour thought you were dead. So I kinda... I panicked. Ha, just another case of me worrying for no good reason..." Taking in the night air, Sylvia let the silence stretch on between them.

After a while, Sylvia spoke up once more. "You seem to come up here a lot. Is it because you just like it up here or do you have a thing for roofs? I mean, you took Haku up here and you tend to come up here when you're upset... I'm really curious about what that whole stipulation business was... Though this probably isn't the best time to talk about it. Heck, I probably should just shut up and let you cool down here. I mean, I know talking it out is good, but sometimes you gotta take a step back, ya know?" She turned to the raven haired boy before realizing she was doing the opposite of what she suggested. "Ah, I'm rambling, aren't I? Damn it..."

~~~

Hearing the conspiratorial tone Reyna had going on, Vance couldn't help but perk up. A secret? From EVERYONE? So that meant he couldn't tell Sylvia or Abby or even Gabe! Just what kind of secret could require him to keep such care? Curious and eager to find out, Vance jumped on board. "Yeah! I can keep it a secret! Cross my heart and hope to die! I'm great at keeping secrets, ya know!" He smiled, ears at attention as he waited for this exciting and mysterious secret to be shared.
 
Lev sat down beside Sylvia, seeing no better alternative, and listened to her speak. The night's breeze mixed with his partner's incessant warbling would have put the ravenette to sleep if he hadn't been feeling so insecure. As she realized that she had been going on, Lev shook his head again. "There's no helping you when it comes to rambling, Syv." he began, trying to put on a smile for a change. It hurt, being close to the silverette. It hurt, remembering the careless words he tossed at her when they first met up on the moon-kissed platform. It hurt just to acknowledge that she breathed the same air as him, yet chose to share it with someone else...share it with Seymour. He was jealous, and it hurt, and it hurt, and it hurt.

"It's clean air. Not so stuffy, nice and open...but private. It feels like I could howl at the moon, and nobody would stick their nose in my business." Lev began, taking the out that Sylvia's topic of choice offered him. Anything to shove down his emotions for the time being. "I took Haku up here because I thought we had a lot in common...and I was right. I'm afraid that was all there was to it, so...yeah..." Lev's voice petered out, so he pressed his lips into his knees, gazing out to the horizon with the hope that he'd simply lose his mind to it.

"Head back to the room. I'll be there in a minute."

-

"Alright then!" Reyna took a deep breath as Vance readied himself for her secret. Factoring in the last few times Sylvia went to hunt down Lev, the pinkette took note of her time and got straight to it. "Lev's in love with Sylvia, no doubt about it." It was a bit drastic, but for Vance's sake, she'd make it blunt. "He's been stressed since the ride home, so I think he just wanted a reason to say something directly to Sylvia, y'know? Didn't matter what, he just wanted her to hear him out...but that's why he got so mad, I think...and a girl's intuition is never wrong!"

Reyna thought for a moment before giving Vance a pity smile. "And Vance...Thinking that it's cheating isn't a good reason. It's a Sylvia-reason."
 
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Hearing Lev talk made Sylvia feel a bit better about the situation. At the very least he seemed okay as he explained what he and Haku talked about and why he seemed to like the roof so much. For a while, it was just quiet, the two sitting together and watching the horizon. Sylvia was brought out of her thinking by Lev saying she could go, reassuring her that he wouldn't be far behind. Biting her lip, she stood up before turning to Lev. "Hey, just so you know, you don't have to stay here for break. You could still come over to my house. I'll try not to bug ya with me stuff too much. But that's all up to you. Whatever you wanna do, I'm behind you 100%." With that, Sylvia lingered and hoped she would hear Lev say he wanted to come stay with her and her parents.

~~~

The secret turned out to be much bigger than Vance thought. He blinked as the realization slowly set in. "Wait, Lev loves Sylvia, but Sylvia likes Seymour and... Oh. Oh no..." His ears drooped as he realized the kind of situation Lev had been put in by Sylvia cementing her relationship with Seymour. The wolf boy was at a loss, unsure what to do to help his teammate. Before he could think too much on it, Reyna just had to give him that pitying smile and say that cheating wasn't a good reason. The wolf boy bristled, feeling slightly insulted as he retorted, "Hey, why can't a Sylvia reason be a good reason too?"
 
Reyna couldn't help but snort at Vance and his retort. "Pfft, I never said it couldn't be, but...well, I'm sure it won't matter either way. Don't worry about it, fella. Besides, I'm not worried about Sylvia...I'm worried about Lev. If this is how he plans on handling his stress, he'll end up driving himself crazy, and you know he won't talk to Sylvia as long as he can help it. There's gotta be something we can do..."

-

Lev kept his eyes on the horizon as his partner made a final attempt to sway his decision to stay at Beacon. For a while, he simply sat there, wondering if she really planned on standing around until he gave an answer. Then he fidgeted. Knowing that she was still there, still looking at him, still hoping...it hurt.

"Are you always this slow moving? C'mon, it's bedtime." Lev picked himself up and passed up his leader, avoiding her eyes, but covering up the intentionality of it with his snide remark. He made it obvious that he was ignoring her final statement, on the other hand: One of the few times he ever made anything obvious for his partner.

-

By the time Sylvia and Lev returned, Reyna was stretched out in her own bed, relaxed as could be. Lev followed her example without a word, getting dressed and slipping into his sheets as though they were a hideaway. From there, things seemed to fall back into a state of normalcy...at least, whatever "normal" was for Beacon's exams. Professors dug into their students relentlessly from the moment classes began again, cramming them for the exams to come. While it all felt punishing, there was no teacher more brutal and unforgiving than Dr. Monarch, who's lesson plan quickly evolved into high-caliber studies of Aura and Semblance. "Remember. One presentation. One grade." He would say at the end of each class, throwing many students into a panic.

Things weren't any better, at least at first, as SLVR attempted to study. Lev seemed to be the only one in the school keeping pace with the workload, and even then his team would find his head in his hands, sweating bullets over a book of hunter history. Reyna hit walls with every word she had to read. It got bad enough that she began to close her eyes during lectures, hoping that she wouldn't have to see another letter written on her teachers' boards. Lev would assist his teammates when he could, but with the bog of preparation the whole school was wading in, there was hardly time to breath, let alone study.

Then Seymour came along, and the environment finally changed for the better. Ellie's uncanny ability to be both unceasingly positive and an amazing cook kept SAGE and SLVR active in their studies. Gabe's flat-out uncaring attitude was able to relax the whole room, not just Vance, loosening up the nerves that had been accumulating. Abby's constant pacing around and muttering seemed to be a shock-absorber for everyone else's struggles. One look at her intensity and focus made one's struggles feel easy in comparison. And Seymour, capable coordinator that he was, ensured the room was private and open. Beds were moved to make the most study-friendly environment possible. The only one who didn't benefit from the whole deal was Lev, who opted out of joining in on the study party.

"I'll be in the library." would be the ravenette's response to every invite offered.

Exam day, despite all of the intense preparation, snuck up on the entirety of Beacon. All that could be said was that the tests were just as hard as everyone expected. It was a week of moans and wails. There wasn't a single student who didn't come away from an exam without thinking another Vytal Tournament would have been less stressful. Of course, at the end of the day, SAGE and SLVR passed, and with only a few days left to prepare for break, Lev still hadn't said anything more about where he would go.

-

"Yeah, Lev's kinda giving everyone the cold shoulder on this one..." Reyna spoke out in SAGE's room, joined by her fellow teammates sans Lev, who had, once again, opted out of the invitation 'to sleep.'

"I see...well, he will not be lonely if he choses to remain here!" Seymour chimed. "Abby and I were unable to procure a transport back home. The conditions were simply too harsh."

"Not our fault we live in the boonies. You'd expect a place like Beacon to have better accommodations for stuff like that..." Abby added in with a huff.

"I'll be around, too!" Ellie joined in. "I'll be helpin' my folks out in the hospital! They kinda got me locked down, though, so promise y'all'll visit!"

After observing his team, Gabe turned to Vance with a sigh. "...I'll be headed back to Atlas for a bit, actually..." The admitance of the fact seemed to bring a frown to the panther's face, but locking eyes with his boyfriend brought his grin back. "I'll bring you back something pretty if you promise to be good for me." He teased, scratching Vance behind the ears.
 
Sylvia and Vance didn't have time to think on their worries as exams quickly set upon them. Vance often found himself staring at the same page, restlessly fidgeting and repositioning as he tried to figure out how best to translate the words on the page to info for the test. Sylvia flat out procrastinated. Whenever it hit study time, she found herself pushing her books aside to work on specs for her team's weapons or possible new weapons she could add to their repertoire. Seymour's invitation was a godsend. With his boyfriend to cuddle with, Vance found it easier to focus. Sylvia found the area a good place to keep her from procrastinating, finding herself often upside down on Seymour's bed without her prosthetics. Overall, everything seemed to go much more smoothly until exams were done, SLVR and SAGE passing and being left with a few days to plan their respective breaks.

Sylvia found herself playing with Seymour's hair to try and calm her worrying nerves. In between studying, the silverette had tried to figure out what was going on with her raven haired teammate. No matter what, the boy refused to talk to her. He was always busy, always had something else to do, always thought of something Sylvia needed to do. With every single approach, Sylvia was sent away. In all honesty, it was incredibly frustrating. She thought she had established that Lev (and the rest of her team) could go to her for whatever they needed to talk about. Lev seemed to be avoiding her whenever he could, and that hurt more than Sylvia wanted to admit. Had she done something wrong? What was going on that Lev felt the need to avoid her? She bit her lip as she parted and re-parted her boyfriend's hair.

At first, Vance had been kind of fidgety. While he had wanted to discuss with Reyna on how to help their raven haired teammate, he had been caught up with exams and Gabe. He knew Lev wasn't going to talk to Sylvia about what was wrong, but how was he going to get Lev to talk to him and Reyna about it? He couldn't ask Gabe for advice. Reyna had told him he couldn't tell anyone. Though Vance knew his boyfriend could keep a secret and probably wouldn't care at all about Lev's love troubles, Vance still had promised Reyna to keep it between them that Lev loved Sylvia. This provided quite the conundrum for the wolf boy as he wished to get advice from his boyfriend yet was unable to. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Gabe spoke up, noting that he would be in Atlas for break. While Vance could feel his ears fall and his heart drop, it didn't last long as Gabe pulled out his secret weapon and promised to bring him back something in exchange for being good. Vance couldn't help but whine, blushing a bit as he wished he could hide how much he enjoyed these ear scratches.

"You don't have to bring me back anything, I'd be good regardless." The wolf boy responded, scooting a bit closer to his boyfriend. "Sides, aren't I always good?" He closed his eyes, trying not to lean into Gabe's touch as he disregarded the possibility of getting any kind of gift. It wasn't his birthday, and it definitely wasn't any kind of holiday. People only gave gifts on special occasions. Therefore, his boyfriend did not have to go to such lengths. The idea certainly did send some serious butterflies flailing around his chest though.

Once everyone laid out their plans, Sylvia smiled and paused in her ministrations. "Well, it'll be great to see most of you around during break. I just wish we knew exactly where Lev was staying. I mean, if he at least told us that he was staying at Beacon then it'd be easier to plan things out and do stuff with him, ya know? It just... It worries me not knowing what he's planning on for break. If he wants to stay at school rather than at my house then he could just tell at least one of us instead of being so cold about it. It makes me worry about what he's planning." Once the silverette started on Lev again, she went back to messing with Seymour's hair. Despite her harsh and impassioned words, her hands were always gentle and soft as they skillfully wound around Seymour's mop of hair and somehow managed to show new styles with simple parts and twists.

Vance frowned as Sylvia expressed her worries, once again fidgeting. It would be nice to know that Lev was going somewhere safe for break. It'd be even nicer to have him stay with the rest of the team and not run off like a loner. For a few minutes, Vance just sat and fidgeted. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. Standing up suddenly, the wolf boy announced, "I'm going to go ask Lev where he's staying!" and left the room in stunned silence.

It didn't take long for Vance to poke his head through the door, scanning the dorm room for his teammate. "Lev?" He stage whispered, unsure if the boy was truly asleep or just hiding out in their room. "I need to talk to you. I know you love Sylvia. Rain told me. Don't be mad at her though, I made her tell me cause you were all upset and I was worried and I didn't know what was going on. So if this is about that then we can talk about it. It's gonna be weird if you keep avoiding Sylvia while we're staying at her house together." He slowly crept into the room as he spoke, settling down on his bed and turning to face Lev.
 
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Lev was settled by the windowsill when Vance nudged his way through the door. The ravenette hesitated to look at his teammate, even when he confessed knowing his secret. It took about a minute after Vance finished talking for Lev to open his mouth in response. "...now why would I be mad?" He began, running a hand through his hair. The scowl on his face made his frustration all too clear. "It's not like she told Abby, or Seymour, or Sylvia! Of course I don't need to be mad!" Lev picked himself up at that point, and began to pace across the room to hide how twitchy he was becoming. Then he turned to Vance, stopping dead in his tracks as the rest of what the wolf boy had said leveled on him.

"If you made her tell you, then you know plenty. There's nothing to talk about. If you want a definite answer, then here you go: I'm staying here. I'd rather not be around when Reyna decides to stab me in the back again." Lev glared deep into Vance's eyes for a moment longer, but eventually caught onto himself and softened his expression, moving back to his bed with a sigh. "I'm staying here. It's for the best."
 
Vance flinched at Lev's scowl, his ears quickly hiding in his mass of hair as he listened to Lev's arguments. Hearing his answer, the wolf boy frowned. This wasn't how he thought this was going to go. Then again, he wasn't sure how it was going to go in the first place. He had hoped that Lev would make this easy and talk it out or something, but of course since Lev hadn't talked to them up until this point, Vance should have expected nothing less. Still, he had to figure out how to fix this. After all, it wouldn't be the same staying at Sylvia's without Lev there! So he had to figure out what was wrong then convince Lev that he was being a bit of a dunce and should come back with them to Sylvia's house for break.

"Why would it be better that way?" Vance started, a bit hesitant but slowly gaining his courage back. "I don't understand. Yeah, you love Sylvia and you can't tell her, but she's still your teammate, right? And I'm your teammate and Rain's your teammate. Wouldn't it be better to stay with your team if you can? I mean, we're gonna be a team for a long time so it wouldn't be good to start not talking to each other. I mean, what if we don't talk and we get hurt cause of some grimm! So... so how is staying away from us better? Sides, Rain wasn't trying to hurt you. I would've probably found out soon enough and we were worried about you! You just stormed off and then you wouldn't talk to us and now you're just bottling everything up! That's not good, you know!" The wolf boy floundered for a moment, unsure what else to say. "So, tell me what's wrong! Then we can all make up and go to Sylvia's house and have a fun break together!"
 
"It'd..." Lev stammered over Vance's simplistic view of the situation. The ravenette bit his tongue for a moment, looking for the right words to say. Eventually he simply shook his head. There were no right words this time. "It'd be better for me! Me and only me!" He broke down in frustration, stretching, pacing, rubbing his hands, and doing just about everything in an attempt to relax his body. Too much was going on in his head for him to settle down, but Vance wanted answers, so Lev was compelled to oblige despite his discomfort.

"I don't want to talk to Sylvia right now because it hurts, Vance! I hate being around her because some stupid part of me thought that she might like me back, and she doesn't. I played myself! I knew better from the start, and tried hard as hell to keep my distance, but because we're a stupid team, I didn't have a choice, and I fell, and it hurts, and I...I..." Lev coughed in an attempt to catch his breath. He wasn't getting out the whole picture anymore, he was just yelling at Vance as a proxy for something he never had. His thoughts quickly caught up with him though, and his restless body paused for a moment, huddling itself on Lev's bed. The ravenette allowed himself the luxury of crying over his predicament, but not for long. Vance wasn't his no-home buddy anymore, after all, and he certainly wasn't going to fill in for a father-figure if Lev could help it. He didn't have any business hearing the ravenette's woes.

"I can't deal with this right now, Vance." Lev sniffed, then rose from his bed and snatched his coat from its hanger. "I'm going for a jog around campus. You can let Sylvia know I'll be back before curfew." And with that, he was gone for the night.

-

The next few days leading up to break didn't change the situation much. Lev was still silent as ever, except now his silence was directed at his whole team. Just when vacation time began to descend on Beacon, Lev came forth to his teammates with the official announcement. "...None of my scholarships cover room and board over break, and I can't afford to be put in debt...so I have to tag along with you guys. I mean...if that's alright."
 
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