SLVR

Scary stories, marshmallows, and a roaring campfire made for the perfect first night of their camping trip. Sylvia listened intently as she nibbled on a s'more while Vance had been fully invested in whatever stories Reyna spun, almost forgetting about his s'mores in favor of reacting to all of her spooks. Once they got back to the tent, Vance had been ready to start settling down for the night. He almost let Lev go with a casual, "Okay, see you later!" when he remembered what Reyna had said. He needed to keep Lev in the tent at all costs until they could properly talk to him. Realizing Lev was starting to leave and he was going to fail in his mission, Vance jumped at Lev with a screamed out "NO!" and tackled him back into the tent.

For a few moments, Vance just sat on top of Lev, keeping him pinned to the ground. He needed to think fast about what to do to keep Lev in the tent. "No, you can't leave yet! Because..." He looked around the tent, trying to think of some reason, something he could do to convince Lev to stay. "Because..." He spotted the plethora of pillows the Slaters had allowed them to bring. "Because we need to have a pillow fight! It's part of camp tradition! It's almost as important as having s'mores and listening to spooky stories!" With a quick hand, Vance had grabbed one of his squishiest pillows and whacked Lev over the head with it. He was still straddling Lev awkwardly, but hopefully the pillow fight would convince Lev to stay in the tent long enough for Reyna to come over and give him her talking to.

Meanwhile in the girls' tent, Sylvia was just putting away her prosthetics when Reyna spoke up. She smiled and settled into her own little cocoon of blankets and pillows. "Yeah, they went pretty well. At first Lev tried to get me to leave, but I just wouldn't budge. I talked to him about some silly stories about the falls here and a little bit about my brother. Being back home and going camping with you guys reminded me of him so he was on my mind when I started to talk to Lev. He didn't really respond for a while before deciding to be an absolute drama queen and jumping into the river. He said, 'If you're gonna treat me like a wet blanket, at least let me get into the mood first!' Gods, he just can be so much sometimes!" Sylvia shook her head, curling up a bit as she tried to wrap herself further in her bundle of blankets. She was shivering, she knew she was, but she tried to hide it with the mass of blankets. Sure, she loved the changing leaves of fall and camping out in the middle of them, but having metal limbs and sleeping in a thin tent left her shivering worse than a wet cat. She really needed to get some better pajamas so she wouldn't have to try and cocoon herself all the time, but she just didn't have time. Besides, she could deal with a little bit of cold if she got to have fun with her team.
 
Reyna nodded happily at Sylvia's assessment of interacting with Lev. "Yeah, he's a dweeb alright. You'd think someone as slick as him would be fine with just talking things out, but ya put him in the pressure cooker and what's he do? Jumps in a lake. Of all the stupid things..." The pinkette held back a laugh, settling back a bit as she got into the talk. But before she could continue the conversation, she caught Sylvia wiggling deeper into her blankets. Giving her eyes a thoughtful roll and biting down on her lip, Reyna reached around and gathered some of her blanketing, tossing it on Sylvia without giving her a chance to argue.

"But what do you think, y'know?" Reyna pushed a bit further, daring to test her luck on the subject. "Like...I mean, I won't let you do it, but are you still thinking about transferring teams if...I dunno, if this Lev is temporary? I think we're all worried about him, but I..." Reyna clicked her tongue as she sifted through her head, trying to find the right way to phrase her questions without getting lost herself, "...Do you think you two are good?" It was as simple as Reyna could get. Hopefully she'd have time to build off of whatever Sylvia answered with. Hopefully Vance would be able to stall Lev long enough for Reyna to get her fill of hangout time with Sylvia.

-

"V-Vance, I-" Lev protested before catching a mouthful of pillow. He hastily pushed it away while trying to squirm out of Vance's straddle. "Vance, what are you talking about? Listen, I know I'm new to the whole camping thing, but I think you might be taking this a bit too far. Besides..." the ravenette bit his tongue for a moment, eyes shifting about as if trying to find a way out of talking further. After struggling a bit longer to no avail, Lev let out a breath and continued his statement. "...besides, I've seen enough movies to know that pillow-fights aren't a camping thing. That's, like...for sleepovers, y'know? Girly, tween-age sleepovers? Right?" The movie factoid left his mouth before he could stop it, leaving the ravenette with an embarrassed blush under Vance's weight. "I-It's not that I'm familiar! I've just sat through enough of my sister's shows to...to...just, I mean... C'mon Vance, get off!" Lev redoubled his efforts with a sudden, embarrassment-fueled burst of energy, finally managing to wiggle his way away from the wolf boy and towards the zipper. Just a few more inches would make a hole in the latch big enough for Lev to slip through. From there he could just use his semblance and be gone in a flash. Hopefully Vance wouldn't try to keep shoving all this camping craze down his throat...
 
Sylvia couldn't help but laugh at Reyna's description of Lev. Truly, he was a dweeb, but he was their dweeb. She tried to argue when the pinkette threw some more blankets at her to add to her nest, but was cut off by Reyna hitting a little more serious of a topic. Sylvia closed her mouth and thought for a bit, adding the blankets to her little cocoon of warmth. "... From what I saw today he's willing to try to fix things. I don't think it'll come to me having to switch teams, but know that I'd do anything to make sure you guys are at your happiest and healthiest." The silverette stared at Reyna for a bit, making sure her point got across. For a few beats, she was silent. Once she felt she fully made her point, she settled a bit better into her cocoon and looked around at their tent. "We actually managed to have somewhat of a normal conversation. It didn't feel exactly like how it was before, but to me it felt comfortable and normal. So... yeah, I think we're good." She turned to smile at Reyna, the sight a bit comical as it was just her face poking out of her cocoon of blankets and pillows.

~~~

Meanwhile, in the boys' tent, Vance was struggling. Of course, Lev would see through his lie right away. Vance hadn't necessarily always been a good liar. Seeing Lev reach to try and open the zipper to their tent, Vance realized he had to come up with a new excuse and fast. He didn't know what was taking Reyna so long, but he knew if she didn't come fast then they might just lose Lev for the night and not be able to actually get their chat in with him.

Biting his lip, Vance grabbed Lev's hand and got off of him. Instead, he dragged the other boy to his corner of the tent, far away from the zipper and the tent's entrance. "W-wait! Okay so maybe I lied about the whole pillow fight thing, but... but..." Think, think! He had to come up with something to get Lev to stay! "Y-you can't go out walking at night! What if a grimm comes? O-or one of the monsters in Reyna's stories! If you're out there alone then it'll be easier for them to come and get you off guard! A-and it's dark out there! Like really, really dark! You don't have night vision like I do so it'll be too hard for you to see! A-and then you'll leave me alone and what if I get a nightmare?! I can't just go over to Reyna and Sylvia's tent! That'd be too scary! So you can't go out to walk! You've gotta stay here!" Vance was practically clinging to his teammate at this point, pinning Lev's arms to his sides while also making sure the boy couldn't squirm his way towards the entrance of the tent. Vance wasn't sure how long he'd be able to keep this up, but hopefully it would be enough for Reyna to get over to their tent and talk with Lev.
 
Sylvia's answer to her first question made Reyna purse her lips in a frown. "So then you won't leave." the pinkette declared matter-of-factly, still unhappy that there was still the potential present in her friend's decision. The beat passed with Reyna keeping as much eye-contact with Sylvia as she was her, taking in the silverette's point and rebutting with her own. While she would have continued to argue the point, Sylvia seemed content to move on to the next question, allowing Reyna to ease her back and un-tense her shoulders.

"Well...well good. I'm glad something got worked out. And I'm sorry for pressuring you. Heck, I'm still sorry for yesterday, too. I just don't want to see you two fighting, considering you've been the closest out of all of us." Reyna gave a satisfied smirk as if to end the conversation there, but decided to push the fact just a bit further while she had the time. "I mean, Vance and I are partners too, but it feels like I hardly see the guy, y'know? He's usually off with his boyfriend, and up until recently, I'd be with Mr. Dummy-Coward-Pants. Now I just go shopping with Ellie, or call up my parents. Either way, we don't hang out much. Not like you and Lev, anyways. I honestly can't tell how you put up with that ego, let alone that hair, for extended periods of time." The pinkette chuckled, then picked herself up. Much as she wanted to stick around, she couldn't keep the boys waiting.

"Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess. I'm gonna go check on the children. Feel free to use my blankets if you need 'em. It's still pretty warm out, so I don't think I'll use any tonight."

-

"Good gods, Vance! What're you trying to do?!" Lev's eyes bugged out when he was snagged away by the wolf boy. As far as the ravenette could see, this was going far beyond camping. Suspicion began to grow in Lev, and his eyes narrowed further and further as Vance scrounged for words to inhibit him from leaving the tent. With a deep breath, Lev began to argue his case while looking for a way past his physically stronger teammate.

"Vance, bud, listen, Syv already said their wasn't any grimm around here. Even if there was, I think I'd be able to keep them off my tail, but that's not the point. I don't even plan on walking far! I was just gonna go check out the falls! The moon's out, and the water's lit up just fine, so there's no chance I'd get lost. We aren't even that far from the river! I-" Lev was about to press on, but Vance finally got something out that rang somewhat true to the ravenette's ears. With his teammate holding onto him for dear life at this point, Lev let out a sigh, and let himself go limp in Vance's arms in defeat.

"Fine, I'll stay, I'll stay...I didn't think Reyna's stories would scare you that bad."
 
Sylvia relaxed as Reyna let her move on past the whole "leaving the team" thing. However, she then moved on to apologize for pushing her and Lev together and forcing them to hang out. "It's fine, Reyna. I understand why you did it. Honestly, I would probably do something similar if you and Vance were fighting like that and refused to talk to each other." Hearing how little Reyna felt like she saw Vance, Sylvia took the opportunity to give a little advice. "Well, we're going to be on vacation for a while now and Gabe isn't here. You could probably get some serious bonding time in with Vance if you wanted. I'm sure he'd appreciate it." At the last bit about Lev, Sylvia couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, he's not so bad all the time. And I happen to like his hair! It's super fun to style, even if he complains all the time when I do it." With that, Sylvia waved Reyna off to go check on their boys, snuggling further into her cocoon of blankets and guiltily stealing one more of Reyna's to try and add just a little bit extra warmth.

~~~

Vance was so sure that nothing would have worked. He was honestly surprised when Lev finally gave in at his mention of nightmares. Mentally cheering a bit in success, Vance gave Lev a squeeze and almost nuzzled into his friend. "Reyna's stories were super scary! And they all happened on nights like this in places just like our camp! Of course I would get scared by that!" Really, Vance had heard way too many scary stories from his older siblings to truly be affected by Reyna's admittedly ghoulish tales. However, Lev didn't need to know that. He just had to think that until Reyna came in and started their whole chat-talk-thing.
 
Lev let out a cough as Vance squeezed him tighter, but remained in his arms all the same. "Well you don't have to worry about it now. I dunno though, my sister used to come up with stuff way worse than that. Stories don't really scare me thanks to her. I remember this really-"

"Woah, good job Vance!" Reyna interrupted Lev as she unzipped the entrance to the boys' tent and stepped inside. Lev's eyes shot open, and he instinctively maneuvered Vance in front of him as a sort of shield. Reyna ignored it all with a grin. "I'm sorry I took so long. Got caught up with Sylvia n' all. So what'd you do? Break his legs?"

The ravenette could only stare harder at the pinkette, brows knitted together in frustration. "What are you doing here? No girls allowed." He announced, snark in his voice as he took a nearby pillow and tossed it into Reyna's face.

"I am here," the pinkette began, shrugging off the pillow with a shake of her head, "Mr. Lev, to clear the air between the three of us. Vance is still in the dark for the most part, and I've got questions of my own, and before you get any wise ideas, you better realize the position you're in. Isn't that right, Vance?"

Lev took a moment to follow Reyna's train of thought, recognizing that she was completely blocking the entrance, and Vance still had himself wrapped tightly around his torso. With a sigh, Lev backed against a side of the tent to get comfortable. "Fine. Shoot."

"Why're you so angry?"

Reyna's question hit him harder than he expected. Lev had to gnaw on the inside of his lip to stop himself from sputtering out something he might regret later. After giving it some thought, he looked at Vance, then Reyna. Then he began to recant his story, albeit in a more collected and understandable way:

"It's no secret that I've got a crush on Sylvia now. I don't know what I was thinking...I mean, from the start, there was no chance. At least, not from my perspective. The way I saw it, Seymour was everything she could've needed, so I compared myself to him a lot. Couple that with how I treated Sylvia when I first met her...how I treated all of you...I don't think I need to explain my reasoning."

"Yeah, but you've-" Reyna tried to break in with some reason, but Lev held a hand up.

"-I've changed? Grown up? Matured? We all have. I may have made some ground in some places, but it still feels like I'm kicking at Sylvia's heels. The reality is that I'm stuck, so I'm trying to be angry so I get un-stuck, you get it?" the ravenette looked to each of his teammates, looking for some confirmation. There was none to be had, though, so he pressed on. "I want to move on, guys. I want to, really badly. For both of our sakes, because I don't want to turn into a bitter creep that can't handle a bit of rejection. It'd just make these next years worse in the long run."

Reyna thought through what her teammate had to say for a moment before putting on an irritated expression. "Okay, yeah, sure... But why anger? There's plenty of ways to distance yourself, y'know. You have no issues acting aloof, and you're already vague as hell, so why tack on the extra baggage?"

Lev was caught off-guard by how prepared Reyna's question seemed, and he had to think it through himself before finally giving his answer. "...I guess it's just self-indulgence at this point. I was hurt by Vance without him even knowing, so I had to bottle that up. You used to constantly steamroll over anything I would do or say, just to undermine me in front of everyone else, so I had to bottle that up, and Sylvia...she's just so dense. It hurts, how dense she is! Great learner, amazing mind for battle, sound strategy, effective in almost every area I can think of...but gods, she just doesn't see anything until she runs her brick wall of a head straight into it. That whole 'cheating' commentary after the tournament was just the tip of the iceberg that doesn't look like it'll stop growing any time soon...and I just bottle it up. Yesterday just happened to be the tipping point, I suppose. I had to let it all out. I wanted to let it all out. It felt good to just yell at someone for once in my damn life... So yeah, that's why. Just me being selfish and immature." Lev said it as if he accepted it, but he hung on tighter to Vance, as if trying to avoid the fact like the plague. Meanwhile, Reyna had to settle in and digest all the information, leaving the tent in an uncomfortable silence.
 
Vance felt at the same time relieved and highly annoyed with Reyna as she entered. She didn't have to assume the worst and completely (possibly) destroy Lev's trust in him by asking if he had stopped Lev by breaking his legs! The wolf boy huffed a bit as he indignantly said, "I'd never break his legs! I just said I might get nightmares and it's dark outside and it's too scary to walk over to your tent in the night!" He explained, shifting a little to get more comfortable in his hold on Lev. Lev, for his credit, was taking the whole situation extremely well. He didn't even try to escape Vance's embrace, only snuggled more into it. As he explained his story, the wolf boy felt his heart go out to his teammate. He felt horrible that he had hurt Lev, even if he hadn't known it, with his own family drama. For a while, the trio was left in an uncomfortable silence.

"... I'm sorry I hurt you, Lev." The wolf boy finally managed, hesitantly breaking the silence to speak. "And I'm sorry Rain hurt you and I'm sorry Sylvia hurt you. That was really mean of us to do and you shouldn't have felt like you had to keep it all in like that. That must've really, really sucked." Biting his lip, Vance tried to think of something to say to address Lev's problems, to offer him some kind of help or support or... or something! This was all hard, especially since Vance didn't really have much experience with this kind of situation.

"I... I think if you want to move on then you need to talk to somebody a-and try to just be friends with Sylvia." Immediately, Vance moved to clarify. "I know that sounds stupid! B-but if you hang out with her more then maybe you'll find out more about her that annoys you and makes her less um... less worthy of being a crush? Or something like that? And you guys are already really good friends even if you don't think so and... it'd be sad to lose a friend. A-and it's not good to keep things bottled inside! If I hurt you again or Rain does or somebody else does then you can tell us! We'll listen and try to fix it so we don't hurt you again! And even if we can't then maybe at least talking it out will make you feel better! I don't really know how to help, but I want to try my best to help you, Lev!" With that, Vance gave a gentle squeeze and settled his head on top of Lev's, quite like he would with his younger siblings when they had been feeling extra sad.
 
Lev listened to Vance intently, somewhat surprised to hear the wolf boy speak up. It was unusual for him to weigh in on these sorts of problems when they involved others. At the very least, the ravenette appreciated the gesture.

"You don't need to apologize, Vance. It's the last thing you should be doing to me. We're square now, if anything, and even that still twists my gut. I still feel bad about dragging you through the mud because of something out of your control...and don't go trying to say sorry for others, too. You should know I won't accept it."

Reyna made a bit of noise by shifting her feet around the floor of the tent, stopping Lev before he could continue talking. "I...I mean, I've said it already..." the pinkette began, looking down at her socks with a bit of shame coloring her face, "...but I really am sorry about all of that. The past is the past n' all, but it doesn't make anything I did any less right. I mean, you used to grind my gears good, hedgehog, but now...well, I mean, look at us. I think we make pretty good friends."

The ravenette nodded his head in agreement with Reyna's words. "Yeah, I think you're right...and apology accepted." With that settled, Lev turned back to Vance so he could address everything else that was suggested. "As for making due with Sylvia...I dunno, Vance. It's just not that simple...especially not after yesterday. I just...how? How did she let all that go? After what I said?! I left that room with the express intent of never talking to her again. I shamed myself enough for a lifetime! ...but there she was, today, on the riverbank, being her usual pest of a self. After the days leading up to our trip out here, I didn't expect her to make any sort of contact with me."

"Y-Yeah, I mighta had something to do with that." Reyna broke in again, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish grin.

"...of course. But still, she was there, and she didn't scram when I wanted her to, so...yeah, I don't know. I just feel like I've taken a huge step back in the grand scheme of things, y'know? ...And thinking of my parents doesn't help either. I mean if...if she wants to leave, then..." Lev forced himself to stop speaking. His face was starting to turn red, his eyes were blurring, and his breath was starting to catch. Whatever it was he was going to say, it definitely sucker-punched him. Reyna simply nodded, then left the boys' tent, giving Lev some time to fall asleep in Vance's grip.

-

"Hey Sylvia..." Reyna started speaking as soon as she re-entered her own tent, snuggling into her own spot before she continued. "...you can't leave us." It was no longer matter-of-fact, but rather a statement made with enough weight to back it up. Reyna's expression was serious, and she held it up for a good moment to make sure Sylvia received some modicum of the intent behind saying so. Then the pinkette sighed, and settled further into her spot for the night.
 
Vance kept quiet while Lev got his words out, staying a steady presence as Lev tried to explain his feelings and current situation with Sylvia. Once he started to cry, Vance shifted so he had Lev's face in his shoulder and one hand rubbing Lev's back. Once the raven haired boy was asleep, Vance pulled up some blankets and pillows to make a makeshift nest and get to sleep.

Over in the girl's tent, Sylvia was a bit surprised by the sudden serious tone Reyna gave. Something must've happened when she went over to check on the boys. She waited for a bit to see if the pinkette would give some sort of explanation, but was left with nothing. After contemplating a bit, Sylvia said, "Okay." With that, SLVR was down to sleep.

The rest of the camping trip felt a lot less dramatic than the first day. Sylvia took her team on a few hiking trips, showing off the forests and various natural wonders that could be found around the falls. Vance had gotten everyone swimming at one point, almost getting Sylvia fully in before the silverette exclaimed that her ports might short-circuit since she didn't have a proper covering for them and being in the water would just electrocute her and possibly everyone else. With that, Vance determined that he would find a way to get Sylvia to swim by the end of their fall break. Their nights were filled with s'mores and scary stories and even some silly camp fire songs occasionally. Overall, it was a good bonding experience for the whole team, who all ended up in Vance and Lev's tent one of the nights for a huge cuddle party. They left the camping site with lighter burdens and Lev suspiciously missing one of his warmest pairs of pajamas.

After their whole camping trip, SLVR had decided to make a day to go out and explore the City of Vale. Sylvia had wanted to check out some of the hardware and dust stores while Vance simply wanted to run around with his teammates. So, the team wandered around, walking the streets as they enjoyed their vacation to the fullest.
 
The following time spent camping eventually became less drama and more vacation. Lev would spend most of Sylvia's hiking trips unseen, zipping up and about trees and rocks at his own pace, while Reyna tried to play mother-hen for a change. Anytime reeling Lev back to the group didn't work out, the pinkette would rest her head on Vance's back with a groan. Then, when the team decided to go swimming for a bit, Lev enthusiastically challenged Vance to a race from one end of the river's head to the other. Reyna spied the trick the ravenette was trying to pull, and after a bit of whispering between partners, came up with a plan to beat him at his own game. Sure enough, Lev simply used his semblance to dash across the waves, but it wasn't so one-sided. Reyna took Vance's arms and gave him a quick twirl, using centrifugal force to hurl the wolf boy like a stone. With Vance's semblance active, he skipped across the water just as fast as Lev, though with a bit less grace. Lev nearly drowned because he started laughing so hard, and Reyna certainly wasn't fairing much better.

...It was a miracle she caught a picture of the spectacle.

Nights always had something different in store, from Reyna's stories to Lev's unexpected and eclectic knowledge of lesser-known melodies, both haunting and hilarious in nature. Once everyone started hanging out in the same tent, the ravenette was unlucky enough to find himself at the bottom of the cuddle pile. After struggling and failing to free himself of his teammates, he decided to simply wait out the punishment. His mistake. The next morning saw him searching frantically for a pair of pajamas he swore he stuffed into his pack. Reyna knew full-well who took it, but enjoyed leading the ravenette on a wild goose chase for them while they still had time.

By the time they ended their camping shenanigans, Lev had given up on his PJs, and turned his sights on brighter prospects: Shopping! Vale had plenty of opportunities to splurge some spending money, and though Lev was broke in his current state, the opportunity to window-shop was enough to perk him up. Reyna, in contrast, had her eyes open for any and every eating establishment, from snacks to meals, sweet to savory. Her scroll was up to her nose at almost every corner, checking for reviews, locations, and prices. While most places caught her interest, there was only a few she was willing to duck into to make a purchase. One of which was a quaint little "Crepe in a Cup" stand. She came back to her team with four sizable snacks, and was about to brag on how much she knew about the treat when...

"So! This is where she's been hidin'!" A familiar voice, at least to Sylvia and Vance, made its way across the moderately populated plaza. "Nice to see ya sittin' pretty on yer laurels after kickin' my hide to the curb. Just be ready for a rematch next year, 'cuz there's no way I'm goin' down a second time!"

It was Bas, hat and all. He was alone, but that didn't stop him from looking as confident as ever. As he stepped closer to the team, Lev stepped forward and in front of his leader. He remembered very well what happened after Sylvia's match with him. He spelled trouble, that much was sure. The ravenette wasn't willing to risk Sylvia getting dragged into it. Not alone, at least.

"Oh? I recognize the punchy-guy, but pinkie and blackie are new. This the rest of your team then, Sylvie?" Bas gave a sniff, tipping his hat in greeting to the new faces. Lev remained stoic, taking another step to make sure his stance in the matter was clear.

"The name's Lev, and she's Reyna. His name is Vance, and her name is Sylvia." the ravenette tried to speak without hissing, but there was venom in his voice all the same. Bas took notice, and simply smiled wider.

"Ooohh, got somethin' you wanna say, blackie? Gonna wave yer hair at me, is that it? Give a guy some credit for remembering a face, at least. And maybe while you're at it, chill out a bit? I'm here to make friends. It is my vacation, after all." The hat-wearing boy spoke casually, but took a step closer to Lev to drive the tension up a notch. The electricity between the two was almost visible, and at the rate they were escalating, fists were sure to fly soon enough. One side glowering like a violent storm, and the other side smiling as viciously as a desert sun; the two boys were as opposite as they came. Whatever the outcome of their encounter, it was hard to imagine it ending pretty.
 
Shopping had started out as a good idea. Sylvia and Vance were about to enjoy some wonderful crepes with Reyna when a familiar voice sent chills down their spines. Sylvia immediately froze, almost afraid to turn to see the familiar face. Vance had to hold back a growl as he turned towards Bas. He was ready to jump in and help protect his leader when Lev got to it first. Vance let Lev take the point on this one, standing behind Sylvia for support. The silverette in question had whipped around to see Lev defending her. She bit her lip, hesitating on whether or not she should pull him away from the conflict. With the way things were heating up, they were going to have a fight on their hands that wouldn't turn out well for anybody. Sylvia started to steel herself to try and use her authority to get Lev to back down when another voice cut through the air.

"Bas." All heads turned to a short girl striding towards SLVR. The newcomer had bright blue hair that seemed to be fading back to brown at the roots and piercing purple eyes. She walked with long strides, her head held high and her shoulders squared. When she reached the group, she immediately reached for Bas's hand and wound it in between her own, pulling him back away from Lev. She took a moment to glance over SLVR before her gaze landed on Sylvia. She looked the silverette up and down before speaking once more. "So you're the one who defeated Bas in the tournament." It wasn't a question, more of a statement as the mysterious bluenette continued to analyze the silverette in front of her.

Immediately Sylvia got Azul vibes from this new person. She practically shivered under the gaze as she tried to figure out why exactly this girl was so interested in her. "Um, yeah! Hi!" She stumbled out, shifting a bit and wringing her hands behind her back. Taking a deep breath, Sylvia smiled before starting the introductions. "My name is Sylvia Slater. I'm leader of team SLVR. This is my team, Lev Castor, Reyna Raleigh, and Vance Faolan. It's nice to meet you! What's your name?" Sylvia rocked on her feet a bit as she tried to get her nervous energy out.

The silence stretched for a few moments, the bluenette simply watching Sylvia squirm. Finally she spoke up, her voice sharp and commanding, "Rumina. You've already met my boyfriend, Bas." Rumina squeezed Bas's hand at her introduction of him, almost inching back as if to show him off. Sylvia smiled and tried to think of something else to say, hoping that maybe Reyna knew something on Rumina to be able to help steer the conversation or at least get those eyes off of her! Sylvia almost swore that Rumina hadn't blinked once as she took stock of the silverette in front of her. It creeped her out, to say the least.
 
Bas was hesitant to take his eyes off of Lev when his name was called. It was as if he didn't want to seem like he was giving in, even if the situation called for it. Even so, the hatted blond kept a wide smile on his lips when the newcomer pulled him away. With the distance between them, Lev found himself stepping back in line with the rest of SLVR, and away from his instigator.

"Rue." Bas responded to the girl at his side, finally tearing his gaze away from what could've been fresh opponents. Before he could make any more comments, Rumina spoke up to Sylvia, reminding the cocky boy of his public defeat. A chill visibly ran up Bas' spine, and his smile turned a shade more desperate, but he kept quiet, as did the rest of SLVR. Rumina exerted an almost insurmountable pressure that even Lev was struggling to press past, and when it seemed like she was done talking, the pressure doubled. The silence between the two girls was drinkable, and if it wasn't broken soon, it looked like Sylvia was likely to drown. Both Lev and Reyna took a step forward in an attempt to save their leader, but it was Bas who broke the silence as if it was never there to begin with.

"C'mon Rue, I'd appreciate it if ya wouldn't bring up the whole tournament loss, 'specially around the chick that did me in, y'know? I'd much rather see you and the rest of RPTD tear into the team that won the whole lot." Bas shrugged, drawing an arm around the bluenette's shoulders to pull her a bit closer. Then he looked to Sylvia, clicking his tongue in mock disappointment. "I told ya not to lose after me, Sylvie. Way to stain my pride in front of my girl! You better believe that I'm gonna bury you like a lightnin' rod next year, and that's a promise! ...y'know, a-a friendly one. Between competitors n' all. S-Sportsmanship 'n the like."

As Bas spoke, Reyna's eyes bulged, and she coughed on the bite of crepe she had been trying to sneak during the conversation. "RPTD? Shade's master-class team? The ace-in-the-hole, th-that's you?" She pointed a weak finger at Rumina, then looked to Sylvia to explain. "Her and Azule have been trading off placings for three years! Three years! And-"

"-And it woulda been four," Bas interrupted with a grin to Rumina, happy to show her off for a change, "if she'd participated. Too bad doin' a real hunter's work had to come first. With how that washed-up snow-blower fought this year, Rue woulda been a shoo-in for first place. Not just third or second, but first!" Bas rounded his brag off with a harrumph, eager to see his impromptu audience eat his words.
 
Sylvia blinked as Bas stepped in to her rescue rather than Reyna. Hearing the boy promise to beat her next year, she couldn't help but chuckle and try to find a response. Thankfully, she didn't have to as Reyna-sweet, sweet encyclopedic Reyna-already was pointing out that Rumina was in fact the leader of RPTD and a famous/strong huntress who had apparently been trading places for second and third with Azule for years. Sylvia couldn't help but feel a bit impressed that this girl had managed to trade blows with Azule for years before taking the year off to go on a real. mission.

However, Bas's impromptu bragging didn't seem to break Rumina's stare on Sylvia. The bluenette hummed as Bas proclaimed that she would have taken first in the tournament. "Maybe." She noted, leaning into the taller blond's hold. "Maybe not. I would have rather watched you fight in person, Bas. You showed off quite a bit of new stuff in the tournament. I wanted to see it in person." She broke her stare only for a moment to kiss Bas's cheek. Once she had shown her affection, the bluenette returned her gaze to the silverette, looking her up and down. "Sylvia Slater, you said your name was?" She waited for the silverette's confirmation. "Hm. I'll see you at the next tournament in the arena." With that, Rumina pulled her boyfriend with her, apparently completely done with SLVR and that conversation.

With Rumina and Bas's exit, SLVR was left in a state of shock. Sylvia blinked as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened. She could still feel buzzing beneath her skin, her heart pounding as if she had just managed to pull herself above water. She could faintly hear Vance ask her if she was okay. "What... what was that? What did she mean by that? Is she really that strong? Why was she staring at me like that?! What just happened?!" Sylvia looked around at her team, for once completely and utterly out of her depth as to what was going on. Vance bit his lip, also a bit clueless as to what the whole exchange meant.
 
Bas, in an uncharacteristic change in behavior, practically melted at Rumina's words and actions. Under his hat, his face was turning a shade pinker, and it was clear that he was happy to go wherever his girlfriend wanted to take him once she said her piece. It seemed he didn't even care about leaving a parting remark, something Lev could only scoff at once the couple passed from sight. If it weren't for the state the interaction left Sylvia in, Lev would've tried to get something out in Bas' place. Instead, he resolved to watch over his stunned leader, wondering why there seemed to be such an awkward obsession between the power-couple from Shade and the silverette.

"I told you, that was Rumina." Reyna began, having taken a breath to calm herself down. "She's the big name around Vacuo when it comes to hunters, and if you know anything about Vacuo, you should know that being a hunter there is a huge deal. Shade Academy is basically the only set government there, so hunters have to deal with anything and everything that goes wrong. If she took a serious mission over participating in the tournament, then she's gotten way stronger than I remember, and I kept really close tabs on her until this year!" Reyna found herself gushing with a grin. Once she became aware of this, her expression puckered, and she quickly attempted to explain herself.

"N-Not for any reason in particular! Y'know, I j-just wanted to see strong hunters, a-and she was strong, and a girl, so she was a really cool role model when I was t-training and stuff! Anyways!" the pinkette practically coughed through her explanation before rolling back into her original topic, though she looked all the more nervous about it. "She's all about strength. ALL about it. She doesn't even talk to people she doesn't think can give her a good run in a fight. That's why Shade practically idolizes her. Not only can she tell if someone is worth investing effort in, but she constantly puts students to the test herself, just to do it! ...I think...I think she thinks you're strong, Sylvia! Maybe beating her boyfriend had something to do with it, but you got some hot attention on you! That's awesome!!!"

Lev didn't buy Reyna's excuse for her enthusiasm of the topic, but he didn't have time to say so. A ringing from his pocket interrupted the group's chat, and after flipping out his scroll and listening for a moment, he put the caller on speaker and held it out for the team to hear.

"Hey losers. Ellie asked me to-" Abby's voice came out crisp and clear, but was swiftly interrupted by sounds of a tussle. A moment later, a different voice sounded off.

"Sylvia! Y'all there? Abby and Seymour came to visit me at the hospital, and I forgot my scroll at home!"
"No you didn't, Ellie! Gimme back my scro-GAH!"
"Yeeaaah, so anyways! Y'all should come 'round and say hi! I'm bored as all get-out, and I'm a bit hungry too. We can all go grab something to eat together!"
"Ell, get your foot out of my stomach! I swear I'll torch your-"
"Sound good? Good! See ya in a half-hour!"

The next moment, the call ended, and SLVR was left to process the whole ordeal. Reyna was the first to speak up, giggling at how outrageous the past few minutes had been. "Well I think it'd be nice to see everyone outside of school, and I could go for something a bit more filling than the crepe. How about you guys?"

"I guess I'm fine with it." Lev spoke up with reluctance, still looking at the scroll in his open palm. Seymour would be there, and so would Abby. There were a hundred and one scenarios that could happen between them, Sylvia, and himself, and the only one that appealed to the ravenette was complete and utter silence. That said, he couldn't let himself dwell on what had already been "resolved," and staying away from everyone would just make him a bigger target of inquiry than he already was. "We have the rest of break to shop around anyways. No harm in spending some time with SAGE. What do you two think?" Lev turned to Vance and Sylvia to hear their input, but only as a formality. He was already prepared to tune out of the excursion.
 
Reyna's voice sounded somewhat faded as Sylvia tried to process all of this information. Rumina was a well-known huntress in Shade. She was all about strength and personally tested fellow students. She and Bas seemed interested in Sylva. Rumina thought Sylvia was strong. The silverette nearly felt her legs lock up as the false nerves fought with her sudden rush of dizziness and sheer confusion. Why would anyone consider her strong? She was thankful to have Lev's call interrupt everything. She couldn't help the chuckle at the nonsense Abby and Ellie seemed to be getting into.

Once Vance heard the plans to meet up with SAGE, sans Gabe, he was already bouncing. "We should get going! This is gonna be so great! We haven't hung out with SAGE in like forever! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" He started to jog ahead, grabbing onto Reyna to pull her along.

Sylvia chuckled, following after her excitable teammate. "It's only been like, 4 days, Vance. Besides, we've got 30 minutes! You don't have to run!" The silverette smiled an exasperated yet fond smile. The thirty minutes passed by swiftly as the team stood in front of the hospital, getting ready to visit SAGE and go get lunch with them. Vance was already gearing up to tell them all about their exciting camping trip while Sylvia started to feel butterflies in her chest at seeing Seymour once again.
 
"Sylvia! Friends! Hello!" Seymour called out as SLVR came into view. He stood just outside the hospital's front doors, waving warmly to the approaching team. As soon as she was close enough, Seymour had Sylvia's hand in his own, happily interlocking fingers as he led her and her team through the building. "Ellie was insistent that Abby and I wait for you before entering." The gazelle boy seemed more eager than usual, and by the length of his stride through the halls, it seemed as though he had been kept waiting for quite some time. It didn't take much longer for Abby to come into view, hanging out by a door with her usual scowl. The floor and walls around said door seemed more scuffed up than usual, but otherwise everything seemed to be in place.

"What kept you? I want my phone back." Abby snorted in frustration, giving a knock on the door at her side. Ellie's head popped out in response, and after giving a quick look around, the rest of her followed suit. After ensuring the door was shut behind her, she turned to SLVR with a beam.

"Glad to see y'all could make it! I've just been thinkin'-"

"Scheming, you mean?" Abby broke in on Ellie's greeting, but without skipping a beat, the cowgirl whipped a hand out and clasped the lioness's mouth shut. With how the redhead struggled, it was clear that Ellie wasn't in the joking mood. While her demeanor was the same as ever, something about her aura was devious and intense, as though she had a strict plan to follow.

"-just been thinkin'," She reiterated, "that y'all haven't met my parents yet! They run this joint, and y'figure since we're hunters n' all, we'll be seeing it a lot, right? Sooooo, git in here!" Ellie's sudden insistence caught everyone off guard as she quite literally shoved her friends into the open doorway. Once everyone regained their bearings, the door was shut, and Ellie stood in front of them again, a wily grin gracing her lips. Sitting on the bed behind her was a petite girl of the same age. Her lengthy hair was a fine copper color, and her eyes were slits of piercing, yet gentle, sea-green. Her smile was small, but it revealed sizable fangs, and small scales decorated the area just under her ears. From between her lips, a forked tongue appeared, though only for a moment, as if out of habit, and from her back extended a sizable, mobile, and very scaly tail: A snake faunus.

"Whoops!" Ellie began, clearly not at all surprised that the only company in the room was, in fact, not her parents, "This isn't my mama or daddy!" With that, she glanced over to the girl, who's petite mouth grew just a bit further into a sweet-hearted grin.

"Hello! I'm Ellie's girlfriend, Amarilla Anthise! Please, call me Ama." She spoke out with a soft alto, and gave a princess wave with as good intentions as ever. Ellie nearly doubled over in a blush, but recovered fast enough to re-present her girlfriend to her audience.

"You bet she is! She just got cleared from care today, and we're goin' on a date! A DOUBLE-DATE!!!" The cowgirl hyped herself up as Ama giggled behind her. Abby and Seymour's eyes widened unexpectedly, but where Seymour was snickering, Abby was panicking, trying to get to the door before Ellie could do anything about it. Lev noticed the reactions, as did Reyna, and in one massive flood of understanding, it seemed everyone caught on to the catch-22 in Ellie's plan for them. Without a single strain, Ellie plucked Abby from her frenzy and set the lioness at her side, then did the same to Lev, who was far too stunned to argue.

"I'd say y'all are the biggest elephant in the room at this point, so it's time to start doin' some addressin'!" Ellie smiled confidently to herself before turning to Sylvia, a mischievous gleam catching her eye. "Now Sylvia, in the meantime, be sure to take poor li'l Seymour somewhere nice, okay? Thing's a champion, but couldn't find a nice shindig to save the hair on his neck. Aaannd Reyna!" She turned again, this time to the pinkette, "Hun, please take Vance to get dolled up! Nothing would make me happier than seeing Gabe's sewed up jaw cut loose for a change. That boy's had it comin', and y'all know it!" With another spin back to the center of the room, Ellie gave one last word. "Now I'll hear no if's, and's, or but's outta any of y'all! I've been sittin' on my laurels watchin' you pansies play hard t' get with one another for too long, and now it's my turn to have some fun!"

Without hearing out the opinions of everyone in the room, Ellie knelt down to let Ama piggyback on her, then took hold of Abby and Lev, and dragged them off. "See y'all later!" She shouted as she passed from sight, leaving the room in silence.

Reyna's eyes were flying about in an attempt to understand everything that happened, and by the end of it all, her gaze settled on Seymour, who was now facing Sylvia with a smile.

"I suppose I am all yours today, Sylvia." the gazelle boy hummed, seemingly unfazed by the amount of ridiculous that just happened. Meanwhile Reyna hooked an arm around Vance, concern coloring her face.

"I think..." the pinkette whispered, "...I think Ellie is way smarter than we gave her credit for..."
 
It was nice to see Seymour and Abby once again. Sylvia couldn't help but feel a little confused when Ellie decided that all of the sudden they had to meet her parents. Really, it didn't seem like Ellie to just decide now was the time to introduce them when SLVR had the opportunity way back before the Vytal tournament. Instead, things started to make sense when they were all practically shoved into the room, a cute snake girl sitting on a bed. Ellie flew through the plans far too quickly for Sylvia to really get any words in, but was okay with the outcomes. She just had to move up some plans now. Smiling, she ducked to give Seymour a kiss on the cheek before noting, "I have the perfect place. You're gonna have to close your eyes though. It's a top secret Slater tradition. Plus, I wanna see if I can at least surprise you just a little." With a smile, Sylvia moved to hold her hands over her boyfriend's eyes and lead him to her desired destination.

The walk was a bit, but Sylvia had fun taking the time to talk to Seymour about how their respective breaks had been going. Seymour could just start to hear the roar of some kind of falls as Sylvia removed her hands. "Ta da!" In front of them was a beautiful cascade of falls, one leading to another leading to another until finally they ended in a pool that was clear as glass. They could see colorful koi swimming around in the pool, swimming past lily pads and water lilies with ease. The falls was a good few miles away from where SLVR had camped, and definitely farther up the trails Sylvia had led their team on. However, the walk was worth it as min rainbows could be seen forming from the light hitting the water just right.

Sylvia rubbed the back of her head as she started to explain a bit. "I was planning on taking you up here for a picnic, but then Ellie kinda just sprang the whole thing on us and this was the best spot I could think of so..." She trailed off, her aura radiating with nerves and hesitant excitement. She waited for Seymour to give his piece, almost half expecting him to berate her for the stupid idea.

~~~

Meanwhile, Vance had been expecting a nice group hangout and was excitedly bouncing as they met with Abby and Seymour. However, once Ellie introduced her girlfriend and subsequently broke the group up, Vance couldn't help the myriad of feelings that surfaced. First, he was disappointed because he really, truly was looking forward to hanging out with SAGE. However, he was also kind of happy because he got to meet Ellie's girlfriend and hang out with Reyna, who he hadn't had a lot of one on one time with in like forever. Trying to figure out which one he should feel, he nodded at Reyna's whisper.

"Yeah..." He bit his lip, before turning to his partner. "So what do we do now? I mean, I know Ellie said to get me "dolled up" but I don't know what that means... We could just go hang out somewhere, if you wanted?" He shifted a bit, unsure what to do now that it was just himself and his partner. It had been so long since they had just chatted one on one not about Sylvia and Lev drama or team things or even about Gabe or he-who-shall-not-be-named. Vance was just a little stumped on what he should do.
 
"Movie time, ladies and Lev!" Ellie announced as she dragged her friends into the theater. Lev was content to simply follow along, but Abby had struggled the entire way. It seemed like she would struggle further, but the more cramped crowd at the movie theater made her too shy to bother. Lev was impressed for the moment that Ellie gave him, but soon they were on the move again. "Four tickets to Huntress Heartthrob!" She demanded before turning to Abby and Lev. "Ama chose the movie. She's a sucker for the mushy stuff."

"When Ellie brought up the idea of a double-date, I thought this might be a nice movie to watch together! The trailers looked very promising, and my favorite actress plays the lead! I'm very excited!" Ama explained atop Ellie's back, curling down with impressive flexibility to give the cowgirl a hug and kiss. Ellie had to take a moment to recover from the affection before proceeding through the theater halls, Abby and Lev still in tow.

"Ell, this is stupid. Just give me my phone back, and let me go. There's no way I'd ever agree to go on a date with this jackrabbit!" Abby demanded, hoping that a bit less violence and a bit more reason would help encourage a better result. However, before Ellie could even consider it, Lev piped up.

"Oh yeah, I remember reading up on this one. It's a relatively new cast, but it's still considered a AAA production. I've been looking for a day in my schedule to see it. The director is a retired huntress, right? I followed her work back in Signal."

"Yes! Yes! Oh Lev, I never would have spotted you as a film fan!" Ama giggled before turning to Abby. "Perhaps, if he is one, then there's one in you as well?"

"As if! Of course my prey would be into some gross 'n mushy junk like-"

"Oh, prey! That's such a cute way to refer to him! Ah, the hunt for love never grows weary, does it Abby?"

And so the afternoon drew on. It took Abby a while to settle down after Ama's last comment, but when she finally did (about halfway through the movie), the lioness enjoyed herself. Half of the enjoyment was pretending to hold Lev's hand while looking for reasons during the film to squeeze it as hard as possible, and the other half was spent rooting for the antagonists, but it was enjoyment none-the-less.


-


Seymour held true to his word, and agreed to Sylvia's terms and conditions as they set out towards their date. During the travel time, the gazelle boy happily went over his and Abby's adventures back at Beacon, talking about how Abby nearly set fire to the library when Seymour tried to get her into the habit of reading more, and the time that he had lunch with team AZUR, though he didn't go into much detail on that, and when Abby went and challenged him to a duel and very nearly won...

"She's gotten so much stronger since the first time she faced you. Having a rival has propelled her very far in training, and it makes me a proud leader...and a proud boyfriend, to know that I can care about such capable people."

It wasn't long after that the couple reached their destination. Seymour questioned the noise at first, but when Sylvia removed her hands from his eyes, the gazelle boy looked about in awe. "Magnificent! A-Astonishing! Look! Look at the koi! The lights! The- ooh, the lilies! It...It reminds me so much of home... Sylvia!" the faunus did an about face after concluding his overview of the area, and approached the silverette with a massive smile. After comfortably situating her hands in his, he rose them up to his cheeks, settling her fingers on his skin as it began to break into a blush.

"You have surprised me, Sylvia!" Seymour laughed, "You have surprised me well! Please, do not be nervous for bringing me to such a reminiscent paradise. Now I only wish I could show you a place of my own, but I suppose a trip to Mistral might be a bit trying if we were to go so suddenly, hm? Now, what will we do with our time, now that I know about this secret of yours?"


-


Sylvia and Seymour disappeared from the hospital before Reyna could say anything to them, and for a moment, she was dumbfounded. They just...left her. The feeling was jarring, being reminded that she didn't have a successful relationship of her own, or any relationship at all in Abby and Lev's case. At least they were trying though! Reyna couldn't do anything like that with Vance. He had a boyfriend!

"Uh, lemme just...think for a sec..." Reyna him-hawed around the subject of what to do while the lovebirds were out and about, thinking more about how out of the blue the pain of not being a part of the lover-crew was. Then she gave a look at Vance and sighed. If anyone was gonna sympathize with her, it definitely wasn't going to be him. She could throw a pity-party some other day. For now, it was time to enjoy the time Vance could finally give to her now that Gabe was out of the way.

"...Yeah, we'll save prettying you up for another day. Trust me, I've got a few salons under my belt that'll blow Mr. Smooth-and-Cool out of that lukewarm water he's always sitting in. Ellie won't be disappointed, and neither will you. But for now, you owe me some time. We're partners, Vance! Part-ners! Do you have any clue how hard it is to get a reign on you when you're fawning over Gabe? And let's not forget that I'm as permanently relationship-less as it gets!" Reyna chewed on her lip for a moment, pondering whether she should go on or not. Eventually she opened the door and stepped out to the hospital hall, beckoning Vance to follow along.

"C'mon. We're going to find something good to eat. I've had enough drama this weekend to last at least three breaks, so it's just you and me, big guy."

Before long, Reyna and Vance found themselves in a quaint and quiet noodle shop, restaurant-y enough to give the two a good space to talk. "So...uh, how've ya been?" Reyna asked with a grin, knowing full well that she didn't have a clue what to talk about, partner or no.
 
Sylvia relaxed at Seymour's reaction, feeling proud that she had managed to surprise her boyfriend so thoroughly. She could practically feel the warmth of Seymour's cheeks as he reassured her, turning the conversation into a question of what to do next. Ah, there were quite a few things she could do with the gazelle boy in this little slice of paradise, but first...

She took it slow, leaning into the kiss and holding Seymour ever so gently. His lips were soft, softer than she would have expected from the boy. She was sure her own were somewhat chapped from all of the work she did and the little time she put in to taking care of them. However, she couldn't find it in herself to care as she slowly moved one hand from Seymour's cheek to his neck, pulling him a bit further into the kiss. The setting was perfect. The falls provided a romantic ambience that had Sylvia jumping at the idea of wooing the gazelle boy even a little bit. She could feel tingles sparking down her spine as she pulled back, smiling at the darker skinned boy in front of her. "Wanna go feed the koi? There's some berry bushes right down by the edge of the pool." With a gentle hand, she took Seymour's hand in her own and started to lead him down to the edge of the water.

Bright red berries dotted the bushes growing intermittently near the shore. Sylvia plucked a few handfuls, handing a good bunch to Seymour before sitting down just by the edge of the water. With careful precision, she threw a few of the berries towards the water, watching with a smile as the koi started to fight to get to the red treats. "I used to come here a lot with my family when I was little. My little brother actually found the place. He had gone running off while we were hiking and ended up playing with the koi. My mom and dad were so relieved when we found him. Nobody else seemed to know about the place so we used it as our own little getaways from time to time. Zak and I would feed the koi while my parents would have this great picnic ready for us."

Sylvia started to feel her heart constrict. Ah! No, no you weren't supposed to talk about your dead brother on first dates! She was pretty sure that was a definite mood killer. Did Seymour even know she had a brother? She couldn't remember ever telling him about Zak. Either way, she had to get off of the subject and fast before this just turned into her shoving all of her problems on Seymour. Turning to her boyfriend, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before scooting closer to him. "I wanted to take you here because it's really special to me and you're really special too so..." This was going nowhere. She cleared her throat as she looked out at the lilies and koi. "I think going to Mistral would be fun. Maybe not without a plan, but someday. I haven't been back since I was little. Maybe I can have you visit my grandma. I'm absolutely sure she'd love you."

~~~

Vance frowned as Reyna pondered their situation, feeling just a bit guilty for not hanging out with his partner often enough. "Ah I'm sorry Reyna... It's just..." He couldn't really explain before Reyna was on her way out, beckoning for Vance to follow. His ears perked up as he followed Reyna to a noodle shop, smiling excitedly as they were able to eat and talk. This was a good balance! He settled in as Reyna started out with an awkward "How are you"? At this point, Vance realized he didn't really have much to talk about with his partner. Reyna had all of these cool hobbies she could talk about, but Vance... he didn't have any of that. Just his team, his boyfriend, and his crappy family life. How could he ever be able to carry a good conversation with his partner if he couldn't relate to her on all of her cool hobbies?

"Um good, I mean, still kinda in shock... But that's not your fault! Or anyone's fault! I mean, I just... I thought everything was gonna be better with Mom now... But I'm used to being on my own so it's okay! How about you?" He tilted his head, watching Reyna with bright amber eyes. "You've got so many cool hobbies and stuff... tell me about one of them!" He sat up straight, ready to listen attentively as he could and learn about all of Reyna's great hobbies.
 
Seymour closed his eyes in contentment as Sylvia began her kiss. He matched each move she made with one that seemed to fit just right, fitting his lips to hers like a puzzle. He couldn't help that, though. He knew what she was going for, and was happy to oblige as she led the charge. In the same manner, his eyes were already shimmering when the kiss finished, and Sylvia pitched the idea to feed the koi. Hand in hand, he trotted beside her to the water's edge and accepted the berries she offered, popping them from his palm to the fish with his thumb. He was just about to launch another berry to the koi further in the water when Sylvia mentioned Zak. His thumb paused on his palm, the pressure of his nail altering the hue of his skin as he listened to his girlfriend speak. While she made a good save on the outside, giving Seymour another peck and scooting closer, the gazelle boy already picked up what he needed to know.

"Thank you, Sylvia, for sharing this with me." He began, working delicately through his words, and speaking slower because of it. "I, too, think of you as special, and I hope that I have not caused you discomfort by being here." Seymour would have pressed on with his statement, but the silverette brought up Mistral, and it seemed like their date would be an inopportune time to delve into any worries, no matter how well-warrented, so he moved on. "...but yes, Mistral! I did not think you had been! We may be closer than we think, then." He smiled, resting his horns on Sylvia's head as they sat together. "I would be honored to meet any of your relatives. To know who raised so fine a person...that would be nice."

-

Reyna couldn't help but frown as Vance dove into her question. His mom had soured what should have been a great start to a great Fall Break, and she'd done nothing to help aside from cry a bit. The pinkette bit the inside of her lip as her partner continued to speak, trying to latch onto something better to discuss.

"Pfft, honestly?" Reyna found a bit of a groove in reminiscing about recent activities, so she rolled with it, "I've been so caught up trying to sweeten up things between Lev and Sylvia that I haven't done anything cool in ages! It feels like all I've been doing is shopping around with Ellie, and I've got a feeling that's not gonna keep up now that she's got her girlfriend. I should..." Reyna gave her next words some thought before picking the statement back up.

"...I dunno, Vance. All of my hobbies are old hat now. I don't know anyone who wants to hang out like I do. I mean, I used to play a bunch of videogames back home, and my friends from school always got together for nights like that. Oh! Or, we'd go to an arcade so I could show up everyone on the dance machines! ...My dad used to take me to operas when I was real little, and I miss that feeling too. And my mom, since she's the fashionista of the family, showed me how to make all sorts of cool stuff with fabric, and before I left for Beacon, we tried working on a dress together. I'm still a bit clumsy with all the stuff, but it didn't turn out too bad." Reyna dug into her noodles for a moment to give herself a breather, but nostalgia was on her mind, and she finally had someone to vent it to.

"My best friend way-back-when, Ferris Fillman, is the reason I know sign language now. He used to get bullied a lot because he was kinda a runt and never stood up for himself, so I did that for him. I made sure to hang out with him all the time just to keep other losers off his back. Man...now that I think about it, he was a really big dope of a wolf faunus. Kinda like you, Vance!" Reyna laughed before digging back into her noodles. In the back of her mind, she wondered how her past friends were doing, but her attention remained on Vance, wondering if he'd have questions.
 
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