Fandom Distorted Mirror [IC]

[MyrtenRose]

"Yuuuuuup." He grinned mysteriously as he naturally started ruffling up that flashy new hairstyle Ruby was putting so much effort into, articulating the drone like it was a violation of sacred uncle-niece tenants for her to be asking him that. "If it's gonna be like that, back atcha. The sloppier, less handsome me didn't say anything to freak you out, did he?"

"Ummm…...…...are we even allowed to talk about that? The, uh...y'know...."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"She can't. It'll rip her dimension apart if you don't die." The murderer's son informed helpfully, also dropping by. He tossed his empty soda cup into a nearby bush without a thought for the environment and glanced around. "Yeesh. This whole taking-up-the-rearguard setup's good when you need to hide out from those other losers, but it's starting to get a little crowded, dontcha think?"

From behind him, Emerald leaned her head out with an embarrassed laugh and exceedingly sheepish wave.

Vernal directed a harsh, scrutinizing glare over at the pair that dared to interrupt her interruption of Yang and the masked punk. The furrowed eyebrows, the narrowed eyes, the angry frown, they all promised a cruelly sarcastic reply befit a savage bandit. "...…...Who are you two again?" That reply didn't come.
​

When she looked back up, she still wasn't smiling, but her eyes were a soft purple again and her frown was more muted as she side eyed Vernal.

"...You and my mom sided with the bad guys in a bid to get the relic and fought against us. Surprising no one except you two I guess, they betrayed you at the last second. You died, my mom killed the person who killed you, she almost looked sad about it."

"Oh." It wasn't clear how Vernal took that, her face scrunched up in brief but intense thought, thoughts that were unknown to all around...at least until she spoke. "Well that's just fucking stupid. Your Vernal must have been a raging dumbass. Maybe a side effect of working with the wrong Branwen. Hmph." Still, knowing that had its own advantages.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Whuh??" A shocked Cinder spat out some weird amalgamation of the words what and huh, so taken aback by getting yanked in like that. Good lord this thing is too freaking cold--



".........................................HUH?!" If Cinder had been taken aback just then, the feeling right now was that magnified to a much higher degree. At least a thousand percent more embarrassing and confusing!

She was, as her partner Arthur Watts likely would have found very relieving and equally amusing and maybe a little demeaning for their team as a whole, completely speechless. Not even that boop on the nose or Tyrian's compliment was enough to rouse Cinder from her near frozen panicked catatonic stupor.

She wasn't even walking forward any more.



Cinder.exe has stopped working.​

"Cinder...?"

Tyrian gave Cinder a couple of pokes.

"Ohohoho, oh dear, I do believe I've broken her..." ​

Watts slapped Tyrian upside the back of the head as he walked by.

"Of course she likes her, you idiot. You're all 'friends', thats sort of the definition of the word. I think I heard the blonde double back there giving out lessons if you need any further clarification."

Whether Watts was trying to defend his partner's innocence or was just equally socially dense was probably up for debate.

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Oh." It wasn't clear how Vernal took that, her face scrunched up in brief but intense thought, thoughts that were unknown to all around...at least until she spoke. "Well that's just fucking stupid. Your Vernal must have been a raging dumbass. Maybe a side effect of working with the wrong Branwen. Hmph." Still, knowing that had its own advantages.

The bluntness startled a short laugh out of Yang even in the midst of her funk, and she put her hands up and shook her head as she walked.

"Hey, I wasn't gonna say it."

 

[Gus Gungus]

But if it did, her subconscious was smothering it, too determined to hold onto her conviction that she was over it to even want any absolution, like even admitting it might make whatever it was that had filled in the broken cracks weaken all over again. That wasn't something she could deal with. Not now. Not in this current clustertruck. So all she said in response was quiet, frustrated, and giving absolutely no ground.

"Wasn't planning on it, Taurus."

At least now she could simmer in peace.

The beringel died a little harder that night.

"Ummm…...…...are we even allowed to talk about that? The, uh...y'know...."

"This a thing where you try get me to finish one of your sentences like we're twins? 'Cause I am a twin. And let's get one thing straight: it is awesome when that happens."

Still, he was drawing a blank as he stared at her for an extended period, like the clues were somehow embedded in the structure of her face.

"...Theeeee... nerve of that guy...?"

Vernal directed a harsh, scrutinizing glare over at the pair that dared to interrupt her interruption of Yang and the masked punk. The furrowed eyebrows, the narrowed eyes, the angry frown, they all promised a cruelly sarcastic reply befit a savage bandit. "...…...Who are you two again?" That reply didn't come.

"Us?" Mercury threw up a cocky, roguish smirk, completely at home three layers deep in interrupting as he switched to walk backwards alongside her. "We're the only ones around here worth talking to. See, most these guys are soft. Cozy little kingdom folk who grew up surrounded by cozy little families. Me and Em, we're more like you; we got grit. We're rebels without a cause. Loners on the fringe of society."

"The 'me' in MTEN." Emerald added helpfully, finger raised in interjection.

"That means nothing to her, but it was clever."

"Thanks."

The bluntness startled a short laugh out of Yang even in the midst of her funk, and she put her hands up and shook her head as she walked.

"Hey, I wasn't gonna say it."

"So you hate your mom or something?" Mercury broached with the tact and consideration of a shotgun boot to the jaw, shifting his backward-walk stance to put him facing Yang instead. "Must be a real piece of work back where you come from. She doesn't seem so bad to me."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"This a thing where you try get me to finish one of your sentences like we're twins? 'Cause I am a twin. And let's get one thing straight: it is awesome when that happens."

Still, he was drawing a blank as he stared at her for an extended period, like the clues were somehow embedded in the structure of her face.

"...Theeeee... nerve of that guy...?"

She initially blinked in confusion, before it clicked. "Oh, right. You weren't in there at that point. No, not that." Ruby rubbed at the back of her head nervously. Man she really wished there was a manual for this sort of thing. Idiot's guide to otherworldly weirdness. That would be handy right now. After a few moments and some deep breaths she worked up the nerve to continue. "Er...he...well, kind of...called me his...........daughter?"​

 

[MyrtenRose]

The bluntness startled a short laugh out of Yang even in the midst of her funk, and she put her hands up and shook her head as she walked.

"Hey, I wasn't gonna say it."

"You were definitely thinkin' it. No need to sugarcoat stupidity." Vernal now sorely wished her counterpart could have been present, right here and now. Just so she could have smacked some sense into the idiot that clearly fucking needed some. Shame she was already dead a world away.​

"Us?" Mercury threw up a cocky, roguish smirk, completely at home three layers deep in interrupting as he switched to walk backwards alongside her. "We're the only ones around here worth talking to. See, most these guys are soft. Cozy little kingdom folk who grew up surrounded by cozy little families. Me and Em, we're more like you; we got grit. We're rebels without a cause. Loners on the fringe of society."

"The 'me' in MTEN." Emerald added helpfully, finger raised in interjection.

"That means nothing to her, but it was clever."

"Thanks."

"...You? A pair of tough as nails, spunky rebels?" Vernal glanced between them both before: "HahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The bandit laughed for almost a whole minute, only stopping herself from doubling over so she didn't fall behind in their walk. When the laughter finally died out, she was barely able to look at the two again before she fell back into another laughing fit, one that lasted roughly thirty seconds. That over with, she managed to compose herself once again. "Now that was a funny joke."​

"So you hate your mom or something?" Mercury broached with the tact and consideration of a shotgun boot to the jaw, shifting his backward-walk stance to put him facing Yang instead. "Must be a real piece of work back where you come from. She doesn't seem so bad to me."

"Apart from the stick up her ass?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

She initially blinked in confusion, before it clicked. "Oh, right. You weren't in there at that point. No, not that." Ruby rubbed at the back of her head nervously. Man she really wished there was a manual for this sort of thing. Idiot's guide to otherworldly weirdness. That would be handy right now. After a few moments and some deep breaths she worked up the nerve to continue. "Er...he...well, kind of...called me his...........daughter?"

"Huh. Whoa." It may have seemed like an underwhelming reply, but it was kind of an overwhelming piece of information. Qrow's reaction was carefully guarded as his brow furrowed. "So then that other Ruby..."

He turned his gaze away and stroked his eternal five o'clock shadow in deep thought, the revelation less digesting and more grinding in his brain like gears on a clock as all the ramifications turned over and over. Eventually he just chuckled, as if suddenly remembering a joke, and draped an arm across Ruby's shoulders protectively.

"Y'know, I really can't imagine Summer wasting her time on a creep like that. Things must be more twisted here than we thought."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Y'know, I really can't imagine Summer wasting her time on a creep like that. Things must be more twisted here than we thought."​

Judging from her face and silence, that was something that had not occurred to Ruby. It should have, but with all the curveballs this world had been throwing her way, it just hadn't. Different dad but the same mom...or maybe not the same. The kind of person who'd have been with that Qrow...Ruby looked up to her uncle in concern. "Do you think that means...maybe she's alive here?" ​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Us?" Mercury threw up a cocky, roguish smirk, completely at home three layers deep in interrupting as he switched to walk backwards alongside her. "We're the only ones around here worth talking to. See, most these guys are soft. Cozy little kingdom folk who grew up surrounded by cozy little families. Me and Em, we're more like you; we got grit. We're rebels without a cause. Loners on the fringe of society."

"The 'me' in MTEN." Emerald added helpfully, finger raised in interjection.

"That means nothing to her, but it was clever."

"Thanks."

"Heh, heheh, heeeh..."

Hey, it was at least a little funny, and while she'd previously been resolved to absolutely avoid any social interaction with any of these people, that was before Eve gave her an emotional people's elbow. Yang was a social creature at heart, and even back in her own timeline it'd felt like forever since she'd just... enjoyed company that wasn't her team's (WHICH SHE BY NO MEANS DIDN'T LOVE EVERY SECOND OF). She would've probably gotten pretty hyped for the team FNKI club trip if she'd been allowed enough time to even think about it before all this happened, and it was kind of amusing to see a Mercury and Emerald acting like a pair of full of themselves dweebs instead of the killers she knew.

...

whiiich was actually like how they acted when they were first getting to know each other, back during the Vytal festival, and the bits of amusement that were threatening to infect the rest of Yang's demeanor flickered out as she subtly tried to pick up her pace to slip out of this converstaion-

"So you hate your mom or something?" Mercury broached with the tact and consideration of a shotgun boot to the jaw, shifting his backward-walk stance to put him facing Yang instead. "Must be a real piece of work back where you come from. She doesn't seem so bad to me."

ugh.

"Well gee detective Black, you solved it!" She replied with an absolutely atrocious level of enthusiasm as she swung her arm like a dad giving a pep talk. "Smart guy you like you is wasting your time trying to be a hunter, you should try for something that'd let you stretch those brain muscles! Like a gym teacher, or a cashier."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she let her eyes focus ahead again, a brief smile flickering on her face as she caught sight of her uncle with her sis hanging off him like an adorable, lethal christmas ornament.

"No. I'm not her biggest fan."

 

[Gus Gungus]

"...You? A pair of tough as nails, spunky rebels?" Vernal glanced between them both before: "HahahahahahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The bandit laughed for almost a whole minute, only stopping herself from doubling over so she didn't fall behind in their walk. When the laughter finally died out, she was barely able to look at the two again before she fell back into another laughing fit, one that lasted roughly thirty seconds. That over with, she managed to compose herself once again. "Now that was a funny joke."

If there were two people among Beacon Academy's entire student body who could take a joke, it was Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. The more ballsy, dark, and confrontational the humor, the better; it earned respect in their eyes. Credibility, even. Merc had treated Roman like a clown right up until the day the kid finally stood up to him.

But there was a limit. And a minute and a half of laughter at their expense took that limit, put it in a rocket, and blasted it into the sky where it exploded in space. The two took it gracefully at first, even laughed along for a few seconds, but by the end the side-eye they were giving each other was the kind they normally reserved for cops or junkies bothering them for change.

"You know, Mercury, I don't think the lady thinks we're serious." Em threw her hands up, like she didn't know what else to do.

"Oh, of course she doesn't, Em. Can't you tell this is a real big, bad woman of the world?" Her partner tossed back, voice a drawl filled with mock wonder.

"Hm... gee, I dunno, Merc. I was thinking she looked like one of those kids you see smoking under the bleachers sometimes." Emerald tapped a finger to her bottom lip, swiveling in place, the perfect image of a diffident, doe-eyed schoolgirl who fussed over clothes and boys and the like. Mercury rapidly shook his head.

"No, no. See, what this chick's trying to say with the..." He gave her a condescending once-over. "...ripped sleeves, and the dinky little tattoo job, and the thirteen-year-old boy haircut is 'I'm special! The world's not so big, bad and scary to me, 'cause I can be bigger and badder and scarier, and I want everybody to know about it! That way, the last person I'll have to convince..."

His eyes narrowed, and the conclusion to his little monologue was delivered differently, like a clang of steel.

"...is myself."

The impromptu two-hander stopped as quickly and seamlessly as the duo had launched into it, but Mercury's eyes were still alight with ridicule as he deepened his voice to an admittedly impressive spoof of a talkshow host and flicked a finger towards Vernal, as if throwing it over to his guest.

"Tell me, miss scarylady, have I hit the mark?"

ugh.

"Well gee detective Black, you solved it!" She replied with an absolutely atrocious level of enthusiasm as she swung her arm like a dad giving a pep talk. "Smart guy you like you is wasting your time trying to be a hunter, you should try for something that'd let you stretch those brain muscles! Like a kindergarten teacher, or a cashier."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she let her eyes focus ahead again, a brief smile flickering on her face as she caught sight of her uncle with her sis hanging off him like an adorable, lethal christmas ornament.

"No. I'm not her biggest fan."

Mercury blinked a little as he had what could've easily been one of his own put-downs levied at him for a change, but took it in stride with a smirk, honestly kinda digging it. It seemed like a topic change was in order, anyway, so...

"Well, well. My last name and all the over-the-top pettiness of a lady who's got beef. You and I must have history."

One eyebrow arched, and he flashed a grin that was as at once insolent, smooth, and just the right amount of sarcastic not to be offputting. One of the talents he'd been most proud to discover since he came down from that mountain was he was actually kind of a hit with chicks.

"Let me take a wild guess. I broke your heart?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Judging from her face and silence, that was something that had not occurred to Ruby. It should have, but with all the curveballs this world had been throwing her way, it just hadn't. Different dad but the same mom...or maybe not the same. The kind of person who'd have been with that Qrow...Ruby looked up to her uncle in concern. "Do you think that means...maybe she's alive here?"

Nothing like fielding a question from Ruby about her mother to bring a curtain of somberness down on Qrow, and he looked back over at her with a softer frown and eyes that crinkled with apology.

"I didn't mean it that way, Ruby. I can't imagine a world where Summer Rose was even a hair out of place from the person she was. Lady was too darn stubborn."

He let a playful inflection overtake his tone, but solemnity quickly reigned supreme again as his eyes floated over to Raven's back.

"...Besides, those kinds of thoughts, they aren't... we just... shouldn't."

He gave a heavy, morose sigh and looked away.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

In her funk she somehow totally missed Vernal laughing like a madwoman at a pair of teenagers trying to be cool, and even Yang in all her irritable, understandably anxious at her place in the world right now state felt that was like, kinda harsh bro. She sidled a bit away from the bandit with slightly raised eyebrows in a delayed reaction, sort of assuming she'd been granted an exit from a conversation that was gonna turn ugly in a minute as Merc shot back.

Mercury blinked a little as he had what could've easily been one of his own put-downs levied at him for a change, but took it in stride with a smirk, honestly kinda digging it. It seemed like a topic change was in order, anyway, so...

"Well, well. My last name and all the over-the-top pettiness of a lady who's got beef. You and I must have history."

One eyebrow arched, and he flashed a grin that was as at once insolent, smooth, and just the right amount of sarcastic not to be offputting. One of the talents he'd been most proud to discover since he came down from that mountain was he was actually kind of a hit with chicks.

"Let me take a wild guess. I broke your heart?"​

Or not. Despite herself she let out short, girlish giggle as she clasped her hands and swayed slightly from side to side.

"Weeeeeeeeell... one of us definitely broke something, hot shot."

The last sway ended with her towards merc, hands still clasped by her waist as she fluttered her eyelashes, before both hands came up to their currently shared eye level so she could point two fingers at one of Mercury's feet with a more cheeky grin.

"I snapped ya leg."

"Well-" she continued she evened herself out and shrugged with both eyes closed. "The bad you anyways. I'm tryin to give you guys the benefit of the doubt here."

To a degree.

If your last name wasn't Taurus.

 

[MidwayLives]

Watts slapped Tyrian upside the back of the head as he walked by.

"Of course she likes her, you idiot. You're all 'friends', thats sort of the definition of the word. I think I heard the blonde double back there giving out definitions if you need any further clarification."

Whether Watts was trying to defend his partner's innocence or was just equally socially dense was probably up for debate.

"Friends eh...."

Giving Cinder another boop on the nose for the good luck, he got on all fours and looked towards Watts.

"If Emerald likes her..."

Tyrian rushed forward.

"I like YOU"

He then gave Watts a hug.​

 

[MidwayLives]

Having wandered away from Ruby after he saw Tyrian approaching, Roman still had a hard time wrapping his head around what he'd learned.

"Eaten by a Grimm and THEN blown up...MAN, what a way to go..."​

 

[MyrtenRose]

"Tell me, miss scarylady, have I hit the mark?"

Throughout their whole little back and forth, her eyes were locked on whichever one of them was speaking at the moment. The whole time she seemed nothing more than amused. When it was finally over, she gave them both a mocking slow clap for their performance.

"Oh trust me kid, the only mark I see here is the bullseye you're painting over your own back the longer you run your mouth. Really, you're what? 16? 17, at most? You saunter around like you're the coolest thing around and throw your weight around with some clever mocking words. What's worse, you actually believe you are the coolest, toughest guy in any room you walk into. Why? Because you walk around with a popped collar like some pretentious hipster asshole? Because you have some idiotic mint-green haired groupie ready to back you up in confrontations too much for you to handle on your own? Or maybe it's because you're just that full of yourself?" Vernal smirked, giving a half-shrug.

"Hell, I don't know, maybe it's even all of the above. Anyone want to place bets on which it is?" She asked, looking around at those close by. "Consider it open invite!" Her attention returned to Mercury. "But hey, since we're playing this game?" Vernal made a show of giving Mercury a dissecting look, reading into his very soul. As if she hadn't already had him pegged once she actually took a good look at him.

"...lemme guess. You came from a rough childhood. Daddy dearest, or maybe mommy, or both even? They didn't love you enough, and all that left you with a big chip on your shoulder. That's why you strut around with an attitude, trying so desperately to pretend you're something you're not. Cry me a fucking river." Her blue eyes shifted over to Emerald, studying her in turn. "And you. I'm figuring you grew up on the streets, never really had a home? That's where you got your smart mouth...and that's what left you so needy for someone to care about that you latched on so tightly to the first person you could. Tell me, are you afraid if you let go, you'll lose him?" She smirked, so sure she'd hit the nail on that head.

"Am I close?" She may have been a maiden by accident but she was also a bandit by inclination. It was the life she'd chosen. No bandit gets far in that life without knowing how to read people, how to spot the weak targets in a crowd at a moment's glance...or how to deal with some punks who got too full of themselves. And Vernal had gotten very far in that life. Enough to be the number two to a disgraced huntsman.
​

"Weeeeeeeeell... one of us definitely broke something, hot shot."

The last sway ended with her towards merc, hands still clasped by her waist as she fluttered her eyelashes, before both hands came up to their currently shared eye level so she could point two fingers at one of Mercury's feet with a more cheeky grin.

"I snapped ya leg."

"Pfft." She snorted, greatly amused by that. "Well that sure seals it. If you couldn't even handle a Yang, you sure don't want to press your luck with me, kid." ​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Watts slapped Tyrian upside the back of the head as he walked by.

"Of course she likes her, you idiot. You're all 'friends', thats sort of the definition of the word. I think I heard the blonde double back there giving out lessons if you need any further clarification."

Whether Watts was trying to defend his partner's innocence or was just equally socially dense was probably up for debate.

"Friends eh...." Giving Cinder another boop on the nose for the good luck, he got on all fours and looked towards Watts. "If Emerald likes her..."

Tyrian rushed forward. "I like YOU" He then gave Watts a hug.

…Oh. Yeah, that must be it. Had to be. Just friends. Anything more would be...weird. Right? Yeah, totally. Hundred percent. Don't be ridiculous, Cinder. Watts is right. Tyrian didn't mean it that way and Emerald sure doesn't look at it that way. Haha.

The combination of Watts and Tyrian managed to ease her sheer panic down to manageable levels, her racing thoughts gradually slowing as she took a deep breath and resumed walking now that Tyrian had moved on to give Watts a hug(which was almost criminally adorable, no way something like that wasn't breaking some kind of law). She blinked, looking ahead at Ruby and Qrow not far ahead of her and Raven just beyond them.

Oh no I scared Vernal off!​

 

[MyrtenRose]

Nothing like fielding a question from Ruby about her mother to bring a curtain of somberness down on Qrow, and he looked back over at her with a softer frown and eyes that crinkled with apology.

"I didn't mean it that way, Ruby. I can't imagine a world where Summer Rose was even a hair out of place from the person she was. Lady was too darn stubborn."

He let a playful inflection overtake his tone, but solemnity quickly reigned supreme again as his eyes floated over to Raven's back.

"...Besides, those kinds of thoughts, they aren't... we just... shouldn't."

He gave a heavy, morose sigh and looked away.​

Out of respect for her uncle, she didn't press the matter further. In truth...she didn't really want to think about a different Summer, let alone find one out here. She didn't want anything to tarnish the memory of the mom she'd lost. Supermom, as Yang used to call her. Instead she followed Qrow's gaze to Raven, and the following sentence and sigh got her to look back towards him. Even without both of those she felt she would've noticed something was bothering him.

"...What's the matter? Did she say something wrong?" Ruby asked, the look in her eyes expressing both concern and a determination that said any attempt at deflection or avoiding an answer wasn't going to fly.​

 

[Indolent]

It went without saying that Hazel considered Mercury and Emerald evaporating under his oppressive gaze a victory. But not really, he knew better. They hardly took him seriously where most matters were concerned unless the circumstances called for it. Even then, they were brazen with their levity in the face of even that.

Tyrian grinned and wrapped his tail around Cinder's waist to pull her in close as he whispered back.

"Hehehe!~ It's plain as rain to anyone, you see! Emerald likes you!~"

Truth be told, Tyrian didn't know that for a fact. Things such as romances, crushes, infatuations, mattered little to him. All that existed were those he cared about and the heat of battle. The synchronous nature of sweat and blood! That was what got him going! Oh yes!-

"Ahem. Indeed, she thinks you're number one, my young friend!" Tyrian praised with a small boop to the nose to cap it off.

"Of course, it all makes sense. You're awesome, Cinder!"

But now that he had answered one question, he had one of his own.

"Cinder? Do you think you could score me a spar with that other maiden? She looks like she knows a thing or two about combat!"​

Hazel groaned, his meaty hand palming his own face in utter disbelief as the sheer lack of tact by his partner's hands just broke their maiden.

"Whuh??" A shocked Cinder spat out some weird amalgamation of the words what and huh, so taken aback by getting yanked in like that. Good lord this thing is too freaking cold--



".........................................HUH?!" If Cinder had been taken aback just then, the feeling right now was that magnified to a much higher degree. At least a thousand percent more embarrassing and confusing!

She was, as her partner Arthur Watts likely would have found very relieving and equally amusing and maybe a little demeaning for their team as a whole, completely speechless. Not even that boop on the nose or Tyrian's compliment was enough to rouse Cinder from her near frozen panicked catatonic stupor.

She wasn't even walking forward any more.



Cinder.exe has stopped working.​

Hazel would have gone so far as to wave a hand in front of her face, her wide eyes agape as if they stared at something beyond the fabric of reality, concern emblazoned in his features. Thankfully, Watts managed to diffuse the situation with his typical, acerbic aplomb.

…Oh. Yeah, that must be it. Had to be. Just friends. Anything more would be...weird. Right? Yeah, totally. Hundred percent. Don't be ridiculous, Cinder. Watts is right. Tyrian didn't mean it that way and Emerald sure doesn't look at it that way. Haha.

The combination of Watts and Tyrian managed to ease her sheer panic down to manageable levels, her racing thoughts gradually slowing as she took a deep breath and resumed walking now that Tyrian had moved on to give Watts a hug(which was almost criminally adorable, no way something like that wasn't breaking some kind of law). She blinked, looking ahead at Ruby and Qrow not far ahead of her and Raven just beyond them.

Oh no I scared Vernal off!​

Maybe he'd help by inquiring since he was curious. "You said two questions?" Though he noted the trailing eyes and intuited what she was looking for, gesticulating towards Vernal's position.

 

[MyrtenRose]

Maybe he'd help by inquiring since he was curious. "You said two questions?" Though he noted the trailing eyes and intuited what she was looking for, gesticulating towards Vernal's position.

"Oh, hrm...I did but I'm not sure I should...actually ask the second one."​

 

[Indolent]

"Oh, hrm...I did but I'm not sure I should...actually ask the second one."​

That prompted the arching of a brow.

"Can't be worse than the first."

 

[MyrtenRose]

That prompted the arching of a brow.

"Can't be worse than the first."

That was true enough. Cinder glanced around briefly before she shrugged and stood on tiptoe in an attempt to get as close to Hazel's ear as possible for her to mumble the question. "Do you think you could carry both teams on your shoulders if you tried?"​

 

[Gus Gungus]

Or not. Despite herself she let out short, girlish giggle as she clasped her hands and swayed slightly from side to side.

"Weeeeeeeeell... one of us definitely broke something, hot shot."

The last sway ended with her towards merc, hands still clasped by her waist as she fluttered her eyelashes, before both hands came up to their currently shared eye level so she could point two fingers at one of Mercury's feet with a more cheeky grin.

Mercury tossed hair that was floppier, more fringe-heavy, and frankly more boyband than the spikier locks memories of her own world's Mercury Black evoked, and the grin he flashed back was totally poised, if a little self-satisfied that the moves still worked on ladies from other universes.

"The rules? The bed? Beacon's standards for couple hotness?"

"I snapped ya leg."

"Damn, new girl."

"HAH! Pfffft-" Emerald doubled over in a fit of giggles that was completely involuntary as she witnessed the first instance of someone shutting down Mercury's male model crap not perpetrated by her or Neo, the hand she clapped over her mouth to try calm herself down like a dam trying to hold back a tsunami. She somehow seized enough self-control to extend the other in Yang's direction for a high-five. "Okay, I wasn't sure about you before that, but now I think you're cool. You can hang with our team if you ever decide it's not too weird."

"I guess." Mercury seemed a bit more ambivalent, sloooowly inching away from Yang's lean where he'd seemed more eager to inch into it before. "So this us back home, I take it you're not a big fan."

"Oh trust me kid, the only mark I see here is the bullseye you're painting over your own back the longer you run your mouth. Really, you're what? 16? 17, at most? You saunter around like you're the coolest thing around and throw your weight around with some clever mocking words. What's worse, you actually believe you are the coolest, toughest guy in any room you walk into. Why? Because you walk around with a popped collar like some pretentious hipster asshole? Because you have some idiotic mint-green haired groupie ready to back you up in confrontations too much for you to handle on your own? Or maybe it's because you're just that mind-numbingly stupid and full of yourself?" Vernal smirked, giving a half-shrug.

Mercury rolled his eyes and turned around to deal with this, holding up an indulgent hand. "Okay, let me save you a little time. You don't know me, you can't get to me, sure to all those things, whatever helps you get over it. And actually she's not a groupie, she tears me down more than you could ever hope to with a dozen of your little speeches like that, so-"

"Hell, I don't know, maybe it's even all of the above. Anyone want to place bets on which it is?" She asked, looking around at those close by. "Consider it open invite!" Her attention returned to Mercury. "But hey, since we're playing this game?" Vernal made a show of giving Mercury a dissecting look, reading into his very soul. As if she hadn't already had him pegged once she actually took a good look at him.

Oh this was still going. "C'mon, lady. What did I, strike a nerve?"

"...lemme guess. You came from a rough childhood. Daddy dearest, or maybe mommy, or both even?"

For as much as he was trying to give this crazy bandit the brush-off, his jaw clenched. He held his ground without any tell otherwise, but Emerald's eyes flared wide open. "Are you for real?! Look, we just called you a poser, so don't-"

"They didn't love you enough, and all that left you with a big chip on your shoulder. That's why you strut around with an attitude, trying so desperately to pretend you're something you're not. Cry me a fucking river."

"-Don't you dare talk to him that way-!"

Mercury still didn't twitch.

"And you. I'm figuring you grew up on the streets, never really had a home? That's where you got your smart mouth...and that's what left you so needy for someone to care about that you latched on so tightly to the first person you could. Tell me, are you afraid if you let go, you'll lose him?" She smirked.

Emerald's eyes went even wider, and her voice cracked. That did it. Now Mercury moved, and it didn't take any kind of combat genius or world-beating bandit to guess what his intentions were as he strode right for Vernal with a look that, despite everything, wasn't angry or frustrated. Mercury wasn't losing control or anything. No, the look on his face was calculated, the look of someone who had simply decided he was clocking you in the face and putting his mind to work figuring out how to best do it as he pulled his fist back and-

"...aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

Emerald's ribcage cracked in half like a stale breadstick, and the girl started to float. Her spine folded over on itself with a sickening crunch and pop to accompany every single disc that came loose. Her jaw came unhinged, mouth opening wider than any living creature's had any right to. Her eyes were the worst, a bulging, pupil-less white slowly being stained red. Her neck started twisting around in the same moment her internal organs and entrails started to lash out, living, coiling tentacles that wrapped around Vernal's arms and legs, and the jagged, fractured remnants of Emerald's ribs started gnashing and snapping in the vein of teeth as they slowly tugged the Spring Maiden towards that gaping maw, a million eyes like grimm's opening to receive her and a smile that spread wide beneath them all. It was gruesome. It was more horrifying than any Grimm. It was the most terrifying thing any of them had ever seen.

It was every horror movie Emerald could recall off the top of her head, and only Vernal saw it.

The entire scene disappeared from the bandit's mind's eye, replaced with a sight no less potent as an absolutely furious Emerald jabbed a finger in her face, having barged right past Mercury as he approached.

"Shut your mouth! Just shut it! You don't know who we are, you don't know what we've seen, you have no IDEA what's going on in my head, and there are things up here that would terrify you, so BACK OFF!"

She was hoarse by the time she finished, and Mercury was so taken aback it completely shocked him out of his whole tough guy approach he was doing as he instead put a reassuring hand on her upper arm, trying to steady her breathing.

"Hey! Em, it's cool. She's not worth it. I could go back and forth with this chick all night playing who-can-pick-each-other's-soul-the-best, but honestly that sounds really lame. Besides, I've got her pegged. I can pretty much sum her up with one more word."

He looked her over, and the look wasn't impressed as he wrinkled his nose in a sneer.

"Bitch."

And with that, Beacon's Team Rocket departed.

Two feet over to where Yang was, meaning to straight up freeze Vernal out of the conversation the way only the most popular two kids in school really could.​

 

[Schnee Corp Lawyer]

"Friends eh...."

Giving Cinder another boop on the nose for the good luck, he got on all fours and looked towards Watts.

"If Emerald likes her..."
​

"Um."

Watts took a semi involuntary step back, both at the look and at the faunus seeming to go full on feral as he got on all fours.

"...Tyrian-"

Tyrian rushed forward.

"I like YOU"

He then gave Watts a hug.

Watts was a skilled combatant a quite genuinely was not interested in this hug, and leaned back and shot a hand out to try and stiff arm the scorpion faunus.

Unfortunately Tyrian was way, waaay better than him and twisted in such a way that Watts somehow ended up facing entirely the opposite direction with a baffled frown as the hug landed. He gave a long, dismayed sigh, but let the faunus get it out of his system.

"...Splendid. Your taste is impeccable. Now get off me."

 

[Indolent]

That was true enough. Cinder glanced around briefly before she shrugged and stood on tiptoe in an attempt to get as close to Hazel's ear as possible for her to mumble the question. "Do you think you could carry both teams on your shoulders if you tried?"​

He had the grace and courtesy to at least kneel halfway to allow for Cinder to whisper into his ear conspiratorially. His mouth knit into a furtive frown as a solitary hand cupped his chin to approximate the thinker's pose. His eyebrows alternated in contemplation as he took a moment for himself consider the carefully exacted question with a reply equally done in return.

It was then he glanced sidelong to Cinder and nodded with affirmation. "Without issue, Little Red."

Though, that whole altercation betwixt Vernal and Team Rocket drew his attention, drawing him back to full standing as he gazed on over curious. "... Maybe you oughta keep our Spring Maiden occupied." He mentioned as an addendum.