Eye of the Fox [Private]

[Pearl Essence]

Rich crimson and bloody amber looked back at her in the mirror as she gently pressed the tips of her fingers against the ugly purple and black bruise the ringed her eyes like a bandits mask. Each press made her clench her jaw against the pain, but even so, she could recognize the pain was less than before. The bone around her right eye was healing as quickly as aura would allow. There were even signs of yellowing around the edge of the bruise, a subtle sign that it was receding. Still, there would be two or three more days of recovery in her future before she would see her face unmarred in the mirror, before she could see the white of her right eye instead of a blood red. Two or three more days of utter boredom as she tried to hide her wounded self from the world. She couldn't even wear her glasses to comfortably read like this.

Her left arm moved uselessly as she tried to reach for her scroll with a hand that wasn't there. Pearl shook her head with the huff that was a cross between amused and frustrated. At least she still had her right hand. She moved her scroll to her right side and tapped a few times so that it would respond to speech commands. If she was going to be working with just one hand, she'd need to take get back into the habit of using other tools until her arm was repaired. What was the name she'd given the program in her scroll to respond to? Wasn't it one of her Mistralian aliases? There was only one she still kept.

“Let's make sure this still works. Tamamo,” The screen of her scroll lit up. “Open my contacts.” It was a simple command that was unnecessary, but it would let her know if it was working. With a finger and thumb she twisted the top off a pill bottle and shook one of the pills into her mouth. She crunched down on it with her back teeth and swallowed it down trying to ignore the awful taste with a gulp of water. If she did go out, she'd need to bring these with her. A quick glance at her scroll was enough to prove the program was working perfectly. “Fantastic. Tamamo, call Felix and put the call on speaker.” She watched for a moment to make sure the more complicated command was still followed.

It was on a whim that she'd decided to call the musician, the man who was her closest actual friend. The vain and prideful part of her rebelled against the idea of even him seeing her like this, but she didn't want to wander the city, and she had already been holed up in her dorm for a few days recovering from the training session with her mother. She could trust him. He wouldn't see her as weak like this, and wouldn't tell anyone else about it either. Maybe they could watch some movie Felix had picked out, or another comedy show? She was woefully ignorant of what might be good in those regards, but he had never let her down with his choices. If nothing else, she could probably still play cards with one hand.

She'd been lost in thoughts as the scroll had rung. It could have just been one ring, or a dozen, but she heard the sound of it being picked up. “Hello, Felix? I apologize if I sound a little weird. I have you on speaker. I was wondering if you were free today?” Pearl picked up the eye-patch sitting on the bathroom counter and carefully put it on to cover her damaged eye. While she knew it wasn't intentional, it felt strangely fitting that yet another injury from her mother had resulted in her looking more like the woman.

[Felix Satou]

Felix stared at his scroll as he pondered what to do with the rest of his day. Classes were finished, but that didn't mean his responsibilities were all taken care of. Homework was an ever present threat at Beacon. Every class, even those focused on the physical arts had required homework. Repetition was the path to mastery. The concepts formed in lecture needed to be ironed out afterwards. Homework aside, practicing, sparring, and equipment repairs were all important aspects of student life that weren't assigned out. Independence was necessary for survival. Felix frowned at his phone. Purple sparks lit the air around him. He was independent. He was responsible. He checked off all the boxes, put in the work, got the grades, but he still had days like today where the moment he stepped into the ring with another student everything went totally wrong. He'd gotten an absolute thrashing. Every shot he'd taken missed. Every step seemed to be in the wrong direction. He barely got a scratch on his opponent before he'd been annihilated and his humiliating defeat had hung in the air around him for the rest of the day.

His shoes had come untied thrice. One of the straps on his backpack had broken. A chair in his Grimm Studies class had broken out from under him. He'd been miserable! So when Pearl's face popped up on his scroll with a call alert he almost didn't answer it.

But he'd promised. And it was Pearl.

A deep sigh, and then he answered. A meek smile came to his lips as Pearl's voice filled his ear, slightly distorted thanks to the distance Pearl had from her phone. There was a pause that was a little longer than usual after Pearl finished speaking. "I wasn't planning on going anywhere." He was already getting to his feet, slipping his shoes on as he spoke. "Looking for some company?" He wasn't, but it looked as if company was searching for him.

[Pearl Essence]

Full make-up was out of the question. The area around her right eye was incredibly sensitive to the slightest touch. Even if the bruising wasn't as sensitive around her left, it would become painful long before she hid the damage. That didn't stop her from applying a touch of lip gloss to at least give her lips some life. It was strange, the way she looked at the shine on her lips and realized Felix likely wouldn't mind either way. It was freeing to think he wouldn't be judging every aspect of her appearance like so many others did. Or was it just her own mind. Another strange thought, but there was another touch of strangeness that reached her ears. The way he paused before speaking. Maybe he was busy or distracted?

“Well,” She paused just long enough to press her lips together. “I was hoping to get out of my dorm for a bit. I've been stuck inside recovering all week, because-” There was hesitation before she admitted it, but he already knew some of the lengths she went to keep up appearances that she was indomitable. “You know me. I don't like letting people see anything but a very specific image of me.” The girl in the mirror was bruised and battered, her hair at least brushed, but there was far too much to style with one hand. Not with being so out of practice. “I trust you. I'm in rough shape right now, but you're the one person I know I can actually be around like that and not have to worry.”

“So, if you're up for it, I'd like to come over, and maybe we can watch a movie, order in some some dinner, my treat of course. I can even bring my cards and chips if you'd rather do something else.” With great care she pressed her thumb against one nostril and took a breath through the other. Even a gentle touch sent a spike of pain through her head and made her eyes water. The fox wasn't even aware of the pained hiss she let out. The pain didn't stop her from repeating the process with her other nostril. She could actually breathe through both today. Regardless of that bit of good news, it made her wonder if she was mistaken in just how much work her aura had left to do.

[Felix Satou]

Felix stopped slipping on his second shoe as Pearl mentioned getting out of her dorm. She was recovering? She didn't want people to see her? So many questions! The scroll didn't seem like the right place to answer them. He let the shoe drop back down to the carpet as he stood at his door. He eyed his room. He shouldn't have her over if his luck was going to be bad, should he? He'd end up breaking his own equipment. The delivery would be cold or wrong or the container would break the second that it came through the door. Would she want to go for a walk? The weather was nice. They could get something delivered via drone, he knew at least a couple places that could do that. He turned back towards his bed to get his guitar case.

"Actually, Pearl, would it be okay if we maybe went for a walk? Got something to eat out by the cliff? I wouldn't mind g-" Pearl would hear the sound of scroll and boy hitting the floor followed by quiet cursing. He'd stepped on the untied laces of his single shoe. "Ah, sorry, tripped," he managed, quickly snatching his phone. "Or maybe the forest? I mean...if you don't want to be in public at all, my dorm's definitely fine, I just thought I'd throw that out there." Pearl was a big girl, right? No. She was tiny. But she was capable of asking for what she needed. If she needed to not be in public, even remote places that were in public, he could oblige. Maybe they'd both be able to kill a bird with a single stone if Pearl didn't mind the idea of the cliffs or the forest.

[Pearl Essence]

Pearl was many things. Stubborn once she'd made up her mind, prideful, and hot-headed to name a few, but she was no fool. If Felix was making a request that was more likely to put her in an uncomfortable situation, there was a reason. The clatter of a scroll and musician hitting the floor and his cursing told her plenty. The boy known for his luck had tripped and fallen. Fate had dealt them their hand today while showing hers. Something she had learned in her life was that if Fate had a destination in mind for you, you would end up there whether you chose the easy path she laid our for you, or she dragged you kicking and screaming across the rocks and broken glass you'd made trying to go a different way.

“I think I know a place that will work for both of us.” She picked up her scroll to carry it into the main room of her dorm. It had a soft landing on her bed that sounded like the rustling of fabric over the speaker. Her closet door could be heard moments later as she tried to figure out what she could actually put on and be comfortable in while still hiding the fact she only have one arm from their peers. “You remember the meeting point for our first mission together? If we head northeast from there, there's a treeline. We can meet up there, and I'll guide you the rest of the way.”

There were only a few outfits of hers that had long sleeves, and fewer still that would be comfortable in the summer heat. She'd be overdressed, but she doubted he'd mind. “Does that sound good to you?” The fox smiled to herself as she pushed hangers aside to reveal what she'd be wearing. A white summer yukata with a splash of red in the form of a spider lily in the fabric. It would conceal her missing arm, and it had an accessory in the form of a mask to hide her bruised face. A mask that had a name, Tamamo. Fate had made it quite clear the path she should walk today, and she was no fool.

[Felix Satou]

Felix grinned, a look of relief that Pearl wasn't going to see through the speaker of the scroll. Had she actually picked up on it just from the sound of him tripping? She did say a place that would work for both of them and he hadn't really explained much of anything. He felt his heart warm. She knew him a bit better than he was expecting, or she was just that accommodating. Either way, Pearl was helping him out. Her motivations only painted her in a good light.

"Okay," the subtle apprehension he'd had in his voice was gone. "That's good, is there anything I ought to bring out there with me besides Dover? Can't imagine we're going to run into anything out there that you couldn't take on with one hand tied behind your back, but it never hurts to be c-Crap!" The sound of his scroll tumbling to the carpet followed his curse. The latches to his guitar case had come undone and Dover was tumbling out! His quick reflexes barely saved it from hitting the floor. He secured it in it's hard case before picking up his scroll again. "Clasps on my guitar cases weren't done up. Heh, silly me." He didn't expect she'd need him to bring much. He propped his case up by the door, holding the scroll with his cheek as he tied his shoes.

[Pearl Essence]

Pearl started to giggle at his choice of words. Hopefully he wouldn't get to see how accurate that statement was today. While she could fight with one hand, she didn't want to. Her aura was weakened and primarily healing her. Her laughter ended the moment she heard another clatter on his end. If she'd only suspected he'd had issues with his luck before, she'd have felt sure now. Dover was his pride and joy, and never really needed tuned thanks to his luck. There's no way he'd simply forget to latch up the guitar. She disliked lies, no matter how small but she didn't call him on it. There was such a thing as harmless lies.

“I won't be able to carry too much myself, but I don't think we'll need much as is. The spot I have in mind is well within the range of even first year patrols, so there's not likely to be any danger. I also happen to know for a fact it's in range of food delivery.” Pearl scrunched up her face as she realized one part of her outfit simply wouldn't be possible with one hand, but again she knew Felix well enough to doubt it would be a problem. If he had been the type of person to take advantage, he'd had a clear chance not too long ago. She'd been drunk, under-dressed, emotional, and eventually she had passed out. She'd trusted him before that night and he proved it wasn't unfounded.

[Felix Satou]

"I'll see you there Pearl. Call me if anything changes!" He'd give Pearl the chance to say goodbye before hanging up the phone. This was no movie, he wasn't going to dramatically press disconnect the second his sentence was finished. He finished with his laces, being extra careful to make sure they were properly tightened and not tied together before heading out the door.

---

Felix sat between the roots of a tree whose age he could only guess at. It's branches towered over the forest floor, reaching up and outwards. It yearned to soak in as much sunlight as it could. He looked down at the dirt. How deep did the roots run? How strong were they? How many storms in winter and summer had this and every other tree in the forest weather? How many more would they? The slow, inexorable advance of nature in both directions had him feeling smaller than normal. His guitar case sat between his legs which were splayed out in front of him, his back resting against the tree. He shoved one hand into the pocket of his jogging shorts and retrieved his scroll, double checking the time and making sure Pearl hadn't bailed on him. He slid the scroll in. Rather than bring along his usual getup he'd opted for something with less straps and buckles that could break or snap if his luck continued to be sour. His running outfit would do nicely.

His hair rested against the bark of the tree as he looked up at the little hints of blue that suggested the sky's existence up above and continued to fail at getting out of the funk he'd been in. His mind continued to play scenes of his bout earlier in the day, his internal monologue criticizing endlessly. He lightly hit his head against the wood, motes of purple light twinkling in and out of existence in the air around him. Maybe it would be easier to get back to normal once Pearl arrived.

[Pearl Essence]

“I'm looking forward to it. I'll see you soon, Felix.” Well, soon enough. She still had to get dressed. Pearl waited a second before giving another voice command. “Tamamo, disconnect the call.” She'd had her new arm and hand for over a year. The tech behind their design had been a godsend for her, but now that she was missing one of her limbs again, she was struggling to adjust. It would be over soon, a new limb made with a few slight modifications, but until then she was relearning how to do things with one arm again. At least she could get dressed. She'd just not have the sarashi wrap around her chest. If she was being honest with herself, that would be more comfortable anyway with the weather.

---

The eccentricities of the other students were something she'd come to count on at Beacon. There were students who wore odd masks, piecemeal armor, traditional garb from their home kingdom or other when they were outside of class. Maybe that was why she'd earned little more than a second look as she passed them by in a more traditional Mistrali white yukata and wearing a white kitsune mask with red markings to cover most her face. It's shape was sleek and more akin to a fox's face than that of the more traditional mask, and leaving her jaw visible. It designed with clear intent to not resemble a grimm's mask as much as possible, even the red lines drawn in soft swirls rather than hard jagged edges.

One sleeve of her yukata hung loose and mostly empty, the vestige of her arm doing nothing to add to the illusion that she was still whole if someone spent the time to look. Her long silvery white hair hung freely behind her. Slung across her body was a hip bag she usually used to carry her books, but this time it had her scroll and the supplies for a few games they might play while they were out. Resting on her right shoulder and gripped in her hand was an open paper parasol in her colors with her symbol emblazoned on the top. It built as much to protect her from the sun's heat as it was to be a huntress's hidden weapon, with steel reinforcements just barely visible on the underside of the parasol. What would her mother have thought about her daughter embracing their heritage when she'd cast it away?

“Felix!” She'd have waved if she could when she called out. The young man had probably seen her from twenty meters off, but she still called out to him as she approached, thankful for the shade of the treeline as she got close. Her smile was visible under her her mask. The sighs of the bruise around her left eye could be seen up close, and her right eye wasn't visible for the eye-patch she wore. “I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?”

[Felix Satou]

Felix was awakened from his reverie of self pity by the sound of a familiar voice. His eyes came back down to Remnant as they spied a most peculiarly dressed Pearl. If he hadn't heard her voice or known just how short she was he might not have recognized her. While the telltale signs of a smile were easy to pick out from beneath the all too fitting mask, so were the bruises she now wore. He didn't balk, though, he was glad to see her.

"No, I was hardly waiting more than ten minutes. I was halfway out the door by the time you finished the call anyways. I was...kinda expecting to have to wait." His grin faded. Pearl would notice the small purple dots in the air around him. There was little point in attempting to hide it, she'd know what it meant. "I guess both of us are looking for someone they feel comfortable being, uh...vulnerable around, huh?" He was also fulfilling his promise to her. "I'm sure you probably figured it out by now, but...I'm not exactly in the best mood so my luck's all gone bad. Sorry in advance for...whatever happens. I'm, um, hoping that hanging out together might help."

[Pearl Essence]

“I'm glad you came Felix, and I'm doubly glad you trust me.” It was one thing to say he'd share his next bout of bad luck with her, and another to actually do it, especially when she seemed vulnerable. There was no pity in her eye as she saw the flecks of purple dancing around him. She was pretty sure they were smaller than the blue she usually saw around him when they were usually together, though that didn't necessarily mean his luck wasn't as bad as it was usually good. How did one even quantify luck? It didn't matter. There would be specks of purple around both of them or specks of blue by the time they left the woods.

“One second.” Pearl closed the parasol and carefully slipped it halfway into her bag before offering her hand to help Felix up. “I'd offer you the other instead, but...” She moved what remained of her arm causing her sleeve to move in an odd manner. It was enough make it clear that all that was under the sleeve was the portion of her upper arm above the elbow. “Regardless, the place I want to show you is only a bit deeper into the forest. Old Mistrali legends might tell you never to follow a fox into the woods, but I'm pretty sure it should be safe enough this time.”

[Felix Satou]

There was a pause as he hesitated to take Pearl's hand. What exactly would his bad luck mean for her arm? For the pair of them if they were caught in the forest by creatures of Grimm? He could feel anxiety roiling in the pit of his stomach. There was so much that could go wrong. Hesitantly, he reached out and took her hand, letting her pull him to his feet, and releasing it as quickly as he'd taken it. That was only good for maybe ten seconds of bad luck.

He smiled warmly at her. "I think that I would feel safe following you anywhere, Pearl." He retrieved his guitar case from the ground, careful to check the latches before hoisting it in earnest. "If you want to...keep your share of bad luck to a minimum, I'd...well, you know, just don't touch me too much, okay?" He had to make sure she knew. Of course she knew, but he had to say it out loud first before he could start asking her about what happened to her. It would be an awful time for them both if she was constantly tripping over roots or having acorns fall on her head in tandem with him. Unless that was what she wanted...

[Pearl Essence]

Just as there had been no feeling when he'd given her some of his good luck through a touch on their mission, there was nothing to give away he'd given her any bad. Well no feeling but the warmth of his hand on her metal one. It was brief but less strange that it had been originally. It was an odd stroke of luck that she'd just gotten used to feeling things with her new prostheses when she'd lost one of them. He let go of her hand the moment that he was on his feet, likely to spare her as much from his bad luck as he reasonably could. It would have been more admirable if she hadn't told him before she wanted to share his bad luck next time.

“Felix, I-” It wasn't often she found herself tongue tied. Still, it was hard to be upset with him with what he said. Others would worry as much about themselves as her if they saw her like this. He still felt safe around her in a weakened state. “I'll lead the way, and then we'll figure out how you're going to share your bad luck with me. It should only take a couple minutes to reach the pond.” When she'd insisted he share his bad luck with her next time, she'd been too drunk to make the connection that for him to do so, he'd have to touch her. He'd held her hand to do it once, and he'd hugged her as she had cried not so long ago, but it was still a strange thought.

She'd mind her steps as she walked. The sound of wood on wood clacking at times as her foot came down on a root. There were no trail signs left by her or other students familiar with survivalist methods to lead the way, but it wasn't so far that she'd need them. With how close it was to Beacon, she'd be surprised if she ever did see some sort of marker leading the way. Their scrolls would lead them back even if their bad luck would get them lost on the way.

[Felix Satou]

Ah...she had said that she wanted to share it, hadn't she. He nodded at her as they started to make their way towards Pearl's choice of destination. The walk was mostly quiet as he tried to pick his words carefully in his head. When he'd made their promise he hadn't figured it would be so difficult. Anxiety roiled in his stomach like a thick black tar as his brow furrowed. He didn't really want to do this. This was pointless. Pearl was just asking for him to inflict suffering on her without reason, and he didn't know a good way to talk her out of it. He was just going to have to do it. The purple lights in the air around him deepened in color.

"What, uh...what happened to you Pearl? I can't quite see what all is going on under that mask, but...I can see a little." There were probably only a few things that could have put her in that state. A particularly challenging fight with one of the professors was the first thing that came to mind, but she could just as easily have gotten into some kind of altercation related to her extracurricular business.

[Pearl Essence]

Even with one eye covered, she would normally be quick to notice the signs of animals in the area. A tuft of fur on a branch, a small pile of rabbit leavings, several small feathers in the undergrowth hinting at a nest above them. Instead her focus was on her footsteps, unaware that the little bit of bad luck he'd already shared would be gone. She did however notice thin deer trail that would likely lead them right to the pond where the creature drank. It would also be easier to walk on without tripping. With how many springs there were around Beacon, she was quite certain there were dust deposits just beneath the surface. Felix's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

“Oh, I'd meant to take this off when we met up. I was training with my mother and my aura failed from her impaling my arm right before she landed a punch. Enough time to not put her full strength of aura behind the blow and to make it glancing, but it still did some damage.” Without a second thought she lifted the mask off her head slightly messing up her hair. She slipped it into her bag and looked back at him so he could see more clearly the state she was in. While the bruising on her left eye was bad it was a secondary effect of the injury to her right eye and nose. Her nose was already set, but it still carried signs that it was swollen from having been broken, and the area around the eye patch she wore showed similar signs. Even without aura, a heavy blow could break bones if the target wasn't protected.

[Felix Satou]

Felix furrowed his brow. "Ooooo wow, that looks like it st-" his laces caught underfoot, snagging on a branch and within half a second he was sprawled out on the forest floor. Felix let out a defeated sigh as he pushed himself up from the floor, eyes watering from the unexpected impact. Aura could protect you from a lot, but quick falls like that were difficult for him to react to. It wasn't life threatening, only inconvenient. "Mmmm," he moaned indignantly as he brushed at this shirt and moved his hair back out of his face. "Like it stings. Somehow I'm not all that surprised you'd train that hard."

He shook his head and forced a smile. He did find it amusing. "It...suits you, I think. Uh, not the injuries or the bruises, I mean that kind of dedication. You know how I can say with such confidence I'd feel safe around you no matter what?" He gestured at her. "This...is sort of why. It's part of it."

[Pearl Essence]

Any normal day, any normal time where she wasn't injured and weakened and a half-second would have been enough time to reach out and catch him. Felix was already on the ground by the time she reached out to catch him. Maybe this wasn't the best day for her to share his bad luck, but he wanted to share in some of the dangers of her life as well. Those wouldn't only happen on good days for him. They would come when his luck was at its worst just the same as it would when it was at its best. What if someone tried to harm him to get to her when she was like this? Still, it was just a fall. He wouldn't be hurt by that. Just his pride.

How could he feel safe around her when she couldn't even stop a simple fall? There was no benefit in him lying, but it wasn't what she expected to here. “That means a lot. I'm pretty sure most people think I'm insane for pushing myself so hard. It feels wrong to do anything less when I have something to fight for.” She turned to focus on the path, her eyes out for anything else that might trip him. If it was just luck though, she doubted she could prevent it. The faint sound of water and the buzzing of insects was already reaching her ears.

"And here we are." Most of the trees surrounding the pond were young compared to the ancient tree that Felix had been sitting against before. It had always struck her as strange that new growth would be closer to the pond and further from the treeline, but she simply figured the pond had formed from a student decades back doing something colossally stupid. She'd changed some of the terrain in the Emerald Forest with her own stunts. There were signs some students had been here before. Rocks moved so there was a flat spot to sit. Even the undergrowth was thinner with patches of moss and grass visible instead of a tangle of plants. Pearl pulled a picnic cloth out of her bag and started to spread it out on one such patch.

[Felix Satou]

Felix laughed in a hushed tone. His normal, boisterous enthusiasm was muted by his overall mood. While being around Pearl was pleasant, far better than being alone, it didn't seem to be lifting him by itself. "I think it's a little crazy, but we're all a little crazy if Beacon is the place we've chosen to work towards, and..." He trailed off, his expression sinking slightly. "And it's not as if I'm naive enough to think that people don't get seriously hurt sometimes...training for a profession that involves fighting the most dangerous threats to the world on a daily basis."

He moved to help Pearl setup the cloth, mercifully being spared any bouts of misfortune as they spread it over a patch of ground that was suitable for sitting on. He wasn't going to be able to put the conversation off forever, and the feeling of anxiousness in his stomach wasn't going to magically disappear. He needed to rip the bandage off, so to speak. "Pearl...you're absolutely sure what you want is to really share my bad luck, right? You...don't just want to be around me, you want to have it, too? ​It's...you know, it's one thing for me to come to you in a bad mood and just exist near you, but..." He trailed off again. He felt guilty. Pearl didn't even know why he was in such low spirits. He shouldn't have been scared she'd judge him for his reasons, but there was a part of him that didn't want to share! Despite the fact that Pearl was missing an arm, was heavily bruised, and was openly admitting to her own weakness it was still hard to share his own with her. Wouldn't she think less of him for being so soft?

Then again, had Pearl ever really thought less of him for not being as tough as her? She probably liked that he wasn't.

[Pearl Essence]

“I wish more of our peers thought like that. This is a dangerous profession, and there have been missions I've nearly not come back from.” Missions that nearly any of their peers would have ended up a cold corpse. Too many romanticized it and felt like just going through their classes would make them invincible. It was Beacon after all. They were the best of the best, but why did so many act like getting in had been the end goal? She wasn't ignorant to what she had missed, what she was sacrificing pushing herself as she did. There was a balance between the extremes that would leave her happier and still one of the best, but she was terrified that if she wasn't the best she'd lose something more important.

Pearl gave Felix an appreciative glance as he helped her spread out the cloth. Trying to do it with one hand had started to prove frustrating. The white and red fabric she wore would have stained so easily without it, but she'd been willing to risk coming out here regardless. His question proved her point from before. She didn't want him to suffer for being close to her, but here she was at the weakest she'd been in years. Still, there were dangers to his semblance that weren't entirely something she could plan for. She pulled her bag off and sat it on the cloth before getting down on her knees and sitting on her heels.

“I won't try to deceive you and pretend I don't have concerns. I'm a firm believer of Fate having a hand in our lives, and I feel like I'm inviting her scorn.” She pat the ground beside her to encourage him to sit next to her. An idea was forming in her mind, but she wasn't sure if she would feel comfortable enough to suggest it. There was a clear difference in him embracing her to comfort her and what she had in mind. “At the same time, I am at the most vulnerable I've been in years. Injured to a point that to conceal my injuries, the only outfit I could choose is one that resembles a kitsune. I've always been fond of the legends around them. One particular myth stands out to me right now. A white furred kitsune is supposed to be a good omen. A sign of good luck that wards off evil spirits.”

“So yes. I'm certain. Even if you don't believe in fate, your aura being stretched between two people to cause bad luck will be exhausted twice as fast.”

[Felix Satou]

Felix took the invite with pleasure, taking a seat next to his foxy companion, careful to leave an inch of air between the two of them to be sure. Her belief in the idea of fate was a sort of faith he wasn't used to. Felix hadn't ever considered the idea of a higher power watching over them. The world felt too brutal, too inhospitable to human and faunus life to have been put together by any semblance of a loving creator. Yet, there were forces in the world that were hard to understand or explain. Scientific study could only explain so much of the how, and the why was beyond mortals as far as he understood. Who was he to say that fate wasn't a concrete, driving influence of events? He pulled his legs in, wrapping his arms around his knees and letting his chin rest on them.

"It...doesn't quite work like that." He could understand why Pearl might think that. It made sense that diluting his semblance might lessen the effects. "We'll just both have the same amount of bad luck. It...there isn't really any way to help me, my semblance's effects don't consume aura, or at least not an appreciable amount of it. It's lingering effects are diluted if I try to spread it around, I mean...if I gave it to you and five other people, it wouldn't change the luck that I'm having, the six of you would just be unlucky for one sixth the time you normally would." Much as he wanted to stare at his shoes and count the threads of their picnic blanket, he did look at Pearl while they spoke. "It's truly strange to think that you feel vulnerable right now. Er, I don't mean that to sound invalidating, I know your image is important to you and I don't think it isn't, but...you just look like you. To me. Maybe a more...true to yourself version of you, even. And I guess if...well...if you're sure you want to share..." He scooted closer, their legs lightly touching. "Maybe a silver haired fox faunus will make a fine substitute for a kitsune."

It would to Felix.

[Pearl Essence]

Semblances were always a fascinating thing to discuss. He'd told her of his bad luck before, and how he could share his luck through contact, but there was so much she didn't know. So much she doubted she even could know. There were stacks of books in the library detailing out known semblances, often written by the owner of a specific semblance. Even a trio of speedster types might have vastly different effects from how their soul manifested. While she'd spent the time researching semblances that effected luck so she could help him, she'd never truly know his semblance like he did.

She listened intently as he spoke, giving him her full attention. Though she had to twist and crane her neck to properly see him. When he finally closed the distance to let his leg touch hers, she didn't pull away, though she let out an amused breath through her nose. She had certainly been over-complicating what would be necessary to let his semblance run its course. The thought of offering her lap as a pillow had crossed her mind. Clearly that was more physical contact than necessary, but she suspected it would also serve to improve his mood.

“Well, if I've learned anything from you, it's that suffering something alone to protect others is more painful than having someone to lean on.” A version of herself that was more true to herself? That's what he saw right now? Her thoughts initially jumped to how broken she looked. A missing arm, a damaged eye, even her aura was weaker as she recovered. That wasn't what Felix meant at all though. She wasn't hiding herself right now. Few who knew her got to see this side of her, and he knew it.

“Well, if you think I'm being more true to myself right now, how about I show you something else I've been keeping to myself. Would you like to hear me sing?” She reached into the bag on the other side of her to grab her scroll. The moment she pulled it free the weaponized parasol suddenly opened, tearing the cloth bag with mechanized force and scattering the contents. "Oh my!" By sheer dumb luck she must have bumped the mechanism to open it. She found herself laughing and shaking her head. Nothing appeared damaged besides her bag, and neither the poker set nor chess set had opened to result in lost pieces. "We'll pick those up later."

[Felix Satou]

She was using his own words against him! Which was a totally fair thing to do. He had said them. He had meant them. He wasn't an exception to the rule. It was only as easy as it was to tell Pearl the honest truth about sharing her burdens because he'd been through it himself. While his own predilection was for sulking to himself and trying to stop his bad luck from spreading, his sister had pulled him out of his stupor on more occasions than one. He'd always felt terrible about inflicting his bad luck unnecessarily on her, but she'd volunteered. She'd insisted that he not be alone and Felix couldn't deny his own twin access to him when he was feeling down. If the tables were turned he would have felt the same. He merely nodded at Pearl. It was a lesson they both needed to learn.

He nodded some more, but did a double take. She was offering to sing for him? "Pearl, yes, of course I'd like t-" He grimaced as her parasol destroyed her bag. "Oh stars, I'm sorry," he quickly offered an apology. "It...it really is just like that..." It hadn't made too big of a mess, but it was still doing damage. "I can...I can, uh...replace that if you, uh..." Felix trailed off, biting his lip guiltily. As nonchalant as Pearl's initial reaction was, he wasn't sure he could be the same way. It felt like he'd reach over and torn the damn thing himself! He practically had! If it wasn't for his semblance the umbrella never would have exploded like it did.

[Pearl Essence]

His reaction wasn't unexpected. It was his semblance doing the damage, and there was likely more damage to come, so of course he felt guilty. She refused to let him wallow in it for long. Pearl shook her head with enough force that the curtain of hair flowing down her back swayed with the motion. She'd have waved her hand at him like she was shooing off his guilt if she wasn't worried she might throw her scroll. No, she couldn't let him think the damage was serious. Even if she somehow got injured, it was important to remind him that it was temporary, and that she'd almost certainly had worse than whatever his semblance might muster.

“We'll have none of that.” Her words were more playful than scolding. “Absolutely nothing in my bag, or on my person is irreplaceable. In fact, I could have a new bag delivered via scroll by the time we leave if I wanted.” Whether by delivery drone or an overzealous employee wouldn't make much difference. Though she favored the idea of testing her company's new drones. “Should your luck somehow manifest in a way where everything I brought out here spontaneously combusted due to a dust malfunction in my hand, I'd be fine. I'd simply request you go grab me some new clothes and a hat from my dorm and I'd go take a dip in the pond. The water's quite fresh here.”

She placed the scroll down on the opposite side of her from Felix with the screen up, and took extra care to gently tap at the screen. Her scroll was already reinforced to handle a malfunction in her hand, but there was no sense in getting careless. She knew the song she wanted to sing for him. It was something of a classic, and likely one he'd heard a hundred times, but it felt appropriate. Still, before she'd start the song, she wanted to make sure he didn't dwell overly long on her destroyed bag. “Now, I'm happy to sing for you, but I don't want you feeling guilty over a few accidents. I chose this. I chose to be here for you and experience what you do. Okay, Felix?” Would she be able to live by those words if he got hurt for her?

[Felix Satou]

It wasn't a lecture that he was getting, but it sure felt like one. Her words weren't lost on him. Huntsmen and Huntresses chose to face danger often enough. The villages, towns, and cities they protected didn't need to apologize to them for the danger they were entering. It was the life they'd chose. It was the risk they'd put on their shoulders. "Okay," he said with a nod. "I...imagine it would get pretty annoying listening to me apologizing every other minute anyways, so..." He trailed off, forcing a grin onto his lips. He did appreciate the words that Pearl was saying. He wouldn't need her to say it again. He hoped.

"I'd be happy to hear you sing." That took much less effort to grin for. "I do need more friends who've got a little bit of musical inclination." He didn't want to keep talking. Letting Pearl sing was probably best for both of them. It would prevent him from tripping over his tongue.

[Pearl Essence]

Pearl smiled at him and double checked her scroll one more time to make sure it was the right song, the volume was set as high as it could go, and it was set to karaoke mode. How could he see himself as annoying? She wouldn't choose that word to describe him. He was clever and kind, and the only reason he was apologizing was because he cared about people other than himself. While it was just a bag, for some it could have been the last gift from a mentor, a lover, or family member. As much as she'd tried to hide it from him, she was the sentimental sort. It wasn't his fault she kept all her precious belongings at home, well away from prying eyes. Just like she chose to sing for him well away from others.

Her finger tapped at her scroll one final time to start the song and she closed her eye. Would he recognize the cover before he heard the lyrics? He was so magnificent himself when it came to music, she'd be surprised if he didn't recognize enough similarities even before the first words left her mouth. Metal fingers silently tapped away on her thigh to count the beat, building up to the moment where she'd begin singing. She swayed slowly with the music her ears straight up, a serene look on her face as she prepared herself for something almost entirely new. As the mental count hit zero, her lips parted and she sang with all her heart. ♫

“When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No, I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me.”

A metal hand clutched at her heart as if she feared she would sing it out of her chest as her voice grew louder. While she was no professional songstress, hers was a voice practiced for years from a young age, tutored by a women who had taught some of those who made their life with song. Even before her life in Vale, she'd loved to sing. Her father having taught her several songs she could sing even without music. There were few things she kept so private, so close to her heart as her voice when she sang, but in this moment, she didn't shy away from letting her soul ring out in the hopes she could bring her friend some comfort when his own soul seemed to torment him for daring to feel sad. As the song came to an end, she took a shaky breath and hoped that the bruise around her eyes would make the redness of her cheeks harder to see.

[Felix Satou]

It did not take long for Felix to recognize exactly what he was about to hear. While he was sure he hadn't heard this particular song before, the instrumentation was too iconic not to place to the original band. The melody was familiar. The musical catalogue of his brain found the artist and the song faster than it would take for him to explain what he was listening to, even though he'd yet to listen to it. He couldn't help but smile as Pearl began to sing. So many thought that his level of expertise allowed him to pick apart other singers, find their flaws, explain what they could be doing better, but that was the least entertaining thing to do with your friends. Tearing other people down was never so rewarding as building them up.

Her singing voice was powerful, and she wasn't afraid to get loud while they were alone out in the forest. Her tone, her candor, the way she held herself when she sang, it all had the qualities of someone who loved to sing, but couldn't devote their life to it. She was good. It was pleasing to listen to her hold the long, loud, dramatic notes while she was surely singing a song that made her think of him, or so he would like to think. It was rough around the edges, but only enough to make her sound like Pearl instead of Florence and the Machine. Felix was smiling by the time she was finished, though the purple dots in the air hadn't yet dissipated.

"Pearl, that was really amazing. I can't believe you don't sing more often. You should. I don't really care if it's around other people, they don't deserve you anyways, but I could listen to you do that for hours." His grin broadened. "You look really cute when you sway like that to keep your rhythm." He mimicked the action, bumping lightly against her shoulder as he did.

[Pearl Essence]

When it came to singing, Pearl knew her weaknesses, but in the moment they hadn't mattered. When she sang it was usually for herself, alone. After singing for Felix she didn't know what to expect. His musical talent was enough to leave her breathless at times. For a woman like her who loved music so dearly for the joy it could bring and the way it silenced the demons in her mind, she'd counted herself blessed to have made a friend like Felix just for his musical talent alone. There was more to the young man than just his music. His talent alone wouldn't have convinced her to sing. His praise though would convince her to sing again. She swayed with the playful impact and swayed back into him with a lighthearted laugh, her own frame far too light to make him move on its own.

“I'm certainly glad you think so. I've not had a reason to sing for anyone but myself in a very long time, and I think I'd be heartbroken if you thought I sounded awful.” She couldn't imagine Felix being so cruel as to simply say she was awful even if she was. He'd likely have offered to help her improve and told her where the problem was. Her heart felt strangely free sharing her singing with someone, even if she knew that unlike many he'd have an ear for it. Her eyes scanned over the once contents of her bag, and she felt silly for not bringing a speaker to plug into her scroll. She'd brought chess and a poker set, her painkillers and her daily pills, even a pair of pens to smoke if that seemed more likely to ease Felix into a good mood, but not speakers.

“I don't think I'll be so hesitant to sing around you again.” Eventually her singing wouldn't be such a secret if she sung for him often enough, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

[Felix Satou]

"I'm happy to hear that, Pearl," he said, despite the fact that purple sparkles still dotted the air around the pair of them. "It would be a shame for such a beautiful voice to go totally unheard except by it's owner." He was pleased by Pearl's openness. He had seen the way she acted around other students, how she acted when she had her mask on, the real one and not the plastic kitsune mask she'd brought with her to their little getaway. It would have exhausted him. It might have exhausted Pearl at some point in her life, but now it had to be as easy as breathing.

Thoughts of his failures were still plaguing him. Though he could listen to her sing, his mind was still running back to his loss, retreading his steps, walking the path to defeat over and over. He could stave off the thoughts for a bit, think of responses, focus on Pearl, they weren't ever far enough away from his mind to leave him alone. Pearl, on the other hand, seemed genuinely happy to be there with him even after suffering what could only be described as a devastating defeat at the hands of her mother. Felix didn't know much about her, only that she and Pearl's relationship was strained. He couldn't help but admire Pearl for being able to wear her defeat with pride. "It's hard to imagine you losing a fight to anyone, you know. Even professors, as experienced as they are, I still find myself thinking 'Ah, I bet Pearl could beat them on a good day.' Isn't it...isn't it frustrating to...you know, get so badly beaten?" He knew the change of subject was sudden, but he had to ask! Maybe it would help him not feel so frustrated if he could understand what she was thinking.

[Pearl Essence]

For as happy as he seemed to hear her sing, for her to be willing to share it again, there will still dots of purple flickering in the air around them. Perhaps it was a bit too hopeful to think it would be easy to dispel whatever was plaguing Felix. He was a man practiced in optimism and almost sickening cheer at times. If something had brought him to the point his bad luck was plaguing him, it wasn't something so simple to brush off with a song from her. Distracting him from it didn't seem to work, but should she outright ask? He was so much more open than she was. If he was unwilling to share, then would he appreciate her inquisitiveness here? She was still happy to sit with him and hopefully he'd give her a hint. She didn't have to wait long. Her eyebrows rose briefly before she flinched in pain.

“There might be a few professors I could win against. If they underestimated me for being a student, certainly a few. Most of them are too experienced for that I think. Not all, but most.” She nodded slowly and looked down at her hand. Normally she'd have focused entirely on his question, but there was a reason for what she'd said. “But am I frustrated because I lost so badly? I don't know. I mean, it hurts to exist. The damage doesn't look so bad now, but that's because of aura and talented doctors familiar with treating huntsmen. I'm also on some pretty strong painkillers right now.” Pearl glanced towards the bottle of pills that was several feet away. A second one already would probably make her woozy. She didn't want Felix to have to babysit her again. Especially not when it seemed like he needed her awake and aware right now.

“Maybe I am frustrated. I can easily think on my mistakes, my miscalculations in our fight, and think of what I could have done better, done differently. I could have done better even if I couldn't have won, and I hate that I didn't do my best, but I think that's just my pride getting the better of me.” Pearl didn't even notice her ears go back as she thought about it, though it made the pain in her head sharper. “It's nothing compared to the fights I've lost before though, and I've learned from every defeat. I'll learn from this one, and I'd like to think without becoming utterly obsessed with it this time.” How different of a person would she be if she hadn't lost all those years ago?

[Felix Satou]

Pearl had shown no signs that she was in any significant pain so far. If she hadn't admitted to existence being uncomfortable then Felix never would have guessed that anything was the matter. She was stoic to a fault, wasn't she? At least he was beginning to see a little bit of what was on the other side of that stoic facade. She worried. She got frustrated. She tried to pull lessons from her losses just the same as all the rest of the mortals. He exhaled a sharp breath through his nose thinking about that, but he let Pearl finish what she was saying before he opened his mouth. The air was still. He couldn't help but feel comparatively immature. Pearl was frustrated, but she wasn't down in the dumps. She was out here with him, trying to improve his mood even! He was moping, barely able to hold a conversation!

"I...I wish I could look at it the same way." He frowned as his eyes turned towards the pond, looking at the reflections of the trees in it's serene surface "It feels like I'm doing everything right. I'm turning up to class. I'm studying. I'm practicing. Stars, I spend so much fucking time practicing..." He let his forehead tap into his knees. "Missions? Fine. Team exercises? Fine. Any time I have to step into the ring and spar with one of my classmates, though, everything seems to go wrong from the start, and...for whatever reason, I can't seem to pull myself out of whatever weird downward spiral I'm in. Sometimes I can make it look close, even if I know I'm going to lose. Today I just got absolutely blown out. And..." He felt an ache in his chest. Was he seriously about to cry because he lost a training match? He lost lots of them. Probably more than he won. Why was this any different, worth crying over? His voice didn't waver as he pressed on.

"I can think on my mistakes and missteps, but I can never seem to patch them up fast enough. Or even when I do, it's not enough. I'm...I'm trying so hard. I've got the grades. I've got everything else down, but this just...I just..." Felix trailed off. What was he even trying to do here, get advice? Get some comfort? He was half expecting Pearl to tell him to just shake it off. This was the root of why he was feeling so terrible, but he didn't know what he was supposed to do to get after it. It didn't seem fair to expect Pearl to. She was already dealing with her own problem. Why was he making her deal with his?