The Girl With The Fractured Mind

[Aka Kuroi]

The shrill sound of a dog's yapping repeatedly assaults her ears, the small animal ceaselessly pulling against its leash and howling at her as she stands still among the crowd. She hadn't intended on stopping in the middle of the crowd, yet she did so anyway. The canine's whining aggression tore her attention and frozen her completely in place. Her eyes of crimson peer down at the raving animal, whose mouth slowly began to foam as it bore its ravenous fangs at her. It's diminutive body slowly twisted against its leash, breaking its own body apart just to get closer to her. It's incessant yapping devolved into a cacophony of horrific snarls as its form suddenly broke apart and came together to form a hideous beast.

Aka let her weapon crash against the dog's head, shattering its aggression completely as the dog's body exploded into roses.

The dog's owner immediately turned to her with a weapon drawn; their faces morphed into a grotesque black visage as they rounded on her. She wasted no time slamming her sheath into the half-human's midsection, tearing them apart as they too exploded into a mass of roses. It was then that the entire crowd around her had let fall the facade of their humanity; the masses of humans and faunus' suddenly all rushed at her with their weapons drawn and their faces resembling demons. She wasted no time tearing them apart. Each swing produces yet another explosion of roses, the petals of the bright crimson flower coating the walls and concrete with each passing second.

In very little time, she was surrounded by nothing but red.

Aka blinks, and the roses disappear. The small dog was still yapping, but their owner hastily pulled them away from her as the crowd moved around her still body. She didn't realize she was breathing heavily until now. With haste, Aka pulled herself from the crowd, pushing and shoveling people out of the way until she reached the alleyway. It was narrow and dark, yet endlessly more quiet and desolate than the streets. It was the perfect place for her to collect herself.

Taking a seat on a lonely bench in the middle of the alley, Aka drew in a long breath before letting out a rough sigh. Why had she dreamed of such an unsightly scene? 'That dog and the constant sounds of others...?' Her mind attempted to blame the crowd for her imaginative reaction. The voices and footsteps of the people drove her mad, she figures. She was already having a difficult time navigating the streets in search of the place she needed to buy class materials from, and the crowd had simply amplified her irritation. The dog was simply the breaking point; such a uselessly small creature had no right to be so intolerably obnoxious. Her mind went to work justifying her dream, yet her heart knew that such a reaction was unnecessary.

She simply did not like being in the crowd.

Breathing out another sigh, Aka leaned forward on the bench and rested her elbows on her knees, her palms acting as a nest for her chin to rest. "...What am I supposed to do? I don't even know where I'm going..." She was hopelessly lost and still slightly distressed.

[Kiera Ambers]

Kiera's head was turned to the sky, eyes locked on the towering rooftops of the city surrounding her as she walked. Even if she'd been in Vale before, the sight of it always managed to take her breath away - it was infinitely different to all she had grown up in, different from all anyone back home bothered to know...

She liked different. So much so that she didn't bother taking her eyes off of the skyline, instead stumbling through the city (and into plenty of people) as she watched it. What? She needed a break from being such a good student (zoning out through her important lectures) and an even better huntress (nearly breaking Wishbone in half trying to pull its' hook from a wall). God forbid women do anything.

Despite all her hard work recently, Kiera hadn't had much time to explore the city since she came to stay, so she found herself scouring the streets for anything interesting to do. Dust shops, weapon supplies... the first couple blocks within vicinity of the school seemed to melt together, but as she got farther away from home base, more unique shops seemed to catch her eye. Just as she was began to beeline towards an intriguing 100-Lien shop, the shadow of a nearby alleyway creeping into the day-bright streets caught her eye, and her gaze followed it back to its' source.

A ways within, shrouded in the darkness, was a form sitting on a bench. Kiera made a point to ignore the way the hair on her arms stood on-end - since when was she afraid of the dark?! - and tuned into her other senses until her eyes adjusted to the sudden change. Sitting all alone in an alleyway usually wasn't the behavior of of someone doing too alright, so she figured it was alright to begin her most common line of questioning.

"Hey, you alright in there? Need any help?" She began, stepping further towards her target (of kindness!!!!!). "'s pretty dark in here, could end up being dangerous. I dunno what Vale's criminal underbelly is like, though."

Like she knew what any criminal underbelly was like. Most of the 'criminals' she'd met were people stealing to feed themselves or similar. Slightly foolish confidence growing, she made her way over and hopped on the bench next to what the waning darkness now revealed to her was a... woman? Girl? She still couldn't get much of a read on her face. Whoever this was seemed tall, though. Kiera offered her hand, not minding whether she was going to be left hanging or not. "Kiera Ambers! I'm a student at Beacon. Hope I'm not bothering you."

[Aka Kuroi]

A feminine voice suddenly echoed about the alleyway, making Aka's entire body jolt and shift to the source of the voice. She couldn't see much of the stranger besides the outline of their form. Who was this person? Had they called out to her? She didn't really hear much of what they had said, having been much too preoccupied with the dealings of her own mind to properly comprehend the stranger's words. She could infer from the tone of their voice that they weren't immediately a threat, though she wasn't entirely sure.

The owner of the voice walked deeper into the alley, their form becoming clearer to Aka's crimson eyes with each step. It was a girl who had called out to her, their appearance becoming even more striking the more she noticed her features. The stranger's hair was an assortment of blonde and brown, contrasting well with each other and the pale face that they adorned. The girl's light blue eyes seemed to be the complete opposite of her own pair of vivid reds. Examining further, the bicolored girl seemed to have streaks of...something running down the sides of her face. She didn't know if those lines were cosmetic or a part of her body until she saw the multicolored tail. A faunus? Those lines must be part of her body, then.

Aka then realized, after perhaps a couple of awkward seconds of silent staring, that the stranger girl had taken a seat right next to her.

This did not fare well with her nerves.

With the distance between them practically non-existent, Kiera could now fully view the appearance of the shadowed figure. Dark, inky hair almost entirely enveloped the sheet-white face of the adolescent girl, her face sharp yet undeniably young. Her eyes were large and naturally upturned, appearing as if she were glaring at the Faunus. Though with the frown on her face, it was pretty clear that she was actually glaring at Kiera. When the stranger girl offered her hand, Aka raised her own and extended it out past Kiera's, landing on her shoulder. Then, with gentle strength, the young girl pushed the fish faunus to the other end of the bench with her lengthy arm before quickly removing her hand after the deed was done.

With the proper distance established, she opened her mouth to speak. "...Aka Kuroi, I'm a first-year at Beacon." Her voice was high-pitched and airy. "And no, you aren't bothering me. I'm just a little confused, and the crowd was..." She paused in the middle of the sentence. What word would best describe the large crowd? Unnerving? No, that would make her seem craven; she couldn't allow herself to look vulnerable in front of a stranger. "...annoying. The crowd was annoying, and I got lost." She explained her situation in vague terms, being reluctant to share every little detail with the girl who had gotten so close.

"I need class materials...but I don't know where anything is."

[Kiera Ambers]

Kiera's smile grew wider at Aka reaching out towards her, anticipating a handshake - before a hand landed on her shoulder, and..... sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide. Still, the faunus' smile never wavered, even in her slight surprise. Not everyone was a handshake person! Or a people person. Or a-- whatever, she was still happy to help!

She wrote Aka's name to her mind easily as the other girl introduced herself, glare unphasing Kiera. "No way, you're attending Beacon, too?" Even if it was about as easy to find a Beacon student in Vale as it was a tree in the woods, she still found herself excited to speak to a fellow student. Her tricolored tail wagged slightly as she considered her peer's problem. "The city's pretty big, 'S easy to get lost. I've done it a bunch." She'd probably spent more hours wandering around the city than she had doing her schoolwork, actually. Oopsie.

But, class materials! She could help find those, right? Call her a blood-hound faunus, because she'd sniff out what was needed! Kiera hopped out of her seat, presenting Aka with an offer - "I can help you find the stores you need! They're all closer to the school, I think. Better for business, probably? Anyway -- whaddya need? I've had to run around a bunch of places already." Part of a huntress was always being prepared, so the very least she could do was grab the class materials she needed. Even if she didn't know exactly where the stores she had been to were, she had the right idea.............. Most likely. Still, there wasn't like there was anyone else in this alleyway to show her towards where she needed to be! And even if it made her kind of sad, "I can try and keep you away from the crowds, too."

With the hustle and bustle of the city, it was easy for her to tell vaguely when she was walking towards a high-traffic area. So she could probably help with Aka's agoraphobia(...? What do you call it when it's just annoying?). "How about it?"

[Aka Kuroi]

A glare was met with a smile.

Aka listened to the brightly colored girl as she prattled on, watching her every movement with sharp intention. From the small shift in her seat to the gentle sway of her tail, nothing escaped her gaze. There didn't seem to be any signs of a weapon hidden within Kiera's clothes, though she couldn't be completely sure unless she physically searched the faunus. For now, she'd assume that the blonde was unarmed, though she'd still treat her with a small semblance of caution. Easing her glare ever so slightly, Aka continued to listen to the fish faunus until she finished speaking.

First, she'd address the obvious. "...If you've been lost before, how would you guide me in any way? We'd both be lost then." She responded rather bluntly, unable to dilute her curiosity with even a droplet of kindness. If Kiera's words were true, then there was no reason to assume she was any better than herself at navigating the expansive city. It was even more concerning to her that Kiera had mentioned that she'd been lost multiple times instead of just one singular instance. Why would someone with such a bad track record offer to help her? Did she possess an interior motive of some sort?

The more Aka thought about the offer, the more suspicious it seemed.

"I need the primary books for each subject. The professor I spoke to told me I could find them at any store in Vale..." She was thoroughly shocked when she searched the farmer's market and couldn't locate any of the required materials. To add insult to injury, one of the vendors there took pity on her and gifted her an apple free of charge. She nearly threw the damned fruit right back at him. "...But I'm thinking he told me nonsense." Her tone oozed irritation that contrasted heavily with her high-pitched voice. That professor must have lied to her, that old senile dastard. She lets a sigh escape her pale lips as she gazes into Kiera's eyes, both a question and an accusation hidden within her stare.

"Are you telling me nonsense as well?"

Her voice lowered slightly as she posed the question to the faunus, a small growl emanating from the bottom of her throat. "I've been stuck in this city for hours now, and I have done nothing but make a fool of myself." She explains in vague terms, not willing to go into what exactly happened during her failed shopping trip. Her glare intensifies, the reds in her eyes seemingly illuminating in the alley's shade. "If I follow you around and you lead me nowhere, don't think I'll let you off scot-free." The threat escaped her mouth and loomed over the pair as Aka glared intensely at Kiera, desperately making her intentions clear to the bright-headed girl. She didn't want to be led around like cattle to a slaughterhouse, and she'd make this girl pay if she left her here. With this massive sea of people, these looming buildings, and the blaring noises that shocked her core whenever she heard them.

Aka didn't want to stay in the city anymore. "...But...I'd be very appreciative if you actually helped me..." Her tone lost its edge with that last sentence, her voice resembling a whisper as her irritated glare morphed into something else, an expression Aka would never display willingly or even if forced to. If there were a mirror in the alleyway, she would surely die of shame if she noticed her glare become somewhat pleading.

[Kiera Ambers]

"Uh." The faunus' tail stilled as she considered Aka's words. The other girl did... kind of make a point, and she lapsed into thoughtful silence which gave her companion ample time to threaten her. Anyone with a self-preservation instinct would have disengaged here, but Kiera's brain processes were already being taken up by her first thought in a while, so she had no such luck.

Finally, she spoke. "Well, two heads're better than one, right? Or, well--" She paused, rethinking her words. Aka did not seem to be a people person. "Y'can't get any more lost. And I know the way to where we can buy the books, I swear!" If maybe a little fuzzy. But she always seemed to get really good at remembering directions when she was helping someone else. So she should totally agree!!!!!

Besides, she couldn't ignore the glint in Aka's eyes, one that almost reminded her of a cornered animal - teeth bared and ready to bite, but only like that because of the danger before it. Kiera didn't really see how she could be very dangerous (have you seen goldfish? They're like the labrador of the fish world.), but one of the things she'd been told most growing up is that you really didn't know what another person was going through. What if a goldfish ate this girl's family, or something? She wasn't here to judge, simply to take on the weight of people who needed some help, and it'd be wrong to leave her here.

Her tone softened a little. Maybe right now wasn't the time to be as boisterous as she always was. "We could even wait here 'till the crowds thin out, if you want. People tend to come and go at certain times. Whatever's best for you."

[Aka Kuroi]

Her large, red eyes narrowed as she scrutinized the other girl's words, trying to dig into her soul and carve out her true intentions. It mattered not how unassuming one may initially appear; anyone born with two hands possessed the ability to cause harm. To potentially cause her harm. She wouldn't allow herself to drop her guard so easily, especially in such a chaotic environment. However, the more she tried to gauge the faunus' intentions, the more foolish she began to feel. "..." It didn't seem as though the other girl possessed any bad intentions. The gradual shift in tone of her voice was evidence of this, dropping the exuberant attitude and adopting a subdued manner of speaking.

Had Kiera managed to sense her desperation?

That was a mistake she had to rectify. She held up one slender finger as she began to speak. "...Firstly, the crowds are NOT bothering me to any degree; they are simply a nuisance. Nothing more or less than an annoyance. I am NOT deterred by them in any way, so do not treat me as if I were glass." She swiftly clarified in a hurried manner, not wanting Kiera to think that she was in any sort of distress. To further prove how NOT distressed she was, Aka quickly stood up from the bench and peered down at the still-sitting Faunus, seemingly eager to get a move on. She holds up another finger as she speaks again. "Secondly...I suppose I haven't any options other than floundering about randomly. I'll...trust you to lead the way, so don't make me regret it." The adolescent asserts with a huff of breath, feeling unsurprisingly uncomfortable relying on the guidance of others.

How silly. She didn't trust the other girl entirely, yet she decided to put faith in her anyway.

What a thing desperation will do.

"Let's go; c'mon, get up." Aka demands impatiently, yet not with any malice.