Masks at Dusk [Private w/ Carmine Crest]

[Melina Caedus]

The day was nearing its end. A metal hand grasped the door handle of the door to the dormatory rooftops and pushed it open to see the sun setting behind Beacon. A big tower basking in the light of a beautiful dusk was to see. This kind of skyline was one of the first things the ex-military medic, named Melina, wanted to see from all the things the huge academy had to offer. Now that she had made it past the first few days of attending Beacon she could explore all the locations that were available. Coming here was definetly worth it.

While Melina did like wearing uniforms, she bothered changing into something more casual for the occasion. She was wearing a red shirt and white trousers with as white shoes. Nothing too out of the ordinary to not have people stare at her in the off chance she met someone, well aside the lights from the graft on her back that shined with deep blue light through her shirt like. Both her arms were white as she wore her prosthetic Solemn Vow and the gauntlet on her left arm. It wasn‘t like she had to wear it, but it made counteracting the weight of her prosthesis less bothersome. The mask she wore was deactivated, the machinery clinged to her cheeks as it revealed her mouth.

Peeking her head almost scarily out of the doorway she looked around the rooftops to see wether or not there were other student. When she confirmed to herself that there werent, she went near the edge to take in the entire view she had from there. It looked so pretty to her that she forgot of all the worries she had for the next day. Melina wasn‘t a fan of combat-classes and tomorrow she would have her first one at Beacon, right in the morning even. She let out a sigh being reliefed from the negativity she felt a few moments ago. Maybe she should have brought her violin, it probably be amazing to play with this kind of scene.

She would simply continue to stare at the skyline in front of her, waiting for the sun to fully settle and the night to take over. Stargazing was also something she wanted to do, but never had the chance to. Could be quite the change of pace, she thought to herself as she deeply exhaled.

[Carmine Crest]

Carmine had seen better days, he knew that much was certain as he made his way down the hall of the dormitories toward the door that he knew would lead to the rooftops, away from all the preying eyes and the hushed conversations that he couldn't bring himself to care about. He had more than enough social interaction for the time being, the beach party had sapped him from almost all his energy since yesterday, the rest of last night was brief and riddled with nightmares that left him on the backfoot for the day, he was certain he spotted a few familiar faces throughout the day yet each time he thought as much, he quickly evaded their sight or path and he made it through the day alone.

Hopefully he could get some rest and relax under the night sky, perhaps he could finally remove his mask for a bit and allow the breeze to wash over his face, the weather was probably warm enough for him to enjoy the night sky without his trench coat on top of his usual outfit but he could always remove it once he was away from everybody, for now he'd remain in the comfort of his hood. As he made his way up the stairs, his heavy boots had the slightest echo in the narrow stairwell and he made a note of it, rather or not it would be loud enough to alert him of somebody approaching the door to the rooftop was something he'd have to figure out later.

Opening the door, he was both surprised and annoyed at the sight of the white haired girl standing near the edge, content to watch the sunset. Although she undeniably caught his interest as he realized the slightly glow along her back and what appeared to be duel gauntlets or prosthetics on the girl's arms. "Hello..." Carmine would call out in an almost monotone voice, uncertain how exactly he should handle this situation.

[Melina Caedus]

Hearing the door open behind her startled Melina more than it should have. Her heartbeat started increaseing by the second simply because she knew someone would be on the rooftops with her. And that not even in a good way like one would describe love, but rather fear and anxiety. While Carmine couldn‘t see it looking at her from behind, her facial expression was visibly distressed. What if the perosn behind her saw her mechanic augments, what if they got scared of her? Melina had to fight with these questions in her mind everytime she was nearby... well, anyone really.

She closed her eyes shut for a moment to wrestle with her thoughts. ‘Alright. No panic Melina. No panic. You got this. You are at Beacon, people here have probably seen worse, right?‘ she thought. Oh, who was she kidding it was way easier said than done to keep your cool.

And then she heard the guys monotone voice, he seemed indifferent to what he was seeing. Did this mean he was fine seeing a freak like her? No she couldn‘t be certain of it yet. With that thought she slowly looked over her shoulder to look at whoever came to rooftops just now, and looked at them with a more than just perplexed face. The figure in the doorway was a masked and hooded figure, judging by the voice he was a boy.

“Hello.“ she signed to him quickly in return her hand making the sign in a more than hectic motion. After a short moment she would realize ‘No wait, maybe he doesn‘t understand sign language.‘ So she fully turned around and moved her mechanical hand behind her cheek to look for the switch for her mask. Here went nothing. She flicked the switch and the mechanical contraption on Melina‘s face moved to close in front of her mouth and nose, the mask locking in place with an audible click-clack sound. She then hesitantly whispered into her mask.

“Uh… h… hello.“ What came out of the device was a mechanical voice that, while on an ordinary talking volume, sounded more than just unnatural. This was usually the part were people got freaked out and ran off and Melina really hoped this wouldn‘t happen here. Even with her mouth obstructed, anyone could tell she was quite uncertain with this situation herself.

[Carmine Crest]

He watched for the girl's reaction closely, trying to figure out what would be the best course of action and as such, he didn't fail to notice the slow turn of her head that quickly turned into confusion as she looked toward his mask, no doubt caught off guard by the sight. However he was equally caught off guard by the robotics lining the cheeks of the girl and a sudden realization came over him as the glow along her back and the metallic arms all made sense. She was injured at some point and whatever damage was done to her seemed focused on her upper body, likely from the back if the fact the robotics were placed around her back and presumably went up her neck to wrap around her cheeks, only question was why they had to reach around...

The answer became apparent as the girl made rather frantic motions with her hands that left Carmine tilting his head to the side in confusion, a vague memory of a language spoke in hands coming to mind yet he couldn't recall much about it. Whatever it was, it seemed she quickly realized he didn't understand her and she quickly turned around and fiddled with her face area, leaving him to watch in both confusion and interest.

A sudden click told him that she had done something important and when she turned to face him once more, he was slightly amused to see yet another person wearing a mask although unlike his and Ciendra's masks, it seemed this one had an additional function as the rather strange mechanical voice had done it's best impression of a shy and scared girl. He would be lying if he didn't feel some amount of pity for the girl but he quickly stomped it out with the reminder of what it felt like to be regarded like a fragile sad thing somebody wanted to fix. "Beacon has quite the view..." Carmine would comment as his eyes turned toward the tower glowing in the fading sunlight.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He would ask as he took a step out from the doorway, his hands resting in his pockets as his eyes turned back to the girl again, curious to know what her answer would be. Sure he planned to be alone but this girl didn't seem as energetic as almost everybody else in his life so far.

[Melina Caedus]

Hearing the newcomers comment on the view of Beacon, Melina couldn‘t help to look back at it for a moment. And not even a second later she was dazzled by the scenery as the sun almost vanished behind the tower. He wasn‘t kidding, I mean of course he wasn‘t, the scenery as she saw it before was amazing already, but with the sun fading it got even better. He then proposed to join her, which surprised Melina more than it should have. She was pretty sure he would take his leave there in that moment, but he subverted her expectation. At the same time this helped ease the tension quite a lot, knowing that someone intended to stick around her was very reassuring for her. Even if he couldn‘t see it a smile formed on her face.

“O-of course, I don‘t mind.“ she answered, her voice sort of echoing a bit in its mechanical tone. Was it really not much of an issue to the guy? Only one way to find out. “That is… if you don‘t mind my presence.“ she added as she stepped a bit aside, grasping her metal arm as if trying to hide it with her fleshy metal encased hand. She knew she was a freak-of-nature, noone needed to tell her that, but she couldn‘t help but always hear the voices in her head. The gossip she sometimes couldn‘t help but overhear from the common folk when she walked around in public. Machine, Android, Automaton… those were just a few names she got. Doll was a favorite among the richer families in Atlas. She couldn‘t stand thinking about it, so she shook her head lightly to rid her mind of the topic. Instead she decided to inspect the mysterious figure in front of her.

Even as she looked closer at the hooded figure she couldn‘t make anything out beneath the hood and mask. He was certainly more secretive than anyone else she had ever met so far. She couldn‘t help but ask herself. Why was he wearing a mask? Why did he hide beneath his clothing? Were they kindred spirits him and her, both hurt and shamed for being rejected by deaths clutches? It made her want to see what was underneath. If he had scars she would like to mend them as best as she could, even if her semblance couldn‘t exactly heal them. This was simply her nature, her instinct, and yet her reasoning was stronger. Prying him on the topic that was his mask or his potential wounds wouldn‘t be the best of starts to get to know him. “I... I‘m Melina, a pleasure to meet you.“ she hesitantly extended her robotic arm forward for the boy to shake as she introduced herself, another sign of how uncertain Melina seemed. On the inside, she still feared he just wanted to be left alone or didn‘t want anything to do with her in the future.

[Carmine Crest]

"I wouldn't have asked if it had." Carmine's reply came with a single shrug as he walked toward the edge of the rooftops, standing a small distance away from the girl, his eyes focused on the girl as he approached but as the distance between him and the girl closed, his eyes would turn from watching her reaction to watching the sunset on Beacon, the buildings practically glowing with the sun's fading light. He took a deep breath as he watched the building and the sparse amount of people still roaming Beacon's grounds, the weight from the social pressure easing already now that he was removed from it all for the most part.

His attention turned back to the girl as she told him her name and turned toward him slightly as she extended one of her robotic arms forward for a handshake. "Carmine Crest. Nice to meet you as well." He'd follow his introduction by taking the girl's metal hand and giving his usual handshake, a small part of him wondering if she could feel anything with her prosthetic and if she could, just how much she could feel. As soon as he finished shaking her hand, he'd bring his gloved hand back to his jacket's pocket and turn his attention back to the setting sun.

He didn't miss how she shied away from him, going as far as to step away once she asked if he didn't mind her presence but being on the other end of these conversations numerous times, he knew what he would've wanted had somebody stayed and as such, he didn't really address her in any special way. She may study him as she pleased but she wouldn't find any pity or sympathy because to him, such things could only grow tiresome after seeing them for so long on so many people, most of which had no clue who you even were before the injuries. They'd only see something that was hurt, that had undergone something terrible, something that was most simply broken. Never anything more than something to be fixed. He wasn't going to treat her any different than a regular person because at the end of the day, that's what they both were.

Only problem with that however was that he still had no solid idea on how he should converse with regular people... Sure he could ask what brings her to the roof but that would result in her asking for his reasons and that was too much information about him far too soon for his liking. Asking how she was feeling would also be an option but such a standard question would probably be seen as the useless filler conversation. "So how are you finding Beacon so far?" He'd decide to settle on, a fairly safe question that would prompt her to speak a bit more freely about the very place they were watching from up here.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina shrugged as Carmine retorted her answer. Fair point, he wouldn‘t have asked if she really was bothering him. It was stupid of her to assume she was a burden to anyone near her. She really had to get rid of this stupid anxiety of hers, at some point at least. Her gaze followed him as he came forward towards the edge, trying to make out the tiniest of details on the guy as he came closer. No dice, he was so obscured by the mask and clothing that she couldn‘t make out anything beneath it. She remebered to look away to prevent herself looking like a creep, for staring at the guy, and instead spotted a few people walking about on Beacon‘s grounds. Her introduction would follow as she focused her attention back on him.

So his full name was Carmine Crest. As he shaked her hand her grip was rather lush, admittedly this was because she feared to hurt the guy if she clenched it too much. After all this thing was military-grade. As soon as the greeting went by she remembered that she didn‘t introduce herself with full name. Would be weird trying to correct herself now, right? Then again she wanted to return the formality of introducing himself with full name. She decided to simply fully introduce her another time, there would probably plenty of more chances, besides… Melina was pretty sure people didn‘t take well to Atlas nobles even if her family was prominent in the medical field.

And with that, odd silence filled the air. Up until Carmine put up a question that was a bit more food for thought then Melina expected. How was Beacon treating her so far? To sum it up, it was the second chance Melina had gotten. Helping those in need was her wish and learning how to do so as a huntress was her top priority. Classes were okay, exception being combat classes and teachers were understanding to her condition and helped her a lot to deal with it. Her only issues were some of the students and the public image she had, the trend sort of continued from Atlas which she wasn‘t too keen about. Partially the reason she spent most of her time in her room. Wait no, she couldn‘t say this kind of stuff about the academy, those flaws were with herself and had nothing to do with the school. Her gaze drifts off to look at Beacon skyline one more time to take in the beauty of it. She seemingly contendly whispered into her mask. “I think the view speaks for itsself. It‘s amazing and I am happy to be here.“ She smiled under her mask, even if Carmine couldn‘t see it, the rest of her expression was enough to express that happiness. “What about you?“ she would say without any shred of anxiety. She forgot about it all in the moment.

[Carmine Crest]

Hm. It wasn't quite what he was expecting, the answer being that the view spoke for her experience in Beacon which he could agree on the view being something to be cherished, it didn't quite get her to talk on detail about the actual experiences. Suppose she wasn't much of a talker either, something he should've expected considering how little the two have actually spoken since they first stumbled across each other. Suppose that also meant he would probably be expected to make conversation, something that wasn't his strongest suit but at least she might be more easier to talk to simply because of her nature, somebody so quiet would probably spend some time thinking of their words and speak with purpose instead of speaking for the act of speaking.

"It has been... Interesting to say the least. The people here are not quite what I imagined, it's hard to say if it's a good or bad thing but it does take time to get readjusted to." Carmine's own answer came with his almost monotone voice, deciding to take lead and speak of his own experiences in Beacon to make the prospect of opening up something a bit more easier for both herself and himself. Gods know he's going to be talking to a lot more people in Beacon than he ever really had to when he was younger.

"I take it that you're not really from Vale?" Carmine would turn the conversation to something more inclined for her to answer, he heard speaking of home could be soothing for people although he was aware there was a possibility that she would be as averse to her home due to the injuries as he would've but at least he'd know to avoid the topic in the future.

[Melina Caedus]

Carmine didn‘t seem as happy about being at the prestigious Beacon as Melina was. She didn‘t know what experiences the mask boy had, but she guessed they must have been mixed. That or the guy wasn‘t much of a talker. Would make sense with the way he acted and didn‘t talk much more than he had to. At least Melina could agree on the need to get adjusted to everything, nodding as he mentioned it. Adapting took time, as a matter of fact Melina still wasn‘t even close to take in everything the academy had to offer. There would be many more days spent on getting used to Beacon. Knowing that she wasn‘t the only one having difficulties to adjust made her a whole lot more confident.

“You‘re right. I‘m...“ she hesitated uttering the name of her birth place with her mechanical voice. Many saw the people of Atlas as arrogant and racist, things Melina didn‘t want to be affiliated with. Those kinds of stereotypes didn‘t apply to her at all. She could hardly even be affiliated with the other nobles. This made her confident enough to try and debunk those stereotypes. Finding some conviction in those thoughts she spoke up again with a slight bit more enthusiasm, but still a bit of doubt in her artificial voice. “I‘m from Atlas. This here is a second chance, if you want to call it that. A rather long story.“ She quickly became anxious again as she waited for Carmine‘s reaction. She also wasn‘t sure whether or not she was ready to talk about it should Carmine press the topic.

In the meantime the sun had almost fully vanished. Any minute it would be gone, not to be seen again for hours. Melina couldn‘t help but look after it as the light damped and became less intense by the second. She hoped the lack of light would soon be followed by a sky filled with stars.

[Carmine Crest]

It was next to impossible to not notice the girl's hesitation yet his eyes remained focus on the remains of the sunset, a warm orange hue that was slowly replaced by the night sky's blue as the shattered moon slowly came into view. That moment of hesitation had told him what he needed to know yet he was surprised once she told him how she views Beacon as her second chance, an almost familiar tone of voice being conveyed with those words which had earn her a simple nod of acknowledgement for the moment.

A second chance, eh? Memories of a long forgotten house in a village lost to time flashed in his mind ever so briefly and the man softly closed his own eyes as old feelings washed over him, an almost dull ache for better times. As his eyes were closed, he could feel the soft night breeze struggle against his mask which only allowed the smallest of air flow to gently wash his eyes, a pleasant sensation earning a soft smile. Yet as he opened his eyes once more, he found himself frowning as the previous sensation of the wind became muted, enough so that he wasn't enough aware of it's constant presence until he focused on it. Removing his hands from his pockets and raising them up to either side of his hood, he'd pull down his hood. The man's chestnut coloured hair would come out slightly messy and flowing freely, strands of it going over his shoulders and disappearing underneath the jacket. Following his flow of hair however would reveal the discoloured and ragged scarring on the right of his neck that stretched beneath his turtleneck and upwards where it too would go beneath his mask.

"I understand." His reply was short yet he met her eyes as he spoke and he felt nothing more needed to be said on that topic, instead his focus once more returned to Beacon's skyline. The lingering light from the sun had disappeared by now and in it's remains was the moon's pale light and the distant stars in the colourful night sky, where the sunset dealt with warm orange hues, the sky dealt with various cool blues, each affected by the stars and their distance. "I hope this is everything you were hoping for." Carmine's follow up reply came without thought as he reflected on his own hopes regarding his own second chance.

[Melina Caedus]

Out of the blue, Carmine then pulled down his hood to reveal what it had been hiding. Melina now got to see the slightly messy chestnut brown hair he had, but most importantly there was a scar he bared on his right side of the neck. From what Melina could tell, it was caused by a severe burn and seemed to continue on his face. Of course she couldn‘t know the latter for sure since he didn‘t bother removing the mask that hid his full visage. She… couldn‘t help but look at it a bit longer than she should have, before meeting his gaze. Each scar could tell a story and seeing those of others almost invited her to find out and determine under what circumstances they were caused. That is… almost. She knew better than to simply ask others about such things and Carmine‘s brief reply not only reinforced that argument further, but also told her that he was thinking the same in her case.

Melina would follow his gaze back to the skyline, where the light now dissappeared and made way for the blue of the night. The little bit of warmth the rays of sunlight gave, even if not much, was followed by the soothing and calm cold of the moon illuminated night. And little by little, stars appeared thorughout the night sky, Melinas deep blue eyes almost replicating it due to her amazement. Carmine question in the end managed to bring Melina‘s attention back to reality.

“Yes. Certainly.“ Her mechanical voice rasped out a more cheerful reply. It was clearly noticable that she now was way more comfortable with this situaiton than before. She was smiling, even if Carmine couldn‘t directly see it. “Going up here was the best thing I did today.“ She added after pausing to gaze at the stars for a bit.

[Carmine Crest]

He didn't fail to notice how she stared at the scarring but in the same way he had noticed her robotics, he couldn't fault her for becoming curious about the full extent of his wounds but it didn't take a genius to figure out it spread onto his face, just how far it reached up was another matter entirely. Regardless any question she may have seemed to be answered when he answered, an understanding being reached without any further words, the scarring between the two of them had told them enough of each other.

Left with nothing but the stars, the two would admire them in peace for a bit with a sense of comfort Carmine hasn't quite felt with others for a long time. It was that comfortable silence with a likeminded person that allowed him to speak his mind so freely, he genuinely did hope for her to have better luck because he knew how hard it was to remain where the injuries took place with all the pain that comes with it.

Her own reply only put him further at ease and filled him with a strange sense of content, to know that she was enjoying herself and was even glad to have came up here and met him... It felt nice and comforting, to know that she was this pleased with the company despite his numerous flaws. With a smile underneath his mask, he'd continue to stare up into the beautiful night sky with a comfortable silence filling the air, no more words being spoken as the moon's shattered light shone down on them.