Digging For Treasure (Private w/Jericho)

[Nym Magenta]

Nym was sitting in the food court of one of Vale's various downtown malls, sipping on an overly sweetened soda, surfing on her scroll. By some twist of fate, she had actually managed to be where she said she was going to be on time. Better than that, she was early. She was early for a meeting with a new friend she'd managed to make at Beacon. Better than being late, right? She looked down at her outfit, the same mainstay that she'd liked ever since coming to Vale. The long sleeves of her hoodie concealed the scars on her arms. Socks that ran more than halfway up her thighs left just a sliver of skin between them and the shorts she wore. The thick, furred boots she was wearing weren't the most appropriate for the summer, but Vale's hottest days didn't come close to the Mistralian heat she was used to.

She'd been pretty sure that Johnny was wearing the very same outfit every time she'd met him. That was something that other students would catch on to, too. Nym remembered. She was lucky enough to have someone to fight anyone who badmouthed her when it had been her catching flak for it, but Johnny wasn't. This seemed like a good way to kill two birds with one stone. Johnny could get some new digs, blend in a little better at Beacon, and they could spend some time hanging out.

Johnny would have to figure out how to get there on his own, though. Learning public transportation was essential to survival in Vale. She couldn't hold his hand for everything!

[Jericho Galley]

Jericho was indeed wearing the same thing he always wore. The Beacon school uniform. Even now that he was outside, he still wore it. He knew it would draw attention, so he had take off the suit coat and tied it around his waist while unbuttoning the first two buttons of the white shirt. The sleeves were rolled up but he still had his glove over his left hand. Jericho was gritting his teeth in hopes that nobody would make any big deals about him being a student. Any attention brought to him could spell the end of him if any of the crew from The Corsair were still in town, which he had no way of knowing.

He had debated canceling this hangout with Nym quite thoughouly, but he ultimately came to the decision that he wanted to hangout with her more, and that he really, really needed another set of clothes, at least one. Having never gone outside of Beacon before now, he had saved up quite a bit of Lien from that allowance they just handed out to Huntsmen in training.

Not knowing how to use public transportation the correct way and not wanting to cause any sort of scene, Jericho walked. He might learn more about how the streets worked and where the alleyways went this way. And, if he needed to run, the nearest rooftop was easily accessible via his Semblance and he could bolt. How crappy would it be if he ended up sitting next to Blackhand himself on the bus? No thank you!

However, Jericho didn't take into account of just how much longer it took to walk anywhere here than riding the bus. He would arrive to the destination around ten minutes later than she had set. He recognized her easily with the hoodie and the tall socks. "Hey Nym, sorry. I walked all the way here and I misjudged the distance. Where are we off to first?" He asked, his hands on his hips.

[Nym Magenta]

It was easy enough to spot Johnny from a distance. The colors of the Beacon uniform, even tied around someone's waist stuck out like a sore thumb. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as he admitted to having walked all the way downtown. Nym did a little math in her head to figure out exactly how much earlier he must have left then her and had to laugh. She'd probably passed by him on her way out here! "Okay, mate, next time y' ought t' jus' use the public transpo'. Yer gonna save yerself a lotta time doin' that instead'a walkin'. Just, uh, use yer scroll t' find the site fer the busses n' stuff. Get lost a few times, y'll figure it out eventually. 'F I did it, you c'n do it too." She should have seen something like this coming. It was better than him getting lost and not making it, though, so she'd take it!

She finished off her soda and pushed herself up from her table. "Right, well, figure goin' somewhere like Old Marine's prob'ly the best. Lotsa stuff t' choose from, n' they're kinda cheap, I think?" She shrugged. "S'what Ax tells me when we're out 'ere doin' our thing. You 'ave any idea whatcha wanna get?" She beckoned for him to follow her as she started walking away from the food court and towards the mall proper at a leisurely pace. Nym found herself praying internally that he had some idea what he wanted. She probably could pick out clothes for him from scratch, but that was a lot of work! Then again...wouldn't she feel proud of herself for picking out some decent outfits for someone else? It would be a reflection of her stylistic growth!

[Jericho Galley]

Jericho liked her laugh. "Yeah, I'll get around to doing it. Just never had the motivation or chance to come down into town with school and tests and everything." The 'everything' in that sentence being the real main reason. He only came down here because he really, really needed more clothes and he trusted Nym enough for her to help protect him if he was found out. He could spin some lie about whatever happened, so he thought it was worth the risk for simple shopping trip.

"Old Marine's, huh? Sure, let's go there." He said, not really knowing at all what that store was like. Sounded like an army surplus store. Clothes were clothes, though. He had thought a bit about the clothes he would want on the walk over, and he started to list them off with his fingers as he followed beside her. "High boots and maybe another pair of shoes, a few pairs of pants with a pair or two being lightweight a flowy, some plain shirts, at least one jacket that has a hood, and... a scarf?" He added. He knew it was summertime and had only worn a scarf those few times they raided Atlas, but he wasn't sure when the next time he'd get the chance to go out again. May as well grab everything he'd need.

He put his hands down and looked to her. "Anything you want to get?"

[Nym Magenta]

His promise of eventually figuring it out was enough for Nym. She wanted to help, she didn't want to be a baby sitter. Johnny was old enough to figure this out through trial and error if he had to. The court was easy to navigate. They hadn't chosen a busy time of day to show up. It was better this way. If it was busy it was just too difficult to pay attention to the crowds and whoever she was with. She never felt at ease around large groups of people. Too many eyes. Too many people they could belong to. Her aura would have alerted her to any immediate dangers, but old habits died hard.

Rather than devolve into paranoia, she busied herself with talking. "Yeah, ought t' be able t' find most'a that stuff 'ere. They don' 'ave no, uh, real fancy stuff, but day to day basics, sure." The storefront itself was easy to spot, all white contrasted with the blue, bold lettering of the name of the store. She marveled at the fact that there had been a time when she would have been chased out of a store like this on site. "I already got plenty'a stuff, but...there's...maybe a thing or two I could see 'bout pickin' up." She had been trying to show off a little more skin than normal. Maybe doing it around a new friend like Johnny would be a good litmus test. She stood before the store entrance and looked over at Johnny, sizing him up. "Yer really gettin' a scarf in the middle'a the summa'?"

[Jericho Galley]

"That's fine, don't need the fancy stuff. Just stuff to wear. It really sucks when all your luggage is lost in the transfer and you're stuck with the uniform for this long..." He groaned in complaint. None of what he said was true, but it was the reason he had come up with for always wearing the uniform and nothing else. And he was a little happy he wasn't the only one getting clothes.

When she questioned him getting a scarf he rubbed at his neck. "Do they even sell them right now? I would rather buy it now for the winter than wait till I need it. And I don't think you have room to talk, Miss hoody and fur boots." He joked, his eyes looking at her clothes for emphasis. He winked with a smile to help drive home the point that it was a joke.

[Nym Magenta]

"S'rough, buddy," Nym said shaking her head. Travel was something she'd done plenty of, but not much of it was done through the most reputable sources. The only luggage she ever kept on her was a simple backpack and her chainsaw. She'd heard people complain about lost luggage before, so Johnny getting the really short end of the stick sounded plenty plausible to her. Nym was no stranger to bad luck piling on all at once. "But we c'n fix it," she said with a sage nod. Yes. Buying clothes was something they both knew how to do, right? It was just buying the right ones!

"Oi, I like bein' warm ya bogan." Nym said, amused by his jab. "They're sellin' 'em. Ain't gonna 'ave that big'a selection, but you'll be able t' find somethin' t' make ya sweat." She ploughed forward into the entrance. Men's and Women's clothing were on opposite sides of the store, so she decided to meander on over to the men's section first. The trip was really more for Johnny than anything else. The racks and shelves were packed with all manner of summer wear. False claims of big savings were posted all throughout the store. They'd tricked Nym when she'd first come to Vale, but she'd figured it out with time. They always said that they were on sale, but the prices never changed! They were literally always on sale! It was a total illusion! "Jus' pick out anythin' ya think looks nice. They've got changin' rooms so y' can see if they fit, n' we c'n always change the size t' somethin' that works for ya if it ain't quite right. I...ain't no fashionista, but I c'n tell ya if somethin's downright awful or really good, so...I'unno, jus' yell at me or poke me or somethin' if ya wanna know anythin'." Nym was glowering at a display of jeans that she was absolutely sure had been ON SALE! HALF OFF! for the last six months.

[Jericho Galley]

"Warm? You have to be sweating yourself silly with all that. There's hardly any wind to take the heat away too." He poked back as they walked inside. Oh thank the heavens that they were going inside. Inside a store was so much better than being out on the streets. Not just because of air conditioning, but because he was less likely to be seen by his old crewmates.

Drowning Mermaids, there was so many clothes! And what his luck, they were practically all on sale! He could definentely fill out his wardrobe now! He looked to Nym, a wide smile on his face, to see her glowering at jeans. They were on sale, so he wasn't sure what the problem was. Maybe, with all the high socks she wore, she didn't like jeans. "Alright, I'll make sure to get your opinion on everything. If you don't think I look good in it, I don't htink I'll want it anyhow." He said before moving through the racks of clothes, taking some stuff and adding it to a slowly growing pile over his left arm.

Eventually he felt like he had enough for a round of trying on clothes. He found Nym once more and would try to bring her over to changing rooms where he would go in and try out the first round of clothes.

He tried on a pair of dark jeans, a white button-up blouse, and a black leather jacket. His feet were bare, not having taken any boots. He drew back the curtain. "How about this?" He asked, slowly turning and making little poses.

[Nym Magenta]

As they both perused the wares, Nym made sure to grab a few things that she wasn't sure he'd end up liking, but might look nice. It was always good to try a variety of clothes. You never knew what you'd like until you saw yourself in it. Even she had tried on a skirt or two to make sure she hated wearing them in public. When Johnny finally got her attention she followed him to the changing rooms, curtained and discreet. You could get in and out without making much of a fuss. She actually preferred them to the wooden doors. She waited outside, her own choices for clothing tossed over one shoulder. When he finally drew back the curtain she nodded approvingly.

"Simple, 'nuff. Don' look too fancy, don' look too bland. Y'could pair it with any kinda jacket." She eyed the jacket he was wearing. "It don' look bad." There was nothing egregiously wrong, minus his bare feet, but if he was wearing this as an actual outfit out in public he wouldn't be going without shoes. Did the store care if you wore socks or not? Eh, it didn't matter, if they got yelled at they could always have him put socks on.

[Jericho Galley]

"Any kind?" He asked before taking off the leather coat and swapping it for a royal purple canvas jacket. He hadn't been sure about the color, but the material was similar to some ship sails and it felt comfortable on him. "What about this one?" He asked, turning slowly once more.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym snorted in amusement as he swapped his leather jacket for a gaudy shade of purple. "O...kay, maybe not anythin'. Heh. It's...a bit loud, but f'you really like it, n' ya wear it with confidence, think y' could make it work. But, uh, I'd only do that if ya really, really like the color purple." She looked over her shoulder at the men's section. "Some'a them tan khakis might work betta' than those pants f'you don' wanna end up sweatin' through that white shirt. I, uh, didn' grab any, though. Kinda forgot I 'ad no idea what yer size is while I was lookin' round."

[Jericho Galley]

Jericho chuckled and took off the purple thing. "I just wanted to see what you thought, I wasn't planning on buying it." With the mention of tan pants, he considered that. "I'll go grab some." He said before walking out, still wearing clothes with the tags dangling from them, and looked for the pants.

While he was looking around, a voice caught his attention. It was distant, talking to someone else but he recognized it. He spun his head around to see Flax. She hadn't been part of the crew of The Corsair per se, but she had been an informant that told of weaknesses in ports or other structures for the pirates to attack. If she saw him, she would undoubtedly tell Blackhand. He ducked behind a clothing rack to stay out of sight. She was talking to an employee, not facing him. That was a relief.

His first reaction was to leave immediately, but he couldn't just leave Nym here, they had just started shopping! He couldn't leave now! Maybe if he just didn't speak at all and stayed in the dressing room for a while, he could wait for her to leave. He grabbed the nearest tan khaki's without looking at their size and walked briskly back to Nym. Looking over his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Flax. And she was heading to the dressing rooms! He turned the corner to where Nym was sitting, would grab her hand and pull her quickly into the dressing room, at the same time pulling the curtain closed behind him.

He was breathing heavy and trying to be quiet, focusing wholly on his sense of hearing to tell where Flax was going. He didn't really register that he was staring at Nym the whole while.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym opened her mouth to say something to Johnny about still wearing the tagged up clothing, but he was off with such an air of confidence that she didn't bother. Maybe it technically wasn't what he should be doing, but she could just explain that to him once he got back. What he was doing wasn't any sort of crime. Not any sort of real crime, anyways. She turned back to the myriad of clothing that she'd brought with her and decided that she had no intention of just carrying all of it around, instead tossing the whole pile into a corner of the dressing room they'd staked out. That would help her deter anyone else from using it while Johnny was off grabbing another pair of clothes. She squinted down at the heap. Was that a rude thing to do? Would those get wrinkled? Whatever, even if she was making more work for the store workers, how much work could it really be?

She turned to look off where Johnny had gone only to see him walking at a rather excited pace directly towards her. He had the shorts in hand. Was he in that much of a hurry to try them on? Then he was grabbing her wrist and practically dragging her into the changing room. Her mind went blank for a second as he pulled the curtain shut and stared at her, breathing heavily, nervousness written all over his face.

Had he actually worked up the courage to shoot his shot here of all places? She crossed her arms, cheeks turning red from the unexpected come on. It was a little flattering, but he was picking an interesting spot to lose his courage. "Oi," Nym said flatly. "You, uh, gonna jus' stare at me, mate?" He was cute, sure, but she was also under the impression he wasn't looking for anything like this. Had he had a change of heart?

[Jericho Galley]

Jericho was trying to be as quiet as possible, listening intently to the footsteps outside. They were coming closer, and in Jericho's mind he could see Flax ripping open the curtain, seeing him, and either pulling out a gun to shoot him and Nym in the face or dissapear and tell Blackhand. Or both. His imagination was going wild as the footsteps drew nearer and nearer, his breathing rate increasing with each step.

Then Nym started talking. In his head, making noise at that time was the worst thing that could happen. Her first word snapped him back to reality a bit, and he realized how close he was. How red her cheeks were. The fact that he had dragged her into a dressing room alone and was practically cornering her against the wall. Nym had been fairly cute and she was awesome... And she was talking.

Those footsteps were right next to curtains now, and in a flash of genius inspiration, he remembered how some members of The Corsair sometimes snuck into closets to... makeout. And the slight sounds normally warded off anybody from opening the door. Better that than nothing.

Jericho would push his face forward to hers, trying to shut her mouth with his.

[Nym Magenta]

She could see the gears turning in his head. He was thinking. He'd been incredibly impulsive. Drag Nym into the changing room and then...? Had he even thought this far ahead? One finger tapped on her upper arm as her eyes narrowed at him. He didn't have the stones! Maybe he had thought this far ahead and was totally tripping himself up at the precipice. It wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to make a move on her like this and totally chickened out. It was understandable. She could be pretty intimidating. Her eyes glanced down at the hem of the curtains. Someone was walking awfully close by their stall. She wouldn't be able to step out just yet, it would be a little awkward if she revealed both of them. When her eyes looked back to Johnny, he was already right in her face.

Their lips touched and Nym's ears shot straight up in surprise. He did have the stones! She wasn't sure whether she should be mad at him or not. She was sorta seeing Ax, but they weren't totally exclusive. She'd never actually told him no. Maybe it was a bit understandable that he was doing this? In her initial shock she didn't end up pushing him away, a little too caught off guard to react quickly. She inhaled deeply, a reflex she couldn't help, committing the smell of the boy to her memory before exhaling and putting one hand to Johnny's chest to slowly push him back and break off their kiss. Before either one of them could say anything, she held up one finger, looking off towards the side, brow furrowed. What exactly did she want to say?

"R-right, uh," she started off totally smoothly. "So...not lookin' fer anythin' serious, huh?" Her voice was considerably quieter than before. Johnny had at least a little explaining to do.

[Jericho Galley]

...What was he trying to do again? Kissing Nym was great, but that inhale of hers caused him to literally forget what was happening and focus totally on her, his mind going blank. She didn't push him away, not at first, and Jericho didn't remember ever having kissed someone like this before.

Then she pushed him away, lips parting reluctently. Then he remembered that he had dragged her in here, thrown the curtain over them, and was hiding from someone who could very well spell his death. He listened intently and could hear the footsteps leaving them behind. Phew. He was about to say something utterly stupid when she held up a finger. Thank the seas she stopped him so he could actually think of something to say. Man that kiss was good...

But seagull's shits, she was right. He had straight up told her he wasn't looking for anything serious. And it was still true, really. And he had no clue what Nym's current lovelife was like! Crap, what was he going to say!?

"Uuhhh..." He said dumbly, blinking twice as his brain failed to come up with anything. "I wanna change out of these pants now..." He mumbled, half committed to saying it and change the subject before he realized that it was a totally dumb and perverted thing to say! He shook his head to get his thoughts back in order. "Kraken's Teeth! No, uh, there was this lady out there that I spotted." He whispered, going with the truth before he started to spin it a little, scratching the side of his face with one finger as he did so. "She was giving you real dirty looks and was headed our way, so I just, uh, pulled you in here. I didn't want a scene to start, but then you were here and... talking and..." He swallowed, his eyes glancing back down to her lips, not sure what to say next.

[Nym Magenta]

When he mentioned changing out of his pants Nym couldn't help but look down. Was he really that eager to go that he'd already ruined the pants he was in? That would have been a first. She'd never done that to a guy just with a kiss, but there wasn't any obvious reason for him to want to. Rather than immediately shut him down she gave him a second to salvage whatever that had been and explain himself. When he mentioned seeing a lady giving her nasty looks her expression softened a bit. Nym leaned over towards the curtain and pulled it just open enough that she could peer out with one eye. Whoever he'd seen trailing after them wasn't in sight anymore. She didn't see anyone close by.

His heart was in the right place. He was trying to help, and even if he was totally making the whole story up just for a kiss it wasn't all that harmful. Was Johnny the type to make up a silly lie like that just to steal a snog? Well...maybe time would tell, but for now she'd give the nervous wreck a bit of a break.

"Look, Johnny," she lowered her own voice to match his as she let the curtain close. "You don' gotta worry 'bout that." She stuck her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, the blush on her face was starting to fade. "It's, uh, sweet'a ya t' worry 'bout me, but I've dealt with plenty'a people who don' like faunus. Vale ain't as bad as the rest'a the world. Usually 'f someone's harassin' me in a store n' give 'em a firm fuck off they'll leave me alone, n' if that don' work I jus' gotta mention bein' a Beacon student n' they'll get the message they're outta their depth. I, uh...ain't mad at'cha or nothin', but, heh, I c'n take care'a meself." Wasn't she the one that was supposed to be looking out for her underclassman here anyways?

[Jericho Galley]

Holy crap, she was buying it. That was something he literally scrambled together with his scrambled brain and it worked! Phew... Though he didn't really like this lie that he told her. But he couldn't go back on it now. Had to accept her response. He lowered his head as she essentially told him not to worry. "Yeah, sorry." He looked back up at her before moving a little farther away from her, lest he try and kiss her again.

She really was a tough lass. Growing up in Mistral the way she had must have been difficult, compounded by the faunus heritage. She had gotten through it alright though, with a strong head and spine. Jericho had grown up rough too, but he had turned into an awkward bumbeling idiot here at a school. Nym was doing alright. Give him a boat any day...

"I just didn't want..." He took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah. Erm, sorry, by the way, about the, um, the kiss." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up and away. "Sort of heat of the moment thing." He cleared his throat and moved his eyes to her, waiting to see how she'd react or what she'd say. He was the one blushing now instead of her.

[Nym Magenta]

She waved away his first apology. "Don' worry 'bout it." He hadn't done anything terribly wrong. Wanting to avoid conflict with weird racists or aggressive strangers was a totally natural thing. Maybe he just wasn't used to spending time around women that were as strong as she was? Either way, wanting to look out for others was hardly something worth admonishing or forcing an apology out of him for. His second apology got a laugh out of her.

"Eh, no 'arm done, mate," she shrugged lightly at him with a grin on her face. "S'only a kiss. Next time y' need t' shut me up so we c'n avoid some shady pursuer jus' say shhh. I'll let it slide. This time." The tone of her voice hardly suggested that she was upset or issuing any serious threats. Her mind skipped back to the moment. Something had been bugging her a bit. "Oi, that wasn' yer first kiss or nothin', was it?" She raised an eyebrow curiously at him. "Not t', uh, rag too 'ard on yer kissin' game, but that was pretty tame fer a 'shut up' kiss." Was there a real standard for how hot and intimate those kinds of kisses were supposed to be? The more distracting the better or something, right?

[Jericho Galley]

Jericho smiled and nodded, looking mostly downward the whole time. "Yeah, next time I'll do that." He said, chuhckling. Then she criticized his kiss! Well, that wasn't very kind. But, she had a point. He sort of just mashed their lips together, not anything deep or well planned. For a moment he wanted to make her eat her words and kiss her again but... That would basically be saying that he did want something with Nym, which he wasn't sure if he did yet. Hearing her sharp intake was probably the best part of that kiss and made him curious to hear it more, but he couldn't.

"It wasn't my... first kiss, no..." He said, sheepishly. "Just uh, just my second. So I haven't had a lot of practice to woo ya with, sorry mate." He winked at her. He hoped it was a charming wink, but it probably came across a little awkward.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym gave Johnny an appraising look. The bashful expression was in contrast with the sly wink he gave her, but it was better than she was expecting! He wasn't just crumbling to pieces! For that being his second time locking lips, well, he hadn't done anything egregiously wrong. He needed practice, did he? Was looking to woo her, was he? Her brain didn't really have much time to run through all the various ways this could backfire on her, only remembering that Ax had pretty much told her that being exclusive wasn't what she wanted right now. If Nym was honest, there wasn't any harm, right? Besides, it wouldn't be that difficult to avoid situations like this in the future. Johnny was a charming enough guy, he couldn't have that much trouble getting himself another squeeze.

She smirked at him. "Yeah? Lemme give ya some quick pointers." Nym stepped forward and grabbed the front of Johnny's crisp, white button up and shoved him bodily against the back wall of the booth. "Confidence is 'ot," she noted before pushing herself up on her tip toes to put her face right in front of Johnny's. He was a full foot taller than her, she only barely managed. "Don' forget t' use yer 'ands fer somethin'," she said, looking him straight in the eye as one hand slip up the shirt, up his neck, and into his hair to grab a light fistful of it. Her other hand maintained it's grip on his shirt. "N' a little tongue's fine, kinda like this," she pressed her lips into Johnny's, pulling him in with the hand in his hair, very purposefully sighing through her nose as she ran her tongue lightly across his lower lip. It was forceful and fast, and as quick as she'd started she was pulling away, letting go of him and taking a single step back to give him a toothy, mischievous grin.

[Jericho Galley]

He recognized that look from Nym. It was almost the same look when Blackhand was sizing up a ship, wondering whether to take it or destroy it, and settling on taking it. On him it had looked scary, on her... he wanted her to look at him more like that. Then she offered to give him pointers and boy did she. He followed her without resistance, and his whole body was sort of... singing? When she got a hand into his hair around his head. His heart pounded with being this close to her again, his face red as blood oranges. Then she kissed him. He heard her breath out, that sigh being a neighbor to that inhale that had nearly broken him before. And he felt her tongue on his lip.

It was over the instant it started, and Nym was back a step, smiling at him devilishly. Jericho tried to lean into the kiss but she had pulled back, causing him to catch himself. He just blinked, swallowed, and blinked some more, dumbfounded at the sheer intesity of it all. He licked his lower lip, just enough to catch where she had licked him. She had gone from 'darn cute' to 'raging hot' in that one instance, and Jericho had no idea what to do about it.

"T-, Uh, Th... Um...I-I uh..." He couldn't speak, but he was trying. His brain was in knots and all tied up. Her saliva had literally paralyzed him. He manifested his Helping Hand and slapped himself in the face. Twice. He finally got himself back together and shook his head once again. "Oh, man... Uh, you have, um, enough practice to woo me!" He blew out a large breath. "Is it hot in here? Or is it just you- Imeanme?" He swallowed. Nice save there.

That mischevious cute face, that toothed smile, those lips... He really wanted to do that again. "S-so, uh..." She just kissed him back, what was the harm in asking? "Now that I've got the pointers in my he-ead," Holy crap his heart was beating so loud it almost shook his whole body. "Can I prrractice them?" He tried a dashing smile but it also probably came across as awkward.

[Nym Magenta]

She had missed some of the excitement that came with really impressing someone else for the first time. While her preference was for guys and girls that really knew what they were doing and could push her around, there was a certain sense of satisfaction that came with taking the lead around the timid and shy. Johnny's reaction was a reminder of why it was so much fun to dazzle people. Watching him sputter and struggle to come up with a response made her feel a little less bashful about the times she'd done the same thing to other people. It was cute. Watching him slap himself to get a grip had her struggling not to laugh instantly, but his attempt at a smooth reply following it had her in stitches. She was hugging her midsection laughing as he asked for some more practice.

"'M sorry, prob'ly seems mean t' laugh," she barely managed to get out. "Oh, but, that was jus' such a bloody bamboozled response I can' 'elp it." She took in a deep breath and sighed. "Yer cute Johnny, 'specially when yer tryin' t' be smooth, but I think 'f we spend anymore time in 'ere someone's gonna come knockin'. Aaaaand..." She paused for a second. "I think you'll learn more f'you find yerself anotha' partner t' practice with, love." Nym wasn't totally taken, but any more than this little spur of the moment kiss was going to require a bit more conversation with a different friend. "But I'll let'cha know if me schedule opens up fer lessons."

[Jericho Galley]

He honestly understood her laughter. He must of looked like a hilarious idiot. Unable to speak, slapping himself, then trying to get another kiss? Yeah, hilarious. With her laughing he couldn't help but start laughing himself before the thought that maybe Flax might hear it and come wondering what was up and he tried to stiffle the laughter.

"I must'a looked so stupid!" He managed to get out before he calmed himself down to just heavy breathing, a nudge away from breaking again. Then she suggested he try on someone else.

Right. He didn't want to get with anyone anyhow, there was the whole thing of him lying to everyone and trying to survive. Any relationship he did make would crumble if ever, when ever the truth got out. He didn't like thinking of his own survival here as a limited time, but he aknowledged the fact that he was a bad lier and Professor Wednesday had been snooping more and more about it. But that wasn't the worst part, really.

The worst part was that he really wanted to kiss her again. Like, a lot. Bloomin' Cockroaches, he wanted her mouth on his and to make her feel as brain-tied as he had been. He had only the feintest clue as to the how, but he wanted it. It wasn't like he actually saw himself kissing anyone else, or even getting close to anyone else. He became friends with Ax and Nym by accident. Sure, she just offered to let him know if 'her schedule opened up', but he wasn't so confident in her just calling him up to go to her room and makeout. Seemed more like a thing you said to politely say 'no more'.

Was this a test? Her first thing was about confidence. If he was confident, pushed her against the wall like she did for him, would she relent? Give him that kiss he desired? It was possible, but she was right. It wasn't going to be long before someone came over, especially with how loud they had just been laughing. Maybe another time would come up when he could be confident like she had been. But now wasn't the best time. It sucked harder than the Mistral Trench Whirlpool, but it was true. And if it wasn't a test, if she was telling him 'no more' and he did go for her, it would ruin this whole date. He called it a date now, they kissed. Twice.

Jericho sighed. "You're right. Someone is going to come by soon. Why don't you step out, I'll try on these pants and we can resume this whole trip, yeah?" He said, though somewhat melancholy now.

[Nym Magenta]

She could see the gears turning in Johnny's head, the way he didn't answer quite so quickly, the melancholic tone in his voice. The thoughts that bothered him weren't something she could know, but she could know they were there. Had she gone a bit too overboard? If he really had only had a couple of kisses now it was a bit cruel to blow him away with that fireworks show. Thinking before acting was supposed to be a skill she was getting better at! A fine mess she'd just made, but she'd made it herself, without any help from anyone else. She was just going to have to live with that. Maybe she could try and make it a little less awful for Johnny?

A light fist bumped Johnny's shoulder. "Don' look so glum, mate. 'M tellin' ya t' go find someone else t' practice on 'cuz I don' think it'd be that 'ard fer ya. Ya didn' look stupid, ya looked cute. 'Ave a little more faith in yerself eh?" It wasn't right to give him false hope about the pair of them having a second snogging session. She didn't know if that was in the cards. What she could do is try and give him enough confidence to look for it himself! He was handsome. His mannerisms were endearing when he wasn't having a panic attack about someone being out to get him. She moved to step out of the changing room. Luckily, there were no angry managers nearby to tell her off for what they'd been doing.

[Jericho Galley]

Jericho took the bump in his shoulder, giving a weak smile but not saying anything until she left. He kept that half-smile while staring at the swaying curtain. "Right..." He whispered to himself. "Find someone else. Tie someone else up with you." He sighed and turned around to try on the pants. "Make sure you drown as many as you can when you go down yourself." He told himself glumly as he shed his current pair of pants and redressed.

This next round of redressing would take longer than before, and all he was doing was changing pants. He wanted to give himself and Nym a bit more time. Mostly himself, attempting to shake free of what had come over him and failing. Eventually he thought he had kept her waiting long enough, took a deep breath, and pulled the curtains open once more. He'd be wering the kahkis that were recommended to him, and it wasn't until he stood up and pulled the curtains open that he realized that the hem was touching his toes. He had grabbed a very long pair of pants without looking. He looked down and wiggled his toes. "Uh... Maybe I need a different pair..."

[Nym Magenta]

Nym could hear Jericho whispering to himself through the curtain, but she couldn't catch the words or the tone of voice. It was impossible to shake the feeling that her words weren't going to have the desired effect. It wasn't as easy as choosing to look for someone else. Making friends and getting close to other people was a hazard course all on it's own, one that might not be so easily navigated by a foreigner with hardly a friend to his name.

But he'd have to manage. He'd made it to Beacon, right? It wasn't a school for the faint of heart.

By the time he exited the changing room Nym had put her more worrying thoughts to rest, so when she saw that the pants he'd picked were meant for a man several inches taller than the six foot Johnny she laughed in amusement. "Right, that's bloody impressive. Already a bleedin' giant n' ya managed t' get trousers too long fer yer legs," Nym said through a mouthful of mirth. "'Less yer plannin' on wearin' some bloody outrageous platform shoes, I'd say, uh...yeah, prob'ly could go a little shorter." How had he managed not to notice his mistake before revealing it so boldly? Well, she'd give him the benefit of the doubt and simply assume he was a funny guy.

[Jericho Galley]

Something about that laugh of hers cut him out of his sad thoughts and focused on the present. "Platform shoes, eh? Think I can find some around here?" He said, looking around. "Then I'd be a real giant." He stepped out. "I'm going to go see if I can't find any. Feel free to change into what you got while I go look." He said and walked off into the ailes again.

He wasn't actually going to find platform shoes, he was looking for shorter pants. How had hhe g rabbed a pair that were so long? What were they meant for, Horse Faunus? Did clothing companies even make clothes for specific faunus with specific traits? That would be incredibly niche and hardly ever bought, plus the normal bias against faunus would make that even less likely. So why were these so dang lo-

Someone tapped his shoulder. He jumped a little and spun around to see Flax's blinking face. "Well hi, didn't think I'd scare you like that." She said. She wore a light purple jacket that matched the color of her hair, a bit volumonous on top but streaming down her shoulders. Aside from all the purple she wore, she didn't try and stand out too much. "Hardly recognized you with your get-up. I thought I was the one with the scouting job?"

"Uhh, yeah! Yeah you are!" Jericho said, clearing his throat. "Some of us are just taking it easy on land here."

"Taking it easy? Is that what you call pulling a girl into the dressing stall to makeout?" One of Flax's eyebrows raised along with a corner of her mouth.

Jericho froze and blushed, but also realized that all his hiding efforts amounted to nothing. Flax had sharp eyes, and that's what made her good at her job.

"Quite easy indeed. That girl does know who you are and what you and the other Corsairs do, yeah?"

"Of course she does." Jericho answered quickly.

She sighed. "Bad boys. Well, I'm just doing my shopping. Say hi to your parents for me."

"Yeah, will do!" Jericho smiled and turned away, pretending to look for pants. She seemed so... normal about everything. Was she just that good of a liar? Or did she not know about the destruction of the Corsair? And mentioning his parents... The whole crew had basically raised him, but his parents were still just that. And they had wanted him dead the same way that Blackhand did.

As Jericho continued looking for pants, Flax made her way back towards the dressing stalls, looking for that short little faunus girl that she had seen before. She knew Jericho only in passing, so she didn't really know how he operated. But she was in with a lot of criminals and knew that, for most girls falling for them, it didn't turn out too well.

[Nym Magenta]

Nym frowned at herself in the mirror. What in the world was she supposed to wear? It felt like her closet was always full of clothes she'd never tried on more than once in the story and bought on a whim or gotten from Ax as a gift. She'd grabbed a few outfits, but everything felt like it was too much for her. A sporty camisole clung to her upper body, hot pink matching well with the black sports bra she had on underneath it. She'd also tried on one of the shortest pairs of black joggers she'd ever seen. It could barely be considered clothing. Her long, pale legs were un-socked. She'd chosen to grab a pair of ankle socks and don them, leaving her thigh high socks and boots on the floor. There was a lot of skin on her upper chest, arms, and legs showing. Every inch of it was rife with scars. She wondered whether she'd still be able to recount the tales of how she acquired them. The outfit was a big departure from what she tended to wear. Maybe trying something new in front of someone new would make it easier to broaden her clothing horizons, make her feel a little less self conscious about dressing so differently.

With a quick turn, Nym opened the curtains only to be met by a very unfamiliar face. Johnny was still off looking for clothes and was nowhere to be seen. Was this that woman he'd warned her about earlier? Much as she wanted to jump to conclusions and give her a piece of her mind, she hadn't actually done anything. "C'n...I 'elp you...?" He uncertainty was easy to detect.

[Jericho Galley]

Flax looked her up and down in that revealing outfit. This was the girl alright, and trying on something like that? For him? She shook her head. "Nah, I just want to give you some advice, girl." She shifted her weight to one leg, popping a hip out and folded her arms. "It seems you're pretty swooned if you're asking what he thinks of that, which I gotta say is pretty hot, but he's not the kind of guy you want to be showing off for. Trust me, your boyfriend is bad news for a sweet girl like you."