Reaping Seeds Sown [Private w/ Felix Satou] [Mature]

[Pearl Essence]

The world was built on little moments, so tiny that few would ever recognize them, and fewer would be able to even conceive the bread trail of possibilities. Even those that believed themselves larger than life only stood so tall because of innumerable little moments that set them on their path. A clever joke, a cruel insult, an anonymous love song in a mall, or the simple reply of squeezing someone's fingers at the right time, anything could be the reason for a decision or choice. A fox looking back for a moment with amber eyes at a musicians calloused fingers imagining what came next for them. Was there a next, or was more of the same the way it should go? An unchanging world wasn't hers, so a decision was made as she lead them away from old Balston's, her eyes more on him than the people around them.

“I'm really glad you've been able to be a part of this little ritual of mine, even if it happened because you invited me out. I've not really shared it with anyone else, but maybe sharing it with you will stop me from hiding away from the world for once.” As much as Felix was the biggest hole in her armor, the person who kept bringing her walls down, there was something to celebrate in that. She could feel at ease, and it showed in the way her smile reached her eyes and the way her ears didn't twitch and turn as if she was listening for a threat at every turn.

[Felix Satou]

"Hide away from the world, if you like, Pearl," Felix said with a grin on his face, following beside Pearl as they made their way towards wherever she'd parked her car. "I don't dislike the idea of having you to myself that much. Hah, but, the world would definitely be missing out." Perhaps he knew enough about that to be able to say it with some conviction. He hadn't exactly been hiding his music, but he'd hardly been sharing it with the world. It wasn't a perfect comparison, but he wasn't saying it out loud! It didn't have to be perfect.

"The result of our trip, though, that can definitely stay between us. The world doesn't deserve that, only me." He snickered quietly, little blue specks of light dotting the air around him. He wasn't that complex. Food was an easy way to his heart. The adage held true even for him. Perhaps that had been why he was so enamored with Pearl! Their second time spending time with each other was at one of the fanciest restaurants that Vale had to offer. He still shivered thinking about having to pay that bill on his own dime.

[Pearl Essence]

There was no secret to the direction she was leading them. The first gap in the buildings that presented a side street away from the festival was the first turn. Further down the street they would have encountered more people enjoying common festival games, even stores and building that had opened their doors to creative festivities such as “haunted” mazes filled with fake monsters. Instead she put even the smallest of crowds behind them as they talked, only passing a few people on the way towards the festival proper, or an unfortunate soul hidden away in a nook to shelter from some of the autumn wind. Every cross street, nearly every hidden back lot was known to her. She'd picked one not too far from the festival itself to park.

“You really shouldn't tempt me like that. I'd be quite content to drive us home instead of to Beacon. To enjoy our meal and to just not have to worry with Beacon for a few days.” Even the growing chill of the evening air didn't dim her spirits, though she couldn't help but feel it was unseasonably cool for a day without much wind. “Speaking of temptation, say you could ask, have, or do one thing without consequence what would you choose? You don't have to answer of course.” There was a curious gleam in her eyes as she looked at him.

[Felix Satou]

Felix was only half familiar with the area they now found themselves working through. Though he was more than prepared for any seedy characters that might have been lurking in a back alley, he'd mostly avoided places like this when he was younger. One of the first things he learned in combat school was to never put yourself in unnecessary danger. Why confront a foe you could otherwise avoid? With Pearl around it was hard to feel unsafe, though.

Her question felt anything but safe! Ah, he could do anything at all without fear of consequence? His mind wandered as he stuffed his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket to fight the cold, briefly readjusting the strap on Dover as he did. "Anything at all...hm..." He pondered. "I've always wanted to crash another musician's concert." It was the safest answer he could think of, but it wasn't untrue! "It was, heh, always a bit of a childhood fantasy of mine to totally upstage some over-rated, popular band by just strolling on stage and out-performing them. You ever see any of those videos of stars letting their own fans come up on stage? I used to fantasize about that being me, stepping up, nervously taking the microphone, and then totally killing it." Felix laughed and shook his head at the thought. "It's pretty juvenile. Honestly, I don't really want to do it because it would be such a horribly rude thing to do to another musician and I'd look like an ass, but...if there really weren't any lasting consequences from doing it, I think that's what I'd want to do."

[Pearl Essence]

As he started to give his answer, Pearl nodded in response to his own little question but found herself disappointed by the overall answer. Not because it revealed that Felix had an ego. Truth was everyone did, and Felix kept his measured more than most. He knew what he was good at and didn't exactly hide it, but he never sold himself as more than he was. She respected that balance between pride and modesty. No she found herself disappointed because it was a safe answer. It felt like she was being treated with kid gloves, like she was fragile. It was an answer that while true just didn't feel like what he'd have said if she had asked him. No, that wasn't fair to him. The question hadn't been meant as a test. It had been meant as an opening. Maybe she could understand a bit better why he'd not really experienced more before. He was just oblivious and she felt like she was having to compete.

“Mmm. That's not quite what I was expected I suppose. Not that there is a wrong answer. Thanks for sharing that.” He'd still shared something about himself. Count your blessings, never your curses. She turned her gaze forward as she took them down another small side street between two barely branded store fronts. By the goods in their barred windows, both looked to be pawn shops. Her ears lost some of their perk and her smile dimmed as she tried to mull over what answer she'd actually hoped for? For once, she actually knew. She had wanted him to think about her. To maybe want to say or do something involving her, maybe ask her something he always wanted to know about her.

“My car's in the small lot just around this corner.” Her tone didn't match the outward signs of what she was feeling. She tightened her fist before relaxing it as much as metal could relax. Her fingers slipped into a side pocket on her hip bag to pull out a small pill container. She'd been careful never to take anything besides her prescriptions in front of him, but for once, she simply didn't care. Her thumb pressed down opening it long enough to pop a pill between her teeth to crunch down on. The third set of footsteps following closer behind were completely lost to her with the dull crunch and bitter taste.

[Felix Satou]

A feeling like ice sliding down his spine sent a shiver down his arms as Pearl responded coolly to his answer. She'd said he didn't have to answer, and said there wasn't a wrong answer, but it was plain as the pill she was popping that she hadn't been satisfied by what he'd said. Felix furrowed his brow at her. "Pearl...if you've got something on your mind, you should share it with me." He could only hazard the foggiest guesses as to why she wasn't happy with his response. Maybe she had been hoping for a more personal answer? How could she expect him to talk about them?! There were always consequences between people. Neither of them could snap their fingers and forget something the other said. How could he be honest like that?

The stars around him didn't dull or dim. A single misstep in their conversation wouldn't be enough to get him to slip into depression. Whatever misunderstanding or misgivings Pearl might have, they could clear it up. All they had to do was talk about it, right?

[Pearl Essence]

“I just...” The bags hanging in the crook of her elbow rustled as she brought her palm to her forehead and shook her head. A sigh followed a moment later. He was right that she needed to share her thoughts, and they were far enough from people that she didn't have to fear being overheard. Even so her voice was low, she preferred true privacy to perceived. “I expected a more personal answer. Anyone who's known you for a day or two would know you have a bit of an ego and pride yourself on what you can do well. Maybe something to say you've been thinking about me as much as I have you recently.”

Maybe she'd been wrong that he would understand the significance of her trying to touch him more. The way she'd fiddled with his suspenders to give an excuse to have her fingers linger against him, or the light touch and squeeze of his hand. Physicality was never easy for her, but damn it she was trying and it frustrated her to no end to feel like she was the one running into a wall after trying to throw her own down. It would be easier to just let the cold creep in and go back to how things were in the beginning.

“There wasn't a wrong answer, but with everything...” She cut herself off and shook her head. It wouldn't do either of them any good to ask what he would have answered had this other girl asked him the same question. “I guess I expected too much. Sorry.” Pearl was glad her car was in sight as they rounded the corner. Most expected her to have a sports car, especially after they'd seen her motorcycles, but she'd chosen something fitting of her role in EAL. A black luxury sedan. It was also nearly impossible to make the modifications needed for her to drive comfortably in a sports car. She had parked in a lot that had once been an employee lot for the building nearby, but whatever business the building used to be had gone under.

[Felix Satou]

Felix waited patiently for Pearl to get her words out. There was a lot on her mind. He probably wasn't even getting the full picture of how she was feeling or what she was thinking. Communication was hard! He was fairly certain that he was good at it, but it was hard even for him! She wanted to know he was thinking about her, but her approach had been indirect and she hadn't gotten what she wanted. If only she'd just asked for what she wanted! As they approached her car, Felix placed a hand against her shoulder, gently trying to turn her in his direction.

"You don't have to apologize, Pearl. All you have to do is just be direct. Ask me for exactly what you want and I'll give it to you if I can." They were right by her car by the time he'd stopped her, and he kneeled down to be at eye level with her as he spoke. While they weren't totally in private, there was no one near them, and the car would hide the pair from view of most passersby. "I have been thinking about you lately. A lot. How couldn't I? I probably spend more time with you than I do my own twin these days, and stars know I send you more texts than anyone else I know. I get to see a side of you I know no one else does and I can't tell you how privileged that makes me feel. I..." He sighed. "I'm worried, too, that I put some kind of wedge between the two of us that...I might...not be able to fix. I worry about it a lot. But when you were fiddling with me suspenders earlier?" A wry grin came to his lips. "I...I felt a lot less worried. Excited, actually. So...I know it's hard. It's hard for me, too, but...I can take it if you're just direct and brutally honest with me all the time. It's what I want. The few times you've sparred with me you certainly didn't have any trouble not sparing my feelings then, maybe it would help to think of it like that?"

[Pearl Essence]

Her hand was in her bag, her thumb hooking a key-ring as Felix turned her towards him. A curse almost left her lips as she realized what she'd pulled out of her bag wasn't her keys, but a single unstable dust charge contained in a steel cylinder. The same bloody red crystal she used to unleash Citrine Bevel's full destructive capability in front of him before. She always had one on her for various reasons, but... How had she grabbed the wrong thing? It felt like bad luck to her as she palmed it to keep it out of sight. No amount of blue specks in the air could change that. It was hard to look Felix in the eyes with such a physical token of her guilt in her hand.

“You didn't put a wedge between us, Felix. At least, not what we were.” What they could have been? She didn't know. There was no could have been without him knowing the truth of who she was, what she had done, was doing, and would continue to do no matter who asked her to stop. Not Carmine who she swore loyalty to, not even her beloved father if he was still alive would be able to convince her to stop. Not until she'd finished what she'd started. All the pretending in the world that they could be more than what they were now was going to fix a damn thing before she figured out how to tell him. “I'm trying, but I'm not used to-”

“Not getting what you want? Someone not treating you like the queen you fancy yourself to be?” A voice like gravel and smoke cut her off causing the fox to freeze, her eyes slowly narrowing with recognition of who that voice belonged to. This close it was impossible to mistake the honey hue being overwhelmed by the red of her eyes, as she turned her body towards the voice not hesitating to pull her shoulder from Felix's grip. Every muscle in her body was tense and ready for a fight, her anger making her blood boil. "You traitorous piece of shit." Little did she know her reaction was playing into the man's hands.

“Did I strike a nerve?” An outline of the man appeared first, like light against glass and ice before the world gave color to his life, starting with the deep ocean blue of his eyes. Save for a trio of scars across his face from a beowolf's claw, or the savage scar across his neck, the black haired man looked clean cut. A pair of hunter's tags hung from around his neck, the silver chain and tags shining in contrast to the dark grey fur and leather of an aviator's jacket. Also decorating the silver chain was an odd looking bundle of hawk feathers that were a chocolate brown with vivid pink markings. Several worn patches were visible on the jacket, but the most noticeable was the one marking him as a specialist in the Atlesian Military. The last thing to become visible as his semblance gave way and the strange cold vanished was a halberd with a hooked blade, a concussive hammer on the back, and the workings of a dust mechanism along the haft that rested on his shoulder.

“Of course I did, because you haven't told him. Playing pretend isn't going to make your body count go away. Felix was it? I'm specialist Blanc Cendre, formerly of the Atlesian Military, and you should step away from her. I've waited for her to be away from people, but she's been keeping you close today. Miss Essence here has a bounty on her head, for a variety of crimes. Theft, smuggling, murder, trafficking of humans and faunus, the list goes on...” This entire plan was a gamble, but rushing them both was a non-option and another opportunity like this wasn't likely to come around. His target was dangerous and capable. She'd killed someone he wouldn't have wanted to tangle with. This boy having sparred with her meant he could likely hold his own in a fight. Watching the white haired demon tremble as her ears went back was satisfying in its own right.

There were flaws in his story, he knew, but this boy seemed naive enough to not know. An official bounty would have had her investigated by Beacon and expelled if it existed. If the police had evidence of her crimes, there would be a warrant first, and a bounty only if that had failed. It was true that there was a bounty, but it wasn't from his former employers, nor any huntsman guild.

[Felix Satou]

Felix' reaction to the sudden cutoff of Pearl's voice was much more subdued, though he didn't miss the look of fury on Pearl's face nor her choice of words. Putting two and two together wasn't hard. This was the man who was responsible for the deaths of Pearl's friends, the people who she'd cried over with him a sparse few weeks ago, but why was he here? What made today so special? Was it the fact that she was going to be unarmed in the markets? Of course! It was a ritual of hers. If he had the inside scoop or had been tailing her then he would know she'd be mostly defenseless.

Mostly...

He seemed to think that Felix was ready to turn tail at the mention of her crimes, and he certainly would have been if he didn't know better! Perhaps he was betting on Felix' seemingly gentle, soft nature? He took a step back away from Pearl, in the direction of the bounty hunter. The confusion on his face wasn't hard to fake. "P...Pearl? Murder? Trafficking?" He took another couple of steps back. "I knew you had a side business but...a huntsman after you? For this?!" He swallowed, taking a few more shaky steps back, looking between the two of them. "What...what have you been doing?" He wasn't sure what this man's plan was. Would he wait for Felix to run before making his move or strike at the first opportunity? Pearl wasn't so defenseless that she could be cut down in a single stroke, even without her weapon. He could play the part of dumbstruck long enough to get in a clean hit. Between the two of them, they could take this guy, right? And even if they couldn't, Felix wasn't going to abandon her.

Hopefully, neither one of them caught on.

[Pearl Essence]

“Felix...” Her voice cracked as he stepped away from her. The list of crimes fell as a hammer on an anvil. Each crime another strike that hardened her gaze as she stared at this man. There was nothing she could deny. Not truthfully. Each crime was one she was guilty of in some fashion even if there was more to it than this man made it out to be. She'd stolen more times than she could count, she'd personally carried contraband between some of the Kingdoms before her company sorted out a legitimate way to ship the same things. The lives she ended... Oh, she was guilty of much and more.

Still, Felix's reaction cut her like a knife. This was what she'd feared, what she'd kept hidden from him because she didn't know how he'd take it even if she could explain herself. Now that she couldn't, how could she expect a different reaction? Her thoughts couldn't linger on that. She was about to have to fight for her life, likely to no avail, but she'd kill this man even if she was going to die. The question was how, the way he held his weapon may have been nonchalant, but she knew as well as anyone else how quickly a huntsman could shift to offense even with a completely stowed weapon.

“Fine. I'm used to fighting on my own anyway, and I'll figure out what to do with you after I kill him.” There was something cold in her voice as she spoke again. Pearl straightened her left arm to let the bag fall free from her and shifted her stance to something unlike what she used against her peers. Instead of closed fists, her leading hand as as open palm with fingers extended straight and her other was held more akin to a claw, with the small dust canister hanging from her thumb by a keyring. Her jaw was clenched and there was a murderous look in her eyes even as they flicked towards Felix. If he'd betrayed her here, then he was her enemy as well. He knew her fears, knew how to make her hesitate. If he used fire, she wouldn't stand a chance here. Would she have to strike him first? Could she?

“See, she's ready to fight and kill at a moments notice.” The huntsman's eyes followed Felix's path for a moment. The shift of movement from the fox and her readying for a fight was one more thing in his favor. If the fox questioned his loyalty she'd turn on him too, her anger likely to make him take the first opportunity to strike him. That would be the perfect moment to finish her off too. Her anger, her readiness to fight, the intent to kill in her eyes. If this boy was a student of Beacon, he'd recognize it all wouldn't he? This way playing out better than he'd hoped. Still, he couldn't blow the opportunity by being too eager himself. “You should get out of here in case she tries to target you.”

[Felix Satou]

The shiver that went down Felix' spine when he saw Pearl's reaction was no act. He had even been ready for it! How else could she possibly react to him turning his back on her in fear? But if his act was fooling Pearl, then it was fooling whoever this man was, too. He wouldn't have to keep the charade up for much longer. "Shit, shit," he muttered as he turned to break into a run past their assailant. There was also a hint of truth to that fear. He didn't truly think Pearl would hurt him, but they were both in real danger here and he could recognize that. Pearl was unarmed. Felix was only a first year student at Beacon. Would the pair of them be a match for a huntsman?

So he'd played the part that the man wanted to see. He'd put on a performance that had fooled the both of them into providing him with an opening, even if it meant he had to break Pearl's heart for just a few moments. He wasn't going to let that guilt eat at him. Being a huntsman meant making tough choices. It meant doing the best you could to make the most of even the worst situations. While the ends didn't always justify the means, he knew there would be times that an underhanded solution would be the right one. All of those thoughts blurred through his head at a thousand miles a second, and in the time it took him to put ten feet between him and the huntsman's back he stopped on a dime and whirled around.

The man was already in action, lunging towards Pearl, thrusting his polearm at her. Felix' guitar was in hand, pick at the ready, power on. Before their attacker could take a second step his fingers were flying across the frets. In their wake a crackling deluge of lightning blasted forward towards both his friend and foe, but curiously, every streak of lightning that seemed about to strike Pearl happened to bolt off in another direction, and despite the truly astonishing levels of dust being burned it didn't seem to be causing any damage to anything but the huntsman who was caught in the middle of an enormous web of electricity.

[Pearl Essence]

Breath in. She felt fire in her lungs, the heat in her blood burning beneath her skin. A gamble to give her an edge. She needed every one she could steal. Her aura was already low enough that she'd have been a single hit away from losing a sparing match. This would cut her time in this fight even shorter. She had to win quickly. Felix was turning to run, his words lost to the roar of her heartbeat. A flick of her eyes was all it took. The Hellhound had known that would be when the spectre would strike, just as intent to end the fight quickly as she was. Even as the man lunged for her, the bladed tip of his halberd aimed for her heart, she was moving, her arms crossing the back of her hands grazing the ax blade before running along the haft of the halberd as she stepped closer. Lightning from the halberd vanishing where she touched. Not even a grimace beyond the unbridled fury showed on her face as the halberd blade slid across her shoulder leaving a red trail on her dress.

A breath. He watched the fox steady herself for the end. The boy took his warning as a sign to run and that would be enough. The moment the girl turned her attention towards Felix he struck. Speed was his forte. Lightning crackled along the tip of his halberd and ran along the entirely of the weapon. His gloves protected him from the current but it would be enough to stop her from taking his weapon from her. A half step and both hands were on his weapon putting all his speed and strength in that first strike, a perfect thrust for her heart. He didn't know what the girl was capable of and didn't want to see if she could come back from this weakened state.

A chord. For war, for victory. It sounded differently for both of them, but both knew it wasn't a sound that belonged in a back alley battle. The huntsman didn't understand what the fox did. With a feral yell she pushed upwards with all her might to throw the man's halberd into the air. He was no amateur, he swung upwards with the butt of the halberd missing the twisting fox by less than inch, some of the charge within the haft leaping out to strike her cheek. The fox wasn't his only enemy. The boy had played him. A torrent of lightning struck him in the back and shoulders. His aura would stop the shock from causing lasting damage, but a direct hit from dust would leave him reeling at best.

Breath out. Fire burned behind her teeth, wisps of orange escaping from between snarling lips. Lightning kissed her left cheek, a pain the she could feel in her teeth as she stepped in and drew both arms back. As the hunter staggered from the lighting striking him in the back she struck forward with both hands fingers straightened like a spear. One went high, above her head striking the man in the shoulder, the other low hitting at the bottom of his ribcage. The current meant to protect his weapon from her grip had been absorbed into the machinations of her hands, crystals placed within their working to absorb offensive dust and release it more safely away from herself. And release it she did, a current of electricity to arc within from one hand to another using his chest as the medium.

A single breath and the tides changed. Blanc found himself thrown back his feet skidding on asphalt, barely keeping his weapon in hand. his chest ached, his aura having struggled to keep his heart and lungs from being fried from the dual assault. Light blue aura flickered over his form before he regained his composure. No longer could he think about winning quickly. Another lost gamble would end him. He wasn't fighting one opponent, but two and suddenly his aura wasn't much better than Pearl's own. That lightning from the boy had locked his muscles still just long enough to let his target hit him.

A target that wasn't content to let him have a second breath to strategize. Pearl was on him, strike after strike aimed in an attempt to get past his defenses. Each one was foiled by a quick move of his halberd. He'd been caught off guard, but he was still a practiced huntsman with the weapon he'd spend years mastering. As fast as Pearl's attacked were, he could match her and reposition himself easily. A dozen strikes failed and a quick sidestep put the fox between him and the boy. If he meant to use dust again, he'd need to rethink his strategy. Blanc was confident of that much. As long as he shifted his position he could focus on creating enough space that Pearl could only block rather than attack with her shorter reach.

[Felix Satou]

So much happened in only a few short seconds that almost any person would have trouble keeping up. Felix wasn't just any person. Soft, kind, considerate he might have been, but he was still a student of Beacon academy. In the fractions of seconds he had to watch their exchange of blows it was enough to see that Pearl wanted to get close and Blanc was doing his best to stop her from closing the gap. Felix' gamble at paid off. Now they were on the offensive! And the best offense was an overwhelming one! He knew he didn't have the skills to go toe to toe with a fully fledged huntsman, but Pearl damn well did. She'd seized the moment so fast it was like she'd known it was coming, but Felix knew she couldn't have! The hurt on her face, the cold in her voice, it had been too real.

But there would be time to talk about it later. Right now, Felix had to give Pearl the opening she needed to finish this, and there was only one sure fire way to help her close the gap. Blanc was too skilled to easily fall for the environmental traps that Felix could throw his way, but could he see air currents? Felix' solo continued, but lightning still arced from his guitar at their combined foe, a deadly diversion, while a gust of wind powered by Felix' guitar came at Pearl's back. No, Felix couldn't fight him alone, but his dust could be a force multiplier for Pearl and give her the push she needed to finish this.

[Pearl Essence]

The sound of wood striking an upraised arm, a pulse of aura, the crackle of electricity as Blanc tried to overwhelm her aura even as he created distance between them. There was an undeniable thrill from a life or death fight that she'd feel guilt over later. If she survived. These were the moments where men and women truly lived. The world moved slowly as the three of them played their parts. What was Felix's part? His luck meant he hadn't likely missed when he struck. She couldn't waste another thought on it. Even that had been enough to nearly cost the fox her life as she blocked another strike that had stopped with the edge of the halberd blade to her neck. Electricity bit into her neck and jaw, but her arm still absorbed most of it.

Her size was proving to be her undoing. Twice she'd felt she'd land a strike for him to just be an inch out of reach, and suddenly she was pushed back, a spear point or blow from the butt of the halberd hitting her in the process. As it was, this was still a losing fight unless something changed. As long as she played by her enemies rules and respected his weapons reach, she would be unable to harm him. This fight would end on a gamble, her life or his. The weakness of most huntsmen were their reliance on their weapon. Take it away and most struggled. She knew what she had to do, even as fate gave her a push.

Pearl stepped back against the wind, and struck the very tip of the halberd with her beak handed strike and a release of aura. Enough force to drive the thrust down into the ground. A piece of metal fell free and a glint of red light shone in her hand as she let the wind carry her. She placed her foot on the weapon just below the hammer-back and used the wind and Blanc's own attempt to recover from being knocked off balance to throw her forward. This was her chance. He couldn't get the weapon between the two of them fast enough, but if she missed, she'd be defenseless. Sometimes it was worth the flip of a coin.

Silver white fire, her aura given form, flickered in her left hand before rapidly burning a path up her arm. In its wake the energy of every strike remaining from the shock dust she'd been absorbing crackled just above her skin using the flames of aura a conduit. Fire and lighting crossed over her shoulders and down her right arm where a glint of red crystal flared between two outstretched fingers. Pearl threw all her strength and speed into that singular thrust of her right hand. A halberd clattered to the ground as her hand struck deep and the fox stumbled as she found herself looking up at the man who she'd just impaled with her hand. His last curse freckled in red across her face, a look of anger and disbelief meeting her as Blanc made one last attempt. Both hands closed around her neck in a desperate attempt to strangle the life from her before he died.

[Felix Satou]

Felix couldn't quite see from where he stood exactly what had happened when Pearl landed her strike, but he could tell it struck true. The unmistakable sound of bone breaking was matched by Pearl's thrust. Despite her landing what was surely a telling blow, her opponent didn't hit the ground, instead reaching out to grab for her throat. A high pitched note, a bending of the strings, a twist of the guitar and a single stone the size of a volleyball flew forward. Earth dust given life, and then given flight by a blast of wind dust hurtled into Blanc's chest with pinpoint precision, whizzing past Pearl's head and missing her by a matter of centimeters. The angle of impact sent him flying away from her as his aura finally shattered.

That wasn't the only thing that had been sent flying. Only after he'd been violently torn away from Pearl did Felix understand the damage her blow had caused. Dark red blood spattered across the pavement in quantities that Felix had only ever seen once before. His perception of time slowed to a crawl as realization dawned on him. Of course. This was a fight for their lives. Blanc wouldn't have let either one of them slip away from him alive. He'd been out to kill them, so...naturally...it only made sense that they would have to respond in kind, wouldn't it?

As the body hit the ground, Felix felt his own blood draining from his face. His stomach roiled. He'd done the right thing, hadn't he? There wasn't...there wasn't any talking their way out of this, was there?

[Pearl Essence]

The fire in her lungs burned out and a silver shimmer coursed over her body, a sure sign of aura failing just as a desperate grip closed around her neck. He'd die before she needed a breath. Even now the vibrant burn of aura in his chest wound was rapidly fading out around her hand. Bloody amber stared the man in the eyes as he tried to choke her to death. The rush of air, the feeling of nails scratching across her skin, and another bloody cough and Blanc was flying backwards, a stone having knocked him away from her. Felix's doing. He really hadn't betrayed her. There was still a deep pain in her chest for how this had gone.

Slowly she stepped forward, following the trail of red on the asphalt of the parking lot. It wouldn't be long now. There were no last breaths or words he could give out as she knelt down beside him. Again he reached feebly at her only to have his hand knocked away by her own bloody hand. Her other clasped around the chain around his neck and ripped it free. The hatred in Blanc's eyes turned to fear as he realized the finality of that movement, then his aura gave out. The reaction of the crystal in his chest happened quickly, rapidly burning in a flash of red light that left him blowing away on the wind as smoke and ash reminiscent of the countless grimm slain between the three of them. Only the metal pieces of his clothing remained after a second, and a single empty dust charge that no longer held a crystal. Another thing to be claimed by her hand.

Pearl stood slowly, unsteady on her feet as aura exhaustion took hold. Fate had lead her here. Every attempt she'd made to not tell Felix what she was had lead to unfortunate events pushing her ever farther towards this moment. She recognized that now. Being disappointed in him just minutes ago, feeling betrayed both today and when she found out he was given to the same desires as anyone else, they were nothing compared to the secret she'd been hiding. She felt petty and selfish in that moment.

It didn't stop her from turning to face him. If he doubted her for a monster before, she imagined she looked it now. Her face impassive and freckled with dark red that would stain her skin, the ashes and blood of a dead man on one hand, and his tags and a grim trophy in the other, a collar of scratches around her neck instead of the silver she normally wore. Even the sleeves and back of her dress were burned away by her semblance. The cool air of autumn was anything but soothing in the moment. What she didn't know is without her semblance and fury, her eyes had returned to their amber color, with only a hint of red to them.

[Felix Satou]

Just like that, Blanc's body was burned to ash. There was nothing left but scraps of the man who had been standing before them minutes ago, trying to kill them seconds ago. The fight had happened so fast that Felix had hardly the time to think about it. He'd gambled. It had paid off. There was a good chance that he had just saved Pearl's life. He watched her turn towards him and his eyes widened at the sight of her. It was like he was looking at the promotional poster for some gritty action or true crime film, battered hero standing against a backdrop of Vale's streets. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his pale face as he clumsily slung his guitar back over his shoulder.

"W-Wuh," he clapped a hand to his mouth before sinking to his knees, other hand quickly hitting the ground to brace himself. Whatever witty thought had entered his head was crushed by the gravity of the situation. His stomach turned and he quickly moved his other hand before emptying the contents of his stomach onto the pavement. They'd been defending themselves. The man was obviously a liar. No real bounty would have escaped the academy's notice. They hadn't had much choice but to fight, so what he'd done wasn't evil, was it? He coughed once, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, still feeling like the world was spinning a little.

[Pearl Essence]

As Felix fell to his knees retching, she shook her head, a tired look coming over her. The hint of smile was likely just her hopeful imagination. Who in their right mind could smile in a moment like this? She stared at him for a moment with half-lidded eyes unwilling to look away from what her actions had caused. Her first step towards him was a battle in itself, her foot feeling like it was made of lead as she lifted it from the ground. Her second was a staggering movement where she had to shift her weight quickly to stop herself from falling over.

There was a danger to how she fought in the worst of circumstances. Burning her aura in rapid bursts to create explosive speed and strength while leaving herself open to wounds if she wasn't ready for a single strike that tried to get through her defenses. Still she made her way to stand in front of where Felix was kneeling, only stopping long enough to pick up Blanc's halberd, as much for support as to remove evidence of what happened.

“When you're able, we should go. We can't stay here.” Her voice was hoarse, her throat burned from her dust use. “I can drop you off somewhere if you want to get away from me, but we need to leave.” There may be no body, but there had still been the sounds of battle, she had no small amount of blood on her, and it didn't take a faunus's nose to recognize the scent of smoke. She wanted to place a hand on his shoulder, to offer him some kind of support, but she wouldn't stain him with the blood on her hands.

[Felix Satou]

He heard her voice in his ears as if she was speaking through a tunnel to him, but he could understand. 'If you want to get away from me.' Those words in particular stuck out in his head as he unsteadily pushed himself back up to his feet. "What, and-," he placed his fist against his mouth again, but managed not to hurl. "And leave you all alone?" A weak smile came to his lips as he said it. Though he looked as if he'd seen a ghost and felt pretty bad for someone who'd won a fight without a scratch, he could at least manage to stand tall for that line.

"Come on, let's g-guh...g-...mmm," he wasn't going to try and look tough here, though, he was barely holding it together and it wouldn't be hard for Pearl to see that. It didn't escape his notice that she'd just killed whoever that had been with little hesitation. Physically, she'd seen better days, but mentally she was unscathed. Felix was quite the opposite. Ever the pair of polar opposites they were, he somehow found it fitting. "Let's go, then."

[Pearl Essence]

It wasn't so much false bravado as hope in the young man's voice as he brushed aside her idea of him wanting to leave. He was assuming her innocent here. She'd told him before that she had enemies. Enemies that had cost her friends their lives. Enemies that might come after him or worse, his family, just for being involved with her as a teammate. Anything to get to her and shake her resolve, to make her make mistakes seeking revenge. Would he still think the same once she confirmed that Blanc hadn't been lying. The truth wasn't so black and white, but every crime he'd accused her of was one that she was guilty of by the word of the law even if not the spirit.

Her movements were slow as she opened the trunk of the car and took a bottle of water out of a pack meant for emergencies. She bit down on the cap and twisted to open it. Her hand was cleaned of blood seconds later. “Catch.” A second bottle sailed through the air for the poor boy who'd likely heaved his throat raw. It didn't take her long to figure out how to collapse the weapon into a more easily stowed form. Maybe it was sentiment, a distaste of waste, or one more way to hide that something had happened here but she didn't leave what they'd purchased on the ground either. Whether she'd have the heart to cook such a meaningful dinner that night was another question.

She'd shut the trunk once they were done and open the drivers side door. It was an odd looking thing, the seat raised and pushed forward, the pedals extended so she could still reach them while seeing over the steering wheel. Even some of those who worked for her hadn't been able to resist the occasional joke that had earned a glare from the fox. She simply hoped Felix either above joking about what it looked like or pushed too far to make much in the way of humor at the moment. A push of a button was all it took to start the engine. She'd be ready to leave as soon as Felix was.

[Felix Satou]

Felix fumbled to catch the bottle that Pearl tossed his way, his nerves unsteadying his dexterous hands. Shaky fingers took longer than expected to twist the cap free and he filled his mouth with the lukewarm liquid, swishing it around a few times before swallowing. He leaned against the side of Pearl's car while she fiddled with Blanc's weapon, cleaned her hands, did her best to hide their trail while she could. Definitely the heroine of a true crime film, he mused through muddy thoughts. His mind played back the fight once more in his head as she walked towards the driver's side door and he bit his lip imagining the corpse of the would be assassin sailing through the air, burning to a crisp. Who had he been before today? Did he have a family? Friends? Was this really the way things had to be?

The sound of Pearl's door closing stirred his thoughts enough to get him to fall heavily into the passenger's car seat and close the door. Despite it all, his reflexes had him buckling his seatbelt. Why risk what you didn't have to?

"I've uh..." His voice was hoarse, weak. "I...You know I've seen a lot of b-blood before, but I don't um..." His lip quivered. His eyes burned and his vision blurred with tears. "I've never seen anyone d-...die before." His voice cracked and a half-choked sob came gurgling out of his throat followed by a few sniffles. "I u-um, don't w-want you to th-think I'm...I'm mad or upset with you, though," he said, straining not to cry but unable to keep his voice from wavering and cracking. "I-I know it w-was us or h-him, I j-just..." He pressed his palms into his eyes and tried not to cry too loudly as they drove away. "I know we had to, b-but th-that doesn't m-make me feel any b-better."

[Pearl Essence]

Once Felix was buckled in, Pearl got the car moving with little ceremony or urgency. It was best to drive like nothing happened. No risks, no speeding, just a steady pace to get them back to... Where? Was Beacon really the safest bet right now? She'd have time to think while driving. Her eyes shifted from mirror to mirror, not even flinching at the still bright red trail on the asphalt. It would darken and dry, nearly unidentifiable in minutes, and it would likely be hours before anyone else set foot in the parking lot of an abandoned building. Most would be drunk and the light would be dim. Felix's voice, shaking with emotion pulled her back to reality.

Of course he'd never seen someone die before. He hadn't lived outside of the Kingdoms, and even most his missions had likely not taken him far from the city. The worst he'd seen was likely a training or farm accident where someone was maimed but survived. While death was possible in either situation, it wasn't likely. Pearl's eyes stayed on the road even as he started to sob, but she didn't feel right in silence. Usually she'd turn on music, even with what had happened, but it wasn't just her and it would likely seem jarring and uncaring to him.

“I- I wish I could say it doesn't get easier. That there will never come a point where you see someone's life ended, either because of you or someone else, but you will. For some there comes a day they stop trying to justify it.” Pearl gave an ever so slight shake of her head, less to hide the motion and more to keep her eyes on the road and to stop herself from getting light headed. Her aura had done a little to stop the bleeding in her shoulder, but she'd not properly healed. She fought a growl as it started to seem they were going to hit every traffic light in the city.

“For now, it will hurt like hell. You'll ask yourself a thousand questions all trying to find fault in what happened. It won't matter that Blanc was trying to kill me,” She used his name intentionally. She tried to remember their names, even a bastard like him. “and may have tried to kill you after he was done. You'll tell yourself you're making excuses. That you could have subdued him, that you could have helped him arrest me instead.” Pearl paused for a moment. Remembering her own thought process likely wasn't helpful for him. “Whatever you try to do, just don't try to deal with it alone though. Beacon has resources, and if you'd rather avoid the poking and prodding they like to do over each incident, I can get you in contact with my therapist.”

[Felix Satou]

Felix took some time to quietly sniffle and occasionally sob as Pearl did her best to console him, as they drove through Vale to who-knew-where. The content of her words wasn't nearly as helpful as just listening to her voice. She was there. He was there. What happened had been scary, in hindsight. It had been as close to a brush with death as Felix had ever come, but they had both survived. The sights might haunt him for a while, but at least he was alive to be haunted. Pearl was alive. He swallowed. His hands fell away from his face and into his lap as he let his head rest heavily against his seat. "I, uh..." He sniffed again. "I think I'd like that."

Deep breath, exhale. "Pearl I'm...I'm sorry for, uh...for making it seem like I was turning and running back there." Maybe she already understood his choices, but he couldn't leave it unsaid. "I knew we were in trouble a-and...I wasn't sure if we would be able to fight him head on with you not at full strength and without a weapon and I...I just thought that uh," his voice wavered. "If I c-could get an edge by making him think I wasn't a threat it would be enough, even if it, uh...hurt you to...I'm just...I'm really sorry Pearl. I'd never turn my back on you like that."

He turned to look at her. "You've...always sort of hinted at the...the things you do in the shadows Pearl. I have...always sort of understood that you might be doing things that are less than legal outside Beacon, and...I want to know what you're doing. Why you're doing it. Why y-you...you have someone posing as a huntsman and lying about official bounties to get you alone to assassinate-" his voice cracked as he spoke the words out loud. "I want to know. You're not a bad person, I know you're not. I know you've got to be doing whatever it is you're doing for a reason, I just...want to know what it is."

[Pearl Essence]

Pearl nodded, glad he was willing to accept help so easily. It had been like pulling teeth for her to finally agree to it herself. It would stop her from having to chastise him. It was better to listen. Those early moments never being handled for her had left her twisted for a time. She didn't want to see someone like him twisted like that. She let uncertainty guide her course while driving for a time, their meandering path on the streets taking more turns than would be necessary to get anywhere in the city, the pair were finding themselves closer and closer to the road that would lead them out of the city and towards Beacon.

“You did what you believed needed to be done in a difficult situation, and clearly I'm the last person who has a right to judge people for their methods.” The situation had so many uncertainties, so many variables, but that wasn't a battle they would have won otherwise. “There's a place for ruthlessness like that when something turns dire.” There had been a sense of relief as she realized he'd not betrayed her, but the pain was still fresh, a deep cut that struck at what she'd feared in the first place. Why she'd feared telling him more about what she did, regardless of the purpose.

“I do owe you an explanation. I've likely owed you one for awhile, but I didn't want you involved. I didn't know if you'd just turn your back on me, take my admission to damage everything I've worked for and endanger the people who rely on me, or for you to convince yourself that you should try to help me.” Pearl hesitated for a moment, her breath unsteady through pain and being lightheaded. It was taking a lot of focus to drive. That pill she'd taken to calm her nerves was too much in her current state.

“Blanc wasn't lying. Not about the things I've done, nor what he used to be, though he lost his license some time before I hired him. I wish I had been able to find record of that.” Knowing where to start didn't change how difficult it was to share. “It's not so simple as saying it's all for a good cause even if I believe I'm doing the right thing. Nothing is so black and white. Most who paint the world in those colors are trying to sell you something. Something like certain villages, or even entire cities like Mountain Glenn being “acceptable losses” because they were indefensible, their entire population being given a numerical value of worth on whether or not we should try to save them or send them resources. Some truly aren't able to be saved, but why does it matter if they're “worth” saving?”

Her hands tightened around the steering wheel making it creak. “There's entire regions run and terrorized by bandits, the people there completely at their mercy, but because no one's paying no huntsmen will go, and they're too far outside the immediate reach of the kingdoms for them to care. So, I've been using my connections, blackmailing councilmen, and applying pressure to try to change things. Redirecting stolen weapons, dust, pharmaceuticals, and food, some is sold to questionable people to allow us to do more.”

[Felix Satou]

Felix was mostly quiet as he listened, occasionally wiping at the fluids leaking from his face as Pearl started to let him in on what she did in the dark. He knew there were communities that existed outside the protection of Vale, but he'd never given them a second thought. Those people knew the risks of living out there, didn't they? Wasn't it their own choice to put themselves at the mercy of the grim? Yet they were people nonetheless. Their lives did have value, and if they were asking for help, wasn't it the duty of people like Pearl and Felix to protect them?

His frown deepened at the mention of money. Yes, it was their duty, but money was a powerful motivator. Why take on a job protecting an out of the way village of nobodies with no money if someone else was going to pay you good money for the risks that you were taking. The line of thought was so clear, so obvious. "Nothing is free," he muttered quietly. "Dust, food, weapons, it all costs lien. Why risk your life for nothing when you could be getting paid and still save lives, right?" It was the cold calculus of war. Every fight was a chance to die, and if you couldn't replenish your arsenal, your spirit, you were that much more likely to die in the next one. "And what happens when the same 'paupers' need help again? How many times can they rely on one or two generous huntsmen before that well of selflessness runs dry?"

He looked over at Pearl for a long moment. Was that really what this was all about? "Is that what it's all about? That you'd do anything in your power to help people who can't help themselves?"

[Pearl Essence]

Pearl shifted in her seat to reach into the bag on her hip with one hand. The pain in her shoulder made her wince as she pulled free a white handkerchief to offer over to the crying musician. The road leaving the city was mostly empty. Small shipping trucks coming in, including one from her own company with a pair of familiar inside, but hers was the only car leaving the city. They'd be turning down the long road to drive to Beacon before long, a road that was protected by security systems and patrols. Even being outside of the city, they wouldn't need to worry themselves over the grimm. Felix's question hung in the air for a time before she could confidently answer it.

“Like I said before, the world's not black and white. Even what I'm doing isn't purely out of the goodness of my heart. Each person I save, each villager who survived a grimm or bandit attack thanks to the weaponry, medicine, or even training we've provided is another person who becomes more loyal to me.” Pearl's eyes shifted to the feathers and tags still hanging from her left hand, still clenched tightly around the wheel. “Loyalty is more powerful than lien could ever be. Those “paupers” are loyal. And they do treat me like a queen, a queen who they know will be wrathful towards those who would harm them.”

“I-” The vixen blinked, slow and drawn out as she fought the pain forming in her head, the dizziness that meant she likely shouldn't be driving. Talking was helping, but aura exhaustion and pain was beginning to win out. Her movements seemed slow to her as her fingers met a touch screen above the radio and tapped away at the settings. It wasn't the first time she'd set the car to drive her to the Beacon garage and her parking spot on its own, and she doubted it would be the last. “I really should thank the inventor of auto-pilot sometime.” Pearl sat back in the drivers seat and let the automated system take over.

[Felix Satou]

The proferred handkerchief was taken with little hesitation. Making a mess of his clothes wasn't his first choice. There was a long silence that followed in the wake of Pearl's words. The car continued on towards Beacon while Felix and Pearl were each left to their own thoughts. What did he think of what she was doing? Was it something he ought to muse on in silence? Just how bad were the people she was willing to do business with in order to help? Was she funding something that did more harm than good? Could he ever really know?

"It's...it's a lot to take in, Pearl," his words were softly spoken. "But it sounds to me like you're just trying to do everything you can to protect some of the most vulnerable people in the world." He had to wonder just why she thought he would want to leave her over something like this. "I don't care if you're breaking the law, that doesn't determine what's right and what's wrong, I just..." He turned his head to watch her. Pearl had so much power, and presence, and influence. She was blackmailing councilmen. Assassins were out to collect a bounty on her. She'd cried over her lost friends. She'd helped him with his own insecurities. She was right about life being shades of grey, but he could see that her own was a lot brighter than dark.

His hand found it's way to Pearl's and laced his fingers through hers. He wasn't sure what to say next, what he wanted to hear from her. Words were air and ultimately she could spin any tale that she wanted. She'd never been one to lie or give him half-truths. She'd earned no small amount of trust from him. "Maybe I should thank them, too, sometime."

[Pearl Essence]

His voice was quiet, soft, so much like him but her hearing hadn't dulled with her dizziness and she still heard his words. Maybe he knew what he was saying between the lines he shared with her in his hesitance, but he was showing her trust. Not once had she ever lied to him, not in whole or half-truths. Lies were anathema to her, but she hadn't expected him to trust her at all, not even hesitantly. What she'd revealed was a lot and it wasn't the whole picture, but Felix was smart enough to know what she hadn't said. The way she'd responded to Blanc's death should have been enough for him to realize she'd done it before, enough that she calmly took the steps to hide it and get them out of dodge. And still he trusted her. Still he understood that something being law didn't mean it was right or that breaking them was wrong.

Amber colored eyes opened again as Felix took her hand in his, the fox barely aware they'd drifted shut the moment she'd taken her mind off driving. It wasn't long ago those fingers that were laced with his had been covered in a man's blood, yet the man she'd feared would abandon her once he knew instead chose to hold that same hand. Maybe he wasn't thinking about it, maybe that was better, but it was a world away from the days she'd taken a wire brush to scrape paint and imagined filth from clockwork fingers.

“Felix. When we get back, would you be willing to help patch me up? I- I don't trust myself not to take shortcuts with how I feel right now.” There were a hundred small pains through her body, the deepest on her shoulder was just one of the many she'd suffered in that fight. How many had bled, how many were healed or blocked by aura in those desperate moments. It wouldn't have taken long for another blow to cut deep. Felix had saved her life with his quick thinking. “I know you saved my life once today, but I don't want to take that for granted.”

[Felix Satou]

Felix nodded his head to her request, gaze drifting towards the road in front of them. "Whatever you need, Pearl." Life wasn't black and white. Of course he knew that. He knew from the outset that he might have to make tough choices about who to trust, who to save, who to fight. It had been a minor worry. How could you make informed moral choices if you couldn't survive long enough to see them? His thoughts and hours had been more consumed with technique than philosophy. He felt ill equipped to make judgments, even less to condemn someone who had lived a life as complicated as Pearl had.

Did those who committed evil acts see themselves as evil? No, hardly was anyone the villain of their own tale. Though he could see a heart of gold glowing in Pearl's chest, it only served to lengthen the shadows she cast with her latest revelation.

Still, there was nothing to be done about it on their drive back. He could hardly demand Pearl show him everything or lose his trust. Maybe it really was as simple as she spoke it to be. She was willing to do whatever it took to protect the forgotten. If it was, well, he could see the good in that.