The Case of the Stolen Sustenance

[Melina Caedus]

Melina was closely following behind the group, as a matter of fact, she stepped closer next to the big sister as they entered the alley. It was obvious she was way less comfortable in these kinds of streets, evident by her anxious looking around and behind them as they went through.

Though when Aster entered the establishment he had choosen that anxiousness made way for surprise and perplexity. How could something like this be in such a shabby alley? Her mask was still engaged, so the others couldn‘t see that her mouth was practically agape. Only when she thought she heard something out of the alley behind her she hurried into the establishment, allowing the door to close behind her. While the others started moving about, Melina stood there for a few more moments, taking everything in that so starkly contrasted what was outside of that door behind her. A warm and welcoming atmosphere, paired with a welcoming staff.

When the stupor subsided Melina looked back and forth between the three confident students and Lin, who instead of going to the front had taken a place at a table big enough to accomodate all of them. Deciding she wasn‘t confident enough to join the front and not leave Lin alone, she went over and took a seat next to the little mute.
“Are you okay?“
Melina then signed, turning to Lin, to make sure that she was okay and maybe start a conversation, while the others were busy at the front.

[Asterion Khryseos]

"Wait, you didn't know about this place?" Aster seemed more confused than anything else, as evidenced by the vaguely perplexed look on his face. He stared at Al for a moment, as if expecting confirmation, but piped up again before anyone could answer. "Well, anyway, to answer your question, I didn't actually find it. The place just kinda... found me." It was a remarkably cryptic answer for Aster, and one that he neglected to elaborate on. As soon as the man and a woman emerged from the kitchen - a married couple, if the matching rings were any indication - Aster's attention was immediately fixed on them, like a dog to a steak.

Whatever had remained of Aster's previous ire had vanished completely by the time he was at the counter. With gleaming eyes and a goofy grin, he raked his gaze over the goods put out, while the bakery's owners simply stood back and smiled at each other, before watching over their new guests. For all his eagerness, however, Aster couldn't pick what he wanted. Not because there was nothing that appealed to him - quite the opposite, actually. There was so much there that he wanted to eat that he was having difficulty settling on just one.

As if this was something the couple had expected, the husband nudged his wife with his elbow, prompting her to step forward and set something out onto a plain plate before him.
"With all the work you've been doing, you must be hungry." She said, smiling warmly at him. "How about a pasty?" Aster couldn't deny, the suggestion wasn't without its merit. They weren't like the pre-packed rubbish - even an untrained eye could tell that the thing had been baked with the utmost love and care. The aroma of a hearty serving of beef wafted from the plate, carrying with it tones of baked swede and potato chunks, all accompanied by that distinct - yet no less pleasant - smell of yellow onions. The filling, packed densely together into a single mass, was encased by a crisp shortcrust pastry, hand rolled and baked to a golden brown. For someone with Aster's appetite, it was - put simply - irresistible.

Nevertheless, he managed to restrain himself enough to nod and politely request it, to which she simply smiled and pushed the plate towards him. So great was his joy at receiving it that he forgot why he was there in the first place, and paid without thinking about it. He only remembered when he sat down, and the plate was placed on the table.

He decided not to think about it too much. He had some good food, and he wouldn't let a few Lien spoil the good mood it brought with it.

[Al Ciendra]

Al looked at her friend in disbelief, not that anyone would pick up on it, just remaining silent for a while.
Of course, she didn't know about it, going here would mean she'd miss out on valuable training time, the only time she actually left Beacon to eat was when she got invited or after going shopping for dust and ammo.

But before she could respond, Aster was called to the counter, by the nicest and sweetest looking elderly couple Al had ever met, sides of her own mum and dad of course.
And the food they served was good.

Al just gave Ela, who was also looking beyond confused, a shrug before then going to get the same thing that Aster had gotten, Ela followed suit.
She couldn't speak much of Aster's character, the man seemed simply seemed unreasonably passionate about food.
She followed the wolf girl, who was excitedly waiting at the counter, having to duck a little in this shop lest she hit her head on the roof's support beams.

Soon enough, Al and Ela had joined Aster, the latter of which laid down some lien for Aster and two of the same dishes for Melina and Lin.
"Keep in mind, you were invited.
She said with a smile towards both Aster and Melina, shifting her gaze over to Lin, before, unlike Al who was wolfing down the dish, slowly and with excellent manners began to eat.
Both of them loved it.

[Lin Motley]

Lin was a tad surprised when Melina sat by her, the masked girl seemed really nice but not much for conversation, guess she was even less of a fan off ordering food or new places though.
Lin simply smiled at her giving her a nod, she was quite fine, sure she got scolded and was a bit miffed about Ela finding out this fast, but her big sis did also save her from that bull dude, so it all evened out.
Still smiling, Lin then signed as well.
"I really appreciate it, but you don't need to sign, I'm mute, not deaf."
Lin explained, with what could be interpreted as a matter-of-factly response.
She looked to the others who were still ordering food.
"So, you know that other masked girl, right ? Why is someone as shy as you sticking around a psycho like her ?"
Lin asked, she was genuinely confused about the possible group dynamic the three had going on, she didn't care much what the other two would think, if she and Melina kept to sign they could talk about what ever they wanted.

It took a bit until the other three settled down, giving Melina enough time to answer.

[Melina Caedus]

It felt great to be able to communicate with someone on the same level for once. Usually Melina would feel uncomfortable talking to people, wether it be due to her mechanical voice or due to her voice being more of a whisper when she didn‘t.
That aside of course, signing to someone was an appreciated change of pace for her, one she wanted to enjoy as much as possible.
“I don‘t like my mechanical voice. It sounds weird and inhuman. So I‘d rather sign than speak.“
Melina seemed visibly embarassed once she explained herself, however when Lin asked about her and Al, she seemed almost offended instead.
“Al is no psycho…“
She quickly became less agitated, mainly because Melina felt somewhat embarrassed for her friend as she tried to downplay the statement.
“…she‘s just... passionate about certain things. And very kind, once you get to know her.“
Melina knows Al can be a bit hyper- or rather excessive when it comes to fighting... or food as a matter of fact, but that aside Al was a genuine good person… so long one didn‘t antagonize her.
The combat medic was so distracted by her conversing with Lin that for the moment she didn‘t heed the others any attention as they joined.

[Asterion Khryseos]

Aster didn't respond immediately. Brash though he was, even he was well-mannered enough to know to swallow his food before speaking. However, he also wanted to savour the savoury dish - it wasn't something that he could just wolf down, despite his desire to. It was something baked with love and care, and it showed in each crumb. To simply guzzle it without taking the time to enjoy the taste was something that he viewed as nothing less than a crime against any sensible being. However, he still needed to give some kind of response, and so he went forward with a little more haste than usual.

"That's true." He eventually said, shrugging lightly as he set his food down for a moment. "To be honest though, I probably would've come here soon anyway. It's... nice in here." Aster was hardly the smartest person in the room at the best of times, but there was no doubting the sincerity behind his words, nor the contentment to his expression. "I probably shouldn't have assumed everyone else knew about this place, come to think of it. Ah well. It's done now." He shrugged again, just as lightly, and returned to his meal.

[Lin Motley]

Lin just looked at the girl opposite to her with a raised eyebrow the bit about her voice downright annoyed Lin, atleast Melina had one, Lin had to rely on a text to speech device not some fancy atlas tech and sure, the masked and armored girl that nilly willy flung around fire on school grounds and flew on jet thrusters through the corridors, wasn't a psychopath...maybe Lin also just got scared, she sighed inwardly leaning back just a little, she wasn't going to tell these things to Melina's face, the combat medic was super sweet, and she didn't want to disgruntle one of the rare few people she could actually talk to...maybe she should apologize and then Melina could prove her right about Al not being so bad.

She regardless just shook her head, sighing in slight frustration and then leaving the topic be as the others arrived with food, preoccupying herself with that as she just watched Aster and Al carefully from the other side of the table, Ela and her gigantic frame having taken a seat next to her meant Lin had all the time in the world to sneak in some secret glances hidden behind her sister.



Ela herself just shook her head with a smile, Aster's approach to things was very simple, but refreshingly so, she didn't mind, plus he was right, it is nice here.
She did notice that Lin and Melina seemed to have had some conversation, but by the look on her sister's face Ela knew that Lin was taking her time to think about what had been said so far, so she didn't poke her about it.


Al... Al was adding nothing to the conversation, she was busy scarfing down her food after she got done enjoying it, only giving Melina an encouraging smile to dig in before turning back to her plate.

[Melina Caedus]

Seeing Lin shake her head had suddenly caused Melina to feel like there was a stone in her stomach. It was indication enough that Lin did not agree with Melinas assessment of Al as a person, either that or it was something else. Either way Melina didn‘t exactly feel as well she thought she would when her conversation with the little sister ended, so it was with a bit of a frown that she looked around at the others for a moment.

Looking at Aster, now that the guy seemed to be enamored with the food of this place, he seemed to be more like a joyous giant of a man instead of an intimidating hunk of meat. It was now easy to see how he became friends with Al. They had much in common, aside the way they were eating their meals of course.
Speaking of which, Al was literally wolfing down her food, as she could have expected from her fiery friend. It was the only point of contention for these two, one was savoring, the other davouring. Suddenly Melina only saw a smile as she her gaze lingered at Al and it took her moments to realise it and be reminded that there was food to be had. So, almost reluctantly, Melina began taking a bite of what was brought to the table for her.

Much like Aster, Melina was more of the savoury kind when it came to eating. And the delicious taste of this dish, of whihc one could feel the care and love put into creating it, helped elevate the heavy feeling in her stomach at least somewhat as part of it was replaced with the tasty goodness of this places cuisine. “Delicious.“ Melina felt prompted to whisper, the least bit of praise she could utter in this moment before being too busy herself to savour every last bit of the food.

[Asterion Khryseos]

Before Aster could take another bite out of his pasty, the wife came out to meet him, wringing his hands in a towel. It seemed he'd just finished up with a batch, which his wife was setting out - though with the practised precision with which she laid it all out onto the shelves, it wouldn't be long until she joined them too.
"So, who're your friends? I've never seen you come in here with someone, and now all of a sudden you're bringing a whole crowd with you!"
Aster supposed that it wasn't unusual for the couple to enquire about his company. What caused the slightly troubled expression on his face was what exactly he was supposed to tell them, given the circumstances under which they'd all met.

"Al's been a friend of mine for a while." He said, deciding that he could at least stall for a few moments by talking about her, rather than the rest of the group. "I just forgot to take her here whenever I went." The wife rolled her eyes at her husband, a knowing smirk playing on her lips. This wasn't the first time that Aster had done something like that, it seemed, and they both silently wagered that it wouldn't be the last. "And these guys..." He turned to the others, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to say that wouldn't end up with someone being rather unimpressed.

"I uh... Played a prank on one of them, and it got... out of hand." It was clear by the sheepish look on Aster's face that there was more to the story, and without much to do for the time being, the wife rounded the counter and stood next to her husband.
"Oh? I didn't know you had it in you to be all sneaky, Aster! Why don't you tell us what happened?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al despite her focus on the food did pay some attention to the table, she was happy to hear that Melina was enjoying the food causing her to giggle happily.
Ela and Lin were just kinda there, the big woman seemed serene, much like Melina and Aster while Lin seemed kind of upset, still seemed to be enjoying the food, so it was all okay in her book.
Her attention was then drawn to the couple talking to Aster, Lin also paid attention a raised eyebrow pointed towards Aster as she watched him dance around the subject of the prank, her attention was then drawn away as she was pulled in by Al.
"Yeah, we gave this little shit super spicy food when she tried to steal our snacks again, then Aster chased her through the school while I rode on his back, it was hilarious, you should have seen it!"
Al beamed with a smile, visible as her mask was pushed up to eat the food.

Ela, looked on in slight shock, then at her sister, she was usually slow to believe her sister when it came to these situations as Lin was often one to instigate and escalate a situation like this, but it seemed that Al and Aster played a good part in this.
She'd have to lessen the punishment she gave Lin, and definitely would not tell their parents.

Lin, tucked under Al's arm, just looked on in exasperation with an expression that would let the restaurant owners know what Al told them was not an exaggeration, she had no idea how to feel about this, on one hand the sudden personal space invasion was a tad annoying, but Al being this honest, or stupid Lin couldn't tell was refreshing, it would also make sure she would be punished less, and they wouldn't have to awkwardly dance around the topic.
Lin pulled herself free, just looking at Melina with a confused smile, signing: "Is this normal for her?"

[Melina Caedus]

It was then the couple joined them, asking for the others to be introduced to them.
Aster provided, introducing first Al and then explaining the prank that had caused the circumstances of their meeting. Al being as brutally honest and impromptu as she is told the rest of the tale to the couple. They really set up a super spicy dish for her?
It all in all sounded very dangerous with what happened afterwards so Melina felt it was a somewhat inappropiate reaction, then again... something like this very much on brand for Al.
At the very least the couple seemed to be taking it in a pretty lighthearted way.
It didn‘t take a detective to figure out that the little Lin was getting annoyed by those “qualities“ of the fiery wolf as she invaded her personal space.
The question posed to the medic as she broke free was met with an equally embarassed smile as Melina started signing: “Yes, y-you‘ll get used to it.“
Even her handmotion stammered a little, as if she tried to look for the right words to say... or rather sign.

Melina couldn‘t yet find the courage to introduce herself, or tell her side of the story, instead she kept on munching on the pasty she was eating in an almost nervous manner, only biting off little crumbs to make her eating last as long as possible and make her seem sort of distracted.
Besides, she wasn't the main focus of this incident anyway and more of a "tag along", surely there was no need for her side of the story with how the conversation was going...?

[Asterion Khryseos]

For a bull Faunus, Aster had a remarkably sheepish look plastered across his face. It was bad enough that he'd had to tiptoe around the reality of the situation, and he wasn't nearly good enough of an actor to convince the couple otherwise. The fact that Al just blurted it out there and then was icing on the cake, however. It took him all he had to not shoot a withering glare at her, and yet more still to keep from giving the couple a pleading look. He couldn't even bring himself to look towards the others, lest he curl into a ball and die of shame.

The couple themselves looked blankly at the group, evidently unsure of what kind of reaction they were supposed to be giving to such a reveal. They were quiet for a moment or two, blinking a little as they turned the events over in their heads. Then, after a pregnant pause... they laughed. Lightly and joyfully, they laughed at the absurdity of it all, but shook it off quickly enough to speak - though there was no hiding the wide grins on their faces. Much to Aster's relief, of course.

"Oh, you kids!" The wife said, shaking her head while she placed her hands on her hips. "I remember when we were like that... Why, it feels like yesterday I put a Crimson Reaper in your coffee, dear! Oh, you kids should've seen the look on his face when he took that first sip!"
Her husband, by the looks of things, remembered the event very well - and was a little embarrassed about it too. However, it didn't dim his smile even a little, and he was quick to join in the conversation.
"Now now, we'll tell them about that one later! I want to hear more about this. Why were you even on his back, anyway?"

[Al Ciendra]

Al just grinned at the couple, these two were fun, usually adults weren't all that pleased with her shenanigans, not that Al cared all that much, but they were laughing!
Al joined in, laughing alongside the two especially as the lady told the story of the spicy coffee, that sounded awful to drink, but very funny as a prank, she'd have to try that one on Mr C sometime.

At the question Al titled her head, well the answer was really simple to her, but how would she explain it to the couple?
"Well Lin over here can fly amazingly fast even with her face burning from spice, I can fly too, but I would set the entire corridor on fire plus it's really exhausting, so to keep up I hopped on Aster cuz he can keep up with Lin's flight by just running really fast and I weigh like nothing to him."
Al explained nonchalantly.

Lin...was a bit stunned, this masked chick had flown after her and could have continued to do so, but stopped because she could have caused more property damage and because it was easier to just hitch a ride on her friend?
This chick was a special kind of stupid, but Lin caught herself giggling, hiding the fact that Al's antics were entertaining behind her hand, she was still meant to be mad at the masked psycho dammit!

Ela just sighed, she was happy to have no part in this and just watched on, but mostly found herself observing Melina, the way she looked at Lin was a little concerning, had her little sister in her frustration said something to upset the atlesian medic?
The "stuttered" sign then pushed Ela into action, she leaned over, hiding her hands from Lin that way.
Are you okay, Melina? If anything is bothering you, I'd love to help you."
She offered, a sincere and calming smile on the older student's face.

[Melina Caedus]

And the story went on. Hell, the wife went ahead an shared a little sneak peek into when she pulled a similar prank on her husband in the past. At the very least it was now clear why Aster was getting along so well with them, there was a chemistry in between them, Aster and Al that almost made it seem like they were family. No wonder Melina felt so out of place. She‘d never get up to pranks like those, it simply wasn‘t in her nature.

Just like Lin, Melina seemed stunned at the claim that Al made. She already knew that Al‘s semblance could create and control fire, but she had never imagined that the fiery wolf could use it fly!
She stopped munching for a moment and stared almost dumbfounded… until Ela mentioned her name that is. Startled for but a moment, she winces momentarily.
“Eh…? No no, don‘t mind me, I‘m fine.“ she murmurs in her whispery voice, before looking down at the table only to notice in the corner of her vision the way the big girl was sitting. Melina contemplates for a moment, looking around the table as she continued munching on her food. Once Lin wasn‘t looking, she started signing to Ela.
“I‘m feeling out of place. A bit.“
Once finished, she had also finished the pasty she was eating, munching on what remains in her mouth very thoroughly before swallowing.

[Ela Motley]

Ela frowned a little, it did make sense, Melina had little to nothing to contribute here, she seemed to somewhat know Al but only became part of the situation near the end, much like Ela, and much like her Melina also did not seem to share any enthusiasm for their fellow students antics.
Ela only nodded in understanding, as she was yet left looking at Melina and searching for an answer, what could she do to include Melina here?
...well, neither she nor Melina liked this topic, so she'd just change it to a topic they could all talk about, what did they all share?
Well all of them went to Beacon, Ela couldn't comment much on the classmates of the first years surrounding her, but they did all share the same professors.
"Well speaking of semblances and antics, did you know that professor Copperfield hit me with a speeding truck recently?...or well, the force equivalent of one. For all his caution, secrecy and so forth during classes he does get a bit carried away when experimenting on with and on our semblances. Have you had any prior experience with him?"
Ela asked in the round, smirking as she took a sip of her drink, which she kindly asked the wife to refill, as a quick diversion so the talk was between huntsmen.
"Could I have another one of these? Thank you."

Al looked a bit surprised at that, at least from what could be inferred by her body language.
Well, Ela was huge! So her semblance had to make her super tough!
Yeah, she did also take on Asterion, but a speeding truck?!
Al felt kinda silly thinking of her own experiments with the professor now.
"Well...that's impressive as hell, now I feel a bit silly, the prof has been mostly testing how much material I can melt, the best I managed was a couple steel beams. Oh, and he still has to find something that's too hot for me to handle, as in he stuck my hand in molten stone once."
Al said somewhat sheepishly, as she just waved the hand that had no signs of that event of course.

[Asterion Khryseos]

Aster listened intently, as did the couple. It didn't seem like the change in conversation topic bothered them much, if at all. Whatever slights Aster had suffered appeared to have long since been forgotten, leaving him just happy to be a part of a gathering of some kind, while the bakers themselves looked to be happy that the group was enjoying themselves - and taking the time to swap stories with them as well. Aster was the first of them to speak up after Al, however, with the husband content to head back into the kitchen while his wife prepared a refill.

"Aw man, I still haven't gotten to do one-on-one training with him yet. Now I want him to hit ME with a truck..." To those that didn't know his Semblance, it might have come off as a rather odd thing to say. However, he refused to elaborate on his point any further, instead choosing to move on to potential lessons. "I wonder what he'd train us all with? Does he even have time to come up with a plan for everyone at once? He doesn't look like he sleeps now, I don't know if he'd survive trying to plan that many personal lessons at once."

Aster's face scrunched up as he tried to imagine what his lesson might look like. But to imagine it in any great detail required more knowledge of teaching and his own weaknesses than he realistically had. Perhaps Deegan could help him out, and give him some pointers? He'd been meaning to write back anyway, so it was a good chance to ask for advice - but he could cross that bridge when he came to it. For the time being, his focus shifted back to the rest of the group, wondering what their thoughts on Copperfield and his various lessons and training sessions were.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina almost hesitantly took another pasty to eat, again chewing throughoughly. It quickly became only paste in her mouth that she kept on munching between her teeth. It was when Ela suddenly changed topics that it seemed like her jaw froze in place for a moment until she then swallowed what remained in her mouth. Now they were talking about Professor Copperfield and their experiences with them. Apparently Ela got hit by a truck, Al had to melt steel for him and Aster… didn‘t have any experiences to go by. As for Melina…

“I-I feel like he overworks himself too much.“ she whispered without realizing she didn‘t engage her mask. While she didn‘t like talking through it, if she had noticed this now she would feel bad for conversing in such a quiet manner. She was however more preoccupied with recollecting the experiences she had with the Professor. Though… there were none… outside his normal teaching curriculum that was. “He sometimes shows up… with dark circles around his eyes. And his posture… it‘s like he sleeps sitting at his desk.“ she mused on, still in thought.

Her medical mind was analyzing all their past interactions to come to these conclusions. Clearly Professor Copperfield was sleep deprived by the things she mentioned alone, but even then his posture further betrayed the all nighters he was pulling at the desk. Now that she was paying attention to it, this type of behaviour had her worried for the professor not only because of the afore mentioned things, but also because he seems frustrated at times. Something must have come up recently that must have been bothering him.

[Ela Motley]

Ela listened to the others response with a smile, Asters enthusiasm about being hit by a truck got a light chuckle out of her. She simply assumed he had a semblance that let him take such a hit head on, in their brief clash in the hallway, Aster did feel extremely strong and sturdy.

What Melina said was met with a dejected sigh, the medical maiden was dead on, Ela could no longer recount how many times she had to wake the professor or drag him from his desk to at least lay on the couch, after he fell asleep sitting while trying to crunch away at one of his many projects.
She took a strong sip of her beverage, before looking at Melina.
""I hate to say it, but you are right, Professor Copperfield is a real slouch when it comes to taking care of himself. Which, while it's a bit worrying at times to see him prefer finishing a project over his own well-being, he has gotten better at. Otherwise, I usually keep an eye out for him. Once, he fell asleep in the library, and I had to carry him the entire way to his room without anyone seeing us, that'd have been too embarrassing for both of us."
Ela smiled a little while cringing at that last bit. Both hers and the professor's reputations would be ruined, were she found carrying him bridal style.

Lin just turned to Melins, shaking and singing to the Atlesian: "Dudes a trainwreck, if he wasn't so wicked smart I wouldn't be surprised if he got fired."
That comment got Lin a glare from Ela, to which Lin just shrugged, it seemed their opinion on Copperfield was pretty divided.
Ela then turned to Aster and Al.
""Regardless of what you may think, I'm sure the professor could make time for you, you just have to ask."

[Asterion Khryseos]

From the sounds of it, Aster wasn't sure if he wanted Copperfield to make time, and the concerned look on his face at least hinted at that. He did what he could to try and suppress it, of course, but there was no denying that Copperfield's current condition left him a little apprehensive about adding more onto his plate. However, as usual, Aster quickly wiped any trace of anything regarding a negative emotion from his expression, and returned to a casual - if perhaps a little forced - smile.
"I'll have to consider it." He said, doing his best to sound like he actually might. "I've got a project or two that I'm working on, and I could use his help with it."

The project in question was high explosives of various sorts. Anyone that knew Aster for longer than a minute - and had seen his performance during the lesson where the class put together explosives under Copperfield's supervision - could probably have guessed as such, however. "I'm trying to put together some new ammo. Something to really put the hurt on Grimm - something that uses more than just Fire Dust." Were it not for him having the foresight to use Aura to protect himself while experimenting, a smattering of scorch marks on his skin and clothing would have made it clear that his efforts hadn't been going well.

[Melina Caedus]

Melina smiled as Ela had affirmed her statement concerning the ever tired Professor. The smile became a small giggle as she imagined how Ela‘s story had played out in her mind. The medic does take note of Lin shortly after, who signed away her opinion on the man. The fact that Ela just glared at Lin afterwards had the altesian nervously look away instead, sipping a bit of tea. She felt like she was driving a divide between the two sisters with her opinions, of course that was just her pessimistic mind inflating the situation completly out of proportion… as usual. Her gaze wandered to Aster instead as he mentions his project involving Fire Dust. At the mere mention, Melina didn‘t even need to imagine to know how well that was going for him. She set her cup down.

“Have you considered maybe… Ice Dust instead?“ she asked, immediately becoming nervous as she spoke up. “I mean… um… sure it‘s not as destructive, b-but it‘s quite versatile. I use it often against the Grimm, since… they usually don‘t have an inate defense against it. It immobilizes them and… uh… also makes their bodies… quite frail.“ Melina‘s attitude seemed to shrink with each word she said, her already quiet voice devolving into muttering by the end.

While it was a good way of including herself in the conversation further, the main reason she spoke up lay with her trying to give Asterion an alternative to the more destructive dust types he seemed to be looking for, like Combustion Dust. She was worried of reprisal or disapproval, but her concern for anothers well being overshadow such worries with ease.

[Ela Motley]

Al was of course with Aster on the idea of fire dust, but working with Dust really wasn't her strong suit, so she kept quite.

Lin on the other hand tugged at her sister's sleeve, as she began to sign at a much faster pace than she had so far, Ela was nodding along before she turned to Asterion and Melina.
"Lin is very good when it comes to working with dust, she could help you out Aster, I'm sure you two could bond over your love for explosions."
Ela said, a knowing look to her eyes as she looked at the bull faunus, the slip in his smile had not escaped her.
"As for the ice dust, it's a very good idea and Lin tells me it's no issue making both work."

Lin shoots Asterion a smile, it's a genuine one this time, she knows she got off on the wrong foot with the big guy, but she has a feeling they could mend this, if Asterion was up for it.

[Asterion Khryseos]

"Ice Dust..." He said, his voice trailing off as he looked down, hand at his chin while the possibility was considered. The idea left him deep in thought - so deep, it seemed, that he failed to notice the bakery's owners heading back to their stations, them having apparently decided that each had been left unmanned for too long. By the time that Aster came to, they were long gone, but he didn't seem to notice even then, his attention instead on talking about what new opportunities ice-aligned ammo presented to him.

"Maybe if I used it as scattershot rather than slug, I could use it as an area denial tool... Covering the ground in ice would prevent terrestrial Grimm from being able to gain a footing, assuming they aren't a species adapted specifically to low-friction environments, and aerial Grimm would find their movement severely inhibited - if not completely cut off - should the thin membranes present in their wings be frozen over to any great degree. I'd need to find a balance between the spread and the concentration of Dust in each pellet, but in theory it could provide a great deal of support for-"

Realising he was rambling, Aster looked sheepishly back up, with a smile to match. "Ah, sorry about that! I got distracted by an idea. But yeah, I think it'd be a great idea!"