The Grass is Always Green 004 (Patreon)

Emerald had watched Cinder seduce and beguile countless men but she had never tried her hand at it herself. Why would she when her job was to go unseen, unnoticed, and her interest in men was exactly zero? Her life was dedicated in service of Cinder. Emerald didn’t have time for such dalliances.

But she’d seen and watched the way her mentor effortlessly guided men with no more than a look or a suggestive touch, or a brief showing of skin. He didn’t know it but Cinder often used such tactics on Mercury, ensuring his obedience through a combination of lust and fear. He wasn’t stupid; hadn’t he said Cinder didn’t care for them? So it wasn’t like he was in love with her or anything, but the potential for something was just as big a motivation as simply fearing for his life should he step out of line.

It was very effective.

Men craved physical intimacy and were constantly on the lookout for it. Sure, Emerald wasn’t so cynical to believe that all men were the same and wanted nothing more than a quick fuck but it was a good place to start, especially when dealing with teenaged boys on the cusp of becoming men.

She typically didn’t like it when men checked her out. As revealing as her clothes tended to be, showing off her trim stomach, tight waist and blessed chest, Emerald would rather not be looked at like a piece of meat. She remembered those eyes from her childhood, watching her and others when they were much too young. She remembered the fear that at any moment, she might be taken like she’d seen happen on more than one occasion; too slow, not clever enough, whisked away to become some sick fucks plaything. But there were advantages to it, even if in her line of work, it was better to be forgotten.

Sometimes being in plain sight was its own form of misdirection.

Finding Jaune Arc alone had been a stroke of good fortune. For whatever reason, he’d been lagging behind all his friends. Emerald had watched Team RWBY depart for Vale from the shadows of the terminal, and then Pyrrha Nikos and Nora Valkyrie. She had been expecting Jaune to show up with his other teammate, Lie Ren – but when the dark haired boy had appeared alone, Emerald had wondered if something had happened and she would need to change her plans.

She need not have worried. Jaune Arc turned up, just as planned – and though she’d never admit it to anyone, the blond cleaned up quite well. With him being alone, it made her job of approaching him much easier.

All it had taken was for her to sit next to him and her body had done the rest.

She pretended to be preoccupied with her nails but noticed the moment his eyes landed on her, had seen his surprise and then his appreciation. Unlike Mercury, he didn’t gaze at her like a piece of meat, a starving man that would devour her if given the chance. It was a softer look of desire, more admiration than true lust.

It made her feel a little funny.

It was almost cute how he hastily looked away when he realized she’d caught him looking. Emerald knew from then on that holding his attention wasn’t going to take much effort at all. He would only be too eager to look his fill.

After their initial greeting, they made some small talk but before he could speak about his friends, their ride arrived. Emerald was annoyed but joined him in boarding the airship. Several other students boarded alongside them and then they were airborne, the massive dust combustion engines lifting them into the sky.

Emerald glanced at her quarry and noticed he looked a little pale, his breathing slow, controlled. His hands tightened around the railing as the view from the main observation deck spread out before them, the city of Vale growing closer. It was a short trip from the school to the city.

“Are you okay?” she asked, affecting an air of concern that wasn’t all false.

“Sorry,” he said, voice a little strained. “I suffer from motion sickness.”

Emerald forced herself not to step away but if he so much as looked like he was about to hurl, she was gone.

“Oh.”

“It’s more common than people would have you believe,” he said, shooting her a weak smile. “Don’t worry. It only gets bad if I’m already nervous about something. My first day here, I was so scared about making a good impression that I ended up throwing up on Yang’s boots. Oh, uh – Yang is one of my friends, you’ll meet her today.”

Emerald had to give it to him; he had balls to admit such an embarrassing story with a straight face – or maybe he was just too honest. She hoped it was the latter, it would only make her task that much easier if he was willing to spill the beans.

“Yang is the blonde one, right?” she asked, tilting her head. “I think I’ve seen her around with another girl; short with dark hair and red tips? I heard her say her name before.”

“Oh, that’s Ruby,” Jaune confirmed. “They’re sisters. I know they look nothing alike but they have the same dad.”

Emerald blinked.

They were? Emerald thought furiously, trying to remember if that information had been listed when Cinder set out their tasks but couldn’t remember that coming up. Though his words were interesting; they had the same dad, which meant they didn’t have the same mothers?

So Ruby wasn’t one of Raven’s sprouts. That was interesting. Ruby was the one that had a habit of poking her nose into Roman’s affairs, as well.

“What about the rest of your friends?” she pressed casually and he was only all too happy to share.

“Well – there’s Blake, she is Yang’s partner. She’s been going through a rough time lately so this whole trip was to try and cheer her up. She can be pretty dry with her sense of humor but she’s a good girl. Then there is Weiss,” he paused, something Emerald took note of. “Weiss Schnee – you might have heard of her?”

“Once or twice,” Emerald joked.

“Haha – well, yeah. Let me tell you, I didn’t have a clue about who she was when we met. That was a bit embarrassing, I don’t think she has ever forgiven me for that,” he smiled awkwardly. “Anyway, she is Ruby’s partner. They’re all on the same team, Team RWBY. She can be a little – uh, sharp – but don’t worry, she is more bark than bite.”

“What about your team?”

“There is Nora and Ren – they’re like childhood friends or something, they’ve known each other forever. Ren is the cool, silent type. Doesn’t talk much but he is a solid guy and has my back when I need it. Nora is the complete opposite. Her picture should be in the dictionary next to the word ‘loud’. She sorta just goes at her own pace and you either just go with it or get overwhelmed, so don’t be alarmed when she starts going a little crazy. She’s a very nice girl, though.”

Emerald laughed. “Sounds like quite the personality.”

“You can say that again – and then last but not least, there is my partner,” suddenly, he seemed more serious. “Her name is Pyrrha – Pyrrha Nikos.”

When he didn’t continue, Emerald realized he was waiting for some type of reaction.

Almost like a test.

...huh, maybe there was more to Jaune Arc than she originally thought.

“I’ve heard the name before,” she admitted because not knowing Pyrrha Nikos was absurd, and she would be caught in the lie instantly if she said that. “She was an athlete or something, right? I used to see those commercials with her all the time in Mistral. Oh – there was one with that silly jingle, used to drive me insane.”

“That’s her,” Jaune confirmed. Whether she passed his test, she wasn’t sure, but he continued speaking so that was a good sign. “She’s quite a private person so I advise against asking for an autograph or something.”

“Noted.”

“And – oh, hey,” he suddenly perked up, returning to his usual goofy self. “I don’t feel sick any more. Huh – I guess if I don’t think about it, it goes away.”

That was good. Emerald didn’t feel like being showered with vomit.

The airship terminal in Vale was a large complex situated in the central business district, attached to a train station, a bus terminal and even a large multi-story mall. When they stepped off their ship, it was to a packed platform, people waiting for flights or for their train to arrive, rows upon rows of people from all walks of life; students with no schooling on account of it being the weekend, workers who weren’t so lucky, and visitors from the other kingdoms on vacation, many of whom were here for the Vytal Festival. This was the beating heart of the city, pumping its life blood as far as the towering walls that protected their home from Grimm.

It was chaos.

They almost got separated more than once as they tried to force their way through the crowd. When the fifth person jostled her, Emerald was about fed up and ready to clear the way with her semblance if she had to but when a warm hand seized her own, pulling her along. She almost wrenched her arm free and only managed to stop herself when she realized the hand wrapped around her own belonged to Jaune and not some random trying to cop a feel.

“Sorry about that,” he said, hastily releasing her when they found a calmer spot. “It’s like a zoo in there and I didn’t want you to get lost, seeing as it's your first time here.”

Emerald smiled. “It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all,” her smile turned a little coy. “It was nice.”

She was hoping for some type of reaction but it seemingly went straight over his head.

“Right, so,” he said, checking his scroll and Emerald scowled, unamused that he’d blown off her attempt so casually even though it had been a subtle one. “This is the cafe they should all be at. Uh – huh, looks like it’ll be a bit of a walk.”

Outside the terminal, the streets were just as busy but there was much more room to move. Emerald followed as Jaune led them down the street, using his scroll for directions.

“So – what’s it like in Mistral?” Jaune asked out of the blue, and Emerald found herself momentarily stunlocked.

“What?”

“Mistral,” he repeated, shooting her a curious glance. “I used to go camping a lot with my family and we visited Anima a couple of times, but we never went to Mistral itself. We usually just visited some of the smaller settlements and villages.”

Mistral was a shithole.

That is what she wanted to say. On the surface, it was a beautiful place with old wooden structures built upon stone foundations, the cobbled streets lined with cherry blossom trees that flowered in the spring, and carpeted the lanes in a carpet of pink petals soon after. Built into and between the towering peaks of the land, oftentimes the city was shrouded in mist in the early mornings, happening even more frequently in the colder months and even encountered snow on rare occasions. It was a very picturesque city, much like Beacon was a very beautiful school.

But that is all it was; surface level.

The true Mistral was its teeming, seedy, festering underbelly filled with prostitutes, thieves, beggars and crime lords. Overflowing with crime, racism, discrimination of all types – it wasn’t just faunus that were ill treated here. The color of your skin mattered just as much as what species you hailed from, and it all paled in comparison to what gang you were associated with. That is where the true power of the city resided, a place that saw kidnappings and murder as a matter of course, that swallowed those that weren’t prepared to do what needed to be done to survive. It was rotten to the core and yet it was only a fraction as bad as those elected officials that continued to allow it to fester, taking bribes and turning the other cheek, even partaking whenever it struck their fancy.

It was also where Emerald grew up.

One of many discarded orphans.

And where Cinder had found her wallowing in the muck, lifting her up to a better life.

Though anything was better than that.

So yeah, Mistral was a shithole of the highest order. Emerald hated it. Despised it. Loathed it. Emerald was sure other cities had their fair share of problems, children forgotten or exploited, criminals running a whole other world beyond that which everyone else saw. Roman Torchwick existed here in Vale, didn’t he?

But if there was one place Emerald wanted to see burn, it was that place. If only the Maiden had been housed there instead.

If only.

“Emerald?”

It took her a few seconds to realize that they’d stopped at a crosswalk, but while everyone else had moved on when the walking symbol turned green, she had remained where she was. A brief glance at Jaune’s face showed concern and Emerald tried not to scowl, furious that she had allowed herself to get caught up inside her head, all because he asked a simple question.

Ridiculous.

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” she waved him off and they began walking again, hurrying across the street before the light turned red. “Mistral is nice.”

“Oh?”

Emerald thought. As much as she hated the place, there was one thing that she liked. The food. As a child, she hadn’t been able to afford it but as she grew older and figured out how to pickpocket, how to steal, and then later when Cinder had taken her in under her wing, Emerald got to experience a whole new world.

“I don’t know if you have them here but they have these deep fried battered cheese dogs on a stick,” Emerald said with a smile. “I guess they call them Mistralian Corn Dogs – some have hot dogs but some are just all cheese, and they sometimes fry things like potato into the batter, and they sprinkle them in sugar. There are also all these different sauces. They’re really good.”

She could still remember the first time she’d tasted one. Emerald hadn’t known that anything could taste so good. In that moment, she’d believed that it was the food of the gods. Since then, she knew better but it had left an impression; it was one of her favorite snacks, one she indulged in infrequently.

There had been one stand in particular, on the corner of a street in the upper city. Away from the filth of the underbelly, Emerald had purchased one with one of her earliest scores; a wallet overflowing with lien that she’d poached from a fat merchant that Emerald had witnessed mistreat a couple of children he had in his employ.

Slaves – though no one liked to call them that. They went with the much nicer term ‘child labor’ as if that was any better.

It made her sick.

The way of the street was to look after yourself, mind your business and keep moving. People didn’t help others. As a young girl, Emerald hadn’t been able to do anything more than steal from that prick, a sort of petty vigilantism that suited her needs as well as taking bread from his table. As a woman, she’d made sure to go back and end his enterprise with a bullet. He wouldn’t be hurting anyone ever again.

“They sound good,” Jaune hummed. “I haven’t seen anything like that around here. We just have regular ol’ corn dogs. What else?”

Emerald was meant to be the one asking the questions but she couldn’t exactly turn him down. That would be a little suspicious. She told him about the pretty spots that tourists visited when they came from abroad. The Imperial Gardens, lush with rare and exotic plants, as well as the old Emperor’s Palace, the old home of the now displaced royal family of Mistral. The Tranquil Lake, said to be rich with healing properties that the monks guarded jealously and appeared on practically every single postcard from the city. The Floating Island, a several hundred ton slab of earth suspended between two towering peaks, the natural formation of gravity dust protruding from the rock face keeping it from crashing down.

Jaune listened to her with rapt attention, giving her his entire attention. She continued feeding his curiosity until they arrived at the cafe where his friends awaited, a feminine voice screaming his name from across the room as soon as they entered.

“I take it that is Nora?” Emerald asked dryly.

Jaune laughed awkwardly as several customers craned their heads to see what was going on.

“Yep. That’s her.”

Emerald saw the confusion on their faces as she approached with Jaune, comprehension dawning that she actually was with him and not just walking in the same direction. Pyrrha Nikos’ face was the most telling, a subtle narrowing of the eyes as she looked her up and down.

The crimson haired girl was already on guard.

The rest just appeared shocked, looking between them. Weiss Schnee especially, a little more than shock there; almost disbelief.

“Heya guys,” Jaune greeted. The group had chosen a series of tables in the back, sequestered away in a corner, far from prying eyes. Despite herself, Emerald felt her stomach rumble as the mouth watering aroma of freshly cooked food reached her nose, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten yet. “Sorry for being late. Professor Goodwitch wanted to speak to me.”

Ruby bounced up and down in her chair. “What’d she want? You aren’t in trouble, are you?”

“Nah, nothing like that. She just wanted to congratulate me for my fight the other day. She was actually pretty nice; can you believe it?”

“Yeah, yeah, that is great and all,” Yang drawled before gesturing at Emerald. “But what I want to know is where’d you pick her up? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you around campus a few times.”

Emerald easily plastered a fake smile on her face. “You’d be right. I’m Emerald – from Haven Academy.”

“She didn’t have anyone to show her around,” Jaune explained, finding an empty seat. He pulled it out but didn’t sit, instead offering it to her. Emerald hesitated before taking it. “So I offered – that’s fine, right?”

“Of course it is,” Ruby beamed, thrusting her hand out. Emerald took it. “My name’s Ruby, and that’s my sister, Yang.”

“Yo,” the bimbo waved.

“This is Blake,” Ruby gestured with her hands, though the former White Fang member did little more than nod, looking none too pleased about being there. The exhausted bags under her eyes remained, perhaps even deeper now. They made her amber eyes stand out even more starkly. Ruby pulled a face when that was the most they were going to get out of her. “And – uh, this is Weiss, my partner.”

“Pleasure,” Weiss said, extending a dainty hand. Emerald shook it, taking note of how soft it was. You wouldn’t think she was a Huntress-in-training with hands like that.

“And I’m Nora,” Nora yelled, leaning across the table. “Nice to meet’cha.”

Emerald smirked. “Likewise.”

Nora then grabbed her partner, thrusting him forward like he was no more than a toy. “This is Ren. Say hi, Renny.”

“Hi,” he deadpanned.

“And this is—”

“Pyrrha,” the red head interrupted. “Pyrrha Nikos.”

Emerald remembered Jaune’s words.

“Right.”

“So yeah, this is everyone,” Jaune gestured lamely.

“A few of your classmates will be here soon,” Yang told her. “Sun and Neptune.”

Emerald almost groaned. Almost.

How could she have forgotten? She’d heard Ruby tell Weiss that in the library.

Jaune took the spare seat next to her.

“You guys ordered yet?” he asked, reaching for a menu. “I’m starving.”

“Not yet,” Pyrrha said. “We were waiting for you to get here.”

“Are we waiting for the others to arrive?” Ruby asked the table at large. Yang shook her head.

“Nah, they can order when they get here. I’m with Vomit Boy, I could eat a horse.”

Jaune groaned. “Did you really have to call me that?”

Yang smirked. “Why not? That’s what you are.”

“Is that because he threw up on your boots?”

Yang appeared surprised, eyes widening slightly. “Oh~? You already told her that one? Damn, Jaune – you aren’t meant to lead with embarrassing stories when you’re trying to flirt.”

“I wasn’t trying to flirt,” Jaune denied instantly, shooting a quick glance at Weiss. The heiress rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t!”

“I’d be happy if you were,” Weiss said stiffly, causing Jaune to sag in his chair slightly. “Though I would have to apologize to our new friend here for feeling joyous due to her misfortune.”

It was easy to see now where this tension came from.

Jaune liked Weiss.

But it appeared that Weiss did not like Jaune.

Emerald recalled Weiss’ reluctance when Ruby informed her that Jaune would be joining them. She’d only changed her mind when the younger girl had told her partner that the idiot duo from Haven would also be coming. Then there was the harshness of her criticisms involving his bout in Combat Class.

Emerald’s eyebrows almost rose into her hairline and she had to catch herself, leaning back in surprise. Oh – that was interesting.

Now that all the pieces were coming together, it was obvious that Weiss Schnee likely had a crush on Sun or Neptune, or both of them – though that last one was only a little more ridiculous than the others. What the hell would a girl like Weiss Schnee see in those dorks?

Maybe the heiress was into faunus. Even Emerald could admit that Sun was an attractive man with a chiseled physique earned through hard work. Perhaps she wanted to get back at daddy dearest by dating a boy that she knew would upset her father, considering the Schnee’s dodgy history with faunus in recent times. Wouldn’t that be something?

Though maybe she fell for Neptune’s smooth talking and pretty face. He may be a flake but he knew the right words to say, at the very least.

Love drama; it was so very lame, a cliched love triangle – but something to keep in mind.

It may make her ability to seduce him away more difficult. Weiss Schnee was about as different as you got, Emerald comparing their backgrounds but perhaps more importantly in this situation, their looks. Weiss was pale of skin with ice blue eyes, long, ethereal white hair with a dainty, petite body. She oozed class, though Emerald would rather think of it as elitism.

Emerald was darker skinned with a fuller figure, larger breasts and wider hips, taller, with short green hair and red eyes. She came from the streets, an orphan, and held none of the pompous airs that the heiress carried like a shield. They were practically opposites in every way possible.

But he was a man, in the end. Emerald had already seen that at the very least, he found her attractive. She just needed to build on that.

There was nothing to worry about.

There were a variety of breakfast foods on the menu and Emerald went with something simple, a BLT bagel that came with an egg, the bun toasted on both sides and drizzled with some type of tangy sauce. She wasn’t a picky eater, not with how she’d grown up but she could appreciate good food and this was it. The bacon was cooked to perfection with just the right amount of crunch, the lettuce and tomato fresh. The bagel was dense, the melted butter and slight charcoal from frying adding an extra dimension. The egg was wonderfully runny, the velvety yolk spreading across her tongue as she took a large bite, the tangy sauce completing the dish with a lingering twang.

Emerald listened as they made small talk, and answered when they asked her questions. Like Jaune was, they were interested in Mistral and Haven, so she repeated what she told him. Having already visited the kingdom, Pyrrha and Weiss were more interested in other things; namely, her team.

“Cinder is our leader,” Emerald told them. “Her partner is called Mint, though she isn’t with us right now. Family issues,” she lied calmly, and they detected no falsehoods. “She’ll be arriving in the next couple of weeks. My partner is Mercury – a total jackass, but he is pretty strong.”

She had no qualms about being honest about that.

Yang snorted. “Sounds like you two don’t get along.”

Emerald waved her hand. “Eh – we get along okay, especially in a fight,” she smirked. “So don’t think we’ll be an easy beat just because he is a jerk.”

“Oh, I like you,” Yang grinned widely. “I like you a lot.”

Yang was easy enough to get on the good side of. A little boasting, presenting herself confidently, it went a long way to winning her over. Her sister was also an easy mark. Ruby was a good girl, it was plain as day to see. The fact that she had stepped in to thwart Roman more than once told Emerald that she was the type of girl that wouldn’t stand by when bad things were happening.

Basically an idiot.

But from the little of her conversations Emerald had overheard, it was enough to see that she was a bit of an idealist, naive – not a surprise, considering she was the youngest of them all.

“I can’t help but notice that you appear quite young to be at Beacon,” she probed, watching Ruby flush lightly at the attention. “I didn’t know that they took younger students on. You must be quite the prodigy.”

“Aha, that’s my sis,” Yang beamed, only smiling wider when Ruby shot her an annoyed glare. “She’s the bee’s knees.”

Ruby groaned. “Yang, shut up. Don’t listen to her, she’s dumb. I just got lucky, that’s all. I – um, there was this guy and a bunch of goons trying to rob a dust store and I just happened to be there. I couldn’t just let the poor old guy get robbed, right? So I stopped them,” she puffed up proudly, though the look was ruined slightly by the small piece of egg smeared on the corner of her mouth. “Professor Goodwitch scolded me but then they ended up giving me a place at their school, so it was pretty awesome I guess…”

“Ruby,” Weiss sighed. “Wipe your mouth.”

Blake didn’t speak and Emerald didn’t even try to engage her in conversation, knowing that she would get nowhere. She wasn’t even speaking to her own team, sulking. Instead she focused on Weiss.

“I was surprised to see the Schnee heiress attending Beacon and not Atlas. You’re a long way from home.”

“Yes, well – I had heard exemplary things about Beacon and I wished for a change of scenery,” Weiss explained. “Atlas may be home but I could do with a year without snow.”

A deflection if Emerald had ever seen one. There could be a multitude of reasons for her choice in school but in the end, it wasn’t that important.

“How do you like it here?”

“There is less structure,” Weiss mused, glancing at her partner when she said this. “I suppose that is to be expected. Atlas Academy is unique in a way, training not just Huntsmen but soldiers. The two are intertwined; even their Headmaster is the General of their military operations. While I can appreciate a strict environment, it can also be… stifling.”

“Like a cage,” Pyrrha suddenly spoke up.

It was subtle but Emerald saw the way Weiss’ face tightened briefly before relaxing.

“Yes,” she agreed. “It can feel confining. I must confess that I enjoy the freedom afforded here in Vale and at Beacon.”

Pyrrha nodded but didn’t say anything else. There was a connection there but Emerald was wary of trying to pry that particular piece free. She didn’t need to rush. Gain their trust, first – then she can start digging more thoroughly. She didn’t want to jump the gun.

“So, Emerald,” Nora began, drawing her attention. “Do you have anywhere you want to check out?”

“Not really – I was just going to wander around before Jaune made the invitation. I don’t know much about Vale.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll show you all the best spots,” she boasted.

“We’re also not from around here,” Ren reminded Nora but she ignored him.

Holding up a hand, she began listing things off, fingers rising with each suggestion. “There is the riverwalk that I always hear people gushing about, and then there is the War Memorial Park, it’s supposed to be super pretty! Oh, and then there is Little Mistral Town but – well, since you are from Haven, you might not be very interested in that. They have the best noodles you can find here. And then there is the Tower of Vale and the connecting palace, that’s where the King of Vale used to live! Hmm, what else – I guess we could go down to the beach! Mistral doesn’t have that!”

“I don’t think any of the other kingdoms have beaches,” Yang said dryly. “Vacuo is in a desert and Atlas is in a frozen wasteland.”

“It also floats in the sky,” Weiss sniffed. “But you are correct. There is a frozen lake near Mantle but it only melts for two months a year, and it is much too cold for swimming.”

“Argus is built on the coast,” Pyrrha offered. “Though like Mantle, the temperature is too cold for swimming, even in summer. Though some people do it anyway.”

For a moment, it looked like Blake was about to say something but then stopped herself, mouth pulling into a tight line. Whatever it was, they’d never know.

Mistral was built inland. Of the four great kingdoms of Remnant, Vale was the only city built on the coastline, whose waters were temperate and largely safe from Grimm. Having a beach was one of their draw cards for tourists since it was so rare.

“We didn’t exactly bring swimming gear with us,” Jaune brought up.

“Emerald,” Ruby chirped. “Do you like games?”

“Uh…”

“We are not going to the arcade,” Weiss instantly denied.

Ruby pouted furiously. “Why not? Vale has like – the biggest arcade ever! And she might like games and stuff. Why wouldn’t we show her!”

Weiss turned her attention to Emerald. “Do you like video games?”

“Not really…?”

Weiss pointed dramatically at Ruby. “See!”

“Sun and Neptune probably like games,” Ruby grumbled.

“I highly doubt that,” Weiss said haughtily before pausing. “Well – maybe Sun does. Neptune is too refined for such drivel.”

“You spent three hours trying to beat the final boss on Spiritcalibur the other day,” Ruby deadpanned.

Weiss scowled. “I don’t have any idea what you are talking about.”

They began bickering amongst themselves and Yang laughed.

“Don’t worry about them, they do this sometimes,” Yang rolled her eyes playfully. “We can also visit some of the mega stores, Vale has some really good shopping areas if you want to buy any new clothes. You look like a girl who knows how to dress well.”

Lilac eyes looked her up and down appreciatively.

“Yo, what’s up?” a familiar voice called. Turning, Emerald saw the Idiot Duo had arrived at last.

Neptune spotted her first, grimacing.

“Emerald?” he asked, voice strained.

Sun blinked. “Oh, hey – what are you doing here?”

Emerald smirked. “Oh, you know, just hanging out. Jaune invited me.”

Neptune looked between them, unsure.

“Where have you guys beeeeen,” Nora stressed. “Hurry up and eat, we’ve got exploring to do!”

“Neptune!” Weiss perked up, drawn from her argument with Ruby in an instant. “Welcome!”

This was going to be interesting.