Welcome to Beacon: Ultimate 2.0

Wasteland Village

Ieria looked towards the gathering crowd, trying to get a better look at the person they were all crowding around as she stepped closer. "Something does not feel right..."

Campfire Shenanigans

"What part of 'I'm not interested in wearing a dress' do you not understand?" Lucas retorted, sounding more irritated. "Seriously, why are you even trying to get me in one?"

A Tree

Despite how serious and dramatic Jack acted, Ai just barely concealed a smirk and a snort of laughter behind her hand.

"That's really something, Jack."

Ai mockingly knelt next to Jack, placing one hand to her chest and offering the other to Alexia.

"O princess Alexia, poor princess Alexia, thou doth protest too much, methinks. Thou needest not worry, we are here because bringing down Arcana shall behold most wondrous on our resumes."

The Tree

"Are you two done now?" Pius remarked as he drew, arms crossed as he took in the bizarre scene before him. Ai around once more, and Jack expressing something resembling positive attachment to royalty? Truly Remnant was turning upside down.

Then he turned his attention back to Alexia, a little smirk on his face as he nodded his head back at Ai and Jack. "I thought I could come over and lift your spirits, but it seems they've already done that for me."

Campsite Clothes Conversation.

The air-head's cheerful smile lessened a tiny bit as he tried to relax on his 'chair', but still looking a little upbeat.

"Well, lookin' at you, with a little bit of tidyin' up, you could actually pull it off, for starters. I could probably style your hair too, make it much more tidy to boot. ...But that's besides the point. I'm sayin' a change in clothin' and colors is always gonna get attention in a good way instead of people wantin' to avoid you bein' all sulky and feelin' all sorry for yourself or whatnot." Falken casually remarked, getting right back on track.

"...'Sides, ya probably would've said no to any other outfit I could've offered ya. I mean, it'd take a lotta work and unless your girlfriend or whatnot's into that sorta thin', I'm not gonna dress you up as a maid."

"I'm not 'feeling sorry for myself,'" Lucas said, before sighing. "Do I really look like I'm sulking that often?"

"Yup. You're usually lookin' mopey or like somethin' is weighin' ya down like a whole stack of bricks. Heck, I don't think I've seen ya smile since I got here and I'm guessin' if I asked around I'm sure people would probably say it's been even longer."

The air-head's smile was still there, even if it was a little faded at this point.

"...Well, then ya shouldn't be afraid of tryin' new things and limitin' yourself to just the same get-up. Who knows, ya might actually like doin' something different."

edited 21st Feb '17 10:49:06 PM by TheRealWren

...And to think I thought I was hiding my problems. I knew Jack and Carol weren't buying it, but even people I've barely interacted with? Maybe I really do need to switch gears here.

He let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll put on the dress. Still don't think I'll look good in it, though..."

Falken blinked in surprise at Lucas finally caving in as the faunus paused for a few moments to think.

"Well, if ya insist...~ Juuuuuuust gimme a sec...~" He cheerfully remarked as he reached into his camping pack and grabbing it almost right away as it unfurled, revealing a rather frilly and regal looking dress in a subdued shade of pink and cute, if sparkly sky-blue ribbons to go with it.

"And in case ya forgot, the fabric and ribbons kinda adjust to who's wearin' it, so you don't have to worry 'bout it not fittin' or makin' it rip."

...The air-head paused for a brief moment. "...Nah, I'll save it for when ya get back."

"Alright," Lucas responded, grabbing the dress and heading back to the tents to put it on. A few minutes, Luke came back out, adjusting the bows a bit but otherwise having it on all the way. "I hope I didn't miss anything obvious..."

Camp: Alexia

Alexia swallowed a lump in her throat. She had such wonderful friends. She didn't deserve them.

But...but she wasn't about to mope here. She wasn't about to let them keep babying her. She must be stronger than that.

"Thank you..." she said softly.

She looked at Ai and marveled at how resilient she was. Even now, she could still laugh and joke like that.

And Sir Jack! She admitted that he intimidated her, with his wild spirit and blatant disregard for most rules. But hearing him...she never knew he felt that way.

Eyes moistening, she walked up to them.

"Don't kneel. I'm...I don't deserve it. But thank you, thank you both. It's worthless just moping around, right? You say that it's your choice...well, it's my choice as well! I will be stronger!"

Alexia felt...lighter. That's right. Everyone around her were strong. Very strong. The least she could do was stop being so whiny and help them in any way she can.

Crying slightly now, she went up to them and first hugged Ai.

"You're amazing, you know that, right?"

Then, she turned...and slapped Jack across the face.

"That's for insulting my mother."

Honestly.

And then she hugged him too. Albeit, said hug was a lot more awkward and hesitant.

"...That's for everything else."

She stood up and saw that Pius had joined them.

"....That they did. Pius, we have good friends."

She turned to Jack again. A determined look on her face. He was her friend. She musn't be scared of him. He didn't deserve that.That needed to be resolved.

"Sir Jack. I challenge you to a duel. Please, this is important to me."

Camp: Erin

Erin gasped in surprise and turned a bright red.

The middle princess fiddled with the edges of her sweater and looked away.

"A-are you asking for a d-date?"

"Ahh..."

She seemed completely out of her depth.

"I...I do not have the proper databanks on dating!"

Hope, Wasteland

It seemed that even in face of dire straits, some people could lose their head oh so easily when someone they admired showed up all of a sudden.

Cornelia felt like a familiar name, but Hope couldn't put a finger on it. Nevertheless, for now she was content to roll around the village to check for anything suspicious. You never knew.

"No, that is in fact fucking important, Alfred." Hope rubbed her temples together in annoyance. "Because I imagine she is one of the people here who wishes for Alexandros to have a fair trail."

"I'll hold you to your word." And then he left and she was left with Ayers. "I've always called her Alex. This hasn't ever been an issue." She muttered, pouting at her team leader.

"And no, I will fight you and anyone in here if need to. We kill Grimm and bring criminals to justice. Nothing else." She shook her head, steely convinction shining in her eyes.

Campfire

Tucking her head and horns into her hood, Umber shuffled into line in front of Geki. She thrust a plastic bowl forward and bowed her head.

"Pleasethankyou!" she blurted out.

Hardly even a sentence; Umber thought about burying her head in the dirt below her then and there but just remained stock still with the bowl in her hands. She wasn't good at approaching new people.

Tree

"Aw, shucks," Ai said. "You praise me now but my head is already getting too big to carry around."

Ai buried herself into the hug with gusto, as if starved for affection lately.

"In fairness, I only kneeled ironically," she said. "Just so you know."

When she let go and Alexia challenged Jack to a duel, Ai backed away with her hands raised.

"This is on you, tough guy."

Tree

Jack's head snapped to the side when she slapped him, he chuckled even as his cheek turned a dark red as he hugged her back. "I regret nothing." He said with a laugh before slapping Lexi across the face, just as hard so they both had matching red welts on the sides of their face.

"I accept. It's been far too long since a Reisentoter fought a royal." He said with another good-natured laugh.

edited 22nd Feb '17 4:44:21 PM by TroyandHawk

Supa Hot Campfire

"Lookin' forward to the fight!" Ayers declared with a wide grin at Hope, and clanged his wrists together. "Lookin' like we got differin' ideers about hwut Huntsmen're 'sposed to do, but I ain't got the brains fer debate. When we gotta decide Mr. Alexandros's fate, I'll ask this young lady here," he tapped Mia's plates on his shoulder, "and if'n she gives the order there ain't much that'll stop me from givin' a little girl justice fer a childhood hwut got stole from her. Not the law, not him, and certainly not none a my peers."

He sighed and deflated, just a tiny bit. "And if'n that time comes, y'all better not hesitate, cuz I won't."

Hope, Campfire

"I don't." Hope's expression remained the same. "And if she wishes to prove she is as bad as him by paying evil unto evil, then she is welcome to try."

"Of course, she doesn't have to try because you would happily follow her order to exercise frontier justice, am I mistaken?" This time, the little frame on the wheelchair tensed for a moment before deflating. "...whatever. I suppose we will see where you stand once it's all over." With that out of the way she wheeled away from the campfire. She had a notion to move over to Alexia, but she seemed to be in a good mood for once. She would only be a liability there.

Thus, she just moved away from the general group of people, content to consider her own morality in silence, watching over the lake.

Camp

Reddening slightly as he realized that he had just, in fact, asked royalty out on a date, Glen began picking at the leather on one of his bracers as he said "Well, I dinnae ken what that means, but if you dinnae want tae do this I understand."

"Y'all don't gotta worry about where yer standin." Ayers said under his breath as he watched Hope walk away. Like, okay, on one hand, the ableist joke was shitty, but also, Hope was one hell of a lapdog for Alexia. The royals had her now; his Teammate may be lost to him now. Whatever. He missed shucking corn back home.

Instead of confront dumbass emotional bullshit with Hope and Imuka and probably also Falken, fuck that. They didn't wanna face their bullshit, or something, and he couldn't force them. So fuck it. Ayers lumbered over to the campfire, popped off Hrunting, and started field-stripping the prosthetic with his toes.

Campfire, Mess Area

Geki had just dusted the fresh bread bites with a mix of herbs and spices when Umber, in her horns and hood, thrust the bowl towards him. It gave him a start.

"Wh-Oh! Oh, I'm sorry." Geki took her bowl and gave it a generous helping of stew, The larger boy, still clad in much of his armor with his war mask strapped to a shoulder, even took a helping of bread bites and dipped them carefully into the bowl before handing it back.

"Umber, right?"

Campfire

The sniper decided to stay quiet about the fate of the "philanthropist" as he saw Alfred and later, Hope leave the fire. Personally, if it can produce the best results with minimal casualties or collateral damage, he'll keep him alive. Ruined, mocked, vilified, but alive to know these facts every day of his life. But if it proves more trouble than its worth, his head must roll. The Black Talon always teaches their members that murder should be the last resort, and diplomacy should be the first. Though, The Hen only used this rule to help make her side better than the White Fang's and to keep them together, not out of altruism.

Personally, Grigori would gladly put a bullet in his (or any threat for that matter) skull if he indeed proves himself deserving of it, but as of now, he'll save them for any of his toys. He decided to walk to his team's tent without a word to rest for the next day.

Campsite Cuteness.

Kicking back and relaxing while Lucas was gone, the air-head idly glanced around the campsite, raising an eyebrow at some of the antics and mentally shaking his head in disappointment at how serious and...sorta gloomy everyone else seemed to be.

...sheesh, and I thought Cordelia was pretty darn moody...well, I 'spose it could be wors- Falken's thoughts got cut short as he looked at the frilly 'princess' finally returning, giving a cheerful grin.

"Lookin' good there, Luke~ Everything is in it's right place, the giant bow on the back is still there and it fits ya like a glove. The color definitely makes ya stand out now, and you look just like a pretty princess~. ...Well, almost. Just gotta make one or two tiiiiiiiny adjustments, so hold on a sec...~"

Giving a small and happy hum, the falcon faunus grabbed a hair brush from his pack and started tidying up the sulky young man's hair, making sure it was quite neat and tidy and braiding some of the long hair into a small pony-tail.

"And the finishin' touch...~"

Grabbing a sparkly, if obviously fake silver tiara he'd set aside, he put it on Lucas' head, completing the Hunter's transformation into a frilly pretty princess. It was certainly...something.

Campfire shenanigans: Sorry for the short post

"Thanks, I guess," Lucas responded, his face growing red as Falken put on the tiara. Part of him was wondering why he said yes to this whole "get dressed up as a princess" thing to begin with. The other part... was hoping he at least looked like a convincing enough princess, oddly enough.

Campfire: Alexia

Alexia let loose a surprised "Eep!" as Jack went to slap her, and for a short moment she was scared of what he would do.

But as his hand struck her cheek, she realized what was happening.

She couldn't help it. She laughed. Collapsing into a fit of giggles, she had to cling to Pius for support.

When she was done, she looked at Jack with something close to admiration.

"You really are something else, Sir Jack. I wish I could be as bold as you. Tomorrow at the ring in the center of camp, after breakfast. Is that acceptable to you?"

A few minutes later, Lexi walked back towards the camp and caught sight of a very pretty girl in a fancy dress.

Frowning slightly, she wondered if there was a new student.

As she came closer, the youngest princess realized who it was.

Lexi gaped. Her jaw dropped.

Like a stereotypical anime character.

Her one thought: No way! He's prettier than me!

And then she let loose a squeal of delight. If this was an anime, flowers would have bloomed in the background.

"Aaaah! Sir Lucas, you look so cute! Let me get my Scroll! Kyaaaah!"

Campfire: Erin

Erin blushed more but managed to keep eye contact with Glen.

The middle princess smiled shyly.

"It..it would be my pleasure t-to go on a date with you."

With that, her courage failed her and she looked away as fast as she could.

School Trip, Day 2: Novus 9, Thursday, 9:30 AM

It was the second day and it looked to be as busy as ever. The studenys had just finished breakfast and went off to explore or train.

There seemed to be a gathering crowd of students around Glynda Goodwitch who seemed to be handing something out.

Meanwhile, Alexia stood at the ring where Lucas and Gaston fought.

She carried her sword and shield. Her banner had been left behind, she would not use it for this duel.

She waited for Jack with her eyes closed.

Meanwhile, someone greeted Remus by crashing into him from behind.

edited 22nd Feb '17 10:51:37 PM by GrimHelm

With Alexia

Pius immediately glared at Jack when he struck Alexia in return, but he held himself back while he waited for his partner's reaction. The gray-eyed Nobel quirked an eyebrow in surprise when she began to giggle, and he wondered if something was wrong with her when she nearly collapsed onto the floor and almost dragged him down with her. Still, he was glad that she wasn't insulted or caught totally off guard by the return slap, though he certainly had a few words for Jack after Alexia left.

"Do not presume to do that again." Then Pius quietly made his way back to camp, where he quickly contrasted Alexia's exuberance towards Lucas' new digs with a more openly amused smirk. "Perhaps Carol would like to have a look at this, Alexia..."

Pius stood outside of the ring, waiting patiently with Alexia for Jack. "Did you really have to insist on having this in the morning?" he asked with some tired exasperation.

edited 22nd Feb '17 11:23:33 PM by Insano

Wasteland

Medus relaxed and folded his arms behind his head. "Yeah, I have to agree." He replied to Ieria. "My spotlight is being stolen away. And there's no way to steal it back from one of the biggest stars in music. At least not yet, I don't even have a single record out."