[open]

[marmoron]

Who: Keith and YOU
What: August catch-all
Where: Infirmary, The Arena of Trials, various
When: August 4th - end of August
Warnings: None anticipated


1. Infirmary - July 31st - August 8thth

A. Wake Up - closed to James
[Well after a slightly disastrous mission that did not go as planned, Keith's been knocked out cold in the infirmary for the last couple of days. His head is wrapped in bandages and though his vitals are alright, he still hasn't regained consciousness from his run-in with the necromancer. On August 4th though, he finally stirs and immediately attempts to get up, despite feeling disoriented and dizzy as all hell.]

What... happened? She dead?

[Important questions first, apparently.]

B. Contemplating
[Well just cuz you're awake doesn't mean you're allowed to leave the infirmary, apparently. Keith's still got a few more days to spend in here, looking bored as shit though he doesn't actually complain about being here. He's been doing a lot of staring out the window, looking glum as he fidgets with various items in his hands. He'tenses up immediately if anyone comes to stop by for a visit.

C. Why is this happening
[But when he's not reflecting on his life choices, he's got his space doggo nestled on his lap. The wolf absolutely should not be in there, but good luck telling a teleporting concerned doggo to stay out of the room. That said though, there are definitely moments when anyone passing through the infirmary can overhear:]

C'mon buddy. Get me out of here and I'll get you some peanut butter.

[The response to this is just a disgruntled noise.]

2.The Arena of Trials

A. A Bonding Moment (??)
[After he's been discharged from the infirmary on afternoon of the 8th, Keith's wasting absolutely no time heading towards the Arena of Trials. He's quiet for a long moment as he stands outside the complex, eyes shut, frowning and muttering under his breath.]

Come on. We have a connection. I know it.

[And for a long ass time, it looks and sounds like he's just been stood up by a date or whatever. It probably looks very silly.]

B. Patience yields focus
[Who knows how long he's been out here, but apparently Keith hasn't budged from his spot at the arena for quite some time. He's determined and won't let the Red Lion get the better of him, damn it. Whatever it is that made it work, be it the frustrated shout he lets out (that probably echoes hilariously down the Alps) or the punch he throws at the ground, something seems to have heard him.

A Lion shaped something.

Keith looks up as the mecha lion roars, and it's probably the first time he's smiled in days.]

3. Wildcard
[If you've got another idea, go for it!]

Comments

[marmoron]

I wasn't--

[He hangs his head, then starts again.]

Fine. Be mad at Ruby if you want. Either way, I won't ask her to tag along next time.

[notbornguilty]

You certainly won't, especially seeing as I don't expect there to be a "next time," do you understand?

[marmoron]

[His response comes after a short silence and with no eye contact.]

... yeah. Sure.

[notbornguilty]

Sigh. Look, I'm not saying you shouldn't have done anything. You just should have thought it through more. There was every chance for that to have been an actual mission.

[marmoron]

[Another short silence. His brow furrows, still not looking at Weiss.[

And you... honestly trust the higher ups running the school?

[His tone is even for now, but it's clear what his own answer here is.]

[notbornguilty]

Would I be here if I didn't? I understand that they have a fondness for trial by fire, but how can we stop Nightfall with theory alone? I'm Weiss Schnee, any school would have accepted me in a heartbeat, but this is the one I chose. Although, that probably has something to do with the fact that this is my Grandfather's Alma Mater.

[marmoron]

That name means nothing to me.

[Woops, that was probably unnecessarily blunt.]

But what I'm saying is that the school relies a lot on Seers to catch things. What if they don't? They only told us the Herald would be preparing an attack a week before it happened. What's it going to be next time? A vision minutes before a strike? And what about the threats that we already did know about? They clearly didn't think the necromancer that cursed the ghost train a significant enough threat to bother sending a group to follow up on.

[A beat.]

I'm not saying that I was right to go after her with a small group. But the higher ups had their priorities and told us to rest and relax. I didn't agree and I didn't want to lose a chance to strike because of an argument with bureaucracy.

[notbornguilty]

It's hard to remember during moments like the confrontation with the Herald, but we're students. If they decided that the Necromancer didn't need a follow up they probably had good reason. There's a reason they send such large groups with staff members as supervision: we're not ready.

[marmoron]

Yeah. We're not ready. I got that. Loud and clear.

[He's bristling, though it isn't Weiss' fault.]

But when are we gonna be ready? Because if this whole "fate of the world" stuff is resting in the hands of a bunch of students who need constant supervision and handholding, we're all fucking screwed.

[notbornguilty]

I don't know. I'm no Seer, for all I know we may never be ready. All we can do is hope that we're enough.

[marmoron]

Okay. And how are we supposed to know if we're even enough if we don't try.

[A beat.]

I know I messed this one up. But I'm gonna fix it.

[notbornguilty]

And how do you plan to do that?

[marmoron]

Haven't ironed out that part yet. But I'm not some kid who runs away from their problems.

[Or at least that's not the kind of person he wants to be.]

Like I said I'll leave Ruby out of it though. You like her, right?

[notbornguilty]

W-what?!

[Wow, that was practically a squeak there.]

W-whatever would give you that idea?! We're friends and roommates, that's all!

[Yeah, her face is pretty much tomato red right now.]

[marmoron]

[Blink. Okay, didn't take Weiss to be the flustered/blushy type, but cool cool.]

... so you don't like her.

[notbornguilty]

I like her as a friend. Not in the way you were implying!

[Don't believe her, Ruby definitely melted this Ice Queen.]

[marmoron]

Is there a problem with liking her that way?

[WHY IS THIS SUCH A BIG DEAL. WHY IS YOUR FACE THE COLOR OF TWENTY TOMATOES.]

[notbornguilty]

No, Ruby is great and anyone would be lucky to have her! Just... I just don't okay?!

[Ah, the cry of a Tsundere that's running out of defenses.]

[marmoron]

[Keith still has his eyebrow raised.]

If you say so..?

[But she is reminding him pretty heavily of James when he initially asked him to go to prom right now which is not exactly a comparison he thought he'd be drawing.]

...do you think she'd say no or something?

[notbornguilty]

I don't, and that's the problem!

[Weiss starts as she realizes she said that out loud. She seems to shrink a bit, holding her right arm to her side with her left.]

I hardly know how to be a good friend. She deserves someone better.

[marmoron]

...oh.

[His expression softens at that and he looks down at the blankets.]

But if you think she's responsible for her choices to go on unsupervised missions, wouldn't she also just be responsible for liking whoever she likes?

[notbornguilty]

...If she asked me, I wouldn't turn her down. I just don't want to potentially pressure her into something she might regret.

[marmoron]

Haven't known Ruby all that long, but I never got the impression that she'd regret spending time with a friend.

[notbornguilty]

I know, and that only makes me feel worse about it. Just... don't tell her? If she does do it, I want it to be her choice and her choice alone.

[marmoron]

Okay, why does that make you feel worse?

[And why is he playing romance counselor? God, now he's just judging himself. Shaking his head slightly.]

Look, I'm not gonna say anything. Don't care to mess around with other people's relationship stuff. Barely got a handle on my own right now. [A beat.] But just pointing out that maybe waiting for true love's first kiss or whatever isn't the best idea when you could just tell her how you feel.