[6/20 (Friday) - Afternoon]
[Vale — Zone 8 (Commercial)]
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss exclaimed, sounding unusually bright and enthusiastic for once.
"You know, Weiss, I've never seen you smile this much before," Ruby commented, then immediately shuddered, eyeing at their white-garbed teammate with a suspicious look. "It's kinda weirding me out."
Weiss huffed as she took a step towards Ruby. "How could you not smile? This festival is dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a whole tournament! Ooh, the entire planning and organization that goes into the event is simply breathtaking!"
"You know," Yang sighed aloud with a hand on her hip. "You really know how to make a fun thing sound boring."
"Quiet, you!"
"Why am I here?" Clerval bluntly asked, following behind Ruby as the scent in the air gradually shifted into something strongly fishy. "I have things to do."
Specifically, he had intended to explore the Labyrinth today—but before he could separate from Team Ruby, Weiss had grabbed his clothing and dragged him across Zone 8 along with them.
And every time he tried to veer away, he was caught again by Ruby, who was firmly following her bestie's orders after being bribed with cookies.
The sound of a horn blared through the air as they reached the docks of Vale. Crowded with ships of various kinds, wooden piers and steel platforms stretched into the sea as dockworkers moved all around, shouting over creaking machinery and harnesses, carrying crates and shipping containers alike.
"Yeah, that too. We're wasting our perfect Friday in the docks, of all places." Yang crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.
"Well," Weiss began, looking out over the harbor. "I heard students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today! And as a representative from Beacon—"
"We haven't even qualified for the tournament yet."
"—As a future representative from Beacon—" She shot a glare at Blake, who didn't even look up from her book. "I feel it is my solemn duty to welcome them to our fine Kingdom!"
As she led Team Ruby deeper into the docks, Blake slipped her book back into her waist bag at her side. "She wants to spy on them so she'll have an upper hand."
"Okay," Weiss immediately turned with crossed arms. "You can't prove that—!"
"Woah."
Ruby's exclamation made everyone turn toward where she was looking.
From a distance, yellow caution tape cordoned off a shopfront, its windows shattered and its exterior vandalized, with debris scattered across the entrance. Intrigued, everyone dropped what they were doing and moved closer to investigate the store, which Clerval noted was a Dust shop.
"What happened here?"
The detective on scene looked over at the group.
"Robbery. The second Dust store to be hit this week... This place is turning into a jungle." He spared them not another second, walking towards his partner, who was examining the vandalized store for clues.
"That's terrible."
Yang expressed, but Clerval was more interested in the conversation that the detectives were having.
"—They left all the money again. Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is—"
"—enemy action, yeah, yeah, don't need to get all Shakespeare-like, Sherrinford."
"That's Ian Fleming, you idiot. But seriously, this doesn't make a lick of sense! Who needs that much Dust?"
"No clue, but it's enough to feed an army. You thinking the White Fang?"
"... I'm thinking we don't get paid enough, Ormond."
"Hmph! The White Fang?" Weiss huffed loudly. It seemed everyone nearby had overheard the detectives' conversation. "What an awful bunch of degenerates!"
"... What's your problem?" Blake abruptly asked.
His gaze shifted toward her, narrowing slightly at the unexpected spike in emotion. Strange, this was the second time Blake had reacted like that—the first had been when Cardin was bullying Velvet—
"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."
"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake's expression hardened as she shot Weiss a sharp look, one hand resting at her side.
"Misguided?" Weiss looked at Blake like she was joking. "They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!"
"So then they're very misguided." Blake didn't back down. "Either way, that doesn't explain why they'd rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!"
Hoping to ease the tension growing, Ruby quickly cut into the debate. "W-Well! Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a while ago. Maybe it was him?"
Her attempt at clearing the air certainly didn't work, as Weiss immediately shot down her logic. "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Getting right into Blake's face, she continued. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
Yang stepped in between them. "That's not necessarily true..."
"Hey! Stop that Faunus!"
A sudden cry for help rang from the docks. Running to the railing, Team Ruby watched as a blond-haired Faunus with a long tail sprinted through the maze of cargo containers below. Several dockworkers and security personnel chased after him, shouting and waving their arms, but they weren't able to catch him.
Hopping onto the edge of a ship, the Faunus glanced back over his shoulder and flashed his pursuers a cocky grin.
"Thanks for the ride, guys! See ya!"
Dropping onto the harbor pavement lightly, he broke into a sprint toward the stairway connecting the lower docks to the main commercial district.
"You no-good stowaway!" One of the dockworkers yelled.
"Hey!" the Faunus called back mockingly, peeling a banana mid-sprint and taking a bite out of it. "A no-good stowaway would've gotten caught. I'm a great stowaway!"
... He's got a point, Clerval found himself thinking as the blond casually ran past their group, not before shooting Blake a quick wink.
"Well, Weiss," Yang said as they watched him get farther and farther away. "You wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..."
"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss yelled, pointing in his direction before giving chase.
Sighing, Clerval reluctantly followed after his teammates as they sprinted after the stowaway.
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They stopped giving chase when Weiss turned the corner and slammed into something, sending her tumbling to the ground with a sharp grunt.
"You okay, Weiss?" Ruby asked, helping her back up. But the brief distraction had caused them all to lose sight of the Faunus. Whatever would they do... Cough.
"No! He got away!" Weiss lamented, clearly annoyed as she failed to notice the object she had tripped over. Yang catches her attention. "Uh... Weiss?"
A second passed before Weiss finally noticed the smiling girl underneath her, startling her into hastily scrambling to her feet.
"Sa-lu-ta-tions!"
"Um, hello?"
"Are you okay?"
"I'm wonderful!" The orange-haired girl replied with a bright smile. "Thank you for asking."
The group exchanged glances in mild bewilderment, noticing she was still sitting where she'd been knocked down. "Do you... want to get up?"
"Hmm. Yes!" After a short pause, she leaps from the ground and back on her feet, prompting everyone else to take a small step back to give her space.
"My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby."
"I'm Weiss."
"Blake."
"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang muttered before Blake lightly elbowed her in the side. "Oh, I'm Yang."
"... Clerval." He gave a short nod.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"You already said that," Weiss reminded her, to which she simply smiled cheerfully. "Why, yes, I did!"
Visibly unsettled by the girl's overly bright demeanor, Weiss quickly cleared her throat. "Well... Sorry for running into you."
Tilting her head as everyone slowly turned to walk away, Ruby gave Penny a small wave. "Take care, friend."
Now a safe distance away, Yang glanced back over her shoulder. "She was... weird."
"Now," Weiss said, regaining focus as she looked around. "Where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to—"
She was interrupted when Penny suddenly appeared directly in front of her, her expression unusually serious.
"What did you call me?"
"Oh." Looking apologetic, Yang quickly raised her hands. "I'm really sorry. I honestly didn't think you heard me—"
"No, not you." The bright girl turned and walked through the group, leaning her head down to Ruby. "You!"
"M-Me?" Ruby squeaked, startled. "I-I don't know what—I mean, um—"
"You called me 'friend'!" She leaned in close. "Am I really your friend?"
"Uuuuum..." Ruby desperately glanced over Penny's shoulder while everyone was motioning their heads to deny her claim.
And she caved into pressure. "Y-Yeah, sure!" she blurted out. "Why not?"
Penny's eyes seemed to shine, clasping her hands together. "Sen-sational! We can paint our nails, try on new clothes at the mall, and talk about cute boys we pass by!"
She then paused before slowly turning her head toward Clerval.
"Hmmm..."
A sudden shiver ran down his spine.
Then Penny vanished from where she stood. Before he could react, she had already crossed the distance and wrapped him in a tight hug that threatened to crush his spine.
Choking at the lack of air, Penny beamed up at him.
"Based on my understanding, you are—in girl terms—cute! So great to meet you, friend!"
["I am Thou,"]
["Thou art I."]
["Thou hast established a new path,]
[bringing thee further into your odyssey."]
["With the birth of the Chariot Arcana,]
["Thine soul shalt be blessed to call forth stronger Personas of the Chariot Arcana..."]
"???" He stared at the cheery girl, shocked at the speed at which the new Social Link had formed.
Ruby groaned to Weiss, "Is this what it was like when you met me?"
"No, she seems far more coordinated."
Before anyone could say anything else, Penny gave him one final squeeze before releasing him and immediately attaching herself to Ruby instead, earning a startled yelp from the girl as Penny happily latched onto her arm.
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SOCIAL LINK RANK UP!
CHARIOT (VII): Penny Polendina
Level 1 / 10
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NEXT UPDATE: 8 July, Wednesday
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