Cause we have chemistry together~ [priv/penguin]

Scarlett smiled softly to herself. Despite what Avy may want her to think, the redhead knew that she managed to impress the bully at least somewhat as she gave the girl a few quick glances while she was doing her gunslinger's display. One could say that her goggles could also see through guises as well as the dark at the moment. She gave a soft sigh, quite proud of herself that she was able to pull it off successfully, but she took Averia's words to heart, "Hm... yeah, you're right... it was alright for what I could do..." she stated softly before she began to move over towards the cave wall, lowering herself down onto it so that she could sit on the ground with her legs crossed, "My grandfather was even better at it... I've seen him juggle two at the same time and even faster than I did. And he kept claiming that in his younger years that he could do three or even four at the same time." She said with a delicate giggle.

"But that could have been just him talking big... he did that a lot..." Scarlett said, giving another soft sigh as she thought back to the years both before her admission into Syne as well as before she even began to train with the use of her Prism. She looked towards her partner in the project, her eyes still quite illuminated by her semblace, as well as giving a faint glow that revealed the slight, nostalgic smile on her face if she wasn't shining the flashlight onto her.

Scarlett didn't say anything else for the moment, pulling in her knees to wrap her arms around, hugging them to her chest, "Y-you know... I know that you don't like me, but... I appreciate you coming out here with me and even spending time with me, even though you were forced to because of the project. So... t-thanks, I suppose... I don't really have many people that spend more than a couple of minutes with me..." she said, resting her cheek on her knee as she spoke. With that, she stayed quiet, wondering if she shouldn't have spoken at all. Perhaps Averia would just make fun of her some more, but that was most likely inevitable, even without the thanks, so it was better than nothing. And it was one of those rarer times that she was able to express herself. Perhaps it was because of the thoughts of her grandfather, or maybe even just that she was feeling confident after her display, but that was already quite the remarkable feat for her and someone new.

Averia watched as the girl moved to a cave wall and sat on the ground. The action made her wince and she stared hard at the cave floor the redhead was situated at. No. How could she? As the latter started talking about her grandfather, Averia decided to join her since, you know, that's the polite thing to do. She stopped beside the person and stared again at the floor, nibbling her bottom lip in thought. She couldn't take it. She took out her handkerchief, unfolded it and laid it neatly on the ground before proceeding to sit next to Scarlett. Yes. That was so much better.

Her hand brushed through her golden hair and swept it to one side before pulling her knees to her chest as she listened to the girl talk about her grandfather. She seemed fond of him as Averia could see in the gleam of her eyes. Or maybe that was her semblance? Still, the smile incited some warmth on the girl herself. "He sounds like the type of badass gramps every grandchild would love to have," she said with a soft laugh.

Averia flicked her wrist and the flashlight feature of her gun turned off leaving the darkness of the cave to be illuminated only by Scarlett's semblance. Like this, the ambiance was pleasant, peaceful even. She closed her eyes to enjoy the silence until her project partner spoke, thanking her. Thanking her?!

"Oi! Don't misunderstand, like you said, I was forced to be with you. You're so lonely and pitiful I decided to lend a hand. Psh." She quickly said. "Besides! You're so silent you're boring. And you barely speak! Did I mention boring? Tsk." Averia grunted and looked to the side, nibbling on her lip again.  "But.. I guess.. the more I got to know you, you do have interesting side too.. sometimes. As in, rarely. Almost non-existent." she said. "..hrm.. and.. you're not as bad of a gunner as I initially thought.."

Scarlett let out another soft sigh as she listened to her partner, narrowing her eyes somewhat as she rather agreed with her. She pressed her face onto her knees as she spoke, "I... I know..." she let out softly, but didn't really seem sad about it, more just musing to herself about the facts, "I'm sorry that I'm boring, it's just... hard for me to talk to people I don't know... and that makes it hard for me to get to know people enough to really talk to them at all... And even then it's not like I'm the funnest person to talk to..."

Perhaps she should have taken Avy's words as compliments. Well, she somewhat did, but more-so. From this girl that was so aggressive and rarely says a good thing about people from what she's seen, it was somewhat a relief. She might have even thought something was wrong if Averia outright said that she was impressed. Perhaps they weren't angry and they've come to understand eachother a bit better over their time together, but it seemed rather hollow to Scar. This wasn't friendship, or so it felt like to her. It's doubtful either of them would have reason to talk to the other after they turned in this assignment. Sure, Scar could offer to help Avy through her other dust-based classes, but it's doubtful she'd accept that anyways.

So their time together was based on how long it took for them to finish this project. Afterwards, they'd go their own way; Scarlett wasn't the type to bother someone that certainly didn't seem like she didn't want to be around her, and as Averia said, she was being forced to do this and most likely wouldn't have otherwise. Such is the way it goes sometimes.

"Again... thanks and I'm really sorry for you needing to put up with me at all..." Scarlett finally said, inhaling deeply and just enjoying the almost complete silence of the dark cave. She lingered there, waiting for Averia to say anything before her semblance did something rather peculiar. The mist and glowing seemed to flicker off for just a moment, Scarlett's well-lit version of the cavern going dark for that second or two. The redhead blinked, furrowing her brow, "... Huh..."

Averia was definitely not the most pleasant person one could meet but that didn't mean she was heartless either. Seeing the girl's expression from the corner of her eyes, as well as her words of self-pitying made the blonde girl regret her words... again. This person was too fragile for a destructive personality as hers. Scarlett was different from her 'victims' who knew how to fight back. This person was too meek to the point that Averia didn't feel any satisfaction and instead felt regret when she saw the girl's sorrow.

The blonde girl sighed at the realization that she was slowly repeating the very same thing she wanted to avoid: the reason of their disastrous first meeting. She rested her chin on her knees. Maybe a different approach? But that meant... forcing herself to do something she wouldn't normally do. She took a deep breath and parted lips.

"Listen, Scar..."

Just then the red light flickered for a moment and Averia blinked. What was that? She turned to the person beside her but even her partner seemed to be confused. Averia scratched her cheek and figured they should probably hurry up with the assignment. The cave wasn't exactly the best place to hang out.

Averia stood up. "Hmm. We should probably finish our business here first," she said as she started to walk away to the broken shards. "With your little show earlier, we've basically tested the effect of four elements on stalagmites. I guess that's enough. We just need to collect the remains sample for evidence."

Scarlett tilted her head curiously to the side, wondering what Avy was going to say, but decided to push it from her mind for the time being. She certainly had a point about this not being the place place to have these discussions and if the flicker of her semblace meant what she thought it would be, she didn't want to linger inside for too long. In fact, it was better if she got out immediately, yes. Standing to her feet carefully, she brushed her bottom with her hands, getting rid of any dirt that may have found its way on the back of her skirt. She cleared her throat, "Y-yeah, you're right... here, I have a thing we can use to put it all in..." she said as she reached into her bag, pulling out a small container, removing the top to prepare to load the bits of rock inside.

Moving towards the pieces of earth that she had destroyed with the different types of dust, she worked rather fast, seeming to be in a hurry out of fear of something. As she put the scorched rock into the container, she gently nibbled on her bottom lip, seeming less and less at ease as something gnawed at her thoughts. Luckily, she had a partner in Avy at the moment, helping to get all their 'research' into her container. With the final bits and pieces in, she let out a sigh of relief as she sealed the container, hoping that was enough proof of their project for the time being. They may need to return to use other types of dust, but they could save that for another time when her semblance wasn't about to-

Almost as if calling upon the gods of misfortune, bad luck struck Scarlett. Perhaps the two of them were in the cave for much longer than it had seemed, or perhaps she just didn't get enough rest or sleep before coming out here. Whatever the case, the red glow of her eyes flickered a few more times before beginning to slowly fade. And with it, the meek girl's ability to see slowly went with it. Stepping backwards slowly as the darkness overtook her sight, she shook her head in disbelief, "N-no... not now..." she pleaded as she saw nothing more than the pitch blackness of the cave and whatever light that her partner's gauntlet/gun gave off. Eventually, she backed herself up into the wall behind her, her hands attempting to grip down onto something solid.

"I... I... can't see..." Scarlett let out as a soft whimper, panting softly as she attempted to calm herself down and preventing fear from overtaking her mind completely. No, there was nothing really wrong, she attempted to convince herself. It was just dark, not that she couldn't see. But it seemed like she had lost her sight completely; what good was a gunslinger that couldn't see? "I... I'm so sorry, but I can't... I just..." unable to even make full sentences at the moment, there wasn't much else for her to do other than to apologize for being such a burden once again, "I... I'll be fine I just need to... w-wait for my semblance a-and... and..." she trailed off. It was hard to tell how long that would be until her aura was strong enough to activate her power of sight.

Averia stood up and dusted her hands after having collected all the rocks they needed for the sample. "Alright. I think that's good enough. We can go--" The red light emitted by her partnered flickered some more before fading into nothingness. Averia herself froze in place, shivers running down her back as they were entrapped in a pitch-black darkness. She fumbled to locate the light switch in her gauntlet when she suddenly heard Scarlett's whimper. Her head snapped to the side to locate her, but even with Scarlett speaking, she couldn't pinpoint the location as her voice simply bounced off the walls of the cave, echoing in her ears.

"Oi, where are you?" Averia asked, finally finding the switch of her light and flicking it on. She waved it around until she saw the girl's form in one side of the cave wall. Averia closed their distance and heard Scarlett's breathing had increased. Hyperventilating? Averia looked at the girl, realising the latter was almost cowering in fear. Her mind raised in alarm as she struggled to come up with a solution to ease the girl. What was that she usually saw in movies. Eh. Hug? Averia's cheeks flushed and she shook her head to clear her thoughts. No. It's not like that would work seeing as Scarlett didn't like being touched. That would only make matters worse.

Averia decided to move right in front of the girl and raised the light to their chest level in an attempt to take off a little of the girl's anxiety.

"S-Scar, calm down," she said softly albeit stammering. Her eyes trailed to her gauntlet as an idea occurred to her. But that meant... letting someone touch her most prized possession. Eh whatever. Her jaw clenched as she waved her wrist a little to transform it back to its gun form. She located the girl's hand and placed the handle of the gun on it, careful not to touch Scarlett herself, before pressing the button and it went back to its travel form, this time on Scarlett's forearm.

"There. Ermm.. It's not as cool as your eyes but, eh.. you just wave it around and you get to see, even just a little." She dug on her bag and took out her other gun and allowed it to shift into its travel mode then waved it around. "Like this. See? It's not too bad, right?"

Scarlett continued to pant softly, swallowing down her fear for the time being and simply leaning on the cave wall, shaking lightly. She bit down on her lower lip as she felt the gun being placed in her palm, gripping down on it. The redhead girl winced slightly when she felt it change to its travel form, unsure what was happening to her or even what Avy was doing. Whimpering once more she Scar spoke, "A-avy..." she said with a faint whisper, "I'm really... really sorry..." she spoke, apologizing once more. She closed her eyes tightly, shutting off whatever she could have seen due to the flashlight on the gun.

Scarlett gave a slight shudder as she focused, trying again and again to turn on her semblance. Of course, it failed, only able to give slight flickers of the red mist that was so prominent much earlier. She attempted to move, finding that her legs were all but frozen in fear. Her heart felt as though it were going to beat out of her chest and it only increased in rhythm the longer she spent in this dark cave. Her hands gripped down on nothing tightly, unsure of even what to do with herself, "R-really... I... I'll be fine..." she said, followed by a light sniffle. Although it seemed as though there would need to be more drastic measures were to be taken to get Scarlett out of the cave and her locked up mental state.

What do I do, what do I do, WHAT DO I DO?!

Averia was beyond panicking at this point as the flashlights did nothing to calm the scared girl. That was all she had at best, really. Her stupid mind didn't work when she needed it to, not to mention she wasn't accustomed to handling something like this. She looked around for help but no one was in the cave with them to begin with. Scarlett was still hyperventilating albeit mildly and Averia had to do something fast. "Hey. Calm down. Look at me," Averia said, but the girl was too busy trying out her semblance at the moment.

"R-really... I... I'll be fine..."

Averia sighed and ran a hand on her hair. Sure she could do nothing and wait until either Scarlett's semblance returned or she passes out due to her hyperventilating but Averia couldn't take seeing the girl trembling in fear. Fear was an unpleasant emotion even she herself disliked feeling thus she could empathise with Scarlett's situation. She bit her bottom lip. There was one last thing an aggressive person like her could think of - something she knew she'd get hated for. She closed her eyes, channeling her aura, then opened them into a glowing bright blue gaze.

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do," she whispered. Averia took a step back before grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her off the wall. She took that opportunity to remove Scarlett's bag and quickly slung it around herself opposite her own bag. Not giving time for the redhead to ask, Averia swept the light girl off her feet, holding her tight on her arms before dashing forward to the direction of the cave's exit.

Her brilliant cobalt eyes glowed brighter and she sped faster, intent on getting out of the darkness as soon as possible. The light from her gauntlet was her only way of seeing her path at this point. She glanced down at Scarlett briefly before looking back up.

"A-Are you okay?"

Sorry? What did Avy have to be sorry for here? It's not as though she did anything wrong, not in Scarlett's eyes at the least. Sure, she may have been rude and a bit unpleasant, but nothing that she needed to apologize for. But it got the redhead's mind away from how blind she was at the moment, just enough time for her to be caught off guard and have her arm grabbed, "W-wha..?" She began to ask, but before she could even get the words out, she was lifted up. Was she being carried? It was almost too much to believe, but there she was, being held to Averia's chest protectively.

While that was happening, Scarlett trembled and shivered, too much running through her mind for her to say or react in any significant way. As Averia looked down towards her, the meeker girl seemed almost pathetic, trying to curl up in the blonde's arms to make herself as little of a bother as possible. Her head rested on Avy's shoulder, quieting her whimpering somewhat. It was rather hard to tell if holding onto the redhead was helping or making things worse, but it was a necessary thing to get her out of the cave.

Scarlett found herself wondering what was even happening, her hands gripping at whatever she could, and that being Averia's clothing. She was... uncomfortable, that was certain at the least. She was still scared, but less so than before, almost as if the presence of someone as self-assured as Avy caused some of her worries to disappear. She wasn't panicking anymore, her body not being able to relax, but she found herself thankful that Averia was there to pull her out of the terrified state that she was in. Perhaps she could get used to physical contact after all...

Yeah. This was harder than she thought. Averia parted her lips as she found herself needing more air with every step she took. Even with above average physical strength, carrying a whole person in both arms with a small frame as hers could take its toll. If she had been in a hundred percent perfect health, this would've been a piece of cake. But due to her recent simultaneous hunts this week, her injuries still hadn't recovered fully. In fact, the wound on her thigh started to bleed and stain the bandage. She didn't mind the pain though as she was too busy trying not to trip due to the darkness of the cave.

Averia took a brief glance at the girl as she realised the latter was clinging to her clothes in discomfort. Not wanting to prolong her uneasiness, she pushed herself faster until she saw the light coming from the mouth of the cave. She squinted a little as they got out and took the time to savour the fresh air. She started to slow down from her sprinting before coming to a complete stop and carefully setting the girl back down on her feet. Averia herself bent forward, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"Hah.. okay.. it's not that you're heavy.. no.. you're as light as feather.. wooh.. it's just that..," she tilted her head to think of an excuse. "T-The cave air is so suffocating so yeah, that's why let me catch my breath first," she said rather lamely.

Still recovering, her eyes shifted immediately to her partner in concern. "Are you okay? You're not dizzy, are you? I'm sorry I had to pull that off. I'm stupid so I couldn't think of any other way..." she said. She narrowed her eyes and looked away. What was she saying downgrading herself like that. Whatever.

Scarlett was let down onto the ground and on her feet. But due to not having expected it, her legs were weak, causing them to give out immediately, sending the girl onto the ground. As her bottom hit the forested area that they were on with a soft 'thud', the redhead winced in discomfort, "O-owie..." she let out softly, but only reached out a hand to rub her bottom. She sat with her legs crossed, the injury stinging for a moment, but it would go away within a moment or two, certainly no need to be alarmed by it. Instead, while her hand rubbed her rear gently, she looked up towards Averia with glistening eyes, watching her carefully as she spoke.

Eventually, Scarlett nodded in understanding, parting her lips lightly to begin speaking, but pausing when she realized she wasn't sure what exactly to say. To thank her or say that she was sorry? To say that she appreciated what she did or to not worry about her? These thoughts swirled around in her mind before she finally spoke, "Thanksorry- I mean.. drat..." she messed up immediately, not too surprising for the girl. She breathed in and exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself just enough to try once more, "I'm sorry... for that, I mean... sorry for being a bother, I shouldn't have waited so long... I'm such a mess..." she said, allowing her gaze to drop to the ground.

Scarlett's arm reached over towards the one Averia grabbed when she pulled the redhead to her, rubbing it softly, almost fondly, "B-but... thanks... for being there, that is... I'm not dizzy or hurt or... I'm fine, thanks to you..." And with that, she let out another long, breath of air, this one being rather shakier than the others, "And I'm the stupid one... I should have picked somewhere else that I wouldn't have freaked out so badly..." She let out a soft sigh, her breathing finally normalized as she sat there on the ground.

And now what was there to do? Was it going to be awkward between Scarlett and Averia? Anymore than it already was, that is. Did it even have to be? She bit down on her lower lip, considering what exactly was to be done in the situation. She stayed quiet for the time being, not wanting to say anything and just allowing Avy to catch her breath. Scar had certainly been quite the bother, and she didn't want to stress her out more.

Averia blinked as she saw the girl stumble down on the ground with a soft thud while still managing to look cute as she did so. While feeling a little concerned, Averia couldn't help but laugh softly. Here she was, the one who carried a person out of a cave not to mention have a bleeding thigh at the moment and yet the redhead was the one currently sprawled on the ground. Instead of feeling annoyed like she always did, Averia was amused. Such a precious thing this person was. She ignored all her apologies with a simple smile, enjoying the sight of the girl stammering adorably. She stood up and sighed, having recovered a little of her strength back.

"Geez, that's because you're so clumsy," Averia groaned as she made her way to the redhead. "If you were scared, just say so. Did you know how hard it is for me to figure out you actually feared the dark? I'm stupid like that so you should tell me. Besides, if I've known that fact earlier, I wouldn't have agreed to being in the place anyway."

Her hands reached up to the top buttons of her blazer and began undoing them. She removed the clothing entirely and placed it on the ground beside Scarlett. "And I really don't like your habit of sitting on the ground. Like, do you know how many germs there is in there? Geez." She settled on one part of the uniform then patted an empty spot on it. "Come here. There's enough room for the both of us."

"I... I'm sorry..." Scarlett apologized once again for her earlier behavior, "I just... thought I had enough time, I didn't think it would have went off so suddenly..." she explained her position. It's doubtful it would have changed anything, but something in the redhead's mind thought that perhaps is she explained herself that Avy wouldn't be that mad. Not that she seemed mad, but it was something that people would hate the meeker girl for... right? Why wouldn't they, all she was doing was being a bother. "I... know I'm clumsy... and it's not like I enjoy sharing that I'm afraid of the dark... something like that makes me feel like I'm just a little child..." she said before letting out a soft sigh.

Something caught Scarlett's eye at that moment, looking next to her and seeing that Averia was setting up her jacket on the ground. Such a strange thing for her to do until she patted an empty spot on it. The redhead blinked, awkwardly shuffling over to sit her bottom on the offered jacket. Did Averia have her own phobia but with germs perhaps? That was to be thought about later, "Is... is that strange..? I never really thought about it being unsanitary or anything... So long as you wash anything that gets dirty and your hands whenever you get a chance, it's not like you'll get sick or anything..." she stated. And that was quite true, the meeker of the two girls giving a very faint giggle at Avy's reactions, "But... I won't if it bothers you that much..."

And now it was just the two of them alone in the wilderness. They should really be heading back, but in a strange way, Scarlett was enjoying herself far too much to bring it up. Allowing the silence to linger between the two of them for a short time, not entirely sure what to say. Perhaps she didn't need to say anything at all? She had apologized enough and it didn't seem to be getting anywhere other than Scar circling the same thoughts over and over again. Was it time for a new thought then? She looked over towards the girl next to her for a moment, her cheeks getting slightly pink, "Y-you're... really close..." she said.

Without giving herself a chance to reconsider her actions, she did a very un-Scarlett-like action, moving her arms around Averia to give her a sideways hug. She didn't allow the hug to last long, only a few seconds before she broke it off in a hurry, but it certainly was long enough for her to express how thankful she truly was, she hoped. She blushed lightly as she pulled back, "I... That was awkward... I shouldn't have... I'm..." she bit down on her lower lip, preventing herself from apologizing yet again. Hopefully she didn't mind the gesture as much as she thought she would?

Averia nodded silently while Scarlett explained the reason why she didn't like sharing her fear of the dark. A reasonable explanation. But when she began talking about sanitation and how harmless it was, a ringing bell alarmed in Averia's head. She looked at the girl in disbelief. "My god woman, what are you saying? Washing your hands is one thing, but what about the rest of your body? Did you know bacteria grow exponentially? Did you also know there's a certain type of amoeba that can eat your brain? Or that some bacteria can cause diseases that have no cure? Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not there. In fact, bioweapons are more potent than mere bombs," she blabbered.

She sighed and turned away. Why was she talking about such a disgusting topic anyway? As the silence continued, Averia scratched her cheek and was about to open up a new topic when she heard Scarlett talk about how close they were. She blinked and looked at the space in between the two. No. They weren't close at all but figured the redhead was not used to such distance so she nodded.

"Okay, let me just--"

Averia froze in place as she felt delicate arms wrap around her body. She remained still for those few seconds unable to register the hug, until she felt like she could breathe again once it was broken. Her head turned to the girl and saw the flustered expression on her face. When she proceeded to explain how awkward that was, Averia laughed softly. How cute~ "Don't worry about it. I don't mind," she said with a smile. "And you're welcome. Although of course, nothing is free in this world. You know what that means right~?" Averia grinned.

But yeah, that was completely awkward. It would seem the girl wasn't used to hugging at all evidenced by how rigid that hug was... though Averia appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed it. To ease the awkwardness, she unslung both bags from herself and placed it beside them. "Well then, now that mission's accomplished, let's eat. You said you brought enough lunch?"

Scarlett tilt her head to the side curiously, deciding to just push the thoughts of the hug out of her mind for the time being. Was Averia serious about the whole mysophobia? She certainly didn't seem like she was joking, but it just didn't seem like an 'Avy' thing to be afraid of germs. The girl who was so cool and daring and rather impetuous at times that was nervous about a bit of dirt? Very strange indeed, but the redhead decided not to comment on it other than giving a light giggle, "Eheh.. you're silly sometimes..." she said, her tone as nice as ever. She supposed that everyone had something they were afraid of, especially things that they didn't like to talk about. Scar's fear of the dark and being without her sight seemed just as silly to most as Averia's phobia of germs seemed strange to the redhead. Perhaps it was Scarlett's own outdoors-ey upbringing that caused her to find it so strange, her grandfather often encouraging getting dirty when it came to work and and play. Especially when it came to being a hunter.

But Scarlett shook off the thoughts for now, not wanting to bring up the topic much as it obviously bothered Averia. Scarlett let out a sigh of relief, "That's good, I didn't want it to bother you and- E-eh..?" Something quite obviously caught the girl off guard, "N-nothing is free..? Does that mean... I owe you something..?" Scarlett gave a soft frown, but wasn't all that upset. She understood such things at the very least and wants to show her appreciation in forms that were more than just a really awkward hug. But what could Averia possibly want from such a girl like Scarlett..? "A-alright..." she agreed with a soft breath of air.

It wasn't really any surprise, Scarlett believing that she owed Averia a great deal for not only helping her out of that entire cave situation, but also everything about being partners with her as well. And just... spending time with her really. At the mention of lunch, the redhead girl blinked, "O-oh, yeah! R-right, yeah, I have... plenty for the both of us, really.. I typically pack more than one lunch for when I return to the dorm I can eat with Warren without needing to go to the cafeteria, but he can get his own today.." she said with a soft smile. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out what appeared to be two sealed lunches that were apparently home made, "E-erm... I hope you like it. It's nothing too fancy, just what I could make with things we had at the dorm, so just a sandwich, diced fruits, and a few cheese and crackers..." she said. Quite the childish lunch, but a classic. Offering the box to her partner, "I uh... really hope you like it..." she said. Was she blushing? Probably.

It wasn't that Averia was afraid of dirt. She simply disliked it. Having grown up in a family of perfectionists caused a natural loathing for the said grime. Not to mention their home was kept practically sterile-clean to the point of the girl developing an allergy to dust - one of the reasons she avoided it even during combat. For her, dust is dust and didn't matter what form it was. She could still remember the days of runny noses and endless sneezing. Not fun at all. That's why when the girl called her silly for it, she couldn't help a pout and a childish glare.

Good thing Scarlett took out the lunch though to distract the scheming girl. She looked at the two lunches and her lips curved into an excited smile as the redhead began to list the contents of the box. That's good enough to satisfy her craving! Averia proceeded to receive the box from her partner politely though something caught her eye. As she raised her gaze to look at Scarlett, she noticed the blush on the adorable girl's face. "...!!" Averia was caught speechless once again, simply staring dumbstruck at this dangerously cute creature. However, she took this chance to get back on the girl for calling her silly. She decided to give her own tease.

"Hey Scar, you have something on your cheek," she said as she tilted her head with a smirk. "Oh. My bad, it's just a blush~"

Averia decided to leave the girl alone for now and focus on her lunch since she was starving. She opened the box and her eyes sparkled at the contents. They looked appetizing. Noticing the sandwich, she turned to her partner. "Does this have meat in it?" she asked. She took a fork and started with the diced fruits, eating a piece of melon. "Wah~ This is life~" She gleamed. She took another one, a strawberry and this time raised it in front of the girl. "Aaah."

"Hey Scar, you have something on your cheek,"

Scarlett blinked at Averia's claim, furrowing her brow for a moment, beginning to reach up to her cheek to check. It was strange, she hadn't even taken a bite to eat or anything, so what could it have been? Was it... a bug, perhaps? That certainly wouldn't have been good! If the-

"Oh. My bad, it's just a blush~"

Averia's words certainly didn't help that blush, the poor Scarlett's cheeks turning rosy at her own embarrassment being pointed out. She frowned lightly, "S-stop..." she whined as she looked away, saving herself further ridicule, "Y-you don't need to point it out... I just... don't typically let people t-try the food that I make..." she stated. But she did give a soft smile as she heard Avy enjoy it, "But... I'm really, really glad you like it..." she said, giving a slight nod, feeling a tingly warmth in her chest, rather proud of her own cooking. Well, it was less cooking and more just putting the food together and all that. But still, it was nice to hear that someone more than enjoyed the lunches she worked quite hard on.

"O-oh... erm..." Scarlett paused for a moment before opening her own lunchbox, "Yeah... that one you have is Warren's... I typically put some combination of ham, turkey, and pepperonis on it, along with condiments. But, uh... if you don't like it, I don't mind giving you mine instead... it's just a peanut butter and jelly..." She offered. With that, she realized that Averia was offering her something to eat. She licked her lips, wondering if it was okay for a short moment before deciding that she should just go with it. Parting her lips, she allowed herself to be fed pieces of fruit, blushing lightly even still. Was this something that friends did together normally? The entire situation had a very strange air about it, but she couldn't put her finger on it for whatever reason. Deciding to push it from the front of her mind, she just enjoyed the diced fruit, swallowing as she stammered out, embarrassed as always, "T-thanks..." she certainly wasn't used to having people feed her.

Averia smirked triumphantly when she succeeded at her plan to instigate a stronger blush from the girl. Although she had to admit, she felt like combusting at Scarlett's display of adorableness. There's a limit to being cute and this girl was just pushing it with her innocent and precious reactions. Worse, she's oblivious to the extent of its effect on Averia's natural weakness to anything remotely adorable. She didn't know how hard Averia was holding herself back from dragging the girl home and playing with her as her newfound pet.

Looking at the sandwich, Averia's stomach revolted with every name of meat Scarlett listed as part of its ingredients. She was a vegetarian after all. She gave out a sigh of relief as the girl offered hers which was a simple butter and jam. "T-thanks. I'll take that instead if you don't mind," she said and quickly switched the two sandwiches. Everything went smoothly thereafter until she raised the strawberry to feed the girl. Her eyes lowered to the girl's lips when the latter licked them, and though she wanted to look away because she was staring hard like a creep, she couldn't tear her gaze off, especially when they parted to take the fruit.

My god. Averia's eyes blanked. What was that?! Do people really bite fruits like that? As a person with no regards to personal space and overflowing with skinship, it was a normal thing for Averia to share food with friends just as they did with her. But in her entire years of having done so, there was no one who had that kind of reaction. Nothing so... sensual. That made a wicked yet playful thought spring on her mind. She wanted to play more with this girl. She craved her reactions.

"Mhm. Oh, I don't eat this too. Here," she lied and picked the pineapple one, holding it in front of the girl just as she did before but this time a little closer to Averia herself. She'd wait for the girl to lean forward to take the fruit only to pull the fork away at the last second such that Scarlett's momentum and motion would cause her to fall towards the blonde haired girl.

Perhaps Scarlett knew exactly what she was doing? Could it be that this meek redheaded girl actually had a habit of making people think she was cute? It could be that this was how she lured guys and even girls like Avy so that she could prey on them. Or did she find some sort of strange amusement out of the entire situation? It could be... probably not. Heck, Scarlett was the type of girl that didn't want to be cute, much to her own dismay. To be someone cool and brave, much like her partner Averia and her grandfather, was much of her dream.

But of course, she couldn't have known what she was putting Averia through. Nor did Scarlett realize how hard she was being watched by her partner at that very moment; if she did, it most likely would have caused her nervousness to increase. Perhaps she'd do something even cuter and worry that she was eating weird and try to hide her face from embarrassment? Or would she pout and whine that Averia was looking at her far too closely? Quite the number of possibilities and it'd be quite hard to tell which would cause an even harder time for Averia.

One thing Scarlett was aware of, of course, was how happy Averia looked as she ate the food she prepared, causing a smile to stay on her face. She stammered lightly, wondering if that was how she could repay the girl, "Y-you know... if you like it, I wouldn't mind making lunch for you more... I could even actually cook for you sometimes... if you wanted..." Perhaps she was just reading into things too much and Averia was just humoring her food? Well, no, the blonde didn't seem like the type to hide any of her reactions to anything, especially if they were bad, "It's no trouble and I'd enjoy it... I think..." she added. But before she could continue, her partner brought up a piece of pineapple. And while Scarlett liked many things, there was something about sweets that seemed to get to her. This included both candy and fruit. Accepting this as her fate, she simply opened her mouth, awaiting to be fed once more with a cutesy, "Ahhh~"

She leaned forward carefully and slowly, making herself towards the piece of fruit that she was quite eager to be fed. But as it moved away, Scarlett continued to search for it, leaning in more and more before she went just a bit too far. Her 'Ahhh~' swifting turning into a yelp of surprise, "Ahh!" as she tipped over, landing ontop of Averia. While her strength, weight, and even momentum wasn't great enough to knock the stronger girl over, she landed with a soft 'umph!' escaping her. All she recognized was that something soft broke her fall. She blinked, looking around until she realized that her head was leaning on her partner's shoulder and she was completely at her disposal for the few moments as her mind attempted to process everything. It'd certainly take a moment, leaving her a bit too vulnerable for her own good, especially in the presence of a predator.

Right after moving the fork away, Averia bit on the pineapple and gave a soft chuckle upon feeling the girl stumble down on her shoulder. Just as expected. Only Scarlett would fall for something like that. Averia could already come up with so many wicked ways to force such cute reactions from her. Maybe she should be more prepared next time - bring a camera over to record these adorable moments.

As she turned her head to look at Scarlett however, she noticed a somewhat different reaction from what she'd expected. Since the girl was insistent on no touching and respect of personal space, Averia was so sure the girl would fluster, pull away and get teary eyed. But this one was so much better. She looked lost, still registering what just happened. On top of that, it's as though she wasn't as repulsive of the direct contact as before. Averia smiled. The girl's vulnerable state was seriously triggering her forceful nature. Tie her up and bring her home~ Then we'll play forever and ever~ said the psychotic part of her mind - which is practically the majority of her brain. But since she respected the girl, she dropped another tease instead.

"Enjoying yourself there, Miss Winchester?" Averia said at the girl still on her shoulder. "First the hug and now this. My my, if you have something you want, just tell me." she added playfully.

As usual she continued with her lunch. "Hmm, but yeah, this is good. I would love to taste more of your cooking." She nodded while going through the sandwich.

"I... I... I..." Scarlett stammered out for an excuse, only to find the girl that she was leaning on's teasing gaze as she looked upwards. Averia's words certainly didn't help, causing the girl's face to blush as hard as it ever had, "N-n-no! I... you..!" Unable to create complete sentences in a situation such as this, it was almost like the poor girl was going to break. The only logical state was for her expression to go completely blank and a pop up that read 'Scarlett.exe has stopped responding' has appeared. But it's highly doubtful that Avy wanted something like that to happen as that would mean no more of those adorable reactions that she wanted to tease out of the redhead.

Before she could make even more of a fool of herself, Scarlett pulled her form away from Averia, no longer leaning on her shoulder in that awkward position. Instead, she sat with her legs crossed and her hands on the front of her skirt, sitting in a sheltered position. Biting down on her lower lip, it almost seemed like steam was coming out of her ears from how red and hot her face was. She didn't seem bothered by the situation as much as she would have back when the two first met. Not to say that she wasn't uncomfortable with it, but she wasn't shivering with fear and tearing up at any amount of physical contact. Accomplishing that feat was even brag-worthy for Averia.

But Averia's question did bring up a good point. Did Scarlett have something that she wanted? Not necessarily the touching and leaning but- Oh god, even the thought was making Scarlett blush even more. Not those things, but there felt as though there was something the redhead wanted, if only she could find a way to say it, "W-when you say if there's something that I want... I, uh... guess you can say so..." she said, followed by a light lick of her lips. How was she going to manage to say something so embarrassing? She forced herself to look upwards, towards the blonde's gaze so that their eyes met. Scar stalled for several moments, trying to find the words to form an actual sentence, "I.. I would like to, uh... A-ahem... to g-get to know you more and... m-maybe even b-be... friends..?" she asked hesitantly, preparing herself for rejection.

Averia chuckled slyly as the redhead was left a blushing mess from her teasing as expected. She sighed and wondered when she will ever get used to this girl's reactions. Probably never. It's not very good for her poor heart as well. RIP Avy, she smiled. When the girl pulled away though, Averia felt a little empty from the lost of contact. She missed the warmth. Perhaps that's the reason she was always clingy to people. It gives a sense of comfort that she didn't mind - the only type of heat she didn't loathe.

Finishing the sandwich, she went on to start with the crackers and cheese. She took a bite on the biscuits and listened to the girl's stammering while she herself munched and enjoyed the treat. She paused though as her eyes shifted lower when the girl licked her lips again, causing her to groan a little. She should really do something about that habit, she thought. Then Scarlett asked if they could be friends. Now this made her smile. What a great improvement from her usual passive nature.

"Sure. I don't mind. I actually thought we're friends already. I mean," she paused then shrugged. "...you did eat my strawberry~ I don't know about you, but that's kind of a personal thing you don't do to just acquaintances."

Averia figured she should cut it out with the teasing or the person might spontaneously combust with the rate her cheeks are heating. She shifted a little in her place to a more comfortable position and continued with her lunch. "So Scarlett, I have a question." She paused to finish the food in her mouth. "When do you plan to return my gauntlet? I don't mind you hogging it all to yourself at all, but I mean, if you want it all you have to do is ask~"

Oh look, she couldn't help it after all.

Scarlett tilt her head curiously at Averia's words. She supposed it made sense that feeding someone strawberries was something you only did with friends or people that you were decently close to. As Avy said herself, such an action showed some level of connection with the person, so what use did Scar have arguing, "Oh... yeah, I guess that makes sense..." she said softly. And then something crossed her mind, "W-wait... I... may be reading too much into this, but... didn't you try to feed me something the day that we first met? Weren't we just acquaintances then..?" she asked. Not that she was trying to call the blonde out on her claim, the meeker girl was just genuinely curious.

Scarlett blinked, looking up towards the taller girl for a moment when she proposed a question. glanced down towards her arm, "A-ah..." she felt quite stupid actually! She had let the entire gauntlet thing completely slip her mind and she felt bad about it certainly. How would she feel if she let someone use her Prism and completely forgot to give it back? Quite bad, certainly. She bit down on her lower lip lightly, moving her arm horizontal in front of Avy, offering it, "R-right... thanks for letting me use it and everything... sor-" Whoops, she almost apologized again, something that shows that she was working on getting better at talking to people, especially her friends. But meanwhile, her arm was completely helpless to whatever Averia might plan to do to tease the poor girl more.

However, all of this just made Scarlett smile softly at the girl. That was actually a very good thing to think about that didn't happen often: Scarlett actually managed to make a new friend despite all of their differences. And yes there were a lot of differences between them. In fact, almost everything about them were polar opposites. Quite amusing to think of actually, but heartwarming at the same time.

Scarlett let out a soft content sigh, enjoying the moments they were spending together, "O-oh, right... we should be heading back before too much longer... you all done with your lunch then..?" she asked, tilting her head towards her partner for the moment, "We can turn in the project the next time we're in class and well... I certainly hope we can spend some more time together... maybe..?"

"..didn't you try to feed me something the day that we first met? Weren't we just acquaintances then.."

"Ah that," Averia chuckled at the memory and she turned away. Yeah she couldn't possibly say that the only reason she fed her that was because it was meat and she couldn't eat it. She had no choice but to give it to someone lest waste precious food. "Any friend of Warren is a friend of mine, although technically we're not even friends. But you know, details." She shrugged. She also couldn't simply tell her that she felt a strong liking to the girl the first time they met - her very own newfound pet - and thus was treating her far more than a friend at that time.

Averia looked down at Scarlett's arm with the gauntlet still wrapped around the flimsy frame. She smiled a little as she caught the girl stopping herself before she could apologise. It definitely felt better that Scarlett was starting to be more comfortable around her. Turning to the gauntlet, her one held a held a firm grip on it while the other pressed the button to shift it back to its gun form. Nothing. She tried it again. She could hear the gears working but they struggled to do so. It's stuck? Well, it was the first time she ever lend it to someone, so obviously her arm and Scarlett's arm didn't match. "Wait. Hold still."

She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as she always did when she was fixing something. A little bit of pushing and shifting parts were all she needed. But in the process of doing so she was unconsciously brushing her fingers against the girl's forearm. Finally with a small click, the gears worked again and they shifted back to its gun form. "Ha! Got it. I'm a genius like that," she said humbly. "Oh and yes I'm done with my lunch." She handed her back the box before pulling herself up to her feet.

Averia grabbed her bag and slung it around before holding out a hand to Scarlett who was still on the ground.

Scarlett gave a soft hum of consideration at Averia's words, "I... suppose..? Hm..." She was rather inbetween believing the blonde's claim or finding it far too suspicious for whatever reason. In reality, the entire thing was just strange to her; why would someone easily be friends with someone who they weren't friends with's friends. Even that thought somewhat confused her. But whatever her doubts, she found that she was enjoying this far more than she expected. Perhaps it was Averia's overall outgoing personality that helped the meeker girl to come out of her shell more. Maybe Avy's the perfect type of person to help the redhead become something that she always has wanted to be? That thing that she always wanting to be, of course, something that wasn't needlessly shy and insecure.

Worry flashed through Scarlett's mind as it appeared that Averia's gauntlet was stuck on her arm. She felt pretty bad too, knowing that it was her fault in the first place, "Nn... It's my fault... if I hadn't needed it then... I'm sor-" before she could finish her slow apology, she felt the stray brushes of Averia's fingers on her arm, an action that made her tense quite a bit. However, that was followed by a click and finally, the redhead was free. She gave a slow meek nod, "Yeah... thank, you really are..." she said, agreeing to Avy's genius claim as she pulled back her arm, rubbing it right where Avy happened to touch her.

"O-oh... N-no thanks, I'm fine, really..." Scarlett claimed as she stood up on her own slowly, not taking Averia's hand. Although she felt rather bad about it, but she found that she just couldn't accept it. Not yet at the very least. Standing to her feet, she brushed off her legs from any dirt that may have lingered and moved to grab her bag and place the lunch boxes back inside. Picking up her partner's jacket that was laid on the ground, she offered it back, "N-now then... wanna... walk back to the academy..? I-if you're busy, I understand, really... you've already spent enough time with me, I wouldn't want to take up any more of yours..."