Better Watch Out (Open)

Purple eyes cracked open, the sun had begun to rise over Bellmuse and the streets were beginning to fill. It was the chinking of a nearby store opening it's blinders that had roused him, some small bakery or the like... quite different from the mass producing outlets of Atlas and Vale... not dissimilar to his home in Vaccuo though. Slowly Pluton rose, spine crackling as he arched it back. The benches on this island weren't any more comfortable than the mainland, that was for sure. He performed some light stretches, reaching out in-front of himself before touching the tops of his grubby white sneakers. Reaching beneath the beach he retrieved his only real belonging, outside the clothes on his body, what looked to be a rather large and poorly made bag. Poorly made being that the black plastic box had only a simple latch keeping it shut, it's material and hardness made it uncomfortable to wear and was much too large to pass as just a regular old backpack.

He made his way toward the nearby fountain, some statue of some hunter he didn't know had been erected on top as some kind of tribute; felling a grimm of some sort. Surrounding the statue was a basin full of water, from the statue itself there were multiple points where water squirted out. Without hesitation he reached inside and cupped up a handful of water, using it to clean the sleep out of his eyes. Despite this the cold water had done it's job, he was very much awake. Leaning over the edge he let loose a small sigh. He'd spent all of his money on an airship ticket over here, that and his awesome new weapon... only to not be let into this tiny island's academy either? What a joke. He'd show them, he'd rise to the top and-

It was then that Pluton spotted something shimmering yellow at the bottom of the basin and with no hesitation or a second thought dropped his backpack and dove in... unfortunately it wasn't as deep as Pluton had thought but that was besides the point. Grasping at the shiny thing he rose out of the water, completely drenched on this cool spring morning. Regardless, clambering out of the stone basin, he looked to the prize he had found. Some kind of watch, it hadn't cracked when it hit the bottom but bringing it to his ear he could hear no ticking. He shook the fancy looking thing to no avail, the gears within made a sound but it refused to start ticking. Regardless, unable to tell if it was made of real gold or simply something painted... regardless he amped himself up.

Letting out a grand chortle, announcing to no one in particular; "What kind of idiot would throw this away?! It's gotta be worth so much! What an idiot, finders keepers!" Now relaxing his stance slightly, smirk still wide on his face and the coldness of the water not hitting him, he began to look over the watch. On the underside, the part you would have to detach to fiddle with the insides, were written the words;


Closing the latch, fastening it around his wrist he let out a snort and a snide, "Suckers." Flexing his arm, testing the size. Evidently this David must have been a pretty big dude as it fit around Pluton's wrist just a touch too tightly. Ah well, wasn't like he planned on keeping it for any length of time. Soon as he could find a pawn-shop in this little island he'd be raking in the cash. Especially if the locals were so wasteful and, by the looks of things, loaded. Leaning against the basin with his bag at his feet the smelly homeless man, now soaking wet with no way to dry himself, was grinning like a maniac... still flexing his arm despite having already tested the watch would fit. In fact he started to flex the other and his legs... eventually he dropped to the ground and starting to do sit ups. His fluffy white hair, while still not quite flat, was certainly flatter than it's typical wooly mess and flopped back and forth with every movement. In reality he had started to feel the cold but didn't want any passersby to see him as weak. Despite this however, mid-situp, his body started to betray him. His stomach growling loud and proud.

Melany was out early this morning, she felt like going on a long walk alone today. She had no plans, no schedule, no meeting. The only thing she wanted today was to roam around aimlessly in town and explore since she hasn't been here all that long yet and today seemed like a good say to do so. But of course what would a day be without starting with a great and free cup of coffee? There was no way that Mel would go about a day of walking without her daily dose of not needed caffeine, so to the coffee shop she went first. After ordering her beverage and siting by a table outside, the android picked up a newspaper and began to read it slowly, softly singing to herself in the meantime. There wasn't a lot going on in Bellmuse compared to the other kingdoms, but apparently it has seen some interesting things in the past weeks. The one thing that stood out the most was the recent storm that hit the city pretty hard, disrupting all meteorological equipment making all recent broadcasting completely out of it. Personally for Mel it was more the storm itself that she remembered, being stuck in a cave for so long really scarred her. She quickly turned the page to read for other news, but besides some petty theft, a man catching a really big fish and the recent attack from Grimms increasing inside the city itself, there wasn't much.

Turning more pages, the android came across the small notices section where people could get their words in for a small sum of money. Some were people looking for love, or company in general, others were people trying to buy or sell random things, but the part that interested Mel was the "Lost and Found" where items missing or discovered were listed to know if someone was looking for them. The girl looked into it, looking through the different items that were on there before stopping on one missing object in particular. It wasn't the object in itself to be honest, but the fact that there was a reward for it. Seeing an opportunity to make some quick money she decided to go look for this lost watch while roaming around.  After finishing her cup of coffee, she headed to the last place where the owner of the watch knew he had it around his wrist which was a park near downtown.

Arrived at the park in question, Melany began to roam around, half focused on finding the golden object as she was also enjoying her time alone at the park. It wasn't that cold outside but the soft breezes would make for a sudden drop in the temperature which would quickly rise back up with the sun shining on her. Her random roaming came to an halt when she came across a weird looking man further down the small dirt road she was following. This person suddenly dived into the fountain he was standing next to. She stared at this guy for the whole scene, even the whole stretching before noticing the watch on his wrist. It was a perfect match to the one she was looking for and figured this couldn't be a coincidence, so she approached the man. "Excuse me, I think this watch belongs to someone else and I would like to bring it to them." Mel didn't spoke in an aggressive way, but her tone made it clear that she wanted the watch. Of course she was doing it for the money, but it was also someone's precious belonging, so if she could get it back to its rightful owner everyone would be happy... well most of everyone.

Rising from his sit ups as a woman approached him, thoroughly red in the face from exhaustion and cold, he continued to flex his muscles in an attempt to warm himself. Jogging on the spot as she spoke to him, his smirk remained broad. Stopping his running finally, leaning against the edge of the basin with a small pant in his breath he responded; "I'm sure it does pal, but let's be real. If some punk threw it in the fountain rather than selling it off odds are the punk was the wife or the husband after one betrayed the other. They wanted to forget or keep it from the other. To return it now would only bring 'em more strife, yet it's brinin' me such happiness. You get it? I'll be keeping the watch till I can sell it off, besides do you even know the owner's name? For all I know you could be trying to steal my loot for yourself. That makes you way worse than me."

He thought he looked pretty tough and intimidating, cool even with his shining new watch on his wrist... in reality he looked freezing and out of breath. His knees were betraying his bravado, shivering and shaking slightly. His stomach once more let out a load roar, certainly audible to the girl, but he played it off by stretching his arms up and clasping his hands behind his neck in a relaxed pose; simultaneously doing this to keep the watch out of the girl's immediate grabbing range. "Do people make demands like that without an introduction or a greeting 'round here? Pretty rude ain't it? My name's Pluton, I just arrived on the island two days ago, and you little miss? Takes some guts to approach me like that, me bein' so much taller than you, are you from the academy?"

Melany stood there in front of the man, not more than a couple meters away from him even after he backed up a little. He went on with a theory of his own about how the watch got in the fountain. She had to give some credit to this guy, he wasn't as stupid as he looked or well, at least a little bit less stupid now. Can't really say that jumping in a fountain by this weather was something bright, but at least his theory made sense in a way. "A possible story, but sorry to say that it's just that: a story." Taking a few steps forward Mel brought out the newspaper that she kept and showed it to this Pluton guy. She was close enough so that he would see the section where the watch was displayed but she was far enough so that it would be hard to read anything else, especially the part mentioning the reward for the return of the item, if he could read that is.

"The owner's name is David Brown, he received the watch from his wife Rose Pastel as a wedding anniversary gift for their 10 years together. It got loose when he was running to get home after the recent storms. Caught under the rain he didn't hear it fall in the fountain. No one threw it away and he absolutely want it back." She put back the newspaper in her purse before pointing the watch with a finger. "You wouldn't get any money for it in a pawn-shop anyway, it isn't real gold. At most you'd get 5 Lien for it, at least you'd get laughed at by the shopkeeper. It's an item of sentimental value, and I can see from here that it's not even working, so you really don't need it." From a simple scan of the watch she could tell both the component of the item as well that it was broken but it didn't seem that the water was the cause. It seemed that some cogs have been missing for a while already and that the watch was more a keepsake than anything else.

Mel crossed her arms, staring at this guy before shrugging when he called her rude for not introducing herself. "I didn't see why I should introduce myself, it's not like we would meet another day. But if you insist I'm Melany. That's all you need to know. So now, care to give me the watch now? Someone needs it way more than you. Or maybe I have to call the police for theft? Let's be real, who do you think they'll be more likely to believe?" Mel wasn't trying to be mean towards him, she was simply returning the intimidation, although hers wasn't impaired by an obvious shaking of the knees.

Arm's behind his head, broad smirk still coated his face... though he squinted to read. Eventually just allowing the woman to dictate the passage to him rather than the slow speed he was reading it. "So ya get a 5 lien watch... and then pay to engrave into it? Are you really so naive to believe they're telling the whole truth in this story lil' lady?" Removing the watch from his wrist, holding it tight to prevent a snatch and run, she showed her the underside with it's engraved message to the husband. "If they really wanted it back, they'd make sure it seems cheep. Devalue it in the eyes of others, make it look all sentimental and crap, you feel me? And that's banking that this whole story is true, not the one who was betrayed wantin' their watch back. Besides, if it was a present do you really think it'd be worth 5 lien?" He'd made his opinion and stance clear on the couple, he wasn't backing down from it. To drop a watch directly into a fountain like that, rather than say next to it? What were the odds? He refused to even back down on it's value.

Pluton couldn't help but snicker as she tried to intimidate him, it was honestly adorable. A tiny woman with blue eyes staring up at a giant. "Buddy, I've been arrested. I know the process, ya'll have no evidence that would hold up in court and I could easily lie away what little you have. Sure, these folks would get their watch back that way, but if I can find a pawn shop before you can call the police here I'll probably get some money to eat tonight! It's even better if I can't, if they get me in time, I look like a poor homeless man wrongly accused, while you look like a bigot who wanted to steak glory from a homeless dude. Pretty awful. That and I for sure get at least one meal while I'm waiting in jail."

Course, his understanding of jail wasn't super. He'd been convicted twice in his lifetime, both being minor fines settled out of course cause the prosecution felt bad for him and this would likely be much the same, but it was true that judges didn't seem to like him. Regardless of being homeless.

Putting his arms behind his head he crouched slightly, leaning in to be on a more eye to eye level and perhaps a little too close for comfort. He did smell rather terrible and he had just been exercising, only adding to that aroma. "You're pressin' this pretty hard for it to be out of the good of your heart aren't you? Bringin' up the police and all. Did you really just set out to find this watch for just that?"

Melany stayed where she was and watched Pluton as he went about his theory in more depth with the information he was given. He even removed the watch from his wrist to show the back that clearly showed the engraving on the back. Mel placed a finger on her lips as she thought that this guy had a point, why engrave such a piece of garbage of a watch? Even for sentimentalist it was a bit much. Maybe he was on to something after all.

Listening to the individual's whole "I've been to prison" story, the girl tilted her head as she wondered if this guy was really some homeless dude. If it was the case she didn't really want to cause more problem to him than he probably already had. This story made actually a lot of sense considering his horrible smell when he got closer by leaning over. This guy wasn't just some thug, he really needed more than just diving in the fountain, soap would have been good too. But this proximity gave her the opportunity, staring directly into Pluton's eyes she grabbed the watch out of his hand and backed up quickly but didn't run away with it. Sure the thought did cross her mind but she knew she wouldn't get far ahead with her heels. Instead the android gestured the man to stop before she picked back up the newspaper from her purse and handed it to him. "There's a reward for the watch, so here's my offer: You found it, but without me you would have sold it for nearly nothing. We go together to the owner and share the reward. Let's say 75/25 in your favor? I'm more interested in getting the watch back to the one it belongs. And don't worry, I won't run off alone with the watch, I wouldn't be fast enough anyway."

Between helping two people by sharing a reward and fighting someone over a watch to get everything for herself, helping many was the best option. Mel thought that Pluton would need the money more than her anyway so in the end it was the good choice. Whether her offer would be accepted though was a possible problem. At least she had the watch now, unless this guy was some sort of master pickpocket, but his shaking made her think he wouldn't be very subtle.

Note: Mel has golden eyes, not blue!

Frowning and pouting a little, heck even reeling back i touch in preparation for some kind of brawl, when she brought up the potential of a reward. A smirk grew over his face once more, now plunging his hands deep into his hoodie pockets. Feeling himself shiver he took a step even closer, "And so it comes out, 'course you weren't just doin' it out of the good of your heart. As for 75/25, if you really think it's so worthless then I guess we could do that?I still feel like we're settlin' for less than we could get. Odds are they'd go around the pawnshops anyway and buy it back, what's the... the..."

Looking only slightly away from her the large man let out a slimy sneeze which shook throughout his whole body. Being in that cold water, being so hungry and having slept rough wasn't doing him any favours. He refused to let his body control him however, wiping his nose on his wrist he began to jog on the spot. It was hard to maintain eye contact, let alone a conversation, and do so but he didn't particularly care. He tried his best to continue.

"I guess splitting it that way is fine, but what even is this reward? If it's chump change is it honestly worth it? If you're really so set on doing this by the book I'm fine but... don't do yourself out some money 'cause one of 'em had an affair or the like and the other's hurting. If we could get a better deal odds are it would still get back into their hands eventually."

Note: Huh... I have no idea why I thought she did o.o Weird, it's like when I kept messing up arms and legs XD

Mel took an obvious step back when Pluton let out the worst sneeze in existence, her face clearly showing her current disgust. First the smell then that, what was going to happen next? A loud fart? Throwing up from sickness? No way she would stick around if this guy was going to be completely gross and careless about it. She already didn't like him, so the quicker this whole situation was done the better. Mel wasn't really afraid to catch whatever this guy had, either was it a virus or stupidity in the case it suddenly became contagious, but she didn't want to contaminate others because of him.

"Look, whatever the reason behind the loss of this watch, someone wants to have it back and the sooner they get it the better. I don't see why the story behind this should be important since it's none of our business. They didn't ask in the newspaper for counseling, they ask for a watch. We're here to solve one problem, not the potentially hidden ones. So stop trying to make a quick buck the easy way by wanting to sell it to the first pawnshop you'd come across, even though it is a relatively easy thing to do. Basic fetch quest." Turning around, Mel began to walk towards the address that was on the newspaper, heading directly for the watch's owner. "I'm the one with the watch anyway right now, so we'll go there immediately. The sooner we get the money, the sooner you'll be able to go buy that sandwich you wanted. Maybe find a place to dry your clothes and take a bath too..."

Walking a couple of step in front of Pluton, Mel hoped that he would stay behind so she wouldn't have to deal with his horrible odor as they walked. It was way more easy to deal with the stench that way since the wind was blowing behind her, if it was the other way around it would be bad.

"I'm not sayin' we act as councillor. What I'm saying is that we- Hey, don't walk away from me! You may be the one with the watch but I'm the one who found it, if I wanted to I could take it back any time I liked!" Swiping up his bag Pluton took after the girl, quickly catching up and walking alongside her. Rather than in front or behind, this would give off a bad smell for sure but it could certainly be worse. "You're talking like a fair amount of cash will be offered up, enough for food and a bed? Perhaps this is the better route, after all I don't know any good shops around here."

Noticing once more how he towered above her he let loose another broad mouthed smirk. He was fairly sure he could crush this little lady, and she hadn't denied being a huntress. If this was the only competition he was up against he'd be the head boy in the academy in no time. Assuming that she truly was a student he began to make smalltalk, crossing his arms behind his head as he went. "What's it actually like up at the academy then? Are they all as scrawny looking as you are or are there some bigger folk? I really want to get fighting some people, I've never had a proper sparring match before!"

"I'm pretty sure I could take down just about anyone, tiny spec on an island. I've been all over this world, Atlas to Vale to Mistral and even Vaccuo. It should be simple!"

Melany couldn't help but look over her shoulder with a snarky smile when Pluton threatened her about getting the watch back. "You can always try, but don't expect me to give it away that easily after threatening me~" The girl kept walking, trying her best to not smell the guy who decided to walk ride beside her, trying to look away so her nose wouldn't be in his direction. But she got a glance of his absurdly stupid grin and couldn't help but look at him and burst into laughter. He looked so dumb, it was too much.

Pluton's sudden boasting didn't make it easier to not laugh, claiming that he was probably better than Syne's student just by looking at Mel, who's not even a student there. "Look big guy, in the short times I've been to the academy, I saw some people about your height and saw others that would tower over even you. That said, I wouldn't under estimate the small people there either, some looked pretty darn skilled from what I saw. And if you think that travelling made you stronger than them, think again, others have traveled I'm sure and those who didn't might have trained a lot more. Besides, I have no idea why you're basing your assumptions on me, I'm not even a student."

Mel continued to walk toward the address, at least it wasn't too far off, if it was on the other side of town that would have meant way too much time in Pluton's "company" and although it wasn't the worst case as at least he could make her laugh, the girl would rather go about her day as planned and just roam around Bellmuse on her own, but duty called so there she was.

Pluton was confused what the girl had found so humorous,  his smirk was supposed to send shivers throughout even the toughest of people. Looking behind himself and scanning around himself he couldn't make out just what she was laughing about but regardless followed the girl, perhaps she just had some odd kind of quirk when she was scared or something? Maybe she laughed when she was scared and cried when she was happy? It'd be odd for sure but in his travels Pluton had experienced much stranger things, funky looking faunus and seemingly manic wanderers... the latter coming from him was a testament to their abnormality.

He was brought to a halt a little later though, surprised by what the girl had said. "But you brushed it off when I asked, just like introducing yourself. You then said if I wanted the watch to try and take it, I might have stomped all over you! You've got to be careful who you talk like that to, you'd get thrown in the trash! Real dangerous business!" Pluton shook his head, quickly catching up with her, "But you know what they're like there yeah? You think they're tough? Do they do some of that weird crazy magic stuff? Like making stones fly up from the ground or getting even bigger, not dust the weird other stuff. At the other academies they seemed to rely on it all the time, least the folks I fought... well I say fought..."

Once more he crossed his arms behind his head, "...I wonder how they do it... is it just some kinda light show or smoke and mirror show?"

"I know that I have to be careful who I'm talking to, but when the first thing I see a guy with a hygiene problem do is jump in a fountain and proceeds to act all tall and mighty, it's not the most intimidating sight really. And I never say whether I was a student at Syne or not, you simply assumed so. If you think that huntsman have to be as big as you to be strong, I have no idea why you'd think I was one with how small I am." Mel simply didn't see Pluton as a threat, his earlier grin just clarified that to her. He looked, acted and talked goofy, so she didn't think much of him besides that.

Plus, with him continuing about Syne's student and their semblances, it seemed like the guy didn't even know what it was called, which it seemed kind of weird. "You're talking about semblances right? Those special powers that reflects in a way your soul? The power to use your aura to do wonders, whether it is to battle your way across countless grimms or help those in needs... you don't have one?" Mel suddenly became curious about Pluton, everyone knew what semblances are, at least those who were interested in anything hunter-related, so it was weird that he didn't even know the name especially if he "fought" students in the past.

As they kept walking, Mel's eyes turned orange before she created a glass-looking orange cube in her hand which was spinning in midair. "It's more than just a pretty trick. Semblances can actually hurt others or protect them. It really depends on the way the person uses it, but it is a marvelous thing. With mine I can pretty much create any object I can think of, as long as it's not too complicated. Like I can create this cube or a blade, but not a car or a gun. Basically anything that has an internal mechanism is out of my capabilities."

"If you sleep rough for a couple nights then we'll see who has worse hygiene, it's not exactly easy to look this good when you're sleeping on a bench. Think yourself lucky you encountered me with the watch, not some crazier hobo. That wouldn't have ended well." He said, looking as awful as he did with his bags under his eyes, rather dirty teeth and his slightly snotty nose.

Pluton frowned as she continued, admitting she was not a student but knowing of some kind of soul-magic which gave them these weird powers? Bringing his arms down he responded. "What? Aura? Semblance? What's this spiritual mumbo jumbo you're talking about? Reflection of the soul? I'm pretty sure they're not just like... fightin' with some religion? There's like flashy lights and then boom you're on fire or you make some big bear pop out of nowhere. Don't know how people having souls would make-

It was then that Melany created the spinning cube from seemingly nothing, her eyes brightening orange and going on to explain what she could do. His eyes widened, his mouth went agape and the only thing to come out was a simple; "That's rad!" It took him a moment to collect himself, well... not some much collect himself as return from his daydreams to this plain of existence, making an attempt to grab the cube from where it hung in the air. "Geez that's rad! How do you do that? How did you learn to?! Like, others have different things right? Like the bear I mentioned and the earth stuff? I wonder what mine would end up like?!?"

Melany couldn't help but let out a giggle when Pluton said her situation could have been worst if she had came across a crazy hobo, probably not realizing that he matched the description himself. He then proceeded to snatch the cube from her hand, being a physical object and not just a mere hologram the guy would be able to manipulate it himself without issue. His reaction was somewhat enjoyable to watch. "That's my semblance, I just have to focus on the shapes of the object I want to make and it will appear. Semblances are generally related to the person's personality and behavior, so even if some people have similar powers, there'll always be some unique differences. I don't know what yours will be, but I'm also curious about it..."

It was surprising for Mel to see someone without any knowledge on either aura or semblance yet all the curiosity needed to learn about it. She began to wonder though, did Pluton just not know about those and had them without knowing or was he clueless specifically because he never had them to begin with. The girl stopped walking and turned towards him before flicking his forehead with her finger. If she was able to leave a mark on it, even the smallest it meant that he lacked an aura altogether. If he'd be unscathed that'd mean he's just as dumb as he looks. While waiting for the potential mark to show up or not, she explained the spiritual part behind the aura and the semblance. "The reason why it sounds so magical and spiritual is because it's more than training your body, it's training your mind to do something that's beyond your physical abilities. It takes will, determination and concentration. You can't lift weights and expect to suddenly hurl fireballs. But for a Semblance to manifest one needs to first unlock their aura. While it is possible for a person to unlock it for someone else, it is suspected that the first ones to do so did through meditations and/or prayers, which is why it has such a spiritual connotation."

"Yooooooooo....YoooOoooo!" Pluton was much too distracted, batting the cube back and forth in the air like a game of pong, to really hear her explaining her semblance. Eventually he just let it hover between his hands, almost circling it as he looked around it. Really he was trying to prove to himself that this weird magic wasn't as rad as he thought it was, that there was some kind of falsehood to it, yet even when he totally cupped it in his hands it continued to shine. It wasn't like... a holograph from her eyes or something, he could actually touch it! It was incredible and-

There was a light thwack against the centre of Pluton's forehead, it was by no means a devastating or particularly powerful blow but it was enough to draw him out of his childlike state of wonder and crashing back into reality- "Hey, what do you think you're? Do- However he quickly returned to this chuckling briefly. In her attempt to flick him on the forehead the girl had to reach incredibly high. It wasn't so much that she was short as he was tall, even in heels she was only around his shoulders. Regardless, he was pulled from his sense of wonderment enough to listen to the girl as she went on about this whole magic thing.

"Huh... I feel like I should probably known some of that if it was true. Like... how does someone unlock someone else's aura then? Do they like... have to have some kind of real serious blood ritual or something? I'm not sure I'm totally down with that... do like to keep my insides on my insides, and I ain't sacrificing no goat for super powers! If that's what needed I'll just work a way out for myself... this is all sounding a little creepy and cultish if I'm honest. Not training the body but just like... thinking a certain way and stuff? That's crazy, just sitting around and emptying the mind trash? Really that's it?" He was frowning a little bit now, not nearly as strongly as he had before but there was certainly a look of cynicism in his eyes. A small red mark had begun to appear on the boy's forehead, despite being strong and thick skinned his body was completely unprotected by the likes of aura or armour.

Actual height difference (Does not account for heels):