[ ic contact ]

[beaconed]

"Helloooo! You've reached Jaune Arc! If I'm not answering, it means I'm probably off somewhere fighting monsters or... doing something really awesome like saving a cat, or the president's son! You know how it is, a leader's schedule can be really hectic nowadays, ha ha! Just kidding, I'm probably in school, but I'd totally do those things if I ha-- [BEEP]"



[ TEXT | VOICE | VIDEO | ACTION ]

Comments

[beaconed]

[ delayed response ]

.....Maybe I was just testing you!

[corona]

[ Pascal is shaking his tiny head at this embarrassing display. Such virginity in his presence...

Nah Pascal is a saint. Rapunzel, though, is walking away... and on top of the desks. ]

So! What's the next test? Now that we've made it to my number one destination. Now that we're here.

[beaconed]

[ Jaune remains in place, only because Rapunzel just put him on the spot and he's trying to come up with something remotely intellectual. It's not the longest list to choose from.

But oh, he remembers his first book in Cerealia that he used to pass on facts from, back when he was more amazed by it. Animal Facts! Alright... ]

Sea otters... yes! They... they hold hands when they sleep, did you know that? Why do you think that is?

[ Why did his mind go back to the topic of hand holding, it's a mystery. ]

[corona]

[ The book under her arm almost drops at this.

She looks at the cover: biochemistry. ]

Sea otters, huh... I've never been to the sea. Sea otters are the ones who look they'd be your friend if you had something delicious in your pockets, right? [ L-LOL ] Maybe... they know what it's like to be alone. Maybe they know that it feels good to be with someone else. To be close like that.

1/3

[beaconed]

[ what the fuck is that specific description of the animal ]

[beaconed]

[ Please don't notice Mr. Arc staring at his own hands as he paces around the professor's desk. ]

To be with someone else... yeah, that... that would feel good I imagine. Close...

[ --WAIT A SECOND. He knows something that she doesn't! Hah!! ]

[beaconed]

BZZZT! Wronggg~~!

[ Gosh, he feels so smart now, HAHAHAHA ]

They do it so that they don't drift away from each other in the current. Please keep up, Rapunzel-kun!

1/2

[corona]

[ WHA

What the hell is that!! IS THIS A JAPANESE GAMESHOW??? ]

[corona]

[ Ugh, he's such a loser! ]

F-Fine...! [ She spins around and folds both arms tightly over her chest. ] You want to compete? Let's compete. Next question.

Professor.

[beaconed]

What?! No! Y-You're not really supposed to compete against the professor...

[ HE'S STALLING OMG. ]

How about one more question, win or lose? [ Let's face it, he can't come up with five or ten intelligent things. Not without hours of preparation!!! ]

[corona]

[ The fact that he's come up with one already is really impressive!!

She looks suspicious for a moment, but eventually nods. ]

One more question. That's... pretty neat about the otters, though. Where'd you learn that? Oh– Nn, you can tell me later. After the "exam" thing.

[beaconed]

Yeah, sure, if you don't kill me...

[ ACCESSING THE JAUNE ARC-HIVES. PLEASE WAIT... ]

...
Alright! [ Credit goes to Kaoru Akashi for this next piece of knowledge, whether it's true or not. Jaune didn't confirm. Oops. ]

Snails. ... Who courts the other when they wish to mate? Is it the male or female?

[ Somehow this ended up being another romance-based question, but it's all he has!! ]

[corona]

[ Man talk about a one-track mind. The gods sure have been kind to Jaune of Arc today, though; he wound up in a giant lecture hall with the one girl too blind to recognise romantic tension or themes when she sees them!! ]

Hm! Interesting. It could go either way. Male. Female. [ She skips from desktop to desktop, balancing the books, as she says each word. Pascal's looking queasy but Rapunzel is nonplussed. It's fun move in new spaces in new ways with new clothes and new people. Yay new! ]

...Hm. Male. Female.

Do I get a hint?

[beaconed]

[ WOW EXCUSE-- the theme here is animals, not romance!! There's nothing to see!!

But he follows her, slowly, yet still keeping his distance. With this kind of question, a hint would probably give away too much. Then again, nobody seems to notice that he hasn't said No to her even once. What a dangerous Semblance she has... ]

Let's just say... you're on the right track.

1/2

[corona]

Huh? [ Equal parts confusing and intriguing, that! She lifts an eyebrow and lifts a foot, spinning to face him. ]

I... don't know if I get that one.

[corona]

[ Then: detective work go. ]

Oh!

You mean... kind of like - how you're chasing me now. [ WHAT AN EASY HINT HA HA JAUNE. He deserves a smirk as a reward for that! ]

Most snails are male and female. Don't they both do the courting?

1/2

[beaconed]

[ He literally trips up at that, only catching himself by the desk instead of hitting the ground. ]

WHAT! T-That wasn't the hint!! I'm not-- I wasn't...!! It's a big room, and, and, and I'm trying to keep my voice down. H-Haha... chasing.... oh, you...hahaha... wow...

[beaconed]

[ M-MUST RECOVER... ]

--buuut I dunno if I can award you that, y'know? The real answer is that they're genderless! Hah, trick question'd!

[corona]

[ Pft, if he's making someone as clumsy as her look so good, he's doing something terribly wrong. ]

I see. [ Bending to his level (SO LOW), she delivers whisper #2: ] You know for someone trying to keep his voice down...

[ La la la so obnoxious jumping desks, can't catch her~~ ] So. Do you work with animals in your spare time? When you're not being a student and a guide and a professor...

[beaconed]

Pfff-haha, you kidding me? I... [ Wait, he shouldn't admit that most big animals scare the shit out of him. Thank the gods Pascal is pocket-sized. ]

...I don't. But it's cool knowing things about them, I guess! I wonder if that's 'cause they're easier to understand than people sometimes...

--Hey! C-Can you get down from those?! [ He may not catch her, BUT HE'LL CERTAINLY TRY. Pathetically. ] You'll get us in trouble! Man!!

[corona]

Will I? [ They haven't gotten into trouble thus far– Well, all right, but trouble you've escaped never counts as trouble.

Either way she can't quite bring herself to do as he asks and there's no particular reason for it. Other than "yay new" and a little, suddenly curious part of her that wants to see if he'll follow. ] Easier to understand than people, huh... I've never tried. Understanding just - comes, doesn't it?

Why do you say it's easier?

[beaconed]

B-Because last time I checked-- [ He tries to reach for her, but whoops, too slow. ] --there's no book that gives you facts about people!

[ FINE, he'll climb on a desk, too! Now it'll be easier to chase her! Wasn't the point of this not to walk on them at all?? ]

But I don't mean it in a bad way, okay? I... [ caaaarefully stepping from desk to desk ] I like how everyone is different.... it's special... i-if that makes sense...

[ HE WOBBLES before he makes another leap towards her!! ]

[corona]

Special. [ Hm. He's keeping up well. ]

I see. Well– [ She dances back and up, landing on another tier. ] How can – [ leaping to another desk ] – everyone be special if... everyone is special?Admittedly I'm - haha. Admittedly I'm kind of going off topic here, but... Aren't you really just treating people like animals after all? Praising them and - saying nice things about them so they'll like you? Because they're - complicated.

[ After a moment of watching, she returns to the last desk, nearly losing footing at the last moment. Woah. ]

...Just asking.

[beaconed]

[ Huh. He stops at that, considering what she could be implying. ]

I-Is that what I'm doing? It sounds so horrible when you put it like that...

[ It's true that he wants to be liked, who doesn't? But... it still sounds so disingenuous when it's broken down like that, which is far from what he wants to be. Or is it? Why is it so important to him to be a hero? He could have stayed home and become a farmer or something.

... See that? You just planted a seed of doubt. And it will sprout someday! ]

[corona]

[ It does sound horrible when she puts it like that - and doubly so when he repeats it, sparking a twin flash of doubt. What if she's just projecting her own failings onto Jaune? Everyone wants to feel special, don't they? He makes her feel special.

And she likes that feeling, yes, but what if it's just Jaune being Jaune–

SiiiiiiighhhhHHHhHHHh. No actually she just rights herself and smiles. ] I don't know what you're doing. I don't even know what we're doing, really. We... It's like you said: we just met.

I can't tell you what your motives are. It... didn't exactly work out last time, remember?

But I did like the thing about otters.