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[ 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?

[ 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...

[ 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!

[ 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...

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!!

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?

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!! ]

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.

[ 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! ]

[ 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.

And I liked your answer to that better than I liked mine.

[ Of course they're having this conversation while still standing on desktops. ]

The way you see things and the things you do, how you are with others... you're the most different person I've ever met. [ Special. ] I just... wanna keep up. [ To also be special. ] Ugh, s-sorry, that was... that was weird to say! I'm-- yeah, hahah...! Stop saying stupid things, Jaaaaaune...

[ Gosh it is hard not to smile automatically at his kind volley there. ]

Yeah, ah, you know– I'm really sorry I keep - dragging you into things. [ He couldn't know it, of course, but this is literally the first time she's apologised to anyone for such a thing, which is different from apologising for punching them in the face or needing to be rescued. ] But it's– ...Agh It's just that you don't treat me like something weak for what I don't know or how I look. How I act. [ If anything he sort of... reveres her?

No, that's too strong a word. Narcissistic! She goes red with shame just thinking it... ] Ah. Well. Anyway, you don't. And - honestly, Jaune? You know, you... you don't have to try as hard as you do. You don't need to be different to be special.

I mean who else thinks animals are easier to understand than people?

[ NOT ALL OF US ARE WEIRD ROYALTY ]

[ The way he hears it, it almost sounds patronizing, even if she didn't quite mean it that way. Like when his parents said that he can come home if Beacon doesn't work out, because they care about their son, and not because they don't believe in him. It's his own issues, really, and he has learned to brush it off by now.

In the meantime, during her lengthy speech, he's been slowly making his way across the desks, finally landing in front of her just as she finishes speaking-- ]

I'm sorry, which one of us is best friends with a chameleon again? [ It's said lightheartedly as he also taps the top of her head now that they're in close quarters. It's an "I GOT YOU" kind of tap, as if they've been playing a game of tiggy tag. ] ...Are you ready to come down, now?

I am absolutely not ready to come down now. [ And she'll demonstrate it by folding her arms again, refusing to carry the torch of tag. Now that he's near enough to whisper fiercely at (h a h a), looking him up and down, something that wipes Rapunzel's face of all but pride occurs to her. ]

This is the only way I'll ever be taller than you. [ And, taking pity, she finally taps him back. Maybe clumsier than intended. ]

And you know. That's actually a good point? About the chameleon? I'm used to understanding... myself. –And Pascal, of course! And my head. I feel like I've been in my own head for way too long. [ As if to punctuate his existence, Pascal nuzzles affectionately at Rapunzel's neck before scuttling down her leg like a~~n Australian~~ spider and seeking solace in the solid ground. ]

...Don't let me give you advice, okay? We're equals now. I don't want to do to you what everyone else does to me.

Heh, equals? Sure... Y'know, if you keep saying it like that, people are gonna think we're--

[ Before Jaune can finish his sentence, all the lights in the room suddenly turn on, and then the doors open for small waves of older students entering the class. A couple of them even notice the two virgin losers just standing on top of the desks, while most are just taking their seats and preparing notes.

It looks like they've stumbled upon a college seminar... class... wayyy above their year level.

Uh. ]

[ At this point none of it comes as much of a surprise; the colour in her face doesn't even change!

Feeling further beneficent, Rapunzel drops and slides to the edge of her desk before offering Jaune a hand down, which isn't strictly speaking necessary. ]

Let's get out of here. I don't know that these people want to talk about snail courtship. And we have a vending machines to see. I hear one is supposed to be cursed?

[ He takes that hand anyway for two reasons, 1) automatic response when someone offers you a hand, and 2) sea otters alkjdfjkl;ahdg. ]

S-Sure you don't wanna stay? Heh... [ It's a jokey, sarcastic question, because fuck this mystery class. As they walk past a couple of the students, they get some funny looks, which Jaune either doesn't notice or he's just used to sticking out like a weirdo. ]

Oh, and Rapunzel? [ And now it's his turn to whisper, but only because they're still in a crowd. ]

I don't mind it. ... Being dragged into things.
[ By you. ]

[ Lmao this isn't cool man. ]

[ First the classroom promise bullshit and now he's picking up on her tricks UM ]

[ Rude. He's rude. He's a rude person. ]

Yeah, well. [ Short laugh. ] Your turn to drag, I guess.

[ AND DRAG HE WILL.

They've spent about half a day playing hooky so far, just exploring the campus while avoiding security like they're playing real life Metal Gear Solid. And they didn't even need to use any boxes yet! How did his life suddenly get 1000% more adventurous... ]

...aaannnnnd now this brings us to the vending machines! ... A vending machine. [ Jaune steps aside to let her examine it. It seems to offer both snacks and drinks, but as for curses? There's no guarantee in Cerealia. ]

... Thrilled? [ Because it's pretty underwhelming, haha. ]

Maybe. [ Said appraisingly. She pauses to inspect the goods through the glass, tilting her head this way and that before stepping back and gesturing plainly. ]

Well. How does it work? I won't know if I'm thrilled until I see it in action.

Wh... What do you mean?

... Rapunzel? Have you... y-you've never seen a vending machine before, have you?

[ Jaune wonders just how small her world used to be. He has no idea. Perhaps she lived on an island or something? But that's fine, even he didn't know what Aura or a Landing Strategy was. No judgment! ]

Do you have quarters? Coins maybe?

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this one is for you senpai

fair crack of the whip mate

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