Fate's Wild Card Ch.13 (Released)

AN: Pryce is a gentleman it seems

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Pryce's first instinct is to just let things play out for a moment because the whole situation is so absurd that his brain is still catching up. Then, for a brief second, an intrusive thought passes through his mind—he considers taking advantage of the situation. Jeanne, despite wearing that armor, is soft and warm, besides being pretty, and not entirely unpleasant to be pressed against. He's already getting a taste of what that's like.

Just another moment wouldn't hurt to savor and then tell it later.

Yet, he becomes acutely aware that he isn't alone in the forest. From the corner of his eyes he can see Pyrrha standing there with her mouth slightly open, her cheeks flushed as red as her hair. Meanwhile, the orange-haired girl looks very energetic, her head tilted to one side like she's trying to study them.

This is definitely not the time or place for anything like that.

Also, man-eating monsters might jump on them at any moment.

So he tries to be gentle when he moves to push the blonde away, placing his hands on her shoulders to carefully create some distance between them. But he quickly discovers that Jeanne is frozen to the point she's completely locked up, her muscles rigid as stone.

Her blue eyes are wide and unblinking, staring directly into his, and she doesn't seem to be breathing.

At all.

He blinks, then tries to shift underneath her weight, but she's not responding to any of his attempts to move her.

Finally, he wiggles a little before turning his head to break away from the accidental kiss and looks up at their respective witnesses.

"Little help?"

That breaks Pyrrha from her trance immediately. "Oh! Yes, of course!" she says quickly, moving forward, though he notices an awkward stiffness. "Jeanne, you need to... that is, Pryce can't breathe properly with you on top of him like that."

"OHMYGODS!" The orange-haired girl suddenly explodes, bouncing on her toes with explosive enthusiasm. "Did you two just—? Was that—? That was totally a kiss! I mean, it looked super intense and romantic even though blondie here kinda crashed down like WHAM! But that's how all the best love stories start, right? With dramatic crashes and unexpected smooches and explosions! Well, okay, maybe not explosions for everyone, but there WAS an explosion involved in getting her up that tree in the first place, so it totally counts!" She pauses for exactly half a second before continuing. "Oh! I'm Nora, by the way! Nora Valkyrie! Nice to meet you all! Is this how people normally meet at Beacon? Because this is WAY more exciting than I expected!"

"Nora," Pyrrha says gently but firmly, placing her hands on Jeanne's arms and carefully pulling her upright. "Perhaps we should focus on helping them first."

Jeanne finally blinks and seems to come back to reality, but her face is now an impressive shade of red. "I—I—I didn't mean—that wasn't supposed to—oh gods, my first kiss and it was with someone I just met!" she stammers, covering her face with her hands. "This is not how I imagined it would go! I was supposed to be graceful and heroic, not falling out of trees and landing on people and accidentally kissing them! Mom never mentioned anything about accidental kissing in her stories about being a Huntress!"

Nora immediately moves closer and pats the girl on the back. "Hey, hey, don't worry about it! I mean, I don't really know you yet, but that totally doesn't count as a real first kiss! It was just an accident! Like when you accidentally break things with hammers—it might make a big mess, but it wasn't really on purpose, you know? Plus, it looked kinda nice from where I was standing! Very dramatic! Very swoony!"

"That... might be the most ridiculous comparison I've ever heard," Pryce mutters as he slowly pushes himself up, rubbing his chest where her armor had dug into him during the fall.

"Hey!" Nora points at him accusingly, but she's grinning. "My comparisons are AMAZING! Though I guess you don't know me well enough to appreciate my genius yet. But don't worry, we'll be best friends in no time! I can tell these things!"

Pyrrha steps in smoothly. "This is Pryce, my partner. And you're Jeanne Arc, correct? We were trying to help you down from the tree before..." She gestures vaguely at the chaos that just transpired.

"Before I made a complete disaster of everything," Jeanne finishes miserably, finally uncovering her face. The blush is still there. "I'm so sorry, Pryce! I didn't mean to fall on you like that! I mean, I was stuck up there because I got blown into the tree by some kind of explosion, and then you and Pyrrha were being so nice trying to help me get down, and then this girl"—she gestures at Nora—"showed up and was talking about grenades and partners, and then the branch broke and—"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Nora interrupts, waving her hands excitedly. "You're the blonde I saved with my grenade! I was wondering what happened to you after the explosion! Did it work? I mean, you're not splattered on the ground, so I'm calling it a success! Though next time maybe I should use a smaller grenade... or aim it better... or maybe use a net instead? Do they make net grenades? They should totally make net grenades!"

"You threw a grenade at her?" Pryce asks, looking at Nora with a mixture of disbelief.

"Well, yeah! She was gonna hit the ground really hard, and I had lots of grenades, so I threw one to change her trajectory! Physics!" Nora beams proudly. "Though I guess the landing still needed some work... sorry about the whole tree situation! And the getting stuck situation! And the falling on him situation! But hey, at least you're alive, right?"

Jeanne looks at Nora with a complicated expression—part gratitude, part terror, part confusion. "So you're the one who... saved me? With an explosion?"

"That's me! Nora Valkyrie, explosion enthusiast and creative problem solver!" Nora grins widely. "Though I guess I should ask—are we partners now? Because that's how this whole thing works, right? First person you make eye contact with and all that? Though I guess you've been making a lot of eye contact with him"—she points at Pryce—"so maybe the rules are different when there's accidental kissing involved?"

Pyrrha clears her throat delicately, clearly trying to restore some order to the increasingly chaotic conversation. "Actually, the rule is about making eye contact RIGHT after landing, not... other types of contact. And I believe Pryce and I are already partners from our landing."

Pryce nods, grateful for the clarification and the change of subject. "Right. We  made eye contact first." He looks between Jeanne and Nora. "I guess that means you two are partners? Since the grenade thing technically led to you both ending up in the same area?"

Jeanne looks at Nora uncertainly, still processing everything that's happened. "I... I guess? I mean, if you saved me from hitting the ground, even if it was with an explosion, then maybe that counts as us meeting first?"

"PERFECT!" Nora cheers, pumping her fist in the air. "I was hoping for a partner who could handle excitement! And falling out of trees after explosions definitely counts as exciting! We're gonna have so much fun together! I can teach you about grenades, and you can teach me about... uh... what do you do?"

"I... fight with a sword and shield?" Jeanne offers weakly. 

"OOH! Sword and shield! Classic! I like it!" Nora bounces excitedly. "I use a hammer that's also a grenade launcher! We're gonna be an AMAZING team! Explosions AND dramatic sword fighting! It's like something out of a storybook!"

Pryce just shakes his head, but there's something almost like amusement in his expression. This whole day has been one bizarre situation after another, but at least these people aren't boring. And nobody's trying to fuck with him, which is always a plus.

"So," he says, brushing dirt and bark off his clothes, "now that we've got the partnership situation sorted out and everyone's done falling out of trees, maybe we should focus on actually completing this initiation?"

Pyrrha nods, looking relieved to get back to practical matters. "The temple should be in that direction," she says, pointing deeper into the forest. 

"Yes!" Nora shouts immediately. "Group adventure! This is gonna be SO much better than going alone! Plus, if anyone else falls out of trees, we've got more people to catch them!"

Jeanne winces. "Please don't remind me about the falling. I'm never living this down, am I?"

"Probably not," Pryce says with brutal honesty. "But hey, at least it'll be a memorable story."

"Great," Jeanne mutters, but she's almost smiling despite her embarrassment. "Just what every aspiring Huntress wants—to be remembered as the girl who fell out of a tree and accidentally kissed a stranger."

"See? You're already thinking positively!" Nora says cheerfully. "That's the spirit! Now come on, let's go find this temple and get our relics! I wonder if they have any explosive ones? Ooh, or shiny ones! I like shiny things!"

As they start to organize themselves, Pyrrha suddenly stops and looks down at her hands with a frown. "Oh, that's right. We still need to find my weapon."

"Your weapon?" Jeanne asks, tilting her head.

"My spear got… lost," Pyrrha explains, looking somewhat embarrassed. "We were planning to retrieve it before continuing to the temple."

"Ooh, what kind of spear?" Nora asks excitedly. "Is it a big one? Does it transform? Does it explode? Please tell me it explodes!"

"It... transforms into a rifle and sword," Pyrrha says with a small smile. "But no explosions, sorry."

"Aww, that's okay! Not everything can be as awesome as grenades!" Nora says cheerfully. "But a transforming spear-rifle-sword sounds pretty cool too!"

"Well then, I guess this is where we split up for now," Jeanne says, trying to sound more confident than she looks. "We'll head toward the temple while you two get your weapon back?"

Nora nods enthusiastically. "Yeah! And then maybe we'll see you at the temple! Or maybe we'll run into more Grimm! Or maybe we'll find something cool! The possibilities are endless!"

Pryce glances at his partner, who gives him a small nod. "Alright then. Try not to fall out of any more trees," he says to Jeanne, though there's no real malice in his tone.

Jeanne's face flushes again. "I-I'll do my best," she mutters.

"Good luck, both of you," Pyrrha says warmly. "And be careful out there."

"You too!" Nora waves energetically as she starts pulling Jeanne in the direction of the temple. "Come on, partner! Adventure awaits!"

As the two pairs separate, Pryce and Pyrrha begin retracing their steps through the forest. The sounds of Nora's excited chatter gradually fade into the distance as they put more space between the groups.

They walk in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Pyrrha clears her throat awkwardly. "So... that was certainly eventful," she says, her voice carrying a slight nervousness that hadn't been there during the fight.

"That's one way to put it," Pryce replies, his ears swiveling slightly to track the ambient forest sounds around them.

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting the initiation to involve quite so much... falling," Pyrrha continues, clearly trying to make conversation but struggling with what to say. "Or accidental kissing, for that matter."

Pryce glances at her sideways. "Not part of your tournament experience?"

"Definitely not," she says with a small laugh that sounds a bit forced. "Tournaments have very specific rules about physical contact. What just happened would probably result in immediate disqualification and a very confused audience."

Before Pryce can respond, his ears suddenly perk up and swivel toward the direction they'd just come from. In the distance, he can hear Nora's voice, much louder than before and with a tone of surprise.

"YOU DON’T HAVE—" 

The rest gets cut off by distance.

"What is it?" Pyrrha asks, noticing his change in posture.

"The loud one's yelling about something," Pryce says, his ears twitching as he tries to catch more of the distant conversation. But whatever's happening is too far away for him to make out clearly. "Probably just her being… enthusiastic."

Pyrrha nods, though she looks slightly concerned. "Should we go back and check?"

"Nah," Pryce says after a moment, his ears settling back to their normal position. "If it was serious danger, I'd hear Grimm roars or actual screaming. This sounded more like surprise than terror."

"If you're sure," Pyrrha says, though she still sounds uncertain.

They continue walking, and Pyrrha fidgets with her shield for a moment before speaking again. "I hope they'll be alright. Jeanne seems... well, she means well, but she's not exactly the most coordinated person I've ever met."

"The loud one seems like she can handle trouble," Pryce observes. "Especially if her solution to everything is throwing grenades at it."

"That's... actually a fair point," Pyrrha admits with a more genuine laugh. "Though I do worry about her methods. Using explosives to save someone from falling seems rather..." She searches for the right word.

"Insane?" Pryce supplies.

"I was going to say unconventional, but yes, that works too."

They walk in comfortable silence for a few more steps before Pryce can't resist the opportunity. "You know, for someone worried about unconventional methods, you did try to impale me with a spear earlier."

His partner immediately stumbles slightly, her face flushing red as she looks away. "That—that's not a fair comparison!" she stammers, clearly flustered. "I thought you were going to crash! It was a perfectly legitimate rescue attempt!"

"Uh-huh," Pryce says with obvious amusement, his ears twitching slightly with suppressed laughter. "Because nothing says 'safe landing' like a sharp pointy object flying at someone's face."

"I had perfect control of the trajectory!" Pyrrha protests, her voice rising slightly in pitch. "And I was aiming for your clothing, not your actual body!"

"Relax," Pryce chuckles, clearly enjoying how easily rattled she gets about this. "I'm just messing with you. It worked out fine."

Pyrrha huffs and adjusts her shield, still looking embarrassed. "You're terrible," she mutters, but there's no real anger in her voice.

"Yeah, well, you get used to it," Pryce says with a shrug.

They continue through the forest, following their earlier path back through the undergrowth. Pyrrha seems to gradually relax again, though she occasionally shoots him sideways glances like she's trying to figure out what he might say next.

After several more minutes of walking, the gladiatrix suddenly stops and points toward a cluster of trees off to their left. "There," she says, relief evident in her voice. "I can see it."

Pryce follows her gaze and spots the bronze spear embedded deep into the trunk of a large oak tree, the metal gleaming where sunlight filters through the canopy. The weapon is stuck so deeply that only about a foot of the shaft is visible, the rest buried completely in the bark.

"Damn," he says, impressed despite himself. "How hard did you throw that thing?"

"Hard enough, apparently," She says with a slight wince. "I may have... overcompensated slightly."

Pryce raises an eyebrow and gives her a look that clearly says 'slightly?'

The look makes her fidget for a moment before she breaks into a sprint toward the tree. Instead of stopping, she actually runs up the vertical surface for several steps, using her momentum almost like he uses it when wall climbing in the city.

At the perfect moment, she leaps and grasps the spear's handle, yanking it free from the bark in one swift motion before flipping backward in the air and landing gracefully on her feet, weapon in hand.

"Show off." 

He could probably do something like that too. Maybe. If he really tried.

But his partner doesn't seem to catch his words as she's busy examining her weapon carefully, checking for any damage. The spear shifts smoothly into its rifle form, then to sword mode, and back again.

"Everything looks good," she says with a satisfied nod, spinning the weapon once before settling it into a comfortable grip. "No damage, and no dirt got inside the mechanisms."

"Good to hear," Pryce says, looking up and squinting when sunlight hits his eyes through the canopy. "We should probably get moving toward that temple. I'd rather not be the last ones to show up."

"Agreed," Pyrrha nods, adjusting her gear one final time. "The headmaster did mention that the temple would be to the north, and based on our current position..." She looks around, getting her bearings. "That direction should take us there."