Another Sad Beginning

## Roleplay

Cole was carrying his duffle bag as he disembarked from the ferry that had transported him and a few hundred more students to Shade from Vacuo.

Why did he have to come here? Why was he transferred to Shade Academy? Was he no allegeable for Beacon? After what had happened to him in the past months, Cole didn't feel like continuing his training as a Huntsman. He was left heartbroken and confused by someone he thought had loved him.

He had wished he would have never met the girl but what has happened has happened, the best he hoped was to not meet the others here in Shade and maybe even his close confidant, Eric Light. He and Eric went way back, before Beacon before the discovery of a secret underground base under Beacon.

Dragging his legs, Cole made his way off the ferry and onto the pier were he looked around, trying to find somewhere to go, his slow pace was being passed by many other students and he was roughly brushed out of their way. One of which managed to caused him to fall.

"Why... me" Cole muttered under his breath as he slowly got up and pick up his bag before continuing his walk off the crowd filled pier.

In the crowd there was a tall green haired woman with two feathers sticking out of her head. She was going to Shade to visit the heterochromatic boy she met the previous week and maybe see if the school had anything of value. After all, she was a thief. "I wonder if they have safe...Nah, probably not and my safe cracking skills suck anyways" She laughed, the 2 large claws on her feet tapping against the ground as she waited.

It had been some time since Cookie had lived in Shade Academy. Since she entered more on a break time for school, she did not have any people she called as friends and spent most of her time either studying academically or religiously. She sighed as she planned to sit near the lake for some time to relax for a bit and to bring back any types of pretty plants she usually found. Though she wasn't interested in man made types of things... these were made by nature.. by the divine and she wanted to learn more about them in her way. So, she carried her back with her and her attire was her previous non religious uniform that looked like a somewhat prim dress.

Cole made his way off the the pier and looked around, wondering where to go next. He was lost without his friend. He may not have wanted to see him, but without him, Cole felt lost, useless and helpless.

"Where do I go now... I just wished I could have known." Cole sighed before walking over to a badly vandalised benched and sat on it.

Noticing the dark male, Cookie was going to go off to the side and try to not get involved... but then when she heard that person speaking to himself sounding remorseful, Cookie's attention was captured. Now, she decided it was best to be a proper nun about this and went up to him kneeling, "I can help you find your answer if you'd like," she looked a little awkward. She wasn't really good at this.

Cole slowly looked up to the figure that approached her.
Trying his best to put up the facade that was his "cheerful and gleeful self"

"Oh hello there. And I was just wondering if I could find out where should I be heading?" Cole gave a bright smile but even with the smile, he couldn't hide the fact that he was still the miserable old Cole, just trying to hide from his past.

The woman yawned, she was tired from a sleepless night, one of many. She heard some commotion, curious she decided to investigate. "Well that's up to you" She said with a smirk. "Unless you're talking about an actual destination that I can help with" The woman looked over to Cookie, her avian eyes. Crossing her arms to were the feathers on her forearms brushing against each other.

Cookie looked curiously at Cole and gave a slight raise of the eyebrow to show him that she wasn't buying the whole facade of his cheerful tone. It's not that she thought he was lying... but she could tell something as easy as not feeling the right emotion or expressing it. "I think I can help... if that's okay. No matter what destination it it," she said, trying to give a little more aid than the other person she didn't feel like she should address fully until she took care of this other.

For once in a while, she gave a light smile.

Cole sighed as the girl that was talking to him didn't buy into his facade, the other girl wasn't helping his mood either. Cole just looked up to her and gave a weak smile.

"Thank you..

But do you have any idea on where to find the tallest building?" Cole asked the girl as suicidal thoughts filled his mind.

"The... tower at the main building probably..." Cookie said hesitantly, "Would you mind if I went with you..?" she wanted to see if she could help but she also felt like... she just wanted to be around him. Like that she felt different around him. Also this was a chance to get away from the harsh looking avian faunus who didn't seem to be appropriate for the situation. "Want to to..?" she asked finally, weirded out by how much she was speaking.

Shrugging, Delta decided to go somewhere else, or virus she wasn't wanted.

"Thanks. And why would you want to come with me? I'm uninteresting, sad and new guy." Cole said bluntly with a sigh before getting up and made his way to the main tower

Cookie was walking alongside him and took in his words for once genuinely reflecting on them, "Well, we're in the same boat," she said softly, hopefully things could be a little more understood through that phrase. She was also uninteresting, unappealing, just a normal average student who happened to be there.

Cole sighed,

"If you want to join me, how's a suicidal pact sound? I maybe have just met you but that doesn't seem to stop anyone.." Cole said, his facial expression was just dead. He didn't know what to do anymore, there's nothing else he could have gone on with.

Cookie tilted her head slightly at Cole's suggestion, "I don't think so...." she said softly, "Even if I want to get closer to my faith.. I don't want to do that quite yet.... I... just wanted to see if I could talk to you... For some reason I feel like we'd understand each other even if I feel a little differently from you.." She didn't know how to continue properly.. she was confused about the stirring of actual emotions deep inside she normally never felt. But wanted to detach from it despite not being able to.

She sighed and unfurled her tail as she walked beside him. "Can I help you...?" she asked softly to no one.

"That's nice of you... And if you can change my fate and my past, then maybe you can help.." Cole sighed aa he brought his knees up to his chest, holding them tighter to himself and burying his face in it

Kneeling down to pet Cole's back and wrap her tail around him, Cookie tried her best in the whole comforting thing, even if it was not her specialty. "I don't know if I can change anything... maybe... I am the tool to do something like that though. If you believe in faith that is..." she said softly, but tried to focus more on his emotions, "Why do you want to change it?"

Cole tried to move around in Cookie's tail by gave in finally as he could feel his nerves calming down.

"Be..because of what happened to me... To my family and friends... And even the girl I loved the most...She just cheated on me with another.." Cole was begining to shed a tear

Her tail unfurled and continued to pet him slightly, she nodded about the loss, "I... am really sorry about that girl... I don't know what to do about that, but if you want, maybe we can offer a prayer to your family and friends?" she asked lightly, her mind mostly trying to integrate her nun status with normal interactions. She hopped there could be some positive energy gained from a prayer together.

"Prayer? What does it do? My family and friends are gone.." Cole said while looking away, trying to free his arms at the same time.

Cookie thought pensively for a moment and realized that she couldn't come up with an answer appropriately. There were scriptures and other studies but she was never good enough at them to dedicate them to full memory, "Prayer... helps..." she started lightly, a feeling in between anxiety and fear, and relief but not either.

Cole sighed.

"If...you say so, then maybe we can pray for them" Cole hesitantly agreed to thw nun to pray for his past family and friends. However, he thought it would be useless, praying doesn't bring them back nor does it helps them to be at ease, or does it? He had no Idea, he was just a simple village boy who had everything he could have wanted but didn't have any of it.

Cookie nodded, relieved at having the opportunity of a prayer accepted as she clasped their hands together and started the prayer, "Oh, Holy One, thy light shines ever so brightly. We do not let darkness touch our hearts and we ask of you here to guide the negativity away from within us and to aid in the transcendence of the beloved departed. Amen," she finished the prayer together and kept her eyes closed seemingly trying to channel energy of positivity and light. Honestly her face was slightly scrunched and she seemed to be trying to force it and it showed with cracked expressions.. looking as though she was going to break at any second. She never had anything, this lost orphan not belonging anywhere even in faith..

Cole looked at Cookie and gave out a sigh.

"Thank you...for reminding who I was.." Cole managed to relax and free his hand and placed one on Cookie's shoulder, gently smiling.

"Thank you, miss."

Cookie allowed the placement of his hand on her shoulder and was able to relax surprisingly. Her tail naturally uncurled and she opened her eyes slightly to smile at him, "I'm so glad..." she said, relieved, "I am still figuring myself..."

"And...who are you? I must thank you again...for reminding me of who I once was...who I am...Helping people..when they need it." Cole said with a sighed of relief and smiling brightly once more

Also feeling slightly calmed by the ability to aid another person even if that feeling in general felt rather... dysphoric to her, she still appreciated his sentiment and it translated into a warm smile in return. She put her hair behind her ear as she slightly frowned, thinking to his first question, "Ah... My name is... Cookie..." she said, unsure about what else to say or what else to do from there. She had a difficult time understanding many things about herself and wasn't sure about being able to do so now so she tried to keep the smile again just wanting to keep the moment... happy? Was that the word?

"Hello, Cookie, I'm Cole. Nice to meet you!" Cole gave a vibrant smile to the girl beside him.

"That's a sweet name. Mines says it's like charcoal.." Cole smiles trying to comfort her as he could see that she saw that she was just a spec of nothingness in this world. Cole, Cole knew how it felt like, for the past few months, it was depressing for him, the girl of his life left his life for another, he was accused of something he didn't or may have done without knowing, and his best friend just vanished.

Cookie? Sweet? Well... she supposed... but maybe that's why it didn't fit? She wasn't a sweet person after all and having her own name not fit someone really showed her her lack of being able to belong... in anything.

Still, she smiled lightly, as she wanted to appreciate the compliment, "But... Charcoal is indeed something more useful than a cookie. I like your name..." she said with soft smile. Wanting to connect more to him, it seemed that their thoughts just weren't fully there yet, "I don't think my name suits me...." she said finally.

"Why won't your name suit you? You're cute, and not to mention, sweet enough to be eaten...Well maybr not eaten" Cole chuckled while still smiling brightly, so there are people out there that thinks like me, Cole thought. He did his best to comfort the faunus girl in front of him

Instantly raising an eyebrow at the thought of being "cute" and "sweet" then slightly taken aback about the "eaten" part... "Eaten...? Well... I'd be put to better use that way..." she said softly then shook her head, "I guess I don't feel that way about myself and I don't know what I feel about myself actually. But I know it's not that..."

Oddly, she was expecting to be taking care of him using her spirituality. Maybe she just wasn't good enough with it which is why it changed so that she was the one being comforted. Was that appropriate...? Not sure, she curled her tail around him again.

Cole let out a sigh of comfort as Cookie curled her tail around him.

"So comfy. And I can help you find out how you feel about yourself" Cole offered while still smiling vibrantly. Usually his smile would have been able to cheer anyone up but this time, the faunus girl is different, Cole decided to continue to comfort her and be with her till she was better and maybe even so on to keep everyone happy

Tensing up slightly at the vocal expression of comfort from the tail touch, Cookie kept her tail around him, softly rubbing his arm with it mostly out of confusion. She never really touched anyone before... much less a male... Though that didn't seem to be the problem.

The problem was that Cookie was supposed to be feeling cheeful... but wasn't. She simply nodded in response, a little concerned.

"Okay, what seem to be troubling you? Because..I can see it in your eyes like how you saw my sorrow through my smile." Cole said as he straightened himself in Cookie's tail and turned to face her.

"I wish to say nothing and I wish to say something and I wish to not say either at all and I wish nothing but what I wish which is neither something or nothing."

This... could have gone on and one for her. It's something. But its nothing. Even this was another sad beginning. Yet wasn't.

Cole tilted his head side ways as the girl spoke.

"I'm confused but I will help you none the less because you are my friend and you broke me out of my curse." Cole smiled at her before hugging the girl.