LJNT

Avoiding Lyra

"As all of you know, the Vytal festival begins tomorrow. Everyone here is registered, but not every team will make it until the end. Best of luck to you all; may you represent your school well and have fun!"

Everyone cheered as Professor Ozpin's voice stepped off the stage with Glynda, ending the assembly and commencing the students from every school's excitement. While some students were nervous, there was no one who wasn't looking forward to the fun festival and tournament between schools.

"We've trained so hard for this, we've got it!" Tanya served as the hype woman for team LJNT as she shouted loudly, Atlas soldiers surrounding the perimeter of the school. "I'm so excited!!"

"I was at the last Vytal festival, the one two years ago at Atlas, but that was before I was even a student," Lyra said. "It's awesome, guys. I can't wait to go with all of you! There's parades, food and stalls, dancing-"

"D-Dancing? N-Nothing l-like last time, right?" Nico herself wasn't sure whether she was talking about the dance or the unfortunate Mittlefranken Massacre; either situation hadn't exactly been something Nico wanted to repeat again.

"No, they're just casual sort of dances."

"I am most looking forward to seeing the other schools," Janelle said. "I have never traveled anywhere else aside from Vale, so seeing people from other places is foreign to me..."

"I mean, I'm from Atlas, so," Lyra just gestured down at herself, much to Janelle's exasperation.

"You do not count, Lyra."

"Why not!??"

"Wait! We're going to get to see all types of hunters and huntresses from all over the place!" Tanya exclaimed excitedly. "And-And-wait, we'll see all the Headmasters from around the entire continent-! I mean, Professor Ozpin is the best, but like-! Gah, I'll get to see everyone I've ever idolized in my entire life!!"

"Do you think that Headmaster ___ will even make an appearance?" Janelle asked. "Vacuo in itself is full of anarchy. I highly doubt that it is safe to leave such a dangerous area unguarded..."

"What do you mean unguarded? Vacuo has Pandora. We don't need some Headmaster down there anyway."

Mura popped into the conversation, a smile on his face. Immediately, a grin grew on Lyra's face.

"Oh, you're here!" Lyra cheered. "What's up, Mura! Glad you came."

"Didn't think you'd be so excited to see me," Mura quipped, and Lyra's cheeks reddened. "How was your break? Excited for the festival?"

"Yeah! Oh, Mura, we should totally go grab food together!"

For some reason, Nico really did not like the way Lyra and Mura were speaking.

She didn't know why, considering it was just a normal conversation between two friends...but there was something different in their demeanors. The overall relaxed attitude between the two of them was enough to make Nico uneasy for apparently no reason.

"Uh, you good?" Tanya questioned as she eyed Nico with confusion. Nico tried to shake off the strange feeling.

"Y-Yeah."

"Mura, have you been on any missions recently?" Janelle couldn't help but voice her suspicion about Ozpin's nature. After all, she had seen first hand how capable the boy was, surely he'd be chosen too.

"Nope," Mura answered, immediately shutting down that thought. "None. Why? I thought no one was going on missions cause of the festival."

"Oh, no reason..." Janelle tried to dismiss, but Tanya blatantly interrupted her by saying they had indeed gone on a mission. "...Or not."

"That's...strange. Eh, I wouldn't stress," Mura just shrugged.

"You're right. Now come on, let's go!" Lyra insisted. "Ready, everyone? Nico?"

"W-Where are w-we even going-?"

"Out for lunch!" Lyra chirped before she glanced at Nico expectantly. "So...?"

"I-I'll just..g-go home. I d-don't feel like going out r-right now," Nico muttered. Lyra's smile faded in just the slightest.

"Well, alright. Let's go then," Lyra said, and they all disappeared, talking and laughing loudly together while Nico stared at them as they left.

Why was she feeling something so strange in her chest?

<><><>

Even though Lyra was glad to be out with her friends, Kyra's voice continued to plague Lyra's mind.

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill-

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

But Kyra was relentless, her loud pleas plaguing Lyra's mind continuously. Mura turned to Lyra, a smile on his face.

"You alright, Lyra? You look kinda out of it."

Kill the Grimm! You're worthless without that-

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine," Lyra nodded. "Just ready for lunch."

Ready to kill...

"Yeah, well," Tanya awkwardly placed her hands behind her head, "Janelle and I are actually going out. You know, so busy and stuff!"

"What? I thought-I thought we were all here to celebrate," Lyra frowned, "are we not?"

"Yes, we are, but..." Janelle just sighed before she looked at Lyra. "We wish to have lunch without you."

"Janelle!" Tanya sighed in exasperation before she lightly punched Janelle's arm. Janelle rubbed at her arm, confused as to why Tanya had decided to harm her. "W-What Janelle means is that, you know, we're just...busy! Really busy. With wanting...noodle. Food. Noodle food!"

"Oh, I mean, Mura and I can come with-"

"So we'll be on our way. Bye!" Tanya chirped before her and Janelle disappeared. Lyra's smile faded, and Mura placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm surprised they'd ditch you of all people," Mura mused, "what's wrong with them?"

"...Nothing!" Lyra turned toward Mura, a forced grin on her face. "Let's just eat, us two then. It's not like we wanted them here anyway."

Liar, liar. You're not fooling anyone. Do a better job than that. Kill the Grimm while you're at it, Kyra's voice continued to taunt. Lyra ignored her sister as she tried desperately to remain calm.

"Are you sure?" Mura questioned. "I'm here if you wanna talk."

"...Of course I want to talk! About you and your team. You haven't really told me much about them."

"Lyra..."

"...It's...it's fine. I just never thought they'd ditch me too," Lyra chuckled, her tone amicable, unlike her words. "I get it. It's alright. They don't want to be around me. No matter what I do, the only person I can count on is Pyrrha..."

"That's not true," Mura placed a hand on Lyra's shoulder. "You can count on me, too. I mean, I don't know what's going on with you, but...I'm willing to be here."

"I...I appreciate that, but that's what everyone says. Until they get to know..." Lyra's voice trailed off. "I've seen what everyone thinks of the real me. No matter what she says, I know she'll hate me like everyone else...just like you would."

"I don't think so."

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better," Lyra laughed, a bitter tone over laced in her words before she straightened up, a wide smile on her face. "Now, let's go get lunch. I'm starved!"

"Lyra..." Mura sighed. "Alright then, let's go. What were you thinking?"

About killing the Grimm, Kyra snickered. Lyra shrugged.

"How about drinks instead? I'd like to get my mind off of things."

"Alright. I've got some in my fridge."

"Sounds perfect to me."