LJNT

The Trigger

"Nico! There you are. Are you okay!?"

Tanya ran up toward her friend before she engulfed the smaller girl in a large hug. Nico didn't move, unsure of what to do. She couldn't quite say she felt how she did with Lyra, now that Lyra had pointed out Tanya's actions...

Dammit, why was her partner so confusing about everything?

Nico shook that thought off. Like usual, her encounter with Lyra had confused her and taken over her entire thought process.

Perhaps Lyra had been counting on that to take Nico's thought process off of the situation.

"Y-Yeah...I g-guess I'm okay now," Nico muttered. Sure, she was alright...mostly because she had no choice. She could see stares being thrown her direction, and she winced. "K-Kinda..."

"Ignore them," Janelle folded her arms over her chest. "Ignorant just as I used to be."

"I-I wish it w-was that easy..."

"Me too! Janelle and I were trying to convince the crowd that you were fine, and they..." Tanya sighed. "They didn't really listen. I'm surprised no Grimm attacked, actually."

"Nico! You are alright!" Penny spotted the group before she zoomed over and placed her hands on Nico's shoulders. "Is everything okay? Do I need to beat up those that are not your friends?"

"...I-It's fine. T-T-They can't help it," Nico mumbled. "I-I look like a m-monster, what do they expect..."

"The real monsters never look like one on the outside. They always hide their true self,"Janelle said solemnly, and the team couldn't help but sneak a glance at Lyra, who looked behind her before shrugging.

"What?"

"Nothing," Janelle said a little too quickly, rushing to move on. Lyra frowned as she looked down at herself before her gaze traveled to Nico. The silence was overwhelming as no one said anything, not a single word in Lyra's defense.

Her team, always ones to speak of being together and supporting each other no matter what, said nothing.

Something inside of her snapped.

"A real monster? Is that what you all see her as?" Kyra's words tumbled out of Lyra's mouth before Lyra could stop them. "Just like the rest of the whole world?"

"N-Not the w-whole world," Nico mumbled, obviously misunderstanding who Lyra was speaking about. "J-Just those at the t-tournament..."

"...Oh, just those at the tournament... The Vytal festival is on every television screen," Kyra's thoughts flew from Lyra's mouth unbridled. The perpetual smile always forced onto Lyra's face had disappeared. Lyra lifted her head, taking ahold of herself again.'"If you were smart, you would have known that. So...the whole world knows!"

"Uh, maybe not the greatest thing to say?" Tanya sighed. "The whole world will see how wrong they are about you."

"Yes, I am sure of this!" Penny smiled. "Just as they will learn to be accepting of my upbringing. After the 1v1's, I will represent Atlas accordingly with my victory!"

"Oh, right, the 1v1's..." Janelle eyed Nico. "You should participate. Then you can show everyone you are not what they think you are-"

"That's a terrible idea," Lyra said flatly, drawing everyone's attention. Flecks of green were scattered in her eyes. This time, her words were entirely her own. "You win anything, they'll blame it on you being a Grimm. You'll cause an uproar for your Grimm instincts."

"Lyra, that is not what you should be saying right now-"

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Lyra laughed under her breath. "Kyra seems to think so. What, you don't like that because it's the truth?"