Pearls on a String

Volume 3

Chapter 28: Tourists

Beacon Academy

Friday Afternoon

Pip grinned fiercely, her long blonde ponytail swinging out behind her like a actual tail as she spun low under the vicious spear thrust. In reply, she lashed out with her greatsword, Odachi Dahlia, forcing her opponent to skip nimbly backwards.

Instead of following up, the lanky team leader changed her spin into a side hop, bringing her weapon down into an overhand swing at a certain dust mage who'd allowed herself to get a bit too close to the action.

Raye, the chestnut-haired Wolf Faunus who was her current object of aggression, let out a yelp as she somersaulted backwards. She still managed to flick her weapon out, a closed fan that served as a wand in this form, and send a spray of ice shards at Pip.

The blonde's grin widened as she held her hand up, willing a tendril of aura to trigger her dust-imbued body. A quick pulse of red shot up the veins of her arm, before a blast of heat erupted from her open palm. The ice dissipated harmlessly into vapor.

"Seriously?" Raye cried out in dismay.

Pip laughed merrily, but before she could make a snarky comeback, her original opponent flew in at her again. "Hey, we're not done yet!" Sepia barked. Her spear flashed out once more, held in only one hand this time while the other clutched her buckler to intercept Pip's counterattack.

The blonde backed up, whirling her sword around her to fend off the furious onslaught. Out of the corner of her eye she noted that Lustre was pressing Ivory hard. The silver-haired girl was almost a blur with her staff, and the white-haired Fox Faunus had a hard time keeping up using her dual-wielded short swords.

Another quick glance told her Beryl was still having difficulty freeing herself from the muddy morass that Raye had encased her in. With the blue-haired girl out of commission temporarily, it was three on four, giving Pip's team a disadvantage.

At least, it would seem that way at first glance.

She saw the team leader of IRIS, Indie, dart in at Lustre's back, her shoulder-length blonde hair frazzled from the number of times she'd had to roll on the ground out of the way of constant attacks. And, sure enough, before she could reach her target, Evie was there. The Cat Faunus blinked in and swung her scimitar to cut Indie's legs out from under her, but the blonde managed to jump at the last second, only to once again roll into the dirt.

"You're doing that on purpose!" Indie growled, swinging her nunchucks out behind her, hoping to catch the raven-haired girl by surprise.

By that point, of course, Evie was already gone, teleporting over to harass Raye once more.

"Perhaps you should not have made fun of her girlfriend's hair," Lustre commented mildly as she darted past the prone girl, pursuing the nimble snow fox as she tried to get range for her pistols. Of course, she made a swipe with her staff as she passed that Indie only barely managed to dodge.

"I wasn't… Ugh!" Indie shook her head irritably as she climbed to her feet. "I just asked if it was a dye job! How was I to know?"

By this point Beryl had finally freed herself and began trudging over, leaving muddy footsteps in her wake. "Not to worry, Indie," she grinned. "I'm sure she'll forgive you by the end of the match."

"Thank Oum for small favors," Indie grumbled, twirling her nunchucks around her torso. "Let's go, then, Blue."

"One sec," Beryl said with a smirk, slowing her approach. Indie's brow furrowed, but then Evie was at her side again, this time managing to kick her feet out from under her with a leg sweep before teleporting off again.

"Oh come on!" Indie yelled furiously, her emerald green eyes glittering with anger. "That's it!"

The blonde snapped her nunchucks in her hands, activating the red dust chamber as she jumped to her feet and ran at Beryl. The blue-haired girl raised her shield and activated her semblance, a blue glow encasing her form.

Normally, Indie's semblance protected her from the effects of red dust, which usually led to her rather reckless use of it in battle, much to the chagrin of her teammates. In this case, though, it was more the violent explosion as she connected with Beryl's shield and semblance that caused her to be flung away like a rag doll.

Along with everyone else in the sparring arena.

When the dust settled, Beryl was the only one still standing, though she looked a little stunned. Pip groaned as she levered herself up onto her elbows to glance up at the aura board.

Due to her immunity to fire, she only received minor damage from the blast itself, and her aura level was still in the green, as were both Indie and Beryl. Lustre and Sepia were barely into the yellow, but the other three, Evie, Raye, and Ivory were all eliminated from the fight.

"So," the blonde called out cheerfully. "Still wanna go on, three on two?"

"No point," Indie groaned from where she lay flat on her back.

Her teammate Ivory stalked up with a limp to glare down at her team leader, her fluffy white fox tail bristling angrily behind her. "Indie, we are going to have a serious team meeting about your red dust use."

"Seconded," Raye called out weakly, raising her hand into the air only to let it fall limply back alongside her prone form.

"Yeah, I know," Indie replied abashedly. "Sorry guys, I lost my head again."

"It happens," Pip said with a grin. "I've been known to do the same, once or twice."

Beryl let out an amused snort as she helped her raven-haired girlfriend to her feet. "Yeah, once or twice a week, maybe."

"Heard that."

"Not trying to be all that quiet about it, oh fearless leader."

"See?" Pip smirked. "The heavy burden of leadership."

Evie wordlessly flicked the blonde upside the back of her head with her tail as she passed her, arms linked with Beryl.

Indie just grinned widely and shook her head. "Ahh, Dust. It's gonna be a long summer without you guys to harass."

"Be over before you know it," Pip chuckled, bringing her recently-made friend in for one of her customary tight hugs. "Sorry you don't get to spend it with your team like I do."

"Pfft, no, we need a break from each other," the other blonde chuckled lightly. "I mean, yeah, I love 'em like sisters, but we'll be better for having a month off."

The two teams separated with cheerful cries of goodbye and thanks for the last-minute sparring session.

"So, back to the room to finish packing?" Lustre asked with an excited twinkle in her pale blue eyes. The Mistralian native was looking forward to seeing her family again, as she only got to visit twice a year, but more so she was excited to be bringing her new family along with her.

"Yep, let's get finished," Pip declared, wrapping an arm around both the silver-haired girl and her Faunus partner.

The latter sniffed, wrinkling her delicate nose as she ducked under the arm. "Shower, first," she declared sternly. "Definitely a shower first."

o o o

The blonde team leader crossed her arms as she examined her bags, mentally going over what she'd packed for their month-long summer excursion to Mistral.

It was a good way to keep her mind off of her nervousness.

Her field pack was stuffed to its limits with clothing, toiletries, weapon and armor maintenance kits, as well as an extra set of her specially-made fire-proof matching white halter top and exercise shorts that she normally wore under her armor.

She'd tried to convince the others of the tactical advantages of surprise nudity during combat, were she to suddenly combust, but they didn't find it nearly as hilarious as she did.

Granted, keeping a sense of humor about my situation is the only way I've managed to not go stark, raving mad.

She flexed her fingers absent-mindedly, sending just a tendril of aura along her arm. Her fingertips glowed softly, and she held them up to her face, wiggling them about like dancing fireflies.

"Playing with yourself again?" her partner snarked from atop her bed.

Pip snorted humorously, dismissing the heat as she glanced up from where she sat, crossed-legged, on the floor. "You know it. Can't help myself."

The raven-haired Faunus snickered, her tail swishing playfully behind her as she rolled over onto her stomach. "Always knew you were debauched."

Wagging her eyebrows outrageously, the blonde wiggled her fingers once more. "Y'know, though, it'd almost be like having a heated-"

"Gods, Pip, stop that thought right there!" Beryl protested loudly, stomping over from her bed and glaring down with her fists planted on her hips and her light bronze eyes flashing irritably. "I do not need to know about your… you know… and you… Argh!"

She fell onto her back, laughing merrily at her teammate's consternation. "Oh, babe… come on, now, you can say it, I know you do it…"

The diminutive blue-haired girl blushed a bright cherry red as her mouth opened and closed wordlessly.

Pip sat back up, grinning widely as she leaned forward. "Masterbation," she whispered gleefully.

If anything, Beryl's blush intensified. "Gah!" she screamed, flinging her hands into the air as she stalked over to her girlfriend. "I swear to Oum, Pip, one of these days, you're gonna wake up missing a spleen!"

"Wow, that's a new one," the blonde replied mirthfully. "Impressive, actually, I like it."

"Oh, bite me," the blue-haired girl grumbled as she crawled over her softly giggling girlfriend. She flopped down, draping an arm across the Cat Faunus' back.

"Sorry, nope, that's her job."

"Evie, she's picking on me," Beryl whined piteously.

"Want me to pounce her?" Evie asked over her shoulder, a gleam in her eyes and a wide grin on her face.

Beryl grinned back, moving her arm away. "Go for it."

"Now wait just a min- Ack!"

Evie didn't even bother leaping from the bed, she simply teleported to a foot over Pip's head and let herself drop. The blonde was caught completely off-guard for a change, and went bowling over backwards until she was pinned to the floor by the lithe Cat Faunus.

"You give?" the other girl asked, showing entire too many teeth in her wide grin as her tail flicked back and forth eagerly.

"Mmmayyybeee," Pip drawled nervously as she eyed her partner's slightly extended canines. "You gonna eat me if I don't?"

"I don't eat junk food," Evie snickered.

"Oh, low blow babe, low blow…"

"You might as well surrender now, Pip," Lustre's voice came from her top bunk. "Woman up and admit defeat."

Pip barked out a quick laugh. "Damn, listen to you, Lustre, with the snark. Alright, alright, I give. I am sorry, Beryl, for picking on you and embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend, even though we all just wish you'd do the deed and get it over with."

Above her, Evie was begun to ease back, but at the last statement leaned in again with a low growl, her sapphire blue eyes glittering dangerously. The twin scars down her face, one of which crossed her eye, stood out clearly on her flushed face.

"Okay, yeah that last bit kinda crossed the line and I'm really sorry to both of you and please don't rip my throat out," Pip rapidly squeaked.

"Hmm." Evie sat back, her ears twitching, but she didn't move from her perch on the tall girl's torso. "What do you think, sweetie? Should I still eviscerate her?"

"Please no," the blonde whimpered.

"Oh, let the big doofus up," Beryl laughed. "No complaining the next time you walk in on us making out, though, you got me?"

"Yep, you betcha," Pip chuckled ruefully, sitting upright once Evie rolled off with her usual fluid grace. Her knee banged up against her second bag, filled with her armor and the weapon case for her beloved greatsword. "So, are we all pretty much set to go?"

Her question was met by a chorus of affirmatives.

"Right." She stood up with her hands on her hips, surveying the room. They'd managed to confirm that they would retain the same room next year, so with permission from Ozpin himself left the beds bunked. Which was a good thing, as most of the room was taken up with the boxed possessions of Team PERL, labelled with name and room number. They'd be carted out and into storage for the next month while the rooms were thoroughly cleaned.

She sighed softly, her face falling back into the serious, contemplative lines that she'd been exhibiting so often the past two weeks.

Ever since she found out her mom might actually be alive still.

"Hey," a soft voice called out.

Pip glanced over to note both Evie and Beryl sitting side by side with reassuring smiles on their faces. "It's gonna be okay," her partner continued. "We'll be with you every step of the way."

"That is correct," Lustre added as she nimbly hopped down from her bunk, overstuffed knapsack in hand. "We will not abandon you in this quest, and you will not be facing this alone."

"I know," the blonde nodded with a wan smile. "I do, really. You know how much I love you guys, right?"

"I think we have an idea," Beryl grinned cheekily. "Even if you are a pain in the ass much of the time."

"All part of my charm, babe."

"No, Pip, it isn't really…"

Mistral

Saturday Morning

The four team members trudged off of the airship wearily, Beryl rubbing her eyes while Evie stretched as only a Cat Faunus could. Pip seemed to be shambling along half-asleep, while only Lustre seemed to be awake and alert. The damp humidity seemed to sap what little energy the rest of them had.

The blue-haired girl shook her head as she slung her shield over her shoulder, field pack in her hand. Should have tried sleeping earlier on the flight and not stayed awake talking.

"You okay, sweetie?" Evie murmured, bumping her shoulder gently.

"'Course I am," she grinned back, exulting in the little flare of aura as hers reacted to Evie's from the touch. "You?"

"Hmm… I suppose, maybe just a little anxious about being in a new place. And meeting new people. Never really did get a measure of what Lustre's parents are like."

Beryl shrugged unconcernedly. Normally she'd be the shy, socially awkward one to cling to the back of the group, but since she'd started dating Evie, sharing a bed with her, not to mention their auras… Well, it all just seemed to fade into a certain insignificance.

That didn't mean she was suddenly the paragon of confidence by any means. But with her girlfriend at her side, she simply knew she'd be able to handle whatever came their way.

"I know she's an only child," Beryl began as they walked along, following in Lustre's footsteps. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Pip was still trailing behind, the blonde's eyelids only half open. "Other than that, I suppose they'd be kinda like Lustre herself, right?"

"Well, I guess we'll see," Evie smirked, pointing ahead.

Lustre had increased the length of her strides as she spotted an elderly-looking couple ahead. They were dressed in loose but colorful clothes, and had the same dusky skin as Lustre. The man, evidently her father, was of an ever darker shade, almost the color of a Grimm, but he had an easy smile on his face that showed off pearly-white teeth as he gave Lustre a tight hug.

The silver-haired girl turned and gestured the rest of them forward. "Mami, Papi, these are my teammates. This is Evie, and Beryl, and bringing up the rear is Pip, my team leader."

"Welcome to Mistral," Lustre's father said warmly, his voice mellow and soothing. "We are so very happy you have come to visit with our dear Lustre."

"Yes, indeed," her mother smiled, her syrupy voice holding the same curious accent as Lustre's. Evidently she got her looks from her mother as well, though the older woman's silver hair fell in long, wavy locks down her back. "Please, come along now and we will bring you to our home."

Pip just nodded sleepily, which caused Evie to roll her eyes in exasperation. "We're very happy to be here, Mr and Mrs Bijou, and thanks so much for your hospitality."

Beryl smiled with a nod of her own. "Yeah, thanks for having us here."

"Oh, it is not a concern. Now come, come," the older woman beckoned. "I do believe your friend Pip is about to fall asleep on her feet, the poor thing."

The petite blue-haired girl jabbed an elbow into Pip's ribcage, startling her into awareness. "Huh? Oh, um, hey there… Er, thanks for letting us stay with you guys and all…"

"It is fine, dear," Mrs Bijou said with a tinkling laugh. "Come along, now."

Bijou Residence, Mistral

The house that Lustre had grown up in was larger than Beryl had expected. It was two stories, with an odd architecture that she hadn't ever seen before. The outside was covered by some sort of white plaster, and there seemed to be exposed beams sticking out the sides of the house from the rooftop.

But as they entered, the heat and humidity that had plagued them since they set foot in Mistral faded away. It was cool inside, with few windows but plenty of both lighting and colors.

"Here, this way please," the mother gestured towards the stairs. "Lustre, dear, show your guests to their rooms. It is set up as you requested."

Her silver-haired teammate smiled softly and gave her mother another hug. "Thank you so much, Mami. Perhaps we shall take a short nap, and join you for dinner?"

"That would be lovely. We shall see you then."

Mr Bijou gave them a friendly nod as they passed, trudging up the steps. Lustre paused in the upper hallway, gesturing to the right.

"My parents sleep through that door, and they have their own bathroom. This door in the middle is the restroom we may use, and here is my bedroom." She glanced at the lanky blonde currently being held up only by the grace of a nearby wall. "Pip, I hope you will not object to staying in my room? I have two beds."

"Sounds spectacular," Pip slurred, lurching through the door Lustre indicated. The silver-haired girl shoved her in the direction of the bed she would be using before turning to the others.

"So… I have a small treat for you," she smiled hesitantly. She led them further down the hall to a room next to the bathroom and opened the door. In it was a full-sized bed with bright green coverings.

"This is for the both of you," Lustre murmured, her pale blue eyes shining with heartfelt emotion. "It is usually reserved for visiting family, but I thought you might appreciate the accommodations."

"You, partner, are all kinds of awesome." Beryl wrapped her arms around her middle and gave her a tight hug, soon joined by Evie.

"Thank you so much, sweetie," the Cat Faunus murmured. "This is really nice."

"It is my pleasure," she murmured in reply once they disengaged. "I shall knock on your door once dinner is ready. Have a nice nap."

Once they were inside and had dropped their bags to the side, Beryl and Evie faced each other with wide grins.

"I know we're here to help Pip and all," the raven-haired girl began with an excited whisper, "but this is gonna be such an awesome vacation!"

"Yeah, it is," Beryl murmured, closing the distance so that she could embrace her girlfriend. She stood up on her tiptoes to seal her lips against the other girl's, but Evie was quick to lean down somewhat and deepen the kiss. Their tongues danced alongside each other's languidly, as if they had all the time in the world to enjoy one another.

Of course, that was not to be, as a hesitant knock sounded on their door. The couple broke apart, giggling, while Beryl walked over to the door.

"Did you forget some- Oh." She blinked her eyes at Mrs Bijou. "Er, sorry, ma'am. Did you need something?"

"May I enter?" the older woman asked hesitantly.

"Um, of course, I mean, it's your house and all, and… Yeah, lemme just get out of the way…"

Lustre's mother closed the door quietly behind her, and she stood with her hands clasped in front while she looked the couple over.

"I hope your accommodations are agreeable?" she began quietly with a small, inquisitive smile.

"Oh, more than," Evie smiled back. "Really, we're very grateful."

The silver-haired woman nodded, seemingly uncertain as she opened and closed her mouth a few times before getting to her point. "I just wanted to let you know… Well, more to the point, to understand, really. Er, the two of you are a couple, are you not?"

"We are, yes," Beryl answered cautiously, stepping back up against her girlfriend. Evie was quick to grasp the hand that she held behind her.

"Hmm." She tilted her head and looked at them thoughtfully. "I must admit, my husband and I are… unused to couples of the same gender. We do try to be as open-minded as we can, however, especially for our daughter's friends." She smiled then, and it was both genuine and reassuring. "Truthfully, I know she feels much more strongly about her team than that, if her messages home are any indication. Granted she has not told us everything she has been up to, but I imagine you have all held each other's lives in your hands, have you not?"

Both Evie and Beryl nodded quickly. "Absolutely, we all think of each other as family," the blue-haired girl was quick to interject. "Sisters."

"That is indeed nice. If I may be so bold… Does this not pose a problem to the two of you, being a couple? I do not want to sound degrading at all, but what if difficulties were to arise in the future between the two of you?" She raised her hands quickly in a defensive manner. "Please understand, I only ask as a concerned mother, since my daughter's life in indeed in your hands."

"It's alright, ma'am," the Cat Faunus stated solemnly. "We are best of friends first and foremost. Ultimately, though, there is no way I could ever dream of hurting my Mate- er, I mean, my girlfriend." She stopped then, glancing down at the floor and blushing furiously.

Beryl shot her a curious look before continuing. "We really do love one another, and with everything we've been through and shared… Well, I have to agree, there's just no way we could hurt each other in such a way."

"I see." Mrs Bijou inclined her head before turning towards the door. "I thank you for setting at ease the mind of an old woman. I shall see you for dinner." With that she left the room, closing the door behind her.

Evie quickly stepped away and pulled the sheets down on the bed. "So, we should take that nap now, right?" she asked, her words just a little too quick to be normal.

Stepping up close behind her, Beryl wrapped her arms around her middle. "Come on now, kitty cat. Talk to me, what's troubling you?"

"Nothing, really… It's… nothing…"

Beryl hummed to herself thoughtfully as she rubbed her face along Evie's spine. "Was it what you said, about me being your… Mate?"

Her girlfriend seemed to deflate slightly, sagging in her arms. "I did not mean to say that…"

"But you were thinking it."

"...I was, yes…"

Beryl nodded, rising up to her tiptoes to kiss the back of Evie's neck, making her giggle slightly. With a grin, she headed around to the other side of the bed and began removing her clothes.

Even after sharing a bed for as long as she had with Evie, she still felt somewhat bashful disrobing around her. Granted, some of that was due to the fact that they had only, to this point, just fooled around. But she could never quite get over her own insecurities about her body. Yes, she was fairly toned and muscular, but it came at the cost of any feminine curves whatsoever, not to mention a bust size that was less than ideal, if one were to be generous.

Still, for whatever reason, her Faunus girlfriend did enjoy watching her undress just as much as she enjoyed watching her do the same. So, for her sake, she didn't turn away while she stripped off her tee shirt and jeans, leaving her in only her one-step-above-a-training-bra and boy shorts underwear.

She glanced up and was taken aback by the heat in Evie's sapphire blue eyes, the sort of hunger that made her go weak in the knees when it was directed at her.

"Umm," she breathed. "Do you wanna… cuddle a bit, before we nap?"

"Yeah," Evie murmured as she began to ease her clothes off. "Cuddle. Right."

Beryl eased herself under the covers with a smirk, folding her hands behind her head while Evie slipped her halter top over her head. Unlike Beryl, the raven-haired girl had a nicely ample bosom, not too top heavy but just enough for her to comfortably snuggle herself into.

She licked her dry lips as the Cat Faunus pulled her shorts off, showing her lacy black panties that matched the very skimpy bra. "Oh my freaking Oum, kitty cat, you're killing me here…"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she replied softly, crawling into bed with her tail swishing lazily behind her. "I really don't mean to tease you so much… Um, can we still, you know… fool around a little?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Beryl grinned. She pulled Evie into her, giving her a warm but brief kiss. "I'd really like to hear a little about this mating thing first, though," she cautioned hesitantly. "I mean, it's not the first time I've heard it, but we've never really talked about it…"

Evie groaned softly and burrowed her face into the blue-haired girl's shoulder. "Can we not just yet?" she whispered. "I mean, yes, soon we can talk, I just… I need to get a few things straight in my own head first. Okay?"

"Toldya before, love, I'm not going anywhere," Beryl murmured, reaching up to stroke her fingers along her Faunus ears. She lingered along the missing chunk out of one ear, smiling somewhat sadly. "And I never will leave you, no matter what. I can wait till Remnant crumbles for you."

"Such a romantic," Evie giggled softly, rubbing her cheek along her collarbone. "And you're so patient with me… What did I do to deserve you?"

"Saved my life, for starters."

"No, I think that's the other way around."

"Nope," Beryl replied, her smile widening. "You save my life every day by being in it."

Evie pulled back at stared at her in the eyes. "Oum, that was smooth. How long have you been sitting on that one?"

"For awhile now," she admitted wryly. "Kept waiting for the right moment."

"Well, that was definitely it. Romantic as all Dust and gone, but yeah. Nice."

"So why aren't you kissing me yet?' Beryl asked softly.

"That," Evie murmured against her lips, "is an excellent question."

A/N: Sweet mother of Oum, I'm back! So, I'm definitely getting back into the swing of things. I've slowed down on writing A Thorny Tangled Triangle to three times a week now, but alongside this story I have another one I've started, Ember Legacy. That one will be weekly, and I hope to stick with that for Pearls as well, but it might shift to every other week or so. Have no fear, though, I have a lot of story left for these girls. The entirety of Volume 3 is mapped out, and I already have some ideas for Volume 4. In the hunt for Pip's mother, though, expect some new faces and an unexpected twist or two. Along with some development of Evie and Beryl's relationship. (Yay!)

I haven't really gone into too much detail for Lustre's parents because, quite frankly, they're not going to play much of a part right now. But there will be a number of more memorable characters to surface, including some familiar faces…

So, welcome back everyone, and many thanks for your patience during the hiatus. I appreciate you hanging with me, and for the reads, favorites, follows and reviews! Oh, lemme see, I think there were a couple of reviews from the last chapter I never got to address…

allie300093: Thank you so much for the kind words, and I'm glad you've been enjoying the story so far! I kinda sorta do model Pip a little after Yang, but without the temper so much. Definitely the big sister type.

TacoKing23: Hey, thanks for catching up! Hope you enjoy the next arc as much as the last two!

See you next week, hopefully! Stay shiny!