Eating Souls, Act One: The Beginning

13: THE BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES ; Why Red?

Friday's class held no interest for inquisitive, energetic minds, and had been largely walked out on. He didn't expect Leila to be willing to resonate with him so soon after being exposed to his madness, and resonating with Rivin was out of the question. He wasn't overly fond of the idea of having Black Star do demonstrations after his exposure to Rivin's madness, and none of the other students were willing to assist. With no battle demonstrations or dissections prepared, Stein had resorted to bookwork. Older students, having completed the course, filed out. One particular student, with no interest for reading, had stolen another weapon to play with.

Rivin hung upside down from the monkey bars, suspended by her knees. Her newly shortened hair refused to stay out of her face, but that was okay. She had her eyes closed, taking in the emotions around her. Standing blatantly out against everything else was Patti. The hyperactive weapon was spinning wildly on the round-a-bout, squealing with delight. Her vibrant pink soul shone with glee, echoing her laughter.

The less manic Weapon smiled. She moved her focus outwards, feeling the sunlight against the other living things in the park. A squirrel chittered in the shade, seeking respite from the rippling heat. A cat lounged at the edges of a patch of sun, warming her round belly and the six tiny cat souls inside her. Through them, Rivin could feel the rough bark of the tree beneath her paws, the toasty concrete on her back and the warming rays of the dozing sun. It touched her soul, drawing a low hum of satisfaction from her.

Patti grabbed her cheeks in both hands. They were almost nose to nose. Rivin blinked, "Jeez, give a person some warning!"

"What's your favorite color?" Patti asked. Her tone was urgent, as if it was the most important question in the world. "Mine is yellow, like giraffes!"

Rivin's grin faded. Like counting birthdays, apparently colors were important. "Is it a bad thing if I don't have one?"

"THAT'S AWFUL!" Patti ripped her off the bars. Rivin landed on her back, all the air slammed out of her lungs. The pistol jumped, turning ninety degrees, and landed on Rivin's hips. Now that Rivin was straddled and sufficiently pinned, Patti grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. "HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT CLOTHES TO WEAR OR WHAT ANIMALS YOU LIKE OR WHAT COLOR MAKES YOU HAPPY?"

"Oh," Rivin shrugged, "I never thought about it. Colors are just an aspect of souls, and they don't really tell you how strong one is..."

"NO NOT FOR EATING!" Patti wailed, flopping limp over her friend, "Just to see it and go 'yup, that one is my favorite!' and it makes you happy just to look at it!"

Rivin stayed still. She hadn't ever given it a thought. What color made her happy just by seeing it? She really liked the color of Leila's soul. It meant there would be food! But Patti said it wasn't for eating, so her favorite color couldn't be purple. It was against the rules. So what else made her happy?

She pet the sniffling Patti absently. Her hair was thick and somewhat coarse, as if she used way too much shampoo and little to no conditioner. Giraffes made Patti happy (and angry, depending on how she used the word). Besides food, what made Rivin happy?

Across the playground, the cat was purring. Warm, she decided. I like to be warm... So, what makes me warm?

Resonating with Black Star was warm, but she couldn't pick teal. Black Star was Tsubaki's favorite soul, it would be weird if Rivin picked him. And even though she liked Stein, he was Leila's favorite. Maybe she could pick pink? Patti was her best friend, after all.

But that wasn't quite right, either. Liz's soul was also wrong, and so was Maka's. Soul didn't even like her, so that was out of the question, and she would feel bad for eating Tsubaki... She snorted at herself.