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"That was ridiculous," Emerald says, as she and Ruby attempt to catch their breath in an abandoned stall. The Vytal Festival is still, somehow, in swing around them, but it's almost too easy for Emerald to ignore the cheerful noise in favor of looking at the grin on Team RWBY's leader's face.
"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Ruby replies. "And, c'mon, the Shopkeep was just asking to get pranked."
"Suuuuure," Emerald draws out the word, "and someone from a team that doesn't even go to your school was asking to get drawn into your shenanigans too?"
"Yep!" Ruby grins. "It's nice to see you again, partner in crime!"
"It's... nice to see you again, too," Emerald says.
"So how's your team doing? I saw Mercury looking for you!"
Emerald makes a face. Mercury is going to be such a pain in the ass about her ditching him later, and it's not even her fault.
"It's okay," Ruby says, "we can totally hide out here if you want. I get the pre-fight jitters too."
Maybe this won't be a total wash.
"So are you going to fight in the doubles round?"
Ruby holds her hands up in front of her face. "No-no-no! We, uh, did a vote and it's Yang and Weiss! They're gonna do Team RWBY proud! Er, even if Blake and I are on the sidelines..."
Emerald barely holds back a sigh of relief. Maybe the next few rounds will be fun. She's tired of boring fights.
"Well," Emerald says, "I'm looking forward to our match against your... friends."
She's already looking for a way out of the stall when Ruby grabs her arm. It's all Emerald can do to keep herself from recoiling.
"Good luck, Emerald!" Ruby says, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.