Come One, Come All [Zia]

[Arlie Davis]

((Outfit))

She was getting a roommate! Arlie hadn’t spent too much time alone in her dorm room, but to hear the news that she would be getting a roommate had set the blonde’s heart all a flutter with excitement! A new person was a new friend, and she would make damn sure that they were welcomed with open arms when they arrived! Arlie didn’t know much other than their name since Shibusen had just sent her a letter so she’d know she wouldn’t be having the room all to herself any more. Considering she hadn’t quite gotten around to unpacking everything and some of her suitcases and clothes had sort of spilled over into the other side of the room, the blonde had done some cleaning so everything was spick and span for when the new girl arrived.

Arlie had spent most of the morning cooking. She wasn’t nearly as good as her mother, and the blonde didn’t even hold a candle to the miracles her grandma could perform with a wooden spoon alone, but she sure could make good old fashioned southern comfort food like a pro! Part of the welcome she had planned was anything and everything she could think of having been lovingly made with all her Texan heart and soul and then haphazardly placed on a little table barely big enough to fit all of the dishes. Arlie stood over the plates and counted on her fingers to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything,

“Let’s see now there’s mom’s fried chicken, black beans and rice, red beans and rice, Tex-Mex mac n’ cheese, those ridiculous butter biscuits…I think that’s it! I did it!”

The blonde stepped back and beamed. She was quite pleased with herself having put together so much food in the short amount of the time the morning gave her. Taking off the apron she’d donned and tossing it on her bed, Arlie went about tying up streamers next. The blonde was going all out in welcoming her new roommate. The ceiling was almost entirely covered with balloons that had floated off on their own accord in a variety of bright colors. Trying her best not to knock anything over, Arlie pinned streamers of blue, yellow, green, and pink to the ceiling so they draped overhead like some sort of rainbow net appeared to hold up the balloons. Planting her feet firmly back on the floor once she was finished, the blonde took in her work with a bright smile and nodded. All that was left to do was to wait for her new roommate to arrive!

Some might say Arlie was going overboard. This wasn’t entirely true. Had she more space available, she’d have pasted ‘WELCOME’ in bright letters all over the walls, added more balloons to the mix, and also brought in confetti and glitter. She didn’t want to have to deal with the mess of glitter and confetti, though, so she’d opted out of having to slave over the floor with a broom and vacuum later on. The less clean up necessary, the better. Arlie skipped to her bed and flopped down upon it, staring up at the all too colorful ceiling with a big, goofy grin on her face,

“I hope she gits here soon. I can’t wait to meet her!”

[Deleted]

{Outfit}

Reading the letter once more, Zia took note of the dorm room and folded the paper neatly, sliding it back in the pocket of her shorts. She was a light packer, with all her clothing and favorite books packed into two suitcases and a backpack. She rolled them down the hall with a spring in her step. A roommate! A dorm room!! All she knew about her roommate-to-be was her name, and that wasn't much to go on. Zia had been slightly peeved seeing her full name printed on the official transcript, but she decided not to worry. A new school, a new experience! Zia was determined not to let anything slow her down. Idly, she wondered if her roommate was a weapon or a meister. Did she like music? Did she like school? Would she be nice? Would she be stuck up?? Most importantly, did she think that people slipping on a banana peel was the height of comedic genius? Zia wasn't sure how she felt about people who didn't think that was funny. Her older sisters had never really been that interested in obvious humor like that, but Zia and her mother would laugh for hours over old The Three Stooges movies her mother had kept stashed somewhere in her room at any time, ready for viewing whenever they had had a bad day or just needed to fill an hour. Zia felt slightly sad thinking about her mom, feeling a bit homesick, but the feeling passed soon enough. She was on to new things. There would be time to reminisce about home later.

She wasn't sure if it was excitement or apprehension making her walk quickly, or maybe even a bit of both, but Zia couldn't wait to see who she would be living with.

Turning the corner and checking the room numbers, Zia paused outside the door. The room. Her room, soon. She took a deep breath and, carefully, knocked.

[Arlie Davis]

Arlie couldn’t sit still. She’d remained on her bed, but she’d taken to kicking her feet and looking around every which way. A million questions were rampaging their way through the young Texan’s mind. What would her new roommate look like? Was she a girly girl or did she veer off more towards being a tomboy? Arlie considered herself a bit of both to be quite honest. More importantly, would she like the things she’d cooked up? Arlie wouldn’t force her to eat anything she didn’t like, but it’d be a shame to have gone through all that trouble and then find out that southern comfort foods weren’t really the new girl’s cup of tea.

When a knocking at the door reached her ears the blonde had been counting the balloons by color. The Texan had tried to get up a little too fast, winding up a flurry of flailing arms and blonde hair as she tumbled off her bed and hit the floor with a dull thud. She recovered quickly, though. Scrambling to her feet, Arlie was up and running at the door before stopping just short of it to straighten her clothes and make sure her hair was how she liked it. Poised to greet her new roommate, Arlie could hardly contain her excitement as she opened the door with a bright smile on her face.

The girl before her was a total cutie, that much was for certain! Arlie made a note in the back of her mind to ask where she’d found such awesome jewelry. An excited giggle escaped the blonde as she clapped her hands together,

“Oh you must be the new girl! Welcome, welcome, my name’s Arlie!”

Arlie was the human equivalent of a golden retriever in human form on her best of days, and this was very much one of her best days. A new roommate, a new potential friend! How could her day possibly get any better? The Texan had a million and one questions to ask her, but for the moment she held her tongue and tried to restrain the overwhelming feeling of excitement she had threatening to bubble over into more giggles. She didn’t want to scare the poor girl off after all, they’d only just met.

[Deleted]

Zia returned Arlie's smile, placing one of her bags down on the floor and offering her right hand to shake.

"Hello! My name is Zia. Pleasure to meet you," she said, traces of an Arabic accent in her English. Arlie's own twang wasn't lost on Zia, and she wondered where the blonde was from. She was very pretty, Zia noted, with big hair and a genuine smile, and she seemed quite nice! Zia's anxiety disappeared. There was no chance that her roommate could be horrible - not with such an open face and kind eyes. Zia wondered if Arlie liked reading, or bad movies, or bracelets. Was she a weapon or a meister? In fact, there were quite a lot of things she wanted to ask Arlie, but she decided maybe she better move her bags out of the hallway. There would be plenty of time for Q&A's after she settled in.

As she picked her bags up and stepped inside the doorway, she couldn't help but notice how decorated it was. The room was filled with the smell of food, what looked like a couple plates shy of an actual feast crowded on the small table. Although she didn't really recognize some of the dishes, it made Zia's mouth water just to think about eating, but she forced herself to survey the rest of the room. There were balloons and streamers all over - you could hardly see the ceiling through the mass of colored paper. Zia thought it was the best thing she'd ever seen, her grin wide as she set her luggage down on her bed, looking around the room. "Did you do all this?" She asked, extremely touched by the sentiment. Zia had never had a welcome party before. She picked up a balloon and punched it into the air, watching as it spiraled down and disturbed another few balloons that had been minding their own business on the floor by Arlie's bed. She turned to Arlie and smiled even wider, her face lit up with excitement. "This is fantastic!! Thank you," she added, beaming.

Inching toward the table with food, she unabashedly picked up a fork and pointed it at the food. "Please tell me I'm allowed to dig in," Zia asked. "I've been traveling all day and my internal clock is saying it's breakfast!" she said, a bit bashfully. She didn't want her new roommate (and potential friend!!) thinking she was greedy with food. Her older sisters would tease her because she liked to pile her plate high and shovel it in as fast as she could, but her father frowned. Zia didn't know why he was always so frown-y about that stuff. It's not like she did it in public.

[Arlie Davis]

Arlie’s smile only brightened even further knowing for sure this was her new roommate. Zia, Zia, Zia! The blonde kept her name in mind for a few moments to be sure to remember it before shaking the girl’s hand with such vigor it was a wonder it didn’t fall right off her wrist,

“Well Zia, come on in and make yerself right at home!”

She stepped aside and held the door open for the girl. Arlie would’ve helped carry her things in too but Zia seemed to be able to handle it. Once she was inside, Arlie closed the door. With how she was smiling, you’d have thought she’d just won the lottery. She’d only just met the girl and already Arlie had a good feeling about her. The blonde was happier than a gopher in soft dirt to put it in a way that was totally Texan. The look on Zia’s face at all the balloons and streamers made Arlie clasp her hands behind her back and turn in a circle. She had to do something or her excitement would bubble over into giggles. The Texan did do a rather dramatic sort of bow, though,

“I sure did! I wanted to make sure yah felt good n’ welcome when yah got here after all!”

Ah, her faces! This girl was cute as a button! Arlie wanted to just hug Zia, but held off on it. She knew some people weren’t as keen on the whole hugging thing until you knew them better, but she would hug her at some point! This was her next mission: hug Zia! For now, though, Arlie just giggled and gave the girl a thumbs up,

“Yer very welcome, honeypie! I was glad to do it!”

Arlie didn’t think she could be any happier, but she was quickly proven wrong. Zia’s interest in the food she’d made for her new roommate to enjoy made the Texan’s eyes light up with enough joy to make anyone think it must be Christmas. The blonde nodded and waved her hands to encourage Zia,

“Darlin’, you go on and stuff yer face to yer heart’s content, it’s all for you!”

The blonde then thought a moment. If Zia’s internal clock was set at breakfast, she wondered which time zone that would be? Arlie didn’t know enough about time zones or the rest of the world to actually know. It must’ve been somewhere pretty far away. Arlie herself wasn’t too far from home since Texas was just a short flight away. Tilting her head, the question tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop it,

“Breakfast? Where exactly is it yah call home, then?”

[Deleted]

"Hm?" Zia looked up, mouth full of biscuit. She hastily swallowed and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. "Egypt. Ah, Cairo, more specifically." She looked at the ceiling, thinking. "If it's one pm right now it's..." she counted on her fingers, deep in thought. "Oh. Eleven at night back home." She gave Arlie a shrug and a smile. "I was off, but I haven't eaten since last night, what with traveling, so technically this is breakfast no matter what time it is!"

Zia had dug right in, sitting cross legged on the small chair, plate waxing and waning full and empty of food like a delicious moon. She spooned some rice on a remarkably empty section of her plate and speared a red bean with her fork. Zia looked at it thoughtfully. "Thank you, really. I've never had a welcome quite as warm as this! Is this food from your homeland?" Trying not to wince at how awkward that sounded to her, Zia turned her attention away from the food and back to Arlie, soldiering on. She was used to introductions, but never for a longer term than 6 months. It was indescribably how much Zia wanted to make a good impression. "I don't think I've had anything like this before...where are you from?" Question now asked, she put the bean in her mouth and scooped up a helping of rice, chewing and swallowing. Arlie's twang wasn't new to her, but Zia had learned early on in her life that assumptions made enemies. She was fairly certain Arlie hailed from the U.S., but beyond that she couldn't say.

[Arlie Davis]

Egypt! Holy cow, Zia was way far away from home then! Arlie gasped and blinked at her new roommate with big eyes, completely in awe about how far she’d come to attend Shibusen. Shucks, even she wasn’t too far from home! A bit of a car ride or a short flight, and she was home in Fort Worth! The blonde was amazed but also felt but of sympathy for Zia, having to be so far away from her family. Arlie herself had two of her older brothers also attending Shibusen so at least if she was homesick she could always track them down and get free hugs and cuddle piles, but she couldn’t even begin to imagine being so far away from home, and alone no less!

“Stars and stripes, that sure is far! I ain’t even been East o’ the Misassippi! What’s it like in Egypt?”

Curiosity aside, alone no more Zia would be! Arlie would make sure of that! From now on, it would be her mission to be Zia’s surrogate family for the duration of her stay! The blonde would be sure to make her feel right at home no matter what. Being friendly and making people feel at home was her specialty, and if the massive amounts of food rapidly disappearing before her eyes was any indication, Zia sure seemed right at home already. Arlie grinned, glad that her new roommate seemed to like the spread she’d put out for her. The blonde giggled and waved a hand at the thank you,

“Oh hon, it’s no trouble at all. We are roommates after all! If yer ever hungry fer anythin’ at all, just holler and I’ll whip somethin’ up fer yah lickity split!”

Arlie meant it, too. She loved to cook, but cooking for other and watching them enjoy what she’d made was half of what made having such a skill enjoyable. Granted most of what she made was probably atrocious for your heart and arteries and cholesterol and such, but who the hell really cared as long as it tasted good. Arlie sure didn’t! Well shucks, Zia had never had any of this sort of food before? Arlie grinned like a bandit and snickered,

“Why I’m from Texas, sugar! Never had Southern comfort food, well that’s a darn shame! And this is only just a little of what I can make too. I know lots more recipes you’d probably love if you like all o’ this right here!”

[Deleted]

Grinning widely and adding more chicken and rice to her plate, Zia gestured to the other chair next to her. "Come sit down and eat some of this before it's all gone!" She gave her roommate a teasing smile. "I didn't wait for you - sorry- but you gotta eat some of it!" She took a bite of chicken and swallowed, tapping the spoon she had traded for the fork so as to get more rice in her mouth against her chin. "Egypt! Well, to be honest, most of my life hasn't been in Egypt at all." Warming to her subject, Zia set her spoon down and leaned toward Arlie on her chair.

"My dad is an archeologist, so we moved around a lot, and I spent a lot of my time near digs and in other countries! We really only moved back to Cairo proper a few years ago." Zia shrugged. "Until then, we'd come back for a couple of months at a time. To be honest, I don't know my own city as well as I'd like." She paused, thinking. "Nevada looks a lot like Cairo in some ways, actually - and it's hot back home too!! I don't think it ever gets below 9 degrees," Zia added thoughtfully, quite forgetting she was in America now - they didn't use centigrade. To Arlie, that probably sounded quite strange.

When Zia talked about living in Egypt, in her smooth, clipped accent, she made it sound so normal. It was normal! She could see how such an exotic place could seem exciting to someone who had probably never been there, but it was just a place she lived. To her, the USA was much the same way - a place she had heard her father talk about often but never had visited much. The only state she had ever visited was Arizona, for an archeological seminar on the Betatakin Ancestral Puebloan ruins. She had gone with her father, and it had been very interesting, but ancient buildings in Arizona weren't exactly a complete experience of America. Her grandparents had moved to America for a while, and her father had been born there, but he had gone to college in England and was considered an expat as far as US citizenship went, while her grandparents had moved back to France, claiming to have missed the food. She was very lucky to have traveled as much as she had, but there was a difference between dusting off old pieces of pottery and going to a resort somewhere - one was inherently less boring, and it wasn't the excavation of boring clay vessels, that's for certain.

[Arlie Davis]

Arlie started to protest at being beckoned to the little table, but if Zia was insisting then she’d gladly partake of some of the feast she’d prepared. She’d tasted everything before her new roommate got there; of course, she had to make sure it all tasted good! Seating herself beside her new roommate, Arlie chuckled and shook her head,

“Well I made all this fer you, silly, but if you insist how could I possibly say no to that cute lil’ face o’ yers?”

Snatching up a biscuit, Arlie wasted no time in biting into the buttery, flaky piece of perfection. Damn was she glad she’d brought along a notebook full of her mom’s old recipes! One of her best ideas yet! Even better was that Zia certainly seemed to be enjoying it given how she had tucked right in, which warmed the blonde’s heart as sure as any summer day. Munching away on her biscuit, Arlie listened intently to Zia speak. To be honest, Arlie very likely couldn’t find Egypt on a labeled map of the world if she tried. She’d probably point to Australia or somewhere just as ridiculous, guessing all the while of course. All the Texan really knew about Egypt was that it was far away, but the way Zia described it made it sound fascinating, plus it was hot! Arlie couldn’t possible hate somewhere with sunshine and warmth!

Popping the last bite of biscuit in her mouth and chewing quickly, Arlie gulped before going on her own little monologue about her home and favorite place in the whole wide world,

“Golly, that sounds so cool Zia! Why yer life’s ten times as interestin’ as mine’s been!”

Arlie sat up a little straighter, a proud smile on her face,

“Nevada’s kinda like Texas, too, but we got more trees than cacti lyin’ ‘round in the sun. It’s usually so hot the hens’ll lay heard-boiled eggs, especially durin’ summer!”

Neither of Arlie’s parents were scientists or archeologists or anything remotely as trained as Zia’s, but the blonde thought that they were still plenty cool,

“My mama runs a firin’ range out o’ Fort Worth, my home town. It’s no Dallas, but it’s pretty cool! She sells all kinds o’ guns, it’s amazin’! She’s got shotguns, huntin’ rifles, pistols, revolvers, you name it!”

Arlie’s eyes shone just a little bit brighter getting to talk about firearms, even for just a smidgen of a second. The girl was a gun nut, but then so was her entire family. Must be a Texas thing,

“My daddy has his own taxidermy shop. He inherited it from his daddy and sorta took over the family business. He used to let me and my brothers take down a few of the permanent store animals and play with ‘em like dolls, it was so much fun! I still dunno how he manages to keep the fur so soft!”

[Deleted]

She's got a really interesting way of talking, Zia thought. She had never heard anyone use metaphors like Arlie did, and she was loath to admit that she didn't understand half of what she said! But she really did like Arlie, even if she spoke in a strange way. Zia wasn't exactly one to talk. Her English was, after all, not the best. Living in America would be good practice - it would be nice to talk with someone other than her father and the British archeologists he worked with.

Zia waved Arlie's compliment away with a tanned hand, her bracelets jingling pleasantly. "I wouldn't call it that interesting," she said, made slightly bashful by Arlie's enthusiasm.

But to hear that Arlie's family had such a colorful story of their own! Zia was enthralled. She knew what taxidermy was, sort of, but she had never met anyone who actually worked in the field. And a firing range! Arlie's life sounded exciting, much more than moving around every few months and looking at dirty old things. Zia couldn't complain too much - she loved her father, and the things he did were extremely exciting - but compared to Arlie's family, she felt hers was boring in comparison.

Taking another bite out of a biscuit she had snared halfway through Arlie's family introduction, Zia chewed thoughtfully. "Isn't it dangerous, living around firearms all the time?" Zia's life had been largely academic, and even her own weapon form wasn't as exciting or powerful as a gun. On certain digs her father had been on, she had seen armed guards and military personnel at the airports, depending on the country they were in. There was certainly a large military presence in Egypt, but she hadn't been afraid of them. Somehow, the idea of military guns was less strange to her than an entire shop selling firearms. At an early age, Zia had developed a vague notion that the only people who had guns were in the army, and even as she grew up and learned that wasn't true at all, she still was nervous around them. She chalked it up to her being unused to them - Arlie was probably raised around guns, she realized, and was probably taught how to use them properly, just as Zia had been schooled in languages by her father. Zia took another bite of biscuit (they were delicious! Flaky, more like a pastry than anything else, she thought as she chewed) and listened as Arlie talked.

She really enjoyed this. It wasn't every day she learned so much about someone else - especially from a girl her age! Moving around so much had made it hard for Zia to form long-lasting friendships, and so the easy chatter between her and Arlie was especially pleasant.

[Arlie Davis]

Arlie didn’t care what Zia said, her life was interesting and that was that. Getting to go to all of those ancient places and look at ancient things that ancient people had made and touched and lived with. That was beyond cool in Arlie’s mind. She was no history buff, and she may have been completely horrible at geography, but she still thought stuff like that was interesting. The blonde thought that Zia being raised around such things was just brilliant, kind of like something one would read in a story book about some adventuring princess!

Firearms? Dangerous? Arlie honestly hadn’t put those two words in the same thought process in so long, that the whole thing struck her as completely ridiculous. The blonde snorted and started giggling like a mad fool. After a few moments of hysterics, Arlie did calm down and breathe a bit before explaining,

“Naw, sugar, it never bothered me none! Guns got safety mechanisms on ‘em for a reason after all. ‘Sides, it ain’t like we’re walkin’ around with ‘em tucked into our belt loops!”

While it was true that Arlie’s family probably owned more guns than the entire US military, they were nothing but cautious. Her mother owning a firing range had especially contributed to how careful Arlie and her siblings were, having been put through a custom training program that their mother had made up herself to teach them just how to handle firearms without A: shooting their eye out or B: shooting someone else. Arlie waved away Zia’s concerns, continuing on talking,

“My mama taught me how to shoot my first gun when I was eight years old. My daddy started takin’ me along with my brother and him on huntin’ trips when I was twelve. I know the ins n’ outs of all kinds of guns. You name it; I’ve probably seen it and probably shot it. Plus my mama keeps the warehouse and display cases locked up tight at the store, and my daddy’s the only one who knows the combination on the locks we’ve got on our huntin’ rifles back at home. ‘Sides, it ain’t like we’re roamin’ shootin’ folks just fer fun. We’re completely safe!”

Arlie could've gone on about the makes and models of every single firearm she'd ever shot, owned, or had the privilege of laying eyes on, but that would have taken hours. That and she wasn't sure if Zia was as into guns as she was. The blonde restrained herself for that reason, plus not wanting to sound too much like the stereotypical Texas gun nut, even though that was exactly what she was.

[Deleted]

It's just as I thought, Zia mused as she tried to stuff as much of the buscuit as she could in her mouth without being indelicate. She was a bit jealous. Arlie knowing her way around guns would be much more helpful in a fighting situation. Zia wasn't big on firearms, or most violence, but when it came to Kishin Eggs she was willing to set aside her qualms. A practical knowledge of weapondry would be extremely helpful in the fight against Madness. Not for the first time, Zia wondered if her academic ubringing would be more of a hinderance - sure, she had read up on many fighting stances and kinds of weapons, but to actually apply it on the field was a much different matter. Maybe she could get Arlie to teach her about guns! Any preparation was better than none - as soon as she thought it, Zia reminded herself that she was a Weapon, not a Meister. In battle, she would most likely be calling out strategic moves, a more passive role than the Miester who would be wielding her. That played more to her strengths, though. In the end, she stayed silent, chewing on her biscuit and moving on to a third one. She was happy enough listening to Arlie for the moment.

A thought occured to her, and uncrossing her legs (they were falling asleep) and tilting her head, Zia began her second round of questions.

"So, Arlie," she began conversationally, "are you a weapon or a meister? I mean, since you have all this weapon training, you must be really good in the field - I mean, does this make you a meister? Do you have a Demon Gun partner?" she asked. "Or are you a beginner weapon like me? What's your weapon form? Have you defeated any Kishin? What are classes like?" The questions tumbled out, all at once, the pent-up curiosity unleashed suddenly. Zia was embarrassed at how inquisitive she was, a little, but she couldn't hold it in! Mostly, she was trying to see if Arlie was a beginner like herself - it wouldn't be a lie to say she wouldn't feel better if Arlie was indeed just starting out - it would be nice to have a common bond of confusion in the first few weeks. They could learn together! Spar together! Cook together! Well, okay, mainly Arlie cooking and Zia eating, but that wasn't the point. Either way, if Arlie was a beginner too, Zia wouldn't feel so alone. She was sick of it. Zia was more than ready to put down roots and train and fight and save the world, and if she was learning alongside someone like Arlie, she felt that it would be quite a lot of fun. And, if Arlie was indeed a Weapon, Zia had an entire encyclopedia on different fighting forms for different weapons. She was excited to begin researching it, although she'd keep it secret from Arlie for right now. Zia was still bashful about her incredible love of reading, and still harbored a fear of being called names for her enormous appetite of what looked like boring subjects.

[Arlie Davis]

Zia didn’t seem put off at all by Arlie’s love of firearms. Well, that was certainly a plus! The blonde would hate to have frightened or anything, since she knew that guns were after all still dangerous weapons that could be used for doing not so nice things given that they wound up in the wrong hands. Luckily Arlie’s hands weren’t wrong at all, that and she hadn’t exactly brought any of her family’s many firearms along with her. She’d begged her daddy to let her take her favorite pistol along at least, but he’d said no. Arlie missed it something awful, but figured that she’d just spend some extra time at the firing range with it the next time she happened to visit home.

Arlie could understand why Zia would assume she may be a Meister at first. The Texan did have a good amount of training, but only in the way of firearms. She was a total dead eye when it came to target practice, but give her anything else and she was apt to just try and swing it like a baseball bat. Arlie giggled a the barrage of questions. She took it as a sign that Zia felt comfortable around her and that made her glad. Meetings could sometimes be awkward, but it seemed Arlie had made her feel welcome enough that questions were allowed in more detail now,

“I’m a Weapon, same as yerself! A Demon Scythe if’n yah wanna get specific. I ain’t defeated no Kishin Eggs yet, but hopefully I’ll find a partner soon and start missions so I can start kickin’ ass n’ takin’ names!”

Arlie punched at the air as she said this, a giddy grin on her face. It was true; she couldn’t wait to find a Meister. The blonde hadn’t found anybody yet that hadn’t already found a Weapon or was compatible with her, but she kept hope alive! She just had to be patient and keep her eyes open! Oh wait, Zia had asked about classes too. Arlie got a bit of a bashful look to her, shrugging her shoulders a bit,

“Classes are okay I s’pose. I mean, I know I ain’t the brightest porch light on, but they ain’t too difficult. I know I’m about as sharp as a mashed potato, but I got two subjects I’m good at! Spanish and English! Everythin’ else…well, I try my best not to fall face first into a failin’ grade.”

Arlie didn’t really mind that she wasn’t the smartest person in the world so long as nobody teased her about it. People who pointed it out tended to get her riled and were then met with a flurry of blonde hair and a punch to the gut, but she hadn’t done anything like that so far since arriving in Death City. Still, Arlie had enough wits about her to be vaguely fluent in Spanish and recite most of Shakespeare’s works by heart, so that was something! But enough about that, Arlie had her own questions,

“What about you? I know you said you were a Weapon before, but what kind?”

[Deleted]

Zia waved Arlie's bashfulness away. "It's okay. I-" she stopped herself. She was going to say, "I could tutor you," but she was still a little - shy? Embarrassed? - about her ease in academics. She didn't want Arlie to think she was being condescending. She finished the sentence with a quick, "I think language is really important!" She winked at Arlie and gave her a crooked smile. "In any case, what's important is that we beat up the bad guys, right? You don't need to know what 2 plus 2 is to know that fist plus face equals pain!" Zia wasn't super big on punching people, unless you had a good reason. If you couldn't punch a Kishin...

"Oh!" Zia put a hand behind her head and laughed, realizing she had almost forgotten about Arlie's other question. "I'm a Demon Gauntlet," she explained, "which is like...a big metal glove. Like you see on armor!" She shrugged. "On the plus side, you get to punch people! Fist plus face..." She jumped up and punched the air, away from Arlie. "HI-YAH!" Laughing, she sat back down, knees drawn up to her chest. "My family has a pretty long history of unique Weapon forms. My sister is a Demon Needle," she added, "and tita - um, my grandmother - was a Demon Oud." An Oud was like a lute, and was an ancestor of the guitar, but Zia had heard her tita tell stories and it sounded more like she was used as a blunt weapon. It could have been the wine - her tita tended to tell crazy stories when she had a lot to drink. Her mother's family was so loud and warm - her father's family wished with all their hearts to appear more prim and proper - although getting her two grandmothers together had been an experience in "How much alcohol can two old ladies imbibe?" They had a drinking contest and then went to a movie, completely plastered, unable to understand a word the other was saying, and her father had to go fetch them. The memory made her smile.

[Arlie Davis]

The bit of encouragement from Zia was welcome indeed. It made Arlie feel not quite so stupid. She was right! As long as she could beat the snot out of whatever Kishin Egg was sent her way, who cared if she was failing! Not Arlie, that was for sure! Plus she could always get a tutor if the teacher’s decided to bitch about it. An added plus was always that she could scream obscenities in Spanish while kicking ass and taking names. Zia was right, language was important!

Oh man, a Demon Gauntlet! That sounded so completely cool and awesome that Arlie just blankly stared for a minute to let that thought settle in. A huge armored glove thing. Damn, the marks that must leave! The more Arlie’s imagination took over, the more she grinned before letting out a bit of an excited squeal,

“Zia! That is the coolest thing ever! Shucks, you’ll find a Meister in no time with somethin’ that amazin’!”

If Arlie was a Meister she would have partnered with Zia on the spot, but alas she wasn’t so that wasn’t going to work. Whatever, she got this awesome cutie as a roommate, so that was just as good! Oh dang, so Zia’s family had Weapon lineage too? A needle and an oud! Arlie hadn’t the slightest clue as to what an oud was, but she was sure it was cool if it was in Zia’s family tree! Arlie curled a stray lock of her hair around one of her fingers, appearing thoughtful for a moment before the ditzy grin was back on her face,

“Golly, that sounds so cool! We’ve got Weapons all over my family tree. Two of my older brothers are Demon Uzis, but that makes sense with them bein’ twins n’ all. My daddy’s a Demon Submachine Gun, and my granddaddy was a Musket!”

Arlie could’ve gone back much, much further but figured that if Zia wanted her family history, she’d ask for it and in that case, the blonde would need to start writing. The Davis bloodline was dotted all over with Weapons, most of them being firearms. Speaking of that, the bashful look returned to Arlie’s face and she hunched her shoulders a bit,

“I guess you can see why I feel like a bit of a let down bein’ surrounded by guns and then I’m just a ol’ harvestin’ tool.”