>>40917
"Oh, it doth mine heart good to see you again, Red Hood. Even if but for a short while."
Red hood released Scarlet from her hug and stepped back, grinning at her fellow member of the once Goddess squad. It had been odd but nice to see the once uptight battle maniac so relaxed, but Red Hood knew that a century could change anyone. Even if it was still a little hard to believe.
"Ha! Best to make the most of my time then, huh? I can't keep stealing the body of my... uh..."
Red Hood falters for a moment. Rapunzel suppresses a smile to a mere quirk of her lips, humming in thought. "Student?" she offers, but Red Hood shakes her head. "No, that's not it." She purses her lips and furrows her brow. "It was a much fancier word, started with a... P? I think?"
"Protégé." Scarlet supplies, her amusement more clear. "My, you haven't changed at all."
Red Hood pouts. "Oi, you know I was never good at the brainy stuff. That was all Snow, y'know?" Red Hood pauses, blinking, then grins. "Hey, not bad! Maybe I could've been a poet or something."
Both Rapunzel and Scarlet merely raise an eyebrow, and Red Hood blushes. "Okay, yeah, no." Clearing her throat, she looks back at the two other members of her squad. "Anyways. Speaking of Snow, where is she?"
Scarlet and Rapunzel glance at each other, their wry smiles dropping into small frowns. "Red Hood..." Rapunzel starts, but Red Hood raises a hand to stop her. Sighing, she nods. "I know that Snow is a bit... different, now. A, uh, mindswitch?" Red Hood pauses as the other two nod, then continues. "Yeah. But she's still Snow, right? It'll be fine!"
Scarlet and Rapunzel glance at each other again. Scarlet idly taps the hilt of her sword, before nodding. "You speak true, but the magnitude of her change-"
Suddenly, off to the side, a loud
thump echoes throughout the small clearing. Red Hood spins towards the source, bringing her rifle up to half ready. Looking through the kicked up snow, she prepares to charge at what could very well be a Rapture prepared to disrupt her reunion.
"Area's clear. No Raptures sighted within ten kilometers."
Red Hood frowns as she lowers her gun. That voice... It's so familiar, but it's deeper and not quite-
"Good reaction time." Two glowing golden eyes lock onto her own as the displaced snow falls back to Earth. Red Hood nearly gapes as white hair frames features that are so close to what she remembers. Those two eyes widen slightly as they take in the sight in front of her. "Red... Hood?"
"That... that was so cool!" Red Hood straightens her posture, grinning at the woman who could only be Snow. "Wow. You tryin' to impress me? 'Cause you did!"
Snow White just furrows her brow slightly in response. "Thank you?" She hazards, looking over towards Scarlet and Rapunzel. Red Hood's broad grin falters for a moment, before picking back up. "Oh yeah, there was something I forgot to do!"
Snow White glances back at Red Hood, tilting her head slightly. Then her eyes widen again as Red Hood bursts into motion, sprinting towards her. Dashing through the snow, Red Hood extends an arm to bring Snow into a headlock-
"Oof!"
Cold. Red Hood coughs as her vision fills with white. Hissing slightly as she pushes herself up out of the snow, she turns to look at Snow White. "Oi, what was that for?!"
Again, Snow White just tilts her head. "You rushed at me and attempted to pin me. I simply avoided it."
"By throwing me on my ass, ow!" Red Hood complains. Pushing herself up on her feet, she rolls her shoulder and rubs her arm. She didn't even see Snow move.
"Snow White..." Rapunzel chides.
"Sorry. I just reacted."
Red Hood puffs out a breath. "Don't sweat it, I did come at you."
Scarlet sighs. "Verily. Do try to restrain thyself next time."
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Red Hood snorts. "Hey, no harm-" She hisses as she touches the place where Snow must have grabbed her. "-little harm, no foul." Turning towards Rapunzel, Red Hood tries to pull a contrite smile. "Hey-"
Rapunzel rolls her eyes. "No. I do believe that this will serve as a valuable lesson."
Red Hood pouts. Turning back towards Snow, she appraises the smaller woman standing awkwardly beside her. "Well, let me get a look at you. That's some slick gear, yaknow?"
Snow White nods. "Yes. It's efficient, easy to maintain, and provides sufficient protection."
Red Hood waits a moment for her to elaborate, her smile faltering as Snow fails to either blush at the compliment or elaborate on her gear further than a brief description. "Ah... yeah, that's... good."
The two stand in silence for a moment. Snow White glances at Rapunzel, who gives her an encouraging nod. Looking back at Red Hood, she nods. "Red Hood. We worked together in the Goddess squad."
Red Hood rubs the back of her neck, her smile dropping a bit more. "Yeah."
Another pause. "I... remember that there was a project I was working on for you." Red Hood perks up as Snow White continues. "I wasn't able to complete it, and I lost the prototype. I'm sorry."
Red Hood forces a laugh, waving off the apology. "Hey, hey, it's no big deal. That drill thing, right?" Snow White nods, and Red Hood snorts. "It woulda been cool, but you had other things to worry about. Givin' a dead girl a new weapon is pretty low on the priority list, yeah?"
Snow White frowns. "You don't seem dead to me. It was something I failed at, so I'm sorry."
"So serious..." Red Hood mumbles. Deciding to leave the whole 'not being technically alive' thing for later, she just nods. "It's okay."
Another moment of silence.
"So!" Red Hood forcefully perks up, walking over towards Snow. "Lemme see what's going on here." Grabbing Snow White's hand she brings it up to inspect. "Well, this is some pretty snazzy armor-"
"That's my hand."
"Eh?" Red Hood lets go of Snow White's hand in surprise. "What? That-"
"The Pseudoflesh got in the way. Once it was destroyed, I simply built an arm that didn't require it and was easier to maintain." Snow White explains, not noticing the growing horror in Red Hood's eyes. "It even has compatibility with Rapture parts."
Red Hood choked at how... matter of fact Snow was. It was horrific, hearing how her friend had just... altered herself like that for efficiency. "That's- uh." She forces a laugh. "That's... wow, Snow."
Snow White frowns. "You seem uncomfortable."
"Of course I am!" Red Hood shouts. "You just- you- how?! Snow, you- what if you mindswitch again?!"
Snow White shrugs. "Then it will be the third time."
"You-" Red Hood staggers backwards. "That- That's not okay! This isn't okay!" Red Hood turns to glare at Scarlet and Rapunzel. "How could you two-"
"Snow White is her own person." Rapunzel sadly shakes her head. "There's only so much we could do, and in the end it helped her survive all this time."
Scarlet nods. "Aye. We believed that it was better to have her alive than try to preserve lost innocence. 'Tis only so much one can do these days."
Red Hood growls, clenching her fists. "But- there must have been...!" Glancing at all of them, all of the fight leaves her body. "...Man. We really did lose."
Snow White frowns, crossing her arms. "No. Humanity endures, and we still fight. That's enough."
Red Hood glances at her. "I guess. Sure doesn't feel like it though."
"That's why we still fight."
Red Hood grunts. "So... Snow White. What have you been doing all this time since I've been gone?"
Snow White straightens up. "Fighting." A hint of pride enters her voice. "Killing Raptures. Saving people."
"That's... good. I'm glad to hear it."
"Thanks."
Silence ensues. Red Hood looks at the falling snow, her face drawn into a line. Snow White fidgets in place, occasionally attempting to raise a hand before letting it drop back to her side. Scarlet and Rapunzel frown at each other. Rapunzel nods towards the other two, but Scarlet can only offer a shrug and a sigh. Some time passes, and Red Hood brings a hand up to let the snow drift onto her hand. Peering at it, see can only see malformed snowflakes collecting on her palm.
Then, Scarlet claps her hands. "Well! I doth believe it behooves me to offer up some dinner for all of you! Thou came all this way, after all."
Snow White immediately perks up. "Food?"
Red Hood snorts, glancing at Snow White. A grin crawls its way onto her face as she looks at the trail of drool flowing down Snow Whites face. "Heh. Yeah, food sounds good."
Snow White grabs Red Hood's shoulder, and begins to lead her to the hut where they were planning on staying. "Yes. Let's go."
Red Hood laughs as she's practically frog marched away. Glancing back at her hand one last time, she spies a perfect snowflake resting on the tip of her finger. "Yeah. Let's go, Snow."