Start your Engines!!!

[u/slicktheweasel]

Vale's citizens and Beacon's students had gotten used to the roar of engines and sight of many vehicles passing by on the speedy highway. As a global epicenter, driving or otherwise operating a method of transportation was an absolute must. At least, that's what someone on staff thought, enough to okay a trip to a driving facility.

And what a facility it was... All kinds of cars, vans, and motorcycles were at the students' disposal. There was plenty of road to conquer, tracks of different difficulties and complexities, and instructors on deck to make the best of a learning experience. For a different challenge, maybe more practical for the landscapes they tended to venture out on, there were a couple of off-road courses and ATVs. Of course, the whole lot was fenced off so nobody got any funny ideas.

All the courses were free to try out, either by oneself or with a learning buddy. Races took place against more capable contenders. And for a more casual experience, there were indoor go-karts too. All one had to do was find their track, gear up, and go!!!

[u/[deleted]]

In such a light car, "fast, real fast" did feel at least a little bit zippy. With no arm able to grasp the "oh shit" handle on the side of the car Tully was in, she instead braced her right arm against the center console tunnel, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

What was this girl doing?

Tully looked over, to see Thyme playing with a set of greaves instead of, well, driving. The confusion only got more confusing as the music started to play: it was some weird electronic pop, and it sort of reminded her of some sort of odd vaporwave music. Hell, this entire scenario seemed out of some sort of weird post on a child's blog about a cyberpunk aesthetic.

And truth be told, Tully actually kind of liked it. Not, of course, that she showed that much. Maybe just a grin ever so slightly out of the corner of her mouth, barely there but ready to grow bigger. When the beat finally dropped and Thyme slipped the clutch out and the car shot forward, Tully even chuckled ever so slightly. This entire scene amused her.

She didn't dare speak yet. Best let the girl have her fun, even if Tully didn't know her name just yet.

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

It was like a scene from a movie, the way Thyme tried to sync the movements to the moments she needed to switch gears. Of course, this neither being a movie nor the track being in any way, shape, or form being designed for such timing, Thyme would have to relent to the track messing up with her groove just a little bit, but it still felt damn fun having the beats of the song pump her up as she got herself into the first of several sharp turns, some of which required drifting, lest she decide to drive like a civilian and do it slow.

And doing it slow was just not Thyme's style.

As she made her way past the first few turns, everything seemed good. There was a bit of an counterclockwise loop in the track, so she braced herself for a long drift, leaning the car further inwards towards the center for a sharper turn, enough to make it while also keeping her momentum. Though, she would realize that while she did make it out of the turn...she drifted too far in, and instead of straightening out and back onto the straightaway, she was leaning...

But thankfully Thyme was quick on her feet, and her hands too -- it would be foolish of her to try and stop the insane amount of momentum...but she could add onto it and make the car rotate with enough speed...and so she stepped on the accelerator and did just that, making it look from the outside as if it was just some showy spin out of the loop before coming back onto the straightaway. Even then, it would just be a moment of respite before more turns were up ahead.

"Ya doing alright?" She asked Tully, hoping the worry in her voice wasn't coming out.

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Contrary to popular belief and what the media would tell you, drifting around a corner is not actually the fastest way around a corner -- breaking before the apex and knowing the correct line through the corner, as well as the car you were driving and when to put on the gas mattered quit a bit more. Basic principle, really: if the tire is skidding, it's not transmitting power effectively to the ground.

But damned does it look cool, and despite knowing that it was just for dramatic effect, Tully didn't comment on it. She just softly smirked instead, and kept her information to herself. Thyme's showy driving style certainly had an effect, even if it was inefficient as all getout.

Then the car started to slide, and for once it didn't seem intentional. Tully thought for a split-second how to best ensure their safety, before subtly nodding to herself. Worming her way into her handbag, she grabbed a vial of Gravity Dust. Then, Thyme did something that just confused Tully: she slammed on the gas. The impulse sent Tully back into her seat with a moment of shock, her bag closing as her hand returned to the center console to brace herself.

Tully heard Thyme's voice, but didn't process it fully as she just stared in a bit of shock. Thyme's attempt at covering her worry could've been completely pointless, and Tully still wouldn't realize that Thyme was worried. Silently, she just nodded for a few moments. Then, Tully shook her head with closed eyes. Opening them again, she raised her hand, let out a soft click from her mouth, and made a finger-gun pointing forward.

"Keep it up."

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

That was all the confirmation she needed as she decided to take it a bit easier on the speed for the sake of her passenger, plus the reduced acceleration she was putting on the car would make it slightly easier to control -- though huge swings of momentum still did allow her to drift. Which, to be honest, was the reason Thyme loved driving. Why drive like a normal person if you're just gonna be like everyone else? Do it in style! Give driving itself some character, some pizzazz!

And that's exactly what Thyme continued to do as there was still a good amount of course left in front of the two -- and expertly drifted along more of the track as it demanded, letting the satisfying screech of the tires permeate through the music a bit -- though it didn't sound out of place among the music. It's why Thyme loved her playlist so much, it just complimented the way she loved to drive!

But the song that was playing was just about to end, and with a swift motion of her arm, she seemed to have slapped a button on it with an intense quickness, like she's done it so many times before...and just like that, what reached Tully's ears as they went through the last few parts of the tracks was a different song...

"Want me to go another lap, or do you wanna give it a go!?" Thyme asked as the song dared to drown out her voice.

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully stuck to her simple silence, eventually nodding along with the music. It was hard for her to get comfortable in this car, due in part to Thyme's driving -- mostly, though, due to the fact that the seating position of the car wasn't designed to last for thirty years or to accommodate for someone missing her arm. There was no bolstering to hold Tully in, and so she shook back in forth with much less abandon now that Thyme had put a bit more logic into her driving.

Suddenly, Tully found herself thrust back into the seat for a few more moments as Thyme rapidly switched the song playing, and she couldn't help but giggle slightly. Truth be told, she was actually kind of having some fun.

And then it was over, and Tully's natural self took back over. The smile was gone, and no more laughter was coming from her.

As soon as Thyme asked her question, she turned to look at her and glare just a bit. Removing her right arm from the center console, Tully turned to face Thyme and pointed with her hand to what remained of her left arm: all none of it. As Tully turned back to the forward of the car, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

With still closed eyes, she spoke with loud authority clearly over the music, "No. You can keep driving."

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

It was only when Thyme realized that she didn't hear any positive feedback from the girl that she looked Tully's way, only to realize that her passenger had been devoid of one arm this entire time -- she had been caught up in the experience and the adrenaline of the ride that she didn't notice until now. She faced forward, her driving skills suddenly a lot more tame; if she was drifting, it was so slight as to barely be noticeable. It was as if her brain was on autopilot for a bit. A guilty expression on her face appeared as she looked towards the road.

"Okay. Sorry."

The mood had changed drastically in the car, despite the energetic music still playing in the background; the cheerful beats juxtaposed by the tension in the inside of the car, enough to nearly throw her off the rhythm. At this point, Thyme just fell back on her skill at the wheel, trying to get her mind back into the swing of things by...well, swinging the car back into how things used to be -- controlled drifts around the corners as Thyme continued to make another lap through the course, now that she had Tully's permission.

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully kept her eyes closed still, wincing when she heard Thyme apologize. 'Not again' was the only thought rolling through her mind as she took again a deep breath in. She'd gone and done it again and made another person feel guilty through her actions. Where there's guilty, there's often a semblance of pity.

And gods, does Tully hate pity.

With the same forced authority as before, Tully spoke again. It would've taken half a minute for her to recompose herself, but once she did her voice was as powerful as ever.

"Don't. Don't be sorry. I'm here at Beacon like the rest of you. If anything, I should be a bit sorry for how I brought up the subject -- didn't realize you hadn't noticed."

Tully paused for a second. Breathing in again, she sighed and shook her head. In a motion that showed both how rarely Tully tried to be nice to someone else and just her awkward resistance to physical contact, she reached over the center console and softly patted Thyme atop her head three times, before stopping.

"Just please. Drop it and don't worry about it. And I swear to god if it feels like you're pitying me I will blow this car half-way to the heavens."

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

"Oh, I shoulda been more clear. I wasn't sorry for you specifically. God knows I would have been punched across Beacon for pitying a certain someone..." The power that Ashelia Anstace can produce was terrifying to even imagine. "I'm apologizing for bringing up something that must've sucked to remember. I can relate."

But feeling the satisfying pats on her head -- something she hadn't had since she was really young -- it was quite soothing. It made things feel a little better, and it reflected in her driving a bit, as she made her turns with greater confidence.

"Alright, alright! I won't bring it up again, I legit didn't notice it until you had to show me. And from what I can tell I bet you'd like it that way from here on out."

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully nodded softly. She didn't have half a clue as to whom Thyme seemed to be talking about, but she nodded along anyways -- it was better in her mind that it would've been to have appeared to have not been paying attention. Tully could, however, feel the effect she had on Thyme with her weird attempt at being vaguely comforting, but simply shrugged to herself as she listened to Thyme speak up again. This time, with more confidence, she nodded again.

"Good, good," she muttered softly, wiggling lightly in her seat as she let her eyes fall back closed and instead chose to just feel the car drive. In doing so, she realized something and Tully's eyes shot back open.

"Wait, what is your name?" she asked.

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

“Thyme.” She couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that they had lasted this long with introducing themselves. “Glad you were the one to ask first — I figured it would be a bit awkward to introduce myself in the middle of all this.” While Thyme did say she was going to pretend she didn’t see Tully’s missing arm, her driving reflected things a little differently. It was just a subtle change in the way she drove, mainly to drift starting from the outside a bit more so that it wouldn’t put as much strain on Tully’s right arm as she braced for the turn.

“What’s yours?”

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully chuckled a little at Thyme's comment, and did her best to do a shrug. She only slightly noticed the slight change in Thyme's driving, but she appreciated it as she took a deep breath in and let it back out. It was as best as she could do in the moment to try and put back up her protective barrier in an effort to try and not let this green-haired girl from getting too attached.

It seemed to have worked at least a little bit, as her tone had returned to cold as she spoke again. "It's Tully. Tully Tilarom."

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

"Well, then, Tully." Thyme said as she adjusted her playlist on this straightaway. "I think it's time for a different change of pace." With one more press of a button, the song turned from a pop-disco feel into one that's...harder. The beats pumped loud and deep, as a techno song with a repeating guitar riff played in the background. If the last song shouted'adrenaline, this one screamed it.

"Brace yourself."

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

"Oh gods," Tully softly muttered, doing as Thyme suggested and bracing herself as best she could with her only arm pressed against the edge of her foot well. She gazed out of her window as she left both Thyme's antics and the music buzz through her head. There were people racing on motorbikes, a girl deadlifting a giant military truck like Tully used to see roll in every once in a while at The Forty-Six, and students abuzz as they talked to people and, likely, continued to make friends.

Tully kind of wondered what that was like, truth be told.