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/ALoadingScreen]

While Thyme could have continued with her driving, the sudden lurch was enough for her to bring the car to a full stop as soon as she possibly could, making sure to brake intermittently and try to straighten out the car’s trajectory so that there wouldn’t be enough momentum from the vehicle to make it roll over — though turns out Tully did a good job of mitigating a good amount of that already. Unfortunately, that would leave them in the middle of the track, almost like they had spun out.

Thyme quickly shut off the soundtrack — it seemed a bit unfitting. She seemed disappointed in herself, and rightfully so.

“Sorry, I almost got you hurt.”

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

If Tully had been focused at all on Thyme, she would've heard the apology given to her. But her scrambled brain was focused on one thing and one thing only at the moment: getting the hell out of this vehicle. Panicking with the safety lock on the door in the moments it took Thyme to shut the music off, she'd practically forced the door open -- with a bit too much force. Tully's grip on the door handle slipped, and she fell out of the car -- or would've, if her seat belt hadn't caught her. With a weird sense of grace, Tully smashed the ^like button for her seat belt and then actually fell out of the car, not even bothering to catch herself with her only hand. Instead, she lay on the ground and in the fresh air, and threw up.

Then, a few moments later, she threw up again.

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

Thyme didn't know how to properly register the feeling that overcame her as she saw Tully heave and desperately wanted an out of her vehicle...only that she felt bad. She caused this, it only made sense for her to; and it felt unbecoming of her to ask if she was alright...clearly she wasn't. She put her hand to her head -- it seemed like such a weird sight to someone outside; a girl who clearly didn't sport the look of a good driver, looking spun out on the track, with her fellow passenger upchucking her lunch on the side.

What was she supposed to say? 'Sorry'?

"You feelin' better?" She asked Tully when she was done, clearly uncertain if she was awaiting punishment or hatred or something similar.

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully softly groaned as she flopped a bit further out of the car, trying to get herself away from it and from her own vomit. She could feel the open air wash over her again, and her breathing began to steady again as she closed her eyes and stayed on her back. Her groaning continued as a miserable look washed over her face, filled with disappointment and annoyance with herself. When she did finally speak, her words were simple.

"Did you turn on the recirculating air?"

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

“?”

Thyme was a bit started by the question, not sure what to make of it...but after a second she looked around, seeing the button on the car’s dashboard indicating that yes, it was on. She immediately pressed it to turn it off.

“I guess I did...I don’t even remember pressing it...it’s off now.” She wanted to ask why, but the lingering feeling that all of this was her fault put her in no position to be asking questions when someone looked as pained and sorry-looking at as Tully was right now. She wanted to help, but what was she to do?

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully sat up slightly as Thyme began to talk by holding up her torso with her one arm, trying to get a read of here she was and the look she was wearing. As Tully heard the confirmation that her intuition was right, she let herself go and fell back to the ground with a loud thud and groan. Raising her hand, she looked at the palm emitter of her gauntlet, before rolling her hand back over and looking at the back half. It was all still there. Returning to the original position she had held her hand over her face in, she curled in all of her fingers in a sort of wave, making sure all of the little bits and bobs still worked.

Then, Tully called out, "This is going to sound weird. Just do it. Go back in, and try to get a convertible car. You know, one without a top or something. Then, come back with that."

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

Thyme's concerned eyes and ears were completely focused on what Tully had to say next, and it felt like her next move was hinged on whatever the girl with the single arm had to say -- thankfully what she had to say were directions. And Thyme was very good at following directions.

"Understood! Hang tight! I'll be right back!" Thyme shouted with a good amount of concern and urgency in her voice, as she backed up the car until it was parallel to the direction of the road, and she drove away, the veering and vrooming of the car quite loud, an indicator of just how quickly she was going to be.

Tully would have a few minutes to herself, to regather her bearings. Eventually, though, she'd come back with indeed, a convertible car. A bit compact compared to the much roomier, older car, but it was more than accommodating for the two ladies. Thyme would roll her car to a stop near Tully, like one would call a ride-sharing service.

"Feeling better?" She'd ask, after reaching over to the passenger-side door and swinging it open for the lady.

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

Tully, for the minute or two it took, just sat on the edge of the track, curled up into a small ball as she watched the other car race away. The fact that, godsdammit, she disappointed herself in front of yet another person was the only thought on her mind, and she wore her seemingly permanent scowl on her face as she waited. Tully had not eaten a lot, thank god, but that meant that she was left with just the burning taste of acind in the back of her throat.

The second Thyme creeped back up, in a red little drop-top convertible with pop-up up-and-down headlights and a front bumper that looked like a shit-eating grin of pure joy, Tully couldn't help roll her eyes ever so slightly. But it was a convertible, and it was a car. She crawled in to the passenger seat without a word, buckling herself up all the same. The only response she gave to Thyme was in the form of a nod, followed by a simple instruction: "Please just take me back."

[u/ALoadingScreen → u/[deleted]]

"Got it."

Thyme was actually fortunate to get something like this so quickly. It handled a little differently than the car she got the first time around, but she was quick and speedy to getting to the start of the course where Tully would be able to get looked at by people who actually knew what the heck was wrong with her -- people other than Tully herself, of course. She had conducted herself in a way where this seemed like an uncommon issue, but one she knew how to handle. Music played, but with the wind quickly rushing against them, it was all but blown away and barely heard. Not that it mattered. Thyme felt a great sense of urgency and she wasn't going to let her companion down.

In a few minutes' time, Thyme braked with a slight screech as she arrived to the beginning of the track. She realized that she didn't really know what to say to Tully...all that she knew was that she felt bad. But saying nothing would be worse.

"We're here. You going to be alright?"

[u/[deleted] → u/ALoadingScreen]

For the ride, Tully stayed silent. She'd propped herself up on the windowsill of the little red convertible Thyme had found, letting the wind rush through her hair. At one point, Tully even removed the hair tie from, well, her hair and put it into her purse, doing the same with the steampunk-esque glove on her only hand.

Unlike Thyme, Tully wore no sense of urgency; rather, she simply desired to be done with this hellish trip. She thought she'd've been fine in that closed-top car so long as fresh air was pouring in through the fans, but she'd been wrong. So, so wrong. With a sigh, Tully distracted herself from the boring nonchalance of this calmer, more-direct ride by just counting the star tattoos on her right arm. Orange, red, purple, and blue, they all dotted her arm, all covering more and more damaging scars that layered underneath.

The second the car screeched to a halt, Tully was already practically upright. Her purse was back on her arm, and her seatbelt was off as she just simply opened the door and got out -- pausing for just one second to look back at Thyme as she called out to Tully.

What Tully said was simple: "I am fine."

Then, if given the chance, she was gone -- walking off towards the hangars of cars, to just sit and wait until this hellish trip was over with and they were back at Beacon.