Hail Storm Pt. II

Crystalline
The four touring teenagers stood before a walkway, gazing upward at the massive, castle-like building which towered over them. When they came to Vale, they didn't have any original intention of visiting Beacon Academy. But as fate had it, they were stepping through its doors.

The massive entryway closed behind them, and they stared in awe as students went walking up and down the halls. So many new faces were before them, almost too many, really.

"Wow..." Raine whistled. "This must be an esteemed school if they can afford to teach this many people."

Tara looked left and right, searching for the heads of crimson, violet, brown, and teal they'd chatted up earlier. "Three-fourths of the people here are visiting for the tournament in a few weeks. Just holler when you see the girls. "Oh! Is that one of them~?" Macy eagerly pointed down to the end of the hall, as the crowd started to clear up just a fraction. They followed her gaze, seeing her pointing to a spec of what she thought to be violet. But nope. It was indigo.

"...This is gonna take forever," Raine groaned, slumping down on a bench in the hall. A moment later, Saige came walking back to them with a small stack of paper in her hands, flipping through the pages in deep concentration.

"Whazzat?"

She briefly glanced up to Macy, then back down. "The school roster. I asked a professor here if I could use this to help us find Whinter."

"Smart!" Raine seemed the most impressed, peering over her shoulder at the list. "If Whinter lives in Vale, then maybe she's related to one of the students on this list!"

"Mhm. Let's see." She came upon the S through Z page and tapped her finger on the first name, dragging it down as she read out the rest. "Schnee, Souris, Surek, Svane, Tsukiakari, Volunda de Grande, Wight, Xiao Long, Xueshan, Yara..."

"...None of those sound even remotely related to Whinter."

As soon as the words came out of Tara's mouth, Saige crumbled up the paper in her hands and tossed it back over her shoulder. "You have any better ideas?"

"~Have you tried the Communications Tower?" Tara, Raine, and Macy whirled around on their heels to find the four girls from earlier staring them in the face. Crystal waved with a meek smile, whereas the other three just stood relaxed.

"You guys have a tower for that here?"

Idina nodded. "Students use it all the time to call home and long distance."

"...Huh-"

"Let's go!" The second they turned to look at Macy, they found themselves facing a puff of smoke and stared in disbelief.

"Your friend sure is energetic," Sirce muttered.

---

A hologram popped up at the desk Macy so eagerly leaned on, typing something on a keyboard before looking up with a warm smile. "Welcome to the Transcommunication Tower. How may I help you?"

"I need to find someone- Whoa!" She found herself quickly swept off her feet and dangling a foot in the air by the collar, flailing her arms to beg for release. "Aw, come on! I wanted to try it!"

"You couldn't have been a little patient?" Tianee questioned the other shorty before Sirce put her down gently. The eight were gathered in front of the counter, staring at the hologram receptionist as if expecting her to ask the same question twice.

Raine cleared his throat and stepped forward. "We need to make a call to someone. ...But we don't have their contact information."

"Oh." The digital woman's smile never moved, as she started typing on the computer before her again. "Certainly. Do you have the person's name?"

"She goes by Whinter."

"Winter?"

"No. Whinter."

"Winter?"

"No, I-" He paused for a moment, before letting out a sigh and looking her square in the eye again. "HWinter." He really didn't want to annunciate the H so weirdly, but it seemed necessary if they wanted to make any progress.

"Whinter?" she asked again.

"YES!" Raine looked over his shoulder as the six girls besides Macy replied with exasperation. He chuckled a little, before turning back.

"Okay, sir. I found one contact for Whinter in Vale. Please have a seat at computer seven." With the complications out of the way, they walked on over to a numbered computer, staring at the call button on the screen in anticipation.

"...So, who wants to be the face?" Team STRM looked around, and then focused their gazes as Team CIST took one big step back.

"Don't look at us," Idina said, raising huer hands up in casual defense. "We're just here to help with the search party." They then looked to Saige with questioning eyes, knowing she was the leader, and likely the source of all things knowledgable on their mission.

She rolled her eyes and sat in the chair, pressing the call button on the screen. The green phone icon turned into three blinking dots and while they rotated, she looked back to see the other three leaning into view of the computer screen.

"Do you mind?" she asked.

Macy smiled. "Why, not at all~!"

"It's a team mission, Crissy. Shouldn't we all be on screen when she answers?"

"She's gonna think it's some kind of prank call if four teenagers suddenly pop up on her screen!"

"But-"

"No buts. Now move aside, for Grimm's sake!" They found Saige's hands pushing the three of them back away from the computer, and protested with short grunts before they cooperated. The second Saige turned back, there was someone with a horribly unsettling mask on screen, and she jumped, expecting the scary image the least.

"...Can I help you?" a voice resonated from the computer speakers, flat and somewhat disinterested.

"I uh..." She cleared her throat and shook her head, plastering a small grin on her lips as she straightened herself up. "Yes. Are you Whinter?"

"...Why do you ask?"

"I've been trying to find you for a few days now. A friend of mine-"

"Look, sweetie. As much as I'd like to help you with a 'school project,' I'm afraid that's not possible."

She tilted her head. "School project?"

"Yes. Isn't that what you're calling me about?"

"What- No! I'm calling on behalf of Professor Wolfgang. Or-"  She shook her head and sighed, refocusing her attention on the screen. "...You know... Guadalupe. "

"...What about him?"

"Well, he's a bit stressed right now. He had a little fight with Professor Kristen, and-"

"Oh, goddamnit. I told those two to keep their heads cool."