Pyrrha Nikos chooses to be tickled

Pyrrha Nikos stepped into her room, the corners of her eyes watering. It had not been a good day, she knew that much. Especially not with six very hostile and very malicious enemies whaling upon her almost nonstop just a half-hour earlier. It was good that Azura had been able to get her patched up, but she’d decided not to compete anymore for today.

In fact, she was done with Competing entirely.

Too many enemies on the battlefield. Too many insults. Too many losses thanks to everyone ganging up on her… No wonder her light had gone out.

Some weeks ago, she’d chosen Wrapper Character Elimination 5: Battle of the Recommended Characters to bide her time until she could make a decision. Vale or Astra? Which would it be? She loved them both, and she couldn’t stand to see them fight. She’d only wanted to get away from the conflict for a while so she could start looking at it from a fair angle.

If only everyone hadn’t been so unfair to her.

Closing the door behind her, the half-werewolf let her Miló and Akoúo clatter to the floor before walking over to her bed and collapsing onto it face-down, fully clothed. She was too tired to even take off her armor, and she didn’t really care either. She didn’t know if fate had a sense of humor, but if it did, it would have had a very cruel sense of humor to send her here of all places.

Pulling her pillow towards her, she buried her face in it and started to cry in earnest. As she sobbed, a voice in the back of her mind spoke loud and clear: She’d leave first thing tomorrow. She’d have to go back to her families and start her quest in earnest. At least it was better than being almost universally despised.

…Almost universally despised?

Pyrrha was so busy wallowing in her misery that she didn’t even know someone else had entered the room, or that they’d shut the door behind them, until they tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, her cheeks flushed, her eyes slightly puffy.

“Are you okay?”

The pink-haired girl had an expression of clear concern. That was a first. She looked vaguely familiar as well, but she couldn’t tell where she’d seen her before, or if she’d seen her at all. Perhaps she was from a different time period, or even a different world. Pyrrha had heard that a certain Hero Queen lived among the Monsters as well, but she’d never actually spoken to her since she’d arrived. Perhaps it was because she was afraid she’d reject her, too. So why was this girl hovering over her like a cleric tending to a downed soldier?

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m sorry if I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier,” she replied. “I’m Giffany. And you are?”

“Pyrrha.” She sniffled a little. “What are you doing here?”

She smiled a little. “I noticed you coming back from Wrapper Character Elimination 5, and you were in terrible shape. I knew something was wrong, so I figured that I’d see you in your room, maybe talk to you about what’s been bothering you lately.”

“How did you guess?”

“You’ve never spoken a word to anyone since you joined us. Not even me, or Lafter Frankland, or the Hero Queen and the other monsters from our shared worlds. Lafter Frankland and I both went straight to Rukia as soon as we arrived, because we couldn’t contain our excitement to meet her. So why didn’t you come to us?”

Pyrrha buried her face in her pillow again. “It’s none of your business. Just go away.”

Giffany thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. “Pyrrha, I have every right to want to know what’s going on. I don’t want to see any of my fellow fighters in a horrible state of emotional distress. If anyone has caused you any trouble, please tell me. I’m listening.”

Pyrrha raised her head to look at her, her expression distraught. “Everyone I’ve spoken to has given me trouble! They hate me, they feel like I don’t deserve a place among them, and they just want me gone. Does that answer your question?”

Giffany sighed and gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t hate you, Pyrrha. I too am a monster, and I feel like we have so much more in common than you might think. Perhaps I could help you with your troubles with everyone else.” She paused, patting her head, and then asked, “What happened to you, anyway?”

She batted her hand away. “Gabriel Tenma White. That’s what happened. As if it was bad enough that she convinced Kion and Patrick Star to gang up on me alongside her, she also brought with her a terrible weapon. And she it. A weapon so cruel, so painful, that it’s been passed down in legend by mankind…”

“Lego?” Giffany chuckled.“

"Close. Shrapnel from her razor sharp feathers.” Then she paused. “How did you guess?”

She glanced at her booted feet. “Oh, I don’t know… Just a feeling, maybe?”

She looked up at her and eyed her suspiciously.

“You know what, if that happened to you, I think I should check your feet. Any cuts you’ve gotten could easily become septic if you step in something dirty.”

She returned to his pillow. “Azura already fixed me up as soon as I was done with competing. There’s nothing for you to fuss over, so if you could just leave me alone—” “You’ll only make yourself more miserable,” Giffany replied, walking over to the foot of the bed. “I’m here to make you feel better.”

Pyrrha wasn’t sure if anything could make her feel better by now. And she was quite certain that whatever Giffany was about to do wouldn’t help. So she didn’t even pull her feet away or protest when she removed Pyrrha's boots, lifted her ankles up a little, pulled her toes back, and set her feet down on the bed so her toes were flat against the mattress.

“I’m going to need you to hold as still as you can,” she said. “I’m going to check for any scratches or bruises. Ready?”