The Faunus Girl

A Quiet Night

We all move into the living room to catch Yang and Weiss up to speed, and after everything is said the room gets so quiet that we can hear the clock ticking on the wall.

Weiss is the first to break the silence next to me, "So, the Maidens, Magic, Salem. It's all true?"

"Uh huh." Qrow grunts.

"Miss Xiao Long, is this more or less what your mother told you?" Ozpin asks.

Yang doesn't say anything, "For the most part." Weiss answers for her.

"You forgot something." Yang speaks up, "You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother."

My ears perk at that, "What is she talking about?" Jaune voices what we're all thinking.

Qrow rolls his eyes, "Oh, great."

"That's not a secret I thought she would give up so easily. Your mother must trust you a great deal." Ozpin tells Yang, "My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain magical power."

He gets up and starts walking around the room, "Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to see more, to move freely, and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I, well, gave them the ability to turn into birds." He laughs a little, "Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isnt it?"

Ruby looks to Qrow, "Uncle?"

"You turned them into birds?" Ren asks.

I shake my head, "There's no way."

"Alright, now you're just messing with us." Nora says.

"What else is new?" Jaune grumbles.

"He's telling the truth. We saw it. Yang's mom changed right in front of us. " Weiss explains.

Yang's eyes narrow, "Why would you do something like that? I mean, what is wrong with you?"

"Yang, that's enough." Qrow interrupts her, "We made a choice. We wanted this."

Ozpin looks up to Qrow, "May I?"

The older man nods and Ozpin walks closer to all of us, "Granting this power to them was no trivial task, and I can assure you it was not done frivolously. I required assistance in gathering information on Salem's plans, as well as searching for Maidens when their hosts became unclear."

"Okay, so, have you done this with others? Like General Ironwood or Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby asks.

"As helpful as that might be, unfortunately it is not that simple. My power is finite, and if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount I gifted to Qrow and Raven was, all things considered, rather minuscule. You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women, who I hoped would use my gift for good. They were the first Maidens." Ozpin explains.

He turns to Yang, "Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you. To any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to play close to the chest. I believe that's how you phrased it?" He looks to Qrow with a smile.

The Huntsman laughs, "Yeah."

"Everyone has a choice." Ozpin continues, "The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon their duties in favor of her own self-intrest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time. There's no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat."

We all share looks with each other, none of us signed up for war, but how do we walk away from this? Especially when there's a chance we can do something to stop it. Salem has taken too much from us already, and I'll be damned if she takes anything else from me.