Chapter 2: He Knows

Disclaimer: Neither Phy or I (Umbra) own anything other than HL and Yee.

After dinner, we all return to the ballroom for the night, since rooms are assigned after initiation. Carefully aligning my futon next to Weiss's, I head to the restroom to take a shower. I sneak into the last stall, trying to find some privacy among the multitude of girls. After washing myself, I wrap my hair in my fluffy red towel and step out of the shower, wearing soft pink pyjamas. Feeling refreshed, I move to the sink to brush my teeth.

"The Headmaster – he spoke the truth you know… Learning from a book can only teach you so much. Also, I doubt there is much that these fools could teach you that your great shifu hasn't already taught you."

"Do you ever stop boasting?" I groan as I wipe my face with a washcloth. "All I hear from you day in and day out is just 'blah blah I'm great blah blah.' I know you're an awesome fire dragon, but jeez. In all of the two years I've known you, the only tones you've used are apathetic and blatant gloating."

"No, I don't. But try as you may, you cannot say I'm lying on this part. You know this more than anybody. No matter how prepared you think you are, there is always something out there to surprise you."

"I hate it when you're right." I glance at my scar in the mirror. "But could you please just relax with the bragging until after I'm in bed and asleep?"

"My 'bragging' is nothing more than me trying to give you an example to follow. You hope to never be noticed – you wish that you inherited your mother's semblance. Those are things that will never happen, and in all my years of experience, you continue to be the least threatening member of your family I have ever seen."

"Why do you have to make it out to be a bad thing?" I grumble. "If I knew any better, I'd say you were actually complimenting me. And, anyway, I thought you couldn't really see since you don't have eyes."

"I don't just see the natural world, I see the Aura that flows through it. All living things give off a unique signature, like your own. Your Aura is red like all your family members: it has innocence that is admirable and love that is fathomless. It also gives a raw expression of your attitude at any given moment. It's the same for all things that are natural to this world. I have seen you, and everyone that you have come across, as they are, with their souls 'naked.'"

"N-Naked?" I exclaim in dismay. "I-I thought you – Oh my spirits, you've seen everyone naked. You've seen Weiss naked!" My face flushes at the thought of her privacy invaded by such a perverted old dragon.

"You still have selective hearing."

I bite my lower lip, trying desperately to remember what that means. "I swear, I do listen!"

"Very well: what does selective hearing mean?"

"Uh… I only hear, uh… some things?"

"You are close. You only listen to portions of what I say, specifically when I grab your attention with words that are shocking… And that which you want to hear."

"Wh-What are you even suggesting!? I would never imagine Wei…" I grab the ends of the bow again, tugging so hard that it nearly unravels.

"I never actually said Weiss, you know."

My hands fly up to cover my face in chagrin and humiliation. "I-I wasn't saying Weiss! I was, um, saying 'Wh-Why are you so mean to me?'"

"You can lie to me all you want, but your soul is an open book."

"Stop reading my soul! It's not a book. Ugh, I hate you!"

"You know that is not true. I am doing what dragons do to their young all the time. I'm making you strong."

"I'm not a dragon like you are, okay? Sometimes I feel like you're just messing with me."

"I am messing with you. I just said I see a person's soul. That's what I meant by naked."

I throw up my hands in resignation. "You're the worst."

"You know there are other people in here. Other girls… Maybe even one you know."

I realize with a start that he might be right and cover my mouth. Fear spreads through me as I scan the room, but the bathroom is empty.

"Just kidding."

For a second, I am stunned into silence. Tears spring to my eyes as I realize what he had just said. With a sob, I run out of the bathroom carrying the glaive, slamming it inside a locker. As I bolt away from the locker, from his existence, I bitterly think to him: Thank the spirits for your damn prison.

I scamper to my futon and crawl under the covers. In an attempt to stifle my weeping, I bury my face into my pillow – the pink satin stained by my tears – hugging my knees closer to my chest. After a couple minutes of clearly failing to silence my cries, I feel a gentle tap on my back. Sniffling, I look up to see Weiss standing next to my futon in the dark. Even through my tears, I notice the dainty sleeping mask pushed above her eyes, the baby blue nightgown that hugs her body, and her long, straight, white hair that gently hugs her back as she bends towards me.

"Hey… Is everything alright?"

Sniveling, I whisper, "Hong-Long is just bullying me again: as usual, I suppose."

"That cretin," she hisses. "How can I help you?"

I sit up and pat the side of the bed next to me, indicating for her to sit down. "I just wish that we could go back to when we were younger. When we didn't have responsibilities, or feel pressured to be strong and perfect like you are."

I peek up at her to see an expression of astonishment. "W-Well, I can tell you that I will always be your friend," she murmurs. "I'll be there for you when you need me." I sniffle again and nod. A moment of silence passes as I wipe my tears away.

"D-Do you think, um, I could have a hug?" I ask bashfully, fiddling with the bedsheet.

She seems to scramble for a response, and I realize my question must have caught her off guard. Before I could retract it, however, she spoke up. "I-I don't see a problem giving a friend a hug when she's hurting, so why not?" She reaches over and stiffly wraps her arms around my shoulders. Shyly, I squeeze her back.

"Thank you." Suddenly, I notice just how close she is to me, with her head resting on my shoulder, and my arms around her waist… With a start, I let go and attempt to lay back down. Weiss, unprepared for my sudden movement, does not let go fast enough and we fall backwards onto my futon. Weiss and I squeak in surprise when we realize her face is hovering extremely close to my chest and we scramble apart. I pull my pyjamas closer around my body and stare at the hems of my pyjama shirt as my face turns completely red.

Weiss clears her throat, her face beet red as well. A couple moments of uncomfortable silence pass as I search for something to mask my embarrassment. What just happened? I can't believe that just – she just—

Finally, she forces out the words, "I-I think we should get some sleep."

I force myself to focus on her words. "Yeah, you're right. We have initiation tomorrow. G-Goodnight, Weiss."

"Goodnight." She quickly slides back into her futon and pulls her sleeping mask back over her eyes. I pull the blankets back over myself, and as I drift into sleep, I feel my bow untie itself. I sigh, aware that Hong-Long wants to speak to me in my dreams again. As I feel myself drift into unconsciousness, I direct my thoughts at Hong-Long, saying: Don't you dare say a word about what just happened.


I stand in the middle of a field of pink peonies, in a watermelon green sundress and white heels. My white hair hangs in a loose French braid, the red stripe curving through it. The wind blows gently, lifting the skirt of my dress slightly and causing my hair to flutter around me. Just as I bend down to pick a peony – my favorite flower – I recall the ends of Hong-Long's bow reaching to my temple and look up. As my eyes reach the clouds, I see him: an imposing red eastern dragon, his head towering at least twenty feet above my own and the rest of his gargantuan body off in the distance, spanning between the clouds and vanishing off into the horizon. His eyes, a vibrant flame of red and deep orange, are fixed on me. I can never decipher his emotions through them, but again I am reminded of why my family's warriors are afraid of his scrutiny. I sit down among the flowers calmly and patiently, waiting for him to say something to me. After a couple moments of silence, his baritone voice booms throughout my dreamscape.

"You did well, kid."

I blink in surprise at the kind words. Having expected more scolding, I grin at the awkwardness of his praise. I look back up at him, trying to see his expression, but his visage has already begun to slowly fade as he allows me to enter my dreams. Just before he fully disappears, I hear him quietly mutter:

"Better than I had, anyway."


"Hey, get up. Initiation's in an hour." Weiss shakes me awake. I yawn and rub my eyes, wishing that I could sleep in more. After getting dressed and washing up, I begrudgingly remove Hong-Long from the locker and tie him around my waist once again.

"Good morning kid."

"Oh, no snarky comments making fun of me this morning?" I respond wryly, rubbing my forehead and scar.

"Nah, like I said last night: you did well."

"It's weirder that you don't have anything sassy to say to me. You're making me uneasy."

"Don't get used to this."

"I almost wonder if you're not feeling well."

"Aura constructs cannot get sick." I chuckle. As I close the door to the locker, I notice Weiss excitedly talking to Pyrrha Nikos, a distant member of the Luuk family, the family of earth semblances.

"Oh good, it's Pyrrha. I actually don't mind that one."

"It's cool that one of my cousins is famous, but I don't really know her all that well because of it."

"Now is a good time to meet her, no?"

I take a moment to gather courage, and walk towards them. Just then, that blonde boy – who had been vomiting on the first day – pushes me aside and swoops into their conversation, introducing himself as Jaune Arc. I watch crossly as he promptly hits on Weiss.

"I think you should stab him. It sounds like a really good idea."

"I don't really like him either," irritation seeps through my voice. "But seeing Weiss completely shut him down is kind of gratifying."

"I suppose his blood wouldn't burn well at all, would it?"

"Gross. Don't tell me about those kinds of things."

"Go talk to your cousin and your 'friend.' Who knows, maybe the blonde one will be entertaining, rather than annoying.'

I step forward again, hesitantly approaching them. Just as I am about to reach them, Pyrrha chucks her spear at Jaune, pinning him to a locker by the hood of his hoodie. As she and Weiss walk past him, she apologizes, pulling the spear out and continuing on.

"I knew something funny would happen. He deserved that one though."

I carefully stalk past Jaune as he tries to recover, trying hard not to kick him in the shin. "You should know better than to try to hit on the Weiss Schnee," I spit out before I can think properly. Realizing what I have just done, I cover my mouth with my hands and hurry off after Weiss.

"Good, you are thinking like a dragon now: as you should."

"That was so rude of me! I can't believe I even – oh my spirits, he'll definitely think I'm an upper class snob now! Why did I even say that?"

"Firstly, he did shove you out of the way, and second, I don't think he saw you. He earned your ire. At least you are starting to protect your treasures."

"Stop making it weird! Weiss is a friend, and she's way too good for vomit-boy. She clearly needs someone of at least the Baak family caliber."

"Whatever you say, Lady Baak."

"Don't call me that! You know I hate it!" I hiss as I near the other students by the cliffside.

"Why do you hate your title?"

"You know exactly why." My mind subconsciously reaches back once again, and my hands start to tremble in fear.

"Now is not the time to get lost in memory, especially with that one. Grimm are close to us, I can feel their void."

I pull myself out of my memories and pinch my thigh. "Right. We're going in to fight." I close my eyes for a moment. Be more aware of your surroundings, I remind myself. When I reopen them, I take in the tall hill covered in grass that I stand in: the sixteen launch pads ahead of me, idly sitting side-by-side. Headmaster Ozpin, standing on the other side of those launch pads, watches us expectantly through shaded glass spectacles that seem to barely fit his face, wearing his typical three pieced suit and green ascot. Ms. Goodwitch, the combat instructor and vice headmistress, stands beside him with a Scroll. Remembering his constant lectures on thinking rather than speaking to him, I ask Hong Long, Does he have a walking impairment or something? He always carries that cane, but it never looks like he struggles.

"It is more than likely his weapon. His grip on it is firm but relaxed, suggesting familiarity with it."

Peering over the edge, I marvel at the altitude of the cliff. There's a huge forest down there. Do you think that's where the initiation is going to be held?

"I assume so: the void is almost palpable even from here. Be ready for a large amount of Grimm."

I nod and steady my stance on the launch pad at my feet. Squinting down the line of students to my left, I notice that Weiss is one of the first few students, with Pyrrha following after her. I hear Jaune questioning Headmaster Ozpin about what exactly we are doing.

"I was right… He is an idiot."

I giggle as he is launched just as he asks what a landing strategy is. What a doofus! As the student between myself and Jaune launches, I brace myself for the burst of momentum... yet nothing happens. I look around me, confused as to why the pad has not activated.

"Ms. Baak, Mr. Huo: we need to have a conversation." Ozpin looks at me, his gaze seeming to stare straight into the depths of my soul.

I immediately stand straight up on the pad and freeze, my eyes wide with apprehension. "How did the Headmaster know your name?" I whisper to Hong-Long. "I didn't even know your last name was 'fire'."

"This one knows things he shouldn't. It is very disturbing that he knows my last name."

I snicker. "You sound bothered, and I kind of like that."

"This is more serious than you realize. If he knows my name, what does he know about you?"

I gulp and return my gaze to Ozpin, who is studying me through his brown spectacles. I feel all of the hair on my body stand at the thought of him knowing more about me. As my soul fills with dread for what he could possibly say to me, I clench my hands at my sides and wait for him to speak.


AN:

Phy: I got two great stories to tell y'all. The first is that I was reading our summary aloud for Umbra to hear and I read it so fast that he thought I had said "faerie dragon", soooooooooooooooooo now HL is (confirmed) a faerie dragon who spits fire. YAY.

Also, while we were brainstorming ideas for the chapter title, one of our betas came up with "Baak and Foh" (this was before we remembered that HL is supposed to be Mandarin, not Cantonese.) What was funny is that the name "Baak and Foh" kinda sounds like the English words "Back and Forth" (I know, we have some ingenious friends.) And if it's just me that found it funny, then that's okay ._. [Umbra: it is]

Umbra: In this chapter we got a little into the relationship between Weiss and Yee. I just want to let you guys and gals [Phy: and in the words of the amazing Thomas Sanders, "and non-binary pals"] know that it will never go into smutty territory. Also feel free to leave a review.