Crimson sat in class, only vaguely listening to Dr. Oobleck's history lecture. His mind was wandering to what Ozpin had told him about Carl Strikz...about him being involved in the death of Crimson's father. He scowled as his memories flashed to the day his father was murdered.
"Mr. Dram! Am I boring you?" Oobleck's words snapped Crimson to his senses.
"Uh, no professor." Crimson immediately rushed to correct himself. "Doctor, sorry."
"Good. Then you wouldn't mind telling the rest of the class where the peace treaty between the four nations was brokered?" Oobleck pressed.
Crimson paused. "Uh...Vytal...that's why it's called the Vytal festival."
Oobleck nodded. "Very good, it seems you were still with us to some capacity. Nonetheless, I'd caution you not to let your mind wander so much during class. You never know what little details you might miss."
"Right. Sorry, doctor." Crimson said.
After class, Melanie caught up to Crimson, walking beside him. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Something Ozpin told me...after the warehouse incident." He explained. "I think...the man who killed my dad was working for...you know..."
"Strikz?" She asked. "Do you think...maybe it was Alabaster?"
Crimson shook his head. "No, it wasn't him."
"How do you know?" She questioned.
"A few reasons." Crimson explained. "I...used to go on...nighttime raids...looking for my dad's murderer. I came up against him during one of them, and I...questioned him...he didn't know who it was."
"He could have been lying." Melanie insisted.
"My visor was monitoring his pulse and facial expressions." Crimson countered.
Melanie raised an eyebrow. "Really? Turn it on."
Crimson paused. "Right now? Here? In the middle of the hall?"
"Do it, dingus." She said.
He sighed and activated the lie detector program. "Alright, now what's the point of this?"
"I am a 400 meter violet duck-billed ursa with lightish red horns and silver wings." She stated to his face.
To Crimson's surprise, the program detected no signs of deception. "Okay...point taken, but...how?"
She rolled her eyes. "Years of practice and mental training. Your pulse is controlled by your breathing, keep that steady and it doesn't change. Facial expressions are basic impulse control. Most people divert eye contact as a nervous mannerism. Confidence, even feigned, is all it takes to look someone in the eye. The hardest part is the subconscious tells. Sweating, hesitation, fidgeting or shifting, they're all involuntary reactions caused by fear of detection. You get around that by not being afraid. Rework your mindset in one of two ways, so that either what you're saying is true with inside knowledge either you know, or that their reaction to what you say isn't one to be afraid of. Case in point, what were you going to do? If he wanted to, he could use his semblance to slip away at any time. He simply wasn't scared."
"Alright, fine, he could have been lying, but I know it wasn't him." Crimson stated. "Trust me, I remember that day vividly...it wasn't him."
Melanie sighed. "Alright, I believe you."
They continued on to the next class, Crimson still thinking about the possibility, but only in the back of his mind. It was only during sparring that Melanie nudged him out of his train of thought.
"Hey, wanna fight?" She asked.
He blinked. "Uh...yeah, okay."
They both readied their weapons, but Melanie made the first move, rushing Crimson and pivoting behind him for a kick to the back of his legs. He fell to a crouch, having to plant one of his blades in the ground to steady himself, then immediately used it to flip forward back up to his feet.
"That was a bit of a cheap shot." He said.
She smirked. "That's how I fight, deal with it."
He chuckled, rushing in for a spinning double slash. Melanie ducked under and swung at his side, but he corkscrewed over the attack, using his momentum to swing again, forcing Melanie to back up. She threw a dagger at him, and reflexively he deflected it, but it was merely a distraction for her to rush him with a shoulder slam. He staggered back as she used her semblance to retrieve her dagger. She began slashing with both weapons in swift and fluid movements, not allowing Crimson the opportunity to recover, until finally he fell out of bounds.
"Ow." He complained.
She made a mock pouting face. "Oh, did that hurt?"
He sighed. "Are you trying to make a point here?"
"You're not focused, and it's throwing you off." She stated. "Stop worrying about maybes and just focus on improving yourself. If you make yourself stronger in the now, you'll be ready for when that moment comes."
He shook his head. "It's...not that simple. This means too much to me, I can't just not think about it."
"...then use that." Melanie stated. "Don't let it distract you, make it a reason not to lose."
She offered him a hand up, and he took it. "I didn't think you were the type for pep talks."
She shrugged. "And yet, here we are."
He chuckled. "Hey, you wanna go grab a snack?"
"Sure." She stated. "I pickpocketed some of Cardin's lien, so I should have enough."
Crimson paused. "Melanie, did you actually-"
She laughed. "No, of course not...it was Russel's."
Crimson gave a defeated sigh, but didn't object as they made their way to a snack machine. He couldn't help but crack a smile though. As much as he didn't always agree with her...he did like her. Somehow he felt...comfortable around her...it was relieving.
