Russel had enjoyed his bath. Team Cardinal had adjoining rooms off a corridor on the second floor. Even his room was bigger than the entire dorm at Beacon. He also had his own bathroom. Team LILAC had been placed in the summer house which was a self-contained building about 5 minutes' walk away from the main mansion.
He had wondered whether that was an implied insult to the two Faunus on Lydia's team, but the potential snubbees had been relaxed. Leslie had said "Lydia tells me that she has stayed there before and that it is extremely comfortable, and it means that we do not have to worry about making noise. They even have a golf cart we can drive to and from Winchester Towers in. If I am being insulted, then I wish that I were insulted this way more often."
Anne had said "I know that the only reason you, Leslie and I are being allowed anywhere near the building is because of Cardin and Lydia. However, we are her guests and friends of her relatives, and she would not want to insult Lydia or Cardin in a crass manner. With luck, you and I will be ignored by her while we are there."
Russel supposed that was true. Certainly, he knew how differently he was treated when he went to a restaurant in the school uniform in Cardin's company than he had been when he had eaten in the hotel restaurant where he had stayed during the entry tests.
He checked the time. There was going to be a reception with introductory speeches before dinner. Cardin had warned them all about drinking the cocktails too quickly and had suggested drinking enough water to quench first before attending. Dove had nodded vigorously at that. He changed into his dinner jacket which had been bought courtesy of Cardin with money from Aunt Agnes. He had spent some time comparing it to his old one and realised that there was a load of small things which differentiated it from the cut price one he had bought before arriving at Beacon. He was not convinced that most of them mattered or mattered enough to justify the price difference, but perhaps in Cardin's world these differences were of importance. Certainly, the upgrade in the team's weapons and protective clothing had been worthwhile.
There was a knock on the door, and he heard Cardin say "Russel, could I have a word."
"Of course, come in. The door is unlocked."
Cardin entered and said, "You ae looking good, Russel. I know that I have said this before, but the GA can be intimidating. However, this is not a society occasion. The other guests are hunters who have earned her respect and whom she knows are not the proper recipients for her put downs. Also, tonight she will be focusing on me, Lydia, and Brede. She knows Dove well and so he will join the group at the top of the table. She will probably talk to you and whoever you are next to at the time for five minutes during the reception. Be polite but not too much of a doormat. By the way, her husband commanded at an early stage in his career a battalion of Seekers. They wear turbans in part for religious reasons and in part because it identifies them. I would suggest that you say if asked the reason for the hair you answer in terms which brings out the analogy and refer to the Seekers particularly. I have double checked and there is a large photograph of him with his troops on the right wall in the reception room. I suggest you study it. Otherwise act like you are like one of the sergeants in the old war movies, which Dove likes, when dealing with the colonel of the regiment."
Russel laughed, "Thanks for the briefing, Cardin. I will not let you down. When should we join the throng?"
"5 to 10 minutes. The golf cart has just gone up to the Summer House and it makes sense for us to arrive slightly before Lydia. Actually, come with me and we will gather the rest of the team."
Russel followed Cardin to knock on Dove's door. The conversation showed why Cardin was the right choice as leader. He was thinking about small tactical aspects all the time and was focused on the team rather than himself.
Seven minutes later Cardin said, "Time to go on down, the time is right." Dove giggled and Russel suspected that this must be a reference to some old Vale television programme. He might ask Anne later.
They strode down the staircase. Russel was uncomfortably aware that they had, without consciously thinking about it, decided to do a power walk and was glad that none of eight huntsmen were in the hall to watch them.
/-/
Dove was feeling happy. Winchester Towers was his favourite place in Remnant. The mansion was luxurious, the food was first rate, and the gardens were beautiful. He was with his oldest friend, and they were going to have ten days of coaching to prepare them for the Vytal Festival and being a huntsman generally. He was also in an environment he knew and felt at home in.
He could get used to this life. The Bronzewings were decently off, but Cardin's great-aunts were rich. Speaking to his teammates had shown him that Sky's family had a similar social position in Mistral as Dove's did in Vale but were a little wealthier. It appeared that servants were cheaper there. Russel was reluctant to talk about Vacuo, but he clearly had had a tougher upbringing than the rest of them. Cardin had taken him and Sky aside early on and warned them about pressing Russel on this point. He had said, "Let Russel tell us things in his own time and when he feels comfortable. There is a fine line between getting to know a team mate better and seeming like one is a poverty tourist getting their jollies off the misfortune of others. By the way, by Vacuoan standards Russel's upbringing was comfortable. He was never undernourished, and bandits left his tribe alone.
Hugo had been around to run his bath and help dress him after afterwards. Hugo had known his place, but had said, "Sir, we took great pleasure in the servant's hall to read and hear about how brave you, Master Cardin and Miss Lydia were during the terrorist attack on the night club."
"We only did our duty, Hugo."
"But attacking them despite being unarmed and taking a prisoner, sir. Her ladyship was impressed and said at dinner to your mother that you had done more than duty required."
Dove had preened himself after hearing that. They had shown that they had the right stuff to be hunters and If Lydia had been perhaps a bit more impressive, she had been carrying one of her weapons with her. It was good to be admired and looking at his bow tie and hair in the mirror afterwards he thought that it helped to have someone make the best of yourself.
They were ushed into the reception area where the hunters had already arrived and tucking into the canapes and had glasses in their hands. They were offered a choice of cocktails or Chanson sparkling wine. Russel peeled off and went to look at some of the pictures on the walls. Some of the hunters moved towards them and introduced themselves. Team LILAC arrived a moment later and Dove looked at them. Lydia was wearing a dinner suit as well as the men. She, Brede, and Leslie were wearing matching waistcoats which he thought were smart if a little garish. Anne was in a smart dress, and he reflected that she scrubbed up well. At least the dress meant that she did not have to worry about her pigtail and if he had known she came from the poorest part of the poorest part of Vale he would have taken her for a superior shop girl who worked in a fashion store or a perfumery.
The butler beach cleared his throat and tapped a wine glass. At that point Lady Agnes Winchester entered the room together with Vermillion Sykes who had been a losing finalist at the Vytal festival. Still, he had been defeated by Professor Goodwitch, so it was a fair bet that he was better than most winners.
Lady Winchester (or the GA as Cardin and Lydia referred to her) moved forward, "Huntsman, Team Cardinal, Team LILAC, welcome to Winchester Towers. Dinner will be served in around thirty minutes. But I have asked Vermillion here to address you all first and explain the purpose and format of the next ten days." There was an outbreak of politely enthusiastic clapping.
The tall dark-haired hunter stepped forward and said, "Thank you Lady Winchester. It is an honour to be here at the Towers again and a privilege to be asked to pass on the benefit of our experience to the teams of your niece and nephew." The clapping here was louder.
"First, I would like to pay tribute to Lady Winchester. All but one of us is a graduate of Pharos Academy and of Beacon. We have benefitted from the support and enthusiasm of our gracious hostess and the education we received at Beacon and Pharos. We are happy to have the opportunity to pay forward to the new generation. Our aim will be to help you help yourselves to become the best huntsman and huntresses you can be and to do justice to yourselves at the Vytal Festival. We cannot promise to make you winners. After all, I did lose in the final to your distinguished and formidable deputy-headmistress. "
There was laughter and cheers at this. He held his hand up and continued when quiet was resumed, "You will get to work with all of us over the first two days. After that we will think about who is best suited to develop you and you will spend more time with those licensed hunters we consider appropriate. Sometimes they will be people who use similar weapons to you and sometimes those who are skilled at fighting against people using those weapons. We will work with you both individually, in pairs and in teams. The forecast is mostly good if cold for the next week so most of the time will be spent outdoors. We will be showing you and critiquing past fights from the Vytal festival which we consider will be of most help to you. Some will be famous fights you have all heard about, some will be long forgotten. All will have lessons to be learnt. Finally, being a hunter is not just about fighting in the Vytal Festival. Over the next few years, you will increasingly be sent on practical missions to deal with Grimm and with bandits and once you have qualified your careers will usually be spent fighting Grimm. We will be discussing how best to plan for such missions – actually we hope to learn things from each other as well as to teach you. Anyway, that is quite enough of me for the time being. We will take the opportunity to mingle with you and introduce ourselves before dinner. There is a seating plan and name cards will be on the table. I am looking forward to a memorable ten days."
Lady Winchester lead the enthusiastic applause and servants emerged carrying plates of canapes and bottles of sparkling wine to refill their glasses along with some soft drinks and cocktails. Dove choose to have his glass topped up with orange juice. While he fully intended to enjoy the evening, he had to ensure that he was fit for fighting tomorrow.
He noticed Vermillion and another two hunters approach the team with a view to greeting them. Another three were approaching team LILAC with a similar aim. The other two were speaking with the GA. Vermillion said, "I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Cardin, your great aunt would like to have a word with you and your cousin before asking you to properly introduce your team members to her."
Cardin said "Thank you, sir. I will see you later." He then left to join the GA.
Vermillion said to the rest of Team Cardin, "By the way, no need to call me sir tonight. During the training sessions call me either Mr Sykes or Sir, but when things are social then Vermillion will be fine."
He and the other two hunters shook the hands of the team. Dove suspected that Vermillion would be towards the top of the table tonight. He had asked Cardin earlier whether he could ask Mr Sykes what it was like fighting Professor Goodwitch. Cardin had said no, but that if he would think about ways of seeing if the huntsman would volunteer it. If need be he might ask the GA to make one of her legendary pointed comments in Cardin's direction about how he was proposing to deal with Pyrrha Nikos or Coco Adel. Dove had suggested Coco might be the preferable person to mention to avoid giving Lydia or Brede to mention how Team LILAC had ambushed Team JNPR that one time.
/-/
Beach had just banged the gong and announced that dinner was served when Sky felt an arm on his shoulder and turned to see the huntsman from his past. He gulped and wondered what to do when the huntsman said "Sky, isn't it? I just want to apologise for staring at you when you arrived. You half reminded me of someone I used to know in the past, and it took me some time to place him and realise that you could not be him or his son. Anyway, look forward to seeing more of you."
Sky relaxed at that point. Perhaps he could get through the time without having to reveal his secret to his team. He realised that he had half been hoping that the man would realise who he was as he was a little curious about how his uncle's crimes had been uncovered and what had happened to the Faunus girl.
He had also survived being introduced to Lady Winchester. She had been gracious and had talked about the beautiful beaches and coral in the area of Mistral the Lark family hailed from. The suspicion that Cardin had briefed her was confirmed when she asked Russel whether the hair reflected his tribal traditions and showed he was proud of his origins. He had replied yes and had referred to some group called the Seekers. They had then discussed a large photograph on the wall where apparently her deceased husband had been pictured with a battalion of Seekers. He had nearly dropped his glass when Russel had come out with some statement saying that he looked like a man to follow into battle.
These thoughts meant that he was not entirely aware of his surroundings until he heard expressions of disbelief from Anne and Russel. He looked around and smiled to himself. There was a table set for seventeen people in the middle of a huge hall which he suspected could double as a ballroom. There were pictures on the walls some of which suggested what Cardin would look like when he got older. One or two clearly showed the dangers for Cardin of giving up exercise. A couple of family portraits also hinted at what a more arrogant version of Lydia would look like. He found her intimidating enough as it was without having to think of a mean version.
What was really impressive was that the table was candlelit. The table itself looked around 100 years old and the chairs matched them. They were substantial without being immovable. Behind each seat stood the valet or maid who they had been assigned while Beach was behind Lady Winchester's chair. Sky had decided that it was not possible for him to refer to her as the GA or even Great-Aunt Agnes. Cardin had said that this was a larger weekend party than normal and that some of the valets and maids would be doubling tonight as waiters. He saw the place settings and caught Russel's eye and nodded. Russel was visibly relieved. While it may not be on purpose, this was an advanced exam in etiquette which could have been designed to intimidate the plebs. He had suggested beforehand that Russel should follow his lead on choosing cutlery or presenting glasses to be filled. Anne looked panicked as well. The Lynx Faunus looked unfazed, but whether that was because he knew what each implement was for or was happy to bluff it out was anyone's guess.
The seating plan was mostly what he had expected. Lady Winchester was at the head of the table, Sykes and Cardin were next to her, Lydia was sitting next to Sykes while another huntsman was next to Cardin. The plan was clearly to alternate huntsman and student down each side of the able with Team Cardinal on their Hostess's right-hand side and Team Lilac on her left. He was not surprised to find the order of precedence was Dove, himself and Russel on the right and Brede, Leslie, and Anne on the left. He supposed it made sense as encouraged them to talk to the huntsmen and reduce the scope for merely talking to your fellow team member.
While the seating plan made sense to him as a Mistralian, he noted that it reflected some choices which might be slightly controversial in Vale. No one would object to the blood relatives being at the top of the table, although it would be interesting to see whether at the next formal dinner Lydia would be placed next to Lady Winchester or whether Cardin would again take preference as a male. Dove was an old friend of the family and Sky did not feel insulted by him being placed higher up the table, while he was certain Dove would have felt slighted if Sky had been placed above him. Brede made sense at second out of Lydia's team because he was old aristocracy and in light of the photograph in Salutation which had suggested that he and Lydia were close. While there was an argument that as team leader Leslie should be in the second place, the other factors meant that there was plausible deniability that the placement was not discriminating against Leslie as a Faunus. Placing the female Faunus at the bottom of the table and the Vacuoan nomad at the bottom of the table could be seen as making a statement. On the other hand, it was true that Anne got on better with Russel than anyone else on Team Cardin and keeping her away from Dove was for the best. It could also be argued that giving preference to the self-evident Faunus who was also team leader over the one who could pass for human was also an argument in favour of the seating. He would have to ask Cardin whether he, Lydia and Sykes had had input into the seat plan or whether it was all down to their hostess.
The servants behind the chairs drew them away from the table and the huntsman and students all stood in front of the chairs. He had been warned by Dove and Cardin at least ten times not to sit down before Lady Winchester and clearly Lydia had done the same for her team. He noted that Planchet, was just behind the Atlas and had clearly been deputed to act as his valet this week. The man had started off the term as a servant at Beacon but later became employed by Team LILAC as a sort of batman to the team as a whole. Cardin was convinced that the man was actually some sort of protection officer who had been assigned to safeguard Brede and Weiss, but the story was neither confirmed or denied by Brede or the rest of Team LILAC.
The huntsman Garnett had been placed between Brede and Lydia and opposite Dove. That suited Sky for the evening and may be for the best. He had caught a slight Atlesian accent and suspected that the seating plan may have been altered to place him next to the other man form Atlas.
Lady Winchester walked in supporting herself on her stick and sat down in her chair. The butler who he gathered from Cardin was called Beach announced, "Be seated, Ladies and gentlemen."
Sky introduced himself to his neighbours and took a look at the menu. Dove had said that the chef Simon Rainbow had trained at the Obese Mallard in Argus and the menu clearly reflected that background.
/-/
Cardin sat down next to the GA. She had been suspiciously good-humoured so far this evening. Despite what he had said to Russel he expected her to test the two teams in her own inimitable way. He picked up the menu. Clearly Simon had been told to spare no expense and Cardin wondered how to pace himself this evening. Apart from the warm bread and choice of butters, an amuse bouche of confit duck and garlic arancini was already being placed in front of him and the first glass of wine had been poured.
He and Lydia had sort of agreed a peace treaty this evening on the basis that no sniping at each other would be tolerated and neither would introduce contentious topics.
He was relieved to find that while there were many courses the meal was not too heavy. Apparently the real feast would be saved for the final night. The salmon with the tarragon, dill and lemon sauce was delicious and the wine matched it perfectly. The small cheese souffles with a hint of mustard reminded him of the advantages of being able to afford to employ a master chef. The GA explained to Sykes and Garnet that the man needed to show off his talent, so she had to invite friends to at least three formal dinners a week.
They were then given poached eggs in red wine sauce. Lydia did go and check with Anne, but returned saying "It is fine, Aunt Agnes. She does not have a problem with bacon and pancetta."
The GA said, "Simon said he had checked the allergies and things people did not eat and was satisfied that the menu was not going to upset any one or he had an alternative dish to give them."
Garnet asked, "Why did you think your teammate would not eat bacon?"
"She is a pig Faunus and sometimes Faunus do not like to eat the animal or fish they have traits of. She says that basically so long as she is not given suckling pig she has no problem."
Garnet looked a little taken aback and changed the conversation by saying, "As you can tell I went to the Atlas Academy a long time ago. When I went all the students were from Atlas or Mantle. Looking at your two teams only half are from Vale. What was the position when you were here, Vermillion?"
"It was in the early days of Ozpin being headmaster. He was even then encouraging Port who was a guest lecturer then to seek out mustangs who could benefit from the huntsman training. He was also very insistent on people co-operating. He started out by taking people who did not fit in elsewhere. The two headmasters before Lionheart at haven used to send those who had come up through the orphanage system so they could make a fresh start. Members of the awkward squad from Atlas often made their way here."
"Did people object to places which were meant for Vale students being taken by foreigners?"
"Somehow he arranged it so the numbers arriving from Vale increased as well. New classrooms and combat arenas were built, and the old ones turned into dorms. Is it sixty or sixty-four students a year now, Cardin?"
Cardin answered, "64 this year, Vermillion. Just under a third are from outside Vale."
"When I started at Beacon there were 24 students from the combat schools in Vale in my year. There were three mustangs who Port found in the borderlands between Vale and Vacuo and by the end of the first term we had gained three students from Haven and two from Atlas."
The GA must have been in a good mood indeed as she indirectly asked Dove's question for him, "How pressurised was the Vytal festival then? What difference did it make to do well in it?"
Vermillion actually laughed, "Even then we were conscious that it made a huge difference to your career if your team made the last eight and to fight in the semi-finals meant that you had the best job offers and were paid a premium. Even those who argued that the skills for doing well in the festival did not prepare you for the real world, in practice give you more respect. It does come in useful for calming tensions. If villagers see that a Vytal festival contender is in town they are happier that the Grimm problem can be dealt with, they relax and attract less Grimm. To that extent it is a virtuous circle. Even then the payments for television and streaming rights were such that after each festival a major building programme took place at the academies. If you did well in your first Vytal festival somehow sponsorship monies would be found which allowed you to upgrade your weapons. In some ways the second festival was more pressure than the first one as your competitors know who you are and what you can do. And have prepared strategies for dealing with you. All that said, I think there is more pressure now especially in Mistral."
The entire to half of the table had listened to this answer and Dove asked, "In what way is it more pressured now than then?"
"There was not the same obsessive coverage in the press of the early rounds and the cultural events were seen as equally important. No one was interested in your private life or paid ex-romantic interests for kiss and tell stories unless you won the tournament. Now you are fair game even if you are only a possible contender. The extra money was pleasant and helped you be a better huntsman but was not so much that your job was being a champion rather than being a huntsman."
Garnet said, "Even in my day the public pressure only set in during the tournament itself. Mind you, I was at Atlas and even then the press was encouraged to behave itself."
The GA said, "Maybe in relation to its own students."
Cardin could sense the huntsman blushing next to him. He wondered which way the man would go in response. Vermillion chose to cover for him "Garnet had been in Vacuo for the last month and only got back two days ago. He also is not a reader of the popular press."
The GA snorted, but was prepared to drop the point.
Vermillion continued, "Anyway, when my team reached the semi-finals the pressure was intense. My teammate and I hardly slept the night before and were living on adrenalin. Still our plane came together well and withing five minutes we had turned the fight into a two on one fight. A couple of minutes of explosive action and then a competent mopping up operation. Our opponents came and shook our hands and then asked, "Have you decided which of you lucky people is going to face GG". Do bear in mind that she had not yet become Professor Goodwitch and we were young men. In the fight before ours a young man from Mistral had tried to get fresh with her at the pre-tournament ball and she had taken him apart in a truly embarrassing manner. She used her semblance to take his weapon out of bounds and then suspended him in mid-air upside down while her partner and her took down his teammate."
Cardin made a note to himself to stress this point to Dove later in private. He suspected that Coco idolised Goodwitch and would not be surprised if she had modelled the demonstration fight she and Yatsuhashi had with Dove and Sky after the incident of Velvet's ears on that semi-final fight.
The GA replied, "Quite right as well. How did you decide which one of you would fight her?"
"In those days you could only use a teammate who had fought in the semi-final. My teammate was a tank but was not mobile. I was fast and a good all-rounder. Also, I got on well with Glynda as we have been at Pharos together and I had been a prefect when she was head girl. We decided that I would be the ritual sacrifice, but that I would do my best to make it difficult for her."
Garnet laughed and said, "You are being modest. You lasted twenty minutes and took her aura down to 60%."
"That was mostly down to few outrageous shots. She hit me with what felt like a small building to finish it off." The listeners laughed.
To Cardin's surprise, Brede Campion asked a question, "One of the things I would like t' find out in the next ten days is how t' give myself a chance when I am outclassed. Don't bother t' be polite Lydia, but I am the least dangerous member of the team at close quarters. Good defence, excellent sniper, but I would not get a hit in against you or Cardin fighting face to face."
Vermillion replied, "If they could get anywhere near you. In the real world, if you can pick off Grimm and bandits at ¼ mile plus you are more valuable and more likely to survive than any tank as you will not exhaust your aura in deflecting attacks. Later this week we will talk about and show you clips demonstrating how you can neutralise the best fighter on the other side by taking a few per cent off their aura every time they make an aggressive move and allow your team mates to take out the merely good. In my case with Glynda I kept moving and my semblance helped me shoot while leaping through the air. She may have improved but at that time while she was very precise she could not change the direction of the things being aimed at me once they had been propelled at me."
Garnet added, "And to even it up, we will also discuss methods of dealing with snipers by using the terrain to shield yourself or drawing him to the fight by ganging up on his teammates."
Soon the eggs were finished and a main course of roast venison with sliced potatoes layered with onions and cheese and cooked with a garlic infused chicken stock arrived.
/-/
Garnet was sipping his coffee at the end of the dinner. He had enjoyed apart from thinking that feeling that he had made a mistake when he had mentioned the Atlas press. Perhaps he should keep himself abreast of what happened in the world more than he did. Still the old lady had been respectful, the young students had been enthusiastic and the food excellent. Still, perhaps he had been flustered on finding out the niece's teammate was a pig Faunus. After having seen the young man from Mistral who reminded him of person involved in the unfortunate incident, to have another reminder of that time was unfortunate. Still the girl had been a rough diamond but coarse. This one seemed like a quiet, reserved young woman
The money was not bad although not extravagantly so. Tulip said that Vermillion had priced it that way for a few reasons. One was that he felt that the old lady had helped out most of the hunters with scholarships to Pharos and Beacon. The second was that it might be a repeat gig while the nephew and niece were at Beacon so no point in being greedy. The third was that if the concept were successful it might become an extra source of income and could actually be fun. If both or either of these teams did well then it might lead to other wealthy relatives giving special training to their children's teams. Vermillion said that he had done one to one training in Vacuo in the past, but too many parents and students basically wanted to be taught to be flashy rather than good hunters. The gig had attracted him because it was focused on them fighting as teams as well as individually.
He wondered about the old lady. While she used the wheelchair outside, she walked with the aid of a stick inside and had no problem getting to her feet at the end of the meal. The nephew was wary of her, the niece less so although was still polite. Anyway, he sipped his coffee and talked mostly to Brede and Dove and a little less to Lydia. The two young men would need careful handling. He guessed that they suffered from the problem which the good but not excellent students often suffered from of being afraid that they would let down their teammates.
Vermillion spoke to the old lady who nodded. He stood up and said "First, I would like to thank the chef for an excellent mean and the staff for a seamless service." This was greeted by cheers and applause. "However, we must not forget the real purpose of our stay her and I would ask that everyone restrict themselves to one glass of liqueur in the retiring room and then head for their bed. Training begins at seven tomorrow morning, and we will meet in the main hall. Brunch will be at 11 in the breakfast room. Cardin, Leslie, could I have a word with you before you head for bed."
At the end of the meal, he chatted to some of the other hunters he would be working with tomorrow. Vermillion was talking to the two team leaders while the rest Team Lilac was waiting at the door with a valet in attendance. No, the girl could not be the same one – there was no way Tracey he could imagine Brede Campion and Tracey being friend. The rest of Team Cardinal were sipping their drinks and waiting for their leader to join them.
After the conversation was over and the teams had left for bed, Vermillion had a final word with the hunters. "I talked to the team leaders about semblances. I explained that I understood the reasons for keeping semblances confidential, but that if we knew what a semblance was we could help suggest ways of using it or show them tapes of people using similar semblances. I also said that we might be helpful in suggesting to them what their semblances might be. After all, for many people the difference between a semblance and a skill is a narrow one. They both said that they would speak to their teams about it and discuss it with me. The Lynx Faunus said that he would like it to be understood that any information about any semblances be kep confidential until after the Vytal festival. This seemed fair and I suggested that they bear in mind that they could tell one of us without telling the rest. Cardin did say that everyone at Beacon knows what Anne's semblance is anyway. Leslie acknowledged that but said he would speak to her."