The sky was cloudless as Luna and her team stood outside of the main building for the replacement history teacher to arrive and as her black hair soaked up the full sunlight, she was beginning to feel that her head might explode from the heat.
"This is more of a punishment than I thought it'd be." She groaned.
"Are you kidding?" Astra stretched, looking blissful. "This sun is lovely!"
"You don't have dark hair," Luna pointed out. "Our sleeves."
Astra shrugged. "So take your jacket off."
Luna paused for a moment, wondering why she hadn't thought of that, before removing her pale purple jacket and tying it around her waist. The sun felt much better on her bare arms; Astra was right about that. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the other girl was staring, but she looked away so quickly as Luna turned to her that she figured she may have imagined it. Wishful thinking, probably.
"So, what do you think the new teacher will be like?" Cobalt asked, bringing Luna's attention away from Astra.
Astra sighed. "Well if she's going to be a history teacher, probably boring."
"Hey, Oobleck wasn't boring." Lily pointed out from where she leaned against the building wall.
"Yeah, but he's the exception," Astra replied. "The history teacher at the prep school I went to was boring as shit."
Lily shrugged. "I don't mind, so long as she tells history right. Nothing worse than a history teacher who's prejudiced against faunus or some bullshit like that."
"I'm sure Glynda knows better than to hire someone like that." Luna assured her.
"Hey, is that her?" Astra spoke suddenly. Following her gaze, Luna spotted a woman coming in through the gates.
Wait, is that…?
Luna knew that look anywhere. The curled ponytail, the large freckles dotting her skin. Catching surprized looks from her teammates, she rushed forward with a burst of excitement.
"Ilia!" She squealed, throwing herself into a hug with the older woman. "It's so good to see you!" It had been over two years since she'd last seen her family's old friend and she'd come to miss her desperately in those times. Kindhearted and patient, Ilia had always stood up for her against racist humans and had always understood her anxiety. She was not quite like a parent to Luna, but more of an older sister. Outside of her mothers, nobody understood Luna like Ilia did.
"Well, this isn't the reception I was expecting," Ilia chuckled warmly, returning the hug. "It's been a while, huh?"
Luna pulled back, suddenly confused. "Wait, are you the new teacher then? Is that why you haven't visited in so long?"
Ilia smiled apologetically. "I wanted it to be a surprise," She explained. "Hopefully, you didn't miss me too much."
"Woah hey, I know you!" Astra popped up next to Luna, the rest of the team behind her. "You're Ilia Amitola!" She bounced. "You're like, one of the biggest leaders in faunus rights from the past twenty years!"
Ilia looked her up and down. "And you are most definitely related to Neon Katt."
Astra squished her hands against her face, looking thrilled to be recognized. "She's my mother!" She grinned. "And she totally had a crush on you back when you went to school together, by the way."
Luna suppressed a chuckle as Ilia tried not to blush at that. It was good to know that she was still the same lesbian disaster she remembered.
"Wait, you're a faunus activist?" Lily questioned. "But you don't even look like- " She broke off as Ilia turned bright orange with a smile. "Oh. That's…pretty cool."
Astra giggled in a squealing way as Ilia changed back, her eyes practically sparkling as much as her hair.
"Oh!" Luna jumped, suddenly feeling awkward. "Uh, Ilia, this is my team," She gestured towards them. "Astra Katt, Lily Sustrai and Cobalt Scarlatina. We're team LLAC."
"Nice to meet you all," Ilia replied politely. "So, you're my tour guides then?"
"Yeah," Luna looked at the ground awkwardly. "We're were uh. Punished."
Ilia raised an eyebrow. "You were punished? What did you do?"
"Some cishet racist assholes gave us shit, so we beat them up." Astra piped up.
"Hah," Ilia grinned. "Sounds like they deserved it if you ask me."
Luna didn't think there could be more awe in Astra's expression at that moment.
"So, uh…do you want to get started?" Luna asked Ilia, eagerly wanting to get her hair under some shade.
"Lead the way."
Luna and the team led her into the main building, where she almost sighed in relief as she escaped the glaring sun.
"This is the entrance hall," She explained to Ilia. "Where we do stuff like ceremonies, announcements, stuff like that. It's probably the same in Atlas."
Ilia chuckled slightly. "I wouldn't exactly know, you know. I've barely been there."
"Wait," Cobalt spoke for the first time since Ilia had arrived. "If you're from Atlas, why come to teach here? Wouldn't it be easier up there?"
Ilia shook her head. "I considered it, but if there's one thing I learned while training for the position up there, it's that Atlas isn't fond of telling the whole truth when it comes to history," She explained. "It's against regulation to discuss anything that might be incriminating towards the Atlas military, for one."
Astra looked both disgusted and surprised. "And Councilwoman Hill let that slide?"
Luna was surprised too; Robyn Hill had been quite the anarchist before joining the Council and even now that she was bound to the rules, she still did everything she could to change them, from what Luna knew.
"She's been working in it, but it's not like she's the only member of the Council," Ilia replied. "So, until they get their priorities in order, I figured I'd have more luck teaching here." She smiled down at Luna. "Especially if it means spending time with honorary family." Luna grinned back at her.
"Right, you fought in the final battle against Salem with Team RWBY, right?" Lily enquired. Luna could practically sense the burning question on her mind.
Ilia nodded. "And your mother too, actually. She had a lot of courage, fighting against her abusers the way she did. How's she doing now? Doing any Huntress work?"
Lily smiled softly. "She's doing okay; she hasn't done any fighting since the final battle." She looked away. "She's…been worried about hurting people with her Maiden powers. She hasn't actually used them since…you know."
Ilia nodded. "I can understand that. Power can be more of a burden than a gift."
"Hold the fucking scroll, what!?" Astra burst out, staring at Lily. "Pardon my language," She added to Ilia, "but what!? Your mother is a Maiden?"
"Uh, yes?" Lily looked both confused and awkward as she rubbed her arm. "She gained the Fall Maiden's powers after she killed Cinder. I thought everyone knew that?"
Astra put her hands to her head, looking bewildered. "I knew she'd killed Cinder, but I didn't realize she'd gotten her powers!" She blinked several times. "I really should pay more attention to these things…"
"Ooookay, well," Luna piped up, wanting to save Lily from the awkwardness she must be feeling. "Shall we continue with the tour?"
"Oh, right," Astra replied. "Let's go finish our punishment!"
As the team showed Ilia around the various buildings and classrooms, the awkwardness melted away, though Luna couldn't help but wonder about Emerald upon the reminder that she was the Fall Maiden. She could understand the fear of not wanting to hurt anyone, but becoming a Huntress- a legal one- would certainly help the former criminal's reputation. That was why Lily was doing it, after all. She thought about Yang and Penny, the current Spring and Winter Maidens. Neither used their powers unless they absolutely had to, but they'd gained enough experience with them that they knew how to use them with precise control. Penny would probably be too busy, but maybe she could ask her mother if she'd be willing to help Emerald do the same?
As the team showed Ilia around the first-year dorms, Luna caught sight of none other than Rowan and Birch in the hallway, standing together and whispering- probably grumbling- about something. She groaned out loud.
Following her gaze, Astra sighed. "Ugh, I was hoping they'd be suspended or something."
"Is everything okay?" Ilia asked. "Who are they?"
"They're the students we fought with yesterday," Cobalt explained. "After they insulted Lily and called Astra a freak."
Ilia's eyes narrowed. "I see. Give me a moment."
Luna couldn't help but smile as Ilia approached the bullies. She knew where this was going.
"You two are students, right?" Ilia asked them. "I just thought I'd introduce myself."
Rowan looked her up and down. "And who are you supposed to be, exactly?" She snarked.
Ilia's gaze hardened slightly, but she kept a falsely kind smile on her face. "You can call me Miss Amitola. I'll be teaching your history classes starting tomorrow."
Panic flickered across the faces of both students and Luna chuckled.
"Anyway," Ilia continued. "I just wanted to let you both know that prejudice of any kind will not be tolerated in my classroom and will be met with punishment." She smiled at them as their panic and discomfort grew. "But I'm sure you won't need to worry about that. Have a nice day!"
The two teens hurried away as Ilia turned and returned to team LLAC. "That's how it's done, kids," She chuckled. "I know I said power could be a burden, but it helps sometimes, too."
"You're amazing…" Astra breathed. Luna thought she might faint on the spot.
"I'll admit, that was fun to watch." Cobalt commented.
Luna gazed at Ilia as she chuckled along with the team, feeling the same adoring feelings she'd always gotten as a kid. If Ilia was teaching her now; if she was living here now, things were going to be a lot more comfortable for her.
