"So, definitely the 15th then?" Lily asked, blinking at her mother's face on the screen.
Emerald nodded. "Ruby and Weiss are visiting their wife in Atlas once term holidays start and won't be back until two days before then," She explained, her voice ever-so-slightly distorted by the signal. "The team and I have agreed that the 15th is the best time to meet." She sighed. "I can't say I'm too enthusiastic about talking to them again after all these years. But I think it could be good to finally clear things up."
"It will be," Lily promised, though she wasn't entirely sure of it herself. "Once you guys have talked, I think things are going to get a lot better."
Emerald smiled softly. "I can tell they already have for you, at least."
Lily felt a warm glow as she thought of her friends. "Coming here was good for me for more than just the reason I wanted to," She admitted. "I still don't have everything sorted out, but…I think I'm going to be okay." That much, she was sure of. She had friends here-real, actual friends. None of her teachers looked down on her or blamed her for anything from the past. And sure, there were a couple of bad things, but they couldn't outweigh the good now, not as long as she had her team to support her.
"I'm so glad you're doing so well," Emerald replied, her eyes warm. "I'm so proud of you, my little flower."
Lily wanted to reach through the screen and hug her. "Things will be okay for you too," She assured her. "I know they will."
"It's enough for me that you're happy," Emerald told her gently. "It's good to see you smiling so much."
Lily knew it would take more than one conversation to make her mother see her own worth, but she knew it would be pointless to try now. With any luck, meeting with Team RWBY would help with that.
"I should go," She settled. "I've got some stuff to do." It had been a little over a week since Luna had suggested she talk to Jaune about her Semblance- or lack thereof- but she'd continuously forgotten until that morning when Luna had reminded her.
"Have fun," Emerald replied warmly. "I'll see you when the holidays start."
Lily smiled. "Right. Love you, mom."
"I love you too, Lily," Emerald responded softly. "Have fun with the rest of the term." She smiled before the screen turned blank and she was gone.
Lily leaned back in her chair for a moment. Ending conversations with her mother always left her feeling sentimental, but there was an undercurrent of hope too. The holidays were in just a few weeks, shortly after Beacon's end-of-term dance. Being able to spend time with her mother again, as well as the fact they might just finally sort things out in their life, left her feeling uplifted. She could do this. She would do this.
Pushing the chair back with her feet, she stood up, wanting to go and find Jaune as soon as she could. As she turned to leave the library though, she spotted someone familiar sitting at a desk, someone she was not at all pleased to see. Storm Hunter had their face buried in a book, unaware of Lily's presence.
Baring her teeth, Lily prepared to walk over and give them a piece of her mind, but she stopped when she noticed the small pile of books on the table. Two on Remnant world history and one on Faunus rights, as well as Blake Belladonna's autobiography. Curiosity shot through her. What was Storm doing with books like that?
She strode up to them, her curiosity overtaking her desire to pound them into the ground.
"You studying for a test or something?" She asked bluntly.
Storm jumped at her voice; they'd seemingly been deep into the book. As they lifted their head, alarm filled their hazel eyes upon recognizing her.
"I-uh…" They looked like they were about to start sweating. "…Are you going to hurt me?"
Lily crossed her arms, glaring down at them. "I'm seriously considering it."
Storm looked away. "Yeah, well, I would blame you if you did, honestly."
Lily lifted an eyebrow. Was this some kind of pity play?
"Look, about Cobalt…" Storm continued. "I don't know how to say it without sounding insincere, but I feel...horrible about what happened."
"About breaking his heart, you mean?" Lily pressed, her eyes narrowed. "And implying that faunus are responsible for what they've been through?"
Storm shifted and stared at their hands, which were rested on the book. "Exactly that, actually." They stared at the open pages. "I…I don't know how much Cobalt told you about what happened, but he told me I didn't know anything about the faunus and he was right." They ran their fingers through the pages awkwardly, still not meeting Lily's eyes. "So, I…thought I'd start learning."
Lily gazed at the pages; she could see that the book they were reading now was detailing this history of faunus movements. "You're…actually serious about this." She realized, looking again at the pile of books.
Storm sighed, their face washed with guilt and shame. "I never realized how much I was hurting faunus, even without actively doing anything against them," They admitted. "I just…hurting Cobalt is the last thing I wanted. He's really sweet." They played with their fingers again. "I like him a lot."
Lily narrowed her eyes again. "So, this is just to get him back, then?"
Storm looked up sharply. "No!" They replied quickly. "I mean…it would be really nice, but that's not why I'm doing this, I promise. I want to make up for the kind of person I've been to all faunus, not just Cobalt." Their gaze fell again. "I want to be a better person than I've been."
Against her better judgment, Lily couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for them. Only slightly. "If you're really serious about this, here's some free advice," She offered. "Talk to Professor Amitola. These " She gestured at the books, " Are useful, but the history books aren't always accurate. You should hear about it from someone who played a bigger role in the recent stuff."
Storm nodded, looking thoughtful. "That's actually really helpful." They replied. "Thank you."
Lily shrugged. "Sure," She leaned closer to Storm, looking them in the eye, "But if this ends up being purely in self-interest, I will pummel you into the ground." She threatened, meaning every word.
Storm shrank back into their chair. "Right. You got it."
With that, Lily turned and left the library, hoping that Storm really was trying to better themselves. It would be totally understandable if Cobalt still wouldn't date them, but it would at least lift his mood to know he'd initiated change in someone. And consider how downcast Cobalt had been for the past week, it would be good to see. It gave Lily the same feeling to see her partner upset than it did when her mother was, a hollow feeling in her stomach and a desire for justice.
She pushed the thoughts aside. She could deal with all of that later, but for now, it was about time she got this talk with Jaune out of the way.
She made her way to his office, pushing open the door and knocking gently on the wall.
"Uh…Professor Arc? Are you busy?"
Jaune looked up from the papers he'd been going through. "Hm? No, you're fine." He pushed the papers away. "Please, come in."
Lily walked into the room, tentatively taking a seat in front of Jaune's desk.
Jaune rested his hands on the desk. "So, what brings you here? Did you just want to chat?"
Lily rubbed her arm. "No, actually…I've been worried about the fact I still haven't unlocked my Semblance yet," She admitted to him. "Luna told me to come and talk to you."
A look of realization seemed to flicker in Jaune's eyes. "Ah, I see. You're worried you're late, huh?"
Lily sighed. "I just…I feel like I should have unlocked it by now." She stared at the ground, letting her frustration spill out. "I don't know a single person my age who hasn't unlocked theirs…how am I supposed to make it as a Huntress without one?"
Jaune chuckled. "I feel like you kids are always coming to me with familiar situations."
Lily looked up at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
Jaune smiled knowingly. "I felt the exact same way when I was attending Beacon."
Lily sat up, her interest piquing and the realization dawned on her. "You…hadn't unlocked your Semblance either?"
Jaune nodded. "Not at your age, no. In fact, I didn't unlock it until long after Beacon fell, during the battle for Haven."
Lily knew it was supposed to make her feel better, but it only made her heart sink further. "Does that mean I might not unlock mine for another year or more?"
Jaune stood up from his desk and walked over to one side of his room, looking at a wall filled with framed photos. Lily recognized younger versions of RWBY and JNPR, as well as a few family photos from the teams with their children.
"The thing about Semblances is, Lily," Jaune explained. "Is that they can be unpredictable. Different people unlock them in different ways. Some people are born with theirs, like Luna. Some pick it up along the way, and some never unlock it at all."
Lily's heart clenched. She prayed she wouldn't be one of the latter.
"And sometimes," Jaune continued. "It takes a time of need for a Semblance to unlock."
Lily leaned forward. "What kind of need?"
"Well, take my teammates, for example." Jaune gazed fondly at a photo of Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. "Nora unlocked hers at a time where she might have died if she hadn't, and Ren unlocked his to protect her at a different time. However," He added, moving to a photo of someone it took Lily a moment to recognize. "The need doesn't always have to be so dire. Pyrrha unlocked hers after she dropped her scroll down a sewage drain." He smiled, fondness and sorrow mixed in his gaze.
"So…what you're saying is that I could unlock it at literally any time, then." Lily concluded, not exactly feeling better.
Jaune chuckled. "Well, yes," He replied. "But there are some things that can help it along, and training is one of them."
"I'm already doing that," Lily pointed out. "Isn't that, like…the point of the school?"
"I don't mean as part of school lessons." Jaune amended. "I mean extra training, with me."
Lily sat up straighter, blinking in surprise. "Wait really?"
Jaune nodded. "If you want. I'm happy to help you after hours."
Lily was dumbfounded. "That…sounds really cool," She admitted. "I'd like that."
"Well," Jaune checked his wristwatch. "As it so happens, I've got some free time now." He grinned at her. "If you're up for it, how would you like to start today?"
Lily grinned, excitement rising in her chest. "Let's do it."
