It was agony. Class dragged on for an eternity. Professor Oobleck threw words at us like bullets. Yet somehow his lectures moved at a drudgen's pace. It was maddening, hearing him babble about the history of Vale and our neighbors. I could barely take it. Sure, the fact that I had spent the last few weeks stalking the streets late at night may have added to my inability to grasp what he was saying. The core concepts and learning objectives, which were outlined in the syllabus I didn't care to read, escaped me completely. It was times like those that made me jealous of my classmates, especially Blake. Looking at her drove me crazy.
Her hair hung from her shoulders like an ebon waterfall. Her eyes low and focused. There was something about that look. She would loom over her work like a slab of onyx, casting a long shadow. Many of us lived in that long shadow of hers. Weiss was especially prone to languishing in Blake's dark umbra. Even then, I saw her sneaking fiery glances at her. One moment Weiss would be focused on her work and the next she would be leering at Blake. Ostensibly, she was jealous of her. Even as I watched her, Blake was steady and true in her work. Though when she caught me staring, she gave a subtle wink in my direction.
Hiding the crimson flush that had came about my cheeks, I noticed Yang staring at her as well. Almost as if she could watch Blake comb over old books all day. She made it obvious too. Sitting a row behind her, with the way the seats were arranged, Yang could look down at her without anyone being the wiser. Thought rather than sneaking glances Yang outright stole them. Grabbing great handfuls of Blake whenever she pleased.
I was happy enough to go unnoticed. So long as Oobleck never called on me there wouldn't be any issue. My weary ears began to hone in on whatever Oobleck was rambling about. "My dear, dear pupils… My lovely, lovely students… Tell me this, when Salem slaughtered Ozymandius, god on high, and Ozyma, his greatest creation, in cold blood… what was her motivation? For what reason would she sunder the heavens and pull hell from the arms of paradise? Moreover, who can tell me how this all relates to Aldin's number? When you answer this question I have to urge you to consider the following…" He droned. I had no Idea how anyone could follow this. More importantly, hardly twenty minutes had passed since the lecture started. I sank back in my chair to appear small. Somehow his eyes still found me. "Ms. Rose, could you tell me what Mars Heidegger meant by the term Dasein?" He asked.
"Ummmmm…" I stammered.
"Here she goes with the 'Ummms' again," Weiss whispered. Yang and Blake could be heard desperately fighting back a fit of giggles. I shushed them.
"Is there something you four want to share with the class?" Oobleck rattled.
"No, sir. Actually, um-" I struggled to say. The words caught in my throat and nearly choked me. Another girl across the room, a close friend of mine, raised her hand.
"Ms. Nikos!" Oobleck said pointing to her
"Can I answer for her?" Pyrrha asked
"Of course!"
"Alrighty then. Heidegger used Dasein to refer to the experience of existing that is unique to human beings. We're self aware so we have to grapple with concepts like mortality, purpose, and identity."
"Excellent as always, Ms. Nikos." He said. Not long after the words left his mouth I began to breathe easy. I would have to remember to thank Pyrrha later.
"Doctor Oobleck! Oh, good Doctor! I have a question," A young man with long ears spoke up, in a deliberately grating sing songy tone.
"What is it Mr. Winchester?"
"Please, Good Doctor, call me Cardin."
"If you've told me once, you've told me a thousand times. I will not be referring to you, nor any of the other students, by your first names. It is simply too unprofessional for my tastes. Now, please Mr. Winchester say whatever it is you have to say,"
"Of course, Sir. Ms. Nikos' answer was good, but I have some quibbles," He said with a flourish "She used the word 'we' which implies that everyone in this room is self aware and has the necessary mental faculties to grapple with abstract concepts like mortality, but that simply cannot be true, Sir. YOU SEE, the absurdity of her statement becomes apparent when you consider the fact that there are Humans in the room. Not just that, but there are Faunus too! In light of those facts, I do not think it would be accurate to say we ALL experience reality in a manner consistent with Heidegger's theories," He said, pricking up his ears and grinning. Cardin was neither human nor faunus. He had the blood of the solitary magical creatures who lived in the far north. They called themselves Spriggans. And although their ancestors made their homes in old growth forests, the Spriggans of the modern era sat in stoney castles carved into mountains.
"Mr. Winchester, do you believe, in earnest, that your race is really that much better than the rest?"
"Of course! I believe in the preeminence of the Spriggan race with all my heart, Dr. Oobleck," He said, glancing back at Weiss
"Then why do you feel the need to belabor the same point every week? If you really felt that way, from the bottom of your heart, then you wouldn't feel the need to reiterate it so often,"
"Now, that's where you're wrong sir. I say it as often and as loudly as I can because it is the unerring truth! I say it to remind the world about the right and proper order of things," He finished, finally. As Cardin sat down I threw a ball of paper at the back of his head and when he turned to look at me I threw another bigger ball. "What a pity. When Humans can't defend themselves with words they turn to violence," he muttered. The leg of a chair came flying across from Pyrrha's side of the room and struck Cardin in the head. That was enough to rouse his anger. Cardin and his gangly goons began throwing things back in the direction of the chair leg. The room soon became a flurry of books and furniture. A pen came flying and poked Weiss' eye, the ink irritating it and turning it red. She stood up, perched her neck forward just so, and put her shoulders back. It was a familiar posture. She drew dust from her satchel and produced a great storm of sparks. They came together, forming a ball of fire which she threw at Cardin's neck. His arm raised up to meet the flame, in an attempt to block it. In the blink of an eye, Cardin's aura flared. He glowed a deep shade of red, like dried blood. The room was filled with the light of his sanguine aura and he swatted the fire away, like a bug.
"Fucking ridiculous," Weiss grimaced "That doesn't even make any sense!"
"You've spent too much time around humans," He panted "It's made you weak." Weiss readied another core of dust and threw it at Cardin. The dust core was as long as a knife and glowed like the midnight sun. There was no telling what would happen when it landed. Moving with incredible speed, I flew through the air and grabbed it. I wrapped my body around it to absorb the blast. The light nearly blinded me with its orange hue.
"Enough!" Oobleck shouted. In an instant I felt myself flung against a wall, my aura broken. The same was true for all of my peers. Everyone was folded over desks, strung out on the floor, or laid broken against a wall. In the center of it all stood Oobleck. Alone, in the middle of the room, he held the dust core in his right hand. Its glow had become dim as he siphoned the last traces of Weiss' aura from it. He stared at the fading light until the crystalline core went cold and dark. He spoke to us once more before adjourning the session, "It may not seem like it to now, but you are our future. What you do today will create a world that we all have to live in. And I do mean all of us: Human, Faunus, and Spriggan. It would behoove you to think deeply on that idea before our next session. You're dismissed."
There was a dark mood in the halls as we filed out of class. Oobleck's disappointment was palpable and hung over us like a damp quilt. While my peers were caught up in the mood, I couldn't help but wonder how Oobleck managed to grab the dust out of my hand so quickly. Aura did a little bit of everything. It made hunters tough as iron; faster and stronger too. Even still, I had never seen anyone faster than me. Taken on the whole it seemed absurd. Not only was he fast enough to throw me against a wall and snatch the dust from my hand before I could notice, he also had the time to trounce every single one of his pupils. A room of over 80 hunters defeated in the blink of an eye.
As I walked with Blake and Yang I noticed that Weiss was far behind us. She was still arguing with Cardin.
"You've left a dark mark on my honor, girl," He sneared "you nearly killed me."
"I know. And the fact that I didn't is nothing short of a tragedy," Weiss replied. That upset him greatly. Cardin began shouting at her in their native tongue. Weiss met his fury in kind, lobbing what were ostensibly insults at him in a language I couldn't understand. Following the specifics of the conversation was impossible for me, but there was one word that stood out to me. Yssai. A trial by combat in defense of one's honor. That was when I knew I had to intervene.
"If you want to fight someone so badly, then fight me!" I stepped between them, looking Cardin in the eye "I threw that ball at you, I started this, not her!" He stood two heads taller than me, his face twisted with anger.
"Last I heard humans have fleas. I wouldn't so much as touch you… Besides, you're no match for me," Cardin said. It was then that I decided to take a deeper poke at him. Reiterating my challenge, I made sure to specifically use the word Yssai. I didn't know much about Spriggans, few humans did. However, I had never known one to turn down an Yssai. The corners of his mouth pulled back at the mention of the word. "You couldn't even begin to understand what that word means," He looked to Weiss "How much of our language have you taught to your little pets?"
"Stop bothering her! I challenged you to duel with both of our honor on the line and you tried to ignore me. What's really going on? Are you scared?" I asked. Cardin raised a hand and nodded his head from side to side, silently asking me to stop. He could not stand to hear any more of what I had to say. If a duel was what I wanted then he would be more than happy to oblige. The date of the melee was set for the end of the week. After that was agreed upon, Cardin slinked down the hall with his head low, mumbling and grumbling, flanked by his toadies all the way.