…
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 45…
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 46…
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 47…
She was only halfway through her week-long detention, and Ilia was already sick of it.
Before she had moved to plant that incriminating letter in the Professor's office, Ilia had been forced to sit through an entire week of boring classes. If Beacon Academy hadn't installed such a complicated security system that closely monitored the movements of ALL visitors (and intruders) on campus, Ilia could have broken in, planted the letter and ran – instead she had to fully register as a student, which was the only way to bypass the system. It didn't track registered students, conveniently.
But now she had to deal with Glynda Goodwitch, who monitored her activity far more closely than any security system.
And she was a far more complicated human than Ilia ever imagined.
"I'm impressed with your grasp of the basics, but these calculations are not what I expected," the Professor said from her desk as Ilia continued writing her sentences on the whiteboard. It was part of her detention – an hour of silent reading and/or studying, 30 minutes for a quiz, then the rest of the period writing a sentence over and over. Goodwitch was grading today's quiz as she said, "Where did you study before you came here?"
"I never went to school," she replied absently. "The White Fang taught me the basics when I was little, then I stole a schoolbook and studied on my-" Ilia bit her lip to stop herself from telling her entire freaking life story to this human. She angrily continued her sentences in stubborn silence.
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 87…
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 88…
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 89…
Almost there…
"My apologies," came the quiet response. Neither of them spoke again for several minutes.
I will not commit corperate sabotage. 100! Ilia sighed as she capped her marker and turned to leave.
"You spelled 'corporate' wrong. I was waiting to see if you'd catch it…" Goodwitch had an insufferable smirk on her face as she looked over the board. Ilia felt her face grow hot as the human said, "…But I'll let it slide this time. I'll see you tomorrow Miss Amitola."
Ilia grimaced as she noticed her skin had taken on a bright pink glow – embarrassment. She took a deep breath and forced it down before returning to her dorm room.
She pondered for the rest of the night. A human had called her out on a mistake; she should've been angry, resulting in her turning red, but she turned… pink. An awkward blush. For a human.
What the hell was happening to her?
…
…
Day 5, and she didn't have to write anything for once. All Ilia had to do was sit and wait for the Professor to grade her last quiz. Detention was almost over.
On Monday she had to write 'I will not submit false information' a hundred times; on Tuesday it was 'I will not carry concealed weapons on campus' another hundred times; and yesterday it was 'I will not ignore my lessons' yet another hundred times. Ilia's arm was about to fall off. Stupid… tall… whiteboard.
Outside of detention, Ilia had tried to hunt down any sort of weakness she could use against the woman by asking those she could stomach talking to. Nearly everyone said the same things: Goodwitch was the best teacher ever, Goodwitch was incredibly strict, and Goodwitch was very focused on taking care of Faunus students. By now, Ilia was convinced they were all putting on an act. No one was that perfect. No one. Goodwitch had to have a weak point somewhere.
The blonde woman sighed as she finished her work, saying, "For someone who's only self-studied up until now, I must say I'm impressed with your work. If you stick with it, I think you have a bright future ahead of you."
Ilia shoved down a rising wave of joy at those words. Now was not the time for that.
Goodwitch looked up at her, then smiled slightly as she continued, "If you're interested, I can give you a list of books to study from the library-"
"Stop acting like you give a damn about my grades," Ilia huffed, crossing her arms and looking away. "I'm just a Faunus… an animal… and animals don't have 'bright' futures."
She looked back in time to see the Professor's green eyes flash with anger. Oooh… was that a weak point?
Goodwitch spoke with a strained voice, "I still believe you can succeed if you put your mind to it. I've had plenty of Faunus students in the past who-"
"-Went on to shovel dirt in a Dust mine? Tend the fires of a refinery? Oh yes, perfect jobs for animals." Ilia didn't try to hide her smirk as she laid on the sarcasm. "But I suppose it's better than sitting in cages for the rest of their lives."
Goodwitch was visibly shaking now. The human was about to pop, and Ilia was ready to see her true colors at last. One more push…
"Maybe once I'm done here, you'd like me to try… obedience school?"
"STOP CALLING YOURSELF AN ANIMAL! !"
Ilia recoiled at the sudden shout, but Goodwitch was not done.
"You listen to me, young lady- it doesn't matter what you look like, how many ears you were born with, or whether or not your parents were fully human, YOU ARE NOT AN ANIMAL! You are a beautiful, brilliant young woman who can do anything you set your mind on, and I will NOT stand here and listen to you disrespect yourself… like… like… oh goddammit."
The woman was still shaking, but now she pulled her glasses off and held her face in her hands, breathing hard for a few minutes. She looked like she was muttering something, but Ilia couldn't hear it over the pounding of her own heart.
That was… terrifying.
And, if she was being honest …incredible.
Even after years of living with the White Fang, Ilia had never been uplifted like this. Not once. All they ever told her was how evil humans were, how much humans wanted to enslave her kind, and how to fight back most effectively. No one had ever told her she was worth anything more than her role in a strategy.
It took a human to tell her she was actually important. Special. Ilia would never forget that.
"You're free to go, Miss Amitola," the Professor finally said, out of breath and much more calm than a moment ago. "If you want to… leave Beacon Academy… I won't stop you. Your future is your own."
Ilia walked out of the room filled with a concern that was totally alien to her. She was worried about a human. Why?
Wait… Did Goodwitch… use the word… beautiful?
…
…
"Professor? Are you in?"
"Oh! Miss Amitola, yes… come in!"
"Is that… brandy?"
"Well, this is embarrassing. You weren't supposed to see that. Anyway… what can I do for you?"
"I wanted to say I'm… sorry for what I said today."
"I see."
"I didn't mean to upset you…"
"Yes, you did. There's no need to lie – it was written all over your face."
"Wait… what do you mean?"
"You aren't the first chameleon Faunus I've dealt with, Miss Amitola. In fact, counting yourself, there have been three to come through the halls of Beacon through it's history."
"What?!"
"That photo over there shows the school's very first graduating class. The young man on the bottom-right… see him? He was the first."
"He has the same spots… as me. He's really a Faunus?"
"And the second was… a close friend of mine, actually. Here she is…"
"By the gods… she looks a lot like me."
"During my time as a student and as her good friend, I really got to know the intricacies of a chameleon's skin. Did you know that your spots can actually change size? It's an indicator of stress – the more relaxed you are, the larger they appear. When you're stressed, they become smaller."
"I… never noticed that before. Wow."
"I've also seen nearly every one of your emotional color patterns on display, and I can tell you that a lot of them appear on your face… even if you don't notice it."
"…!"
"…What?"
"I'm just surprised… it seems like you know more about me than I know about myself."
"Don't be too ashamed of that. It can take several years for a Faunus like you to discover all of the little things that make you who you are… but to be fair, the same applies to full humans. No one really knows who they are until they're almost an adult, and even then… some of them never figure it out. Am I good or evil? Tall or short? Human or wood elf?"
"…How much of that brandy did you drink before I came in?"
"Probably a bit too much…" *hic*
"I am… sorry. Really. I was just trying to push your buttons, I guess."
"And I'm sorry, too… I dislike raising my voice at my students. It appears you did, indeed, find my… button."
"Would you… I mean… um…"
"Yes?"
"There were some things in that last quiz I didn't… fully understand. Would you… be willing to… I guess… help me figure them out…?"
"I'd be more than happy to help, Miss Amitola. And by the way… pink is a good color on you."
"Th-Th-ThankyouverymuchgoodnightProfessor!" *runs out of the room*
"… … …Good night, Ilia."
…
…
That night, Ilia sat up in her bed for several hours. Thinking. Dreaming. Fantasizing.
Blake normally inhabited her private mind theater, but the cat Faunus was becoming rarer of late. Perhaps it was her absence from Ilia's daily life that was the cause, but she knew better; Blake had been replaced.
Green eyes like jewels… a cleavage that would cause Blake to run away in shame… and a glorious soul, with a light and a warmth that made all of her fantasies fizzle out from the sheer purity of it. A human too perfect to be real.
As the realization dawned, the girl buried her face in her pillow and squealed into it for several minutes.
Ilia had a crush on Glynda Goodwitch, of all people.
A human.
…
[ To be concluded ]
…
Author's Note: So this will be a three-parter, cuz I wanted it short but not too short. If you're wondering what to expect next, well… Ilia did seem to forget about her original mission, but I doubt the White Fang are willing to just let it slide.
Drop a review if ya fancy it!
=^..^=