History of Dust class had a few labs, and today was one of them. There'd already been an explosion as people tried to replicate an intermediate Dust reaction discovered by a scientist named Dr. Hilda. Professor Goodwitch had watched as Cardin mixed too much Dust together all too quickly. The students knew they'd be allowed to leave early if they finished quickly, and apparently Mr. Winchester had somewhere he desperately needed to be. It was only a matter of time before he learned the error of impatience, but she'd allow him to learn it on his own terms.
It took less than a minute before his flask flashed bright purple and exploded. "And that, class, is why we pour using measuring flasks. Mr. Winchester, you'll be responsible for a three page report as to why adding that much Dust to one reaction caused this explosion." The demand might've been a little harsh, but these students were here to learn. Unfortunately some had to be taught through punishment.
She walked through the rows of desks checking each station's progress. She saved Neptune and Sun's group for last, fully expecting the duo to almost be done given Mr. Vasilias's expertise. However as she finally approached, she stopped in confusion.
"Mr. Vasilias! This isn't the proper formula for this reaction." Neptune seemed to be creating some alternative formula and not what she'd requested of her students. His formula apparently called for nearly six ounces of extremely volatile Dust.
"That's what I told you, Neptune! What the Dust are you doing," Sun asked, looking through his textbook, trying to find the correct formula to get his partner back on track.
"Professor, check this out! You were just teaching us a couple days ago that even chunks of similar Dust can resonate at different frequencies if enough energy is conducted through it. But if that's true, then that means you can get two different kinds of Dust resonating at the same frequency too!"
Professor Goodwitch watched as Neptune continued with his experiment. It was one she hadn't even thought to attempt until her third year of studies. It was a highly advanced technique used to stabilize even the most reactive forms of Dust long enough to combine them without damaging their integrity. Powerful forms of Dust could be made through this technique. Neptune had figured it out in less than a month of formal classes.
"Well, not entirely," she thought. He had the concept right and was even using the proper tools, but his measurements were off. He'd selected a small chunk of Pale Dust to use to transfer the energies required between the two kinds of reactive Dust he'd wanted to combine. The specific chunk he'd selected was too small to handle the stresses of the experiment. She cleared her throat loudly, causing Neptune to look up just before he started the reaction. He smiled sheepishly as Sun used his textbook as a shield. "Professor, I can do this! I-"
"Did you triple check your measurements?"
Neptune looked up at her curiously before looking through each chunk of Dust he'd chosen for the experiment. "Um… I didn't, but… I'm pretty sure I didn't forget anything- oh crap!" Neptune's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. "Sun, grab me a bigger chunk of Pale Dust, make sure it's at least five ounces!"
"Dude, you're going to blow us up. All of us." Sun tried in vain to convince his friend to stop his experimentation, but Neptune had the spark of madness in his eyes that came with these kinds of scientific discoveries.
"Not if you get me the Dust," he chuckled.
Sun rolled his eyes before running up to the front of the class. He returned almost a minute later, two different chunks in hand. "I've got a seven ounce and a nine ounce," he stated, placing both on the table in front of Neptune.
Neptune correctly chose the larger of the two and connected it to the proper instruments. He looked up at Professor Goodwitch a final time for confirmation and she couldn't help but smile. Despite the fact that Neptune had surely broken several rules to acquire the necessary materials to create this experiment, he was learning. He was taking his education into his own hands and challenging himself when the class fell too far behind his curious mind. The entire room had stopped their experiments to stare at what Neptune had created.
"This must be what Ozpin must feel like," she thought. No concern for the rules so long as progress is achieved and students can learn.
Neptune slipped on his goggles and specialized gloves and started the reaction. An electric hum buzzed through the volatile Dust pieces, causing them to glow brightly. Neptune reached his gloved hands into the reaction. The specific gloves he'd grabbed would allow him to meld the two chunks together without burning off his hands. The professor reached for her own pair of similar gloves. The expensive, purple leather was probably older than Neptune himself, but it still looked less than a month old.
She watched him place his hands on the two chunks of rock and slowly push them together like two chunks of clay. The process would take experience and skill Neptune obviously could not posses- lots of things worked in theory that fell apart in practice. She helped him, taking his hands in her own and showing him the proper technique. They squeezed and pulled and shaped the Dust together, electric sparks going off as the reactions took place. Glynda occasionally looked up into his eyes, seeing wonderstruck, watery blues amazingly focused on the job at hand.
He was enjoying himself.
And so was she.
"Dude, that was awesome as hell. You got us A's on that assignment and extra credit on the test. That's fucking great!" Sun laughed excitedly as he and Neptune walked towards their dorm. Professor Goodwitch had dismissed her class almost two minutes late so they could finish their reaction. She seemed so excited when he'd finished, even if it was a relatively simple chunk of Dust.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool," he agreed softly.
Sun looked to his friend curiously. Neptune had been pretty subdued since he'd finished his reaction in Professor Goodwitch's class. Almost as if he weren't happy with himself. "Are you okay, man? You don't sound too excited."
"I, uh… I dunno, Sun. I probably would've blown up half the lab if Ms. G hadn't told me to recheck my measurements. I feel like I should give this to her…" He held up the chunk of Dust and finally took the time out to examine it closely. It was expertly made thanks to the Professor's help- a dark purple rock flecked with veins of azure and gave off a greenish sheen in the light. Suddenly it all made sense now why some Dust was more popular over other, similar pieces: different combinations could have hundreds of different effects.
"I dunno, Neptune. You're kinda beating yourself up over this. Didn't you hear the Professor? We weren't even supposed to have figured that out on our own for another few years. And you made the damn thing." Sun chuckled and patted his friend on the back. Knowing Neptune, his blue haired teammate would fuss about this until he fixed it himself.
"Yeah… I guess you're right." Neptune nodded to himself before pulling away from Sun. He turned on his heel and started making his way back towards the classroom.
"I thought I was right," Sun called out to him. Neptune waved back to his friend, not even bothering to turn around. Sun sighed and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling blatantly ignored. "Nerd."
"What say you, Glynda? An evening on the boardwalk would suit you. When was the last time you took a break?" The General held out his hand, knowing he'd enticed the professor he'd loved so long ago.
He'd caught her after her last class of the day, during one of her rare lulls where she didn't have a single errand to run. She'd been smiling to herself when he entered her office- catching her in a good mood always made convincing her easier.
"I don't know, James… I…" She didn't have a reason not to go. The handsome General proposed quite a deal and she hadn't been out on a formal date in Dust knows how long.
"Come on, Glynda, be reasonable. Just one drink?" James laughed softly and reached out further, fully expecting her to take his hand. He knew Glynda. One glass of red wine would lead to six and suddenly she'd be enchanted by his every word. She knew this about herself as well, but Dust if she could just give herself one day to have some meaningless adult entertainment with her handsome ex…
"Hey! Professor Goodwi- whoa. Um… oops."
Both adults turned to the doorway, eyes locked on the teen. Seeing Neptune, the events from earlier flooded her mind. The memory of Neptune's creation was fresh in her mind, and her love for her students superseded any date with the General. "Mr. Vasilias! Come in, come in!" Glynda waved Neptune into her office, gratefulness in her voice.
"No, it's okay, it can wait, I didn't mean to interrupt-"
"Nonsense, Mr. Vasilias. The General was just on his way." Glynda shot her would-be suitor an uncompromising look, eyes stern as she waved her student inside.
General Ironwood sighed and stood up, not even bothering to acknowledge Neptune's extended hand. "Another time, then," he nodded to her, then walked out of the office.
"What is it, Mr. Vasilias," she asked, the beginnings of a smile on her face. She'd just dodged a bullet and she was grateful for the young man in front of her.
"Well, I was thinking, I'm not really good at using Dust anyway. I mean, my weapon does, but I couldn't get as much use out of this piece as someone more skilled than me could. Someone like you…" Neptune placed the purple rock on her wooden desk. "I want you to have it."
"Mr. Vasilias…?" The blonde professor picked up the chunk of Dust and examined it closely. She couldn't believe this young man could be so in tune with her. She would've never asked for this piece directly, but as soon as she'd allowed Neptune to leave with it, her heart had filled with a pang of loss. This was one of her greatest successes as a teacher- watching a student years ahead of his time discover something so new and nearly master the advanced technique during one of her own classes! She'd wanted to keep the piece on a shelf of souvenirs she'd acquired throughout her years of teaching, but Neptune deserved it so much more. But here he was, offering it to her as if he'd known. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, Professor. You deserve it, honestly. I probably would've destroyed half the lab without your help anyway," he laughed, watching her face light up as she accepted the piece.
"Half? Do you honestly believe I have such dull reflexes Mr. Vasilias? I'm insulted." Neptune almost apologized before he realized the Professor was joking. "An explosion like that wouldn't have gotten more than five feet without my intervention." Professor Goodwitch smiled, her eyes crinkling in their corners.
"I dunno. I can be pretty destructive. Especially working with Sun." Neptune smiled as the professor laughed at his little joke. She really, truly laughed. Eyes closed, head back and hand over her chest, Professor Goodwitch looked like a model posing in a magazine. She looked beautiful.
"And how is Mr. Wukong doing," she finally asked as she got her breath back. "Hopefully he's trying to pull his grades up. He's pulling a C average from what I remember."
"Oh, that sounds like Sun. He normally coasts by until the last months of class, then does some extra work to pick his grade up- I probably shouldn't have told you that." Neptune smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, realizing he'd just ratted out his best friend.
"Hmm… tell you what. Make sure he doesn't miss a homework and pulls up his next test grade to a B- and I'll overlook this conversation." She fixed her glasses and looked Neptune in the eye, making sure he'd understand she was serious.
"No problem, professor. Sorry I interrupted you and General Ironwood." Neptune looked back out the door, almost expecting the General to still be waiting for him to leave. He felt terrible for interrupting whatever he'd walked in on.
"Think nothing of it, Mr. Vasilias. To be honest, I'm grateful you did. I have some… history with the general I'd rather keep buried in the past. However that does clear my schedule for this evening…" The professor sighed softly to herself. She hated nights with no work to be done. They reminded her of her ridiculously sparse social life.
"Free? You've always got something to do, Ms. G." Neptune took his usual seat in front of her desk, finally making himself comfortable in the warm room.
"Not today, unfortunately. My only errands are to catch up on some reading or polish my desk…" Glynda ran her hands over the wood, tracing the grain with her fingertips.
"I can do that for you if you want. And you can read." Neptune sat up in his seat, hoping she'd take his offer. He really just wanted to help her, and being around her for just a bit longer might get him at least a few extra credit points, or a discussion about next week's lectures.
"Mr. Vasilias, that's hardly necessary." She couldn't help but smile at Neptune's refreshing eagerness to help her with her errands.
"Don't worry, Professor Goodwitch. I don't mind." Neptune ran his fingers through his hair and hoped he didn't sound like too much of a kiss-ass.
"Scarlet would give me so much shit right now," he thought.
"Hmm. Thank you, Mr. Vasilias… and please, call me Glynda while we're not in class." That was a courtesy she only extended to her alums, but she trusted Neptune.
"Only if you promise to call me 'Neptune.'"
"Deal… Neptune." She rather liked his given name. It reminded her of the far away, icy blue planet. It reminded her of late summer nights long ago spent using her telescope to search the only black sky for the bright streaks of comets as they zipped passed Remnant. And it also reminded her of the deep ocean. Of fun-filled vacations just a few years ago when she'd swim with hundreds of curious, hungry fish. And of loud, powerful storms that locked Valeans in their homes as water flooded through the streets and wind pounded at their walls. She was lost in the memory of slaying her first Goliath during one of those hurricanes- the beasts always grew bold as the storms came, knowing they'd weaken the kingdom's defenses and catch the citizens off guard, if only for a night.
"Thanks." Neptune's voice pulled her back into the present and she quickly gathered the supplies he'd need to polish her desk. He started with the front, polishing what would be visible to any new visitors she might have. "So what book are you reading," he asked curiously as he worked.
"Professor Peach recommended it to me a while ago, but I haven't yet had the time to even get through the first few pages. It's called 'Fifty Shades of Grey.'"
Neptune almost knocked over the chunk of Dust he'd worked so hard on.
"Oh god. No one told her…"