After taking a shower and a much-needed power nap, Jaune was ready for Aura training. And who wouldn't be? He had dreamed of having superpowers since he learned how to read. He still had the comic books to prove it.

When they arrived at the dorm, Nora and Ren were already there. Ren was taking a shower while Nora played on her scroll. She flopped over her bed, happily kicking her feet every few seconds. They talked a little about their training, but it wasn't long until Ren exited the shower, and it was time for both Pyrrha and Jaune to take their turns.

So here he was, sitting comfortably in the shade at the foot of one of the trees in one of the many courtyards of the school. With one of Ren's smoothies in hand, he was still a little full after lunch, but he had to admit, it looked appetizing.

"So... Aura?" Ren smiled softly, clearly amused by his eagerness. "Yes, Aura. Am I correct in assuming you'd prefer to start from the beginning?"

"Please. Don't get me wrong, I've gotten some things down, but, well, I'd like to finally have the full picture for once. It's getting tiring to try to make sense of it by looking. Especially since Aura is practically invisible," he joked.

"Not quite, but we'll get to that," he said. "Aura, as we know it, is our soul's manifestation in the physical plane. It is part of our very being, it comes from within us, and changes and grows as we do. As you might have noticed in combat class, Aura enhances our bodies. This is something that happens naturally, and we have no control over it. By unlocking Aura and allowing it to flow through us, we become stronger, faster, and our reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and senses improve. It also helps us heal faster. Aura also has defensive capabilities, forming a protective layer around us that can block most of the damage we may receive.

"That's a lot to take in- wait a second, most!? What do you mean most! I thought Aura stopped everything! What if we get stabbed through in class?"

Ren dismissed him with a hand gesture. "Don't worry, that shouldn't happen, not with Ms. Goodwitch's rules. What you need to understand is that Aura, as long as you keep actively using it, loses strength over time." He must have seemed lost because Ren decided to expand on the topic without prompting. "Let me give you an example. Let's say you get shot in class. If it were to happen at the beginning of the fight, depending on the caliber, you'll remain unscathed. Should it happen when your Aura reads 50%, it could leave a bruise or a very minor injury. That is why Ms. Goodwitch stops the fight if your Aura levels reach 20% or less. Should you get shot then, you could be injured. Of course, it won't be like being shot without Aura, but depending on where you get shot, it could leave permanent damage."

"That's another thing I don't get," he said as he took out his scroll. "How does this little thing measure our Aura? Pyrrha told me I have a lot, and I've dug around it trying to find some number, something to get my 'power level' or whatever."

"Ah, I see where it could be misinterpreted. The Aura meters on our scrolls don't read the amount of Aura a person has. It can't measure something as abstract as a soul. What it does is measure its strength, the amount of damage it takes before losing efficacy, and based on that, it calculates your depletion rate. It is also true that a high damage resistance goes hand in hand with a big Aura pool."

"I… see, that makes sense, I suppose," he said, thinking about the times his Aura had taken a hit, yet he still got the air knocked out of his lungs. It also brought another question to the front of his mind. "What do you mean by 'actively using Aura'? I've… well, as far as I know, I haven't used it. It just kind of… worked?"

"... I believe I should reword it a little. I didn't mean to make it sound like an on and off switch. It's not. Aura is always around you. It doesn't just disappear when you are not in combat. You are always surrounded by it, but as it does not need to protect you, so for most of the day, it remains passive, charged and ready to defend you. What I mean by actively using it was, say, for example, you are walking through a desert, your Aura will act and prevent your body from overheating, protect your feet against the hot soil, etc. You are actively being protected, so it will lose its 'strength' the longer you stay in said desert."

"Aah, ok, ok, I get it." So it's always there, huh? Kind of reassuring, he thought.

"Yes, that covers the defensive capabilities of Aura, but not its offensive side or the more esoteric one."

"Esoteric?"

"There is a reason all sorts of superstitions are rooted in Aura. Research hasn't reached a consensus on the why's, but Aura gives a person a sort of sixth sense. It helps you do things like feel when you are being observed or know when something potentially dangerous is about to happen, a sort of preternatural warning system, if you will."

"I've heard about that, no clue why it happens though… Any theories?"

"If I were to guess, I'd say emotions or intent."

"Yeah, you'll have to elaborate on that."

"Well, the more familiar you get with your Aura, the more you are able to feel. I've had mine unlocked since I was 7, and well, sometimes I can sort of get the feel of a person," Ren said, his eyes looking forward but obviously lost in thought. "Nora and I… we've been together for a long time, and it's been almost as long since it's just us two, so growing up, every once in a while, if we were in need of help, I'd get the feeling I could trust a person, or in some cases, where I should not. It's one of the reasons I've been so accepting about your lack of training, actually." He shook his head. "Back to the point, my guess is that this extra sense is always there, always feeling what is happening around us. We are just not conscious about it until it concerns us. Like strong emotions or intentions directed our way that mark a possible incoming attack."

"Huh, could be. You said that Aura is always on, right? Maybe it's the same deal," Jaune said. "Can Aura do that though? Feel emotions or send them, I mean. Sounds iffy," he added. He wasn't going to put a spotlight on the fact that Ren and Nora had been together for "a long time" or that it was just the two of them. He would remember, of course, and would ask for specifics when the team was together, but for now, he would allow it to slip by.

"I am not sure," Ren said. "It wouldn't surprise me, though. Aura and emotions are intertwined in some capacity. I don't know to what extent, but the connection is there."

"How do you mean? What is the connection?" Jaune asked.

"You fell asleep in Professor Port's class, didn't you?" Ren said.

"...Can you blame me?" Jaune replied.

"Fair enough. Well, the professor said that Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and that is one of the reasons Beacon is built as far as it is. Having your Aura unlocked means you are practically wearing your emotions; your very being is exposed to the outside world."

"Huh, so Beacon acts as a literal beacon too. Interesting. Wait a second… Oh crapbaskets, this means I'm a Grimm magnet too, doesn't it?" Jaune said.

Ren looked a little perplexed, so Jaune explained, "Well, I've got a lot of Aura, right? Wouldn't that mean I'm 'projecting' my emotions harder or something?"

"I'm… actually not sure. We'd have to ask a professor," Ren said.

"Or find out by ourselves," added Jaune.

Ren gave him an assessing look. "I don't think that would be wise."

"Aww, come on! We could make it a…" What was it called again? "A… " It was a team something, a team activity. No, that's not it. It had something to do with cohesion. "A team-building exercise," Nailed it.

Ren hummed, "That's not a bad idea, actually."

"Yeah! I mean, you can teach me about Aura today, and tomorrow we could put something into practice. I'm sure the girls will love it," said Jaune.

Ren sighed, probably thinking about the destruction Nora could bring about in the forest. "Let's table that for now. We've gotten off topic."

"A little bit, yeah," added Jaune, pinching his forefinger and thumb.

"Well, we haven't covered the offensive side of Aura, have we? Let's start."

"Ok, lay it on me."

"The use of Aura as an attack relies mainly on your ability to manipulate it. Huntsmen have used it in different forms through the years. For example, you could raise the amount of Aura covering your fist to damage Armored Grimm. Or, say, shroud your sword to augment its cutting ability or use it to send Aura slashes. I myself use it to shroud bullets on Stormflower. Since it's a low caliber weapon, it gives it a little more penetration when needed. The only limit of what Aura can accomplish is your imagination."

"Wait, wait, wait. So you're telling me that I could literally shoot Aura beams from my sword? Oh! From my eyes! Gods, that's cool." Man, he was getting pumped up.

"... In theory, yes," Ren said, rubbing his forehead. "The question is, why would you want to?"

"Well, I have lots of Aura, so shooting it out shouldn't be a problem, even assuming shooting it makes Aura deplete faster." Ren nodded. "Besides, I've got no long-range weapons, so it would round out my toolkit, so to speak."

"...I hate how much sense that makes. And yes, the reason not many people 'shoot' Aura is that while you can augment the amount you have, training it is very hard. So most focus on refining its use instead."

"First off, eye beams are a classic. You can't diss the classics. Second, when you say 'refine its use'...?"

"As I said, while it is theoretically possible to shoot eye beams - that is a sentence I never thought I'd say - there are other factors at play, cost-effectiveness being the most important. You see, Grimm are individually weak; most, if not all, first years can, and in some cases, have killed numbers of them. The reason they are a threat even for teams of trained huntsmen is their number. With Aura depleting the longer you fight, it becomes rather dangerous to use it for more than shielding unless your intel is absolutely correct. Learning to rely on Aura expenditure can be extremely dangerous."

"So… no Aura attacks?"

Ren made a 'so-so' gesture. "As with most things, mankind has adapted, developing ways to use Aura more efficiently, like the use of Dust, which, as you know, requires a small amount of Aura to activate. Proficient fighters are known to unleash a small Aura burst at the moment of impact or to help them move faster. The more efficient you are, the longer you can remain fighting. And the best way to gauge the optimal amount of Aura you can expend to both do damage and remain in the fight is fighting. That is why we fight each other in combat class and not Grimm."

"Wouldn't that be... ah... counterproductive? Like, if I go against someone and hit them with as much Aura as I can, I could probably knock them out and win. It's like I'd be learning it all backward."

"And for that precise reason, we fight against different people. The key here is learning to adjust the amount of Aura we use. Actually, no, it would be more accurate to say that the objective of combat class is more along the lines of learning how to adapt to the situation. You are made to fight different enemies with different fighting styles, different Aura pools, weapons, Semblances... you get the point. Sometimes you have to fight smart; others, not quite. The amount of different people we fight makes it so we can't always do the same thing to win, so we develop different strategies. That flexibility in our approach to a fight translates rather well from human to Grimm enemies and in how well we use our Aura, or that is what I think this whole process is about."

"Well, you say that, and I get your point, but I've still only fought Cardin.'' He was very frustrated with the situation; he'd like to take his chances with other people, maybe then he could scrap a win.

"To be perfectly honest, it wouldn't surprise me if it had to do with how you got into Beacon."

"So, I managed to fool the deputy headmistress, who has years of experience training Huntsmen, only to get discovered by my teammates?" he asked, doubt clear on his face.

"Fool? I don't think so. Maybe for a couple of days, but I'm pretty sure she would have caught on rather quickly. And although as teammates, we do share more time with you than she does, I think this has more to do with her trust in Beacon's screening process than anything else. In other words, she fooled herself. Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"Yes, maybe. As unbalanced as your fights with Cardin have been, you two are a good match for each other."

"WHAT! He's been kicking my ass all week, how can we be a good match?"

Ren raised his hands in surrender. "Peace, I'm not saying it's a fair fight, just a good one. Think about it, neither you nor Cardin are technical fighters, and Cardin is physically strong enough to afford neglecting Aura enhanced strikes, so he focuses his Aura solely on defense. That makes him a difficult opponent to deal with. If you are not as fast or strong as he is, you'll be spending Aura both attacking and defending to beat him. You, on the other hand, have Aura to spare, so you can tank his heavy hits and concentrate on attacking without having to reduce your Aura output."

Jaune groaned, "And Ms. Goodwitch didn't know I had no idea you could charge your attack with Aura."

"Right, so on paper, it looks like she is making you two learn something useful. In practice, you get pummeled, and Cardin gets an ego boost."

Jaune sighed. This would have been so much easier if he'd come clean sooner. Of course, it would have been even easier if he had gotten training in the first place. "Let's... let's move on, yeah? You mentioned Semblances, and I know they tend to be unique to each person, but that's about it. Anything else I should know?"

"Well... not really. Semblances are complicated." He took a few seconds to think. "Imagine them like this: if your Aura is your whole being, your semblance would be just a specific aspect of your character. It's a very abstract and personal subject, and most people don't understand their own for a long time. On the other hand, due to its specialization, their effects tend to be far stronger and stranger than what any other person could accomplish with Aura alone."

"They need Aura to work, then?"

"Yes, they are fueled by our own Aura and are another factor to keep in mind in our Aura budgeting."

"So, when will mine... uh... emerge? Appear?"

"Hard to say, really. As I said, they are very personal, and oftentimes they awaken in times of need. The only thing you can do is learn to use your Aura; your semblance will come with time."

"I see. Well, how do I use Aura? I mean, don't get me wrong, this has been very illuminating, but I think I'm about ready to train, so... what do I have to do?"

"Yeah... about that. At the risk of sounding repetitive, our Aura is the manifestation of ourselves. It should come naturally to anyone to move it and interact with it."

"But I can't."

"But you can't." Ren was looking at him. "I think... and I am very sorry if I'm overstepping, but I think you haven't been able to use it because, well... you are lost."

"I'm... lost?"

"Yes, lost. I don't think you expected to get into Beacon or become team leader. I think, in your heart of hearts, you expected to be rejected and sent home. But you weren't. And now you don't know what to do. To quote the headmaster, you lack direction. Aura works the best when we have an understanding of ourselves, of what we want to become, of our purpose. That is the reason people like Nora, who are true to themselves in their thoughts and actions, have little trouble using Aura." Ren was looking directly into his eyes, as if to will him to understand. "What you need to do now, if you want to use Aura, is accept your situation. Accept who you are now, flaws and all, and look deep within you. Ask yourself, why are you here? Why do you want to be a huntsman? Once you figure that, Aura should come easy." And with that, he stood up, gave him a reaffirming pat on the shoulder, and left.

Jaune remained in silence, looking at his hands, his mind wandering. "Accept who I am now, huh?" he thought. It was easier said than done; who he was now was not someone he ever wanted to be. He had made a very conscious effort not to look at the actions that led him here, to this beautiful day sitting under a tree. Apparently, he couldn't keep it up. Ren was right - he was lost. He had been wandering aimlessly for the better part of a week, half disbelieving and half disheartened. He had been raised better than this. Wasn't that a kick in the butt? He had cut ties with his family, ran away from his home, chasing his dream, only to get it and do nothing with it.

The Headmaster had alleviated his worries, but that wasn't all, was it? He had griped for years about his training, yet now that he had the means to do something about it, he did nothing. He wasted his time in the truest sense of the word. He didn't pay attention in class, he didn't train, he didn't study. His actions were reckless, even selfish; he had put good people in danger merely by being assigned as their team leader. He had been so self-absorbed that the same danger didn't even register in his mind. His naivete had taken the reins; he had allowed himself to believe that everything would solve itself if he gave it enough time, like this was one of his comic books. He had been so childish, chasing after Weiss, wasting both their time, even after she had clearly stated she had no interest in him. Gods, he knew nothing about her. "Is this the person I have to accept?" He took a deep breath and slowly let it go.

As much as he wanted to fight it, once again, Ren was right; he had to accept who he was. Like any other human being, he wasn't perfect. That didn't mean he couldn't change, though. Acceptance and conformism are not the same. He just needed the fortitude to follow through. "I'm a work in progress; I can work with that," he thought. He closed his eyes, took another breath, and let it go. It was time to start wondering what he was doing here.

He could remember, with shocking clarity, the exact moment he decided to become a huntsman. It was nothing special, actually, but it had left a mark. He was so small, five maybe six years old. They were walking around the market. Well, his father was walking, and he sat on his shoulders. Ansel was, and still is, a small town filled with happy people. He remembered the looks sent their way, the waves, the smiles. He was enamored with the respect shown to them, so he had asked his father about it. His father had told him a little of his family's history, how in the times where kings still existed, the Arc family were nobles, and even to this day, without their title, they lived by tenets they had established. His father had rambled about them for a while. What he did remember was a simple term condensing everything else: Noblesse Oblige. His family had had the privilege of wealth, power, renown, and it was their obligation, their duty, to look after those who didn't. Even then, as a huntsman, it was his father's responsibility to care for the people who couldn't look out for themselves.

It was a childish ideal, to protect those who need protection, vague and open-ended but as honest as only a child could be. Somewhere in time, he had forgotten his goal. Somewhere in the years that followed, he had allowed his desire to be a huntsman - to protect those in need - to become a dream. Something to waste his time thinking about, but never to work towards. Well, if there was ever a chance to change that, this was it.

He opened his eyes and looked at his clenched hands, thinking of what lay ahead. The road in front of him was arduous, and the more he learned, the more he realized just how far behind he really was. Yet despite his rational side telling him to turn back and give up, his goal was already set. He'd become a protector; he'd be what stands between humanity and the Grimm. He'd follow in the footsteps of his forefathers and continue the Arc legacy. He'd become a Huntsman.

And just like that, for the first time since its unlocking, Jaune Arc felt his Aura.

A/N: I don't own anything from the RWBY franchise.