"Well now…" Said the scruffy-looking man with grey hair and glasses as he sat down on the other side of the table, setting down his coffee mug, "Doctor Edrych-Gwydr tells me that you've been markedly more cooperative of late than previously…"

Nadia just stared at the table.

"Mmmm… She may have also suggested that you haven't been much for conversation since you calmed down…"

Apparently this lanky old man was supposed to be the headmaster of the school, but Nadia wasn't sure she believed it. He certainly didn't look the part, for one. There was something vaguely reminiscent of an ornamental handguard on that cane of his, but this 'Headmaster Ozpin' seemed much too… relaxed to be running a school for Huntsmen and Huntresses – almost like he didn't take it seriously, but then that solemn look he had about him managed to prove otherwise…

"What's there to talk about?" Nadia finally replied, after some delay.

"Yourself would be a good place to start," The Headmaster offered, leaning forward and weaving his fingers together on the table, "I for one am very interested to know what changed,"

Nadia furrowed her brow, "What do you mean, 'what changed?"

"It's quite simple really," The Headmaster explained, taking a sip of his coffee, "By all accounts, you were rather… combative… when you were first brought here… Yet now, here we are, seated like civilized people, and we've had no need to restrain you; Your conduct has drastically improved, Miss Undine, and I am simply curious as to what brought on this change of heart,"

"You don't have me cuffed," Nadia allowed, though she wasn't really feeling the spite that she tried to inject into her words, "But it's not like we don't both know I wouldn't get far…"

"Perhaps," the Headmaster admitted with a shrug, "But I do not think that is all there is, and neither do you, I'd wager…"

That comment gave Nadia a moment's pause, and her face fell before she answered, "I… I don't know what I want anymore…"

Ozpin leaned back in his chair, pausing midway as he had been raising his mug to his lips again, "Oh?"

"I… I was just so angry that when she left the White Fang…"

"Miss Carfax, you mean?"

Nadia nodded weakly, "I mean, what do you do when your hero betrays everything you loved them for…?"

"What indeed?" He asked rhetorically, "But if I may be so bold, it would seem to me that you've since learned one of the lessons you'd been lacking in that regard…"

"And what's that?" Nadia asked with somewhat unmotivated resentment.

"That heroes, Miss Undine, are people first," He answered, a non-judgmental smile was most prominent in his expression, "And thus that your own personal worthiness or unworthiness of Miss Carfax's attention is not the only consideration,"

Nadia nodded weakly; she hadn't identified that dejected feeling in the pit of her stomach - mostly because she hadn't wanted to – but that about summed it up, "And then when the Doctor brought that Schnee girl in for one of our sessions I… I realized something…"

"Go on,"

"She wouldn't be her if she didn't have Belladonna, would she?"

The Headmaster took a long sip of his coffee. Why was she even telling this old creep any of this? She tried to work herself into genuine resentment and anger, but she just didn't have it in her; she didn't have the energy.

It was the Headmaster who broke the silence after the long pause, "Hmm… so you would say that having Miss Schnee participate in your most recent session was a beneficial experience then? I must admit, even I had my reservations regarding that element of the good doctor's plan,"

"I don't know…" Nadia sighed, "I mean, it's probably best not to reach for what you know you can't have, but…"

"No one said that it would be easy…" The Headmaster offered a consoling nod, "But in light of all that you have learned, what is it that you plan to do?"

"I…" Nadia closed her eyes, "I still love her, but…"

The man breathed a heavy sigh before responding, "Dr. Edrych-Gwydr will likely have a few words for me for asking this, but do you really love her or what she represents? If you'll pardon my saying this, based upon what I've been hearing, Miss Carfax simply represented a confluence of all the values which you felt to be lacking in yourself…"

"Well, she does, but I still-,"

"Please, don't misunderstand me, Miss Undine; I do not mean to suggest that your feelings aren't genuine," The Headmaster made a mollifying gesture as he interrupted, a sympathetic smile on his face, "What I am saying, however, is that perhaps Miss Carfax – just maybe – is not what you need to be happy…"

"But she's what I've always wanted…"

"Miss Undine…" The Headmaster nodded understandingly, "I always find myself wanting another cup of coffee – and while that is one vice which I tend to allow myself, that doesn't make it good for me… Just ask Glynda," He chuckled slightly at his own expense, "Now, I am , to put it charitably, without lack of life experience, and I know as well as anyone that change… can be hard… But you have a great deal of life ahead of you Miss Undine – certainly more than needs be palled by the consequences of a few misguided actions rashly taken."

"But I-,"

"Yes, you did," Ozpin allowed, anticipating the self-reproachful admission with a slight smile and nod, much to Nadia's confused surprise, "And your… unfortunate actions have since been undone – and I daresay that most of those involved will benefit from the healing process even more than intended. What you did was wrong, do not mistake me – power is a tool like any other, and similarly must not be misused – but the temptation is a mighty one – trust me, I know better than most – but you've been through a great deal and lived most of your life in an environment that was… less than constructive. You must of course take some responsibility for your actions, but of anyone, the lion's share of the blame here belongs to whoever taught you to use your powers in such a state as you were…"

Nadia mustered an embittered laugh, "I guess I wasn't being rational at the time…"

The Headmaster's smile broadened a bit, "Perhaps not, but you seem to have made an excellent recovery – Dr. Edrych-Gwydr is something of a miracle worker, it would seem… That much having been said though, I have just one more question for you…"

"Hmm?"

"Why did I ask to speak to you?"

Nadia blinked a few times, perplexed by the question. Was that supposed to be a trick question? Some kind of test? Was the whole conversation just meant to gauge her sanity? And just what the hell does he mean when he said I don't need Mina…?

"I…" she began hesitantly, And just why was he being so nice about it? Then her eyes widened in realization, Of course… everyone wants something… "You want to know who taught me how to use my… er… Semblance, don't you?"

The greying Headmaster chuckled slightly, as though amused, "Well, that would certainly be convenient, if you were to feel so obliging, but no, that isn't why I asked you here,"

That came as a greater surprise than even the question, and Nadia couldn't help her jaw from slackening in response, "Then… what?"

"I wanted to offer you a proposition," Headmaster Ozpin explained, only now setting down his coffee cup, "Now, I'm sorry to say that I cannot induct you formally as a student at present – I'm afraid you haven't the level of skills or training necessary for me to subject you to our curriculum here in good conscience – but I can offer you Asylum here, if you can promise me that your White Fang days are behind you…"

"L-like Mina…?"

"In a manner of speaking," he allowed, "But as I understand, Miss Carfax was markedly less… attached to the White Fang than you have been…"

That would be the sticking point, wouldn't it? Just literally everything she'd dedicated her life to. And yet in just the last few days with Dr. Edrych-Gwydr, the monstrous imaged she'd convinced herself to apply to all humans had been sorely damaged, and in its place was just one nagging doubt, does that mean I'm the monster…? There was that bastard who ripped out a bunch of her hair when she was thirteen – she knew she still hated his guts, and thought that her sentiment had some justification but… Did he deserve to die for it…? Then there were all the people that the White Fang would terrorize – kill, even – with the improvised Dust explosives she'd prepared. Finally, Mina…

"I've… I've done…" She couldn't even finish the sentence as she got choked up in the mere act of trying, "I'm sorry…"

"And that, Miss Undine, is precisely why I am giving you this chance,"

You love her too, don't you?

Weiss shook her head, dismissing the nagging question. Undine had obviously had the wrong idea – Weiss had no intention of turning the illusory love triangle inside Undine's head into a rectangle. The very idea would have been laughable if it weren't so depressing… She had meant every word of what she'd said to undine of course, but the trouble was, Undine had obviously been equally sincere – and that was the problem. Weiss recoiled from Undine's professions of love for Mina because it was so transparently obvious that the angler fish Faunus was just being selfish, but… Who am I to talk there?

If nothing else, Nadia had forced Weiss to examine her relationship with her best friend – perhaps she owed Undine a thank-you in that regard, bitter as the thought was – and she made herself really think about what she'd come to take for granted. Mina was so much more fragile than anyone would think based on a casual encounter, Weiss knew that, but for a long time she'd just assumed that she'd be okay – that it would work out – but then came this Nadia Undine; living proof that Mina was not in fact invincible. It was that fact – not Undine herself – that scared Weiss, and she could tell every time that same look of concern flashed across Blake's face when Nadia came up in discussion that Blake was worried about it too. The question then was: why does this bother me so much?

Weiss chewed her lip apprehensively, letting her pencil drop to the desk and abandoning the pretense of trying to do homework that she'd put on for none but her own benefit, as she'd been alone in the dorm, "Do I really…?" She let out a frustrated sigh, "Why does this have to be so complicated…?"

The answer to the former, in brief, had been a clear, unequivocal 'yes,' which opened the floodgates for all the difficulties that the latter question entailed. She felt as though she should feel like this admission was a colossal betrayal – both of Blake and Mina – but she didn't, and she did not feel envious or bitter in the least… Protective, certainly, but she'd always known and acknowledged that. She'd long since lost count of the times she'd put forth her own personal effort and money to ensure that the two were happy; how many times she'd taken Mina shopping, been there when one or the other needed to talk, or a helping hand – but she'd never stopped to think about why, and now she just felt confused.

At a glance after all, both Blake – but Mina especially – would seem so personally anathema to Weiss that one could have been forgiven for being dubious of the idea that they'd become friends at all; enemies more like. Even setting aside the whole business with the White Fang – which the heiress reluctantly admitted to herself might very well have been enough to end their friendship before it began, had she known from the start – neither Blake nor Mina were what Father would have called 'appropriate' to be her friends. Yet she'd gotten to know both of them before learning about their history, and by then, Blake and Minaw's sordid pasts had not been enough to break the Heiress's attachment to either. Blake and Weiss had more or less at once come to the decision not to hold each's background against the other, and then Mina…

Weiss sighed.

Mina was – and had always been – crass, lewd, cavalier, and more than a little frustrating at times, but with Mina, Weiss could just be Weiss – it didn't matter that she was Weiss Schnee – irrespective of any particular connotation that accompanied her family name. That… that's what I love about her…

Weiss slumped in her chair, "Yeah… that's it… isn't it? I guess I don't really have a leg to stand on calling Undine selfish…"

Sure, Mina was beautiful, certainly enough to have caused a much bigger problem if Weiss had been of that persuasion, but it was Mina's non-judgmental bearing that meant the most to the Heiress in the final analysis. It made her friendship with Mina easier than the rocky start she'd gotten off to with Blake and it was precisely the quality that Weiss knew to be lacking in herself after years of 'yes Father' and losing the warmer members of her family to the White Fang. It was this that had allowed them to grow close as friends, despite early hiccups such as the incident when Mina had kidnapped her, but Weis almost couldn't help but laugh about that now, despite everything, and by now Mina was… an image of Ruby and Yang flashed across Weiss's thoughts, The sister I wish I had…

The question then was, what do I do with this? All the self-discovery in the world didn't amount to much if nothing came of it, and Weiss did not feel as though she was finished, having come to explicitly recognize this fact about herself. No, the nagging issue that remained was the one who'd prompted this particular session of self-reflection. Nadia Undine… The Heiress couldn't decide whether or not she deserved a second – or another, she supposed would be the more accurate turn of phrase – chance, or if Undine had well and truly blown her fair shake already. She wanted to do right by Mina, but she wasn't sure if that meant seeing that Nadia was punished to the fullest possible extent for what she'd done, or if Mina needed a lesson in forgiveness… It would have been an easy decision if Undine had just been the heinous, scheming villain that Weiss had imagined would have been necessary to orchestrate the kidnapping of Clara and nearly crushing Team RWBY under a building, but the reality had proven itself quite different. Rather than the simple malice for its own sake that made for such a tempting explanation, it seemed plain enough that Nadia's actions – however reprehensible – had been motivated by a confused jumble of envy, frustration, and – most problematic of all - blind devotion to what she had thought Mina would wand – or at least, what she wanted Mina to want… In that regard, she was disconcertingly similar to how Mina had been at first.

Resting her elbows on the desk and catching her face in her hands, Weiss let out a deep breath, "What do I do…?"

Author's Note: Hello all, and so ends another chapter – some more introspection as we prepare to move into something of an uneasy lull… I hope that you enjoyed it, and as always, feedback is appreciated.