As the headmaster of Beacon academy, Ozpin had seen a great deal of confusing things in his life. There were times he had no words, and humanity, strange as it was, could still leave him with more questions than answers. For all that he was, Ozpin was not an omnipotent man. Some days, he even hesitated to trust his instinct as the days passed him by.
He was, however, very experienced in the mystical ways of Grimm's pools. They were ageless, much like he was, in a way.
He lifted his mug to his lips. It was an unfortunate occurrence, but he knew Ruby quite well. He judged her as a huntress not to be outdone by even such a terrifying thing. He could only hope his thoughts rang true. "Ms. Rose, these complaints of yours are not unheard of." Ozpin replied as he looked at the girl, and to him, that was merely what she was. His consciousness spanned far too long for him to think of her as anything more than a child.
"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" she asked with a pout.
"Endure, as those before you have done." He murmured thoughtfully. "Do so, and recover properly." Yes, she Summer's flesh and blood. He would expect no less of Ruby's abilities. Perhaps he was being unfair, but so be it. "In fact, you are not the first of your family to trip into a Grimm's pool."
"Ozpin!"
"She has a right to know." The man said to the blonde haired woman in front of him.
"Falling into Grimm pools runs in my family?" Ruby asked, squinting at Ozpin as though he lost his mind.
"Well, in a way..." Ozpin replied. "Qrow fell into a Grimm's Pool once. He and his sister both. Your mother had to unceremoniously drag them out. It was quite the ruckus."
"Grreeaaat." Ruby deadpanned, somehow not entirely surprised. "Well, he's got to be better now, how did he get over it?"
"He continues onward, just has he has always done. As for Raven, well, she has always held fast to her ideology. Darker in nature though it is. The fact of the matter is, Grimm Pools are tricky things, and human souls are trickier still. Seeking comfort from another aura user is not an unfair thing to seek." He sipped at his mug once more. "However, how far that comfort goes…" He trailed off.
"That's not very helpful." Ruby closed her eyes at that. "Even now, I can feel them. The Grimm. They're crawling on me again…"
"And I have every reason to believe that's not an overstatement." Ozpin replied. "You've connected with the very essence of Grimm. What they are, at their depth. If Grimm are to have any soul, any at all, it would linger down in those pools where hate itself is born and bred. Before the monsters we battle walk this land, they must originate from someplace. All beings must have some form of progenitor, and for the Grimm, I believe those pools to be it."
"Well if we don't get these things off me, I'm going to lose it!" The young woman protested, clutching at her red cloak. It had seen better days, but the rough fabric against her skin was her only comfort as she stood in place, shaking as the feeling became too much. "It's maddening."
"Glynda, if you would, please." Ozpin directed.
The blonde haired woman flared her aura around Ruby once more. The night and day difference could be seen on Ruby's features, from repressed pain to soothed exhaustion, she left no question that the Grimm were indeed ailing her. "We cannot have someone standing around doing this for every waking moment of our lives. We might as well stop beating around the bush and start asking the real questions around here."
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby, we discussed this while you were a student. Some Grimm are capable of doing very questionable things to the human body. They're manipulative creatures." Glynda looked over at Ozpin, seeing him nod. "However, human souls are manipulative too, in other ways. They reason you're not feeling the Grimm upon you right now, is because my influence overcomes whatever it is that you're feeling. We don't know how, and we don't know why, but we do know that when a human falls into a Grimm's pool, they have a hard time maintaining their own aura."
"And those without an aura at all, are kin to the Grimm." Ozpin replied. "You are human though, and you do have one. Although yours seems poisoned by the pool, it will recover in time. However, until then, I wouldn't be surprised if you were drawn to those with aura. As I said before, it's not an unfair thing to seek. You're human, it's only in your nature to have an aura's guidance. Human aura flairs strongest when pushed to emotion."
"Some hunters choose to deal with their recovery on their own, without the aid of others." Glynda explained. "Others surround themselves with as much aura as the can, hoping it will help them recover quickly. There is no easy answer to this predicament, Ruby, and aura is not limitless in supply. When mine drains out of me completely, it will take time for me to replenish it, and in that time, you will crave more."
"So what do I do now?" Ruby asked.
"Whatever you must." Ozpin replied. "If you need help, ask, and give your own aura time to heal."
"I just don't get it." Yang sighed, flopping down on the mattress. "Where was she all night? Her scroll says she's in Beacon, but why would she be there? If she were hurt, someone would have called and told us, and she did respond to my text, but damn. Talk about being flighty."
"Pot meet kettle."
"Blake, I mean it." Yang said, lifting her gaze from her pillow.
"So do I." Blake said, turning the page in one of her new books, the page white, crisp, and clean. Just perfect for reading. "Leave her alone."
"What the heck is going on with her? First her solo mission gets extended, then she ends up at beacon and doesn't come home…"
Blake rolled her eyes, closing her book and setting it off to the side. "Yang, if her mission ran long, her report could have run longer. She probably stayed at the faculty dorms and planned to issue her report today. If so, she'll be home by dinner."
"That little chatter mouth would have said that, then." Yang said thoughtfully. "Something's got to be up."
"Yang, drop it." Blake implored, her fingers tangling themselves in Yang's hair. "If something was wrong with Ruby, we would have been informed."
"You trying to start something?"
Blake raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "That depends, if such a 'something' will not include worrying about your sister." She tightened her hold on Yang's hair, careful not to pull on those tresses as she leaned down and kissed her. "I'm sure you'd rather think about something else, anyway."
It was just in that instant that Yang's scroll rang. The headmaster of beacon sending a text. His name glaring across her scroll in bright letters. Grabbing it so tightly that it creaked under her grip, she flipped it open to read the message. Ozpin was ordering their team to come to Beacon as soon as they were able. "See!" Yang ranted as she flung herself off of the king sized bed crammed into the corner of the room. "I told you something was wrong!"
"Nothing is wrong, Yang." Blake ranted. "It says it concerns Ruby, not that she's in any danger."
"It says she's 'more or less fine' Blake." Yang shot back, getting dressed in her combat outfit record time just in case. "That means something fucking happened."
"And we will find out what it is, Yang." Blake pressed with no small amount of exasperation. She dressed for battle readiness too, as was customary with meeting with the man to issue them their missions. They could be deployed from his sight at any time, it was simply protocol. Even so, Blake felt edgy just watching Yang get into her gear. "Would you stop, now you're freaking me out. Just take a second to breathe, and we'll figure this out."
"Let's just haul ass and go." Yang said, dragging her partner out of the door, slamming their apartment shut behind them.
With Weiss away on her own mission, Yang and Blake hurried to Beacon, the former doing everything in her power to speed things along. It was a sight to behold, the way her hair sparked and crackled under her repressed emotion. Blake was much calmer. Ozpin hadn't indicated the need to be in such a hurry, and she didn't see the need in upheaving half of Vale simply to reach the airships headed for Beacon.
Eventually, they arrived, with Yang rushing through the courtyard and through the halls, cursing the elevator to Ozpin's office for the long and slow travel upward. Blake continued biting her tongue to keep from quipping at her girlfriend. Now was not the time to be snippy at Yang, even though she felt as if the blonde deserved it.