In this chapter, I talk out of a part of my body I didn't know I could. But in all seriousness, I have no idea if any of this is the correct interpretation of aura in RWBY, and I do not believe in it in real life, or did any research on those beliefs to support what's in this chapter. All you need to know is I'm really talking out of places I shouldn't be (guess what that means).
Faye sat cross-legged opposite of Storm on her bed. Storm said it helped to be somewhere that she associated with comfort, and the only place she could think of that did not require a trip to the city was her bed. She also had normal clothes on, not her uniform, as Storm said it also helped. If they were going to find out what was going on with her semblance, she had to follow his lead.
Storm had also told her to gather a few things that she had a connection to—something that she had left an imprint on with her aura. According to him, when one left an imprint on an object, it keeps a record of what their aura was like when they left the imprint. They were a metal feather from her weapon, the book "The Free Man"—which her mother had given to her when she left for Haven, and had finished a few weeks ago—, and her reading glasses. Storm had decided that they were just perfect for this.
Faye noticed a look of uncertainty in Storm's face. "What is it?" she asked.
He hesitated before saying, "I honestly don't have much of an idea of what I'm doing. My Aunt Locaster, now she would know what to do—she's a genius with aura. But I have no idea what I'm doing."
Faye grimaced. That was not the most comforting thing to say, but he most likely knew that. Instead she offered some comfort. "If anyone can figure this out, it would be you, Storm."
He smiled. "I'm glad you think so, though you might turn out to be wrong." He looked at the objects. "I'll start with the glasses," he said, picking them up carefully. "If anything here has a record of before and after this stuff started happening, it's these." After a moment he looked quizzically at them and said, "They're cracked."
"The crash," she said.
"Ah," he said as he nodded. He concentrated for a moment. "I… I can feel the emotions you felt as you had them on you." He shuddered. "So much fear."
Nervous, she asked, "Please, if you must read them, at least do not tell me you are."
He nodded, understanding. After a few minutes, he asked seemingly out of nowhere, and without looking at her, "So, how long have you had these?"
"Excuse me?"
"It helps me concentrate if I'm doing two things instead of one." She cocked an eyebrow. "It's weird, I know. But it does help."
Well, if we wanted to know, there was no reason not to tell him. "Well, I got those shortly after my last pair was crushed, about two years ago."
"How were they crushed?"
"A bully stepped on them." Not the best of memories. The only reason she had been bullied was because of her heritage. Though the bully soon learned why he should not have. She smiled slightly at the memory.
"And what happened to the bully?" he asked. "You smiled, and that usually doesn't happen when you get your glasses broken. So what happened; did Lorna beat him up?"
"No, it was…" She stopped herself before she said his name. She did not want to talk about Talon. "It was someone else."
"Alright. I've got the whole thing in order now." He finally looked at Faye. "I can go from start to finish on these, from the day you got them to right now."
After a moment, she said, "And…?"
"And I can tell you, I've got nothing on your semblance." He frowned. "Sorry."
She sighed. She had thought that Storm could give her some answers, but as it turned out, he could not. She felt like either screaming or crying or both, but not with Storm around.
But that was not all he said, fortunately. "But maybe if I look at the feather I can see something about your semblance."
"You know, it could simply be that I cannot use polarity because of Nikos's death," Faye suggested.
"That would suggest you're making a connection to their aura, and using their semblance instead of just mimicking it," he countered. "It's something people can do, but it creates a bond between your aura and theirs. You don't do that though, so I'm guessing it's harmless mimicry. Like my cousin Skye—she can mimic the traits of animals."
She cocked an eyebrow. "She can?"
"Yep. I'm not sure where that came from, but Aunt Locaster says it might have something to do with her mother."
Confused, Faye asked, "What exactly?"
"Well, she's a Faunus, so…"
"Oh." She realized what Storm meant. It might have something to do with wanting to be like her mother. Of course, she knew little of psychology, so she might be wrong in assuming that theory.
"Yeah. I don't take stock in that much, but that's the current theory." He paused contemplatively. "I haven't seen Aunt Loc in a while though, so it might have changed… I don't know. Let's just work on this."
He set down the glasses, and picked up the feather. He stared at it for a while before asking, "Why'd you make wings anyway…" He cut himself off abruptly. "Oh wait, I remember—Asylum training."
He remembered well, and so did she. The teachers at Asylum, who usually taught Faunus, taught them to create a part of the animal they had a likeness, and to wield it. She was not the only one who built wings though, but she did not want to think of Talon.
After another minute, he exclaimed, "Aha! I've got it. I can see your semblance's work in this." He looked back at Faye. In fact, he seemed to stare for a moment.
"What are you doing?"
"Your aura's changed."
She was confused again. "What?"
"I just noticed it now. I saw it in the battle back in Vale, but I thought it was just your aura going down. But no; your aura's dimmer than before."
While that did not sound good, she had no idea what it meant. So she asked, "What exactly does that mean?"
"The stronger your will, the brighter your aura. While you didn't have the brightest aura already, something's happened to dim it. And it happened shortly after that sniper shot you." She found it hard to meet his gaze just then. "What happened?" he asked, while sensitively, he might as well have yelled it at her.
She did not want to tell him about this. It was private, and it stirred too many bad memories. She looked straight at him—or as straight as she could—and said, "I would appreciate it if you not ask that question now or ever."
Storm frowned. What he said next he said firmly, and with little gentleness. "You've got to face this some time, Faye. If you don't it'll gnaw at you from the inside, eating away at you until your nothing but a shell of your former self. Not being able to use Polarity is just a symptom, and it'll just get worse as time goes on unless you face this."
Faye got up off the bed, and backed off from Storm. Anyone who knew her knew not to use such a hard approach. She even more felt like crying.
But he had a point. The basic principals were there—will equaled strength in aura, and she was not completely sure if she wanted to continue to fight after this. She had to face this and decide what she wanted to do.
"Fine," she said hesitantly. "I'll tell you the story."
"I'm listening," Storm said.
She sat back down on her bed. "You see, growing up, I had no one to look up to. My parents were a librarian and someone who played video games for the internet. I had no heroes. That was, until Talon showed up.
"He became almost a brother to me, and a role model. He attended Asylum, and while he was a year ahead of me, he made sure to help me however he could. I looked up to him, and, well…" She had trouble with this next part.
"Were you attracted to him?" Storm asked.
"No!" That would have been more awkward than Storm had to know. "But soon after he graduated Asylum, he joined the White Fang." He nodded, understandingly.
No, he could not understand. "He betrayed me!" she practically yelled. "He took my trust and my love and he threw it away! Unlike most Faunus, I was taught to deplore the White Fang. They are terrorists! They are the most terrible sort of people, and I will not stop until they pay for their actions!"
Storm put his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay! But I think you should remember, not a month ago I though Rayne was in league with terrorists, and he shot at me." He paused. "Just like he did, didn't he?"
She could not talk. He had figured it out—it had been Talon that shot her that night. She had a scar on her shoulder because of him. She might have been killed because of him. But she was not because of him. It made her feel almost helpless.
"Faye," Storm said gently as he put his hand on her shoulder. She started to cry. "You're strong. You're not the best fighter, or the most confident, but you have a strength about you that is rarely seen. You know why?" She looked at him with her vision blurry from tears. "You have understanding. You understand where a villain was made—you were there. And yet, you didn't become one. You know what that makes you?"
"What?" she asked, her voice cracking.
He smiled. "In line to be a hero, Faye. Sometimes, refusing something is a sign of strength, and not joining the White Fang is as sure a sign of strength as I know. And only heroes have that kind of strength."
Storm's words had given her an idea. It did not matter with Talon was with or against her when it came to when she would fight. She would fight, and hopefully, find Talon to give him another chance. After all, everyone deserved a second chance.
She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, trying to get the tears out. "You know," she sniffed, "you're good at talking."
"Really, I don't know where I get half this stuff." Faye laughed a little and hugged Storm.
I didn't plan for Storm to be good with inspiring people. It just happened, twice now. I don't know if that's even good stuff, but at least I'm trying. But anyway, after this we get back to the real action; the tournament! And oh boy, the fight you're going to see might just be awesome.