Though he would never admit it, there was something satisfying about rage to Adam. When he was in battle, he let his burgeoning anger and bloodlust fuel him against all warnings and insistence to do the opposite. He had paid lip service to Professor Calavera when she called him out on it and remained silent and steely when facing her in training. Out in the field, though, the grimm- or criminals that were his targets- received the brunt of his anger. Adam knew that he had a tendency to go overboard, but he also had no intention of reeling it in when he was alone or surrounded by his friends. No one in OKRA or STRQ dared to try to talk him down mid-fight, and he could deal with the lecturing afterward once he came down from the high.
The anger he experienced seeing the God of Darkness portrayed in the museum, however, was something different. There was nothing at all "fun" about it, and as he followed Porella into the nearby elevator, Adam found that the feeling wasn't subsiding. He watched the woman swipe her I.D. card over a reader beneath the buttons, and the carriage began to slowly ascend. All he could do was stare into the polished steel before him, where he saw his own furious reflection. It was the first time that he saw what so many others saw when he was enraged, and what few had dared to call him to his face.
Adam saw a monster.
It was enough to give him pause as he considered just how often he might give off that impression to others.
"…I've seen that look before," Porella said softly, causing Adam to jump. The faunus switched his attention to her reflection as she continued to speak. "I've seen it on the faces of other faunus when they've been cornered by those who think they're lesser, and it's the one they give to humans who pass them by when they're suffering. I've seen it around the dust mines in Mantle, as well. What is it that you saw in the exhibit that gave you such a reaction?"
Adam sucked in a breath as the elevator continued to climb past the publicly accessible top floor. He narrowed his eye as he refocused upon himself once again.
"You said you brought those artifacts back, right? Describe the God of Darkness to me."
"Almost featureless," Porella began. "Genderless. The sculpture and other depictions I saw were without any distinctive quirks or identifying factors, bar the… horns. Hm. Do you see yourself in him?"
"…in a sense," Adam replied, his tone biting. "You see a nearly featureless being. I see a faunus."
"A faunus," Porella repeated, sounding surprised. "I… see…"
"And what do you think of that?" Adam asked. "That I'm making it about us, or that I'm totally off-base? That's what people will say. They'll say that whatever that figure is is beyond humanity. That a god can't be a faunus, and that there's no connection."
"They will," Porella agreed. "And no, I don't. I see a new perspective and potential link in the chain that could help fill in some missing pieces in our other exhibits."
The gentle ding of the elevator drew Adam's attention away from his host as the vehicle arrived at its destination. As the doors slid open, he beheld a very different environment to the rest of the museum. Waiting at the top of the building was a spacious office, though it looked more like a vault with artifacts, maps, workstations, and computers set up and distributed messily about the room. Grimm bones, weaponry, ancient tables, and more were sitting atop surfaces, suspended from the ceiling, and occupying billboards up against the walls. The space looked well lived-in with take-out containers, cups, and clothing amongst the other features, and several other rooms extended away from the main office at the far end.
"…missing pieces?" Adam asked as he followed Porella out into the room. His anger finally started to subside, though it refused to fully fade. "That isn't what I was expecting you to say…"
"And calling the God of Darkness a faunus isn't what I expected from you," Porella countered. "Tea? Coffee? You don't look old enough to drink."
"I'm not. And… nothing for me," Adam refused as he stopped before a large oaken desk with a computer and papers scattered about atop its surface.
"Fine, but if you change your mind, the offer's on the table," Porella replied as she moved out of the main office and into an attached kitchen. She snatched a kettle from atop the stove and began filling it with water as she raised the volume of her voice. "I find your viewpoint both understandable… and incredibly interesting. The gods may well be faunus. After all, if they are… it might help to explain where the faunus came from."
"Maybe it could…" Adam considered. "But I don't know anything else that could connect those dots."
"I do," Porella said as she set the kettle to boil. "My husband and I have found quite a few faunus relics all over Remnant, and some of them do bear resemblance to those found within the Land of Darkness. There might be a connection there… but first, we have other work to do."
"Other work?" Adam asked. "And… 'we'? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Exactly what I brought you here for earlier," Porella replied, her tone remaining neutral bar its lilt of curiosity. "I need your help to reframe the exhibit. You won't be the last faunus to walk those halls- far from it. I doubt you'll be the last to draw the conclusion you did. You may not even be the first to have done so… but you are the first to speak up about it to someone with the power to make change. So… let's make change."
Adam watched in silence as Porella slipped into the plush chair behind the large, oaken, U-shaped desk. The woman interlaced her fingers and cracked her knuckles outward before flicking out her hands several times and settling them atop the keyboard before her. Porella focused upon the attached monitor as she rubbed at the side of her neck, using her other hand to move the mouse about the desktop and begin creating a file.
"It's that easy, is it?" Adam asked. "Why?"
Porella looked up from the monitor and brushed her bangs out of her eyes with a free hand.
"I'm a historian. An explorer. An archeologist, anthropologist… and some would say, tomb raider," Porella explained with a bit of a smirk. "No matter what title people want to throw at me, there's a consistency amongst all of them- I'm a seeker of truth. Definite, verifiable, irrefutable truth, if there is such a thing, can only be found by examining every perspective available. Your perspective matters as much as mine… and maybe more, in this case. Who are you, Mr…?"
"…Taurus," Adam finished for her. "Adam Taurus. I'm a huntsman-in-training at Beacon Academy, out in Sanus."
"Sanus?" Porella asked, tapping away at the keyboard. "You're a long way from home…"
"I'm on vacation with my team, and another," Adam replied. "And… Willow Schnee, as well."
"Willow Schnee?" Porella questioned. "Well, well. It seems I'm not the only one interested in what you have to say, am I? How did that happen?"
"It's a very long story," Adam grumbled. "But… she's a friend. Several other friends of mine are here. I should probably let them know where I am…"
"Feel free," Porella offered as she continued to type. "I'll have my husband bring them up, if you'd like. Are they faunus as well?"
"Not… the ones in the museum right now aren't, anyway," Adam lamented. "But there is another one here with us. She's incredibly outspoken about our race, and I'm sure she would want to help reframe the exhibit, too."
"Then let's bring her in, if we can," Porella suggested as she took her scroll out of her pocket and began to compose a message. "It doesn't have to be today, but soon would be good. I'll allow you all into the museum again free of charge, whenever she's available."
"…you will?" Adam asked.
"Of course," Porella answered. "My husband and I want to provide a service to the people, and through oversight, we've done a disservice to your people. I'd like to fix that. Meanwhile, though… what was your original intent in coming here today? Are you a student of history, or were you simply bored and looking for tourist traps? You can be honest."
"I… like history," Adam admitted as he watched Porella stand and stretch. "But my friend Bartholomew is addicted to it. I agreed to come along to spend time with him, and because I heard there was an exhibit on the history of the faunus."
"Indeed there is," Porella let on. "While we're waiting for your friends, I could show you faunus-related things that haven't yet made the show floor if you're interested."
"I am," Adam replied. "Very interested…"
A year prior, Willow Schnee would have been incredibly upset to learn that she had spent almost two full hours playing in the ocean with two other girls, the nudity involved notwithstanding. She had never been one to waste time when there were things to be done, and she had never been one to socialize without an agenda, either. As the days turned into weeks, months, and then a full year at Beacon, though, everything about her priorities and personality had changed. In fact, she didn't consider her activities time "wasted" at all- on that day, all Willow cared about was having fun.
Or so she thought, at first.
It had taken an incredible effort and exacted quite a toll on Willow's heart rate to initially strip down and bare her ass to her friends. It had taken even more bravery to keep herself from covering up as her friends got near, and a herculean effort not to stare at Kali and Summer's naked forms as they joined her on the way to the water. Willow did her best to carry herself with dignity despite her state of undress, and to afford her friends the respect she prayed she could maintain with them. As time wore on and they splashed waves at each other, dived down underwater to explore the shallows, and made improvised games with seashells and detritus, however, Willow's inhibitions slipped away one by one.
After all, if Kali and Summer seemed to have no qualms with looking her over and grabbing her in the water… why should she?
Willow had heard of friendly bonding between women before, but never really understood it until her time at Beacon. Just as she had thought she had gotten the hang of it, the new twist of allowing herself to be unclothed around her friends had entered the picture. Willow was no stranger to nudity by the time vacation had rolled around- after all, Kali had less than a high regard for clothing in their presence throughout the year- but allowing herself to join in had somehow altered the dynamic of the interaction in a way that Willow couldn't quite describe. She had listened when Kali had explained to her that nudity didn't inherently have to be sexual, and for a long time, she had believed her friend entirely. After their time in the ocean, however, she was no longer quite so sure.
Gentle touches and accidental brushes had brought something to the surface of her mind that Willow hadn't known was lurking anywhere inside. She had let her hands fall upon Kali and Summer more than necessary, and though she felt guilty doing so, she also couldn't bring herself to stop. As she stole glances at her friends, Willow began to notice inconsistencies that she had never really paid attention to before. Kali's nipples were darker than her own. Summer was easily the most well-endowed at the beach, though Raven had her easily beat. Kali had beauty marks in interesting places. There was so much more to see and so many questions Willow wanted to ask, and yet, she couldn't find the inclination or time to do so as she began to grapple with a frightening revelation.
Willow was having more than fun. She was having feelings. Feelings that she didn't understand at all- a lingering desire to be touched, and to do some touching herself. Feelings that were replaced by disappointment as the trio exited the gentle waves and began pulling their bathing suits back on. Willow tried to steal one last glance at Kali's naked form as the faunus rolled on the bottom half of her bathing suit, only to be caught in the act.
"Like what ya see?" Kali teased, a pointed incisor poking out from beneath her upper lip.
"…yes, I like you," Willow admitted with a hot blush. "I enjoy your company very much. Both of you."
"Looks that way, given how hard you're blushing," Kali pointed out. "C'mon, we've been nude for ages, now. Get over it!"
"I mean… she's not the only one," Summer admitted as she, too, pulled on her bathing suit. "I'm still not used to it, either. Raven's really not used to it…"
"Do you think she's okay?" Willow asked, though her mind was still fixated on Kali's curves. As much as she did have concern for their missing friend, she couldn't quite banish the image of the faunus' sun-kissed skin from her mind. "Should we call her?"
"Nah, she'd just get mad if we did," Kali answered with a wave of her hand. "We should get back, though and smother her with our love."
The corner of Willow's mouth twitched at the thought.
"Well… how about we race back?" Summer suggested.
"A race?" Willow said with a groan. "That's so… juvenile. And I'm nowhere near as muscular or fast as you two!"
"Excuses, excuses," Kali proclaimed as she walked up to Summer and got down into a runner's stance, her rear in the air. "Get ready to lose, Rose."
"Nuh-uh," Summer said confidently. "I'm not as pudgy as I used to be. I'm faster. Stronger."
"And she can just teleport you backward and swap places if you do get ahead of her," Willow pointed out as she begrudgingly joined the lineup next to the other two girls.
"…you… don't spoil my plan like that!" Summer griped. "Threetwoonego!"
"Hey, wh-" Kali yelled as Summer took off, only to get yanked backward by Willow's grip around her wrist. "Cheaters! Both of you!"
Willow sucked in a breath as Kali turned her head to glare back at her. At first, she wasn't sure exactly why she had grabbed the faunus, but it soon clicked in her mind.
"…Wil? You alright…?" Kali asked as she saw the conflicted expression on her friend's face. "You look almost sick…"
"Can I talk to you later tonight?" Willow asked before she could stop herself. "A-alone, I mean. It's about…"
Kali waited patiently as Summer called from far ahead.
"Hey, what gives!?"
"…i-it's about…" Willow stammered. "…sex."
Kali's signature grin reappeared as Willow finally let go of her hand.
"Yeah, of course. If you can beat me back to the beach house."
"Wait, wh-…" Willow started, only to watch Kali take off at a full sprint. "Hey!"
Willow ran as hard as she could, laughing despite the incredibly nervous feeling in her chest. Somehow, she had a feeling that sprinting full-tilt wouldn't be the thing that caused her heart to pound most before the night was over.
Author's Note:
Tonal whiplash- everyone's favorite!
-RD