Changes

"God that was awful," Ambur laughed as she held her stomach, her muscles starting to ache from all the laughing the three girls had done over the last two hours. In her other hand was a half-eaten bag of popcorn, the other girls also toted around leftovers from the movie.

"The way they treat female superheroes is just so bad," Liv shook her head with a smile on her face. "How can they not get it right in movies. It doesn't make sense. Some of the most famous warriors in this world are women! Why not just ask them how they would act?"

"No idea but they really should, they always make it so the girl needs to be rescued by a man, even in a female superhero movie they can't help themselves," Gretchen added as she rolled her eyes before sipping on her soda.

The three girls continued down the sidewalk, the darkness of night had completely fallen by the time they had arrived at the theater, now all the streets were lit up beautifully and the girls began the trek back to the shuttle station.

Ambur then pulled her scroll from her pocket as they continued down the street and found that she had a message from Mydnight awaiting her. As she opened it and began to read it quickly her face went red and she stopped walking. The others stopped and looked back at her, Liv immediately knowing what was wrong.

"What did he say lover girl," Liv laughed as she rested her hand on her hips.

"He..." She began slowly, "He said that we need to talk. About something...important."

"...And?" Gretchen asked.

"Ya that's pretty vague Ambur, ask him what he means."

Ambur did as she suggested and quickly sent a message back to her partner before she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She began to walk again as the trio rounded a corner and across the street, the shuttle bay in sight now.

As they walked inside Ambur felt her scroll vibrate again but chose to wait until they were aboard to answer it. After they flashed their students ID's they were allowed to board the craft and as they sat down she pulled her scroll out again and read his reply out loud.

"I just need to...tell you some stuff. It's a lot to go into over the phone. Is your movie over?" She read before looking back to her friends for help.

"I mean that's...ominous," Liv sighs, "Doesn't sound like it's got to do with your friendship to me."

"Like something about school?" Ambur retorts.

"Ya maybe, something he wants to tell you about himself maybe," Gretchen shrugged her shoulders before taking out her own scroll and beginning to check on all her messages as well. "I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Ambur begins to type again, 'like is it urgent?'

'I mean...sort of? It can wait until morning if it needs to.' She received back.

'Oh no that's okay. We should be back in like ten minutes,' she guessed as she felt the shuttle begin to take off. 'Where are you?'

"What's he saying?" Liv asked without looking up from her own device.

"He said it's kind of urgent," Ambur sighed as she shrugged her shoulders. Before anyone could speak again her phone vibrated again.

'I'm just walking around the school I'll meet you at the shuttle drop off I guess if that's okay?'

'Ya that's fine,' she sent back, 'see you in a bit.'

"He says he gonna meet me at the shuttle terminal," Ambur's cheeks stayed pink, unsure of how to react. Her mind raced through dozens of different scenarios that could happen when they landed, each one more ridiculous than the last but she couldn't help herself. Her heart pounded in her chest as they came closer and closer to the landing area at the school, even going so far as to stand up and begin pacing nervously back and forth.

As their shuttle touched down Liv stood and took Ambur's hand in her own, breaking her friend out of her trance. Ambur looked down into Liv's face nervously. "Wh...what do I do," she finally managed to get out softly.

Liv smiled gently up to her friend as she began to lead Ambur down the ramp and out of the shuttle. "Just calm down, take deep breaths and be yourself. And remember," Liv said as Mydnight came into view, leaning up against a pillar waiting for Ambur just beyond the landing platform. They could barely make out that it was him, standing just close enough to one of the lamps that lit the walkways of the school at night. "Don't tiptoe," Liv smirked and began to laugh as she swiftly let go of Ambur's hand, placed her hand on Ambur's backside and pushed her down the path toward her partner.

Ambur stumbled a little but quickly regained her footing as she looked back and saw Liv and Gretchen walking down a separate path, back toward the dorm house. Liv motioned for Ambur to get on with it as Ambur swallowed hard and turned back toward her partner, finding him no longer staring at the ground, rather, staring at her.

She took a deep breath and timidly raised her hand level to her bust and waved to him shyly as she began to walk toward him. Her legs felt like jello and her heart was beating in her ears. It seemed to be louder than her own footsteps as her sneakers silently moved over the stone walkway.

"Thanks for coming," he smiled as he shoved his hands into his pockets and turned away from her as she reached him. "Mind if we walk and talk?" He asked as he slowly began to move down the path and she started to walk beside him.

"No that's...fine," she said as she took another deep breath trying to calm her nerves. "So what's up? What was so urgent?"

As they walked Mydnight seemed to fall silent for several moments before speaking again, "We'll uh...I just wanted to...talk you know?" He said nervously. She could easily tell that whatever he had to talk about was bothering him and making him just as nervous as she was. More of those scenarios that had played out in her head seemed to become possible as her nerves rose even higher.

'Hoooo my god what if he asks me out what do I do!?' She yelled inside of her own head.

"How was your movie?" he asked, snapping her back to their conversation.

"What?" She asked before processing what he had asked her, "Oh! It was...really crappy actually," she smiled as he began to laugh, lightening the mood.

"Really? Well, that sucks I'm sorry," he chuckled as he looked over to her, finding her smiling back at him. "Did yall at least have fun? Sorry if I ruined girl's night," he apologized as he looked away from her.

"Ya we had a good time, we laughed through the entire movie," she smiled before seeing him look away. She quickly found her hand move to his shoulder, his eyes darting back over to look into hers. "It's okay don't worry about it we didn't have any more plans for the night anyway. Besides," she smiled as she let go of him and began to fidget, looking back down to the ground, "you're my partner...I gotta be here when you need me right?"

"Hah...Ya I suppose you do," he smiled as he led her down another path. The pair walked through the campus uninterrupted as most of the other students were in bed by now or cooped up in their rooms. "So..." he began again, clearly struggling to find the words. "Do you uh...Do you like fairy tales?"

Ambur was silent for several moments as she looked up to his face, finding that he wouldn't look back at her, rather his attention was on the star-filled night sky. "Fairy...tales?" she finally replied, confused by his question.

"Ya uh..." he sighed as he struggled to find the right way to ask his questions. "Like...the two brothers or the four seasons...stuff like that?" He asks nervously.

"Uhm...ya I guess? Why?" Ambur asked as she scrunched her eyebrows in confusion.

"Well...what would you do if...all of those fairy tales were actually...real?" He gulped out nervously before being met with more sarcasm from his partner.

"I mean..." Ambur smiled, "I don't know...nothing I guess?"

"Nothing?" Mydnight asked in surprise as he stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean, you wouldn't do anything different?"

"Well...why would I?" She asked and looked back his way as she stopped walking. "So what if there used to be gods on Remnant, if the fairy tale was real then they left a long time ago. That doesn't affect us today at all? I'd still be coming to the school and working to get my professional huntsman licenses the same as you."

"Well, what if the story of the maidens was true?" He asked as he shrugged his shoulders and agreed with her silently before continuing down the path.

"Why are you so hell-bent on this? You're acting like it's all real or something? Am I like offending you or something? Do you believe in all of this?" She finally asked. He stopped again and turned toward her as he began to run his hand through his hair and picked his next words carefully.

"No...no you're not...offending me or anything like that.." he sighed, "Look..." he said softly as he stepped toward her and placed his hand on her shoulder, taking her by surprise. His touch was warm, she could feel it through her hoody as her eyes locked with his and her heart began to beat faster as it always did when he touched her. "If someone told you that there were four maidens out there with insane powers and able to actually perform feats of magic...you wouldn't freak out? Really?"

Ambur was silent for a minute as she processed what he had said. After a moment however she spoke up again, "No not...really? It's not really that hard to believe is it?" She asked, taking him by surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...we all run around practically performing magic, don't we? A semblance is basically just a unique magical power that we all have so...why is it so hard to believe that gods and...magical maidens exist too?"

Mydnight sighed heavily as his vision fell, looking down to the ground quickly before his attention returned to her face. "You know you're...a very open-minded person Ambur," he chuckled before she blushed and replied.

"Well...I mean you still haven't told me why you're asking me this stuff. Do you...believe in all of that stuff or something?"

Mydnight took a long inhale as he calmed his nerves before replying, "Actually," he said as he let go of her shoulder and took a step back from her, holding his hand out for her to take if she chooses. "I can prove to you right now that every word of it is real..." he said softly as he smiled at her, watching her expression change back into one of confusion and uncertainty. "But only if you want to know the truth. If you don't want to know then...I'll never bring it up a-" he nearly finished his statement before he felt her hand grab onto his.

As he is cut off from speaking he looked back up to her face to found her cheeks flushed bright red, looking back at him with a more confident expression. "If you need to tell me something then...then I'm always here so...yes. Show me," she let out quietly before receiving another smile from her partner.

"Thank you...Ambur...Come on," he nodded back toward the headmaster's office. "Oz is waiting for us."

"Professor Ozpin?"

"Yeah he's uh...he's the one in charge," Mydnight said softly as he led her up to the building.

"In charge of...what...exactly?"

"In charge of...us? I guess. The group that he runs believes in these fairy tales. I don't know everything there is to know about it but I do know a lot more than the general public. I've already seen plenty of evidence for me to believe what he says that's for sure."

"Well...who else is in it? Any other students we know?"

"No no not any other students just...just me," he answers quickly while shaking his head. "But...Qrow is in the group and Miss Goodwitch knows as well."

"Your uncle knows too? Is this mostly a group of older huntsmen?"

"Yeeeahhhhh," he sighed as he closed his eyes and swallowed the words he wanted to tell her but couldn't. Not yet.

As the elevator carried them to the top floor of the building Ambur couldn't stay still. Mydnight could see it all over her face, the girl was nervous and not sure what she was doing here. It didn't help that Mydnight wasn't very good at talking to people either, as he had really explained the situation quite poorly. He just never had had to tell anyone about these sorts of things before. His name had been a secret for most of his life, no one in the outside world except for Qrow and those close to him really knew the truth.

Mydnight had to admit that even he didn't know the whole truth yet, as Qrow had always been secretive about some bits of Mydnight's childhood. Hopefully with the coming of age that graduating from Beacon would bring, Mydnight would be given much more trust in the group so he could learn all there was to know about what exactly Ozpin was working against.

As the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened the pair found their teachers in nearly the same position that Mydnight had left them earlier that evening. "Jeez don't you guys have like...stuff to do?" He muttered to himself, Ambur not realizing he was, of course, making a joke.

"So," Qrow spoke first, "Told her already huh?"

"I told her...some of it ya," Mydnight shrugged. "Was hoping you could just provide a little proof for her."

Ozpin looked to Ambur, her gaze falling to the floor, trying not to make eye contact with him. "Proof of what exactly?"

"I..." she began slowly before looking around the room, and then back to Mydnight. "I don't really know. He said that...fairy tales are real and that...he...he could prove it and..." she fumbled her words nervously. "I don't really know what I'm doing here but...I said I would support my partner no matter what," she smiled nervously over to Mydnight.

"Hm," Ozpin smiled, "Alright then. Qrow, go ahead and show her," he said and Ambur gave him a questioning look before her gaze shifted over to Qrow. Just like before Ambur witnessed as smoke began to pour off of Qrow's body as his figure went completely black and shifted into the form of a Crow. The bird quickly flew around the room before perching on top of Mydnight's shoulder as he had done before.

This time Mydnight was far more prepared for the action, only flinching mildly as the bird landed on him, rather than nearly falling down. Ambur, however, did flinch in a much larger way. She stumbled backward away from Mydnight in surprise, covering her head and protecting her face as the crow flew past her.

As the room fell silent, Ambur looked intensely at the crow after righting herself and settling down. The bird stared back at her from behind equally stunning red glowing eyes. As she did however she took a step closer toward her partner, only for the crow to caw at her loudly, taking her by surprise, a gasp escaping her mouth as she stepped back again. She wheeled back around to look at Ozpin for answers and her headmaster smiled back at her. "This is no illusion Ambur."

"...How," she finally managed to breathe out as she turned back to Mydnight, only to find Qrow standing beside him, the bird gone from her sight. "Ah!" she jumped as she closed her eyes and wiped her hand across her face, frustrated by the older huntsman's jump scare. "You're saying that that isn't just his semblance," she grumbled out through gritted teeth, crossing her arms under her breasts and trying to calm down.

"Yes indeed," Ozpin continued as he stood from behind his desk and approached her. "I gave him the ability to change into a bird to give him more freedom and sight to spy on our enemies. To travel great distances as quickly as he could, unimpeded by things like money or other variables."

"...And why are you telling me all this..." she asked again more timidly as she looked to the floor, Oz coming to rest right in front of her.

"Because Mydnight trusts you," Ozpin said gently as he rested a hand on her shoulder, "And he is going to need your help more than anything in the next few months, even years of his life if you so choose to learn more."

"...Who...are your enemies exactly?" She asked, a bit more confidence in her voice as she looked her headmaster in the face. "I should know who you are fighting before I agree to get into a fight right?"

Ozpin smiled at her proudly before turning around and walking toward his desk again, "Right you are Ambur," he said chipperly before turning back to her and sitting on the edge of his desk. "Darkness. The Grimm. Anything and Everyone who fights to disrupt the peace we all worked so hard to achieve in this world. And of course, the controller of the creatures of Grimm."

Ambur gave him another skeptical look before speaking, "Wait...what do you mean. Someone controls...the Grimm?"

"Salem," Mydnight piped up before walking to Ambur's side. "An Evil witch who can use magic just like Oz can."

"Far better than I can actually," Ozpin corrected. "As my magic dwindles, hers remains as strong as it ever has been. She can influence the actions of all Grimm, though as they grow older and more independent they are able to resist her control if it means their own self-preservation."

Ambur thought to herself for a moment before asking one more question, "So you guys aren't like...trying to fight another kingdom or anything like that? You really just want to keep the peace?"

"Yep," Qrow answered before Glynda speaks up.

"All we have ever wanted is for this world to be at peace. But this witch will stop at nothing to make humanity her slaves and run this world we have all worked so hard to build."

"...Alright," she breathed out as she returned her attention to Mydnight's golden eyes, "I'll do it but...why did you need me to..."

As the room fell silent, all eyes shifted to Mydnight. He took a deep breath to steady his voice. "Oz...offered me a chance to...become like Qrow," he gestured to his older counterpart.

Ambur's expression turned to one of concern as she reached over and took Mydnight's hand, "Wh...Well...are you...gonna be okay like..." She turned to Ozpin, "How does it work?"

"I have offered to make it possible for Mydnight to turn into a full wolf. The spell shouldn't harm him in any way and the transformation should not be painful either. The only issue is that it can be quite difficult to control the transformations in the beginning."

Qrow then butted in, "I made the change by accident several times in some not so convenient moments so that's for sure."

"The reason that you needed to know all of this is so that you can help him through any growing pains there may be while he adjusts to his new abilities. Not to mention that a wolf can be a much more volatile creature emotionally than a crow. It is possible that his first several times in his new form could be impossible to control. However, this will be quite a lot easier than when I changed the Branwen twins thankfully, as you will have a lie to tell people if he suddenly transforms at random."

"Well...what's that?" Ambur asked.

"Mydnight has not yet unlocked his semblance. And as he is already a wolf Faunus it would be possible to convince anyone who sees him that his transformation is due to finally unlocking it. Of course this will only work until such a time that Mydnight does unlock his true semblance but for now, it's a good scapegoat."

"Ya I guess that's true," Ambur thought out loud before looking back into Mydnight's face. "You want this...right? You're not just doing it because they offered?"

Mydnight smiled before squeezing Ambur's hand tight, "I've had like two months to think about it so ya...I want this," he answered genuinely. "Will you help me?"

"Well yes but..." She said softly before sighing, "Shouldn't our teammates know about this? They live in the same room as us...we shouldn't be hiding things from them you know?"

Mydnight sighed as well before answering, "I think we should but...not yet. Maybe after it's done so Bronzine can't try to talk me out of it or anything. Okay?"

"...Ya, I guess that'll work," she answered before lifting her arms slightly, stopping herself for a moment before closing her eyes and summoning her courage. She threw her arms up around him and pulled him into a hug. Mydnight was surprised by her boldness but gladly accepted her embrace, happy that she had accepted everything so easily, not to mention her embrace was calming his own nerves.

"Thank you, Ambur," he said softly into her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down Ambur's spine as he felt her jittering in his grasp. As she let go of him she had to force herself to look away from him, making sure to walk a few paces away before turning back to Ozpin.

"Ready?" Oz asked, awaiting Mydnight's response as he pulled his sleeves up slightly and raised his hands toward his student.

"Do it..."