"So yeah! Back in the day, there was a species of Grimm that could drain your will to do just about anything. You'd lose your will to do things like coming to class first, like I'm sure is already happening for some of you. Then you'd lose your will to eat, drink, or sleep, until your organs lost their will to function and your body shut down entirely! Isn't that interesting?" the always upbeat Professor Brown concluded, her ponytail bouncing fervent movement of hands and body. "None of that will be on the test. I just thought that was a cool little story!"

The bell signaled the end of Intro to Grimm Studies. Caspian joined the others in closing his books, packing up his things, and zipping his raincoat all the way to his neck. He was looking forward to another mundane weekday; grabbing lunch with his friends in The Roots, getting a bit of homework done alone, then recharging for a bit before spending the rest of the day back with Ichigo, Rowan, and Snow.

"Hey. Lilly," a voice grumbled from behind. Towering over the two a row behind was Noxis, stony gaze locked on the one he called.

"Yes?" Lilly prompted.

"Are you free? Let's grab some tea."

Caspian's heart felt as if it struck the inside of his ribcage. He kept his gaze down, and the clench of his jaw threatened to shatter his teeth.

"Ah, there actually is a place I've been meaning to try!" Lilly responded. "It's a bit North of campus, but I think it's pretty close to a Link stop. We should stay mostly out of this rain, at least."

"That works. I'm going to drop off my bag, so let's meet at the stop near Cedar," Noxis confirmed. Without another word, he turned and joined the crowd draining out of the lecture hall and into the storm. Lilly followed, then Rowan. Caspian bit his tongue and dragged his feet as he finally joined them.

The doors opened to Blue Square– the center of campus creatively named for the bluish-grey bricks that made up the ground. To their right was Slate Library. Its first floor was an open study space, with tables and chairs surrounding an abstract statue that spiraled up to the ceiling between the rings of mezzanines making up the second and third floors. With two more lecture halls framing it, Blue Square was filled with students and staff from the earliest hours of the morning to sundown.

And, of course, Skye Hall. A bit conceited of his dad, Caspian thought, naming the infirmary and main administrative tower after himself. But judging by some of the stories from his huntsman days, he earned the right to name the office two hundred feet above the rest of campus after himself. In its shadow, stairs led down toward the flowers and fountain of Halfmoon Plaza. No buildings had been built between those stairs and downtown Port Cyrreine a mile and a half across the bay, lending the square a gorgeous view of the city, day and night.

"I was out so late last night, I could use something to pick me up a little like this," Lilly commented from under her umbrella.

"You sure are popular!" Rowan teased. He cocked his head with a mischievous smile. "Hey, if Noxis and Aspen fought over you, who would win?"

"Oh, stop," Lilly dismissed. "Aspen is a friend, and this is just two team partners getting to know each other."

"...It's not a date?" Caspian tested.

Lilly shook her head. "It's not. And if it was, I would politely decline. He doesn't seem much my type."

Caspian didn't let the smile he felt show. As Lilly split off from himself and Rowan, he wondered what exactly her type was.

"I'd like the lavender chamomile, please," Lilly asked of the indigo-haired waitress. "I've had my eye on this café since before I even came to Sentinel, and I'm so excited to finally try."

"Well, I hope we can live up to your expectations!" the waitress returned with a smile and a nod, entering a note into her Holoband. The stone fireplace ignited behind her as she turned to Noxis. "And what would you like?"

"Oolong."

"Ah. Good choice," the waitress affirmed. "Anything else?"

"I think that will be it for now, thank you," Lilly concluded. She brushed a white lock of curly frizz from her face, and her eyes followed the cat's tail that trailed behind the waitress for a second or two before turning to Noxis. "So, did you ask me here for a reason?"

"Yeah. You seem like the only one on our team with an ounce of common sense," Noxis responded. "I want to pick your brain a little bit."

"Well, then. Pick away," Lilly invited.

"What do you think of this city?"

"This city?"

"Yes, Port Cyrreine."

Lilly bid a slight smile, looking to a painting mounted on the mahogany-paneled wall. "I grew up nearby, and have many good memories here, so I'm quite fond of it. The city really is quite beautiful, in a very modern sense. It feels as though we're living in the future."

Noxis looked dissatisfied with her answer.

"And you? What do you think?" Lilly inquired.

"This city makes me sick."

Uneasy eyes flicked toward their table. He hadn't made any effort to keep his voice down, and they were all still a bit on edge, since it had only been a couple of weeks since the Red Claw's attack on the city. The waitress returned to deliver their orders, and the eyes lost interest.

"Just a handful of ports before Frontline stuck their headquarters here," Noxis continued. "Now they own half the damn city. It's all built on greed, and it's plain to see. You ever been to the Eastern Docks district?"

"No, I can't say I have."

"Not surprised," Noxis grumbled. "Highest crime rate in all of Vale. Mean income? A third of what it is up here in the North, just a couple of miles away. You can't walk a block without seeing some addict passed out halfway in the street– or worse. The EDD's worse off than the slums of Mistral. Worse than Mantle ever was."

Lilly took a sip of her tea and bowed her head. "It's... an unfortunate situation, yes."

Noxis's eyes narrowed. "An unfortunate situation? These are peoples' lives in this city,'' he growled. "All while Griswold Baine sits up his ivory tower, watching over the place like he owns it, and building Organds to take more jobs from the people of Vale. He'd let the entire kingdom go to shit if it meant more money in his pocket."

"Of all companies, it does seem odd you should take issue with Frontline," Lilly asserted.

Noxis raised a brow.

"They have done far more good than harm," Lilly stated. "Frontline's scientists have developed cures for multiple diseases previously thought incurable. Much of the money they make goes to funding further research, and–"

"What they're doing is unnatural."

"Excuse me?"

"Organds are nothing but a crutch," Noxis snarled. "Their use in security has rendered the few who still choose to be huntsmen useless, unless they go into that corporatized cash-grab they call the PHL." He took a sip from the cup that looked too dainty for his hand, and continued. "The Creatures of Grimm are humanity's predators. In twenty-five years, we've already forgotten how to defend ourselves. I think it should bug a few more people that our survival is now squarely in the hands of those glorified computers." He raised the cup for another sip, but abandoned it shy of his lips. "Gloried computers that shouldn't exist in the first place!"

"I see..." Lilly offered.

"Have you heard of natural selection?" Noxis continued.

"I'm familiar with the concept, yes."

"Then you'll know that in the natural world, those with some advantage over their peers will survive to pass their genes to the next generation more often?"

Lilly nodded. "That's the basic principle, yes."

"Well, in Frontline's care, we've created a world with no place for natural selection. All can survive and pass their genes on, no matter how slow, sickly, or unworthy. We've stunted our own evolution. Now that the Grimm are back, they practically deserve to wipe us out."

Lilly looked down to her tea, then pursed her lips as she gave a sidelong glance to the rain splattering the window. "The question as to what constitutes 'worthy' of passing on genes aside, I fail to see how Frontline curing illness has ceased our evolution," she debated. She looked Noxis in the eye. "Can weapons and dust not be considered a form of technology? On the day mankind first created weapons, and harnessed the power of dust to defend themselves against Grimm, did they become weaker? By your logic, it would seem so. But I daresay this allowed humans to survive longer and reproduce at a greater rate. They were, then, more 'fit.' More able to pass their genes along to the next generation."

"Weapons are different. They're just a tool humans use to survive," Noxis explained.

"You've previously called Organds 'computers.' How is that not a tool?" Lilly inquired. She took a sip of her tea, waiting for a response that did not come. "Left only to their strength, without weapons or dust, not even the most physically gifted human can hope to compete with nature's top predators, nor the Creatures of Grimm. The human body is simply weaker. Human evolution is through the mind. With all its advancements, Frontline Biomedical is evidence we are evolving more rapidly than ever before."

"I–" Noxis began. "No, that's different."

"How so?" Lilly insisted. "Please explain this difference to me, if you're so convinced it exists."

Noxis bit back three potential answers before turning his head away.

Lilly smiled politely, straightening up in her seat. "The tea here is quite good, wouldn't you agree? I'd like to return sometime."

Noxis bolted upright, the pounding of his boots on the hardwood floor drawing half the eyes in the café back to them. Lilly held her cup to keep her tea from spilling. The wolf faunus plunged his hand into his pocket, and slapped a few one-lien notes on the table in front of her.

"This should cover mine. See you."