Show Me How You Smile

by LongSean22

Ilia Amitola; a girl who’d lived a life full of anger and tragedy, barely managing to keep herself from succumbing to the same hate so many other faunus had. Meanwhile, Carmella Lindt had only ever wanted to help people and defend what was important to her, but lacked the means to do so. Two faunus on a collision course, a pair of souls, each one meant to complete the other.

10. Chapter 10

A/N- Sorry it took so long! Have spoonful of drama for your troubles ;P

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If there was one thing Mata was grateful for in Mistral, it was the tall door frames. Back on Menagerie he'd often felt like a giant trying to live among the average sized folk. The ram faunus was tall enough on his own, but his thick horns on each side of his head added just enough extra height to have him on his guard every time he passed an entryway. Even in his own home Mata often found himself ducking, and the many doorways in the small house he shared with his equally small family (physically and metaphorically) all had numerous dents and scratches from when he'd misjudged while trying to pass through. 'Such is the curse of the tall', the muscular faunus always said.

Mistral on the other hand? It was like the whole kingdom had been built for Mata, or at the very least, made with someone his size in mind. Not just doorways either, the furniture, the transportation, the whole world just felt like a better fit for the tall ram boy.

Despite all of this however, Mata still couldn't resist wincing internally and dipping his head down ever so slightly as he stepped out of his hotel room, even though he'd probably have to jump several inches into the air if he wanted to even graze the top of the door frame. Old habits died hard, he supposed, and while he could definitely see himself getting used to this level of accommodation, the ram faunus didn't plan on getting too comfortable here. Mistral was nice, but it just wasn't home to him. No, home was Menagerie, and his mother, that was where he belonged, tiny munchkin houses and all.

Mata wasn't much of a tourist anyway. After the business with the White Fang was said and done, the ram faunus had spent most of his time here in his hotel room catching up on some light reading and watching crappy daytime TV. The only reasons he'd left the confines of his temporary dwellings in the last few days was either on one of his now daily trips to the Mistral police department's holding facility to see his brother, or to grab a bite to eat, the latter being exactly why he was stepping out right now. The sun was just starting to set over the kingdom, and to Mata's often times bottomless seeming stomach, that meant dinner.

However, as the tall faunus turned around to lock his door, he heard someone shout,

"Mata!"

The ram boy's ears perked up at the sound of Carmella's voice calling his name. He turned his head and sure enough, further down the hall, Mata saw his longtime friend practically sprinting towards him.

"Mata! Mata! Mata! Mata!" The excited looking rabbit girl repeated over and over again. Carm continued to call his name even after she'd finally closed the distance between the horned faunus and herself, grabbing the tall ram boys muscular forearms with her small hands and beginning to shake them back and forth.

"Matamatamatamatamatamatamatamatamata!"

Genuinely caught off guard by his friends sudden appearance and bizarre behavior -even for Carmella- Mata stared dumbly as the smaller faunus continued to move his body back and forth. Eventually, and luckily for Mata, the need for Carm to breath caused her to stop repeating his name, but she still looked at him with her wide, expectant, caramel colored eyes.

"Um... yes Carm?" The ram boy finally said with a nervous grin.

Carmella's eyes sparkled even brighter and a big toothy smile covered her face. "You'll never guess what happened! Oh my god, it's the best thing ever! Guess! Guess! Guess!" The young rabbit girl exclaimed, giving Mata a few more shakes as she did.

Mata couldn't resist an amused chuckle at his friends excitement. "I don't-"

"Never mind! You'll never get it!" Carmella interrupted, bouncing up and down before finally letting go of poor Mata's arms. "I'll just show you!"

The rabbit girl took a step back, as if to give her friend a good view of the show, closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, then after a moment began to groan quietly, like she was trying to lift something heavy up a flight of stairs. Mata watched the display with a confused expression. What was... he supposed to be watching exactly? Carmella shut her eyes even tighter, and slowly her face started to turn red from the exertion of... whatever she was trying to do.

"Carm?..." the ram faunus said, concerned for his friends well being.

"Hold on, just give it a sec," the rabbit girl replied, not opening her eyes, but bringing up her hands and tightening them into fists as she redoubled her efforts, the smaller faunus' groan leveling up to a full on grunt.

This was getting a little uncomfortable for Mata to watch, and the idea of anyone of the hotels many other guests stepping into the hallway to see this bizarre scene only made it worse.

The ram boy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Do you... need to, like... use the restroom or something?" he asked, sounding more than a little embarrassed.

Carmella's eyes popped open. "What!? No! Shut up!" the flustered rabbit girl replied, her face continuing its redness but for an entirely different reason now. "It's just... it's still hard for me to do on command like this."

The long eared faunus shut her eyes again, this time taking a deep breath and shaking her head, seemingly trying to calm herself. "C'mon Carmella," the brunette said to herself, "just like she told you. Don't try to force it, it wants to protect you, just relax and let it do its thing."

Just when Mata thought the situation couldn't get more confusing, now Carm was talking to herself. He kept his concerns and comments to himself though, giving his friend the quiet she apparently needed to focus on... whatever the hell this was, he still wasn't sure. The rabbit girl took another deep breath, her arms slightly raised with her fingers extended outward, and suddenly a flicker of deep golden colored light cascaded over her body from head to toe.

The horned faunus let out a quiet gasp, his eyes widening slightly. The enormous smile returned to Carmella's face as she opened her eyes again and hopped in place excitably, the look on her tall friends face being all the confirmation she needed to know she'd been successful.

"Well?" the rabbit girl said expectantly.

Mata gave his head a quick shake before replying, "Um... wow?"

There was a long, pregnant pause between both faunus. "...that's it? Wow?" Carmella said, her excitement deflating quickly as her long ears sagged down in the face of her friends lack of reaction.

The ram faunus chuckled nervously. "I mean, congrats, I know this means a lot to you..." he said with a supportive smile. Mata was more than aware of Carm's numerous attempts -and failures- when it came to unlocking her aura, so he knew this was a big deal to her, however, at the same time...

"... But... you know I've never really been interested in stuff like this."

"Ugh," Carmella said, throwing her hands up in exasperation, before crossing her arms and pouting off to the side. "You're only saying that because you unlocked your aura so easily."

That was true. There were thousands upon thousands of people on Remnant with exciting stories about how they'd awakened their aura's, Mata... was not one of those people. He'd just been in class, leaning back in his chair, practically falling asleep during a lecture, when he leaned a bit too far back and the chair fell out from under him. Imagine the surprise of everyone else in the classroom when they not only heard the massive faunus hit the ground, but the noise was accompanied by a flash of peach colored light.

Yeah, Carmella had no intention of ever letting Mata live that one down.

It was like he said though, the ram faunus never had any interest in fighting, in fact he detested violence in any form. Mata hadn't ever cared about aura's or semblance's, he was happy just being Mata. Coming to Mistral to fight the White Fang had mostly just been about trying to save his brother, Arbol. Don't get him wrong, he definitely still cared about the plight of his people, but if he'd thought there had been any other way he could have helped besides fighting, he would have done it. However, this wasn't about Mata. As he looked down at the now marginally less excited looking friend he remembered just how much Carmella had struggled and fought to unlock her aura over the years, as well as the heartbroken look in her eyes that accompanied every failure in doing so.

Suddenly the tall faunus realized just how badly he'd screwed up his reaction to the news Carmella had so enthusiastically brought to him. His rabbit eared friend had always been there for him, through thick and thin, and it would have been so easy for Carm to grow resentful of Mata after how effortlessly he'd apparently mastered something the brunette had wanted to accomplish almost all of her life, but she hadn't. No, Carmella had stuck by him, their friendship not wavering in the slightest, because that's just who she was, the kind of person who wanted to lift people up, never bring them down.

"I'm sorry, Carm. Can I try that one again?" Mata asked, putting one of his giant mitts on his friends small shoulder. The rabbit faunus gave the tall boy a sideways look, still pouting, but it definitely looked more playful than anything at this point.

Mata smiled. "I really am happy for you, I swear. You've dreamed about this for so long, and to finally figure it out for yourself? I know you must be proud."

A small grin tugged at the corner of Carmella's lips. "Well... I mean, I didn't do it ALL by myself..." she said coyly.

The muscular ram faunus tilted his head, silently urging his friends to elaborate.

"I had a little- well, no, a lot of help..." Carmella went on, her smile growing fonder and she absentmindedly brushed back the hair hanging over her left ear, "from... Ilia."

This made Mata's face scrunch up a little. "Oh," was all he said in response, but the weight that one syllable put on the mood of the conversation was significant. Carmella's look abruptly changed, it was her turn to silently ask her friend to elaborate on what he'd just said. "You're uhh... still hanging out with her, huh?" The ram faunus asked hesitantly.

"Yeah..." the rabbit girl replied, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms again, looking slightly miffed by the implication of Mata's question, "... why?"

The look on his old friends face was all too familiar to the ram faunus. It was a look that said he'd just fallen into a den of sleeping from Manticore, and that he should watch what he said next, lest he wake them and suffer the consequences.

"W-well, I'm just saying that... um..." Mata fumbled and stumbled over his words, "I just... I just think you should be careful, that's all."

"Why? Because of the nasty rumors floating around about her?" Carm said, a bit of annoyance in her tone. "I already talked to her about that for your information."

"Oh... okay," Mata replied cautiously, knowing he'd just stepped on one of the Grimm's tails and it had started to stir, "... and did she deny it?"

"Well... I mean... she didn't exactly... but that's not the point!" Carmella said back defensively. "Ilia's just been through a lot, Mata. You and everyone else would know that if you just gave her a chance."

At this point the ram faunus knew well enough to drop the subject, but in truth he really was just worried about his friends safety, he hadn't meant to offend anyone. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you guys had talked about all that stuff, I guess she really opened up to you then?"

"Yeah, she did!... I mean... we didn't, you know, actually TALK about any of the things that happened to her... but we at least talked about the fact that there's... stuff that she won't talk about yet..."

The longer that last sentence hung in the air the more obvious it became to the two young faunus just how lame it sounded. Mata, having somehow managed to dig himself deeper into this hole while trying to escape it, smiled nervously at Carmella who stared back with an expression of steadily increasing discomfort.

"Look, whatever," Carm finally said, "I trust her, okay? She's great. Ilia's smart, skilled, funny, even though I don't think she's trying to be, and I... y'know... care about her... and stuff..." The rabbit girl began messing with the hair over her ear again.

"Oh," Mata said again as the realization suddenly came to him. The real reason Carmella was so defensive of Ilia becoming clear.

The rabbit girls face lit up red. "No, no 'oh,' okay? That's... that's not what this is about," Carmella denied, already knowing where her friends thoughts were going. "I mean... I'm not saying she's not- that I didn't notice that she's- Er, I'm trying to take things slow, and- UGH! I SAID THAT'S NOT THE POINT, okay!?"

Mata gave a sly smile at his rabbit eared friend's obvious crush, raising an eyebrow and making Carm's face turn even brighter red. He was happy for her for finally being willing to open up her heart to someone again, really he was, especially given how the rabbit faunus' last "relationship" has played out. However Mata was still nervous, the rumors about Ilia were too abundant and substantial to just be the results of gossip, and as much as he liked Carmella, he knew the girl didn't have a great history when it came to picking out partners. The ram faunus just didn't want his friend to get hurt again.

"I mean... maybe it was like that at the start," Carmella admitted after talking a moment to reel in her emotions, "but now? I just... she's all alone, Mata. Even other faunus aren't willing to give her a chance after what happened that night at the Belladonna's. She's already helped me so much since I've met her, and now she helped me accomplish something I was beginning to doubt was even possible."

The teenage rabbit faunus looked down at her hands and her aura shimmered to life over them. Mata stared at Carmella thoughtfully. "I can't just abandon her because I'm afraid of something she might do, I just have to believe in her, and every day since I've known her, Ilia has given me more and more reason to do just that."

Standing by someone no matter what other people thought of them; that had always been one of Carm's greatest strengths; she always saw the good in people. How could Mata have forgotten that? After all, he'd been in Ilia's shoes before, more or less. He still remembered sitting alone at lunch in middle school, all the other kids whispering behind his back about his brother running off to join the White Fang. Back then, the faunus civil rights group might not have been as corrupt as it was today, but Arbol's sudden departure was enough to get the adults of Menagerie talking, and their kids were always listening, ready to repeat what they'd heard with an infinite lack of tact.

Mata had always been too big, too quiet, and too intimidating, even at that young age, and so the other kids had always avoided him, but now they had a a reason to antagonize him. The loneliness had been overwhelming for the young ram faunus, and who knows where those types of feelings would have led him in life if he'd been alone. That wasn't the case thankfully, as Mata remembered jumping at the sound of a plastic lunch tray slapping against the table next to him, and he'd turned to see a rabbit eared girl with her long, caramel colored hair tied back in a low pony tail, bandages on her knees and elbows, and a big smile on her face, showing off her missing two front teeth.

"Hi! I'm Carmella! What's your name?" the rabbit girl had asked in a sing song kind of voice.

It was a good memory for the horned faunus, the day Carm had changed his life for the better. She hadn't cared about the rumors, only that Mata was clearly hurting and needed a friend. That was just who Carmella was- who she'd always been. Now it appeared the rabbit faunus was looking to do the same for Ilia, and while Mata still wasn't sure if he could trust the former White Fang member, he did have a pretty good idea what she was going through. Maybe he could give Ilia a chance, at any rate she seemed to make Carmella pretty happy. More than that though, Mata wanted to have faith in his friend, even if he didn't necessarily believe in Ilia yet, he could at least believe in Carm.

"Hey..." the ram faunus said timidly, getting the rabbit girls attention. "I didn't mean to doubt you. I'm sorry, I just worry is all."

"You know I have parents for that, right?" Carmella said with a smirk.

Mata let out a short laugh. "Yeah, well, someone has to take care of you while you're over here," he said. "But if you think Ilia's trustworthy, then so do I, and as long as you're never afraid to come to me if that changes, then I'll butt out."

"Oh God's," the brunette said, burying her head in her hands, "you sounded just like my dad right now. Better watch out or next your hair's gonna start falling out, just like his."

"Heh, with you for a daughter? I don't blame him for going bald."

The two faunus shared a laugh at each other's expense in the hallway. Mata was glad to have the tone of their conversation return to its usual lightheartedness.

"But seriously," Carmella chimed back in, "You should try hanging out with Ilia some time." The rabbit girls eyes sparkled as a light bulb went off in her head, "Oh! You should come train with us sometime!"

The scrunched up face Mata made at the suggestion must have been enough for Carm to reconsider her proposal. "Or... maybe we could just try lunch instead?"

"That's probably a better choice," Mata replied with a nervous chuckle.

As slow as the ram faunus might be to trust Ilia, it was completely blown away by his unwavering trust of the girl bouncing happily in front of him. Carmella was his best friend, and if she saw good in the former White Fang member, then it must be there, he'd just have to have faith as well. Besides, if Ilia every did anything to hurt Carm...

Well, that probably wasn't worth worrying about right now. Besides, Mata's stomach was still rumbling.

"So Carm, have you eaten yet?" The tall faunus asked.

The rabbit girl's eyes widened. "Oh... now that you mention it, I just realized I haven't eaten since breakfast," Carmella admitted sheepishly. "With all the excitement today, plus that trip to the medical clinic-"

"Uh... the trip to the where now?"

"... Like I said, it's been an exciting day," Carmella replied suddenly avoiding eye contact with a shy smile. "Why don't we talk while we eat? I want to hear about how things are going with Arbol!"

The ram boy smiled, eager to share all the goings on in his own world while Carmella had been busy these last few days. "Then let's get going," he said as he led his friend back the way she came, heading out of the hotel. So the two faunus set off to grab dinner. Mata was excited for the chance to catch up, but also grateful his unintentional prying hadn't done anything to diminish Carmella's faith in her new friend. However, what the ram faunus didn't see was the flash of doubt that crossed Carmella's face before she shook it off and turned around to follow her friends lead.

---

A few hours later Carmella was back in her own room, stepping out of the bathroom. A thick cloud of steam followed the young faunus out as she ran a white towel through her short hair, still wet from her shower. She'd already changed into her favorite pair of shorts and a tank top, and was almost ready to turn in for the night. The young faunus made her way across the room as she gently began to dry off her rabbit ears as well, bending over to let them fall forward so she could run the towel over them from bottom to top. The thick bandages covering her wrist made the task slightly more difficult than usual, making the rabbit girl wonder if she should have waited to change the wrappings until after she'd seen to drying off her faunus trait. It was a bit too late to worry about that now though, so the brunette dealt with it best she could.

After the job was finally done, Carmella balled up the damp piece of fabric and tossed it into the dirty laundry hamper in the corner of the small hotel room the Belladonna's had rented out for her, as well as the rest of the faunus of Menagerie that had traveled to help in Mistral. The accommodations were fairly basic; a bed, bathroom, closet, and TV, honestly not all that different from Carmella's room back home, but that did nothing to diminish the rabbit girls excitement from the events of the day.

As the rabbit girl walked over to her bed, she looked at her stun spear propped up next to the nightstand gave it a giddy smile. Now that her aura had been unlocked it felt like she was a real Huntress, coming back to civilization after a long day of tracking down leads, slaying Grimm, and saving lives. Traveling to strange new kingdoms, crashing at cheap hotels, living a life of danger and unpredictability, this was what it was all about! Or at least, that's how Carmella had always imagined it. Regardless, it took every bit of self control the young faunus had to not grab her weapon give it a few twirls, you know, just for kicks. Only the thought of having to pay for any damages she might cause kept Carmella from going through with it. That, and the fact that she was actually really, really tired.

The brunette flopped onto the massive bed, the ends of her arms and legs only barely reaching the edges of the firm mattress. As tired as Carm might have been, she was at the same time way too overstimulated to sleep, so the long eared faunus reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her scroll from its charging pad. There was a momentary pang of disappointment as the rabbit girl saw she had no new messages, and she returned the device to its spot beside the bed without a second glance. It was odd that Carm hadn't heard back from Ilia yet, usually the spotted girl was incredibly quick to respond. Carmella had text her teacher before hopping into the shower, assuming she'd get a response by the time she was done, but it looked like that wasn't the case. The long eared faunus shrugged it off though, she figured Ilia had seemed pretty tired after everything that had happened today, so she was probably still resting.

The whole "aura unlocking" ritual, or whatever she'd called it, seemed to have left Ilia pretty wiped out, even after taking a nice, long rest in the comfort of Carmella's lap, not that the rabbit faunus had been complaining. Eventually the spotted girl had managed to get back on her feet, but she had to keep one hand on one of the nearby trees to stay standing on her still shaky legs. Needless to say, any kind of physical training had been off the table for the rest of the day, but luckily the two of them had unlocked an entirely new subject for the pony tailed faunus to teach her pupil, namely; managing her aura.

So that's what they'd done, for the next couple of hours Ilia continued resting while sort of verbally coaching Carmella on the basics of controlling her souls protection. The rabbit girl actually already knew quite a bit about aura, mainly from her own studies, scouring the Internet for techniques to awaken hers on her own back on Menagerie. It all sounded easy on paper, but as Carm quickly discovered yesterday, it was anything but.

Maintaining an aura to protect your entire body wasn't as easy as flicking a switch in your brain, like Carmella had thought it was. The level of focus it took to cover every inch of yourself in a barrier- but at the same time not focusing too hard, because apparently Carm's aura didn't like that- while also moving around, trying to keep track of your footwork, swing a weapon, remember to breath, and oh yeah, fight an opponent, it was all so much. The naive rabbit faunus thought that once her aura was unlocked the hard part was over, but it appeared to have only just begun. Thankfully, Ilia had been just as patient as ever, even in her clearly drained state.

The shimmering golden brown colored light flickered and danced around Carmella's hand as she held it out in front of her while reclining back on the bed. The rabbit girl rotated her wrist around as she watched her aura flicker, still getting used to the feeling, as well as the exhaustion that accompanied it. It was such a weird sensation, to feel tired inside but your muscles and brain were wide awake. It was like she wanted to get up and move around, but an invisible weight was sitting on top of her chest, keeping her down. It was just too bizarre to put into words. Then again, Ilia had mentioned that a persons aura was like a muscle, and this was one that Carmella had never used before in her life, so that might explain it. Still though, what did that mean? That Carm's soul was tired? That didn't make sense to her, and it also sounded like the kind of melodramatic thing someone much older would complain about. Clearly the young faunus still had a long way to go when it came to understanding the intricacies of aura, but the brunette had never been more eager to learn.

It was hard to imagine that Carm's life had changed so much in only a few hours. Unlocking her aura had seemed like some impossible mountain in front of her, holding her back from her destination on the other side. The rabbit girl always figured she'd make it over some day, even if it took years of trying. Then today, after climbing and falling more times than Carmella could count, it was like she'd found a ski-lift on the mountain that carried her up and over, no problem, and just like that, it was done. All thanks to-

The sound of Carmella's scroll chirping almost had the long eared faunus launching herself off the bed as she lunged to grab the device. As soon as she saw the name of who'd sent the message -as well as the picture next to it that Carmella had sneakily taken while the other faunus was resting in her lap- a smile exploded onto the rabbit girls face.

Sorry for the late reply, still pretty tired. Probably just going to call it a night and get more rest. I'll be late tomorrow for training. I have a meeting. Should only be an hour or so.

The message hadn't been as uplifting as Carmella had hoped for, she'd been looking forward to another long night of back and forth texts between the two, not to mention the billion and a half questions the rabbit faunus still had in relation to her aura. But after everything Ilia had gone through today for her brunette student, she deserved a good night sleep. So Carm quickly replied;

No prob! ;) Thanks again for today! ;3 I'll c u in the morning! G'night! (-.-)zzZZ

After hitting send, the rabbit eared girl reclined back onto her bed, holding her scroll over her chest. A couple seconds later, it chirped again.

Good night, Carmella.

The brunette faunus let out a short laugh at the difference in the texting styles between Ilia and herself. It was just one of the many stark contrasts between the two of them, much like their personalities, backgrounds, appearance, just to name a few more. However, none of that did anything to diminish the massive crush Carmella still had on the chameleon girl.

"Ugh..." the rabbit faunus let out a quiet groan, gently hitting the screen of her scroll against her forehead a few times in frustration. "No. Bad Carmella. Friendship. Just be her friend." Despite her protests, Carm couldn't stop her brain from adding the words, 'for now' to the end of her sentence.

"UGH!" the brunette groaned again, much louder this time. Why was this so hard for her?

Carmella had told herself she would be patient with Ilia, to not rush into something neither of them were ready for, and she was firm in her decision to do just that, but she still couldn't keep certain thoughts from invading her mind. It was like every meeting with the chameleon faunus just drew Carm deeper and deeper into the web of overpowering emotions, and it was swiftly becoming more than the rabbit girl could bare.

It had never been like this before with Carmella's other relationships. Sure, she'd had her share of crushes over the years, but it was nothing compared to what she felt around Ilia. Her words seemed to get all jumbled up as they fell out of her mouth whenever she tried to talk to the pony tailed faunus, Carm's palms got sweaty just being near her, and time seemed to slow down, but also, everything seemed to pass too quickly at the same time. It was a roller coaster of emotions to say the least. Even just thinking about it right now had Carmella's heart racing.

It just felt like she needed... more. There was a yearning deep in the young faunus' chest that she'd never felt around another person before. Carmella took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she laid on her bed. These emotions were all so intense and alarming, not to mention the fact that she felt them for someone the rabbit girl had basically only known for a week or so only made them more confusing.

The brunette's mind went back to her conversation with Mata a few hours ago, when it had been brought to her attention just how little Carm actually knew about Ilia. She'd tried to brush it off, but for some reason the talk she'd had with her horned friend seemed to stick in her brain. Was she being stupid? Falling this hard for someone who was basically still a stranger to her?

...Nah, Mata's just being paranoid, that's all, the rabbit girl reasoned with herself. Although, she was surprised to find a part of her still wasn't one hundred percent convinced.

Why was she getting so worked up over this? Ilia had agreed to tell Carm about all that stuff when she was ready, the long eared girl just had to be patient until then. Besides, it wasn't like she knew nothing about Ilia, and the things she did know, she liked.

She knew Ilia was a badass, one of the best fighters she'd ever seen. She knew Ilia was kind, going out of the way to keep helping Carm despite her honestly being about as much of a stranger as the chameleon girl was to Carmella. She was also adorably awkward, always trying to hide it when her spot went pink around the rabbit faunus. Carm always noticed though, every time, but she'd never let Ilia know that, because then she might stop doing it, and that just was something the rabbit faunus could not allow to happen. But most importantly of all she knew Ilia believed in her. She was the first person to not immediately write off Carmella's desire to learn to fight and get stronger. Everyone else in the rabbit girls life seemed to see her enthusiasm towards becoming a warrior as "just a phase" she was going through, something she'd grow out of once she got past her teenage years. Even her parents had only agreed to letting her come in to Mistral because apparently "the fate of the faunus was at stake". Carmella knew that the second she got home her mom and dad would expect her life to go straight back to parsnips and rutabagas, but that had never been what she'd wanted, and her time away from home had only strengthened that ambition, of course, most of that was thanks to Ilia as well. It was just nice to have someone in her life that took her seriously was all. Just another reason she would keep putting her trust in the chameleon faunus.

Yeah, that was all Carmella had to do, instead of focusing on what she didn't know about Ilia yet, she should instead cherish the things she did. The rest she would figure out in time. And at the end of the day, if it turned out Ilia and herself weren't a good fit for each other then... Carmella would accept that. That was all she could do really.

With that slightly depressing thought, the rabbit faunus looked over to the digital clock on her nightstand. It was getting pretty late, apparently time flies when you're doing deep personal introspection. She should probably turn in for the night. It was then that Carmella remembered Ilia's message about her being late for there training tomorrow. That meant Carm would actually be able to sleep in a little, which she hasn't done since she joined the militia back on Menagerie.

God's, it was hard to believe Carmella used to be the kind of person that could spend half the day asleep if she was allowed. Often times her mom would have to barge into Carm's room banging pots and pans together to stir her practically comatose daughter in the morning. Honestly, with her work with militia on Menagerie, and now Ilia's training having her up at the crack of dawn, the rabbit girl had gotten so used to getting up early she wasn't even sure she remembered how to sleep late anymore.

Only one way to find out, she supposed. The long eared girl yawned sleepily, tucked herself under the covers, flicked off the lamp on the desk next to her bed, and closed her eyes before flopping onto the pillow.

...

...

About ten minutes later Carmella reopened her eyes. She sat up in her bed, wide awake, bringing a hand to her chest, and rubbing the area over her heart as a odd chill went down her back.

Something was... wrong, but the rabbit girl had no idea what it was. Honestly she'd felt a little odd ever since Ilia had awakened her aura earlier, but this was different. There was just this... heaviness clinging to her chest, the closest thing Carmella could compare it to was some kind of anxiety, but as far as what had her feeling that way, the long eared faunus was at a loss.

Had her talk with Mata affected her more than she'd thought?...

No, that wasn't it. She'd just spent the better part of the last hour sorting out her feelings on that subject.

Was she nervous about here training with Ilia tomorrow?...

That made even less sense to Carmella. This would be the fifth morning the two faunus had trained together, why would it start bothering her now? If anything she was eager to get to work again now that she had her aura up and running, so it definitely wasn't excitement that was keeping her up right now.

If it wasn't those two things, then what could it be? What was causing this feeling of... well, the best way Carmella could explain it would be to say it felt like she had a big test tomorrow at school that she hadn't studied for. A light nervousness sprinkled with dread, that was how the rabbit girl would best describe it. Again though, what was causing this? Amidst the swirling cocktail of emotions inside the young faunus, Carm felt a few drops of panic began to mix in.

There was only one person Carmella could think to ask about this phenomenon, and so she immediately went to reach for her scroll on the nightstand, but stopped herself halfway. Did she really want to bother Ilia with this? At this time of night? The chameleon girl had already told Carm she was wiped out from the days events, and waking her up over some "weird feeling" Carmella had didn't really seem fair. For all the rabbit girl knew this could be a completely normal thing to happen once your aura was unlocked. Or maybe it was just something she ate at her dinner with Mata? Mistralian cuisine might be a a little too exotic for the young faunus' stomach. Or, the most likely of scenarios, she was just overthinking all of this. With those thoughts in mind, the panic Carmella felt slowly began to dissipate. She still felt anxious for some reason, but figured she'd try to sleep it off and see if she felt better in the morning. If not, well then she could give panicking another try.

So Carmella flopped back down onto her pillow, staring wide awake up at the ceiling of her hotel room. She sighed, and began counting sheep, as the rabbit girl realized it was going to be a long night.

---

Needless to say, Carmella didn't get an overabundance of sleep. She'd tossed and turned for hours, before her own exhaustion finally let her get some rest. When the morning sun started shining in through the window, the rabbit girl cracked open a bloodshot, crusty eye and groaned. She swore, if it weren't for the fact that she'd be standing up a cute girl, the rabbit faunus definitely would have rolled over and gone back to sleep. At the very least the phantom anxiety she'd felt the night before seemed to have finally disappeared.

The young faunus slithered out from under the comfort of the sheets, the absence of their warmth being the only thing keeping Carm's eyes open. The rabbit girl thrust the top half of her body up to a sitting position with a grunt of exertion, rubbing her eyes to clear them. Carmella reached over to check her scroll, the alarm she'd set wouldn't be going off for another hour, but she was up now, and didn't see the point in waiting. So much for sleeping in.

With a slouched posture, half lidded eyes, and shuffling feet, the rabbit eared faunus made her way to the bathroom. One look at her reflection in the mirror above the sink made Carmella wince, the rats nest of brown hair on top of her head made it clear she'd had a restless night. Times like these made the brunette glad she kept her hair short and easy to manage. Carm went to reach for her brush next to the sink, but stopped when she noticed the bandages on her wrist had come loose. She gave an aggravated groan and went to re-tighten them, until she saw the bit of skin that had been exposed. The rabbit faunus pulled aside a bit more of the cloth bandages, just to make sure her tired mind wasn't hallucinating. Once she'd removed all the wrapping, Carmella took in the sight of her wound from yesterday... or rather, where it should have been.

The skin that had once been red and swollen around the bloody cut had faded back to is normal complexion, and all that remained of the injury was a thin pink line across the rabbit girls wrist, the stitches that had been used to hold the wound closed just barely clinging to Carm's skin, ready to fall off. How did this-

Oh right, aura, Carm reminded herself.

She'd heard that having unlocked your soul's protection meant your injuries healed faster, but this had just happened yesterday, less than twenty for hours ago. Was it really supposed to happen that fast? Carmella wasn't about to complain or anything, it just seemed odd was all. Out of curiosity, she peeled away all the other, smaller bandages on her body, mainly on her arms and legs, only to find all of them having healed as well. Had they also healed overnight? Or maybe sooner? She'd checked the cut on her wrist yesterday before bed when she'd changed the wrapping around it, but a part of Carmella wondered if the smaller ones had healed even faster.

With a shrug, the young faunus tossed the barely used bandages in the bathrooms small trash can, deciding not to give the matter a second thought. Carm gave her hair a quick run through with her brush, trying to make herself look presentable -or at least a little less like she'd only gotten a few hours sleep.

She grabbed her stun spear from its spot by the bed, her excitement growing as soon as she felt the familiar feeling of the cool metal in her grip. She gave the weapon a quick -bit careful- flourish, spinning it over her head before slamming its dull end onto the floor. Then Carmella gave the spear a nod of approval and smiled before heading out the door, ready for another exciting day of training with Ilia.

---

Carmella had hurried off to the usual meeting spot for Ilia and herself so quickly it didn't even occur to the perhaps overly eager rabbit faunus until she was halfway there that her teacher had said she'd be late. And so that's how Carm found herself waiting alone in an empty marketplace for an hour. That's not to say the time was completely wasted though, it was a good chance for the inexperienced girl to do some of the exercises Ilia had told her about the other day, designed to help Carmella get a feel for her aura. It was like stretching your muscles before a run in a way, except this muscle was your... soul? Or something? The rabbit faunus still wasn't really sure. The intricacies of this whole process still made Carm's head spin a little.

Fortunately, the young faunus didn't need to fully understand the exercises in order to do them. She flexed her fingers in and out, digging her nails into her palms before releasing the pent up energy as she stretched her hands out, breathing in time with each corresponding movement, and while she did, a golden light shimmered on and off all across her body in time with Carmella's breaths. The goal of the exercises was to get your body used to maintaining an aura subconsciously, as easy as breathing, or at least that's what Ilia had told her.

The practice seemed to be paying off, after a few moments the golden energy surrounding the rabbit faunus had stabilized as she continued to take deep breaths, in and out. Having an aura surrounding you still felt a little weird for Carm, it was like what she imagined TV static would feel like if it covered your whole body, it felt... prickly. Regardless, that hour Carmella spent practicing paid dividends, and by the end of it she was able to maintain her aura much easier then when she started... as long as she was standing still that is. Moving while projecting your souls protection around yourself would clearly take more practice, not that Carm was complaining, seeing as how that meant spending more time with Ilia.

Then, as if summoned by the thought alone, when Carmella looked up she saw the chameleon girl herself approaching. A smile exploded onto the rabbit faunus' face and she immediately stood up straight and waved vigorously at Ilia, any last remnants of tiredness getting ejector seated right out of her head.

Unfortunately, as excited as the rambunctious rabbit girl was to see her friend, Carm could immediately tell something was off. There was this distant look in Ilia's eyes as she approached, like she was miles away, lost in thought. The pony tailed girl didn't even seem to see Carmella until she was right in front of her, though when she did a noticeable spark of life returned to her light blue eyes and she smiled weakly. It looked like the reptilian faunus had a rough nights sleep too.

"Mornin'," Ilia said quietly, her tone weak and resigned.

Carmella just stared at the lizard girl with a concerned look. She could tell something was wrong, it went beyond just what she could see, the rabbit faunus just knew... somehow.

"Umm... isn't your arm getting tired?" Ilia said suddenly.

Then Carmella realized she was still waving, even though her friend was literally a step and a half away from of her.

Well, two seconds into seeing her and I've already embarrassed myself, the rabbit girl thought, Gods, Please don't let that be a sign about how today's going to go.

Carmella laughed nervously, trying to play off her waving as she scratched the back of her head in a way that totally looked natural and not at all awkward. The embarrassing situation did have a silver lining however, Carm's weirdness had managed to get a dry chuckle out of the chameleon girl. However the dark clouds rolled right back in soon after as the conflicted look returned to Ilia's features. This brought the worried expression back the rabbit girls face just as quickly.

"Hey Ilia... is everything okay?" The brunette asked.

The lizard girl seemed to squirm a bit under the question. "Yeah... I mean... no... I just..." Ilia gave an irritated sigh, "I don't want to get into it right now, okay? Maybe later?"

The urge to pry was as strong as ever in Carmella, but she'd also learned over that past few days that wasn't the way to get something out of Ilia. So she decided to retreat for now, and try and get more out of the other faunus later. Maybe during lunch?

"Yeah, sure, later," Carm replied, earning an appreciative smile from her teacher. "So, should we start off with some stretching?" The rabbit girl asked, eager to get started with her training, especially if it helped to distract Ilia from whatever was bothering her.

"Actually..." the reptilian faunus started, "I was kind of hoping we could skip the warm up today and get right into it. Maybe start with a little sparring instead? You know, see how far you've come in the last couple of days."

The suggestion definitely caught Carmella off guard. The two of them had sparred just yesterday, and that little exercise had ended with the rabbit faunus getting stitches, a pretty traumatic experience for everyone involved, so she was surprised Ilia would suggest it again so quickly.

"Are you...sure that's a good idea?" Carm said, hesitant to outright disagree with her friend and instructor. "I mean, last time we did that-"

"That was before you unlocked your aura," Ilia interrupted, actually sounding a little impatient for some reason. "You've been doing the exercises I showed you right? Are you able to project it now?"

"I mean, yeah, but-"

"Then don't worry about it, you'll be fine." And without another word, Ilia began heading off in the direction of the park.

Carmella didn't know how to process any of this. Ilia seemed so... different this morning as opposed to yesterday. Plus there was still that nagging feeling in the back of the rabbit girls head that something was bothering the other faunus. A part of the brunette was screaming at her to say something, but she didn't. Instead, Carm shook the feelings off with a literal shake of her head, and went to follow Ilia.

What was she even worried about? Carmella had been training with the chameleon girl for days now and had been keeping up just fine. Besides, she liked sparring, there was no better teacher in her mind than a practical application of what you've learned. So maybe she hadn't one hundred percent gotten used to having an aura yet, big deal. Carm would figure the rest out as she went, that was probably the best way to learn after all... right?

But as Carmella hurried to catch up with Ilia, she felt her nerves beginning to waver. She stared at the back of her teachers head as the chameleon girls long ponytail bobbed slightly as she walked. The rabbit faunus could practically see the storm clouds following the other teen.

Carm trusted Ilia, and she wanted to be patient with her... but... she'd trust her even more if she knew where her friends head was at right now.

---

One hour earlier

The hotel lobby had gone deadly silent. Ilia stared down at her hands, as she rubbed them together thoughtfully in her lap. The chameleon girls body was hunched forward slightly, her eyes wide yet unfocused as her brain tried in vain to comprehend the meaning behind what she'd just been asked.

"... Ilia?"

The soft, gentle voice of Kali tore Ilia out of her daze, as her head shot up to face the two faunus sitting on the couch across from her, Ghira's sympathetic smile matching his wife's.

"We know this is a lot to ask of you," the female cat faunus went on, "especially after everything you've done already, but Ghira and I really believe that there's no one better suited for this."

The lizard girls pale blue eyes darted back and forth between the adults patient expressions as they waited for her answer, but what was she supposed to say? As Ilia searched for a response, her gaze fell again to the long coffee table separating her from Blake's parents. The cup of tea Kali had so graciously poured her at the start of the meeting sat there, slowing becoming cold and unappetizing.

When she'd first gotten the message from Ghira last night, that Kali and himself wanted to speak with her, a million different possibilities went through Ilia's head, most of them bad. Maybe now that Haven was safe the chieftain had decided it was finally time to sentence the lizard girl for her numerous crimes against not only the people of Menagerie, but the Belladonna's themselves. Or maybe Ghira was just flat out disowning Ilia after everything she'd done, banishing her from the faunus community.

Okay, so maybe that last one was a little farfetched, but these tormenting thoughts were enough to keep the chameleon girl writhing in suspense all night long. Then again, Ilia had loudly spoken out against the chieftain, attacked -and nearly destroyed- his home, and attempted to kidnap his daughter, all to appease a madman who the spotted girl didn't even like, so the idea of Ghira wanting nothing more to do with the young faunus might not have been as beyond expectation as she hoped.

Whatever had been in store for her, as Ilia crept down the wooden stairs from her hotel room to the lobby to meet with the chieftain and his wife, she'd felt like she was walking towards the gallows. The chameleon faunus probably shouldn't of been as surprised as she was to find Kali and Ghira warmly greeting her as she approached, but history had taught Ilia to always expect the worst, and even then the younger faunus couldn't help but keep her expectations low.

After a bit of not unwelcome small talk between the three of them, the topic shifted towards the White Fang's future- or rather, Ghira's "New Brotherhood's" future, and that was when the chieftain finally got around to the reason he'd asked to meet with Ilia this morning; He wanted Ilia to be a part of this new faunus civil rights group. More than that, he wanted Ilia to be one of his chief advisors for it, "a voice for the next generation of faunus," as the large, panther man put it. That was pretty much the point where Ilia's brain derailed. In all of the countless possibilities of what she had expected this meeting to be about, this wasn't even remotely on the list.

If it had been anyone else, anybody besides someone from the Belladonna family asking her this, Ilia wouldn't have been able to say "no" fast enough, but this wasn't just anybody. No, this was Kali and Ghira.

Ghira, who'd welcomed Ilia into his family like a second daughter when the young faunus' life in Mantle had fallen apart. Ghira, who'd only ever seen good in her and tried so hard to keep her on the right path. And Ghira, who, even after Ilia had attacked his home and daughter, still saved her life when that flaming balcony came crashing down with the intent to crush her.

Ilia still thought about that moment a lot. The look in the chieftain's eyes, their amber glowing under the flames of his own home, begging her to move as even someone of his stature struggled to hold up the humongous, burning piece of debris. It was more than a little scary for Ilia to think that, had it come down to it, Ghira most likely would have died to save her.

And then there was Kali, probably the most prominent female role model in the chameleon faunus' life, with Sienna Khan as a close second. Kali was fierce when she needed to be, always willing to stand up for Ilia when the other faunus treated her poorly for her human-like appearance. However she was also just as likely to be the one to chastise the chameleon girl whenever she got into fights with other faunus as well, but even then Kali very rarely ever raised her voice at Ilia, choosing instead to treat her like an adult, explaining why what the young faunus had done was wrong, as well the consequences of her actions. However, at the same time no one who knew Kali could deny her gentle nature as well. Ilia had lost count of the number of times the feline faunus had treated cuts and bruises for the chameleon girl after she'd gotten into one of her many scraps due to Ilia's short temper.

Kali was the kind of person who knew when to make peace, and when to fight to maintain it. Ilia knew of several White Fang members that could attest to that fact as well. She still remembered the sight of the chieftains wife dragging an unconscious and beaten Yuma into the room. One of Corsac and Fennec's best assassins, and he'd been taken down by a housewife wearing sandals. There was no denying it, Kali was tough, but at the same time, she had such a kind and caring spirit, and Ilia had always admired that about her.

These two people meant so much to Ilia, and all she'd ever been was selfish in return. The chameleon girl had been there the day Kali and Ghira had left the White Fang. When they'd pulled their daughters aside and they'd practically begged Blake and Ilia to leave with them. They could tell the direction the group was heading, and only wanted to keep their girls from going down the wrong path, like so many other faunus in the Fang had already.

"You really expect us to just abandon our cause!?"

Ilia remembered Blake's angry, indignant tone all too well.

"Other faunus are out there fighting and dying for our rights while you two are willing to just sit here and do nothing like... like... like cowards! With your heads in the sand!"

The look on Ghira's face as his daughter screamed at him still hurt to think about, as well as the tears building in Kali's bright eyes as Blake turned away from them, storming past Ilia and out the door of the home the four of them had shared for many years. The chameleon faunus' gaze had followed her friend as she left, but before she followed, Ilia looked back at her surrogate parents just in time to see Kali practically break down in her husbands arms, Ghira doing his best to console her. It was a good thing Ilia had been wearing her mask at that moment, or the other two faunus would have seen the tears in her eyes as well, before the chameleon girl turned away and followed Blake out of the house.

The chameleon faunus' guilt alone was almost enough for her to agree to their offer... almost. Despite everything the three of them had been through, and everything Ilia had done to them, the spotted girl just couldn't bring herself to say 'yes,' but thankfully, she also didn't have it in her heart to refuse either. There was just... too much to consider for Ilia to come up with an answer right here and now.

The younger faunus, rubbed her spot covered wrist anxiously. "I... need some time to think about it," Ilia said reluctantly.

The chieftain and his wife shared a look, before that familiar, ever patient, smile returned to Ghira's face. "Of course, we understand, Ilia. You don't have to give us an answer right away."

That helped relax the chameleon girl a little bit. She was worried she was about to receive some kind of ultimatum.

"We'll be staying in Mistral for a while as we establish the New Brotherhood," Kali said, "and you're more than welcome to stay with us, even if you don't end up taking the job. You're a part of our family too, Ilia, don't you ever forget that."

The chameleon girl tried to avoid expressing the sour feeling that bloomed in her chest at the feline woman's words, she still didn't feel like she deserved such kindness from the Belladonna's. Instead Ilia just smiled as appreciatively as she could muster before checking her scroll. The time had gone by quicker than she'd anticipated, it was almost time to meet Carmella for training.

So the pony tailed faunus stood from the lobby's couch. "Well, it's been nice catching up like this," Ilia said genuinely, "but I have... uh... another appointment to get to."

"Oh?"

As soon as the syllable left Kali's mouth, Ilia froze. She looked up at the woman sitting across from her as a Cheshire smile spread over the feline faunus' lips.

"An appointment with that cute little rabbit faunus I saw you with in the marketplace the other day?"

Ilia's spots lit up pink as she remained silent, her cerulean eyes wide in panic.

"Oh?" Ghira's tone was much deeper than his wife's, but the inflection behind the word was identical to Kali's. "I see... I've been wondering where you've been running off to so early every morning," the panther man let out a gruff chuckle as he rubbed his beard covered chin and grinned.

Ilia would have given anything to have a giant Boarbatusk come charging through the wall at that moment. Seriously, it could come smashing in, gore her on its giant tusks, and drag her off into the wilderness if it wanted to, anything to escape this situation.

"What's her name?" Ghira asked, much to the younger faunus' chagrin.

With no sign of the giant Grimm Ilia had prayed for coming to put her out of her misery, the chameleon girl sighed, resigning herself to a much more grisly fate, at least from for her perspective.

"... Carmella," Ilia said reluctantly as she sat back down, feeling her cheeks burn even brighter, "Carmella Lindt."

"Lindt?" Kali said as her eyes lit up, "I think I've heard that name before..." she turned to Ghira for confirmation, "Don't they run a produce farm back on the island?"

"Oh! Are they those Lindt's?"

As the two other faunus continued their back and forth, Ilia was focusing as hard as she could on trying to disappear into the couch's cushions.

"So, how long have the two of you been together?" Kali asked.

"Only a couple of days..." Ilia quickly replied, before her brain could actually comprehend the question she was answering. "I mean- we've only known each other a couple of days!" she corrected herself, as the pink on her spots quickly began to cover the rest of her face. "A-and we're just friends, okay!?"

The smile on Kali's face grew even more, which was quite distressing to Ilia. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, sweetheart," the older faunus went on, "it's nice to see you meeting new people, and the way you were smiling the other day with her-"

Ilia groaned loudly, bringing her forehead down onto the table in front of her, rattling the teacup's sitting on it, as well as the saucers beneath them. She was content to stay there until the other two faunus were done teasing her.

"Kali, please, you're embarrassing the poor girl" Ghira interjected in response to the chameleon girls imminent breakdown.

Grateful for the interruption, Ilia turned her head to the side as it continued to rest on the coffee table in front of her. She hoped the worst was over, but then... well, Ghira kept talking.

"I think what she's trying to say is that what you're feeling is completely natural for someone you're age. Why, I remember when I first met Kali. Gods, seeing her for the first time, I nearly-"

"Oh would you look at the time! Okay! Well! Gotta go! See ya! Bye!" Ilia said loudly to drown out whatever mortifying thing the chieftain was about to say. The pony tailed faunus quickly stood and began quickly making her way towards the exit, her spots still burning a hot pink as she kept her head down.

Ghira stared at the retreating teenager with a confused expression while Kali held a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. The two elder faunus said their goodbyes as Ilia hurried outside, earning a few strange looks from passerby's due to her flustered complexion.

Once she was a safe distance away from the hotel, the chameleon girl stopped and huffed out a deep breath as she tried to reign herself in. The last thing she wanted was for Carmella to see her in such a state. After a moment, her colors returned to normal, spots too, and Ilia was able to continue on her way towards the marketplace where her friend was waiting. As much as the young faunus wanted to be angry at the chieftain and his wife for causing her so much embarrassment, she just didn't have the heart to. She knew they were only trying to help, and the sentiment was not lost on Ilia. They cared, and it was just nice for the often self deprecating chameleon girl to have a reason to remind herself of that, especially with the chaos of these last few weeks.

However, as nice as the thought might have been, it only provided a momentary distraction from the Belladonna's offer. As soon as Ilia set off again towards her destination, her thoughts immediately returned to the position Ghira and Kali had presented to her.

Should she rejoin the White Fang? Or rather, this New Brotherhood, or whatever it ended up being called. It was a tough decision on its own, without even taking into account the advisory role Ilia had been offered as well. It seemed like a good opportunity, especially considering the lizard girls other presently available options were pretty bleak, but there was one nagging thought in the back of Ilia's head, one that had been there ever since hearing about this whole idea;

Did she even want to go back?

The Belladonna's could preach all day about how this group would help to undo all the negativity between humans and faunus, and maybe the whole situation at Haven might have given them a firm foothold in that regard, but Ilia had heard all of this before. The good intentions of a handful of her own kind just weren't enough to convince the jaded chameleon faunus. What did they think the original White Fang had been built on? What made anyone think this new group would be any different than the last? How many more faunus would this Brotherhood corrupt into monsters like Adam?... or like Ilia herself even?

The more the chameleon girl thought about it, the more agitated it made her. Kali and Ghira knew firsthand what Ilia had done, and now they wanted her to help run things? It made absolutely no sense. Why would you bring in someone who was a prime example as to why this kind of organization was doomed to fail? Never mind putting that person in charge of anything.

Ilia felt a migraine beginning to build in her head. It was just too much to think about. Gods, she needed to blow off some steam. Thankfully, Carmella was waiting for her to do just that. A little sparring between them would probably make the chameleon girl feel better in no time. There was nothing better to Ilia than to just exhaust all that anger out of yourself.

Without even realizing it, the reptilian faunus suddenly found herself in the marketplace, her rabbit eared companion standing there, waving vigorously at her, despite Ilia only being a few feet away. The pony tailed girl's mood instantly improved upon seeing Carmella, the other faunus just had a positive energy about her that was contagious.

After a very... Carmella greeting, the rabbit eared girl seemed to notice Ilia's darkened mood, but ever skilled in the art of deflection, the chameleon faunus was able to brush it off. She just wasn't ready to get into it again, maybe after Ilia had vented a little off this pent up frustration she felt. That was when the spotted girl had suggested they skip their typical warm up and her right to the action. Carm seemed... oddly hesitant to the idea, but eventually agreed and the two headed off towards the park and their usual training spot. Unfortunately however, all the long walk did was give Ilia a chance to dwell on her conversation with the Belladonna's.

What were they thinking? Asking Ilia something like that? They knew what she'd been through, they knew how... damaged she'd been after... after Atlas, and the White Fang had only exasperated those issues. She'd been used, abused, and then cast aside by the faunus organization, by the faunus themselves even, her own people for Brothers sake! Why would they think Ilia ever wanted to go back?

Ilia felt her skin urging to turn red, but repressed it, not wanting to make Carmella worry anymore than she probably already was. Once the two of them arrived at the clearing the chameleon faunus said nothing, she merely withdrew Lightning Lash from her hip and turned to face the brunette. This is what Ilia needed, a chance to let out a little of this sudden, pent up aggression she felt. Carmella gave her teacher a wary look, before reaching behind her back and slowly drawing her stun spear.

"Ready?" Ilia asked a bit impatiently. She didn't want to just attack Carm straight out, the chameleon girl wasn't so eager for a fight she was willing to put her friend in any danger.

The rabbit faunus nodded, getting herself into a proper stance; bending her knees slightly, putting her left foot forward, and pointing the tip of her spear at her opponent.

The pony tailed teen waited a moment, tapping her booted foot on the ground. "... Are you going to activate your aura?" she asked with a deadpan expression.

"Oh! Right! Sorry," Carmella said quickly. Then gave her head a quick shake to focus, and a shimmer of honey brown light traveled over her body. "Okay, now I'm ready!"

After giving the other faunus a skeptical look, Ilia extended out the tip of her whip-blade. Lightning Lash crackled with dust energy as the lizard girl rushed towards Carm without another word.

The long eared faunus didn't even flinch as her teacher approached. She waited until the last possible moment, just as Ilia's arm went back for an electricity filled slash, before sidestepping to dodge the attack. She tried to go for a counter, but Ilia used the momentum from her missed slash to spin around and deflect Carmella's jab. The rabbit girl went to strike with the opposite end of her spear, but it was also smacked away just as easily by her opponent. So Carm decided to try and push the other faunus away using the middle of her weapon, only for Ilia's sword to meet her halfway and the two teenagers found their weapons locked as they pushed against one another.

Ilia grit her teeth into an unsettling smile as she felt the adrenaline start to kick in, and yet, it wasn't enough. Even then, she still found herself thinking about the Belladonna's and their offer. She'd needed more, so it was time to kick things up a notch or two.

---

Something about the face Ilia was making as the two of them locked weapons was unsettling to Carmella. The bad feeling she'd had at the start of this growing every stronger. This didn't feel like the friendly sparring matches the two of them had over the last few days, this felt like a real fight.

As if to prove that feeling right, Ilia suddenly released a bit of the pressure she was putting against against the rabbit girls weapon, bringing Carm in closer, and then the pony tailed faunus delivered a surprisingly savage knee right into her pupils stomach.

The blow didn't hurt as much as it could have -thank you, aura- but the force of it did make Carmella bend forward as most of the air was knocked out of her body. As the brunette let out a grunt, nearly doubling over, Ilia slipped to the side, trying to sweep the legs out from under the other faunus with her weapon, but Carmella was able to jump over the low swing, land in a roll, and spin around to face the chameleon girl, who was already following up her attack. The rabbit girl didn't understand, why was Ilia getting so aggressive all of a sudden? Maybe it had something to do with why she'd looked so conflicted earlier? Carmella wished she could ask, but it was kinda hard to do that when the person you wanted to talk to was swinging an electrified sword at you.

However, while one part of the rabbit faunus was a little terrified by the ferocity behind Ilia's assault, there was another that was secretly loving this. Carmella wasn't exactly the type to allow herself to be anyone's punching bag, one might even go so far as to say she was a little on the competitive side. So when Ilia started to give one hundred and ten percent, the rabbit girl was more than happy do the same. So, the plan was; talk about your feelings later, kick lots of ass right now.

As Ilia swing down with Lightning Lash, Carmella pushed the attack to the side with her long reaching spear and spun in towards the other faunus, delivering the point of her elbow to the side of Ilia's temple. When the pony tailed teen stumbled a bit from the blow, Carm didn't let up, she'd spun her weapon in her hands before delivering a few quick, electrically charged hits, nailing Ilia in her back, chin, and shoulder, in that order.

The reptilian faunus looked like she was about to fall after the flurry of shocking blows, but caught herself with one hand on the grass, and sprung into a back flip. As soon as both Ilia's feet touched the ground, she leaned backwards at almost a ninety degree angle to dodge Carmella swinging her spear like a bat. The rabbit girls keen ears heard some kind of mechanical click as she missed her attack, and then suddenly she felt her weapon pulled back in the opposite direction, yanking both of her arms up over her head. She looked back just to see-

Oh. Right. Forgot she could do that.

Ilia's blade had changed into its whip form and wrapped itself around Carmella's spear tip. The two weapons crackled with lightning dust energy, and for a second, the yellow parts on the end of the rabbit faunus' weapon flickered. Before Carm could even process that though, she felt Ilia's foot collide with her back and the brunette fell forward onto the ground, her spear getting ripped out of her hands in the process.

Fortunately, aside from some grass stained knees and elbows, the fall didn't have much of an effect on Carmella, not physically anyway. She knew it had only been a few days, but it was a little frustrating that she still didn't stand a chance against someone with Ilia's level of experience. This fight was clearly over, now came the part where the rabbit girls spotted teacher would help her up, dust her off, and tell her to try again, or at least, that was what Carmella had been expecting.

Instead, when the brunette faunus lifted her head off the ground, she saw Ilia leaping into the air with her weapon raised, letting out a rage filled yell as she swung down on Carmella.

The rabbit girl quickly rolled to the side as the electrified whip tore up a bit off the grass where Carm had been laying, but Ilia still didn't stop. With another roar, the chameleon faunus swung again and again, each strike just missing Carmella as she scrambled out of the way. The brunette faunus did manage to make her way over to where her spear had fallen and rearmed herself, but the relentless series of strikes by the other teen made it impossible to counterattack. Eventually the rabbit eared girl was out of Ilia's range and able to at least get to her feet. She looked up at her teacher with wide, fearful eyes, and was greeted by the other faunus breathing heavy from her most recent assault. More disturbing though, was the red creeping up the skin on her arms and legs, and the burning crimson that had taken over Ilia's eyes.

Suddenly this "friendly sparring match" didn't seem so friendly anymore, maybe it was time to-

The thought never got to finish, as Ilia was on Carmella again. Lightning Lash had returned to its blade form as it wielder raised it over her head, with the intent of bringing it down on Carm. All the rabbit girl could do was raise her spear in front of her to block as her opponent rained down a savage blow against the metal of her weapon that sent a tingling vibration all the way down Carmella's arms, shaking her very core.

Ilia kept swinging, the repeated loud clangs of Lightning Lash against the stun spear reverberating through the clearing. Eventually the force of the blow brought Carmella down onto one knee.

"Ilia! Stop!" The rabbit girl tried to shout, but was drowned out by the sound of metal on metal, as well as the snarls of anger accompanying each strike, as Ilia continued unabated.

A particular savage hit cost Carmella her balance and she fell back onto the grass beneath her. The rabbit eared girl stared up from the ground at the other faunus as she reared back for another heavy strike. The sun behind Ilia masked her face in shadow, except for one of her burning red eyes. Lightning Lash fizzled with its namesakes energy over the chameleon girls shoulder with viscous intent.

Then she swung.

"ILIA!"

---

No matter what Ilia did, she just couldn't get her mind off the Belladonna offer, and the more she thought about it, the madder it made her. It was preoccupying so much of her mind that even the fight she was in began to fade away from her senses, the young faunus' body acting purely on muscle memory and instinct.

What right did Kali and Ghira have to ask Ilia something like that?

What? All of a sudden they cared about the future of the faunus again?

What about when the White Fang had needed Ghira's guidance as things started taking a violent turn? Did he care then? Did he want to "fight for the future" then?

No. He'd just left, Kali too. They'd abandoned the cause, the faunus, and even Ilia herself.

What was to stop them from leaving this New Brotherhood when things got hard?

Then what, huh? Is that why they wanted Ilia's help? So that she could be left to sort through the wreckage of another failed organization?

Maybe or was her own fault, assuming that anything had changed, assuming that everyone wouldn't just leave her again.

That's how it had been with Mantle, the White Fang, Blake, and now this. Everyone left eventually, and Ilia needed to stop being so surprised by that.

The sparring match the chameleon faunus was engaged in soon began to fade away more and more as the dark clouds of self deprecating thoughts ran rampant in her head. She could still feel the impact of each attack she made, as well as the ones aimed at her, but all they did was just stoke the flames of Ilia's anger.

It was all the Belladonna's fault, Ghira never should have pardoned Ilia. He should have locked her up with the rest of the White Fang that had attacked his home. Or maybe he never should have caught that balcony that fell on her, that would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. Then again, maybe they never should have even bothered taking her into their home in the first place.

In the edges of Ilia's consciousness, she felt the hand holding Lightning Lash starting to ache as she swung her weapon against something hard and metal.

Why did they have to forgive her?

A muffled voice seemed to cry out, but Ilia ignored it and just kept swinging.

Why couldn't they just hate her like everyone else!?

It

Clang

Was

Clang

All

Clang

Their

Clang

FAULT!

"ILIA!"

Oddly, it wasn't the sound of Carmella's voice that broke Ilia out of her rage fueled trance, it was something else. A sudden feeling that had washed over the chameleon girls entire body, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped down her back, a cold chill cutting through straight to her bones.

The emotion was sudden and completely unexpected, but Ilia recognized it instantly. It was fear.

Overwhelming fear tore through Ilia, washing away all the anger as her skin and hair went yellow, but for the life of her, the chameleon faunus had no idea where it had come from. However, as said fear ripped the spotted girl out of her rage filled stupor, she snapped back to reality, her eyes refocusing to see Carmella on the ground before her, looking up at Ilia, her irises shrinking in horror as her teacher swung her weapon down upon her.

It was too late for Ilia to stop her swing, but thankfully, with the moment of clarity her sudden change in emotion had given her, she was able to hold back the full force of it. The pony tailed girls moment of realization also seemed to give Carmella the half a second longer she needed to get her spear up in time to block again, and another loud "clang" rang out.

Immediately after the impact, Ilia threw Lightning Lash to the side where it rolled across the grass a bit before finally settling. She held up her yellow covered hands, rotating her wrists as she stared at them in confusion. What had just happened? Then the chameleon girl turned her attention to Carmella, who was still sitting where she had been with a panicked expression on her face, directed at the other faunus still standing over her. That was when Ilia remembered what she had almost just done. She immediately went to help her friend, extending a hand to lift her to her feet. Carmella seemed to flinch a little as the limb was outstretched towards her, which did not go unnoticed by Ilia, who also flinched back in response.

The two faunus stared at each other for a moment longer, before Ilia finally broke the silence. "I... I'm sorry, I don't know what... are you hurt?"

Carmella's posture seemed to relax back to normal as she let out a deep breath. "No, I think I'm-"

However, as the rabbit girl went to stand, a loud cracking noise came from Carmella. Both faunus looked down to the weapon in the brunette's hands, as her stun spear snapped in two.

A few weak sparks of electricity shot out of both the jagged metal edges of the spear, and then the yellow lights on its tip flickered and died out.

Carmella stared at the two pieces of her weapon, one in each hand, her expression somewhere between horrified and confused. She let out a few, quick, heavy breaths before raising her gaze to look at Ilia, her eyes begging the other faunus to help, or offer an explanation, or anything really as she cradled the spear in her arms like an injured animal.

All Ilia could do in response was gaze at the broken weapon guiltily. This was her fault, she'd taken things too far, let her emotions get out of control again, and this was what happened. Without uttering a sound, Carmella shakily rose to her feet, her eyes glued to her broken weapon. The chameleon girl wordlessly held out her hands, and without hesitation or clarification, Carmella gently, but still shakily, handed the pieces to her spear to Ilia.

The prognosis wasn't great. The pony tailed girl observed the shattered edges of the weapon, she noted the stripped and frayed wires, as well as the cracked distribution chamber that regulated the dust flow through the spear. Ilia knew a lot about weapons, especially when one was too far gone to save.

I did this. Ilia repeated in her head over and over, not simply referring to her foolish display of anger.

"... I guess now is a bad time to go over aura projection, huh?" The chameleon girl said, trying to lighten the mood with an embarrassed smile.

One of Carmella's rabbit ears bent at the middle as she cocked her head to the side, her expression looking lost.

"That's uh... when you extend your aura outward into whatever it is your holding," Ilia explained, a fresh knot of guilt building in her stomach. "That's what makes people's weapons more durable, and um... keeps them from breaking during fights." The spotted girl looked away sheepishly, "Probably should have gone over that with you," she added in a hushed tone.

The rabbit girls shoulder sagged. "Yes, you probably should have! That's a thing too!?" Carm said, her tone slightly indignant, not that Ilia blamed her.

A good teacher would have covered something so simple. Then again, a good teacher also wouldn't have lashed out like Ilia had. The spotted girls... situation had nothing to do with Carmella, but that hadn't stopped the chameleon faunus from taking it out on her like she had. She'd just wanted to blow off a little steam, not traumatize the poor girl. Gods, if this had happened yesterday and Carmella still hadn't had her aura unlocked...

Ilia didn't even want to think about that. She'd been careless, and when you got careless while swinging around an electrified whip-blade, people got hurt, though not always physically.

"Can you fix it?" asked Carmella, who'd been waiting anxiously while Ilia had been zoning out staring at the other faunus' spear.

The spotted girl gave her head a quick shake, before looking up into Carm's desperate, caramel colored eyes. "I... I don't think so. I'm sorry, Carm," Ilia said, the apology just about as effective as her last one.

The rabbit girls entire posture deflated, her long ears, her arms, back, even her legs buckled a little as she hung over, head facing the ground.

"It's not a big deal though," Ilia went on, making Carmella at least raise her head a little. "Even if it can't be fixed, we can definitely replace it."

The long eared girl raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I mean, this is just basic, mass produced, stun spear. I'm sure the militia had about a thousand of them made for protecting Haven," Ilia explained, gesturing to the two halves in her hand, hoping this would help cheer up her friend. "Honestly, I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did with all the training you've been doing. This things so cheaply made its hard to even consider it a weapon at all. It's more like an incredibly dangerous toy than anything."

To Ilia's credit, she hadn't meant to sound so callous, and there was no way she would have possibly been able comprehend the weight of her own words, or how crushing they were for Carmella to hear.

Except she was able to.

The moment the sentence so carelessly left her lips, it felt like a heavy leather boot stomped down on her chest, crushing her heart, and judging by the look on Carmella's face, it wasn't hard to guess she felt the same. What the hell was going on? First the phantom fear and now this? This feeling... these strange emotions that suddenly came to Ilia out of nowhere, just like earlier when she'd almost attacked Carmella, where were they coming from? The chameleon girl had a theory, but was too overcome with regret at her words to really piece things together in that moment.

"... a toy... right, of course," the rabbit girl said, her tone suddenly very despondent and distant.

The ache in Ilia's chest doubled down. "Wait, Carm I didn't mean out like that. I can try fixing it if you really want me to," the spotted girl said, trying desperately to do some damage control.

"It's fine," the rabbit girl said back, her tone not improving as her golden brown eyes lazily looked away from the girl in front of her and the broken weapon in her hand. "It's stupid, but I guess having that... toy... made me feel like... I don't know, like I could be more than just... yeah, stupid."

An uncomfortable silence filled the clearing. All Ilia could think to do was try to change the subject. "Well... we could always just focus on hand to hand instead for today while we figure something out," the pony tailed faunus tried to reason.

Unfortunately, Carmella seemed unmoved by the attempt. "Nah, I'm... actually not feeling too great," the rabbit girl said, rubbing her forearm. "Maybe we should just call it a day."

That was the last thing Ilia wanted, they hadn't even really started yet. She was about to protest this, but one look at the crestfallen expression on her friends face made it clear that even if she did somehow force her to do anymore training today, none of it would be worthwhile.

"Okay... I mean, if that's what really you want," the chameleon faunus relented reluctantly. "Do you want to go and grab breakfast or something?" She added, like Ilia usually suggested after training.

"Not hungry..." Carmella mumbled out, having already started walking away as soon as her teacher had given her permission to leave.

The brunette faunus dragged her feet across the grass as she made her way out of the clearing, leaving Ilia alone to stew on her own idiocy. She wanted to go after Carm, but had no idea what to say. Also the spotted girl had a feeling this wasn't the kind of problem that could be solved by words alone.

A long drawn out sigh escaped The chameleon faunus' lips. What was wrong with her? First she loses her temper and almost kills Carmella, then Ilia went on to say probably the worst thing she could have said. The spotted girl knew how much the other faunus admired her, and just how much Ilia believing in her meant to Carm, but she'd let her own sour mood make her careless with her own words and it had made things about a thousand times worse. She'd belittled the rabbit girls ambitions by playing off her weapon breaking as "not a big deal", dismissing something important to Carmella as nothing more than a "toy". However, the worst part wasn't the fact that Ilia had made Carmella feel like she didn't take her seriously, but instead, it was the chameleon faunus realizing just how much truth there was to that statement.

All this time, Ilia had been treating these little training sessions as an escape from her own problems. Even when she'd first agreed to doing this, all the pony tailed faunus had been thinking about was herself, having "nothing better to do" and using it as a way of "keeping her on the straight and narrow", never once had she'd considered Carmella or her feelings in all of this. Carm had been taking this seriously from the start, but all Ilia had done was use the rabbit eared girl as a distraction from her own guilt and frustration about her current situation.

Ilia had made Carm feel like she was unimportant to her, which was pretty much the exact opposite of how she wanted the other faunus to feel.

The pony tailed teen stood there in the clearing for a while longer, alone, continuing to mentally kick herself for a bit, before finally resolving to make this right. She had to, but how?

There was still a part of her screaming in her head to go after Carmella, chase her down and beg her forgiveness, explain it was all a misunderstanding, but Ilia knew exactly how that would play out. She'd say her piece, and Carm would probably try and laugh the whole situation off, and they'd both agree to go on with their lives, but deep down it wouldn't change anything. Ilia felt like she'd planted that seed of doubt in the rabbit girls head. Doubt that said Ilia didn't take Carmella seriously, and just because the rabbit faunus was too polite to say anything about it, didn't mean those feelings wouldn't continue to fester beneath the surface, causing more problems down the road.

No, this wasn't a problem Ilia could solve with just an a apology, she needed to do something. Something to show Carmella that the chameleon girl wasn't just saying she was sorry to try to avoid hurting the other faunus' feelings, but made it clear that what Ilia had said was flat out wrong, and that not even the reptilian faunus herself believed it. Because that was the truth, deep down. Carmella had chosen to believe in her, and Ilia would be damned long before she didn't prove to Carm that she believed in her too.

So that brought her back to the million lien question; What was Ilia going to do?

Honestly, she was at a loss. Grandiose gestures like what this situation called for weren't exactly the chameleon girls forte. Maybe a gift?... No, that just didn't feel quite right to Ilia. Buying some cheap piece of jewelry or something seemed like she was trying to buy Carmella's forgiveness. No, if it was going to be a gift, then first and foremost it had to come from the heart.

A spark of inspiration struck the spotted girl when she looked down at the two pieces of the broken stun spear still in her hands. Giving it a second, more scrutinizing look, Ilia realized she could... probably fix the weapon, if it really meant that much to Carm. Given enough time and with the right parts, anything was possible. The only problem there being that as hurtful as the spotted faunus' words might have been earlier, they were the truth. This weapon was made in a hurry, and cheaply too, a rush job thrown together to quickly arm a militia of fighters with little to no experience. Plus the cost of fixing it would most definitely outweigh the spear's worth, and if it was just going to break down again later, the chameleon girl just couldn't see the point.

With that idea sank, the pony tailed faunus found herself back at square one. Maybe it was for the best, this kind of weapon hadn't suited Carmella in the first place, in Ilia's opinion anyway, it never had. The rabbit girl was undeniably talented, driven, and deserved so much better than some cheap-

Ilia's cerulean eyes shot open as she raised her head. The light from the bulb that went off in her brain at that moment was so bright it burned away any doubt or conflicting thoughts regarding the thought she'd just had. It was more than just a good idea, it was perfect.

The young faunus girl quickly grabbed her own weapon from the ground, clipped it back on her hip, then bolted out of the clearing, and then through the park, and was soon running down the streets of Mistral, nimbly avoiding a few of the morning travelers beginning to clog the cities paths. She ran all the way back to the hotel she was staying at, up the three flights of stairs to the floor her room was on, and hurried inside, not even bothering to shut the door behind her.

The old leather suitcase Ilia had brought her few meager possessions to Anima in was yanked out from under the mattress and thrown open. It was almost pathetically empty, but the chameleon girl had always been one to travel light. She tossed aside the few changes of clothes she'd brought until the lizard girl revealed what she'd been looking for.

It was a green notebook, one that had clearly seen better days. It's cover was faded and wrinkled from being folded in half so many times, the coiled, metal spine had long since fallen out, having been replaced by numerous strips of duct tape, and the pages themselves were brittle and worn to the point that many of them weren't even attached anymore, instead held in place with paper clips, staples, or in some instances, more tape.

With seemingly no regard for the very fragile looking notebooks well being, Ilia pulled it out of her suitcase and plopped it onto the hardwood floor of her hotel room, and then began rifling through the old looking pages while on her knees. Most of the papers were filled with the chameleon girls chicken scratch handwriting, but there were also a few drawings of schematics and tools, as well as some spaces that were so scarred with eraser marks they were practically indecipherable. The sound pages frantically being turned filled the hotel room as Ilia tore through her poor old notebook. She paused briefly on one page which contained a very familiar looking design for a certain whip-blade. She smiled proudly for a moment, before continuing to turn the pages, slower now as she knew she was approaching the one she was looking for.

Sure enough, about three page-turns later, there it was. It was a a little hard to make out the writing, and some of the references Ilia had drawn had faded a bit with time, but the chameleon girl knew her own work like the back of her hand. As long as she had a clear enough image in her head, Ilia knew she could make this work.

With an excited smirk, the young faunus dog-eared the edge of the page before slamming her notebook shut. Then Ilia reached back into her suitcase one last time and grabbed a small, velvet looking bag with a drawstring holding it shut. The chameleon girl bounced the sack in her hands a few times, the sound of lien cards rustling together inside made her give it a firm nod. She folded up the barely held together notebook and stuffed it into one of her back pockets, and the small bag in the other, before hopping to her feet and heading out of the room again, slamming the door behind her.

This would work, it would definitely work. This would help Carmella, and prove to her that Ilia still believed in her.

All she had to do now was find a blacksmith.

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A/N- Bit of a cliffhanger, but I figured 17k words was about enough for one day. See you all next time! Really excited to share what comes next! Don't forget to leave a review please! They really help me out!