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.

13. Chapter 13

A/N- Three months... wow... Hopefully there are still a few you left out there that care about a character we haven't seen in almost three years lol. Regardless, we're getting into the stuff I'm really excited about here, so I shall continue to scream my story into the void!

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Carmella hunched forward, hands on her knees, breathing heavily, sweat practically pouring off her face, dripping down off the tip of her nose, and onto the grass beneath her.

"Ready to call it a day?"

The rabbit eared girl managed to lift her head enough so that one of her honey colored eyes could make out the form of her brother Phyll standing in front of her, a practice spear in his hands. His guard shift had just ended, so he was still dressed in his hooded armor.

"Not a chance," Carm said back, despite her bodies desperate pleas to fall to the ground. She knew that if she listened to them, there was a good chance her exhausted muscles wouldn't be letting her get up again anytime soon.

Pressing her palms against her knees, the younger of the two rabbit faunus pushed herself back up to a vertical base and smiled tiredly. The always humid Menagerie air made Carmella's short hair stick to the back of her neck as the late afternoon sun beat down on her relentlessly.

Phyll smirked at his sister, twirling his spear absentmindedly before resting it across both his shoulders, holding it in place over the back of his neck with both hands. "You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?" he said.

The younger Lindt sibling gave her brother an incredulous look as she finally began to catch her breath. "You sound surprised," she replied.

"No, that's not it... I mean, not really," Phyll struggled to find the words, "I guess I was just under the impression most fifteen year old girls wanted to spend their time at the mall, or... I don't know, chasing down cute boys or whatever. Definitely not at some rinky-dink guard outpost, sparring."

The older rabbit faunus gestured around the two of them, to the slightly overgrown training facility for Menagerie's guard, which was looking more than a little desperate for some landscaping. The lush island greenery, which was beautiful to behold, was also beginning to overtake the area, especially the painted circle used by recruits for sparring.

Carmella rolled her eyes. "Okay, wow, first off; Very presumptuous of you to assume I'd only be chasing boys," she said with a smile. "And secondly; I need to be trained up and ready to go if I'm gonna join the guard in a few years, right?"

"Fair points all around, I suppose," Phyll replied before flipping his spear off his shoulders with another spin for added flourish. "One more go before we head home?"

After taking a moment to try and shake some life back into her tired arms, Carm stood up and walked over to where her own long piece of lumber had fallen and picked it up before facing her older brother and giving him an enthusiastic nod. That was all the answer he needed.

The two faunus siblings had been in this routine for a few months now, one of Phyll training with Carmella after he got off work. It had taken a lot of begging on the rabbit girls part to convince him to agree to this -not to mention her parents- but she'd been too stubborn to back down, and eventually her family had relented. However, Phyll still seemed to seriously underestimate just how much this meant to Carmella.

She just wanted to do what Phyll did, to protect her people, and her home. A lot of the faunus that lived here questioned why Menagerie even needed guards patrolling it's streets in the first place, given how peaceful the island usually was, but the alternative was basically leaving the entire community completely lawless and defenseless. So maybe the guard was more of a visible deterrent than anything else, their presence provided an important service in keeping the level of crime to a minimum. Beside, there were other threats to the peace of Menagerie; mainly the kind with teeth and claws that primarily took up residence in the three quarters of desert that made up the island.

Thankfully, the Grimm rarely ever made it into the faunus city of Kuo Kuana, mostly thanks to the shallow waters on one side and the steep cliffs on the other, separating the desert from the jungle, but every once in a while a few of the beasts would sneak in. It seems that just like any part of civilization, the community of Menagerie was just as capable of providing the negative emotions necessary to attract the Grimm. Incidents involving them were rare, but not so uncommon that the people living here became complacent, hence the need for the guard and their patrols. In fact, one such incident was the reason Carmella was here training in the first place, but that was a long -if not slightly traumatic- story, and not something to dwell on when you were supposed to be focusing on your brother swinging a wooden stick at your face.

The two faunus continued their training, Carmella doing her best to avoid and strike back against the borderline playful whacks Phyll sent her way. It wasn't so much sparring really, it was more a way to work on the rabbit girls footwork, to make her movements quicker, and it was working... for the most part...

A staff -or any similarly shaped weapon- just didn't feel right to Carm. It was just too... long, and having to wield it with both hands made it feel like fighting in handcuffs sometimes, with one limb being forced to move with the other. Phyll had told her she'd 'grow into it,' but that sounded like big brother code for ' this is all you're getting, so suck it up.'

That's not to say that Carmella didn't appreciate everything her sibling was doing for her. Going out of his way to work with her even after a long day of his own patrols and paperwork. Phyll had only been with the guard for a couple of years now, but was already showing promise among his peers. To manage all his own responsibilities and still make time for his little sister, it means a lot to Carmella that her brother was willing to support her. Especially when her parents and everyone else seemed to-

"Lindt!"

A stern voice shouting out had both siblings stopping in their tracks and turning to the source. Once they saw who it was, the long pair of rabbit ears sticking out of the top of Phyll's hood sank forward. Carmella recognized the approaching figure as well, having seen them enough times when she'd come to the guard outpost to bring her brothers lunch when he'd forgotten it at home.

He was a tall, older looking faunus, with dark skin and a few scars on the right side of his face. He stepped with purpose and pose, his arms rigid and clenched at his sides as he made a bee-line for Phyll, an unhappy expression on his face. It was Saber Rodentia, the head of Menagerie's guard.

"Oh boy..." the older of the two rabbit siblings said with a hint of annoyance. "Hey, Carmella? Why don't you go put away our practice weapons and head out. I'll meet you back at home." Phyll handed his wooden staff to his sister.

"Is... everything okay?" Carm asked.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about it," the guardsmen said in a resigned voice, standing up straight, clasping his hands behind his back and facing his superior as he continued his approach. "It's just time for my daily berating by my boss. You can look forward to those once you enlist as well." Phyll shot his sister a sly smirk out of the corner of his eye, before returning to a serious expression and focusing on the man ahead of him, "but for now, I'll spare you the pleasure of one of Saber's infamous rants."

Carmella managed a weak smile in return, before looking back and forth between her brother and the aggravated looking faunus getting closer. She... really didn't want to get in the middle of all this. For someone who wanted to learn to fight, the fifteen year old still wasn't the best when it came to confrontation with authority. So Carmella scurried away, just as Saber arrived.

The equipment shed wasn't far from where the two rabbit faunus' had been practicing. The brunette girl quickly stowed away the training staffs on the rack inside with the fifty or so others just like it. As she closed the door to the shed and locked it, one of Carmella's rabbit ears perked up at the sound of the distant conversation between her brother and Saber.

Even with her enhanced hearing she could only just make out the faintest hints of sound coming from the other two faunus. The rabbit girl looked towards the direction of the main gate to the outpost, then back towards the training area.

Oh, how silly of me, I seem to have forgotten my water bottle. Carmella thought to herself. Better go back to where we were just training to get it. Yup, definitely not going so I can spy on their conversation or anything...

With that bit of not at all convoluted reasoning behind her, the long eared girl quietly made her way back over towards the way she'd came. The closer she got, the clearer the voices became. Thankfully, it didn't seem like Saber was actually yelling at Phyll, which had been Carmella's primary concern. She really didn't want to get her brother in trouble over all this, not after all the help he'd given.

"... glad your sister is taking such an interest in this, but you can't just have her wandering around here."

Carmella recognized Saber's annoyed sounding voice as she came to a wall that made up part of an obstacle course that was set up on the training grounds. She crept up against it, out of eyesight, but close enough for her to hear.

"Sir, she's not hurting anyone or getting in the way by being here. There's no other recruits schedule to use the facility for the rest of the day anyway, I don't understand why we can't just-"

"That's not the point," Saber cut in, a slight edge to his voice, but he still didn't raise his voice. "She's not a member of the guard, she's a civilian, not to mention a liability should she end up getting hurt while the two of you are messing around here."

There was a beat of silence between the two. If Carmella had to guess, Phyll was probably sulking about what his superiors had just said. He'd had the same pouty face since he was a kid, and his younger sister had no problem picturing it in his mind without seeing him.

"Look, I'm not trying to be an ass," Saber went on, "but that's how it had to be. Once she's eighteen I'd be more than happy to have her apply to join us, then she can come and go as she pleases. Until then, this is how it has to be. Like I said, she's a civilian, not to mention a kid, you know this, and you shouldn't be making her believe she's anything more than that."

That made Carmella wrinkle her nose a little. What was that supposed to mean? The rabbit girl had been making a lot of progress here, she thought she deserved a little more respect than that. Carm couldn't wait for her brother to tell him-

"I know."

Phyll's voice cut off Carmella's train of thought.

"I know that, but come on, man. Like your said; she's just a kid, and this makes her happy, so just... I don't know, let's just keep humoring her, okay?"

... 'Humoring' her?

Is that what Phyll had been doing these past few months? All this training they'd done together, it was all just to appease what he saw as some childish fantasy?

A crushing weight washed over the young faunus' chest. Carmella pressed herself up against the wall she was hiding behind for support, as her legs became weak.

She thought... she'd thought her brother believed in her, she thought he was the only one who did. Sure, Carmella's mom and dad had begrudging agreed to her choice to become part of the Menagerie guard, but it was obvious they had reservations about the idea as well. Is that also why her parents had said yes to this? Did they also think this was just some 'phase' their daughter was going through? Some passing interest that would fade in a year or so? Maybe even sooner?

Carmella's eyes began to burn, tears of anger and frustration building behind them. The idea that no one believed she could do this stung in her heart, they all thought she was just some kid playing with sticks...

... Were they even wrong?

The young rabbit faunus shut her eyes tightly, the first of many tears slipping out and onto cheeks as she clenched her fists tightly and grit her teeth. No, she couldn't let thoughts like that sink in.

One day she'd prove them all wrong, and she wouldn't stop at just being a member of the guard either. She'd get off this island, she'd train harder than ever before, and one day her true dream would become a reality.

Even if no one else believed she could do it.

---

Carmella's eye lids were wet and crusty when she tried to open them, though she hardly saw the point in even bothering. All that was waiting for her was the blandly painted wooden ceiling of her hotel room anyway, so why even commit the effort? Despite the depressing thought however, the rabbit girl's bleary, honey colored irises were unveiled and stared blankly at nothing in particular as she laid in bed.

She'd fallen asleep? Honestly, she could barely even remember doing so. Carm hadn't even bothered to shut the lights off. The only thing she could recall was what had happened earlier, namely her disastrous training session with Ilia, then Carmella sulking all the way back to the hotel, alone, and when she'd finally gotten inside, away from everyone else she'd...

The long eared faunus brought a finger up to her left eye and traced the edge of it. Her reward was a gooey, wet substance collecting on it, which she wiped off on the bedspread beneath her.

Oh my god, did I seriously cry myself to sleep? Carmella thought to herself in annoyance. I thought that only happened in angsty teen romance novels. Gross.

With an agitated groan, the rabbit eared girl used her forearm to wipe away the excess gunk in and around her eyes. Once she was done, rather than return her arm to its former place at her side, Carmella just left it covering her face.

What time was it? She considered reaching over to grab her scroll on the nightstand, but even the effort required just for that was beyond the level of willpower in the miserable feeling faunus. She did however manage to peek an eye out from under her forearm and look out her window.

It was dark now- well, almost. There was still that hint of orange on the horizon, which meant the sun must have just set... or maybe it was rising? Again, Carmella found it hard to muster the energy to even care.

The rabbit eared girl sat up, rubbing away the last remaining bits of sleep from her eyes. Should she just go back to bed? That really didn't sound too appealing to Carmella. Especially if all that awaited her was more painful memories.

She hadn't thought about that day at the guard outpost in a while. It figures it would come back to haunt her now of all times. Even after all these years the feelings seemed to cling to her like a bad aftertaste.

It had just been so frustrating for the young rabbit girl to hear Phyll wasn't taking her desire to learn to fight seriously, and Carmella would be lying if she said she still didn't harbor a tiny seed of resentment towards her older brother even all these years later. Of course, she'd never tell him that, she'd never even brought up what had happened or what she'd overheard. Mainly because she was afraid that if she did, he'd stop teaching her, and who the hell else was she supposed to train with? Besides, Phyll was still her brother, and even if she was still a little pissed, Carmella's knew he'd only ever been worried about her safety, and it was a dangerous career she'd dedicated herself to, after all.

Plus- and this was actually pretty stupid- in a way, she'd actually been kind of grateful for what happened. The grief and anger the rabbit faunus had felt that day provided the young girl with the spark of energy to work even harder towards her goal. To prove to Phyll, Saber, her mom and dad, and everyone else that thought she didn't have what it took, that she had the strength and resolve to protect others.

So she'd kept training, not only with Phyll, but even on her own, she'd find spare time to exercise and prepare her body for the day she'd waited for. Over time, the young faunus' resolve returned even stronger than before. Unfortunately, all that seemed to do was make it hurt so much more when the same thing happened again.

It had been years since that day. Carmella thought she'd gotten better, made some real progress towards her goal. She'd been a part of the Menagerie militia, fought in a real battle (more or less), helped to save a kingdom, unlocked her aura even!

But the truth was nothing had really changed.

She was still just that kid, playing with sticks, trying to be something she wasn't.

Carmella thought back to what Ilia had said earlier, writing off her broken weapon as a "toy". That one word, spoken from someone else she looked up to, was all it had taken to remind the rabbit eared girl of her place in the world. She wasn't some warrior, or even a soldier, she was just... Carmella, a farm girl with a dream too big for her to ever make come true.

She'd just thought... she'd thought things would be different this time, especially with Ilia.

Well, that makes you not just naïve, but stupid too.

The harsh voice in her head upset Carmella, but she couldn't find much cause to disagree with it at the moment. After all, why else would she have put so much faith in a someone she barely knew? Desperation? Infatuation? Those were the only options that came to mind, neither of which made the rabbit girls decision making skills look very good.

Truthfully, she wasn't even mad at Ilia like she'd been at Phyll back then. After all, it wasn't her spotted teachers fault. Carm had selfishly dragged her into this fantasy of hers. If anyone was to blame, it was the rabbit faunus herself for not taking any of the multiple hints the universe had given her that this world she was infatuated with was not for her. No, if anything she was grateful Ilia had played along for as long as she did. Spending time with a delusional brunette when she undoubtedly had better things to do with her life. Ilia deserved a freaking medal for that alone.

And how had Carmella shown her gratitude? By running off like a child who'd just been scolded.

The long eared girl batted the palm of her hand against her forehead a few times. Having her dreams shattered was bad enough on its own, but the cherry on top was the fact that Carmella had probably ruined any chance she might have had with Ilia. How was she supposed to show her face around the other faunus again after such an embarrassingly immature display? She wondered what Ilia must think of her now...

Well it turned out she wouldn't have to wonder long, because as fate would have it that was when the rabbit girls scroll chirped at her.

Carmella jumped a little at the sound as she sat up in bed. She stared at her device with wide awake eyes.

Okay, no need to panic, maybe it was just Mata checking in? With great hesitation, The rabbit faunus leaned across the mattress to see who the message was from. Any optimism she felt was in vain however, as Ilia's name greeted her on the scrolls screen, along with the chameleon girls three word message;

(Are you okay?)

Less than ten hours ago, Carmella would have been over the moon to receive a text from the other faunus, but now the sadness she'd been moping in was topped with dread, and of course a heaping helping of anxiety and pressure, which- at least when it came to Ilia- the rabbit girl did not function well under.

Oh man, what am I supposed to do now?! the quickly succumbing to panic rabbit girl thought. Ignore the message? No, she'll think I'm mad at her and that'll only make things worse! Text back that she has the wrong number? No, that's stupid! She'd never fall for that! What if I just smashed my scroll to pieces, jumped out the window and ran off into the wilderness to live the rest of my life among the-

OH MY GOD JUST TEXT HER BACK ALREADY, YOU IDIOT!

Throwing caution to the wind, Carmella quickly mashed into her scroll;

(I'm fine.)

And she hit send.

Then of course, came the immediate regret, right on schedule.

'I'm fine'?! What was she thinking!? There wasn't any other assortment of words she could have chosen to make it any more apparent that she wasn't 'fine' in the least. Carmella might as well have sent a picture of a big red flag. She knew Ilia would see right through that.

The rabbit girls scroll chirped again.

(I'm really sorry about what happened earlier, for what I did, and what I said.)

'What I did'? What did Ilia-

Oh. Right.

Honestly, with all the other feelings running through Carmella she'd almost completely forgotten about her teachers... perhaps overzealous training session, which in turn had led to the rabbit girls weapon breaking, which was the catalyst for all of this.

A brief chill went down Carm's spine as she recalled that pair of fiery red eyes staring down at her as Ilia slammed her weapon against the rabbit eared girls spear again and again. She'd never seen her friend look at anyone like that before, at least, never at her.

But it had been more than just intimidating though, it was like... Carmella had felt the anger radiating off Ilia, and not in some kind of metaphorical sense, she meant that literally. It had been overpowering, not to mention horrifying, but it had also felt... intrusive, like the rage had been trying to claw its way inside of Carmella with each hit.

Shaking off the odd feelings, Carmella messaged her friend back;

(Oh, no worries! If nothing else I can take a hit now thanks to u. (:3)

Adding Carmella's usual emoji's helped make the rabbit girl feel a bit more at ease. She'd been worried about talking to Ilia again after what had happened, but it was actually helping the rabbit faunus feel a little better.

After another moment, Ilia replied: (I'd still like to make it up to you. Can we meet up tomorrow? In the usual spot?)

The rabbit girl's face scrunched up at that. It wasn't so much that she didn't want to see Ilia again, it was just... today had been... a lot. Between her teachers (let's be honest) borderline assault, losing her weapon, and then the crushing conversation that followed, who could blame Carm for being hesitant? To say that her confidence had taken a serious blow here would be an understatement.

It was so weird, the rabbit girl had been no stranger to setbacks on the path she'd chosen in life, but she'd always bounced back from them. In her mind, their was always another day, always another chance for her boundless optimism to pick her back up. This time however, the wound her pride has endured just felt... somehow deeper, or more personal at least. She just wasn't sure she was ready to jump headfirst back into training quite yet was all.

(I mean, if you're feeling up to it.)

Carmella's lack of a response had apparently not gone unnoticed by Ilia.

(Only if you want to.)

(But you don't have to.)

(No pressure.)

(Just thought I'd ask.)

(Again, no pressure.)

Each message came within seconds of the last. The rabbit girl let out a quiet laugh, imagining the other faunus getting all flustered about this. Carmella could almost picture her friends spots lighting up as she fussed over this, the image bringing an adoring smile to the young girls face.

She really did want to see Ilia again. Letting things sit how they were after the sour morning they'd both had didn't feel right. Even if they didn't end up training together, I'd be nice to be able to clear the air in person. So the long eared faunus typed back;

(I'd love to.)

Carmella hit send, a warm feeling passing through her chest as she did. Her mood having drastically improved after only a few seconds of chatting with her ponytailed teacher.

The conversation didn't last much longer unfortunately. Ilia said she'd had a long day herself, and considering Carmella had spent the majority of hers in bed, she didn't really have a leg to stand on even if she wanted to protest. So the two chose a time to meet up, then said their goodbyes and that was it.

By then it had gotten pretty late. Looking out the window, Carmella could see the last bits of sunlight on the horizon had faded from view. The day was pretty much over at that point, there really wasn't much else the rabbit girl could do aside from get ready to return to bed.

So, despite not getting much done today, the young faunus decided to take a quick shower. Then she was hungry, but given the hour her options for food were limited. With few other choices, Carmella settled for a good old fashioned vending machine dinner, courtesy of the hotels lobby. It wasn't the first time she'd made a meal out of junk food, and probably not the last. Just because she grew up on a farm didn't mean Carm didn't have a taste for the less healthy parts of the food pyramid as well.

After those needs were taken care of, the rabbit girl flopped back down onto her mattress, turned off the light on the nightstand, and tried to return to the sleep she'd just left over an hour ago. However, she quickly found she couldn't.

It wasn't because she wasn't tired either, the emotional exhaustion she felt provided Carmella with plenty of motivation to go back to resting. No, there was something else, a feeling in her chest that she hadn't noticed take root the moment the rabbit girl had agreed to meet with Ilia tomorrow morning. It was... a lightness, a tiny spark of glowing excitement inside herself, but it also felt constricted, like the feeling was wrapped in tiny thorns. If Carmella had to diagnose this emotion, she'd say it was anxiousness. Those two feelings seemed to circle each other in the sea of the brunette's soul, but the part that had the young faunus worried was that -for the second night in a row- she couldn't for the life of her decipher where the feelings were coming from.

Don't get her wrong, she was excited to see Ilia tomorrow, because of course she was, and maybe she was a little nervous after today, but this was so much more. It almost felt like... like these emotions were stacked on top of her own, and the combination of the two was weighing heavy on her spirit.

What was wrong with her? Last night it had been dread, creeping and clawing at her stomach, and now there was this vague sense of excitement coupled with nervousness in her chest that had her wide awake. She'd meant to ask Ilia about this, but with everything that had happened today, Carmella had completely forgotten to bring it up. She still wondered if any of this was normal for someone who'd just awakened their aura, and now she found herself in almost the same situation as the previous night.

The tired faunus let out a loud, frustrated sigh. She knew this would be another long night, but the answers wouldn't come until morning, so all she could do was ride this out... again.

---

The morning came, same time as it usually tended to. Thankfully no other painful memories returned to haunt the young rabbit faunus. Although that was mainly because Carmella had once again spent the night tossing and turning, not able to stay asleep for more than an hour or so at a time thanks to her bizarre problem.

After deliriously swatting at her beeping scroll as her alarm sounded, Carmella rolled out of bed and onto the floor, then began dragging herself, face down, across the wood towards the bathroom. One more shower later she was marginally more awake, but definitely not completely. If the rabbit faunus had to put a number to it, she'd say it felt like she was only at about ten percent awareness overall. Honestly, she'd worked with less, and it would be enough to get her dressed and out the door, ready for whatever awaited her that day.

There was however, a brief moment of sadness as the young faunus instinctually went to grab her shock spear from its usual resting spot on her way out. The sight of the empty space caused her brain to finally manage to catch up to the rest of her body, as she was reminded of yesterday's accident. Carmella's rabbit ears sagged low over her head as she stared at her trusty spears vacant resting place next to her nightstand. Sure, she hadn't had the weapon for long, and maybe Carmella hadn't exactly been able to get the hang of using it, but still, it had been hers, and she felt a little lost without it. The rabbit girl bowed her head in a brief moment of silence for her broken weapon, and then left her room.

The walk to their usual training spot -where Ilia had asked to meet up- was a familiar one for Carmella at this point, but it just didn't feel right without the bulky spear bouncing against her shoulder every step of the way. She didn't have to worry about accidentally bonking someone in the head as she turned a corner, or getting her weapon caught on the door frame as she left the hotel. A bit of a rye grin came over Carm's face at the thought. She may have liked her crummy spear, but she had to admit, it had been kind of a pain to travel with. Yet also, in an odd way, the sudden lack of the inconvenience kind of made her miss it even more.

Then again, maybe it was for the best that she didn't have it with her, as the streets were a bit more crowded than they usually were when Carmella was on her way to meet Ilia. The stalls that were usually just opening as she passed them were already bustling with customers doing their shopping. This was probably because it was a little further in the morning than their usual rendezvous time. Ilia had requested the later meet up, saying she had an "errand" to run before. Carmella hadn't thought much of that since it really wasn't any of her business. The chameleon girl had a life outside of training her, after all.

Eventually Carm made it to the park and slipped through the thick cover of trees and into the hidden grove where the two faunus had been working. Once inside, it wasn't hard to pick out the darkly dressed figure waiting for Carmella inside, not against the vibrant, green backdrop at least.

Ilia was leaning up against the bark of a sturdy looking oak tree, looking off to the side, seemingly unaware of Carmella's arrival for the moment. The rabbit girl raised a hand to wave, ready to call out to her spotted friend, but then suddenly she hesitated.

It was only for a second or two, but as the rabbit girl gazed at Ilia she couldn't help but be reminded again of those red eyes glaring down at her as her friend reared back for another strike. Carmella remembered the fear she'd felt in that moment.

Suddenly, from across the clearing, Ilia's posture went rigid, her eyes widening slightly, and her head snapped toward Carmella, who immediately froze in place.

Cerulean eyes locked onto golden ones and the two faunus could only stare at each other in silence. The discomfort surrounding their last meeting was still palpable in the air.

"... Carmella?..." Ilia finally said, pushing herself off the tree she'd been leaning on in order to better face the new arrival.

The rabbit girls mouth opened, and then remained open as the brunette's mind floundered over a reply, finally settling on;

"Heeeeeeeyyyyyy..."

Which was better than nothing... granted, not by much, but still.

With the (incredibly awkward) greeting out of the way, Carmella stumbled out of the brush and into the circular grove. Ilia gave the long eared girl an amused look as her pupil approached, which helped the rabbit faunus relax a little. It was nice to know the embarrassing antics Carmella seemed unable to help herself from exhibiting around the spotted girl were still endearing to her at least.

"So, uh..." the rabbit eared girl started after closing the distance between Ilia and herself, "what's up?"

"Nothing..." Ilia replied with an uncertain expression, and suddenly appearing very nervous as she crossed her arms, then began rubbing her left bicep up and down with her right hand.

The unbearable silence made a return. Carmella began to panic internally. Why were things still so weird? It was like the two of them were back to being strangers again, staring at each other without a thing to say.

Oh gods, it's probably because of my storming off in the middle of training yesterday, Carmella rationalized to herself. She'd upset Ilia by giving up at the first sign of inconvenience she'd experienced. Her friend probably thought she was some kind of flake, that she'd taken everything the chameleon faunus had done for her for granted. That was the last thing Carmella wanted Ilia to think. Even if the ponytailed girl decided she didn't want to help her anymore, the rabbit faunus couldn't stand the idea of that being the end of their- admittedly still new- friendship. None of this was Ilia's fault, it was Carmella who'd let her delusions get out of control again. There was only one thing to do in that case, she had to apologize, at least as a start to try and make things right.

So Carmella opened her mouth and-

"I'm really sorry about yesterday!"

The same words erupted from both faunus' mouth at the exact same time, overlapping each other, but also perfectly matching in tone.

The two girls stared at each other, yet again falling into silence, but this time it was out of disbelief. Then, the chameleon girls lips slowly began curling upward, with the rabbit faunus' following suit. Carmella let out a snort, and eventually both teens found themselves laughing.

The absurdity of the situation was just too much for either of them, their laughter filling the usual serene quiet of the clearing. Just like that, the sudden awkwardness between the two seemed to melt away, as quickly as it had appeared.

Eventually, Ilia was able to regain her composure first, wiping away a tear from her eye. "What- what are you even apologizing for?" The chameleon girl asked, still trying to contain her laughter. "You didn't even do anything."

"Uh, hello? What about you?" Carmella said back, as she was bending slightly and clutching her splitting sides. "I think this is, like, the fifth time you've apologized after I already forgave you? Two more and I'm pretty sure I get a free sundae."

Again, The two faunus broke out into another fit of giggles. That was when Carmella realized she'd never actually heard Ilia laugh like this before. There'd been a few awkward chuckles here and there while they were hanging out together after training, usually right after Carm said something stupid, but nothing like this. The sound was like music to the rabbit girls ears, both sets. She made a mental note to try to make her spotted friend laugh like this again, as much as possible in the future.

After the two girls had reigned themselves in a second time, Carmella spoke, "So... forgive and forget?"

Ilia smiled in response. "Sounds good to me."

And just like that, things were resolved, much to the rabbit girls relief. Though maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, she'd never been mad at Ilia in the first place, but hearing the feeling was mutual was a weight off Carm's shoulders. It was nice to be reassured that even though their friendship was new, it was built on a strong foundation. One that hopefully would let it last for years to come.

"Oh wait," the spotted girl suddenly said, "before we let all this go completely... I have something for you... well, two things actually."

Ilia stepped around the tree she'd been leaning on when Carm arrived. The rabbit girl tried to peer around to see what was going on, until the spotted faunus came back out with a plastic bag in one hand, and her other hidden behind her back.

"I know you said you forgave me, but I still feel guilty," The chameleon faunus explained. "I was in a bad mood yesterday morning and I took it out on you. That's just not acceptable to me, not when I promised myself I was going to better than that now. So, I got you this." Ilia held out the plastic bag towards Carmella, the logo on it unfamiliar to the short haired teen.

Then a heavenly aroma made its way to the rabbit faunus' nostrils, making her long ears shoot up straight in excitement. "I-is that...?"

"Carrot cake," Ilia confirmed. "I remember you had a taste for it."

That was an understatement. The rabbit girl quickly snatched the bag and opened it up. Sure enough, inside was a container with a see through lid revealing the glorious white colored frosting on top of the orange colored cake.

If Carmella had a tail, it would have been wagging like crazy in that moment. She loved carrot cake. Well, she preferred the kind her mom usually made her, but just looking at this kind had the rabbit girls mouth starting to water. There was one thing on her mind though.

"Wait, when did I ever tell you I-"

Then it hit her. The last time Carmella had carrot cake had been when mom had made her some before the boat ride from Menagerie. The one she'd eaten on said boat... and then...

Ilia read the mortified expression on her friends face like a book. "Let's just call it a lucky guess. Although, I think it's safe to say you've turned me off that particular dessert for a while," Ilia replied, a sly smile spreading across her face at Carmella's expense.

Wait. Was Ilia... teasing her?...

Gods, Carmella thought, why do I find that so hot?

That was something to mentally unpack another day, as the rabbit girl suddenly became aware of how long she'd been staring at the spotted girl. She quickly closed the bag in her hands, and gave a bashful smile, brushing her brunette hair behind her left ear. This was such a sweet gift, in multiple senses, not to mention thoughtful. All of a sudden she was finding it was very hard to maintain eye contact with the faunus in front of her.

Carm chuckled nervously, muttering out a quick, "Thank you."

In response, Ilia did that thing where she pretended to cough into her hand to try and hide her spots going pink, which always made Carmella's heart beat a little faster.

"Y-yeah, no problem," The clearly flustered lizard girl said back. "A-anyway, there's one more thing I have for you..."

The spotted faunus pulled out the hand she'd had hidden behind her back ever since going behind the tree. In it was a thick bundle of red cloth, wrapped with a golden ribbon. It was about a foot or so long, and maybe just under half as much wide. The chameleon girl offered the bundle out towards Carmella with both hands.

The rabbit faunus studied the package for a moment longer. She was a little hesitant, after all, she'd already forgiven Ilia, so this gift was completely unnecessary in her eyes. However, her curiosity easily outweighed any guilt she might have felt and Carmella gently placed the dessert bag onto the grass so she could reach out to take the package.

The ribbon came undone with a single pull, and the rabbit girl pulled aside the soft, red fabric to reveal its contents. Carmella's breath caught in her throat at what awaited her inside.

It was a weapon. Well, weapon's technically. A pair of them. A pair of tonfa's.

Each consisted of a long metal shaft with a handle near their ends. There was a black and yellow section on the longer parts that brought mind the rabbit girls old stun spear, namely the part that had electrical dust surging through it, and if Carmella had to guess, these parts served a similar purpose. On the opposite ends, there were small slits, where it looked like something could pop out. There were also a set of matching triggers on each of them, up where the handles of the tonfa met the shaft.

However, the part of the weapons design that stuck out most to Carmella was the small charm hanging off the handle of one of the tonfa's. It was attached by a small, silver chain, and had a familiar looking shape to it. A round sphere with two small circles for eyes, a tiny mouth beneath it, and a pair of pointed shapes sticking out the top, one of which was bent slightly. It resembled a rabbit's face with one of its ears bent at the middle, and the charm itself was painted a familiar looking shade of caramel brown.

A sudden realization washed over Carmella as she stared at the charm.

Were these... for her?...

The shocked rabbit faunus' golden eyes shot up towards Ilia for confirmation, who gave her a nervous looking smile.

"I-I hope you like it. I... designed it myself," the chameleon girl stammered out as she began rubbing the back of her neck. "I do that sometimes, in my spare time, I mean, I used to, a long time ago. A-anyway, I've had this idea kicking around for a while now, and after watching you these last few weeks when we've been working together, I figured it'd be a good fit for you. Plus, I... kind of owed you a new weapon anyway..."

With that confirmation, Carmella looked back at the pair of tonfa's in her hand, and began wordlessly running her hand over the smooth, mostly dark colored metal. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. It was incredible. It was perfect.

The rabbit eared girl cradled the weapons in her arms, like it was a a newborn child, then continued to run a finger over the smooth metal, from one end of the tonfa to the other. Carmella would never claim to be an expert on the subject, but it looked like this thing had been crafted by a master. It really was technologically light years ahead of her sad little stun spear.

"Try them out."

Ilia's words sent shockwaves through Carmella. Could she really? Her hand crept towards the weapons handle, but suddenly stopped just short of closing around the grip. A feeling of hesitation went through the rabbit eared faunus at the last moment.

"Are you sure?" Carm asked looking back up at her spotted friend with self doubt in her eyes.

The other faunus gave her friend an odd look. "Of course I'm sure," she said, sounding confused. "What's wrong?"

The hand Carmella had hovering over the weapon went back down to her side. "This weapon, it's... it's definitely the nicest thing anyone has ever given me before, and I appreciate it, but..." the rabbit girl felt her chest tighten, "what if I'm not... you know, worthy, or whatever..." she mumbled out, looking off to the side.

It was all so stupid. The long eared faunus knew what it was that's holding her back. It was the voices of all those people in her life that had tried to talk her out of learning to fight all these years, everyone who'd doubted her, their words were on constant repeat in the teenagers head.

Carmella, sweetie... her mom would say, do you... really want to join the guard?... I just don't want you getting involved in anything too dangerous for you.

Was she right? Was Carmella getting in over her head with this dream of hers? She'd survived the Battle for Haven, if barely, but the life she wanted would throw her head first into countless more fights just like it. Was she really cut out for that?

There's no reason for you to throw yourself into a fight that isn't yours just because someone asked you to, her fathers voice joined in. There's always work to be done here on the farm, we could use another hand with the crops for starters. It might not be as exciting, but it's good, honest work, but most importantly, it's safe.

Was that her destiny? Was Carmella meant to be just another farmer? Like her father, and his father before him, and his father before that? That wasn't what she wanted... but what made her think she could be anything more than that? She was a nobody faunus born on a nowhere island. Definitely didn't sound like the stuff legends or heroes were made of. Maybe it was time to be practical for once in her life...

"I know that, but come on, man. She's just a kid, and this makes her happy, so just... I don't know, let's just keep humoring her, okay?"

There it was. The first time Carmella had heard someone doubt her. Granted, it certainly wasn't the literal first time anyone had said something like that, but that had been the moment that broke through the childish naivety the rabbit girl had buried herself in. Planting a seed of doubt in the faunus girls mind.

The truth was, what happened yesterday with Ilia had more of an effect than Carm had wanted to admit. Awakening doubts that had been repressed for years. Now, when she found herself presented with something that could very well change her life forever, it felt like the seed had grown thick roots that seemed to hold her back from taking the plunge.

"I mean, this kind of weapon is meant for a warrior or something," the rabbit girl went on, her tone despondent. "And me? I'm just..."

...Some farmers daughter

...A nobody of a faunus

...A kid

...Not cut out to be a fighter

... Not like you...

"... just Carmella," the long eared girl finished.

She looked down at the pair of tonfa's in her hands and felt the weight in her chest grow as she hung her head in shame. Then, she slowly extended the gift back out towards Ilia for her to take back.

The chameleon girl had watched all of this with a heartbroken expression on her face. She stared at the weapons in Carmella's hands for a moment, then brought her own hands up towards it.

But instead of grabbing the tonfa, she reached under the bundle of cloth they rest on, and put her hands beneath the rabbit girls, cupping them gently and pushing them back towards her long eared friend.

"Try them out," Ilia repeated.

Carmella raised her head, giving her friend a surprised look, and she saw that familiar patient smile in Ilia's face.

"Please? Just for a second," the ponytailed faunus said, "and then I can take them back if you want."

The look in the chameleon girls cerulean eyes caused any resistance Carmella had to the plea crumbling where it stood. The rabbit faunus' mouth hung open slightly. She was lost somewhere between those seas of blue and the warmth of the other teens hands around her own.

The rabbit girl managed to shake off the momentary stupor, then cast her gaze back down to the weapons still in her hands. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little tempted...

Screw it. Just go for it.

With that thought, Carmella bit the bullet and grabbed one of the tonfa by its handle, enjoying the feeling of the tough leather covering it on her fingertips. She held up the weapon in the air, turning it as the golden parts gleamed in the bit of sunlight coming through the trees. It was a little heavier than she'd been expecting, but not uncomfortably so, definitely more so at the end with the shock baton on it.

Carmella grabbed the other tonfa as well. Ilia took the sheet and ribbon the weapons had been wrapped in and folded them up before setting them on the ground. The long eared faunus continued to dumbly stare at the weapons in her hands. They felt... good, even better than she'd been expecting. The chameleon girl gave her friend a insistent nod, urging her to experiment with the new tools.

The rabbit faunus gave an amused eye roll. It seemed like Ilia was just as eager as Carmella. She didn't exactly know how to use a tonfa technically, but she'd been pretty good with her stun spear, and this was basically just a smaller version of that... right?

Well, yes and no... okay, mostly no, as the rabbit girl found out when she went to swing the weapon, and since she wasn't used to the weight, it flew right out of her hand.

Carmella fumbled to recover the escaping tonfa, the baton-like object bouncing comically out of her hand a few times. After an especially bad bounce, the weapon soared out of the rabbit girls reach. She tried to lunge for it, only for the tonfa to be effortlessly snatched mid fall by Ilia.

The long eared faunus froze in place, her hand still extended out to grab at the weapon, and she let out a discouraged sigh. The self deprecating thoughts immediately began to reestablish themselves as she let her arm fall, but it was also caught before it could complete its descent, again, by Ilia.

Without a word, the chameleon girl gently took the other faunus' wrist in hand and reinserted the tonfa into her grip, but the opposite way this time. The shaft of the weapon was now running parallel to Carmella's forearm.

"Like this," Ilia said, and began meticulously adjusting the rabbit girls grip as well.

The sudden proximity didn't go unnoticed by Carmella. She stared, memorized at the spotted faunus. The concentration on Ilia's face, the way her brow furrowed as she worked, and lastly, the satisfied smirk on her face once it was done.

Of course, that was when Ilia noticed Carm's staring, as well as just how close she was standing. Her smirk fell into distressed panic as the spots on her face went pink.

After a quick step back, as well as an awkward clearing of her throat, the flustered lizard girl did her best to collect herself. "So, uh, yeah. T-try it like that," she murmured into her own hand in an effort to conceal the color change.

Cute. Distractingly cute. Carmella thought recovering from her own daze of panic. After that, she took a moment to take in Ilia's work. It definitely felt more secure, her thumb and forefinger were tightly wrapped around the grip, while her other three fingers felt loose enough to allow the tonfa to swing. She probably would have tried to, but her initial failure with the new weapon had damaged her already quite brittle self esteem, and her arm fell back to her side.

"What if I'm just... not good enough?..." Carmella said, narrating her own insecurities aloud.

A hint of green traveled up Ilia's arms, her guilty expression easily giving away the emotion driving the change. The chameleon girl let out a huff. "Does... this have anything to do with what I said yesterday?" the reptilian faunus asked, most likely already knowing the answer.

Now it was Carmella's turn to look guilty. This sucked. All this was her problem, last thing she wanted was for Ilia to think any of this was all her fault.

"You were just... being honest, that's all," Carmella replied, and wow, that hurt a lot more to say than she'd thought it would.

Ilia let out a humorless laugh. "No, I wasn't, I was being callous, there's a difference, trust me, I know from experience," the chameleon girl said, crossing her arms. "Like I said, I was just in a really bad place yesterday morning. That's not me trying to make up excuses or anything, I just want you to know that just because I said something stupid in the moment, that doesn't mean that's how I really feel. That's why I did all this, to show you how I..." Ilia stopped for a moment, nervously biting her lip and looking away, "... y'know... how I really feel..."

The thumping of Carmella's heart began to accelerate, her blood rushing to her face. What did Ilia mean by that? The rabbit girl almost didn't want to get her hopes up, but-

"Do you remember the first day we started doing this?" the chameleon girl went on, cutting off the rabbit faunus' hypothesizing. "When you told me you hadn't unlocked your aura yet?"

"You mean when you found out I'd been hiding it?" Carmella replied with a timid grin, trying to hide her disappointment that this conversation didn't seem to be going the way she'd hoped.

"... Right," Ilia said, looking slightly amused. "Anyway, back then you told me that the reason you came to Mistral to fight the White Fang was because the idea of someone else getting hurt while you stood by and did nothing was too much to bear. Aura or no aura you were willing to stand up and fight. That's who "just Carmella" is, okay? You've got the heart of a hero Carm."

The rabbit girls ears perked up slightly at that. She appreciated the sentiment, but if she was honest, her confidence in herself had diminished to the point it was borderline flatlining.

"Now, is a positive attitude enough for you to take on the staggering amount of evil in the world? Of course not," Ilia continued, "but you've been pushing yourself harder than anyone to get stronger so you can be who you want to be. Hell, you were doing that even before we even met. And I think you've got the determination and skill to get there someday. So you shouldn't doubt yourself just because other people think you should."

Sure, the idea seemed simple enough on paper, and Carmella would be lying if she said Ilia's words weren't stirring something in her, but it all just seemed so... impossible right now. Her families words still weighed heavy on her mind. Don't get her wrong, she loved them, and they loved her, that would never change. Her parents and brother only wanted her safe, but that overprotective love and care was practically suffocating her at this point, even when they were thousands of miles away. Carmella just couldn't push back against the force of their doubts in her, not alone anyway.

"You also said you believed that I was better than what other people made me out to be. So why can't the same be said for you?" Ilia said, looking at Carmella fondly. "I'll never forget what you said to me after the debacle at the restaurant that day. My only regret is that I never offered you the same confidence. I guess that's what I was really trying to express with all this," she gestured to the weapons still hanging limply in Carmella's hands, "but if you need to hear it straight from me, then here goes..." Ilia took a quick breath to steady herself, then spoke,

"I believe in you, Carmella."

The rabbit girls eyes went wide, a quite gasp slipping out past her lips.

It was just four simple words, but for the life of her, Carmella couldn't remember the last time she'd heard them from anyone in regards to her dreams...

Scratch that, she did remember hearing those words before, Carm had just forgotten... but now the memories were flooding back...

She'd been six. Hiding underneath an overturned wooden cart on the side of the road. Her head tucked between her knees as she tried to muffle her own panicked breaths with her hands.

She couldn't move, it would hear her if she did. The young faunus' short rabbit ears could easily pick up the heavy footfalls of the black furred monster stepping closer and closer. It sniffed the air, then let out a low growl in Carm's direction. It could smell her fear, it knew where she was hiding.

A clawed hand grabbed the cart by its underside, before effortlessly flipping the entire thing over, revealing the trembling faunus child underneath.

The malice being those red, burning eyes paralyzed Carmella. They stared down at her, the rest of the beasts wolf-like form eclipsed in shadow from the sun behind it. That's all it did for a moment, just basked in the pure terror radiating off the young rabbit eared girl.

Then it lashed out towards her. Claws extended, fangs exposed, ready to feast.

Poor Carmella didn't even have the presence of mind to scream.

But then, a second shadow soared over the rabbit girl, towards the monster. There was an inhuman yelp of pain, and the beast fell to the ground, it's body already beginning to disintegrate into ash.

Honestly it had been so long Carmella couldn't even remember the details that woman's face, only that she was the most beautiful person the young faunus had ever seen. Strong, capable, graceful, a beacon of power, a light in someone's darkest moment, Carmella had never seen anything like it. Which made sense, Huntsmen and Huntresses rarely ever traveled to Menagerie for business.

She did remember one detail though, as the Huntress carried the young, trembling rabbit faunus back to her home, handing Carmella over to her immensely relieved parents. With tears filling her eyes, and snot dripping from her nose, the long eared child turned to her savior and croaked out the question;

"Can I... be like you someday?..."

Even if she couldn't quite put together all the features of that woman's face, Carmella still recalled the gentle smile she'd received in response, as well as the calloused, yet somehow still tender hand that patted her on the head, right between her pair of rabbit ears.

"I believe you can be anything you want to be..."

Those were the words that the young faunus had forgotten. They were the ones that had started her fascination with learning to defend not only herself, but others too. Now, here she stood almost twelve years later, hearing those words again -or at least an approximation of them- from someone else she looked up to, someone who epitomized everything the rabbit girl wanted to be.

How could she have been so stupid? So quick to forget the moments that had brought her to this point? Carmella had known all along that the dream she'd chosen to follow would be one full of dangers and setbacks, so why has she been so willing to give it all up?

Sure, maybe the situation she'd been raised in hadn't been conducive to the life she wanted. Maybe she hadn't been born in a kingdom with a fancy academy to attend, or to a family of noble warrior monks or whatever, but what did that matter? The only thing that counted was that Carmella had the determination to see her dream through to the end. How could she have forgotten that?

Regardless of how, somehow she had, and it was only because of the faunus in front of her that Carmella had been pulled back from the edge of giving up.

Unfortunately, while the rabbit girl was coming to terms with all this, she'd remained in that same position, staring at Ilia with wide, now slightly wet, eyes.

At around the thirty second mark of Carmella's silence, Ilia began to fidget slightly under the other faunus' stare.

"I mean..." the spotted girl started, if only to break the sudden tension she felt in the clearing, "I don't want to put any pressure on you or anything. If won't force you to-"

The tonfa's were dropped from Carmella's hands, and before they could even hit the ground the rabbit girl had wrapped both her arms around Ilia in a tight embrace. The brunette faunus buried her face in between the spotted girls neck and shoulder, holding on for dear life.

Honestly, Carmella wasn't sure what had come over her. Not to say she was exactly shy when it came to showing affection, but this felt different. It was like the sincerity of Ilia's words had resonated off the spotted faunus and into Carm's soul. This wasn't something that Ilia had said just to make her rabbit eared pupil feel better, no, she'd meant it, she truly believed Carmella could do this, somehow the rabbit girl just knew this was true. In a situation like that, when words just couldn't even begin to show the gratitude you felt towards the person standing before you, there was no other choice but to act to show just how much that persons faith meant to you. So that's just what Carmella did.

It should have been a perfect little moment between the two teens, and it was... for about a half a second.

The moment Carmella's hands clasped into Ilia's upper back, her fingers digging into the leather-like material of her sneaking suit, she felt the chameleon girls entire body jump, and then instantly try to pull away.

And then there was a feeling in Carm's chest, again, phantom in nature, seeming to come from nowhere. Her toes curled in her shoes, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight, and a jolt of electricity ran down her spine.

It was pure, unrestrained, cold, fear.

Instinctively, Carmella released Ilia from her grip, and the other faunus seemed to almost leap back to escape. The chameleon girls entire body was a bright yellow, her pupils shrinking as she looked at the rabbit eared teen in front of her like she'd just been attacked.

In her chest, Carmella's heart beat like she'd just run a marathon, her lungs struggling to keep pace. Of all the strange, unexplainable emotions that she'd felt these last few days, this was by far the strongest.

What was that? Why did this keep happening to her? These questions- while important- seemed to fade as the rabbit eared girl finally managed to process the panicked looking Ilia before her.

"S-sorry about that," Carmella said. Although, she wasn't sure what she'd done wrong exactly. Maybe Ilia just wasn't a hugger? Possibly. It wasn't like she had any past experience to judge that on. Whatever the case, she hadn't meant to make her spotted friend uncomfortable. "I didn't mean to-"

"No, no, it's fine," Ilia cut in, taking a few deep breaths to bring her skin color back to normal. "You just... caught me off guard is all. My back is just... I mean, I have a..." the chameleon girl just kind of trailed off after that, a far away look in her eyes.

She seemed to shake it off quickly enough though, giving Carmella an embarrassed looking smile. "A-anyway, I didn't... you know... mind at all, I just..." Ilia began rubbing her forearm with her gloved hand, "just give me a little warning next time."

"Yeah, of course," the rabbit girl said back, her body still buzzing like she'd just grabbed a live wire.

Around that time the rabbit girl managed to reign in her own skyrocketed heartbeat as well. She could tell she'd just struck the mother of all nerves here. The smart thing to do at that point would have been to back off, but... Ilia had said "next time." Could she take that as an open invitation? Only one way to find out...

"So, um..." Carmella started, looking down, sheepishly kicking her shoe against a tuft of grass at her feet, "do you mind if I hug you right now?"

Ilia looked surprised for a moment, a flash of pink rising to her spots. Then she smiled, letting out an amused scoff, before rolling her eyes and spreading her arms out wide.

The rabbit faunus brought her hands up in front of her, shaking them excitedly and practically squealing in delight. She made sure to calm herself down before her approach though, having learned from her mistakes last time.

She stepped towards Ilia, the chameleon faunus showing no sign of retreat this time. Carmella recalled her friends reaction to having the rabbit girls hands on her upper back, so Carm made sure to avoid that this time, resting one hand just above the other girls hips, and the other wrapping around her shoulder. She pulled Ilia close, gently this time, the brunette's head falling into pretty much the same spot as last time as she rested her head on the other faunus' shoulder.

Ilia's reaction still showed signs of hesitation. For a moment, her arms remained spread. From her close position, Carmella was easily able to make out the sharp intake of breath by the spotted faunus at the moment the rabbit girl pressed her body against her own. Thankfully, after a few tense seconds, Ilia finally exhaled slowly, and Carmella felt the other faunus' arms slowly begin to envelope her as well. The chameleon girls own embrace growing tighter as she followed suit, relaxing her own head on Carm's shoulder.

"Sorry about before," Ilia said quietly into the rabbit girls ear (the lower ones). "I guess we can add this to the list of normal things I need practice at."

Carmella only hummed in response, enjoying the hug for as long as she could. She basked in the other faunus' warmth as the two stood there in the clearing surrounded by trees, the sun peaking through the branches above and onto them. However as much as she wanted to really enjoy the moment, something was still nagging her in the back of the long eared faunus' mind.

She knew something else was going on here with Ilia. Her earlier reaction had been too severe to have just been her being surprised, there was more to it than that. Again, Carmella wasn't sure how she knew that, but she did.

The chameleon girl was still hiding things from her, but Carmella could feel her starting to open up. It was like their were thick chains with heavy locks wrapped around Ilia's heart, and the rabbit faunus was slowly but surely unwinding and unlocking them as they spent time together.

Carmella cracked an eye open in time to see the skin on Ilia's shoulder had gone purple, her spots pink, which was a good sign, if she was remembering correctly the talk the two of them had about the meaning behind the colors in relation to the chameleon girls faunus trait. It meant Ilia was happy, which was a sentiment Carm could definitely agree with.

... But she wanted more. Brothers help her, Carmella still wanted more. This was never more apparent than it was in that movement, the feelings surging through the rabbit girl as she held Ilia. She'd been waiting a while to have her crush in her arms like this, not counting all the times the two had grappled during training, or that awkward "arm hug" after restaurant incident earlier in the week. A display of affection like this one, this... intimacy, this is what Carmella had been longing for.

It would be so simple to take things a step further. Ilia was so close right now, close enough that Carmella could practically feel the heartbeat of the other faunus in sync with her own. And as the rabbit girl finally released her hold, her lips just briefly passed the ponytailed teens cheek, mere inches apart, and Gods was it tempting...

... But she didn't. It just... wasn't the right time. For as much progress as the two of them might have made this past week, Carmella knew that she still had to let Ilia come to her first. The other faunus had clear boundaries, physical and otherwise, lines she wasn't ready to cross yet, and without knowledge of what they were, all Carm could do was continue to be patient, as hard as that might be.

With a bit of disappointment in herself for her own cowardice, Carmella stepped away from Ilia, but not before letting the hand she'd perched on the other faunus' shoulder slowly slide down Ilia's arm as she stepped away. It was like she was savoring the physical contact for as long as she could, only really breaking apart once she'd reached the girls spot covered wrist.

It might have been Carmella's imagination, but she could have sworn she felt Ilia shudder just before her fingertips left her skin. Whether this was the good or bad kind of shudder, the rabbit faunus didn't dwell on it enough to know, as she quickly turned away from the lizard girl and back towards the weapons she'd somewhat cruelly dropped to the ground.

Carmella observed the pair of tonfa's for a moment as they laid there, finally taking in the fact that...

"Wow... are these really mine?" She asked aloud in wonder, taking a moment to again run her hands over the smooth metal.

"Not yet," Ilia said from behind her.

Carmella spun around to give the other faunus a confused look. The chameleon girl smirked at her, the color of her skin having turned back to its normal tan complexion.

"You need to name them first, of course."

The rabbit girls long ears shot up straight, excitement returning to her expression as she quickly grabbed both the weapons off the ground. She took a moment to try and remember the way Ilia had shown her to hold them, and after a few quick adjustments, the weapons felt secure, held tightly against the back of the faunus' forearms.

She held one of the weapons up to her eyes, rotating her arm to really take it all in. The small rabbit-like charm dangling off the end of the tonfa stared back vacantly as Carmella did her best to come up with a name.

The seconds ticked by and Carm continued to draw a blank. In all the years the rabbit girl had fantasized about getting a real weapon to call her own, she'd never actually considered what she'd call it.

Carmella began to absentmindedly spin the tonfa she was observing in her hand, letting it dance through her fingers a bit. It was tough at first, but eventually the rabbit girl began to get used to the weight and balance of the weapon- of her weapon- and the flourish picked up speed. Then she started doing the same thing with the other tonfa at the same time. This went on for a few more minutes before Carmella, finally stopped, held both weapons up in front of her and gave an affirming nod to them.

"Carrot Stix," she said confidently.

The name marinated in the air for a while. "... Carrot Sticks?" Ilia said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, not Carrot Sticks. Carrot Stix," Carmella corrected. "With an 'x'."

"Oh, okay... Why with an 'x'?"

"Uh, because it's cooler?" the rabbit faunus responded. "Duh."

Ilia opened her mouth to say something, but probably realized it was futile and just sighed, closed her eyes, and let out a tired sounding laugh. "Of course," she said, "how silly of me to ask."

Looking pretty pleased with herself, Carm continued to spin her new weapons around playfully, while Ilia continued on. "Now we'll just have to get you trained in actually using them. I've known a few people who used weapons like that back in the day, so I might be able to help. Otherwise, I know a few videos I could send to your scroll that might be good to get you started." Ilia pulled out her device and began scrolling through it as she went on.

The rabbit girl couldn't help but smile. Ilia had really put a lot of thought into this, going so far as to have homework already assigned for Carmella. Even if the spot covered girl wouldn't admit it, she really was good at the whole teaching thing.

Carmella still couldn't believe it. Less than twelve hours ago, she'd been ready to give all this up. Then, at her lowest possible moment, Ilia had not only pulled her back, but also given the rabbit faunus a fresh sense of purpose.

This was her dream, something she wanted more than anything, and she would definitely achieve it someday, even if no one believed she'd could.

... But, Carmella thought to herself as she finally stopped spinning her new tonfa's like a maniac. She turned to look at Ilia, who was still staring at her scroll as she continued on with her ideas of ways to help the rabbit girl get accustomed to the new weapons.

Having someone around who believes in you certainly doesn't hurt.

Carmella smiled, a feeling of warmth growing in her chest.

Suddenly, Ilia stopped talking, a shocked look washing over her face. It wasn't so much that she'd noticed the rabbit girl staring again, it was something else that had pulled the spotted girl out of her musings and snapped her attention back to Carmella. Then, much to the long eared faunus' surprise, Ilia brought a hand up to her chest, right around the same area that Carm had noticed the feeling of adoration blossoming in her own just then.

Carmella froze. Had Ilia just felt-

The chameleon girl cleared her throat loudly, immediately looking away from the other faunus, her spots going pink yet again.

"So uh yeah," Ilia said, still trying to look anywhere besides Carmella. "A-after that, we should probably start looking into your semblance."

Before Carmella could dwell on just what the hell just happened, her teachers words blasted all other thoughts out of her mind.

Her semblance! How could she forget?! Her aura had been unlocked, and with aura meant a semblance, AKA: crazy awesome super powers!

"Oh my god, oh my god, yes!" Carmella shouted, enthusiastically bouncing in place. "How do I unlock it?!What do you think mine will be!? Oh! OH! Maybe I'll like, grow extra arms! Or be able to- I don't know- kick explosions!"

Ilia ran a hand over her pulled back hair, smiling at the energetic faunus. "Um... actually, I'm pretty sure you've already unlocked it."

Carmella gasped loudly, quickly looking all around her body, over both her shoulders for signs of any extra limbs, but sadly, was left disappointed. She lifted up one of her legs to check the underside of her shoe to reveal not a single, solitary explosion to be found.

Lame.

But then what was her semblance anyway? Ilia apparently thought she'd already unlocked it. Carmella turned back to the spotted faunus, confused.

"You know, it's not always some big, flashy thing," the chameleon girl explained. "Sometimes it's a bit more subtle. Like with me."

Carmella nodded thoughtfully. She'd already asked Ilia about her semblance almost immediately after the rabbit girl had her aura unlocked. A perception filter seemed like a pretty perfect power for the quick footed, stealthy faunus standing before her. Again though, then what was Carmella's semblance? Was it really so subtle that even the long eared faunus herself couldn't notice?

"You really didn't notice?" Ilia said with a smirk. "Yesterday, when I... when I attacked you," the smirk quickly disappeared, and the lizard girl fidgeted a bit in place before moving on. "Just before that last strike, you did... something to me. Let me ask you this, in that moment, what did you feel?"

Carmella thought back to that moment. The sight of the enraged, red eyed, chameleon girl raining down blow after blow still pretty fresh in her mind. Obviously, she'd been afraid, but that's when the rabbit faunus remembered how Ilia had suddenly stopped, her whole body going yellow, like she'd been afraid as well.

"I can't exactly explain what happened," Ilia said, "but I think whatever power you have, is definitely empathic in nature."

The final lightbulb went off in Carmella's head, "I made you feel what I was feeling..."

Well... Ilia was right, if that was the rabbit girls semblance, it certainly wasn't flashy. Carmella lips scrunched over to one side as she thought this revelation over. It's not like she had any right to be disappointed or anything, it was, at the end of the day, one more super power than she'd had before coming to Mistral, so what right did she have to complain?

But man, she'd REALLY wanted to be able to kick explosions at monsters...

Just then, Carmella came to another revelation. "Wait, do you think this has anything to do with me not being able to sleep at night?"

"You haven't been sleeping?" Ilia asked.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I kept forgetting to bring that up to you," Carmella admitted embarrassingly. "Ever since you unlocked my aura I've been getting these weird vibes right as I'm about to try and got to bed."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's like... I'm feeling feelings, but they aren't mine? Like that first night, right after I text to you, I started getting a huge spike of anxiety out of nowhere."

Ilia's eyes widened slightly. "Oh..."

"And then last night- again, right after we text each other- I felt this weird nervousness in the pit of my stomach," the long eared girl shuddered. "It was like, my own feelings were all mixed up with these... different ones, like I could tell they weren't mine. Creepy, right?"

She looked at the chameleon faunus for affirmation, only to find her friend and teacher awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck and looking away from Carmella.

"Umm... I mean... if I had to guess..." the ponytailed girl seemed to hesitate a bit, "you're... probably able to feel what others are feeling as well. So... maybe you were just picking up on the emotions of someone's else that's staying in the hotel too... or..."

"... Or...?" Carmella urged the other faunus to finish her thought. She was eager to know just what had been causing these bizarre nights of insomnia she'd been dealing with.

"... Or... more likely... your empathic abilities might be... how do I put this?... 'stuck' on someone...?"

Carmella tilted her head, her long ears flopping slightly.

"On me, specifically," Ilia finally blurted out, her face going a bright shade of pink.

"Oh..." was all Carmella could manage to say in response. The feelings she'd had, the ones that had kept her up all night long... were Ilia's?

"Yeah..." The clearly embarrassed chameleon girl replied, "I mean, that's just a theory... but I can tell you that last night, I was up for hours because I was nervous about... well, giving you those," Ilia pointed to the pair of tonfa's still in Carmella's hands. "And then the night before, if your remember, I told you I had that meeting the following morning, which in turn, had me feeling pretty... anxious."

Ilia gripped at her forearm tightly, a nervous twitch Carmella was becoming aware of. "It might just be a coincidence," the chameleon girl tried to rationalize, "...but if I'm right about how your semblance works, then it's a pretty big one..."

It felt like Carmella's brain was trying to fold in on itself, her mind racing at this new discovery. Her semblance let her feel what other people were feeling too, and somehow, she'd managed to get it locked onto Ilia's... "emotional spectrum," for lack of a better description. Which meant the other faunus could in turn feel what she was feeling, and vice-versa. But all that just raised an even bigger question; Why Ilia of all people? Why was Carmella sharing emotions with the chameleon girl specifically? Did it have something to do with all the time they'd been spending together recently?

Oh crap. Does that mean... just now... when she'd been staring at Ilia and had those... usual thoughts... had the other faunus... felt that? Is that why she'd reacted the way she did?

The rabbit girl felt a nervous tightening in her gut, and sure enough Ilia's expression changed as well. The chameleon faunus seemed to suddenly find something very interesting to stare at in any direction that didn't involve the long eared girl before her. That was all the confirmation Carmella needed to realize she was probably correct in her assumption, which led her to panic.

But wait, could Ilia feel that too? That possibility only caused the rabbit eared girl's thoughts to become even more frantic. She had to calm down, there was no reason to panic. There had to be a way to shut this power off hers off, right?... but what if there wasn't? What if she was stuck forever with her emotions broadcasting out to everyone she ever met, and with there emotions constantly funneling into her?

And with that thought, the young faunus found sufficient enough reason to panic.

"Carmella."

Ilia's firm voice dragged the rabbit faunus out of the mental free fall she'd found herself entering. The chameleon girl had one of her hands on her forehead, her brow furrowed, eyes shut, like she was battling an intense migraine, one most likely bright on by Carmella's sudden inner turmoil.

"It's okay, just take a breath, you're fine."

"... Sorry," the long eared faunus said, taking the other girls advice, inhaling deeply and then slowly exhaling to control herself.

Ilia managed a weak smile as her features relaxed, morphing into that same patient look she'd worn whenever she worked with her rabbit faunus pupil.

"It's fine. First day with the new semblance, right? Everyone's been there. It's just a matter of control is all. I'll tell you this much though, if what I just felt is any indication, it'll definitely be an effective ability once your master it."

Despite her teachers kind words -and possible attempt at a joke? Carmella still hadn't quite gotten a grasp on Ilia's sense of humor- the rabbit girl couldn't help but let out a worried sigh, before plopping down onto the grass beneath her, sitting cross legged, placing her weapons on the ground between her legs.

She knew that it would take practice, any skill worth learning did, but the young faunus still wasn't crazy about the idea of her feelings being an open book to literally everyone. It wasn't like she was timid or shy about expressing herself or anything, there were just certain feelings she didn't want... exposed yet, especially if it was Ilia who was currently riding shotgun on the rabbit eared girls emotional rollercoaster. Carmella was just afraid the other faunus might not be ready for those feelings yet, or hell, might not even reciprocate them at all. Maybe that was the real reason she hadn't made a move yet. Or at least, a big part of it anyway. Rejection was... scary, even just the possibility of it.

So what then? Was she just supposed to keep her emotions in check constantly? Do her best to suppress them? Neither options seemed appealing to the usually extroverted Carmella, but what else could she do? She supposed she could always just try and be honest with Ilia about her feelings, because that idea wasn't terrifying or anything.

Unfortunately, for now, it looked like all Carm could do was just add it to her list of problems and responsibilities. That list seemed to get longer with every day since coming to Mistral. Don't get her wrong, the rabbit girl was a long way away from letting herself get discouraged again so quickly, it was just... a lot, that was all.

Gods, everything was just so... complicated now. A week or so ago Carmella had been just another overly ambitious teenager, and now she had almost everything she'd ever wanted. An aura, a proper weapon, and now a semblance, three humongous steps, all in just a couple days. However, as the young faunus got these things, she began to feel the full weight of it all.

The short haired girl stared up at sky and gave a small, quiet laugh. Maybe she'd taken being just a "normal girl" for granted. Not that she could ever go back to that, even if she wanted to.

While Carmella pondered this, she didn't notice Ilia walk over to her side, and then, without prompting this time, the ponytailed girl sat down onto the grass next to her. The rabbit eared teen shot the other faunus a surprised look, which Ilia didn't seem to notice as she was currently staring up into the sky like Carm had just been, also appearing lost in thought.

Once the rabbit girl had gotten used to the other faunus' proximity, there was a quiet moment between the two as Carmella leaned back on her elbows and just continued to watch the clouds rolls by with Ilia, who remained sitting upright, one leg stretched out in front of her and the other bent up with her arm resting on her knee. It was a much needed reprieve from the rabbit girls frantic thoughts, and what made it even better was that Carm's semblance seemed to have quieted down a bit as her mood calmed. If nothing else, it was comforting to know that there was a way to shut off her new powers, or at least a way to mute them for a bit.

This would all just take some getting used to, that's all, she just needed to keep that fact in mind and everything would be okay... probably. However, despite the relaxed atmosphere Carmella found herself in, her worries were still there, poking her in the back of her brain.

Perhaps sensing her friends conflict, Ilia broke the peaceful silence. "I don't know if it helps, but I kinda of understand what you're going through," she said softly, still staring up at the sky above. "Having to wear your emotions on your sleeves, I mean," Ilia held up one of her hands, and it's colors began to shift.

Carmella hadn't really considered that. Here she was complaining about a power she'd just unlocked, while Ilia had been struggling with basically the same problem all her life. However, if she was honest, the idea that she had something in common with the spotted faunus she looked up to was a little cool at least.

"It can be hard, feeling so... exposed and vulnerable all the time," Ilia continued, "but I can tell you for a fact, the alternative, trying to hide your feelings, keeping them pressed down deep inside yourself, can be so much worse."

At hearing this, the rabbit girl sat back up straight next to the other faunus, in order to pay better attention, even though Ilia still refused to look at her. The other faunus had lowered her gaze and was now staring straight ahead into the trees, a far away look in her eyes as she spoke, resting her chin on the arm on her knee.

"I... haven't told many people this, but due to... circumstances, growing up I was... instructed to hide my emotions, or more accurately, hide that I'm a faunus. That meant; no anger, no fear, no sadness, not even joy, nothing that might make my skin... do what it does."

"Why... why would you do that?" Carmella asked, looking slightly aghast.

Ilia's eyes drifted down to the ground in front of her. "You'll think it's stupid, but... I did it to fit in with humans. So they'd think I was one of them. So that I'd have a chance at a... better life..."

"That's..." Carmella struggled to find the right word, but really only one described how all that sounded, "... that sounds awful."

A dry, humorless chuckle left Ilia's mouth as it curved up into an empty smile. "You know? There was a time I would have disagreed with you about that. I would have said 'it was worth it' or 'it just took getting used to' or something like that. But now, looking back on it, at how everything turned out in the end... at how I turned out... I actually agree with you, it was awful. I hated every minute of it."

The sadness was practically radiating off Ilia as she spoke. Even someone without Carmella's bizarre empathy powers would be able to tell that. It was still a strange sensation for the rabbit girl, feeling another persons feelings, but in a way, now that she knew where these phantom emotions were coming from, that seemed to make them less jarring at least.

"I repressed everything for so long, it sort of... broke me, emotionally, I mean. I just kind of blocked everything out, to the point where even when I did feel things, it'd come out in eruptive outbursts, usually of anger. I'd lash out because I'd become too afraid to express myself, to feel anything, or let anyone in. I saw my feelings as nothing but a burden to people. I don't ever want you to think the same way, Carm. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone."

Carmella was at a loss for words. That small taste of emotions that had been keeping her up these last couple nights, Ilia had been living with that and more for Brothers know how long. What could she even say to begin to help with that?

Suddenly, Ilia turned and faced the rabbit girl at her side. Carmella found herself nearly getting swallowed up by the pair of cerulean eyes staring into her soul. At this proximity, the long eared girl could just make out the flecks of silver in the blue orbs, a detail she'd never really noticed before. Carmella gave the other faunus a kind of lopsided, slightly goofy smile, encouraging Ilia to continue. Ilia smiled back, her gaze momentarily shifting down at the space between the two of them, which was only a little wider than one of Carmella's hands, one of which rested there at her side. Then the spotted girl leaned her head back and stared back up at the sky again.

"I want to be honest with you, Carmella, you deserve it, but... it's still hard for me. That's why, in a way, I'm sort of glad your semblance turned out to be what it did. Maybe having someone around that I can't hide my feelings from, that I kind of have to be honest with, will be good for me. And... as far as your own feelings go... well..."

The rabbit eared teen had been so surprised by the other faunus' words she didn't notice when Ilia's body shifted slightly, that is, until she felt the other girls hand rest on top of her own.

Carmella let out a near silent gasp, looking down at the space between the two faunus, just to make sure she wasn't imagining things. She wasn't. Ilia's hand was currently there, laying on her own. The warmth of the appendage sending a electrical charge up the rabbit girls arm and into her chest.

"Y-you shouldn't be ashamed of your feelings either... any of them..." Ilia muttered out, almost under her breath, and still staring up at the sky. If it wasn't for Carmella's extra set of ears, she might not have even heard it.

Was... did... did this mean what Carm thought it meant? The rabbit girls heart was practically bouncing off the walls of her ribcage at this point. Then she felt it, that little tiny bit of Ilia's soul that was tentatively exposing itself from the shell the chameleon girl hid it in, almost reaching towards the rabbit faunus, cautiously, ready to dart back inside at the first sign of danger.

Slowly, Carmella lifted one side of her hand off the ground. Then she used her thumb to gently wrap over the tips of Ilia's fingers and tuck them underneath the rabbit girls palm.

The long eared faunus gave the other girls hand a little squeeze with her thumb, and suddenly felt the same swell of emotions in her chest that Carmella had felt earlier looking at Ilia... except this time they weren't coming from her. Ilia continued to not look at the faunus next to her, but she did give Carmella's hands a light squeeze in return.

In that moment, the two girls emotions were in perfect sync, and a feeling of euphoria washed over both of them. Carmella's body suddenly felt completely weightless, like if she wanted to the rabbit girl could leap up into the sky and just keep going, never touching solid ground again. However, doing so would mean letting go of Ilia's hands, which was something Carm had no intention of doing anytime soon.

The rabbit eared girl didn't even have to look at the spotted faunus next to her to know she felt the same way. The purple color rising to Ilia's cheeks and spots were almost irrelevant in comparison to the feelings Carm experienced in that moment. It was pure, boundless happiness, something that she wanted to savor as long as possible.

However, it wasn't long before the questions began piling up in Carmella's mind. What did this mean? Ilia clearly felt the same she did- or at least in the same neighborhood- so... what did that make them now? More than just friends? Partners? A couple? How did you define this? These were the queries at the top of the rabbit girls list, followed by about a million other lesser ones. Mostly along the lines of; Gods, were my hands always this sweaty? Can Ilia tell how sweaty my hands are? On a scale of one to ten, how grossed out do you think she is by my bizarrely sweaty hands? And so on.

But as time passed, the two faunus sitting side by side, just enjoying the comfort of one another, Carmella came to realize that maybe this didn't need defining, not right now at least. No, right now, it was a beautiful morning in the city of Mistral, the sun's warm rays shining down through the web of branches above, and Carmella was holding hands with a pretty girl who'd just gifted her a pair of high powered weapons. Life was good. Why worry about putting a label on it? That would be future Carmella's problem.

It was hard to tell how much time had passed. Minutes? Hours? Days? Whatever it was, it was far too short for the brunette faunus. However, eventually Ilia inhaled deeply through her nose, before exhaling slowly.

"We should... probably get back to work," the chameleon faunus said, clear hesitation in her voice. "There's a lot I need to go over with you about your new weapons. Just so you don't, you know, lose any fingers or anything."

Much to Carm's chagrin, she felt the other faunus' hand leave her own as she stood, and almost immediately, she missed the warmth of the spotted girls skin on hers. As confusing and sudden as the display of affection had been, it had also been pretty thrilling, if the rabbit girls still accelerated heartbeat was any indication. She probably would have been more upset, if not for the prospect of getting to use her shiny new weapons that Ilia had procured for her.

The rabbit girl eagerly hopped to her feet, grabbing her tonfa's as she did, and feeling the most energized she had the entire time she'd been in Mistral. She brought one of the sticks up to eye level, really taking in the details now.

"Wow, these really are amazing Ilia," Carmella said joyfully. "I can't wait to learn how to use them. Hey, what's this thing do," she added, looking at the trigger mechanism just below the handle of one of the weapon.

"Oh wait, don't-" Ilia started, but unfortunately Carm's finger was faster.

A deafening "BOOM" rang out, and a red, flare-like projectile rocketed out of the longer end of the tonfa. Thankfully, Carmella had the weapon pointed away from Ilia and herself. The tree on the other side of the clearing on the other hand, was not as lucky.

The trunk of the tree exploded, sending wood and bark flying all over when the fire dust filled round hit it.

It took a few seconds for the smoke to clear, but when it did, it revealed that a large section of the innocent tree had been blown away, leaving the oak teetering in place, barely supporting its own weight.

The two faunus stared in complete silence at the display of firepower. Ilia's expression was one of shock, her eyes wide and her lips pressed into a thin line. Carmella's was a mix of surprise, horror, with just a hint of excitement. As she slowly turned to look at the other teen, the rabbit eared girl gave an innocent smile.

Ilia never took her eyes off the still smoking hole in the tree. "I uh... probably shouldn't have loaded those things before giving them to you..." the chameleon girl said, her tone reflecting a calm that didn't match her expression, nor the magnitude what had just happened.

"... Yup," Carm chimed in, "probably not..."

Another few seconds of silence passed, then the tree finally lost its battle against gravity and came crashing to the ground, alongside the ripping sound of splintering wood, and a deafening crash, then all was silent again.

"Okay, well," Ilia said with a clap of her hands, "we're going to have to run now."

"Before the cops come?" Carmella asked.

"Before the cops come," Ilia answered, and the two faunus took off out of the clearing. Carm only returning very quickly to snag her carrot cake from the spot she'd left it.

The park was thankfully still fairly empty, so there weren't many people around that could have reported the obvious sound of an explosion, or the two young faunus sprinting away from the scene of the crime.

Somehow, in spite of the attempted arson and destruction of private property, Carmella couldn't help but wear a huge grin on her face as she ran. Honestly, she'd had a lot of good days since deciding to come to Mistral, since she'd met Ilia, but this one definitely took the cake. Her sense of purpose had not only been renewed, but was now stronger than ever. Carmella couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this good, and the best part was the rabbit girl didn't even have to look at her partner in crime running beside her to know that Ilia felt the same way, she could feel it. Maybe this semblance wouldn't be so bad after all.

However, as the two faunus made their escape, both failed to notice a figure following their movements as the went. He was a tall, mountain of a man, dressed in fairly casual looking clothes in order to blend in, with a collection of black tattoos snaking around one of his muscular arms.

If either of the two young faunus had noticed this onlooker, they might have also noticed that this wasn't the first time he'd been observing them. He'd been at the restaurant they'd gone to after their first day training, he'd been watching them as they exited the clinic that'd treated Carmella, and he'd even followed Ilia on her trip down to the lower levels of Mistral.

The man's slitted, yellow eyes narrowed, his lip curving up slightly as he sneered at the two girls from the park bench he was taking up the majority of. He wanted so badly to seize his vengeance at that moment, but knew that only through patience would he achieve his true objectives. The imposing looking figure reached into his dark colored pants pocket and pulled out his scroll, and made a call.

"Yes," he confirmed in a deep, gravely, slightly accented voice to the person on the other end of the line, "I've found out where she's been going these last few days... No, not yet. It has to be done right. We can't afford make a scene... Yes, we wait until she's alone, then we strike."

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A/N- Alrighty, there we have the end of this "arc", and you know what THAT means! Hiatus!

Look, it's been almost a year since I last updated Ballad of Oreonna, and I need to just get the final chapter done already. There's only like, three people that actually care about that story and I'm one of them, so I just need to focus on getting that story all closed up, and the back to Ilia getting all blushy every time a rabbit looks at her. Cool? Cool.

Not much else to say. If anyone out there thinks that Carmella's semblance doesn't really suit her... well you'd be right.

"Oh, I wonder what he meant by that," everyone said, as the author back-flipped out a window, leaving more questions than answers.