Eventually, Fox had come back inside after beginning to get used to his newfound sense. Everything about sight was wildly new and flew in the face of what he was used to- where there were originally only the colors of aura amid endless nothingness, there were instead details and even more colors all over everything. Actual sight, despite how much more interesting and overwhelming it was, was also weirdly limited in a way that Fox didn't quite expect. Though Fox was pretty sure he had learned at some point that people couldn't see through walls and the vast majority of other obstructions, seeing Taiyang and Raven head upstairs and just disappear for the first time was wild. Fox could still 'see' their auras upstairs on the bed after they had left while looking up at the ceiling… but he learned quickly that he was the only one capable of doing so.
It was in that moment that Fox realized that upon gaining sight and keeping his Semblance, he couldn't just see- he could see more than anyone else around him.
Professor Ozpin- or Ozma- had given him a gift that he wasn't sure the immortal himself even understood. Fox had always been able to see shifts in the auras of those around him- subtle color changes, alterations in the flow, direction, and even pulsations of aura, and gaps in defenses. Being able to see facial expressions, wounds, and breathing patterns that were tied to those alterations suddenly made everything make so much more sense… and made him an expert at reading people almost immediately. Fox almost felt as though he could tell what people were thinking by using both aspects of his sight, and he had no intention of letting that secret slip anytime soon.
"…is the ceiling really that interesting?" Roman asked as he stared at Fox. "I mean, I guess I get it, but…"
Fox looked down at Roman as though he was seeing the other boy for the first time once again. He sat next to Adam and Kali on the adjacent couch in Willow's living room, one leg crossed over the other and an arm around the female faunus' shoulders. Roman looked almost bored as he and his team waited for Bartholomew to return from his talk with Professor Calavera, Sienna Khan, and Qrow out on the deck. Fox had gotten a read on Roman more quickly than any of the others, or at least, he thought he had a read on the boy. Some things didn't make sense to him, though, like how his aura flowed faster when he was looking at Cerise in almost the same way it did when he was near Kali.
"No, it's…" Fox began, unsure of what to say. "…it's just so weird, being able to 'see' aura through walls, but not… actually see things like you all do. I'm watching Raven and Tai talking upstairs. They're sitting on a bed a holding hands, but that's all I can make out just from aura."
Kali's ears perked up at the explanation and she shifted slightly upon the cushion.
"…it's a good thing you've got that aura-sight Semblance and not me. I would absolutely use that x-ray vision for great evil."
"I don't know if watching people have sex qualifies as evil with everything else going on," Adam considered, his eye glued to his scroll as he tapped out a message. "Morally bankrupt, yes, but it probably stops there. I'm sure there's a lot you'd rather not see through walls, too."
"Like what?" Roman asked, not quite following.
"People in bathrooms, for one," Cerise chimed in as she returned from the kitchen with a glass of water and sat down next to Fox, crossing her legs to mirror Roman's stance. "Anyone doing something behind your back. Maybe you'd want to know, or maybe not."
"…I've caught people in situations like that more than once," Fox admitted as he kept his focus on the glass in Cerise's hand. "I'd rather not talk about it. Still can't get over how cool water looks…"
It took Cerise a moment to realize that Fox was staring at her lips as she took a long drink. Oddly enough, the clear interest from the boy caused her to break out into an unexpected blush. She set the glass down rather quickly, ending up slightly disappointed as she watched Fox's eyes track it rather than her.
"…can't even imagine," Cerise admitted. "The way light moves through it and all. I get it."
"Yeah…" Fox agreed, continuing to stare as the liquid settled within the glass. He looked over at an opaque teacup that had been left on the coffee table a few inches away from Cerise's glass and tilted his head. "What determines whether or not you can see through something? Like that glass versus that cup. I can't see tea through it."
There was an awkward pause as everyone tried to figure out how to even go about answering the question. Adam was the first to speak as he looked over his scroll at Fox.
"They're… made of different material. One is glass, one is ceramic…"
"Right," Fox said slowly before letting out a sigh. "But like… what about glass and ceramic makes one transparent and the other not?"
"Uh…" Roman replied, scratching his head. "The… chemicals… or whatever. Chemical makeup. Some stuff is see-through, other stuff isn't. I think it's chemistry? Or maybe physics, since it has to do with light? Man, I don't fuckin' know. I'm not good at science!"
"Does it really matter right now?" Adam asked, his tone turning somewhat aggressive. "I just heard back from the Oaks. They're back above ground… and they found something. Something significant. Kali- will you come with me this time?"
"Wait, what?" the faunus asked, looking over at her teammate. "With everything going on, you're heading back out there this quickly…?"
"What am I going to do to help train Summer that the rest of you can't?" Adam asked rhetorically. "Besides- how many times have you all insisted that we're on vacation and should be doing things we enjoy? Now that I've decided to help with this excavation, it's suddenly an issue? Maybe the first time, I didn't leave on such good terms, but now… now I'm inviting you again, along with anyone else who wants to come. This is important, Kali."
"Not saying it isn't," Kali said defensively. "I'm just… surprised. We missed you, Adam. Heading right back out there, especially with two of our Professors here who probably want to talk to you more, just seems… risky. Poking the bear right now doesn't seem like a good idea, and that's coming from me."
Adam scowled and let out a frustrated noise before he began texting again, keeping his eye off of Kali.
"…what's going on, exactly?" Cerise asked as she picked up her glass once again. "I know you left for a while and that you were doing something with the people from the museum, but that's about it."
"The Oaks- Porella and Basil- they found an underground tunnel," Adam began, continuing to type. "They believe there might be something of value down there- something historically significant. I got an invite to join them and brought Velvet with me after I saw that they have a bunch of artifacts related to the history of the faunus. I'd rather be working on that than anything else right now, Summer's situation included. Nothing against her, but we have enough people focused on this whole Maiden ordeal already. I would just be getting in the way. The Professors should be doing most of the legwork when it comes to that."
"I don't totally disagree," Roman admitted. "Professor Ozpin's war, Professor Ozpin's problem when it comes to the Maiden aspect of things. I love Summer, but Adam brought up a decent point. We need to chill. Kal and I have barely had any time together just yet… so babe, if you're going underground, I'm coming with you."
"I don't know…" Kali considered, her ears flattening down into her hair. "Can I think about it before I decide?"
Adam heaved a dramatic sigh and rolled his eye before shaking his head.
"Yeah. Fine. Whatever. But I think you should meet these people. They care about us, Kali."
"Can I come…?"
All eyes turned to Fox, who had moved forward to sit precariously on the edge of the couch cushion.
"…you want to come…?" Adam asked, not quite following as he eyed Fox with suspicion.
"Well… yeah," Fox answered excitedly. "The underground… I mean, I've only seen a little bit of the beach and the inside of this house so far, but… it's gotta be wild down there, right? Totally different than the surface world? I want to see what it looks like, especially if there's something down there that nobody's seen in gods know how long. Besides- I can see aura through rock walls. I could give us a heads up if there's anything dangerous down there waiting for us."
Adam blinked and raised a brow, his annoyance subsiding to be replaced with curiosity.
"That's… actually not a terrible idea. Given that Velvet is going to want to come with me again, you'd have a teammate, and we could definitely make use of you down there… alright. Fox, you're coming with us."
"Cool," the huntsman replied with a toothy grin. "I want to test the limits of all of this and see everything I've been missing. I have no idea what a cave would look like."
"…pump the brakes real quick," Cerise said cautiously. "Before you go running off to go cave diving or whatever the hell is happening down there… Ozpin said there was a price associated with all of this. When he pulled you aside and did… whatever magic he did to give you sight, did he ever explain what it was? Or did you just rush into this… uh, blind?"
Fox slid back on the sofa and leaned into the cushions, looking a bit uneasy. The boy took a long, deep breath and suffered a full-body shiver before he began to speak again. He kept his eyes on the water glass in Cerise's hand the entire time he did so.
"…he explained it. It more or less just boils down to the idea that his magic is… finite. There's no real way to measure how much he has stockpiled, but the source of that raw, original magic is long gone. He didn't elaborate on that point, as much as I wish he did, but he basically said that once his form of magic is used, it dissipates and becomes… something else. You know how the grimm have an almost negative aura? Some dark spiritual force holding them together? It's… that. He called it anti-life. The more he casts without utilizing dust, the stronger that total energy on Remnant becomes."
Cerise's expression soured as she listened, and by the end of the explanation, she seemed furious.
"…you're telling me that any time this guy casts magic, our enemy gets stronger?"
"That's… exactly what I'm telling you," Fox admitted as he wrung his hands. "By how much, I don't know, but… when he told me that, I actually… turned him down. I was so dead set on gaining the ability to see, but hearing that made me reconsider. He brought me back around by insisting that my personal contribution to the war effort would outweigh whatever new type of grimm that lost magic would give life to, or whatever strength it might provide to existing ones. I don't know if I believe that… or if what I did was selfish… but I want to trust him. I had to trust him."
No one said a word for a moment as they came to grips with the reality of the situation. Eventually, it was perhaps the most unexpected voice that came forward first.
"…I still don't know if we should," Roman said warily. "But I do trust you, and I trust that you're going to make it count."
Author's Note:
Everything's a trade-off…
-RD