No Semblance of Normality (Private w/ Copperfield)

[Roisin Treacy]

Lectures were not usually Rose's favourite part of the day. They were classified as a necessary evil in her book. But for all the droning sessions on history or mathematics, a hands-on approach would always peek her interest. At least she actually got to do something when it came to experiments and practical demonstrations. That's why Rose was normally optimistic seeing Professor Copperfield's lessons on the schedule; you never knew what you were going to get. His lectures were as unpredictable as he was. That one time when they got to craft grenades out of Dust and junk? Top notch lesson in her eyes.

Unfortunately, the professor's amusing ramblings of the day hadn't sparked quite as much interest. Rose was slumped over her desk, kicking her heels against the ground as she doodled in the corner of her notebook. She had tried to pay close attention given that today's topic was semblances. Yet as the minutes had ticked by, Rose had slowly become lost in the complexities that she couldn't quite wrap her head around. It was like her brain was hitting a brick wall every time. Frustration had shifted to boredom as her focus drifted away.

When the bell finally signaled the end of class, the girl jumped in her seat, her tail sticking up rigidly behind her. Realisation snapped sharply into perspective of another lecture wasted with what felt like no progress made. Rose muttered a colourful string of curses under her breath as she gathered up her textbooks. With visible annoyance, she slung her bag over her shoulder and made for the exit.

[Professor W B Copperfield]

"...So the geometry of your Dust crystals could mean that... "

"...You want uniform shape and color, otherwise they could..."

"...If you juggle your focus from one crystal to the other fast enough, you can activate them simultaneously to create..."

"And-" RING RING RING RING Copperfield sighed as the bell went off. "I wanted to cover everything in this chapter today, but I guess time got away from me." He said, referring to him arriving about ten minutes late to class. "Make sure to read the chapters and sections I gave you earlier today before tomorrow!" He called out as the chatter of voices and chairs grew, students already on the move to the next class.

One student in particular didn't seem very engaged today, he had noted. Rose Treacy was one that loved active hands-on learning, but lectures like today bored her. Plus this was all on Dust and how to activate it with your Aura, what to look for in Dust, and new ways to play with them. Everybody could learn from what he was teaching but Rose had another area that sorely needed developing. As of yet, she had not discovered her Semblance.

"Ms. Treacy, if I could speak to you a moment?" The teacher called out in order to reach her.

[Roisin Treacy]

It looked like freedom was not on the cards just yet as Professor Copperfield called out to her. Rose paused for half a second with one hand on the doorway as she weighed up her options. It was tempting to pretend she hadn't heard him and just keep walking. Hmm, probably not the best idea. He knew where she lived; the dorm rooms. She spun around and slowly ambled over to his desk as the rest of the class filtered out.

Rose had a sinking feeling she was about to be in trouble for something. She could just feel it in the pit of her stomach. Had he noticed her during the lecture? She hadn't even fallen asleep this time! Maybe she was just being paranoid. She thought Copperfield was a pretty nice guy. He came across as a lot more relaxed than some of the other professors. At least he actually acted like a person and didn't always pretend to be a perfect know-it-all.

“What's up teach?” she quizzed chirpily, putting on a fake smile. Her tail betrayed her though, as it hung low behind her. Hopefully she could catch him in a good mood and avoid any potential punishment. “I swear, I wasn't sleeping this time. I even made notes...drawings count as notes, right?”

[Professor W B Copperfield]

She took a moment to turn back to him, but he wasn't upset by it. Being asked to stay after class wasn't something one wanted. Her voice was happy but her tail betrayed her. Her smile was also fake, put on for show. Other kids her age could probably tell that. And when she spoke, she claimed to not have slept, and drawn in her journal. He let out a small chuckle and raised an eyebrow.

"No, I wanted to ask you about how your Semblance is coming along." He said, hoping that she would brihgten up and tell him all about it. It was lonely to be the only one without your special power when all your friends had one.

[Roisin Treacy]

Whether he believed her or not or simply didn't care, the professor seemed to laugh off her attempts to avoid being scolded. He didn't seem upset for whatever reason which helped Rose not be immediately defensive when he posed his question.

At the mention of her semblance, she looked back over her shoulder. Fortunately, the classroom had long since emptied of the other students. In hindsight, she suspected that was the reason Copperfield was speaking to her after the lesson rather than address it in front of everyone. It was certainly a topic she did not want to discuss amongst the other students. In fact, she still didn't want to discuss it right now but Copperfield was the one possible exception. Not to mention he wasn't trying to confront her about it but rather approach her openly. That counted for a lot. Come on Rose. He's literally 'the' guy for semblances.

“It's...going fine,” she started with uncharacteristic hesitance, while she fiddled with a length of her red hair. Her blue eyes dropped to the floor as if searching for some excuse before she sighed heavily. “Actually, it's not. It's going shit. I ain't made any progress and every time I feel like I'm getting somewhere I end up back on my ass with nothing to show for it.”

[Professor W B Copperfield]

She lied to him. Saying it was fine while twirling her hair and looking down, it was an obvious tell. But he didn't push her, only staying silent and watching her. She came around herself and admitted to not making progress.

He rubbed his chin as he thought, he realized he forgot to shave, and hummed. "Well I hope that you haven't put yourself in any grave danger trying to awaken it, right?" He wouldn't need to remind her that that was how most semblances were discovered, through great danger and desperate situations. They often provoked one into reaching farther and deeper within than they ever had before. Some rare few were born with them active, and some came upon them in normal training, realizing they simply could perform this new skill. But the most reliable method was still getting into danger. "And you'd bring along your friends if you did, right?"

[Roisin Treacy]

Rose's gaze flicked away from her teacher at the mention of putting herself in grave danger. That was one aspect of semblances she had taken away from his classes in the past. Had she gone to the edge of the Emerald Forest to fight Grimm? Maybe. Had she been planning on doing more trips in the future? Probably. It wasn't like she'd been stupid enough to drop herself into the middle Grimm-infested territory without backup or telling anyone, although the thought had crossed her mind. Desperation had a funny way of making crazy ideas seem more reasonable.

The suggestion of bringing friends along didn't sit well with her either. Rose tried her hardest not to bring attention to the fact she lacked a semblance. She was already a tomboy Faunus from an unusual background who was taking extra classes to keep up with everyone else. What she didn't need was another reason to be made some sort of outcast.

“I'm still here, ain't I?” she answered indirectly, looking back at Copperfield with the half-grin and shrug of someone who'd been caught red handed. “I don't wanna bring anyone else into my mess. I got this far on my own. I don't need anyone else's help.”

Rose's tendency to talk without thinking caught up to her as she remembered who she was speaking with. The girl scratched the back of her neck as she hastily added, “Well, except you and the other professors obviously.”

[Professor W B Copperfield]

He let out a long breath through his nose. Her mess. This far. Don't need help.

"You know, I used to say those very same words until I was about thirty-five. That I shouldn't tell people what's going on in order to keep them safe. Only thing that did was piss people off. And get them hurt. When I involved them and told them what was going on..." he took a deep breath, "They still got hurt. But they were happy to get hurt by my side. But it takes some working up to. Some learning what both sides is like. Until then, please come to me for help. I'm kind of the guy for Semblances here, you know." He paused, as if that would be the end of it before adding,

"There's not something you need help with right now, is there?"

[Roisin Treacy]

The deep sigh was not an encouraging sign. Rose braced herself to be berated for whatever she'd done wrong. Probably not filling out the right paperwork or something. Maybe she needed a hall-pass to go fight Grimm. What she wasn't prepared for was the blunt response from her professor, or the unexpected opening up about his own experiences.

Rose hadn't been to a school until her time here at Beacon but she had learned in that time that teachers would normally act and speak mannerly. Copperfield's lack of decorum caught her off-guard but she for one could appreciate his bluntness. There was no reason to beat around the bush when he could get right to the point. The Faunus visibly relaxed, the tension leaving her muscles as the defensiveness of her body language lowered.

She considered his words for a moment in silence. It wasn't like she was lying to people. Lots of students would know she hadn't unlocked her semblance yet; that was unavoidable in a huntsman academy. So why did it matter that she avoided the subject? Because they'll think you're weak, you idiot. Because they'll think you don't belong. Because they'll think you'll fail. They wouldn't be the first...

Even if letting people in was the answer, Rose didn't think she was ready for that. But at least Copperfield could help her. Maybe she would start with him. The girl chewed her lip before giving a small nod. “I'll think about it.”

As for getting help right now, Rose scoffed with a dry chuckle, shrugging at the broadness of the topic. What did she need help with? Where should she start? “Don't suppose you could just unlock it for me, could ya? I mean, how did you get your semblance?”

[Professor W B Copperfield]

He watched her relax, her whole body easing of it's tension. That was good that she could feel that way around him, and he was happy that some students felt that way.

"I could unlock your Aura if you didn't have it already. But Semblances are a bit trickier. They manifest mostly when in distress to solve a problem, while aligning with your personality in some way. That's what I've found, anyhow. Healing a mortally wounded friend when you are the parent of the group, so to say.

"For mine, I discovered it on my uncle's farm. I was living with him because I had messed up back in Atlas. He was going to set me straight, give me some hardwork, you know? Anyway, he was working on this rusted piece of crap tractor, fixing it while beneath it. It was supported on beams but something broke and the whole thing came down on him. Pinned him there and was hurting him bad. I ran over from the house and tried to push or pull it off but nothing worked. But I kept trying. I tried and I tried and I wasn't giving up. You may not see it as a student, but I'm a really stubborn person. So I kept at it. Was determined that it was going to move, not me. And then all of the sudden I sent it crashing through the barn door."

He chuckled and smiled to himself for a moment. "I thought I had super strength or something. But I found out that I could send massive blasts of force with more experimenting. And then, with more testing, how I could use Dust with it. It was small at first, at least compared to what I can do now with it. But it grew as I got better at using it."

[Roisin Treacy]

In a rare moment of educational pursuit, Rose listened intently to what the professor was saying. She leaned against his desk as her expression showed a keen interest in Copperfield's explanation. She already knew that a semblance could be unlocked through distress but for it to be aligned with her personality was news to her. What could that mean for her? She liked food. She could try eating Grimm. Hmm, on second thoughts, maybe that wouldn't be worth it. They probably tasted horrible.

Rose conceded that she would have to think about that could mean for her personally. Copperfield's own example of acquiring his semblance was intriguing. What surprised her more was it didn't involve combat specifically. She hadn't considered that just because it was an ability she would use as a huntress, didn't mean she had to unlock it while fighting.

"Huh. That's actually really good to know. I don't suppose you're telling me to go hang out at a farm and wait for a freak accident to occur though," joked Rose. "Sooo...are you going to tell me to just stick to it and it'll come?"

[Professor W B Copperfield]

It was sad to say, but it wasn't everyday that, as a teacher, he got to watch the gears turn in his student's heads. Mostly they just looked wide-eyed at the things he blew up in class. But Rose was thinking about what he had told her, and he waited for her response.

"Well it worked for me..." He trailed off before a grin broke over his face. "But no. No farm for you." He let out a short breath. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but sticking with it is the only assured way for it to appear. Your Aura is there, it just needs to find expression. Though..." He held his chin with his hand. Man, he needed to shave. "I might be able to throw some things at you, see if anything falls into place. If you want, that is."

[Roisin Treacy]

It was easy to see some deflation in Rose's attitude when Copperfield answered her question. He was right; that wasn't what she wanted to hear. But she wasn't going to give up simply because of one problem. If there was one thing Rose was known for, other than the pranks, the jokes, the fiery spirit, the- okay, she was known for a lot of things. But she was always determined to succeed, no matter the odds.

She'd take whatever suggestions her teacher had but what he told her next made the Faunus' tail pause abruptly in mid-swing as she cocked her head to one side. Her eyes narrowed in questioningly. "Like, literally throw things at me?"

Copperfield was known for creating some rather explosive thrown devices. That seemed like a dangerous idea coming from a professor so she suspected that wasn't what he had in mind. Either way, the idea was exciting and she was eager to try anything that could work.