stalwartlion:
> “ A faunus…? ”
Leonardo was at a loss for words, staring at his friend with his eyebrows raised and his eyes keeping looked on the friend he gazed at as though he had grown an extra limb. Technically he had- or he had an extra trait all along. A brief gulp kept his mouth from drying out with how it remained agape.
“ You’re telling me that you’re.. a faunus. That you’ve been one all along? So you’re not a human, then..? ” Obviously, but his brain was slowly churning, struggling to process what he was hearing. “ I’m. I’m the only one aware of this? Truly? ” He leaned his head somewhat to the side, trying to look at the sides of Arthur’s head, his arms and torso, but there wasn’t anything he could see from his angle.
“ H… how? Why didn’t you… No, I’m sure you had a reason, but.. Please, I’m not upset, I’m simply.. very, very amazed that you’ve kept this a secret for so very long, r-really. ”
“It’s simply because my only indication that I was a faunus was removed at birth.” He replied, after exhaling and just sitting quietly for a while. “My tail, it was removed once I was born, and doctors and nurses were paid off to keep that sort of thing quiet. My parents were both human but I suppose I had some faunus ancestors...” Another sigh. “They explained that they wanted what was best for me, a life where I would not be harassed for something outside of my control. And for a while, I accepted it. But it always stuck...”
He can hear the clock ticking, painfully loud in his ears as an uncomfortable silence settles. “...It hurts sometimes, you know.” He says, clearing his throat. “the base of where my tail was. It still aches sometimes.”
