Leonardo Lionheart, at your service.

“If it’s better than waiting for nicotine to put me to sleep, I’m listening.. As long as I can get the voices to shut up for once.”

No one ever got to see Tyrian in such a vulnerable state, knowing it was so rare to see him so… broken. His thoughts always got the best of him; that familiar fear of being abandoned that he knew all-too-well, that feeling in which he was meant to be unloved, among other things. It hurt to continue crying, as all that came out at the moment were small whimpers.

Without thinking, the scorpion Faunus lets himself lean forward to rest his face into the lion Faunus’ shoulder. Shaky hands coming up to hold onto him, almost like clinging onto him for dear life.

“Please… help me.”

The old headmaster left the poor man to his grief for a moment before putting a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’ll be alright. I promise.” He wasn’t sure how well he could keep that promise, but maybe... if he could help just one more soul, even one as black and twisted as Tyrian’s, then perhaps his life wouldn’t be total waste. He wondered what he could have done if he had met the boy when he was younger- perhaps taken him in at Haven Academy. Gods knew many orphans found themselves taking up the huntsmen trade for lack of anywhere else to go. It was a roof and food if nothing else, and many of those children already had to learn to survive. He wondered if Ozpin designed them that way intentionally or if it was just a happy accident.

“Now... I cannot promise this will work immediately. My techniques involve some meditation and that does take practice. But I have faith in you, Tyrian. I have seen you do incredible things when you put your determination to it. Always think of your goal and remember that so long as you try, you will always be a step closer to it no matter how small that step may be. Let’s start with the voices... I’ve always dealt with things similar to this myself, you know. Perhaps not as severe as yours but... I understand. ” He gently lifted the man off of his shoulder and sat in front of him. “Close your eyes, make yourself comfortable sitting and breathe. It is easier to clear your mind at first when you have something to listen to. We’ll start with this.” Leo pulls out his old pocket watch- his treasure. It was of course a technological marvel that Watts had helped design and allowed him both access to the Chamber of the Spring Maiden, but also to the various secret tunnels and passages he installed in Haven Academy. For now, he needed it for its intended purpose, though. He wound the watch and set it on the ground between them. The ticking was louder than normal.

“Focus on that sound. Listen to it and only it while you breathe. Right now you are simply teaching yourself to clear your mind. It won’t be instant and it won’t be easy, but it is something you can teach yourself.” Leo, himself, had long since lapsed in his own stress management after he had learned the truth. Why bother? There was no hope for the world. Right now, though, the world didn’t matter. Making up for lost time and trying to heal the broken soul in front of him did.

“A bad one?” The question leaves her lips in the tone of a student that wasn’t quite sure of the question they’d been singled out to answer in class. It made sense. It even felt like the sort of thing that her father would believe. However, she couldn’t deny that there were times where it felt like people like General Ironwood and Winter knew everything there was to know. Like, when learning from them, she was tapping into a source of knowledge that was complete, and the likes of which she’d never be able to reach. 

Though…maybe that was more…

She reached out, taking a book from the table and turning it over in gloved hands. Ever curious. Childish, almost, in her constant hunger to know and learn and discover. 

“With so many books, you must know a lot!” 

Leo couldn’t help but smile at Penny’s answer. “Very good. No one can truly claim to know everything. Even in my advanced years and all this information around me, the world still finds ways to surprise me.” He focused on making the tea and waved a hand broadly to the bookshelves. “You’re free to read any of them  you’d like, Miss Polendina. Just remember to put them back in their proper place when you’re done. My library is open to all of my guests.”

He set tea kettle to boil and sat back down, letting out a bracing sigh to calm himself. He had to remind himself he could handle this. In form Penny was an advanced Atlas war machine, but in heart she was just another curious little girl same as all of his students. The fact that she had aura- a soul, was amazing. He would need to find out how James accomplished this and what talent he had at his disposal.

Besides that, Her Grace would certainly want to know this.

Ever since those years when he was kept in captivity by anti-Faunus protesters, Tyrian had trust issues whenever it came to humans. It made him begin to think that everyone, especially his colleagues, secretly hate him for what he is. That they were only nice to him to mask their hatred for being a Faunus.

However, that gentle hand that had rested upon his shoulder got his attention. Tyrian fell silent for a moment, slowly lifting his head up to look at Leo with glossy golden eyes.

“Th-they hate me, don’t they..?” He asked, his hands reaching down to hold onto his tail. “Sometimes… sometimes I can hear their voices when they’re not physically there. It’s one of the reasons why I can’t sleep at night..”

“Thank you! I am also happy to no longer be dead!” She did her best not to think about it, if she was being honest. And thus she simply beamed at the shaken headmaster- seemingly oblivious to his nerves- before moving to take a seat as suggested. She could technically stand forever, but her father said she’d have to work twice as hard to keep people from thinking of her as just another Atlesian robot, after what they’d seen, and normal girls would sit down. Probably. Yes. Mostly likely. 

“Yes please.” She replied, thankful not for the first time that while she technically didn’t need to eat or drink, her father had included the ability. “Your office is very nice!” Different from the one in Atlas in just about every way, and while she did miss the view from the General’s window, Haven was rather cozy. “You must like books a lot.” 

The scorpion Faunus did his best to hold back his tears; his shoulders twitching, choking on a couple of sobs. He didn’t want to cry in front of anyone - but what had been bothering him had hurt him too much to care about who’s there with him. The loss of his mother, who left him behind in Mistral to carry out a mission for Salem - had pained him the most.

And the suffering he had to face when he was held in captivity for a couple of years. Tyrian can remember all of the hurtful things anti-Faunus supporters yelled at him, going as far as to try and harm him. Being the only Faunus in his team was already hard enough to deal with… his work may be appreciated by Salem and his colleagues, but he couldn’t help but think they secretly hate him for what he is.

Eventually, the serial killer couldn’t hold back his tears anymore. Cradling his head in his hands as he broke down into a fit of sobs. Tyrian would speak up and request for Leo to provide him some comfort, but his sobbing made it hard for him to speak. However, there were some words that came out in a small whimper that can easily be heard.

“…Wh-why did she abandon me? Why did she have to die..?”

Leo let out steadying breath. This was always the hardest part. Pained questions that refused to have answers were never easy to deal with even when one was calm and stable, and Tyrian had never come across as either of those things even on a good day. All he could do was be there and let the emotions run their course.

The end of his tail loosely wrapped itself around one of his ankles, keeping his eyes focused on Leo for the time being. For the past few nights; Tyrian hadn’t been getting much sleep, mainly due to events from his past coming back to haunt him.

His mother leaving him behind in Mistral, being shown off to anti-Faunus supporters to be mocked and ridiculed, and the feeling of feeling unloved and unaccepted because of who he was bothered him the most.

Insect Faunus were hard to come by nowadays - and he was one of so few that remained. But if Leo can truly see his emotions like he claims he can, Tyrian would be damned to know it was true.

As much as he wanted to speak up, his words only got caught in his throat. Tyrian lowered his head back down, hoping to hide the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes.

Leo kept still as he maintained a slightly distant focus on the churning well of color and energy visible only to him. He knew the cocktail all too well: anguish, resentment, abandonment, lonliness, fear- trauma. Awful, lifelong suffering. In this rare instance where Her Grace’s most devoted and gleefully sadistic pawn showed any emotion other than what the rest knew him for, he looked past the persona of the unstable serial killer and saw a memory. The context and details of that memory was something Leo would never know, but he could see its effects plainly. He could almost picture the lonely broken child who would one day become the Tyrian Callows he knew now.

Uh oh. 

That was right. James had mentioned that she should…’tone it down’ around the other headmaster, hadn’t he? That Professor Lionheart was a ‘nervous sort with a tendency to overreact’. Or something like that. Or had that second part been Winter? She would have to replay the conversation from her memory banks later, but for now, it seemed much more important to move towards the desk and try to…coax the man out? 

Or would it be better to join him under the desk? 

Thankfully, she was saved from having to make that choice, by the headmaster beginning to make his way out himself. 

“My apologies, Headmaster Lionheart!” She replied, pausing in her approach. “I am aware that you likely saw my death on the Vytal Festival broadcast, and that this may have been distressing, but worry not! General Ironwood was able to retrieve my core from the arena and my father has me better than ever!” 

Of course he had.

He would need to find a way out of this mess sooner or later. For now, he reassembled himself and sat back down properly at his desk, clearing his throat and tapping a few unseen buttons on it. Eventually he would have to report this to Her Grace. Arthur would surely need to know this. He was probably one of only a few men on the planet who could understand how Penny worked, much less do anything about it.

@havenstraitor​

It felt very rude to arrive without any warning, but General Ironwood had told her that rudeness could be forgiven since they didn’t have any other choice, which made sense. Besides, it would have been much ruder for someone else to come and have to bring a whole airship into Mistral without any of the proper paperwork finished! 

Thus she arrived at a…very quiet Haven Academy alone, on what was her first diplomatic and cross kingdom mission. Now she just needed to find…

Ah! 

“Salutations Headmaster Lionheart! I’m Penny Poledina, and General Ironwood sent me to check on you since communication is down!” 

Haven was quiet, as had become the norm ever since he cleared out the school. The thumping of the things in the walls were something he thought he could almost hear for once. He always heard their menacing stumping in the back of his mind but now it was... coming closer?

The door slammed open.

Leo let out a shout and dove under his desk. “No! Stay back! I-” Wait, was that a voice? He slowly crept back up to look at the ghost in front of him. “W-Wait... you’re...” Alive? That was the first shock that came to his system. The second was that she was here, and that James actually saw it fit to keep tabs on him.

None of these were good signs.

Ah. This, actually wasn’t a secret he’d intended to keep. It simply seemed…terribly unimportant with all the other things attached to who he was. 

“I…actually found myself running out of those, when Old Lark passed.” Despite the distance in time, the grief was still too strong for him to managed the forced smile he’d attempted. Such was the pain of going on forever while everyone else stopped, he supposed.

“But what about you? How are your sister and nephew doing?” 

“Not frequently enough.” He followed the other headmaster’s gaze, and was not all surprised when it landed on the dorms. “I will admit that I…have trouble at times. I spend so long thinking about the future. Safe guarding it for the ones that will come after us, and making sure that in the present they can grow as happy and safe as possible.” So much of his identity had been swallowed by this mission so young, that sometimes even he found himself wondering who Ozpin would have been in another world. “I…worry. That I don’t show the rest of you how much I care at times.” That they may feel more pieces or agents than friends. “I hope you know that you can always talk to me.” 

“Perhaps some visits to the other academies will do us well. James is always happy to receive us. Despite our disagreements he’s a friend first and a colleague second. Theodore is another story... He barely speaks to us unless it’s absolutely necessary; some days I worry if he actually trusts us. And I worry we don’t show Qrow nearly enough gratitude for all he does for us. After all he’s on the front lines while we’re all behind our desks. The next time he returns, do let me know.” Leo sighs frustrated at himself and shakes his head. “There we go again...”

“I’ve reached that point.” The words were accompanied by a laugh that could have been described as sheepish. Following Leo into the courtyard, he couldn’t say he was convinced that a walk under the shattered moon would help him want to rest but…the night was peaceful. “Though I’m sure if you were to ask Glynda she’d say something about stubbornness and poor choices.” And of course that such a sleeping schedule wasn’t leaving him rested.