#headmastering

              ❛   How ----- How... How do you do it ?  How do you deal with going back and forth like this ---- with feeling so...  ❜   USELESS ? 

          Despite everything, it’s the Professor that she instinctively turns to for advice --- time after time after time. She wonders if it unsettles him or irritates him, knowing what she knows. She wonders a lot about his perception of things, actually... But now was no time to care about his comfort, or even his willingness to respond. If he’s clueless, her obvious state of shock should fill him in. Ruby carries herself relatively well in that she’s no longer trembling --- the adrenaline is finally finding its way out of her system... But there’s something off about her tranquility. It’s more of a daze than a state of calm; her face is relaxed, but silver eyes still hold every ounce of palpable fear. 

          Another important question occurs to her, one that has her gasping aloud as her head jerks up. Wide eyes are now pleading --- hoping against hope that for once, something’s going their way. 

               ❛   Ah---- !  Oscar --- is there any way you... Know what’s going on ?  In Atlas ?  Do you know if Oscar’s... ?   ❜

the uncertainty sits like a rock that’s firmly planted into the bottom of the ocean, an immeasurable weight with walls pushing in from all sides. the boy’s eyes flicker for a moment, looking to the side as fear itself begins to crawl up his back. it digs in, waiting, before saying that he’s here.

yes, it is close to lunchtime and maybe he just ran from the kitchen after spilling the green onions everywhere, but right now the thing that he absolutely needs most is to have his arms firmly wrapped around the other’s torso. it reaches and holds and clamps down like a magnet that came hurtling towards its opposite pole, oscar’s hands shaking all the while. the desperation that sits feels so ineffably poignant, as if the boy’s very own life depended on this one gesture.

it does, maybe. how wonderfully strange it is, to be introduced to such painful loneliness even though ozpin’s been here the entire time. 

how wonderfully strange.

It wasn’t difficult to recognize the former headmaster of the former Beacon Academy. And maybe if he hadn’t been in the same situation himself, he may have questioned it more. Still, there was an uncomfortable question in the pit of his stomach at the headmaster’s presence...

“I wish I could be surprised to find a dead man walking around this place, but I’m not.” No offer of explanation, but he knew Ozpin should recognize him, even in this form. Part of him wanted to ask if the eyepatch had been recent, or from before, but considering how much the other knew he may need to tread lightly.

Or, about as lightly as he could, given the circumstances. He didn’t have the same rapport with Ozpin as he did with the others he’d seen here, and Oscar had spent most of his training with James.

Oscar, that’s right.

To: Ozpin From: Yuan

     SOME PART OF HIM STILL WORRIED--- some part of him still cared for the man he knew, even if not for the man he knows. you could bury your sentiment all you wanted, lock it away and throw away the key for the betterment of your path forward, but sooner or later, it would break free, and you wouldn’t even know it until hell comes calling. in light of recent events, he searched for solace in the strangest places, but in truth, he’d never felt more alone.

     and thus, at the edge of a well-kept property, perched upon the mailbox was a crow, feathers black as pitch and eyes to shame the red rose. after a moment, it cut into the silence with a piercing CAW... as if calling to whomsoever lurked within the home. 

Welcome back to scenic Isola Radiale, Ozpin!

You’ll be staying in APARTMENT 345!

You’ll retain everything you had previously.

Enjoy your stay!

Don’t ask how she got on the roof.

Through the trees and plants drifted the phantasms, creatures giving off the same light as the alien flora, shapes reminiscent of spectral creatures of the deep sea.  

The doors to the castle proper opened in a similar fashion when approached, a hall glowing with candles, rich tapestries of glittering blue and silver, a thick carpet underneath. Crow stood in the hallway, in a dress far more ornate than what she’d outlined, and greeted guests as they arrived.

Past the great foyer and into the lower levels was a full bar with drinks and snacks, a bubbling hot tub and stairs to the patio outside. They greeted each other and clinked glasses before a drink. Crow swallowed hers and glanced across those assembled.

“Now, I’ve asked you all here for one reason above all-” Then she paused, head tilting to the side in quiet thought for a moment. “Mm, I made that joke last year, never mind. You’re all well aware how you taste at this point.”

“Thank you all for coming, to those that still remain and those that have joined us since. This place is kind to some and cruel to others, but we’ve all been displaced for some time now. If I had to be anywhere, I’m glad it’s with all of you. Here’s to as much time here as we need,” She raised her glass.