Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-24993958-20161231141844/@comment-70.95.34.143-20161231210201

However, about the "transforming entire body" part- in the same scene, Qrow implies that Ruby can dissolve into rose petals as part of her semblance (example: the Volume 4 character short), so it's obviously possible. Unless that's magic too, but no one has ever treated it as particularly strange, so semblances like that are apparently a thing.