Prologue

Blake invited poison through her lips – the burn of each breath reminding her not to forget. With every exhale frayed and jagged - she can faintly see a familiar silhouette through the smoke – before it faded away in the evening air. That's quite alright – instead with every fading silhouette, the toxic pain lingers instead to fill her body with warmth that she hopes will calm the waves of emptiness she felt.

But it never does. Maybe that's why she keeps breathing in - with futile hope of warmth at the end of each cigarette that she held with limp fingers.

Another deep inhale - before Blake tossed away the cigarette in the nearby ashtray. As much as she breathes in the toxic fumes, she always remembered not to litter at the very least.

She glanced at her watch - the numbers gleaming under the street lights of Atlas Square - 11:11 P.M.

"Damn. Took longer than I thought."

Blake turned her heel and proceeded to head back to her apartment. She shoved her hands in her pocket - her left hand toyed with the obvious package that has yet to be empty; while her right toyed with the lighter.

The agitation was slowly returning and the urge to have just one more was taunting her. Instead Blake just walks, trying to keep her mind off of doing just that.

Eventually the young Faunus reached her apartment complex gate - and of course now that she returned, she needs to curb her needs until the next morning.

Blake slowly entered the lobby, and bowed her head at the security guard before shuffling toward the single elevator.

When the doors opened she stepped in - moving to the back to lean against the rail tiredly. She let her eyes close for the briefest of moments - before realizing she hadn't pressed he button for her floor.

Hastily she chose Floor Fourteen along with the Close Button and returned to her corner. Just as she thought the doors would close, a woman stepped inside and positioned herself closest to the elevator door.

"Floor Fourteen?"

Blake nodded her head in greeting before turning away to stared at the elevator lights.

Elevator rides are uncomfortable. This one seemed more so than usual as Blake would typically be alone at this hour. Her left hand flicked the cardboard box inside her pockets to hide away her growing discomfort.

But despite her growing discomfort, she was curious on the stranger that was near her. She looked up discreetly to observe the woman in front of her.

With her ever sharp Faunus, she could see the Human...or was she a Faunus? - from the reflection of the door fidget ever so slightly. She noticed the woman's left hand coming up to cover her face with the white scarf that hung around her neck. The sound of her breath was stifled almost restrained.

Blake didn't need to a be a genius to realize that the person in front of her dislike the scent of smoke. And was of course trying to be a polite without calling her out for a ... terrible habit. Slight warmth filled her cheeks with embarrassment. She knew she probably should've headed back home sooner to avoid this.

She reached for the Floor 7 button and pressed it hurriedly. Thankfully, the elevator was only a floor away. When the doors opened, Blake shuffled out with a a barely audible apology.

"Sorry, I'll take the stairs."

Blake turned away quickly moved toward the staircase, and slowly made her way up the stairs toward her floor.

When she finally arrived, she felt more tired than usual. A dark bitter chuckle escaped her lips. Of course there's only one explanation for her frequent fatigue and poor health.

Blake entered her apartment - hurriedly removing her jacket like as if it was tight against her her neck before leaning against the wall and then slowly sinking to the floor. Her nose crinkled in displeasure at the scent emitting from her jacket along with her grey long sleeve and black jeans.

She never really noticed how much the scent lingered - she should know she's a Faunus. She never cared for her appearance around others that late at night - but something about that woman reacting visibly in front of her was unnerving...

Silence filled the apartment, with Blake leaning on the wall and staring blankly at the window. Eventually, the brewing thoughts that she tried to keep at bay left her she growling in self-loathing. She stood up and reached for her coat and walked out of her apartment back in to the cold Atlesian streets.

Initially Blake counted ten cigarettes when she started at 7:21 P.M.

Now, she counted three cigarettes that remained in the box at 12:14 A.M.

By 5:17 A.M, she'd finally return home with her lungs filled with full package and another box tucked safely in her coat pockets.

When she finally felt her eyes droop for her brief two hour of rest before work - she was comforted with the warmth of poison calming her mind. Later that morning, Blake could only hope that the warmth would linger until sundown - before she needed to start again.