AN: Say hello to what I affectionately call Project Jackhammer! A medieval troubadour AU! I'm actually releasing this early because I am still working on Desserts and Phoenix Rose and I don't want to keep away from posting for too long again. This is my first foray into a poly ship, and I'm going to be upfront here if you do not like this kind of shipping then don't read it cause I will be harsh with flamers. I have one poly ship planned and may go through with a second, I'm still on the fence about the second one. This story is also going to get me into the habit of pacing out screen time better for characters so that is a plus as well. Despite how this chapter may read I do want to keep the drama fairly light. You'll see what I mean with that in later chapters. I say that not even really having a plan for how I'm going to write this, then again if you've read my other stuff I only ever plan out one story and that's on hiatus.

You may notice I did not include quotations with thoughts in this chapter, something different I know. Let me know how it reads and if needed I will put them back. That is all for now! Enjoy the journey, keep moving forward, and don't feed the guard dogs! - Phoenix Commander signing off!

Big thanks to Dongyrn for beta reading this chapter and giving it a second edit!

Thank you TheDarkenedRose for giving it the initial edit!

Chapter One: Checking the Inn and Building a Triangle

A young woman walked through the evening crowds of the town, making her way to the outskirts towards her nearby camp. She was clad in a black and red trimmed skirt, black stockings with a blooming rose pattern down them, and a white high-neck blouse with a black and red overbust corset. Her black leather boots clacking lightly on the cobbled street, a deep red cloak and hood clasped with a blooming silver rose, serving to help shield her from the cool breeze of the evening. It also served to keep concealed a short sword, dirk, and a small quiver of arrows. Against the wishes of her patron Ruby Rose, a minstrel in the Huntress Troubadours, had decided to scout out the town herself before they made the decision to play at the local tavern.

"Aside from the quality of the ale, I don't think Weiss'll have any issues with us setting up there." Ruby said to herself, hiccuping slightly as she walked and using her unstrung longbow for support. As the minstrel walked she was thinking about how her first year from home had been. "Today makes a year… has is it really been that long since you both disappeared? No matter, if you're both still alive we'll find you. If not then we'll find where you are and at least have closure." She didn't notice the two figures holding a whispered conversation as they followed her from the shadows of the buildings. Lost in thought Ruby only managed to get a few yards from where her watchers were before a person in the thinning evening crowd stepped close to her, she felt a hand slip toward her belt.

"Did we really need to follow her, Blake? We both know Ruby is more than capable of protecting herself," one of the women whispered. A pair of rabbit ears perched atop her head twitched questioningly towards Ruby. She was clad in a simple dark brown tunic with a stitched heart, trimmed with a lighter tan, dark-brown trousers, and brown leather boots. A belt held pouches of differing sizes, and a brown and tan-handled flanged mace.

"I know she can, Velvet. I just didn't like the idea of her going alone, not to mention I can smell the ale on her breath from here," Blake answered her companion. Like Velvet, Blake was a Faunus only instead of rabbit ears, a pair of cat ears were perched on her head. She was clad in a long white coat with a grey lining, a black sleeveless tunic, black trousers with a white belladonna flower on each leg and black leather boots. On her belt partially hidden by her coat were a short sword, a small hand crossbow, and a pair of daggers. Blake also had a few other daggers hidden elsewhere on her person but within easy reach if needed.

"I would never have taken her for a heavy drinker. Then again if that tavern sells honeyed ale, I shouldn't be surprised." Velvet shrugged. She and Blake had known about the shorter woman's love of sweets for a year now so seeing Ruby tipsy or drunk on sweet ale was not really a surprise.

"That's exactly why I said we should follow her. I trust her abilities but-" Blake was cut off by Ruby's cry, though the Faunus didn't quite understand what the red cloaked minstrel was saying as she had slipped into Valayan.

"Vous cutpurse! Revenir ici!" Ruby was a red blur as she ran as fast as she could after the person who had stolen her coin purse. The minstrel's words loosely translated to: You thief get back here!

"I'll go after Ruby, there is an alley not too far down. Think you can rig something at the entrance to slow that thief, Velv? He looks like a quick one," the feline Faunus asked, pointing at the thief and the nearby alley.

Velvet pulled a few clay spheres from one of the pouches on her hip, smirking before she ran toward the alley Blake had indicated. "Of course, just be sure to cover your eyes, it's gonna be a bright night."

"Si vous ne revenez pas ici, je vais vous accrocher par votre-!" Even slightly intoxicated Ruby was sprinting after the thief and keeping pace, the streets having cleared moments before as the town settled down for the night; until her quarry entered the alleyway that Velvet had just trapped. The ceramic spheres shattered as the running thief stepped on them causing them to explode in a bright flash of light. Momentarily blinded, the red cloaked young woman and her quarry were both forced to a somewhat undignified halt. I'd know that trap anywhere, guess Velvet is in the area and if she's here then Blake is too, Ruby thought as she sat on the ground rubbing at her blinded eyes.

The feel of a small object flying past her, followed by a short cry as the projectile found it's mark, announced Blake's arrival. "You alright Ruby?" the raven-haired Faunus asked as she loaded another dart into a small hand crossbow Velvet had fashioned for her.

"Y-yeah. Damn… my eyes are gonna sting for a few days," the performer said, wincing as her vision cleared. "How many did you use this time, Bunny?" Ruby asked questioningly as she looked trying to find the Huntress Troubadours' resident tinkerer and flutist.

"I only used five of my light spheres this time, no wait, it was seven, sorry Red." Velvet apologized with a shrug when Ruby's eyesight cleared enough to see her. She was standing over the thief, her boot on his back, Blake's dart sticking in his shoulder. "Nice shot, Kitten, he's gonna be out for a few hours. Then again, valerian root is a sedative strong enough to stop a bull."

"Thanks, but to be fair, you made the crossbow and dug the roots. Now let's see about taking back what's Ruby's and getting back to camp. Weiss'll have our heads if we're not back quickly," Blake said as she looked for Ruby's coin purse while pocketing a few rings she found in a hidden pocket in the man's shirt.

"So the princess did send you guys. I thought as much," Ruby sighed, catching her coin purse when Blake tossed it to her.

"Not like that at all Ruby. We went looking for you ourselves a few hours ago, Weiss actually wasn't happy about that either. Yang calmed her down though," Velvet said placing an arm around the shorter woman's shoulders as they walked, trying to placate her.

"Wait, you said Yang calmed her down… we may want to take our time getting back then," Ruby said, as she secured her coin purse to her belt. The two Faunus could see that Ruby hadn't left the tavern empty-handed.

"What are you… oh." Blake trailed off, blushing as the realization hit her.

"Yup, and I don't want a repeat of the last time we interrupted them," the red clad vocalist of the troubadours said with a shudder.

"That is a good idea. Say, you didn't pick up a bottle of ale from that tavern, did you?" Velvet asked, knowing Ruby had the bottle on her and needing something to help banish the image of their patron's and bodyguard's indecent activities.

"Of course I did, wanna split it?" Ruby asked, pulling the bottle off her belt and taking a swig before handing it to Blake.

"You read our minds," Blake chuckled, accepting the bottle.

"Blake, you didn't happen to take anything extra did you?" Ruby asked causing Blake to cough on the ale.

"What?! Me? No, just your coin purse Ruby!" Blake said, feigning innocence and indignation.

"Blake…" Velvet trailed, her ears twitching questioningly as she took the bottle.

"Fine... yeah I did," Blake relented, her ears flattening in embarrassment, as she held out a pair of well made silver rings. "I found the pocket he had them in and couldn't help it, alright?"

"Well… they were on a thief, would it be wrong to keep them?" Velvet asked, looking from the rings to Blake and Ruby.

"Normally I'd say yes and have you return them, but given that the guy looked to be small-time there shouldn't be too much harm. Besides, they may come in handy if we end up strapped for coin," Ruby said as Velvet took a swig from the bottle, then thought about Yang and Weiss. Or they could be used for something else later if they're really this serious. Yang is still hurting about Mom and Dad's disappearance last year, I won't let her get hurt anymore so you damn well better be serious Weiss or… Il y aura l'Enfer à payer.

Huntress' Camp

"So Weiss, how long do you think it took Velvet and Blake to find my sister this time?" Yang asked, her arm holding the other woman to her side as she ran her fingers though Weiss' alabaster hair. They both had their backs against a large oak as they kept watch over the camp, waiting for the other members of the troupe to return.

"Knowing her and knowing them not too much longer, Blake probably had her trail as soon as she got to the town. Why do you ask?" Weiss inquired, as she snuggled deeper into Yang's side, entwining one of her own hands with the taller blonde woman's.

"Just wondering is all. Velvet has been a little off lately, quieter. I've seen her send the odd glance at Ruby when she thought no one was looking. And I've heard Blake talking in her sleep the last few nights, it almost sounded like she was confessing something. She was about as fervent as your typical confessional patron, too," the blonde fighter answered.

"Oh? Now you have my interest," Weiss said, looking from their campfire to catch Yang's eye.

"I thought I already had it," the Huntress' bodyguard said, a suggestive smirk on her lips as she cast a quick glance at their disarrayed bedroll.

"Well you do, yes. But get on with it, what's on your mind?" the Huntress' patron said, hoping the light was dim enough to hide her blush. She had known Yang for almost a year, now. They had met a few days after Weiss had left Atlas, tired of living the boring life of a merchant's daughter. Yet she still let the tall blonde fluster her.

"I may be grasping here, but what do you think the chances are that they both have something for Ruby?" Yang mused. She wasn't actually concerned about the idea. If Ruby was happy, that was all that mattered, and Yang did trust Blake and Velvet enough to keep her happy.

"Hmmm, I find that unlikely but given how close they work together I guess I could see that," the Atlesian replied, giving that some thought. Then another thought struck her and she sat up quickly, "Oh mein Gott! If that's the case, can you imagine what would happen if they had a relationship? If they ended it, imagine the feelings that would change, how they'd interact. It would-" Yang cut her off Weiss' rambling with a kiss. It was nothing like what it had been earlier that evening, full of passion and a lust born from hunger. This time it was softer, sweeter, and reassuring.

As Yang pulled away, Weiss could see that the blonde's eyes were not filled with worry at the thought of a relationship between the three minstrels of the Huntress Troubadours, "I trust the three of them to be able to make each other happy. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but if it does, I think they can handle it."

"I- You're right, Yang. If anyone could figure out how to make that kind of a relationship work it would be those three. If it happens," Weiss said, slowly returning to her position snuggled into Yang's side.

"If it happens." the blonde parroted in agreement, before change the topic to Altas. Weiss had been closed off to the idea of speaking of her home kingdom but Yang felt the need to know. "If you don't mind me prying will you finally tell me what your life in Atlas was like? We'll be there eventually and it would be nice to know what to expect."

"I-" Weiss hesitated, "I should start with what I left behind. You do have a right to know in case we run into anyone from my past there. As you know I was born into an influential merchant family. I had it all, a loving family, future prospects, even a-" She took a deep breath, that was the only bridge she hoped she hadn't completely burned. "Even a suitor."

"A suitor, eh? I don't actually find that surprising," Yang said, a slight hint of worry crossing her face before vanishing. Would she go back to them?

"Then one day I grew bored living that life. I just decided to go out and see the world. I left no bad blood behind with my family, I'm free to return when I wish, but there is one bridge I burned that when we go back I do want to see about repairing. At least so that I can consider her a friend again," Weiss continued, not noticing the worried look that had flashed across her lover's face.

"I don't really see a problem with getting her back as a friend. If anything it would show you that even after a falling out people can go back to being friends," Yang said, a little reassured at Weiss' thought of only being friends again with her former suitor.

"True…" Weiss trailed off, realizing that Yang was right. If she found out if her former suitor could still be her friend then her minstrels would be fine as well. "We should probably get cleaned up before the others get back," Weiss suggested, nodding toward the nearby stream.

"Good point. Last time they caught us post...fun... Blake and Velvet couldn't stop blushing whenever they looked at us," Yang said, causing Weiss' cheeks to flush in embarrassment.

At our current rate we'll circle to Atlas in about month, maybe two. If Yang is right then maybe we can at least be friends again, Neo, Weiss thought as she followed her blonde lover to the stream.

The three minstrels of the Huntress Troubadours were swaying slightly as they supported one another when they arrived at their camp on the outskirts of the village. "The look on your face when you started chasing that thief was éfthymos, Ruby!" Blake giggled, slipping a little into Mistralian.

"Your expression before you realized he had stolen from you, it was actually kind of cute… I, um, wait that came out wrong!" Velvet exclaimed, her ears hiding her eyes in embarrassment as she backed away from Ruby and Blake.

"Velvet, calm down, there's no reason to get upset. What's wrong?" Ruby asked, concerned at the outburst.

"N-no I-I'm fine. Everything is fine!" the rabbit Faunus said, diving for her tent and closing the flap behind her. Cur non habeo dicere Lycisca?! It would have been better to keep quiet!

"W-what was that about?" Ruby asked.

"I have no idea, Ruby. Give her some time to calm down" Blake said with a shrug as she thought, You too eh, Velvet? We should probably talk sooner rather than later. She wasn't entirely sure why but the raven haired Faunus had also developed feelings for the troupe's shorter minstrel.

"Alright, I guess. Yang, Weiss, we're back, you both better be decent!" Ruby called out, hoping that her sister and patron were actually decent, her words slurring slightly.

"Yeah we are, Rubes. Wait… are you girls drunk?" Yang said from the fireside, her hair still wet from her bath in the stream. Yang was polishing her gauntlets, careful to avoid the small trigger mechanism near her knuckles so as to not cut herself on the retractable punching dagger they each concealed.

"Not drunk, just really, really unsteady," the red and black haired woman replied, swaying as Blake supported her.

"So drunk. Blake, care to explain?" Weiss asked, once again snuggled against Yang.

"The tavern sells honey ale. Ruby couldn't resist getting a few bottles and Velvet and I were going to need it if we came back and found you girls… you know," the feline Faunus replied, holding a hand to her nose. "You may want to go take a dunk in the stream again, by the way."

"Seriously?!" Yang asked, a little annoyed.

"My senses are stronger than yours, remember?" Blake retorted simply, her ears flat against her head in embarrassment at the scent that still lingered on her friends.

"Verdammt! Come on, Yang!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Right behind you, Weissy." Yang said as she followed the irritated Atlesian.

"Those two are glued at the hip," the feline Faunus smirked with a shake of her head.

"I couldn't agree more. I've still got about half a bottle left, mind helping me finish it off?" Ruby asked, taking a seat by the fire and offering the bottle to Blake.

"Of course," Blake said, taking the proffered bottle and taking a drink. After a few moments and a few passes of the bottle, Blake spoke up again. "Say Ruby, I was wondering. How do you see me and Velvet?" she asked, more for herself and Velvet but also for how Ruby reacted when Blake told her why they were looking for her. Her ears perked as if to absorb every word.

"I see you both as my friends of course," Ruby started before noticing a slight droop in Blake's ears. "But, well, I don't know exactly how else I feel. When you both showed up in the town, I thought you had just decided to follow me there. Girls day about town, you know? But then you said you came looking for me cause I had been out a while and my first thought was 'that's all?' and I was definitely disappointed but-"

Sorry Velvet, but she's rambling and I would rather know now. I know you have feelings for her too, but we can figure something out about this triangle later, Blake thought as she cut off Ruby's ramble with a kiss. It wasn't long but she hoped to convey her own confused emotions in it.

As Ruby pulled away she could see a mixture of embarrassment, and hope in Blake's eyes, "I'm sorry but I should probably sleep this ale off." Blake said, sheepishly, as she got up to leave. To skatá skéftika?!

"I, Blake, um, I'm going to need a bit to think about this," Ruby stammered, wondering if it was indeed the alcohol's doing or something else.

"I- I, know, Ruby," Blake sighed, still silently berating herself as she walked to her tent and closed the flap behind her. I am so damn selfish, I should've talked to Velvet about this first...she's not going to be happy.

Translations-

French to English Translations:

Il y aura l'Enfer à payer - There will be Hell to pay

Si vous ne revenez pas ici, je vais vous accrocher par votre - If you do not come back here, I will hang you by your

Greek to English Translations:
Éfthymos - Hilarious

To skatá skéftika?! - The fuck was I thinking?!

Latin to English Translations:

Cur non habeo dicere Lycisca? - Why did I have to say that aloud?

German to English Translations:

Verdammt! - Damn it!