Author's notes: Hey there boys and girls, Vex here with the next chapter of The Stray.

So a couple of days ago I realized that on the 29th I'll have been on this site uploading stories for a year. It probably isn't all that interesting in the big picture but for some reason I wanna get as much stuff done and out before then. Turns out college is a great place to concentrate on writing, more so than home anyway.

So, this chapter is from the perspective of our favourite kitty, Blake Belladonna!

Let's just get rolling shall we? I hope you enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next.

- Vex out!


The Stray – Chapter 2: In Shadows


The argument had raged for hours at tis point and neither of the girls were about to give up any time soon.

''You understand that you're defending an organization that hates humanity don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil.''

''There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin – people like YOU that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!''

''People like me?''

''You're discriminatory!''

''I'm a victim!'' A few moments of silence.

''You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been a war with my family for years. War: as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted on its back for as long as I can remember, and ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear. Every day, my father would come back furious, and that makes for a very difficult childhood.''

'Ruby stepped forward to try and comfort her friend. ''Weiss, I-''

''No! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves and murderers!''

''Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!''

That sentence slipped out and the mood turned from hostile to shocked. Weiss stepped back, repulsed at what she had just heard.

A moment of fearful realization passed before Blake ran. Ran out of the dorms, into the courtyard and faded into the shadows. She ran and ran, darkness engulfing her. Anything to get away from that room – those faces.

''Wake up, you'll miss the show.''

Blake's eyes snapped open. She lay on a rooftop overlooking a shipping yard which held a large amount of cargo containers. The cargo? Dust: mined and refined from the Schnee company quarry. They had been waiting all evening and at some point Blake must have dozed off, although that wouldn't have lasted long. If Sun hadn't woken her up, the roaring of the incoming airships certainly would have.

They came in slow and steady, not wanting to attract attention to themselves. The doors opened and men clad in masked uniforms emerged.

''Oh no…''

''What? Is it them?''

''Yes.'' Blake confirmed. One of the men turned just enough so the red emblem of a wolf with three bloody gashes over it was clearly visible. ''It's the White Fang.'' A Faunus civil rights group who in recent years, following a change in leadership, took on a much more aggressive approach to their activities, waging a personal war against those who would oppress their people. In other words: terrorists. And until a few months ago, Blake had been counted among their number.

Her mouth was dry. It would be impossible to form words even if she could think of some to say.

''You really didn't think it would be them, did you?'' Sun asked.

''No… I think I knew. Deep down. Somewhere inside I knew that the White Fang was behind this. I just didn't want to believe it.'' Striking back to those who discriminated and took advantage of the Faunus was one thing, but to start a crime spree in the city of Vale, robbing every dust shop they could was another matter entirely. Never before had they taken this kind of approach with their activities, amassing large amounts of a resource for whatever they were planning.

The pair of teen Faunus remained frozen on the rooftop, watching as the White Fang hooked up cables to the containers and began to load up their haul.

''So are we gonna stop them?'' Sun asked.

Blake turned to him. ''Why are you asking me?'' she responded with genuine confusion, still in a daze from discovering the truth.

''Well this is your gig, isn't it? I thought you would've jumped right in to try to talk them into going away.'' The look on his face said that he believed it too.

If it were anyone else Blake would have surely taken action but this was… different. There was no way she could kill those she had called comrades until a few months ago. But if they lived then…

A masked man stands on the end of a detached train, fading into the distance.

If they lived, there was no doubt that he would discover where she was. If that happened then he would come for her and never stop until he found her. Of that she was certain. Her former partner wasn't one for giving up...

So in the end they did nothing. They watched as the White Fang took all they could load on and then watched as the airships became little more than specks in the distance.

''So, what now?''

Nearly two weeks later…

''You don't have to keep coming you know?''

''Yeah, but if I didn't then who would keep you from turning into a crazy old cat lady? No pun intended!'' Sun added as an afterthought.

Blake shot him a brief glare, and then slouched back on the couch. Since the robbery she had been staying in her small, one-room apartment in which she had lived before moving into the Beacon dormitories. She couldn't bring herself to go back and so the old, book-cluttered apartment would have to do.

During that time Sun had frequently visited and hung out with her, which she silently thanked him for. If not for him, she might just have driven herself insane with her thoughts.

Sun picked up one of the scattered books. ''Besides, it's not like you can be entertained by these things forever.''

''Are you sure about that?'' she challenged. The tired look in her eyes said otherwise.

Sun smiled. ''Yeah, pretty sure.''

Blake groaned, sinking further down in her seat. ''What should I do, Sun?''

She cocked an eyebrow when the boy laughed. ''Well haven't you changed. What happened to that girl who walked away from her cult to become a Huntress?''

''Who knows,'' she sighed.

''You know what I think?'' Sun asked as he threw himself next to Blake.

''Enlighten me.''

''I think you're afraid.''

''How astute of you.''

''No, no, just listen to me. You're afraid of going back because you don't want your friends to turn you away because you're a Faunus.'' He was half correct at least. ''You've had way too much time to imagine what's going to happen when you do go back. That's no good. Thinking about stuff just means you're imagining things that probably isn't even true.''

Blake opened her mouth to speak, but Sun held a hand up and continued. ''Or maybe you're afraid of telling them about what happened?'' And there was another quarter. ''Listen, you had your reasons for not stepping in. If you explain that I'm sure they'll understand. They are your pals after all.''

''One of them is Weiss Schnee. I'm sure you've heard of her.''

''Ah…''

'Ah' was right. Following the robbery of a large amount of her family's Dust, one could safely assume that Weiss' already-poor disposition towards Faunus would be much worse than usual, especially seeing as she had a suspicion that the White Fang was behind the robberies all along. If she found out that Blake sat back and let it happen… well, you can imagine.

But even with that being the truth of the matter, it wasn't the real reason she did nothing.

It was shame. Pure, unadulterated shame.

She was ashamed of the way she lay there on that rooftop and watched something that she could have stopped. She stayed her blade from doing what was right all for the sake of her own safety. In her mind, not doing anything to stop wrongdoers made you just as guilty as they are.

''Still, that doesn't matter.''

''What?''

She turned to the tan boy who grinned back.

''It-does-not-matter. You still have to go back and face them. You know it and so do I.''

''But-'' He pressed a finger up to her lips, keeping her from speaking once again.

''We'll go tonight. And no buts!''

And so the decision had been made.

They left just before nightfall, sheltered from the downpour by an umbrella. The oncoming storm did not provide a very optimistic backdrop for what she was walking into.

It didn't take them all that long to reach Beacon but in that time Blake's fears had multiplied. More than once she had thought that it wasn't too late to turn back. But there was no going back. She had to do this.

''I could come in with you if you want.''

''No. I have to do this alone.''

''Alright, whatever,'' he shrugged, turning back into the rain, umbrella still held by his tail. ''I'll be in town for a few more weeks. Come find me sometime!'' he called.

That was assuming she had a place here anymore. Despite her pessimistic thoughts, Sun's confidence gave her the push that she needed to enter.

The hallways were barren, which suited her just fine. Blake was just a shadow.

As she neared her destination, the lights flickered and died, turning her surroundings dark. Turning the corner and hearing the groans from rooms she passed made it clear that the power had gone out. Unsurprising thanks to the raging storm outside.

Blake slipped into the room of Team RWBY. At first she thought it was empty but then she noticed the discarded biker leathers and helmet on the floor, her vision unimpaired by the dark thanks to her Faunus eyes.

'Well… here I am,' Blake thought. From the trail of clothes leading to the bathroom she could easily assume that Yang was in there. At least it wasn't Weiss who she would see first…

Blake crawled onto her bed and sat, her knees pulled up to her chest. Her heat pounded. A few beads of sweat trickled down her brow.

Then the door opened.

Dressed in her usual tank top and shorts nightwear, Yang looked... for the first time she had known the blonde, Yang looked tired. If the bags under her eyes didn't give it away then the more subtle things did: her slumped shoulders and lazy movements were unlike her. She was supposed to be a relaxed person, not exhausted.

And it was her fault... probably. Blake pressed her face into her knees and squeezed her eyes shut, wishing that the shadows would just swallow her whole.

''Blake...? Blake is that you?''

Blake looked up, opening her eyes.

''Hello Yang.''

Yang's mouth formed an 'o' shape as she crept closer. The urge to pull away was overwhelming but Blake fought it. She wanted to see what Yang would do. She placed her hand on Blake's shin.

''Blake... where have you been?''

''Around.''

''Don't give me that! Do you know how worried I've been?''

Blake bit her lip. ''Sorry.''

The room flashed as a lightning bolt shot through the sky. This momentarily blinded Blake as while Faunus have near perfect vision in the dark, sudden changes in brightness was difficult for their senses to handle. She tensed when she felt Yang place a hand on the back of her head, then press their foreheads together.

''Don't you dare do that again, you hear me?'' That order broke something in Blake. Tears begin to well in her eyes.

''Okay.''

''Promise me.''

Blake sighed in quiet happiness. Despite her appearance, the determination hidden within Yang was still burning strong. ''I promise.'' The lights flickered back on as the tears were released in full force.

''Thank you Yang,'' she sobbed. ''I... I was so afraid. I thought that if I came back, you and Ruby would reject me. If that happened I-''

It seemed that she was getting interrupted a lot lately.

''Don't be stupid, there's no way either of us would think that way. You're our friend and we...'' she paused for a moment. ''And we're partners.'' Those words would stick with Blake for the rest of her life.

She wiped away her tears and caught Yang's gaze. She smiled. Blake smiled for the first time in two weeks. Her eyes then drifted up, noting for the first time the cut on her partner's brow. Blake gently brushed a finger over and showed some blood. ''What did you do in there?''

Yang looked away slightly as she rubbed the back of her head. ''Yeah, about that... we might have to call the repair guy.''

As if on instinct, Blake rolled her eyes.

It was now Yang's turn to gaze above Blake's face. She knew exactly what had caught her attention: curiosity.

''You want to see them, don't you?'' Yang nodded.

With slow, deliberate movements Blake undid her bow, revealing her small cat ears. ''And there you have it,'' she announced.

Yang stayed silent, just staring. This made Blake feel uncomfortable; she couldn't remember the last time she had willingly taken off her bow for a human. As she was about to voice her discomfort, Yang blurted out, ''Can I touch them?''

''Wh-wh-wh-what?!'' It was an impressive feat making Blake blush but Yang appeared to be a natural for it. ''What nonsense are you asking?''

Yang grinned her trademark grin. ''Come on, just a little touch. Don't worry, I'll be gentle.'' She must have taken Blake's shock for offence because her grin was quickly wiped from her face and she began apologizing.

''No. Don't apologize. I was just surprised is all.'' Blake took deep breaths to regain her composure. She the, looking down nervously with a small blush on her cheeks, said, ''Go ahead.''

The grin returned as a hand reached up. It was a new experience, so Blake was pleasantly surprised at the feeling she got as Yang's fingertips stroked her twitching ears. A tingling sensation shot danced across her body as she felt an unusual urge to purr.

''So cute. I bet Ruby's gonna love these,'' Yang chuckled

Blake had almost forgot about the other members of the team.

''What about Weiss?'' Blake asked

''We'll deal with that later,'' Yang replied

''Or how about right now?'' a third voice spoke.

Unbeknownst to them, she had been standing in the doorway for at least a minute, watching their interactions with her arms folded and a glare set in stone.

''Weiss.''

''Blake.''


Next time: Chapter 3 - Reflection

Hope to see you there!


(The same room as before, now lit up. Vex is sat in a chair.)

Vex: (on phone) Okay, so you're on board? ... Great! ... Yeah, no don't worry, I've spoken to him. He said it was fine... Yeah, an 'educational experience' *Makes air quotation with free hand* ... So I'll call you when it's time... Okay, later. *Hangs up* Hmhmhm, good. It's all coming together nicely.