As Blake entered the library, she was surprised to see anyone at the CCT terminals. Classes hadn't resumed yet and most students were off on missions, visiting home or off in Vale. Her team was off in Patch, and she was pretty sure Pyrrha was visiting a sponsor or something. Jaune was pretty much the only one of her friends to have stayed in Beacon over the short break. Knowing that he was likely to just move and sit next to her anyway, she decided to take the seat opposite him. That way he wouldn't see that she was searching for information on the White Fang. But also, so he could see and speak to her if he wanted. Not that she expected him to, and true to form, other than a friendly greeting the two studied in silence for about an hour.

Whatever Jaune was studying, he must have had something click. His eyes widened and he began quickly transferring files to his scroll. He seemed nervous actually and kept glancing at her, it was unnerving if Blake was being honest.

Her paranoia was starting to kick in and she decided enough was enough. "Jaune. What's wrong?"

"Oh...uhh...nothing? Maybe? Do you...uh...think we could maybe go somewhere to talk? Maybe finish our conversation from before? Maybe get some tea or something in the common room?"

"Sure, a cup of tea sounds nice."

The walk back, was filled with pleasant small talk. And while waiting for the kettle to boil, Jaune explained how he had a report he was working on. Extra credit for Dr. Oobleck. Apparently, it had something to do with the Faunus and Menagerie after the Faunus Revolution. He was hoping to ask a few questions, presumably about the Faunus.

Blake settled down into a couch and sipped her tea with a contented smile. As Jaune sat beside her on the other end of the couch, she gestured to him to ask his questions.

"So...um…is it true that Faunus go into heat?"

Now unfortunately Blake had just taken a rather large sip of tea, and she was now valiantly attempting to not spew said tea across the room in an epic spit take. As a result she merely choked and some of it went up her nose. She also spilled half her tea across her hand, thank god for aura, and came up spluttering. Jaune for his part was quick to retrieve a stack of paper towels and offer a pat on her back.

"Jaune! What the hell? That's how you lead off? What kind of question is that? I mean...I don't even...just... what the hell?"

"What? I'm serious. That was the only downside I could find about being a Faunus. You know aside from bullying and institutional racism. And if it's true I have to rethink a few things in my project."

"It's just an awfully personal question to ask a lady. I mean, my….cycle, is not something I regularly talk about. With anyone, ever. And certainly not without any lead up."

Blake was still in shock. Jaune on the other hand seemed to be realizing what he had done as his expression slowly changed from quizzical to appalled, and his entire head began to glow red. Now it was his turn to start sputtering.

"What?...no I meant...well yeah I guess I did kind of...wait, no...what I meant was...uhgggh I didn't mean to ask like that. Why am I so stupid? I wasn't asking about you specifically. I meant in general. I didn't mean to embarrass you! I certain wasn't trying to insinuate anything! You know what, I'll just go. Let me just make you a new cup of tea first. Sorry I wasted your time."

He looked so forlorn, Blake couldn't help herself but to reach out to him. "No Jaune, please stay. Just tell me why you asked something like that. But I won't say no to a new cup of tea."

"Well I was researching about the history of the Faunus for my paper and...well...after recent revelations I was trying to learn more about what makes you tick. Sort of try and put myself in your shoes, so to speak. You know, to try and be a better friend? And the more I learned, the more I concluded Faunus are amazing! Why wouldn't everyone want to be one? So, I started looking for tradeoffs, you know like things where being human is an advantage. Everything I found seems to be propaganda or just blatant lies. The only thing that seems to be universally accepted is the Faunus heat cycle as it is talked about even in Faunus friendly forums, and in let's say... more... fictional works, ones with less...censorship...yeah lets go with that. Anyways, all the online stories... I mean, all the...first person accounts I read. Describe it as loosing yourself to your animal instincts. A loss of control. That seems like a pretty bad downside to being a Faunus, losing your mind, being unable to control yourself? It speaks to being at the mercy of a baser more animalistic side, like a split personality or something. But I figure it can't be true, can it?"

"Well, it's not exactly like that...look this is kind of weird discussing female cycles especially with a male classmate."

"Oh...yeah...sorry I forget about that. I've got seven sisters, so I kind of grew up with that sort of thing being a constant topic of conversation."

"Seven sisters! Really? Wow, that's... allot."

"Yup, me and my dad and 8 women. Trust me I know more than I want to about women's health issues. And exactly what days to get the hell out of there. Not to sound chauvinistic, but with 8 women living together, all synchronized... yeah escape was a means of survival."

"Well...that's... enlightening. I was an only child, I grew up never talking about this kind of stuff, except for with my mom, which was super uncomfortable." Blake shivered at the memories, before a sudden clarity hit her. "Wait, with all that experience with women, how are you so bad at talking to girls?"

"Well, I think my sisters scared away pretty much any girl who might want to talk with me. They were pretty over protective, like Yang times 7. The only girls I ever really had opportunity to chat with were my some of my sisters' friends. And those were mostly platonic, friendly type conversations, if there was even a hint of romantic sub context my sisters would whisk the girl away. It's like, how I can talk to Ruby no problem, but I get supper awkward with Yang or Weiss. To be fair I'm not really very good at holding a conversation with anybody. I got some advice from my Dad on chatting up women but I'm not sure it's working well. Weirdly, even though we barely ever talk, I'm more comfortable talking with you than almost anybody else...even more than my sisters or Phyrra. Weird isn't it?"

"Yeah...weird...not sure how to take that honestly. Doesn't seem like a bad thing, but what does that say about me?"

"I don't know. I think it's just that you are a good listener. And since you don't say allot, it's like when you do your words have more weight. What you say feels more, thought out, like less judgmental and more honest. Plus, while you tease me, it's not to make me feel uncomfortable, like how Yang does. It's more like you are keeping me grounded, it calms me down, keeps me from getting all flustered. I'm not as afraid of messing up when I'm talking to you. We just talk like friends, true friends. Like if I'm digging myself a hole, I know you'll let me flounder for a bit, but before I get too bad, you always offer me a way out. Also, it helps that you are so expressive with your emotions."

"I thought I was the sarcastic one."

"Hunh? What do you mean? I was totally serious. I think of you as a true friend, and it's really easy to talk to you. Most girls I can never figure out what they are feeling. Like Weiss is always angry, even when she's not. So, how can you tell when you've said something wrong?"

"You're serious? You think I'm easy to read?"

"Well yeah! Not at first, but I figured it out. The secret is to watch your bow. Your ears give you away, the bow probably makes it harder, but if you pay attention to how the bow is moving you can easily tell how you're feeling. You're basically an open book, but you're face barely changes. It's like 75% ears, 15% eyes, 10% corners of your mouth."

"Wow Jaune, I had no idea I had that many tells. I've never had anybody, ever, and I do mean ever, say that I was easy to read. In fact, it's always the total opposite. I'll have to ask my team about that."

"Anyway, I know you don't like to talk about Faunus stuff. And I don't want to make you uncomfortable. Especially since you had such a strong reaction to what I thought was my least personal question! So, I'll just leave you to your tea."

"Wait... Jaune, the answer is yes... sort of. Gods this is embarrassing. Like all stereotypes there is a bit of truth to it. Faunus in general have stronger instincts, or maybe we are more in touch with them, I don't know. I've never been human, so I don't know what it feels like."

"That's fair enough. It's really hard to comprehend what it feels like to be something you're not. There's no frame of reference... or something."

"Right up till the end that sounded quite profound." Blake smirked. "But anyway, just like human women get a hormone burst at the time of ovulation that makes them somewhat more...eager. So too do the Faunus. It is not a overwhelming thing by any means, just makes you...me…more..."

"Horney?"

"Yeah...not the most elegant term. But accurate. I've been in 'heat' several times this semester alone. Did I seem like some kind of sex crazed maniac?"

"No. And when you say it like that it does seem pretty stupid. So, your Instincts don't drive you? Any more so than a human I mean."

"No. My instincts are like a little voice urging me toward something. Like a thought that pops into your head. Like how in a fight you suddenly have something in your head screaming at you to duck, even though you don't see an attack coming? Or you get an urge to look around if someone is staring at you? Well it's like that, except for a lot of weird and very specific things. Sometimes it's a strong instinct, like it's shouting, but most times it's more of a whisper."

"So, you have a voice in your head shouting, 'EAT ALL THE FISHES'?"

Blake just turned away to hide her blush and inwardly began to panic, 'How does he figure these things out? Am I really that transparent? Maybe it's his semblance? Is it telepathy based? No, that makes no sense. If it was, he wouldn't be so oblivious about Pyrrha. Unless...does it only work on Faunus? Is he in my head right now? Can he hear this!'

Jaune's smirk was so big it looked like his cheeks would tear apart. "Wait...you do? It does? Ha ha...that was just a guess!"

Suddenly Blake's eyes went very wide and she grabbed Jaune by the collar. She looked both haunted and terrified. "Yang. Y-Yang must never know!"

"Relax Blake. I swear I will never tell her, or anyone else for that matter. You have my word as an Arc ... however, I reserve the right to tease you about it. It will be an inside joke just between us."

Blake just huffed, and turned back away, arms crossed.

"Seriously though Blake, do you think it's your instincts that drive your behavior. I don't want to sound racist, but I have noticed that you do exhibit a lot of cat like behavior. And other Faunus I've observed do seem to act at least in part the way their animal traits would seem to dictate. I can't tell if I'm just noticing because of the stereotype, or if there is truth behind it."

"Hmmmm...that's a very grey area. I love fish but is that because I'm a cat Faunus? Or just because it was my favorite food growing up. Fish smells amazing to me, any kind, is that the cat part of me? Or is it because the smell reminds me of home, my Mom's cooking, and pleasant childhood memories. I don't like dogs. Is that the cat instinct or just me? Plenty of humans are afraid of dogs. Honestly I don't know."

"If a mouse were to run in here what would you do?"

"Jaune! That's borderline racist... or sexist, maybe both...but I'd probably jump onto the chair and shriek if I'm being honest. I'd have not even an inkling of a desire to pounce on it if that's what you are insinuating. Our Faunus instincts are a part of us but not the biggest part, the differences between our two species is very small when it comes to the less physical and more psychological aspects."

"Heh..heh...I'd be on the couch shrieking right along with you. And as everyone seems well aware, my screams are probably more girly than yours. So…there's no downside at all then? Is there a way they could make me a Faunus? Like a retro virus or something? Maybe a radioactive tiger bite!"

"Why on earth would you want to become a Faunus?" Blake couldn't believe her ears. She knew plenty of Faunus who wished they could be human. But the reverse being true seemed ludicrous.

"Why not, if the only downside is a bunch of idiots treat me different. I get bullied now, the only thing that would be different is I'd get a bunch of awesome new abilities!" Blake looked shocked but Jaune just pushed on. "Take you for example Blake. You can see in the dark, and have, I assume, far better hearing than me, or any of our other teammates. I imagine better directional hearing as well. That's in addition to your amazing combat prowess and cool semblance! Judging by how you react to things you probably smell better than me too." Jaune paused before blushing red in embarrassment. "No... I mean, yeah, you definitely smell better than I do. Like lilacs mixed with vanilla and some kind of spicy flower or something. I mean, wait, what? I……. I'll shut up now."

"You really mean it don't you?"

"Well yeah. You do smell pretty great...n-not like I'm trying to smell you. I'm not perving on you! I wasn't like trying to sniff your hair or something! I just notice when you walk by. You all smell good! Not just you. I...I mean... well, like Ruby's got a whole rose thing going, Weiss is like vanilla with a subtle pepperminty...ness. Yang smells like..."

"Not about that! About wanting to be a Faunus?" Blake snapped. But then, in an effort to help the blonde out of the hole he was digging she added, "But, yes, I do have a pretty good SENSE of smell."

"Oh, okay, yeah...cool." Jaune was furiously trying to overcome his embarrassment. "But seriously, yes, I would definitely want to be a Faunus if I could. Though I would want to be able to pick what traits I got if possible. An extra set of ears or claws would be way cooler than... say, moose antlers or a cotton ball tail."

"I never in a million years would I have thought I'd meet a human who would say such a thing. But no, you are stuck as a human." The absurdity of saying that made her laugh out loud. "But there is one big advantage to that. Humans tend to have larger aura pools. It's an often-overlooked thing, but most Faunus don't have much aura. Most grunts in the White Fang don't have their auras unlocked because it wouldn't be strong enough to make a difference. A single well-placed hit would still incapacitate or even kill them, active aura or not. And their aura activated would attract attention from both the grim and the authorities."

"Wow. That makes a shocking amount of senses. It explains why the Faunus are always on the back foot when it comes to Human-Faunus conflicts. And why the number of Faunus Hunters is so low."

"Well a lot of that is also racism. But generally speaking, humans have a little more aura. I actually have a lot for a Faunus, as do my parents. And my semblance uses very little aura, unless I'm using dust with it. Then it uses quite a lot of aura, that's why I don't use that ability very often."

"Is that why you fight the way you do?"

"Exactly, I'm a mobility fighter. My weapons range lets me keep my distance and my agility and semblance allows me to escape being hit. I cannot tank blows like you or Yang. A few solid shots and I'm in the red."

"So, your high aura made you an ideal fighter for the White Fang. Especially with their style of hit and run tactics. Is that why you stayed, after your dad stepped down?"

"Wha...Jaune, I ...how do you know about my dad! I never told you I was in the white Fang!! How do you keep uncovering all my secrets!" Her instincts screamed at her to run, she jumped up from the couch. But before she could move towards the door a firm but soft grip on her wrist turned her back to the couch. Another hand gripped her shoulder locking her in place, and piercing blue eyes appeared before her own. He had her trapped, not so much so that she couldn't break free if she wanted to, but the fear in his eyes mirrored her own and that had her rooted in place.

"Whoa, Blake it's OKAY. I'm your friend, you're safe I'd never do anything to hurt you. You can trust me. Here look at this..."

The hand left her wrist and he looked away, this was her chance she could twist from his grip and run. But to where? And why? The thought of Jaune being some sort of spy sent to unravel her past was ludicrous. He was a friend, right? She had trusted him before, why not continue that trust? As she began to relax, she noticed Jaune fumbling to bring up a picture on his scroll. It looked like an old newspaper story. A story with a stock photo of her father.

"I found this picture, while researching the change in the White Fang. 'Ghira Belladonna steps down as leader of the increasingly violent White Fang'. That caption caught my eye and made me wonder. So, I searched for more photos and found this one.", holding up his phone so Blake could see.

The picture was of her father standing at a podium with her mother off to one side and practically hiding behind her an approximately 8-year-old version of herself. She couldn't remember where the photo was from exactly, but there was no doubting who it was. Her eyes softened at the image.

"I figured that's you, there right? I mean there can't be that many black haired, black eared, golden eyed, adorable cat girls in the White Fang. And your last names are the same. It wasn't a big leap in logic to figure out that those two are your parents. Plus the caption is labeled Ghira Belladonna, with his wife Kali, and daughter Blake."

"Wow Jaune, once again you surprise me, you really just pieced this together? It really is no wonder you're the team leader." With a big sigh she steadied her nerves to continue. "Yes. Those are my parents, Ghira and Kali Belladonna. They pretty much started the White Fang. And I was practically born a member. Then when he stepped down I stayed on to continue to fight... We did not agree on that. Dad advocated peaceful protest, but peace wasn't working. We fought, I said some things. And I basically ran away. I...I... turned my back on my family. I became everything I hated...I'm a monster Jaune!"

Jaune grabbed her into a hug feeling the front of his jacket become soaked with tears. Carefully avoiding her bow, he stroked her hair to calm her. "shhhhh. It's OK Blake. There. There. You are not a monster. You were... still are... a kid. The weight of the world isn't on your shoulders. I understand. Well….. not what it's like to be a Faunus, but I know what it's like to want to fight against your bullies. To make them hurt the way they hurt you. To want to be strong enough to stand up for yourself. That doesn't make you a bad person. Everyone says to fight for what you believe in, but if what you believe in is different than what they want then they label you the villain. But you are not a criminal, you are a hero, fighting for those who can't fight for themselves. The hardest part of fighting back is not taking out your feelings on your opponent. To not make it about revenge. But if I know you like I think I do, then that's why you left. Right? So, you could keep trying to help people?" Blake just weakly nodded.

"When those around you fell down the slippery slope, what did you do? You left. You left when it became apparent you couldn't stop their fall. You made the hard choice, to stop them by another means. You left so you could continue to be the hero, to protect the innocent. You aren't a monster, you're a hero."

"thrr sss asssoo abbyy" Blake mumbled into his chest.

"Sorry what was that?" Jaune asked backing up slightly, so that Blake was no longer buried against his chest. Instead she just leaned her forehead on his sternum.

"There was also a boy... His name was Adam and I would have followed him anywhere... But I couldn't stop him, I couldn't save him."

"But you will Blake. Eventually you will stop him, or save him, and all of us will help. But it's up to him to WANT to be saved. You can't change people Blake, you can only give them the opportunity to change, it's up to them to take the first step... Whoa, I sounded like Ozpin there."

"And once again you ruin a deep and profound truth with your Jaune-ness."

"Shut up, you know I'm right...ish. But you are right about me knowing all your secrets and that isn't fair. So how about I tell you one of mine?"

Blake gave him a nod, a curious tilt to her head. Jaune paused to collect himself. Amused by her expression and her perked up ears. It seems the curious cat stereotype was appropriate. Taking a deep breath Jaune began his tale. "I should not be in Beacon. I have no training, no semblance or control over my aura. Heck I didn't know what aura was until Pyrrha unlocked it during initiation. I would have probably died on impact if she hadn't saved me by stabbing her javelin through my hoodie into a tree."

"You aren't that bad Jaune, I mean you are getting better. But if that's true, how did you get accepted into Beacon in the first place?"

"Well what I'm telling you only five, maybe six people know. My team, maybe Ozpin, and Cardin. It's what he was blackmailing me with."

"Okay Jaune. I understand." Blake tried to reassure him, conveying her secrecy with her eyes.

"I lied. Simple as that. I used a forged set of transcripts to fake my way in. I thought if I was given a chance, I'd make it. And I am... sort of. Just didn't realize how far behind I'd be. So, I understand what it means to bend, or even break, your morals to achieve your dream. And I don't judge you for it."

Blake smiled back, she was in no position to judge him either. To do so would make her terribly hypocritical. But that didn't mean she couldn't tease him a bit, right? "I thought Arcs never lied?"

"What? No. Arcs never go back on their word. We honor our promises. Nothing about lying."

"Seems like a technicality to me." Blake snarked back.

"Look, let's not argue semantics. This was not supposed to be a deep and soul baring conversation. Let's call it a night. Why don't I make us some dinner, we can watch a movie while I get it ready? Something light, like a comedy or a meaningless action, adventure, popcorn flick. I'll make my mom's famous tuna surprise."

"Tuna Surprise?"

"Yeah, it's like a fancy macaroni and cheese with canned tuna. Pretty sure we got all the ingredients right here."

"OK, I'm in. But no rom-com, Mr. Dinner and a movie. Don't want you getting any ideas."

"No problem, I give you full control of the movie pick. I'll go start cooking." Jaune headed towards the communal kitchen but paused at the door. "And Blake? Thanks for trusting me."

"No, Jaune. Thank you." she whispered to his retreating form.

AN: As Tradition dictates, I must state that Roosterteeth own all rights to the characters of RWBY.This chapter follows the first, taking place between the first and second seasons. I'm working on the assumption that Beacon is operating on a semester system. And each of the first 2 seasons takes place within that framework with the second semester being interrupted by the fall. I also assume that each semester has a midterm break of some kind, in this case, a short break, like a long weekend type of thing. Where everyone goes off doing stuff leaving Blake and Jaune mostly on their own for a couple of days.I tried to explain what I believe to be an interesting observation in the show. Almost all the Faunus seem weak. Most of the Fang don't have their Aura unlocked, and the ones that do are still mostly pushovers. Looking at you Kali's nameless Managerian guard. They can't seem to tank a single low caliber round. And Velvet for all her weapon's power was basically one shotted with a backhand. Compare that to Yang, being crushed against then punched through a cement pillar, semblance or no, that hit would seemingly have straight up killed Velvet. Blake too seems to get into the red rather quickly against Roman at the docks. She does well in the second encounter on the train by not getting hit. Lieutenant Chainsaw and Adam are exceptions as is Kali, who are likely aided by semblances and as I mentioned, have higher than normal Aura for their race.Also, seriously how does no-one know that Blake is a princess….sorry, Chieftain's daughter. She didn't even change her name. You'd think Weiss would be at least aware of Menagerie's leadership. Again, I like to think Jaune is fairly observant and able to make connections rather quickly. He just sucks at social interactions, especially when girls are involved.