So here's another chapter of Ancestors. This chapter wraps up the introduction of all our major players and all of the main point of view characters that I'll be using for this fic. Some of you will have likely noticed the change to the lead characters on the fic tags now, too.
Now for those of you that are pointing out that Jaune is a selfless person that just wants to help people out, I'm not really going to disagree, but I'd like to think that there is some selfishness involved in his decisions.
Both Charles and Marianne do point out that there are other ways for him to help people without being a Huntsman. The decision to do so despite these options being available for him shows a certain level of selfishness because one of the possible reasons for his actions was upholding a family legacy. The desire for glory could be completely unconscious on his part, and he wouldn't really think about it unless another person brings it up.
There's also the fact that the Jaune we see in the series has already been shaped by the events in canon and the experience of having a team in Beacon. This Jaune hasn't even reached that point yet.
Chapter III
The Players - Part II
Jaune Arc had not expected this.
Well, in retrospect, he should have expected something when his father had pointedly left Crocea Mors in the sitting room on the night Jaune was planning to leave. His sisters also had a bad habit of being overprotective, the fact that they didn't try to dissuade him via scroll was a red flag in itself.
Hell, he hadn't even turned the thing off because he was admittedly worried something would happen while he was away and he wanted to be reachable. Not the most intelligent decision Jaune could think of, but he loved his family enough.
Really, he'd expected his dad to ride all the way to Vale to try and convince him to come home, but hoped that Nicholas would be too busy to actually leave Ansel. It wasn't cheap to feed a family of nine ─ now eight ─ after all, and for a long time Nicholas was the only breadwinner.
In a way, it made sense for his father to ask someone else to track him down.
"Hey Dad!"
"Hello, Jaune." Nicholas had an amused glint in his eye and a look on his face that vaguely reminded Jaune of pride. "I'm glad that you managed to make it to Vale. Everything alright, I hope?"
"Yeah." He found himself answering before really thinking about it. "I avoided taking any bullheads, so I took the trains. It took a little longer, but I didn't have any problems with my motion sickness and the view was worth the added time."
Nicholas laughed, shaking his head. "Good, good. Your sisters were fretting about that, so I think you made the right decision. You should give your mother and sisters a call after this, though. They've been worried about you and the only reason why they haven't called is because I said it might spook you."
That made sense. He was thankful that his father was considerate enough to do that even though Jaune had been half-expecting a call anyway.
"Anyway," resumed Nicholas, the look on his face going from good-humoured to formal. "I'm glad Charles and Marianne managed to get a hold of you before you enrolled into Beacon."
Jaune couldn't say he was surprised by his father's desire to talk him out of it.
"Dad," The younger Arc couldn't quite say he still wasn't disappointed considering he'd already gotten all the way here. He'd proven his determination to do this, and he had hoped that Nicholas would at least respect that. "I said I really did want to do this. I know you and Mom don't approve, but you're not stopping me."
Nicholas nodded with a raised hand, stopping Jaune from saying anything else. "I know you were determined. It's why I left the sword out for you, Jaune."
That gave Jaune pause. He looked away from his father and turned his eyes to the sword at his waist. He'd been waiting for almost three weeks for his Dad to leave the sword out somewhere where Jaune could take it. Nicholas was a stickler for safety and leaving a weapon out in the open was exactly something that he avoided.
On occasion, though he did leave it over the fireplace to dry after cleaning and oiling the blade, and it had been then that Jaune had taken it.
It warmed his heart that his father had purposefully left the heirloom out for him even though it confused him a bit.
His father hadn't seem to have noticed Jaune doing that and continued speaking with a shrug: "If you were going to be going all the way here to do something that might get you hurt, I thought you ought to at least have a reliable Weapon. Crocea Mors is the most reliable weapon anyone in the family can ever have."
"Thank you." Jaune said quietly, unable to really think of anything else to say on that matter.
This did bring up another thing, though: "So if you're not trying to stop me from enrolling into Beacon and you even left me Crocea Mors to make sure I'd have a better chance, what's all this about?"
Jaune felt his eyes furrow. Had his Dad really just wanted to check on him, he could have at least tried calling first rather than resorting to whatever this was. His own blue eyes turned from Nicholas to the older man sitting across him ─ Charles, Nicholas called him.
"You want to be a hero, Jaune." Nicholas started, stating the obvious.
"Yeah?" The younger man looked back to the man on the screen with a raised eyebrow.
"You want to be hero, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to be a Huntsman."
No. No it did not. And while he didn't completely agree with what Charles had said earlier about wanting glory, he couldn't say that helping people through other means was going to satisfy him. He had a legacy to uphold, and it was unfair that he wouldn't be able to do that just because his Dad decided that being a Huntsman wasn't for him.
"So what do you want me to do? Enroll for the police academy? Volunteer for the rescuers?" He'd almost snapped and he felt an angry fire begin in his chest. He hadn't gone all the way here just to end up not going, not after spending the last few years saving money so he could afford the trip and whatever money Junior was going to be charging him for the fake documents.
Junior!
Jaune looked away from his father and turned to the seat where the man that had promised him the documents was sitting only to find him gone. Had he left while they were talking? Jaune hadn't noticed anything, but he may have been too preoccupied to have been paying attention.
"No." It was Charles. It was the first time the man had spoken since Jaune's father had appeared on the screen. "That's what Marianne and I are here to do, Jaune." He leaned forward and clasped his hands together while putting his weight on his knees. The older man's blue eyes stared into Jaune's own. "We're here to give you another option, and one where you still get to live the life you want."
"But it doesn't involve Beacon." Jaune could imagine that this is what the man was going to lead up to. His father wouldn't have been relieved that Jaune had been found before he could apply, after all.
Charles shook his head. "No, it does not."
Before any other words could be said, Marianne ─ from her place beside Jaune ─ spoke up:
"Jaune," she said with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You have no combat training. Nicholas told as this when he contacted us to see if we'd be willing to make contact with you."
The young man blinked at the words and turned to the section of carpet between his feet.
No, no he didn't, but he had been intending to catch up once he was in Beacon. It was a school where they were expected to learn how to fight the Grimm so it would have made an excellent place for him to learn.
"That isn't to say that you couldn't have caught up in time ─ Nicholas has told us you're a fast learner so you might have landed on your feet somehow, but there's another problem, Jaune." There was a squeeze on his shoulder, and the sensation of pins pricking at his skin from where her fingers touched him. Jaune looked up, blue eyes meeting gold.
"Jaune," she continued, "initiation for the Huntsman Academies involves live combat against the Grimm."
W-what?
Live combat?
But they were students. They were kids, essentially, they wouldn't be insane enough to throw them into a dangerous scenario like that before they were ready, right?
His thoughts must have shown on his face, because Charles caught in attention by adding: "There are combat schools that attendees of the Academies are expected to have attended. You normally learn to fight Grimm there, and it's in Beacon that you learn to specialize in it. Even in some cases, those that graduate from combat school may opt to go into other fields rather than become Huntsmen."
"There's also the issue of Aura." It was his father this time, Jaune turning to see the older man pursing his lips while furrowing his brows. "You don't have it unlocked, Jaune, and most people that would be attending Beacon have likely had their for years. It's part of why everyone is okay with sending the prospective students off to fight the Grimm, they're less likely to get hurt than normal people would."
Aura. That… was a good point. He'd heard of it from the local huntsmen, and had even heard his father discuss it on very rare occasions but it didn't usually come up because of Jaune's and his family's rather peaceful lifestyle. For all he could see, his Dad's aura was never a factor in anything that they did, and therefore didn't do anything.
He knew in theory what it was supposed to do, however: protect the body, accelerate healing. It was something that all huntsmen and huntresses had. The fact that he didn't have it meant he'd be less protected than his would-be peers come the initiation that his Dad was talking about.
"Between the lack of any combat training and the lack of aura, it would be very fortunate if you could even come out of initiation alive at all, Jaune." Marianne added while transitioning to giving him consoling pats on the back.
Jaune, meanwhile, just felt drained.
Assuming all of this was true, it likely would be. He clenched his eyes shut as he took a deep breath.
Aura and training were the biggest clinchers there. He had been willing to put in extra work and perhaps even ask for assistance from his teachers in order to not fall behind too much, but this much may be more than he could manage since he'd need this on the first day rather than not.
"So I go home, then." He said, his voice sounding as defeated as he was feeling.
"No." Nicholas's voice held a firmness that reminded Jaune of the time he had asked his father for training the first time and was declined. "I never trained you because I didn't want you to be like me, to be a huntsman. I'd been forced into the role by my own parents and was never given the chance to make my own choice.
"I'd never wanted that for my own children, for you and your sisters. When Juniper and I got married, I promised myself that I'd give our children all the time and opportunity to explore the world and decide what they really wanted to be."
He chuckled to himself, not really looking at Jaune anymore even though the latter was now paying close attention.
Nicholas continued: "Your grandparents didn't like that, especially after your aunt passed away and I was their last remaining child. I was their heir, and the heir to the Arc legacy. The only way our traditions would continue was if I passed them on to you, and I made it very clear to them I wasn't going to."
Jaune remembered that story, or at least the bit about his grandparents not liking how his Dad chose to live his life. It's why they never visited them. Hell, Jaune didn't even know where his grandparents lived, or if they were even alive.
"But you did exactly that, Jaune." Jaune's father looked back to him and gave the younger man a wide, proud grin. "You were doing so many odd jobs after school and during the weekends, your Mom would sometimes ask me if you might burn yourself out. I still get a few questions every day asking about how you're doing out there in the city since you left to 'pursue your dreams'" The smile was fond and the way his Dad said it made Jaune think that the older man could have used air quotes.
"But here we are, still, Jaune." Nicholas's hand appeared on-screen, gesturing to the situation. "You've seen some of what the world has to offer, and decided that this is still where you want to be, and I think I can respect that." The older man's blue eyes looked to the two other people in the room: Charles and Marianne.
"So when you left, I got in contact with Charles and Marianne. They're relatives of ours, and very good at what they do. Charles is actually the head of the our family, and has been looking for a successor for some time now." Jaune looked to the older man to see him nod in confirmation. "He's agreed to train you provided you meet two conditions.
"The first is that you become his heir. There's a lot implied in that, so he's going to have to discuss that with you after this."
The youngest Arc in the room gave his father a nod but didn't say anything. He couldn't think of anything to say right now.
"The second is that you forgo ever enrolling in Beacon or any of the Huntsman Academies."
"But─" Jaune was stopped by Marianne patting him strongly on the shoulder, causing him to jolt forward.
"An interesting thing you'll want to know is that you don't need to graduate from an academy to get a Huntsman's license." She grinned down at him.
Jaune blinked before his brows furrowed. "Really?"
She nodded, her smile glinting in the light of the room. "Yes. It's common enough that people from the frontier territories take up arms and unlock their aura independently or with the help of a local huntsman and set out to protect their livelihoods and families. On occasion, they reach a level of proficiency matching or even exceeding what the academies are capable of putting out.
"All you have to do is to approach one of the schools and ask for a licensure exam. If you pass, you're an official huntsman, though some people are willing to hire even an unlicensed one as long as they get the job done."
Huh. That was admittedly unexpected.
He also couldn't say this was too bad an offer. It almost seemed too good to be true in fact, especially considering the whole thing about what he was supposed to expect from the Beacon's initiation.
"That…" He breathed deeply before exhaling into a dry chuckle. "That was one hell of a sales pitch."
The room's amusement was noticeable immediately. Nicholas kept grinning while Charles looked about as smug as a man like himself ought to have been at successfully convincing someone to see things his way, even though Jaune hadn't really agreed. Marianne nodded down at Jaune, seemingly impressed.
"Sharp." Charles looked at him approvingly. "Good. That will serve you well in the future."
~TtT~
Cinder Fall decided that Ilia Amitola struck a very different first impression from Adam Taurus.
While Taurus clearly aimed to look both imposing and confident, Amitola didn't seem to see the need to. The faunus girl struck Cinder as an everywoman, and one that didn't quite fit the charismatic speakers she'd encountered that made up the White Fang's officers. Her short stature and unimpressive choice in clothing further reinforced this, as did her body language. Taurus usually opted a position that placed him at the center of attention and adopted a posture to match.
Amitola was seated at the edge of one of the couches and was nursing what appeared to be a glass of water.
"Good evening, miss Amitola." Cinder greeted as she stepped out of the darker corners of the room and moved to take the couch opposite the person she was meeting. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."
They were using one of Roman's spare hideouts in the City of Vale. The man had been kind enough to offer the use thereof when Amitola had been put in contact with him through Junior Xiong when the girl came looking for whoever Taurus had been working with. It was convenient in that if things went south, she, Torchwick, and Amitola could disappear with minimal loss.
"No worries." Amitola shook her head, swirling the water in her glass before putting it down and looking up. Grey eyes looked into Cinder's gold. "I apologize if this seemed sudden, miss Fall, but I needed to get in contact with you, and Adam Taurus didn't really let anyone know he was working with you. Junior was nice enough to put me in touch."
That made sense. Taurus had said that the rest of the White Fang might not have agreed with what he was doing. It was part of why he had been planning recruitment drives to bolster the numbers of the little faction he had been growing in the organization.
"Really?" Cinder tilted her head to one side as she crossed her legs. "I had thought that Adam was speaking for all of your organization when he was working with me."
Amitola smiled ruefully as she shook her head. "Sadly no. That's part of why I've come into contact with you, miss Fall." The younger girl wove her fingers together and placed her locked hands atop her lap.
"As you have likely heard, Adam Taurus was recently killed in action."
Cinder nodded. Yes, she'd heard as much. The members of Adam's cell that had been working with Torchwick had informed him within a day, and the news had been relayed to Cinder not long after. What she didn't know, was who was responsible.
"I'd heard, yes," the older of the two said as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch. "I was never told about the details, however."
"I didn't think you would be." Amitola answered, picking up her glass and taking a long drink. It had only been Cinder and Ilia in that room in the first place, so all Cinder could hear for a few moments was the sound of the young faunus woman gulping down the water. After the glass had been emptied and put down with an audible exhale, Amitola continued: "There was incident on a train that was due to arrive at Vale about two days ago. It was one loaded with Atleisan weapons and dust, and the Vale cell was reportedly short-handed enough that Adam took the mission himself.
"From what we've managed to gather, he'd had a run-in with a huntsman ─ or at least someone of that level. We were called in to recover the supplies and arrived to find him dead on one of the open-air cars."
Cinder blinked. That was far simpler than she'd expected, and certainly not how she expected Taurus to ever get killed.
"Whoever was on that train must have been remarkably powerful if they were alone." Cinder pointed out with raised eyebrows. "Do you suspect it was a setup?."
"We did, actually, yes." Amitola agreed with a nod a brief bite of her lower lip. "It's why I was sent to Vale initially, to investigate the person that had killed him since we'd managed to get his name." She shrugged before looking away. "Supposedly, the story was that he was here looking for a boy ─ a runaway from his family."
"What did you find?" Cinder was intrigued.
"Junior had actually been of help again on that front. He'd helped the man find the kid."
"So it was genuine?" That was an actual surprise.
Amitola shrugged. "From what we've managed to put together over the course of the past few days, it had just been a case of wrong place, wrong time, for Adam Taurus."
Cinder suppressed a scoff at the comparison. She agreed, of course, but it didn't change the fact that this put a very noticeable hamper on her plans.
"Which brings me to the second reason I am here meeting you, miss Fall." Amitola must have read her mind. The girl was looking a bit uncomfortable, but Cinder wasn't sure if it was because of the topic ─ discussing what was to be done in light of Adam's death, or the fact that she was broaching the topic with someone like Cinder Fall. Cinder suspected the former, though, since she doubted this young woman knew anything about her.
"Some of Adam's activities have been brought to light since my arrival in the City of Vale and the beginning of my investigation." the younger woman began, "Sienna Khan ─ the head of our organization ─ tasked me with looking into what he'd been doing at prior to his death, and we've found that he may have been planning to act independently."
And Cinder was aware of that. It had been why she opted to approach Adam in the first place. The boy ─ because he certainly behaved like one despite his age ─ had been so angry, so easy to manipulate. All she needed to do was play on his hate for the humans and how helping her would truly put the White Fang on the map again, and he was willing to pit himself against his own kind for it.
"So our leader has decided to suspend all operations of the Vale Cell of the White Fang until we can finish cleaning house." Amitola's gaze met Cinder's, the look in the other young woman's eyes spoke to her of poorly-hidden distrust. "I've been informed that you had been working extensively with Adam these past few months. I am sorry that whatever you were working is suddenly coming to an end, but I'm sure you understand that we need to look after ourselves first." She then shrugged, closing her eyes. "If you are still interested in working with us afterwards, you are welcome to."
The message was as clear as Amitola's blame on Cinder for whatever part the latter may have had in Adam's actions. The White Fang wouldn't pursue anything with her, but she wouldn't be getting their help anymore.
Cinder needed a drink.
Amitola, however, continued speaking. "As of now, we're already rooting out whoever was still supporting Adam's cause. His less-known supporters are likely escaping the city as we speak."
Which also meant that it didn't matter if Cinder took action against the girl in front of her. The word was out so it would matter little. The unsatisfied faunus of the City of Vale would know that Adam Taurus was a traitor to the White Fang, and none of his followers were to be trusted.
However, she still had appearances to keep up.
"Thank you for informing me, miss Amitola." Cinder did her best to sound sincere. "I'm sorry to hear that we won't be working together anymore, but I understand. Traitors are a terrible thing to have to deal with. Had I known…"
The meaningful pause had been enough. Amitola nodded and stood up.
"Thank you for your understanding. I'll be in the city for a few weeks while we finish this up. If there's anything I can help you with on a personal level, please feel free to ask. Adam was a good friend of mine. We grew up together." She turned to the door.
"Actually…" Cinder would have purred had she been in the mood to do so. Sadly she wasn't, so she settled for closing her eyes and sighing. "There is something I would like to know."
Amitola's grey eyes looked at her from the darkness of the edges of the room. The faunus was likely near the doorway now.
"Yes?" she asked.
"You mentioned you were able to find the man that killed Adam."
"Yes." Cinder imagined a nod.
"You aren't pursuing revenge?"
"No. Someone that could put down Adam Taurus isn't someone the White Fang wants to fight right now, especially considering the man was uninvolved and ─ from everything we've found so far ─ completely uninterested in helping the authorities. He didn't report the incident, either, or volunteer for questioning. Since the other passengers hadn't known he was involved, the police don't have anything to go on.
"Officially, the White Fang had never been there."
That was admittedly surprising. Whoever this was certainly made it clear he wanted to be left alone.
But Cinder was curious, and she needed to have a good explanation to her mistress for why the entire plan was no in jeopardy.
"But you have a name?" Cinder pressed, gold eyes now open and glinting down at the empty glass on the gable.
"A name and a face. I can send the full description to you later, if you like."
"And the name?"
There was a pause.
"Charles Arc."
Hours later, when she had given her report to her mistress and shown Salem the photograph of Charles Arc, she had been greeted with something wholly unexpected.
The line had gone silent as Salem stared at the file that was being displayed on the Seer that her mistress kept close to her at all times.
Salem said nothing for almost a full minute, and Cinder wasn't sure what was going through the woman's mind.
"I wish to speak with him, Cinder." The voice was clipped, tightly controlled, all most too much so.
~TtT~
"I'll admit, when I said you could contact me if you ever needed anything, I didn't expect you to do it so soon."
Blake Belladonna was inclined to agree. The encounter with Marianne Arc a few days ago was still rather surreal considering how everything went that day, and she ─ while appreciating both the older woman's consideration and her discretion ─ would have rathered not meet the woman again.
Despite that, here she was, having breakfast with the other faunus at what was apparently the cafe of the hotel Marianne had been staying in with her family. A few tables away, Blake could spot an older gentleman who appeared a decade or so older than Mariann herself sitting across a young man around Blake's own age.
"I hope it isn't too much trouble." Blake replied sheepishly before turning her attention to the tuna and cheese omelet she had been served. "I expected that you and your husband would be busy, so I decided to get in contact you early so you could squeeze me in somehow." The cat faunus took a forkful and put it in her mouth, enjoying the moist, flaky goodness of her favorite fish.
She swallowed the bite and took a sip of water before continuing: "I hadn't expected you to invite me for breakfast the following day."
Marianne giggled as she took a bite from her rather full-looking plate of sausages, mashed potato, fried eggs, bacon, and baked beans. "I'll admit that you caught my interest after we met." She shrugged. "And Breakfast is usually something my husband and I keep free in case things come up. Best deal with the unexpected at the start of the day to get it over with quickly."
Gold eyes blinked down at Blake before the woman added: "How goes your preparation to apply to Beacon, by the way? I think the deadline for submission is in a day or two?"
Blake nodded. "Yes. I already have everything accounted for. I'm just looking for a recommendation since I'm applying as a student trained in the field rather than any of the combat schools."
"That sounds reasonable. Do you already have someone in mind?" Marianne asked as she took a sip of her tea. The brew was strong enough that Blake could smell it from across the table.
"I have a few favors from people I know out of town." Blake replied, "I'm sure I could have something sent over before the day is out."
Marianne nodded before putting down her cup. "I was going to suggest the same thing, as Charles and I have a few contacts."
"Thanks for the consideration. If anything comes up, I might take you up on that offer, is that okay?" Blake nodded her thanks as she cleaned out her plate. She still remembered what the woman had said about giving people second chances, but she still found this level of generosity a bit baffling from a woman she just met. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, of course."
"Nonsense." The woman waved it off. "It wouldn't be trouble at all, and we'd be more than happy to help. Just make sure you give us enough time to actually get things done."
Blake agreed. "I'm planning to get in touch with my contacts right after this, actually, so I'll be sure to give you a call if anything come sup."
The grin Marianne sent her way was positively blinding. "Excellent!"
Both women spoke of other topics after that. Marianne telling Blake about how the she and her husband had managed to get in touch with Jaune and take him in. It had also been then that Blake learned that the older woman was going out to look at a house that day with the two men to see if they would be purchasing it.
Blake talked about running into one of her childhood friends that was in the city for work. She didn't mention that Ilia was here on White Fang business considering the organization was moving to slow down their operations in light of the things Ilia found out about whatever it was Adam had been doing before his death.
Hells, even Blake had been surprised, and she found herself wondering just how much her one-time lover had been hiding from her before the end.
And that had been the crux of the matter. Adam had died, killed in action after she had cut his car loose from the train.
The same train Charles and Marianne had been riding in.
"Also, there was something I wanted to ask you." Blake said in a whisper that could have been too soft to hear in the busy cafe they were in.
"Ask away, my dear."
Blake's mouth hung open as she contemplated her question. She needed to find out ─ wanted to be sure, but she wasn't sure what she was going to do afterwards. But she also knew that she needed to stop running away. It wouldn't help her in the long-run, and she needed to start somewhere.
She took a deep breath and raised her chin to meet the older woman's gold eyes.
"Did you kill Adam Taurus?"
Marianne blinked. She'd been cutting one of the sausages on her plate with a knife and had been about to lift it to her mouth when Blaked asked her question.
"Who?"
W-who?
"A-Adam Taurus." Blake said with furrowed brows, finding her hands shaking a bit. "H-he was the man that had been with me on the train. The one I left behind."
Adam Taurus was a figure among Faunus, someone that was quickly becoming a household name for their kind, and not just those that were tied to the White Fang. But she should have expected this. Marianne didn't strike her as someone that really kept in contact with what was happening in the Kingdoms. Perhaps the woman lived in the frontier. She certainly dressed like someone that was out of touch with most of the world.
Blake shook her head, and looked up to meet the older woman's eyes again.
"Oh him?" Marianne seemed to have realized who Blake was talking about. "Charles killed him."
The cat faunus felt a great weight lift off her shoulders. She nodded before looking down. Relief was probably not something she should be feeling. The husband of the woman before her was responsible for killing one of her closest friends, someone that had even been her lover at one point.
But she'd already mourned. Both she and Ilia had, drinking tea and toasting to the boy that they had both grown up with, that they had loved in different ways but loved all the same.
Adam Taurus was the first love of her life, and she would never forget that. But he had also turned into a monster.
In some small way, Blake was relieved that she didn't have to put him down herself, as difficult as that would have been to do even had she been strong enough.
When Blake looked up, she found Marianne giving her a look. "He was acting like an animal." the older woman said, "So Charles put him down like one."
All Blake did was nod. "I don't hold it against you, ma'am." Her voice was a whisper, but she was certain Marianne could hear her all the same. "I just wanted to be sure." Her eyes shut as she took a deep breath. "Thank you."
"You loved him." Marianne's voice was equally soft. Blake opened her eyes and sent the woman a smile.
"At one point, yes." Blake blinked at the memories. She was sure she'd already cried her heart out with Ilia a few nights ago, but apparently she wasn't completely done. That… made sense, she supposed. "We grew up together along with another friend of mine."
"Are you still close with this friend?"
Blake paused at the question, not expecting it. She did answer, though: "We stopped talking for a while, but we saw each other a few nights ago. I-it was how I found out." She swallowed the ball forming in her throat. "We're talking again."
Marianne nodded and sent her a gentle smile.
"That's good." She resumed eating, occasionally meeting Blake's eyes. "Hold fast to those you love, Blake. They're part of what makes life worth living, and you can never know when you'll lose them." She paused, giving the younger girl a long look with a raised eyebrow. "But I imagine you already realize that."
"I do." Blake said with a nod as one of the servers approached asked what type of tea she'd wanted to have. Upon answering, she looked back to woman across her.
"Miss Marianne, why the interest in me?" She dropped her voice to a soft whisper to make sure Marianne was all that could hear. "I'm an ex-terrorist that had been involved in a plot that would have killed you and your husband. I have no influence or wealth, and can't really offer you much in return." Blake felt her brows furrow as she bit her lip. "So why?"
"You already know part of why, miss Belladonna." Marianne replied immediately. "My husband and I believe in second chances, but we also believe that goodwill repays itself in kind." The older woman sent Blake a conspiratorial smile. "You may not be able to return the favor now, but you may just do so one day." She shrugged. "There's no guarantee of this, but if it does, I'm sure your sense of honor would compel you to do us a service."
The older woman leaned in, bending down her remarkable height to level her gaze with Blake's.
"And I'll be honest with you, miss Belladonna. From what I understand, you've just given up plenty, and Charles and I know what it's like to lose everything that made up your world. It's a painful and scary experience. I just hoped that giving you a helping hand ─ with some things that barely cost us anything ─ that I could make life just a little bit easier for you."
Blake looked at the older woman as the latter sat back up and proceeded to finish her meal. She couldn't really think of anything to say for a while, but eventually came up with something:
"Thank you, Lady Marianne."
The older woman gave her an indulgent smile as she proceeded to finish her own tea.
"Now how about you let me take care of that recommendation of yours and you spend the rest of the day with us once you've submitted your application? I'd like you to meet Jaune, and maybe see where we'll be moving in for the forseeable future."
~TtT~
Winter Schnee stared at the bottle on her superior's desk.
The dark colored glass was laid on its side, one of the sides of the bottle's triangular shape stopping it from moving. Two crescents sat below a rising mountain with the number fifteen emblazoned on it.
"May I speak freely, sir?" She asked.
"Of course." Ironwood said with a wave of his hand. "We're in private, Winter."
"Did my mother give you that?" Winter gestured an open palm to the thing on the man's desk.
Ironwood blinked, as though he didn't expect the question at all. Winter supposed he wouldn't have. While she liked to consider her mentor to be quite the cultured man, she highly doubted he knew what the drink was, much less what it meant.
"Y-yes?"
Winter nodded. Now for the important question: Did she say anything when she gave it to you?"
Her superior nodded, but seemed to think about it first.
"Willow said it was as thanks for taking care of you." He leaned back against his chair to look at the ceiling. He didn't say anything after that, though.
Willow Schnee was someone that had largely retired from public life. Since Winter had been ten, her mother had been an alcoholic, spending more time alone or in the older parts of the manor with a bottle of something good and not much else. The household and the businesses of the Schnee family had fallen into the hands of the father that had disowned Winter after she had joined the military.
As such, this was a surprise. While using alcohol as a gift was something Winter could certainly imagine her mother doing, giving a bottle of one of the most expensive whiskeys in all the Kingdoms to James Ironwood was not something she expected from the woman that had essentially become a recluse and abandoned her duties to her bloodline and her family.
"Sir, are you familiar with what she gave you?"
Her addressing of him seemed to have snapped Ironwood out of whatever reverie he had fallen into, the man blinking before looking at her as though he had forgotten she was in the room.
"W-what?" he shook his head. "If you're referring to the bottle, I can't say I do outside of the fact that it's a type of whiskey." He turned from her to consider the thing, picking it up and giving the logo in front a once-over.
Winter then explained to him the brand's reputation as well as how much such a thing would cost.
James Ironwood looked floored, and Winter would admit that she found some amusement in it. The man had been a rock for almost as long as Winter had known him so seeing him lean back and rest his arms on his lap in shock was a new experience. It helped that this wasn't the type of surprise that came with bad news, but with very unexpected flattery.
Winter promised herself she'd thank her mother for the sight if ever she got the chance to.
"I-I I hadn't known." Ironwood eventually managed to get out after almost a moment of contemplating. He looked to the bottle that was now lying on the table in front of him. "I hadn't even expected to run into her, you know. I'd just finished a meeting with Jaques when your mother met me as I was on my way out. We spoke briefly and about a few things, and then she gave me this while thanking me for taking care of you all these years, since she had been unable to do so herself."
He shook his head again, more slowly than he did earlier. "Had I known how much just a bottle of this stuff cost, I would have never accepted."
"Declining would have been an insult, I think." Winter told him with a shake of her own head. "I remember when I was younger," Winter remembered one of the stories Klein had told her about someone declining a bottle presented to them by Willow shen Winter's mother had been much younger. The would-be recipient of the gift had walked out of Winterkroneburg, the Schnee's ancestral home, shaking while clutching the bottle so tightly their knuckles had gone white. "Mother didn't take well to people declining it."
All the same, it was surprising her mother had actually done something so proactive. Actually a small part of Winter found it mildly alarming.
What could have possibly caused her mother to come out of the slump she'd been in for more than fifteen years?
"You mentioned you talked for a bit." Winter held her chin with one hand, her brows furrowing. "What was it?"
Ironwood leaned back against his chair. "I'd been thinking about that when you asked me about it." he said, "She said that she was happy that someone had 'taken you in,' and that she felt bad she hadn't been there for you." He gave Winter a look. "She also said that you should visit more, and that you don't need to worry about your father stopping you as long as you tell her beforehand."
That… didn't seem to out of the ordinary outside of the fact that her mother had acknowledged failing as one years before. Scratch that, actually, the whole conversation looked weird. Winter was so unused to Willow actually caring. What was going on?
Winter bit her lip as she crossed her arms and contemplated the bottle.
Now that she thought about it, she actually hadn't seen it in a long time. The only reason why she remembered what it was was because her mother had talked to her about it when Winter had been a child. It was one of the few good memories she had of the woman Willow had been, before Jacques Schnee became president of the SDC.
Ironwood probably didn't noticed the look on Winter's face, however. His own eyebrows knit together in a frown as he started wringing his hands.
"There was something else she mentioned, though." He said with a raised finger and a thoughtful look that he directed at Winter. "She mentioned something about being happy that Weiss is also doing something for herself, and that you didn't have to worry about Jacques being in the way."
Winter's eyes widened.
There was only one that WIllow could have possibly been referring to: Weiss's plan to run away to Beacon.
Her mother knew. Her mother had somehow found out about Weiss's desire to run away, and that she had sent an application to Beacon.
Her mother knew and just said that she'd make sure her father wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
Winter thought about the message her mother had given Ironwood, the message that now was clearly meant more for her.
The bottle was a gift, but it clearly served another purpose: it was was a signal to Winter.
She thanked Ironwood, for indulging her, and also asked if she could have the day off the following day. When he accepted she excused herself.
"Wait, Winter." He called to her as she was about to open the door. Winter paused, looking at the man over her shoulder. Ironwood ─ James ─ eyed the bottle thoughtfully before sending her a small grin. "How about you and I share this bottle sometime? I don't want to just drink this considering how pricey this is, but I'd like to share it with you. Willow did give this to me because of you, after all."
Winter nodded and returned the grin. "I'd love to." And then she was gone.
She had an appointment with her mother to schedule.
And we'll leave it at that for now. So the players are starting to come together early, with Blake being introduced to Jaune, and Salem wanting to meet Charles.
And what does Winter have to do with all of this?
