AN: This'll be the last update for a while because I need to focus on Uni and other things that are going on. Thanks for staying with me for this far guys, you are amazing.

"Now demonstrate the flexibility in your left hand please." The Doctor ordered as he watched over Jaune.

He complied by touching his thumb to his fingertips before clenching it as hard as he could. "Feels a bit weak Doc." He commented with a worried expression on his face.

The Doctor nodded gravely. "I feared that. Apparently, the attack from your bodyguard duties and the explosive use of your Aura has permanently damaged the nerves in your left arm and hand. There are ways to strengthen your grip but it will never go back to what it was before this debacle."

He nodded solemnly as he looked at the veins and muscles on the back of his hand. "Permanent nerve damage, ain't that a bitch," He remarked with a dark expression before looking back up. "Am I allowed to leave, Doc?"

The Doctor looked over his file. "Yes, but I will decree that you are to be on very light duty. No more fighting for you until the end of the week. And you must rest more than usual, you still have not recovered from the explosion. So I would recommend that you tell Your Grace that you aren't to go and fight that young fellow who destroyed your shoulder."

Jaune chuckled drily. "Not like I had a choice in that matter… Maybe a small picnic in the country side would be good enough for me."

"I would recommend light activity, a picnic isn't a terrible idea." The Doctor agreed before heading off, leaving Jaune by himself.

Once the Doctor left, Jaune began to constantly clench his left fist. "God fucking damnit. Can't catch a break can I? Fuck no, always gotta go 100% or none at all." He growled in frustration before standing up and placing a white cotton shirt on before heading out.

After he left the tent, it wasn't long before he was stopped by a messenger. "Message for you sir!"

"At ease squire, relay the message." Jaune stopped and looked at the man expectantly.

"You are to report to Her Highness as soon as you are able." The squire saluted.

"I see… You may return to your post squire, thank you." He nodded the young man off before heading off to the Quartermaster.

The Quartermaster herself wasn't a woman of strong build, but of agility. It wasn't odd to see her flit from one stock take to the next with surprising speed. Her husband also assisted her with the heavy lifting that often came with the job.

They were currently conducting such a job before Jaune's approach twitched her large ears, causing her to turn around. Once she saw who it was she gave a warm smile that instantly filled Jaune with happiness. "My dear Jaune! It's been far too long since you've come over, Ghira and I thought you didn't like us anymore!" She chuckled before embracing the young man in a hug.

"Mother Belladonna, it has been far too long indeed." He wrapped his arms around her fully and enjoyed the contact. Mrs Belladonna was very much the Mother of the army, her personality and caring nature instantly made her popular amongst the soldiers.

They separated which left her placing a hand on her hip. "Sooo as much as I'd like to think this is a personal visit, you need something don't you?" She asked with a knowing smile gracing her lips.

He nodded sheepishly. "You know me too well Mrs Belladonna, but I promise you that I will come here for a true personal visit." He directed a smile at her.

She giggled before swatting him on the arm. "Such a charmer, now tell me. What do you need?"

"Ehhh may I please have a gambeson, leather cuirass, a pair of gauntlets, a hand-and-a-half sword and a parrying dagger to go with please?" He listed the items off the top of his head.

"What happened to your other gear?" She asked incredulously as her husband went to collect the request.

Jaune smiled ruefully before rubbing the back of his head. "Getting repairs."

She cocked her hip and folded her arms which immediately reminded him of Midnight. "I swear one of these days Jaune Arc, I will whip you into making sure you look after your equipment!" She scolded him intensely. "That stuff isn't cheap!"

He weathered the storm, nodding all the same before hanging his head in shame. "Sorry Mrs Belladonna, I will remember to look after them."

"You better, otherwise you will be forced to fight in the nude" She scowled half heartedly.

He blushed a deep red. "I think some of the women in this camp might like that actually."

"Awww you're so sweet when you're blushing." She reached over and grabbed him by the cheek and pulled on it.

"Mrs Belladonna please." He blushed harder and looked away embarrassingly.

"You're right. Ghira dear, do you have Jaune's stuff ready?" She inquired as she sauntered over to her husband.

"Nearly my love. I'm just trying to find a suitable longsword for him." Ghira responded as he tested multiple lengths and makes.

"I'm actually quite surprised you haven't asked for a pistol or a bow. Why is that?" She asked as she gazed at him.

"Can't really use such things anymore… Damaged nerves in my left arm and hand." He explained as he subconsciously rubbed his left arm. This however moved some of the material away from his shoulder and she could just see the beginnings of the scar.

"Strip that shirt off yourself and let me see what you've done." She huffed annoyingly, before pulling it off of him when he didn't comply.

"Oh you bloody idiot, always hurting yourself." She said with concern laced in her voice as she softly placed her hands on the area. He twinged in tenderness as her hands fell onto the red scar.

"Careful, it's a bit sore." He remarked softly as she began to lose herself in thought.

"And this strike cleaved through your armour?" She asked incredulously.

"All layers of armour and through the rest of my Aura… It kinda hurt." He chuckled without humour.

"Bravado will only get you so far Jaune, you should remember that... And High Commander sent you on that mission with this wound?" She asked, her ears slowly folding down and her irises becoming slits.

"She had no choice in the matter, I had to ride." He shrugged, which he regretted as his shoulder inflamed again.

"If you say so… But I disagree. Ghira babe, do you have the gear?" She asked as she looked back.

"Yes dear, got a fine sword for Jaune to use as well." He rumbled as he came over with the selected gear. He handed Jaune the sword handle first to which he gratefully took. He did a couple of practise swings with his right arm before nodding.

"This is a fine piece of work, thank you very much Ghira." He slid it back into its sheathe, before sliding his shirt back on and donning the gambeson and cuirass. "I won't need a helmet, maybe a cloak with a hood? If one is available, just a grey or black one is fine for me."

Ghira nodded before heading off again, leaving Jaune to belt the dagger and sword around his waist. He looked down and adjusted the cuirass again before nodding. "I actually look pretty good." He smiled in a rare bout of self confidence.

"Finally some self confidence coming out of you!" She chided him as she grabbed his cheeks again. "How many times have I told you to start being more confident!"

"Yeah well I try as hard as I can given the circumstances." He remarked with a bit of wounded pride before stretching his arms.

"Here you go young lad, a disguise fit for a king," Ghira said as he handed Jaune a thick hooded cloak. "This is some pretty good material too, keep you warm and cosy. Or whoever you'll be guarding." He smirked.

"Why is everyone so concerned about my relationships all of a sudden?" He asked with a bewildered look on his face.

"Well you've got a rather cute looking princess to be guarding, not to mention the Commanders are rather fond of you." She giggled and smirked at him.

"Making it sound like I'm the only eligible bachelor around here." He chuckled and gave her a hug.

"Well let's just say trustworthy bachelor. Take care of yourself ok?" She asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Yes Jaune, please look after yourself. My wife would cry tears of blood if her little Jauney boy were to be hurt again." He smiled playfully before drawing his wife into a loose embrace.

"Oh I will, but usually trouble finds me!" He gave them a small wave before swinging the cloak on himself.

"Your Grace, might I suggest a bit more of a regal look?" A servant asked as she passed over a coat.

"No thank you, I'd prefer to rid myself of dresses and gowns for a while. Plus if I was to go out, dressing in finery would make me stick out like a sore thumb. I would like to go out without being the target of some less than pleasing deplorables." Weiss responded as she tried on multiple clothes.

"Might I ask what look you are going for, Your Grace?"

"Just whatever I like, to be honest. I don't really have a set look in mind." She murmured absentmindedly.

"Would you like a cloak for warmth, Your Grace?"

"Please if you can get one, with a hood if it's not too much of a bother." Weiss asked apologetically.

"Not a problem at all Your Grace. I shall be back soon."

Weiss was left alone with her thoughts. "What would I do now? I mean I'm in the middle of a war that'll dictate on how Humanity will continue to live in this world. Everyone's surrounding me and I feel like I have no room to breathe…"

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand rapping against the support pole of her tent. "Who is it?"

"Jaune Arc, Your Grace."

"Please come in…" She finished dressing herself and pushing her hair away.

"Your Grace?" Jaune questioned confusedly as he couldn't see her in the tent. "Where are you?"

"I'll be out in a bit alright? Please wait?" She responded as she straightened out her clothing.

"Of course." Jaune acquiesced as he sat down on a nearby stool.

"I trust that you are feeling well?" She asked as she made the finishing touches to her outfit.

"Well enough to return to light active duty. I will spend the remainder of my time as your body guard, as originally discussed between you and High Commander."

"Always so formal aren't you? You should loosen up every now and then."

"Why do you think I'm looking after you? To me, this is loosening up. All I have to do is look after a snooty princess, quite the epitome of an easy job."

She pouted despite Jaune not being able to see it. "I'm not as much of a snooty princess anymore. And I will have you know that I can easily go back to my old self just to make things difficult for you." She spoke haughtily.

"I do admit that you have subdued your snootier side, still an easy job," Jaune pushed as he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Are you nearly done?"

"Patience, a woman of my standing must look her best."

"You're honestly living in a tent on a military base where horses shit where they stand… Not exactly the luxury estates of a castle." Jaune pointed out.

She scoffed. "And I'm to reduce myself to looking below my station?"

"No, but you could honestly hurry up."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" She scoffed at him.

"Your body guard."

Well she couldn't argue with that and with an exasperated huff, she came out from the privacy screens. "Happy now?" She asked, hands on her hips.

He looked up and was honestly taken aback. "Wow." He rose an eyebrow at her.

Her current attire was different to the dresses that people are used to seeing her in. In place of her regal finery she wore a pair of tight fitting riding pants made of a material similar to leather. For her top she went with a loose white button up shirt with a stiff corset around her midsection. Over the shirt she wore a woollen jacket. Of course, strapped her to thigh was a nasty looking dagger.

"What?" She asked curiously as she looked down at herself.

"If you wanted to go incognito I think you nailed it. Also did you cut your hair?" He asked incredulously as he began to notice more details.

"Of course I did you big buffoon. I've wanted to do it for ages." She spoke as if it was an obvious thing to realise.

Instead of her off to the side ponytail, she had cut it shorter, so it bunched up around her collarbone and shoulder blades, making her look a bit more regal and approachable. Her eyes still bore an air of haughtiness about her.

"Well unfortunately we can't do anything about your hair colour, not that I'd imagine you'd change it regardless." Jaune waved his hand as he finished his sentence.

"Of course not, a Schnee's look is connected to the colour of our hair as well as our eyes. Don't be ridiculous to think I would change my hair colour just to make myself safer, it's what I have you for." She crossed her arms and looked down at him.

"Well I'm going to be running incognito as well. Which is why I have forgone the heavy plate for something a bit lighter. We will be wearing hooded cloaks as well during our outing." He stood up and walked towards her, stopping just short of being in her personal space.

"I have already asked a maid to get me a hooded cloak. Why are you so formal at the moment?" She asked him, a bit ticked off.

"I am tired, I am sore. I am hurting and I'm trying my hardest to not lose lucidity. So please, do not measure or attempt to test my patience for today. As I begin to stretch and move, I am sure that the pain will start to abate." He responded with a straight face and a hard look in his eyes.

"How bad is it?" She asked him as she gazed at the wounded shoulder.

"You do not have to see. All you have to know is that I am capable of being your body guard." Jaune retorted, slight annoyance dripping from his voice.

"Jaune Arc, I demand that you strip your upper layer of clothing so I may inspect whether or not you're physically fit to guard me." She drew herself up to her full height, not quite being as tall as him but easily dwarfing his presence in the room.

He gave her a final look before beginning to remove the cuirass and unbuttoning his shirt. With a final tug he removed both items and stood straight with his arms by his side.

To Jaune, it wasn't that horrible of a wound. But to Weiss, she saw a large scar that stretched from his shoulder all the way to his collarbone. The surrounding tissue was black and purple and the scar itself was scarlet.

A small look of horror captured her features as she absentmindedly reached out and placed her fingers on it. It was hot! Inflamed! But to Jaune, her cool fingers brought a modicum of relief as she gazed at the wound.

"Did they leave you anything to wrap it up in?" She whispered, the colour in her face drained from shock.

"My kit comes with a multitude of bandages and medicine to provide temporary pain relief." He answered as his brow began to loosen from her touch. It really was relaxing, having such a cool feeling touching around a hot spot. "But the awkward position doesn't lend itself well to bandaging."

She nodded silently as she soaked the sight in. She began to wonder what it would've been like if that attack connected with her, she surely would've been killed. She shook herself to the present and took a step back. "I am more inclined to have you resting in bed, but if you are that determined to accompany me, then I will accept your request."

At that moment, the maid returned with the cloak and got an eyeful of Jaune's physique. Scarlet began to spread across her face as she rushed forward and handed Weiss her cloak. "H-here you go, Y-your Grace. I-I unfortunately have s-some more work to d-do so I will leave you in capable h-hands." She rushed out of the tent before Weiss could say anything.

She rose an eyebrow at her servant as she left before throwing the cloak around herself. "Oh put your things back on you buffoon, what are you waiting for?" She huffed as she stared at him.

He shrugged before donning his upper layer again and swinging his cloak over himself. "Are you ready to leave?" He asked as he gave her a final look.

"Why yes I am." Her face broke out into a small grin.

The pair were riding along a somewhat busy supply road. It was nearing the end of the day so trading was slowed down to a crawl.

Despite the amount of people they've passed, no one recognised them. They rode silently for the majority of the trip, adding the restlessness that Weiss felt.

Finally, she broke the silence. "Where are we going?"

Jaune kept quiet for a while before giving an answer. "There is a nice cliffside overlooking a small part of the ocean that I would like to visit. We will also come across some small settlements and towns along the way."

"Are you sure that's safe?" She asked, concern laced in her voice. "What if someone recognises us?"

"That is why I'm here as well. There shouldn't be any trouble or problems that I can't deal with or overcome… Starting to sound like a worry wart." He flashed her a grin before returning his gaze to the front.

"I'm not worried… Just… Scared…" She mumbled while shrinking into herself.

He stopped the group by moving his horse in front of hers. He sighed while rubbing the back of his neck before gazing at her. "Look… I'm not going to lie or sugar coat things here. Yes, there are people that want to kill you because of your heritage, because of your lineage, and because of the power that you yourself represent. Your father's policies regarding to Faunus workers in his silver mines is a contention in our army, and that of the civilians. While I may defend you from those of physical harm, there are others that strive to bring you down. People will hate me for being your body guard, people will despise me for following orders. Because people do not bother to differentiate the crimes of the father and will supplant those onto his daughter."

He stayed silent for a while to drive the point home. "I will defend your life with my own, for there are things I can control. So please, I ask of you to at least unlock your worry and rest your safety with me. There are beautiful views in this world, and you can afford to bask in them."

He fell silent and waited for a moment, before clicking his tongue and moved his horse onward, Weiss following close behind. True to his word, she felt safe when she was around him. Taking his advice to heart, she lifted her head and began to view the vast green fields and rolling mountains. A small smile began to grace her face as the beauty of the scene began to envelope her senses.

"It truly is a beautiful sight… I've never thought about how the hills roll down with the greenery. The trees themselves providing a cornucopia of colour, all different shades of green." She spoke in awe as the smile grew.

"Remnant does have some beautiful scenery, I will admit that, especially when you go further north of Atlas." Jaune concurred as he kept a constant vigil of what was in front of him.

Another small caravan came up over a steep hill and the first of the carts began to pass them. Intermixed were commoners and some richer merchants alike. But what the pair didn't notice was a rather ostentatiously dressed man peering at them underneath his black cowboy hat, an Ace of Spades perched behind the ribbon that ran across the brim. He broke out a small smirk with a grunt of satisfaction as he waited until he drew next to Weiss. With a quick movement he closed the distance between them and grabbed her forearm in a firm but friendly grip. Weiss looked down in alarm and was about to shout before he placed a finger to his lips. "Your Grace, it is excellent to see you out and about," He had a smooth and charismatic voice that calmed her down despite the rather confrontational position they were in. "Do not worry Your Grace, you still have supporters aplenty that recognise your claim. We, recognise your birthright."

With that finally said, he handed her a card similar to the one on his hat, before letting her go and leaving, intermingling back into the caravan crowd without a trace. By this time, Jaune already gained a significant lead ahead of her and he soon felt the absence of her presence. Turning around her saw her looking at the card in her grasp. "You alright?" He called out to her.

"Y-yeah I'm fine… Just a bit tired is all." She made the excuse up on the spot as she flicked her reins to catch up to him.

"Where did you get that?" He asked as he eyed the playing card in her fingers, a tone of caution creeping into his voice.

"Someone in that caravan gave it to me… Said that there are people who recognise my birthright…. That could only mean… That little piece of shit!" She exclaimed with fervour as a noticeable red tinge of rage permeated her cheeks.

"Ummm, come again?" Jaune asked with concern.

She sighed explosively before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable… He could only mean my little brother. Most likely ever since I've left the tower he's been working to subvert my claim to Father's company… Little shit!" She exclaimed again before slamming a fist into her thigh.

Jaune stayed silent throughout this outburst. Whatever was going on in her family he did not want anything to do with it. He rose an eyebrow and waited for her to calm down. With difficulty she slowed her breathing before looking back to him. "I apologise for my outburst, that was unbecoming of me. Please… Let us continue on our path." She flicked the reins and surged forward, easily overtaking him.

He was left staring at her back, a slight twitch in the corner of his mouth belied his current feelings. With a flick, he sent his horse following her.

"I never knew such a place existed nearby… This is beautiful." Weiss breathed out as her eyes danced between each different piece of scenery.

"I discovered it when I was doing a solo reconnaissance mission. I stopped here, when I was returning, for some well needed rest and decided to mark it on my map for future visits." Jaune grunted as he dismounted and unrolled his saddlebag, multitude of tools and two tightly packed tents spilled onto the ground in a neat fashion. With a heave he grabbed both of the tents and hurled them onto his shoulder before walking to a suitable patch of ground to set up.

Weiss watched him with interest, shifting in her saddle to relieve the mild cramping in her legs. Her mouth twisted into a frown as she noticed the two tents. "Why do we have two?"

His head shifted up and he gazed at her. "What?" A look of confusion spread across his face.

"Why do we have two tents?" She asked again, a slight pang of annoyance twinging her stomach.

"Because I'm not going to force you to sleep in the same tent as me." He spoke with finality as he began to pitch the first tent.

"Why go through all the pretence of protecting me and then put me in a separate tent!? We don't know whose followed us or if we'll be attacked at night. How are you going to tell if someone creeps into my tent to murder me?" She spoke with authority but Jaune could hear her voice tremble slightly at the prospect.

He just stared at her with a dumbfounded expression on his face. He couldn't have heard her right. "You're telling me that you want to sleep in the same tent as me?" He scarcely believed what she was insinuating.

"Yes! You bloody idiot!" She crossed her arms and stared down at him. Regardless of what the situation was and what she was insinuating, she would not feel safe unless she could feel Jaune next to her. It wasn't until her heart throbbed at the prospect that a red tinge began to colour her cheeks.

He sighed explosively before rubbing his face, turning back to give her a hard look. "Fine… But I do not want to hear any complaining or anything stupid." He had dark rings under his eyes and his expression was haggard as well as his face being pale.

"I will be quiet." She whispered before packing up the second tent and slinging it over Jaune's horse.

They stayed silent for a while until he spoke again. "I will create the fire… You… You can just make sure the horses are ok, don't bother tying mine up. She won't go too far." He murmured as he took out a small hatchet from his toolkit and went further into the forest, leaving Weiss on her own.

She walked over to Jaune's horse and began to stroke her nose. Low rumblings of pleasure erupted from her chest as she pushed against her hand. Weiss let go a wistful sigh before increasing the intensity of the strokes. "Do you know why he's being like this? It's like he's so cold right now and it's honestly making me concerned."

The horse, of course, didn't offer any answer other than a rumble and shaking her mane. Honestly, Weiss didn't know what to expect, she just felt so lost in the world that she was in. With a few more scratches on the horse's nose, she finally tore herself away and got to work with setting up their bedrolls.

The tent itself was spacious enough to fit two people comfortably, but it was the proximity that made Weiss' heart quicken. With a shake she cleared her thoughts. "Why do I care so much about that? I'm like a child fantasising, it will not do for someone of my station." She muttered as she attempted to separate her feelings from her current situation.

Jaune arrived shortly after with some light logs and kindling, immediately beginning to make a fire. Weiss watched him with ill-veiled interest as she never created a fire without Dust before. Jaune noticed her interest and allowed a small smile to grace his features. "I can teach you if you want."

She blushed deeply before a smile came to her own lips. "Please? I'd like to learn how to look after myself." She crouched down next to him.

He spent the next half hour teaching her how to properly create and maintain a fire. It was surprisingly simple, but it had quite a few nuances to it. But regardless, Weiss took to the challenge quite well. It wasn't long before they had a roaring fire in front of them, Weiss taking comfort in its raging flame.

"Not too bad Princess, definitely took a lot less time than I thought it would." Jaune remarked as he began chopping smaller pieces of wood for fuel.

"I'm not a complete dullard, I am quite intelligent if I say so myself. I was homeschooled before I got sent to the tower you know." Weiss spoke indignantly, tossing her hair to the side.

"Wait, so they trained you in things other than sewing and cooking?" He smirked evilly as he whittled a piece of wood.

A small blush appeared on her cheeks as she gave him a slap across the face. "That was not needed." She spoke in a whisper as she stared down at him.

He looked at her frankly before shrugging his shoulders and nodding his head. "You're right, that was unnecessary. I apologise."

Now Weiss was left with an awkward silence with which she had no idea what to do with. Dropping next to him with a sigh, she leant against him and let her head fall on his shoulder. "I'm sorry for striking you…"

A dry chuckle emanated from his throat. "No… I apologise for being crude." He let her lean against him, and he had to admit it wasn't all that bad. Her smell wafted into his nostrils and the softness of her form lent itself to a flurry of fantasies that were ill fitting for someone so honourable and noble.

They fell into a more comfortable silence, allowing a sense of warmth to spread in Weiss' chest. Jaune looked over at her studiously before going back to whittling. "Are you tired, Princess?"

She gave a slight nod. "Mhm… But I can't sleep, not tired enough… And please, call me Weiss."

Jaune thought for a moment before finally nodding. "But of course, Weiss… And I have an idea that'll get you tired in no time. Want to hear it?"

Her interest was immediately piqued, causing her to look over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Alright, I'll bite. What do you have in mind?" She tilted her head to the side with a look of curiosity.

He got up on his feet and drew his longsword. "I'm gonna teach you how to fight against a swordsman… Your fight against Adam was all too telling about how much you depend on Dust to enhance your lack of skill."

Her face fell into a frown as she stood up, her pride wounded. "I can look after myself thank you very much!" She shouted indignantly.

He ignored her and flicked open the case that housed her rapier and grabbed it, chucking it over to her. She caught it deftly, though ending up somewhat following it to the ground. But she straightened back up. "There is no way I can talk you out of this?" She pleaded.

He shook his head and began to practise a basic technique. "Nope, not at all. I will teach you how to defend yourself against a swordsman and it'll help you tire out enough to sleep," He continued onwards with the technique, ending it with a lunge before drawing himself back again. "Anyways, I need to practise my own swordsmanship as well." He finished this sentence while walking to a small field to their left, allowing her to stay closer to the fire.

Weiss scowled until she realised there was no way out of this. With a deep breath she walked to her side of the field. With a practised finger, she drew it over the edge to test its sharpness, drawing a slightly cut finger with a small smile of contentment.

Jaune twirled the blade with an air of concentration. Once she had marked herself ready he drew himself up straight and got into a defensive stance. He pulled the sword close to his body, tip facing her chest.

"How are you going to teach me to defend myself?" Weiss asked as she cut the air with her rapier.

"I will throw some basic techniques and attacks at you and see how well you fare. If there are things I can improve I will point them out. After that then I will start to become more and more technical… I should start off automatically saying that since you are wielding a rapier, you should look at deflecting than straight on blocking, as the weight of my sword and other swords will surely overpower yours."

Weiss nodded before bringing her rapier up and nodding again for him to start. He advanced slowly before drawing his sword behind him for an obvious overhead slash. She sidestepped it and lunged forward, rapier just stopped short of puncturing his cuirass.

They disengaged and Jaune went with a quicker lunge and following it up with a basic horizontal slash. Weiss deflecting the lunge by breaking it off course with her rapier before cartwheeling backwards to display her flexibility.

He nodded, a look of determination engraved on his face as he closed the distance between them quickly, and went for a diagonal slash before looping around with a lunge, following the action with a hard elbow slam to her chest.

She could only dodge the slash before attempting to divert the lunge, not expecting the elbow which sent her skidding back a few paces, winded. "That hurt." She pouted.

He didn't respond and followed up with a flurry of slashes and mixing it up with lunges. She blocked the slashes on instinct and found herself well behind the pace which he set, leaving her reactions lagging behind and inevitably ended up with another punch to her face.

She coughed a bit and spat out a bit of blood. "Can you take the gloves off please?" She implored.

He acquiesced and threw the gauntlets onto the log behind him. "Now, you start first."

She nodded and strutted forward, delivering a few stabs and lunges at him. He blocked them fairly well, bringing himself closer to limit her effectiveness. "It is unfortunate that your rapier does not have a definitive edge, rather than a false one. For your rapier limits you to thrusting techniques… But I can work with that. Also," He paused before grabbing her wrist and pointed to the pommel. "Never ever be afraid to use this. In close quarters this is your deadliest extension of your body and you can seriously disorientate someone from a blow with this. Case in point." He grabbed the rapier before she could react and shoved the pommel into her stomach, driving her back.

She coughed and grimaced in pain. "Fine… Point taken." She begrudgingly took her rapier back and drew herself into a defensive stance again.

Jaune attacked again, going for a short stroke against her defences before sending a backhand at her. She dodged both attacks, arching her back gracefully as she cartwheeled, kicking him in the face as she did so.

By now, both participants were breathing hard as they disengaged. Jaune was all too painfully reminded what it was like when he fought Adam, the memories running nonstop through his already beleaguered mind. With a sigh, he dug the point of his sword into the ground. "I've… Had enough for tonight. I'm too tired to continue."

Weiss nodded with his statement. "I'm tired as well, tired enough to sleep. Shall we call it a night?"

Jaune nodded before digging out his sword and sheathing it, turning on his heel and headed off to the tent. He stopped before the entrance and looked over at her. "I'll let you get into the tent to switch into whichever sleeping clothes you may have, and I'll do the same outside."

"If that's how you want to do it, then sure." She shrugged before heading into the tent, tying the flaps in place for privacy.

While Weiss was preoccupied he whistled for his horse, who came trotting over enthusiastically, giving him a headbutt in affection. A smile came to his lips as he stroked the nose of his horse. "We're gonna head off to sleep alright? Mind keeping the camp safe while I'm out?"

The horse blew a raspberry before shaking its mane, giving Jaune a knowing look.

"Hey! It's not like that, none of that is going to happen you dirty minded animal… Just wake me up if there's something amiss. Alright?" He reached over and rubbed her side.

She rolled her eyes before nodding her head exaggeratingly. Jaune chuckled before scratching her nose once more. "Thanks, see you in the morning, right?" Another nod.

Jaune left with that and began to disrobe, leaving on a light cotton shirt and pants. He grabbed his sheathed sword and dagger before heading to the tent. "Oy, you decent in there?"

"As decent as I can be given what I brought." A small voice came from inside.

Steeling himself for whatever could be inside, Jaune took a peek and was not surprised. She was just wearing a similar attire to him.

"What? You'd thought I'd wear a sheer negligee? Pfft as if, those things are uncomfortable as all hell," She stood on her feet and crossed her arms at him. "What's with the swords?"

"What? You'd thought I'd sleep in a foreign area without a means to immediately protect myself? What are you, crazy?" Jaune fired back.

Weiss conceded to the point and collapsed onto her bedroll, bruises already appearing in parts where the shirt didn't cover her torso. Jaune sat on his own bedroll and began to calm down, running a whetstone lightly over his weapons.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked irritably.

"Just doing a small spot of maintenance so the next proper one I do isn't as large… Gotta look after the edge of your blade when you've just been in a battle or a fight. Well, you might not cause you don't have a real edge to speak of. But trust me, you'd be glad when you've maintained your weapon." He fell silent as the light rasping of the whetstone on the blade filled the air.

"How will we know if anyone tries to sneak up on us?" Weiss asked with curiosity.

Jaune noticed the lack of fear in her voice and gave her a small smile. "Oh, she will warn me if there is anyone coming around that she can sense. She is incredibly smart for a horse."

"What makes her so special?" She inquired, sitting up and drawing her knees to her chest.

"Well… Remember when we went to Atlas City? I told you she was specially trained from birth? Well her training also includes sentry duty so if need be, she can take my place in the event that I cannot do it."

They fell into comfortable silence as Jaune finished up and slid the sword back into their sheathes, placing them down on the floor and looking at her. "Ready to sleep?" His eyelids began to droop as he said this.

She let out an exaggerated yawn before nodding, sliding down onto her bedroll and getting herself comfortable. Jaune stretched a bit and laid down onto his own bedroll.

Jaune found it difficult to sleep, being in a foreign area and sleeping in a foreign bedroll. But he waited until he heard the deep breathing of sleep coming from Weiss before he closed his eyes, nerves still frayed but a sense of calm enveloping himself.