Jaune and Pyrrha were sitting at opposite ends of the small, round table they had procured months ago, running through a smaller and portable version of the tactical simulator from the map room on their scrolls. It wasn't as good as the software in the map room, but when that room wasn't available their scrolls served as acceptable alternative. Jaune was currently winning their match; his forces had trapped Pyrrha's in a valley and were quickly wiping them out.
"You win again." Pyrrha said with a chuckle. Jaune was clearly the better strategist between the two of them, coming out victorious in a large majority of their matches. Jaune was also more powerful in his sheer quantity of aura, while Pyrrha was superior in her ability to control and manipulate aura as was well as personal combat skills. Together, they made a powerful team. "Rematch?"
"How about some lunch first?" Jaune looked at the time. "Or an early dinner." He amended.
"Sure. Do we have anything in our fridge?" Pyrrha asked as she slid her simple wooden chair back. She stood and walked over to their refrigerator, brushing some stray strands of hair behind her ear as she opened their refrigerator door. Jaune just shrugged silently as he walked up behind his lover. "I guess not." Pyrrha said straightening her back.
Jaune placed an arm around Pyrrha's waist. "We can go to the kitchen a little early, get things ready for Blake." He suggested.
"That sounds wonderful." Pyrrha replied, giving Jaune a peck on the cheek before walking to the closet to grab a jacket. As she pulled an orange sweater over her white tank top, there was a knock at their door. Pyrrha waved Jaune away, letting him sit back down as she answered. She opened the door to find a teary eyed Velvet standing there. "Velvet? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked with concern, immediately bringing both hands up to Velvet's shoulders and gently easing her into the room.
Jaune heard Pyrrha's question and jumped up himself, concerned with the well being of his friend. "Velvet?" He asked,
Velvet sniffed, sad and teary but not quite crying. "Th-they left. Blake and Weiss and Nora. They wanted me to tell you 'goodbye' for them." Velvet decided to generalize Blake's goodbye for everyone, to at least attempt to mend the gap between Nora and the couple. "They said they graduated training and flew out today. I think they're deploying out to the war." Velvet told them.
"What?" Jaune asked disbelievingly. "They left already? Like, today?"
Velvet nodded. "Yeah. I just watched the airship take off."
"Why didn't they come see us in person?" Pyrrha asked, hurt.
"I think they left as soon as Tamamo spoke to them." Velvet explained. "Maybe they didn't have time."
"I guess." Jaune conceded. "That still sucks though."
"I hope we get out of here soon too." Pyrrha lamented.
"Yeah. I just wanted to let you guys know. I think I'm gonna go train some more now." Velvet said.
"We were just about to go make some food; do you want to join us?" Jaune asked.
Velvet paused. "Sorry, but I think I'm going to pass. I just want to train and work up a sweat, tire myself out a bit." Velvet apologized again and showed herself out, closing the door behind her.
Jaune and Pyrrha stood in silence. "It feels like our group of friends gets smaller every month." Pyrrha whispered.
Jaune wrapped his arms around Pyrrha, embracing her from behind. "... Yeah."
Weiss looked out of the airship window, down at the series of office buildings that Professor Ozpin had rented down below. "I suppose it would've been too much to expect Beacon to have been rebuilt in three months." She said with a tinge of disappointment in her voice.
"This place doesn't look quite as bad as I had imagined." Blake chuckled. Nora was just staring below silently.
"We're going in for a landing on the rooftop now." The pilot's voice reported over the speakers. The trio of girls stood up, walking towards the exit door as the airship as they waited for it to land. They swayed slightly as the airship's suspension took the brunt of the force of the landing. "And we've touched down. Hope you enjoyed the ride."
"Thanks for flying us!" Blake called into the cockpit as they hopped out the door.
"My pleasure ma'am." The pilot gave them a thumbs up before firing up the engines and lifting off to return to the fortress. Nora gave a lazy wave while making her way silently to the rooftop access door. Blake and Weiss followed behind Nora as she pulled open the door and strode down the stairs.
Ozpin was reviewing his proposal in his office, analyzing his ideas and the plans in it. "This isn't going to work." He removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt his plan was sound if not necessarily perfect, but the problem was getting the Vytal Council to accept it. The Vytal council wasn't known for its tolerance. The amount of time it took for them to rescind their anti-faunus laws were a prime example of that. Getting them to accept Hunters in their military was going to take more than a small amount of effort. People were fine with hunters going off to fight monsters to protect the people, but they did not want to be reminded that hunters were so much more powerful than they were.
While trying to come up with a solution to his proposal problem, an incoming call alert blinked on his scroll. He tapped the screen with a sigh. "Yes, Glynda?"
"Headmaster, the huntresses from Tamamo have arrived." He heard her voice report.
Ozpin started in surprise. "Already? I was expecting them later this week at the earliest." He looked down at his proposal, and he stroked his chin as an idea popped into his head. "Send them in, please."
"Yes, Headmaster." Glynda hung up and the call ended.
Soon after there was a knock on the door. "Enter." Ozpin said from behind his desk. The door opened and Ozpin was greeted by the appearance of three girls. Weiss Schnee led the way, with Blake Belladonna and then Nora Valkyrie following behind. "Greetings, young ladies." He should've known that they would graduate first. Though he was surprised that Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos were not with them.
"Hello, Professor." The three girls greeted simultaneously. They lined up in front of Ozpin's desk, sliding their feet shoulder width apart and placing their hands behind their back in an 'at ease' position. Something they must have learned from Tamamo at the fortress, as he never taught his students to behave like that.
"I see Tamamo's training has ingrained itself into you." Ozpin commenting on their seemingly choreographed movements into their stances.
"It's been a tough and educational few months." Blake responded.
"Understandable. Tamamo isn't known for easy training." Ozpin said sympathetically. "I expect you're all quite powerful now." The girls shrugged. They had never seen Professor Ozpin fight, so they were unsure about what standards he would judge them by.
"If I may interrupt, Professor, I have a question." Weiss asked. Ozpin nodded. "You hadn't contacted Tamamo with any updates for me about Ruby, and I know you think she's…gone… but were any more searches orchestrated? Any more information?"
Ozpin saw both Blake and Nora shift slightly on either side of Weiss, looking away from her ever so slightly. Strange. "I'm sorry, but no new developments have arisen. Qrow spent a week searching, and word was spread to the nearby towns and cities, but there has been no sign of her. As I said, there's been no evidence to suggest Miss Rose survived the beowolf attack. You have my sympathies." Ozpin finished.
"I understand." Weiss said stoically. Blake reached over to gently rub Weiss' lower back to comfort her.
Nora changed the subject. "So why are we here, and not with the military? We can't be going back to regular classes."
"No, you aren't." Ozpin answered. "But unfortunately, integrating hunters into the Vytal military has been… difficult. The council is resisting."
"What? Why?" Nora exclaimed angrily. "Our military doesn't have the numbers to defeat Vacuo. They need us."
"I realize that, and so do many other sensible people. But the council is full of stubborn old politicians who think that admitting their soldiers can't win the war is admitting defeat." Ozpin told the girls. "Even though we're losing a little more ground every day. The war is not going well."
"Idiots." Nora spat the words viciously. Ozpin watched her curiously, noting the drastic change in behavior from what he remembered.
"I have a meeting with the council in just a few days. I'm presenting a proposal that outlines plans for integrating hunters like you into the military. How would you three like to accompany me?" Ozpin offered.
"Would we help?" Weiss asked.
"It wouldn't hurt. And your presence could influence their decision; you may even be able to make your own points known." Ozpin answered.
"All right. I can agree to that." Weiss said with a nod. The other two girls nodded in agreement.
"Excellent. We have three days until then. Why don't you take a look at the proposal," he held up a folder full of papers, "so you're familiar with it. And if you don't mind, I think it would be beneficial to the students if you were to assist with a lesson here and there. Your experience could be a valuable lesson to them."
The girls didn't look eager to speak to their former classmates in any capacity, but agreed nonetheless. Ozpin thanked them, giving them copies of the proposal. "Oh, I've set aside the top floor of the dormitory for use of the hunters Tamamo is sending back. It's empty of Beacon students, so you have free reign there." The girls thanked him, leaving the office behind.
Glynda entered the room after they left. "They're so different." She said. "They definitely aren't children anymore."
"They are so young, for what they must do." Ozpin agreed. "And I fear that this is only the start of the changes they will go through."
Weiss had been busy the past three says. She had memorized Ozpin's proposal, and had even gone over it with him to discuss and change portions where she felt a different approach would be more effective. Her changes included tactical deployments, squad compositions, specializations, and other things along those lines. She also fleshed out parts that she felt should be outlined more for someone who may not be overly familiar with the abilities of a hunter. She also played chess with Ozpin, who soon gave up challenging Weiss regularly because she came out victorious in every match.
Blake and Nora had also looked over the proposal, but felt they had nothing to contribute, so they assisted other professors with the occasional lesson, mostly combat classes. What came as a surprise to them was that from their own point of view they had not progressed much in their time at the fortress, only improving a little here and there. But the reality they discovered while working with the teachers and students was that they had become far more powerful than they had originally believed. Even most of the teachers at Beacon only lasted a few seconds in a fight with the girls, and the ones who lasted more than a few seconds couldn't defeat the girls anyways.
Soon enough the three days had passed by, and the three girls were in a black luxury car with Ozpin, being driven to the meeting. Glynda had stayed behind to oversee the facilities. "I want to prepare you ahead of time- there is a very good chance the council members will be unreceptive, and far more rude than you might believe."
"Why's that?" Blake asked, looking up from her book, her ears twitching.
"They don't like to be reminded of their frailty." Ozpin answered. "Not to mention many of them may still hold notions that 'men are supposed to be stronger than women.' I expect that the women in the council will be far more receptive with you there, which will at least deflect some of their focus off of us."
"Fools." Nora commented while looking out the window, holding her Ren plushie in her lap.
"Fools indeed." Ozpin agreed.
An hour's drive later, the four hunters exited the car in front of the white building that served as the Council Hall. The steep stairs in the front were designed to inspire awe in those who looked upon them and climbed them, but the four hunters didn't seem to notice. The domed ceiling of the central body of the building was made of polished steel and stained glass, a myriad of colors broken into shards, mixed together, and reassembled to create the multicolored dome. The white columns that supported the front and inside of the building were polished to a shine, the marble having been smoothed down by diligent workers. Again, the hunters were not impressed and barely noticed the extravagance as they opened the oversized double doors and entered.
They checked in with the clerk, who gave a start of surprise when Ozpin told her that the three huntresses were his assistants. Blinking in disbelief, and clearly getting the wrong impression about their relationship, she had Ozpin sign in before staring once more. And as with the architecture, the four of them did not notice nor bother to correct the woman's incorrect ideas about Ozpin and the three girls. They continued past the gaping woman and made their way down the broad, brightly lit hallway. Their shoes generated loud echoes with each step, the sound bouncing off the tile floor and the wood paneling on the walls.
Ozpin checked his watch. "Right on time. Let's go on in." He pulled open an ornate wooden door and walked through, the girls following behind him. They entered a large, round room with a high ceiling, right under the stained glass dome they could see from the outside. The different colors of light were too high and didn't reach the ground, leaving a nice decoration on the ceiling without bathing the ground in a disco ball of multicolored light. Other than the ceiling, there were no windows, light being provided by bright lights on wall sconces. There was a long 'C' shaped table that encircled the room, with a projector screen where the gap is, and a podium for speaking in front of that for presentations. A guard stood on either side the door in a military uniform, and there were at least three or four dozen council members sitting in cushioned seats at the large table.
"You're late, Ozpin." A gruff old councilman said.
"I am actually ten minutes early." Ozpin corrected. "It's not my fault if you got here early and decided to wait."
The council huffed and grumbled to himself. "Who're the children?" He eyed Weiss, Blake, and Nora. His eyes lingered on Blake, his gaze moving up to the ears on her head before he grunted dismissively.
"Huntresses. They are assisting me."
"I guess we know where he stands on faunus relations." Blake whispered into Weiss' ear. Weiss just gave a small giggle as an answer. The councilman glared at them, clearly aware they said something about him but unable to hear what they said.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Blake." A man said from behind them. Blake turned around and to see a tall, masked man behind her. His short, light brown hair had bright red steaks dyed into it, with dark brown, almost black horns protruding from it. His white and red mask hid his eyes, and his black clothes had white and red highlights that accented the edges of each article of clothing. He was carrying a sheathed sword at his side, which the security guards in the room were eying warily.
Blake's eyes widened in surprise. "Adam? How did you get in here?"
"I walked in. I was invited." He deadpanned. "Humans weren't the only ones who suffered in Vacuo's attack."
In answer to her companions' puzzled expressions, Blake informed them of who this man was. "His name is Adam, someone I once knew. He's a lieutenant in the White Fang."
"Adam from the White Fang, huh?" Weiss asked, recalling a story Blake had told her about the time she and Adam had robbed a Schnee company train.
"Yes. And you are?" He held out his hand to shake Weiss'.
"Weiss Schnee. Friend of Blake's." Weiss answered, shaking Adam's hand.
Adam's hand froze mid shake. "…Schnee?" He queried.
"Yes." Weiss answered determinedly.
Adam looked at Blake. "You make strange friends now, Blake. I never expected you to befriend a Schnee."
"She's not like them." Blake said fiercely, defending her friend.
Adam held up a hand to placate Blake. "I didn't say she was. You're not the only one who has changed." Blake's only response was a tilt of the head. "After the unfortunate business with that Torchwick fellow a couple years back we've changed our methods again. The White Fang is no longer as… extreme… as we once were. We are actively and aggressively defending rights of the faunus and pushing for reform. Peacefully." He explained.
Blake blinked in silence, surprised that Adam had gone along with such a plan. "You seem awfully okay with that, considering how you were before."
"Like I said. That business with Torchwick really opened our eyes." He shrugged.
"Miss Belladonna, the meeting is about to start." Ozpin whispered, gesturing to some seats towards the podium.
"'Miss Belladonna.'" Adam chuckled. Blake rolled her eyes at him and followed Ozpin and her friends to the front, while Adam sat a few seats away from them, his two bodyguards flanking him on either side.
Weiss looked around the room at each council member, putting her training with Tamamo to the test and reading every person. There wasn't much helpful information she could gather from just seeing them from a distance, so Weiss waited patiently to listen to them talk before she made any judgment calls.
The old councilman that confronted them when they entered stood up, his suit stretching over his bulging stomach. "I call the council to order. As Chairman of the Council, I acknowledge that all parties are present and the meeting may begin. Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy will be presenting a proposal to us for our consideration about the integration of hunters into the Vytal military." Weiss could already hear the distaste in his voice. "You may begin, Professor."
"Thank you, Councilor." Ozpin stood. "In front of each of you is a packet containing proposals and ideas proposed by myself, edited and refined alongside Glynda Goodwitch and Weiss Schnee." Ozpin held a hand out towards Weiss, who bowed her head. "Miss Schnee has received extensive training in both military tactics as well as the training of a huntress, as has provided valuable insight into the implementation of hunters in human warfare."
As Ozpin continued with his presentation, Blake could hear some council members whispering to each other about Weiss, wondering if she was the 'Schnee heiress.' Blake in turn whispered what she heard to Weiss, knowing that Weiss could possibly use any information she got her hands on to manipulate the council if needed. Blake could also hear discussions about Ozpin and his proposal, which she also passed on to Weiss, who was writing down counter arguments for what Blake was hearing. This would make the discussions afterwards go more smoothly, since they wouldn't need to come up with answers to questions on the fly. Nora's contribution was glaring at the council.
Just over twenty minutes later, Ozpin finished his proposal. "And now, and questions, members of the council?" Before he could point to one of the many raised hands, Weiss tugged on the bottom of his coat. He bent over and she handed him her notepad. He scanned it briefly, before letting a smile creep onto his face. He straightened up again. "If you have any directions, you may direct them to Miss Schnee here, who will answer any and all questions." He sat back down in his chair, crossing his legs.
Weiss stood up to stunned silence. She pointed to an older woman to her front and left. "Yes, ma'am?"
"How do you believe bringing in hunters such as yourselves would affect soldier morale? I support this integration myself, but if the soldiers begin to feel like they are being treated as cannon fodder…" She let the end of her question drift off.
Weiss had gathered from Blake's information that this councilwoman was very practical and reasonable, and decided a well reasoned and rational argument would work best with her. "Hunters are powerful, yes, but not immortal. Both we here and our soldiers know we cannot win this war on their own, and hunters could not win this war on their own. It is our belief that this sort of bonding, the knowledge that one helps out the other, will overcome any negative feelings a soldier may have. We believe a soldier's practicality will lead them to treat a hunter the same way they would treat a comrade that is better at something than they are. One person is a better shot, another is better at hand to hand combat, things like that. Hunters are not proficient at everything, and will have a role to play, just as a soldier would." Weiss finished, taking a breath.
"A good point. I have no objections if you believe that is the case as well, Professor?" she looked at Ozpin, who nodded. "I have no more questions. Thank you." She sat back in her seat. A few other council members were nodding their heads appreciatively alongside her, which boded well for Weiss.
And so the questioning continued, with Weiss quickly and efficiently answering questions and shooting down counter arguments, leaving no doubt in most of the the council's mind that there was no reason to oppose this proposal. The Chairman however, along with a few select others, remained adamantly opposed to the proposal, despite their arguments being picked apart and destroyed by both Weiss and the other members of the council.
"Why these children, then?" The chairman shouted. "Surely some more experience hunters with experience as soldiers should do plenty better."
"Those 'more experienced' hunters are busy fighting Grimm. Unless you believe that we should leave the world undefended against soulless monsters?" Weiss asked. She had determined early on that rational arguments would not work with a man who was determined to be right, no matter what evidence was presented against him, so she used leading questions to force him into answering a certain way, so he was unable to answer otherwise without seeming a terrible man.
"N-no, I'm not saying such a thing. But surely-" he stuttered.
"In addition!" Weiss interrupted. "We are different than the standard hunters. We are a new breed of huntress, trained in warfare. We are trained warriors whose training involved learning the best way to kill, not monsters, but soldiers. People." Weiss emphasized. "You could not ask for better hunters to fight alongside the military." Weiss had emphasized that they were trained to kill people rather than monsters to bring a little bit of intimidation to her side.
The chairman was left a stuttering stammering wreck, clearly having nothing left to say that wouldn't come across as selfish and infantile. "But you're children!" He pointed at Nora. "One of you girls even has a stupid doll!"
Weiss quickly turned to grab Nora, but was too late. Nora had already vaulted over the table, and was walking towards the chairman menacingly. "Guards!" the chair tried to back up, but stumbled out of his chair.
"Try not to kill him." Blake yelled to Nora, smiling.
One of the guards clearly disliked and disagreed with the chairman and stood his ground at the door, pretending he didn't hear the call for help. The other guard ran forward and leaped over the table to intercept Nora, either too foolish or too oblivious to realize he was making a terrible mistake. He reached the huntress and held and arm out in front of him, ordering Nora to halt. The angry redhead just grabbed him by the wrist and with a single arm threw him over a dozen feet to her right, where he smashed into one of the many legs of the table, unconscious.
The fat chairman had finally gotten to his feet, just in time to look up at Nora as she leapt over the table at him, arm and fist cocked behind her head. He let out the beginning of a high pitched scream, the rest of it cut off as Nora fist smashed into his face. The blow was devastating, the sound of the impact causing some other panicking council members to cringe as if the blow had been directed at them. While the sound of the impact disturbed the other council members, the actual impact destroyed the chairman's jaw, not just dislocating it, but shattering it and leaving him a bloody, screaming mess on the ground, unable to properly call for help.
"You might wanna get that looked at." Nora said. "I hear children sometimes don't know their own strength. You know how they can be sensitive about their dolls." Nora delivered one swift kick to the chairman's ribs, fracturing them. She then hopped back over the table to the unconscious soldier, pressing her hand to his forehead. She activated her substantial aura, allowing some of it to flow into the soldier. The soldier woke up with a start. "Are you okay?" Nora asked. The soldier watched Nora fearfully before nodding his head. "That's good." Nora stood and hopped back into her seat, crossing her arms and stroking her small Ren plushie with her thumb.
"You could have at least waited until after the meeting." Weiss said. Blake was holding a hand in front of her mouth to hide her delighted grin, while a few seats down Adam was roaring with laughter, not bothering to attempt conceal it in the least. Weiss noted that even a few other council members were trying to hide small grins. Clearly the chairman was disliked.
Ozpin stood up and cleared his throat. "I'll suppose I'll call an ambulance once the meeting is adjourned. Are there any more questions?" He asked the room of faces covered in mixed emotion. He could see indifference, fear, horror, joy, delight, a whole mixed bag of emotions.
One of the grinning council members got to his feet, quickly wiping the grin off his face. He cleared his throat. "As the chairman in indisposed, I shall call for the final vote. All in favor of the hunter integration proposal please raise your right hand." He looked around the room to see that every council member had raised their hand, whether out of actual support or out of fear of Nora. "As Vice Chairman and currently acting Chairman, I am proud to announce that the integration of hunters into the Vytal military has been approved." He sat back down, smiling once more, clearly in support of Ozpin and his proposal. With the final announcement made, the council members began cleaning up and leaving the room, engaged in conversations with each other.
"Excellent." Ozpin said as he dialed medical services. He turned to Weiss. "You handled yourself splendidly."
"Thank you, sir." Weiss bowed her head.
"Which is why I'm proud to make you lead of this project." He said, setting the proposal documents in her hand. Weiss looked up at him, stunned. "You handled yourself admirably, even when I threw you in without warning. I'm getting old. Much, much older than I look. As much as I wish I could, I can't lead a war the same way you could. I shall continue teaching, and drawing up new plans to have new prospects sent to Tamamo and you as soon as possible. But you, Miss Schnee, will be a leader in the war effort."
"I… "Weiss started, clearly surprised by this decision. "Thank you, sir." Weiss settled on.
"I couldn't agree more, Professor." A voice said from behind Weiss. Weiss turned to see the Vice Chairman. "It's good to see you again." His graying hair reminded Weiss of a haystack, with strands and chunks sticking out all over the place. Despite that, his black suit was immaculately clean, which confused Weiss. His cane looked dirty, old, and worn; as if he had just picked up a thick branch from the forest somewhere.
"Councilor Crane." Ozpin shook his hand. "Or is it Chairman Crane, now?" Ozpin said, nodding to the crying chairman being wheeled away on a gurney.
Councilor Crane laughed. "I expect I will be Chairman very soon, after his behavior today. I must insist he take extended leave for… recovery purposes."
Ozpin laughed along with Councilor Crane. "Pardon me, Councilor. Miss Schnee, this is Councilor Crane, Vice Chairman of the Vytal council, former huntsman, and close friend of mine."
"Pleasure to meet you, Councilor." Weiss greeted, shaking his hand. "You are a hunter?"
"Was a hunter." Crane corrected. He lifted up his left pant leg slightly, revealing a prosthetic leg. He tapped his cane on his upper thigh, just below his hip, to show how much of the leg was missing. "Had a bit of an accident when I was younger. Can't fight quite as well anymore."
"An accident?" Blake asked, walking up beside Weiss. "Blake Belladonna." She introduced herself.
Crane shook Blake's hand. "Yes. I didn't mean to let a Nevermore take it from me, but we had a disagreement on that matter." He chuckled.
"How rude of it." Blake commented.
"I know, right?" He said with a grin. "Anyways, I came over to tell you that you will have my full support." His grin disappeared. "We are trying to keep it hidden from the public, but we are definitely losing this war, and badly. I know that skilled hunters are exactly what we need to turn it around. Our intelligence shows that Vacuo's army has a huge numbers advantage on us, but they have almost no hunters. I guess that they didn't plan on most of them deserting when they found out they attacked nearly all the schools where hunters are trained."
"A foolish mistake, on their part." Ozpin commented.
Crane nodded and continued, looking at Weiss. "If you are to take Ozpin's place, then I shall send the information to you. I believe you will be meeting with some of the military commanders to begin integration, giving them the information and orders they will need. They will resist, just like this council, unfortunately. But," he started, "there is a difference. The second you prove yourself, there will be no walls, they will accept you without question, and you will be one of them. I expect to see you in command soon, huntress. Now, I need to go deal with some paperwork regarding a certain someone's injury." He sighed. "Oh well. Farewell, Ozpin. Pleasure meeting you girls." He waved before walking off, slightly favoring one leg, while his cane tapped on the floor. Ozpin followed alongside him, catching up with his old friend.
"Now, I like how you work." They heard Adam say to Nora, who was still sitting patiently, waiting for Weiss and Blake.
"Thanks." Nora said without looking up from her Ren plushie.
Sensing Nora wasn't one for conversation, Adam walked over to Weiss and Blake. 'This meeting was definitely more interesting than I thought it was going to be."
"So, why are you here again?" Blake asked.
"So distrustful." He said. "I was asked to represent faunus interests by Councilor Crane. He contacted the different faunus communities and the White Fang, and I was selected for my… tenaciousness."
"That's one way to put it." Blake said while rolling her eyes at him.
"At the very least, I'm glad you aren't so angry at me anymore." Adam admitted.
"It was a long time ago." Blake said.
"And you, Miss Schnee." Adam said, turning to Weiss. "You certainly don't look like a faunus-hating business executive."
"He's just trying to get a rise out of you." Blake interjected before could take the bait.
"You seem to be mistaking me for my father." Weiss countered. "But you'd still be wrong, because he hates everyone, not just faunus."
Adam stared at Weiss through his mask a moment before chuckling. "I see. You're not bad yourself. Well, Miss Schnee, I am proud to tell you that as a representative of the faunus, you have our full military support. What military we have, anyways." He finished.
"Don't be so dramatic." Blake sighed. Adam only chuckled before waving bye to them and turning away, gesturing to his two guards to follow him out of the room.
"Are we ready to go yet?" Nora asked from her chair.
"Yeah. Let's get back to the school so we can prep for war." Weiss said.
"Did we really just join a war? Just like that?" Blake asked.
"I guess we did." Weiss said. "Why?"
"I don't know. I just expected it to be… different, I guess." Blake tilted her head as she thought. "More climactic. We're entering a war, you know? I thought there would be an announcement, crowds, music. Like in books and movies. But it really was such a quiet thing, wasn't it? We're going to join a fight where thousands will die, and no one seems to have noticed."
"I guess they don't think it will affect them." Nora suggested quietly, looking down at her Ren plushie once again.
"I could only wish it didn't affect us." Weiss said sadly.
