Through Her Eyes

by Peroth

Ruby is born with an unusual and dangerous power: the power to summon Grimm. Sheltered, shy, and carefully watched, Ruby is suddenly invited to join Beacon Academy. With the awful potential her power carries and a disturbing deformity that could out her to her peers, Ruby is tested in protecting the humanity of Remnant while keeping a dangerous secret. - AU, sorta follows canon.

14. Doubt

"That's my girl! One more lap!" Taiyang called across school's track and field. Running between the rungs of a pair of rope ladders laid side-by-side, Ruby steadied her breaths and focused on the crawling pit ahead. "Perfect form Nikos, but don't let it get to your head!" His voice thundered after Pyrrha, who swung from monkey bar to monkey bar, with such efficiency the coach would call it textbook. "C'mon Yang, pick up your damn feet or your sister'll be ahead of you on the course and in grades!"

"I will punch your ass out your mouth, dad!" Yang roared before tackling a heavy, weighted dummy, only barely breaking stride as she shoved it thirty meters into the red zone.

"I would love to see you try, sweetie! Arc, pack it up and come get some water!" Taiyang barked. At his words, Jaune collapsed onto his knees, sweat pouring off his body. He pulled himself on shaking limbs over to the coach, who slapped his back and in one hand gave him a water bottle, in the other Zwei's leash. The blonde screamed as he was dragged away by thirty pounds of fluff and love. "You're almost done Schnee, ten more meters!"

Weiss was close to collapsing each step as she used two ropes fashioned around her shoulders to drag a heavy tractor tire behind her. On her final step, she fell onto her front, suppressing the urge to vomit up her breakfast on her PE shirt.

When she opened her eyes again, a slightly damp, cool towel was dabbing her forehead, and she accepted the sip of cool water with great relish. She was laying on her back, her head resting on something that was paradoxically hard as a rock, but cushioned enough that her skull didn't ache. When her vision focused, she found herself looking up at the coach, who fixed her with a quizzical look.

"Ya did it. Good job, Weiss." He offered in a refreshing tone. No more shouting, no excessive pride in her accomplishing basic physical training, she was pleased with water and a well done.

"Thanks… coach…" Weiss spoke through burning lungs and a tight larynx.

Pyrrha jogged up, panting loudly, arms and legs aching, and stared curiously at Weiss using the coach's lap as a cushion. She pouted, why weren't there any cute blondes offering her a lap pillow?

"Finished up, Pyrrha?" Taiyang asked, holding out some water. Pyrrha took it and drank deep, using the chill to calm the heat in her chest and belly. She finally gave Tai a quick nod.

"Very satisfying, sir! I've spent a long time focusing on tournament training, this… difficult simplicity, I shall call it, is quite refreshing." She bowed her head to him, earning a lopsided grin.

"Hey, I'm just glad it works for you, super star. Sit and relax, the hard part of the day is over." Taiyang lifted Weiss's head and folded the towel underneath her so she'd still have a pillow, and Pyrrha took a seat at Weiss's feet. Tai walked out to the course to continue encouraging and challenging his two daughters.

Saturday mornings were meant to be the start of a weekend of fun and zero responsibilities, but the Xiao Long household had apparently missed the memo. Though Tai was forgiving towards the other students, Ruby and Yang had no chance to relax. A sharp knock to their dormroom door let the sisters know that just because they were in a new home didn't mean old habits were going to die easily.

What had been surprising was Weiss joining them, with only a few muttered explanations that she wanted to improve herself, and was only trumped when they crossed paths with Pyrrha and a still-tired Jaune, looking to invite Ruby to some practicing, but joining in on the morning workout. Blake had decided to sleep in, to the surprise of no one.

"I di-id iiit…" Ruby announced tiredly, dragging her feet as she came to a stop before the bench. She collapsed onto her butt in front of it, and plopped her head onto Weiss's stomach. A lazy, weak fist landed on her forehead, and Weiss let out a groan.

"I am not a pillow, idiot."

"Shaddup Weiss, ye're a pillow now…"

"This is harassment." Weiss grunted, but made no further attempts to escape.

Ruby grumbled. "You can take it up with my lawyer."

"You have a lawyer?" Weiss asked in disbelief. Ruby pointed, and Weiss followed her finger to the panting, muscle-bound blonde heading their way. "... That's a good lawyer."

"Damn right I am." Yang grunted, her usual enthusiasm overtaken by exhaustion. She sat to Ruby's right, leaning her head against Weiss's thigh as she took a water bottle. Weiss protested with small kicks, until aggravated growls stopped her.

Zwei sped up to Ruby and Yang's available laps and laid across them both, yapping in excitement as they rubbed his back and belly. Jaune, still hanging onto the leash, finally relaxed and lay a few feet away from his friends.

Taiyang snorted. "You only get three of those outfits, Jaune, if I see any grass stains on your clothes next week, it's gonna be extra laps, you hear me?" He demanded. He got a silent thumbs up, and Jaune tried to flatten himself against the ground. "Ahem. Anywho, good hustle everyone, I know y'all love your Saturdays, but this is gonna be worth the pain. Pity nobody else wanted to join in."

"Gee, dad, I wonder why." Yang shot her father a sarcastic grin, and he rolled his eyes back.

"I-I thought it was a very nice workout! An appropriate way to keep in shape on the weekends!" Pyrrha beamed, looking up to the coach with a big, excited smile. Yang's expression was somewhere between annoyed and amused as the redhead very obviously squirmed in delight under Tai's smile.

"Y'all hit the showers. Unless, Yang, if you got it in you, wanna come box with your pop?"

"Gimme five and we can dust knuckles, dad." Yang smirked, and Taiyang smirked right back.

The other four teens tiredly got themselves to their feet to go clean up, Ruby letting Jaune and Weiss both lean on her for support, while Pyrrha took the leash and watched Zwei trundle ahead of them.

After a quick shower, the four settled in by the practice ring to watch Yang bob, weave, and fight her father in one of the most grueling hand-to-hand sparring sessions all but Ruby had ever seen. Most bare-fisted combat drew their roots and inspiration from Mistralian martial arts, the difficult accomplishment of turning one's body into a weapon in and of itself.

What the Xiao Longs practiced, however, was much cruder, showing little grace other than in the simplicity of their attacks. There was no flourish or grandeur; the two slugged, grappled, and at times even seemed to cheat. Pyrrha blinked when the elder blonde shoved his open palm into Yang's face, squeezing to blind and distract her a he drew in and hammered his knee into her aura'd ribs. Yang, in turn, grabbed his arm, rolled back to throw him over her body, and climbed onto his barrel-like chest to try and beat his face in.

It was a crass and curious form of street-brawling, one that Pyrrha noted would have probably thrown a few fighters off their game with how underhanded it could be. She quietly glanced to Ruby, who was absentmindedly grooming Zwei's behind as Weiss clung to the other half of the dog to coo over, and grew amused at the disparity between her and her sister.

"Are you sure we won't be able to practice together?" Ruby asked in a sad pout, and Jaune gave a small, apologetic nod.

"Afraid this was all the time we had for today. We're hitting the books pretty much right after this." He scrubbed his boyish blonde hair with one hand, and let out a sigh. "Ren's like—I mean, you can barely tell because it's Ren, but he's mad. I don't wanna make it worse or encourage Nora to slack off."

Weiss huffed out loud, lifting her chin to avoid the stench of doggy breath as Zwei licked her. "While I am in agreement that a team should work together to bring about good results, one's failure shouldn't punish the rest."

"Nora is new to the way Beacon operates. Ren's adaptability has served him well, but Nora needs… encouragement." Pyrrha stated plainly, though by her tone and expression, she wasn't thrilled by the prospect. "We need to offer ourselves as friends and teammates."

"Yeah, and it's not like she's happy. She's pretty worked up about not getting to go out. I kinda wanna head back and see if she's gotten out of bed yet, I'm gonna see if I can do something to help…" Jaune compressed his lips in frustration. Not at Nora, but but at his own perceived failings.

"Well…" Ruby silently thought about the situation.

---

Ruby stared up into Ren's pink eyes, and was immediately disquieted by the boy's open annoyance. Ren's controlled emotions meant that, even at his happiest, it was only a small quirk of his lips that let his friends know he was in a good mood. Today, he was frowning, and the edges of his eyes had tightened the instant he saw Ruby's face. Though he dressed casually, in a comfy, women's turtleneck and worn jeans, his body language was anything but relaxed.

However, his bad mood passed with a sigh, and he regarded Ruby with an acknowledging nod. "Good morning Ruby, I trust you know that we're busy today?" Ruby was dressed as inoffensively as possible, in an unzipped black zip-up hoodie, a white T-shirt covered in cracked and chipping bubble decals, and baggy blue sports shorts.

"Y-yeah. Are you okay?" Ruby asked gently, squeezing her journals to her chest as Ren annoyedly flicked some hair out from his face. His lips tightened, he looked to Ruby's left, and he stepped out from his room, shutting the door behind him.

"I would be lying if I said no, so I will merely abstain."

"That… still answered my question."

"That's the point." Ren crossed his arms over his chest, and he twitched as gentle fingers settled on his hand, offering a comforting squeeze. He eventually relented, accepting her hand. "I suppose I should ask you, then, are you okay? Nora and I aren't children, we'll make it past this."

"Oh, y-yeah, I know! I j-just- I thought I might–" Ruby drummed her fingers against her notebooks, then held them up to Ren. He eyed them for a moment, then her in question. "Th-these are my class notes. I wrote down everything I could, a-and all the sticky notes are stuff Weiss explained to me. Anything crossed out in red pen isn't important, s-so…" She trailed off as Ren took the notebooks and opened one up to the first page.

His brow raised. Ruby's handwriting wasn't immaculate, but it was legible, and the lessons were recorded almost word-for-word. The first page alone had three sticky notes, abridging some of the information while extrapolating on the rest. Leafing through the notebook, it was immediately clear that Ruby poured her mind into the journal exhaustively, in a manner that almost seemed completely crazy… but the young huntress had made second in their grade.

He took the stack of notebooks and then opened his room's door. He beckoned Ruby with a small motion of his head, and walked inside. Ruby went after him curiously.

In contrast to her room, team JNPR kept the standard four-bed setup, which made space a little tighter, but also a little less ramshackle. Ruby awkwardly waved to the rest of team JNPR as they huddled around one desk. Jaune and Pyrrha waved back, books and notes in their laps, while Nora sat between them. As opposed to the usual bundle of energy she was, Nora was almost completely still, watching the floor with a dull stare, the book on her lap open, but forgotten while she crossed her arms over her chest. She even dressed for her mood, wearing the baggiest, rattiest pull-over Ruby had ever seen, as well as what looked like scavenged maternity pants.

"Nora." Ren spoke calmly as he approached her, and sat in the chair situated right in front of his girlfriend. Nora looked up at him with a sad expression and big, green eyes, making Ren's lips purse. "Ruby brought you some studying material. It's her notes." He held Ruby's notebooks out to Nora.

The downtrodden redhead looked at the books quietly, regarding them with a mixture of ambivalence and annoyance, then took them. They were wordlessly dropped onto a stack of books and papers by her side, and she let out a sigh, going back to staring at the floor, or Ren's knees in this case.

Ren's lips twitched, and he tilted his head towards Ruby. "Be sure to thank her, Nora." His calm tone could not hide his growing annoyance, and Ruby silently rubbed her arm as Nora gave her a quick glance and a muddled thank you.

Ren and Ruby both watched her to see if she did anything else, and when it became apparent that Nora had resigned herself to an unhealthy bout of feeling sorry for herself, Ren leaned back and grew a flat expression. His fingers began to drum his leg in a way Ruby hadn't seen before, and she looked between the two lovers carefully.

Since Ruby had met them, she had found Nora and Ren to be nearly inseparable. They snuck affectionate gestures to each other all the time, and Ruby had, on several occasions, seen them sit through lectures, hand in hand, writing with their opposite hands. Lunches and dinner with JNPR always involved the two feeding each other to varying degrees of sappy grossness, and Ruby had nearly crashed in on the two of them holding a very heart-to-heart 'I love you more!' argument on the balcony.

It had gone on for at least two minutes before they went for the kiss. The two were a textbook fairytale romance, but also teenagers, so it was a complex mixture of adorable and gag-worthy that gave Ruby the hope she would one day find somebody to be that stupid with.

This was not that relationship moment, however. Nora was tired, ornery, and more than either of those, sad. She had every reason to be disappointed in herself, since two of their classes were basically gimmes and she had managed to bomb her other three tests to an irreparable degree. Ruby had been terrified she'd be in this exact same position, but having Weiss as a partner held some particularly strong benefits.

Ruby touched her fingertips together in idle thought, and felt a hand on her upper arm. Jaune leaned towards her and whispered, "Just go, don't worry, we got this. Have a good weekend!" He gave her a small smile and a little wave, and Ruby let out a breath.

There it was, the pass to relieve her of any duty in the matter. She now had a guilt-free out to just get back to her room and enjoy the rest of the Saturday without worry.

Ruby hunched her shoulders, let out a breath, and shook her head. She walked over to Ren and gently touched his shoulder, drawing a look. "I'ma try something, okay?" She offered. He stared up into her goggles thoughtfully, trying to read something that wasn't there, then nodded his head. With his blessing, Ruby turned and bowed to Nora, getting face to face with her. The fiery redhead looked up to her with an expression silently demanding her space, and Ruby pointed to the door. "Nora, you wanna come get ice cream with me?"

Nora blinked twice, her expression turning confused, perhaps a bit hopeful, but then she deflated and grunted angrily. "Yeah, no, I gotta study, besides, it's early so sweets are bad for my blah blah blah. Sorry." Nora looked to a corner of the room nobody was standing in to brood.

"She is correct, we should be taking our time to–"

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea." Jaune cut Ren off. Ren looked to Jaune sharply.

"Jaune…" Ren spoke in calm warning, his eyes a bubblegum pink threat if he harmed his girlfriend's academics any further, but Jaune was looking at Ruby.

Nora looked between her boyfriend and her team leader, as was Pyrrha, and Jaune's expression asked Ruby to take her chance very seriously. "Nora, go with Ruby. You'll both be back here in one hour, okay? We'll try and work up a lesson plan in that time."

"Jaune." Ren said more sternly, his eyes narrowing as Nora hesitantly stood up, not sure who to obey. Ren and Jaune met eyes, and something unspoken passed between them. After a few tense seconds, Ren looked to Ruby, then to Nora, back to Jaune, nodded, and to Nora once more. "Very well. Go ahead." He finally relented, sounding less than pleased. He was not a gambling man, but even he knew risks sometimes had to be taken.

"Are you sure?" Nora asked hesitantly.

"Yes, very." Ren lied, gesturing to Ruby. "Go ahead, enjoy. But as Jaune said, be back within an hour."

"O-okay." Nora stood up straight, setting her books aside carefully to not anger her lover, and she went over to Ruby's side. With a confident smile, Ruby took the lead out of the room, and Pyrrha glanced over at Jaune suspiciously.

"I suspect there is more to this than simple ice cream and lesson plans?" Pyrrha asked wearily. Jaune stood, grabbing Ruby's notebooks and leafing through them quickly.

He didn't look Pyrrha's way as he handed them to Ren and put a foot on his chair, leaning over it in a classical thinking man's pose. "Let Ruby do her thing." Was all he said on the matter. "Pyrrha, Ren, let's get something together!"

---

Ruby squeaked and held onto the two packaged ice cream sandwiches as tightly as possible as her vision was suddenly obscured by two pieces of flying clothing. She stumbled, wavered, and finally got her foot down, tossing the clothing onto the ground in time to see Nora rolling down the grassy gnoll, all the while yelling in excitement. At the very bottom, she splayed out on her back, wearing a well-worn black sports bra and matching boys briefs.

Ruby bit her bottom lip. Nora was about as close to near-nudity as she could be near the school, and it was a stark reminder of how wild she was at heart. Ruby imagined Nora would have few issues rolling about in nature in the buff, but since they were still within a good mile of the school, she was being conscious.

"This is what I wanted this weekend!" Nora pointed up at the clear blue sky, soaking in the sun as her healthy breasts heaved with each breath. As well-muscled as she was, Nora was like Yang, just slightly smaller than her in every aspect. Except height. Yang dominated in height. "Not stupid-stupid tests rrrrrrraaaggghhhhh!" Nora growled in frustration, rolling onto her side and curling into a stressed ball.

Ruby slide-stepped down the hill, falling onto her rump on the last step and coasting down to Nora's level. With a teasing grin, she pressed the cool ice cream wrapper to Nora's tailbone, making the redhead squirm and kick and make more angry noises until she grabbed the package of out Ruby's hands. She sat up, sitting side-by-side with Ruby, and tore open the package with her teeth like a ravenous wolf.

"Oh my god the sugar gimme gimme gimme." Nora bit into her ice cream sandwich as Ruby watched with a small grin, and began to open up her bar. "Hey!" Nora spoke through a mouthful of sweets, pointing at Ruby's bar. "You betta get started on that, 'cause if I'm done and you ain't, it's mine."

"Jeez you're riled up today." Ruby huffed, taking her first bite. The cold was nice on this warm Spring day, and she stared off at the forest as she bit into her treat again. By her side, Nora chowed down on her ice cream, and as she warned, the moment she was done, she was grappling with Ruby over the remainders of the second. "Augh! N-Nora, noooo, it's mine! I p-paid for 'em b-both!"

"Survival of the fittest, baby!" Nora exclaimed, blindly grabbing for Ruby's furthest arm, Ruby's other hand pushing her away by the cheek and making her domineering grasps for food look more like desperate flailing. "Your hand cream is awesome by the way!"

"Why—eek!—thank you!" Ruby hastily stuffed the rest of her ice cream in her mouth, chewing with huge, circular motions of her jaw as Nora spilled across her lap suddenly, sat up, and stared Ruby in the lens. Ruby's cheeks puffed up, and she nervously swallowed as Nora watched.

The redhead sniffed. "Rude." She stated, then slid back to Ruby's side, and laid out on her back to stare at the sky again. Even with her energy and aggression, Nora's mind seemed far away. Not in the same way Weiss could be, when she was in study mode, nor in the way Blake could, when she was wrapped up in a book, but like Yang could, not really thinking, but not really present either. They were both women of the here and the now, and going too far ahead in their thoughts was an annoyance.

In many ways, Nora was happy to ignore the subtleties and implications of life and social interactions. Her childhood up to this point had been her roughing it, living off scraps and what she hunted, things like philosophy, history, and chemistry hadn't been useful to her. As long as she had a cute boy telling her what to do and what needed to die, she was happy.

As long as she could avoid starvation, fear, and getting hurt, her life was pretty solid. Meals could be scarce, but she knew how to go to bed hungry. The wilds could be dangerous, but she knew how to weather a storm. The Grimm could be overwhelming, but she knew she was never alone.

That was life to her, simple. Ren's bright idea of going to Beacon seemed odd to her, after they'd spent so much time getting by without civilization or school, but Ren talked about having friends, having a room, having meals, getting an education, it had made his face light up in a way that made Nora think the same.

And, for all intents and purposes, he had been right. The cafeteria was way better than spending all day hunting, Jaune and Pyrrha were both delights to tease and chat with, the beds were soft and warm, and she never had to worry about how hot, cold, dry, or wet it would be when she woke up. The education stuff… it just didn't click.

"Hey, girlfriend?" Nora looked Ruby's way. Ruby had been watching the forest, but quickly retrained her attention, looking to Nora curiously. It was weird that Nora was getting used to reading Ruby's face, Ren at least had eyes to work with. "Why'dja bring me out here?"

"Oh, uh…" Ruby looked back at the forest, and rolled her shoulders in that little 'I dunno' way she did. "I thought it'd be nice to clear our heads. I have a bit of a w-weird day ahead of me, s-so… I thought, m-maybe you'd wanna come out here too." Ruby tried a smile, but it was obviously fake. One did not court with Ren without knowing how to read expressions well.

"Blegh. Aren't you and your team going to Vale? You can pick us up a movie at least." Nora grumbled, closing her eyes. She lifted a foot, raising her leg high in the air above her. Ruby watched, embarrassed as that fully exposed, thick leg waved idly by her side. It was totally aimless, and Nora laid it down to do the same with her other leg, probably enjoying the way it made her flex. "Okay, so, what's the real reason then? No way Ren would have said yes unless you had some super-special way to teach me."

"W-well… I kinda don't." Ruby admitted as Nora raised both her legs above her head, balancing on her upper back and shoulders in a manner like a child, just beginning to explore the limits of their bodies. "I just… studied. Weiss and I would sit down and go over notes, she'd always wanna do quizzes and stuff, all of the extra bookwork–"

"Boring!" Nora rolled on her side away from Ruby, showing off her well-toned back, but curling up in a bratty way. Ruby sighed. "Ren wanted to do all that, but you know how hard it is to focus on this crap? I don't care."

"I th-think that's it." Ruby looked away from Nora, reprieving the older girl of her stare as she thought out loud. "I think you have to care. I-I'm not saying you have to care as m-much as me, or Weiss, or Ren, but to at least p-pass–"

"So I can become a hunter?" Nora grunted, then unwound herself, stretching on her side in a way that would be provocative if Ruby allowed herself to stare. "I can swing Magnhild just as well without a license, and without knowing all this… stuff."

"B-but, with a license, you can get jobs and get money! A-and fame, and all sorts of discounts and travelling rights and agency–"

"Ruby, I literally walked across Mistral with Ren with a tin can full of lien to get a boat to Vale." Nora's tone was dripping with exasperation. "We could have lived our whole lives in the wilds, built a shack or something, but… Ren wanted more. I thought we were enough, but he disagreed."

"So, Ren wants to be a hunter." Ruby stated, and Nora rolled onto her other side, looking at Ruby from her place on the ground.

"Yeah." Nora answered, then her eyes drifted away as she thought. "See, Ren and I came from different worlds when we were kids. We're both orphans, we got nothin' to go back to, if we're kicked out, it's back into the woods with us, but while I was just a streetrat grabbing scraps out of dumpsters, Ren grew up with his family in a place called Kuroyuri."

"... He lived in a town called Black Lesbians?"

Nora blinked. "What?! No! It's like, a flower or something! What?!"

"Nothing!" Ruby blushed.

Nora rolled her eyes, and continued. "Anywho, he had a mom who loved him, a dad who protected him and gave him weird life lessons, when we first met, we were a world away from each other." Nora's tone fell in a way that Ruby didn't like. "I spent every day getting brushed aside and glared at because I made a living on stealing. I was used to having nothing, while Ren had everything. Then…" Nora swallowed thickly. "I mean, you can probably guess, it's the same thing that happens to every town that gets a little too peaceful…"

"Grimm." Ruby spoke the word at a low simmer, and her fist tightened at her side.

"Yeah. A big one, and all the little ones it brought. Ren…" Nora sighed thickly. "Ren lost everything. He got me out of town, saved my life, and suddenly, I had something that mattered, while he lost everything he cared about. We joined a scavenger caravan that came by a few days later, and Ren stuck by my side that whole time. Y'know… y'know, I can't remember a single day that man wasn't holding my hand, even when we'd just met. Like, I spent ten years alone, and spent every day of the last seven feeling him by my side, in my hand, or up my–"

"N-Nora!"

"Sorry. Ren… he was never happy. Like, not super super happy, he got pretty peachy keen whenever we got together, but he was always wanting. I think, like, losing his family and his home left a hole in his heart." Nora rolled onto her back, breathing deeply as she, for once, looked thoughtful. "I do everything I can to try and fill him up, but that man…" She smiled. "He wants to kick some ass. Only reason we spent so long in the wilds is because he felt he wouldn't become strong enough to fight unless he toughened up, so we spent years by ourselves, and he became that sexy beast he is today."

Ruby stared down at her feet. At some point, she'd curled her knees to her chin, simply listening. If she had, at any point in her life, lost her father, her uncle, or her sister, she knew she'd be left wanting too. Revenge, redemption… her mind drifted to Summer Rose, the woman whose smile dominated her memories, whose muffled voice sang to her in the back of her mind. What sort of girl would she be if her mother was still here?... Ruby didn't know, and trying to imagine it scared her, and left her with a-... a hole.

"Ren wants to be a hunter, and I'm his girlfriend, so I'm here with him. I just…" Nora stretched out. "I just don't care about this class stuff."

"Well…" Ruby shook herself out of her thoughts. "Well, Nora, what do you want?" She looked to the redhead by her side, and Nora shrugged.

"I dunno. I don't care." Nora hummed, then shrieked, shooting up as a pair of fingers dug into her side and pinched. "Bitch! Ow! Why?! I let my aura down and this is what I get?! Mean!" Nora huffed, while Ruby simply frowned. Nora stopped griping and squirming, looking to Ruby with a surprised look. "You, uh, look kind of intense."

"... Because you're dumb." Ruby smacked Nora's upper arm, making her jump and regret not activating her aura immediately.

"I know, that's why I'm failing, Ruby." Nora snarked, and got another smack for her trouble. "Stop!"

"No!" Ruby snapped, making Nora flinch. "N-Nora Valkyrie, how do you not know what you want?!"

"I never really thought of it before, jeez, stop hitting me!" Nora stroked her arm. For such a little push-over, Ruby could slap a Beowolf into submission…

"Then think!" Ruby ordered, grabbing Nora by her bruised upper arm to pull her closer. "What do you want?!"

"J-jeez, I dunno! Where's this-"

"WHAT. Do you. Want?!" Ruby demanded again, slower, angrier. Nora began to wilt, her jaw trembling.

"U-uh, um, I w-want Ren. To be happy. To l-love me?!"

"What else?!" Ruby demanded, and Nora silently squirmed in distress.

"A-a house. A big house, big kitchen, and a chef!" Nora babbled, drawing from her innermost fantasies of her perfect future. "A-and I want Ren to propose to me wearing just a ribbon on his head! Just the ribbon! I want to be his wife! And I wanna still hit stuff! I really like the way Grimm heads just crack when you smash 'em, so I wanna keep doing that! B-but I want- I want-... I want a home." Nora finally stated, no longer trembling. Ruby's grip loosened, and Nora sagged, letting out a sigh. "I'm so sick of living in tents! I finally have a bed, and a warm room, and a bunch of friends who are also assholes who keep hitting me." Ruby offered no apologies. "I want Ren to fill me with babies and I want a place to put those babies and raise them into little shitwreckers. I want a family that doesn't go through what Ren and I did, and-and when everything sucks and hurts and I'm sick of it all, I want a place to go back to where everything'll be better…"

Nora crossed her arms over her chest, and pulled up her knees, and Ruby silently, consolingly put an arm around her shoulders. "Okay. So you want to stay here, and you want to have a big place when you're older with Ren, right?"

"Yeah…" Nora nodded slowly. "Yeah, I mean, it's dumb and it's simple, but I don't care about leaving a lasting mark. As long as I can keep Ren and hit stuff, I got nothing to worry about. Just… I wish I was smart enough to do all this crap." Nora admitted, giving a deep, angry sigh. "Ren taught me to read, Ren taught me math, Ren taught me a buncha basic stuff, but it's always been tough as hell for me. I can't–"

"Stop." Ruby raised a finger, and Nora looked her way. "Don't say 'I can't.'"

"But I can't, Ruby, jeez! Sorry I ever thought you were a freakin' doormat, you're a little bitch today!" Nora snorted, and sank back into her knees, her expression lowering as Ruby sidled up closer.

"You can." Ruby whispered under her breath.

"Bullshit." Nora grunted. "I'm good for hitting stuff and making Ren happy, and that's fine."

"No it's not."

"What, like I'm trawling for your approval?! Lay off me, Ruby." Nora growled in frustration, and clenched up as gentle fingers drew her hair back, adjusting it and tugging out blades of grass. "We can stop pretending I have a chance here, so don't—so quit. I'll wait for Ren to graduate and we'll go hunting together, license or no license. I'm fine with that."

"He's not." Ruby pointed out, and Nora sniffed.

"No, he's not, but he's so bull-headed sometimes, he thinks anything is possible. Growing stronger, getting to Beacon, passing initiation against a bunch of other students–"

"And was he wrong?"

"No." Nora conceded grumpily. "But this is different. I'm dumb, I hit things with a hammer, that's all. The tests weren't this hard before, initiation was as smash-and-grab as it could get, and growing strong, well…"

"Let me guess," Ruby began, "y-you'd wake up every morning thinking training was hard, and p-pointless. Everything hurt all the time, and n-no matter what you did, you never felt like you were getting any better." She watched as Nora's jaw twitched, but offered no rebuttal. "But somebody kept dragging you out of bed, saying you'll get better, saying it's not too much longer, and one day, you swung your hammer and saw something happen that made you t-think, 'I have a chance.'" Again, no argument. "So you kept at it. You kept at it until you realized you were f-fighting the monsters that destroyed homes, and towns, and ended lives, and you were just… killing them. One, then two, t-then three, and they'd hit you, and it'd hurt, but then you killed them, and killed the next one, and when they were all dead, you realized you didn't hurt, and that you'd w-won. Not because you were lucky, but because you were strong." Ruby's voice was growing thick with emotion, and Nora was still silent. "Do you think being smart is any different?"

Nora said nothing for a long while. She drew patterns in the grass with one finger, and closed her eyes. She sniffled loudly, and let it out. "It's… I mean, it's just such a long climb, isn't it? I don't know when I felt like I was getting strong, I just… got there."

"And that's what it was like for me." Ruby spoke softly, rubbing Nora's back. "I didn't think I was even going to score t-top ten, but I did, and it's because I tried. I cared, and I worked super hard, even though I was scared. S-sometimes, you just don't know if you did it right until you get to the very end. That's how fighting always feels for me. It's how getting into B-Beacon felt for me. Everything seems scary, and weird, and you kinda wanna throw up, but… then you're there, where you never thought you'd be." Ruby smiled, and Nora shot her a curious glance. "Don't you think you'd be happier if you were smart and hit things with a hammer? Being smart's good for you."

Nora lowered her eyes to the ground.

Being smart was what Ren did. Nora admired Ren for his brain, and was okay with following him and Jaune because they were both smart. But… even Jaune had only barely passed. He was confident, and made the right call most of the time, but he was a little dumb. Ren and Pyrrha had both gotten into the top ten. Not her though, and not Jaune either, and everybody was okay with him.

Opening her scroll to check her grade, trying to keep it from Ren until he grew agitated enough to take it himself, that shame that hit her when he looked her way with in disappointment… she never wanted to feel that way again. The heartache left her feeling non-functional, escaping him with Ruby was the best she'd felt all day.

She never thought she could be smart, but… she once never thought she could be strong. Not until she looked up to Ren and saw his youthful, child's body growing muscle, pushing rocks, climbing trees, racing across the forest floor. She'd wanted to catch up to him, and prove that she could stand by his side back then.

She idly wondered if she really was that cliche, being content with being in his good graces, but… he was her everything. He was what she wanted. He was what she would protect to the very end. Yes, she was that cliche, but… she couldn't stop here. He would grow stronger and smarter if she gave up, and would go far past her.

She couldn't deal with that. If he was the stick she measured herself by, she couldn't let him get so far she couldn't catch him. If it meant staying with Ren…

"... Oh god…" Nora wheezed, lifting her head with a groan. "Fine. Freaking fine, y'know what? I care all of a sudden. I don't get it, but I care. Damnit Ruby, you–" Nora glared at her friend, but only half-heartedly. Ruby's smile calmed her, and Nora felt the pain in her heart lift as she began to feel hopeful again.

No more feeling sorry for herself. If she wanted a big-ass house to fill with kids, she needed money. If she wanted to stick by Ren's side, she needed to be smarter. The path to being a hunter would give her both of those things if she tried.

"... Thanks." Nora mumbled, and Ruby's smile grew. "So… where do I start?"

---

Team JNPR's dormroom door flew open and Nora strode in. Jaune, Pyrrha, and Ren glanced up to see her walk in with a serious expression on her face, arms swinging boldly as she stood before them, back in her baggy clothing.

"Okay!" She started loudly, making Ren flinch. "This weekend study hall stuff sucks! Make me smarter so I never have to do it again!" She ordered.

Jaune let out a sigh of relief, and threw a thumbs up. "Can do! We think we got all the stuff together, so, just sit and we'll get started." Jaune looked past Nora's shoulder to see Ruby at the doorway, and mouthed 'thank you', earning a quick nod.

Ren watched his beloved drop into a chair, and, for once, seriously open up the book in front of her. Pyrrha leaned over the desk by her side, speaking calmly, explaining things to Nora as she read. Then… then his beloved picked up a pencil, and began to quickly scribble out some notes on a piece of paper, then ask a question, then write down the answer…

He blinked slowly, then looked Ruby's way. The goggled girl smiled at him, and though he did not smile back, he felt relief flood him. He owed that girl some pancakes… Silently, he slid his way out of the room, looking down at Ruby with a mixture of partially-open-eyed awe and curiosity. "What did you do?" He asked very gently, a little warmth in his voice.

"I-..." Ruby blushed in embarrassment, glancing into the room as Nora hunched over the desk, stretched, buried her face in the book, sat up, and read again. "I got her talking, and made her think about what she wanted, and used that to convince her studying would get her that."

"That must have taken some effort." Ren gave one of his little smiles-that-weren't-smiles, and watched his lover focus on the words in front of her, before shaking his head in disbelief. "She's not always easy to pry open."

Ruby's shoulders sank, and she gave a guilty smile. "I kinda made her…"

"Well, that's how you do it with her, whether she likes it or not." Ren nodded. He leaned back against the wall, revealing a monumental weakness in seeking support as he relaxed, his eyes closed. "I knew simply getting angry with her would solve nothing, but getting her to learn so many years ago was a struggle as well. Her motivations are… sporadic, in frustratingly predictable ways."

Ruby bobbed her head in understanding, and fell into silence as a question mulled in her head. She knew it would be intrusive, but at the same time, she wanted to hear the honest answer from him. "Ren, what do you want?" She asked. The question seemed to catch him off guard, as he quickly looked to her in question. "Like, out of life."

He lifted his chin in thought. Nora had said he wanted to be a hunter to get revenge and protect other children from the tragedy he had suffered, but Ruby was genuinely curious. He looked down at her when he had an answer that satisfied him. "A family. As big a family as I can have." He closed his eyes. "And somewhere safe. That would make me happy. Though, that is selfish, I want for Nora as well."

"She's a good girl. Just… out there."

"Mm. Yes, she's a strange one." He confirmed, his eyes roaming Nora's expression as Jaune read to her. "But when she has her heart set on something, she will upturn mountains until she gets it. Whether it be getting to Vale, the strength to succeed, or me." The way he looked at her, Ruby could tell Ren treasured that about her.

---

When Ruby returned to her room, she was greeted by Yang wearing her weekend best, as well as a desperate glare. "Ruby! Are we going out or what?! Get in the shower and let's goooo!" Yang was shaking her little sister under her armpits, making the smaller girl squawk in distress.

"I-sorry-I-had-to-Noorrrraaaahhh-stooooop!" Ruby spun her arms like a windmill to try and break free, but Yang wasn't having any of it.

Yang tossed her into the closet, sending the girl stumbling. "Pick something out and wash up, Ruby! Blake's gonna be out any minute now and you two have a date!"

"It's not a date!" Ruby cried, then turned and froze in place. A figure she hadn't noticed before stared at her. "... Yang there's a boy in our closet!" Ruby's voice rose in a mortified shriek, arms covering her breasts, despite being fully dressed.

"I am not a boy!" Weiss corrected in a furious tone. Ruby was roughly shoved out of the way, the heiress storming out with a grumpy expression. She was wearing one of Yang's thick, wool-lined leather bomber jackets, a white T, loose capris, and a big newsboy's cap to hide all of her glorious white hair, leaving her looking very plain and near-indistinguishable from a ruffian a few years her junior.

Ruby poked her head out to stare as Weiss gave Yang a dirty look, the blonde examining the boy's clothes with her thumb and forefinger stroking her jaw. "Hmm, y'know, you don't look half bad in this, Weiss."

"I look like a hooligan." Weiss grouched. If it weren't for the distinctly feminine slope of her face and neck, Weiss could have easily passed further scrutiny, but when one's eyes lingered a little too long… "Why not just hand me a baseball bat to complete the ensemble?" Weiss snorted.

"Aww, you'd look ready to bust the city up!" Yang cooed at the thought, drawing a disgusted roll of Weiss's eyes. "Okay, now, just like we practiced…" Yang nodded encouragingly.

Weiss let out an exasperated sigh, and almost forced her hands to pull off her hips and sink into her jacket pockets. She hunched, her legs spread in a mannish way. Weiss sighed more deeply as Yang nodded encouragingly. "Yo…" She all but groaned the word in annoyance. "B-basket o' seven, Atlesian S-spice, make 'em hawt, boss."

Weiss planted her face into her hands, hiding her shame as Ruby and Yang both collapsed against the closest wall, laughing so loudly that Blake poked her head out the bathroom door in confusion. "... Dare I ask?" Blake glanced at Weiss.

"Please don't…" Weiss pleaded.

Ruby pulled herself back up to her feet, took one look at Weiss smoldering, and nearly doubled over laughing again. Yang buried her face into her arms on one of the desks, managing to silence herself, but she couldn't stop shivering in mirth.

The bathroom door opened, and Blake walked out with a small, tired smile, a pair of bags underneath her eyes. Weiss's embarrassment was forgotten as Blake strutted her stuff in pair of black dress trousers, a deep purple bra lifted and shaped her ample, creamy bust, with a white, unbuttoned dress top fluttering off her shoulders. "I dunno, you got me all curious."

Weiss's blush grew, and she pinched the bridge of her nose to stop looking at Blake's trim belly as she buttoned up her shirt. "Yang and I will be going to a small, but supposedly-authentic Faunus wing restaurant while you and Ruby are out."

"Uh huh…"

"It is my duty to ensure that I am not visible in locations that may damage the Schnee name." Weiss planted her hands on her hips, glancing to the floor in a slight mixture of worry and shame. "This… dive is not exactly a five-star restaurant, and is apparently a popular locale for Faunus who may or may not have extreme views that may or may not clash with Schnee family ideals."

"... So you dressed like a boy because you don't wanna be seen scoffing at the trough with a bunch of animals?" Blake asked pointedly, and Yang's giggling turned into a hacking cough of surprise. Weiss almost jumped at the barbed accusation.

"W-wha- no! I mean yes! No! I-it's not that I- I-I'm sure they're p-perfectly fine pr-proprietors of their business, b-but if some tabloid-"

"Kidding, Weiss." Blake waved a hand, dismissing the accusation with a sudden, calm smile and a pinch to the flushed girl's cheek. "You're so easy to rile up. I know your image is important, so lighten up."

Weiss puffed up her cheeks in frustration, forcibly loosening Blake's grip. "Pain in the..." Weiss devolved into grumbling as Blake simply smirked and began to gently tousle Weiss's clothing, ensuring it wasn't too uniform. "Speaking of pains… Ruby. Shower. Now." Weiss ordered, looking towards the closet.

Blake followed her eyes, and found herself blinking wearily at her young team leader. Ruby had simply been watching the scene, but now that she and Weiss were watching each other, her form shriveled, her shoulders shrank, and she quietly looked for Blake's reaction. Blake contemplated Ruby quietly, her smile replaced with an unreadable stare.

Ruby knew Blake was probably looking at her goggles, thinking, imagining, wondering… and Ruby silently pushed down the bubble of guilt expanding in her tummy. She had a goal here. She couldn't stray, as much as she wanted to. She slunk into the closet to tug at her shirts and pants, digging through the meddlesome murk in her head to try and find something resembling a reasonable outfit before she hit the showers.

Blake watched Ruby meekly slink into the showers holding fresh clothing. Her yellow eyes stared intently at the black strap surrounding the girl's head, a disappointed curiosity filling her. The girl's words stuck with her, her loud, shocking demand, and Blake's eyes lowered. The secretive little thing still hand a fantastic tushy, and Blake somewhat regret not taking advantage of their reading session to explore it…

Blake's jaw tightened, she squeezed her eyes shut, and she reminded herself that things couldn't stay this way. She would figure something out, but the sting of Ruby's rejection still hurt. She was not trusted. She was not in the need-to-know basis, even if she technically ranked the same as Weiss and Yang.

Sure she wasn't Ruby's partner, sure she wasn't Ruby's sister… but surely she deserved all the same? Blake angrily remembered first meeting the girl, the curiosity the little human had sparked in her, so sweet, so innocent, so socially awkward and adorably curious about a stranger's reading habits. She'd seemed… she'd seemed a kindred soul, lonely and nervous with where she was, but rather than ball up in a corner as far away from people as she could be, Ruby had made a bold step in getting to know a stranger.

Blake thought she might have been bluffing, having lost interest after the school's first-year sleepover, but she thought that, surely, anyone who was on Weiss Schnee's bad side was somebody to get to know. How foolish to think that, now that Weiss was a friend, and Ruby was… Blake's jaw jut out, and she sighed. She didn't know what Ruby was. Blake wanted to like her, and adore her, but she'd lost faith.

Maybe her reasoning was solid and Blake was being selfish, but Blake still ached.

Blake felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to Yang with a dull, curious stare. Yang had a gentle frown, evaluating Blake carefully. "You two are gonna be cool, right?" Yang asked, Weiss tilting her head as she listened in.

"If you're asking if I'm going to try and get her goggles off, the answer's no." Blake sighed despondently, which got a frustrated grunt from Yang. "I won't ask either. You all made it very clear that's off-limits." Blake couldn't hide all of the bitterness in her voice, but if Yang caught it, she didn't call it out.

"Yeah. Look, whatever you may think is going on, it's not like Ruby's any different with them off. It's for her own protection. She's a good girl." Yang assured her, and Blake simply nodded, unsure what to think.

"I know." She finally responded. "I'll keep that in mind."

When Ruby reemerged, it was in a striped, flattering, frilled blouse and dark jeans, but she kept her Orion the hunter hoodie. She ran her fingers through her hair, let out a soft sigh, and glanced up to her team. Weiss had been strumming at her guitar in silent thought, but was now beginning to stand and walk over to her guitar case, while Yang jumped to her feet and stretched. "Finally! Alright girls, let's have ourselves some food and fun!" She ordered.

Blake slid off her bunk onto her feet, looking Ruby's way. Their eyes met—not that Blake could tell, much to her annoyance—and no matter how much she assured herself that it was fine, she couldn't belay her disappointment. However, when Ruby looked down with palpable regret and fear, Blake sighed. As much as she simmered, as much as her fears grew, Ruby wasn't unlikable.

Whereas Adam had slowly transformed from a warm, brave revolutionary into a spiteful, cold-hearted misanthrope, Ruby's cowardice and secretiveness did not replace the personality Blake had warmed up to. Silently, she moved to stand before Ruby, the whole room going quiet as she sized her young leader up.

She closed her eyes. Perhaps this would one day be something she could look back at and laugh, once she knew the truth. Until then, Blake could only cling to her hopes that she would be let in, and soon.

Ruby tugged the front of her shirt in idle distress as Blake stepped to the side and turned to face the door. Taking a deep breath, Blake offered her elbow. Ruby blinked, looking at Blake's arm, then to her face. Nervously, she slid a hand underneath Blake's arm, hooking onto the crook as Blake relaxed.

"Shall we?" The black-haired beauty asked, putting on a smile.

"Y-yeah. Yeah." Ruby bobbed her head, following Blake's lead to the door. Weiss and Yang glanced to each other, crossed their fingers in symbolic hope at each other, and followed.

---

"C'mon dude, it's a shortcut!"

"It's a dark and disgusting alleyway, and don't call me 'dude.'" Weiss growled, staring down the shadowed path between two buildings.

"Hey, you don't want me calling you by your name." Yang reminded her, arms crossed under her breasts. In her low-cut tank top and hip-hugging shorts, Yang seemed to be demanding attention, and Weiss turned away with a blushing 'humph!' "And It's just a short walk in some back alleys, what's to be afraid of? You have me to protect you!"

"From filth and grime and discarded trash and probably used druggie needles…?!" Weiss ranted. Yang just sighed and took Weiss by shoulder.

"You know you're wearing mostly mine and Ruby's clothes? Those are probably better protection than the tissue-thin dresses you usually wear." Yang pointed out, while Weiss pouted further.

"They are not tissue thin." She grunted. "That aside, how often do you find yourself in alleyways to know them as 'shortcuts?'"

Yang shrugged her shoulders, casually leaning against the wall as she waited for Weiss to stop waffling. "Hey, I had my 'bad kid' phase, and if at least one good thing came outta it, it was learning how to get from point A to point B in record time."

Weiss's eyebrows knit together in frustration, and she tugged her hat lower in a weak attempt to guard her worry. "Fine. But no lingering, I don't want to associate with the lowlife riffraff these places seem to attract."

"It's just a shortcut, Weiss. Besides, I came prepared." Yang lifted her wrists, showing off the burning yellow braces that, with a quick surge of aura, could grow into her beloved Ember Celica. Weiss walked as close to Yang as possible, hanging to the left of her rear to keep an eye on things while affirming her comfort by the blonde's side.

"Are you expecting a fight?" Weiss asked cautiously, her voice too low for a passerby to catch her distinctive timbre.

"Nah, not really." Yang replied as they hung a right, down the next alley. "Vale's got this huge interwoven alleyway schtick due to some building space ordinance. During the day, it's usually pretty safe—you might run into a pair of bums sixty-nineing or something, but—I'm kidding, Weiss, stop turning so green. Anywho, it's usually safe, but that crimewave has me worried. I made sure Ruby packed Crescent Rose into her bag just in case."

Weiss's hand slid under Yang's arm, and Yang slowed her step. She could feel the girl's nervousness by her side, so she let her hang on as they walked through the back alleys. The sun may have been bright up above, but the tall, vacant walls were covered in shadow and tagged with street art whose quality varied from 'indecipherable scribbles' to 'somebody spent far too long on something that will get power-washed away but is still indecipherable.' The two passed by a mound of garbage bags, a straying foot brushed one, and the shift sent an old, dirty tin can clattering across Weiss's booted feet, making her peep in fright, and scooch to Yang's other side. "Yang, this is scaring me, can we please go streetside?" Weiss asked in a tight voice.

Yang gave her a small smile. "Sure Weiss, we're most of the way through anyways, it'll just be a few more minutes on the sidewalk."

The two hung another left and came to a halt.

Four men crowded around a fifth, pressing him to one of the walls of the narrow path. The fifth man had a thin layer of fur up and down his forearms and legs, and his face was swollen and cracked. The other four had a mixture of arrogant smirks and offended scowls, the largest of them holding the Faunus man's shirt by the collar, his other fist raised back threateningly.

"No, wait! Please!..." The Faunus begged through some missing teeth. He raised his hands to cover his face, but two of the men grabbed his arms, pulling them out straight.

"You got the nerve to come selling this animal shit on a corner where my kids can see it?" The one hanging back asked in an ominous snarl. The Faunus shivered as the brute held up a White Fang 'Who Are We?' pamphlet. "I got a little girl back home wanting to know why people want to hurt you throw rugs; she ain't old enough to understand this shit!"

"I-it's just a job!" The Faunus insisted, "Please! Please, I-I just pass out pamphlets where they tell me to, it's not even that bad! It-It's just about the oppression-" His head, and words, were blown back by a sharp jab that left him reeling, and he leaned forward, blood dripping from his mouth, a pained groan escaping him.

"Yang?" Weiss whispered, clamping down on the blonde's arm as she felt it tighten. "Yang, le-let's just go, we're not- please, we can't—" Weiss gasped as her grip was broken by a quick, furious tug. Yang silently strode forward, and Weiss felt her stomach quiver as she caught a glimpse of her friend's expression.

The Faunus pitched forward, hacking in pain as one of the men slugged his stomach once, then twice. The man drew back, shaking his hand out, then tightened his fist again, only to pause at a voice. "Hey." Yang sounded calm. Weiss assumed that was a good thing, until she remembered the way her arm had bulged. "I'm giving you your one chance." Yang continued, stopping within easy talking distance. "The four of you—the humans—y'all can drop everything and walk out right now, and save yourself a couple of broken bones until the next time we cross paths. Just put the man down, put your hands in your pockets, and walk away."

The offer hung in the air, the four men staring at her in silence, the Faunus man giving her a pleading look. Weiss's hands nervously wrestled together in front of her stomach. They looked like big men, and Yang was easily outnumbered…

"This doesn't concern you, goldie!" The man in the back shouted at her, holding up the Fang pamphlet. "This piece of shit is hawking his terrorist crap onto my kids! You wanna defend that?!"

"No." Yang answered. The stillness in her tone was steadily disappearing, and Weiss began to silently countdown to when this confrontation would turned violent. "I wanna defend him. Offer's still out there." Yang offered with a simple raise of her hand.

The four men looked to each other, and then turned to the short, bulky one among them. "Just go hold her down 'til we're done here, if she makes a stink, give her a good whack." The pamphlet-waving man ordered. With a roll of his shoulders, the short one started towards Yang, his expression and body language reeking of a masculine self-confidence.

Weiss was nearing one. She would have to intervene, if Yang got hurt…

… Wait, this was Yang she was talking about. Unless these four men were trained combatants…

"C'mere missy, lemme escort you a few alleys down." The man grabbed Yang's arm. Yang did not react, simply giving him a furious look. He pulled, but she didn't move, and the man grit his teeth. "Listen gorgeous, this is an adult matter, so let's-" He pulled, and with it, her arm swung out. The blow caught him by surprise, his left clavicle made an unhealthy 'crunch,' and a gasp of pain escaped him. "G-goddamnit!" He grabbed the spot she struck, wincing as every move of his arm sent needles of pain through his shoulder. "Shit, that hurt!"

The other three men looked to each other, and then to Yang. They began to move towards her as the first thug raised his still good arm and swung. Weiss recoiled as his knuckles buried into her cheek, her aura not up… and Yang did not move, simply staring the man in the eye. "Time's up." She stated, almost serenely.

"Wha-?" The question never fully left his lips, as the wind was suddenly hammered out of his lungs when a fist lodged itself into his upper gut. A loud wheeze escaped him, his feet lifted from the ground, his companions faltering as they watched him go limp like a cut puppet, and Yang tossed him to the ground with barely a 'harumph.'

Yang stepped around him, her arms swinging steadily as she locked eyes with the other three men. She briefly glanced to the Faunus, now crumpled on his knees, then back to the other three men. They should have run, Weiss almost wanted to beg them to, but no, men and their petty egos… she grit her teeth in fear as one whipped out a telescopic baton, another pulling out a plain pistol. "Alright, missy…" One snarled. "You got three seconds to fuck off, or we'll leave you worse than your pet over—"

His jaw hitched back into his skull by a quick punch, tossing him back as the crinkle of splintering bone left Weiss with caterpillars in her stomach. Yang whipped her head to face the man with the gun, and merely looked annoyed as the barrel pressed against her temple. The wielder's elbow suddenly cracked and bent inwards, a shrill scream escaping the man as the gun clattered on the floor. His eyes went white as a lunging knee suddenly tried to force his balls up into his pelvis, and a fierce jab to the forehead sent him to the floor.

The ringleader, the man with the baton, hesitated for a second too long. When he pulled his arm back across his neck for a backhanded swing, a single hand pushed on his elbow, keeping his arm in place. Yang marched forward, her furious lilac eyes boring into his as she pushed him back, step by step, until they were standing by the Faunus man. The thuggish man stared at her, his eyes quivering in fright, and Yang gently leaned into him.

"Your little girl, how old is she?" She asked very softly. Weiss suddenly feared for the man's life, and she took a few uneasy steps forward, her eyes quivering as she watched her teammate threaten him.

"F-four! She's four! Oh god, she's only four! I can't-" The man babbled, but Yang's hiss shut him up.

"When you get home and she races to the door to meet you, isn't it the greatest feeling in the world?" Yang asked, somehow more terrifying than if she was screaming in his face. The man simply shivered. "Doesn't it feel good to have her look up to you, and imitate you, because she thinks you're the most amazing person alive?"

"... Y-... You have a-...?" The man could barely speak as he simply stared in shock.

"All you need to know is that your little girl is the only reason I'm not sending you back to her in a stretcher." Yang grit her teeth, her nose wrinkled with anger as the man dropped the baton in submissive fright. "Are you proud of yourself right now?! Is this how you want her to see you?!" Weiss was wrong, it somehow got scarier when Yang shouted. "You're a fucking thug! You and your stupid, racist buddies are no better than the guys busting up Dust shops for protection money! It would be a damn shame if the pedestal she put you on shattered, right?!"

"I-... no- no god, please, j-just- he-"

Yang raised a fist, the man went limp, only barely holding himself on his toes as Yang pressed him to the wall. Her voice fell back to a low growl as her fist hovered threateningly behind her."Do me two favors and piss off and never let me see you again. If I catch you doing anything worse than minding your own goddamned business, I'll be happy to remind you how Beacon-trained bitches fix society."

The man's eyes suddenly focused, his jaw fell, and a single, quivering word escaped his mouth, "H-huntress…?"

Without warning, he was dropped. He fell to his hands and knees, and a single glance up to the still-seething Yang was all the motivation he needed to scramble over to his buddies and try to rouse them. Weiss glanced to the men lying on the floor, broken and in pain, and then to Yang.

The heiress felt her heart hammering in her breast. She took her first breath in what felt like a long time as her teammate knelt by their hairy victim, calmly speaking to him and checking his injuries. It was one of the most terrifying things Weiss had ever seen. The Yang she knew was quick to anger, quick to calm, and had no problem deploying violence against meatheads, but this wasn't a school spat they were dealing with. This had been a real criminal issue.

Weiss unsteadily walked between the four human men, and then quickly made her way to Yang's side. She knelt down by her, her fingers shaking as she looked up to Yang. Yang gave her a very calm look. Calm did not fit Yang, and somehow… somehow Weiss felt admiration for that calmness. It was frightening, but it had allowed Yang to spare a man…

"Help me lay him out, okay? We need to call an ambulance." Yang spoke evenly as she lifted the Faunus by the arms. Weiss scrambled to grab his feet, and they carefully laid him on his back.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you…" The man kept muttering, eyes blurry and cheek unnaturally puffed up. Weiss didn't want to speak, her throat felt swollen with adrenaline.

"Hey!" A new voice rang out. Yang stood immediately, turning to face whoever stepped into the alleyway. A refrigerator of a man, tall and built like a dock worker, with a short chinstrap beard, whose uncovered arms revealed he was shaggier than the man on the ground. However, when his massive fingers uncurled, he revealed rows of sharp, black claws. "Who the hell are you?! Get away from him!" He ordered, quickly striding towards Yang.

In an instant, Yang's aura fired up, and the man slowed his walk, but his scowl darkened. "Sir…" Yang began calmly. "This man here is suffering from a couple of facial contusions and maybe a concussion. We need to call an ambulance."

"An ambulance? And trust him to some human doctors? Hell no, I'll call the White Fang's medical division." He looked over Yang as he popped his scroll out of his pocket, then at Weiss. Weiss looked up from the beaten Faunus's feet, her eyes meeting the big bear Faunus's. Whoever he was, he paused in place, eyeing Weiss suspiciously, then shook his head and typed in his phone. "Who're those guys?" The man demanded, gesturing to the four men retreating slowly into the alley.

"Nobodies." Yang answered, and the man growled.

"Did they do this?!" He demanded in a loud voice, making Weiss and the four men flinch.

"They've been dealt with. Call your medics." Yang ordered, and the man lowered his scroll.

"Girl, if they did this-"

"They have been dealt with." Yang's voice lowered further, and she stared the man in the eye. Weiss could only imagine the sort of look she gave him to make him falter, but she bet it was one Ruby wouldn't like. "Call your medics."

The Faunus hesitated for a second, then lifted his scroll to his face. "We got a victim in an alleyway on Minster, lotsa bruises and possible concussion, think we're between the burger place and Shifty's. Uh huh. Bring a truck. Nobody I know, but I dunno if anybody'll recognize him like this. Not that bad, but I wouldn't pass around pictures. Nah, whoever did this was dealt with… Humans, actually, two of 'em. Yeah, yeah, world's changing, hurry down here." He ended the call and looked up to Yang with a hard stare, but it softened as he moved around her to kneel by the wounded man. "White Fang ain't exactly been popular around these parts lately, we got a lot of booth clerks and brochure guys getting attacked."

"The White Fang has been pretty rowdy, one of your groups tipped a food truck heading to Dayson town last night." Yang remarked, kneeling down next to him. The big man groaned.

"Yeah, that's what happens when the main group decides to dice itself up into a buncha splinter factions because somebody isn't happy selling bracelets." The man muttered and spat in annoyance. "Hard enough trying to run a branch in Vale and convince people we're peaceful."

"No kidding." Yang playfully punched the guy's shoulder, and offered a reassuring smile. "Hey, don't glare like that, your buddy's going to be okay."

"Yeah. Yeah…" The Faunus man shook his head, quietly thinking as Weiss carefully edged herself to the opposite wall. "Name's Kramer, by the way." He turned to Yang, and offered a massive hand. "Humans ain't my favorite thing, but I'll respect anybody who sticks their neck out for us."

Yang slapped her palm into his, underhanded style, and the two had a brief squeezing contest that left them both grinning. "Hey, as long as you aren't being an asshole, you're good in my book. I'm Yang, by the way, this is... White." Yang jerked a thumb back towards Weiss, who buried her face into her hands.

"Hell, if everyone had that attitude, we could go back to just parades and rallies." Kramer smirked, plopping onto his ass. Yang joined him with an idle grin, and Weiss quietly frowned. Well, her appetite could wait, she supposed, this man needed help…

… And Weiss had done nothing to help him. A wince crossed her face as she stared over the Faunus laying on the floor, currently drifting in and out of consciousness from the pain. Her first instinct had been to turn around and ignore what she'd seen, the complete opposite of Yang. Her survival instincts told her this didn't concern her, and yet, she could feel the guilt of her initial decision in her belly.

But, he was a White Fang member, both of these hairy men were. Weiss suspiciously glanced from Kramer to the victim. Two members of an organization that had made her family's life more difficult, more perilous, and more stressful than it should have been. Between their violent dedication to interrupting their business and their vicious smear campaign, Weiss's father had his nerves frayed and his patience cut short, and it wasn't the White Fang to suffer as a result of his anger.

She'd lost friends and family to these people, and she almost felt regretful that Yang had defended this man, but she had to swallow the bile forming in the back of her throat. They weren't all bad, or so Blake claimed. Some were just pamphlet dealers… Kramer, she didn't know about.

Weiss sighed. Maybe she'd be less twisted up into knots if she had actually stuck her neck out like Yang had. Next time… next time she couldn't back down just because she was uncomfortable. She fought monsters for a living, her goal in life was to protect humanity and bring it to the next step in its technological evolution, and with the humans, the Faunus would come too.

Even if some of them were her claimed enemies, she couldn't merely exclude them. Yang didn't, and Ruby certainly wouldn't, so Weiss closed her eyes. White Fang or not, she would have to grant them the benefit of the doubt and protect them. That was what a hunter did, even at their own expense. It's what her grandfather would have done.

Weiss breathed deep and tried to settle her feelings as a large, unmarked, windowless van pulled up at the end of the alleyway, and from the back, two women bearing animal ears stepped out with a stretcher. Kramer, Weiss, and Yang backed away as they checked over the man curiously, pulled him onto the stretcher, and took him back to the van. A third Faunus, a rather handsome man with a thick wolf's tail, took a statement from Kramer and Yang, then was gone.

Like that, the three of them were alone in the alleyway, the problem solved, the weak defended, the violence suppressed… it was a moment of victory, even if it left Weiss feeling conflicted.

"So what're you two doing in the back alleys this time a' day?" Kramer planted his back against a wall, digging his thumbs into his pockets while giving Yang a curious look. Weiss lowered her head to hide her eyes behind her cap while Yang took a casual stance by Weiss with a smile.

"Just taking a shortcut, dude. I was going to show my friend to Pops', the little wi–"

"–wing place on the corner?!" Kramer straightened up, leaning forward with a broad smile, the rough edges of his face brightening up immediately when Yang gave a small laugh, then a nod. "I love that place! We hold meetings there all the time! Aww man, we should totally- I mean I really want to go- ugh, I have a package to deli- a-but-but- screw it." Kramer grunted as Yang raised an amused eyebrow at him. "The White Fang ain't a charity, but we look out for our own, and we look out for the humans who help us out. Why don't I treat you two?" He offered, putting on a friendly, lopsided smile.

Yang glanced to Weiss, who glanced back to her. Weiss's stomach stirred uncomfortably. This place was apparently popular among the White Fang, and Weiss had a deep, sinking feeling about the prospect of walking into one of their joints. Before Yang could respond, Weiss tugged the blonde's arm to go a little further down the alleyway to talk.

Weiss spoke to Yang in a low whisper, "I am not going anywhere with a member of the White Fang."

"Eh?" Yang blinked down at her. She glanced over her shoulder at Kramer, who was watching them curiously, then back down to Weiss. "C'mon Weiss, he seems nice. A little rough maybe, and spending way too much time checking out my butt, but nice. Besides, the food's delicious, and it's not like it's one of their secret hideouts or anything. It's just a restaurant! He's probably just a courier or something, don't tell me you're afraid of a mailman."

Weiss let out a small, uncomfortable growl, then squinted in thought. "Yang, you know exactly who I am, if this man figured out who I was–"

"Then he'd know you pitched in to help one of his buddies." Yang interrupted, clutching Weiss's hip defensively. "He owes us, no way he'd try anything after we helped out another member." Yang waited until Weiss was looking up at her with a small, apprehensive frown, then smiled, squeezing her hip. "Hey, trust me, I've chatted with some White Fang people before. They can be a bit self-righteous, but they're honorable if you get on their good side."

"... Yang, I-" Weiss cleared her throat. "I hardly lifted a finger in helping that man."

"But he doesn't know that, and it's not like you hurt the guy." Yang smiled comfortingly, and Weiss dipped her eyes down to the floor. "C'mon Weiss, Pops' is a great place. Nobody'll bother you, and if anyone gets rowdy, I'll give 'em the old Yang one-two." Yang raised a courageous fist, and Weiss let out a small, uncomfortable breath.

"I-" Weiss's belly rumbled, and she blushed. Exercise had taken its toll on her, and she was ravenous right now. Ever since Yang had suggested it last night, the promise of one of her naughtiest guilty pleasures hung about her belly, slowly tightening and tightening as she just imagined the taste… "Fine. Fine. But- but don't you dare leave me alone, okay?" Weiss grabbed Yang's arm, squeezing in worry. Yang chuckled softly. "If you go to the bathroom, I'm going with you, I'm not being left alone in there."

"You're such a worry wart." Yang bumped Weiss with her hip, the smaller girl clutching tighter in embarrassment. "I'm not gonna leave you, I promise."

"... Okay." Weiss said after a few moments of thought. They were just going to eat. Her disguise was on-point, they had no illicit intentions, and neither did the Fang member before them. Eat, enjoy, leave. Weiss sucked in a deep breath. "Lead the way."

At that, the two turned, but Weiss didn't let go of Yang's arm. Yang was safe, and warm, and Weiss needed that comfort if she was going to walk into the proverbial lion's den. Maybe she truly was just being paranoid.

"Yo Kramer, we've decided to accept your generous offer!" Yang strode forward with Weiss by her side, and Kramer's smile widened.

"Awesome! And I thought today was gonna be a disappointment. C'mon, I'll take point." The massive man turned on his heels and walked to the alleyway entrance, the two girls following behind him. "Y'all know anything about Pops?" He asked as they turned down the sidewalk. Back by the street, in the open air, with regular citizens passing by, and cars frequently on the road, Weiss felt her gut unclench, and the rumble became more ominous. Maybe she'd be a little gluttonous today. She had run one of Coach Tai's courses…

"Yep!" Yang called up as Kramer glanced over his shoulder. "He was a miner in the SDC, he got his cooking chops started by opening a food stall after work. Said it was some of the best times of his life."

Weiss watched the storefronts as they passed by, making note of the little printing shop they passed by, as well as the antiques store. Most of Atlas's stores were focused in large shopping malls and inside buildings of business, but Nicholas' Street was a major tourist attraction thanks to its streetside stores, which often had to shut down early during heavy blizzards.

Kramer continued the conversation, "If you want a bit of a fun story, you should ask him about the time the White Fang held a rally at the mines he was working at. Mates 'n I had a good laugh over that one, though we were hitting the bottle that night, so…"

Yang just laughed, "I'll be sure to ask him. What do you do for the Fang, Kramer?" She tilted her head, and Weiss looked up, straining her ears to listen.

"Odd jobs, mostly." Kramer answered with a casual shrug. "Running deliveries, placing and picking up orders, sometimes I'm protection for one of the higher-ups, though they've had me down at the docks a lot lately managing cargo for the other continent's factions."

"Sounds rough, what sorta goods do you trade between each other?"

"The usual: documents, food, clothing, handmade goods to be traded, lots of Dust." At that, Weiss felt her hand ball into a small fist. "The Atlas group has been making a splash in Mantle lately, so they're trying to set up a division there. Fire and lightning are needed for the engines and heaters."

"And for their attacks, I imagine…" Weiss muttered under her breath, getting a sharp look from Yang, and a quick elbow to her side to remind her of her manners.

"Sounds pretty safe to me!" Yang responded, while Weiss silently glared.

The three of them stopped at the corner of a three-way intersection and turned right, around an aged, wooden building that stood isolated from nearby shops, and Kramer almost immediately came to a stop. He beckoned the two girls with one hand, and Yang hungrily smacked her lips as the smells hit them: frying chicken fat, spices galore, and savory herbs. Weiss's grumpiness was temporarily forgotten as they stood before an open door, underneath a sign: 'Pops' Wings & Things.'

Weiss glanced around, noting they weren't in a particularly busy section of the city. There were people and cars, but little parking other than on the side of the road, and people mostly seemed in a hurry, but a young Faunus couple ducked into the building before them, and a steady chatter came through the open door.

Out of the way, not in a popular place, but the smell was tantalizing. Weiss kept her eyes opened wide as they stepped inside, exiting concrete walkways onto a creaky wooden floor. The wide interior was cramped with numerous wooden park tables and benches to serve as seats, while the metal counter and til took up the left side of the building. Rows of friers could be seen behind the husky shop owner, and drink machines were placed all along the back.

Kramer called out to some apparent friends at one of the long, wooden tables and went over to shake hands, slap backs, and laugh along with the fanged, clawed, tailed, and eared individuals. The smell was stronger inside, and the sound of friers hissing and popping reached Weiss's ears. The lighting was low—not romantic, but comfortable—and the walls were full of pictures of various foodstuffs, inbetween posters of Faunus unity and White Fang memorabilia from the first chieftain's era.

Yang dragged Weiss past the rows of tables to the simple counter, where an enormous man stood. "Hey Pops!" Yang called, waving her free arm as Weiss clung to the other, staring around at the two dozen Faunus packing the tables. Nobody was looking at her for longer than a curious second. The tall, broad man behind the counter planted his hands on his hips and grinned, his lips peeling back to reveal a row of sharpened teeth that made Weiss flinch.

"Well if it ain't the li'l blonde buttkicker!" Pops proclaimed, leaning towards them both with an analytical stare. He wasn't just big, or husky, he was enormously fat, with drooping cheeks and a big, round body, though his arms were hairless, and his graying hair was trapped in a hairnet. He peered over his thick glasses and pursed his lips. "And a new friend I see, a boy at that. Why's it seem like you come in with a new lover every time I see you, blondie?"

Weiss's cheeks burned red and she looked down at the counter, reading the menu as Yang guffawed. "Not this one, Pops, sh- he's just a friend. On the shy side though, so don't put h-him on the spot, alright?"

The big lard of a man just chuckled merrily, and nodded. "Fine, fine. Oh!" One of his big hands slapped down on the countertop, making Weiss tense for a second, before he pushed the menu towards Yang with an excited grin. "I think I got somethin' you'll like. You were tellin' me the Vacuan Mango Hot was bad a month ago or so, yeah?"

"I'd have gotten more of a kick licking a packaged habanero wrapper, Pops." Yang grinned cheekily, and the big man leaned forward conspiratorially, his glasses sliding down his thick nose.

"Well I took that to heart, ya little critic! Took a week-long trip to Vacuo at the end of last year and let wifey handle the shop as I explored some of the old Fang stomping grounds in the deserts." He pointed to a framed banner on the wall, a defaced SDCV flag where numerous pro-Faunus messages had been painted on the empty space, or over the original text. Weiss gulped. "Got my hands on an original call-to-arms, but just as important, bumped into an old wingmaster still plying his trade in town."

"Ooooh, oh, okay, I've already heard enough!" Yang bounced in place, quickly glancing down at the menu. "I want sixteen wings, but I want at least one of each of the new flavors, however you can divvy it out. Kramer's buying." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, and their hairy escort glanced up from the table he was chatting at and tossed a thumbs up.

"All the new flavors? Oh, blondie, workin' this old man to the bone! How about you, sir?" Pops looked Weiss's way. Weiss tore her eyes away from the graffiti'd banner on the wall to look up at Pops, and she twitched as his eyes immediately took in her face. He tilted his head to the side, but simply waited for her response.

"A-ahem… err, y-yo." Weiss began, trying to lower her voice as the big man quickly glanced Yang's way, then back to her. "S-seven- um, actually, m-make it eleven! I-I want eleven…" She looked over the menu, blinking rapidly as she took in the assortment of sauces. "... Twelve…" Her brow knit, her nose crinkled, and Yang nudged her. "I'm thinking… A-ah! T-twelve total… yo. Six Atlesian Spice, extra hot, and six Sweet Mistral. M-make 'em hawt, Pops." Weiss managed to utter out. Yang went tight as a spring by her side, trying to not laugh at the poor, put-upon heiress's expense.

"Six Atlesian Spice, six Sweet Mistral?" Pops repeated, writing on a small paper pad.

"Yes please." Weiss nodded, looking down at the menu one more time. Her eyes caught something in particular, and she looked to Yang with a girlish gasp, making the Blonde nearly jump in alarm. "They have onion rings!" She whispered in excitement, her disguised voice temporarily forgotten.

"Y-yeah man, they do." Yang tried to nudge Weiss's voice back to normal.

"Onion rings, please!" Weiss looked up to Pops excitedly. His gaze lingered on her for a moment, and then a little smile crossed his face.

"Of course, missy." Pops simply nodded, and Yang slowly rubbed her face. "We'll have your order out real soon. Y'all grab yourself some mugs, refills are free. Kramer!" Pops suddenly barked. "If you're payin', get up here!" He waved, and the big bear Faunus strode up to the two girls.

"You know I'm good for it, Pops, don't get testy!" He joked, pulling out a small stack of lien cards. Kramer nodded to the two girls, pointing down the counter. "Go get your drinks, I got this handled."

Yang guided Weiss by the arm to the end of the counter, where clean, plastic bar mugs were placed upside down on a white towel. Yang grabbed the closest one, while Weiss took a minute to carefully inspect the inside of each one, before settling on one that seemed the most spotless.

After inspecting the soda machine and juice dispensers, Yang took a seat at a table furthest from the door with a sugar cane soda, while Weiss settled down uncomfortably with a sparkling grapefruit juice. "Ugh, this jacket is so hot." Weiss adjusted her clothing with a small grumble, sipping at her drink as she repeatedly glanced around at the other patrons.

"You can probably take it off, unless people can tell who you are by your shoulders." A quirky smile crossed Yang's face as Weiss considered for a moment.

"I'll handle it." She finally sighed. "Lack of class aside, this place isn't as grimy as I thought it would be." Weiss hummed as she ran a finger along the smooth tabletop, then rubbed her fingertips together, noting the lack of dust.

Yang snorted. "Just because it's not upscale doesn't mean it's dirty. It's cheap, it's easy, it's delicious, they don't try to put on a high-class front; they know their customers."

"I suppose." Weiss rolled her eyes, staring into her drink thoughtfully. "It's just very different from what I'm used to."

"So what are you used to?" Yang asked, knowing a good conversation starter when she heard one.

"You ever see a movie with a bunch of upjumped rich sorts sitting around chewing on caviar with every meal?" Weiss asked in an annoyed tone. "Caviar's been vogue in Atlas for as long as I could remember. Caviar caviar caviar, every event I went to had caviar. Caviar on chips, caviar on toast, caviar on pâté, caviar on sushi, and do you know what every host asked me after the greeting?"

"'Have you tried the caviar?'" Yang imitated dryly, and Weiss threw her hands up.

"'Have I tried the caviar?!' Yes! Yes, I tried the caviar! I've tried every kind of caviar there has ever been! Did you know it's impolite to turn down caviar in Atlas?!" Weiss asked in a low growl, making Yang purse her lips in confusion.

"... Really?"

"Because it's expensive!" Weiss buried her head in her hands. "It's fish eggs, Yang! It should be easier to catch than a fish, yet, somehow, it's more expensive than Atlesian pike! It's all awful!"

"Really?" Yang perked up, watching Weiss gripe in amusement. "They actually had caviar at Signal's graduation banquet, and it was actually pretty good on pita chips. I mean, I was more into the pizza, but my plate always had some caviar on it."

"Then I would have gladly traded my taste buds with yours at birth." Weiss pursed her lips and blew a rude noise, drawing a giggle from Yang. "I actually ordered my chefs to not prepare caviar for my seventeenth birthday. I had to convince my father that I wasn't 'insulting our guests' expectations' by telling him I was throwing a themed party."

"I tried to do the same with my dad until he figured out that a 'Mistral-themed birthday party' would give me an excuse to get liquored up on sake at sixteen." Yang snickered, and Weiss thought about it for a second, then joined in. "So what was your theme then?"

"Valean Bayou." Weiss spoke with a hint of pride in her voice, drawing a curious widening of Yang's eyes. "While on tour in Vale, I got to try some supposedly-authentic etouffee and gumbo." Weiss covered her mouth in embarrassment. "I ate there before I had any handle on spiciness, so it felt like I was eating fire at one point."

"You have got to be careful with Bayou food." Yang groaned, rubbing her stomach just thinking about it. "When they ask 'how spicy do you want it?', my dad told me to tell them 'I want to be able to taste my food.'"

"It was delicious in a way I did not expect. It was so rich and bold on the tongue, between the burning. I asked my chefs to prepare it for my birthday, just... party-friendly. I wouldn't call it a hit, but the attendees we have from Vale loved it, as did my peers and I, we at least cleaned all the plates. Oh! But guess what?" Weiss's face fell, and Yang took a moment to study the annoyance, and smirked.

"Somebody brought caviar?" Yang asked. Weiss groaned deeply, and Yang laughed loudly at her friend's annoyance. "Did you try it?"

"I buried it in enough roux that I didn't have to taste it!" Weiss snapped, making Yang laugh louder.

"Okay! Okay okay, so no caviar for Weiss, gotcha." Yang leaned her cheek on one hand, calming Weiss with one of her sunny smiles. "We should definitely plan for a Bayou place next week. My dad brought me to probably the best one in northern Vale for one of my birthdays, and I keep wanting an excuse to go back. Man, it was so good that Ruby ate the leftovers through tears from the heat."

"The one I went to during my tour was this big place called—tell me if I get this wrong—'Murmuring Bosk', somewhere in the market district by the Hotel Grand." Weiss perked up, and deflated as Yang let out a loud snort.

"Sorry Weiss." Yang waved her hand, dismissing the rude noise. "Anything around the Hotel Grand is a tourist trap, big and fancy for guests but all watered-down, Murmuring Bosk included. Nah, there's this little shack on Vale's Northwestern tip called 'Bayou Bros.', it's run by the real deal. Two sisters with the thickest accents in the world, always arguing with each other while serving up crawdads by the bucketload and gumbo that'll burn your sinuses out with one sniff." Yang's stomach audibly gurgled, but she looked nonplussed by it. "Crap, I kinda wanna give up wings and drag you up there, but we already ordered."

"Yes, that would be obscenely rude." Weiss agreed.

At this point, Kramer walked by the table carrying a bubbling mug and put a hand in front of the girls to draw attention. "Food's paid for, as thanks for helping out the White Fang." He winked, drawing a smile from Yang, and a small, dismissive nod from Weiss.

"Thanks Kramer. Wanna take a seat?" Yang offered, making Weiss tense up. She was not interested in sharing space with the man, though considering he was paying for their meal, she didn't have the rudeness within her to say so.

"Sure thing!" Kramer slid into the spot by Weiss's side, making her tense up further. "Y'all talking about that place that sent some political suit to the hospital because of spice shock?" He asked curiously, making Weiss's eyebrows raise way up.

"Hah! I forgot about that story!" Yang slapped the table, turning to Weiss with a toothy grin. "Like, five years back, a mayor from some southern Vale town was visiting and stopped by Bayou Bros. He wasn't prepared for the spice, and the first bite gave him some sort of seizure."

"Um, w-wow. Cool." Weiss nodded her head, her voice lowered once again. "S-sounds like a rad time, yo."

"This is why you can't trust suits to connect with the common man. What milk-drinking idiot goes to a restaurant known for its spiciness and orders the hottest thing on the menu? Guys like that run our countries and we trust them." Kramer growled in an amused fashion, but it made Weiss's shoulders hunch in nervousness. A slap to her back made her shoot up, and stare at Kramer with wide eyes. "Chill out, man, just some jaw-jackin'." He guffawed.

Weiss remained tense, looking to Yang for help, but the blonde just chuckled. "Yeah, calm down White. Loosen up."

Weiss sighed, sinking down to the table. She wanted her onion rings…

---

It was only with the greatest of dignity did Sun manage to land directly on his ass with hardly a yelp of pain.

He stared up in mute terror as a thick, sausage-like finger nearly pressed to his nose, its middle-aged, balding owner glaring down at him with red-faced rage. "If I catch you or any one of your animal buddies stealing food here, or trying to lay your bare-chested mitts on my daughter again, I don't care what the mayor says, I'm booting all you petshop pests out!"

"Dude!" Sun held his hands up, rising to his feet carefully as his long, limber tail stuck straight up to indicate harmlessness. "I said I was good to pay for it! Can you blame a guy for being hungry?! Or for looking, 'cuz your girl's a total–"

Two hands seized his collar, lifting him a foot off the ground as the man tried to shake him to pieces. "A total what?! A total what you shirtless ape?! You got something to say about my daughter?!"

"WAS-JUST-SAYIN'-SHE'S-A-BABE-" Sun flailed in the shopkeeper's iron grip.

"You come in here baring your chest like you got something to prove!" The man continued unheeded. "You swipe some banana bread and leave crumbs all over the floor! She spends all day baking that stuff and you walk in assuming it's for you!"

"It said take one and pay at the counter!" Sun waved his arms in annoyance, and then squeaked as he was shaken harder.

"That's for our hardworking customers, not you tick-infested layabouts!" Sun was unceremoniously dropped again, but he landed on his feet with just a bounce and a boyish pout, while the man shook his fist at him. "Get outta here before I call the cops you little thief! I'd better not see you–"

"You won't, you won't, chill out, man!"

"–'cuz if I do…" The man made a slapping motion with one hand, and stormed inside, slamming the door behind him. Sun planted his hands in his pockets, letting out a deeply annoyed sigh… where was Neptune when he needed him? Nobody schmoozed their way out of trouble like that asshole.

Sun glanced to his left down the street, where a couple of humans were hurrying away from the scene, then to his right. Leaning against the building's wall, staring in mild surprise, was some guy in jeans and a gray hoodie with no drawstrings. Their eyes met, and the guy popped a curious eyebrow. "Dude," he spoke up first, "that was fucked up."

"Yeah, well," Sun idly moved the guy's way, reaching into his unbuttoned white shirt to pull out a balled-up napkin, "you get used to it." Sun's long, hairy tail whipped idly behind him as he unfurled the ball, revealing a bite of banana bread left over. "Dude screwed himself though," Sun popped it into his mouth, and let out a groan of delight, "I woulda paid mint for more of this stuff."

"Well hey, if you still got the lien and are looking for a good time…" The alleyway kid smirked knowing, and Sun's chewing slowed down.

"... Uh, no offense, but even if I was into guys, I don't really like to pay for that sorta–"

"Aww, c'mon, I don't mean it like that!" The kid huffed. "What I mean is that I might know a couple of particular individuals who can hook you up for a night you'll never forget." He whipped out a business card, with some addresses hastily scrawled across them as Sun stared. "Drugs, girls—you said you like girls right?"

"I said I wasn't into guys."

"Same diff! We got whatever you want, just tell them that Kevin sent ya!" The kid looked damn proud of himself, and Sun thought it would have been rude to ruin whatever pride he had in his business.

"Sure man, tell you what, next time I'm around–" Sun looked at the sign posts at each corner of the road as he set a comforting hand on Kevin's shoulder, "–this street, this very important and memorable street, I'll be sure to do just that." Sun stepped past the kid, and fired a wink and a finger gun. "I'll catch ya around, Kevin!"

"Sure thing, dude." Kevin waved as Sun slid away with a sigh.

Vale was definitely the melting pot it claimed to be, for better or for worse, though everyone seemed convinced Sun was up to no good. It wasn't his fault they just left bananas hanging out in the open like that! How was he supposed to know those weren't free gimmes?! Not that it would have stopped him, but still…

The weather was certainly nicer across the sea too. He was already a fan of going as shirtless as possible, but the heat was just a better excuse to show off what years of hard work had given him!

The question was now: what to do now? Scarlet was off being nautical or something, Sage wanted to check out the various hairdressers, Neptune was probably preening in front of a mirror rather than doing something constructive, like actual flirting, so Sun was left to wander the streets in bored exploration until something piqued his nose's interest.

Or his eyes'...

Babes alert.

Walking down the sidewalk straight towards him was a tall, dark drink of water with a girly black bow on top of womanly black hair. She had that semi-lazy, disinterested expression that always made a girl, like, six-thousand times hotter, and a figure that made him want to pucker his lips and whistle.

By her side was an adorable little thing with hair that would have made Scarlet jealous: dark fading to light, so tenderly styled to give an air of youthful energy without screaming for attention. She was adorably tiny too, and the big brown messenger bag hanging over one shoulder made her look all the tinier. While miss tall, dark, and delicious had the curves, little miss short, sweet, and… goggles seemed far more approachable.

It was time to initiate plan: 'Girl Magnet!'

"You'll rot your teeth if you keep eating like that." Blake pointed out with a small, tired smile as Ruby greedily nibbled on an oversized, novelty chocolate chip cookie.

"Nuh uh!" Ruby countered brattily, tugging her cookie closer to her chin, as if Blake might try to swipe it. She took a bite, and between gnashing it into swallowable paste, spoke up in self-defense, "I- mmph- I-I bruff my teef!"

"Well…" Blake's eyes traced Ruby's form, lingering on her goggles for a long time, before moving to her intended target: Ruby's backside. "Still might give you a big butt. Is that what you want Ruby? A big butt?"

"No!" Ruby gasped, staring down at her cookie in sudden worry, making Blake's smile grow. "I-I'll run extra laps when we get back! I promise!" Ruby began to more hastily chow down on her dessert in nervousness, and Blake hid a giggle.

"You'll get the butt no matter how fast you eat it. Also, most girls your age would kill for a big butt. There are plenty of men out there who'll ignore your flaws if you've got a booty." She hardly looked up as she and Ruby passed by a shirtless boy leaning against a wall.

"No!" Ruby answered huffily, glaring ahead now that her hands were empty. "Big butts aren't cute. If I'm going to be a great leader, I need a cute butt, like Jaune's." Ruby slowed her walk to peek over her back as best she could, wiggling her tightly clad tush.

"You…" Blake pulled her eyes off of Ruby's rump so they could keep walking. "You think Jaune's butt makes him a great leader?"

"I-I don't know!" Ruby huffed, watching the sidewalk as they stepped by a bench where a blonde guy with a tail lounged like a girl in a portrait. "H-he's a good leader, right? Everyone on his team likes him, and follows him, and they talk about how cute his butt is…"

"... We follow you, and like you." Blake pointed out, and Ruby looked up to Blake, then wiggled her hips.

"And Jaune said I have a c-cute butt, s-so my cute butt theory is two-for-two now!"

"It doesn't work like that." Blake sighed in amusement, wiggling her nose as she smelled baking banana bread.

"You can't prove it doesn't work like that!"

"I can, but not on a sidewalk." Blake snorted, smacking Ruby's butt to get her off her soapbox. "Little pain…"

"... Sorry…" Ruby murmured despondently, and Blake frowned. It was almost as if nothing had happened between the two of them the night before, but every now and then the mood fell into a strange melancholy as one or both of them remembered the argument, and why they were out.

Weiss and Yang were both right, Ruby didn't act much different, all things considered. There was an apprehension between them, but… Ruby wasn't holding that over her head, or acting standoffish. If anything… Ruby wanted things to be exactly the same, but without that constant worry or fear.

Blake could sympathize, but how could she pretend she no longer wanted to know? She shook her head and set a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder, making the smaller girl let out a sigh. "... Is it just me, or have we passed by that blonde boy before?" Blake murmured to Ruby as they stepped past a bus stop sign, where a familiar looking blonde boy quirked an eyebrow, smiled at them, and gave them both an interested wink.

"Yeah, three times now." Ruby turned to look at him curiously, then leaned into Blake to whisper. "I recognize his yummy abs."

The two girls stopped in front of the boy, and he clicked his teeth, pointing at them confidently, and his long, furry tail waved in coy interest. Blake popped her tongue, glanced down to Ruby, then up to the boy. "Hm. Seven-out-of-ten." She bobbed her head confidently. The boy's smile drooped a bit as Blake dragged Ruby away, while the shorter girl continued to stare.

"I like your tummy!" Ruby called to the blonde as they continued on their way.

Blake pet Ruby's shoulder and chuckled. "Don't give men a reason to think you're interested until you are. Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile." Blake cocked her hips, while Ruby pouted.

"But his tummy is cute. Kinda reminds me of my dad but, like… skinnier? I mean, dad's not fat, but…"

"But he is the tastiest thing I've seen at the school outside the girl's locker rooms." Blake felt her cheeks redden just imagining that Adonis of a man again.

"Ugh…" Ruby stuck her tongue out. "That's my dad you're talking about, Blake."

"Mm~hmm…"

"He's a huge weirdo, like even weirder than Yang! He eats his mac and cheese with ketchup!"

"Not exactly what I'd all a deal-breaker, Ruby."

"Besides that, he's… not the dating sort." Ruby's voice slowed, and Blake glanced her way.

"Oh? It took him two daughters to realize he's 'that way?'"

"... What way?"

"Gay."

"Wha– No! Ugh, you and Yang are the perfect partners, I swear…" Ruby rubbed her cheeks, making Blake titter at the younger girl's annoyance. "Dad's lost two wives." Ruby stated, making Blake's giggling stop.

"Lost as in…?"

"Um…" Ruby squirmed uncomfortably, but looking up to Blake, she was hesitant to keep secrets. Only the big one… "Yang's mom left a little while after she was born, before Yang got to know her. I don't know much about my aunt, but she's a very sore subject for dad, Yang, my uncle…" Ruby huffed, as if she herself was annoyed with the lack of information. "B-but, my mom stepped in. I-I think it was only supposed to be for a little while, but dad always said my mom found her calling in raising Yang. She loved playing parent, like doing the cooking, and reading to Yang when she wasn't fighting the good fight. Not too much longer after my mom moved in, she and dad hit it off in, like… the mommy-daddy way, and now here I am. But, well… mom disappeared one day on a mission. I barely remember her, but she was everything to dad and Yang."

Their walk had slowed to a crawl, and Ruby's shoulders drooped recalling her family's incomplete state. Blake quietly looked down at Ruby. She was no stranger to difficult family situations, but it wasn't her parents who had walked out, or who had left everyone behind on a mission… she drew Ruby closer, using one arm to hug her leader tenderly. "So… he's still hurting." Blake asked, causing to Ruby to nod. Blake gently stroked her arm, squeezing comfortingly. "I'm just teasing, you know that, right? I doubt he'd have much interest in me even if I was serious, I'm sorry if I made things uncomfortable."

"It's not your fault." Ruby looked up at her with earnesty, or so Blake assumed. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore her growing annoyance at Ruby's obscured expression. "That's just-… just our situation, I guess. We have each other, and we love each other, and-and now we have you!" Ruby brightened up, making Blake pause. "You and Weiss are sorta like honorary-Beacon-hunter-family now! I mean, we live together, eat together, work together, so it's like I now have three sisters!"

"But two of them you kinda wanna bang, right?" Blake asked. Ruby made a loud gasp, and a series of inarticulate noises that left Blake doubled over, holding her mouth so she wouldn't embarrass Ruby further with her laughter. Ruby's wailing reached a new pitch as she rapidly slapped Blake's arm in an increasingly flustered rage.

As the levity died down, the two of them took note of yet another odd boy leaning against a shop wall, wearing a peculiar smile. He had one arm over his stomach, the other idly tapping his breast. Blake shot him a dirty look. "Mind your own business." She ordered tersely.

"Blake, you don't have to be mean…" Ruby pouted, gently tugging at her sleeve to calm her. Blake spared no mercy in giving the guy a pointed look, and he sat up off the wall with both hands raised, offering a defensive posture.

"Hey, hey, I'm not trying to be weird, I'm just keeping my ears open for any interesting stories." He insisted, walking a step closer. Blake stepped in front of Ruby, one hand subtly touching Ruby's wrist to make sure she stayed. "Here, lemme make things a bit more even. My name's Kevin." He offered a hand. Blake eyed it warily, and Ruby made a move to take it, but was gently pushed back.

"Blake…" Ruby whispered in gentle worry, and Blake turned her head just an inch to give her a quick look, silently ordering Ruby to trust her, and then the taller girl looked back.

"No handshake then." Kevin put his arm across his belly, the other arm's elbow hanging down casually while his fingers rested on his chest again. Blake's nostrils flared, but he made no moves to pull a weapon of any sort. "I'll try again, alright? I'm not trying to make things worse, I promise! I just have a bit of a business offer, y'know?"

"Not interested." Blake tugged Ruby's hand to try and lead him around Kevin, but he stepped in their way, making Blake sneer, and Ruby frown in confusion.

"Maybe it's a hunting job?" Ruby asked, and Blake shook her head.

"Hunting, eh? You wouldn't happen to be Beacon students, would you?" Kevin asked, and Blake huffed.

"Doesn't matter. Let us pass, or we'll make you." She narrowed his eyes dangerously, and Kevin raised the hand on his chest defensively.

"No no no, don't misunderstand me! I just wanted to know if you girls wanted to party!" He reached into his hoodie's front pocket, and tugged out a little baggie full of vials, each packed with some white powder. Blake's glare grew stronger. "Real cheap! Seventy lien gets you three, ninety lien gets you five. 'Course, I could be persuaded to give a discount…"

"Party?" Ruby glanced up to Blake, even more confused and distressed than before as Blake grew tense. Ruby settled a hand on her large bag, feeling the weight of Crescent Rose inside, wondering if they'd need to get physical.

"Heeeeey Keviiin, my man!" A new voice sprang up. Kevin looked past Ruby and Blake in surprise, and Blake quickly turned Ruby away from the blonde, shirtless boy from before. Sun rubbed his hands together in a thoughtful way, as he walked past Ruby and Blake with a big grin. "How ya doin', my dude? Still got that deal going on? I was thinking you and I could maybe duck aside and talk about the sugar you got."

"I- uh." Kevin blinked, looking slightly flustered as he found an arm thrown over his shoulder. He leaned away from Sun, eyes still on the two girls, but Sun proved to be a surprisingly coercive with one strong arm pulling the dealer away. "S-sure man, uh, seventy for three, ninety for five-" He finally looked away from Ruby and Blake, and Sun tossed a wink over his shoulder at the two girls, giving them the encouragement to leave. They didn't need much more than that to hurry down the sidewalk.

Kevin did not look happy as he pulled the baggie of vials out in the darkened alleyway, and Sun put a hand up, making the boy's expression tighten further. "Sorry man. I know you're trying to run a business, but you really gotta learn how to talk to the ladies. They don't like when you get in their faces, y'know?"

"Uh, yeah, sure…" Kevin grunted, giving Sun a very dark look. "If you're just gonna ruin my business, you might as well fuck off." He jabbed a thumb towards the street.

"Just some advice, Kev! Later!" Sun sprinted back towards the street, with the perfect opening to talk to the two babes in his pocket!

As the monkey boy sprinted away, Kevin watched coldly, until the boy was out of sight. Kevin turned heel and trudged down the alleyway, unzipping his hoodie to slip his fingers into a custom pocket. With the drawstring gone, he had the perfect hole for the picture-taking lens of his hidden scroll.

He shot off a text to a scroll number he'd been ordered to memorize in case of a special emergency.

-Hey boss, I think you owe me a raise.-

-Bit busy, kid, and one bag of snow isn't getting you crap.-

-Not the bag, boss. There's a particular little girl you're after.-

-Quit beating around the damn bush then! What do you got?-

A dozen and a half pictures were transferred from scroll to scroll, perfectly crisp, clear-as-day pictures of an odd little brunette girl, pale as can be, in a hoodie, with goggles. Kevin smiled to himself as he waited for the next response, checking the picture of the boss's little shapeshifter. A few details were off, but the gradient in the hair was perfect, the model of goggles was perfect, the body type was perfect…

-Where?-

-Very Important and Memorable Street, heading east.-

-That all you got?-

-I think she might be a Beacon student. Black-haired girl's probably her partner.-

-Good work, kid. Finish your rounds and come back to base.-

-Got it boss.-

---

With the stench of apprehension and sleaze drifting away with every step, Ruby and Blake finally slowed down once they'd rounded the corner and made it across two city blocks. Blake looked over her shoulder every two steps, and it was only when they finally found themselves amidst a thick crowd of shoppers waiting at a crosswalk did Blake finally let Ruby go.

The little team leader had a firm grip on her messenger bag, and worried eyes on her teammate. Blake's shoulders finally relaxed once they had crossed the street, and the crowd around them began to disperse in different directions, Blake lagging a step to let Ruby take the lead. Even still, she tossed one final look over her shoulder to ensure they weren't being followed, and she let out a sigh.

"B-Blake?" Ruby tenderly asked, getting an acknowledging grunt from the older girl. "Wh-what was that? D-did you kn-know that guy?" Ruby quivered. Blake could be prickly sometimes, sparingly enough that she was scarier than Weiss when she was, but she had never showed such outward animosity before.

Blake remained silent for a second, reflexively checking their tail at Ruby's mention of the odd boy, then answered. "No." She set a hand on Ruby's shoulder, her grip a little too tight, but otherwise comfortable. "He was a nobody, but he was also trouble."

"H-how could you tell?" Ruby asked in honest confusion, tinged with a fear that something could have happened.

Blake's lips pursed. Ruby was young and optimistic. She didn't have any experience with the unsavory sorts, and likely didn't see the signs of somebody with predatory intentions. "It's just a feeling you develop after dealing with enough people on both sides of the train tracks. It's kind of a sixth sense, you can just tell when somebody's up to no good."

"Like…" Ruby chewed her knuckle nervously, and Blake pet her shoulder, encouraging her to talk. "Like he was trying to hurt us?" She hefted her bag, the weight of Crescent Rose calming her. She wasn't far from her weapon, which brought her more comfort than Blake's cuddliness.

"Probably not." Blake gently pulled Ruby's shoulder, trying to increase their speed. The further they were from him, the better… "I'm ninety-nine percent sure he was just trying to sell us drugs."

The word made Ruby tense up, her jaw dropped, and she made the most offended sound Blake had ever heard, nearly sending the taller girl into hysterics as Ruby grabbed the zipper of her bag. "We have to go back and arrest him!" Ruby spoke with a righteous authority that made Blake grasp her mouth to stop from laughing out loud.

"Y-you-you couldn't tell?!" Blake asked between her fingers, causing Ruby to shuffle in embarrassment, her cheeks a burning red.

"I…" Ruby cleared her throat. "I-I thought he was trying to s-sell us ice Dust…" Ruby's shy innocence drew a loud snort from Blake, whose eyes squeezed shut. "Sh-shut up, I-I haven't g-gotten that s-sixth sense yet!" Ruby pouted.

"S-sorry Ruby." Blake tensed her belly to try and stop herself from laughing, and after a few seconds of squeaking giggles, she finally calmed down enough to take a breath. "You'll get it in no time. Until then, stick with me or Yang. We'll make sure you steer clear of dangerous people." Blake smiled gently.

"... Like Mr. Yummy Tummy?" Ruby tilted her head, leaning to look past Blake.

Blake twisted on her heels at the sudden impulse of danger, and found herself face-to-upside-down-face with the blonde chimp boy from before, shirtless as ever, and seemingly comfortable hanging by his legs from the lightpost. A shrill, angry chirp left Blake as she shoved his shoulders in surprise.

"Wh-whoa h-he-hey catch-me!" He cried out, a second before he hit the pavement. Blake stared down at the guy in surprise, her yellow eyes wide. She wanted to strangle whatever irony masked his presence from her finely tuned senses. "Ow…" The handsome boy uttered, lifting himself on his elbows to look up at Blake. After a second of dazed blinking, he put on a forcefully charming smile, and gave her a wink. "Well call me converted, 'cuz I think I found a new idol of beauty to worship!"

One of Blake's eyebrows shot to the top of her forehead, the other twitching. Her scandalized expression was not matched by the odd skip in her heartbeat as the admittedly good-looking boy admired her from below.

Thankfully, however, the moment was ruined by the sound of clicking bolt handle as a Grimm-slayer bullet was loaded into Crescent Rose's chamber. The boy's suave expression turned into wide-eyed fear as he stared down the barrel of Ruby's sniper rifle. "On your feet, criminal!" Ruby enunciated like a flamboyant pastor, and Sun found himself standing, hands in the air before he knew what he was doing.

"I-swear-I-was-going-to-pay-for-that-bread-please-don't-shoot-I'm-too-young-to-die!" He squealed in a single breath, while Blake recovered from the odd dizzy spell, as well as her overall surprise.

"You and your drug-pushing buddy are going straight to jail, buster!" Ruby jabbed the rifle forward, making Sun flex instinctively. Ruby's head briefly dipped to watch, then looked right back up at the taller boy's face. "I don't care how tasty your tummy looks, it's iron bars and prison stripes for the rest of your life!"

"I didn't actually know the guy! He tried pushing on me too!" Sun insisted, folding his hands together in front of his chest beggingly. "Please, I have nothing to do with him! I-I'm a good dude! And a student at Beacon Academy starting Monday!"

"Classes started last Monday, liar." Blake's eyes narrowed, and Sun waved his hands in front of himself.

"I-I'm part of a transfer program with Mistral! I just- okay, I'll admit it, I'm kind of an idiot, I may have forgotten to do the paperwork until the last minute! My team and I did Haven classes in the meantime! L-lemme grab my student ID, will that help?!" Sun stared into the goggles of the rifle-wielding girl, who glanced up to the utter babe by her side. Said babe gave a nod, and Ruby nodded back at him.

As Sun's hands reached for his back pockets, Ruby tutted. "Turn around so we know you aren't up to anything suspicious!" She ordered. As the boy complied, digging into his back pockets for his wallets, both girls took the opportunity to check out his glutes with open approval, before he turned back around to open his wallet, showing off his ID. "HmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMM…." Ruby growled as she read.

"Can you please put the gun down now?!" Sun whimpered.

"It seems legitimate…" The rifle lowered an inch, and Blake read aloud.

"Sun Wukong, Vacuan citizenship, Mistral education, Beacon transfer student, leader of team SSSN." She quirked an eyebrow.

"Leader?" Ruby lowered Crescent Rose, and Sun dropped his hands with a loud 'whew!'

"Yeah… yeah, team leader of a group of cool dudes." Sun tried to smile, though the two girls turned to look at each other.

Ruby's smile grew, and Blake's eyebrow raised. "Three-for-three." Ruby whispered. Blake took a second, then looked away with a roll of her eyes. "Apologies for the hold-up, fellow hunter! No hard feelings?" Ruby put her rifle back in her bag, blushing in embarrassment as Sun just waved a hand.

"Eeeeh, I didn't make the best first impression. I was just trying to get that jerk off your backs. Some guys can't take a hint." He put on a relieved grin, and Blake hummed thoughtfully.

"Present company excluded?" She asked dryly, earning a non-ironic nod from the well-built boy. Yet another blonde with a worrying lack of self-awareness, too much interest in her body, and a meaty, eye-catching chest. Blake would have complained louder, but…

"Anyways, lemme try this again." Sun suddenly turned around, whipping a comb out of his pocket to touch up his bushy hair. Ruby and Blake shared a similar look of confusion, and Ruby pointed to his backside excitedly. Blake lightly whapped the back of Ruby's head, earning a tiny squeak and a smack to the arm, which was returned mischievously. "So my name's Sun Wukong!" Sun whirled back around with a dazzling smile, which froze as he found Blake stuck in Ruby's headlock, the younger girl growling like an angered puppy as Blake lifted Ruby's leg, ready to drop them both to the floor before they realized they were being watched.

The two shot apart, pretending as if nothing happened. Ruby cleared her throat, and bounced on her tiptoes, her smile sweet and girly. "H-hi Sun, I'm Ruby R-rose, leader of t-team RWBY!" She turned to Blake, who was patting down her curtain of black hair.

"Blake." Blake responded, crossing her arms once more. "Blake Belladonna, the 'B' of team RWBY."

"So you two are partners?" Sun asked curiously, and Blake shook her head.

"No, just teammates. Our partners are currently on a date." Blake smirked, and Ruby tensed up, her bottom lip jutting out.

"No they aren't! They're just eating together so we can try and make up." Ruby corrected, and Blake sighed, gently nudging her leader with her elbow.

"Not that it makes much of a difference, but that's also not something he needs to know. And aside from that, they're sharing a meal, they're practically on a date." Blake shrugged, making Ruby pout louder.

"I explicitly forbid Yang from dating Weiss! Ooooh, if she's breaking my rules and- hey, she just went on a date! She can't date two girls at once!"

"Nice."

"Shut up Sun." Blake pinched the bridge of her nose. "Somehow, I doubt Yang agrees, but I'm not going to assume too loudly while she can't defend herself. Either way, we were on our way to a bookstore." Blake reminded Ruby, casting a quick, unwelcome glance at Sun.

Neither of them caught on. "Oh right!" Ruby nodded, then turned to face the handsome young man in front of her. "Since you're going to be new to Beacon too, you wanna come? We can fill you in, and stuff." Blake's eyes widened, and she flailed her hands in denial as Sun chuckled down at Ruby.

"Sure, why not?" Ruby looked up to Blake with an excited smile, earning a groan in return, and Blake silently walked behind her team leader, Sun walking alongside Ruby. "So, like, Weiss as in Weiss Schnee?" He asked, making Ruby bob her head.

"Uh huh. She's my partner, and my bestie! She helps me study and stuff."

"Cool, the other guys on my team are fans of her stuff, so I think we have at least two of her albums each." Sun snorted, his tail waving idly behind him, while he, every now and then, glanced back at Blake with obvious interest.

"Yang, my big sister, she has a couple of her singles. Weiss is super cool though, and so is Yang! I have the best team ever." Ruby sounded like she meant it, and Sun couldn't help but smirk. She was definitely on the young side, but had a lot of spirit. And one helluva rifle.

"Know what? I'll believe you until we can all meet up. Nice gun by the way, any alternate forms?"

"Just a scythe."

"Neat!"

---

"The train has reached a complete stop, please gather your luggage and mind the queue as you exit. This has been Vale Passenger Train #112, we hoped you enjoyed your ride, and have a good day!"

The loading platform for the train was abuzz with travelers hurrying onto and away from the train, the low din of gossip and chatter serving as a comforting blanket of civilization for the citizens.

As one traveled further from the city of Vale, the woods became thicker, the ground became rougher, the people became folksier, and the vehicles were less shiny and sleek. The defenses of small towns, especially ones that had frequent visitors and travelers, were the groups of hunters seeking quick cash in Grimm slaying, and the border patrols that slaughtered the beasts that became a little too bold.

The buildings were primarily wood, but heartily constructed and supplemented with stone foundation, and were separated by bare, sunny alleyways and wide, cobblestone roads. The folk here dressed a little simpler, and high-fashion was enjoyed by a select few that could afford to be thrifty through mail-order catalogues, though just about every house had a refrigerator and radio. Many houses also had storefront businesses, allowing a family to live and trade under the same roof, cutting down on the space that would force them to sprawl out into the woods if restraint was not enacted.

The travel towns were also often the intermediate rest stops between the city and the villages. Villages that were born from political differences with Vale's government, or from the resource rich surroundings, numbered in the few thanks to the dangers the Grimm presented, but hunters were always on patrol, looking for jobs, places to live, money to make, and monsters to kill. The villages that survived could sell their goods in the travel towns and ship them to Vale to buyers, and turn that money back around wherever they pleased.

It was a bit of a chaotic, rudimentary, and difficult-to-manage system, with the Grimm making expansion near-impossible in certain areas where they were so entrenched, eight teams of four came back reporting exhaustion and defeat by attrition. It was why the towns themselves were so heavily defended and precautions were taken to keep moods mellow and calm.

One panicked individual wouldn't drive a town to ruin, but a squadron of them could… or, worse than a mob, the unsavory individuals looking to profit off of humanity's misery.

A loud yawn caused Emerald to fidget, and give the silvered man by her side a narrow look. "Smoother ride than an airbus, and twice as fast too. We should totally take the train more often. I haven't gotten a nap like that since becoming a city boy!" Mercury lifted the gray fedora he wore above his eyes to examine his surroundings, looking remarkably sharp in a matching gray two-piece suit.

"Just so you know, you snore, city boy." Emerald rolled her red eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. Like Mercury, she was dressed with a sense of business in mind, though her black jacket and red ascot were complimented by a pencil skirt, giving her long legs an interested audience.

"C'mon Emmy, you know you love the sound of my voice." Mercury bounced his eyebrows playfully, drawing a disgusted groan from her.

However, rather than pursue the topic of conversation, Emerald ran her hands along her sides and pouted. "I get we want to blend in, but couldn't I have come in anything but a skirt? You men don't need an excuse." She glared at Mercury, whose eyes had not traveled above Emerald's neck since they'd gotten started for the day. Her eyes narrowed, her mind grew heavy as she focused on him, and Mercury's interested staring was quickly replaced by a squicked gag as Emerald, through his eyes, grew a thick layer of mannish hair along her calves.

"Lame." He grunted, turning away with an annoyed frown. Emerald smirked in silent victory, but it immediately turned to delight when a new figure stole the crowd's attention.

Cinder masked her displeasure for her surroundings with a red, wide-brimmed sun hat, matched by an impeccable wine red dress that left one shoulder exposed, and cut along one side that left plenty of her pale leg in view. "Do quit your squabbling and find our chauffeur." She ordered with more ease than she'd had in the past few weeks. Though she still dripped irritation with every annoyed glance and terse word, having something to do was helping override her bad mood with the state back in Vale.

"Got it, ma'am." Emerald's eyes strayed a second too long on the pale beauty she was escorting, and both she and Mercury pushed through the crowd to find their ride.

Cinder walked several steps behind them, her mind feeling sharper than normal. That little girl was still at large, leaving Cinder at the edge of her seat every night. Just one little girl, and she had to be in Vale while she was busy enacting her master plan to bring Ozpin to his knees.

It merely confirmed what Cinder already knew to be true: life was cruel, and when you believed it had given you a break and let up on its cruelty, it snuck up from behind and stuck a corkscrew in your kidney. And twisted.

Of course, this same cruelty and unfairness would come crashing down on the content and shiftless in due time. Cinder's eyes narrowed, knowing she was being stared at, being watched, but not because anybody suspected anything, no… all they saw was a sweet young debutante, probably on business for her father, going to check up on one of his investments and spread his good will through the beauty and graces of youthful, spritely womanhood…

In a way, they weren't wrong. Cinder's nostrils flared, and she eased herself. No need to get worked up in a crowd.

Once the girl had been found, subdued, and presented to Salem, there was nothing to fear. It was just a matter of trusting a small army of small-minded, idly lawless gangsters and terrorists to find one. Measly. Girl.

One measly girl that Salem had whispered about in an almost grandiose fashion… Cinder's jaw tightened, just remembering those words…

"She would have been what you are now, Cinder: the pupil with the most promise. Eyes that could send the masses fleeing in terror, a limitless battery of Grimm at her beck and call, even the maidens, with all their power and righteous splendor, would wilt and die. Should you find her, you will report back it to me immediately, and you will aid your fellow pupil in securing her for me. You will have many missions before we achieve our final goal, but this girl takes absolute priority once found. Do not disappoint me, Cinder…"

Disappoint? No. Never. Plans within plans, deals within deals, Cinder needed a contingency for every contingency, failure was not an option. One misstep was death, and exposing every thread she held, not that Salem ultimately mattered… as long as true power was within Cinder's grasp, everything else was simply a distraction.

"We have found your ride, my lady." Mercury stole Cinder's attention with a tip of his hat, and with a smug smile, offered an elbow to guide her. The pride turned to disappointment as Cinder brushed passed him without so much as a sneer, walking straight towards Emerald and an old black buggy.

The young, well-dressed driver with a lizard's earholes took Cinder's purse and set it the trunk. Mercury sat in the passenger seat, resting boredly as Emerald and Cinder occupied the back. The hoodless car started up, and pulled off onto the cobblestone street, driving south towards the looming, white mountain in the distance.

Cinder's eyes focused on Mt. Glenn, and hid a smile of pleasure at what lay dormant inside.

The buggy hit a dirty road, passing by other cars and wagons along the way. However, the further they got, the less vehicles that passed by, and the more difficult the road became. The rumbling ride was wearing on Cinder's already thin patience, wondering why the Fang couldn't have bothered to steal a more stable vehicle, but, eventually, the vehicle slowed. When the last car in sight disappeared over a hill behind them, the driver took the buggy off the road, into the grass, and took the three deep into an unmarked forest.

Cinder brooded, mentally going over the list of things that needed to be prepared for the first phase of their plan, and stepped out of the car once it came to a stop in a darkened clearing. The driver spoke to a pair of masked White Fang members standing around a large, black, outdated military APC, briefly trading unmarked envelopes as Mercury and Emerald unlocked the back of the heavily armored transport.

Cinder stepped up the ramp, and settled uncomfortably into one of the small, barely-cushioned seats lining the inside of it. Emerald sat by her side, Mercury sat across from them both, while five White Fang soldiers muttered and tossed dirty looks at the three humans from the other chairs, but ultimately kept to themselves, if only because Emerald and Mercury both gave them dirty looks and silent promises of a very bad day.

As Cinder thought and planned, a ringing from her purse nabbed her attention. She picked up her scroll as Emerald and Mercury watched, and answered. "Roman, calling so soon? Did you think we'd run into trouble?" She asked in an almost polite tone, but her free hand was working a small, misshapen mass of black glass between her fingers.

-"Please, Cin, if I thought you were in actual trouble, I'd be celebrating."-

Cinder rolled her eyes."Then you must be calling because you have information on the girl, otherwise, you'd be calling to tell me there's trouble, in which case I'm away on a business trip to survey the ruins of Mt. Glenn." Cinder's tongue clucked, expecting Roman to try and ease his way out of whatever mess he'd created while she was gone.

-"Actually, it's funny you mention that, because, heh, I remember you saying there'd be a whole lot of trouble if somebody found our little Grimm girl before we did."-

The glass star in Cinder's hand was crushed into dust, and her perfect, red lips parted, as if she could spit venom through the phone into Roman's ear. "What. Happened?" She finally demanded in a low, threatening hiss, causing the other seven occupants to look her way in silent worry.

-"I'll tell you what happened, so chill home girl. So, it turns out that miss Boogeywoman is still in Vale, hooray, right?"-

"Get us turned around right now." Cinder ordered through her teeth, the air suddenly filled with the sound of crackling glass as tiny, black shards rained around Cinder. Emerald stood immediately, grabbing handholds as she made her way to the driver's cockpit.

-"Not only that, but my hunch seems to be right. We think she might be a brand-spanking new student at Beacon Academy! Imagine that, the daughter of the demons themselves, a huntress!"-

"Shut up. We're turning around and returning to Vale, we're capturing her immediately." Cinder could stop herself from standing up, grabbing a handhold in one hand, warping the steel with her grip. She was being tamed by Ozpin? How fitting. How fucking fitting. No, this couldn't have been easy, the girl would have him breathing down her neck. Getting close to her would be nearly impossible. They might actually need her…

-"Now slow down Cinder, slow waaaay down, take a few deep breaths for me, alright? You do know how to do that, don't you? I've heard lizard people don't breath."-

"Why aren't we turning around?!" Cinder roared, and the APC began to slow, though still not slow enough to satisfy Cinder's anger.

-"Cinder."- Roman's voice came through as a sharp rebuke, and Cinder felt her cheek twitch furiously. -"Listen closely. We need to get the preparations you set checked, so I need you to trust me."-

"Trust you?" Cinder snapped, and Roman let out a demure chuckle through the phone's speaker.

-"Do you want this plan to go through on time or not? Look, finish your business at Mt. Glenn, kick your feet up even, enjoy some scotch and a cigar! You earned it! Meanwhile, I'm going to get little miss spooky-pets all swaddled up for you when you get back!"-

Cinder could feel her temple throbbing, but that was the stress. Grab the girl, or trust these animals to get her plan right? "Am I to believe you have a plan?" She asked, trying to keep her voice level. "You know nothing about this girl, hardly any of us do. Without the three of us, what do you think you can accomplish?!"

-"Not a damn thing, except what I'm best at!" Cinder began to snarl… "Chill, and listen. We only just found her, we have no other information to go off of other than she's still in Vale and probably at Beacon. Actually, we have a pretty good idea of who her partner is too, but details! If you wanna come down here and raise up a storm, all we're going to do is end up like last time, but worse. We go after this girl and what's she gonna do? Summon Grimm. She summons Grimm in the middle of the city again, but rather than a couple of idiots in suits fighting her, she has the four of us and the White Fang, she's gonna summon bigger. Now, you put a buttload of Grimm in the middle of Vale, you know who comes storming in? Every hunter and every police officer looking to get in the newspapers. It'll go from the four of us beating up a little girl to the four of us trying to drag her away while being chased by just about everything in Vale with a hero complex!"-

Cinder took a deep breath. Her grip loosened on the handhold, but her eyes remained narrow as she pointed to Emerald, then nodded. "Keep us moving forward." She ordered in a lowered voice. "I'll continue my surveying in Mt. Glenn, but I want as much information as possible by Monday, and you will not fail me, understood?"

-"Give me some time, Cinder, if she's okay walking the streets on a Saturday morning this week, I will bet you ten-to-one she's fine doing it the next weekend, and the weekend after, and the weekend after that. You don't want info about her or us getting out, do you? Leave it to the big boss of Vale, we got time!"-

Cinder slowly lowered herself into her seat. Infuriating beyond belief but… correct. Returning to capture the girl without any sort of information could lead to unplanned, upsetting hitches to their plan. If she was as dangerous as Salem made her out to be, then it would be impossible to confront her without an incident that would alert the city.

Or worse, alerting Ozpin and his lackeys. Cinder squeezed her eyes shut. This would only work if Ozpin's faction had no clue what was going on. Even the slightest suspicion would leave the plan in ruins. She huffed. "Fine. Do not play this risky, I need her, Roman, and the more people that get involved, the more complicated this will get."

-"I know that already, Cindy, so don't you worry your pretty little head! Enjoy your vacation!~"-

"We'll be discussing that tone of yours when we get back." Cinder snarled, glaring at the floor. "... but good work. Keep it up, and maybe I'll change my mind on you being a putrid waste of humanity."

-"'Tis truly a great, personal honor to be working with you, Cinder."-

With that, he hung up. Cinder put her scroll back into her purse, and Emerald slid back into the seat by her side, looking a touch worried. They knew where the girl was. She was in Ozpin's thrall, which was complicated enough, but Ozpin wouldn't dare advertise her existence to the world, not unless he planned to court death at the hands of Salem once more.

Provided that no loose lips were permitted, that Salem remained ignorant of the girl's whereabouts, and Ozpin remained ignorant of Cinder, they could plan. They could do this subtly, send the girl to Salem, wrapped up nice and tight. Could Cinder really be in trouble if she did the job herself? It would save both her master plan and bring her greater trust from her benefactor. Cinder let out a quiet breath. She had nothing to fear, provided everyone did as they were told.

They had time. They would use it wisely, and nobody would be anybody the wiser.

---

"Order up for Kramer!" Pops's voice thundered over the numerous conversations around his restaurant. "That's an order for Kramer, and that means yours too, Yang!" Pops waved to the feisty blonde, who stood with a lick of her lips.

Kramer, however, slapped the table, and pointed a finger at Yang. "You sit! I'll go grab the food." The hairy man stood, smiling in a hungry way. He stomped up to the front counter as Weiss and Yang both idly watched, then Weiss turned to Yang, making a face the latter had never seen.

The open-eyed, toothy smile of girlish excitement that was more familiar on Ruby's face than Weiss's, so Yang couldn't hide her amusement as Weiss's joy. "Damn, girl, you are really craving those wings."

"It's been forever and I've had nothing but toast for breakfast in preparation. Do not mock me." Weiss ordered, though her smile barely shrank. Kramer took the tray full of wings to the utensils station, and loaded up on napkins. He seemed to fiddle with the condiments for a while as Yang snickered.

"Not mocking! Just saying, you wear excitement well. It's cute." Yang grinned, and Weiss puffed up in poorly-faked annoyance.

"Here we go, lads!" Kramer set the tray between Weiss and Yang, which was full of paper food trays, which, in turn, were loaded up with different portions of differently sauced wings, the sheer variety making Weiss's mouth form a little 'o' of intrigue, though she was instantly enamored with the crisp, brown rings crowded by the chicken. The smell of the intermingling flavors were enough to leave Yang drooling, and when Kramer sat down, he held up his mug with a big grin. "Two cheers for good food!"

He and Yang both gave an excited cheer, and Weiss at least raised a fist in kinship of the moment. With that, the different wings were sorted between the three of them, until each had their respective flavors.

Conversation stilled, worries and energy dampened, and all of it was replaced with simple satisfaction. Yang was thrilled to experiment with each new flavor, trying them in the provided dipping sauces while sipping her soda sparingly. Kramer, having ordered a massive portion of an extra-spicy sauce, wolfed down his wings, bones and all, with his tough teeth.

Weiss, meanwhile relaxed. She alternated from her onion rings, to her hot wings, to her drink in a slow, meticulous fashion, savoring each taste. It was filthy, and greasy, and absolutely perfect. Her perfect little piano fingers were rapidly stained by grease and sticky, sweet sauce, her thin, pale lips began to redden, inflamed by the heat and the tingle of the spice, and a comfort filled her.

Meals back home followed a similar theme night after night: something completely delicious, highly nutritious, and in small portions that would not affect her idol figure. Her father was a man obsessed with image: his own, his company's, his family's. Neither he, his wife, nor his children were fat, they were all lithe, beautiful, handsome, and desirable for their looks alone. Weiss considered her good looks to be an important part of her image, as somebody with restraint and in the market for somebody equally talented as her.

However, it meant she could be left wanting. Lean cuts of beef, the white meat of a chicken, it was delectable, but lacked a certain punch that a frier could add. It wasn't as if she wanted to dine on hot wings every night, but when she had the opportunity, there was a naughty sense of pushing the boundaries, in addition to the delectable rarity of it.

It didn't have the complexity of flavors behind a fine foie gras in a red wine sauce, it certainly wasn't as nutritious as a kale salad, but it hit a spot in Weiss's palate that wanted tasty simplicity. A guilty pleasure in lowborne Faunus food. She had, with annoyance, found that some upper class Atlesian chefs attempted to make it in a 'classy' way, but it lacked the punch she enjoyed in how Faunus chefs cooked it.

This would definitely be a once-a-month meal. She would just need to keep a disguise on hand and keep to herself, though she was enjoying Yang's presence, so bringing her along for safety and company wasn't a bad idea.

Yang wiped her fingers down and popped her scroll up, stealing an onion ring to munch on as she checked her messages. "Ruby and Blake made it to the bookstore." Yang nodded, drawing a grunt of acknowledgement from Weiss. "... They ran into a drug dealer, but were saved by a guy with a 'tasty tummy.'" Yang's eyes narrowed, and Weiss looked up from her wings to give her a questioning stare. "... And he's with them at the bookstore."

"Seems we're both having an adventure." Weiss muttered gruffly, mindful of the man eating by her side.

"'Glad you made it. No funny business. Don't do drugs. If he touches you, I will hit him.'" Yang muttered as she typed, drawing a laugh from Kramer.

"Refills?" He offered, pointing to their mugs. Yang bobbed her head, and Weiss silently nodded, granting him permission to gather their drinks. Weiss got down to the last half of her wings. She was slowing down as her stomach began to fill. Her small diet meant she couldn't pack it away like Yang did, but she did not regret having leftovers. More for later!~

She sipped her refilled grapefruit juice and picked up a wing, but paused. Her stomach gurgled, and she felt a little off. Indigestion?... Likely. She put the wing down and diligently cleaned her fingers on a napkin as Yang pushed her bone-filled plates away with a happy groan, and a loud, unladylike burp. "Gonna finish those?" Yang asked, pointing at Weiss's onion rings. Weiss shook her head, and Yang eagerly took them as Weiss leaned against her palm. "You okay White? You look a little out of it."

Weiss waved her hand, hiccuping a bit. Her head began to feel a little heavy, and on second thought, so did the rest of her body. "Ate too much." Weiss explained with a bit of a tight throat.

"Pops' food'll do that to ya, just relax and enjoy the atmosphere." Kramer advised, working on the last couple of bites he had left. "He uses some of the best spices you can find in the city, so it's all rich. First time I ate here, I had way too much without knowing."

"Oh man, me too." Yang chuckled. Weiss did not join in, distracted by an itch in her throat. "I thought I was gonna puke after everything I'd eaten."

"Oooooh… don't say puke, please." Weiss pleaded. The itch was growing worse, and her stomach wouldn't stop growling. She was feeling ill, even though it was just some indigestion. That was what she kept telling herself, being dramatic about some stomach rumbling would be childish. It was the sort of thing Ruby would do.

"There's a little corner store not too far away, they sell canned ginger ale, that usually perks me up." Kramer pushed his wings away, watching Weiss with a curious look.

"Not a bad idea…" Weiss held her stomach. She squeezed her eyes shut, and let out an ugly cough. Yang looked up, slightly alarmed by the sudden sound, and put on a sympathetic frown as Weiss held her stomach. The heiress hunched over the table, teeth grit in open pain, releasing another cough. Then Weiss wheezed, and her eyes filled with surprise.

"White?" Yang asked, a soft tremor in her voice as Weiss's face began to turn red, and she grasped at her throat as she gave a softer wheeze. "Weiss!" Yang stood in alarm as Weiss leaned back, moisture gathering at her eyes as she tried to breath, but each desperate attempt to open her mouth was met with nothing as her throat closed.

"Is she choking?!" Kramer stood, staring at the girl clutching her stomach and throat. The clawed man slid behind Weiss, and Yang watched, panic filling her stomach as Kramer pressed a balled fist to Weiss's stomach and lifted her to her feet. His fist pressed in, causing Weiss to make an ugly noise, while his other hand grabbed at something at his rear. "Okay, on three, I'm going to do compressions, Weiss." The name slipped through his lips casually, though it took the next three seconds for Yang to realize. "One," He held Weiss against his chest, "two," he drew his hand from behind his back, the rest of the patrons now staring at the scene, "three." He levelled a pistol at Yang's head.

"Wh-..." Yang stared at the weapon, her body frozen in place as she glanced to Weiss, silently sucking at air for a breath, her pale face turning red, then to Kramer, who was baring his teeth angrily. "Kramer?... Sh-she needs help!"

"Shut up." Kramer ordered, his fingers tightening around the pistol grip. The entire restaurant had gone completely silent, several people beginning to stand as Kramer backed up a step, dragging Weiss with him. "I owe you, because you helped the Fang. Her?" His arm wrapped around Weiss's midsection, tightening as the young woman threatened to collapse. "She needs to die."

In a burst of motion, Ember Celica covered Yang's fists, her foot on the table, ready to leap as she bared her teeth. The world around her grew hot, all she saw was fire as she stared the man down, but then the pistol was against Weiss's hat. Kramer snarled as Yang froze, shaking, thinking…

"Don't you move a muscle, Yang. Don't you move a goddamned muscle! Let the Schnee suffer." He growled, the name drawing a small murmur from the watching diners, each looking between each other for an explanation. "That's right! Do you take us for idiots?! Anyone with two eyes knows who this is!" Kramer announced loudly, turning Weiss to show the crowd as he knocked the hat off her head with his pistol, revealing her silvery hair, tied in a bun at the back of her scalp. "My brothers, my sisters, today Weiss Schnee dared to step into one of our businesses, dine on our food, using the White Fang's generosity as a wallet!" Kramer shouted, the heiress in his arms tensing.

"She was there trying to save that Faunus in the alleyway too!" Yang screamed, but the pistol hastily pressed to Weiss's unprotected head once more, leaving her shaking in horror and rage, her eyes red, but her teammate's suffering keeping her from launching into a full berserker state.

"Saving one life doesn't justify taking a thousand others!" Kramer snapped, his arms bulging as he stared down at the girl in his grip. "This is a message! This is gonna send a message to the entire Schnee family! They don't own the world! They don't own us! They aren't safe with the White Fang around!"

"Yeah!" A voice in the crowd cried out. A woman with curled horns stood, her face tight and red as she stared at Weiss. "My husband was killed in one of their mines, but did I see any pity? Any remorse?! Any compensation?!" She asked, lips peeled back to show her teeth. "My children almost starved because I didn't see a lick of compassion from you!"

Another stood, a young man, staring around at the crowd with a righteous anger in his expression. "My big sister was just a messenger for the White Fang, but when those-those hypocrites caught her, they stuck her in a cell with a ten year sentence! Ten years for running letters! My family can't even arrange to see her!"

An angry murmur grew from the crowd, several of them standing as Kramer turned to Yang with a damning smile, Weiss having gone still in his arms. "See, Yang? This is justice. She may be your friend because you're a human, but she's every Faunus's enemy." He lowered his mouth to the wilting girl's ear, and growled in a low satisfaction. "Feel that, Schnee? That's the White Fang's strangling poison." Weiss suddenly tensed in his arms, her eyes going wide for a second, then narrowing. "We're gonna make this slow."

"I-It's not-!" Yang kicked the table, and Kramer walked backwards quickly, dragging Weiss's limp form with him, the pistol, jabbing her skull. Heat poured off of Yang, her cheeks soaked as emotion poured out from her eyes. "Sh-she didn't-!"

Weiss was rigid as a wooden beam, but all she managed with a thin flicker of her aura...

"Just shoot her!" Somebody in the crowd of Faunus shouted, and a roar of demand erupted, as Kramer looked between them and Yang. "Kill the Schnee!" Kramer's arm tightened around her, and she seized as her aura disappeared.

Weiss buckled forward and a stream of vomit poured out from her mouth, splashing Kramer's arm and feet in brightly colored acid and hot chunks of chicken. He flinched in surprise and disgust, the crowd recoiling, and her aura weakly pulsated around her. A roar erupted from Kramer's throat as Weiss's heel drove into his toes like a jackhammer. She whipped his arm off her and stumbled towards the table, reaching towards Yang.

She was dragged over the table and into Yang's near-burning grip, burying her nose into Yang's cleavage as she panted heavily, sucking in air desperately. Yang held her tightly as Kramer lifted his pistol at Yang, his expression furious, blood dripping from the tip of his boot. The Faunus jeered in anger, many of them standing to stalk towards the two human girls, when a voice caused them to pause.

"Now now, everyone, let's take a seat." Pops bellowed. A dozen and a half eyes turns towards the big fat restaurant owner as he lifted the countertop divider and squeezed through. Slung over his shoulders was a massive, heavy-looking warhammer, no decorations or bits and bobs, other than a long-dried rusty stain on one flat end of the head. "I put decades of work into this business and I'll not have any of you ruin it over one little girl's head."

"She's a killer, Pops!" Somebody shouted, but the aged chef turned to put an evil eye on the crowd. In an instant, his body was shelled in a jungle-green aura.

Kramer stared at him, favoring one foot as the bigger Faunus squeezed his shoulder. "Kramer, go have yourself a seat, call your friends and have them look at your foot." Pops ordered, his voice near-jovial, but it only took one look in his eye to ruin any sense of courtesy he was trying to convey.

"Pops- the Schnee!" Kramer insisted, looking to Weiss and Yang with a tight jaw. "She's right here!" He jabbed his pistol towards them, his finger shaking on the trigger. "Our entire race deserves her blood! Everything she's done-"

"Sit. Down." Pops ordered, his voice dropping to a low, animalistic snarl that made Kramer freeze, his eyes wide, sweat dotting his forehead.

He glanced between the two figures, then to the crowd, but they had backed away the moment Pops' aura flared to life. He gave Weiss one last, longing look of murderous intent… and his scream filled the building, the whole crowd moving away as Kramer gripped his arm, which had turned bloody and purple from Pop's swift, bone-pulping punch. The pistol hit the floor, lying still.

The massive man grabbed Kramer by the collar and flung him to the ground, where he moaned and spasmed in pain. Pops shot the crowd a dire glare, and their collective heartbeats silenced in terror. "Now y'all got a choice. You can help this old man set things right so I can be open again by tomorrow, or you can turn your tails around and walk out. If I see any of you try and lay a finger on any of my other customers again, Wurfram here's gonna be tastin' some blood. Ol' Wurf ain't had a drink in a good long while now," the hammer over his shoulders rocked threateningly, "so I'd suggest against testing ol' Pops. So, git or get on your scrolls, one of the two."

The order was heeded with great speed.

A half hour later, Kramer was loaded into the back of another unmarked van, and driven away as police and emergency workers inspected the building, taking statements from the few Faunus that remained, Pops, Weiss, and Yang.

Yang stormed up and down the open space between tables, expelling enough heat to cause the authorities to give her a wide berth. Weiss sat at a table, her expression tired and blank, an aged quilt over her shoulders, adorned with fading stitchings of the old White Fang logo. Pops settled down next to her as an EMS worker check her over.

Weiss peered down as a milk-filled mug was presented to her, and then looked up at Pops, who gave her a very gentle, concerned expression. "Might not be much, miss Schnee, but warm milk's good for ya, especially after a good toss up. Good t'see the Schnees still teach that old anti-poison aura trick."

"... Thank you." Weiss whispered, accepting the hot drink. It went down her irritated throat smoothly, bringing some much needed heat to her still-weak limbs. She rubbed her face, wiping away a few tears as Pops adjusted the blanket over her shoulders. "... 'm sorry."

"S'not your fault, miss Schnee. If every little girl was made to wear her family's sins, the world'd be a helluva lot worse." Pops undid her hair bun, his thick fingers surprisingly dextrous as he let her hair down, easing the tension on her scalp. "Couple'a dumb idiots thinkin' they can make a name for themselves in the worst ways is why I left the White Fang before leadership passed over. I may have a beef with the SDC, but I know where the line is, and I know you ain't got nothin' to do with what me, my family, or my people have gone through."

Weiss nodded, not meeting his eye as she drank again. Pops sighed as the police came to take his statement, and when the EMS worker asked if Weiss needed to go to the hospital, Weiss shook her head, turning him away. He nodded, reminded her of how to contact them, and joined his crew by the door. His spot was immediately taken by Yang, and before Weiss could say anything, her drink was put on a table, and her whole body almost swallowed by Yang's embrace.

"Y-Yang?" Weiss murmured, looking up to the agitated blonde. She was hot as hell, and not just because of her looks, and she looked ready to break every table in the restaurant and cry while doing it.

"I want to kill so many things." Yang hissed, squeezing Weiss tighter, making the young heiress squeak, but relax in much needed comfort. "But I can't so I'm hugging you until you're okay so don't complain." Yang spat each word with a hard glare, and Weiss shook her head.

"I'm not." Weiss sighed, leaning against Yang, her body exhausted from fighting the toxins, as well as expending so much aura to force the poison out. She silently watched her enormous savior try to retell his events of the story, though Weiss could tell by the expression on the policeman's face that he was giving Pops no benefit of the doubt. Pops would suffer, somehow, for even daring to be in the presence of a hurt human, and a shaky anger filled Weiss's still-frail body.

Up in front of the store, several vans parked on the side of the street, their news logos prominently displayed on the sides. Vale's Channel 8, Remnant Global, The Curiosity, The Sanus Daily, and, perhaps, most tellingly, the Faunus Eyes and Ears. Of the five of them, Weiss recognized the last one based on the number of their reports that were filtered through other news cycles as exceedingly anti-human.

The woman that stepped out, a fox-eared beauty by the name of Valua Shun, looked all business in her burgundy suit and skirt, prominently displaying a White Fang pin on her lapel, while she, and the other newscasters, immediately launched into their opening stories.

Weiss took a deep breath, and looked over herself. She was pale, wearing very boyish clothes covered in her own sick, her hair a mess, her tears red and puffy, she grit her teeth and tapped Yang's arm. "Yang, I need your help."

"You need me to go scare them away?" Yang asked darkly, watching the newscasters cautiously, forming a small, angry fist as they tried getting statements from the various emergency service workers.

"No." Weiss took Yang's hand, and rest it on her long sheet of hair. "Do my hair, please. Quickly?" Weiss ordered, looking into her teammate's lavender eyes with utter seriousness.

"... You were just poisoned, you can't go talk to those people!" Yang looked boggled, but then Weiss frowned and pleaded with her already watery eyes, and Yang sucked an annoyed breath through her teeth.

A few minutes later, Weiss stumbled out, minus her jacket and hat, her hair pulled back in a neat, straight ponytail by a spare scrunchie. She looked nothing like she did when she went on stage or before a magazine, she looked about as interview ready as Zwei's butt, but she sucked it up, knowing she had a debt to pay.

Yang held her shoulder, keeping her steady, and shooting warning looks as the reporters swarmed towards Weiss.

"Miss Schnee, there are multiple reports of you being poisoned by the White Fang! Can you tell us what really happened?"

"Miss Schnee, several anonymous tips suggested you initiated the attack with racially charged comments, and some even reported that you drew a weapon, what were you trying to accomplish here?"

"Miss Schnee, you were mistaken for a boy by several patrons when you first walked in, is there any fact behind these claims?"

Weiss raised her hands, her expression neutral, if groggy, and waited for the questions to die down. She took a deep breath, cleared her head, cleared her throat, and opened her eyes again to speak. "I entered this establishment with my friend and teammate for a simple dining experience. No weapons were drawn until after I was incapacitated, and I had no intention of trying to start any form of fight through insensitive commentary. As for my dress, I did not wish to advertise my presence here and be harassed, so I came in a disguise."

Valua suddenly pressed forward, her mic at Weiss's mouth. "Miss Schnee, this establishment is very well known as a Faunus hot spot, as well as carrying a positive White Fang sentiment, for what reason would you choose to come here?" The vulpine woman spoke the word 'you' with clear venom in her voice, and Weiss turned to look back at Pops' diner, and her shoulders sank as she answered.

"My friend and teammate assured me that this restaurant was the place to go for an authentic Faunus dining experience. In an attempt to bond over similar tastes in food, we came here strictly with the intent to eat."

Another reporter leaned in, "Miss Schnee, if you came here to eat, why the disguise?"

Weiss's eyes narrowed as she answered, "I am well aware of my reputation with the Faunus, I did not wish to start an incident between myself and the White Fang on my day off from school."

"And you assumed a disguise would be necessary, and would not cause any sort of issues?"

Yang answered, in the most controlled, flat voice she could manage, "She walked in with the disguise and was still poisoned."

The reporter sheepishly stepped back as Valua took center again, looking like she was having none of their excuses. "Miss Schnee, what do you believe is the reason for your assault here today?"

Weiss huffed in annoyance, but answered straightly, "My family has a sordid history with the Faunus people, the White Fang especially. If I were to guess, I was to be made an example of in an attempt to scare my relations."

"And do you believe it would have been successful?"

"Of course not!" Weiss briefly lost her composure, frowning deeply, but then she regained her nerve. "The Schnee Dust Company and its associates are not easily cowed by threats. We do not actively seek to provoke violence against ourselves, but that does not mean we are defenseless, or spineless. If I had d-died-" Weiss's lips trembled, but she bit down on them and continued, "if I had died, business would have continued as usual."

"And you yourself are okay with that?"

Weiss considered the question for a while suddenly finding the back of her hand interesting, but finally, a resigned sigh escaped her. "Yes." She glanced back up at the surrounding cameras, and she felt Yang shift uncomfortably behind her. "Through my lessons as a huntress, I have learned that fear is often the reason for failure. Our civilizations, both human and Faunus, have suffered out of the fear we have instilled in each other. I only wish to leave a positive change in the world, if I left behind excessive pain, fear, or sadness, then I would have failed as a huntress."

"But what about as a business woman?"

"All the same." Weiss answered instantaneously, drawing a raised brow from Valua. "My grandfather started the Schnee Dust Company with the intent of making the world a better, safer place. Though we have gone through discourse since his passing, I fully believe the Schnee Dust Company's intention and goal is to provide comfort and protection at a low cost. I have every intention of maintaining this goal when I finally take my place in the Company."

The reporters touched their earpieces, murmuring softly to their cameramen, and one brave soul came forward with a very stupid question: "Miss Schnee, after today's incident, do you ever plan on returning to this establishment?"

Weiss glanced back at the building once more, watching Pops through the window. The large man settled down on a seat, looking so old, and so tired, despite his energy when she'd first walked in. Weiss turned back to the reporter, and nodded slowly. "Pops Wings and Things showed no bias in its customer base, and delivered an extremely satisfactory dining experience before we had realized the food was tampered with. I have every intention of returning here, though I will be more careful about who else handles my food." She gave a small, pleased smile, and the reporters murmured some more. Weiss touched Yang's hand, and leaned back towards her. "Help me back in, please. I'm done."

"Miss Schnee, one more-"

"Back up, buster." Yang held a hand out to the mic, taking Weiss by the shoulder with her other hand. "Miss Schnee's done answering questions. Shoo! Go bug someone else." Yang abruptly turned around, making Weiss yelp in surprise as she was quickly escorted back inside.

The reporters stopped their clamoring once the door was shut, and Yang helped Weiss sit down. The tall blonde crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at Weiss with a frown as the girl shrivelled back into a tired heap. "Why did you do that? You know they're going to make this into an even bigger mess."

Weiss breathed deeply, enjoying being off her feet, and she looked up to Yang with a frown. "They would think I'm hiding something if I didn't. Putting that aside, I am well within the public eye anyways, I would like them to know my side of the story. And to…" Weiss squirmed in place, "and to make sure Pops gets his credit. He did save my life. I'd feel bad if he lost business because of me."

What good was there in arguing with that? Yang felt even more frustrated than before, she'd lost her villain and couldn't find a replacement, she needed somebody to be angry at, somebody to be seen delivered to justice! She need exactly what the Faunus before had been looking for, a scapegoat, something to vent on, and it was driving her crazy drawing the comparison. Her agitation didn't lessen when an officer approached the two of them, looking apologetic for their whole situation.

"Hello ladies, I'm Officer Midre, would you care for an escort back to Beacon? I'm sure you'll be much safer with us than taking an airbus." He offered. Weiss lifted herself up to her feet, nodding gratefully at the offer.

"That sounds perfectly fine, officer. Yang?" Weiss looked Yang's way. The blonde huntress stared down at her fists, only able to feel a simmering anger at how useless she was in protecting her friend, and she hung her head in dejected agreement.

The two slid into the back of a police car, and were carted off to Beacon on a winding road that went the long way to the school. It wasn't Yang's first time in a police car, but it was the first time she felt so defeated riding one. No bullshit excuses and lame jokes to share with the driver or her fellow passenger, just the simple stink of failure.

Pops lifted his head sullenly as the door to his business opened again. The reporters still milled about outside, except for Valua, who came in alone, no microphone in hand. The stern looking fox woman cast a glance at the aged restaurateur before walking down the counter to pick up one of the remaining mugs. Pops blinked slowly as she filled it with ice and a diet soda, and quietly settled down next to Pops with a serious expression.

"The White Fang isn't likely to turn the other cheek on this, Pops." Her voice was low, an attempt at a consoling tone, but she refused to look his way, her expression downcast.

"I know that." Pops shrugged. At his hip, he pulled a flask and twisted the top open, the smell of a sweet, Vacuan honey liquor escaping the thin neck. "You think I'm due to be 'visited?'" He asked with a sour expression, briefly glancing up to the hammer leaning against the wall.

Valua considered the question, peering into her glass, and worked her jaw in discomfort. "The Fang has a serious 'nobody leaves' policy, but you left well before the current leader came to power. They never told you about any of their operations, did they?" Valua's ear flickered, but Pops shook his head.

"I'm just an old man still stuck in the past runnin' a wing shop. Some of the youngins wanted advice, but if I heard anything, it was none'a my business. I left what feels like a hundred years ago, found better uses of my time than trying to excuse every Faunus kid's assault charges."

The woman nodded and simply drank from her mug. The future was full of uncertainty, and while it was easy to condemn traitors, old friends were a different story. The White Fang loved Pops, what with being an old man with a ton of Fang memorabilia, and serving up long-beloved meals to boot.

"You might lose business." Valua muttered, eyes narrowed angrily.

"I knew the risks I was taking, Val. I half expect to come in tomorrow and find this place trashed." Pops frown deepened, and he shook his head. "Me 'n the wife were talkin' about a move anyways. Vale's gotten too risky, what with the crimewave and now this. Might go see my old pals in Menagerie, see if they have room for another old chef there."

"That's basically retirement." Valua pointed out with a frown, and Pops chuckled.

"Yeah, but it's been a good run. 'Sides, nothing happens in Menagerie. Maybe there'll be no new stories to hear, but us old folk like to sit around and reminisce anywho, it'll be good talkin' about the 'good ol' days' with Ghira again. Wonder what that optimist is up to…"

"Hmm." Was Valua's only response. Calmly she lowered her mug, and shot Pops a curious look, her jaw working quietly. "Pops, what made you do it? You knew who she was, you knew what it would have meant to our people, this whole problem could have been avoided if you'd just-"

"—If I'd just sat back and watched my people murder two young women outta petty revenge? All 'cuz them idiots ain't smart enough to understand where to put blame?!" Pops interrupted furiously, making Valua's ears flatten in worry as the man bared his sharpened teeth. "Weiss Schnee walked into my business and all I could ask myself was: 'Is she starting trouble? What does she want?' And know what I found out? She wanted onion rings." The bridge of his big, bulbous nose wrinkled, and he let out a deep sigh. "She let her voice slip 'cuz she got herself worked up over onion rings. She was a customer, s'all she was. She ate and I heard no complaints, she even thanked me for saving her life. I seen the evils the Schnees are capable of, I know when they're playin' at cordial to break your heart and drive you out, all Weiss Schnee wanted was onion rings and for nobody to bother her. It coulda been special, the first Schnee-Fang interaction where nobody was talkin' about our relations, just one person buyin' the service another's providin', but no, that idjit Kramer had to get involved." Pops took the first sip from his flask, and he lowered his head into his hand with a deep, tired sigh. He then shot a dirty look at Valua. "And now you."

Valua tensed up, looking the other way, her face turning red as she slowly worked her jaw. "The Faunus don't want to hear about how one of their own went out of control. They need to have hope in the White Fang, without it, how can we possibly demand more? Equality won't come with stirring the waters, we have to make waves!"

"Yeah, well, if it's false hope you're peddlin', count me out." Pops stood up with a beleaguered grunt, and Valua watched him with a tight frown as he trudged back to the counter, flicking light switches to turn the 'on' sign 'off' out front. "Lyin's why the Fang's got started, y'know." Pops thumped a thumb against the defaced SDCV flag. "We were promised everything under the sun, and when that was a lie, we were dug too deep to climb out. Fang started because we needed real hope, we needed progress. Now we're gonna lie about the bad shit the Fang's done, the humans're gonna lie about the bad shit the Fang's done, and it's gonna be two different lies so everyone's gonna think the wrong thing and go at each other's' throats. Fat-lotta hope that's goin' around."

"Do you think they'd want to hear the truth?" Valua demanded as she stood, and Pops turned to give her a silencing look.

"Nobody wants the truth, Val, but if we're gonna make any progress, somebody's gotta start being honest. I'm headin' into the back and takin' a nap." He slid behind the counter and trudged into the back room. Valua stared down at her mug, then set it aside.

She fluffed her hair, wiped some lint off her blouse, and head for the door with a stern frown. She paused as she pushed it open, glancing down at her feet, then shook her head and stepped out.

---

Blake could not have been more at peace.

Well, that was not quite true, there were a lot of things that would put Blake further at ease. Quietly peering over her new book at Ruby, she could list a handful of things that would make the day better, but this… this was bliss.

Madame Lovecraft's Emporium of the Beyond was an almost comically thin building that stood between two office buildings almost entirely at random. The old structure stood as a testament to a time when standardized building techniques hadn't yet been finalized and people built what suited them, not fit the city. The end result was a long, narrow path to walk between a tall, wall-dominating bookshelf and a checkout desk, where a heavily-veiled woman in moon-eyed glasses greeted them in a manner that suggested she had done business with Kevin earlier that day.

The low lighting and scent of incense gave the interior of the building an extraordinarily dreamy quality, and the sheer selection of off-the-wall, unusual books struck Blake as she found herself staring at the spines of old occult tomes that claimed its curses 'really worked!', alongside storybooks that prominently featured mythical beasts, Grimm, great heroes, brooding anti-heroes, villain-protagonists, and a single cookbook titled: 'Cooking With Urine!' Blake left that one alone, and judging by the amount of dust it had accumulated, she was not the first to pass it up based on its title.

The upstairs—which was separated from the downstairs by a staircase so steep, Ruby almost had to hop up each step—was a set of lighter reading books meant to be enjoyed in the small lounge. Just a pair of tables, oversized bean bag chairs that you sank into almost immediately, and a few folding chairs decorated the far end of the second floor.

Blake had dragged one of the bean bag chairs underneath a window, and was curled up in it, warm and content as she curiously perused a book about a hunter who cured women possessed by evil spirits by shagging them. It… wasn't a thought-provoking book by any means, and the author's vocabulary was a few grades short of a highschool diploma, but Blake held onto the hopes that Jaymond the Exorcist's repeated penile struggles with the unsavory forces of the afterlife somehow gave her a deeper understanding of the world around her.

Cooly, she looked up at Ruby, sunk into a different bean bag chair, looking so tiny, so complacent, so far away from the rest of the world. All of Ruby's jittering nervousness was gone, replaced by a picture of perfect peace. She had chosen a small book titled 'Mockery', and Blake could only wonder what it was about. She didn't dare break Ruby's concentration, however. There had to be some honor among readers.

It was nice. They were both exactly where they wanted to be, an interesting admission considering there was still a heavy burden between the two of them. Blake look at Ruby's goggles, and imagined that ugly black vein again, and a small shudder ran through her body. How much she wanted to pluck those goggles off and see…

Blake silently reached for the top of her head, but put her hand down before anyone could notice. How easy it would have been to loosen her ribbon and show Ruby the truth. Casting that burden aside would ease things… but then she remembered Ruby's demand, an order to stop asking about those eyes, and a bitter bile built up in her belly. She had swallowed her pride and her curiosity to entertain her team leader's innocence and secrecy, and her ears felt heavier on her head. Ruby didn't trust her, not more than Ozpin, and until they'd asked him…

Blake screwed her eyes shut. Surely, she was overthinking this...

"I brought snacks!" Came a self-satisfied voice. Blake only barely opened her eyes to see Sun stride towards them with a bag in one hand. Ruby sat up from her seat as the blonde boy opened a paper bag and passed out food. "Bagel, bagel, donut…" He recited, handing Blake a wheat bagel and Ruby a sugary donut, then he himself began spreading cream cheese on a poppy seed bagel.

"Thank you Sun!" Ruby spoke through a mouthful of pastry.

Blake hummed her thanks as she bit into her bagel and decided to put her book aside. It hadn't been terribly engaging, and she was in no mood for adolescent smut anyways. Sun wasn't a bad person, but he stole her voice. She needed to be talking to be Ruby, to be asking Ruby questions, to try and cultivate her relationship, and he had, without knowing, intruded.

"So," Sun started after swallowed the first bite of his food, "how tough a place is Beacon? I heard only the best of the best get in, so do you gotta stay the best, or?..."

"It's hard…" Ruby whimpered, making Sun swallow loudly… though that may have been because he was still eating. "All the classes are go go go, there's a big test in every class every Friday, and combat classes are supposed to pick up next week so we're going to be fighting each other…" Ruby sighed, laying back in her chair. "Don't get me wrong, we made it through them, but I feel like I'm failing if I'm not studying."

"Harsh." Sun nodded simply, but didn't look awfully concerned. "Well Sage and Neptune'll be happy, those nerds thought Haven was too easy. Anything fun to do there?"

"It has a huge library!" Ruby perked up happily, and Sun snorted. "There's so much to read, and shows to rent, and they have some sorta cinema on campus during the afternoon, but we never went 'cuz we were busy. Also, clubs are allowed to start recruiting first year students during the second week, something about first years being situated, and club affairs being settled…"

"Right." Sun nodded, finishing the last of his bagel as he cast a curious glance at Blake. He was not a subtle sort, and Blake hid a sigh of annoyance as he took in her legs before looking back at Ruby. "So, big readers, huh? What else do you girls do?"

"Train. A lot. Because I don't have time for anything else." Ruby puffed her cheeks up, and Blake hid a small smirk. Their team leader wasted plenty of time reading and looking up cute animal pictures on her scroll, but she did spend an enormous amount of time with her notes and her scythe.

"And you?" Sun looked to Blake, leaning towards her in open interest. Blake hardly looked his way. He needed to read the room better and flirt with the girl who had been chattering about his 'yumminess' earlier.

"I like reading and naps." Blake answered. She also liked teasing her teammates to a frenzy, but that was none of his concern.

"Cool, so… like, power naps, or long naps or-"

"All the naps." Ruby answered, and Blake hid a smirk. "All of them."

She wasn't wrong. Blake hid a chuckle as Sun scratched his head in confusion, and checked her scroll when it buzzed. Her smile fell.

-Don't tell Ruby because she's going to freak, but you two need to get back to Beacon. Weiss was poisoned and I'm freaking out.-

Blake reread the message Yang had sent her.

-Poisoned?-

-YES. I should have mentioned she's fine, she unpoisoned herself or something. Hurry?-

The bagel in Blake's mouth turned tasteless as the sudden weight of message fell on her. Poisoned? That wasn't something that just happened to people unless they mishandled cleaning products. Weiss had gone to eat, so unless her food was contaminated, or somebody had-

Blake's throat went tight. A wing place full of Faunus?... No, no, they wouldn't have, they couldn't have, Weiss was in disguise…

Weiss had been poisoned. The sweet little rich girl who had treated her to tea, and had a whole-hearted belief in the quality of a team. Of all the people Blake had issues with, Weiss had been the least troublesome thus far…

Blake felt an ache in her chest, and she tried to wrap her mind around the information… yes, she needed to go back, to confirm the story, to make sure Weiss was okay. She had to be calm, however. Their little outing had been short and eventful, but now they needed to go back…

"Ruby." Blake spoke thickly, her voice sounding wrong coming out of her mouth. She stood and silently returned her borrowed book back to its place, a strange grogginess around her. "Ruby, we need to leave."

"Huh?" Ruby looked up from Sun, who looked equally confused as Blake began to put things back into place, her expression flat, other than her wide eyes. "B-but- what's wrong? We just got here? And Sun- sh-should we…?"

"Yeah, is there trouble?" Sun stood, his expression now serious as he sensed Blake's distress. Blake bridged her fingers in front of her in thought, and breathed out.

"It's a team matter, nobody else involved. Yang has asked that Ruby and I return to our dorm room so we can handle this together. I mean no offense, but it's private." Blake spoke mechanically. They were in Vale, they were Beacon students, they were meant to be perfectly normal and friendly, they weren't supposed to be dealing with this. Surely the Faunus wouldn't have- against somebody so important? In broad daylight?! Even the Fang wouldn't be so bold…

At least… that's what Blake wanted to believe, and she couldn't see her own expression as she took Ruby's wrist to tug her to her feet.

"Blake?" Ruby's voice was soft, full of fright as the black-haired girl pulled her leader close. "Wh-what-what's going on?"

"... I'll tell you at the dorms." Blake spoke gently, trying to reassure Ruby with her eyes, but doing a poor job masking her own fear and guilt.

"Hey." Sun walked towards them, wearing a confused but understanding frown. "At least let me escort you two to the docks, alright?" The offer went unanswered for a moment as Ruby and Blake looked to each other, and Sun pressed on. "I promise, it's just to keep you two outta trouble. Besides, it's not like I won't ever see you again! Just… lemme help."

Ruby looked up to Blake with uncertainty, more pale than usual. Blake caressed her cheek for a moment, then nodded to Sun. "As long as you don't make this weird."

Sun saluted, and took the lead out the door.

---

"If your sister is pulling some sort of prank, I am killing her until she's dead, and then some." Blake spoke a full sentence for what seemed like the first time since they exited the book store. Ruby followed behind her down the hallway towards their dormroom, the statement serving to both confuse and worry Ruby even more.

"U-um, wh-what happened? Did-did Yang get in trouble?" Ruby asked, feeling cold and clammy as she struggled to keep up with Blake's expedient pace. Blake shook her head, continuing forward unimpeded.

"Not yet, but I swear…" Blake let the threat fall flat. Her mind was racing with possibilities, and she craved to know more. More than anything, she needed Weiss to be okay. She needed to know Weiss was okay. She wanted to find whatever idiot hurt her teammate, her friend—she was friends with a Schnee; the thought sent rebellious tremors through her limbs—and wrap Gambol Shroud's ribbon around their neck.

Their door was within sight, and as they closed in, it opened. Ruby and Blake both came to a halt as the tip of a cane lead the headmaster out, one hand running down his face in an open display of concern, before nudging his small spectacles back up his nose. His gray hair bounced a little as he glanced towards Ruby and Blake, his expression worryingly blank.

"Hello students." He nodded his head at them, shutting the door behind him. Ruby ran forward, her expression on the verge of tears as she shook his arm pleadingly. Blake normally would have reprimanded such disrespect, but Ozpin rest his hand on Ruby's head.

"P-pro-prof-pro-h-head-headmaster, i-is Yang o-kay? D-did-did she g-get in t-trouble?! I-I s-swear she's a g-good per-person, sh-she gets-" His finger bumped her lips, silencing her as he put on a gentle smile.

"Your sister is perfectly fine, Ruby, contrary to your fears, she is well within the law, both Vale's and my own." He answered, withdrawing his hand as he turned to face Blake.

"And Weiss?" Blake asked, moving forward to look up into his curious eyes.

"Weiss is currently exhausted, but healthy. Nurse Nightingale gave her a thorough check-up and confirmed there are no harmful toxins remaining in her body."

"Toxins?!" Ruby squeaked, her hands closing around Ozpin's wrist tightly. The headmaster was very calm baring Ruby's dramatic jittering as she stared up at him, begging for an answer, and he nodded slowly.

"While enjoying a meal in Vale with your sister, a member of the White Fang slipped poison into her meal." Ruby had gone slack, waving in place until Ozpin squeezed her shoulder. "She's okay, Ruby, she needs bed rest, good food, and the comfort of good friends. The perpetrator was apprehended by the police. You, however-" Ozpin didn't finish his statement in time for Ruby to come to her senses, and push through the dorm door. The small cacophony of yelps, whimpering, shouting, and the clatter of furniture was cut short when Ozpin shut the door again. He turned to face Blake.

Blake was staring numbly at the floor, her hands cold and limp, her head hanging without the willpower to keep her posture straight. The headmaster calmly moved towards her, and the tip of his finger lifted her chin to look him in the eye. "Blake?"

"H-ha-ah?..." Was all she managed, her arms trembling in a mixture of betrayal and grief. "H-headmaster…?" She grit her teeth, unable to keep her eyes from misting over.

"... I know how it feels to accept the sins of your organization as your own, but it was not your hand nor your words that let this come to pass. You are no more responsible for this than I am." He let his hand hang by his side, and though his expression was not pitying, Blake still looked away in shame. "You and Weiss have grown together in ways that I suspect surprise you."

Blake swallowed a curse, a sob, and a growl all at once, and nodded slowly. "She's not perfect." Blake admitted, feeling her lips tremble. "She's not a monster, either. It's not simple, I was hoping it would be simple, but… but I'm scared of her getting hurt, and I'm scared if she finds out-..."

Ozpin took her hesitation to speak further to interject. "There's much to be afraid of, but I somehow doubt it'll be in the ways you think. True fear comes from the unknown."

Blake didn't know what he meant. 'In the ways that she thought?' She feared this pack she was forming was built on lies, both big and small. She feared that they would reject her the moment they knew her history. She feared what might happen to them if they didn't know what her life was...

She looked up to Professor Ozpin, the calm way he evaluated her, and he gently pointed to her room. "Your team needs you, Blake. Put aside your worries for the moment so you can be there for them, and when the time is right, do what you must." His fingers lifted, and Blake felt a knot in her stomach tighten as he delicately touched the very tip of one side of her ribbon, while she resisted the urge to flick her ear.

And, like that, his hand was back by his side, while he stepped around her with a calming smile, heading for the elevator. Blake turned to watch him, and impulse screamed within her. "Headmaster!" She called out, giving him pause. "I-I wanted to- I have to ask…" She looked to her room, where Ruby waited, where Weiss lay… "I wanted… she's- Ruby…" Blake trailed off. Ask the question. Get his answer. It was within her reach.

Go to Weiss.

She wanted to scream and tear her hair out. She wanted to be selfish and demand answers, but how could she justify the timing? To demand to know her teammate's secrets while one of them barely avoided dying? Was it right? Was it wrong? It was a simple question to a very big secret, she wanted the curtain pulled aside so they could finally end this charade and stop dancing around the issue!...

… But she was a coward. She would give priority to her own curiosity over Weiss's plight, or she would squirrel away her inquiries and remain in the dark to soothe her own guilt. How she craved the simple solution of leaving… how could she justify herself to Weiss now? She'd be in the line of fire, demands made as to why she lied…

She turned her head back towards the door. "... I'll ask later…" Blake spoke just loud enough for the headmaster to hear. He did not move from his spot immediately, but when Blake twisted the door handle, he continued toward the elevators.

Blake pushed the door open and walked in to take in the scene.

"... Let go." Weiss ordered, looking frail and pathetic in her bed, propped up by a pile of pillows and wearing some formless gray pajamas.

"No!" Ruby sniffed loudly, her face buried into Weiss's shoulder, arms around her partner so tightly, Weiss couldn't move her arms.

"Let go!" Weiss ordered more sternly, and Ruby shook her head like a petulant child, before whimpering louder. "How can you expect me to rest when you're like this?!" Weiss demanded, then gave Yang a pleading look. "Help? She's your sister!"

Yang chuckled softly, standing up from the chair she'd placed by Weiss's bunk to grab her sister by the shoulders. "C'mon Ruby, Weiss needs her rest."

"No! Nooooooo! I wooon't!" Ruby whined as Yang, with great effort, managed to pry her arms open. "I gotta stay or somebody might hurt her again! Yaaaaang, nooooo!" Ruby was pulled off and dropped into Yang's chair. Weiss sighed in relief and quietly reached for a teacup on a nearby nightstand. Yang automatically grabbed the accompanying teapot and filled Weiss's cup, letting the girl drink with relish while Ruby squirmed and fidgeted by Weiss's side.

"... Child." Weiss flicked Ruby's forehead, drawing a pained squeak, and a pouty look. She looked to the door in slight alarm as it clicked closed, and Blake locked it behind her. She slowly walked in, looking from her pale, low-key partner to Weiss, hoping she was keeping her face as neutral as she wanted it to be. "... Tea, Blake?" Weiss offered, gesturing to the tea pot.

"I don't have the stomach for it, but thank you." Blake answered gently, her stomach still in tight knots as she walked to the bed. Awkwardly, she sat down by Weiss's feet. She looked remarkably cozy, and even had her hair down. She looked like the ill girls Blake's books constantly described: pale, long-haired, in clean, but plain bed clothes, but there was no dying light in her eyes, just a tired flame, awaiting the passing of a storm to burn brightly once more. "... I'm glad you're okay."

"Not as glad as I am, trust me." Weiss smirked.

"I know." Blake responded with a half smile. "But, more importantly, how do you feel?"

Weiss's smile faltered, and she fell somber, taking a long drink of her tea. When she answered, her voice was very calm, if confused. "I don't know." She raised a hand to touch her chest, and took a deep breath. "I mean, obviously I'm tired. Aura detoxification is incredibly strenuous, and I'm really not hungry, though I know I should be."

"You know what I mean, dummy." Blake spoke softly, both Ruby and Yang watching nearby, their eyes wide, their ears open. "How do you feel?"

"... Scared." Weiss admitted, twiddling her thumbs. "Angry." She spoke more forcefully, making fists. "I'm supposed to be a huntress, and I was nearly murdered by some auraless grunt and a vial of foul chemicals." She sighed thickly, laying her head back, her eyes glassy and soft. "Though this is the first attempt on my life, it's not like I could have expected it…"

"You say that like you expect it to happen again." Yang said gravely, and Blake bit down on her lower lip as Weiss nodded solemnly.

"Being a Schnee isn't always glamorous. It can be dangerous, even if you're from one of the branch families. The Schnee name paints a target on your back, whether or not you're involved in the SDC, whether or not you live like a celebrity or stay out of the limelight for a quiet life. Those…" Weiss hit the bed with her fist, her head hung low, her voice breaking, "Those monsters, those so-called revolutionaries in the White Fang, it doesn't matter to them what you did, they'll murder anyone who carries the Schnee name, even by proxy, because all they care about is revenge!"

Blake turned her head away to stare at the floor. That wasn't… completely true. Weiss had every right to be angry, but the words stung…

"Why do you think I know an anti-poison technique? They don't fight fair, they want us weak, they want us to suffer. They've been threats my entire life, my company, and my people are under a constant threat because of them. Walking into that building was stupid stupid of me, trusting that man was stupid of me. He outright said he was a White Fang member and I trusted him to play nice!" Weiss's voice rose, and she flopped back onto her pillow, taking deep breaths as she tugged at the sheets around her furiously. "Leave it to the Fang to use sacred hospitality to stab you in the back."

"I still want to kill that guy." Yang suddenly growled, loud enough to make Ruby flinch away from her. The blonde's knuckles were turning white as she stood in place, shaking, leaking a potent rage that left Blake staring in quiet fear. "That goddamned animal." Yang spat.

"Yang!" Blake called her out weakly, trying to give her a disapproving look, but she could feel the resistance dying in her. After everything she'd seen them do, after everything she'd done…

"No, Blake! I'm not- I can't be PC right now!" Yang turned, swinging a blind hook at empty air, her shoulders shivering as Ruby quietly stood, reaching out to her older sister, only for Yang to let out a low, frustrated cry. "He told us he owed us! We trusted him! I thought he was a nice guy, I thought it was going to be a good day, but no, the bear turned out to be a fucking snake!" She threw another aimless punch. "I am so done! I mean, how long did he even know?! Did he just use me to hurt Weiss?! I bet that asshole hated me too! Oooh, woe is me, I don't have hairy ears so it's okay to use me too!"

"Yang, y-you're shouting." Ruby gently warned her sister, but Yang hunched over, another furious noise escaping her as she held her knees.

"I wanna shout, damnit! I wanna scream, I wanna kill that asshole! He used me! He was going to shoot me even though I helped that idiot getting his ass beat in the alleyway!" Yang turned towards Ruby, her face contorted in rage, her teeth grinding together in frustration, and Ruby stared silently, unable to drum up any sort of argument. "I'm not some tool to be tossed away once I'm not useful anymore, Ruby!"

Yang gasped, went tense, and went quiet as Ruby held her. Blake watched in mute guilt as the two sisters hugged, Yang trying to suck down her anger as her little sister clung to her, and Blake hung her head. "We're okay…"

"I'm not okay…" Yang insisted, resting her hands on Ruby's back. "I didn't even get to hit him. I was useless Ruby, I just had to stand there and watch-"

"It's okay."

"It's not fair, I hate this!"

"It's okay."

"Stop saying that!"

"Yang." Weiss's voice sprang up, shutting the two up. Weiss held her teacup up demandingly, and gave the blonde a frustrated smile. "You're raising a bigger fuss than I am, and I was the one that got poisoned. Tea, please."

Yang sniffed loudly, and pushed Ruby to the side. Emitting an aura like a rampaging bull, the furious girl miraculously managed to pour Weiss a full cup of tea without spilling a single drop, and Weiss drank thankfully. "You're such a butt Weiss." Yang muttered, falling back into the chair with a grieved sigh.

"A healthy butt, though!" Ruby leaned over her partner with a little smile, and Weiss snorted.

The three girls looked to each other for comfort while Blake quietly walked to the closet, leaning against the doorframe for support. They'd hurt her teammate, they'd all but ridiculed her partner, and Blake could hear them muttering and whispering about how they'd failed to strike a blow, that any one of them could have finished the job…

So wrapped up in their craving for vengeance that rights and wrongs stopped mattering. All that was left were moralless soldiers, filled with a hypocritical righteousness and unreasonable anger. They wanted temporary highs over long-term solutions, and they would make things so much worse for that singular moment of feeling better…

The White Fang, her people, her home, her ideals… liars and deceptions, and she had been molded by them. She was their product, but she felt so alienated, how had they been trained the same way, taught the same ideals, but come out so disturbed? They weren't her people any longer, and these girls…

… They weren't either. This had gone too far. Blake was from a whole different world, and here she was pretending to be part of theirs.

She grabbed the old duffel bag she'd brought her life to Beacon in and began to put her clothing in it. She couldn't stay. She needed to fix the problems she'd been a part of. Tonight, when everyone was asleep, she'd go. At least then they'd have nice memories of her, not turned bitter by the knowledge of who she was. She could at least share one last cup of tea, one more flirt, one more joke, one more book…

And then she'd fix the Fang herself, however she could.

---

The silent buzzer in Blake's scroll went off at exactly midnight. It wasn't necessary, as Blake couldn't drum up the urge to sleep. So many afternoons wasted on naps, but the one night she should have settled in to gain some energy, and she couldn't.

She sat up, not having bothered to pull over covers. She was still in her clothes from the day, having excused it as simply being too tired to change. Quietly she slid out of bed, hitting the floor on silent tip toes. She picked up her shoes from the closet and slowly and meticulously slid them onto her feet.

She stood, her duffel bag of clothes over one shoulder, and resolved that she would make it to the door without overthinking.

As she stepped out of the closet, walking with practiced stealth, her eyes immediately caught the glimmer of silver and blonde as the pale moonlight filtered through the window and struck Yang's hair in an unignorable way.

The entire rest of the day had been a haze. Blake had practiced the steps in her mind, again and again, knowing the girls would be in bed at least by midnight with the day's activities. If they did not, Blake would simply wait, but mercifully they'd each resigned themselves to their beds. They had talked, chattered, made vows of vengeance and protection, discussed how they'd avoid such scenarios in the future, related stories they'd heard of the Fang, and Blake had settled onto her bed, listening until one of them came to get her.

Staring at Yang, Blake felt a lump form in her throat. The perverted bruiser had appeared in her life as a falling star, brilliant and flashy, an unquenchable wildfire that wanted to consume Blake with affection and fun. Yang made the darkness in the back of Blake's mind retreat, and Yang shared herself so earnestly with Blake.

There was a threatening strength to Yang's charisma. It was easy to be taken by her warmth, and feel like the world was a wonderful place full of excitement and fun, where the danger could be punched away and the people were all new friends waiting in the wings. Blake hadn't met a girl like Yang before, and her sheer passion had inspired Blake. Blake had spent her life surrounded by people with righteous purpose and grim stories of their youth, but Yang's power was in her normalcy.

Blake envied it, and embraced it when she could. Spending some time before bed, talking about their day, avoiding the obvious topic of conversation, Yang was worried about a man named Pops, worried that he'd have to stop serving food, and bitching and moaning about Weiss making a mess of a T-shirt and pants. She was an everyday girl combined with a stick of dynamite, Blake loved that about her.

Yet, she could be all-consuming, hungry for attention and affection… compared to her little sister, she was unbearable at times.

Silently, Blake looked to Ruby's bunk, hidden behind curtains, and her smile slipped. The big secret… she'd never get to know. That was okay, though. It could be somebody else's problem. There was almost a relief in knowing she'd never know, but at the same time, there was a disheartening loss. Blake wanted to know, not just to sate her curiosity, but because she liked the girl.

Cute as a button and sweet as a song, a nervous little wreck who, nonetheless, carried herself with purpose. The world was big and frightening, and Ruby wanted nothing more than to fight it back. She wanted the world to be a home, safe and sound for everyone, and that very idea made her stronger than she had any right to be. Blake admired her drive and her wholesomeness, it was easy to like her for her naivety and kindness, but she radiated a weakness that drew people to protect her.

More than anything, Blake wanted to feel like she was doing the right thing, and this intelligent little girl, so frightful of her own inadequacy, but courageous enough to face it, stole Blake's heart and loyalty. Ruby would do no wrong, saving people was her life's goal, and Blake respected that. Her all-encompassing compassion, for human and Faunus, had given Blake hope that this was her place…

… but not as much as Weiss had.

Blake stared at the silent, dark shape on Weiss's mattress, and felt her heart sink. It was like finding buried treasure, getting to know Weiss. The face of evil, the heart of darkness, the tyrant-in-training herself, was, in truth, a bossy, but kind girl. Neurotic and over-assumptive, but quick to admit her own faults and try to correct them.

While Yang gave her comfort, and Ruby gave her drive, Weiss gave her insight. This one girl, the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, had the intelligence and understanding to know what constituted right and wrong, but also the moral compass to use it for the world's benefit. She was a good person, one who wanted to be the absolute best so that she could use her power for the betterment of all.

She was not evil. None of these girls were, they were utterly kind, endlessly affectionate, and driven. They had made it to Beacon with a goal in mind, and even if Ruby's was childishly lofty, and Yang's cluelessly murky, they had a greater ambition than some of Blake's old associates, who were content to go with the flow, even as it spiralled into the abyss.

Blake stared at her friends in quiet grief. In her own way, she'd make sure their goals were attainable, by trying to remove at least one obstacle from their path.

The thought made Blake feel better about herself, and she went to the door. She hung her head, and breathed out unhappily. It was better this way. If they didn't know, maybe they'd still like her. She was okay being a happy memory.

She twisted the door handle and opened it to the darkened hallway, stopping dead in her tracks with wide eyes as Ruby stared up at her. Beneath her goggles, the girl's expression was blank, and in her hands were a couple of granola bars and a bag of chips.

No words were spoken, and Blake silently stepped back in shock, while Ruby shuffled inside. "R-Ruby." Blake stammered, staring down at her leader curiously, then up at her curtain-covered bunk. "I- I didn't expect you to… I mean, what are you doing up?" Blake spoke in a whisper as Ruby glanced down to the snacks in her hands with embarrassment.

"I-I thought Weiss woulda wanted something to eat when she woke up, so…" Ruby stared down at her hands. Blake blinked slowly, and nodded, gulping loudly.

"Ah, well... good. Don't mind me, just going for a walk." Blake said lamely. Ruby looked over Blake curiously, reading every inch of her posture, before her head turned to stare at Blake's duffle bag.

"W-what's in there, Blake?" Ruby asked, making Blake sweat.

'Don't do this now… just trust me, okay? Just play dumb and trust me…'

"My books." Blake lied, adjusting the strap on her shoulder. "I couldn't decide what I wanted to r-read, so I figured I'd take them all down by the fountain, enjoy the night, the sounds…" Blake trailed off, her expression a sorrowful grimace as Ruby quietly stared at the bag. Without a word, Ruby reached a hand out and flicked on the room's light.

Blake flinched, suddenly no longer protected by the still shroud of night, the room's artificial lighting making the hairs on the back of her neck crawl. She heard shifting from the other beds… "R-Ruby! What are you doing?!" Blake whispered in a low hiss.

Ruby's voice was calm, but demanding. "Your books are on the shelf, Blake. Where are you going?" Not a single stutter in her voice. That, somehow, was more damning than any of Weiss's and Yang's casual insults towards the Fang.

"What's going on?" Weiss's groggy voice rose from behind Blake. The black-haired huntress looked around in a panic, seeing Yang sit up, staring the two of them down, a frown on her face.

"J-just going for a walk!" Blake insisted. She heard Yang slide out of her bed, and move to stand behind her, and Blake could feel those lavender eyes on the back of her head.

Ruby shook her head, and pointed to Blake's bag with a frown. "You spent an hour in the closet messing with your clothes. I-I'm not dumb, Blake! D-don't lie to me!" Ruby ordered, her cheeks turning red as she became more upset. Blake glanced between the two sisters, while Yang slid past Blake to poke Ruby's forehead.

"Calm down sis, you're over-emotional." Yang glanced Blake's way curiously as Ruby gave a small whine. "What's up? Li'l late to go camping." Yang looked like she was choosing to trust Blake, especially as she drew a struggling Ruby out of the way.

"I-it's nothing, just…" Blake shrugged. The door was clear, she could leave. She watched Weiss slip out of bed, standing on firm legs to come hold Ruby back. "Y'know…"

"We don't." Weiss pointed out. "Ruby, quit struggling."

"But she's leaving! She's trying to leave us!" Ruby insisted in a sharp voice, making Blake cringe when Weiss shot her a hurt look.

"No she's- I mean, are you? But you wouldn't, right? We're a team."

"Ruby, why are you making such a big deal out of this? Let her be mysterious!"

"No!" Ruby fixed Blake with a deep, pained frown, and Blake felt a stone settle into her gullet. "No, she was like this yesterday too!" Ruby whimpered, making tight, stressed fists in front of her chest as Blake swallowed thickly. "Sh-she just felt off. All night I had bad dreams and stuff where she left! Blake, you don't gotta leave, if you're hurt, we can help you!"

"I-I'm not-" Blake sputtered, backing away from Ruby.

"It's just a nightmare." Yang insisted, though her eyes lingered on Blake's bag again, then Blake's face, clearly wanting an explanation. "Ruby, you're too old to be acting like this! She's not running away!"

"Yes she is!" Ruby stomped. She grit her teeth, and Blake's eyes fell to the floor as an odd shadow formed beneath her leader. "You don't hear them, but I do. They're trying to eat her because–" Ruby's voice broke, "–because she's hurt! Blake, please, we're your team!"

"Who… who's they?" Blake asked, looking from Weiss, to Yang, then back to the puddle under Ruby's feet. Ruby sniffled loudly, and Weiss and Yang looked to each other in silent worry.

"Blake, are you really trying to leave?" Weiss asked, leaving Blake agitated that they'd ignored her question.

"I-I told you I wasn't!" Blake's voice rose, though her panic only grew as Yang stomped over to her. "Yang, wait-" But it was too late. The blonde had snatched her bag, opening it, even as Blake pulled the strap. Her clothing, day, night, and under, fell to the floor in a heap. "S-stop! You're being ridiculous, I can explain!"

Yang snatched a bra off the ground and held it in front of Blake's face, looking painfully angry as she shook the garment. "Explain what? Who packs their underwear to go for a walk?! You- I can't believe this! Why?!" Yang's voice rose, and Blake found her back to the wall. "What did we do, Blake?!" Yang's voice was cracking, her anger turning to worry. "No, what are you trying to do?! No bullshit, damnit, and none of your cutesy little half answers! You're caught!"

Blake glanced to each of the three girls, certainly feeling caught. This had unravelled faster than she could have expected, and despite her attempt to be strong and brave, she just felt small, and awfully guilty. "I-I was- you're not- I can't- I-"

Weiss stepped forward, her face pale, her eyes wide, her mouth tight. "Blake, please answer. This is clearly just a misunderstanding. Is a relative sick?" Weiss offered.

Yes. The perfect way out! Weiss was a godsend when the time was right. Blake swallowed thickly, looking from face to face, the idiotic excuse on the tip of her tongue. "I-"

"Bullshit!" Yang stomped, making Blake freeze up. "If your family's sick, why wouldn't you tell us?! Why sneak out?! You think I'd be pissed if you went to go help your grandma or whatever?! Why are you trying to leave in the middle of the night without telling us?!" Yang demanded, her teeth grit as Blake slumped against the wall.

That was it. There was no good excuse. There could only be escape or giving in… her eyes felt hot and moist, and she had to suck up her guilt to even manage a single word. "I-... I was going… I was going after the White Fang…" She admitted, her chest throbbing.

Yang groaned thickly, stomping in place in outrage. "That's stupid, even if that was true, you don't think I wouldn't want in on that?!" Yang shot Blake a furious look, and Blake felt a twinge of offense. "Put your shit away and get back to bed!"

"No!" Blake insisted, straightening up, her yellow eyes narrowing as she grew angrier. "I am going after the White Fang and that's final. None of you need to get involved. Stay at Beacon, do what's important to you!"

"Hell no!" Yang snapped. "You're my partner, I'm not going through the whole bonding process with somebody who's nowhere near as sexy as your dumb ass is."

"Y-you're our fr-friend, Blake, we can't j-jus-just f-forget you!" Ruby insisted, shimmying in worry, the shadow beneath her feet shrinking away as she sniffled and stole control back.

"And besides," Weiss added, giving Blake a disappointed frown, "the White Fang aren't worth your time. You have much better things to do here as Beacon, not go after a bunch of idiotic, violent criminals who-"

"They're not criminals!" Blake suddenly shouted, silencing Weiss in a heartbeat. Blake bit down on her lower lip, and wiped away the moisture gathering in her eyes.

"B-Blake, I-I didn't- okay, this isn't the time for that discussion." Weiss breathed out, trying to bring peace, but Blake had none of it.

"It isn't?! I've had to sit by all day and listen to you and Yang talk shit about them!" Blake shot a sharp glare at Yang, who, still tense, could only blink in confusion as her aggression grew disconcerted. "They aren't a bunch of thugs! They aren't criminals! They were a bunch of kids whose families suffered because of humanity! They were a bunch of destitute, run-down second-class citizens looking for a way to make all the snide remarks and bullying stop! They tried, damnit, they tried forever to do things the right way, and the only thing that's getting results is violence, it's you who backed them into the corner, you who caged them up, and now you're afraid because they don't see any other way out!" Blake's voice reached a peak. Whether or not the neighbors heard and were concerned went ignored as Ruby, Weiss, and Yang just stared in shock at Blake. Their teammate knelt down, stuffing her clothing back into the bag as Weiss worriedly took a step forward.

"Blake…" The heiress spoke delicately, staring at Blake like a rabid animal. "What… what do you care? I mean, I get you're pro-Faunus, but isn't this too far? It's just words. We're frustrated, we're angry, I-I-I mean, I'm sorry we said those things, but… but what's it to you?" She asked with a helpless shrug.

Blake stared down at her bag. Everything about her ached, and she could barely see as her vision went blurry. She wanted nothing more than to pull a Yang and rip down the nearby wall. She wanted to fight, she wanted to hurt, she wanted all of this to be over with. She stood, slowly, and looked up to Weiss, her anguished glare sending Weiss back a step.

"You want to know?" Blake started, her voice warbling in an uncontrolled mixture of negativity, all the anger, sorrow, guilt, and fright, for once, empowering her. Her hands reached up to her scalp, and she froze for a single second, knowing there was no way backing out of this as she pinched her ribbon… and she pulled.

Ruby and Weiss's jaws fell as one, Weiss stumbling back a few steps, while Yang simply stopped moving, stunned as Blake's cat ears flicked and twitched, then laid flat on her head in anger as she relaxed her control. "B-Blake-" Weiss started, but Blake cut her off.

"I am Blake Belladonna, my father came from the Kyumagama Tribe of Mistral, my mother from the Kuroneko Tribe of Mistral." Blake tugged at an ear, forcing them to stare at the clearly alive and frustrated organ. "I was born into the White Fang! I marched in parades, I held signs, I signed waivers, I sent letters, I did everything under my power to try and make a difference. When my parents accepted defeat and retired to Menagerie, I kept going! I joined the Vale chapter, believing we could change the world without a drop of blood, and in return, we were beaten, starved, and driven out! We spent years in the woods, hunting and pillaging because we had no choice! I trained new recruits, I stole information, I spied on Schnee officials, all because we couldn't figure out how to make you racist cunts listen!" Blake wheezed ragged breaths, storming forward to push a finger into Weiss's chest, shrugging off Yang when she tried to grab her arm. "For every bad thing we ever did, it was because somebody associated with your family decided we were a problem to be eradicated. Every single peace talk ended with a sudden ambush or a hilariously one-sided agreement! I tried, and tried, and tried to believe there was some good in humanity, and it was only by hiding as a human did I start getting treated as a person!"

Weiss stepped back, her expression one of utter terror as Blake panted in her face, only for the black-haired girl to draw back, clutching her face, gritting her teeth in pain. "B-Blake… you're-" Weiss swallowed thickly, "you're White Fang?"

"Was. Was." Blake hissed, glaring at Weiss through her fingers. "You're right… you're fucking right, okay? They turned into a bunch of killers!" Blake threw her hands out in a rage. "Not out of self-defense, but for fun, for profit, we're everything people say we are! I can't even blame the Schnees! I'm not happy they have to learn how to not die day-to-day! People started joining for revenge, and they think it's solving something! All they're doing is making themselves look evil, and I couldn't do anything about it! So I ran." Blake suddenly calmed, taking deep breaths as her fury turned to wide-eyed self-loathing, and she clutched her forehead. "I ran! I ran because I couldn't say enough, or do enough to fix them! All my life I've been fucking useless! Standing around and watching people get hurt, watching everything I stood for get trampled and bloodied! So here I am, as far away as I can be, pretending to be a normal girl…" Blake sniffed loudly, staring at the girls around her.

The fear on their faces, the slack-jawed shock, the subtle anger and wonder and worry and everything was written on their face. The guilt tore at Blake. She didn't want to hurt them, she didn't want them involved, why couldn't they just be blissfully unaware?

The first person to make a move was Ruby. Silently, still shellshocked from the sudden revelation, she touched Blake's shoulder. The older teammate twisted to face Ruby, her face streaked with tears, her eyes all but bulging as adrenaline poured through her veins. Ruby touched her cheeks, and Blake's breathing slowed. "... I'm sorry…" Ruby whispered, though she didn't seem to know what she was sorry for. "I-I didn't know, but if I did… you're still Blake." Ruby whispered, trying to give Blake a strong look, even with her headgear in the way. "I-I d-don't know i-if th-this changes a-anything o-or eve-everything, b-but… but you're s-still B-Blake, th-the g-girl I r-read with and t-train-train with! I t-trust you."

The words hit Blake's heart like a knife. "Trust?" Blake whispered heatedly, her lips peeling back to show her teeth as Ruby's hand pulled back an inch. "Trust?! You don't- how dare you?!" Blake roared, turning on Ruby, angrier than ever, the fire in her chest consuming her mind as Weiss backed away, and Yang was still frozen, her heart screaming to act, but her body too bogged down to obey. "You of all people talking about trusting me?! When I still can't see your fucking eyes?!"

Blake's hand shot out, and a pained shriek escaped from Ruby. Weiss and Yang both straightened as Blake's arm pulled back, a pair of large, black goggles in her hand. Blake stared Ruby in the eye, and continued to roar.

"Was that so hard, Ruby?! What the hell do you have to hide?! You're just an idiot girl! You don't have-" Like a hand snatching the wick of a candle, something quenched the flames fueling Blake, "Y-you're not- just a dumb…" Blake stumbled back a step, the goggles dropping from her hand. "H-huh…?" Blake's throat grew tight, breath barely able to enter her body.

She felt every nerve in her body squeeze, and a silent scream building up in her lungs, only to die of strangulation before it could escape. Those eyes clawed at her mind, a gnawing dread that grew, and chewed, and gnashed, and ripped into her mind, heart, and soul. The inexplicable terror began to weigh down on her and her senses began to darken as it grew unheeded.

Ruby stared back, her monstrous eyes wide in stupefied fright. She was not diseased, she was not Faunus, Blake had no idea what she was as she threw her back against the wall, panicked breaths escaping her as her hands searched for something, anything to defend herself with.

"B-Blake…" Ruby reached out after her, tears dripping to her chin. "W-wait… no, no please…" Ruby covered her eyes, and finally wailed, "I c-can explain! I can explain!"

She wasn't safe here. That's all there was to it. She would be cast to the darkness, ground under heel, broken by the hordes, and devoured alive and screaming. She had to escape. She had to escape now. Blake's hand found the door handle and she pulled violently.

Weiss reached a hand out as the door flew open. "W-wait, Blake!" Weiss walked forward on stiff legs, but Blake was already out the door.

Finally, in a burst of motion, Yang threw herself after her partner. Weiss stood still, her hand uselessly outstretched towards empty air, the last spot she'd seen Blake in. Her arm lowered, her mind confused, her conscious reeling, trying to parse the mountain of events that had just happened.

She looked down to Ruby, who had crumpled to the floor to grab her goggles and desperately pull them on, then back to the door.

Yang, meanwhile, slowed, whipping her head around in Beacon's courtyard, trying to catch even a hint of her fleeing partner. Down the road, through the trees, all around the building, nothing. She took a step in one direction, then looked the other, and found herself frozen.

There was no sign of Blake, and Yang stood alone in the courtyard. With a single, defeated breath, Yang sank to her knees.

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AN: Through Her Eyes now has a TV Tropes page, which the creators of have asked for help in completing, for those interested!