Blake didn't visit the winter garden that sat at the top of the manor often. Weiss tended to avoid the painful memories, and Wilson only entered the area to sulk in his own musings. As such, though she knew that it was a beautiful place to sit and read, she refrained from doing so. Today, she felt compelled to journey to the open space where birds and butterflies spent their days, living in more or less peaceful harmony. It wasn't for the sake of a good book, though that might have been a good excuse, if she needed one.

Instead, she decided to visit the monument carved in the likeness of a woman who was obviously very sorely missed.

It was the one concession she could give Wilson for his mistreatment of Faunus…she couldn't even fathom the agony of losing a mate...of being left as the sole caretaker of children who still needed guidance. Truth be told, she doubted she would fare better if the situation were reversed. If humans were to kill her mate, for any reason, she was sure her perceptions of them would skew drastically. She was not an ignorant person by far, and arrogance had no place in her life either, but both of those things were delicately part of the person she used to be.

If it hadn't been for her teammates turned family, she probably would have continued of look down her nose at the humans around her. Smirking inwardly at their own foolishness as she blended into their world. Thinking them racist, laughing in the face of it as they mindlessly accepted her like sheep…but…that was not what had happened…Blake had been forced to change.

She bit her lower lip. She was no saint, and the blood on her hands would forever mark her as the person she used to be. Life was not so crystal clear…she would do anything for Weiss. Anything for her cubs. So, for what she hoped would be for the last time, she would give an order that would send ripples through what used to be her old life. A stone in a stagnant pond.

"Thanks for meeting me…"

"I still don't know why we're meeting up here." Ruby said curiously.

"This is the one place in this house that I don't have to worry about someone overhearing me." It was a little odd, but there was nothing she could do. "One of your jobs when dealing with the security division, is to keep any and all perceived threats at bay. It functions almost separate from the rest of the SDC, Weiss isn't the one to hand out orders. It used to be that I did, and later Yang. For now, while Yang is away, that job is going to fall to you. Yang and I…often held our more clandestine meetings up here."

"That's fine, but I usually report to Weiss."

"Now, you'll be reporting to me." Blake said. "It's not exactly ideal, but neither is letting Weiss obsess about things that she doesn't have a deep understanding about. As the face of the company, there's a lot of times where she can't afford to get her hands dirty. A smudge on her reputation isn't easily forgotten. That being said, the security division you see marching around at the office is just one side of a much deeper hole."

"You mean…like spies?"

"All sorts, and not all of them friendly. See Ruby, the thing is, Yang and I have a fairly good understanding of the criminal underground." Blake shrugged then, knowing she would need to keep Ruby at a distance of the more dangerous aspects. "We don't mind working with them, so long as we know it's in the best interest of everyone involved." Some of the people in Blake's fold, Faunus and human alike, were not the sort to be trusted blindly. "They're the types you keep loyal with whatever it takes to keep their mouths shut. They live in the shadows, and they don't question the orders they are given, so long as the compensation matches job."

"Sounds like Junior's bar all over again." Ruby frowned. "I thought I told Yang not to spend time with guys like him. They're bad news."

"Mm, well, a lot of our contacts come from Junior, and a lot of them are under my direct employ, off the books. It needs to be that way, and although Weiss knows about it, she doesn't know who the employees are, or what jobs Yang has them carry out…to be honest, I don't know most of those details either. The lack of information is for our own protection, of course. Since if we were ever to be interrogated, our information would be quite lacking. Yang keeps the burden of proof in the form of detailed documents. I could access them at any time."

"I'm kind of afraid to ask…but what do these people do?" Ruby began, finding herself shifting from one foot to the other. "Or, I guess maybe I don't want to know that. More like, what do you want them to do?"

"Intel came in from one of my…personal scouts…" Blake began loosely. "A mole I have planted in the White Fang to keep an eye on anything too unsavory. Recently, they've been at a low boil, I can only guess as to why. Naturally, it's neither my job, nor my concern anymore if the governments can't keep them in line. They may have switched to a less violent leader, but, the man is just methodical. He's not a pacifist. If he had a good reason, or what he thought to be one anyway, he'd still lash out, same as Adam."

"Yeah, but I see White Fang all the time in my travels. They're not the nicest of people, but they're not crazy…" Ruby paused, frowning. "Well…at least not anymore, not the ones I see, anyway."

"They're also more independent now. Anyway, my public statement on the matter remains the same. If they continue to act peacefully and abstain from crime, the White Fang should be allowed to prosper and unite Faunus and human relations Remnant wide." Blake continued. "On a personal level, though, my stance is different. I'm concerned, not only over the leadership, but the group. They haven't completely changed, I know that for a fact."

"So, what's really bugging you?" Ruby pressed. "I know that look of yours anywhere. If you were in a position to go sneaking around, you totally would. I'm not the only stubborn one of our group."

"That's true..." Blake said with a knowing smile. It fell soon after though.

"So, what do you think they're up to?" Ruby asked then.

"There is reason to believe that I've caught their attention…" Blake replied, though she was unsure, it wasn't a game she was about to play. "No one talks about it, but, Weiss's mom wasn't the only one they killed in the attack that night. She was a few months pregnant with a son at the time…back then, women weren't known to hold any real power in Atlas. With only daughters, it was speculated that Wilson would have to look outside the bloodline…but a son? That changed things. The White Fang knew he would be slated to overtake the SDC, and they refused to allow that."

"But Weiss never said anything about a little brother."

"I don't think she knows." Blake murmured softly. "Wilson keeps a lot of things away from Weiss to try and protect her…I wouldn't have known either, if I didn't go digging around in old White Fang reports. I've been doing a lot of that covertly, the things that I've found…I have no words for them."

Ruby's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you want me to see if I can try and find out what they're doing?"

"No…I…shit…I can't begin to guess how Yang feels when I pass down orders like this…there are some things about the SDC, about the security division she never wanted you to know about." Blake promised herself, she would never forget that. "…but, I'm not willing to take risks, either." She handed Ruby a piece of paper, a chunk of ripped documents listing the names and ranks of the White Fang members involved in the attack on the Schnee manor, all those years ago. "I want these people found, I want them executed, and I want it done quietly, Ruby. Do you understand me?"

"I can't give out an order like that!" Ruby protested, as if holding the torn and dusty document would burn her. "It's just crazy…and besides, that happened years ago."

"Faunus or not, lines were crossed…" Blake said. "I can't make excuses for murderers. These are high ranking members, Ruby. People who still continue to do damage to this day. They need to be brought down…I thought…I thought I could just continue my life without thinking about that past…but that past is here…it's done damage that no-one can undo. Until they're gone, a lot of problems in this house can't be put to rest…the White Fang is more than a threat, it's a promise to destroy everything I have ever come to love."

"Revenge isn't the answer…"

"Which is why I'm giving the order without Wilson or Weiss involved." Blake said slowly. "Because revenge is wrong, and if left to them, that's exactly what this would be. Some of these people were my friends….some of them…raised me after my parents were killed…" This wasn't an easy assignment to give. "That's why I tried to just forget about the White Fang…I hoped maybe, they would forget about me too…but, having a Faunus slated to take the SDC is a major slap in the fact to a lot of people…human and Faunus alike."

"Yeah, maybe…but we're going to do better." Ruby said with such conviction, it was impossible to believe otherwise. "It's not the same as before."

"When I came across these documents the first time, my father became very angry with me. He said they were dangerous. I don't pretend to remember everything from back then, I was just a child…but one thing I know for sure was that Weiss and I were both raised amongst that violence. It…hurt her….it hurt me…and I refuse to let that selfsame violence hurt my cubs. I'm going to give you a list of subordinates, and it's with a heavy heart that you'll pass down execution orders to them, just like Yang would."

"But, I'm not Yang…and I don't agree with it."

"You don't have to agree, Ruby. I certainly don't. Honestly, this is something I should have done a long time ago." Blake said, hands resting on her belly. "The destructive tendencies of the White Fang needs to end, or the people I care about will never be safe."


"I feel as though this is starting to become an imposition." Pyrrha replied, watching as Ruby one handedly guided the twins through a round of fights. They were lasting a little longer, but not long enough. "You take so much time out of your day to ensure they maintain their training."

"I need the distraction." Weiss replied, drinking from her water bottle and observing the rate at which the sibling were tossed around the mats. "Ruby probably does too, she doesn't complain about it very much, but being benched is hard on her. She hates paperwork, and being locked up in the house."

"Too bad her scythe doesn't allow her to fight one handed. If she could find someone else to go with her, she could at least inspect the safer mines nearest Atlas."

Weiss let out a small sounding negative. "The problem is less about her arm, more about her spirit…that injury runs deeper than the surface."

Pyrrha wondered that, the same way she had wondered about everything as of late. Trying desperately to compartmentalize the small details that really bothered her. "To be fair, I think the same thing can be said for all of us at one point or another. I am concerned though, Ruby's the exact sort of mentality I don't want the girls harboring. Feeling as if you're trapped in your own home is no way to live."

"She's not going to be herself again until we can turn her loose in the field, that's just the way it is. I tried thinking of other ways to keep Ruby busy, but her heart isn't in any of that. She was born and raised to slay Grimm. I rarely say people have a calling, that sort of thing is laughable at best…but then, Ruby herself is a laughable person in many respects." Weiss said thoughtfully. "I would never have believed it, if I didn't know her the way that I do."

"The whole matter is still unnerving." Pyrrha told her. "I've often found conformity to be the best policy, if only because it leads to least resistances over all. I understand that it tends to be a broad generalization at best, but I still feel as though it merits consideration. Watching Ruby struggle so much reminds me of the dangers of being a huntress, and why I rarely go out to slay Grimm anymore."

"Naturally, I would agree with you. You and I are are not always the most adaptable people, but we have less to worry about. To us, there are other methods to achieve our goals. The problem is, to Ruby conforming is the same as giving up. There is no other method. She will either succeed, or she will fail."

"I suppose there is that, too."

"On another note, your girls are serious about their training. If they intend to keep up the pace, they need a structured training environment I can't provide from long distances. You should consider moving to Atlas."

"Minstrel is our home."

"Home is what you make of it, but if you are loathe to leave it, start considering your options." Weiss shot back without hesitation. "Find them a strict enough fencing teacher to continue drilling them into the ground. We both know you could start truly training them with intent to kill Grimm, but deep down, you don't want to do that."

"I can't bring myself to train them, not while knowing what's out there."

Weiss simply nodded, she could at least understand that. "If you can't train them by hand, then the least you can do is support them by finding someone who will. At the very least, get Nora and Ren to train them properly."