The moon was full as Adam cast his mask aside. What an idiot he had been, the attack on Haven was in shambles. He had been stupid to think that trying to repeat Beacon would end well. Blake had brought her own forces, oh how the roles had reversed. Once he had been her teacher, rallying Faunus to their cause. It seemed she had gotten rather good at that when he wasn't looking. He picked out a side-path down the mountain, he couldn't go back to the White Fang. They would never trust him again, his own people would rather see him hang for trying to kill them all.

The Faunus stumbled to a stop leaning against a tree. He was on his own now, no White Fang, no Blake, Hazel was gone to who knows where. Adam walked down deep into Mistral, he had nothing left. Home was the only place where he could go. His little worn down dusty flat, one he was so rarely in, that almost never got cleaned. Surprised that he didn't have squatters yet he stumbled inside. Bit by bit he discarded his clothes and looked into a mirror mounted upon the wall.

SDC. The brand over his eye, he still remembered the day he got it. Filthy humans holding down a smaller child who screamed and scrambled to get away. The burning as they pressed the glowing prod on his face, his eye. The pain had forced him to black out and once he woke the hell it had unleashed … So many of his people were moved by his story and at one time it had motivated him to make sure that another Faunus never had to go through what he had. When had that gotten lost?

He walked across the dusty floor to the small fridge. It was unsurprisingly empty bar the two beer bottles, he didn't even remember putting them there but pulled one out anyway. Thankfully it wasn't the kind of thing that went bad quickly. He sat heavily into a rickety wooden chair. Part of him just ached to sleep. That maybe it would be better in the morning, that he'd be able to think clearly in the morning.

Adam took a long pull from the brown glass bottle, the bitter drink barely touching his tongue. What did he even care about anymore? He had lost sight of his goal to help the Faunus and betrayed them. Hazel's words echoed his ears, killing Sienna had been a mistake. Now Ghira was back and taking over. Maybe that was for the best, it had been well over a year since the Fall of Beacon and nothing had changed. He looked back up into the mirror.

Nothing had changed. He hadn't accomplished anything since Beacon, the Faunus were still oppressed. If anything he had made matters worse, not better. Blake had done a better job then he had in the space of a few months, rather then the years he had tried to make a difference. Violence and beget yet more violence. The end result of which had been his failure.

Adam finished his beer and stumbled toward the dusty bed. He was sore and tired and had lots to figure out.

Adam adjusted his hood for the tenth time, he had decided against wearing anything on his face. He was sulking in the corner of Lil' Miss Malachites bar. He had watched Hazel come and go, choosing to not get involved with huge man. Now he was watching a much more interesting event, Neo and Cinder fighting. When they took it outside he followed watching Cinder unleash a small amount of the Maiden powers. As Neo surrendered he stepped out of the shadows. "Your plan didn't go well either."

"Adam," Cinder said summoning a sword.

"Relax, I am not here to fight," Adam said calmly; like Cinder he had moved away from his signature clothing to something more low key. Simple jeans, sweater and cloak.

"Then why are you here?" Cinder asked.

"I don't have a purpose anymore, more so I am curious as you what your plan is now," Adam replied, moving to lean against a wooden post.

"Salem has left me behind. She won't take me back till I have the Relic. But Ruby took my eye, she has the Relic. She has taken everything from me, worse Ozpin is alive. I am going to kill both of them," Cinder said, dispelling her sword and clenching her fist. "I am going to bring just as much pain to their lives as they have to mine. They are even still here, in this city."

Adam couldn't help it; he laughed. "Did you hear that Raven has pulled out of the city? That the Branwen tribe is making moves to merge with the Mabino. Something big has happened to her, if she is chickening out like this."

Cinder pursed her lips, remembering her visit to the vault of the Relic of Knowledge. How Ozpin had sucked the very magic out of the place. Had he reclaimed the Spring Maiden powers? Was that why Raven was falling back to the Mabino with her tribe? If so that made attacking Ozpin straight up to be a stupid decision. Cinder huffed. "He probably took the Spring Maiden powers from her. Making him at least as powerful as I am."

"You're going to need help." Adam moved away from the wall. "And I need something to do."

"Why would I need your help?" Cinder snapped. Neo gave her an unimpressed look.

"Do you know anything about this city? There is no telling how long they will stay here, how are you going to feed yourself?" Adam said with a sneer.

Cinder scowled but answered, "Ruby is pregnant, it's safe to say they won't leave the city till she gives birth at the earliest."

Adam nodded, memories of escorting pregnant Faunus from the villages to the cities to give birth made a smile creep onto his lips. Those had been nice missions, protecting his people in a different way. "That would be the smart thing for them to do. So what you've got five or more months before that happens. I remember seeing her when we arrived, she didn't look like she was gonna be having a kid anytime soon."

Cinder crossed her arms. Waiting, always waiting she hated waiting but Ruby was to well protected right now. She would have to wait till they left the city. She however didn't have any ideas for what to do in the meantime. "What are you suggesting Adam?"

"It's not like you can go out in public with that arm now," Adam replied with a hint of a snarl, he wasn't surprised by Cinder's expression. He felt that talking with Cinder was akin to talking to a brick wall. "That means Neo and I will need to do the dirty work of making Lien. Unless you want to starve to death?"

Neo smiled and nodded but Cinder asked, "Why are you even here? Why do you care?"

"I want to be in the thick of things, I want to understand what is really going on." The more he spoke to her, the more Adam thought this was a good idea. What better way to keep an eye on what was going on, beyond the Faunus, beyond the humans. No this way he had a direct like to half of this other war going on that could kill everyone regardless if they were Faunus or human. He was putting himself in the perfect place to watch everything.

He hated the idea of working with humans, especially with what they did to him. The hatred he harbored for them would never truly dissipate. The scars physically and mentally ran too deep, but he'd entertain it for now.