A/N: Been a while since I made one of these, sorry if my uploads for Indomitable are little off track, my shifts at work make it difficult to upload at the usual times. Anywho, Review:

To Tvirus111: Zorah's mental health is a mess, I agree. Thank you for reading as always!

Enjoy

Chapter 51 - Revelation

I was going to furrowly enjoy this moment. Like the punchline to a long-awaited joke plotted for days on end coming to its totality. With a pleasant grin and an adorable mute beside me, I and Azure stood before the door to where a certain leader, that's stretching it, of a Haven team resided.

"'Please don't do something needlessly reck - oh who am I kidding, you will'" Azure sighed as I patted her head.

"Look who's learning," I hummed as her hand brushed mine off. "Trust me, we got this... he's had all the time to think about what he's done so I'd like to think I also had this all planned out in my head by now."

"'That's what worries me'" Her tail slumped before pushing the door open to reveal the matching boy within sat by his desk working. Upon spotting us he frowned a little guilty. "'Sorry for making you wait, Cobalt, classes took longer than expected'"

His whole aura had shifted entirely, his emotions were clear and concise, unlike previous encounters. "Ah, hi again Azure... Zorah." Was that a subtle hint of contempt? Interesting...

Tucking my hands into my pockets I huffed. "Alright, let's just get this over with - what, in Eve's name, were you thinking?" He flinched at how... exhausted my tone was. "Not only falling victim to a Nightmare but worst of all? Agreeing with it?"

I felt Azure jab my side but Cobalt combed his hair, turning around on his chair with his hands together. "...can you blame me? It kept telling me all these stupid lies that felt so tangible - then... I heard from Professor Yin and Dad that... Nightmares are masters of deception, not unless you're a freakin' living lie detector or have been previously bonded with one yourself," He chuckled hollowly. "Who the hell wants one of those parasites in their head?"

"Hey! I resent that!" Easy Echo. "Hmph, jerk."

"'Why did you though? Was this... about me?'" Azure inquired with a strangely neutral face, guess she's learned to hold a poker face or had I just never realized this myself?

"Yes... it was," He admitted, lifting his head shamefully. His finger was tapping against his hand nervously. "I should've seen it, when you ran away... I hated myself... I hated that all this time I've been hurting you day-after-day like some delusional person, I even lashed out at the people who've been like a family to you, who've been by your side when I should I have done that years ago!"

Honesty. Pure honesty spilled from his words and in his tears, Azure wasn't moving and refused to drop the bemused expression of hers, but her ears were quivering gently. "I have... no right to call you my sister... hehe, you've grown so much that it hurts..." He couldn't wipe away his tears. "...I'm... I'm so sorry... everything I've done can't be taken back, but when you leave... I'll happy for you," He held his head high with a forced smile. "Because you're amazing-"

*Thump*

Azure's fist knocked him across the forehead, snapping him from his ramblings as I chuffed. Her eyes regained a glow I've seen since day one, and a tiny smile of gratitude as she silently chuckled, tilting her head. "'You have no idea how much I want to beat the stupid out of you...'" She reached around with just her right hand, pulling his head down into her shoulder. 'Thin ice, that's all you get because nothing you can say right now can undo what you've put me through, and I won't ever truly forgive you... but you're still my big brother, Cobalt'

His face was buried into her shoulder, both arms around her tightly as she smiled warily, patting his back. Then he pulled away, seeing the stains he left on her shirt. "Sorry," His voice was hoarse as he pulled back, wiping his eyes. "Dammit... I feel like an idiot still."

Sighing out her nose Azure turned to me once their little moment together concluded. "'I could punch it out of you if you want? But, it's not just me you need to apologize to, Cobalt.'"

"I know..." Turning to me I pushed off the wall I leaned on to stare silently into his eyes. "Zorah, I... sorry for shooting you, and... e-everything else, I boasted about what it means to be a Huntsman, and not only did I disrespect you and Myst I-I dared to insult your mother, i-if you don't forgive me I understand." He bowed his head, and that rush of notification enveloped me.

"Ah... feels good be right," Smacking my lips I waved off his concerns nonchalantly. "Eh, you've suffered your end, and made up with Azure as I told you to, but-" His rising hope ceased once I held my glare. "As she said, thin ice, and unlike Azure, I won't let your next slip-up go, crystal?"

"I'll eat his soul if he does." Noted, Echo. "Score."

"T-transparently,"

"Wonderful!" I clapped and spun around, "Well, I've got a lecture with Professor Ozpin so I'll seeya this afternoon, Azure."

She smiled lightly and nodded. "'Seeya then, Zorah, and thank you.'"

What did I do? Shrugging I left the two to reconnect.

[Azure's POV]

To say today was longer than most would be an understatement. I had to sit through another of Professor Port's lectures, he's... something, then there's Oobleck, I like his lessons so that was probably the only one that went by like lightning. Of course, taking care of Shiri also comes next which is fine, I wouldn't like the feeling of being a parent if I didn't enjoy it.

I smiled at the thought again before knocking on the door belonging to Team RWBY. 'Sorry for the wait, parental obligations and all that' I waved once inside, spotting all the girls of RWBY, Pyrrha, and Nora, then Myst alongside Ryuko who was the first to give a short wave, Echo was here too, sat on the carpet.

"Hi, Azure!" Ruby greeted me with stars in her eyes. "Are you ready for is perhaps the greatest sleepover of all time!?"

'Didn't we have something similar to this when we arrived at Beacon?' I inquired before my note was stolen by the silver-eyed girl as she blew a raspberry.

"That was the awkward 'getting to know people' stuff, this is a friendship thing now!" She was very adamant about that part it seems. It would be a nice change of pace being with only the girls.

"Besides, now we can talk behind the guys' backs without them listening in, so no harm," Yang decreed with a grin until Blake's hand came down from her bunch to 'thwack' Yang on the head. "Ow!"

"Of course, that was your intention with this..." Weiss pressed her fingers to her temple with a scoff, though the redhead behind her grinned, tilting the heiress side-to-side.

"What's wrong with a little fun, lighten' up~" Nora teased until Weiss shrugged off her hands, shaking her head as I sat down beside Ruby on Weiss' bed, Nora somehow appearing in the suspended on above us. "Well, I for one came prepared!" She beamed while holding out... huh?

"A part of me wants to question how long you've kept that jar of sap and the rest really doesn't want that answer, Thor." Myst mused, leaning back with her hands behind her head.

"It's only been a few weeks..." Nora dismissed casually while slurping a small amount to test it, and from what my nose picked up I don't think I need to see her reaction. "E-erm, a little saturated."

"Bleh!" "Gross...!" "Nora!"

I smiled awkwardly neck to Ruby as she procured a box of her own homemade cookies with a small shake. "Passing that gross topic - I have something much better!" The shift to something that I could tell was eatable while Nora rushed to the bathroom, Ruby displayed her work. "I had some extra thanks to Zorah, the best snack ever made."

"What about Strawberries?" Ryuko pipped up from her spot, seeing Ruby's finger curl back into her palm.

"Ahem, second best." Adjusting her declaration she offered them to us, myself happily biting it down in one fell swoop. Just the right amount of sugar too, perfect. "Hey, can you bake, Ryuko?"

The ravenette blinked back at Ruby, processing what she said with an awkward smile. "U-um, probably not a good idea, Rubes, really... really not a good idea."

"She can't cook," Echo chimed in as said girl blushed a little with her fist clenched as poorly as her wavy smile.

"I wouldn't say I'm clueless-" She attempted to defend until Echo added with a knowing look, poking her wing against the girl's leg.

"You thought that if you cracked an egg open a baby chick would pop out," That little nugget of information caused everyone to erupt with laughter, my own smile hidden for Ryuko's sake whole tucked her head behind her legs with a groan, steam rising from her head.

"I TOLD YOU NEVER TO BRING THAT UP!"

"And I never listen." Echo shrugged, chopping down on her cookie with a sigh. "Made with the heart of a sweet girl and the edge of an idiot, perfection." She smacked her lips.

"You really seem to know a lot 'bout Whitey, never really asked how you two met." Myst's point was true, I don't think we ever heard how only that they were both around the same time Zorah ran from his life twisted by Tex at the time.

Echo flinched and looked up at Myst for a solid minute, turning to look down at her hands. "Honesty? I can't really remember, a lot of things feel like blurs and gaps before I met him and the Old Man - heh, call it fate or what-not but Zorah's helped me feel... human." What did she mean by that?

'Did you lose your memories before then?' I asked, seeing her pause again to remanice.

"I think so, I dunno - again, all blurs - but that doesn't matter to me, who I am now is all I care about, Zorah, the Old Man, Ryuko, they're my family, you guys too," The bat grinned sheepishly.

Pyrrha sat forward, clearing her throat as I got comfortable. "Is this why you're... intimate with him?" Even she could suppress the embarrassment at the implications. "J-just that you seem to enjoy teasing him often in very forward ways."

Echo just blinked then smiled stupidly. "Oh trust me, I've done worse - hehehe, to a few people, the Twins included, think we're more than just, Good Friends, if ya catch my drift." That little revelation soon made the room silent with various reactions of flustered, none more than myself. "Not that I'd mind the idea, fufufu - just joking... probably." Her expression was impossible to read.

"TMI, TMI!" Nora warned from her return from the bathroom, crossing her arms into an 'X' as Echo cackled like a madwoman. Meanwhile, I felt my head fall back to a short while ago...

"Ngh!" I once more fell onto my ass only for something to pin my body against the floor, a blade drawn to my chest with a pair of eyes piercing my own. I flopped back. I lost again...

"Dead, spectacularly this time," My weak fist came up to tap against Zorah's cheek while he pushed up and held out his hand for me. "You can't expect all Nightmares to play fair, they'll use the shadows similar to what Echo, and in turn, I can do."

He helped me up while continuing his lecture, "They'll target anyone close to us so isolating and staying on guard is all we can do, and since Light Dust isn't exactly cheap we can't use it to ward off our own shadows." He held out the crystal he used to protect me and my family before, it only lost a small chunk but it was apparent.

"'But that's the thing, how can I kill a Nightmare?'" No matter how long I boggled my mind for an answer I still felt I was stuck in the same loop. Looking down at Shooting Star, it was everything to me, it was my partner before him and now... it had a limit. My brow creased. "'You said it yourself, Nightmares can only be killed by their own Host, Divine magic, and/or themselves, and I doubt Chaser is willing to help without a price.'"

For a while, Zorah just stood and stared at me, I honestly thought he didn't hear me at all until he drew Night Sky, giving it a few test swings until its tip was poking against Shooting Star with an odd chime. "We'll kill him; Dead-Eye, Tex, Vall, their Master - I'll wipe them off the face of Remnant," His face was unnaturally calm but a fire like no other scorched his ember orbs. "I'll kill every last one - so don't worry about how just... trust me."

I blinked, clutching my bow tightly. Nice words won't change anything but when has Zorah ever really done anything he couldn't do? I gave a smirk and nod, flicking Night Sky from my bow, expanding it into a spear again. I felt exhausted and sore but a Nightmare wouldn't care, so neither will I.

Why did that come to me now? "-hey, you still there, Wolfie?" Myst's raised tone shot me out of my trance as I nodded quickly. Then I saw her sly smile. "Did the little Bat upset you?"

"Huh?" I shook my head but now most eyes were on me as I shifted under their gazes. Why were they looking at me?

"Ah-" Echo clicked her fingers, the dawning realization on her face. "-forgot, you like him, whoops."

"Nope, we've been down this road yesterday - she's as dense as Zorah." Myst pointed out, once more leaving me in the dark as to what they were insinuating.

"What did you talk about?" Even Blake was curious, looking away from her book.

Myst just smiled, "That our cute mute here is probably head-over-heels for our tall, dark, and handsome teammate, more specifically, her teammate,"

...

...

"WHAT!?" Had my vocal cords not been damaged I might have shrieked my reply but instead coughing was all that came out of me alongside the rising blood pressure in my face at Myst's assumption of me liking - I-I mean it's not that I - I-I... 'B-but I-I s-said I-'

"Nope, she's got a point," Yang wasn't helping, playing with one of her curls. "You of all people hang around him a lot, and he likes that, even I can see that." But that can mean a lot of things.

'He's my best friend, my first real friend in years since I abandoned my family... I don't want to lose him' My words caused a stir in the air, and even Ruby's hand rubbed my shoulder, Pyrrha's too as I sighed, holding my head down as I wrote out my next reply. 'It was only me and Shooting Star, I kept moving across Anima and beyond, just... me'

"While having a friend you can rely on to that degree is great, don't you think something's changed?" Weiss too though she kept her voice low. "It is entirely your choice but let me ask, and think of this furrowly, who is Zorah to you?"

"Who he is to me...?" I've been given a variant of this question before, but now that the situation has changed what else is there to say? Zorah was an odd person, certainly nice once you get to know him, and his ego can be a little grating if you don't at least understand where he's coming from, he's coping with many mental issues.

"So what? You're still Azure," Zorah poked his finger to her forehead this time, leaning back on his chair. "Same annoyingly kind Faunus that's been here beside me since I got to Beacon, who isn't afraid to face whatever comes her way, and who would fight, even without an aura. You've always been this way, you never needed some shiny shield to prove that."

"'Why...?'" Azure asked.

Zorah laughed once. "I feel that's my question, but to put it in your vernacular... I... care about you, so... you know, seeing you upset about something makes me feel... angry at myself because I don't know what I should do."

-{-

This sweet response was followed by Azure gasping from shock as she nearly fell backward, Zorah having placed his head against her chest, arms wrapped around her back tightly as he trembled against her. He wanted to feel his Mom's arms wrap around him safely again, he'd give up everything he had just for one last chance to feel safe in her arms, to hear her whisper gently in his ear again, to be able to feel weak...

Azure held him close, not needing to doing anything other than ghost a hand through his hair gently as he held onto her tightly, a smile playing at her lips. "I'm right here, Zorah, I'll always be here."

-{-

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" A sudden, ear-piercing growl thundered to life, snapping all pairs of eyes to the origin of the vocal outburst.

With wide, star-struck eyes, Azure followed the streak of silver as it tore down, splitting crimson before her eyes as the hands were pulled away from her chest, freeing her from that state of stasis, back pressed to the far side of the cage alongside Shiri. Her shaky, ocean-blue eyes never once left the single, glowering orange iris as it flew past them, shoving the Fang member down into the dirt.

My chest twisted against me as my face became hotter. Zorah's trained with me talked and shared his innermost fears with me. He's bottled up so much over the years but he trusted me and in turn, I did without an ounce of suspicion. I even kissed his cheek once so what's to say I've not been acting on these feelings for a while now?

Not that it matters, but it's not like he's bad looking either, his hair's a soft shade of white that contrasted greatly with his eyes that almost appeared to be embers when compared to my ocean blue. And his smile, his real one was- My eyes widened once I put my notepad down. '...I think I do...'

"Do what?" Pyrrha ushered me to write out the whole truth much to my own head's chagrin, but... what else was left to hide?

With a tiny, stupid smile I wrote further. 'I think I do like him' I dunno about the other word, maybe, but this was already something I wasn't prepared for. Not once had I felt any form of attraction toward someone else. I can easily tell you who was handsome or was my type but none ever really had that feeling similar to an aura, this invisible wave of comfort that varied greatly from paternal affection.

"Aw, that's cute~!" Ruby hugged me from the side with a giggle, again, another person who found the idea of romance to be fun to watch from the sidelines. But her sentiment helped me come to relax again, a weight shifting from my back as I rested my head on her shoulder. "Huh, never thought I'd be hugging someone who's crushing on my brother."

"Never thought anyone would crush on that recluse, but I've learned to live with a lot of weird things, like Nora." Yang pointed lazily to the ginger who was... eating from that awful jar of sap, ugh.

Sighing, I held out my pad with a wary look of concern. 'Dumb question, but I think it's obvious I don't know if he even remotely feels the same way'

"Fufufu-" Echo rubbed under her nose, looking mighty pleased with herself. "-Well then, I guess it's Aunt Echo's time to-"

*Knock-Knock-Knock*

"Huh, hold that thought," Yang hopped toward the door and swung it open, only for her eyes alongside Echo's to dilate.

"Oh shit." Echo froze up with a squeak.

"Duck." A familiar voice tickled my ears before Yang did as the voice commanded, evading the folded chair as it spun through the air and struck Echo straight between the eyes, knocking the bat onto the floor with a cry. To our stupefied shock, the person stomping into the room with a glare and faint blush was... Zorah?

"You dare, you gave your fucking word you little rat!" He seethed at Echo who paled in fright at the sight of Zorah, sweating nervously. He then grinned slightly like a maniac. "You know you can't go back on that! You're screwed if you do!" His scary face was out. "Be lucky I didn't throw Night Sky at your thick head!"

"Ahahaha, knew a part of my body was attractive-" Her humor was cut thin by the folded furniture rising above her. Echo grabbed the ill Nora as a meatshield. "C-Come on, it was just a joke!" She backtracked poorly while Zorah ran his hand through his hair again, glaring down at his best friend. "I won't say it, I promise - protect me, Nora!"

"Bleh..." She was paler than Ruby, and she's naturally pale.

"...you're insufferable," He huffed then turned and held out his hand. "Don't you start, Ryuko."

She held her hands up. "Hey, I'm not poking the bear - even if it already has a stick up its ass."

"Funny aren't you?" He cooed dully. "Have your secrets kept by this gremlin and you tell me how to feel safe."

"Sure, besides better than your lack of humor." She retorted until he laughed once sardonically and turned to leave.

"Yang, you have my permission to kick Echo's ass if she tries anything," And then Ren passed by the door, looking confused by what he saw. "Don't you start-"

"Zorah, are you-"

"Yes-yes, I'm just tying up loose ends, honestly." With that he grumbled as he shut the door sharply, leaving us all in a strange lapse of silence as Echo splayed her body out like a star.

"Zorah's real temperamental about his feelings - doubt he really knows how to openly show it," She smiled with her eyes closed. "Heh, if I'm honest with you, Pyrrha, I probably do love him in that way but where I'm at is more than fine with me, he's got his own life to live without me throwing a wrench into it." While I felt a strange sense of relief, probably because I... yeah, I felt I had to ask.

"'But if you love him then...?'" What was the right way to word this? Although the one eye cracked open Echo sat up with her hands between her legs.

"Hey, this is about you, the love-sick puppy, what you want to do with him and where is none of my concern," She replied with that lewd smile of hers that left my face burning and my heart exploding at the implications as I curled up and flopped against Ruby's side with a whine, herself patting my back as the girls snickered or berated the girl for her wording. I wish to die now.

'Can we please stop?' This was killing me from the inside out. But... looking down at my knees I felt my chest squeeze even tighter. Does he even see me that way? I mean, I know he cares a lot without really showing it but what if how I feel isn't reciprocated? Zorah's been through so much heartache so would including me only make things worse?

I curled up tighter until Ryuko flicked my forehead, scooting up to the edge of Weiss' bed to stare at me intensely as though I were an idiot. "Look, I don't know a whole lot about this stuff but... better to just tell him than to wait until it's no longer an option, even if it's difficult," Ryuko frowned, "He's an idiot that has no sense in safety, so who knows, maybe you hooking up with him will get that thick skull of his to realize there's more to being some flashy Huntsman than fighting, I dunno."

"What, like you and Sen?" Yang teased, the result quirked mine and Pyrrha's brows while Ryuko's face slowly heated up, spinning around to yell back at Yang's shit-eating grin.

"LIKE HELL IT IS!" She growled, sputtering nonsense in a feeble attempt to retort. "H-he's not - I-I d-don't - u-um it's..." She just fell back beside Echo, covering her eyes with an arm while her face remained red. "Leave me alone~ As if I'd actually like that idiot..." I didn't need to be like Echo or Zorah to tell she was lying, after all, they all bullied me into a corner about my so-and-so crush.

"I think I understand what you meant by 'lively' now Ruby," Blake spoke up from her bed, a tiny smirk on her face as the ravenette giggled and held out a thumb to her monotone teammate.

"Never doubt the awesomeness that is your leader!" Ruby grinned ear-to-ear, patting her chest. "I told you so, Weiss."

The Heiress just huffed but not once had she chose to ignore the banter. "I never said I disagreed, to begin with, just that you are still very childish." She liked it.

Ruby pouted. "Even though you're still here..."

"This has been rather exciting." Pyrrha was a sucker for romance so that's a given, though with how she looks at Jaune, I wonder...

"Well!" Myst startled me as she wrapped her arm over my back with a grin, slipping out cards she hid under her shirt. "Mushy romance aside - who's up for a game of Blackjack? Promise I won't con you out of your Lien, hehehe."

"She's going to con us," Echo pointed out cheekily. "Eh, it's Zorah's money anyway, no skin off my nose!"

While the rest of our night got underway I kept my eyes to the moonlight through the window, my mind continued to wander to that possibility, no matter how difficult it could be. Would it really be so bad to... think of us like that? To like him that way? "Maybe... I hope."

To Be Continued...

Bonus - Aching Heart

[Azure's POV]

"What do I do~oo~oo~!" I was falling apart at the seams and I couldn't do a thing about it. Looking over my shoulder I had to resist the urge to blush any harder than before.

I had gotten back early from last night's sleepover with the girls, and after Myst had pocketed most of our Lien, bar mine. I arrived back at our dorm to get washed up and thus I have come to my stupid school-girl predicament. Eros was... somewhere, leaving me to sit awkwardly on my bed with Zorah sleeping in a few feet away from me.

This was common on the rare days where he overworked to get a free period some days, if I'm honest, for a guy who prides himself on staying in peak condition he sure loved to sleep in, it was kinda cut - graaaaah, stooop~!

Clutching my ears I tried to shut out all noise there was but again, futile since I have two sets of ears, stupid Faunus biology. Flopping my arms in defeat I leaned over my shoulder to stare over at my totally not-good-looking crush. "I'm hopeless, why did I agree to talk about this last night, I'd rather lose my Lien than this." Now my head was plagued with the afterthoughts.

Letting my girly thoughts take over my motor functions I now stood before Zorah. He had quite the angle today, I swear he's possessed sometimes. He had his legs in an odd angle under the covers, one arm draped over the edge of the bed with left above his head turned to the side, mouth ajar and hair a complete mess as always. Again, cute.

I contemplated turning and leaving him alone but I just kept staring. I've seen him wake up before in a sweaty fit during our earlier days at Beacon but now he slept with a mellow form, he did have episodes but they weren't as extreme.

Now closer to his person I just stared at his plain-looking face. That wasn't a bad thing, compared to the countless people I've seen it's hard to spot the ordinary, I mean, take away my ears and tail and I'm just your everyday person. His light white, messy hair, how it shined in the light, and marking around his right eye was certainly memorable.

As I've stated, he was kinda cute, credibly handsome. He wasn't your stereotype, drop-dead handsome, but his features were a good mediator between sharp looks and a soft, friendly face - if his personality didn't scare you away. Then there were his eyes, even though they were concealed, the sharp ember crossing with my blue felt right.

All these features accumulated in good looks that would only improve in years to come. There was another thing my mind wandered to, he was jacked, not stupidly buff, sorta like me, toned in all the right places, defined muscles and while I never caught a glimpse entirely, I'd imagine his chest and abs fell under the same category.

Shaking my head I patted my redden face again. Funny, the first friend I've ever truly had in years and was the first to catch my eye the most. My heart felt it was going to explode-

"Why are you lurking over me?" If I could scream I'd have flown through the roof as I stumbled back from the one, sleepy eye staring back at me, my heart practically soared. "Ugh, mornin' I guess..."

"'S-sorry, I-I was g-going to wake y-you but I d-didn't think you'd l-like that.'" Stay calm or he'll see through it and know you were sizing up his features like some internet stalker.

Zorah sat up and I think I felt something run down my nose as his blanket fell down slightly, revealing his lightly scarred but otherwise... really appealing torso - Oh My God what is happening to me!? I quickly turned away to hide my stupid look from his eyes. "I hate you Echo! I hate you Myst! I hate all of you for making me think like this!"

"Uh-huh, good call - you... good? Seem jumpy," He murmured in his daze before the covers shifted and I heard him move so I immediately shuffled away toward the kitchen like a rusty machine.

"'I-I'll go m-make t-tea!'" Without a moment to hear his reply I shot toward the door and closed it behind me, slumping down onto the floor once my heart stopped beating through my ribs, head thudding against the wood. "I gotta stop thinking about this, it hurts my brain~"

End

With a little bullying from the girls Azure's come to a crossroads with her partner, just what will things pan out with so much kept locked away? I hope you enjoyed, appreciate the support as always, seeya in the next chapter Hunters!

Next Chapter: Soulbound

Coco declares war on Zorah, he happily accepts and Azure alongside Fox are dragged along for the ride. Who will best who? The unstoppable duo of Team MAZE or the top pair of Second Years from Team CFVY?