A few people said how unrealistic it is for the SDC to have all their eggs in one basket and thus case a dust shortage in Atlas because one factory was attacked. I'm not sure if those people noticed Winter and Roman literally talking about that and Winter saying that no, it's not the only factory and this won't completely mess up the SDC and all dust, but that it will obviously still have some effect on it. Because even if you have four other factories in Atlas, losing a whole fifth of your production is still a big thing on a nationwide scale.

Given the nature of Remnant as "one big city that's protected while Grimm rampage everywhere else…" it would even make sense not to expand or spread out your production. How can you when safe land is no doubt at an extreme premium? The SDC is rich but being rich doesn't mean being frivolous with money – and Jacques Schnee doesn't seem like someone to waste.

Also, we know from canon conversations that Remnant is suffering a shortage of dust when the show starts, so losing even one factory of many in the heartlands of the SDC's production powerbase is going to have an effect.

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 37

The auditorium was filled with students looking up at him expectantly. Public speaking hadn't been his thing even before he'd landed a job as a teacher, and that certainly hadn't changed since. The fact it wasn't his first time didn't help as much as it ought to have, and the age-old advice of `imagine them naked` didn't make him feel any less tense, especially with Yang, Pyrrha, Nora and Blake in the front row. Whoever came up with that advice needed to be shot.

If there was anything that made it easier, it was the simple knowledge that there was worse to come in Atlas, not only in terms of speaking but the enemies they'd be dealing with. Blocking out fear of one thing with bigger fear of another didn't feel healthy, but it sure worked.

"Students." His voice carried, transmitted from the mic in the rostrum to speakers in the opposite corners of the hall. "By now you will have seen the news, and I can confirm that an SDC facility in Atlas has been attacked by the White Fang."

Whispers and murmurs broke out. There were almost certainly some who hadn't somehow seen the news, either training, not watching TV or not interacting with anyone in that time, but most of them had and were clearly anxious.

"I am here to tell you that thanks to the efforts of teachers and students, a similar attack planned on Beacon itself has been thwarted." He paused for effect. "Again. It would appear the White Fang have learned their lesson from attacking us the last time and decided to go for an easier target."

A few laughed and others cheered.

"That's not to say this is good news, obviously, but you shouldn't take it as a sign of strength from the White Fang either. It's desperation. They've failed to make an impact multiple times and lost their previous leader, Sienna Khan. Their new leader – the same who attacked Beacon – needs to show some signs of life and is lashing out at civilian targets to do so."

"Boo!"

"Coward!"

Jaune held his hands out even as the volume increased. He didn't try very hard to stop it, however. Roman's advice was to unite them against the White Fang and whip up a sense of superiority. It felt bad to take advice from someone who had once been rallying White Fang himself but needs must. There was no denying its effectiveness.

Realistically, what else were the White Fang supposed to do? Attacking huntsmen or the military directly was stupid, and even if civilians did work for the SDC, they were hardly undefended. Combat droids, security detail and military hardware would be in full effect. Of course, the student body didn't need to know that, and it was important Adam's reputation didn't grow.

"I know. I know." He quietened them with a laugh. "The actions taken by Adam's White Fang is nothing short of cowardice – and they will be punished for it. Several members of the faculty, including myself, will be leaving for Atlas to reaffirm the bonds between our school and theirs, and to help in dealing with the White Fang. We will not stand idle while they run amok."

"Why?" someone yelled. "They didn't help us!"

Beside him, Winter stiffened.

As accurate and fair as the protest was, he couldn't let it stand. Say something. Anything.

"That's not true," Jaune argued, saying the first thing to cross his mind. "In fact, Atlas provided us with several dormitories and classrooms, including the newly named Ironwood wing of the school."

Raucous laughter burst forth.

The Ironwood Wing was the crashed airship Beacon had stolen. Really more of a donation from Atlas, though taken without much in the way of permission. The mood among the students shifted from offended to amused, several elbowing their friends and grinning. Winter let out a heavy sigh and muttered something under her breath. Well, at least she wasn't angry.

"I've called this seminar to make you all aware of what will be changing. This won't affect your lesson plans as Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port will be taking over Miss Goodwitch's combat class. On a related note…"

He leaned forward, gripping the podium.

"The actions of the White Fang are theirs alone. They are not the responsibility of any and all faunus across Remnant and I have left specific instructions for any acts of racism – whether you believe it justified or not – to be dealt with harshly." His words brought tense silence, even from those who would never do such things. "If you cannot see the reasons for that, then at least understand that the White Fang want you to turn on innocent faunus because it helps sell their twisted narrative and make the White Fang sound like the only option. Do not do their work for them."

Students nodded. Others frowned. With those words, even the more temperamental ones among them would hold off, hopefully. There would be no stopping all of them – you couldn't change ideals with a few words, no matter how much you tried – but he could at least rest assured Bart and Roman would castigate anyone who tried. Bart because he despised such things and Roman just because he didn't want the White Fang getting bolstered in Vale.

"That is all I have to say today other than this. Beacon will stay strong and Beacon will not fall." Jaune slapped a fist against his chest, watching the faces light up. "The White Fang tried once and failed. They've now decided to give up and try Atlas instead, thinking dealing with Remnant's greatest military easier than us."

A few students cheered.

"Little do they realise that Beacon finishes what it starts. That is why we shall be following and putting them down once and for all." Unite the crowd. Turn them against a common enemy. It was easier to inspire common anger toward a hated individual than common empathy. Roman's advice. All of it proving true in front of him. "Adam may have started this war, but we shall be the ones to end it! For Beacon!"

"For Beacon!" they roared as one. "For Beacon!"

/-/

"I've seen military marches with less passion," Winter snarked. "Are you sure you're not turning the students into your own personal army?"

"He's not," Glynda said. "And while I'll agree that holding a speech from a headmaster more akin to a political rally is in poor taste, there's no denying its effectiveness. He doesn't have the time to go slow and assure them all that things are going to be okay. We have to leave within the day."

A dark chuckle came from the corner of the staffroom, drawing their attention, and their ire, to the newest member of their reluctant meeting. Cinder Fall leant back against the back wall, one leg crossed over the other and her one eye closed. Black hair fell in waves over the other, hiding the ruined half of her face from view.

"Something you find amusing, Fall?" Glynda asked.

"But of course," she replied, not opening her eye. "Listening to the two of you try to decipher his plans with such clumsiness is always a delight. It reminds me just how few people are his and my equals."

Insane bitch. Swearing, even in her head, wasn't something Glynda normally indulged in, but there were exceptions made for someone so detestable. You're fortunate we need your knowledge, Cinder, otherwise I'd be the first in line to bury you alive.

She knew the reasons behind Jaune's decision. Even without Ozpin speaking to her, she'd known bringing the woman to their cause would be a frustrating but inevitable decision. That both Jaune and Ozpin hated it as much as she did lessened the sting but having to hear her insane drivel pour forth was almost too much.

"We will have our eyes on you, Cinder. Remember that. The headmaster's mercy only goes so far. One step out of line and I shall kill you myself." Glynda's eyes narrowed. "Or perhaps I'll do even worse and let you escape. I'm sure Tyrian Callows would find you quickly."

Cinder's smile fell. If Tyrian found her, they all knew her fate.

The door opened and Jaune stepped in with Roman beside him, the latter puffing away on a cigar with the look of a man who knew his workload was about to increase twofold. He was being left with Oobleck and Port to run Beacon. No matter the agreement with Ironwood, taking Roman to Atlas would be a disaster and they all knew it.

"I've just spoken to Team RWBY," Jaune said. "They're going to meet us at the Bullhead docks soon. Winter, do we have word from Ironwood?"

"General Ironwood," she stressed the rank, "has given you permission to come to Atlas should you wish it, but would like you to be reminded that the White Fang will be dealt with by the Atlas military in conjunction with Atlas Academy, and that your direct intervention will not be necessary."

Cinder started to laugh again in the corner.

"If we're lucky, that'll prove true, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Understood. I have secured you lodging within Atlas Academy," Winter said. "She-" a hand pointed firmly at Cinder. "Is not to roam out of direct contact with either yourself or Goodwitch or she shall be arrested. Failure to surrender will see her subdued, potentially fatally, and then banished from Atlas. You shall be held responsible for her actions."

"Ironwood is still afraid of me, is he?"

"General Ironwood fears nothing. You would do well to remember that."

"Not even Jaune…?"

Winter's eyes flashed toward the headmaster. There was a hint of nervousness in them.

Don't tell me she believes Fall's nonsense… Glynda sighed. This is going to be an absolute nightmare. I almost wish Taurus had come for Beacon again instead. At least they'd have Ozpin with them this time, but he was still stuck to Oscar and forced to let the shy young boy hold control most of the time.

"When do we leave?" Glynda asked.

"In two hours. Glynda, Cinder and I shall be on one Bullhead while I was hoping Winter would take Team RWBY in her personal aircraft. Unless anyone has any complaints about that?"

Glynda almost wanted to with regard to being forced to share a cockpit with Cinder Fall, but if the alternative was leaving her alone with Jaune, she had to. Putting Jaune, Winter and Cinder in the same aircraft was too horrible to even consider. She could not be that cruel.

"I have no issues," Winter said, more than happy to be away from them. "It would not be proper for Weiss to return to Atlas in anything else. Ensure she is under control and we shall have no problems."

There were no prizes for guessing who she was.

Cinder started laughing again.

/-/

"I can't believe we're going on a mission again so soon."

"What's the problem?" Yang asked Ruby. "You'd normally be all up for it."

"Yeah, but Oscar only just got out of the infirmary. I think he still has a concussion."

Oscar looked up from his simple backpack and smiled in a grandfatherly fashion. "There's no need to concern yourself with my health, Ruby. I am in fine form. The height of my youth, one might say."

Ruby looked back to Yang and leaned in. "See!?"

"Yeah…" Yang watched their male teammate walk around the room occasionally looking at his scroll and nodding along with what he read. It might have just been how many painkillers he was hopped up on, but he'd been acting weird ever since the forest. Ever since he wandered off and got hurt. "Guess we'll just need to keep an eye on him."

"Really," Oscar said, not at all deaf, "Shouldn't you be keeping an eye on Blake instead? We are going to deal with the White Fang after all."

"Excuse me!?" Blake hissed.

Yang, Weiss and Ruby exchanged quick and silent nods. It didn't need to be said – the Blake x White Fang protocols had already been initiated, plans and contingencies worked up together over long weeks of dealing with Blake's bullshit. They had a rota for everything, even plans for how to noise-trap the door wherever they were staying so she couldn't sneak away in the night to go challenge Adam Taurus to an honour duel or something equally dense.

"I'm sure Blake will be on her best behaviour," Weiss lied blatantly. "In fact, we should all be. We're representing Beacon to Atlas, and tensions are going to be high there after not only the recent attack, but also the diplomatic issues between our kingdoms."

"Do they still think Prof Jaune is some kind of criminal kingpin?"

"I'm afraid so."

Yang spat to the side. "Idiots."

"I happen to agree, but you need to remember that each Kingdom is biased in its own favour. The alternative is accepting that Atlas technology was hacked and used to harm innocent people through their own fault. It's not hard to see why those in power would rather push the angle of the blame falling on someone else's shoulders."

"That doesn't make it right!" Ruby complained.

"You are preaching to the converted here, Ruby. I'm only warning you all not to act out. We'll only make it more difficult for him if we do."

Yang sighed and nodded along with Ruby and Blake. It wouldn't be easy, but she could swallow her temper if she had to. White Fang was more important anyway, and if she was being honest there were certain people she hated a whole lot more than Atlas right now. A certain black-haired, yellow-eyed cowbag that wasn't Blake.

"I guess we'll have to play along with her too."

Ruby growled adorably. "Yeah. Her."

"Honestly," Weiss sighed, "We should just avoid her."

"I don't see how he can do this again," Blake complained. "He got away with it once with Torchwick -and he still should be rotting in a cell as far as I'm concerned. He's a criminal. He broke the law multiple times."

"As did you," Oscar pointed out unhelpfully.

"That's different!"

"Blake." Yang gripped her shoulder. "No dislocating his shoulder a second time. He's high on medicine. Don't take it personally."

"High on painkillers but not exactly incorrect," Oscar said. "While I'll be the first to agree Cinder Fall should be tossed into a volcano and burned alive, skin peeling from her body, bones turning to ash and her desperate screams lost as the oxygen inside her lungs ignites, burning her away from the inside in unending agony-"

"Oscar," Yang rasped. "The fuck…?"

"-we shall simply have to comfort ourselves with hoping the headmaster places her firmly on the front lines and in front of Adam Taurus' sword. Naturally, it will be a sorrowful moment when she drowns on her own blood, impaled through her lungs, but we shall have to firm our resolve and keep moving on."

The four of them stared at the suddenly bloodthirsty young boy.

"Painkillers," Yang said, looking away nervously. "It has to be the painkillers."

"We should get going," Weiss decided. "Winter will be waiting with her craft. Remember, dogs are not allowed." Weiss looked at Zwei pointedly. "Wink. Wink. Nudge. Nudge."

"Weiss…"

"We would be in trouble if we tried to bring him on board. Wink."

"Weiss," Ruby said patiently. "You're not supposed to say the wink…"

Zwei tilted his head, barked once and ran to Ruby's backpack, pushing his head under the flap and worming his way inside. The pack went still after. Ruby picked it up with a sigh and swung it over her shoulders.

"Well, I guess we can see this as a field trip," she said. "So. Who's happy to visit Atlas?"

"Not me," Weiss grunted. "I just got away."

"I hate Atlas. It's the worst for faunus," Blake said.

"Cold and snow," Yang grumbled. "Do you have any idea what that'll do to my hair?"

Desperately, she looked to Oscar, her last hope.

"Their taste in coffee is the worst! And yet they constantly convince themselves it's the best. Delusional. Absolutely delusional. I get that patriotism is a thing and has its place, but when you're willingly believing lies to make yourself feel better, that's a problem. Atlesian Black is a stain upon Remnant. It is humanity's greatest mistake."

Ruby sighed.

"So much for having fun."

/-/

Jaune watched as supplies were loaded onto both Beacon and Winter's vehicles, hers dwarfing their own – which was little more than a people-carrier with two benches and seatbelts, while hers was a cross between military and personal vessel, likely having individual rooms for passengers. It wouldn't have surprised him if it came with a minibar, entertainment system and longing area as well.

Judging from the way Yang and Ruby were running all over it, checking out the specs and gushing, they were in for a much better flight than him, Glynda and Cinder. Not that they'd ever let Cinder on an Atlas airship after what happened before.

"Look after Neo," he told Roman. "And if she wakes up, make sure she doesn't put her health in danger by rushing off to Atlas. It's going to take time for the poison to flush out of her."

"Any other message?" Roman asked, grinning smugly.

Jaune flushed. "Tell her… Tell her…"

What could he say that wouldn't have Neo rolling her eyes?"

"How about I tell her how pathetic you're being now? I'm sure that'll earn a laugh."

"Yes." Jaune smiled. "Tell her that." It would get across what he wanted to say, and Neo would know – even if she'd scoff at such a soft display. The important part was her knowing he hadn't willingly left her side. "And look after Beacon. We can't rule out this being a diversion to draw us away. I doubt it with Ilia and the White Fang here having been captured, but it's better safe than sorry."

"We'll be fine. With Emerald dead and Cinder defected, there's no one to take the fall maiden's powers." Roman kept his voice low. "I reckon she'll be busy finding a new protégé before she attacks here. Otherwise, there's no telling who'll end up the next maiden."

Better the enemy you knew. Maybe Salem would agree on that. At the end of the day, she was immortal and Pyrrha wasn't, so if it were him, he'd wait another forty or fifty years before making a move.

That's a nice thought…

Leaving them, Jaune moved over to the Bullhead, which Cinder was already inside. Everyone outside was staring her way – glaring in some cases – so it was safer she stay out of the public eye. Glynda stood outside it, talking furiously with Bart.

"Problem?" Jaune asked.

"Nothing of the sort," Bart laughed. "Glynda was simply warning me what would happen if I let Peter run amok through the school with some of his more… passionate ideas on how to inspire the student body."

"Mark my words, Bart, I will be looking through every detail when I return." Glynda had her crop out and was glaring through her glasses at him. "If there is so much as a training ring out of place, student with a complaint – or worse – a single lien of the budget put where it shouldn't be, then we will be having words. And I will be the one with the words. The only ones you shall be able to scream are `sorry`, `not the face` and `forgive me, I beg you`." Her eyes sharpened. "Am I understood?"

"O-Of course, Glynda. Ha ha. Peter and I shall be more than enough to keep Beacon running."

Glynda watched him go, brows drawn down. Once he was out of hearing, she turned to Jaune and sighed, crossing one arm over her chest and looking at him askance. "Why is it I feel more comfortable knowing Torchwick is here to look after the school than I am Peter and Bart. That shouldn't be humanly possible."

"Roman is difficult, I know, but he does good work."

"I'm sure. That's why Cinder made use of him." Her eyes flicked to the Bullhead and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Can we trust her?"

Jaune stared at her.

"Are you really asking me that?"

Glynda blinked. "You're right. Sorry. Of course we can't trust her, I don't know what I was thinking for a moment there." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "All the stress is getting to my head. Let me ask again. How are we going to split keeping an eye on her?"

"Obviously, she can't share my room in Atlas."

"That goes without saying. I wouldn't feel comfortable closing my eyes around her, however."

That was a fair point. If Ironwood wanted them to keep an eye on her at all times, it wasn't going to work. Only an idiot was going to let their guard down in the same room as her. Ironically, he'd be the safest – because Cinder would convince herself his falling asleep nearby was a ruse designed to test her loyalty and wouldn't take the bait.

On the other hand, he wasn't sure what she might do besides kill him. The thought of waking up to her sat atop his lower body was equal parts terrifying and… no, actually, it was just terrifying. Huh. I guess it actually is possible to hate someone so much they lose all sex appeal. Wow.

"We'll just have to talk to Ironwood. I'm sure he'd be fine locking her in a room with surveillance."

"Let me do the asking, Jaune."

"You think he still hates me?"

"I… think it might be a distinct possibility," she said carefully, in that way someone did when they didn't want to offend you by saying `yes`. She looked away. "In fact, you may want to leave quite a lot of the talking with him to me. You can focus on keeping Bl – the children – under control and watching over Cinder."

So, he got Cinder and she would handle Ironwood.

That hardly seemed fair. He'd take the angry general of a world power who hated his guts over a manic megalomaniac trying to play seductress any day of the week.

But…

Cinder was his problem. Not Glynda's.

"Alright. We'll do it that way. With any luck, Ironwood will have the White Fang thing wrapped up before we arrive and we can just shake hands, pose for photos and come home. Somehow, I don't think it'll be that easy, though." Jaune sighed. "Well, at least Ironwood can't see us arriving so quickly to help him as a bad thing."

Glynda smiled. "That's true. There's no way to see our haste as anything other than allies responding to their distress."

/-/

"He's what!?"

"On his way, General," the soldier reported, chest heaving as he panted for breath. "Winter sent advance warning – they'll be here just before nightfall. Nineteen hundred hours."

That was late enough that they'd all be prepared to rest after a welcoming meal, granting Atlas until the next morning, but that just wasn't enough time. He'd given permission, but he'd at least expected some political posturing from Arc before he came.

His haste suggests he has a plan. Otherwise, it would have taken longer to decide. He expected this, or at least prepared for the possibility of it.

It might be too much to anticipate Jaune Arc knowing of a White Fang attack, but he could have prepared for the White Fang to attack any Kingdom and laid plans for how to react. They were foes of a sort, but the White Fang was an obvious and legitimate enemy of Beacon. If he'd known of an attack on the SDC, James was sure the man would have warned them. He had too many ties to the Schnee family to risk not doing so.

The question is, what does he want here? What's his goal?

The most obvious was that he wanted to swoop in and claim credit for dealing with the White Fang. It was by far the obvious suspicion, and thus Ironwood found himself unwilling to fully accept it. Too straightforward. Too amateur.

Even so, I'd best prepare for it. Better to deal with every possibility than waste time looking for one.

"What is the status on the investigation? Have we tracked down Taurus?"

"We've yet to find anything concrete, sir. The White Fang covered their tracks and retreated long before we arrived."

"Blast it!"

Atlas stood proud in the face of a terrorist attack and the people were rallying to their cause, but unless he found results soon, people would start getting nervous. For once, this wasn't a problem that could be solved with heavy ordinance. The White Fang are likely hiding among the populace, but I can't bring that up or we'll have a faunus witch hunt on our hands.

That'd be an apt way to kick off a new great war. There were already some among the upper ranks calling for all faunus to be rounded up and put through ID checks. Others wanted them microchipped to follow their movements. Microchipping faunus. He might as well collar them and call them `pets` for how fast that would start a rebellion.

Too many idiots in power who had no idea what they were doing once they were off the battlefield. All too often, military personnel made more peace-time leaders. They were too stuck in their ways. James liked to think he was different, even if he could admit to being too heavy-handed at times. At least it was for the right reasons.

"Double guard detail on the walls. It's going to be hard to upstage taking down an SDC factory, and I'll be damned before I let them decide attacking our citizens is the best way to do that. I want those walls so secure our people can't catch so much as the common cold! What is the status on our security of the remaining factories?"

"Jacques Schnee is stonewalling us, sir. He says they can handle security themselves."

"If they could then this wouldn't have happened in the first place, would it?" He had to control his temper so the soldier didn't think it was aimed at him. The young man was just doing his job. God, I miss Winter right now. "Tell the SDC they're a public company and the dust shortages will affect Atlas hardest. I don't give a damn if he's got industry secrets he wants protected – we will have troops stationed at all likely White Fang targets."

"If he refuses, General?"

"Soldier. What part of what I just said makes you think his permission is required?"

"Sir!" The man saluted and stepped back toward the door. "With your permission…"

"Dismissed, soldier. See it done." The door swished open and shut. Ironwood stalked to his desk, picked up the terminal phone there and pressed a few quick digits. He was speaking the moment his call was answered. "General Ironwood. Code: 1111AA. And I told you to get better codes!"

"They work, General. No one expects them. How can we help?"

"You've heard the news."

"We have. I can't tell you what his plan is, however – we're trying a numerical cypher on the work right now, but no matter how we run the numbers, the messages don't make sense. This is the hardest code we've ever been asked to crack."

"Keep working on it, but we cannot let Jaune Arc know we're onto him. I want all evidence of the operation scrubbed from the system. Keep paper records on site and make sure no one you don't recognise by face and name enters the facility. I want it on complete lockdown."

The codebreakers couldn't have their work impeded now. With Winter's news that Cinder Fall had chosen to throw her lot in with Arc, it was all the more imperative they crack the code and discover his plans as soon as humanly possible.

Given the nature of the codes they were working through and also the plan to seemingly steal Cinder Fall away from them – combined with the chess-like codenames he was used to dealing with thanks to Ozpin – there was naturally only one name for the codebreaker operation centred around Jaune Arc's efforts to steal away Salem's Queen Piece.

"As you command, sir. Operation Cuckqueen will be going dark. I shall keep you updated on any information we glean from the material."

"Is there nothing so far? Not even a hint?"

"As I said, we're running numbers to see if anything clicks. Sir, I've been through the book so many times I've started dreaming about it." The codebreaker coughed down the line. "Not entirely unpleasant dreams, I'll admit, but it's driving our codebreakers mad! I've had one researcher suggest it might just be porn – I sent her home for the day and told her to get some rest."

"Good. Given that Fall has made her decision mere days after receiving that book and with no other access to Arc, we know for sure that it contained valuable information. Enough to convince her that siding with him was preferable to us."

Cinder Fall was someone who, by all accounts, would pick whatever route she felt safest. That she would work with him implied Arc had a plan so punishingly complex and deadly that Cinder Fall honestly thought it would outsmart everyone. Himself and Atlas included. Normally, such a thing might have been scoffed at, but after the events of the battle of Beacon and his sudden ascension to the role of Headmaster, Ironwood wasn't willing to leave anything to chance.

I underestimated him the last time. We all did. A fool's mistake that I shall not make again.

Atlas would find and defeat the White Fang without the aid of Beacon.

"I don't know what you're planning, Jaune Arc, but you won't topple my Kingdom."

No omake today I'm afraid. A little too busy with work since in December when you're working for a magazine, you need to have all your January issues finished, proofed and sent to the printers before you break up. Or more specifically, before they break up for Christmas, so that they can start printing before they do and have the January issues ready to be dispatched as soon as it rolls around.

You always do work a month in advance, but it's usually more like two weeks in advance. Getting our clients to proof and approve their advertisements a whole month early is like pulling teeth, because they're also on deadlines before Christmas. It's all very hectic and a constant case of running around trying to finish everything in time. Combine that with Christmas shows, staff party, decorating the office and buying gift baskets for all the staff, and it gets really busy.

I spent most of yesterday wrapping up the baskets myself, putting bottles of wine, sweets, chocolates and children's toys (for the staff who have children) in big wicket baskets, then using cellophane to tie them all up with bows and ribbons. Long and annoying work, especially making everything fit and trying to tie the cellophane up without it ripping. Cellophane is the wrong word, to be honest. More like see-through wrapping paper. Much more crinkly, fragile and annoying to work with, but it looks nice when all done.

Next Chapter: 5th December

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur