Strap in, folks—this is a long one!

4. Silence to Keep

Mudslide slept in her stall.

She was curled in a ball, her wings and tail wrapped around herself, tensing and relaxing as she dreamed. After flying lessons that afternoon she had simply collapsed onto the floor of her stall and welcomed the quiet, dark void she floated in.

When the door was eased open, she didn't so much as twitch. Not even when the hinge squealed. Something nudged her back leg. It was a gentle touch, but she jolted awake instantly. Her teeth snapped shut inches from Sky's throat.

"Sorry," he said, stroking her nose. "I noticed you didn't eat anything."

Mudslide blinked a few times, squinting in the light and realizing that the sun must be out. For a groggy moment she wasn't sure if it was morning or evening.

No. If it was morning, Sky would have brought more food like he always did. Since he'd started working in the barns, her stall had gotten much more comfortable. Sweet-smelling herbs covered the floor, her food bowls were always filled, and she never had to walk to the water barns for a drink.

If it was evening, she didn't have to be awake yet. Mudslide curled up again and hid her head under a wing. Sky sighed and tapped her shoulder. "Eat first. Then sleep."

Mudslide tried to roll over onto her other side and ignore him, but the muscles in her legs gave out. She let herself go limp. There were footsteps, moving towards the door—her heart ached, and she wanted to grab him and keep him in the stall but couldn't force herself to move.

Then the footsteps returned. Sky nudged her shoulder again. "Just a minute, okay? Then you can go back to sleep. I promise."

When she opened one eye, she saw that he had moved the steel food trough from its place next to the wall and placed it in front of her.

"Come here." He lifted her head onto his lap and fed her by hand. Mudslide realized how hungry she was halfway through. Once she got too eager and accidentally scored his hand with her teeth. He winced, but patted her head and assured her that it was fine.

By the time she was finished, she felt much better. Sky moved to stand up, but she got a foreleg around his waist and held him in place.

"I can't stay here all night," he said. "Mudslide..."

She moved her head from his lap to the ground, but kept her paw where it was and whined.

"You... want me to stay for a while? Until you fall asleep?"

Mudslide hummed contentedly.

"Okay." Sky grinned and shifted so that he was leaning up against her side. "You gonna tell me why you're acting like a cooked noodle today?"

She flicked her ears back, not sure how she was supposed to get the idea of flying class across. Then, eventually, she put a paw on his back and pressed down, gently but firmly.

"Uh... something squished you?"

Mudslide stared at him.

"Yeah, you're a bit big for that. Uh... I don't know girl, it just feels like something really heavy is leaning on—oh! The weights?"

A nod.

"They make you tired?"

Mudslide rumbled agreement and put her head back down on the ground. Her paw she left on Sky's shoulder, though she stopped pushing down. He frowned and scratched absentmindedly under her chin.

"Mudslide... how many weights did you carry today?"

Oh! She knew this one. She didn't feel like raising her whole paw, though, so she just tapped one claw on the ground, slowly, counting in her head.

Sky's eyes went wide. "Eleven?" He got up and crossed to the door, then stopped when she warbled in protest. "It's okay girl, I'll be back in just a second."

From the other stall, she heard Sky murmur a question. The dragon across from her thumped his paw on the ground eight times.

When Sky came back, his eyes were narrowed and his fists were clenched. Mudslide backed up, curling her tail around herself, and his face softened. "I'm not mad at you. But you're not supposed to be carrying that much."

Mudslide put her head on her paws and warbled until Sky sat with her again. He was breathing slowly and deeply, and the hand that wasn't stroking her nose twitched in his lap. "I told Ozpin about the chain last week. He didn't do shit." He lurched to his feet. "He's not going to do anything this time, either. So I will."

She lunged, closing her jaws around a mouthful of his trousers. He tried to pull away, then stopped when she whined at him. Mudslide knew that when Sky said he wanted to 'do something,' it meant he wanted to hit Cardin. And she'd heard the other stable hands telling Sky that if he hit Cardin again, Ozpin would make him go away. She didn't want Sky to go away.

He didn't. The only time he got up was when Blake showed up to stay with Pit. Mudslide growled, annoyed that her time with Sky was being interrupted, but the faunus just walked past her. She retreated back into her stall and hummed contentedly when Sky followed her.

Her eyes drifted shut. Some time later, she heard a loud thump outside and they snapped open. It sounded like someone had walked around the back of the barn and knocked over a bale of hay. Sky tried to get up. She moved her head over so that it was across his legs, pinning him.

"I just gotta check what that was. I'll be right back."

She let out a grumpy growl, then reluctantly let him stand up. He moved all the way to the door and paused, listening. Something scraped against the outside of the wall. He muttered a curse under his breath and moved further into the barn. Mudslide wasn't sure why, but she followed. She was feeling much better now that she'd rested, and for some reason she didn't like the idea of Sky wandering away on his own.

They walked outside together and peered into the shadowy space between the barn she lived in and its neighbor. There was a small rustle, and one of the hay bales moved.

"Hey," Sky called out. "What are you doing?"

Silence.

Then a muttered, "Drat."

Sky put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing out here, Weiss? The water stable is that way."

"I know that!" She gave the hay bale she'd toppled one last shove. It knocked against the back of the barn, teetered for a moment, then slipped to the ground. "Ugh."

"Let me." Sky replaced the bale. "There's a trick to it. If you wanna lurk around here more often maybe I can show you."

"I wasn't lurking."

"Uh-huh."

"I want to talk to Blake, happy?" She crossed her arms. "Which stall is she in?"

"One near the end. It's got Pit's name on it."

"Right. Thank you."

She vanished into the stable. Sky shot Mudslide an incredulous look. She tilted her head to the side, confused, and he chuckled.

"C'mon. Let's go back inside."

Once she was in Pit's stall, Blake felt like she could finally breathe.

She loved her friends, she really did, but with every single one of her teammates constantly keeping track of her, and someone from CFVY guarding them, and JNPR and SSSN pitching in wherever they could... she'd felt watched. Constantly. That, combined with how hyperaware she'd become of her surroundings, with every suspicious shadow or sudden noise becoming him...

Now it was just her and Pit, and they were as safe as they could possibly be, surrounded by earth dragons. She was curled up against his flank, a book propped open on her knee and an empty thermos that had once contained some very soothing tea. Pit had taken to purring whenever she tensed up. Best of all, she was finally alone.

Someone chose that exact moment to knock on the stall door—and Blake decided that person better have an excellent reason. If the school wasn't currently on fire or being invaded by Grimm, they were going to regret this.

Then she swung the door open and found Weiss. Just Weiss. Just Weiss Schnee, with none of their other friends or her dragon.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Weiss looked taken aback. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you. I brought tea, if that helps?"

"Did you walk here alone?!"

"Oh. Yes, but—"

"Weiss!"

"Blake, it's broad daylight outside and we're in the middle of campus. The professors' dragons are patrolling all around us. Besides, I'm not the one under threat—" She stopped. Sighed. "Okay, scratch that last point, but the other two still stand."

"I thought you said we shouldn't be taking pointless risks—or does that not apply to you?"

"...You're right." Weiss shoved the mug of tea into her hands. "I'll go find the others."

The stable door shut with a heavy click. Blake stared at the steaming mug, then glanced at Pit. He shot her a disapproving look.

She groaned. "I know. I'll apologize when they come to collect me."

His stare turned from scolding to skeptical.

"Ugh."

Blake flopped to the ground next to him, slightly frustrated with herself for losing an argument in ten seconds flat to a dragon that hadn't uttered a single word. She drew her scroll out of her pocket—part of her knew she should probably talk to Weiss in person, but she also suspected she wouldn't be able to help getting snippy if her apology cut into the only time she could relax. Hopefully the scroll would make a decent compromise.

— I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you.

"See? I texted her."

Pit chuffed approvingly. Blake leaned her head back against his scales and sighed. She tried to read, but her eyes kept skimming over the same two lines. She'd just about decided to go back outside and give a proper apology—why had she thought the scroll would be an acceptable solution again?!—when the device buzzed.

— Why did you?

Blake frowned. That... wasn't an easy question to answer without coming across like she was making excuses.

— I turn into a bit of a goblin when I'm this stressed, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you.

Then, after a moment's thought, she added,

— Also, I was worried.

There was another silence, not quite so long this time. Again, the reply came just as Blake had decided she must have made some horrible mistake and Weiss had thrown away her scroll in disgust.

— That's sweet.

Blake stared at the screen for almost a full minute. Then she turned to Pit and showed him. He just stared at her, and an instant later she felt a very silly—she'd forgotten he couldn't read. Instead she read the whole conversation aloud. He tilted his head, like he still wasn't sure what the fuss was about.

"It's a strange thing to say!" she insisted. "How is yelling at someone for giving you tea sweet?" She typed out, 'Thank you, I think?' and deleted it. Groaned. Pit made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snicker. Eventually, she decided on a message and hit send.

— So was bringing me tea. Thank you!

The instant it was too late, she decided that had been an unfathomably stupid response. "Sometimes I think this mode of communication was invented to torture people."

— Your very welcome!

Again, Blake sat for a moment and just stared. Was that a typo?

Pit made a questioning noise. "She used the wrong you're," Blake explained. Very badly, as she realized when he cocked his head to the side like she'd just spoken another language.

She typed, 'Did Yang steal you're scroll—' and then furiously deleted it.

"Why did I think this would be less stressful than a normal conversation?" she wondered aloud. Pit had no answer.

Before she could decide on something better, her scroll buzzed again.

— Theres something I meant to tell you.

— Yes?

— Can you come outside for a moment? Its private.

It was only when Pit started purring again that Blake realized her heart was racing. Part of her was already speculating wildly on what Weiss might want to talk about and yielding absolutely nothing that made sense. Another part...

She stared at the last few texts. There were apostrophes missing. She'd never seen Weiss text that way before—maybe she was nervous? Why would she be nervous?

— Is something wrong?

— No, nothing like that. Ill explain in person.

Another missing apostrophe. Blake's ears folded back against her skull, and some intuition told her not to agree.

— We could talk in Pit's stall?

The next reply was a long time coming. Pit crooned anxiously, and Blake scratched him under the chin to soothe him. Finally, her scroll buzzed. She opened it and read,

— Come outside. Alone. Now. Tell no one. Especially not the hybrid.

The bottom dropped out of her stomach. Blake's hand clenched around the scroll, hard. She shoved it into her pocket and got to her feet. Pit's head rose with her.

"I'll just be a moment," she said, surprising herself with how steady her voice was. "Weiss wants to talk to me."

Pit moved to follow her.

"No," she snapped. He reared back, hurt. "Sorry. Just... this is private. Okay? I'll be right back." She felt his eyes burning into her back even after she closed his stall door behind her.

As she walked into the barn, she felt like the whole thing had been tilted. She couldn't keep her balance. Her thoughts whirled—it had to be him, there was no one else it could be. But she couldn't just not walk into the trap, he'd—

The threats were already there. How many of them had she heard, before she'd even met Weiss? How many people had she heard plan out, in gristly detail, what they'd do if they had the chance?

Her shoulder struck something solid, and she reeled. Sky stood in front of her, giving her a look that might almost be concerned. "What's with you?"

A flash of inspiration struck her. "I'm going to grab another book," she said. "I should be back in fifteen minutes. If not, can you get call Yang and tell her she doesn't need to meet me here?" Yang would know she wasn't supposed to be wandering around alone. She'd figure out something was wrong... tell someone... something.

He shrugged. "Got her number?"

Sweat beaded somewhere on her back, sliding down her spine. She typed it out from memory, feeling her heartbeat in her throat. Her scroll buzzed, and she fumbled for it in a panic.

— 5

"Got it." Sky peered at her face and frowned. "You sure you're not sick or something?"

"Yes." Another buzz.

— 4

"I have to go." She half-ran towards the end of the barn, praying that Sky wouldn't choose this exact worst moment to start giving a damn how she was feeling. He didn't follow her.

Her scroll buzzed. Then again. Three... two...

Blake stumbled out into the late-afternoon sunlight. "I'm here!"

A buzz.

— Shh.

A pair of older students passed by. Blake stuffed her hands into her pockets so they wouldn't see them shaking. Once they'd gone, her scroll went off again.

— Your new friend and I are out back. Come say hello.

Broad daylight, I said.

The late-afternoon sun glinted on the barrel of a gun. Weiss noted distantly that it was uglier and boxier than she'd expected—the only firearm she'd seen in person up until now had belonged to Father, and was made for display.

The middle of campus.

He stepped up behind her, resting the muzzle of the gun lightly between her shoulderblades. She couldn't see what they looked like, but a fourth-year Weiss knew only by face passed by without a second glance. Apparently the weapon was well-hidden behind her.

And, of course, she'd never not been a target. Thinking otherwise had been idiotic.

"What are you doing here, Schnee?" His voice was low, almost a whisper. "You don't have an earth dragon. That's not good enough for you, is it?"

"I'm here for a friend. He asked me to check on his dragon."

"What friend?"

Well. If he was going to do something unpleasant... "Cardin Winchester."

The man behind her hummed thoughtfully. "Interesting. Why don't we go for a little walk, now?" He poked her with the gun, like he thought she'd somehow managed to forget about it. They walked around to the space between two barns, and Weiss cast a single longing glance towards the bale of hay she'd knocked over only a few minutes ago. She doubted she could replicate the feat without getting shot, and even if she did there was no telling whether Sky would bother to investigate.

Finally, they stopped. He walked all the way around her so that they were face to face, and she noticed that he was smirking. A wide-brimmed hat was pulled low over his face. Somehow she'd expected him to be wearing a Grimm mask, even though she knew other students who had seen him hadn't noticed anything wrong. He wasn't, but his face wasn't completely bare, either. There was a tattered red bandana tied around his eyes, mostly hidden under the hat.

He gestured at her with the gun. "Tip anyone off and I shoot you. Understand?"

Slowly, she nodded.

"Good." He took a quick stepped forward and pressed the gun against her temple. "Now, I think you owe me an apology."

It took a moment to respond—the gun was very distracting. "For what, exactly?"

He laughed. "Where should I start? You lied to me, just now."

What? But how—

"You're not here for Cardin Winchester. You're here for your teammate."

Weiss tensed. She didn't dare answer that—she wasn't about to admit she'd been here to see Blake when he might not know, but she doubted he'd react well if he caught her in another lie. Instead she waited, hoping he'd keep talking. Yang and Ruby were supposed to pick Blake up in... what, twenty minutes? Thirty? Could she really keep him occupied that long?

Her scroll buzzed. She tried not to react, but he must have heard the noise.

"Scroll," he snapped, holding out his other hand. "Slowly. Don't press any buttons."

She drew it out and opened it. Blake's icon was displayed at the top of the screen. Oh, wonderful.

He read the message, his grip on the device tightening. "Like father like daughter," he said, deadly quiet. "Always so eager to make themselves someone's pet."

"She's a friend."

The hand holding the scroll twitched violently. "Well then, you shouldn't keep her waiting." He thrust the scroll back into her hand and moved the gun so that it tickled the top of her right ear. "Type what I tell you. Don't do anything else."

At that, a very different kind of panic welled up in her. Being used as a tool to hurt someone she cared about? She wasn't about to let that stand.

It was with great satisfaction that, a few minutes later, she read Blake's response to her offer to come outside. She had to know something was wrong. Call Yang and Ruby, Weiss thought furiously, or Ozpin!

Adam read over her shoulder. After that he was quiet for an agonizingly long time. His free hand gripped her shoulder, and she tensed. It took another nudge from the gun to resist the urge to slap it away. Her father used to do that, too—invading personal space as a petty power play.

With the next message, he dropped all pretense. Then they waited.

Her hand shook as she typed. She hit two instead of three by accident, had to delete it.

Blake had figured it out. With any luck she'd called for help. Now Weiss just had to survive the next minute or so. If she grabbed for the gun... no, he was expecting that, but if she ducked and kneed him in the—

"I'm here!"

About thirty seconds and another two messages later, Blake was standing in the shadow of the earth barn. Weiss glared at her. Of course she showed up. The idiot. "Blake, get out of—" The hand on her shoulder tightened. A warning.

Slowly, Blake put both hands up, fingers spread. "Why are you here, Adam? Is it Pit?"

"What, the hatchling you stole? Partly." He moved the gun in a little circle, just at the periphery of Weiss' vision. She didn't dare turn her head. "I've heard some interesting things about your teammates. Is this your way of spiting me? Spitting on everything we bled for?"

"Ozpin put all the students with their own eggs together." Blake made a face, as if she were looking back on a particularly unpleasant memory. "I needed somewhere to hide."

Adam chuckled darkly, glancing at Weiss. The moment his head was turned, Blake flicked one ear. It was just enough for Weiss to realize that she'd put on her bow. She knew that meant something, it was the beginning of a plan, but her mind was working too slowly. Why...?

"I don't know what I ever saw in you," he said. "Cozying up to one of them?"

Blake looked down, as if ashamed. "What do you want?"

He hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I was going to offer you the chance to come back... but it's obvious you aren't worthy of our organization anymore."

"I'm not letting you near Pit."

"I don't give a damn about the hybrid, either!" He was breathing hard, now. Slowly, deliberately, he turned the gun away from Weiss and towards Blake. She was standing only a few yards away—technically the odds of him missing were better, but not by enough. Would it be possible to knock his arm aside? She'd have a better shot at disrupting his aim, but... she couldn't bring herself to risk it. Not yet, anyway.

"Let's just talk," Blake offered. "You and me. We can—"

She froze. Adam stepped behind Weiss, jamming the gun into her back again. A group of four passed the earth barn, then disappeared further into the grounds. He shifted so that he was aiming at Blake again.

"I don't care what she hears." That... was not encouraging.

"Please... I don't want it going around. The staff don't know."

Oh. Oh. Weiss put on an air of indignation. "It's bad enough you kept that a secret," she snapped, glancing over at Adam. "If you think I'm willing to work with someone who's lying to my face—"

"Don't worry. She won't be telling anyone." Blake tensed. Not by much, but he noticed. "Don't tell me you're going to act squeamish about a Schnee."

"You're talking about murdering someone." Blake put her hands in her pockets. Weiss suspected she was trying to hide the fact that they were shaking.

"Is that it?"

Without warning, he grabbed Weiss' ear with his free hand and twisted. She yelped, tried to move away, then froze when the gun pointed at her. He let go. Blake had frozen with one hand outstretched. Slowly, she clenched it into a fist and let it drop to her side.

"So this is the sort of person you'd rather befriend," he said, voice shaking with anger. "The people who treat us like slaves..." He tapped the gun against her cheek. "Take off the bow."

Blake ripped it away, letting it flutter to the ground. "Adam—"

"Look at her face. See the disgust—"

"Well," Weiss said. "I suppose it was worth a try. Good thinking, Blake."

Blake twitched, like she was fighting the urge to step forward. "Weiss, please just let me do the talking."

"You knew." His voice was flat.

Weiss turned her head so that she could stare him directly in the eyes. "Yes."

She knew she should stop antagonizing him, but... she glanced to her left, saw the sneer on his face. Her whole body felt like it was boiling.

He looked like he was probably feeling the same way. "You really are pathetic," he spat. His free hand moved away from Weiss' shoulder, and he tossed the hat he'd been wearing to the ground. "Kneeling for the ones who chained your brothers and sisters..." He reached for the bandana around his face and undid the knot. "The ones who branded us like cattle."

Weiss couldn't stop the noise she made—a little huff, as if someone had kneed her in the stomach. There was a mark over his eye, an angry red burn. At first, she read 502. The truth dawned slowly. Realization turned to horror, and that in turn became a wave of nausea that almost made her double over.

"Oh my god..."

"I've been waiting a long time to repay the favor. I wonder what I should use as my mark? Do I put it over the scar, or make you nice and symmetrical?"

"Adam, stop it!" Blake took two steps forward, then froze when he pressed the gun to Weiss' temple. "She had nothing to do with that!"

"Keep it down. Unless you want to make those poor stable hands clean brain matter off the walls."

She lowered her voice. "Please! I'll go with you if you want, just—"

"Blake, don't you dare!" Weiss flinched as he grabbed her ear again, but she refused to stay quiet. "If this thug wants to—"

Adam moved. Weiss wasn't sure what he was about to do—he'd drawn his arm back, but she couldn't tell if he wanted to hit her or go for her throat. The gun drifted out of line, pointing somewhere between the two of them. Blake sprinted towards them, one hand outstretched...

The gun went off, and something slammed into the side of Weiss' head. She stumbled, rammed into a bale of hay, rolled onto her back so she was staring up at the cloudless blue sky. She drew in a breath, and with all the force of years of singing lessons she shrieked, "Pit!"

There was an earth-shattering roar from inside the stables. More echoed it soon after, and the ground shook under the force of dozens of enormous, spade-like feet. Weiss struggled, trying to get her arms under her. They wouldn't cooperate. Her head was ringing, and everything was so blurry.

Another gunshot. Then another and another, fast and frantic. She forced herself to stand on shaky legs, then looked up and saw an earth dragon charging at full speed. Weiss recognized Mudslide just in time for her shoulder to slam into her. This time she landed flat on her back, gasping for a breath that wouldn't come.

A shadow passed over her. She panicked for a second, until she saw four thick legs bracketing her where she lay, protecting her from the press of earth dragons. Four legs that were rather smaller than all the others. Twiggy...

The gunfire stopped. Adam swore, then cried out once. There was a low, murderous shriek that Weiss felt right down to her bones. Pit howled again and finally went silent.

Weiss crawled out from under Twiggy and stood with her help. She couldn't even see Adam through the press, but Pit had his head held high, twisting frantically from side to side. Looking for Blake. She stumbled towards him, glancing around and seeing nothing but scales. Had Blake gotten caught underfoot?!

Pit thrashed and howled. Finally, there was an answering chirp. Weiss clambered up onto the back of a dragon she didn't recognize and finally spotted Zircon. He was curled into a ball, shivering uncontrollably. Then, slowly, he lifted his wing just enough to reveal dark hair underneath.

Weiss sprinted towards them, just managing to grab hold of Pit as he pushed past her. She hit the dirt next to Zircon, breathing hard.

"Safe," he said, lifting his wing a little further. Blake was curled on her side, her head pillowed on Zircon's forelegs. There was blood on his scales.

"Help!"

Sky clung to Mudslide's back, wincing as every other step jarred him. A group of students skidded to a stop, staring at him.

"Get Ozpin!" he shouted. "Behind the earth stables—I think somebody's been shot!"

Two of them took off towards the school, while the other two went back the way he'd come. Mudslide kept running, and he felt a pang as he realized how exhausted she must be.

"Shit..." He stroked her scales as she let out a pained warble. "Hey! Where the fuck is everyone?!"

Sky glanced at the sun, which was just starting to set. Right—they were probably at dinner. Fuck.

"You know where the cafeteria is?"

Mudslide rumbled an affirmative. Sky slumped against her neck, his heart still beating a mile a minute. He didn't understand how this could have happened—who the hell even was that guy?! How'd he get this close to Beacon? The teachers had been going nuts on security lately, even some of the fourth-year dragons had joined in on patrolling. And how had he known Blake and Weiss would be by the—by the barn. By Pit's stall.

"Oh, fuck."

He'd handed the map to the tiger faunus. And she must have—did he still have it?!

"Shit, shit, shit!"

Mudslide whimpered anxiously.

"I gotta go. I gotta... shit. Can you run ahead? Just... just try to lead people to that spot behind the barn. I need... I need to do something."

He slid off while she was still running, wincing when he hit the ground. Mudslide hesitated a moment, then reluctantly left him behind. Sky turned and sprinted the other way.

"Fuck, shit!" They'd asked about Blake, but he hadn't thought it would turn out like this! How was he supposed to know that—they were supposed to be interested in her dragon, they weren't supposed to try to kill her!

Up ahead, Pit roared. It was a horrible, anguished noise, and Sky skidded to a stop. Please don't be dead, please don't be dead... "Fuck," he mumbled, "Fuck, what did I—shit..." The man might still have the map. Ozpin would find it, they'd find out it was him, they'd... gods, the rest of her team would murder him, Pit would murder him, and he wouldn't even blame them.

Sky forced himself to keep going. He had to see that she was okay, because she had to be okay, and he had to get the map.

Most of the earth dragons had fanned out. He tried to rush past several of them. They stopped him, eyeing him suspiciously until one of them sniffed him, huffed at the others, and let him pass. The two older students that had run this way were standing several yards away from Zircon, who was still curled up in a ball. Pit was standing over him, and even as Sky approached he lifted his head and howled again. Weiss was kneeling, leaning forward so that her head was under Zircon's wing.

There was only one other figure nearby. The man, lying on his face. Sky swallowed bile and approached the body, prodding it once with his foot.

Yep. Definitely dead.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

He jumped halfway out of his skin. Weiss still wasn't looking at him, but it was immediately obvious that it was him she was talking to.

"I s-sent Mudslide ahead," he stammered. "I just... I wanted to see if... is she...?"

"She's breathing. Now will one of you idiots stop standing there and go find someone? Or did you forget that Mudslide can't talk yet?!" One of the older students swore and took off towards the school. His friend followed.

Sky forced himself to take deep, calming breaths. Weiss wasn't looking at him. She didn't bother asking him why he was still there, and seemed content to ignore him entirely. He swallowed hard, crouching down next to the dead man.

Okay, he thought. Okay, he has pockets, just reach in...

He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his head away, felt around. The guy's skin was still warm. Nothing... nothing... paper!

Sky snatched the scrap of paper from the man's pocket, his heart hammering. Another glance at Weiss showed that she was still... occupied. He opened the paper, found scribbled instructions that matched the ones he'd given the strangers exactly. The next thing he knew he was sitting down, breathing shallowly and fighting the urge to throw up.

The proof was in his hands—this was all his fault.

Blood smelled like metal.

Blood was something that happened when Fang and Huo were hatchlings, mauling their riders at every opportunity. Little drops spilled during play scuffles. Cuts and scrapes.

It was the smell of Tornado as he died.

Pit rose up onto his haunches and roared. The noise came from somewhere in his chest, a hard knot that kept on tightening until he was sure something would snap. Zircon whimpered, curling himself tighter.

Weiss nudged his wing out of the way, put her hands on his rider. Blake's face twisted. She made a small noise, pained. The human hurt his rider. Pit bellowed again, baring his teeth until the human backed away.

"Pit, please... I need to put pressure on the wound."

Words. He roared again, putting his face close to hers, watching her shiver. The other one was dead now, he couldn't hurt Blake anymore. Was this one going to try, too? He wanted Zircon to go away, it should be him curled up around her. He was supposed to keep her safe.

"Pit!" The human touched him. He snapped his jaws in front of her face, growled. "I'm trying to help. You know me. I'd never hurt her."

Her hand came down just behind his ears, scratching the scales there. He kept his teeth bared, his head between her and his rider. She was Specter's human. She wouldn't hurt Blake... but she'd touched Blake and Blake had been hurt.

"Please... she's losing blood..."

Pit didn't know what to do. He pulled his head back. The human knew what to do... Weiss knew what to do. Or she knew something that she could do. He remembered Fang, how he'd hissed and snapped the first time their professors had cleaned his cuts. Maybe this was like that. It would hurt and then Blake would be better.

Weiss knelt down, leaning against Zircon's side so that she could reach. Pit whined and put his head under Zircon's wing. It was warm and dark—safe.

He licked Blake's face. She still wasn't moving. He nuzzled her with his nose—somewhere under the stench of blood there was still a hint of her scent. When she didn't respond he purred and licked her face again. Nothing. Slowly, as he whimpered and nudged her and tried to squeak like he had as a hatchling, he realized just how small she really was. Their riders were all so small...

Beside him, Weiss started to hum softly. It was the same song that had calmed Storm when Ruby was away. He understood for the first time why she had cried so much that first night. It was like Blake had gone away somewhere, without him, and he didn't know when she'd be back. If she'd be back.

Pit lay his ears back against his skull and burrowed deeper under Zircon's wing.

"Lake," he murmured. "Safe..."

Wow, I'm just now realizing how perfect Brand's name actually is. Solora Goldsun is psychic confirmed?