Olivia let her appendages retract and tried her hardest to ignore the gut wrenching feeling still boiling in her stomach from the trip to Patch. Despite Weiss's assistance with her glyph, the ferry itself had still been moving beneath her. It was the only time in her life that she'd regretted having a sixth sense, but with the rest of her team now approaching from the docks, she readily turned to face away from the cursed contraption and set off into the small forest that hid Patch from view.

Ruby zipped up next to her, tapping into her own semblance to appear in a burst of red petals. The younger girl grinned sweetly, hands clasped behind her back and leaning forward to look up at Olivia's face.

"Feeling better?"

Olivia resisted the groan that threatened to escape her lips and instead flashed her a smile in return, "So much better."

"Good!" Ruby straightened and turned around to walk backwards, looking back at the other two members of their team a dozen feet behind, "You know, you really should talk to Weiss. She didn't have to help you."

"On the contrary, she had just as much of a stake as I did."

Ruby raised an eyebrow, "Why do you say that?"

Olivia grinned, "I doubt she wanted to see me emptying my stomach. She saved herself as much as she did me."

Ruby shook her head ruefully, "I don't think that's why Weiss did it, Olivia. You've gotta give her more credit than that."

'She was trying to keep me from making that mistake in the first place…' Olivia could sense the heiress walking with her arms crossed, speaking idly with Blake next to her as the two followed along in their wake, "Maybe. I'll think about it, kid. You can't expect me to be ready for stuff like that yet."

Ruby frowned in confusion, "Not ready to say two little words?"

'She has a point…'

Olivia raised her hands in defeat, "Alright, fine. You've got me there," she paused in place along with Ruby, waiting for Weiss and Blake to catch up.

The two of them shared a look of confusion, glancing ahead to make sure nothing was wrong then eyeing Olivia. An uncertain smile flickered onto her face, trying her best to make the look appear genuine for Ruby's sake. Once Weiss had stopped within arm's reach, Olivia raised a hand and awkwardly bumped Weiss on the shoulder.

"Um… well done, Princess."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, "You're… welcome…?"

Olivia turned on her heel and marched ahead, joined once again by Ruby while Weiss and Blake frowned after them. Olivia let out a deep shiver. The action of complimenting a Schnee had left her feeling unclean.

"When I said 'two words', I meant 'thank you', Olivia," Ruby admonished quietly, glancing back over her shoulder as Weiss and Blake continued following them.

"I know, it's just… what I said was hard enough already, alright? You want me to thank her? Sorry to disappoint, but that's not happening," Olivia muttered in annoyance, not at Ruby, but at the situation itself.

"Fine, fine. I guess that was close enough," Ruby sighed.

The trees that surrounded them suddenly opened up into a vast clearing, the small town of Patch hidden within its bounds. The group of four walked into town, Ruby occasionally giving a cheery wave to various people she knew from the island. Olivia had seen it all before, so instead focused on the way ahead.

Weiss and Blake kept their heads on a swivel, eyeing the town curiously while they walked through the mainstreet. Aside from the two story inn near the center of the town, the majority of it consisted of small shops that the citizens could use instead of taking a more lengthy trip into Vale. The wares were more often than not of average quality. If you wanted something perfect, then you'd have to make the trip into Vale regardless.

Olivia was surprised as Ruby cooed from next to her, the girl's feet stopping in place to look over towards a structure that Olivia had always readily ignored.

"Ooooh~ Do you guys wanna go to the arcade!? I haven't been there in forever~!" Ruby's eyes were wide and hopeful, darting between the three of them excitedly.

Weiss was the first to speak, stepping forward to glance through the arcade's glass front doors, "Isn't your father expecting us, Ruby? Or were you going to bring us all home unannounced?"

"Ummm," Ruby balked at the question, nervously glancing between the three, "It was a surprise…?"

Weiss huffed, "Really, Ruby? You could have kept your actual surprise a secret without showing up with three people out of the blue."

Olivia raised her hands placatingly, "To be fair, Tai seems like a pretty nice guy. I don't think he'd mind."

"Y-yeah!" Ruby agreed, regaining some of her lost composure, "My dad won't mind!"

Olivia could sense Blake's ears twitch on top of her head as a low rumble emanated from her stomach. Her face brightened and her hand dropped down, "Umm… we all skipped breakfast, right? It might be better if we come back later..."

Ruby perked back up, "I can live with that. We'll stop by before flying back on the bullhead!"

Olivia shrugged when the younger girl's eyes turned to her hopefully, "Sounds good to me. I've played in an arcade a few times before."

"So Mistral wasn't all doom and gloom?" Weiss asked lightly.

Olivia couldn't stand the tone that Weiss had used. There was a challenge to it, as if she was trying to suggest that Olivia's accounts of Mistral might have been blown out of proportion in some way. She sneered, "Well, the first time I went to one did lead to me almost being deported to the Schnee mines. Guess it was fun while it lasted?"

Weiss seized up nervously, eyes dropping to the ground for a time.

"Uh-umm… guess we should get moving?" Ruby mumbled, not waiting for an answer from the rest. She walked ahead, quickly joined by Blake and Olivia moments later.

The group slowly shuffled past the arcade in silence, heading deeper into the forest on the path that would eventually lead them to Ruby's home. Olivia could feel Weiss sending furtive glances in her direction while she walked a little ways behind the rest of the group. At the same time, Ruby had become more crestfallen, her earlier excitement falling away with the current tension and feet dragging in the dirt.

Olivia sighed, 'I'll be damned if my issues are going to ruin the kid's big moment,' she patted Ruby on the shoulder, ushering her to go ahead with Blake, then fell back to walk in line with Weiss.

The heiress tensed, nervously glancing over to Olivia and away again.

"Hey."

"H-hey…"

"Just ignore what I said before. There's no reason to bring up the past now. Ruby wants to show off her team, so that's what we're going to be, alright?"

"I-I'll try…" Weiss recovered somewhat, but still seemed to be nervous, "Can you... tell me what happened?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Weiss shrugged weakly, "How am I supposed to help if I don't know what's wrong?"

Olivia shook her head, "It doesn't matter. The problem was already taken care of years ago."

"What do you mean?"

Olivia sighed. Even after all these years, she could still picture his face. Her voice came out in a snarl, "Beryl Verdigris… He was a council member that I stole from while I was living on the streets. I ran into him a couple days later, and he had me hauled off to the detainment center. He's… already dead. Has been for years now. There isn't a faunus on this planet that needs to worry about him anymore."

Blake's ears twitched, clearly listening in on their conversation despite Ruby speaking in a muted tone next to her, 'I'll probably have to explain that to her later, but… there's no defending what that man was trying to do to me.'

"Was it the…the-"

"The White Fang? Yeah," Olivia confirmed, raising her hands to hold them behind her head and feign being relaxed with the conversation. Her eyes strayed over to Weiss, who was looking at the ground with a wide-eyed expression, "You might hate the White Fang, Princess, but honestly… they saved me from the mines. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for them," she let out one quick, humorless laugh, "I might not have even been alive…"

"They saved you…?" Weiss asked quietly, more as a rhetorical question than one meant to be answered, but Olivia wasn't quite ready to stop there.

"Yes. As bad as you think they are, as cruel as some of their acts sound to an heiress that lived in the clouds… When you're struggling to survive on the streets, when your fellow faunus are being beaten, and death is as common as the air you breathe… The White Fang was an organization that we could look up to… one that fought for us, because the humans never would..."

"That's why you're so defensive of them…" Weiss's voice came out slightly choked, as if she was holding back her sadness, "I…"

Olivia raised a hand to wrap around Weiss's shoulder and draw her in sideways, clutching the heiress tightly. Between her current emotions, and Olivia's superior strength, she didn't even bother to fight back against the intrusion.

"That's enough about the past. I don't want to hear an apology. You had nothing to do with it. We've already established that, right? Just… try to understand that everyone has a reason for the things they do, no matter how bad it might seem to someone else. You'll never understand until you've walked a mile in their shoes…"

'For me at least, that would be a very blood-soaked mile…'

"How do you do it? Even after everything that happened to you, you're so confident… so…" Weiss shrugged weakly.

Olivia's next laugh was genuine, and she used her hold on the heiress to rock her from side to side, "Because I am what they call, a 'badass', Ms. Schnee. When life gets you down, you know what you've gotta do?"

"Um… make lemonade, or something…? I don't think that's how the saying goes..."

"No, Princess~ You grab life by the throat and squeeze until it uses your safe word, then you squeeze just a little harder."

Weiss's cheeks reddened as the heat rose to them and she pushed herself out of Olivia's hold, blushing furiously, "That's definitely not how that saying goes!"

Olivia laughed harder, easily drawing the attention of both Blake and Ruby who stopped in surprise, looking back to stare at the spider faunus. Weiss crossed her arms tightly and glared off into the forest, refusing to look back at her.

"Is everything okay…?"

Olivia managed to get herself under control, trying to speak for a few seconds but each time devolving into another fit. After a while, she finally managed to speak, "Everything is perfect, Ruby. I think team Rainbow is ready for their spectacular reveal," she glanced over to Weiss, "Don't you?"

Ruby glanced off to Weiss. The heiress noticed and rolled her eyes, letting a smile curl her lips, "Let's go meet your dad. If he's anything like you or your sister then I won't be disappointed."

Ruby stared intently for a few seconds before brightening, her previous subdued demeanor vanishing in an instant to be replaced with her usual happy go lucky attitude. Olivia flashed Weiss a thumbs up while their leader's back was turned, then stepped forward to place a hand on Ruby's shoulder and steer her once again towards the Xiao Long household.

"Any particular way you want to break the news, kid?"

"Nope! I just wanna be the one that tells him!" Ruby grinned.

A thought came to Olivia's mind, and she slipped her scroll out to send a message to Yang while they were still on their way to the cabin. The road gave way to another trail ahead, and soon enough the group of four girls were all headed down it. Olivia could see small glimpses of the cabin itself through the trees, the winding path certain to bring them to it.

"Hey, did you tell your dad about how the teams were assigned?" Olivia sent off the message quickly, sure to avoid letting Ruby see what it was she was typing out.

After a handful of seconds, and Olivia's patience wearing thin with the slowly approaching cabin, Yang sent her reply.

"Of course? Why wouldn't I? I told him the first night."

Olivia held back a groan and typed out, "Send him another right now and tell him to act surprised when Ruby says she's team leader!"

The trail wound through its final turn, revealing the cabin in full for all their eyes to see. The two story home sat atop a small hill, the green grass cut short and the trees set back a fair distance. In some ways, it reminded her of her first home, back in Mistral with her parents and Copper. Theirs had been a single story, though, and hadn't had any adjoining buildings like Tai's much nicer cabin.

Ruby happily skipped a few feet ahead of the rest and led them straight to the front door of the cabin. Olivia's nerves tensed, hoping against hope that Yang had managed to get her message through in time. Ruby grasped the door's knob and twisted before throwing it open with a loud bang.

"I'm hooooooooome~!" Ruby called out melodically, stepping through and gesturing for the rest to follow.

Olivia motioned Blake and Weiss to go ahead of her, then followed up behind to close the door behind them all.

"Welcome home, girls!" Tai rounded the kitchen corner, slipping his scroll into his pocket and rushing to grasp Ruby in a tight hug. The young reaper accepted readily, giggling in delight when Tai lifted her off the floor.

Zwei came zipping out of a back room, barking happily. Ruby shrugged off her father's hug to drop to the floor and pick up Zwei, spinning in a circle while asking him who was a good boy.

With her attention thoroughly diverted, the older blond gave Olivia a wink. Olivia felt herself relax, her body having been tensed up without her quite realizing it. Weiss and Blake stood awkwardly to each side of the entryway, but smiled at the familial display of affection.

Tai spared an eye to the other two he had yet to meet, "So Rubes, who've you brought with you this time?"

"Oh, right!" Ruby set Zwei down and zipped between the two of them, placing a hand first on Blake's shoulder, "This is Blake," she glanced over her shoulder, "You already know Olivia," she smiled to the heiress next to her, "And this is Weiss! Together, we make up team Rainbow! And guess what…?"

Tai spared a quizzical frown, raising one eyebrow.

"I'm the leader!" Ruby cheered.

A wide smile crossed Tai's face, "That's wonderful, sweetheart! Ohhh, your mom would be so proud!" he placed his hands on his hips, eyes roaming across the rest, "Glad to meet all of you. You'll take good care of my little Ruby, won't you?"

"I wouldn't dream of disappointing our leader," Blake replied kindly, a soft smile playing at her lips from watching Ruby's excitement.

"I always do my best, Mr. Xiao Long," Weiss nodded serenely.

"Do you even need to ask?" Olivia scoffed, leaning back against the door and winking back to Tai with a small smile.

Tai loudly clapped his hands together a single time, "Well, let me whip you kids something up to celebrate! Did you eat yet?"

"Not yet! I knew you'd want to make something!" Ruby confessed.

"Go ahead and make yourselves at home. I'll get started in the kitchen," Tai flashed another smile before heading off to it. The sound of cabinet doors opening and pots and pans being set on the counter could be heard from out in the living room.

Ruby waved a hand and stepped over into the actual living room itself. Olivia followed Tai into the kitchen while the others got situated, taking up places on the various recliners and the couch. Ruby could be heard loudly asking what they wanted to do, pointing out the movies on the nearby rack and the console beneath the screen.

Olivia walked in the kitchen to find Tai already measuring out flour, the other key ingredients to a cake strewn out across the countertop and the oven preheating. Alongside all of it were various burger toppings and the burgers themselves, waiting to be set on the pans currently heating up on the stove.

With her sixth sense, Olivia could feel that Ruby was too far away to overhear the two of them and relaxed, crossing her arms to lean against the counter, "I wasn't sure Yang got the message to you in time, or that you would've seen it before we walked in."

Tai smiled, "I'll always take the time for my daughters. Thanks for making sure I was warned beforehand. I wouldn't have wanted to disappoint Ruby like that."

Olivia shrugged nonchalantly, "It was nothing, really. I already ruined one part of the surprise thanks to my damn ocean sickness. I wasn't about to let the rest of it go to waste if I could help it."

"Qrow did tell me about that," he glanced towards the living room as the opening credits to a movie loudly began to play, "Do you need some money for the bullhead back? It isn't inexpensive, especially with four people."

Olivia shook her head, "I don't like to flaunt it or anything, but I've made a tidy sum for myself," she laughed once, "Also, the one wearing all white is Weiss Schnee. We're more than covered on that front."

"Schnee?" Tai's eyes went wide and his hand paused in place overtop the bowl he was mixing. He looked to Olivia, scrutinizing her closely," Are you two getting along?"

"Ah, ha…" Olivia rubbed a hand against the back of her head, "We are now. It was a rough first week, but we made it through. I didn't want anything to do with her at first, but… If Ruby likes her, then I can at least give her a chance, right?"

"Ruby has always been a pretty good judge of character," Tai nodded, "It's one of the reasons she sold me on you, despite you smashing a hole through my favorite door."

Olivia could tell by his smirk that he was kidding, but had the decency to appear apologetic regardless.

"Olivia! Hurry up! You're gonna miss the beginning!" Ruby called out in warning.

Olivia smiled, giving Tai another wink before straightening up from where she'd been leaning on the counter, "Duty calls~"

"You kids enjoy yourselves. I'll get started on lunch once I've got the cake in the oven," Tai went back to his task as Olivia nodded her thanks and walked back out into the living room.

Both Weiss and Ruby had taken up seperate recliners, while Blake was sitting on the couch with her feet drawn up, shoes set on the floor below to not get dirt on the cushions. Olivia chose the spot nearest her and layed out, her feet hanging off the end of the other arm rest and her head near Blake's knees.

"You know, lap pillows are the best pillows," Olivia remarked quietly, the movie already beginning in the middle of a loud action scene. Bullets whizzed by the hero and panged off the twisted metal he was using for cover, while explosions went off in the distance and people screamed in pain.

"Hm, unfortunate that there are none available to you," Blake smirked, drawing her feet in tighter to deny Olivia completely.

Olivia smiled, already knowing beforehand that the faunus wouldn't have gone for the idea. It was fun to mess with her all the same, "Does this remind you of days past? I was never one for large scale battles myself."

Blake glanced sharply towards the other two in the room, but relaxed upon seeing them engrossed in the loud movie. Besides that, Olivia had kept her voice down, easily unnoticed beneath the loud gunfight happening on screen, "No, not really. Given my… proclivity for stealth, I was always more inclined to a more refined touch. If I could get in and out without starting a fight at all, that was a successful mission," she eyed Olivia closely, "What about you?"

Olivia shrugged from her place on the couch, an odd movement that shuffled the cushion beneath her, "The fight was the mission for me. I could never avoid getting my hands dirty."

"And that council member… was he one of those missions?"

Olivia sighed, and gave a minute nod, "My first ever. We were afraid that once he learned I'd been set free, he would put out a search warrant for me, and I'd end up getting everyone else caught as well," she looked up into the soft, uncertain expression of Blake's eyes, "I mainly did it to protect myself, Blake. Not for revenge. Would you have been able to sleep at night, a lonely orphan, knowing that a council member was after you?"

Blake nodded, though was still reserved, "Fair enough. Did you still have to… do that, though?"

Olivia scoffed, "What else were we going to do? Bring him to justice? The entire Mistral council was made up of racist humans, aside from Lionheart. There was no legal way we could have done anything in the slightest to him."

"You didn't have to be the one that did it, Olivia. You were only a child…"

She shook her head, "Mistral is a completely different place from Vale. I had to be the one that did it because I needed to learn. The surest way to protect yourself is to remove all those that threaten you in the first place. Crim taught me the importance of that… of being decisive. I'll never forget his lessons."

Blake's eyes drifted over to Weiss, her voice breathless, "And now…?"

Olivia could feel through her senses how unthreatening Weiss had become. Where before she had been a source of constant headaches, now it was only a dull buzz, similar to Ruby herself. Olivia reached up to pat Blake on the knee, "The Princess isn't a threat, is she? You've all been very adamant about me learning that lesson as well. It isn't one I'll soon forget."

"I hope so, Olivia," there was a hint of doubt in Blake's voice, though she tried to hide it.

"Hey… I won't lie to you, alright? At least, I'll try not to. I can't overcome my issues without acknowledging them, and you've been more understanding than I ever would have hoped for. I really can't put into words how much that means to me."

Blake smiled softly, the truth of Olivia's words apparent in how she'd spoken. There was no sarcasm to it, like she usually might have used previously. It was direct and honest, just the way Olivia knew Blake liked it. 'Adam obviously lied to her a lot in the past to hide what he was. I'm not him… not anymore.'

The two left their conversation there, instead focusing on the movie that was playing. Action movies weren't really her favorite, but seeing Ruby excitedly sitting on the edge of her seat allowed Olivia to tolerate it that much more easily. After another handful of minutes had passed, Blake's ears twitched on top of her head, and Olivia could smell the wafting scent of cooking meat drifting out from the kitchen.

A familiar presence entered the range of Olivia's sixth sense, walking up the dirt trail to approach the cabin's front door. Olivia quickly hopped up to get to it first, then put on her most devilish smirk before swinging the door open.

"Sorry, we won't be needing any girl scout cookies today~"

Qrow rolled his eyes with a brief chuckle, "Don't let Ruby hear you saying that, she'll be out the door with her entire allowance faster than you can blink."

Olivia stepped back to let Qrow in, raising an eyebrow at the black blood coating the length of his weapon. He caught her glance and shrugged, "I would have been here sooner, but there was a pack of beowolves spotted near the town. A few of the folks were worried and asked me to look into it."

"I take it you found them, then? How many were there?"

"Couple dozen, nothing I couldn't handle easily enough."

Their conversation finally pulled Ruby's attention away from the loud movie, and she jumped up in glee, "Uncle Qrow!"

"Heya, kid," Qrow smiled, then took a moment to nod to Blake and Weiss, both of which offered small waves in return.

Ruby caught the exchange and straightened, "Qrow, meet Weiss and Blake!"

"Nice to meet ya," Qrow greeted them unenthusiastically, pulling the flask from his coat pocket and taking a sip before wiping his mouth, "I hope you aren't all little shits like Olivia here."

"Hey!" Olivia crossed her arms in a pretend huff, "They couldn't possibly be half the pain in your ass that I am!"

Qrow laughed and ruffled Olivia's hair before walking into the kitchen. Olivia straightened the strands back out and returned to the couch, reclining against the armrest on the opposite end from Blake. Ruby returned to her place on her chair and resumed the movie, the main character in the middle of an intense dialogue with the supposed villain. 'Now would be the perfect time to catch the hero by surprise… these villains are so unrealistic.'

After another few minutes, Tai called from the kitchen, "Lunch is ready! Come get it while it's hot!"

Ruby sprung up to pause the movie and darted ahead to the kitchen with Zwei hot on her heels, while Olivia laughed with a shake of her head and gestured for the other two to go ahead of her. After Blake and Weiss had stepped into the kitchen, Olivia leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, watching the entire congregation going about piecing together their burgers.

Blake and Weiss were awkward among the others, unsure of themselves around the two much older huntsmen, and tended to stick near Ruby as much as possible. Qrow and Tai bantered back and forth, in the middle of stacking their burgers high with toppings. Ruby took her duty as leader seriously and helped Blake and Weiss, doling out the patties on to their buns while the two held their plates up.

Seeing them all so happy, so content… An odd sadness settled into Olivia's chest while she stood there watching, a reminder of all the things she had missed when growing up. If things had been different… 'Would I have celebrated with my parents like this…?' Would that be Copper, helping Olivia to make her burger while her parents stood in the background, happily congratulating her on getting into Haven? If not them, would it be Crim and July, with Jace instead?

Feeling that sadness welling up, and the moisture she was beginning to blink back in her eyes, Olivia stepped back into the living room and headed for the door. She silently made her way outside and looked around, spotting a tree swing off to the side. It was little more than two ropes wrapped around a branch that supported a single plank of wood, but she sat on it all the same.

Her feet pushed gently against the grass beneath, head down and tears not quite yet falling, but threatening to all the same. Olivia swayed ever so slightly, her spirit diminishing with every moment that passed. Her hands clenched the ropes on either side, a white knuckle grip to stop herself from bringing them to her face. She couldn't acknowledge the tears… that would make them real.

'I miss them so much…'

Olivia's mind was caught in the past, replaying some of her dearest memories over and over. Copper reading comic books with her, playing tag and hide n' seek along the outskirts of their small home… All of the training sessions with Jace, and the times they'd go to get a meal after. Just the two of them, enjoying each other's company… With Copper long gone, Olivia had looked up to Jace more than she'd ever been able to admit to him. He was strong and kind… just how she'd always remembered her own brother to be.

'Could this be a new replacement…?' Olivia couldn't dare hope for it to be. She had been so crushed before, when all of those bright people she'd gotten to know where snuffed out. It wasn't fair… How many homes had she already lost?

Olivia heard the door open and close behind her before feeling Weiss's presence. The heiress scanned across the surrounding treeline, spotting Olivia and heading in her direction. Despite having her back turned, the spider faunus could still feel the two plates that Weiss held.

"There you are. We were wondering where you ran off to all of a sudden," Weiss closed the distance and stood behind her, frowning at Olivia's back, "I uh… brought your plate out for you. Did you want to come back inside, or…?"

Olivia used her coat sleeve to wipe her face as discreetly as she could while standing up, fiercely blinking back whatever tears were left before turning around with a smile, "Just needed to clear my head a bit. You guys really didn't need to worry. It's not like anything around here would stand a chance against me."

Weiss's hand paused in the middle of handing Olivia's plate over, her eyes looking closely at her face. Her expression grew more somber, a hint of sympathy behind her eyes, "Are you okay…?"

Olivia waved her hand dismissively and reached out to grab the plate, "Of course. When am I not?" She gestured back towards the cabin with her free hand before picking up the burger and taking a small bite, speaking past the food in her mouth, "Let's not keep them worrying any longer than they need to, eh?"

"O-okay," Weiss accepted that she wasn't going to get anything more out of the faunus and began heading back to the cabin, keeping herself at a slow pace to match with Olivia, who was taking advantage of the heiress's turned back to wipe her face off more thoroughly.

They reached the door and Weiss held it open for her, letting Olivia walk in first before stepping in after and letting it close behind them. Ruby and Zwei took up their original seat, while Blake had returned to her spot, joined by Tai and Qrow taking up the remaining places on the couch.

Olivia's eyes scanned across the group, looking for another place to sit. Weiss seemed to notice and bumped a shoulder against her in passing, nodding to the recliner, "Come sit with me. We're both pretty small, so we'll fit just fine."

Making good on her own words, Weiss moved to the recliner and sat down, edging as far into the armrest on her side as she could. Seeing no other place, Olivia begrudgingly accepted the offer and sat down next to her. Even with both of them being relatively small in stature, their legs were still pressed together between them, and they had to lean away from each other to not bump elbows while they ate.

Olivia could feel Blake's eyes on the two of them instead of the movie, and sent her a quick glance that spoke volumes of how she felt about the current predicament. A small smile tugged at Blakes lips, her mirth not quite hidden while watching the two awkwardly trying to maneuver so that they were touching as little as possible. Olivia narrowed her eyes to show that she didn't see the humor in it, before turning back to her meal and the movie.

With not much interest in the movie that was beginning to ramp up to its eventual climactic battle, Olivia took Weiss's plate and her own into the kitchen to wash them, placing them in the drying rack afterwards. Even from her place at the counter, she could hear Ruby gasping with each explosion, and Tai and Qrow shouting encouragement at the screen.

A sense of calm settled over Olivia's heart, and she leaned against the counter with a sigh, closing her eyes and raising a hand to her chest, 'Maybe… maybe I could call this place home… but… not yet.'

The end credits of the movie began to play, a triumphant soundtrack meant to fill the listeners with a sense of accomplishment. Olivia walked back out into the living room to see the group standing up, a few of them stretching. Ruby hopped up from her chair, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

Olivia eyed the rest of her team, "Well, did we want to head out? We were still supposed to hit up the arcade before we leave Patch, right?"

"Yeah!" Ruby pumped a fist into the air, still riding the high of the movie's exciting ending.

Weiss and Blake agreed as well. Qrow and Tai chose to remain behind, and gave them all a fond farewell as the group began their trip back into town. Ruby discussed the movie with Blake and Weiss while Olivia listened, following the other three from behind and enjoying their conversation despite not taking part in it. Ruby was obsessed with the hero, and loudly proclaimed that she would be just like that when she was a huntress.

"What part did you like the most, Olivia?" Ruby asked over her shoulder, trying to include the mostly quiet faunus.

"Uh, the part with all the explosions, of course."

Blake flashed her an amused grin, "So the majority of the movie? That's the part I liked, too."

"I do wish there had been more of an emphasis on the villain's motives," Weiss interjected, holding her chin in one hand, "I mean, who in their right mind would make it their goal to rule the world? Do you know how much paperwork would be involved in that?"

"I thought you liked paperwork, Princess? You're always so quick to do your homework."

"I like learning," Weiss scoffed.

"Isn't much difference, as far as I'm concerned," Olivia shrugged, "I tend to learn more easily when it's something I can actually work with. Checking off multiple choice questions on a piece of paper doesn't really hold my interest all too well."

"Some people are more hands on in their approach," Weiss remarked. She turned a considering eye to Olivia, measuring her up and down, "You don't suppose you'd want to make a deal with a Schnee, would you?"

"Depends on the deal," Olivia replied truthfully, "If you want help setting up another labor camp then I'm not your gal."

Weiss rolled her eyes, "No. I was wondering if you'd want to… exchange specialties, in a way. I'm much more studious, and can help you with your classwork, while you're a better fighter… Would you spar more often with me in exchange? Help me hone my skills so that it isn't such a one sided affair the next time we actually fight in class?"

Olivia rubbed her chin thoughtfully, then smirked, "This wouldn't be your way of trying to get in more opportunities to hit me, would it Princess?"

"Of course not. I want to grow as a huntress, and it sounds like a fair trade to me. Do you disagree?"

"Pity. I almost thought you'd started to learn a thing or two from me like Ruby has," she shrugged, "I suppose that's alright," her eyes drifted off to Ruby, who was giving the two of them a wide grin, "...We are teammates, after all."

"Great!" Weiss nodded happily, gaining a skip to her step as they walked along the trail. Blake shared a small thumbs up with her as well, an attempt to show that she was glad the two of them were managing to get past their differences.

Olivia sighed, content to let things continue on as they were. Her misplaced hatred for the heiress had been dropped by the wayside, replaced with a mild tolerance. As long as Weiss continued as she was, not getting on Olivia's nerves and acting how a true teammate should… she was willing to reciprocate.

Olivia had the sudden urge to set up another night off with Melanie, and shot her a text asking when would be a good time for her. With the girl's response of being free on Wednesday along with a winking emoji, Olivia decided to put one of her previous ideas into action.

'Those library rooms did look like a place you could have a lot of fun in.'

Slowly but surely, it appears that Olivia may in fact be getting over her past traumas and is coming to accept her team as a new 'family' to put her trust in. If Widow's prediction doesn't come true, then Ozpin may in fact have another hero in the making.

- A question that I wanted to pose to my followers. Would you rather have smut included? The story is rated M after all, though I never specifically planned on having it. I wanted to know what everyone's perspectives were on it. Add it in, don't add it in. I'd appreciate a bit of feedback, as I don't want to alienate anyone.

(If enough people don't want it then I'll keep it as I've been doing it. References and smaller actions that don't include full on descriptions while steering clear of the true acts themselves.)

Thanks for reading,

- Sybaen