The trip back to the dorm was uncomfortably silent. Blake kept an eye on her leader, seeing the girl fretting quietly due to the mood her partner was in. Weiss walked a little ways behind the two of them, alternating between a glare for the ground at her feet, and a crestfallen expression that tugged on the faunus girl's heartstrings. Blake had some inkling as to what Weiss might be going through, but it appeared as if their leader wasn't experienced enough in the ways of the heart to understand.

"H-Hey… Weiss?"

"I'm fine, Ruby."

They were the last words spoken during the remainder of their trip once Olivia had left them, off to enjoy a few hours away with the other girl she was having a more intimate relationship with. Olivia likely had no idea the mess she had caused with what would have usually been so common an event. Now Blake was left to pick up the pieces, the only one qualified through past experiences of her own to talk someone through heartache.

The only issue was… 'Do I even want to encourage Weiss to pursue Olivia…?' Blake was well aware of at least some of Olivia's past. They had both been members of the infamous White Fang, and even though Olivia had left the organization far earlier than Blake herself had, the spider faunus firmly retained all that past resentment because of her own, bloody past.

Olivia had managed to get better over the last few weeks, letting her previous reservations regarding the heiress fall to the wayside in favor of their team's cohesion. Blake might have even dared to say they were becoming friends, despite Olivia's fierce denials to the contrary.

'What if Weiss did manage to win her over, but then things didn't work out…?'

The chances of it all ending in disaster were unmistakably present, and rather high, if Blake was to trust her own judgement. The aftermath of a failed relationship between the two could leave their team in an even greater mess than it had been initially. As far as Blake was concerned… that was an unacceptable outcome.

Even still, glancing back while Weiss was busy once more staring at the pavement with such forlorn features… Blake knew she would need to tread carefully in her attempts to persuade Weiss against trying anything with Olivia. It was certainly the first time the prim and proper heiress had ever even had a crush. On the other hand, if Blake didn't act quickly, then the situation was sure to boil over sooner rather than later. Weiss wouldn't know how to confront those feelings, nor how to confront Olivia over them.

A swift Bullhead returned them to the Beacon campus while she was still deep in thought, none of the girls wasting any time in returning to their dorm room. Blake grabbed the comic book she was currently in the midst of reading and retreated to her top bunk, content to survey the heiress further while thinking of how to approach the issue. Weiss sat at her desk and pulled out the homework they had been assigned from Oobleck, dropping her history textbook with more force than was necessary before hefting it open.

Ruby stood somewhere in the middle, uncertainly darting her eyes between Weiss's back, her own desk, and the door. Her feet were set to retreat from the situation, while her hand trembled in its desire to raise and offer Weiss the comfort she needed. Blake could see the pressure mounting, Ruby's constant need to be a worthwhile leader conflicting with her own social ineptitude.

Blake decided to take matters into her own hands before her leader could potentially make things worse. Ruby's boundless optimism and tendency to look past Olivia's faults wasn't what was needed here. "Ruby?" Blake spoke up, quietly grabbing their leader's attention.

Ruby outright flinched in surprise, spinning on her heel to stare at Blake timidly. She was biting her lip, nearly drawing blood if not for her aura's current activation.

"I think Yang wanted to talk to you about something. You shouldn't keep your sister waiting too long," Blake lied for Ruby's benefit, giving their leader a gentle smile and a nod towards the door.

Ruby breathed a muted sigh of relief and nodded in return, sparing Blake a pleading pair of eyes for her to do something that would help with whatever Weiss was going through. Blake made a shooing motion with her hand, and turned her eyes to the heiress's back while Ruby gathered a few items and left.

The only sound that remained was the turning of pages, and the quiet scratching of Weiss's pen on her paper. Her mood seemed to have improved slightly, the classwork helping to take her mind off the real issues weighing on her mind. Blake was content to leave it alone for a few more minutes. To wait for an opportune moment.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Weiss had other plans.

"Stop staring at me," Weiss muttered, quiet enough that even Blake had trouble hearing it. The heiress had stopped in her writing, and was gripping her pen tightly with dainty fingers, knuckles white.

"I… don't know what you mean…"

Weiss grimaced as she turned around, staring up at where Blake sat perched on her top bunk, "I might be human, but that doesn't make me dense, Blake. Even I can tell when I'm being stared at… You haven't flipped the page on your comic book for a few minutes. I know you're a much faster reader than that."

"I'd never think of you as dense, Weiss…" Blake thought over her response for a moment, then continued, "You're right. I'm sorry for staring, but… I'm worried about you. I'm not stupid either, and even Ruby was able to pick up on the bad mood you've been in since Olivia left. Do you… do you want to talk about it?"

Weiss turned back to her homework, but neither flipped the page nor continued writing with the pen that was long forgotten. After a dozen seconds where Blake feared she wouldn't respond, the heiress finally gave a loud huff and buried her head in her hands. It took her a minute to finally speak, and when she did, it was in a quivering tone.

"I just… realized some things about myself recently…"

Blake waited calmly, surprised by the sudden shift in the heiress's attitude. 'This goes beyond just realizing you have a crush…'

"I… umm... I'm…" Weiss trembled where she sat, terrified of speaking further. She dropped her head down into her forearm, hiding her face from view while light sobs racked her body.

The truth of the matter clicked in Blake's head like a flipped switch. She was off her bed and at the heiress's side in an instant, wrapping her in the best hug she could manage due to their awkward positions, "It's okay, Weiss. Take your time... We're friends, right? You can tell me anything. I promise I won't judge you."

Weiss lifted her head slightly at that, looking into the worried smile that Blake leveled in her direction. Tears had already welled up in her eyes, her lithe body shaking from head to toe. Weiss managed to calm down a little, giving Blake a tentative nod of acceptance.

"After… reading that book… the one that Olivia let me borrow…" Weiss spoke slowly, her confidence raising the tiniest amount as she continued, "There was a scene in it. A… scene between two girls… I…" she trembled once more, eyes flinching away from Blake's own, "...I liked it… a lot…"

Blake nodded her understanding, but deep down was sorry for the humor she'd found in the heiress's acts that night. If she had known what Weiss was really going through… it seemed more obvious, in retrospect. The copious amounts of scents used to cover it up should have clued Blake in to how ashamed Weiss really felt. Far more than was necessary, even for a first time.

Blake turned Weiss in her chair so that she could administer her hug more properly, clutching the heiress tightly around the chest and refusing to let go. After a few moments of hesitation, Weiss reciprocated, and Blake could feel the warm drip of tears from where she had buried her face in the faunus's neck.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of, Weiss. You're a perfectly normal, healthy woman. There's nothing wrong with liking other girls, especially not in that way. Anyone that tells you otherwise is an idiot, and don't you forget that."

Weiss nodded against her neck, clutching even more tightly at the reassuring words that she'd undoubtedly wanted to hear. Blake brought one hand up and gently ran it down through her hair, doing her best to soothe the heiress further. 'Now for the difficult part…'

"And, this might just be a wild guess, but… you like Olivia, don't you…?" Blake remained as neutral as possible in her attempt to draw out more from Weiss, hoping now that she'd opened up, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from going further.

Weiss was silent for a long while, continuing in their embrace and seeming to not mind the hand still gliding down through her silky white hair. After it had almost felt like too much time had passed, Blake felt the other girl's chest bubbling once more, this time in a humorless laugh.

"I'm an idiot."

Blake sighed, stopping to pull back and hold Weiss by the shoulders. It allowed her to stare into the other girl's red rimmed eyes, to see the pain and confusion that remained. "You're not an idiot, Weiss. We don't get to choose who we fall for. Our hearts do that for us. What we can do… is decide whether or not our hearts are wrong…"

Weiss looked away towards the wall, refusing to meet Blake's gaze as her face contorted in doubt, "You mean that Olivia and I wouldn't work out together… right?"

"I think…" Blake paused, choosing her words carefully, "I think there's too much keeping the two of you apart. Admittedly… mostly on Olivia's end. A friendship between a faunus and a Schnee was already a longshot. Now that you have it… do you really want to risk breaking all of that apart? What happens if it doesn't work out, and you end up back at square one? What do the next four years look like for our team?"

"I wouldn't want to damage what we already have…"

Blake nodded, glad that Weiss hadn't been blinded by her own desires, "Olivia is a complicated person. There's no telling what she would do, but… my lien would be on her turning you down outright. She's willing to put aside her differences enough to be friends, despite how much she denies that fact. If you were to press the issue and try to take things further…?"

"It would only strain our friendship…" Weiss agreed quietly, still staring towards the wall. She turned finally to regard Blake again, eyes pleading for help, "But what do I do about my feelings? Every time I look at her now…" her cheeks reddened, gaze darting away in embarrassment, "I… I can't help it…"

Blake thought about what would be best. Encouraging Weiss to hold out hope might only make her resentful in time, each visit to Melanie carving a wider and wider gap between the two teammates that would bleed into their friendship. At the same time, Blake knew from personal experience how powerful a first crush could be, to what lengths you might go to overlook the things they'd done.

"Maybe… keep an open mind. There's plenty of fish in the sea, as they say. And while you're doing that… get to know Olivia better. Find out her likes and dislikes, her hopes and dreams… The two of you could be even less compatible than you realize. It would be better to find that out before things got more serious. We've been a team for less than a month, after all."

Weiss sighed, raising one sleeve to wipe away the tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Blake. I'll take your advice into consideration. You're… you're probably right. I've never felt like this about anyone before, so I'm likely the least experienced on the team aside from Ruby." She shook her head dejectedly, "How pathetic is that…"

"Not at all," Blake assured her. "People discover new things about themselves all the time. I can only guess at how sheltered your life might have been before Beacon… It's not your fault, Weiss."

Weiss finally smiled, the first she'd shown since before Olivia had separated from them, "What did I do to deserve you? A Schnee, being comforted by a faunus," she laughed mirthlessly, "I never thought I'd see the day."

Blake pulled her in for a hug once more, one that the heiress reciprocated immediately. When they parted, the faunus shook her head in amusement, "All you ever had to do was be yourself. That's more than enough for me." Blake stood and began returning to her bed, glad that her advice had been taken to heart.

"As long as we're telling secrets, is there anything you wanted to get off your chest as well?" Weiss asked quietly, turning back to her homework whilst dabbing at her face with a sleeve.

Blake paused, thoughts of the White Fang flickering through her mind. "...Maybe someday, but… not today."

Blake could feel Weiss's look of surprise leveled at her back, but ignored it as she jumped up into her bunk once more to continue reading. Much of the advice she'd shared was relevant to her own predicament. Revealing something like her history with the White Fang was too much, too soon.

'Once Weiss knows me better…'

Blake would share her own secrets, in time.

Olivia stretched with her arms raised above her head, letting out a delicate whimper as the bruises across her body began to heal. Melanie lay on the bed, idly watching while enjoying the afterglow of their sexual endeavors. Olivia sighed in relief as she felt the pain ebb away, and began the usual task of putting her clothes back on for the other girl's enjoyment.

Arriving at her socks and shoes, Olivia turned to sit on the bed and reached down, only to find two arms once more wrapped around her shoulders. Melanie spared her a pout from the side, rubbing her chest against Olivia's back in a clear invitation, "Leaving so soon~? I thought we could enjoy ourselves a little longer…"

"I would love to, really," Olivia replied honestly, flashing the other girl a smirk while her eyes roamed, "But… I am worried about my friends. I trust Cinder… or rather, I trust her not to flake on a deal… Still, I want to make sure they're alright."

Melanie let out a small 'hmph' before sitting back and crossing her arms, drawing attention to her chest as if to show Olivia what she would be missing out on, "That's fine. I need to shower and start my shift anyway…"

The ringtone on Olivia's scroll interrupted her reply, and she paused long enough to check the caller ID before grinning slightly. Turning away so that Melanie wouldn't be exposed in the shot, Olivia accepted the call.

"Hey, old man~"

"Hey, kid. Heard you were out of the infirmary. Figured your teammates would all be either too young or too uptight to have a proper night out. Want to get some drinks?"

Olivia laughed, "You're a bit too old, not to mention a dude. Sorry to burst your bubble, Qrow, but I'm just not that into you."

Qrow glowered for a few moments before rolling his eyes, finger moving towards the button to end the call, "Alright. Forget I asked-"

"Wait-wait-wait!" Olivia held a hand up, smirk fading to be replaced by a genuine smile. "As luck would have it, I'm already at a bar. You should be able to figure out the one, right?"

Qrow squinted, finally making out some of the room's details. He grinned and let out a low whistle, "Man, you sure don't waste time."

Olivia shrugged, "A woman has her needs. How soon can you get here?"

"Should only take me a few. Save me a seat and I'll buy the first round."

"You can buy the second. Lord knows I could use a drink right about now."

Qrow winked, finger returning to end the call, "You've got yourself a deal. See ya soon, kid."

Olivia repocketed her scroll as the call cut out, humming happily to herself now that she had a chance to see Qrow again. Team Coffee's safety was still near the forefront of her mind, but she could make time for him. She doubted Cinder would go back on her word.

A quiet, "Ahem", interrupted Olivia's humming, as she realized that Melanie was still there behind her and would have heard the entire conversation. "So… you can make time for him, but not me?"

Olivia had finished with her shoes and stood once more to spin around, raising her hands placatingly, "It's not like that! I just don't see him all that often, so I wanted to make the most of it!"

Melanie glared, nakedness entirely forgotten in the spiteful wrath that appeared to be brewing. "What about your friends? Didn't you need to check up on them?"

Olivia scrubbed a hand against the back of her head, "I do, it's just…" Her words dwindled into silence, already seeing the direction the conversation was going, and knowing she didn't want it to go there.

"I'm just less important."

"Mel…" Olivia took a few seconds to put her thoughts in order, wanting to assuage the girl's anger as gently as possible, while also making it clear what the two of them were in her mind. "We already had our fun for the day, didn't we?"

Melanie simply stared at her, face unchanging for a half dozen long, drawn out seconds. Finally, she turned away, muttering something under her breath that Olivia couldn't quite make out. Melanie hopped off the bed and strode to the bathroom, pausing with her hand on the door after she'd entered it. She looked back, and Olivia could see some of her frustration falling away to be replaced with something else.

"I need to get ready for work."

The door was slammed shut before Olivia could reply, hand raised even though she was uncertain exactly what she'd been planning to do. 'Doesn't she know this was only ever supposed to be casual?' Olivia wasn't in the market for anything serious. Her current commitment was to Beacon and her friends, a dream she had held tightly to for years despite the odds. Nothing was going to get in the way of that.

With a sigh of vexation, Olivia double checked to make sure she had everything and headed downstairs, into the flashing lights and loud music that pervaded the space. Even on a weekday, the club managed to draw in a sizable crowd. Many were dancing and having a good time instead of drinking, allowing Olivia to find two seats that were still open.

"Hey, Junior!" Olivia called out over the crowd, cupping her hands together to get his attention. The mountain of a man searched for a few seconds before finally spotting her further down the bar, waving her hands to be seen past the group nearby.

Junior lumbered over, already cleaning a glass in his hands to set down in front of Olivia. He reached up and grabbed a bottle of whisky, pouring it into the glass and pushing it across to her. Olivia accepted it with a grateful smile, downing it in one shot.

"Heard from Mel that somethin' happened to put you in the hospital. Didn't think the Grimm could get the better of someone like you," Junior raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Olivia scoffed, pushing her glass back for another shot, "The Grimm never could. I just had a fever~"

Junior snorted and began to pour, "Must have been some fever."

"You could say that," Olivia agreed. She pulled the glass back to herself once it had been filled again, then nodded with her chin towards the other glasses on the rack behind him, "Pour me out one more, if you don't mind. Got a friend coming that should be here any minute."

"A friend from Beacon, or…?" Regardless of her answer, Junior did as she asked and poured out another shot, sliding it over next to the first.

"Something like that..." Olivia swirled her own glass, looking down at it in thought, "Speaking of Mel, though… Has she been talking a lot about me?"

Junior frowned in worry and held his hands up slightly, motioning that Olivia should calm down as if he thought she might be angry, "Nothing you wouldn't want spread around, if that's what you mean."

Olivia shook her head, "No. I know she's smarter than that."

Junior let out a relieved breath, then shrugged, "Mel has brought you up a lot in the last week or so. When she was excited about getting to see you again, then when she was worried 'cuz you were sick."

"She's getting too attached, then," Olivia sighed, placing her chin in one hand, elbow propped up against the bar. "I was only ever looking to have some fun here, not get into anything serious."

"Is that so bad?"

"It is when you're me. I don't exactly have the best luck when it comes to these sorts of things."

'And Widow would probably kill her if she ever found out. A human falling for me. Might as well sign her death certificate myself while I'm at it.'

"You want me to talk some sense into her?" Junior continued scrubbing the same empty glass as they spoke, a worried frown on his face.

"...It would be better that way. At least make sure no one's encouraging her, either. No way anything involving me ends happily. I'll tell you that much."

Junior gave a quiet 'hmph', "Don't sell yourself short, Lotus. Still… I'll try to make sure she gets the message. You wanting to cut things off completely?"

Olivia balked, "Let's not be too hasty. I still enjoy my time with her, in and out of bed. It just shouldn't go any further than that..."

Junior was quiet for a time, ignoring the calls of other patrons while idly cleaning the same, singular glass. He finally sighed, raising his eyes back to Olivia with a clouded expression, "Just don't hurt her."

"That's what I'm trying to avoid," Olivia promised.

Junior nodded and left to fill other orders, finally placing the empty glass back on the rack. Olivia watched him go with a worried frown. 'He knows her better than I do, so he should be able to handle it.' Still, it felt a little too impersonal, perhaps, to leave that conversation up to someone else. 'I'll make it up to you, Mel. I promise that, too.'

Fun was fun. That's all it ever needed to be. You didn't need to get into a relationship to have it, especially not when it was bound to end in disaster or even death, like what had happened to all of Olivia's loved ones up until that point.

'You either learn from experience, or you're doomed to repeat it…'

Olivia felt Qrow's approach long before he'd spotted her. He sat heavily, immediately noticing the two glasses that rested on the counter. "Please tell me one of those is for me."

"Hmmmm," Olivia downed one while keeping a firm hand on the other, turning after to shoot Qrow a devilish smirk, "Do Peeping Toms deserve gifts, I wonder?"

"Ah c'mon, kid! That was an accident!"

Olivia snorted, pushing the glass over to him, "I suppose I'll forgive you. Was probably the only action you've gotten in the past fifty years anyway~"

"I'm forty-three," Qrow replied, taking the shot like a champion and slamming the glass back down on the bar. He raised a hand, waving Junior over far more easily than Olivia had. Once the large man arrived, Qrow spoke up once more while sliding his lien across the counter, "We'll have a couple more of those each."

"Coming right up," Junior spoke gruffly, uncertain of whether or not he should appear too friendly with Olivia in front of the older man. Olivia shot him a wink to tell him he was on the right track, then returned to the conversation at hand.

"How goes life outside Beacon? Must be terribly boring now that you don't have Yang and Ruby running around the house."

"If by boring you mean peaceful, then yeah, you nailed it in one," Qrow laughed, downing the first glass he was offered. He sighed afterwards, idly playing with the empty glass, "Honestly, I've been too busy to really stick around the place all that much to begin with. If anything, it's Tai that's had the run of the place in our absence. That little surprise party you lot threw was the last time I was there."

Olivia frowned, "What's been keeping you so busy?"

Qrow waved his hand absentmindedly, "Just Beacon business. That and the White Fang have been acting up a lot more. Their murder count's gone through the roof, last few weeks. Oz thought there might have been a connection, but..." he shrugged, "Nothing I've been able to piece together."

'Like Cinder hiring my mother to keep you distracted…?' Olivia thought dejectedly. She'd never seen Qrow get into a proper fight, but both adults had a substantial amount of aura compared to most. If Qrow did catch up and it came to blows between the two of them…? 'Sorry, Qrow. My money is on Widow…'

All the better that she was a master of stealth, then. The likelihood of her ever even being on the same city block as him were close to…

To…

'God damn it, Widow…'

The woman's presence pinged in her sixth sense, alerting Olivia to her mother's presence in the crowd behind her. Widow was moving just within the bounds of Olivia's range, headed for the stairs up to the private staff quarters. For an instant, Olivia worried she was going after Melanie, but quickly discarded the notion as foolish. There was no way she'd know what Olivia had only just learned herself.

"Sorry, Qrow. I'll be right back," Olivia excused herself, patting him on the shoulder briefly before hopping off her stool and heading for the stairs. She could see Widow walking up them, long, straight red hair swishing across the back of her black leather clad shoulders.

Widow disappeared into one of the side rooms, the one that Olivia had killed Cardin in. She followed cautiously, aware that her mother likely wouldn't have anything devious planned in such a scenario, but still less than thrilled to be seeing her there of all places.

When Olivia opened the door, it was to find Widow lounging against the back wall, arms crossed with a smug grin across her face. She appeared completely at ease, though knowing Widow, that could easily be only an act.

"Really, Lotus? I wouldn't have thought you the type to go after older men~" she teased, pushing away from the wall to walk closer to her daughter.

"I'm just full of unpleasant surprises. I must get that from you," Olivia shot back.

Widow rolled her eyes at the backhanded insult, "Please, Little Spider. There's no need for that. How have you been? Your aura feels mostly intact, if not completely regenerated. Are you eating enough?"

Olivia crossed her arms, "I'm fine, thanks for asking. I must say, your concern seems to be a bit late, though. Last I recall, you ditched me to die in the forest. My teammates had to find me."

"After they…?"

Olivia frowned, "After they what?"

"That is the question~"

"They found me after they were attacked by Grimm."

"And…?"

"And…" Olivia's frown deepened, remembering the story as it had been told, a jumbled mess between all of her friends. "And they chased a Beowolf to me…"

Widow smiled viciously, "You're welcome."

Olivia took a step back towards the door, "You sent it? How!?"

Widow stepped across the intervening space slowly, swaying as she did and raising a finger to trail it across Olivia's shoulder. She flinched slightly, hair and goosebumps standing on end, "Were you unaware of Cinder's connections to a certain faunus we're both familiar with? Turns out, they serve the same master."

"Tyrian?" Olivia frowned, shying away from her mother's touch. "Is that how they paid you to work for them? Train up the White Fang, set them loose, and suddenly now you can control the Grimm as well?"

Widow paused, "It was… one of many incentives, yes."

Olivia couldn't help but admit to her own curiosity, despite how abhorrent she found the idea itself. "How do you do it?"

Widow smirked, "I knew you'd be interested." She returned to stand in front of Olivia and leaned forward, gesturing with one finger towards her heart. "Use your sixth sense, dear. Feel out, and find what doesn't belong."

Olivia frowned, but did as she suggested. She closed her eyes, feeling out with her sixth sense and focusing in on her mother's chest. At first, there seemed to be no difference, but then…

A tiny creature moved inside, darting across Olivia's senses before once more coming to a standstill. Afterwards, knowing what to look for, she could still feel it. Something that, as Widow had said, didn't truly belong.

"Is… is that…?"

"A Grimm. One that has bonded with my body and makes the beasts believe I'm one of them. I can control the Grimm at my leisure, directing them as I please," Widow smiled in delight, and Olivia could feel the small Grimm scurrying around inside of her in response.

It made her sick.

Widow was too enthralled to notice. She clasped her hands together in a singular clap, laughing giddily, "Oh, you wouldn't believe how thrilling it is, Little Spider. Even without the control, I can feel how the Grimm has changed me. It courses through my very blood, giving me strength like I've never had before! Once you're done with this foolish dream of yours and-"

"It isn't foolish."

Widow paused in her rambling, eyes returning to Olivia in momentary shock, then frustration. That eventually gave way to a forlorn sigh, her mother faking a smile for Olivia's benefit, "Yes, darling… It's your dream, and I will let you live it until its eventual conclusion. When that happens-"

"It won't."

Widow glowered, placing both hands on her hips, "Really, Lotus? Have things not already begun to fall apart? Why are you here in the company of an old man if your friends are so dear to you?"

"I needed to get into contact with Cinder. My teammates and I are getting along just fine. Better than fine, even. We're one of the top two teams in the first year, maybe even the entire school!"

Widow brought a hand to her face, "That was a foregone conclusion no matter what team you ended up on, Little Spider. I doubt anyone other than the teachers themselves could survive a brush with the Black Lotus. Even then, their chances are dubious at best. Once they inevitably find out who you truly are, that brittle friendship will shatter into dust."

"I'm not having this argument with you again. You can't change my mind, and I know I'll never change yours…" Olivia turned away, eyes on the door out of the room. "Are we done here?"

Widow let loose a long, drawn out sigh, "You're right on that, at least. However, I did have one other reason for coming to find you. The girl, Neo. You know of her?"

Olivia nodded, not trusting herself to speak further.

"Well, she's a friend of Roman's. I owe the girl a favor, and promised I'd make sure you were aware. If you did have plans on exacting revenge... make sure you're prepared for the fallout."

'Neo is a friend of Torchwick's?' Olivia thought on the new information for a few moments, but ultimately decided it didn't change anything. She didn't have any plans to outright kill Roman, not unless he happened to attack her friends again, especially Ruby. As long as the thief stayed out of her way, she'd stay out of his.

"Thanks for the warning. Anything else?" Olivia spoke in a clipped tone, making it clear that she'd rather not be there any more.

Olivia could feel Widow slump tiredly, "No, that was pretty much it. I really am glad you're alright, Lotus. I've seen that sickness take many faunus lives in the past. You wouldn't have been the first to fall to it, and certainly wouldn't have been the last. I… was scared for you, when I saw you like that in the forest."

Olivia sighed, "Well, I'm all better now. Nothing to worry about."

Widow shook her head, "I'll always be worried, Little Spider. That's what mothers are for, after all. Sorry to disturb you while you were with a friend... Have fun."

Olivia pushed the door open and left, leaving her mother alone in the room. She paused outside the door, closing her eyes for a moment to let herself relax. It would hardly do to return to Qrow when she couldn't keep a smile on her face.

As it turned out, she didn't really need to worry. By the time Olivia returned downstairs, Qrow was already in the midst of leaving, on the edge of his seat and waiting for Olivia to appear before dashing over to her.

"Sorry, kid. I gotta go! Oz needs me right away, something about a town that was attacked… I'll message you later!"

Olivia could only watch as Qrow made a beeline for the door, slamming through it past the confused guards, disappearing out into the Vale night air.

'Did something happen to Coffee…?' Worry clutched at Olivia's heart, steeled by years of death, now softened by the warmth of her peers. With one last stop by the counter to finish off her drink, she followed Qrow into the night.

'So… this 'Qrow' fellow is high up enough that even the Headmaster trusts him?' Widow mused, standing at the top of the stairs and watching as her daughter quickly left in his wake, heedless of the raven haired girl dressed in white that rudely brushed past her to head downstairs.

'Perhaps Neo will be able to fulfill her part of the deal sooner than expected…'

Widow smirked as she dialed the girl's number, ready to put her plans into action.

'Oh, this is going to be fun~'