The room remained quiet. There was no sound, no movement other than the slow, gentle tapping of Cinder's finger against her crossed forearm. She stood looking out the window, her back turned to the rest. Emerald sat on her bed nearby, waiting with bated breath like the other two occupants of the room. Mercury stood near the door, trying to appear relaxed by casually leaning against the wall. Regardless of his airs, Emerald could see the focus in his eyes. The stillness in his chest.
Surprisingly, Neo was also waiting cautiously. Her typical, playful demeanor had been dropped to the wayside entirely, replaced with a barely suppressed nervousness. Emerald couldn't really blame her. They all knew what Lotus was capable of.
'If it comes down to a fight…'
They had received a call only minutes before. Widow had broken their agreement for how contact should be handled in order to warn them of impending danger. The girl on Lotus's team, Blake, had overheard the conversation between Widow and Cinder the previous night. She knew some small inkling of their plans, and would most likely report it to Ozpin if given the chance.
Emerald waited for Cinder to make her decision. Would they allow Blake to report what information she'd obtained, or put a stop to it? Most of what she'd gleaned wasn't particularly damning, but the mild recognition of Cinder's voice, and the fact that the caller was being watched…? In the mind of someone as shrewd as Ozpin, both could lead down a road that might ruin their plans for obtaining the relic.
But if they killed Lotus's teammate…
Emerald shivered, imagining those invisible limbs piercing her body as they had the young man they'd kidnapped. She didn't want to be anywhere near the assassin. Not when considered an enemy, and certainly not when Emerald's own semblance wouldn't slow her wrath in the slightest.
Cinder's finger stopped tapping. It was followed by a collective tensing of shoulders, each other member of the room waiting for the shoe to drop. Which would it be? What decision had she come to?
"Emerald."
Emerald winced, but rose from her place on the bed all the same. She subconsciously smoothed down her clothes, fretting with the material while regaining the will to speak. "Y-yes?"
Cinder turned, amber eyes meeting red while giving her a long, considering look. "How well has your semblance developed? How far can you project your illusions now?"
"Um," Emerald stammered for a moment, caught off guard by the sudden question. "A fair distance. Around a hundred yards, if I'm not being distracted by anything."
"Good," Cinder nodded, a glimmer of a smile reaching her lips. "Unfortunately, Lotus wishes for her teammates to be left unscathed. We'll abide by those terms. We can't allow her teammate to warn Ozpin either, though. The information she has will be far more dangerous in his hands. Therefore, we'll need to… gently, dissuade her from revealing what she knows."
Mercury pulled away from the wall, hesitating as he spoke out of turn, "You want us to attack her? Em could keep us hidden for a while and maybe Neo could disguise us, but… we're on Beacon grounds. There's nowhere between their dorms and the CCT that we could-"
"Did I say 'attack'?" Cinder clipped impatiently, cutting off Mercury before he could speak further. "Emerald will use her semblance to dissuade Belladonna. She needn't be harmed."
Mercury nodded, backpedaling slightly upon seeing the heat in Cinder's gaze. Clearly, she didn't like the current situation either.
Emerald took a single step forward, intentionally pulling Cinder's impatience back onto herself. Mercury might have been an ass at times, but his question had been on her mind as well. She was glad he'd been the one to speak up in her stead.
With Cinder's gaze on her, Emerald forced herself to smile confidently.
"Alright. What do you want me to do?"
"Blake, please make her stop! She's hurting me!" Ruby cried out.
Blake fought against the chains that bound her, pain flaring through her limbs with each useless tug. Her own mouth was gagged, incapable of speaking, of reassuring her leader, of telling the red headed woman what she wanted to know. Blake's eyes brimmed with tears as Widow's dagger reared back, preparing for yet another strike. Deep cuts already crossed Ruby's body in every direction. Still, she had the energy to scream as she had when they'd first started.
"Just tell me what I want to know, and this can all be over~" Widow grinned, blood dripping from the weapon she held aloft.
"I can't!" Blake tried to scream, muffled by the gag in her mouth. She tugged harder against her bindings, wishing with all her might that she could rip them from the wall. Anything to get between Ruby and that dagger. "I'll tell you everything, just stop!"
Blake already knew it was futile. They'd been doing this for so long already. Widow couldn't understand her. Even so, she had to try.
Widow's eyes left her, returning to Ruby with a manic smile. Blake tried to shut her eyes, too look away, but no matter what she did the vision of Ruby and Widow remained. A tall woman, standing over the cowering body of her dear friend. Blade slick with the blood of previous wounds, she prepared to strike.
Blake started to scream for what felt like the thousandth time, but before Widow could swing her blade down once more, the door to the room crashed open to slam against the wall. All three of them stopped in surprise, waiting to see what would happen next. Blake stared at the door, hoping for rescue. Her body quivered, shaking from hours physical and emotional exhaustion.
Blake let out a long sigh of relief when Olivia revealed herself by stepping through the door. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the room, taking in the situation that had been forced upon her two-
"Ah, you're finally here! Help me with these two, won't you~?"
Blake's eyes widened, staring in panic as Olivia showed no sign that she was going to help them. She stepped forward and accepted the dagger from Widow, taking a moment to stare at the bloody length of the blade. Heartless eyes raised back to meet Blake's own. They held no pity for her, for those she called friends.
Widow noticed Blake's fear and grinned more fiercely. "What? Were you naive enough to ever believe she was truly on your side? I told you. I know my little Lotus better than anyone. You were a fool to ever sleep in the same room~"
Blake's muffled shouts did nothing to slow Olivia as she stepped closer. Blood dripped from the blade, and she couldn't keep her eyes off it until her 'friend' was standing before her. Blake tore her gaze from the dagger, raising them instead to wordlessly plead with eyes alone, one last time.
Olivia stared straight back as her hand rose...
Blake's eyes shot open when the dagger sunk into her chest. She breathed raggedly, hands clutching her sheets in a death grip. Sweat covered her body, a slick sheen that she could feel from head to toe. Blake laid back and closed her eyes, waiting to catch her breath and letting out a rattling sigh. One hand raised to rub her face, trying to dispel the images still floating in her vision.
'It was only a dream… just a damn dream…' One quick glance showed Ruby to be in the bunk across from her, peacefully sleeping away the early morning hours. Weiss had returned as well, at some point after Ruby and Blake had fallen asleep. She rolled over slightly to peek down, and stared at Olivia while her fellow faunus slept.
'Get a hold of yourself… Widow was lying. She wants to force us apart. Of course Olivia would never do that.'
Blake frowned, part of the dream and memories of the previous night stirring to the forefront of her mind. 'What else did Widow call her? Little Lotus...?' She couldn't quite shake the feeling that she'd heard it before, and not just from Widow. 'Lotus… Lotus…' Had that name ever been mentioned during Blake's own time during the White Fang?
Resigning herself to try and remember later, Blake let out a quiet sigh and rolled back over. She glanced at Ruby again, trying to wash away the violent images of her dream by staring at the younger girl instead. Ruby was safe. Unharmed and in perfect health. A slight smile curled her leader's lips, enjoying some dream of her own, blissfully unaware of the torment Blake's previous nightmare had subjected her to.
'It was just a dream…'
Blake reminded herself of that fact one last time before pulling the bedsheets off her sweat soaked body. She was in desperate need of a shower. Thankfully, none of the other girls were awake yet, so the bathroom was fair game until further notice. Blake silently hopped down to the rug between their beds and straightened before walking to her dresser.
A minute spent searching through her clothes rewarded her with a comfortable enough outfit. Seeing as it was the weekend and they had no classes to worry about anyway, Blake was more than ready to take it easy.
'I'll still have to go to the Headmaster's office soon.' The sooner the better, in fact. There was a lot of important information about the White Fang's actions that she needed to impart. Even so, Blake didn't want to show up covered in sweat and still in her sleepwear. That would hardly garner Ozpin's confidence.
The badges Widow had obtained, the Dust the White Fang had accumulated, even the voice on the scroll. The Headmaster would need to know all of it if they were going to put a stop to the White Fang's plans. Blake doubted they were good, whatever they were. With Widow apparently in charge, the violence had escalated far beyond anything they'd done in previous years.
Pushing those thoughts away, Blake bundled the clothes up beneath her arm, slung a towel over her shoulder, and entered the bathroom.
She turned the shower on before anything else, adjusting the knobs to what would be the perfect temperature in time. It was part of her ritual, one that she adamantly adhered to, given what Olivia had revealed about herself. The thought of the faunus getting a 'peek' at her while she was in such an exposed state was disconcerting.
Thankfully, Olivia had assured both her and Weiss, in no uncertain terms, that the sound created by the shower would prevent that. Blake trusted her with that much at the very least.
Once the water was running, Blake set her clothes down on the counter and hung her towel on the rack near the curtain. She stripped with relative ease, typically choosing to sleep in only her kimono and panties. It was one of the few vestiges from her time growing up in Menagerie. One of the few she'd chosen to keep.
Blake let them fall to the floor and turned back around to test the water's temperature. Finding it to her liking, she pulled the curtain open further and stepped inside. Immediately, water coursed across her body, and her hands got to work removing the sweat she had worked up in her sleep.
The name Widow had used still tickled the back of her mind, but Blake firmly pushed it away in favor of savoring the moment. Despite the rumors humans had spread about feline faunus, she rather enjoyed the feeling of warm water. It was a commodity that had been sorely lacking during her time in the White Fang. Out in the woods, with only cold rivers and streams to wash herself in. Blake had dreamed of quitting many times over the years, if only to reclaim what was lost.
Making a few last passes to make sure her body was thoroughly cleaned, Blake turned next to her shampoo and squeezed out a sizable helping. Setting the bottle down and spreading it between her hands, she got to work rubbing it into her scalp. Her hair wasn't as thick and lustrous as someone like Yang's, but it still required maintenance.
After a minute, Blake paused when her slender fingers rubbed up against delicate ears. Tentatively, inquisitively, she softly grasped them. Blake tried stroking up and down. She tried rubbing them between her thumb and forefinger, and massaging across the base. She experimented for several minutes, standing beneath the stream of water with her ears in her hands.
Each method refused to yield the same results as the night before, though. No matter what she tried… it wasn't the same as when Ruby touched them. Blake wasn't really sure what to make of that. Adam had certainly never cared or paid attention to her ears. They were just her faunus trait, like any others.
'Maybe it's like tickling…?' Blake thought curiously, slowly beginning to rinse the suds out of her hair. 'It doesn't feel the same if you do it to yourself?'
Memories returned from the night before. Of what Ruby had said about them… Heat spread to her cheeks. For her leader of all people to compliment her faunus trait instead of being disgusted… Blake had seen her fair share of those looks, growing up. Ruby's eyes held none of the revulsion they had. She genuinely seemed to believe they were…
Blake patted her cheeks to distract herself from that train of thought. She returned to rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, firmly ignoring the two ears on top of her head after previous ministrations. They would be clean enough without any further interaction.
Once she'd finished, Blake breathed out a long sigh of relief and stepped out of the shower. She left it running, still wary of Olivia's senses. It wasn't until she'd toweled off and put her clothes on before she finally spun the shower knobs, easing the room back into gradual silence.
'And that's why…'
Without the constant drumming of water on tile, Blake could now hear the murmur of conversation taking place on the other side of the door. She faintly recognized each voice in turn, all of her teammates now also awake. Blake quickened her pace, not knowing if any of the others were eager to use the bathroom themselves, but courteous enough to not make them wait unnecessarily.
Even with that in mind, Blake froze in place as her hand snatched up the final accessory she'd brought with her. It was so ingrained in her routine that she hadn't even noticed. The long, silk bow rested in her hand... She stared at it, feeling that familiar warmth building again when caught with a dawning realization. She didn't need to wear it anymore, not as long as they stayed in the dorm. The secret of her race had been revealed to all of her teammates by now.
Smiling cheerfully, Blake stuffed the bow into her pocket instead. Ears perked and proudly on display, she gathered up her discarded sleepwear and towel, then took one final look at herself before opening the door to step back out into the bedroom.
Three faces turned to greet her, and she nodded back in kind. "Bathrooms free. Hope I didn't keep anyone waiting too long."
Weiss waved her hand dismissively, "Not at all! I'm glad you could join us! We were just discussing some of the… revelations from last night."
'Revelations?' Blake's ears perked further, happy to be free of their constraints, "Like what?"
"Umm," Ruby's eyes dropped back down to Blake's face when the faunus turned her eyes on her. She twiddled her thumbs nervously, sitting next to Weiss while Olivia remained on her own bed. "So... Weiss knows that Olivia was a member of the White Fang now, and I kind of… told her you were too?"
"What!?" Blake dropped what she was carrying and shrank back in surprise, eyes fearfully darting back to Weiss. A million thoughts raced through her head. Excuses, apologies, promises that she wasn't part of the White Fang anymore. All of them rushed to the forefront and were similarly dispelled by the soft smile that Weiss still bore.
"I don't care, Blake. Ruby assured me that you aren't one of them anymore, and I… I understand why you would have wanted to join them in the past. I'm not mad. You're still my teammate," Weiss smiled reassuringly, "You're still Blake. Just Blake. Right?"
It took Blake a few long seconds to recover from her entire world turning on its head. 'Weiss doesn't care?' She studied the heiress carefully, but there were no hints of malice in her gaze... Nor of deceit. Weiss really… really… didn't care...
Ever so slowly, Blake's lips twitched into a smile of their own. "That's so good to hear. You wouldn't believe how much I've wanted to tell you. I was just… so afraid of how you'd react."
Weiss let out a soft laugh and glanced affectionately towards Olivia, "Well, I've been forced to reconsider a lot of things, as of late. On that note…" She kept looking at Olivia, shared glances alone speaking volumes between the two of them. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"
"Together?" Olivia suggested with a minute shrug. "They might get the hint before we even get a chance to say it, honestly."
Weiss smiled, "Together." They both stood with some hesitance, stepping into the space between the beds and grasping each other's hands. Blake stared in confusion, watching as Weiss giddily positioned them to face both their other two teammates.
Olivia started slowly, hand raising to rub against the back of her neck. "So… Weiss and I… we're kind of…"
"Dating!" Weiss spoke up excitedly, pulling Olivia even closer so that they were standing shoulder to shoulder. "We talked last night. There were a lot of… feelings, we needed to get through at first, and some we still do… but it- It's official!"
"Oooooh!" Ruby jumped up from bed and rushed forward, gripping both of them in a tight hug, "That's great! I'm so happy for you guys!"
Blake could only stand there while they embraced, dumbstruck by the second bit of news that had been so unceremoniously dropped on her head. 'Olivia actually said yes!?' She was shocked beyond belief. Never in a million years would she have pictured the spider faunus actually agreeing to date Weiss, let alone wanting to at all!
Blake took a few moments to work her face into a smile, glad that the other three were so distracted with each other. She wanted to be happy for them, wanted to show support, but… something was holding her back.
'Oh, the stories I could tell you… They would make you tremble in fear, knowing someone capable of such things slept in the same room as you every night.'
Widow's words came back to haunt her, and she realized why she was having so much trouble smiling. Even if consciously, Blake had refused to believe Widow's lies… part of her couldn't shrug off the small ring of truth they'd held. Blake herself hadn't wanted anything more than a friendship with Olivia for the same reason. She was dangerous, and even though she was trying her hardest to change… Blake couldn't help but see that little spark of Adam left within her.
'Little Lotus…'
If Blake was ever going to get over her fears, then she needed to know more about Olivia's past. She doubted the faunus herself would ever tell her, or any of them for that matter. If she wanted to discover Olivia's secrets… she'd have to seek them out for herself.
'For now, though…'
Blake forced her smile wider and walked over to the trio to clap Weiss on the shoulder. The heiress beamed back, happy to receive Blake's support. "I hope things work out for you two. I really do."
"Thanks, Blake~"
Blake nodded and stepped away to go slip on her shoes. "I guess we should discuss boundaries when I get back? I need to go see the Headmaster first, but I think it'll be important for us to have some clearly defined rules in place when it comes to the dorm."
Ruby separated from their hug, and raised an eyebrow towards Blake along with Weiss. Olivia only chuckled softly, returning her hand to the back of her neck while she grinned.
"What do you mean?" Weiss piped up, a frown on her face.
Blake paused while slipping on her shoe, a tinge of red highlighting her cheeks. She didn't think she'd have to explain that. "Well, umm… you know…"
"Know what?" Weiss's confusion was palpable, and Olivia was offering no assistance. She'd chosen to adopt a confused look of her own instead. Even so, she struggled to keep her grin in check, the corners of her mouth tugging up with every few moments that passed.
"Yeah, Blake. What ever could you mean~?"
Blake finished pulling on her shoes and walked to the door. She opened it, but stopped at the threshold, ready to deliver at least some small form of retribution against Olivia for feigning ignorance.
Blake's eyes locked with Weiss, a small grin gracing her lips. "I mean, if you ever want to recreate what happens on page sixty-four of 'Ninjas of Love', then Ruby and I will need to know when not to come in."
After a moment of stunned silence, Weiss's face paled. It then immediately reddened, then paled again. She stared back at Blake, mouth twitching while struggling to speak. After several long seconds, all she could manage was a very faint "O-oh…" before her mind broke, descending into a mess of embarrassment from which she might never recover.
"What's 'Ninjas of Love'!?" Ruby spoke up curiously, eyes glancing back and forth between the smug Blake, the flustered Weiss, and Olivia, who was staring back at her fellow faunus with a touch of pride.
Blake coughed into her hand, "It's just a fun adventure book, nothing to worry yourself over."
"Oooh, can I read it!?" Ruby asked excitedly.
"No!" Blake answered fervently, mirrored almost in the same instant by Weiss who'd forced herself to strangle out the words.
Ruby looked between them, curiosity only piqued by the intensity of their response. As if trying to remain unnoticed, her eyes flickered to the bookshelf, already seeking the book in question.
Olivia put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "I'm feeling generous, kid. Maybe while Blake is busy and Weiss is indisposed, I'll try and help you find it." She flashed Blake a smug grin, "With my sixth sense and your speed, I'm sure it'll take no time at all to figure out where-" Her eyes darted to the back of the bookshelf, "-Blake and Weiss might have left it."
Blake's eyes widened, and she silently pleaded for mercy while Ruby began thumbing through the books on the shelf. "Don't do it," She mouthed fearfully, "Yang will kill us."
Olivia smirked, mouthing back, "She'll kill you"
Blake stepped out so that the door would close on its own and held her hands together, praying for Olivia's forgiveness. She was left with only the faunus's smile as a response, and an increasingly frustrated Ruby that had begun pulling out the books supporting Blake's bunk in search of the sacred smut.
The door closed with a click, and Blake could only sigh while hoping for the best. All things considered, it wouldn't be the end of the world if Ruby managed to get her hands on the book. Even with Yang's potential wrath to account for, Ruby was more than old enough to make her own choices in that regard. Stifling them would only lead to situations like Weiss's, where she was clueless about her own desires and body.
Blake frowned, feeling something else stirring inside.
'Is that… hope? Why am I feeling that of all things?'
Part of her already knew, though. Knew that, when she had the time, she would need to sit down and really think about her leader. After the events of the last few days, what the two of them had been through together... Ruby had found a special place in her heart.
Just where that place rested was what she needed to ask herself.
Blake heard something scrape against the floor inside Lion's dorm. Her ears twitched, reminded of the vulnerable state she was in. She quickly glanced around the hallway before reaching into her pocket and fastening her bow around her ears. Blake's heart fell a little in her chest at the continued necessity, but she bore it all the same.
That was just life.
'But it doesn't have to be,' Blake's mind argued as she began to walk down the hall. 'Your team accepted you, Lion would accept you just like they did Olivia, the White Fang already knows you're in Beacon. The only other team you even occasionally speak with is team Coffee, and they have a faunus too! Who cares about what the rest of the students think?'
'I do…' Blake thought sadly. She'd been hiding her heritage for so long that it had become second nature by now. Why should she throw away the facade of humanity to instead risk the judgement of so many others? Humans could be downright cruel to those they considered 'other'. She couldn't risk that...
Blake pushed the bleak thoughts from her mind, instead focusing on recalling everything she could about the night before. The scroll conversation, the badges, everything Widow had said about Olivia afterwards. The latter of those she wouldn't reveal to Ozpin, at least, but the rest was fair game. Blake hardly wanted to condemn Olivia before finding out the truth. If she only managed to spread more of Widow's lies, and Olivia ended up being unjustly punished for it…?
'No. I'll investigate that for myself.'
If only she could remember why the name Lotus sounded so famili...
Blake frowned, hit by sudden inspiration involving a certain series of comics that she, Ruby, and Olivia enjoyed. 'Wait… it couldn't be… The Black Lotus...? She wouldn't have taken inspiration from someone like that, would she?' Despite her best efforts, Blake couldn't quite get the idea out of her head.
She hummed briefly in thought, 'I may have to include Ruby in my investigation. She's talked with Olivia about those comics a lot more than I have. She's also been a fan for a long time. She might know something I don't.' Blake pulled out her scroll, opening it to the CCT network while her other hand pressed the door out onto campus open.
'Maybe if I…
'If I…'
'...'
Blake's train of thought dwindled into nothing. Her eyes glossily stared past the scroll in her hand, towards what rested at her feet. There beneath her was… was...
Three pairs of cold, dead eyes stared back. Their bodies twisted, mangled beyond repair. Blood pooled out from beneath them in every direction, starkly contrasting their pale flesh. Blake could only stare in terror and anguish, completely frozen in place. All she could hear was her own heartbeat, so deafening in her ears that it drowned out all else.
'N-... No…'
Blake collapsed to her knees, dropping her scroll from one limp hand. It clattered against the ground, bouncing down the steps to land in the pool of blood. Tears brimmed unabated in Blake's eyes. She lacked the willpower to blink them away.
The corpses of her teammates, her friends, lay before her. Each expression caught in one of shock, and dismay. Flesh and clothes alike were torn apart as if set upon by Grimm. Only their eyes remained untouched, accusing her, silently screaming that this was her fault. They had ended up like this because of her.
"P… Please…"
In an instant, they were gone. The bodies and blood vanished as if caught by the wind, whipping into the air and dissipating into nothing. Blake's blurry eyes followed after, one hand raising weakly as if to stop them. 'W-wait… what was…?'
An illusion.
Blake fiercely blinked back her tears, eyes darting every which way as she did so. That hadn't been real. Of course it hadn't been real. Her team was still upstairs, safe in the dorm. Someone had used their semblance to create that illusion, showing her the dead bodies of her team in order to scare her.
'It was a warning…' Blake retrieved her scroll warily and backed up, eyeing the treeline and walkways nearby as she did so. It was still early in the morning. Only a few other students could be seen in the distance, going about their own business without any regard for her.
Blake had believed previously that the voice on the scroll and the supposed 'illusionist' may have been members of the White Fang. It would have explained her recognition, if only slightly. She didn't know of anyone with a semblance like that, but it had been awhile, and other members would occasionally unlock their semblances through training.
'But now?' Blake allowed the door to close, shutting herself inside and breathing a sigh of relief when no further visions ailed her.
Even for an illusionist, it was possible, but unlikely that they would have managed to sneak onto campus so early. The Bullheads didn't run after a certain hour, and wouldn't have started back up again yet. Whoever had just used their semblance had to have been on campus since the night before.
'They're a student…'
Blake stepped away, retreating from her plans to notify Ozpin. She would need to wait a while before returning to the dorm as well, to avoid tipping off her teammates that something was wrong. Blake didn't know if she should tell them what happened just yet. Who knew what might constitute a violation in the eyes of her unknown assailant? She didn't want to take that risk lightly. Not when they were so clearly threatening her friends' lives.
Blake sighed, preparing to wait before returning upstairs.
'This just got a whole lot more complicated…'
Sorry, Blake! I'm not singling you out on purpose or anything, seriously! Just kind of dealt a terrible hand as of late.
Anyway, a bit shorter than the last couple chapters, but we should be jumping into some Black Ice goodness next week. Despite both their nerves (and Weiss's remaining reservations) it's about time for a real first date.
Meanwhile, Blake has some investigating that needs to be done. Who else can she turn to other than her fearless leader?
As a celebration for the ship finally sailing, I got another commission done for Olivia! The art is honestly fantastic, and I couldn't be happier with it! If you'd like to check it out, head over to my twitter page. It's the same username as what I use here!
Thanks for reading, and enjoy the art!
- Sybaen