a/n a little later than I had intended but here we go, another chapter. let me know if you are enjoying the story so far and if you have any comments be sure to leave them in a review.

Cover image by Ren Lyles


Chapter Six: Mission start

"Now with the introductions out of the way, we can get to the reason why I called you here, Mr. Morgan. The good general Ironwood has contacted me and it seems he requires some assistance with a mission inside the kingdom" leaning back in his chair he looks at me with his irritating smirk.

"May I ask what this mission is?"

"I'm glad that you asked Mr. Morgan, it would seem bandits from Mistral have made camp outside the kingdom's walls after making off with a shipment from Atlas. Now normally Atlas would handle this by themselves but the good general has asked me to send one of my associates to fix it so as to...bypass… the red tape of politics."

The woman beside me coughs softly and steps forward "if I may interrupt headmaster" she pauses for a second to allow Ozpin to motion for her to continue before she plugs her scroll into Ozpin's desk, allowing a map of the kingdom to appear. "Somewhere in this area", she points to a forest north of the kingdom causing the map to zoom into a detailed map of the forest. "Sources have led us to believe the bandits have made camp somewhere in this area."

Walking up to the map I interrupt her causing her eyes to narrow for a second in a scowl, something that causes some sense of satisfaction in my faunus heart. "Can I ask what sources you have? If my knowledge of kingdom politics is correct, then sending scouts to another kingdom without their knowledge violates...a few laws" this causes Ozpin to chuckle softly before he turns to Winter.

"He is correct in that Mr. Schnee, now I am curious as well as to what your sources are?"

With another scowl in my direction, she turns to the headmaster and straightens her posture before speaking "the cargo stolen has a tracking device in it that gave its last response in this forest"

"So if this information is correct, then you are not one hundred percent sure that your cargo is still in the area?" Ozpin leans forward on steepled hands as he addresses the Schnee.

"Yes..that is unfortunately correct"

With his signature smirk, Ozpin turns to me before speaking "and this is where you come in, someone who knows the criminal underground as well as you do."

With a sigh, I nod and glare at the headmaster "while you are right, what about my other job you have me on?"

"Oh I am sure that you will figure something out, you are resourceful after all"

Feeling my ears flick in anger I sigh and shake my head softly "since it seems I have no choice, then when are we heading out Schnee?" a flash of irritation in the woman's eyes causes my lips to tug upward some as I walk closer to her.

"We will leave by train in three days time, I suggest you plan for an extended trip as well as prepare your weapons for an unknown enemy force."

"Oh do not worry about that...Schnee" allowing my voice to take on a condescending tone as I say her last name, I smile as rage flashes for a second in her eyes.

As Winter opens her mouth to speak a comeback to my provocation, Ozpin coughs to get our attention. When we both turn to him and simultaneously glare at his smug expression as he stands to walk over to the window. "I have a feeling you two will get along well, now Mrs. Schnee if you would be so kind as to send over the mission briefing to me, I will pass it onto Mr. Morgan here. And if that is all, you two are dismissed."

"Yes sir that is all I have for you, the general sends his regards for accepting this." she bows and heads to the elevator. Sighing I follow behind her and get into the elevator but stay as far away from her as I could. The white-haired Schnee turns to me glaring "why must you people be so irritating!"

"And what do you mean by 'you people'?" I glare at her as I start to walk closer to her, my ears splaying out in pure anger at her words. The air starts to chill as my semblance activates on its own. "Could it be that the Schnee is showing her true colors as a faunus hater?" her eyes widen before she steps back.

"W-what no I meant mercenaries, not the faunus, I would never be that way especially to someone I'm going to have to be working with." at her words I step back and feel my ears perk up.

"Ah, I see...my apologies then…" I look down feeling an embarrassed heat rise to my cheeks at allowing my anger to control me the way it had.

With a sigh, she shakes her head and looks up at me "no it's quite alright, the sins of my father carry onto the backs of us Schnee children. This is not the first time a faunus I worked with has had tensions as you did. But back to my original statement. How can you mercenaries be so irritating"

With a slight chuckle, I look at her and shrug my shoulders "if I am being honest, it was due to you being a Schnee and the way your family has treated my kind. Although most mercenaries like me do hate high ranking officers like you." looking at her I feel a smile as she had a scowl on her face.

"I understand why you would be that way due to your faunus heritage. But hating a high ranking officer? This confuses me greatly." she looks at me and tilts her head slightly while attempting to keep her regal and militarian look.

"It is mostly due to how we mercenaries are treated as disposable by members of the military thus creating an inherent hatred of those in power" the elevator door dings and opens. "Well Schnee I take it I'll be meeting you in three days' at the train station?"

She straightens her back and puts her hands behind her back as she walks out the elevator "yes that is correct, three days' time we will meet up again. Do not be late." and with that, she walks away leaving me alone. Shaking my head with a sigh, I pull out my scroll to send a message to Neo asking to meet up with her or Roman to talk, after only a few seconds she responds with an address and a few winking emojis saying to meet her at the address because she has a job for me.

"This could be hazardous for my health...damn you Ozpin for this, I'll get you" a loud boisterous laugh comes from behind me as a hand pats me on the shoulder.

"Oh ho ho, my boy that's the spirit, you'll soon learn that good old Ozpin can be a right pain in the ass when he wants to be" turning around I see the short portly man from before who was chasing after a woman last time I saw him.

"Ah, so I'm not the only one then who feels this way?" the man then laughs before shaking his head and patting me roughly on the shoulder again.

"Oh no my dear faunus peer, almost every one of us teachers here at this pristine academy has had to do something that causes stress and all at the beck and call of the headmaster." he then grins widely before shaking my hand forcefully. "It is a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Morgan I do apologize for the quick meeting we had last time...I was how do you say...distracted" with a light chuckle he scratches the back of his head.

"It is no problem. May I ask who that woman was that you were 'distracted' by?" at my words he looks around before leaning in to whisper lowly.

"My dear boy that would be professor Peach, she had just come back from a short mission and I, as a man of my stature just could not help but attempt to help a maiden relax after a mission."

With a raise of my eyebrow, I look down at the man questioningly "and how did that go for you?" suddenly the man sighs and shakes his head looking down.

"Alas, it would seem that my charm is not what it once was. It also did not help she hates others approaching her while she is in her combat outfit due to its more...scandalous nature of the short combat skirt she wears."

"I see, so may I ask your name?"

His previous attitude returns as he puffs his chest out striking a pose he no doubt thought was manly "my name is Peter Port, I am sure you have heard of me?"

Surprisingly I had heard of him, the name Peter Port was famous for being a huntsman of great renown due to his study into Grimm kind as well as his exploits in the faunus rights revolution fighting for the faunus kind. "Yes I have, and I must thank you for what you helped accomplish for my kind during the war." The faunus revolution had been one of the subjects my master had made me study when she taught me. At the thought of my master, a memory played through my mind.

Panting from the shock of using my aura as well as having just slaughtered my village due to the shadows taking me over, I lay on my back covered in blood. With a strangled cry, I attempt to sit up and look around at the village I had just killed, at the lives, I had just ended. Only to fall back down with a loud gasp. "E-everyone I-I'm so sorry...it made me do it. It-" my words fail me as tears start to sting my eyes.

YOU DID WELL

As I hear the voice again anger fills me giving the strength to yell out "leave me alone!" the voice chuckles in response to my order. Still feeling the anger I manage to roll myself over, the strain causing pain to ripple through my body and into my very soul.

The sounds of footsteps in front of me have my wolf ears weakly perk up as I slowly look up to the stranger approaching me. Due to the tears and dried blood in my eyes, the only thing I could tell about the stranger was the fact that the stranger was a woman. "Well if you insist on me leaving you alone, I guess I will '' the kind voice of the woman causes me to smile weakly before darkness takes me into unconsciousness. Sometime later I awaken and look around weakly and see I am in a large tent, the sterile antibiotic smell of medical supplies fills my nose.

"W-where am I?"

A small gasp and the sound of feet running over to me catch my attention, looking over I see the face of the woman who would be my mentor for the next few years of my life.

"Well I must be on my way now, it was good to meet you, my good sir" the words of the professor snap me back into reality in time to see him stretch his hand out to me, as I shake it he grins widely before starting to walk-off.

"It seems I got lost in my memories due to his ramblings...I wonder if it is a normal thing for those talking to him." shrugging I start to head to the address given to me by Neopolitan.


The address she had given me was for an apartment in the somewhat wealthier part of Vale, slipping into an alley beside the building I form my Pariah disguise and let Neo know that I had arrived.

Okaaay come to a door in the back and wait for me there.

It did not take long for the door to open, revealing Neo in a somewhat casual style. She wore a simple yet tight pink top with a picture of an ice cream bucket on it as well as a pair of pink shorts that stopped just halfway up her upper thighs. When she spots me, she walks over and pouts pointing to my outfit then to hers.

"What? Did you expect me to not come in my mask?" at my words she walks up and repeatedly punches me softly in the chest before attempting to reach up to grab my mask. As she reaches up, I step back causing her to pout softly before turning her back to me in a pouting manner.

As I chuckle she types something on her scroll before turning back to me to read what she had typed out.

Yes, I totally did because who in their right mind would walk around the town in a mask and hood like that, and not to mention your sense of fashion is horrible.

"Well I happen to like this outfit, it does well in hiding my identity. Now, what is this job you talked about?" she sticks out her tongue before walking through the door, motioning for me to follow her. Walking through the door I see her walking up through a set of stairs that went up towards the top of the apartment building. We walk in silence, the only sound being the clack of my boots on the stairs as it seemed her steps were silent. After a few minutes, we stop in front of what looks like the door to an apartment, Neo pulls out her scroll and places it on the doorknob before walking in, holding the door open for me to enter.

Looking around at the apartment one would not think a psychotic killer lived in it as the decor of the room would fit someone like Ruby instead of Neo. Grimm plushies of varying sizes were scattered around the room as well as posters for different anime-styled shows were plastered on the walls. Neo looks at me and waves her hand around the room as if to ask what I think of it.

"It is very...interesting I'll give you that" taking that as an acceptable answer she begins to grin playfully before starting to skip to an open door on the opposite side of the room, which I assumed she used as a living room. Following her, I enter the room and am greeted by bundles of fabric on tables aligned along the walls all leading to a sewing machine that the ice cream themed girl was bent over, purposefully giving me a good look at her rear end. looking back at me she smirks before raising her ass up and wiggling it playfully at me, the tightness of her shorts allowing me to see she had no panty lines. Now, this took every ounce of my self-control to not react in any way. After a few seconds of attempting to tease me, she walks over to me and hands me a yellow dust crystal.

"W-what do you want me to do with this?" hoping she did not catch the quick stutter I take the crystal. Laughing and with a playful smirk, she puts one hand on her temple and the other pointing at the crystal, flexing her fingers as if attempting to send power into it. "Ah, you want me to make it stronger?" her jumping up and down in an excited manner tells me I got it right. With a shrug, I close my eyes and activate my semblance sending shadows into the crystal to turn it into a black crystal. This turned out to be a mistake on my part.

As I open my eyes I'm greeted with the sight of a hand about grabbing onto my mask, as my eyes widen under the mask I step back to attempt to get her hand away from me. As I step back my foot lands on a stray bolt of cloth which causes me to trip over, Neo landing on top of me with my mask in her hands. "Gods dammit...Did I fall for that one really? I'm losing my touch" with a sigh I glare up at Neo who is looking down at me with her eyes wide almost sparkling. "Are you happy now?"

A wide grin sprouts on her face as she leans down pressing her chest into my face as she does so, heat rising as she does. I may be a mercenary who's usually cold-hearted but I was a man gods dammit. As she presses herself harder onto me, I hear an almost inaudible gasp come from her as she pushes my hood down to look at my wolf ears. "Neo...as much as this position is nice" I mumble the last part softly before attempting to push her off "can you get off of me" as a response she proceeds to start rubbing my ears softly, this causes a small gasp to escape my lips due to my ears being even more sensitive to touch than other faunus. Neo pulls back and looks down at me with a wide playful grin. "Now please get off of me"

Tilting her head back and forth for a few seconds she shakes her head no then proceeds to press herself hard onto my crotch, grinding softly with a shit-eating grin on her face, the blush on my face and the sudden stiffness she felt only made her start to do it even more. Now at this point, there was a dilemma going on in my head as to what I could do on one hand I could let her continue and enjoy myself and on the other, I could stop her and save myself from the embarrassment of having such a small girl defeating me. In the end, my pride won out "I said get off" I push her off using my semblance to create shadow tendrils that hold her in place as I get up attempting to hide my embarrassment by putting the mask back on.

"Now I'll let you go if you can behave your-" my words are cut off as I look at her, or rather the expression of lust and temptation she wore. With a sigh, I start to release her slowly which causes her to fall down to her knees, and to gain a new expression this new expression causes a shiver to run down my spine. As she stands up with a wanting look in her eyes, I start to back up slowly "now Neo let's not be hasty here..how about we get back to the reason I came here.." as she starts to walk closer to me, I look at the door to see if I can escape. The sound of shattering glass and Neo appearing in front of the door dashes all hope of escape from my mind. The sound of the lock clicking causes any hope I had to be diminished.

"Come on Neo this isn't what I came here for remember? I needed to talk to Roman" the second Romans name left my lips, she pouts before bending over in a gloomy manner. She then proceeds to pull out her scroll and type out a message for me to read.

Oh, you mood killer, why did you have to get a girl worked up like that only to make it all come crashing down by speaking his name!"

With a sigh of relief, I shake my head and look back up at her "no one asked you to attempt to rape me either" having the decency to look sheepish she shrugs and looks around whistling soundlessly. Now that things have somewhat calmed down I try to think about what to do now that Neo has seen my true face, this could become problematic. Although from what I have seen the girl could be easily bought out. Walking over to her I pull my mask off again and look down at her, this causes her to tilt her head to the side as she looks at me as if to say what.

"Now what will it take for you to keep what I look like a secret, even from Roman?"

At this, she puts a finger to her chin before tilting her head side to side while she thinks. After a few seconds, she suddenly snaps her fingers before walking closer to me with a sly look on her face. "Well, tell me already" she then starts to reach up and attempt to reach my wolf ears, the height difference making her too short to reach them. After failing she steps back then makes a motion for me to bend over for her.

"Is this really all it'll take? To let you touch my ears again?" at her nod I sigh softly and bend over just enough for her to begin rubbing both of my ears, the sensation causing emotions in me that I would rather not let anyone know. After what seemed like hours but was just only a few moments, she steps back clapping with a wide grin on her face. "There, is that enough?"

Pulling out her scroll she types furiously before showing it to me

For now, that will be enough, I will add that you will let me pet them whenever I want. Otherwise ~ I will tell roman in a heartbeat

"Fine...it's what I get for messing up as I did, it seems I'm getting out of shape lately" with a sigh, I put my mask back on and look around for the crystal that was dropped when we fell back. Finding it under some fabric I hand it to her "now shall we get back to the original conversation? I need to let Roman know that I will be unavailable to work for him for a week or so, a...previous job I accepted before joining up with you two." hopefully the quick lie would work out I think to myself while Neo looks me up and down. She nods before typing on her scroll again

That is fine, Roman is a pretty lenient boss after all. In fact, I rarely work. It's mostly just when he needs something done perfectly or needs to send a message. This will apply to you of course.

"This includes telling about my true semblance as well" she nods before turning around to unlock the door before walking out of it. With a sigh, I walk out behind her. As we get into the living room she turns to me and puts one hand on her mouth and silently giggles before pointing down at my crotch. The heat rises to my face again but I attempt to shrug it off by playing along.

"Oh come on now, you are not the only one turned on after all" with a smirk I point to the nose of the mask "I do have the nose of a wolf after all" her face suddenly turns as pink as her hair. It would seem that she lets her emotions show more outside of the job, which is something I find myself doing as well. With the blush on her face still apparent, I walk over and attempt to pat her on the head. As my hand touches her head she suddenly rushes in under my arm and grabs it, twisting me over her with ease. Landing on my back I look up at her smug face and know I fell into her trap. "Well fuck" was all I got out before she sprung her trap

With the smirk still on her face, she straddles me once more before leaning down to kiss the mask playfully. "You know, this is not how I expected this to go when I came to ask you about Roma-" right as I speak the name she rips the mask off and kisses me deeply before pulling back with a shit-eating grin. "It seems what they say about your weird kinks is true" I say in an attempt to keep my cool and not let my thoughts known. In response, she shrugs before looking down at me as if to say what am I going to do next. Unfortunately, it was at this moment the shadows spoke to me.

YES LET THE URGES OUT, LET YOUR INSTINCTS LEAD THE WAY

Well, this doesn't leave me much choice now does it, and what kind of person would I be if I let her mood drop a second time for the day. In the end, I decided to pull her down to me, our lips crashing together with a surprised near-silent gasp from her. Feeling her tongue start to press on my lips to seek entry, I open my mouth allowing our tongues to flick along each other as she starts to press her crotch harder onto my own. She pulls away just enough to look into my eyes for a moment before she leans down to bite into my neck, causing a small groan to come from my throat.

"Now you've messed up little Neo" she looks up confused at my words before her eyes widen as I flip us over with my ontop of her, pinning her hands above her head. Her mouth opens in a silent groan as I press my knee slightly into her crotch before biting onto her ear. Feeling her breaths start to increase I slowly press my knee harder into her crotch surprised at the wetness already starting to seep through her pants. Remembering her reaction to my shadows tying her up earlier I activate my semblance, causing her hands to be bound to the ground with a constructed rope. At this, her eyes gain a lustful look as she watches me stand up over her. "I take it this is appealing to you huh?" nodding quickly she starts to pant as I tighten the rope to dig into her hands enough for them to hurt just slightly. With a small chuckle to myself, I allow the constructed trench coat to fade away leaving me in just a white t-shirt and my jeans, I start to slowly pull my shirt off to tease her but am interrupted as the living room door opens up revealing Roman.

Whistling as he walks in looking at his scroll he calls out for Neo then looks up to see us. After a moment of silence, he tips his hat at me before turning around whistling as he walks out the door closing it. With a sigh I look down at Neo, her face now void of the lust it had just moments ago. "Well, another time then?" she looks at me and nods before holding one finger up as if to say wait here. The next second she is gone with the sound of shattering glass. After a moment the screams of Roman fill my ears before Neo walks back into the room from the front door with an all to sweet smile on her face. She walks over to me and pulls out her scroll, typing on it for a moment before showing it to me

Two things, one he does not know who you are, he thought you were just a regular faunus so the secret is safe. And two, before you leave let me pet your ears again!

Her usual series of emojis followed the second part of the text. With a reluctant sigh, I lean down and allow her to rub both of my ears. When she finishes I lean down and grab the mask to put it on but am stopped by Neo who shakes her head. "What do you mean no?" I ask with some curiosity, she responds by pointing to the door. It took a moment for me to get what she meant.

"Ah, I should leave looking normal in case he is still out there" with a happy clap and a nod she skips over to the door and opens it for me to walk out. Letting the mask fade away, I leave the apartment with Neo winking at me teasingly. With a shake of my head, I start heading down the stairs to leave the building. My goal for the rest of the day is to prepare myself for the upcoming mission with the Schnee as well as get information on the woman who attacked me.


Three days later I arrive at the scheduled meeting place ahead of time to wait for the Schnee, my faunus pride not allowing me to let her use any excuse to look down on me. It did not take long for the woman to show up, armed guards flanking behind her. Not being able to resist a good tease at her, I walk up and smirk playfully at her "what? Can't the princess go anywhere without her escorts?" the guards at her side raise their weapons at me to which I laugh at softly.

" At ease men, this is the man I am to take with me for the mission" the men at her side then get back into their normal stance as she looks up at me, irritation in her eyes. "I'll have you know this is only military protocol, nothing else. Especially not what you are implying" her eyes narrow into a glare as she goes to walk past me allowing me to fall in line beside her.

Adjusting the pack on my back, I resist laughing at her attempt of intimidation before shrugging at her "moving on then, how long is this train ride we are to take?"

She nods to the men beside her, who break away and turn to head back to the direction she had come from. She then turns to me and looks me up and down before answering me "we will ride in a specialized car for a day till we get to an S.D.C facility then proceed to make out way on foot to the mission area, now let us talk about this more on the train" and with that she walks off, leaving me alone.

"Someone has a stick up her ass it seems" sighing I adjust the pack on my back before following after her, no conversation being shared as we walked to a train that seemed more like an advertisement for the S.D.C than anything else. As Winter walks to a car at the back of the train, I look at it and notice it seems like a normal cargo car. This surprises me as winter opens a hidden door on the side of the car. "Hm interesting," I say as we enter the train car.

Inside of the car I look around with a raised eyebrow at how the inside of the car contrasted with the outside. While the outside seemed like just a normal cargo car, the inside was more akin to a miniature apartment. The front half of the car was dedicated to a small living room style area with a couch and holoscreen television, as well as a table that was clearly used as a mission briefing area judging by the ports on it, used for scrolls the back half, was split up into three areas consisting of a small cooking area, an area for sleeping and an area with walls that I assumed was for a bathroom.

"So it seems Atlas has some interesting tricks up their sleeve, I'll need to keep this in mind" at my words she looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"And what do you mean by that, I was under the assumption that this would be a one-off mission"

Shrugging I walk over to the kitchen area and place the pack on my back onto the small dining table. "I've worked with Atlas before and after this, I'm sure to still have jobs if this teaching thing doesn't work out with Beacon" looking back at her I'm surprised at the look on her face. "What?"

"Did you do any official jobs for the military" her voice was more demanding than of someone asking a question.

"Due to the nature of such things, I cannot confirm nor deny any involvement in those things. Although I can say my codename was Shadow Wolf, for obvious reasons" I wiggle my wolf ears for emphasis.

Her eyes widen before she looks at me incredulously "YOU are Shadow Wolf? Someone as irritating and annoying as you, the one who helped stop the plot to assassinate a counselor" at my shrug she shakes her head. "I can't believe it.." she walks over to the couch in the living area and sits down on the couch shaking her head even more. "This is unbelievable, how is it that you of all people can be so...proper on a mission"

Laughing softly at her expense I look through the refrigerator to see what it had before answering her "Well I had an accident recently and it changed me some from what everyone else has said, as for how I act on missions. Well, you'll find me an almost completely different person on them." pulling out two bottles of water I walk over and hand her one before sitting on the opposite side of the couch from her.

Taking a deep breath she composes herself before taking the bottle from me "well that remains to be seen, now shall we talk more about our plan of action."

With a nod, I motion to the briefing table "do you have any more details on the area, the encampment they are staying at as well as what clan they are from?"

She walks over to the table and slots her scroll into it, pulling up a more detailed map of the area than before. Looking at it I noticed the style of the camp looked familiar to me. The camp had a large tent that was the size of an apartment and was surrounded by about a dozen smaller tents that could hold maybe three or for people inside of them. Next to the main tent was a cargo box with the Atlas sigil on it. "We have no idea which clan this crew belongs to but they were capable enough to steal from the Atlas military with ease so they must be one of the more well-known ones. But seeing as how they have not sported the usual colors of any of the major clans or shown the symbol of them, we have not been able to ascertain which clan."

"The only clan that I am knowledgeable on that works out of Mistral is the Branwen Tribe, and if this is their work then...we are in for a rough time."

"And how is it that you are familiar with them?" the Schnee scowls at me as if questioning me.

Meeting her gaze I simply shrug and zoom the map out to look at the surrounding area "in my work you meet all kinds of people and take on all kinds of jobs. Such is the life of a mercenary" my answer seemed to only irritate her as her scowl deepens, she sighs before returning to the map.

"Fair enough. This clan, whoever they belong to, picks one hell of a location to camp in, sneaking in will be near impossible" as we look over the map I come to the same conclusion as her. The camp was set in a large clearing with no trees or any other notable feature around it. This would make it difficult for anyone to sneak in due to no cover to hide behind.

"If that is the case our best bet will be to scout out guard rotations and find any gaps in their coverage, the gap between the woods and the camp is large, yes but if we focus on our aura enhancement we should be able to increase our speed enough to slip in."

She looks over at me and nods softly "yes that is what I had in mind as well, it seems you are smarter than you look"

Chuckling at the attempted jab I decide to play along with her "and for a member of the Schnee family, you aren't as dumb as one would figure. In fact, if you aren't as racist as the rest of your family then I would go so far as to say you may not be a member after all"

"The only member of my family that is like that would be my father" she spits out the last word in disgust before turning to me with some anger in her eyes "yes as a child I was like him due to his ways but I soon realized how horrible he was and how being racist is nothing but trouble." After a moment of silence, she composes herself before returning back to the map. It seems that her father is as much of a sore spot for her as it is for the faunus.

"Well if it's any consolation, us faunus hate that man as much as you do...now let's get back to the plan, how are we going to get the container out of the camp"

"We will not have to get the container out, just the cargo inside of it. The cargo is small enough for just one of us to handle. But I will be the one to carry it out."

"And you'll have me play distraction while you do so am I right?" she nods and pulls out her scroll from the table and pockets it. "Hm typical Atlas tactics, let the expendable merc do the dangerous part while the officer takes the credit." my voice had taken on a teasing tone at the last bit, my goal being to tease the Schnee and it worked.

"That is not the goal in the slightest!" she looks up at me with anger in her eyes once more, anger that quickly fades as she sees the grin on my face. With a scoff, she walks to the bathroom area with her chin held high in a pompous manner. "You would do well to learn some respect for someone in a higher position like myself, especially when hired on by them."

"Actually I was hired on by the headmaster of Beacon, not the general remember"

With another scoff at my attempts to irritate her, she proceeds to go into the bathroom area and close the door, the sounds of a shower running soon follow. With a chuckle to myself, I proceed to raid the kitchen area and begin to cook a simple meal with what was in the refrigerator. "Damn Atlas couldn't you give these things some better quality food, can't really work well with this...hm guess bacon and eggs it is" with a sigh I start to cook while Winter showered.

Thirty minutes later I sit down at the dining table and begin to eat as the shower door opens up revealing winter walking out in just a towel, and it was at this moment the voice decided to speak up.

TAKE THE ICE QUEEN AND MAKE HER PAY FOR WHAT HER FAMILY HAS DONE TO YOUR KIND.

Grumbling to myself softly I decide to attempt to tease the white-haired woman, which speaking of her hair it was down from its usual regal bun. This caused her to lose some of her usual aura and made her seem almost vulnerable. Whistling I catch her attention before speaking "well well well, has the Schnee decided to go against daddy and have fun with a faunus?"

Her eyes widen and she quickly runs back into the bathroom muttering something about forgetting I was there and old habits. Oh, boy this'll be fun, and who could blame me for wanting to tease her when her reactions were just so good. Walking up to the door I knock on it a couple of times.

"Hello anyone in there?" when no response came I simply laughed before walking back to the kitchen to continue eating. After a few moments the door opens again and this time Winter is in a more casual style of dress, her normal military outfit being replaced by a tight-fitting pair of designer jeans with a t-shirt that had the Schnee logo on the back of it.

"Speak nothing of what you saw! Or Gods help me I'll-"

I raise my hand up interrupting her "now now there is no need for that Schnee, it's common for huntsmen and huntresses to see each other naked. Why do you think the schools are co-ed after all.'' At this, she turns her chin up before walking over the sleeping area which consists of two sets of bunk beds. She reaches underneath one of the bottom bunks and pulls out a military-style bag with both the Schnee crest and the Atlesian logo. "So I take it you use this cargo box a lot."

She nods and pulls out a book from the bag before storing the bag back under the bunk. "Yes, this is my personal transport when going on missions where bullhead transport would be too easily noticed." She walks into the kitchen and notices the food I had cooked, her eyebrow raises as she regards me. "So someone as vulgar as you can cook? This is surprising"

Laughing I wink at her "well there are many surprises in store if you get to know me" at this she scoffs once more before taking a few pieces of bacon and walking to the couch with her book to begin reading. "You could at least say thank you for the food."

She stayed silent and just kept reading while she ate the bacon. This continued for a few hours, both of us staying silent occupying ourselves in different ways she would read her book while I texted Velvet, Ruby, and Yang to occupy my time. The sisters wanted me to spar with them when I got back and Velvet talked about ways to improve her weapon some more. The silence was broken when Winter snapped her book closed and proceeded to walk over to the bunk she had taken the bag out of.

"Now I assume you will not attempt to do anything while I sleep, will you? Your kind is notorious for that kind of thing"

Even knowing she meant mercenaries it still flared my anger to hear the words 'your kind' spoken in a derogatory manner. "Oh trust me, Schnee, if I wanted to do something we already would be doing it" I wink at her which causes her to scoff before she lies down into the bunk. Teasing the woman, while a bad way to start a partnership, was too fun not to. And the fact she was a Schnee had nothing to do with it, nothing at all. It did not take long for her to fall asleep, as evident by the soft breathing I could hear from her.

"Well guess I'll get some sleep as well, according to the map it will be closer to noon tomorrow when we arrive" stretching, I start walking to the bunk that is beside Winters. The attempt to sleep proved to be difficult as the voice kept rearing its head, saying things that I would rather not repeat. With a long sigh to myself, I attempt to ignore the voice to the best of my ability. After that failed I grumble to myself and get out of the bunk and sit on the couch, thinking of ways to get the voice to go away. It was at this moment I remembered words of my master from long ago.

A soft feminine voice fills my ears as I sit in a large field of flowers, the gentleness causing my mind to quiet some. "Now focus on a place you feel safe, focus on bringing the aura around you closer inside of you. Yes, just like that, now tell me what does it feel like?"

Doing as the woman said, I focus on bringing what she called aura closer to me. It felt like a cold cloak wrapping tightly around me, on the other hand, the center of the coat felt different as if it was an erratic insect buzzing around to get out. "I-it feels like a wave of cold on me, but it...it feels nice to me. Oh, and the middle of it is buzzing around."

With a low giggle, the woman rests her hand on my head, the action causing warmth to spread through me. The warmth, as well as me following her directions, causes the erratic feeling to slow down enough to where it disappeared almost entirely. "There you go my little wolfy, that is how you can calm yourself whenever you feel the need to" pouting at her nickname for me, I open my eyes and regard the woman who's taken me in and has been teaching me.

My master looked down at me, her bright pink hair was tied up in a messy bun that I could tell was hastily done to keep her hair out of her pink colored eyes. Freckles adorned her cheeks as well as a few on her arms. When she sees me looking at her, she stands up and takes a few steps back before spinning in a child-like manner which caused her brown plaid knee-length skirt to spin softly. She holds her hand out to me, as I take it she lifts me up with ease and pats me on the head again.

Groaning I pull my head away, my ears lowering in embarrassment "master you know I hate it when you do that!" I go to say more but a finger to my lip stops me.

"Nuh-uh nope do not call me master, call me by my name; Kalokairi"

"But I can't pronounce your name, it's weird" at this she puts a finger on her chin and tilts her head side to side as if thinking.

"Hmmmm call me Kairi then can you say that?" After a few tries of saying her name, I finally get it right to which she applauds me before taking my hand to lead me to a nearby spring.

Back in the present I play the memory back and focus on the technique she had taught me, this soon causes the air around me to chill slightly as I focus on my aura. As I bring my aura to rest and slowly bring it closer to my core, I hear a slight grumble from the bed Winter was in.

The grumbling increases as my aura flares up, the dark purple of it just bright enough to cast a dull purple light across the train car. At this moment the Schnee groans again and looks over at me, with a flash of irritation in her eyes she throws her pillow at me which I snatch out of the air.

"Haven't you heard of letting people sleep! Or of not making the air around you freezing" the white-haired woman sits up in the bunk causing her cover to fall off, this revealed something that I couldn't help but tease the woman about.

"Hm seems I made it too cold, in fact I know it's cold enough if your...friends...are standing at attention" smirking slyly I point to her chest. As she looks down she notices two small points protruding out of her shirt. With an embarrassed shriek, she pulls the cover back on her.

"You. Are. Insufferable do you know that?" with a glare she scoffs then points to me angrily "now what the hell are you doing at a time like this"

"I am meditating to help calm my mind as well as my semblance." Closing my eyes I once more focus on mediating and attempt to tune her out.

"What exactly is your semblance? All personal details regarding you are secret even from me." At this, I open one eye to regard her.

"Well, I guess I'll show you" activating my semblance I hold my hand out and form a small dagger in my hand that then elongates into a thin rapier before fading away into a wisp of shadows. "My semblance is the ability to manipulate shadows in any way I will even summon familiars with them"

"That is...interesting. I can see many uses that a semblance like that could bring-" her eyes widen quickly before returning to normal "wait did you say summoning?" When I nod the look on her face was a clear indication for me to show her. Standing up, I hold my hand out to the side with my palm facing upwards, shadows form in my hand in the shape of a small black butterfly that flies over to her and lands on her head before fading away.

"Yes, I can indeed summon, although they may not be as strong as the famous Schnee summons. That being said, my summons can do some damage."

She tilts her head looking me up and down before she begins walking over to me slowly. When she reaches me, she holds her hand out to me "well it seems that I have gained a slight bit of respect for you...against all odds"

With a small smirk, I grab her hand and shake it. Not being able to resist teasing her, I lean in and whisper "does the Schnee like a faunus after all?"

"You insufferable bastard!" she then pushes me away causing me to fall back onto the couch, in a flash the Schnee reaches under her bed then pulls out a cutlass style weapon and points it at me. "You are single-handedly the most irritating person I have ever worked with and we haven't even started the mission proper."

"Well, then I'll take that as a success. Faunus kind one, Schnees too many to count."

Her eyes narrow in anger as the cutlass in her hands shake some. "I. will. Ask. one. More. Time. Will you stop comparing me to my family, I am nothing like my father."

I hold my hands up in mock surrender "well if you insist, then I'll attempt to stop the teasing. Although it will difficult considering the years of hatred built up within us from birth at your family"

"You...are right" releasing a long sigh she lays her cutlass on her bed before sitting on the edge of it. "My family was not always the symbol of hatred towards the faunus, it is only due to my father we have become as such. That man has single-handedly ruined the once-proud Schnee name and has twisted it beyond what my grandfather had made it."

"Honestly the only thing I know of your family is the hatred and the way the faunus are treated in the mines run by your family company, blame it on my master as she was not the best teacher for education. She was an amazing fighter as well as a master of aura...but school topics she was a dunce.

"Interesting, that is the first genuine smile I have seen you wear" and it was true, I feel that my lips were curled up just enough to cause a slight smile.

"Well, the years spent with my master were possibly the best I had in this life so far."

"If she was able to teach you meditation then she must have been a great and caring teacher. The teachers my father had bought me were...less than ideal. Do not get me wrong I did learn plenty in terms of an education fit for a noble such as myself" she then stores her cutlass under the bed before laying back down.

"How interesting, the Schnee has more to her than just her family's money and a temper that rivals an Ursas." laughing at the glare she gave me, I proceed to attempt to sleep again.


The sounds of moving around woke me up the following morning, with a groan I open my eyes and look around. The first thing that caught my eyes was the sight of the Schnee doing some light workouts in the living room area of the train cart. Sitting up on the edge of the bed I watch her for a moment before getting up to head to the kitchen to find myself some food to eat.

"We will be at the destination in four hours' time. I suggest that when we do get there that you hide your faunus traits as we will be in an S.D.C owned trainyard." she gets up and stretches, a slight sheen of sweat on her exposed skin.

"I will do no such thing, Schnee if your people cannot behave themselves and attempt to be less than reputable at me then I will handle it on my own." it seems that more anger came from me than I intended as Winter turns to me with a slight scowl.

"Fine, but if anyone is hurt then you will pay for the damages on your own accord. Atlas will not cover anything." she then turns her head up in a prissy way before going to the bathroom to change into her normal military uniform.

"Well those terms I can work with"

The rest of the four hours was spent planning the route we would take as we made our way to the encampment. Soon enough the train begins to slow down as we enter the facility. When the train fully stops the sounds of machines cause my wolf ears to splay out in pain before I flatten them against my head to help with the sound.

"This car will be transported to the other side of the facility when it is stopped then you and I will make our way through the facility. And please, make yourself look the part of someone hired by Atlas. Under your bed, you will find a bag with more...official clothing.

With a shrug I walk over to the bunk I slept on and true to her word, there was a military-style bag underneath it with the Atlas insignia on it. As I open it I pull out what seemed to be a high ranking officer combat uniform. Not being happy about wearing the outfit, I sigh before walking to the bathroom to change into the uniform. The feeling of it was nothing compared to what my own uniforms felt like when I made them from the shadows. "Well, Schnee is this presentable enough for you?" I say as I walk out of the bathroom.

She walks over and looks me up and down with an appreciative look in her eyes. "Hmm, it seems even a mercenary can clean up nicely. You pass. Just barely though." the sounds of something attaching to the side of the car then the car starting to be lifted up cuts her off. She then explains that the car was now being put onto a truck that would be taken to an area of the facility that only certain individuals could enter. After a few minutes, we feel the truck stop and hear a knock on the train car.

"That was the signal that it is all clear for us to leave now." she then walks over to her bunk to pull out her weapon from underneath it. She then looks at me curiously "where is your weapon?"

Chuckling I walk over to the pack I had brought with me, unzipping it I pull out my gauntlet. Putting it on I smile softly at the comforting feeling the weapon brought when I wore it.

"Hmm, that is interesting, does it transform," the Schnee asks as she walks closer to inspect my weapon. Her eyes fall on the metal wrapping that went from the wrist of the gauntlet to the middle of my forearm.

"It does, but I am saving it for a rainy day. Now shall we get going?" At her nod, we leave the train car and begin to make our way through the facility with relative ease. It was only when we got to the entrance of the facility that we were stopped by what seemed to be the one running the facility.

"Ah, Mrs. Schnee, it is good to see you and your-" the man looks over at me and grimaces at my wolf ears "associate…"

The man goes to continue but a low growl from me silences him, Winter then looks over at me and sighs softly before regarding the man.

"Yes doctor what seems to be the problem, surely someone as high up the food chain such as yourself would have notified me earlier of any changes to this operation" her eyes narrow just enough for the man to get her intent.

"Y- yes it seems that there has been a change in the weather that could hinder your progress. A massive storm is set to come in tonight so why don't you and your associate here just stay here for the night and continue on your way tomorrow"

Winter scoffs before pushing her way past the man who simply shrinks away even as I walk past him. As I adjust the package on my back the woman sighs softly before shaking her head softly.

"I hate people like that, they attempt to try and worm their way into my good graces and that is exactly what that man would have done. First, he'd give us all he could then he'd invite me to his bedchamber to 'talk' and in his mind, he would court me to get in good with my father." she sighs once more before shaking her head again "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"Well if it's any consolation, I was about three seconds away from tearing the man's eyes from his head after the look he gave me."

She laughs slightly as we continued to make our way down the planned path. As we walked in companionable silence, the clouds began to darken and the scent of rain filled my nose.

"Schnee we may want to look for shelter soon"

She nods and pulls out her scroll to look at the map, after a few moments of looking at it she looks back up to me. "If we run, we will get to the woods in thirty minutes and after that, it seems like a cave is a short run into the woods"

"Well wolves love caves so this will be perfect"

"Your sense of humor leaves much to be desired. And from now on call me Queen as that is my codename. Do you understand Shadow Wolf?"

"Just call me Wolf then, Queenie" she sighs to herself then motions for us to begin running. It took us about forty minutes to find the cave and what we found did not fill us with hope. As we approached the cave it was clear the cave was a nest for Grimm, the ground surrounding it as well as the entrance were covered in black fur as well as scratch marks.

"Well Queenie this place is a bust, the stench of Grimm is strong even here. We could go through and clear the place but that would waste time and energy. Was there any other place on the map that could be used as a shelter?"

"No there was not, the only thing close was a denser part of the forest closer to the center, and that area is one the bandits seem to frequent so the probability of being spotted is high."

I grab the scroll she was using to look at the map and study it closer. "Hm I have and idea, you may not like it though with your high standards of living"

She raises an eyebrow at me "what do you mean?"

I toss the scroll back at her and motion for her to follow me. We make our way to a hill overlooking most of the forest including the camp that we were to attempt to infiltrate. Winter looks at the area then back to me and narrows her eyes some as the rain starts to sprinkle.

"Okay, now what about our shelter situation? I don't exactly see any up here?"

"Well not yet you don't, just give me a moment"

At my words, she sighs and watches me as I make way to the base of the hill where it was flat. Calming my mind I hold my hand out and activate my semblance, feeling the coldness of the shadows around me. I smile softly at the feeling. With the image in mind of what I wanted to create the shadows then form to my will. Shadows start to swirl in the air a few feet in front of me before making the shape of a tent that was big enough for two people. I then turn around and smirk softly at Winter.

"Well, Queenie, how do you feel about roughing it in a constructed tent?" I open the tent flap and make my way inside just as the rain starts pouring down.

"Again you are an insufferable man. Ugh make room" she then makes her way inside the tent as well. As she gets inside the tent flap seals itself shut with a motion from my hand. She looks at me and glares before starting to look at her scroll, bringing up the map as she does.

"Well mission leader, what shall be our next move?"

She then turns to me and smirks softly, an evil glint in her eyes. "Would you happen to have night vision?" at her words, I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach that my night was going to be interesting.


"If I smell like a wet dog after this, you will be the one who suffers from it Queenie" I speak into the comms device the woman had given me hours earlier.

"If you smell like a wet dog then I will kick you out of the tent while you sleep. Now radio silence until you get the information we need." the sound of the comms cutting off silences any responses I could give her.

"Yep, I'm totally going to kill the woman after this" I mumble to myself before continuing my track towards the camp in the rain that had now picked up to a thunderstorm. The plan Winter had concocted was to use my enhanced night vision to gain intel on the camp even though it would take me a few hours to run to the bandits camp from our camp. Slightly panting I now look out at the edge of the woods into the clearing where the bandits have based themselves. After catching my breath, I use the binoculars that I had packed to look over the camp. The sounds of wet footsteps catch my attention causing me to turn around in time to see someone looking around.

"Hello! Are you there Max?" the voice yelled out, its tone letting me know the voice belonged to a female. "Oh come on we need to get back or the boss will go nuts!"

Not wanting to let potential information slip by I proceed to sneak up to the woman and tap her on the shoulder. She jumps and turns around then her eyes widen as she regards me.

"Y-your not Max…"

"No, I'm not, where does this leave us, dearie?" she raises up a gun to attempt to shoot me, I grab her wrist and twist it hard enough for her to drop the gun. As she drops it I grab it out of the air and punch her hard with my right hand. The metal of the gauntlet vibrates hard as the hit connects, causing the woman to crumble down unconscious.

"Hm it doesn't leave us in a good spot does it" I attempt to connect to Winter and she picks up just a moment later.

"What part of radio silence do you not-"

"I have a bandit here knocked out, what do you want me to do with her?"

After a moment of silence, she responds "bring her here"