A/N - Just wanted to go ahead and clarify that this is obviously taking place well before the White Fang turn violent, since according to the Adam Short and what Blake explained back in volume 1, it isn't until she's 12 that things changed in leadership for the White Fang. While I don't intend to just gloss over that period of time here, it should absolutely be stated that this is takes place around Blake and Dorado being 8 years old to Adam's 11 or 12. Beyond that, thank you all so much for enjoying my work, now we continue!

There will be some time skips this chapter, apologies if the skips arent clear.

|•|

"... Stop the hatred, stop the blame! We only want peace and to feel safe! Stop the hatred, stop the blame! We only want peace and to feel safe!" Over and over hundreds of voices chanted through the busy streets of Mistral. Signs and banners showing catchy phrases such as 'make love not conflict' or even some with the words Faunus and Humans scratched out and the word 'People' circled just to get the point across. A few of them showed the SDC's snowflake insignia being crossed out as well, but most of them were tame and got the point across quickly.

I stood somewhere near the main gathering, having rejoined the chant after taking a small break to hydrate after nearly an hour of consistent chants. The crowds around us, however, never reacted the same way.

Earlier in the day, an old couple scowled at us, yelling for us to go get jobs before they rudely ignored any rebuttals that could have been made. After that, a couple of kids ran with their own signs, though theirs had things like 'more toyz' written on it instead. They were quickly gathered by their parents, who then took a second to glare at all of us as if it's our fault that they left their kid unattended. There were some people who were more than happy to support us, an old lady who owned a bakery nearby having brought some fresh bread for us in case we got hungry, a businessman who stopped by to sign a petition on his way to the offices, and even some huntsmen giving us some blankets and clothes to donate back to Menagerie.

Blake and Adam were next to me, each holding their own signs and joining in the chants that brought us a series of looks. Some would see us and get angry, some disappointed, and some were indignant that so many young faunus were being 'misled' and 'corrupted'. There were a few actual speeches that Ghira and Sienna would make, calling for the misdeeds of local governments or businesses to be aired out and corrected.

His thunderous and booming voice certainly held people's attention, but Sienna's attitude and confidence gathered more crowds. She spoke with passion and drive, calling out the corruption she had investigated, demanding reparations and even calling back out at any of those who dared to challenge her or her information. She was awe inspiring, even being just a few years older than Adam, yet truly she showed diligence in being a part of the White Fang.

I only spoke with her once, introducing myself when Ghira and Kali had introduced us on the boat out of Menagerie. She had a prideful smile on her face, congratulating me on my courage for standing up for 'our brothers and sisters'. I chuckled at the praise and went on with Blake and Adam for the rest of the trip. I didn't have any reservations towards her, she just seemed like a very prideful faunus with sense. I had met my fair share of prideful faunus in Kuo Kuana, yet many seemed to not make much sense. Sienna was different, which made her presence in the rallies that much more comforting to me. Where others would blame humans for unnecessarily punishing and torturing a Faunus who would work overtime and end up collapsing from stress and overworking; Sienna would disapprove and suggest changes to the policies that made it their only choice in the first place.

Mistral, as it turned out, had almost as many problems as Mantle and Atlas had, only instead of discriminating against just the Faunus, they would harass and hurt their more unfortunate citizens. Those that had to work harder to earn the same amount that people who were connected to some people. It was all about who you knew here, and even just setting up where we were now took knowing a few people who worked with the council members and could attain a permit for today's rally. Corruption, it seemed to me, grew wherever power was held, and that was a very sad realization I made a few weeks back.

When I finally convinced both my aunt and uncle as well as the Belladonnas to allow me to join, they had worried about what I would experience and how that would affect me. They warned me of learning some more darker truths about society and how it treats us, but I simply shook my head at their warnings. I had already crawled out of one abyss society felt content to drop me off and forget about me; as long as I had Blake and Adam with me, I knew I would crawl out of any other holes. With that in mind, most of the time in the beginning, they hadn't left me alone for a second.

I felt a bump to my arm drag me out of my thoughts as Blake met my gaze before turning back to the podium, where currently Sienna spoke out about the corruption of some local officers, the same kind that seemed to be approaching further down the street with eyes locked on her. Knowing better than to even attempt anything, I brought my sign down closer to my body and waited as the chants got quieter when the officers stepped up.

"Alright alright, disperse and no one gets arrested, you animals know the drill." The man had thin strands of hair combed over the balding atop his head, a rather annoyed look on his face as he stepped over to the podium having only done so when Ghira had to check back on something and seemed to have been missing.

"Disperse what? We have permission from the council to gather here and protest!" Sienna called back, anger in her voice very evident.

"And we have permission to shut it down. We got complaints from neighbors and shops, you need to disperse now or we take you down to the jail." The man retorted, readjusting his belt against his stomach. I heard Adam whispering something about an egg that made Blake chortle and clear her throat as Sienna rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Oh sure, it's all fine and dandy to complain, but when the chips are down and I call out the ones meant to protect the common people, now it's an issue to gather and speak?" Sienna ignored the man as she gestured to the two officers to the side of the podium. "See that? The humans have gotten mad at us for pointing out the truth that we all can witness ourselves! They don't want to protect us from crimes, they just want to control which crimes get done! They don't want to keep the peace, they want to keep the status quo, because dust forbid there be a free spirit inside any of the important positions, isn't that right boys?" She finished up the last bits of her speech as they made to step up once more. A knowing smile framed her face as she held her arms out, not showing an inch of resistance as manacles were placed on her. Shouts and boos from the crowd grew with each moment.

The balding officer looked to his partner, a young looking man with a military style cut and pressed uniform. The older man gave a shrug and raised an eyebrow as if asking if she was serious while the younger just tilted his hat a bit forward to hide his eyes. Taking her away after a few minutes, with a warning to 'cease now or be arrested en masse', Blake, Adam, and I sat on a nearby curb while others started to gather belongings. My shock at these course of events lost their surprise after the fourth time in the same week of someone getting arrested and then bailed out when Ghira got involved, which I'm sure Blake is currently reporting on.

I pulled out my scroll, quickly sending a message to my aunt and uncle about how the day went, reassured them for my safety, and started scrolling feeds to see how the rally went with the public. Even then, however, there seemed to be no hesitation to hate for the sake of hate, especially with some posts having threads of comments just spouting false narratives about what our 'true intentions' are with asking for equality. With a scowl forming on my face, I looked away from my scroll at my two companions next to me. Blake sat with her same neutral face as she read a book she had picked up some time ago when we were in a smaller village in Anima on our way back from Mantle. Adam, however, chose to use his idle time to run through his katas some more, which was strange since I hadn't seen who had taught him that in the first place and Adam straight up refused to reveal the identity of his master.

The sounds of heavy footfalls made me glance ahead to the towering form of Ghira and Kali approaching us, which caused me to elbow the other two and bring their attention out of their respective focuses.

"I take it Sienna will have to be recovered from the jail again?" Kali said with a playful smirk, laughing at some unheard joke.

"Yeah, she got picked up after she started talking about police corruption. Weird time for the humans to start doing something, isn't it?" Adam responded with a smirk of his own.

"I had Trifa record the protest just in case, so I don't doubt she has the arrest on video too." Blake added.

"If we post it online we could get some support from the general public, make it easier for us to get through our rallies when the people see that we get harassed for wanting to talk about these issues." I capped off, to which Ghira simply shook his head.

"All the more easier for them to frame us as looking for trouble and provoking the police when they could be handling actual emergencies." He rebutted, a sort of knowing look on his face.

"We didn't even ask for the police supervision! They showed up cause some human called and freaked about us protesting!" Adam argued back, anger starting to grow in him.

"If they have no issues with attacking us when we aren't being hostile, they will ignore facts that disprove themselves as well." Ghira sighed, closing his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Regardless, I think we should follow up on Sienna, otherwise she'll get annoyed with being in a cell for most of the day." Kali giggled at the jab towards her as the five of us soon started making their way to the police precinct to bail out Sienna.

|•|

Campaigning through all of Anima to find and assist any struggling faunus had, at first, seemed like a sensible and positive decision that would help all parties involved. What was forgotten about, however, were the reasons the faunus struggled in the first place.

"... and if we ever see any more of you freaks roaming around our town, we'll hunt you down like that animals you are, now git!" A rotund and boisterous farmer screamed out at our group. His red tipped nose and missing teeth fit the attitude he carried, in my opinion, but ignoring his belligerent I instead focused on the group that gathered nearby with him. They didn't carry weapons, thankfully, but there were a few tools nearby sitting against the side of some of the homes as well as a few that still had bottles in their grips. Behind me, a family of four that had no amount of love directed towards them. I was unsure of how they had gotten to this village, or what circumstances made it so that they felt it was best to deal with the abuse they'd been shown, but something had to have changed recently since this wasn't the first time we had visited Hageshi. I took a glance at them, noticing their little one tucked between both parents as I turned back to the men.

"We'll be sure to pass along the threats the next time we're in Mistral, don't worry though, we'll leave you to your own as long as we can get going with no issues." I spoke calmly, despite my anger building as usual. Adam and Blake were back at the camp, so chances were low that they could provide backup. I only had three other members with me, but I also had Sienna nearby, who was currently consoling the family.

"We don't give a rats ass about your lot, just git before we lose our patience." He spat, literally since I had seen some saliva escape through his missing teeth. The man disgusted me in so many ways, yet I held myself back. The last few times I had fought against some belligerent humans, I was warned by Ghira and Kali that I would be sent back to Menagerie as Cosum and Riona had discussed their concerns with my more active role in protecting others.

"Then we can get going, no issues here." I firmly stated, turning my back to them as I made my way back to the group. I heard the sounds of shuffling behind me and figured they had been walking back inside the tavern, only realizing a second too late that they had been approaching me.

"This damn brat." A different man said, He brought a bottle to his lips and tipped back as he took a swig. "Runt aught to know his place in this world, eh?" a few laughs between them were heard, but I ignored them, knowing exactly what they were trying.

I made it a few more steps before I heard a "...rotten little" and the eyes widening of the little bear faunus between her parents were all the warning I got to move out of the way. As I jumped to the side, hoping to not get caught by whatever was heading my way, a shattering of glass and liquid spilling over my pants and shoes made my nose crinkle in disgust. The alcohol now staining my clothes smelled stronger than other beers that had been thrown at me, so it might have been a more homemade brew. I turned back towards the group as they started approaching.

"Ya think you can walk round here like yer better than us? Think we're gunna let that go?" His voice was angry, pulling out a knife as he flicked it between his hands. "Yer gonna learn a lesson, freak! Ya'll belong either working the dirt, or buried beneath it!" His eyes were squared solely on me as the other four men looked like they were getting ready to jump in.

Sienna took a few steps forward towards us as she pulled her whip out. "You all leave well enough alone, and we won't have to force you into the same ground you work on."

"Ha, think some bitch and her kid can handle all us? Boys, let's have some fun." The leader responded before charging forwards, arm holding another bottle as the others soon joined in.

Moving quickly, Sienna wrapped her whip around the foot of the leader, tripping him up instantly as she spun and jumped towards them, breaking their focus as she acrobatically flew towards them, extending her leg into a devastating kick to one of their heads. Blood flew out his mouth as the man next to him yelled in rage as he swung a stick of some sort at her.

A shout captured my attention as one of the men charged towards me, a hoe as his weapon of choice as he swung towards me. I dodged backwards out of the way, making sure to stay agile as Sienna had taught Adam and I. As he swung downwards, I hooked my heel to the backside of the hoe and pushed down with it, planting the hoe firmly into the ground. Using it as a lever, I pushed off my other foot, shifting on top of the wood and giving a swift side kick to his stomach. He shuffled back a few feet as he growled, only to be joined by another one of the men who wielded nothing but was as much an Ursa of a man with how big he seemed.

I jumped back, maintaining distance as he tried to reach me with big swiped of his fists, only moving in to redirect hits he would overreach for. I shoved an arm that moved past my chest down to the ground, holding the back of his hand for a quick second as I spun my body, landing a solid kick to his jaw. He growled, as he moved forward, not recoiling like the other man which caught me off guard. Grabbing me by the shoulders, he soon kneed me in my stomach as I spat out the air that was in my lungs. He lifted me off the ground before slamming me down into the dirt, further releasing any air I tried to hold in. Rolling backwards, I backed away even more as him and his friend both continued to press me, keeping me pressured and unable to break their tempo.

I dodged a swing above my head, rolling over to the side to immediately dodge the heel kick the bigger man attempted to land. Flipping back as the hoe wielder swung a few quicker swipes towards my head. I grabbed the hoe as it swung by, pushing the metal head towards the fist of the bigger man as he connected with the hard steel, crying out in pain. I jumped back again, catching my breath as they slowly moved forwards. Stepping back, my heart dropped as I felt the wood of a nearby building prevent me from moving further.

"Heh, end of the line ya freak." The bigger man said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah, I guess it is time to finish this." Sienna said behind the two, their eyes widening as they quickly turned back to her. With a flip, she jumped above the two, wrapping a whip around the meaty glove of the bigger man, landing to the side of the hoe wielder, pulling tightly as the man's fist was pulled directly into the face of the smaller. I smiled, leaning back against the house as I took some deep breaths. Sienna cleared the easily, activating the lightning dust in the whip shocking the man into unconsciousness as he fell with a loud thud.

Silence floated around us for a few minutes as we gathered ourselves before Sienna called to the other members. "Let's get them back to the camp. We need to report this village to Ghira so we can let others know to avoid it."

Coughing, I put a hand against my stomach, wincing at the pain as I knew a bruise would be forming soon. I looked up to Sienna as she smiled at me. "Very impressive, Dorado. Seems you've been taking my lessons seriously."

I smiled back with a nod, breathing heavily. "Yeah… they uhh… they still managed to hit me good."

"And yet, you still were able to recover, which is the purpose of the form. Soon, we can look into getting you into a better shape to do something with it. Keep your involvement out, though. That means no telling your little girlfriend about what happened."

"Blake's not my girlfriend!" I shouted back, only to blush as a knowing smirk formed on her lips.

"I didn't name anyone~." She turned, making her way to the family as I noticed the other members chuckling at me. Grumbling under my breath, I made my way back to the camp with the others.

|•|

Mantle felt colder, that was my first thought as we walked into the city. It had been years since we had first came here, the first time being a few months after I had joined. Apparently, the city of Atlas were starting to feel pressured by our protests, and had been delaying our return through proper channels according to Ghira. There was something in the air though that made it feel colder for me, something that didn't seem to bother Blake and Adam as much. I looked at my scroll again, noting the time of year it was, and closed it as Ghira and Sienna approached us.

"Well we have approval to go in to Atlas tomorrow, after they've gone through the paperwork. For tonight, how about we start with helping those who are in need. We have some of the boxes still packed for this, so let's bring them out and start handing them around." Ghira assigned to us all. As Blake and Adam went to gather boxes, I stayed with the 'soup kitchen', helping to prepare food as the others handed out blankets and water.

Cooking felt good for me, which may have to do with Cosum's love of it influencing me. I pulled out a small satchel that he had given me on my last trip back, something he said was meant for travel and would help me with keeping up with my cooking. Opening the light brown satchel, pockets of spices in small containers lined the flaps as a case inside the large pocket held my utensils. The aroma of the stew that was being prepared seemed to drift and fill the air with a warmth I'm sure many people naturally drew themselves to. I ignored the consistent cold feeling that settled in my stomach as I mixed and perfected the stew with the spices I had, bringing the heat to a low simmer to keep it warm, I helped with serving bowls to those who walked up.

I smiled at each person, watching as their eyes would light up at the warmth that would fill them and keep them at their happiest in a series of lows recently, I was certain. I'd chat with Blake and Adam throughout the serving, joking around about our recent trips and how Adam had been blamed for a mess that a couple idiots started. It felt nice, and there was a warmth that radiated in the area that, somehow, still didn't reach me.

I shook my head out of the stupor that was creeping on me, as talks between the residents and us started to pop up in various pockets, as recent events were discussed. Some were simple updates, shops that had opened up and school changes with the younger kids. Some, more serious, like Atlas providing the Schnees with a stipend to open more mines up. The costs would most likely go to securing the area and workers, but not much else as it typically went. Sienna marked down the whereabouts of those mines from what they could gather, letting us know that the locations are important in case word gets out about anything suspicious happening at the mines.

I took up to just watching the people interact, breaking bread amongst the White Fang and even noticing some of the humans among the crowd that happily joined with their own conversations. I felt relief over not having any issues pop up as people ate the food I prepared, feeling the same sense of accomplishment that Cosum would go on about. Ghira had made his way over to me at some point, watching what I did as he patted my back.

"This is the goal here, Dorado. Humans and Faunus simply enjoying the evening with warm food and good stories. And some day, we can achieve it." He took a deep sigh, preparing himself for something I had expected each time we would come to Mantle. "Would you like to speak about your experience?"

"About the mines, right? I don't mind it. I heard from some of my parent's old friends that the supervisor still works at the mine too, seems that there's always some sort of incident that happens there occasionally." I frowned, remembering the last time we had returned here. I was shocked to hear about an elevator malfunctioning in the months prior that led to the loss of at least six faunus workers. No humans though, never a human casualty.

"You believe there to be intent?" He asked, surprised. At least, contemplative, as one eyebrow rose.

"I believe that smoke means fire. No way that the SDC are actually acknowledging this without him benefitting somehow. If I could find out what then maybe we can finally get him gone." I drank a bit of the stew, the warmth of it having faded as it slowly adjusted to the general temperature outside.

"Sienna seems to be a good teacher," he changed the subject at my face, which confused me at the time. "She teaches you well in both self defense and general studies."

"I was shocked when you told us she had once been a school teacher. She seems so… strict." I chuckled at the first meeting between us all.

"Discipline is a good skill to learn. It keeps us from behaving irrationally, losing ourselves to anger, or even striking when we should stay our hands." He explained, as he took a long look at my eyes. "I understand your desire to seek the truth of atrocities, but you should never let your vengeance guide your vision. Do not do it for the satisfaction for yourself, but to protect those who would become victims." He sipped a thermos in his hand as he looked to Kali and Blake. "I almost lost it all once, and I learned quickly that throwing away a life for satisfaction leads to worse things happening."

"I… I know. I just have this feeling like… like there's more we aren't seeing about it." I frowned again, putting the stew down as I leaned back and stared to the sky, to the partial stars overshadowed by the magnificence of the floating city. "My parents used to tell me how quick I am to pick up on things. Not learning new things but reading a room. I could always tell when they were happy or sad and would always try to make them happy."

"I would have to agree with them, then. You are a very intelligent child, Dorado, which is why you should be careful when you pursue this." He stood up, making to rejoin his wife and child.

"If… if it's bad enough… will they actually do something?" I asked him, reflecting on the years of inaction even after the proof we had often found.

"It depends on who listens." He left at that, moving forward to give his family the warm embrace he would always give them. I smiled and felt comfort from their safety as I looked back up at Atlas once more, a single thought solidified as I took in the sight.

Mantle just felt colder.

|•|

"We don't want fights, we just want rights! We don't want fights, we just want rights!" The chants continued on the next day, preparations having been made for the speakers as I looked out to the general population of Atlas, or at least those that chose to walk through the plaza filled with 'barking animals' as some of them pointed out. We weren't in a busy area, something I'm sure the higher up officials made certain to put us in. I held out for a few more minutes, taking my breath as I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I looked to Blake who gave me a reassuring smile.

"Thanks." I smiled back, "Adam still not back? He said he had an idea to help me with my speech." She shook her head slowly.

"No, but he said he would probably only be a few hours. Any ideas what exactly his plan would be, though?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I shrugged, "Though, it probably has something to do with the SDC. I just don't know what exactly that would be."

"I don't like that… I should go look fo-" She made to turn, but I reached out and grabbed her arm.

"No, no, we should trust him to make it. If not we'll have to bail both of you out since Atlas like to be strict on where outsiders are and when." I let go of her arm as she pouted her face at me.

"Fine… just hope he gets here soon."

With that, we fell back into a quiet between us as the chants continued. Ghira soon approached the podium, giving his usual speech on the equality between us all and the state of faunus in the SDC mines. The pleads for the people to change their minds, the same routine that continued to go unheard. Looking at the crowds as well, they were used to hearing those as well. I heard footsteps of running from behind and turned to see the familiar shock of red hair, but froze when I noticed the rest of him.

Adam had recently changed his attire after his Aura was unlocked by Sienna, wearing a black suit jacket with a rose on the back he had picked up in Mistral, he paired it with black pants and a red undershirt. All in all, I felt it gave him more of an intimidating edge towards others, which is why I assume he enjoyed the outfit. What startled me was how damaged he looked. Even more so, it seemed there were bandages on his face as well. Blake noticed immediately, rushing up to him with a worried call of "Adam!"

He held papers in his hands as he breathed hard, I could see bruises everywhere and yet, the only thing worrying me more was his face, which had a fresh bandage that still had blood seeping through it. Whatever happened, it was recent.

"Are you an idiot!? What the hell did you get up to!?" Blake scolded him as he fell into her arms with a smile.

"Sorry. I found what I was looking for though." He held up the papers towards me, which knocked me out of my stunned silence. I took the papers as I looked them over, noticing that they were ledgers from the mines my parents had worked at before. "T-the dates after the accidents, the mine would get sent some lien for repairs and hiring costs. The thing we've been missing, though, is how often the repairs actually go through and how often there were never damages to repair in the first place." He groaned out, as Blake moved an arm over her shoulder to help support him.

"Wait so… so that means…" She looked up to me, at least I assume she did, as my entire focus was on the papers and what they told.

"That means that Foreman Hudson is a weasel and has been murdering faunus to fill his pockets." Sienna approached us from the side, moving over to look at the documents. I must have shown my shock when she looked at me as she just gave me a hand on the shoulder and smiled. "Sorry, we were calling for you but it seemed you were busy. Looks like you took me up on that information, though Taurus."

"This was your idea!?" Blake snarled towards her. "He got injured! What would have happened if anything went wrong!?"

"Then I would retrieve him myself." Sienna rolled her eyes. "He went to the offices to look for the ledger, not off to fight the SDC. He should have been careful in the first place."

My eyes hadn't left the paper as I processed the new information. I was shaken out of it by Sienna who looked me in my eyes with a strange look.

"You should get up there. You reveal that information, and he'll have a one way trip to the prisons for it. Jacques can't protect him from premeditated charges if we have this proof." Her smirk never leaving her face as she turned me to the crowd and podium, Kali having joined us and then mother henning Adam the second she noticed him.

I walked up to the podium, eyes on me as I looked back once more, eyes widening as Kali pulled off the bandage to examine the damage Adam had.

Boiling skin and blood. The SDC initials engraved against his skin.

I turned, eyes hardened as I lifted the paper my brother in arms risked himself for and spoke clearly.

Because it was time for justice to finally be served.

|•|

"Mr. Schnee, what can you say about the claims the White Fang have made about one of the mine supervisor committing acts of murder against faunus?"

"Mr. Schnee, what about the families that suffered from his actions? How will they be taken care of?"

"Mr. Schnee, will you be taking any actions internally to prevent this from happening again?"

The reporters shouted out questions, hoping for an answer as the man on the podium took a rather angry look.

"Please, please, one at a time now." He spoke casually, yet his anger and stern face never falling. "I understand now what has been occurring for some time under my company name. While I do not personally hold any fault, I will accept the accountability as it was someone whom I had faith in that broke many laws and took advantage of my faith. As of this afternoon, he has been promptly fired and handed over to authorities as the courts take into consideration evidence and actions that have occurred."

"As for those who have lost family, my heart goes out to them and we will immediately contact all those families once again and provide compensation out of pocket for those who have lost loved ones by the heinous actions of Hudson Noir." He stood straighter, looking to the camera. "We will be implementing a new hierarchy structure to ensure that incidents like this do not occur again. There will be security offices added to each mine which workers can report harassment and incidents to achieve a quicker resolution and to deter any others in management positions from taking actions similar in any way to this."

"While I cannot guarantee that this will be a solid solution, it will be discussed further with the board heads as to how we can achieve a solution." He adjusted his tie and let his words sink before continuing. "As for the brave young boy who managed to uncover such horrendous actions, I offer both my sincerest apologies, for the personal loss he suffered, and an olive branch. I personally invite Dorado Mako to come join the Schnee family to a fundraising concert performed by my daughter, Weiss Schnee. The funds will be donated to all the displaced families in Mantle."

"Once again, we will be paying out of pocket to those families affected by Noir's actions, so any funds achieved will through this will be matched by the Schnee family. Now, any further questions?"

The reporters shouted many more questions, but I turned off the stream on my scroll and looked over to Adam, sitting in a small cot as his wounds were treated. In his lap, a small black eyepatch that would cover the wound.

After the rally, I broke down and passed out. I woke up later with Sienna and Kali checking over me, Ghira having handled the cleanup this time. The two had offered me comfort, made some hot chocolate for me to drink, and left me to recover. Blake had been with Adam this whole time, and it seemed that Adam had hated the realization.

When I had asked him about it, he said that he was being attacked by some strong people and just barely managed to get away. They had used the brand to take him down and after feigning his collapse, managed to get away as soon as they relaxed. He phrased it like they had not intentionally branded him as their property, but with the recent revelation it didn't feel entirely correct.

I just sat in the cot, feeling the cold mantle air. I looked once more to the burnt skin scar that Adam now wore, the warm comfort Blake provided for him by staying with him as she slept in his lap, his hand on top of her head and a smile on her face, and the fires of the camp around me as I thought hard about the invitation Jacques had announced.

Yet, Mantle still just felt too cold.

|•|

A/N: Welp, we started with a chant and we ended with a chant. I actually just deleted this chapter and rewrote everything from scrap as I wasn't happy with the original chapter. So with the years having passed by, and things slowly growing more and more between the White Fang and SDC, Adam would be around 15 now, with Dorado and Blake being 12. This would be the turning point that starts the chain of the White Fang turning violent, and changes all around. The next chapter will continue from this point, since Dorado will need to have a talk about his next steps.