A quick (and important!) author's note is at the end of this chapter. Please read it! This story is already completed with 16 chapters. Updates every Thursday night/Friday. Feedback, commentary, and conversation is always loved. All reviews will be responded to by message!

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Coco winced. Every drop of rain stung, driven against her in brutal sheets by the wind funneling through the mountain valley. She trudged forward on the narrow and uneven footpath, letting her mind drift between fantasies of hot food, sleep, and being dry as she pushed her body to keep going. They were too far in to stop. Not now, not after hours of trekking to reach this village for their second mission at Beacon. It couldn't possibly be much further. Besides, the dropship had long since left. It went back on its merry way to Beacon just before the storm hit. Leave it to some backwater village to be beyond the range of Vale's bullheads, beyond the last reaches of civilization as far as Coco was concerned. Forward was the team's only option.

Coco grimaced again as a cold chill ran through her body as the wind passed through her layers of clothes and reached her core. She pulled her scarf tight in a vain attempt to keep it out, only for a stream of water to squeeze out and run down her back. It was just another insult piled onto her current state of misery.

Walking had become a constant effort to slosh ahead through the ankle-deep mud and ignore the burning in her calves. Her shoulders ached from her pack, now twice as heavy from the water seeping in, and her hips burned as it chafed her skin raw.

She stopped for a moment and turned. Her team was spread out behind her, each digging deep into their last reserves of mental resolve. She checked over each of them with a long glance. Velvet, looking even more ragged than herself, followed close behind while Fox trailed further back and gave her a nonchalant wave. Yatsuhashi brought up the rear, his hulking figure blurring in and out of her vision as gusts of wind and rain swept between them. Coco, Velvet, Fox, Yatsuhashi—it was their traditional order, decided with chance grimm encounters in mind.

Not that it was helping them now. Not even grimm would dare to be out in this storm; even those beasts had some trace of self preservation. Coco scoffed at the thought. It was the only kindness they'd seen tonight.

Water streamed down into her eyes, guided by the edge of her beret, and she blinked it away. She kept her head cranked down as she watched for roots and rocks that looked a bit too slippery, while water rushed past her boots. The storm had turned their trail into a flowing stream and Coco had given up on rock hopping to avoid it.' Embrace the suck', she remembered an upperclassman telling her when they chatted about mission assignments. It filled her with a sense of adventure at the time before she fully understood its meaning.

Coco's thoughts wandered again, losing the battle to stay alert. This time back to Ozpin's speech before they all chose their mission. It was short and to the point—she liked that about him—but it was more serious than when they were first years. This would be their first actual mission. Not like last time, where they shadowed Professor Goodwitch through some of the shadier parts of the city.

It had been a worthwhile experience, of course, but it was practically curated. Predictable. Safe, relatively, since first-year missions don't leave civilization and rarely ever skirt the borders. Not this time. Vale's city walls and the kingdom's borders were far behind them. This mission was in the outskirt territories. Technically Vale's, effectively wilderness. Several hours past the bullhead's range, even, hence their current suffering to get through the mountain pass that isolated the village.

They weren't without a professor to keep tabs on them, of course. Port would be responsible for that much, but it was CFVY's mission in the end. 'Minimal interference', that's how Ozpin had put it. The professors would be there to advise them, of course, but would keep interference to a minimum.

That was why Port had left for this damned village two days early, and was probably warm and dry in a bed as he waited for them. Coco cursed to herself at the thought. She wouldn't entertain one of his long-winded stories tonight, especially not if he tried to call this hike a 'character building' experience.

She stumbled, jerked out of her thoughts when her foot slammed against a rock she meant to step over. The ground rushed forward as a pang of shame hit her. Her own body was giving up, betraying her will to even stand, let alone keep hiking.

Her descent stopped as quickly as it had begun, and without her face in the mud, to Coco's surprise. Determined hands caught her pack and pulled her upright.

"Good?" Velvet said, her voice nearly lost in the wind as she shouldered the weight of Coco's pack from behind.

Coco gave a grunt and a nod of thanks as she refound her footing. The weight of the pack settled down on her hip belt as Velvet eased it back on. They both stood there in silence, too exhausted to converse even if the wind didn't make it nearly impossible. There would be no shelter from the downpour until they reached the town, but they still savored the chance to rest for a short minute as the others caught up.

Coco dug down into her pocket, fumbling with numb fingers to pull out a map and unfold it. She blinked away the water running down her face, but her eyes refused to focus on the map's fine print. Velvet stepped up alongside her, pointing a finger at a spot on the map and then up ahead of them. She said something, too, but Coco couldn't hear it. She fixated on Velvet's outstretched hand instead.

It was white, frighteningly so, and shakingly badly. Was it from the rain-induced cold, or from being too exhausted to keep it still? In either case, Velvet didn't seem to notice as she drew it back to cinch her hood tighter—squishing her ears further down in what Coco knew was very uncomfortable. Coco's heart sank as she took in the sight of her teammates. Velvet had fared the worst against the elements, but none of them looked any better as they all huddled together, sharing the brief respite.

How much longer would it be? Velvet was talking to Fox now, having to practically shout in his ear over the wind. Fox smiled. That had to be good, perhaps not much longer. They were looking at her now, too. Oh, mercy, she couldn't imagine how awful she looked right about now. If it were any normal day in the city she'd be downright embarrassed about it, even if it was just in front of her team.

A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face and pointed down to her map, still held limp in her hands. Her vision focused this time. They were still looking at her, and motioning down to her hands. The map, she almost forgot to check it herself. The village was just around the next bend. Their sweet and glorious salvation was finally within reach. That's probably what Velvet tried to tell her. A surge of energy flooded through her, only to be grounded again as they reluctantly broke apart their huddle to finish the trek.

Coco watched each of them pass by her, having decided to take up the rear and let Yatsuhashi set the pace for their final stretch. The weather had taken a physical toll on her, but seeing her team in such a dismal state was an even larger blow to her confidence. They were supposed to be huntsmen, the defenders of humanity. Especially for the villages outside the kingdom's walls. She had witnessed everyone on her team dominate against the grimm. They had been the pride and joy of Vale during the last Vytal Festival. And here they were, with puddles of water squishing inside their boots and too weak to even remain hopeful. Defenders of humanity: defeated by rain. She felt totally spent.

Another chill ran down her spine, but this one put her on full alert. She knew this sensation, her aura and instincts prickled up from her subconscious.

She reached out and put a hand on Fox's shoulder to stop him as he passed.

"Do you feel anything?" she asked, leaning in close to be heard. He stopped and went still, focusing on his aura and reaching out to their surroundings with it. He turned behind them, towards the last false summit on the trail that they had already passed.

"There's something there, but it's faint. Not coming this way."

Coco looked in that direction for a long minute after Fox had moved on, her instinct picking out the jumble of boulders the trail ran alongside before their descent into the valley. She only caught glimpses of them through the misty haze.

There! A smudge of bright red against the rocks. Her body tensed, ready for a fight, but it vanished as the next sheet of rain passed.

It was far, Fox was right, and her aura settled down. Coco rested a hand on the belt of ammunition that held up her minigun and absently thumbed one of the bullets as she watched the spot. Whatever grimm it had been, there was no trace of it anymore. She turned away and followed her team, a little more alert now than she had been before.

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Coco heaved a sigh of relief as she pushed open the inn's doors and slumped against the nearest wall, taking a few blissful minutes to catch her breath with the others.

"Welcome," the innkeeper said. He raised his brow, taken aback by their appearance, and chuckled to himself as the newcomers promptly ignored him. The group shared maniacal grins as they peeled off their rain capes and shook off the dripping water, hearing the man behind the counter but too caught up in the euphoria of finishing their slog through the mountain pass to pay attention. The innkeeper, a lean man pushing his fifties, watched patiently as they shrugged off their packs and the women wrung out their sodden hair. They were quite a young group for how highly the professor had spoken of them, although their downtrodden state did little to help their image. His lips pinched down and his shoulders sank as the shortest of them pulled off her hood and untangled her hair, letting two long ears lay matted atop it.

That was unfortunate.

He cleared his throat before he could dwell on it and all four of them looked up at once. "Team CFVY, I presume. Your professor already booked your two rooms, second floor, and he said he'll check in with you all once you're unpacked," he said, taking two sets of keys off their hooks and bringing them over.

"Thanks," Coco said, using the moment to introduce the team as well.

"I'm Harold, it's a pleasure," he said, finishing a brief round of handshakes and pleasantries. "I'll let you get settled in and bring up some extra towels in a few minutes. Looks like you could all use them."

Coco nodded in thanks before tossing a key to Yatsuhashi and making a beeline for the staircase. For the better half of the day they had been fantasizing about this moment, fought for it, and now they were home free.

With a more muted joy, Velvet followed her down the hall and into their shared room as the guys split off into their own. They immediately dropped their packs on the floor and undid the mess of straps that held down their weapons and, in Coco's case, a half-dozen belts and boxes of spare ammunition. Those were quickly discarded over the back of a chair and both Coco and Velvet sighed in relief and rolled their shoulders. Neither of them had designed their weapons with long hikes in mind, so the heavy cases quickly became awkward and made for some very sore muscles at the end of the day.

Eating was already forgotten about as they prepared to turn in for the night, enticed by the sight of the warm, dry beds waiting for them—especially after having spent the last night in the bullhead with their packs as pillows and little to relieve the constant rumble of the engines. Velvet made quick work of unpacking, occasionally squeezing her fists tight as her fingers warmed back up and tingled with feeling, while Coco went about emptying her pack and pulling out what little was still dry.

"I have dry clothes if none of yours are," Velvet said, carrying her fresh clothes, wrapped tightly in plastic bags, into the bathroom to change.

"Thanks but I'll be fine." Coco didn't look up as she dug out her clothes from the middle of her pack which, to her dismay, had still gotten soaked. The rain had wetted out the pack and gotten into nearly every part of it, almost mocking her for being so far out of the city and its comforts.

A hard knock on the door interrupted them, and Coco pulled it open to greet Harold.

"Your towels," he said, handing a stack of them to Coco and giving her a tight, awkward smile as he gazed around the room. "Where's your other friend?"

"I'm here!" Velvet walked out of the bathroom in her nightwear, hummed cheerfully as she rubbed her ears dry with a fresh towel. She stopped mid-step as she met Harold's intense stare "I, uh, is there—?"

"There a problem?" Coco finished for Velvet. She squared her shoulders to him in the doorway with a sour look, making him meet her eyes rather than keep staring at Velvet's ears.

Harold backpedalled, stumbling over his words. "Could be—I'm not—I mean no, there's not. I'm just surprised to see one of you in these parts. It's been a long time since, well. Since then."

Velvet shrank, her cheerfulness had quickly fallen away. After their day, all she had wanted was a peaceful night and not another problem before their mission even started. Coco wasn't letting any of it past her, though. Especially not tonight.

"Are you saying this is going to be a problem, or just gawking? Because whoever's in charge here reached out to Beacon. Specifically. They knew what they signed up for."

"Woah there." He took a step back. "I was sayin' it's been a long time, that's all. Must've been thirty five, maybe forty years since the faunus left. Didn't think I'd ever see another one again. Nobody's going to like the chief for this."

Coco stayed silent as she watched Harold's expression carefully, only to soften when Velvet came over and put a nervous hand on her back. Velvet may have been the calmer of them when this came up, but she knew the stories and history many of the small industry towns had as well. She spoke up instead.

"We're still okay to stay here tonight, right? We went through quite a lot to get here."

Harold frowned but nodded. "Of course, I'm not going to kick y'all out into that. It's not personal, miss. I don't have any problem with your kind. I'm just saying not everybody might feel that way. The chief clearly didn't tell us he went to Beacon for a reason. I only found out when Mr. Port got here so I was hoping this wouldn't even come up, you know."

Coco held her gaze for another long moment before giving a slow nod, taking his word as genuine and stepping out of his space. She shrugged off Velvet and stuffed her hands in her pockets to hide them quivering. If anything, her exhaustion-fueled hair-trigger outrage had taken a backseat for now.

"Alright," Coco continued, "how much of the town is like that?"

"Not everybody I'm sure," Harold offered, but immediately saw it wasn't enough. "It'll probably be better with the young ones. Just don't advertise it and I'm sure times have changed since back then. I'm sorry it's this way, miss. For what it's worth."

"Not much." Coco dismissed him and shut the door slow enough for him to get the message and leave. They both stood there in silence for a moment, collecting their thoughts. This wasn't the first that some people were less than tolerant, of course, but it hurt just as much every time. And while moving to Beacon had been a breath of fresh air for Velvet, it had brought a slew of new considerations for her. Like Coco, for example.

"Don't advertise it?" Coco echoed the innkeeper's words, lacing them with skepticism. "Give me a break, what does that even mean?"

Velvet sighed, shrugged, and went back to sit on her bed. "We are outside of the kingdom, I've heard things are different out here for my entire life, so I'd be lying if I said I'm surprised." Velvet held her breath as Coco scowled.

"That's insane, Vel. We're here sticking out our necks for them. They asked for our help."

"I know, Coco. It's just that we're not in the city anymore. I've always heard it was different. Not quite Atlas, definitely not as bad as Minstral, but we're not in Vale either. I've always heard these towns are something different. That they can't afford to change. I've never seen it myself yet, though."

"She's right, Coco," Professor Port said from the doorway. He gave the frame a courtesy knock before coming in and taking a seat. "Forgive me, Harold brought his concerns to me just a few minutes ago. But this is not my mission, so I sent him up here to deal with it. Now Velvet, please continue. And elaborate, I think we all have a lot to learn about this town if we're going to help them." Port turned towards the entrance expectantly, motioning for Velvet to hold on. "And come along lads, this is a discussion for all of us," he called out.

Fox and Yatsuhashi awkwardly shuffled in at his urging, clearly having been caught eavesdropping from their room next door. Port's light yet serious outlook was a welcomed addition for them all, even if he took it upon himself to make their private conversation a team lesson. Frankly, they expected as much when they saw his name attached to the mission listing so many weeks ago. He gave a curt nod to Velvet once everybody was seated and although nobody would admit it, the walls were thin enough for them all to be caught up.

"Well," Velvet chewed her lips for a moment as she put together her thoughts, very aware that everybody's eyes were on her. At least it was just her team. "Vale is pretty progressive on race relations, and most cities in the kingdom are. Because they can be. We've fought really hard in Vale for progress, you've all been to the protests with me, so we don't have to worry about grimm when we hit the streets and fight our fight. Because we can. We're safe enough to talk about it and demand change no matter how long it takes."

"Well said, Velvet." Port gave her an encouraging smile. "When villages pop up in the outer kingdom or beyond, as we are now, some outdated views are much more common. Tradition is stable. Patriarchies and matriarchies and so on are stable. Unfortunately social progress is not. Vales takes a lot of pride in our changed views, but we're able to because it's never threatened our living." He paused, glancing over each of their faces to see them all listening intently, whether they wanted to show it or not.

"You aren't trying to justify this, are you?"

"Not at all." He brushed off Coco's skepticism. "But as young huntsmen and huntresses, you will encounter the best and worst of mankind. We rarely get a choice in that and I just found out about this situation too. Which is why you all have a decision to make tonight."

"How does Beacon not know?" Yatsuhashi said.

"What decision?" Fox leaned forward, curious. While he couldn't pick up on his teammate's visual cues, their auras had noticeably shifted along with the feeling of the room.

"Whether or not you would still like to accept this mission. We don't usually allow teams to go back on this, but it's at my discretion so I'll explain. Beacon has not worked with this village before and they aren't in any of our databases. That's not unheard of, villages this size come and go with the seasons, but we do not know what beliefs these people hold or how intensely, their history, or anything else. Defending any village is a difficult task, it is much harder without their full support."

"This mission was marked as urgent. What happens if we leave?" Fox said after Port paused for a moment.

"I'll contact Glynda tonight, we'll assess the situation here in the morning, and you'll hike back out as soon as the next bullhead can reach the other side of the mountain. A new team will be inbound within a few days and you'll be reassigned to a new contract. If no teams are available I'll stay and handle it. Rest assured, there will be no penalties besides your and their time."

"How often do reassignments happen. I never heard of that option," Yatsuhashi said.

"It's rare. Only a few times since I've worked at Beacon, and they've been exclusively with these outskirt settlements and under extraordinary circumstances. Many only know Beacon through its reputation, so I'm not surprised."

"I don't know if we should stay, but I don't think we should run from it. That's not going to help anybody, us or them." Yatsuhashi leaned back in his chair as it creaked under his weight. "But staying here also won't affect me. Velvet?"

Velvet bit her lip and pulled her knees close to her chest. "I didn't get into this to pick and choose who I help, but I'm nervous not knowing what else there is to this mission. Why do you think they'd do that, Professor? Beacon is well known for having integrated teams."

"It's either ignorance or desperation, Velvet. I wouldn't rule either out with what we currently know."

Velvet nodded. "Well they still asked for our help. And Harold said there hasn't been any faunus here in forty years. I'd be the first one most of these people ever see. That's worth something, right?"

"And if they're never worked with Beacon before, then up and leaving will send a strong message about who we are. Doesn't matter if another team comes in after, we still left them," Fox said.

Port nodded and his eyes fell on Coco, along with the rest of her teammates' waiting gazes.

"That's the consensus then. We'll stay and do the mission," said Coco.

"Very well, but what are your thoughts, Ms. Adel? Why do you want to stay." Port said, prodding.

"Because we're here now. And I'd rather not make that hike again in the morning."

"That's all?"

"I don't know what to think about it. It's a hell of a decision without a lot to go on, but I didn't plan on quitting ten minutes ago before it was an option. I didn't like it, but I wasn't about to leave."

Port nodded again, accepting the answer. "Good. Frankly, we never have the privilege of going into a situation knowing what to expect. New information can only change how we help others. Never if we do. I'd like to add that many of these people have never seen a huntsman team before, students or professionals. You all will be their first impression of who we are as people, as staff of Beacon, even as folk from the city. By simply being here we'll shape their entire experience of Beacon and Vale. And yes, Velvet, of faunus too. That's certainly worth something."

Coco stayed silent as Port and the rest of her team exchanged a few final remarks and pleasantries before they all filtered out of the room for the night. She mostly tuned them out, too taken with her own thoughts and emotions and subsiding bitterness. The last hour had been a lot to process, let alone being exhausted from their trip here. She laid back on her bed and folded her hands beneath her head, staring at the ceiling as she replayed the conversation with Harold in her head. He had seemed matter-of-fact about it all, but apologetic enough. She'd have to apologize for being harsh with him later if he held up to being a decent fellow, but she still hated his gawking. How much it singled out Velvet and put her on display. And she wasn't thrilled with Port's casually forced conversation about it all either, even if it was one they needed to have. A little warning would've been nice. Still, Port was always a known quantity, and she did appreciate him.

All she wanted was the best for her team, and it seemed like society was determined to trip her up every chance it got. Before it was just a drunk at a bar spewing off on her and Velvet, or some bloke on the street trying to impress his friends. Little stuff that she had just written off as a few idiots here and there. Every place had them. Then they started going to support Velvet at the protests, and it became more apparent. People came out of the woodwork just to put them down, and her team doubled down on their support. But it was still Vale and Beacon. Progress was tangible. And then out here it's like none of it had mattered in the slightest. And for a whole town to be like this? That couldn't just be written off.

A movement beside her caught Coco's attention and broke her thoughts. Velvet had sat down on the edge of the bed and laid back with her, her head resting on Coco's arm.

"You're thinking too much again," Velvet said with a tiny yawn.

"No."

"Come on. I know that look."

"It's just been a day." Coco chuckled to herself at a thought. "Maybe next year's mission will be better."

"You know, I always wondered if I could be a mountain person. Hiking and views and all that. After today I think that's a solid nope."

"We'll get us a nice coastal town for next year's mission. Fight grimm in the morning and wash off the blood in the ocean all afternoon. How's that sound?"

Velvet huffed. "With your luck, there'll be a mountain next to the ocean. My feet are killing me, it's like somebody took a hammer to the bottom of them."

"That's what they'll call you when you become a professional huntswoman. Ol' Velvet Iron Feet, Queen of the Mountains."

"You're the worst."

"Hey, it's better than Velvet the Hammer Foot!" Velvet shook a little, and then broke into a quiet giggle. Coco caught it too, and they both started laughing at the absurdity of it all. "Thanks Vel, I needed that," she said once they had quieted down for a minute.

Coco looked over at Velvet to find her sound asleep, having finally crashed after their day. She freed her arm and carefully got up, intent on claiming Velvet's now empty bed for her own. These people might deserve their help, Coco thought before she passed out, but they sure as hell didn't deserve Velvet.

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Author's notes:

I began writing this story in 2015 with the goal to fully complete a story before posting it. And I did! The 16 chapters of this story are all finished. This means two things:

First, some of the personality traits and semblances for team CFVY that were canonized in the novels are not included in this, because it was written before we knew much about these characters. Some things may seem out of character relative to what we now know, and some plot points would be different with Coco's, Fox's, and Yatsuhashi's semblances. I didn't give them different abilities because they were unknowns when I began writing this, I instead left them out. I based their personalities on what we had seen in the show and I didn't change them halfway through the story to fit the novels. That's why they may seem out of character, relative to the books.

Secondly, if you enjoyed this story and want to be more involved, I'd love to have a couple beta readers. I want this story to be as polished as possible and I know I still have a lot to learn about writing, so having feedback and your opinion can be really helpful to make this as good as possible. Beta reading could include checking grammar and doing line edits, making sure the writing and phrasing flows well (especially for dialogue and action scenes), helping with plot consistency and pacing, and so on. No pressure to do all of these things, just your strongest suite. Message me if you're interested and we can chat more about it.