This chapter almost killed me when I wrote it.

After a bit, the two girls found themselves out at the stables. One of the stablehands helped Weiss fit Neige with a new saddle and reins. It felt strange to not have a bit in.

But stranger yet was sitting astride and wearing pants. Her father would have had her head if he'd seen her like this. Every aspect of her screamed how wrong this was. She should not be like this. No proper Atlassian lady should be wearing pants or sitting astride. Everything about this was so. Very. Wrong.

All she could do was swallow it, though. It didn't seem like she had a choice. So much of her life was controlled and now was no different. She had to swallow her own feelings and accept things for what they were.

The stablehand helped her mount and she found herself hanging onto the staddle horn for dear life. She felt so completely unbalanced like this. How did men (and apparently fae) ride like this all the time?! She wanted her sidesaddle back now!

Blake nudged up on her side with a light purple horse who bore no reins, only a rope around the neck. "Are you all right?" Her ears twitched.

"I've never ridden astride before… This feels all wrong…" She didn't feel like she would slide out of the saddle or anything, but she didn't feel steady. She could take any gate in a sidesaddle—she'd even managed to learn to jump with him. But this felt so terribly wrong.

Neige didn't seem entirely comfortable either. He'd been trained for her and her alone, so he'd only worn sidesaddles as far as she knew. This was new for both of them. She wanted to ride, though. It always lifted her spirit. But she would be hard pressed to enjoy this particular ride with as uncomfortable as she was. Hopefully Neige would at least adjust in due time. He'd probably get it sooner than she would.

"…I'll have one of the stablehands work with while you aren't riding him if that's okay. Riding should be enjoyable, not something you're uncomfortable with." Both girls looked down at him and he nodded.

"If it's the only way to ride here, I'll let someone teach me. I don't like not having a bit though." The horse snorted and shook his head. She couldn't blame him. Everything had changed so rapidly and in big ways. She had so much to adapt to… This riding was not comfortable in the slightest. She'd only ridden sidesaddle in the eleven years she'd been riding…

"You'll get used to it in time. One really doesn't need a hard, stiff hand to work with awakened horses or pegasi. We'll keep things to no more than a trop. It'll increase our travel time, but I don't want you flying out of the saddle."

"Okay." Weiss couldn't do more than agree here. She didn't want to go flying out of the saddle either. A gallop or even a canter felt like a terrifying prospect at the moment. She could full-tilt jump in even a saddle but not astride.

"Also, I hate to ask this, but if you ride Neige, please don't go into the forest. He doesn't know the paths and boundaries of our property. We have plenty of space you can ride out in the open. If you want to stray further, use one of our horses. You can bring him with you so he can learn them. Does that sound fair?" Weiss thought a moment before she nodded. It did sound fair. She didn't want to get lost in the middle of the forest. She couldn't fend for herself out in the wilds. Running away like that really had been stupid.

"But what about the Grimm?" She clucked Neige into a walk as Blake's horse started. It was odd to see such a large manor and no sight of security of Hunters. She was implying that she could go into the forest by herself…

"They don't exist here. Duana never thought to invade the fae realm despite the magic here and her innate ability to traverse the two realms." Duana? What? What did a person have to do with the Grimm? And what did they have to do with magic?

Blake sighed. "Mortals forget things so easily… She's the leader of the Grimm. She's the daughter of the god of Chaos, Keberes. After the gods left Serlia, she and her cousin, Lucianus, kept fighting over petty things. Over time, Duana sealed almost all of the magic Fountains on the planet. The Grimm are sentient blobs of Chaos magic.

"We don't have magic Fountains here in Koiria. Magic is innate to everything. It would be hard to seal that magic since it permeates everything." Blake shrugged.

Of course, most of it flew over Weiss' head. Magic Fountains? Duana? Lucianus? This all sounded insane. The Grimm having a leader? But she was in a realm of magic and she had more than enough proof of the fae being real. She'd seen the winged horses even if she hadn't gotten close to them yet.

But they fell relatively silent as they approached the forest. It felt a bit hushed and quiet as they entered. It felt…different than being close to the manor. It didn't feel like the Atlassian forest she'd run away in either. Some sort of energy prickled her skin and she couldn't make it stop. What was so palpable…?

They were silent for quite some time and so Weiss took the time to look around. The forest was so unlike the normal evergreen ones of Atlas. Flowers bloomed everywhere with short grasses cropping up, though high ones and weeds tickled Neiges belly. He snorted occasionally probably from the sensation. She patted his neck, but he didn't complain about anything.

Birds chirped around them while bees lazily droned from flower to flower. There was a beautiful place and quite calming. She didn't appreciate the sticky heat, but this place brought her a serenity and comfort that she never knew existed until now. Of course, the ride wasn't super comfortable but she still felt serene. She felt so far from anything that had happened at Schnee manor… It felt almost like a lifetime ago despite having been less than twenty-four hours…

It was quite a while later when Blake pulled her horse around and motioned to some weathered obsidian pillars. They gleamed dully in the sunlight, the shiny black rock long having lost its luster. "You'll want to keep an eye for these sorts of pillars. They exist about every hundred feet or so when entering another race's territory.

"This particular manor is our spring one. We share the forests here with a band of dragons. In about another half an hour, we'll pass into a unicorn forest. This is the eastern boundary of our manor's property. You are all allowed into these areas as long as you remain respectful. If you are asked to leave, then remove yourself immediately. Do you understand?" Blake's tone was firm but not harsh. She spoke like Winter did when providing guidance over combat or something alone those lines.

She nodded. "That I can do. But dragons… How many can live in this area…?" She looked around, curious. She could glimpse the obsidian pillars every so often as they weren't covered in moss or anything. They showed clear signs of weather, but none of nature reclaiming the odd things.

"There are many different types of dragon. It'll be easier to show you than explain." Blake gently nudged her horse with her foot then put her hand on the pillar. Red lines of energy flared up around it, pooly where the eyes sat on the face. More energy crackled in the air and Neige shied back a bit. Weiss kept her grip on the reins, making him stay, but he was so clearly ill at ease.

Several minutes passed and nothing seemed to happen until a black shape darted out of the grass and flew into the air. It was a decent size, looking rather like a black leopard. Its blue eyes locked onto Blake and Weiss before landing in the tall weed,s though it remained on its hind legs to stay visible to them. "Young Belladonna, what brings you here today? Why have you requested my presence?" Despite the moderate size, its voice boomed deeply.

Blake bowed her head and tucked her chin against her chest for a moment. "Greetings, Chief Ekog. I apologise for drawing you away from your people. I know I can pass through without your blessing, but I wanted it today. This is my family's new charge—Schnee. As you can probably tell, she's human. She will bear your people no harm should she venture out on her own."

The dragon-leopard thing narrowed its eyes and slunk through the grass over to her. It sniffed her then recoiled. "Humans have such a strange scent. She smells of smoke and yet sterility, not flowers and life." Weiss wanted to bristle but she forced herself to stay her hand. It was small, but it was still a dang dragon. This was one of the last things she wanted to anger.

"The scents should disappear in time. She comes from Atlas, a land of heavy pollution, so it makes sense. Can you promise her safe passage should she be out here alone?"

Ekog nodded, then went back to its original position. "As long as she respects the land. Herbs and fruits may be gathered and small game hunted, but all large game is left for us. Those are the rules of the treaty." He looked at Weiss intently, making her hunch over. This thing was terrifying! Did it really expect her to hunt here? She had no interest in such a thing! She really wanted to look around that was all!

"I'm not a hunter… I've never killed anything in my life and I don't see that changing…" She couldn't stop her voice from wavering. It was practically threatening her! Did it really expect her to take anything for them? What was the difference between large and small game anyway? The idea of butchering something was so abhorrent to her!

Ekog nodded. "And see to it that it doesn't happen. You may one day hunt, but anything larger than a rabbit belongs to us. My people need to eat." Some emitted from Ekog's nose, a clear threat. She nodded her agreement emphatically. No large game. She understood. She would not go after anything.

"Is that all, young Belladonna?"

"Yes, Chief. Thank you for your time." Blake tucked her chin into her chest again. The chief sank into the grasses and left them alone. Weiss continued to shake in her boots quite literally, knuckles white on the reins and saddle horn. She was definitely not cross those things. The smoke was a threat and she knew better. Boy, did she ever know better.

"Are you all right?" Blake brought her horse over next to Neige and rested one hand over hers.

Weiss let out a shaky breath. Don't lie. The reminder bounced around her skull. Blake had tolerated all of her lies so far but she didn't want to get in trouble. So she shook her head. "That…was scary." The dragon had so clearly threatened her. How as she supposed to be okay after that? She wanted to turn tail and hide under the covers. She was so afraid.

Blake squeezed her hand and gently loosened her grip on the reins, slipping her hand inside of Weiss. "It's okay. Chief Ekog is pretty scary at first, but he's not too bad once you get to know him. He scared me as a kid and it always made me nervous to pass through here. But I spent a few weeks among his tribe one time. He's a considerate soul and looks out for his people. Humans have a reputation for destruction over here in Koiria, so he wanted to make sure you understood your boundaries." That…she couldn't disagree with. Humans were destructive. The thick plumes of smoke from Mantle proved how destructive they could be… She wasn't about to go hunting or torch his forest down, though…

"The next encounter won't be so bad. Want to continue onward?" She looked at Blake and saw nothing but warmth in her eyes. She nodded slowly and squeezed her hand back. Hopefully it wouldn't be so bad. SO far, this world was no better than Atlas. Everyone kept beating her up for no reason. She hadn't done anything wrong to the dragons. There was no reason to get so upset at her. She understood that humans were destructive, but she had never done anything to destroy. The most she left when she was in nature were her horse's footprints.

With that, Blake started leading them away from the monuments and deeper into the forest. There was no trail that Weiss could see, but Blake seemed to know exactly where to do.

Weiss wished she could settle back into the previous serenity, but she didn't know what to do. Every rustle of a bush or from the canopy felt like it could be the dragons. They wouldn't ambush her like that, right? Especially not with Blake there… She seemed to have a good rapport with the chief… That would protect her from harm, right?

Eventually, they made it to a small clearing with a ton of different bushes in it. "Here we are!" Blake dismounted and Weiss looked around anxiously. They were still in dragon territory, right? She hadn't seen any of those statues. Were they okay? They wouldn't be punished for stopping here, right?

"Weiss, it's okay. Yes, we are still in dragon territory but it's okay. They aren't going to attack us. The dragons have no interest in berries; they're carnivores. Do you need help dismounting?" Blake smiled up at her and she gave a small nod. Blake helped her dismount and, next thing she knew, Blake held up a large handbasket.

"This is a great blueberry and blackberry patch. We can pick some then I'll send them back to the cooks. We'll have more than enough than for jam and butters through the winter at this rate!" Blake's ears twitched quickly and she had a warm smile on her face. "Do you know how to pick berries?"

"No; this is the longest I've been out in nature like this…" Her butt was honestly hurting from the long ride in the saddle. She was supposed to have been out the better part of the day yesterday. It was a fox-hunting party with all the fixings (as far as she knew). She had never been out on a hunt before, so it had confused her a bit.

Over the next little bit, Blake explained how to find good berries and put some in the basket. "And because this isn't one of the high ages of Serlia, there aren't any the pesticides. Eat as many as you want!" She put some berries in Weiss' hand and she looked back at her. But weren't they gathering them for the house? Then again… This entire clearing was packed with berry bushes. It wouldn't be a big deal to eat some here and there.

So she popped them into her mouth and a bright smile erupted across her face. She had never had anything so good before! That bread was a close second, but fresh-picked fruit? It was absolutely amazing!

With that done, the two girls set about picking a lot of berries. Weiss pulled her shirt out and rested the berries there before emptying it into the basket. Of course, she had her fair share she ate, but it seemed to barely impact the amount they picked.

"By the way, save some room. There'll be more where this came from when we get to the unicorn forest! You'll never have sene so much fruit in your life!" Blake was absolutely jubilant.

"Okay!" Blake's infectious enthusiasm was hard to not pick up. More fresh fruit? She really couldn't wait!

Although she was getting quite sticky. The heat was getting to her from all the physical activity. She could spend hours bouncing around her Glyphs in her room but the house was always cool. She'd never felt this gross even after all nights of combat training. She felt like her clothing was becoming a second skin at this point…

The basket filled up and Blake plopped on the ground. Weiss blinked when she saw it disappear, then two canteens appeared in Blake's hands. So that was what magic looked like. Instant teleportation… The Atlas military would kill to have that sort of skill or technology at their behes. "Here." Blake handed one to her and she drank from it. The water tasted like melted snow. It was cool, clear, and refreshing to the point it felt like it restored some of her strength and cooled her down.

"I sensed you were getting tired, so I got some ambrosia water. It'll help you thermoregulate more and restore your energy." Blake smiled and Weiss gave a small nod. She felt a lot better after drinking the water. Not so hot and sticky and a lot more energised.

"Thanks." This was probably some ploy now that she thought about it. She had to be after something. Altruism was a myth… She must want something out of this from her. She must. All of this. Blake had to have some sort of endgoal with all of this. What it was, she didn't know, but she'd figure it out eventually. In due time, she'd figure out what Blake planned to do with her…

Blake looked down at her canteen, ears flipping back a bit. Weiss looked away. Blake did feel genuine, but it was so easy for people to fake things. Everybody in the Atlassian upper class was an actor. It took an acute skill to see through al ot of the acts, but she'd learned. She really had. It wouldn't be too hard for Blake to manipulate her especially when she didn't know anything about the fae realm…

They sat for a short time until Blake stood up and threw the canteen strap over her shoulder. "Let's go." Her tone was polite, distant. What…? Had she done something to offend her? She hadn't said—

Darn it.

That aura reading was really frustrating.

Blake helped Weiss mount again but she remained silent as they rode this time.

And she remained silent for a long time.

As in until they got to the next set of obsidian barriers. Once again, Weiss felt the energy prickle against her skin. What was it? It felt so palpable…

"You're sensing the magic. You'll get used to it in time, though maybe not at the unicorn forests. They're pure concentrations of raw, untapped magic. Once we pass the stones, it'll be cooler." Weiss nodded at Blake's words and she urged Neige over to the area.

Nothing looked different but the air immediately dropped a much cooler and more amenable temperature to her. It felt like a lovely summer day in Atlas and less like…that.

Blake once again helped her dismount and led her over to a nearby grove of trees. Apples of all kind grew along with pears, oranges, and other fruits. Plump raspberries grew on bushes along with blackberries and blueberries and other fruits she couldn't identify. "Wow…" Even in Schnee manor, she had never seen so much fruit. It really was magical.

"Fae plant berries and other things along the borders of unicorn forests to take advantage of the magic here. It's eternal spring in the forest, but the fruit will always find ideal conditions to grow in. Servants come out once a week here for picking things. It always regrows within twenty-four horus. So feel free to grab what you want." Blake's tone sounded absolutely dejected.

Weiss looked down and wrung her hands together. "Did I do something wrong…?" She really couldn't shake the feeling. Blake had been so happy then suddenly withdrew into herself. She hadn't said anything but she had thought some things.

Blake sighed, ears drooping over. "You thought I had ulterior motives… I really did all of this because you were suffering. And you go and suspect me of having something else. Do you know how much that hurts? Especially when the berry picking was to get your mind off the dragons?" That…had been for her benefit? She certainly didn't feel like it… It felt like Blake was making a pitstop.

How was she supposed to know Blake didn't have ulterior motives with all of this? She'd never met anybody in the Atlassian upper class that didn't have them. There was always something people wanted. Whether it be marriages, political favors, business arrangements, or something else… She had reason to suspect to everybody that wasn't her sister…and maybe General Ironwood. She couldn't let go of that. It kept her safe. And Blake was asking her to simply stop thinking like that…

Not happening.

Blake sighed again and shook her head but said nothing more. "Feel free to gather some fruit." She handed Weiss a basket then settled down on the ground.

Weiss went into the grove and started picking fruit, tasting almost everything she could. Fresh strawberries. Fresh apples. Fresh bananas. Raspberries. Pears. Different types of nuts. It was all so god… She almost didn't mind the stickiness from the juices that pooled on her hands as she ate…

Eventually, though, she came face to face with a white horse…with a spiral of silver crystal coming out of its head. She fell back on her behind, the fruit that she had been piling in her shirt spilling on the ground. "Oh dear me! I'm sorry!" Weiss found herself floating back to her feet and the fruit floating back into her shirt.

"I'm so sorry for startling you! I sensed you in my territory but I wasn't so worried since I felt Blake with you. Odd… She's never had a human with her before…" The horse tilted its head a bit, tail flicking.

"Um…" Weiss stood there awkwardly. She was so put off by this. It was so strange to be talking to a being she'd thought was fake. She didn't know much about unicorn mythology; she'd simply had them mentioned in passing in some of her history books. Flights of fancy were foreign to her. Now she was in a realm full of things that were fantastical and should not have existed…

The unicorn laid its horn on Weiss' shoulder for a moment, then looked up at Blake. "Can I speak to you alone, young Belladonna? Welcome guest, help yourself to the bounty present here." Weiss nodded slightly and put her fruits in a basket Blake had given her.

"Of course, Dydre." With that, Blake and the unicorn walked away, leaving Weiss alone.

‡

Blake followed Dydre off to the side, out of earshot of Weiss. She didn't understand what this was about. For Dydre to call her out like this… It wasn't typical for unicorns to get too involved with those outside of their own kind. They were the most in tune with emotions of all the races. So it probably had something to do with that. Was it something to do with Weiss?

After a few minutes of walking, Dydre stopped and turned to face Blake. Her blue eyes seemed to practically bore into her soul. There was nothing intimidating but unicorns were able to see through anybody should they put their horns on their shoulder. Dydre hadn't done that to Blake in some years, but it wasn't much different from how fae could read the souls of other fae, humans, and Faunus. "What do you want to speak to me about?"

I did a reading on your guest and you have to be more patient with her. I can understand your frustration and being hurt by her thinking you have ulterior motives. She was raised in an environment where that was the norm. Everybody wanted her for some reason. Be patient with her." Dydre's ears flicked and Blake glanced at the grover. She could be patient but it didn't mean it didn't hurt. She had genuinely done it altruistically. There was nothing but kindness behind her decision. How was she supposed to deal with a stubborn girl that jumped at non-existent shadows? She was out of that environment so she could relax.

"I believe she has what you fae call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The abuse and environment will probably have life-long ramifications for her." Even without her horn, Dydre could read Blake's thoughts and emotions.

"So she'd be one of Auria's patients." It wasn't a question. The nobility wasn't very prone to things like PTSD but many serfs were. Lords had every right to treat their serfs how they wanted which did lead to many serfs having instances of trauma-related mental illnesses. Auria had shared some of her literature once and Blake wouldn't forget it… It was so hard for her to wrap her mind around serfs having the same mental faculties of nobility.

"I don't know Auria, but if she's a mental specialist, then yes. It's going to take many years for her to calm down, if she ever does. She'll need help from specialists, but for now, she won't trust them. Get her one of your shielding rings. She'll probably drive you crazy if you don't."

"I already decided I will." After the issue with the dutchesses, it was absolutely necessary. Those sorts of thoughts would only result in Weiss getting into crazy amounts of trouble. She did not want her getting into trouble… Weiss was more or less her responsibility at this point… But maybe she should bring Turi over. She lived with humans so she might have more patience than Blake herself. Blake was trying, but it was hard. She could only understand Weiss' shyness through her experience with traumatised horses and pegasi.

"That's good. It should help cut down on her missteps. She'll continue to misstep too… Be patient with her. She has a lot to learn. You don't get mad at a young child for making mistakes, do you?" Her tail flicked and Blake sighed. She remembered how badly she had screwed up especially in the Misum court as a child. Lider were a lot more forgiving while Misum could be relatively harsh and unrelenting. If she called Turi over, she could help her acclimate her to Misum manners too… It seemed like a better idea by the minute to call Turi over…

"I'll do my best." She hoped that the fae Weiss interacted with would be so understanding. The Belladonna family already had so many scandals—her parents getting together, her own existence, and now taking a late-arriving changeling. She wanted to minimise any further scandals if at all possible. Her family would already be the center of gossip for at least the next decade for her impulsive decision. She just hadn't ben able to leave Weiss to her fate in Atlas… Any fae sensing the clear fear of rape on her soul like that wouldn't be able to leave her. The shielding ring was going to be so important once they started interacting with polite society…

"I'll ask a member of the Misum court to help with her. She's already related to Schnee, so it should hopefully work out…" Turi had grown to be much more in line with humans than fae due to her extended time in the realm when she was so young. She wasn't much of a typical Misum like her older sister. Auria was about as stereotypical as Misum came except when it came to working with serfs.

"That's probably a good idea. She really needs somebody that can be patient with her. My best advice is treat her like a very young child. She doesn't understand how to regulate her emotions like even you do, Blake. She's like an eight-year-old fae child. I know you're still considered a child yourself, but she's even younger than you are mentally and emotionally." Dydre rested her rested her head against Blake's shoulder. Blake gently ran her hand through the unicorn's mane. A few stray hairs gathered in her fingers and she smiled.

"Would you mind if I sold these in town?" The watchmaker would love to have some stray unicorn hairs. It made timekeeping devices so much easier to make. They made it so they didn't have to be reset manually; they would adjust themselves to the local time automatically. It made such devices extremely expensive, but her family could afford it.

"Go ahead. They're of no use to me if they're sticking to you." Dydre snorted and Blake sent them to her nightstand at home and petted the unicorn's neck.

"Thank you. I'll keep your advice in mind too." Treat her like an extremely young child… She really wasn't around them that often. Her parents were still young—only in their mid two hundreds—so it wasn't like most of their peers were having children. They'd only just been installed in their court positions shortly before her birth… They didn't even rule their own lands yet due to how young they were.

"Shall we go back?" Dydre flicked her tail as she backed up and Blake nodded.

"Let's."

§

Weiss watched as Blake and Dydre left, shrugging to herself as she focused on picking and eating the bounty offered by the grove. It was amazing have such free rein over fruit… She'd never been allowed to choose what she ate before. It was an odd feeling but not a bad one. She didn't like how sticky her hands and face were getting. She didn't want to waste the ambrosia water to clean up either… She wasn't sure if it was a precious resource or not. It was better to err on the side of caution, though. Best not to potentially upset your captor by wasting something…

However, it took only a few minutes before she heard Neige whinny loudly. It was a sound she'd never heard from him before, one of pure alarm and fear.

She turned around to look her and her heart froze in her chest.

What looked to be several wolves approached. Neige whinnied agained and backed up, but Blake's lavender horse didn't react at all. "Shut up, you great oaf. They're not here to harm us." Her dark purple tail flicked and Weiss looked at her

"But they're wolves!" How could a horse not be freaked out by ten wolves approaching?! They were massive. She'd never seen a doglike animal so large before! Even Schnee manor's guard dogs weren't this large!

"They come from the unicorn forest. They're similar to awakened animals but they aren't quite the same. Any animal born in a unicorn forest that's not something inconsequentially small like an insect or worm is granted full intelligence." The orse snorted and pushed her head back down, going back to graze on the grass.

The wolves had stopped. They sat down and simply looked at Weiss, heads tilted to different degrees and at different angles. Neige still looked unsettled. That was right; he couldn't understand Blake's horse like she could. She quickly relayed the message and he looked at her warily. "Are you sure we can trust that? They're wolves."

"I don't know, but they don't seem to be aggressive." They sat in a semicircle, seeming to simply observe. What did they want? She was doing nothing wrong. Blake and Dydre had left her here to enjoy the bounty of the land. That was all she was doing. She had permission to be here and to take. Was everything in this crazy land really so obsessed with her?

"We sensed great pain and came to see what was causing it." A brown wolf stood up and stepped forward. It put one leg in front of her then lowered its head in a bow. Wow… To see an animal pull something like that off… She'd never seen it before. She known aura breeds were intelligent, but this was something else almost entirely. It was a formal greeting. The wolves had manners.

But 'great pain'? "Oh… You must mean Blake…" Somehow she'd hurt Blake. She couldn't really understand how or why. It was just her typical thoughts and emotions, so how could that hurt anybody? It didn't really make any sense to her. Then again, nothing about fae really made much sense yet. She understood strict manners but the women together… Didn't that go against the very foundations of nature itself?

The wolf shook its head. "You carry a great deal of pain inside of you, young one. Your very soul is scarred. I can see it even without needing to get too close." Weiss shifted her weight a bit. They could see her soul? Blake could read it, but seeing it… It felt even more unnerving than she thought. How was she supposed to handle it? This was so offputting. She only wanted to gather the fruit that she'd been allowed to…

It was then that Blake and Dydre came back and she looked at them helplessly. She wasn't doing anything wrong! She didn't carry 'great pain' like they said! She was doing exactly what she was told to do and hadn't strayed from that! They had to help her!

"You really couldn't resist, could you, Mirame?" Dydre shook her head at the brown wolf who raised a paw.

"No animal in a unicorn forest can stay away from pain as deep as this one's. We simply came to see if we could be of aide."

"This one, Schnee, will have many life-long challenges due to the environment she was raised in. You'll only be able to help if you send one of your pack with her. Though I don't know if the Belladonnas would be willing for that to happen…" Dydre looked at Blake who shrugged.

"We would appreciate any help we could get."

Weiss looked at them incredulously. They were treating her like some sort of burden! Then again, she was a woman… Her only place was to bear children and be a good wife to her husband… She twisted the engagement ring on her finger. At least she wouldn't be married to Gisbert… She could only imagine what he would do to her should the wedding go through…

"Schnee, would you mind if one of the pack accompanied us?" Blake looked at her and she blinked. Wait. She was asking for her input? What sort of insanity was this? Her voice meant nothing. It was why she was so quiet so much of the time. She'd known from her youngest years not to speak her mind, lest she risk punishment.

"Um…" Wolves were big and terrifying. She didn't entirely want them to be near her…but it was interesting. She'd never been so close to an animal like this before. It was intriguing to be so close to what were considered dangerous beasts in Atlas… They were fully sapient, so she felt like she didn't have to worry quite so much. She was curious despite her fear. "I suppose not." If things didn't work out, hopefully the wolves wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Mirame looked to one of the other wolves, a dark grey one with brilliant green eyes that reflected the color of the trees. "My son, Dorosi. He is young, but he is wise and has learned much from me and my mate."

Dorosi nodded and trotted over. Neige shied a bit. She couldn't blame him. The wolf was huge and intimidating, but she could see gentleness in those eyes. His mother's eyes were hard but his was soft. He was still young and inexperienced, much like she was. He was male, but not human or Faunus, so it was fine. He was a wolf so she didn't need to worry about assault.

"What's your name?" Dorsi asked. His voice was soft and warm, hiding no sense of malice or power. He was curious. That was all that it seemed to be. Curiosity and warmth, though time would tell if he would be as gentle as he seemed.

She looked at Blake. Could other beings in this realm do the same as fae? Blake shook he rhead. "No. Only fae have the ability to make others bend to them. We all have soul names, but Dydre nor the wolves can make use of them. Dorosi, don't use her first name until we get back from the Name Holder." The wolf nodded and stretched.

"Okay."

"My name is Weiss Schnee." She offered a polite curtsy, though it did feel odd. She was prostrating herself to a wolf. She'd never curtsied even to the aura breed horses she rode. But wolves were powerful animals with the ability to tear her apart on the spot. It probably went to not anger the extremely powerful animals.

"It's nice to meet you." Dorosi wagged his tail at Weiss' words, but the introduction got cut off by Blake.

"We should probably get back to the manor so we can go into town. We've already been out for three hours. I'd rather get back before too late." Blake's tone wasn't aggressive. She was pointing some things out.

Weiss nodded. "Okay." They had a pretty decent ride back. She hadn't had as much time as she would've liked here, but it seemed like there was still plenty of fruit at the manor…

"By the way, is there somewhere I can wash my hands…?" She didn't wnat to gunk up the reins. Cleaning them would probably be a hassle.

"Use a bit of the ambrosia water. I don't suggest it lightly, but there aren't any streams in the immediate area or directly on the way back." Weiss nodded at Blake's words and used the least amount of water to get the sticky juices off her hands.

With that, Blake sent the fruit back to the manor and they mounted up again. "Let's go." With that, they peeled back into the normal forest and headed back toward the manor.