Faunus.

She was 6 when she first heard Father use that word in front of her.

"Dirty animals mucking up our streets!" He fumed as he slammed the latest news article into the table.

Her baby brother Whitley happily pounded his small hands on the table mimicking him. Mama lectured Father about being a bad role model before cleaning up the spilt applesauce.

"What's a Faunus?" Weiss asked innocently.

"Weiss." Winter glared at her. "Finish your breakfast."

"No, it's time she learns." Father promptly cut in. "Faunus are a nasty breed of people. You can recognize them by their animalistic features. Animal ears, tails, and even horns. They're a hideous breed of creatures who are even more violent and vile than the Grimm."

Horns.

Weiss thought of the Red Crystal secretly hidden away in her room upstairs. Two years later and she still remembered her friend deep in the icy dust mines like it was all yesterday. She even named a stuffed ox after him to fill in the missing space he used to take up when they were together.

After hearing what Father described, she wondered if Adam was a Faunus. He did mention something about not being a human, but Weiss didn't think he was hideous like father described them to be. He looked like any other kid.

"Honey, can we please not bring this up at the dining table?" Mama said to Father with a stern frown.

"She needs to know the truth of this world!"

"She's just a child. Let children be children, Jacques." Mama turned to her and smiled. "Don't worry about what your father says, Weiss."

"But I still don't get it. What is a Faunus? Are they Grimm or animal?"

"They…are simply people." Mama shot a glare at Father when he looked ready to cut in. "Dangerous people. Their culture is much more underdeveloped than ours so they're prone to crimes. Now, enough questions and finish your breakfast."

Weiss felt more confused than before but she knew better than to keep pushing the topic.

"Speaking of…Weiss, you'll be accompanying me and Winter to the mines next month." Father changed the subject. "It's time you begin to familiarize yourself with Dust processing. Winter, I want you to study the administration side of things."

"Yes, Father!" Weiss beamed.

'I'm going to see him again!' That was the first thing that popped into her head.

After two years of being alone, she was finally going to be able to play with her friend again! She still couldn't believe she actually had one now.

"Yes…father." Winter sneered when Father turned his eyes back on the paper.

Weiss didn't know why Winter was so unhappy. She was going to help run their family business after Father retired. Winter should be excited to learn more about it.

Weiss shrugged off her sister's weird mood and thought of all the things she was going to tell Adam once they met again.

A part of her was a bit nervous that he'd forgotten about her after so long, but friends on TV always remembered each other no matter how long they'd been apart. That alone assured her that Adam would definitely remember her.

"You seem awfully excited." Winter pointed out with a suspicious look.

"Of course I am. I get to learn more about our family business soon." She lied. That earned her an icy glare from her sister and a beaming smile from Father.

The mines were completely lit up when they arrived for the grand tour, even the inner core. Father and his men walked her further into the depths of the Dust mine, the very same one she and Adam once played in.

For a moment she was expecting to see him waiting for her at the entrance but all she saw were rocks and guards.

Father lectured her on the daily functions of the mines, introduced her to various technical terms, and told her the importance the mines served all of Remnant. It was there she learned the crystal Adam had given her was, in fact, a form of Dust.

Throughout the tour, she tried to look for Adam, but the mines seemed to be filled exclusively with father's guards. She wondered if his family moved somewhere else to work.

"Who collects all the Dust?" She asked Father at some point during the tour.

"Ah, that's the job of the Faunus." Her father answered with a sneer. "They're lucky we even offer their kind work."

"How come we don't see any of them working?"

"We shouldn't expose you to their kind just yet, your mother does bring up a good point about that. Now, in terms of harvesting crystallized Dust…"

Weiss pretended to show interest in his lecture, but all she could think about was finding her friend.

If Father wasn't going to tell her where he was, she'd find him herself.

The day dragged on for what felt like an eternity. By nightfall, Father led her to the same lodge she'd stayed in 2 years ago. After a quiet dinner and a review of everything she learned, Weiss got dressed for bed and began patiently waiting for the rest of her family to sleep.

This time around, Father and Winter were staying up extra late to go over adult business. Weiss had almost fallen to sleep when the light outside her door finally flickered out. She waited for another half hour before throwing off her covers and scrambling to get dressed.

She carefully took the red Dust Crystal out from her jewellery box and stuffed it into her pocket before heading out. Snow and wind were coming down hard outside, but the warmth of her Dust Crystal made the long walk to the mines easier than last time.

Weiss was covered in fresh snow when she stumbled into the icy cave. Just like when she was little, the mine looked completely different at night. Only the entrance lights were on, leaving the rest of the cave shrouded in darkness. If she wanted to look for Adam, she'd have to walk into the dark.

'I'm a big girl now, I can do this!' She thought bravely to herself.

With one hand clenched tightly around the Crystal in her pocket, she marched into the shadows.

The glowing Dust Crystals bulging out from the cavern walls and floors made the adventure slightly more enjoyable. She couldn't exactly see where she was going, but the colourful lights made it feel like she was walking into a magical cave.

"Adam." She whispered. "I'm back. Where are you?"

All she heard back was the faint echoes of her voice.

She squealed when she tripped over a stray rock on the path, scrapping her palms painfully on the rocky ground. She clenched her teeth and tried to examine her hands in the dim light. She couldn't see any immediate signs of blood, but her palms continued to burn from the fall.

Weiss froze when she heard two adult voices just up ahead.

She scrambled onto her feet and blindly searched the cave for somewhere to hide. Just as a white light reached the area she was in, someone grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the ground.

Weiss immediately tried to fight back her mysterious attacker, but they held her down.

"Stay still." A familiar voice whispered.

'Adam!'

She held her breath as the adult voices grew closer. She felt Adam lay down on top of her as a blinding white light swept over the cave, just barely missing the rock they were hiding behind.

Weiss felt her heart hammering against her chest as heavy metal boots walked past them. Neither of them made a single noise until the light and footsteps completely vanished.

"That was a close call." Adam sighed in relief.

"Adam, it's really you!"

"That was dangerous, Weiss." He crawled off her. "If the guards had seen you—"

She didn't let him finish as she tackled him into the tightest hug she could manage. He smelled like the cave and dirt, and he was freezing to the touch, but Weiss didn't mind. It'd been too long since she last spoke with him.

"Ow. Your hugs hurt." He wrapped his arms around her.

"Those are the best kinds of hugs." She gave one last tight squeeze before pulling away.

Just like when they were 4, she quickly unwrapped the white scarf around her neck and gave it to him. Even now she finds it funny that he hasn't bought a winter jacket to wear.

"Come on, let's talk outside. The adults will hear us from down here."

Weiss winced when he grabbed her hand. Immediately he pulled away.

"What's wrong?" He asked, panicked.

"I fell and hurt my hands earlier." She explained.

"You really should look before you walk. It's dangerous down here."

"I can't see anything. It's too dark."

"Right. Humans can't see in the dark." He murmured to himself.

Once again her belly did flips at the reminder that he wasn't human.

'Faunus.' The thought left her skin crawling.

"Just hang on. I'll lead us out." He gently took her by her fingers and guided her back out to the cave entrance.

The industrial lights that she once found so comforting at the entrance of the cave now made her eyes hurt. It took her a minute to adjust to the light before she could see her friend in more detail.

He was still shorter than her, his hair was just as red as she remembered it to be, but his horns seemed a bit bigger. Other than that he looked exactly like he did two years ago, even down to the dirty jumpsuit and stunning blue eyes.

"Let's see your hands. Mom always says we need to be super careful with cuts." He instructed her.

Weiss nodded and held up her palms. It wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be, though her left hand had a nasty red line running down the bump of her thumb.

"Ow. That looks painful."

"It's not that bad. It just stings a little." She reassured him.

"But we can't leave it out like this."

Weiss gasped when he ripped apart the fabric of his sleeve. Before she could ask what he was doing, he used the clean half of the fabric to wrap it around her cut.

"But you'll be cold." She protested.

"I'm used to it." He shrugged, tightening the knot on her hand. "There, that should help keep it safe."

"Thanks, Adam." She smiled. She still couldn't believe it, even after all so long he was still her friend.

She still had a friend!

"I'm surprised you still remember me." He told her shyly. "I was sure you would've forgotten…"

"Yeah right! I will never, ever forget my bestest friend."

"Is your dad still making you play with your cousin?"

"Ugh! Don't even get me started. She's even more annoying now that she unlocked her Semblance."

"Alright, don't talk about the cousin." He laughed. "How long are you staying this time?"

"Father has an important meeting later in the month, so we're staying for 3 days."

"What? 3 days?" He complained. "That's not enough time!"

"I know." She angrily kicked a loose pebble towards the cave wall. "But at least I found you. I was super scared that I'd have to walk deeper in the mine."

"You're lucky I heard about your visit. I don't usually spend time in those tunnels."

Weiss was going to ask where he was earlier that day, but the growling of his stomach cut her off.

"You haven't eaten dinner yet?"

"I-I have." His stomach growled a second time in disagreement.

"You're lying. Even your belly is saying so."

"Y-Yeah? Well, whatever." He looked away from her with reddened cheeks.

"How come you haven't eaten anything yet? Winter always tells me we need to have a full belly on cold days."

"M-maybe I'm just not hungry."

"Adam!" She moved right in front of him to meet his eyes. "I don't like liars!"

"The guards didn't let us eat tonight, okay?!" He turned his back on her.

The only guards she'd seen all day in the mines were Father's guards. They all seemed really nice when she met them, greeting her with warm smiles and compliments. She couldn't believe they'd be mean enough to keep him from eating a warm dinner.

"What? That's not true." She defended them.

"Well, it is! They always get to decide what we can or can't do!"

"But they were nice to me!"

"That's because you're human! They don't treat us the same way!"

Faunus.

The unspoken word lingered dangerously between them.

Weiss didn't like hearing Adam saying bad things about the nice guards, she believed there had to be more to the story, but she also didn't want to see her friend hungry. Being hungry and cold sounded like a nightmare.

"I'll tell father about it! He'll make sure all the bad guards get fired."

"What? No! You can't tell him!" He looked back at her, horrified.

"Why not?!"

"You made a promise not to tell anyone about us!"

Weiss tried to think of an argument but she couldn't come up with anything.

"But you're still hungry…" she protested weakly.

"I'll live."

"It's not fair."

"I know." He wrapped an arm around his stomach when it let out another sad moan.

"What if I sneak you something to eat?" She suggested.

"What? Like right now?"

"Maybe not now, but I can try tomorrow. We always have a bunch of food leftover after dinner, I'm sure I can think of something!"

"Won't you get in trouble?"

"Not if Father never finds out." She winked. "Trust me, I'll find a safe way to grab you some dinner."

"You don't have to. I don't want you to get in trouble." He said with a small smile. "Anyways, I'm tired of talking about food. Can we please do something fun before you have to go?"

Knowing the conversation was now over, Weiss nodded.

"Fine. Do you want to play Concentration with me?"

"What's that?"

She grinned and gestured to him to sit down. "Winter taught me how to play it! It's super easy, I'll teach you!"

"What happened to your hand?" Winter asked her the next morning when she helped her get dressed.

"I got a paper cut." Weiss lied, quickly pulling her injured hand out of her sister's grip.

Weiss thankfully remembered to throw away the cloth Adam used to bandage the injury before returning home. It would be harder to lie about that than a small cut.

"You got a paper cut during your sleep?" Winter didn't look convinced.

"Yup." Weiss bobbed her head. "I had this weird dream about fighting a paper Grimm! It was super scary!"

Father interrupted them before Winter could question her further. Weiss hurried over to his side and did everything she could to avoid looking at Winter.

The rest of the day went by as usual. She spent most of her time listening to her Father's employee ramble about Dust Processing. Sometimes he'd mention something about Faunus workers and she'd find herself listening with keen interest.

"Lazy, good-for-nothing beasts." The man ranted. "You've probably never seen one in the wild, but I assure you they're hideous creatures to look at! And don't get me started on that feral temper of theirs."

"Mr Schnee told us not to speak about them in detail." The tall, strict-looking woman reminded him. "Children shouldn't be exposed to that yet."

"Right. Anyways, the first step to Dust Processing is…"

It felt like an eternity had passed before she found her sitting at the dinner table with Father and Winter. After perfectly reciting everything she learned, Father turned his attention exclusively to Winter.

That allowed Weiss to excuse herself for the night.

As usual, she waited for Father and Winter to go to bed before sneaking out. This time, she made a quick detour to the kitchen and grinned as she found their leftovers still out on the counters. She snatched the smallest Tupperware, containing leftover spaghetti, along with some utensils. She also took a couple of apples from the fruit tray and stuffed them in her pockets.

Mama always said an apple a day keeps the doctor away. And since Adam never wore a winter coat she figured he needed apples more than she did.

Adam was waiting for her at their usual spot. After their usual greetings, she pulled out the leftovers and apples from her jacket and handed them to him.

"Your meal, sir." She imitated the servers she'd seen when they went out for food.

"You brought food…" he said, carefully taking the dinner from her hands.

"Of course I did! I made a promise, right?" She beamed. "I hope you like spaghetti."

"I've never had it before." He poked the meal with his fork before taking a small bite. Weiss laughed as he widened his eyes in surprise. "This is delicious! Do you eat this every day?!"

"Not every day, our maids make all sorts of yummy food for us!"

"Lucky. All we get to eat is yucky cold porridge." He murmured between forkfuls of spaghetti.

"You should get better cooks. That sounds awful!"

"Well, we don't get a choice in what they serve us…"

Weiss was confused. Why couldn't he choose what the cooks made? Back at home, Mama and Father always ordered their cooks what to make and what to avoid.

"It must be nice to eat real food with your family all the time," Adam said after finishing the leftovers. "Here, I'm lucky if I get to share a meal with mom and dad."

"Why? Do your parents get mad a lot? Sometimes Mama gets mad at Father and we have dinner without him."

"No. It's…complicated." He sniffed the apple before taking a bite out of it. "Not all humans are nice as you, Weiss."

There it was again. Pointing out that she was human and he wasn't.

Aside from his horns, she didn't see what was so different between her and him.

"Adam, can I ask you a question?" She asked hesitantly.

"Sure."

"Are you a…" she shuddered as the strange word was just on the tip of her tongue. "Are you a Faunus?"

"Yeah." He didn't hesitate to answer. "Why? Do you not want to be friends anymore?"

"I'm just confused." She told him honestly. "Grown ups make them sound scary but you're not scary."

"None of my friends and family are scary either." He countered. "They're just like me."

Weiss wasn't sure what to say. When Father described the Faunus, she was picturing them to be monsters like the Grimm—evil, violent, and ugly.

They shouldn't look like Adam. They shouldn't be kind like him. Even his mom, who was a bit scary at first, was a thousand times nicer than Father.

If all the other Faunus were just like him, then maybe the grown ups were wrong about them. Maybe they weren't all scary and violent.

"Faunus or not, you're still my bestest friend." She took his hand and held it tightly.

That at least brought a smile back on his face.

"Weiss, do you think we'll be friends forever?"

"We will!" She replied instantly. "Why would you even say that?"

"Mom always said we can't get along with humans." He explained. "But I like being friends with you. You're different."

"I like being friends with you too."

"It's too bad the grown ups would get us into trouble for being friends."

"Maybe…maybe all the grown ups are wrong." She thought out loud. "I bet we can prove them wrong when we're older."

There was no way the adults would take them seriously when they were still little.

"Yeah." He agreed. "Let's prove them wrong."

"It's a promise."

After staying for another hour, she hugged him goodbye and hurried back to the lodge. Weiss quietly snuck into the kitchen, left the empty Tupperware in the sink and tiptoed back into her room. When she got inside, she nearly screamed when she found Winter sitting impatiently on her bed.

"Well, look who decided to come home."

Weiss tried to run back outside, but Winter grabbed her by the wrist before she could make it to the front door.

"I was going to send a search party out," Winter whispered angrily, dragging her back into her bedroom and locking the door. "What are you doing?"

Weiss stuffed her hand in her pocket and curled her fingers around the warm Dust Crystal. Somehow, having Adam's gift by her side made her feel a bit braver.

"I was out for a walk." She half-lied.

"With leftovers?"

"Yeah. I was hungry."

"I looked around the outside perimeter and asked the guards. They saw no one leave the house."

Weiss gulped and wished she could disappear into thin air.

"Weiss Schnee, if you don't tell me the truth this second I'm going to get father—"

"No!" She clasped her hand over her mouth.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. All Weiss could hear was the howling storm outside.

"Then tell me the truth," Winter whispered sharply.

Weiss shook her head. She couldn't break her promise to Adam or his mom. It wasn't what friends did.

"It's either that or I tell father."

"I can't! You don't understand!" She cried.

"Why can't you tell me? What did you do?"

"I-I just can't!" She backed herself into a corner, shivering even as her winter gear began overheating her. "I-I don't want to get in trouble. I-I made a promise."

Weiss froze when Winter approached her. She didn't look that angry anymore, but Weiss could tell she was still upset.

"I won't tell Father then." She crouched down to her eye level and began helping Weiss out of her stuffy winter jacket. "But you need to tell me what's going on. It's dangerous to sneak outside, Weiss. I'm worried."

Guilt very quickly replaced her fear. She didn't want her sister to worry about her when she had so many other things she needed to do with Father. And Winter wasn't technically an adult yet, so maybe she would understand what Weiss had to say.

"Y-you promise you won't tell father?"

"Cross my heart." Winter smiled.

"A-and you promise you won't tell anyone else?"

"Weiss."

"You need to promise me you won't tell anyone else!" She pleaded. "It's important. Please."

Winter looked like she was ready to lecture her. "Not a single soul will hear about this conversation." She finally relented.

Weiss nodded and began telling her sister about her meetings with Adam. She made sure to put extra detail on all her favourite memories made with him. Maybe if Winter saw just how nice he was, she'd also change her mind about the Faunus.

By the time she was finished talking, Winter looked like she'd seen a ghost. Weiss was disappointed, she'd hoped her sister would see what she saw and feel just as excited about the new information.

"Y-you've been sneaking out to meet a Faunus?"

"He's not just a Faunus, he's my friend." She quickly jumped to Adam's defence. "He's not scary or mean like Father says they are."

"Weiss, you can't just befriend a Faunus."

"Why not?" She tried to mimic her sister's glare. "He's my best friend. I like Adam."

"Oh, Weiss." Winter pulled her into a hug.

Weiss wasn't sure why her sister was suddenly hugging her, but she thought it was better than her being mad.

"It's not that I disapprove of you making a new friend, but what you're doing is dangerous." She lectured gently. "You may not understand now, but you can't keep seeing him like this. This needs to stop tonight."

"You don't understand, Winter." She pulled out of her sister's hold and stomped her feet in frustration. "He's my first friend ever."

'He's my only friend.'

"Weiss, you'll understand when you're older, but right now you need to listen to me. It's no good hanging around him."

"Well, it's boring hanging around you and Father all day."

"Weiss, we aren't here to play. We're here for important family matters. If you're bored I'm sure I can convince Father to let you bring your stuffies—"

"I don't want to play with my toys alone anymore! It's not the same as talking to my real friend! If I stop being friends with him I'll have no one! No one!"

Winter didn't look like she liked her answer. Cold dread clutched at her heart as she realized Winter could now run to Father's room and tattle on her. Weiss wished she would have come up with a better lie than to believe her sister would stay quiet.

'Adam's going to hate me once he finds out I told someone. Adam's not going to be friends with me anymore.'

Weiss wanted to hit something. Possibly scream into her pillow until she tired herself to sleep. But all she could manage at that point was pull on her hair until she was sure she was going to pull some of it out.

"Weiss, stop." Winter tried to pry her fingers apart but Weiss refused to let go. The fire deep in her chest was fueling her newfound strength.

"Weiss, I'm sorry I never realized how lonely you felt. I'm not going to tell Father. I promise I won't."

"Y-you really won't?" She whimpered.

"I crossed my heart didn't I?" Winter tried to pry open Weiss' hands once more, this time succeeding. "Now, I need you to be honest with me. Are you going to keep seeing your new friend?"

"Of course." She answered instantly.

"And this friend of yours…is he truly as nice as you make him out to be?" Winter took Weiss' hand and looked at the small scab that now formed over her cut.

"Mhmm. He helped bandage my hand when I fell in the cave."

"I see." Winter sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Very well, I'll allow you to sneak out tomorrow night, but you must promise me you'll stay safe. You must never let anyone else see you two together, do you understand?"

Weiss recognized Winter's serious voice immediately. She'd only ever spoken to her like that when Weiss lied to Father about how one of Mama's old vases mysteriously broke.

"I do." She answered just as seriously.

Winter nodded and ruffled her hair. "Go to bed. You're probably tired after tonight."

That sounded like a great idea to Weiss. She kissed her sister good night and curled into her covers.

The next night, when she tiptoed out of her room and into the kitchen, she found a small Tupperware stuffed to the very top with everything they had for dinner that night, even the chocolate cake Father treated them to. Two sets of utensils wrapped up in a Ziploc bag were placed on top of the lid.

She quietly thanked her sister and took the small dinner out with her.

That night, she watched as Adam happily tasted chocolate for the first time.

"I told you it was good!" She teased him.

"Remind me to never doubt you again!" He said, taking another huge bite out of the chocolate cake.