She was 14 when she learned to forget about him.

It became a habit to associate him with the horrible criminals targeting her family whenever she found her thoughts wandering back to that forbidden time.

A proper lady like herself could never associate with scum. At least that's what Father says and she had to agree. With a terrorist origination, run exclusively by the Faunus, hurting her family and their business, it was increasingly easier to target her anger towards them.

And her anger had only gotten worse over the years.

Nothing made her happy anymore. Weiss always felt horrible for yelling at innocent staff members, lashing out at Mama for passing out in the gardens, and insulting Winter when she openly defied their family. But she couldn't control herself.

Weiss wasn't sure why she was always so angry. She could only compare her unfiltered rage to a wildfire consuming everything in her life. It didn't stop no matter what she did, no matter how many expensive gifts she got. Almost everything in her life seemed to fuel the uncontrolled fire.

And the fact that no one cared about her unending rage only fanned the flames even more. It grew worse when Father made her study all the horrible crimes committed by the Faunus, it drove her insane. The only time the fiery beast relented was when she thought about her role in the family business.

Father, while still keeping an iron grip over everything she did, was praising her more and more now that the Winter lost her position as the heiress to the family business. Weiss took the position with pride and threw herself into her studies. After all, it was what made Father happy. As long as he was content, so was she.

But on nights where the darkness proved too much, she sometimes found herself thinking back to the lonely boy in the mines.

It was a forbidden daydream that tempted her like a siren's call.

'He's just like the rest of them. Criminals.' She'd tell herself when her defences grew weak.

She was an ignorant child when they both met. She knew nothing about the monstrous nature of his people, it was a godsend that her Father and uncle ended their interactions. He was manipulating her from the moment they met. He was no different from the rest of them.

At least that's what she's gotten used to telling herself.

But despite everything, she could never forget the warmth and safety his embrace brought her. No matter how hard she tried to rewrite history, that memory could never be shaken, and that was also what made her fury explosive.

She was 16 she attended the closed casket funeral of her cousin Lavender and her entire family. It was the first instance where the White Fang had successfully assassinated someone from her family.

'She was the same age as me.' Weiss couldn't stop thinking to herself. 'She'll never grow up now.'

The fire raging in her chest was beginning to hurt. All she could do was keep a straight face and let the flames consume her.

She was 17 when she thought of him again.

She didn't mean to reflect on her past. It was just difficult to not think about him after her near-physical fight with Blake.

It all happened so fast.

A familiar blinding rage took over her when she learned about Blake's true identity as an ex-member of the White Fang. She couldn't control herself, she let all her thoughts about her people spill out an explosive display of rage.

At the same time, she felt a crushing weight press against her chest each time she openly insulted the Faunus. The more it hurt her heart, the more she wanted to lash out.

She couldn't care less if Ruby and Yang watched in horror as the two of them threw insults and accusations at each other like darts. Once she got started she couldn't stop. It seemed Blake shared the same sentiment.

"This is why so many of us believe it's impossible to live in peace!" Blake stepped dangerously into her personal bubble. "It's because people like you don't give us a chance! You assume we're made of pure evil and expect us to slip up!"

"News flash, good people don't go around murdering innocent humans!" Weiss pushed back.

"Well, maybe those innocent humans shouldn't go around hurting us, they didn't give us much of a choice! Maybe they should stop seeing us as lesser beings and treat us like regular people!"

"I'll stop treating criminals like criminals the day we become good friends with the Grimm!"

Blake's hand twitched towards the handle of her blade. Weiss mentally cursed herself for not having her sword close at hand, she should've known better than to let her guard down around a White Fang apologist.

"You spoiled, ignorant little brat!" Blake was looking murderous now. "I should've known better than to expect anything different from a Schnee! You're the type of person who would show kindness to a Faunus only so you can exploit them for free labour!"

Her words immediately made her think of him. She couldn't stop herself from remembering the quiet nights she spent with him in that cave, alone with no one to tell them who they are and who they should be.

The weight crushing her chest was beginning to hurt and her rage only grew more violent.

She shoved Blake into the precariously balanced bunk beds and wound her fist back.

"Enough!" Yang grabbed hold of Weiss and practically pulled her away from punching range. "Will you two stop acting like children and calm down?!"

"Calm down?! How can I calm down when she's being prejudiced against me and my people?!" Blake unsheathed her sword.

Ruby immediately stepped in front of her.

"You're friends! Whatever disagreements you have I'm sure we can talk it out!" Ruby pleaded. Her ignorance and innocence to the world only infuriated Weiss more.

"I refuse to talk with someone like her!" Blake snapped.

"Weiss is still our friend! You two got along before we learned about your past!"

"You mean we were friends with the lie she constructed for us!" Weiss corrected her heatedly.

"Can you blame me?! Look at the way you're treating me now that you know who I am! If I had the choice, I would never have wanted to meet you!"

"You think I want to spend time with a rabid animal?! In your dreams, Belladonna!"

She pushed Yang off of her and stormed out of the dorm. If she didn't find a place to cool off now, she was seriously going to do something she would regret later.

Weiss ended up secluding herself in the campus courtyard. Now that she was away from Blake, her anger sizzled out into frustrated tears.

She cursed out loud and quickly wiped her face dry. Weiss wasn't even sure why she was crying in the first place. She wasn't particularly sad about yelling at Blake, everything she brought up in that fight was valid.

Yet, now that her anger had left her, all that was left was that awful ache in her heart.

She hadn't felt that pain since she last saw Adam.

And just like that, all the memories she'd so desperately tried to ignore came flooding back to her.

'He's just like the rest of them.' She chanted to herself over and over.

He's just like the rest of them. Animalistic. Feral. Violent. Kind. Vulnerable to the cold. Hungry.

Alone.

She angrily kicked the stone statue overlooking the courtyard, cursing out loud at no one in particular. She snapped her head up when she heard someone's footsteps approaching her.

For a moment she thought it was him, standing out from the darkness like a flaming red rose.

"The poor statue didn't do anything wrong." Ruby laughed nervously.

Weiss scowled and turned her back on her. The last thing she needed was for a child to lecture her about vandalizing school property.

"Go away." She snapped.

"I walked all the way out here to find you so I think I'll stay for a bit."

"Fine. Then I'll go."

Weiss made a beeline for the school gates, but Ruby ran in front of her.

"Weiss, we need to talk."

"I have nothing to say."

"No, listen to me!" Her sudden outburst made Weiss pause. "What you did back there wasn't fair to Blake. I don't care what your family history with the Faunus are, the fact is that Blake had nothing to do with it."

"She was part of the terrorist group that hurt my family!"

"But she wasn't the one who hurt them! And she's changed her way! People change, Weiss! But they can't turn their life around when everyone around them keeps expecting them to play the bad guy!"

"You can lecture me about forgiveness after you lose someone to those terrorists!"

"Fine! Maybe I can't ask you to forgive the White Fang for hurting your family. But as your team leader, I have the right to confront you about Blake!

"Yes, you have every right to be mad at her for lying to you. But that isn't an excuse to call her hurtful names for things she can't control! If you hate her for being a Fanus, then you're no better than the White Fang targeting humans!"

"Why you little—!" Weiss stepped into Ruby's space, but her short leader made no move to back down.

Ruby tilted her head back to meet her in the eyes. She reminded Weiss of when she was younger—when she was still ignorant to the realities of the world.

It made her want to grab Ruby by the shoulders and shake some sense into that empty head of hers.

"You're nothing but a child. You don't know anything." Weiss accused.

"So what if I'm just a kid? I can still call you out for doing something wrong! It isn't like Blake made a whole new persona, she just hid her heritage because she was scared! Aside from being a Faunus, what else do you actually hate about her? Really?"

"Y-you don't know what you're talking about!" Weiss turned her back on Ruby, but she was having none of it.

Within a split second, Ruby was right in front of her again.

"You can't answer me because you don't have one! You know deep down you only hate her because of your blind hatred for the Faunus!"

"SHUT UP!"

Weiss' throat hurt from her outburst, but she didn't care when it got her annoyingly optimistic leader to finally stop preaching to her.

"The world isn't as simple as love and hate! I can't just magically change my mind without consequences! At the end of the day, it was the Faunus that killed my relatives! It was the Faunus that's been terrorizing my family! Even if I want to give her a chance I can't!"

She cursed when the tears began to overwhelm her vision once more. She hated that she burst out crying in the middle of her rage. She hated that she had no idea why she was such an emotional wreck.

"What's wrong, Weiss?" Ruby looked genuinely scared of her.

The weight in her chest was suffocating now. Weiss wished her Semblance was like Ruby's so she could escape from the conversation.

"Just leave me alone, Ruby." She pleaded.

"No, I can't leave you alone like this!" She insisted stubbornly. "There's something wrong and I can't just sit back and do nothing!"

"Are you always this obnoxious?!"

"Insulting me won't get me to back down! You're better than that and we both know it!"

"Little kids need to learn when to stop snooping into other people's business!"

"Says the teenager throwing a temper tantrum for no good reason!"

"What do you want me to say?! Do you want me to pour my heart out to you about the way my mom lost her mind?! Or maybe you want to confess my darkest secrets from when I was a kid!

"Oh, I have a better suggestion. Maybe you want to know what happened when I did the 'right thing' since you seem so fond of the idea. I'll never forget it because Father permanently made it a part of my fucking face!"

Weiss could barely believe what she let slip until it was too late. Burning anger was quickly drenched by ice-cold fear.

"Weiss…" Ruby was looking at the scar on her face—really looking at it for the first time. "W-what did he do to you?"

"I don't know! I don't know what to think anymore, Ruby!" She cried.

Ruby enveloped her in a hug. Once again she found herself back in that icy cave, lost in the warmth of his embrace and his kindness.

But he wasn't here anymore, and it only crushed her heart even more.

"I'm sorry someone forced their ideas on you." Ruby squeezed her tighter.

"No one forced anything." Those words didn't make her feel any better. It only made her feel more nauseous.

"Weiss, I may not know much about the world or anything about your hardships, b-but I know that Blake and everyone else cares about you.

"We won't hurt you for changing your mind or for being less than perfect. We like you for you, and nothing will ever change that."

"Stop trying to make me into a saint. I-I don't know if I can ever accept them. The Faunus." She instinctively covered the side of her face, the phantom pain from her scar was searing.

"You're right. It's unfair of me to expect you to change in one night." Ruby broke the hug and lingered her eyes on the damaged half of Weiss' face.

"But Blake was your friend before you knew about her heritage. Don't you think it's only fair you try to stay open-minded for her? For what you two had before?"

Red hair. Broken glass. Warm hugs.

It was all making her head pound. She felt like she was back in that room again, curled up on the remnants of her shattered window and at the mercy of her Father.

"R-Ruby—"

"And if anyone wants to give you crap for making up your own mind then they'll have to deal with us!" Ruby took her trembling hand. "You're not alone, Weiss. We won't let anyone hurt you like that again. You're free to think and believe in whatever you want when you're with us. I promise."

Weiss focused on the touch of Ruby's warm hand on her cold one. It kept her grounded in the present, not to the fuzzy memories she had permanently seared into the back of her mind.

'I'm not alone.' The thought lessened the ice drenching her heart. 'Father can't touch me here. He has no power here.'

"I-I'll try." Fear ripples through her voice, but her chest felt a bit lighter from the confession.

There was no threat of Father's hand on her face. No glass to tear through her flesh and insults to degrade her.

"I'll try." She repeated as if she were speaking them directly to her Father. It made the memories feel just that much smaller.

"I'll be right here by your side," Ruby promised.

"T-thank you." She gave her friend's hand a tight squeeze before letting go. "Ruby, can this stay between us? I-I don't want the others to know about…"

"Don't worry. I won't speak a word." Ruby assured her. "We should go back. It's getting late."

"Y-yeah. Let's go."

She was exhausted. It was probably the first time anyone had successfully extinguished her fury and it left her completely drained.

"You know, I've never actually been friends with a Faunus before." Ruby said casually during their walk back. "I think it's cool Blake got to be everyone's very first Faunus friend!"

"Not everyone," Weiss murmured.

"Hmm?"

She didn't elaborate, instead, she allowed herself to finally revisit the fragmented memories of Adam without the presence of shame or fear.

She thought of him again after the whole White Fang train disaster. She secluded herself on the school rooftops this time, feet dangling dangerously off the edge.

Weiss didn't forget the way Blake had described her fearsome mentor to them. At first, Weiss brushed the brute off as yet another violent beast—man, but when Blake told them his name she felt the world come crashing down on her.

From then on, Weiss paid extra attention whenever Blake brought him up.

She was irritatingly vague with her recollection. All Weiss knew was that his Semblance was crazy powerful, he had a lust for human blood, and would stop at nothing for the sake of revenge.

He sounded nothing like the Adam she knew, but she couldn't help but wonder.

What happened to him after they were separated?

She never dared to entertain those thoughts before, but now that she was away from Father's influence and surrounded by loving friends, she found the tiniest bit of courage to explore those forbidden questions.

Did he join the White Fang like Blake? Or was he still working in one of their Dust Mines—alone and severely underdressed for the weather?

Weiss wasn't sure which option was worse.

"Hey." Blake sat down on the precarious roof edge beside her. "Any reason why you wanted to see me alone up here?"

"To push you off obviously." Weiss joked. "I wanted to talk to you. About the White Fang and the Faunus in general."

Blake tensed but nodded. Though they were on much better terms since their infamous disagreement, there were still a few touchy subjects that made the both of them squirm.

"First, I feel like I still owe you an apology." Weiss started formally. "You were my friend before I learned about your heritage, and it was wrong of me to hate you for something so uncontrollable."

"It's fine. I know you were just uh…ignorant back then." Blake assured her awkwardly.

Weiss sneered at the accusation, but she held back. This was not the time to get into another yelling match.

"I won't lie, I'm not completely okay with the Faunus. I still think it's telling that they're statistically more likely to commit violent crimes."

"Oh." Blake's ears curled downwards.

"At the same time, you're my friend. I…I want to try and shift my perspective, but it's not as easy as flipping a switch." Once again she brushed her fingers against her scar. "But I do recognize it's wrong to treat you all like feral animals. You're just...people at the end of the day."

"I'm glad you're still making an effort. I'm disappointed you still think so lowly of us, but I'm willing to give you time if you'll put in the effort to change."

"I'm glad you were willing to forgive me after everything I said. A friend like that is difficult to find. So thank you."

"Aww, are you finally growing soft?" Blake playfully hit her shoulder.

"In your dreams." She laughed. "But I also have something else to ask you. Regarding the White Fang."

"I don't know which of your relatives they plan on targeting next." Blake tensed and looked away. "I'm…I'm sorry."

"It's not that." Weiss fidgeted with the edge of her dress. "I was wondering what would make someone want to join them. After all the terrible things they've done."

Blake seemed visibly relaxed at the change in subject.

"They weren't always terrible."

Blake gave her a crash course about the founding and past leaders of the organization. Weiss was surprised to hear the group started with such pure intentions, it was almost unbelievable how much they've changed in just a few years.

'Maybe they aren't all bad.' She thought.

"Sienna is the current leader," Blake explained. "She's known for her ruthlessness and violence. Her extreme tactics are what draw so many to her side because she yields results quickly. Even if those results end up causing more hurt.

"Older members of the White Fang can usually see through the damage that it's doing to our cause, but for younger members like myself…it sounds like the perfect solution. An eye for an eye…"

That's what Weiss was afraid of hearing. The likelihood of Adam joining the group was only growing higher.

"Why did you leave?" She asked.

"Many reasons. One was that my mentor was losing sight of what we first started to do. All he cared about was killing humans rather than stopping oppression. He reminded me too much of the people who hurt us."

Weiss shivered at the prospect of that happening to her Adam. It was hard for her to picture him as anything but kind, but with everything she learned from Blake, she wasn't so sure anymore.

Was he just like the rest of them now?

"I hope we can persuade more members to turn away from the current White Fang." Blake continued. "If only they could see that Faunus and humans can be friends. If only they could see how far our entire team has come!"

"Do you think that would be enough to change their minds?"

"I have to believe it. The alternative is too depressing."

Weiss agreed with her conclusion.

For the first time in years, she found herself wishing to reunite with Adam again—in whatever state he was in now.

There were so many things she wanted to say to him, so many questions she had about him now that she was free to think. But most importantly, she wanted him to see the progress she was making in her way of thinking.

She just didn't expect her innocent wish to come true so soon.