Weiss was worried.

The more time she had to analyze the terrible situation she had found herself if, the further her feeling of distress intensified. She was surrounded by enough creatures of Grimm that her eyes could barely spot anything aside from the bony masks swimming in a sea of darkness.

To make matters worse, these were not even the type she was used to fighting. These beasts were on an entirely different level from the run-of-the-mill Grimm. Hundreds upon hundreds of Nevermore, Griffons, and Manticores flew around her. She could barely hope to beat a singular one in a battle. Trying to fight against this horde would be suicide. Luckily, the Grimm seemed content to leave them be.

Still, Weiss worried.

The Grimm's behavior was too odd. The creatures of darkness were known for their relentless pursuit of destruction. They would attack any human or Faunus they come across with no hesitation. For the Grimm not to only attack them, but for a Nevermore to let them ride on him, it simply did not make sense.

Weiss let her gaze return to her father once again. For his part, the man seemed barely bothered by their current situation. Her mind kept jumping to the worst possible conclusions. Before, the heiress had jokingly thought that her father might have been involved in the attack on Beacon just to spite her. But now, as scenes of the fall replayed repeatedly inside her head, Weiss that she might have been right.

'I don't know how, but those behind the attack seemed as if they were able to control and order the Grimm. Could he do the same?... Was he really responsible for the attack?'

"Father.." Weiss said before stopping for a second to gather the courage to ask the question plaguing her mind. Though she hoped that her doubts were unfounded, she could not help but tighten her grip on Myrtenaster. "Were…were you involved in the attack on Beacon?"

Jacques had a look of slight surprise from her question. He blinked. "No, of course not."

Weiss hated how little that did to reassure her. She sensed no lies in his answer, but Weiss knew that her father was no ordinary man. She knew that he had an unrivaled talent for subterfuge and deception. His marriage to her mother was a prime exemplification of that.

"What brought this on?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"During the attack, some Grimm behaved in an unnatural way. It almost seemed as if they were avoiding those who were responsible for the attack." Weiss explained with a cautious voice.

"I see. So, because the Grimm are avoiding us, you think I had something to do with it. I guess I cannot blame you for coming to that conclusion. You are well within your rights to doubt me." Her father hummed in consideration of her explanation. He let his forearms rest on his thighs as he readjusted his sitting position. "At least you asked first. If it was me, I'm sure I would've attacked first and asked later."

"You would?" Weiss asked, confusion clear as day on her face. Rather than get angry as she expected, her father had actually conceded that she was in the right. Not only that, but he admitted that she handled the situation better than he would have.

'Something is wrong with him.' Weiss thought with a frown. Her father never admitted fault. Add to that the fact that, as far as she remembered her father was never the type to get into physical altercations with others. He was planning something. He had to be. 'He is probably trying to confuse me. I can't afford to let my guard down.'

"Nevertheless, you needn't worry. I had nothing to do with the attack on Vale. Despite what you people might think of me, I am not actually the Devil. There are some lines that I refuse to cross." He stated with a wave of his hand. Weiss would have liked to say that she believed him, but she did not.

Her apprehension must have made itself known on her face.

"You seem doubtful." Her father spoke again with an exasperated voice as he laid his cheek against his knuckles. "Very well, if your opinion is that low of me, I have no issue in playing along. I have absolutely nothing to gain from Vale becoming unstable. Ironwood's latest fuck up is causing me to lose obscene amounts of Lien with every passing hour. Trust me, girl. No one is more pissed off at the current situation than me."

Weiss reluctantly accepted that. While she was very doubtful of the existence of the so-called line her father would not cross, she was a lot more open to believing that he would not risk his profits. She did not trust him, but she trusted that he loved money. "That still doesn't explain how you are able to control the creatures of Grimm surrounding us."

"That's because I'm not controlling them. They are acting out of their own volition." Jacques said.

"Wha- Then why aren't they attacking us!?" Weiss retorted with a raised voice.

"You are safe because they know you're with me. As for me, they have no reason to attack me," The head of the Schnee house said with closed eyes. "They are clearly aware of the massive difference in our strength. If they attack me, they will die."

Weiss Jumped to her feet. Her balanced wobbled for a bit but she found her footing. "But that doesn't make sense! The Grimm simply does give a hoot about how strong an enemy is. All they care about is causing destruction and killing!"

Weiss's focus was disrupted by her father's movement. He raised a single finger. That was all he did.

Yet, it was enough to silence Weiss.

"Your voice." He chastised. His words were uttered with a smile that clashed heavily with the cold tone of his voice. "Has your stay in Beacon made you forget your manners? Never raise your voice when speaking to me. Is that clear?"

"…yes, father."

"No need to be afraid. I am not angry with you." Jacques nodded, the empty smile never leaving his face. A heavy silence reigned for several moments until he spoke again. "Grimm are smart."

"..I'm sorry?" Weiss said with bewilderment. She was still reeling from her father's change of mood.

"The popular belief that Grimm are nothing but beasts is an incorrect one. Despite what most people think, some Grimm are quite smart. The behavior of your average Grimm might not be dissimilar to a rabid dog's, but the older ones are very different. The older they are, the more self-aware and intelligent they become." Jacques said.

"..In their time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing: They've learned that when they attack our borders, they're likely to die and that killing one human will only bring more.."

Professor Oobleck's words echoed in her head as she listened to her father talk. The Doctor had more or less the same thing her father was telling her. "The longer they live, the more they learn." She muttered.

"It seems you have an idea of what I'm talking about, Weiss."

Weiss nodded. "Professor Oobleck has mentioned it before when we were on a mission."

"Oobleck, huh. I guess it makes sense for someone like him to realize that," Her father said as he rubbed his chin. "However, I doubt very much that even the so kind doctor is aware of what I'm about to tell you."

Weiss did not reply. The feeling of dread she had increased as she saw the smirk her father had on his face.

"Something that I came to know recently is that no two Grimms are exactly the same. Even if they might travel in packs, they are quite the individualistic creatures."

"I'm not sure I understand," Weiss said. The entire conversation is causing her a headache, and the constant strong gusts of wind were seriously starting to annoy her. She sat down, once again, with a frown.

Jacques clasped his hands together as he spoke. "The younger ones aside, creatures of Grimm all have their own preferences when it comes to killing even among the same type of Grimm. Some prefer to attack humans head-on, and some like to use sneak attacks. In fact, in rare cases, Grimm have grown smart enough to resort to using people as hostages and baits when coming up against professional Huntsmen. And that is not all, I actually learned that they even have a favorite type of victims as well as a desired mannerto kill huntsmen."

Weis stayed silent in the face of her father's impromptu lecture. The man seemed to get more passionate with every sentence. Weiss had absolutely no idea why he was so joyful. The more she heard, the more cold sweat appeared on her back.

Her father had seemingly taken her stunned silence as an indicator that he should continue. He put his hand on the back of the Nevermore they were riding on and started patting it enthusiastically. "For example, do you know what this one likes to do? When it defeats a huntsman, it doesn't eat them. What it does is, and listen to this. It carries them in its beak and flies high into the sky, and when it reaches a certain altitude, it lets them fall to their death! Apparently, it likes to hear their screams of anguish. For seventy years, it had done so. Seventy years. How amazing is that!?"

'Not even slightly. That isn't amazing at all!' Weiss screamed internally as she heard her father laugh. 'This is horrifying!'

Also, how in the devil did he know how old the Grimm was!?

Evidently not finished yet, her father hen pointed to a Griffon Grimm in the distance. "You see that one? Don't let its small size fool you. That Griffon is actually one of the oldest Grimm in here. Unlike this one, that one likes to prolong the misery of its victims. It tears the legs of its enemy, be they human or animal, and lets them crawl on the ground until they bleed to death. It's quite the cruel bastard, Haha. Let's see who else. Oh! There is also that Manticor-!"

"Father" Her father's rant was interrupted by Weiss's voice. "I apologize for cutting you off, but it is fine. I do not need to hear about every single Grimm."

The ones she was forced to listen to had already made her feel sick to her stomach. She just needed him to answer her question!

Jacques chuckled. "I guess I got too excited. You will have to excuse me. Grimms are fascinating creatures to learn about, and it is a rare occurrence for me to get to talk about a topic of interest of mine."

His eyes looked past her for a second. "Besides, it seems that we have reached our destination. Talking about your hobbies sure help pass the time. Prepare yourself; we will be landing soon."

He stood up from his sitting position and walked past her towards the head of the giant Nevermore.

"Wait!" Weiss yelled as she followed him. "You still haven't answered my question."

Jacques looked puzzled. "What question?"

"The reason why we aren't attacked by the Grimm." Weiss gritted out. She tried her best to hide the annoyance from her voice.

"oh, I forgot about that." He said as he looked at her. "I got so caught up, that I forgot what the original question was. To make it simple, Grimm are smart creatures. Due to that, they have somewhat of a hierarchy amongst themselves. The younger, which are commonly the weakest, follow the orders of the strongest. It is the same principle here. I am the strongest, so the Grimm will not mess with me."

"But you are not a Grimm!" Weiss rebutted. 'at least I hope so.'

She was seriously having doubts about her father right now.

"True. I am not a Grimm. I am something much more dangerous." He said as he turned his back to her.

"I am Jacques Schnee."

Don't eat Grimm, people. They're bad for your brain.

Didn't expect the conversation to take up the whole chapter. I actually had more planned :/

One last thing, I appreciate your feedback. So if you have something to say, either positive or negative, do not hesitate to comment.

Till next time.