"That could have gone worse," Blake says, looking back at Ozpin's office. You're sure she's scouting out for Glynda.
"Yeah. I'm sure it was Ozpin looking out for us."
"He did insist on Glynda leaving. She would have spent the entire evening railing us for sure if he hadn't."
"It's a good thing I know Ozpin well enough. If I was just some dude, he probably wouldn't have believed me."
"Same. I've had a few chats with him about stuff before. Judging from the smell, he's taken to the cocoa brand I suggested."
"You can tell which brand of cocoa he–" you look at Blake's bow, watching her ears twitch beneath them. She had years to live with her Faunus senses, so of course she could smell finely enough to tell drinks apart. "Right. You can." It occurs to you that Blake had no real reason why she would have had private chats with Ozpin.
"I honestly can't believe you didn't put it together."
"It's just…" You have no idea how to defend yourself. Blake is clearly sure that any Faunus should be able to tell another Faunus, but you've been one for a few weeks. The ins and outs of having been born part animal elude you. Though… "I must not have been paying attention."
"Not quite sure I believe that~" Blake teases, smirking at you. "You're definitely an odd one."
"Must be the wreck," you say, thinking of some kind of cover. Blake seems the type to notice inconsistencies, so you better try and mislead her. You don't really want to tell her, or anyone for that matter, that you're not from Remnant. "Mind's been foggier than normal since."
"Not quite sure I believe that either. I'll do you a favor and go with your story anyway."
Damn. She's on to you… That plan backfired. How do you go about not being suspicious when Blake already knows something's up!? You could try and fake admit that you're from another word, but she's well-read enough to know the cliches; she may realize that you're too on point in saying the truth. Why did she have to be so smart!?
"Believe whatever you want," you say, hoping to play it cool. Technically, everything HAS been foggy since you woke up, but only because nothing is familiar and bits and pieces are missing. "We all have secrets, I guess."
"Not anymore, though it doesn't really count if I told you." Blake's ears wiggle.
Blushing, you say, 'You're going to say that all the time now, aren't you?"
"Only when we're alone. I've found humans aren't very perceptive about this kind of thing, which is why my team hasn't figured it out."
"Maybe be a bit more careful, then? The reason I figured it out is because you said, 'us Faunus.'"
"Please. Like I'd slip up that badly around someone I don't expect to know." Blake scoffs at the thought. "I'd have to be REALLY emotional to screw up that badly."
"If you say so."
"In the meantime," Blake says, dropping a folder in a slot by Pr. Peach's door. "We seem to have served our sentence."
You look back and realize you've crossed campus. Returning to before you, you stumble out, "So we have."
"Serving time works up my sweet tooth, and for once, I actually want coffee." Blake looks at you and smirks. "Want to raid the mess hall kitchen?"
"Wait, raid as in steal?"
"Essentially. They sell it at lunch, but it's a premium price for a normal cup of coffee."
"So, you want to –"
"Go in, brew my own, and throw in ten of those cheap creamers in one cup."
Well, this is an unexpected side of Blake…. Who would have guessed she'd be in to casually stealing coffee? Sure, it's not as if that's a big crime or anything, but she struck you as the type to follow rules and do things the right way.
"You DO realize that we JUST got out of detention, right? Like, Glynda was ready to skin us."
"And? It makes me feel daring."
Something tells you that Blake isn't about to change her mind about doing this. She was also trapping you, seeing as your choice is to coward out or double down on doing crime. Your bad influence is also incredibly hot, so alone time doesn't hurt.
Hoping you don't regret this, you answer, "Fine. I'm convinced. Crime it is."
"There's the rebel that punched a man in the face for being terrible. Come on."
Blake leads you to the cafeteria, which was still open as people occasionally met there for random meetings. The kitchen area, however, was behind a window with a shutter over it, or the other option of a locked door. Neither seemed a viable option.
"We've met with an impasse," Blake states flatly.
"I imagine you expected this?"
"What kind of cat burglar would I be if I didn't?" Blake held out a hand telling you to stay out. As she began walking out of the cafeteria, she called back, "Don't tell Yang I said that. Or that I'm doing this in the first place; she keeps trying to get me to do petty crimes and I can't have her know I actually do." She disappears out a door.
You stand around like an idiot for a few minutes until you hear a click. Blake exits the kitchen door and says, "You know, this wasn't even locked."
"So that means we were invited in, right?"
"Now you're getting it."
You follow Blake into the kitchen. She makes sure to actually lock the door, then finds the coffee maker and starts brewing her own cup. Grabbing all the extra ingredients, she says, "You know they sell these for 25¢ each, right?" as she pulls out a box of creamers and sits on the counter. "I'm feeling like ten would be good right now. Now, it's not like £2.50 is a lot, but to fix a mediocre cup of coffee? Not all of us have Weiss money."
"I'd drink to that, but I'm broke and can't afford an extra £2.50 to fix a mediocre cup of coffee." You earn a giggle from Blake, prompting you to take a seat by her on the counter.
"Ergo, stealing is morally justified."
"The math checks out."
Blake smiles and kicks off the counter. "You know what? Might as well go all in. If we get caught, it won't matter how much we borrow."
"Borrow."
"Have you seen tuition? Beacon has an entire extra hall of dorms they aren't using because their funding allowed it. They can take the hit."
You don't bother pointing out that you don't actually know how much tuition is, seeing as you don't pay tuition. The less Blake knows about your situation, the better. You watch her disappear into the freezer area and return with two popsicles. She hands you one and begins sucking in her own; your mind wanders.
"So what's it like?" Blake asks, giggling to herself as she watches you unwrap your stolen goods.
"What's what like?"
"Engaging in harmless crime. Not to throw too much guesswork your way, but you don't seem the type to do this sort of thing."
"Neither do you, honestly. Here I thought you were a model student."
"You don't pay enough attention. I spend most of class doodling. I know most of the material, and I know enough to know that Port doesn't have anything worth saying."
"So far, my life of crime is going well. I got to punch a racist with almost no consequence, and now I have a popsicle."
"And coffee," Blake says as the coffee finishes brewing. She finds a large cup, pours some in, then starts adding her creamers.
"And coffee. And they say crime doesn't pay."
"On that note," Blake takes a creamer, opens it, and pours it into her cup. "I'm going to be extra crimey and put in *eleven,* mostly because I can."
"Careful your hubris doesn't consume you."
"I die happy and full of cream." Blake hands you a cup of coffee. "And here we have about £80 worth of cafeteria food. What's it like living the high life?"
"It's not bad. I could get used to this."
"Don't. As much as I'm for harmless petty theft, I'm not about to suggest that you do this frequently. I felt like I earned it, and I'm high on the, 'avoided real punishment,' train."
You sip your coffee and find it tastes leagues better than anything you'd get at the cafeteria on its own. "A shame. Maybe we do one last big score and get you your own coffee maker. This tastes great!"
"I've always preferred tea, honestly. I wasn't in the mood, plus I don't feel like a tea kettle is very stealthy; imagine trying to sneak around in here and there's just a massive whine when the water boils."
"That sounds not good."
"Not good. Coffee is the prime criminal drink."
"I'll keep that in mind if this whole Huntsman thing falls through."
Blake climbs back up onto the counter and gets comfy. Glancing around and settling on you, she asks, "So what's going on with that, by the way? You still haven't done anything outside of practice."
"I dunno. I FEEL like I'm good enough, right?" Blake nods. "Maybe I just talk to Ozpin about getting assigned onto a temp team? He said I was supposed to… he made it sound like I was supposed to be a mercenary essentially."
"Mercenaries, well known for being not as strong as the people they've been assigned to." Blake smirks. "I'm sure you're ready for a mission, though. More so than Jaune, at least." Cradling her drink, she says, "Maybe I'll talk to Oz and see about you joining us. Chemistry is important to team fighting, and you definitely know more than you know anyone else."
"That would work. It'd be a toss-up between you and JNPR."
"It's us. After all, I don't think you've invited Pyrrha and Nora to your room to change." Blake's smile widens.
You glare. Knowing Blake is teasing you, you give her the satisfaction and say, "Fair. I know how Yang fights too damn well." You nurse a spot on your head–the one Yang favors during sparring practice. "Ruby loves her weapon, and you're good at dual-wielding and hit and run. Weiss… never bothered to practice with me, but she has a rapier."
"Basic information, but correct. You'll fit right into our styles."
"So that's figured out. I'm eager to get some more practical… practice."
"Until then, cheers!" Blake says, holding up her coffee. You clink your cups together and take a drink. Finishing up your stone sweets, you and Blake start putting everything away to hide any proof that anything was taken. She even goes the extra mile and takes her empty creamers with her, "So they don't find a bunch in the trash where they don't belong. Got to cover all bases when engaging in illicit activities."
"You make it sound like you're a professional."
"We all have secrets, I guess."
"I'll believe what I went to believe, then," you say, annoyed and impressed at how well Blake could sharpen your words and use them against you. Of course, Blake did strongly imply she was used to sneaking around, but…
"We should be getting out of here. The thrill is exciting, but I don't want to see Glynda seethe twice today. Come on, we'll be sneaky." Blake leads you to a large open window that led outside. It was pretty dark, so sneaking in and out would be simple. She hops over the wall and into a bush before casually walking into a streetlight. She subtlety motions for you that it's safe, so you follow and jump the window.
You and Blake continue to chat for a bit until you reach her dorm. She waits until you leave before walking back in so to not rouse any suspicion from her teammates. They already know she's likely in trouble, but she didn't want to chance them finding out about your escapade. You return to your own dorm, satisfied and full of coffee and popsicles.
