Chapter 3

Blake emerged from her bath, hair still wrapped up in a towel to act as her bow normally would. Wearing nothing more than the towel and her pajamas, the faunus strutted over to her bed with the weight of a feather and all the elegance of a cat pleased with herself and whatever mischief they had gotten down to.

The sight crippled Ilia, would have brought her down to her knees if she had been standing. Making none of it any easier, the fellow faunus seemed to be practically glowing. Ilia's heat stung, but she couldn't tell if it was simply from how the sight revitalized all the cravings and thirst that she had been fighting to suppress ever since Blake adjourned for her bath, or if it was simpler than that. Could it have been plain old jealousy? Or worse yet, simply because she couldn't bring herself to ignore how someone else had been so successful at making Blake happy.

"Ok!" Blake flipped around, plopping down on her bed with crossed legs underneath her, and her hands holding her robe down. "Now that is all done, what do we wanna do? We have the rest of the evening to round people up? Maybe a big old game of monopoly or something? I can message my team? See if Ruby, Weiss, or Yang are free? Maybe if they have any friends, they can join too? I… I think I saw velvet just chilling around in the common room with nothing to do? You think she would wanna join?" Blake rambled off ideas left and right as her ears twitched from under the towel with each idea cast out with hope of reeling in any iota of Ilia's happiness back out.

"Yeah… sure." Ilia nodded emptily, all the while trying not to focus too much on Blake or how the robe she wore seemed to reveal more with each breath.

"Umm, what about Sun? We, we can all do a faunus night? Come on, you haven't been able to spend time with just faunuses since we left Menagerie! Come on, you know you want to!" Blake knew she had the other woman, that Ilia couldn't pass such an option up.

"You mean it? Just faunuses?" Ilia's eyes widened in excitement.

"Yeah, come on, I'll get Sun, you grab Velvet." Blake cheered as she hopped from the bed with a gigantic smile.

"Thank you." Ilia lept up and rushed for the other woman only to tackle her back onto the bed with a tight hug.

Blake laughed and patted her friend on the back as she hugged back. "Now get going, before Velvet heads back to her room for the night."

"On it!" Ilia sprung back up, too excited by the idea of a full faunus night to notice that Blake's robe had slipped further down to the point that anyone wishing to look could have gotten an eyeful and a half.

Blake rushed to cover herself back up and decided that at least a tank top and shorts might be a good combo for the robe to ensure Sun didn't spy more than he should.

With extra clothing donned to prevent any other wardrobe malfunctions, Blake marched off to Sun and Neptune's room. The trip had been shorter than she remembered, going rather quickly as she scurried over, a delighted grin still covering her face. Sure Ilia had an extra soft spot for faunus only nights, but Blake did too. Sometimes it was nice to be around others like her, to not feel the slightest worry about taking off her bow, or in this case towel, and hear the world in truth. Sure the rest of team RWBY had been accepting of everything in their way, even of the things Blake couldn't find any way to be proud of. And she really did love each of her teammates in their own way. Hell, even Weiss, the Schnee dust heiress had her charms, but some days, it was just nice to be with others like her from time to time.

A whistle had formed on her lips as she cheerfully knocked on the boys' door. "Sun! Sun!" She sang, ears twitching to the tune of her whistle as her hips swung from side to side in the same pattern. "It's Blake!"

"Ignore it." "Ignore it? It's Blake!" Voices the faunus could barely make out hissed from behind the closed door.

"Sun?" She called again.

"Come on, just a little-" "It's Blake, she's not just gonna go away."

"Everything ok?" Blake spoke up once more into the door with a mild knock. She could make out that what was most likely Neptune and Sun were talking, but she couldn't quite make out more than one word in a sentence.

"It's fine, I'll be right back." "No! No! No! Don't! I! I!"

"Heya!" Sun opened the door a whole three centimeters for all of half a moment before he half-collapsed into it with a rough groan.

"Sun! Sun! Are you ok?" Blake nearly forced the door open to catch him as his head collided with the wall near the door.

Sun could barely hold back the door, nearly falling to the ground as he did.

"I'm sorry!" Neptune yelled before panting into a pillow. "I couldn't hold it any longer." He groaned.

"Oh? Oh! Oh god! Sun! I- I didn't know you two had been- or that you two- that you guys were…"

"We weren't really telling anyone." Sun sighed against the doorframe while keeping it open only wide enough for Blake to see his eyes.

"Sorry. I… well I was going to ask if you wanted to play a game. You, me, Ilia, and hopefully Velvet. Ilia and I were wanting to do a… faunus night…" Blake whispered, Neptune still unaware of the secret. "But… it seems you might be a bit busy?"

Sun winced and nodded. "Sorry Blake, but, yeah. This is kind of… the first time we tested it out in person so to say?"

"Oh! Oh lord!" Blake's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm so sorry that I interrupted."

"As you should be." Neptune snapped from off and over in the distance.

"I'll see you around I guess?" Blake stepped back. "Good luck- I mean, have fun- I… you know." Blake reddened as she tried to wish her friend a good first time with his soulmate.

"Yeah. I'll see you around."

With a soft wave of goodbye, Blake found herself backing away and heading off to the common room. Wearing a dower face, she marched on. Sure monopoly was possible with three people, but it wasn't half as good as with four, and three didn't make much of a faunus night. But Sun deserved his time alone with his newfound mate. Uncomfortable on her head, Blake fidgeted with her towel. Not that the bow was anything near comfortable, it wasn't, but the towel, wet and suffocating on her extra ears was weighty, feeling like it held her down with every step. Wrapped tight around her head to prevent it from falling spontaneously, it hurt mildly, even if she could deal with it… it was at best, unpleasant.

With her mind so caught up in the towel bearing down upon her, Blake hadn't noticed as the door to her right and just a step ahead swung open. Colliding in perfect rhythm, the towel fell and then Blake's face collided with the hardwood of the dorm room door. Only barely saved from a broken nose by the towel falling into her face, Blake collapsed back onto the floor.

"Blake!" A familiar concerned voice called out only a moment before the faunus could feel a hand at the back of her head helping her back up. "Blake are you alright?"

"Ouch." Blake groaned and pulled the towel from her face. "Weiss!" She blinked, certain that she had hit herself hard enough to be hallucinating the heiress helping her up with such a tender touch.

"Sorry." Weiss sighed, exhausted and disheartened.

"Wha-" Blake blinked slowly, taking in the sight of the prim and proper, damn near princess of a woman looked disheveled; beyond disheveled! A downright mess! Blake simply couldn't remember seeing the heiress with so much of a hair out of place, even in combat! But for some reason, Weiss appeared to have been run ragged by something, pushed to her very bounds. "A- are you ok?" Blake coughed out.

"Uugh!" Weiss huffed. "Am I ok?" She frowned. "I am the one who hit you with a door." Her hand suddenly rushed down to Blake's face, prying her eyes open one at a time, much to the cat faunus's dismay. "God, you don't have a concussion or anything do you? What a perfect end to a horrid day."

Blake groaned and rolled her eyes, that sounded much more like the Weiss she knew. "I don't have a concussion!" Blake sat up and forced herself to stand despite how it made her feel woozy. Nearly colliding against the wall, Blake decided to settle with just sitting up against it for a moment.

"You- you're bleeding." Weiss stammered.

The faunus wiped at her head, feeling it dry and confirming that she had not begun to bleed before looking back perplexed by the accusation. "No, I'm not." Blake half snapped, instinctively defensive against the heiress.

"Yes, you are." Weiss turned and picked up the towel and held it to Blake's nose for a moment before pulling it back and displaying it to her teammate as proof.

"Oh- I… guess I hit my head harder than I thought." Blake winced and took the towel to hold it to her nose.

"I'm sorry. It's just… just been a long day. I shouldn't have swung my door open that hard." Weiss kneeled next to the other woman.

"It's fine." Blake flashed a soft smile, her eyes flickering down between the towel and her teammate. "I was distracted anyways." She looked down and away.

Weiss hummed softly before her eyes seemed to catch on something and she seemed to be humming and hawing as to whether or not to say anything about it.

"What is it?"

"I- you- you just…" Weiss lifted her hand just barely over Blake's head.

"Ah!" Blake flinched, her top right ear hurting for a moment before the foreign hand soothed down it. She shivered at the touch, the calming nature of it, and how nice it felt for the half moment before she remembered whose hand was on her.

"You're ear. It was pushed back and turned inside out, it looked painful." Weiss tired in a calm and almost caring tone.

"Don't just touch them!" Blake hissed, pulling back against the wall. "I know you are a Schnee, but that doesn't mean you can just touch me like I'm your pet!" Blake snapped, pressing herself against the wall and looking ever more the scared cat she was.

"I'm sor- No! I never said you were a pet! Uugh! Faunuses!" Weiss groaned and spun around as she snapped to her feet.

"Schnees!" Blake retorted as if the name itself were an insult.

"It looked painful! I was just trying to help!" Weiss huffed again. "Don't even know why I tried!" Weiss turned away from Blake, her feet hesitating to march her off and away from the dreadful encounter. "I thought we were supposed to be teammates! Not enemies." She turned back for just a moment to make eye contact.

Blake scoffed before averting her eyes, trying to pretend she was too good for the petty confrontation. "We are."

"Then you could do the slightest to act like it!"

Blake sat there, on the floor for a long moment pregnant with the stress of knowing Weiss was right. "Why-"

"Uugh! Whatever!" Weiss lashed before taking her first step away.

"No! Wait!" Blake stopped the other woman. "Why… why has it been such a bad day? You, you said it was horrid?" She attempted sheepishly.

Weiss turned on her heels with a raised eyebrow. "You actually care to know?" She tried tentatively.

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't ready to hear an answer." Blake replied with just a hair more snark than she intended.

"You don't need to be snotty about it!" Weiss once more turned to storm off, but she halted at the sound of Blake's voice trembling to speak up once more.

"You were right! I- We are teammates. We should act like it. Part of that is actually caring if your teammate is ok."

Weiss stood there for a moment.

"So?"

"So what?"

"Are you ok!" Blake's shoulders did a small hop as she asked to emphasize that she actually cared about the answer.

"I am now." Weiss settled. "It was… just a really rough day."

"Well, what happened?"

"Soul mate troubles." Weiss answered, already telling more than she would allow anyone but a teammate to know.

"Oh?" Blake could feel her cheeks burning and a mildly embarrassed smile form on her face as she thought to the ringer her soul mate had thrown her through. "I, I understand."

Weiss noted that the reply was odd and more specifically that Blake blushed in a way the faunus almost never did, but she filed it down as simply similar experiences for the time being; entirely unaware of just how similar the experience had been. "Yeah. It is just embarrassing."

"I understand."

"Anywho, where were you going in such a hurry?" Weiss would have asked about anything from the soil around the academy to the weather just to move the conversation along, but asking where Blake had been headed seemed a more reasonable topic change.

"Oh, some friends and I were going to play monopoly. But we just ended up one short. Sun was… busy."

"Oh? You are playing a game?" Weiss shifted her head from one side to the other. "I'll join!" She decided as if she had been invited.

"What?"

"You said you were short a person, monopoly is better with four than with three, I have had a horrid day, monopoly sounds nice, so yes. I would like to join."

"I- bu- but-"

"What? Are Schnees not allowed? Even if they are your teammate?" Though Weiss kept to her confident demeanor, Blake could tell the teammate was hurting, that she craved some form of social interaction, but that she was too scared to just ask for it.

"Course not. Why would we ever do that!" Blake lied through her damned teeth. "You are welcome as far as I care. But… But Ilia can be a little standoffish when it comes to new people."

"Oh yes! Ilia! I know her. She and I sparred in class last week. She's good. Really strikes to kill."

"Oh? Oh really. Haha, that's odd." Blake laughed awkwardly as she stumbled to her feet, only not falling over in the process because Weiss helped her.

"This will be great!" Weiss announced for them both.

"Yup, great. It's going to be totally great. Totally…" Blake winced and leaned into Weiss as she strived to hide her terror.

End of Chapter 3

So! As has been the trend with this fic, I am posting one extra chapter ahead for free elsewhere, and then there are another 3-4 chapters beyond that that you can find on the web somewhere... hint hint, the links will be on my Tumblr: hopefulbadgerjunara