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Chapter 16

The smack of his fist impacting Yang's left cheek was a satisfying and visceral thing. Her head snapped to the side, red eyes glaring at him as she tucked in her chin and rode through the pain, wrapping an elbow over his arm to drag him down and then kicking her knee up into his stomach. Adam got his up in time to block, even if it still hurt, but was left unprepared for Yang to jump and roll over his back in a motion surprisingly acrobatic for her, yanking his arm with her and flipping him in the air. He struck the mat with an explosion of air, slapped a hand down and rolled aside an instant before Yang's heel could smash down on where his neck had been.

She wasn't playing for a ring out or easy surrender; she wasn't even fighting to win. This was a brawl, a blind assault, and they both knew it would only end with them both battered, bruised and exhausted.

He needed that.

With an angry roar, Adam charged back in and flung a fist for her face. Yang dodged the obvious feint but was also able to spot and deflect the follow-up attack, grinning ferally before hammering a one-two blow into his stomach. Spit flew from his lips as he bent over her, but through the pain and the sudden lack of air, he linked his hands above her and brought them down hard in a hammer strike, impacting her spine below the back of her neck. The first blow stunned her. The second forced her onto one knee. The third might have finished her off if she hadn't shrieked like a banshee and flung herself into his stomach, tackling him to the mat.

Aura flashed as their limbs flailed, Yang getting the better and straddling him with her knees under his armpits. Her hair was blazing golden as she snarled and drew a fist back, smashing it down into his jaw and causing stars to explode before his eyes. Another punishing strike hit his cheek and sent his head to the side. His ears started to ring, and his head felt fuzzy. Dimly, he brought his arms up to block the third, only to have his guard broken with pathetic ease.

Pain rained down on him and was translated so easily into anger. Bubbling and simmering rage that didn't so much boil as explode outward, flipping the metaphorical pot off the stove. Adam pushed up and into Yang's fist, deflecting it with his nose and chin and driving his forehead into hers with an almighty crack.

Yang cried out and stumbled back, aided by his legs bucking under her. He chased her down, tackling her so that it was him on top. Even then he was too exhausted to hit her properly, instead ignoring her attacks to grip her head between both hands, lift it up, then slam it down again onto the mat like he was trying to crack an egg. Once, twice, three times. He slammed her head down and down, snarling and spitting past the fists catching his jaw and the knees hitting his back. The mat prevented the satisfying crunch of bone, however. With his final ounce of strength Adam reared his fist back, howled like a beast and sent it crashing down into the centre of Yang's face.

Her head snapped back. Aura cracked. Blood bubbled past his fingers.

The haze lifted from Adam's eyes. He stared down, alarm and panic racing through him.

Yang took full advantage to knock him off her with an elbow to the temple. "What?" she asked nasally, spitting blood. "We stopping?" Her hand wiped her nose, smearing red across her cheek. Despite that, she was grinning madly. "You tired already?"

Adam wasn't sure what to feel. He laughed, though. He laughed hard.

"Whoah. That has to be the first real laugh I've heard out of you. You must have been in a right mood." Wobbling on her feet, Yang came over and thought about offering a hand before pulling it back. "Yeah, I don't think I can pull you up right now. Rain check?"

Rolling over, Adam crawled over to the wall where they'd left their kit, pulled out a water bottle and practically tore the top off. He wasn't prepared for Yang crashing down next to him so close their shoulders and legs were touching, nor was he prepared for her to steal his bottle once he was done, drink, wash her mouth out and then splash water over her face.

"That was mine."

"Lick it off me," she said. "No, wait, that wasn't the invitation it sounded like."

Adam scoffed. "You're not my type."

"I feel like I should ask what your type is, but… I'm too tired to care."

Him too. "Rain check?"

Yang snorted, smiling a bloody grin at him throwing her own words back at her. "Heh. Sure."

"You're bleeding," he pointed out carefully. "Nose and lip."

"Am I?" Yang prodded the aforementioned places and brought her fingertips back red. "Huh. So I am. Meh." Waving her hand, she flung it off. Adam found that it didn't surprise him as much as he felt it should have. While Yang cared too much for her hair, she wasn't someone to shy away from pain, and obviously not from getting hurt, either. "Wouldn't be the first time. So, that feel as good for you as it did for me?"

He wasn't going to answer that loaded question. Adam tilted his head back against the cool wall, letting the adrenaline that had been coursing through him drift away with the wonderfully cool feeling of sweat drying and evaporating off fevered skin. It made him shiver in a good way, like dipping into an ice-cold bath after trekking through the deserts of Vacuo. His every muscle was either beaten into a soft pulp or aching badly, but the physical pain came with… not relief, but an overpowering sense of distraction. He couldn't even remember what anger felt like, let alone grasp onto it. His lips peeled back to show teeth, curved up into an uncharacteristic smile.

"It was good," he said simply.

"Glad to hear it. Most guys don't have the stamina to keep up with me. Okay, I didn't even mean the innuendo that time. I never get to train like this with Ruby; she's helpless without her weapon."

"That's a flaw to be fixed."

"I know. I keep telling her. Mind lending a hand on that sometime? Peer pressure works wonders."

"Hmm. Sure." He was feeling remarkable charitable as it was. "I can't see the Schnee being interested in this either. If she knew what we'd done here, she'd call us brutes or wild beasts."

"Yeah." Yang leaned into him. Adam's eye cracked open but there didn't appear to be any intent to it from her. She was just using him as a post. "Got that in Signal a few times. Don't be so aggressive. Don't be so reckless. You can't solve every problem with violence. It's just, ugh, sometimes you want to let loose a little, you know? It's not like I fight like this normally, but it's fun to work it all out."

"I understand."

"Heh. I have a feeling you do. You were pretty pissed earlier."

"And you?" he asked, dodging the unasked question.

"A little," she admitted. "I needed to work some steam off."

"What happened?"

"Little things adding up. Weiss being bossy, Ruby goofing off, people treating you like shit, you being a twat-"

Adam frowned. "When?"

"Little things," she said as if that explained everything. "Nothing specific, I just mean little bits and pieces driving me up the wall over the last week or two. Come on, it's not like you don't find things about me annoying too."

He had her there. Put like that, so simply and so casually, he couldn't help but shrug and accept it. There were bound to be things he'd done that annoyed her, just as even Ruby had managed to irritate him once or twice without meaning to. "Fair enough. Does this work as an apology?"

"Nah, you don't need to. It's my job to get used to having a team. It's just weird going from having my own room to having to share. Was always going to have some problems to work out. How about you?" she asked. "Did you have your own place?"

"In a sense." Maybe it was the atmosphere or how relaxed he felt, but he didn't really feel like ignoring her. It would end the conversation and then they'd have to walk back to their room. His legs weren't up to that yet. "We travelled around a lot, so it was never a house or an apartment, but I had my tent and my belongings. It wasn't alone, though."

"Family?"

"No. A… I had a partner."

Yang made an inquisitive sound. "Romantic?"

Adam hummed back. He wondered if she would demand more information, either on who it was, what happened or maybe even in the doubt that he'd been with someone. He certainly wouldn't blame the latter since he'd be the first to call himself anti-social.

"Cool." she said instead. "You together long?"

"A few years. We knew each other before that but… well…"

"Friends to lovers?"

"Yes."

"Cool…"

Adam waited, but Yang only yawned. Eventually, he asked, "You're not going to ask?"

"Not any of my business, is it?"

"No," he admitted. "Not really."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He closed his eyes. "No."

"Then we won't. Just let me ask one thing."

"Hm." He smirked. "I'm feeling generous tonight. Go on."

"Was it something Uncle Qrow did that pissed you off?"

Talk about a change of topic. Adam laughed, more surprised she didn't care to poke around his love life than by the question. Then again, Yang wasn't so stupid that she wouldn't have noticed Branwen hauling him out into the corridor. For a huntsman, the idiot hadn't exactly been subtle.

"I'm afraid so."

"Stupid uncle," she muttered. "Forget him. When he's not drunk, he's looking for drink. I love him, but he's definitely not the kind of person I'd want to introduce a friend to, especially not a male friend."

"It's fine, Yang. I… I feel better now." Now that he'd worked it out. He had a feeling Ozpin would have had words about how this wasn't a safe outlet and didn't do his reputation any favours, and even Blake would have said this only proved he was the angry and vicious monster she claimed he was. Despite that, he felt better, and it was thanks to his teammate. "Thank you."

"Hey. It's cool." Yang held a fist up between them. "I was in a funk, too. You've helped Ruby, too. Least I can do is help us knock the shitty moods out of each other. Friends?"

He cracked a single eyebrow higher. "I assumed you'd already decided we were that."

"Yeah, well, this'll make it official. Besides, you're not really friends until you've slept with one another, gotten drunk together or bled all over each other. That's what Uncle Qrow says. I figured we could go for the best of the three."

"I feel like you're underestimating my capability, Yang."

"Whoah now. I'm too tired to respond to any flirting, mister. Save it for tomorrow."

Adam's snort broke into an unexpected laugh. Without thinking, he bumped his fist into hers, and though he refused to say a thing, he had a feeling she knew what he meant. It was much easier that way, even if the stiff walk back to their rooms an hour later or the incessant questions from Ruby and Weiss weren't so simple.

/-/

"So…" Ruby said over breakfast. "I'm just going to say it. Did you and Yang have sex?"

Yang spluttered porridge over her legs, yelped about how hot it was and started to pat herself down. Adam simply raised his one visible eyebrow, more surprised Ruby had dared come out and say it than the content of what she'd said.

"It's just that you've been in a good mood."

"A really good mood," Weiss stressed. "You told me I'd improved drastically in this morning's training."

"You have," Adam remarked.

"You told Pyrrha you appreciate her presence during spars."

"I do."

"You called Ruby a good leader."

Adam sighed. "Is this going somewhere?"

"I don't know!" Ruby blurted. "Is it? A-Am I going to be an Auntie?"

"You're not going to be an aunt!" Yang hissed. "And that's not because we used protection either. Nothing happened. Sheesh. You two sure turned into gossips all of a sudden. Me and Adam just did a little training, alright? We benched some weights and worked off some steam."

"It's true." Yang sounded so used to using that excuse that he followed the small lie without question. She wasn't wrong to say most people would call their outlet a little unhealthy. No unhealthier than drink or drugs. We're huntsmen. Fighting is natural to us. "I'm allowed to have a good mood every once in a while, though if you'd prefer, I'll be sure to never compliment you again during morning training."

"What? No, no," Weiss said quickly. "That won't be necessary."

"We could get used to good mood Adam!" Ruby agreed.

They wouldn't be if they kept on like this. Adam tried to scowl but only managed a sarcastic snark instead. He was much too relaxed for anything else, at least until a newspaper was pushed down onto their table by a muscular teen a year or two older than Yang and Weiss. The girls looked at him confusedly, and the boy – still younger than Adam – smiled back.

Adam slowly lowered his spoon. "Can I help you?"

"I was hoping for an autograph."

A few people nearby snickered awkwardly. Adam didn't get the joke. He tugged on the paper and looked down, sighing when he saw the date. The newspaper from the other day, the one that portrayed his so-called savage attack on Team CRMN.

"It's not everyday someone ends up in the newspaper," the boy said snidely. "I thought it might be worth something in the future, knowing the `savage boy` or something."

Ruby bristled, tiny hands balling into fists. Adam snatched the pen and wrote his name down on the paper before she could, signing the article and tossing it back to the boy who had been expecting a much stronger response.

"Frame it and put it on your wall," Adam said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand.

The boy – and his team that had been lingering close by to help if things got violent – exchanged confused looks and shrugs before slowly departing. As they did, the rest of the cafeteria got back to their own meals and conversations, losing interest once they realised nothing interesting was going to happen.

"Assholes," Yang said. "There's always a few of them around."

"Ignore them," he said. "They're not worth it."

"Complimenting us and now turning the other cheek?" Weiss whispered to Ruby, not so quietly that he couldn't hear her. "Just to ask, if Adam had been kidnapped and brainwashed to suddenly be much nicer, would that be something we'd have to try and fix?"

Adam Taurus rolled his eyes.

/-/

It was said no good thing lasted forever and Adam found his pleasant mood evaporating the second he saw Ozpin's face behind that desk of his. He'd been called up to the office so many times it was starting to feel like he reported to the man, and he wasn't sure what his team must have thought. The glare on his back was familiar, too, Goodwitch stalking out from behind him in the elevator, ushering him forward as the golden doors slid shut behind.

"Mr Taurus. Welcome."

"I feel anything but," he spat. "Get to the point. I did as you asked."

"You did, and I will do as I promised. I've released a press release condemning Lisa Lavender's news story as ill-informed and exaggerated, citing that, as everyone knows, this is a school for huntsmen. Our training may look intense to the average outsider who has no understanding of what we teach our students, but that is all it is. Training."

Adam hummed, sitting in the seat and leaning back. "And you think that will work?"

"It will if you help, Mr Taurus. I'm asking you to stay out of trouble for the coming weeks. Or, if you find that impossible, to solve your problems without resorting to violence. I know Lisa Lavender, and I know that she won't take my rebuttal sitting down. She will be looking for a chance to prove me wrong. I need you to not give her that."

There they went again, talking to him like he enjoyed nothing more than the chance to cut someone in two every morning. He wouldn't be surprised if Goodwitch really did think that. "I'll try my best to hold back."

"Good. On another note, we're going through the scrolls you and Qrow took from the White Fang. It seems they're working with Roman Torchwick." He paused, waiting for something. Adam frowned and tilted his head, clearly confused. "That doesn't alarm you?" Ozpin asked. "The White Fang working with humans-"

"Do you think we haven't before? We don't turn down assistance based on race."

"I see. My mistake." Ozpin shuffled some papers on his desk. "Either way, this bodes poorly for Vale with the festival approaching, and that is another concern to raise. General Ironwood will be arriving within days and I don't expect he will be pleased to see you."

"Is that my problem? You agreed to take care of it if I helped Branwen."

"I did and I shall. I simply wanted to inform you."

"Consider me informed," Adam said. "Can I go now?"

"Do you not want to be kept informed of the White Fang's movements?"

Not really. He'd left them now and they wouldn't welcome him back. More than that, he couldn't go back. There really was no point knowing more if he'd accepted putting it behind him. To intrude any more than he had to would defeat the purpose of leaving in the first place. "The White Fang is done with me. It's no longer any of my business."

"You don't feel a shred of guilt, do you?" Goodwitch snapped, breaking her usual silence to glare at him through her glasses. The clipboard in her hands was gripped so tight it was a wonder there weren't cracks forming.

A wiser man might have stayed silent, but Adam, well, he couldn't resist. "No. Not at all. Should I?"

"The White Fang have killed innocent people."

"And the Kingdoms haven't?"

"No!" she spat.

"Two words. Mountain. Glenn."

Glynda recoiled. "That… That was a tragedy…"

"Aren't they all?" he drawled. "One could say it's a tragedy the White Fang had to exist at all, but then we didn't want it to come to this. If people stopped beating, abusing and enslaving us when we protested peacefully then it wouldn't have been an issue. You reap what you sow." He turned back to Ozpin, done with Goodwitch. "Are we finished here?"

The headmaster sighed. "Yes."

"No we're not!" Glynda snapped. "You should – wait, where are you- don't you dare walk away from me when I'm speaking to you!" Adam felt his legs pull out from under him. It wasn't a pleasant sensation at all, and he grunted in alarm, swinging back as he floated off the floor and rotated to face the irate, but satisfied, woman. "We are not done speaking, Taurus."

"Using force and authority to get what you want," he remarked coolly. "I've never seen that before."

"Glynda. Put Mr Taurus down."

"But sir, he's insinuating that the White Fang's murderous rampages are in any way similar to the tragedy of Mountain Glenn-"

"The world has its fair share of tragic mistakes, Glynda. I know that all too well. Well enough to recognise that you're walking blindly into one right now." He swept his cane up, knocking Glynda's hands aside and causing her control to falter. Adam flipped and landed in a crouch, honestly a little disappointed Ozpin hadn't let Goodwitch dig her own grave. "Forgive her, Mr Taurus. Glynda is under a lot of pressure of late, not all of it related to you."

He didn't have much of a choice. Rather than answer, he turned his back and stepped into the elevator, letting it close behind and take him down. His chest expanded and deflated, air rushing out in a long, tired exhale. He didn't even feel angry enough to get into another fight with Yang now, just annoyed and vaguely disappointed.

As the elevator opened and he stepped out, his eyes narrowed on a tiny flash of black disappearing around the corner, a familiar shock of hair and what he was sure had been a bow. Blake? His foot took a step forward, the other following as he made his way to the corner and looked around it. An empty corridor greeted him, leading down where the main classrooms were, doors shut, lights dimmed.

I'm sure I saw her, but why would Blake be here watching me being brought up to the headmaster?

He should just ask her. The thought floated in his head temptingly. If he simply walked to her dorm and knocked on the door, then she'd have no choice but to interact with him. What that interaction might be, he wasn't sure. Shouting, fighting, accusations. Adam sighed and pushed his fingers against his bandage, rubbing his brand through the rough material.

"I really don't feel up for a fight right now."

"Shame. I guess that means we'll have to talk."

It wasn't Blake. You didn't spend years with someone and not recognise their voice. Adam turned and grunted on seeing who it was. Coco Adel stood with arms crossed under her chest, her usual uniform replaced with black leather pants, an orange jumper and far too many belts. A pair of black shades were linked over the loop of one, dangling at her side as her brown eyes bore into his.

There was someone else with her, an absolute giant of a man that dwarfed Adam. His muscular arms were bare and a darker shade, hinting at Vacuan heritage. He had short-cropped black hair and stood behind Coco like a shadow.

Adam sighed. "I'm really not in the mood…"

"Neither am I to be honest, so let's make it quick. You and my teammate, Velvet. I don't want you anywhere near her."

"Happily. I can't stand the sight of her."

Coco scowled and visibly reined in her temper. "That goes for your team, too. They came up to us the other day looking for you."

Had they? He hadn't known. "I can't promise that."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because my teammates aren't so pathetic that they need my permission to do something." He enjoyed the colour rising up her face. "I'm happy to stay away from a violent maniac like you and that pathetic teammate of yours, but I don't speak for the rest. They're their own people. Though, if they met you and you made as good an impression on them as you did me, maybe you won't need to worry," he said. "They're smart enough to stay away from a hypocrite like you."

"What did you just call me!?"

In the back of his head Ozpin's request to stay out of trouble came back, but he ignored it. He was unarmed and alone before two people. No one could say he'd started anything, and really, Ozpin only needed him not to make the first move.

"I called you a hypocrite," he said calmly. "You who comes in and punches one guy in the face because he upset your teammate, but who then comes and corners someone else late at night with backup." He eyed the giant. "Looking to intimidate me, or is he here to hold me still while you beat me black and blue?"

The giant shifted, obviously not happy about the situation or what his presence implied. He didn't want to be here. Adam knew how to read morale, especially before a fight. The best fights were the ones you could win without committing any men, breaking the enemy and forcing an early surrender. Honestly, the White Fang had never had the manpower to be wasteful. Atlas could throw troops at their problems and the SDC could throw around money. They had to be more cautious.

"We're not here to start a fight," Coco hissed. "Fuck. You're a real bastard, aren't you? No wonder everyone loves to hate you."

"Hmph. Tell yourself that's the reason. We both know it isn't."

"Are you suggesting I'm racist? Me!? My best friend is a faunus!"

"I'm not. No more than I'd suggest the Scarlatina is, though maybe she does hate faunus. Why else would she let everyone walk all over her like she does?"

Coco stared at him for a long moment and then burst out laughing. "You think-? Ha! Oh man, you're actually trying to say Velvet hates faunus? A faunus hating faunus. That's hilarious. Do you even hear yourself? That's impossible."

It wasn't.

Not racist faunus, but indoctrinated faunus. Those that accepted the abuse and slowly came to believe that it was in some way acceptable. They weren't always aware of it, often subconsciously letting humans walk all over them, but they did exist. It was just one way for people to cope with the constant abuse. You normalised it. You convinced yourself it made sense, that it was some flaw in you and that if you just did your best to meet the standards of the humans, everything would be okay. It was those kind of people that told their children to "rise above it" or "ignore it", that if they just worked hard enough, they could show the cruel people that they deserved to be accepted.

And there was the problem, the flaw with that logic. Deserving. While parents and teachers might have thought it encouragement, all they were really saying was that people were mistreating you because you didn't deserve to be treated better. It was reinforcing the notion that the problem wasn't with the people mistreating you, but with yourself. That if you'd only done better – been born better – those poor people wouldn't be forced to waste their time putting you in your place.

"Look," Coco said. "I'm not here to break your nose a second time-"

"Generous of you."

"-and I'm trying to be polite-"

"Funny way of showing it!" Yang's voice was tense, as was she, when she walked out from the adjoining corridor and strode up to stand next to him. She gave him a quick once up and down to make sure he was unharmed and then looked back to Coco. "And here I was wondering if my pal was out having fun without me. Didn't realise he was going to be cornered by you of all people. Didn't you make it clear you wanted nothing to do with us?"

"Just my luck," Coco complained. "We're not here to start anything-"

"Funny." Yang cracked her knuckles. "Because I just heard you mention something about a broken nose." Her eyes flashed crimson. "You just fucked up."

"Yang." He placed his hand atop hers and pushed her fists down. "Don't. Adel isn't worth it."

"I beg to differ! This is the cunt that broke your nose." Even he winced at the uncharacteristic slur, one that he was sure Ruby would have been horrified to hear. "And then she had the gall to act like we were beneath her when we were looking for you. Where do you get off with that, bitch?"

"Don't you start, blondie."

"Coco," the giant said slowly. "We agreed that there would be no violence."

"You agreed," she spat, but did step back with a quick exhale. "Whatever. Yeah, I broke his nose, but he deserved it for upsetting Velvet. Don't expect me to apologise anytime soon. All I'll say is we're obviously not going to get along, so why don't we agree to just avoid one another. No more glaring at Velvet. No more insulting her. And in return, I won't crack you a new one."

"I would agree," Adam said.

"Well I don't!" Yang growled.

"But she won't," he finished, not even bothering to hide his smirk. "And I doubt Weiss or Ruby will either."

"Damn right they wouldn't! Now are we going to throw down or-"

The elevator dinged open again.

Adam sighed.

"What is going on here now!?" Goodwitch snapped, storming out with eyes burning. She took in the scene in an instant. "Mr Taurus! The headmaster specifically told you to stay out of trouble and I come down here to find you already starting a fight."

"What?" Yang cried. "He isn't-"

"Miss Xiao-Long. Be silent. Miss Adel, Mr Daichi, please move along."

"Uh." Coco looked to Adam to Yang and then to Goodwitch. Even she looked a little confused, though not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Yeah, sure. Come on, Yats. Let's get back before Fox and Vel start to wonder what's up."

"They started-"

"Miss Xiao-Long! I said to be silent!" Waving Coco and Yatsuhashi away, Goodwitch took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "This, Mr Taurus, is exactly why you don't deserve the repeated chances Ozpin is giving you. Count yourself fortunate I don't want to repeat the meeting we just had. Return to your room and if I hear about you causing more problems for the students, I will have you brought before the headmaster and if I have my way expelled from this academy! Am I understood?"

Yang opened her mouth.

Adam touched her elbow. "You're understood."

"Good." Brushing past him, Goodwitch glared once at Yang and shook her head, muttering something about apples not falling far from trees. It meant nothing to him, but Yang bristled so hard her hair began to glow pale yellow.

"That stuck-up bitch!" she hissed once Goodwitch was gone. "I hate her. I genuinely hate her."

"You and half the student body."

"Forget it. Or don't, but I'm not talking about her now, that shit about Coco. Was that true? She was the one that broke your nose?"

"It was a misunderstanding."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I knew you'd go on the warpath and I didn't need that." He nodded Goodwitch's way. "You've seen how eager she is to catch me on things. Do you think she wouldn't hesitate to blame you knocking Adel around on me?"

Yang looked like she wanted to argue but couldn't. Her face twisted between the desire to chase Coco down and break her nose, and the desire to drag Glynda Goodwitch over to make her watch. In the end, she bit her lip and breathed out angrily through her teeth. Seething in silence.

It was… touching. Strangely touching.

"Vytal Festival," she finally said. "They're bound to be competing and we will be too if all this training means anything. When that happens, I want to go against her. You leave her to me, alright? I'll let you smack Velvet around as a trade."

"Sounds fair."

"I'm pissed off again," Yang said.

"I can tell."

"Training room eight?"

Adam considered the proposal and closed his eyes, looking inward. His temper was rolling and raging like a trapped bull desperate to break out, and even if it wasn't healthy, Yang was offering an easy way out of those negative thoughts again. Trapped between Goodwitch, Coco, thoughts of Blake and the promise of General James bloody Ironwood, he couldn't say he didn't need it. Badly. To hell with what people would say, he needed an outlet and Yang was offering.

"I'll meet you there in ten."

Neither noticed the shadow following Yang, scroll in hand.

Nothing like a good bit of wanton violence to work the kinks out. At least that's how I imagine some who casually strolls into and wrecks a nightclub would think. What ever happened to that plot thread anyway? "I'm here looking for this woman…" Shows Raven. Trashes bar. Never mentions Raven again.

Next Chapter: 13th October

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur