First off, a household notice: Tomorrow, my girlfriend, who is studying abroad, will come back home for two weeks. During that time I want to be with her as much as I can, and because of that this will be the last update for this year. The next one should be up January 4th, if all goes well.

To Guest: I agree with you about the importance of the words 'I love you', and that's why neither Weiss nor Ruby said them. Weiss came closest with 'I think I've fallen in love with you', but that's still hesitant and relatively restrained. Ruby called it a crush, but she admitted to never having one before, so she wasn't sure. The kiss began hesitantly from Ruby's side, the cuddling and sleeping thing was more hesitant from Weiss's side. They certainly do love each other, but neither wants to say the words yet, each for her own reasons. Weiss's reason is actually explained in this chapter, and Ruby's will follow in due time. The moments they do feel it's the time to say it will actually be very significant to the story.

To everyone else who reviewed: Thank you very much, I appreciate it a lot. So, let me know what you think again this chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter Ten: The Southern Swamp

I was profoundly tired of the swamp. That was a bit of an issue, because we'd only just begun our exploration of it. The scenery was impossibly dreary, with shoots of long grass and reeds interspersed with pools of fetid water and treacherous pools of mud everywhere. In the distance I could see the trees, which were scarce now, growing denser.

The worst, however, were the Grimm. They were lizard-like, if lizards were black, had a row of white spines along their backs and wore white bony masks. Oh yeah, and they were roughly the size of Beowolves. Dr. Oobleck said they were called Laceratilia, singular Laceratilium. They hid beneath the surface of the muddy waters, with only the tips of their spines barely visible above the water. Whenever we got anywhere near them, they would lunge out and attack with their claws and teeth. They weren't powerful, but they were incredibly numerous, and being on a constant lookout for ambushes was far more draining than open battle would have been.

"Just how many of these things are there?" Yang asked after punching yet another Laceratilium back into its pond with Ember Celica. She sounded about as annoyed as I felt.

"I'm afraid Laceratilia are among the most common kinds of Grimm, Miss Xiao Long," Dr. Oobleck replied. "They are drawn to swamps and marshes because many careless travelers have perished there, and the lingering traces of their dying emotions sustain the Grimm, who in turn are responsible for even more deaths. It's a vicious cycle."

Yang made a disgusted sound. "You know, I love to fight, but these little creeps take all the fun out of it," she said.

We began to walk again. Soon, we would reach the tree line…and things would get even worse. According to Dr. Oobleck Laceratilia didn't just enjoy being submerged, they could also climb trees with their curved claws. Then they would leap down onto unsuspecting travelers and drag them underwater, or simply maul them and let them bleed to death. The notion that we could ambushed from two directions instead of just one really didn't make me any happier.

I felt a warm hand grabbing mine and I was shaken from my dark musings. I looked up to see Ruby smiling brightly at me. Despite my mood, I smiled back at her. It was a strange thought that she was my girlfriend now. The memory of our kiss was still very fresh in my mind. Ruby had laughed at it, but I really meant what I told her; she was the best first kiss I'd ever had. Still, I had been careful not to say those words. 'I love you'. Simple words, but to me they meant more than that. Their use implied a certain…emotional openness that I simply didn't have. To say them now would be unfair to Ruby; after all I hadn't even told her anything about my past yet and I still didn't want to. If I couldn't do that much, then how I could I truly say I loved her? I would have to become more open before I could make such a claim.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Ruby asked. "You look so pencil," she went on.

"Pencil? What on Remnant are you…? Oh, pensive," I said, catching on to Ruby's mispronunciation. At least she got the meaning right, though. "When did I ever use that word around you?" I wondered aloud. "But in any case, I was just thinking about this loathsome swamp," I said. No need to tell her about my difficulties talking about myself. I was aware of the contradiction in my thoughts and actions, but I sealed it away, like I did with everything else that bothered me. "I can't imagine anyone in their right minds building a base here," I went on.

"You'd be surprised at the places the White Fang built bases," Blake said. "Don't forget, the one we've been to was built to house civilians. Their normal hideouts are smaller and generally hidden in places people don't accidentally wander across. Deep within a swamp would be a prime location for them."

"I thought they began as a peaceful group," I said. "Why would a group advocating peace need hidden bases?"

Blake looked embarrassed. "We've always had a militant factions of those who felt violence was the only option if the Humans were to take us seriously. They were the ones who built the hidden bases. After the shift in leadership, they became the rule, rather than the exception."

There used to be a time when Blake was just as reserved about her past as I was. But now, she was talking about the White Fang as if it didn't bother her at all. Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was a strain in her voice despite her ostensibly casual attitude. But even so, she had apparently gotten herself over the reluctance to speak about her past and was now openly sharing it with us. The ironic part, of course, is that I was the person who had admonished her to do so in the first place, yet I was now the one unable to speak up about it. Why? Was it because I felt Blake's problems were somehow less personal than my own? Or was it because my past wasn't an active danger to my friends and me? I tried to clench my fists, as I usually did when I was apprehensive about something, only to find that I was still holding Ruby's hand.

"Something wrong?" she asked, picking up on the squeeze of my hand. Now was my chance to tell her what was wrong. All I had to do was say that I was thinking about my family and then I could tell Ruby and the others everything. "No, nothing's wrong." Bitterly disappointed in myself, I kept walking.


We were now in a part of the swamp where the trees were blocking out the pale sunlight. Laceratilia were attacking from all conceivable angles not a minute went by where we weren't swinging our weapons, more in annoyance than actual concern. Then, however, we came to an area where all of the attacks just…stopped. Nothing seemed to have changed in the scenery, but for some reason all the Grimm simply vanished.

"Where did they all go?" Yang asked suspiciously. We hadn't encountered any Laceratilia for nearly ten minutes at this point.

"I'm uncertain," Dr. Oobleck replied. "I have never heard of areas in any swampland where Laceratilia aren't abundant. Still, we should be grateful for the moments of respite and keep going."

Somehow, the eerie quiet around us was far more frightening than any number of Grimm could possibly have been, and I kept my hand on Myrtenaster's hilt, expecting an ambush at every tree we passed.

"This is weirding me out," Ruby said. She had Crescent Rose sheathed, but she was clearly ready to fight, as I was.

"Dr. Oobleck, could they be setting up an ambush?" I asked.

"They have never been known to cooperate with one another. Their methods of engagements have never once differed in all the years we've known about them," Dr. Oobleck said. I noticed that he hadn't actually answered my question, and that did very little to improve the feeling I had.

Suddenly Blake stopped walking and gestured at the rest of us to stay still as well. "What is it, Miss Belladonna?" Dr. Oobleck whispered.

Blake didn't reply immediately. Instead, she looked up. Her eyes widened. "In the trees!" I looked up just in time to see the net fall over my head.


"What is your purpose here?"

The man addressing us was a Faunus with a thick, bushy beard just as long as his messy hair. The only reason I knew he was a Faunus at all were his sharp claws. He wasn't very tall, but he was very muscular. He wore an outfit that apparently been woven from tough, stringy swamp plants. As soon as the nets had fallen over us, we'd drawn our weapons to slice them apart, but they were coated in a sticky residue that covered our blades and stuck to our bodies. It didn't take our attackers long to subdue us after that, remove our weapons and tie us up with the same sticky vines.

Then they had dragged us up into the trees, where a village had been built in the interlocking branches. Narrow walkways with rickety railings connected the trees with one another, and small treehouses made up most of the village. Some of the treehouses were slightly larger than the others. I had noticed that everyone in the village was a Faunus. I guessed the man now addressing us was their leader. We were all lined up in front of him, Dr. Oobleck in the middle, Ruby and I to his left, and Yang and Blake to his right.

"We are Hunters from Beacon Academy in Vale, and we are on a mission to discover the origin of the creatures of Grimm," Dr. Oobleck said. I think this marked the first occasion that cover story had seen any use.

"You will find no answers here, if lies are all you are here to bring," the leader said with an angry look on his face. This would be the first occasion of our cover story falling apart. "Do not make the mistake of believing we didn't hear you talking about the White Fang. Now I ask you again: what is your purpose here? Why do you seek the ones who have brought disgrace to their heritage?"

Dr. Oobleck sighed. "Very well. Our purpose is to locate the White Fang base. We believe they represent a threat to all of Remnant, and we were sent to prevent that."

The village leader didn't respond immediately. At least this time he didn't dismiss our story right off the bat. Finally, he spoke up. "You could not even defend yourselves against us. The White Fang have weapons far superior to ours. We have a treetop village. They have a treetop fortress. You delude yourself if you believe you can even get inside."

"How will we know if we don't even try?" Ruby asked.

"Child, I have seen the White Fang hideout. It is much smaller than this village, but it is extraordinarily well defended. They have automatic turrets set up, hidden between the branches. Their guards are all arboreal and they know the trees well. If anything comes within a thousand meters in any direction of their hideout, they know about it. To go there of your own volition is a death sentence."

"Still our choice, though," Yang said bluntly. "So if you could just untie us and point us in the right direction, that'd be much appreciated."

The leader sighed and shook his head. "Why? Why are you so intent on throwing away your life?"

Ruby smiled at him. "Because we're Huntresses, and helping people is what we do."

The leader's eyes widened subtly at those words. He gave a nod to someone behind us, and I felt the vines around me loosen.

"If that sticky gunk doesn't wash out, I'm sending you the bill," I said angrily, once I'd been set free. My bolero had a dark, sticky layer on it where the vines had been. At least they had had the decency to clean off Myrtenaster.

Once we had all been cut loose, the leader said, "My name is Basil, and I lead this hidden Faunus village. It was built more than two decades ago…by the original White Fang."


We sat in the village's central hall, located in the largest treehouse. This seemed to be the place where the villagers came to eat, since a number of tables were spread throughout the hall. The tables and chairs were all made from the wood of the indigenous trees. It was a miracle they hadn't cleared away the entire forest yet. We were currently occupying the largest table, together with Basil.

"When the White Fang was first created, the tensions between Humans and Faunus were still high. It was shortly after the war and a lot of hatred festered. This drew the Grimm in large quantities, and as is always the case, the innocents were the ones who suffered."

He looked at all of us before continuing. "The White Fang rose up to protect the innocent. They were always finding new ways to help, and to make life easier. Many Faunus, however, didn't want to go back to society. They wished to seclude themselves from the politics and live a peaceful life. Here, too, the White Fang was prepared to help. They constructed this village as a safe haven for those who had grown disillusioned by life in the kingdoms."

His face darkened. "But the White Fang has betrayed what it once was. They went from noble to savage, and now they are worse monsters than the Grimm. We have been able to defend this village from the Grimm with relative ease, because we're so deep in the swamp that few people have died here and the negative emotions are not as strong. Our sense of hope and safety here played a part in that as well. But now, the White Fang have set up camp. The number of Grimm has increased dramatically because they brought hate with them, and soon we will be overrun. If you truly desire to stop the White Fang, we will detail to you the location of their base, and how to reach it from the trees."

Dr. Oobleck bowed his head in gratitude. "We would be most obliged," he said. He turned to us. "I have a few questions about the local history, but I highly doubt you will be interested in that. Why don't you explore the village and talk to some of the locals? I will come and find you when it is time for us to head out again."

Ruby, Yang, and I stood up, but Blake remained seated. "I…I'd like to hear some more history as well," she said. By the way she said history, I immediately knew she wanted to learn more about the original White Fang.

Dr. Oobleck seemed to catch on as well, because he nodded and said, "Very well."

Yang, Ruby, and I headed outside, where Yang immediately went off to meet the locals, "So you two lovebirds can be alone for a moment." Despite her getting on my nerves quite often, I did actually appreciate that gesture. Ruby and I hadn't been able to talk much today due to all the Grimm attacks and literally being tied up.

"So, Weiss, what was really on your mind earlier?" Ruby asked.

I knew she was talking about my inner conflict, but I pretended to have no idea what she meant. "What are you talking about?"

Ruby sighed. "Weiss, you can talk to me, you know," she said.

"No, I can't!" I exploded. "That's just it, Ruby, I can't talk to you, or Blake, or Yang, or anyone!"

All my anger at myself now came raging out, set free by Ruby's well-meaning remark. That just made me angrier. "There is so much about me that I never told you, about my family and my childhood and God knows what else, and I…I just can't talk about it. Every single time I come up with an excuse. Every time I find a reason to just leave things as they are."

I noticed my vision was getting blurry. Was I crying? I never cried about these things, certainly not in front of others. "I hate it, Ruby," I whispered. "I hate not being able to tell you what's bothering me. I hate that I was yelling at you just a few seconds ago, while you were only trying to help. I hate that I'm crying like some little kid…"

My rant of self-loathing was cut off by Ruby's arms wrapping around me. "Don't worry, Weiss," she said gently. She held me for a moment while I just stood there, sniffling softly.

Ruby broke the embrace, but she still kept her hands on my shoulders. "I know you think you have to do everything alone. But that's just not true anymore. Everyone is here for you. Yang might like to tease you, but she really does care about you. You and Blake might have had some…trouble in the past, but I've seen that you've become friends. And I…I will always be there for you. So what if you're not ready to tell me now? Just tell me when you are ready. I'll wait for you. Just…don't let it take you over, Weiss. I don't want that to happen to you," she said. Her silver eyes were full of conviction when she spoke. There was never any deception with Ruby. She was always looking for the silver lining…although the way she saw it, everything could be a silver lining if you looked at it the right way. Perhaps that relentless optimism was the reason I'm so strongly drawn to her. A counter to the cynicism my father had been trying to instill within me for so many years.

I blinked away the last tears I had in my eyes. "Thank you, Ruby," I said softly.

She smiled brightly at me. "That's what girlfriends are for, right?" she asked, and gave me quick kiss on the cheek. "Salty," she remarked.

"You dolt, don't go tasting my tears," I said, blushing lightly.

"I couldn't help it; your cheek was still wet," Ruby defended herself.

I sighed and kissed her on the lips, savoring the softness for the short moment it lasted. "Then do that next time," I said, enjoying the red creeping up onto Ruby's face now.

"That's cheating," she pouted. I cocked my head.

"Why? Because you didn't think of it first?" I asked.

Ruby made some strange noises, and then she said, "That's not it at all." I gave her a skeptical look. "I'm serious," she said. I kept staring. "Okay, you win! Now please stop the stare," she pleaded.

For a moment I considered tormenting her a little bit longer, but ultimately I decided against it. I grabbed her hand, something she clearly didn't expect me to do. "Come on, let's go explore the village." It wasn't something I would normally say. But I wanted to learn to open up to Ruby, and maybe opening up to other things was a part of that as well. I pulled her along with me, and together we headed into the village.

And with that, my last chapter of 2015 comes to an end. Next time, the gang heads for the White Fang base. Look forward to it! Oh, and the name of the Laceratilia comes from Lacertilia, the suborder of lizards, and 'lacerate'. Because...why not?

Merry Christmas, if that's what you celebrate. Happy holidays if not, because I have clue what they're all called. (I only know Christmas because it's inescapable, otherwise I wouldn't even know that)

Also, Happy New Year, and don't blow your hands off with fireworks, or you wouldn't be able to click the link to the next chapter. See you next year, and in the meantime, share your opinion with me. I might not be writing chapters, but I'll definitely check my mail.