Wow it has been quite a while since I posted something. I apologize for the unannounced hiatus but for a while I was not in the best place. I am happy to announce that I am going to be cracking back down on these chapters as I can. I hope you all enjoy the ride as it is about to get wild.

"Fifteen minutes until we land, ma'am," the pilot of the transport called out to Blake as she watched the trees grow closer and closer to them. She always loved Vale, the picturesque forests and mountains that dotted the landscape always made her feel she was in one of her stories. Gazing towards the horizon she felt a chill go down her back. Just over that ridge, somewhere far off in the distance was her old home, her old family, and a friend whose she left behind long ago. Feeling her chest tightened she diverted her attention to her scroll which had just buzzed. A picture of her assistant on this mission, and her friend, Corba Skahlees, was on the screen.

"Yes Corba?" Blake asked, attempting to sound annoyed. But she couldn't hold back the chuckle that escaped her lips. "What is it? I mean it must be important since you are calling me from three rows back."

Blake looked over her shoulder and spotted her second in command hunched down behind a chair, her eyes just barely cresting it. They had departed from the White Fangs HQ on Menagerie early that morning to make it to Vale by midday. Blake still remembered seeing all the recruits faces as she passed them. They knew she was on a mission and cheered her on without knowing what awaited the organization as a whole after this. A small clearing in the trees signaled their landing as the craft descended from the air. A makeshift landing platform was structured just south of the small encampment.

The shuttle jolted as the wheels landed on the ground and settled in. The soft dirt giving in under the weight of the vehicle. Once the engines silenced their loud whine the passengers disembarked. The sounds of boots echoed through the air as everyone took their positions. High ranking members and soldiers of the White Fang lined up outside the airship as Blake and Corba stepped off. Meeting them was the field leader, a rough-around-the-edges bear faunus. Coming up to her the faunus gave her a quick salute before turning on his heels. Keeping pace next to her they walked past the line of troops towards the bigger tent in the camp.

"Has the prisoner arrived yet?" Blake inquired as she lifted the flap to the tent, quickly entering it. Inside the room was dimly lit by a single kerosene lamp hanging just above a large table in the middle.

"The Schnee came in last night—she is a fiesty one...gave our members quite a few problems bringing her in…," he placed his hands on the table and reached over and unrolled a map that was sitting on the edge, "however, she was swiftly dealt with and is now being kept in a safe room guarded twenty-four seven."

Nodding in approval Blake poked her head out of the tent and looked around. Making sure no one was nearby just in case, ducking her head she went back inside. "Alright, the execution has been given the go ahead. We need to buff our defenses in case huntsmen got wind of our activities."

Looking at the map she started to place markers and draw random lines across the area. The camp itself sat in a small clearing about seventy miles south of Beacon Academy. With their current numbers they would be able to hold off a few Huntsmen while evacuating. However, due to the nature of the job now, they were going to need more units. As of right now they were sitting at around two hundred active personnel. Upping their numbers by another hundred would provide a nice buffer should they need to defend themselves. "Place in an order to move another hundred faunus here by tomorrow."

"A-...a hundred?" The bear asked, shocked by the huge increase to his force. "What on Remnant would we need another hundred for? My troops are more than capable of handling any challenge. This is a slap to the face!"

"Need I remind you of your place!" Blake shouted causing the man to clamp his mouth shut. Without looking Blake knew a small group was forming outside of the tent due to the commotion they were causing. "You do realize who we are dealing with right? This isn't just some person or some politician. This is the oldest daughter of Jacques Schnee, and Lieutenant to the General of the Atlesian Military! If you think for one second that no one will come looking for her you might as well put a bullet in your goddamn head right now!" Blake felt her breath becoming ragged as she eyed the field commander up and down. He was visibly shaken. His eyes were wide and his ears slightly bent, the knuckles on his hands were turning white from how tight his fist was clinched. Breathing in slowly Blake calmed herself down before exhaling. Turning around she left the tent and headed to unpack her things. A quick gust of wind caught her off guard as she wrapped her arms around her. The cool air was a change from the humidity of Menagerie.

...Then Blake heard some kind of rapid movement inside her tent.

"Dammit...come on!" was heard coming from her tent as she lifted the flap. Corba was standing in the middle of the tent with her arms tangled in her summer uniform. Blake could only laugh as Corba's face turned a deep shade of red as she quickly tried to cover herself. An odd thing to be embarrassed about considering Blake has seen Corba wear even less than what the regular White Fang units wore.

"Relax Corba it's nothing I haven't seen before," said Blake, walking over to a small bed. She flopped herself down as she stretched her body, cracking an eye open so she could watch her friend and colleague struggle before falling backwards. Corba landed on her backside with an audible thud.

"Oof! Agh, it's not that…," said Corba paused for a moment as she removed her head from the mangled mess that was her uniform, leaving her in the green wraps she normally wore, "stupid thing, I think they gave me the wrong size."

Blake could only laugh harder as she saw Corba glare at the shirt in her hands, she knew 'wrong size' was an understatement—this reminded her of someone she knew.

"Calm down, Yang, it isn't that big of a de-..." Both of them paused as the words left Blake's mouth. What was meant to be a simple, childish tease turned into something inherently awkward for Blake. Not a sound was heard inside the tent except for the distant shouting of orders. Corba was the first to speak.

"Blake…?"

Turning over quickly on her bed Blake faced the wall of the tent, her face burning red from embarrassment. Why she let that slip was beyond her as Blake scolded herself mentally. That was years ago, why would she say something like that now? Her heart pounded in her chest, skipping every few beats as she thought about her old partner.

"Blake...," Corba said more firmly, "who is Yang?" she asked. Upon receiving no answer Corba stood up from the ground and walked over to Blake's cot. She put a hand on her shoulder and rolled Blake over. "Who is Yang?" She asked again.

Much to her disappointment, Blake still gave no answer. After that slip Blake had set up an invisible barrier between herself and the rest of the world it seems, locking herself and her embarrassment from Corba and anything else that may compromise herself further.

Then, to Corba's growing confusion, Blake got up from her cot and stormed out of the tent. "Blake?!" she half-yelled, trying not to raise her voice and bring more attention to Blake than there already was from her. Corba took to discarding her uniform skirt in favor of a black and white loincloth she had laid out—mainly for the event the White Fang uniform she was given wouldn't fit. "I'm more comfortable in this anyway…"

Once Corba was ready she set out to follow Blake, who had already made it halfway across the camp by the time Corba stepped out. "Blake!" she tried to yell without drawing attention, but the turning heads didn't help the matter so she just increased her pace.

Blake did not stop, however, she continued walking as if nothing had happened but there was a longing look in her eye that Corba did not like. So Corba would follow her, a short ways away so in the event Blake looked behind her she would not immediately see Corba.

Eventually the two would enter the tree line, Blake seemingly ignoring the perimeter guards volunteering to accompany her, unknowing of the cause of why she was acting so distant all of a sudden. Corba would be offered the same assistance and questioned of Blake's behavior (as well as what she was wearing), but she too would not answer the guards because what was going on was between herself and Blake.

That was so stupid, thought Blake, how could I let that slip out so easily? Why was I even thinking of Yang anyway? Blake's mind was racing with questions as to why she let the one name she once held so close slip right through her fingers, right out of her lips as if it were nothing of the matter—and for it to be said in front of Corba made it that much more embarrassing. Quite frankly, she was beside herself.

Sticks, stones, the occasional puddle—these were the obstacles Blake faced as she glided through the forest as quickly as she could. She had to find some place to be alone—a place where she could collect herself and piece together something to say to defend what she did. But from behind she could hear Corba was following her, though she was hard to detect sometimes as this was also her preferred environment; a place where she could stalk others. Blake knew Corba well enough to know that she took advantage of trees, branches, logs, anything solid enough to hide her sound.

...And Blake would be correct. One by one Corba was leaping from tree to tree just a foot above the ground, the occasional sound of breaking bark or a slightly misplaced foot was Blake's only indicator of where Corba was. Blake knew this trick very well, having done the same numerous times before, and she would soon make herself that much more difficult to catch as she too began jumping from tree to tree.

Rapidly, the two were speeding through the trees in an intense chase, like a lion chasing a very belligerent Gisele through an open savanna plain, it seemed like nothing could possibly get in their way. Not one single tree was treated as an obstacle, but a foothold to be used to propel themselves forward with all the strength in their legs. Blake had her natural agility, Corba had her semblance.

Corba's semblance was something she was really happy she had right now. It was kind of gross at first, but growing used to it she found there was much she could do—she shed the skin on her arms and legs, making them light and agile enough to be used for this kind of activity. Corba's old skin slid right off of her as she jumped past the trees, now even faster than before. It was an odd sensation at first—it always was—but soon all the old skin would be done away with and she could jump unhindered. Nonetheless, she still struggled to keep up with Blake.

Blake truly was in her element in the forest; moving so quickly, on the run, trying to escape that who was following her—it was truly a feeling she missed very much. A feeling that she barely had the chance of experiencing anymore with the position she held. Blake actually didn't want this chase to end, she wanted it to last as long as possible so she could continue feeling the rush of adrenaline that came with the feeling of being hunted—despite knowing Corba had no intentions of hurting her. She would occasionally try and throw Corba off course by using her own semblance to jump in a different direction.

Corba was not deterred, though. She knew Blake would try a trick like that, even though she did occasionally find herself needing to change course she knew which Blake to follow.

Soon enough Blake would find herself diving headfirst into a small clearing in the trees. She had only seconds to act, landing on her hands and pushing herself off the ground and into a spiral, landing feet first on the ground. Breathing heavily, Blake thought she had lost Corba for good.

...But she was wrong.

Shortly afterwards, Corba too came forth from the trees, slowing her own momentum down with a forwards roll. The two stared at each other in a sort of standoff, both tired from the very exhaustive and overexerting chase. They figured they had to be a very long way away from their camp now…but that didn't matter right now. What did matter was the one name that Corba wanted to have answers put to.

"We're alone now, Blake," said Corba, "that name you said, 'Yang', obviously that was someone close to you—right?"

Then Blake started to get angry. "Why does it matter to you?" she hissed with bared teeth, "it was just a name that slipped, now leave me alone."

Corba shook her head. Just like at their tent, she was not buying what Blake was telling her. She knew there was something wrong, and she was going to find out what. She advanced slowly towards Blake and told her, "I can't do that, not when my Commanding Officer has a problem she can't deal with by herself." She said this with such confidence, but she did not realize this would also make Blake even more angry.

"Just go away! That's an order!" Blake yelled this time. Corba still did not back down, a sign of defiance that Blake did not appreciate, especially now. "If you don't go now, I'll make you leave."

Despite the threat, Corba shook her head, signaling Blake that she truly would not leave her alone. Corba said, "Look, neither of us have our weapons, let's just talk this out calmly—there's no one to intervene. Okay?"

It was not okay to Blake, though, and Corba did not realize it yet, but now Blake felt in her right to use what force she could deal to make Corba understand that she had to be alone.

"You'll have to make me leave," said Corba.

Blake's eyes narrowed, piercing right into Corba's own pale green eyes. After a moment passed, Blake began to fight Corba, throwing fast punches and kicks in ways so as to hurt her, but Corba used Blakes own anger to her own advantage, skillfully dodging and blocking everything Blake threw her way. Corba even began to slowly shed parts of her skin for that of which had more muscle and resilience—advantages she would need if she was going to get anywhere against Blake.

...And it worked. Corba and Blake were now near evenly matched. Both knew who would do what. Blake's offenses were constant while Corba maintained pace. Even if Blake changed her attacks, Corba had enough skill and the abilities to compensate.

Then Blake jumped, kicking her leg up high before letting fall back down as an axe kick, Corba rolled out of the way just in time. Then, in a single motion, Blake spun herself and her legs into a grounded spiral kick. Again, Corba avoided the attack just in time, and Corba knew Blake would not be able to keep this up.

Once Blake got back on her feet she punched at Corba again, but what she did not expect was for Corba to actually grab her wrist and twist it behind her back, using her other hand to grab Blake's other arm and force it behind her back as well. Then Corba hooked her heel in front of Blake's shin and kicked backwards, forcing both herself and Blake to their knees, Corba then reached her other leg around Blake's and pulled it back as well, putting Blake on both knees. Again, Corba shed her skin so more muscle would take the place of the last, ensuring there would be no escape for Blake.

"I didn't want it to be like this, Blake," said Corba, she tried her best to sound consoling, but her own adrenaline and quick-firing neuroticism made it very difficult for her to sound as such.

But that didn't seem to matter, though, as Blake started to sob. Tears fell from her face and into the ground as she cried while in Corba's painful grasp. Corba knew this was not because of pain, however—this was emotional, very much so. Corba wrapped her legs around Blake's waist and at the same time loosened her grip on Blake's wrists, allowing them to fall freely to Blake's sides until she brought them up to wipe her face.

Then Corba gently pushed Blake down, keeping a hand on Blake's shoulder to show she was not going to let her fall down easily, soon leaving Blake laying belly first on the ground while Corba's legs were stuck beneath Blake's abdomen. With Corba's weight and Blake's position, neither were going anywhere—just as Corba wanted it to be.

Blake didn't know when Corba removed her arms but it must have been a while as she couldn't feel Corba's arms. Corba herself was silent as she remained atop of Blake, not budging an inch. "Talk to me, Blake...please…," Corba pleaded.

But Blake refused to even bend up to make eye contact with her partner, instead looking anywhere and everywhere else. The feeling of a hand clasping hers snapped her out of her daze for a brief moment. She wanted to tell Corba everything, to spill her guts out to her heart's content. But how would Corba react to what her past held? The words she had said and the pain she had caused every step of the way. What's worse is that Corba would pass it off as her standing up for herself to a human. A human who had hurt her in some way, shape or form. That was the excuse all faunus women used to validate their attacks on humans. That they were only standing up for themselves. She knew Yang was different, if anything Yang cared about people too much, always putting others before herself in any situation.

"Corba, will you get off of me…," Blake started, pointing out how Corba was sitting on top of her, "I can't feel my legs." That was a lie, and it even drew a long smirk from Corba that Blake couldn't see.

"Awww, are you sure? I think I'll stay right here—besides, you still haven't answered my question," said Corba. Despite her attempt at sounding playful, her voice was still riddled with latent concern.

Blake rolled her eyes. Ironic, I'm getting squeezed for answers by a snake Faunus, she thought—and a very accurate thought at that because Corba did start to tighten her legs against Blake's stomach like a snake would. Strangely enough, it wasn't becoming uncomfortable, it was actually quite nice feeling Corba's legs wrapped around her hips. But two facts still remained; that it would be nightfall and their unit would begin to wonder where they were—and she knew Corba wouldn't get off of her unless she agreed to answer her question.

"Fine," said Blake, "but only if you get off of me and we make it back to camp."

Corba took a moment to consider it, then she bent down and asked, "You swear you won't turn and run away after I do?" Blake answered with a firm nod of her head. With a deep sigh, Corba finally relinquished her hold on Blake and lifted herself off from on top of her, allowing Blake to crawl free. She then followed Blake's lead back to camp.

For the first time since she walked into the tent Blake looked at Corba. Her friends eyes were now filled with worry rather than anger. For a brief moment Blake saw a familiar set of lilac eyes looking back at her. The image causing her to finally break as she leaned into Corba. Tears soaking her friends shoulder as a wave of emotions was finally let loose. She didn't know how much she had needed to cry, but something in herself told her it had been a while. Wiping her eyes Blake took a moment to compose herself before taking a deep breath.

"Corba, what is your opinion on humans?" she asked softly, her voice slightly rough from her cry.

Taken aback by the question Corba wasn't sure how to answer it. She quietly thought to herself before looking back to Blake. Then she had her answer, "Do you really need me to answer that—you know why; you saw it with your own eyes why my sister and I hate them."

Blake just nodded as she listened to Corba's answer. Corba was right, Blake did know exactly why she hated humans, and frankly she couldn't blame her. Faunus have been the scapegoat for most things in life, be it someone's food order was wrong or the building down the street was bombed. To most faunus, humans were the problem on this planet, not them, and Corba was certainly no different—having experienced the humans abuses in the worst of ways; she and her sister. However none of them, not even Corba or her sister, knew a human quite like Blake had. None of them had fallen in love with one just as she had.

Amber eyes that had a touch of red to them looked over to Corba. A soft smile graced Blake's face as she squeezed her friends hand. Corba reminded her so much of her old partner in more ways than one. She had yet to decide if that was a good thing or not. At this point, though, she was willing to place a bet on the prior part. Leaning her head over she rested it on Corba's shoulder and closed her eyes as she let her mind wander. A blush creeped over Corba's face as she sat there while Blake made herself comfortable. She felt her heart skip a beat as she heard Blake quietly whisper next to her.

"I guess it's time you learned about Yang…"