Blake hid Ninjas Of Love under her pillow. The words were not doing it for her today, and her mind was drifting away from the adventurous world of drama, action… and love.

After massaging her temples, she got up from her bed and made to leave their dorm room, sketch book in hand. Her team—even the Schnee—didn't need to see her like this, and she didn't want to burden them with her like this.

She didn't want to lie to her human friends more than she already had to.

So with slow steps, she wandered trough the hallways of Beacon aimlessly. Hoping for something to distract herself and stopped her from lingering on the past, making her doubt her present. Like Cardin and his team bothering some poor faunus to protect—.

She stopped on her tracks, closed her eyes and shook her head.

Don't think like that.

It was one of the things she didn't like about Adam's way of justifying himself. "I had to protect you, Blake." Or when it didn't involve her: "More of my men would've died if I didn't protect them in time!" "Ilia could've been hurt worse without my protection."

It was a way to let the Beast out—for him to let loose without looking like a monster… the monster he claimed to be before their last heist...

It was admirable at first... until she realized a little fact after thinking more and seeing a pattern. He always was as lethal as possible in his protection.

Head or heart shots if possible, kicks that would break and dislocate bones if it wasn't for armor and aura. And that was without mentioning how he wielded Wilt… Adam could use it to deliver blunt hits to incapacitate his opponents safely—that's how he finished his spars and her training—… but he never did on missions.

And she knew he was capable of being careful, he wouldn't have been confident in mentoring her otherwise. He just didn't care about the lives of the enemy.

Blake decided that if she was going to help any bullied faunus for the sake of her own satisfaction, she was better off not doing anything at all… it would be dishonest and would only make her feel worse than she already felt.

So with that in mind, the faunus in hiding headed towards the gardens around campus—there was no point in going to the library.

The weather was nice, and the gardens of Beacon are always abundant and well-kept. Good enough for her to hide under the shade of a tree, to try and clear her mind of troubling thoughts.

After venturing further into the green and finding a nice big enough tree, she climbed it and sat on the most comfortable and big branch. Sure that she wouldn't fall, she opened her sketchbook.

Of course…

It opened right on the page she drew Adam from the back, his face hidden to the viewer.

She couldn't help lingering on it, feeling herself doubt her decision to run away instead of trying to help him—guide him towards a better future for them both.

Selfish…

Then there was this. She was so enamored with him still—so intoxicated that she sometimes put others aside in her mind… it wasn't just to her parents… and to Ilia.

At least I told him goodbye, my parents and Ilia didn't get such… formality.

She turned the page to a blank one, taking a pen out and started to draw.

She missed her father's strong and comforting presence, her mother's mature and mischievous glow, Ilia's friendship and sympathy...

She should've listened to her parents more—Dad never approved of her choice to join Sienna's new White Fang. And while Mom didn't say it, it was obvious she shared Dad's thoughts on the matter… disappointment in her…

And she yelled at them, and ran away… thinking she knew better than them...

And Ilia. She knew Adam wouldn't have been convinced to leave, but Ilia was another matter altogether. Their comrades in the Fang always spoke of how similar they were—born in Atlas, fighters against anyone that got in the way of faunus liberation… warriors fueled by their righteous anger towards humanity.

But she knew them.

She knew the persons behind the Grimm masks.

Ilia would've come, if she talked to her… but she didn't…

She was scared.

Blake feared she was as wrong about Ilia as she had been about Adam. So in her fear, she avoided the matter and left them both behind and hoping they wouldn't come for her in any way or form for four years.

It was foolish, but both tended to say she was rather idealistic.

It was easy to believe it when the White Fang and those she love didn't plague her minds like this…

She just needed time, to graduate as a Huntress and rise among st the Kingdoms as a symbol. A hero of faunus and humans.

She wondered if even if she manage to accomplish her goal, she would have enough strength to even face them.

Blake stopped sketching once her vision blurred and saw tears fall onto the page. She raised her right hand to clear her vision to see her handy work.

It made her wish she could go back and change how some things went.

Her Dad had a small smile on that stern face of his, Mom had that glint on her eye that promised her embarrassment. Ilia was in the process of turning around, Grimm mask in hand and a bit of a friendly smile could be seen if you focused on her.

"Blake? Blake!"

That was Ruby. Weiss and Yang were probably not far behind.

She opened her scroll and use the camera app to see her face. No tear stains to be seen, still red and puffy though.

She wrote a quick text and sent it to her.

"Uh?… Oh! Guys, she's back in our room."

"Ugh! Unbelievable."

"I don't know Weiss, Blake is really sneaky like that when she wants to be."

Hearing them brought a smile to her face. Even Weiss was growing on her.

She really hoped they would last as a team. She hoped she wouldn't ruin this chance and their developing bonds like the ones before.

She jumped from the tress to the nearest roof before they started walking again.

It wouldn't be a lie if she managed.

Happy (after) Valentine's Day! I did this on a whim, so sorry in advance if it's not up to the standard of the latest ones (no draft, no notes, done today!).

So here you've got her folks, our favorite (AH!) cat faunus: Blake Belladonna!

As you can see, it's taking place WAY earlier in canon - way before V1 finale to be precise. She's quite troubled, and someone ya'll mostly dislike (with some exceptions, like all big fandoms have) is heavily present in her thoughts, but he ain't the only one.

Hope it was a decent enough interpretation of Blakey. If not, you know I'll rectify that in the future (nor necessarily with another chapter with Blake, but one done with the proper procedure).

Until next time.