I do not own RWBY or any of the characters.

Resting

Fox leaned on the railing in silence, staring up at the stars, mind a million miles away. It had been a little more than a day since they had stopped Cinder and the others. A little more than a day since Emerald had formed an illusion of Salem to cover their escape. A little more than a day since the memory of being Salem's prisoner had returned to Fox.

Fox sighed, eyes falling to the ground below the balcony. They were all staying in Haven Academy while they waited for Ironwood and the transports he was bringing to arrive. It would be another day at minimum, and then they would have to refuel. So far, everyone was trying their best to rest. Ozpin was still down for the count, though his host, Oscar, was able to be up and about some now. Aside from that, pretty much everyone was okay. Well, everyone except Fox.

He was sharing a room with Blake, which was good, because in the last day, the memory of Salem's torture had caused him to have three episodes, Blake having to calm him each time. If it weren't for her, he'd have died by now. And she knew it. And it terrified her. He was trying desperately to move past the memories, but something like that can't simply be ignored, or forgotten. If his hair had been anything other than white before, it would undoubtedly be white now.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"For the moment," Fox sighed. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't easy for you."

"Me?" Blake scoffed. "I don't care about how hard it is for me. You're the one that keeps almost suffocating. I can handle the episodes as long as I don't lose you."

Fox sighed, nodding. He turned around in her arms, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. "Thank you. For everything."

"Please stop sounding like you're saying goodbye," Blake said, resting her head on his shoulder. "I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," Fox promised, squeezing her gently. "But still. I have to say it. I owe you everything."

Blake smiled, slipping a hand into his. "I love you Fox."

"I love you too," Fox smiled. "So, about this girlfriend of yours."

Blake laughed, rolling her eyes. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," Fox grinned. "Tell me about her."

"Well," Blake said, thinking. "Because she's a chameleon, she'd be able to blend in as a human if she wanted to, but she chose to live as a faunus. She was a childhood friend of mine, and for the longest time, she wanted peace, just like I did. But one day, her parents were killed in a mining accident. She started to change. She began to be pulled over to Adam's way of thinking, and she began to hate humans. To be perfectly honest, I actually didn't know how she felt about me until about a day before you showed up."

"Well, I'm glad I got there in time to steal you away from her," Fox smiled.

Blake laughed, shaking her head. "Hardly."

"Really?" Fox asked. "You don't care about her at all like that?"

Blake was silent for a few moments. "She's my friend."

"So is Sun," Fox said. "You sure there's nothing there? You're just a boring straight girl?'

Blake laughed. "Oh so that's what this is about. You just want to see me making out with a girl."

Fox laughed. "Not really. I'd be too jealous for that. I just thought I recognized something in the way you looked at Ilia after that fight."

Blake sighed. "To be honest...I'm not really sure. I guess...I'd probably qualify more as bicurious than bisexual."

"Really?" Fox asked, grinning. "So there's more than one girl?"

Blake sighed, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah. I suppose so."

"Yang, right?" Fox asked, Blake staring up at him, Fox smiling. "Thought so. So, which you bringing home first?"

Blake laughed, punching him in the shoulder and he laughed, massaging his shoulder. "You ass!"

"I'm just kidding," Fox laughed. "I know you wouldn't share."

Blake laughed, punching him again before turning and walking back to the door. She stopped, looking back at him and smirking. "You coming?"

"Depends on what we're doing," Fox said.

Blake smiled and turned, walking inside. After a couple of seconds, Fox sighed, walking in after her and closing the door. Inside the room, it was fairly small. There was one queen size bed, a mini-fridge stocked with alcohol, courtesy of Qrow, cake, soda, and a couple plates of tuna. Across the room from the bed, with the foot of the bed pointing at it there was a dresser where Blake was temporarily storing her clean clothes, Fox simply living out of a laundry bag. The bathroom had a fairly large tub, a toilet, and a sink. Aside from that, there was nothing in the room.

Fox looked around as he stepped into the room, seeing Blake standing by the door, waiting for him. He walked over, raising an eyebrow and slipping his shoes on, slipping his hand into hers as they left the room, closing the door behind them. They made their way down the hall, then took the stairs to the main room, then from there out of the school. Finally, Fox couldn't hold his curiosity any longer.

"Where are we going?" Fox asked.

"We need to get your mind off of the past," Blake said. "So we're going on a date."

"Without Sun?" Fox asked. "Oh wow, I feel honored."

Blake laughed. "It feels like forever ago that you and Sun were competing for my attention."

"It feels like forever ago that we didn't have anything more important than that to worry about," Fox said.

Blake nodded. "Amazing how much things can change so quickly."

Fox nodded his head in agreement. Barely a few months ago, his biggest concern really had been trying to keep Sun from winning over Blake. Now, his biggest concern was his fear that Salem would catch him again, or, God forbid, one of his friends. God forbid it be Blake.

"Hey," Blake said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Thoughts off of the freak. Focus on us. Remember?"

"Yeah," Fox smiled. "Thanks."

Blake smiled, wrapping her arms around him and placing a feather-light kiss on the side of his head. He smiled, kissing her before continuing to walk, Blake keeping her arms securely around him, keeping him anchored in the present. As they reached town, Blake led him to a tea shop where a deer faunus was working. She looked up at them, smiling, and began to make two cups of tea. Blake and Fox sat down at one of the empty tables and after a few moments, the girl working the shop walked out with the cups and set them on the table.

"How much?" Fox asked.

"For the two of you?" the girl smiled. "No charge. You two are the reason that we all finally took action, and you gave us all the hope to work toward peace for ourselves again."

Fox smiled and nodded, the girl walking away and Fox sighing, staring at his cup. Blake reached out, taking one of his hands in hers and he smiled, giving her hand a squeeze before picking up the tea and taking a sip. Blake did the same and smiled.

"It's really good," Fox said, Blake nodding in agreement, watching him silently. "What?"

"Nothing," Blake said smiling. "You just look really good with your ears and tail showing."

Fox smiled sheepishly, glancing back at his tail. "I guess...I just want to finally stop being afraid."

"Good," Blake smiled. "And I'll be right here beside you if you ever need me to help."

Fox smiled, nodding. He sipped at his tea again and stared up at the stars. He felt a sense of foreboding. He couldn't quite place why, but he felt like they definitely wouldn't be riding with Ironwood. He sighed, finishing his tea.

"Do you think we'll be able to ride all the way back to Atlas with Ironwood?" He asked.

Blake was silent for a few moments, sipping her tea. "No. I don't know exactly why, but I think we'll probably have to get there the hard way."

Fox nodded, staring at his empty cup, just as the deer arrived, pouring him some more. "Thank you."

The deer smiled and nodded, walking away.

Fox stared at his glass before looking up at Blake. "Salem's probably going to send everything she can after us."

"Probably," Blake nodded. "Do you think we're ready?"

"No," Fox said, shaking his head. "I think we're most definitely not ready for all Salem can bring to bear. Salem's not a natural force. I actually have a theory about what she is."

"What?" Blake asked.

"You've heard the legend of the two gods, right?" Fox asked. "The god of destruction and the god of creation?"

"They got tired of creating and destroying endlessly so they created man, who had the power to both create, and destroy to choose which god was right," Blake said.

"Something like that," Fox nodded. "Well, my theory is that Salem is the creation, wholesale, of the god of destruction. I think that she was the first grimm, and that she created the rest to hunt down and destroy man."

"Then, wouldn't the god of creation have stopped her?" Blake asked.

"No," Fox said. "Because the god of creation can only create," Fox said. "Only the god of destruction could destroy Salem. We can too, in theory, but it would definitely cost a lot of lives."

"That's true," Blake said. "You've fought her. What's she like?"

"Borderline omnipotent," Fox said. "I was at the strongest I had always been. My semblance has varying levels of strength when I regenerate. That's what determines the age at which I come back. The stronger my semblance was, the older I am when I return."

Blake nodded. "So how did the fight go?"

Fox was silent for a moment. "At first, she let me attack. I don't know if she just wanted to humor me, or she wanted to test me, or if she actually genuinely wanted to know if I was a threat. But after a string of my most powerful attacks, she just dusted herself off, and then...she demolished me. She was faster than I could react to, her blows took out my aura in one hit, which my semblance at the time was able to almost instantly regenerate, and she was able to summon grimm out of the ground to fight me if she got bored. Actually, I think she was creating them, now that I think about it."

"That would make sense," Blake nodded. "How long did the fight last? After she started to fight back, I mean."

"About two minutes," Fox said. "I didn't even get to throw an attack at her during that time, and she could have ended it instantly if she had wanted."

Blake nodded. "You said that Ozpin always retrieved your sword for you when you regenerated. How'd he get it back that time?"

"I never had it that time," Fox said. "That was the one time that I never met Ozpin. At least, after I met him the first."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"I'm older than Ozpin," Fox said. "Or so he says. He says that I've been in this cycle of death and reincarnation longer than he's known me."

"You don't remember?" Blake asked.

"Not even close," Fox said. "I remember bits and pieces of dozens of my lives. But I've lived for hundreds, maybe more, according to Ozpin."

Blake nodded, finishing her tea, Fox doing the same. "Come on. We should head back and get some rest. Regardless of how we travel to Atlas, we'll need to be rested."

Fox nodded in agreement and they stood, turning and heading back to the school. As they reached their room, Fox closed and locked the door, then kicked his shoes and socks off, dropping onto their bed with a groan. Blake walked over, beginning to massage his back as she sat on her knees beside him on the bed. Fox sighed as she worked out the knots that had formed in his muscles from the memory of getting beaten bloody by Salem. After a few minutes, she stopped and he sat up, sighing but smiling.

"Thanks," Fox smiled. "I needed that."

"So I felt," Blake smiled, kissing him. "Now, let's get some sleep, okay?"

Fox nodded and they both slipped under the covers, Blake curling into his chest and Fox curling his body protectively around her. As they lay there, Blake drifted off quickly, but Fox couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw images from his past lives. Enemies, friends, long past loves. He grit his teeth. Maybe losing his memories each time wasn't such a curse after all. Finally, he closed his eyes, allowing himself to be lost to the memories and the emotions that they brought with them.

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