Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth.
Shortly after their reunion, the kids were getting some much-needed sleep. Tai found himself eating alone when Blake's parents took a table nearby. Thinking this was as good a time as any, he walked over.
"Hi, I'm Tai, Yang and Rubys' father, can I join you"?
"Of course. I'm Kali, this is Ghira, Blake's our daughter".
Tai noticed the other faunus passing by were giving the couple plenty of looks.
"Are you from Atlas" he asked.
"No, Menagerie" Ghira replied cautiously.
"Oh, seems a lot of people are looking your way".
The couple shared a look.
"I'm Menagrie's Chieftain" Ghira answered.
Wow Yang, I always did tell you to aim high.
Tai nodded "Ah. I didn't thank Blake for sticking by Yang and Ruby before, I'll have to do that later".
The couple visibly relaxed.
"Even with all this, I haven't seen Blake this happy in a long time. I think your daughters have done just as much for her". Kali said, smiling gently.
"Do you know Weiss, you looked surprised to see her"?
"My family owns the Schnee Dust Company" came the voice of the lady in question, moving towards them from across the room. "May I join you"?
Tai looked at the couple, who cautiously nodded.
"Thank you, it's a pleasure to finally meet my you all".
The air suddenly felt extremely thick. Weiss turned to Blakes parents.
"Mr & Mrs Belladonna, I can only imagine how you feel about the Schnees, but I want you to know I consider Blake more like family than my own father. The same goes for Ruby and Yang Mr Xiao Long".
A daughter of the Schnees is friends with a faunus, today was full of surprises.
"Well, I apologise for Yang's sense of humour, she gets it from me" Tai smiled.
"I give as good as I get" Weiss smiled back.
Tai caught the Belladonna's sharing a look.
"Weiss, if Blake trusts you, that's good enough for us" Kali stated cautiously, with Ghira nodding.
"Thankyou" Weiss replied with a relieved smile.
Just then, the man with the legged wheelchair entered the room.
"Weiss, I'm afraid we need your help with your father".
She reacted like a dog had just vomited on the carpet.
"Maybe I'll get to arrest him again" She mutters, following the man back into the hallway.
"Jacques Schnee in a cell, today is full of surprises" Ghira grinned.
Later, Tai comes across Ruby and Penny deep in conversation.
From what he was overhearing, Ruby's been worried about her friend, something about losing her again. Clearly these two had a history he wasn't privy to, but as he turned around, he heard them talk about the video that'd be broadcast world-wide. He saw the man in the wheel-chair was watching them too, and Tai figured he should introduce himself.
"Hi There, I'm Tai, Ruby and Yang's father", Tai extended his hand.
"Pietro, Penny's my daughter" the other man replied, excepting the handshake.
"Sounds like I have you two to thank for Ruby's message".
"It wasn't just us, but without Penny, it would've been impossible" Pietro replied solemnly before continuing. "Ruby was the first real friend Penny ever had, I can't put into words how much happier she's made my little girl".
Tai remembered how Summer treated Yang like her own daughter all those years ago. He wished she could see Ruby now. Seeing Weiss approach the two shook him out of his memories. As his daughter's face shifted to worry, he approached the group.
"Ruby, what's going on"?
"Weiss needs some help with her Dad, I'll be back soon" Ruby replied sadly.
"Can I help"?
After a moment's hesitation, she nods. "Can you find Yang and meet us at the entrance"?
"Will do" he replied, already moving.
Ilia finds Blake while she's still waking up. She gets coffee for them both, and they take seats across from each other at a table for four.
As they're talking, Ilia sees the sleep vanish from Blakes' eyes in an instant. Before she can ponder what's in their drinks, a girl with a mass of golden hair takes the seat next to Blake. After the newcomer runs her hand over Blake's shoulder on the way.
"Hey Blake, sleep well? Who's your friend"?
Awkwardness flashes over Blake's features.
"Yang, this is Ilia, a friend from Menagerie. Ilia, this is Yang, my teammate".
And that's all?...thinks Ilia, unable to keep an edge of bitterness from her thoughts. Her hair & "freckles" take on a blue tint. "So, Yang, how does it feel to have the most famous sister in the world right now" Ilia's time pretending to be a regular human coming in handy.
"I'm just glad I'm here to stop the fame going to her head" Yang smirks.
"Are you sure she's the one of needs that" Blake interjects, eyebrow raised.
"Are you saying I'm big-headed Ms Belladonna" Yang mock retorts.
"Well…" Blake taking her turn to smirk.
After moment of quiet, Ilia decides to get this over with.
"Blake, there's been no sign of Adam for a while now, the last trace we had was near Argus".
At the mention of Adam's name, the other two girl's faces darken.
How much does Yang know?
The teammates share a look, Yang putting a hand over Blakes before the latter speaks.
"Ilia, he's dead, we killed him. He kept following me, he wouldn't stop…" Blake trails off.
Yang squeezes her hand. "Hey, it's ok" she whispers.
Just your teammate. Do you believe that, cause I don't. Ilia just nods.
They move to lighter topics, until Yang is called away by her father. Ilia waits until she's out of earshot.
"Now I know why you like humans so much" Ilia teases, hoping to hide her awkwardness.
Blake suddenly finds something incredibly interesting on a nearby wall. Yang's back seconds later with a girl so pale Ilia's sure she's an Atlas resident. She catches the moment of alarm Blake displays at the sight of her.
"Blake, I'm sorry to interrupt. My father's escaped jail, we best track him down before he makes any more trouble", the new arrival sounding like she was asking for help dealing with a mess they'd just cleaned up.
"Sure, you go on ahead" Blake replies, her voice ever so slightly tense. She turns to Illia as the pale girl leaves, eyes tinged with sadness.
"Sorry about this, but… this man has a lot to answer for" Blake mutters.
"No problem, good hunting" Ilia offers, Blake turning to leave.
As Yang makes to follow them, Ilia speaks up. Despite her feelings, she doesn't want to be at odds with someone Blake obviously cares for.
"Yang, I'm glad Blake's got someone looking out for her".
Yang nods, smiling back. "She looks out for me too".
