"So this is the place huh?" Ilia asked as they stepped off of the airship, the village of Mantle, which had formerly been the greatest city in the entire kingdom by the same name, was reduced to no more than ruins, a disheveled and haphazardly placed mass of stone blocks. The marble archway that made up one of the few entrances into the village had mostly crumbled, but no one had bothered moving the debris and judging by the amount of moss that was visible despite the light blowing snow, it was overly obvious that they had been there for years. Grimm attacks and thieves no doubt, remnants of an old civilization and a forgotten, ancient mindset. They had advanced so quickly in technology and industry that the new government and capital moved from the cliffside, determining that it would be easier to ignore the people rather than integrate them.

The roadway in and every road after was made of cobblestone, timeworn and beaten, stones missing from the path, filled with grass that hardly managed to peak out of the snow. A horse and cart rode by in the busy square, the village very much alive despite the fact that it was in shambles. Ilia stood close to Titus, using him to shield the wind as she watched the settlement in all of its life. Street vendors lined on both sides of the crowded and narrow main strip that ran the length of the village. They shouted and laughed at each other, children jumping up and down in front of the booths, hoping to be noticed by one of the merchants. A taller, older man that was dressed in heavy amounts of fur and animal pelts laughed boisterously, handing a loaf of bread to one of the kids.

"You kids share that now, okay?" He instructed. They shouted thanks at him, making absolutely certain that he knew they were appreciative. They ran off with it, running into someone and scattering off, apologizing to the younger woman. She waved to them, giving them a smile and laughing at how carefree they were, sweeping into the market with a wooden rod over her shoulders, a sack hanging from each end. She set them down and placed her wares out on her stand. She set everything out just so, calling out to the man who'd give the children the bread. They both laughed.

Ilia looked over and up at Titus who smiled, his chest puffed out as it typically was, but this time instead of a superficial look of power and ignorance, he looked happy and proud. A kind of pride where she half expected that he'd walk briskly to the people on the road and pick them up in a warm and strong embrace. She waited for him to throw his head back, laughing as the vendor had, waving, smiling, and calling out to the others in the village square that he noticed. Titus wasn't a lieutenant general right now. Right now he was the prodigal son who was relieved that he'd made it back to his home after a long and tiresome journey. There was no facade that he was trying to maintain.

"Are you glad to be back?" Ilia asked him. He glanced down at her and realized that she saw the real Titus. It was the first time that anyone had seen him like this since he'd left for the military. No, that wasn't true, was it? It was the first time that anyone had seen him like this since he had his run-in with Admon. He had expected that he would come home and every place that had played a part in that nightmare would come back to haunt him. But he stepped through the archway with Ilia, moving to the place that Admon had held the gun to his head with the intent of letting the pain rush in and remind him that he wasn't allowed to feel safe, remind him that he was only strong if he could do this alone. It didn't happen.

He had Ilia there with him. They'd grown closer all the time, both of them had only known how to be alone for so long, but now they were learning how to be trusting together. She leaned on him to know that she could trust in others to keep her from being alone. He leaned on her to know that he truly was stronger with the help of others. He glanced down at Ilia, his teammate still drinking in the sights and mesmerized by the livelihood. He chuckled as he tried to find what had caught her eye and she glanced up at him.

"What's so funny?" Ilia asked.

"You seem so amused at all of this," Titus said. She laughed and leaned her head against him. He gently pushed her off, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "Don't get too cozy, people are going to get the wrong idea about us and everyone recognizes me. I'm the hope for this village, proof that the world can't be allowed to just forget about Mantle."

"I can't help but be blown away by these people," Ilia told him as they moved down a side alley, Titus clearly wanting to avoid being mobbed. "There were neighborhoods that were run down like this in Shade. Crumbling walls, shady buildings with broken or missing windows. But the people weren't like this by any means. They were mean and angry. We robbed each other, we stole from each other, and we…" He looked down at her but she stared down the alley, averting her eyes. "We killed each other."

"Kill or be killed, right?" Titus asked. She stifled a laugh. Titus sighed. "A couple of weeks before I was sent to Beacon we had an incident with the White Fang. They had stolen information from the SDC and Schnee family, blueprints of the mansion, sales reports, other various bits of insider information. The Schnee's paid an obscene amount of money to cover up the incident, but a member of the Fang had broken into the SDC headquarters and threatened to blow the place sky high. I was sent in because of my semblance, and I was given no option but to kill him."

"So I guess that makes both of us killers," Ilia said.

"But we both had no choice," Titus told her. He reached the end of the alley and pointed. "When you want to tell me about what happened, I'm ready to listen." Their eyes locked and she nodded, looking to where he pointed and noting an old jilted building. "That's the place. That's where I grew up." Ilia walked forward slowly in front of him, amazed at how similar it was to her own living situation she'd suffered through for years during her early teens. He seemed so proud of it. This was his home. Ilia reached the doorway, the building was short and she wondered how Titus hadn't ended up with a permanent hunch, the house easily a few inches too short for him to stand up straight in. She glanced over her shoulder, hardly able to view the village square from where she stood.

Titus knocked lightly on the door, swinging it open, peering inside, and stepping slowly in. The floorboards creaked but he continued in, Ilia worried from the sound of the wood that it would give and the two of them would crash into the cellar below.

"Mom?" Titus asked, calling out to her, hoping that he'd find her in the next room, the back half of the house. He pulled back the old tattered blanket that divided the house, careening his head and scanning the kitchen for her. She wasn't anywhere to be found in the shack and he stepped out the back door, a shared yard with clotheslines scattered about, but the lawn was empty with the exception of occasional stacks of firewood, and snow drifts. Where had his mother and sisters gone? "Mom?"

"Titus," came a call from the street in front of the house. Ilia stepped out of the way as he thundered through the house and threw open the door. Ilia stepped out behind him, looking around him and noting the man who'd given the bread to the children, he smiled as he approached and shook Titus's hand. "Well if you aren't the spitting image of your father now. It's so refreshing to see you."

"I appreciate your words Mingan, but I was here to spend the break with my mother. Is she around?" Titus asked. Mingan chuckled and stroked his long gray beard nodding.

"Around is one way of putting it. She headed north," Mingan told him. "Moved to Salutem." Titus glanced back at the house before looking at Mingan again in disbelief.

"What do you mean?" Titus asked. "I understand what you said, but how was she able to move north to that upstart village? They're considered the safe haven between here and The Capital, and they're personable, but someone like mom wouldn't be allowed to stay. She's in poverty… we're in poverty, everyone here is." Mingan chuckled, but it was just as loud as his normal laugh.

"I'm not doing half bad for myself," Mingan told him. "It seems that your mother was given a rather large sum of money from the Schnees." Titus' shoulders loosened and his eyes softened. "Did that fancy general that trained you not tell you?" Titus shook his head speechless, glancing back at the hut again.

"No, she never told me," Titus said trying to shake off the shock. "I guess we're heading up to Salutem." Mingan laughed again, as though it was all he knew how to do.

"That trip takes close to an entire day," Mingan informed him. "The house has been vacant since your mother left, I recommend that you and the lady stay here for the night. Not to mention it'll offer more privacy than going to the inn." Mingan leaned in. "The place is kind of run down and the young boys around here do anything they need to for a peek." Titus took a step back and glanced back at Ilia, shaking his head.

"I remember the inn," Titus replied.

"You're into voyeur babe?" Ilia asked with a smile. Titus turned red in the face and took a deep breath.

"It's not like that," he told the man. "We aren't together like that."

"We'll stay here thanks," Ilia replied. "We'd prefer our privacy." Titus grumbled, balling his fists and looking back at her.

"She's cute," Mingan offered.

"Okay! Alright! Thank you, Mingan!" Titus shouted. He shoved Ilia inside and closed the door behind.

"We were just having fun," Ilia defended.

"Fun's done," he bit off.

"Jeez, relax Modern Major General," she told him. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the small shack, hoping he'd find something they could sleep on and anything to cover up with. "I expected there'd be more snow."

"Living on the side of a cliff like we do, a lot of wind blows in from the ocean which prevents most of the snow from accumulating," he explained. "Just wait until we head further north, there'll be more snow than you can stand."

"So, tell me about it," she requested. "Tell me about when you were younger and you lived here with your three sisters." Titus chuckled as he pulled the dividing blanket off of the rod and tossed it to Ilia. She nodded in thanks and draped it over her shoulders. She'd never been this far north and growing up in Vacuo she'd become accustomed to four seasons that were generally warm.

"Why don't we head down to the market first and get something to eat before they close up for the night. Unlike Vale, once it's dark here there isn't a soul to be found," he told her. She nodded in agreement and they headed out, making their way down the main strip towards the merchants. Just as Titus had tried to warn her of before, he was swarmed immediately, everyone in the square calling out his name and trying to reach out to him, Ilia swallowed up by the crowd and everyone asking if they were dating. Titus blushed, assuring them that they weren't, Ilia shaking hands and trying to help him this time, confirming that she was only his teammate.

"If you're not dating her, perhaps she'd like to spend some time with me?!" Someone called out from the crowd.

"Or me?!" Another voice called out.

"Not on your lives!" Titus replied and the crowd broke out into laughter. "We just came down to the market for some meat." Titus pointed at Mingan. "If you're going to offer me some, I am going to pay you!" Mingan laughed, holding out a slab of meat.

"Rabbit?" Mingan asked. Titus nodded.

"How much?" Titus asked.

"You know I can't charge you, Titus!" Mingan told him. Titus pulled out his wallet and thumbed through it, handing him twenty lien.

"Then think of it as a donation," Titus informed him, taking the meat. Ilia nodded and thanked them as Titus pushed through the crowd, making his way back to the house and smiling again, genuinely. He opened the door letting her in, staring out as the sun began to set and the stars began to appear. "I'll grab some firewood from the back and cook this up." Ilia nodded, still amazed at the entire situation.

Night fell. Dinner was delicious. The snow had stopped, for the most part, both of them laying on straw rolls on opposite sides of the room, staring up at the stars and moon far above. It felt just like home back in Vacuo, yet so different. It was amazing. She took a deep breath in a reached her hand out, staring at the shining lights that littered the night sky through her fingers. This was the closest they'd ever been, wasn't it?

"I'm guessing you would have preferred taking up Neela on her invitation," Titus said after a long silence that blanketed both of them. Ilia turned her head to look at him, starlight shining off of his eyes as well, his gaze focused hard on the moon.

"I can't remember the last time I felt so at peace," she replied. "Thank you for bringing me with." He cracked a smile, his eyes never leaving the celestial body above.

"Don't mention it," he told her. "It's been a long time since I've slept out under the stars like this. Once I left Mantle I slept in barracks until I worked my way up through the ranks of the military. Once I became a lieutenant general, I stayed in the officer's quarters, a large and unnecessarily lavish manor, it made me feel more like a Schnee than a member of the army. It was unbearable, I was appreciative, but it was so difficult to sleep."

"I felt the same way when I came to Beacon. I was too used to constantly watching my back and sleeping in rough conditions or confined spaces. I can think of at least three separate occasions where I woke up in a hospital due to heat exhaustion," Ilia told him. Silence filled the room again and she wondered if he had fallen asleep. She could have easily.

"I guess we should get some sleep, tomorrow's trip should be easy enough, but it will be a full day's walk even with minimal stops. I'm guessing there won't be many due to Salutem being the only trustworthy settlement between here and The Capital. There may be a camp or two on the way, but typically they're bandit camps and I don't think we really want to stop at any of those," Titus said.

"Can I tell you something?" Ilia asked. Titus was silent. "I guess you already know what I'm going to tell you. The first time I killed, it was out of self-defense. As I've said multiple times on this trip, Vacuo isn't anything like Mantle, it's a place that is desolate, lacking the proper military force to keep the entire city or kingdom in check. It's a general misconception that Mistral is the most dangerous region, even more so now that Sterling rules the land with an iron fist. I was young, and I had just run away from home for the first time, my father told me that he hated me, drunk to be sure, but the words stung. Mother had only died a week earlier. I figured that I was better off alone.

I had finally found a nice run down dirt house to call my own, but when I had returned on the third night to get some rest, there was a man waiting inside who wanted to kill me for what little money I still had on me." Ilia paused for a long moment. "I used my semblance to kill him. I didn't see any other way out." Another bout of silence before Ilia pulled her covers tight to her body and rolled onto her side. "Thanks for listening."

"Anytime Ilia," he offered. With that, they both drifted off.

"Come get your baked goods here!" Yelled a voice louder than the rest of the noise as Titus opened his eyes, staring up at the blue sky. It wasn't overcast, he couldn't have asked for more ideal conditions for their travel day and he slowly sat up, looking over to where Ilia had slept but she was gone and he imagined that she had either gone back to the square once more to purchase something, or she had stepped out back to use one of the showers. The back door slammed and she looked at him, red in the face as she pointed back toward the shared yard.

"You didn't tell me that the showers were outside!" She shouted.

"They're enclosed," he told her.

"What if some pervert comes along and tries to take a peek? Or what if someone takes my towel?" Ilia yelled at him as she moved quickly through the hut, gathering her things and shoving them into her pack. She slung it over her arm and opened the front door, standing in it as she stared back at him. "Well, you ready to go?"

"I suppose," he chuckled under his breath.

"You better hope that there is indoor plumbing at this Salutem," she told him.

"Or what, you won't shower?" He asked. "How did you make it by in Vacuo living in rundown houses?"

"We had public baths," she told him as they headed for the northern exit of the village.

"How is that any different than what we have here?" He inquired.

"Structure," she answered. Titus shook his head and they left the village, the trip was relatively uneventful. The two of them skirted around the two bandit camps that Titus was sure were going to pose a problem along the way. They walked most of the way in silence, Ilia would ask an occasional question about the weather or the geography and Titus would tell her. A lot of the land was barren, the occasional tuft of grass or single tree could be seen every now and then, offering just enough variety to let a person know where they were, or let them feel as though they were still making progress.

"Does it always take this long to get anywhere up here?" She asked him. He sighed as he exhaled into his hands, trying to keep them warm.

"If we had a horse or airship at our disposal it would have been faster, but it's really pretty easy to go for great lengths of time without coming across a settlement. The longest time by foot is two days I believe, the people of Atlas typically try and have them spaced out enough so that people don't die of lack of food or heat. There would be more, but so few actually last, there had been two settlements prior to Salutem built on the same spot. Once you get further north of The Capital there's not much that's been touched by humans with the exception of the dust mines. It gets far too cold and it's more dangerous than the rest of the continent," Titus explained.

"I guess that's pretty much the same as Vacuo for the most part," she told him. "Though Vacuo is far more unforgiving. There is one settlement aside from Shade, and that's the airstrip port that allows airships to leave and come in from other kingdoms. Shade was built on an oasis and is the only place in Vacuo that is capable of sustaining life. Sure, you'll have the occasional loners who go off into the desert and carry out lives of solitude, but there are very few of them and we hear back from them so little we aren't ever that sure that they survived."

"Then why would anyone leave Shade to live out in the sand?" Titus asked.

"As I've said before, Shade is a place of thieves and murders," she reminded him. She stopped for a moment, peering down the path and pointing. He looked out to where she was pointing and he smirked, pressing onward.

"It would appear we have almost reached Salutem," he told her. "I honestly can't tell you how excited I am to see my family again."

"I'm excited to meet them as well," she agreed. "Your mother must be quite the woman."

"She is," Titus replied. As they closed in on the village, Titus spotted several Atlesian Military airships that caused him to hesitate before picking up the pace. His speed forced Ilia into a jog and as they entered the village, Titus spotted a militant and approached him. "You there. What's going on here that's brought the military to Salutem?"

"Your arrival sir!" He reported. Titus glanced around and smirked, shaking his head.

"This looks more like the arrival of a war hero, and I am far from anything of such manner," Titus replied.

"You are Lieutenant General Prasinos. Are you not sir?" The soldier replied as if it was rehearsed.

"That is correct," Titus answered.

"Then this welcoming party, as it were, is for you, sir!" He explained. The soldier saluted and went about his business as Titus and Ilia stepped away and were greeted by a sight that shocked Titus. He stopped short of the woman officer who was greeting some of the villagers that were walking through the main gate, she smiled and nodded at them, laughing at something one of them said. She had straight shoulder length hair that was black until the last two inches of the tips which were a dark orange. Her eyes were the same color orange as well, burning with a fringe of black around the outside of the iris. She also had a foxtail that whisked happily behind her as she waved to the passersby.

"Something wrong?" Ilia asked as they came closer to the Faunus.

"I'm not sure yet," he replied, noticing the patching on the officer's arm and noting that she shared the same rank as him. She smiled at one last person that passed by before acknowledging Titus and shoving through several bystanders to reach him.

"So you're the youngest one they ever made lieutenant general?" She asked extending her hand for him to shake. He looked at it for a moment before glancing back up at her smiling face. He humored her with a handshake and drew his hand back, still feeling as though something was off as he looked her over. "Titus Prasinos, 'The Gargoyle'. Joined the Atlas Military training program when you were only twelve years old, had a nasty run-in with Admon, completed your training with Winter Branwen and were promoted to your current rank just before your seventeenth birthday."

"Sounds like someone has done her homework," Ilia said as she shook the woman's hand. "Ilia Cherny."

"Fiance?" She asked. Titus groaned.

"Teammate," Ilia answered for him.

"And who might you be?" Titus asked. The Faunus flushed and took a step back.

"I'm so sorry, I must have gotten ahead of myself. My name is Kitsune Aka, it's a pleasure to have met both of you. I'm sorry that our first interaction has to end so abruptly, but we all have a tight schedule to uphold here today and I must continue on with my duties. I hope that I'm able to talk more with both of you at the ball!" She called out as she left them and carried on with her work.

"You seemed kind of out of sorts with her," Ilia pointed out. "Do you two know each other?" Titus shook his head.

"No. What I understand even less about that entire encounter is the fact that they've made a Faunus an officer in the Atlas Military," Titus explained to Ilia. "They've never even let Faunus enroll before."

"Times are changing," Winter said as she approached her apprentice. He saluted her and she smirked, waving him off. "At ease."

"Why is the military really here? And what do you mean by the times are changing?" Titus asked. She ushered them into the inn and sat at one of the tables in the large pub on the lower floor.

"It's more or less a welcome party for you, but you didn't really think that me asking you to attend the dance would be purely for pleasure, did you?" She asked.

"So you plan on putting me to work?" Titus extrapolated. Winter nodded. "Alright, now what about the fox?"

"Lieutenant General Aka is one of our best soldiers, and she's the first of many planned additions into the Atlas Military. We need to start integrating Faunus if we ever plan on the general public feeling safe around them. My sister has also been helping in bridging the gap, she has more than a dozen Faunus on her personal staff at the manor," Winter told them.

"Weiss no longer stays in the manor," Titus said dryly. Winter chuckled.

"You're well informed." She waved for the server. "She still stays there from time to time when she has business to attend to."

"You're making all of these moves despite the White Fang's recent activity?" Ilia asked.

"We can't wait around forever to make things happen. We perform a thorough check on the background of those who pass the enrollment requirements," Winter told them.

"But to move up the ranks that quickly?" Titus asked. The waitress brought them all hot cider and Winter chuckled as she thanked the woman.

"Jealous?" Winter asked. Titus raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" He asked. The doors were thrown open and in ran a shorter older woman who made a beeline to Titus and threw her arms around him.

"Titus! Your home, thank Oum!" She shouted. She glanced over at Ilia. "I assume this is one of the teammates you've been training with?"

"Yes!" Titus exclaimed. He squeezed her tight before releasing her and she moved to Ilia who gave her a gentle embrace. "See? Mama gets it."

"You didn't assume that I was his girlfriend?" Ilia asked.

"Why would I? My Titus is going to marry that Natalia Ironwood someday," Mrs. Prasinos exclaimed. Titus blushed and grabbed his mother gently by the shoulders, Winter and Ilia stifling laughter.

"Mom, I don't even know where Nat is!" Titus exclaimed.

"That doesn't matter," She told them.

"Where are the girls?" Titus asked.

"Don't you talk to General Branwen ever?" His mother asked. "There's a basic education institute that just opened in Atlas and your sisters are attending. They won't be on break until next week however and I'm guessing that you'll be gone by that point." Titus nodded.

"Sadly. Ilia and I need to get back and finish some projects that will be due as soon as school starts back up," Titus explained.

They enjoyed themselves, Titus especially for the first time in a while. It wasn't to say that he didn't enjoy Beacon and all of the new 'friends' that he had made, but this time it seemed more genuine. He didn't know when he'd come that Winter intended to make him work and so the day that he was supposed to spend with his family had turned into a few hours, but those few hours with his mother, Ilia, and Winter were the greatest gift that he could have received for the festival. He hugged his mother and he and Ilia took an airship out with Winter and Kitsune, heading to the academy.

The Runaway and The Militant are finally opening up to each other. Next week, The Winter Arc continues in Chapter 47 - Ballroom Blitz!

A big thank you to Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. All of their artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!