"And what may I ask, is your connection to my daughter?"

"Well I, um.." Jaune stuttered, tapping his feet. He thought he could pull himself together, but now sitting across from Jacques Schnee it was another story entirely. With his white hair and pale complexion, Jaune was reminded of the vampire stories he had been read as a child.

"We're her friends." Ren stepped forward, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "The airship your company sent had automated security. Considering what happened to Ironwood's forces, we thought you'd appreciate some living defenses around here."

"Indeed, my estate is somewhat exposed at the moment." He tapped his pen thoughtfully. "And I don't believe the academy will be reopening anytime soon."

Both Jaune and Ren nodded an affirmative. The whole team had received that soul-crushing message from Glynda yesterday. Vale had fallen into chaos. With Grimm around every corner people could barely survive, let alone rebuild.

"Well then," Jacque's smile was like a predator. "you are very welcome to work for me. But I do hope you remember that it was I who helped you in these trying times."

Jaune jumped a little as Ren nudged him. "Yes! I- thank you, sir. We're very grateful."

"Excellent." He leaned back, waving a hand dismissively. "Hurry along then. Remind Weiss I expect to see her in my office by the end of the day."

The two boys were quick to leave, meeting Nora outside his office. "How did it go?!" The junior huntress was practically bouncing off the walls.

"We can stay. Jacques wants us running security." Ren began walking through the many halls of the estate. "It boosts his image if he lets former academy students work for him."

Jaune scowled, kicking the ground in frustration. "So we're just here to make him look good?"

"There isn't much of a choice."

Nora walked erratically, pausing to stare at random objects than running ahead of the group when she saw something more interesting. Throughout this, she filled the silence with random chatter and ideas. Ren gave small nods and smiles in response, then turned back to Jaune as his partner continued her tirade. "You should go see Weiss. Break the news to her as gently as you can. Nora and I will go and see what assignments we've been given, it should give you a couple of hours alone with her."

"Yeah.. yeah." Jaune nodded and swallowed, turning away from his team. "..I'll do my best."

It took longer than it should have to find Weiss's room. A couple of chuckling staff offered to draw him a map the third time he passed them in the corridor. Regardless, he got there eventually. The door opened soundlessly as he stepped inside.

The room was neat, not a hair out of place. Jaune felt like he had stepped into a hotel rather than a teenager's bedroom. That made sense he supposed, given the way she spoke about her home. Weiss herself sat at the foot of her bed, propped up by a frankly excessive amount of pillows. The book she was reading snapped shut as he walked in.

"Jaune." She raised her eyebrows in surprise, "I didn't know you were here."

Jaune scratched the back of his neck. "My team's ah, doing security... stuff. For your dad."

"Why?"

"Well, it's a job right?" He laughed nervously. "But also we were worried about you- This is a way for us to stay nearby."

"Is Ruby with you?"

The simple question made his shoulders slump forward, and Jaune drooped. He pulled up a chair and sat down, hands clasped in front of him. "Weiss.." He sucked in a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, but nobody made it off that tower."

The Heiress stared. She didn't say anything- she couldn't. The words caught in her throat. A sort of choked gasp passed her lips as words of denial and anger were suppressed. Jaune continued to speak, meaningless words and apologies for not getting there sooner. She zoned them out. The implications set in as Weiss's body began to move. She curled into herself, hands covering her mouth as silent tears rolled down her face. She had been the one to send Ruby up there.

Jaune stopped talking, he just sat there quietly- fingernails digging into the palm of his hand. He had been given time to grieve over the last few days, but he was still in no state to comfort anybody else. The blond recalled the events of Beacon and held his head in his hands. Being sent away in that locker, being denied the right to fight by his partner's side.

He remembered running through city streets, reaching Beacon just as the tower exploded. There had been no sign of Pyrrha or Ruby among the debris, the strange woman they had gone to fight having vanished as well. He looked for hours amongst the ruins, screaming names until his voice burned. By the time he found Weiss, he had already given up- only searching because he didn't know what else to do.

Jaune remembered pulling her free from the wreckage and stumbling through Grimm-infested alleyways. He remembered collapsing outside the city limits, and the sound of airships overhead. Next thing he knew, Nora and Ren were staring down at him, and he was on his way to Atlas.

Weiss had stopped crying. Her expression was one of practiced indifference. If it weren't for tear tracks down her face, nobody would have suspected the earlier breakdown. She stood up, brushing past Jaune on her way to the door. "Father will want to speak with me."

At the contact, Jaune seemed to unfreeze. He shot to his feet, spinning around and grabbing Weis by the sleeve to stop her from leaving. "Wait! I- you shouldn't, you don't have to go yet. This is a lot, I know it is, but if we stick together.."

His hopeful ramblings were cut short by the heiress pulling her arm away. She scowled, every defense mechanism she had ever developed clicking firmly back into place. "I'm fine. Going to Beacon was a mistake."

Jaune was stunned. Those few moments of inaction were all Weiss needed to leave the room. He went to run after her, but found himself consumed by dizziness. He stumbled, leaning a hand against the wall for support. The blond's aura flared, a second of pure yellow filling the room before it was sucked back into his body. There had been no attack, but he felt violated somehow- like his soul had just been examined.

By that time he recovered, Weiss was long gone. There was little point in following her, what would he even say? They weren't good enough friends for his words to hold any weight.

A.N. God I hate dialogue so much.

I'm not a massive fan of this chapter, but I promised regular updates so this is what you're getting. As usual I'd like to remind you to leave a quick review, your words really do mean the world to me.

Thank you for reading and I'll see you in two weeks.