Writer's block was giving me trouble last week as well, but luckily, I've been planning the next chapter for a long time now, and it's been going very smoothly. Shouldn't be too much a surprise what's coming once you're done with this chapter. No omake this time, just didn't have it in me. Probably won't have one next time either, more to preserve the story's tone.

To HeartMachine, I like the tight-rope analogy. I've been going for the idea that Cardin his very little room for error in his machinations, that tiny mistakes can have dire consequences. I appreciate the suggestion to do slice of life stuff, but now doesn't feel quite the right time. Probably in a few chapters, once all the action is done.

Chapter Nineteen: Assignments

"So, how was it?" Russell asked.

Cardin left the suit and silks in a heap on his bed. "I might've enjoyed it if I wasn't wondering if she'd stick a knife in my ribs."

Russell grimaced and went back to getting dressed in his armor. Sky looked up from his Scroll and asked, "Any quest we're looking for in particular?"

"Something that lets us stay in Vale," Cardin said. "I have other work to do here."

Sky looked through his Scroll some more. "There's a few patrol positions. If we're quick, we can scoop one up." He tapped on a few of them. "Goodwitch is on one of them."

"Then we better move fast."

"Too late," Dove said from the window. "All the other teams are already there. Maybe if you hadn't slept in, we could've gotten front row seats."

Cinder's group met theirs on the way to the auditorium. She sauntered up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"A bit tired," Cardin said. He looked past her at Mercury. "What about you? How was your night?"

Mercury turned away and didn't say a word.

Emerald stood in front of him and said, "He spent the night up a tree. Couldn't find anyone to stay with."

"Shut up," Mercury growled.

Before he could say anything else, Ozpin stepped up to the podium and gave a speech to the assembled teams. Cardin tuned out the history lesson and empty adages on individuality and freedom. The first year students were given first crack at the boards, but by the time Cardin made it to the front, most of the positions were already taken.

Cinder strolled by Cardin as he examined the sparse postings. Emerald and Mercury stood a respectful distance behind her.

"So, do you have your assignment?" Sky asked.

Cinder held up a Scroll. "Since we're still short a member, the Headmaster was kind enough to let us stay in Vale for patrols. If you want to do the same, I think there's still one position left."

Cardin's heart sank as they walked up to the selection screen Cinder had pointed at. Professor Goodwitch's group was the only one remaining.

"What did we do to deserve this?" Russell asked.

Dove looked around at the other assignment listings. "Could we take literally anything else?"

Cardin held his Scroll over the listing. With a click, the job details transferred themselves. He read it through and verified the acceptance with a tap of his finger.

"It could be worse," Cardin said as he watched Professor Port escort Team JNPR out of the room. "We could have their assignment."

"Or theirs," Russell added as Doctor Oobleck shouted coffee-fueled instructions at Team RWBY. "Come to think of it, we were screwed no matter who we got."

"Well, at least we get to stay here," Sky said. "There's no way we'll run into anything dangerous."

"And we get good Scroll service," Dove added. "And hot showers, cooked food, clean clothes, all that fun stuff."

Professor Goodwitch strode across the room as students rushed back to clear a path for her. She frowned when she saw Cardin by the notice board.

"You accepted the patrol assignment?"

Cardin held up his Scroll. "I did."

Her mouth twisted as though she had been punched in the gut. "Be at the Bullhead docks in full combat gear at seven AM. If you're tardy or unkempt, I'll dock points. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Cardin said.

Glynda waited there, as if expecting him to say more, but she left when General Ironwood came into the room. Cardin pushed his way towards Team RWBY, with his teammates in tow. He waited until Professor Oobleck finished his instructions and sprinted through the gaps in the crowd. Both Ruby and Blake looked as though they wanted to hide behind other groups, and Weiss pointedly looked away from him. Yang watched him approach with crossed arms.

"Wanna trade teachers?" he asked Yang.

"Who'd you get, Port?"

"Goodbitch."

Yang snorted. "Ouch. Try not to get more than a month's worth of detentions."

"So, what happened last night?"

Yang's smile vanished. "You mean Mercury, don't you?" She smacked her gauntlets together. "I can't believe I let you goad me into doing something so stupid."

"Gets easier every year."

She glared at him. "I got him back to my room, but the moment I pulled up my shirt, he bolted."

"Too fast for him?"

"I guess." Yang glanced back at her sister before asking in a low voice, "What about you?"

"I had better luck."

She looked around the room, but Cinder was nowhere to be seen. "And you weren't kidding about that other one, were you?"

"Miltia? Ask her yourself if you want."

"How the heck did you manage that?"

"Ten thousand lien."

Her eyebrows rose. "You're into that sort of thing?"

"Not really. My father wanted to make sure I knew my way around a bed."

Her face flushed, and she looked away. "That's messed up."

"So anyways, what made you guys pick death by coffee rants?" Cardin asked to the whole team.

"Blake said we should go Grimm hunting," Ruby said. "It'll get us in tip-top shape for the Festival." She hefted her scythe and let it unfold in the room, nearly decapitating the group behind her. "I'm going to bring home the gold for Beacon."

"In your dreams, little sis," Yang said as she knuckled Ruby's hair. "We both know that I'm the strongest one here."

"Strength is nothing against a skilled opponent," Weiss said quietly. "It will take strategy and tactics to win the Festival."

"Oh?" Yang asked. "And where were these strategy and tactics of yours when I beat you in the ring last week?"

Weiss blushed and clenched her hands. "That was a lucky shot and you know it. Plus, you used your Semblance."

"There's no rules against using your Semblance," Ruby pointed out.

"Anyways," Cardin cut in, "We're patrolling the city. Where are you going?"

"Mount Glenn," Blake said. "There's a rise in Grimm activity in the area, and we're supposed to investigate."

"They're giving that job to first year students? Seems a bit dangerous."

Ruby beamed at him. "Ozpin–"

"Recommended us for the task," Blake cut in, "Since we're one of the better first-year teams. It's still close to Vale, and we do have a Professor with us."

Yang shook her head. "Be real, Blake. An Ursa would use him for a toothpick. He'll be busy measuring the length of its teeth as it's biting him in half."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Cardin said. "I've seen him blow an Ursa to pieces with his coffee thermos."

Ruby stood straight and drew up her cape. "It's a mechashift mortar and club combination. A handle telescopes out two feet, and the top of the thermos narrows to fire long-range explosive Dust projectiles. It's also capable of using these rounds on impact for explosive melee damage."

"Does she always do that?" Russell asked.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Where does he keep the Dust?"

"In the thermos," Ruby answered.

"So, he drinks Fire Dust? That explains a lot."

Cardin glanced around the room. Cinder was gone, but Emerald had lingered behind and was watching them talk. He cleared his throat and said, "I better get going before Goodwitch thinks we're slacking off and makes us all do laps."

"Or more reading," Yang added. "She has me do tons of that in detention."

"Then don't get detention," Cardin fired back. "Good luck with Oobleck."

As he was walking away, his Scroll vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Blake, in the vein of their casual friend conversation. It might be risky to make a rooftop trip so soon after that night with Cinder, but then again, it might play to his advantage if she thought he was inept. He sent a short text back.

There wasn't much else to do for the rest of the day. Most teams spent their time packing for their missions abroad, doing weapons maintenance, polishing their armor, purchasing ammunition and supplies, reviewing scouting plans and team formations, but city patrols left Cardin's team with far less to prepare. He half-suspected that Goodwitch would have them patrol with packs over their shoulders, if only to give them the experience of carrying supplies on foot, but until she said so, there was no point in preparing for it.

Russell was sharpening his daggers, filling the room with the rasp of steel on whetstone. The bucket he had set next to him was filled with murky black water, and a stained rag lay limply with oil and metal dust. Sky pored over his books and his notes, marking them up with a red pen in the margins and putting sticky notes over key paragraphs with probable questions and reference material. Dove was wrapped up to his neck in blankets, thumbing his Scroll through the covers. From the canned punching and metallic sword slashes that came from its speakers, it was some martial arts game.

Cardin spent his time thinking. Between Torchwick with the White Fang, the Atlas Military, and Cinder, he felt as though a momentous gambit was happening in the Council of Lords, as easy to see yet hard to identify as a giant statue under a canvas cloth. A war was coming, that much was clear given the Dust hoarding. Using the White Fang, or rather, convincing look-alikes, made Menagerie an easy target for that Dust. Yet, why go through all the trouble? Why jack up Dust prices and screw over trade and economy to crush such a tiny rock? It could be a feint, a way of catching Mistral off guard. That could explain why Cinder had so quickly risen among the Dukes.

That was but one line of logic that ran through his head. Countless schemes were considered, their merits weighed and balanced against their risks and costs, then either discarded or shelved alongside the other maybes. However, by the time the sun had set, he felt even further away from the truth, buried beneath myriad minute possibilities like a lump of gold in a pile of pyrite.

When the usual hour with Blake had arrived, Cardin dismissed himself from the room. He waited in the stairwell, listening for footsteps from behind or the scrape of an opened window, but the only sounds he heard were muted, excited chatter and the rustle of packed bags.

Blake was nearly invisible in the shadows of the rooftop. She seemed to melt out of the surrounding darkness when she walked up to him. Her bow drooped in her hair, and her eyes didn't quite meet his.

"I never thanked you properly," she said. "For the docks. I would've been dead if you hadn't helped."

Cardin felt the back of his neck prickle. This apology felt off-character for Blake, usually too independent and reserved to admit to needing help.

"You had him by the throat," Cardin said. "All you had to do was slice, and he would be dead."

"You know I can't do that. It's wrong."

"Is it?" Cardin closed the gap between them and placed his finger against her throat. Her jugular pulsed under his touch. "If I hadn't been there, they would've slit your throat. You would've bled out, and you would've died. That friend of yours too."

Blake snorted. "He's not a friend."

"Whatever. Point is, that wasn't combat practice. That wasn't training with Professor Goodwitch. That was life or death. You had a chance to kill, and you didn't take it. You nearly died for that."

Blake's shoulders straightened, and her ears perked up. "I would rather die than kill someone."

"Really? Would Ruby agree with that? Yang? For that matter, what if Torchwick goes on to hurt someone else? What if, by killing him, you could've saved a life, or two, or fifty?" His eyes went up to the bow, and he was suddenly, uncomfortably aware that he had been touching her for some time. He slowly drew back and wiped his finger on his shirt. "It's not killing that's evil, Blake."

"Then what is?"

"People, maybe? I'm probably the wrong person to ask."

Blake snorted. "No kidding." Her sudden smile vanished, and she clenched her hands. "So, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"We're done with reading for the year, and you're as good as you're going to get at dodging. As for Jaune…"

Cardin raised an eyebrow at her. "Falling for him?"

Blake blushed and looked away. "I don't understand why you're still having us do it."

"You want to know whether or not it's safe to have feelings for him." He felt himself treading on thin ice. If he said he intended to cut them off, Blake might act more distant, and push Jaune away before Pyrrha drops out. On the other hand, telling her he wouldn't interfere might lead her to understanding his true motive.

"Doesn't really matter what I do, now does it?" He pointed at the bow. "The moment he finds out about those, he won't come within a mile of you."

Blake scowled. "You can't think he's a racist pig like you."

"No? You've been leading him on for months. How should he feel if he suddenly finds out that his girlfriend's been a Faunus this whole time?" With a grin, he added, "He might even wonder what other secrets you've been keeping from him."

She glanced nervously at him. "Is it okay if I tell him?"

"It's your secret, not mine. Do whatever you want with it."

The wind howled through the trees, threatening to rip away Blake's bow. She held her ears down with both hands.

"How do you hide your tail?" Cardin asked.

"My what?"

"Your tail. Do you keep it tucked in your skirt, or something?"

She blushed and looked down at herself. "Not all Faunus have tails, Cardin."

"Lucky you."

The wind died. Blake crossed her arms. "You never answered my question."

"About what?"

"What now? Are you going to have me do anything else?"

Cardin felt his hackles rise. Blake was acting too submissively for his comfort. He thought back to her apology, to the docks, to the moment she watched as an Ursa was about to rip his throat open. Perhaps guilt drove her.

"Have you kissed him yet?"

"Wait, what?"

"Jaune."

Blake's ears drooped, and she blushed as hard as Ruby. "No. I think he wanted to, while we were dancing, but he backed away."

"Maybe you should give it a try. That is, if he doesn't ditch you because of those ears."

One hand went up to stroke the bow. "Are you telling me to do it?"

Cardin thought about it for a moment. A kiss might keep Pyrrha locked in her bathroom for the rest of her tenure at Beacon, but if he ordered her to do it, it might come off as staged. "No, it's just a thought. Do whatever you want."

Blake took out her Scroll. "I should go."

He looked at his own. It wasn't even past ten. "Something going on?"

"Yes. I have to meet with Professor Oobleck about an assignment." Her eyes didn't meet his. "Make-up work for the docks that Goodwitch assigned me."

"And you're seeing Oobleck for that?"

"Goodwitch was busy with something, so she told me to hand it into him, since I'm going with him on the mission."

Cardin almost let it go at that, but something about that mission stuck in his head. "Didn't you say Ozpin picked your team for that mission? Did he say why?"

Her eyes darted towards him and went back to the ground. "No, he didn't give any reasons. I just think it's because we're the best freshman team and he wanted to challenge us."

Cardin knew she was hiding something, which meant it must be because of her. Ozpin also likely knew he had Blake's secret, so following the logic, there was only one way he'd be able to defend her if he revealed that Ozpin had faked her identification.

"Ozpin has you working for him, doesn't he?"

She flinched, but she kept her eyes on the ground. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Ozpin has you working as a double agent to track the White Fang's movements. You're infiltrating recruitment meetings to find out what their plans are, and you recently heard that they're planning something to the south-east. So, Ozpin arranged your team to take on a mission in the area so you can continue your investigation without anyone the wiser."

Blake was just about to say something when she caught herself. Instead, she said, "You guessed all that, didn't you?"

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

Her silence was all the answer he needed.

"Did Ozpin make you an official part of his task force?"

Again, silence.

"Access to requisitions and police records?"

More silence.

Cardin shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I guessing he told you to keep doing what I say so I don't figure out all this."

Blake sighed and nodded.

"As it so happens, I'm also interested in finding out what the White Fang are doing. If you let me know what you find, I won't tell anyone you're one of Ozpin's agents." Cardin grinned and put a finger on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure Ozpin wouldn't like it if that happened."

Blake drew back until she touched a wall. "You're blackmailing me again?"

"Does that really surprise you?"

Blake snarled and pushed herself forward. "Fine."

"Good. Then you can tell me what the White Fang are doing out in the middle of nowhere."

"We don't know," Blake said. "All I know is they're taking all the new recruits to a base somewhere in the southeast."

"Where they could be doing anything," Cardin finished. "Could be planning an attack, or using it as a training base. Will Torchwick be there?"

"Yes. He was at the last meeting, giving them instructions."

"So Torchwick is calling the shots?"

"No. Adam Taurus is commanding the White Fang in Vale. Torchwick's running an operation of some kind, and Adam is supplying him with manpower." After a moment, she added, "Adam won't be at that operation, from what he said."

Cardin grimaced. "He came down from Atlas, huh? Gets worse every time I hear something new." He thought about it for a moment. Taurus and Torchwick working together seemed about as likely as Yang passing up a chance to break his nose. Their partnership was yet more evidence that someone more powerful was pulling their strings.

"There's a chance you might run into someone worse than Torchwick," Cardin told her. "If you can, get a picture."

Blake nodded.

"You can tell Ozpin I figured it all out. He might know already, if he has this place bugged. I would if I were him. You'd be surprised how many people come up here for a private conversation."

Blake left first. Cardin watched the campus grounds, scanning for any sign of nocturnal activity, but the teams kept to their rooms. Through lit windows, Cardin watched teams from an adjacent dorm dole out cans of rations, fold clothes, measure out dust vials, and sharpen their weapons. He could neither hear nor see anything going on in his own room, but the closed window confirmed that they hadn't been listening in on him.

Their Scrolls roused them out of bed at 5AM the next morning. Cardin snapped to alertness the moment the first jangle echoed in the room. He was up and dressed by the time Sky had on a pair of socks and Russell sat up in bed. Dove had to be dragged onto the floor by his feet before he would get out from under the covers.

The kitchens had opened early in consideration of all the departing students, and a large breakfast was laid out buffet-style at the table. Cardin speared a sausage with a fork and found to his relief that they weren't tangled in tough ropes. The pancakes were light and fluffy, without serrated edges, the fruit wasn't frozen stiff and sharp, and the beverages weren't pressurized to burst at a rough jostle. There would be no food fight today.

His team was among the first to get breakfast, and they had plowed through their plates by the time most of the other students trickled in. They passed Cinder's team on the way out. Mercury sported bags under his eyes and a wild bedhead, but both Cinder and Emerald appeared unaffected by their early rise.

"Perhaps we'll see each other during our patrols," Cinder said. "Keep an eye out for anything suspicious, okay?"

Knowing what she said for an allusion to her request, Cardin answered, "I'll let you know if I see anything you might like."

Team CRDL went to the Bullhead docks, but Professor Goodwitch had yet to arrive. Other teams came and went, flying off in every direction on the compass. After about half an hour, Professors Port and Oobleck arrived, with RWBY and JNPR trailing behind them. Cardin was pleased to note that Pyrrha kept a solid ten feet between her and Jaune, with Nora and Ren bridging the gap between them. While she looked well-rested, the way her fingers twitched as they clutched her spear betrayed her agitation.

Team RWBY was also uncharacteristically muted. Blake, no surprise, was nervous, checking her dust vials and ammo cartridges over and over as she walked. Weiss walked stiff as a board, clutching her rapier and looking ready to stab someone in the chest. Ruby hugged her backpack and looked nervously around her. Yang had her characteristic bravado, chatting with Nora and smacking her fists together. From how they walked and acted, it looked as though Yang and Pyrrha had switched teams.

Just before they boarded the Bullheads, Blake walked up to Jaune. They exchanged words that Cardin couldn't quite pick out, but he could read Blake's expression easily enough. The temptation to spill her secrets was there, but her eyes darted back to him and swiveled across the crowd. She drew closer to him, halfway to a kiss, but she hugged him instead.

Professor Goodwitch arrived shortly after, and what followed was the most grueling exercise she had ever put them through. Cardin had known they would spend the day walking, but she kept them out until dusk, made them skip lunch under the pretext that there won't be time for a meal if Grimm are attacking, and she gave them each a pack of supplies half their height, bursting at the zippers with a week's worth of rations, bedrolls, clothes, camping gear, and all the other unnecessities of a practice mission. When he finally got to set his pack down for a bowl of ramen, he felt his spine pop as his vertebrae shifted back in place.

As they patrolled the streets, they stopped to ask passerby if they had seen anything unusual. Glynda directed the inquiries towards Grimm activity, but the questions implied she really wanted to know about the White Fang. Most people had nothing to say, but a few reported seeing large numbers of Faunus walking at night towards the old warehouses by the docks. As night settled, fewer and fewer people walked the streets, so Goodwitch had them visit every dust shop, check in with the owner, and patrol the premises for ten minutes.

Once they returned on the Bullhead, Cardin and his team didn't bother stripping out of their armor. They went straight to their beds, with their weapons leaning against their nightstands.

Cardin woke the next morning, stiff but well-rested, not to his alarm, but to his Scroll's ringtone. He squinted at the screen and saw the fake contact info he had made for Blake. It took his brain a few seconds to realize that she shouldn't have a signal, and a few more to realize why she did. He answered the call, but all he heard was static and a clacking, whirring sound.

His first thought as he rolled out of bed and scooped up his mace was how convenient it was that he already had his armor on.