Like a drowning man thrusting his head above the water, so too do I publish this in a rare moment of actually having internet. GASP! Quick, before I drown back into the dark ages! Be published!

So, here's the chapter after the delay. I'm trapped at home today as well, not to mention my sickness has come back with a vengeance. Yay for terrible weather. In the end I never managed to get to the work I had done on the cloud, which meant it all got wasted and I had to try and re-write most of this from memory.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 56

If she'd been offered the chance before she would have jumped at it, but now Ruby hesitated. Her eyes met his, and she looked away as the stinging in her eyes pulsed. If Jaune was… well, if that crazy idea was true – and it had to be crazy, it really did – but if it was true, and this was his mom, then it raised all sorts of questions. Things like, how did that happen, and even who the hell was she going to be talking to?

On the other hand, she couldn't exactly say no, and Dad had always warned her not to jump to conclusions. And even for her, this felt like a conclusion that required a whole lot of acrobatics to jump to.

She slid off the chair and over toward the terminal, biting her lip as she came around and saw the screen for the first time – only to be presented with nothing.

"The call's too long distance to get a picture," Jaune said. The explanation did very little for her confidence. She'd really been hoping for a totally normal and nice-looking woman to appear on the other end dressed in an apron and fresh from baking cookies. The static, mixed with her mounting paranoia, only made everything worse.

But Ruby smiled and waved nonetheless, if a little timidly. "H-Hi."

"She is adorable," Jaune's mom decided. "I approve."

It was a little weird. Ruby would have normally argued against that but there was something in this woman's voice which made arguing impossible, or at least made it seem pointless. She didn't so much say Ruby was adorable as declare it, and that carried some kind of weight, some sort of undeniable fact.

Jaune's mom sounded like someone who was used to getting exactly what she wanted – kind of like Weiss, except much better at it and without a single shred of doubt.

"It's nice to meet you, Jaune's mom," she said, smiling as best she could. "My name's Ruby Rose."

"I know who you are, just as I know your sister and the fact my son and her are in some form of relationship. Hm. You seem nervous, child. Why is that?"

Oh, you know… because she may or may not have been talking to someone who may or may not be something impossible – at least if the effect her eyes had on Jaune was any indication. It was just everything she thought she knew crumbling down around her ankles. You know, the usual things.

"Ruby is pretty shy," Jaune said, coming to her rescue.

"I'm sure Ruby can speak for herself, son."

"I'm shy," she parroted, latching onto the excuse he'd given her.

There was a long moment of silence punctuated by the gruff snuffles of what sounded like an unusually large dog.

"Jaune, why don't you let your friend and I chat in peace. I'm sure you can grant us a little privacy for a womanly conversation. No?"

He crossed his arms. "I'd really rather not."

"Oh my, I've raised such a nosey and insensitive little boy. Woe is me." The woman's voice was so sarcastic Ruby could feel the roll of her eyes. "I promise not to tell your friend any embarrassing stories about you. Is that enough?"

"I really think-"

"Go over and glower somewhere else, Jaune. Let Ruby and I chat."

It really didn't look like he wanted to. Jaune jutted his chin out stubbornly and held his ground, glaring at the monitor. His mother didn't relent however, and as the silence dragged on his willpower waned. Eventually he lowered his arms and huffed.

"Don't do anything weird, mom. Please…"

"I'm not sure what you mean. I'm a perfectly normal mother wanting to talk to her son's darling friend. What's weird about that?"

Maybe the way she made it sound like a threat, Ruby thought. That might have been it. Or maybe she just felt threatened because she was going to be left along with someone she'd never met before. This was Yang's territory, even before her eyes had decided they were going to be stupid and start rebelling against her.

Jaune didn't argue any further and left with a scowl. He made his way over toward the guards at the door, out of hearing distance, but then proceeded to cross his arms and stare at her, making it clear it was on sufferance.

Why was he glaring at her like it was her fault!?

"Ah, that's better," Jaune's mom said.

"Wait, you can see that he left?"

"Why, of course. The signal is only bad on my end. You can't see me, but I can see you perfectly."

That wasn't how calls worked, Ruby felt like pointing out. If anything, it should have been the other way around or both of them having trouble, but she could tell from the crystal-clear reception that wasn't the case. Ah, there came the paranoia again. Wow, she'd never really felt that before her eyes started poking holes in the things she'd come to take for granted.

"You look worried, dear. What is the matter?" The woman chuckled, and even that sounded like it was full of dark promise. "If you're concerned about what my son said, you needn't be. I'm hardly going to crawl through the screen and kidnap you."

She'd have felt better if that last bit were left out. "Then why did you want to talk with me?" she asked.

"Call it a mother's concern for her darling son. I want to know how he is doing at Beacon and trying to get any information out of him is like plucking the feathers off a Nevermore. Do you know this is the `first time` he's called me since he left?"

Now that she mentioned it, yes. She'd known Jaune ran away to join Beacon, and that sort of implied that he'd done so against his mother's will. Still, maybe it was the thoughts of her own mom and how different things would be, but she couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the woman.

Even if she knew it wouldn't have been any different if Summer were still alive. She had a dad, but whenever he asked her or Yang how their day at Signal was, all he ever got was `fine` or `okay` in differing degrees of no detail.

Who wanted to talk about school?

"Um, Jaune's doing okay, Mrs Jaune's mom-"

"Please, call me Salem."

Salem? Huh, that was a weird name. "Uh, okay. Well, he's doing okay – way better than he used to. He has a lot of friends and he's dating my sister, Yang. He doesn't get in trouble, at least not intentionally. His grades in combat class are a little low, but he more than makes up for it in history. Doctor Oobleck says he's one of the most well-read students he's ever taught."

"He did?" Salem's voice peaked in a happy shriek. "Oh, that's so sweet. I'll have to send the man a gift basket. Maybe I'll come myself and bend my son over my knee and make him regret all the trouble he's caused me at the same time!" The latter was delivered in a feral snarl that shook Ruby to her core. She made an immediate note not to stand between Jaune and his mom should that happen.

"W-What kind of trouble?" she asked, against her better judgment.

"Oh, nothing you need worry about. So, tell me, has my son been keeping out of trouble? He hasn't done anything dangerous, has he?"

That depended on what you counted as dangerous. "Nothing too much," she said, coming in on his defence. "He was attacked by some Grimm early on. They tried to kidnap him." Ruby waited for the gasps of horror, but they never came. The woman didn't even react.

"Nothing else?"

"Should there be?"

"I don't know," Salem said, sighing. "My son has always been so rebellious. He never wanted to do what I'd planned for him – always eager to go off and `make friends` and `become a huntsman`." The way she said that made it clear she didn't think much of huntsmen, and Ruby would have normally protested. Not in front of Jaune's mom, though. Not when she still wasn't sure who or what Jaune's mom was.

"He did tell me he ran away from home," Ruby admitted.

"He admits it, then? What a stubborn child. Maybe it's his father's blood in him."

The father she'd kidnapped and locked in a basement – and oh Gods, with what her eyes might have been telling her, that suddenly made way more sense than the story Jaune had given her about rival companies. Who else would fight against a huntsman? Who else would a huntsman be trying to sneak up on?

"And you, my dear. He must trust you a lot to tell you so much about himself."

Ruby's stomach, for the first time, stopped flipping. "You think so?"

"I know so, my dear. It is not just anyone my son would trust, let alone to talk to me like this. He must hold you very dearly to himself."

Her eyes darted to him at that, and yet again the familiar flare between her eyes reminded her of what her instincts were telling her, something that had seemed so impossible and yet now was making more sense with every passing second.

But if he was what she thought he was, then what was she supposed to do?

If Jaune was… if he was Hentacle…

It was a huntress' job to kill Grimm. Failing that she should tell Ozpin or someone else in authority and they'd kill the Grimm for her – but that would mean he would be gone. Dead. Yang would be devastated, their team hurt, and even she would regret it. But… But what was she supposed to do?

And if he was Hentacle, then who on Remnant was she talking to right now!?

"I'm not sure he really trusts me all that much," Ruby whispered, almost without thinking.

"Why not?"

"W-Well, if he trusted me then there wouldn't be any secrets between us." It only occurred to her at the last second that admitting that to this woman (if she was even technically a woman) was a risky idea.

"And you feel he keeps something from you?"

Ruby nodded nervously.

"Are you not keeping one from him, as well?" Ruby's awkward silence said it all. "Secrets will always exist between people. My husband and I share none, but we are married and that is different from what you and my son are. Or at least I hope that if it were the same, you would have told me by now." The worst part was that she trailed off, intrigued.

"W-We're not married!" Ruby yelped, cheeks bright red.

"Then perhaps you should not expect every one of your secrets to be bared to one another. That is not to say you cannot care for the other. I know he does for you, and dare I say it seems you do for my son, as well."

"Maybe…" She poked her fingers together.

"Then what is the problem? If you know he cares for you, and you care for him – then should your differences be any barrier?"

"What if they're too much?"

"My dear, had I subscribed to that fallacy my husband and I would not be together. Nor would I have eight children I love dearly." Salem chuckled. "Absolute truths are things humans create to limit themselves. Rather than allow someone else to make your decisions for you, why not think for yourself?"

Ruby wanted to argue she wasn't like that, but something held her back. Doubt wormed its way inside her.

"And if you want to have a roll in the hay with my son, then I certainly won't argue."

The doubt evaporated. It was replaced with something far worse. "N-No, no, no. We're not like that!"

"But you could be."

"La-la-la-la, I can't hear anything!"

Salem laughed in response, even as Ruby struggled to regain control of herself and stop the flush threatening to swallow her face whole. Seriously, didn't Jaune's mom understand that him being with Yang was a big thing? She couldn't just do that.

"You might as well call my son back now," Salem said. "No doubt he'll be afraid I've filled your mind with all kinds of nonsense."

Ruby nodded, but also hesitated before she called Jaune. Seeing one last chance, she asked the burning question. "What are you?"

"I am a mother."

Weirdly, that was enough. Jaune came back, eyes flat and expression even flatter, but he seemed to relax a little when Ruby didn't say or do anything.

"You alright, Ruby?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Such little faith, my son. Well, I have what I wanted, even if I could stand to have you get in touch more often. I'll have one of your uncles contact you with what you wanted. It was a pleasure talking to you, Ruby. And do remember what I said."

Which part, the one about making decisions for herself, or the part where she should have Jaune's children? Ruby kept her mouth shut, not trusting herself to ask either. Jaune said his own goodbyes and the screen went black a few seconds later, leaving the two of them alone.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "Mom's… kind of pushy at times. She always wants to know every little thing about what's going on with me."

Wasn't that like every mom? She couldn't remember her own too well, but she liked to imagine Summer would have been much the same. Taiyang certainly was. That comparison brought its own confusion to her. Jaune's mom was a mom. It sounded obvious, but it was kind of a big deal. His mom acted like every other mom ever.

And yet when she looked up into his eyes, she felt that tell-tale burning again. It didn't hurt, so much as it itched. As if someone behind her eyes was desperately trying to get out and hurt him. Ruby scowled and forced it back, ignoring the discomfort and holding his gaze.

What the hell were her eyes to tell her who she could and couldn't be friends with? What right did they have? I didn't ask to be some silver-eyed warrior and I'm not. I'm Ruby Rose. The pain didn't fade entirely, but it did dull. Enough that she felt she could ignore it. For now, anyway.

"Didn't you want to ask me something?" Jaune asked. "Isn't that why you came with me?"

She had, but now that question had become muddled and lost. In lieu of one to ask, she went for another, tilting her head to the side.

"Are we friends?"

Jaune gaped at her. "What kind of question is that!?"

"I don't know. It's just-" She cut off as his arms wrapped around her. She stiffened for a moment, panicking, but when he drew her in for a warm and soft hug, the tension soon fled.

"We are friends," Jaune promised, voice thick with emotion. "You're the first friend I made at Beacon, my best friend. I don't want you to ever doubt that."

Ruby sniffled. Her hands wrapped around his back. "Okay…"

Maybe… Maybe it would be okay if she just pretended nothing was wrong. If she pretended things were normal. For now, at least, she could give her best friend the benefit of the doubt. She hugged him tight and didn't let go.

Not until the guards made some suggestive noises, anyway.

/-/

The first day of the festival was finally upon them.

If Blake were being entirely honest she'd say she hadn't been looking forward to it. The fights would be fine, but the first rounds of those weren't until tomorrow. The first day was just the opening ceremony, the carnival, and all the other little things, including a national holiday to celebrate the day. There were no classes too, which would normally be a great chance for her to find a quiet corner of Beacon to settle down into with a good book, as she was doing right now with a book on Grimm resting on her lap.

The woman behind the counter had commented that her teammate had been reading it too, which raised all sorts of questions in her mind, not to mention it piqued her curiosity. The librarian meant Ren, of course. Nora wouldn't care to read about the Grimm and no one would dare accuse Yang of visiting a library for studying purposes.

So, Ren had been reading into the Grimm as well as her, but he'd kept it quiet and not told anyone. Very interesting. Very interesting, indeed. I wonder if it's about what that Grimm did to him. It seemed almost obvious, though she didn't know what he thought of it.

Nora hadn't seemed to notice, or if she had she'd erased it from her mind, but Blake thought it was the former since she'd been the first into the room, Yang close behind and Nora bringing up the rear. As such, Blake had been treated to a front-row seat of what that female Hentacle did to Ren, and contrary to Nora's protests it had not been a close call to save Ren's life.

His virginity, perhaps. But not his life.

Hence the reason for her current reading – which she kept hidden indeed. She'd heard there were many fetishists about the world, each with tastes more deviant than the last, but she really didn't want anyone to see her reading theories of "Grimm reproduction" and jump to the worst possible conclusion.

Oh yes, she could just imagine the look on Nora's face if she heard how her partner had some kind of fetishist desire for Beowolves. Blake's face twisted. That hadn't been as amusing a thought in her head as she'd felt it might be. She shook her head and continued reading, moving past the wilder theories and towards the comments on intention and generations.

All animals feel the urge to reproduce as a means of continuing their legacy through offspring, with humans being a rare breed to find personal pleasure in the act. Reproduction in animals is functional in nature, which raises the question that if Grimm can breed, then what purpose does it serve? No recorded studies have found evidence of Grimm young, but we know that Grimm can age, and that juvenile-sized Grimm do appear, so they must breed or be created from a different source.

Naturally, the absence of evidence of Grimm children does not mean evidence of absence, and it is entirely possible that no such cases have been witnessed, or that Grimmlings live in very specific locations humans have not approached. Due to the threat toward them, for huntsmen would surely kill them, it is possible that Grimm have hidden nurseries, similar to certain species of fish who return to the same location each year to breed.

Blake sighed and turned the page. It was all very interesting, and if she'd had more time to herself she might have cared more about it – but she was looking for something in particular. Something she was fairly sure she wouldn't find.

Could Grimm and humans mate to form a hybrid?

That was almost certainly what Hentacle and the female version of him were. Of course, it could be that there was some other creation process that didn't involve procreation at all, but the similarities were too much. Unless Hentacle and his ilk existed as some kind of parasite organism overtaking a host, which wouldn't make much sense because Ren would have been infected.

Unless he already was… No. There was no way someone could fake the long-suffering look on his face when Nora had demanded pancakes that morning. No Grimm could mimic that perfect blend of exasperation, frustration and incredible patience all in one.

But still, the female Grimm had made out with her team leader – and it had been a real session from what little she'd caught of it. She'd seen chaste kisses, experienced a few herself, but that…? Yikes. Ren was lucky Nora hadn't witnessed it.

She also kidnapped Ren, which suggests some level of planning. The female Hentacle – and they really needed a better name for her – but if she had kidnapped Ren with the intent of… doing things to him.

Her cheeks flushed, and she peeked nervously over the cover of her book. No one was watching. Good.

Ahem…

If the female Grimm had done that, then did that mean the actual Hentacle was similar? There'd been the rumours about him and Roman, but it felt like weeks ago that they'd witnessed that. The last time, before this recent fight, that they'd fought against the actual Hentacle must have been the docks. At that time, he'd thrown Bun (or whatever his name was) aside and knocked him out.

He'd also taken Ruby hostage, but Blake didn't think there was any desire for more there, since Hentacle had let her go soon after, which he wouldn't have done if he'd wanted her. No. He wasn't after Ruby. But the only other person he'd shown interest in was… well…

Her.

"He attacked two White Fang members to protect me," she whispered. And it had been protection, as made obvious by both his words and his anger – and then the way he'd stalked towards her like some terrible predator, pushing her back against a container until… well, until Roman had been in trouble and he'd snapped out of it.

Snapped out of what, exactly? Had the sight of her driven him to some kind of primal urge? There were sick racists and porn-addled idiots who suggested the faunus went into `heat`, just another means of likening them to mindless beasts, but could something similar be true of Hentacle and other Grimm-hybrids? Faunus weren't actually half-animal, the truth being more complicated, but Hentacle might well be half-Grimm, and that would come with whatever complications it did.

But if Femtacle – Blake cringed – went after Ren as some kind of attempt to seduce him, then does that mean Hentacle attempted the same with me?

The similarity to one or two of her books wasn't lost on her, even if she knew full well they were fiction. Or had been fiction. Good lord, this sounded like something she'd read about once or twice. Okay, maybe four or five times.

"This is nuts," she whispered. "This is absolutely insane."

"What is?" Nora asked.

Blake slammed the book shut so hard she caught her thumb and nearly crushed it. Even so, she fixed the most innocent look on her face she'd ever worn. "Nothing!"

"Well, that's suspicious," Yang pointed out.

"What? No." All three of them stood before her, two looking curious and vaguely amused, the latter staring at the book she'd been reading and just looking worried. Blake was just glad to have the one ally, even if she'd need to blackmail him for his help. "I was just reading, that's not suspicious. What's suspicious is you and Nora existing within a hundred feet of the library." Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Yang laughed. "And I can read, by the way."

"Can and will are two different things."

"Yep, just like a library and a festival are two different things," Nora said, smiling happily.

Blake stared at her. "What?"

"Festival," her partner said, slowly, as though explaining the concept to a particularly dumb child. "As in, there's a festival out there. And then library, as in, you're in the library reading when you could be out at a festival with your super-cool team and best-friend-forever partner."

It took a second for what Nora had said to click, but maybe that was the point – for the second's hesitation as she tried to sort the jumble of words in her head was all it took for Nora and Yang to flank her, reaching down to hook their hands under her shoulders and haul her up between them.

"What," Blake hissed, "do you think you're doing?"

"I think I'm taking you to the festival," Nora laughed. "Why, what do you think I'm doing?"

"I think you're making a mistake."

"Hm, that's weird." Nora shrugged. "Oh well, I guess we'll see when we get there."

Between them, and with no concern for her, or the bell that kept chiming around her neck, Yang and Nora carried her out of the library and away. Ren stayed behind a second to politely clear her book away before he followed.

"The Vytal Festival only comes around every two years, Blakey," Nora said. "You can't spend it hiding in the library reading."

"I bet I could," she whined, feeling increasingly like a naughty child – especially when they bundled her onto a Bullhead making the rounds to Amity and back. "I think that if I tried my hardest I really, really, could."

"When I was made your partner, I promised to help you come out of your shell." Nora sniffed, as if remembering a distant and fond memory. "Today, I honour this solemn promise."

"Who did you even promise? I never asked for this!"

"Eh, I promised Mr Ursa."

"Didn't you ride him to death?" Ren asked.

"Yes, but his death working to draw a shy maiden out of her shell would have been what he wanted."

Blake sighed but didn't bother to fight as her partner dragged her off the Bullhead as it landed and through the brightly coloured tents and stalls by her wrist, Ren and Yang behind, both enjoying her suffering. Had someone told her a few months back she'd be letting some excitable girl drag her around, she'd have called them foolish. She wasn't afraid to let someone know when she didn't appreciate their presence. It was just that Nora wasn't afraid to completely ignore that.

"Shouldn't we be training instead?" she asked, trying for one last-ditch effort. Even sparring would be better than fighting through crowds of squealing children and impatient adults.

"We've spent the last few days training," Ren pointed out. "I think we've earned a little time off."

That traitor! Just because by having her along he spared himself Nora's attention. Blake hissed at him for that, but Ren wasn't moved. She looked to Yang instead, desperate for some – any – assistance.

"You do need to socialise a little more."

Betrayal.

"Come on, Blake, it's not like you had other stuff to do. We should be spending today together as a team. Think of it as a chance to scope out the competition."

"By playing asinine stall games?"

"S-Sure." Yang, to her credit, recovered quickly. "It's a way to test their accuracy."

"Are we even allowed to take part? It seems unfair to let huntresses and huntsmen compete against untrained children for teddies. What hope do they have?"

"None at all," Nora cheered, not quite as distressed by the thought as she ought to be. "That's why it's going to be a competition between us."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Define us."

"You and me."

"I have no interest."

"Chicken?"

Blake rolled her eyes. She wasn't six. "Yes, sure. I'm a chicken. Can I go and cluck-cluck my way back to the library now?"

"Nope!"

"I didn't think I would…" For all her complaints she didn't try very hard to escape. There really wasn't that much she had to do, and her books could wait. It wasn't like she was averse to fun, but rather it was the large crowds that annoyed her. Too many people bustling around in too small a space, and it always felt like people's manners were the first thing to go, as they brushed past and nudged you out of the way, not even bothering to say sorry but instead pointing gormlessly at a firework display or some stand selling balloons.

Honestly, she couldn't wait for the competition to get started already. At least fighting she knew, and that was an arena in which she could test herself.

As long as we don't end up against Team WJRP straight away, she thought. They still didn't have much of a game plan in place to tackle Pyrrha. She really was the person to beat for everyone at the festival this year.

Speaking of Team WJRP…

"I'm surprised you're not out with Jaune today, Yang. Wouldn't this be a perfect place for a date?"

"I would have, but I couldn't find him this morning," Yang admitted. "His team said he woke up early and slipped off for some early-morning training."

"And he didn't come back?"

Yang shrugged. "He'd only been gone half an hour by the time I showed up. Maybe he has by now; I don't know. I wasn't about to wait when he might be hours."

"What a doting girlfriend."

"Shut up, you," Yang laughed, slapping toward Ren's head. "I like to think I'm independent, and that I don't mind if he is, too. Besides, it's not like we have to be around each other twenty-four seven."

"No thoughts that he might be off with some secret admirer?" Blake teased.

"Nah, I trust him. Just because he goes off into the woods doesn't mean he's meeting some secret paramour or something."

/-/

"Concentrate!"

"I am concentrating."

"Then try concentrating better," Cinder said, a scowl on her face. She stood against a tree with her arms crossed and one foot on the trunk. Rather than the red dress he was used to, or the Beacon school uniform, she wore an odd mixture of brown and tan with numerous bandages across her stomach. She caught him staring. "What's the matter now?"

"Are you injured?"

"What?"

"Those bandages," he said. "Did something happen?"

"It's a disguise, you moron."

"But why would you need a disguise? No one knows what you look like in your other outfits. If people haven't recognised your face, then they're not going to recognise you in your usual gear."

Cinder's mouth opened and closed, trying to find the answer. It looked like she hadn't considered it, but that she didn't appreciate him point it out either. "Shut up and concentrate! I'm out here wasting my time when I could be enjoying myself at the festival."

"I didn't think you liked events like those…"

"I don't."

"Then why are-"

"Less talking, more concentrating! If you want to learn to control this Grimm side of you then you need to put some effort into it. Try to feel whatever it was you felt when you last lost control."

"I don't actually remember it all that well."

"For the love of…" Cinder sighed dramatically. "Okay, fine. I can work with this. I can handle this. No reason to get annoyed. I am calm."

Jaune blinked. "Are you talking to yourse-"

"No talking!" she snapped. He felt like pointing out she wasn't sounding as calm as she'd said, but he had a feeling that would be a bad idea. "Your Grimm side seems to appear when you experience a rush of negative emotion, similar to how Grimm are drawn to the same. It may be that it's simply your baser instincts coming out when roused."

"So, I need to avoid negativity?"

"That would be impossible. Humans are bundles of it and with the Vytal Festival coming up it's only going to get worse for you. It would be better if you could learn to control it before the tournament itself begins."

"But that's tomorrow…"

"Hence my pushing you to focus now. You obviously can't stop your Grimm side appearing, so learning to control it is the only option. The first step to doing that will be to bring it out. Get angry at me."

It was just like her to demand something like that, and just like her to scowl when he gritted his teeth and did little else. He tried tensing his muscles a few times, and even glaring at her, but her own stare beat him back and he sighed.

"I can't. I can't just get angry like that."

"Try imagining something horrible; some terrible memory."

"Like when Mom caught me reading after bed time?"

The woman palmed her face. "You're so spoiled." She sighed. "I guess you don't have any real trauma to draw back on. You should count yourself lucky. Alright, fine. Let's try something different." Cinder spread her legs and fell into a combat stance, body turned half toward him, one foot forward and a fist outstretched. "I'm going to attack you. Try to defend."

Uh-oh, that didn't sound-

A fist crashed into his cheek.

"Ow!"

"Defend!" Cinder snapped. She twisted and followed up with a roundhouse kick. It would have hit a few months ago, but Weiss' training hadn't just been him running away. He ducked under, reached for his sword, then panicked and thought better of it.

Her heel slammed down on his shoulder and knocked him to the grass.

"Why didn't you draw your weapon?"

"We're far away from help," he explained, pushing his face up out of the mud. "I don't want to accidentally hurt you."

"I think you're missing the point here." Cinder kicked one of his legs out from under him. He managed to cross his arms over his chest as he fell, blocking her straight thrust, but he still hit the ground hard. He was forced to roll away as she stomped for his head.

"What point? Aren't we just sparring?"

Cinder growled and lunged in again. She launched a flurry of blows that he caught on his forearms. He tentatively sent one back, probing her defences, but Cinder was a master in combat where he was an amateur. She caught his arm, twisted it over her shoulder and flipped him onto his back. She then placed her knees against it, threatening to break the bone.

"I give," he yelped, slapping the ground with his other hand.

She paused, and then increased the pressure, making him gasp. "Who said I'd accept your surrender? Break free."

"I-I can't."

"Then you'll lose your arm."

The tone of her voice shocked him. He struggled again, but her grip was unrelenting, and his shoulder cried out in pain when he tried to turn over. As a last resort he reached deep inside of himself.

The change came on quickly. His skin, hair, and eyes changed in a matter of seconds – a tentacle lunging out of his back and driving her away, breaking hold of him. He staggered to his feet, arm limp beside him as his other prodded and massaged the muscle there.

"Good," Cinder called, squaring herself. "Now, see if you can't control it."

Jaune paused. "Control what?"

"You're…" She sighed and lowered her guard. "You changed on purpose? You idiot, you were supposed to become angry and lose control, lashing out in an attempt to harm the one hurting you. You can stop fighting now and change back before someone sees you." She waited for him to do so, eyes narrowed. "This isn't working. You don't seem capable of generating the necessary anger and rage."

"I can't do it against you," he said, releasing a long breath.

"Hm. I suppose that's understandable. I did help raise you, not to mention the lengths of time we've spent together. Perhaps it's more instinctive and your mind and heart hold you back." She shrugged her shoulders but didn't seem quite so upset about it as she had before. "Good to see you still hold me in the correct regard. That does make our training here all but useless, however."

Damn it. She was right. It wasn't that he didn't try his hardest or that he was trying to be obstinate, but he just couldn't raise the necessary anger. The last few times had been freak occurrences; one of Ironwood's men against the White Fang – two sides willed with hatred, and the other being when Lavender was threatened. That was his little sister though, weak little Lavender, and friends or not he wasn't about to sit back and let Team RYBN kill her.

"I'm sorry. I just can't get angry enough at you – at least not enough to lose control." That would be some serious rage, as opposed to minor annoyance, so even her kicking his ass in a spar wasn't going to make much of a difference.

"Then there's little that can be done but to chance it. The Vytal Festival will not be stopped. It's too important."

Something about that caught his attention. "Too important to you?"

"To the people of Vale," she countered. "I could care less."

"Then why are you here at all?"

"I came here to look after you, or did you forget that?"

No, he hadn't. But he'd also not forgotten that her initial plan had been for her to be a team from Haven, who would have also come here for the Vytal Festival. The only thing his running away had changed was what school she fought for. There'd not yet been the promised information from his uncles, but he didn't need it to know something more was being planned for this.

"You said you wouldn't harm my friends."

Cinder sighed. "And have I? Why are you bringing this up now of all times?"

"I just wanted to make sure you remembered it. You did promise me."

"I am well aware of that fact." She crossed her arms. "And I believe you are being foolish. Still," she added, when he made to complain, "I will honour it. I will nor personally harm any of your friends, nor – if I can help it – will my goals harm them. That is intentionally, of course. I cannot guarantee every aspect, especially if your friends throw themselves in front of me, but I will try my best. You have my word."

Most people who thought they knew Cinder Fall wouldn't have counted that for much, but it was different for him. She would lie, and she would break her agreements if it suited her, but that was only against people she knew she could get away with it on. She was cautious to the extreme. The fallout of her breaking an agreement like this with him would haunt her forever, especially once Salem found out. Cinder would keep her word. He knew it.

"Thanks, Cinder. And thank you for trying to help me here as well. It really does mean a lot to me."

"What are you blithering on about now?" She glowered at him, but her eyes widened when she saw him approach. "What are you-? No, back. Don't even think about it."

He did. He approached with arms wide open, face and body smeared in mud, and enfolded his Big Sis into a huge hug. As ever, it was like hugging a Boarbatusk – kicking, spiky bits and growling all included.

"Thanks, Cinder!" he yelled, fighting past her raging fists and vitriolic curses. "You're the best Big Sis and I love you." She froze. "Just… don't do anything too bad, okay? I don't want to end up fighting against you if I can help it."

"Is that what has you so worried?" she asked, relaxing in his arms. She sighed. "You're such a dramatic fool. What will happen will happen, but it won't change anything. You're still the Prince of the Grimm and I'm still Cinder Fall. Whether we fight with or against one another, what we are cannot be avoided. It is our destiny."

"You and destiny," he laughed. "I'll never understand it." He smirked a second later. "By the way, I noticed you stopped trying to break free. Could it be you like being hugged by me?"

Cinder's eyes narrowed. A knee buried itself in his groin. Jaune slumped, knees locked together, hands buried between them. His face pressed against the mud as Cinder tossed her head and stalked away.

"Smooth," Remy commented. "Real smooth."

So, a note here. Wow, I bet some people will be surprised to see that Blake segment coming back after what, thirty chapters. Talk about a plot thread that was slow to ever get mentioned again. Well, that was kind of the things that fell by the wayside during that long dance arc, and some of you might even have forgotten it all entirely.

Anyway, I was doing a lesson with one of my students recently and he asked about it, and basically urged me to just continue it as I'd originally planned it. You see, I had plans but when the dance arc dragged on and on, I was forced to throw them away, and once I'd fixed it I felt the Blake and Hentacle scene was just so long ago that I was going to ignore it. Just call it a casualty of the dance arc, or something.

But maybe my student had a point. Sure, it's been ages – and sure, that means it's going to suffer a little from that – but I've already acknowledged my mistake on the dance arc, so even if it won't be as good as it could have been, that's no reason to let the plan die entirely.

So, yeah, I know it's been ages since that ever got mentioned – but I'm just digging it up and using it regardless. At least from their point of view, it would have only been two to three weeks.

P.s. Oh, and yeah, Ruby has actually has figured out the truth. Or at least some of it. I tried to show through her thoughts, but for those who didn't get it, the reason she is conflicted and isn't telling anyone is because she's aware what that would mean. Jaune would be hunted and might be killed. I'm sure some will be "Well why doesn't she tell Ozpin!" and there's the reason. She still has feelings, friendship and more, for Jaune, and doesn't want to lose someone she considers her best friend, let alone be responsible for killing him.

Next Chapter: 8th March

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