Chapter 24

After having been refuelled the silence in the car proved to be awkward. For a reason Yang did not yet understand Blake refused to speak to Winter. And in turn Winter made no attempt to speak to the Faunus. She glanced to her right to see Neo, but rather than her trying to be near Yang she seemed to be resting her head against the window opposite her, her eyes looked tired. She understood why perhaps Neo was in a supposedly forlorn mood but Winter and Blake were a mystery to her.

The group had finally left the pine forest to find themselves driving towards a mountain road that snaked between the peaks of stone that were soon to come. "Hey, those are some pretty cool mountains" commented Yang in a small attempt to break some of the silence.

She received a first response from Winter who eyed her from the rear-view mirror. "We must be getting closer to the port, I do remember mountains" she answered before her eyes locked forward again.

In her attempt to keep the conversation going Yang replied, "How's the road ahead?" she asked.

"Surprisingly well maintained, we should not have an issue traversing through" responded Winter.

Yang nodded slowly as she thought to keep up her momentum. "Hey Blake, you been this north before?" she asked, turning her attention to the Faunus.

"No, never as north as the Forever Fall" replied Blake, her voice seemed saddened and she never gave Yang much a chance to continue the conversation.

As a result silence settled back in. With a quiet sigh Yang looked to her window. To the right of the car there was open fields that led to a distant part of the mountain chain. Ahead the road aimed straight for them and to the left was nothing but a sheer cliff far off beyond more green fields, no doubt the ocean lay just over that edge. An idea struck her mind as her attention turned to Winter. "Hey Winter, couldn't we have just got a boat from Vale?" she asked.

"Any transport in or out of Vale would have been watched. This was our best choice, trust me on that" answered Winter. And again the silence arrived.

Yang leaned her head against the window in boredom as she watched the mountains draw closer. She was hoping they could stop soon so she could ask Blake if she knew why everyone seemed so distant. For now though she would have to endure the awkward atmosphere. Her eyes briefly glanced over to Neo, she was still leaning against her side of the car, she hadn't even looked at Yang since they got back from their trip for the fuel.

The car came to a halt outside of the mountains. The sun was still up which prompted Yang to ask, "Why are we stopping? We can keep going a little longer right?"

Winter glanced left and right as if looking for a good spot to park the car. "There will not be anywhere to set up tents ahead, we are better off staying here for the rest of the day so we can get a morning start" she answered, spotting a nice location as she turned the car from the road and onto a flat area besides it.

"How much time have we even got until it gets dark?" asked Yang as Winter opened her door, Blake and Neo doing the same.

"Hour or two I would assume" replied the woman before stepping outside and closing the door shut behind her. Yang exited the vehicle to find the air was far more chilly than it was in the pine forest. She held her one arm across herself and shivered.

Blake paused in front of the blonde as she stood close, "You okay?" asked the Faunus in a quiet voice, her eyes briefly scanning over to Winter who was busy searching through the boot of the vehicle.

Yang smiled at Blake, "Yeah, just cold. What about you?" she asked in return, unlike Blake she did not limit the volume of her voice.

The golden eyes of Blake cautiously glanced around before looking directly into Yang's, "We'll talk about it later okay?" she answered quietly.

With a confused expression Yang gave a nod, "Sure thing Blakey" she answered before the two made their way to the boot. Winter turned to hand Neo a tent roll before removing a second from the boot and giving it over to Yang. "Thanks" commented Yang as she and Blake started looking for a good spot to put up their temporary shelter.

As they did so Yang took another look at Neo, she seemed to be struggling with putting up her tent, maybe she didn't even know how to. But she wasn't about to help her as she turned back to her own. "Why do you keep looking at her?" asked Blake, once more keeping her voice low.

Yang shook her head, "Nothing, just... she's acting a bit weird, like, not herself?" she responded.

"It looks like a good thing if you ask me" answered Blake. She glanced over to see Winter arrive besides Neo's side who, after watching her for a moment, sighed as she began helping her. "She can't even put up a tent without help" spoke Blake.

"Hey, neither can I" said Yang as she smirked at the Faunus.

Blake frowned, "That's not fair" she said to which Yang jokingly tapped her against the shoulder with her fist.

"Come on, let's just get it done" smiled Yang as she continued in her attempts to put the tent up. And surely after some time the task had been completed. The sun was lowering in the west but still provided plenty of light.

All three tents had been put up. Winter had made her way back to her car, having opened up the hood. She had removed her coat leaving her in only her tight shirt as she started to fiddle around with the engine of her vehicle. Neo sat outside her own tent with her eyes staring idly up at the mountains, her knees tucked to her chest. Blake and Yang sat outside their own tent besides one another. The Faunus rested her head upon Yang's shoulder as she spoke quietly, eyes staring over at Winter as she worked on the engine.

"When you were gone..." began Blake, whispering. She caught her girlfriend's attention as she looked down to her, her arm wrapped around her back. "I spoke with Winter. She... Disagrees with us" she answered.

"Disagrees with us? What do you mean?" asked Yang with a curious glance over at Winter.

"She doesn't think that a Human and a Faunus can be together. She hates it in fact" answered Blake, her head turning more towards Yang with her golden eyes peering up at her.

Yang's expression twisted in uncertainty, "You're sure...? That doesn't sound like her at all. She's nice" she answered.

"I wouldn't lie to you Yang" replied Blake softly.

The blonde frowned over at Winter as she heard the news. It really didn't sound like something she'd say to her, not from who she knew her to be. But Blake was right, she wouldn't lie to her, not with the relationship they shared now.

Winter wiped her brow as a black smudge painted itself upon her forehead. She stood straight and placed her hands on her hips as she looked over to the small makeshift camp. At first she noticed Blake and Yang practically cuddling against one another. Winter's expression showed that she didn't seem to care however as her eyes turned to see that Neo was staring right at the two with her usual blank stare, as if she was at a loss. To this Winter narrowed her eyes, looking back to Blake and Yang. "The smallest things..." she muttered to herself as she sighed. Her eyes returned to Neo as she called out her name. "Neo! Can you come give me a hand with this!?" she yelled. The small woman's eyes snapped over to Winter in surprise before she stood up to her feet and nodded, briskly making her way over to the front of the vehicle. Winter gestured to the engine, "I just need you to hold this for me" she answered. When Neo leaned down into the engine Winter looked over her and towards Blake with eyes narrowed. Upon noticing this the Faunus seemed to whisper something to Yang before the two retreated into their tent.

Neo stared up at Winter as she held onto a seemingly useless component of the engine, it didn't really need holding, it was just something to distract her. Winter nodded at the smaller woman with a smile as she moved back into the engine to continue her work.

Blake sat down in her tent with a drawn sigh, "See what I mean?" she asked as she looked up to Yang who sat opposite her.

"I still don't get it though, why would she have a problem?" asked Yang.

"I told you when I first heard you were getting help from her remember? She's like Weiss only... more upset about it?" replied Blake, unsure on how to exactly word it.

Once more Yang frowned, "I'll... talk to her at some point. She's my friend after all" she replied.

Blake's golden gaze lowered, "You don't think it's actually... strange, do you? That we're together?" she asked.

Yang stared intently at Blake for a second. She never gave much thought to the public view of a Human and Faunus relationship, they seemed close enough in similarities that it shouldn't be an issue. For example, the only thing that set Blake apart from a human was her ears and the fact she could see in the dark. Other than that it seemed just fine to Yang. With this in mind she shuffled towards Blake, grasping her hand into her own. "If it was strange I wouldn't be kissing you" she answered.

The Faunus glanced up at Yang uncertainly, "But you're not kissing-" she began before she was cut off. Her eyes widening in surprise as Yang planted her lips against her own. The kiss was soft and delicate, only lasting a few seconds before the blonde pulled away smirking.

"To me you're not a Faunus, or an ex-member of the White Fang. To me you're just Blake, and nothing is gonna change that. Got it?" replied Yang.

Blake gave a smile and nodded, "Yeah, got it" she answered with her spirits heightened. She could feel Yang's hand squeeze hers and she noticed her giving her a rather sultry gaze. It was enough to fluster Blake, rare it was that she saw that expression and it never ceased to make her heart skip a beat.

Yang pushed forward against Blake, causing her to fall down onto her back while she lay atop her. Blake's eyes glanced from side to side nervously as if unsure how to respond. "Besides... we can't bother her if she can't see us right?" asked Yang as her hand moved up to stroke at the deep red cheek of the Faunus.

Blake awkwardly chuckled as her hands moved to slide around the small of Yang's back, softly holding her against herself. Yang sure weighed more than she did and she could feel it pushing down on her. She didn't mind it though, the fact she was laying on top of her like this sent her other senses wild. "I guess..." spoke Blake in return as her eyes trailed to Yang's lips.

"What are you getting so flustered about Blakey?" grinned Yang. She knew the reason, she just wanted to tease her girlfriend. In response Blake softly chuckled, failing to word anything as Yang continued on. "Cat got your tongue?" she asked.

The Faunus rolled her eyes, "I'm going to get really tired of puns you know" she answered.

"Come on Blake, I'm paw-sitive I can purr-suade you to laugh at some of them" continued Yang with a dumb grin. She received only a dissatisfied stare from Blake. "Yeah okay, I'm pro-cat-stinating now" she finished before leaning her face down towards Blake, once again pressing her lips against hers. Blake ran her hands up Yang's back as they kissed. The feeling of her weight pushing down on her, the scent of her skin and the sensation of the soft press of her lips. She could never tire of this experience.

She felt Yang's hand entangle itself with her black locks of hair, gripping firmly. The Faunus placed one of her hands upon the back of the blonde's neck as she continued to delight in the kiss. She opened her eyes slightly to see that Yang had done the same. Lilac and gold locked together. Yang's eyes appeared with intent as she felt something push at the entrance of her lips. Blake's blush only grew stronger as she clued on to what she wanted and she would have been a fool to reject her. Slightly she parted her lips as she felt Yang's tongue slide between them. The heat rising within her body became more noticeable as she wrapped her arms tightly around her partner. This is exactly what she wanted.

Their breathing became heavier as the two were locked into a passionate kiss. Yang's grip upon Blake's hair tightened in excitement, tugging upon it slightly. It pained the Faunus only briefly but it wasn't anything she couldn't deal with. For the longest time she had expected Yang to be rough, until now it had failed to make an appearance. She gave out a soft moan as the kiss continued, she felt sensations she had never experienced before as one of her hands moved down Yang's back and daringly placed itself upon her rear with a firm grip. To this Yang chuckled into the kiss before the two had to part in order to breathe. They remained close as they both took an intake of air back into their lungs, panting. After a moment Yang spoke softly, "Wow, guess this makes me a huge lesbian now" she answered with her grin.

Blake sighed and slapped at her rear harshly, "You really know how to ruin a good moment, you know that?" she laughed.

Yang bit her lip at the treatment before returning a reply, "Hey, it's a real concern. Until you happened I didn't know what I was" she answered. As much as she tried to make it a concern she couldn't help but keep her joking tone.

"Can we do it again though?" asked Blake as she raised an eyebrow up at Yang.

"Pfft, like you need to ask" smirked Yang as she pressed back down against the Faunus.

"Try now" came Winter's voice as she glanced around the side of the uplifted hood. Neo was sat in the drivers seat as she nodded over at the black-stained Winter. Her shirt was covered in dark smudges from the engine, as well as some parts of her face. Neo switched the ignition and the car started up. Winter listened intently to the sound of the engine, after a short while she held a thumb up to Neo. "Okay, that should do it. Switch it off" she said.

Neo did as ordered and switched off the ignition and stepping out of the vehicle afterwards. She had done a lot less of the engine work and as a result only the tips of her fingers were covered in black. She tilted her head at Winter curiously.

Winter raised a brow back at her, "What is it?" she asked. Neo pointed her finger at her face which prompted the woman to look upon her reflection in the window of the car. Upon noticing the state of her face she smirked to herself, "Ah. Great. Should have expected that much, hopefully we will run into a stream or a lake at some point" she answered turning back to Neo. She casually placed her hands on her hips as she spoke to her, "Good job today Neo" she praised.

A simply happy smile drew itself across Neo's lips as she looked up to Winter, nodding at her praise in thanks. She looked around to see that Yang and Blake had returned to their tent. Her smile was shaken slightly but she didn't frown this time, something Winter took note of. The tall woman was sure she could mend what was left of the girl, it would only benefit them if she managed it after all.

"Been to Atlas before Neo?" she asked as she closed the hood and sat upon it.

Neo turned her mismatched eyes back to Winter and shook her head before giving her a curious gaze.

"Are you okay with the cold?" continued Winter with her questions. This time Neo paused, her smile once more wavered as she nodded. "I have also been meaning to ask... Why do you not write your words down?" she added.

Neo's face could only be described as briefly haunted as she looked to her feet. She shook her head to herself without making eye contact with Winter. She clearly had her reasons for not doing certain things she was capable of. Or at least it seemed to go deeper than simple stubborn nature or just spite.

Winter smiled apologetically towards her, "Okay, no more questions from me. Want something to drink?" she asked. Neo looked up to her, her expression mildly upset now as she nodded.

The sun was dipping under the cliff to the west as the valley started to fall into darkness.

Author's note:

Man, I really hate doing these AN's.

So I'm here to just put in a few words again, mostly some concerns of mine. Not for myself, but for the readers and where they feel comfortable setting the bar. I know this is my fic that I'm writing but I feel like I need to gauge what those who read it are looking for.

So first off, simple question. Last few chapters have been slowly introducing some darker elements, like racism and the whole cabin thing. I wanted to ask what you guys think about it? Does it make you uncomfortable? Does it take away from your experience? Or does the added layer of conflict add to it? The fic is rated as M but until now I've barely touched on anything that would lead to that rating. So, guys, thoughts? Less of, more of? I still know exactly where I'm taking the story but for these subplots on the side I think it'd be good to get some feedback.

Secondly I just wanted to thank a few people in particular, full on mushy appreciation mode. These people are some of the ones I've taken note of having commented on most chapters and stuck with the story so far.

So a huge thanks to KuchenJaeger (even though I've started going against your headcanon), Generic Name Guy (I've never been able to thank you yet, you're awesome), BurstEdge (Short and to the point), Pixcat (Shipping mayhem), Rebkos (Resident Anti-Neo guy), The_Failure (For not being much of a failure at all) and finally Matthew998 (Being mostly on point).

And an extra thanks once again to everyone else who takes the time to read even a sentence.

Hopefully you won't have to listen to me blabber on again for a while, thanks.

- 2101817