So a thousand apologies for disappearing for, like, ever. I appreciate anyone who has hung around this long. Welcome to my new readers. Gonna be honest, updates are really sporadic. Enjoy though!

False Sense of Security

The next morning he indeed woke her up and they left, bid farewell by a pajama-clad Violet. They hopped on a private Dust plane this time, with barely enough room for the two of them and the pilot. They drove for what seemed like forever before he started descending. The forest still stretched out in the dark morning. They landed and Weiss immediately scanned their surroundings.

"Where are we?"

"About five miles from a hide out of White Fang members."

"The White Fang" she asked cautiously. "Do you think that's wise?"

"Why would it not be?"

"I don't have to have my crest for them to know who I am."

"I know. Now come on, we have some walking to do."

She fell behind him with some hesitation. "Are you sure about this?"

"Do you want to run this mission?" he slid his gaze behind his back to meet her stubborn glare. "I didn't think so." He chuckled.

She scowled but continued following him. Qrow kept insisting that it was just a little further but she didn't see any signs of inhabitants. Just after he said they were getting close, she felt a heaviness in the air. Her hand tightened around Myrtenaster on instinct as her eyes darted around. Qrow seemed as calm as could be but she did notice he placed himself between her and the campsite.

"Stay close."

She nodded even though he couldn't see her and stayed under a length behind him, but still out of sword range. They stepped out of the tree line and saw a ravaged campsite. Beowolves and a few Ursa were sniffing at the campfires. They noticed the two Hunters and growled low in their throats, forming a wall of fur facing the threats. Qrow didn't even remove his sword.

"Time to show me what you have."

She gave him a look but squared off with the largest Ursi. She spun Myrtensasters chamber and charged. She froze the Ursi's paws to the ground and then charged back for another attack to take its head off. She breezed through the Beowolves, slicing a few of them with every flick of the wrist. The other Ursi was quickly taken down with a few quick strokes and glyphs. She sheathed Myrtenaster and stepped forward, immediately hearing a crunching sound. Looking down, she saw she had stepped on a dead White Fang member's hand. She jumped back and a scream started in her throat, but Qrow materialized behind her and clamped a hand over her mouth. Faunus were strewn everywhere in various positions or states of wholeness. Every single one was dead.

"Remember, we need to be stealthy. I guess the Grimm surprised them." he slowly let go of her when he was sure she'd be quiet.

"How? There are a dozen of them here." Weiss couldn't tear her eyes away from the scene. Tears pricked her eyes as she looked a female cat Faunus, thinking of Blake.

"Weiss." He gripped her shoulders and turned her away from the ghastly scene. "You need to stay with me."

She nodded but the tears started coming faster.

"That isn't Blake. You need to take a deep breath and use your head, okay?"

She took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. Qrow walked around the campsite, inspecting some of the bodies and the trampled tents.

"They were only here for a little while, they don't have enough stores to last more than a few days. Not many weapons, which means they probably weren't out here for a mission."

"So we ran across a random campsite?"

"I think maybe more likely a scout. Or some form of guard on their border. There are footsteps that head South."

"So let's go."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Princess; take a look at this." He handed Weiss a few long tubes the length of her arm.

"Flares?"

"And what do flares mean?"

"Someone is within range to see them." She looked around at the horizon. A low mountain rose to the sky, and next to it a shiny lake. "Do you think they're on the mountain?"

"Maybe. We should move on, but carefully. I'll watch your back."

Weiss headed toward the mountain, trying to keep her footsteps light and to move as silently as possible. They heard things moving in the woods and she was hoping it was only Grimm. While she didn't want to give it away to Qrow, the White Fang still scared her. After everything they had done to her when she was a kid, she was worried they would still have it out for her. And her failure against the Lieutenant on the train hadn't helped things. But she pressed on, Myrtenaster standing at the ready in her left hand.

As they neared the foot of the mountain, the sky began to grow dark. Qrow motioned her up a tall oak. Casting a glyph, she landed lightly on one of the high branches and settled on the rough bark. Qrow landed on the branch next to her a looked around.

"We should be safe here, but I'll keep watch for now. You get some rest."

"I can take first watch. You're probably still hung over."

"Can't be hungover unless I stop." He chuckled and pulled out his trusty flask. "Get some shut eye, I'll wake you up if anything interesting happens."

She scowled but grudgingly settled against the trunk of the tree. It wasn't very comfortable but it would have to do. She'd only been napping for a few minutes before Qrow lightly shook her shoulder, holding his finger to his lips. She nodded and then he pointed down at the forest floor. It was hard to make them out, but she finally noticed the outline of four people walking down below. The leaves of the trees blocked almost all the weak light from the moons from reaching the floor, and she wished she could have Faunus night vision so she could see clearly.

"Check the north edge, then meet back here in five minutes." A man with elk antlers ordered two of the others. The group split into two and headed opposite directions.

Once they were out of even Faunus hearing range Qrow softly mumbled to her that they should move. She nodded and followed him across the tree branches until they had rounded the mountain a little.

"They must be nocturnal, or at least more active at night. We should wait for the morning to see what we can find. Probably best since they are much more adept right now than us."

She nodded, searching the forest floor for more guards. She stayed awake with Qrow, too worried to sleep. As the sun rose she noticed three or four members head toward a cave on the west side of the mountain. Qrow noticed as well and was already scanning the branches on the nearby trees to give them a path to get there. Once the sun was fully in the sky and it had been an hour since they'd seen a White Fang member, they headed over.

"You should stay out here."

"You're putting me on guard duty?"

"I don't know who or what is in there and I don't want you getting in the way if something goes wrong. Besides, I'm going to gather intel, I don't plan on fighting anyone." He ran toward the end of the branch and jumped off.

She huffed but stood guard, carefully scanning the trees and forest floor. He had been gone for almost ten minutes when she heard a loud crash and shouting voices. She nervously looked toward the cave entrance to try and tell if it was an emergency. Three White Fang members rushed out and one of them motioned to the others to call for backup. With a wave of her rapier they were all frozen in a solid block.

She bit her lip in contemplation before running in. The caves were tight, dark, and slightly damp from some perpetual presence of water she couldn't seem to locate. She memorized each turn as she took it so that she could get out. She rounded into a small cavern and she saw three White Fang members running toward her. She brandished her weapon and whizzed by them, setting them on fire. They screamed and ran out of the cave. She continued on the only path that was available until entered an even larger cavern that had White Fang swarming in it, all facing a single Huntsman on the far side from her.

Qrow was fighting with his sword, dodging bullets and parrying attacks. He seemed to be fighting for his life but Weiss knew he was so much more talented than what he was showing. She then tried to guess why he would want the White Fang to think he was going all out. She looked around and realized not one Faunus had noticed her. He was a diversion. He had banked on her not following his orders.

She closed her eyes and focused her Aura. Remembering all the Qrow had taught her, she only cast the first two glyphs; she would need the extra guidance on a long haul like this. She then touched her first glyph, and started the assault. She blazed through over two dozen Faunus before she had to stop. Her Aura was straining and she had to keep some in reserves in case of emergency.

The White Fang had of course started splitting their attention between Weiss and Qrow. In a last ditch effort, Weiss activated a Time Dilation Rune. She whizzed around different men and women, knocking them out as best she could. When she finished, every single Faunus lay on the ground.

"Good work." Qrow nodded and sheathed his shield. "The download is taking some time."

"Okay." Weiss panted, still keeping Myrtenaster in her hand. "I'll go scout the perimeter."

She walked around the cavern, listening down the tunnels for any noise. She thought she heard voices on one of the tunnels so she built a wall of ice to keep any intruders out. Finally, Qrow said they could leave and they exited out the tunnel that Weiss had come in. Once they reached the sunlight, they knew they were in the clear.

They kept moving north, keeping as clean a trial as possible because Qrow said they would send out scouts later to search for them. They kept going until night fell, and then just went at a slower pace. Weiss was exhausted but she didn't let one complaint pass her lips. If Qrow could still push on, drinking from his flask, then she could too. It wasn't until the horizon began to blush with the sun's warmth that he said they could stop. She almost collapsed right where she stood. Just as they settled down, it began to rain.

Weiss silently cursed and sheltered under a tree as best as she could. Qrow just chuckled slightly. "Not quite a penthouse suite, is it Princess"

"I've slept in the rain before." She snapped. Of course it was a total lie but she wouldn't tell him that.

It was a miserable few hours before Qrow roused her to leave. They trekked for hours before reaching a before they reached a huge clearing that had a dust plane waiting in it.

"Are you Qrow?" the pilot shouted over the rain and roaring engine.

He just nodded and gestured for Weiss to climb in. She got in behind him and they grabbed the hanging straps to keep secured. It was only a few minutes before they reached a decent-sized town. The pilot touched down just outside the walls and Qrow handed him some money. Weiss led the way through the city gates and onto the paved lanes. Villagers watched them as they walked down the streets toward a café. Qrow ordered their food and Weiss had to stop herself from inhaling it. She made sure to keep her manners about her and eat in a civilized fashion. She did order seconds, however, remembering she hadn't eaten in a while. After they ate Qrow got them two rooms at a small inn. After bidding Qrow goodnight, she walked in and took off her rustled and soaking clothes. She tossed them in the bag and set them outside her door to be washed while she slept. She made sure to take the time to take apart and clean Myrtenaster. After she set it down in the corner she flopped on the slightly hard bed and surrendered to exhaustion.

She woke up at her usual early hour and found the bag of freshly cleaned clothes just outside her door. She dressed again and walked out to get breakfast. Even taking her time, Qrow still had not come down. She read a book in the little office the inn had, and enjoyed some down time after the mission. After she had fiddled away about two hours of the morning, Qrow staggered down the stairs. He ran into a table before he slid into the seat across from Weiss.

"A little too much celebration last night?" she asked coldly, sipping tea.

"There is no such thing as too much fun." He groaned, covering his eyes from the pleasant sunlight streaming through the curtains. "We need to head out soon, after I go through what I found at the cave."

"I guess I'll wait for you."

"There is a tiny little dust shop just up the road if you want to go get some refills. I also think they sell some provisions. I can give you my pack and you can get us some things. We are going to be gone for quite a while this time."

She nodded and closed her book, replacing it on the shelf. After straightening her hair and making sure she was in order, she took the empty pack and his charge card.

She only had to get one replacement cartridge, so the rest of the money she spent was all on supplies. She got enough food to last a few weeks, and two lightweight blankets that were supposed to keep you warm no matter what the weather. She also got two canteens that purified water as it passed through the nozzle. Figuring that was enough, she paid for the stuff, shoved it in the bag, and walked back down the road. The inn was very quiet as she walked in, the usual warm greeting missing at the noon hour. She traipsed up the stairs to Qrow's room, banging on the door and yelling 'I hope you're decent!' before walking in.

A white Fang member but clad in all black was hovering over a sleeping out Qrow. He looked up as she walked in, his sword already raised for the killing strike. He had two short horns that stuck above his messy brunette hair and she saw a glowing red Omega symbol on his glove. The old symbol for the end.

But this wasn't the end.

With no time for weapons, she acted on instinct. A glyph lit up behind her and she was thrown into the man's side, knocking them both to the ground. He used the butt of his sword to hit her in the face. She screamed out but held on tight, trying to wrest free the weapon from his strong hands. He threw her off of him by grabbing her hair and throwing her against the wall. She gasped in pain as she was thrown through the window, glass tearing against her Aura as she held onto the windowsill. But the commotion seemed to have roused Qrow who had his sworn drawn in the blink of an eye. The White Fang member snarled at both of them before throwing down a smoke capsule and jumped through the window. He made sure to give a good stomp onto her hand, further testing her Aura against the jagged remains of the window. She felt the pain mount and she was forced to let go as he leapt over her to freedom. A hand snaked out and caught her, throwing her back into the room. But Qrow didn't even hang back to make sure she was okay. He leapt out of the window as well, giving pursuit.