Rawr, everyone. I'm going to type this author's note quickly, since my laptop has decided to enter its final death throes today. I ordered a new battery, which will hopefully prolong its life until I can afford a new laptop. My stories are all backed up on a flashdrive, thankfully. Never fear!

Enjoy!

After the dragon switch day, Ruby sent Ozpin an email telling him about Storm's reaction to Cardin, the fact that Cardin had gone for her fin, Mudslide's behavior, and Cardin's threats in the cafeteria. The following morning, she received an email asking her to come for another lesson with Penny on Monday. She agreed right away.

Weiss was sitting up in her bed, looking at her Scroll with a frown.

"What is it, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"I get automatic updates from the Atlas news stations," Weiss replied. "Apparently, a brood dragon transport was attacked. Three brood dragon hatchlings were stolen."

"Any idea who did it?" Yang asked.

Blake leaned over Weiss's shoulder, reading the article. "The White Fang," she growled. "Typical. Stealing eggs isn't good enough anymore." She put on her bow with a sigh. "I guess it makes sense. If they can find a place for the brood dragons, they can have their own supply of eggs after a year."

"Yes. More eggs to mutilate, if they're all like the people you were with," Weiss grumbled.

"More and more of them are," Blake said, glancing shamefully to the side. "I wish I had figured it out sooner."

Ruby dressed quickly. "I'm gonna get Storm. I know she misses me. You guys coming?"

"Yeah!" Yang said. "Fang'll probably be pretty ticked at me. I'd better bring him some extra treats."

"You go ahead," Weiss said. "I'd like to speak to Blake for a second."

The sisters glanced at each other, then at Blake, who nodded. Shrugging, they left the dorm room.

Once they were gone, Blake's ears flattened apprehensively. "What is it?"

Weiss turned off her Scroll and gave Blake a measured look. "You know that I've tried to be understanding ever since you told us your secret, right?"

"Yes," Blake replied. "And I really appreciate it."

Weiss nodded. "I know you're trustworthy, so… I just need to ask you something. Answer honestly: Did you know about Snowflake?" As she said the name, she couldn't help but hear her mother's screams from that day ringing in her head.

"No," Blake said firmly. "I looked up when it happened, and it was before the botched injections even started. If I had known, I would have left the White Fang right then. Adam knew how I felt about hurting dragons, so he tried to hide it from me whenever something involving dragons happened." She shook her head slowly. "Honestly, I wonder what his long-term plan was for keeping me around…"

Weiss felt her shoulders relax. "That's all I needed to hear." She hesitated before asking: "What exactly was Adam to you?"

Blake let out a long sigh. "He was my mentor, my partner, and a lot more than that. He was kind once, or at least he was good at acting. Then, he wasn't." Her gaze hardened and she shook her head dismissively. "I don't want to think about him."

"I understand," Weiss said. And she did understand, more than Blake probably realized.

Blake looked at Weiss. There was something in her tone that made Blake want to ask more about her life, but she held herself back. If I don't like thinking about that part of my life, she probably doesn't want to think about hers. Instead, she asked if Weiss was ready to get their dragons.

Weiss smiled, standing up. "Of course. I hope Specter doesn't make too much of a scene."

"He will," Blake said, opening the door and leading the way down the hall. "He's as much of a diva as his partner."

"I am not a diva!"

"Uh, yeah you are."

"Am not!" Weiss folded her arms and sniffed loudly.

Blake raised an eyebrow and let out an exaggerated sniff while folding her own arms, which caused Weiss to scowl.

"Oh, shut up!" the heiress snapped, prompting a laugh from her teammate. The sound caused her cheeks to flush for some reason.

It turned out that Teams SSSN and JNPR had the same idea as Team RWBY, as they were all taking their dragons out of their stalls when Weiss and Blake arrived. Sun was on the ground under Huo's paws, trying to talk down his snarling partner.

"Ow… Hey, Blake! Hey Weiss!"

"Having trouble, Sun?" Blake asked, noticing with some relief that Huo wasn't putting his full weight on the Faunus.

"Hrk! Nope! I'm good!" Sun groaned while shoving at his dragon's chest. "Move, would you?"

Huo snorted as he backed away. Hopefully, Sun had learned his lesson and wouldn't go leaving him with someone else again.

Nymph padded over with Neptune, lightly nudging her brother's shoulder. Did he remember what they were supposed to do?

Huo groaned, rolling his eyes. This was a stupid idea. Why should he get involved in his partner's mating life?

Nymph huffed, tossing her head. This was to make their partners happier.

Their partners were idiots who deserved to wait until their slow brains figured out what they were supposed to figure out, or so Huo thought. Besides, why were they trying to set Sun up with a wimp like Neptune? The Faunus girl was a better match for him, and Sun already had feelings for her.

Nymph shook her head disparagingly. Blake didn't feel that way about Sun.

Well, Sun didn't feel that way about Neptune!

Not at all? Nymph clicked her tongue skeptically.

Huo paused, considering the idea. It was true that Sun was more physically affectionate with Neptune than he was with other males. Did he perhaps have feelings buried deep down? Why did Huo care? None of this had to do with fighting.

Sun, meanwhile, was watching the two with an amused grin. "You gotta wonder what they talk about."

Neptune smiled fondly. "I'd guess that Huo is cussing Nymph out and she's trying to lecture him."

"That sounds about right." Sun started to unzip his coat when a sharp look from his best friend stopped him. "Ugh. Whatever, Dad," he grumbled, zipping up again.

The three teams took their dragons to the fields near the stables, since the courtyard was too small for twelve horse-sized dragons to be playing at the same time. Some of the adult dragons were already walking around the grounds on their own. Weiss recognized Meringue as the wind dragon swooped overhead, warbling a greeting.

"So, they're just allowed to roam free when they're moved to the stables?" Ren asked, looking around at the several Rider-less dragons.

"Well, dragons are incredibly loyal," Pyrrha noted. "There have never been cases of a dragon abandoning its partner. Even if one left for a little while, they'd return very quickly. A lot of the older Riders have special whistles used for calling specific dragons."

"Velvet had one for Meringue," Weiss remembered. "It sounds very useful."

Pit watched with a satisfied swish of his tail as Huo and Nymph ran to one side to play, prompting their partners to follow. After his talk with Freya, he had spread the word to all of the dragons. Their partners were doing so much for them, so it made sense to try helping them out with settling down with good mates. And what mates could be better than the friends right here?

Decisively, he padded over to Specter and lightly nudged his shoulder before continuing on.

Storm tilted her head in confusion. Who was she supposed to pair off with? Ruby didn't really seem to have romantic feelings for anyone. In the end, she stayed with Fang, who was being very vocal about how stupid this whole idea was.

Zircon scratched his ear while sticking close to Sage. He wasn't quite sure why they were pairing off, but he elected to stay with Scarlet and Nimbus, since that was what he was used to. He was just glad that everyone was with their partners. He really didn't want to go through yesterday again.

Nimbus chirped, nuzzling Scarlet's hand. What were the others talking about with pairing off their partners with people they liked? Didn't everyone already like everyone?

No dragons paired off quicker than the JNPR dragons. Titan and Twiggy tore off in one direction while Freya jogged with Ao Guang toward a nice, sunny area.

Jaune laughed as his dragon ran ahead. "Hey, Twiggy! Wait up!" He broke into a run after the dragons, Pyrrha close behind him.

Twiggy immediately forgot about any plans when she realized her partner was chasing after her. Roaring joyfully, she turned suddenly so that Jaune ran right into her chest. She reared up, then fell on her side, warbling and batting gently at her partner with her paws.

"Whoa!" Jaune fell into the grass and was immediately pinned by Twiggy's paw. "Ha! Looks like I'm the runt now!" He pushed her away, then jumped onto her side, rubbing her shoulder while she snapped harmlessly at his arm.

Pyrrha stopped chasing Titan to watch, her gaze softening at the adorable scene. It was incredible just how much Jaune and Twiggy loved each other. Before she could appreciate it for too long, however, she suddenly felt something shove her from behind. She hit the ground with an "Oof!" and looked up to see Titan standing over her, his face the picture of innocence.

"Titan!" she gasped with an incredulous laugh. Her shock quickly faded as she stood up. "You won't get away with that!"

Titan crouched down playfully, waiting for Pyrrha to get close before suddenly whipping around, knocking her legs out from under her with his tail and pinning her carefully with one paw. Twiggy was right. This was fun!

Pyrrha giggled helplessly as her dragon's claws tickled her front. "What's gotten into you?"

Jaune rolled over in the grass, grinning as he watched the two. "Looks like he finally loosened up!"

Twiggy, suddenly remembering the plan again, promptly nudged Jaune as hard as she could with her nose as he tried to stand.

Jaune yelped at the sudden shove, barely bracing his hands in time to keep from falling across Pyrrha. His cheeks flushed as he quickly righted himself and scooted away.

Pyrrha sat up with a chuckle. "I think they're getting back at us for leaving them yesterday."

"I think so too." Jaune shook his head at Twiggy. "It wasn't our choice, girl! I promise!"

Meanwhile, Freya had curled up in a spot with less frost on the ground with Ren, while Nora was playing tag with Ao Guang. Ren chuckled as his dragon nudged Nora before promptly bolting away again. "How did we end up with such goofy partners?" he murmured.

Freya yawned, watching her brother and partner through half-lidded eyes. She looked over at Ren, noting the gentle smile on his face. As far as she was concerned, she and Guang had the easiest pair. They already clearly loved each other a lot. They just needed to realize it. If they kept being oblivious, Freya supposed she could just lie down on both of them or something.

Nora squealed as Guang, who was now it, caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. She scratched at his scales, her cheeks flushed with mirth. "You silly boy!"

Ao Guang barked, his tail thumping gleefully against the ground. He was so glad that things were back to normal! Sky hadn't been too horrible, but no one was better than Ren, Nora, and the others.

Nora ran over to Ren and Freya. "Ren, aren't you getting cold lying there? You should move around!" She put her hands on her hips as Freya yawned again. "And as for you, you'll turn into a snow sculpture if you keep that up!"

Storm and Fang were walking around with Ruby and Yang, Fang occasionally heating up his scales when it got too chilly. This prompted Storm to stay close to him while Ruby was stuck to Yang.

"I'm just a human heater, huh?" Yang said, grinning at her sister. "You know, we could take them to the indoor gyms."

"Too many people." Ruby stuck out her tongue. "I'm done dealing with non-friend people for now."

"Still thinking about Cardin?"

Ruby nodded, letting out a sigh. "Yeah. He probably isn't playing with Mudslide right now. I'd let her out myself, but I don't think we're allowed to take other people's dragons normally."

"Probably not," Yang agreed. "Well, Mudslide'll get plenty of exercise next semester when everyone is moved to the stables."

"She still won't be getting any love from Cardin," Ruby lamented. "She really is a good dragon, Yang. It's not fair. And don't you dare say that life isn't fair!"

Yang rolled her eyes. "Please. That's one of the most irritating things to say, right next to 'Because I said so' and 'I told you so.'"

"That's true." Ruby reached over and scratched Storm behind her fin. "Feeling better today, girl?"

Storm bobbed her head, huddling closer to Fang simultaneously.

Fang let out a nervous huff before hesitantly extending his wing to cover the wind dragon.

Sun was sitting in the grass, leaning against a warm-scaled Huo. His jacket was unzipped and he was pointedly ignoring the looks Neptune kept giving him.

Finally, Neptune couldn't keep from speaking up. "If you catch a cold, you'll get no sympathy from me." Who am I kidding? I'd take care of him all the way through, just like I do every time he gets sick.

"I won't catch a cold," Sun insisted. "See? I got my own personal heater."

Huo snorted, promptly shoving Sun away with his wing.

Sun yelped as he fell on his stomach, which was immediately chilled by the frost-coated grass. He scrambled to his feet, frantically brushing his front off.

Neptune couldn't keep from giving his best friend a smug look. "You were saying?"

"Oh, shut up!" Sun zipped up his jacket begrudgingly. "If there was snow on the ground, I'd teach you a lesson!"

"Challenge accepted!" Neptune said with a grin. "Dragons and Riders snowball free-for-all, first real snowfall."

"I like the way you think," Sun said, electing to sit next to Neptune and lean against Nymph. When Huo glared at him, he shrugged. "Hey, you shoved me off. At least your sister has manners."

Nymph smirked at Huo, who lashed his tail and turned away.

Sage quickly accepted the fact that Zircon was going to curl up around him and not let him move. So, he leaned against his dragon's side and soothingly stroked his neck. "Easy, now," he murmured. "I'm not going anywhere. You're fine."

Zircon whined, rubbing his head against Sage's shoulder, deeply inhaling his partner's scent.

Scarlet ran around with Nimbus for a little while before returning to Zircon and Sage. He leaned against his panting dragon and let out a sigh. "This is a nice day. It's good to relax after the clusterfuck yesterday."

Sage nodded in agreement. "I'm glad things are back to normal, though yesterday was certainly enlightening."

"That's a word for it," Scarlet admitted. "I think…I'll ask Dove to sit with us the next time we see him at lunch."

Sage smiled. "I think that's a fine idea."

Blake, Weiss, and Pit were watching Specter as he bounded around, rolling in the frosty grass and rubbing his face against it, letting out a series of high-pitched squeaks. Weiss giggled quietly. "I never knew ice dragons could act like this."

"Your dad's dragon never plays in the snow?" Blake asked.

"No," Weiss muttered. "Father doesn't exactly let him out to play. Or pet him. Or…really show him any affection." She shook her head. "Now that I'm here, I know just how badly Glacier probably needs those things."

"If your dad wasn't going to take care of a dragon, why have one?"

"It's a sign of prestige," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "A sign that you're a Schnee. I mean, my little brother Whitley isn't going to be a Rider, but he's still going to get an ice dragon." She sniffed. "A pygmy would be better suited for him, I think."

Blake gave her a sympathetic look. "Is your sister the only one you get along with? I heard some of the recorded lessons she's sent you."

Weiss nodded. "Winter and I get along well. We've both matured enough to understand our situation, and we have the skills necessary to forge our own paths. I do hope that Whitley finds his way, but it's likely that he'll end up as a younger version of my father."

"I guess it's a good thing you're the heiress, then," Blake noted.

Weiss chuckled dryly. "It certainly is."

The morning was spent in such a way until it was time for lunch, when the dragons were escorted back to their stalls.

Pit glanced around, noticing with some disappointment that his plan hadn't worked.

Specter tossed his head. Humans and Faunus were complicated. They probably took much longer to figure things out. This would likely take a long time.

Pit sighed, realizing that the ice dragon was right. Looking back, he honestly didn't know much about mating. He was only a dragonet, after all. Also, he had the distinct impression that mating for him and the other dragons wouldn't be the same as it would be for their partners. He wasn't sure how he knew this. It was just some deep, instinctual feeling.

They'd just have to be patient and diligent with their partners, and figure things out as time went on. In the meantime, he hoped that Blake would give him some red meat with lunch. He had been craving red meat a lot lately.

Gotta love them matchmaking dragonets, huh?

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!