A woman that seemed to be carved from marble stared at him with burning eyes and a wicked smile that he couldn't imagine as being one of anything other than love.

Her eyes stood bright against the blackness of the world, two spots of violent red- Her gaze meant only for him. Her skin was a ghostly white which practically glowed when placed in contrast with Her surroundings. The words that came to mind for him when he looked at Her were simple- otherworldly, godly, heavenly.

And out of nothing more than Her pure kindness and love, She reached out for him with an outstretched hand, and placed it on the back of his hand as he did not deserve.

She whispered something in his ear and gently wrapped a hand around his, her thumb grazing over his skin.

It burned.

With a gasp, he woke.

Tyrian disliked that he was starting to get used to having consciousness thrust onto him so violently, always with a burn after he'd been fortunate to see Her. The man let out a pained howl, which was more than enough to make the others wake up, and shrank as far back away from the campfire as he could manage as he scrambled for safety.

All the while, he cradled his wounded wrist in his uninjured hand as though he thought it would be further harmed.

"Tyrian?"

Hazel's voice was the first thing to penetrate the haze of Tyrian's mind, and even then Tyrian was distantly aware of the sound of the man abandoning his bedroll. Tyrian couldn't bring himself to respond in any way beyond a whimper and further cowering.

On the other hand, Arthur was taking his time to get up, finding one of his bags and opening it roughly in annoyance. The good doctor said nothing.

Tyrian was breathing too hard. He knew that his heart was pounding too hard against his chest, and he couldn't find a way to ground himself for the life of him. The stinging burn of tears in his eyes only made it harder for Tyrian to collect himself.

As for the dear little Ember, she stood out of the way and watched in horror as Tyrian's arm was grabbed and tugged free from his own grip.

Arthur held Tyrian like a vice, and without much care turned his arm so that he could best see the damage.

Sure enough, burning there into the back of his hand was a fresh brand, looking like it had already managed to cauterize.

"Another one." Hazel mumbled, looking over at Arthur and sounding thoroughly annoyed. Neither of them even bothered to address Tyrian, and that was something that stung beyond belief. Possibly more than the fresh injury did, not that Tyrian could let them know of that.

"It's always another one." Arthur muttered as he removed a small pot of ointment from his bag. Tyrian didn't know much about the treatment beyond that it would hurt when it was applied, and that the scent always managed to burn his nose. "Following them hasn't gotten us anywhere."

"Doesn't matter." Hazel grumbled, reaching out and catching Tyrian's hand so that Arthur could work more freely. Tyrian struggled against the grip weakly, but stopped once it became apparent that there was no avoiding this. "Treat it."

Tyrian whimpered as the cream began to be applied to his fresh injury, and did his best to shrink away just a little bit more but found no such success. Arthur had no gentility in his touch- Tyrian couldn't help but suspect that this was a punishment in its own right.

"Well," Arthur said finally, letting out a too heavy sigh that Tyrian knew was supposed to tell him that it was safe to speak. "What did she say?"

Tyrian blinked. His heart was still beating too hard against his chest, and there was a fear that still refused to release him from its grip. He didn't know whether or not he was even capable of speaking in that moment. Instead of speaking, he merely trembled.

Arthur rolled his eyes and looked over at Hazel to mutter something that Tyrian wasn't quite able to make out.

He squeezed his eyes shut and wrapped his tail around himself in a slight attempt to comfort. The scales did little for his nerves, but the pressure helped to bring Tyrian back to Remnant where he at least existed.

This wasn't the first nightmare, no, vision of its sort that he'd experienced, and they never got easier. Always, Tyrian struggled and hoped that he'd be okay, but nothing ever worked.

He didn't know whether or not the Goddess he saw in his dreams was there trying to curse or bless him. But she was a Goddess nonetheless, and so Tyrian was sure she came to him in love.

Tyrian sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, one that was so harsh that it was enough to wrack through his entire body. Nobody commented on it, and so he was left to calm himself by himself.

Arthur and Hazel got up together, probably debating where they were supposed to go next.

Cinder didn't leave the site, and Tyrian didn't know whether or not he wanted to curse her or thank her for it.

She got up and took a seat next to him. "Tyrian, right?" She asked, bringing his name up. He nodded slowly, confirming, but didn't let himself look over to see Cinder, if only because he was afraid to find out what would happen if he did.

The woman hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "What... happened?" Arthur and Hazel's voices were growing more distant, and so Tyrian assumed that he and Cinder were alone, if only for a little while.

"Our Goddess." Tyrian whispered, turning his hand over and seeing the way that the fresh bandage stuck to his skin and Watts' ointment. He was lucky there was no blood peeking through this time. "She came to me in yet another vision but-" His mind flickered back to the dream, nightmare, and Tyrian curled in on himself just a little bit more. He had to choke back a sob of nervousness. "Oh, this always happens. You must understand, she does it in love-."

Cinder paused, looking down at her hands. Tyrian watched her out of the corner of his eye, through the hot tears that were already beading there.

Tyrian sniffled quietly, doing his best to keep back anything from showing up that Cinder could read into. He didn't know whether he liked the woman or not, let alone whether or not he could trust her. But she was the only one that was there trying to comfort him at a time like this, and so Tyrian had to do his best make himself relax.

It didn't come easily. The tension was too much. It made his eyes hurt, and Tyrian could feel an ache beginning to erupt in his throat as he bit back his sobs and tears. He continued to stare down at his own hands, looking for something there but finding himself unable to find any way to make things feel any better.

Cinder was quiet, and Tyrian found himself looking back over at her out of the corner of his eyes. She looked too calm, like all of the anger and frustration that Tyrian had seen out of her when he'd first met her was gone. Instead, she just sat there so calmly and watched him.

Tyrian whimpered and curled in on himself, rubbing against his right arm with his left hand. Ignoring the pain on on the back of his hand where his newest injury had bloomed was incredibly difficult, but it was necessary. It was how his Goddess communicated her instructions to him.

Cinder turned in her seat though, turning to face Tyrian a little bit more directly. "What did you see then?"

Tyrian blinked hard, trying to get the tears to go away from his eyes before he looked over at Cinder more directly. Their eyes met and Tyrian sat up slightly, holding his head up and trying to find the right words.

When he thought of what he'd seen, it was almost enough to make Tyrian's heart burst in his chest. No matter what pains he felt, he couldn't help but to feel the love that his goddess had for him.

What sort of Goddess wouldn't reach out to someone that loved Her?

"I saw-" Tyrian let out a high pitched noise that bordered along a whine and squeal of delight. "Oh, dear Ember, you could never understand."

The girl was staring at her, looking like she was just a little bit more than unnerved. Tyrian almost felt the need to squirm away and show that he wasn't feeling that upset by it, but he did nothing. All that he did was search for the best possible way that he could explain things to Cinder. She surely had never seen the Goddess, she would never be able to understand her love or Her beauty.

How could anyone understand it without having seen it firsthand? It was the thing that made Tyrian feel like he didn't mind being around Hazel and Arthur. They had both seen their Goddess, and they both knew Her strength.

But Cinder was smart, and she seemed to insist on continuing on with the topic.

"Why don't you help me to understand?"

Tyrian's eyes widened and he actually found himself clapping in front of him with outstretched hands for just a moment in something that bordered along delight in feeling.

But he needed to reply, and so Tyrian did with a giggle and a single word.

"Gladly."

"Why are you so excited?" Yang asked as Ruby practically skipped along in front of her. Ruby didn't pay it too much mind, but she did let herself turn and face her sister more directly with a wide smile stretched across her face as she walked.

"We're going on a mission!" Ruby exclaimed, her eyes wide and her excitement clearly bursting out of every seam of her body. She practically hopped when she spoke, and she didn't miss the way that Yang almost rolled her eyes at her in response. "C'mon Yang, you know you're excited."

"I mean, I am." Yang replied, rolling her right shoulder and holding her head up as she walked. Ruby watched her sister and decided to slow down for just a moment before whirling and falling into step at Ruby's side. "But-"

"But?" Ruby knew that she cocked her head a little bit in response. "But what?!"

"But it's not a big one." Yang answered with a roll of her eyes. "It's just one of the boring recon missions that they send people out on every month or so."

"Yeah, well..." Ruby frowned slightly. She knew that her older sister was right about it, but she said nothing else. "We get to go on one. It's a mission, who cares what it is?"

"Ruby, we don't even know who we're going with." Yang shrugged as she turned her hands over, checking that her weapons were ready for whatever came towards them that day. "It's not like they send pairs out for anything. Especially student pairs."

"Does it really matter?" Ruby asked, blinking and looking up at Yang. "I mean, we're going to be on a team because that's how things are supposed to be." She shook her head, pushing back her doubt as much as she could as she kept on walking. "Does it really matter who we're with if we can work with them?"

"Well-" Yang spoke up, taking a step forward so that she was facing Ruby as she walked backwards now. It was a switch on their positions, but not at all an unwelcome one. "For one, you and I are first years."

"And?"

"And if we're going on one of those recon missions and we end up in trouble when we're out there, how are we supposed to defend ourselves."

"Uh, we fight." Ruby replied, gesturing widely with her arms. "Why do you think we're here?" She didn't really know why Yang was being this way at the moment, but she also didn't want to think about it all that much. "C'mon Yang, Professor Goodwitch says that we're some of the best in our year."

"Yeah, sure." Yang answered. "But if we get into trouble and we can't fight back, we're screwed, you get that right?"

Ruby pouted. She looked up into her older sister's eyes and tried to find something there, but only found the typical sort of expression on Yang's face. "I don't think we're that screwed." Ruby said, trying to keep herself sounding as confident as she could possibly manage despite the fact that it wasn't that easy to. "I mean, we're good. You and I know how to deal with small grimm, we've been trained by dad and uncle Qrow, we go to Beacon..."

"But we're kids." Yang paused and turned to face her sister, her voice serious as she fell back into line at Ruby's side. "We're not going to be able to protect anything if we end up getting hurt on our first mission."

Ruby nodded along. Deep down she knew that Yang was right, but she didn't want to go thinking that she wasn't capable of holding her own on the battlefield. She was a good huntress- even if she was just in training, she had a good semblance that was enough to keep her out of trouble as much as she needed. She wanted for Yang to believe in her.

But it didn't feel like Yang did believe in her, and so Ruby couldn't help but feel uneasy.

She pursed her lips and her hands made their ways to the straps of her backpack as she continued to walk beside Yang. "I just don't want to think that we won't be able to do this."

Yang let out a sigh, and she didn't sound comfortable with things either. "I think we're going to be fine, I just don't think that we should be thinking that..." Yang's voice trailed off, and Ruby raised an eyebrow in some interest as she looked over at her older sister.

"Yang?"

"We're here." Yang answered, smiling and looking over at Ruby. "We're supposed to be meeting with Professor Ozpin and we're going to meet our team there. You know that."

Ruby groaned in frustration, partially because the last thing that she really wanted to do was go through a meeting with one of their professors. It just wasn't something that she looked forward to, or something that she could really say that she really ever had looked forward to.

"You think they're going to be good about it?"

"I think they'll be fine." Yang said as she pressed the button that was going to bring them up to Ozpin's office. "Besides, if we're here early there's a chance that we'll get to see Uncle Qrow."

Ruby blinked, having a momentary realization that there was something to talk about. If they saw Uncle Qrow and he was already there in Ozpin's office waiting for them for whatever reason, then Ruby couldn't help but wonder about it. What if they were only going up to Ozpin's office because Qrow had suggested them for the mission?

It was a worry that began to build up in Ruby's chest. It wasn't to say that she didn't like Qrow, or that she didn't appreciate any of his help.

But if Ruby was going to be getting chosen for missions and sent out into the world to fight and defend, she wanted it to be for her own merits.

Not because of someone that she knew.

Yang was looking down at her though, and she looked concerned. Ruby blinked and turned her head to look up at Yang. Neither of them said anything to each other. Their eyes met, and Yang let out a quiet noise before speaking up. "Ruby?"

Ruby frowned and looked back down at the tile floor in front of her. Her grip on her backpack tightened just a little bit more, and Ruby couldn't help the nervousness that continued to build She wanted to go on her mission with Yang, but she was worried.

She was never going to stop feeling that way.

But Ruby knew that she needed to say something to Yang, if only because that was what she needed to do to make Yang feel a little bit better about things herself.

Ruby shook her head, pursing her lips and letting herself hide behind her bangs, just a little bit as she waited there with her sister for the elevator. The delay on it meant that there was probably someone already up in Ozpin's office in a meeting, and so it was going to up to Yang and Ruby to wait until things were over with.

"I just..." Ruby let out an annoyed sigh. "What if we're only on this because of dad and Qrow?"

"That's not it." Yang replied with a smile. "Trust me on that. We are actually good, Ruby, it's just-"

"Just what?"

"We just happen to have connections." Yang blinked, turning to walk over to one of the benches near the elevator doors. If they were going to wait, it was probably better if they seated themselves anyways, Ruby figured. She sighed and made her way over to the bench, where she dropped down into a seat next to Yang.

"But what if that's-"

"It's not." Yang answered. "Ruby, you can move so fast that it's like you're flying. I'm basically indestructible." The blonde leaned back, resting her head against the wall behind them. Ruby sighed and pulled off her backpack, leaning back against the wall in the same way as Ruby set her backpack on the flood at her side.

"And?"

"The point is that we're actually strong, Ruby." Yang answered with a roll of her eyes. "And we can't be worrying about this sort of thing when we're going to have a mission to go on."

Ruby blinked, staring up at the ceiling now, looking for just about anything that could make her feel a little more relaxed. She concentrated on a single spot above her, for no reason other than it was just easier for her. Her eyes closed and she let out a quiet sigh. "Is this normal?"

"What?" Yang replied. "Being nervous before a meeting with the headmaster, or being nervous about a meeting?"

Ruby pulled her eyes away from the spot on the ceiling and looked over and into Yang's violet eyes. "Both, I guess."

Yang groaned and looked up at the ceiling now. She seemed a little bit more ready for the things that were coming ahead of them herself. "I'm going to take a guess and say yes, Rubes."

"Right." Ruby said, shaking her head and sitting up properly. Her legs hung off of the bench, her toes just barely brushing against the floor. "I'm just nervous."

"Normal." Yang said calmly. "C'mon, we're going to be fine."

"I know." Ruby said, forcing on a smile. "I just don't like all of the stuff before we have to go and go on our mission." She shook her head. "Seems like it'd be easier if we could just grab our weapons and just go."

"Yeah, well..." Yang hesitated, looking down at her bracelets one more time in an attempt to relax herself. "I think this is better if we're going to get out of this fine."

Ruby pouted again, knowing that it wasn't the most becoming thing that she could do in that circumstance, but she also mostly just didn't care. She swung her legs, hoping that it would be enough to help her alleviate some of her nervousness, even if it was for only a little while.

"I know." Ruby mumbled finally, knowing that she wasn't sounding happy about it at all. "I just don't like the meetings thing." She shifted slightly to look out the window that was behind her and her sister. It pointed in the wrong direction. Instead of overlooking the forest, it was staring back at the city of Vale itself.

Ruby loved the city, she called it home.

But it wasn't enough to make her feel better.

The only comfort that she found was in the gentle weight of her sister's hand on her shoulder that dragged her back to land so easily.

Weiss sat in Ozpin's office, surrounded by teachers who were trying to talk about her impromptu exam, among other things.

She felt distant from it all. It was like she couldn't figure out where she was meant to be, or what she was meant to be doing. Weiss knew that she was going to have to go and find her father eventually so that she could return to her room for the night.

But it wasn't that simple.

Every time that Weiss looked just about anywhere in the room that wasn't her own lap, she was reminded of the fact that she was going to be returning with evidence of her disobedience written clear across her face.

The injury was ugly. It cut down her brow and her face over her right eye all too cleanly. The fact that she even still had her eye was a miracle, but Weiss didn't know how to feel about the injury.

Weiss wanted to think about it in terms of it being her first proper battle score. She'd won in a fight, that was all that was needed to quality as a battle scar, right? Or was there something else that Weiss didn't have?

She didn't know, and that scared her.

The professors were all talking about something that Weiss was only managing to tune into once in awhile.

It seemed like they didn't know how to deal with her injury as well. All the treatment that had been possible with the particular resources available to them had been done. Now it was a matter of her own aura recovering and doing the rest.

All that was sure, according to Glynda Goodwitch, was that it was going to scar.

Ozpin seemed to be taking it from as calm a demeanor as possible, and Glynda was doing her best to offer comfort to Weiss in any way that she could. It had come in the form of a cup of coffee, and then a soft blanket draped over her shoulders.

And then there was General Ironwood. He'd come to the match late, for reasons that nobody had bothered to question because it was assumed that he'd been too busy to arrive on time.

The general was keeping quiet, but Weiss couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to hide his feelings for her sake.

It was there, rippling under the surface and ready to strike out at any point.

It was anger. Fear. It was frustration.

Maybe the others weren't noticing it, Weiss thought to herself as she watched the general. She was used to seeing people hiding the way that they felt and thought at every turn.

It was possible that Ozpin and Glynda weren't used to that.

"We can't just send her back to Jacques like this." James growled, his voice insistent and him holding himself tall so that he had a physical sort of upper hand. "I know how he is, he'll-" James cut himself off and he glanced over at Weiss.

Their eyes met, and Weiss wondered what she was supposed to do. Was he asking her some sort of question?

Weiss felt all of the color drain out of her face when she realized what the general was so subtly asking. He was trying to ask her how far he was allowed to go when he talked.

She didn't know why she hadn't considered that the general might now about how her father could be. It was a known fact that the general and her sister had been in contact multiple times in the past.

She nodded slowly, and the general returned the gesture in a silent show of solidarity before speaking up again. "We can't just send Miss Schnee back to the most powerful family in Atlas without-"

"Funny," Ozpin commented, watching the general closely. "I'd been under the impression that you were the most powerful man in Atlas, James."

The general's expression flicked to one of annoyance for just a moment before he decided to answer. "It doesn't matter." James said calmly, clearly deflecting the topic away from himself for his own sake. "I'm not sure that Jacques will react well to this."

Weiss was about to open her mouth to interject when Ozpin spoke up.

"Jacques Schnee's reaction will have to be seen to." They said calmly. "It isn't in our place to jump to conclusions on what will happen." Their eyes were focused on General Ironwood, and for a moment, Weiss couldn't quite figure out what was trying to be said. It was like there was some detail that was going unsaid, or that everyone was trying to dodge around.

The general took a half-step forward. "Ozpin, the reports that I've-"

"Are reports, James." Ozpin cut him off. "I understand your concern, but we can't justifiably hold Miss Schnee as a hostage from her father because of what her older sister has said and without any-"

Weiss grit her teeth and finally she felt the frustration that boiled underneath her skin getting to be too great. There was going to be absolutely no way for her to ignore this anymore.

She was in the room, and she deserved to be treated like an adult.

"Excuse me." Weiss said, pushing herself up to her feet and setting Myrtenaster on the desk in front of her as she did so. Weiss took a moment to smooth her dress down on her body as she waited for the adults to pay her the attention that she demanded of them and needed from them. "If I may-"

General Ironwood was the first to notice that she was trying to speak, and he turned to her in a way that almost felt submissive. It reminded her of the way that he had bowed so low when she'd first met him days before.

"What is it, Miss Schnee?" The General ask, his voice dropping in volume and any frustration and anger that had been there before fading out of his tone all at once.

"I don't know that I want to go back to my father." Weiss explained, glancing down at her weapon. "As much as I wish to inherit the Schnee Dust Company and restore my family name-" She paused, reaching out so that her fingers could dance over the hilt of Myrtenaster. "I don't know that's the best way to go about it."

The general turned to her, taking a half-step forward and meeting her face to face now. For the first time, Weiss was realizing how tall he was. The two other professors in the room also moved, sidling up to the general's sides in interest.

Glynda stood on his right side, and Ozpin on his left.

Between the three of them, Weiss couldn't help but feel at least a little bit intimidated.

"You do understand what you are saying, Miss Schnee?" The general asked her. His voice was gravely serious, but under all of that, there was something else. A challenge, perhaps. Encouragement maybe.

"I do." Weiss answered, standing up tall. "I'll have to retrieve my belongings from my family's quarters, but I believe I belong here rather than in Atlas."

Ozpin and James' eyes met for a second in a silent conversation, and then the general nodded. He focused his blue eyes back onto Weiss before speaking again. "I recommend you don't make this choice rashly, Miss Schnee." He said quietly. "You know what happened with your sister."

Weiss tried not to react too much to that. If there was anything that could confirm that the general knew about the wrath of Jacques Schnee, it was that. And even then, Weiss couldn't shake the feeling that he knew even more than he was allowing himself to show.

"I do." Weiss confirmed. She turned just slightly to face Ozpin now. "Before I make any decisions, I need to know-" She paused, watching Ozpin for any reaction. "Did I pass?"

Ozpin didn't answer her.

They only smiled.