"I want people to see me for who I am, not what I am."

Blake sat in the library, her nose buried in a book as she glanced over the audience within the building. It was a fine Saturday morning, which Blake spent by getting her favorite cup of tea from her local coffee shop and finding a nice novel to read in silence. She adjusted her bow slightly, making sure her cat ears were firmly hidden as she turned the page. The book was getting good.

Finally. Three books in and the conflict is rising. The stakes risen.

Her onyx locks descending from her head in waves, her amber eyes squinting at the pages. She was uncertain if the ninja in her novel would be so fortunate to make it through the next battle. The last one exhausted as much of his will power as it did his body.

She heard laughing and cheering, causing her turn towards the source of the sound.

Children gathering around the librarian for story time, cheering when the knight came out of the fray unscathed and unharmed.

She smirked, turning her eyes forward. That cheering was delightful, to say the least.

That's when she saw a young man sitting at the table across from her. His own eyes checking out the noise as well.

She took note it was far too hot for an overcoat. The scarf around his jawline and neck must've been suffocating. She straightened her own shoulders, staring directly into her book to not dwell on the stranger.

She continued reading about the ninja, who's latest victory netted him audience with the local warlord and who's hood obscured his hair. The burning sensation in the ninja's eyes was a somber sort of calm. Much like her own. With the dark shade of orange-amber.

Blake blinked. The ninja didn't wear no hood. She rolled her eyes, laying the book down as she held the bridge of her nose.

The stranger's hood was up. Not the ninja's.

The stranger's eyes were orange. Not the ninja's.

She let out a soft sigh, shaking her head.

Blair glanced up from his own novel, seeing Blake staring at him. Time to settle what he came here to do. He laid down his book, intertwining his hands and squinting his eyes.

"Are you ok?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. He rested his cheek against his closed fists, smirking under his scarf. Blake was always the problem child in the group. However, not for the reasons one might think. "What's wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" Blake asked, closing her book and staring daggers at Blair. The same sort of look she gave the moment she found out that assault on the keep was led by the brute before her. Those poor families never stood a chance. Blair let out a soft sigh. "You should be out with Adam-"

"He's on a recon mission." Blair cast his book aside. He didn't care for the book. Characters unlikeable. Prose boring. "With Belle."

"Aren't you typically on recon?" Blake asked, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat. Beast wasn't a simple soldier. He was the soldier. He was the definition of brutal and pragmatic. Stories about him are labeled as myths, not truths.
"The Beast is suppose to lead his troops into battle-"

"Battle." Blair mumbled, rolling his eyes. He glanced all around, standing up from his spot and walking over to sit across from Blake. She didn't deter. Didn't back down.

"Battle?"

"Battle." Blair growled out. "Last recon ended with over three airships downed and four of my men down. I'm put on ice until told otherwise." Blair could still hear his screaming. Hear his groans as he caught several bullets to the legs. He would live. Without a leg, but he would live. It's a shame. The poor man won't look Blair in the eyes anymore.

"Beast shouldn't lose his temper." Blake narrowed her eyes, her hand moving down to rest on the grip of her pistol. Just in case. Just in case he decides to lose his temper now. With these innocent children and civilians.

"Beast is doing what he is told. Like everyone else." Blair squinted his eyes, curling his bearpaws into big fists as he straightened his back. "Some of us believe in doing what is necessary. Do what must be done."

"Don't talk about me like that." Blake wrapped her fingers around the grip, finger itching for the trigger. Her breathing erratic. "I've have done what I could for us."

"Have you really?" Blair asked, letting out a soft chuckle. He glanced around the room, nodding his head in agreement. In disbelief of what he was hearing.
"Have you really? One of these days..." Blair knocked his knuckle on the wood. "One of these you're going to get that mission. Where...Where you know what side your own."

"I chosen us-"

"When that mission comes," Blair stood up, hands retracting to his pockets. "And it will, you'll know what you have to do. Either bail or stand." Blair let out a bellow of hot air from his nose. "Because we have no use for weak wills and weak stomachs."

"Get out of here." Blake grumbled, arm shaking as she fought the urge to fight. "Now."

He left without another word, leaving Blake to rekindle her thoughts and to go see what else he could do for the White Fang.