I wanted to make sure I got this segment of the story right on the head. After all, the previous four chapters were buildup for this… so yeah!

And thank you for the continued support!

Now, without further ado…

Rave Reviews for this story so far!

"Amusing" -frozen thorn

"I enjoyed this thoroughly" - ItsN

"What are you recording me for again? Oh, shit, right right right. Uh, it was okay I guess? I dunno." - (former) best friend

"Looking forward to more" - brandon2071

"NORA!" - Nora Valkyrie

Blake's Day Part IV: Forrester Fish Fry and Festival P.1

They had made it onto the airbus within thirty seconds of it leaving, rushing on and claiming the only two seats left towards the back. After setting their gear and assorted items on the floor, they sat back and relaxed in the chairs. The pair had to sprint the last two minutes because Ren had to pull Blake aside to look at some algae being displayed at an apothecary, and said more facts about them that were actually fairly interesting until they saw the time.

Blake didn't seem to break a sweat, but Ren seemed more strained.

"That… was… closer than I wanted it to be," he panted between breaths, head bowed and elbows on his knees.

Blake looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "For a guy like you, you sure don't have good stamina."

He looked up a bit to meet her eyes. "You could've gone a bit slower!" He gestured with his hand. Another pant. "And I can do well enough when it matters." Blake didn't try to prove him wrong on that one; she had heard Nora's story at lunch of how Ren took on a King Taijitu during initiation and noticed how Ren did not refute her claims as he usually did, leading her to the conclusion that if the need arises he really could perform when needed.

"Mhm," she said with a faked incredulous tone. Ren just rolled his eyes and sat back while muttering something about natural speed and faunus'. He closed his eyes with a sigh. It wasn't going to be a very long ride, only fifteen minutes compared the previous thirty minute ride, but he started the day early and it was catching up to him.

After all, fifteen minutes of sleep is better than none, he thought to himself as he drifted off into blissful unconsciousness, the airbus lifting into the air beneath him.

On his right, Blake was still wide awake, eyes scanning.

It really is packed in here...

As she looked around the bustling airbus, visual cues brought back memories of her days as a stowaway by hiding in the massive crowds of people. The interior layout for commercial airbuses hasn't changed since they were first conceived; the seats came in pairs with two pairs in a row, so families of three or more usually opted for taking the seats in the same row or sitting right behind each other. Natural instincts kicked in, and she looked for threats among the crowd. She saw kids playing some new game on their scrolls a few rows ahead of her, parents bickering amongst themselves about school and college, and an old woman that was staring and smiling at her from across the aisle.

Staring and smi- wait what? She scanned over the crowd of people again, attempting to pretend that she didn't see the old woman. Why was she staring? Did my bow loosen? She casually brought her hands up to her bow as if she were fixing it, making sure that it was still there.

My bow's still on, and I'm not suffering a wardrobe malfunction of any sorts… what's so funny?

She risked another glance towards the old woman, only to discover a little girl sitting on the far side of her who was also staring. The girl giggled when Blake made eye contact with her for a split second, and buried her head into the old woman's arm. Blake could feel herself becoming a bit more agitated, but she kept it inside lest she embarrass herself in a packed airbus by yelling at an old woman and her granddaughter. Trying to give herself something to do, she picked up her fishing rod and pretended to fiddle with it until she heard a frail, but clear voice.

She risked a glance to be met by the old woman's eyes yet again.

"You two make quite the cute couple." Blake's fingers stopped moving, and she froze completely still, brain included, gulping. The old woman leaned forward, and cupped her hand to the side of her mouth as if she were about to tell a secret. Blake turned her head the slightest bit, eyes doing most of the moving. "But if you want to keep it under wraps, you shouldn't speak such words to each other in public. You're lucky only I heard you, young lady."

Blake's eye twitched. Her ears went next. She started to open her mouth, but all that came out was a very hoarse "uh" noise. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"U-uh… I… I'm sorry?" She tried to look as surprised as possible, but the initial shock of the old woman assuming they were a couple was still reverberating through her mind.

The old woman just chuckled. "Don't fret young lady, I thought he'd have more stamina too by the looks of him." She leaned over a bit to look at Ren, who was currently engrossed in a deep slumber, hands folded on his lap and head tilted back. "Mrrow."

Blake was absolutely flabbergasted. It took her a few moments to connect two and two after what the old woman said, and the paralyzation from the elderly woman's first statement only added onto the next one. Finding the ability to speak came after she shook her head vehemently.

"I'm sorry, we're…" She gestured between her and a sleeping Ren, "we're not," she repressed a shudder, "that. We're just travelling together." However, the old lady only took that in stride, eyes alight at seeing a blush growing on her cheeks.

To Blake, it was one of embarrassment and shock.

To the old lady, she took it as a very practiced show of denial.

"It's quite alright honey. I can keep a secret." She winked at Blake, grinning at her all the while. "You're a very lucky girl by the looks of it. I'd keep him."

"I… but…we're..." Blake was out of ideas. The woman had a mind of her own, and she was dead set on it. She sighed in exasperation.

As the old woman opened her mouth, she turned to the little girl. "Granny, what were you talking about?" The she was tugging at the older woman's sleeve, eyes wide with innocent curiosity. She leaned forward to get a glance at Blake and the same thing happened as last time; when they made eye-contact, the little girl hid.

"Nothing dear, you can go back to sleep." After patting the girl gently on the head, she turned back to Blake, eager to continue her questioning. Blake cursed the child in her head for giving in so easily, and not distracting the old woman from her longer.

"So, how long have you two lovely lovebirds been together?" Her attack was unrelenting, and Blake's metaphorical castle walls were crumbling.

Oum, I need Ren to tell her that we're not a thing.

"Again, we're not together. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding."

"Ah, of course." She got closer yet again, cupping her hand to the side of her mouth in the secretive fashion yet again. "Okay, I'm closer now. You can tell me."

"Tell you… what?"

The old woman rolled her eyes as if Blake were missing out on something major. "Oh, you young people and your ways… your silly bluffs…"

"Um."

"How long have you two been together?"

"Again," Blake was beginning to regain some of her composure as she spoke, "we're not a couple. We're just travelling together."

"All I'm hearing are excuses, excuses." She reared her head, and put her hand to her mouth. "Oh, don't tell me you don't love him because of how he does during the boogie."

How who does with the whatnow?

"Uh… I don't know?"

"Dearie, you can't avoid my question. I've been married for seventy years, and that teaches me how to get what I want. So, how was he?"

Blake was still clueless. "What?"

Going on to enunciate her point, she jived in her chair a bit, wiggling her body with a smile on her lips.

… what?

…

oh. Ohhh.

...

OHHHH. DEAR OUM. REN WAKE UP, she screamed in her head, eyes widening at the realization of what the old woman was implying.

So, she punched Ren on the shoulder. When he didn't wake up, she punched him harder, eliciting a shake of his head and a tired mumble that Blake was barely able to make out.

"We're not there yet, are we?"

"No, but there's someone I need you to talk to. Now."

He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them, blinking a few times after that to orientate himself with the world around him. He checked his scroll, and saw that only six minutes had elapsed from when he began his power nap.

"Remember, I'm not allowed to talk to anyone on JNPR. Even Nora." He said, assuming that Blake had a message from Jaune or Nora.

"It's not that." She got a bit closer to Ren, and whispered with a gesture of her thumb. "She thinks that we're together."

Ren looked confused. He looked over at the old woman, who made another 'mrow' noise and scratched in the air. He leaned back, asking himself and Blake what just happened. "What?"

Blake's eye twitched for what must have been the millionth time today. She seethed between clenched teeth. "What do you mean, what?" She gestured again with more force. "She," pointing at the woman, "thinks that we," she wagged her index finger between them wildly, "are a thing!"

Before Ren could reply, the old woman spoke up first. "Oh dearie, let him be! Look at him, all tired and such. After such a time you two had, you should really let him rest up." Ren looked over Blake's shoulder, and it almost looked like the old woman's grin grew wider.

He leaned back on his seat to face Blake and tilted his head. "What time? Did I miss something?"

She facepalmed before raising her head. "Just tell her that we're not a couple!"

He leaned forward to meet the old woman's gaze, and spoke up. "Uhm, hello ma'am. What she says is true, we're not," he looked towards Blake to make sure he was getting it correctly, "together in the sense of a romantic relationship." He offered a smile to reinforce his argument. "We're simply traveling together."

But no look of disappointment spread onto the old woman's face. Instead, she gently drew a cane from her right side, and jabbed it at Blake's arm, causing her to recoil and bump into Ren. They parted the clothing to clothing contact immediately with awkward sorrys, which served only as fuel for the old woman.

"Look at you two, cuddling so easily!" Both Ren and Blake opened their mouths to speak, but they were abruptly cut off by the old woman. "If you aren't a couple, then I'm not an old woman!" Blake tried to dig deeper into her chair, agitated and embarrassed. "Oh, I would feel shudders if I still could." After the old woman leaned back into her own chair for a few moments, she gasped, eyes widening, and Ren thought that she was about to die from a stroke (which he would be okay with at the moment, as cruel as it sounded), before the old woman gave an open mouth smile. She pointed at them. "I see now! So it's an affair then! Oh, you rapscallions! How do you have such energy… such gall… it almost makes me feel young again!" She laughed again, one of many happy expressions she already made.

Ren's eyes shot open. "No, no no no, no affairs!" He shook his hands in front of him as best he could over Blake as she leaned back, trying to phase through the chair and just magically disappear from the bus. "We're not involved with each other in any way other than traveling together."

The old woman was still unfazed. "Oh come now dear. Look at her, she's embarrassed just by your words!" Ren's eyes went to Blake's, only to be met by a facepalming teenager who was trying to dig herself into her seat. "It works well enough for you two anyway," the woman continued, "the festival has several events made just for couples like you!" She winked.

A festival? I don't remember something like that ever coming through here. Perhaps it's new? Ren thought.

"Festival?" He repeated.

"Yes! That's what we're making our way to right now!" She stroked her sleeping granddaughters hair, eliciting an inaudible mumble.

"Where is this festival being held?" A part of him really was curious about this festival that he's never heard about, but most of him was grateful for the change in topic.

"Right off the lake, you can't miss it. Even I would be able to see it from miles away with my eyes! Just look for the big glowing fish sign. And you're lucky too; this is the first time they've opened in twenty years!" When the old woman finished her sentence, Blake immediately popped up, blush all but vanishing in the glint of her eyes.

"Fish? What is this festival for, exactly?" She immediately took the reins for the conversation, and was now leaning over the armrest to get closer to the old woman as if she were hanging onto each and every breath.

"It's known as the F-four around here for locals, but to us, it's the Forrester Fish Fry and Festival."

In the time that Blake took control of the conversation, Ren had pulled up a description of the festival on his scroll.

Calling her attention to him for a moment, she took Ren's scroll and read.

"Enjoy a tradition dating back hundreds of years! The Forrester Fish Fry and Festival is an event that embraces fish as a meal for one day and one day only this year, sponsored by Valean Fisherman's Network! Enjoy a selection of freshwater and saltwater fish that has never been matched anywhere else! Sample the most exquisite fish that money can buy for free! Fun games and contests await those brave enough! And admission is only…"

Blake's eyes (literally) turned into stars, and she barely kept herself from drooling.

"Uh, Blake?" He was giving her a skeptical look. "Are you alright?" Ren tried to nudge her, but before he could, Blake was grabbing him by the collar of his tunic, all but forgetting about his scroll that clattered to the floor.

"We are going to this festival." She hissed, and the same light in her eyes that he saw in the library was being mirrored here. Her current appearance was the closest he'd ever seen her to primal; her hair was slightly unkempt, teeth bared, and eyes glowing with something he still didn't understand. The fact that she had a lion's grip on his collar only helped her feral appearance.

However, Ren remained calm as he responded. Whatever Blake was going through, he's seen worse with Nora. "So you don't want to go fishing anymore."

She nodded.

He sighed. "Are you sure?"

Shaking him a bit, she tilted her head downwards a bit, eyes gazing upwards. The message was clear.

You're going whether you want to or not.

Relenting, he let his shoulders droop a little bit. "Alright."

Pleased with his answer, she leaned back into her chair, relaxed with a content smile on her lips. Ren just picked up his scroll and inspected it for cracks.

"Oh you two…" The old woman trailed off. But she left it there, and she started to comb through the little girls hair.

The situation settling and his scroll free of cracks, Ren leaned back into his seat with a sigh.

Maybe I can get some rest now, he thought while closing his eyes. But right before they shut, a voice over the intercom announced their imminent arrival at the Forrester launch pad.

"Just my luck," he muttered to himself. Looking down, a problem presented itself. Nudging Blake from her relaxed state, he asked. "If we're going to the festival, what are we going to do with the fishing rods?"

She just shrugged. "We could use our lockers. Take them back to Beacon."

"I'm not sure if that's a logical course of action. For one, everyone here would know we were hunters, or at least hunters in training, and if we were caught sending our lockers to pick up some fishing rods and a bag full of mosquito repellent, that wouldn't look very good."

"Well, what do you suggest?" She said, a questioning look with slight frown on her face.

"I suggest dropping them off at the fishing spot I spoke of earlier and picking them up when we're done."

"That's awfully dull."

"And since when were you interested in exciting things?" He said with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Ever since I got on a team with Ruby," she shot back instantly. Before Ren could continue, the telltale hissing of thrusters could be heard underneath their feet, signalling that they've landed.

The intercom spoke up as people stood up and started grabbing their belongings from under their feet or the overhead compartments. "Thank you for flying Atlesian Airlines. We hope you have a wonderful day!"

Being at the back of the airbus, Ren and Blake were among the last to exit, much to their dismay as the old woman, though repeatedly denying it, was 'accidentally' bumping into Ren from behind to push him into Blake. Feet meeting hard ground, they looked at their surroundings. As people milled around them, a large crowd seemed to be heading in a certain direction. Looking at each other for mutual confirmation, they began to walk over and see what the hubbub was all about.

When they reached the center of commotion, the sight that greeted them was one that was understandably so popular. Next to the escalator that would take them down to ground level, was a large, fenced off cliff edge that allowed for a wondrous view of Lake Forrester.

Ren sighed gently and smiled warmly, as if he were greeting an old friend, mind once again drifting to those memories of snail squires serving their Queen.

Blake had her mouth slightly agape at both the beauty and the thought of how many fish were possibly in the large body of water.

Mostly the fish, though.

But fish aside, the lake truly was something to behold in the midday sun. The water was glistening from their vantage point, gentle currents still rocking the surface of the lake. Each time a ripple was seen, a flash of light could be seen, blinding and beautiful at the same time. Even from their elevated position, they could hear the constant crashing of waves hitting the shoreline. After standing there for another thirty seconds, Ren was the first to shake out of his thoughts, looking towards Blake to tell her that they should get going.

Only to find Blake standing there…

Drooling?

Ren didn't believe his eyes. A foot to his right, was a huntress-in-training salivating uncontrollably. And she didn't even seem to notice, as her eyes were still glued to the water's surface. Her hands, while still at her side, were making some sort of feeble grabbing motion. Noticing that a few people were already looking strangely at his companion for the day, he shook Blake out of her stupor.

"Blake," he said while shaking her shoulder.

She immediately came to, blinking hard a few times before looking at Ren, wiping her drool immediately with the back of her hand. "Wha-?..." She looked around, as if she was unsure about her surroundings, and shook her head. "Sorry. Must've zoned out." She looked down at her hand, and she recoiled a bit as she realized what she had just done.

"I noticed." He cleared his throat, trying to move on quickly from the moment. "We should get moving. If you really want to get to the festival," he lifted up the bags of mosquito repellant, snacks, and their fishing rods, "the faster we get to my fishing spot the better." He turned around, and dropped Blake's bag at his feet.

Blake took her bag in stride, and took one more glance at the lake before catching up to a speed walking Ren.

See you soon, fishies.

The calm before the storm served as a valuable phrase for Ren that day, as the journey to his fishing spot was quite peaceful. It was a small, hidden cove by a section of the coast that was blocked off due to poisonous plants; he had already cleared them years ago though. It allowed for a quiet respite from the crowds that never seemed to shrink, and the view was amazing as well.

Picture perfect, Blake thought as she looked out at the lake. Ren had explained how he made a small docking area for his own little canoe that he made, and was amazed by how well preserved it was after all these years. While Ren was still walking around lost in his memories, Blake was standing at the dock's edge, shaded by draping willow trees. She noticed how quiet the whole area was even though she could still see crowds milling about on the side of the lake. She also restrained herself from drooling again, as that experience alone was enough embarrassment for a year.

"I assure you, the view at the festival is likely the same or better than here," Ren said. He walked to Blake's side and brought his hands behind him. "But it is nice to visit this place again. Memories truly do linger."

"Good to hear," Blake responded, voice attentive but mind far away as the festival came back into her mind. Tearing her eyes away from her source of fish for the coming hours, she looked at Ren, who once again looked lost in thought. "Hey."

"Yes?"

"We should probably get going."

"Of course."

The pair looked back with a lingering glance, and walked off the dock. As Ren knew the area like the back of his hand, after taking several shortcuts through overgrown greenery and some climbing they were able to find themselves back at the launch pad in no time, and went on the escalator down to ground level. The escalator was obviously created with tourists in mind as well, as it was covered by a half cylinder, allowing one to look at the lake or sky while waiting to reach their destination. Blake could hear multiple people clamoring about the beauty and tranquility of the lake, kids begging their parents to lift them up so that they could see as well, and some strangely obnoxious female voices declaring that they were going to take a selfie.

As they neared the end, a voice on the intercom reminded them of the fact. "The ride is now ending. Please step forward," it droned repeatedly in a mechanical female voice. Stepping off, they were assaulted by the loudness of the crowd. As the escalator dropped people in, tour guides were gathering their groups and salespeople were desperately trying to sell tickets for the festival. Even without Blake's enhanced faunus senses it was loud to Ren. Gesturing to Blake with his hand to follow him, she gladly obliged, a wince on her face that was no doubt due to the loudness of the whole scenario.

He walked them out to a small gift shop where it was significantly quieter inside, gentle pop music playing from the ceiling as a few tourists perused the goods that the store had to offer.

"Oum. that was loud," Blake said while rubbing her bow. Ren felt bad for her; if it was bad for him, it must've been brain-splitting for her.

"I agree." After letting Blake clear her head, he continued. "I wasn't able to see over the crowd of people, so I don't know where the festival is exactly."

"Well," she gestured to the cashier who appeared to be playing a game on their scroll, "we can always ask."

"True." He walked over to the cashier, and rang the little bell on the counter to grab her attention. A freckled, blue haired woman looked up, and she immediately put on her practiced smile.

"Welcome! How may I help you?" The phrase even sounded rehearsed. The same smile was on her face, and while Ren was no psychologist, he could clearly tell it was being faked. But he made the wise decision to keep his thoughts to himself, and got to the point.

"Which way is the festival?"

The lady behind the counter set down her scroll (with great reluctance, he noted), and walked around the counter to stand at Ren's side, pointing.

"You're gonna' need ta' walk through thataways," she said with a point of her index finger.

He copied her motion. "Through the crowd?" He knew that if they had to walk through that noise mixer yet again, Blake would lose her mind.

If she hasn't already by the way she's been acting, he thought.

"Ye', you're gonna' hafta' walk through it. Ain't no other way."

"Are you sure?"

"Ye', I'm sure bout' it. Afta' you get through the main plaza, take a left. Find the boardwalk, you'll be able to find er' in no time. Just look for the,"

"-giant fish." He finished for her. "Thank you." With that, she walked behind the counter, and started to play her game again with an electronic bopping noise. It was obvious that the lady wasn't going to be a help anymore, so Ren just walked towards Blake.

"Well?" She was halfheartedly playing with some fish figurines.

"We... have to walk through the crowd again."

She gave an exasperated sigh as she turned from the toy. "Really?"

"I'm afraid so." He gestured to the lady over at the counter, brow furrowed as she concentrated on her video game. "She said it was the only way to the boardwalk."

"Oh, really?" She raised an eyebrow when she looked over at the cashier. "Wait here."

Ren had no idea what Blake was about to do, as he thought that he already got all the information he could get. So when he saw Blake pull a 100 lien card from her pocket, his eyes went wide.

She's not gonna bribe her, is she?

As Blake reached the counter, the woman still didn't look up. She pressed the bell, and she could hear the woman mutter under her breath about, "damn tourists." But, she put on the same practiced smile, and the same rehearsed phrase.

"Welcome! How may I he-" Blake interrupted her by sliding the lien card onto the table. The woman at the counter looked up at Blake, down again, up, smiled, slid it under her desk, and whispered something to Blake that Ren couldn't make out from where he was standing. He did see, however, a key that was slid over the table.

Turning around with a smug smile, she brushed past him with ease, sounding pleased with herself as she spoke. "I know which way to go." She opened the door to go outside, bells jingling. Ren just stood there for a second before he caught up to Blake, who was speed walking to a maintenance door.

"Blake, wait." She turned around, eyebrow raised.

"Yes?"

"That was our last 100 lien, unless you're carrying some extra," Ren said.

She didn't reply for a while as she kept walking through the crowd, jumping in between the bumbling crowd with ease. Ren followed with the same grace, and he thought that she didn't hear his question when she stopped walking and turned around. "That wasn't exactly our lien." She put on that same smug grin before she kept walking, and took out the keys that the cashier gave her.

Ren was silent after that, and as Blake was opening the door, he finally found the ability to speak. "What do you mean, not our lien!?"

She turned around and rolled her eyes as the door clicked, lock opening. "As a kid, I learned that flashing a smile and hoping I could get away with it only works with old women."

"Blake, we're esteemed trainees at Beacon! What would be the repercussions if you were to be caught?" He was dumbfounded by her rash behavior, the scolding tone in his voice all but lost at Blake's shamelessness.

"I've never been caught before. I plan on keeping that streak going." She turned back around and walked forward. The interior of the maintenance tunnel was well lit and clean as well, the only evidence of people passing through being the uniforms of various workers and some tools laying next to them.

"Who did you steal the lien from?"

"Some guy on the escalator."

"Some guy?" He repeated incredulously.

"Yeah." Her boots still clicking on the floor, she didn't even spare a glance at Ren to reply. "Don't worry, he looked pretty rich. He won't even notice."

"It doesn't matter if he's rich or not!" He threw his hands up, a rare display of outwards emotion for the stoic teenager. "Stealing is wrong!"

"You sound just like Ruby," she deadpanned.

"Because she's right!" His hands still out at his side, he sighed as he dropped them.

"Mhm," she responded.

"Do not mhm me, Blake!"

"Mhm."

He tried to keep talking, but all that came out was a small, 'I.' He opted for shaking his head instead, thinking to himself. It's not even noon yet and I've gotta deal with this? This can't get any worse.

my notes: Oh Ren, if only you knew. sorry for the abrupt end, but I wanna save the festival for next part. it's gonna be delicious.

also, between summer homework and drafting other stories for you guys, this took longer than I expected. But because it did, I added a thousand words for you guys. Thank you for all the support so far! I'll have a little scene involving everybody's favorite second-year students (hopefully) tomorrow.