Yang's knee bounced up and down erratically, unspent energy coursing through her body and willing her to do something. She looked over at Blake for the tenth time in as many minutes.

No change.

Wind still fluttered through her dark hair as she sat stone still in her chair. Smoke wisped past her lips and her eyes gazed out at the city, a pencil in her hand and a notebook in her lap.

Yang was all for letting Blake be her dark, mysterious, chain-smoking self, but she was starting to get antsy. This whole brooding and gazing into the distance thing wasn't doing it for her. It didn't help that these chairs were about as comfortable as cinder blocks.

Finally, Blake sighed and sat up, stubbing out her cigarette in the ashtray. Yang perked up, giving her a cautious smile.

"I don't think I'll be getting much writing done today."

Yang's smile fell. They were supposed to do it together. Yang might not have been the best with lyrics, but she did know a few things to help out.

"Well, are you feeling blocked or empty?"

That drew the woman's eyes. She must've hit the nail on the head, considering the shocked look on her face. "Blake, I grew up with a lyricist. I'm used to helping Ruby out when she gets stuck on something. So, do you feel like you can't put it into words or do you feel like there are no words?"

"Empty." She said quietly.

Yang smiled, glad she could finally do something. Empty was a lot easier to fix than blocked. She stood and took Blake's hand, physically dragging the woman towards the door.

"Yang!? What're you doing!?" She hissed, trying (in vain) to pry the larger girl's hand from hers.

"We're going for a walk! I saw a park down the street that looked really pretty when I drove here."

"Why?"

"Well, there's lot's of trees and I think a little stream-"

"No," She cut her off, rolling her eyes. "I mean, why do we have to go for a walk?"

Yang pulled Blake into the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor and waiting until the doors were completely shut before letting go of her hand. "We gotta fill you up, Blakey! You can hardly write if there's nothing inside you to put down."

Her smile grew as she recalled forcing Ruby out of the house when she was feeling like that. The girl would whine and protest and hiss at the sunlight like some kind of vampire, but Yang had no problem with throwing her over her shoulder and carrying her out.

Luckily, Blake was a lot easier to deal with. She simply sighed and folded her arms, face neutral.

When the elevator finally dinged, she led her companion outside and took a deep breath. She already felt refreshed as the sun hit her skin. She always made sure that she had as much showing as was publicly decent when she went outside. The sun on her never failed to lift her spirits.

Blake, however, looked a bit worse for ware. The bags under her eyes seemed even darker in the bright sunlight and her eyes squinted into tiny slits before they adjusted.

Had she been getting enough sleep? Blake had seemed tired when they all moved in, but it looked like she was steadily getting more and more exhausted. She was strung tighter than the strings on Ruby's sitar.

She started towards the park, happy that Blake followed without protest this time.

"It's hard to sleep in such a new place, isn't it? Everything is so quiet and still."

Blake glanced at her, but remained silent.

"The house I lived in with Rubes and Dad was never that quiet. If there wasn't music playing or a tv on, I could at least hear the sounds of the house creaking. Here it's just silent."

"It is… unsettling."

Yang grinned as she finally got a response. "To be honest, I've had a radio going since the first night. I never turn it off, even during the day. It gives the room some life, you know?"

Blake nodded thoughtfully. "I think I'll try that."

Yang beamed brighter. Hopefully the woman would sleep better with the noise. Yang had almost set the building on fire the first night. The sound of police sirens would've been better than the brain melting silence.

"How do you feel about everyone else? I'm not gonna lie, the princess seems like she might be difficult to get to know." Yang shivered, remembering those icy eyes glaring a hole through her head as Weiss' angelic voice told her that the small woman thought she was dead.

"It's heiress actually."

Yang cocked her head.

"The Schnee Steel Company, or SSC, have a hand in everything that involves metal, from steel supports in buildings to the small parts in a computer. Their known for being wealthy beyond belief and holding a place in the political food chain that requires their approval for almost everything."

The blonde's eyes widened. She knew that Weiss was rich, but she didn't know that she was filthy fucking rich. The SSC logo was on almost everything! "Woah…"

"Their also known for their discrimination against faunus workers and unsafe working conditions. Not to mention questionable business partners."

She winced at the dark glare that Blake had swapped her tired look for. Her ears were flattened against her head, her arms folded tightly over her notebook.

"I can see you guys have some bad blood…"

"That's putting it lightly." She growled.

Yang thought about how Weiss behaved towards Blake. Well, she hadn't really seen Weiss and Blake talk. Weiss didn't seem racist, but she didn't really know the scowly girl well enough to know.

"She might be just like her family and think of faunus as inferior beings." Blake's glare intensified. "But! She might not be! She kind of strikes me as the type that hates everyone equally. Well, except me. I'm pretty sure she hates me the most."

Her efforts were rewarded with a small smirk. It lifted her spirits to see her new friend a little less angry. "Just… don't try to judge her before you get to know her. You know, the 'don't judge a book by it's cover' type thing."

Blake nodded slowly. Yang could see her relax just the tiniest bit.

"What do you think about Ruby?"

Blake hid a giggle with her hand, "She kind of reminds me of a nervous puppy. Except less slobbery."

Yang laughed, "She's not great with new people, but she's a sweetheart when you get to know her."

"I can relate. I'm not… the best… with people."

She patted the faunus on the shoulder, drawing a quiet 'oof!' from the girl. "Don't worry Blakey, that's just you. If you were super friendly like me, you wouldn't be you. And you're pretty cool the way you are."

Blake looked up at her for a moment before a genuine smile lit up her exhausted face.

"Thank you, Yang."

While Blake still felt a little exposed in the bright sun, the fresh air and new scenery was doing good for her tired body. She always forgot how much being cooped up could take it's toll on her. With her feet moving and the oppressive silence gone, her mind felt clear and the numb depression that was plaguing her had all but disappeared.

They were walking down a large path through the park. The leaves on the trees were blood red and a small stream on the left filled the air with it's soft song. The conversation was easy to deal with. Yang seemed to catch on to how quiet she was and talked enough for the both of them.

After the serious questions, Yang kept the conversation light. Blake found it amusing how her partner could talk about everything and nothing at the same time. It was relaxing to not do all the work. She almost didn't notice the sun starting to fall as they explored.

When they came to the end of the trail and walked back onto the sidewalk of the city, Yang let out a loud squeal. Blake looked at her, raising an eyebrow as the taller woman flailed an arm at a building across the street.

"Any Given Sundae?" Of course she would pick the one that had a pun for a name.

She chuckled and gestured to a nearby bench, "Sit down and relax, I'll go get us some ice cream and we can head home. What flavor do you want?"

"Um, vanilla?"

She gave Blake a nod and skipped off like an excited kindergartener. Blake smiled slightly, it'd been years since she had ice cream. She was very fond of sweet things, but rarely had the money to spend on them.

The sun was beginning to disappear behind the mountains, the colors of the sunset slowly receding with it. She felt the rest of the nerves that had been plaguing her melt away with the light. She wore the dark like a second skin, the sun was much to harsh for her taste.

"... faunus bitch…"

And just like that, the nerves were back. The grating whisper made goosebumps rise all over her skin as her ears swiveled every which way to find the source.

"... like they own the place…"

A few meters behind her, still in the park. It sounded like two or three people. She curled her hands into fists in her lap, trying to move as little as possible. She had a knife with her, but she couldn't use it without a very good reason. Even when pleading self-defense, it would only land her back in prison with the wrong cops.

"... lesson…"

Her heart hammered painfully in her chest as she heard footsteps shuffling towards her. She stood and started towards the ice cream shop. A brightly lit environment would usually make attackers think twice. And if that didn't work, the giant, muscular blonde with a lot of intimidating tattoos sure as hell would.

She got as far as the parking lot before rough hands on her shoulders pushed her forward and she lost her footing. Her hands took most of the fall, but it didn't stop her face from hitting the ground in a burst of pain and black spots across her vision. The sharp metallic smell of blood scattered her senses and she felt it run over her lips.

She quickly rolled over, scooting away slightly. She was wrong, it was four. And by the size of them and the burning scent of alcohol in the air, she didn't think a bright shop or a scary blonde would have done anything.

The one in front was the tallest, had rust colored hair and a smirk on his lips. He wore a tight t-shirt that showed off rippling muscles and an expensive looking pair jeans. Beside him was a man with bleach blonde hair shaved into a mohawk and piercings at his lip and eyebrow. His attire was a little less refined than the rest, opting for a ripped vest and matching pants. The one just behind them had a baby face, his hair combed down to make him look more like a businessman than a thug. Blake couldn't see the fourth very well, he was shorter than the others and hung back behind them.

They laughed as a growl made it's way past her lips."What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be at home licking yourself kitty cat?"

She knew she should have stayed silent, Goading their rage could very well have ended with her dead in a ditch somewhere, but the words slipped out of her mouth almost against her will, "Shouldn't you be in a liquor store parking lot trying to buy steroids?"

A vein in his neck bulged. Fuck. That wasn't even a good one. She was going to die because of a shitty insult. She locked eyes with the one in front, swiping her hand over her lips to smear some of the blood off. "Doesn't look like they're working for you if you need all your buddies to help you with one woman." She could handle one, at the very least. Prison be damned.

He bared his teeth and lifted a foot, kicking at her chest. She twisted and left it stomp to the ground, locking her arm around it and using the momentum to bring her legs up between them and against her chest. She only had time to see the look of horror on his face before she launched her foot directly into his crotch, straightening her body arching her back to give it more force. To his credit, he didn't make a sound as he dropped to his side.

She scrambled to her feet, pulling her knife out of her pants. Call her paranoid for sewing an inside pocket on every pair of pants she owned (even the sweatpants) but she was not regretting it. The knife was small, but it was razor sharp.

The three looked at their fallen friend in shock before rounding on her. The threat of being stabbed kept them at a distance, but she knew it was only a matter of time before one of them charged.

"Hey fuck bucket!"

One turned to the sound of the voice, only to receive a heavy boot to the chest that knocked him on his ass. Yang stood over him angrily as he wheezed, an oversized ice cream cone in each hand. Blake smiled at her in relief, only for her face to morph into shock and horror as the girl seemed to unhinge her jaw like a snake and shove an entire ice cream cone into her mouth, so she could use the hand to punch the other man square in the jaw.

He reeled back, but the third, short man bolted in and threw a heavy punch to her side. With a pained grunt, she wrapped her arm around his head, shoving his face into the side of her boob, and kneed him several times in the stomach. He struggled and gasped. If the kneeing didn't put him down, the suffocating sure would. Finally, she pushed him away, finished with her onslaught of winding blows.

The blonde glared at them while they picked themselves and each other up to limp off down the street, not relaxing until they had rounded the corner. Blake thought it was funny that Yang could intimidate grown men with a cone sticking halfway out of her mouth.

When she finally turned to Blake, her eyes widened, "MMPH!"

She rolled her eyes as Yang quickly finished the rest of her ice cream, picking her notebook up. "Did you seriously call him a fuck bucket? What does that even mean?"

"You're bleeding from your face and you want to know what 'fuck bucket' means? Priorities Blake!" She cried, coming over to inspect the faunus further. Blake snorted at Yang's talk of priorities. She wasn't the one who shoved an entire cone into her mouth in the middle of a fight.

Her hands and knees were starting to sting as the adrenaline wore off, but her face felt the worst. The pain in her nose was dull throb and her cheek burned fiercely.

"Can we please go home now?"

The blonde nodded quickly, handing the untouched cone over to Blake. "Sorry about the ice cream, I kind of ate the vanilla one. This one is Strawberry Sunrise."

Blake took it with a small chuckle, "Thanks. I've never heard of this flavor though."

"I used to date a girl that works for the company, she named it after my favorite drink."

Blake opened her mouth, but gasped as she was lifted off her feet and cradled in the taller woman's arms.

"Yang, I can walk!"

She shook her head stubbornly. "You've lost a lot of blood, I can't have you passing out."

Blake frowned and looked down at herself. The front of her shirt was dark and wet. She didn't think it had bled that much. With a sigh, she let Yang carry her and they started towards the apartment at a fast walk.

"I'm really sorry that I left you alone like that Blake." She said, her voice unusually serious.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. At least it was me and not some other faunus that didn't have anyone to help them."

"They did that because you're a faunus?" She growled, "I just thought they were trying to mug you or something."

Blake shrugged, "It happens a lot more than the news let's on."

"That's bullshit! Just because you got some fluffy ears on your head doesn't mean you're less of a person!"

"Not everyone thinks that way, Yang." It still surprised her how little people could know about what goes on in the darker parts of the world. "I think I know what I want to write about."

Yang snickered, a smirk twisting her lips. "I guess it wasn't a total catastrophe."

Blake groaned.

When they got back to the apartment, Yang set her gently on the counter before taking off down the hall, leaving Blake to fight a wave of dizziness and try to eat her ice cream before it melted.

A door banged open followed closely by a pair of startled screams.

"Blake's hurt!"

Before she could so much as blink, a red blur tore out of the hall and stopped before her. Silver eyes flickered over every cut and spot of blood on her her. "Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary? Please don't die, Blake! We only met each other a couple of days ago, you can't leave us now!" Ruby wailed, hugging her tightly.

"Ruby, I'm fine. You're getting blood all over yourself." She said, patting her back awkwardly with her free hand.

Weiss stormed out the room, followed by a concerned Yang. "Do you remember what they looked like?"

Blake nodded.

"Good. I'm calling the police station and we're filing a report." Weiss said, her tone leaving no room for argument. She flipped out her scroll and made the call while Yang explained what happened to Ruby.

"They what!?" The younger girl growled, turning from adorable puppy to rabid wolf in the blink of an eye. It still amazed Blake how quickly her mood could change sometimes.

Yang gripped her shoulders. Blake didn't know if she was trying to comfort the girl or hold her back. "Listen Rubes, going and trying to find them is only gonna cause more trouble. I already beat the tar out of them, now we have to let the police take care of the rest."

Ruby took a deep breath, nodding and unclenching her fists.

"Um… Do we have any bandages?" Blake asked quietly, trying to get off the counter.

Ruby stopped her quickly, "Don't worry, I'll get you patched up."

Yang chuckled at the anxious look on Blake's face as Ruby ran to get the first aid kit. "Hey, it's alright Blakey. She's the closest to a doctor you can get without me carrying you to the infirmary."

Blake sighed. She didn't know why they were so set on taking care of her. Like Ruby said, they'd only known her for a couple of days. Today was the most she had actually talked to them. Today was the most she had talked to anybody in months. It was felt odd to not be alone. And when Ruby came back with the first aid kit and started tending to her wounds, she decided that odd feeling wasn't a bad one.

She couldn't but feel a little like a child though, sitting up on the counter and eating ice cream while Ruby fixed her 'boo boo's.

By the time Ruby finished, Blake had bandages on her knees, hands, and a gauze pad covering a small portion of her cheek.

There was a knock at the door and Weiss let the police officer in before quickly explaining the situation.

He didn't carry himself with much confidence yet and he fumbled over his words sometimes. It seemed odd for them to send a rookie on an assault case.

When he looked over at Blake, she could see his muscles tense slightly. He turned to Weiss, scratching the back of his head. "Things like this happen to faunus all the time Ms. Schnee. There's not really much I can do about it…"

Blake suspected that something like this might happen, but both Yang and Ruby bristled at the statement. Weiss' glare grew colder, her arms folding over her chest and her hip cocked. That couldn't be good.

"Excuse me? There's not much you can do?" She asked quietly. Blake found herself pitying the policeman.

He nodded hesitantly.

"Oh, here's an idea, how about you do your job!?"

He flinched as her voice rose. "Do you even have any idea what you're doing? Or do you just think that racism is part of your job? I should just call the police chief and have you fired for incompetency! Better yet, I should just call my father and have funding to your station cut! They obviously don't need the money if all they're doing is hiring idiots with no sense of justice! Tell me, what exactly are you sworn to do?"

He must have either thought the question was rhetorical or was too scared to say much, because he didn't answer for a few moments. Weiss' glare seemed to get colder and colder. Blake could practically feel the temperature dropping."Uh-um- I-Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts, Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and-"

She cut him off, taking a step closer. "And what are we asking you to do? Exactly that! Is there anything we want from you that does fit your job description?"

"Well, it d-didn't say that we had to deal with faunus." He stuttered, glancing at Blake. Her eyes narrowed and everyone flinched as she launched herself into another enraged rant, threatening his job, his ability to ever have one again, his station, his chief, and even his life near the end. It went on for almost ten minutes before Yang placed a hand on her shoulder to quiet her. "I think he gets the picture, Weiss…"

She finally relented. His face was paler than death and his hands shaky in the tight grip her kept on his notebook.

"Well!?" She growled.

With a squeak, he took the reports from Yang and Blake as quickly and accurately as possible before practically sprinting out the door.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Yang spoke up, still looking a little shaken. "Did… Did you mean all that stuff you said to him?"

"Of course not." Weiss smirked, "There are two things every incredibly wealthy person knows, Yang. How to escape from a hostage situation, and how to throw the most effective temper tantrums."

The blonde stared at her in awe, "Wow. Sorry for calling you Ice Princess. I should be calling you Ice Queen."

"Damn straight." She huffed, turning and storming into her room.

"That was scary." Ruby murmured.

Blake nodded, heaving a sigh. "I think I've had enough excitement for the day." The other two nodded. Blake turned to Ruby, giving the slightly shorter girl a small smile. "Thanks for fixing me up, Ruby."

The girl beamed proudly, "No problem, you're one of us now! Besides, I used to patch Yang up all the time, so I'm a pro at it."

Blake bit her lip for a moment. Ruby was a really touchy feely girl. She'd be alright with it, it was something friends did all the time, right? Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and wrapped the girl in a gentle hug. She never thought of herself as one prone to acts of affection, but she felt as though the situation called for it.

When she pulled away, the girl was practically vibrating in place. The smile on her face had doubled in size and light blush heated her cheeks. If it was that easy to make the girl happy, she could resolve to do it a little more often.

They made their way back to their rooms and Blake took her time cleaning up the mess and taking her shower. She really hoped that shirt didn't stain, it was one of her favorites. When she was done, she stopped in front of Weiss' door, biting her lip in thought.

Finally, she raised her hand and knocked, holding her breath as she waited for an answer. After a few moments the door cracked open, revealing one bright blue eye with a pink scar running above and below, before it opened the rest of the way.

"Yes Blake?"

"I wanted to thank you for earlier. You didn't have to go out of your way to help me, and I appreciate it."

"I know I can be… cold … sometimes, but I'm not heartless." She sighed deeply, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe.

Blake nodded, thinking about what Yang had said. "I'm not gonna lie, I was a bit skeptical at first. You're family doesn't have the best relationship with faunus and I'll admit that I judged you too quickly." She said quietly.

"That's putting it lightly. My family absolutely despises them. If we had met a few years sooner, your judgment wouldn't have be wrong because I did too. It was the only way I had ever known." She paused for a moment, "But I'm not them. I may be a Schnee heiress, one of the most powerful people in Vale and Atlas, but before anything else, I am Weiss."

Blake held her hand out to the woman. Weiss looked at it curiously before reaching out and grasping it with her own. "Then I'm glad to have Weiss on my team, and not Lady Schnee, powerful or not. You're a good person, Weiss."

The white haired woman shook her hand, smirking slightly. "Thank you, Blake. I can honestly say I dislike you the least."

Blake nodded and returned the smirk with one of her own. "Goodnight, Weiss." She said, letting her get back to her room and retiring to her own.

The faunus curled up in her bed after turning on her radio. A soft melody filled the room and swept away some of the anxiety she felt around this time of night. The blankets felt a little warmer than usual and it served to lull her mind into a state of calm.

'You're pretty cool the way you are.'

'You're one of us now!'

'I dislike you the least.'

Blake slept better than she had in years.

AN: Hey guys! That one was a little longer than what I usually post, but I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for all the reviews and follows! I always find myself smiling when I read them and it's really interesting to know what you guys think about the story.

Until next time friends.
-Vox