"Just admit it. We're lost."
Blake didn't even bother to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she jumped down from her vantage point in the trees. There was nothing nearby that she recognized, nothing that made sense. Wherever they had landed after being separated wasn't anywhere they had been before. "I wasn't denying it," she replied coolly. Didn't change the fact they needed to figure out what was around them so they could at least try to figure out a decent direction to go. Blake frowned as she looked around, thinking. Weiss still had that gash on her head, and they needed to be careful, and- "What... are you doing?"
"I," Weiss started, her voice arching primly, "am not going to just sit here and be lost. I'm going to go be unlost, or something like that." Her legs started to stretch into an annoyed gait, posture stiff as she took two graceful steps before her balance wobbled. Blake took a half step forward instinctively, ready to catch her if she had to before Weiss steadied herself. "You can come with me or not. But nothing's going to be done by just climbing trees."
That caused a frustrated growl to build in the back of Blake's throat. "At least I'm trying to get an idea of where we are and what's around us! Nothing's going to get done by rushing forward with a head injury like that. We need to take a moment to make sure we don't run into some Grimm and you-"
The frosty glare could have come from Weiss's Dust chamber. "I'll be okay. You need to stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself." The way she tossed her head angled just right to show off her scar, silently hammering her point home. "Are you coming or not?"
Like she had a choice. "Be careful," Blake told her shortly, coming up beside her. "You're still not that steady."
Nothing stopped Weiss from rolling her eyes dramatically. With a huff, she started out, Blake following her closely. Her gait pretended to be perfect just enough that anyone who didn't know the team would be fooled. But Blake's sharp eyes noted when Weiss's foot didn't quite hit the ground right, her arm lifted up a bit to correct her balance on flat ground. Her Aura was still working to heal her, and while she was doing a lot better than before...
Why didn't Weiss just trust her? Trust she could help her find their way back without Weiss getting more hurt? Something was out in these woods that had grown nastier than usual. And they were alone, without Ruby or Yang. Without a way to contact anyone else. They needed to be careful, and yet Weiss- Blake grit her teeth. She should have never told Weiss she was a Faunus. It changed the dynamic between them, even though Weiss had told her she didn't care. She had started to warm up a bit, and then this. Ice Queen. Damn it, why had she let her mouth get away from her?
Speaking of the Ice Queen, she stopped without warning, tapping one foot as she crossed her arms. "We're getting nowhere," she announced, annoyance coloring her words. "This is ridiculous! We should be seeing something familiar by now. These woods aren't exactly new to us."
Tell me something I don't know, Blake thought with a mental snort. Instead of that, she said, "Well, if you had let me get an idea of where we were first..."
That glare was much warmer than the last one Weiss gave her. "Oh shut up," she grumbled. "Well, we're going to be here until nightfall, at least, even if Ruby and Yang find us. And this place is pretty clear with a pretty good view of what's around us."
Blake nodded, knowing where Weiss was going with this. "I'll gather firewood. It's been warm, so we shouldn't need any blankets."
"Yeah." Weiss's voice trailed off a bit, her thoughts taking over a bit. Then she shook her head, not quite looking at Blake. "I can scavenge a bit around here," she told her, voice softer and gentler. "So at least we'll have dinner."
It made Blake's head hurt a little as she went out to gather sticks for firewood. The arch frostiness and standoffishness had been replaced when a thought had occurred to Weiss. Maybe it finally hit her how bitchy she had been and the words she had told Blake back after she had let slip she was a Faunus. She just wanted Weiss to be... closer to her. Her hand paused above a stick as her own thoughts wandered a bit. Closer, nicer... just... she wanted to be able to look at Weiss without worrying that she'd have a grumpy look aimed at her. That she'd have a soft smile for her, and she could...
A dream. Blake shook her head, gathering the stick. Weiss was a teammate. That was all. She started back to the clearing, eyes sweeping back and forth. It was weird no Grimm had been sighted. At least a Beowolf should have been seen, but... nothing. That made Blake more nervous than being lost. What was out there that made the monsters run and hide? What other things existed?
When she returned, Weiss had started a small fire with a collection of berries beside her. "They're not poisonous," she told Blake when her eyes darted to them. "I remember that from class. I'm not Ruby, after all." The words lacked bite as she sat down, her back resting against a tree. Her features melted into relaxation as her eyes closed, then blinked back open. "What?"
Oh. She had been staring at Weiss. The blood on her face, though... Blake carefully placed the firewood down, coming over to her. "Your face is covered in blood. You've been bleeding since we've started walking. Let me help-"
"I can do it," Weiss interrupted, her voice icy again. "Don't worry about me."
That was enough. She had finally started acting like a human being, and as soon as it came time to actually touch her- "What the hell is your problem?!" Blake knew her mouth was running on erupted anger at this point, but stopping it wasn't happening. "You act like it's a hardship to be alone with me, then start acting like a normal person, and then when it comes time for me to touch you, you start acting like a bitch again. What is wrong with you? You say you don't care if I'm a Faunus, that I was in the White Fang, but you don't act like it. Like you think I should have remained lost!" And that was what hurt the most. The thought the maybe... she shouldn't have gone back. That no one could see her as Blake, but a Faunus. A former White Fang member. Not... Blake Belladonna.
"Are you really that full of yourself?" Weiss struggled to her feet, her own fury bubbling to the surface. "That I'm still all about you being a Faunus? You're who you are, and I can't do anything about that. It's just..." She took a breath, trying to look for the words. "It's just... hard. I trust you. You're my teammate, and I really do trust you. I don't care you're a Faunus or that you were once in the White Fang. It's just..." Her voice dropped as she looked down, a thought different than what she was talking about slipping in. "... hard."
"If it's that hard, maybe you should get Daddy to transfer you to a different team." The words came out before Blake could stop them, and Weiss turned back to her with blazing eyes.
"Do you really think that's what it's about? Do you really think I'm that much of a coward?" Weiss took a step forward, her hands curling into fists. "I'm not dependant on my father at all. Everything he's done, I don't need in my life. So don't even think I'm even thinking about it! I'm not about to transfer out just because of what I feel about you."
A little closer, and Blake could feel the warmth of Weiss's skin. "Well, maybe you should. It's not going to make being part of a team any easier."
Weiss's lips thinned at that. "Maybe you should, if you can't handle me."
It hurt. It hurt worse than she expected. Weiss... did Weiss even care if she left or not? Her retort died on her lips at the pain, retreating to hide in a change of subject. "It's getting dark," Blake told her shortly. "I'll take first watch, Princess. You get your beauty sleep.
The words closed Weiss's face off, pain flickering through her eyes. "Fine."
"Fine."
The next day wasn't any easier. Waking to the shining white of Weiss's hair only caused the pang in her to resurface. And she couldn't exactly leave her and make it back to Ruby and Yang alone. Weiss was, for the moment, still her teammate. They still needed to make it back together.
Weiss's head had finally healed. Which meant she could walk in a silent straight line away from Blake, letting the Faunus fall behind so she didn't have to even pretend there was a chance to talk to her. They didn't need to talk, except maybe in a fight. And that was okay. She didn't need to talk to someone who found it hard to be around a Faunus, even if she trusted her.
It was still too quiet. She could see Weiss moving her hand to Myrtenaster, also on edge. It didn't take a genius to realize something was coming. Something big. But when was the question. Blake's own hand rose to Gambol Shroud as she looked around. What was it? What could there-
A growl answered that. Beowolf. More than one by the sound and look of it. And- crap, Ursa. Blake's heart picked up as she realized where the red eyes came from. They had surrounded them, too silently even for her sharp Faunus ears to find. Or maybe her own thoughts had deadened her hearing. Blake's teeth grit as she looked around, taking in their numbers. With Weiss, it would be no trouble, even if they were not exactly... friendly. Just Beowolves and Ursa.
Ice sparked along the ground at that thought at a charging Beowolf as Blake dodged the swipe of an Ursa's paw, pulling Gambol Shroud free as its claws ran right through a shadow clone. Her blade pulled free, the same motion slicing it through the Ursa as she turned, other arm pushing the sharp end of her sheath through the next of a Beowolf. She could hear the pained sounds of Grimm behind her and Weiss's shouts, punctuated occasionally by the screech of her Dust chamber shifting and the sound of it activating. Blake shifted her stance to see one Ursa flying into the air, aided by a glyph. A careful aim of her pistol put a bullet into its head as it fell, leaving Weiss ready to stab another Ursa in the eye. It was too easy to take them down.
And then the ground rumbled, and Blake's bones shook at the roar of an Ursa far too large coming nearer.