Valence

by Cowjump

With the end of their first year at Beacon Academy having come to pass, Team RWBY must contend with the next three months of their summer break. Follow this eclectic bunch as they are thrown into a situation that utilizes neither their combined combat prowess nor their acquired knowledge on all things battle-related during their adventures in the city of Vale.

2. Chapter 2: 12 Hours

Wow. I expected some sort of response from the Fanfiction community but it never truly dawned on me how that response would affect me until it actually came. To say that I am thankful would be an understatement. I'm not normally one who likes praise directed at me but the positivity coming from the reviews and the visitor count in the traffic statistics is humbling in the best way possible. Thank you all who took the time to read chapter one. Though, I have to say, that positivity has set a bar for me to strive to achieve in every chapter. While the challenge is healthy, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't scared. That being said, I'm going to do my best.

I do apologize for this lengthy author's note, but I feel that there is something to be said that needs to be understood for the length and writing of Valence. I'd like to preface that I normally do not condone pointing out a review as nothing good can result from it. However, I got a review on this story (Don't react negatively, this explanation turns out positive.) concerning my writing style that brings up a few points that I would like to clarify. I have had friends and colleagues in the past tell me to stop using a thesaurus and to not be flowery for the sake of being flowery. I generally don't use a thesaurus because I know that doing so can be borderline addictive (There was a dark part of my life where I used a thesaurus as a crutch.) and any imagery I write serves both a descriptive and utilitarian purpose. My personal philosophy on writing anything at all is to not censor myself by using words that I wouldn't normally use, be it by dumbing down diction choice or finding the most fitting "big word" that can make me sound smart. I don't use a thesaurus for the majority of my writing; most of what you see is my natural vocabulary (I've always had a fascination with unused words.) and though it may seem excessively flowery or forced, it is certainly not fake. Using the unused words is a part of my writing style and I use them to create a story that I would like to read.

At the same time, I understand that excessive use of unfamiliar words can be uncomfortable to a reader. I take no offense if someone cannot connect to my writing style and decides to leave this story—I tend to do the same thing with writing styles I don't like. However, the argument that the writer should accommodate the vocabulary for the reader is, in my opinion, wrong. If I dumb down the words I use, I undermine the intelligence of the reader. By keeping the unused and "unnatural" words, readers can acquaint themselves with a broader vocabulary thus causing a smarter reader base for—potentially—all of .

Still I can take from this criticism some form of positivity. I've read more than a few fanfictions before writing this story and I have seen that very few writers in the fandoms I have read try to make themselves stand out amongst the crowd through their writing styles. I think that there are two things that will distance myself from the crowd (How fitting for this story.): 1. My vocabulary—while not the most intricate, it is my own. 2. My narrator construct. This second item has reared its head in chapter one and will once again in chapter two, but it will become readily apparent in chapter three as to why my narrator construct differentiates itself from the crowd. In summary, I will not make an attempt to censor myself through using more accessible words when I have a fitting word in mind nor will I truncate a sentence for the sake of digestibility.

Furthermore, I have seen numerous stories with chapter lengths similar to mine with requests for the author to segment the chapter to make it able to be read in a single, convenient sitting. While others may do so, I will not. I see this as a form of censorship upon myself. Every chapter of a novel should have a beginning, middle, and end and have a general purpose and theme for it. My chapters are written this way, so segmenting them would disrupt the flow of the chapter and the importance of the chapter's theme. Even this chapter, as large as it is, has a point throughout it that stayed consistent for the most part. Had I cut this down into four 5,000-word parts, that point would have been lost. The length of my chapters are taken into account for the feel of a chapter. This chapter is intended on being read in one sitting to induce fatigue and familiarity on the part of the reader. Breaking the chapter up into smaller segments would eliminate a feeling of fatigue where it is thematically necessary. Fortunately, I have not had a review tell me to segment my chapters, but I can see it happening, so I am writing this to preemptively take my stance on the subject.

I am sorry if this came across as defensive as it is not intended on being so. This isn't my bashing of the reviewer. Quite the opposite, actually; taking the time to go out of one's way to list the negative characteristics of something takes a certain amount of care. Criticism is criticism, no matter how bold or direct it may be. So, I thank that reviewer because he or she drew attention to a potential flaw in my writing that I am now cognizant of for this story.

Once again, I apologize for this long author's note and am pleased to tell you that it is near its close. I've probably revised this chapter the most out of those I've written so far. I like this chapter, I am proud of this chapter, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as I do. At its time of posting, this chapter numbered 21,904 words without the inclusion of author's notes or Fanfiction's horizontal lines indicating a break. Without further ado, chapter two of Valence.

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Chapter 2: 12 Hours

Blake was not roused from her slumber by the warm summer breeze that flowed from the open window nor did she wake from the shuffling of feet, movement of clothes, and the clicks and zips of various travel cases. No, Blake Belladonna—she who could go to sleep later than anyone and still wake up before everyone—could only be woken by her loud, energetic partner. The reason why the blonde was able to awaken the Faunus was not the volume at which she spoke but the fact that she was the one speaking it. Yang, with the amassed excitement caused by the first day of summer break, shouted to the sleeping girl, "Wakey, wakey eggs and Blakey!" at a distance far too close for comfort. This caused an unexpected "eep" from the team leader, but no visible reaction from the intended target.

On technicality, she was awake after that but chose to keep her eyes closed. Partially, this was to convince herself that the previous pun did not exist. Partially, it was out of resentment to someone else trying to wake her. But, for the most part, it was an attempt to reverse the tired state she was currently in; the warm weather simply made her want to doze. She thought about getting up but decided against it. What was the rush, anyway?

"Yang! Keep your voice down! She's trying to sleep!" she heard Weiss scold at a moderately considerate volume. The noises of various belongings moving around became apparent to the "sleeping" Faunus. She thought about what the noises could mean for half a second before abandoning these thoughts in favor of remaining in her ignorant, semi-conscious stupor.

Yang scoffed. "Yeah, that's the point, princess! I'm trying to wake her up!" Blake could hear Weiss huff and could imagine her turning away in disinterest. That is, she did imagine it until she felt her bed buckle from the weight of a newcomer who began softly and incessantly shaking her. "Come on!" she heard Yang exclaim, exuberant as ever. "Up and cat 'em!"

Rolling over onto her other side, Blake faced the wall and internally groaned. She knew Yang was not going to relent with the puns until she was awake, but this discomforted motion seemed to give the blonde pause, effectively ending the motions.

She could hear Yang groan before her sister offered her opinion. "Come on, Yang. Just let her sleep. We aren't in any rush." The young Faunus believed Ruby was being a great leader in this particular instance—she was looking out for the good of her team and was promoting individual achievement over a groupthink mentality, or something like that. Unfortunately, she proved ineffective. The weight on the bed had not shifted.

"Hey, don't worry about it; she told me to wake her up. It's all part of the plan!" She was lying through her teeth and Blake had half a mind to kick the blonde off her bed. She heard the girl hum in open contemplation. This did not bode well in Blake's mind, knowing that whatever machinations Yang thought up would undoubtedly cause her to awaken. Her Faunus ears betrayed her and involuntarily twitched at the thought. The contemplating hum from Yang turned into one of playful malice. "Well," she drawled, "desperate times call for desperate meas-ears."

Blake, now wide awake with both eyes snapped open at the implications of the pun, sat up quickly and pushed herself against the wall and away from Yang's outstretched hand. Breathing quickly and scanning the room rapidly, she blurted out, "All right, I'm awake." She could see that both Ruby and Weiss turned away from the blonde, rubbing the bridges of their respective noses.

Yang, on the other hand, had retracted her arm and put on the toothiest grin she could before greeting, "Well, good morning, beautiful!" She winked and was thusly sent to the floor.

It was far too early to blush or feel flustered, so Blake executed the only idea she deemed rational at the time: she kicked Yang off of her bed. As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, she looked towards the other two members of her team. "Good morning, Ruby; Weiss."

Weiss simply gave a small smile and nodded her head while Ruby cheered, "Morning, Blake!" The Faunus smiled at the happiness that positively radiated off of the youngest member of the team. However, her smile disappeared as soon as Yang sat back up and rested her chin on the lower bunk, beginning to pout.

"What? No love for me?" she asked, only just holding back crocodile tears.

Blake returned with a glare that harbored no ill will towards its recipient, but nonetheless was intended to look frightening. "You made three terrible jokes, tried to shake me awake, and went for my ears when I was vulnerable. You're lucky I'm acknowledging you right now." While she was slightly peeved about the situation, after looking around the room and realizing what day it was, she was slightly grateful to have been woken up. After all, she had slept in later than she usually did. The clock in the room read 11:00 a.m.

"Aw, don't be like that, partner!" Yang stood up and quickly adopted as confident a stance as she could, hands resting on her hips and eyes directed upwards and off into space. With this, any resemblance to a negative emotion she had previously displayed was now gone. "It's summer break for Pete's sake! So, get up, Blake, and grab what you need to take!"

Exasperated groans came from everyone in the room except Yang who instead held a satisfied grin. "Really?" Blake groused, "Rhymes?" The puns were at least tolerable for the most part, but if Yang continued rhyming, Blake might have just fallen back asleep out of indignation. She shook her head and stood up from her bed.

As she looked around the room, she found a multitude of white suitcases that were identifiably Weiss' and as well two more she believed to be Ruby's. Neither seemed completely finished with their packing. This only led her to believe Yang had not even started with her own, and this was only supplemented by the fact that nobody had cared enough to change out of their pajamas by this point. Blake looked to her partner. "I'm going to take a shower first, then I'm going to get ready to go. By the time I get back, you need to have already started packing." Her words and intentions were resolute and the look she gave Yang carried this point strongly, she believed.

Yang stood up as straight as she could and gave an over-exaggerated salute while exclaiming with a smirk, "Aye aye, Captain Belladonna!"

Blake simply rolled her eyes and suppressed a smile before turning to the dorm room's bathroom. Before entering, however, she gave a look to Ruby and Weiss that could only be given between those who had witnessed and survived an arduous, traumatic battle. She grimly said "Good luck" to the two before entering the bathroom. As she passed, the younger partnership shuddered at these words, but they would just have to deal with Yang's unrestrained excitement. After all, it was the beginning of summer break and Blake needed to get ready.

She brought with her the attire acting as both combat gear and casualwear, purposefully limiting the number of trips she needed to make. As if on instinct, she turned on the shower to let it warm up before looking into the mirror and the black-clad figure beyond. Surprisingly, the sight before her was not of a girl who had woken up from too few hours of sleep but instead one full of energy and uncharacteristic enthusiasm shrouded by a bored facade. Blake knew that even with the pain brought on by the puns and rhymes, she was just as excited as Yang about this summer—on second thought, she believed Yang was relatively composed for how much energy she could be expressing if not on school grounds. Either way, Blake allowed herself a smile as she disrobed and stepped into the shower.

Unlike Yang and Ruby, Blake and Weiss had not fallen victim to the endemic laziness brought on by the end of the year. The sisters had lost interest in their classes long before finals even came to mind; of course, the two never had problems with the more combat-oriented courses, but academic examinations proved trying on their patience. With Blake and Weiss, however, their studiousness carried them all the way through the end of the year. This work ethic allowed them to coast along without troublesome boredom and impatience wearing their spirits down, and, by the time summer arrived, the break came as a pleasant surprise. For the sisters, meanwhile, it was a saving grace long awaited for.

Though, it is not to say Blake did not anticipate the summer. In fact, ever since Yang had offered the chance to spend the break with her, even reading could not sate the young Faunus' boredom. If the blonde had noticed her excitement on the matter (Which she undoubtedly did, as it was fairly obvious in the days leading up to the end of the year.), then she did not show it or tease her partner for it. Blake could only imagine the remarks Yang might offer about how this hidden excitement so contrasted her regular personality or how she would finally break the Faunus of her reticent shell. Yet Blake was not ashamed of her excitement. When one lacks friends for as long as she had, thoughts of what others might think about her wanting to be happy are thrown to the wayside without a moment of consideration.

In this regard, however, Weiss was proving contrary. Blake knew the heiress was at least mildly enthused about the break and had even admitted that she did not have many friends growing up. Of course, she had substituted the word "many" to cover for "any," but no one on Team RWBY choose to judge. While she did have the level of excitement and lack of friends parts down, she was not yet willing to show how excited she was, which was fair in its own right—she could act whatever level of "proper" she wanted to. However, this veiling of enthusiasm had only led to teasing from Yang later on.

After hearing of the blonde's invitation, Ruby, on the other hand, was overjoyed. However, in its standard usage and accepted connotations, the word "overjoyed" acts as an egregious understatement to the level of jubilation which young Ruby Rose exhibited that day. She had acted in much the same way Yang had in the days following the offer's acceptance, albeit in a speedier, more overzealous manner. This entailed telling either Blake or Yang the places they would visit—with names she supposed Blake was familiar with—what they were going to do, and always ending with how much fun they were going to have. Eventually, the gears that had begun to spin in the young girl's mind about how she was to lead her team to fun allowed her to remember one critical error and devised a plan to rectify it.

It had taken a surprisingly low amount of effort to convince Weiss to join the rest of her team. From what she had said, there were some issues going on back home which she did not care to attend to, and being away from them would suit both herself and her father best. No one on the team asked anything more and instead welcomed the heiress with open arms, finding that despite her distance and cold, she held a certain respect for her teammates. It was at this point that an overenthusiastic Ruby exclaimed, "Team RWBY is going to Vale!" This then caused Weiss to shoot her down by saying they already had gone to Vale on multiple occasions.

While it is true the entire team had gone to Vale before, they had only been around the Vytal Tournament and were unable to attend the festival proper. This had been Blake's only experience in the city. She expected the sisters to have been familiar with the area since they lived there and had attended Signal Academy and she also expected Weiss to have at least visited before since it was the kingdom's capital and thusly the epicenter for all business in the region. This caused the young Faunus' view on the city to be completely based on the time she had spent in it during the tournament and its surrounding days, and even though the beginning was marred by her disagreement with Weiss, she found that she quite liked the locale. Though, from the view alone atop her favorite cliff, she knew she had not even scratched the surface of what Vale had to offer. The city was huge.

This meant the claims Yang and Ruby made about how much fun they were all going to have plausibly could come to fruition. Judging by the number of places Ruby had named with proper nouns, the ever-expanding itinerary of excitement had the definite potential of happening. While this list had fueled Blake's hopes for the break ahead, it seemed to have put off Weiss, although Blake believed this to be a form of masking her own excitement.

While the heiress was normally the sort of person to welcome rules, regulations, and plans, she had stated on numerous occasions before that having Ruby plan the entirety of their summer would be a hazard to their health. Of course, neither Ruby nor Yang intended to do so. Rather, it was implied the schedule would be democratic as all friendships are in that if someone wanted to do something, she would simply suggest it to the group and then the group would decide. The sisters' respective ideas were simply that: ideas.

No matter what, though, all ideas prior to their arrival in the city could only be speculations and would doubtlessly change after they landed. That was what added to the mystery, to the adventure Blake desired. Even if she had said the real world was not the same as a fairy tale, she still wanted an adventure akin to those in the many stories she had read over the years. It was from this hope of adventure and fun and friends that she could smile unabashedly and feel no shame for being excited. This did not mean her reserved personality would leave her by any means. No, this simply meant she could be a little happier while upholding her reserved look.

The sound of cascading water slowed to a trickle as Blake stepped out of the shower, feeling ready for the day ahead and more accepting of Yang's earlier actions. She figured the blonde had acted in her partner's best interests despite the lacking quality of her jokes. Still, the rhymes might have been a bit much. Blake redressed into her combat attire and folded her sleepwear. She had to make sure she was more than ready for today because the majority of their expected activities would be travel-related and thus draining on her energy. Seeing as how the airship ride would take, at minimum, six hours and, having factored in waiting for the ship to depart and the time it would take to retrieve their luggage after, Blake figured the group's sunk cost would be at least eight hours. As such, she wasted no time and began her morning ritual of hygienics as she stared into the mirror.

Once Blake was finished, she stepped out of the bathroom and found that only one person had finished packing. The air of content smugness positively radiating from Weiss' smirk could not be ignored—even when she had six suitcases to fill, she had still been the first one finished and seemed to lord this fact over her teammates. While still not technically finished, however, Ruby looked ready to leave at a moment's notice. She had one suitcase already filled, latched, and placed near the door while her second was left open to reveal foam padding with a rectangular mold in it. Blake could only assume it was meant for Crescent Rose, which Ruby was currently nuzzling as though she would never see it again.

The final member of the team was meanwhile in the midst of packing, living up to the promise she had made. Yang was currently throwing everything of hers that she could find into her suitcase haphazardly. It was with this action that Blake noticed something, for lack of a better term, off about the girl in yellow. It was not a change in mannerisms or mood, per se. but instead one of attire. Gone was the padded, reinforced jacket Blake had seen her wear all year and in its place was one that looked almost identical to the other, only without as much protective gear sewn into it. It looked to be a lighter, more casual jacket which was worn over her regular combat attire. It was a hardly noticeable difference, but it seemed to make the already carefree girl seem even more easygoing.

With this delayed revelation, Blake looked around the room once more and found that Weiss, too, had changed her regular attire in a not-too-obvious way. She was missing her own jacket, as well, leaving her in what looked to be a sort of summer dress which was almost identical to the attire she usually wore. Meanwhile, Ruby had not changed, probably due to the fact that the young scythe-wielder was always ready for a fight. This, coupled with the fact that she probably did not want to lose track of her weapon or cloak, allowed Blake to relate with the duality of her own attire as both combat-ready and casual.

Soon enough, her observations would be slowed to a halt when Weiss spoke up. "Are you just going to stand there and smile all day, Blake? Don't you realize we have a schedule to adhere to?" Even after the incident concerning Blake's Faunus heritage and the subsequent reparations thereof, the heiress was still able to nag at her like nothing had ever happened. But she was right, albeit a bit rude in her presentation.

Blake stepped over to her bed, passing her enthusiastic partner who quickly sent a self-satisfied grin for following orders before returning to her duties. Blake allowed herself to smile softly as she reached under her bed for her suitcase. As soon as she pulled it out and placed it on her mattress, however, it unlatched itself, but unlike the first night in the dorm, nothing spilled out. After the first time, Blake had displaced the rest of her belongings so they would not be damaged in a future incident like this, and while she did only move them to either the bathroom or underneath the bed, the fact of the matter was that her belongings would be safe until she dealt with the pesky latch again. Unfortunately, she would have to deal with the pesky latch today.

She pulled all of her belongings except for school uniforms out from beneath her bed and quickly placed them in her suitcase. Unlike the rest of her teammates, Blake did not bring too many superfluous items of clothing, instead opting for several replicas of her usual attire. She reasoned that if she were going to attend a combat academy, then she would need to bring as many copies of her combat gear as she could. Additionally, she had believed her time at Beacon would solely consist of schoolwork and battle and little else, and despite how wrong she had been proven, her meager wardrobe seemed to have sufficed.

After packing her clothes, she moved to the bookshelf between the team's bunks and picked out a few novels she had planned to read over the break and even a few she was unwilling to leave behind. She eventually decided only ten books—this number, however, was only meant to be the perceived amount. Unbeknownst to the others, she was bringing along two extras and kept them hidden on her person until she reached her suitcase. One was a novel of questionable subject matter while the other was a diary masked as a large, hardcover book with a title written in an almost dead language. The idea for the latter was that nobody on her team would so much as attempt to look at it due to its appearance of difficulty. Specifically, this measure was set up for her partner.

Blake ran a mental checklist to find what else she needed and found in a matter of moments that there was nothing left that she deemed necessary for the extent of her vacation. As she stood, she heard a loud banging noise off to her side and quickly turned to its source. What she found was Yang jumping on her own suitcase which seemed to be overfilled. What was worse was that she seemed to be enjoying the endeavor.

For some reason or another, be it the copious inefficiency displayed or the potential for the blonde to hurt herself, Blake felt the need to speak up. "Yang?" she asked hesitantly, hoping that if she could speak in a quiet, reserved voice, she would not cause the blonde to fall.

"Yeah?" her partner returned, almost completely preoccupied with her packing that she had not realized her volume was that of a shout.

Blake's ears twitched at the sudden rise in volume. "Do you need any help? If you do, I'd be happy to lend a hand." She had no idea how she could actually help if Yang was having trouble, but she felt it would only be fair to offer.

"Nah," Yang drawled. "I've got it, Blake! Don't worry about m—whoa!" At this, she nearly fell flat on her face; that is, she would have, had it not been for her partner's quick reflexes. What resulted was Blake catching Yang before she could fall and causing the blonde to grip onto her partner in a hold that nearly resembled a hug. This almost-hug quickly turned into a real, rib-crushing hug as Yang lifted Blake off of her feet whilst proclaiming, "My hero!"

It took only a second for the contact to fluster Blake and the residual air in her lungs to fail her. "Yang, put me down. Please, we still need to pack."

It was then that Weiss interjected. "Speak for yourselves. I actually have time to waste now that I'm finished."

This was followed with Ruby's own, "Yeah, speak for yourselves!" Weiss looked about ready to commend her partner before seeing that the girl yet cuddled her weapon. "I just need a few more minutes with my baby," she cooed. "Just a few more minutes."

Yang released her hold on Blake, causing the girl to drop and struggle to regain both her balance and breath. The blonde knew her partner was unable to rebuke this statement due to a current lack of oxygen, and, as such, she moved to defend the Faunus. "Pipe down, princess. Not all of us had as much time as you did to pack." She glanced at Blake. "On top of that, we don't have as many cases as you do to put all our stuff in." She pointed to her own case, which had flung itself open with the lack of anyone jumping on it.

"Well, excuse me for not sleeping away most of the morning. And if you must know, most of my cases are holding Dust—highly explosive Dust," Weiss retorted and sent a look to Ruby who was still unaware of the world outside of Crescent Rose. "I'd rather not blow up the airship on the way there. What about you? Hmm?"

"Well, why are you carrying around Dust, then? We're only going on summer break." Apparently, the snark found in the heiress' question was unable to deter her aggressor. "We're coming back here in a few months, anyways. It's not like we'll need it 'til then."

Weiss crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't trust anyone here to not steal any of my Dust." She then turned back to Yang. "Furthermore, if my fa—"

She was cut off by a loud, strained clicking noise. Both girls turned to find Blake standing by Yang's suitcase, now closed. If one were to look closely, one would see faint beads of sweat on her forehead and the remote beginnings of a self-satisfied smirk. However, Yang was not looking at her but what she had done. "Wha—How?"

Blake gave an externally apathetic shrug as she stepped away from the now closed suitcase. "I didn't jump on it," she stated in an equally indifferent manner. Internally, however, she was cheering herself for what she had done.

Yang sent a playfully annoyed glare. "My hero," she stated in a tone mirroring Blake's supposed indifference. The girl in black smirked and rolled her eyes, causing Yang to perk up and replace her glare with a grin as she turned back to Weiss. "All right. I guess that solves the packing problem." She looked to Blake. "You ready to go?" The energy radiating from her grin was far too infectious for Blake to suppress a smile of her own. She nodded.

"In that case," Weiss began before clapping her hands twice in quick succession.

There was a short pause wherein Blake and Yang simply looked at her like she was insane. However, they would quickly be interrupted as the room's door was flung open to reveal seven older men in suits, all wearing immaculate white ties. They stood at either side of the entryway with their hands clasped behind their backs as the eldest among them moved towards Weiss.

"Lady Schnee, how may we be of service?" Blake thought them to be butlers at first, but, judging by their arrival right as the team was ready to depart, she reasoned that they were Weiss' personal porters. With this in mind, Blake thought that she had seen two of the porters on her first day at Beacon, not these seven. Meanwhile, Yang simply gawked at the sudden intrusion while Ruby yet focused her attention on her scythe.

Weiss cleared her throat and smirked for a moment before suppressing the emotion. Blake thought the heiress might have been having too much fun being back in her element. "You may take our luggage down to the airship docks and prepare our belongings for the flight." At this, the porters were set in motion.

Four began to move Weiss' suitcases with the utmost care and with probable knowledge that they held either invaluable Dust or the infinitely priceless Myrtenaster. Ruby did not seem fazed by the rapid movements around her as she hugged the folded scythe one last time before placing it in the foam-lined case—Blake thought the girl could burst out in tears at any second! After Ruby closed the case on her scythe, she stood up as tall as she could, trying to diminish any possible signs of hesitation before handing both of her suitcases to a porter. As the man left, Ruby truly did burst into tears as she waved and exclaimed, "Goodbye, my love! I will see you soon! I promise!" Blake watched as Weiss' face flushed out of what she believed to be embarrassment from having Schnee family workers see what the young heiress had become a part of. However, it is to be said that as deductive and observational as Blake may be, her rationalizations for others' apparent emotions are not always correct.

The Faunus knelt down before her own luggage, making sure everything in order for the trip to come. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one porter struggling to pull Yang's suitcase out of the room, failing to even bring it off the ground. The stronger blonde patted him on the back and gave words of encouragement all the while, teasing him from what her partner could tell. Blake rolled her eyes at the energetic girl's antics.

By the time she ensured everything she would need was present, she was able to close the latch on her luggage, carefully as not to ruin her efforts. While the case did close, it felt weak—as though it would not hold. As she stood, she watched the latch and noticed small motions that managed to shake the normally collected girl. When she could manage to distract herself from the broken fastening, however, she sensed a presence standing behind her.

"May I take your bag, Lady Belladonna?" the voice of a porter asked.

Ignoring the honorific for the moment, the girl gingerly lifted her suitcase in a consistent horizontal position and handed it off as such to the man. Before she let go, she told him, "The latch on it isn't working correctly, so be careful. It has a tendency to open when vertical."

"Absolutely, Lady Belladonna. We were prepared for such an event and will be able to rectify this situation." He added with a smile, "Do not worry. Your belongings are safe with us."

Blake smiled back and thanked him before he departed. He was the last one who carried luggage to leave the room and thusly closed the door behind him. As soon as the door shut completely, Yang whirled around on her heel and looked at Blake with a still-confused expression. "Well, that was a thing."

In turn, Blake slowly looked to the heiress before asking, "Weiss, why did he know my name? And why was he prepared for my latch to be broken?"

The girl in question turned away and murmured something. Yang, who practically stood the same distance from her as Blake did, could not hear what she had said; however, due to the Faunus' enhanced hearing from beneath her concealing bow, she could accurately make out what Weiss had said—that is, "Because I wrote home about you all."

Due to Ruby's close proximity to her partner, she was also able to hear the utterance and had consequently been distracted from her mourning. She now grinned widely and lifted Weiss off her feet in a hug not dissimilar to the one Yang had given earlier, shouting, "She likes us! She really, really likes us!" Considering all of the over-exaggerated exclamations Ruby had made throughout the day so far, Blake began to think that summer had already gotten to the young girl.

Weiss seemed to think much the same, if in a markedly more negative light—one pertaining to the potential degradation of the young girl's common sense and even sanity. "Ruby Rose, put me down this instant!" Immediately, the young leader complied and looked not at all ashamed for it. As soon as Weiss was able to stand on her own, she pretended to dust off her dress and acted like nothing had happened while the coloration on her features proved quite the opposite.

"Anyways," Blake drawled. The room was, for the most part, empty, barring the remaining collection of books, an assortment of posters and paintings, and the multitude of disheveled beds. Despite all this, the room seemed empty, and not in a sentimental way but more so in a way that told her it was time to leave. So, she said exactly that. "I think it's time we get moving. There's nothing left for us to do here, is there?"

Her response came in the form of Yang hooking her arm through Blake's own while saying, "I like how you think, partner," before pulling her out the door. As she left the dorm room, she exclaimed, "Onwards and upwards!"

Moments later, Weiss could be seen pulling Ruby out by her cloak.

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All at once, the bated release of summer break descended upon Team RWBY as the dormitory's doors were thrown open and this first day's warmth met them kindly. In that moment, all the stresses of school, social ranking, and worries about the past went up in thankful flames as the golden sun temporarily blinded the young Faunus girl.

The immediate radiance prickled her skin for a comfortably still moment before the combination of heat and breeze created a paradoxically cool warmth, inspiring a renewed vigor and bringing a quiet smile to Blake's lips. The light humidity clung to her skin not even for a second and allowed her to acclimate quickly to the southern climate of her impending few months. A light, feeble breeze blew across her features, cooling the heat imposed upon her and moving the fabric of her clothes and as well any unsecured locks of hair. It was in this breeze that the scent of freshly mowed grass and the sounds of distant cheering and chatter were brought before her. It was in this moment of sensory epiphany that Blake knew the world was vivid and alive and welcoming. She knew she could open her eyes again and be unaffected by the initially brash introduction to this new season.

What she saw was no longer the impenetrable wall of white light but instead a calming, welcoming, cyan sky which seemed to glitter from one horizon to the other. While the sun could not be seen from beneath the dormitory's height, its presence was absolute from the vibrancy of the surrounding campus and to the severe lack of shadows. This lack of shade admittedly frightened Blake to an extent, having no place to turn to if she had to resort to her semblance, but it also calmed her in a way; it reminded her that she probably would not need to use her semblance, anyway. As she gazed across the long concrete promenade which extended to the docks, she could see friends and their respective teammates wishing each other farewell, tearful and excited. This idea of splitting up a team for a three-month recess seemed foreign to the girl in black, but, then again, much had been foreign to her ever since initiation.

She was pulled from her reverie by a tug on her arm and an exclamation of, "C'mon, Blake! Our ride's here!" before being forced into a run by her energetic partner.

Blake shook off her hesitation and began to cooperate, choosing to run alongside her partner without complaint. However, as she regained her focus, she felt the necessity to ask, "Yang, why are we running? We still have time until the ship leaves."

This was returned with a toothy grin. "We have to get the best seats before somebody else gets 'em." It was strange to think, but something about this expression seemed to hint at an ulterior motive on the part of its owner, but Blake paid the thought no attention, choosing instead to accept the reason and freely run beside her friend.

She could not help but smirk at the over-confident, over-excited face her partner was making. The blonde had not once shown this sort of enthusiasm before, either in a classroom or in the midst of a heated battle. Seeing this expression now, Blake knew the girl beside her wanted only to go home and begin her summer break, getting away from all the projects and battles and essays and whatnot. Needless to say, the enthusiasm radiating from the girl was infectious.

It took only a minute for the two to reach the docks. Holding a hand above her eyes, Yang scanned the area in search of a city-bound airship. How she was able to do this or how she intended to differentiate one ship from the twenty others at such a distance as this, Blake was unsure; however, with a sudden "Aha!" and a pointed finger from the blonde, the young Faunus was quickly proven pessimistic. It was not too long of a walk from where they had stood on the promenade to the sixth ship down the line, and entry onto the airstrip offered no resistance whatsoever since they carried no luggage. The conductor welcomed the two aboard with a smile and opened the door for them without needing any identification at all. The only challenge Blake foresaw by this point was the search for seats which was to come.

As large a school as Beacon was, Blake was surprised to find the ship relatively empty. There were no true clusters of people nor did there seem to be any real conversations occurring outside of cordial small talk, but perhaps they had simply arrived a bit early. Yang, still having her arm linked with Blake's, pulled the Faunus to a corner of the airship where empty seats were arranged in sets of two, creating purposeful spaces for teams to gather. She still carried that grin that seemed to become more wolfish as time wore on as she unlinked their arms and sat down on the seat closest to both the back wall and the window.

Blake quickly glanced over her shoulder which resulted in Yang telling her, "Come on! Sit down. They'll be here any minute." She patted the seat next to her.

Blake had been prepared to engage in some sort of conversation to pass the time until Ruby and Weiss arrived but found that by the time she had taken her seat, her partner was staring out the window beside her—almost wistfully if her now faded grin meant anything. This was odd for the blonde girl who had always gone out of her way to strike up a conversation whenever she was alone with Blake. Now she was simply silent—which the young Faunus usually admired—but she was silent to an almost uncharacteristic degree. It was concerning in a way, but there was nothing Blake could do to help it. For all the support Yang gave, she was surprisingly difficult to lend assistance to. Perhaps this was due to personal pride or perhaps mere habit, but whatever the case, the young Faunus knew that whatever emotion this wistful look displayed would inevitably be remedied on its own. Such was Yang's character.

However, Blake could not help but continue staring at her partner. There was something about her that inexplicably caught the Faunus' eye, and thus Blake watched the girl's lilac orbs drift back and forth, lazily watching the horizon in a slow, uninterested manner—she believed Yang was portraying boredom rather elegantly, if she was to admit. There was little doubt Blake found her partner attractive in a few regards; to say the very least, she thought the way Yang concealed her incredible strength with unsuspecting beauty was impressive, something Blake, herself, hoped to achieve one day. Additionally, the fact that this radiant blonde could turn any negative into a positive was more than appealing for a girl so consumed by past mistakes.

Romance had always been a novel idea for Blake. Ever since her impromptu departure from the White Fang, she came to believe that the only thing left in her life was to become a huntress so to rectify the mistakes she had once made. It was a thankless job, a nameless job, and it directly benefited society as a whole rather than a singular group's ideology. Moreover, she believed there was a certain justice in risking her life now, fighting impossible creatures with but a sword and a pistol and somehow proving she was worthy of a beloved title. However, it was Yang alone who proved there was more to offer than pain at Beacon Academy—in the nine short months Blake had known her partner, Yang had personally reintroduced her to friendship, life-endangering antics, and even happiness.

And while Blake still thought a relationship was impossible for herself, she harbored unadmitted feelings for her partner nevertheless. The principle cause for her attraction could not be pinpointed to any single matter; rather, it is to say these sentiments came into being at one definite point and have grown ever since. After that night on the cliff not two months ago, the young Faunus had felt her partner had become something more than just a friend. Perhaps this was due to their relatively new titles of "best friends," but Blake knew better. She had had months to consider the storm hidden beneath her calm, and it was glaringly evident that these unrequited sentiments were more affectionate than friendly—much more, in fact. It is to say that in the days leading up to their break, these feelings had risen to a fever pitch as the blonde's admirable qualities became more pronounced with their shared excitement.

Excluding her since abandoned parents, there was not a soul on Remnant who had cared for Blake like Yang did. The world knew her as a terrorist, a student, a huntress-in-training, but never Blake Belladonna. However, Yang had treated her like she would anyone else and had gone so far as to befriend the young Faunus despite her prior titles—she did not care about past atrocities or regretted politics, only Blake. Of course, the rest of Team RWBY had accepted her much the same, but it was Yang who had been the first and was still the most endearing.

During the year, Blake had come to realize it was not only her and Yang's battle tactics that contrasted and complimented each other but as well their respective personalities. It was in this balance of energetic and collected, outgoing and reserved, and impatient and patient that Blake found her partner to be, quite frankly, the most tolerable person in the whole school. Their friendship had eventually reached the point where some of Yang's characteristics had rubbed off on her, although not many, while the inverse was equally true. Currently, the blonde was sitting still, gazing out her window, and patiently waiting for their teammates to arrive. It was obvious she was still anxious, judging by her seemingly immovable frown, but she showed an incredible amount of patience nevertheless. However, because of this patience, Blake was left without a dissuading factor to keep her from staring.

Without much consideration, she watched Yang absently stroke the mane of golden hair draped over her shoulder; she watched those brilliant lavender orbs scan the horizon and their owner's foot tap an inaudible beat, dreaming about what it would be like to assist in these combing efforts. There was an energy to the blonde which Blake could not define. It had a pulling effect, a disarming effect, and, most alarmingly, it was utterly enthralling. In fact, the young Faunus had been so absorbed in the warmth of her partner's eyes that she did not see until it was much too late that the blonde had turned to face her, locking lavender orbs with ones of gold. Blake could not help but blush. Yang could not help but smirk.

"Hey, Blake?" The girl in question had expected some sort of teasing remark, but the tentative sincerity in Yang's speech was nothing short of surprising. Blake looked up, unable to restrain the burning in her cheeks. "Thanks for doing this," Yang said. "I know I said it before, but you choosing to come with us really means a lot to me."

"It's not a problem," Blake dismissed. "Really." She consciously fought to reduce her blush but was failing miserably by way of her partner's energy.

"No, really. Thank you. I mean, I like Ruby and all—don't get me wrong, she's a great sister!—but sometimes…Sometimes she can be a little much. You know what I mean?" Blake did not have a chance to respond. "It's just that…" she sighed. "It's only been the two of us for a while and I've taken care of her for as long as I can remember." She hung her head in apparent shame. "I mean, I love my little sister to death, but…" Again, Yang sighed and hunched over.

"But you're tired of it being only you and her," Blake completed. "Is that it?" It took a bit of an effort to ignore her embarrassed color, but the young Faunus was able to place a comforting hand on her partner's back, prioritizing Yang's frustration over her own temporary bashfulness. For a fraction of a second, the blonde looked surprised before smiling back.

"Yeah, I guess," she said. "Me and Ruby haven't had friends over in a long time with me being a little protective and her being…well, Ruby." She gave a short, sad-sounding chuckle. "I feel like if we'd gone another summer just by ourselves, we'd end up at each other's throats or something." Yang's gaze lowered to the floor. "I'm sorry if this sounds selfish, but I'm really glad you came along."

From what Blake could see, it appeared as though her partner was about to break down in tears, but, then again, Yang was strong—crying simply did not fit her character. Regardless, she seemed frustrated and Blake was compelled to help. Although the intended action was similarly uncharacteristic to the girl in black and although she did not know how to properly execute it, she reached out and pulled Yang into as warm a hug as she could. Just as quickly, Yang hugged back, nestling herself into the place between the Faunus' neck and shoulder.

Such a public display of affection was something Blake had never cared to be associated with, yet here she was hugging her partner in a passenger airship. Fortunately, her blush had faded by this point and did not return since this contact was both necessary and of her own volition. There was something about this closeness that struck a chord in her mind and made this embrace feel existentially gratifying. "It's all right," she soothed, surprised by her own words. "There's nothing to be ashamed about. You two need your personal space but have been unable to find it. That's normal, Yang—everyone needs their space. You've been a great sister from what I can tell, and Ruby seems just as excited about Weiss coming. You two needed a change in your lives, a change in routine, and I think this summer will accomplish that."

She could feel Yang's lips curl into a thankful smirk against her shoulder. The blonde shook slightly as she laughed, "You have no idea." She then pulled away, grasping Blake's arms and thanking her with an ecstatic gleam in her lilac eyes. "This is going to be the best summer ever. For all of us." At this, she pulled Blake into a hug of her own, this one tighter and markedly more experienced than the Faunus'. Unfortunately, Blake's blush returned as she was pulled into the golden mane, not because the action of a hug, not from the heat exuded by Yang, but simply because of the gleam in her eyes.

By this point, Blake had relaxed to their current form of contact, accepting it calmly and not a small bit eagerly. It felt oddly trusting in a way and just as disarming as her partner's usual warmth. She found that the golden locks were as soft as she had expected and the strong arms wrapped around her were gentle with their enthusiasm. However, she could only maintain this level of interest if the situation surrounding them were to stay discrete. Unfortunately, it seemed her affection could never be.

"Aww! You look so cute together!"

It became immediately apparent that Ruby and Weiss had arrived. Because Blake was already flushed before her leader's interruption, she was unable to tell whether the renewed tingle in her cheeks' came from her own heightened embarrassment or Yang's. Yang, being one to house an aura manifested in heat, had a tendency to increase the temperature around her if she could not keep certain emotions in check. One such emotion was embarrassment, and now saw the young Faunus consumed by this nervous heat.

"Break it up, you two, before you make me sick," nagged the chiding voice that could only come from Weiss. Sure enough, when the two broke from their hug, both were sporting crimson as they found their lost teammates. They did not have time to apologize before the other partnership took its seats. Ruby sat beside the window and immediately began scanning the horizon, albeit in a much more excited way than Yang had, while Weiss sat on the outer seat with arms crossed and a glare focused on the blonde. "Explain yourselves."

Blake was surprised to find Yang struggling with her words. "Wha—I—Umm—We, uh…"

Weiss groaned. "Not that. I don't care what you do in your free time; tell me why you ran off."

The blonde laughed sheepishly as she played with her hair. "Well, you see…" she started before looking to Blake. In turn, the Faunus motioned her eyes down towards the seats. Yang turned back to Weiss. "We were reserving our seats…?"

The heiress sighed and shook her head. "Fine," she resigned. Despite her word, the way she had said it and the look on her face made it apparent she did not believe Yang. This made Blake question their regrettably faulty logic in rushing, as well. While she did trust her partner and had consciously chosen to run away with her, the suddenness with which Yang pulled her into an airship to escape their teammates was indeed odd. However, these musings on the subject were cut short by another voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking," squawked a voice from the speakers around the cabin. The new voice caused Blake to refocus herself, Weiss to let out an indignant huff, Ruby to face forward in her seat, and Yang to let out a sigh of relief. "The current time is 11:47 a.m. We are scheduled to take off in fifteen minutes for the city of Vale. Due to barrier restrictions, our E.T.A. is approximately 6:30 p.m." This remark caused Yang and Ruby to sigh dejectedly, be it due to the amount of patience required for the trip or perhaps due to their supposed inability to start on their itinerary of fun tonight.

It was then that Ruby gasped, causing all members of her team to look at her, ready to remedy any problem which might have arisen. "Has anyone seen Jaune? He's gonna miss the flight!" In an instant, Blake and Yang relaxed at the anticlimactic crisis, both very much indifferent on the matter. Meanwhile, one of Weiss' eyes visibly twitched.

Her sister waved it off. "Pyrrha invited him over to continue his training." She air-quoted the word and shook her head. "Me and her were talking about it, and she seemed super excited about having him over and introducing him to her folks. Funny thing is Jaune probably believes her or something. I bet she has something big planned—you know, not fighting stuff." As the rest of her team accepted the information, Yang took the opportunity to glance at her partner before looking away when Blake caught her. As brief as the look was, the Faunus had a sneaking suspicion the girl was up to something.

"Yeah, it's kinda sad, really," added Ruby. "I mean, anytime we even put them in a sentence together, they just change the subject. He even freaks out when we mention she's his partner!" Blake was surprised at the transition Ruby had made from her earlier, energetic self. If she had to guess, she would say the young girl was aware of the patience required of this flight and thus paced herself accordingly for both her benefit and her team's.

Weiss scoffed. "Honestly, I don't understand what she sees in him. She's the pillar of their team and he's…Personally, I think he's done something to her. I wouldn't put it past him to drug her."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" Blake asked. "You may not like Jaune, but he's a nice person—a bit naïve—but a nice person nevertheless. I think that what Pyrrha sees in him is strictly her business." She looked to Yang. "Though, I think you're right. She probably does have something planned if she invited him to her home."

Yang smiled a toothy smile before saying, "Plus, I don't think Jaune's the only one who's naïve about this whole thing. After Pyrrha realizes that he actually came to train, she's probably gonna forget about all her plans. But hey, either way, something's gonna happen."

"Yang, let them have their fun. It's their summer and what they do is none of our business," said Blake. Then, however, she adopted a small, if not mischievous smirk of her own. "Though, if they don't come back as a couple, that only means we can discuss it with them after the break." As she had hoped, this elicited an excited smile from her co-conspirator and another indignant scoff from the heiress.

The conversation dissipated after this as the group resigned to taking to their own methods of passing time. Ruby and Yang stared out of the window, Weiss simply sat with her arms crossed and eyes closed, and Blake took the time to look around the cabin again. Time slowly ticked away as the minutes leading up to takeoff stretched into a bored eternity, but as soon as the engines whirred into eager life, a renewed enthusiasm seemed to spread throughout the passengers' minds. Unlike her partner, Weiss' demeanor did not change at the new sound and motion. Ruby was positively giddy, bouncing in her seat and grinning at her sister. Likewise, Blake looked over to find Yang smiling warmly at nothing in particular—though, she could have sworn the blonde was looking at her out of the corner of her eye.

The airship climbed at a comfortably quick rate, causing the students within to feel the slight downwards pull and smile for it. The liftoff and taxiing processes took only a few minutes to slow before the ship drifted gradually forwards. And as the transport climbed to cruising altitude and speed and as the engines' drone became a commonplace nonissue, the students' voyage truly began.

Although Blake could not see the land directly below her, she could see the Forest of Forever Fall slowly leave her sight as the airship ascended. However, it was in this sight that she also saw her partner staring dreamily out at the autumnal hues. Blake allowed herself a soft smile. Perhaps her preconception from the beginning of the year was wrong—friendship could be beneficial and not the risk she had initially believed. The view of that golden mane, those vivid violet eyes, and their owner's perennially warm expression inspired a confidence that indeed most of the preconceptions she had brought to Beacon were wrong. In this sight, Blake saw that solitude might not be the only option for her.

If one were to put their ear against the window, they would be able to hear rapid gusts of wind only attributable to a fast-moving vehicle. However, due to the school's protective barrier, the shifting horizon slowed to a crawl despite the ship's relativistic high speed. Surprisingly, the sluggish movements did not affect either of the excitable sisters but instead the young Faunus.

Blake, who was used to quick, stealthy movements in combat and having to deal with a rambunctious partner and best friend, found herself growing anxious as the time passed. She had been the same way on the ride to Beacon: bored beyond belief and irritated at the slowing barrier. She found flaws behind the logic of maintaining this shield, being that it was intended to protect hunters and huntresses who could easily fight back, but she could understand the faculty's excuse as well. Rather to have students located in one monitored place than have them cause potential trouble in the city below. For the most part, these students were harmless, but this was precisely the reason why Professor Goodwitch wanted them safe from the dangers of Torchwick and the ever-troublesome White Fang. Regardless, it was to be a six-hour flight and Blake had nothing to read.

In her boredom, she looked to her other teammates who seemed to be in different forms of meditative trances. Weiss still sat with her eyes closed and arms folded while Ruby and Yang continued to look out the window, Yang once again tapping her foot to an inaudible beat.

Blake sighed and weighed her options. She could stay awake and deal with her boredom, hating every minute of the impending hours. She could also try to converse with her teammates, but she assumed this would disrupt their trances and unintentionally cause them to suffer with her. The final option she considered was to take a nap, but that would entail completely letting her guard down around others. The insecurities which arose from her time with the White Fang had not yet settled to mere memories, making her hesitant to sleep in the company of others. This had been a problem during the first few nights at the academy.

However, her team had eventually been accepted as genuinely safe. There was only one instance where they had displayed anything other than geniality to her, and Weiss was still trying to make amends for it. Their accepting personalities allowed Blake to feel secure and even guarded to an extent. All of her teammates were more than competent fighters who always kept their weapons close, and, as such, she felt that if a situation were to arise, they would not turn tail and run like those in the White Fang would have.

With this in mind, Blake decided upon a nap as her best option; the others would surely understand. She did not alert anyone as she reclined slightly in her chair and closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them next, they would have touched down. Darkness encroached upon her already sedated vision. Admittedly, she was cold without a blanket but was undeterred and took comfort in the radiating aura beside her as she slipped into a light slumber.

---

There was an incredibly comforting sensation that ran through Blake's mind. She was awake, but only slightly so, choosing to keep her eyes shut as she had that morning. The sensation was constant and warming, soft yet thorough, and it caused her to make a sound she had strived for so long—years, if her count was correct—to not make around anyone.

Blake purred.

This seemed to halt whatever the sensation was for only a moment. Fortunately, however, the warm feeling would soon return with an even greater fervor, allowing the Faunus to smile blindly at the comforting motion. She could not tell exactly what the sensation was nor could she hear who or what was causing it; the only things she could focus on were the feeble purrs she failed to suppress and the rhythmic action which caused them. It took a moment, but she would eventually will herself to open her eyes halfway to search for the source of this contentment, and when she did, she found that the majority of her senses returned to suboptimal levels. The first thing she noticed in this willing stupor was that the calming sensation came from a warm entity beside her and a particularly gentle scratching at the base her bow. This revelation brought her senses to a new, heightened state.

While she did not move from the unexpected hold, she became suddenly aware of every other event and figure in her immediate vicinity. She could see that Weiss and Ruby were not in their seats; though, their presences were nearby from what she could hear. Yang, however, was still in her own seat and had been the one scratching her partner's ears.

The young Faunus found herself in a muddled state of confusion, worry, and blissful comfort. Even if she was comfortable with sleeping around her teammates, this forward action was surprising to say the very least. Had the action not been so soothing, then she would have believed it uncouth and thus strayed from her partner's grip. However, Blake allowed herself to relax against the hand above. If it were anyone else—even Weiss or Ruby—she would have stopped the action immediately, but because Yang was the one doing this, Blake let the incursion slide just this once.

"Morning, Blake," she heard a respectfully quiet version of her partner's voice say. The scratching did not cease.

"All right, she's up. Now, let's get moving. We don't have any time to waste." Through half-lidded eyes, Blake saw Weiss with her arms crossed in a stance more of indignation than her previous positions of metered patience. Standing beside her was Ruby, making it abundantly clear that she was growing impatient, judging by the rapidly shifting glances she gave to every other object in the room.

"Hold on, hold on," Yang said, still speaking softly. "Let's let her wake up first."

Weiss groaned. "We don't have time for that. They're going to usher us off any minute now!" Contrastingly, the heiress did not try to keep her voice down as she talked in the presence of a half-asleep Blake. However, the girl's impatience and underlying giddiness were hard to ignore despite her externally annoyed features.

"Then let them," Yang said simply and without a trace of malice in her tone. By this point, Blake would have awoken; however, the ministrations kept her from becoming fully functional. She could hear Weiss huff, likely out of defiance and partly due to Ruby's influence on her. "Just go on ahead," the blonde offered. "Go take Ruby to get our stuff and we'll meet you there in a minute."

Weiss looked as though she were about to say something, but all that resulted from this was her sighing and walking away with Ruby close behind.

As the sound of heels clicking against the floor faded into silence, Blake was once again able to focus on her partner's scratching. Unfortunately, the wanted ministrations eventually slowed to a halt, causing Blake to unwittingly moan in yearning dissatisfaction "She's right, though, kitten. We need to get going pretty soon." Blake did not seem to notice the name she had been given, instead having been surprised by the fact that Yang knew she was awake without having to look. "But take your time. It's not like Weiss is breathing down our necks anymore, so we don't have to rush out of here until you're good and ready."

With the knowledge that Yang was not going to continue scratching, Blake forced herself to awaken fully. What she found as she regained her senses was that she had been leaning against the front of Yang's shoulder. Furthermore, she realized that the blonde's arm had wrapped almost protectively around her waist. Realizing this, Blake sat up, abashed and blushing as Yang's arm returned to its owner. "Sorry," was all Blake's groggy voice could manage.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm still a little tired, too, after my own nap." As the blonde proved this statement with a wide yawn, she smiled warmly at her partner, not budging from her seat even with her previous warning of urgency. Suddenly, she adopted a weak toothy grin impaired by her own fatigue. "So, how'd you sleep?"

This brought Blake back into reality and, in effect, allowed her to rebuke something she had put off temporarily. "Don't call me kitten," was her tired reply.

Yang's impish expression eased back to her regular smile. "Sorry." A few long, comfortable moments lingered between the two. Blake realized the entire cabin was now empty except for them and they were but two partners sitting alone in the back of an airship. She looked to the blonde again and inadvertently saw the fading day beyond the window, showing the faintest signs of succumbing to the impending dusk. "So," Yang said, breaking the simple silence, "you ready to go?"

With a yawn, Blake stood. "Yeah. Sure. Ready when you are." She found her balance to be slightly off, but she attributed this to the fact that she had slept for six hours in a moving airship. Yang stood, too, and showed similar signs of a thrown-off balance; however, she was unable to find her bearings as quickly as Blake had and thus resorted to stumbling over to the Faunus, throwing an arm over her shoulder for support and leaning against the shorter girl. Blake returned in kind—after all, what were partners for? She smirked at this renewed contact, silently surprised at her ability to awaken so quickly and partially delighted by the fact that Yang needed a shoulder to lean on now. "Come on," she said, "let's get going. I don't think Weiss will be able to wait much longer."

Yang copied the expression, donning a smirk of her own. "Let the princess wait. It's not about her right now." Blake simply rolled her eyes and proceeded to walk out of the airship, supporting her partner as she went.

When Blake first left for Beacon Academy, she had boarded her airship in a dock-like area not dissimilar to the one the school utilized. This outdoor dock was what Blake expected to see when she stepped off of the airship, but what she found instead was an enclosed boarding bridge. From this tunnel, she could unfortunately speculate that the doors at the other end would lead into an airport.

She was immediately proven correct but was unable to take pride in the fact. There were two factors working against Blake at this time, the first being her enhanced hearing caused by the ears beneath her bow. What she had not expected was the innumerable mass of humanity swarming the area around the ramp's exit—the multitude of conversations, arguments, and screeching announcements over the various intercoms put a strain on her ability to hear. The second factor was her unadmitted anxiety. The sheer number of people in this horde sent shivers down her spine—the thought that any one of them might want to engage in conversation or remark upon her Faunus heritage, hidden though it was, was utterly paralyzing. Much worse, she knew that if she wanted to get out of the airport, she would need to walk through the crowd, unintentionally interacting with a great many of them as she brushed by.

Yang, who could apparently stand on her own now, tightened her grip around Blake when the girl tensed and quickly brought her into something of a side hug. To a human such as her, all that could be heard was simply an annoying drone of inarticulate speech. For the young Faunus, however, everything in the airport's entirety seemed to coalesce into a deafening cacophony which forced her to wince and shut her eyes. It hurt her mind, it hurt her ears, and visions of another life sprang forth into her memory, painting these humans as something they were not. Fortunately, she could feel Yang pulling her along.

As she looked up, Blake saw the inescapable crowd coming closer. Instinctively, she leaned into her partner's form and, in turn, Yang pulled her closer, making it so that the two took up as little space as possible while maneuvering through the masses. While Blake did blush at her actions, she preferred this position over the alternative and closed her eyes as she ignored the sounds around her, focusing only on the warm figure who held her protectively.

When she next opened her eyes, she found that the crowd was behind them and that the noise had died down a little. It was still loud, but it was now tolerable for the Faunus. Up ahead, Blake saw Weiss standing with her arms still crossed, glaring at both her and Yang. Ruby, meanwhile, looked as though she had wanted to say something or squeal at something she found adorable—that something being the same condition making the Faunus blush. Unfortunately for the young girl, Weiss spoke up first. "Took you long enough."

The remark and glare made Blake conscious of the fact that she was still clinging to Yang, resulting in their sudden, bashful separation. She noticed both her own and her partner's features were heavily flushed from embarrassment, and, for some odd reason, seeing Yang this way made the Faunus feel as though a smile were coming on. She suppressed this feeling, however, and turned her attention to the heiress, doing her best to hide this troublesome blush. "I'm sorry. We had difficulties waking up and reorienting ourselves, but at least we made it. Now what do we do?"

Still audibly annoyed, Weiss said, "Now we find our luggage. That is, if it hasn't already been stolen after waiting so long." She did not wait for any sort of response before marching off in the direction Blake could only assume was baggage claim. Ruby followed close behind, not missing a beat.

The young Faunus then felt an elbow nudge her from the side. She saw Yang smirking. "Don't worry about her. She's just excited is all—said something about a headache, but I think she's just happy to be away from Beacon."

"Yeah," Blake sighed. She agreed with Yang's assumption on the matter, but Weiss' negativity was not at fault for this current look of forlornness. Visions of their trek through the crowd still filled her mind. She saw throngs of humans descending upon her with intent to harm—she saw how everyone in the crowd gave her judgmental looks, silently reprimanding her for being born a certain way. She knew none of it was real, none of it was rational, but she tended to believe, especially after her golden savior rescued her from those who sought to harm. Of course, Blake could fight for herself and had done so for the majority of her life, but backup was a welcome change of pace after going for so long without.

Suddenly, Yang spoke up, more cheery and excitable than before. "C'mon! The faster we get our stuff, the faster we can get home!" She then took Blake's hand, effectively pulling the Faunus from her thoughts, and dragged her along towards baggage claim. Blake guessed it was in poor form to run in an airport, which was why she believed Yang's gait was as fast as one could walk without the motion being considered a jog. Regardless, she kept up with her partner and held the blonde's hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

As Yang led, Blake donned a wry smirk and asked, "Are you sure we are going home or is it just you and Ruby?" The emphasis on the plurality in the statement only proved to thicken the mocking, albeit lighthearted sarcasm.

The blonde looked back and winked. "Yep! We. They say home is where the heart is, right?"

Whether or not she had intended this to mean anything more than a friendly jab remained to be seen. However, for the time being, Blake took the sentiment as having more-than-friendly implications and blushed accordingly. She had doubts Yang would ever say such a thing to her; the amount of times she had seen the blonde staring at and flirting with boys at the academy gave the Faunus credible reason to believe Yang would never flirt with her seriously. But Blake could dream, and, as such, held the comment close.

The rest of the walk went on in silence. At least, there was silence between the two of them; the airport, on the other hand, was still as boisterous and lively as ever. This must have been the reason why Yang was so unaffected by the crowds and noises—it must have felt natural to her. When they arrived at the baggage claim, Blake found the only people still waiting there were Weiss and Ruby, everyone else having perceivably found what they needed and left. Beside them was what looked to be an empty cart intended for carrying luggage. Ruby waved them over and the four reconvened.

"Still not out?" Yang asked, looking towards the carousel.

"Nope," Ruby replied. "Everybody else's stuff came out faster. Maybe those butlers put our stuff on the wrong airship."

"Absolutely not," Weiss stated firmly. "First of all, they are not butlers. They are porters. Second, a porter hired by the Schnee family would never make a mistake like loading our luggage on a different flight." As if on cue, six pure-white suitcases came out from behind a black curtain and onto the conveyor belt. "See? What did I say?" Following Weiss' suitcases came the rest of her team's.

When Blake went to pick up her luggage, she was surprised to find that the latch had been fixed. She had been prepared for everything to fall out again but was relieved when nothing did. As she turned back to look at the others, she found that all six of Weiss' cases were piled neatly on the cart with one maroon case sitting at the top. The heiress did not seem annoyed by this extra suitcase but instead by the rocking motions Ruby made as she hugged what Blake assumed to be Crescent Rose. "Now what?" asked Weiss, visibly annoyed.

Yang moved to stand beside her partner, having no trouble carrying her own suitcase in one hand. "Now we hail a cab." Blake watched the blonde smirk at Weiss' subtle disgust. "It'll be fine, princess. It's just a taxi." While the heiress did not relent her look of disgust, she did roll her eyes in a manner that did not come across as expressly demeaning.

Before Blake could offer assistance in the hailing effort, she found that Yang had disappeared suddenly and entirely. Where she had gone or what she was doing was woefully indeterminate, but it was more than reasonable to believe she was acting impulsively and had left her team behind to find the aforementioned taxi. In the blonde's haste, Blake looked to Weiss, who simply shrugged before marching on as Ruby pushed the cart behind her. With her teammates in tow, Blake followed the directions given by the signs above, hoping to find an exit and, consequently, Yang.

Eventually, the group of three would arrive at a rather large foyer, the terminal as it would later be recognized. Light from outside streamed in through the many windows making up the walls of this area and reflected off of the shined granite flooring. However, the view would have been exquisite, energizing even, had the light not been shining on a sight that made Blake shudder. Yet another crowd stood in the way of the Faunus and her goal; unfortunately, the primary difference between this one and the last was the distinct lack of Yang to guide her through it, making this experience secretly horrifying to the supposedly unshakeable girl. Blake would have to go through this crowd by herself and face her fears without any help. It was easier said than done.

She stepped forward hesitantly; however, she only took one step before she froze again. Internally, she was berating herself. She was a competent warrior—she had no fears on the battlefield! She should not have been freezing up at something so benign as an impatient, judgmental, solid mass of humanity. Fortunately, movement in her peripheral caught her attention. She saw Ruby pushing the cart of luggage through the crowd, effectively making a path as Weiss followed along, entrusted with the task of carrying the young girl's weapon. Blake took this opportunity and fell in behind them.

The berth created by the cart was more than enough for Blake to breathe easy—rather, easier. As they blazed a trail through the wilderness of humanity, she could see in the distance what looked to be a door bathed in the light from outside. With eyes trained that the door and on nothing else, the journey through the crowd was made a much simpler process.

It felt as though no time at all had passed in Blake's mind between the moment she chose to follow the cart and the moment she was outside. In contrast to the morning's humidity and incessant heat, the air was now cool and comfortable and the sky above was a pale blue, the first signs of the day's closure. It seemed as though the sun were willingly submitting to the whims of the oncoming night and this point was only emphasized by the faraway clouds, now colored orange. A light breeze drifted by and cooled the young Faunus, causing her raven hair to sway in the wind as it brought the distinct saline scent of a nearby ocean. This new level of ambient conversation was not only tolerable to Blake's ears now, it was relaxing; it created a form of white noise that could tone out whatever worries she might have had before. She was in Vale with her friends, and she could not have been happier.

A shrill whistle was heard off to the side. The group turned to find Yang waving at them a short distance away, standing by a large, black taxi van. She did not have her suitcase in her hands, so Blake assumed the van would be their mode of transportation this evening. If it was not evident enough as to what her intent was, the blonde called out to the others. "Hey, guys! I found our ride!"

Weiss groaned in perceptible annoyance at the outburst. Blake merely smiled and followed as Ruby pushed the cart towards her sister.

Yang jogged up and relieved Ruby from her responsibility. "You and Weiss take a seat," she said. "Me and Blake will load up the van. We got a bit of talking to do before we head off, so just get ready. All right?" Blake did not object to her being volunteered. After all, she was the only one left carrying anything that was not meant to be kept within arm's reach at all times.

Without question, Ruby nodded and headed over to Weiss. She then proceeded to take the heiress by the wrist and pull her towards the van with no small amount of opposition from the girl in white. The sound of the van's door opening and closing signified that the two had found their seats, leaving Blake and Yang alone for the time being. However, the young Faunus had been so caught up in thinking that this most recent scene might have been cute had the wrist Ruby taken not been attached to Crescent Rose that this present solitude had gone unnoticed.

The blonde pushed the cart over to the sidewalk adjacent to the van, opened the back doors, and began piling the luggage inside. Blake had to wonder why Yang volunteered her; she seemed as though she could handle the entire process herself and the promised conversation was now nowhere to be found. Her question never was answered even when Yang asked her for her bag. The Faunus handed the brown case off, it was placed in the back with all the others, the doors were shut, and Yang returned the cart. Meanwhile, Blake was left standing there, ruminating on her own question and silence.

She never got to finish her thoughts as she found an arm wrapped around her shoulder. As Yang ushered her along, she blushed. "C'mon," the blonde said, "we've got a long ride ahead of us." Blake sighed; she had not heard this information before, though it was to be expected considering the capital's size. Yang chuckled at this dismayed expression. "Don't worry, it's not six hours long; it's tolerable. We'll be home before you know it." Perhaps it was due to the confidence behind this assurance or perhaps Blake was simply glad the arm over her shoulder had remained, but her blush slowly dissipated while they moved to take their seats.

As they neared the van, Yang jumped ahead and opened the door. "After you, mademoiselle," she offered, bowing slightly as she did. Blake simply shook her head and rolled her eyes as she stepped inside.

Due to the height, she remained in a sort of half-crouch while maneuvering about, trying not to disturb her partners yet wanting nothing more than to rest again. Weiss and Ruby had already taken the two seats furthest forward and the only ones separated from each other, not that this would be a problem, however. The heiress had her arms crossed in a look of frustration as she watched Ruby caress her weapon almost obsessively. Smirking at this, Blake moved to the first row of seats behind the two. As it was a bench, she chose to sit as far to the right as she could and leaned against the window, finding reprieve once again.

Moments later, she heard the tell-tale sound of the van's door closing and a mane of golden hair could be seen stalking its way through the seats. Yang made her way back to the bench and chose not to position herself against the opposite window but instead next to her partner. She shot the girl in black a quick smile before securing her seatbelt.

In this moment, the young Faunus was content with her position. She had made it through a crowded airport, she had arrived in the city of her summer, and Yang was sitting beside her, adding to this unadmitted delight. Unfortunately, her moment of peace would come to a crashing halt by the sisters' hands. As the driver turned and asked where the group was heading, Yang and Ruby simultaneously and incoherently shouted what must have been an address. Blake winced and had not been able to hear what the sisters said, but the driver supposedly had and drove forward to his given destination. Instead of dwelling on this volume, Blake returned to gazing out the window at the people waiting on the sidewalk, finding peace once again through this veil of tinted glass.

"Sorry," she heard Yang say from beside her. When she looked over, Blake found her partner with a rare sheepish expression. "Sorry about that. Probably could've toned it down a bit with the yelling, huh?"

The Faunus smiled and was about to say something appeasing until Weiss spoke up. "You should be sorry! I'm surprised I can still hear after that."

"Yeah, she's kinda right, Yang." Ruby rubbed one of her ears. "I think we probably went a little overboard with that."

Although the blonde's expression did not change, an almost imperceptible dip in her heat told Blake she really did feel bad about the noise. As such, she leaned over and nudged Yang with her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It's all right." She spoke softly enough so Yang would be the only one to hear yet loudly enough to speak over the van's forward motion. "You were just excited is all. That's nothing to be ashamed about."

Smiling warmly, Yang returned the shoulder nudge. "Thanks," she said. She then made a slight motion as though she were about to move closer for some reason but halted herself very early on in the process. With the faintest of blushes dusting her cheeks, she proceeded to correct her posture and looked forward, hoping to act as though nothing had happened.

Fortunately, Blake did not miss that slight movement towards her—in fact, she had seen it in such vivid detail but could not believe it had happened. It looked to be an almost insignificant twitch, something entirely impossible, yet the action still caused her to question its original intent. The Faunus attempted to draw parallels between this, being volunteered to wait with Yang, and waking up to find her ears being scratched and immediately came to a conclusion. Without a second thought, she believed Yang was showing affection to her with romantic intent. But, then again, she knew this to be untrue as it was only an assumption created by her yearning mind—it was simply a rationalization of what could never be. She barely contained a crestfallen sigh and chose to forget about the motion, leaning against the window and taking in the sights instead.

During her interaction with Yang, the van had found its way onto a long stretch of highway which it now coasted upon, finding itself caught amid a crowd of cars and between two parts of this major city. Blake was faced with the choice of either looking directly ahead to the road and its repetitive, uninteresting sights or out at the suburbs and various commercial areas beyond the glass beside her. Unfortunately, the window on the other side was entirely out of the question, even if it did show the metropolitan area in all its high-rise glory—she could not bring herself to look in the general direction of her partner with such false thoughts running through her mind. Because of this, she settled to watch her own window and the horizon instead.

The hazy blue that had once been a vibrant cyan now tinted on its fringes with a warm and energetic orange. Already, she could see the distant light show of reds and whites as innumerable cars drove down the myriad side roads and streets, either preparing for the impending darkness or heading into the city proper to partake of this summer night's life. When she pressed the back of her hand against the glass, she found it cooler than expected, a sure sign that night was coming soon. Distracting herself from her thoughts of purely fictional romance, Blake watched the horizon and continued to press the side of her hand against the window, waiting for a further shift in color and temperature to prove her correct in at least one regard.

It took about an hour for any change to occur in their travels, being that the road had been long and the city it encompassed was indeed far larger than the young Faunus had initially understood. They stayed on the same highway throughout this duration and were only now turning off on an exit ramp. Although their forward progress had been distinctly noticeable with the changing settings and districts, Blake was nonetheless surprised that after an hour of driving, they had still not left the influence of the capital. Every building looked about the same as those she saw and hour ago, albeit strangely different, too, due to perhaps age or engineered themes. Even after all of those nights sitting on the cliff and staring at this city, only now could Blake truly appreciate the scope of it.

As the van drove down the exit, Blake was given a closer look at what the city had to offer. The exit led to a road which was marked as a highway; however, it was not a highway in the traditional sense, being that it had commercial buildings and promenades lining either side of it and pedestrians who walked to and fro, moving along the wide promenades with careless ease. There were names of restaurants and stores that Blake had only heard of from prior praise and as well business to these shops which only added to her glancing interest. There were neighbors in adjacent townhouses conversing in a most genial manner and an air of contentment that seemed impossible outside of a storybook. Despite this impossibility, however, this was everything Blake had expected of the city and she had not even reached the heart of it yet.

She stared at the new scenery for what was to be an unintentional fifteen minutes until the highway began to shrink from a three-lane boulevard to a one-lane road. In this transition, the stores, the restaurants, and the townhouses gave way to an expanse of verdant plains. Gone were the obstructions impeding one's sight of the horizon and in their place came the blossoming elegance of the distant sunset. The blue which fringed the horizon gave way to a yellow warmth as the sun began to touch the distant hills bordering Vale's city limits. When the star dipped into eventual darkness, however, it intensified, casting a bright shadow across the land which came from a cloud, now grey, passing in front of it. Blake found it odd that she could look into the sun without having to avert her gaze, yet she chose not to voice her observations. Slowly but surely, the glass of the window cooled as the day's radiance diminished with its descent. The warm sun in the distance, as far away and detached though it may have been, allowed Blake to relax.

"Whoa," she heard someone whisper. The Faunus then felt something brush up against her cheek and when she looked to the cause, she found the blonde leaning over, placing her chin on her partner's shoulder and staring unabashedly out her window. As the warmth of Yang's chin radiated throughout the girl in black, Blake realized that what had brushed against her was a lock of golden hair. She could not blush at the contact because she was not embarrassed by it—Yang was not flirting or insinuating anything, merely showing awe at the sight of the sunset. As such, the young Faunus simply smiled and watched the spectacle with her partner. She knew Yang would not reciprocate the underlying sentiments hidden in this smile, but Blake could accept this as an affectionate occurrence while it lasted. With the touch of the cold glass replaced with Yang's warmth, Blake dreamily stared off into the distance, losing track of time to the feeling of correctness this moment gave her.

Before she knew it, the van turned one final corner and the view of the sunset was gone, hidden behind a wall of luggage. This caused Yang to return to her seat with an odd smirk on her lips. Blake had intended to figure out the cause of this expression until she looked to the road ahead.

A rather large, one-story ranch house stood in the center of a grassy field, marred only in its bucolic serenity by the earthen driveway leading up to it from the road prior. Blake was surprised at the sight set before her. In a word, she had expected the sisters' home to be humble, seeing as how the two were consistently resourceful with what they had and valued everything they owned to an affectionate degree. However, the house that stood before her was large and secluded, something she did not expect from her extroverted partner.

The van slowed to a halt at the foot of the house's porch before the driver turned to state the trip's fare. Before anyone else could do so, Weiss paid the man, handing him an immaculate card from seemingly nowhere and regaining it just as quickly. It was then that she brusquely opened the door and let in the fresh air at the expense of her presence—an admittedly worthy fee after travelling for so long. One by one, the group exited the vehicle to stand before the house on the dirt road. Day had become dusk, leaving what was left of the light to linger on the horizon and it was against the darkness that this home was silhouetted.

"Home sweet home," Yang stated airily.

However, she was nudged. "Not yet, Yang. Almost, but not yet," Ruby chided with a small, excited smile. Her sister merely rolled her eyes and moved to the back of the van and opened its doors. To make the trip easier on themselves by avoiding too many trips back and forth, each member of the team carried more than one case. Ruby carried both of her cases, Weiss appeared strained by only two of her own, Blake held both hers and one of the heiress', and Yang carried two of Weiss' along with her own bloated suitcase.

Ruby led her team up the porch's wooden steps with an established ease, bounding up the small flight as though she had done it a thousand times before. She and her sister were the first to reach the wide red door, leaving her other teammates to hesitantly climb to this yet strange place. Blake, with her calm and cool demeanor, and Weiss, who did everything confidently and with practiced grace, were both reduced to awkward teenagers who acted as though they had never encountered a situation like this before. Of course, it is to say that Blake truly had not experienced a situation such as this; she did not know if the same could be said for Weiss, but she assumed so since they were both historically lacking in friends. Admittedly, this was Blake's first time being a guest in someone's home in a very, very long time.

When Yang and Ruby reached the door, they proceeded to set their cases on the wooden boards beneath them before separating into two separate actions. Ruby ran back to the van and grabbed Weiss' remaining suitcase while Yang fished for something in one of the many pockets of her jacket.

Blake and Weiss arrived at the same time to stand beside the blonde uncertainly, shifting the weight of their suitcases from one side to the other as they silently waited for something to happen. Then, at the same time as well, Ruby bolted back to the porch and sidestepped her partner, retrieving Crescent Rose as Yang pulled a key from her pocket. She inserted it into the lock, turned, but did not open the door just yet. Instead, she looked to Ruby who permitted, "Do it."

With her sister's blessing, Yang flung the door wide open, yelling "Home! Sweet home!" Neither Ruby nor Blake could suppress a laugh at this, the former being louder than the latter, and yet no one here seemed to care. Despite the cliché, there was a certain sincerity to the way Yang had shouted it.

The girl in red followed her sister in and immediately placed the two suitcases she carried on the ground beside the door. "Well?" She looked to the two stragglers. "Come on in! You're gonna love it here, I promise!"

Nervously, the two stepped inside, Blake allowing Weiss to go first since the invitation seemed to have been directed at her. However, the trepidation afflicting both of the quieter girls seemed to disappear entirely as Blake stepped across the threshold. She stood in what could be considered a living room which exuded an unfounded, unfamiliar warmth. She searched for the source but only found an unlit fireplace on an opposite wall and a thermostat, apparently turned off, and reasoned that this sensation could have been her partner not being in control of her aura. But, then again, Blake could usually differentiate Yang's heat from other sources. This was not the blonde's doing; this was different. This warmth was familiar, somehow, and yet completely foreign and indescribable to the young Faunus. This house exuded an odd smell—not one that was necessarily displeasing but one that was peculiar and foreign. She could not put her finger on it, the only word coming to mind being "dusty," but this was likely due to the fact that the house had been unoccupied for upwards of nine months. Even then, she felt inexplicably safe here—"safe"; that was the word to describe the sensation.

As Weiss moved further in to survey her surroundings, Ruby walked back out to retrieve her other bag. Yang, meanwhile, approached the two newcomers. "Okay," she started, clapping her hands together. "First things first. We'll get you set up in your rooms and show you around and then last, but certainly not least, we'll figure out what to eat. Does that sound all right?" This received a nod from Blake and an uncertain "Sure" from Weiss.

Yang picked up four of the heiress' bags by herself and began to move through the house, giving the girls behind her cue to follow. Ruby eventually caught up with them, carrying her own bags and smiling widely at her partner. To either side, doorless portals could be seen leading to different rooms of which Blake could not assume the significance of. While the house had been surprisingly clean, there were yet telling signs proving the two energetic sisters had at one point lived here. There were barely noticeable stains on the carpet beneath which looked to have come from mud being carried in on one of their boots and there were small, insignificant dents in the drywall beside them, markers of past stumbles and mistakes. Blake made it a point to not comment on either quirk and saw that neither sister bothered to take off their shoes when entering—comparatively odd for how she was raised. Nonetheless, she examined the rest of the house, finding it strangely calming despite its newness and size. The group turned down a corridor which led them away from the living room and were immediately faced with a hall lined with doors.

Yang slowed to a halt before the first door and promptly whirled around to face the travel-weary duo behind her. "All right," she started with a broad smile. "This room right here," she patted the door's frame for emphasis, "is Ruby's room. As you can guess, Ruby will be sleeping here. But she won't be the only one. This is where we might have a bit of a problem." She looked at both Blake and Weiss, watching them for any signs of distress. Blake was certain that whatever problem arose, it could be handled fairly easily and she was sure Weiss felt the same way. Taking the hint that her audience was listening, Yang continued. "Our problem is with sleeping arrangements. There are four of us here but only three bedrooms. I have my own room and there's a guest room down the hall. On top of that, Ruby's bed is a bunk bed."

With an exasperated sigh, Weiss looked to Ruby. "Of course. You would have a bunk bed." Ruby laughed nervously.

"Anyways," said Yang, diverting the attention back to herself. She looked between the contesting two. "Both of you can share the guest room if you want, but it only has one bed. Or, if you're brave enough, one of you can bunk with Ruby and the other gets the guest bed."

With the ultimatum out in the open, Blake and Weiss were left to make a decision. This came in the form of conversation through body language, as not to accidentally offend their hosts with one or both of them rejecting the invitation openly.

Blake cocked her head to the side, letting Weiss have the first say.

Weiss lifted a brow to return the offer.

Blake shrugged.

Weiss gave a questioning gaze. She darted her eyes between the Faunus and Ruby. After a moment to separate one item in her list, she darted her eyes between Blake and the floor nearest her own feet.

Again, Blake shrugged.

Weiss concluded with a sigh. It was certainly not a sigh of defeat from what Blake could tell, but whatever it meant was yet a mystery to the young Faunus. "Fine," the heiress acquiesced. "I'll be the one who stays with Ruby."

Loudly and triumphantly, her partner cheered at this. Ruby scurried past her teammates to get to the door, eagerly opening it and inviting the heiress in. With a reluctant look to those who would sleep alone, Weiss followed after the young girl, placing her cases in the center of the room and taking the four held by the blonde much the same. "This is going to be great, Weiss!" Ruby all but laughed. "It'll be just like at Beacon! You can have the bottom bunk—I sleep up top, anyways—and the closet's over there—I'll clear some stuff out for you. Oh! And if you—"

Yang closed the door on the two, effectively muting the conversation. Blake was surprised to have not heard a single groan come from the heiress as Ruby chattered away in her rambling, excited way and, similarly, the blonde looked surprised, too. "Huh. We might just see Weiss smile for once."

"Why's that?"

Yang shrugged. "Eh, no reason. I've just got a feeling about it. Anyways," she drawled, "this'll be your room." She opened the second door and entered, turning on the lights as she went. "There's a closet on the near wall, a dresser in the corner, and nightstands on either side of the bed where you can keep your books and stuff." Her grin showed she was pleased with the last item on the list. "Bathroom's across from Weiss and Ruby's and my room's across the way."

Blake stepped in and took a look around. The room was spacious, more so than what she had seen of Ruby's room, and against the back wall stood a single bed with simple white sheets and pillows. She felt it would have probably fit Weiss better with her family's expected color, but Blake was not going to complain. It was immaculate—seemingly untouched by previous ownership. She turned to Yang and gave a grateful smile.

"We'll all get settled in then we'll see what we wanna do for dinner." She paused for a moment, looking as though she were about to say something else but shook her head and decided against it., "I'll be in my room if you need me—I mean, if you need anything." At this, she left with a grin, closing the guest room door and leaving Blake without an opportunity to reply.

Unfortunately, with the blonde now gone, Blake's world became noticeably darker and colder than it had any right being. Silence and solitude had once been desired by the girl in black, but this was before she had grown accustomed to her eclectic team. Now, without the company of her companion and the inherent warmth she provided, Blake found herself in a sickeningly quiet and alien environment. The room was too clean, too devoid of any personality, and it felt wrong, sterile even. She needed to do something to break the silence of her solitude—make a noise perhaps or occupy her time in some wasteful way. As such, she took her suitcase, laid it on the bed, and unlatched it in one fluid motion. On top of her belongings rested Gambol Shroud, her weapon of only a few years, folded and secured. Blake sat on the edge of her bed and held the weapon up, looking it over for any flaws. She knew there would be none—there never were—but she needed something to occupy her time and to keep her hopeful thoughts away from her partner.

She went through the motions of ensuring the gun was unloaded, the blades were still sharp, and the ribbon lacked any tears. She tested the slide, unfolded and refolded the inner blade, and found that everything was in optimal condition and thus placed her weapon atop the nightstand with loaded magazines sitting close by.

With her weapon taken care of, Blake shifted her focus to unpacking the rest of her belongings into the room she would call her own. During the many trips to and from the dresser and closet, she found just enough motivation to distract herself from her odd spike in loneliness to instead find reasons for Yang's earlier actions. This morning's events and the seemingly inadvertent flirting which occurred at the time could immediately be written off on the point that this was simply Yang's usual, chipper, if not intrusive self. The events after the morning, however, were a much different story.

The recurring theme in the blonde's actions had been to get both herself and her partner away from everyone else, giving them time to speak alone but never actually speaking. Blake knew this but did not know why—she had an idea which she believed to be wrong, but she did not know for sure. To make herself sure, however, she began dissecting the instance involving Yang pulling her to the unoccupied airship in an eager rush before succumbing to a strange melancholy. She knew the blonde was energetic and generally over-enthusiastic, but it was uncharacteristic for her to go the extra mile for nothingness and silence. Moreover, the fact that Yang had only pulled Blake along, not Ruby or Weiss, was telling of what she thought about their friendship.

However, it seemed the blonde's goal had not only been to give the other partnership time alone but as well to speak to Blake of her gratitude. The stark contrast between the energy displayed in the lead-up to their isolation and the sudden wistfulness which had silenced her struck Blake as odd—the usually loquacious girl had not uttered a word until she confided why the summer's invitation had been given, and even then, she had not been her usual self. In that moment, she was proven unguarded and utterly sincere. This, when added to the thankful hug she gave, made Blake reason that Yang accepted her as a dear friend or something of the valued sort.

She then began to reminisce upon the events at the end of the airship ride. Similar to how she had acted before they took off, the blonde's energy was noticeably tame, making her patient and calm. She had kept her voice down with the knowledge that her partner was only barely awake and stayed this way even when Weiss spoke at her regular volume. Blake understood that she and Yang held a mutual respect for one another as both fighters and people, but this sensitivity showed a certain value that Yang had attached to her.

On top of this were the circumstances as to how Blake awoke from her nap. When she first became aware of her surroundings, she found that not only had she been unconsciously leaning against Yang for the hours prior but as well that the girl had been gently scratching her bow-covered ears. Before, Yang would only make the occasional cat joke or pun, always causing her partner to frown in the process, but these soothing motions set themselves apart from the jokes in that they were an act of honest care, contrasting the mischief of the morning. Blake knew the blonde would never dare to show this unguarded, un-Yang-like attitude towards Weiss or even Ruby, judging by her hesitation to say anything remotely negative about her sister, but she seemed to trust her partner enough to break character.

Fortunately, the process of unpacking could finally come to an end on the next trip back to her suitcase. Her clothes had been put away, her books had been stored in the nightstand, and Gambol Shroud was placed within arm's reach on top of the nightstand. With nothing else to do, Blake closed her suitcase and slid it beneath what was to be her bed for the next three months. With one situation left to ponder over, Blake sat down on the bed and eased herself up against the pillows and headboard, reacquainting herself with relaxation and sighing at this rest.

The final instance remembered was that of the ride to the sisters' house—the reasons why this action was of significant were twofold. Firstly, Yang had chosen to seat herself beside Blake when given the opportunity to sit on the opposite side of the bench. Of course, this played into the "valued friend" concept, but it did not explain the following action. The second reason was when Yang had rested her chin on Blake's shoulder to watch the sunset, it felt as though nothing else mattered in the world to the young Faunus.

The contact—as surprising as it initially was—allowed her to be distracted from the confusion over Yang's earlier actions. It displayed a certain tranquility about the blonde which had seldom been seen before and it furthermore showed that both girls were unopposed to physical contact which could give off a more-than-friendly implication. In fact, this confident move gave Blake reason to believe Yang valued her as something more than a friend. The young Faunus tried to get as far away from this notion as she possibly could, straining to rationalize the affections as those of a mere best friend, but try as she might, Blake could not avoid this hopeful idea.

Frustrated, she sighed, shifting her position to lay down and stare at the ceiling. Blake gazed into the light above, wondering what she would do with this new understanding. Perhaps she could wait around and hope Yang would reveal her intentions first—the young Faunus was patient; waiting would not be a problem—or perhaps she could be proactive, herself. Admittedly, she was scared of this latter idea and the lack of admissible evidence towards her spurring hopes, but it seemed to be the most reasonable course of action, being that her own intentions had seldom been clear to anyone around her. It was unlikely Yang knew of her crush and it was equally as unlikely she would ever find out. Blake was a secretive sort, and, as such, the only way for the blonde to realize her partner's unadmitted affections was for these dreams to be admitted and for Blake to be proactive. Again, the Faunus sighed at her tentative decision.

There was a knock at the door. "Blake? Hey, Blake, are you all set up in there?" Yang's interruption was a pleasant, if not flustering surprise.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a moment." Blake lifted herself from her bed and took a second to ensure there was nothing left to put away. Satisfied with what she saw, she moved to open the door, unwittingly fixing her hair as she went.

She had expected to find her partner waiting an appropriate distance away from the door as anyone normally should. However, what she found instead was Yang leaning against the door's frame by her elbow and dressed in the pajamas she had brought with her to Beacon. It seemed as though she was trying to strike some sort of flirtatious pose and it would have worked had she been able to suppress her self-amused snickers. Nevertheless, Blake was startled. Because of her practiced stoicism, she was fortunately unable to gasp or yelp in a way her teammates would, but, unfortunately, her instinct was to take a step back, ball her hands into fists, and, unintentionally, widen her eyes, assessing the situation as best she could. This response broke the dam of Yang's laughter.

Through her loud, unrestrained guffaws, Yang was only just able to gasp, "You should have seen the look on your face!" She was then interrupted by another fit of laughter. It took a small while, but once she reached a certain level of composure, she gasped again. "You-you totally are a cat! Your bow even flattened! You were so scared!"

Rather than paying the joke any mind, Blake blushed at her ears' reaction. Surprisingly, the expression did not form from Yang's observation, being that Blake had become comfortable with her team knowing about her Faunus heritage; instead, the blush arose due to her ears being a source of distracting humor. Rather than getting upset over a certainly distasteful joke, Blake found herself thankfully preoccupied with the moment at hand, bringing her thoughts away from her newest decision and towards the warmth of her partner's voice.

She waited until the blonde's laughter dissipated before saying anything but was not given the chance to as Yang apologized, her giggles coming to an end. "I'm sorry, Blake. That was rude of me. It was just…It was so unexpected."

Blake felt the need to quip, "You can say that again," but chose instead to sigh, clearing her mind of the incident. "It's all right. Just warn me next time, if you could. I wasn't expecting you to be that close, but…" As her sentence trailed off, she found herself enthralled by the beginnings of a smile which pulled at Yang's lips. "Anyways," she began again, wanting to refocus the conversation, "did you come up with a plan for dinner?"

"Yep!" Yang chirped. "Ruby and Weiss are already asleep." Somehow, Blake was not surprised by this—it had been a long day indeed and the two had been incredibly patient compared to herself and Yang. "So, I was thinking that we'd, like, order pizza and watch a movie or something. I mean, if you want to."

"Sure," Blake replied. "Pizza will work." Truthfully, the prospect of any food not made in Beacon's cafeteria sounded absolutely wonderful. She was sure Weiss would have objected, but because she was asleep, she could not make her opposition known.

Yang beamed. "All right. I'm gonna go order while you change into something a little more comfortable. Then meet me in the living room—we'll get the movie set up while we wait. Sound good?"

Blake nodded, prompting the blonde to turn down the hall and her partner to close the door, finding herself smiling all the while. Even if the girl was excitable by simple things like ordering a pizza or watching a movie, she was still able to make Blake smile—not simply smirk, but actually smile. Perhaps this was what led the young Faunus to accept without question, but, more than likely, she had accepted because it was Yang who asked.

With a sigh, she let the matter go and proceeded to change into her pajamas.

She tried to recall the last time she had watched a movie and found there was only one instance in the past year. On a particularly cool spring night, the school faculty decided for one reason or another that a movie night would be a good way to boost morale and bring the teams together. Blake had been goaded into attending by Ruby on the grounds that it was a mandatory team-building exercise—something both had been mistaken about—and, surprisingly, found that she enjoyed the experience, if only for the company she held. Of course, she still preferred the written word, but the night had been worth it in the end. Technically, this was to be her second movie night with Yang, and both were excited.

In a matter of minutes, she had changed into her yukata and now walked down the hall towards the living room. As she passed her leader's room, however, she was met with silence, notifying her that Yang's observations had been astute. With this in mind, she crept by the door, taking care to not wake either of the occupants.

As she entered the living room, she found Yang hanging up a cordless telephone, presumably already having ordered the food. "Thirty minutes out," she called. "TV room's this way." Instead of pointing and indicating a direction, she walked out of Blake's sight and into a different room. Blindly, the Faunus followed, having no idea where the blonde was leading her but trusting her regardless.

Immediately, she was faced with a jarring monolith of a television and a quartet of leather seats before it. Judging by their curvature being focused on the gargantuan screen and the numerous cup holders situated in the sectional's armrests, Blake assumed this was the home theatre Yang had often boasted about. Meanwhile, the blonde in reference had her attention trained on a shelf against the far wall, sifting through the rows of films as Blake would books in a library. However, even with her attention diverted, she was somehow able to detect her partner's presence. "Take a seat wherever you like. I'll be there in just a sec!"

Blake abided and found herself faced with the decision of which out of the four seats she wished to take—rather, three seats since the center two formed a sort of love seat. Without a second thought, she quickly decided on these center two, seeing this as an opportunity for observation on her partner's potentially reciprocal behavior. And by the time Yang chose a movie, Blake had realized there was a blanket lying next to her, seeing this as yet another opportunity. Smirking, she laid the cover across her lap and legs before placing its other half on the seat beside her, waiting patiently for Yang to choose her seat.

As had been predicted, the blonde fell backwards into the spot beside Blake, grinning all the while. She held a remote in her hand and deftly changed the inputs on the television before navigating the movie's menu. Purportedly, the film was simply a "dumb comedy" and it would be a good way to unwind after a day of travel—or so Yang said. She then took the offered blanket, draping over both of them and moving invisibly closer, before reaching down into the space between their respective sections, grasping for something, and eventually finding it. As she pulled her arm back up, the lower portion of her seat became a leg rest—the seats doubled as recliners. Blake felt for a mechanism on her side and pulled as well. She returned her partner's smile, eager for the night ahead.

The film began and Blake found herself settling into the new warmth supplied by her partner. Although Yang did not reach out to scratch her the young Faunus' ears or whisper unwanted names and compliments, her occasional attention was much appreciated and readily noted. There was an admitted drop-off in conversation as the plot got underway, but Blake could not find evidence to either prove or disprove her hopes—of course, this lack of conversation could perhaps equate to a lack of interest, but this was likely not the case since Yang had shared a blanket with and sat next to her partner. Blake wanted to assume the blonde was interested and thus reveled in every accidental touch of their shoulders, but she understood that until Yang did something overt, then these assumptions would be only dreams, albeit good dreams. So, it is to say that, at this point, Yang did not show any outward signs of reciprocation but did indeed seem comfortable with her partner's friendship.

From Blake's perspective, however, thoughts came rapidly and fell easily into irrationality by way of emotion. Where Yang showed nothing, Blake felt something, and as she watched her partner laugh at every joke and gag on screen, she felt happy for some reason. To think that Blake Belladonna, aloof and uninterested though she was, could be smitten by this energetic source was unthinkable. Unfortunately for her, she was indeed smitten and smitten hard. As Yang smiled, Blake smiled; as the blonde laughed, so did the Faunus; and as the girl in yellow brushed her shoulder against her partner's own, the girl in black fought the urge to lean against her. Yang was immersed in her movie and Blake was immersed in Yang, and though the sentiments were likely misguided, the young Faunus could dream.

Unfortunately, her thoughts were soon halted by the ringing of a doorbell. In an instant, Yang paused the movie and shot up from the couch, leaving Blake to subconsciously pull the blanket closer to herself and keep the fading warmth safe. She looked over the back of the couch to see her partner walking towards the adjacent room, leaving Blake's sight but not her hearing.

The front door opened and the air pressure within the house lowered slightly as it intermingled with the humidity beyond. It was then that Blake heard a distinctly male voice say, "Well, hello there." The tone in which he spoke caused her to worry.

"Hi! How's it going?"

"I've got an order for a…Ms. Schnee?" Suddenly, worries turned to laughter as Blake suppressed her expression. "Two cheeses and one—"

"Yup! That's me!"

"Might I say what a lovely name that is for such a lovely lady." It was odd, but a pang of jealousy welled within the young Faunus. Although Yang had not assented to any sort of relationship yet or even show signs of wanting one, Blake felt as though her partner were being taken away. And, surprisingly, the pang hurt. Blake clutched the blanket closer.

"And might I say what a lovely pizza that looks like." Fortunately, this was able to ease the Faunus' doubts, if somewhat. She could only imagine Yang's eyes trained on the box, not meeting this boy's gaze in his desperate search for conversation.

"But of course!" She could tell that he was forcing this bombast, trying so hard to get the attention of her partner. "Such a quality product is handcrafted only for the most quality of customers such as yourself." He paused then looked over to where Blake was, somehow noticing her despite the distance between them. "And your sister." He winked.

Blake had to ask herself if a person could really be this imperceptive. Not only had he failed to recognize the Schnee family name, he had assumed the black-haired, amber-eyed Faunus was a relative of Yang's. This latter suggestion did not seem too outrageous, however, being that Yang and Ruby were biological sisters, as different as they looked, and Blake was still wearing her bow, but the boy seemed dense regardless. On one hand, he was trying to flirt with a driven Yang and on the other he was trying to flirt with both girls at once. Truly, he lacked self-awareness.

But Blake could not laugh at this. No, she was rendered silent as she watched her partner shift so his view of the house was obstructed as her golden mane occasionally sparked. Yang's voice shifted to a less-than-diplomatic tone. "How much for the pizza?"

He progressed unfazed. "Well, for you—"

"How much?"

He stuttered, now fazed. "T-Twenty Lien."

Blake could only see Yang snatch the pizza from his arm and forcefully shove what she assumed was the amount due into his hand. He sounded as though he were about to say something but was unable to with the visibly infuriated blonde slamming the door in his face. However, Yang whirled around and turned a radiant smile on her partner. "Sit tight, Blake," she called, nothing in her voice indicating annoyance, "I'll bring you back some."

Sighing, the Faunus sat back down and clutched at the blanket. Why was it that she only felt annoyed when some stranger flirted with her but absolutely flustered whenever Yang did it? Furthermore, why did it hurt so much when the boy flirted with Yang but not when he flirted with Blake? She attributed it to her crush on the golden girl but questioned whether or not this was a simple crush anymore. The word held connotations that made Blake's affections seem unserious and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. What she felt was stronger, more important than some delivery boy's shot-in-the-dark attempt, and although she could not dub the sentiment any single word at the moment, she knew her infatuation had gone far beyond what a mere crush meant.

Fortunately, Yang would soon return with a paper plate in each hand and a wide, undeterred smile tugging at her lips. Before she sat back down, she handed Blake her plate and napkin, eliciting a "Thank you" from the raven-haired girl, after which the seat beside her was retaken. She did not bother putting the blanket back on or moving away from the shoulder she firmly pressed against, seemingly content with this closeness and cold, and instead resumed the film as she began to eat.

Blake's eyes had been trained on her the entire time, but when she finally looked at her food, she groaned. "Really?"

"What?" Yang followed the girl's pointed gaze. On the plate was one slice of cheese pizza, a safe bet for anyone with tastes yet unknown, while the other had anchovies. "Oh," she said sheepishly and genuinely so. "Sorry, I didn't mean it as a joke, I promise. I just thought that because you like fish so much, you'd like anchovies, as well."

The girl's apologetic grin easily calmed Blake's look of annoyance. "You're lucky you were right," was all the young Faunus said before taking a bite of her pizza. Yang looked positively thrilled at the acceptance and returned her gaze to the movie.

---

The rest of the film went on in relative peace. Yang had gone back a couple times for more pizza while Blake was content with the one plate she had been given. Overt romantic instances were almost nonexistent at this time; instead, the two focused on the film which gradually became funnier to the point where Yang was in tears and Blake was able to laugh openly and without feeling the need to suppress it. Unfortunately, one other action which Blake could not suppress was that of a yawn. The day had taken its toll on her despite her six-hour nap and only now, in this state of peace and stability, could she fully realize her fatigue.

Moving her eyes became a chore, limiting her ability to roll them at whatever jokes Yang made and forcing her to blatantly turn her head towards the blonde rather than glancing at her from her peripheral. In her tired stupor, common sense and stealth tactics had been forgone entirely, allowing Blake to stare longingly and freely at her partner. Fortunately, her practiced stoicism disguised this pining look as one of extreme tiredness, but she would admit there would be no harm done if Yang understood.

From time to time, the blonde looked over to the barely conscious girl and smiled warmly. Blake, still vaguely aware of her surroundings, would take these opportunities to gaze into the lilac eyes, admire the caring, happy expression, and simply bask in the warmth which radiated from Yang. However, they would both turn back, attempting to return their attention to the television and get away from the presented emotion. Incidentally, Blake found her gaze fixed on some sort of black box beneath the television and the clock thereon. The time was exactly 11:00 p.m.

Be it by her exhaustion-fueled delirium or her subconscious acting out its whims in her weakened state, Blake found herself wanting more of her partner's warmth. Her eyelids drooped piteously. She wanted to keep watching the movie—to keep laughing with Yang—but at the same time, she wanted nothing more than to sleep, realizing the warmth beside her was preferable over the blanket in her lap. After all of the travelling, waiting, and questioning of what was and what could be, Blake found herself unable to keep her eyes open any longer. She faintly felt herself losing balance, falling to her left, and landing upon the shoulder of that warm figure. She smiled, knowing that this was not a bad thing. As she drifted off to sleep, she could feel the warmth noticeably swell.

---

If you've made it this far into the story, I thank you dearly. I doubt I will make a chapter of this length for Valence again because although I said in the author's note at the beginning of the chapter that I was against segmenting my chapters, I understand that 20,000-word chapters are a pain to read even in multiple sittings. However, this chapter that transitioned from Beacon Academy to the main setting of the rest of the story required a longer chapter. I can only hope that my personal enjoyment of this chapter is not based in delusions spawning from my looking at the same file for about three weeks. Maybe it is terrible and I am loony after all, but I thought it was good and was able to learn some things from the process of writing it.

One other thing before I my next update in a week: I created a Tumblr profile where updates on this story's progress can be found and where one might choose to leave a question/comment anonymously or otherwise. A link can be found near the top of my Fanfiction profile.

Once again, I'd like to thank you for reading this. My goal with Valence is not fame or praise but to entertain. If I am able to entertain just one person, then I have succeeded. The response shown in chapter one blew that "just one person" idea out of the water. Thank you.

Stay safe and stay tuned.