Blake found it hard to concentrate, her mind blissfully empty more often than not. A strange sense of calm had a habit of flooding over her senses every now and then. She wasn't sure why her amazingly good mood seemed to be causing such a silent uproar in the household, but obviously it had been. Over a small handful of days, her scent marking increased as well, though she thought every little of that detail.

More pressingly, Sun was keeping his distance from Blake, being sure not to linger in the same room with her for too long.

He even avoided mealtimes if he could. When he couldn't do that, he started seating himself on the far end of the table. Blake noticed it in passing, but as he began to get more reclusive, she began to wonder why. A tiny bubble of worry popped into her head, wondering if this was some strange sort of protest for getting into Ruby's personal space, but she realized that couldn't possibly be the reason.

Sun wasn't the jealous sort, and he had absolutely no reason to feel threatened by Blake at all. Not by any social code they lived by, human of Faunus…not when Ruby herself was the sort of person to set aside concepts such as personal space. Determined to get to the bottom of the situation, Blake decided to go looking for him. Weiss was working, and needed to be given time alone for a very important conference call with Ironwood anyway and Sun seemed like an easy distraction. She found him in one of the living areas that she least frequented, as if he'd chosen the spot to keep away from her intentionally.

"Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere." She said, sitting down next to him on the sofa, another wave of happy calmness washing over her.

"As if I'm hard to find." He said, though he backpedaled a little bit as he said it.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Avoiding me." Blake said sadly, visibly deflating. "I didn't do anything to upset you, did I?"

"Er…" He scratched his head. "You have that smell to you."

She cocked her head to the side, ears twisting thoughtfully before folding forward, drooping slightly. Her lips did the same, curving into a frown. "What smell?"

Sun rolled his eyes. "That, 'stay away from what isn't yours' smell." He frowned then. "You don't notice it, do you?" He watched as she shook her head and felt guilty. "Yeah, my sisters didn't notice it either…well, you smell like that, soooo…um, yeah…" Sun shrugged awkwardly.

"Huh, I wonder why I have that scent." Blake said. "Weiss can't mark me."

"It smells like you marked yourself." Sun cringed, the entire thing was unpleasant.

"I haven't though." Blake murmured, now more confused than ever.

"Well, maybe it just sort of happens when you're this pregnant? Like, you just get that smell to you?" Sun wasn't sure, but he put the desire to flee away aside, awkwardly scooting back to his original spot, so as not to upset Blake further. "I don't really know, Octavia never got this kind of smell to her…only the new mother smell…"

"Oh…" Blake took a breath, putting his strange mannerisms aside. "Maybe it just happens then, but you have to believe me, it wasn't my intention to chase you away."

"I think it's more like a stay away from the pregnant lady, sort of thing, probably because you don't have a mate to overpower the scent. Since Weiss is your mate, I mean...when I come to think about it, I don't think a lot of pregnant Faunus would really appreciate a lot of strangers getting near her…and not all Faunus really want mates, even though they do go rutting during heat…so maybe that's it?"

"I wouldn't know." The cat Faunus said. "I've never come across such an odor…I don't detect it."

"It's there." He groused. "Trust me…when was the last time one of the Faunus maids got near you?"

Blake thought on this, but she couldn't recall. In fact, the halls seemed unusually quiet, and the scents were much more human than normal. She wasn't always close to the staff, but many of them were friendly people. They didn't shy away from her for any reason, knowing very easily how to navigate social decorum. It was Weiss they were weary of, fearful that the human might cross some sort of social boundary line. After all, there was no greater way of displeasing an alpha Faunus than trying to rise above one's station uninvited, and that included being too friendly with someone's mate as a bid for status…and as far as scent could tell them, there was no other greater status in the household, than Weiss herself.

"No…" Blake said. "No, can't say that I have seen many of the Faunus maids. Though, if the scent is as unpleasant as you claim, it's not a question of why."

"Well, it's not good smelling…not like normal, anyway."

"Hmm." Another wave of calm washed over her.

Blake had never considered herself an affectionate person, at least, not in the same way as other people she knew. Physical comfort was something she usually something she only sought from Weiss. Even so, she had to admit that crawling up into Sun's lap seemed like a wonderful thing to do. She didn't have any idea as to why. She also didn't care enough to practice self-restraint. Something in the back of her mind encouraged her to do it, and so, she did.

"Blake?"

"Hm?"

"Could you, uh, not be on my lap? I think Weiss might try to kill me."

"Weiss won't kill you…she's too snuggly for that." She said, nuzzling into his scent. Then, as a passing thought, she marked the band on his arm, purring deeply as she did so. That silly little smirk on her face was enough to trigger warning bells. "You're snuggly too."

He wasn't a complete jerk, so instead he sighed, putting up with the admittedly strange affection being aimed at him. Thoughtfully, and positive he would end up regretting it, he took a deep whiff of her scent. Sun frowned, lifting Blake up into his arms more securely and adjusting her so that he could pull his scroll out of his back pocket. "Why in the hell do I have to be the guy around here with a nose?" He murmured under his breath as the pieces finally started clicking into place.

He knew better than to bother Weiss. This was nothing to worry about, his nose indicated that, but he called Yang out of the home office anyway. He waited anxiously for her to get there, and when she did, he saw her gaze turn judgmental quickly, but it melted away into worry moments later. Blake was intently clinging onto him, and nuzzling her forehead into his chin, making tiny mewls up from the back of her throat, and he made it obvious that in spite of how it appeared, he wanted no part of it.

"What the hell?" Yang said, rightly confused when she heard a mew of protest. As if Blake desperately wanted him to notice her.

Sun just looked at Yang, trying and failing to keep Blake from nuzzling him. "Help." He squeaked, trying to fight Blake off as gently as possible. He didn't want to hurt her, even as her head butted against his chin. "Yang…please…just help…"

Yang wasn't sure if that was the best plan, but she could agree that Blake didn't seem to be in the right of mind. With her powerful, but gentle grip, she helped pry Blake off of Sun. The cat Faunus clung to her like glue. Blake nuzzled into her instead, a soft purr working its way up in her throat and cuddling deeper into Yang's arms. "Blake, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Blake said, more confused than she care to admit. Yang's voice sobering her from the blissful relaxation conjured by her mind. "What's wrong with who?"

"You." Yang said. "What happened? You didn't get sick, did you? You feel cold…"

Flattened back ears perked and then curled forward the slightest but. "Hmm." Her ears stayed that way before perking again, the cogs in Blake's head clearly turning. "I'm not sick, Yang…you're over reacting…you're…warm…."

"I'm always warm!"

"Mm." Blake agreed, nails plucking at the collar of the shirt Yang had on, as though she was considering shredding it. "You smell wonderful. Like apples and warm cinnamon." Blake cuddled ever closer, as if to drench herself in the smell.

"So much for not being sick…" Yang deadpanned, as Blake practically buried herself in Yang's long mane of blonde hair.

"Not…sick…" Blake refuted distractedly, far more interested in the human furnace holding her close. It was a pleasant feeling, though she couldn't place why.

"Sun, stupid question. You didn't give her any catnip or anything, did you?" Yang asked.

He barked a laugh. "Do I look suicidal to you?"

"No, but I still kind of needed to ask. This is exactly the kind of thing she does to Weiss…she's just being less…well, aggressive. Kind of like we've drugged her on catnip."

"It could just be a fluke." Sun suggested, though he doubted it.

"One hell of a fluke…" Yang deadpanned, watching as Blake stared at the two of them owlishly, head cocking to the side, still purring before she closed her eyes and pushed her head into the palm of one of Yang's hands. "Sun, I think this is one of those go get Weiss moments."

"Yeah, I'm kind of thinking that too…"

"So then go!" Yang demanded, unsure about whether she should be scratching Blake's ears or not. She watched Sun retreat, lilac eyes falling onto her best friend with concern, finally relenting as she carefully rubbed one fur covered ear gently. "Geez Blake, what's gotten into you."

It took a while to get Blake settled into bed without adhering herself to the nearest person with a pleasant scent. Weiss was no stranger to Blake's overtures, but even she found it odd that Blake would so willingly affix herself to Sun without thinking twice. Her wife's clinginess to Yang made sense, but then Winter had been Blake's next victim, and there was no question that Blake just wasn't thinking clearly.

"So, that was a thing..." Yang was the first to smash through the awkwardness.

"Yeah, but why?" Ruby asked, as she passed Zhu off of Sun, the elder monkey Faunus allowing the boy to use his shoulders as a perch.

"Same reason I didn't go into the dining room for breakfast after she marked the door. Her scent's changed." Sun said once they all reconvened out in the hall. "It's been like that for a few days, but it's like it's starting to get a lot worse…"

"Ah, I see, that's interesting." Oobleck replied, carefully pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I would suggest you break out the contingency plan if you happen to have one." Oobleck said, maintaining his distance from the obviously unpredictable cat Faunus. "These affectionate displays lead me to believe this is an early sign that Blake's preparing to go into labor."

Yang gave him an incredulous look. "Velvet didn't act this crazy…"

"With all due respect, Velvet's not from the same species." Oobleck replied. "All Faunus are different."

"The doc's right…it'll probably be starting soon." Sun scratched the back of his head. "The cubs are getting restless, I can smell it…probably too crammed in there."

Yang patted Weiss on the back. "You hear that, it's go time. Oh, hell, Weiss…hey, you okay?"

"Fine." Weiss nodded neutrally. "Just fine." That, she knew, was a bold faced lie. Her mental calculations were already sent into overdrive by the implication. She had never been more thankful for her wife's obsessiveness on the topic, because she couldn't think clearly at all. "I should go check in on Blake."

Oobleck could only smirk. "Weiss, you have plenty of time. I would utilize it to get any final details sorted out."

"Of which, there are a lot more than I would like." She forced out, finally getting some measure of control over her paralyzing panic. "What am I going to do about-"

"Weiss..." Winter interrupted, though it looked as though Yang and Ruby were about to do the same, great minds thinking alike. "Everything will be satisfactory, you have no reason to assume it won't. You've both planned extensively, and it's time to let those plans take over." The older woman said knowingly. "Just have a little faith."

Weiss forced her mind to work at the slow crawl it had become, an unsteady sigh showing just how worried Weiss was. "I...alright…" She said. "I'll be right back, so…just wait here." As if on autopilot, Weiss disappeared back into the nesting room. Blake was curled up with the book that Weiss had given her. Seeing Blake so relaxed managed to cut most of the lingering paranoia off at the pass, but her palms were sweaty anyway. "Are you okay in here?"

"Yes," Blake answered honestly, her eyes fixed to the page in front of her until it was completed. Her actions were unhurried as she stretched and placed the bookmark where it belonged. "I'm fine, Weiss. You seem concerned though."

Weiss sat down on the bedding, and steadied herself as soon as Blake cuddled into her. She licked her lips nervously, her thoughts still jumbled. "Oobleck thinks your body is getting ready to go into labor. Sun seems to agree." She wrapped an arm around her wife, fingertips drawing patters along the woman's back. "I'm worried, Blake. Everyone keeps telling me I shouldn't be, but I am."

It was the immense control in those soft words that called the most attention to the way Weiss was feeling. The grip on her nerves so tight, it had to be stifling. Blake expected it would happen, Weiss wasn't normally one for hysterics, but she blinked her glazed golden eyes into focus and tried to keep it there.

"Maybe I am going into labor." She said softly. "I've been feeling a bit strange, not in a bad way…just…" She had no words for it and shrugged, much more interested in the heavenly feeling of having Weiss so close by. It was like cloak that coated rationale, igniting a throaty purr. Something higher pitched than the deep rumble that normally started in her chest. "It'll be okay."

But those deep blue eyes begged to differ. "How can you be so calm about this?"

"I don't know." Blake said softly, placing a soft kiss on her mate's lips. "I just am. I'm happy, and a little excited, and some part of me wants to mark the room again, but I'm not worried…not yet, anyway."

"Yet?"

"Ask me that again when I start feeling contractions." Blake said, looking down at the bed sheets. "Although, I'm probably just being foolish. I'm a huntress, this should be nothing compared to that."

"Blake, sweetheart, can we just please take you to-" A soft kiss cut her off, the both of them melting into it. They lingered that way for a long time, and even after, Weiss let her retort drop when she felt Blake shake her head, instead offering another kiss about pulling away slowly.

There was an openness in the air, as though Blake had something else on her mind. Weiss said nothing, waiting for Blake to find the words for her thoughts, and finally the cat Faunus did. "The clothes in the sealed bags are in the back corner of the closet, and the toiletries are in the smaller box above that one. Can you take those outside and tell everyone to get ready…but that, for now I just want it to be us...maybe have Sun and Ruby help get the room organized, but that's it for now."

Weiss didn't hesitate, finally feeling as though that could be useful. "If that's what you want me to do."

Blake nodded, the very tip of her tongue giving the smallest little lick, and then a kiss to her wife's neck, one ear flicking pleasantly. "Mine."

Weiss rolled her eyes, kissing Blake slowly one final time before extracting herself from the apparently needy Faunus. "I'll be right back."

To say Weiss had a small army of friends to do her bidding was putting the matter mildly. Each of them taking an assigned task that needed to be seen to.

Winter handled the unfinished mess that was the company, making phone calls and delegating office positions until further notice. Then she dealt with the press, ordering a blackout. It wasn't an easy thing to accomplish, not even as a Schnee, but she finally succeeded. Lastly, Winter had the joy of informing their father of the situation, which was as bitterly received as expected.

Then, it came down to keeping herself busy, and there were plenty of ways to do that. Being no stranger to barking orders, she also was the first to uptake the role of delegating the household staff. She acted as though she were dealing with a bunch of recruits. Not a handful of civilians who hadn't a clue with to do with the woman's biting tones.

Yang fared no better as she scrambled to get the proper defenses in order. Once Ruby spilled the beans about just what sort of work she had been dabbling in, Yang took full control of the household's security deployment in a way that made Winter seem like a tittering housewife. Between the two of them, everyone else knew better than to get in the way of the dual tirade.

Ruby and Sun were the first to scrub themselves down in piping hot water, and rid themselves of any residual scent that Blake might find unwelcome. Sun posted himself by the door, thanking every deity known to man that it was a dutch-style, meaning he could sit on the ledge of it and be as far away from Blake's scent as possible. He planned to stay there until he was actually needed. Instead he offered suggestions. Taking his direction, Ruby helped Weiss get the room ready with tarps, yanking out the circular mattress and covering that in disposable plastic as well.

The group of friends functioned like a well-oiled machine, until all that was left to do was wait.

As if that alone was some sort of omen, the group closed the door leaving the married couple to themselves for several hours. Hilariously, though, everyone occupied the hallway, Zhu included. Playing card games passed the time the group watching the clock, and the door, as their own restlessness began kicking in.

"How long do you think this is going to take?" Yang asked with a slice of pizza in one hand, and her playing cards in the other.

"That's hard to say." Oobleck replied.

"Take a guess then." She said with her mouth full.

"It could be several more hours before the contractions even begin. After that, probably another several hours before she even delivers." Oobleck replied slowly. "Some female Faunus, like the Fauna counterparts that they hail from, have an ability to delay their labor the moment they feel unsettled and unsafe. It's one of the reasons many Faunus don't always approve of hospitals."

"Interesting…" Winter murmured. "So, in such cases, that could prove to be a detriment. It leads me to wonder then, is Blake one such breed of Faunus?"

"Almost all feline Faunus can delay their labor, just like felines themselves." The man guzzled at the caffeinated substance in his mug before continuing. "Which is why I'm keeping my distance unless I must intervene."

"I keep thinking one of us should go in there..." Yang half growled.

"In good time." Winter responded.

"Yang might be right though." Ruby said thoughtfully, arms crossed as she paced back and forth, unwilling to take a seat. "I know we said we'd give them some time to themselves, but Weiss will be a complete basket case."

"If she isn't already." Yang agreed, wiping her hands on a napkin.

Oobleck only nodded. "Weiss has nothing to worry about. Blake's examination earlier this week showed that she's healthy, I don't predict any complications."

"You sure about that, Doc?" Yang asked with an upraised eyebrow.

"Of course I am. If I thought Blake was at risk in any way, I wouldn't be sitting out here." In this, Oobleck was steadfast, as he continued the card game going on at the folding table. "Keeping that in mind, Blake has a strong instinct to protect herself, Weiss, and her unborn litter. We must act under the stipulation she knows what's best at any given time...take commands, and be vigilant. That's really all you can truly do. I assure you, if I absolutely must step in, I will, though I doubt I'll need to."