Ruby and Yang were seated by a tree a fair distance from the mouth of the cave. Throughout their chat, Yang and Ruby had been locked together in a sisterly hug. Normally, Ruby hated being crushed by Yang, but tonight it was a source of comfort for her. Yang had only just let go, and they sat side-by-side, leaning against a tree, gazing up into a rare sight of the sky in the emerald forest. Yang's arm was around Ruby's shoulders, and she was curling up next to the brawler. Yang had just finished telling her what had happened prior to them finding Ruby and Jet.
"…And I saw the cave, and Blake was able to smell you and Jet, you know, her faunus abilities, so we walked in. That was when the fight started." Yang finished. She had been cheery, having finally caught up to Ruby, but while Ruby would normally be the same, her happiness was dulled somewhat by Jet, and worry for him.
"Jet Black Phantom." Ruby said, Yang shivering a little.
"Have you ever seen that before?" Yang asked. "That portal ability, y'know, when he flung me into Blake, it must have been dust related."
"Nothing about Jet really surprises me anymore, I mean about his combat abilities." Ruby said. "When you face him, he has so many different abilities and weapons he can use. His unpredictability is his main weapon, Yang."
"You love him, don't you sis?" Yang whispered. Ruby blushed, but smiled as well.
"We're in love with each other, yes." she whispered back.
"Aww, my little sis is starting to grow up." Yang cooed, pulling her sister closer. "How far have you been with him, though?" she asked, with a serious expression on her face.
Ruby blushed even harder at that. "Um sis, that's private!" she exclaimed softly.
"I have to know." Yang said, still serious. "Ruby, you're still underage!"
"What? No." Ruby said, exasperated. "Jet and I have kissed, but that's all Yang. None of that… other stuff." she said, trying not to look Yang in the eye. Truth be told, she'd been curious, but she was still under 18, and Jet didn't seem to be ready for it. She didn't even know how old he was, and made a mental note to ask him.
"Ok sis, I believe you." Yang said, after a moment of silence. "He's a good guy, when he's on the brighter side of his coin."
Ruby chuckled a little despite herself. "Yang," she said seriously, "Jet doesn't mind puns, but he hates coin jokes."
Yang laughed a little herself, as they turned their heads to the sky above.
"I'll remember not to rattle his head too much, or he might start flipping out." Yang said jokingly.
Ruby laughed with her sister as she gazed up at the stars. She was glad that Yang, at least, had forgiven Jet for his loss of control. She only hoped that Weiss and Blake could do the same, as another separation from her team or Jet would be too much to bear.
'I love you, Jet.' she thought. 'You really are my Romeo, whatever that is.'
Weiss had taken to gathering some water for the base that Jet had established in the cave. Nouvelle had joined her, and while Weiss normally was neutral towards LIJN in general, she found something akin to similarity in Nouvelle. Despite her accent, she was of a similar calibre to her, though not as high in power as herself, she possessed a business-like manner and seemed well respected.
They were near the waterfall that Ruby had told them about before they left. Nouvelle was gathering water using her semblance to heat it and send the vapour to Weiss, while she was using her dust abilities to remove the impurities, before putting it into several canteens that they'd taken on their journey, where it formed water once again. As she cleared the last vapour, she and Nouvelle sat down to rest on a pile of leaves.
Weiss had gotten used to herself being slightly less than immaculately clean, but she would still try to maintain cleanliness whenever she could. As heiress, it would be wrong of her not to be. She was distracted by Nouvelle sitting down opposite her.
"Something on your mind?" she asked, her tone gentle but still maintaining the crisp and clear voice.
Weiss sighed. Could it really hurt for her to tell Nouvelle? "Jet." she answered. "I still don't fully trust him."
"Zat eez not wrong, Weiss." she said with a knowing look in her vivid blue eye. "Jet eez ze sort of person who normally keeps things to himself. He eez a good leader, yes, but zere are things even we don't know about him."
"Why do you trust him, then?" Weiss asked.
"He eezn't one to disappoint." Nouvelle replied smoothly. "He trusts us, and when he eez asked to perform, he will never fail to give ze best of himself. He eez like a positive mirror, when he eez in control."
"A positive mirror?" Weiss asked, intrigued.
"Yes. If someone eez nice to him, he will be nice back. If zat person is formal, he will be too. But he will not get angry, or reflect ze negative."
Weiss considered. That would certainly explain Jet's ability to both hold formal conversations with her and informal ones with Ruby and Yang as if it was second nature, and why he didn't immediately lash out at her when she confronted him that night back at Vale. Nouvelle leaned a little closer from where she was sitting.
"Between you and me, Ruby eez very lucky to 'ave someone like him. He eez a true friend to me, and if you give him a chance, he can show you zat it was no waste." she said, a little quieter.
"If Flux doesn't come back, then yes, I may well agree with you, Nouvelle." She stood, and so did Nouvelle. "Let's get back to the cave."
"I will follow." Nouvelle replied, and the two began to make the walk back to the cave, Weiss all the while pondering Jet's relationship with Ruby. She decided she'd allow it, for the time being.
"So what's your semblance supposed to be?"
Jet hissed as he heard the question from Blake. This momentary distraction caused him to miss the fish he'd been intending to spear with Shadow Meteor, and the disturbance caused all the fish to practically vanish from the area. Getting up from where he'd been kneeling, he addressed Blake.
"Dang it, I had that last one." he said, adopting his casual voice. "And as for my semblance, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
They were standing near a stream that was actually flowing from the waterfall area that Weiss and Nouvelle had been collecting water from. Blake had suggested that they come down here because the fish would be diverted from that area towards them. It had worked, as their rapidly growing pile of raw fish could attribute to.
"You've already seen mine." Blake replied coolly. "Creating a copy of myself for a short period."
"Darkness Manipulation." Jet said, confidently. "That, along with an ability to do this." He grasped Blake's hand and she felt a creeping darkness envelop their hands at the contact. It receded after a short time, and Jet finished with "Copying other semblances for my own use."
Blake pulled her hand back, and Jet seemed to have a knowing glint in his eye now.
"You're a faunus, right?" he asked. Blake was taken aback in surprise, she had instructed her team AND Ozpin not to let anyone know. As if sensing her thoughts, Jet swiftly continued. "I picked it up while I was copying your semblance."
"I am." Blake admitted in defeat, untying her bow so that her cat ears unfurled in the cool breeze.
"There's more to a person than meets the eye. I learned that from Ruby." Jet said, scratching Blake behind the ears. As patronising as the gesture was, Blake held back her protest, for he had found that one spot she could never get to, and simply enjoyed the sensation, closing her eyes.
They stood like that for a solid minute before Jet retracted his hand. "You clearly enjoyed that." he whispered. Blake shot him a questioning look, before she realised with a jolt that she'd been purring, something she hadn't done in a while, and blushed in embarrassment.
Jet walked away, back towards the cave, and as Blake watched, he turned back, before tracing a finger across his lips, silently promising Blake not to say a word about what had happened, before disappearing into the bushes that were the start of their return to the cave.
Blake smiled before following the sounds of parting branches. She knew that he could have easily started teasing, something Yang wouldn't hesitate to do, and he'd simply allowed her to enjoy it.
Maybe Blake had misjudged him.
Maybe.