A Step too Far

Chapter 4

Keeping Pace

An old Titan decides to climb off the walls and take a step away from the Traveler. He never intended to walk so far. Not once did he regret his decision.

Blake and Praetor clashed in the forest. They were practicing on taking down foes larger than one's self. Basically this meant that all Blake had to do was knock Praetor down, by any means necessary. Unfortunately this also meant that Blake had to step up her game as Praetor was actively attacking her. Thankfully, he was wearing civilian clothes and not his armour, since they were close to the wall. For whatever reason, Praetor had decided to double her training and push her harder.

'What ever happened last night made him nervous.' She thought, dodging a swing and utilising her Aura to dash up a tree in retreat. Her plan was foiled by Praetor kicking the trunk of said tree, ripping out its roots.

From his position on the ground, Praetor was quickly surprised as two Blakes leapt out of the tree's canopy to different trees, one left and one right. Making a split decision he followed the right one and began to shoulder charge the tree, hoping to knock her to the ground.

He was unprepared for Blake to land on his shoulders, tipping his balance forward and sending him face first into the ground while she gracefully landed a backflip. Blake couldn't hold back a giggle as Praetor stood back up, shaking the dirt out of his hair and beard.

"What was that?" he asked, crouching down next to her.

"…I umm…" Blake stammered, looking away ashamed to meet his eyes, scared that he might be mad at her for keeping it a secret. "My semblance." She mumbled.

"Blake, I'm not mad." He assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You're not?" she looked up at him through her hair.

"Of course not, if anything, I'm proud." The Titan flashed her a smile. "You outwitted me on the battlefield. And believe me, that's not something that happens often." He tilted her head up and brushed her hair away from her face. "So come on, show me a smile."

Blake couldn't help but smile so much it hurt.

Blake felt sore all over, so much so that she fell asleep as soon as she collapsed on the lounge. She dreamed of slaying multiple Grimm with a chain-whip-gun-sword thing all with a single slash then swinging up onto a ledge and into the embrace of her wonderful, yet unnamed and faceless, boyfriend. In the space of a few short years she'd graduate as a full huntress and then stop all discrimination against Faunus.

Once she'd make enough money being a huntress, she'd marry her boyfriend and have many children. At her wedding she walked up to the altar with her Papa giving her away. At the reception he would dance with her and say that he was the proudest parent on Remnant.

Sadly, that's when she woke up to the sight of a bespectacled man holding a mug of something hot, judging from the smell it was hot chocolate. Blake let out a small shriek and scrambled back towards the far side of the lounge where Praetor sat, sipping his own cup of hot chocolate.

"My apologies, Miss Belladonna." The man gave a short bow with a friendly smile. "But I simply could not resist. You can get a good idea of someone's character by watching how they sleep."

"Who are you? How did you get in?" Blake levelled a shaking finger at him.

"Ah, where are my manners?" The man sat down in an armchair, placing his mug down on the coffee table and linking his hands in a dignified manner. "Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon. A pleasure to meet you."

"As for how he got in…" Praetor started. "…I let him in. He and I met last night, after a small story about my life, he asked to see you."

"Now, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin leaned back, his hands still clasped. "Why do you want to be a Huntress?"

Blake's jaw flapped up and down without a single sound making it out. Ozpin's eyes simply looked through her, making her doubt her original reason that she convinced herself with. Why did she want to be a Huntress? Praetor being proud? That felt more like a side effect than an actual reason. Faunus equality? Again, another side effect or maybe a later goal.

"It just… feels right." She lightly shook her head, her hair swishing back and forth. "I don't know how else to explain it." Blake laughed a little, expressing her embarrassment. "I mean, I have killed Grimm before, so I have more experience than most and Praetor's been training me."

Ozpin quirked an eyebrow, intrigued. "There is more to being a Huntress than slaying monsters, Miss Belladonna."

"I know, Hunters may be called upon to deal with threats other than the Grimm." She recalled.

"Good." The headmaster nodded. "Miss Belladonna… I feel that you will have an important role to play in the years to come." He told her. "It would be rather foolish of me to ignore my instincts when they have served me well over the years." He mused. "You can expect a letter of recommendation from me before you apply for Signal next year."

The bespectacled man stood up and walked to the door, with Praetor joining him to see him out.

"Thank you, Ozpin." Praetor extended his hand towards the headmaster.

"There is no need for thanks." Ozpin said humbly, accepting the handshake regardless. "After all, there is no knowing what will happen over the years. Farewell, Mister Praetor."

For the next week, Blake trained with her semblance at Praetor's behest. It was difficult, especially without someone to use it against. Before she woke up to Ozpin, he had given Praetor an honorary Hunter's license, in an attempt to prevent conflict with other Hunters.

At the moment the Titan was out on a mission to help a mining town in the wilderness. The payment was from the Schnee Dust Corporation, so it was good payment, but it likely employed a lot of Faunus.

Blake was attempting to use her semblance to attack. So far all she had managed to do was make her clone rush towards a tree before it dispersed. No matter what she tried, the clone wouldn't attack. Whether it was a lack of focus, technique or just plain talent, she couldn't tell. What she was certain of, was that Praetor's training would definitely help. He provided a legitimate threat and forced her to adapt her tactics as they fought.

She knew that there was a combat school in this town, but not once had she seen someone else training. Praetor left her a sizeable stipend so that she could purchase things in an emergency, but she mostly bought sushi from a nearby fast-food place. One time, while she was eating out, a blonde girl her age came in, holding a younger girl with red-hair and a red hood. The younger girl was complaining loudly that she didn't like fish, while the blonde tried to assure her that it's good. To Blake, anyone not liking was unfathomable to her. It was delicious, so tender, moist and it in came so many varieties.

"I don't like fish." The red-head declared, crossing her arms and turning up her nose, completely adamant in her decision.

"Come on Rubes, you've never even tried it. How do you know it's gonna be bad?" The blonde reasoned, nudging her with her shoulder.

"There's nothing to worry about." Blake joined in. "It's delicious, I eat it all the time. I love the soft, fluffy rice and the tasty fish, there's nothing like it." She wiped a little bit of drool away from her mouth.

"…um who are you?" The blonde asked, a little weirded out by Blake.

"Oh… umm, I'm Blake, sorry." The Faunus girl flushed bright red at being called out.

"No it's okay, I'm Yang and this is my little sister Ruby." The gold haired girl grinned as she introduced Ruby, who was peeking out behind her sister. "Ruby, say hi."

"Umm...Hi?" The redhead muttered quickly, before ducking back behind Yang. Instead of accepting this, Yang grabbed her by the shoulders and stood Ruby before her. "Howd'youdo?" Ruby was obviously nervous around new people, she probably never had to talk to strangers a lot. Not that Blake could talk.

"Hi there Ruby. It's nice to meet you." Blake gave the girls the kindest smile she could manage.

"I've never seen you around here before, are you new?" Yang moved the conversation along, seeing that Ruby wasn't able to think of anything to say.

"Yeah." Blake nodded, a small giggle escaping her. "Papa and I just moved here. I'm going to Signal Academy next year."

"That. Is. Awesome." Yang punctuated every word with excitement. "I'm going next year too!" her eyes lit up at the possibility of a new friend. "We should definitely hang out sometime."

"I'd like that. My Papa is out of town for the week." Blake blushed, her smile growing even bigger. A friend, one of the few things she's wanted for years. "So I've got nothing to do until he gets back."

Yang tapped her chin in thought before snapping her fingers as an idea hit her. She quickly went up to the counter and snatched up a spare notepad and pencil. She quickly wrote something on it before peeling the paper away and returned, holding out the paper to Blake. The cat-girl simply looked at it, trying to decipher why it was being presented to her.

"If you ever wanna hang out, just call us. We'll meet up and hang out." Yang explained, flapping the paper at Blake.

"O-ok." She said, lamely. "T-thank you."

"Don't sweat it." The big sister waved off, before noticing something out of the corner of her eye. "I think your order is ready, Blake." She chuckled, pointing to some irate workers holding Blake's food in a plastic bag.

"Ah!" Blake gasped and quickly ran over to pay and claim her order. On her way out, she stopped by the sisters. "Thanks again Yang, I'll call tomorrow if I've got nothing to do."

"I'll look forward to it." She waved goodbye as Blake left, Ruby giving a nervous little wave as well. "She's nice huh, Rubes?"

"I wanna touch her ears." Ruby whispered, laughing a little Yang's confused look. "She had cute kitty ears on her head."

"Really? I didn't see them."

As midday approached the next day, Blake found herself hesitant. In one hand she gingerly held the paper that Yang gave her yesterday, in the other she held the phone. On its display, the phone showed the exact same number as the paper. Despite her task being a simple button push, Blake felt no strength in her to do so. Her heart hammered away in her chest, drowning out all noise around her.

Swallowing her fears, she pressed the button.

Brreep-brreep.

Brreep-brreep.

Brree-click.

"Hello?" The voice was masculine, probably Yang's father. Blake's hand clutching the paper began to shake nervously.

"Umm… H-hi? Is Y-yang there?" Blake tried to speak clearly, as was the custom, but it came out almost too quiet to hear. Luckily, the man chuckled kind-heartedly.

"I'll go get her for you." She heard the receiver being put down, then came a distant yell. "Yang! You've got a call for you!" A few moments passed before it was picked up again.

"Hello?"

"H-hi, Yang, it's Blake… from the sushi place?"

"Oh hey, how's it going?"

"I just umm…" Blake quickly racked her brain for something cool to say, but came up empty. "Finished my chores."

"Good that's done then, huh?"

"Y-yeah."

"Why don't you come over? Ruby's been dying to see you again." Blake almost dropped the phone from how spontaneous this girl was.

"R-right now?"

"Sure."

"I-I don't know where you live though."

"Don't worry, we're just a couple blocks away from the sushi place." Blake could practically hear Yang's smile. "Just follow the street and take the third right. I'll be outside."

"O-ok, then."

"Great, see ya soon."

"Ok, see you soon."

In a few minutes, Blake had washed up and dashed out the front door, almost forgetting to lock it in her haste. She followed the directions that Yang had given her and sure enough said girl was waving at her from down the street.

"Over here, Blake!" Yang called, her voice carrying a surprisingly far distance.

The huntress-to-be jogged to where Yang was, mentally checking over her appearance. She tied up her hair into a pony-tail and wore a dark shirt with khaki slacks. Yang had her hair in low pigtails and was wearing rather boyish tee-shirt and shorts.

"Hi." Blake greeted with a small wave. She was rather surprised when Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began guiding her inside.

"Welcome to Casa-de Yang!" The blonde girl announced with a wide grin. Said house was very similar to the one Blake and Praetor lived in, though it looked a lot more lived in and welcoming, even the door mat said it. As they crossed the threshold, Blake's stomach began to rumble at the smell of baked treats coming from the kitchen. "Ruby!" Yang called upstairs. "Blake's here!"

In a flourish of rose-petals Ruby appeared before the two of them, her hand in a mock salute and a bright smile upon her face. "Hi there and welcome to Palace Ruby!" she spread her arms out as if she was showcasing the house. Blake couldn't help but gawk at the complete change the girl made from yesterday. Then again it was her home and she was around family, of course she would be more confidant.

"Ruby… that was lame." Yang stared. "Really lame."

Ruby couldn't help but pout cutely at Yang. "It wasn't lame!" Yang chuckled and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"You know I'm just teasing, Ruby."

Blake felt something in the back her heart, something heavy and mildly painful. Her mind wandered to Praetor, he rubbed her head like that when she was upset. If she was really upset he'd give her a warm hug. Blake felt a chill wash over her and caused her to hold herself. But something felt missing.

"Something the matter?" Ruby asked, leaning around Yang to look at Blake.

"It's nothing." Blake sniffed. "I just miss Papa."

"Is he… gone?"

Blake shook her head. "No, he's just out of town. It's just seeing you and Yang like that reminded me of him."

"So he's a good dad? Like how Yang is a good big sis'?"

"Yeah, he's a good." Blake mumbled, then mentally added, "But he's not really my father."

"Girls, cookies are ready." At these words, Ruby vanished in a swirl of red petals. Out of a nearby archway, a blonde man poked his head out. He blinked upon seeing Blake however. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in. You must be Yang's new friend, Blake."

Blake quickly bowed stiffly. "Y-yes, that's me."

"I'm Taiyang, Yang's father." He introduced himself. "You know, Yang wouldn't stop talking about you last night." The man flashed a grin towards his blonde daughter, who had turned a deep crimson. "She was so excited to meet someone going to Signal as well."

"Dad!" Yang yelled, embarrassed. She shot a quick glance at Blake to gauge her opinion. Instead of a mocking look she expected, Yang simply saw a happy smile.

"Yeah, I'm glad to meet someone else too." Blake admitted. "I only just moved here a week ago."

"That's great. Always fun to meet someone new." Taiyang laughed. "Well, as long as you and Yang are friends, you're always welcome here. But for now, how about you have some cookies before Ruby eats them all?"

Praetor clenched his fist as the voice over the phone told him the bad news. Bullheads had spotted another major Grimm presence nearby, mostly comprised of Creeps, Beowolves, Ursi and possible a King Taijitsu, nothing he couldn't handle but it still meant that he would have to stay here a few days longer.

His ammo was almost low, so he would have to save it for the heavy hitters, his fists would have to be enough for the smaller ones. With a sigh, he hung up the phone and called home. Each time it rang, Praetor contemplated what he would say to Blake. The poor girl would be heart-broken when she heard. Though instead of her picking up, it went to the answering machine.

"Hi there, you've reached the Belladonna household, please leave a message." Praetor shook his head as his voice recited that, he would have used his own surname, but it had been so damn long he couldn't even remember it.

"Blake, it's Praetor. It seems that I'm going to be stuck here for a few more days." A sigh escaped him. "So, keep up your training and eat healthy, I'll be home before you know it." He softly hung up and pulled his helmet on.

After a simple stretch, Praetor was up and running towards the wall. He kicked off his right foot and the Titan cleared the wall in a single leap, rolling on the ground and took off towards the Grimm, intent on finishing his mission as fast as possible.

The first Grimm he encountered met a swift end as Praetor's fist met its jaw with enough force to lift it up into the air before it was engulfed in flames. An Ursa swiped at him from his left and he twisted to avoid it. Using the momentum from his dodge, Praetor backhanded the beast onto the ground and stomped on its throat.

Looking up, he saw the numerous eyes of the Creatures of Grimm surrounding him. Many people in his position would have shrunk away in fear, but Praetor simply laughed as fire burst into being all around him as the Hammer of Sol materialised in his hand.

The following fight could only be described as a one-sided battle as the Hammer flew across the field, exploding into fiery blasts that evaporated lesser Grimm. While the beasts occasionally hit Praetor, the ones that did were quickly erased from existence with a swing from the Hammer. To his benefit, most of the Grimm assembled were merely younglings with very little experience. Although not deadly to him, they would be devastating if they reached the mining town.

An Ursa roared and forced Praetor to block with his forearms, the hit made him lose focus and the Hammer dissipated. Standing over him was an Ursa Major, one that easily had a few decades of experience beneath its numerous spikes and bone plating. It easily towered head and shoulders above the other Ursa and therefore the majority of the beasts. Praetor wondered just how he missed it.

Before he had time to really question it, the large Grimm was upon him, swinging its massive paws at him in long sweeping arcs. Curiously it seemed to be pushing him towards a sheer cliff wall.

"Clever." Praetor grunted as he jumped over another swipe. "But it won't help you today." Just as another paw passed over his head, Praetor grabbed the arm at the forearm and elbow and slammed his knee into it. The Ursa roared in pain and tried to slam its other arm into the human that harmed it. Praetor simply stepped inside its guard and jumped onto its exposed shoulders, clapping his hands onto its bone mask, his thumbs plunging into the red-yellow eyes.

"Graaah!" With a mighty yell, he wrenched the beast's head away from its body.

The large body fell limp and collapsed, smoke already pouring from the skin. Its head quickly crumbled into ash in Praetor's hands. "One down." He breathed. A loud hiss was heard from behind him. "Many more to go." Praetor cracked his knuckles as the black and white heads of the King Taijitsu danced amongst each other while several dozen glowing red eyes followed him from the shadows.

It was late when Blake returned home. She had the time of her life hanging around with Yang and Ruby, most of the time they simply played games on the TV, but from time to time their dog, Zwei came in making Blake leap away in instinctual fear and onto the bed as she warily watched it. Both Ruby and Yang were very confused at her actions, but she was unable to explain it, she just didn't like dogs.

Upon entering her home, Blake closed the door and leaned against it with a satisfied smile. She was so happy that she completely ignored the blinking light on the phone as she passed it to prepare dinner. It wasn't until she was about to go to bed that she actually noticed it. The blinking button beeped when Blake pushed it.

"Blake, it's Praetor. It seems that I'm going to be stuck here for a few more days." She heard a small sigh. "So, keep up your training and eat healthy, I'll be home before you know it."

Her happy mood slowly morphed into an unhappy one as the message played. When it was finally finished, Blake was downcast at the news and was no longer feeling like the day was a happy occasion. The feeling shocked her, more so than the news itself. To combat this, she gave herself a light slap and shook it from her mind, trying to focus on the positives.

She had been fine without Praetor before, why should a couple of days more worry her? He would come back, right as rain with a bag full of Lien. Then he'd see her progress with her semblance and rub her head in pride.

Those thoughts kept with her as she drifted off to sleep, where her dreams quickly soured from her optimistic outlook to a dreary outcome where he was disappointed in her for not accomplishing more.

A lone tear slipped from her closed eye.

The following day Blake set out to Yang and Ruby's house, thinking about what Praetor said in his message. While it was doubtful that he expected her to actually make significant strides, the least she could do would be to show some improvement. In her mind, asking Yang to be her sparring partner benefited them both in several ways. For one, they could be above the average when they school rolls around.

For that reason Blake had Praetor's utility knife strapped to her belt today.

Before she realised it, Blake had arrived and was already knocking on the door. The door opened up to reveal Yang, her face pulled into that ever present grin of hers. "Hey Kitty." She greeted. "What's up?"

Blake bristled at Yang's nickname for her but suppressed it as best she could. She tried to open her mouth to say what she wanted. Yet no sound came out. It was so much easier in her head without anyone watching her, hell even a little noise would be enough.

"…Fight me."

"What?" Yang was expectedly surprised. Blake felt her voice grow stronger because of it however.

"I want to fight you."

"Yeah, I got that." Yang scratched her head in confusion. "But why though?"

"Do you want a reason?" Blake felt that same feeling she had yesterday creep up in her heart. It was familiar, yet very unpleasant. Was it jealousy? Was Blake jealous of Yang for having a loving family?

"Well, yeah, kind of." The blonde scanned Blake's face for something, any reason why she would fight her so suddenly. "I mean, friends don't just come up and suddenly ask to fight do they?"

Blake felt herself deflate a little, perhaps this jealousy of hers was clouding her mind. "…I just want Papa to be proud of me." She bowed her head, ashamed of herself.

"And how would fighting me help with that?" Yang's head was starting to hurt from trying to understand this girl.

"He said to t-train with my semblance, b-but I-I can't do it alone." Blake bit her lip in an effort to stop tears from welling in her eyes. "I-I thought that if I… fought with you that I could, y'know, get the hang of it faster." She jumped when an arm wrapped around her shoulder and brought her inside.

Yang guided her into the house and onto the lounge where she laid both her hands on Blake's shoulders. "That's not all, is it?" Yang prodded softly. Blake kept her head bowed and shook her head.

"Whenever I think of you, Ruby and your dad. How all of you act around each other. It makes me angry and sad and, I don't know." The dark-haired girl admitted, refusing to look at Yang, even as one of the blonde's hand took hers and kept it still. Blake didn't even realise it was shaking till it stopped.

"I get it, your dad's away and when he's home he doesn't act like my dad does towards me and Ruby." Yang tightened her grip. Blake wondered if this was how a mother was supposed to act. "Tell you what? We can go tell my dad, that way when your dad gets back, my dad can beat some sense into him." She chuckled a little darkly.

"No!" Blake almost shouted, looking up in shock. "Papa's not mean to me, he's just not… warm like your dad is." She tried to explain it. "I mean, he's great but he doesn't say things like 'I love you' or bake treats or anything like that."

'Besides, if your dad tried anything dangerous, Papa would kill him.' Blake added in her head.

"Hmm…" Yang rested her chin in her hands, looking like she was in deep thought. "It wouldn't hurt if they just talked to each other, right?" she suggested, her grin appearing once again.

"I-I don't know, maybe?"

"That's a yes in my book. I'll go get my dad." Yang was about to stand up when someone spoke up.

"No need sweetie." Taiyang leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. "I heard it all."

"…And?" Yang egged him on.

"I'll have a chat with him when he gets comes back."

"Thanks, dad."

Blake couldn't believe her ears, these people were trying to help her. Despite only knowing her for a day? Something warm and wet fell onto her lap. She lifted up a hand to her cheek and wiped off something.

Was she… crying?

She didn't feel sad. Her lips felt like they were curling at the edges.

Was she… Happy?

Two days later, Praetor was in a Bullhead flying towards Patch. His weapons were stowed over his shoulders and helmet in his hands, the golden visor reflecting his tired eyes and greying hairs. Inevitably, his thoughts turned to Blake and her well-being. He knew he may have put a bit too much pressure on her to succeed, but he just wanted her to be prepared.

Regardless, he hoped that she was well.

He heard a thud as the Bullhead landed. With a grunt he pushed himself up, using a railing above as a hand hold. Praetor walked towards the door as it began to slide open and climbed out. Waiting for him on the tarmac was a familiar face.

Qrow stood there with his flask in hand. Beside him was a blonde man with his arms crossed and a very serious look on his face.

"Praetor?" The blonde man asked. "We need to talk."

Hey there people. Seems like I'm finished another chapter. I'm just a big bag of lies aren't I?

Now seeing as I've never been a girl nor had many friends, please forgive me if you found the meeting between Yang and Blake a bit forced. My understanding of natural conversations are very limited, especially since I don't have much experience.

Not a lot of action, but a little bit of drama and a cliff hanger. Well, have a some nice holidays and please comment/review it really helps me out with my day.

~Dys