It didn't take long for everyone to be back in their hunter gear nor did it take very long for Teams RWBY and ORNJ to make it down to Vale.
Blake had apparently just outright gone missing, the airship pilot the two teams talked to said that he had taken a girl matching Blake's description along with a blonde haired boy with a monkey tail down to Vale not long before. However, if they had hoped to find her close at hand, they would have all been sorely disappointed.
Once they were on the ground, the teams agreed that they needed to split into their partner-pairs so they could cover more ground, with Yang going with her team. Vesta had no problem with that, it made logical sense. Jaune knew it did too, but that still didn't mean he wasn't nervous. Even in a serious situation like this, being alone with Vesta outside of training was something of foreign territory, given that she didn't really… go out much. At least, not without prompting from others.
Jaune figured that was just because she had no idea where she would want to go, rather than not wanting to go. Were the situation not so dire, he might have taken the opportunity to try and show her around, but Blake was missing and that was more important than being a tour guide.
Still, that didn't mean they couldn't talk while they searched, and Jaune had a few things to say. At that moment they were walking down the streets of the commercial district, scanning the area for anyone that looked like Blake. Jaune was still getting used to the whole 'dog ears and tail' thing, and he did notice that some people were looking at him oddly. Either with some hint of distaste, or with fascination, probably because Faunus weren't supposed to have two traits. Jaune himself wasn't supposed to have any, and yet here he was, hearing better than he could have ever hoped to hear before, seeing clearly in spite of the growing darkness that would normally only be illuminated by lights, and trying not to bite his tongue with his new, sharper, canines.
He was beginning to understand why Blake would want to keep her heritage a secret, if it meant the difference between strange looks and being just another face in the crowd. Vale was supposed to be the most accepting and inclusive of all of the Kingdoms, too. Jaune could only imagine what it would be like in Atlas or Mistral. Not so much Vacuo, he heard everyone was too busy trying to survive there to really care if you were a Faunus or not.
He shook his head, realizing he was getting distracted, and cleared his throat, "S-So uhm, Vesta…" He scratched the back of his wrist, "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, when we had that sparring match with Team RWBY. I was the one giving orders, and I just wanted to say sorry-"
Vesta was already shaking her head and interrupted him, "Jaune, you are gifted with a tactician's mind. I was raised to be a ruler, making grand plans that stretch over years, rather than making precise plans to be carried out and executed in the heat of battle. We are two very different kinds of leaders, and I don't think that's a bad thing." She looked at him and smiled, "In fact, I think it's rather serendipitous. We make quiet the duo, do we not?"
Jaune's eyes widened and his face heated up before he looked away, although he couldn't hide how his tail was wagging up a storm. That was one thing about having a dog tail, it gave away whatever he was feeling at any given moment. Nervously, he rubbed the back of his wrist, "A-Ah, yeah! Yeah, we do. I don't…" he swallowed a lump in his throat and tried to stave off the butterflies in his stomach, "I don't think I could have asked for a better partner."
Vesta was stunned at his words, her own eyes widening before she looked away and brushed a lock of hair out of her face, which was dusting up red, "Likewise." She had no idea what to make of the fluttering in her chest nor the butterflies in her stomach, because it certainly wasn't the cereal this time. So, what was it? Vesta cleared her throat before she looked around again, "Hm, I would also like to apologize for… what happened. I wasn't thinking straight."
He shook his head, hurrying to reassure her as he looked back in her direction, "No, it's fine! I… actually kind of like it." He chuckled nervously, "I can hear better and see better, for one. The teeth and the tail, well… those don't really do anything helpful, but I like them!" It was the truth, although he wondered how Blake would feel about all of this once they found her…
She nodded, relieved that Jaune didn't feel like she had been trying to insult him. Of course, that was when he decided to ask, "So… uhm. Any particular reason for, uh… what you chose?" It was hard to talk about this without anyone overhearing, if he had said something about being turned into a Faunus people would think he was insane.
Vesta hadn't been expecting that question and, uncharacteristically for her, it made her cheeks burn a bit brighter. She cleared her throat and maintained her usual social poise while looking ahead, "You're loyal, eager to help, excitable, and very affectionate to your friends. Need I say more?" She turned her nose up in an effort to keep up her usual refinement.
Jaune's tail never stopped wagging, if it were possible it might have even sped up! Did she mean all of that? It caused a swelling feeling of elation in his heart to think that she really viewed him in that light. Without even really thinking he stepped closer to her and wrapped her in a sideways hug, "Th-Thank you! That means a lot…" He noticed how tense she was and quickly let go, stepping away, "A-Ah, sorry. I don't know what came over me…"
Vesta blinked a few times, truthfully the well-oiled gears of her brain had jammed and she was trying to kick herself back into gear. She cleared her throat and shook her head rapidly, "N-No, it's quite alright. I was just surprised. I… I'm not exactly used to physical displays of affection." Nobody in her family was, and then she spent a month on an island, so…
Truthfully, Jaune really didn't know what came over him. Sure, he'd had instances where he wanted to hug her, like after that night on the roof, but he never acted on it because he didn't want to be overbearing or come off as creepy. So why, all of the sudden, did he have such a strong impulse that he was willing and able to just hug her? Maybe her spell that turned him into a Faunus also influenced his behavior? He knew that that was something that did happen.
Silence settled over them as they continued to look around for Blake. It was a bit awkward, although Jaune wouldn't have called it bad awkward. Vesta, in the meantime, was just trying her best to maintain proper decorum in spite of the fact that her mind was racing. Did her spell affect him in more ways than just physically? There was a question of ethics and morality in there somewhere, if he was making more displays of affection now because of what she did, then did it really count? If he wanted to hug her, and it was just his more affectionate behavior now that pushed him into actually being able to do it, then why wouldn't it count?
Vesta chided herself for getting all flustered over a single hug. She was not some lady-in-waiting, fawning over nobles and gallant knights just because they showed some slight favor! She was royalty, a genuine princess and now, in her mind, de-facto Queen of Everday!
…Even if Everday didn't exist anymore, and hadn't existed for five thousand years. It was still her title by right! Still, ultimately she couldn't say she would be opposed to more hugs. Not just from Jaune, but from other people in general. They were nice! It wasn't like she needed to obey her mother's strict rules on behavior anymore. The way she behaved was entirely by her own choice, now.
Vesta thought more about hugs as they continued their search. Although she tried to get her mind off of it by focusing on the fact that Blake was missing and that, in some way or another, she had a hand in her disappearing. Jaune, similarly, tried to distract himself from his own internal debate about why he hugged her and why he had to fight hard to ignore the urge to do it again. This was not the time, damn it! He knew that, and yet could he really be blamed?
Luckily for him, a few hours into their search Ruby texted the group chat the two teams had made and said that everyone should go back to the dorms and get some sleep so they could resume the search the next day. It was Monday, but Vesta (still having trouble figuring out how to text) told them that she would talk to her father about giving them leave to go searching.
He was going to have to do a hell of a lot more than that to make up for the nonsense that he pulled by lying about her. Yet, it was a start, and she still needed to confront him about it. The man she knew as her father would never lie about her like that, she knew he wouldn't, so why was he doing it now? Had he really been jaded that much, changed that much? Maybe she was making presumptions, but she couldn't help but wonder if maybe this went deeper than just trying to defame her by stating she was some country girl.
There was only one way to find out.
Vesta
The next day, Vesta was again the first to wake. Although this time it wasn't because she had gone to sleep early, but because she had trouble sleeping at all with how much was on her mind. Regarding Jaune, regarding her father, regarding Blake… With some shame she would admit that she used magic to help her sleep that night, but what else could she have done? Stay up all night?
That would have done nothing to help her mood.
She once again donned her witch-in-training attire, the Everblooms on her hat glowed red in reaction to her emotions. Not that anyone would know what was going on with that, except maybe Ozpin. Although she wasn't sure if even he knew what Ever After was, or anything about the strange boatman she had met.
Then, she regarded her team—all of whom were still sleeping—before she headed out. Her staff extended out and in her hand, the tapping of it against the ground along with her footsteps were the only sounds that accompanied her. It was well before most sane people would be awake, right at six AM, but she knew Ozpin would be awake.
There was so much she could say to him, and so much she wanted to say to him, but she needed to at least try to start out with some poise and rationality. After all, she was not some child throwing a temper tantrum, but a young woman who had been crossed in the worst way possible. Her own father lied about her like that? No, that couldn't be stood for. Of course he was still far better than Salem, but if he ever got on Salem's level, she would have tried to find a way to kill him permanently.
She didn't like thinking about him like that, liar or no she did still love him. That love was part of why she was so angry. So, she pushed past it. Through the courtyard, the sound of the water fountains filled her ears. It was pleasant, any other day she would have sat on a bench and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere.
Yet she didn't want peace at that moment, she wanted to be angry.
When Vesta got to Beacon Tower, she stopped in front of the elevator for a few moments before taking a deep breath and exhaling. Not because of the elevator, but because she knew that she was going to have a lot to say. Afterward, she stepped into the elevator and waited in silence for it to take her all the way to the top.
The elevator's chime alerted her that she was there before the doors slid open. Sure enough, her father was there, of course he was, reading over some paperwork. He looked up at the sound of the elevator and he smiled upon seeing his daughter, "Vesta, good morning." Although the look on her face and the crimson of the flowers on her hat told him that this wasn't going to be a social call. Instead, he raised an eyebrow, "Is there something wrong?"
Vesta's small frown that tugged at her lips was as telling for her as a full-blown scowl was for anyone else. She approached him, the sound of her staff connecting with the ground with each step rang out as the only noise to come from her before she stopped in front of him. Her gaze never left his eyes, "I want you to answer me truthfully, father." She watched as he nodded, never breaking eye contact, "Why did you lie about me?" Though her tone was stern, the hints of betrayal in her voice were not hard to miss.
They hurt Oz to hear, but he knew he had been asking for this. He kept his calm and even tone as he answered, "The world doesn't know about magic, Vesta. I needed to come up with something to keep you safe."
Yet, her frown deepened, "For what reason should we keep the truth about magic secret, father? Last I remembered, you were all for it being public knowledge."
Ozpin resisted the urge to wince at the memory, "That was a mistake. Those were my first years, my first life. I was naive." He left out that it was not his first life at all, "You saw what the end result was."
Vesta growled, "That was not the end result of the world knowing about magic, but her foolishness! And your lies dishonor my sisters' and your daughters' very lives!" She put one foot forward and glared at him, her voice raised slightly in volume, "That does not begin to describe the feelings of betrayal and hurt I felt upon learning that you lied about me to my friends!"
Ozpin's own voice raised to match hers, although he kept his cool as best he could, "It was to protect you! If the world were to know about your powers, I have no doubt that people would make attempts on your life!"
Vesta's eyes matched the smoldering anger in her voice, "Then let them try! I am perfectly capable of defending myself!" She shook her head before adding, "You made me sound like a madwoman! Deranged and mentally unwell! For the past two months I have received pitying looks from those I call my friends, they thought I never noticed but I did! I never knew why until yesterday! We could have avoided all of this if you hadn't lied!"
Oz's normally stoic tone was slowly replaced with anger, albeit anger born of worry, "You are capable, I'm not saying you aren't! But even the most capable can make mistakes! Everyone has their moments of weakness!" His voice was steadily rising in volume as he stood up out of his chair, "Should someone find you in one of those moments of weakness, should she find you, then there is no coming back! You don't get to come back again!"
The shock in her eyes was not hard to miss, not because he was yelling but because of the implication of his words. He had slipped up before, made more mistakes than any man, and he had paid the price for it a thousand, thousand times. Ozpin's eyes widened before he turned away, walking back to look out the windows of his office. His volume returned to normal, his tone much softer, "...The world can't know about magic, Vesta. I'm sorry I lied about you, but I had to say something. I will concede that Team RWBY and the rest of your team are trustworthy, at least they seem to be. I won't lie to them about you again."
Yet, he never promised he wouldn't lie to them in other ways. Vesta noticed that, but she didn't want to bring it up. Instead, her own voice softened, "Why not take the fight to her? Reveal her existence, and the existence of magic? I'm here now, I will be capable of destroying her, or locking her out of time as you had done to me one day."
Ozpin sighed, "But you can't yet. Until that day, I will do what I must to keep you and the whole world safe." The fact that Vesta was now a significant part of his world didn't need to be said. After all, she was his daughter.
Vesta scowled, Ozpin could almost feel it. There was defiance in her tone, "Do as you must then! But know that I will do as I must just as well! If it comes to it, I will fight. I will continue to fight because this world is rife with despair and anguish! Because it needs hope, something and someone to believe in! If that hope needs to be me, then I will accept that role without hesitation! I will fight to defend what is right, to see evil driven back. Until the end of days, until I have breathed my last breath!" She raised her staff and slammed the end down on the ground, it resonated through the room before she turned around and started to leave.
Ozpin didn't look back even as he heard her enter the elevator and leave. She had every right to be angry at him. If Ozma, the original Ozma, could see him now, he would be disappointed as well. That knowledge brought a smile to his face, not at the idea itself, but because it meant his daughter was shaping up to be more like the hero he used to be than the secret keeper he is now. He could be proud of that, at the very least. Even if it made her reckless.
He looked down at his mug and watched the hot chocolate within slosh around. The fury in Vesta's tone reminded him not only of himself, but of Salem. Salem before she lost herself to a vindictive desire to spite the gods. Vesta truly was their child, her sense of justice and rage in equal parts showed that truth handily.
Ozpin's smile grew as he looked out at Beacon's grounds, students were starting to wake up and go to breakfast. He could see Vesta's team heading there, albeit without her. She was probably trying to get her emotions under control before she joined them. He sipped his drink and amusedly remembered something.
"...She never even asked for time off to search for her friend."
Jaune
The fact that Vesta had been missing all morning had not gone unnoticed by her team and her sister team.
Although none of them wondered why. She was talking to her dad, Jaune knew that. He couldn't imagine how angry he would be if his father had lied about him. Not that his father ever did, nor did he need to. Jaune had never done anything worth lying about except for his fake transcripts, and even then his father had just told him that he would be there when his plan failed.
Yet, Jaune was still there, eating breakfast at Beacon with his friends. The conversation was light, everyone was still thinking about Blake. The thought of the girl caused his tail to wilt slightly. He had been getting looks for his new… looks. The lie that had been concocted (because they all agreed that they shouldn't be going around revealing that magic exists to random people) on the fly was that it was the result of a dust accident.
People believed them only because nobody really knew everything dust could do, even if Weiss noted to their group later that there was no way dust could do something like that. Not everyone was a dust expert, and the fact that he gained his new ears and tail were all the proof people needed to see. After all, what else were they going to think it was? Magic? Magic didn't exist.
At least, it wasn't supposed to exist.
Jaune took a bite out of his scrambled eggs and toast sandwich and listened as Ruby told a story about her original version of Crescent Rose. Apparently, it couldn't even fully fold away when she first designed it, so she just had a nine foot long pole just on her back all of the time. It brought some life to the table, as it was a funny story. She talked about her friend too, Lunus, and how he had designed and made a fucking Buzzsaw his weapon, he could even surf across the ground on it!
That was something Jaune would like to see eventually. Maybe at the Vytal Festival he would get to meet the guy, he sounded cool. Ruby mentioned that she had a crush on him once, but ultimately they both decided they worked best as best friends. All Jaune could do was wish that he had a long-time childhood friend that was that close to him. The only 'childhood friend' he had was his own twin sister, Jeanne, but she didn't really count.
Not that there was anything wrong with his current friends. He had only known them a couple months but he had already grown attached. Even if, sometimes, they did things that annoyed him to absolutely no end. For example, Yang telling terrible puns, Yang teasing him, Yang calling him 'Noodle Boy'...
Actually, it was mostly Yang he got annoyed at, but it wasn't a bad annoyance. It was more a contractually-obligated form of annoyance. As her friend, he was obligated to get annoyed at her antics, that was just the law. Jaune's thoughts couldn't have been better timed, because as his gaze scanned the table, his eyes stopped on Yang, once again sitting across from him, and once again wearing a predatory grin on her face.
Jaune couldn't help but wonder what flavor of Yang Antics™ he was going to witness and or be subject to today. He decided he might as well bite the bullet and figure that out, so he smiled and asked, "What is it this time, Yang?"
Yang placed her hand over her heart in a mock effort to look taken aback, "Why, Jaune! I have no idea what you're talking about! Do you just assume I have something to say?" Then she dropped the act and grinned, "So how's the whole 'ears and tail' thing working out for you, Puppy Boy?"
Puppy Boy?
Well, that was a new one. He would call that an improvement. Still, it didn't seem like teasing yet, so he knew he was going to have to… tease out her teasing by answering her question. Otherwise the repercussions might be dire, "I actually like being this way." To that end, his tail started to wag, "The ears help me hear everything super clearly, I can see in the dark, and my sharper canines makes biting into burgers easier!"
Yang snickered, "Glad to hear it's working out for you. So, what, instead of wanting to kiss Vesta, are you gonna want to lick her?"
Silence fell over the table. Jaune's face reached volcanic levels of red, and he wasn't even the only one! Just about everyone else at the table looked absolutely lost for words at Yang's joke. That was until Weiss, bless her soul, intervened, "Yang!" She cried out, thoroughly scandalized, "That is highly inappropriate! Especially when we are eating!"
Ruby joined in, tossing a piece of toast at the now cackling Yang, "Filth! FILTH!" She declared, "I won't let your filth infect everyone else, Yang!" Then, she thought for a second, before doing her best Vesta impression, lowering her voice a few octaves as she did, "I will not suffer such scandalous behavior!"
That, at least, got everyone laughing about something else and allowed Jaune time to recover. He bit into his sandwich with increased fervor while everyone was still focused on Ruby's impression. It was all in good fun of course! To his shock and horror, Weiss crossed her arms, smirked, and said, "Careful Ruby, if you keep acting like that maybe Jaune will fall in love with you next."
Now everyone was laughing about that and Jaune almost choked on his sandwich as a result. He swallowed his bite and tried to defend himself, "That wasn't even- I'm not even- Gah!" He focused on eating his sandwich again. Truthfully, he didn't know what love even felt like. Did he…? Could he really even tell? He had only known her a couple months. Was there such a thing as love at first sight? Or love at first 'tearing down of Weiss'?
Jaune was naive, but even he wasn't going to be so quick as to call it love, because he was fairly certain it was still too early to tell. After all, did she even want it that way? Yang said Vesta had no idea, so if she did find out, would she be disgusted, or say she just wanted to be friends? He was cool with just being friends! But still, the idea made his heart sting with sadness.
He caught himself before he descended into a spiral and focused on devouring the rest of his sandwich while the others thankfully moved on to other topics.
Shared Perspective
It didn't take long after eating for everyone to get a text from the school saying they were excused to take care of their 'delicate personal matter' so long as they made sure to do the assignments that they were going to miss once it had been resolved.
Vesta—who had been taking some time to herself to think in the empty dorm while she ate some Pumpkin Pete's—silently cursed herself for forgetting to ask her father about getting time off to search for Blake. Yet, it seemed like he knew that she had gone missing anyway. How? Vesta didn't know, but she was grateful that he did, because that would have been an awkward return trip.
When she finished eating her delicious sugary goodness, she washed her dish and then headed back out.
The others were waiting for her near the Bullhead terminal, and upon her arrival Yang crossed her arms and grinned, "Nice work getting us that time off. Now we don't need to worry about balancing school work with our manhunt!"
Weiss huffed and placed a hand on her hip, "Although we're all going to have to work hard to catch up." That caused the rest of Team RWBY to groan.
Vesta walked over to stand next to Weiss and looked over her gathered friends. Then, she crossed her arms under her chest, "Indeed. Team Orange will gladly join you on this endeavor. After all, we have just as much catching up to do." That caused the rest of Team ORNJ to groan as well before Weiss held out her hand without looking at Vesta. She smirked before giving Weiss a low-five, never looking away from her lamenting team.
Vesta, in spite of initially disliking the merchant's daughter, has been slowly discovering that they actually had a lot in common. Weiss' prim and proper sensibilities were as close to Vesta's ancient ones as she was ever going to find, she knew that. Maybe that was why they had such a rocky beginning, because they both held similar views but approached them in different ways.
She promised herself that she would try and talk to Weiss more, in a world where Yang was trying to constantly get her to wear scandalous clothes to be more 'modern', she could never have enough allies.
After that everyone split into partners again, except this time Yang went with Vesta and Jaune. Why? Yang said that she wanted to mix it up, but Jaune believed she just wanted to see if she could get more fodder for teasing him. He wished that she would tease Vesta, but the royal barely showed any reaction to it other than a raised eyebrow. Not at all fun in Yang's mind, and so that left 'Puppy Boy' as she had called him.
So it was that the three of them walked down the streets of Vale, occasionally showing people pictures and asking if they had seen her. Of course, none had, which was just their luck. It was about three hours into their journey, just around noon, when Yang groaned. They were still walking the streets and she sighed, "This isn't getting us anywhere! Vesta-" she looked at the other girl, who regarded her with a curious expression, "-can't you just, you know… fly and look around from a bird's eye view?"
Vesta nodded, "I could but I would need to use and maintain a spell to heighten my senses if I wanted a chance to spot her in this city. That would tire me out a lot quicker than this would, and there's no guarantee they aren't in a building. If they were, that would make it pointless." She rubbed her chin, "In the future I might have to consider devising some form of 'homing' spell, so that I might locate our erstwhile allies from great distances, provided I have the right materials…"
Vesta started muttering something about 'somatic' and 'material' components under her breath. Jaune found himself enamored, it was rare for Vesta to get like this, but when she did there was just something… enchanting about listening to her just go on about things she was interested in. Granted, the only interest of hers that he knew about was magic, but still!
He was so taken by it that he didn't notice Yang trying to get his attention, he just kept staring ahead while they walked. That was until she clapped her hands in front of his face, "Remnant to Pup! Man, what were you thinking about? You had this stupid smile on your face and your tail was wagging!" Yang's smirk was telling that she had found a new form of entertainment for the next few minutes, if not longer.
Vesta was still muttering to herself and that meant that Jaune was stranded to deal with 'Love Type Teasing™' where Yang prodded him about his crush. Luckily, he knew that there was no way Yang would outright reveal his crush. In her own words, 'things like that need to be handled naturally!'
Jaune cleared his throat, "I-I uhm… I was just thinking about…" He grasped at straws before finding an answer, "There's this new game coming out soon, I bought it a couple days ago but haven't had the time to play it. I was just looking forward to getting ready to play it!"
A sound argument, it would probably hold up in a court of law, so Yang just squinted at him, "Hmm. You win this round, buddy." She gestured with two fingers to her eyes and then to him, "I've got my eyes on you."
Jaune just smiled nervously and internally breathed a sigh of relief, that was too close! Luckily for him, he was actually genuinely looking forward to playing the game he got, 'Immortal Fight 5', so he wasn't lying when he said that. Unluckily for him, he doubted he would have time to play it that day.
It was another two hours of searching when Yang once again groaned, "Ugh! I'm hungry." She looked around before pointing at the first cafe she saw, 'The Changing Seasons Cafe', and declared, "Let's take a break, we can't find Blake on an empty stomach!" They very well could, Vesta knew that, but she wasn't going to protest getting something to eat.
Besides, this was a new cafe, she had never been to this one. It didn't have the large windows like the other ones she'd seen, rather it had smaller windows like the ones you'd find in a house. The logo, a coffee mug with steam rising out of it to form the letters, was very appealing in her mind. So, she smiled slightly, "Very well, I could use a cup of tea."
Yang shook her head, "Nah, nah! We'll find something new for you to try." She led Vesta and Jaune into the shop and they all looked around. It was spacious and had booths on both the left and right walls, with the space in the middle given to round wooden tables with wooden chairs as well, the lighting was not bright, rather it was slightly dim and had a very homey feeling. There was a jukebox playing soft piano music in the corner, and the whole place just felt like a warm blanket.
There were people there, some students from Beacon, others from civilian schools, along with some adults and older folk. A very eclectic bunch, to say the least, and Yang immediately yawned once the door closed behind them before muttering under her breath, "Man… this place isn't very lively, is it? Kinda boring…"
Vesta shook her head, "No… I actually rather like it." She walked forward towards the counter, where there was a fair skinned man (Vesta figured just from looking at him that he was somewhere in his 20s) with a slim build and black hair that covered his eyebrows and his ears. His hair was messy and his bangs were parted in the shape of an 'M'. His most striking feature, in Vesta's opinion, was his ice blue eyes that somehow, in spite of the color, regarded the three of them with warmth.
The man raised his hand in greeting as the three of them approached, "Heya, welcome. Name's Neve, we've got a buy one get one free special on frappes today. Are any of you interested?" He rested his hands on the counter, and it was then that Vesta noticed that he wore a ring; it had a crystal that appeared amber in color within it. Jaune assumed that it must have been artisanal fire dust, treated specially to make it purely aesthetic. He only knew about that because Weiss had mentioned it before to all of them.
Yang answered for them, " Uhh… Can we get three slices of that cake you've got there, and… a baker's dozen of those donuts. I'll take that deal, give me a green tea frappe with chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, and just a bunch of whipped cream. Make it tall. Uhh, as for the free one, just make it a chocolate chip frappe." Jaune's mouth fell open as he looked at Yang in disbelief, when she noticed she blinked, "Oh! Right, a Dr. Spicy for Pup here."
That was not what Jaune was so shocked at, but he shook himself out of it and watched as Neve nodded, not looking taken aback by her order at all. Then, he smiled, "Go ahead and find a place to sit, I'll bring your order around when it's all ready."
Yang nodded and led the other two to a booth, where they all sat. Vesta sat against the wall, with Yang sitting on the opposite side. Jaune was about to sit next to Yang when she placed her hand right where he was going to sit and smirked at him. He sighed and tried to ignore the heat he felt creeping up his face as he sat down next to Vesta, who herself didn't mind him sitting next to her. After all, they sat together all the time, why was this any different?
Nevermind the ever so slight fluttering in her heart. Nevermind that…
Yang wracked her brain as she tried to think of something to talk about before deciding to bug Vesta, "So, Vesta. You been wearing those outfits I got you?" She knew what the answer probably was, the girl was just too rigid!
Vesta shrugged, "Some of them. I have not worn that… walking scandal you call an outfit in some time now though." She shook her head at the thought, "Modern or no, it's not my… 'style' as you would call it."
A fair point, Yang would admit that. She would have to find some other outfits that were modern and yet didn't violate her principles too much, "I'll take you shopping for some more outfits after all of this Blake stuff is taken care of. There's more than a few dresses that you'd pull off! Ever tried on a sundress?"
Vesta thought about it before shaking her head, "Nay. I have seen them, but never worn one myself."
Yang nodded, "We're gonna have to fix that! You'd look super cute in one." Then, she smirked, "Ain't that right, Puppy Boy?" Jaune should have known she would have taken this opportunity to tease some more. Vesta herself wasn't entirely sure why she was asking Jaune, other than maybe to get a rise out of the boy, he was awfully skittish when it came to… just about anything, really.
Jaune predictably sputtered, he couldn't help it! Yang knew what she was doing, even if he would never admit it, she deserved better! "Y-Yeah!" He eventually managed, trying to act as casually as he could, yet the nervousness in his voice didn't lie, "It'd look really nice! C-Cute, even!"
Vesta wasn't entirely sure why that comment caused the butterflies to take flight again, but it did. It felt… unusually good, receiving a compliment from him. Yet, she maintained her composure, "Thank you both. I will try wearing one at some point in the future."
Before the conversation could continue, Neve brought them their order on a serving tray, "Here you are." He smiled, Jaune felt his drink and noticed it was warm, so he brought it up. Neve blinked, "Oh! Sorry, here, allow me." He touched the drink for just a moment before letting it go, "There, try now."
Jaune touched it and found that it was ice cold! As if it had been sitting in the fridge for hours! "Y-You have a semblance?" He asked, moderately surprised, "So are you a huntsman, or…?"
Neve chuckled and shook his head, "Nah, I can fight. Better than my wife actually, and she's a professional, but… Just isn't for me, really. I know how to fight to defend my store and the people I care about, that's really it." He shrugged, "I was always more of a domestic, y'know?"
Jaune nodded in understanding. It wasn't the life he personally wanted to live, at least not for a good long while, but he could understand why someone might just want the easy life. It was admirable that he still trained to keep his loved ones safe, if nothing else.
Before Neve could leave, Yang waved him down, "Hey wait, have you seen this girl?" She showed a picture of Blake to the man, "She's my teammate and she's been missing for over a day now. We've been looking all over the place."
Never hummed, "Yeah, I saw her." Yang's eyes lit up as he explained, "She was with a blonde guy with an open shirt, washboard abs and all that. I couldn't tell you what they were talking about, they were really quiet. But yeah, that was… a few hours ago now."
Yang grinned, "Alright, thanks!" Neve just nodded and smiled before going back to the counter. It might not have been a big lead, but it was something, and that was more than what anyone had before.
Vesta was thinking about what Neve had said, but not about blake. She was surprised to hear about how he was the domestic and his wife was the one who was a hunter, but she supposed that the common folk's views on that matter had changed a lot since her days. She didn't mind, after all she was a royal, destined to rule one day, and no doubt she would have been the one 'in charge' in any relationship she had entered into, although she had never experienced one before she was sent out of time.
Vesta tried the frappe, and she found that she really enjoyed it. It was delicious! The donuts and cake slices were good too, but she partook of those sparingly. Yang got her to try her frappe, and it just about made Vesta cough. She liked sugary stuff, but that was way too much! It tasted… viscous.
When they were finished, Yang paid the bill. They stayed for a while longer until eventually they returned to the streets to try and find Blake.
Much to Yang's frustration, in spite of them having been the ones to learn the first clue, they weren't the ones who found out where Blake was. They received a text to the group chat from Ruby who stated that she ran into Penny and that she had said that Blake was near the docks. They were enroute, so everyone hurried to converge. According to Weiss, there was a big SDC shipment coming through that day, and with all of the earlier dust robberies, she deduced that Blake must have felt like there was going to be a bigger heist.
By the time they got to the docks, it was the dead of night. Jaune once again thanked his new eyesight, it came in handy without a doubt. Vesta was, herself, worried that there might be a fight. Not between Blake and them, but between them and whoever these bandits were. Vesta had next to no idea how 'shipping' worked, but if it was anything like what Weiss had said, it was a big deal and to take down a shipment, they would need a lot of men.
It seemed that when they got there, there was already a fight underway. A large number of White Fang members along with a man that Jaune recognized as Roman Torchwick fighting against a severely outnumbered Blake and her monkey-tailed friend. It seemed that the three of them were the first ones on the scene, although Jaune knew that Ruby and Penny would be around soon. Along with everyone else.
Vesta, without breaking stride, took her staff off her side and extended it, activating the blade portion and entering into her usual reverse-gripped stance. Jaune drew Crocea Mors while all Yang needed to do was raise her fists and grin like a mad woman.
Blake and her friend were surrounded on all sides, and Vesta was the first to act, She pointed the blade of her staff towards a pocket of the thugs and Jaune could have sworn she was smiling just a bit too much as the sky opened up and several small meteorites fell out of the sky.
Jaune remembered that spell, it was called Starfall.
As the meteorites began crashing down and exploding, countless numbers of thugs were sent flying in every direction. It announced their presence while at the same time delivering a powerful blow to their foes.
When the terrorists turned to them, Yang decided it was her turn. By her count, Vesta had taken down at least twenty of them with one spell, a quick estimate left thirty, and judging by the distant sound of Bullheads, there was bound to be more. Well! Yang wasn't going to lose to the princess, so she raced forward towards a group of five with what looked like Atlesian military rifles. They unleashed a volley towards her, yet the ones she didn't avoid just fueled her semblance.
Her hair burned as she grinned and delivered a powerful punch to the ground where the five had been standing. Those five were sent flailing and Yang laughed, "Hah! See, I can do that too!" She called back to Vesta.
Jaune looked at Vesta, who nodded at him, so he hurried forward to join the fighting as well. His shield was brought up as dust rounds were sent at him, and they bounced off harmless as he let out a battlecry. It would have been cool if his voice hadn't cracked while he was doing it, but he tried not to feel embarrassed. Instead, he closed in on a grouping of ten terrorists.
Five of them had guns, five of them had swords, maces, or some other form of melee weapon. Upon reaching the first one, Jaune slashed at their torso and sent them to the ground before he quickly brought his shield up to block another's strike. A third one managed to hit his side, but his aura absorbed the blow. The pain caused him to grit his teeth, but he didn't let it distract him. He bashed the one he had blocked with his shield, causing them to stumble backwards. Then, he slashed with his sword at the third one at his side, sending them down.
While he was locked in that engagement, Vesta hurried to help him avoid being overwhelmed. She was able to stand somewhat behind him, and while he blocked, she slashed and stabbed from at his sides, alternating between left and right. He even ducked a few times, giving her the opportunity to greet her opponents with a horizontal slash.
Blake and her friend had not been idle. Instead, they engaged with Torchwick, the two of them taking turns trying to overwhelm the surprisingly skilled master thief. They didn't seem to be having much luck—from what brief bits of it Vesta could see between her strikes—but they were fighting, and that was the important part.
Yang continued to weave through several of the terrorists, taking them down as if they were paper. The hits they did land didn't seem to bother her, instead she kept attacking. Little did they know that all they were doing was fueling the fire that was Yang Xiao-Long.
Eventually the cluster of terrorists Jaune and Vesta were fighting had been taken out, and they saw an opening as Torchwick managed to fight off both Blake and Sun. The two of them were surrounded by White Fang, and that meant he was fair game. Jaune raised his shield and ran towards him, with Vesta following closely behind. Upon seeing them, Torchwick groaned, "Oh, great. More kids?! I'm not getting paid to babysit!" Then he raised his cane and fired a brightly burning dust round towards Jaune.
He had expected it to hit, he hadn't expected it to just… stop. Nor did he expect it to start going in the other direction right at him! Vesta directed it towards him using a bit of gravity magic. It slammed into him and sent him flying backward, although he flipped through the air and landed on his feet. That was two spells down, Vesta noted…
Torchwick gritted his teeth as the two approached. Jaune brought his sword down towards the man but he simply blocked. Vesta struck from her position at Jaune's side. Torchwick blocked that too, and thus began a flurry of strikes, stabs, blocks, and dodges. He was fast, but he was also at a disadvantage.
This became apparent as Vesta channeled a spell laden with fire, a gout of it shooting out from her blade point, going around Jaune in order to slam into their opponent. That caused Torchwick to have to cover his face as he staggered backwards. His aura blocked the worst of it, but he still had to shield himself. That left him open for Jaune to forcefully bash outwards with his shield with enough strength to cause their enemy to stumble backwards even more. It was Jaune stabbing outwards with his blade and connecting with Torchwick's stomach that finally caused the criminal to lose his footing and fall backwards.
Vesta responded by using gravity again, causing Torchwick to bounce off the ground and go high into the air before being slammed back down. That was four spells she had used…
Torchwick grunted in pain and scrambled to his feet while he exclaimed, "What the hell is with you kids?!" He fired several more dust rounds at them, these ones weren't stopped. Instead they slammed into Jaune's shield and caused him to skid back a foot, only stopped by Vesta putting her hand on his back.
Backup arrived for both at the same time. Three Bullheads flew overhead, two of them letting out another cadre of White Fang as they jumped out to join the fight. The third one opened fire in the direction of Blake, her friend, and Yang, who all scrambled to avoid the gunfire.
That was when Ren, Nora, Ruby, Weiss, and Penny came from the rooftops. Nora was laughing like a madwoman as she fired grenades into crowds of terrorists, while Ren fired at the ones that she missed with his pistols. Weiss used her glyphs to take out several with icicles, and Ruby did what Ruby did best. She used her semblance to dart around and reaped several swathes of White Fang at a time, occasionally firing rounds as she did so.
Penny had a whole bunch of floating swords behind her, which she used to cut down swathes of White Fang as they tried to close in on her. She also used them to cut a Bullhead in half which Jaune would have spent time being stunned at if he wasn't in combat. Vesta would have as well, but she wouldn't admit that.
Instead, they were still focused on Torchwick. However, as they closed in, they found that he was no longer alone. Standing at his side where there had been no one before was a woman with pink and brown hair, smirking as if she found all of this just so funny. Roman grinned, "Neo, great timing as always!" Then, he twirled his cane in his hand, "Now we're even, kids! Let's try this again!"
The four closed in on each other, with Jaune blocking strikes from Roman's cane and Neo's parasol. There was no time to think about how strange of a weapon it was as she struck out at the woman, who nimbly dodged backwards, the smirk on her face never fading. Letters appeared, seemingly written in the sky above the woman, as her smirk grew into a full blown smile.
"Let's dance."
Vesta obliged her by charging forward, slashing outward with her sword-staff and twirled it in the air afterward. Neo dodged it all, and reciprocated by delivering a surprisingly powerful kick to Vesta's stomach, causing her to stumble back. She responded by yet again twirling her staff and going on as full of an offensive as she could, stabbing and slashing in equal parts.
The woman didn't seem to particularly care, instead her smile remained as she dodged every attack, no matter how fast they were or how well placed they should have been. Vesta called upon the power of the wind to her aid, although she could only really use it to fly by that point. She used it to quickly allow her to fly to the woman's side. That way, she did land a hit.
Neo seemed momentarily surprised, but then her smirk returned. With the addition of Vesta being able to ignore friction, she was able to change position much quicker, she was even able to raise herself into the air to strike downward. Yet, while she did land in some minor hits, Neo dodged the vast majority of them.
Finally, Vesta slipped up. She overextended by stabbing too far outward, allowing Neo to hook her partisan blade from its wings and then yank it down. Not only did that disarm Vesta, it brought her close enough for Neo to punch her square in the face before bringing her parasol around to jab it into Vesta's stomach, causing her to gasp and lose the concentration necessary to stay in the air.
Vesta collapsed on the ground and Jaune wasn't doing much better as he was put on the defensive, blocking everything he could while getting pushed back. Eventually though, Torchwick landed a strong enough strike that it broke Jaune's guard and allowed him to fire a dust round square into his chest, causing him to fly backwards while yelping in pain before he skidded across the ground. His eyes squeezed shut as he tried to come to grips with the pain.
However, by this point the majority of the White Fang had been taken care of, and now several members of both teams were racing to reinforce their fallen comrades. Torchwick laughed before looking at Vesta and Jaune, "Well, Locasta, Mutt, now's our time to depart!" Neo walked over to him with a smirk on her face before she placed a hand on his shoulder.
When Ruby fired at them, the illusion shattered like glass. One of the Bullheads that still remained seemed to vanish into thin air. The last one they could see was trying to carry away a shipping container of dust. Penny used her swords to stab into it as she rooted herself to the ground with two more swords. That got the Bullhead to release its cargo as it clattered harmlessly on an empty space on the dock. However, it looked like the Bullhead was going to get away…
Until Vesta mustered what strength she had left to point her staff's crystal at it. She didn't have time for a powerful spell like Levin's Wrath, but she did have time to fire a less powerful bolt of lightning at the ship.
When it connected, the lightning ran along the Bullhead before it began to lose altitude, the controls seemingly damaged by the strike. It was all the pilot could do to direct it over the water before he jumped out. The Bullhead crashed into the water and sent it raining down on the dock. Thankfully, it wasn't too much.
Vesta groaned as she laid her head down and allowed unconsciousness to take her. Meanwhile, Jaune was able to stand up with a bit of help from Yang and Nora. He could hardly believe how that fight went. Sure, it had ended badly, but it was… a rush! The whole thing! Maybe it was just the adrenaline talking, but he felt pumped!
Well, up until he saw Vesta laying on the ground, then his attention shifted to going to help her. However, as he tried, he winced in pain and almost dropped to one knee. Yang caught him and helped him stand, "Easy there, Jaune." For once her tone wasn't teasing, but calming, as was her smile, "Nora can carry her back, you just take it easy, alright?"
Jaune wanted to argue, but he wasn't going to. His tail wilted as he took a deep breath and nodded, "Thanks, Yang…" He stumbled to see how Ruby and the others were doing while Nora went to go retrieve Vesta. Exhilarating it might have been, but the two of them still lost that fight. That Neo woman was too fast and too skilled for Vesta to fight when she had only one spell left, and Torchwick was on a totally different level to Jaune. He knew that. It just meant they both needed to get stronger.
He decided that, when this pain subsided in a few days, he'd definitely have to start lifting weights. Jaune knew he was going to need all the strength he could get if he was to truly be a hero like he wanted to be. That, and so he could truly be a knight for his team, a shield that would never break.
For all the nonsense that he had put them through with his shitty behavior, he felt it was the least he could do.
A Home in Vale's Middle Class District
Cinder held some amount of twisted pride in the fact that she didn't need many luxuries in the world. Nor did she need, or want, much to tether herself down. After all, if she entertained the time of someone who was weaker than her, then she was just making herself weaker by proxy.
That was why she would never be anything less than completely happy with the one luxury she did partake in.
The house was a two-story affair, although they didn't need that much space. He had apparently inherited the house from his mother when she died many years ago. While tragic, Cinder couldn't deny the convenience.
She opened the door to the house with her keys and was immediately hit with the smell of dinner. Cinder was sure he had some fancy old-Valean name for it, but to her it just smelled like…
Home.
Yet, the location was not the home.
No, home was the dark haired man who stepped out from the kitchen, wearing his trademark turtleneck and jeans. Neve Cadere's face lit up when he saw her, "Cinder!" He grinned as he walked over and embraced her, they kissed and then he let go, "How was work, honey?"
Cinder sighed as she walked over to their couch and sat down, "Irksome. That ignorant fool Roman messed up the most important dust robbery he was supposed to perform. His folly delayed everything by months! If I could kill him…"
Neve walked up behind her and hummed, "I get it, dear." Without prompting he began to massage her shoulders, the sweet tone in his voice never left as he added, "I would love to see his smug face on a pike. Maybe his hat would make a nice mantle piece?"
Cinder smiled and laid down on her stomach on the couch, prompting Neve to walk around and begin to massage her back. Cinder sighed contentedly, "Yes, it would. I think after I have finished my assignment here, I might well kill him and send you his hat."
Neve's smile grew, "Oh, Cinder. That might be just in time for my birthday! I love how considerate you are." Cinder gasped as he worked out a particularly tough knot, "Did anything else happen today?"
She hummed, closing her eyes, "Roman reported that one of the students who beat him, and yes, they were students," the anger in her voice at Roman was almost palpable, but it disappeared when she spoke again, "had some… strange and varied powers. He didn't know what to make of it, called it 'hocus pocus' like the neanderthal he is, but you and I both know what it is. Don't we, Neve?"
Neve laughed softly, "A maiden? Has Salem's ancient flame finally found someone to wield the other half of your powers?"
Cinder let out another gasp as he got another knot, "Mmhh, I believe so. If that's the case, I will need to investigate. It won't be long until Leo has all of the paperwork filed…" She smirked, "Then, I will see if I can't find this maiden myself."
He finished with his massage and she sat up, they shared a kiss before Cinder smiled, "Now, what's for dinner, dear?"
Neve grinned, "Pasta al Pesto. I made you one of your frappes too, I figured you might have had a long day, so…"
Cinder's smile broadened as she kissed him again before she stood up, "Well, let's not waste any time." As she went to the kitchen, Cinder couldn't help but reaffirm her love for Neve to herself. Some may call showing love a weakness, but Cinder had killed, maimed, tortured, and decimated countless people in the past. If someone had called her love a weakness, she would simply do all of those things combined to them before being home in time for dinner. Some day, she knew she would have to ask him to move to Evernight (Salem was well aware of him, and allowed their relationship as long as it didn't jeopardize her work), but until then, she was happy. The only thing that made her happier was knowing that she might be able to get the rest of her power early.
This… new maiden. They would fall to her. Cinder knew they would.
Author's Notes
If you've read any of my other stories you know I have a penchant for using OCs whenever I feel they can serve a purpose. This story is unique to me in that it has very little direct OC presence. Don't expect Neve to muscle in on, say, Cinder's "Team" at the Vytal Festival or anything like that. He is what he said he is, a domestic. Primarily, he exists to add some extra dimensions to Cinder as a character, other than just 'generic villain'.