When Blake was accepted into Beacon, she knew that her life was going to change drastically. With dozens of experienced huntsmen and huntresses serving as their teachers, and hundreds of skilled students, Beacon was the safest place to be for a former White Fang terrorist. Blake was a coward after all, so she ran straight into the belly of the beast to hide from another, and nobody ever expected it. They would never imagine it, that someone like her would ever step foot inside their academy, walk their floors, and learn from the best. All it took was a little plain, black bow to hide her ears.

Still, even with all of that, Blake never expected to become friends with a Schnee. It was unheard of, a Schnee and a faunus, an oppressor and a terrorist, it was ironic.

"If you're going to say something, say it." Blake said dryly. The Heiress had been staring at her for the past hour, as if she was trying to burn a hole in the back of the Faunus' head. She was seated near their lone desk at the other side of the cramped room.

"What makes you think I was planning on saying anything?" Weiss fired back, her tongue as sharp as alway, which she hadn't been recently. Weiss had been more subdued recently, nice even after the rest of team RWBY delved into her mind to fight off the Grimm that had buried itself in her heart. The food fight against team JNPR helped to cheer her up a bit.

"I can literally hear your heart beat faster." Blake smirked and wiggled the ears on top of her head. Ever since she revealed her secret, she started taking off her bow more often, while in the safety of their dorm. Blake still wasn't ready to reveal herself to the rest of the school.

Weiss looked like she bit her tongue, probably to stop herself from saying something racist, even unintentionally. Old habits die hard, but she was doing her best, which was all that mattered to Blake.

"Great." Weiss croaked. She coughed into her fist and cleared her throat. "Then I guess you can read minds now too, huh?"

"Only when I have a nice cup of coffee." Blake hummed as she continued reading her book from the comforts of her bed. She hated coffee, everyone knew that, which just so happened to be the Schnee's favorite drink. "Then I can tell the future too. Do you want to know your fortune?"

"Ha, ha, ha." Weiss' fake laugh made Blake's smirk grow. "Then I guess you're not going to want this tea set, complete with longjing from Vacuo, and maude from Mistral."

That made Blake freeze. Those were her favorites! It was Weiss' turn to grin, as she pulled a box from under their desk, which Blake had honestly assumed to be a box of cookies Ruby was hiding from Yang. Weiss stood up, the decent sized box in her hands held outwards. She had a large smile on her face.

"Weiss! That's too expensive!" Blake sat up, and stood up as well, her book forgotten. The tea alone was expensive, having to be imported, amd the brand that Weiss chose cost more than the average family made in a year.

"And I have plenty of money. What's the point in keeping it in a bank and saving it, when I'd rather spend it on the people I care about." Weiss said confidently. She held the box out again, which Blake carefully took. It made her stomach hurt, in a good way.

Carefully placing the set on her bed, Blake threw her arms around the shorter girl. Weiss was such a dummy when she wanted to be but she was their dummy. Weiss hugged back, albeit a bit hesitant. She still wasn't used to having consistent physical contact with others, but Yang and Ruby were quickly breaking down her walls. Blake's too.

"You're smearing your makeup all over me now, Blake." Weiss complained as patted Blake's back softly. She wasn't wearing her heels, which allowed the dark haired girl to easily tower over her.

"You're the one that's crying, not me."

Who would've thought that a Schnee would be one of this Faunus' best friends?

The sound of gunfire was a constant in Blake's life, whether it was during her time in the White Fang, or as a huntress-in-training. Wherever Blake went, violence and death was sure to follow.

"Right behind you!" Blake called out as she raised Gambol Shroud, firing off a bullet or two, which distracted a beowolf from tearing off Oscar's head. The bullets bounced off the Grimm's bone mask, cracking it. A wave of roses flew past it, decapitating its head from its body. Ruby reformed her body, and disappeared again into the small pack that was attracted to the relic Qrow held.

"Blake!" Yang shouted. Her cat ears twitched, and instinctively jumped to the right, just as another beowolf tried swiping at her. Grabbing Gambol Shourd's sheath and transforming the main body into its sickle form, Blake threw it, holding onto its ribbon. She aimed it at the beowolf, wrapping her beloved weapon around its neck. Pulling hard, Blake launched herself back at the monster, using her sheath as a cleaver to finish slicing off its neck.

"Thanks!" Blake shouted back. Yang was busy defending Bumblebee, and the cart where Ruby's wounded uncle and Maria were. The snow was slowing down their progress, and the Grimm certainly didn't help. T-Too bad Weiss wasn't here, they would've been able to use her glyphs to funnel the Grimm into killzones. Blake charged back into the fray, covering Ruby's back who was leaving a trail of black dust. She wouldn't run away, not again.

Blake already lost one friend.

They made camp a few hours later, their small group crowding around a small fire that Maria had built. The short old lady was silently rewrapping Qrow's wound with Oscar's help as they relaxed by the cart.

Blake didn't like the snow, it was cold and rough and it got everywhere. She did appreciate Yang who was sharing a blanket with her. Their hands touched briefly, causing her cheeks to heat up. Pushing any inappropriate thoughts out of her head, Blake turned her attention to Ruby, who was staring into the flames blankly.

"How are you feeling today Ruby?" Blake asked, doing her best to smile. When Weiss died, a part of Ruby did as well. She was more sensitive now, and prone to outburst of anger, just like Yang.

"I'm fine." Ruby grumbled as she pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her cape around her body to stay warm. The red scarf Weiss had gave her remained around her neck.

"'If you want to talk about it, we're here." Blake continued. Weiss' death had affected all of them, even the remains of team JNPR. Jaune had taken it particularly hard, Weiss had disappeared in his hands after all. Cinder didn't even leave a body for them to bury.

"We love you Ruby." Yang spoke up this time, her voice tired. "Weiss knew the risk-"

"I don't want to talk about it." Ruby interrupted rudely. She hardened her eyes and stood up, a hand on Crescent Rose. "I'll take the first watch." She stomped off into the darkness.

At least she didn't have an outburst, like the one that caused their split from Jaune, Nora and Ren. They could've really used their help about now.

"I still can't believe she's gone." Yang said after what felt like an eternity of staring at the fire. "She was the most stubborn out of all of us. Fuck, she even escaped Atlas and Daddy Schnee's claws to be with us."

"I know." Blake placed her hand on Yang's own, nodding slowly. This was her fault. What if she didn't run away to Menagerie? What would've happened if she was with the rest of her team when they arrived at Haven? She shook those thoughts out of her head. It all worked out in the end, with the militia from Menagerie they saved Haven, but at a great cost. Either Haven falls, or Weiss' death.

What a horrible decision that would hurt no matter the choice. Not being able to decide hurt even more, and what was done was done. She was pulled from her thoughts when Yang wiped a tear from Blake's cheek with her prosthetic hand.

Blake stared into Yang's lilac eyes. She gave the faunus a weak smile, one that she returned. Life was so short, Pyrrha and Weiss' death proved that anything could happen. Adam was still after her, even with his supporters in jail. Was Blake going to run away again? Was she going to abandon her team again? No, Blake was tired of running away, and if she was going to die, whether by Adam's hand or any other force, she wanted to die without any regrets.

Blake leaned in slowly, a movement that Yang imitated until their lips touched.

She wasn't going to fail her team again. They were going to take the relic to Atlas and defeat Salem.

For Weiss.

A/N

The Black interlude is done! A lot changed off screen in the world of Remnant, which will be explained and shown slowly. It'll help keep a mystery in the story.

This was my favorite chapter that I've written recently. It came out onto the page nicely. Now to plan the next arc, I think its time for some action.

Thank you for reading!