Blake narrowed her eyes as she held Gambol Shroud up beside her cheek, its blade pointed across the wooden docks toward her opponent. The faunus' breathing was quick and shallow as she searched the other girl's eyes and found only amusement in contrast to her own frustration.
"Oh, come on," Amaya taunted in a husky tone as she whirled her hookswords and held them out to the sides in a welcoming gesture. "You can do better than that, Blake. I might have a few years on you, but you've got Fang and Academy training. Stop holding back! I can take it!"
"I've also got a lot of things on my mind," Blake spat back as she looped the velvet ribbon at her weapon's base around her free hand and pulled the length taut. "That's the entire reason I asked for your help. I'm not at my best right now, and I need my head back in the game. I'm trying, Amaya."
The bat faunus scoffed as she spun her swords in the opposite direction and held one in front of herself in a defensive posture while raising its mate above her head.
"Well, if you're looking for someone to kick your ass back into gear, then I'd be happy to oblige. Let's see how fast you really are."
Just as a wave crashed beneath the pier, Amaya dived off the side of the structure and disappeared under the wooden platform. Blake's eyes widened as she lost sight of her opponent and turned to begin a desperate sprint as she kept an eye over her shoulder. She briefly managed to catch sight of Amaya slaloming between the wooden supports below as she reached an intersection on the docks. Another wave brought a spray of water crashing up and around the pier, drenching Blake's clothing and causing her to slip just as she picked up on a subtle whoosh from up ahead.
Amaya rose from beneath the pier in a spiral, beating her wings hard as she flew low along the wooden surface. Blake whipped her head back around just in time to clash blades with Amaya, though the older girl brought her unoccupied weapon around and took quick and precise aim during the deadlock. Without hesitation, she fired a hot blast of shrapnel from the shotgun mounted upon the grip of her hooksword, and the pellets flew straight through Blake's abdomen. The projectiles peppered the floor of the dock on the other side of the feline faunus as she appeared in the air above Amaya and readied a falling strike.
"Crafty little kitten," Amaya cooed as she brought up a sword to catch Blake's falling blow.
Just as the blades were set to touch, Blake instead slammed her foot into the flat of Amaya's sword and kicked off to sail over the bat faunus' back. In midflight, Blake converted Gambol Shroud into pistol form and fired off a series of rounds into Amaya. The bat managed to deflect a few of the bullets sent flying her way before a stray round grazed her shoulder, causing her aura to pulse with a hot pink ripple. She narrowed her eyes as Blake fired another round, and Amaya dropped her aura to let the bullet scrape against her upper arm. The black fabric of her t-shirt sleeve tore immediately and the deep red wound beneath began to ooze a lazy trail of blood down her arm as Blake hesitated and stared with an expression of horror.
"Amaya!" Blake gasped. "Why would you… are you alright!?"
The woman merely chuckled in response as she transferred both of her hookswords to one hand. She slowly brought the other to dip a finger into her open wound, before massaging it around and widening the hole.
"…why? Because I learn, Blake. I used to hate fighting grimm, because I thought my semblance was useless against them. Grimm don't bleed," the girl said with a shrug before locking eyes with Blake. "…but I do."
Blake's ears flattened as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She readied her weapon as Amaya's aura flickered back to life, and the bat faunus gave her a wicked grin.
"…shit."
"Shit indeed, Belladonna. Get serious."
Blake had little time to react as a torrent of blood spewed forth from Amaya's wound and flew for her like a projectile. The feline faunus barely managed to blink out of the way as the stream of blood looped back around and formed a swirling ball in midair high above the docks. Amaya herself flew forward toward Blake as the blood ball began to fire off hardened bullets of coagulated blood at the younger girl. The weighty impacts peppered the deck with scarlet stains as they chased Blake down the docks, each of the blood bullets leaving a small crater as it hit. Out of options and desperate to find cover, Blake dived off the side of the pier and disappeared beneath the wooden planks.
Amaya was quick to follow, and found her opponent leaping back and forth by kicking off the support beams while dancing just above the turbulent water below. The blood ball lowered itself down and around the side of the pier at Amaya's command and continued to fire projectiles, while the bat herself flew parallel to the wooden structure in an effort to catch up to Blake.
"Stealing my moves, are you?" she taunted as she took aim at Blake and fired one of her hilt-mounted shotguns.
Blake manifested a clone and threw herself forward along the line of supports, narrowly dodging the blast as Amaya weaved in between the wooden columns ahead of her.
"Learning your style firsthand!" Blake called back as she deftly dodged two more shotgun shells. "This is just the kind of fight I need! I'm finally starting to fee-"
Another loud roar of Amaya's guns sounded out to cut off Blake's statement, and she noticed a second too late where the woman was aiming. The shells tore through the support beam mere inches away from Blake's incoming foot, robbing her of time to dodge or divert to another. Her body weight caused the splintering surface to fail entirely as she tried to kick off from it, and the end result saw Blake clawing at the air as she tumbled down into the shallows of the ocean while being pelted with projectiles of hardened blood. The girl disappeared beneath the surface of the water with a loud splash, and Amaya immediately dispelled her blood ball to let the little remaining liquid follow her opponent down into the waves.
Amaya sheathed her swords upon her back before flying over to the shore and touching down in the sand. She folded her arms over her chest and smirked as she watched Blake's head breach the water and immediately begin to approach the beach.
"Round One goes to me," the bat faunus proclaimed confidently the moment that Blake was within earshot.
"…well deserved," the younger girl admitted as she accepted the offered hand and pulled herself back up to a standing position. "And… I guess I need to borrow more clothes from you."
Amaya snorted in amusement before clapping her hand on Blake's back and nearly causing the girl to fall over once again.
"No problem. I will say, though- you look hot while wet."
Blake rolled her eyes and let out a weary sigh.
"…I have a boyfriend, I'm not into women, and I hate water."
"That's something we have in common," a masculine voice called from behind the two girls. Blake's ears perked up at the familiar tone, while Amaya merely turned and gave Neptune a devious smirk as she tilted her head to one side.
"…that you have a boyfriend, or you're not into women?"
Neptune blushed hard as he watched Blake try to hide her smile in reaction to the verbal jab.
"…you are so mean to me," Neptune whined at Amaya, though his grin matched her own. "And for your information? I don't have a preference, and I'm not ashamed. I'm also aggressively single."
Amaya merely shrugged and punched the boy in the shoulder, nearly knocking him to the sand in the process.
"Good for you, kid. What's up?"
Neptune rubbed his shoulder and hissed before turning his attention to the other faunus.
"Well, first of all, I saw your fight, and you're both crazy," the boy pointed out.
"I take that as a compliment," Amaya said as she upturned her nose and folded her arms once again while spreading her leathery wings in triumph.
"You've seen me fight before," Blake added. "Speaking of- we should spar sometime soon, to keep on our toes. And maybe you should spar Amaya, too."
Neptune's eyes went wide with terror as he opened his mouth to protest, only for Amaya to cut him off.
"Great idea, Blake! You and I can dance sometime soon, little boy. I can't wait to get my hands all over you."
Neptune offered only a hollow laugh and anxious smile in response as he brought a hand up to scratch at the back of his head.
"I'm… not getting out of this, am I?"
"Nope," Blake said authoritatively as she wrung out the bottom of her ill-fitting borrowed shirt. "If I have to get my ass handed to me in front of you, the least you can do is return the favor."
Neptune let out a long sigh of resignation before shaking his head and giving the girls a shrug.
"Fine, fine. But anyway- I'm actually here for you, Blake. You and Qrow only scoped out the east side of the mansion yesterday, right?"
"…right," Blake said hesitantly as she stopped fiddling with her shirt. "Why, is something going on on the west side?"
"Not really… 'going on', per se, but I found something I think you're gonna want to see. It's… it may be… difficult," Neptune warned. His face fell as he watched Blake's do the same, until her eyes ended up firmly locked upon a small shell in the sand below.
"…oh. Let me get changed, and I'll… follow you on over."
"Hey," Amaya said in a breathy voice as she laid a hand onto Blake's shoulder. "I've got your back, even if I give you both shit from time to time. I can tag along, if that would make you feel better?"
"Actually… I'm not even sure if I should join on this one," Neptune said slowly as he gave Amaya a serious look. "This seems like the kind of thing that Blake might want to do al-"
"No," Blake interrupted as she finally looked up and offered Neptune a miserable expression. "I can't do some things alone. That's a lesson I've learned well on this journey. No matter what it is that you've found, I want my friends at my side. Both of you."
Neptune gave Blake an encouraging nod, while Amaya slipped her hand off of Blake's shoulder and pointed a finger into her mouth before pretending to vomit all over the beach.
"Eugh. Gross."
"…she wasn't lyin'. That shirt is way too big on you."
"Shut up," Blake groused as she continued walking down one of the upstairs corridors of the Belladonna mansion. Her new shirt was a faded heather grey and featured the text THE BAT PARADE across her chest, along with a logo she didn't recognize.
"Not everyone can be blessed with an awesome rack," Amaya replied nonchalantly from Blake's other side. "So, Neptune- which do you prefer? Large, or small?"
"Oh, hell no, I am not getting caught in this trap," Neptune replied warily as he kept his eyes on the plastic-coated walls and the charred wood beneath them. "Not while I'm next to both types and with both of you more than capable of kicking my ass."
"…you think my chest is small?" Blake asked in a dangerous tone.
"What? No, I didn't…! Aw, crap…" Neptune said before sucking in a nervous breath. "No, Blake, your…chest is perfect, there's nothing wr-"
"So I'm too big for you, then. Got it," Amaya interrupted with a huff. "What a shame."
"No, I didn't...! Oh, screw you both!" Neptune said while throwing his hands up in the air with a flustered flourish. "Women are evil. I'm going to date men exclusively from here on out!"
Blake giggled softly and found herself a bit surprised by the sudden noise. She allowed herself a small smile before she elbowed Neptune in the side to catch his attention.
"…hey. Thanks for just… keeping me distracted. It's keeping me sane."
"At the expense of my dignity!" Neptune offered with a growl and a sigh. The boy rolled his eyes before returning Blake's little jab. "But yeah- any time, Blake. I know you'd do the same for me."
"…I'm not so sure I would," Blake admitted as the party rounded a corner. The faunus narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the wood in the hallway was uncovered, and seemingly somehow untouched by flames. "I'm… not exactly great with people, and seeing other people stressed out stresses me out. I'd probably just make things worse and then feel awful."
"Do either of us seem like we have a master plan or a 'how to' guide for figuring this shit out?" Amaya asked. "We're both just winging it and hoping to keep you grounded. Give yourself a little credit- you're doing great things."
"And I'm sure you'll have the opportunity to support one or both of us soon enough," Neptune reassured as he walked ahead of the group to take another corner. "But yeah, this is what I found. It's got your emblem on the door, and it's totally untouched inside. Some kind of library, I think? I know you like books, so…"
Blake immediately froze as she caught sight of the door that Neptune was gesturing toward. Her entire body started to tremble uncontrollably as she looked at the giant Belladonna emblem painted upon the wood up and down, and her breathing quickly became erratic.
"…Blake?" Amaya questioned in an uncharacteristically soft voice.
"That's… that's my father's office…"
Author's Note:
Feels trip next time. Make sure to pack a lunch.
-RD