Another day, another escort mission. For Blake Belladonna, this wasn't at all what she had expected from being a huntress. Oh, she anticipated that there would be times that she would do these sorts of things. However, what she didn't expect was that there would be a lot of these escort missions. Normally, she would have anticipated some sort excitement during this time. Grimm were there sure but those had become scarce recently and she knew precisely why. Was it a terrible thing that she wished that there would at least be some strays for her to scratch the itchiness of her fingers?

Her partner for this one was Russel Thrush. The spiky-haired boy proved himself to be rather capable at scouting. Granted, since there was pretty much nothing to scout ahead with how clear everything was, anything that would be seen would have been from miles away. Even without the advantage of her faunus traits, anyone would have seen any Grimm coming.

The nature of their escort? More building materials. Though, in this case, it was more for the defenses that would be mounted on the walls. A small transport full of mountain guns that would be mountain on certain sections of the wall that would be utilized in the event of a Grimm attack. Prior to the attack on Beacon, the armed defenses were rather sparse, mainly because of the natural barriers of Vale that made such additions rather unnecessary according to the council. Of course, now that there had been an attack, there was blaming and surprise that marked those people's faces and the call to action was seen as them making sure that such a tragedy never repeat itself again.

Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch made sure that it did. With reports of the Grimm retreating, there were a few voices who still asked if it was too much. The only compromise here was that most of these models were rather outdated. Older models that once belonged to Atlas—or rather Mantle—from the latter days of the Great War. They were cheaper now, initially just left there to rot or reused for other things. Here, it had been repurposed for its role. It was better than nothing, Blake supposed.

Eventually, they reached their destination. The workers that she and Russel had escorted got to work. It would take hours before everything was ready and they still needed to stick around while they worked.

Blake looked out onto the mountainous terrain. The mass of black that she had seen only left her to dread at the prospect of the Grimm suddenly choosing to descend down on them all. All it would take was this Salem person to command them and she was certain that she and Russel wouldn't be enough to hold them all back.

That revelation was still wrapping around her mind. There was an evil queen of the Grimm. A literal witch that could command an army far too massive. Blake had once believed that the tensions between humans and faunus were dumb with the threat of Grimm around. Like, with monsters out there threatening to tear down your homes, does anyone really have the time to think about such things as differences? The same could be said for wars in general but alas, such things were far beyond Blake's mind at the time.

Now though, she couldn't help but wonder if this Salem person also machinated such strife. It was too simple and too naïve to think that but for all the pain that had been caused by her, and the fact that Grimm thrived on such things, Blake had at least entertained the idea once in a while.

"And done," one of the workers said. "Just pack it up and we'll call it a day." Blake's eyes widened in surprise when that worker turned out to be a faunus. His traits weren't too obvious but the frog tongue that came out of his mouth as he drank water did just that.

The trip back to the inner cities was just as uneventful as the last. Without the need for scouting ahead, both she and Russel essentially had to rest as they returned. Getting off the vehicle, the two of them received the completion of their latest mission which was then forwarded to Beacon.

Blake received a message on her scroll. Her team, along with CRDL apparently, should hang out in some café. The two teams have been doing that more in recently what with Goodwitch's new approach on missions. Technically, the two teams didn't exclusively work with one another. RWBY had once done a mission with CFVY before due to the difficulty of that Grimm excursion, the only excitement that they had really. However, due to them being in the know of Salem, the two had been paired more than usual. Yang had sent Blake the location, Rais Family Café.

Russel must have received the same notification as well for his scroll went off just shortly after. They both suspected the real reason behind the hangout, it must have had something to do with Salem and the café was just a disguise.

On the way there, Blake could feel a few worried expressions on the passing civilians. She had assumed that it was because of her that the people were worried and even distant themselves from the two. She would have been irritated and nearly made a fool of herself until she noticed that other faunus did the same. It was then that she remembered that she was wearing a bow which meant that it wasn't because she was a faunus.

Looking at the only other person who could have caused such a reaction, Russel Thrush didn't seem at all bothered by it. He had his hands in his pockets and he didn't even try to change his expression. Combined that with the Mohawk on his head and he made himself appear like one of those gangsters on television; it certainly didn't help that he was a huntsman which meant that his physique is out on display. To any other huntsmen, he was just some kid. To civilians? He probably looked terrifying, the kind of huntsmen that most people could easily believe would turn rogue.

"It doesn't bother you?" Blake asked.

"Used to it," Russel replied. "Kinda why I did it."

"You wanted people to think of you like that?"

"You recall how I acted when that big Ursa came? Back during Forever Fall?"

Blake could vaguely remember that. It was a long time ago that she didn't remember much of the details.

"This look?" He gestured his entire being. "It helps me feel tough. Got in a few fights myself. Taught me to learn to keep my head down when it comes to the tough fights I know I can't win."

"Is that why you didn't stand up to Cardin?"

"Hardly. I wouldn't call myself a saint in the slightest. I didn't think faunus were that bad, just wanted to fit in. Unlike the faunus, I chose to look like I do. Can't be surprised that some people judge me."

Their conversation went to other topics. What was surprising for her was that Russel had quite amazing knowledge on hair-care products. Then again, considering the hair style of choice and the fact that for all that designs, it looked to be rather well-maintained. Russel had a pretty well done routine that was almost as well done as Yang or Weiss.

Blake sighed. Never in her life did she imagine that she, an ex-White Fang member, would genuinely miss Weiss Schnee. With international communications down, they had no way of knowing what was happening there in Atlas. All she had was whatever news that would reach Vale which would have been outdated by now.

The last she had heard was that General Ironwood has been keeping more to himself lately. Blake was worried for the worst but she did see a few images of Weiss in some of them. She didn't appear paranoid but rather was serious. Maybe there was something that they were doing on Atlas' side of things? That seemed to be the case. There was no scandal of that yet and she was willing to let it go at that.

Soon enough, Blake and Russel made it to Rais Family Café. There was a section of the building that was newer compared to the rest. There were so few structures in Vale that went unscathed. Some still had claw marks on them but the building itself was intact enough that the only repair one might need was a paint job.

Stepping inside, the two of them were the first to arrive. At the sight of Russel though, there was this girl with blue hair who seemed rather excited at the sight of him. Russel was awkward around children that he didn't know what to do when the little one came up to him like he was some favorite older cousin. Maybe she was a civilian that he had protected? That was the best that Blake could make out of the ramblings of the child.

The two of them were brought to a table for two. Before either of them could ask for a larger table, the blue-haired child already left. There was nothing else for them to do at the moment other than to look over the menu. They had lien on them to spare so maybe have some drink. Blake had black coffee and Russel, oddly enough, had a rather sweet looking frappe with sprinkles; it even had a unicorn horn in the form of a wafer stick.

"What?" Russel asked.

"Nothing," Blake replied. Seeing a gangster-looking fellow having a sip of what is definitely a child's favorite is something that doesn't need to be commented on.

"So, we interrupting something?" Yang finally arrived. Time had passed for Blake and Russel as they had enjoyed their respective drinks that neither had realized that their teams had arrived with the exception of Ruby. When Blake turned around, Yang and the boys had raised a thumbs up.

"How long have you guys been there?" Blake demanded.

"Not long," Yang quickly.

"The past ten minutes." The blue-haired girl came back. She gestured to another table, revealing that Ruby was there hiding behind the menu. The red cloak betrayed her location though.

"Still not long," Yang defended.

Immediately after, the two teams gathered around the same table. While Blake and Russel were seated distant from one another, that didn't stop Yang from offering to exchange seats just so that the two could sit next to each other, much to Blake's frustration.

The two teams continued to have small talk. With the number of other patrons in the café, there was little chance that they could speak about Salem. They mostly disguised it with the usual Grimm horde. Even with their choice of being rather away from the others, there was still a risk of getting heard.

"So why did we choose here?" Blake asked. "Place seems rather popular."

It was Ruby who answered, meekly, "they have strawberry-chipped cookies."

Everyone around the table shook their heads. They weren't disappointed but team RWBY in particular were unsurprised at the answer.

Finding another line of topic, Blake asked, "how is the leadership training going Ruby?" Both RWBY's and CRDL's team leaders had their own special leadership training. There were a few times that Blake had seen other team leaders participate as well, mainly under the guidance of miss Goodwitch but with what was happening for their teams in particular, it was expected that Cardin and Ruby had more time with one another than any other team leader.

"It's alright," Ruby answered. It felt rather casual coming from her which Blake took as a sign that there wasn't anything else. "I mean; I've been doing well with tougher opponents."

That was something that had been expected of everyone who still stuck around in Beacon. Many had been training with other students, regardless of their years and experience. It was mainly to get them accustomed to a multitude of different opponents. There were a few times that they were paired with those outside of their teams for the same purpose that Blake and Russel had been paired in their last mission. Blake suspected that it might be to build some camaraderie between the teams that they would look out after one another should the Grimm horde attack.

Hours had passed and while there was still time within the day, the café itself had become empty enough for them to safely drop Salem's name in such conversation. They still kept it hidden for the most part though on the chance that there might be someone somewhere around the corner who could have been listening in.

"Still nothing?" Yang asked. Her tone was serious.

Everyone around the table shook their heads. Grimm activity continued to be the same and while that has been helpful for them in preparing the defenses more, each member had worried that the horde might be growing to a number too plentiful for the outdated guns that have been mounted for the city's defenses. With huntsmen and huntresses being the ones to handle that as well, there was little of them to fight on the ground. Huntsmen and huntresses in Vale are few enough as it is, even with the advantage of other academies like Signal and Pharos supplementing their numbers; most of them weren't even professionally licensed and some were retired and too old to move.

"You think the guns won't be enough?" Dove asked.

"Most of what we have is light artillery," Ruby answered. Out of everyone here, Ruby was actually the most knowledgeable about these sorts of weapons. If Dr. Oobleck's history class actually covered weapons used, she would honestly be top student without much issue. "Easy to transport but couldn't do much against enemies. I've seen a few heavies but those really need specialized troops and specialized transports."

"Those things are meant for trench battles, aren't they?" Cardin asked. The two have spent enough time together that CRDL's team leader managed to pick up on it. Honestly, Yang is the only other person who could keep up with Ruby's weapon rants. Blake herself never really delved too deeply into history. Historical fiction perhaps but never straight history.

"I did see a few excavators," said Yang. "Guess we're going old school with this one, huh?"

"Seems like it," Blake replied. Maybe Blake should have read up on the Faunus side of history. It may not be much but they did once win during the revolution and while the reward at the end of it may not seem like much, they still must have something going for them other than their night vision.

Before Blake continued, she checked around for any listeners. With her cat ears, it was easier for her to tell if there was. When it was safe, she asked, "any news on this Salem, guys?"

As expected, none of them could confirm nor deny. They knew that this Salem person exists and the only information they have is that she was apparently a queen of the Grimm. They didn't know how she even looked like, though Headmistress Goodwitch has said that she appeared like a hybrid of a Grimm and a human. Blake imagined a woman with albino skin and piercing red eyes; she also pictured bony spikes and claws but those weren't exactly humanoid enough.

"How do we even deal with something like that?" Russel asked. "First time I heard about it."

"Can you blame them?" Blake replied. "If people knew about this, they would panic. With Vale being attacked, revealing her now could only make things worse."

Not getting any more answers that wasn't speculation, the two teams then dispersed. Some of the pairs still have missions of their own. In the case of team RWBY, they could always meet back at the Rose-Xiao Long household since Blake was pretty much staying there anyway.

"I should probably write back home," Blake realized. Then, she stopped. Would it be too late to do that now? She hadn't told her parents about her leaving the White Fang and odds are, they would have only known about it when they saw her on the news during the Vytal Tournament.

She turned to see Russel already making his way to wherever his place of residence was going to be.

"Wait," she begged. "I—I know it's probably weird to ask a favor from you but everyone else is busy."

Much like she had predicted, Russel really wasn't the best at asking for advice. For one, he never really wrote a letter outside of maybe Language class from before Beacon. Usually, those were comprised of them applying for a job, usually huntsmen-related. Blake had wondered if she should be giving her parents a gift as an apology for not getting in contact with them for so long and her partner for the day wasn't as certain as well.

"Maybe?" he shrugged his shoulders. "You know your parents more than I do. Though, from what you're saying, maybe all they care is that they know you're safe."

"Should I send them a photo?"

"They probably would have a lot of questions so…"

"Yeah," Blake replied, nodding. "I probably should be expecting a lot of answers. I'll need a lot of paper too. Maybe a package?"

Russel patted her on the shoulder. "You'll be fine… probably."

Blake stared at Russel. "Probably?"

"You said you haven't come into contact with them for a long time," Russel defended. "Got to throw it out there that they might be a little mad that it took you that long."

She pouted but she let it go. Her parents were never much a fan of violence as a solution. It was the reason that they had stepped down from the White Fang and it was there where their disagreement began. Maybe, she should start by easing them into her position first.

"You're coming with me," Blake insisted.

"You're not going to drag me towards some terrorist activity, are you?" Russel sounded worried. "Just asking. I don't know how is it that your team survives but I am not at all confident that I have that."


AN: Getting a little close to being self-aware there Russel.