Adam stared up at the shattered moon hanging high in the night sky, his bandanna off and his arms folded upon the railing of the deck. Try as he might, the faunus boy couldn't sleep. He wasn't sure exactly what it was- the way that Team BASS looked at him after the fight, the subtle changes in the behavior of his own teammates and STRQ since their arrival at the beach house, or perhaps just the notion of sleeping in an open room with four complete strangers. Whatever it was, it prevented any hope of rest, and kept him feeling wide awake.

The very idea of sleep seemed foreign to Adam that night, and in truth, part of him felt as though the battle with the myrmidons and deathstalkers had never ended. Strange noises from the dark waves lapping against the beach far below held his attention, and he couldn't help but wonder what exactly could be lurking within the waters. The beach itself was a totally alien sight to him, as was the concept of sand. Had the others not been with him upon arrival, he would have spent hours alone just taking it all in and exploring. A part of him wanted to simply descend from the deck and do just that, but he knew exactly what sort of panic his absence would inspire if any of his friends thought he had gone missing in the middle of the night. The thought was completely obnoxious in his mind and felt almost like a chain keeping him tethered to the beach house.

It was also the most reassuring thought imaginable, and the knowledge of exactly how much his companions would care if he disappeared filled him with warmth in contrast to the chilly sea breeze.

"…beautiful, isn't it?"

In his absent-minded reverie, Adam hadn't heard the sliding door open. His usual paranoid guard had dropped, and he had been caught unaware. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he panicked in response to the unfamiliar voice, and he whirled while immediately bringing his hand down to the hilt of his katana. The bright red blade was a full foot out of its sheath before Adam recognized who was approaching, and he stopped himself short from drawing the rest. An incredibly awkward silence passed between the two occupants of the deck as Adam slowly slid his sword back into its casing, while his visitor carefully dropped their raised hands that had been thrown up to their chest in surrender.

"…Ghira…"

"Indeed," the leader of BASS remarked as his expression turned to one of alarm. "Your… eye…"

Adam breathed sharply through his nose and immediately reached into the pocket of his pajama pants as he turned the left side of his face away from Ghira. The faunus hurriedly withdrew his bandanna from within the confines of his pocket and began to tie it around his head, obscuring the scar as best he could without a mirror.

"Don't," Adam warned. "It's not what you think it is."

"It's not the Schnee emblem?" Ghira questioned as he made a hesitant approach. "We're faunus, you know. I can see in the dark…"

Adam gave Ghira his best one-eyed glare as he pulled the ends of his bandanna tight, securing the strip of cloth over his face once again.

"It is. The reason it's there is none of your business, and not what you think."

"He said, standing on the deck of a Schnee-owned beach house," Ghira added as he walked past the other faunus and folded his arms atop the railing. "I won't pry, but you must understand how this all looks, friend…"

"…friend?" Adam questioned as he turned to face Ghira's back. "We are not friends. Allies out of convenience. My friends are asleep upstairs. It took me a very, very long time to reach the point of using 'friend' with them, and it's going to take even longer for you."

"Yes, you made that quite clear earlier this evening," Ghira reminded. "Your recounting of the year's events- the discovery of your semblance, Professor Calavera's personal tutoring, the Winchesters, your freelance work with this… Jacques character… it sounds to me as though you've seen and done quite a bit in a short timeframe, and you haven't quite landed comfortably from wherever you came."

"What are you saying?" Adam spat. "I'm plenty comfortable with my team, now."

Ghira looked up at the moon and allowed for another period of silence to pass over the deck. The larger man wrinkled his nose as he mulled over his options before finally making up his mind. With a slow motion, Ghira turned to one side and looked back at Adam, who had taken several steps away from him.

"…my apologies. Perhaps I overstepped and assumed too much. I do not know you… but I would like to. Come back to the railing. Let's talk."

"I'd rather not," Adam said flatly. "I have nothing to say about my brand, the Schnee family, or my semblance. Nothing more than what I've already said."

"Then let's talk about other things," Ghira replied with a welcoming gesture. "I see no reason to force any of those issues. So long as you are here of your own will, I will trust that everything else checks out, one way or another."

"I am," Adam seethed. He took another sharp breath in through his nose and exhaled, his hand still resting atop the hilt of his blade. "And… fine. Not like I have anything better to do. Why aren't you asleep?"

"Fox snores," Ghira replied without missing a beat.

As though on cue, a grotesque, reverberating sound akin to a wild animal gagging echoed softly from somewhere within the beach house.

"…so he does," Adam agreed as he began a slow walk back toward the railing. "Are you implying that you simply don't sleep, then?"

"I usually have earplugs," Ghira explained. "Unfortunately… they're back at the dorm, since we figured we would be biking our way back to Vacuo after the hunt concluded. Staying out here was never the plan… but I'm glad that we did."

"Why's that?" Adam asked as he mirrored the taller faunus' stance, crossing his arms atop the railing.

"You're interesting," Ghira answered. "All of you, really… but especially you and Kali."

"Because we're faunus," Adam stated.

"…partially," Ghira admitted. "But it isn't just that. The two of you stood out in combat. I'm hardly the only one who thinks so. Sage in particular was quite impressed with you."

"We all have our moments," Adam explained. "Sure, the two of us may have made the big moves today… but Raven could probably beat both of us together. Roman's great one-on-one. Summer and Qrow can both take me in a duel, and they're better with grimm than I am, usually. Don't put us on a pedestal because we're part of the same race."

"Come, now," Ghira tried. "You should be proud of what you did out there today. Don't downplay your finishing blow, or Kali's aerial mobility and overall sense of tactics out in the field. She's quite… graceful. On the battlefield."

"And off it, she's a complete fool," Adam lamented. "But… there's an odd charm to her."

"There certainly is," Ghira agreed. "She's quite unlike anyone else I've met. I'm intrigued."

"Be careful with that," Adam cautioned. "She and Roman are a thing. I… think? It's back and forth and stupid."

"Not at all what I meant," Ghira said with a laugh as he waved a hand dismissively. "But good to know, all the same."

Adam simply stared at Ghira as the other faunus continued to look out over the open ocean.

"…right. So, what? You want to just… get to know the two of us, is what you're saying? We all head for Shade, and then just hang out in town?"

"Ideally," Ghira considered. "If you're all staying for a month or so, there's plenty to do in Vacuo. We could show you some of the more exciting things around town and out in the desert, if you'd like."

"I'm sure some people here would love that," Adam replied.

"And you wouldn't?"

"I don't know," Adam admitted. "I don't know what I want… out of our time in Vacuo, or in general."

"Hm," Ghira considered, letting the statement linger in the air for nearly a full minute. "I find that's a question that most people don't know the answer to. I'm not sure, myself. Carry on, receive my huntsman's license, and take odd jobs controlling grimm populations in the desert full time? Teach at Shade? Go out and explore Remnant as a freelance hunter, or something else entirely? I plan to make it up as I go, and simply fall into whatever role I may. What about you?"

"…I haven't thought about it much," Adam admitted. "After Beacon, I mean… I've got no idea. At first, all I wanted was…"

Adam stopped himself as he realized that he had become too relaxed around the newcomer. Revenge was on the tip of his tongue, and yet, with Ghira staring over at him expectantly, he had a feeling that admitting such a thing could end up steering the conversation to places he didn't want it to go.

"…purpose. I guess I still do. Nothing has really jumped out at me, yet. Killing grimm is fine, but I don't know if I want to make a career of it. If my team can stay together, that would help, but I think Barty wants to teach, so…"

"And I take it you can't see yourself in front of a class in a lecture hall?" Ghira asked.

"No. Hell no," Adam denied. "Not my style. I need something more… active."

"I can't blame you at all," Ghira reassured. "Active certainly does seem to be your style, from what I've seen and heard. How do you feel about exploring? Seeing what there is to see, out in Remnant at large?"

Adam shrugged and shook his head, looking somewhat disinterested in the notion.

"Don't know. I… do kinda want to see the sights in Vacuo, based on what I've heard, and how different this all is from where I grew up. Beyond that, though? I need something more focused. Something more meaningful. The idea of just…wandering and waiting for something to happen seems like a waste of time. If we're supposed to be helping people as hunters, then I'd rather seek out problems and solve them than wait for one to fall into my lap. There are a lot of problems out there- some more obvious than others."

"Any in particular that jump out at you?" Ghira asked.

"Our struggle for acceptance," Adam answered immediately. "As faunus, I mean. There's a part of me that wants to make that my end goal- gaining recognition as a professional huntsman. Become one of the first- maybe the first big-name faunus hunter to come out of Sanus, gaining notoriety and respect for our race through example. Teach those who see us as a problem or their lessers that we can be just as good- better than our human counterparts."

"A lofty and worthwhile goal," Ghira praised. "Stop me if it's something you'd rather not get into tonight, but… might I ask how bad it really is out there? I've never left Vacuo, where humans and faunus live side by side. Sure, many, maybe even most stick to their groupings and cliques, and the occasional insult is thrown around from both sides, but we largely just… coexist. What's it like in Vale?"

"…do you really want to know what it's like out there?" Adam asked as he turned to face Ghira fully. "In explicit detail? I can tell you about more than just Sanus. I grew up in Atlas."

"Atlas," Ghira repeated. "Your… scar. Then you were…?"

"… in the mines," Adam confirmed. "No point in hiding it, I guess… you're not stupid, and I doubt you'll shut up about it forever. If you really don't know what it's like elsewhere in Remnant? No better person to tell you the truth than me. I don't want to talk about it… but I'm also not going to stop you from asking, if you'll answer me this. What's it mean to you? Why even ask?"

"As I said- I, too, am still trying to work out my path after academy life," Ghira explained. "If there's something I can do with my skills that might benefit our people outside of Vacuo… then perhaps your story could spark an idea. I think it's worth hearing… and it can stay between us. I see no need to share such a thing with the rest of my team."

"…fair enough," Adam admitted as he turned back to stare out over the ocean. "But I'll actually start by filling in some of the gaps in what I told you and yours earlier today. You want to know how bad it is in Vale? Kali was arrested and manhandled by cops after she stopped a criminal and called in backup, just because of her ears. They electrocuted her and shoved her to the ground because they assumed that she was a criminal. It was the first real field experience anyone on our team got, and she almost ended up spending the night in jail."

Ghira stood up straighter and gripped the railing of the deck with one hand as he turned sideways, clenching his jaw. The man's elongated black nails dug slightly into the wood, leaving marks on the otherwise smooth and pristine surface.

"Tell me more…"

Author's Note:

This conversation is one I've been planning since the start of the story. There will be several more like this before the crew leaves Vacuo…

-RD