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Requested By : Polemoduke

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"And you can't tell me what's wrong…?"

"I can't." She sighed, laid out on her bed with Ren beside her, her arm around him while he scrolled through the news on his Scroll. Blake was in the shower, and had been longer than normal which Nora chalked up to the new scrubber, and Yang was off with her sister doing… Something. So she had a few quiet minutes to enjoy Ren's company.

And she was glad to take it.

"I won't press you, but…" Ren sighed and she could feel the tension in his shoulders in only the way someone who had known him as long as she had would pick up. Quietly, he murmured, "You know I worry."

"I know." He turned his head a bit in silent invitation and she leaned over, pressing a kiss to the side of his temple, and she felt him relax just the tiniest bit. And then more when she flexed her free arm and said, "I promise, I'll be careful. And 'sides me and my huge guns, Blake-y will be there, too. She won't let anything I can't take happen."

"You really trust her that much, hm?"

"Yeah." She smiled, "I do. Same as I trust you and Yang. You're my family."

"I see that." He sighed in amusement and eased closer against her side. ""I'm glad to see you've settled in so well here."

"You were worried?"

"You and authority have never gone together well." He shrugged against her side, "And here, you're surrounded by it. The Headmaster, the teachers, even the upperclassmen- If you weren't the leader, most around you would be an authority over you. I expected more… Chafing."

"It's not great, sometimes." The urge to just smash Winchester when he was acting out, or to just ditch classes, was always there. As much as she controlled it - if only for her team's sake, since they'd go down with her.

"But…?"

"But I gotta do what's best for everybody." She shrugged, "Besides it's what, four years? And not even the whole time for all of that. I'll live with it 'til we're all free."

"Mature of you."

"And after that," she grinned, "we can head out to the country and raise a hundred kinds of hell!"

"There it is…" He sighed, turning and straightening, and then leaning over to give her a gentle peck on the lips before the door opened. Standing, he said, "I'm going to track down Yang, see what's taking her. She was supposed to be back already…"

"You've spent an awful lot of time with her lately~"

"And you've spent an awful lot of time staring at her rear." Nora choked as Ren smirked and left, closing the door behind him as Blake came out, watching it before she unwrapped the towel around her head and locked it behind him, ears flicking freely as she straightened her yukata.

Turning, she raised an eyebrow at Nora's smirk and asked, "What?"

"That is a lot of leg, Kitty-cat, and Gods, but I think I'm getting lost in the miles…" Nora let her smirk widen, wiggling her eyes and snorting when Blake just flushed a bit and laughed. It was a short laugh, high and airy, but it was an honest one. It made Nora smile as Blake sauntered over to her bed and sat down, still stiff and anxious but obviously feeling better. And she had to know, "The stuff I got works that well, huh?"

"It really does, yeah…" Blake chuckled, avoiding Nora's gaze while she brushed her hair and murmured, "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Blake-y." Blake shot her a look and Nora snorted, "Okay, almost anything. Better?"

"More accurate." Blake nodded, "But… Less romantic."

"Oh, we're being romantic now, hm?"

"Sometimes, you fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings." Blake sighed, smirking thinly, "Others? Nothing but rage. Unbridled, unending, deep as an ocean-"

"And my caring for you~!" Nora cut in, earning a groan from the Faunus even as she grinned. But, as much as she hated it, she had to ask, "Any word from your, uh… Friend?"

"They took enough Lien out to eat and pay for that motel for a week." Blake sighed, smile vanishing in an instant as they turned back to work. Which hurt Nora in a way she couldn't put to words, but she knew Blake appreciated it. Or, she hoped, at least… Blake went on, dragging her out of her thoughts, "I'm going to leave around one to… Go to a meeting planned for first thing tomorrow."

"You'll get there… How?"

"I have feet." She chuckled, "And in the Fang, we didn't tend to use Bullheads."

"Fair…" Nora pursed her lips and nodded, "Okay, I'll message Ren that we're going out for a date and-"

"Nora, it's a White Fang meeting." Blake cut her off, brows furrowing in confusion - and a bit of anxiety, too, if Nora saw it right. "You can't go. If Banesaw is there, and he probably will be, he's likely to want your head."

"And he's gonna be super, duper happy when the deserter shows up… Right?" Blake only pursed her lips and sighed, and Nora nodded to oh so graciously accept the concession. "I'm going unless you ditch me, Blake-y. And if you do, I'll just come after, yelling and shouting. I know where the motel is, too, after all."

"...You're insufferable."

"Yeah, I'll take you mad at me over you dead, sweetheart." She smiled, rolling over and sitting up. Arms resting on her knees, she asked, "What's the likelihood we walk into a fight, then?"

"Walking into? Not likely." She grimaced, "Running away from after, though…"

"I'll pack flashes and frags, then." She grunted, standing and turning to pace up and down the room while Blake frowned.

"Frags would kill people…"

"If it's us or them…" Nora frowned, pausing her pacing to turn to her and smiling thinly. "Last resort, babe. But between you and a bunch of nobodies? Well… I've made that kinda choice before."

Blake was quiet for a while after that, before she finally just… Nodded and changed the subject. "After we get back… We'll tell the others. Alright?"

"Tell 'em what?" Nora asked, cocking a hip and crossing her arms. "And you mean Yang and Ren, right?"

"Yes." She nodded, pinching a bit of the blanket under her up between her fingers to play with idly. "And… The truth. They deserve it, if… Whatever we're going to be is going to happen. Ren, at least, but I won't just single out Yang."

"Yeah." Nora nodded, "That'd be… Rude. Plus, she's dating Ren."

"What?" Blake blinked, "Since when have they been dating?!"

"Uh, since Yang spent a night with him, working on her bike?" Nora chuckled, shaking her head and snorting when Blake's brows just furrowed like she was trying to process it all, and apparently struggling somehow. "They haven't smooched, he'd tell me, but… They've gone to eat, hang out on their own, the like. They might not have used the word, but…"

"Well alright then." Blake blinked, shaking it off, "Then yeah, we'll have to tell both. And take it from there."

"Yep." Nora nodded, "But first we have to stop a terrorist group from doing a terrorism."

"Nora…" Blake sighed, "I hate you so very, very much."

"Love you too, legs~!"

"My legs are not that long!"

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It had been a long time, since Nora had needed to sneak out of somewhere like Beacon, with all its security. Or hoof it through woods like what surrounded Beacon, and…. All of it's also pretty surprisingly thorough security. More thorough, even, than Beacon itself had. Which struck her as weird enough to ask Blake about it while the Faunus lead her through the woods, carefully spotting for cameras and winding around them.

"It's not for us." She answered simply, tugging the hood of her coat down a bit more. Like Nora's own, it was thin, dark green, and had a huge hood that came up from the shoulders directly so that it could hide even the shape of their heads and shoulders. "It's mostly for Grimm. Hunting cams. They're pretty obvious, if you know what to look for."

"And if we miss one?"

"That's why we have the hoods." She chuckled, pausing and kneeling beside a little copse of trees. Slowly, she lifted her hood and cocked her head, listening to the woods around them. Standing halfway up, she bobbed her head off to the side and said, "Like the one over there."

"There's a Grimm…?" She asked, turning and looking. The moon was bright overhead, and she had grown up in the wilds, but even so the woods were just darkness.

"A hundred yards or so that way, yeah." Blake murmured, "Ursa, or something as big, from the footsteps and breathing."

"Damn you're good…" Nora chuckled, waving the other woman on, "Lead on, then. Got a long walk."

For a moment, she saw Blakes eyes in the darkness, bright from the moon and stars above them, and she felt her breath be snatched away. After a moment, the woman turned to her more fully and asked, worriedly, "What's wrong?"

"Not a damn thing." She murmured back, "Not a damn thing at all…"

Blake's eyes narrowed in the dark but, after a second, she turned and lead Nora on. And all Nora could do was murmur a last, "Damn…"

Blake either didn't hear her or ignored her and, soon enough, the distant walls of Vale came into view.

During the day they were nothing more than huge, flat stretches of concrete beige. But at night they came alive, sections broken up by lines of red lights that blinked in an alternating pattern, one just a second behind the row behind it. And, on the top of the wall so high up, huge lights hung over, casting bright white and red down into the dark of the forest, broken up by blocky looking shapes Nora guessed to be defensive guns of some kind. And, above even that, were the little security lodges where the guards waited, always ready, for any Grimm that tried them, with long towers rising up into the dark that had their own blinking lights.

It made Nora nervous, seeing it… She'd snuck into villages before, and even bigger towns with big walls too. But this? It made her anxious.

And Blake seemed to sense it, taking her hand and smiling now that Nora could see in the brighter light. Quietly, she said, "Don't worry. Just follow my lead, like at the coffee shop. Alright?"

"Yeah, sure." She nodded, "Whatever you say."

In spite of how intimidating the wall itself really was, actually getting in was… Shockingly easy. They just went up to one of the main entrances, with the wide highway running out of it and the heavy gate doors open to either side, and Blake left her to go talk to one of the guards. Whatever she said, he frowned deeply and looked around, taking a little envelope she offered him and then waving them both through. Nora opened her mouth to say something as they passed through and Blake shushed her, almost scolding her, as they came into the city itself, flanked by buildings as tall as the wall, with glass lit up in checkerboard patterns by office workers staying through late hours.

A block away Blake finally let her arm go and explained, quietly, "The Fang use code words and bribes to get through gates. Most gate guards, especially at night, are Faunus. More expendable, that way, but… It's useful to us."

"That tracks…" She'd always wondered how the Fang got in and out of places so freely, and with how many littler towns she knew personally used Faunus for night watch thanks to their vision, she didn't doubt the same applied here. "Shitty, though."

"Mhm." Blake nodded, "Come on, it's a long walk to-"

"Actually, I know something a bit closer on this side of the city that could… Speed us up."

"Yeah?" Blake turned to her, "What?"

Smiling, Nora just held up a pair of bright yellow keys and said, "How are you on bikes?"

"Did you steal Yang's-"

"I am not a crook!" Nora scoffed, pitching the keys up and catching them as she pushed by, tugging Blake along by the hand she snatched on the way. Chuckling, she added, "At least… Not anymore."

"Not anymore…?"

"I retired."

"I don't think that's how that works…"

"Hey." Nora scoffed again, "Who is queen of the castle again?"

Blake just groaned tiredly, and Nora took the win for what it was.

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As it turned out, Blake was terrible on bikes - at least the loud, roaring, motorized ones. They stopped a block away from the meeting place Tukson had told them about and Blake knelt in an alley, trying to shake out the disorientation the noise had done to her ears, the light had done to her eyes, and the sharp veering Nora had used to weave through traffic had done to her… Everything.

"You good…?" She heard Nora whisper gently, massaging small circles into her shoulders soothingly.

"Never. Again." She grunted, sighing and standing as the nausea at least mostly receded and her hearing started to clear up. Years of fighting meant she was more than used to loud noises, but that didn't mean she was immune to them…

Especially not on that demonic… Thing.

"We gotta ride it back, though…"

"Never again after tonight." She amended, brushing by Nora and slipping around the corner as she drew out a pair of simple, flat little masks and half-turned to offer Nora one while they moved towards the old, rundown warehouse. "Put it on and-"

"Follow your lead." Nora chuckled from behind her, "I know, Kitty-Cat."

She rolled her eyes and walked along the dark fence until she spotted the crossover, where a little crate had been shoved against the rusted chain-link and a thick blanket had been tossed over the top. Leaping up and over it, she dropped onto another box on the other side and stepped off it, looking around until she spotted the tell-tale white tape running along a wall and lead Nora along it until, finally, they found a door propped open and Blake stepped inside.

A thin, wiry woman in blue cover-alls was leaning against the wall and pushed off it as they entered, eyes narrowing behind her mask. Quietly, she said, "Late arrivals?"

"Cops." Blake shrugged, "They saw the ears and gave me a headache. Took the long way to ditch them."

"But you're sure you did?"

"I'd bet my life." She drawled boredly, adding a shake of her head for flair and waving it off. "In fact, I am. So can we go in?"

"Of course, Sisters." The antlered woman nodded, flicking a look over her shoulder. Blake felt anxiety spike in her gut but stayed calm and pointedly not-still, turning and flicking Nora a look and then grunting. "Gorilla. No tail, just big muscles and a thick head."

"H-Hey!"

"Fair enough." The woman finally shrugged, leaning back against the wall and finally letting them pass.

They came into a wider room, clearly the 'warehouse' part of the warehouse, where long, rough lines of low boxes, crates and folding chairs had been haphazardly set up. In spite of all the space, there were only a couple dozen Faunus, milling about in little groups of three or four. But the corner of the room was set apart, with the seats set up so they were facing it, and there was a thin curtain drawn around it. The dark kind that blocked out light.

Who knew how many were back there? With all the chattering, and the ambient city noises beyond the warehouse, she couldn't hear well enough.

She had just found a spot to sit when a heavy, gloved hand landed on her shoulder, squeezing hard enough for her Aura to flare. She flicked a look over her shoulder and Banesaw, looming over her from behind even Nora, rumbled, "The traitor comes home."

"Banesaw, I-" He squeezed hard and turned as Nora brought a fist back to hit him. It landed on an arm he curled up at his shoulder to take it and then he turned, hurling Blake into Nora bodily and sending them both toppling over a line of folding chairs.

Nora landed on her back with an 'oof' but Blake had always been lithe and quick, and rolled with the landing, coming up and kicking a chair at him as the other Faunus noticed the scrap and turned, confused, to watch on. Banesaw just kicked the chair aside, rumbling angrily as Nora stood and leapt in, one fist snapping out in a punch that he deflected again. The other, though, pitched a simple little cylinder up and in front of his face as his counter strike drove Nora off to the side and let her stumble behind him.

Blake saw it and closed her eyes, hands covering her ears just before-

The world was washed away in noise and she stumbled away, reaching for Gambol Shroud at the small of her back. She could barely hear, true, but she was better off than Banesaw who stumbled back a step, swinging a fist in front of him defensively. And Nora was even better, having hidden behind him and been shielded from the worst of it. She drove a heel into the back of his knee that drew a ragged cry of surprise and pain from him and forced him down to kneel in front of Blake, who simply levelled her handgun at him and frowned. He has Aura, she knew, but some of it would have gone to defending against the explosive part of the flashbang - the shrapnel that had nicked at her own Aura as its casing came apart - and at this range, her shots would hurt.

Enough to bruise, break bones, or crush his throat if she loaded her heavy duty Dust rounds - and they both knew that she was smart enough to, or she'd have her machete against his neck instead.

"Traitor!" Banesaw snarled, looking up along her gun as they all finally recovered from the flashbang and Nora turned, standing with her back to him to watch the others with her hammer resting on a shoulder. "You brought a Huntress here! To our meeting!"

"I brought a friend, yes." Blake hissed, reaching up and yanking off her mask with more than just a little relief. Tossing it aside, she raised her voice to speak to all the Faunus and asked, "And what did I bring her to, exactly? This is no protest, no raid. So it's a planning meeting, but posed like a recruitment drive? Why? That isn't how we do things."

"There is no 'we', traitor." Banesaw growled up at her, "You deserted us!"

"I left this little nascent cell of toxicity and violence, yes!" She snarled, all her pent up frustration and anxiety and nerves suddenly rushing to the fore as she dove in, pressing her face close to his and the barrel of Gambol Shroud against his throat. Baring her teeth and letting her ears go flat, she hissed, "But you rest assured that I am, and always will be, more Fang than you! I was born of its founders! Raised in the fight, and earned my scars from it!"

"The Fang is in my blood." She finished, looking around the room at each of the Faunus as, finally, Ilia stepped through the curtain, Lightning Lash curled around her arm and her horned mask hanging off the belt on her waist, apparently forgotten in her rush to deal with whatever was setting off explosives in her meeting. Blake raised her chin in her direction and demanded, "My family! And what is my family being made to do?"

"The work!" Illia shouted back, gesturing at the mess of boxes and chairs and onlookers around them. Seeing the challenge for what Blake was making it, she took another step closer and snapped, "Just because you're too weak to do what needs doing doesn't mean we are, too! And who are you to come back here and tell us how to live our lives anyways?"

"Illia…" Blake murmured, watching the other Faunus' eyes narrow in anger. And hate. And pain, too, she realised, beyond it all.

Pain she had caused, she was sure. Leaving the way she had.

But Illia's life was more important than how Blake felt right now. So she swallowed her bile, and her pain, and asked, just loudly enough to be heard, "And what 'work' are you turning these people to, Illia? Murder?"

For a long moment, the words hung in the air as Illia processed them - and Blake could read the fear that swam across her face as she doubtless wondered what else Blake knew, and how.

But, finally, all she said as her face turned to stone was, "We fight and die and kill every day out there! Grimm, soldiers- They kill us and we kill them!"

"Pipe guns aren't worth shit against either of those, though." Nora spoke up, her voice quiet. Tense. Laced with… Something Blake hadn't expected, and almost didn't believe when she recognized it.

Regret - and understanding.

"Sure, you pop a soldier in the gut, under his armor, you'll drop him." Nora shrugged, stepping in front of her and half-turning so she could watch as much of the room as she could, and Illia and Banesaw, all at once. Frowning, she went on, "But in a fight? Soldiers will suppress you and surround you. And pipe guns aren't great at rolling around cover, so you'll have a hell of a time if you're making those for whatever."

"What the hell do you know about any of it, Human?" For the first time since they came into the warehouse, Blake actually agreed with Illia completely.

"More than you know." She muttered, flicking Blake a look. "And more than I ever want you or… Or Ren to know, either."

That… Did more than surprise her and she blinked as the words processed. Something even Ren didn't know? What could-

The distraction cost her as soon as it caught her, and she felt a huge shoulder slam into her from the side as Banesaw saw his chance and lunged. Her gun went off but only managed to blow a hole in the concrete a few feet away as she was lifted up in his arms and he turned, hurling her down into the concrete with all the considerable force his considerable frame could muster. Which, as it turned out, was a lot. Enough to drive the air out of her lungs and have her seeing stars for the split second it took him to turn, foot coming up and down towards her.

Magnhild intercepted him before the blow landed, though, pitching him away as Nora stepped over Blake and turned, shifting it into a launcher and chambering it menacingly, "Hey, fucko, know what Aura doesn't help with?"

"Concussive force…?" Banesaw rumbled, pulling himself up out of the rubble of the crate she'd thrown him in as a few of the other Fang moved to stand behind him. They were unarmed but, Blake was sure they'd hope, had enough numbers to simply swamp Nora and Blake both.

"Napalm." She growled, leveling it at the man, "Old trick I learned in Mistral. Sticks to you and just burns. You know what that's like? To flail, feeling your Aura melt? Then your legs?"

"Where the hell did you get napalm?" Blake hissed, staggering up and grabbing onto Nora's shoulder on pure instinct. As if she could - or should - yank her aim off the Faunus a few feet away from her. "And where did you learn that?"

"...In Mistral." She murmured face hardening as she said the words. "Ren was sick, we were thirteen or so, and orphans, and we needed Lien. I had Aura, and that made me strong, so when some bandits sacked a village and found Ren and I hiding… I had to fight."

"And…?" She murmured, dread warring with her need to know.

"They made an offer I couldn't refuse." She answered simply, voice almost… Dead as she sighed, turning to look over at Illia. "Fight for them and they'd get Ren the medicine he needed… Or die trying to fight thirty of them off. Easy choice, right? What were a bunch of village randos compared to Ren? To me?"

"So yeah, I know what you're making, and how well they'd work against anything but a soft target. An easy target. A civilian target." She growled the last words, cocking her head as she turned to face Illia even more directly, Magnhild still pointed in the general direction of the large Faunus. A heartbeat passed and she added, quietly, "And the same way I know what it's like to use them tells me you… You aren't built to do it."

"You don't know me." Illia argued, but her voice was… Quiet. Quieter than it had been the whole time Blake had been in the warehouse. Shaking her head, she said, "You don't know anything about me!"

"I know you're not a killer."

"You don't-"

"Then prove me wrong!" She snapped, turning and raising Magnhild to eject one of the canisters - a rugged looking one with a rough weld down the center and a pink frowny face drawn on the side - and pitched it at the woman. Illia scrambled to catch it, and Blake's eyes widened as she watched, nerves fraying as she wondered what would happen if it hit the ground…

But Illia caught it, holding it up in her hands and asking, "What… Is this?"

"Napalm canister." Nora grunted quietly, raising her chin in a show of defiance as she levelled the grenade launcher back on the stunned looking Faunus. "You think you're a killer? Primers on the back. Press it, pitch it, roast me."

"N-Nora!"

"You want to die?!" Illia hissed, holding the suddenly much more threatening little cylinder out a bit further. Face warped in fear, revulsion, confusion, and something else Blake couldn't place, she asked, "Are you insane, Human?"

"Why yes, yes I am." Nora nodded, some bit of levity coming back into her words as she snorted. "But I'm just here for back-up."

"Back up…?"

"Yeah, see, I happen to be crazy about Blake-y here." Nora explained with a little shrug and a nod in Illia and then Banesaw's directions. "And she happens to give a shit about all of you. So when I found out, I came to help. And I'm not a half way kinda girl. I'm here, so I'm in it all the way. A bit o' scuffle and a good chat, or some of us leaving in bags, it doesn't matter. I'm. Here."

She let the words hang and, for a moment, no one spoke. Funnily, it was Banesaw who broke the silence, chuckling darkly under his breath and saying, "I knew someone like you, Human."

"Yeah?" Nora turned, raising an eyebrow, "Who?"

"Me, twenty years ago." He rumbled, straightening and waving her off. "Speak. We are not fighting here."

"That easy…?" Blake asked, pursing her lips and shaking her head, "You call me a traitor, you- It's all done, just like that?"

"She has the weapons to kill everyone here, and the grit for it." Banesaw shrugged, "I know killer's eyes. And she's right. She's one, Illia is not."

"E-Excuse you?!"

"No." He rumbled, shaking his head at her, "I knew you wouldn't be the one to use those. I always intended to myself."

"But…"

"No one has to kill anyone. There has to be a better way!" Blake finally cut in, pushing aside everything - even her own confusion and… Everything else, regarding Nora at the moment. But, when everyone's eyes suddenly landed on her, waiting for her to show that 'better way', she couldn't help it.

She locked up - just like she had only a couple years ago, when Adam dragged her in front of everyone to 'explain how they were all wrong'. So many eyes, so much pressure…

"Hey." She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned as Nora leaned in, smiling thinly, "Just talk, babe. Worst case, they say no and we go back to pointing guns at each other."

"But…"

"You got this." Nora pressed, squeezing her shoulder and smiling widely, almost goofily. "I know you do. Just… Breathe and leap."

"Breathe and leap…" The Mistralian made it all sound so simple. So easy. And that almost made Blake mad… Before she remembered exactly who she was dealing with and wondered if, just maybe, it really was that easy. Once you got past the anxiety and took on what you knew had to be done.

"I was born in the White Fang." She finally said, turning to address the rest of the room and raising her voice in spite of her nerves. Nora helped, her hand resting on her shoulder all the while as she went on. "Raised in it. Molded by it! I know the fight more than almost anyone. My parents raised me out in it themselves, moving from camp to camp. I attended my first protest at five. My first riot at ten, though that was more Atlas' doing than my parents."

"I am Blake Belladonna!" She finally said, flicking Nora's hand a look and finally finishing, "And I am done letting my family be turned into… Into murderers! Into base raiders! Into… Into the monsters that every bigoted asshole from here to Atlas calls our people! We are better! Better than Atlas, better than Vale- Better than Adam made us!"

"And I demand that we act like it!" She finally snapped, letting out a shaky breath, "And as the heiress to all that my parents built, I demand that someone tell me what the hell your plan was!"

She could see that her words had had some effect on the Faunus around her, but no one spoke. Masked, and dressed in everything from suits to dockworker uniforms, they just backed away. Anxious and afraid.

"We were going to hit the press conference in two days." Banesaw finally said, breaking the silence, "Councilor announcing his campaign. Plan was to put him down. Put his staff down. Then the reporters."

"And whose plan was that?"

"Taurus'." He rumbled, "I only ever followed him because you put him in charge. Before you… Left."

"Adam is…" Emotion bit the words off before she could finish but, after a moment, she pushed them out anyways. Even if it hurt. "Adam is not the man I knew. Or never was. I-I don't know, but… We can't let him poison the movement any more. I can't. It's…"

"Your job." Nora offered, shoving her shoulder gently as she let her go and backed up a step. Blake turned and she was smiling, though it didn't reach her eyes. Which made it almost… Creepy, in a painful way. Quietly, but loud enough everyone could hear, she said, "Everyone has one. A… Thing we can't let go. Can't run from, at least not forever. This is yours."

"I…" Blake trailed off and then nodded, turning back to look over the Faunus and grunting, "Yeah, it is. So… What are you all going to do about it?"

"You're the Princess of Menagerie." Banesaw rumbled, crossing his arms and sighing wearily. "If you're coming back…"

"You'd listen to a traitor?"

"I'd listen to the Princess." He rumbled with a shrug, "Whether I'm happy to or not."

"That's shit!" One of the Faunus shouted, pointing at him as he turned and snarled, "We're not a monarchy! And you were ready to rip her head off ten minutes ago!"

"I was ready to beat her down," Banesaw corrected, "and send her back to her parents."

That made Blake wince more than a little, but she ignored it, sighing, "I'm not Adam. If you don't want to listen to me… I won't force you to. Leave. Fight your own way, if you have to. But leave our name out of it."

"Screw you!" The man snarled again, baring his teeth and storming away. Half of the others followed him and, for a second, Illia looked like she would, too.

But, instead, she just asked, "Are you coming back…?"

"No." Blake answered after a few long, quiet seconds to think. Banesaw's head snapped up and she saw him stiffen, but she held a hand up to ask for pause, and he gave it with a deep growl. Gently, she explained, "I am going to be a Huntress. To show the world that our people, from the top to the bottom, are able to… To do good. I can't do that here. I can only do that in Beacon, and Beacon will never let someone in the Fang stay with them."

"But…"

"Wear a hood." Nora suggested quietly, drawing the eyes of those who were left onto her, "And a mask. Not the same one, obviously, but… 'Blake' would never be the leader. There just happens to be a cat Faunus at some of the meetings. And is the big guy's messenger."

"That…"

"Could work." Banesaw cut her off, "For now."

"More importantly," Illia said, "what about the Council elections?"

"We take a leaf out of the old playbook." Blake answered simply, shrugging it off and asking, "Banesaw, can you get ahold of Tukson? You're the oldest members I know in Vale. Can you put together a protest? A good one?"

"It's short notice…"

"It doesn't have to be massive." She nodded understandingly. Organising that many people is a hell of a task. More than doubly so when it came with all the secrecy that the Fang had to operate with… "It just needs to be loud. Loud enough to show them that we're there, and that we're back in old form. But do not let anyone get caught. Make the noise, then get out of there."

"No standing our ground?"

"No." She shook her head, "Not unless we're forced to."

"We?" Illia asked as she came to Banesaw's side, "You will be there?"

"I will." She nodded, "If I can get away without suspicion, at least."

"Where are you staying tonight?"

"I…" Hadn't thought of it, as unwilling as she was to say it.

Nora must have picked up on that, though, because she groaned and pressed a fist against the side of her head theatrically. "Shit! I knew I forgot something… Sorry, Kitty-Cat, but I, uh, might have forgotten to get that hotel reservation you asked for."

"The hotel-"

"You can stay the night here." Banesaw sighed, more amused than annoyed but very definitely annoyed. "Illia can show you. We converted the old offices. Not the best, but…"

"It'll do." She nodded, "It's better than the forest floor, isn't it?"

"Hmph." Banesaw grunted, rumbling as he turned and waved the other Faunus to follow him. "If you say so. Weak children…"

XxX-XxX-XxX

The offices were on the second floor, and as old and run down as the rest of the building had been, with cracked windows looking outside. Most of them were boarded up, but one had been opened back up. She could tell from the ripped drywall and window-mounting. And from the crude little heater that the Fang had shoved against the wall by it, with a pipe running out the window and creeping along the roof to vent the smoke. A couple bedrolls and a cot were pressed close to the heater in a little semi-circle that filled up most of the room, with the old desks and chairs stacked up on their other side to shelter them from the door in case of an attack, and a little heating flat the size of Blake's hands was resting on one that Nora used to heat up the Spam Illia handed them along with a bag of old rolls gone just the slightest bit stale.

"So, i know her highness may be more used to fillet mig none, but-"

"Fillet mignon," Blake cut her off, taking the stiff feeling excuse for a sandwich when Nora offered it, "and I actually prefer fish."

"Yeah, I noticed." Nora chuckled, flopping onto the cot beside Blake's and nervously picking at the edges of her stale bread. "K-Kinda, um, stereotypical ain't it?"

"A bit." Blake shrugged, "But I am not prone to fish because I am a cat. I just… Grew up on it."

"Yeah?"

"Menagerie's biggest food source is the ocean." Blake explained, taking a bite and grimacing at the taste - or lack thereof - and texture. Shaking her head, she went on, "Expanding to build farms is hard. And while there are sea-Grimm, they tend to be… Not 'easy to kill' per se, but… More brittle?"

"Works." Nora shrugged.

"Regardless, without much more than a handful of terrace gardens, we make due with the sea's bounties." She explained, taking another bite of the stiff, dry meat and at least enjoying the fact it was warm. She didn't want to imagine the soggy mess she'd seen it come out of the can in on the bread… Ignoring it, she went on, "Shellfish, fish and crustaceans are many of our staples. Along with whatever we can trade from Mistrali settlements along the coast. Usually rice, soy, and a few other greens grown in abundance. And charged for at a premium…"

"People are dicks." Nora nodded, still avoiding eye contact with Blake. "I remember being down there. They could be right pricks about food…"

"Uh huh…"

"You know." Nora chuckled after Blake let the silence drag on for a minute, chewing on her food and watching Nora almost literally squirm. The Mistralian held her sandwich up, looking at it in the dim light of the flickering flourescents overhead, and sighed, "This is makin' me kinda nostalgic…"

"Nostalgic?" That actually made Blake blink, "How so?"

"When we were… Oh, eleven or so? Can't remember, doesn't matter." Nora shook her head, "Ren and I found an old town the Grimm… Found." The way Nora muttered the word wasn't something Blake missed, but she let it go, listening and Nora went on. "A-Anyway, we found an old cellar with a ton of canned food and a cot down in it. Must have been, like, someone's hiding spot."

"Weathering cellars."

"Huh?"

"You weather a storm in them." Blake explained, "Either literal or proverbial. I'm guessing you found… Whatever this meat is supposed to be down there?"

"Ton of it." She nodded, "Lasted us weeks."

"Mhm." Blake hummed, then sighed and did as Nora had suggested before. She took a breath, and leapt. "This would be… Before you became a bandit, yes?"

Blake took a tiny, almost invisible, bit of amusement in the way that Nora just… Froze. Stock still, as if someone had found her remote and simply hit 'pause'. But it only lasted a moment before Nora let out a long breath and sighed.

"So… Do you want me to leave?"

"Do I-" Blake blinked, shaking her head when Nora just shrunk in on herself. Sighing, Blake said, "No, Nora, I… That isn't what I want. Not at all."

"But I'm a-"

"Why did you join them?" Blake cut her off, making Nora look up and meet her gaze. When she didn't answer, mouth opening and closing wordlessly, Blake asked, "Was it because you enjoyed it? Or because you had to?"

"I… Had to." She murmured, "Without their help, Ren could have died."

"And you'd do anything for him, right?"

"I would, yeah."

"Would you change what you did?"

"I…" Nora paused, thinking, before she sighed and closed her eyes, setting the last bit of her sandwich aside. "N-No. I wouldn't have. Because there was no way I could've protected Ren, not against that many people. Not unarmed and alone. A-And even if I did, he was sick. He wouldn't have-"

"You'd do anything for your family." Blake cut in, smiling softly, "That's what you told me. Right?"

"Yeah."

"Including walking into a room full of terrorists and threatening to burn them to death…" She drawled, leaning back and raising her eyebrows, "Before handing one a grenade and telling them to do it to you."

"That…" Nora blinked, "Was a bluff."

"Was the grenade real?"

"T-Technically, that wasn't a grenade…"

"Nora."

"Yeah, it was, but in my defence I was pretty sure she wouldn't do it." Nora laughed, all awkward and suddenly nervous. She shrugged and threw her hands up for a second, waving it off, and said, "A-And she didn't either! So, you know… No harm no foul?"

"Sure." She nodded, waiting just long enough for Nora to relax ever so slightly before adding, "Except, of course, the part where you terrified me half to death."

"Yeah, uh, part of my charm?" She chuckled weakly, "You can just ask Ren…"

"Yeah, well, I can do without that specific part of your charm." Blake sighed, shaking her head when Nora just looked at her. There was confusion written across her face, along with more than a little hope, and Blake could only smile as she stood and looked out the window. Quietly, she said, "You trust me. Right? With the truth?"

"I do."

"Then tell me."

"About…?"

"What you did." She answered simply, flicking Nora a look before returning her gaze to the city outside. "Carrying a secret like that… It tears you up. I was a- Well, I was a terrorist, I suppose. And I carried that secret for… Weeks. And it killed me inside. Made me sick…"

Her point made, she trailed off, staring out at the city and waited. Either for Nora to speak, or to refuse. And for whatever would come after that, too.

Finally, Nora murmured, "Forty two…"

"Forty two?" Blake's brows furrowed and she turned, meeting Nora's flat, almost… Deadened gaze before the other woman looked away. Which was unlike Nora enough that Blake turned and sat with her, close enough for their shoulders to touch. Quietly, Blake asked, "What is forty two?"

"That's… How many people." She ground the words out, every syllable sounding like she was pulling teeth to force it out. "How many we- I helped them- We killed 'em, Blakey. J-Just farmers a-and delivery men a-and anyone else in our way. I had Aura, so they gave me a club and threw me on the front lines a-and I had to fight. I didn't know how to hold back, or how tough I was, and they had guns…"

Nora choked on her words and Blake wrapped an arm around her, tugging her head down to rest on her chest. She felt the other woman choke out a cry and ran her fingers through her hair, muttering, "It's okay…"

"It's not okay!" The woman almost shouted, her voice muffled as she turned, leaning into Blake's embrace, wrapping her arms tight around her. "Ren would hate me! Y-You should, too! I-"

"Protected your family." Blake cut her off, pulling herself free and pulling Nora up to meet her gaze. Holding her face in her hands, she smiled, "That's who you are. Everyone, everything, else be damned you protect your family. You protected Ren then, and… You came here to protect me, too."

"I-I just… Can't lose anyone." Nora murmured, "Not like that."

"And you're not." Blake smiled, hesitating a moment before she sighed gently.

Breathe and leap…

She felt Nora go still as she leaned in and kissed her but, after a heartbeat, she threw her arms around Blake's more narrow frame. It only lasted a second, and was more of a chaste peck than anything Blake had experienced before, but when she pulled away Nora actually seemed to… Shake a little bit in her arms. And then she deflated, laying her head on Blake's chest and sighing.

"This… Isn't something I deserve."

"You don't get to decide that." Blake told her, pulling her so her head was laying on her shoulder more comfortably. "Also, spam does not taste good in a kiss…"

Nora actually snorted, shaking her head, "Fair. I'll pack mints for next time."

"Oh, already planning a next time are we?" Blake hummed, ears flicking as the sounds of early morning traffic started to reach her ears and, in the distance, the faintest hints of pink started to splatter across the city. Watching it, she smiled, "How very… Humble of you."

"Eh, I just figure if you make a decision you stick with it." Nora shrugged, "And 'sides, we definitely need a proper date night. Like, steak and carrier and everything."

Blake snorted and shook her head, "What is carrier…?"

"The little black goop rich people eat…?"

"Caviar," Blake rolled her eyes, "is not something I or anyone on Menagerie eats, I promise you."

"But I thought you ate a lot of seafood?"

"Yes, but that doesn't equate to delicacies and luxuries that cost hundreds a pound." Blake laughed, shaking her head and sighing. After a second, though, she admitted, "We sell the caviar because the rich fops in Atlas think it's 'a rare delicacy' that we 'have to collect one ounce at a time by hand'."

"You don't…?"

"We'll get a thousand Lien out of one fish."

"Dayumn." Nora murmured, "So… Burgers?"

"Sure." Blake laughed, "Burgers sound great. After a nice, long nap."

"Yeah, naps are fun…" Nora murmured, straightening and asking sheepishly, "So… One cot or two?"

XxX-XxX-XxX

Banesaw watched Illia stalk back down the steps with a scowl and hummed as she passed him. Turning, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Now she likes women!" The chameleon squawked, throwing her hands up in the air as she vanished behind the curtains and left the large veteran to cock his head and chuckle under his breath.

"Children." He sighed, turning back to listen to Tukson prattle on about rides for everyone and sandwiches as if they were packing for a company club meeting or some such rather than a protest with cops happy to cudgel any one of them to death right beside them. "They'll be the death of me…"

Still, it was nice to have the Princess back.

What could he say? He was a traditionalist.

XxX-XxX-XxX

Nearly a triple feature chapter for length! Why? Good question!

…moving on, hope you liked it!

XxX-XxX-XxX

Lea :

Yeah, a, uh, lot escalated a bit in this chapter. In a lot of ways.

Geralt Rex :

Nah, no fighting. Or, well, not a LOT of fighting. XD

The plan, however, was… More or less precisely what you imagined. Only stopped by some candid words and Blake not fucking around no more.

Dino Guy :

When I write, things are either easy on one front and hard on another, or vice versa. This stage of dealing with fuckery wasn't that bad… Though it could have been. But what could come down the line? Muahahaha~!