Chapter 14: Dreams Can Come True

The morning sunlight was streaming in through the windows in the White Fang's warehouse headquarters as Blake walked past them. Underneath her mask, her eyes were cast down, but despite how tired she felt, she might dare to say things were finally moving in the right direction. Her long-term plans for the White Fang were starting to solidify, and despite Yang's fears, so far no one had tried to depose her yet. Not everything was perfect, however. Blake really would have liked to have time to sleep.

Blake was walking with no particular destination in mind, lost in a bit of a haze. All of her sleepless nights were really starting to take their toll on her, and she was finding it more and more difficult to concentrate. But there was still too much that needed to be done for her to allow herself to take a break. She'd have to keep on powering through.

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings startled Blake. She jumped and her cat-like ears twitched. She looked up and spotted an eagle descending from the warehouse's rafters. It was obviously Yang. Blake realized she hadn't seen Yang all morning. She wondered what she'd been up to.

Yang dove down and landed in front of Blake. She cawed and hopped a few times in a particular direction. Then she looked expectantly at Blake.

Blake wasn't exactly sure what Yang wanted, but she took a step toward her.

Yang cawed again and started walking. Not knowing what else to do, Blake followed.

Soon, Yang was leading Blake through the warehouse. Blake glanced around as they went. Fortunately, no one else seemed to be around. Half the secret to being High Leader was maintaining an air of strength and dignity. Blake knew being seen with Yang like this would not help her image. She must look ridiculous being taken on a walk by her "pet".

After a few minutes, Yang led Blake to a door. She pecked at it a few times with her beak. It was the door to Blake's office.

Still confused, Blake did as Yang had asked and opened the door.

Yang walked into the office. Blake followed and shut the door behind her. Finally free from the possibility of eavesdroppers, she asked, "What's going on, Yang?"

Surprisingly, Yang did not transform back into a human. Instead, she unfurled her wings and leaped into the air. She quickly flew across the office and turned sharply, disappearing through the door in the back that led to Sienna's old bedroom.

Blake stood there for a moment. She still had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that Yang was up to something. Blake wanted to be annoyed. She didn't have time to waste on frivolous games. Yet she found herself intrigued. She started walking across the office, and when she got to the bedroom door, she peeked inside. She was not prepared for what she saw.

Inside the bedroom, all the candles had been lit, bathing the space in a warm, inviting light. Yang was lounging on the bed, finally in her human form again. She had a silky yellow robe on that was draped just so over her body. The robe hung slightly open, giving Blake a glimpse of the skimpy black lingerie Yang had on underneath. Yang's golden hair hung loose, a rare treat for Blake, and it was cascading beautifully over her shoulders.

Yang gave Blake a smoldering grin. She said, "Hey, lover. What brings you here?"

Blake felt herself turning red. She scrambled into the room and slammed the door shut to make extra sure no one else was watching. Then she tried to salvage what was left of her composure and said, "A little birdie told me I needed to come."

"Hmm. You got that right," Yang said. She lifted her finger and beckoned Blake closer.

Blake swallowed hard. She felt like a sailor being lured toward the rocks, but she walked closer to Yang.

Yang said, "Take off your mask and get comfortable."

All of a sudden, reality came rushing back to Blake. She'd actually forgotten that she was wearing her mask. Just like for one blissful moment she'd forgotten everything she needed to do. She said, "I…. I'm sorry. I really should…."

"Blake, are you really going to say no to all this?" Yang asked, gesturing at her body.

Blake didn't respond right away. She really didn't want to say no. She was practically aching for Yang's touch. But she had responsibilities.

Yang reached out and gently took Blake's hand. She looked into Blake's eyes as best she could and said, "Please, Blake. Don't push me away."

Blake's breath caught in her throat. Yang's tone had changed. She wasn't trying to be seductive anymore. What she'd said had been a genuine plea. Blake started to consider the possibility that maybe Yang needed her as much as she needed Yang. She wasn't sure she believed that was possible, but if it was, who was she to tell Yang no? Who was she to tell herself no? Besides, it was still early in the day. What could spending an hour with Yang hurt?

Blake pulled her hand free from Yang's, and she reached up and removed her mask. She knew she must look awful, but Yang smiled anyway like Blake was the most beautiful person in the world.

Yang got off the bed and stood. She leaned in close to Blake and gently kissed her. Blake's eyes fluttered closed, and her mask slipped from her hand. She could feel the love in Yang's kiss, and it overwhelmed her.

Yang's arms wrapped around Blake and pulled her in even closer as they continued to kiss. Blake could feel every dip and curve of Yang's body press into hers. It was an old, familiar feeling, and yet it was somehow new again. She felt her worries and cares begin to melt away.

Yang finally broke the kiss, and she guided Blake toward the bed.

Blake's eyes slowly opened. She wasn't sure where she was at first, but she actually felt almost rested for the first time in what seemed like forever. Then she suddenly came to her senses. She realized she was lying on top of Yang in bed. She started pushing herself up.

Yang was apparently awake too because her arm came up and gently held Blake in place. She said, "Easy there."

"What time is it?" Blake asked, noticing that all the candles in the room had been extinguished.

"Night," Yang said.

Blake looked down at Yang. A realization dawned on her. If it really was night that meant she'd been asleep for half a day or more. That must have been Yang's plan from the start. She said, "You tricked me!"

"I told you you'd never see it coming," Yang said.

"Yang, I…!" Blake started to say. She thought about all the important things she'd needed to do today. But now that some of the fog had cleared from her head, she supposed none of them were so important that they couldn't wait until tomorrow.

"You can't keep going like you have been, Blake," Yang said. "You need to rest once in a while. So I'm going to make sure you do."

Blake stared at Yang for a good minute or two. She wanted to argue with Yang, but she couldn't think of anything to say. Deep down she knew that Yang was right. She laid her head back down on Yang and said, "Thank you."

Blake pressed her ear against Yang's chest and listened to the steady rhythm of her heart beating. She reflected on how there was no good reason for Yang to be with her in this White Fang stronghold. Yang couldn't have been having any fun. And yet there Yang was, not only sticking by her but making sure to take care of her too.

"I love you, Yang," Blake whispered.

"I love you too, Blake. So much," Yang said. She sounded small and vulnerable. It was enough to bring Blake to the brink of tears.

Blake's eyes slowly closed. If the day really was over then there was no need for her to get out of bed. Tomorrow would come soon enough.

Blake had just about drifted off to sleep again when a frantic pounding sounded from somewhere nearby. Blake's head shot up. The pounding sounded again. It wasn't coming from the bedroom's door, but rather Blake was pretty sure it was coming from the door to the office that the bedroom was connected to. Someone was trying to get her attention.

Blake looked down at herself and tried not to panic. She only had her undertunic and some loose-fitting pants on, but even if she threw on some proper clothes she was still a disheveled mess, and she undoubtedly reeked of human to any of her White Fang brothers or sisters who had sensitive noses.

The pounding continued, and then Blake heard a familiar voice filtering through both the distance and two closed doors. It was Ilia. She was shouting, "Blake! Blake! Come quick!"

Blake jumped out of bed and picked up her mask from off the floor.

"Who is it?" Yang asked, looking worried. Blake realized Yang probably hadn't been able to clearly hear Ilia shouting. After all, she only had human ears.

Blake said, "It's Ilia. Something's wrong."

"Are you sure?" Yang asked, sounding suspicious.

"Very sure," Blake said.

Blake slipped on her mask. She quickly pushed open the bedroom door and padded through her office over to the second door. Once she'd arrived, she opened it up just a crack. As expected, Ilia was standing there. She looked worried.

"Blake!" Ilia shouted when she saw her. Then she paused. "Why are you—? Never mind! Get dressed and come quick! Something's happened!"

A few minutes later, Blake was wearing her White Fang robes again and had her mask on. Her hair was still a disaster, but she'd clawed it into some semblance of order. She was doing her best to project a domineering air. Hopefully no one would ask her any uncomfortable questions.

Blake had her arm held out, and Yang was perched on it in bird form. Blake was glad Yang had agreed to accompany her. She didn't want to face whatever was going on alone.

Blake marched out onto the main warehouse floor. A large gathering of White Fang members was there. They all seemed to be standing around a scroll someone had set on the ground which was projecting a holographic image into the air.

Blake walked in a little closer and said with as much authority as she could muster, "What's going on here?"

Most of the White Fang members turned to look at Blake. Ilia stepped out of the crowd and said, "High Leader! Listen to this!"

Yang unfurled her wings and flew up into the warehouse's rafters. Blake lowered her arm. The crowd of White Fang members parted. Blake could see what was being projected by the scroll now. It was an image of Lisa Lavander, the lead anchor for the world's most popular news network.

Lisa Lavender said, "I repeat for those of you just joining us. Reports have come in from Atlas that there's been a massive attack by the White Fang, a terrorist group previously thought to be all but destroyed. Fortunately, the world-famous huntsman team the Arc Knights happened to have been on the scene and managed to quickly subdue the terrorists."

Underneath her mask, Blake's eyebrows raised in alarm. There was no way this report could be right. She'd explicitly ordered everyone to avoid any acts of violence. A moment later, Blake recalled that Ruby had mentioned the Arc Knights. Did that mean she or Weiss had gotten caught up in this attack as well?

Lisa Lavender put a finger to her ear. Then she said, "One moment. I'm being told we're going to footage captured from this event."

The image shifted to one of a downtown Atlas street. The quality wasn't very good. It had obviously been taken by a pedestrian using their scroll. But Blake could clearly see a few White Fang masks and several uniforms being worn by a group of armed men and women who were locked in battle with what appeared to be a huntsman and a huntress. It was absolutely damming evidence. At least that was how the general public would view it.

Blake had seen enough. She walked over to the scroll, bent down, and turned it off. Then she stood again and looked out at the assembled crowd. She angrily asked, "Who's responsible for this?"

There was no response.

"Who?!" Blake repeated, louder this time.

Ilia glanced around. Then she said, "We don't know, High Leader. No one here knew this was going to happen."

Blake began to pace back and forth, furious at this turn of events. It was bad enough that she had a momentous struggle ahead of her. She didn't need news coverage like this actively making things worse.

Blake turned back to the assembled White Fang members. She said, "This is how the White Fang dies! This is how the humans become convinced we need to go back in chains! Everything we've ever fought for is waiting for us! But this isn't how we achieve it! This will set us back years!"

The crowd remained silent. There were no murmurs of agreement nor rumblings of discontent. The silence frightened Blake, but she couldn't show it. The last thing she could afford to do was betray any kind of weakness. She surveyed the crowd, trying to get a gauge on what everyone was thinking. That was when she noticed Yuma and Tock standing near the back of the group. There was a sinister smile on Yuma's face.

Suddenly, Blake didn't feel safe. But she refused to give up or back down. She knew she could make the White Fang a true force for good. She knew she could redeem so many of her brothers and sisters before they surrendered to their desire for revenge. She just needed more time.

Blake said, "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. If anyone learns anything, report it to me immediately."

Blake held out her arm. On cue, Yang glided down from the rafters and landed there. Then Blake turned her back to the crowd. She wanted to show everyone that she wasn't afraid of them, despite her rising dread that there might be a knife or two glinting in the dark behind her.

"Ilia," Blake said over her shoulder. "Come with me."

"Y-yes, High Leader!" Ilia said.

Ilia joined Blake and they both started walking toward her office. Blake was already considering her options. It seemed she had another sleepless night ahead of her after all. Yang wouldn't like that, but she'd have to deal with it. Some things couldn't wait until tomorrow.

Author's Note: I once again find myself with a lot to say, but it's all spoilers. So I guess I'll have to keep quiet.

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