Chapter One Hundred and Seven

Blake blearily stumbled into her team's bathroom, Pyrrha and Jaune somehow already up and making breakfast. She wasn't sure how they did it, as seven was a time that should only come once per day, but at least it opened up the bathroom for her and Yang, who was still asleep, to use as much as they wanted.

Taking a nice, long, hot shower, she was glad that Aura helped strengthen every part of you, including your hair, allowing her to skimp on her morning routine and just enjoy the heat. Stretching out still slightly sore muscles, Nora's 'lessons' always making one use bits of yourself that you didn't even know you had, the Faunus girl luxuriated under the heat. One of the worst parts about being in the White Fang was having to go without them for days, or weeks, camping showers not the same and even those were not guaranteed.

She'd even, at one point, given in to the temptation to try and lick part of herself clean, just to try and feel less gross and…

No.

Just… No.

She wouldn't say the lack of showers was the worst part about that time of her life, that was finding out the people that she called friends were all perfectly fine with killing innocent Humans, not just those oppressing her people, leading to her to break away from the those she'd called comrades for years.

But it was definitely up there.

Part of her wondered if they were okay. Not Him, of course, but some of the others, like Tabitha, and Carl. She hadn't really been close to them, she found it kind of hard to get close to people in general, but they seemed more like followers than Huntsmen and Huntresses, and, if they were still working under the White Fang's old leaders, they would've done good, instead of making it worse for all of them under the false belief that, when they killed innocents, they were somehow helping.

Well, she used to find it hard to get close to people.

But now… now she had friends. Yang, and Jaune, and Pyrrha, and Nora, Ren, Ruby. Even Weiss, which was… strange, and, and she wasn't looking forward to the blowup that'd happen when the Schnee found out her maybe-sorta friend used to be a member of the group who had her family as enemy number one, but that could happen another day.

Especially with everything that was going on, no, that talk could happen later.

Blake hadn't called her parents, couldn't, after turning her back on them to stay on with the White Fang after they left. She had, however, with Jaune's help, gotten a look at the attacks that had happened all across Remnant. Why a Headmaster had that kind of intel, more than her old organization ever could get, was strange, but, she supposed, like Pyrrha had suggested, since the old Human helped train a good number of the Huntsmen and Huntresses out there, maybe he got sent them 'unofficially'?

Either way, looking into what had happened, while there had been an attack on Menagerie, it'd been small, just some amphibious Grimm poking around Kuo Kuana Bay, but their Huntsmen had been enough to convince the monsters to leave, the place peaceful since only Faunus lived there. She'd used to believe that was because Grimm truly only sought to punish the evils of Humanity, but, talking to Weiss, that turned out to be so much propaganda.

It wasn't like she'd taken the Schnee's word for it, but the girl had brought charts. And references. Which Blake had looked up, and some of those experiments were monstrous, but Atlas liked to pretend the people who did so were punished, their research kept to try and get something good out of the situation, but the Ex-White-Fang knew how deniable assets worked.

But Weiss, Weiss might've been the same age as Blake, but the girl was more like Ruby than she was like Yang, and the Atlesian honestly believed the line she'd been given. And, as someone who'd accepted the party line until, ironically, his true mask had come off, not the one he wore on his face, but on his soul, the Faunus couldn't exactly blame the girl.

Well, Weiss was absolutely a snobbish know it all who was so used to the silver spoon in her mouth that it'd seemingly permanently tainted her mental taste buds, so it wasn't like the Schnee was without flaw, but judging someone based on something they had no control over?

No way!

Blake wasn't a Human!

Stretching out one last time, the Faunus shut the shower off and got out, drying herself, and, using the towel to wipe the steamed-up mirror clear, saw her reflection.

And Screamed.

The door slammed open a moment later, because Yang, blearily, eyes red, fists up, burst in, demanding, "Whazzit!?"

They both froze, looked at each other, Blake naked, towel in her hand, and, brain kicking into gear, the Faunus covered herself up, yelling, "Get out!"

Blinking, her partner looked around, and not seeing anything, didn't leave, but instead questioned, "I, uh, you, screaming, what?"

"I…" Blake hesitated, going with, "I stubbed my toe!"

For a second, it looked like the other Huntress wouldn't believe her lie, but, slowly, she nodded, the blonde agreeing, "Oh. Uh. That's the worst. Even with Aura. So… You, uh, look nice? I mean, like, nice ears?"

"OUT!" the Faunus demanded, and, after another pause, her partner finally left.

Groaning, the stupidity of her teammate beyond words, Blake turned back to the mirror which had re-steamed while they were talking, and, hesitantly, she wiped it clean again and…

Yes.

Her eyes had changed.

They were the same yellowish amber they'd been before, but now, but now, her pupils were, they were…

Slit.

Like a cat's.

They, they weren't like that yesterday, because, well, she'd gotten enough grief over her 'cat-eyes', even though it was just the color, but now, now they actually were, and… Oh, oh god, she'd been able to hide her ears, but she couldn't hide her eyes!

Everyone would notice, and then they'd start asking questions, and then, and then…

Oh god, her life was over!

No, Blake,

she told herself, you can manage this. You just need to… … …

She couldn't manage this!

There was a knock at the door, causing her to jump, and before she could tell Yang she was fine, it was Pyrrha who called out, "Blake, Breakfast is ready! And remember, your partner needs to use the bathroom as well, and you know how much time she takes!"

"Aw, jeeze, why ya gotta bust my balls like that, Big Red?" her partner complained.

Jaune chimed in, "You don't have balls, Yang."

"My lady-balls, you know what you mean," the blonde argued. "And aren't ya droppin' those off for Sis' team?"

Blake called out, "In a moment!" not sure what to do, so she just… pretended everything was fine!

Quickly finishing up with the towel, slipping into her underwear, she opened the door, not looking at her partner, who, thankfully, was more focused on her own shower than Blake. The Faunus made a bee-line for her dresser, putting on her uniform, then, looking through her bureau, found the sunglasses she'd bought a bit ago, and moved to put them on, when, from behind her, Pyrrha spoke up.

"You know, if you're trying to hide your eyes, drawing attention to them seems like the last thing you'd want to do."

Freezing, caught, Blake didn't turn, instead asking, "W-why would I want to hide my eyes?"

Sounding almost smug, the redhead noted, "I personally wouldn't bother, but you seem to be in a hurry to."

Slowly facing her teammate, the Mistralian met her gaze, and, yeah, she noticed. But, more than that… "You know," the Faunus declared. At the redhead's lifted eyebrow, she clarified, "You know why I'm… different."

"Oh, we're all different," Pyrrha smiled. "Faster, Stronger, Hardier, Better. Training as we have, I'd dare say we'd all handily defeat our old selves." Taking a sip of her breakfast smoothie, the gladiatrix questioned, "Or were you talking about something specific?"

Did she not know? Blake thought, but, from the way the other woman was staring her right in the eyes, no, she had to. She was just going to make the Faunus say it, like she'd made Blake say she was a Faunus in the first place.

Part of her didn't want to say so, just because her teammate was being difficult about it, but she was sure that if she said anything about it, Pyrrha would just respond that she was being considerate, as the 'Invincible Girl' was just as bad in arguments as she was in a duel.

But Pyrrha seemed to know what was going on, and Blake, Blake needed to know.

"My eyes," the Faunus said, glancing towards the shut door, when, normally, Jaune was really bad about leaving it open when he delivered breakfast to Ruby's team. Which meant that Pyrrha had closed it. "Why are they… different?"

Taking another sip of her smoothie, the redhead shrugged. "You'd have to ask Jaune."

Staring, the non-answer was so unexpected, Blake struggled with it, before… "You, you mean, the blood…"

She'd known it was in the shakes, she'd smelled it, tasted it, from the first time her team leader had handed them out, but Pyrrha had been fine with it, and he'd drunk them too so it wasn't something weird, but, but then again his Semblance was… odd, and-

"Headmaster Ozpin asked for some of it, for one of his people that was slowly dying. It stabilized her. But for more, you'll have to talk to Jaune," her teammate noted. "But do make sure to drink your breakfast, Blake. It'd be a terrible waste otherwise."

Wait, the Headmaster knew!? Then, it couldn't be that bad, but, "What kind of animal has blood that does that?"

With a teasing frown, Pyrrha rebuked, "Animal seems a bit harsh. And hypocritical."

The look to Blake's bow was not missed.

"Wait it's, but then, to have enough for all of us to taste… That's insane!" the Faunus declared.

"I was quite upset as well," the other woman agreed, a little forlornly, "but you cannot argue with the results. However, if you want answers, beyond what you could guess, I cannot tell you anything, so you have to talk to Jaune."

And this time, the other woman sounded firm in that, which, having dealt with her, Blake knew was the end of it, so she'd just, just grab Jaune when he came back, before class, and get her answers!

Only he didn't come back, not until after Yang got out of the shower, and it was just to get them to leave, the man stopping and looking at her, asking, "Did you do something different with your hair?"

"No, not my hair," she'd responded, annoyed, not wanting to say what it was in front of her partner.

But her team leader merely shrugged, replied, "Well, whatever it is, you look nice. Now come on, we've got class, and I'm looking forward to finding out how Port managed to escape a Grimm-infested town with just a bathing suit, a broken motorcycle, and a herring."

"Bet he punched 'em a lot," Yang offered.

"Well, obviously," Jaune replied with a roll of his eyes. "But he doesn't need a fish for that!"

Unable to say anything, Blake followed, sure that it was only a matter of time until someone confronted her about her changed pupils, then all hell would break loose.

DR

What.

The.

Hell?

All hell didn't break loose!

No one even freaking noticed!

What was wrong with people!?

No, class had gone, as normal, and everyone had just been themselves, as normal, when everything had not been normal!

Finally, breaking for lunch, she'd grabbed Jaune's arm, and declared, "Hey, I need to talk to you about something!"

"Oh, about what?" he questioned, not even budging to her pull.

Thankfully, Pyrrha was there for her, innocently mentioning, "Oh, she said she wanted to talk to you about one of the books you leant her!"

"Uh, yeah!" The secret-Faunus agreed, finally able to move the not-so-secret-Faunus, dragging him away from the others, adding, "But I don't want to spoil the plot!"

"Like I'm ever gonna read," Yang offered. "Movie or nuthin'!"

Ruby perked up, "Oh, is that why you kept getting D's on your book reports?"

"Who cares about those D's, when these ones are the ones that really matter!" Blake's partner bragged, jutting her chest out, which was a bit distracting.

"Your… Dreasts?" the younger girl replied, confused. "Did you forget how to spell things again, Yang?"

"Well I got all A's!" Weiss tried to brag, missing the topic change.

Nora patted her on the back, "Ah, don't worry princess, it's definitely B's now!"

"You lot have been terrible for my grades," the Schnee sniffed disdainfully.

"Uh that's not…" Ruby started to say, but, catching Ren's subtle head-shake, changed up her statement to finish, "as important as what you can do with them?"

"And you've almost got enough to do something with them!" Yang added teasingly.

Ruby frowned, glancing down at her own chest, "Like, uh, what?"

"Oh, you know…" her sister replied, starting to smirk, before realizing what she was about to say, and to whom. "Stuff?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "I'll have you know that the knowledge I've gained through my studies has been very useful out in the field!"

Tearing herself away from this slow-motion trainwreck of a conversation, Blake dragged Jaune away from the others, around the corner, and checking the doors until she found an empty classroom and pulled him inside, closing the door and putting her bag down, the man doing the same.

'What did you do to me!?' is what she wanted to ask, but, as he turned to look at her, curiously, she found she couldn't. "So, uh, books," she stated instead.

"Yes. Books," he replied, a little confused. "Did you like the Lord of the Rings trilogy?"

"I, yes?" she answered, not sure how to go about this. "It was well done, if Humanocentric."

"'Humanocentric'?" he echoed. "There's, like two humans in the entire Fellowship. Gandalf's a demigod," Jaune stated. "Hence the magic, and the coming back from the dead thing."

"The Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits are all just Humans but different," Blake argued, distracted. "There's no Faunus, except maybe the Orcs, whose description as 'corrupted Humans' is very problematic and clearly references Human propaganda about us being the same 'corrupted' kinds of beings, when we Faunus were here long before Humans were."

The Lizard Faunus blinked. "That's an… interesting take. But, no, on a deep and fundamental level, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits aren't Human, but they are people. That's, kind of, well, a quarter of the point of the Fellowship. The closest thing LoTR would have to people with animal traits is the, fuck, what is the name, Mayir? Something like that. Gandalf was one, but some of them had animalistic traits, I think. I'm not super into it. And no, Orcs, along with goblins, are malevolently eugeniced Elves, corrupted by evil magic. It's a thing."

The Menagerien wanted to argue the point, because they were clearly supposed to be a Faunus analogue, used as disposable soldiers, but, but that wasn't why they were here.

"I, fine, but…" she trailed off, still not sure how to bring up the topic.

"Oh, I read Ninjas of Love," Jaune noted, causing her thoughts to come crashing to a halt.

The dark-haired girl blinked, sure she'd heard wrong. "I, uh, what?"

"Oh, yeah. It was… interesting," the blond pronounced. "Though, um, at the end… kinda… rapey?"

"I, Zankoku didn't actually get to-" she started to argue, but he cut her off.

With a wave of his hand, Jaune stated, "Oh, no, that I get. Bad guy tries to do bad thing. Also, water is arguably wet. No, it was Ryusuke and Himiko. Like, yeah, I got they had chemistry, but she was both gagged and dosed with an alchemical aphrodisiac so she both technically couldn't give any kind of consent and was in an altered state of mind."

"They had a connection that went beyond words!" Blake defended. "It was romantic!"

"No, it was rapey," Jaune argued. "Like, if they were already doin' it, maybe it could've worked, but as a first time, it's a terrible way to begin things. It worked out, yeah, but that's not how a sane person judges decisions, and, even then, doing it in the bad guy's lair, even if he was defeated, creates all sorts of problems. Dude had minions, and, while the heroes were strong, they were very much vulnerable while they were… distracted."

Feeling a little offended by the judgement, the Menagerien argued, "But they would've never confessed their feelings to each other without that! Himiko was bound by duty, and Rysusuke would never have asked her to choose between that and himself."

"So he forced her to choose him?" the Lizard Faunus questioned scornfully. "If two people can't talk to each other like that, they shouldn't be together. Hell, we get it from her point of view, so we know that she's fine with it, but he didn't know that." Running a hand through his hair, and over his horns, he sighed. "Bloody hell, Blake, I'm sure you've put yourself in her position while reading it-"

"What makes you say that!?" she almost squawked, blushing bright red.

Sending her a flat look, Jaune remarked, "It's erotica. You're supposed to put yourself in the perspective of the protagonists. That's why there's an explicit sex scene instead of metaphorically fading to black. Just as reading it, I was clearly supposed to be putting myself in Ryusuke's position, hence the not-even borderline pornographic descriptions of Himiko's breasts, 'heavy with anticipation, hard with desire, and quivering with need'," he quoted with a smirk, clearly visible against his skintight facemask. "Female readers are supposed to do the same with her. But here's the thing, they never even explicitly said they liked each other. The most you got was that passive-aggressive cutesy 'I don't dislike you' bullshit, which is fine for flirting, sure, but some serious shit happened since that point in the story, the last time they talked was a fight, and she very much could've changed her opinion of him since then."

"But she didn't!" Blake argued, having loved that part!

"But he didn't know that, because she was gagged, and barely in her right mind with how drugged up she was," her team leader stated. "And I'm not one of those voodoo-pharmacology types, unless actual magic is involved, and that wasn't a thing there, but, imagine, if it wasn't Ryusuke, but it was someone like, I don't know, fucking Cardin."

Reeling back, not sure where that'd come from, she replied, "But, it wasn't!"

"Yes, fine, I'm going extremes to make a point, but maybe that was too much," he gave. "Say it's one of his lackeys, like, I don't know, Dove. I don't think that boy would actually rape someone, but I can see him misinterpreting signals, and going with what he wants to believe, which is why he's probably Cardin's friend," the blond offered. "And so he comes across Himiko, who, well, she's showing all of the physical signs of wanting him, because she's drugged, and she's gagged so she can't say no, and, well, those muffled screams of hers are clearly of pleasure and not distressed negation, as her body is feeling the pleasure of the act that she doesn't want but she can't stop hi-"

"Oh, oh god!"

Blake cut him off. "That's, why is that what you go to!"

"Because I'm not a mind reader and know others aren't either," he stated. "Or, you know, the entire bullshit with Yang wouldn't've happened."

Shaking her head, not wanting to touch that, she declared, "But that's not what happened!"

"That's why I said it was rape-y, not rape," he agreed. "If he'd ungagged her, and she told him to go for it, that'd be better, though, if she was a weaker person, when the consequences of what happened kicked in, something the book ends before we get to, then Himiko could still have claimed she was raped and only told him to go for it because she was 'out of her mind with lust' or some other crock of shit, and, wanting to believe it, well, her 'value' would've still been lowered to her aristocratic father, as she was no longer virginal, but she could've likely kept her privileged life while Ryusuke would be beheaded for his 'crimes'. I mean, technically if they'd gone about it the right way, she could still crumble like that, and throw him under the bus, but it'd be a lot harder of a sell. Now, I don't think she'd do that, but Jeezus Christ it's not a good situation to be in."

"But, what makes you think a girl would do that!?" Blake demanded.

Giving her a tired, cold look, Jaune uttered a single word: "Experience."

And, suddenly, she was reminded that her team leader had seven older half-sisters, in a majority Human settlement.

A hometown he never talked about.

"…oh."

He nodded. "Yes. Oh. I get she wanted it, but what happened was not okay, and while the framing of it was as a good thing, framing can hide a lot. Hell, Vale's cancelled all of Beacon's planned out-of-town missions, framing it as a measure to 'protect the students', when, in actuality, it's so there's more people on hand to protect themselves."

"I, what?" Blake questioned, not having heard of this, but, then again, Jaune was the Headmaster's Apprentice, unofficially. It was actually a mark in the older man's favor, that he at least wasn't so racist as to not take someone under his wing just because they weren't Human like he was.

"Oh, yeah, Oz was doing that anyways, to actually protect everyone while the mass Grimm Behemoths thing got sorted, but the Vale Council also framed it as something they could demand of him, which they can't," Jaune stated, "but by letting them set it up that way, they think they've got The Wizard on a leash that doesn't exist, which does seem to get them power and credit with the citizenry of Vale, but they can only control the full framing in Vale so the outlying settlements are kind of pissed, as they want extra help, but, by going along with the framing the Council set up then The Wizard is also setting up the Council to take the public opinion hit instead of himself, for the thing he was prepared to take the hit for, but, now that they're offering to set the framing that way, he's willing to go along with them on, especially as they were doing so maliciously."

The Menagerian stared at her teammate, processing that rambling sentence.

Nodding, he agreed, "Yeah, politics. Fuckin' hate it, but, much like pacifism, putting it aside is the kind of utopian ideal that only works when both sides do so. Completely, not just making a performance of not doing so while doing it a ton in secret," Jaune added. "So, yeah, eliminating framing is one of those 'most don't teach you how to do it, and the ones you most need the skill for do their best to stop its spread' things, but, once you learn how to do it, you don't really stop. Which is why, despite the fact that Ninjas of Love was well written, the sex scenes being very hot, the toxically consequence free feminine fantasy fulfillment of Himiko's weakness being solved for her, allowing her to get the dick she clearly wanted, while also glossing over the knock on-effects of her sleeping with Ryusuke, that were explicitly stated but that the characters just kind of forgot about so as not to 'spoil' it, left a bad taste in my mouth. Literarily speaking."

"But… I liked it," Blake stated, wanting to argue, but unable to find a way to tell him he was wrong that she knew he wouldn't shoot down instantly.

"You… still can?" Jaune questioned, confused. "You can still like something, even if some of it isn't the greatest. Like, if they write a sequel that deals with the fallout of all that stuff, while, you know, they have tons of hot steamy sex, that'd help. Won't fix it totally, 'cause you can't unfuck that goat, but, like, the inclusion of some romantic scene where he apologizes for what he did, and then she does the same for not saying something earlier while admitting that it was her own weakness that caused that problem, and they both affirming they're gonna work through it together, maybe while they're having slow steamy sitting-sex, embracing each other while feeling the other's bodies in full, looking soulfully into each other's eyes, connected on every level, would help a lot."

Blushing slightly, Blake could picture such a scene, and, oh, it'd be so romantic, and also really really hot, so much so that she had to shift how she stood, a bit of that imagined heat not so imagined, but, no, she had to stay on topic!

…What was her topic?

Right! What he'd done to her!

… The other thing he'd done to her!

"I, that's, there's something else I need to talk about!" she declared.

"Is it your eyes?" he questioned, smirking slightly.

Pausing for a moment, she pressed forward. "Yes, it's my eyes!"

"You're welcome," Jaune offered.

"I, you, what!?" Blake demanded.

Gesturing to his own eyes, which had the same slit-pupils, he explained, "They're a definite improvement, and you wear them well."

"I, you, I don't want to wear them at all!" she shot back.

Lifting an eyebrow, he asked, incredulously, "Why?"

"Because-" she started to respond, as how could he not understand, except…

Right.

Human-raised.

And, with that odd smell of his, one that screamed PREDATOR in a way that she'd never admit to, because their people got enough grief about their instincts while Humans pretended they didn't have any, he, he hadn't had any Faunus explain it to him either…

"Why does your blood even do this!?" she tried instead, and flinched, as his amused expression hardened.

"Pyrrha?" he questioned, an edge to his words appearing out of nowhere.

"I, uh, she just said to talk to you," Blake offered, the hairs on the back of her neck going up, but, but this was Jaune, he, he wouldn't-

Sighing explosively, running another hand over his face, he took a step forward, and she flinched, but was able to control herself and hid it before he opened his eyes. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he stated with grave seriousness, "Okay, so, Blake, this is of deadly importance. You cannot tell anyone about this."

Hackles raising, she started to argue, "Why shouldn't I tel-"

"Because I don't want to suffer a fate worse than death," he growled, the gentle grip on her shoulder tightening, until, without Aura, it'd be bruising. "My blood permanently empowers people. Do you really think that someone like Cardin's father, or, fuck, Weiss', wouldn't do all they could to capture me, lock me up, remove my limbs, and drain me almost to the point of death to get unlimited permanent empowering fluid to dish out to all their supporters?"

It was the fear in his voice, more than anything else, that made Blake bite down on her first response, because, oh god, it was more than just her eyes, wasn't it?

She remembered Pyrrha's words, but, but if the training comment was a distraction, then she wasn't talking about their skill getting better, was she?

Looking down at her own hand, Blake flexed it, but…

Looking back up to her team leader, he was staring at her with smoldering intensity, which, okay, a bit intimidating, but she nodded, and, gently pressed upon the hand still clamped on her shoulder. Jaune let go, and started to say something more, but she held up a finger, asking for him to give her a moment, and, despite how much he'd just complained about nonverbal communication, he got what she meant, closing his mouth and waiting.

Moving to her bag, she pulled out one of her pencils, and, without using any Aura, so used it that it was an effort not to empower herself, griped the pencil and tried to break it, and while it snapped, no, she wasn't any stronger.

Wait, she thought, I'm not really trying.

Taking a deep breath, she put both halves in her hand, and gripped as hard as she could, working her fingers, while using no Aura.

Then opened her hand, the hundreds of wood fragments falling to the floor, almost sawdust, her fingerprints visible in the torn top coating, the metal eraser binding hot and warped, the eraser itself pulped.

"I thought I was getting better with my Aura," she commented, shocked.

"You are," he stated simply, walking over to her. "But the base that's being empowered is now… supernatural. Which is why you can't tell anyone, Blake."

Shaking her head, the cat Faunus asked, "If it's that much of a risk, why do it?" At his confused look, she waved to herself. "You didn't have to, and, and it could've just been Pyrrha. She's the Invincible Girl, no one would've noticed. I didn't, until…" she waved to her eyes. "Which, I, you still haven't explained!"

"Cats are just furry, wingless Dragons," he shrugged. "You were close enough that it… pushed you a bit closer. And closer to being a Dragon? How is that a bad thing?"

"Enough with the 'Dragon' thing!" she groaned, "How do I get rid of it?"

Speaking slowly, he replied, "What part of permanent empowering fluid did you not understand?"

Blake stared, then… "You, you mean I'm stuck like this?"

Jaune stared right back at her, asking, "Why is that a bad thing?"

"You wouldn't understand!" she snapped, then winced, "I, I didn't mean it like that."

"I mean, I don't understand, but claiming I never could is… a bit harsh," he agreed, annoyance creeping into his tone. "Also, you know, absolute bullshit."

Grimacing, the dark-haired girl replied, "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Well, that's what you said, and, again, still not a mind-reader, so, Blake, what did you actually mean?" he stated after a moment of silence, the annoyance no longer creeping.

Turning and walking away from him, deeper into the classroom, she tried to put it into words that wouldn't sound horrible, but… "You weren't raised by Faunus," she declared.

"You're honestly the first one I've had more than a passing conversation with," he agreed, which was terrible. "Most avoided me," he added, which was exactly what she'd done too, but, but she wasn't anymore.

"I… I'm sorry," she apologized, and, at his uncomprehending look, she added, "For how I acted, before."

But rather than use that admission to press for something, like, like he would've, Jaune just shrugged. "We're cool now, don't worry about it," he waved away, showing how he was that man's opposite in almost every way. "So there's some Faunus-specific shibboleth that I'm tripping over." At her confused look, he explained, "A cultural practice, a signifier that you are of that specific culture, as opposed to others, which, by violating, I've been constantly othering myself with."

"No," she disagreed, pausing, "Well, yes, but that's, that's not what's going on here. It's…" she trailed off. "To Humans, all Faunus are the same, but some Faunus, some Faunus don't think we're all equal."

"Including you," Jaune noted dryly.

"No!" she denied, instantly. "I'm not traitist!"

Waving towards her face, no, her eyes, he stated, "Yes, you are. Or else you wouldn't be as upset as you seem to be over it. But go ahead, what is 'traitist'? I can guess, but I'm probably wrong, and I've been wrong about this for long enough."

Blake frowned at him, because she wasn't, she didn't judge people just because of their non-Human traits, but others did! Except, she remembered how he'd blown off that racist woman on Patch, and he'd probably argue something like 'You caring that much about the opinions of traitists makes you one by proxy,' or something else stupid like that.

Talking with him, he and Pyrrha were opposites, where any point you tried to make on her, she slipped by and deflected it, while Jaune would take the point, turn it back on you, and go 'And?' Talking with the redhead was easier, but, at the same time, you didn't really get anywhere, while with the blonde, you'd go places you really didn't want to, really really fast.

At his expectant look, Blake slowly answered, "Some Faunus believe there's a… hierarchy. Where, the more subtle your non-Human trait, the… higher you are."

The man's eyes moved up to her bow, so deliberately he had to be doing it on purpose, before dropping down to stare her in her now traited eyes. "So, the closer you can pass for Human, the 'better' you are."

"It's not right!" she quickly stated. "It's wrong, and discriminatory, and what Humans do, but, some Faunus… don't care. And, that's why most Humans think Faunus only have a single 'animal' trait, because, historically, the ones who had more…" she trailed off.

"The ones who had more…?" he echoed, making her say it.

Looking away, arms coming up to hold herself, she quietly admitted, "They usually didn't survive." Rallying, she looked up at him, and he looked angry, which he should, because it was wrong, and she explained, "It was something that the Humans did to us!"

The Lizard Faunus worked that over, "I'm gonna call bullshit on that being the sole reason. I've talked to Oz, and there used to be Faunus Kingdoms, centuries ago, but, this… It's the Paper Bag test all over again."

"The what?" Blake repeated, confused.

"Historic thing, in a Human Kingdom that didn't have any Faunus, but that didn't stop them from being assholes to each other, they just focused on the color of each other's skin," he explained. "Those who were darker, like Ciel, from Penny's team, or Fox from team CFVY, were the underclass, like Faunus were here until recently, recently in civilizational terms. Those who were paler, like us, were the over-class there, and, even after they stopped enslaving each other, that discrimination continued, but, once the underclass were free, well… a lot of the time those in the underclass, the ones that complain the loudest about their oppression, they don't actually think that bigotry is wrong, like you do, Blake, even though that's what they'll claim to gain support."

Shaking his head, Jaune declared, "No, what they're upset at is the fact that they're the underclass, when they think they should be the overclass, the oppressors, which means, the second they get a bit of power, well, they'll turn on anyone they can, to put themselves over those people at least."

The Menagerien didn't want to believe that, but, well… she'd known someone just like that.

Him.

Adam Taurus.

He hadn't wanted equality, no, he'd wanted to be over Humanity, and any Faunus that didn't support him wasn't really a Faunus in his eyes. When she'd been with him, though never, thankfully, been with him, she'd made excuses, but now, after seeing him for what he really was, that was exactly who he was.

And, while he never removed his mask, if his only trait was his horns, he could've filed them down and been nearly indistinguishable from Human.

Like Illya.

Like her father.

Which, among The Faunus, had been part of why others had followed him, as his display of his hide-able trait was a declaration of 'I could disappear into Human society, but I choose not to', and that resonated with a lot of Faunus who had more obvious traits.

But Jaune wasn't done. "So some of those darker skinned people started being racist to each other, as they all decried how racist the 'whites' were, and a lot of the overclass were bigoted, but, at the same time, a good portion of the now freed underclass judged each other by how close to their pale-skinned ex-masters they were, so anyone whose skin tone was lighter than a mass-produced brown paper bag was one of the 'E-lites', and thus somehow intrinsically better than the other, darker darker skinned people, just replicating the same system they claimed to hate, but now it gave them power, and thus that part was suddenly okay. So, the more obvious a non-Human trait a Faunus has, the lower down the totem pole they are?"

Mutely, she nodded.

"While my, let's see, one," he said, gesturing to his slit-pupiled eyes. "Two," he counted, one hand going over his horns. "Three," he stated, clicking his claws together. "Four," he remarked, running said claws over his smattering of scales around his eyes and claws. "Five," he smiled, pulling down his mask to tap his too-sharp teeth, which, to be honest, she hadn't even noticed. "Six," he declared, his wings popping into being, his tail emerging a moment later as he added, "Sev-"

"That's your Semblance," Blake argued. "That's… it's different. Still not great, but… and your scales are only around your other traits, so, that'd just be included in them."

With an ember-laden snort, the Lizard Faunus noted, "Even then, when most only have one, to have four. Why, I'd be downright freakish if I was a Faunus, wouldn't I be?"

Which is why you've dissociated from your race, not that we've done much to help, have we? She thought, as she felt compelled to point out, "You are a Faunus, Jaune."

"No, Blake, I'm a Dragon," he remarked, imperiously, drawing himself up as he flared his wings, just like she expected. "We're different." However, after a moment, his gaze softened, his Semblance-granted limbs disappearing. "That said, sorry, Blake, I didn't realize what that meant for you. If I had, while I didn't know… I would've asked first."

Which, for Jaune, was about as much as she'd get, and she did appreciate it. "If I keep… will I…" she started to ask, but the words didn't make it out of her throat, so, instead, she tapped the ends of her fingers together, like he had.

"I honestly have no idea," he admitted freely. "If you want me to stop adding it to your breakfasts, I will, but you will fall behind the rest of us. You'd still be a great Huntress, I'm sure, but, Blake, I want us all to be able to take on Behemoths single-handedly, and, given enough time, tastes, and training, you will."

The look he gave her was more serious than any she had ever seen from him, as all frivolity, all playfulness, was gone from the terminally amused man, and he stared at her with an intensity that made her stand up at attention. "For that, for the strength to defend your home, for the ability to slay your enemies, for the ability to become a legend in your own right, would you accept those changes, or would you rather stop now, to fit in amongst the masses? I will accept your choice, either way, Blake Belladonna, but eventually, if you choose to remain 'normal', where we go, you will not be able to follow. Before, I could overlook it, yet now that I know it's not a possibility, based on commonalities, but almost a guarantee? You need to Choose."

There was an electric quality to the air, and, for once, it felt like she wasn't reading a story, she was living one.

And he stood there, completely motionless, waiting, in a way that was very disconcerting, some part of her screaming DANGER! But, but she wasn't her instincts, she wasn't an animal, and, and she needed to think about this.

Her first impulse was to say no, to turn him down, scared of what that would mean, scared of what her parents would think, but… but as far as things went, staying with the White Fang had been worse, and she couldn't take that back.

Her second was to say yes, because her first was to say no, but that was just her reacting in the opposite direction. With power, she could help people. Hell, from what he talked about, Jaune was starting to deal with politics on a level that her parents would've wanted to.

And, and then…

There was her third instinct, no, her thought.

She wasn't her mother.

She didn't believe, like Mom did.

But, but they'd been searching for 'The Dragon' for centuries, at the behest of the Golden Wolf, if that mythical Faunus even existed, and it wasn't Jaune, obviously, but, maybe, for Blake, he could be.

And fighting Ancient Grimm of Unimaginable Power, coming across Forgotten Buried Ruins, hell, the Defense of Gabbro…

Blake had always loved stories.

Now she was in one.

How could she say no?

"I'm in," she declared, looking him in the eye. "Even if I get claws, or a tail, or something, for my people, it's worth it."

Jaune nodded slowly, "Even if they look down upon you?"

"The ones who matter, won't," Blake stated, with more confidence than she felt.

With a savage smile, the 'Dragon' grinned in approval, "Exactly. Now, while you have the afternoon off, I need to go have my lesson with The Wizard."

"Wait," she said, as he turned away, and he paused, looking back at her. "Your blood, how do you…"

"Oh, originally I slit my wrists, and kept them from healing fully with Aura until I had enough," he stated simply, laughing at her wide-eyed expression. "Yeah, that was Pyrrha's reaction. Don't worry, I figured out a tap that lets me gather a lot more at once with far less pain," he 'reassured' her, tapping his side, which was… horrific.

Trying to keep her tone stable, the girl asked, "But… why?"

He shrugged, stating matter-of-factly, "You're my team, and I take care of those who are Mine. See you tonight, and remember, Weiss is working with us on Dustcasting after dinner. See you then, Blake."

With a wave over his shoulder, he left, leaving her alone in the room, with one conclusion.

Jaune was… kind of insane.

And Pyrrha had warned them of that, but, but while Yang hadn't really listened, Blake thought she had.

But, then again, the Faunus girl thought she wasn't traitist, right up until it'd stared her in her own face.

The Mistralian had said she thought Jaune would be a Hero, like Ajax, which the Faunus had thought was just because she fancied him, which, turned out, was absolutely true, but…

But normal people didn't go on adventures.

They didn't descend into the underworld to save their loved ones, they didn't challenge the Demon Lady whose armies ravaged the land, they didn't topple tyrannical governments nearly single handedly, normal people didn't do anything like what happened in the stories she read.

And while Blake wasn't normal, compared to Jaune, yes, yes she was.

Which meant that, to follow him, she'd have to become less so, but, at the same time, like Pyrrha, she'd need to be there for him, help him understand the racial roots he possessed, even if he'd rejected them, because..

Because if she didn't speak for the Faunus?

No one would.

Music:
The look he gave her - 1-Minute-Music [EPIC] - Rise of the King - (Free EPIC Soundtrack 1)
How could she say no? - RWBY - From Shadows Instrumental trailer mix