"Blake? Blake!" I'd been looking for almost a half hour and I couldn't find her anywhere. She said she'd be right back but that was more than an hour ago, and she hadn't even texted back to say where she'd gone or if she was okay!

With just a few more days before the big finals' match Blake decided she wanted to cancel my date with the gym and take me on one with her instead- it was pretty obvious Ruby was going to be choosing me to represent our team over Weiss, and I'd been spending as much time as I could in the combat room to make them proud. Instead, we'd been having fun at the mall, checking out the latest Atlesian tech and rounding the food court for free samples before she said she had to go do something and told me to wait up for her inside a Mick's.

Thirty-eight minutes ago.

"Blake, where are you?" She wasn't answering her Scroll and I couldn't find her anywhere. I didn't know where she'd gone- she hadn't given me a single clue. Had she left the mall without telling me? Had she gotten into trouble? Why had she left me in the first place!?

My chest felt tight, my skin felt hot and clammy. The ground felt like it was rising up to meet me with every step, but I couldn't stop looking for her! I checked Cold Topic and a book store I thought she might've gotten distracted in, but she wasn't there either. She wasn't getting coffee, she wasn't at the food court sushi bar, she wasn't anywhere!

Why can't I breathe?!

"B-Blake!" She wasn't in the pet store, she wasn't in the Dust store, she wasn't in the shoe store, she wasn't even in the Spenter's looking for cute lingerie. Everything felt too much. I could tell my eyes were red, but I wasn't angry. I was… I don't know what I was.

"Blake…" I sat down on the couch and… I don't know… I guess I just... shut down.

I wasn't someone who ever really frequented the mall, but I wanted to treat Yang to a relaxing day away from the gym and I knew the best way to do that was to disguise it as a date. I didn't mind in the slightest, I loved spending time with Yang Xiao Long. The woman was a walking effigy of brilliance wherever she went, her blonde hair and lilac eyes attracting the wandering eyes of dozens of mall patrons. But despite it all, she was mine, and I was hers.

I told her to wait for me inside the fitness store. I'd only be fifteen minutes at the most. She'd be able to keep herself occupied with all of the sportswear and energy bars and protein shakes, while I got to work on a gift for her I couldn't wait to give.

I hadn't realized the mall was so large. Just traveling from one end of the mall to the other was time consuming- at least I'd memorized the path to the store I needed. A right passed the book store, and a left through the kiosks, and finally my target was in reach. Soulful Selections was a rather on the nose name for the kind of jewelry this store specialized in. Upon first entering, I realized I might've underestimated how popular these gifts were. A line of about a half-dozen people were waiting for the clerk, most of them waiting uncomfortably while the woman at the head of the line berated the tall young man at the register.

"I- I'm sorry ma'am, but if the product was used incorrectly-"

"Do you think I'm an idiot! I know how to use jewelry! My husband makes your monthly income every day, I have more of these than you could imagine!" Ah… a Karen in her natural environment. This might take a while. I sighed, opening my Scroll to message Yang I might be a while but… no service. The store must be in a deadzone in the mall. Double checking the battery, I realized that I didn't have much time left before it died either. The older Scroll models usually had abysmal battery lives, and I hadn't been able to save up for a new Scroll ever since entering the Academy. Education wasn't as lucrative as my last job.

"Get me your manager," the woman shouted, slamming her hands on the counter in a fit of rage. I felt naked without Gambol Shroud sheathed on my person. It was times like these when a Huntress in the room often changed the way people talked to one another, and I would've loved to make that woman reconsider her actions.

"Ma'am, I am the manager of this store," he insisted, as if he'd tried to explain this to her a dozen times already and she'd yet to understand it. She didn't seem like the understanding kind of person.

"No filthy Faunus is managing any store in this mall," the woman hissed threateningly. It was then that I noticed the tail. Long, covered in thick, soft fur and black rosettes, I could easily pick out a fellow feline Faunus. He was definitely a snow leopard Faunus, and judging from his body language, he was feeling cornered.

"Ma'am, I-"

"You will give me a refund or I'll be calling the police!"

I'd had enough.

I usually didn't get involved in things like this. Well… at least not since I'd been attending Beacon. These kinds of people would never change- there was never a point to try to reason with them or ask them to stop. They had hate in their hearts and only wanted to take it out on others. Faunus were just an easy target to direct their anger at.

I could see the pain in his eyes. I could feel the way his heart was pounding in his chest. As tall and broad-shouldered as this man was, he was clearly worried by this woman's threats. Police were often biased, even in Vale, and judging by his Mistrali accent, he definitely wasn't from Vale, but from somewhere law enforcement were significantly less likely to be understanding.

I'd had enough.

"Ma'am, you need to leave," I warned, pulling away from the line and walking towards the counter.

"I will leave when I've received my refund," the woman spat back, whirling over her shoulder to face me. Confrontational as always, Karens were happy to engage with whoever stood in their path.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but we can't give you a refund for this," the clerk begged, sliding the small box towards her on the counter.

"I'm not asking," the woman shouted, stomping her foot like an insolent child.

"Neither am I." I don't know what had gotten into me. I wasn't this person. I wasn't this bold or this confident, I… was trying to be Yang. I was trying to be the one person in the world who could've handled this situation better than myself. I was emulating her without even realizing it. She was strength when I needed it most.

"Who the hell do you think you are, missy," the woman said sarcastically, pointing an accusatory finger at me as if I were a child who'd spoken out of turn.

"Disrespectful, arrogant child. I paid good money for this and this Faunus has the audacity to-"

"You're not being very respectful right now," I said sternly, my hands at my sides clenched into fists as I stared the woman down. My ears twitched under my bow, fighting the fabric to pin themselves back on my skull.

"You're rude and obnoxious! And what does being a Faunus have to do with anything! He's already explained he can't give you the refund and all you're doing is inconveniencing the rest of us while spouting your ignorant hatred at him! Do us all a favor and just leave!" Normally these kinds of altercations made me want to run. Run as far and as fast as I could without even looking back. But I just kept thinking, what would Yang do? She'd never back down from a bully like this. I had to stay strong.

"You children don't remember anything! Faunus had a place in this world and it wasn't behind registers selling defective merchandise! Your generation is soft," she shouted, taking her unwanted jewelry box and slamming it on the ground as hard as she could. I narrowed my eyes, finding myself unintimidated and unafraid. These people thought they could spout their hatred ad nauseum without consequence. Today, I'd be filling the role of 'consequences.'

I reached up for the black ribbon binding my ears, and undid the knot, letting the fabric fall to the floor.

"Leave. Now." For the first time in a really long time, I felt… in control. The woman's mouth hung open, shocked and confused and betrayed. I watched as she regained her composure, ready to lash out again, and braced myself against her tirade, but then-

"You heard the young lady. Time to go," one of the other customers interrupted. He'd been waiting patiently in line up to now, but I hadn't even realized he'd moved closer to me during the argument, as if he were on my side. He had long, curly silver hair- long enough I hadn't noticed the small, brown horns protruding from his hairline until he purposefully pushed his hair back in a display of solidarity. I wasn't alone. The clerk wasn't alone.

The woman scoffed, looking from me to the other two Faunus in the room. Her eyes then turned to the humans on the line, desperately looking for help. Five to three, we were still outnumbered. An altercation like this could easily result in officers called and if it got physical-

"Nope, don't look at me. My daughter's best friend is a Faunus, I should've dragged you out of here myself for talking like that," one of the women said, arms crossed over her chest in an act of defiance.

"I work in customer service, I hate people like you," an older teen said with a shrug. No one came to the woman's defense. Not the lanky man in an expensive suit, not the pregnant mother here with her teenage daughter, and not the older woman leaning on her cane. No one.

Outnumbered, outmatched and outgunned, the woman scowled at everyone in the room, picked up her purse, and left without another word. Mocking cheers erupted as the door closed behind her, everyone in the store glad that the woman had finally been sent packing. I didn't cheer.

Walking over to the clerk, I handed him the box Karen had carelessly thrown on the ground. She didn't deserve this kind of jewelry anyway.

"Are you okay," I asked him worriedly. Up close, I could see he was no older than me despite his size. Someone so young opening up a jewelry store must be strong, hard working and passionate. The look of relief on his face made my heart ache.

"Thank you," he said softly, resting against the counter as he caught his breath.

"I was about to just hand her the money so she could go away," he explained, holding his face in his large hands. He looked like he'd just survived an Ursa attack.

"In Vale, you can afford to stand your ground a little more. It's not as bad as Mistral," I said, hoping to give him some advice he could use in the future.

"Did you come here to buy something," he asked me, his dark eyes blinking away tears that he'd clearly been holding back throughout the encounter.

"Yes! But I can wait in line-"

"What did you want," his tone didn't leave room for an argument.

"This year's anniversary charms. A gold and onyx one for my-"

"One moment." He was gone before I could plead for him to take the rightful next customer. I hadn't stood up for him for payment! It was just the right thing to do!

He returned in less than a minute, two of the most beautiful heart shaped charms I'd ever seen nestled in a glass case side by side. These weren't the ones I'd wanted! These were the expensive, high end charms that were nearly triple the price of the ones I'd budgeted for.

"W-wait! I meant the original designs! Not the A tier," I said hurriedly, feeling beyond embarrassed for the misunderstanding.

"How much do you have," he asked softly, opening the case the woman had left behind and checking the jewelry inside. It wasn't damaged, thankfully, and he looked relieved as he took one in his hands and began to clean it off.

"Four hundred Lien," I explained. That was just barely enough to cover the charms I'd actually wanted with maybe a few Lien to spare on a card for Yang. I'd planned on giving them to her after the Vytal tournament. Win or lose, she deserved something nice like this. Thought I suspected I might be handing them over to a winner.

"For you, three hundred seventy," he said, sliding the charms he'd offered towards me on the counter.

"Wait, no, there must be a mistake, these are the-"

"No mistake. I know these are the A tier charms. I'm selling them to you for this broach and three hundred fifty Lien," he said sternly, gesturing for me to pick up the box.

"But you said-"

"Three hundred twenty five! Not a penny more," he said proudly, picking the box up with his free hand and trying to give it to me outright. I could feel my face burning in embarrassment but I knew better than to try to talk him out of it. Mistrali Faunus were known for valuing family and honor above all else, and now this had clearly become a matter of honor for him. I chewed at my lip, took the case, handed him all four hundred Lien, and made my way out of the shop before he could count it, a quick "thank you" shouted over my shoulder as I grabbed my ribbon off the floor and tied it back over my ears.

I checked my Scroll once I was far enough away from the store, noticing Yang had messaged me. I tried to open the messages but my Scroll finally died. Damn. I looked at one of the directories, noticing the time. I'd been gone almost an hour!

"Hopefully she's still in the sports store," I mumbled to myself, making a brisk pace for where I'd left her, fully expecting her to be upstaging some cocky muscle heads who'd challenged her.

But she wasn't there.

Maybe she was at the bookstore, looking for something to share with Ruby! No, she wasn't there either.

Maybe the pet store! Looking for something for Zwei? No… not there either.

Not the weapons store or the Dust store. Not at the toy store or the beauty supply store.

I couldn't find her anywhere!

This was so embarrassing. I circled the mall, trying to find her. If I didn't spot her soon, the best I could do was maybe head to Bumblebee. She'd certainly wait for me there if she couldn't find me. It wasn't until my third loop around the mall before I finally found her, sitting on a bench in front of the sports store- I was positive she hadn't been there before.

"Yang!" I tried to get her attention as I approached her from behind. I was just a few steps too late to notice her sobbing. She turned to look at me, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Yang- are you okay," I asked worriedly, dashing the final few steps to her. I got down on my knees, face to face with her. Someone must've hurt her. Yang's not someone who ever cried like this. Someone must've-

"Blake… please don't ditch me again," she whimpered, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug and burying her face in my chest.

"Ditch her, I never- oh!" The realization sparked into life with just the smallest thought on the subject. I'd told her I'd be right back. I'd been gone for… nearly two hours now. And between the mother who'd never made it home, and the mother who'd never even shown up… I realized my carelessness might have triggered something.

"Yang… Yang I won't ditch you," I promised, wrapping my arms around her and comfortingly stroking her back.

"I'm so sorry I made you feel like this. There was an incident at the shop that took longer than I'd expected and… Yang, I'm sorry," I whispered, feeling my heart shatter.

It took… a long time before Yang was able to recover. She was quiet, her voice shaky as we made our way to Bumblebee. I decided against handing her the gift right away. I didn't want her memory of the charm to be tarnished by my negligence. I held onto her a little tighter as we drove Bumblebee back to Beacon, doing my best to comfort her.

What a royal disaster.