A week quickly turned into a month, and Jaune was well and truly into the grind. Juggling Beacon and a job wasn't easy, but anything worth anything in life required effort. It was effort that he was more than willing to give.

Vale was different in the early morning. Being one of only five major cities worldwide, you could never say that it slept, something that Jaune learned quickly. There was always something going on, be it salarymen stumbling home after a night out on the town, women of the night standing vigil on their chosen corner or a police chase spanning the length of the highway, but Vale definitely felt calmer in the early hours.

Something else that never stopped were deliveries.

Jaune watched his breath mist in the air as he approached the back of a cart that was tethered not to horses but a pair of oxen, several crates stacked neatly in the back. Jaune's boss was talking with the trader and gave Jaune the go ahead, nodding his way before returning to his conversation. Unlatching the tailgate, Jaune lowered it before stepping up onto the bed of the cart, reaching for the first crate.

It weighed well beyond what the average man could carry and yet Jaune hauled it effortlessly, earning an incredulous look from the trader. Carrying it across the concrete platform and into the warehouse, he was met by a faunus with long drooping ears. His name was Red, a towering man with ginger hair, a freckled face and lean, hard muscles, his ears that of a bloodhound. Catching Jaune's eye, he shook his head with a wry grin, those floppy ears swaying to and fro.

"Leave some work for the rest of us," he joked.

Jaune found a clear spot to set the crate down.

"Plenty more where that came from," Jaune said.

They were assigned teams and Red was someone that he worked with often, as well as the antlered man he'd met when he first arrived in Vale who went by the name of Auburn. Jaune was the only human in his crew but Jaune had met others. The team that typically took over for them around noon had a couple of human's; a woman with a hard face and narrow eyes, and a guy who chain smoked with leathery skin.

It was simple work, especially for someone like him. Aura made it doubly easy and the pay was pretty decent. While the old trade routes weren't as prosperous as they were in days past, taken away by train and boat and airship, the old way into Vale still saw significant use. Many frontier towns like his own weren't connected by road or rail, and no airships visited unless there was an emergency. The animals they raised were sent where they were needed on the back of wagons, and many such wagon would have passed through these gates over the years.

Most of the trade that passed through here was either animal based or raw materials such as wood, ore, stone, clay and more. Even things such as textiles, cotton and wool were the most common, and then things like fur pelts and leather. Jaune knew that some of the ore that came through here might end up at Beacon, used to forge weapons or ammunition, and the wood went straight to the mills to get processed. In the north specifically, there were giant redwoods that could grow almost four hundred feet tall and were thirty feet in diameter at chest height, true behemoths that were felled for their valuable wood. Lumber was just as important to their town as was livestock.

It may not have looked as impressive as the docks with their shipping containers and massive cargo ships, but it was still an important avenue of trade. Especially for those smaller towns such as his own.

"You see the Eagle's score?" Red asked as the man joined him. As big as he was, he couldn't carry these crates on his own like Jaune could so he linked up with another guy, a porcupine faunus named Umber. His flaxen hair was interwoven with long, dangerous quills.

"The who?" Jaune asked. Red opened his mouth and then shut it again, momentarily stunned before remembering.

"Ah, right. You're a frontie."

Apparently that was city slang for someone like him, who was born and raised on the frontier. They had some pretty amusing assumptions about country folk, assumptions that Jaune was more than happy to let them believe since they were so funny. Sometimes they were right on the money, though.

It wasn't the first time Jaune wouldn't understand things that city people took for granted and it wouldn't be the last.

"I caught the game, it was good," Umber said as he tensed, helping Red lift a crate and walking it across the platform as Jaune grabbed another, their arms bulging with strength. "The Orca's gave a good fight but they always crumble in the fourth quarter like clockwork," he continued, voice strained from the effort.

Jaune had no idea what they were talking about. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was sport – he just didn't know what sport.

Red took pity on him when sighting his clueless expression.

"Football," he said, grinning. "The Eagle's are from Southern Vale, the Orca's are from Mantle."

"Right," Jaune said, stacking his crate on top of the other one he'd already set down earlier. "And the Eagle's are your team?"

"That's right," he said proudly while Umber nodded along. "Since they are based on this side of town, we faunus support them more than any other team from Vale. We're southsiders, after all. A couple of the players grew up around here."

"We lost in the semi-finals last year to the team that won the championship," Umber sighed, looking slightly peeved. "Can't stand the Royal's. No one can."

"They're from Mistral," Red filled in when Jaune gave Umber a blank look. "They're good but they play dirty. They've also built a bit of a dynasty lately. Three championships in four years. Only reason they didn't three-peat was because the Vipers from Vacuo upset them two years ago with three late touchdowns to snatch a comeback. Boy oh boy, were their fans pissed on social media after that," he laughed, as if reminiscing on good times.

He wasn't so clueless as to not know what football was or what a touchdown entailed, even if he didn't watch it.

"You should catch a game sometime," Umber said. "They're away next week but they have a home game coming up. We normally go when we can. How about you join us?"

"I don't really know anything about football," Jaune admitted.

"Pah, it's easy," Red waved his hand. "You'll get into it in no time. No pressure, though. If you want to come, we'd love the company but don't feel like you have to."

The next wagon was filled to the brim with eggs, countless cartons stacked neatly in boxes. After that was a cart stocked with brand new tools; shovels, rakes, plows, pickaxes and more. Then a trader hauling rolls of cloth.

Everything was checked over by a team of customs agents, ensuring contraband wasn't being snuck in. They weren't so worried about potential stolen goods, more so illegal items; weapons, drugs, Grimm – though only Professor Port would be crazy enough to attempt to smuggle a Grimm into the city. It was bad enough that he snuck them into Beacon.

Jaune had witnessed them catch a few things. On only his third ever shift, they'd uncovered packets of white powder hidden in small grooves cut out of the crate itself, then filled in with some type of wooden resin. Looking at it, Jaune hadn't been able to see the difference, the cover up flawless – but not so for these agents, who took one look at it and knew that the inside had been tampered with. They also used dogs to sniff out anything hidden, periodically walking them around the warehouse and gifting them treats when they found something.

As the sun rose ever higher into the sky, Jaune continued to unload carts. As early morning approached midday, the traffic of people coming into the city increased, and soon there was little time for chit chat as he moved back and forth, hauling goods across the platform. Lunchtime was a little hectic in these parts, and it wasn't unusual for several wagons to be waiting to be attended to. This was where Jaune shined, his ability to unload entire carts single handedly in no time easing the burden.

The end of his shift was almost upon him when he heard a commotion out on the platform. Stepping outside, he saw several people gathered around a crate, while Auburn pinned a man to the ground, his arm twisted awkwardly behind his back.

Jaune blinked.

"What's going on?" he asked, making his way over.

The crate everyone was looking at was broken, a couple of the wooden boards splintered. At first he didn't know what he was looking at until he spotted several stylized Grimm masks spilled across the ground.

If this had been a month ago, Jaune would have remained clueless. But this was something they were beginning to cover in History class after finishing their work on the Great War, tied together with the Faunus Rights Revolution.

These masks belonged to the White Fang, a fact that was only reinforced when the top the crate was pried open and a large folded flag with their iconic symbol was displayed. Only instead of the original white canine's head within a matching circle, this one was blood red atop of three red claw marks upon a black background.

This was a symbol of their new radicalized outlook.

"Get off me," the man pinned to the ground snarled, struggling to escape Auburn's hold but it was futile. His hands were like iron, clamping down hard enough to bruise. The man's hood shifted and Jaune spied a mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

"Shut your mouth before I knock those fangs of yours down your throat," Auburn said calmly in contrast to the words he spoke, making the threat all the more potent.

There was a sudden tension in the air as Red bent down and picked up one of the masks.

"Great," he said, voice filled with contempt. "This is all we need," he threw the mask at the restrained man. "Take your extremist views and fuck off out of our city."

There was a murmur of assent by all of those gathered. It appeared that the faunus of Vale didn't abide by the new White Fang – or at the very least, the ones that were gathered here didn't.

"What's the meaning of this?" their boss marched over, took one look at the flag and masks, and aged twenty years. He sighed, a wrinkled hand stroking his whiskers. "And today was going so well. Call the cops and the city guard, they'll want to see this."

It wasn't just masks and flags. A couple of the other crates were filled with weapons; rifles, pistols, bladed weaponry – and Dust. Mostly in the form of ammunition but there were also canisters filled with powdered fire, water, ice and lightning.

Umber frowned. "How the hell were they planning to get this through the checks?"

The answer went unspoken.

If they had someone on the inside, then it was possible. A customs agent, or one of their own. The latter was more likely, a sympathizer to the cause; a faunus. That made for an awkward end to his shift.

Clocking out, Jaune almost missed her as he stepped out onto the street. If it had been anyone else, he just may have, his mind lingering on the crate of White Fang paraphernalia, but Nora was not the type of girl to go ignored. Dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a tight pink top and matching sneakers, she waved happily and bounced over to him, beaming.

"Hiya~!"

Jaune blinked, startled.

"Nora? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, silly? I'm here to pick you up from work."

Apparently this was something he should have foreseen? Though this was the first time she'd been waiting for him to clock off, something he made sure to mention.

Nora waved his words away, unconcerned. "That was then and this is now. Live in the moment, Jaune-Jaune."

"You were just bored, weren't you?"

Nora tried to act indignant but she couldn't remove the smile from her face. "So what if I was? Does that matter?"

"No, I suppose it doesn't."

"Blake is reading her funky books, ya know – the porn," Nora fell into step with him, drawing her fair share of eyes. Not just because she was a human in a predominantly faunus area but because of certain… assets that she possessed. "Just casually reading that in our room, getting horny. Isn't she something, huh?"

"They aren't really porn," Jaune attempted to defend. "Right? It's just… romance novels."

"Adult romance novels," Nora said pointedly, jabbing him on the arm. "What do you think they do in those books? Join the workforce at seventeen, work themselves to the bone without days off for sickness or vacation, only to barely make rent and if they're lucky, buy a house when they're sixty after gambling their life savings in a get rich scheme?"

That was… awfully specific.

"It's all about sex, Jaune," Nora said seriously, brow furrowed. "Sex! And from what I saw when I took a little peeksie, it is steamy, degenerate sex~!"

Jaune covered her mouth, feeling self conscious as he felt her soft, moist lips against his palm. "Nora, not so loud! People might hear you."

From the expressions worn by a few people close by, they had definitely heard her.

Nora removed his hand, snickering. "You should have seen it. It was about some girl ninja who infiltrated a castle to kill the lord but she hesitated because he was so handsome, and he turned the tables on her. Captured, she could nothing as the torture began."

"Torture?"

"He'd touch her and stuff," Nora shrugged. "But only enough to get the engine revving, if you know what I mean? Leaving her frustrated. He did that for like a month or something until she broke and begged him to ravish her. There was bondage and stuff like that, not really my type of thing."

But apparently Blake was into that stuff. Jaune sighed, wiping his hand against his pants. That was probably something he didn't need to know about his teammate.

"What about Weiss?"

"She was doing her homework," Nora rolled her eyes. "We really need to get her out, that girl spends all her free time studying and training. I thought she would get mad at Blake reading those books near her but strangely, she didn't seem to care."

"Does she know what they're about?"

"Hmm," Nora tapped her chin with a finger, thinking. "Probably not. I guess that makes sense. If she did, they'd be having a fight for sure."

It didn't take much for either girl to get riled up by the other, though a friendship was beginning to form. Slowly. Painstakingly. But it was there.

"Blake sure likes to live dangerously, though," Nora said. "If Weiss finds out that she's been reading porn around her all this time, she'll flip."

Jaune would give much to be a fly on the wall if that ever happened.

They made their way up the street and when Jaune sighted a familiar diner, he asked, "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

Nora shook her head. "Nope~! Want to get something to eat?"

Jaune nodded. "I know a place. Come on."

Nora's eyes widened as they entered, taking in the checkered floors and cushioned stools. The lunch rush was just beginning and it was getting busy, but they found a spot at the counter and sat together.

"The food is really good here," Jaune said. "I come here all the time."

Nora grabbed a menu and started reading, and a familiar faunus approached with a wide smile on her face.

"Jaune," she said warmly, her wings ruffling behind her back. Melody placed the rag she was carrying down on the counter. "What can I get you, darling?"

"Just the usual," he replied. He had taken a liking to their bacon and egg burger.

Pulling out a notepad, she began scribbling down his order. "Shake and pie, as well?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And what will the young lady be having?" she turned her attention to Nora, curious. "I've never seen Jaune come by with someone else before. I'm glad to see he has made friends."

Nora beamed, offering a hand. Jaune thought it held a hint of cheekiness as she introduced herself, "I'm Nora – Nora Valkyrie. I'm Jaune's partner."

Melody's eyes widened in delight. "Oh? I see he works fast, doesn't he? What a charmer," Melody shook Nora's hand. "My name is Melody, deary."

"Isn't he?" Nora giggled.

Yeah, he should have known. Nora winked his way, appearing very pleased with herself. Jaune opened his mouth to correct the misunderstanding but instead just sighed, letting it go.

"And what will you be having?"

Nora hummed as she scanned the menu. "I think I'll just have what Jaune's having."

"Bacon and egg burger, fries, chocolate shake and a slice of lemon meringue pie," Melody listed quickly. "That not too much for you?"

Nora squared her shoulders and puffed out her chest. "Never."

"Coming right up," Melody tore out the page and began making her way back to the kitchen.

"She's nice," Nora said when she was gone.

"Yeah," Jaune nodded. "She is."

"And now she thinks we're an item," Nora gave him a sly glance, nudging him in the ribs with an elbow. "So – this a date?"

Jaune nudged her back and they engaged in a brief war of elbows, the pair smiling uncontrollably as they vied for control. Her laughter filled the diner, drawing more than a few eyes.

"I guess it is," he finally answered, narrowing his eyes briefly. "That is, if you're okay with that?"

"Yep~!" she jabbed him one more time before retreating. "Just don't get any ideas, buster. I don't kiss on the first date," she teased.

He knew that she was just messing around but Jaune couldn't deny that having a pretty girl say these things didn't make his heart race a little bit. His eyes lingered on her glossy lips and the side profile of her slender neck, her short ginger hair tucked neatly behind her ear. Turquoise eyes glittered with amusement as she eyed him back, those lovely lips stretching into a smirk.

"What?" she asked playfully.

"Nothing," he said, letting out a little laugh. "Just thinking I'm glad you're my partner."

She appeared surprised for an instant, her cheeks warming. "Aww, shucks. You're gonna make me blush."

Their meals were delivered by a cat faunus, her long, black tail swishing behind her back, matching the color of her pitch black hair, pulled up in a traditional ponytail. Nora said her thanks before digging in, grabbing her burger in both hands and taking a large bite, the runny egg spilling over.

"Mmm~!" she moaned as she chewed before swallowing. "This is good."

"Told ya," he popped a few fries into his mouth, enjoying the crunch.

They didn't speak again until both of their burgers were devoured and a good portion of their fries. Nora was a ketchup girl and had squirted a good helping of the sauce across her fries in long crimson stripes.

"I noticed that all the people here are faunus," she said idly, meeting his eyes. "The staff, the customers – even at your work. I saw a few humans around but…"

"Yeah, the community around here is pretty much all faunus," he confirmed.

Her brow furrowed. "Are they forced to live here?"

He shook his head. "Nah, apparently this is just where they all settled ages ago. Melody was the one that told me all about it, actually. It's an older part of the city but it's well maintained, and they sort of just… stayed here. Formed a community here. They can live elsewhere but I think a lot of the faunus that immigrate to Vale end up here because of the support from their own people."

Her face cleared. "Ah, right."

Jaune gave her a curious look. "Something wrong?"

"Not really, it's just… in Mistral, they aren't very nice to the faunus."

In the month that Jaune had known her, Nora hadn't spoken about her past often. Ren was the same. He'd been able to glean a few things but nothing specific.

"I've never been," Jaune confessed.

"We stayed in Mistral for a short time," Nora sipped on her milkshake. "Ren and I – we didn't like it very much. On the surface, it's a very beautiful, peaceful place."

"Only on the surface?"

Nora nodded grimly. "Crime is rampant in the lower tiers of the city and many of the undesirables are forced to live there. That's where most of the faunus who live in Mistral are, and half the stores refuse to serve them. And I'm not just talking about clothing stores, either. Doctors refuse to treat them, grocers won't sell them fruit and vegetables, and even if somehow, they manage to get a prescription, the pharmacies won't dispense medication…"

Jaune frowned. "That… sounds awful."

"If they're in the upper levels, they're watched by police everywhere they go, and almost no stores up there will let them enter," Nora continued, looking more than a little upset. "The only place we saw that faunus gathered and they weren't judged was at Haven Academy. Our plan was to enroll there first but… after seeing Mistral, we changed our minds. That city is rotten at its core."

"...so you like Vale better, then?"

"A lot better," she confirmed with a nod. "I'm sure they have their problems, no place is perfect… but it's so much nicer here than in Mistral," she then rolled her eyes. "And they wonder why they have such a problem with the White Fang. Maybe if they didn't treat faunus so badly, things wouldn't have gotten to the point they're at."

"They have a lot of trouble with the White Fang?"

"When we were there, they were still protesting peacefully," Nora said, sighing. "We saw a few rallies and people would throw things at them. Rotten food, rocks – anything they could get their hands on, really. The police usually broke up any protests after that, to 'maintain' the peace but I'm pretty sure the higher ups told them to just get rid of the problem."

Jaune grabbed a spoon and sliced a helping of his pie free, popping it into his mouth. The sour tartness settled on his tongue alongside the mild sweetness, the crust buttery and soft, crumbling away in his mouth. Chewing, he swallowed, debating something.

"At work today," he began. "We found something. Someone was trying to smuggle in weapons."

Nora perked up. "Oh?"

"But not just weapons," he set his spoon down. "There were masks. Grimm masks."

He saw the moment understanding settled within her, Nora's face tightening. "Oh."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence, thinking. Nora finished her milkshake and started on her pie, making a sound of delight as she ate a spoonful, and then another, and another. Jaune grinned, eating more of his pie until their plates were clear of food. Jaune sucked on his straw until he got nothing but air.

"So the White Fang are here," Nora stated.

"Seems that way, yeah."

"And we're learning about them in class."

"Yeah."

Nora pulled a face. "Feels a little weird."

Jaune laughed lightly. "Yeah, it does feel a little weird."

Nora stared at the counter, contemplating it. "Do you think they are planning something?"

"Probably. You don't try to sneak weapons into a city if you aren't, right?"

Melody returned to gather their plates and picked up on their strange mood at once.

"Everything okay?" she asked with genuine concern.

Jaune smiled. "Yeah, just talking about school stuff," he then pulled out his wallet, sliding enough lien across the counter to pay for both meals. "Here. Keep the change."

"Hey, wait," Nora tried to stop him but he just shook his head.

"I should pay for my partner, right?" he said pointedly, grinning. Nora pouted at him.

"And who said romance is dead?" Melody said with laughter in her voice. "Thank you, Jaune."

"No problem. Tell your son that the food was amazing, as always."

"Will do, young man. Stay safe. Nice to meet you, Nora."

"Nice to meet you too, ma'am."

When they stepped out onto the street, Nora pinched his side. Jaune jolted, startled.

"Ouch, what was that for?"

"No reason," she said, lip sticking out. "So – did you report it to the cops?"

"Yeah, the police and the city guard were notified. I'm going to report it to Beacon, as well. Just in case, you know?"

Nora nodded. "Good idea. I'd take it to Goodwitch. She'll handle it."

The subject of the White Fang had put a little bit of a damper on things but Jaune was unwilling to let it fester. Clapping his hands together, he grinned when Nora jumped a little from the unexpected sound.

"Jaune?"

"How about we explore Vale a little? You came down all this way, it would be a shame just to return to Beacon. You don't have anywhere to be, right?"

Nora blinked at him before smiling widely. "Sure~! Lead the way, leaderman."

It wasn't until early evening as the sun began to set that they returned to Beacon.

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