27

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Pyrrha smiled to herself, rocking about gently with the horse's swaying movements and looking at the trees around her, across the open fields where the wilder forest met the more tamed grass. Prepared for farming, whenever the time came, or left to become wild once more when a nearby village was abandoned due to a Grimm threat, she couldn't tell. A part of her, the more civilized part the Human from Vacuo? It was pleased by the order, the promise of food and celebration when the seeds bore fruit and the harvest came in.

The not-quite-magic part of her? That part of her destroyed and replaced by the Maiden's gifts and curses? It was pleased to see nature taking back what was stolen from her. A conflict in duality, and one she felt accustomed to.

She pulled at the horse's reins, eyes narrowing at a small girl sitting alone in the middle of the road. Crying. No sign of parents anywhere near here, or anyone else at all. Just a small girl, crying alone in the middle of nowhere. Looking from side to side, she saw no sign of a trick, or an ambush. No bandits with anxious new blood on the front lines shifting in the bushes, thinking they wouldn't be seen by "anyone except a Huntress." Those were common on these older, more remote roads. Half naked women weeping and crying of rape, dressed up men and women acting as routed soldiers and flagging down people for aid, and lost kids hurt on the road.

She took two steps and the girl looked up, her legs pulling against her chest and lips quivering naturally. Too naturally for her to be in on a trap, she'd be more panicked if she were kidnapped. She smiled, walking towards her and taking a knee in front of her, watching for any shift in her posture or hint that someone was coaching her. A father, perhaps, who'd had a child and decided to use her as bait. She'd not respond with fear towards a parent, but she would look for him as a guide.

The girl shifted away, looking first at her and then at her horse. Her eyes widened slightly at seeing it and a small smile threatened to break before she returned her eyes to Pyrrha's, and the Maiden's mind was made. Not a planted child, a stolen one or anything of that sort. "Are you alright?" She whispered, reaching behind herself and fishing out an apple, offering it to the girl with a smile, "Are you hungry?"

Behind the girl, a cloud of dust was tossed up, and the maiden's eyes shot to it as the girl reached for the apple. She looked at the girl, and leapt back as the child vanished from her sight.

Pyrrha shot up in her bed, blanket flying across the room and hitting the wall in a ball, pushed onwards by air currents she hadn't meant to summon or direct and lit by flames that smoldered it slightly before dying. Nora and Ren were on their feets before the blanket had slid all the way down the wall, eyes hard and fists raised defensively. Looking for all the world like they were ready for battle, unarmed and half naked as Nora was and entirely unarmed as Ren was.

Nora, at least, had her fists and muscles the size of a baby's head.

It took them only a moment to look to Pyrrha, curled into a ball in the corner of her bed, forehead pressed against her knees and legs tucked against her chest. Her shoulders shook slightly, and Nora went to her side, wrapping an arm around her gently. She flinched and looked at Nora, eyes watering slightly before she leaned into the crook of her neck and let out a shaky breath, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"Pyrrha, since when can you light things on fire?" Nora asked quietly, reaching up with a hand to brush at her hair gently, "Since when do you have nightmares as well? You never did before Jaune..."

"Was taken." Ren finished, sitting at the end of the bed and leaning his elbows on his knees, looking over at his nightstand and checking the time. Only six in the morning, on the nose. He sighed. It had been such a nice, quiet day too… "Your semblance is Polarity, Pyrrha. Not… fire manipulation, or wind manipulation, or anything else you've been displaying over the last week. What is going on?"

Pyrrha was quiet for a long time, and Nora almost opened her mouth to yell at Ren. Tell him not to push her when she was like this, and that is when Pyrrha spoke, "I'm not allowed to tell you… Ozpin said I couldn't, or it would risk your lives."

"We're student at an academy to kill monsters, and have trained for a decade already to that end." Nora said brightly, Pyrrha looking up at her bright, smiling face beaming down at her, "There is absolutely, positively nothing you can tell us that would be more of a threat than our day jobs are."

Pyrrha pressed her face harder into Nora's neck, taking in a long breath before speaking, "We have to go to Ozpin, I… I can't explain it all the right way." Ren looked at Nora, and nodded, and the ginger gave the redhead's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"We'll go see him in the afternoon then." Nora said happily, "Today we're having a slumber party! Ren, go get us some pancakes!"

"It'll be ten before they're done… And it's morning already, you can't have a slumber party in the morning, Nora."

"The Queen has spoken!" Nora squealed, bouncing on the bed next to Pyrrha and making her do the same with the arm wrapped around her shoulders. Ren just sighed tiredly.

"I'll be back in a little while." Left unspoken was the instruction he had for Nora. She smiled at him, and he nodded at Pyrrha. She smiled and nodded back, completely understanding the instruction.

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Jaune, Banesaw and Adam stood in front of a large, heavy cell door. Thick, made of solid steel and bolted on all sides with a small electronic lock. A soldier was kneeling, a small computer propped in his lap while he tried to open the door. It had been almost an hour already, and when Jaune turned his head he could see Neo at the end of the hall, laying down with her legs on the wall like she was sitting on the floor, only turned on the side.

Finally they heard a muted buzz, and the Faunus short, poofy tail whipped to the side, "Got it." "About damn time too…"

Adam pushed him aside impatiently, the wiry man stumbling at the force, and Banesaw caught him with a single meaty arm. He grunted a, "Good work." And nudged him away, the Faunus making his way down the hall towards the exit.

Adam's fingers wrapped around the door handle and he jerked his head at Jaune, the large Banesaw stepping beside him and resting a hand on his shoulder threateningly before Adam looked at him. Unsaid was the obvious.

A trap on the other side of the door would make him their enemy, and he'd be the first body on the floor.

It swung open onto the bland, almost empty cell, and he felt Adam's relief when Blake spoke, "Adam? You came to get me?" "Ozpin told me you would, but after the train…" Disbelief hit Jaune along with relief and trepidation, and Adam stepped further into the room, watching her closely and working his fingers along the sheath of his blade. "Adam?"

"It's… good to see you're alright, Blake. When I heard what had happened, I started making preparations to come and get you." He visibly stiffened and stared into a corner, anxiety rolling off him, "If you do not wish to stay with the White Fang," "With me," "I have made will be taken to your family, under White Fang guard until you reach them, and protected."

He felt Blake honestly consider it for the shortest moment as she stood, fingers barely holding her off the wall she was leaning against, "I don't want to leave." "If I leave without Ozpin's help, I'll be a terrorist for my entire life…" Her eyes fell on Jaune, and she played the part of being surprised, leaning forward and tilting her head slightly, "Jaune? Jaune Arc? Is that actually you?"

"Uh, yeah. Hey, Blake?" He said awkwardly, smiling nervously, "How, uh, how you doing?"

"I'm at an Atlesian outpost, in prison, that was just attacked by White Fang terrorists… I'm doing just perfectly." "I'm… Well enough now, I suppose, all things considered." She said quietly, looking back at Adam with a raised eyebrow, "You admit Humans into the White Fang now, Adam? I thought you were against the idea."

"I am." He grunted, shoulders relaxing and smiling softly as he let the idea of her staying sink in, "He is one of the pawns of an… assistant we have joined with, for lack of a better term." "If what that woman does could count as assistance in the end." "He works for her, and came with us to help with your rescue." Neo chose that moment to round the corner ad hop on Jaune's back, wrapping her legs around his chest and pressing her breasts against the back of his head, "Her too." "As much as she annoy everyone I know."

"I see." Blake muttered quietly, "I thought he'd been taken against his will?" "If he hasn't been here against his will… Ozpin needs to know." "Was that a ploy then?"

"Don't know for sure." Banesaw interrupted in his gravelly voice, jerking his head at the girl on Jaune's back, an odd sensation flowing from him whenever he looked at Blake. "She was assigned to stay with him by the bitch, though. Rumor says they're in bed together now." "I doubt he'd screw the midget if she was his kidnapper." "Other than that, we don't know the specifics. Just that she took him from Beacon."

"He's sleeping with her? I definitely need to pass a message to Ozpin." She looked at him, eyes appraising him closely, and he tried his best not to blink or react to her. He had to pass muster in front of the other two, that had priority for now, "I see. Well, so long as he is useful, I suppose I see no harm in letting him help us." She smiled cockily, resting a hand on her hip and cocking it slightly, "I always told you we should admit Humans who were sympathetic to our cause."

Adam grunted, turning to address Banesaw instead of Blake's comment, "Have the men hurry and finish looting here, we have to get out of the area before Atlas' response forces show up to investigate why the base went silent." "They'd have arrived already if the base had gotten of a distress signal." "Weapons and ammo, then armor and rations. Set bombs as we leave, same as always."

"Understood." Banesaw grunted, pushing past Jaune and out the door. Jaune could hear him barking orders from the end of the hall and shifted uncomfortably.

"Should I…?" Jaune started, gesturing at the door in a way that asked if he should help Banesaw in some way.

"No." Adam grunted shortly, sighing and looking at him, "Banesaw... Distrusts you. He thinks you're hiding something from us, something dangerous. Honestly, he thought you'd betray us when we got to the fort." "As did quite a good number of others… Or me for that matter." "Give him air and space, to accept that you didn't, Human."

"Not all Humans are evil, Adam." Blake said quietly, grimacing when his head snapped to her.

"Says the woman who attacked Goodwitch?" He asked hotly, sighing when she looked away bashfully and sighing, "I… am beginning to see that Humans can be trusted, so long as they're under our rules." He looked at Jaune, inclining his head indicatively, "Yo ad no reason to help my soldiers, after all. Cinder certainly did not do so."

"I'm not like Cinder." Jaune grumbled, Neo poking his head until he looked up, pink eyes staring at him close enough that their noses touched. He could sense her teasing tone behind it, and simply raised an eyebrow. "What?" She shrugged, pecking him on the cheek and dropping off of him, bouncing on her feet next to him and looking at Blake curiously, "Neo, could you behave for three seconds?"

"Nah~!" She quipped to him, shaking her head and bouncing closer to Blake.

"Um, hello?" The Faunus murmured when Neo got close to her, their noses nearly touching. Blake's bow twitched on her head slightly and she looked at Jaune over the smaller woman's head, "Jaune? A little help?" "This girl is very strange..." "What is she doing, exactly?"

"Getting to know her." Neo answered, stepping around her quickly, looking her over, "Roman partnered me to you, she's your friend, so she's my friend too unless she causes you problems."

"That's her way of… getting to know you, I guess." Blake raised an eyebrow and tilted her head, opening her mouth to say something just as Neo stepped behind her and reached around her stomach to squeeze a breast.

"W-What the hell?" She practically squeaked, spinning and kicking the girl. Neo shattered at the impact, and Jaune felt the girl land on his shoulders, sitting comfortably and folding her arms over her head as a pillow while she giggled muely. "You little…" "The bitch just groped me!"

She looked to Adam who, while looking and feeling to Jaune as pissed as Bake was, simply shook his head and sighed, "That is why everyone finds her so annoying. She likes to get under people's skin." "The situation hardly ever matters really…" "She lacks any decorum, respect or discipline at all."

"I think he just wants to discipline me~" He heard from Neo, kicking her feet gently off his breastplate. He looked up at her, the girl grinning at him like a cheshire cat, "Aren't you going to defend me?"

"Don't look at me, you're the one who molested someone." He said with a sigh, trying his best to ignore the thighs on either side of his head. And failing, of course, which he could sense was the girl's intent from doing it. "You should apologize to Blake when we get back and you have your Scroll."

"She won't." Adam grunted with a sigh, turning and walking towards the door, "We have much to do before the Atlesians show up, or worse, the Grimm." "I don't have enough Huntsmen trained warriors to stop a Grimm assault." "We need to take what is ours and leave, before we are attacked."

Jaune and Blake followed him, flanking on either side and the young Arc carrying the smallest of them on his shoulders. The two followed Adam past White Fang soldiers carrying damaged drones that could be salvaged, weapons that could as well, and loading them into crates and then bulbous transport ships. None acknowledged them as they walked, and Jaune understood from their thoughts that it was because Adam would dislike it.

A small ship was waiting slightly further away from the others, the one that he'd initially rode from Beacon. Outside it, Emerald, Mercury and Cinder were milling about, and the latter smiled at his approach, Jaune, dear. Tell me, how did everything go?" "Well, I suppose it went as planned, since Adam didn't gut you and you're still here."

"He helped us take the base, and locate Blake. As planned, Cinder." Adam runted, gesturing at the suddenly anxious young woman behind him before turning around. "Let's go, Blake, I need to reacquaint you with our protocols. Things have been…. Updated a fair bit, since you left us." "The less said on that departure, the better…"

"One thing before you go, Adam." Cinder said quickly, smiling warmly when the Faunus turned to look at her, "We are moving up our departure. We'll be leaving immediately, not the end of the week. My Mistress has commanded it, and so we must comply." "Just in case Belladonna isn't quite the defector you suspect."

Jaune swallowed nervously, and could feel Neo's steadily growing anxiety echoe into him, feeding off it and growing more worried himself. ,"W-Why are we leaving so early? I had hoped to stay with Neo a little longer in our room."

"Did you forget? I said she could come with us when we left." She smiled, and Jaune grimaced lightly. "And I'll make sure you have a private room, just for the two of you, when we reach my Mistress' palace. One does not keep the Queen waiting." She strode toward him, laying a hand on his shoulder, "Our Queen, now, Jaune. I will insure that the whole world knos where your loyalties are." "If you don't want villages across remnant to burn, that is." "I do hope you hadn't forgotten my offer." "Or my threats behind it."

He had forgotten she'd said those, for just a moment in the heat of the fighting and... everything after. Unfortunately for him, she hadn't.

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Raven Branwen sat on a rock, legs crossed and fists resting on them while she watched the White Fang mill about the base. Her masked face turned to watch Tai Yang smash a leg down and crush an Ursa's skull in, Qrow spinning his scythe to bypass its other easily. He saw her looking and smiled widely, flashing a thumbs up at her. They were in a small clearing, barely four feet in any direction and easily hidden from the White Fang far below and far they hadn't even been able to hear the gunshots as more than muted heartbeats, banging away in the forest and against the trees like ribs.

She jerked her mask back to face the base, smiling thinly despite herself beneath the mask, "They are almost done with the base and will depart soon, I feel." Tai plopped down at the base of the rock in front of her and grunted, "You were slower in that fight than I remember, Tai Yang. Stumbled no less than five times from what I saw, and allowed the Grimm to land seventeen hits."

"It's been… a very, very long time since I went out into the field." He said, sighing and scratching his head with a chided smile, "I kept in shape, training and all that, but… It's not the same as Hunting, you know?"

"Told you you'd get rusty, holed up in your house and only ever fightin' your kids and whatever pathetic pack of Beowolfs showed up nearby." Qrow grumbled, planting his scythe in the ground with a twirl and leaning against it, fishing for his flask with his other hand, "Tried to get you out with me, too, but you were always 'busy'."

"I was 'busy' with my family, Qrow, and you know that." He argued quietly, crossing his arms and leaning his head against the rock with his eyes closed, "Someone had to cook their meals and tuck them in at night, and I'm the only one who was available."

"Not the only one, Tai." Qrow grunted, tossing his sister a meaningful look that she ignored, "And I know you did. I put food in the fridge and you put it on the table. Worked wonders on 'em, and now they're all growed up."

"They're still small." Raven said quietly, shaking her helmeted head slightly, "Weak, and small. If you'd let me take Yang, then she'd be able to-"

"I said you couldn't have her unless you stayed, and meant it." Tai Yang growled roughly, eyes scrunching in anger even though they were still closed, "I don't regret it, and would do it again. Bandits and murderers aren't among the people I want near my family, Rae."

Silence reigned for a few moments before Raven spoke again, quietly, "Are you ever going to tell her that that is why I have never spoken to her?" Her red eyed helmet turned to stare down at his closed eyes, and he cracked one to look at her, "She is my daughter, I do not wish her to think that I hate her."

"Leave your band of murdering psychopaths, and help Ozpin bring them all in, and I'll let you tell it however you want." Tai Yang said tersely, smiling pleasantly and looking her in the eyes. He couldn't see them, of course, but knew where they were. "That was the deal fourteen years ago, and is the only one you will ever, ever have."

She snarled quietly, turning to look at Qrow beside her, "And you? Will you leave my daughter to hate her mother because of er father's lies?" He shrugged uncaringly and the woman stood, "Then perhaps Ruby Rose would like to know about a few other of his lies."

Her hand flicked out, a portal bursting to life behind a tree to hide it, and Tai Yang bolted upright and grabbed her wrist, "The only reason Ozpin doesn't hunt down your family himself is because of my word. A favor to me." His eyes were hard and face tense, his voice matching, "You leave now, and I will tell him to slaughter them all."

"There are innocents among us." She murmured quietly, jerking her hand from his grip, "Women who are nothing but wives, men and women both who are just healers and menders of equipment."

"They treat men and women who slaughter actual innocents, sleep with them, and help them stay armed and ready to do it." Qrow said lowly, sighing and shaking his head with arms cross, "According to international law, which has jurisdiction here, unless they are slaves - which I know they aren't, I was with them just like you - they are aiding and abetting. Just as guilty as if they'd acted themselves."

"Every single Kingdom would dispatch Hunters and soldiers alike, hunt them down, and execute them all." Tai said lowly, glaring at her and taking a step back, "And I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep. Wiping them out would save hundreds of lives, if not more than that."

"Fine." Raven finally relented, staring at the ground with trembling shoulders, "I will hold my tongue, for my family. Because that's what families do. Sacrifice, for one another." she met Tai Yang's gaze once more, "Compromise, when people disagree."

"You left my family a long time ago." He said simply, shrugging lightly and turning to head into the woods. "You're always welcome to decide to come back, but you know what you'll have to sacrifice for your daughter."

"Like Qrow did?" She snapped lightly, drawing her blade and following him at a small distance, shooting her brother a heated glance from inside the mask.

"Yes." He said simply, rolling his shoulders and slamming a palm into his fist, "Now come on, we have to make another round before they leave, at least. Make sure they get out without any holdups, Ozpin can't keep General Iron Dick back forever." He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, "I'll… At least let you have some new pictures, you probably don't have any fresh ones."

"...Thank you, Tai." She said weakly, sighing and drawing a fresh Dust blade from her sheath.

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"Straighten your back." Winter snapped, stepping in and wrapping an arm around Weiss' chest to hold it still while she used the other to adjust her waist. She stepped back, appraising Weiss' ready stance as she circled her, "Better."

"Thank you, Sister." Weiss said appreciatively, smiling in spite of her burning arm, though despite the fatigue she made sure Myrtenaster never shook.

Winter hummed a response, circling for another minute before smiling herself slightly, "You may rest now, Weiss." The girl let the rapier drop, shoulders bobbing slightly and breathing heavily, smiling at her sister widely, "You did well, Weiss. Better than before, if not yet perfect. You are improving splendidly at Beacon, and I am glad to see it."

"I am trying my best, Sister. My team is helping me in every way they can. One of them was helping me get better on my endurance… problems." Weiss sighed slightly, sliding Myrtenaster into her belt and straightening, "She's… been distracted lately, unfortunately."

"By Belladonna's betrayal?" Winter asked quietly, watching the younger Schnee grimace and cross her arms under her bust.

"I should have known… Father was right, Faunus can't be trusted." Winter's smile died instantly, settling into a stormy look that Weiss couldn't see with her back facing her. The younger girl walked to the end of the small patio, looking out at the forests far below the cliffside, "This room is wonderful, I didn't even know it existed."

Winter hesitated for a moment before smoothing her face into a calmer expression, clasping her arms behind her and moving to join her sister, "It is a small, personal dining room for the staff and visiting officials to meet and talk." She looked at her sister, eyes searching her face as she stared at the shifting trees in the moonlight, "Father was not right, Weiss."

"But Blake-"

"Is a terrorist, yes. But not because every Faunus is evil, or cruel, or backwards. Not innately." She sighed, watching Weiss' shocked face for several seconds before unclasping her arms, sighing, and leaning on the windowsill to look out on the forest, "There is but one creature who is truly innately evil, vile and twisted. The Grimm. People, Faunus included, are… complicated."

"That's not what Father says." Weiss argued simply, turning to look at the forest, "He says they are liars, thieves, and killers. Blake lied about what she was for weeks, Winter. Weeks. Then, she fled and too k refuge with another Faunus named Sun, a thief. Then, later, she attempted to kill Headmistress Goodwitch." She turned bodily to look at Winter and the older Schnee matched the movement, "She's a liar and a killer, and Sun is a thief that she stayed with. I guarantee he bought her food and drink with stolen Lien, and that makes her a thief as well. So, Sister, where is he wrong?"

Winter was quiet for a long time before sighing, starting to unbutton her dress coat, "Do you remember my first operation, as a Junior Specialist?"

"Yes." She said confusedly, watching her sister shed the coat and start unbuttoning her dress shirt, "I remember you took months on it, and couldn't tell me why. Father was furious that you were gone so long, but he wouldn't say why either."

She shed the shirt, laying it on the chair pressed against the wall with her coat and looked at her sister, standing only in her black bra, "My mission was classified, and still is. I can't give you any specific details. Do you understand me, Weiss?" The younger girl nodded, and Winter turned around.

A lattice of scars stretched across her skin, thin pink lines in the pale flesh starting just under the collar of her shirt and jacket and just above her waist. They were, all of them, no more than two centimeters thick. Most, though, were as long or wide as her back, depending on if they ran horizontally, diagonally or vertically. In the center of her shoulder blades, a fist sized pink scar sat. Weiss' jaw dropped, a hand reaching out to touch the largest scar almost disbelievingly.

"What happened?"

"I was captured." Winter explained simply, eyes squeezed shut and breathing shakily, "They took me into an old warehouse where I was deployed. They kept me down there, chained, and starved me for weeks. When they finally gave me a bowl of broth and bread…" She sighed,m shaking her head and looking over her shoulder to see her sister's face, "It was laced with a very rare toxin named Metocilia. It stops Aura regeneration for weeks, and all it takes is a few ounces for the effect to last the duration."

"Once they were sure I'd eaten a few day's worth of meals dosed with it… They came in, seven of them. Overpowered me, dragged me to another room. They beat me with rods and chains until my Aura shattered, then choked me into unconsciousness," She reached down and picked her shirt on, pulling it on and buttoning it up as she turned, "I awoke in my pants and my pants alone, tied with my chest against a metal slab. A woman came in, explained that they knew who I was. A Schnee. She… told me she was sorry, that she understood I wasn't my father."

"Why was she sorry?" Weiss asked quietly, hands clasping under her chin anxiously. Part of her knew why, the scars had come from somewhere and Winter hadn't told her where yet.

"She said that the men had wanted to… use me, send me to Father as a message." Winter smiled almost appreciatively and sighed, "She had refused them that, said it was barbaric. Instead, she said, they'd cut me." Her hard eyes met Weiss' trembling ones, "Aura can heal wounds and prevent scarring even when it's down. Did you know that?"

"Yes… Professor Peach told us about it, said that's why Hunter teams were issued stabilizing kits for Kingdom missions." Weiss said quickly, the academics slipping out in a rush on instinct. She smiled apologetically at the elder Schnee's amused smirk and raised eyebrow, "I… pay attention in the medical courses."

"You enjoy them." WInter observed, before her smirk vanished, "But back to my story. A simple cut won't, usually, scar unless the Aura is blocked from healing it. Psychology can affect it, which is why some wounds scar." A hand reached out to brush at Weiss' own scar over her eye, "Sometimes, we want them."

"I didn't-"

"It isn't conscious, Weiss, and I approve. It suits you." The had dropped, ad Winter plucked the coat from the chair, "The other way is to have the same wound inflicted, over, and over, and over. For weeks longer, I stayed on that slab. And she cut me, let the wounds heal over partially, then cut me all intersected at the center of my back, making one large scar. That woman, I never learned her name before my trainer finally found us and slit her throat. She was a Human."

"What does that have to do with the Faunus?" Weiss asked quietly, the elder Schnee smirking again.

"The man who saved my life, who disobeyed orders to consider me dead and return to Atlas?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms beneath her considerable bust, "He was a Faunus, one who'd lost everything to our company as a child and risen above it. He was almost discharged for what he did, saving my life."

"A… Faunus…" Weiss' eyes widened and she looked up at Winter in realization, "After that mission, you and Father started having your disagreements. You were disinherited officially a week after returning home. Because you…"

"Fought with him over the Faunus?" She smiled warmly, almost laughing at the memory, "Yes. I refused to allow him to talk down on the man who had risked everything to save a woman he barely knew beyond the fact that her family had ruined his own. Simply because he had a tail."

"I…" Weiss sighed and grimaced, "I understand, Sister. Father… I suppose what Blake did shook me, made me think in the wrong way."

"It is understandable, Weiss." Winter said quietly, looking at the girl for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her. Weiss stiffened in surprise before she laid her head on her sister's chest, smiling and closing her eyes, "You were hurt by your friend's actions. Or who you thought was a friend, at least. But you can't allow what one does to affect your beliefs about everyone."

"Like Father does." Weiss agreed with a sigh, the elder Schnee pulling back. "Thank you, for correcting me, Sister."

"I didn't correct you." She said, gripping her shoulders in her hand, "I told you a story. Go to the barracks, pick a soldier, and ask him for one? You might hear one like mine, or the opposite of mine. Make your own beliefs on the topic, Weiss. Not Father's and not mine, but yours."

"I understand, Sister… Thank you."

Weiss smiled, and Winter stepped back, clasping her arms behind her back, "You're welcome, Weiss. Now, shall we get some food, and practice your forms some more? Your foot spacing still requires work, it's far too stiff."

"Yes, Sister." Weiss smiled, looking at her, "I would appreciate the instructions, Sister."

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Jaune smiled unconsciously, Neo's head resting in his lap. The small girl, exhausted after the fighting and travel, had curled up with her forehead resting against his stomach shortly after their second trip began and fallen asleep. He'd wrapped an arm around her upper back to keep her there and started playing with her hair idly, both of which had roused pleasant dreams from the girl.

Which he, of course, was privy to thanks to his power. Neo had known that and gone to sleep there anyway, uncaring about it entirely. He… appreciated the kindness of it. The acceptance of what he could do.

"She's almost pleasant when she's sleeping like that," Cinder said almost sarcastically, legs crossed where she was sitting across from him and arms crossed under her bust. She was still wearing the dress she favored, and smiling cockily, "Do you enjoy her sleeping there?" "I would suppose you are used to her head being there at least…"

"She's dreaming, pleasantly, and I like it." He said quietly, looking at her flatly, "Please don't wake her up." He couldn't help but blush at her implication though, if only slightly, and Emerald laughed at the end of the crafter, sitting by the exist.

"What?" She asked when he glared at her, smiling widely and raising an eyebrow, "You act like such a virgin, for someone sleeping with the little psycho." His jaw worked slightly, a muscle bulging on his chin for a moment, "Oh? Did you forget what she did to your friend, the redhead?" "Cut her up like turkey." "I have pictures, if you-"

"Enough, Emerald." Cinder chided angrily, glaring at the girl balefully before looking to Jaune, "I'm sorry for her." "I'll strike her, if you wish."

"She's…" Jaune sighed, shaking his head, "As long as she doesn't wake Neo up, she can say whatever she damn well pleases." He looked at Emerald meaningfully, "Do that, and I'll smack her myself a few times."

"As if, you-"

"He will." Cinder cut across her, the young woman looking at her in surprise. "With my permission. Behave, Emerald, he's not your colleague." She smiled, a wicked thing on her face which was cold where warmth ought to have been, "He's mine, as of the moment we left the continent. And that makes him as much your superior as I am, dear Emerald." "Whether he wants to be, or not."

Sensing the stopping of Neo's dreams, he looked down at her. Pale white eyes shone at him, and he allowed the hand that had fisted in her hair unconsciously to relax. She reached up to give it a squeeze before snuggling back into his stomach and closing her eyes again while the blonde went back to playing with her hair.

Cinder was smiling even wider when he looked back at her, and he grimaced.

She'd trapped him pretty damn well alright, but he'd be damned if he didn't get something from this. The girl in his lap shifted slightly and sighed contentedly, and he smiled as her dreams began to return.

Even if what he wanted was hard to get, or a bit broken in a few ways, he'd be damned if he didn't get it.

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Salem turned to Watts, "Has everything Cinder recommended we purchase arrived yet?"

"Mostly, your Grace. The sped up timetable does mean a few items of less import are not going to be here, sadly." He sighed, hands spread apologetically and smiling thinly beneath his moustache, "I do apologize, your Grace. I will, of course, do my very best."

"As always, Doctor, as always." She said quietly, watching the Beringels carry in the furniture meant to decorate the once-empty room in the tower on the furthest east section of the castle. Closest to a forest, as she'd been told that the boy liked to look at the woods. Or, at least, was similar enough to where he'd grown up to be comforting.

Stepping inside, a Beringel turned and regarded her for a moment, "A little to the right, close to the door." It grunted, using one meaty arm to slide the red couch close. The room itself wasn't too grand, from what she'd been told grand would discomfort him. Thirty feet long and thirty wide, a bathroom at the back. The stone that it was made of was dark, but posters of caped idiots, to her at least, and bands, and books decorated the walls.

In the furthest right hand corner of the room from the door were two refrigerators and a freezer, stocked with drinks of every variety under the sun. More were stored nearby in a larder. A warm red carpet covered most of the floor, the edges of the room all that was left bare of the cloth. In the closest right hand of the room, a large television was mounted on the wall. The best brand, Watts had assured when she'd asked, with every game console and a copy of every game imaginable stored under it and ready for hook up and play. Couches, chairs and tables surrounded it, scattered around.

He'd have to finish that decorating on his own, she was useless for it as were most of her subjects.

The left of the room had a large table for them to eat on, with around ten chairs. For when the boy's friends were 'brought' to him, as much to please him as keep him in line.

Hearing three more Beringels approach along with Hazel's heavy steps, she smiled as pleasantly as she could and turned. The Beringels surrounded three young, attractive women in ridiculous frilly outfits, Hazel in front, "Got the servants you wanted for the kid. Watts suggested the outfits, said that the kid would like 'em."

The three women were terrified, more so when she regarded them. A blonde Faunus with small horns curling along the sides of her head, a redheaded Human and a brunette Human. She didn't know his preferences, and had instructed Hazel to be varied in his selections, though all were classically attractive.

"Do you three know why you are here?" The three women hesitated for a second before shaking their heads, arms curled around themselves and trembling as they looked at her. She looked at Hazel, standing beside her, and raised an eyebrow. He simply shrugged, and she sighed. He'd worked quickly, and with rushed works came mistakes and cut corners, "Very well. I am having a new... Friend moved in soon enough, within two days at the longest. You are to be his servants."

The Faunus slowly raised a trembling hand, and Salem's brow arched elegantly before she gestured at her with a wave, "S-Serve how, m-ma'am?"

"First off, whenever you address me, you may address me as Your Grace, Highness or my Queen." She counted off the options on a hand, trying to look as pleasant as possible to avoid frightening the girls, "As for how you will serve, that is dependant on the young man who is coming. The basics are simple. Clean, do the dishes, wash his clothes."

"You'll be shown your working quarters by the Beringels, as well as where you will be staying." She gestured at the beasts and the women looked at the massive Grimm, visibly trembling, "Other duties depend on him. If he wishes to have you play games with him, do so. If he wishes a story read or told, you will leap at the occasion. And if he tells one of you to bend over a couch or get on your knees… Well."

She gestured at Hazel, who in turn gestured behind a Beringel where a small closet sat, "Extra clothes inside there for you, and mats for your knees if he wants you on 'em. Good for scrubbin' the floors too, and the extra clothes are nice if you mess yours up during the day."

"He is to be your every concern." She said imperiously, spreading her hands in front of her regally, "When he arrives, ask him how to address him, and never fail to do so. If he is unsure of how you should do sir, refer to him as 'Sir' or 'Master'. I care not which."

"The Grimm won't touch ya unless you try to run. We're on a separate continent, so you'll die anyways." Hazel added, arms crossed and assy voice thrumming next to her. "Fail to do as you ought, and we'll feed the Beo's with your sorry corpses."

Watts strode past the Beringels uncaringly, arms behind his back as he checked the room over to make sure everything was properly plugged in and not damaged, "If you make a break for it and miraculously manage to escape the continent, I shall put the entirety of the Watts family's fortune into hunting you down." He turned to the frightened girls and smiled, "None have ever escape my tracker's noses. And they have commanding powers over Grimm."

"If you behave, and do our duties as best as you physically can, this will be a home to you." Salem offered, smiling brightly. "Count yourselves lucky, you are the first to see the world that will soon encompass everything on Remnant. The Grimm acting as guards and police, no discrimination against Human or Faunus, and complete safety."

Striding towards the door with the Grimm in front of her and the men trailing behind, she tossed a last instruction at them, "Make sure the room is cleaned and that you are presentable when he arrives. My Grimm spared you in a raid once. My mercy never reaches a person twice."

"Y-Yes, Highness." The three echoed in small, weak voices.A single beringel stopped by the door opposite their clothing cabinet, watching them closely. The girls hesitated only a moment before starting to work on cleaning the already spotless room.

A start to the rest of their foreseeable lives.

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