Ch 51 The hunt for Blake

Even with Vyr's witcher training, tracking Blake seemed futile. The advanced transportations, road work, and foot traffic left Vyr with the realization that she wasn't quite ready for anything this world threw at her, witcher or not. Her normal ways of tracking her targets were ineffective at best. Scent trails were messy and broken by too many passersby, and looking for the foot trails of a cat-ninja hybrid on concrete sidewalks was a hopeless effort if she'd ever seen one. Developing her skills and refining what she'd already learned was quickly becoming a higher priority.

Yang and Vyr followed what little traces of Blake they could piece together from one side of the city to the other and back again. It was abundantly clear that Blake did not want to be found and Vyr would be lying if she said she didn't want to give in. The sun peaking over the horizon marked the beginning of the third day since Blake had left. It also marked the third day Vyr had gone without rest. Something that was starting to take a toll on her.

Eskel had been the one to train the new recruits in sleep deprivation training. Days spent going over lessons and teachings without rest. If you gave in and tried to sleep, you would be met with the end of a staff or whip. The pain forced any witcher trainees back awake and left a reminder. The only rest you could've gotten was during meditation hours, and even then you had to be completely aware of your surroundings lest you get struck with whatever tool Eskel had on hand.

It was one of the harsher lessons they had learned but after a few months, almost all trainees could forgo sleep if need be. They also had some colorful marks to show how quickly they had learned. Ozpin had put Vyr's training to the test and while he hadn't struck her, he had made sure that sleep wasn't an option on the table. The old wizard still had his tricks and they worked all too well.

While Vyr was trying, and failing, to meditate on the moving motorcycle, Yang was pressed flat against it and racing down the streets, trying to catch Blake's trail. Blake could blend in and cover her tracks better than anyone, but the monkey boy had a trail that lit up like a firework considering he seemingly caused trouble by walking down the street. The duo had turned their attention towards him and the messes he left behind.

Street after street and witness after witness, proved useless. Even after switching to the easier target, they had gotten nowhere and finally, Vyr called it. Shee needed to rest, even if only for a few hours. When she saw an inn on the roadside, she got Yang's attention and motioned for her to pull over.

Yang stopped on the curbside and twisted to look over her shoulder at Vyr before asking, "What is it? Did you notice something?"

"I think we should split up."Vyr said,dismounting the bike.

"That's a good idea but why now?" Yang asked adjusting her position to be more comfortable now that her passenger was gone.

"I need to get some rest. Just for a bit at least," Vyr answered, making a show of yawning.

"So you wanna go to sleep? While Blake's missing?!" Yang asked angrily.

"It's just for a few hours and then I'll be back out here looking. I'll leave my scroll on so if you find anything you can call and I'll be on my way," Vyr said in the hopes of pacifying Yang.

"You know what? FINE. You get your beauty sleep, I'll look for our lost friend by myself" Yang snapped and sped away.

Vyr watched as the yellow fireball turned a corner and disappeared from sight, before sighing and thinking to herself ' its fine, she's tired too. She'll calm down, it's nothing.' She repeated her thoughts as though trying to convince herself more than anything. Taking out her scroll she looked through the group chat to see if Blake had responded to any of the messages she had sent. Even the direct messages had been ignored though, leaving the group chat cluttered with messages directed to their missing teammate. Vyr still checked all the messages individually just to be sure, before leaving a message of her own.

<WitcherV- Split off from Yang, im beat, need some sleep, be back soon. Call if anyone finds something. @BB if you wanna talk alone i'm at ******* hotel on ****** street. Room 404>

The message to Blake was a shot in the dark but if it worked it worked. And work it did, not long after she got a DM back from Blake.

<BB- i'll be there.>

Vyr gave a smile tinged with frustration. After a whole day of searching, this was how it would end. She sighed and entered her room, at least she could get some sleep now. At least until Blake got there.

After letting the front desk know to send the runaway up with a key she let Blake know and went to sleep.

A few hours later a knock could be heard outside Vyr's room. Sitting up in the bed, Vyr watched as the knob turned and the door opened. But oddly enough blake wasnt the one opening the door. Instead of her gloomy companion, walking into the room was a flickering… person? Like when a ghost was being banished by a ritual, but instead, another different ghost would appear instead.

The person would swap rapidly between two appearances. One a generic white male, in the hotel's uniform and the other a short cutely dressed girl with two tone, pink and brown, hair. She wore a white jacket with a brown corset layered over top a white shirt. Brown pants led down to her matching white high heeled boots. Her eyes matched her hair in a natural sort of way or maybe she styled it that way on purpose. Either way it was clear that this girl was the more interesting of the two choices of people.

The girl spun her white lace umbrella with a bored look and in turn the hotel staff handed Vyr a letter with his flickering hand without a word. As she looked down at the letter the man bowed and the girl gave a shrug seeing her take the letter before turning and leaving. The man's image overlapped her own again as the door closed behind them leaving vyr at a loss for words at the strange encounter.

Vyr shook her head and focused on the letter she had been given. It was white and plain looking, with only her enhanced senses letting her pick up on the faint smell of alcohol and an almost nonexistent hint of some cologne, like someone had put some on while near the letter. Not on purpose like the nobles back home, who thought it fun to purposely dunk their letters in some smell of their choice.

Out of habit Vyr cast a quick detection spell on the letter to check for anything malicious before opening it. There was nothing, not that she was really expecting anything. The smell of cologne was stronger on note itself letting Vyr place the smell. It was the man yang had beaten/flirted/threatened at the bar earlier.

'Junior, interesting' Vyr thought to herself opening the folded piece of paper. The paper was not your average piece either. It had an elegant design imprinted on its borders. But as if to contest the design someone had doodled small characters in various poses around the imprint. Some were hanging off the vine like designs while others were making rude gestures to the reader.

The letter itself read [ We need to talk. Come alone or don't bother to come at all. At the club. You know the place. ~ yours truly, RT.]

"A trap?" Vyr asked no one in particular. 'No probably not, it's too simple. And who's RT? I don't know any RT. Maybe it was the girl? But why wouldn't we just talk here? I'm alone now after all. so that rules her out. Shame, she seems interesting. I should grab her next time I see her.' Vyr thought with an evil smirk.

Before she could ponder further, a rattling sounded out from her room's door. This time when it opened there was no mysterious stranger with two forms. Just the girl she had been searching for, for the last two days. Blake entered and scanned the room while her Blonde accomplice closed the door behind them, after getting a nod from Blake.

Vyr dropped the letter allowing her shadow to swallow it quietly as she sat on the bed still under the covers, watching the two new arrivals. There was a tense feeling in the air as no one knew how to break the silence first.

Blake was growing more and more uncomfortable as the silence persisted. She thought Vyr would start chewing her out the moment she got there. Saying she was childish or how she should be better, than running away from her problems. Vyr had always been harsh with the team, Weiss especially, so seeing her just sitting there without saying anything, it was like she was letting the silence say everything for her. Like Blake wasn't worth her anger at this point. And as the tears started welling up in Blakes eyes and she turned towards the door to leave, thinking this was all a big mistake Vyr broke the oppressive silence that not even the chatterbox Sun could talk through.

"You know, if you wanted to elope, all you had to do was say so" Vyr said with a grin.

"Wha-" Blake started confused but Vyr just talked over her. " It's ok you know, it must have been hard, what with Yang being so into you, and you not interested back. But just because you found a boyfriend, you shouldn't-"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Blake shouted at Vyr with a blush.

"Hey, it's okay." Vyr said in a soothing tone. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Just because I'm not attracted to men doesn't mean I can't tell if one's attractive. He's not too bad~" Sun puffed out his chest with a smile. "Just, you could do better. Like a lot better."

While Sun went to draw circles in the corner Blake choked on her words not knowing how to respond to such a sudden turn. Vyr looked at her with a smug grin. Seeing that she had cleared the air she leaned back against the bed's headboard and patted the mattress beside her.

"Well come on then. Make yourself comfortable and tell me what this is all about."

Blake sighed and took a seat at the small table in the room while Sun took the chair by the window AC.

"Where do I even begin?" Blake asked quietly.

"Well how about, why you left? I mean Ruby tried to explain it but she was too worried to really make sense."

"She was worried?" Blake asked

"You really thought she wouldn't be?" Vyr shot back.

Blake gave a short self deprecating laugh before saying, "guess i didn't really think about it."

"Yeah well. Emotions do that, blinds ya' to all kinds of things. Panic is a hell of a thing." Vyr said, shuffling uncomfortably. The conversation was digging up old memories better left buried.

Blake gave her a look, but when vyr ignored it she said " It's all because of that dust store that got robbed. What she said. I just…"Blake trailed off.

"Oh~ I get it." Vyr nodded, " It's 'cause of the faunus thing right?"

"Yeah! See I knew you would get it. I-" Blake was cut off by Vyr before she could say anymore.

"Yeah, it must be hard hearing that as a faunus."

Blake looked like she could fit a whole egg in her mouth, with how far her jaw dropped. "Y-you knew?" Blake stuttered.

"Of course I knew."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Blake practically shouted standing up from her chair.

"I didn't think it was important."

"Didn't think it was important? Of course it's important! how could you NOT think it was important?!" Blake shouted her whole body tense with emotion.

There was a hard silence throughout the room following Blake's words, broken only by the deep breaths she was taking to try and calm down.

"How?" Blake asked, breaking the silence. But when vyr didn't answer she asked again clearer this time "How did you find out."

"Your eyes are like a cats', every once in a while you purr in your sleep, you're balance is inhuman, i've never seen you not land on your feet, you have fish for every meal, you always have an answer to any faunus questions i have, plus you always defend faunus no matter what, aaaaaaannnnddddd~ maybe, just maybe, next time you want to hide that little fact, remember to change your last name. I mean really, it would only take hearing about your parents once to put that together. It's really obvious." Vyr rattled off, counting her fingers as she went.

Blake looked stunned, then like she wanted to argue, but finally she opted to fall back into her chair with a defeated look. After a few tense moments and Sun coughing lightly, Blake with her head still hanging low, and an embarrassed blush quietly said " I should've known I couldn't hide anything from you."

"Yeah, you should've," Vyr said smugly. "So what now?"

"Huh?" Blake questioned weakly.

"What do you want to do now?" Vyr reiterated

"I-I-I don't really know." Blake answered, sounding defeated. "What should I do?" She asked, searching with her eyes.

"You SHOULD go back and talk it out with the team. But, what you really need to be asking is, what do you WANT to do." Vyr answered with a heavy yet comforting tone.

"I want to prove Weiss is wrong. That not all faunus are bad people. And that the White Fang isn't evil." Blake said, after a moment of thought. Her voice was hard with determination at her new goal.

sigh "alright then. Let's get to it." Vyr said, throwing off the covers and getting out of bed.

"Y-you're not mad at me?" Blake asked subdued.

"Oh no, I am. But not because you ran, or because you have to prove something this obvious. I'm angry, because you didn't talk to us. Your teammates, instead you went to some stranger you barely know. No offense."

Sun just shrugged as if to say 'what can you do'. Blake on the other hand was nervously fidgeting and trying to avoid even looking at vyr.

"So when this is over i'm gonna- I'm gonna- ... fuck I dont know what I'm gonna do." Vyr said, throwing her hands up, "but that's a problem for future me. So let's go."

"Where?" Sun questioned, confused.

"I dunno, we'll figure it out on the way. Shut up!" Vyr huffed not wanting to be questioned on her lack of planning, and grabbed sun by the shoulder before dragging him out into the hallway behind her.

Blake smiled to herself seeing this. Weirdly enough, having Vyr agree with her was more comforting than she would have thought. As if the part of her mind that was questioning her own actions had been silenced just by Vyr saying she would help. It was different from how she felt around Yang or her parents. Like she was now wearing armor and she didn't know if she wanted or needed it. It reminded her of when she was a little girl protesting with her parents, everything was so clear again. Gone was doubt that had been plaguing her since her arrival at Vale.

As she closed the door of the hotel room, she could see vyr and sun arguing in the elevator, waiting for her. Walking towards them she thought to herself 'Maybe being in a team won't be so bad this time.' When the doors of the elevator closed there was the slightest smile on her lips, unseen by the others with her.