18

Chapter 18: Monday

"So we charged the beast, using nothing but a rusty kitchen knife and a sack of potatoes…"

Weiss, with commendable effort, listened to every word of Professor Port's long, long 'lecture'. Most of the class had either tuned out or dozed off about fifteen minutes ago, something that Weiss, even as strict and proper as she was, could not blame them for. There was no doubt that Professor Port was an intelligent man with decades of experience under his belt. Any knowledge he could share with younger generations was invaluable, sure to help them in the future, perhaps even save their lives!

...if only his method of teaching wasn't so unbelievably, unabashedly boring!

Still, Weiss pressed on. She was one of the few in class, possibly the whole school, that had figured out how Professor Port worked. If you listened long enough, underneath all of that pointless ego-boosting-

"...with a mighty blow to the back of the beast's skull, Reginald stunned it long enough to plunge my borrowed rusted blade into the small of its back, right into its heart!"

-there is actually something to learn.

Weiss quickly, but elegantly, wrote in her notebook: Creep heart located in the lower abdomen, close to the skin of its back; susceptible to blunt attacks to the back of the head.

Weiss smiled as she set her pen down. She half-listened to the rest of Port's story, but experience had taught her that any more useful information he might have would not be revealed for another five to seven minutes. Instead, she took the time to look around the room, seeing how many people were still conscious.

Let's see… Nora, out like a light… Pyrrha doesn't look that far behind her… how is Ren sleeping with his eyes open? Meditating probably… huh, Jaune is actually taking notes… not very good ones, but still, he's making the effort… ugh, Ruby… she better not drool over the new notebook I gave her… Yeah, Blake's lost all interest… Yang, you cannot possibly be as into these vainglorious stories as you're acting like.

True enough, while everyone seated around her were either sleeping or just ignoring Port's lecture (a few even had the audacity to be playing with their scrolls under their desks), Yang sat there in the front row, seemingly hanging onto every word. One could even describe her as starry-eyed.

Weiss rolled her eyes. Sometimes I wonder just what goes on in her head…

…

Weiss blinked.

Right… the Link…

Weiss hesitated. Aside from that first time in the courtyard, she hadn't used the Link herself yet. She'd caught brief glimpses without meaning to, like the other morning while Ruby and Yang were talking, but that was by accident. Plus, there was that nagging feeling in the back of her head, like using the Link was some kind of taboo.

Weiss frowned. She knew exactly where that feeling came from, or rather, who it came from.

Weiss, you're nothing like him. I know it.

Weiss sighed. She straightened in her chair, determined. Blake was right. She was more than her father's daughter. She was not a repository for her father's thoughts and views, nor an obedient little follower who just regurgitated his words and actions. She was her own person.

And if she wanted to use the Link with her… girlfriend… she would.

She paused. It's still weird to think of Yang as my girlfriend… along with Ruby… and Blake… so weird…

Not unpleasant, though… but still weird.

Weiss shook her head. She was getting off topic. She spared a glance at Professor Port, who was still blustering on about his great(ly exaggerated) feats in hunting Grimm. She focused back on Yang, who still seemed to be hanging onto his every word.

Weiss took a deep breath. Steeling herself, she closed her eyes.

Back in the void. No form, no substance, just three glowing masses of aura, not counting her own. Ruby's red aura was dimmed, a phenomena Weiss attributed to her being asleep. She noticed the violet shroud around Blake's black aura flickered, likely because she was starting to lose the fight against her own imminent slumber. Weiss ignored them, stretching out a thin line of white aura towards the brightly glowing yellow. She made contact.

Excitement. Awe. Disbelief. Enjoyment.

Weiss' eyes snapped open as she stared at Yang in bewilderment, who didn't seem to notice her brief intrusion. It… wasn't an act. She honestly was enjoying Port's long-winded tales.

Weiss shook her head in disbelief, a bemused smile on her lips. She made a mental note to ask Yang about it later, as well as check what Yang's grade was in the class.

Weiss picked up her pen, ready for when Port said his next bit of actually useful information, when…

…

...he's staring at me again.

Weiss just barely refrained from audibly growling in frustration. She was briefly reminded of a talk she and her… girlfriends… had back at their dorm earlier that morning.

"What do you mean, all the Faunus will know?!"

Blake flinched back her cat ears pinning down against her head at Weiss' shrill shriek. The heiress was staring at her with a mix of anger and shock. Ruby stared at her as well, more in surprise than anger, while Yang sat passively on Blake's bed, putting on her boots.

Blake hesitantly tried to elaborate. "It's an ability all Faunus have. We can sense whether or not a person is Mated to another Faunus."

"All Faunus?!" Weiss shrieked, eyes wild. "You didn't think to tell us this before?"

"Well, I didn't know before!" Blake defended.

"You-what do you mean you didn't know before? How could you not know?!"

"Because no one taught me!"

Weiss' mouth opened to yell back, but her voice caught in her throat. She stared at Blake in surprise, which was mirrored by Ruby. Yang looked up from her boots, eyes going between the two.

Blake stiffened where she stood, realizing what she had just said. When the silence stretched on, she looked away from Weiss towards the ground. With a sigh, she explained. "Most Faunus are told about this by their parents. And… I haven't seen mine in a very long time."

Weiss' eyes widened, realizing the sheer enormity of what Blake was revealing to them. "But… surely someone would have..."

Blake shook her head. "By the time I was old enough that someone would have, the White Fang was just starting to shift from peaceful protestors to… well… what they are now. Everything was changing and… I never got 'The Talk', which, for a Faunus, would have included this. I just kind of… pieced things together myself over the years." She laughed softly, though with little humor. "I guess I missed a few things."

Weiss stared at her, her eyes softening. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them, there was acceptance in them. "Okay… then, explain it to me, Blake. How would the Faunus in school know that we're all… semi-Mated?"

Blake felt her lips quirk at Weiss' awkward attempt to classify what they were going through. She ignored it as she explained. "As I understand it, it's something we're born with; a safety mechanism. We just… know if someone we see, human or Faunus, is already Mated to someone."

Weiss nodded slowly, processing the information. "Okay… how do you know? Do you get some type of feeling or something?"

Blake nodded. "Something like that. It's like… have you ever had an idea, and, once you start thinking about it, you get this feeling of… apprehension? Like you just know something bad is going to happen?" Weiss nodded, Ruby and Yang doing so as well. "Well, it's similar to that. Looking back, I've felt it a few times. Like, this tightness in my shoulders. It's not uncomfortable, but it's noticeable."

"Hmm…" Weiss hummed, thinking. "So… every Faunus, in school and out, will know we're… dating." Weiss fidgeted where she stood. "Even though our Marks are temporary at the moment?"

Blake nodded again, a little sheepishly. "Yeah. Actually… because they're temporary, the feeling will be more noticeable than it normally would be."

Weiss blinked. Ruby tilted her head in confusion, while Yang just finished lacing up her boots.

For a moment, Weiss looked like she was going to start berating again, but instead, she just sighed tiredly. "Of course it will be. Why, exactly?"

Blake, feeling a little embarrassed, awkwardly tried to explain. "Typically, what we're doing is considered a time of transition, seeing if we like being Mates or not. Because of that, the feeling our Mate's Marks are giving off is stronger than usual, to dissuade other Faunus from interfering."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "'Interfering' how?"

"I think I get it." All attention turned to Yang as she stood up from the bed. She glanced at Weiss, then met Blake's eyes. "Basically, our Marks are telling all the other Faunus, 'our situation is complicated enough. Please don't hit on us.' That about right?"

Blake huffed a little at her wording. "A bit simplified, but, basically, yes."

"So… that's it then?" Their attention was drawn back to Weiss, who was starting out the window with a blank face. "Everyone will just… know?"

Ruby looked between her teammates, a little confused, before settling on Weiss. "Is that a bad thing? Did you want to keep us being Mated a secret?"

Weiss met her eyes, blue orbs panning from silver, to lavender, then ending on amber. She spoke softly. "I… I don't know if I'm comfortable with everyone knowing what we're doing. I just thought we could keep it private… until we figured everything out."

The others frowned, both at Weiss' words and the feelings she was giving off. Nervousness, worry, hesitation, and… fear. Ruby and Yang were confused about that last one. The others they understood; to say the sisters had no worries of their own would be an outright lie. But fear, especially the sheer amount Weiss was feeling at the moment? They didn't get it…

But Blake did. After their conversation the other night, Blake had a very good idea what, or rather, who made Weiss so scared of her being in a Faunus-human relationship being made public.

It took a lot of effort to stop the sudden burst of anger growing in Blake's chest so that her team wouldn't notice it. She could be angry later. Right now, calming Weiss was more important.

"We might still be able to do that," she said confidently, drawing her teammates' attention.

"Uh… how?" Yang asked. She chuckled lightly. "Kinda hard to keep this under wraps when we basically have a neon sign over our heads saying 'Taken!'"

Blake nodded. "Yes, but we do have one thing going for us. Only Faunus will be able to sense our Marks. And I doubt any of them will say anything."

Weiss stared into her eyes, a spark of hope forming in her. "What makes you say that?"

Blake shrugged. "Respect, mostly. What we're going through right now… it's… special. It's not something you're supposed to do lightly. Most Faunus will recognize that and should leave us be. It wouldn't be... It wouldn't be proper if they did."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "So, all of Faunuskind work on the honor system?" She sounded less than impressed.

Blake gave a groan of a sigh. "More like their instincts will tell them to leave us alone, in the same way, they'll sense our Marks in the first place."

Weiss, while still apprehensive, felt a little better. She still felt way in over her head with how little she knew about the situation she'd had thrust upon her, but… she trusted Blake. If Blake said everything should be fine, then she would believe her.

Yang hummed. "Maybe, but I don't know. Instincts or not, there's always that one guy who just does what he wants. Just saying."

I hate it when Yang is right.

Frustrated, Weiss spun her head around to the desk directly behind her, glaring at the source of her ire.

Blake had been right, for the most part. From breakfast in the cafeteria to walking the halls, Weiss had noticed no fewer than a dozen different Faunus staring at her at one point or another. Yet, no one said a word. Whenever Weiss had met their wide eyes, their response was either to continue on indifferent, or to give her a brief nod before moving on. There was even a female mouse Faunus who smiled at her, blushing. As the day wore on, Weiss slowly became more and more at ease with the brief curious stares she got, and started thinking that she had worried over nothing.

Then came Grimm Studies.

Out of the thirty-one other students with her in class, nine were Faunus, not counting Blake. Of those nine's initial reactions, four had ignored her, three had nodded to her, one was the aforementioned smiling mouse Faunus…

And the last just kept staring.

Weiss took in his features. Rather tall, a bit bulky. Small silver eyes, a shade much darker than Ruby's. A small sideways scar ran across his chin, reaching toward his left ear. He had short, thick brown hair, topped with two rounded furry ears. Bear ears, if she had to guess.

Weiss didn't know him, outside of seeing him wield some type of claymore/bazooka weapon during the occasional combat class.

She hadn't said two words to the guy since the year started. She couldn't even recall his name. And as far as she could remember, he had completely ignored her since school started.

But now, it was like his eyes were glued to the back of her head. Since entering class, she had caught him staring at her six times, and each time it took longer and longer for him to look away.

Now he had grown bolder. When Weiss narrowed her eyes at him, He didn't just stare back; he sneered, his nose flaring as his lips pulled up in a mocking grin.

Outrage flooded her. She had a good idea why she had drawn his attention this day, but that just made her angrier. What was his problem? What gave him the right to judge her, for any reason? What business was it of his?

Weiss scowled up at the bear Faunus. His lips pulled up wider, showing off his sharpened teeth. He opened his mouth to say something…

...when a crumpled ball of paper bounced off his head.

The bear Faunus blinked, with Weiss doing the same. The Faunus stared at the wad of paper now sitting on his desk, then scowled at a point past Weiss, lower on the rows of desks.

Weiss followed his gaze, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Yang glaring upwards towards them. Her lips were set in a tight line, which Weiss recognized as her attempting to control her temper. With a blink, her lavender eyes briefly glowed red.

The bear Faunus flinched, but then screwed his face into an angry sneer. Again, he seemed about to speak, when he flinched back again, almost violently, his eyes wide. Weiss was confused, until she looked at the seat just behind and to the right of Yang.

Blake was staring up at the bear Faunus, her face expressionless. She showed no emotion. She just stared, her eyes locking with his.

Her deep, amber, slitted eyes.

Weiss didn't know how, but she somehow just knew that there was some unspoken conversation going on between the Faunus. After a few moments, the bear Faunus broke his gaze, ignoring everything around him as he scowled at his desk.

Weiss breathed a sigh of relief. She stiffened when she suddenly felt a mass of emotions wash over her; concern, worry, remorse… she turned back towards the front desks.

Her eyes met with Blake's, the Faunus' now rounded eyes looking to her in concern. A quick glance showed Yang, eyes back to lavender, giving her a similar worried expression. Even Ruby was looking up at her, frowning in confusion as she blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes.

Weiss was stunned for a moment, before she felt a warm tingle in her chest. She smiled down at them, giving them a little wave. I'm okay.

The sisters seemed to get the message, Yang grinning back with a nod as she turned her attention back to Professor Port (who was so engrossed giving visual aid to his stories in the form of chalk and blackboard that he hadn't noticed the staredown happening just behind him). Ruby smiled, before promptly putting her head back on her desk, likely to return to dreamland.

Blake held her gaze, though, a soft frown on her lips, her expression apologetic.

Weiss felt a twinge in her chest. Blake, really, I'm fine. Thank you. Weiss hoped that Blake could feel the thankfulness and contentedness she was feeling right now.

After a moment, Blake smiled back, before turning back to Port's lecture.

Weiss did the same. As she listened to Port's blustering, however, she slowly started to think about what had just happened. About how her friends… her girlfriends… had defended her, without even speaking a word.

Weiss felt the smile that was plastered on her lips, and couldn't bring herself to wipe it away. Despite her misgivings about the Mates situation, she couldn't deny it: having that kind of emotional and physical support? It was a very nice feeling. One she didn't want to go away.

Betaed by Covert Weapon

Old A/n: Two days down, four to go. FYI, I'm feeling very proud of myself. I have no less then the next ten chapters already planned out. I just need to sit my A$$ down and get them written. See you all as soon as I do that!