Explanations, Revelations

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"When I was younger, all I wanted was to be a hero like in the old stories I used to fall asleep to as a kid. A Huntsman, specifically, though. Because… Well, Arcs are Hunters. There's always a couple of us in a generation." He finished, an hour and a half gone by and the duo sitting at the edge of the little pond they'd found, backs resting against the trunk of a great, old oak whose roots wound through the water beside them.

He couldn't see her like this of course, with the trunk between them and both of them facing away from each other, but then again he didn't need to see her to sense her. "I just… You know, wanted to protect people."

"I understand the desire to protect people. It is… Quite a calling, and not something easily shaken." She nodded, and through his renewed, controlled sense of the Force, he could sense her honesty. Though part of that sensation was less his own connection, and this place they had found. A pang of sadness echoed out of her, like a drop in the calm sea warning of a storm, and she went on solemnly, "Many pay a price to pursue this calling. And you have paid dearly, it would seem."

"I suppose…"

"There is no supposition to have here, Jaune." She contested with an odd amount of heat, her hand reaching out to dab fingers through the cool water idly. A distraction, he guessed, from what was going on. "Many of us join with this field of life with the expectation that one day down the line, our lives may be risked. Or asked of us. You understand this, I am sure."

"I do, yeah." His father had beaten it into his head, as had Instructor months and years prior. He'd heard more than a few stories from both that cemented the idea in his mind as surely as breathing was. "You don't train under who I did to be what I am and not know what might come."

"A Huntsman or a…" He heard her shuffle unsurely and then, echoing the sentiment, she sighed and settled on, "A Huntsman or a warrior of the Force? I do not know the proper term, I fear."

"Force Warrior." He supplied simply, remembering the lessons his two teachers had imparted to him and moving on, "And to answer your question, both. Neither Instructor or my father are ones to let someone study this kind of thing and not know the risks. And both being a Warrior as I am and a Huntsman means seeing the worst, most dangerous rogues and monsters to blight this world."

"Such is true enough." She answered, the duo falling into silence for a short time while the young woman simply… Processed what he'd told her so far. He could sense the turmoil in her, though all he could discern when he closed his eyes and tried was confusion and anxiety, not anger or distrust. Finally she spoke, sounding distant and distracted, "Being a Hunter is a dangerous endeavour at the best of times, sadly enough. Such is our calling and, dare I say, destiny as well."

"Destiny…" The vision echoed in his ears at her mention of the word and his grip tightened on his saber beside him until his knuckles protested.

"I asked about that in your, er… Vision, did I not?" He grunted an affirmation and he heard her shift uncomfortably and, in a low and anxious voice, she said, "I do believe in destiny, I think."

"You do?" She didn't strike him as the type, really. "Why?"

"Destiny has a powerful place in the traditions of Mistral, Jaune. Ancient and modern both. Warriors in tales are spoken of with grand fates and destinies inscribed into the very stars. And I…" She chuckled, the sound rolling into a laugh before she cut it off and sighed. "I just realized that you did not spend time in Mistral, as you claimed, and that explains much."

"Because if I had, then I would know why you would believe in and value things like destiny." He nodded, understanding her point easily enough. Had he lived there like his lying said, then this all would be a bit clearer to him. "Why would you ask someone if they believed in destiny, though?"

"I'm afraid I do not know."

"You don't even have an idea?"

"No, I'm sorry, but I can't think of any good reason I would ask someone else something like that." The note of apology was a strong one in the woman's words, and he sighed in response, unable to actually get angry at her when she sounded so broken up about the issue as it was. "Were they Mistralian, I would already know the answer. And were they not, it would be inappropriate to ask."

"Inappropriate? The vision ended with someone's death..." He chuckled darkly at the words and plucked a stone from the water, using the Force to set it spinning around the tree. An exercise in control and therapy he'd learned in Ansel, interestingly enough, that helped him relax and think. "What if… What if you thought they were Mistralian, but later learned they might not be?"

"I suppose I would be tempted to ask then." She answered, "Why?"

"Who do you know of that you thought went to Mistral for years and didn't?" He asked gently, afraid himself of the implications there.

"What are you suggesting?"

"What do you think?" The woman was on her feet in a moment, standing in the water and glaring down on him with more heat and fire than she'd ever shown him before. Her normally gentle face a warped scowl, now, he met her look with a flat one of his own and simply said, "I'm asking the obvious questions, Pyr. That's all."

"Jaune, you can't seriously believe you could be involved with my death."

"To be fair, I don't actually know if it is your death." He pointed out with a small grimace. Her eyes narrowed in a question and he explained, "I heard your question, and then felt the wound and death of a person. I don't know if you died, or if I am there and I do, or if you ask that and kill someone, or any other number of things."

"I would not kill you, or allow you to be killed while I lived, even if the situation were dire and doomed. I would dive before a dragon for you, or Nora, or team RWBY or Velvet." He didn't doubt she would, her certainty and acceptance ebbed like a rip tide in the Force. Tugging at his feet and threatening to sweep them out from under him. "Do not pander to me out of kindness, Jaune. Tell me what you truly think is happening in your vision."

"...You're dying. Stabbed, shot maybe, but you're dying in the vision. And I don't know why." Pyrrha wasn't the type to execute someone or mock them, and those were the only other two options he could see. "I'm sorry."

"I see…" The woman's face paled and her eyes closed, before she took a deep breath and met his own again. Again there was a fire there, though not one directed at him thankfully, and her voice was softer as she asked, "What can we do about it, then? I would prefer not to die, after all. Not if it can be averted."

"We can be wary, and we can grow powerful. 'Through strength my chains are broken', as Instructor would say." He repeated, standing and rolling his shoulders as he took in a deep and grounding breath. "I broke my chains once, I can do it again."

"What does that saying mean?"

"Hm?" He blinked and then chuckled in spite of himself and the situation, calling the rock to him and then kneeling to return it to where he'd found it. "It is the Sith Code of old, of the Sith Empire. Instructor taught me about them, the source of Revanism as I practice it and as he taught it. I… Suppose you will need to know about them and the Codes now, too, with everything going on."

"Only if you want." She assured him, stepping away and turning to look out at the serene beauty they'd found instead of at him. More to relax and try to absorb everything than out of anger than him, he hoped. "I won't press you for information you do not wish shared, and I won't press for more revelations either. I do believe my world thoroughly rocked as it is."

"Yeah, I can sympathize with that at least." He'd gone through precisely the same years ago, after all. It had taken days for him to accept the information, as impossible as it was, and Instructor had been patient through that time.

A rare instance of empathy and gentleness from the machine, that had been.

"You may need to know these things, though. To understand me and what I, or rather we, will need to do to prevent my vision coming to path." He went on, "Visions like these require you to be intelligent and educated to try and prevent them. Else you can simply end up creating the circumstances that give rise to your fall."

"When one seeks to evade destiny they end up fleeing down the road to meet it, be the path straight as a blade's edge or twisted as a snake's flight." Pyrrha nodded, adding after a moment, "An old Mistralian adage, spoken by a weaver of fate in legends older than even the Academies are."

"Sounds familiar…" Very much so, in fact. Enough so that he asked, more curious and wanting something other than literally prophetic death sentences to talk about, he leaned against the oak and asked, "What was the story, exactly?"

"Hm?"

"About the weaver of fate." He clarified, "What was the story?"

"The story has many versions, and so I will simply reiterate the most generic of them. If that is alright? Else we'd have thirty of them to get through." He nodded, not wanting nearly that much of a distraction right now, and she sighed. "Well then… There once was a dark raven with a blade of red, given prophecy by the king of the dead. And on a path of avoidance tread, he only found his friends all dead. But of his goals noble to the last, he accomplished each, of his imperial task."

"That doesn't make any sense though…"

"It's a rhyme to the gist of the story, nothing more. The warrior's name is Raven and he wielded a blade of red in the service of his empire, trying to protect it." She grimaced at that, though, and finished, "The stories all end the same. Raven saves his empire, but it destroys him and those he loves."

"Raven and a blade of red…" It sounded similar to stories he'd briefly skimmed in his studies at the Temple, but so much had been rushed through. Revan fought for his empire too, and with a blade of red, and many of his allies died in the effort. But that wasn't a lot of detail, and could easily all be coincidence. "It must be…"

"Jaune?"

"Nothing, Pyr." He laughed it all off, both his suspicions and her concerned expression. "We need to focus on you, though. You and the pursuit of means to protect you."

"Us, you mean. You and I, and our team, in totality." She corrected him, "I doubt that whatever could endanger me would endanger only me, after all."

"You're right, but for now, we'll focus on the two of us in isolation. Once we're stronger, we can start working on building up Ren and Nora." And then maybe team RWBY, too, if they needed to. A decision for later, of course, but something he'd need to keep in mind. "For now, I don't want them to know about all of this, though."

"Why? Surely they deserve to know."

"I want to meditate on the vision further, try and glean more knowledge. Figure out the specifics of what is happening, maybe, or who's involved outside our team." Not to mention he didn't want to frighten them just yet, they were already strong enough as it was. If Pyrrha and he were the targets it only made sense they receive the most hardening, though he knew Pyrrha would never agree to it. "And besides I… Don't want people to know about the Temple, or the Force, if it can be helped."

"Keeping an ace hidden in its hole?" There was an undercurrent of suspicion and sympathy there he tried not to read into.

"No, trying to keep dangerous information from being too spread around." He answered earnestly, more so than even he expected he would have. Or should have, really. Seeing her confusion plain as day on her face, he elaborated with a wave of his hand towards the rock, like he was gesturing to the issue in full, "People will want the power I have. It's not a Semblance, after all, so they'll all want it for their own ends. If someone were to take Nora or Ren and threaten them, I would be tempted to give over the information. Information that isn't mine to give."

"It's your faith's, not yours." He nodded at the question and she grimaced. "But won't that happen regardless of whether they know?"

"Maybe, but if they know, and my enemy knows my team knows, what do you think they'd do to get it if kidnapping is on the market?" He raised a brow, but she didn't answer, pursing her lips and keeping her peace. He answered for her, to send home his point in full, "A Sith would see which cared more for the other, and torture them to break the first."

"I…" She blinked, "Would normal people do so, though? I would think not."

"A Sith is taught to always expect what the worst Sith would do, and torture is part of our very training. To harden us to pain, and let us use it and fight through it." He'd experienced plenty of both the torture and its explanation to understand the reasons for that. Seeing her revulsion, he headed it off, "It's barbaric, I know. But in a situation of life or limb, a Sith can choose life and cut away the limb for strength. Such is the Dark Side's power."

"It is barbaric, you have that right…"

"No Sith would argue otherwise." Not really, at least. Rather, the crueller, Darker ones would simply say it was a point of pride. To cull the weak who would foolishly aspire to join their ranks. "I'm a Revanite because of that distinction. That bararity is useful, but shouldn't be what makes up the core of one's identity."

"So for you, it is as a last resort?"

"Precisely." He nodded, gesturing away and east, towards where he felt Beacon ought to be, "If Beacon, or Vale let's say, were under threat I would use it. Get myself shot, or let myself get burned, and then use that as a Force focusing aspect. A last resort, as you said, to ensure victory where loss would be unbearable."

"I see." And he could tell from the look in her eye she did, too. "And you fear that this kind of power would tempt people to do evil things to you and yours?"

"The ancient Sith Empire spanned the stars once upon a time. And it was rife with precisely that." She looked confused and he grimaced, realizing his mistake a moment too late and sighing. Pinching the bridge of his nose against frustration, he apologized, "Sorry. Ignore that first bit. What I meant to say was that Sith have a history of exactly that temptation destroying things. Corrupting people around them."

"Are you worried that… We could be corrupted?" He nodded and saw the hurt in her eyes, and the way her shoulders bunched up.

"Pyr, please don't get angry…"

"I would think you'd trust us more than that by now." She argued, turning away but not leaving him behind. She wouldn't leave him alone out here, alone with the Grimm, he knew. She was too kind for that. "We should return to Beacon, Jaune."

"It's a drug." He said instead of agreeing, the woman's head cocking to the side to listen. She wouldn't look at him, and she wouldn't let his mistrust go easily, but he could hope for her understanding at least. "The Dark Side is intoxicating and alluring, like a powerful narcotic. I would throw myself on a sword if you said it wouldn't kill me. But if you were drugged up, injected with powerful psychotics?"

"I wouldn't be able to reason properly…" She murmured, "I'd be out of my right mind."

"Precisely. And people exposed to an easy path to power can have the same thing happen to them. Good people in Sith history have gone mad for the Dark Side." Or rather, in galactic history, as little as he knew of that. He'd only ever read the accounts Instructor deemed needed to make the point, after all. "It's not mistrust. It's me wanting to protect you all from things that you don't deserve to have to deal with."

"I see…" She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, then, shaking her head. "We should return to Beacon now regardless. Before it gets later, or Nora attacks the Guard to get out and check on us. Likely with Ren as her weapon, judging from the types of shows she likes to watch on her Scroll..."

He barked a laugh at the mental image of Nora swinging Ren around like a baton, but nodded. "Lead the way then, bodyguard."

"You never said what we would be doing about my…" She grunted and pursed her lips, searching for the right word, and then offered weakly, "Problem."

"Like I said. We train, and look for anything, anything at all, that can make us more powerful." Through that power, they could break any chains, or so the Sith taught. And even Instructor had seemed to agree with that. "In other words, training and meditation whenever and wherever possible."

"Whenever possible you say?" He nodded simply and she smiled widely enough he almost felt afraid. Stepping past him, she only said, "You shall come to regret that in time, Jaune. You will find I love training, and the regimen I shall put us on will be a Mistralian champions."

"Okay?" He wasn't scared of training, of course.

What could possibly be so bad about Pyrrha's training regimen compared to Instructor's?

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"Again, lift the weight with your mind and solve the problem." Pyrrha ordered, pacing around the rooftop they'd appropriated for their private training sessions. Behind him, where he couldn't see, a twenty pound weight lay while in front of him sat a sheet full of math problems. "Simple multiplication and up and down weight lifting should train up your ability to multitask. Hopefully."

"You sound so certain until you add 'hopefully' and 'maybe', you know, Pyr." He rolled his eyes and then closed them for a moment, focusing first on lifting the weight. It was hard to explain how he knew when it moved without seeing or hearing it do so, it was more a knowledge it had, and so he opened his eyes and turned at least part of his attention on the sheet of paper. "Nine multiplied by nine is eighty-"

Behind him, the weight clanged loudly as it hit the ground, Pyrrha's Semblance catching it before it could roll and returning it to place while he groaned.

"Don't fret, Jaune, you… You almost completed the first problem! Yay!" The petulant glare he gave her had her smiling and laughing awkwardly for a moment before she coughed into her first and chewed on a lip while she thought. "You are making progress, though. In all truth and seriousness, I mean. When we started this morning, you would look to the sheet and the weight would fall instantly."

"And now, I can nearly complete one fourth grade mathematics problem." Her smile turned apologetic and he waved her off and stood, stretching a back that had started to get stiff from sitting on the ground. "It's progress, I'm just being petulant because it's not working. Instructor said I did that a lot, but it was part of my learning process, so he didn't mind."

"Nor do I." She assured him gently, smoothing her uniform skirt and sitting beside him on the cool concrete of the rooftop. "Again, you have improved markedly in so little time. You should feel good about it."

"Yeah, I know… It's progress, even if it's not a lot." And even if he didn't think he was making nearly enough to be praiseworthy, Pyrrha was far too kind and supportive not to praise him. "Sun's been up for a while, though. We're probably getting close to breakfast time now, and people will want to head out into Vale soon."

"They will, yes."

"You still want to go out, or do you want to stay and train?" He asked, the woman making a face at the question. "Ask me, I would say we should stay and train. We're on a time table now, before someone dies."

"Isn't that always how our lives are, though?" She asked purely rhetorically, and giving him a smile that assured him of as much. "No, though. I think we should go out, with everyone."

"But Pyrrha-"

"If I am to die as destiny has decided, then I would die happier for knowing and being with those I care for than I would if I spent all my time fearing it." She cut him off, oddly sharp and harsh for someone normally so gentle. Yet again, that fire he'd seen the day before, sparking to life and roaring for a moment before she pursed her lips and seemed to reel herself back under control. "This is my fate, Jaune. Let it be my own choice in how I deal with this, I beg of you."

"I… If that's your choice, then alright. I won't fight you on it." He didn't like it, of course, but here wasn't much of anything he could actually do about it. Even if he wanted to force the issue, which he of course didn't, he still couldn't. She was too strong for him to even have a chance at doing that. "We should get going then, right?"

"Yes, please." She nodded, standing and offering him a hand up. He took it and she tugged him up, the blonde turning and calling the weight to his hand with the Force. She took it from him and smiled, "I'll drop this by the weight room after I tidy up out here and join you all for breakfast shortly. You go on ahead, though."

"I…" He hesitated, sensing something off for a moment, but then shrugged and gave her a nod. "I'll see you in a bit, though. Want me to grab anything from the bar for you?"

"I would quite enjoy a breakfast wrap or three, if you don't mind. Oh! And maybe an egg sandwich?" He nodded and she smiled, kneeling to start gathering up the worksheets and pencils she'd brought for them. Or rather, that she'd brought for him, since they'd focused on him this morning. He watched her for a moment and she gave him a look and a smile, shooing him away, "Go on, I'll be along shortly. If you dally, I won't have my sandwich there for you to get."

"Right." The odd sensation was there, still, but he ignored it and took his leave.

At the bottom of the steps, though, a wave of fear and anxiety hit him as powerfully as a wave crashing into his head ahead of a hurricane. The suddenness struck him and stole his breath, the blonde grunting and leaning a hand on the wall while he processed the surprise of it, and then it was under control. Turning, he looked back the way he'd come and grimaced, wondering if he should go and see her.

"She wanted the privacy." He decided eventually, opting to leave and respect her want to be alone.

It was better he focus on training, frankly, to protect her. Drawing a pen out of his breast pocket, he pitched it into the air in front of him and focused on holding it in the air as he walked. Multitasking was his weakness, after all, and even if he'd never be able to have his Aura up and use the Force at will, he might be able to use small Force maneuvers and not open himself up.

Time would tell.

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"Look, it's a karaoke bar, right? That means private rooms, so no one else sees you. And a door that I can stand in front of, so Weiss can't run away in a fit." Which was very much a possibility, really, depending on whether she felt entrapped with this or not. "It's a quiet place, though. Nice and homy. This should work for you to, you know, let it all out."

"I'm not sure about all this…"

"The place?"

"No, the place is perfect for this, Yang, I just… That's not the problem. This place isn't the problem." And after, they planned to go to a cafe for lunch with team Juniper. One that served Hunter sized portions, no less, though it came with the pricetag to match that. "It's… I'm just scared, I guess. That's all."

"Let's just get settled in, then. The others should start trickling in here in a little while." Yang pushed, knowing there was nothing she could do for Blake's nervousness except power through it.

"Yeah, let's." Grabbing her hand, the blonde tugged her inside and towards the room they'd booked, only stopping to show the attendant at the front her ID.

Inside, it was a typical Mistralian style karaoke bar, with a little reception area to check in if you'd reserved a room or buy one if it was open. Past the little window was a hallway which was lined with thick, heavy doors, with a stairwell at the end that led up to another floor's worth of them. And at the opposite end of the area, a small bar area, though one that didn't serve alcohol. It was meant more for lounging and eating than drinking regardless, and as they moved down the hall they saw a sparse population occupying the area already. A dozen people, maybe, counting the three waiters meandering around the low seating and black tables.

"This is a surprisingly nice pick, Yang." She murmured as the blonde reached a door, checked the little card she'd been given and then pulled it open for her.

"I picked carefully. Somewhere quiet, somewhere private, somewhere Weiss and you both would like since she enjoys singing and you enjoy quiet places." Yang beamed at her thoughtfulness and waved her into the room, and the Faunus returned with a nervous smile of her own as she stepped inside.

"Well, you did well." She complimented, sitting down on the soft leather couch and scooting around until her shoulder leaned against the speaker system to either side of the television that would display the lyrics for them to sing. If they got to do any singing, that was, once things got going. "All goes well, I would… I would rather enjoy coming back here. Alone or not, I mean."

"Yeah, I-" She paused and turned as a waiter poked his head in, mouth open to ask their orders, and instead said, "I'd love a grape soda and some cinnamon cakes. Blake? Peppermint tea and a tuna sandwich like you usually try?"

"I…" She blinked, and then nodded dumbly, "Yes, that sounds wonderful. Only, not a tuna sandwich. The smell, such a small room. Perhaps a… A breakfast sandwich, if it is not too late?"

"I'll get it out inside half an hour, the sandwich will take a bit to fry the egg." The two women nodded and he was gone, flashing away to deliver the order for them.

"So…" Yang started after a couple minutes of silence, taking a seat beside the door and clicking her tongue anxiously. "How do you wanna… Go about this? I mean, I know Weiss will probably be upset, but Ruby is probably going to just wanna know if you like head scritches."

"Yang, that's racist…"

"Shut up, she's a dork." The woman snorted and smiled at the familiar in-joke and, in spite of herself, Blake returned it. "So, you have a plan for Weiss?"

"Part of me just wants to be waiting with my ears out when she gets here." That would at least get her to notice, if nothing else. Only… "I don't know if that is a good idea, though. What's to stop her storming out right away?"

"She's a reasonable, grown ass woman." Yang argued simply, and if Blake were honest and could ignore her anxiety over the whole situation, she would agree with her. Weiss was far more reasonable than any Schnee they'd ever encountered or seen in the public eye. "I say go for it. Let the kitties out, and keep 'em out. That ribbon should be for your weapon only."

"But what if-"

"You saw what Jaune did when Cardin was harassing someone he didn't even know. What do you think he would do if someone hurt you for it? And what would I do, for that matter?" Yang cut her off, smiling triumphantly when Blake could only nod in response. Leaning back she flicked her head, and her hair with it, in victory and went on, "It would sell being open and honest with her, and a Schnee, from what I understand, would understand you being nervous around her."

"One could hope…."

"Gimme get." She ordered simply, holding out her hand. Blake looked to it and then to her and the woman's brows rose, her hand repeating a demand for the ribbon. After a tense moment and a lot of racing thoughts, Blake sighed and reached up, tugging it off and letting her ears flick and stretch. Yang took it from her and slipped it into a pocket with a smile, "Good girl."

"Yang, that's-"

"Say racist and I will thump you on the nose, and that will be racist." Yang threatened, the Faunus grimacing and nodding understandingly. The blonde's Scroll chimed then and Yang flicked it open, "Weiss and Ruby are here. Coming up now, they just wanted our room number. Are you ready?"

"No, but we're doing it anyways." She answered, pulling her legs up and holding them against her chest anxiously. Ears flicking, she asked, "Should we… Should we warn them, or something?"

"They already know something is up. I told 'em to expect a… Chat." That was a way to phrase it, yeah. "Just take a breath, okay? Got like three- Oh, Weiss!" She stood suddenly as the door swung open, blocking the view between it and the frightened Faunus. "Now listen, okay, you aren't allowed to get angry. Okay?"

"Why would I get angry, Yang?"

"Because… Reasons, okay? Promise you'll keep it cool, though. Sit down, and we all talk. Okay?" Yang demanded, a hand shooting out to presumably catch the woman when she tried to sidestep her. In a firm tone, like it had been wrought out of iron, she finished simply, "This is serious, Weiss. Like, deadly serious."

"...Jesus, what did you idiots blow up this time? I can't afford to fix another crater, if that's what-"

"It isn't." Yang snapped, the seriousness finally seeming to sink in. She heard two pairs of feet shuffle on the carpeted floor and assumed Weiss had nodded, because Yang let her go and sighed. "Okay. Then sit."

"Fine, Gods, you'd think that someone had… Died…" Weiss trailed off, sitting down and staring at Blake for a long moment. Or rather, staring at the space above her head, where her ears pressed down anxiously like they were trying to hide. She swallowed and shakily unscrewed the top to a bottle of water Ruby produced from her little backpack before turning to Yang and murmuring weakly, "Well. I see why you feared I would be angry, at the very least, Yang. And I am."

"Weiss, I-"

"Not at you specifically, Blake, or not right now at the least." Hard blue eyes turned on Yang, sitting across from her with a face that reeked of apathy, and Weiss scowled. "You couldn't have warned me about this? You thought an ambush was the best idea?"

"Didn't consider if it was, really. I picked what would make Blake the most comfortable, and you can be pissy at me for it if you like. Hell, slap me if you want." She shrugged at the affronted expression Weiss gave her and sighed, grimacing and turning to look at the door. "Look, this is a thing for everyone. Okay? So let's just deal with this. I'll apologize later."

"Fine." Weiss agreed, turning a look on Blake and pursing her lips. Her hands drummed on the bottle held between her knees idly, sat prim and proper as always, while she thought. "Why hide it?"

"I'm a Faunus with features I can hide." She answered simply, "You'd be surprised how many of us do it to escape the eyes of people we fear."

"And you feared me?"

"When we first met? Yes. You were just a Schnee, Weiss, I didn't know you. And now that I do, I… Well, here we are." She gestured weakly at the room, and paused to offer anxious little Ruby a small smile of reassurance. "Now I'm telling you. A-And Yang planned a whole day of stuff you would enjoy doing, to make it easier."

"So you were… Scared of me, because of my last name?" Unsure of what to say, Blake simply nodded and the woman glared hotter than she ever had before. "So to be straight in all this, you are letting me know you were afraid of me judging you for what you are, because you judged me for what I am?"

"Yes… And that was wrong to-"

"You bet your ass, Belladonna. Wait..." She blinked once, then twice as her mind put pieces together faster than Blake had hoped and then she pointed a finger at her. "You're one of those Belladonnas, aren't you? The founders of the White Fang?"

"...Yes." She nodded, "And I was a member until recently."

"Blake, what the fuck happened to the plan?" Yang hissed, sitting up straighter at the statement and flicking her eyes to the shocked looking Weiss. "Look, she was a member for a while, but not, like… I dunno, not like the majority of them are, or- Gotta be shitting me, Blake, come on..."

"Are you one now?" Weiss asked shortly, biting the words off as soon as they'd come. Blake shook her head 'no' and Weiss nodded. "And why did you leave? You said you were a member until recently, that is, so when and why did you leave? And why not leave sooner?"

"I didn't leave sooner because my partner, the only reason I was there that long, asked me to stay." That was wholly the truth, too. She didn't even have to be foggy about it, and that at least offered some comfort. "He changed, though, and the Fang did too. I saw it, and I just… I couldn't be a part of it anymore. He wanted to blow up a train full on innocent people as part of our robbery and… I betrayed him. Cut the line free, then disarmed what charges there were."

"Cut the line free… Was this the southern run from Rust-Town to Vale? A week or so before semester start." Blake again only nodded and Weiss blinked slowly, like she was drunk. Or more accurately, like she was processing something complicated. "Blake, I was on that train. My father ordered me to ride with the delivery."

"Gods…" Blake's mouth hung open and her eyes widened before she started, "I-I'm so sorry, Weiss, I didn't…"

"Your sabotage probably saved my life." Weiss murmured, looking her up and down and then sighing like she'd decided something. "Very well. I will need time to process all of this but… But I believe I am fine. So long as you never again keep something big like this from me, I can forgive some understandable trepidation."

"Thank you, Weiss."

"I do have one question, though." Weiss remarked dryly, looking at her ears and pursing her lips anxiously. Then she licked them, shuffled her feet, and asked in a weak little voice, "Is it… Is it racist to ask if you like your head scratched?"

"I…"

"Oh my Dust and Grimm, it wasn't even Ruby who asked…"

"T-This is the first Faunus I have ever spoken with, so I do not know the cordialities, and I am curious!" She huffed haughtily, glaring at the blond and then looking to Blake again. With an apologetic smile, she added, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I… I was out of line, asking something like that out of the blue. I apologize."

"...I don't like my head scratched, but scalp massages and having my ears rubbed is rather nice." She finally answered, untucking her legs and forcing herself to relax. Ruby bounced beside her partner and her hand shot up and Blake smiled, "Yes, you can touch them. But be gentle, they're sensitive."

The little woman was across the room in a flash, gingerly brushing her fingers along her velvet ears, and Blake chuckled.

"Um, may I…" Weiss paused, halfway to standing up and wide-eyed, unsure of what to say or if she should say it.

"Just be gentle, and don't get used to it." She answered quietly, glad for something as simple and, relatively speaking, typical as this to deal with. "It's not a thing I normally allow. But for today at the very least, go ahead."

Gingerly, the pale woman joined her partner in touching the flicking little things. She chuckled and, for a moment in the corner of her eye, thought she saw a face in the window set into the thick door. Only for a moment, though, and when she turned nothing was there. Idly, she worried someone had seen her, but then she didn't care.

Who could have seen her that she would care about, after all?

XxX----XxX----XxX

!~ Reviewer Response Section ~!

Random Fandom Reader :

Not a bad prediction, that. The Nightsisters are a decent example of Force based, or maybe oriented is a better word, magic abilities.

Red Demon Eye :

Glad you enjoyed it.

Dr Killinger :

Oh yes, visions tend to only ever cause bad things in Star Wars. Even if, in the end, things tend to work themselves out the visions themselves tend to be… Problematic at the very best of times.

Humber :

Asking why Blake is relevant ignores the entirety of what happens in V3, and Jaune's vision itself, which takes place LITERALLY in what makes Blake relevant. And team RWBY, of course.

Not trying to be snipp at ALL there, just make the point.

No More Hashtag :

Need is a strong word to use, and it isn't blanket across all Force users. What is, however, a blanket need is to be in places touched by the Force. Jedi of all ranks, for instance, are fine meditating and training in Temples but that is BECAUSE they are Force imbued. Jaune knows of no such places on Remnant he can get to, and short of BUILDING a new temple, he can't make one.

So going off to be alone, isolated and in a place surrounded by nature and ideal for what he needs is, canonically, the best secondary choice. Many Jedi after Order Sixty-Six run and hide in more natural places specifically because it is both easier to hide there and they can train more easily there.

The reasons BEHIND that are never stated, and I am simply using my theory for it.

Meteor el Drago :

Being real here? I prefer Lancaster too, personally. I won't spoil the ship here - even if it's obvious, to an extent - but I will say I write ships I don't like. I write the story first, and my desires second.

Shadow Dragon Lord :

So you don't clarify, but was that a joking 'fuck you' or one I should report…?

Talon Scythe :

I will reveal eventually why the clearing is important, and why Grimm avoid it, but know this. Jaune hasn't, and won't, examined the rock while he's there. He's far too distracted at the moment.