Alerts (Conti.)

I couldn't actually say I had the slightest clue what had just happened or how I was supposed to react to it. I mean, I could make a pretty educated guess that in raising her Wisdom over a hundred, Autumn had either gained a new skill or greatly increased the effect of one she already had, but…wow. I had not seen this coming and it was…something.

But if there was anything I was becoming really good at, it was rolling with the punches, literally or metaphorically. I took a moment to process the situation and accepted it as strange, important, and definitely in need of further investigation—but also helpful in solving what had previously been a major problem. Given the situation, I was willing to put it aside for a time, until other matters could be addressed.

Which was how I ended up walking through Vale in the dim light of morning. Looped around the wrist of my left hand was a leash that connected to Gou's collar, the dog trotting happily along by my side with a panting, doggy grin. Autumn was curled around my right arm.

And I meant curled. When I'd picked her up, her stem had shimmered momentarily before bifurcating up to the blossom, both ends stretching and curling around my forearm in a crisscrossing pattern that left me with a bracer of binding stems leading up to a flower that sat atop my wrist like a liking watch. More alarming were the inch-long thorns it sprouted, more reminiscent of an Atlesian Blackberry then a rose, but I was fortunately very durable. I stretched my Aura to cloak Autumn as well and allowed my Vitality and Physical Endurance to reduce the damage from the vines to almost nothing, with a bit of Regeneration and some periodic healing taking care of the rest.

Still, I'd need to sit down and talk to her about it as soon as possible. While it didn't bother me any more than Gou's bites had before it, someone without the durability of a hunter could find themselves seriously hurt by it. Worse, it seemed like it was only a matter of time until she learned the tricks of one of the many, many, many poisonous plants that inhabited Remnant, at which point she might honestly kill people. Right now, she was still just a mostly blind child holding onto her father and dawning her defense mechanisms in preparation of a potential threat, but…

I pat her reassuringly as she squeezed my arm rhythmically—probably more to feel the vibrations caused by my heart beat than anything else—and was once more reminded that someone without the training and defenses of a Hunter would be dying very quickly right now, bleeding out through dozens of deep cuts.

Then again, I'd spent an alarming amount of time in situations that would have killed me…huh; a little over three months ago, now. And it was quite possible that I was about to add another mark to that particular tally. As just, I felt justified in being cautious.

As I turned down the street towards Tukson's book trade and slowed my pace to cast my gaze over the street once with my normal eyes before calling upon my Clairvoyance, causing the world to shift. It was hard to describe how things looked when my skill made them clear, not because the effects weren't obvious—because good God were they hard to miss—but because…it was like…

It was hard to describe. Human sight is trichromatic. That is, we perceive three 'types' of color, mixed in thousands and thousands of different ways to paint the world we see. It's more complicated than that and there are a bunch of factors that can affect it, but that's the basic idea. However…if you've ever seen a picture of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, the section for visible light is just this tiny sliver.

What if you could see a bit more? What if, instead of three primary colors, you saw the world with four? Or five? Or even more?

I wasn't sure how many I was seeing right now, but it must have been quite a few. Color swirled for a moment before settling and…I could still see everything the same way on one level, but on another…Something that should have been black glowed with neon light. Things that had long since faded from human sight marked the world in splatters and streaks while color hummed throughout everything, rising into the air. And…I made it sound like those were separate things, but they weren't. They were all happening at the same time. To everything.

That's the world under the full power of my Clairvoyance—my so called 'clear sight.' And it was clear, in a way, like I was seeing through a window that was smeared with mud for everyone else. But that much clarity…it was like a light that illuminated to the point of blindness. I had to focus to make any sense of it, draw individual forms of perception from the chaos. Maybe later, when the skill was leveled after weeks or months of use, I'd be able to look the whole picture, but as it was now I had to take glimpses.

But even so, a tiny fraction of what Clairvoyance could show me was still more than most people would believe. With the store technically closed and business afoot, the windows of Tukson's store were opaque, hiding everything inside.

I peered through them from several hundred feet away, looking into the front of the shop and then through the parted curtain of the back as I switched my sight, seeing two people. One was Adam, the other Tukson.

Drawing back, I kept walking, glancing around a bit to see if anything else was afoot. I was cautious—or, I preferred to think, smart—but I wasn't worried about them betraying me or anything. I mean, I wasn't stupid; I knew Adam's loyalty was to his people first and foremost. But I also knew that we were still friends and that in the short time we'd known each other, we'd gone through a lot. He knew I wasn't prejudiced against the Faunus and that I'd risk my life to protect them if I had to. Even if I assumed that he was cold enough to just call a friend out somewhere and kill them for being in the way, which really didn't seem to be the case, I was pretty sure he had no reason to do so to me. Tukson, one of the more peaceful members of the White Fang, I especially couldn't see going along with it without dropping some hint of warning. And even beyond that…I trusted both of them.

That did not, however, mean I was completely at ease. In fact, because I trusted Adam, I treated this seriously, making sure I didn't see anything unusual. After confirming that Adam and Tukson were alone and there were no suspicious individuals eavesdropping, I made sure nothing else stood out. No strange men stood nearby, no oddly placed electronics, nothing. The area seemed clean. The only question was…

I felt my lips twitch as something caught my eye, colored brightly in the light only I could see. I checked around again to make sure no one was watching, that I wouldn't give anything away—and then waved at one of the nearby rooftops. There was no reply, but I saw her react.

It was possibly, vaguely, vaguely possible that I was using caution as an excuse to play with my new toy, but God, I felt like a secret agent. A movie secret agent, that is; not one that shifts through people's trash and makes phone calls, fun as that could sometimes be.

"If only I had a suit," I lamented to Gou, who looked up at me with delighted incomprehension.

I walked down to Tukson's store and entered with barely a knock.

"Sup, Adam, Tukson," I said even before they came into sight, simply because it made me feel cool. "We gonna leave Blake out in the cold?"

Adam brushed the curtain and looked me up and down, not seeming impressed by my remark, much less off put.

"What's with the rose?" Adam asked, immediately assailing the foundation of my suaveness.

"It's my daughter," I said a bit curtly.

At that, he actually did pause. He looked at me silently for a moment, watching me with a blank expression before replying.

"I don't know how to process that," He said at last, to which I shrugged. He opened his mouth and raised a finger, preparing to ask something—and then seemed to change his mind at the last second, pointing to Gou instead. "You got a dog, huh?"

"Yup," I replied easily. "His name's Gou. But seriously, is this guy's night or something?"

"It is now, I guess," He mused, shrugging at my glance and elaborating. "Blake doesn't like dogs."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that kind of…cliché?" I asked, trying not to smile.

"Underneath Blake's poised exterior lays a very grumpy cat," Adam said solemnly before smirking ever so slightly and kneeling to scratch Gou's ears. Where a month ago, that would have gotten him a probably-meaningless bite, now the dog allowed the contact, sniffing Adam's hand. "Tail's gone?"

"Took off the title," I answered, looking down at him. It struck me suddenly that Adam was beating around the bush.

Wow. This must have been pretty bad if Adam was hesitant to address it. I mean, if we were talking about cliché's, Adam was the bull in a…well, book shop, currently, but the fact remained. He could be subtle, careful, even cautious, but given the choice…

In fact…

Several thoughts connected all at once and I looked over my shoulder.

"Blake might not like dogs," I said, feeling the thought out. "But she was out there before I showed up. I thought maybe she was on watch, but…if you thought there was a chance you were being followed, you wouldn't be here, would you?"

"No," Adam said, light gleaming off his mask. "I wouldn't."

"Then why…?"

"Because it's White Fang business," He said, standing. "And above her pay grade."

Maybe that was true, I thought. But it seemed safe to assume it also meant 'she wouldn't approve.'

"White Fang stuff," I said aloud. "Stuff you can't even tell Blake? Then why tell me? Is this about Jian Bing?"

"No," He shook his head before pausing. "Yes. Maybe. I don't know."

"That covers just about everything," I nodded.

"There's something going on in Mistral," Adam said, ignoring my remark. "A deal that's been in the works for a while, maybe pushed forward by…you know what. The White Fang's putting the finishing touches on negotiations with…someone."

"And I'm going to Mistral," I nodded, absently wondering how he knew that. "But, uh…if this is big White Fang stuff, why not just…not tell me? I mean, you know I'm not gonna rat you out or anything, but it doesn't have a lot to do with me, either. So…why tell me about something you wouldn't tell Blake?"

"Because, you'll be in Mistral," He answered. "And I have zero faith in your ability to keep from getting wrapped up in this somehow."

That seemed fair, I acknowledged, but…

"That's not all," I said, belief the words firming as I gave them voice. "There's more at stake here…you said this was pushed ahead by what I did? Do they want me to…?"

"Yes," He said and then. "And no. It's complicated."

"I can tell." I frowned.

"After word got out about your name and success…it got a lot of attention and interest," Adam shrugged. "A lot of people want to meet you, bring you in on things, get you involved. But at the same time…"

"No one knows a thing about me," I guessed. "Or what I think about things or what I intend to do. It's like a lot of people want to listen to me, but no one can guess what I'll say. Right?"

"Basically," He said, making me squint at him.

"And if she knew, Blake would want me to say one thing," I said. "And you and the leaders of the White Fang would want me to say something else. Right?"

"Basically," He repeated, sighing.

I cracked my neck.

"You should know already," I said. "I don't have a solution to the White Fang's problem. I can't appear and tell everyone to lay down their arms and embrace tactics that almost certainly won't work…but I can't truly support the things they do, either. If you're worried or hoping I'll make an appearance…"

He nodded, unsurprised.

"I know," He said. "I already told the others you probably won't attend, but I figured you should at least know about it. Like I said, with your luck, there's a real chance of you getting involved somehow and I really don't want you to stumble into this blind."

'The others.'

I occurred to me that I never did find out what exactly Adam did in the White Fang, beyond break faces. I mean, I'd had my suspicions, of course—I didn't want to stereotype because everyone has a hobby, but his grasp of socioeconomics and politics was a bit better than I would have expected from, say, an enforcer. And now he was apparently playing the role of emissary to Jian Bing with everyone just accepting it…

In fact, thinking about it, I never found out what role Blake played, either. Really, the only member whose purposes I actually knew was Tukson's.

I glanced at the store owner who toiled in the back room as we talked. He kept his head down and stayed out of the way—but I noted that he was still inside, despite Blake being kicked out.

Maybe, I appended. Maybe I knew what Tukson did.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for the heads up. I take it that means you'll be in Mistral, then?"

Adam shrugged. I took it as a yes.

"Blake coming, too?" I wondered.

He grunted. I took that as a yes, too.

"Maybe I'll see you guys there, then."

"Hopefully not," He said, giving me a half smirk. "But probably yes. See you later."

He stepped passed me, reaching for the door.

"Hey," I stopped him suddenly and saw him turn his head slightly to show he was listening. "Can I ask you something? Well, two things, really?"

"Eh," He said, but didn't leave.

"Out of curiosity, how'd you know I was going to Mistral?"

"Maybe we were keeping tabs on you," He said, sounding amusing.

"My mom's been training me," I answered.

Adam clicked his tongue.

"Poor you."

"She's spent the last two months nearby." I continued, though I smiled at his words. I guess she had a reputation. "You weren't keeping tabs on me."

He chuckled.

"Fair enough," He said. "But you already know, don't you? How paperwork falls in all sorts of hands…"

"Ouch," I said, trying to keep from smiling even as I felt a little concerned. "You would use my own spy magic against me?"

"Absolutely," He smirked. "Though I only saw it by accident. I recommend not being obvious about it if you don't want a lot of attention drawn you way, but you might want to look into why you're mother's going to Mistral in the first place."

"I'll do that," I nodded. "And…again, out of curiosity—and yeah, actually, you probably shouldn't tell me even if I won't say anything, but…who are the White Fang negotiating with?"

"You're right," Adam said, opening the door. "I shouldn't tell you."

As he turned around to close the door, though, he stopped for a moment and shrugged.

"A human," He said.

"A human," I repeated. "Like me?"

"No," Adam shook his head, closing the door. "Not like you."

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