Flight

I lingered in the store for a time, both to give Adam and Blake a chance to leave and to give myself time to absorb it all. I frowned slightly, looking out at the slowly brightening sky, just…not sure how to feel.

I had a lot of questions and few ways of getting answers—or, rather, I wasn't even sure if I should try to get answers. The easiest way to satisfy my curiosity would be to ask my parent's but…would that be too suspicious? I hadn't asked her why we were going to Mistral, trusting her to tell me if I needed to know, but Adam's words had forced a tiny spark to burn.

I knew, of course, that she was going there for a reason. More than that, if Ozpin was sending a Huntress of my mother's caliber, it must have been at least potentially serious. He'd want someone who could handle herself in a fight if it came to it.

But on the other hand…she was considering bringing me along. And I knew she loved me and knew I wasn't weak, but would she drag me unknowingly into a situation that might erupt into major league violence? It seemed unlikely, which implied…

What? That it was serious, but not necessarily dangerous? That there was some way of keeping me out of danger? That there was something else at work? It could have been anything.

But I thought back to the words Ozpin had spoken months ago, about hearing whispers of something in Mistral. Had it just been said in jest or was there some truth to it? Was he sending my mother to investigate and find the source of such rumors? Could such whispers actually be of the White Fang and their new partner? Would they send my mother if it was?

I thought about it. I could see it, maybe; if it was something that was…suspicious, something that might have been big but had nothing definite, sending someone to investigate was only natural. But if it did turn out to be real, it would need to be someone strong enough to fight her way out, too, and bring that information home. To maximize the chances of success, someone who knew the area well would be preferable; someone who was familiar with local groups, who had a reputation and maybe an excuse to be there, someone that might not be immediately suspected of an investigative role…I could see it. From a coldly logical point of view, it might have even made my presence make sense; a high-ranked Huntress travelling alone would draw more suspicion then a mother travelling with her son, showing him her homeland. Even if said mother was a huntress; it was all about perception, framing.

But the addition of another person, someone unassociated with the mission, would make things more difficult. Wouldn't it?

"A festival," I murmured to myself, looking at my reflection in the window. That seemed important, somehow. It was a festival. A major festival at that, the first one after the chaos cause by Ziz was beginning to wind down some.

No, I thought. After the chaos I'd caused was beginning to die down. It was more than just Ziz, after all—this was something bigger. A legendary monster awakened near Vale, on the continent of Vytal. A major terrorist attack on the Schnee Dust Company and an invasion of its home country, Atlas, on the continent of Mantle. Two Kingdom's rocked in short order, while Mistral weathered the storm untouched.

I wonder if anyone had given thought to taking a vacation there. Travel between the kingdom's was so rare because the only way to do so with guaranteed safety was to travel in a large group; a single ship, barring something cutting edge like the White Whale, faced serious risks in venturing beyond the Kingdoms, but twenty ships? Fifty? A hundred? With a military escort?

That was a different matter.

It also wasn't worth the cost, except very, very rarely. While it may have reduced the threat of opportunistic Grimm, flying that many ships…unless there was a huge demand, it was far too expensive. But there were occasions that made it worthwhile—like the Vytal festival.

And Mistral…Mistral had this. An event big enough, famous enough, that it would be worth the cost to mobilize a fleet of transporters—several of them even, from the different kingdoms.

That's a lot of traffic, I thought. Enough to hide the movements of a terrorist organization or two. It'd be pretty easy for a person to just happen to get lost in a crowd that big, too. And while they're lost, well, who's to say? An excuse to keep me away from danger—and really, all it'd take was one of about fifty million attractions—and boom! Goodbye, Wonder Mom; hello, Super Spy.

Of course, I reminded myself, all this was conjecture. There was nothing to truly support any of it; I mean, the pieces may have fit, but I was making them fit, constructing a situation that fit what I wanted to see. There was nothing saying I was right about my baseless conjectures; in fact, I was probably wrong.

All I'd need to do was ask my mom a question or two and I could prove it, a treacherous part of me whispered, all the more insidious for being completely right. Because, yeah; I could ask my Mom what the mission was about. She might tell me the details, she might not, but either way I'd probably learn something. It'd be way more productive than letting my brain run itself away on a hamster wheel.

But…

Maybe I was constructing a situation based on a couple vague hints; I couldn't deny it was possible. I didn't mind that, even, in and of itself; my mom was a busy woman. She was a Huntress, for God's sake—it wasn't surprising that she'd need to work some while away. Hell, even if she only had the idea of bringing me along because it was useful to the mission, I knew she loved me and I was sure that it had been at least partially intended as a reward. She wasn't forcing me to come or anything, either. I wouldn't get mad at her if it turned out she had more than one reason for making the suggestion.

Besides, even if she did intend to bring me to the festival and leave me to my devises while she worked—and it was completely possible she didn't—there was still a pretty awesome part where I got to go to the festival. I was fine with that.

My mom was a Hunter and had to keep secrets sometimes. I was fine with that, too; hell, I'd kept a lot of my own.

But…but if I asked her and she answered, if she confirmed my probably made up suspicions…then that put me between my mother and my friends. It would mean I'd know something she was looking for and was keeping it from her, if I said nothing—and mean betraying my friends if I spoke.

And I…if that happened…

But if I said nothing…then really, it was just me and my over active imagination, wasn't it? Even if…

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the glass.

Damn it.

"So…" Tukson said a few minutes later, probably watching me just stand there. "Are you gonna buy anything, or…?"

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