Chapter 7
"Preparations (Part 3)"
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Village of Patch, the Xaio Long home
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While her partner trained outside, Blake was in the guest room of the Xaio Long home. Since returning to Patch with Yang, she had taken the guest room while Yang finally moved back into the room she shared with Ruby. Recovery from her wounds hadn't been too bad. In fact, the scar left behind from being shot wasn't nearly as bad as the others since it got actual treatment. Rest in a real bed had also done plenty of good for her body. Even so, Signal's doctors suggested she wait a couple more days before attempting to do any physical training. Unlike her partner however, Blake wouldn't need time to practice swinging a weapon again. Instead, she had volunteered to look over the Vytal Festival footage. She hadn't gotten very far however. Her main job was to look for anything odd in the matches that Cinder's team had taken part in. She was also making it a point to look for anything strange or out-of-place in other matches. At the time, Blake thought something snapped in Yang's mind when she apparently attacked Mercury. In the days since being reunited with her partner, she had learned that Coco Adel had also experienced a similar issue. Pyrrha was also overheard saying such things prior to her death. Ultimately, Blake wasn't sure what she'd be looking for, but she had a feeling with enough time to look over everything, she'd find it. However, the search for answers hit a snag.

As soon as Blake got to video of Team RWBY versus Team ABRN, she was stopped in her tracks.

The early matches were easy enough for her to watch. To begin with, she wanted to become familiar with each fight before looking for anything that might suggest interference. Once she got to one of her own fights however, she couldn't help but stare at herself and Yang. There they were, intact and without serious injuries. Yang still had her arm. Blake still had both eyes and lacked the collection of scars that now crisscrossed her body. Eventually, she paused the video once there was a shot of the two of them standing side by side. She wasn't sure how long she had stared at the still image, but she knew it had to at least be several minutes. It took a sudden voice coming from the bedroom doorway to snap her back to reality.

"Over a hundred channels and nothing good on, right?"

Blake nearly fell out of bed and dropped the scroll in surprise as Qrow walked into the room. "Mr. Branwen!" she said, attempting to pull herself together. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you walk in." Qrow chuckled at that and said, "With those ears? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard everything we've talked about in this house." Qrow was about to say something else, but stopped when he saw the guarded look on Blake's face. It was a look he had seen before on the faces of other faunus.

It was the look of a person that was unsure if they had heard a good-natured joke, or were being insulted.

As soon as he saw that look, Qrow apologized. "Sorry about that kid. I didn't mean anything bad" he said to her. "Still not used to the fact that you're actually a faunus. Up until the reveal, I figured you were just someone who really pissed off Adam Taurus for some reason." The look on Blake's face softened, even turned to one of confusion once he said that. "You mean Ruby and Yang never mentioned it?" she asked. Raising an eyebrow, Qrow said, "You really do have a tough time trusting people, don't you?" Blake looked a bit ashamed over that fact as Qrow continued. "That was your secret. A secret you trusted them with. It would have taken a life of death situation for them to just tell someone." Curiosity getting the better of him, Qrow decided to just ask what he was thinking, point-blank. "Why the sudden change of heart anyway? In hindsight, I'm actually surprised at the fact that you decided to stop."

Blake had started to stare at her scroll again, but her face became completely serious as she looked to Qrow. "I didn't have the best childhood. Like many faunus, I had to deal with tons of insensitive remarks. One day, I had just grown tired of all the insults from people who only saw a lesser being, rather than another person. Eventually, I learned I could hide in plain sight by simply using this." Reaching over to the end table, Blake picked up her ribbon. Despite making a promise to stop hiding, it was still a keepsake she wouldn't get rid of. "Adam and his men did enough to make me realize I shouldn't have to hide. I've already gotten my fair share of odd looks ever since I lost my left eye. Honestly, I think I get more strange looks now, than I did without my bow. The few times I've been asked, I didn't go into detail. All I did was mention that I was attacked by the White Fang. It took me saying it a few times to realize the impression people were getting." Blake didn't have to explain it. Qrow understood immediately and said, "All they saw was a poor human girl who had been brutally attacked by a fanatical faunus rights group." Nodding, Blake told him, "At this point, names and sour looks from a few bigots will never compare to the pain and suffering they've inflicted on me. If people want to assume the worst just because I'm a faunus, then that's fine. I'll just be sure to tell them the truth: the White Fang no longer care about equality. They'll hurt human and faunus alike if it brings them closer to their goals."

Letting out a sigh, Blake had moved to place the ribbon back on the end table. At the last-minute however, she stopped. Rather than put it away, she put it back on. However, instead of concealing her ears, Blake had used it to tie her hair back. Qrow watched her do this and could clearly see that this wasn't just a simple ribbon for the woman. "That's very important to you, isn't it?" he asked. Blake nodded as she set her scroll on the table and sat up in the bed. "This ribbon once belonged to my mother. It was a present she gave me as a child. Originally, my father had given it to her when she still lived in Menagerie." Blake stopped talking for a moment one she mentioned her father. The look on her face was another look Qrow knew all too well. He already had a pretty good idea where this was going before she even said it. "I never knew him. He died before I was born. All I've ever really known about him were stories. He was a Dust miner. Nowhere near being a trained solider or hunter. The night he died, our village was attacked by Grimm. Most of the defenders had already been killed. At that point, everyone was apparently waiting for the inevitable. He knew the odds were terrible, yet he refused to die hiding in a house. He knew he likely wouldn't survive, but despite that, he fought so my mother and the others could live. He stepped outside and used whatever he could find. Mining picks, rocks, swords. It didn't matter to him. Apparently, he even used a long shard of glass as a makeshift dagger. Eventually, the sounds of battle stopped. In the morning, they found him about ten feet away from our home." The look on Blake's face, as a single tear fell, was a mix of pride and sadness. "He had actually tried to crawl back, likely to say goodbye to my mother, but his wounds were too terrible. He never made it back. If it wasn't for him however, everyone would have died."

"Darrah Belladonna, the Black Oak. The Hero of Jade Village."

Blake went wide-eyed once Qrow mentioned her father's name. However, the two nicknames left her confused as well. Seeing the look on her face, Qrow explained. "I'm guessing you were either very young when you left Menagerie, or that you were born outside there. Otherwise, you'd have known about the big statue of him they put up a few years ago. Don't know how true to life it is, but it depicts a very large cat faunus with a mining pick and a sword. He essentially became the symbol of not just the village, but the whole island. Much like how Adam became the White Fang's symbol." As Qrow said that, he appeared deep in thought for a moment. "I suppose in hindsight, I should have figured out you were a faunus much sooner. Belladonna isn't exactly a common name."

Blake was ignoring Qrow's reflection on things. She was born in a village just outside of Vale. While she knew her mother was from Menagerie, she didn't talk about it much. Blake could only assume this was due to the bad memories of that night. Other faunus she had run into either weren't from there, or they spoke poorly of its people. "You said my father is a symbol to them. What exactly is it like there?" she asked Qrow. By now, Qrow was standing at the window and watching Yang and Tai practice in the woods. "Well, they're the opposite of the Fang in every way" he told her. "Granted, they aren't exactly completely trustful of humans. Many of the older faunus still hold memories of the Faunus Rights Revolution. However, unlike the White Fang, most are at least are willing to work towards a peaceful future without resorting to violence. Those that live there don't generally agree with the methods the Fang use. Adam Taurus became the Fang's poster boy as their methods became more extreme. Your father? He became a symbol of hope for the island, one that represents determination against terrible odds. I think that's a big part of the reason why so many on Menagerie don't support the Fang. They know things aren't perfect, but deep down they believe in a better future." Qrow stopped for a moment and winced as he watched Tai plant a blow on the back of Yang's leg. He could tell it was far from a full contact sparring session, but he knew that the hit likely still stung. Continuing to watch his brother-in-law and his niece, he said, "If anything, I'd say that despite not knowing him, your father's determination rubbed off on you. I read your medical report after Signal's doctors treated you. I've known hunters that would have caved in under the pressure had they experienced half your injuries."

Turning back to Blake, Qrow asked her, "What about your mother? What exactly happened to get you involved with the White Fang?" Qrow could see it was a touchy subject for the young woman. For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to say anything. Eventually, she said, "She came to Vale after my father died. The village was rebuilding, and she wasn't in any condition to work the mines. She settled in one of the villages outside the main city. A couple of months after arriving, I was born. My mother mainly did small, odd jobs to provide for us. She couldn't keep doing small jobs however. The problem was, people in Vale didn't want to hire a faunus." Qrow closed his eyes and shook his head as he let out a sigh. Things like that were a key problem in the relationship between humans and faunus. All it ever did was keep the cycle of hate and mistrust moving.

Meanwhile, Blake continued. "When I was about six, she answered a job placement ad for a mine surveyor. Jade Village was a village of miners and their families. Even the women would have a hand in working the mines. She felt she was qualified, so she applied for the job. My mother was hired and went on a surveying job in Forever Fall." Blake paused, seemingly unwilling to continue. Qrow however, knew how that story ended. "That was the Schnee Mining disaster, wasn't it?" The girl didn't need to answer to confirm it. Qrow himself was familiar with the events.

A little over ten years ago, the Schnee Dust Company expanded operations to Forever Fall. In a first for the company, they had actually hired faunus for the job, despite Mr. Schnee's very public stance as a person that didn't support equal rights. For the first few months, things went well. However, one day a team dug a bit too deep and caused a partial mine collapse. The collapse had opened a previously undiscovered section of the cave network, a section that turned out to be infested with Grimm. Qrow and Oobleck were the ones sent out to eliminate the Grimm and find survivors. The elimination portion of the mission went off without a hitch. The two huntsmen made extremely quick work of the Grimm and proceeded to seal off the tunnel. However, what always struck Qrow as odd, was that they didn't find survivors. It wasn't even a matter of finding bodies. There was literally no trace of anyone that had been trapped. No blood, no signs of struggle, simply nothing. Qrow wanted to investigate, but the Schnee Dust Company insisted that nothing more could be done and had rushed the two huntsmen out once the job was finished. Was it unsafe practices? Did they do something to the miners? Qrow couldn't say for sure, but deep down he knew that foul play was involved. The look on Blake's face told him that she believed that as well.

For his part, Qrow didn't bring up the specifics of the mission. After everything Blake had experienced in recent months, as well as the experiences that were coming if she decided to stay, he didn't need to add more worries by reopening old wounds. However, he knew he'd have to eventually speak to her about it. Meanwhile, Blake managed to show just how perceptive she could be. After studying him for a few seconds, she simply said, "It's all over your face. You were the huntsman involved with the clean up, weren't you?" Qrow didn't say a word. Instead, he merely made a grim mental note to never play poker with this woman.

Blake seemed to interpret Qrow's silence on the matter as some sort of admission of guilt. "Don't blame yourself. I know if my mother was alive, or if there was even a trace of an answer, you would have done all that you could. In any case, after that it didn't take much to get me into the White Fang. One of my mother's friends took me in to keep me out of an orphanage. Their family was already involved with the White Fang. For them, the Schnee incident was just another thing they could use to stir up the faunus. At that point, they were still mainly peaceful. Yet, as the years went by, they attrached more people like Adam. Eventually, those who simply wanted peace and equal rights had their voices reduced to a whisper, while Adam and his people gained power and stirred up hatred." Blake closed her eye and looked away from Qrow, as she thought about those memories. "At first, it was easy to go along with them. I hated the Schnee family. It was their fault that my mother had died. In the early days it was simple. Destroy some property, divert a shipment, steal some prototype they had made. Each time we went out on a job, we made it a point to not get anyone hurt. I eventually heard about the murders and the kidnappings of Schnee employees." Blake paused for a moment. Just remembering her inaction and unwillingness to get out at that point made her sick. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking. I can't remember if I was just making excuses or simply chose to ignore what was going on. It wasn't until I personally witnessed Adam doing those very things, that I started to seriously question it. As time went on, I could see the changes in Adam more and more. I don't know if despair and desperation tainted him, or if he was always that evil deep down, but once he moved on to blatantly killing innocent people, I refused to have a hand in it anymore. I couldn't live with knowing that I could possibly put some young child into the very situation I found myself in." The stress and regret was clear on Blake's face, as she looked back to Qrow. "The last job I did with the White Fang made it clear to me. I didn't want to keep this cycle going. I've lost my family. I don't want to be the reason someone else lost theirs."

Blake's expression now turned dark. "That's why I absolutely hate Adam for forcing me into his sick game." The anger in Blake's voice was clear as she spoke. "In the last six months, I've injured countless members of the White Fang. Even so, I made sure they didn't die. Each time I've acted, it's been in self-defense. But, that night in Vale?" She couldn't stop herself from crying anymore. "Keir forced me to cross the line! He was scum, but I would have spared even him if Yang hadn't been in danger! I....."

Blake couldn't talk anymore. Qrow could clearly see that this was a breakdown that was building up for a long time. As the young woman buried her face into her hands, Qrow rushed over, sat next to Blake and just hugged her close to him. At first, Blake tensed up. She clearly wasn't used to anyone doing such a thing, but eventually, she just let the man draw her in while she let everything out.
Several minutes had passed. Once she had calmed down a bit, Qrow broke the silence. "For what it's worth, I'd have done the same thing. Ultimately, as hunters, we try not to kill anyone. There are occasions where it's unavoidable, yet we still try. However, these people are not playing by any sort of rules. The White Fang? Cinder? They don't care who dies. If it serves their goals, it's an acceptable loss. Considering the circumstances, there isn't a single huntsman or huntress that would fault you for what you did. You were protecting your family."

Blake pulled away from Qrow at the mention of that word. "My....family?" she asked, sounding unsure if she heard the older man correctly. Nodding, Qrow told her, "Family is more than just blood. Yes, you've lost your parents. It's a terrible thing that can't be changed. Yet, in becoming a huntress, you've gained three sisters." Qrow did his best to suppress a chuckle as he said the next part. "Unfortunately, that also comes with their extended family as well. You've picked up a drunk uncle. Not really sure what you're going to do about the racist in-law however." Blake gave Qrow an odd look at that last part. "Yang's father isn't racist, is it?" she asked, with concern. Suddenly, her thoughts went elsewhere. "Or do you think me and Weiss......." Blake trailed off as soon as she caught the look in Qrow's eyes. Knowing exactly what he just did and what she just said, Blake turned an extremely bright red as she tried to find the words. After stuttering for a bit, she simply let out a sigh.

"Yang's right. You are the absolute worst."

After a couple of moments of awkward silence, Blake simply asked, "Was it that obvious?" Getting up, Qrow looked back out the window again at Yang and Tai as he spoke. "For me? Absolutely. You almost let it slip back on the roof in Vale. Since then, I've caught the occasional glances you've given her. It's the same look I've seen on Tai's face each time Summer or Raven came back from a dangerous mission. Yang on the other hand?" Letting out a sigh, Blake asked, "So she's essentially just like Jaune?" Qrow looked at her, but seemed confused over the comparison Blake was attempting to make. Suddenly realizing he may not have known Jaune that well, Blake said, "Nevermind. I understand what you're saying." Qrow shook his head and shrugged. "Honestly? Even I don't know what I'm saying" he told her. "Keep in mind what you're asking me. It's not exactly a conversation I ever envisioned having with Ruby or Yang." To drive the point home, Qrow proceeded to do a terrible impression of a teenage girl and hold a conversation with himself.

"UNCLE QROW!"
"Hi girls! How's it's going? Have you met any boys, or are you in the closet?"

Despite not getting a clear answer, Blake couldn't help but smile at that. She was starting to get the idea of where Yang got some of her humor from. She then got serious as she asked Qrow her next question. "You're completely ok with this?" Stepping back to the doorway, he said, "Why wouldn't I be? Human and faunus relationships aren't common, but they also aren't unheard of." Blake let out a groan. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't keep herself from facepalming. "No. I mean....well...." Qrow just put his hand up to stop Blake from going into another fit of stuttering. "This isn't anything new or strange for me Blake. Hell, Tai flat-out told me that his first mission as a hunter was to sleep with everyone on his team." Blake went completely wide-eyed as soon as Qrow said that. She wasn't quiet sure what to say.

Then, out of nowhere, Qrow destroyed the moment by laughing.

"You should have seen the look on your face!" he said, between his fits of laughter. She just shook her head at the terrible joke. "In all seriousness, don't worry about it" he told her as he retrieved a bag from the hallway. "Now, I can't say for sure if Yang is interested. However, if she's not, I can at least promise she's not going to be judgemental. No one in this family is like that." Blake let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want to admit her feelings to her partner, find out Yang wasn't interested, then have every single moment together following that be completely awkward. Tossing the bag to Blake, Qrow said, "The best advice I can give is to just dive in when you're comfortable. I've seen too many people wait until it was too late. In this job, one of two things happens. You're either going to become very good, perhaps even a professor at some point. Or...." Qrow was about to finish his thought, but paused for a moment. Blake could clearly see he had to take a moment to suppress a bad memory before he was able to finish. "Or, you're going to die very young" he said in an extremely blunt manner. "There's really no in between for us. Too many living hunters have at least one person they wish they could have said something to before it was too late. Don't become another example of that Blake."

With that, Qrow left Blake to her thoughts. She just sat in silence for a couple of minutes, as today had been a roller coaster of emotions for her. Eventually, curiosity got the best of her and she looked in the bag. Inside, she found several brand new pieces of clothing in her favorite colors. Since arriving, Blake had been stuck wearing Ruby and Yang's extra clothes. That presented two problems for the faunus. First, Ruby was smaller than Blake. While she could fit into her team leader's clothing, some of the pieces were tight enough to not leave much to the imagination. Yang's clothing on the other hand presented the opposite problem. Her sweatpants were fine, but the majority of her shirts were either tank tops or short sleeved. At this point, Blake was still self-conscious about her scars. Even if it wasn't for that, they were also a bit baggy due to their size difference. After the first hour of wearing one, Blake was suddenly very aware and careful about leaning forward too much.
Eventually, Blake settled on a shirt and some jeans. The shirt was long sleeved, purple at the top, but gradually changing to black at the bottom. At first glance, the jeans seemed to be a simple black, but upon closer inspection, Blake found the belladonna flower emblem that she tended to wear on her clothing on the left leg. It was in an extremely dark purple that nearly blended in with the black. Blake smiled, because she knew the color choices and the addition of her emblem would have been Yang's doing. She didn't know what that possibly meant about any potential feelings Yang might have, but at the very least it told her just how much her partner cared.

Shutting the door, she began changing out of her borrowed clothes. Once she was completely changed, Blake looked in the mirror and was impressed. She knew she had Yang to thank for the color choices. However, she'd need to make it a point to thank Qrow as well. Everything fit absolutely perfectly.

As she prepared to head outside, Blake's thoughts were in a couple different places. Right now, she wasn't sure if she was feeling brave enough to follow Qrow's advice and say anything to Yang. However, at the very least, she wanted have her first real discussion about events. Qrow's comment about her ears hadn't been too far off the mark. Blake wasn't one to normally spy on private discussions, but sometimes it was much easier said than done. The bits and pieces she had caught reminded her of a saying she had once heard long ago:

Behind every legend, there is a grain of truth.
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Overall, the story has seen far more posts on FF.net than here. I've just been too lazy to do the formatting since my copy/paste seems to enjoy putting everything into a big giant block of text. If anyone here at TPM has been following this, it would be advisable to simply read it over there.

Eventually, I will get it caught back up here, but the timing is anyone's guess.