Alabast used his semblance to move behind his teammates.
"Alright, we've got the jars of sap so let's head back" Alabast says, surprising his teammates. They didn't know where he went after they watched him disappear into his darkness along with the 7 extra jars of sap.
Alabast went back down the hill to go collect his own jar of sap. The 7 extra jars would be used by the group as extra flavoring if they wanted any.
———That Night———
Alabast was alone outside walking around. He wanted some fresh air and some alone time. He didn't want to have to beat them, but they wouldn't stop. They were supposed to be Huntsmen in training or whatever. He had slipped into a false sense of security that this world could be great and not dangerous.
Why can't he make it that way? He needs to find what's making the Grimm and stop them from becoming more of a threat. Or push them off the continents of land that are inhabited by people. But that's just Alabast letting his thoughts run amuck
He had some music blasting in his ears as well. It was Ruby's playlist and most of the music was good. But there were a few he didn't particularly like. He was currently listening to a song with a fast tempo and a heavy beat. He didn't care for the slow or light songs.
It's been about an hour of walking around campus and he's seen some students here or there bu he's tried sticking to the unpopular places to keep away from the others.
Alabast stops walking and takes a deep breath in and then slowly lets it out. That's when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He knew it was Ruby and had let her wait to approach him on her own. And it seems she had done so on her own.
Alabast moves his headphones to his neck an pauses his music that Ruby could hear and recognize. She has a small smile when she realized Alabast was listening to her playlist.
"Yes Little Red?" Alabast looks down to Ruby who is wearing her combat uniform still like him.
"I just wanted to talk and see if you wanted to as well. I'm a great listener you know!" Ruby points at her ears.
"That you are Ruby" Alabast can't help the small smile from growing on his face.
"Well! I'll go first then" Ruby puts her arms behind her back and looks around with her silver eyes. She doesn't see anyone so she looks up at Alabast who turned to face her.
"I still remember that you were part of that organization Ashy. And I know you don't agree with their ways of violence" She looks into his red eyes. "So I was just wondering if you were ok after today's 'incident'"
Alabast looks around as well. He doesn't see nor sense anyone else. "I'm good Ruby. You don't need to worry about that. I just set a group of bullies onto the right path"
"I know. But, it almost seemed like you…..enjoyed it" Ruby is concerned for her boyfriend and wants to make sure he isn't going down the wrong path.
Alabast is somewhat surprised by this. "Hmmm. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it Little Red. It's just..." Alabast looks at a bench off to the side and motions for her to take a seat with him. They sit diwn and Alabast looks at the ground below him. "When you get oppressed for no reason other than the way you were born....and you finally get to put the oppressor in their place….. it's hard not to enjoy it a little. It's not that I liked it. But it was like taking a weight off my shoulders for that side of things. It was also the fact they tried to hurt you guys that I might have gone a bit overboard. I needed to make sure they NEVER tried to harm you guys again. I know you guys could have stopped the Rapier Wasps. But that would have been after you were stung dozens of times. I…"
"You don't need to make excuses for your actions Alabast. We know why you did it. And we don't think of you any differently" Ruby puts her hands together and moves one of her thumbs against the other. She blushes a bit and looks at the moon in the distance. "We actually….well, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Pyrrha and I…..we didn't really dislike….I mean, we liked it when you defended us. And it was great and all. But we also want to be able to defend you, we aren't weak. Especially Pyrrha….. and Yang and Blake aren't weak either…. That's not to say we don't like it when you take your belt of-…..when you defend us and make sure we're safe…Im not trying to say you shouldn't have…. or that we aren't appreciative of you… bu-"
Ruby was getting way off track and flustered the more she talked. Alabast kisses her to make her stop and her eyes went wide as Alabast held the side of her face and forced her to lean back against the bench. She closes her eyes and loses herself in the kiss. It calmed her frantic mind but made her heart skip a beat and beat quickly after.
Alabast moves away from Ruby's face but doesn't move his hand away from her face. "I know Ruby, I'm just worried about losing the people I care about. I want these peaceful days to last as long as they possibly can. I love you girls more than I thought I could ever love anyone. And just the thought of losing any of you feels like the darkness will swallow me whole. I'll try to rely on you all more…..it's just a little difficult since I haven't had to rely on anyone when I was in the White Fang….. Thanks for this Little Red"
Alabast move his thumb across Ruby's soft cheek that is trying to match the shade of red that her dress and hair highlights are.
Ruby opens her eyes and looks at her boyfriend. "Y-yeah…. I understand…. And I'm not doing anything special Ahsy"
"You are Ruby, you just don't know it yet" Alabast gives her a quick kiss on her lips and then sits up and wraps his arm around her. Ruby wraps her arms around his torso and lets her head rest against him.
"Can we just sit here for a few minutes? Just the two of us" Ruby asks.
"Sure Red. Whatever you want, if it's within my powers I'll do it" Alabast turns up his music and lets it play quietly.
"I love you Alabast" Ruby tightens her hold on him.
Alabast squeezes her shoulder to let her know he feels the same. "Ruby Rose, there are no other flowers I'd rather have than you"
Alabast and Ruby sat there for a few minutes just listening to the music and enjoying the moment. Ruby was reassured that Alabast was alright. And Alabast was reminded that his women were strong. And he would make sure to help them get stronger.
"Ren made pancakes. But there isn't anymore syrup, thanks to Nora. But we have the sap still, we had to keep Nora away from it. But Ren helped reign her in. Are you hungry?" Ruby questions.
"Sure. And I'm guessing there are cookies as well?"
"There 'were' cookies as well"
They both laugh and then make their way to the kitchen in the dorms. Not many people use it because the cafeteria has food already cooked and ready to go.
——————
Alabast was walking towards the bullheads on the next Saturday afternoon.
He was wearing a white, long sleeve, button down shirt with a red necktie. He has gray dress pants and a matching vest. His Bestia Fang on his wrist looks like small wrist guards.
Pyrrha had to help him with his tie, even enough he knew how to do it she insisted on it since she wouldn't be seeing him the rest of the night.
Alabast made it to the bullheads and got inside to wait. Not 5 minutes later a woman wearing a white shirt and an oversized yellow jacket. Her black jeans are cut short on the right leg but she's wearing a material or something on her right leg that leaves a couple of inches of her thigh showing. She also has a brown belt around her waist, yellow shoes, yellow bracelets on, and a black choker as well. Her blond hair looking more curly than Alabast is used to. And her lilac eyes also gazing at him, from his leather shoes to his brushed hair that is still not tame.
"Well now I feel very underdressed" she says as she walks up to Alabast.
"Not really, I'm overdressed. You look dazzling Saph"
Yang rubs the back of her neck. She wasn't told he would be wearing a suit for their date so she went with something a little more casual.
"You don't look too bad yourself. Now are you finally going to tell me where we're going hot stuff?" Yang stands ahead of Alabast.
"I'll tell you we're going to go have dinner first, but after that is a surprise" Alabast flicks her forehead after she playfully pouted.
"Awww, Cmon. A hint at least?" She punches his shoulder lightly.
Alabast looks out the window as they start to take off. "It's something that will let you cut loose a bit. Same as myself"
"Hmmm. A place to cut loose? Interesting…" Yang puts her hands in the pockets of her jacket.
"You'll probably enjoy it" Alabast shrugs.
"I'll be going there with you, so it would have to be pretty bad if I don't like it". She moves next to Alabast's side and they turn towards the window.
Alabast puts his arm around Yang and pulls her closer to him. "Did you enjoy beating that girl in combat class that made fun of your hair yesterday? Glynda nearly had to pull you off her"
"Well it's her fault! There are a few things that really tick me off, and she went for one of the biggest ones! Which is a big problem for me, so I made it a big problem for her as well". Yang let her head rest on his chest.
"Well the fight was very interesting. Your fighting style is….." Alabast has to think for a second to find the right word. "….very brutal. To say the least"
"What was that pause for? And I don't want to hear that coming from the guy who pulverized team losers earlier this week. You gave them PTSD or something"
"That wasn't my intention. How was I supposed to know that Cardin had something like that in his past. Nearly everyone does, it's not like I meant to open those scars for him" Alabast sighs, he had a small 'talk' with Ozpin about team CRDL and nothing else really happened from that incident. He didn't even bring up his little massacre in Emerald Forest.
"I know. You're just a cute little furball" Yang takes her hand out of her pocket and starts running her fingers through his long hair.
"That would almost sound offensive if it wasn't coming from you"
Yang takes her hand out of his hair. "Fair point. But you're all mine for tonight" Yang grabs the base of his tail decently hard which causes Alabast to freeze and stand up straight.
"Stop that!" Alabast whispers to Yang.
"Stop what?" Yang has a giant smirk as she starts moving her fingers against his tail. The tail itself without the fur feels weird, but she knows it bugs Alabast so it's quite fun.
"S-stop with the t-tail Yang. Ever since Wednesday you've been playing with it. Is my hair not enough anymore?" Albast was struggling to form his sentence. His tail was one of his weak spots. His hair on his tail is his defense, but the tail itself is sensitive. Especially sensitive at the base. And Yang has been 'experimenting' with it. And it's not only her. The others as well. Even Weiss and Pyrrha have begun to mess with his tail.
"But I know you enjoy it~" Yang whispers to Alabast.
Alabast moves Yang to his front so she faces him as he wraps her in a hug that gets tighter and tighter.
"I see why Ruby lets you hold her while I can't" Yang feels a sense of safety and security with Alabast's big frame wrapped around her. She lets go of his tail and gives him a hug back with her arms around his back.
Alabast releases a sigh of relief as she lets his tail go. But then he feels her hands grab onto him and he notices her lift him up into the air. But she has to bend her backwards to get him off his feet.
"And now I know why Ruby doesn't like being picked up by you". Alabast shoots back at her.
Yang sets him down and they both laugh. Yang is much louder than Alabast but he still chuckles.
Yang turns around to look out the window as they get near Vale. Alabast has his arms around her and her hands are holding his arms and they watch the scenery change below them.
——————
The bullhead lands and the doors open. Yang and Alabast exit with a few other students.
"So where to?" Yang wonders as she looks around.
"There's a place called 'Crow Bar'. I saved the owners daughter when I first came to Vale a while back and came to like the place a bit" Alabast says while walking forward.
Yang catches up to him. "You said 'Crow Bar'? I think my uncle goes there often"
"Why do you say that?" Alabast looks at Yang next to him, she had her thumb and index holding her chin while she tried to think of something.
Yang looks at him with her eyes wothout moving her head. A big smirk on her face. "That's because his name is Qrow. With a Q"
"I should have known" Alabast puts his right hand over his right eye.
"What~?" Yang elbows his side.
"It must run in the family or something" Alabast moves his right hand and points at Yang. "Even your uncle has a 'unique' sense of humor"
Yang elbows him again.
"I didn't say I didn't like it. Just that it's unique. Its 'Xiao-Lovely'" Alabast grabs Yangs right hand with his left as the walk down the streets towards the bar.
"Awww. But you're gonna need to try better on that one, it's a bit of a 'long' stretch" She walks closer to Alabast.
"It's not my fault you just stole the punch-line" Alabast was going to make the 'long stretch' joke but had the carpet pulled from beneath his feet.
"I do like stealing punches" She looks down at Ember Celica in its compact bracelet form.
"I know you do. And I also know another thing you love"
Yang looks over at Alabast. "I love you?"
"Then I know 2 other things you love"
"I love…..Ruby?"
"I know 6 other things you love"
"Hmmm. My dad and uncle make 5. I also love... our dog Zwei?"
"Geez. Haaaah. I know 7 other things"
"Oh! I also love Bumblebee! I think Ruby said she told you about my motorcycle?"
"Din-ding-ding. You guessed it, and that's another hint about what we will do later. Or part of it at least"
"Cool! I can't wait to see what little Ashy thought of!"
Alabast raises an eyebrow at ''little' Ashy'. "What's so 'little' about me?"
Yang looks the other way while her smile turns more of a sly smirk. "That's what makes it so great. It's ironic. Mainly because NOTHING about you is small. And I mean 'nothing' in a good way. Your lap is a fun place to sit after all"
"You've got some big assets as well. But let's change the topic shall we. And besides, we're here" Alabast walks to the street-side bar.
Crow Bar is a bar that is set into a building and goes for an open style with no door and only a drop down metal wall for when it's closed. This makes the entire bar visible from the outside with no windows or door.
There are a few tables and chairs along the sides. And the bar is against the back wall where a middle aged brown haired and mustached man is cleaning a glass cup. There is a holographic tv playing behind him.
The mustached man looks up from his glass and sees Alabast with Yang. "Oh? If it isn't Alabast! And he's brought his girlfriend? What a surprise! You always have off the 'Lone Wolf' vibe honestly, glad to see I was wrong! And you've got yourself a looker!" The bartender says with a sudden burst of energy.
"Hi Bart, it's been a while. This is Yang" Alabast introduces Yang.
The bartender sets his glass down and looks at Yang with a raised eyebrow. "Yang? As in Yang Xiao Long? Qrow's niece?"
"Yeah, so you do know Uncle Qrow. I heard him mention this place a while back. Only remembered it because it matched his name" Yang says as she and Alabast walk up to the bar.
"Yeah, that's the reason he keeps coming back here. Well, one of them at least. We got the view of the docks and water here. And the fact he can drink alone and quietly probably help as well" Bart points out of the bar and towards the outside. It's a view that is pretty decent, there's a railing and a lamppost as well as stairs leading to the docks a few feet down. There's water as far as the eye can see after the docks.
"All the above" Yang says with a smile.
"Guess this really is a small world then. What a crazy coincidence this is" Bart picks the glass back up and begins wiping it clean again. "So what can I do for the two of you? And what's with the fancy get-up?"
"Dinner. And it's our first date" Alabast takes a seat. "I'm a bit overdressed for what's planned after this" Yang sits at the stool next to him and looks around the place.
"Haha. You chose the same seat your Uncle always sits at" Bart lets Yang know, which draws her attention for about 2 seconds before she goes back to scanning the room. "So what's after this?"
"A secret" Alabast says as he takes 2 menu's from Bart. The menu is just a single laminated piece of paper. One side is drinks while the other has more drinks and a small section for food. The place is a bar first after all.
"Sounds fun, and no alcohol. I know Blondie here is in school thanks to old Qrow…..Is that how you two met?" Bart puts 2 and 2 together.
"It is. And Alabast here was pretty bold. First night, before initiation, he had me and my little sis in a hug all night long!" Yang had a smile on her face as she looked to the mistached man behind the bar.
"Oh yeah? Wait, how is your sis in Beacon? Isn't she there a little early?" Bart remembers Qrow saying that his other niece was younger.
"Yeah, but that just proves how great she is! She even leads the team we are on together! Unfortunately Alabast here wasn't on the same team as me and my sister. But his team is across the hall at our dorm so it works out" Yang has a big smile and a lot of pride in her voice as she talks about Ruby. She couldn't be more proud of her.
"Ah. Does that mean that you two will be participating in the Vytal Festival tournament?" Bart leaned on the bar with a big smile. He really enjoyed watching the tournament that happened every two years. But it always changed which kingdom held the festival so he's gotten used to just watching it on his tv instead of going in person when the festival takes place, even when it comes to Vale.
"Yeah! We'll be participating, and winning this year!" Yang says as she leans on the bar.
Alabast smacks Yang in the face with the menu. "One of us will be winning the festival you mean. And you have still yet to beat me"
Yang takes the menu off her face and looks at it. "I am fully aware that I get my ass kicked whenever we fight. It's even still a little sore from yesterday's spar"
Her aura will protect and heal her. But it doesn't completely help with soreness.
Burt gives Alabast the eye when Yang said that. Alabast just shook his head, denying Burts implication.
"Even with Ruby and Blake we could barely take a chunk out of your aura" Yang shakes her head. She is debating in her head about what she should get on the menu.
Burt raises his other eyebrow at Alabast after hearing that he could beat 3 other Huntsman in training while only losing barely a chunk of his aura. Burt has heard a few stories from Qrow and he has watched all the tournaments he could from the Vytal festival and other combat tournaments, so he knows that that is a testament to his strength. And he can only assume he's gotten better since he first met him.
"Anyway, I'll have the…"
And so Alabast and Yang ordered food. They chatted about the upcoming end of their first semester in two months, mostly Yang poking fun at Alabast's grades compared to hers. They had some good back and forwards, jabbing playfully at eachother.
Alabast stands up from the bar stool. "Alright alright. Now are you ready for what's next?"
"Are you going to tell me what it is yet?" Yang says not expecting an answer.
Alabast looks at the docks outside the bar. "Sure, it's...."