Blake is laying on her bed with her knees tucked up to her chest and her arms are holding her legs. She's balled up and lost in her own mind as she remembers that night on the docks.
Roman's words and her own. The explosions and the fight flashes in her vision. She closes her eyes tightly and tries to get the images to go away as they turn into her own past actions. And then eventually to that night on the train.
The betrayal she felt with Adam. The dark abyss that made her feel like she was sinking with no land in sight.
But then there was Alabast.
At first she sunk further down. But then Alabast grabbed her and forced her up to the surface. He was patient and didn't treat her like she was a thing. He actually saw her for who she was and still treated her the same…..
The door opens. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss walk in.
"We should never have let the new guy play" Yang complains.
Ruby grins and holds her finger in the air. "You're just mad cuz' the new guy beat you! See, if you had just attacked when I told you none of this would have happened"
The three girls walk in the room and Blake tries to leave.
Blake gets to the door when Weiss points her finger at the cat Faunus. "Stop" She commands. "Get her"
Blake tilts her head and looks back in the room. Then she feels two arms wrap around her. She squirms a bit but is lifted off the ground.
"You better not hiss at me"
Blake looks up at the face of the person who is restraining her and sees black hair and a red eye looking down at her with a straight face.
"I don't hiss" Blake pouts as she stops trying to resist.
Yang holds both hands over her mouth to stifle her giggles. "Hehe-… That's not true~. I've heard it~" Yang teases.
Blake whips her head over to Yangs direction. Her pupils turn to slits as she glares at Yang.
Weiss walks up to Blake, the Faunus girl looks at her other teammate. "Lately you've been quiet, antisocial and moody!" Weiss puts her hand down back to her side after she finishes talking
Alabast notices Blake's bow get flatter. Blake looks to the side slightly.
Yang holds her left hand out towards Blake. "Uh, have you met Blake?"
Weiss doesn't respond to Yang's comment. "Which I get is kind of your 'thing', but you've been doing it more than usual!" Weiss does air quotes when saying 'thing'. "Which quite frankly, is unacceptable! You made a promise to me, to Alabast, to all of us, that you would let us know if something was wrong!"
Weiss jumps into the air as some of her glyphs float in the air. "So, Blake Belladonna, What…. Is…. Wrong!?" Weiss pokes her finger on Blake's chest.
Weiss doesn't fall to the ground and stays at Alabast's height. She is barely able to stay balanced on the back legs of a chair as she looks down slightly at Blake.
A few seconds later and Weiss quickly puts the chair away and shuffles back beside Ruby and Yang with her hands beside her back.
Everyone kinda is speechless at Weiss' outburst and surprising actions.
Blake closes her eyes. She also tries to move her hand for emphasis as she talks but it's stuck at her side due to Alabast's hold on her. "I just…" She takes a deep breath before she looks at her teammates and then up at Alabast as she continues. "….I don't understand how everyone can be so calm"
Alabast sets Blake down on her own feet. "Is that what it looks like?"
Blake looks up at Alabast.
Ruby takes a step towards Blake. "You're still thinking about Torchwick?"
Yang goes over to her and Blake's bunk and places a hand on it.
Blake whips towards Ruby. "Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!"
Yang gives a small smile and steps forward next to Ruby. "Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it"
"Well I'm not!" Blake shouts, she motions towards Alabast and herself with both hands. "They don't know the White Fang like I, we, do!"
Weiss steps between Blake, Ruby and Yang. She puts her palms together. "Okay, between blowing up nightclubs, stopping thieves, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think that you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells!"
Ruby holds up a finger and tilts her head. "Uh- Who?"
Weiss ignores Ruby and points all five fingers of her left hand towards Blake. "But let me once again be the voice of reason" Weiss looks at her teammates and friends. "We're students! We're not ready to handle this sort of situation" She states and drops her hands to her side.
Ruby rocks her head side to side. "Well yeah, but..."
"We're not ready!" Weiss stresses her point.
"And we may never be ready!" Blake shouts again. She looks at her teammates. "Our enemies aren't just going to sit around and wait for graduation day" Blake points out the window. "They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!" Blake points at the floor signifying that their enemies aren't idle and know where they are. And it's for emphasis.
Alabast understands where Blake is coming from. He has thought about what he can do a lot. And the answer he keeps coming to is improving his combat abilities. He needs to train his Light, and part of that happens to be spending time with his friends and girlfriends. He also has thought about hunting Torchwick down, but that would have to wait until his meeting with Ozpin.
"Okay.."Ruby holds her hand up before doing various other gestures as she looks more and more like a maniac. "…all in favor of becoming the youngest Huntresses to single-handedly taking down a corrupt organization conspiring against the Kingdom of Vale... say aye" She says in her usual quick paced tone.
"Yes!" Yang pumps her fist into the air enthusiastically and points her other hand at Blake. "I love it when you're feisty!" She winks at the now confused girl.
Weiss folds her arms across her chest and turns her body to face away from them. "Well…" She looks at the others. "I suppose it could be fun"
Alabast goes over to Ruby and pinches her cheeks.
"Ahhh! Unhand me!" Ruby tries to get free.
Alabast turns to Blake and gives a small and affectionate smile. "I wouldn't miss this"
Alabast releases Ruby's face and her cheeks are red as she rubs them and looks down to the side. "None of you said aye…!" She pouts.
Alabast tousles Ruby's hair. "Aye"
Ruby brightly grins up at Alabast who returns a small smile.
Blake's mood skyrockets from 0. But it's still tame, mostly because it's Blake. If she expressed her feelings like a Ruby she would be bouncing off the walls leaving petals everywhere. "Alright then, we're in this together!"
Ruby gestures with her hands. "Let's hatch a plan!"
"Yeah!" Yang double finger guns at Ruby.
"Owaaaah!" Ruby gasps and brings her hands over her mouth in horror. "I left my board game at the library!"
Weiss touches her touches her right hand to her face. "We're doomed" She helplessly states as Ruby runs off.
Ruby runs out the door. "I'll be right back!"
Alabast looks at the others. "I better go with her"
Yang, Weiss, and Blake nod in unison.
Alabast walks out the door and sees Ruby sitting on the ground in front of 2 students wearing Havens uniform.
Ruby looks up. "Sorry. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine" A young woman with medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes holds her hand out for Ruby. Her hair is a light, mint-green with a straight fringe and bangs as well as two long locks on each side in the back. She's about 5 foot 8. "Just watch where you're going"
The guy next to the mint haired woman stays silent and looks at Alabast. The guy has gray eyes and gray hair, partially slicked back while unkempt at the front. He's about 6 foot 1.
"Oh, right, sorry" Ruby takes the girls hand and is helped back to her feet. "Um, I'm Ruby! Are you new?"
The girl steps aside to make for somebody behind her.
A fair-skinned woman with black hair, the tips of which are ashen, that covers her left eye. Her eyes are a bright amber color. Her face seems to be the famous 'resting bitch face'. She stands at 5 foot 9. "Visiting from Haven, actually"
Ruby and this new arrival stare at eachother for a few seconds before Ruby breaks the silence. "Ooh! You're here for the festival! But exchange students have their own dormitory"
The gray haired guy steps forward with a friendly smile. "I guess we just got turned around"
Alabast walks up beside Ruby. "Campus is kinda big"
"Oh, hehe" Ruby laughs. "Hey, don't worry, it happens all the time"
The gray haired guy and the mint haired woman walk past Ruby and Alabast. Both look at Alabast and his eye as they pass.
Ruby turns towards the two that walks past her but still sort of faces the other woman. "Uh, your building is 'just~' east of here"
The woman that stayed behind takes a step forward. "Thanks" She walks between Ruby and Alabast. She looks at Ruby. "Maybe we'll see you around" And she continues walking down the hall.
"Yeah, maybe!" Ruby shouts after them.
Alabast crosses his arms. "Names"
All three pause. The gray haired guy rubs the bridge of his nose. The two women turn around.
The woman with Amber eyes looks at Alabast more closely. "It's rude not to introduce yourself first"
Alabast narrows his eye. "Ruby already did. I could care less who you are"
The mint haired woman steps forward and has a nasty look on her face. But the other woman puts her hand out and stops her.
The Amber eyed woman smiles. "Right~..." She looks at Ruby. "Sorry about that. I'm Seraphina Cyrus"
Seraphina motions with her right hand towards the guy. "This is Mercury Black"
She then motions to the other woman who is glaring daggers at Alabast. "And this is Emerald Sustrai"
Seraphina gently smiles. "It's our pleasure to meet you Ruby and…?"
Alabast doesn't respond. He just stares at her. He feels something off with her. She…. gives off a weird feeling to his senses. Like something warm or spicy.
Ruby nervously laughs. "Ha-ha…" She jumps into Alabast's back and points at his head. "This is Alabast! Er… Alabast Noir" She remembers they all said their last names. "And my last name is Rose"
Mercury turns around and greets them with a tiny smile. "Hello"
Seraphina bumps Emerald.
"Nice to meet you" Emerald says with a smile. Seemingly forgetting she was just glaring at Alabast.
"See you around" Seraphina waves and then turns around to walk down the hall.
Mercury and Emerald follow behind her.
Ruby waves after them. "Oh, uh…" Ruby remembers she didn't welcome them. "….and welcome to Beacon!!"
Alabast flinches. "Must you yell in my ears?"
"Oh, sorry about that" Ruby sheepishly apologizes.
Seraphina evilly grins as she walks away and her eyes menacingly glow in the dark and barely lit hall.
Alabast looks at Ruby. "Didn't you have to get your board game?"
Ruby's eyes widen. "Oh fiddle sticks!" She hops off Alabast's back. "I gotta go!"
She runs down the hall and Alabast runs behind her.
"I'll go with you" Alabast informs Ruby.
"Did you…" Ruby thinks about her next words. "…. have to be so rude to them? They seem…. nice?"
Alabast looks at Ruby as she glances over her shoulder at him. "If anything they seemed to be the rude ones"
"I guess?" Ruby looks forward. "Thanks for standing up for me"
Alabast keeps behind Ruby as they hastily run towards the library. "Anytime Little Red"
They make their way through the halls, across the courtyards, and into the library.
"Oh, where is it?" Ruby worriedly looks at where they were sitting and doesn't find it. "It's not here…" She sadly says.
Alabast puts a hand on her shoulder and goes to the librarians desk.
Since it's late the librarian isn't here. So Alabast goes behind the desk with piles of books on and around it.
"Alabast!" Ruby whispers. "We aren't supposed to go behind there"
Alabast puts his index finger to his mouth. "Shhhhh"
My
"Hehehe….." Ruby laughs but it's strained.
Alabast could have covered the cameras with his darkness. But that would have caused unnecessary suspicion. They're only looking for a board game. Who knows what Ozpin is hiding in the walls and basement of Beacon. Alabast doesn't want to get himself or his girlfriends caught up with any of that.
The drawers are locked. But Alabast looks under the desk and finds what he's looking for. Or he hopes it's one of them.
Alabast picks up a stack of games and puts them on the desk. "Any of these it?"
Ruby steps forward. "Yyyyy- no….. WAIT!" Ruby grabs a board game from the center of the stack. "Sorry about that, it's kinda dark in here"
Alabast puts the other ganes back where he found them. "No problem. Sometimes it's hard to tell how dark it really is"
Ruby tilts her head. Then her eyes and mouth open in realization. "Ohhhhhhhhh~. Faunus. Right….."
Alabast walks around the desk. "Yep. And my dark vision is better than most other Faunus. But there are a few that have better than mine.
"That's cool. My eyes are only silver…." Ruby sadly says.
Alabast lifts her chin. "And they're the most unique and beautiful I've seen"
Ruby instantly blushes. Alabast gives her a quick kiss and lets her chin go.
Ruby's face goes completely red. "L-lets…er, uhm….. we should leave… I d-don't think the Library was meant t-to be unlocked" Ruby tightly holds the game to her chest with both arms.
Alabast motions for Ruby to go first. "Let's get going then Little Red"
He wonders why the Library was unlocked. They had been kicked out due to it closing. And nobody was in here. He could have used his darkness to unlock it, but that wasn't necessary. He wonders if anyone broke in before they arrived. But, there isn't any sign of a forced entry. Alabast decides to ignore this for now and see if they get in trouble later.
Ruby walks past Alabast, who walks slightly behind her to her right.
They don't say anything until they are in the courtyard near the fountain.
"Hey Alabast…" Ruby says and stops in front of the fountain.
Alabast stops and looks at Ruby who is looking at the water. "What is it?"
Ruby watches the ripples of the water. "Do you think we can really do something? I mean, about the bad guys"
Alabast looks at the ripples. "Yes. We all are strong and will grow stronger. But, so are the bad guys. And they're a step or leaps ahead of us because they have the fact that we don't know their plans on their side" Alabast leans over the water. "But, when we cause enough ripples…" Alabast pokes the fingers of his right hand into the water and moves it around. "….It'll cause their own ripples to get disrupted. Their plans will fail or become harder to make them succeed. And that will cause them to get emotional. Could be anger, sadness, or joy that someone is standing up to them. No matter what it is, it'll cause them to be more careful and more reckless at the same time" Alabast takes his hand out of the water and looks at Ruby. "And we're doing this together. Not much can defeat us if we're all together"
The shattered moon hangs in the sky above the pair. And it's light reflects in the water of the fountain and lights up the courtyard. Very few clouds are in the sky to block the view of the many stars that are sprinkled across the sky.
Ruby listened with wide eyes. And after he finished she looked over at Alabast. Not just him. But the inner him. She saw that he really did want to do this and that he really believed they could. "Right!"
Alabast stands up and shakes the water off his fingers. "Are you ready?"
Ruby holds the game to her chest with her left arm and holds out a thumbs up with her right. "Super duper uber ready!"
Alabast smiles. "Then let's get back to them"
——————
Alabast is back in team RWBY's room. "I think we should also involve the rest of my team"
Blake looks uncertain.
Weiss shrugs and looks to the side. "More people would make certain things easier"
"The more the merrier!" Yang shouts.
Ruby had put the board game in one of her desk drawers. "Yeah!"
Blake holds her right elbow. "Do we want to involve them?"
Alabast walks up to Blake and puts his hands on her shoulders as he stands in front of her. "They are our friends too. And they are capable of handling themselves….. as long as Nora is with Ren they should equal each other out. And we know Pyrrha will be a big help in this endeavor too. We can rely on them"
Blake smiles. "You're right. Thank you"
Alabast takes off her bow and lets her cat ears free. "Any time" he rubs her ears since he knows they're sore from being hidden all day. "So now what?"
Ruby steps forward with her chest puffed out. "That's easy! First we-"
Weiss steps forward. "Have school tomorrow morning! We're still students, even if we do some vigilante work"
Ruby's shoulders droop down. "Right. First. School. Forgot that for a minute there…."
Alabast brings Blake over to her bottom bunk and sits down. Blake lays her head down on his lap as he proceeds with massaging her ears.
Yang scratches her cheek. "And we have activities with the other students because of the festival too…." Yang points at Blake. "But, we can make time to find out what's going on in Vale!"
"And we need to catch Ren and Nora up on what the plan is. Pyrrha know a bit, but not the whole story at the moment" Alabast states.
Yang goes over to Alabast and Blake and crouches down to the points she's basically sitting on the ground and looks at Blake's face. "Is she sleeping?"
Alabast looks at her. "She must have been tired from worrying too much"
Ruby and Weiss stand behind Yang.
"Is she…" Yang leans her ear closer to Blake. "Is she purring?".
The room goes silent and then they hear the faint purr coming from Blake as she smiles and adjusts her body on the bed and leans more into Alabast's hands.
"""Awwwwwww~""" The three girls aw in unison and clasp their hands together.
"This has got to be the most adorable thing besides Ruby" Yang says.
Ruby has a conflicted face. "Should I be happy or mad about that?" She says to the side. She doesn't know if she wants to be adorable or not….
"It's getting late" Weiss states. "So what are you going to do Alabast?" She looks at him with the side of her gaze.
"I'll text my team that I'll be sleeping over here. I don't want to wake Blake up" Alabast says as he looks up. "Is that alright with you all?"
"Not a problem!" Ruby gives a thumbs up.
Yang puts her hands on her hips. "No complaints from me"
They look at Weiss.
The white haired girl points at Alabast. "I get your other side"
"Deal" Alabast says and takes his scroll out to inform his team.
"No fair!" Ruby pouts. She then placed her right hand on her chest. "Then as the smallest I get his chest"
Yang taps her chin. "That leaves me with…."
Ruby and Weiss disappear in a puff of smoke. Yang looks over at Blake's bunk and sees her teammates already claimed their spots. Alabast's tail is straight on the bed between his legs.
Yang moves to lay down behind Blake. "That leaves me with the pretty kitty" She wraps her arm over Blake and onto Alabast.
Alabast didn't even know what happened. One moment he was texting his team. And the next he was covered with the bodies of his girlfriends. He's only missing one, but he normally sleeps with her at his side every other night so this isn't the worst thing for her to miss this night. And there isn't enough room for one more. He can't believe they all managed to firm to begin with. He takes up a good portion of the bed on his own.
He doesn't mind the uncomfortable feeling of his tail being laid on. It's gotten more and more used to it over the past months.
And so they all went to sleep. Weiss holding Alabast's side and Blake doing the same on the other side. Ruby on top of Alabast and slightly drooling on his chest. Yang spooning Blake, Their hair mixing together reminding Alabast of a bee. And the tips of Alabast's hair getting slightly lighter in color again.