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Not...really. [ Blake sighs. ] But you remember how we were before. As partners. Whether we were in battle, or not. I just don't think it'll ever be that way again.

[ She shakes her head, making a visible effort to pull herself together. ]

Sorry. I'm not trying to...unload on you.

N-No! Blake, it's okay.

[ He's quick to assure her with a smile! Because he kind of appreciates that she's unloading, for lack of a better term. He knows it must be difficult for her, too, and something she wishes she could discuss with her partner instead. Until she can talk about this with her teammate, Jaune will happily help her carry some baggage. ]

You just need to give it some time, y'know? I trust you, and... I trust Yang, too. She cares about you, so... don't give up on her! Things might not be how they used to, but with hard work, they can always be better than before.

Isn't that worth striving for?

I guess so. [ She returns his smile, briefly, then looks up at the sky. ]

Pyrrha...said things were hard for you guys, too. In the beginning, here. That you both put in a lot of work.

Heh, yeah, well, these things tend to happen when you think your best friend is gone forever... only to come back just when you start to accept that they're gone.

[ Not unlike Blake and Yang's saga, in a way... ]

It... was my fault. I was angry... broken. I didn't know how to be that guy she remembered...

[ How could he be the same lovable goofball after everything that happened? In the end, even Pyrrha's locker stunt has left him with the impression that she had no faith in him. ]

[ The parallels are not lost on her. She walks slowly, thinking. ]

Is that really your fault? I don't think we can ever go back. When stuff like that happens.

[ She knows she herself has never been able to. There must have been a time when she hadn't been surrounded by violence, anger, loss. She can't remember it. Maybe that's why she brought it with her even when she found people to love. ]

[ Jaune falls silent at first, but then he simply laughs to himself. He can't answer that question, it seems. He blames himself, and yet he agrees with her sentiments. ]

You're right, there's no going back - only forward.

[ He always knew it, but it's nice to hear someone else say it back to him. ]

What's going on between you and Yang now... that's not your fault either. Nor is it hers.

[ Though, Jaune completely trusts that they'll both figure this out without his intervention. ]

[ Then, suddenly, his expression changes to something less friendly as he looks ahead. A nearby tree by the market street starts to turn autumn brown. ]

They did this to us.

Yeah.

[ The hardness in that single word of agreement echoes his tone. She clenches her fists.

She can't completely agree that she had no part in what happened at Beacon -- if she'd been a little more cautious, leapt a little faster, been a little braver...who knows. But it's true that the hell they've been put through was not of their choosing. ]

I still don't understand how people can be so hungry for power that they'd do the things they've done. I mean, I've seen that hunger. I know it exists. But I don't understand people like Cinder, and this Salem person, and...Adam Taurus.

Adam Taurus...

[ That's one name that hasn't actually come up at the many bonfires he shared with the temporarily formed RNJR. He can certainly guess what it's associated with, though. ]

Do you... know much about him, Blake?

[ Haha. :') ]

[ She physically flinches.

Of course he doesn't know. Why would he? She's made it a point not to talk about him whenever she can help it. Even her teammates didn't know very much about who he was to her until it all went to hell. But Jaune's trying to be a friend, and maybe she shouldn't turn that down. ]

He...leads the faction of the White Fang that's been working with Cinder and Salem. He's a ruthless person who believes in violence as the way to solve problems.

[ She looks down. ]

We were close once. When I was in the Fang.

Edited 2018-01-02 15:18 (UTC)

You were close with the leader of a murderous cult-slash-terrorist group.

[ He has to repeat it to... make sense of it. Wow. What else does he not know about her? That she's kind of the Faunus President's daughter?? ]

... I guess it makes sense why you've always been so quiet. Not exactly something you can bring up in casual conversation, right?

[ Why you gotta call out the writers like that. ]

I mean, I'm a quiet person, but, yeah. Not exactly.

[ For a moment there's the old fear, the reason why she hid her ears for so long. That he'll judge her, push her away. But they've all been through so much already, and seeing the world in black and white terms is not a luxury they have any longer. ]

He wasn't like that, when I first met him. He was heroic. Passionate. I was a kid...he was a mentor to me. [ And more, but it's all wrapped up in complicated and painful memories. ]

[ Oh... he was her Pyrrha! Except he went nuts. Jaune gets the picture. ]

Why do you think he changed?

[ Immediately, Jaune finds the answer to that on his own. ]

--ah, sorry, dumb question. I know what the White Fang fight for. They're wrong, but... at least I understand.

[ He understands it a lot better than Salem's motivations, which seem to be purely malevolent. ]

I know why you were drawn to their ideals, too. ... I'm sorry.

[ Humans can be monsters, he's learning it the hard way. ]

[ The empathy, freely given, means a lot to her -- more than she can say. She meets his eyes, nods once. ]

It's a good question, though. Why did he just keep getting angrier, and more power hungry? Why didn't I? I've asked myself that a lot...like, if there was something I could have done, to change his mind.

I left because I couldn't condone it any more. But maybe if I'd stayed...would things have been different?

[ If she'd stayed, she wouldn't have met RWBY, and JNPR, and her friends. Adam wouldn't have dueled her at Beacon. He wouldn't have -- no. This isn't a productive train of thought. She's recognised that much by now. ]

It's easy to look back on things and see where you might have gone wrong, or what could have changed...

[ The tragedy at Beacon was a culmination of so many people making mistakes, starting with Ozpin, but not excluding Jaune and Pyrrha, or everyone else. ]

It might be selfish of me to say, but I'm glad you came to Beacon. You mean a lot to Ruby, Yang and Weiss. They... they'll never let you down the way this Adam Taurus guy did.

[ But I'll let them down--

Another unproductive train of thought. She quashes it.

She realises she's taking too long to answer, and opens her mouth. In her hurry, she's more honest than she meant to be. ]

I mean, maybe we will. Let each other down. But our teams...I've never had friends before, who forgive so many mistakes, and grow so much. [ Her voice is low. ] Adam could never forgive anything.

[ Jaune can tell Blake is fighting with her own thoughts, and perhaps even guilt, and tries to add some levity to this discussion about the guy who chopped off Yang's arm. ]

This Adam guy, he sounds like a great...

...pedantic, pontificating, pretentious bastard. A belligerent fart. A worthless, steaming pile of cow dung.

[ Now for a swear word he picked up in Empatheias! Get ready!! ]

Dick Head.

Hey, wow, that feels good! Wanna try saying it, too?

[ Adam is definitely all those things and more. Blake is amused despite herself, distracted from her dark thoughts, as Jaune probably intended. She doesn't think Jaune and Sun ever hung out much, but she has a notion that they'd get along. What is it with these boys? ]

I...well, why not?

[ She clenches her fists and looks up at the sky. ]

Dick head! You're a dick head, Adam Taurus!!!

[ Goodness, she said it even louder than he did, which earns them some funny looks from the others. Not wanting Blake to feel embarrassed entirely on her own, he also joins in, shouting at the sky. ]

DI--

[ he bursts out laughing as he does it ]

--DICK HEAD!!! FORK LICKING WOOD BUTT!!!

ADAM TAUR-ASS!!!!

[ People are looking. Blake claps a hand over her mouth, looking embarrassed, but her eyes crinkle at the corners like she's laughing. ]

Fork licking???

I-- I don't know! Just-- just go with it! Let loose!

[ In hindsight, he realizes that it made no sense, but he stands by what he said!! ]

[ She puts her hand back down. She's indeed smiling. It's still a little sad, but it's there. ]

Thanks, Jaune.

You're a dork, but...you're a good person.

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