"The first thing you need to do." Domino said "Is to pull the cork, and let it breathe."

I took a carpenter's screw that I threaded through a piece of scrap wood, and twisted into the cork. Turning, until the wood was almost flush with the bottle. The few others I'd opened so far, the cork was almost completely dry rotten. Going all the way through at least made sure that I was pulling the whole thing.

With steady pull, I removed the cork from the wine bottle. It fell to pieces as it came out, but didn't land in the bottle, so nothing was spoiled. I hadn't been planning to reseal it again anyway.

I set the opened bottle down, and waited, Domino across from me. "… How long do we need to wait?"

Domino chuckled "Parisian tradition says an hour, for the best results."

"Swell." I muttered.

But what was one hour, compared to two weeks?

Which was what I'd spent in the Madre. Two weeks.

After successfully freeing Christine, and gathering everyone at the fountain, we waited for a time. I expected Elijah to be watching, listening, as I knew he was. But it took him several hours before he actually bothered to make contact with us again. He then started making demands about how he wanted us to 'get to work'.

But by that point, we were all tired, hungry, and feeling the effects of the Cloud.

So we all agreed to rest, and return in the morning.

It… wasn't that simple.

Short version: The Sierra Madre was a hellhole. To rest, we each had to find places we could rest. Both away from the Cloud, and from each other. Christine, Dog/God, and Domino didn't trust each other as far as they could respectively throw one another. Which was pretty far, for Dog. Christine in particular was pretty vitriolic towards Domino. I was the only one any of them seemed remotely willing to tolerate, and the feeling was roughly mutual. We were all stuck here, for one reason or another. Someone needed to make sure we actually stood a chance at getting out with our heads intact.

Which the Madre made more difficult, because outside of surviving each other, we had to survive it.

Food wasn't inherently a challenge, the Vending Machines provided for that. It was everything else that was a problem. That, and dodging the Ghost People, the Holograms, and the dense pockets of Cloud that seemed to crop up at random. Meaningful supplies, like medicine, ammo, and booze were harder to come by. Led to me having to be more thorough in my scrounging than usual. Found a lot of different caches and things, playing cards, a snow globe for House, and a guitar oddly enough. I eventually found some codes for the vending machines that unlocked additional items for sale. Which mitigated things, if not by much.

I took to stashing my salvage in the garbage cans at the Fountain. Seemed as safe enough a place as anywhere in the Madre. I had to assume everyone else was doing similar, elsewhere. Elijah wasn't going to let us go until we got the work he wanted done. Prepping for the long haul wasn't the worst decision.

But it gave me time to better understand the Madre, and the people I'd been chained to.

The Madre was a lesson in poor planning and corruption.

Dog/God were a sad affair all their own. Having been a slave, tortured by the Master.

Christine was and assassin, of all things. For some reason, though likely a good one, Elijah was her target.

Domino… was just an asshole.

But, he had bougie taste, and was teaching me how to be an 'Old World Gourmet'.

Which culminated in lessons on how to be a sommelier. Whatever the fuck that was.

I waited, at the small card table I'd pulled from the wreckage of a building, with Dean near the fountain. An intact bottle of red wine, and a pair of drinking glasses between us. Not wine glasses, drinking glasses. You'd find wine glasses at the Ultra Luxe, not at the Madre.

As the minutes ticked by, I drummed my fingers on the table. Impatiently waiting to try the purported vintage.

"… Is this really that important?" I asked "The bottle is over two hundred years old, I can't imagine it'll make a difference."

"For a bottle of swill like Chateau Montrose?" Domino asked, smirking "Greatly. Trust me, partner, you haven't tasted truly good wine until you've done this. With the world being… ehm, what it is, I doubt you've ever even tasted good wine."

"No, I'm more of a liquor and 'shine kind of guy." I admitted "Sometimes beer, depending on the day. Wine's always been a bit outside my purview."

Domino's lips curled up in a waxy smile. "Well then, I'd say you are in for a treat… in about forty minutes."

I rolled my eyes, and kept drumming my fingers.

For forty minutes.

Monotony occasionally broken by the sound of shifting rubble and distant thunder. Near the fountain, I could see Dog muttering to himself. A little further away from him, I could see Christine messing with a broken Hologram emitter. I tried to warn her to be careful with it, but she seemed to have a better understanding of it than I did.

"… Wish I could've found a checkerboard." I muttered.

"Quite." Domino intoned, checking his bare wrist. He saw it was half past a radiation mole. "… Alright, I suppose this has been quite long enough now." He reached out and grabbed one of the glasses "Did you clean these?"

"As best I could, you try finding clean water in this place." I said.

"Easy on the tone, partner." Domino said, a soft edge to his voice "Now, do as I do."

Domino took the bottle and poured some into his glass, then passed it to me. I mirrored him, as he began to swirl his glass, bringing it up to his eyes for a better look.

"Give her a spin." Domino said "Watch the pretty lady's legs. The thicker they are, the stronger the kick or the sweeter she is."

I did, and noted that the 'legs' weren't particularly big. But I only had liquor to compare it with, so I was no judge.

Domino then drew the glass up to what remained of his nose. "Then pull her close. Take a deep breath of her. Indulge in her aroma."

'Careful with the phrasing there, guy.'

Again, I mirrored him. Lifting my reinforced security helmet back enough to take a whiff of the drink. It didn't smell anything like any wine I'd had, few though they were. It smelled earthy, floral, and fruity. I couldn't say what fruit, as I'd never tasted them, but knowledge would imply grapes.

"Then, you take her in for a kiss, and hold her, dancing on your tongue." Domino said, leaning back with his glass

I mirrored him, and took in a small mouthful of wine. Letting it linger there as I swished it slightly. The flavor dry, and bitter. But ever so slightly sweet, and smooth in a way I hadn't tasted before. The flavors evolved on my tongue as I waited. Bringing the spiced notes of oak, the body of dried fruit, and the bitter darkness of something else. Almost coffee-like, but different, emboldening the sweetness.

After a moment, I swallowed, and found myself licking my lips. The wine going down as easily as water.

"… Ok, wow. That's easily the best glass of wine I've ever had." I said, swirling my glass again "I really have been doing it wrong."

"It's still swill." Domino said, swallowing "But, it's swill that has had two and a half centuries to get its edges knocked off. It's all in how you treat it then."

"I'll have to keep that in mind going forward." I said "I can think of a few-"

I was cut off, by an electronic buzz, coming from the fountain.

Swiveling on my seat, I saw the holographic projection over the fountain flicker. Morphing into the grizzled and bitter display of Father Elijah. He didn't look happy, but never did, so I didn't take it as any meaningful sign.

"What do you think you're doing?" Elijah hissed.

"… Taking in the wonderful Villa air." I said, sipping my wine.

"I gave you mongrels implicit instructions." Elijah hissed "You are expected to complete them."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, feeling punchy "News flash: The Villa isn't an easy place to get around. You didn't exactly leave us with a lot to work with either."

"That excuses nothing." Elijah hissed again.

"Bite me." I shot back.

I should've picked better words.

"… Dog." Elijah hissed "Bring him here."

Instantly, Dog's head snapped upright. He turned back towards his Master for a moment, twisting at the hip.

Then his gaze locked on to me.

There was a scrape of metal across from me, as Domino suddenly dove to the side. Taking the wine with him.

I remember a blurred swatch of blue, as a pick-up truck slammed into me. Bells ringing and pain shooting through me. Breath knocked out of me, as I was crushed briefly against a wall.

Then Dog wrapped a meaty paw around my head, and hauled me back towards the fountain. I remember, blearily resisting as he did. A panicked reflex more than anything. Supermutants often said how humans hit like Radroaches. Dog probably didn't feel a thing.

I felt my boots scrape the stone pavement as I struggled against Dog. But if I bothered him at all, he didn't show it. In fact, I don't even think he really noticed at all. Not until we were in front of the fountain, and he moved his hand enough for me to see Elijah. I could see his grim-faced silhouette glaring down on me.

"Put him in the dirt." Elijah hissed.

With a rush of motion, Dog hoisted me into the air before slamming me down against the pavement. He began to crush me against it, whether that was intentional or not didn't really matter. Heard my bones creak, my breath wheezing in my ears.

"You forget yourself." Elijah hissed "I could have the mutant tear you limb from limb. Rip you apart with his teeth while you are still alive. I don't have to detonate your collar to kill you. I hold the leash on all of you."

I wanted to say something in return, something snide. Unfortunately I was too busy eating dirt to do it. Would've been something to the effect of having half a month in the Villa. Elijah's bomb collars didn't really register as much on my radar anymore. Not because it couldn't kill me, but because Elijah wasn't going to pull the trigger. I'd seen the proof of him going through other people who didn't cooperate. The things spread around the Madre implied he'd gotten quite far. Raised a few questions that I was slowly piecing together into a very interesting picture.

But it told me we were the first group in quite some time to have gotten this far. While Elijah was a temperamental cuss, he wasn't stupid. We were his best shot at opening the Madre, in no small part because of my own nature.

That didn't mean I was so important he wouldn't kill me.

But if I went, the animosity the others had for each other would eat them alive.

So I put myself on the knife's edge, and didn't say anything. I just laid there, pinned in the dirt. Let Elijah believe whatever he wanted to, threaten all he wanted to. I knew the score better than he did at that point.

Elijah let the silence hang in the air. I could feel Dog's deep, ragged breaths on the back of my neck. Knew that if I was wrong, and Elijah gave the order, he'd follow it without hesitation.

Then, Elijah spoke again. "It happens tonight." He spoke, voice grave "You will all get into position, and the opening ceremony will commence. I've already given you your jobs. Do them."

Then without another word, the hologram vanished. A moment passed, as Dog waited for Elijah to come back, tell him what to do.

Then, of his own volition, Dog released me. Pulled his weight off of me and sat beside me.

I picked myself up out of the dirt, began brushing the dust and grit off of my 'Assassin' suit. I gave Dog a momentary look, and he looked at me vacantly. I couldn't really hold it against him. He had no choice in the matter when it came to Elijah's orders. More to do with his mental condition than his physical one. God wouldn't listen to Elijah, but all it took was a few words from Elijah to 'put God in the cage'.

'There's a blasphemous statement if ever there was one.'

"Dog miss Master." Dog panted.

"I'm sure you do buddy." I said, looking towards Christine. She was still looming over the emitter, scarred face set into a furious scowl. Eyes trained on the spot where Elijah's head had been floating. I was convinced by then that the trouble between them was far more personal than she let on.

Her eyes tracked down to me, and she visibly sighed, shoulders sagging. She stepped away from the emitter and started closer. As she did, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.

"It would seem that we're out of time, partner." Domino said "The Madre is waiting, the lights are dimming, and the band is keying in."

"Seems so." I said, walking back over to where Domino and I had been sitting. I'd set some of my gear down to get a bit more comfortable. I double checked most of it, before putting it back into place. Most of the guns I'd collected were low on ammo. Hard enough to find in the Mojave, more so in the Madre.

I picked up the Automatic Rifle I'd found during my exploring, and pulled the magazine. Round count was at eighteen, two shy of full.

My hand fished around in the pouches of my suit, and I pulled out a loose .308 cartridge I'd found. I thumbed it down into the magazine and slapped it back into the receiver. I would need to make my shots count.

"Alright folks." I said, racking the action "Show time. Let's get into position."

…

I woke with the lethargic movement of cold oil, as a stab of pain shot through my neck. My arm moved stiffly up to rub the spot, muscles sore and fatigued. A sensation that rolled up and down my body rhythmically.

Then the alarm on my pip-boy went off.

I groaned, lightly bumping my head back against the tree I was lying against.

As had become routine, I was lying in my garden. Back to a tree and trying to catch a couple extra hours sleep after finishing grounds work.

It… wasn't working.

I knew the reason why. After running on a total of four hours sleep, divided in half, each day for two weeks straight, exhaustion was catching up. I was still able to function normally, as normal as I ever was, but it was wearing me down. Four hours of sleep wasn't going to cut it anymore. Especially if a good chunk of my awake time was spent in constant physical activity. Like getting in gun fights, sparing, or lugging 100lb. bags of mulch around campus in the summer heat. I didn't even know 100lb bags were an option, most everything is 50lb. bags.

But daylight was burning, and as much as my body was screaming at me to stop, everything else said go.

Reluctantly, and sorely, I pushed off the tree and picked myself up. On my feet, I twisted a little to the left and right. Joints cracking like a cartelagic choir. Sore muscles were making my movements stiff. Once I was moving it wouldn't be a problem, but staying still for too long wasn't going to help. I stiffly walked back up the path a ways, and collected the equipment I'd used. With a groan, I walked it back to the shed and locked it up, before heading back to the dorms. One of my knees locked up on the way back, which was pleasant.

As I climbed the stairs to my floor, I stifled a yawn, and leaned against the railing for support. I was having trouble trying to wake up, which was a little concerning. Especially since I nearly tripped. Falling down the stairs wasn't on the daily agenda.

'Come on dumbass, keep it together.'

I pushed off the railing and finished climbing the stairs. Without any further loss of pep, I proceeded down the hall, and returned to my dorm room. I walked in to find all of my teammates already there. Weiss and Ruby were sitting on one of the beds, going over some papers. Might've been some of the documentation I'd slowly amassed, but it was probably homework. Port had assigned a paper earlier that day. Zwei was lolled out on the bed beside them, napping contentedly. Blake was looming over the map of the region, still set up in the center of things. She was looking a bit more refreshed, a few days of meaningful rest had begun to piece her back together. She was even drinking a cup of tea instead of coffee. Yang was across the table from Blake, arms folded as she studied the map.

As I walked in though, all of their eyes trailed up to me.

"'Sup." I said.

The girls all gave some variation of hello, and I shut the door. I kicked off my boots and stumped my way over to the map beside Yang. I examined the map thoughtfully, eyeing all the locations I'd marked, doting over the kingdom's limits. Stash houses, former robbery locations, bars I'd hit or still needed to investigate. It was a little disconcerting how many Yang had actually provided. I wasn't sure if she had actually amassed the list herself, or knew someone who might. Were I her dad, I'd find her having an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Vale's nightlife a little worrisome for someone her age. I'd already met Tai, so it did raise some questions, but nothing truly alarming.

But all the markings made it easier for me to see where I'd already hit. Or where I could try to better focus my efforts at this point. The only points that were on the map I couldn't do any actual investigation on, were outside the city limits. The Train robberies and convoys that Blake and the SDC records had supplied. They were outliers, and that was the problem. If the dust was still in the city, then why would they have made targets so far outside its limits? With the items and quantities provided by the manifests, it just didn't add up. Only reasonable guess was they were moving it to smaller camps for dispersion. But it would've been a lot of material to make disappear without anyone noticing.

As I stared down at the map, mulling over the data, I felt a shift in the room's atmosphere. I looked up from the map, and looked around. My teammates were all still looking at me.

"… Six, can we talk?" Ruby asked, getting up from her seat beside Weiss. She approached the map.

"… I don't see why not." I said, returning my gaze to the map "Shoot."

"It's about what we've been doing to help stop the White Fang." Ruby said "Or… y'know, what we haven't been."

"Hmm." I grunted, still studying the map.

"This isn't working." Yang cut in "We've been doing this for weeks now, and nothing's changed."

"Intervening in stuff like this doesn't happen overnight." I said, cringing a little "It takes time, data gathering and logistics are important for long-term success. Every question needs an answer, otherwise there's a greater chance everything fails in the long run."

It helped that the White Fang had been slowing down, after I started hitting them. They weren't stupid, they knew something was messing them up, even if the dots weren't connected yet. They were on the back foot for the moment. But I couldn't count on that lasting forever.

"There's a faster way to get answers." Blake huffed.

"One we already agreed not to use." I shot back.

"Yeah, and it's lame." Yang said, fist tapping against the map table "We're stuck waiting while you run around all night. What does keeping a map of all this stuff even do, besides show us what we're not doing?"

"It shows us everything they're doing." I answered, Fixing Yang with a look "The big question is: Where is all the dust they're stealing? The answer is in Vale, but where? With all of this information, at some point it's all going to come together-"

"But when?" Weiss asked "We could sit here studying forever, waiting for you to find out, but at some point, we'll be out of time."

"Soon, I can feel it." I said, now turning to Weiss "All of this data, there's something here already, just winking us in the face. We just can't see it yet. We're missing something, I know it."

"Then that's more of a reason to let us help you!" Yang cut back in "Six, Come on, If you would just let us help-"

"You are." I said, stolidly "While a lot of important things involve running out and physically addressing them, many more don't. If a surgeon cuts into a patient, without knowing what the injury is, without knowing where it is, or the severity of the situation, they risk the patient's life on a whim. We know the White Fang are a problem, we know the situation is grim, but to what degree? We don't know where they're hiding. We don't know their numbers. We don't know enough."

"At what point is it going to be enough?" Blake asked, bitterly "You're not going to know everything about What the White Fang are doing, at some point you're going to have to just take a chance."

"It'll be enough, when in one move, we can shut them down." I said "Every little step we make, takes us one step closer to cutting the head off the snake and making sure it doesn't get to wander off somewhere to recover. But all it takes is one wrong move, and it's all for nothing. What happens when they realize they're up against just a handful of people rather than some mysterious enemy? It'd be far easier for them to counter us than the other way around."

"What happens when they realize they're only up against one person?" Blake asked "That's even easier."

"Then we adapt." I answered "If it's clear what we're doing isn't working, we try something different."

"But it isn't working!" Blake snapped.

I took a calming, banishing breath "And you know that how?"

"Because it's still happening." Yang said "Six, we want to help, and more than just standing around waiting, come on."

"You will." I said "But this isn't something where you can just charge headlong into it and hope for the best."

"Guys." Ruby said.

"So now you don't trust that we won't make everything worse?" Blake bit.

"Guys." Ruby said again.

"Blake, you do not want to open that door." I said "You need to trust me, I'm trying to-"

"RUBY NO!" Weiss shouted shrilly.

It was followed by the concussive thunder of gunfire in an enclosed space. The kind that sends a hammering *thud* through your chest and hitch your breath if it catches you off guard. My ears rang something vicious, and I noticed both Blake and Yang wince.

I snapped in the direction of the gunshot.

Ruby was standing next to my bed, a finger plugged into one of her ears. Her other arm was extended out towards one of the corners of the ceiling, my sawn-off in her hand. Faint smoke was leaving the muzzle.

"… ow." Ruby said, as my hearing came back and she lowered my shotgun. "That's a lot louder than in the movies."

"The fuck are you doing!?" I snapped, marching over to her.

Ruby lowered my shotgun onto my cot and dropped it. "I was trying to get everyone's attention, but you guys were ignoring me!"

"So you grab my shotgun and punch a hole in the ceiling?" I ask, bewildered.

"Only the corner of it, that's the safest place." Ruby shrugged "No one was listening."

"There are a host of things wrong with that statement." I groused, reaching out for my shotgun. I broke it open and snapped out the empty shell, replacing it with another bean-bag round "…Y'know I have to hand load these things now, right? I can't just buy more of them."

"Sorry, I know it was really stupid, but you're being really stupid!" Ruby said "Six, we're all supposed to be doing this together, but it feels like the only one who's actually doing anything is you. We're your friends, and we're doing this for Blake."

"…" I took a deep breath "I know. But that doesn't invalidate everything I've said. If we screw this up, all that work will have been for nothing."

"…Ok." Ruby said "But I want you to promise me something."

"What?" I asked.

"If something happens, you're going to let us help." Ruby said "We're trusting you, but you need to be able to trust us too. If something happens, and it turns out that just you doing this isn't working, you'll tell us. Then we'll all take care of it together. As a team."

"That should go without saying." I said.

"Should it?" Ruby asked, fixing me with an inquisitive brow and a cocky smirk.

"Hmm." I hummed, allowing a moment to pass as I collected myself "… I'm just trying to make sure this all succeeds, Ruby. I understand how important this is." I turned back to Blake "Believe me, I get it."

Blake looked dourly towards me, bow flopping to the top of her head.

"We are too." Ruby said "But we're supposed to be a team. If you can't trust us and rely on us, how are we supposed to be friends?"

"By keeping each other at arm's length and respecting our boundaries?" I offered.

That earned a chuckle out of Ruby.

I looked around to everyone one more time, before fixing on Blake. "You just have to trust me. I only want to make sure we don't screw this thing beyond repair."

"…" Blake huffed "Ok… a little longer."

I nodded, accepting her acquiescence. Really, I couldn't fault her for feeling the way she did, I knew the way guilt could eat at a person. It was a good thing Ruby stepped in when she did. I was seconds away from tearing into Blake in a way that really wouldn't have helped any, and would've sent things spiraling. The lack of sleep was eating at me. I wasn't blind to the fact that before long I was probably going to start picking up some of Blake's more recent habits. Last thing I needed was to have that conversation again.

Rolling my neck, I looked up towards the corner of the ceiling Ruby had been pointing my sawn-off at. There was now a fist sized hole blasted into the drywall, with the shell's wading imbedded beside it.

"You really just couldn't help yourself, could you?" I asked.

"I regret nothing." Ruby said "… who do you think is gonna fix it?"

"Not me." I answered "… Y'know, the janitor probably just loves cleaning up after me though."

…

"Hey, Six?" Jaune asked, as he passed Ren a plate of that night's slop "I've got a question."

"That so?" I said, doling out another for my own teammates, Zwei sniffing curiously at the passing plate "Shoot."

"How do you ask a girl out?" Jaune asked.

"…"

I looked at Jaune, more than just a little confused. I wasn't the only one, everyone else in the room turned to look at him too. Either curious, amused, annoyed, or if you were Pyrrha: surprised.

"… What?" Jaune asked "It's a simple question, right?"

"Jaune, do I look like the kind of guy you should be taking dating advice from?" I asked "Literally, what part about me says I know jack about talking with women?"

"It's just a question." He said "I would've asked if no one else was around, but that doesn't seem to ever happen."

"And again: why me?" I questioned, mystified "There's better people to ask, even among immediate company."

Jaune looked at me in confusion. "Like who?"

"Oh gee, I don't know-" I said, motioning to his teammates "How about Ren, or Nora, or Pyrrha? You know, the people in this little circle who're joined together at the hip. Or otherwise meant to help with things like this. The fuck am I gonna know about asking out the Lady-folk?"

"Ren and I aren't-" Nora started.

"Spending anywhere near enough time apart for me to believe that lie." I interrupted.

"Uh- well- I mean… you're worldly?" Jaune asked "You know all kinds of stuff, I figured I'd ask."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Jaune, as far as I'm aware, dating isn't really a thing in the Mojave." I explained "At most, two people will get drunk together a couple times, dance the Tribal Two-Step, then decide whether or not they stick together after that."

"The Tribal whaaa-?" Ruby asked, looking utterly lost.

"That sounds like a terrible way to do things." Weiss said, giving me a disturbed look.

"Life happens in an instant in the wasteland. You live fast and die young." I explained "If you're really lucky, you live long enough for people to add the prefix of 'Old' to your name. But I can only count a handful of people that manage that. Not much time for courtship in the middle."

"So you just get drunk one night and wake up the next morning married?" Blake asked, somewhere between amused and disgusted.

"Yeah, sometimes. Believe it or not Vegas had a history of that even before the war." I explained "Being the city of vice that it is, it wasn't uncommon to black out and wake up the next morning to find yourself tied down. For a manner of speaking."

Blake sniggered a little at that, and I noted her cheeks flush a little.

"Pay a little extra, you could even get the King to officiate it." I added.

"You could get a King to marry you?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"Not a king, the King." I corrected "He runs that gang in New Vegas I mentioned a while back, The Kings. He's styled himself after a pre-war figure, who was also apparently famous for marrying people. Jury's out if he was a religious icon, but The King certainly thinks so. Had all kinds of hymns and things apparently"

"So the King dresses up like the guy he worships?" Ruby asked "That sounds kinda…"

"Self-aggrandizing." I supplied "But he has everyone who's part of the gang do it. It's gotta be part of trying to mirror the philosophies and things the original King espoused or something. He's a pretty cool cat though."

"… Never use that phrase again." Blake said.

"Getting back to where this all stemmed from though-" I said, willing to put that statement behind me "I'm not the guy you want to be taking relationship advice from. Literally, just ask anyone in this room besides me. I mean, don't you have, like, a dozen and a half sisters you could ask?"

"Don't remind me, they're half the reason I don't know!" Jaune groaned "Literally anytime I wanted to ask my mom or dad, Saph would tell everyone and I'd get teased about it for- like- a month!"

"Sounds more like you let embarrassment keep you from it." I said.

"Oh like you can talk!" Jaune said testily "You keep your face covered all the time! How would you work up the nerve to ask someone out!?"

"… Well Jaune-y boy-" I said reaching under my cot and into my box of tricks. I pulled out a jar of 'shine and gave it a little shake "That's what the liquor's for."

"…" Jaune gave the jar in my hand a decidedly stern look.

"Look, you want real advice, try talking to-" I started.

I was interrupted by Jaune. Who proceeded to lunge forward and snap the jar out of my hand. He wrenched the cap off of it, put the lip to his, and swilled backwards. Clear liquid rolled back to his open mouth. He took a big swig, before leveling back out and trying to swallow. Unfortunately, what little bravado he'd managed to try and muster evaporated. His eyes bulged, as his mouth began to pucker. He began to the early motions of retching.

Which was immediately interrupted by my hand, clapping over his mouth.

I bolted over to him, and locked my hand over his mouth. He really only got as far as he did because, honestly, Jaune was the last person I'd expect to make a grab for it.

"HMF!?" Jaune grunted, eyes snapping up to me as I loomed over him.

"Swallow." I ordered "You don't get to steal my liquor and then waste it in front of me."

My taunting him with the jar had only been a joke. The fact that he'd actually tried to drink from it wasn't something I'd counted on. Jaune was too much of a wet noodle to pull something like that. At least I thought he was.

Jaune whined and looked at me pitifully. But, with a visibly pained gulp, he swallowed. My hand withdrew from his mouth as I collected my jar from him. As I closed the lid, Jaune gagged.

"Atta-boy." I said "This stuff'll put some hair on your chest."

"AUGH- How do you drin-" Jaune started, as I sat back down.

Then the color drained from his face and his eyes rolled back into his head. With a wheeze like a deflating tire, Jaune flopped back onto the bed he was sitting on.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha suddenly squawked, rushing to her collapsed partner. She sat beside and began worrying over him, before giving me a sharp look.

"Oh relax, he'll be fine. He can't hold his liquor is all." I said "He's just dancin' with the deathclaws right now. Give him a bit, he'll be back with us."

"Is it really safe for you to be drinking that?" Weiss asked.

"Of course not, ethanol is poison." I said brightly "Delicious, mind clearing, mouth numbing poison. But you could drink worse."

Everyone present gave me a bland look for my cavalier description of my beverage. Weiss however appeared the most exacerbated, running a hand down her face in annoyance. But after a few moments, they mostly brushed it off. They had to know me at least a little bit by then. Sarcasm tinged with a little fatalism tended hang around me. The only ones who seemed intent to make it last a little longer, were Pyrrha and Nora. Of the two, I had to say it was Nora who seemed more directed in her displeasure. Pyrrha certainly seemed upset that Jaune had gone and turned himself into a quick-pickle, a quickle. That meant, however, she had more reason to be concerned for his well-being. Less focused on her anger towards me.

Maybe.

"So what brought all that about, seriously?" I asked her "You know I'll answer most things as best I can, but those questions were a little out-there, especially for Jaune."

Pyrrha pursed her lips. "Well, he had a bit sheltered of an upbringing, and clearly there's a girl he likes. He's just a little insecure about how to get her attention."

"Hasn't stopped him before." Weiss said, giving Pyrrha's unconscious teammate a bland look "You'd think getting told no once would be enough to get him to stop."

I gave Weiss a curious look. "He tried to ask you out?"

"Last week." Weiss answered "You left for Vale, and he tried to ask me out to a movie after dinner."

"It was awkward." Ruby added.

"Oh… hmm, well there's a piece of advice I could've given him then. Make sure the girl is receptive to your attention first." I said.

"Because that's so unreasonable." Weiss grumbled.

"Or being more attentive when someone is trying to get it." I said, giving Pyrrha a sidelong look.

Pyrrha tried to keep a stern look on her face. But after a few moments of silent judgement, reinforced by literally everyone else in the room sans Nora joining me, her face began to soften. Falling into an uncertain, almost embarrassed flush. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Only from the outside." I offered "Not your fault, some of us actually need a road map before we start to see where the trail's at."

"No kidding?" Yang asked with a cheeky smirk "We really need to map it out for you?"

"Har-har." I said "You try navigating without a compa- ok, Nora, what is it?"

Mid-sentence, I shifted my attention to Nora. Who was beginning to get on my nerves. She was still trying to glare a hole into my head. Her Ocean-green eyes like sharpened daggers pointed at my forehead. Nose and mouth pinched tight together. While her face was always a little ruddy, I couldn't help but notice it was a darker shade of pink than normal.

"…Ren and I aren't together." Nora emphasized, squinting at me.

"And who's choice is that, yours or his?" I asked "You two hang around each other enough that you might as well be married."

Ren's eyes widened slightly, and he chuckled. Clearly amused by the joke.

Nora, however, wasn't. Her face just got redder and he eyes more wild. "M-married!? We're partners, we're supposed to spend time together!"

"You've also known each other since you were kids, supposedly, and you're practically joined at the hip." I prodded "Also, 'partner' can be used to describe marriage too."

It was around that point, that Nora's face got as red as Ruby's cape. Her mouth gaped in horror. I honestly could have let up, but teasing her was fun.

"Frankly I think you two make an obviously great couple." I said "You two balance each other well if nothing else."

"ONE MORE WORD AN' I'MMA HIT YOU!" Nora squawked, steam practically coming out of her ears. She shot up like she was intending to make good on that threat. The sudden rush of excitement had Zwei hop to his feet and toddle over to her.

Then Ren reached up and softly put a hand on her back. Nora went ramrod straight, and looked back at her boy-toy.

"Nora, he's just joking." Ren said soothingly, giving her a smirk "He's just trying to wind you up." He then turned and fixed me with a more warning look. "And he should really stop."

I held my hands up innocently. "I'm only calling it as I see it."

Nora continued to glare at me, before slowly gliding back down into her seat. As she settled into it, Zwei sat down beside her, looking up to her with a doggy grin. Nora then looked to her boy who was a friend. Her face went positively incandescent, and she buried it into her hands, groaning.

Ren raised a hand, likely thinking about giving her a pat on the back, or some other form of PDA. Then he thought better of it, and put his hand down.

'Coward.'

"… You know what, I've got a question." I said "Considering the two of you aren't a couple or something, how'd you two meet at least? Out of everyone here, besides Yang and Ruby, you two seem to have known each other the longest."

A chilled expression slid over Ren's face. It must have been pretty cold, because the color immediately drained from Nora as well. Causing Zwei, color blind though he may be, to look at the two of them, notably confused.

Ren looked as though he was going to say something. But instead, he simply sighed and let silence take its place.

"… I'm guessing it's a touchy subject?" I offered "You two said previously that you were orphans, but that leaves a lot of room for questions."

"We are." Ren answered "It's… not a time either of us like to think about."

"I can imagine." I said "I'm sorry if it came across as a thoughtless question, I'm not trying to dredge-up bad memories."

"It's alright." Ren reassured, though there was a flinty look in his eyes "There are just some things I'd rather leave buried."

My head bobbed at that. Burying bad memories wasn't always a good thing. There was always the chance they'd choose to rise from the dead and jump your bones. But, by and large, processing them wasn't always feasible. There's a reason bad experiences haunt people for life. It was up to the person to come to grips with the matter. With or without the aid of a psychological professional. But they had to be the ones to decide to do it. Like any issue, you can't force someone to address it. They had to choose to.

Ren was choosing not to, and that was fine. Perhaps he'd found his own way of managing.

As I studied Ren however, I noticed Nora began to still. The fingers parting from her eyes as she studied her partner. The manic light that usually pervaded them had been… washed out, almost. Like the rest of her. The light was there, but it seemed less present, less lively in a way.

"…" Nora slid her hands down her face and straightened out. Her expression, in utter dissonance to her manic normality, a stone mask. "Renny and me aren't from Vale, we both grew up in Mistral." Ren's eyes glided over to Nora. She turned towards him and gave him a sad smile, before pulling the stony mask back over herself. "We didn't meet until we were about seven… or was it eight?" Nora questioned "…It doesn't matter I guess. We didn't meet for a while. My mom was a nomad, from a big family of 'em."

"Travelling folk." I nodded, not wanting to interrupt "What kind? Traders?"

Nora shrugged "'Dunno. I was really young. They never explained anything to me… Ok, they did, but I didn't really listen."

"Oh bull-crap." I said "You can-"

Nora gave me a pained look.

"… sorry." I said "Please, continue."

Nora took a deep breath, then carried on. "It was tough, traveling everywhere. Whenever I started getting comfortable somewhere, we had to pick up and leave. I couldn't really make friends, and I was the only kid. Everyone else was too old to want to hang out with me." Nora pursed her lips, scrunching her nose slightly "Thinkin' about it… they were a load of butts."

I let a chuckle escape at her attempt at humor. It seemed to invigorate her, a little bit.

"Traveling around wasn't always bad though. We got to see all kinds of cool places, do fun things. My mom always tried to make sure I was doing my best. She wasn't always around, and my dad wasn't in the picture, but she did her best." Nora said, looking solemnly at the ground "We didn't have a lot, but we had each other, and our family."

"Sometimes, that's all you need." I said "… what changed?"

Nora looked at me sadly. It was disconcerting, and frankly upsetting to someone normally so energetic and manic to be so dour. Even if I'd been on the receiving end of that mania more than once. "We travelled a lot, and that meant we ran into Grimm… a lot. We always pulled through though. A lot of the people that travelled with us were good fighters. But then… one night, we were attacked by a Grimm, and everything changed. It tore through everything. The only thing we could do was run. So we did." Nora's hands began to ball into fists, gripping her skirt. "Then things only got worse. We were so scared, we kept attracting other Grimm. For a whole night, we just kept running and fighting and screaming. Everyone kept getting splintered off. I didn't know what was happening to any of them, my mom just grabbed me and kept running."

In the peripherals of my vision, I could see the solemn looks of concern on my teammates. The way Weiss covered in her mouth, horrified. The empty way Ruby and especially Yang looked at her. How Blake fidgeted in her seat. Even Zwei was concerned, in the way dogs can look concerned. Little tilts of the head and watery eyes.

"… Somehow, we made it through." Nora said "My mom managed to find a village that was safe enough we could hide in. We'd lost everything and everyone, but we were still alive… and homeless." Sorrow began to bleed into Nora's eyes "Things got really rough. My mom tried her best to make sure we could stay safe, but everything just kept going wrong. We were lucky to have a roof over our heads, most nights. We- uh… we ate out of the garbage." She muttered "It got really bad… then it got worse."

"It got worse!?" Ruby gasped.

"… The Grimm that attacked us came back." Nora said, voice quavering, sounding nothing like how she normally was "It attacked the village, destroyed it on its own."

"On it's own?" I asked "Fuck's sake, what was chasing you a Goliath?"

Port had covered a lot of different Grimm types, from common Beowolves and Ursai to Geists and Caerbannogs. There were even more than that, lots of extremely rare and scarcely seen beasts that he would explain to us in the next semester. Though he'd given names like Feilong and Wyvern.

"… No." Nora answered, softly, reservedly "… A Nuckelavee."

A physical chill rippled through the air.

Port had made an aside about the Nuckelavee. Once. They were exceedingly rare and could supposedly redefine the word terror many times over the course of their existence. He had never faced one, but from all the stories, made one thing clear: don't. They were hard to kill, tenacious, and more often than not cunning from living as long as they had. Worse, with the kind of fear they could draw from people, they pulled other Grimm around them like bloatflies and Brahmin crap. You'd be better trying to take one out with artillery than actually fighting it.

Nora had one chase her as a child.

"Holy fuck." I swore, softly.

"… It came at night. Tore through the village." Nora bubbled "The last I saw of my mom… she told me to run. Hide."

"You did." Ren spoke up.

"… I did." Nora said sullenly, voice croaking slightly "That's when I really met Ren for the first time. I'd seen him around the village before… but that night was the first time we'd actually met."

"… How did you survive?" Weiss asked.

"With Ren's help." Nora croaked "His semblance activated, and he kept us hidden until we could escape… W-We… We…"

Nora trailed off, miniscule tears began to bead into her eyes. She blinked hard. I swear, I'd been shot by things that hurt less than seeing Nora on the verge of tears. I don't like seeing people cry, period. Maybe because it was Nora. But it hurt worse.

Ren pursed his lips, but didn't do anything. He just curled in on himself. Maybe the things Nora had dredged up were hitting him too. But that didn't change how I felt, in that moment.

'You're doing it wrong, boy.'

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was on my feet. I crossed the room, carefully side stepping Zwei, as I stood in front of Nora. She looked up at me, still blinking tears out of those ocean green eyes. Ruddy face now splotchy and damp.

I hooked my hands under her arms and hauled Nora to her feet. Her eyes lit up in surprise as my arms snaked around her and I dragged her into a hug. I didn't quite know what I was doing, or why I was doing it. I just know that, in that moment, I wanted to pick her up and squeeze the sadness out of her. Maybe I was just repaying her for doing something similar, before.

What I did know: she looked like she needed one.

So I pulled her in tight and gave her one.

She went rigid for a moment, as I did my best to try and help calm her down. I was taller than her by about a foot, and her head connected with my armor.

"Breathe." I said, gently "It's ok, you're ok. Just breathe."

After a few second, Nora took a deep breath. I could feel her ribcage expanding between my arms. Felt her heartbeat thumping quick and heavy.

Then she relaxed in my arms. Going loose, as she reciprocated the hug. Meaning she began trying to crush me like a bug. But either her heart wasn't in it, or crying was taking away too much of her strength. She didn't wind up squeezing the life out of me, but gave as good as she got.

"I didn't mean to dredge this up for you." I apologized, gently patting her back.

Nora said something, but it was muffled against my coat and armor. I just nodded along with it, and turned my gaze down to Ren. He was looking up to me, a bit confused, and a bit bewildered.

I just looked down at him. He couldn't see my face, so it really didn't matter what mine looked like. But I needed him to understand: He should've been the one to do that instead. Nora and him had gone through an obviously scarring situation in their formative years. Maybe they'd worked past it in their own ways. Maybe they hadn't.

But he shouldn't have shirked away when it became uncomfortable. Nora was the only person in the room who had likely lived through exactly what he had. I thought of Ren as a reasonable and rational sort. The reasonable and rational thing to do when she started crying would've been to support her. As one of the only people who'd understand.

In that moment, I was sorely disappointed in him.

He must have picked up on that. Ren's head looked away from Nora and me. For a rare moment, he almost looked ashamed.

Nora and me stood there for a small eternity, before she finally began to ease off. As she did, I released her in kind, and she eased back into her seat. The back of one of her hands rose, trying to wipe the dirt out of her eyes that my clothes no doubt left behind.

Zwei, opportunistic little devil he is, took the chance to bound up onto her lap. He immediately snuggled in.

I walked back across the room and took my seat again. Pointedly ignoring the looks everyone was giving me. Like they'd never needed emotional support, ever.

Nora sniffled, and finished swiping at her eyes. They were a little red, and a little puffy, side effect of my clothes, surely. But they were clearing up, made their color pop.

"Thank you." Nora said, voice a quavering chirp.

"Hm." I grunted.

"… You give really nice hugs." Nora chirped, a smile bubbling through.

"Hush, you." I said, tacitly ignoring the snickering of my teammates. "… Ok, so what happened next?"

"We ran away." Nora said, sniffling "Renny and me managed to hide from the Grimm and make a run for it. A couple of the other villagers managed to escape, and we followed them back to Mistral. We weren't sure what was going to happen to us. But when we got there, people from other attacks were already camped out. Including a few people from the group my mom and me travelled with." A softer smile curled onto Nora's face "Like my Nana Bess."

"She sounds familiar." Ruby said, visibly thinking "… I think you mentioned her before, but I can't remember where."

"She looked after me and Ren after we got to Mistral." Nora said "I don't know if she was really my grandma or not, but everyone in the caravan called her Nana, so I did too. A few of the others from the caravan survived too, and stuck with us for a while. But they hit the road eventually. They liked travelling."

"I can understand that." I said "Being a homebody in the Mojave is a stable thing, but it tends to come with lots of restrictions. Caravaners don't get the security, but they get more freedom, so the appeal is obvious."

Nora nodded, scratching Zwei under the chin "They'd come around, sometimes. But most of the time it was just us. We went through combat school there, then came over here, and the rest if history!"

"Why not go to Haven?" Blake asked "You were already in Mistral, wouldn't that make more sense?"

"Umm…" Nora said, pointing at herself "Nomad?"

"And Ms. Bess may have kicked us out." Ren added "She said she was going to go back to travelling now that she didn't have to worry about Nora getting struck by lightning. Or sticking a fork into the outlet."

"You do it one time and no one forgets it!" Nora whined.

Jaune bolted upright suddenly, inhaling sharply and eyes bulging out of his head. It was followed immediately by dry heaving and his head drunkenly swiveling around the room.

"Buh' Whaa…?" He slurred "Wha' happ'un?"

"Oh hey, he's back." I said "Told you he'd be fine."

Immediately, Jaune tried to stand up. But the moment his butt left the bed, he flopped forward and planted his face into the floor.

"… Mostly fine." I corrected.

Jaune planted his hands against the floor and began to pick himself up. However, as he extended his arms, he lurched forward again, and planted his face back into the floor.

"… Ok, fifty-fifty." I corrected again "Fuckin' light-weight."

"Muh' phase hurz'" Jaune groaned.

"Good, 'cause you're killin' me." I said, trying not to laugh. Something my teammates were trying very hard not to do as well.

Pyrrha shot me a look that could cut steel, and leaned forward. She gripped Jaune by the back of his armor and pulled back. Hauling him onto the bed with surprising ease. As he settled onto it though, his began to circle uneasily.

"Why's th' rum 's spinnin'?" He said, starting to look a little green.

"Oof, gin spins." I said "He gonna be in for a rough night."

"What's that mean?" Ruby asked, clearly missing out on important terminology.

"Means Vomit-boy'll want to keep a bucket nearby tonight." I said "And drink a couple glasses of water to stave off a potential hangover."

"I'll make sure he does that." Pyrrha said, giving me a bland look.

Then Jaune lost his balance and fell against her, giggling. His head coming to rest against Pyrrha's shoulder, eyes looking towards hers. "S'rry P'rrha. Ev'rthin's spin'nin' an' yo're re'lly str'ng."

"I-it's fine." Pyrrha stuttered, flushing slightly but giving Jaune a sympathetic smile.

Jaune's eyes blinked slowly, and out of sync. His blue eyes were glassed over, and his face was had started to flush. A big, goofy smile curled his lips. "Yo've g't re'lly pr'tty ey's P'rrha."

"Eh?" Pyrrha said.

Before Jaune could say anything else, his eyes rolled back into his head and he conked out again. Which was a real shame, because he completely missed the rest of the show.

Pyrrha blinked: once, twice.

Then on the third, a wave of red the same shade as her hair shot up her neck and over her face. Her eyes went wide and almost luminous, while her lips pressed into a thin line. Her face continued to deepen in its color, until it almost looked like steam was rising off of it. Then her lips blossomed into a positively giddy little smile. She adjusted her shoulder slightly, so Jaune could rest more easily.

Seriously, I had no clue why Jaune would need to know how to ask a girl out. He had one that seemed pretty keen on him to begin with. There was no way he couldn't see it.

Speaking of…

"Well that was a fun little distraction." I said, looking back to Nora and Ren "Thank you for the story. I stand by what I said about you two though. If anything your side of the story has only helped to re-enforce it. 'Cuz now you've admitted your own family was willing to take in an outsider and raise him alongside you."

"It wasn't really raising." Ren said "It's not like I was a baby."

"Not after surviving what you did you weren't." I said "In the wasteland, something like that is practically a rite of passage. Like tracking your first hunt, earning your first caps…" I reached back for my jar and held it out for him. "Here, a belated toast for entering into adulthood."

"…" Ren looked at me, blandly. Then he looked at Pyrrha and Jaune, then back to me. "… I'm not drinking that."

I shrugged "Eh, worth a shot."

"Ha!" Yang laughed.

It took myself a second to realize my mistake.

"Quiet you." I said, wagging a finger at her.

"Why?" Yang asked "You seem to be taking a 'shine to it."

"Is there anything you can't make a pun out of?" Weiss groused.

"Nope." Yang smiled "That's the beauty of it."

"I thought the beauty of it was that it lets you be a menace at the drop of a hat?" I asked snidely.

"I know you love it." Yang shot back with a smirk "I just don't have any… proof."

"Well that one was a stretch and you know it." I said, looking down at my pip-boy, and being surprised by the time "Crap, looks like it's time to hit the bricks." I got up again, as the ache of restless nights suddenly chose to flare up.

"Be safe." Ruby said, giving me a warm smile.

"See you girls in the morning." I said, forcing myself to walk normally.

As soon as I was out the door, I let myself stoop slightly. Everything was starting to crash down again.

I needed another nap.

…

As the dorm room door shut, and the Courier fled into the city, the two teams began to settle into their dinner once more.

"… Does he really give good hugs?" Ruby asked.

"He actually does." Weiss said, picking at her food "Like getting wrapped up by a giant blanket."

"Right!?" Nora squawked.