RWBY: Black Cat

Chapter 19

"Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Adam wasn't that hard to find, in the end.

As the went on their way, heading straight for the White Fang's stronghold, Blake noticed that Neo was very, very anxious. The cat faunus was of course internally having an anxiety attack herself, but Neo was looking over her shoulder every other moment, as if she were being watched. Raven was talking to her quietly - "It's okay. He wouldn't turn you in, would he?"

Neo looked uncertain. Blake frowned. Who's turning who in?

"Well, we won't let him," Raven said firmly.

Let...what? The number of people whose lives would be made easier if she just talked...

Of the party, Raven seemed the calmest. Not that that was saying anything, but still. Her head was held high, her mask was on, and her footsteps were long and confident. Glynda looked as if she wasn't sure what to think about the whole situation. Weiss looked determined not to be terrified. Ruby and Yang were sticking close together - the incident on Mountain Glenn at the forefront of their minds, no doubt. Then there was Blake, who was just wanted to run away. Quickly. Now. Fast. Please. She didn't want to face her problems.

"You there! Freeze, or we'll shoot!"

Blake jumped as a harsh voice pierced the silence. Glynda looked at Raven. Raven turned and whispered in her ear. Glynda nodded, and signalled to the rest of the party to stay, while Raven went on ahead.

Blake peered through the trees, eyes narrowed, searching for the white glint of masks between the dark trunks. The White Fang patrol wasn't hard to spot. There were three of them - a man, a woman, and a teenager. The teen appeared to be leading the trio, and was slightly shorter than the other guy, with soft white hair. He spotted Raven, and quickly approached her. He was a cat faunus - a type one, with fangs. They exchanged a few words - the White Fang patrol's stance was aggressive at first, but became a little less intense as Raven spoke.

Raven eventually came back, looking a little ruffled. "They want us to wait here. I told them some of us know Adam - they don't quite believe me. Adam's coming out to see for himself."

Blake bit her lip, only just suppressing the ever-growing urge in her stomach to sprint into the trees.

It didn't take long for Adam to arrive. Blake spotted him before he spotted them - he looked exactly the same. That reddish-brown hair, those squared shoulders. That stark white mask. She instinctively slipped behind the much taller Raven, hiding herself for as long as she could. She knew she was being a coward. She hated herself for being such a coward right now. But all of her instincts were screaming at her to get as far away from this whole situation as possible. The white-haired faunus glanced at her, noticing her strange behaviour, but didn't say a word.

Do I...do I know him? Does he know me? Does he recognise me?

She stayed silent, however, breaking eye contact him.

Then she heard Adam's voice. "Neo, Glynda. Raven. What the hell are you all doing here?"

Raven stared back. The tension in the air was crushing, unbearable. "Have you heard about Leif?"

"No. What about him?"

"He's disappeared. We're all looking for the source of the disappearances, and wanted to know whether you knew anything."