A New Kitten Chapter 39

Chapter 39

It only took all of ten steps out and onto the beach for Weiss to begin clinging to Blake. The faunus offered her hand to hold, but Weiss wrapped both of her arms around Blake’s instead. She hung onto the faunus, holding onto her arm tightly as she strived to steady herself on the fancy socks; it might have been a bad idea not to grab shoes, but it wasn’t like she had any to grab in the first place. All her shoes had been left back in Atlas. All the same, the padding at the underside of her thigh highs would suffice till they could get her some actual shoes.

The Kitten began to tremble the further into town they got; the more faunus stared at them, trying to figure out if she was in fact that Weiss or just some new faunus to the island- that was a wild thought. Weiss knew it already of course, that the point of her ears and tail had been that for all intents and purposes, she was a faunus now. She knew, but up until foreign eyes began to leer at her, she never realized what it really meant. That this was how everyone would see her now. It was… odd. In some way, it actually meant she never had to be a Schnee again. Her father would never let someone with faunus ears and a tail run the company. Depending on how long everything stretched out, it was unlikely she’d actually be granted the anonymity of suddenly seeming to be someone else entirely. If it weren’t for the videos, she could likely use the ears as proof that she wasn’t Weiss; she could start a new life. But… she already seemed to have one? Maybe? Could whatever this was with Blake be a life? Could it be her life? Her life as a new Kitten?

“It’s alright Kitten.” Blake offered and kissed Weiss’s ear. It flicked back and froth cutely, tickling Blake’s nose. “They don’t know; they’re not looking cause it’s you. They’re looking because I swore off dating after Adam.”

“Oh?” Weiss questioned quietly.

“Yeah.” Blake sighed and kissed Weiss’s ear again.

“Is that… what we’re doing?” Weiss paused just long enough for Blake to freeze in her tracks. “Are we… dating?”

“I- I!” Blake stammered. This was not the place to be having that conversation! Not at all!

“Cause… if we are, you’ll have to actually start taking me out on dates and stuff. And, no! Movies on the couch don’t count!” Weiss let go of Blake’s arm to stare her in her eyes. “I mean! At least! Not most of the time; only when we’re tired and need to stay in… or if you did something fun to me that day and I ask… for us to do something else instead.”

Blake chuckled and shook her head. “I think I can manage that Kitten.”

“So, that's…” Weiss looked up to Blake worriedly.

“We can talk more later, but… I’m not against it.” Blake shrugged. “I love you. It might be a bit awkward- the power dynamics are… still lackluster.” Blake visibly tried to ponder it.

“I think I’d like it; power dynamics and all.”

“Ok Kitten, ok, but, let’s get going. I don’t want to be late.”

Blake picked up the pace to make it, but Weiss and Blake arrived just as the ship began its direct descent. Blake hadn’t meant to leave Weiss behind, but the moment the ship’s cargo door opened, she couldn’t stop herself, she rushed up into the ship to greet her friends. She’d packed a bag before they left and was quick to administer what first aid she could and pass out some clothing for everyone. Everyone but Neon was able to get patched up there in the ship. But for Neon, Blake called the Menagerie hospital who already had an ambulance coming for her.

With everyone else handled, Blake turned her attention back to Marrow. “You’re tail.” She whispered.

“It’s fine.” Marrow forced a sad smile.

“But-”

“It’s fine.” He repeated and turned to look back to the little bandaged nub that stuck out from the ill fitting sweats Blake lent him. “It’s still there; just smaller. It’ll make sitting in some chairs easier.”

“Brothers.” Weiss whispered horrified as she stuck her head in to look on at Blake and her friends. She quickly retreated at the sight of people noticing her.

“We- one way or another I want to give it another look and make sure it heals up well, ok?” Blake offered, already stepping backward. “I- I’ll be right back.”

“O- ok.” Morrow nodded and turned to Jaune who held him tight.

“Weiss! Wait! Weiss!” Blake cried out in a mild hush as she followed after the Kitten.

“No, no, no, no.” Weiss murmured under her breath as she shook and leaned against the ship.

“Weiss!”

“They- they… but… but daddy said he’d never-”

“Weiss!” Blake cupped the Kitten’s tear-stained face.

“I- I-”

“It’s alright, they’re all alright. Everyone’s home and safe.”

“They mutilated his tail- and… and that poor girl.” Neon hadn’t yet gotten her tail wrapped like Marrow- mostly because her tail was much worse for where and Blake wasn’t confident enough to touch it without hurting Neon worse.

“She… she’s hurt, but she looks like she’ll be alright.”

“But! He! He!”

“Marrow? He’s ok. I’m pretty certain he’s just happy to be home and safe with Jaune.”

“Not Marrow! Jacques! He! He stooped to… to doing that to them-” Weiss shook.

It took Blake a moment, but… it dawned on her what Weiss meant. The Schnee had historically shied away from such mutilation- even decades ago, the family didn’t engage in removing faunus features. It had been reportedly for a number of reasons, but the one Blake always believed was that someone in the hospital can’t work; it just wasn’t profitable. That and the reality that any faunus who removed such a feature often could often blend into society as human. It was much more common that those faunus that could would remove the extra parts themselves to lead a better life and have better jobs. If they could have a better job, they didn’t need the SDC. “Why has he started doing this now?”

Weiss shook her head.

“Weiss Why.”

“I- I would always tell him it was stupid- Ironwood used to talk him out of it, but he couldn’t care less for the faunus and he wanted to start doing it again, but- but- I stopped him and- and now he’s-” Weiss began to hyperventilate.

Blake yanked the poor heiress into her arms. “It’s- it’s not your fault.” She whispered and tried to squeeze the guilt out of her. “Shh, shh, shh.” Blake resorted to the hypnosis triggers to soothe the Kitten as she gently caressed behind Weiss’s ear and offered small kisses.

It took an overzealous amount of sushing and holding Weiss before she calmed, but eventually she did- though it seemed more like she was forcing herself to appear calm because she was outside rather than actually feeling it. Blake could do her best to help Weiss through it all later, but for now she didn’t have much of a choice but to believe Weiss when she said she was ok. There was just too much yet to do. In that time it took to soothe Weiss to at least passingly alright, the ambulance had come and taken Neon. The rest of the group lingered in the ship, politely waiting as the leader handled the captive.

“I love you. It’s going to be alright.” Blake offered a chaste kiss to her Kitten.

Weiss nodded softly and snuffled.

“They are ok.” Blake assured.

“T- they’re ok.” Weiss offered more to placate Blake than because she honestly believed it.

“You’re ok.”

That one Weiss didn’t even try to repeat, she just gave a noncommittal nod.

“Are you good to meet them? Or would you rather go home?”

“I- I can meet them.” Weiss forced herself to answer.

“Alright.” Blake took Weiss’s hand and held it as supportively as she could.

The duo boarded the ship to see the three that remained. They all sat where they had on the flight over, each of them looking like they wore the weight of the world on their shoulders. “Marrow, Jaune, Coco, meet Weiss; she’s the one who saved you all. I- I was out of ideas and hopeless, and she saved my ass, and very literally yours.”

Coco squinted, trying to add everything up, Marrow failed to close his jaw, but Jaune asked boldly what they were all thinking. “Was… was the Schnee heiress always a faunus?”

Weiss’s ears fell and she crossed her arms over herself in a defensive and scared stance. She subtly hid the tail that naturally wrapped around her belly with her arms as she shifted uncomfortable and on edge.

“No; and she’s not; not really, just… felt apropos.” Blake kicked at the ground under her. It all made perfect sense in her head, but now being forced to explain her choices felt much harder than she’d expected.

“And you do mean… that Weiss; there’s not some other Weiss that you kidnapped hiding out somewhere else on the island?” Coco pressed.

“Yes, I am Weiss Schnee.” Weiss answered.

“And you saved White Fang members from your father because…?” Marrow questioned openly.

“Because Blake didn’t make me help.”

“Huh?” The trio questioned in more or less unison- a confusion taking up in them and only growing more severe at the guilty look Blake wore.

“Scuse me, you had her sitting there and weren’t going to push her to help?” Coco reeled.

“Wasn’t that the whole point of this? That you’d force her to help one way or another?” Marrow added.

“She already was helping- I didn’t have any other ideas; plus, honestly, she kind of jumped to help.”

Weiss nodded. “She’s… she’s right. I- and I guess that wasn’t the whole reason…” Weiss covered herself tighter with her arms. “Plus, it was the right thing to do.”

“Are we sure she’s a Schnee?” Marrow worried.

“Hey, she helped us.” Jaune glared at his boyfriend.

“Maybe she’s adopted?” Coco postulated.

“She- she’s not adopted!” Blake snapped in defense of the Kitten, but Weiss had already started providing an explanation of her own.

Marrow, Jaune, and Coco all went for their weapons that had been stored in the ship’s outside cargo bay in a mad dash.

“Weiss!” Blake screamed.

“What? They wanted to know if I was adopted? This is the Schnee family semblance.” Weiss shrugged. “Not adopted.” She unsummoned the large suit of armor brought fourth by her semblance.

“Guys, calm down, she wasn’t fighting.” Blake groaned.

The three all stopped and stood awkwardly.

“S- sorry.” Weiss shrunk.

“She saved you, why would she all of a sudden want to fight you now!”

They shrugged.

“I- I’m actually trying to help. I- I sat by and let a lot of things go that I shouldn’t have while I was at the SDC. I know it won’t be enough, I just… I want to try and make up for whatever I can.”

“Well, you’ve made a great start.” Jaune offered an extended hand towards Weiss to baffled looks from the other two.

“Thanks… Jaune?” Weiss questioned and shook his hand.

“Yup.” He nodded. “And this is Marrow, my boyfriend.” Jaune pulled Marrow up a little forcefully, but kindheartedly all the same.

“I’m so sorry about your tail. I- it’s horrible and-” Weiss’s tail waving free caught the corner of her eye and she forced it down with her hand. “Fuck! I- it’s new and I’m still-”

“It’s alright. And… Blake sounded like she might have something to help it heal or grow back.” Marrow forced a polite smile and offered his hand to shake as well.

Weiss stepped forward to shake his hand before retreating to Blake’s side.

“Well, I’m Coco, and thanks for the help, but I need to go find Velvet.”

“She’s in the meeting hall. I figured we should all talk about things now that we have a new approach.”

“A new approach?” Weiss whispered.

“You said you had other things like what you did this morning; bigger ones, right?”

“Yeah.” Weiss nodded.

“Are you not comfortable helping anymore.” Blake hadn’t intended her words to come out quite the way they did. She meant it to be an honest check, a worried confirmation that she hadn’t already signed Weiss up for something she couldn’t do. Sadly, it came out much more like a judgement.

“I- I can, I am.” Weiss settled within herself- though with more reservations than none.

“Well… we clearly have things to talk about at the meeting.” Blake settled.

“Let’s go then!” Coco lead.

The others left and head for the meeting hall, but Blake and Weiss lingered on the ship. Weiss fidgeted uncomfortably, but Blake’s calm hands took hers and lent her steadiness. “Did I misunderstand; make a wrong assumption?”

“Huh?” Weiss picked up her heavy head.

“Are you ok with continuing to help like you did this morning? I- I didn’t think about it like this at first… but I understand if you think about things differently now; now that it’s not the lives of direct friends of mine on the line.”

“No, no… I- I did mean to offer my help, and I did mean for it to extend beyond today; I couldn’t say no if I wanted to after seeing your friends.”

“Weiss… you have a choice, that was the point of… of almost everything else I’ve done; even when the only choices I gave you were shitty.”

“Love you.” Weiss slipped into Blake to hug her tight.

“I love you too Kitten.” Blake squeezed and snuggled into the top of Weiss’s head. “Are you up to tag along to the meeting hall?”

“Yeah. Jaune and Marrow are really nice; I hope everyone else is like them.”

“Uugh…” Blake stalled. “Velvet usually is… but… Jaune is often the sweetest of the group.”

“Oh.” Weiss winced and sighed.

“It will be ok tho. I won’t let any of them give you too much trouble. You’re mine, and I'm the only one who can hurt you. Remember?”

“Yeah.” Weiss cooed and snuggled into Blake’s chest.

“Ok Kitten, let’s go.”

End of Chapter 39