The Vale Voice - Chapter 3 (Patreon)

It would be a lie to say Blake wasn’t anxious the next morning, as she rushed to the office earlier than usual.  She even skipped her morning tea in favor of ensuring she was the first person to arrive, which made her one of the few lonely souls walking the deserted paths to work.

After forcing a ‘normal’ end to her workday the day before, her evening had been filled with a slew of questions, fears, and worries.  Then she hardly slept while battling back and forth on whether or not her agreement with Weiss was a good idea.  They needed the advertising dollars, but how much stress would having a human in the office cause?  Would it be worth it in the end?

It felt like a gamble and, realistically, if she didn’t feel like they were running out of options, she never would have agreed.  But they were running out of options, which meant she needed to accept more risks than she would have before.  If nothing else, this was an option - a potential bandage they so desperately needed.

At least Weiss made one concession that put Blake more at ease - if it wasn’t working, they could tell whoever it was to go home.  Doing so might jeopardize their ultimate objective, but Weiss seemed reasonable enough not to hold an ill fit against them.  And what human would fit well in an office of Faunus?

Hurrying up the staircase and realizing just how early she was, Blake wished that she’d stopped for her tea after all.  A nice, warm cup of tea would work wonders in calming her nerves right now.  Instead, her hand jittered with energy while she struggled to unlock the office.  

Once she pushed the door open and turned on the lights, she paused and examined the room in front of her.  What would it look like to someone who’d never been here before?  What did this small space say about them as individuals and as a team?

Professional journalists or just a regular office - it was difficult for Blake to gauge.  To her, this was just...work.  Her second home.  The place where she felt accepted and even respected for who and what she was.

Walking between the two rows of desks, she looked at each one in turn.  Sun’s was covered in stray pieces of paper.  She never understood how he worked in such a mess, but somehow he never missed a deadline.  Brand’s desk was cleared off since he was on vacation, leaving only his personal effects in view - several small, framed photographs of his family.  A giant dictionary was the primary resident of Victor’s desk, and just seeing it offered some measure of reassurance considering Blake’s need to pull out her own whenever editing his articles.  Various fashion and entertainment magazines were stacked on the edge of Lola’s, while a half-written article lay across the keyboard.  Velvet’s was likely the neatest, with a camera case tucked underneath the desk and a stack of loose photographs sitting by the computer. 

Walking over to Velvet’s desk, Blake picked up the pictures and slowly flipped through them.  It looked like Velvet had taken a walk through the park near the heart of downtown - not on any specific assignment, but simply to find moments worth viewing over and over again.  Each photo captured a unique theme, whether that be the weather, bits of nature, or the dynamics of any relationship she found intriguing.  Each photo was, in itself, worth more than a thousand words, if only Blake had the time to write them.  

They would go uncaptioned for now, but Blake saw the story in each of them.  She saw exactly what thoughts or emotions Velvet hoped to convey, as if the words hid amongst the tree trunks and park benches.

Returning the photographs to their original order and placing them carefully on the desk, Blake shook her head and felt sadness sting at her heart.  They were blessed with one of the best photographers in all of Remnant - of that, she was certain.  If only people gave Velvet the credit she deserved...but she’d had the misfortune of being born a member of the wrong race.

Blake sighed at the thought before willingly leaving it and Velvet’s photos behind in favor of moving across the aisle to the empty desk - although it wasn’t so empty anymore.  Next to the keyboard was a neat stack of new materials: a spiral notebook, a notepad, and several pens placed on top.  

The desk was once occupied by Petra, a wise old porcupine who was as prickly as he was witty.  After he retired, which had been some time ago now, they never filled the spot.  Lack of funding had begun to show at that point and, instead of bringing on a new journalist, those who remained simply...worked harder.

After taking one last look around, Blake headed to her own desk and discovered that she was giving Sun a run for his money in the ‘messiest desk’ competition.  In her defense...well, she had no defense.  Five stacks of paper had been left out overnight - each created for a specific task that had yet to be completed.  Each was a project she kept telling herself she would get to ‘when she had time.’  The problem with that philosophy was, quite simply, that she never had time.

Sitting down another sigh, she turned on the computer and patiently waited for the system to boot up - wishing now more than ever that she’d made her stop for a morning tea.  Fortunately, the feeling disappeared when her computer was ready to use, allowing her to work instead of focusing on her lack of a warm, calming beverage.

One of her emails was from Lola, containing both her and Brand’s articles for the week.  After printing copies for herself, Blake set them front and center on her desk to be edited today.  Next, she found that Victor had sent in three new articles to go along with the ones he already submitted, which she printed and added (to the bottom) of her growing stack.  

Sun would most likely personally deliver his rough drafts tomorrow, seeing as how that baseball game wasn’t until tonight.  Velvet would also have a couple of articles, then she and Blake would decide which article and photograph would be used for the cover.

“Good morning, Blake.”

“Good morning, Lola,” she replied while hardly turning away from the email she was typing.  Recognizing that the workday had begun, she glanced towards the door every few seconds while waiting for Weiss’ employee to arrive.  Would they be early?  Late?  Right on time?

When the door opened next, Blake’s heart jumped - only to fall back in place when it was only Velvet and Victor walking in, the two of them chatting softly before separating towards their desks.  Catching Blake’s gaze, Velvet gestured one ear towards the desk beside her.  When Blake raised both hands to show that she had no idea when they would arrive, Velvet nodded and got to work.

With the moment of truth nearly upon them, Blake tapped her fingers on her desk and debated whether or not to start editing only to be interrupted midway through.  That decision was made for her when the door opened (giving her another mini heart attack), and Sun bounded in with a smile.

If there was one person who might hurt their chances of winning Weiss over, it was Sun - although that thought felt too harsh considering what Blake knew about him.  He stuck around this long for a reason, and it wasn’t for Blake - even though that was the answer he would undoubtedly give.  He wanted the world to be a better place too, and he was trying to help them get there.  But he believed in having a good time in the process - something Blake had never been able to emulate.

He was as dedicated as the rest of them, even though it might not appear that way.  The last thing Blake wanted was to ask him to change, but she also hated the idea of a stranger judging him incorrectly.

Coming to a decision, she walked to the door of her office while he dumped his bag onto the desk in front of her.

“Hey Sun.”  After capturing his attention, she motioned him over to her.  “Can we talk for a second?”

“Sure!”  With a huge smile, he jogged into her office and leaned against the chair in front of her desk.  “What’s up?  Free tonight?”

“Still busy,” she answered before lowering her voice so as not to be overheard.  In an office of Faunus, that was basically an impossible task, but she did so anyway.  “I have a small favor to ask...we’re going to have a visitor in the office for a little while.  Do you think you can be on your best behavior?”

“Of course!  Anything for you.”  When he lowered his voice and winked, she rolled her eyes.

“Thank you.  You don’t have to do too much, just...tone it down a little?”

“Pfft...tone it down?  Blake, you know I’m always trying to tone up!”  When he grinned and flexed his biceps, she shook her head.

“Ok, got it -” After quickly ruffling his perpetually-ruffled hair, he gave her a thumbs up.  “That’s what I should ‘tone down.’”

“Only for a few weeks,” she assured him.  “As soon as they’re gone, you can go back to…‘toning up,’ as much as you want.”

From his blinding grin, that permission was music to his ears.  As Blake was about to add an addendum, however, she picked up a feeling that was out of place - a disturbance that was difficult to put her finger on until she turned back to the office.

Everyone was here, yet someone new had just walked through the door.

“Um...hi!”

Listening intently, Blake watched their new arrival catch Velvet’s attention.

“Am I in the right place?” the girl asked.  “This is The Vale Voice, right?”

“Uh, wow.”  

Sun’s summation was pretty appropriate.  Weiss’ ‘trusted employee’ was something of a looker - tall, blonde, with a model’s physique and a model’s wardrobe.

“Is that who you want me to be on my best behavior for?” Sun asked, still gawking through the open office door while Velvet shook the girl’s hand.  “Cuz I can totally...do...that…”

“Get back to work,” Blake said while nudging him out of his nearly-drooling trance.  She didn’t want to make a bigger deal of this than it was.  So when Sun flew right over to the girl to introduce himself, Blake shook her head and sighed.  While he talked, however, she watched the rest of the office for their reactions.

Sun was elated, as evidenced by his cheshire-cat grin.  Velvet was surprised but almost pleasantly so.  It was Victor and Lola who stared in shock - hopefully pure surprise and not agitation.

Still talking animatedly, with the new girl listening with a smile, Sun looked like he would stand there forever had Velvet not cut in and said a few words before pointing the girl towards Blake’s office.  After briefly making eye contact, the new girl headed that way, and Blake moved behind her desk while mentally preparing herself for the impending introduction.

She wasn’t willing to sacrifice who they were or what they represented, but she could be cordial.

“Uh, hey!” 

Upon catching the new girl’s eyes - a vivid, unforgettable shade of lilac - Blake put on a pleasant smile and waved her into the room.

“Come on in,” Blake added, keeping her desk between them as the girl walked right up to it and extended her hand.

“I’m Yang.” 

“Blake,” she replied while shaking Yang’s hand.  As soon as Blake let go, Yang clasped her hands in front of her as if she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with them.

“Weiss sent me over.  Said you guys could use a hand.”  A spike of indignation shot through Blake’s veins at the insinuation that they needed help with their daily work, but Yang continued unaware.  “Sorry I’m late.  This place is kinda off the beaten path.  Got lost a few times.”

“I’m glad you made it safely.  I can write down directions if you need them.”

“I think I’ve got it now, but thanks for the offer.”  Yang grinned before sweeping her eyes around the office.  “So you’re in charge here?  I’m guessin’ since you’re the only one with an office.”  

“Yes, I’m the editor-in-chief, accountant, marketing department, babysitter, all of the above.”  Blake felt tired just thinking about the many responsibilities that belonged to her and her alone.

“Woah, sounds like you could use some extra help.”

“Unfortunately, there’s no money for that,” she answered honestly.  “That’s why you’re here.  But Weiss didn’t give me any of your information - which newspaper did you work at before?”

“Uh, none of them.”  When Yang shook her head, Blake raised her brow.

“None?  Then what’s your experience in print journalism?”

“Do you count reading the paper every once in a while?  Otherwise, no.”

“What about advertising?”

“Nope.”

Yang’s answers left Blake feeling miffed...and more than a little annoyed.

“How are you supposed to evaluate our abilities if you have no experience in this industry?” she asked, mostly rhetorically.

“‘Evaluate’ you?  Weiss asked me to come over and help you guys with whatever you need.  I’m just supposed to tell her how it goes.”

Having no idea how to respond, nothing more than a scoff slipped through Blake’s lips.  This wasn’t at all what she’d expected.  She thought Weiss would send some seasoned veteran of the journalism world who would immediately find a hundred things they were doing wrong, not...a complete novice.  More than a complete novice - someone who probably had no right to be in any type of news environment.

“What are you supposed to help with then?” she asked, but Yang shrugged.

“I thought you’d tell me.  Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it.  I’m more than happy to help with anything.”

Still dismayed, Blake studied Yang closely.  Her words, tone, demeanor, everything seemed genuine...

“You can shadow some of the other writers today,” Blake finally said, unable to come up with anything better at the moment.  “Get an idea of how things work.  Victor can show you how to set up the computer.”

“Cool.  I can do that,” Yang said with another big grin and nod.  She was chipper.  Very chipper.  Of course, what didn’t she have to be happy about?  She’d won the genetic lottery.

“Ok, then…” Blake said with a nod towards the door.  Taking the hint, Yang backed out of the office.

“It was nice meeting you,” she added before leaving.

“You too,” Blake replied before sitting down and turning her attention back to her work.  Once she heard the door close, she looked up and watched Yang introduce herself to Victor and Lola.  

She seemed friendly.  Time would tell how real that friendliness was.

But Blake refused to pander to her.  If they were going to win Schnee Industries’ business, it would be by remaining true to who they were.  If Yang spent time here and found flaws in their process, then so be it.  How she would find flaws when she had no experience in journalism...Blake had no idea.  In the meantime, she would keep searching for other companies to fill the spaces in their pages.

Pulling the first article off of her stack of editing, she did her best to focus on the words but found it difficult when Yang’s voice drew so much of her attention.  Whenever Yang laughed, especially, Blake looked up to see what was going on, and often found Sun making another attempt at conversation.

The ‘newness’ made it difficult to concentrate, but hopefully the effect dissipated as Blake’s oversensitive ears grew accustomed to Yang’s voice.  That probably wouldn’t happen before Yang left, however, so she needed to figure out a way to work in the meantime.

No experience though?  Zero?  

Assuming Weiss would send a veteran to critique them was Blake’s mistake.  Looking back on it, Weiss only said it was someone she trusted, which Blake assumed meant someone qualified.

It was another challenge, but she was confident they would overcome it.  In fact, as the morning progressed, the day reverted back to a normal frequency - albeit a normal frequency punctuated by a new voice.  While she eventually made it through the first article (in nearly twice the time it normally took), she could tell that the tone of the office was...off.  

What a difference one human could make…

In the midst of the next article, she willingly put down her pen when there was a soft knock at her door.  After waving Lola inside, she watched the slim woman slide through the doorway before quietly pressing the door shut behind her.

“Um, Blake…” she began, her voice soft and uncertain as she sat on the other side of the desk.

“Yes?”

After glancing around the office as if they might not be alone, Lola turned back to Blake with a concerned gaze.

“If you don’t mind me asking...what’s a human doing here?”

Sighing at the question, Blake pushed her chair away from her desk and rubbed her eyes.  Lola was many years Blake’s senior but had always been respectful and kind.  She wasn’t prone to disagreement, but as one of the elder members of the staff, she deserved an explanation for their uncomfortable situation.

“It’s part of an agreement I made with Weiss,” Blake explained.  “Weiss will advertise in The Voice, but only if she’s confident in how we operate first.  Yang’s only here to see what we’re doing on a day-to-day basis.”

Left out was that Weiss questioned their dedication and intensity, but there was no reason for Lola to know that.

“Schnee Industries?” Lola replied, her expression brightening substantially.  “That would be wonderful!  But...you know Brand won’t like this…”

“I know...and I’ll talk to him when he gets back.  I’m sure he’ll be ok once he understands the circumstances.”  Pausing for a second, Blake gave Lola a curious glance.  “What about you though?  Are you alright with this?”

Any concern Blake had melted away when Lola smiled and shook those floppy ears on her head.

“Oh, she seems like a lovely girl.  And I have more than a few questions I want to ask about her fashion.”  Shaking her head again, Lola sent Blake a timid smile.  “It’s a bit harder to keep up with the times as you get older.  We all get stuck in our ways.”

Blake smiled and nodded at the admission, even though she only understood in theory.  

Even in her older years, Lola was quite pretty, and it was easy to imagine that she’d been stunning as a young woman.  Based on her interest in entertainment and the latest fashion, Yang’s well-coordinated outfit was certain to pique her curiosity - a commonality they could talk about. 

“I’m glad you’re ok with it,” Blake eventually sighed in relief. 

“It’s fine.  I’m just concerned about the big bear’s reaction.”

“You and me both.”  But Brand would be back from vacation next week, which gave Blake a few days to figure out what to say to him.  “In the meantime, maybe Yang can help you with the research for your article?” she suggested.  “I’m sure she can figure out how to run a basic search and find some data.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!”  Nodding at the suggestion, Lola stood up and smiled.  “I’ll ask her to help with that.  Thank you, Blake.”

“Anytime.”  

Blake’s relief only grew when Lola walked over to Yang and presented the small task.  At least one person would make it through this trial with little difficulty.  Well, Lola and Sun both seemed to be adjusting to the change quickly, so that was two out of five.

Before she even attempted to return to work, however, Velvet caught her gaze and ducked into the office seconds later.

“How’s it going out there?” Blake asked, watching Velvet’s ears as much as her eyes for answers.

“I think it’s going fine.  I was talking to Yang.  She seems...very sweet.”

“And has no idea what she’s doing?” 

“Maybe just a little bit.”

Blake sighed at the response and sank into her chair.

“What am I supposed to do with her?” she asked while waving towards the window.  “It’s not enough that Weiss sent a human - she sent a human with zero experience!  I didn’t realize we were running a daycare...”

“Is it really that bad?” Velvet asked, unperturbed by Blake’s complaints.  “Would you rather have someone with experience, who has their own way of doing things?  Or someone who doesn’t have anything to compare us to, who seems willing to learn our ways?”

After thinking through those questions, Blake sighed again.

“How are you always so convincing?”

“Let’s just give her a chance,” Velvet replied with a small smile but avoided the compliment out of modesty.  “She seems eager to learn what we do.”

“Fine.  But since she has no experience, she’s an observer.  If she does anything, make sure it’s something she can’t screw up - like making copies.  Not that she seems capable of much more...”  Blake glanced at Yang, with those perfect waves of golden hair and that perfectly coordinated outfit, and rolled her eyes.  “Most trusted employee…” she muttered to herself.  “What a joke.”

Was it a joke?  Was this all a practical joke that Weiss was playing on them?  Blake would actually believe it if Weiss seemed even remotely interested in playing an elaborate prank on a group of strangers.  But the polished, polite demeanor suggested that she would never be caught partaking in such a childish endeavor.

So she intended to send Yang here.  The only question was...why?  Maybe it was a case of ‘over promise, under deliver.’  Or maybe the person she actually wanted to send wasn’t available.  

Whatever the reason, Yang was here now, and they needed to deal with it.

Hearing an unfamiliar laugh break through the office, Blake immediately turned towards Yang and found her chatting with Victor while he set up the computer.

“Can you do me a favor?” she asked without moving her gaze.  “Can you be my ears?”

“Aren’t I always?”

Turning back to Velvet, Blake gave a grateful smile.

“I know this is an unexpected change, but it’s just another challenge we need to get through.”

“We’ll be fine,” Velvet replied, and smiled when one of Victor’s rolling ‘whowhowhoo’ laughs filled the office.  “You don’t need to worry about him, at least.  She told him he was the most intelligent-looking man she’s ever met.”

Blake huffed in amusement at the knowledge.  “Played her cards right there, didn’t she?”

“Absolutely.  Are you going to be ok with this though?”

“Of course.  It won’t be for long.  I can deal.”  At this point, she would do just about anything to get The Voice back on firm footing, even if that meant allowing a human into her space for a few days.

“Just checking.  You know you can be a little…”

“A little what?” she asked, her brow furrowed when she looked at Velvet.

“You know...protective.”

Protective...that was a good word for it.  Defensive, possessive - The Voice was her safe place and had been for quite some time.  She didn’t want that to change, even in the midst of this turmoil.  

“I just don’t want us to lose who we are,” she admitted, receiving a nod from Velvet that made her feel more assured in her wishes.  Then the door opened again, and Sun rushed into the office before shutting it behind him.

“Hey, so...I know you set up the empty desk for Yang, but I was thinking she could sit next to me!”  When he gave a hopeful smile, Blake stared at him in disbelief.  

“Brand sits next to you.”

“Yeah, but he’s not here today, and I can move his stuff.  Please??  I mean, I think I’d be the best one to show her the ropes!”

Blake looked at Velvet, who smiled and shrugged, before turning back to Sun.  “No,” she said, picking up her pen as if she might start working even though she knew the conversation wasn’t over.

“Aww...but Blake, I’ll make a good impression - I swear!”  He then tapped Velvet’s shoulder and gestured towards Blake.  “You think I’d be the best one to show Yang the ropes, right?  I mean, they’re ropes. Who’d know some ropes better than me?”

When Blake and Velvet both laughed, Sun looked back and forth with a grin, still hopeful he’d get his way.

“I’m still going to say no,” Blake answered, “If Brand shows up Monday and a human’s taken his desk, he’ll have to write his own crime article before going to prison.”

Sun’s eyes widened in realization, and his next smile was sheepish.

“Uh...heh, yeah, bad idea,” he chuckled while backing to the door.  “This is why you make the big bucks!”

Laughing again, this time at the idea that she made anything close to ‘big bucks,’ Blake shared a knowing look with Velvet while Velvet followed Sun back to their desks.

Victor and Lola were working now.  Sun reluctantly went back to his computer and put on a pair of headphones.  Velvet stopped and said a few words to Yang before heading back to her own desk.  And Yang caught Blake’s gaze and smiled before going back to clicking around on the computer, likely figuring out where everything was or working on Lola’s task.

They’d made it through the morning and no one was demanding that Blake throw Yang out.  That was a good start, as far as she was concerned.  After checking the time, she pushed aside her editing and pulled up the materials she needed for her potential advertiser meeting today.  

She would use the same set of articles she printed for Weiss yesterday, which made preparation easier.  Plus, she’d worked with Gary in the past so was at least on familiar terms with him.  His family owned a construction business specializing in realistic habitats for Faunus.  Some of their work was incredible, such as the authentic jungle they built into a house for a jaguar Faunus.

Faunus supporting Faunus - that’s the way it had always been.  That’s the way it needed to be for them to have any hope of survival.  Now, if only they could convince a few humans to feel the same…

Since Gary’s business targeted other Faunus, and considering that he’d advertised in The Voice several times in the past, the meeting today should be more of a formality than anything else.  The only problem was that their marketing budget was quite small: they only placed a short run of advertisements during the slow season or when funds became available.

But business was business.  A few advertisements were better than none at all.

With her materials ready if she needed them, Blake thought through how the conversation might go.  It was at that exact moment that her concentration was again shattered by an unfamiliar voice.  Finding Yang looking at something on Lola’s screen and conversing about whatever it was, Blake’s concern rose.

What impression would they make if Gary came in and found a human working here?  The Vale Voice was supposed to be a Faunus publication.  Sure, Blake could explain the circumstances, but could she do that without raising suspicion that The Voice was on uneven footing?  

Mulling the situation over in her mind, she watched Yang return to her desk and Sun race right over to talk.  Coming to a decision then, she stood and headed out to join them.

“And then you write the rough, rough, rough draft -” he was saying, perched on the edge of Yang’s desk while she listened with an amused smile in place.

“Sun -” Blake interrupted, cutting off his chatter and waving him back to his desk.

“Right.  Got it.”  Hopping down, he grinned and set off for his seat, leaving Blake and Yang alone.

“I wanted to let you know that I have a meeting with a prospective advertiser,” Blake began.  “It’s in a few hours.” 

“Oh, that’s great!  I’m guessing more ads are a good thing.”

“Very good.”  Briefly pausing while Yang looked up at her, it took several seconds for Blake to find the words she wanted to say.  “I was hoping you could take a break for lunch around that time.”

“Uh...you mean, you want me to leave?”

“Only for an hour or so,” Blake quickly explained.  “It’s a Faunus-owned company, and I just don’t want them to get the wrong impression.”

Again, it took several moments for the words to sink in - long enough that a kernel of agitation grew in Blake’s chest.  Why was this so difficult to understand?  But understanding eventually dawned, and Yang slowly nodded.

“Right.  Got it.  I’ll disappear around that time.”

“Only for an hour, tops,” Blake added, but Yang waved one hand.  

“Don’t worry about it.  I’ll ask someone to tell me when it’s ok to come back.”

Blake couldn’t understand why, but it felt like that just went horribly wrong.  And it felt like she needed to say something to smooth over the situation, but that didn’t make any sense.  It wasn’t too much to ask Yang to step out so as not to scare away a Faunus looking for Faunus advertising.  

“Ok,” she said while backing away.  “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Biting her lip, Blake caught Velvet’s gaze - which also suggested that the conversation could have gone better - before hurrying back to her office.  Was that an inappropriate request?  She didn’t think so, but it didn’t matter now.  She asked, and Yang agreed.  The issue was resolved.

Regardless, when Yang got up to leave a little while later, Blake felt a small pang of guilt.  That feeling only mildly abated when Sun shot out of his seat and headed out the door with Yang.   

She wasn’t a member of their office.  Why would she expect to be portrayed as such?  She’d literally only been here for a few hours, and it was important to put on their best showing for a potential advertiser, which meant -

Giving up her internal argument, Blake shook her head and shuffled through her papers yet again.  Hearing the doorbell ring several minutes later, she headed out of her office and motioned to Velvet that she would get it.  After pulling open the door, she smiled upon seeing a familiar face.

“Hi Gary,” she greeted him while gesturing inside.  “It’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Blake,” Gary replied - the ‘c’ in ‘nice’ coming out with an audible whistle through his large front teeth.  “Thanks for taking the time to meet with me.”

In the back of her mind, Blake wondered how often Gary had been made fun of for that whistle, which happened with every ‘s’ sound he spoke.  She hoped not at all but knew better than that.  

It was another shame.  Gary and his family were some of the most ingenious builders in the world - who cared if they whistled when they spoke?  That was part of being a beaver.

“No problem at all.  Let’s sit down so we can go over what you need.”  

After leading Gary to her office, she closed the door and sat across from him.  Compared to yesterday, with Weiss sitting on the other side of the desk, Blake felt far more comfortable and assured in how the conversation would go.

“You know, my mom’s been reading The Vale Voice for decades now,” Gary said while resituating in the chair.  “Probably since before you were born.”

“Is that so?  It’s nice to hear we have such loyal readers.”

“Oh you do.  She used to make me get her copy every Saturday morning.”  He laughed at the memory and shook his head.  “I hated doing it, even though it was right down the drive.  Definitely proved that whole ‘eager beaver’ thing wrong.”

Blake smiled at the idea of younger Gary dragging himself down the driveway, his flat tail trailing behind his back, while collecting a copy of The Vale Voice.

“Times have changed since then,” he continued, briefly showing that expression of broken longing all Faunus had perfected by his age.  “But Mom still reads her copy of The Voice every weekend.”

“Who gets it for her now?” Blake asked, and the question made him chuckle.

“She gets it herself!  She always could - she just didn’t want to.  Too focused on ‘building my character.’”

Blake had met his mother just once, but that sounded exactly like something she would do.

“Building character and building houses,” Blake pointed out.

“I’d rather focus on the houses,” he mumbled before smiling.  “But about your email - it came at the perfect time.  We’ve been thinking of running a promotion to boost sales.  It’s the slow season right now.”

“That sounds like a great time to run an ad.”  Pulling over a notepad and a pen, she prepared to write a few notes.  “How long is your promotion going to run?”

“Ten weeks - think we should post an ad for the same time?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she replied, before checking the date and counting out ten weeks.  “If we can get the layout finished in the next couple days, we can print the first one this weekend.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”  Pausing, he looked down at his hands before turning back to her.  “We don’t have a huge budget for advertising, you know.  My folks always believed word of mouth was the best way to grow.  But, in terms of pricing, well, is it about what we spent last time?”

Taking in his hesitant smile and the way his hands curled around the hem of his shirt, Blake nodded.

“Exactly the same as last time - will that work?”  When his worries disappeared, she smiled.  

“Wonderful - just wonderful,” he replied, his expression filled with relief.  “We have a lad who helps us out now, since my dad’s hip has been acting up again, you see.  Anyway, he said he could help with any marketing stuff.  Can I send him over to work out the details?”

“Sure.  I’ll meet with him anytime.”

“Great.  Thank you, Blake.  I really appreciate it.”  Standing up, Gary reached over to shake her hand, bowing his head as if she’d just done him a huge favor.

Maybe she had.  The price they paid for their last set of advertisements had already been discounted due to their financial struggles, and it was only for eight weeks.  But Faunus helping Faunus - it was a two-way street.  

“Don’t mention it,” she assured him, shaking his hand then leading him back through the office.  “Tell your parents I say ‘hello.’”

“Of course!  They’ll be happy to hear from you.”  With a big grin, Gary leaned close and said, “Keep up the good work,” before waving and heading to the staircase.  When he was gone, she headed back to her office with her mind already running through the numbers.

Even at the reduced price, the money helped.  It wouldn’t solve any problems, but it temporarily slowed the bleeding.  It might even buy them a little time.  And, hopefully, the exposure would send some business Gary’s way.  He and his family were kind, hard-working people, but also a reminder that The Voice didn’t own a monopoly on struggle.

Sitting at her desk, she pulled up a copy of Gary’s previous invoice to double-check the value before copying it into a new one.  She sent that over to him right away, then pulled out the tentative outline for this week’s issue and picked out the best place for their new advertisement to go.  

Once that was finished, she finally returned to her editing, but not without sneaking a glance at the office and finding that everyone was back from lunch.  Her eyes immediately sought out Yang, who held a piece of paper out for Lola to read and gestured towards it with a pen.  

To an outside observer, it looked like they worked well together.  And, thankfully, it didn’t seem like Yang was at all perturbed about Blake asking her to leave for lunch.  Or, if she was, she wasn’t behaving as such.

Shaking that worry from her mind, Blake did her best to shut out all distractions and focus solely on editing the stack of articles in front of her.  By the time she made it through two of them, Victor had snuck out for the day, likely having an afternoon engagement elsewhere.  Over the next two articles, both Lola and Sun went on their way - with Sun sending Blake a quick “See ya tomorrow!” on his way out.  She missed Velvet’s exit entirely, as the next time she looked up only Yang was left in the office.

Tired and realizing that she forgot to eat lunch, Blake went back to work and waited for Yang to leave.

And waited.  And waited.

Just about when Blake considered asking Yang what she was doing, she finally started gathering her belongings.  When she stood up, Blake expected her to leave - instead, she walked over to Blake’s door and gave it a soft knock before poking her head inside.

“Hey, do you always stay so late?”

Dropping her pen on the desk, Blake looked at the time and sighed.

“Depends on the day, but yes, usually.”

“Ah, I see...is it ok if I go now?”

“Of course.”  After Blake gave permission, Yang smiled but didn’t turn away.  Instead, she glanced at the paper on the desk and took a step closer.

“What’re you working on?”

“I’m editing the articles for this week,” Blake explained, spinning the paper around and sliding it across the desk so Yang could see the edits written in the margins.  

“That’s cool.  What’s it about?” 

“It’s discussing some of Vale’s most sordid laws for hiring practices.”

“Oh,” with a soft chuckle, Yang passed the article back to Blake.  “You mean like how they advertise for a ‘brand marketer’ when they really just want you to stand outside holding a sign all day?”

“No…I mean how it’s legal to discriminate against Faunus job applicants - to not hire them, or even consider hiring them, based on nothing more than appearance.  You know that box you check on a job application - the one that says ‘human?’  Well, when we check the other box, an employer can legally put that application in the trash.”

Glancing at Victor’s work, which was too Faunus-centric to make it into The Voice, Blake frowned.  He always made such good points - points that made her heart burn with injustice.

“But I wouldn’t expect you to understand that,” she added.  When Yang was silent for several seconds, Blake looked up and found a mix of emotions in her lilac eyes.

“Yeah…” Yang finally replied with a slow nod.  “Yeah, I guess I can’t imagine what it’s like for someone to judge my intelligence based solely on my appearance.  I mean, blondes are usually seen as super smart, right?”

Internally, Blake flinched at the reply, which planted a seed of guilt in her chest when it reminded her of the copier comment she made to Velvet earlier.  She hadn’t meant to be so dismissive, and only now realized that what Yang initially said had been a joke.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then how did you mean it?”  The question seemed to be rhetorical, or at least Blake hoped it was because she didn’t have an answer.  Yang seemed to understand as much, as she smiled and backed away from the desk.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to it.  Have a good night.”

Watching Yang leave, Blake waited until the outer office door closed before sighing and putting her head in her hands.  That certainly hadn’t been the best impression, but she couldn’t take back the words now.  She shouldn’t have said anything.  She should have just explained reality and left it at that - not gone out of her way to relate it to Yang’s life.

Sending one last look at Victor’s article and wishing it had a place, she sighed again and packed up her bag to head home.  She needed to eat something, then could edit more before going to sleep.  Hopefully, tomorrow would be a better day.  Although, history didn’t seem to be on her side...