Blake smiled affectionately at her diminutive brunette girlfriend as she skipped on ahead from the landing pad. The Faunus girl's fingers were entwined with her other, redheaded girlfriend who walked at a more sedate pace next to her.

"This is gonna be so cool!" Ruby chirped excitedly over her shoulder for perhaps the dozenth time in the past hour alone.

"Is it just me," Pyrrha murmured, "or is our little rose excited for this weekend?"

"You know, you just might be correct in that assumption," Blake deadpanned in reply. The pair shared a small grin before coming to a stop next to the village hostel that would be their resting place that evening.

Ruby strode out from the interior of the small, two-story building, smiling widely. "Okay, we're all set! Room's waiting for us, we can just drop our bags inside and they'll take them up! We ready to go kill some Grimm?"

"Looking forward to it," the Cat Faunus replied. She unslung her overnight bag and set it just inside the doorway, giving the proprietor a brief though grateful smile.

Life for second-year students was a bit different from their first year at Beacon. For one, they had much more leeway on the missions they undertook. The Hunters-in-training were encouraged to look up jobs and bounties on their own from the boards, and were able to do them without supervision.

Better yet, they didn't always have to do them with their established team. The staff actually encouraged students to branch out somewhat and group with others, so long as they did not attempt any of the jobs outside the city alone.

And so it was that Ruby, Pyrrha, and Blake undertook an overnight job at a small village on the border of Vale to eradicate some troublesome Ursae who were prowling around the edges of their farming fields. The bounty was rather minute, but more importantly in the three girls' opinion, it came with an offer of free room for the night, since they were so far out.

As such, the excursion became something of a vacation as well.

After one more quick stop by the combination of mayor's office, town hall, local constabulary, and jail, just to verify the mission parameters and location, they were on their way through the forest. Once outside of the protection of the walls, Ruby instantly dropped her cheerful disposition and became much more serious, her beloved Crescent Rose in its sniper rifle form and held at the ready. Blake was in the front, ears unwrapped as soon as they were out of sight from the village in order to better scout. Gambol Shroud was at her side and clutched loosely in her left hand by the sheath.

For her part, Pyrrha strode determinedly at the rear with Akouo slung across her back. Milo was in her hands as a rifle, her aim restlessly roving about much as Ruby's was.

It took them a good hour to reach the last location of a Grimm attack. The village had been fortunate as of late in that Grimm sightings had become increasingly rare, at least in those parts. Much of that was attributed to the general cheer and goodwill among the villagers themselves, as well as the determined efforts of a Huntress that had resided in the area up until a year ago.

Right now, though, they had a small pack of Ursae to deal with, a task which the three girls were most ably equipped to handle.

I wonder where they came from, Blake mused idly, her Faunus ears twitching atop her head at every breeze, every miniscule sound from the forest. The ridges hereabouts should have provided decent protection from migrant Grimm, unless perhaps they found a way over…

She was shaken from her thoughts by a low rumble that came distantly to the right of them. She froze, her right hand upraised in a fist. Instantly her girlfriends ceased their own motions. They noted where Blake was peering intently towards and faced the same direction, though they kept their heads on a swivel to defend against a potential ambush.

Which was a sensible enough precaution, as the muted snap of a twig from the far left made Blake's head whip around. "They know we're here," the raven-haired girl murmured.

"Surrounding us?" Pyrrha murmured back, unconcerned. Blake merely nodded in confirmation.

"Whelp, saves us the trouble of tracking them down," Ruby whispered with a grin. "You up to playing bait again, fluffy fox?"

"Oh, I suppose," the redhead smiled. "I expect a foot rub later."

"Hmm, I can give you allll kinds of rubs," Ruby snickered before disappearing in a flurry of rose petals.

"Such a tease," Pyrrha sighed melodramatically.

"It's not teasing if it's a promise," Blake replied. She gave the leggy redhead a wink before she used a shadow clone to propel herself up and into the trees. There she crouched, motionless and silent, as she waited for the Grimm to spring their ambush.

They didn't have to wait long, as soon enough a roar broke through the forest. Five large, lumbering forms broke from the shadows cast by the overhanging foliage, racing in at Pyrrha from all directions.

Only five? Blake scoffed. Make it a challenge at least.

As if in response, another, much larger form appeared from ahead, this one twice the size of the other Ursae.

Hmm, an Alpha. Well, I did ask for that, didn't I...

If things went as they usually did, both Ruby and Blake would wait until the last second to drop on the regular Ursae while Pyrrha stood strong in the middle, brandishing shield and spear. Once they finished them off, they could focus on the Alpha Grimm.

Her amber eyes tracked the charging monsters while she kept tabs on the larger one with her peripheral vision. As expected, it was allowing the lesser Grimm to wear down the lone Huntress before it would close in to finish her off.

Not today, beast, you will not be laying a single claw on either of my loves.

When the closest Ursae was but a few paces away, Blake dropped down and onto the shoulders of the rearmost one. One quick slash of her katana decapitated the Grimm, and she easily rolled off to face the next one.

A flash of red swept past her, leaving a trail of both rose petals and black ichor. Three more of the Ursae were felled, their corpses already disintegrating before they hit the forest floor. Blake darted in towards the remaining one who was now engaged with Pyrrha. The tall warrior didn't need her help, though, as she easily dodged the monster's attack to skewer it through the throat, ripping out to the side and killing it easily.

"Well, that was hardly worth breaking a sweat over," the redhead commented mildly.

"I'm sure we can accommodate you better," Blake snarked, indicating the approaching Alpha. "Big brother there looks suitably pissed."

Ruby giggled lightly as she walked up, twirling her scythe until the tip was embedded in the ground. "So, I'll soften the big guy up for you girls?"

"Why thank you, love," Pyrrha laughed, giving the brunette a quick peck on the cheek. "That's very sweet of you."

Pyrrha and Blake separated, racing in at the Alpha Ursa from opposite sides while Ruby opened up with her massive sniper-scythe. The high-impact Dust rounds immediately took a toll on the large beast, who quickly realized it might be in over its head. The hesitation, a clear sign of its age and cunning intellect, proved to be its undoing, however. Sunlight flashed off of the round gold shield that was thrown like a discus to bounce off of its forehead. Pyrrha charged in, catching her shield on the fly as she whipped her spear across, scoring a long, bloody line against the Alpha Ursa's arm. It roared in anger, but before it could react Blake was there. The dark-clad Cat Faunus shimmered as she ran, and three shadowy copies of herself hurtled on in to confuse and disorient the creature. Then Blake herself dove in, whipping her weapon on the end of its ribbon to repeatedly flay the great beast's flesh and armor.

The Alpha Grimm reared back, enraged beyond all reason as it staggered about, trying to land a hit on the two elusive Huntresses-in-training. It stopped in its tracks, however, as a well-aimed shot from Ruby pierced the now-cracked skull plating. Its red eyes dimmed as it toppled backwards, taking its time to disintegrate due to its age.

"Well now, that was more of a fight!" Pyrrha laughed joyfully. She wrapped her arm around Blake with a one-armed hug that she returned as the two of them walked back towards their other girlfriend.

Ruby was waiting for them, a wide grin on her face as she shouldered her scythe. "That was awesome work, guys!" she cheered.

"And a very nice shot, little rose," Blake murmured as she bent over to give the brunette a quick kiss. "Shall we continue, make sure that was the last of them?"

"Yep, let's do that!" Ruby giggled excitedly. "And then, back to our room!"

o o o

Half an hour further into their patrol the three of them were fairly certain that they'd seen the last of the Grimm in the near area. The forest sounds had returned, and none of them could pick up on any hint of the monsters.

With plenty of time left in the day, however, they decided to make doubly sure, and extended their walk to encompass the ridgeline surrounding the lands of the village.

"So, as long as we're just walking," Blake mentioned as they meandered up the side of the steep hill. "I did a little more reading on the Mate's Mark."

"Oh, cool!" Ruby chirped. "Can you tell us about it? Like, how it works, and how you'd do it, and… y'know, that kinda stuff?"

"That was the idea, yes," the raven-haired girl smirked slightly over her shoulder. She changed her pace in order to draw alongside the others, so that the three of them were walking abreast through the forest, though they kept their weapons at the ready still.

"So first off, the Mark itself." Though she was staring off into the forest, she knew a blush was covering her face as she finally got around to what she considered to be the most embarrassing tidbit about the whole process. "Er… it's a bite."

"A… bite?" Pyrrha asked without rancor.

"Well, more like… a giant hickey."

Ruby giggled from the other side of Pyrrha, her sharp silver eyes roaming about incessantly. "Whelp, so far no complaints here. You can stick a hickey anywhere you like on me, kitty cat."

Blake's blush intensified. "Right… What happens is, I'd basically make the… Mark… on your left shoulder, down below the neckline. Your Aura won't heal it right away due to its nature… I mean, not like there'd be any blood drawn or anything," she hastened to add.

Her redheaded girlfriend gave her a bump with her shoulder. "Do not be so anxious," Pyrrha murmured. "Nothing you say will deter either of us from this, love. I admit, I'm very curious about how it works, but whatever it takes, we'll do it."

"Yep!" the brunette burbled happily. "We're already yours, anything that makes our bond stronger is awesome in my book!"

"Okay…" Blake let out a huff of air, dispelling any remaining anxiety. "So, then, when I make the Mark, I'd infuse it with my own Aura, that's what makes it more difficult to heal." She pursed her lips as she recalled something else. "Um, just so you know, the most effective way to ensure the Mark takes is for it to be applied during a, er… moment of passion."

Ruby stifled a sharp bark of laughter, and even Pyrrha was smiling widely. "Oh, Blakey," the brunette chuckled. "This just keeps getting better! Would the volume of our passionate screams help any as well? 'Cause I think we can work on that too…"

"You are such a dork," Blake muttered fondly over both of her girlfriend's increased giggling.

"Practice does make perfect," Pyrrha smirked.

"Oh, very true, fluffy fox," Ruby grinned in return. "We should make sure we do a few trial runs."

"Just to be sure it takes."

"Well, yeah, this is serious stuff, right?"

"It would not do to make a mistake."

"Yep, definitely gotta make sure we reach our peak."

Blake let out an exasperated sigh as she eyed the pair of girls, now supporting each other as they shook with laughter. Their walk had come to a stop as they were no longer able to keep in a straight line. "Are you two done?" she asked with only the barest hint of a smirk.

"Yep, we're good, kitty cat!"

"I believe we are, love."

"Good," the raven-haired girl huffed with mock indignation. "Now, it will take overnight to ensure the Mark takes. We'd be able to tell by the morning."

Ruby sighed softly as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes and resumed their patrol. "So, seems pretty simple, yeah?"

"Well, I suppose so," Blake murmured. "At least from your end."

"Anything we can do to make this easier for you?" the redhead asked with her usual concern for both of her girlfriend's well-being.

"No," Blake smiled softly, the village coming into sight. "Just be yourselves, that's all I need."

That and the overwhelming love I am inundated with whenever I am in the embrace of the both of you...

o o o

Blake stretched her sore muscles out, blinking her amber eyes at the morning sunlight filtering in through the curtains. She smiled softly in remembrance of the previous night's activities, particularly the efforts of her very attentive lovers. An involuntary purr rumbled through her chest as she looked across the bed.

Pyrrha was lying on her back, one arm underneath Blake and the other wrapped around the small but muscular brunette. The three of them were still very naked, making it difficult at times to tell who the tangled limbs belonged to.

The raven-haired girl carefully sat up, reaching across to brush her fingers through Ruby's red-tipped bangs before leaning in and giving Pyrrha a soft kiss on her cheek.

"Hmmm," the redhead hummed softly. Her emerald eyes cracked open slowly, peering into Blake's face. A gradual, rather sappy smile began to creep across Pyrrha's features.

"Good morning, love," Blake murmured.

"Good morning, kitty cat," Pyrrha breathed. "It'd be even better if you came back down here."

"I suppose I can oblige," the Cat Faunus smirked. She pressed her lips against Pyrrha's, moaning softly as they quickly deepened the kiss. Neither girl strove to take control, each simply enjoying the taste and feel of the other.

They separated soon enough, smiling at each other widely.

"I suppose it's a good thing neither of us mind morning breath," the raven-haired girl murmured.

Pyrrha giggled lightly. "True enough. Speaking of which, however, I need to use the facilities."

"I think you must first extract yourself from the octopus around you."

The redhead peered down the length of her body, where Ruby was indeed doing an admirable job of portraying a creature of more than just four limbs. "A little help, perhaps?"

Blake smirked as she pulled on Ruby's arm. Between the two of them they managed to peel the comatose brunette off, though she was quick to latch onto Blake next, snoring softly all the while.

"I think we managed to exhaust her last night," Pyrrha chuckled as she rose from the bed.

The Cat Faunus hummed softly as she enjoyed the view of her tall, leggy, and naked girlfriend walking towards the bathroom. "She's not the only one." Her eyes snapped up when she noticed a dark, purplish spot on the other girl's shoulder before she ducked around the corner.

Oh, right… That really did happen, didn't it…

Carefully moving aside the mess of red-tipped brown hair currently resting across her chest, Blake craned her neck to check Ruby's left shoulder.

And there too. So, it looks like it took…? I think?

Only one way to be sure, really, but I'd rather they both be awake for it.

As she heard the toilet flush, the raven-haired girl gently prodded the slumbering brunette in her arms. "Time to wake up, little rose."

"Hrm… five more minutes…"

"No, Ruby, come on."

"Awww…" Silver eyes blinked open. "Oh, hey Blakey. 'Mornin'."

"Good morning, sweetie. Er… do you wish to use the restroom?"

Ruby yawned widely as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, ending in an adorable little squeak that made Blake grin.

"Nah, m'okay."

"May I go do so, then?"

"Does that mean I gotta stop cuddling?"

"Yes, it does."

"Drat. Well, okay, then."

The diminutive muscular girl disengaged herself from Blake, rolling back over and into the middle of the bed. She sprawled outward on her back, arms and legs splayed in a most undignified manner.

Blake just shook her head in amusement as she gracefully rolled out of bed and onto her feet. She padded over to the bathroom, pausing around the corner and rapping on the door frame.

"May I come in?"

"You may, kitty cat."

Pyrrha was standing at the mirror, transfixed by the sight of the wide bruise that now adorned her shoulder while she held her long, luxurious hair up over her head. She had a soft and wondrous smile on her face as she lightly touched the ridges still present from Blake's teeth imprint with her free hand.

"Did… Did it work?" Pyrrha asked hesitantly.

"I think so," Blake murmured. She pressed the length of her body against Pyrrha's back, sliding her hands around to rest on the taller girl's hips. Kissing the back of her other shoulder, amber eyes met emerald green ones in the mirror. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm not sure," Pyrrha replied, still wearing the same fascinated smile. "Can we, er… test it out?"

"Mmm," the Cat Faunus conceded. "Pee first."

"Be my guest," Pyrrha chuckled lightly. "Is our little rose awake?"

"Unless she fell back asleep, yes."

The redhead's eyes twinkled with mirth. "Well, I should go make sure. Perhaps a pounce is in order."

Blake giggled merrily as she sat upon the toilet. "Have fun."

Her giggles turned into outright laughter as she heard the indignant squawk from the other room.

"Oof! Pyrrha, I expect this from Blakey, not you!"

"Well, we must keep things interesting, yes?"

"Can we keep it interesting without an elbow in my gut?"

"Sorry!"

By the time Blake was finished and washed up, she entered the room to see Ruby now sitting up. She and Pyrrha faced each other, while the shorter girl was twisting her head around to observe her large bruise.

Both greeted the Cat Faunus with a wide smile. "So, you gonna test it, kitty cat?" Ruby asked excitedly, bouncing on the bed slightly.

"Not if you keep doing that," Blake admonished with a wry grin. "Stop being so distracting."

Ruby quickly stilled her bouncing, and subsequent jiggling of her distracting assets. "Sorry 'bout that," she smirked, her face anything but.

The raven-haired girl sighed and shook her head amusedly as she climbed onto the bed, sitting cross-legged and in the same position as the other two. They all faced each other, Ruby and Pyrrha with expectant and enthusiastic looks on their faces.

"Alright," Blake began. "I'll see if I can, er… make this work."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. The more she did this and the more comfortable she became in doing it, the easier this would be. Eventually, according to the books she'd read, she might even be able to manage it with her eyes open and concentrating on other things.

Right now, however, she cleared her mind in order to focus.

Once centered, Blake sent a small inquisitive probe of her aura outward. It was very different from how a Hunter normally used their aura to heal themselves, or power their semblance, but it used essentially the same methods as some would in order to sense another's aura level.

In this case, however, she was probing for two particular Marks.

Blake sucked in a quick breath as her tentative query was immediately answered. Blossoming before her closed eyes were two brilliant shades of color, both pulsing brightly due to their incredibly strong aura and close proximity. Pyrrha's was a golden hue that was tinged with streaks of both red and purple, while Ruby's glowed a strong crimson. Interestingly, her aura had the same sort of streaks as Pyrrha's but with gold and purple.

"I can see you," Blake whispered with a wide smile. She was somewhat startled to note that her cheeks were wet from her happy tears. "Um… I'm going to try and feel you now, okay?"

"Okay, Blakey."

"That's fine, love."

Both of their voices were filled with the same soft wonder that had defined their smiles earlier. Blake took another deep breath and extended her aura out towards the other two. Much to her surprise, their auras shifted and met her halfway.

Love. Acceptance. Joy. Warmth. Belonging.

Blake let out a choked sob as her girlfriend's emotions washed over her, filling her with the same sense of serenity and adoration that she felt herself when with them. It was incredibly powerful, filling her to the brim with delight.

Quickly, though, the emotions shifted slightly.

Worry. Concern.

"Are you alright, Blakey?" Ruby asked quietly, her voice reflecting the same emotions that Blake was now sensing.

The raven-haired girl nodded rapidly without opening her eyes. "Do you… You remember what we talked about, how to try and push your aura out? See if you can do so now."

Blake kept her connection firm as she watched the auras of her girlfriends shift in her mind's eye. Then the both of them suddenly swirled and brightened with shock.

"Oh my Oum," Pyrrha breathed. "I can… Is that you? The… The amethyst light? And then Ruby… You'd be the red one?"

"I think so," Ruby replied softly. "I can see purple, and then gold… but there's other colors in there too, is that normal?"

"Well, I don't believe it can be called normal," Blake stated warmly. "But our auras have intermingled, we have each other's colors."

"Yeah… Yeah, okay, I can see the red and purple in yours, fluffy fox… And Blakey, I can see red and gold in yours… So, that's us? We're all, like, mixed in?"

"Something like that."

"Wow…"

"I have to agree with little rose," Pyrrha giggled. "Wow."

Both of them were sending her the same emotions now, though she was getting better at sorting them out so she could tell whose were whose.

Wonder. Awe. Joy. Love. Warmth. Acceptance.

She clung to that last one tenaciously, filled with an abundance of relief that the both of them were reacting so well.

"Okay then," Blake murmured. "That's a really huge step, most humans can't even see that. So let's try the next… Go ahead and try to reach out with your aura, stretch towards mine. Just to me for now, I don't want you to exert yourself, and I'm not even sure if you can sense each other's."

Pyrrha picked up on it right away, and she felt a jolt of shock as she made the connection. Ruby followed soon enough on her heels, however, and she heard the sharp gasp from the brunette.

"Oh, Blakey," Ruby sobbed. "Is that… Is that how you feel about me? About… us?"

Blake opened her eyes then. Both of her girlfriends had tears running down their faces and wide, disbelieving smiles, though Pyrrha's was covered by one hand as she shook with soundless weeping.

"Yes," she whispered brokenly. "That's how I feel about the both of you."

She reached forward to touch their knees. The redhead and brunette blinked their eyes open, staring at Blake in astonishment.

"It definitely worked," the Cat Faunus murmured, knowing she had the biggest, face-splitting smile of her life on her face. "We're Mated."

She was wordlessly and simultaneously tackled to the bed by both girls. The three of them spent perhaps a good hour just laying there in each other's arms, sobbing with happiness.

A/N: Whew, them feels! So once again, major props to l OmegaInfinity l and their awesome polyamory tale, Linked in Life and Love, from which I derive much of the details regarding Mating. I'm not going to make this a really huge deal, it might pop every so often, but the three girls now have an incredible bond that allows them to communicate through emotions, essentially, but more importantly allow them to locate each other over a pretty decent range. I'm thinking within the confines of a kingdom as the range.

Also, yesterday I posted up another chapter of Bind to commemorates a lovely piece of artwork commissioned by the fantastic Jack Inqu (thanks again!). It's up at my DA page, and yes it should be considered NSFW (marginally). Enjoy!

fav dot me / da4lf3i

Hope everyone enjoyed the whopper of a chapter! Much love for my reviewers, happy to provide more Mating material (okay that sounds weird now that I'm reading it): l OmegaInfinity l, Jack Inqu, Marauderby, Pixlepie, Boombox94, kaiju62, Kalomin, THB4, DschingisKhan, Reaper Whisper, SamuraiShippo, Nicodemus Cain, Gorsouul, Jazzatron, TacoKing23, MakaS0ul. Apologies for my sporadic answering of reviews, you'd think having a holiday would give me more free time…

Stay shiny!