A cool wind blew through the trees, sending leaves skittering across the path. Blake looked around to make sure nobody was around, then reached up and undid her bow- her cat ears were getting sore. As she tucked the little black bow in her pocket, the wind blowing over her ears made them twitch intermittently.

Zwei didn't seem to care one way or the other; he simply continued trotting alongside her, panting happily and wagging his stubby tail. At least he wasn't jumping up at her like he did sometimes with Ruby- or headbutting. Blake had seen him during the Breach leaping out of a crevice and slamming his skull into several Beowulves, taking them out almost immediately. And according to Oobleck, the Corgi also doubled as a ballistic missile capable of destroying a prototype Paladin. None of this served to ease her nervousness over him.

"Woah, woah, woah! What's this?"

Blake's hand reflexively reached up to try and cover her ears before she realized she knew that voice. She looked around, but he was nowhere to be seen. Unless…

Looking up, she saw a familiar face grinning down at her from a tree branch. "Sun! When did you get here?" The monkey Faunus dropped down onto the path, his open shirt flowing out to reveal his amazingly defined abs. He was one of the few people who knew what she really was, and although she didn't consider him a boyfriend, their relationship had gotten to just about the point where she would be uncomfortable dating someone else, especially after she'd gone to the dance with him (with some convincing from Yang).

Sun brushed himself off. "Nep texted me. Said he saw you walking the dog, and I did not want to miss that." Zwei waddled up and sniffed at Sun, who knelt down to run his hand along the back of the Corgi's neck. "How you doin' buddy? She givin' you a hard time?"

Blake gave him a playful glare. "Yeah, yeah. My teammates kind of forced me into this."

Sun laughed. "That explains a lot. I know the feeling, you have no idea how many times Neptune's gotten me to play wingman. Although it did pay off when one girl asked him to go to the pool with her. Hang on, I think I got a picture." He pulled out his Scroll and pulled up an image of Neptune's face twisted into a horrified expression, and Blake couldn't help snickering at his misfortune.

Sun put his scroll away and gave Zwei one final pat on the head. "Alright, I gotta run, though. I'll leave you to it, then." He jumped up onto a low hanging branch and pulled himself up.

"See you round!" he called as he leapt through the canopy with shocking agility back in the direction Blake had come from.

Blake glanced down at Zwei, who looked back up at her, still maintaining his permanently excited expression as he panted at her. She had to admit, his enthusiasm was somewhat endearing- it was easy to tell why Ruby loved him so much. "Well, come on," she said, realizing she was still talking to the dog. He barked and waddled along as she kept going.

Ruby let out a high-pitched squeal as she fauned over the massive, single-sided battleaxe. "How much does this thing weigh?"

The enormous guy who wielded it hefted it over his shoulder with terrifying ease, his bear ears twitching as he did. "350 pounds. When it's not loaded." he added as he flicked a switch near the blade, causing the weapon to fold in on itself and transform into a heavy cannon.

Yang was pretty sure Ruby was going to faint with excitement. Putting her hand on her baby sister's shoulder to steady her, she smiled at the bear Faunus. "Thanks for humoring her. Come on Ruby, we're losing Weiss."

The big guy waved and slung the axe across his back as Yang half-dragged Ruby across the mall. "350 pounds," Ruby muttered. "Remind me to ask Nora about her hammer later."

Yang snickered and shook her head. As they caught up to Weiss, she turned around to glare at them. "There you two are." she half-scolded. "What did you wander off for?"

"Ruby had to axe that big guy a few questions." Yang answered.

Weiss groaned, both at Ruby's antics and Yang's pun. "You're both incorrigible, you know that?"

Ruby threw her hands in the air. "Hey, I've never even had porridge!"

"I have." said Yang. "But it was really hot. Couldn't really get the taste."

Weiss slapped her forehead. "Whatever. Say, how do you think Blake's doing? I do feel kind of bad for just jumping her with dog duty."

"She'll be fine." Yang waved her hand. "It can't go too badly, unless she somehow screws up and decides to walk him through Emerald Forest. And even then, there aren't that many Grimm there. Right Ruby?" She turned to see her sister pressed up against a store window, eyeing a greatsword. "Ruby." Yang sighed, smiling as she pulled the red-hooded girl back into the group.