An armored truck traveled through the open forest alone after departing Argus, having two participants within. The low revving engine intruded Winter's mind as she resorted to observe the passing terrain from her seat while the driver focused on the road ahead. James Ironwood sent an order to his newest spec ops candidate and pending the results, will allow a promotion. All she managed to receive from the General about the task was an SOS request to Atlas to help them out. Grimm was becoming an issue, popping up in droves as of late. A huntsman was on the scene handling the Grimm but has gotten injured in the recent swarm and frets reinforcements are coming. The task felt trivial, akin to walking students to school in the morning and felt beneath her. However, she isn't in a position to choose her tasks and if Ironwood passed it onto her, it must mean it's important. Winter was met with glowing reviews on each mission and objectives given till now; this one won't be any different

The truck came to a stop and Winter finally had a clear mind to think with. She peered through the windshield to see the supposed town needing to be protected. It looked small to her and she didn't see any buildings growing past two floors. It looked peaceful, but Winter knew something was off. Nobody was walking in the streets and the lights were off. Thankfully the sun hasn't set so the lights weren't necessary. Opening the heavy truck door, Winter exited the vehicle, her saber in hand and her all white attire that's become iconic in her time at Atlas. The driver also exited but was not going anywhere. Rather, he was going to give one final farewell to maintain formalities.

"Do you have any requests before I head out Ms. Schnee?" He watched Winter shake her head to his questions,

"No, thank you. I believe I can handle this request on my own." The male driver folded his arms, smirking from her confidence.

"I always liked your resolve." He takes a glance at the town, not knowing why they'd assign her to something like this but his pay wasn't high enough to look underneath the surface "If you need any help, just give us a ring. I will return in three days, this should be enough to clear out the town and get everything back to normal." She turned to him, staring him down as if she questioned her abilities.

"Trust me, it'll only take two days under my care. I expect everything to be satisfactory when you returned with no calls required." The driver could only chuckle and nodded.

"If you say so Madam. I only wish you luck. Just don't get hurt alright?" He would head off in the armored truck, leaving her alone in the wild and an unknown problem for her to solve. Winter couldn't determine if the threat of grimm kept them holed up or was the arrival of an outsider that did it. Considering her tenure would be a short few days, she has no reason to get friendly with any the of the locals. Her first task would be to reach the manor of the small town as noted on the document for the mission. It didn't take long to find the manor in her walk as it stood out from the rest of the homes but it didn't make the walk pleasant. She can sense curious, fearful eyes watching from within the homes and rattled curtains when she turned her head to glance at them. Whatever it is, tehy were not doing well.

She walked up to the door of the manor and knocked on the wooden door as instructed. She was ready to knock again when there was no noise or reaction but the knob began to turn in front of her. The door would open to show an elderly man needing a cane to assist in his movements. He looked upward at the Schnee fighter and smiled.

"Oh, thank goodness, someone from Atlas actually came to help us! Please, come inside. " He gestured the woman to enter and she obliged as he closed the door behind him and headed to the kitchen. "Would you like some tea?"

"No thank you, I'm fine." The elder man then sat onto a chair in the living room while Winter stood prominently. She did hear water running in the background, assuming his significant other or relative was showering.

"I'm surprised Atlas would even send anyone to help out a town like us."

"Well, Atlas has received your request for help and they've sent me. Frankly, I'm surprised you know Ironwood at all." The elder man shook his head to her comments, as if she's missing the point.

"I only sent the request when the gentleman helping us had advised me to. He wrote the letter and then told me to stamp it to show the letter's legitimacy." This only brought questions to Winter, wondering who could know Ironwood like that. She then heard the sound of suggesting someone was taking a shower.

"Will you introduce me to this gentleman?"

"Why of course! This gentleman stopped by our village and has been handling the Grimm surrounding our town for the past few weeks. We are forever grateful for his help." As if on cue, this gentleman in question walked out to the company of Winter and the town holder, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else. Hs fox ears rasied up in high alert as a familiar face stood in front of him and without warning. A small pause formed between them until the fox faunus spoke up, maintaining eye contact throughout.

"...Winter." She scrutinized the man before her and walked right up to him like she has in the past, standing equal height to him in her boots..

"Yoko Kurama, how nice to see you again." Her focus went from his face to his torso where a recently closed wound stretched from his rib cage to his stomach. She proceeded to meet his gaze with a shake of her head. "I thought Atlas Academy would whip you into a huntsman who can mow down Grimm. Is my former partner slipping?" The remark only brought a shy grin on his face.

"And Winter, always wanting to come to my rescue." He readjusts his position to draw distance between them and rest against the wall behind him. "It's been how long, two years?"

"Ah, I see you two are familiar?" The elderly man can see they were close to be chatting casually.

"Very" the two responded at the same time, glancing at one another as they caught themselves in unison. Even this brought, a small, little chuckle from the Schnee.

"You can tell me everything I need to know, but before you do"she began, letting her eyes wander down to his abdomen and point with her index finger."... Put some clothes on.I find it hard to take my former partner seriously when he's one article away from nudity." Yoko couldn't contain his enjoyment from her remark.

"I sometimes wonder if you secretly enjoy the view but still want to keep up appearance of a Schnee." His sentence brought a sharpened eyes towardshis direction and a firmer voice.

"That's an order from your leader!" Kurama stared into her eyes as she regressed to their time in Atlas ACademy and she soon caught herself afterwards. A content, and never judging Kurama proceeded to oblige her request, just this once. The two tried to play it off but they knew this was a trip down memory lane, unable to avoid their own little happiness of seeing one another again.

"Ï'll allow the mayor to brief you as I get dressed per your order Madam Schnee." Before he left, he turned once more to see his leader, smiling. Ï'm serious Winter. I'm glad to see you haven't changed one bit." With that, Yoko left her with the mayor to figure out what's the situation, and piece together why Kurama of all people is residing in this location.