To most people the statue sitting outside of Beacon Academy was a monument to the things that hunters can achieve. It showed two great warriors, with cloaks and hoods, standing guard against all the evil in the world. A snarling Beowulf, trapped beneath the hunter's heel, represented that evil, and seemed to send a clear message.

The world of humankind will stamp out monsters wherever they may be.

Normally, this would be an encouraging message, but tonight, to Blake Belladonna, it seemed to feel stifling. After all, not long ago she'd been slipping dangerously close towards evil herself. And there were certainly people in this world that would label her a monster if they only knew.

Tonight, it felt like a chance that Blake needed to take. Without her team, without her friends, Blake truly had nothing but a weapon and a name. Those small things were protected as best as could be by one single black ribbon, but right now Blake didn't feel very protected.

Just this once then, Blake decided to strip away her last defense. The ribbon was removed, and her cat ears were free for the first time in months. Blake was left standing, in the middle of her school campus, looking every bit like the Faunus she truly was.

To say she was shocked when she heard a voice speak up from behind her was the very definition of understatement.

"I knew you would look better without the bow."

There weren't many people that Blake expected to encounter after leaving the way she did. With the possible exception of Ruby, everyone she knew would either be asleep or keeping their distance (whether out of respect or indignation).

Somehow though, she was hardly surprised to find the same boy who had winked at her on the street earlier that day. "You knew then." She responded after a moment.

"Well yeah, I mean, it seemed pretty obvious." The boy grinned down at her from the top of one of the many flagpoles lining the walkway to Beacon Academy. "I could tell you were a Faunus the moment I saw you."

"Did you tell anyone?" Blake's eyes flashed as she considered reaching for Gambol Shroud, still firmly secured to her back. After a moment though, she reconsidered. She didn't know who this boy was, or what he was doing here, but his demeanor was far from threatening.

"Relax, I've been dodging those two cops all day. Even if I wanted to tell somebody, which I totally don't by the way, I wouldn't have the chance. I take it it's a secret then." The guy smirked in a way that made it all too clear that he wasn't asking, an expression that reminded Blake of Yang's knowing grin. It was enough to make her feel more at ease, if only slightly.

"I'm sure you've dealt with people enough to know the answer to that question," Blake replied, eying his tail. "You clearly don't care much for discretion." She had to struggle to keep her eyes from straying to other places when she spoke.

"Yeah, I grew up in Vacuo, so dress codes aren't really my thing." The boy replied, grinning cheekily. "As for the tail, no chance of hiding it. It has a mind of its own." His tail seemed to twitch in response.

"That's too bad." Blake frowned in sympathy. Being a Faunus came with its fair share of difficulties, but living your life without ever having a chance to escape from that? Blake wasn't sure she could imagine such a thing.

"Eh, it's not a big deal." The boy responded as he finally jumped down from the flagpole and tumbled to a stop. "Most of the people kinda stopped bugging me about the tail once I got this." he waved a hand to his abs in response. "Don't ask me why though. Anyways, being a Faunus in public isn't really a big deal these days."

Blake turned aside at this, causing the boy to grimace as he made the connection. "…And that's totally why you're standing out here. Good to know I handled that as poorly as possible."

"It's not your fault." Blake shrugged, "It's just… complicated."

There was a prolonged silence between the two as they stood before the statue, neither sure whether to continue.

In the end the boy broke the silence once more.

"Sun."

"What?"

"My name. It's Sun. Sun Wukong." Sun elaborated with a small smile, holding up a hand.

"…Blake Belladonna. Nice to meet you." Blake replied as she shook his hand.

"Yeah, likewise!" Sun grinned down at her. "So, you're a student here, right?"

"That's right. And you're here from Vacuo?"

"Uhh, kinda? I'm actually attending Haven Academy, you know, in Mistral?" Sun shrugged his shoulders, "But I was visiting family when I saw that the people from Shade Academy were going to Vale. I figured, why not come early?"

"Do they even have rooms prepared for Haven students?" Blake asked suspiciously.

"Well, no, actually they don't." Sun replied sheepishly. "Kinda answered the whole: 'why not come to Vale early' question."

"So you don't have a place to stay right now?"

"Yeah... It's not a big deal though; I think they'll have things ready for me by Monday. So until then, I'm just exploring Vale, seeing the sights!" Sun spread his arms wide with a silly grin as he concluded.

Blake cocked an eyebrow at that. "Sounds… exciting."

"Well, I'm making the most of it." Sun said with a shrug. "Hey, maybe, if you wanted, we could meet up? I mean, you're the first person I've really talked to in Vale that isn't a cop, so it, you know, it could be cool. Unless you don't want to! Which would be totally fine, I was just throwing the idea out there, you know?"

Blake cracked the smallest of smiles at Sun's frantic backpedalling. "Maybe. It could be nice."

She was honestly rather surprised at how open to the idea she actually felt. It was certainly a more appealing prospect than spending time with her team at that point. And with how little sleep she was likely to get in the near future she was sure she'd appreciate a distraction.

Sun was far more pleased with the idea though, grinning like a loon at the thought of it. "That's awesome! So, tomorrow then? I mean, it's late enough I'm sure you'll be wanting to head back to bed soon, right?"

Blake hardly needed a moment to reflect. "I'm don't think I'm going to my room tonight. My team and I are… probably not on speaking terms."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really. Besides, it's a bit of a long story."

"Hey, like I said, I've got plenty of time."

"You haven't said anything like that." Blake teased.

"Well, it was implied!" Sun replied with a grin.

"Touché."

"So, does Vale have some sort of emergency bunk for people when their teams don't get along?" Sun asked with a smirk, prompting Blake to roll her eyes. "No, huh? Didn't think so. I guess we're both sleeping outside then!"

"You didn't get a hotel?" Blake asked quizzically.

"Nah, I couldn't afford to do that." Sun waved his hand dismissively. "I've got meals to pay for."

"Hmm… Well good luck then?" Blake frowned and started wandering across the courtyard. She really wasn't fond of the idea of seeing her team at that moment. Thinking of what they must have been thinking at that moment… Blake couldn't imagine any sort of pleasant conversation taking place.

"Wait, where are you going?" Sun trailed behind Blake in confusion. "You're just walking out like that?"

"I'm not planning to stand around here all night." Blake replied coolly, "I'm going to find a place to sleep."

"By yourself?" Sun asked, "You sure you'll be alright?"

"I can take care of myself." Blake responded with a frown.

"Oh, no. I don't think so." Sun replied firmly, before noticing Blake glaring in response and swiftly correcting himself. "Wait, I mean, yes, I think you can, I just-hold on." He paused to take a breath before starting again. "Look Blake, I'm sure you can look after yourself, I just don't think you should be alone right now. You still seem pretty upset about whatever happened to make you run out here."

"Sounds like a convenient excuse to me." Blake gave Sun a level stare, but he only blinked in confusion.

"Excuse? Oh! Whoa there, I wasn't trying to creep you out or anything, promise! I'm just worried, you know? Besides, misery loves company, right?"

Blake continued to scrutinize Sun, but from what she could tell he was being nothing but earnest. "Alright, if it'll make you feel better." She finally said with a sigh.

"Hey now, the goal here is to make you feel better, remember? I'm just fine!" Sun said, before eagerly breaking out into a jog. "Now then, I guess we should find a nice tree or something to sleep in? Good thing it's warm this time of year."

Sun ran ahead with his biggest smile yet, still babbling about whatever came to mind, as Blake followed along. She couldn't say she really trusted him, but he seemed harmless enough; certainly not the rapscallion Weiss seemed to think of him.

For now, Blake figured it would be best to play it by ear.