Forever Home (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS! THANK YOU!

Now, we'll see things from Blake's point of view. If you've seen Dash's art and know about her ideas for this AU, you'll know it isn't simply a normal-life story. Of course there's a bit of magic involved as well!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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											Chapter 2. Learning To Trust

The cat didn't know what to make of all this.

So much had changed within the recent days, and she'd thought that perhaps life might be getting a little better.

But right now, her belly was feeling funny as the crate she was in was put into a car and started moving.

She could hear the human girls talking, but everything was making the cat dizzy.

So she closed her eyes for a little while, remembering how she'd gotten here...

															. . .

She couldn't see any fairies.

Fairies were tiny creatures with wings, almost like butterflies or hummingbirds, though their bodies and faces looked like a miniature human's.

Most animals innately and instinctively knew about the existence and presence of fairies. In fact, there was only one kind of animal who rarely ever saw them:

Humans.

There were rumors that newborn and younger humans could see the fairies, but whenever they spoke of them, the older ones never believed them.

But that was probably for the better, because humans never did anything good whenever they discovered a new species. They'd just trap them, study them, keep them in cages, kill them, and mount them on their walls.

The younger humans could only see the fairies for a few years. But it was believed that the cynical nature and constant denial of the adults disheartened the children, so that by the time they were in their later youth years, they started to believe the adults' declarations that fairies didn't exist.

And so the humans lost the ability to see the fairies.

But all other species still knew of them.

The cat had seen a few of them back at the "shelter", as she'd heard the humans call that place.

There had been four fairies back there.

They were always cleaning things, making them neat and appealing, getting rid of dust and making the cat beds softer.

Fairies only resided in safe, comfortable places, where the air was filled with good intentions, and the humans' hearts were pure.

Those four had been the first fairies the cat had been with in many, many years.

There had been none at the man's house in all the years he'd kept her trapped there.

The window curtains had been closed most of the time. The only glances she'd ever gotten of the outside world had been tiny peeks past the blinds.

Sometimes, the cat had seen the fairies outside from the window, chatting and singing with the birds. Free and unchained.

The cat had called out to them for help many times. But for all those years, no one from the outside - not even the fairies - noticed the cat's horrible predicament.

But one day, after many years, someone had finally heard her.

The cat believed that perhaps the fairies had intervened somehow, eventually.

Once they'd realized she'd been living in fear behind those dark blinds, fairies had snuck into the house and moved the curtains aside a little bit each day.

That way, other humans could see what the man was doing inside his house, hurting the cat.

In this way, the fairies had allowed other humans to witness the atrocities taking place, so they could step in and put a stop to it.

The cat had been carried away, brought to many different places with bright lights and strange scents. They'd poked her with sharp needles, and made her sleep, but as soon as she'd woken, she'd found herself in a soft bed with food and water waiting for her.

It was the first time a human had ever been kind to her.

So she was wary. Very wary.

But the strange woman who had peered in at her and called her "Blake" never touched her when she didn't want to be touched. She let the cat do as she pleased, and never hurt her.

Therefore, the cat decided to adopt the name the woman had given her as thanks.

Blake had stayed in that cage for several days, but it was nothing at all like the cage the man had kept her in before that.

This cage was small, but clean, and it had her own scent to it. There were soft, plush blankets and a little bed for her to curl up in, a foreign feeling to her paw-pads after so many years of cold cellar concrete and rotten, peeling floorboards.

There was a small litter box in the far corner, but most importantly, there was one dish full of water and one full of food.

Blake ate and drank graciously, but always went into hiding whenever the woman came by, just out of habit. She'd lie in her cage and watch and listen to the other cats as they chatted idly to one another.

"Hey, did you hear?" a tabby tom said one day. "I'm getting adopted next week!"

"Really?" a white queen gasped. "Congratulations!"

Blake flicked an ear, curious. She sat herself up and timidly peeked through her cage to make eye contact.

"What... does that mean?"

The tom and queen who were loose from their cages spun around to look up at her.

"Oh hey!" the tabby said. "It's the newcomer! How're ya feeling? The food here's pretty good, don't you think?"

"Yes. It's very good," she mewed. "But what was that word you said? What's going to happen to you next week?"

A bit of fear had crept into her voice. She hoped this didn't mean a human was going to take this tomcat away and hurt him like the man had hurt Blake.

The white queen must have suspected Blake's fears, because she put them to rest.

"It's all right. Being adopted means a nice human is going to take you home with them. We don't have to stay here all our lives. We'll have our own territories, the humans will play with us, and they'll keep us safe! It's quite wonderful!"

Blake flattened her ears and lashed her tail.

"How do you know? How do you know they won't hurt you?"

The white cat softened her voice.

"Not all humans are bad. I know it might seem that way to you, but they're not all like that. Most of them are kind. The woman who cares for us makes sure we go to good homes."

"That's right," added the tom. "And she checks up on us, too. If she finds out the humans aren't treating us right, she gets us outta there and brings us back here."

Blake snorted.

"Well, maybe it's best if I just stay here. I don't want to see any more humans for as long as I live..."

With that, she turned away and curled back up in her bed.

As the other cats played and talked together all day, Blake noticed the fairies there. They would play and talk with the cats as well. Their tinkling laughter was a remedy that could heal even the most scarred of hearts.

Blake felt safe here.

She felt better.

She really thought that staying here her entire life wouldn't be so bad.

. . .

A few nights later, she was woken by a soft tap on her paw.

Blake opened her eyes to find two small fairies looking back at her. One wore a red dress and had short brown hair, her wings tinged with silver to match her eyes. The other wore an orange dress and had long yellow hair, and lavender eyes and wings.

"Oh thank goodness!" the red fairy chirped. "It really is you!"

"We're so glad!" the yellow one said.

Blake sat up. Though it had been a while since she'd interacted with fairies directly, she still knew her manners. She dipped her head to them and inquired of them.

"Hello. Do you know me? I don't think I've met you before."

"We know you, all right!" the yellow one said. "We saw you back when you were trapped with that horrible man!"

Blake flinched at the memories, but then her ears lifted a bit. The chinked one flicked.

"Were you the ones who helped me get away from him?"

The fairies nodded.

"Yeah," the red one said. "As soon as we realized you were in that house, we made sure the curtains were open and we helped the neighbors look and see. Sorry it took us so long. For most of those years, we didn't even know you were living there, since he always locked you away. I wish we could've helped sooner..." The little fairy started sniffling.

Blake bristled in alarm. It was never good to make a fairy cry.

But thankfully, the yellow fairy pulled the red one into a hug to comfort her.

"Hey, it's okay, Ruby! Big sis Yang is here! C'mere!"

As the fairies hugged each other, Blake relaxed and heard them out.

"We're so glad you're okay now," Yang said. "Don't worry. Glynda's a nice lady. She'll make sure you go to good humans."

Blake grunted and turned away.

"I don't want any more humans."

"Don't say that!" Ruby piped. "The other cats were telling the truth! Not all humans are bad! Most of them are good!"

Blake was still skeptical.

"Well, I'd rather not find out. I'm not ready for more humans right now..."

"Maybe..." Ruby mumbled. "But what if a human is ready for you?"

"Huh?"

But when Blake turned back to look at them, the fairies were gone.

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The very next day, the family of humans came into the shelter.

Blake only glimpsed them briefly.

The two young females looked kind enough, because they resembled Glynda in some ways.

But as soon as Blake saw the man, she hissed and hid in the back of her cage.

She was forced to listen to them communicate, though she had no idea what they were saying. She only recognized the word "shelter" and Glynda's name.

From the corner of her eye, she could see the smallest girl walking around to each of the cages. She played with the cats who wanted to play, and didn't bother the cats that wanted to sleep. It seemed she knew how to treat them.

And there was something else, too.

There was a new fairy with her.

Along with Ruby and Yang, two others stayed at the shelter with the cats. But this fairy was one Blake had never seen before.

She had short orange hair and green eyes, and her dress was white like the human girl's hair.

The humans couldn't see them, but Blake watched as Ruby and Yang went over to greet the new fairy and introduce themselves.

"Hello!" she said. "My name is Penny! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Blake didn't want to eavesdrop though, so she went back to her bed and turned away from the front of the cage, hoping the humans wouldn't look in at her.

But of course, she could hear them approaching her a little more every minute, until the voices were right outside her cage. She gave out a warning hiss to tell them she didn't want to be touched. She lashed her tail and lifted her head, ears flat, fur bristling.

But the sight she viewed when she turned her head wasn't an unnerving one.

The smallest human girl was peering in at her, though she was keeping a good distance between herself and the cage bars. Her eyes were so vibrant, probably the brightest blue Blake had seen in all her years.

The man's house had been dark and gray with barely any color, and since there had been so many trees around it, Blake had rarely ever seen the sky from her perch on the covered windows.

So this girl's eyes were stunning to her. They were like freedom itself. If Blake had wings like a bird or a fairy, she might've mistaken the girl's eyes for a fraction of the sky and tried to fly towards them.

Perhaps that was why she had a fairy with her.

The one named Penny sat on the girl's shoulder, smiling widely at Blake. The cat snorted softly, not wanting to be rude to the fairy, but still wanting to keep the humans at bay.

"Can you make her leave, please?" she requested. "I don't want to be... adopted..."

"Oh, but you should!" Penny exclaimed. "Being adopted is a wonderful thing! And Weiss would take good care of you! She's worked so very hard to get this far! I was with her all the while, so I can say for sure!"

Blake lowered her head again.

"I don't care how hard she worked. The man I used to live with was nice at first, but then he turned into a monster. What if the same thing happens to her? Or her father?" A shudder ran through her as she recalled old memories.

The fairy whimpered softly.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. But it won't happen again. You might not know this, but fairies only like to stay around people who have pure hearts and good intentions. And I've been with Weiss for nearly her entire life! I know her very well, and I also know she'd never do the horrible things that man did to you. She's a very good and very special girl. I think you'd like her if you gave her a chance."

Blake was silent for a moment, and the humans continued talking to one another. Blake's belly was feeling a little funny, but it wasn't in a bad way, like she'd experienced in the past.

It almost felt like... excitement.

She'd already lived many years of her life, and she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt that.

She turned back to look at the human girl, and their eyes locked.

For a moment, Blake was silent. Then-

"What was it?" she mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?" the fairy inquired.

"Her name," Blake clarified. "What is her name?"

"Oh! Her name is Weiss! And she is a very, very good girl."

Blake tried out the name for herself.

"Weiss..."

At the same time, the human girl's nonsensical words sounded out in one of the few words of the human language that made any sense to the cat.

"Blake..."

In that moment, as they said each other's names, it seemed their new path had been decided.

It wasn't long afterward when Glynda picked Blake up out of her cage very carefully, and put her into a small crate instead.

Blake growled a little bit, just because the last time she'd been put in one of these, it hadn't been a fun experience. But the three fairies reassured her that everything would be all right.

"You'll see!" Yang promised her. "Weiss will take good care of you, and Penny will take good care of Weiss!"

Blake grunted.

"What about you two?"

"We're staying here!" Ruby replied. "We've always stayed here! We really like Miss Glynda and her workers and how kind they are to all the homeless cats and dogs!"

Blake flicked an ear, confused.

"Then how did you two find me when I was so far away in that house?"

"Oh!" Ruby said a little sheepishly. "That was because I'd just wanted to go out for a short flight, but I got lost. Yang came to find me and well..." She looked Blake over with a big smile on her face. "It turned out much better than expected since we got to help you."

Blake felt another sensation rise up in her chest. It prickled a little bit, and it felt strange. She recognized it as sadness.

"I'll miss you two..."

Ruby and Yang nodded and wiped their eyes.

"Yeah..." said the yellow one. "We'll miss you, too. But don't worry! Just because we mainly stay here doesn't mean we don't ever travel! We'll see you again sometime!"

"That's right!" said another voice.

They all looked up to see Penny flitting down from Weiss' shoulder to join them on the ground outside Blake's crate.

"Ruby and Yang and I are good friends! Some days I'll invite them over for tea and they can play with us! I promise, Blake!"

Penny slipped inside the crate and placed her small hand over Blake's front paw.

Another tiny tingle went through Blake. This one was foreign to her, and it made her whiskers twitch.

"What was that? Just now..."

"Oh!" Penny chirped. "I made a promise to you! And when a fairy makes a promise, it always comes true! When I touched you, it sealed the promise, so it will come true no matter what! That thing you're feeling now is called trust! Because you can trust that I'll keep my promise!"

Blake hadn't known that tidbit before. And it had been so long since she'd last felt trust towards someone, she'd all but forgotten what it was.

"Can humans... make promises? Can I trust them? Maybe if they could, I'd feel a little better..."

Penny nodded.

"Yes! Humans make promises all the time! But the thing is... most of the time, they break them. Fairies can't break their promises, because once we make them, they become facts and a part of reality. But humans don't have that kind of power. Their promises break all the time."

Her words disheartened Blake all over again, and her ears drooped. But Penny quickly went on with her speech.

"But don't worry! I don't think Weiss will be bad to you! Ever!"

Blake sighed.

"Can you promise me that? So that way it will become reality?"

Penny frowned and shook her head.

"We can't promise things about other fairies, humans, or animals. We can only promise things about ourselves. That's why I promised I'd invite Ruby and Yang over for tea. Because I can and I will make that happen. I didn't say 'I promise they will come over to have tea with me,' because that would be making a promise for them, in their stead.

"Promises are things you have to fulfill yourself. No one can make a promise for someone else. If a human wants to make a promise to you, they have to do it themselves. Then it's up to them whether they break it or keep it."

Penny's saddened expression began to melt away now, and her smile returned.

"And I know I said a lot of them break their promises. That's unfortunately true. But some of them are able to keep them! And when that happens, it's absolutely amazing!"

Blake still felt skeptical, and she must have looked it too, because Penny went on in earnest.

"I might not be able to make a promise for Weiss, but let me say this; if Weiss were ever to make a promise to you, I'm very certain she would keep it."

Her assurance finally put Blake at ease a little, because firm words from a fairy were not things to be taken lightly.

Penny had lived with Weiss for a long time, she'd said, so she probably knew the human girl better than anyone. If Penny was confident enough to speak so highly of the girl, then Blake had no reason not to believe her.

It seemed the humans were ready to leave, because Blake felt one of them pick up her crate. Before her growls of discomfort at being transported could overtake her, she was sure to give her last few words of gratitude to Ruby and Yang.

"You saved me from that man. You gave me the rest of my life back. Thank you."

"Sorry we didn't come sooner," Yang replied.

"Weiss will take good care of you!" Ruby assured her. "I'll come to visit soon! I promise!"

"I promise, too!" Yang said.

Again, Blake felt that tiny prickle within her chest, the sensation Penny had called "trust".

Blake trusted the words and promises of the fairies. Now, she'd have to wonder if she could do the same for the humans.

As they took her out of the shelter, the other cats called out words of congratulations to her and wished her well. She'd only been there for a few days, but Blake had gotten attached to their voices, presence, and all of their scents.

Now, she'd have to start over again someplace new, someplace she didn't know.

It was all so scary. She didn't think this new family would turn out to be mean like the other man had been. But Blake had only known a few humans in her lifetime.

Glynda and the humans who had taken her out of that house had been kind to her, but almost all of Blake's life up until this point had been spent in fear of humans.

She tried to reassure herself as the bigger girl placed her crate securely into a car. Blake had seen more fairies around these people than she'd ever seen around that awful man. And Penny seemed to like Weiss in particular, enough to travel with her.

As far as Blake knew, fairies tended to stay in the buildings or houses of the people they liked in order to help keep things clean and sprinkle good luck. But it wasn't often that a fairy traveled with a particular human, at least to Blake's limited knowledge.

Blake couldn't see much from inside the crate, but she could tell the human girls were sitting on either side of her, with the man up front. Penny had perched on Weiss' shoulder once again and was positively bubbling with glee.

Blake could tell that Weiss was excited as well.

But even though the girl's energy was clearly at a very high level, she never got extremely loud.

That was another contrast between her and the man. Whenever he'd gotten excited in the past, it had always been linked with anger and negative emotions. He'd always started shouting and barking, and almost every time he would start hitting and kicking Blake.

But this girl was controlling her excitement, and displaying it in a good way. She kept peering in to look at Blake, her bright blue eyes kind and soft. A few times, she offered her hand to the door of the crate, and Blake sniffed her fingers.

Weiss kept talking, and it took Blake a while to realize she was talking to her.

When Weiss spoke to the other humans, her voice rose a bit in volume, though it wasn't shouting or screaming – just a normal voice.

But when she spoke to Blake, her voice became softer, gentler, and more soothing.

It eased Blake's anxieties during the car ride where everything was in constant motion. She curled up on her purple blanket in the back of her crate and closed her eyes, deciding to try something.

She could understand Penny's language, and the words that all fairies spoke, but Blake couldn't understand humans very well yet. The sounds they made when they communicated sounded like they could be words, but they didn't make any sense to Blake at all.

But back at the shelter, she'd figured out which sound Glynda had made to make her name, "Blake."

Now, it was the cat's objective to listen intently, and figure out which of the humans' many sounds made the name "Weiss."

Blake had heard it said from the fairies, but the way they pronounced it was entirely different from how the humans said it in their language.

So she did her best to concentrate on their words as they spoke to each other in the car.

Weiss seemed to speak to Blake more than to her family, and whenever she did, the cat admittedly felt more at ease. The girl's voice was very calming in contrast to the strange movements of the car.

Blake listened, trying to make sense of the jumbled sounds and words they were speaking. She could've asked Penny what the name "Weiss" sounded like in human tongue, but Blake wanted to figure it out for herself if Weiss was going to be her caretaker now.

She tried to pay attention to the other two humans, knowing they would likely address Weiss by name.

But Blake couldn't discern it just yet. The car ride was making her head feel fuzzy, so it was difficult to concentrate.

So she settled for curling up on her blanket and closing her eyes to rest.

She listened to Weiss' voice, and recognized her own name every time the girl said it.

Blake was glad that Weiss was calling her by the name Glynda had given her. Blake liked her name a lot more now that Weiss was saying it.

After a while, the car stopped moving. Blake opened her eyes when her crate was lifted again.

She was carried into a big house, one that was very much unlike her previous dwelling.

The cruel man's house had been shrouded by trees and bushes, and it had almost constantly been hidden in shadows.

But this house was out in the open, where plenty of bright sunlight was streaming down.

Blake could feel it now, soaking slightly into her fur.

It felt strange, but nice.

She hadn't been able to feel sunlight in her previous dwelling, and the shelter had only had one window that led to a shaded outdoor enclosure.

But this place was glowing with sunlight.

Blake was already fantasizing about laying down to nap.

But of course, there was much more to be done before that could happen.

Her crate was brought inside and set down onto the ground. From there, she heard the man talking to his daughters, and Weiss seemed to be responding to him.

Blake took that time to breathe in all the new scents that were tickling her nose and the roof of her mouth.

This place had a very clean scent to it, the nicest she'd smelled yet. The man's house had been cold and had smelled awful, and while the shelter had been much warmer and cleaner, there was only a certain level of cleanliness that could be achieved when a place was housing a dozen cats and their litter boxes.

But this place was undoubtedly very, very clean.

And it was warm. Blake could already feel the sunlight coming in through the windows and soaking into her fur.

And there was one more thing about this place that made it a good home.

There were fairies here.

Of course Penny was still sitting there up on Weiss' shoulder, but there were others as well. Blake could see two more from where she sat in her crate. They sprinkled their tiny trails of magical dusts over the furniture and decorations to cancel out the dust made from dirt.

One fairy was meticulously going through every single fiber of the carpet to pinch dirt and dust particles between her fingers and make them disappear.

They were all very focused on their work, so Blake kept her voice low as she called out a small greeting.

"Hello."

Instantly and simultaneously, the fairies near her perked up.

"Oh!"

"This must be the cat our darling Weiss has been talking about all this time!"

"She's worked so hard this past year!"

Their chorus of voices had altered Penny to the conversation. She left Weiss' shoulder and joined Blake and the others on the carpet.

"Correct!" she declared. "Everyone, this is Blake! She's going to be Weiss' friend!"

The other fairies all smiled and clapped.

Blake was happy to be given such a warm welcome from the fairies. She hoped the humans would treat her just as well.

When the humans stopped talking with each other, the fairies scurried back to their work. Penny returned to Weiss' shoulder as the girl knelt down before Blake's cage.

Weiss spoke softly to her as she opened the door. She didn't force Blake to come out, but instead she left the door open and walked to the other side of the room.

Blake didn't feel pressured or scared to come out.

She emerged slowly, cautiously, taking in the new sights and scents of this room. Her paw pads adjusted from feeling the plush of her blanket to feeling the firmer carpet now.

There was so much in this room.

There was a litter box, a soft bed, a food dish, a water bowl, and plenty of toys.

And there was a huge window.

Even from the floor, Blake could already see birds and flowers, and she could smell all the scents from outside. She felt a fresh breeze brush through her fur, tugging her whiskers back a little.

And she could feel the sunlight.

It spread through her fur and emitted a subtle, comfortable warmth, a warmth she'd hadn't realized she'd been missing all her life until now.

Blake wanted to lie down and sleep, but she had to scout her new territory first and foremost.

She began walking around the room, though this was all very overwhelming to her senses, so she tended to slink a bit and keep to the walls. She sniffed every object within her reach, trying to memorize the layout of the furniture.

She noticed that Weiss was crouching against the closed door, watching her and cooing softly.

Blake stayed away from her for a while as she inspected the new room. Penny flitted around above her and translated a few things for Blake.

"Weiss worked hard for an entire year to save up the money for all of this! She bought all of those toys and plenty of food, too! This is your room for now, Blake!"

"My room?" she repeated. "So she's trapping me in here?"

"Oh, not at all!" the fairy said. "The house is just so big! Weiss is worried it will overwhelm you or frighten you after all you've already been through today! But she's going to let you explore tomorrow. She wants to do it together with you!"

Blake flicked her tail.

"I see..."

Weiss wasn't trapping her here. She was trying to be considerate of how Blake was feeling.

Being moved so much had certainly been stressful, and the cat didn't think she'd be able to look around the whole house today, anyway. This room was more than enough for now.

She was also amazed that Weiss had gotten all of these things for her.

Blake sniffed around her litter box area, then retreated to the little bed. Weiss had laid the purple blanket from Blake's shelter cage on it, so it already had her own familiar scent to it.

Blake then wandered to the window and hopped up onto a small chair that allowed her to sit on the sill. She swished her tail and twitched her nose and whiskers as she got a view and a breath of the outside world again.

The sun was warm on her fur, and if she'd been able to, Blake would have stayed there for hours.

But a sudden flash of motion caught her eye.

Instinctively, she whipped around and jumped down from the window sill, her fur bristling in anticipation.

A small, wormlike thing was wiggling its way across the floor.

She couldn't resist.

She dropped into a crouch and lashed her tail, her eyes narrowing into slits as she focused on her prey. She crept forward, belly low, then froze. She wiggled her haunches in preparation, judged the distance of the leap, and then-

With one swift motion, she pounced, claws out as she grabbed the little fuzzy worm, delivering a quick bite onto its back. Her hunt was finished in seconds.

A new sound reached her ears then.

She looked up to see that Weiss was right beside her, laughing and smiling happily. Her tone was one of joy and praise, and it made Blake feel happy, too.

It was then she realized Weiss had been playing with her.

A human had... never played with Blake before.

She'd never had this much fun before.

She'd never had her own room before.

She'd never known such a kind, pure-hearted human before.

Weiss continued laughing merrily and she reached her hand out to Blake once again. The cat recoiled slightly, but didn't retreat a single pace. Penny was giggling as well.

"You two are perfect for each other!" she said.

Blake didn't know about that just yet.

But she did know one thing. That she was willing to give Weiss a chance, just as Weiss had given her one.

So Blake lowered her head and bumped it against the girl's fingertips. She heard Weiss gasp, and she said a word.

Blake moved a little closer and brushed her body against the girl's knees, curling her tail. She encouraged Weiss to move her fingers.

As soon as Weiss started to scratch Blake's chin, the cat rubbed herself harder against the girl's touch.

It felt wonderful, being touched so kindly by a human.

This didn't hurt. This didn't scare her.

This was a touch that stemmed from kindness and care, not hatred and anger.

Blake pushed herself against Weiss more, making sure to leave her scent on the girl.

Weiss cooed and pet her more, from the top of her head all the way down her back to the base of her tail. She scratched lightly with her nails, hitting a few spots that made Blake's toes curl in delight.

Weiss took great care in touching the chink in Blake's left ear, and even went so far as to gently massage it for her.

Before long, a new prickling sensation rose up in the cat's chest.

It wasn't the same feeling she'd experience when she sat in the sunlight.

It was also different from the prickle she'd felt from Penny's promise, and the trust she'd given her.

This was a new feeling altogether.

Something was rumbling within Blake's chest. It worked its way up and spread up her throat, until a steady sound was being produced.

She didn't realize it until that moment, that she'd forgotten how to purr.

All those years of living in terror had taken her purr away from her.

But just these few brief moments of kindness and affection had given it back.

Blake pressed herself close to Weiss and let her purr out, louder and longer.

Weiss whispered to her and continued to pet and scratch her just right. She stroked Blake's fur in calming motions, so as to have the cat feel comfortable enough to lie down onto her side.

Weiss' hands and words sent warm little prickles throughout Blake's body.

These were like Penny's promise. These were motions that conveyed trust.

Weiss trusted that Blake wouldn't scratch or bite her.

So Blake demonstrated her trust as well. She revealed her belly, her most vulnerable part, trusting Weiss wouldn't hurt her or take advantage of her.

And she didn't. She just continued to pet Blake gently, and speak softly to her.

In all nine years of her life, Blake had never felt so safe, so warm, or so happy. She closed her eyes and listened to Weiss' words.

There was one in particular she kept repeating, one she seemed to like very much.

"Blake."

The cat understood this word to be her name, spoken in Weiss' language. She committed its sound to memory, so that she would never forget it.

Blake's purr never stopped for the rest of the time she remained awake. She could feel herself slipping off into sleep there on that carpet under Weiss' touch.

But not before she felt something else.

Weiss leaned down over her and pressed her mouth to the top of Blake's head.

That small contact sent a warm wave through Blake's body. It strengthened the force of her purr and curled around her heart.

From that day forward, Blake understood the meaning of trust.

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A/N: Now we've been introduced to the fairies! Humans can't see or hear them, nor are they aware of their presence, but all animals can see fairies, and fairies are aware of all other species.

I hope the language barriers/differences made sense. I know it was a bit confusing, but what I was trying to convey does make sense if you think about it for a minute!