The party went on for a long time, long after it was time for the younger kids to be in bed.

They were left, reluctantly, in the supervision of Vara for that, as she retired early too.

Shine noticed Cinder's disappearance, and it did not escape her how long she was gone and that Royal was gone also. Finally, they did return.

Not that many people noticed them come in, but Emerald did.

She thought they both looked all lit up, though she could read some uncertainty in Cinder's expression when she met her gaze.

The truth was, Cinder still couldn't really believe she'd agreed to what she had, or that she didn't even really mind it. She was reeling.

And Royal was reeling almost as much that she'd finally consented, and hadn't be able to think of much else since then.

They'd been talking for a while outside, after they'd left off...well, doing other things. Mostly because he'd asked her more about Esmeralda and where she intended to live now.

Cinder had explained the whole thing to him and even admitted, which she wouldn't have to many other people, that she wasn't really dreading the idea.

Argus, it turned out, didn't really suit her that badly. She had never been much of a small town person since she'd left her original one. She liked the variety of the larger city. But, of course, she hadn't given much thought to what she really liked when she was focused on survival. But now that she'd made up her mind to just stay for the time being, she realised she didn't hate it.

Royal was happy to hear that she wasn't going to resent being forced to remain in Argus in order to help Esmeralda out...and it would have been harder to date if she was in Eurus, though as it stood, he'd have found a way if he had to.

They had lost track of time.

But they eventually realized that the others would get suspicious of them, or probably had already, so they came back.

That didn't really get them out of it though. Mercury was anxious to find out what had happened, though he pretended it was more because Emerald was.

But they came up to them.

"Where have you been?" Emerald asked.

"Just....talking," Cinder said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yeah, talking," Royal said.

"Talking?" Mercury saw the look in his eye. "Yeah, right, bulls---. You were gone way too long to just be talking."

"It's none of your business anyway," Royal said. "By the way, Emerald, I was going to say, that's some nice jewelry. Where did you get it?"

He had guessed where and was purposefully trying to change the subject.

Emerald reddened. "Oh, well...it was a gift."

"From who?"  Royal asked.

Cinder remembered now. "From Mercury," she said with a sly smile.

Mercury didn't like that turn. "Forget about that. I have some new info for you about this misunderstanding you guys probably cleared up already. Did Princey here tell you who told him to not talk to you?"

This attempt was more successful because Cinder was also kind of mad about it herself.

"Yes," she said, more darkly.

They both looked towards Shine.

"Wait a second," Royal said. "She might have said that, but she never told you it was because I was angry, did she?"

"No, but you didn't correct that idea," Mercury said.

"I said you didn't ask me," Royal retorted.

"And she didn't correct it either," Cinder pointed out. "Which means she knew what happened. I could slap her."

"I wouldn't recommend doing that," Emerald said.

If it had been anyone else, Cinder would have probably actually done it--but she was still too in awe of Shine to actually strike her, whatever she said.

"I'm still going to call her out on it," Mercury said.

"Mercury, that's not a good idea," Emerald said.

"You idolize her too much. She was acting like a vixen, and she should own it." Mercury went towards her.

They all followed him.

"I'm going to end up doing damage control," Royal said to Emerald, who nodded at him resignedly.

Shine was sitting out the current dance because she was tired, but she didn't look surprised when they approached her.

Wally edged closer just in case they got mad.

"You--" Mercury pointed at Shine accusingly. "--didn't say a dang thing. You sat there while we were talking and didn't tell us that you told Fly Boy here to back off."

"Did things work out?" Shine sipped some water carelessly.

"Don't try that with us," Cinder said, reproachfully. "How could you keep a straight face while we discussed it like that? You practically lied to me earlier. You said you didn't have anything to do with it."

"No, I said that I never conveyed any message from you," Shine said. "And I didn't, did I, Royal?"

"No," Royal admitted. "It was just advice for me...but really Mrs. West, don't you think you should have cleared it up once the confusion happened? This dragged out longer than it needed to."

"I don't even think you're sorry," Emerald accused, noting Shine's look.

Shine lowered her water and folded her hands. "I'm sorry that you got the wrong idea. I never meant for that to happen, but if I'd told you what I'd really said, the whole point would have been lost. I knew that the tension would build up more if there was an air of mystery about it. I was trying to do you a favor, Royal."

"Uh...by letting a misconception happen?" Royal asked.

"Isn't that kind of devious?" Cinder asked, annoyed.

"Well...it might be a little underhanded," Shine said, with a tinge of remorse, but then she shrugged. "But I knew it would work. Technically, I said you needed space, and you did. You had plenty to think about. I meant what I said. I just didn't pass it on to you because I wanted you to wonder about it and think for yourself."

"You could have at least let me know it was your fault!" Cinder bristled.

"I thought noticing how much it bothered you would help you figure out what you felt," Shine said, with a straight face. "You said you weren't sure, didn't you?"

Cinder was struck speechless by the audacity of that excuse. She just stared at her.

"Wow..." Mercury said. "That is...really manipulative."

"Excuse me," Shine said, not taking this from her student, "but who was it who jumped to conclusions about the reason and told Cinder the wrong thing without thinking if Royal would want you to repeat his words? You didn't respect his privacy at all. I didn't pass on a message on either side--I spoke for myself only. You spoke for him and for Cinder. Who is the real busybody here?"

"Oh, s---." Emerald started to snicker at the look on Mercury's face.

"Hmm," Royal mused. "She makes a good point. I'm not sure I like that she didn't set you straight, but you're the one who got carried away with making all those guesses, Black."

"And why should I have to clean up after Mercury?" Shine said. "I'm sorry none of you can think for yourselves enough to realize that he wasn't checking his facts before telling you that. I heard him admit that it was his own conjecture. I was sitting right there with you. If you weren't predisposed to believe him, why would you?"

"Don't twist this around on me," Cinder said. "Of course I would think...wait." She paused, trying to figure out if Shine had a good point or not.

"Perhaps I should have said something," Shine said, while Cinder was paused. "But after all, it wasn't my fault Mercury got involved. Him ruining my idea annoyed me, and I wanted to see if it would still work out. If it helps, I was going to explain if you didn't talk yourselves, but I knew 2 minutes of conversation would clear this all up, and, I might point out, you had all day to do that and didn't until now. I told you to just talk. And what would that have hurt? If you were angry, that's what you should have done to begin with. So either way, I still gave you the best advice I could. And what if I'd just said it was my fault? Would you have discussed it? Isn't that the real thing you wanted the whole time?"

Pause.

"To be fair, Mrs. West, I never said I was angry," Royal said. "I just didn't like being misrepresented. But since it's already worked out, and it's true that if we'd just spoken before, it would have, I'm not in the mood to be mad at you over it. But maybe your advice should be taken with a grain of salt."

"I'm sure I hope you'll think for yourself about how to apply it," Shine said, warmly. "But you can't deny it did work."

"Yeah, but I feel like it would have worked to just talk to begin with too," Royal said.

"If you are beginning to see that, then I hope in the future you'll stop feeling the need to drag out these things for days," Shine said primly. "It's a problem you and Cinder have, and frankly, Emerald and Mercury, you do it also. I've been on both sides of your arguments for months or years in some cases, and you all take forever to just bury your pride and discuss with the person. I won't always be able to give you both sides. Sometimes you have to be direct."

"You're twisting it to make it out like we were wrong." Cinder finally found her voice. "When you're the one who got caught being tricky."

"And are you the one to judge someone for being tricky?" Shine shot back. "Do you think I'm going to sit here and let my own students scold me for trying to help them? If you didn't like how I handled it, perhaps you should have handled it yourself to begin with. I thought you trusted me to have your best interests at heart."

"Okay." Emerald put a hand to her head. "Guys, it's a party. Let's not do this here... She's explained herself, and since I was kind of outside this whole fight to begin with, I think I see it both ways. Maybe she did let it slide when the misunderstanding happened, but clearly, Royal, you took her advice in the first place because you thought it made sense, and, Cinder, did you really mind being given some more time to think?"

"I...well, until I thought it was because I did something. I just was confused," Cinder said. "But I wasn't ...well...angry, exactly. Maybe a little annoyed at being ignored."

"Like it or not, you did just believe Mercury," Emerald said. "And if you remember, I said I wasn't sure he was right. I think Shine's accidentally showed that you guys tend to think the worst of people or of what they do, and maybe you should work on that. You say I'm too nice about that, but it's like I was right all along and you blew it out of proportion. I almost think you deserved Shine letting you simmer for a while just so you'd finally be honest."

They glanced at her uncomfortably.

"All right, fine." Mercury hadn't said much for a while, but he shifted awkwardly. "Maybe I did...help make it worse. Can we just say it was 50-50?"

"70-30," Shine said, with a wry smirk. "On the condition that if I accept part of the blame, you don't get to bring this up in the future and try to use it against me."

"Why would we do that?" Emerald asked.

"Oh...I probably would," Mercury admitted almost as quickly. "We never get one over on her. I could use leverage."

"I just decided that I wouldn't listen to you even if you did," Shine said. "But I can't be sure you'll ever listen to me again if you truly think I misled you. I suppose there is a time for my influence to be over here."

"Whoa, there, don't get crazy." Emerald held up her hands. "It's not that big a deal. It was just a little misunderstanding. Don't start saying you're not going to help us anymore."

"I think that would be an extreme reaction," Royal agreed.

"Just don't do this again" Cinder wasn't willing to be quite that lenient. "Next time someone misunderstands something that you caused, you have to tell us."

"I can try, but I can't promise." Shine shrugged.

"Are you guys done?" Wally finally stepped in. "I think you've made your point. Don't you think you should let Shine enjoy the rest of the party without feeling guilty? For the record, she told me she was going to tell you what happened tomorrow if you didn't figure it out yourselves. And it's not that big a deal. I think Mercury was more at fault here, actually. He needs to get better at trying to help people without stepping on their toes."

"With big, metal feet," Emerald added.

"Hey!" Mercury said.

"It's fine." Emerald took his arm. "I appreciate that you were trying to help. Really. But Shine was too, so...fair is fair."

"Hmrf." Mercury was a little pacified. "Well, I just hope that Team Glass Castle over there realizes that they need to stop depending on us to help them sort stuff out."

He huffily walked away, with Emerald in tow. She shot them a wry look.

"Hmm, I guess she's got him wrapped around her finger," Royal noted. "I was mad at him, but now I kind of feel like it doesn't matter. Maybe he was trying to help in his own irritating way. I wonder if I'm ever going to really be friends with that guy."

"Aren't you already?" Wally said. "You're like me and GL: You act like he annoys you all the time, but he's really your best buddy underneath all that."

"Is that right?" Royal wasn't convinced. "I think the only reason I tolerate him is because I know my family would think he's a bad influence."

"All of the one person in it," Cinder said.

"Two, if you count her husband, but since I've hardly ever met the guy, I never really do," Royal mused.

"I take it you settled things." Shine looked at them and took Wally's hand to give him a grateful squeeze.

"No thanks to you." Cinder had a parting shot.

"That's enough, Cindy." Wally gave her a firm look.

Cinder was kind of startled by him doing it and backed off. "Well, anyway, yes, we worked it out... I decided not to leave Argus just yet. Not just for him...but Esmeralda also."

"That implies it was in a little way for me," Royal grinned.

"Shut up." Cinder flushed.

"Well, I guess I can say this now," Wally said. "I think you two are a good couple. I didn't want to jinx it before."

"We've only been a couple officially for about an hour," Royal said. "And I can't tell anyone about it till Miss Shy is ready...but I'm not surprised you've already guessed it."

"Please." Shine gestured. "Have you met us? Anyway, Wally and I have had our share of moonlit trysts. I know the signs."

"Stop that." Cinder was still embarrassed. "Nothing happened."

"Something happened," Royal objected.

"Yeah, let the guy have his pride, Cinder." Wally had to tease her a little now. "You're telling me that in such a romantic setting, you didn't feel a thing? That's bull."

"I wouldn't tell you if I did," Cinder said.

"Of course. A lady never reveals her secrets like that," Shine said, smirking. "But we can speculate."

"That's not healthy behavior," Cinder said. "Why don't you focus on your own lives and not mine?"

"But you're part of our lives," Shine said. "So we are, in a sense. But I'm thrilled to hear about Esmeralda also. No wonder she's in such a good mood... Did you see her Semblance earlier?"

"I saw part of it." Cinder looked toward Esmeralda, who was currently still sitting out of the dance. "It made something a lot more clear to me."

"About her sister?" Shine said. "Yes, but it strikes me that her Semblance has an odd similarity to Mala's."

"How can you say that?" Royal asked. "It was beautiful, but it wasn't disgusting at all."

"You told me that Mala's Semblance was called 'fatal attraction'?" Shine said. "But I'm sure she picked that name, or one of the tribe did. It's like Qrow's, where it would be the worst spin on it. Qrow's Semblance is really, as Winter has said, odds manipulation, good or bad depends on your point of view. But he was taught to always see it as bad, while his counterpart, Clover, saw it as good. It's all in your head when it comes to luck. In the same way, charisma can work positively or negatively. Some people just draw others to them strongly. Cinder has charisma."

"What?" Cinder frowned.

"In a weird way," Wally said. "I mean, you get reactions out of people. That can be charisma."

Cinder just shook her head.

"Royal has some too," Shine said. "He's easy to like."

"Thanks," Royal said.

"Mala clearly had a lot of it," Sine said. "Not unlike Meridian's Semblance, I take it. She evoked responses from people. But every gift becomes what you make of it. She must have used it to prompt the worst of people, and so it became fatal, something like temptation. But in its raw form, I doubt her Semblance started off as purely evil. Maybe all she was using it for was evil, but she had some very loyal followers for a while, and clearly she had some draw even with her disgusting pseudo-step father figure, though it didn't do her much good. In fact it could have done her more harm. My guess is her mother had a Semblance similar to that but probably never really learned how to use it. She must have drawn people also, and must have been very beautiful just from how Esmeralda looks. Esmeralda's Semblance is not unlike Mala's. I would perhaps call it 'charm' more than mere attraction. But she's never sought to use it against people, so it inspires them to like her but to like her without doing her bidding. I've no doubt she could use it that way if she wished, but I doubt she'll wish to."

"Does that mean we all like her just because of her Semblance?" Royal asked.

"No. Nothing affects everyone the same way," Shine said. "You might dislike her even if she can be charming. And if she was not an innocent kind of person, I think her charisma would be different. Just like Mala's. We make our gifts what they are. We all perceive it as charm because she has made herself that way. Her pull would be more diabolical if she'd wanted to be that way instead. It's not like it's irresistible, but it's there."

"I see," Royal said. "I'm glad that my Semblance is not emotional. Even if it's not irresistible, I wouldn't like to think people like me just because of my gift, in any way."

"You don't think that being good tempered is a gift?" Shine asked. "We inherit all kinds of nature from our families. Be glad you're comfortable with the traits you have from them. I can't say I always am."

"Miss Shine, you don't seem like you're uncomfortable with yourself," Royal noted. "You're an unusual person, but it doesn't bother you."

"I'm well aware of how negatively some of my qualities are seen by people" Shine said seriously. "I make enemies as often as friends, but some enemies become my friends later. Still, I know that my rigid honesty in some areas, and careful calculation in others, is not the easiest thing for people to accept. People tend to either love me or hate me, never to be indifferent."

"I'd take that as a compliment," Wally said. "People can be indifferent to me, and it sucks. I'd say being polarizing can be a good sign."

"I've often wished I was less polarizing," Shine said. "But I can't help it. I am what I am. I get that from my father. As well as my ability to get a rise out of people." She shrugged. "I didn't always like that shared trait, but I can't do away with it. I can make it my own, however. My father provokes people merely for his own amusement and to divide them. I decided to use my gifts of provoking people to make them think and grow if I could and to try to unite them. But sometimes it takes a while for the process to really yield results, and I've questioned it many times. The team may have told you how they thought I was just constantly picking a fight with them when we first arrived--and I was less graceful at the time than I am now. A few missions later, I've learned to be more balanced."

"They always speak highly of you," Royal said. "But they do say they find you intimidating. But I've thought that you'd have to be. You travel worlds and deal with all these highly powerful, very formidable people. If you weren't kind of scary, they'd never hear you out."

"True," Shine said. "So I have to make peace with that part of myself...and so will you."

Royal frowned. "Come again?"

"I've heard about your struggles with leadership," Shine shrugged. "I've known you for less time, but it reminds me of how I felt about being a DJ who had to lead other people. You see, when I was a solo DJ, I gave people advice, but I rarely made any real decisions for them. I didn't get put in charge of the groups I work with till after Wally and I teamed up. And that new responsibility bothered me. I realized it could go wrong and it be my fault."

Royal had been on the verge of disagreeing with anything that she brought up, but now he softened. "Well, if you have anything to say, I can listen, though I'm not sure I'll agree."

"I won't say much." Shine shrugged. "At least for me." With a wink at Wally. "But I do have one piece of insight: It's good to not want to be in charge. It shows you know how serious it is to be in charge. And if you have an aptitude for leadership but no desire to lead, you're the best kind of leader. It's easier to stay humble that way. I would warn you that if you do accept it, it'll be easier to get cocky, and sooner or later you will, but a failure will put you back in your place. When that does happen, get back up again. We're all going to fail. My decisions haven't worked out perfectly every time either, but I rely on the Lord to guide my principles at least. I try to regret only being too limited to know all the angles, never the morality of what I do. That's the best advice I can give any leader. Do the right thing, and even if it's not the smart thing every time, it still will end better than doing a smart thing that's wrong. That kind of smart is never really wisdom in the long run."

Cinder tilted her head. "For you, that is short?"

"I tried." Shine shrugged.

"Don't make fun," Wally said. "What's wrong with having a lot of advice, if it's good advice? I've  never gotten why that's supposed to be a funny thing."

"I don't think it is funny," Royal said. "I wish I had as many ideas as Shine does."

"I'm a teacher," Shine said. "I have to have ideas. You're not a teacher."

"I agree," Royal said. "I'm not a teacher,  and I did not want to be a leader also. Just as you say, it's the responsibility...but, on the other hand, I'm starting to realize that there needs to be more of us out there. And there have been times when just being a pilot or lower officer has not given me the kind of sway I felt like I needed to really help. But Cinder seems to think it's our duty to do what we can do."

Cinder looked down. "I did realize that it's not pleasant to think you've endangered people by your decisions...only after I did it."

Shine suddenly laughed, and so did Wally and then Royal.

Cinder flushed. "What is so funny?"

"Sorry for laughing." Shine smothered it. "But what you said was something all of us have realized also. You just realized it late. That sickening dread about what could happen to people because of what you did? Every leader has that. If they don't, they probably shouldn't be leading. I've learned to push it aside, because you have to, but it's not easy."

"I've realized I can push it aside," Royal said. "If that means I should do it..."

"I still don't like it," Wally said. "I really only lead when I have to, but I do have to. So hey, Royal, I think you probably should just accept it. They need you. Someone has to keep Raven and Winter in check--they're both so hot-headed."

"Guess the one plus side of being promoted would be Vivian would probably have to give up on me ever accepting her offer to be a businessman again," Royal said.

"Not to push," Shine said, "but just because you're not inclined to do business...well, I don't know that I'd shut down that bridge if I were you. It's still an opportunity." She nodded at Cinder. "Something to think about. You're going to be in Argus for longer--do you think it's practical to keep mail ordering work?"

"I would never work for her." Cinder frowned. "I'd sooner just start my own business than ever let her be my boss..." Suddenly she got an odd look in her eye.

"I didn't really mean work for her," Shine said. "But whatever. I'll let you figure that part out. Wally and I will be going home soon anyway."

"That's a shame," Royal said.

"We've lasted longer than usual," Wally said. "I got a note from Wolverine earlier today. He never writes, so I was pretty surprised--and it was two sentences long. It just said: 'You really should stop lollygagging around and come do your job. P.S. Something may have gotten broken while you were gone, and I won't say whose fault it was, but don't look at Leech.'"

"Who is Leech?" Royal asked.

"That is the code name of one of the children," Shine said.  "If Logan is warning us to come back, things must be chaotic... Unfortunately I think some of the ladies are still on a trip, so the kids may be driving him crazy. I wouldn't be surprised if he moved to his own place eventually also."

"When will you return?" Cinder asked.

Shine tilted her head. "Who knows? Months? Years? Days? We never know here, do we? But you'll be fine. I'm sure the worst is over. It could not get much worse than the Baba Tribe. So, perk up. You'll hardly have time to miss us."

She stood up. "It's late anyway, let's go."

Wally nodded.

They left.

Cinder was struck by the odd turn of events. Five years ago she'd been the one stealing away from this party, alone, in the dark of the night.

They had disappeared after she had.

Now, they were still the ones leaving, but she wasn't.

It would always be this way, she realized. Shine and Wally would always be the ones slipping in and out of time and reality for them, and while they were close, they were never truly going to be part of this world.

It didn't matter for them. They knew they were bonded no matter what world they were in.

But for her, it wasn't the same. She was going to still be part of it, no matter where she was...and she was going to have to learn to act like it.

"Are you sad they're leaving?" Royal broke into her thoughts, with some concern.

Cinder straightened. "No," she said. "I know they'll be back...eventually. I don't know when, or why, or where, but I'm sure nothing will happen to those two. They could survive anything. They'll visit us when they need to, not when we wish them to."

"It's fine to be a little sorry," Royal said. "Must be hard, having such close friends who can never stay longer than a few days."

"Well..." Cinder recalled what Shine had told her the other day. "It's all in how you look at it. Things that are common to one person, aren't to another. If they were here all the time, we'd take them for granted. The friends they're around all the time probably do, until something goes wrong, and then they write them to come back. Shine and Wally themselves probably notice the irony of that more than anyone else does. We could beg them to stay, but they have a lot of students, and they expect us to take care of ourselves now. I'll take what I can get."

"You appreciate it more because it's more rare," Royal surmised. "I get that...but I think I would like to appreciate things that are everyday also...because honestly, those things end sooner or later, so they really aren't as ordinary as you think they are."

Cinder smiled. "That is something I've been told... Maybe I'll get there. It'll take a while, probably...but I'm going to have a lot of time to try, it looks like."

"Well, if you want to start now, how about a dance?" Royal held out a hand. "If you can keep your shoes on this time."

"If you can keep time, I shouldn't have a problem," Cinder shot back.

"I always keep in time," Royal replied, not bothered.

They moved to the dance floor.

* * *

The party ended just as it had before, with everyone tired but happy.

Most of them left Vacuo the day after, except for Weiss and Meridian, also Oscar, who intended to stay just to wait for the baby to be born... His aunt was going to stay, and he and Emily were both concerned that the baby should at least be around his or her few sane relatives when they were born, just to have a fighting chance.

It was a good thing--Vrara went into labor less than a week after the party and was in labor for at least half a day.

She did have a boy, to Theo's great rejoicing.

Qrow said perhaps it was for the best. Maybe the kid would end up more level-headed than expected.