Fitting the moonlight fell shattered. It ran across the room in broken pieces, reflected off a broken moon, gleaming blithely as Yang's riptide snore broke any silence there could be. Any semblance of sleep was long lost by the time she had started up her nightly chainsaw, and Blake was left staring at the silvery pieces along the floor with scattered thoughts all trying to get her attention at once. She kept her eyes on the rug, trying to ignore her own thoughts, trying to ignore the memory that burned its way through her mind and screamed its panicky way through her limbs. A slight twitch and pull on the crown of her head reminded her the bow still set there, still rested from the day and her neglect to remove it once they returned. It was odd to know, that now she could pull the ribbon free when it was just her team.

Eyes lifted without her meaning to, looking at a pool of white made dull as shards of moonlight fell next to the lower bunk. Her team, including the heiress of the Schnee empire. The feeling of her throat closing made Blake lower her eyes again, her arms settling on her legs as she couldn't stop the memory from rising to her ears.

"Well, maybe we were being tired of being pushed around!"

Slowly, the ribbon slithered from her head, pooling in her lap as her ears twitched at the sudden freedom. Even then, she had let Weiss push her into saying it. She had let Weiss make her angry, and lose control of what she was saying. Blake looked back up, ready to tie her bow back if that mess of white hair even shifted. But Weiss was perfect even in sleep, lashes making startling dark slashes along light skin and soft breaths easing past her parted lips. She barely moved, meaning it was less time she had to spend brushing out her hair. Blake had to envy her; the course rat's nest she called hair took what felt like a whole team of Huntresses to tame. If things were different-

Things weren't different. She wasn't stupid enough to think it could have been anything else, not with how the Schnee company ran their business. Not with how Weiss was raised to think about Faunus. Blake moved to tie her bow again, closing her eyes. It wasn't as if she was hiding anymore. She could sleep with her ears in the open, hearing Yang's thunderous snore and her sister's lighter, almost silent one underlying it without the ribbon muffling them. The looks, though... the little glances up, Ruby's curious, wide-eyed look, Yang's outright staring... Weiss pretending her eyes didn't hold a hostile look when she saw them, because Blake was a teammate, she didn't care...

Blake sighed as she felt the slight pinch of the bow in place, settling her arms back across her legs as she leaned forward. She needed to sleep. It wouldn't do any of them good if she didn't sleep. Every time she laid down, however, her ears twitched as she remembered carelessly letting them know, watching Weiss's eyes change as she understood what Blake had just said-

A soft rustle caught her attention. Slowly, she looked up, her lips parting slightly as her gaze caught with ice blue eyes. Weiss didn't move, her face still immobile as she looked up at the bow, then back at Blake's face. Then, eventually, she closed her eyes without a word passing her lips. Blake's hands shook slightly as she sat up slightly, not sure what to make of it. There hadn't- she hadn't looked at her with any malevolence but-

Yang snorted, her own snores nearly waking herself up. The noise made Blake look over at the position of the moonlight, realizing how late it really was. She needed to lay down. Just- close her eyes. Even just an hour would help. A hand reached up to the bow, her ears twitching... then dropped.

Maybe... maybe later.

Nothing felt as good as limbs falling into a long stretch. Blake could hear the kitty jokes in Yang's voice already, but as her back arched, she found herself not caring for a few seconds. Gambol Shroud shifted against her back as sweat cooled against her skin. A good workout, a good stretch, nothing could match that. As she stood, her nose wrinkled at the scent and the feeling of hair matted against her head. She needed a shower.

With a sigh, she removed Gambol Shroud and collected clean clothing. It was time to immerse herself in water. Not exactly ideal, but she couldn't exactly lick herself clean. And she knew the shower that no one looked at, where she could undo her ribbon and massage her ears under the spray of the water. A soft sound touched her lips at the thought, spurring her feet on to the showers.

The first cold blast always made her yelp. She should have been used to it by now, but she wasn't. Not yet. It warmed fairly quickly, sluicing away the grime and sweat as she lifted her face to the water. Her hand lifted, a groan slipping from her lips as her ears sprang free. Blake knew she should wash her hair, but this felt too good.

"Of all the childish-!" The outburst made Blake jump, reflexively moving to tie her ribbon as she turned. Weiss, as she had guessed, came stomping in, covered in- Blake blinked. Was that mud? When she had turned to leave, Weiss wasn't covered in mud. And Ruby hadn't done anything, if her irritated words were translated correctly. Her clothes were carefully removed and folded, even now, and she turned-

Suddenly, Blake realized she was holding her ribbon half tied around her ears. Weiss... took care of herself. And was looking at her ears. With a sneer that she soon wiped off her face, looking away. Of course. "I'll get out soon, Princess," Blake told her, unable to keep the sarcastic tone from slipping from her lips.

"No, it's... okay." The uncomfortable words wrung out of Weiss as a deep red blush settled in. She started washing up, the mud flaking down the drain. Her hair laid against her back with the water, still that icy white. Fingers flitted in expert movements meant not to waste a single motion of effort, almost hypnotizing Blake. Weiss's voice came out soft as she looked over at her, eyes sweeping up to her ears. "It's just you, me, and-"

"Get out of my way get out of my way get out of my way-" A mud-splattered Yang streaked past them, shedding clothing as she went. Her hair was absolutely coated in mud, explaining her reaction. The rest of her muscular body went untended to as she instantly started tending to her hair, ignoring the two girls trying very hard to wash up without paying attention to the other, the odd moment that had started broken by the golden whirlwind. She dunked her head under the spray of water, then attacked it again with shampoo. Yang looked up, finally seeing Blake still awkwardly holding her ribbon half tied. "Oh! You have your ears out!"

"Um." Blake finally lowered her hands, ribbon held in one of them. "Yeah."

"You look really good like that," she commented offhandedly, scrubbing her hair furiously. "Uugh, Ruby, why..." She continued to complain loudly as her hands moved through her hair, pulling it over her shoulder. "Oh, come on! There was that much mud?" More shampoo squirted straight onto her hair, then Yang worked it in, grumbling.

Weiss snapped her shower off. "I'm done," came her short response. She reach for a towel, her face tight and angry. Blake's ears twitched as something rose in her throat, watching Weiss tuck the towel around her and gather her soiled clothing. She- Weiss didn't look back at them as she left. Just after she exited, Yang snorted.

"You'd think she'd be okay with that by now." Suds rinsed down the drain, and Yang studied her hair again. Satisfied, she started conditioning her hair, studying Blake. "You really do look good with your ears out. Too bad Weiss is weird about it."

"It's not unexpected." Blake finally started washing her own hair, fingers moving quickly through the grime. "After what the White Fang has done to her family, I'm surprised she wanted to trust me again after twelve hours."

"Yeah, but..."

Blake smiled over at her, the curl of her lips grim. "It's nothing, Yang. It'll be fine."

The words didn't mollify Yang in the least. Her hands stroked over her hair, massaging in the conditioner as the mud on her body took a beating from the shower. "It shouldn't be," she finally said. "Just because you're... well, it shouldn't make you have to say that." Her fingers played with the ends of her hair as it fell over her shoulder and across her impressive chest. "You're not part of the White Fang. She should know that just from the time she spent around you. And she knows that you're a good person." Finally realizing there was more mud on her body than her hair, Yang started scrubbing herself down. "You shouldn't have to hide yourself when you're around us, Blake. Maybe she'll see that soon."

It sounded nice. Blake ducked her head under the water, rinsing the suds out as she considered the words. Yang was right, she shouldn't have to hide herself. She didn't want to. But... she wasn't that child anymore. "It's too much of a risk," she finally said, finishing up with her hair and reaching up with her soaked ribbon to hide her ears. "It's too easy for people to find out."

Water running was the only sound for a long time as they washed up. The silence spun between then, but neither of them wanted to break it, almost fearful of what would be said instead. She could feel Yang look over at her occasionally, but even then, she didn't speak up. Blake's shower had just been shut off when she heard Yang say "Hey?"

"Hm?" She turned to her, ears twitching towards her under the bow.

"You really look good without the bow. And I think Weiss thought so too." Yang gave her a lopsided smile, making a blush crawl across Blake's cheeks. "I think Ruby used the other showers. Let her know I'll be out soon for dinner?"

"Sure."

What was that about? Telling her about that, and that she thought Weiss might have... Blake quickly dried off and pulled on her fresh clothing, still feeling her cheeks burning. Figuring out Yang's mind sometimes was a headache.

There was time tonight that she could go out and do some more training. And this time alone, without her team. It would help her focus her mind a bit. She also... wouldn't have to see Weiss's looks or hear Yang's weird comments. Sleep might actually come easier if she did that too. In all truth, going out wasn't really a bad idea the more she thought about it.

Her ears twitched.