"You've got to be kidding me! Fourth one in a fucking month!"

Ruby jolted awake at the familiar sound of her older sister's voice echoing angrily from the room over. She brought a hand to the back of her neck as she rubbed a kink out of her sore spine, and she slowly stood up, making her way to the closed studio door. As soon as she opened it, she caught of a glimpse of her sister's dark-haired assistant bolting past, and into the room next door where Yang was still yelling.

"Why does this keep happening? Am I doing something wrong?"

"You'll find another, Yang. You always do."

Ruby stepped out of the room, and walked into her sister's studio, giving both Yang and her assistant a hesitant smile. "Is everything okay over here?"

Yang, a tall blonde with violet eyes that were now narrowed up at the ceiling in frustration, let out a low groan, and pushed back against her desk with one of her sneakered feet. "Yes, sis, everything's just wonderful. I just lost yet another artist."

The younger girl gritted her teeth. "Yeesh, again?"

"I'm starting to think Ozpin's playing a sick joke on me. Why is it that I'm the only writer in this place who can't keep a single goddamned artist? He's hiring me phonies, I'm telling you."

Blake, Yang's assistant, just rolled her eyes. "You know you're one of Ozpin's most-valued writers. He wouldn't purposely set you up to fail."

Yang sucked in a deep breath. "I just don't see what I've been doing wrong... All I asked of each of them was for Yin to be portrayed the way I originally intended. How difficult is it to follow simple instructions? I mean, I've been writing for him for years! Nothing has changed about his aesthetic from then 'til now, but nooo, everyone's got to have their own artistic freedom! It's my book!"

"It's your book with Beacon's label on it," Blake reminded her. "Which means whoever Ozpin hires for you, you need to learn to work with."

"You're lucky you're my friend," Yang told her sarcastically. "Otherwise I'd fire you for lecturing me."

The darker girl just smirked. "I don't think you'd ever be able to find someone who could put up with you as much as I do."

Yang sighed. "God, was I always this... this bitchy? Anyway, I blame Ozpin... The next time he tries to get a hold of me, Blake, make sure you send him straight to voicemail."

"That didn't work the first three times you tried to get me to do that," Blake said flatly. She pulled her Scroll out of her back pocket, glancing at the screen. "Hey, Rubes, don't you have class in fifteen minutes?"

Ruby blinked up at her, having been mostly silent until now. She looked up at the neon clock hanging above Yang's desk, and cursed under her breath. Shit... She rolled her still-sore shoulders back in their sockets, and gave Blake a pitiful smile. "It's too late to make the bus right now... Think I could hitch a ride?"

The older girl grinned. "Of course... That is, if your sister-dearest no longer requests my assistance."

"Hey! I'm still right here, you know," Yang muttered.

Blake let out a light laugh. "I'll get you a coffee while I'm out. At least try to relax and get some work done."

"Yes, Mom," Yang said, sitting up, and spinning around in her chair. She pulled out a few blank sheets of paper, and began scrawling down a few notes. "See ya later, Rubes," she called over her shoulder.

"Good luck," Ruby told her before following Blake out of the studio, and pulling the door shut behind her. The duo walked out to Blake's old, beat-up sedan, and Ruby hopped into the front seat, leaning tiredly against the warm leather as Blake took the wheel.

"You were up all night again, weren't you?" Blake asked as she stuck her key into the ignition. She had to rev it three times to get the engine started, but Ruby was more than used to the loud sputtering and less-than-efficient condition by now.

Ruby propped her feet up on the dashboard, something Yang never let her do in her expensive sports car, but Blake never seemed to complain. It wasn't like reclining back would ruin the vehicle even more than it already was. "I was working on this new technique Weiss showed me in class last week... You remember the first guy who drew for Lost & Found? She said she learned the technique by studying a lot of his work."

Blake grunted as she pulled out of the studio's large parking lot. She turned onto the main street, and glanced over at Ruby. "Your perfect friend reads comics? Who would've guessed?"

"She only reads the good ones," Ruby said with a firm nod. "And I'm not just saying that because my sister happens to be one of her favorite writers."

"Have you told her yet?"

Ruby clicked her tongue. "Nope. She still thinks Blondie is a guy... I'm waiting for the perfect opportunity to introduce her to Yang... The funnier, the better."

Blake furrowed her eyebrows. "And how do you plan on going about that?"

She let out a thoughtful hum. "I've got a few ideas..." She reached for her backpack that was still laying on the floor of the car where she'd left it earlier that morning when Blake had picked her up and brought her to the studio. "We've got this project due next week that our professor wants us to work on in pairs, so I'm thinking about inviting Weiss over to Dad's so we can brainstorm ideas... I'd probably introduce her to Yang then, but just as my sister, and not as Blondie. She'll probably figure it out on her own eventually."

"And when she does figure it out?"

Ruby smirked. "Oh, she'll probably tell me she hates me for not telling her that I'm related to her favorite writer. But she'll get over it, and probably start asking Yang a million questions about Yin, which I'm sure Yang would be more than happy to answer. She loves gloating about herself."

"Don't I know it," Blake said with a laugh. She pulled up in front of a large campus where students were walking hastily between buildings, books and papers clutched to their chests. "Alright, I'll see you later. Either Yang or I will pick you up after class."

"Okay, thanks for the ride, Blake!" Ruby gave her a grateful smile before pushing open the passenger's side door, and getting out. She waited until Blake left the parking lot before turning toward the campus, and starting east for the Fine Arts building. She found Weiss waiting outside the entrance, as usual, dressed in a short, white pencil skirt and light blue blazer, her long, ivory hair pulled back in an off-center ponytail.

Weiss smiled when she saw Ruby approach. "I almost thought you would arrive late again."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "I fell asleep and lost track of time... It was your fault, by the way."

The paler girl raised an eyebrow. "How is it my fault?"

"Because you had me working on that technique all night." She hiked her backpack over her shoulder, and synced her steps with Weiss as they walked to their class. "It's cool, though. You're right, the lines do make the characters more distinct. I never actually noticed it in the original panels."

"I'm not surprised," Weiss said. "Your style is more classic. You tend to pay more attention to realistic detail, while the artist for Lost & Found was attracted to more abstract and experimental art forms. It was more than just painting a picture to him, he told a story with his graphics."

Ruby scrunched her nose. "Hey, are you calling my stuff boring?"

Weiss frowned, and shook her head furiously. "No, no! I'm just saying that you still haven't really found your niche, yet, is all."

"And that's what I'm here, taking classes for," she said. "Finding your own style isn't something you can just do overnight. I haven't been drawing since I was old enough to pick up a pencil, unlike you."

"That's just a matter of opinion," Weiss told her. "And I already know what I want. I want to be a graphic artist."

Ruby smirked. "Yeah, yeah, everyone in this school already knows that. Weiss Schnee wants to be a panelist and she wants to marry Shì Qù Yin."

Weiss's face reddened. "That's not true! Well, the second part isn't... And you don't understand how deep those books can be. He's more than just your average detective or hero... He knows what's right and wrong, but he's not quick to judge those he investigates or meets, choosing to give them the benefit of the doubt even when he knows they're not good people... And he's not perfect. He's got a past that haunts him, but instead of trying to run away from it like most people, he's actively chasing it, and trying to find the answers to questions he's been asking himself since he was a child... He knows what he wants, and he's not afraid to go after it, even though it usually causes him more harm than good."

"You do realize that Yin is just a fictional character, right?" Ruby asked her as they turned down the hall toward the art room. She held the door for Weiss as the shorter girl passed through, seemingly lost in a dreamlike trance.

"I'm not an idiot!" she just said, keeping her icy, blue gaze forward as she headed to her easel at the front of the room. "I know he's fictional. But I would just love to be able to create something as meaningful and powerful as Lost & Found."

Ruby fought the urge to giggle as she sat down at her own easel beside Weiss's. She's totally obsessed with Yin...

Weiss sighed. "Anyway, enough about that for now... Have you given any thought about that partner assignment? We need to find a subject by this weekend if we're going to get it finished by next Friday."

"Actually, I was hoping you'd want to discuss it outside of class." Ruby pulled out her sketchbook and opened to a blank page as a student model entered the room, and took her seat on a bench in the center of the class. Today, she was dressed in shiny armor made by the drama department.

Weiss barely looked at the model as she began sketching lazy lines across her canvas. "What did you have in mind? I've got plans with my father on Saturday to see an art show at the gallery in Vale, but other than that, I should be free."

Ruby stuck out her tongue as she concentrated on the model, paying attention to the detail of the armor as she replicated the smooth edges with her paper and pencil. "My friend Blake has this friend named Sun, and they do parkour together in their free time... It's this cool thing where they run up walls and across roofs and do awesome tricks and stuff."

"I know what it is, Ruby," the other girl just said. "And it sounds neat, but what does it have to do with our project?"

"Well, I was thinking we could do a series of drawings and paintings showing off their fluidity and talent... I think it'd look great in your style, and it'd give me the opportunity to experiment a little."

Weiss nodded. "That actually sounds like a great idea."

"Of course, I should probably mention it to Blake at some point... I kind of just thought of it..."

"Ruby..."

The girl looked up from her easel to see Weiss giving her an incredulous look. She just shrugged. "What? I get my best ideas when I'm put on the spot! And I'm sure she'll say yes..." Once she finished sketching the main outline of the model's body and her armor, Ruby moved on to the girl's long, flowing red hair, which was tied back into an elegant, crown-like headpiece.. "I was thinking after we get the base sketches done, we could relax at my Dad's house for a little bit and figure out how we're going to put the project together."

"I can bring my tablet," Weiss told her, lowering her pencil, and picking up a fine-point pen. She started to trace over her own outline in ink, giving the drawing a slightly more animated look. "I could upload each of our pieces and do some editing to make our styles appear a little more uniformed... Of course, that's only if you're okay with it."

Ruby considered for this a moment. "Well... How 'bout we just see how they come out before we decide on anything?"

Her friend nodded. "Alright... When do you suppose we should do this?"

"Let me talk to Blake after class, and I'll text you as soon as I get an answer."

"Sounds good." They continued to work on their drawings in silence for the remainder of the class, the art professor walking around and glancing at each of the students' pieces. When she stopped at Weiss's easel, her thin eyebrows shot up in a mixed expression of surprise and curiosity.

"Well, you've certainly got quite the creative interpretation, Miss Schnee," she commented, lifting her thumb and index finger to her chin as she narrowed in on the piece in front of her, which portrayed the model as a spear-wielding warrior, fighting her way through a pit of large snakes as they crawled up her armor-clad legs.

Ruby smirked as Weiss's pale cheeks flooded with color, and she shrunk back in her seat, evidently not used to this type of attention. Weird how the heiress to the world-renowned Schnee Electronics Company could be so easily embarrassed by a simple comment from a teacher... She's going to lose her shit when she meets Yang...

As soon as the professor walked away to another student's easel, Weiss let out a relieved breath, and sat up straight in her stool. "Be honest," she said to Ruby with a halfhearted smile. "How weird is it?"

The younger of the two just gave her an encouraging smile. "It looks awesome. I think Blondie would loooove it."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Okay, you don't have to tease me."

"Of course I do." She grinned. "Who else is going to do it if I don't?"

The heiress narrowed her eyes. "You know, I do have an older sister. She's had her fair share of enjoyment at my expense while we were growing up."

Ruby dropped her pencil, and gave the girl an amused look. "Oh? Like what?"

"Yeah, like I'm going to tell you." The school bell sounded through the speakers above them, and students began to clear their easels and pack up their belongings. Weiss was quick to stand from hers, and roll up her drawing, tucking it into the soft gray messenger bag she always carried with her.

"In a hurry?" Ruby asked her as she started to put away her sketching utensils. "Or are you just trying to get away from me to spare yourself even more humiliation?"

Weiss smirked. "For your information, I do have places to be. I'm an heiress, remember?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? I see your family's name every time I log onto my computer or use my music player," she joked. She finished putting away her belongings, and adjusted her backpack over her shoulder. "Well, I'll catch ya later. I'll let you know what my friend says."

"Thanks, Ruby." Weiss gave her one last smile before leaving the art room, and disappearing down the hall. Ruby walked in the opposite direction toward the building's main entrance, pushing through the doors and out into the warm, early-evening air. She found a yellow-and-black-striped convertible waiting for her in the parking lot on the other side of the campus, and in the driver's seat, her sister lounged back with her arms propped behind her long mane of hair, shiny, silver aviators shielding her eyes even though the sun had already begun to set.

"Blake finally let you leave the studio?" Ruby teased her as she hopped into the passenger's seat, tossing her bag into the back of the car.

Yang just grunted. "What's my rule?"

Ruby gave her a dead-panned look. "Seriously, sis?"

"What's my rule?" the blonde reiterated, glancing at Ruby over the top of her sunglasses.

She sighed. "No talking about work when I'm in your car."

Yang gave her a thumb's up. "Good girl. Let's keep it that way." She leaned forward in her seat, and started the car, slowly pulling out into the student traffic. "So how was your class? Did you draw any nudes yet?"

Ruby grimaced. "Eww, gross! I've already told you, it's not that type of class!"

"I know, I know. If they did have you drawing nudes, though, Dad would probably pull you out of that class faster than you can say naked models."

"And Dad would have your tongue if he heard the way you talk half the time."

"Hey! I have an excuse! Ozpin keeps hiring shitty artists!"

Ruby shook her head. "Don't you think you're being a little harsh? I've seen some of those guys' work, and they actually weren't that bad."

"They weren't what I was looking for."

"You mean they weren't Junior."

Yang suddenly tensed at the mention of that name, her jaw visibly clenching as she turned away from Ruby, and back to the busy road before her. "Rule Number Two."

Ruby swallowed. "I'm sorry." She slouched back in her seat, and rested her head against the cool glass of the window, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at her sister's dejected expression any longer. She sat in silence the rest of the way home, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would just say something else to make things worse. Yang had a hard enough time trusting people as it was, and the last thing Ruby needed was for her big sister to shut her out, too.