Well here it is, February 7, 2016, on a morbid note, today marks the one year anniversary of Monty Oum's burial. But on a happy note, it is my twenty-fourth birthday. I really feel odd saying that. But I digress, Monty was a man who needs to be remembered with something positive and happy, so I decided why not give him a nice one-shot for celebration.

I know, my main story, Melting the Ice, is taking a dark turn, much darker than the show.

For those who are new to my AU story, it's a splinter universe (A "what if…" scenario if you will). I started writing it on December 5, 2014, and since then, it has gone on for nearly 30 chapters with a Halloween and Christmas side story. Melting the Ice, like RWBY is Monty, is my baby.

Now there are a few changes I made to some characters: Weiss is a little less blunt and a bit more emotional than she is in the show. Ren suffered cranial trauma and is now mute, but has learned sign language along with Nora to be able to communicate.

I would like to give credit for the inspiration of this AU to fell writer Black Fuego – creator of The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR.

Now, without further ado, here we go.

Cypress Whitemane woke up with a pleasant smile on his face. "Happy Birthday to me~" he mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. He looked around to see where his little sister, Ashe, was. "Huh, weird," said the soon to be eleven year old, "she's never awake before me." There was suddenly a knock at the door. Then there was another knock. "Fine," Cy huffed, "I'll get it. Sheesh, where is everyone?" he asked he opened the door.

To the young wolf Faunus' surprise, he was brought into a tight hug, "Happy Birthday, Cy!" shouted a girl in a red hood and cape.

Hearing the girl's voice first thing in the morning made him feel like he was living in a dream come true, "Th-th-thanks, Ruby."

"Wanna go get something to eat?" Ruby asked.

Cy blushed bright red, "U-u-uh s-sure. R-R-Ruby." He stuttered.

The two walked down to the commissary. Ruby skipped most of the way, while Cy jogged along behind her. At the entrance of the building, Ruby pirouetted but comically lost her balance. Cy laughed at this but opened the door for the huntress. They picked a food that they knew they would love, strawberry pancakes.

They strolled through the commissary and looked for their friends. When they sat down, Cy was given hugs by Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Velvet, Coco, Ferrina, Luna, Telephe, Hyacinth, Nóinín, Penny, and Winter. Ruby gave him a hug and a kiss on the forehead. Cy's cheeks were red and hot, all of the girls he'd become friends with had hugged him. This was most unexpected. "I hope the birthday wolf is ready for a great day," Yang said.

Rowan nodded, "Cy, until this evening, you'll be spending the day with Ruby."

Cy blushed fiercely out of surprise, "G-g-g-great." He stuttered.

"Something wrong, little bro," Sycamore asked.

Yang laughed, "Looks like Cy's a little extra shy today."

"Yang, stop teasing him," Weiss said, "Ruby has a little something planned for the two of them."

"Then he get gets a full Obsidian Special tonight." Umbra said.

Ruby and Cy smiled. They finished eating their breakfast and left. "Okay everyone," Coco said pulling out her scroll.

"We've got a shipload of work to do before the party tonight," Umbra said, "And lucky for us, Ozpin has allowed us to set up in the Ballroom again."

"Ready for your assignments," Coco asked. Everyone nodded.

Ruby and Cy walked along the courtyard of Beacon. Cy was being unbelievably quiet, "You know it's okay to talk, Cy," Ruby said, "It's been what, two and a half months since we started growing close to each other. And I thought what happened a little while back broke your shyness streak."

"S-s-so did I." Cy mumbled, "B-but I'm still h-hoping I get over it soon."

Ruby gently took the wolf Faunus by the hand, "I know you will. But then again I never said it wasn't cute." She said giving him an affectionate wink.

Cy blushed a little as a smile ran across his face. "What's so great about a shy kid?" He asked.

"A shy kid who escaped a criminal organization," Ruby listed things off on her hand, "freed his sister, disarmed one of the most wanted thieves in the world, and incapacitated a homicidal mute?" She released her grip on the boy's hand and wrapped her affectionately arm around his shoulder, "I'd say he's worth waiting to ask him to be my boyfriend in seven years."

Cy's blush deepened. He shyly put his hand around Ruby's waist. "Thanks, Ruby," He said, "So wh-where are we going?"

"Well, since you're the birthday boy, I was going to take you where you'd like to go." Ruby said, "As long as it's around campus and not too far from Beacon."

Cy smiled again, "Well, there's a place no too far from here, overlooking the Emerald Forest. Maybe we could go there?"

Ruby smiled, "I don't see why not." She said.

The party decorating was going smoothly. Umbra and Coco assumed their usual role as the party planning and overseeing progression of set up. Ivy and Hyacinth were in charge of flowers. Scarlet, Ren, and Redwood were in the commissary's kitchen putting together the food. Luna and Nora were in charge of lighting. Velvet set up a little photo booth with Bán and Nóinín's help. Sun, Neptune, Penny, and Xenokles were in charge of music and setting up a DJ booth. Ferrina and Ashe were working on the streamers for the ceiling. Jaune and Pyrrha were busy helping Sycamore with refreshments. Yatsuhashi and Fox were in charge of setting up tables for the guests to sit at. Sage and Blake went about setting up a few other decorations. Umbra and Coco had also asked Tesla to create a centerpiece days before the party was completely planned out. Yang and Nestur were busy helping move the sound equipment. Rowan and Weiss were placed in charge of games that everyone would enjoy.

"Coco," Umbra said, "I'm pretty sure we've nearly got this party room licked."

Coco shot Umbra a mild glare, "Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Umbra."

"Chillax," Umbra replied, "It's not the first party we've put together as a group. We may have enough time to head into Vale and do a little last minute present shopping."

"We'll need to assign a guard," Coco said looking at her scroll, "Team CRDL overheard and saw our affectionate display for the birthday boy."

As if on cue, the quartet of troublemakers walked in, "So this is what an Umbra Obsidia party looks like." Cardin smirked, "Alright, what's the occasion?"

Ivy stepped forward, "My little brother's Cy's birthday is today." she said, "And if you get any ideas on ruining it…" The vines that outlined door began growing, "…you'd better think again."

"And why's that?" Cardin stepped forward with his arms crossed.

"Because," Ivy growled, "you take on one Whitemane, and you take on all of the pack. That includes close friends."

Cardin saw Ivy's eyes turn steel blue, at that moment he felt every hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "I think we'll be going now," He said as he backed away.

"Good," Ivy said waving her hand down, "then get out." The vines receded, "And don't let any of us catch you four in here again, today. Am I clear?!" She growled.

All of Team CRDL nodded and backed out through the door. Rowan looked to Weiss, "I may be able to knock Yang out with only one finger," He said, "But Ivy's method of handling bullies with her semblance is the stuff of nightmares back at Citadel."

"Everything alright in here," Scarlet asked.

"Yup, just a minor mishap with the floral arrangement," Ivy replied sweetly.

Ruby and Cy were both lying beneath a tree. They cast their gaze over the vast expanse of the forest below. Ruby knocked the rubber soles of her boots together almost rhythmically. Cy looked over to the fifteen year old huntress. He rolled over on his side, "R-Ruby, what was it like during your initiation?"

Ruby was startled by this. She never thought of telling people what the past experience was like, but she felt that in the last couple of months since she met Cy she trusted him enough to open up to him. "Well, it was all think on your feet. Ozpin brought us up to the cliffs and catapulted us into the forest. We didn't have parachutes or anything. When I landed in the forest, I looked for the people I knew. That's when I ran into Weiss. Ozpin had told us the first people we made eye contact with were to be our partners for the next four years. She and I didn't really get along at first. We set a small part of the forest on fire because I might've kinda got in her way while fight a pack of Beowolves."

Cy giggled, "You two got into a fight after that, yeah?"

Ruby huffed but smiled, "Yeah, we did, but only because she kept getting us lost. She acted like a big, stupid, jerk face. But I only wanted to prove to her that just because I'm young it doesn't mean I can't handle the responsibilities of a huntress." She rolled on her side and faced Cy, "Anyway, she and I ran into Blake and Yang, then Team JNPR shows up in the weirdest ways possible. We ended up fighting a giant Nevermore and a Giant Deathstalker. It was so incredible."

"I hope I can be a great huntsman when I'm older." Cy said.

"You don't have to be a huntsman full time, Cy." Ruby said, "I mean my dad and Uncle Qrow are both teachers at Signal. Your dad is head of the Whitemane Peace Initiative. Weiss' dad is the president of the largest dust company on the planet."

"I'd like to be a food critic..." Cy said, "… or even a chef, ooh a baker would be awesome!"

Ruby's eyes lit up, "How good are your baking skills? Oh, how good are you at copying other people's recipes?" She asked excitedly.

"Um, so far I'm good at making sugar cookies, coffee cake, all kinds of breads." He smiled, "The other day I made some chocolate chip cookies."

"And you didn't tell me?!" Ruby whined. She pouted and rolled over, putting her back to Cy.

Cy reached into his pocket and pulled out a tin, "I save the most perfect one for you." He said opening the tin and putting it on the ground near Ruby.

The huntress rolled back over, "It'd better be good," Ruby said reaching for it. She picked it up and ate it. Her moody chewing slowed as the look on her face changed into a whimsical, love struck smile. "Show good." She leaned forward and hugged the young, "You're show shweet." She pulled back a bit and swallowed what remained of the cookie, "I'm supposed to be sweet to you. It's your birthday."

Cy blushed again, "You're sweet to me every day." He said.

"That leaves one question," Ruby smiled, "Who is sweeter?"

Cy blushed, "Definitely you."

"Nope," Ruby said, "I think we're both equally sweet."

Cy tried to hide his face, "Why can't I break my shyness streak?"

"You don't need to break it, Cy," Ruby said, "It means you've got a big heart."

Cy smiled knowing that Ruby was correct. He was ready to protect, to live up to the purpose of the Whitemane family's reputation as the guardian wolves of Remnant. Ruby was to Cy what Weiss was to Rowan. She was a reason to live, she gave him purpose. He loved the girl in red unconditionally. His shyness kept these feelings bottled up, and it pained him that he couldn't say it.

Ruby looked into the wolf Faunus' eyes and wanted so badly to tell him how she felt. Her social anxiety couldn't have tightened enough around her. What shocked her, was when Cy placed his hand in the space between them. Ruby glanced to the hand before her and back into Cy's light green eyes. She felt her hand move and embrace the Faunus' hand.

Velvet had walked out to get some fresh air. the stress of having to deal with a party planning session was difficult. But, she was glad that Coco and Umbra permitted her to take a breather. She didn't know why, but she felt odd with working with the twin albino Faunus, specifically Bán. When he was around her, the rabbit Faunus felt warmth in her chest. She'd normally shrug these feelings off and continue to walk through the halls of Beacon. It'd been a month since she'd met Bán after the fight between Rowan and Cardin, and in that short time she'd grown a little accustomed to seeing the albino Faunus. She'd talked it over with Coco, who coolly told her that things would begin to happen if she'd let it.

Even still, the rabbit Faunus thought things would seem off if she separated Bán from his currently chair bound cousin, Nóinín. She walked out and saw Ruby and Cy headed toward the library, hand in hand. She reached around for her scroll and activated the camera feature. She aimed and snapped a picture of the would-be couple. She looked at the photo and marveled at the quality, the detail, the subject matter. The girl in red and the Faunus boy walking hand in hand, backs to the camera, and staring at each other with soft smiles on their faces. "Rather lovely couple, aren't they, Velvet?" The rabbit Faunus was startled and turned to see Nóinín sitting in her wheelchair, "Sorry, I startled ye, dear, I was just out getting a little air, meself."

"Sorry for that, I just didn't hear you," Velvet said apologetically, "How are you feeling, by the way? I was so busy with the photo booth earlier I neglected to ask."

"Gettin' better every day, so I am," The albino rabbit girl said, "How about yerself there, darlin'? Somethin's on yer mind, by looks of it." The brunette Faunus tried to protest but Nóinín stopped her, "And don't ye be givin' be any talk o' denial. I may have spent most o' me years in the Schnee Co. mines, but I know a distraught, young, lass when I see one. So I do."

"Well," Velvet said looking down, "it's… it's about Bán…"

"Ach, say no more, darlin'" Nóinín said, "I can tell that ye're smitten with him. Written all o'er yer bonnie face, it is."

Velvet blushed a bit, "I see your cousin and all of a sudden my heart feels like it's going to pop like a balloon." She said.

"Feelings of attraction are usually like that, dearie," Nóinín said, "especially the first time someone ever develops feelings toward someone."

"You speak like you've had the same experience, yourself." Velvet chuckled.

"Truthfully, I did." Nóinín replied, "A young lion Faunus named Aaron. Strong and kind of heart, he was. I was greatly smitten with him." Her smile faded and her ears drooped, "Until one day, his heart…" she sniffled, "…his heart gave out."

"I'm sorry for your loss, Nóinín," Velvet said taking the albino rabbit girl's hand in her.

"I'll be alright," the albino Faunus stated, "he was strong until the end. Ne'er dwelled upon the past, 'Keep movin' forward,' he'd say." Her smile returned, "Lookin' at you lot, I see qualities that Aaron had."

"Has anyone caught your eye lately?" Velvet asked.

"No," Nóinín replied, "I haven't gotten out o' the room that Ozpin assigned to me very much. I'm still getting used to my current predicament, so I am."

Velvet smiled, "If you ever need anyone to talk to," She held the albino Faunus' hand, "you can always come find me."

"Yuck," Velvet and Nóinín turned to see Team CRDL poking fun at them, "get a room you two." Nóinín's hands gripped the arm of her chair as the brute continued, "You two gonna make out next?"

"Sure an' if we do we'll be sure as to send a video file to the lot o' ye." Nóinín said mocking them with a mildly enticing tone. Cardin and his team blushed a bit. The albino rabbit girl's smile turned into a death glare, "In a Boaratusk's eye!" She slammed her fist against the arm of her chair, "You idiots ought to ashamed. If it weren't for my condition right now, I'd lay the lot o' ye o'er my knees an' paddle yer backsides until ye couldn't sit down fer a month!" The bullies' faces changed to masks of shock and horror, "Now get out o' here 'afore I show ye what five years o' workin' at a dust mine can do to the likes o' you four!"

Team CRDL ran away screaming from the two rabbit Faunus. Velvet was taken by surprise at the sight, rabbit Faunus were normally timid by nature. "Where'd that come from?" The brunette asked.

"A lot o' things that can happen to a normally shy girl in the mines, so there are." Nóinín said, "It… changes ye. Ye ne'er know when the person next to ye is gonna…" A gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Nói," Velvet said, "did Bán or Weiss tell you what Mr. Schnee will be doing with the workers in the mines?"

Nóinín looked at the rabbit Faunus inquisitively, "Ye know, I heard someone talking about it, but I ne'er got definite answers."

Velvet pulled out her scroll and opened a file and read aloud, "It says, that the Schnee Dust Co. will be phasing out its work force with downgraded, basic versions of the old model Atlesean knights. They'll run on a closed circuit accessible only from an office at the SDC HQ." She looked at the albino girl, "And you're the first step toward a new chapter in Faunus history."

"But what about my friends who need jobs to support their families?" Nóinín asked.

Velvet continued reading, "Faunus workers will be given work and training in new job openings with the SDC and Whitemane Peace Initiative." She looked at the albino girl, "And I was told by Mr. Redwood that he had plans of taking you on as an apprentice in the medical field."

Nóinín was shocked at first, but the more she thought about it, the bigger and brighter her smile became. "I'm happy to know I'll be learning from the best there is," She said wiping a tear of joy from her eye, "thank ye fer tellin' me, Velvet." She leaned forward and hugged the brunette Faunus.

Velvet returned the hug and smiled, "We should be getting back to the party," she said, "Coco might be a little cross with us if we're gone for too long."

"Aye, right ye are, dear," Nóinín replied. The two Faunus girls walked back into the ballroom and continued helping with the setup.

Ruby and Cy were busy looking through the library for different books. The only things that they found that they could hold a conversation around were all of the fairytales they heard to the point they could by heart. So, having nothing to do, they headed into the Beacon dormitory commons. "I'll be right back, Cy," Ruby said before she zipped off to her team's room and back, carrying a box that Cy recognized immediately. The game that Umbra had introduced him to, Conquerors of Remnant, "How good are you at that?" Cy asked.

"I've got a character I designed after my mom." Ruby bragged confidently, "She's a level eighty combination closed quarter and long range fighter, named Summer Rose."

"Nice," Cy smirked as he pulled out his scroll and opened his character sheet, "Have a look at look at this."

Ruby took a look at the sheet. Her eyes were wide in shock. It was a closed quarter's assassin named Haze, no last name, level eighty-nine. "What did you and Umbra do for you to get such a high level character?" Ruby asked.

"We just ran a few good dungeons with Rowan, Sycamore, and Ivy." Cy replied, "I ran dps, with Rowan and Umbra, and Ivy was the healer."

"Which dungeons though," Ruby asked, "I ran most of them with Blake, Weiss, Pyrrha, and Yang."

"Let's see," Cy began, "First one was the Black Moon Mines, then the Monastery of the Crimson Blade, after that Umbra took us through the Siege of Azure Talon Keep. By the end of that, I was about level thirty and had my first epic weapons."

Ruby was in disbelief, "Wait a sec, there are only three epics in those maps and none of them are sets."

"The Argonite Fang Blades," Cy said, "They're an extremely rare drop found in the catacombs of the keep and can only obtained by defeating the Twin Lapis Sentinels."

"Wait," Ruby said, "those are bosses in the Veteran difficulty."

"That's what I roll with Umbra." Cy said, "He said that the Veteran difficulty yielded the better items. So I thought why not give it a try."

"Remind me to run a few dungeons with you and Umbra sometime." Ruby said.

"Are you sure you want to put Summer up to that kind of risk, Ruby?" Cy asked, "Veteran level dungeons mean death is permanent."

Ruby's skin went pale. She looked down at the character she loved as dearly as her deceased mother, "Can I make a new character for that?" She asked sheepishly.

Cy smiled and reached to clutch her hand, "I don't see why not." He said.

"I never knew that Veteran level was so imposing for casual players like me." Ruby said, "Yang and I like the lower level difficulties for the resurrection features. But so far, I haven't had to use it. Summer's speed, dexterity, and range stats are pretty high."

"What about her attack?" Cy asked.

"I've optimized the attack speed to up my character's damage per second." Ruby replied.

"Hmm, what sort of weapons do you have?" Cy asked, "I gave Haze a set of legendary gunblades, The Shadow's Silence."

Ruby's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open, "Those can only be obtained through the quest line that opens the Onyx Halls of Despair."

"Yup," Cy said, "Lucky me, I had to run that dungeon so many times. And don't get me started on the bosses."

Ruby gulped, "Can we maybe create that character now?" She asked.

Cy giggled, "Sure."

A couple of hours breezed by, the young couple in the making had gotten Ruby's new character. It was a female sniper and scythe master named Quartz. Cy ran Ruby through the basics of playing as a Veteran. "Death of a character may be permanent in most cases," Said the young Faunus, "but, there are rare occurrences where you pick up a Stone of Resurrection. There's only a ten second window you can use them when your health reaches zero. The experience earned is halved, damage take is doubled, and potions are lower in number and only heal for seventy five percent of what they do in the lower difficulties."

Ruby nodded furiously indicating she understood, "I'm ready." She said.

"Alright, let's get to it." Cy said.

The party had been planned, and set up to everyone's satisfaction. Balloons, flower arrangements, fun games, Cy's favorite, mouth-watering food, and a dance floor where Yang knew who the young wolf Faunus would choose to dance with.

The one thing they had left to do, was wrap their presents for the birthday boy. Yang explained that Ruby wrapped her present the night before in order to keep the little Faunus occupied all day, "… so, needless to say, she's going all out for the birthday boy."

"Those two were made for each other," Ivy said, "Cy's shy and socially awkward, and a total lover of weapons."

"I just hope he likes our gifts," Hyacinth said, "I mean we've only known him for a little while, and I'd hate to give him the wrong thing."

"Cy will love it since he knows it came from one of his friends," Rowan said, "Just as long as it's nothing girlie."

"Anything girlie can go to Ruby," Yang said jokingly.

"Seven years can't come fast enough for you, can they Yang?" Weiss asked.

"I just want those two to start dating." Yang said.

"'I'm surprised Ruby has kept Cy away for this long without leading him anywhere near the ballroom.'" Nora said for Ren, "Yeah, but once we put the plan into action, Cy's little world will be rocked so hard its socks will fall off!"

Luna giggled, "And then we'll have little Ashe's birthday to look forward to!"

"Can we have it in the ballroom too?" The five year old wolf Faunus asked.

"We'll have to ask Professor Ozpin or Professor Goodwitch, sweetie," Redwood said, "But I'm certain they won't mind.

Telephe looked at the little wolf girl, "Who do you want to spend that day with?" she asked.

Ashe thought about this for a good while. "I normally spend my birthday with Auntie Ferrina," She said, "but, I… I don't know." She rubbed her head, "Nnngh, my head hurts."

Yang's face curled into an ecstatic smile, "How about the three of us have an all-girls day out with Ashe?" She suggested.

Ferrina smiled, "That's not a bad idea there, Fireball."

"It sounds like a wonderful suggestion, Yang," Telephe smiled.

"Ruby and I would do that every year on her birthday, back on Patch." Yang said wrapping a cardboard box with Cy's gift inside. "We'd braid flower tiaras, we'd watch movies." A dream-like smile formed on her face, "One year on a clear night in Summer, we'd got a big jar and caught fireflies. Our dad had to be nearby though, in case of a Grimm attack. But, we had so much fun, dancing and singing. Then we made the hike up to mom's grave…" Her smile faded slightly, "… Ruby placed that jar of fireflies on Summer's headstone…" She swallowed to keep from crying, "… then we let the fireflies out of the jar." She wiped a tear from her eyes, "It was so beautiful. And for a moment, I thought I saw Summer Rose standing next to us."

"I've met Summer before," Weiss said as she wrapped her gift to the young Faunus, "I can see now where Ruby got her boundless sense of optimism."

"I hope he likes what I got for him," Winter said holding up the package she'd wrapped, "I gave it a lot of thought."

Ivy looked over to the younger Schnee sister, "I'm certain he'll love it, Winter."

Ashe wrapped her present, "I'm sure, he'll like what I made for him." She said.

"What did, you get him?" Yang asked.

Ashe held the package close, "It's a secret, silly," she said.

The group laughed and continued wrapping their gifts, for the true fun was soon to begin.

Ruby and Cy walked out of the library and headed to the ballroom. Cy was a little worn down from spending all day with the older girl. Ruby walked with a spring in her step caused by how quickly she'd grasped how to play on Veteran difficulty in Conquerors of Remnant. Ruby looked over to the wolf Faunus, she smiled and held his hand. "I have a feeling your party will wake you up, Cy."

Cy smiled sleepily, "I'm sure it will be."

Ruby hugged the wolf Faunus' arm, "Don't forget, you get a birthday dance with little old me," She said in a sing song voice."

Cy smiled and blushed, "I think that's what I'm looking forward to the most." He said.

"Well we're here," Ruby said, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Cy replied.

They opened the doors, "SURPRISE!" everyone shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CY!"

Cy was indeed one of surprise. He stood still like a slack-jawed statue. Ruby hugged the boy and planted a kiss on his cheek, "Happy Birthday, cutie." She said.

Cy turned and kissed Ruby on the cheek too, "Thanks for spending the day with me Ruby," he said, "I loved every minute of it."

Ruby smiled sweetly, "Penny play that track I requested," She said to the redhead android.

Penny saluted, "Coming right up, Ruby my friend." She walked over to the DJ booth and selected a song on a playlist. It was an upbeat toon called Gold. Ruby walked Cy over to the dance floor and Penny pressed play. Cy, felt his body moving in a manner he never thought possible. He kept his eyes focused on Ruby, seeing her twirl as though she was swinging Crescent Rose made his heart flutter. Ruby giggled as she saw Cy perform moves that she never knew guys could do, she was in awe over how graceful he was. When the music came to a stop, both dancers were had one hand on the other's shoulder and the opposite hand on the other's cheek. They looked like they were about to share a first kiss, but Cy moved his hands and brought the scythe wielder into a hug, which Ruby returned with a warm smile.

Redwood brought out the cake, "Cypress Alexander Whitemane," He said putting the cake on the table, "It is with great privilege that I ask you to cut the first slice of the cake, as is family tradition."

"Thank you, sir," Cy said. He cut off two corner pieces, one for him and one for Ruby, "Here you go, Ruby," he said with a mild tone of shyness.

As they cut cake and took part of the refreshments, Ruby took Cy over to the photo booth. "Are right, you two," Velvet smiled as she readied for a snapshot, "three, two, one." She snapped a picture of the pair with Ruby's arms around Cy and her chin resting on his shoulder. The wolf Faunus had one arm around Ruby's waste, "Aww, that's perfect," Velvet said.

The games were simple ones, granted the whole party was set up in an afternoon. But the presents were what Cy was interested in. "Future girlfriends first," Ruby said handing the wolf boy a red bag with black tissue paper inside.

Cy dug in and pulled out a small silver locket. He opened it to see a picture of Ruby on one side and an old photo of Cherry Blossom on the other. Cy teared up a little but held Ruby close, "You're gonna be the best girlfriend ever."

Emotional moments came and went as the young Faunus expressed his thanks for his gifts. Pictures of Ruby from Umbra made the young Faunus blush. Ferrina gave him some training armor that she'd crafted with Tesla's help. From Penny, the boy received a special necklace, it was a half heart with a ruby faceted to it, she gave the other half to Ruby. Coco gave Cy a great looking scarf, light weight and durable.

Yang gave the wolf boy heart palpitations with her gift. It was a picture of Ruby lying on her stomach in her combat skirt with her chin resting on her crossed arms. She had a sweet little on her face that said, "When are you gonna kiss me?" Team PHNX collaborated and brought Cy a set of the new Hemlocke Doyle books. Winter presented her gift, a set of Dust Rocket brand slingshot parts. The rest of team CFVY presented the boy with a tube of small burn crystals each. Team SSSN gave him a couple of good puzzle games. Sycamore and Ivy gave Cy future combat clothes, "Gotta start some time." They said. Blake presented Cy with an outfit Coco had helped pick out. Weiss gave Cy a book on modifying weapons according to hunter philosophies. Rowan gave Cy a recipe he'd thank him for in a few months' time, a recipe from Summer Rose to be used only for Ruby. Luna gave the wolf boy a bottle of mischief powder to be used on Ruby, Ruby beamed at the idea of becoming a Faunus. Team JNPR all sprung for a nice suit for the young boy, something to be used later when he wanted to dance with Ruby. Bán and Nóinín presented Cy with a small wrist stock for his slingshot.

Ashe was last. She gave Cy a small pink package. Cy took great care in opening the package. When he opened the box inside, he smiled. It was a family photo taken on Cy's for birthday, just before they lost Cherry. Cy wiped a tear from his eyes, and took his baby sister in a hug, "Thank you, Ashe." He said.