The sound of snow crunching beneath her feet and the cawing of crows was all that Neo could hear as she approached the little house in the middle of the forest. Over the past few weeks,she'd had plenty of time to come to resent the cold that she used to enjoy. After Beacon tower fell,she hadn't heard from anyone she was supposed to stay in contact with. Silence from Cinder,Emerald,and Roman. Thankfully Roman.

She didn't care much to stay in a city alternately overrun by Grimm and covered in military and law enforcement of every stripe,so she decided to cut her losses and leave. Good thing she was paid in advance. If anyone asked,she'd probably claim to have made a safe landing from the fallen battleship and headed straight to Patch,but really she spent some time going back to her old(er) tricks,more for comfort than for profit.

Reaching the door of the house,she gently tried the knob. Thankfully,whoever was in charge of the house (correctly) assumed there wouldn't be anything to worry about around these parts. After closing her umbrella (and triple-checking to make sure it was strapped shut) and stepping out of her boots,she gently slipped in,leaving them at the door. With a practiced,almost natural fluidity,her face shifted,briefly taking on the form of someone she assumed might be less alarming to the subject of her visit.

"Hey...Yang." She began,in Qrow's unpleasant drawl,before slipping back into her thinner,higher tone,her face turning back with it. From the looks of it,the blonde girl had in fact been "sitting in bed all day". A couple of seemingly untouched books (and a scroll) sat on the bedside table,with a TV propped up near the foot of the bed. As much as Neo wanted to enjoy the view a bit longer,her thoughts were interrupted by Yang slowly turning her head to glare at her.

"Oh,it's you." Yang began,still capable of summoning a glare that felt like it was burning through Neo's small smile.

"Came to finish the job?" She turned back towards the window. "Come on then. I don't care. You won't be getting a foot out of here without dad breaking your face."

"No,I..." Neo raised her gloved hands,doing her best to indicate that she was unarmed. Not that it would make much of a difference to Yang's temperament. "I was...worried about you."

"You? Worried?" Yang snorted. "You were having a good time destroying everything everyone else built."

She continued,her tone lowering to laments instead of accusations.

"Pyrrha's gone."

"Penny's gone."

"Blake...'s gone." She didn't bother to clarify that last statement,in some vain,half-hearted effort to wound Neo by throwing names instead of punches.

"Ruby's run off to who knows where."

"Yang,I...I had nothing to do with any of that. I wasn't anywhere near the tower when that happened. I was just doing my job,and-"

"Well it's a pretty shit job if that's what you do for it." As Yang eased into the bed,it seemed like an ember of the old fire was still in her eyes,only to be drowned once again by melancholy.

Neo wanted to see that fire,to feel it again. She wanted Yang to burst into flames and fly at her with everything she still had,to meet her once again with the same passion that had caught her heart the day they first met on the train.

Not...this cold,bitter trickle of barely-melting ice.

"So,if you're not here to stab a poor,wounded woman in the heart,what ARE you here for?" It was just like Yang to downplay the loss of a limb subtly like that. Out of both pride and shame,maybe even...fear.

"I told you. I was just...worried about you. I'm out of a job,I'm...on the move,wanted to make sure you're okay." She lifted her hand towards Yang in a reconcillatory gesture,only to be shoved away with about the amount of force one might expect from Yang in her present state.

Neo paused,staring silently at Yang staring out the window for a few moments,before changing her tack.

"Have you...been exercising?"

Yang eyed her as though exercise were a new concept.

"Can't be good for your muscles if you sit there all day. I could help you out with that a bit."

Yang snorted again. "What are you,my dad?"

"Look,you can just-" Another attempt from Neo to reach over to Yang was interrupted with a resigned lift of her hand.

"Fine...I could use a stretch anyway." With more difficulty than she would care to admit to,she hoisted herself over to the edge of the bed with her left arm,swinging her feet over the edge and rolling out. Wobbling to her feet,she straightened up and felt her spine pop slightly. Really,it was far more because of her emotional state than any injury she might have sustained. Failure was a pretty new thing to her. At least,there was someone else to be mad at at this point other than the pink-haired witch standing before her. If she was still capable of summoning anger at anything,that is.

Upon reflection,she'd really been in a bad state these past few weeks. She could probably count the amount of times she'd left the room within the past week on one hand. That thought gave her a bitter chuckle.

"Now,up you go...and down..." Neo stepped around Yang's upright form enthusiastically,pressing on her muscles and joints every now and then and helping her warm up. Yang sighed as relief returned somewhat to what was left of her. If not measurably "better",at least she felt contented,comfortable for once. A human presence other than Dad was welcome,since Ruby and Qrow left.

At that,an impulse came upon her. Even if it was just Neo,it was someone. Someone she could show off to,assert herself a bit.

"Bet I can still do a hundred with this arm." She flashed her teeth briefly. Neo certainly wasn't one to refuse this sudden initiative.

"Go ahead,I'd...love to see you try." Suddenly aware of how that might sound,Neo raised her hands defensively. "I mean,it's good! Good that you're still able to..."

Having dug herself into a deeper hole,she just squatted behind Yang,holding her knees as she leaned over. "Go for it,I'll spot you."

Ten pushups went by in a flash.

At thirty Yang was gasping.

At forty she could barely keep her balance.

At the fiftieth,she tried to lift herself up,but ended up slumping to the floor,inviting a fresh wave of concern from Neo.

"Yang,are you alright? I shouldn'tve-"

A panting Yang sat back up on the floor,cross-legged,finally eye-to-eye with the kneeling Neo for once.

"Not your fault,guess I just gotta...get used to a new weight distribution." At least she was trying to joke about it,Neo supposed.

"Hey..." Yang continued. "Thanks for coming,I guess. Figure you're the only one out of everyone I knew from Vale who didn't have somewhere else to be."

Neo smiled appreciatively,wordless once again as both of her hands clasped Yang's.

When Neo got up to leave,not more than half an hour later,Yang walked out into the snow with her,leaving the house for what seemed like the first time since...then.

Neo turned back,pink and brown meeting lilac as they looked at each other for what could be the last time. "I suppose it'd still be a bit too much to ask for a kiss?" Neo murmured.

"...Yeah. It would be." Yang sighed,slowly releasing her hand.

Neo sighed loudly,eyes filled with both hope and regret. "Well I...I gotta get going. Someone else will probably be coming soon,huh?"

She turned to leave,but couldn't get more than a few feet away before Yang called out to her. "Come back sometime,why don't you? Not like I'm going anywhere."

Neo paused briefly,before replying. "Don't think that's too likely. Your sis isn't going to be gone forever."

"And...there's even more in store,to hear Miss Fall tell it. You guys are gonna have work to do. You'd better...get back on your feet soon." She continued.

"Me...I don't want to be on anyone's side,just yet. Even if it means running back into the shadows."

At that,Neo turned and dissolved into the snow,leaving without a trace.

"Not even...my side?" Yang whispered.

Neither of them noticed the raven flapping overhead.