Hot sand flew at their faces as they ran across the desert plain. The winds were harsh and showed no sympathy for the escapees. The taller fighter led the way, her long blonde hair tied back, allowing the air to flow in the desert heat. The smaller woman who trailed closely behind her, found protection from the flying rocks and minerals, and used her hood to cover her eyes. Their feet burned with every step they took, their sandals tearing apart and coming undone. The blonde slowed and looked up ahead, using her right arm to shield her squinting eyes. She could see the outlines of a temple-like structure not too far away. She reached behind with her left, tugging her follower's tattered robe. "Just ahead! We will get out of this storm, just stay close to me." She felt a hand firmly grasp her wrist, letting her know she understood. They trudged on, the storm still making it hard for them to see anything to their sides or behind. The leading woman could've sworn she heard splashing from afar to her right, towards the east. Am I hearing things?
But that wasn't important right now. She had to get to the temple and get this faunus girl to safety. She was sure they were being pursued. The sand started to harden the closer they got to the foot of the stairs leading up to the structure, making it easier to walk. The enormous building before them blocked the winds, allowing them to finally see their surroundings. There was a squeeze at the blonde's wrist and she turned to see that the faunus was standing on one foot, her other lifted up and bleeding. Her sandals were gone. "Here," she moved her tied golden curls over her shoulder, turned to face the steps and knelt down. "Hop on."
The faunus woman reached out to hold the woman's shoulder but drew back in hesitation. When she didn't feel contact right away, the human looked back up. "Do you trust me?" She asked softly. After a few seconds, the girl nodded. The blonde made sure to take it slow, feeling shakey hands hold on to her clothed shoulders. "I will get your legs, you don't have to move, okay?" She said, receiving a nod. Swiftly but carefully, she reached backwards and linked her arms around the slender legs and lifted up. Just as slender arms wrapped around her shoulders suddenly, pulling at her cloth as if holding on to dear life. "Woah, hey, it's okay. I got you. Don't worry, I'm pretty strong." After a minor adjustment, and requesting a looser grip, the duo made their way up the steep stairway. About halfway up, the faunus seemed to relax a little, resting her head against the human's, her fluffy ponytail giving her cushion.
"My name is Yang, by the way." The blonde suddenly spoke, causing the girl on her back to perk up. "I probably should've introduced myself when I opened your cage and busted you out, but the flying spears and the swinging swords were kinda distracting."
Yang couldn't see it, but the faunus nodded in agreement. After a few more steps in silence, she continued. "So... what's your name?"
Yang felt the girls head shaking, and turned her head to see the girl pointing to her mouth, then shaking her head again. "Ah, you can't speak." After a moment, Yang had an idea. "You can 'draw' the letters of your name on my back with your finger. I can figure it out."
The faunus nodded again and started tracing the first letter of her name on Yang's back.
"B... L... A... K... E... Is that it? Blake? Tap my shoulder twice for 'yes'."
She felt two touches on her right shoulder. "Alright, nice to meet ya, Blake! We're almost to the top now."
Twenty steps later, they reached the entrance to the temple. It looked ancient, pieces and chunks of stone and clay have chipped away, high piles of dirt in the corners and all the dust on the stone ground showed its age and that no one has been here in a long, long time. There was a breeze, it felt cool against their hot skin, and the scent of salt water filled their lungs. Salt water...?
Yang turned and saw the most amazing view in her life. They were higher up than she thought, seeing a vast body of sea extending out east as far as the eye can see. The water was so clear and so blue, she could see the outlines of the gigantic aquatic beings swimming around below. Blake pointed over Yang's shoulder to a whale surfacing to get air, while another shot out of the water and did a half-roll before crashing back into the calm surface. They watched the sparkling waves made from the big splash move to the shore, decreasing in size as it reached its destination. Speaking of destination...
Yang scanned the path they had just came from, the blinding storm seemed to have died down a bit, allowing her to see that their trail had been covered. Looking at the horizon, she could see smoke puffing out of the housing buildings in the outskirts of the city they had just escaped from. No sign of any warriors or hunters heading their way. "We should rest here for a bit. I think we lost them." Yang said, kneeling down next to a sizable fallen stone slab for Blake to sit on. "How's your foot?"
Blake shook her head, wincing. She held her injured foot up for Yang to examine. It was tinted red from the hot sand. Blood was still trickling down her heel from the top, just beneath her toes. "Can you wiggle your toes?" After some effort, the faunus managed to move them and winced again. "Well, I'm not a doctor, but that doesn't look good. We need to cover it." Yang looked at her clothes, hoping maybe she could rip off a piece to wrap around Blake's foot, but every inch of her robes were dirty. She looked at Blake's torn clothing. Barely anything to use there anyway, poor girl is showing too much skin, exposed to the sun to burn. Yang figured they had her dressed like that on purpose, or they got ripped and shredded and the slavers didn't care. She didn't want to think about that right now. But Yang did notice the cleanest piece was her hood.
"Blake, we can use your hood to cover your wound. I could run down to the sea down there and soak it. The salt would help."
Blake reached to her hood and held on to it, pulling it down. She didn't want to give up her protection, her way of hiding what she is. Even in this empty desert, it was like the world could see her and they would take her away again. She wanted to hide... even from this woman, a stranger who saved her life and had protected her since they met. A stranger. And now, just like before when Yang had opened her cage, she had no choice. And she really didn't want to lose her foot.
"Hey, I know it's hard for you, but if you want your foot to heal properly, we will need to take care of it." Yang said softly, extending her hand out. "Please?"
Blake stared at her hand and looked up into lavender eyes. Her instincts were telling her, again, that this person can be trusted. So she did what she would otherwise never do, which was voluntarily turn her back towards a human.
"Thank you." Yang slowly reached for the hood, slowly let her fingers curl around the fabric, and slowly pulled downward. Long, ebony locks flowed out and gracefully fell over the faunuses shoulders and Yang's hand. What looked like feline ears layed flat against the top of Blake's head. "I'll rip this as gently as I can. Here I go." And she did as she said she would.
Holding the large piece of cloth, Yang stood up. "Okay, I'm going to run down to the shore real quick. It won't take me long. Just wait here and I'll come back."
Blake nodded and heard the woman leave, the sound of her footsteps fading into the sand. She looked back and saw that Yang was already a good distance away, so with a silent sigh, she straightened her faunus ears up. The nice breeze definitely helped cool them off as she moved them around, stretching them out. Running a hand through her hair, she thought about her rescuer and how much she had done for her already. Other than her name, Blake didn't know a thing about Yang. She wanted to believe that this was all a trap, that someone was toying with her. But what she saw in Yang's eyes was kindness, maybe even a hint of sadness. Everything the human did, it was gentle and patient and genuine. It had been a really, really long time since Blake felt anything like that, or even witnessed it.
She heard quick footsteps coming up from behind, a shadow emerged on the ground next to her. It looked like it was holding a rope. With a barely audible gasp, Blake quickly spun off the rock and backed up into the corner of the stone walls.
"Whoa, it's me!" the familiar voice said.
Blake stared and finally registered who was standing before her. She covered her face with her hands as tears started to form. It's Yang. It's okay. She thought to herself, trying to control her breathing.
Next thing she knew, cold water was poured on top her head, tiny streams dribbled down to her warm face. Looking up she saw Yang had a small canteen hovering over her. "I got some water to cool us off. Can't drink it though."
Blake watched as Yang spilled the rest of the water on herself, her thick hair seemed to absorb most of the liquid, while a few drops made it to her cheeks. "Ah, that sure hits the spot. Alright," Yang sighed in relief, kneeling down and placing the empty canteen next to her. "Let's get you wrapped up."
The "rope" Blake saw was actually the wrap made from her hood. It was damp and she could see the white specks of salt scattered all over it. With a nod, the faunus climbed back up onto the stone slab and allowed Yang to hold her hurt limb, as she propped the heel on her knee. "This will sting a bit," The blonde warned before she started wrapping around the wound. Yang looked at the girl as she treated the laceration. Well, maybe "girl" was inaccurate, she was likely only a year or two younger than herself. Blake's foot twitched as she winced, gritting her teeth. Yang continued to cover nearly the whole foot, tying a small, tight knot at the ankle. "There ya go. Not good as new, but at least it won't get infected for now. Still need to see a real doctor though." Yang was about to stand back up when she felt a hand brush hers, turning her attention back to Blake. Those bright amber eyes stared up at her, almost pleading, as they were trying to form words themselves. Her lips started to move, but no sound came out. She was still afraid... scared speechless. Yang read her eyes and waited. After a moment, Blake looked up and reached for Yang's hand, held it open, and traced letters on her palm.
Thank you.
Yang flashed a smile at Blake, before the faunus continued tracing.
You saved me. Why?
The blonde's smile faded and her face hardened. "Because," she glared towards the direction of the city, her tone serious. "I couldn't just stand by and let them do that to you." Her hand clenched and she moved it away from Blake's hold. "What they do to faunus... it's wrong. If I'm around to stop it and save someone, I will." I have failed before... but never again. Yang clenched her fists even harder, her knuckles turning white.
Blake could've sworn she saw tears forming in Yang's eyes, but when the fighter blinked, they were gone.
"And about earlier," Yang took a breath, and faced Blake with apologetic eyes. "Sorry for scaring you like that. I shouldn't have walked up so fast. I will be more careful next time, yeah?" She smiled, her expression softening and her hands relaxing.
Blake nodded, reaching for Yang's hand again. OK.
"Oh, and here," Yang reached up behind her head and untied the long black ribbon holding her hair back. Wild waves of yellow cascaded around her shoulders, and flowed all the way down to the small of her back. It was like a curtain of bright sunlight. "You can use this, since you don't have your hood anymore."
Blake took the ribbon and inspected it. It was wide enough to cover her faunus ears, and long enough to give them room to move around if needed. She wrapped it around her ears and tied the middle, while Yang assisted by making sure the bow was loose enough and no smaller hairs were poking out.
Yang stood back to get a better view of their work. "Perfect! You look really pretty, Blake. The bow suits you." She said with a wink.
Blake accepted the compliment. The people who took her said similar things; how beautiful she was and how she would be sold for a high price. But the comments coming from Yang were different and she knew it. Feeling her face getting warm, she distracted herself by looking away and tucking a strand of hair behind her human ear. That's when she saw movement in the distance. Her faunus traits allowed her to see and hear a lot better than a human, so when she pointed out towards the sands, Yang was confused.
"What is it?" She squinted and moved forward to the edge of the steps. Then she saw them. A group of slave-hunters on horseback, galloping through the desert with ease. Their leader had his sword raised to the air, probably giving the signal that he had spotted the two runaways. They were almost half way across already. "Damn! Gotta go!" In one quick, swift motion, Yang scooped up Blake in her arms. "We should lose them in here." How did they find us?
Yang jogged into the temple, using the light from outside to guide her. There was large stone pillars that seemed to be randomly placed throughout the room, causing Yang to slow. It was dark and the further in they got, the harder it was to see. Eventually, the darkness won and Yang had come to a halt. "Damn it, I can't see."
"They're in here!" A man's voice echoed through the chamber. "Ditch the horses, we can't let them get away!"
Blake's grasp around Yang's neck and shoulder tightened. "It's okay, I won't let them get you. We just have to find a way outta here. You have night vision, right? Just let me know when to turn."
Not waiting for a silent answer, Yang steadily walked forward when she felt a tug on her right sleeve, then a hard pull on her left. They made their way through the dark room without issue, until Blake had placed her hand flat on Yang's chest, letting her know to stop. Blake made a weak kick motion with her leg.
"Kick forward?"
Two taps on her shoulder.
"Gotcha."
While Blake braced herself, Yang held the faunus closer as she readied her leg. With a grunt, she kicked forward and hit what seemed to be an old wooden door. It busted easily, allowing the pair to slip through. The next room wasn't any more lit but was longer and had even more pillars, judging by the fact that Yang had to move a lot more than the previous area. She assumed that maybe this was where the living spaces were for whoever lived here at the time.
Yang felt like she had been walking and dodging for nearly a quarter of a mile before Blake was rapidly patting the blonde's shoulder and looking back, making her pause. "Are they close?"
"Oh, we're close. Very close." A rough voice said, just a few feet away. There was a spark, and the man held up his blazing torch. He walked towards them, the outlines and shadows of four other men following behind him. Their wicked grins and curved swords shined in the firelight. Yang normally isn't a runner, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. She had someone to protect, and getting that someone away from these monsters was a priority. Last time she had fought instead of ran... she had lost her.
Yang bolted, seeing the path in front of her from the flame that was now chasing them. Ahead she could see a large door, a tiny ray of light shined through a small hole. The way out!
Suddenly a rock the size of a fist hit the back of Yang's head, causing her to fall. Reacting quickly, Blake pushed herself away from Yang during their descent. They both hit the ground, hard. Blake rolled and hit her back against the door. She placed her hand on her head in pain, then looked up to see Yang laying on her front, not moving, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted. She had been knocked out.
"Heh, looks out I took out your little knight in not-so-shining armor." The man laughed, reaching behind and pulling out a whip. "Here kitty, kitty, if you behave, we might be nice enough to let your friend live. You belong to us."
Blake knew better and frantically shook her head, pushing herself backwards against the door. No, she didn't want to go back. Please, Yang, wake up!
"You are coming with us, whether you want to or not!" He raised his whip and came down with it, hearing a loud snap echo throughout the hall.
The last thing he saw was angry, burning red eyes and a flash of fiery gold, before he was punched square in the jaw. His eyes rolled back and his legs no longer supported him. He fell to the floor with a loud thud. Yang straightened up, the whip still wrapped around her left forearm. "She doesn't belong to anyone!" She roared.
The rest of the men stood there, shocked and their mouths agape. Blake was shocked as well. This was a side of Yang she had no idea existed. She had been so kind and gentle with her since they met, and to see this woman before her now, with those crimson eyes, flaming hair and the look of murderous intent on her face... she didn't know Yang was even capable of looking so... powerful.
The whip dropped from Yang's arm, making the men flinch. "What, not so tough now are ya?" Yang taunted. "There's four of you and one of me. That doesn't seem very fair," She took a fighting stance and raised her fists. "For you guys."