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It was lunchtime, but she was eating cereal. Maybe because she'd just woken up but mostly because she wanted to. Just like she wanted to stay in her pajamas and not brush her hair. Running her fingers through it a few times worked well enough anyway! Plus, it wasn't like she had anyone she needed to impress while sitting at home alone.

So she was eating cereal for lunch in her pajamas with messy hair. And it was awesome.

Today, she'd accomplished nothing! Ok, nothing wasn't quite the right word. She'd woken up super early and done like five hours of grueling training, but then she'd showered, gotten back in her PJs, and fallen asleep. Talk about a lazy day!

Training had gone super well though, which was why she'd given herself permission to act like a sloth for the rest of the day. The house was empty anyway and it wasn't like she had much in terms of responsibilities, so...what could she really do when she was left alone?

Well, there was training and studying and fiddling with stuff in the garage...actually, there was a whole lot of stuff she could do. Being alone didn't mean she didn't have things to do, it just meant the house was weirdly quiet.

"'Nother bowl, Rrrruby Rose?" she drawled in what she imagined the pirate with the eyepatch on the cereal box must sound like, tilting the box towards her as if he were actually speaking.

"Don't mind if I do," she replied in her normal voice while pouring another helping of sugar coated pebbles into her bowl. Setting the box back in front of her, she gave Mr. Pirate a small salute with her spoon. "You know, for a pirate you're awfully generous."

Staring back with that weird, toothy grin and super fashionable eyepatch, he didn't say a word in response. Of course he didn't say anything - he was a cereal box mascot. But after all the mornings they'd spent together she would've thought he'd have warmed up to her by now!

Shoving a heaping spoonful of cereal into her mouth, she planned out what remained of her day while chewing happily. Yang and Blake should be back sometime in the afternoon, meaning Ruby would have to change into 'normal' clothes eventually. Bummer. And then she should probably look like she'd been doing something kind of productive instead of slothing around the house.

But first she'd finish her breakfast-lunch. Lunchfast? Breakunch? There had to be a word for it…

Absentmindedly chewing, her left hand picked up the small, red, palm-sized bag of sand she carried pretty much everywhere with her. It felt like a balloon on the outside, but was squishy and malleable when squeezed between her fingers. When she squished it as hard as she could, it would bulge and bulge and look like it just might explode, but it never did. Believe her, she'd tried.

It was a gift of sorts from Yang, who'd gotten it several months ago because she thought that maybe it would help Ruby regain some strength in her hand - any little bit could help, right? She'd estimate she was at abouttttt...70% right now. Which wasn't that bad! It was a ton better than not being able to pick up anything with that hand.

The obvious conclusion was that the little toy was helping and was so much better than all that friggin physical therapy the doctors had had her doing for months and months and months. That stuff was the total dumps. Repetitive, difficult, boring, bleh.

Yeah, Mr. Red was way better. Plus, she'd used a black marker to draw a happy face on him, so he always had a smile for her!

Pretty soon, her fingers were squishing the sandbag in sync with her chewing.

Squish, squish, squish. Chew, chew, chew.

There was nothing more relaxing than eating a bowl of cereal for lunch in pajamas with messy hair while hanging out with Mr. Red! Actually, if she really thought about it, drawing was also pretty relaxing. Or taking a nap - that was the ultimate in relaxation. Or! Burning around a track a hundred times in under three minutes - now that was relaxing. Of course, the wear marks she'd accidentally scorched into the track's surface meant she wasn't allowed to do that anymore...at least not until she had enough money to repair it every time she wanted to go for a jog. Considering she didn't have a job or money, that could be a long ways off.

Reaching the bottom of the bowl, she frowned when she realized that there was still a lot of milk left. The normal solution was to add more cereal, but she'd just eaten two bowls and she was stuffed. What a dilemma...and this seemed to happen to her all the time! Finding the proper milk to cereal ratio always seemed to elude her for whatever reason. Whenever Yang commented on it, Ruby would say that it must be another one of those things she'd forgotten.

Yang didn't like that very much...but maybe it was true! Ruby just had no way of knowing.

But since her older sister was nowhere to be seen, no one would scold her for wasting milk this time. And seeing as how she was the only one home right now, she could also try out a little something she'd been trying to perfect recently.

Standing from the table, she picked up the bowl still partially filled with milk and held it in one hand. The kitchen sink was on the other side of the room from where she was currently standing, separated from her by the dining table, a lot of chairs (only like four but that's a lot to some people), and a lot of space (again, not much, but to some people…). Staring at the sink intently, she eyeballed the distance while gently swinging the bowl up and down like a bowler preparing to release a bowling ball for a perfect strike.

Maybe it would work better if she threw it like a frisbee? Or should she stick to tossing it underhand?

"Underhand, definitely underhand," she muttered to herself while taking a few more practice swings. Find the perfect trajectory and the perfect speed. And the perfect angle.

On the last upward swing she released the bowl, tossing it in a high arc that would land directly in the kitchen sink. Theoretically. Of course, the bowl would shatter in the sink if someone wasn't there to catch it. Believe her - she'd...seen someone else do it several times already...

The instant the bowl left the palm of her hand, she activated a section of her semblance to shoot her across the room. Moving fast in short distances was still something of a difficulty for her, but it was such a thrill to be moving faster than the rest of the world (well, most of the world). She got to watch things move in slow motion - kinda like a movie on slow forward. That's what Yang called it, at least.

And, in slow forward, she watched as the bowl reached the pinnacle of its arc. When it began its descent, the milk began to separate from the container - defying gravity as it floated in large, white globules in the air. She was pulling past it by that point though, racing a bowl and milk globules to the kitchen sink.

This time she totally had the catch in the bag. There'd be no tripping over the chairs or getting her sleeve caught on an open cupboard to foil her plan.

Theoretically.

Releasing her semblance, the bowl began to speed up while she slowed down to normal human speed. The last time she'd run into the counter at full speed and almost knocked herself out...so she didn't want to do that again. Stretching out her hands while simultaneously planting her feet to stop any forward progress, a heavy whoosh of air rushed past her just as the bowl hit her fingertips above the sink. Immediately pulling it towards her, the floating milk hit the sink an instant later with a splash that sprayed droplets of white all over the basin.

But she'd done it! The bowl was safe, the milk was in the sink, and, most importantly, she hadn't broken anything this time! And she hadn't knocked herself out! Maybe that last one was the most important, but the bowl.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, raising her trophy over her head like the champion she was. "Ruby Rose, one. Cereal bowl...a number slightly higher than one."

Bobbing her head in satisfaction, she rinsed out her bowl and the sink before drying off her hands.

That little trick was just about ready to show Yang, who would surely approve of the masterpiece. Although...maybe Ruby could try it with something flaming? Could milk catch fire? Because that'd be a whole lot cooler and more impressive…stuff on fire was always more impressive. Don't ever tell Yang that though. Then the house would burn down for sure.

Strolling out of the kitchen, Ruby's next stop was a few feet down the hallway at her bedroom for a change of clothes. After pulling on the first things that were as close to pajamas as possible, she headed to the small, single car garage attached to the house which also served as her pseudo workshop.

She liked to think of it as her mad scientist's lab, but instead of beakers and chemicals there were piles of metal and ammunition. Once, Blake had made a joke that if there was ever a fire in the garage the entire house would explode. They'd all laughed at the time, but...there were lots of fire extinguishers in the garage for a reason...

"Okie dokie...what can I tear apart today?" she asked herself, clapping her hands together and putting on her mad scientist's hat. It was invisible and fireproof. Although a fireproof hat wouldn't really do much good in any type of emergency...

The workbench was a bit of a mess right now. 'Mess' was probably the nice way to describe it, since it was completely covered in various odds and ends and bits of trash. That wasn't a problem though! She could navigate the mess like the cereal pirate could navigate the grocery store.

Waving her hands over the workbench like she was working some type of magic, she was sure that something would jump out at her. Hopefully not literally though. Last time that had happened she'd screamed so loud the neighbors had come over to see if everything was alright.

Giving up on her pointless hand waving and pushing several scraps of metal to one side, something immediately caught her eye. Not caught her eye like actually caught her eye. More like...uh, well it caught her eye in a non-painful way.

The eye catching piece of mess was actually a small dagger Yang had brought home the other day. The blade was a cool color - black with a red tint along the edge - and the grip was really well made, but other than that there was nothing special about the weapon...yet.

"Let's see what teeny, tiny, evil toys I can add to you," she said as she picked up the blade and held it carefully in her hands. "Mwuahahaha! Eh...still have to work on the laugh..."

Sitting down on her stool, she pulled out various tools and began the process of dissecting, analyzing, and planning. The first part she really enjoyed. Taking weapons apart gave her the chance to see how they worked and discover creative new ways to hide perks in small places.

But she also liked planning additions to old weapons - the more clever, the better! Sometimes all that separated a 'meh' dagger from a blade of unholy reckoning were just a few well thought out upgrades. Like a hidden pistol. Or a grappling hook. Or a small set of explosives!

Finding the nearly hidden seams in the hilt, she worked at pulling it apart without damaging the housing.

It hadn't been too long ago that she never would've had the energy to come out here after the training she'd done this morning. Before, it had been training, or studying, or fiddling around, but never a combination of those three. One of those things used to max her out, but now she had the energy for all three and then some. What was 'and then some' supposed to be though? That was the question…

Succeeding in pulling the base of the weapon apart, she pulled out a magnifying glass to study the inside of the weapon carefully. It was pretty important to figure out what was going on inside a weapon before touching it. This was a very important lesson she'd learned a long, long time ago. Like when she was still a little kid. Don't touch the inner workings of anything without figuring out where somewhat important and slightly shocking items like power sources might be.

Seriously. Don't do it.

Poking around (carefully), she pulled a notebook and random pen over to jot down notes and ideas as they sprang into her mind. What could she do in such a limited space? This was actually more of a challenge than she'd initially expected. Crescent Rose was huge compared to this tiny dagger!

Small meant difficult. Although big also meant difficult in a lot of situations...like, which would she rather face - a small Beowolf or a big Beowolf?

The answer to that was any Beowolf, but first she needed Yang's approval. That was another story though.

Rapidly scratching notes and drawing small diagrams onto the page beside the dagger, she was now so absorbed in the process of redesigning a weapon that a meteor could land next door and she might not notice. This was something she was actually kinda good at though! And working on weapons gave her a feeling of purpose almost as strong as when she was training. It added meaning to her day, like she was actually accomplishing something other than running through a bazillion repetitions with Crescent Rose.

In the midst of welding together what she hoped would be a viable Dust port for a weapon this size, she heard the front door open and close, followed by voices that could only be Yang and Blake. Well...hopefully Yang and Blake and not intruders. Although Ruby was currently standing in a garage filled with weapons and explosives...

"Ruby?"

"In here!" she called into the house through the open garage door. Normally, she would've gone to greet the two, but she was justtttt finishing up fusing two tiny pieces of metal together…

A few seconds later Yang poked her head through the doorway before immediately shielding her eyes from the blinding light of the torch.

"Gah! When did we move the sun into the garage?"

Giggling as she put the last weld in place, Ruby turned off the machine and set everything down on the table in favor of running to give her older sister a big hug. Yang was still wearing her fighting attire, which was smeared with a combination of dirt and the heavy scent of gunpowder, but Ruby didn't mind in the slightest.

"How'd it go?" she asked, a bubble of excitement and happiness growing in her chest at having her sister safe and home once again.

"Ah, you know - lots of Grimm, lots of smushing Grimm," Yang replied with a grin while reaching out to tousle Ruby's still-unbrushed hair. "How'd it go while we were gone? Get bored?"

"Nnnnope! I had tons of stuff to do!" Ruby answered, gesturing at the variety of pieces spread out on the workbench. "Made lots of progress on...stuff. And trained a whole bunch! And -"

"Ok ok." Yang raised one hand to stop Ruby's list before it really started. "You could miss me a little, ya know."

Ruby laughed, but she never wanted to let on that it was a little lonely without Blake and Yang around. The last thing she wanted to do was make her sister feel bad for leaving. It was their job, after all - how they paid the bills. And how they paid for all the tools and materials she used for weapon crafting. Or, as it had seemed these days, weapon fiddling.

"Whatcha makin' now?" Yang asked while hopping onto one of the stools by the workbench and picking up a hunk of metal, looking at it curiously before setting it down and picking up another one.

"That's what I call a...whachamadiddle," Ruby tried to say with a straight face before failing and laughing. "I have no idea what it does."

Yang chuckled along with her before picking up another random item.

"And this?"

"Whachamacallit."

"What about this one?" This time, Yang picked up a small black lump and lifted it to her nose to sniff.

"A very, very fried egg."

When Yang threw the egg back on the table and wiped off her hands on her thighs, Ruby giggled happily.

"You're so gross sometimes."

"I thought they'd explode!" Ruby exclaimed in her defense, picking up the carton to show her sister the rest of the sadly unexploded eggs. "Turns out they just get all crispy and smelly..."

"Well, at least you had fun," Yang replied, shaking her head in amusement before hopping off the stool. "I'm gonna jump in the shower, but Blake should be making dinner - see if she needs help?"

"Making dinner?"

Normally when Yang and Blake got back from a hunt, they'd order delivery. It was Ruby's turn to pick the restaurant too, so she'd been doubly excited for their dinner of pancakes, waffles, and french toast. But from the way Yang rolled her eyes, that wasn't in the cards tonight.

"Something about how we should have a healthy meal after three days of junk food."

Moving towards the door, she then remembered something and turned back to Ruby.

"Oh! Those adjustments you made to Ember Celica are awesome. I got my arm wrapped around this Ursa's head," Yang looped her arm in the air as demonstration before making a punching motion with her other hand. "And boom, boom, pshhhh!"

When Yang exploded one hand in the air with a huge grin, Ruby felt a matching one grow herself.

"Yeah? Should I make it stronger?"

Yang laughed while walking out of the garage. "Any stronger and it'll take my arm off too!"

Still grinning, Ruby followed her sister into the house before making her way to the kitchen. After spending so much of her time taking weapons apart and putting them back together, it was nice to know that she'd made an improvement. And something that was useful for Yang in battle! That small bit of encouragement was enough to make her want to spend all night in the garage, but she'd be a good sister/roommate and help with dinner first.

"Hey Blake!" she called out to the girl's back when she bounced into the kitchen. "Need some help?"

When Blake turned around, it was with a small smile, warm eyes, and relaxed ears.

"Sure, why don't you start cutting up that broccoli."

Finding the broccoli already sitting on the cutting board on the counter, Ruby wrinkled her nose.

"Broccoli?"

Not that she didn't like broccoli. Yang, on the other hand…

"Three days. Three days listening to nothing but The Achieve Men."

Giggling at the answer, Ruby obediently picked up the knife and started chopping. So this was how Blake would get revenge. Fine by her - she was getting tired of listening to that band too. Yang only played their album all the time.

"How were things here?" Blake asked while turning back to the salmon she was preparing to cook.

"Oh, you know...the usual."

"That exciting, huh?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Ruby deflected the look of concern Blake sent her way.

"It's not so bad. I actually did a lot of training."

"How'd that feel?"

"Good! I don't get tired as fast, except for -" Raising her left hand, she dropped it after Blake glanced over and nodded. "I just get a little bored sometimes, ya know? Like how many times can I swish Crescent Rose back and forth before my brain melts?"

Blake's only response was a thoughtful "hmm" while they carried out their tasks in preparation for dinner. Even if Blake didn't have a reply at this moment, Ruby knew that there'd probably be some type of task or challenge set up for her the next time she was left alone for a few days. That's kinda how Blake worked - give her information, she'd mull it over and then come up with a thoughtful solution.

In the meantime, they remained in silence while bringing dinner together. Normally Ruby was like Yang - they were both terrible with silence. They were always the ones to break it, no matter how awkward it was. But there was something about Blake's presence that allowed Ruby to be quiet and not feel uncomfortable with the lack of noise. Yang was the same way - the only time Ruby ever saw her sister sitting quietly was when Blake was around. Otherwise, Yang was constantly chattering about something. Which made Ruby chatter. Which made Yang chatter more. Which made Ruby - yeah, it was never ending.

Just when she'd finished dropping the tiny broccoli pieces into the steamer, she heard heavy footsteps bounding towards them.

"So what's for dinn-blegh! What's that smell?" Yang held her nose as soon as she entered the kitchen and Blake turned to give her an innocent smile.

"Just some salmon and steamed broccoli."

"Broccoli? Are you kidding me?!"

"You pick the music, I pick the food," Blake replied pointedly before turning back to the stove.

"I see how it is." Sauntering over to Blake, Yang offered the salt shaker before Blake even had the chance to ask for it. "You can't stand that I have men in my life. You're jealous!"

Ruby rolled her eyes when Blake scoffed.

"You wish."

"You totally are! You're so jealous! Oh my god...I never thought I'd see the day Blake Belladonna was jealous of someone."

"That Ursa must have hit you in the head harder than I thought," Blake said, pressing the back of her hand to Yang's forehead with feigned concern before holding up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"One too many," Yang quipped with a grin. Blake promptly slapped Yang in the shoulder before walking to the cupboard to pull out some dishes.

"Oh! I have an idea!" Taking the stack of plates when Blake thrust them into her hands, Yang followed her girlfriend around the table with a big smile on her face. "How about - if you admit you're jealous, I'll never listen to The Achieve Men again."

Clearing the knife and cutting board off of the table, Ruby giggled and shook her head to herself. There was no way Blake would ever admit to being jealous! But...Ruby was a little tired of listening to the same album over and over again too...

"Do it, Blake," she encouraged, nodding when Blake turned to her in surprise. "You have to do it! Make her pay for all the suffering she's put us through!"

"So...what do you say?" Yang teased, wiggling her eyebrows in a friendly challenge. Blake looked between them carefully, ears twitching ever so slightly while pondering her reply.

"I say...dinner's almost ready."

When Yang let out a loud crow of victory, Ruby groaned.

"Blake just sentenced you to another year of The Achieve Men's greatest hits!" Yang said happily, quickly squeezing Ruby's shoulders while Ruby tried to give Blake a look of disappointment. It probably came out wrong because Blake only laughed and shook her head - the joyful sound making Ruby join in the laughter too.

A year ago she hadn't been sure how well they'd get along, especially because Blake came off as a little...unapproachable. It had never been easy for Ruby to strike up conversations with strangers, especially strangers who weren't very talkative, and Blake was the definition of quiet. But once they'd gotten to know each other a little better, Blake had turned out to be someone Ruby really enjoyed spending time with. Compared to her sister's more upbeat energy, Blake brought a calm, steady attitude to their home. Most importantly, Blake seemed to be really good for Yang...and vice versa.

Grabbing a handful of silverware, Ruby began setting forks and knives around the table while Blake brought over the plates of food. Yang was in charge of getting water, and lots of it. The two were probably a little dehydrated from their recent trip through the forest, after all.

In the middle of setting the bowl of freshly steamed broccoli on the table, Blake suddenly straightened.

"Yang, there's someone at the door," she said, nodding in that direction while repositioning the broccoli so it was directly in front of where Yang normally sat.

Setting a glass of water on the table, Yang plodded over to answer the door before the first knock could even occur.

"That's so cool," Ruby commented to Blake while pulling out a chair and sitting down. "I wish I could hear that well!"

"Believe me, sometimes it's not -"

"What are you doing here?"

The annoyed, almost angry sounding question instantly drew Blake and Ruby's full attention. Ruby couldn't see who was outside, but Yang's posture was rigid and tense as she gripped the door knob tightly in one hand. It looked like she wanted to slam the door shut, but was restraining herself.

Blake was already at the door, tapping Yang's hand so she'd release the poor, dented knob. Ruby hadn't even noticed Blake getting out of her seat! Let alone walking out of the kitchen.

The voice of whoever was outside said something, but Ruby couldn't make out any words from where she was sitting. In unison, Blake and Yang both glanced back towards her before returning their gazes outside. Now even more curious, Ruby slid out of her seat and walked over to join the two at the door.

"What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, looking first at Yang and then Blake before stepping around them to see who was causing such a commotion.

From their reaction, she'd expected it to be...she didn't even know. Some sort of evil villain, maybe? Not that many bad guys would be polite enough to knock or use the front door, but she certainly hadn't expected to find a girl standing on the front step, looking really tired from the dark bags under her eyes.

The moment the girl saw Ruby, however, those eyes widened while she practically tripped off the front stoop taking a rushed step backwards.

There was nothing about the girl that was recognizable to Ruby. Long, white hair, on the shorter and really slender side, with light blue eyes that stared at Ruby like she was a ghost or something.

But their visitor was pretty - like the type of pretty in magazines or movies. One of Yang's friends, maybe?

Glancing back and forth between the stranger, her sister, and Blake several times, Ruby struggled to figure out what about this person was making Yang grit her teeth together so tightly.

"Ruby," Yang finally said, turning to give Ruby a forced smile. "This is Weiss. She was just leaving."

The way Weiss' brow furrowed at the comment suggested that she hadn't actually planned on leaving, but she said nothing in return and continued to stare at Ruby.

Yang's open hostility was confusing. Yang liked anyone and everyone, so what could Weiss have done to make her this upset? Pull her hair or something?

"Nice to meet you!" Ruby finally rushed out with a smile, extending one hand when she remembered her manners. "I'm Ruby! But I...guess Yang just said that…"

With Ruby's hand hanging in midair, Weiss continued to stare. When several completely awkward seconds passed and Weiss still hadn't made any movement to accept the handshake, Ruby chuckled nervously and ran the hand through her hair, wishing that someone would say something.

Maybe it was the scar on her arm. It was visible in her short sleeves and sometimes it freaked people out a bit. Some people had scars though! Just like some people had freckles or ears or extra fingers and toes.

But Weiss hadn't looked at Ruby's arm, so...that probably wasn't why this felt so weird.

"Nice to meet you, Ruby…" Weiss finally said with a miniscule nod while her eyes flitted to and from Ruby's. Her voice was soft, like a whisper, but had a nice melody to it - like one Ruby would expect to hear in a music box.

But as soon as Weiss' voice disappeared, another uncomfortable silence settled over them. Thankfully, Blake came to the rescue before Ruby said the first stupid thing that popped into her mind. Which had been about ants. Why ants?

"We were just about to eat dinner...if you wanted to come in."

Ruby nodded her head at the invitation, but Yang's gaze was still locked onto Weiss. It looked like she wanted to strangle their poor visitor with just her eyes. And maybe she was, because Weiss seemed to struggle with the question before finally giving a quick nod of her head.

"That would be nice, thank you."

"I'll set a place for you!" Ruby offered before shooting into the kitchen to pull out an extra place setting. They hardly ever used the fourth chair at their table because they hardly ever (or never) had dinner guests, but it would come in handy tonight! This was a special occasion!

Noticing that her companions hadn't immediately followed her, she shot a glance back towards the entryway and found Yang having what looked like a pretty tense conversation with Weiss. But the second Yang noticed Ruby's gaze, she gave Ruby a big smile as if nothing were wrong. Talk about mixed signals!

"Ok guys, let's eat!" Yang remarked with a loud clap of her hands that made Weiss noticeably flinch. "Before Blake's delicious salmon and broccoli gets cold and inedible."

"We wouldn't want that, now would we," Blake commented in return, gently squeezing Yang's shoulder before taking her place at the table.

While Ruby watched curiously, Weiss quietly took the remaining seat and meticulously unfolded the napkin before laying it across her lap. Eyes trained downward like she reading something very important, Weiss' hands smoothed and smoothed and smoothed the napkin until every last wrinkle had to be gone. And then she smoothed some more.

Meanwhile, Ruby had loads of questions about what had just happened - like who was this girl? Why was Yang so upset to see her? Why did they suddenly seem friendly again? And when would the napkin be smooth enough?

A long time ago Yang had told Ruby that the only way to know if she'd stared at someone for too long was if they caught her in the act. Well, she stared for too long. Blue eyes suddenly looked up and locked onto hers, causing her to give Weiss a sheepish grin for being caught openly staring. Forcing her attention elsewhere, Ruby tried to remember her manners and not make guests uncomfortable.

But she was curious. It wasn't like they had guests over for regular dinner parties. And she didn't really interact with many people other than Yang or Blake. That, plus her own tendency to be a tad socially awkward, meant that having an unexpected guest for dinner was making her a little more squirmy than usual - especially a guest who'd arrived under such mysterious circumstances.

"So Weiss," Yang began while spearing a piece of broccoli as if it had personally offended her. "What brings you to Vale? Last I heard you were on the other side of Remnant."

"I was in Atlas."

Weiss' reply was met with a scoff. "Same difference."

"You're from Atlas?" Ruby asked excitedly. "What's it like there?"

The expression Weiss gave Ruby was almost pained - like it was physically difficult to describe what Atlas was like. Was it really that awful there? She'd heard that there was a lot of snow, but it couldn't be that bad. Lots of snow meant lots of playing outside in the snow - which meant lots of fun.

Maybe it was Yang's lack of hospitality that was making Weiss uncomfortable. Not to fear though! Ruby could easily make up for her sister - until she was given a good reason why she shouldn't. As of right now, she couldn't find a reason why she shouldn't talk to their dinner guest.

"It's...usually cold," Weiss replied slowly before clenching one hand in her lap and turning towards Yang. "And to answer your question, I'm here because I have business matters to attend to."

"Ah, so I'm guessing in a few days you'll be running off again? Back to your little oasis?"

The reply made Weiss' jaw square - her gaze not leaving Yang.

"No. I'll be here until it's finished."

"How long's that gonna take?"

"I don't know."

"It could be years then," Yang said, waving a piece of salmon through the air. "Can you really spend years here? I mean, doesn't that seem like a long time to stick around in one place? 'Specially for you?"

"Like I said, I'll be here until it's finished."

While Weiss and Yang stared each other down, Ruby shot a glance towards Blake to see how she was interpreting what was going on. Of course Blake was so good at hiding emotions it was impossible to tell what she was thinking at this moment. Was she concerned? Curious? Hoping Yang didn't drop any salmon on the table?

Ok, Ruby had a lot of questions, but they must all have answers. This situation was easily solvable if she used logic. Maybe not, but that's what the most recent chapter of her battle strategy book had told her - 'logic may be a huntsmen's most important tool in battle.'

So, using logic, Ruby knew that Yang had let Weiss into the house for dinner. If Weiss was a bad person, Yang would've literally slammed the door in her face - Ruby had seen it happen before. Murderers didn't make it inside the house. At least, she hoped murderers didn't make it inside the house.

If Yang would slam the door on a murderer and she hadn't slammed the door on Weiss, then Weiss wasn't a murderer. Logic!

Wait...was that the question Ruby was trying to answer?

"What happened to your arm?" Yang asked bluntly, gesturing a fork towards Weiss' right arm. Looking carefully, Ruby finally noticed what Yang had already seen - there was a bulky section that looked an awful lot like a bandage under Weiss' sleeve. And Weiss was moving that arm rather tenderly, like she didn't want to hurt it.

But Yang's comment made Weiss draw her arm off the table and hold it carefully across her stomach.

"It's just a little sore. It will be better soon."

Looking between the two, Ruby was now super wondering what had happened to Weiss' arm, but it wasn't really her place to ask that type of question.

"What do you do, Weiss?" she asked instead, wishing to break up the tense staring and also learn some more about their guest. Weiss seemed pretty interesting - but, again, maybe that was just because Ruby didn't have the opportunity to speak to new people very often. From the way Yang and Blake were watching Ruby so closely, they seemed to agree that Ruby was a total klutz with social interactions.

She knew that she didn't have much experience talking to strangers, but she wasn't that bad, sheesh!

"I...I help run my family's business."

"You've heard of the company, Ruby," Blake added, finally breaking her silence while delicately picking up a piece of salmon. "Does the name Schnee ring a bell?"

"Schnee...Schneeee…" Ruby tried out the sound of the name while mulling it over in her head. "Oh! Schnee as in Schnee Dust?"

While Weiss gave a thin smile, Blake nodded her head. Jaw dropped, Ruby turned her full attention back to Weiss, floored by the revelation.

"No way! Your family owns Schnee Dust? That's so awesome! Do you know any of the like...super secret Dust secrets?"

"I don't know what you mean…"

"Like, what happens when you mix all the different colors of Dust together?" Ruby asked, waiting intently for an answer. "I've heard that something really awesome happens."

"You should never mix Dust on your own," Weiss remarked, looking alarmed by Ruby's question. "You're not mixing Dust, are you?"

"Oh, no," Ruby replied, waving it off as if that was a silly question (when it actually wasn't). "I mean, I've always wanted to...but I've been told not to do that."

"Repeatedly," Yang added with a stern look cast across the table.

Ruby puffed out her bottom lip in a fake pout before turning back to Weiss, even more interested now. Dust was one of Ruby's favorite things! She'd read an entire book on it recently!

"But there has to be something, right?" she continued. "Another super secret...uh...secret...that you can tell us? One that won't get you in trouble though?"

Weiss thought about the question for a second before shaking her head. "If there are secrets, I probably haven't been told about them yet."

"Oh…" Turning to Blake and Yang in disappointment, Ruby could feel her balloon of excitement deflating.

"But, being in charge of such a big company, I'm sure you have some great stories. I've heard that red dust in particular can be quite...explosive," Blake pressed gently.

Weiss' expression went from confusion to understanding as she slowly nodded her head.

"I have seen a large shipment of red Dust explode once," Weiss replied. "It was impure and too dangerous...or expensive...to dispose of any other way. They took it out into the middle of the desert and set it off. Watching from a few miles away you could still see the tower of sand shoot into the air. It actually covered the sun for a few seconds and caused a ripple to run through the ground even where we were stationed. The explosion was so hot it liquefied hundreds of yards of sand into molten glass."

Mouth hanging open, Ruby looked at Yang and received one raised eyebrow before turning back to Weiss.

"That's SO COOL!" she squealed. "Man, I wish I could've seen that! If I ever got my hands on that much Dust, I'd totally - do something really safe with it…"

Pushing a piece of broccoli around her plate, she gave her sister a guilty grin at the almost confession to her future crimes.

"Maybe you could come to one of the purification plants sometime. I'm sure I could arrange some type of demonstration for you, albeit on the much smaller scale."

"Are you serious?" Never in her life would she have thought that a stranger would walk into her house and invite her to see the place where Dust was purified AND let her watch it blow something up. "Yang, we should totally go!"

"I dunno Ruby, we don't want to inconvenience Weiss. She's a very busy and important person."

The response made Ruby's brow furrow for a second. She didn't actually remember Weiss saying that, but now that Yang mentioned it she realized that it must be true. Weiss must be very important to have the power to arrange something like that.

"I wouldn't mind," Weiss interjected. "I actually need to visit the plant in Vale at some point, anyway."

Ruby gave Yang what she hoped was a look of pure begging, playing the 'cute little sister' card as hard as she could. When Yang sighed and said, "We'll see," Ruby clenched one fist in celebration.

"Blake could come too, right?" she asked, turning back to Weiss and finding blue eyes watching her intently. As soon as their eyes met though, Weiss lowered hers and nodded her head.

"Of course," Weiss answered while picking delicately at the food on her plate, most of it still untouched. "All of you are more than welcome. If you're free, of course. I've heard you two have been pretty busy recently."

"Oh, yeah! Yang and Blake are one of the best huntress pairs out there!" Ruby announced proudly, grinning at her sister. "They get all the cool hunts. They just got back from one where they had to get rid of a whole forest full of Nevermores!"

Yang grinned back at Ruby while Blake playfully shook her head.

"That's right - an entire forest," Yang replied with a truthful nod. "Must've been a hundred of those dang things. Plus the Ursa. But Blake and I taught 'em a thing or two about flying without a license, if you know what I mean."

Giggling at her sister's corny line, Ruby glanced over at Weiss to see if she had thought it was funny too. But Weiss had her eyes trained on Yang with a blank expression on her face.

When Ruby looked away, it felt like Weiss was looking at her. But when Ruby turned back Weiss was always looking somewhere else. It was probably just the universe paying Ruby back for staring at Weiss earlier...

"Man, I wish I could've been there," Ruby commented mostly to herself. In her mind, she was seeing skies filled with Nevermores and forests filled with Ursa. Merely the thought of it added adrenaline to her veins - she could only imagine how it would feel to be in that situation for real.

"We could've used your speed. Damn Nevermores are tricky when they're swooping in full tilt." Yang made a dive bombing gesture with one hand to symbolize what she meant.

"Maybe I could go with you next time?"

The question was extra hopeful, making Blake and Yang share a surprised glance before Yang smiled and flicked a piece of broccoli onto Ruby's plate from across the table.

"A little more practice first, k? When you're ready, you can come - promise."

Momentarily let down, Ruby still managed to smile and nod her head.

"Yeah, of course!"

The answer was disappointing right now, but she knew that her sister was only looking out for her. And Yang would have a better idea of what was needed out in the forest than Ruby did, so she trusted her sister's judgement.

If Yang made a promise though, she would stick to it. Ruby just needed to fulfill her end of the bargain and train as hard as she could to get better. That's what she'd been doing anyway and everyday she could feel herself getting stronger and more capable. As long as she kept giving it her all, she'd be ready soon - she was sure of it!

"You're training for something?"

"Yeah!" she said, diverting her attention back to Weiss. "I'm a huntress in training!"

Puffing her chest out proudly, she deflated slightly when Weiss gave her a look that seemed more shocked by the proclamation than anything else.

"I'm really fast!" she added, "And I'm perfecting all my moves!"

Right as Weiss opened her mouth to respond, a loud ringing went off in the room. Confused by the sound, Ruby searched for the source before realizing that it was coming from Weiss' pocket. When Weiss pulled out her scroll, she glanced at it briefly before putting it away and giving all of them an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry to eat and run, but they need me at the office."

"This late?" Blake asked curiously. "Shouldn't everyone be home already?"

"We have employees working around the clock," Weiss answered while standing from her chair, looking hasty about taking her leave. When Yang stood to escort Weiss to the door, Ruby did too - it felt like the proper thing to do, after all.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Weiss said while quickly striding to the front door and opening it herself. "I...I hope we can do this again soon."

The words seemed to be directed right at Ruby, so she bobbed her head affirmatively. Weiss' eyes lingered on Ruby for a little longer before stepping outside the door.

"I like your necklace, by the way."

Grasping the item on instinct, Ruby scoured her brain for any compliment she could give Weiss in return.

"I, uh...I really like your skirt!"

At the response, Weiss grasped the hem with a small smile.

"It's a...combat skirt…" she whispered before rushing down the sidewalk towards a car that must be hers. Ruby watched Weiss' white hair disappear into the night until Yang closed the front door and bolted it shut once again.

Even after the door was closed, Yang stared at it intently...like it might decide to open again on its own. There was a small silence while Ruby waited for her sister to move, or blink, or anything. But Yang just stared - deep in thought about whatever the door was telling her.

"She seems nice!" Ruby finally cut in, causing Yang to turn and smile before gently rustling Ruby's hair.

"Yeah. I suppose she is..." her sister replied absentmindedly before walking back to the kitchen without another word. Turning to the side, Ruby found Blake watching Yang's retreat very carefully.

"Did you think she was nice?" Ruby asked, succeeding in making Blake smile and nod.

"She did seem nice. Help your sister with the dishes though?"

Nodding, Ruby raced over to start clearing off the table from dinner. Every few seconds she cast a glance towards Yang at the sink, who was still suspiciously quiet. She must be deep in thought over what had happened, but Yang was hardly ever deep in thought about anything! The crease in her brow hadn't left yet - if anything, it looked like the dishes had just personally insulted her.

"You ok?" Ruby asked while setting a stack of dishes next to her sister and lingering to wait for the answer.

"Huh?" Clearly distracted, Yang's eyes found Ruby's before relaxing into a warm smile. "Yeah, Ruby. I'm just fine."

"You're being awfully quiet though!"

"Do I need to talk all the time?"

"Yes!" Ruby answered emphatically. "Otherwise you're not Yang! You're...bizarro Yang!"

When Yang grinned mischievously, Ruby skipped away the instant one soapy hand came shooting out of the water towards her.

"Ha!" she exclaimed proudly. "Who's too fast for slow-poke Ya-hey!"

Sputtering when a splash of water hit her in the face, Ruby quickly wiped it away on her shoulder before grinning at the sight of Yang laughing happily.

"Who's the slow-poke now?"

"You are!" Ruby shouted back from the safety of the other side of the table while Yang held up a glass half filled with water. When Blake calmly walked between the two of them, Ruby stuck her tongue out when Yang smiled innocently and set the glass back in the sink.

There was no way Yang would risk accidentally splashing Blake with water.

"How do you guys feel about some ice cream?" Blake asked while setting a plate beside Yang and placing a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed, her excitement soaring into the clouds before it just as quickly disappeared. "But Yang ate it all last week, remember?"

"I ate the last of it, but, if I recall, I wasn't the one to eat the first ninety percent of that carton."

This time it was Yang's turn to stick her tongue out at Ruby.

"I'll go get some more," Blake offered, ignoring their childish antics in favor of giving Ruby a questioning glance. "If you want some?"

"That's a question with only one answer!"

Laughing, Blake placed another quick kiss to Yang's cheek and whispered several soft words in her ear before heading towards the door.

"I'll be back soon."

When the door closed again, Ruby turned and caught the way Yang was watching after Blake with that stupid little half smile on her face. Shaking her head, Ruby picked up the bowl holding the leftover broccoli and tossed it lightly between her fingertips. But before taking it over to the sink, she remembered her practice from this morning - her very successful test run, actually. And broccoli would be even better than flaming milk because it combined Yang's distaste for the vegetable with an easy way to prevent them from having to eat the leftovers.

This was genius.

"Hey, Yang!" Ruby called out while spinning the bowl in her hand. "Can you turn on the disposal? I wanna show you something!"