Yang took a deep drag of the cigarette, then slowly exhaled. The smoke was immediately whipped away by the blustering wind. Yang wrapped her arms a little tighter as she leaned against the balcony railing, looking out across the parking lot. She didn't smoke often, but a Bio project due the next morning had her looking for a way to calm her nerves.
Another drag and Yang was ready to retreat out of the cold and back into her apartment.
Though with the Ice Queen in there, it'll probably be just as frigid, Yang thought, chuckling to herself. The project required a group of three, so of course Ruby had volunteered herself (and, by extension, Yang) to join with the Schnee girl. Yang hadn't been happy about this development, though she had to admit that Weiss was quite effective at getting work done. The girl was brutally efficient, Yang had never seen someone get Ruby to work so hard.
Stubbing the cigarette out on the nearby ashtray, Yang was about to turn back when she spotted movement on the far side of the parking lot. The girl peered out, expecting to see a dog, or maybe a deer. Instead, a human emerged from the thicket of trees at the edge of the lot.
Oh, right, Yang mused, there's a walking trail back there. But who takes a walk at… She checked her watch. One-thirty in the morning? Especially someone her age, what the hell is she doing out this late?
The girl walked across the parking lot slowly, carrying a rather large box with a blanket tossed over it. She was clearly heading towards Yang's building, and the way she kept shifting the box made it seem like it was quite a burden on her.
Before Yang really knew what she was doing, she was making her way downstairs to the front door. Weiss's whining and Ruby's questioning gaze were easily ignored as she passed. Because of the other girl's slow and steady pace Yang easily made it down to the building's entrance before she got to the steps. Yang swung the door open, gesturing grandly with a broad grin.
The dark-haired girl was momentarily surprised by Yang's sudden appearance, but she quickly smothered any emotion on her face and replaced her expression with a blank and unamused stare that could give Weiss a run for her money.
"Thank you," she said after a moment, shifting the box in her arms and hopping up the concrete steps. However, just as she stepped through the doorway, Yang heard a rather unusual sound.
Mrrrrrow.
Blake's step faltered, and she prayed to any deities that might have been listening that the blonde hadn't heard the sound. A single raised eyebrow told her that her prayers had been in vain.
"What the hey was that?" the girl asked, closing the door behind Blake. Her heart skipped a beat.
"My stomach," she replied smoothly, turning away again. The blonde scoffed, and Blake knew that her lie was fimsy at best, but it would have to do. If this girl found out what she was carrying and reported her… Oh please, Shroud, just be quiet for a minute longer. We're almost home.
This time, the sound was unmistakable.
Mrrrroooooowwwww?
"Holy shit, was that a−"
"Shhh!" Blake glanced behind her, but the hallway was empty and silent except for the two of them. Most of the other residents were in their rooms asleep, like reasonable people would be at this time of the morning. Blake had been counting on everyone else being asleep, so she could sneak her package back safely.
"That is, isn't it?" The blonde shook her head. "I'd tell you pets aren't allowed in the building, but that's probably why you've got the blanket, huh?"
The cat shifted in the pet carrier and meowed again, probably curious about who was talking. Blake shushed him softly before looking back up.
"Please, listen, I'm just taking care of him for a couple days, he belongs to a friend−"
The blonde girl waved her off. "Oh, don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna report you or anything, I'm not that much of an ass."
Blake sighed internally. "Thank you."
That got the other girl grinning again. "Name's Yang. I live in 202 with my cousin Ruby." She stuck her hand out as if to shake, but then seemed to realize that Blake's own were occupied. "Err, nevermind with that. But what's your name?"
"Blake," she replied quietly, hoping her short response sounded dismissive enough. This girl seemed nice enough, but Shroud was getting restless again, and call her paranoid but Blake still wasn't sure that Yang didn't plan on reporting her to the apartment owner the minute Blake turned her back.
Unfortunately, Yang seemed unfazed, and even started to follow Blake as she ascended the stairs.
"Blake, huh? Yeah, everyone has a rule or two they break. I take the batteries out of the smoke detector when it's raining and I need a cigarette. My cousin turns the oven on and sits in front of it when she's cold. You have a cat."
Blake sighed heavily. She had picked Shroud up from her friend Adam's house a good ten minutes ago, and trekking through a poorly-kept walking trail at 1:30 in the morning carrying a rather heavy cat had already worn down her nerves quite a bit.
"Listen, I appreciate that you're not planning on reporting me," Blake growled, spinning around at the top of the stairs and glaring down at Yang, "but I doubt that all the people who can hear your yelling will be as kind."
Blake regretted her words instantly. Oh shit, what if she gets mad and decides to report me anyways?
Instead of angry, though, Yang looked mortified. She slapped a hand over her mouth, and whispered a barely-audible "sorry" between her fingers.
Yang unlocked the door for Blake and closed it behind her. Blake quickly set the pet carrier on the ground and, pulling the blanket away, unzipped the front. Shroud practically fell over himself trying to free himself of the horrid cage, and Yang giggled at the sight.
"Aren't cats supposed to be graceful?"
"He is graceful!" Blake snapped back, feebly attempting to defend the cat. "I doubt you'd be too elegant after getting stuck in a dark cage and jostled around for fifteen minutes."
"I suppose that's a good point." Yang shrugged, scratching her chin thoughtfully. "I'm more used to dogs than cats, I've never really been around one before. Why do you even have him, by the way? I mean, since pets are kind of banned in the whole apartment complex after all."
Blake looked down at the coal-black cat, who was currently sitting triumphantly on the flattened pet carrier. "I found him as a kitten earlier last year. I was going to just nurse him back to health and take him to a shelter, but that never really happened."
She shrugged, not sure why she was telling all of this to a stranger. The blonde girl looked honestly interested, though, lavender eyes quietly urging her to continue. "There was some maintenance work scheduled to be done in here today, so I cleaned up a bit and brought Shroud over to a friend's place yesterday. Most people are asleep by now, so I've never really had a problem before."
Yang hummed, crossing her arms and nodding solemnly. "Speaking of being asleep, I should probably head back let you go to bed. My partner's gonna chew me out as it is, if she's not too busy hitting on my cousin or being generally insufferable."
The woman opened the door and stepped back into the hallway. Just before she shut the door, though, Yang stuck her head back in. "By the way, if you ever need to stick you-know-who somewhere for a couple days and don't feel like wandering out in the woods in the middle of the night, you could always just send him our way. Ruby loves animals, and I'd be glad to help out."
Blake gave her a nod of acknowledgement, and Yang closed the door. As the girl turned her attention back to her apartment, she thought she heard skipping down the hall.
Alternatively: Weiss catches Blake smuggling cats, Blake spends three hours trying to convince her not to report the incident. This version sounded significantly less fun to write, though, and it'd probably be even more boring to read. Sorry, Monochrome, maybe next time.
Inspired by thewifigoingdownformostoftheday I mean the prompt "you're the RA and you're trying to bust me for having hermit crabs". Significantly altered, obviously, but this particular tale was actually based on a true story. A friend of mine has a cat in an apartment complex that doesn't allow cats (brilliant, I know), and I helped them smuggle said cat back into their apartment. But we didn't get caught. Step it up, Blake.
This story could be seen as a continuation of the last, I guess? I didn't write it with that intention, but I kind of like the idea. Also, smoking is not a habit that you should pick up. There are many less addictive and (frankly) gross ways of soothing your nerves. Not to mention cigarettes are expensive, use that money on something that's not trying to kill you.