Author's Notes

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Chapter Three

Ruby wrapped her hood around her mouth as the frigid air stung at her lungs. Cold and hungry, she wanted nothing more than to have a hot meal and to listen to her sister's stories about work by the fire.

Guided by the moonlight that shone down brightly on Vermilion, the huntress finally reached the blacksmith's house she came back to every night. Hanging above the front door was a small lamp that illuminated the name of her sister's business–Celica Ironworks. With their joint salaries, they had managed to scrape up enough extra Lien to pay for a respectable painter to paint their business name in a beautiful golden font. Below the bright gold text was Yang's logo, a burning flame.

As Ruby pulled her sled to the back of the house and covered it with a rain tarp, she looked at her home with a hopeful smile. Although the once run-down blacksmith's house had only been their home for three years, it seemed as if they had spent an eternity there. For the two of them had shed more than just sweat and tears for their home, but actual blood. From the fateful day they moved in, it had been a long and vicious battle to keep it theirs.

Orphaned at a young age when their parents abandoned them in Forever Fall, she and Yang had spent much of their youth in the care of one of Vermilion's church-run orphanages. When Yang turned sixteen, they were asked to leave in order to make room for the next generation of children orphaned by the horrors of war, disease, and poverty.

Longing for a home they could call their own, Yang eventually stumbled upon a small house that had belonged to an elderly man who passed away. Expressing her interest for the property with the landlord, Amice Thrush, an agreement was reached that it would cost 300 Lien a month in order to rent the property. If they stayed long enough, eventually paying the full amount of the property, they would become the full owners of the property.

Immediately the two sisters took whatever jobs they could find. Yang, being the elder and the stronger of the two, found work as a farmhand on a plantation not too far from Vermilion. Ruby on the other hand, found work as a wood-gatherer. Wandering into Forever Fall with only a stolen knapsack and a small knife to defend herself in the events of her encountering a hostile animal, she would gather kindling and fallen branches to sell in the night market for a handful of Lien.

At the end of the day, the sisters would stumble back to their new home cold, exhausted, and hungry. If they were lucky enough, a small loaf of bread–or whatever Yang managed to steal from the farm she worked on– was all they had for dinner. Any firewood that didn't sell at the night market would then be used to keep them warm long enough for them to fall asleep. While they didn't earn much, it was Yang's optimism and continued cheerfulness that kept Ruby hopeful of their future.

However, when they failed to pay their first month's rent on time, the hope that Yang endeavored so greatly to preserve and strengthen was nearly shaken to its very core. Penalized with a late fee a quarter amount of their monthly rent and threatened with eviction if they failed to pay their rent on time more than twice, the sisters quickly realized that their current jobs would no longer suffice.

In her desperation, Yang was forced to seek employment at one of the places that many other young and unmarried women wound up at–the Black Den. A massive tavern that resided in the heart of Vermilion's entertainment district, the Black Den was a cesspool of debauchery and excess. Presenting itself as an ordinary establishment on the outside, it doubled as a brothel house where men flocked to gamble and to sate their sinful desires. The owner of the tavern, a man simply known as Junior, offered her a job where she would dance for the tavern's predominantly male customers.

With food to put on the table, their home in dire need of repair, late fees to worry about, a hefty rent to pay each month, and the terrifying fear of losing the home she spent years dreaming of giving to Ruby and herself during their unhappy years at the orphanage, Yang bitterly accepted Junior's offer.

Seared into the deepest parts of Ruby's mind was the memory of her older sister coming home sobbing hysterically after her first night as a dancer. Forced to expose her body and use it to please the hordes of dogs who slobbered at the very sight of her, Ruby hopelessly watched as her sister's faith slowly deteriorated as weeks turned to months.

Always the more reluctant one when it came to religion, Yang began to curse God and denounce him, claiming that no God could exist if two innocent girls such as themselves were forced to go through hell day in day out, misfortune after misfortune. To her, it was almost as if God mocked their struggles and sat idly as they suffered miserably. A devout believer herself, it absolutely devastated Ruby beyond words when her older sister, the strongest person she knew, was reduced to such thinking.

To further their agony, even with Yang earning more than she did as a farmhand, their joint incomes still mostly only covered food and each month's rent; little to no money could be spent towards repairing their deteriorating home. Rats ran freely and cold winds blew through their decrepit walls at night.

When Ruby returned from the night markets, she would often find her sister sitting by the fireplace–intoxicated and demoralized. Beautiful purple eyes that once brimmed with hope and jubilee had turned lifeless, only reflecting the dying fire that burned before her. Degraded by her work and discouraged by their financial struggle, Yang turned to the bottle in an attempt to cope with her pain. No longer did she smile, laugh, or engage in conversation as she used to–muted by the shame and humiliation endured at the hand of man.

It seemed that Yang had been taken far, far away, and only a shell of her former self remained.

By the time an entire year passed by, Ruby too felt her own faith begin to waver. The seed had been planted and with each passing day the harrowing thought spread and spread. Was this it? Would they ever make it out of the endless, pitiful cycle they had fallen into? Just as she began to slowly accept that perhaps their lives would never surmount to anything more, her prayers were finally answered.

During a routine search for firewood in Forever Fall, she had accidentally stumbled into the camp that seemed to belong to a huntsman after she spotted a pair of rabbits roasting over a small fire. Not seeing the occupant anywhere in sight, she attempted to remove the rabbits from the spit just in time for the huntsman to return, catching her literally red-handed.

But instead of lashing out and beating her as she expected him to do, the man simply sat down and invited her to share a rabbit together. Introducing himself as Qrow, Ruby fondly remembered the exact words he first spoke to her.

And what is an adorable girl, such as yourself, doing out here all by herself?

Ruby introduced herself and told him about her work as a wood gatherer to support herself and her sister back in Vermilion. She spoke of their occupations, their living situation, their hopes, their dreams. Their misfortunes.

Qrow didn't say much about himself, other than that he hailed from the south of the kingdom and was on pilgrimage to see the famed beauty of Forever Fall in person. After the conversation soured when Ruby asked him if he was married or had children, she quickly changed subject and vocalized her fascination with the small world he had carved out for himself within the forest. As a huntsman, he lived alone and off the land. Whatever money he earned from selling his kills to the nearby settlements, he spent on tools and other supplies such as flour and salt.

With nothing more than the clothes on his back and a small collection of tools and hunting weapons, it was clear that Qrow didn't lead a desirable or comfortable life, but Ruby clearly saw that he was happy nonetheless. Seeing a part of herself in him, someone less fortunate and a victim of tremendous loss, Ruby found herself overcome with admiration for his resolution to live and to find purpose despite such a difficult life.

After allowing her to take the second rabbit with her, the two prepared to part ways. But just as she was to disappear into the trees from whence she came, he suddenly called out to her and made an offer. If she were to meet with him in his camp every morning for an unspecified amount of time, he'd in turn promise to help teach her a particular set of skills to the best of his abilities.

He'd teach her how to become a huntress. To that, Ruby humbly and eagerly agreed.

With a bow, a quiver full of steel-tipped arrows, and a hunting knife, Qrow took Ruby under his wing and the two of them went out hunting every day for the next six months. In the span of those six months, he mentored and guided her in every facet of the hunt. From stamina, dexterity, agility, wilderness survival, trapping, orienteering, and how to use the bow and arrow, Ruby had transformed herself from a simple wood gatherer into a skilled huntress.

Under his supervision, she began to hunt on her own, starting from small game such as pheasants and squirrel to larger game, such as rabbits, wild boar, and eventually deer. As she began to leave home with renewed optimism and came back with larger amounts of Lien she earned after selling her kills at the night market, Yang began to show signs of life again. While it was slow, Ruby was patient. Wanting to encourage her sister to break out of shell she had enclosed herself in and to reach out to her, the huntress kept quiet until Yang ended her silence and asked Ruby what she had been doing instead of collecting firewood.

When Ruby told the truth, the flame within Yang that the both of them knew had long since been extinguished reignited. Realizing that her younger sister had adapted and refused to allow herself fall into an endless cycle of menial work, Yang strove to break free from the pit, the den, she had sunk into.

By the time the autumn months came, Qrow announced that his pilgrimage was coming to an end and that he would be returning to his home in the south. Not wanting him to leave just yet, the fledgling huntress asked him to at least stay for the duration of the Autumn Festival. An annual festival that celebrated the retreat of the Grimm back to the Northern Wastelands in the autumn months, it was celebrated in the northern half of the kingdom, but none more fervent and joyous than in Weischandel, the territory that bore the brunt of the Grimm invasions for countless generations and the same land in which the most human blood was spilt on.

Introduced to each other for the first time, Yang expressed her deepest gratitude to Qrow for mentoring Ruby and teaching her to channel her despair into new meaning and hope. Qrow in turn stated that he simply made Ruby stronger, that Ruby was already strong and much of that strength had come from Yang. As the three enjoyed a hearty meal paid by Qrow on one of the last days of the festival, they just so happened to have sat in front of a blacksmith's house owned by a man named Olaf Schade, a well-respected blacksmith in the community.

In good spirit and in celebration of the Autumn Festival, the blacksmith offered 500 Lien to any man who could best his apprentice in a competition to pound a rough slab of molten steel into the rough shape of a sword within five minutes.

When the first two challengers were soundly defeated and with 500 Lien still being offered, and with the rest of the crowd not particularly in the mood to be publicly embarrassed, Qrow suddenly stood up and pointed to Yang.

I nominate this young woman for the challenge.

After snickers from the crowd and Olaf attempting to laugh the gesture off and dismiss Qrow's words as a product of too much ale, the huntsman dug into his bag and produced 250 Lien in gold. Wagering that if Olaf's apprentice could beat Yang, the 250 Lien would be his. However, if Yang bested the apprentice, all 750 Lien would go to Yang.

Not wanting to back down from a challenge and understandably wanting to show off the skill of his apprentice even more, Olaf accepted. But before Yang was to venture forth, Qrow pulled her aside and whispered something into her ear. With a subtle nod, Yang walked up to the anvil and was handed a hammer. Two assistants, each one holding the molten slab of steel to be worked into a sword, motioned for the apprentice and Yang to prepare themselves. With a jolly cheer, Olaf turned the hourglass and the competition began.

Having such a skilled blacksmith as his master, the apprentice worked the slab efficiently as he did rigorously. Yang on the other hand struggled to find a rhythm and flinched at the sparks that were birthed with each of her strikes. Qrow and Ruby sat quietly as the crowd erupted into cheers for the apprentice and vocal disapproval for Yang.

By the halfway there mark, all seemed lost. The apprentice had shaped the slab into a thinner shape and was working on flattening the edges while Yang still had a considerably thick slab before her. When she paused to look up at Ruby, there was shame in her eyes as she began to regret for ever agreeing to such a competition. Then she locked eyes with Qrow once more where words unspoken were exchanged.

Like a strike of lightning and a roar of thunder, Yang gritted her teeth and flew into a fiery rage. Wielding the hammer as if it were a warhammer, she struck down upon the steel slab with ferocity yet unseen. In an unbelievable show of strength and endurance, she soon caught up with the apprentice within a matter of seconds. For every strike Yang delivered seemed to be thrice of the apprentice's. The cheers slowly dropped one by one and into silence as the apprentice struggled to stay ahead of Yang.

When the last grain fell through the hourglass, the competition was declared over and both competitors let go of their hammers while the assistants brought the swords to the back to be cooled in cold water. When they came back they routinely announced that they may or may not have switched swords with each other. By doing this, they discouraged bias and Olaf was to choose the sword he genuinely thought was the better.

To Ruby, the swords looked almost identical. Knowing nothing about blacksmithing or swords, she and many others in the crowd watched intently as the senior blacksmith went over each sword carefully. After a few tense moments, he announced with a smile and pointed to the sword he thought was the better of the two.

As master and apprentice confidently waited for the assistants to confirm that the better sword had been produced by the apprentice, the two men looked at each other before slowly pointing to Yang. Qrow took this moment to take Ruby's hand and bring her up to where Olaf and the others stood. Nonchalantly putting his Lien into the bag that contained Olaf's, he then promptly delivered it to Yang whose eyes were wider than everyone else's.

With a stunning victory earned by an individual everyone least expected to win, a woman, the crowd soon erupted into exuberant cheers, mass bewilderment, and bitter resentment. Unable to resist or argue in any way, Olaf reluctantly congratulated Yang as the winner to his competition and had her keep the sword she forged as a memento of her victory. As the two sisters turned to express their overflowing gratitude to Qrow, the huntsman had vanished–his final act of kindness forever treasured by two young sisters who had nearly been consumed by the void.

In the following days, her fledgling flame had blossomed into a fiery phoenix. Having confessed to Ruby that striking and bending steel to her will made her feel alive, Yang at long last discovered something she could see herself doing as a living.

She wanted to become a blacksmith.

Using her prize money to convert the room at the front of their house into an open-aired workshop and to build a furnace from scratch, Yang continued her work at the Black Den only until she had enough funds to purchase an anvil, two bags of assorted ores, and the set of hand tools–everything she'd need to begin her new business. Ruby's new profession greatly expedited her sister's countdown to freedom: the day Yang unshackled herself from depravity that was the Black Den and began her life anew.

That new life came to be Celica Ironworks.

Even with their new professions, the two sisters fought tremendously in order to get Yang's business off the ground. Between learning how to read –so that she could study books that covered the art of metalwork– from their good friend Blake Belladonna, a bookbinder who was literate, Yang continued to seek an apprenticeship from any blacksmith she could find. But because of her gender, she was repeatedly rejected and turned away from every master she approached and as a result, barred from the Blacksmith's guild.

With Ruby, there was none who would stop her from hunting in Forever Fall. Nothing nor no one to stop her from committing taboo by crossing over the fine line that so meticulously divided man from woman. Yang's new passion however, was a profession that had deep roots and was heavily ingrained in male-dominated society. Many battles awaited her as she would have to fight teeth and bone to procure such a prized and well-respected occupation, one held by proud men since the dawn of humankind.

When she approached Olaf, the man who was responsible for her newfound passion, he predictably responded just as the others had did. Not taking no for an answer, Yang stubbornly spent every waking moment she could spare by his workshop, watching and observing how the senior blacksmith forged ores into molten metals and then worked them into either a variety of household items or an arsenal of weapons. Even when he had asked nearby guards to whisk her away, she always came back.

Possibly at wit's end or beginning to sympathize with her, the blacksmith finally yielded and offered Yang to take her as a secret apprentice. Fearing of being ridiculed and mocked by his peers and the public if news came out that he took in a female apprentice, the two decided to work together in private.

Just how Qrow took such a hopeless young girl under his wing and helped transform her into something once thought impossible, Olaf did just that to Yang. Under the cover of many nights and in the privacy of the newly converted forge Yang had built for herself, Olaf saw to it that she was cast in the fire and forged into a competent, skilled blacksmith.

As someone unofficially recognized by the guild, Yang had to exercise patience and endurance as there were many days where she was mocked by passersby and where little to nothing sold. Alone and without the support from, she had to work twice as hard to prove to potential customers that her wares were on par with her competitors in the guild: that they were durable, professional.

With scarce sales being made and ore being more expensive than their usual purchases and frequently needing to be replenished, the new business nearly drove the sisters to bankruptcy more than just once. Narrowly avoiding paying their rent late multiple times, Ruby and Yang resorted to drastic measures of efficiency and frugality to ensure their very survival. Two meals were reduced to one and it consisted of whatever Ruby managed to forage from her time at Forever Fall. Nuts, berries, mushrooms, and chives were mixed in with whatever parts of her kills that didn't sell at the night market.

Aside from nearly starving themselves, they welcomed and frequently asked for financial help from their friends. Ruby would also beg in her free time and Yang scavenged from the discard piles of her blacksmith competitors–even going as far as stealing ore from the state-owned mines late at night. The punishment for trespassing and theft from the government was extremely severe, yet not severe enough to dissuade Yang from committing it more times than she would have wanted to.

With so many sacrifices and with so little gain, there were times when it seemed that Yang's gamble had failed and that their endeavors would never bear the fruit they had hoped for, but the sisters had come too far to give up. Not again. Together they marched onwards, never retreating, never surrendering.

Then finally, at long last, the first fruits of many were born. Reluctant customers who were surprised by the quality of Yang's products began to return, and they in turn spread Celica Ironworks' reputation by word of mouth. As more and more began to purchase from Yang and with sales on the rise, Yang was free to charge higher prices for her goods. Along with Ruby bringing home a small yet steady flow of Lien from selling animal meats and furs, the sisters began to see their savings grow. Grow to the point where such a sizable amount of surplus allowed Ruby and Yang to allocate that money to renovating their home that was beyond in need of repair.

Holes were filled and decaying boards were replaced that finally put an end to rats and cold drafts at night. Individual cotton-stuffed beds with their own sheets and feather-stuffed pillows allowed the sisters to have a comfortable place to sleep other than the deer skin rug they shared in their living room by the fireplace. A proper dining table with four wooden chairs allowed them to have a proper meal instead of dining on the floor. A cooking range made it safer and easier to cook their meals than the spit over their fireplace.

The home that Ruby and Yang spent years dreaming of was now a reality. Realizing that it was Qrow who had saved both of them and set them on their current paths, Ruby couldn't help but ask what it was that he had said to Yang before she went up to face off with Olaf's apprentice.

Yang wouldn't say.

The huntress blinked once, twice, before realizing that she unintentionally let her mind wander off into the past. Shivering even more, she made her way back to the front of the house. Another single lamp illuminated Yang's workshop, but she was nowhere in sight. She must be inside.

Ruby returned to the front door and fished for the small key in her back pocket. Squinting, she attempted to guide the key into the slot. As she twisted the key, she pushed forward, hitting her forehead against the wooden door. Stumbling back and rubbing her head, Ruby winced. When she pushed the door again, but it didn't budge. She tried twisted the key to the right, then to the left. She felt the lock being twisted, but the door still wasn't budging.

"Yaang?" Ruby called. She put an ear against the door and soon heard heavy footsteps approaching. Pulling out the key, she stepped backwards just before the sound of the door's second lock was heard. Strange. Yang only used both locks when they had both gone to sleep. Not thinking of it too much, Ruby threw her arms outwards and smiled as the door opened. "Yan-"

She caught herself mid-sentence as the person who stood in front of her was the man none other than their landlord, Amice Thrush. A well-known individual in Vermilion but for all the wrong reasons, he was a prolific drunk who often got into disputes with those around him. Greedy and unbelievably cruel, Thrush was a man despised by most if not all of those who rented out his properties.

Ruby recoiled and put a hand over her mouth as the man's vile breath reached her. "Out of my way, whore," he said with a slur as he pushed Ruby out of his way.

"Excuse you!" Ruby shot back. She pushed the drunk hard, and he fell to the floor, where he remained, mumbling unintelligibly to himself. Ruby spat at Thrush and stepped into through the door and slammed it shut, locking both locks. "Yang?" Ruby called out nervously. Why Thrush was at their home so late at night worried her.

She took off her shoes and ran past the mudroom and into the living room. There, in front of the fireplace on the deerskin rug, sat Ruby's older sister, Yang.

"Hey Ruby!" Yang said, quickly wrapping her yellow scarf around her neck. Ruby dropped her sack and threw her arms around Yang.

"Yang!" Ruby sand as she rested her chin on her sister's shoulder.

"Someone's home a bit early," Yang joked as she pinched Ruby's cheeks.

Ruby playfully hit Yang's hand away. "Well business slowed down and I got really cold!" She looked up at her sister and noticed that she was in her night wear, an orange short-sleeved shirt with short black pants. "Why was Thrush in here earlier?"

Yang blinked, her violet eyes scanning Ruby's silver ones. "Thrush came over to discuss the rent for this month." She sniffed. "He was asking if I was going to be late again."

The Huntress felt her blood boil. "He was drunk! Was that all he did?" Her eyes widened as she grabbed Yang's shoulders abruptly.

Showing off her trademark grin, Yang shook her head. "As if I'd let that creep do anything else!" she said as she patted her large biceps.

Ruby sighed relief. "Oh, by the way, where did the ottoman go?" Ruby pointed at the rug where they were sitting on. Ruby and Yang had two chairs that faced the fireplace. The ottoman was the cushion usually placed in front of the chairs so Yang and Ruby could put their feet onto.

"Oh," Yang said flatly. "Uh, I moved it to the storage room."

"Why?"

"You know how Thrush doesn't take off his shoes?"

"Yeah," Ruby said with a sneer.

"Well, I got tired of having to clean it up after he put his dirty feet on the Ottoman, so before I let him in, I moved it away."

Just as she was to answer, Ruby's stomach growled. "Oh no! I need to make supper!" She stood up and rushed into the kitchen with her leather sack.

Pulling herself into one of the chairs and extending her hands out to the fire before her, Yang sighed. "Ruby, do you mind if I take a short nap?"

"Sure! I'll take care of supper!" Ruby called back. "And don't come into the kitchen until I tell you to, I have a surprise for you!"

"You're the best, little sister."

"I know!"

Yang wrapped her arms around herself and closed her eyes. It had been a tough day and her body was terribly sore.

"Yang? Time for supper." Ruby could barely contain her smile as she watched Yang open her eyes and look up. Awake, Yang pulled her scarf up and stood up.

"How long was I out for?" she asked, rubbing her arms.

"Not that long," she said impatiently before grabbing Yang's arms and dragging her towards the kitchen. "Come on, I made us something special!" At the entrance to the kitchen, she wrapped a cloth around Yang's eyes, blindfolding her.

"Oh, this smells delicious! I think I smell some-" Yang began to say before Ruby pinched her nose shut and carefully guided her into a chair. Still keeping Yang's nose closed, Ruby put a fork put into Yang's left hand and a knife into her right hand. Next, she let go of Yang's nose and pulled off the blindfold simultaneously.

"Ta-dah!" Ruby exclaimed proudly as she ran to the other side of the table to extend her arms towards the table, showcasing her achievement. Yang's jaw dropped at the sight. Straight in front of them served on the biggest plate they had, was an entrée of steaming venison coated with mushroom gravy, surrounded by sliced garden potatoes and veiled with a thin layer of diced chives. To its right was an assorted vegetable meat stew and to its left was a fresh baked loaf of potato bread, Yang's favorite. A cup of water sat next to Ruby's plate and a mug with ale next to Yang's.

"Ruby," Yang said after a swallow, "w-we can't afford to eat like this." Ruby then reached into her back pocket and revealed her fat Lien pouch.

Bouncing it up and down in her hands, she couldn't help but giggle. "2,094 Lien." She untied the pouch and poured all the coins onto the table causing Yang to flinch. "I broke my record for heaviest deer kill: 405 pounds!" She then proceeded to put her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Yang! We can finally buy that furnace you've always wanted!"

Yang opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. She looked at Ruby, and then back at the Lien, and then back at Ruby. "Ruby, t-this is wonderful!" she finally said. She quickly let go of her utensils and joined Ruby on the other side of the table. Leaping into her sister's arms, Ruby hugged Yang tightly as the two shared a tight embrace.

There they remained until Yang's stomach growled–loudly.

Reluctantly, Yang set Ruby down, hands still on her shoulders. "Ruby." She motioned towards the table. "You really didn't have to do this much."

Ruby put her hands on Yang's and smiled sheepishly. "I know it's a bit too much but-" she squeezed Yang's hands, "-but you work so hard, and I just wanted to show you my appreciation!"

With a grin, Yang planted a big kiss on Ruby's cheek. "Thanks for being the best little sister in the world. Now let's dig in!" Guiding Ruby to her seat before taking her own seat across the table, the two of them raised their mugs to each other and cheered.

"Banzai!"

Yang burped loudly as she washed the dishes. Although she and Ruby ate voraciously, an overwhelmingly large portion of the food remained. Salted and put into jars, the leftovers were then put in the cellar's icebox to save for the coming days. Ruby sat by the fireplace in the living room, roasting chestnuts she had found in the forests earlier. When Yang finally finished cleaning, she headed over to the living room and slumped into her chair with a groan.

"That tenderloin is working miracles in my stomach right now."

Ruby flipped the nuts with the fire tong. "Do you have enough room for dessert?"

Yang sat up and rubbed her hands together. "I always have room!" she managed to say before a loud hiccup.

Ruby giggled. "Are you drunk?"

"Pfft. No."

"Oh yeah? How many servings of ale did you help yourself to?"

"That, my dear sister, is a question I cannot answer," Yang said as she stuck her tongue out at Ruby.

Ruby rolled her eyes and smiled. Although she hated alcohol, she was fine with Yang drinking moderately, as it paled in comparison to the behaviors of Thrush.

The quiet crack of a chestnut motioned to the huntress that it was ready. Taking it with the tong, Ruby dropped it into a cup of water, cooling it off. A few seconds later, she pulled it out and knocked it against the ground, cracking it open. The shell came apart easily, and when completely de-shelled, she popped the warm chestnut into her mouth. After a few thoughtful chews, she threw Yang a thumb's up. Yang slid out of her chair and crawled towards Ruby before opening her mouth and lazily pointing to it.

"Feed me," she said pitifully.

Ruby peeled another chestnut and carefully tossed it into her sister's waiting mouth.

"Hot hot hot!"

This was their usual night. By the warmth of the fire, she and Yang enjoyed snacks while they exchanged stories about their day: Ruby's bombastic retelling of how she tracked and brought down the seasoned buck, her forgetting her papers, Yang's proud announcement of working on a new set of short swords to sell to the Vermilion Garrison, her unpleasant financial meeting with Thrush.

Eventually, the chestnuts ran out, and sometime through Yang's story of Weischandel's heroic actions in the Great War, Ruby gently drifted to sleep.

With the fire dying and the blush from the ale leaving her face, Yang dusted herself off and brought Ruby to her room upstairs. A heavy sleeper, Ruby slept peacefully as Yang undressed her and slipped on her nightgown for her. Quietly setting Ruby's cloaked hooded cloak and the rest of her hunting attire by the window to air out, she then gently tucked Ruby into bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Often times, the moonlight would shine directly into Ruby's room. Tonight, it shone brightly on the huntress's face, as if something above kept a vigilant eye on her.

Feeling tears gather at her eyes, she knelt beside Ruby, brushed her bangs upwards and kissed her on the forehead.

"Thank you for tonight Ruby. I love you."

Yang then walked to the door, looked one last time at her sister and then closed the door before returning back downstairs. Once by herself in the living room, she lowered herself into her chair and reached beneath the cushion and retrieved a wad of folded papers. She looked over her shoulder, towards the staircase, saw that no one was there, and then returned her attention back to the papers.

Monthly Earning/Spending Records

+4,580: Armor/Weapon Sales

+1,315: Ruby's Earnings

Total: 5895 Lien

-3,000: Rent

-1,200: Ores

-600: Tool Replacement

-589: Taxes

-463: Defiled Iron

-400: Food

Total -357 Lien

Paying everything on the list except for rent which was due tomorrow, she had fallen short again. 357 Lien in the negative she had done what was necessary to avoid being penalized with another late fee. Feeling the pain in her neck resurface, she dropped the paper to the ground, causing another piece of parchment to fall out. Scribbled onto it was a short message.

My delicious Yang, it appears to me that you do not have enough money for this month either. You know what needs to be done if you want to be spared the late fee. I want to do it by the fire tonight. Do not disappoint me.

Yang curled into a ball and began to cry. Ruby's much-needed Lien came too late, for she had taken things into her own hands once again to keep her family from going into deeper debt. Crying into her scarf so Ruby wouldn't hear her, she touched the fresh bite marks on her neck where they served as horrible, horrible reminders of what true cruelty in the world really was.