Cold rain showered down from the dark gray skies, the clear drops rolling off the congregation of black umbrellas atop the hill overlooking a cliff nestled in a clearing in the woods. Among the forlorn crowd of teachers, faculty, Huntsmen and Huntresses two small girls in black dresses stood out. The older sister with long blonde hair tied back with a black ribbon stared lifelessly forward, one hand wrapped around her younger sister's, holding her close and the other hand holding an umbrella up, protecting both of them from the rain… even so, nothing could stop the drops that rolled down Ruby's cheeks, her voice too strained from crying to even make a sound.
They were the only family Taiyang Xiao Long had at his final goodbye, his two daughters were the only people he had in the world and now… they were watching them solemnly lower his casket into the ground beside the marker of his late wife and Ruby's mother, Summer Rose. It was his only wish when he passed to be buried beside her, overlooking the land from the same hill where the sunlight first touches the earth at dawn on the island of Patch.
In the air above a single raven flew overhead, circling the funeral twice before perching on a low branch of a tree closest to the burial, sheltered from the rain it seemed to watch the sad scene before it. The raven's red eyes looked from the casket down to the two small girls, it's gaze lingering on them for another long moment… before it flew away.
In Yang's hand she could feel Ruby's small hand trembling as she held her big sister tight and it was all Yang could to hold herself together, blocking everything out as she held her little sister and protected her from the pelting rain. Yang hadn't spoken or eaten or slept much at all after the night Ozpin told them what happened, she was pale and visibly thinner and something was missing from her, like she was just a doll, pale and unexpressive… like her soul had been snuffed out. The only one who got any reaction from her was her little sister. Yang only ate to help Ruby eat, she only spoke to comfort Ruby and she only slept when Ruby was already fast asleep as she held her for every night since they got the devastating news. Yang had not once left her sister's side, as much for her own comfort as for her little sister's.
The sound his casket made as it fell into the dirt below was almost surreal to little Ruby like it came from an entirely different world… this whole thing felt surreal. It couldn't be possible, it couldn't happen, their dad was strong, their dad was always there to protect them and comfort them, their dad… he promised he would come back. She cried a lot, it was hard to remember a time she wasn't crying after Ozpin left them alone that night. Her eyes were sore and her throat was tight and numb. All she could do as she watched men she didn't even know throw dirt over her father's body resting in that big wooden box was cry and hold as tight as she could to her big sister, her anchor, the only light she had in the darkness, the only thing in the world that still made sense; her big sister was there for her.
Ruby's lip quivered and a strained whimper stung her dry, tight throat. She could barely see, but she wanted to, the last moments before her dad was buried forever. She wanted to scream, to beg them to stop, she wanted nothing more than to hold her dad's hand one more time, just one more time. Even if her voice wasn't made mute from the strain of crying so hard for so long, the young girl knew there was nothing she could do, nothing anyone could do to bring her dad back to her, just like there was nothing anyone could do for her mom.
Her bleary eyes stung but still the tears wouldn't stop, she could feel her heart pounding in her constricted chest as her head went fuzzy and dark and her blurred vision tunneled until all she saw before her was the distorted hole her dad's body was being laid to rest in. Frantic, labored breaths seared her throat and in the next instant she fell to the muddy grass, every muscle in her body giving up on her… all except for her hand that still held tight but trembling to Yang's, the only warmth in cold and bleak.
"Ruby… I'm here." Yang spoke in little more than a dead whisper as she knelt down, mud staining her black dress as she knelt down beside her little sister. Still she held the umbrella up, shielding Ruby from the rain, letting it instead fall solely on her as she squeezed Ruby's hand, keeping it above the soaked ground. There was nothing more she could say, nothing more she could do except press herself close to Ruby, sharing her warm and letting Ruby know that she was there and would never leave her.
The congregation looked down at the two young girls with sorrow and empathy, but none more so than Professor Ozpin who stood beside them, one hand holding up his umbrella and the other gripping tight to the hilt of his cane, pouring all his anger into his tight grip. Beside him Glynda stared at Ruby and Yang, her emerald green eyes glistened with tears she quickly bit back.
No one said a word… what could they say to the young girls who had lost their father, their entire family? They were alone now, with nothing but each other, their only living family were not present for the passing of the children's father, Qrow who was still on his mission, and Yang's mother who had lost contact with everyone shortly after Yang was born. In this time of loneliness and suffering, the only solace they had was each other. With nothing else to offer the children, Ozpin closed his eyes and moved his umbrella, letting the rain wash over him as he shielded Yang who was still on the cold ground, doing everything she could to comfort her little sister. After a moment, he felt the drops cease and upon opening his eyes he found Glynda shoulder to shoulder with him, her umbrella covering them both.
The last of the dirt was placed, burying Taiyang completely and with finality, bringing a close to a man's life, a great man who had done so much and meant so much more to the two little girl who felt no sense of closure in a world that now, more than ever, was so uncertain. Ruby cried, desperately choking out muffled, agonized sobs as she stared at the dirt before her with a marker very similar to her mother's placed beside Summer Rose's final resting place. His stone reading;
"Taiyang Xiao Long; The Sun Solemnly Sets."