Ruby crept through the trees, taking care not to tread on any crackly leaves or dry twigs that would announce her presence prematurely. One step. Then another. She shifted her swords so that they wouldn't catch on the shrub she was passing and lifted the bottom of her cloak just enough to avoid a patch of brambles. With the ease of long practice and ingrained habit, she stepped from one patch of mossy soil to the next, from one rock or tree root to another, taking each step slowly so that her boots didn't make so much as a rasp.

Her wolf ears twitched as she tracked her quarry. She was close. She could hear her quarry's feet dancing across the forest floor, pausing every few seconds only to begin moving again. Ruby tried to time her own movement with that of her quarry in order to mask any inadvertent sounds she might be making, although she was fairly certain she was virtually silent. Still, a little extra caution never hurt anyone.

Almost there.

She dropped to her belly and crept through the undergrowth to get past the last stretch of trees.

Closer.

And closer.

Then…

"Ruby!"

The hooded girl flinched and dropped flat to the ground, her tail curled tight against her body and her ears folded back.

There was a silence. Maybe her quarry had just been guessing?

Alas, it was not meant to be, for the same irritated voice called out again. "Ruby, I know you're there! If you don't show yourself this instant, I'll—"

Ruby didn't wait for the white-haired noble to finish her threat. She scrambled to her feet, heedless of the leaves and twigs stuck to her clothes and cloak, and hurriedly stumbled out from behind the last row of trees.

Ruby didn't want Weiss to be mad at her; she just wanted to watch her train a bit and maybe let her know supper was almost ready. The noble's Glyphs were just so amazing and pretty to look at, and Ruby had never seen someone use a rapier before. She knew what a rapier was, of course. Uncle Qrow once brought her and Yang to the Riders' armory to give them a lesson on weapons and armor. Their uncle's voice had been so serious when he spoke to them.

"In a perfect world, humans and Faunus would band together to fight off the Grimm and protect each other. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and there are people out there who would have no qualms about turning their weapons against each other. Bandits, criminals, thieves—even rogue Huntsmen and mercenaries. That's why you two need to know the different kinds of weapons and armor you might come across and how to counter them should the need arise. It sucks that we have to be wary of our fellow people, but that's the sort of world we live in."

Rapiers were a civilian's weapon, which was why Ruby hadn't seen one before. They weren't really robust enough to be useful in the wilds of Remnant. They could cut, but they were more effective as thrusting weapons, something that Ruby had gotten to see firsthand the other day. That lunge had been amazing to watch, perfectly balanced with no wasted movement!

Ruby wanted to see what else Weiss could do, but the white-haired noble didn't like to be watched while training, it seemed, and after the first time she realized Ruby was trying to peek in on her practices, she always stopped as soon as Ruby was nearby. The question was, how did she always know when Ruby was around? The hooded girl was sure that she hadn't made any sound, and it was doubtful Weiss would have noticed her crawling through the undergrowth. Maybe Weiss could sense Auras at a distance? It wasn't a common skill, but Uncle Qrow had mentioned once that some Aura-users could.

As Ruby stood there, fidgeting a bit beneath Weiss's displeased gaze and nervously picking off the worst of the debris stuck to her clothing, she shot little glances over at the noble.

Weiss stood in the center of the small open area she had chosen, her rapier drawn, her offhand propped up against her hip, and her foot tapping the ground impatiently. The moment those icy blue eyes turned their glare upon Ruby, the smaller girl couldn't help but shrink, her shoulders curling inwards and her head lowering to the point where her ears were almost even with her shoulders.

And apparently it was the absolute wrong thing to do because the next moment, "Don't slouch! Honestly, your deportment is utterly appalling."

Ruby hurriedly straightened, bouncing up so quickly that she almost threw herself off balance. She had to quickly lean the other way so that she didn't fall over. Ruby winced inwardly as the noble rolled her eyes at her. The hooded girl looked down at her feet. Why did she always have to be so awkward around other people? And what had she done wrong?

She thought they had been getting along, but then all of the sudden Weiss had grown snappish and prickly, like a snapping turtle crossed with a porcupine, and Ruby didn't know why. It seemed like no matter what she did, Weiss was annoyed or mad at her. It was getting to the point where a large part of Ruby just wanted to give up, to retreat and let Yang handle any future social interactions like she usually did, but every time the thought crossed her mind, she remembered how much pain the white-haired girl had been in as she cried into Ruby's shoulder that night at the cave, and Ruby found herself wanting to give it one more shot. Maybe this time she'd figure out how not to annoy the older girl and make her smile.

That's all this boiled down to in the end, Ruby realized as she sent another glance at the other girl from beneath her hood. She wanted Weiss to be happy in the same way she always wanted Yang and Uncle Qrow to be happy. She wanted to see her smile and not look so strained all the time. She'd done it once before, so maybe if she kept trying, she'd manage to do it again. Everyone deserved to be happy if they could.

Everyone.

Unless that happiness could only be brought about through hurting or harming others, but Weiss didn't seem like that kind of person, even if she was a little prickly. Or a lot prickly. But Ruby was sure that beneath all the prickles, there was a nicer person deep down inside!

Weiss crossed her arms. "Well? What do you want?"

Ruby fought the urge to cringe at the noble's harsh tone and signed weakly, It's time to eat. By now, the two of them had spent enough time together for Weiss to have picked up some of Ruby's simpler signs so Ruby knew she'd understand even without Yang translating. The knowledge did little to ease the churning in her stomach or the uncomfortable tightening in her chest though. Weiss's obvious displeasure was starting to get to Ruby. She had never responded well to negative emotions even as a child, and that trait had only worsened as she got older. She couldn't help but start to fidget and shift in place, trying to ease some of the nervous tension inside her before it overwhelmed her.

Weiss heaved a sigh. "I'm not hungry." She turned away and raised her rapier to what Ruby now recognized as the fencer's basic stance. Curiosity got the better of her and Ruby stared, waiting to see what Weiss would do, only for Weiss to turn back and narrow her eyes at her. "That was the signal for you to leave."

Oh. Ruby wilted.

Not only was Weiss adamant not to let Ruby watch her training sessions, but she also wasn't going to eat with them. Again. These days, the noble dropped her things off at camp, set up her sleeping area for the night, and then wandered off to some secluded area to train with her rapier and Semblance, often for several hours at a time. Then, she'd stumble back, swallow down whatever food Ruby and Yang left for her, crawl into her bedroll, and fall dead asleep as soon as her head hit her small pillow. It was worrying. Weiss was breaking Rule Three: Take care of your body, and it was starting to show.

The white-haired noble was exhausted all the time now, and it didn't seem like she was sleeping well either. She was pushing herself too hard, and Ruby didn't know what to do about it. Yang told her just to leave Weiss be, that sometimes people had to crash and burn before their learned their lesson, but...she felt like leaving Weiss be would be the worst thing to do. Plus, Ruby was trying to be what Yang and Uncle Qrow had always been for her, and that meant stopping Weiss before she pushed herself too far and hurt herself. Ruby just had to figure out how.

She cast another look at Weiss, taking in the fencer's sagging posture, her limp grip on her weapon, the darkening circles beneath her eyes, and the subtle trembling of her legs.

Hesitantly and not entirely sure the noble would understand but wanting to try anyway, Ruby signed, You should rest.

Ruby flinched when Weiss suddenly snapped, "I don't understand what you're trying to say, and I don't care! What part of 'leave' do you not understand? Do you need me to spell it out for you? I don't want you here. You're being a nuisance. An eyesore! So just go away."

The anger in Weiss's voice sent Ruby's already peaking anxiety through the roof. Her breathing hitched as a heavy weight started pressing down on her chest. She couldn't breathe. Her body suddenly felt cold and foreign.

She was drowning. Choking. She had to go. She had to leave before Weiss saw just how shamefully broken Ruby was. She turned and ran, activating her Semblance so that she could get as far away as possible before she finally broke down.

At some point in her mad dash, her feet grew sluggish and stopped listening to her. She tripped over something—she didn't know what—and she went down in a painful tumble of frozen arms and legs. As soon as she hit the ground, she started gasping. Her heart pounded so hard that she felt like it would explode. Her panic intensified uncontrollably as she lay there, struggling to breathe.

She was in the middle of nowhere. Alone. Without Yang. She couldn't defend herself. She couldn't even move.

She wasn't safe.

That thought alone caused her to spiral down even further. The forest vanished around her. Fragments of nightmarish memories invaded her mind. The stench of blood burned her nostrils. The phantom pain of long healed wounds crawled across her skin, sending all her nerve endings aflame. She even felt the phantom trickle of hot blood leaking from invisible wounds. She knew she wasn't actually hurt right now—that it was just her traitorous mind playing tricks on her again—but it all felt so real, like she was back there again. Downwards she sank, deeper and deeper into her personal waking nightmare.

A soft whimper escaped her throat as she ran blindly through the forest. Branches reached out as though with skeletal hands, clawing at her clothes and scratching what little remained of her of her uninjured skin.

She had to run. She had to hide. Or else they would hurt her again. But in her panic, she failed to watch where she was going. Abruptly, she tripped over something and fell. Against her will, she cried out. Oh no. She'd been too loud. She scrambled to her feet, but it was too late.

"Found you." A rough hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt and dragged her back. She fought to get away, but a slap to her head sent her reeling. Tears blinded her, but she still saw that flash of dull silver that was slowly being stained black in the fading evening light. A keening whine escaped her lips.

"Shut up!" She was cuffed harshly. "What an annoying sound."

"Well, she is an animal. Makes sense that she'd sound like one, too." All of them laughed at that, their voices raucous and jarring against her ears.

The laughter died down. "Whose turn is it now?"

Another voice. "I'll do it."

The bloodstained knife exchanged hands. The scent of her own blood in the air made her choke and gag, but she had nothing left to expel.

Her breathing grew erratic, and her body tensed with sick fear. Another rough hand grabbed her chin and forced her to look up. They wanted to see her fear, her terror, her pain. She jerked with a cry as the knife bit into her skin yet again. Not deeply. No, never deeply. They wanted their game to last, after all. Their twisted game of catch-and-release.

The hand on the back of her shirt let go, and she fell to the ground. She fled from the sickening sound of their laughter, running as fast as her short legs could carry her.

Quieter. She had to be quieter. She couldn't cry no matter how much she hurt—no matter how much they hurt her. They were humans so as long as she stayed quiet, they wouldn't find her. Except she couldn't hold back her sniffles so they kept finding her. They kept hurting her. Quiet wasn't good enough. She had to be silent. Utterly silent. As long as she stayed silent, she might be safe.

Ruby didn't know how long she lay there, trapped in the past, but eventually she gave one last shuddering gasp and her body went limp. Her face was a hot and sticky mess. Tears still leaked from her eyes as she curled up into a ball. The movement stretched her skin, sending another wave of phantom pain across her body. She could still feel every cut they had made against her skin, every blow and bruise, every time they had grabbed her. It felt disgusting. She rubbed frantically at her neck and arms, desperately trying to get rid of the phantom hands still clinging to her. An involuntary sniffle escaped her, and she flinched at the sudden sound.

Shame washed over her, sending a fresh cascade of scalding tears down her face. She was so pathetic. She'd been scared by her own sniffle of all things. Those men were long gone. Yang and Uncle Qrow promised that they'd never come near her again—that they'd never ever hurt her again—but still those men had such a hold on her.

Ruby took a few quivery breaths, swiped at her wet eyes, pushed herself to her knees, and then stumbled to her feet, swaying unsteadily. She had to get to the river to get cleaned up. She didn't want Yang to see her like this. She didn't want Yang to worry. Yang might still guess that something had happened because it shouldn't take Ruby so long just to fetch Weiss and come back, but that couldn't be helped.

She could only hope that Yang wouldn't ask too many questions when she got back. Yang would instantly blame Weiss, and it wasn't really Weiss's fault. It was Ruby's fault. She was the one who was so weak, so pathetic, that she let a simple figment of her imagination overwhelm her like that.

She released one shaky breath and wrapped her cloak more closely around herself as though the little piece cloth could protect her. She closed her eyes and attempted to focus on her surroundings, trying to ground herself.

Her sinuses were still clogged so she couldn't smell anything, but the slight breeze felt good against her face. She shifted slightly and felt the roughness of her clothes, the thickness of her gloves, and the sturdiness of her boots. She flicked her tail and felt the back of her cloak billow out and settle again. Her wolf ears twitched, rubbing against the inside of her hood. Her skin still prickled from residual phantom pain, but she could tell it was fading little by little. She took a deep breath through her mouth and released it slowly, doing her best to imagine all the bad things inside of her flowing out with every stream of air. She did it a few times more before she opened her eyes again.

Her grounding exercise could have taken five minutes or five hours for all she knew but at the very least, the moment of stillness helped her remember that she was fine. Well, maybe not fine-fine, but no matter how bad she felt now, she knew she would be fine. Maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow, but there was always the next day and the day after that. She had to believe that. She wanted to believe that.

Her hand crept up to the whistle Yang had gifted her all those years ago, and she gripped it tightly. One sniffle or needy hug from her, and Ruby knew that Yang would drop everything to wrap her up in a warm embrace and whisper words of love and comfort into her ear. She couldn't take advantage of that warmth this time around—not if she wanted to make sure that Yang didn't corner Weiss to find out why Ruby was so distressed—but knowing the option was there made all the difference. Ruby wasn't alone, and she'd never be alone. That was their promise.

She would be fine.

Ruby was starting to skip meals again.

Yang watched as Ruby, for the third time in as many days, shook her head with hunched shoulders after barely eating more than a bite of supper. The girl hadn't eaten much for breakfast either. Yang ignored the sick, churning feeling in her stomach and did her best to smile softly at her baby sister. Showing how worried she was would only put more pressure on Ruby and subsequently worsen the problem. She knew that from experience.

Yang vividly remembered the one time she'd lost her patience with Ruby and how, overcome with worry, she'd berated her baby sister for not eating. Even in the midst of her agitation, Yang remembered watching Ruby almost cave in on herself as tears of shame poured down the smaller girl's face. The girl had activated her Semblance and run from the cabin. It had been so dark that night, and it was only thanks to the trail of rose petals Ruby left behind that Yang was able to go after her at all. Yang still remembered being out of her mind with fear and worry as she grabbed a lantern and ran out after her. After searching for what felt like hours, Yang finally found her baby sister at the foot of a tree, crying so hard that she was gagging. (Yang was certain she would have been outright vomiting if there had been anything actually in her stomach). That was the night Yang swore that she was never ever going to push Ruby that hard again, for both their sakes. It had been torture, cradling her baby sister, tears streaming down both their faces, as Ruby tried to get her body back under control.

If only Yang knew what was going on inside Ruby's head! Then maybe they'd be able to fix the problem. But either Ruby didn't know or she didn't want to talk about it, because Yang had yet to get a satisfying answer from her. Or maybe she couldn't talk about it. They'd done their best to work around Ruby's silence, working out different hand gestures to communicate as much as possible, but every now and then the girl struggled to express more complicated thoughts. All Yang could do now was monitor her sister closely, try to cajole her into eating when she could, and know when to back off when she couldn't. It wasn't nearly enough, but Yang didn't know what else to do or if there was even anything she could do. Bribes worked to an extent when trying to get the smaller girl to eat, but they weren't a solution. Oh how Yang wished she had a solution.

Uncle Qrow told her that Ruby's eating problems were probably a reaction to extreme stress or anxiety and that they ought to be temporary. Remove the stress, give Ruby time to calm down, and she'd be fine. Thus far, that did seem to be the case. The longest Ruby had ever gone without eating more than a few forced mouthfuls a day had been eleven distressing days. Yang didn't know what had caused her to stop eating that time around (though Yang suspected Ruby's nightmares had taken a turn for the worst as they sometimes did), but Ruby eventually start eating again even without Yang having to stage some sort of intervention. More often, even if Ruby skipped one meal, Yang was usually able to get her to snack on something later to try to make up for it. That was Yang's main goal when her baby sister got like this: Make sure Ruby ate something, because anything was better than nothing at all. This time, however, Ruby was struggling to get anything down at all.

It made Yang worried sick.

Yang had been cautiously optimistic that Weiss might have a positive influence on Ruby. Ever since she'd left the two alone to head to the cave together, they had formed some sort of strange synergy that, though odd, seemed to be good for both of them. Ruby was clearly making an effort to interact with the young noble, and Weiss was...not patient or even kind, exactly—plus, she had one of those faces that always seemed to be displeased or annoyed—but there was no doubt she softened when Ruby was around. It was extremely subtle though, so subtle that if Yang hadn't been watching closely, she might have missed it altogether.

However, this past week Weiss had grown cold and hard, leaving Ruby confused and Yang irritated. Yang didn't care if Weiss was short with her, but she'd be damned if she let the stuck-up noble pick on her little sister. There was no doubt in her mind that part of Ruby's anxiety and stress, maybe even most of it, was due to Weiss's sudden change in demeanor. The noble hadn't been the friendliest person around to begin with, and now she was downright abrasive, even caustic at times. Yang had been doing her best to stay out of it—Ruby needed to learn how to better interact with people, good ones and bad, and Yang could tell she was trying so hard with Weiss—but Yang was reaching the end of her patience. She could only watch her little sister get rebuffed so many times before she felt like stringing the noble up by her ankles and leaving her to hang.

A sudden clatter followed by a loud splash suddenly broke into Yang's thoughts. Both sounds were instantly punctuated by a shrill, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Yang turned away from where she was setting up her bedroll to see an irate Weiss standing over a shrinking Ruby. Instantly, Yang saw red. She strode over with clenched fists, doing her best to remind herself that no, she wasn't allowed to punch first and ask questions later. It wasn't a good business practice for one—punching one's employer was a surefire way to get sacked (something she knew from personal experience)—and for another, Ruby would probably be very unhappy with her.

Yang grabbed Weiss by the shoulder, yanked her away from Ruby, and placed herself between them. "Hey, what's your problem with my little sister?!"

"My problem? Your little sister just dropped a basin of water on me!"

Lilac eyes glanced down and noticed the fallen basin, the wet earth, and Weiss's soaked shoes and socks. "So? It's not like she did it on purpose. It was an accident."

Weiss's frosty glare narrowed. "Of course you would say that. You'd probably let her get away with murder, considering how much you baby her."

Yang felt her own eyes narrow. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

Yang snorted derisively. "Yeah, I heard you acting like a total ass."

Weiss's expression turned to outrage. "Excuse me?! How dare you!"

"I'm only telling the truth, Princess," Yang retorted, ignoring Ruby who was tugging on her arm in an attempt to pull her away or get her to stop. Nope, not happening. Not this time. No one was allowed to terrorize her baby sister.

"Well if I'm being less than civil, perhaps I have reason to be. In case you haven't noticed, your little sister has been following me around relentlessly. I can't even have a moment of privacy without her showing up out of nowhere and interrupting."

"Privacy? You mean those silly little training sessions of yours? Hate to break it to you, but she's only showing up because you're being stupid about them. Someone has to go and fetch you when you finally keel over from overwork."

Weiss bristled. "I'm doing just fine."

"Oh, really. That must be why you look more and more like hell every day. Shaky limbs, red eyes, and dark circles beneath them must be a new fashion trend in Atlas. Very attractive, by the way."

Anything Weiss might have said in return was lost as Ruby blew on her whistle, causing the other two to flinch, and then shoved herself between them.

Weiss reached out and yanked the whistle from Ruby's lips. "Stop doing that!"

Yang's blood boiled. "Don't you dare yell at her!"

"Don't you dare yell at me! Don't forget, I'm your employer. If you want to get paid, I suggest you rethink how you should address me."

Argh! This was why Yang hated nobles. All of them believed that just because they had money, they were better than everyone else and they made sure everyone knew it, too. Accept a job for money and suddenly you had to worship the ground they walked on even if they were arrogant, pompous asshats.

Then a thought came to Yang, and a grin spread across her face.

"You're right," Yang said with false serenity, "you're our employer."

"Of course I am." Yang's grin widened as Weiss suddenly looked a lot less confident in the face of Yang's sudden amicability.

"And it slipped my mind that one of the...requests from your verbal contract was that we ensure that you're able to fend for yourself in the possible event that we are unable to see you all the way to Vytal."

A look of unease, maybe even insecurity, flashed across Weiss's face before it was hidden beneath her usual stern expression. Bingo.

Yang continued, "Now, I'm not saying we're leaving you alone just yet. It's early and it only makes sense that we'd run into a few...disagreements along the way as we get used to each other.

"Your quarrel with Ruby? She's only 'following you around' because she's worried about you, but if you prove capable of managing on your own, I'm sure she'd stop. You have to admit, you haven't given her very many chances to show that you're fine on your own. After all, she's the one doing all the important survival things—running ahead to set up camp, starting the campfire, cooking supper, fetching water so that you don't have to trek the extra two-hundred or more feet just to wash up a bit after the long day of walking, and so on—and since she's been doing everything, she has no clue what you're capable of. This is a great chance to change that, and even better, it's a great chance for you to learn anything you don't know yet about roughing it.

"So from now on," Yang said with an evil grin, "you're on campfire duty. We'll even make it fair. If you can't build the campfire, we'll all make the sacrifice and no one will be getting any hot meals."

The look Weiss gave Yang could have curdled milk. "Fine," she shot back before stalking away.

Yang leaned back on her heels, rather pleased with herself. Even if the stuck-up little noble managed to start a campfire (which she highly doubted), there were other things Yang could make her do. Digging the latrine pit, fetching water or firewood, cooking—the possibilities were endless. Either way, it was high time the noble started pulling her own weight and started helping with chores.

On a normal trip, the two sisters would share all the chores, but ever since Weiss had joined them, Ruby had been going out of her way to make things as easy as possible for the noble. In other words, she had been taking on more than her fair share of the chores so that Weiss could just sit and rest until suppertime. The only reason Yang hadn't stopped her sooner was because it was the first time she'd ever seen Ruby taking a real interest in someone outside of the Riders and their small family of three. And she had been doing so well! The last thing Yang wanted to do was scare Ruby back into her usual avoidance of people, but if Weiss was going to continue acting like this, she wasn't the sort of person Ruby should be spending time with anyway.

Enough was enough. Weiss either had to shape up or Yang was going to leave her at the next town they came across.

Weiss growled inwardly as she glowered at the golden-maned mountain of a woman strolling along in front of her as though there wasn't a giant burden hanging from her broad shoulders. The woman was absolutely maddening! What was she—part ox? Bear?

And this whole campfire duty nonsense? It was ridiculous! The woman was a human torch, for Dust's sake! Weiss had seen her start a fire by simply sticking her hand in a pile of firewood and calling upon her Semblance. Leaving Weiss to start the fire every night was beyond foolishness. A complete waste of her time. She could be using all this time to train and get stronger, but no, she was stuck trying to start a measly little campfire.

Three days. She'd been on campfire duty for three days, and she hadn't managed to start a single fire. Oh, she could make sparks now. It took her nearly an hour to figure out how strike the flint and steel together just right to create that frustratingly ephemeral little sliver of glowing light, but she had done it. Figuring out how to get the spark to go where she wanted it to go was a whole different story though. And even if she was lucky enough for the spark to fall into her little nest of tinder, it always went out before she could attempt to make it grow. It was infuriating! Especially knowing that Ruby, her firebuilding teacher, a child, could do it so easily. The girl was probably laughing at her from beneath that hood. And why not? The great Weiss Schnee couldn't even start a paltry campfire. She was useless. Deadweight. Helpless without someone to rely on.

The thought sent a coil of anger through her veins. Well, she'd show both of them. They wouldn't be laughing if they saw what she could do with a handful of Dust.

And why did she have to do this anyway? Wasn't Yang the one who said all those things about how not everyone had the same skills and that there was no shame in asking for help or relying on others when one lacked certain skills? Clearly, she was a hypocrite of the highest order. If Weiss was so painfully bad at this, why didn't one of them step up to take over? The massive woman was probably just enjoying watching Weiss struggle.

And to add insult to injury, Yang had stuck to her proclamation that if Weiss failed to make the campfire, they wouldn't get any hot meals. She or Ruby would still make a small fire before bedtime to ensure they didn't freeze during the night, but no one was allowed to use it for cooking or even making tea.

To her great and utter shame, going without hot meals was far more difficult to adjust to than Weiss expected. She never realized just how comforting a hot meal at the end of the day or first thing in the morning could be until she didn't have it anymore. Cold, hard jerky in small amounts was barely palatable, but having it as an actual meal without being able to soften it in a soup or stew? Weiss would sooner go hungry than risk breaking her teeth on the overly-salty, unpleasantly tough strips of dried meat. The only reason Weiss wasn't starving yet was because of the nuts and dried fruit she carried.

So caught up in her own thoughts was she that she didn't notice the two sisters had stopped until she ran into Yang's pack. "Hey!"

"Shh—!" came the curt response.

The corner of Weiss's mouth turned down at Yang's tone, but she held her tongue. She drew even with Yang so that she could see Ruby who was standing further up the trail.

Up until now, Ruby had always traveled separately from Weiss and Yang. As their forward scout, it was her job to run ahead to survey their surroundings and keep an eye out for any notable dangers or obstacles. Because of that, Weiss usually only saw the girl in the evening and in the morning when they had stopped for camp. The rest of the time, she was like a ghost, invisible but you knew she was there.

However, a few days ago Yang had pulled the small girl aside and told her to walk with them. Weiss hadn't meant to eavesdrop—she was too well-mannered for that sort of thing—but it wasn't her fault that Yang didn't really have a "quiet" voice. Her normal tone seemed permanently set to loud and louder. Apparently, Yang was worried that Ruby might collapse somewhere on the trail because of the girl's meal-skipping, so she ordered Ruby to stay within sight instead of running off like she usually did. Hence why Ruby was actually walking with them for a change.

The hooded girl stood frozen, her head turned to the side and tilted up slightly as though listening for something. Finally, she turned and signed something to Yang who crossed her arms and drummed her fingers in response.

Hating to be the only one out of the loop, Weiss asked sharply, "What is it?"

Yang gave her a level glance. "Grimm," she answered succinctly. "Can't say I didn't expect it, but I hoped we'd have more time…" She trailed off, biting her lip in thought.

Weiss couldn't stand the silence for more than a few seconds. Already, she was remembering her first Grimm encounter and how she had done very little to help fight off the threat. And since then, she'd been wasting the past few days playing with sticks and sparks instead of training.

Her mind churned furiously, thinking of all the things she had yet to perfect. She was still working on incorporating her Glyphs on the battlefield. Her footwork could use extra practice. She still had that annoying tendency of dropping the tip of her weapon after completing an attack. She wasn't ready for another Grimm encounter!

Trying desperately to distract herself from the choking insecurity flooding her veins, she demanded, "W-what do you mean you expected it?"

Yang rolled her eyes. "What do you think, Princess? None of us are in the most cheery of moods right now, and Grimm are attracted to negative emotion. I'm surprised we didn't get swarmed by Grimm days ago." She slipped on her cestuses as she spoke, which made Weiss touch Myrtenaster nervously. "Come on. Let's hope we can find someplace defensible to stop before they catch up to us."

In the end, they hadn't been able to.

Their walking only led them to the edge of a deep ravine that cut through the forest like an uneven scar. Scraggly trees lined a river flowing down below, and Weiss had found herself swallowing nervously at the height. She had to take a few steps away from the edge to be able to breathe properly again.

Now, Ruby's constant forays into the forest made sense. If Ruby had been scouting like usual, she most likely would have warned them or guided them along a different path, but since Yang had told her to stay nearby, they had ended up here, cut off from the front and no choice but to stand their ground. Against human enemies, having their back to the cliff would have been considered a good thing—it would have prevented enemies from sneaking up behind them—but as long as avian Grimm existed, having one's back to the open air was a risk, one that they couldn't do anything about at the moment.

"HAH—!"

Yang's battle cry carried even over the din of growls, snarls, and screams of the Grimm surrounding them as she launched a megaton punch into the side of an Ursa's head, sending the bear-like Grimm reeling. With the other hand, she lobbed one of the Dust-bombs she'd gotten from her uncle into the path of three more Ursai as she spun to slam another punch into a Beowolf's maw.

Meanwhile, Ruby had launched herself into a pack of snarling Beowolves, and it became astoundingly clear to Weiss that the hooded swordswoman had indeed been holding back during their last Grimm encounter. With every flash of her dual blades, a Beowolf or sundered limb burst into a plume of dancing rose petals. This wasn't merely swordsmanship; no, this was a dance. A heart-pounding, awe-inspiring, spellbinding dance that left only death and crimson petals in its wake.

And that sword dancer was only fifteen.

Weiss couldn't let herself fall behind. Jaw-clenched, the noble threw up a series of repulsion Glyphs as a flock of eagle-sized Nevermores flew past Yang and Ruby straight at her. Squawks of outrage filled the air as four of the corvid Grimm slammed into and ricocheted off her Glyphs. The fifth Nevermore flew unimpeded, just as Weiss planned. Weiss took a deep breath and just as the Grimm was about to reach her, she ducked with a spin, using its momentum and her Aura to bisect the creature in midair.

She choked on the corrosive, acrid stench of Grimm-ash filling the air, and her eyes teared up as they protested the sudden cloud of invasive particles attacking their membranes. It was only thanks to the victorious screech of one of her assailants that she remembered she was in the middle of battle, and she threw up several defensive Glyphs all around her in panic. Something crashed into the Glyph on her right and scrabbled at it futilely, cawing angrily.

Stupid! The first rule of any encounter is to put up a defensive Aura! Weiss berated herself as she called upon her Aura, feeling it settle around her like a second skin. A strange, dull throbbing started behind her eyes, but she ignored it with gritted teeth.

She dropped one of her defensive Glyphs and lunged forward, piercing a Nevermore through its open beak and out the back of its head. She freed her blade with a strong flick (since the fallen Nevermore had yet to dissipate) and turned to face her next foe. She was breathing hard and that infernal throbbing in her head seemed to be worsening, but she still managed to cut down another avian Grimm, causing the remaining two to fly up and out of her reach.

With a grimacing frown, she pulled her weapon up and used her off-hand to summon a series of platform Glyphs into the air. Channeling her Aura into her legs, she leapt from one Glyph to the next and sliced the wings off one of the remaining Nevermores. The other fled out of reach, and she was forced to give up on it. She supposed it didn't matter if one got away. She was beginning to feel the effects of using so much Aura anyway. Doing her best to keep her trembling limbs steady and trying to ignore the height, she created a new set of Glyphs to take her back down. She couldn't help but give a little sigh of relief upon returning to solid ground.

She felt a perverse sort of pride knowing that she'd managed to deal with all her opponents before either of the sisters. (She was pointedly ignoring the fact that one of them was brawling against monstrous bears twice or three times her size, and the other was facing a pack of Beowolves several times larger than the one they had encountered before all by herself.)

The question was, should she step forward to assist? If she were to assess herself honestly, she was already quite exhausted. Her ability to use her Glyphs in tandem with physical attacks was still a work in progress, so not only was she physically tiring, but her body was starting to feel heavy, as though there were weights dragging her down—one of the common warning signs of Aura exhaustion. Sweat poured down her temple and back, and her chest was close to heaving as she fought to catch her breath. Her sword arm trembled, and her legs were shaky at best. And why was her head throbbing so?

Then out of nowhere, a loud, snort-peppered squeal pierced her eardrums. Weiss looked up towards the sound to see a giant boar-like Grimm tramping out of the forest. A Boarbatusk. The beast was large enough that its head was level with her chest, and she could all to easily imagine being eviscerated by its massive, dangerous looking tusks. What was worse, she had no clue how to fight it, much less defeat it. Weiss swallowed uneasily, eyeing the creature's heavily armored head. At the very least, a frontal assault didn't seem prudent.

She didn't have any more time to consider her options for the beast locked onto her with its four beady red eyes, screamed a challenge, and charged. It leapt into the air, curled up, and became a rolling ball of death, its speed increasing exponentially like a boulder rolling down a mountain. It happened so fast that Weiss barely had time to react. She threw up a defensive Glyph, her body tensing as her Semblance began draining her Aura once again, and instinctively brought her arms up, gritting her teeth to prepare for the painful impact she knew was coming.

Except...it never came.

The scent of roses suddenly enveloped her senses. Small but strong arms wrapped around her middle, lifted her from the ground, and suddenly it felt like she was flying. Weiss opened her eyes to a crimson tinged world that looked as though it was moving in slow motion. She glanced down only to see that annoying brown hood. Ruby?

Several things ran through Weiss's mind as she tried to process what was happening, but first and foremost on her mind was an unexpected sense of wonder.

Is this what Ruby's Semblance looks like? Feels like?

Weiss's Semblance made her feel powerful, like she could do the impossible as long as she channeled enough Aura into her Glyphs. It was a heady feeling that she reveled in more than she cared to admit. This though...to be honest, it was like Weiss was being embraced by a field of roses. Soft. Warm. Comforting.

That was when she realized that was more or less indeed the case. Weiss's defensive Aura was still intact. She could still see the faint white glow of her Aura hovering just above her skin and clothes, but superimposed above it was a different Aura, a brilliant crimson Aura that was as vivid as the rose petals dancing around them. Somehow Ruby had extended her Aura and wrapped it around Weiss like a blanket. The brushing of their Auras gave Weiss an uncomfortable look into the younger girl's mind. Worry. Concern. Determination. And underneath it all, protectiveness.

Protectiveness? Why would the girl be feeling protective of her? Especially since—Weiss swallowed uncomfortably, discomfited to have to face her own poor behavior—she had been...less than kind to the girl of late. Anyone else Weiss knew would have answered her...unpleasantness with something equal or even more scathing, so why was this girl protective of her, of all things? Even the girl's older sister, Yang, had lost her temper with Weiss. Ruby should be frustrated, angry, bitter, resentful even—not concerned or feeling protective. It made absolutely no sense.

As seconds stretched to minutes and Weiss became even more embroiled in her bewilderment regarding the entity known as Ruby Rose, an unfamiliar feeling snaked its way around Weiss's heart and clenched it tightly, almost painfully. It felt uncomfortably like...guilt or even shame. Whatever it was, she found that didn't like it one bit.

Then, their brief connection was broken as Ruby deposited Weiss away from the battlefield. Weiss was still trying to process everything that had just happened when Ruby spun, unsheathing both her blades again in the same motion.

The young swordswoman dashed back into the fray, cutting down two more Beowolves as she rushed to get the Boarbatusk's attention. She brought that whistle of hers back into play, tweeting annoyingly just out of reach of the Grimm boar's tusks, enraging the beast. Ruby danced all around it, keeping it turning this way and that, until finally it could take no more. With a furious squeal, it charged the hooded girl, who deftly darted to the side and sliced the beast along its unarmored underbelly. The Boarbatusk screamed in pain and stumbled off course, right through the place they had deposited their packs before the fight.

The larger two packs, Yang's and Ruby's, were knocked violently to the side, while the third got caught on one of the rampaging beast's tusks. The Grimm bucked and twisted, trying to free itself from whatever was weighing down its snout, and the leather knapsack exploded at the seams, sending its contents flying in all directions. Weiss watched in horror as one particular item, a wooden tube carrying important documents—the very reason she was even out here traversing the wilds of Remnant in the first place—tumbled through the air right towards the steep drop-off of the ravine.

No…

Weiss broke into a run. She even threw aside Myrtenaster, one of the only things she had left of her mother, in her desperation to move faster. Nothing was more important than those documents. Nothing. If she had been feeling fresher, she would have used an acceleration Glyph to move faster, but right now she had to save her dwindling Aura for something more important.

She threw out a hand and summoned a platform Glyph, making it as wide as she could manage to ensure she didn't miss catching the tube. The strain on her Aura was immense, and she stumbled more than once as her attention was split between trying to run and trying to maintain the massive Glyph from so far away.

Wait for it...now! She felt the tube collide with her platform, and she surrounded it with two more Glyphs to prevent it from rolling off. She breathed a sigh of relief when the tube rolled to a stop. She dropped the second two Glyphs to conserve Aura and kept running. When she reached the edge of the ravine, she took a deep breath and summoned a new set of platforms to take her to the tube, which had fallen a good fifteen feet from the cliff's edge.

Weiss suppressed her growing dislike of heights and walked out to where the tube was, breathing heavily from her run. She reached down and picked up the precious tube of documents, cradling it protectively in her arms. That was when it struck.

A screeching cry was her only warning as something crashed into her from above. Weiss only caught the faintest glimpse of razor-sharp black feathers and talons before her Aura shattered into a million fragments of white light. Every single one of her Glyphs disappeared along with her Aura. She desperately tried to summon another Glyph to catch herself. It caught her and lasted for approximately two seconds before vanishing, sending Weiss plummeting into the ravine.

This was it then. This was where she would die.

Deep in the darkest corner of her mind, she heard the softest of sighs. If this was it, then she didn't have to fight anymore. She didn't have to run herself ragged trying to prove herself to a world that didn't even care. She could finally rest.

She gripped the wooden tube in her arms as though it was one of those stuffed animal dolls she used to have as a child, closed her eyes, and waited for the end to take her, hoping beyond reason that it would be quick and painless.

A/N: Ruby's section of this chapter was deeply personal for me to write. When you're down and filled with despair, maybe even ashamed of your perceived failings, sometimes it's really hard to remember that you're not alone and that tomorrow will always come. That there are people out there who love and care about you. And even if you know those things in your head, sometimes it's hard to feel it in your heart. But I really hope you guys never forget. A new day will always come. Keep going. Keep fighting.

And on a much less serious note, I've had a few people asking about Blake. Yes, she's going to be in this fanfic. I just haven't added her to the character list because she hasn't shown up in-story yet. It's going to take some time more time before she shows up though. I hope that doesn't put too many of you off too badly, or at least I hope that my writing is decent enough that you keep reading despite any dismay you may feel towards Blake not being here yet.

And as always, I love hearing what you all think, so if you have a few minutes to spare, please do leave a review or comment. They always do wonders to my motivation. Thank you for reading and I'll see you next chapter. ^_^

(P.S. And to those who hate cliffhangers, I'm so sorry! But this chapter was already on the long side, and I had to cut it off somewhere. Forgive me.)