I yet live! Here's another chapter. Hope this can tie you all over for a bit. Things will start to pick up in this chapter and I am please to state this is 5k words. A little more even.

Beta: Coeur al'Aran

Chapter 10

Yang's boots hit the pier as she jumped off the ferry. She shielded her eyes from the bright sun and took in Vale for the first time in what felt like months. She hadn't gotten much sleep on the ferry, more due to anticipation than discomfort.

A small thump followed by a heavier one landed beside her. "You could have waited for the ferry to dock."

"No time for that and no time for sightseeing either. Welcome to Vale. Skip the souvenir shop." Zwei barked and ran around the new area, happy to finally be on dry land.

"I expected it to be bigger." Mauve commented.

"This isn't the city of Vale. We're just in the kingdom. There's no direct ferry from Patch to the city. So we'll have to walk the rest of the way."

"How long will it take?"

Yang shrugged. "Less than a day, though it's pretty late already. We'll have to camp part way in."

Mauve didn't respond, but instead followed after her as she led the way through the small port town. It was a small but bustling place that might have seen more traffic if not for the attack on Vale and the lack of safety felt between the kingdoms.

It took them a few minutes to reach the gates of the small walls and a few more for the people on guard to open them.

"You should be careful out there." One of the guards warned. "More Grimm on the road as of late, ever since the White Fang attacked." The guard's eyes glanced toward Mauve.

"Why aren't there more Hunstmen?" Yang asked.

"Most Huntsman have been recalled to the city for protection and to hunt down remaining terrorist factions."

Yang nodded and dragged Mauve along with her before the guards could get more suspicious. Zwei barked, not far behind. It was about as bad as she imagined. She didn't expect people's spirits to be high after everything that had happened. Especially with the faunus.

"We aren't going to stop at the town for a bit?" Mauve asked.

"What's the point? We're still full on supplies and there's nothing else we need." It would be a waste of their already limited time. She wanted to be in the city of Vale at latest tomorrow in the early evening.

They marched on through the cold and snow.

Yang continued her march to Vale, even as her body shook from the cold. It wasn't that it was particularly windy. Just freezing cold. It had been like that during their entire journey and the approaching darkness of night only made it that much colder. Still, she pressed on, determined to get to Vale as soon as possible. Ruby and the others were risking their lives. She couldn't be bothered by a little bit of uncomfortable weather.

"We should set up camp."

She turned to face the smaller person with a none too pleasant expression on her face.

Mauve on the other hand seemed less determined.

"Why? I'm not tired."

The way he sighed and leaned his head to one side indicated that he didn't believe her.

"Well I am." Her gaze followed him as he walked right past her. He pointed a short distance off near some rocks. "We can camp near there. The rocks should provide some cover from any winds. Come on. It'll be cheaper and easier if we're well rested by the time we get to Vale." Without so much as glancing back to her, he moved toward his chosen destination.

Yang growled. She was about to argue but when she took a step forward, she felt the numbness of the cold start to move in. She had been keeping herself walking at a brisk yet steady rate. Heating her body with the movement. Now that she had stopped, the cold became all to apparent. Cursing at herself and realising she wouldn't be able to keep going, she followed after Mauve. Like Mauve said, it'd be better if they were well rested. Not that she'd admit that to him.

They cleared the surrounding snow near the large rocks before finally setting up camp. There were two tents set up across from one another on either side of the rocks. It was a good thing Mauve had brought his own tent because there was no way they were sharing one.

The fire was set up and she was in the process of making dinner. Or at least was trying to. Opening canned soup was hard with only one hand.

Mauve came back with a handful of logs and laid them to the side before taking a seat on the other side of the fire across from her.

She still fiddled with the can.

"Let me-"

Yang shot Mauve a glare, making him pause mid sentence before sighing and retracting his hand from helping her.

"I've got this." Yang placed the can between her feet to hold it in place. Her hand reached out and gripped the small hinge on the soup can before pulling. With one last grunt, the lid slid off. She gave a small smile and looked to the only other person with her before frowning. Right. It was just him.

She tossed the lid to the side before pouring the contents of the can into the small metal pot over the fire. She stirred the inside of the pot with a plastic spoon before glancing to Mauve. "Brought any rations?"

Mauve hummed and brought out what looked to be jerky of some kind before taking a bite out of it. She stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes. Whatever.

They waited in silence as the stew bubbled in the pot. The sound of fire flickering with the occasional wind was the only real noise between them. She moved her legs into a pretzel, rested her hand on her knee, and closed her eyes. She breathed in and out, listening to the burning wood as the pot boiling brought back memories of an earlier time. Both happy and sad.

She remembered when she and Ruby first arrived at Beacon. She wanted to help Ruby break out of her shell so she went for the blunt 'avoid her' method and hung out with some of her own friends. It worked out. Sort of. Ruby had met Jaune followed by… Weiss and Blake with her included. Ruby made friends and she still got to hang out with her sis. It was the best of both worlds.

She sighed at the memories before looking to the flames of the campfire. A sad smile crept up her face. Things seemed so much simpler back then. What she give to get it all back...

"You alright?"

The question snapped her out her thoughts and looked to the source. She sighed as Mauve sat there, staring at her with some jerky in hand.

"I'm fine."

"I wasn't sure if you were sleeping." Mauve said. "You sighed and were smiling, so…" Figured she had to be asleep to smile? He couldn't blame her. She couldn't remember the last time she smiled. Truly smiled, that was. She hadn't been given a reason to.

"I said I'm fine." Yang assured.

"Eat when the foods ready…" He looked toward the flames. "Then sleep."

She grunted and looked to the fire. Before she would hardly ever need to keep warm. She just was. Maybe it was part of her semblance or the fact that she had aura. Whatever the reason, she found herself bothered by the weather more and more and drawn toward the fire. However she had forced herself through it. To train through the cold and snow and build endurance. The cold still bothered her. She just ignored it.

Her eyes moved from the fire to the boy on the opposite end of it. She said boy and even though his height made him look younger, he was a year older than her. And what about him? He had decided to tag along when she was suppose to have snuck off in the night. Alone. Without anyone. Especially him yet here he was. It annoyed her to think about it and it annoyed her even more to admit that she might need some help on this mission. She looked to her hand and clutched it. She could take on grimm. She had as good as proven that. At least, a few of them. But if it came to someone of Mercury's level? She sighed, not wanting to think about it.

"I was thinking about Ruby." She said for some unknown reason. Maybe just to get her mind away from things. Even he seemed surprised that she was talking to him. "About cooking for her." She went on. "Soup specifically." The seconds went by and the sound of wood burning went on. Only when it was made painfully apparent that she was waiting for him to respond did he do so. But not before swallowing the food in his mouth.

"Why?"

Her head fell as she groaned. What was she expecting from him of all people? She breathed through her nose and out through her mouth to calm herself down. Getting agitated over stupid things was stupid of itself. Ugh, even that sounded stupid.

He continued. "Why wasn't your father cooking?"

She straightened herself out but still didn't meet his eyes. Instead, she looked into the fire. "It was shortly after Summer died…" It was quiet again. The flames the only constant noise that they both heard. Why was she even talking to him about this? It was stupid to-

"I only knew of Ruby after her mother had died." Mauve finally sounded. She glanced to him for a moment as he spoke. "It was still relatively recent. There were moments when she seemed… unhappy."

Yang straightened up as he continued.

"They weren't long moments. Just times when she seemed to be thinking. Then she was back, jumping around and speeding with her semblance."

Yang smiled at the image. He had said he met Ruby not long after she discovered her semblance. It had made caring for her a whole lot more challenging.

"Yea… she wasn't one to dwell on the past too long." Ruby always focused on moving forward.

"She was weird like that." Yang shot him a look but he ignored it. "She didn't act like most people."

"So she was...is a little awkward." Yang shrugged. "We're all a little weird."

"True." Mauve admitted. "But her in particular. She...was oddly altruistic."

Was he going somewhere with this? She couldn't tell if he was trying to insult her or not.

"She tended to ignore what others paid attention to." He went on. "Or maybe she was just oblivious to it."

"Like what?" Yang asked. It wasn't an inaccurate description of Ruby.

"I suppose there's this." A black tail with a purple tip laid lazily on his lap. "Slight interest aside, she didn't seem bothered by my faunus appendages."

"Are the people of Patch that bad?" Yang knew there were a few faunus around Patch and all things considered, got along fine. No real scuffles based on race or appearance.

"They're people." Mauve said, as if that was all he needed to say. "It doesn't matter." He shrugged it off before taking another bite of his jerky. She noticed his ears twitch ever so slightly. Wait…

"Why do you have two?" Mauve raised his head at the question.

"Two?" He repeated.

"Faunus traits." She motioned to the tail and then to the black canine like ears tinted slightly with purple atop his head. "You have two."

"Hm." He confirmed. "So?"

"A… friend of mine at Beacon was a faunus. She hat cat ears." Blake had told Yang a few facts about faunus during their time together. "She was a real bookworm. Knew a lot of stuff. Especially about her faunus heritage. One of the facts she mentioned were that Faunus have one animal trait." She motioned to his appendages again. "But you have two. Why is that?"

He stared at her for longer then she was comfortable before replying.

"Most faunus are born with one animal trait." He confirmed. "Though there are a few that are born with two."

"Two, huh?" Well, that was something. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Why do guys have nipples? Just the way it is."

"Hm…" Yang leaned forward and stirred the soup. Well, that killed a minute.

"How are we going to find her?"

Yang looked back to Mauve. "Who?"

"Ruby." He answered. "Even if you do get this information and even if it everything you hoped for and more, how do you intended to get it to her?"

Yang rested her chin on her arm as she looked back into the fire. He waited for her response. "I guess it depends on the information."

"How does it depend?" He pressed. "What does the contents of the information do to change our course of action? Do you not go straight to Ruby after the information is required regardless of what it entails?"

Yang grunted at his constant line of questions. What was with him? Couldn't he just take things one step at a time? Though she hated to admit he had a point. To get to Ruby, wherever she is would be a challenge. They knew where she was going. Mistral. Though that still left a lot of land. She figured it would be one of the major cities but even then…

Mauve was still waiting for her to reply.

"There might be one way…" She admitted. "My mom…"

"Raven?"

She nodded. After spending years with Ruby, she supposed it was only natural he had heard about Yang's mom. "She has this way of being able to get to places. To people…" She was able to get her dad to spill the beans about her mother's semblance. How she could connect with certain people and open up portals to their location wherever they were on Remnant. The one thing she hadn't been able to get him to spill was where exactly her mother was. Which sort of put the whole plan up in flames. "But I don't know how to get to her. Even if I wanted to find her, we'd have no idea where to start."

"So, nothing then?"

For a guy who said so little, Mauve sure could make his words count. Count in annoying her. She breathed in through her nose and out her mouth before speaking. "They'll most likely be at Haven Academy in Mistral. At least, that's where they'll end up." It made the most sense. Before he could say something else in a condescending tone, she raised her hand to silence him. "She will be at Haven and she will be there before us. She has a large enough head start."

He went silent for a moment. "Remind me again how you plan to unlock the scroll."

Yang let out what must have been the fifth sigh this hour before straightening up. This was going to take a minute. "I know this guy in Vale. He goes by the name of Junior."

"You mentioned him before." Mauve recalled.

"He's the guy we're going to." Yang continued. "He owns a bar in a not so openly public place. He can get into Mercury's phone or at the very least point us to someone who can."

"And he's just going to do this for us?" He asked. "He's a friend of yours?"

"..." Yang took a moment to respond. "Sure. Maybe. Just don't lower your guard."

He sighed. "There's going to be fighting, isn't there?"

"No...probably not. Maybe." She waved her arm. "Look, he's the only lead I got and he can help." He had to. "We just gotta play our cards right."

"We?" His brow rose. "What do I do?"

"Absolutely nothing." Yang said. "Don't talk. Better you, wait outside when we get there." It would be easier if only she was there. She hoped.

That seemed to shut him up. If at least for the moment. There was no helping it. It was the best place she could think of. Once they got the info they could meet up with Ruby. If there were in the town of Haven Academy, then their scrolls should work well enough to get a signal through. All she had to do was get in the right town, make the call and meet up from there. That is, assuming Ruby didn't leave before she got there.

She gripped her right sleeve. No. Relax. Don't over do it. Thinking like that wouldn't get her anywhere. She had a plan and considering the situation, it's a pretty damn good plan.

Lowered expectations don't change things. Yang shook her head of Mauve's earlier words from the other day. Forget what he said. What did he know? She knew she wasn't in the best condition but she was doing just fine. Get to Vale, find a hacker and go from there. It was simple and to the point. She didn't need to worry about anything.

She took a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. She was-

"The soup."

Yang's head snapped toward the pot which was starting to boil with steam coming out. Crap! She grabbed the pot by the handle but even that burned a bit. She quickly placed the pot on the floor before blowing on her hand.

Zwei, sensing some trouble and no doubt able to smell the soup, stormed out from inside her tent to her side. He let out a bark.

"I'm fine." She assured the canine before letting out a sigh. Cheap pot.

"Was this how you cooked for Ruby?"

She threw a rock none too gently toward his head. Sadly, he avoided it.

"Just eat your jerky." She lightly grasped the handle of the pot to check if it was still hot. When that proved alright, she felt for the top. The partly snowy floor had cooled it down. Satisfied, she brought the pot into her lap and used a different spoon from before and brought it to her lips. She blew on it a few times before taking a bite. She let out a sigh of pleasure from the warm feeling of the stew before taking another. She heard a whine from her side.

She glanced toward Zwei who was panting and wagging his tail. He let out a bark.

Yang sighed. "Alright. Spare me the puppy eyes." They were almost as effective as Ruby's look. She fumbled with her bag before taking out a small bowl and pouring some of the soup into it. "I didn't pack rations for a dog you know." Zwei however ignored her and happily lapped at the warm thick liquid.

He'd become extra spoiled with the meals she had given her before she left home. His stomach probably grew a little. He'd be disappointed at the lack of dog biscuits on this trip.

She finished her plate quick enough and let out a sigh.

"Done?" Mauve asked. Some jerky still in his hand.

She gave a lazy hum in answer.

"You should sleep then. I'll take first watch."

"Hm." She couldn't bring up the strength to argue. She wasn't even sure she wanted to. Eating that soup made he sleepy. All that marching through the snow didn't help either. She got to her feet and crouched into the tent.

Maybe sleep would do her some good.

"I hate you."

Yang repeated for what was probably the hundredth time during their early day march to Vale. Or at least it was supposed to be in the early day. It was way passed noon! The sky even started to grow dark from it's orange glow as the sun slowly began to set. She had overslept! And she blamed Mauve.

"I said I'd take the first watch." Mauve sounded uncaringly as he marched right behind her.

"You never woke me up!"

"And I took watch. You can take first watch the next time."

"That is not how it works!" Her eyes flashed red when she faced him. She closed them and tried to relax. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Her eyes were back to their natural lilic.

"My bad. Now I know." He didn't sound sincere at all. She opened her mouth to speak. "So, these are the walls of Vale." The words had her pause as she directed her attention to where Mauve was looking.

Yang stood there for a moment and took it all in. The snow made it look a little different but there was no mistaking it. The kingdom of Vale. After all this time. Just the sight of it brought so many memories back. Innocent memories. Happy memories. Bad memories. She clutched her aching chest as images passed through her mind. She fought back the tears that threatened to break loose. Taking a deep breath, Yang walked forward.

"Come on. We've wasted enough time."

As they got closer and closer to the city walls, Yang noticed all the extra security. There were soldiers with machine guns on the walls and soldiers at the entrance of the gates. There were large crowds. Some of the gates on the far sides had people going into the city of Vale but most looked like they were moving out. She was honestly surprised there were as many people coming to Vale as there was. Maybe the outlying villages and smaller towns couldn't support people. Or maybe they were destroyed.

She decided not to think about it. She couldn't change any of those problems so there was no point on dwelling on it.

"Hold on." She took a pair of binoculars from her bag and looked toward the crowd entering the city. "Looks like they're checking ID's." It made sense with the tighter security. Maybe they were only accepting people that could help around the city? She wondered if that meant they might get turned down. There was only one way to find out.

"Wait." Yang turned to Mauve when he grabbed her shoulder. "Where are we going?"

"Um, Vale." She motioned to the city. "You know, the place we talked about the other day."

"Can't."

Yang fought the urge to argue so went with asking a simple question. "Why?"

"I don't have an ID."

"Excuse me?" She stared at him for a moment. "Just use your scroll. That should be enough." She turned back towards Vale. Hopefully they wouldn't be turned down after waiting in the crowded line for however long.

"I don't have one."

Yang turned back to the smaller than average faunus. "You can not be serious." If this was a joke, she was not amused. "How can you not have a scroll?"

"I never got one." Was his simple reply.

"And you don't have any ID?"

"Sort of an orphan."

A tinge of sympathy shot through Yang. With the cave he called a house and the absence of anyone else, she figured as much.

"Great…" She looked to the city and then to Mauve before rubbing her head through her hair. "Come on. Think…" They'd gotten this far and they were so close. She stared toward the city if only so Mauve wouldn't see how frustrated she was. It was questionable enough to let two teens into the city but one without a license and a faunus at that? There was no way they would be let in.

Yang took a deep breath. There was only one choice.

"Sneaking in was relatively easy."

"Just keep your hood up."

They had managed to sneak past the sentries and get into the city undetected. She was a bit worried on what the security really meant if they could get in. Well, she couldn't exactly complain. She glanced back to Mauve and saw that he still had his hood up from his bag. Good. With the White Fang's attack on the academy, even the nicest of people would be on guard when talking to a faunus. Best to avoid any conflicts. Hopefully that coat would cover the tail well enough.

"So, what next?" Mauve asked.

Yang glanced around the area. It was a bit odd to see but everyone seemed calm enough for the situation. She shouldn't be surprised. People couldn't be freaking out twenty four seven. The town otherwise wouldn't be able to function.

"First we find a place to crash." She wanted to go straight to Junior but she had to make sure they had a place to stay. If only for a day. Maybe two tops. Hopefully Junior would be able to help them out by then. "Hm…"

"Something up?"

"Trying to remember where the hotels and inns were." It had been a while so things felt a little foggy. "Hold up." She moved toward the closest person. "Excuse me. Do you know a place where I could check in?"

"Hm?" A young man with black hair looked at her. His eyes lingered at her stub for a moment before focusing on her again. It was to be expected. "Oh, eh yea. How long are you planning on staying?"

"Just a day. Maybe two."

The man nodded. "There's this place, it's a bit far away but cozy enough. Has an inn like style."

Yang nodded and mentally took down the information as he went on.

"Have… we met before?"

"I… don't think so?" Was he coming on to her? Part of her almost felt flattered that people would still think that way of her. But he seemed sincere in his confusion as he looked at her with squinted eyes. As if it was on the tip of his tongue. He seemed to find it and the results didn't look pleasant. His body immediately seemed to tense up, He took a step back.,

"Nevermind. I have to go."

"What was that about?" Mauve came up behind her as the man left before he could say anything. He wasn't the only one confused.

"I'm… not sure." She shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Got the directions for a place to stay. Let's go."

They eventually made it to the inn. The first floor was pretty large. The interior was all wood with several wooden tables and chairs to the side along with a tv hanging on the wall. Yang walked toward the sign in desk and asked the man behind the counter for a room for two. She'd honestly prefer a room for herself but they had limited funds.

"How long will you be staying?" The man asked. He had grey and silver hair with a fair tan. Though he definitely wasn't fragile if his muscles were any indication.

"Today for sure. Maybe tomorrow. Is there a charge if I add a day later on?"

"No charge. Each day is the same cost."

Yang nodded and took the key to the room. She walked over to Mauve who was helping himself to a glass of complimentary water on one of the tables.

"They have room?" Mauve asked.

"Yea." Yang took a sear across from him. "Got us a room for today. Depending on how it goes with Junior, may book us for another day." Hopefully it wouldn't be longer than that.

"We going right now?"

Yang sighed. "In a minute." She didn't want to admit it but camping outside really made her uncomfortable. The cold combined with the ache in her arm and daily migraines made it difficult to just move around so much. Still, she wouldn't give up. Not when she had finally decided get out of her depression and act.

She ruffled through her bag before taking out a small plastic bottle. She held it tight before forcing the lid open with her thumb. She then poured three pills, half white half green on the table before downing them with some water.

"What's that?"

Yang swallowed and wiped her mouth with her arm before letting out a sigh. "Medicine for my migraines."

"Didn't know you took pills."

"I usually take them after our sparring sessions," she answered. Normally after he left. She didn't exactly want anyone to know she was on medication. Though his opinion of her wasn't exactly on the list of things she cared about. She took another sip of her water. "Got any lien on you?"

"A bit." he answered. "Though not much. Can probably pay for part of the room."

"Hm…" Yang chugged down the rest of her water. They weren't exactly swimming in money. They had enough food for another week or so. Well, for herself anyway. She didn't account for Mauve and Zwei to tag along. Though Mauve seems to have brought some food for himself. She doubted they get go particularly far with what they had. Mistral was a long way from Vale. There was always hunting. Not exactly her style but she could make do. Mauve could probably track some animals with his enhanced sense of smell. Whatever the case, they'd manage.

Wanting an excuse to stay seated for another minute longer, she glanced around before her eyes fell to the tv at the top edge of the room. The news was on. She hadn't been watching the new for weeks. Though she wouldn't be surprised if there was nothing but lists casualties and pessimism reported. It had been a while though. Maybe things had stabilized a little.

"-and it seems negotiations have gotten to the point of exchanging delegations."

The news reported Lisa Lavender was on the screen. She was outside in what looked like Vale. Behind here was a crowd as they seemed to be gathering around for something.

"Behind me will soon be landing the first officially accepted group of diplomats since before the fall of Beacon Academy. Extra security has been taken as a company of Vale guards stand at attention, holding off the wave of people eager to see the Atlas representatives."

Atlas were sending diplomats to Vale? Well, that definitely sounded like progress. Yang straightened up as the report went on.

"While there are no doubt mixed feelings of Atlas people coming into Vale territory, what has everyone in a stir is the main representative that will be arriving."

Some big shot? She didn't know that diplomats could be famous. Then again, she didn't study up on politics even before Beacon. It was politics. A bunch of people using big words that were sometimes left purposely ambiguous or precise. There was no real reason to try and understand too much. Besides, she was seventeen. She might be a bit different then most people her age, but she still got bored and confused like any other.

Yang rocked herself in her seat as the droning went on. Just then, something seemed to catch Lisa's eye as she looked to something off screen.

The camera panned toward said ship. The camera shook in place for a moment before coming into focus. It certainly looked uniqure what with its sleek design and the color of grey shouted Atlas. The only other color that could be seen were some long thin blue flags that were attached to the ships wings of which there were four of. They were grey at the roots near the wings but turned blue further down.

Yang didn't think much of it first. A vague feeling of familiarity went through her mind at the sight of the ship. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. That is, till the aircraft finally docked.

She leapt from her seat, causing it to fall over. The individual on the ship came into view with two Atlas robots flanking her.

"Here she is, folks. Atlas' newest representative and ambassador…"

For a second, she dared not hope. It had to be someone else. Anyone else. It just couldn't be. But as the young, pale skinned and white haired girl descended down the ramp and onto solid ground, the image only became more clear. The diplomats name being announced confirmed it without a shadow of a doubt. Even after all that, she still couldn't believe it.

"Weiss Schnee."

So, that happened. Hopefully I can do a more steady posting schedule even if it is once a month.