Go watch the RWBY vol5 finale! Ah god my heart is so full!

After conversing with Pyrrha, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang headed back to Carnation. Pyrrha went her separate ways from the start since she lives in the Kingdom, where people who had more money lived.

As the three cloaked girls sauntered through the village, they heard a lot of idle talk about the disappointing fight.

The felt bad for the rookie, but what'd he expect?

Pyrrha is a champion.

"I like Pyrrha," Weiss said casually. "She seems like a nice person."

"Yeah?" Yang asked, suddenly curious. "Does the princess like her more than me?"

And there it was. Weiss couldn't tell if she was teasing or earnest.

"You brute," the ex-princess snapped softly. "You know that's not true…"

Even though she mumbled it, Yang heard it loud and clear.

Yang was touched she admitted it. Normally, Weiss would deny it because she was stubborn, so it was strange.

But not in a bad way.

The two were close as usual. Weiss was on Yang's bad side with the injured leg, helping her walk every now and then.

By now, Yang didn't need much support to walk, but Weiss didn't need to know that.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Yang placed her hand close to her ear. "What'd ya say?"

"Nothing, you brute!" she teasingly flicked her forehead. "I know you heard it the first time."

A hearty laugh. "I can never resist teasing you."

"I'm painfully aware of that, thank you very much," Weiss rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Ruby stopped walking down the dirt path. She was in front of the pair, so they bumped into her.

"Agh, Rubes, why'd you-"

"Look," the red reaper pointed. "This isn't good. The public knows."

Directly to the right of them was a wooden pole. The worrying part wasn't that it was almost in the middle of the path and had horrible placement.

It was what was attached to the pole.

A crinkled sheet of paper.

With the words:

WANTED: WEISS SCHNEE

DEAD OR ALIVE

DESCRIPTION: WHITE HAIR, BLUE EYES, SHORT

REWARD: 700,000 LIEN

"Short!" Yang laughed in mirth and pointed to the word on the paper. "It says short!"

Weiss could only frown from the description. Yang's genuine snickers caused Ruby to snort softly.

"Did they really have to put that there? Are they mocking me?" Weiss mumbled and pinched the bridge of her nose.

She was never a fan of her height. Sometimes, it somehow made her feel insignificant. At least compared to tall people. The blonde's lighthearted giggles filled the air as random people passed by.

"It's not that funny!" Weiss snapped.

Yang fake wiped a tear. "Okay, okay. I'm good, I'm good."

It was back to staring at the bounty in silence.

So she knows that they're out there.

Swatting lies in the making.

"Woah!" Yang exclaimed, having time to register the rest of the paper. "That's a lotta money! It'd be enough to live the rest of our lives in comfort."

Weiss felt guilty. If the sisters turned her in, they'd receive the money they deserved. They could have enough to live in luxury in the Kingdom instead of a poor village. She knew they wouldn't turn her in, so she was thankful, but the fact that the opportunity was there bothered her.

Ruby could only smirk and lower her voice. "Looks like they didn't have a picture to use."

"A shame," the ex-princess was amused and gave her black hood a tug. "Let's get out of here," the longer she was there, the more her nerves were on edge.

"Good idea," Yang agreed. "But first-"

She reached out to tear down the bounty, but someone beat her to it.

A person in a black cloak crumpled the paper, then tore it to pieces before carelessly tossing it on the ground.

The newcomer caught their attention when she winked at them.

It was-

"Blake," Yang recognized, her eyes lit up. "How are you? What're you doin' here?"

Amber eyes just stared at her three friends. The cat faunus never replied and instead flicked her shimmering orbs behind her. Meaning someone was following her, so she had to make haste.

Knowing her girlfriend's look, Ruby placed a hand on Yang's back. "Quiet, Yang. She can't talk right now."

As quickly as Blake came, she left and continued her way down the village's dirt pathway. She easily disappeared into the crowd like she normally did with the shadows. The only evidence she was there were the shredded pieces of paper on the ground.

"Why not?" Yang asked. "It's been awhile since we've seen her. I wanna talk to her."

"Someone must be following her," Ruby observed. "She would have talked to us if she could. Trust me, she was really worried about you guys, so I bet she's overjoyed she saw for herself that you're both okay."

Weiss and Yang smiled. Their old guard was alive and well. She was still doing dangerous work as usual, but they knew it was necessary for the future.

"She's watching out for us in her own way," the ex-princess mused. "Let's go. I'd prefer not being out in public. Especially after seeing that."

After nodding, the sisters followed her lead to the outskirts of Carnation.

During the walk, Weiss was more paranoid and tugged on her black hood more than usual. To cover her face and signature white hair. She was starting to think coming outside was a mistake.

Yang could tell she was worried. "Hey, princess. It's gonna be fine. No one'll find you."

"And if they do," Ruby cut in. "They're gonna have to go through us first!"

Amazed she had such wonderful friends, Weiss smiled for the first time that day. A chuckle slipped passed her lips as she stared at the smiling sisters.

"You guys are something else, you know that?"

"I'm not used to being complimented by you," the blonde teased. "Hell must've frozen over."

The lion faunus gently flicked her forehead, earning a playful glare from Yang. "I suppose I should do it more often, then," a grin. "Since it turns you into a puppy."

Yang laughed, remembering her fake faunus ears. "Psh, I look like a beastly lion! Not some little dog."

From the comment, Ruby unveiled her hood, revealing her fake puppy wolf ears. "I beg to differ."

"The lion is my role to play," Weiss informed with a smirk.

After the group shared some laughter, there was some yelling in the distance. From what they could tell, two faunus were shouting at each other about some food. A crowd was forming around them, meaning they were causing a ruckus.

"I know you took my apple!" a rhino faunus roared. "Give it back and maybe I won't kick your ass!"

The faunus being accused wore a necklace and leg-wraps. His white linen shirt was cut down the middle, showing off his abs. As the girls got a closer view, they could see a yellow tail waving excitedly behind the smirking blond boy.

"Sorry, bud," the other faunus said, but not apologetically. "It's long gone!"

"What?!" the angry faunus shouted. "Where is it?!"

The monkey faunus pointed to his clearly defined abs. "You'll get it eventually!"

When he said that, the monkey faunus bursted into laughter. Just as the rhino faunus was about to take a swing at his face, something blocked the hit in time.

The blacked cloaked girls were so distracted by the argument they failed to realize Ruby zipped passed them. She extended her scythe in time, using the blunt end as a shield to protect the monkey faunus' face from being dented in.

A loud shockwave caused everyone in the area to rock. The rhino faunus packed a menacing punch.

"Let's settle down," Ruby suggested, her silver eyes narrowed.

When the crowd and rhino faunus got a look at her intimidating weapon, gasps sounded. Immediately, the rhino faunus removed his hand and backed away.

"Look, girl, I don't want any trouble."

"I don't either, so let's just forget this happened," Ruby asked, her voice lowered. "Alright?"

For the first time in her life, Yang was intimidated by her little sister. And she wasn't even the person she was talking to.

The rhino faunus' teeth clenched. "Fine…" he muttered.

Without protest, he walked away, although he wasn't happy about it. As Ruby left her scythe out for the crowd to see and gaze at, she stood tall. Various mutters echoed about the weapon as the crowd dispersed. The last thing they wanted to be was a dummy of that frightening weapon.

"Thanks for the save," the monkey faunus chirped. "The name's Sun."

"It was no problem, Sun. I'm Ruby. Maybe you shouldn't steal apples. Next time, I may not be there to protect you," the red reaper advised.

Sun rolled his eyes. Whether it was out of annoyance or teasing was up for interpretation.

"Let me make it up to you, ya know, for your trouble," Sun suggested. "You should come to my house. We got some extra bread and bananas. The good stuff," he glanced at the black cloaked girls. "You can bring your friends along."

"Thank you for the offer, but we must be going," Weiss stated firmly.

Normally, she'd accept free food. But currently she couldn't stand being out in public after she saw the bounty. Her friends seemed to understand that as the three turned around to take their leave.

Before they advanced a step, Sun spoke up to ease their doubts.

"Come on, it's the least I can do," he flashed them a twinkling grin. "My home's not far from here."

The three glanced among each other. There was obvious reluctance, but the boy seemed friendly and was hell bent on repaying them.

Sometimes, taking chances leads to good things.

Sensing their moods changed, Ruby spoke for them.

"Okay," Ruby gave in. "But it will have to be quick. We gotta get back home soon."

"Yes!" Sun pumped his fist in victory. "It's this way."

As the group walked to his home, Weiss made sure to keep her hair covered. No one knew who this guy was, so whether or not he was a danger to them was questionable. He seemed like a good guy, even if he had no filter.

"Hey, Sun," Yang cut in. "If you have all that food, why'd you take his apple?"

Sun shrugged. "Never had one before. They're pretty damn good. A close second to bananas."

"A small tip," the blonde added. "If you're gonna steal, don't get caught."

"That was the first time I was caught if you can believe it," the monkey faunus laughed. "It won't happen again."

They were talking so casually about something that's taught to be a wrong thing to do. However, these days and these times, it was hard to make a living. To put food on the table. To survive. Sometimes, stealing could be justified, but Sun's reasoning for doing it put Weiss off.

After a few moments of silence, Sun spoke up. "What're your names? Why're your hoods up? I can barely see your faces."

"I'm Yang," the blonde informed. "We just like the hoods. Not much to it."

Sun seemed to accept the explanation and he stared at Weiss.

"I'm White," Weiss informed levelly.

The sisters were confused from what she said, but realized the reasoning a few moments later. Her name and bounty was plastered probably in every village in and around the kingdom. Since they still didn't know the boy that well, they understood her need to be cautious.

"White, Yang, Ruby, we're here!" Sun announced.

In front of them was a small cabin made of wood. It was about the size of Yang and Ruby's home. It really wasn't that much different, other than the fact that-

"Drachen?!"

A blob of red zoomed passed the group, the wind whipped their hair. Sun just stood there confused.

"Drachen?"

Yang and Weiss' jaws dropped from the sight.

A bright white horse was next to the humble home. The animal was loosely tied to a fence, meaning it had plenty of room to roam. A few red marks scratched the white fur, but other than that, it was a healthy steed.

"N-no way…" Yang mumbled as she watched Ruby pet the horse. "Is-is that really…"

Sun was astonished as he stared at the scene. "What? You know him?"

"How long have you had this steed?" Weiss asked.

"Not long," Sun informed. "He was in bad shape when I found him. He was at the bottom of a cliff, so I'm guessing he took a fall. He had reins on him so there was a rider," he narrowed his eyes. "What kind of an idiot would leave a horse there?"

Weiss and Yang cringed.

"It really is him," the blonde concluded. "That's Drachen!"

Ruby seemed to already know that fact as she gently rubbed Drachen's broad snout. The horse was obviously excited, his tail flicking non-stop and giving her happy neighs.

The black cloaked girls held each other loosely from the relieving sight

"I can't believe he didn't die," Weiss stated. "You saved him? It should be us thanking you."

"You're the one's who left him in that condition?!" Sun yelped. "Are you stupid or something!? He almost died!"

"It was a very, very complicated situation," Yang informed. "One we'd rather not get into."

Weiss nodded from that.

"Complicated enough to leave a helpless animal to die?" Sun didn't sound happy. At all. "I just hope your reason is good enough to justify that."

The last thing they were expecting was a lecture from the laid-back boy, but they supposed they deserved it. All along, they felt guilt for possibly killing Ruby's beloved horse. But now it seemed like the incident never happened as they watched Ruby coo over the animal.

"Drachen, huh?" the monkey faunus asked. "Decent name. Judging by how excited he is with Ruby, I guess he's her horse. Did she leave him there, too?"

"No," Weiss said. "She let us borrow him. We felt extremely guilty and immense regret when we thought we her steed died under our watch."

"She's okay now," the blonde stated firmly, a broad grin present. "They're both okay now. I'm glad we followed you. I gotta admit, I thought it was a bad idea at first, but seeing Rubes like this makes it worth it."

Ruby couldn't stop smiling and hugging her lost horse. Drachen continued to neigh, his mouth had a broad grin and he nipped a few times at his owner's ear, which elicited giggles from the girl.

"Told ya he was fine!" Ruby shouted.

A sharp neigh.

"I guess wishful thinking can be a good thing," the lion faunus stated.

"You can take your horse back after you guys come inside!" Sun exclaimed. "Let me get you some bread or something."

"I'll be back, Drachen," Ruby assured.

The three cloaked girls followed him inside his home. The first thing they saw was a tall person with blue hair washing the dishes. Behind him was a blue tail similar to Sun's.

"This is my bro, Neptune," Sun introduced.

"Sup?" Neptune grinned, his teeth sparkled. "You are?"

"I'm Ruby!"

"White."

"Yang."

"Interesting names," the intellectual said. "What brings you ladies here?"

"Apparently, the horse is theirs," Sun chimed.

"What?" Neptune asked, from that, everyone nodded. "Aw, I was starting to like him. I even named him Sal."

"He never responded when we called him that, though…" Sun trailed off. "But he did when Ruby called him Drachen."

"That's his name?" the blue-haired boy asked. "I like it."

"I'm just so glad he's okay," Ruby chirped. "Thanks so much for saving my baby."

"It was our pleasure."

That was a different voice. A foreign voice. Very feminine.

A black, slim figure appeared behind a corner. That part of the home was not lit with a candle, so it was difficult to see the person's face.

"Neptune, Sun," the alluring voice said. "You didn't tell me you had company."

Sun sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, mom. It was kind of a last minute thing."

From the confused girl's expressions, Neptune introduced the new arrival.

"Ruby, White, Yang, this is our mom, Marron."

The woman stepped out of the shadows. Her face would have been exposed if she wasn't wearing a black cloak and a hood to cover her features. Typically, wearing cloaks like that wasn't a fashion statement, it meant the person had something to hide or was a traveler.

Since the woman lived here, she wasn't a traveler.

Not wanting to be rude, the three girls didn't question her fashion sense since they had no place to. Currently, they wore the exact same thing.

Immediately, Weiss perked an eyebrow in suspicion.

Marron remained separated from the group. Neptune and Sun didn't seem off-put about it. They just seemed on edge for some strange reason.

They needed answers, so Weiss questioned them. Something was off about this woman and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"If she's your mom, why does she lack a tail?"

The slim black figure simply stayed silent while her sons answered for her.

"Our dad was a faunus!" Sun blurted.

"Yeah!" Neptune backed him up. "He was a monkey faunus."

From their troubled reactions, Weiss smirked.

Jackpot.

"Was he now?" she interrogated and received eager nods. "Tell me, are you blood-related?"

Some beads of sweat rolled down their faces.

Silence was her answer.

"You aren't biological brothers, are you?"

From the silence, she went on.

"You're not even faunus," her voice lowered. "Are you?"

"Please don't tell anyone!" Neptune dropped to his knees, practically begging. "Sun's a faunus, but I'm a fake!"

"Nep!" Sun scolded. "Don't tell 'em that!"

"It's okay," Ruby assured and took off her fake wolf ears. "I'm a fake faunus, too. Don't worry, we get it. It's hard out there if you don't pose as a faunus."

Neptune and Sun visibly relaxed from the information.

"Thank god," Neptune murmured. "I thought you'd report us."

"Nah, we'd never do that," Yang assured. "That'd be a dick move."

The brothers were amused from the comment, their grins wide.

"It was quite easy to tell," Weiss mentioned. "Your tail remained stiff while Sun paraded his around."

Nowadays, friends and foes look alike. But just because there were some humans and faunus mixed in this humble home, didn't mean they were enemies. In fact, the sister's and Weiss' interest in them increased tenfold.

Finally, the black figure, who stood in the other room, spoke.

"Are you all human?"

"Yes," Ruby answered in a heartbeat. "But we do pose as faunus a lot of the time."

As Ruby and Yang kept talking to them, Weiss could only think.

That voice…

Why did it sound like she was hoping for a certain answer?

Under her black hood, Weiss' lion ears flicked.

Why did the mysterious woman sound so familiar?

There was something off about her. Something was terribly wrong.

As azure orbs stared down the black figure, something told the ex-princess there was more to the story than what Neptune and Sun let on.

She didn't know what it was, but everything told her to pry deeper.

What was more unnerving was that Marron, the slim figure, kept staring directly at Weiss. Even though her eyes were covered, she could feel the gaze crawl into her soul.

Those eyes under the black hood…

They were kind, yet an overbearing blue.

It was an unrelenting stare filled with a certain aura.

It wasn't pleasant or daring. More like unsettling. She couldn't put her finger on it.

When silence filled the room, Marron took that as her chance to step into the light, although she was still unrecognizable.

"Mom?" Sun asked. "Something wrong? Normally, you're not this quiet."

Marron could only stare, not giving an ounce of her attention to anyone in the room but Weiss.

Everyone noticed this.

Multiple pairs of eyes whipped back and forth from Weiss to Marron.

"Princess?" Yang questioned, noticing she looked troubled. "Everything alright?"

Weiss' body reacted on instinct, her eyes watered and she had no idea why.

Her lips slightly parted to speak to the mysterious woman, but Marron beat her to it.

"Snowflake?"

Ohhhhh shit who is that!? What are these!?

Stay dandy,

~Toto