I'm back! As you might guess, I've had troubles writing lately... As usual, I'm starting lots and lots of projects and I never have enough time to work on all of them... But I'm definitely not giving up on this, nor any othe project ! It will take time, but I'll work on them all, I promise. Altough I'll avoid posting any new and uncompleted serie.

That's all with my ranting, I hope you'll like this chapter !

Healing was slow. Sometimes painful as she had to push herself back onto her strained legs, sometimes fearful as she was left alone facing her various interrogations and anxieties. But for the most part, Blake was glad. She was still alive. No sign of major modification of her body so far, as she had feared, no particular weakness other than the one induced by her forced rest, and best of all, she finally felt safe.

Most of that safety she imputed on Yang, the blonde staying true to her words and not once leaving her side. Even when it was clear that she had almost entirely healed and could be up and about, she had insisted on staying with Blake until she felt ready to start walking again. And then begun the lengthy process of gaining back her strength, stance, confidence and independence. Everyone around was immensely helping, from Coco's somewhat rude but hearty and caring comments to Weiss' small sympathetic gestures, but Yang was the one most present to her. No matter the task at hand, no matter how boring or simple it might be, Yang would be here. Helping her get through when she felt like she just couldn't do it, cheering her for the smallest of achievements… Every step of the way, the lioness was there, caring and thoughtful, a true beacon on this sea of worries threatening to drown her every now and then.

She had been the only one to which Blake had been willing to speak about the irrational fears clouding her… The only one she had been sure would understand. How would anyone not knowing Merlot understand that awful, nagging feeling that something wasn't right at all, that this madmen had changed something deep within her? That at any time, she might turn into a Grimm of sorts, or maybe just start throwing up some of that fluorescent green? No, no one aside from Yang could understand that… simply because Yang knew what it felt like, to be treated as a lab mice. And Blake was immensely glad and thankful that she was willing to listen to her incoherent and fearful ranting, that each time she would reassure her, tell her that everything was going to be okay from now on.

Little by little she started to regain independence, and even if she appreciated a lot all the help lent to her, she was dying to just be able to get up, walk a bit and get a glass of water all on her own. It was such a simple task… She had tried it a few times already, usually in the middle of the night when she didn't want to wake anyone, but it had just led her to collapsing somewhere along the way, and then Yang magically appearing at her side to help her back on her feet. She had made progress, little by little… And tonight she was sure of it, she was going to succeed. She put extra-care in her attempt at getting out of bed without waking Yang, and unlike the first time she tried, she actually managed to avoid collapsing on the ground right away and startling Yang out of sleep. Taking her time, leaning on the nearest surface for support, she focused on the door, a determined look now deeply set on her face. She stumbled a bit, nearly crashed onto the door, but finally she was able to open it and venture further into the house. Aiming for the kitchen, she then begun making her way through the corridor, using the various small tables for support or the walls when there weren't tables. She was so focused on the task at hand that at first she didn't even notice the soft singing coming from Ruby's room… But by the time she walked past her door, it was unmistakable. And unmistakably Weiss' voice too, which brought a crease to her brows. What in tarnation was Weiss doing, up and singing at such hours?

Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on her objective. If Weiss wanted to practice singing in the wee hours of the night, she would certainly not interrupt. Instead, she resumed her progression, making sure that she took slow, stable steps forward regularly as to not overdo it.

What she didn't see was the discreet, smiling shadow that poked her head through the door from time to time to make sure she was okay.

The trickiest part of her entire self-made objective was probably filling the glass. It seemed such an easy and natural gesture, she had never put much thought to it, especially when she had never reached the sink before… But she had to hold the slowly filling glass under the water, with little to no support. When she had to support herself with both hands on most of the travel, she now had to stand on her feet only if she wanted to actually turn on the water. Clenching her teeth, she refused to give in to simplicity, stubbornly refusing to simply let the glass support itself on the bottom of the sink while she filled it, forcing herself to hold straight without support.

When finally she drank a gulp from it, her legs were wobbly but her resolve was multiplied tenfold. She surprised herself smiling into the night, her insecurities for once put aside by this simple; joyful truth : she was healing. She was getting back to normal.

Well as normal as having a strong headache, nausea and uncomfortable tiredness in her legs could feel after such little effort. She turned slowly, careful as to not spin her head anymore, and while she was planning to simply find a chair and rest in it before going back to her room, she wasn't expecting the warm, almost proud smile plastered on Yang's face across the kitchen. To be fair, she wasn't expecting to see Yang, period. The glass fell from her grasp, the shock enough to break her already weakened hold on it… but swiftly, the lioness' tail wrapped around it, preventing it from breaking against the cold tiles of the kitchen.

"Heya, careful with that" Yang smirked softly, before getting the glass back into her hands and on the countertop.

"I… wasn't expecting to see you" Blake confessed, still a bit surprised.

"Well you know what they say, never trust a sleeping cat," she winked, emphasized by the sweep of her tail. "I kind of always keep an eye on you, just in case."

Usually, this kind of admission would have only pissed her, but seeing the state she was in, she just felt grateful that someone was always here to pick her up if she fell. But as the implications of Yang's word started to sink in, she gradually felt herself hesitate more and more between grateful and absolutely flustered. Now blushing fiercely, she chose the latter as her eyes suddenly were magnetized by the patterns on the floor, her planned answer stuck in her throat.

"Oh god that sounds way more creepy than I intended to, I swear."

Slowly raising her head, she was met with the sight of a semi flustered, semi panicked Yang : eyes open wide, hand stopped mid-movement ruffling her blonde mane and a slight blush creeping over her cheeks. She couldn't help but laugh at her expense, a kind and genuine laugh that rumbled through her chest jotting back her memories. She hadn't laughed in a while…

"It's okay Yang, I'm glad you're taking care of me. You're so strong… I don't know how you can hold everything after Merlot…"

At her surprise, there wasn't an answer. Focusing more on the other girl, she noticed that her hands were shaking ever so slightly, her knuckles whiting under the pressure she used to grip the side of the counter. Meanwhile, her expression was motionless, perfectly calm… One could easily overlook the discreet signs of her growing panic… Seeing her breathing rhythm accelerate needed some carfeul – and admittedly, blatant – staring.

"Yang? Are you okay?" Blake tempted, the question hung in the air while she fidgeted, visibly uncomfortable.

What she hadn't expected was the confident, calm answer harshly contrasting with the still shaking hands and making her wonder how long exactly Yang had been hiding, holding everything in to the point of explosion.

"Yeah, I'm quite good! What about it?"

"Yang, you're shaking. Please, don't lie to me… You've been there for me, I want to be there for you too," Blake made a step forward, and then another, slowly closing the distance between them.

"I… I'm so fucking lost…" Yang hiccupped, fear and sadness crashing over her face altogether, her legs faltering under the sudden wave of emotions that seemed about to drown her.

Yang collapsed the moment Blake was close enough to catch her, as if she'd been waiting just that. For a split second Blake's legs shook under her, and she thought that they'd both crash on the floor… but instead she held strong, realizing how much bravery it must have taken, to let her feelings get the better of her. Yang needed her strong right now, so she would be strong. As long as needed for the blonde to recover, no matter how long that might be. Nose buried in the crook of Blake's neck, the lioness sobbed quietly, hardly able to utter a word for a few minutes. When she finally could, she kept her head over the bookworm's shoulder, ushering confidences softly.

"I just don't know what to do… I barely sleep because I expect this damned bell to ring at any moment… I'm completely terrified of Weiss… I can't even do anything if I'm not ordered around…" Her fingers dug slightly in the flesh of Blake's back as she desperately clung to her, as if she was about to drown and Blake was her lifeline. "I'm a goddamn mess," she then sighed, the desperate note in her tone breaking Blake's heart.

She wished she'd seen that abysmal wound way before. Wished she'd have done more, that she could do more. Wished she knew what to do, what to say… Wished she could cry with Yang, cry away the pain that she felt lingering here, poisoning each and every aspects of the lioness' life, but instead she gently, repeatedly stoked her back, hoping to soothe her just a little. Yang didn't need someone to cry with… she needed a shoulder to cry on. She needed someone to be there, strong enough to support her while she picked up her remains.

In a kitchen in the middle of nowhere, in the quiet of the night, for once it was Blake's turn to promise that everything would be okay.

I replied to Edward Verdant in PMs, but just in case other might be asking the same questions :
- Faunus aren't considered citizens. Vale is working toward suppressing Faunus' slavery altogether, but it's recent and technically Yang was out of law when the Atlas military captured her. Also they can't exactly attack Atlas over that, since slavery is still legal over there. Kind of like what's happening cannonically with the SDC: some people know the awful state of Faunus workers, but there's very little that can be done.

- The slaves were kept in good physical conditions for many reasons : first, they were doing hars work daily, and as such did not loose that much stenght. Second, a sick / weak slave is useless, so the Schnee made sure to properly feed them. Third, it's way too rushed but they actually had several weeks to train and get used back to their weapons. Fourth, adrenaline and a desperate attempt for freddom definitely boosted them here.

There! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to review: it warms my heart every time I read one of your comments, and feedback helps me improve