Ruby quietly slipped inside the medic's house and silently closed the wooden door behind her. She moved stealthily across the first floor, hoping to get upstairs without waking anyone, but she wasn't so lucky. Halfway across the waiting room area, the light flicked on, revealing Yang leaning casually against the wall next to the switch.

"Welcome back, Ruby. Have fun putting your life in danger?" As she spoke, Yang closed the distance between herself and Ruby. When the redhead tried to back away, Yang gripped her shoulder to keep her from moving. Ruby blushed and suddenly became very interested in the floorboards.

"I'm sorry, Yang. Last night, I saw something outside and I had to check it out! I- it could've- I thought it was a White Fang-"

"So you went outside in the cold while you were injured, by yourself, looking for what you thought could've been an enemy who would kill you without question? Ruby, do you realize how stupid that is?" Yang shook Ruby slightly as she spoke. "Ruby, maybe you've forgotten, but the White Fang isn't a joke. They're cold-blooded killers."

"But what if they're planning an attack?" Ruby shot back, more than a little irked by Yang's doubts.

"Then we'd be attacked whether you had gone looking or not! And if you were hurt or captured hunting for them? How would you help us then?" Yang's eyes had turned red, and she gestured in exasperation with her stump arm as she tried to make Ruby see sense.

"Yang, I..." Ruby began dejectedly, realizing that her sibling was right. "I'm sorry." Yang sighed and released Ruby's shoulder.

"Well, I'll give you this. There was a White Fang member outside your window last night." Yang smirked as Ruby tentatively raised her eyes from the floor. "They're upstairs. See for yourself," she stated matter-of-factly, hand on her hip. Ruby's eyes widened in excitement.

"Really?" Before Yang could stop her, Ruby had sped up the stairs to the recovery room. She yanked open the door, and the sight that greeted her was not what she was expecting.

There, on the hospital bed across from where Ruby had been sleeping the night before, lay Blake, with one ankle bound in a splint. Ruby softly made her way over to the bed, not quite believing what she was seeing. Her teammate slept on, completely oblivious. As Ruby drew closer, she noticed other injuries besides the cat Faunus' bound ankle. Scrapes and bruises from what must've been dozens of fights covered her arms and face, some no older than a day or two. A mostly healed, stitched up gash from a sword ran the length of her left bicep, proving that Blake's opponents hadn't all been Grimm. Ruby stopped at Blake's bedside and reached out to touch her, as if to confirm she was really there. She jerked back as Blake whimpered something unintelligible in her sleep, frightened that she'd accidentally woken the girl up.

"She's back for good, Ruby." Yang spoke with a soft tone from her spot in the doorway before walking over to join her sister. "Her ankle got twisted up pretty bad in one of my traps, though. It's probably gonna take some time to heal, aura or no." Yang placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder and gently guided her over to her own bed, "C'mon, Rubes. It's time for you to go to bed, too."

Ruby let Yang lead her, but got one final glance at Blake as she walked away from the bed. The dark-haired girl stirred slightly in her sleep, muttering something else, but other than that, she seemed to be resting comfortably. Ruby smiled and turned back around, happy that her team was starting to come back together.


In the morning, Blake rose with the sun. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, longing to go back to sleep, but knowing that her body simply wouldn't allow it. With a sigh, she looked around at her surroundings, allowing herself to take time to wake up for the first time in weeks. It was still the same bedroom she'd gone to sleep in, and she was still in the same bed. Only one thing had changed: she wasn't alone.

Blake looked across the room, spotting a figure in the bed opposite hers that was too small to be Yang. She carefully retrieved the crutches the doctor had kindly loaned her and rose unsteadily to her feet. She moved as quietly as she could to the side of the other bed, and instantly recognized the sleeping figure of Ruby. The girl was leaner than when Blake had last seen her, and her hair had grown a few inches longer and was a tangled mess, but all things considered she looked fine. Blake realized she probably couldn't say the same for herself.

When was the last time I even looked in a mirror? Blake wondered absently as she glanced at her blurry reflection in the window pane. Her cat ears perked up as she heard familiar voices downstairs.

Blake hobbled to the staircase, nearly falling down it twice as she awkwardly made her way to the first floor. She entered the living room to find Ren and Nora sitting on the couch, deep in conversation that for once was not completely one-sided. The pair didn't notice Blake for a moment. Ren spotted her first, and his sentence trailed off at the sight of her. Both looked confused, but excited to see her.

"…Blake?" Nora asked in disbelief. "Ren, you see her too, right? I'm not going crazy?"

"Nora, Ren. It's nice to see you two again." Blake forced a smile. There was no point in worrying them. "I'm assuming Yang didn't tell you I was here?"

Nora quickly jumped up and hugged Blake, prompting a small admonition from Ren when Blake nearly dropped one of her crutches. "No, we had no idea! This is awesome!" Nora began babbling on as Blake followed her to the couch and sat next to the pair.

Ren waited until Nora was finished before he spoke again. "It truly is great to see you. Are you going to be traveling with us as well?" Ren had turned his entire body to face Blake, and he grinned at her.

"I don't think I have much choice," Blake responded with a small laugh, still smiling. Even with Adam's threat looming over her, she'd missed the others. She really had. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course we don't mind, silly! I'm sure Pyrrha will love to see you, too!" Nora was practically bouncing with excitement, but her words made Blake confused and concerned.

"…Pyrrha?" Blake asked cautiously, thinking back to the few snippets of news she'd heard while in hiding. "But didn't Cinder...?"

"Nope! Well, yes. But she got better... Sort of. She's a big fluffy Nymean now! She's just as kind and sweet and she still knows exactly how to cheer anyone up!" Nora gestured enthusiastically as she spoke, but Blake was even more confused.

"She's… a Nymean?" Instantly Blake's mind flashed to a powerful, lion-like Grimm the size of a house, covered in razor sharp spikes. "How?" Her brow furrowed as she struggled to think of any way a human could become a Grimm. Ren sighed and leaned back into the couch.

"We… Don't exactly know. Jaune's the only person who can understand her, and she either hasn't told him or she simply doesn't know herself. " He paused briefly, giving Blake time to process the information. "However, I can assure you that it's really her; both Nora and I have held conversations with her. She understood and even responded to what we were saying. Even though her aura is a little... wild... right now, you can still feel it and know whose it is," Ren shrugged and grimaced slightly. Blake leaned back, staring at the ceiling as she struggled to come to terms with the information.

"So… Can I speak to her, then?" She asked after a moment, brushing a stray lock of her hair behind her human ear. "I think I need to see her myself to believe it."

"Sure you can. As soon as you explain yourself," Yang's voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs. She and Blake locked eyes. "I think we deserve to know why you abandoned us in Vale."

Blake maintained eye contact for a few seconds, the night of The Fall replaying in her mind. Yang was right; they did deserve to know. But what would they do once they knew what was wrong? She didn't want them living in fear as she did - or worse, trying to attack the White Fang and drawing its attention to themselves.

"I've got all day." Yang raised an eyebrow and leaned on the wall.

Blake sighed, shifting slightly on the couch. She took one last glance up at Yang before beginning, "You remember my old partner, Adam?"

"Yeah, I believe we've met," Yang answered through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing red for a second at the mention of the man who had cut off her arm. Blake swallowed nervously and continued her story.

"Before you showed up to… Help me, he told me that he was going to destroy everything I love. And when both of us heard you calling my name, he said… He said you'd be first." Yang stared in shock, first at Blake, then at her stump arm. She raised her hand to her neck, as if suddenly realizing how close she'd come to death. Blake rubbed her arm and looked at the floor.

"I left… I left so that you'd be safe. So that everyone would be safe from Adam. He's a dangerous man, Yang, and I couldn't let him get to any of you again. I'm sorry." Yang shook her head and crossed the room to the couch, placing a hand on Blake's shoulder. "I... if I was gone... He couldn't follow me to you. You'd be safer. I didn't have time to tell you. I'm so sorry."

"Seriously?" Yang inquired. "You ran away... to protect us?" She shook her head. "Never mind. It doesn't matter anymore. We're together now, and Dust help Adam if he tries coming after us." She grinned encouragingly at Blake before sauntering off toward the kitchen. "Let's get some breakfast. Then we can all go see Pyrrha together." Blake nodded, grabbing her crutches. Yang glanced up at Blake's head. "Oh, and, uh, you might wanna lose the bow. It's shredded."

Blake raised a hand to her head in shock. Sure enough, her fingers brushed against the short, soft fur of her ears. The fabric of her bow was in tatters, barely held together by a few threads. She hesitated for a brief moment, then reluctantly tugged it off.


REVIEW REPLY TIME!

I'm so glad we cleared up the confusion surrounding Weiss. Sorry if Ruby's lack of doing things was disappointing.

patleon909: Actually, it was Blake.

Prolazynator: No problem. The response was worded very vaguely.