A/N: Okay, I'm making a bunch of excuses before you read this chapter. I'll admit it right here and now. I've been procrastinating like mother fucker lol. Dragon Age Inquisition has been consuming ALL of my time and I'll admit I just typed this up today. Next week I should be 100% complete with the game so I can focus on writing again.
I know I wasn't at my best in this chapter; which is why I shortened it in length, but this is just a stepping stone for the main juicy part of the story to take rise.
Also do you guys want me to continue doing separate PoVs or have transitions during interaction (kind of how I attempted to do in this chapter). Either way I don't mind.
Thanks again everyone and sorry. Next week will be a fun chapter as well. Get to see some favorites in action! :)
Totally almost made this enabler by the way. (Thanks Skype lol).
"Jus' relax there, girl. I'm sure the 'Cap will bring here 'ere."
Yang scowled at the man, for possibly the eightieth time that night. Currently she and Duncan were walking around the camp in an attempt to calm the fiery blonde girl. Once Yang and the rest of the Vanguard had entered the camp, she had hunted for Weiss to talk to the General one last time about her sister. She spotted the white haired General but not before she had entered a tent that was guarded by sentries.
Although Yang thought about marching into the tent anyway, she was pulled aside by Captain LeAnn who ordered her back to the Vanguard's sleeping area to prepare for new orders. Begrudgingly Yang listened and attended to making camp with her other comrades.
Once they were done though, the blonde grew anxious to see her sister again. She knew somewhere in this same camp Ruby was strolling around most likely. It calmed her heart a bit, but still Yang couldn't shake that feeling of despair she felt for Ruby. She would never forgive herself if something had happened to her little sister. The nightmares she had the night she witnessed her mother be killed started to rise to the surface once again.
I won't lose Ruby. I'll protect her; I swore that I would… I'll never forgive myself if something happened to her…
The reassuring arm that went over her shoulders though made the downcast gaze of Yang look up and over; spotting Duncan.
Although Yang was borderline feeling depressed, feeling the physical touch of something as small as an arm around her made her feel warm. It was an odd feeling that she still wasn't quite used to. The Vanguard members seemed to look out for her more and more, and she wasn't quite sure why or even how to respond back to their kindness. All she could do was smile towards Duncan's goofy smirk he gave her.
"See, lass? Cheered ya right up!" The man announced with a haughty laugh.
The blonde swordswoman couldn't help but break out in a small genuine smile at that. She still didn't really know Duncan but could tell the man had the fundamentals of a good person in his heart. When he spotted her shuffling about earlier, he jogged up to her to listen to her problems and joined her on the walk they now were currently on.
Although she didn't say much about what was wrong; Yang knew that most of the group of Vanguards she spoke to were aware of her sister and how she was in fact looking for her. Yang knew that she couldn't keep the fact hidden for long; and quite frankly she wasn't sure why she wanted to anyway.
Maybe because I… I'm not used to being close to others…?
She continued looking over at Duncan as they walked with his arm around her shoulders still. Yang traced his features with her eyes; his deep dark brown hair, the scar on his forehead, his defined cheekbones…
"See somthin' ya like, girlie?"
And his deep accent.
Yang shook her head slowly before looking forward again. "You wish. Where are you from anyway? That accent of yours is pretty impressive." She asked curiously.
Duncan took his hand off Yang's shoulders and stretched his upper body before replying. "Me an' my mum grew up in Mistral. S'why I hav' this 'ere accent, mayhap?"
Yang nodded as she listened before scouring the area in front of her for any signs of Weiss or Ruby, but not spotting either.
"Mistral? That's a long way from Vale… How'd you end up moving here?"
She looked over at the slightly taller man as he chuckled a bit. "Well, looky 'ere! Got ya nice an curious 'bout me, eh?"
Yang rolled her eyes but continued to listen to the man jest.
"Anyways me mum an' I moved to Vale 'bout three years ago after the civil war that brewed back in me mother country. I enlisted in the city guard, but it seemed as if the ol' General noticed my talent of bein' alert with a keen eye. So he recruited me into the Order. I only joined up wit' the Vanguard las' year." He explained.
Yang continued to listen a bit as she still searched for a head of crimson or white hair among the soldiers who were still walking around the camp but continued to fail. Although as she listened; one part of his story caught her attention.
"He?" She asked.
Duncan nodded his head before continuing. "Aye, he. 'Twas General William Schnee 'for young Weiss took the reins of the Order."
Yang mentally kicked herself. She almost forgot all the teaching her late uncle had passed down on her regarding the old Generals before the new generation took over. She knew about the former General William Schnee.
"So for three years you've been enlisted, huh? Have you and the others been together long?" The blonde asked casually. She was actually feeling herself calming down from her earlier sour mood; talking was actually quite enjoyable for the time being, as she found herself rather curious about her comrades' past.
"Aye, by the others I'm sure you mean our little group. Rebecca an' I joined the Vanguard together. She's a good lass, sharp with the bow. Isaac is a firm man, alas he an' the 'Cap have a thing goin' on, but those two were in the Vanguard before me. Although the 'Cap was only a Sergeant at the time 'fore she took command." Duncan continued to explain as he turned his gaze towards the starry filled night sky and exhaled. "Jacinth or Jay as we all came to call her now; is… Was the newest member of our family. But now we have ya! Our own little excitable ball of 'appiness!" He finished, laughing all the while.
Yang joined him in his small laughter and joke, but someone running towards the camp from the forest's edge caught her eyes. Turning her gaze towards the incoming person; instinctively she reached her right hand behind her back and wrapped it around the hilt of her great sword; in case it was a threat.
Duncan seemed to read the mood and turned his gaze in the same direction before grabbing his sword from his belt at the sight of a potential threat.
"The hell's that?" He asked uncertainly as he drew is long sword from its sheath.
Yang followed suit as she withdrew her large blade from its scabbard on her back and took up an attacking posture. Whoever was running towards them seemed to slow down a bit and appeared to be carrying something on their back. It was too dark for Yang to see exactly who or what they were, but it didn't look like there was more than this one person. It couldn't have been a Haven attacking force. So the blonde relaxed a bit and waited.
She watched on with Duncan at her side; weapon still at the ready while the figure started to slow to a jog towards them.
And finally walked into the light from a nearby campfire.
"Oh, it's just Weiss' pet cat… Just out for a nightly st-" Yang started to tease the girl until she spotted the head of crimson hair resting on her shoulders.
"W- Wha…? R- Ruby? Ruby?!" Yang shouted; dropping her weapon as she rushed towards Blake who was now walking to them and looking towards Yang with a worried look.
"I- I found your sister…" Blake mumbled as she carefully set Ruby down into Yang's arms.
Blake wasn't sure when Ruby had fallen asleep on her back while she ran. In fact she had no idea the girl could even sleep like that; she wasn't exactly running steadily as she fled from the Haven encampment. The small girl must've been exhausted from what she had endured in that tent.
Yang took her sister into her arms and held her bridal style while peering into the smaller girl's sleeping face. The first thing Yang noticed however was that Ruby was nude; save for the red cloak around her that the blonde used to wrap her sister's body. Although before she wrapped her up she spotted the bleeding wounds across her stomach and glared at Blake.
She felt herself shaking from anger and joy. The sudden torrent of tears that emerged from her eyes was instantaneous after finally witnessing her sister's face. As bloodied and dirty as it was, she could see and feel Ruby breathing quietly.
The feeling of finally seeing the last of her family in her arms calmed her a bit, but not quite all the way. The wounds, her current condition, and why Blake was carrying her out from the woods? It all didn't quite make sense.
"Blake… I'm only going to ask you this once; what happened to my sister?" Yang growled lowly, despite trying to keep her voice even.
The blonde kept her lilac eyes on her filthy sister's slumbering face. Ruby was stirring every few seconds as if she was having a nightmare. Just like the days they still traveled alone together. It was only a few days ago, but it felt like an eternity; these last few days had dragged on much too long for Yang's liking. To finally see her sister again; like this, it only furthered to prove her last nightmare correct. Yang in fact; couldn't protect Ruby. She had almost failed…
"I… Weiss and I met with General Cardin earlier." Blake began as she hunched over slightly as if to catch her breath. "Immediately Weiss made sure as to ask about your sister; never forgetting her promise to you." She continued sharply, earning a slight glare from Yang.
"Anyways, Cardin said that your sister hadn't reported back to the camp after she and her group were tasked out with scouting the wilderness…" Yang now focused her full attention on Blake and seemed to stand straighter. Yang felt her anger getting the best of her once more, even with having her smaller sister in her arms again.
This didn't go unnoticed as Blake met Yang's glare with a look of apprehension. The Faunus was unsure just how much she should tell the blonde brute about what happened. She could tell by the girl's posture that she was growing angrier with each second that passed.
But thinking back on the state she found Ruby, and how hard she knew Yang in fact was searching for the girl… Blake decided to tell her the entire story; truth and all. She owed that to the blonde at least.
Blake sighed and met Yang's eyes as she continued. "Weiss sent me off to find your sister and the rest of her scouting band." The ebon haired girl shifted and decided to skip the amulet and mysterious woman in the forest part. "I came across a Haven encampment not too far in these very same woods; where Ruby was being held… She was the only survivor."
Blake's gold eyes still held Yang's attention as the blonde was now rocking her sister's sleeping form slightly as if lulling her into a peaceful slumber. She never would have imagined that Yang of all people could have such a motherly appeal to her.
"That doesn't explain these wounds; and speaking of which…" Yang perked up as she spun on her heel and headed back towards the camp quickly.
"Aye, I'll look fer a surgeon!" Duncan called off as he finally broke the silence he kept as he watched the odd family reunion; jogging off in search of someone to care for Ruby.
Blake watched the man jog off and turned her gaze back to Yang and Ruby's retreating form and decided to follow them. She was no surgeon but she had medical knowledge on how to clean wounds using herbs; disallowing for infection.
And so she jogged to catch up with the insufferable blonde who she had grown to hate over the days; in an attempt to take care of her sister.
Weird how things pan out.
But Blake told herself the same thing she kept saying in her head this whole night…
I'm not doing this for Yang… I'm doing this for Weiss… and Ruby.
After the talks with General Cardin, Weiss began to wonder about the well-being of his soldiers after this upcoming battle. But she had to admit, what the man didn't have in grace he made up for in his savage tactics.
The upcoming siege of Sanctum would take place tomorrow at the first rise of the sun. Preparations were sent out to each company commander by her runners and now Weiss was making her way to her personal tent to hopefully get at least some sleep before tomorrow's big battle.
"General Weiss!"
Or maybe not…
Weiss turned her cold stare towards the energetic voice and laid her ice blue eyes on a head of ginger hair belonging to her newly appointed squad leader of one of her raiding divisions; Lieutenant Penny.
The ebon armor clad girl was waving happily towards her as she jogged to reach Weiss. The former, exhaled sharply as she halted and tapped her foot in annoyance, but knew it was futile. One thing she's learned about Penny over the last couple of days was that the girl was as clueless to body language as a rock. Unless it involved battle, Weiss would rather stay away from the girl. She just seemed slightly odd to her. Sure she was a 1st Legion member, but maybe the method of being raised to kill ever since you're born was bound to loosen a few screws.
The girl finally caught up to her and Weiss resumed her stride towards her own tent, now with Penny walking beside her; still smiling.
"General, I've just gotten word! The battle's to be tomorrow? I received the plans but I was hoping I could go over a few things with you that I noticed, I'm confident I can improve them!" The orange haired girl exclaimed.
Weiss just nodded her head slowly, it wasn't really that she hated the girl per se; quite the contrary. She was an invaluable ally. She may be annoying but her strategic mind; most likely from being a 1st Legion officer, helped Weiss out in battle planning. She knew that's why the girl was left in Vale for anyway; to help Weiss in her decisions and tactics.
"Sure… I'll listen to your adjustments, as soon as we get to my tent." The young General uttered as she finally rounded a corner and set her eyes on her goal, and broke into a genuine smile.
She could feel the entire days' worth of aches and pains in her body from the long horse ride here, but the thought of finally resting her head and body on the silk sheets and pillows washed all the negative feelings in her mind. She was so close!
But then Blake entered her mind… Weiss could hear Penny still prattling on about something but tuned her out for now. Looking up towards the sky and the moon, she couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy. By how the moon was positioned it meant that Blake had been gone for a little over an hour.
Surely she should be back by now?
Just as Weiss turned her gaze back towards her tent though; she spotted a man jogging straight for them seemingly looking for something or someone. His armor represented that he was in her Order and she even noticed the black lion markings of The Vanguard on his shoulder armor.
She continued to watch the man jog towards her but look around aimlessly before finally noticing herself and coming to a halt while snapping off a salute.
Weiss also stopped and returned the gesture; allowing the Vanguard soldier to relax from his position of attention, but she was somewhat curious as to what he was doing running around in the middle of the night. She ordered all soldiers to bed down after finishing their preparations.
"Who are you, soldier?" She asked sternly as she met his green eyes.
"Aye, Corporal Duncan, General! Servin' under Cap'n LeAnn's Vanguard unit!" The soldier named Duncan stated in a heavy accent.
"Oh? And just what are you doing running around looking lost?" Weiss again asked in an aggressive tone. She heard Penny off to her right shift a bit.
Duncan seemed to be sweating as if he had been running for a bit, still armed and armored but managed to give off an even response despite all that.
"Lookin' fer a surgeon or a doctor, ma'am. We 'av a wounded soldier jus' brought in… By yer bodyguard no less, Blake." He answered with a semi-curious look.
Weiss froze momentarily before narrowing her eyes at the man. "Take me to them."
She watched Duncan move his mouth as if to retort but then think better of it as he turned on his heel and headed back the way he came from. "Aye!"
Weiss fell in step with him as he jogged but turned to her side at Penny. "Lieutenant; I need you to find me a-" Weiss began until Penny cut her off.
"I am well versed in cleaning out wounds or sewing them up. I'll just need a few basic things; I'll take care of it!" The girl reassured; with her smile still ever present.
The white haired General nodded and continued to follow Duncan as he ran towards wherever Blake was. And if Blake was there with Yang's sister… Weiss already knew that Yang wouldn't be too far off.
"Duncan was it? Is Yang already present?" Weiss inquired, although she was sure she knew the answer already.
"Aye, Blondie is present." He answered without looking over his shoulder.
Weiss exhaled deeply at that.
Well, there goes my plan for a peaceful sleep tonight.
"S- She was tortured?! A- Are you kidding me? By who?"
Blake pinched the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm herself. She knew she shouldn't have continued the story while Yang was in this state. Anger was the only emotion the girl fell back on instead of trying to use her head or even yet; care for her sister! Instead of trying to seek revenge.
She and Yang had brought Ruby to an empty tent and laid Ruby in it, bandaging her wounds as best as they could for now, before wiping her down with rags to clean her of the sweat, blood, and dirt that covered her body.
"By the White Fang. They're a Faunus militant organization that hires out to countries for work. A large band of merciless mercenaries and assassins basically. It seemed as if Haven turned your sister's group to one of their senior members to try to get information out of them… Although from what I saw; it was … for lack of a better term, messy. Your sister was the only one left alive and I was only able to recover that crossbow of hers and a cloak to cover her up with. I couldn't risk doing anything else; in fact I was surprised we even made it out of there with no problems." Blake finished.
Yang balled her hands into fists before relaxing them and looking back towards Ruby's face. It was not as twisted like she wasn't having bad dreams anymore but she was tinged red as if she was about to run a fever.
"Where the hell is Duncan with the surgeon?!" Yang hissed as she knelt back beside the cot Ruby was on, and wiped a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"Ruby… I'm… I'm sorry. I'll never leave you alone again… I broke my promise before but I- I swear I'll keep this one." She muttered quietly; although unsure if to her sister or to herself.
"I'm back!"
Blake and Yang both turned towards the front of the tent and spotted Duncan entering with a small smile on his face.
Just as Yang was about to scold the man for not bringing anyone else though, she spotted a head of white hair walking into the tent, followed by a black armored girl close behind.
"W- Weiss? What are you doing here?" Blake asked then.
Weiss just smiled towards her friend before walking towards the cot where Yang was kneeling next to. "Lieutenant Penny and I ran into Duncan here and I asked him to show us where you were, is all." She explained casually.
Yang visibly tensed up once she noticed Weiss nearing her and her sister though. "What do you want?" The blonde asked angrily towards Weiss.
The General sighed before shaking her head. "Now why are you angry with me? I promised to get your sister back, and here she is!" She spoke as she looked towards the girl on the bed.
Ruby was her name? She looks young… Younger than the legal age to even join the service.
But the sound of Yang's voice broke Weiss out of her thoughts.
"You should have told me you knew where she was. I'd have gone in Blake's place. Then this wouldn't have happened!" She shouted as she motioned towards her sister's bandaged wounds.
Weiss flinched slightly at the outburst and the wounds. It looked like multiple slices towards the girl's stomach, and the bandages were already soaked with blood and tinged crimson.
"Well that's what Lieutenant Penny is here for; it seems as if she's trained medically, so leave it to her." Weiss announced as Penny walked forward next to the cot and ran her hand across Ruby's stomach.
Yang flinched and looked as if she was about to sock the orange haired girl for touching her sister, but Weiss gave Yang a stern look that stopped her.
After a few moments of silence as Penny looked over the girl she broke into another smile and turned to look at Yang. "She'll be fine. I just need to clean the wounds and I'll have them sewn up; no problem! They aren't all very deep but she'll have some slight scarring. I can have this done within the hour, okay?"
It sounded as if she were trying to calm Yang down and reassure her that everything was going to be fine. And it actually looked as if it was working. Yang's entire body seemed to relax at her words as she stood up. Weiss kept her eyes on the wild blonde and couldn't help but notice how tired Yang actually looked now. As if all her worrying and stress over the last days was related to her sister's welfare. She couldn't help but smile a bit towards how caring Yang in fact was.
Ruby's lucky to have a sister like that… She'll do anything for her; even defy a General.
Weiss started to walk out of the tent, giving Blake a look to follow her; but stopped at Penny's next words.
"She won't be fighting tomorrow though. She'll require complete bed rest for at least a couple of days."
Weiss halted and turned to look at Yang. If she knew the blonde… and she did… She could already hear the girl's thoughts. She wouldn't leave her sister's side and participate in the upcoming battle tomorrow.
"I'm not leaving her side." She then said.
Weiss chuckled lightly at how she had called it but then turned serious. Now facing Yang she spoke. "I kept my end of our promise, now it's time for you to keep yours. You said you'd fight for me and listen to me if I recall correctly."
She watched the taller girl turn to look at her with tear filled eyes and Weiss felt her breath hitch in her throat. She never even knew Yang could evoke such emotions like sadness before. It didn't look right to her for some reason.
"Family comes first. Once she's up and about; I'll be your little soldier. For now, I'm not leaving her." Yang growled.
Penny though was the next to speak. "Can you all take it outside? Doctor's orders. Duncan is it? Bring me thread, a needle and a flask of water as well as wool bandages."
Duncan hurried out of the tent in search of the supplies asked of him, with Weiss and Blake not far behind. "Let us finish our conversation outside then. Surely you can wait just outside the tent?" The white haired General taunted towards Yang, knowing that those kinds of actions were bound to get her to listen.
As she thought, Yang soon joined them outside; standing with her arms crossed and staring defiantly back towards her superior. "I already told you, I'm not leaving her."
Weiss instantly frowned and sighed. She really just wanted to head to bed. "Listen, Yang. Your sister isn't going anywhere. I'll have someone personally watch her and ensure she's fine."
But Yang instantly found a hole in that argument. "I can do that then." She stated as she smirked towards Weiss.
Weiss heard Blake groan annoyed next to her before speaking. "Seriously, Yang? Aft-"
But Weiss interrupted her. "How about Blake?"
She watched two pairs of eyes look at her confused. But before they could even ask why, she continued. "How about having Blake watch your sister? She already has proven that she has the best interests for your sister at heart. She rescued her, plus I'm sure you can trust her as well." She finished, somewhat proud of the hastily drawn out plan.
But after a few seconds of silence Yang spoke up again, this time though her tone was much more curious than her usual angry one. "Why do you want me to fight so badly?"
Weiss hadn't thought of that one though. She felt her cheeks burn a bit from embarrassment and was thankful for the dark in that moment. She thought about it a bit and wasn't quite sure of the real reason for it.
Well not the true reason, perhaps.
"Because you're strong. Already you have people idolizing your prowess. I heard stories about how you; a brand new recruit massacred a handful of Haven troops singlehandedly. Just having you on the frontlines now would inspire more to fight harder; and plus you are a part of my Vanguard unit. You are my main offensive unit. I … I need the best of the best." Weiss explained.
She didn't want to keep explaining and hoped the offhand compliment to the girl would sway her opinion.
Silence once again took hold of the conversation as none of the girls said anything. Until the sounds of boots were heard and Duncan came running back into view; halting momentarily at the three outside the tent before walking inside to deliver the supplies Penny had asked for.
After what seemed like almost a half hour of silence Yang finally spoke again. "Blake, I know we don't get along, and quite frankly I don't care about that now… But if I leave to fight tomorrow; do you promise on your life to watch over my sister? Until I come back victorious." She finished, cracking that cocky grin of hers towards the last sentence.
Weiss felt herself smile at Yang, seeing as she regained some of her old self back now, but then turned to look at her bodyguard and close friend. She couldn't help but feel bad for dumping another task on her involuntarily. But then Blake returned Yang's grin with her own.
"Only if you promise to come back alive, I don't feel like explaining your death to that adorable sister of yours." Blake countered playfully.
Weiss raised her eyes at that; it seemed as if the impossible was happening; Yang and Blake actually starting to get along? Now she was sure she had to get to bed!
"Watch it Kitty; you of all people should know I won't fall so easily." Yang chuckled out, to which Blake also laughed.
"I promise Yang, she won't come to harm with me." Blake announced seriously though, to which she held her black gloved hand out for a handshake.
Yang eyed the girl a moment before wrapping her white armored hand around Blake's and shook. "Thanks, Kitty… I mean it."
Blake just nodded at that as they dropped their handshake.
Weiss smiled then. "Glad to see you two finally starting to get along now." Although both Yang and Blake scoffed at that.
"She's stable and still asleep. Just let her rest and she shall recover in no time!"
Everyone turned to the tent and spotted Penny placing her gauntlets back on her hands with Duncan behind her.
"A- Already? Are you sure?" Yang asked worriedly to which Penny nodded at her.
"Yes, I'm positive. I was our unit's corpsman before I was promoted; I know what I'm doing, do not fret." Penny responded.
A collective sigh was heard between Blake and Yang then, to which Weiss gave the two of them a curious glance before nodding towards Penny. "Good, let us be off to discuss these changes you have about the upcoming battle plans." She ushered as Penny fell in step behind Weiss as the two of them headed towards the General's tent.
"Hey uh… Wei- I mean General." Yang called out towards the white haired woman.
Weiss turned around to glance at the blonde curiously and spotted her shuffling a bit before meeting her gaze.
"Thanks. Blake told me how you didn't forget our promise, once. I just wanted to say… Thanks." Yang repeated before turning quickly and walking into the tent to be with her sister again.
Duncan opened the flap once more though. "Ya alright, lass? Shall I let the others know that you'll be in 'ere for the night? I'm sure Cap'n LeAnn won't mind much." He asked.
Yang nodded her head, not taking her lilac eyes off her sister's form though. "Thank you Duncan."
She heard the man leave the tent and it was then that Yang finally undid the multiple straps on her armor and set them down, along with her weapon and boots.
Once she was fully out of her plate armor she smiled as she stared at Ruby, climbing into her cot. She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl and pulled her form close to her own; feeling the warmth between them ignite just like their renewed connection.
Yang felt the warmth spread to her heart as well. The feeling of finally having the last of her kin next to her once more was overwhelming. The cool tears that streamed out of her eyes were those of true happiness in that moment.
She pulled Ruby closer to her and placed her arms around the smaller girl's waist, kissing the top of her crimson haired head.
"I love you, Ruby. You better be awake for me tomorrow after I come back."
Yang closed her eyes finally and welcomed the feeling of relief wash over her then and only hoped that now having her beloved sister in her arms once more would warrant a peaceful slumber.
I'm finally with her again, mom. I won't fail you both again…