HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hopefully 2017 will be even better!

Shortly after Yang went to bed, Weiss tossed her bloody combat clothes in the laundry basket and changed into a new pair instead of her nightgown. After what happened, there was no way she was going to be able to sleep, and she had to tell her family the news.

Yang found out.

That knowledge alone was terrifying.

She kept telling herself that maybe she was worrying too much, but then she remembered her vampire race was at stake.

Her family's reaction when she would tell them… she dreaded it.

There was no way she could keep this to herself. No matter how much she doesn't want to, she has to tell them.

When everyone was fast asleep, Weiss snuck a blood bag from under Blake's bunk. This time, she made sure the brawler was out like a light. When she knew for sure, she grabbed the blood bag. Wanting to be undetected, she scampered in the bathroom when it was pitch black. Carefully, she turned on the light to the dimmest setting and drained the entire bag. It was gradual, but she felt relief when the pain dulled in her ribs.

Yang used aura transfer on her injuries, which helped immensely, but not completely. She was still a novice when it came to the technique, so what little pain Weiss had left was erased when she downed the delectable liquid.

As she stared at the remaining blood dripping down her chin, her gaze was taken by the new scar over her left eye. The only proof that the night had happened besides her old bloody clothes was the mark.

I got more than what I bargained for. I'm an idiot, Weiss thought. I know he's a pureblood, so he's strong, no doubt. That much is certain, her stare remained on the pink line. He's more powerful than I thought he was, she set a gentle finger over the scar. Way too powerful, even for a pureblood. It's almost… frightening.

From birth, purebloods are powerful. She expected the fight to be at least evenly matched. She certainly didn't expect to be dominated like she was.

Still, she grit her teeth. I'm a pureblood. I should've been able to stand my ground. If I can't hold my own against another one of my kind, then what good am I?

She didn't like the new scar. It was a reminder that she lost a fight. It reminded her of that bully.

However, she didn't have time to worry about the new mark. Her main worries were far from her injuries.

Blake and Winter aren't going to be happy about this. Especially mother and father.

Weiss licked her lips clean of the red liquid and stared at herself in the mirror. She supposed tonight could've had a worse outcome. Yang promised to keep her secret safe for now, and the heiress got away with her life. That was something she could never repay.

The brute saved me. I need to emphasize that when talking about it with them...

After sighing, she promptly disposed the blood bag and fetched her sleeping vampire sister. She needed to tell her siblings what happened and soon. The longer she kept it a secret, the more she felt guilty.

Her stomach was twisted in a knot, causing her to feel nauseous. Dust, she really wanted to avoid the conversation, but it had to be done.

She wanted to get this over and done with while their teammate's slept. The sun almost peaked over the horizon, so she estimated she had about an hour before students began their daily routines.

It was still early in the morning, but she knew Winter would be awake due to work for the company. Directly after the incident, she'd texted Winter that a video call was urgent. She responded a nanosecond later, so now she was waiting for Weiss to initiate the call.

With a sense of urgency, Weiss shook her sister's shoulder.

"Blake," Weiss whispered harshly. "Get up. Now."

Rarely had the heiress been demanding of Blake, so that caused her cat ears to flinch under her bow. Her amber eyes shot open and looked at her expectantly. "What is it?"

"It's urgent," Weiss informed. "Get dressed and then we're going to the roof to video call Winter."

Cat ears perked up, and the blood-faunus yanked down the covers. What made her more worried was that Weiss wasn't tired at all. In fact, she looked wide awake for it being so early in the morning. Dozens of questions swarmed her mind, but she ultimately knew she had to get ready like her sister requested.

"What happened?"

"I'll explain with both of you there. It would be easier."

A simple nod.

Once Blake finished getting dressed in silence, the vampire sisters headed to the roof. It was a little chilly outside, so Weiss didn't want Blake in the breeze in her pajamas. When they made it to the roof, it was deserted. Most of the time, it was only used when Pyrrha and Jaune trained, but that was in the evening.

The vampire sisters isolated themselves in a corner on the roof. Even though no one would come up there, they wanted to be extra cautious. Once they sat down on the cold concrete, Weiss pulled out her scroll and called the eldest sister. After a few rings, Winter answered.

"Weiss! Blake!" the pureblood greeted frantically. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Blake simply shrugged, her gaze fixed on Weiss.

Weiss took that as her cue to answer. "You know how Blake fought Cardin in combat class? You know… the male pureblood?"

"Yes, I recall the unpleasant vampire," Winter said, not sure where she was going with it.

"I needed answers more than anything. Answers as to why Blake suddenly dropped to the floor during their match," the heiress revealed. "So I met up with him just a few hours ago."

"What?!" Blake exclaimed. "What happened?!"

Aside from the aristocrat's outburst, Winter looked relatively calm.

Weiss continued in a levelled tone, trying not to show she was internally panicking. "I found out that he, in fact, did use his pureblood power to beat you," she spared a glance at Blake, then focused on the attentive Winter. "He used his pureblood power in front of the entire class -a class full of humans- and the instructor, who is, might I add, extremely intelligent."

Maybe she was nitpicking.

Still, she can't be too cautious.

Winter mumbled, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "He's a reckless one…"

Weiss gulped, if she thought he was reckless…

"Um… about that…"

Blake and Winter glared at the heiress and asked suspiciously in unison.

"What'd you do?"

Weiss cleared her throat. "Long story short, we fought. He was more powerful than I expected and he got the better of me."

That's when Blake noticed the new line down her left eye. "Did he give you that scar?"

"Yes," Weiss answered. "But that's not the-"

Blake cut her off, all traces of fatigue vanished now replaced with concern and anger. "Why couldn't you just forget it happened? Why didn't you let it go?!"

Weiss gave her a look, as if the answer was obvious. "You're my sister, Blake. After that…"

Images of her precious sister lying on the hard floor flashed through her mind. She was so still, so fragile, so defeated...

"...I couldn't just let it go!"

"Look at you!" Blake yelped, her eyes fixed on the mark carved on her sister's face. "You have a scar! You think that's easy for me to look at, knowing it's my fault?!"

"It's not! It was my decision, so-"

"Weiss!" Winter shouted.

The heiress flinched from the eldest's raised voice. First she was yelled at by Blake, now Winter. She expected as much.

"Damn you! You can't just go off on your own like that! What if he killed you?!"

A new husky voice was heard on Winter's side.

"It's okay, ice queen."

The younger siblings stared at the screen, wondering where he was. That voice could only belong to one person. The new arrival was welcome in the conversation. He saved Weiss from being given a harsh lecture, that much was certain.

"Qrow," Winter inquired, her head tilted to the side to face the man, who was still off screen. "What do you want? We're in the middle of an important conversation."

"Sounds like you're just chiding the poor girl," Qrow observed. "Go on, Weiss," the huntsman stood next to Winter, who was sitting on her chair.

Now with permission, the heiress continued, albeit reluctantly. "Yang saved me. Cardin intended to fatally injure or kill me," she wasn't sure which, "but she made it there on time and took me to a safe place."

From her tone, Blake concluded Yang showed up just before a lethal hit. She was forever grateful to her partner, but she also felt like Weiss was hiding something.

Blake's tone rose in suspicion. "What's the catch?"

After a deep breath, Weiss revealed the truth. "Turns out, Yang was there the entire time. When I questioned her, she said she heard our talk about purebloods, vampires, and even saw me use zehn during the fight."

Dead silence.

The blood-faunus felt like she was going to be sick. They haven't even been at Beacon for long, and their secret was already exposed?

"I picked the Emerald Forest to avoid something like this, but that didn't help. This is all my fault," Weiss felt guilty, tears almost breached her eyes. "What do we do?" she felt completely helpless, and hoped that if anyone knew what to do in this situation, it would be Winter.

However, Winter remained poker faced. The younger siblings had no idea if that was a good or a bad thing. Meanwhile, Qrow had a mischievous smirk, amusement glinted in his red eyes.

"A human knows your secret, huh?" Qrow was more calm than anything. "We all know that can't be a good thing," sarcasm leaked in his tone.

He was Winter's human bodyguard, after all. The fact that he knew Ruby and Yang was something he kept secret.

Hell, he's known them since they were born. He's known them far longer than the vampire siblings.

The vampires just didn't know any of that and he wanted to keep it that way.

For now.

"This is not something to take lightly," Winter stated while glaring daggers at the infuriatingly relaxed man.

"What do you suggest we do, Winter?" Weiss pleaded.

She needed guidance more than anything and had no idea what the first step would even be to fix this mess.

Winter's face and voice were stern. "You have to kill her."

From the comment, Qrow grinned. He knew Winter too well.

The younger siblings' jaws dropped as they yelped in unison. "What?!"

For a brief second, the thought crossed Blake and Weiss' minds. Their hidden vampire existence was at risk. Nothing would be going overboard to protect their entire race.

However, Yang was their teammate they'd grown fond of. There was no way they could do something as cold as that, so they shut the idea down.

Ultimately, it was an outrageous suggestion and they felt moronic for even giving it thought.

Not caring if Winter would be mad, Weiss replied firmly. "Absolutely not. Remember, she saved my life."

It was her fault Yang found out, so she'd be damned if someone as wonderful as her died because of a stupid mistake.

From their reactions, Winter's poker face finally broke and she laughed. "I'm kidding! Kidding!"

"Not funny!" the two yelped.

"You have a horrible taste in jokes," Weiss almost seethed. "You said this was a serious situation, so I thought you weren't joking!" she said to justify her anger.

Winter just kept chuckling, unable to hold back her mirth.

"She's our teammate and my partner," Blake stated. "We could never do that. I wouldn't let that happen."

She spoke with conviction, and a peaceful silence followed.

"I say you trust her," Qrow suddenly chimed.

The three vampire siblings gasped in unison.

"What?!"

"Hey, you wanted my opinion," the huntsman slyly said.

"We wanted no such thing," Winter scoffed, not at all amused by the comment.

Qrow casually set a reassuring hand on her shoulder, ignoring the fact that steam was almost coming off her head. Despite this, Winter didn't seem bothered by the contact.

Qrow continued, his smirk as big as ever. "You should tell Ruby while you're at it."

"WHAT!?" the three yelped again.

"You don't even know them," Blake pointed out. "How can you be so trusting?"

"You're not even a vampire," Weiss pointed out a little harshly. "Do you really know what it would mean if our existence were to be exposed? Blake is right. How can you be so trusting of humans you've never met?"

If Qrow told them his relationship with their teammates, that would undoubtedly make them understand his reasoning a lot more easily. However, he was having too much fun with this for his own personal amusement and he wasn't willing to let that go just yet. He could drag it out a little longer.

"It's the fact that you're teammates," Qrow easily replied. "I remember Winter giving you two a lecture about trust being the most important aspect on a team. Trust needs to be earned and tested."

If his advice rang true, this could be the biggest test the team may have to take.

Of course, he could only say those things because he trusts Ruby and Yang with his life. Given the opportunity, they would never expose the vampire race to humans. That's just the kind of people they were, and he understood if the vampires thought otherwise.

Obviously, it would be interesting if his kiddos found out about a secret race. But right now, Winter, Blake, and Weiss' reactions made this conversation and situation even more entertaining to him.

The huntsman knew he can't keep acting like he's oblivious forever. They'd all find out sooner or later, but for now, his plan was to lay low and watch the show.

"This is not something to 'test,'" Winter seethed. "This is a serious situation and should be dealt with appropriately."

"Only because you're making it serious," Qrow countered, his voice solemn.

"Wow," Weiss murmured to Blake. "I've never heard anyone talk back to Winter before."

Blake nodded and could only stare at the scene.

"Excuse me!?"

Qrow ignored the fuming pureblood and focused on the younger siblings. "Listen, this is important."

Even though they'd been talking for a while now, Qrow finally seemed serious as he leaned into the camera. Blake and Weiss followed suit, their full attention on him rather than Winter.

"For the time being, you need to stall. Weiss, since this is between you and Yang, you're in charge of distracting her for the time being, or at least of avoiding the subject. She might suspect you told Blake about the incident because you're sisters, but that doesn't matter."

"Stall?" Weiss asked in exasperation. "After everything I told you, you want me to stall?!"

"Simple enough, right?"

Their whole existence was at stake. The situation was dire, so she thought he'd give her something more grave. Like he'd tell her some form of hypnosis to make Yang forget. Weiss thought Qrow was out of his mind, but then again, this whole thing revolved around Yang.

Maybe, just maybe, they could trust her… for now.

If she did blurt the vampire race's secrets, who would believe her? Her sister might, but then what?

Weiss replied. "Yes, but-"

"Don't worry about it," Qrow advised. Despite his words, Weiss highly doubted she could do so. "Winter and I will handle this. When we come up with a plan, we'll let you two know."

There was obvious concern still etched on the vampires' faces, and he wanted to erase that feeling immediately.

"Don't worry," Qrow said sternly. "I promise no harm will come to your teammates. I'll personally see to that."

No matter what kind of a rough patch both sets of his kiddos are in, Qrow would be there for all four of the team members.

"Qrow," Winter called. "What are you planning?"

Qrow raised his eyebrows. "You mean what we are planning."

Winter bit her lip in frustration. "Did Yang swear she won't tell anyone?"

Trusting people was difficult for her, but Winter believed in promises and vows. She liked to think people kept their word.

The heiress nodded. "Not even her sister," their bond was close, so Weiss still have some doubts about that. But she was willing to give Yang a chance to prove herself.

From the comment, Qrow chuckled, like it wasn't possible for Yang to not tell Ruby.

It was obvious Winter displeased with Qrow's attitude when she glared daggers at him again.

She had no choice.

She had trust in him.

And why not? She trusted him with her life, why not this? Maybe he has trick up his sleeve.

Winter's glare shifted back to her usual poker face. "Stay away from that pureblood. He's unpredictable and dangerous," after she received nods from both younger vampires, she continued. "I guess just… do what Qrow says and stall. I don't know what he has in mind, but do not tell Yang anything until we give you the 'okay.'"

"Understood," the younger siblings replied in unison.

"I mean it," Winter's ice blue eyes pried into their souls, her expression unrelenting. "Don't tell Yang anything. If she brings it up, change the subject, or tell her you must stay quiet until you hear from us, which is the truth. Say you have no choice but to keep quiet, and if she can't respect that, then maybe she's not a good teammate."

"Those are some wise words, ice queen," Qrow smiled, placing full trust in Winter. "I have no doubt everything will be okay."

The younger siblings nodded and Weiss replied. "Alright then."

"Simple enough," Blake added.

Weiss' hesitation disappeared when a cheeky grin took its place. "You trust his judgement, Winter."

Winter's cheeks flushed. "He may be an idiot but he can pull through in times like this."

Although that was both an insult and a compliment rolled into one, Qrow was taken aback by the praise.

"I'm not used to your praise," Qrow smirked. "Hell must've frozen over."

"Why you-"

Blake and Weiss were surprised when the call ended so abruptly.

"Winter really doesn't like people seeing her flustered," Blake observed, amusement in her tone.

The heiress smiled. "You can say that again."

After some much needed shared laughter, a comfortable silence followed until Blake's curiosity got the best of her.

"Weiss," Blake said when she scanned her sister's eye once more. "Are you sure you're okay? Does the scar hurt?"

"I assure you, it's fine," Weiss replied.

Worried amber eyes examined her sister's appearance. While Weiss told her the mark was by no means Blake's fault, they headed back to their room. By now, the sun was over the horizon and their teammates would wake soon. Weiss told her sister everything that happened and included the fact that she drank one of the spare blood bags, so they would have to make an infirmary run for more soon.

When Weiss finished the story, Blake was more calm. Especially after the talk they just had with both adults. Their reassurances and advice eased her nerves.

They entered their room and were as quiet as mice. As expected, Ruby and Yang were still asleep, so they didn't make a sound. In no time, they changed back into their pajamas and went to their respective bunks to not raise suspicion.

Unbeknownst to the vampires, a pair of silver eyes had cracked open and watched their every move.

The vampire sisters just can't catch a break, can they?

Stay dandy,

~Toto