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Part Two:
Red Light


"So… I thought you'd be out 'Reapering' today, like Ruby. But… I guess my therapy appointments were during the day, too. How does that work, anyway?"

"Ruby's still in training." Blake said. "For the first year, the rules are a bit… different. Sunup to sundown, when the demons are at their weakest, for exactly 365 days in a row. You get a bit more flexibility in your schedule in your second year, and actual days off."

"Huh." Yang Xiao Long leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. "Does that mean you are in your second year?"

"No." Blake quietly laughed. "Goodness no. They wouldn't let me be a mentor that early. And for future reference, it's a bit impolite to ask a Reaper how long they've been doing it for. Some of us have been doing it for hundreds of years, and don't like to be reminded of the fact." Blake bit her lip, reacting to the way Yang frowned at that. "But… if it'll make you feel better, I've only been doing this for four."

"Sorry…" Yang leaned back on the couch. "I didn't mean to… I guess there wouldn't be any real way to tell, would there? Since you're going to be stuck looking like you're… twenty-one or so forever?"

"Twenty-two." Blake had the slightest of smirks. "But I know you know better than to ask a woman her age."

Yang raised her hands in defeat, and tried to shake off how… disappointed she felt that Blake was a full six years older than her. They looked like they were pretty much the same age. Why did it bother her that they weren't? Why was she fishing for it in the first place? Blake was right; it wasn't polite to ask that.

Yang tried to deflect by changing the subject.

"You said demons are weakest during the day? How 'come they don't just get, uh… blasted away at sunrise. Like… Ruby did, the other day…"

"Hrm…" Blake tapped her chin. "How do I explain this to someone without the… clarity of soulsense that Reapers have?" She paused for a moment as she thought. "So… imagine the world is a beach, okay? Sunrise is like the tide coming in, except instead of coming in slowly it surges up as one big wave: the Wave of Dawn. Humans and normal objects? They're made out of solid material, so the wave doesn't break them apart, but magical constructs, like Ruby and me? We're made out of sand, so the wave will break us apart unless we're big and solid enough, like a Reaper in Soul Form, or a vampire with enough stored lifeforce. It'll still hurt a lot, and drain a lot of energy, but it's still survivable. It's better to have a ward to protect you, which is like having a big wall of sand between you and the wave."

"So… demons just have a lot of stored energy?" Yang asked. "I guess that's why they'd be weaker after dawn."

"Not exactly." Blake corrected. "Demons are more like… deep holes in the sand. Rather than taking the wave full force, they might just get a little sand blown in from the top. Still makes them weaker, but even the weak ones usually survive. And the longer they're around? The deeper they dig, and the larger that hole becomes. It's easier for them to dig at night, when the 'tide' is low, so that's when they grow and heal the fastest. Demons…" Blake waved her hand in a circle, "aren't magic. They are… the antithesis of all magic and life. They seek to destroy everything, effectively. When a human becomes a demon seed, it uses their body as a shell to grow a new demon, and protect it from the waves until, when the human dies, all the anti-magic leaks out and the new demon is born into the world. Unfortunately, once the demon starts growing inside a soul, the only way to kill the demon is to destroy the soul… if the demon inside hasn't done so already."

"Yeah… that sounds like a terrible way to go." Yang shuddered. "Why would anyone get involved in that on purpose?"

An image of a cackling Weiss popped into her head. It was a real shame; in another life, perhaps she and Weiss could have become friends.

"Same reason anyone does anything evil." Blake's expression shifted, and became clearly pained. It was the most readable expression Yang had ever seen on her. "They… think the short term gain is worth it. Or that they can avoid the consequences. Or… they believe that they are making a noble sacrifice."

It hurt Yang to see Blake looking so haunted like this. Before she could consider what she was doing, she was reaching out to pull her into a hug. When she caught herself at the last second, she tried to play it off by simply putting a comforting hand on Blake's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

There was a brief, bright yet shy smile. Rays of sunlight peeking out from those bright, golden eyes, and warming Yang's erratically beating heart. Then Blake's expression fell back into its neutral mask, and Yang found herself experiencing a disappointed calm.

"Don't worry about it." Blake offered casually, as though their little exchange simply hadn't happened. "Anyway, back to magic. You said you were having trouble with flame spells?"

"Yeah." Yang swallowed, leaning back into the couch and trying to join Blake in pretending nothing happened. "I… can't seem to find a material that's… heat proof enough to survive long. And unlike you guys I can't just draw them into the air. Should I, like, find a way to make one out of metal?"

"That's certainly an option." Blake said. "But probably one of your more difficult ones. You could just have it tattooed onto you."

"Yeah, sure." Yang snorted. "Everyone loves hand tattoos. Big ol' circles on my palm. That'd be real inconspicuous."

"For most people, they wouldn't have a lot of safe choices." Blake offered. "But for you… well, few things are as fireproof as you are. Wick hasn't ever managed to burn your hair, after all."

"Yeah, and he better not start." Yang giggled as Wick popped out to chirp indignantly.

"He couldn't even if he wanted to." Blake said. "Which gives you an option: using your hair as thread."

Yang's stomach dropped at the idea.

"I am not cutting my hair."

"You don't have to." Blake shook her head. "Just gather the loose strands off of your hairbrush or something. As much hair as you have… it shouldn't take too long until we have enough."

"Oh… right… that… definitely works." Yang said, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. "Yeah. That shouldn't take very long at all. I might even have enough just sitting at home already. But… what about the gloves I'd be sewing it into? I already found out that Leather'll just burn up with the sort of flames I make, and I don't know how easy it'd be to sew into welding gloves…"

"Shouldn't be necessary." Blake said. "Given that a part of you will be a part of the object… well, it'll provide some fire protection to the entire glove, so long as you're the one wearing it. You could even sew your hair into paper and it'd be fine. Well, except that it'd still be really easy to rip. It should… also be easier for you to cast spells made out of your hair; it'd be an almost ideal spellcasting medium for you. I mean, the best is always your own blood, but…"

Yang shook her head.

"Yeah, no, I'm good. I definitely don't need that much of a boost. But this… should finally make it work. Thank you!" Yang smiled as she turned to Blake, and was rewarded with the slightest crack of a smile herself, but then Yang caught a glimpse of the clock, and frowned. "I probably need to get going for today, though. I promised my dad I'd be back for dinner, and since Bumblebee's in the shop…"

"I understand." Blake nodded. "See you tomorrow?"

There was the slightest hint of hopefulness in Blake's voice, which made Yang happy for reasons she didn't quite understand.

She was excited for tomorrow. There was no way she was going to be late!

"Yeah, tomorrow. 7am sharp!"

l- - -l

Yang wasn't sure what suddenly had Wick so on edge. He was pinging around inside her hair like an anxious, fiery pinball.

"Wick!" Yang turned her head to whisper. "Calm down!"

Unfortunately, it took her eyes off of where she was going.

"Oof." Yang said as she bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Turquoise eyes flashed directly into her own.

Actually flashed, like a camera.

And Yang found herself to be suddenly unnaturally calm and relaxed, in stark contrast to the whirling emotions running through her just a second ago.

"Ugh. Watch where you're going, you bitch!" The girl she had run into shouted at her.

Yang was overcome by an overpowering sense of shame, and a desire to make things right.

"Yes, ma'am. Of course."

The other woman squinted at her.

"Oh. I didn't expect that to actually work."

"W-What?" Yang asked, but the other woman didn't reply, instead deciding to look her over. Yang elected to do the same.

She had a pair of fluffy, red pigtails jutting out from the sides of her head. Her bangs had highlights that matched her turquoise eyes. She had a small heart tattoo above her left cheek, and a rainbow tattoo curling around her right arm. Her aqua top only partially covered her bra, and left her midriff bare above a short pink skirt. She was rather pretty, if dressed a bit more risqué than anyone else in the area.

Speaking of, the other people walking down the sidewalk simply moved around them, paying them no mind, but giving them an unusual amount of distance. No one so much as glanced in their direction. It was like they were instinctually avoiding them.

Wick popped out on Yang's shoulder, releasing an angry noise somewhere between a squawk and the hiss of a boiling tea kettle.

"Ugh. A fire sprite?" The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh! I guess that means you're magic! Score!" She paused, then looked directly at Wick. "Get rid of it."

"Yes, ma'am." Yang found herself saying. Why did she want to please this woman so much? She didn't even know her. "Wick. Leave."

It was painful to say, but the pain was soothed away by an odd sense of euphoria.

Wick let out a whimpering chirp in her direction, before turning to the other woman and hissing again.

"No, Wick." Yang found herself tearing out her own heart as endorphins flooded her system. "Leave. Now."

Her tone left no room for argument.

Wick wavered as he looked up at her, almost as if he was about to cry. Could fire sprites do that? It was heartbreaking, either way, but she didn't have to wait long before Wick disappeared with an audible snap.

It was… the first time she'd ever sent him away before the sunrise forced him to leave, and it felt so bad. So… why was she so happy? Why had she wanted to do it? The warring emotions within her sent her heart rate skyrocketing.

"Ooh! Flashy eyes!" The woman adopted a predatory grin. "You're actually kind of pretty when you're angry."

"W-What?"

"What's your name?" The woman asked without missing a beat.

"It's… Yang, ma'am." Yang said. "And yours?"

It was only polite that she got hers in return, right?

"Huh. Haven't had a thrall that kept this much self-awareness in a long time." The woman said, and Yang's mind went into overdrive trying to make sense out of what she just said. It felt like the solution was obvious, and the words all made sense individually, but for some reason, she couldn't put it all together; it kept slipping through her mind's grasp. "Well, I suppose you've earned it. I'm Neon, but you can call me mistress." Neon punctuated the sentence with a wink.

"Yes mistress." Yang said, and her sinking gut fought against how good it felt to do as she was asked.

Neon lifted up Yang's shirt, and Yang couldn't find it in herself to stop her, even after she started poking and prodding at her belly.

"Huh. A little chubby." Neon said as she dropped the shirt, before looking Yang in the eye. "Now, I'm not trying to say you should go on a diet. I'm saying you really need to go on a diet! You need to stop hiding those abs, girl! I can feel them under there!"

"O-Okay." Yang found herself agreeing, even though she'd never had any problems with her weight before.

"And… muscley all around. Very nice." Neon's voice was sultry as she rolled her fingers up Yang's arms, and onto her shoulders. "A bit top heavy, though." Neon said as she openly stared at Yang's chest.

"I-I'm sorry?" Yang offered.

Neon's hand darted from her shoulder and into her hair, playing with the wild, silky strands. Anger boiled within her. No one touched her hair without permission. She was ready to shove this girl over, raising her hands to strike-

"Calm down." Neon ordered softly.

And suddenly Yang was as calm as she had ever been, even though someone was just… touching her hair. Her arms dropped limply to her sides.

"Where'd you get your hair extensions?" Neon asked.

"This is… just my normal hair." Yang responded.

"Really?" Neon raised an eyebrow, as though she didn't believe her. "Guess you can't really lie to me, though, can you? Oh well, come on." Neon grabbed a fistfull of Yang's hair, then began tugging it along, forcing Yang to hurry after her to prevent it from tugging too hard. "We're going back to my place. It's time to party."