Ah, this didn't take as long as I was worried it would, but it was still a little longer than I'd like it to take! Definitely feeling in a writing mood, though, so I should have another one out tomorrow, if all goes well! :D

I'd like to thank Mdk103 for being my story beta for this story, and welcome bmblbeaky as my grammar structure beta! They're both awesome and have been a big help, you should check out their works to see if you'd like them!

As always, comments are adored! Feedback, reviews, a friendly little message, whatever you'd like! Thank you very much for reading!

Blake's eyes opened suddenly, dreams of playing with her mother and father as a child slipping away as her ears perked up slightly, the sound of muffled screaming barely audible to her. Amber eyes drifted upwards, towards her team leader's bunk, where she heard the younger teen scrambling around in her bed. Ruby must've been particularly out of it as she rushed to the bathroom, not having even taken a glance towards the Faunus this time.

Shaking her head, a soft sigh escaped Blake's lips, frowning as she slipped out of her bunk, making sure to adjust her pajamas while she waited for the redhead to finish her… processing, before slipping into the bathroom and bringing the younger girl into a gentle hug. "It's okay." The Faunus insisted, rubbing her back gently as Ruby did her best to hold back tears, though she wasn't successful. "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Ruby. Do you want to talk about it? The others shouldn't be up for a little while longer."

The redhead gave a reluctant nod, which Blake responded to with a sad smile, as she led the younger girl to the sink, letting her rinse out her mouth with water. "You're getting better, Ruby." Blake insisted, her team leader giving a doubting groan, silver eyes drifted towards the ground. Leading the girl back into the main room, she sat down on her bed, patting the space beside her. "Come on, it'll be okay."

"I-I was having such a nice dream. J-Jaune and Pyrrha and I were on a d-date, in Vale! A-And then everything would get all dark and stormy, but we'd power through, and then that thing would show up again."

Ruby shivered against Blake's embrace, the older girl careful to gently reassure her that everything was okay.

"I-I get separated from the others, and Torchwick grabs me with the Paladin again, a-and he keeps squeezing and everything feels tighter and tighter and I have to get out and- and then I woke up. M-My blankets were all wrapped around me awkwardly a-and I got scared because I felt like it was still grabbing me."

"Is that all that happened?" Ruby's expression became further downcast, and Blake's heart sank a little. Among their team, Ruby was almost like what Blake had imagined a little sister might've been like if she'd had one, and seeing her so hurt was heartbreaking. The Faunus put her hand on the redhead's shoulder, squeezing gently as she hugged her from the side. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I'm here for you, okay?"

"O-Okay…" Ruby seemed uncertain, not that Blake could blame her. When she was struggling during her later time in the White Fang, back when Ilia was still there, before she'd been sent to Menagerie by Adam, Blake had often felt reticent to tell her what was wrong, too. "I-I see their bodies. J-Jaune and Pyrrha. I-It's like Tukson all over again. Th-there's so much blood and they don't answer a-and I-"

Blake hugged the redhead closer as she choked back a sob, resting her head against the Faunus' shoulder as she shuddered. "It's okay, Ruby. They'll be out in the hall waiting for you, don't worry." The feline Faunus said gently, rocking her team leader back and forth a little. "They'll be there and they'll be okay. Torchwick isn't here, he's in prison, and you don't have to worry about him, okay?"

"I-I know." Ruby nodded meekly, before shaking her head more forcefully. "I-I can't get myself to stop dreaming about bad things happening, but I know that they won't. We won! We beat Torchwick, a-and he's in jail where he belongs!" The redhead offered a smile Blake could tell was at least partially forced, but she couldn't exactly criticize, could she? How many times had her smiles been fake? How many times had she told herself she was okay when she wasn't. Just like Ilia had with her, she could only offer advice. She couldn't force Ruby to take it.

"Maybe you should speak with Professor Goodwitch?" The Faunus proposed, not surprised when the smile faded from Ruby's expression, "I'm not telling you that you have to, I'm just reminding you that it's an option, okay?"

"Yeah… I-I'm sure that it's fine. The dreams aren't getting worse, right?" They weren't improving, either, in Blake's opinion. "I'll get past this, with your help and Yang's and everyone else's. I-I should get myself cleaned up, I want to be ready to hang out with Jaune and Pyrrha."

"Yeah, just… keep what I said in mind, okay?" At the girl's reluctant nod, Blake returned one of her own. She wasn't sure that she'd gotten through to her at all, but she'd have to keep trying. Ilia always tried for her, trying for Ruby was the least she could do.

After Ruby had made her way into the bathroom again, a sigh escaped Blake's lips as she did something she worried she'd regret, knocking at the bed above to wake her partner.

"Yang, can we talk?"

If the loud groan was anything to go by, Blake assumed that Yang was too tired to chat, but sure enough a huge mane of golden hair soon dangled down from above, tired violet eyes squinting to find Blake's amber.

"It's not going to be a happy talk, is it?" Yang mumbled through a yawn, before dropping from her bunk with a solid "thud" and sitting beside her partner. "What's up?"

"I'm worried… about Ruby." Whatever hint of levity in Yang's eyes remained died as Blake finished speaking. The Faunus couldn't exactly blame her partner, she knew that she was particularly protective of her little sister. "I think she'll be a great Huntress someday, but… she's… she's still struggling with everything that's happened. And I don't think she's willing to seek help from Professor Goodwitch."

"She's just… she's not used to it, yet." Yang said quietly, looking towards the ground. Blake could have sworn her eyes were almost blue in her melancholy, though she was sure it was a trick of the light. "Our family never was the best at reaching out when we need help. It took my Uncle Qrow knocking some sense into my dad after - after something bad happened - for him to start getting therapy."

Blake gave Yang a concerned look, the blonde raising her arms defensively. "Hey, hey, I don't mean literally!" Yang insisted, sighing as she shook her head. "Dad… Dad made some mistakes, when mom died. He was absent for a long time, even though he was there physically. I-I almost got Ruby really hurt, and Uncle Qrow came and chewed him out, made him see that he was about to lose his two daughters as well."

"You almost died?" Blake was a little surprised by the admission from Yang, amber eyes wide as she stared at the blonde, who could only give a halfhearted shrug. It was strange to think of her as anything but invincible, after almost five months as partners. Shaking her head, Blake tried to get things back on track. "I know that Ruby is… stubborn, but I just want to tell you now, that I'm doing my best to help her, but she might need some advice from someone more… sisterly."

"If you really think that I can help, I'll do my best." Yang smiled gently, a little gladdened by the idea that she could offer her sister help after the anxieties that Ruby was leaving her behind had been so nagging of late. "I don't think piling on things this morning will help, but at least I can keep a better eye on her."

"Okay, if you're sure." Blake said tentatively, looking more than a little nervous. "Thanks for listening to me, Yang, instead of just blowing off what I was saying."

"Hey, you're the expert here, as much as that sucks." Yang's hand found its way on top of Blake's, the Faunus a little nervous to keep it there. Yang wasn't Adam, and she was sure that this meant nothing other than the blonde trying to comfort her, but this stupid crush was getting really distracting. "Um, we should get ready for the rest of the day, right?"

Yang's gaze turned away from Blake and towards Weiss, a sympathetic glint in her eyes as she smiled. "Do you think we should wake up Snow Angel over there, or let her sleep in later?"

"Snow Angel?" A soft laugh erupted from Blake's lips before she could stop herself, shuddering at the nickname first used by Jaune at the start of the school year, when he was still attempting to strike it off with Weiss. Thankfully that had passed, the Faunus wasn't sure if she could handle an extended period of his attempted courtship, his first attempts were so poor. "I think we could let her sleep a little while later. Not our fault if she wasn't up in time to get the warm water, right?"

"Right." Yang agreed with a wink, always happy to see the rare mischievous side of her partner. "Well, when Ruby's done, you can go in first, I'll see if she wants to say anything."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah, I won't pressure her, and I won't pester about her nightmare. It's just…" Yang sighed softly, shaking her head a little as she ignored the nagging feeling that her sister was going to abandon her. "It's important that she knows I'm here to support her, too."

"I'm sure she does," Blake replied, giving the blonde a gentle smile in the dim light, before standing up and stretching. "Thanks, Yang."

Walking out of the bathroom, already changed into her uniform, Ruby let out a soft squeak as Blake slipped by and into the smaller room. That was weird, why did Blake have a slight blush on her face? The answer to her question was pretty quickly answered as she spotted Yang sitting on the Faunus' bed, looking a little flustered as well.

"Good morning?" It was more of a question than a statement, as the redhead looked at her sister. "I'm surprised to see you up this early."

"I'm full of surprises this morning, apparently." Yang chuckled to herself, before giving Ruby a warm smile. "Good morning, sis. How're you doing?"

"O-Oh, you know. I-I'm doing okay. B-Better." Ruby stumbled over her words, not wanting to lie to her sister, of course, but not feeling up to talking about her dreams again. She just wanted them out of her head, she wanted to not feel sick as she thought about the- NO! Stop thinking about that. Breath in, breath out. Nice and slow. She hadn't even realized she had started to space out until she felt Yang's firm hand on her arm. "Y-Yang?"

"Ruby!" The blonde let out a sigh of relief, pulling her sister into a tight embrace. "Your mind was wandering again, wasn't it?" All the redhead could manage was a meek nod. "There's nothing wrong with that. I know it's… not convenient, but it's okay, you don't need to be ashamed. Do you want to talk about it?"

Ruby shook her head, her breathing slowly calming as her sister released her from the hug. "Here, come on, let's take a seat while I wait for Blake to finish up in the shower."

"Okay." Ruby quietly agreed, following her sister to Blake's bed, taking a seat beside her as the blonde pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Did you sleep okay, Yang?"

"Me? Yeah, I did!" Yang nodded, though her cheeks then pinkened. "Had a few uh… interesting dreams. Nothing to talk about, though."

"O-Oh." Ruby had an idea of what that meant, she just hoped that Yang was okay about it. Yang didn't really… enjoy having those kind of dreams, not the last she'd heard about it, at least. "Are you running low on medicine again? I-I know when you were out last time, that kind of stuff happened again."

"What? No, no, nothing like that. Just," Yang's eyes drifted towards the closed door to the bathroom, before returning to her sister. "Just a lot on my mind."

Maybe it was better to move on, then. Ruby found herself blushing as she thought back to the start of her dream, smiling nervously, though it quickly faded. "Um… I-I had… I dreamt about going on a d-date with Pyrrha and Jaune. Before things got… like they've been getting."

"Hey, that's good, right? They're on your mind!" Yang gave Ruby a warm smile, one the redhead could tell was filled with pride. "I know that things are scary right now, but let's try to focus on the good things, okay?"

"Okay." Ruby nodded, offering a shy smile. "I-I really like Jaune and Pyrrha, Yang. L-like a whole darn lot."

"I know you do, Ruby." Yang's voice was a little quieter than Ruby had expected, and for a moment she worried she had done something wrong, before her sister pulled her in close and began ruffling her hair. "I'm just so proud of you!"

"Yaaaang!" Ruby whined loudly as her sister continued messing up her admittedly already disheveled hair, pushing against her sister in a halfhearted attempted to break loose of her vice grip.

"Come on, sis, you know better than to try and escape!" Yang teased, ruffling her sister's hair further as she playfully tightened the embrace slightly. Then something strange happened, Yang couldn't exactly describe it. It was like Ruby had suddenly stopped being completely solid.

The smell of roses filled the room as Ruby fell out of her sister's grip and onto the floor, a sensation similar to her semblance overtaking her. It felt like over the weekend, when Cardin had grabbed her wrist and she just… slipped through him. "Y-Yang?"

Ruby's attention was drawn upwards towards her sister, the blonde's hands clenched tightly around rose petals. "Ruby?" Yang sounded just as flabbergasted as Ruby, violet eyes wide as she stared at the redhead. "Did… did you just use your semblance to… I don't even know how to describe it! You just slipped right through my hands!"

"I-I don't know!" Ruby squeaked out, eyes widening in panic. "I-I just wanted to get out a-and then I was falling!"

"Hmm?" The two likely would've continued their immediate panic had Weiss not suddenly groaned a little, azure eyes blinking wearily. "Why does everything smell like roses?"

Bleary eyes drifted over to Ruby and Yang, an annoyed expression growing on Weiss' face as she spotted the rose petals in Yang's hands and littering the floor around her team leader. "Ruby Rose!" The sheepish sister duo flinched at the shrill sound of the Atlesian's voice as she scolded the redhead. "What did I tell you about using your semblance in the dorm room?"

"I-I didn't mean to, honest!" Ruby squeaked out, face red with embarrassment as she tried to explain. "I-I just used it by accident while Yang was hugging me!"

"Used it by accident!" Wow Weiss really wasn't letting up, much to Ruby's dismay. The Atlesian looked ready to yell further before stopping herself, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Ruby," Weiss made no effort to hide her annoyance at the younger girl, but she was doing her best to keep her words in check. "Why are you using your semblance by accident? You have better mastery than that."

"I-I don't know!" Ruby admitted, her voice raising a bit more than intended. She didn't really want to yell but she was scared. Nothing like this had ever happened to her until recently, and she didn't understand why it was happening. "I-I just… it started happening on S-Sunday. C-Cardin grabbed me a-and I just slipped through his grip."

"He what?" Oh, right. She hadn't actually told Yang, precisely for this reason. Yang's eyes burned a brilliant crimson, the tips of her hair lighting up the room. "When I get my hands on him I'm going to-"

"Do nothing!" Ruby insisted, blurring up and standing in front of Yang. "Cardin… I don't think he was trying anything, he just… he's a dummy and doesn't know how to speak to people without speaking down to them. He was trying to apologize." Seeing Yang was still unconvinced, Ruby rolled her eyes. "Besides, why else do you think Pyrrha kicked his whole team's butts like that?"

"That was why she challenged them?" Weiss spoke up, clearly distracted for the moment, at the mention of Pyrrha's fight. Or maybe just Pyrrha in general? Ruby really hadn't gotten a good read on how Weiss was feeling towards the taller redhead. "An entire team being used against one opponent hasn't happened in two decades! Do you know how rare that is?"

"Presumably pretty rare, if you're making a big deal of it." Yang taunted, eliciting a frustrated huff from the Atlesian girl. "Even if your girlfriend took care of him this time, if Cardin ever does anything else like that, Ruby, I'm going to te- going to make sure he regrets it."

"I think he's learned his lesson, Yang." Ruby hoped he had, at least. She didn't want to know whatever nightmare Yang had in mind for Cardin if he did do anything weird.

"So what about your semblance?" Well, that distraction didn't last as long as Ruby would've liked. "You knew when we were meeting with General Ironwood and you didn't say anything. That kind of information could be critical in a mission."

"I-I was embarrassed, okay? Embarrassed, ashamed…" Ruby's expression became downcast as she looked towards the floor, hands clenched tightly. "What kind of team leader can I be if I can't use my semblance?"

Ruby let out a startled squeak as Weiss flicked her forehead, the Atlesian girl looking rather sympathetic despite her annoyance.

"Ruby, you'll be an excellent leader." Weiss said gently, offering a supportive smile to the younger teen. "Semblances… sometimes they're more than we can easily control. It sounds to me like you have a semblance with more than you know, and while you've mastered a part of it, you're only just scratching the surface."

"D-do you really think so?"

"Of course!" Yang interrupted, sending Ruby forward with a cheerful pat to the back. "You'll figure it out in no time at all, Ruby. Just give yourself some time."

"Yes…" Weiss seemed more than a little annoyed at being interrupted, but she dismissed it in favor of focusing on their anxious leader. "Regardless, you should still inform someone. At the very least, they may be able to provide assistance where we cannot."

"Um… okay. I-I'll think of something." Ruby reluctantly agreed, though she wasn't exactly sure who she could turn to. Her first thought was Doctor Oobleck, he had been a bit of help when she was younger. After considering that his semblance was only speed, nothing like this, she decided against it. She wasn't sure who to go to, but she'd figure it out.

"Right, um." Ruby looked to her sister and then Weiss, shrinking a little nervously. "I'm gonna go see if Jaune and Pyrrha are free. I'll see you two at breakfast!"

And with that, she was gone in a cloud of rose petals, the door to the dorm opening and closing before either Yang or Weiss could react. Left with even more petals in the girl's wake, Weiss let out a loud groan, matched by Yang's laughter.

"Good morning!" Ruby chirped loudly as she greeted Pyrrha at the door to Team JNPR's dorm, the taller redhead dressed and ready for the day.

"Oh, good morning, Ruby." Though Pyrrha's voice was its usual warm, gentle tone, the shorter redhead could tell that something was on her mind. "Did you sleep well?"

"I, um… not really." She couldn't lie to Pyrrha, even if she didn't want to talk about it. "I had a bad dream again, but it's okay! It was just a dream, a-and you're here now, so that's fine. Where's Jaune?"

"Jaune's finishing up, he woke up late." Pyrrha explained, giving a gentle smile. "I'm sure he'll be out here in no time."

Ruby smiled up at the taller girl, who still looked a bit reticent. "I'm glad you're okay… I-I know it was just a dream, but seeing you makes me feel a lot better."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Pyrrha asked, slipping her hand into Ruby's and offering a supportive squeeze. The shorter redhead shook her head softly, and Pyrrha decided it would be best to not press it for the time being, it was better to move on. "We… Jaune and I might've found out what that message means."

"Really?" Ruby's eyes widened with relief, a bright smile breaking across her face as she pulled the taller girl into a spontaneous hug. After a few seconds, she realized what she'd done and gave out a squeak, letting go of Pyrrha, cheeks a brilliant scarlet. "Sorry! I-I was just happy and-"

"You don't need to apologize for hugging me, Ruby." Pyrrha insisted, smiling as she cupped the shorter girl's cheek in her hand, before leaning down to give a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You're my girlfriend, remember? I'm always happy to get a hug from my girlfriend."

"R-Right. I'm still getting used to this, sorry." Ruby mumbled, blushing brightly at the kiss. "I'm always happy to get hugs from you, too. A-And kisses."

"I'll keep that in mind." Pyrrha said, her warm tone matched with a teasing smirk not often found on her lips. "Once Jaune is ready, we can talk about what we found."

"Okay!" Ruby chirped, hugging Pyrrha again with a little more confidence. "I, um, do you remember on Sunday, when Cardin was being… stupid. And I used my semblance differently to slip through his grip on my wrist?"

"Yes, I remember." Oh, gosh, going by her tone, it seemed like Pyrrha hadn't really forgiven Cardin, either. She couldn't fault her sister or girlfriend, Cardin had done something bad, even if he was just trying to apologize or whatever. "What about it?"

"I… I managed to do it again!" Ruby explained, hoping to redirect her girlfriend's anger towards a more positive emotion. "Yang was teasing me and giving me a hug and I just… slipped right through her arms!"

"That's incredible, Ruby." Pyrrha said with a proud smile, ruffling the shorter girl's hair as she rested her head against her chest. "Do you know how you did it?"

"No…" Ruby admitted, sinking her head slightly in embarrassment. "Weiss suggested that I talk to one of the professors, but I don't really know who to go to."

"Well, if I recall correctly, you said your semblance was like your mother's, right?" Pyrrha asked, the shorter redhead giving a concise nod in confirmation. "Then perhaps, you could speak to someone who knew her?"

That… was easier said than done. A lot of the professors at Beacon knew her mother, heck, most of them were classmates of hers. She'd tried getting stories of her mom out of most of the people who knew her, but they always seemed reluctant to tell her. "Professor Greene!" Ruby exclaimed, maybe a bit louder than she meant to. "She was willing to talk to me about my mom when she was giving me a check up after we fought the Paladin. I-I'll talk to her!"

"That sounds like a good idea." Both girls jumped slightly at Jaune's comment, the blonde giving a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, I just overheard the last little bit. How are you, Ruby? Besides looking pretty cozy."

"I'm doing better, even if I didn't sleep well." Ruby said tentatively, smiling a little nervously as she looked over to Jaune from her embrace against Pyrrha. "So, what did you two find out about that message? Pyrrha said you might've found something?"

"Yeah, it seems like it." Jaune agreed, looking to Pyrrha and giving her a grateful smile. "Pyrrha remembered a story that she'd seen before. Do you remember the book that she bought, the day we visited Tukson's Book Trade?"

Ruby nodded, frowning a little as she tried to push away thoughts of that day. It had been so nice until it had quite abruptly been ruined by what happened to Tukson. "It was, um… a book of fairy tales, right?"

"Yes." Pyrrha confirmed, "there's a story in it, "The Warrior in the Woods." It's about a man who falls in love with a woman that guards his village from Grimm."

"What's so special about it, though?" Ruby asked, slowly separating from the embrace with Pyrrha, head tilted slightly to the side as she looked between Jaune and Pyrrha. "What does it have to do with me?"

"Ruby…" Jaune hesitated for a moment, Pyrrha placing a hand on his shoulder and giving a reassuring nod. "Have you ever met anyone else with silver eyes before?"

"Huh?" The redhead blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. "Just me… and my mom, I guess. I know dad says I have my mother's eyes. What does that matter?"

"It's in the story, the, uh, titular "Warrior in the Woods" had silver eyes." Jaune explained, looking nervously to Pyrrha. "That's the only thing we can think of. We can read the story together, after classes, if you'd like."

"I… I don't know. It's a fairy tale, right?" Ruby asked, eyes looking down as she played with the edge of her cape nervously. "What does that have to do with me?"

"We aren't sure." Pyrrha admittedly, reaching out with her free hand to gently pat Ruby's shoulder, the shorter redhead looking up towards her with uncertainty in her silver eyes. "But we know someone wants you to know about it. Perhaps we can look over it together, and then speak with Professor Ozpin? I'm sure he'd be willing to listen to us if he knew what happened, and the book I bought was written by him."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Ruby agreed, a bit reluctantly. She hated needing to go to the professors so much, but this was a complicated situation. "Um… for now, can we go to breakfast, though? I just want to spend some time with you two, before everything gets complicated."

"Of course." Pyrrha agreed, smiling gently as she lowered her hand down to Ruby's, letting the younger girl take it.

"Yeah." Jaune was quick to agree, taking a place on Ruby's other side, offering a free hand to Ruby as well, smiling nervously as she took it. "Let's go."

The shorter redhead nodded, a sheepish smile on her face as the trio started on their way out of the dorms and towards the cafeteria, happy to have such supportive partners.