Author's note: Juuuust to make sure, if you aren't up to date with the show, don't read the note I left "under" the story. I'd hate to accidentally spoil something for someone.

Blake decided to dedicate the last whole day to rest. Not only did she sleep longer than usual due to her arriving extremely late, but there was also the fact she really wanted to postpone meeting anyone who might know her. Not her, but the old her, if that made sense.

Right now Blake was walking through the streets of the small town. Wanting to remain inconspicuous, she decided to look as conspicuous as possible, as she had the hood of her hoodie firmly pulled over her head. Was she hiding? No, that would be stupid. It was clear as day to anyone that knew her, who she was. She simply didn't want to look at anyone, not notice anyone. The less she saw, the better.

This brought a perfectly good point, why even come back? That was a very good question. Why indeed. If this place had all those memories attached to it if it had all those people she'd rather avoid, why come back? Blake spent her whole previous day pondering this question. The answer was simple, it was merely a transition. She couldn't stay here, there was no point in, not if she was to retain her sanity. The only way she could not go completely crazy would be if she moved somewhere completely different.

Which brought her to this newly found conclusion. Her two options were to go back and face Ruby or simply move somewhere else. She still wasn't sure how to decide between the two. Although the simpler solution was to simply move somewhere else. She never cared about others, why start now? Exactly.

Noticing a soda machine, Blake stopped in front of it. She needed to distract her brain from all those thoughts and there was no better way to do so but apply some extreme sensations onto her brain. What more extreme was there then the sweetness and overly flavored carbonated water? Precisely, none. There was one problem with this idea, she wasn't sure which one to pick. While the assortment wasn't as rich as the ones back in the big city, it still had quite a few names she partially recognized, with flavors she didn't even know were associated with such names.

Perhaps a different perspective, what would Ruby pick? Did Ruby even drink pop? She had to, right? She liked sweet things. Then again she was smart about things in her life, to some degree of course, so maybe she avoided these types of drinks? Or maybe she drank them in moderation? The younger girl never seemed like she'd pick some type of extreme. Blake let out a small sigh, this didn't help. Maybe by color? What was Ruby's favorite color? ...That also was a mystery to Blake. Her name was a color in itself, in a way at least. Perhaps go by that? Red then huh? She hoped it wouldn't be spicy. Could soda even be spicy?

A few coins later, the can would bump down the machine, resting at the bottom, where Blake could extract it. It felt cold, just the right temperature for a can of soda. At least Blake assumed so, as rarely had any in her whole life. As the aluminum pin pierced through the precut opening, the characteristic metallic sound accompanied by the excess gas escaping through the newly found hole.

Raising it towards her lips, she could feel the jumping liquid hit her lips even before she could properly place them against the metal. As soon as the liquid hit her tongue and filled her mouth, she could feel the odd texture followed by the initial weird caramel taste. That was soon replaced by the bite of the carbonation and further overwhelmed with sweetness. Even now it was unbearable, but Blake forced herself to take a few gulps before she moved the can away from her mouth.

"Disgusting." She commented and moved forward. The almost full can land in the nearest trash, as Blake continued her walk, regrets filled her mind. Not even her mind, but her mouth. She hated these type of drinks, they were too sweet, too sickening to her tastebuds. Yet here she was, deciding on a whim to do it. Why? That wasn't clear. She just did these types of things from time to time. Each time it had horrible consequences. She couldn't live her life like this. There had to be a point where something had to end.

Walking around the town and lost in thought, Blake didn't even notice as she walked into one of the stores. She wasn't sure which one it was, as the interior was unfamiliar. There also wasn't anyone behind the cash. Letting out a small sigh, she decided to walk around the store. It was filled with various things, although one thing was for sure, those things weren't edible. Clothing, shoes, accessories, mostly that type of thing. As she walked around, she stopped in front of a rack that had various headbands on display. There was one in particular that caught her attention. With a pair of animal ears, which looked cute. Ruby talked to her about bringing gifts back from her little journey. Nothing big or expensive, just... Just a gift. Blake understood why, it was a sign. At least once on your journey, you thought about the person you got the gift for. You remembered. It wasn't that difficult to figure out. Although Blake wondered if Ruby fully comprehended that with this request of hers.

Reaching out for it, she paused. Was there even a point in getting this? Did she really want to buy something that will only remind her of the same girl she tried to escape from? She would never give it to the girl since her mind was already set on simply moving somewhere else. If anything, it would be there to remind her of the choices she made. Of the possibilities, she had at that point.

"Huh? A customer? Be right with you!" A voice came from what Blake could assume was the back room. Soon the owner of the voice came to sight. "How can I..." There was a pause. "Blake?"

"Ilia."

oooOOOooo

Sitting at an old, wooden chair, Blake glanced around. The room was small but didn't feel claustrophobic. An old chandelier hung above them, illuminating the room. They, since Ilia soon joined her, sat next to a wooden, round table. As old as the chairs they sat on, Blake wondered if they were some kind of furniture set from ages ago. While old, they seemed solid and in much better shape than some of the newer furniture back at her college. "You sure it's alright to close the store like that?" Blake asked, finally focusing her gaze on the other girl.

"It's not like I get that many customers anyway." The other girl retorted with a shrug, sitting down in front of Blake. "Why're you back?"

Blake couldn't help but smile bitterly at how blunt she was. "No reason just wanted to visit."

Ilia just rolled her eyes. "You're running away again." The dark-skinned girl squinted as her gaze cut into Blake like a sharp knife

Blake just shrugged and rumbled her fingers against the wooden surface of the table. She was used to this type of look and Ilia was never someone with particularly intimidating eyes. "I am."

A sigh escaped Ilia's mouth. "Why? No, that's a dumb question. From what this time?" The side of her lip wrinkled up as the girl waited for an answer.

Blake let out a small, albeit empty chuckle. "The same as always, myself."

The freckled girl barked out a laugh. "Since you're back here, does that mean you're chasing your own tail at this point? Thought that's something a dog would do, not a cat." She finished with a smirk.

Blake smiled, even if her smile was minuscule, it was perhaps the first smile that was genuine. She wasn't called a cat for quite some time. "More like it's the tail that's chasing me."

Ilia dropped her smile as quickly as it appeared on her face in the first place. "You know Blake when you left without a word, we all got worried. Admittedly the news came a bit late for me but..." Blake hoped that this conversation would steer away from the heavy topics, at least for a little bit longer. Alas, that was not the case.

Blake lowered her eyes as her voice grew quieter. "I know, even back then I heard what happened. I'm... Sorry. About your parents and everything."

It didn't leave Blake's attention that at least one of Ilia's hands closed into a fist. "Was harsh. Could use your company back then. Your support. You."

Blake couldn't do anything but smile as she raised her gaze. "I guess I'm not a very reliable person." What else was there to say? She was a horrible person. Nothing less, nothing more.

Ilia looked shocked at her words, as her own eyes lowered. "You are, I just... Everything just happened to create a collage of bad. I'm not mad at you for leaving, at least not because of that. I'm just disappointed you haven't said anything. I might have been furious back then but... I understood. With time, I understood."

This was simply an example of why Blake saw herself as the villain of her own life story. Admittedly she didn't think about it that much, but even her old friends were hurt by her actions. Trying to force a small smile, she placed a hand on top of Ilia's. "If things didn't change back then... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I just, I wasn't sure what to do. I did the only thing I knew that could help me with my problems. Try and run away from them."

The freckled girl shook her head, moving her hand back, away from Blake's touch. "Did it work? I think I know the answer, but... Again, why are you here, Blake? I thought you'd never come back. I thought I'd never see you again."

Blake grimaced at that. "I met someone. They... Reminded me of what happened back then." She closed her eyes, forcing her mind to remain blank. Or at least stop a certain type of thoughts and memories.

Ilia grew paler after hearing that. "You mean... Did something similar happen to you? Again?"

That kickstarted Blake's imagination in an instant, as she thought about what happened, but with Ruby getting involved in all of it. Being part of it. Or worse, being in the center of it. "What?! No!" With all her will power, Blake stopped herself from smashing her fist against the table. Still, she couldn't help herself from yelling out her answer, as she leaned forward towards the freckled girl. She saw how shocked she was, not at the idea of the same thing happening, but at how Blake reacted. Taking a deep breath, Blake leaned back against the chair, trying to calm herself down. "No, thank goodness not. Just... I don't know. They reminded me of stuff, that's all."

There was a long moment of silence, in which Blake wondered if she went too far. If she crossed a line with how she reacted. Should she excuse herself and leave? Apologize? Ignore it? Wait? She wasn't sure. It was rare for her to act this way. To panic, truly panic. To lose any kind of logic behind her actions or words. Even pretended. As if to bless her, Ilia finally decided to break the silence. "Blake, do you really still blame yourself? It wasn't your fault. It wasn't even a case of you wanting to help, it was a random... A random occurrence, a random thing that happened."

She heard enough of this already to grow completely immune to words like this. At first, it planted a seed of doubt whenever someone said it. As if they were true. Later they angered or simply annoyed her. Now? She was used to hearing that. "It wasn't. We both know it wasn't. If I didn't mingle with things, if I just remained as I was, silently and in the back, nothing would happen."

Once more silence filled the room for a longer period of time. This time Blake simply sat there, trying to fight off any memories from entering her mind. A task that lasted till Ilia growled in anger, smashing her fist against the table. Well, more like forcefully tapping it against the wooden surface. "If there's anyone to blame, it's him." The eyes of the freckled girl moved to the side, her face twisted in annoyance.

Blake chuckled and smiled bitterly. "I know, but he ran away. Disappeared. As much as he's guilty, that doesn't take away my own guilt."

At that, Ilia reached out to poke Blake's chest as if accusing her of something. "No, you were done with him bossing you around. You wanted to do something for yourself. You wanted to do something you thought was good, instead of his empty ideals."

Moving her hand away, Blake shrugged. "And look how that ended up."

At that point, Ilia was pleading with her, which didn't make Blake feel any better about this situation. "Blake, it was an accident."

She simply glanced to the side, it wasn't much more she could do. At this point, Blake was ready to leave."You don't... You wouldn't understand. You weren't there."

Before Blake understood what she said, Ilia stood up from her chair, shouting. "Because my parents died, Blake! Because I had to hold up the reins of my life at least a few years before I was ready! I'd love to be there with you back then, but I couldn't." Closing her eyes, she moved towards the nearest wall, leaning overusing her arm and resting her head against it. "...I wish I could, but I couldn't. I'm sorry I..."

Blake cut her before the girl would blame herself too much. "No, you're right. I'm just being insensitive." Shaking her head, she let out a small sigh. "I wish you were there. I think it would make things different. Better."

At that, Ilia bounced away from the wall and returned to her seat. "This person you're running away from. Tell me about them." The dark-skinned girl squinted her eyes as she gazed intensely into Blake.

While it was good to change the topic without it ending in a sour way, it was how suddenly it happened that made Blake blink in surprise. "They are a... She's younger than me, about two years I think. She's the younger sister of a friend I made... Well, more as she forced me to be her friend." Still, she answered, although now that she could think about it, how much better of a topic this was from the previous? Just slightly.

Ilia leaned against the chair and crossed her arms, smirking. "Forced you huh?"

Blake tilted her head, not sure what the other girl meant by that. "Yeah, I just caved in at one point."

The freckled girl chuckled at that. "Sounds familiar."

It was at that point that Blake's eyes grew wide in understanding. As soon as she caught up with what was suggested, she couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess it does."

Ilia nodded, tapping her finger against her forearm. "So what else?"

Blake's brow raised at that. "What else?"

The other girl rolled her eyes. "Well, yes. Or is that all you know about her? Or can tell about her. Age and that she has a sibling." Raising her own brow at that.

Blake let a tired sigh, resting her elbow against the table. "Right." Soon she rested her head on the same arm. "I'm not sure. She's... Smart, in her own weird way. Also very... What's the word, not naive, but innocent? I would use the word pure but it makes things sound weird. She has her little baggage of issues, but... I'm not sure, she's like a small animal, cute and fun to have around." She smiled at her own comparison, while apt on the surface, even she knew that this wasn't who Ruby really was. It made her seem shallow, which the girl was far from being.

After hearing that, Ilia wore a grin on her face that could be only described using profane language. "Sounds like a keeper, so why run away?"

Blake's brow furrowed at that. "That's not funny." Even if she knew the other girl was joking, Blake had to keep herself from getting angry. If anything, she deserved this type of teasing.

The freckled girl waved her hand dismissively at that. "Sorry, but still, doesn't seem like someone to ran away from."

Covering her face with her hands, Blake groaned. "That's the issue, I'm afraid to bring her bad luck if I stick around. To ruin it for her in one way or the other."

Feeling an arm land on her shoulder, she glanced up to see Ilia leaning over with a warm smile. "Look, just because we called you a black cat back in the day, doesn't mean you really are one." She then glanced around as if afraid that someone would listen in on them. "Besides, between you and me? I think that whole bad luck myth and black cats? All fake."

Even if she smiled, Blake still rolled her eyes at that. "You know that's not the case."

Leaning back against her chair, Ilia nodded. "Sounds like you know her well enough, well long enough to think you know her. Does that mean you know her for a bit now?"

Blake rubbed the back of her neck at that. "Not really, that's the catch. We had a few adventures and at first, I thought I was just helping someone out, but it just made her... Stick to me."

The freckled girl looked as if she just heard a good joke being said at an inappropriate time. "Stick to you. So you don't like her sticking to you?"

That question surprised Blake, as she a bit of panic settle in. "What? No, I mean ... That's not the point! The point is, it just... Happened."

Maybe noticing it or simply knowing enough, Ilia dragged the topic forward without probing for more information. "Well, regardless it seems like you two are friends to some degree, wouldn't that make her... You know, sad that you left? Sounds to me like a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Blake simply shrugged at that. "That's fine. The least bad I could do in her life. She'll be sad for a bit and get better, move on."

The other girl didn't seem satisfied with that response, as she shook her head. "I'd reconsider if I was you." Scratching her cheek, she added. "At least do this much for me."

Rolling her eyes, Blake decided she had enough of this conversation, as she stood up from her chair. "I... Sure, reconsider. I should head home, I'm starting to feel tired."

Following suit, Ilia grabbed the keys to what Blake assumed could be the store itself. "Alright, mind if I walk you home?"

Blake wasn't really happy about that, but at the same time would feel guilty to openly reject the girl's offer. "Is that fine? What about the store?"

Ilia paused and glanced around, only to offer a shrug once her eyes went back to Blake. "It stood here ever since gramps was around, it can wait for an hour or two."

With a heavy sigh, she couldn't do anything more but to admit defeat.

Author's note 2:

Another short one, as I try to offer frequent, to some degree, updates.

Outside of that, I also wanted to write at least one Christmasy story, as such I wanted to finish this in case I would get stuck at some part and update the next chapter after the new year or something. So there's that.

I'm not sure which ship I'll write for that, since I have a few ideas (And too little time to write them all) but it'll prolly be one of the "bigger ones" so containing the two characters from the title group. Maybe. At least one.

And since I like to talk about random stuff in these, let me tell you how little did I care about the "reveal" of Cinder's background in episode 6. She was sort of interesting at the very start, she got boring super quickly and she still is boring. Now we just know she had a rough life but still did shitty stuff even when shown some "niceness". If it was to justify her actions, it failed. If it was to offer some insight into "why?" ... Well, it sort of just gave us the obvious answer. Nothing cool nor special about it. She's still a boring villain. I know, how dare I.