Disclaimer: All character's belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Co-Authored with ToxicExotic

A Truckfull of Problems

Covering her eyes from the bright sunlight that assaulted them as she stepped out of the tent, Ruby looked around the camp and felt a small smile spread out across her face. When she had gone to bed, the clearing beside the river had been a mess of trampled tents, destroyed furniture, clothes, and even some bowls that people had still been eating from. It had been a sad sight to see as she'd rushed in to save a girl that was under attack; however, Ruby was very happy to see that was no longer the case. The tents that had been flattened were back to their former glory, the furniture had been replaced with boxes and suitcases, all of which were sat on by happy and cheerful people who were laughing amongst themselves while two of them cooked something in a pot over the roaring fire.

It was something she loved about people. No matter how much Grimm tried to keep them down, people always found a way to rebuild. Whether it was a small camp, a small village, or even a whole kingdom, the fact that people were still achieving new and more incredible things was surely a positive sign that maybe one day the Grimm would be defeated. Maybe not in her lifetime, maybe not even in a hundred years, but she was sure that humanity would eventually be free to live without fear of death around every corner.

So, feeling a little brighter at yet more proof that her hopes were not naive dreams as others might call them, she flashed a smile over to the man who was cooking the breakfast and walked over, picking up one of the bowls that had been set aside. As she drew closer, the smell of scrambled eggs met her nose and she heard her stomach let out a loud rumble. As she waited in line to be served, she took another look around at the people that were walking around the area.

Though she remembered a few from having fought side by side with them last night, there were actually quite a few that she didn't. After the attack, she knew a few people had stayed inside the cave for the rest of the night for a little more security, but they finally seemed to have re-emerged to talk with their friends. By her count, she could see thirty people milling around the camp, most of them dressed in Menagerie guard attire while the others were dressed in travel clothes of different kinds.

She knew for a fact though that there were a few people missing though, such as Kali, Ghira, and the girl she'd saved the night before; but before she could find them, the line moved up and she found herself standing in front of the man serving breakfast. Though to call him a man was generous since he looked barely older than Coco. Even with the partially unbuttoned shirt and denim jeans, the short ginger hair and nice green eyes that held a flicker of youth told her that he had probably only just entered his twenties.

"Ahoy, kiddo." The man said with a warm voice that reminded her oddly of Yang. "Had a nice, big portion set aside for ya. As thanks for las' night."

"Oh." She chuckled nervously and held her plate out. "Thanks."

"No problem." He smiled and began to scoop a large mound of scrambled eggs onto her plate. "I'd have more for ya, but the blonde took extras."

Looking over to the direction he nodded, she saw her sister laying underneath a large military truck. Stood beside it was Weiss, her rapier out as she practised her stances.

"Yeahhh, she does that." Ruby shrugged, taking a bite of the food and letting out a small groan. "These are good."

"D'ey should be." Said one of the nearby guards in a thick accent. "S'all this man is good for."

"Ignore 'im." The cook said and waved the guard away. "Still mad I beat his as-"

A small cough came from Ruby's side and she looked around to see a girl sitting on a nearby crate. She couldn't have been older than thirteen, and while she definitely looked similar to the cook, her red hair was much deeper and her green eyes were as vibrant as balls of moss.

"Sorry… Still mad I beat his butt at cards yesterday." He finished with a teasing look at the girl before turning back to face Ruby. "Name's Princeton Protodio. That there's my lil' sister, Petilly"

"Ruby Rose." She said with a smile, offering her free hand out to shake Princeton's and offering a smile to the girl. "It's nice to meet you both."

"Likewise." He said, giving her hand a small shake. "Seems your parents' were fans of alliteration too, huh?"

"There are people waitin'." Petilly interrupted before she could reply.

"Alright, chill ya beans. I'm a sociable guy." He said with a grin. "You could learn a lesson from your big bro."

"I learn plenty, thank you."

Unable to stop herself as it reminded her of a conversation she and Yang had when they had first started Beacon, Ruby chuckled softly and continued to eat her food. Though she would have liked to stay there and talk some more as the two seemed really nice, Weiss was already looking pointedly in her direction.

"I actually do have to go." she said meekly, not wanting to sound rude.

"No problem." He said, clearly unfazed and ready to talk to the next person in line.

However, as Ruby gave him a smile and began to walk away, she remembered something important and turned back to him. "Oh… If you see a girl with dark hair, amber eyes, and faunus ears come out of our tent, please give her some food. Even if she says no."

"The young Belladonna girl?" Ruby gave a nod. "I won't let her leave my sight without a full plate."

Looking at the man's sister and receiving a nod, she gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Giving them both a small wave, she turned around and slowly walked over to her team by the truck. Eating her food as she did, she took another look around the camp and was surprised to see that Weiss was not the only one looking at her. Leant against the side of the cave was the girl she had saved last night, her grey eyes watching her carefully as she walked. However, just as she was about to smile and wave over to her, the girl disappeared in the blink of an eye and though Ruby could still feel eyes on her from that general direction, she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from exactly.

So cool, she said to herself at the thought of an invisibility semblance. Though she was a little curious why she would use it on her, it really wasn't that hard to figure out. Despite having saved them from the Grimm last night, a lot of the faunus still seemed to be a little cautious of them. As she had patrolled the area after the attack, and even now as she walked across the riverbank, she could feel the occasional eye watch her pass. So knowing not to take it personally, Ruby flashed the smile over to where the girl had been anyway and continued on her way to the truck.

"... blow your arm off." She heard Weiss say incredulously as she drew near.

"Hey, you're the one who said it, not me."

"Said what?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Yang here seems to think that I was reciting Dust fusions in my sleep." Weiss scowled, holding her rapier out in front of her and squaring her shoulders. "But the mere fact she can't even come up with a plausible fusion tells me she's a liar."

"Hey!" Yang said from under the truck as she laid on a creeper. "Third best student in Dust Application remember."

"Actually you're fourth." Ruby corrected her with a smug smile. "I scored higher than you on our last two tests." Hearing a small groan from her sister, Ruby couldn't help but feel proud that her studying was paying off. "But Yang's right, Weiss. You've told me to mix gravity and lightning Dust to create fairy sprinkles twice already. You mention fairy sprinkles a lot actually."

"I…" Instead of replying as she usually would by calling Ruby a liar, the heiress looked away with an unmistakable blush on her face.

"Wait, what?" Yang laughed, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "How did I never hear about this?"

"I thought you all knew." Ruby shrugged and leaned back against the truck.

"C-Can we just change the subject, please?" Weiss turned to face them with a pointed look that told both of them not to pursue that particular topic. "Where is Blake? I thought she would be with you?"

Ruby's smile immediately faltered.

The night had been a long one. Even after they had gone to bed, both of them had been awake for at least a few more hours. Nothing had been said in those hours however since Ruby knew her girlfriend needed time alone to think, but she had at least made certain that Blake knew that she was awake and willing to talk if she needed too. Blake hadn't though, and by the time Ruby had finally drifted off to sleep, the faunus was still wide awake. It sucked seeing her girlfriend become so overcome with uncertainty, but it sucked even more knowing that she couldn't do anything to comfort her except lay there and provide some warmth.

"She's asleep." She said simply. "She didn't sleep very well."

"Not surprised." Yang hummed. "I'm guessing she went full Blake again?"

"Mhm." Ruby nodded. "You guys don't think she has anything to worry about either, right?"

"Please." Weiss said with a roll of her eyes and returned to her practice. "Her mother pretty much squeezed the life out of us when we were getting breakfast."

"Thash wut I told'a." Ruby agreed, earning an immediate scowl from her partner for talking with her mouth full. "Sorry." She swallowed. "That's what I told her."

"She just needs some time to think about things." Yang said and stood up, wiping grease from her forehead and throwing the flashlight onto the crate that her jacket was on. "You know what she's like. Best not push her on private matters."

"I know." Ruby breathed. "I just dunno what I can do to help her in the meantime."

"Just keep doing what you're doing." Weiss said, finally lowering her rapier and summoning Allie the beowolf, who quickly took off into the forest to patrol. "Us being there for her is all she needs right now."

Though Ruby knew it was true, she wished it wasn't. She wished there was something she could say or do to ease her girlfriend's mind and make her realise that she deserved to be loved, that her past wasn't what defined her, but she knew that there wasn't. All she could do was comfort her when she needed comforting and try her very best to prove to her that she was in fact loved and forgiven.

"'Kay." She mumbled, shovelling the last of her food into her mouth.

Feeling a rush of warmth pass over her as Weiss' hand landed on her shoulder, she looked up and saw her best friend giving her a smile. Happy to return it, she laid the plate on the hood of the truck and leaned into her friend slightly.

"So are you going to tell us how the truck is?" Weiss asked, not returning the additional affection, but not rejecting it either.

"In a word?" Yang replied and turned to face them. "Fucked. Centinel acid burned through the undercarriage and ripped a hole into the engine, so it looks like we're walking."

"Damn." Ruby groaned. "There goes the easy route."

"Well unless you can think of something, I've got nothing." The blonde shrugged.

Not wanting to have to leave supplies behind, Ruby pushed herself away from the truck to give it another look. Not only were the supplies in the camp and truck important to keeping morale up so that they could reduce Grimm attacks as much as possible, but they were also important to make sure they weren't having to rush people. With supplies they were able to take their time and set up camp if they really needed to, but without them they would be forced to continue or risk what little they could carry running out.

Thankfully, as she looked over the truck, she was struck by a sudden idea. Since the only thing they were transporting was food, clothes, and tents, so all they needed was something that could move; and the engine wasn't needed for that. All the wheels were still intact, and other than some torn tarp around the back, everything else seemed to be in pretty good condition.

"Oh no." She heard Weiss say as she looked at them with a smile. "I really don't like that look."

"But that's her best look." Yang grinned and put an arm around the heiress, who quickly pushed it off. "Whatcha got, Rubes?"

"Well…" She said happily. "Remember my twelfth birthday?"

Unzipping the tent and stepping outside with a small yawn, Blake purposely kept her gaze at her feet as she felt multiple eyes settle on her. It was to be expected after all, since most of the guards were people she had met before, and those that she hadn't would have certainly heard of her. Heard that she was the daughter of their chieftain, heard that she had run away and joined the White Fang, heard the rumors of the things she had done. Their gazes were inevitable, but that didn't make them any less unnerving.

It felt like she was being judged from every angle. Judged for her past, judged for coming back, judged for disgracing their name; and she couldn't exactly disagree with them. How much worse had her actions made life for those people? How much help had Mistral denied due to White Fang activity in the area? How many people had moved to Menagerie in the last five years due to the White Fang stoking tensions and causing others to feel unsafe? She had no idea. She had believed what she was doing was right, that she was earning her people respect; yet that day at the farm, her time at Beacon, had shown her that all she had done was create more mistrust. She may not have known how much trouble she had caused for them, but she did know they were right to judge her.

So keeping her head low and moving through the camp, she activated her aura and searched for her friends. It was a nice little trick that Fox had taught her, and though she was nowhere as experienced as him, she was still able to feel Yang', Weiss', and Ruby's aura gathered together on one side of the riverbank. However, before she could make her way towards them, she felt another aura moving quickly towards her from behind and turned around quickly to face whoever it was, her hand moving to her sword. She stopped short however as soon as she saw that it was just a man with short ginger hair and green eyes that twinkled with his smile. From what she could tell, she couldn't sense anything faunus about him, so had to assume he was human.

"Woah." He said, taking one of his hands off a plate of eggs and holding it up defensively. "Ain't no need for weapons. Just got some food for ya."

"Oh…" She lowered her hand and looked at the food, her stomach instantly feeling a little queasy. "Th-Thanks, but I'm good."

"Sorry, but that Ruby girl told me not to take no for an answer." He gave her a smile and held out the plate.

Despite her stomach twisting slightly at the thought of eating it, Blake couldn't help but feel a little happy inside that Ruby was still looking after her despite having to stay focused on the mission. And not wanting to throw away Ruby's care, she gave the man a small nod and accepted the plate.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

Receiving a wave from the man as he moved back over to the campfire, she looked down at the food and felt her stomach twist again. However, knowing that Ruby wouldn't be happy if she showed up having eaten nothing, she shovelled a few eggs into her mouth. Unfortunately she couldn't really enjoy them as they were tasteless, but she continued to eat anyway, so as to not upset her girlfriend, and continued to make her way towards her team.

The sight that greeted her when she finally lifted her head was not what she expected though. While she had already figured they were at the truck based on the noise she heard on her approach, they most certainly were not fixing it. In fact, they were doing the exact opposite. The entire thing had been broken down into different components, with the cabin having been shoved off to the side and the chassis having been separated from the storage area completely, which has also had all of it's side panels cut away. Scattered around the grass were all sorts of odds and ends such as a long length of wire, a steering wheel, and various mechanical components that she would never be able to name.

Sitting on top of the chassis, fiddling around with one of the wheels, was her partner; while Ruby and Weiss were sitting on the separated truck bed using Crescent Rose to measure out something. It wasn't the first time she had walked in on a random construction job, and she was fairly certain that whatever was going on was her girlfriend's idea.

"Morning, Blakey." Yang said as she approached, looking up to show a large smear of oil across her forehead.

"Mornin'." She mumbled back with her mouth full, ignoring Weiss' scowl. "What're you doing?"

"Improving transportation across all of Remnant." Ruby grinned up at her. To Blake's surprise, she was once again wearing a ring on her lip. "One vehicle at a time."

"It's humble work, but we do what we can." Yang added with a nonchalant shrug. "Though I'm thinking we turn this whole thing into a company, rake in millions, and eventually buy out the SDC and kick out Weiss' dad."

"Oooo. I like that idea."

Shaking her head despite being amused at the sisters' playfulness, Blake looked at her other teammate and raised an eyebrow.

"They're building a cart." Weiss said dryly.

"Oh."

"You just don't understand our vision." Ruby replied smugly as she stood up from the dismantled truck bed and made her way over. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She lied, though placed a kiss against her girlfriend's forehead. "I just want to stay busy. Can I do anything to help?"

"Uhh…" The girl looked around. "Umm… you could help with… the wire. Yeah, the wire. Weiss made a mess of it."

"I did not!"

"It's more tangled than my hair after sex." Yang chuckled offhandedly.

"Something I did not need to know, thank you."

"Me neither." Ruby grimaced, looking back at her sister with a scowl, though the blonde just gave a shrug and returned to work.

A groan of disgust came from the heiress as she returned to measuring the truck bed, and Blake felt a hand take her own. Glancing down and finding herself looking into two deep pools of silver, she felt a fluttering in her stomach and couldn't help but pull the girl closer a little. She hadn't been able to come to a conclusion last night about how she felt about the reaper, but she knew what she felt had definitely begun to go beyond mere affection.

"You sure you're okay?" Ruby asked again in a hushed voice.

"Mhm." She lied again, though definitely felt better while being close to her girlfriend. "I just want you to take my mind off things. Until I talk to my parents."

Giving a nod and biting her lip slightly, Ruby slowly closed the distance between them and pressed their lips together. It was light and loving, and the metal ring on the girl's lip caused Blake to flashback to the day they had spent together watching a movie and eating ice cream. For that brief moment, she was reminded of just how simply life could be, just how normal everything could feel when they were together and how happy she was in those moments. Ruby making her happy was something she was definitely certain of, and something that she didn't have to feel guilty about. So taking a few small seconds to revel in that comfort, she happily returned the affection.

It wasn't long however before Ruby quickly backed away to give her a warm smile, but Blake was more than happy to have had a distraction; no matter how short it lasted.

"Thanks." She smiled meekly down at the girl.

"You're welcome." The girl grinned. "But we should get back to work."

"Sounds good." She hummed, glad to just have something to do.

Letting go of her girlfriend and watching the world turn a shade greyer as the reaper walked back over to the truck bed, Blake let her hand fall uselessly to her side and made her way over to the wire. However, as she leaned down to pick it up, she felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle at the feeling of being watched. It wasn't the same as the rest of the camp though. It wasn't judgement, it wasn't caution; it was anger; and she knew who it was coming from.

She spun quickly and faced the entrance to the forest, her eyes darting back and forth along the rocks and trees, but it didn't take long to find her. Sitting in the branches of a tree was Ilia, her skin a bright red and her long ponytail a vibrant yellow. She knew those colours, she'd seen them a hundred times, and a wave of guilt pulsed through her again as they locked eyes. Ilia had been her best friend at one point, and was someone she still cared for. After all, for a long time it had been just them to keep each other company but just as she always did, Blake had left her.

After a few seconds though, the girl's skin swirled with colour and she faded into the tree she was standing in. With a sad sigh, she watched as a tiny flicker of movement jumped out of the tree and out of sight.

Will there be no end to the people I've hurt? She asked herself and turned back to the tangled wire. Sitting down on the grass, she began the slow process of straightening it out, hoping that the monotony would help clear her head a little.

"You ready?"

"Mhm." Blake hummed with a nod.

"Alright… pull!"

Pressing her foot into the thick metal sheet, Blake used as much strength as she could muster to try and bend the metal. To her side, Ruby did the same and Blake had to struggle to keep her focus as she saw the muscles in the girl's toned arms flex from the exertion.

As was the case with most vehicles designed to travel outside of kingdom walls, the truck that the faunus camp had been using was incredibly well made. Even with both their efforts though, as well as a deep groove Ruby had carved into the folding point, it was still a task that had Blake sweating before the incredibly thick steel began to fold over. Thankfully though, once it was moving things became much easier.

"Al...most." Ruby grunted through gritted teeth.

Finally though, just as her fingers felt like they were going to snap, she felt the steel tab stop moving and looked down to see that the metal was flush with her foot at a ninety degree angle. With a breath of relief, they both let go and fell back into a sitting position.

"We are absolutely having Yang do the side panels." Blake grumbled, shaking her already tired arms.

"Weaklings." The girl in question scoffed. "It's only a little Argus steel."

"I wouldn't call that little." Ruby puffed, rotating her shoulder. "It's thicker than Crescent Rose."

"That's because this truck was made to Atlesian military specifications." Weiss replied in a smarmy voice. "Of course it's going to be stronger than average."

"Centinel acid still burned through it like paper though." Yang chuckled, immediately taking the wind out of Weiss' sails.

"It didn't used to." She frowned. "I doubt the newer models would suffer the same kind of damage."

"So what you're saying is that they gave the leader of the faunus kingdom a vehicle that was no longer worth anything?" Blake scowled.

It certainly sounded like Atlesians to her, and apparently it did to Weiss as well since she fell quiet and merely gave a small nod of her head while returning to her work on the gravity crystals.

It certainly wasn't anything new for the faunus to be given aid in the form of gifts that eventually turned out to simply be things other Kingdoms no longer had need for. Menagerie always made do though, because they had to. It wasn't rich in resources like the other kingdoms, and the people were not very interested in tearing apart what little they could call home for minerals when wood served them just as well and could be replenished naturally. Besides, wood made more comfortable homes than brick and mortar anyway.

"Stupid Atlas." Ruby muttered to herself before attempting to stand up.

Before she could however, Blake reached out with tired arms and seized her around the waist, pulling her back to the ground and laying them back on the uncomfortable metal. To her delight, the girl let out a loud laugh and quickly turned to face her.

"Two minutes." Blake smiled, the laughter having managed to drag the first real one of the day out of her. "My arms are tired and we're still waiting on Yang to finish the brakes."

"Well you're gunna be waiting a long time." Yang grunted as she tightened a bolt. "Told ya, I've gotta rebuild them entirely to work by hand. Not exactly a simple fix."

"Don't have to ask me twice then." Ruby grinned and snuggled into her. "Not with a smile like that."

Once again, Blake felt her stomach flutter, but she ignored it and wrapped her arms around the reaper, bringing her close so that Ruby's head rested on her chest. Feeling the familiar warmth that she has begun to cherish envelop her again, she let out a happy sigh and nestled her chin against the top of the leader's head. As they laid there in silence and listened to Weiss and Yang discuss whether Argus was part of Atlas or Mistral, she felt Ruby's fingers begin to trace small circles on her stomach.

"Thanks for taking my mind off things." She said quietly, enjoying the sensation. "I know I've not exactly been very fun these past few days."

"It's fine." Ruby said with a shake of her head. "Taking your mind off things is fun for me too."

Smiling slightly at the fact that her mood wasn't ruining things, she pressed a quick kiss against the top of the girl's head.

"But you know you don't have to face these feelings alone, right?" The redhead continued gently. "You can talk to me if you need to. You can talk to any of us."

"I know." She murmured.

"Good."

Blake knew exactly why she wasn't talking to Ruby about her feelings though; or any of her friends. As much as she loved all of them, she knew none of them would give her what she wanted. They gave her love, and support, and comfort, all things that she definitely appreciated; but none of them were willing to give her what she needed. None of them would tell her that she deserved to be punished.

They chose to believe the best in her, never once holding her to account for everything she'd done. And after everything she had done, how was it fair that she could continue to be given everything that made her happy? To turn to people who could only make her happier? It wasn't, but her team would never listen to that. They would tell her it was all in the past, that she had changed; but changing didn't make things right, it didn't fix things.

"Blake?"

Flinching slightly as the sound of her mothers' voice reached her ears she rapidly sat up, knocking Ruby aside by accident as the woman appeared in front of them. With a curious look, Kali looked at them both and Blake definitely saw a sly smile pull at her mom's lips.

"Sorry to interrupt, Dear." The woman said, Blake not believing her at all. "But your dad and I were wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch? We fished up a nice Salmon."

Blake had not been expecting that. She knew that her parents would reach out to her at some point during the day, and that a discussion was bound to be had; but lunch? It was so normal.

"Umm… S-Sure." She said, brushing herself off and standing up.

"You're friends can join us too, if you'd like?" Kali said with a smile. "There's more than enough."

"Lunch sou-"

"We're grateful for the offer, Mrs Belladonna." Weiss interrupted her partner, Blake hearing the sound of a glyph forming underneath Ruby. "But we should really finish this before nightfall."

"Then I will have Prince bring you something over." Kali said with a nod towards the girl. "That boy never misses a chance to talk to new people."

"Sounds good, Mrs B." Yang said with a grin up at the older woman, which was promptly returned.

"Good." The woman chuckled, Blake rolling her eyes as the woman turned to her. "Are you ready to eat?"

"Mhm." Blake replied with a nervous nod and looked at her teammates. "See you later."

Hearing her team wish her luck, she stepped over the bent metal and approached her mom. The fact that she was going to be sitting down with her parents for lunch was more than a little frightening as, while she felt like she deserved to be punished, the idea of her parents being repulsed by everything she'd done and wanting nothing to do with her was terrifying. However, as she reached the woman's side, an arm was once again linked with hers and Blake looked aside to see her mom looking up at her with a warm smile.

"I didn't have all the ingredients," The woman said as she began to guide them towards the big tent. "But I made salmon paella. I remember you always liked that."

Feeling happy that her mom had remembered her favourite meal, Blake couldn't help but give the woman a smile. "That's perfect." She replied.

"Good." The woman breathed and patted her hand. "Good."

Letting herself be led by the hand towards the tent, she raised her hand and anxiously rubbed her arm, guilt starting to set in as the smell of food wafted into her nose. She had run away, she had called them horrible names and spent years avoiding them while ruining everything they had built; and here they were cooking her favourite meal. Yet again, it was more than she felt she deserved.

She didn't have long to prepare however, as after a moment of uncomfortable silence they reached the tent and the smell of food finally greeted her nose. Almost instantly, memories of her childhood came rushing back. Dinners with her parents, her dad reading a book while her mom teased him for the glasses that look tiny in comparison to the gargantuan man's face. She remembered the festivals that would be held in front of the docks and the food that would be served while people danced and exchanged gifts. Those memories and many more came rushing back to her and Blake found herself stopping before the entrance as a sudden bout of nausea rushed through her body.

"Are you okay, dear?" She heard her mother say to her side, a hand landing comfortingly on her shoulder.

No.

It was the answer she wanted to give, but she didn't. She was homesick, more than she had ever been, but that was her own fault. She was the one that had thrown it all away, it had been her choice; and this was her punishment.

"Yeah." She lied in a single breath. "Just smells good, is all."

"Then should we go in?" The woman smiled.

"Y-Yeah." Blake stuttered and reached out to grab the tarp.

With a deep breath, she pulled it aside and walked inside. Setting plates on the table they had all gathered around last night was her dad, his long hair looking rather dishevelled and dark bags under his eyes. He looked like his night was as bad as hers, and her worry for the man was resparked. However, as soon as he saw them enter, his face broke into a smile and all exhaustion was removed from his eyes.

"My two favourite girls." He said, leaning forward onto the table causing it to groan. "Words cannot describe how good it is to see you standing side by side again."

"Twenty-three years and your father's never lost his charm." Kali chuckled with a fond look at her husband.

A sheepish smile pulled at her lips as the older woman slipped away and pressed a hand to her husband's chest, leaning up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. With a satisfied smile, she turned back around and gave Blake an equally loving look.

"I'm just happy that our family is finally back together." She said. "And that your father didn't let the paella burn. Please take a seat dear, it'll be ready in a minute."

Giving a small nod of her head, she stepped forward and slowly sat down on the indicated stool. She felt herself shrink a little under the gaze of her parents as everyone remained silent for a few seconds, but eventually her mom walked over to the paella that was cooking in the corner while her dad sat down opposite her.

"How was your night?" He asked, his voice calm and gentle.

"Umm…" She looked down, unable to meet his eye. "It was okay, I guess."

"Good." She watched the man's nails slowly extend and retract. "So you're training to be a Huntress now? I'm sure how that happened is an exciting story?"

It really wasn't. Not to her anyway.

"A Huntsman recommended it to me. I helped him defend some merchants, and he told me the exams were soon. Said I could use my skills to help more people."

"Was that... after you left the White Fang?" Her mom asked.

"Y-Yeah." She hummed, watching the woman moving the pan of food over to a tray and replacing it with a pot of water. "How… How much do you know?"

Seeing her parents exchange a look was all she needed as an answer.

"Bits and pieces." Blake raised an eyebrow at her dad's uncertain tone, and he gave a sad sigh. "Alright. We know most of it, except for the last month of you being with them and what caused you to leave."

Ghira and Kali exchanged another look, one more worried than the first. "Ilia refuses to talk about it." Kali finished for him.

"Oh."

Another small moment of silence fell across the room. She was surprised that Ilia had told her parents anything at all, but completely unsurprised that she wouldn't talk about the final month they spent together. The girl had lost pretty much everyone she cared about and as such had built up some pretty high walls, often wearing a mask of anger to hide just how much pain she was in; and after finally letting them down and letting her in, Blake had left her. Just like everyone else in the girl's life.

"We don't want to ask you to tell us everything, dear." Kali said softly, setting the tray with the food and tea on the table. "But… Last night you said something that concerned us." The older woman gave her a careful look. "You said you killed people? Is that true?"

Blake knew the answer to that question would be different depending on who was asked, but for her the answer was a simple one. It didn't matter that nobody's blood had ever stained her blade, her actions had gotten people killed. It didn't matter if they were innocents or slavers, a life was a life. So, hanging her head in shame once again, she answered them with a slow nod.

"Y-Yes."

Not even daring to look at her parents and risk seeing the look of shame on their faces, she kept her head facing the table and felt tears slowly begin to roll down her cheeks. After a minute of silence though, the tears began to flow faster and the fact that she had just admitted that she was a murderer to her parents began to set in. She wanted to be punished, knew she deserved to be, but she still didn't want to lose them. She didn't want them to look at her like she was a monster, and yet their silence spoke a thousand words. The people who always had something nice to say, something to reassure and create hope, were speechless.

So, feeling her breathing begin to pick up its pace, she raised her hands to cover her face as the tears began to fall in earnest.

"Wh-What have I d-done?" She cried, feeling her chest constrict with every breath.

Small arms wrapped around her in an instant, and though she tried to pull away from the underserved affection, her mom held her tightly against her chest.

"Terrible things." The woman breathed in a shaky voice. "Things that nobody should do… but that doesn't make you a terrible person."

"It makes me a m-monst-"

"No it doesn't." Her mother cut her off, her hand reaching down and forcing her chin up to look at her. "You regret them, you changed. You know what you have done wrong and stepped away from those terrible things in favour of a more righteous path. You are good! I know this because you are our daughter. You may have been gone for half a decade, but we know your heart has always been full of kindness. And there is nothing you can say that will make me think differently. Isn't that right, Ghira?"

"Of course." Her dad replied without hesitation. "But these things, Blake… they are very serious. And if we are going to help you face them, help you avoid that path again, we need to understand exactly what happened from your point of view."

Glancing to the side and seeing a rare seriousness etched across her dad's face, Blake felt her stomach drop. Was that really her punishment? To recall and remember everything she had done, to see the faces of those she'd hurt and try to put five years of violence into words? Five years of actions that would only make her parents more likely to be ashamed and cast her aside. It was a cruel punishment, one she didn't want to face; but she knew she had to. Punishment was what she deserved, and if this was the only one she would be given, then she would take it.

So, swallowing her fear and wiping her eyes, she prepared to face the worst moment of her life and gave them both a nod.

"Good." The man said, reaching out and scoping some paella onto each of the plates. "I believe this will be quite a long tale, so we shall talk while we eat."

Raalm's Note

Hello all. I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

Not really much to say today. We mostly just wanted to have a bit of fun with the difference between Ruby and Blake's perspective on the morning this chapter. Hopefully that all felt good and worked well. We also wanted to slightly touch on the conversations between Blake and her parents, but this chapter only touched upon it. There will be more to come next chapter, and more in coming chapters since this is an ongoing storyline now. So hopefully you like how it is going so far. Anyway, that's it from me.

Chapter 56 - Parents (Yes that is the name this time I swear) will be uploaded on the 11th :)