Ch. 26: For Those Left Behind

The way the ground was laden with mud-mixed snow gave her foot steps such satisfying crunches, the tempo to her staccato march as she braved the weather. The wind wasn't quite howling today, more like it was half-heartedly screaming at her as she trudged along on her errands. There were few people out today, well there were few people period anymore now that she thought about it, but even then they were little more than a wooled shadow here or a snow bleached blur there. Ruby tightened her cloak to her chest, the wind brutalizing any warmth that she kept inside.

Part of her wished that she had a shift in the forge today, at least there she could be near fires for the most part. But with the situation as it was, there was little hope that she would have any more work this week or the next. If she was lucky she might get a shift running maintenance with the steam master around the town, but that was hardly worth celebrating.

How long had it been since anything had been brought for forging? Were there any able bodied hunters left? Any not recruited by Ironwood's failed gathering of supplies and materials?

Ruby sighed, coming to a frozen cart in the middle of Seliana. There was an older wyverian there, shorter than her and incredibly stout. He puffed at a pipe, his smoke mixing with the breath of air that released into the cold. He arched up a wooly eyebrow and shifted his legs underneath his cloak.

"Afternoon young lady. 'Spose you're looking for some more medicine then?" His bushy eyebrows hid his eyes, but she could tell he was looking at her. Ruby nodded and handed a paltry amount of coin to him.

"Afternoon. Will this be ok?" The man accepted the pouch, he didn't do her the dishonor of opening and counting the zenny, because they both knew it was not enough. Instead he pocketed the amount and handed her two potions, both of the lavender persuasion.

"It'll do. Don't linger too long out in this cold y'hear? You'll turn into an ol' foggy like me." He gave her the smallest of smiles and Ruby gave him one back, tucking the potion into her cloak as she turned away.

"Thank you sir, stay warm." He saluted her with his pipe, and went back to his snow laden contemplation.

Ruby trudged through the snow, seeing that the previous path she had carved through was already being erased via soft flakes. She huffed, watching the heat of her body leave her ever so slightly with each puff of air. With the potions secured she set back to her room, already a gnawing feeling worming its way into her as she thought about the time she had been away from Yang. She moved her way up a set of stairs, kicking at the stone with one foot as she ascended, trying to ascertain if a patch of ice had materialized between the span of her leaving her room and making the trip to the potion seller. Just as she crested the top, she nearly bumped into a woman.

"Oh! Hey Pyrrha." Ruby said, steadying herself against her. Pyrrha put an arm around the girl, and repositioned both herself and Ruby in a less precarious position.

"Ruby." She said it with about as much life as she could. Pyrrha wore a feeble smile, the bleach light of the snow accenting the paleness in her face. She had a jacket on, but it was left open and was probably doing little to fight off the cold, but she didn't seem to mind. Across her chest trailed a deep scar, red and bearing stitch markings as it hid behind the collar of her shirt. Ruby's eyes must have betrayed her because Pyrrha glanced down briefly.

"It's not as bad as it looks." The woman closed up her jacket, zipping it tight. "The apothecary with the First Wyverians thinks it'll heal up soon. They say in a week or two I might be able to hunt again without opening it back up…"

"Oh! That's good…" Ruby floundered for a moment, desperately looking for something to say. "So… how's Ren and Nora doing?"

"Good." Pyrrha smiled a bit better now. "They're both fine. Maybe a little stir crazy like the rest of us hunters… The General's ban on expeditions is warranted but… I can't help but feel like we could thin out the monster's ranks before…"

"Yeah, yeah." Ruby shook her head. "But from what little I hear it sounds like there are quite a few Grimmblight out there."

Pyrrha shuffled in place. "You hear correctly. The last foraging run out into the Hoarfrost did not go well. We're being bled out." She stuffed her hands into her jacket pocket. "Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I thought that these things came from the Recess. How are there blighted monsters all the way out here? Has Blake said anything?"

Ruby bit her lip and turned away. "I wouldn't know, haven't seen her in a while."

Pyrrha looked taken aback. "She… doesn't visit?"

"No." Ruby said.

"I see." Pyrrha began to turn away. Ruby was just about to take her leave when she was stopped.

"Ruby. We all lost something in Astera. Some of us… Way more than others. But the last thing we need to do is start blaming each other." Pyrrha smiled at her. "All we can do is keep moving forward, and life will work itself out, some way or another. It's… What he would have wanted for me. So that's how I'm going to live."

Ruby watched her walk away, Pyrrha wiping at the tears that threatened to freeze on her cheeks. Ruby triple checked that her potions were still in her bag, and went back to her room.

Weiss knocked tentatively at the door frame, pushing past the heavy wood and stomping her feet on the doormat inside. She rubbed her hands furiously against one another and looked about the room. Calling it a room was a bit of a hyperbole, there was a set of beds against the far wall, a small mobile furnace against the other, and a small trunk by the side of the door. What little Ruby had brought with her and procured in Seliana was stacked haphazardly about. Weiss removed her coat and set it on the trunk and looked towards the permanent occupant of one of the beds.

Ruby was beside Yang, a small stool nestled up right beside the linens. The girl was hunched over and watching the sleeping figure determinedly. Weiss gave an unwanted look at the comatosed girl. Yang's mangled arm was out and above the blankets, propped up on a makeshift brace, and bandaged tightly. What skin that was not covered in bandages was mottled and yellow, severe bruises still present even after all this time. Her face was pale, but there was a small amount of life in it still. Her uneven breathing barely moved the blankets on top of her, and Weiss could hardly stand to watch her for much longer.

"Ruby? I've brought some food." Weiss's call into the room was ignored, so she walked up to the girl.

"Ruby. Come on, I know you haven't… Just please eat something for today alright?" Weiss unfolded a small bag on the bed behind Ruby, a stale loaf of bread and some smoked meat, her catch for the day. Weiss sat on the bed and tore a chunk off the loaf, offering it to the girl.

"Please?" She asked again. Ruby seemed to blink awake from whatever stupor she was in and accepted the offered food.

"Thanks." Ruby mumbled, returning to her watch.

"How is she today?" Weiss knew the answer but asked anyway.

"Better, I think. The swelling flared up again last night but it went down when I got some ice from outside." Ruby brought the bread to her lips and took a small bite.

"Good. Do you need any more zenny for her potions?" Weiss broke apart her own bite, but couldn't find it in herself to put it in her mouth.

"We'll be alright Weiss. Maybe see if someone from Sun's clan could use it." Ruby didn't look back at her as she talked.

"Stop doing that." Weiss huffed. "I'm trying to help Ruby. I know they are hardly paying you. Just let me-"

"Not everyone can get handouts from their sister like you Weiss. I'll manage… Me and Yang always have." Ruby set the piece of bread to the side and walked over to the small furnace. There was a pot sitting just outside its chassis, and Ruby was boiling a small stock of soup in it. She opened the lid to the pot and stirred absentmindedly at the lack of ingredients within.

Weiss caught the bit of emotion that rose into the back of her throat. "I… It hurts when you speak to me like that. You should know that it's not just you and Yang anymore… I'm here too." She stood from the bed and made her way towards the door, wiping at her eyes. Ruby turned towards her, distress on her face.

"Weiss… I'm sorry I just... " She sighed. "I don't have an excuse, I've been cooped up in here for so long. I've been stuck in my head…"

"Then get out of here, even if it's just for a night! You know I'll watch after Yang." Weiss said, the familiar argument creeping up into her head. "Go and stay in my room for a night, go see your friends! Just… Do something before you go insane." Ruby gave her a guilty look.

"I don't know if that'll help. I'm half worried to death just being here with her." Ruby took the small pot and poured it into a cup, bringing the soup back over to the bedside. She worked a rag into the soup, allowing it to cool before dripping a small amount of it into Yang's mouth. A few of the drops missed their mark, but Ruby dutifully wiped it away with her hand before starting again.

Weiss took a deep breath, quelling the lump in her throat. She felt that if she let it out, she might say something that could lead to another fight. But why did she have to be the one to tip toe? Why couldn't Ruby see that she was being ridiculous? She had plenty of people here that could help her, but she denied them at every turn. It was a stubbornness she hadn't seen in the girl before, and it filled her with an awful nagging feeling and with frustration.

"Blake's back." Weiss said, for lack of something better to say. She knew she was pushing a button, but she didn't care.

Ruby stopped feeding Yang for a moment but continued. "And?"

"I thought you would like to know that she's alright. Your friend?" Weiss's hand found her hip as she watched the smith.

"Okay." Ruby didn't look at her again. It drove Weiss crazy.

"Stop. I know you're pissed that she won't see your sister, but you have to give her time… She blames herself for a lot of this, Yang most of all. Everyone needs time to… process all of this."

"Two months of time? And doing what? Trouncing around in the snow, looking for clues like some half-baked detective? Potentially getting herself killed before they can see one another again?" Ruby's words were heated.

"Ruby." Weiss was getting exasperated. "She's doing the only thing she can. If she-" Ruby stood from the bed and whipped around.

"What she could be doing is taking care of the woman she supposedly loves!" Ruby half yelled.

"Oh! Like you would let her!" Weiss fired back.

"Don't do that! Don't flip things back at me like you're making a point! Whether or not Blake would help or not doesn't matter because she isn't here! Yang doesn't have anyone but me! Our family left us, and now Blake's left her too! And I have to be here for her when she wakes up!" Weiss felt an awful thing in her chest, something she thought she had left behind when she had come to the New World.

Weiss choked back her tears, "I'm here aren't I?" Ruby's face twisted up and she held a hand out as if to stop Weiss.

"I thought… I thought we could all be a family. But clearly you don't think so." Weiss grabbed her coat and made for the door.

"Weiss-" Ruby walked towards her but was too late. Before Ruby could say anything more, Weiss had already slammed the door shut.

Weiss walked into the small hut in the middle of Seliana, a great steaming pot sitting in the middle of the makeshift dining hall. There were a few Felynes here and there absentmindedly cooking up the day's batch of food for the weary Atlesian soldiers. Weiss made her way to the bar and set herself on it, attempting to hide the tear tracks on her face from the other watching faces in the diner hall. She ignored the offer for a meal, she didn't think she could eat anything anyways, but accepted the offer for a drink.

Something was put in front of her and she took a sip, grimacing at the foul taste of bitter beer. She sighed and hid her head in her arms, pushing the tankard away before lamenting further.

Why did it have to be this way? Ruby was acting… Not like herself. Not ever since that last night in Astera. And that was fine, Weiss understood and accepted that Ruby was going through a lot right now and had been through a lot in her life, but why was she pushing her away? Didn't she understand that Weiss was just trying to help? To ease the pain, even if it was just a little bit?

"You alright?" A voice said to her, just to the right. Weiss looked up and saw Blake take a seat beside her. She looked haggard, the signs of travel and wilderness about her. She was wearing a warmer version of her Nargacuga armor, with a fur lined jacket above her usual get up. There was a hood sitting behind her neck, tied tight to fight the cold. She was dirty and had bags underneath her eyes, clearly not getting anywhere near enough sleep in the last days of her expedition.

"I'm fine." Weiss said half heartedly, taking a reluctant pull from her drink.

"You don't seem fine. And you definitely don't seem like you should be drinking. Not by yourself anyways." Blake motioned towards a felyne, and another drink was dropped in front of them. Weiss looked at her and lamented, "Why don't we have anything normal or nice to drink?"

"Snow water needs to be boiled, and I don't think they want to waste any of their precious fuel doing that. Sadly, all we have left is the bitter beer they've had in stock forever now." Blake took a drink and set her mug back down.

"Another fight with Ruby?" She asked.

"Yes." Weiss rubbed her temple. "About you, I should add."

"I'm sorry." Blake said, and she really did sound sorry, she was playing with her hunting gear, absentmindedly rubbing at her dual blades. "I don't think I'm ready to see her. I wish Ruby would understand. I don't know if I could hold myself together if I saw her like that again."

"You don't have to justify yourself to me." Weiss said. "So you should instead tell me if you've actually found anything this time." Weiss rightened herself to look at the wyverian.

"Well." And Blake gave her a sad smile. "I've found a cave system with some interesting ruins inside. Want to come with? I can get clearance from my mother, and I'm sure your sister could put in a good word while we're at it."

Weiss was already nodding her head. "Yes, I'm sure she won't mind, but I already know she won't let us go without a full hunting party behind us."

"Now that could be a problem… I don't have any money to offer anyone, it would have to be pro bono. And I doubt the General will fund anymore of my hair brained schemes." Blake said.

"Well then I guess we're out of luck." At this, Weiss took a deeper drink from her tankard. The man beside her shifted and turned towards the duo.

"And what exactly would this expedition have to offer?" He was young, perhaps a little younger than Weiss, with a gray set of hair that betrayed the youth in his face. He had a cocky smirk too, and Weiss instantly disliked him.

"Excuse me?" Weiss said.

"I mean what exactly are we going after? My team doesn't mind a little danger, if the reward is right." He lounged against the bar top and flipped back his bangs. Oh wow, Weiss did not like this guy.

"The reward now? Small, but I think we can find some evidence for why the Grimmblight are here in Seliana. The General will reward that greatly." Blake cut in, her face determined.

"Alright." The man said simply. "Hold on just a minute ladies."

As he got up and left, Weiss stole a glance at Blake. "Please don't tell me you're entertaining that moron?"

"If it means getting to the truth, Weiss, I'll do anything." Blake said, leaving her drink to the side.

Just then the man returned with two others in tow. He did not lead the group, instead a lithe female with dark hair and amber eyes stood in front, flanked by the man and another woman with green hair. The trio stopped and the lead woman rested her hand at her hip.

"My name is Cinder, and this is Emerald." She smiled devilishly, "Mercury told me that you have a hunt in store for us."