Yang brought her motorcycle to a stop before the sign dividing roads to Kuroyuri and Mistral, pausing to consider where she should go. She'd told her father what he needed to hear, that she'd go and help Ruby and ensure her safety, so Taiyang wouldn't spend his every moment worried about his youngest... or at least any more worried than he was by default.
But upon seeing the word "Bandits" scrawled over the sign to Kuroyuri, and based on what information Qrow had given her, it was possible the route to her mother lay in the opposite direction. She hadn't anticipated a scenario where the other thing she wanted would be put in the path to her sister.
But it only took her a moment. In a choice between pursuing the person she knew loved her back and the one who didn't... well, Ruby had gone too long without a glomp.
"You are in so much trouble when I find you," Yang assured her sister before heading to Mistral.
But she'd barely gone half a mile down the road when...
Yang slowed her movement, bringing the bike to a halt. She reached up to the frame of her sunglasses, sliding them down to expose her winking eye. "Good thing you showed me some leg, or I wouldn't have stopped."
"Oh, ha ha," the girl allowed herself, before dropping her case and moving over to hug her. Yang nearly fell off Bumblebee trying to return it, but managed to steady herself on one leg, easily catching the shorter girl's weight and holding her up.
Yang reached her left hand to caress the girl's ponytail; it wasn't as well maintained as usual, like it'd gone a few days without shampoo or conditioner. "I missed you, Weiss."
Weiss moved her hand to Yang's right arm, retracting slightly when she felt the cold metal under Yang's jacket. She averted the blonde's gaze. "I'm sorry," she said in a very small voice.
Brought back to unfortunate reality, Yang steadied herself again, squeezing Weiss tighter with her left arm. "Tell me everything," Yang instructed.
Yang set Bumblebee to rest beside one of the numerous trees lining the dirt path to Mistral, while she and Weiss stepped off the road. Yang reached into her coat and found trail rations to give the heiress. She half-expected Weiss to haughtily refuse, but Weiss eagerly ate them with no grace at all. It was a stunning sight.
"After Beacon fell my father came for me," Weiss explained. "I wanted to find you, but after I heard Blake ran off, I tried to find her first... and by the time I tried to get back to you my father arrived."
Yang nodded, remembering it all too well. She unconsciously squeezed the fingers in her left hand, searching for a second hand that had held onto it months and months ago.
"My father tried to put me right back in his service," Weiss explained, searching for the right way to phrase it. "I tried to be who he wanted me to be, but I'm not. I'm not that person anymore."
Yang nodded. She had wondered if Weiss might revert to the ice queen she'd been before, but it seemed Beacon had made her a better person in spite of her upbringing, exactly as she and Ruby had hoped it would.
"I... I had this incident at a charity event, and well, after that I knew I had to go," Weiss explained. "I found someone willing to smuggle me out, and found my way here. I'm headed to Mistral, to find Ruby and the others."
"What about your father?" Yang asked.
Weiss was quiet for several moments, taking the interval of time to gulp down another ration before answering: "I have no father."
Yang hated the thought of it, but she understood. Not everyone could be like Taiyang. Not every parent was what one hoped for.
Yang reached over, consciously choosing to put her left hand on her friend's shoulder... knowing she still had to break out of some practiced muscle memory. "Do you need time to rest?"
Weiss shook her head. "I need to find Ruby. Then I'll rest."
Yang nodded. "Then get your things. We're not far."
Weiss nodded and put on a brave smile. She seemed so determined her scar almost seemed to vanish behind the fierce blue of her eyes.
Yang helped hoist her belongings and mounted Bumblebee, bringing Weiss onto the rear seat and locking the girl's arms around her waist. It had been a long, lonely road... and it was good to have her friend, united in purpose with her, to share it with.
"Will you tell me what happened to you, too?" Weiss inquired to Yang's back.
"On the way," Yang promised, revving the engine.
On Anima's northernmost, snowy port, Weiss Schnee discreetly stepped off the Bullhead and found her way to a train. She was running out of Lien, and suspected the smuggler who helped her might not continue aiding her when he realized her pockets weren't as full as they once were.
He might alert authorities now that she slipped past, but she had expected to be on her own sooner or later. So long as she made it to Ruby and Winter before her father and his outstretched hand reached her, she would be content.
She knew where her family was.
Attached to the back of Yang's motorcycle, Emerald took time to adjust the facial features. The scar was a tricky thing to keep up, especially when Yang had spent so much time looking at her. She'd had to occasionally avert her gaze or be silent for long stretches to hide the imperfection, but it hadn't been noticed yet. She hoped the information about the gala Marigold had supplied them would hold up a while longer.
Her infiltration had gone well. All she had to do now was keep it up.
And once she knew where Ruby Rose -the girl with the silver eyes- was hiding, then she'd call it in and let Salem's other lackeys handle it, and make both herself and Cinder look competent and effective.
It was just a short dirt path to go...