Lily's mind remained at the start of the lesson even as she started to follow her team out of the room. Her mother had told her the story too, given that she'd been there as well, but she'd never heard about Ruby's speech in so much detail. It sounded moving, and it was both easy and amazing to see how the woman had managed to talk down two literal gods when she'd only been a teenager of Lily's own age. She couldn't imagine doing the same thing herself.

In front of her, Astra was babbling on in awe, as expected. Luna was holding her hand and gazing at her affectionately, but something seemed off to Lily. Luna seemed quiet, quieter than usual, like there was a weight on her shoulders. She almost reached out to ask her what was going on, when a voice stopped the team in their tracks.

"Hey, hold up!"

Lily turned to see Ruby following them in the hallway, greeting them with a friendly wave. Lily shifted uncomfortably for a moment, before realizing Ruby was specifically addressing Luna.

The woman outstretched her arms as she looked at Luna. "No 'hello' hug?"

Luna smiled and walked over to embrace her aunt. "Sorry," she apologized sheepishly. "I got lost in thought."

Ruby chuckled and ruffled her niece's her. "I suppose I can't say it doesn't happen to me all the time," She looked past Luna at the other three teenagers. "So, this is the great team LLAC, huh?"

Cobalt waved at her cheerily. "Hey, Ruby."

Ruby grinned at him. "God to see you, Cobalt." Her silver gaze flicked to Astra. "I don't believe we've met, but I can certainly guess who you are."

Astra was almost literally shaking as she stared at Ruby. "Yeah!" her voice came out as a squeak. "I'm Astra Katt."

Ruby nodded. "I can tell, you look a lot like her." She gave a short chuckle. "I suppose you get that a lot though, huh?" She glanced back and forth between Astra and Luna. "So…do your parents know about you two?"

Lily suppressed a laugh as Astra and Luna exchanged awkwardly alarmed looks.

Astra stared at Ruby, her green eyes wide enough that you could see the pink ring around her pupils without having to look too hard. "How could you tell?"

Ruby crossed her arms jokingly. "I have two wives," She pointed out. "I know romance when I see it."

Luna looked at the ground and shuffled a foot. "Astra's mother knows, but mine don't yet. You know…history and all."

Lily stared at them in surprise, not having realized that Luna was keeping their relationship a secret. She'd always imagined that Luna was the type to tell her parents everything, but then again, every child kept secrets from their parents at some point or another. It suddenly made sense that Luna had dragged Astra away to talk with her the other day.

Ruby's expression changed to a more comforting one. "Hey, I'm sure they'll be fine with it," She assured Luna. "Yang and Neon may not have always gotten along, but they still had a respect for one another. In fact, last time they talked that I'm aware of, they'd both mellowed out enough to be perfectly fine talking to each other."

Luna sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right. I will tell them soon, just…at the right time."

Ruby gave her a pat on the head, something Lily had a feeling few else would be able to get away with. "You'll be okay, don't worry." Finally, she turned to Lily. "You're Lily, right?"

Suddenly intimidated and trying not to look away, Lily nodded.

Ruby offered her a smile. "I saw you as the meeting was wrapping up, but we never got to talk." Her next words surprised Lily. "I'd like to do that now, actually."

Lily blinked at her. "Uh...about what?"

Ruby gave a small laugh. "Nothing scary, don't worry. I just wanted to get your view on everything." She smiled at Lily. "You're as much a part of this as anyone else. Your feelings matter."

Lily felt herself relax slightly. Nobody had ever told her that before. "Oh…well, where did you want to talk, then?"

Ruby looked thoughtful. "Right. I guess we can't really do it right here in the hallway."

Astra perked up. "Oh, I can probably get Ilia to let you borrow the classroom!" She chirped, before grinning. "I need to talk to her about something anyway."

Luna peered at her inquisitively. "Did you finally get your mother to ask her out?"

Astra nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. And it's tonight. I think it's only fair that I prepare her."

Ruby nodded, clearly hiding a chuckle. "That works then." As the group turned to head back into the classroom, Lily heard the woman whisper to Astra, "Remind me to get your scroll contact later. I want to hear all about this date." Lily could practically hear Astra's internal screaming.

After Astra ushered Ilia out of the classroom and Ruby and Lily were left alone, Ruby sat herself down on top of Ilia's desk and patted the spot next to her. Hesitantly, Lily sat down. Ruby seemed lovely, but she couldn't help but be nervous around the woman who'd lead the final battle against Salem and literally saved the world.

"So then," Ruby began. "I guess you know the basics of what we talked about?"

Lily nodded. Her mother had given her a rough recap when they'd gotten home that day. "You guys are going to help her to get an official huntsman license so that she can earn a better income."

"That's part of the reason," Ruby replied. "But she also agreed to do it so that she can make a better name for the two of you. Apparently, she got the idea from you."

Lily glanced at her in surprise. "Yeah, I…I joined Beacon to prove to people that I wasn't the criminal they think I am."

Ruby nodded slowly, having to look slightly up at her, sympathy in her eyes. "Emerald told me about how people still treat the two of you. I can't express how sorry I am for that. If we'd had any idea, I promise we would have done so much more to help you."

Lily looked away. "It's…not entirely your fault." She wished she'd realized that earlier. "She never told you guys about me and she didn't want to accept any more help."

"Yes, she told us that," Ruby affirmed. "But I can't exactly blame her. It was guilt keeping her from asking for help, not pride. We should have done more to make ourselves more approachable, and make sure she knew that none of us held anything against her."

Lily didn't reply, thinking it over. Maybe it had been guilt, but that still didn't make it RWBY's fault, either. Maybe this was all just the product of everyone feeling too bad to reach out.

"She was incredible, you know." Ruby's words took Lily by surprise, and she looked back at her.

"After she changed sides, I mean." Ruby clarified. "She was a good fighter before then, of course, but what I mean is that…" She hesitated, seemingly trying to fight the right words. "She was incredibly strong. It took a lot of bravery for her and Mercury to leave Salem's faction, and even more for them to fight against her. And then, even after Mercury was killed in the final battle, Emerald fought even harder. Killing Cinder wasn't easy for her, not just because Cinder was a powerful fighter, but because Emerald had looked up to her as a parental figure at one point. And she did it anyway." Her gaze was distant, as if she was remembering the event. "She was the most powerful ally we had, in a way. The one person Cinder thought she had completely wrapped around her finger being the one to betray her is what took her down. She never saw it coming."

Lily blinked slowly. Never before had she heard her mother described in such a way. There was something deeply comforting about it, especially when it came from Ruby. "I know she's helped a lot of people," She replied. "But, in her mind, she hurt a lot of people too. She's…not really sure if she's ready to fight again."

"I know," Ruby told her softly. "And if she changes her mind about it, she's welcome to. We won't pressure her into anything. But we're also here to help her if and when she needs it. And I think you can be, too."

Lily glanced at her. "Me?"

"Emerald cares about you more than anyone," Ruby reminded her. "And if she's anything like me when it comes to motherhood, she'll appreciate anything her daughter has to say. If you want her to know something, she'll listen when you tell her. Your words might even encourage her."

Lily though about how her mother had apparently been inspired by her own actions to become an official huntress. Maybe Ruby had a point. She had full intentions to be there for her mother regardless, but perhaps being more open and honest would help as well. She nodded. "Okay. I'll do what I can."

Ruby was silent for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Your scroll doesn't have a videochat function, does it?" She asked eventually.

Lily guessed Emerald had mentioned the fact during the meeting. She shook her head. "We've never really been able to afford anything better."

"Well," Ruby replied briskly. "We'll have to fix that. I'll talk to Weiss and sort out getting you a more recent model."

Lily stared at her, taken aback. "You really don't need to -"

Ruby held up a hand to cut her off. "Don't try to argue," She insisted warmly. "We have the money; it's no problem. Besides, you deserve to be able to talk to your mother face-to-face without having to go into town or to the library."

Lily felt awed by her kindness. She'd heard of it, of course, and it wasn't that she hadn't believed it, but it would still take some time to adjust to people being nice to her. First her team, and now this. "I…thank you, Mrs. Rose."

Ruby chuckled. "Hey, call me Ruby. You'll make me feel old otherwise."

Her friendless caught on, and Lily smiled back at her. "Right. I'll keep that in mind."

"Now," Ruby hopped off the desk. "I don't know about you, but I'd love to go and watch your teammates pester Ilia about her date. Care to join me?"

Lily chuckled, already picturing Astra out with a whiteboard and charts to prepare Ilia for dating Neon. "Sounds good."