Set after last year's sneak peek of V9 from RTX. Here's hoping that this year's RTX will provide me with some more good content to work with. Enjoy!


Ruby's quiet as they make their way away from the beach and into the forest.

It's unusual for the usually chatty girl, but maybe not so unusual given what had happened to her before they'd run into each other down here (wherever here is). There's already dark bruises forming on her throat, standing out starkly against the pale skin of her neck, and weariness seems to emanate from her, increasing with every step she takes.

Blake is tired as well, but she's in much better shape than Ruby appears to be (not that that's much of an accomplishment) and she wasn't nearly strangled to death by an old enemy, but she knows that Ruby will keep pushing through until she collapses. Always insisting on toughing it out until she physically can't anymore.

So, when she notices that Ruby's usually agile steps are becoming slow and stumbling, Blake decides that it's time that they rested for a bit. "Hey, Ruby?" she calls out, trying to make herself sound more breathy and exhausted than she actually feels. "Do you think we could stop for a bit? I could use a break."

"Of course!" It's a testament to how battered Ruby is that she can't quite keep the relief out of her voice. "It looks like there's a clearing up ahead. We can rest there for a bit until you're ready to keep going."

No mention of how Ruby herself is holding up, or how the younger girl appears ready to keel over. Of course not.

Blake pretends that she doesn't hear Ruby's muffled groan of relief as she sinks down at the base of one of the larger trees, letting her eyes slip closed. It's far from the most comfortable spot, but Blake chooses to take a seat on a large, relatively flat stone with a nice layer of moss to act as a bit of cushion as she takes stock of their surroundings.

They're—not in a great situation. Although Blake is better off than Ruby right now, they're both exhausted and bruised, auras drained and beaten down from everything that's happened over the past—day? Blake feels like it's been much longer. They have no idea where they are, or what might have happened to the others. The only upsides that she can see at the moment are that they're not dead (probably. She doesn't actually know what's happened to them) which means that Yang isn't dead, either—and most likely she's down here with them.

Which means that they should try to find her. But first, they should probably find somewhere to shelter for the night. She glances over at Ruby, who's managed to doze off in what looks like an uncomfortable position, her head tipped back against the tree behind her. As much as Blake desperately wants to find her partner as soon as possible, Ruby isn't going much farther today.

And, equally as important, they need to find some fresh water. Although Blake can drink the salt water surrounding the island that they're on, Ruby, since she isn't a faunus, won't be able to. And lack of water will kill them faster than anything else. They should be able to get by when it comes to food—there's bound to be fruit trees somewhere around here, or wild animals.

So, that's the plan, Blake stretches her arms above her head, attempting to relieve the stiffness in her spine, before pushing herself to her feet. She'll wake Ruby, and they'll make their way far enough to find a place to stay for the night. Then tomorrow, they'll find some water and continue to rest up, and hopefully find a source of food. And then, once they're both up for it, they'll start searching for Yang. Blake knows that her partner is more than capable of taking care of herself in the meantime, even if she longs to see her as soon as possible.

They remain in the clearing much longer than Ruby had probably wanted to, but Blake feels reluctant to wake her friend when she's clearly so exhausted. They need to get moving, though, so Blake opens her mouth to call Ruby's name—just in time for younger girl to jolt awake, gasping, her hands flying up to her neck. "Blake?" she croaks out, squinting slightly in confusion.

Blake once more has to swallow down the rage she feels at Neo for daring to lay a hand on Ruby, but unfortunately there's nothing she can do about it at the moment—except be there for her friend. "You okay, Ruby?" she asks, despite already knowing what the answer will be.

"I'm fine." Ruby nods, wincing when motion jars her injured neck. Her eyes widen suddenly, and she pushes herself to her feet. Blake steadies her when she sways, clearly dizzy from the rapid change in position. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Sorry, I kind of dozed off for a bit," Blake interrupts her friend's apology, pretending that she's completed oblivious to both the stumble and what Ruby was about to say. "We should probably find somewhere to hole up for the night while it's still light out."

"Of course!" Ruby lets her shoulders sag slightly, clearly relieved. "Let's get going."

After her nap, Ruby is clearly much steadier on her feet, but Blake is still massively grateful when they manage to stumble across a shallow cave after less than half an hour of walking. It's just big enough for the two of them to rest comfortably, but nowhere near deep enough for them to be worried about anything lurking in the shadows.

Ruby insists on taking the first watch for the night, but after an hour or so Blake loudly proclaims that she can't sleep and offers to take over her shift. Her friend agrees to the switch with much less protest than usual, but she does insist that Blake wake her up when she gets tired.

Blake lies and says that she will, settling down to keep watch with her back to the wall, staring out into the unfamiliar woods. Next to her, she can hear Ruby's breathing slow down and the younger girl settles into some much-needed sleep. Hopefully, after a bit more rest, Ruby will be feeling better and ready to keep going.

Of course, that turns out not to be the case.

Ruby doesn't say anything about it when she wakes up, but she's clearly feeling worse than she was yesterday. She's somehow even quieter than before, and her voice is hoarse and croaky when she does talk, the dark hand-shaped bruises on her throat standing out sharply against her paper-white skin. She clearly feels like crap, but insists that she's fine and can keep going whenever Blake asks, so they set out and start walking through the trees.

As much as Blake would like to feign exhaustion and maybe convince Ruby to rest a bit longer, she knows that she can't. They need to get going and at least find some water today, and some food wouldn't hurt as well. So she has to settle for casting anxious glances at her friend whenever Ruby isn't looking to make sure that she's holding up okay—which isn't as challenging as it usually would be, since all of Ruby's attention and energy seems to be focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

Blake is hoping against hope that Ruby can hold out long enough for them to find a stream or pond—she'll even take a decently sized puddle at this point—but there's still a feeling of rising dread as Ruby's steps continue to become less and less steady as they keep walking. It's a race against time, and the odds aren't in their favor.

And then, it all falls apart.

She doesn't manage to turn around fast enough to catch Ruby when she finally collapses. There's a loud thud and she whirls around to see her friend lying facedown on the forest floor, utterly still. She crouches beside Ruby and carefully turns her over, wincing at the heat radiating off her friend. "You're burning up," she says, mostly to herself, since Ruby isn't responding. Even when she'd shouted her friend's name in alarm, Ruby hadn't so much as twitched.

This is bad.

Her heart pounding, Blake desperately tries to think of what she should do. She needs to get Ruby cooled down; a high fever like that can turn deadly in a short amount of time. They could head back towards the beach—there's plenty of cool water there that she could use. But she shakes her head. Ruby can't drink the salt water, and she needs water even more than before now that she's ill. No, as much as she hates to admit it, their best bet right now is to keep moving, and hope that they've made it far enough that they're close enough to make it to the water before things get even worse.

Ruby is lighter than she looks, Blake notices as she hoists her unconscious friend onto her back. She probably weighs less than she should, although that's something they should probably worry about at another time. It still doesn't make it any easier to keep moving forwards with Ruby slumped against her, her overheated skin pressed against Blake's and her rapid, shallow breaths whispering against Blake's neck.

But her friend is still alive. Blake can't give up now.

It seems like they've been walking for hours, although the color of the skin is only slightly darker. Blake has lost all sense of time, all her energy going into keeping herself moving and keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any sign of water. Her sleepless night is starting to catch up with her, but she refuses to let herself stop for even a moment. If she stops now, she's not sure she'll be able to get going again, and she can't afford that right now.

Ruby needs her.

She's almost ready to cry in relief when the quiet birdsong she's been following suddenly seems much louder. Birds singing—and other signs of wildlife—usually means that there's a source of water nearby. Blake is counting on that to hold true, even though she has no idea where they are. The animals here must have to drink something, right?

Sure enough, she stumbles across a small stream a few minutes later. This time, she does shed a few tears as she slowly approaches, half expecting it to be some sort or mirage or hallucination that vanishes as soon as she touches it.

But it doesn't. Instead, her skin meets cool water and she lets out a shaky sigh. She cups the water in her hands and lets it run through her fingers: it looks link ordinary water, clear and refreshing. Upon taking a cautious sip, it tastes normal, no odd flavors or debris that she can detect.

Cupping more water in her hands, she turns back to Ruby, who she'd left propped against a nearby tree while she tested to make sure that the water was safe. Carefully, she tips the cupped water to Ruby's slightly parted lips. The other girl sputters a bit, but swallows most of the water. Blake allows herself a slight smile.

"I bet that feels a bit better, huh?" she murmurs, hoisting Ruby up once more. "Now, I know you're not going to like what I'm about to do but it's necessary, I swear. We need to get you cooled down, okay?"

Ruby doesn't respond, but Blake hadn't really expected her to. Gently, she peels off Ruby's boots and socks, then her cloak, depositing them beside her own on the bank. Then, tugging Ruby to her chest, she takes the plunge, jumping into the cool water.

The water isn't freezing, but Ruby still shrieks, startled, and flails wildly. Blake does her best to keep both of their heads above the water and murmurs soothing words that she's not sure her friend can hear as Ruby shivers and splutters wildly. "I'll get you out of here as soon as you're cooled off a bit, okay?"

It's far from pleasant, but the hard part is over is over at last.


Ruby feels like she's burning.

Everything around her feels wrong, confusing, her skin feels too tight and everything hurts and she can't quite seem to get her eyes open. She can hear someone talking, but can't quite make out the words. The voice sounds familiar, but she can't quite place it. It sounds soothing, at least.

And then suddenly she's freezing, sputtering as her mouth fills with icy water, struggling to free herself, to save herself from drowning, and breathe, but the grip on her is too tight and too strong. She can't break free—

Then, the water is gone, just as quickly as it had appeared, and although she's still wet and shivering, it's not nearly as bad as before. Her eyes feels gummy and sore, but she finally manages to crack them open to see—

"Blake?" she manages to croak out, blinking her friend's face into focus.

"Hey, Ruby," Blake replies quietly. She looks tired, and she's about as drenched as Ruby feels. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh—" She pauses for a second, trying to take stock of herself with a head full of rocks. "Tired. Thirsty. Sore." Blake helps her sit up a bit, and she groans a bit as the movement pulls on aching muscles. "Blake, what happened?"

"Here, this'll help," Blake says, bringing her cupped hands up to Ruby's face. Ruby blinks in confusion before realizing that she's being offered water, which she eagerly gulps down. "Better?"

"Yeah," Ruby breathes, feeling the water soothe it's way down her sore, parched, throat. But the relief doesn't distract her for long. "Blake, what happened?"

Blake runs a hand through her already messy hair with a sigh. "You were pretty sick and out of it for a while, but the worst of it's over now. It's okay."

"Are you okay?" Ruby asks, not out of it enough to miss how drained and exhausted her teammate looks.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Blake reassures her with a small smile. "Get some rest, Ruby. I've got us covered."

"Hmm." Ruby's eyelids slip closed without her even noticing. She falls asleep to the feeling of Blake running her fingers through her damp hair, untangling the knots and tangles.

"Sleep, Ruby. I've got your back."

And Ruby does.


Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.

Fun fact: cats can drink salt water irl, so I thought it'd be fun to headcanon that Blake can drink salt water since she's a cat faunus.