The four girls gathered within the Circle once they were sure the fighting was over. Hostages and kidnapped people were rescued, the White Fang troops have surrendered, the Circle were on their way to recuperating. In an overall sense, the mission was a success, difficulties and all.

Although, as they sat down in, as one might guess, a circle, it was clear the battles have weighed somewhat on their minds.

"You too, huh sis." Yang hummed while cross legged, with a fist on her cheek. Ruby was lying on Blake's lap, while Weiss was sitting on her knees with her hands on her lap. "I'd say out of all of us, Weiss seems to be the most shaken up about it. Can't say I blame her."

Weiss lightly fidgets with her hands, lightly smoothing out her skirt while looking towards her three teammates, and realizing that they were much more put-together about their situations than she was. And a part of her found that just the slightest bit unnerving. Not in the sense that she blamed them, but that she might have been holding them back with her own nerves.

"You killed your opponent too, Yang?" Weiss muttered, then turned towards Ruby, who looked at her patiently. "Even Ruby...?"

"Yup." Ruby confirmed. "Although technically I didn't do so with my own two hands. She threw a grenade at me and instinct had me kick it right back at her. Exploded right in her face."

"I-I see..." Weiss nodded. "And... you're...alright with that?"

"Of course I'm not alright with it. But by that time of the fight ending I was exhausted, and she was aiming to kill the kids to spite me. I wasn't gonna let that happen."

"We were in a similar situation." Blake hummed. "One of our enemies was prepared to destroy herself along with everyone within the Circle with her Semblance, just to kill us all. I couldn't allow that to happen. Weiss killed the woman's partner when it became clear that he didn't care what happened, just so long as traitor Faunus and Humans died."

"Sounds intense. Killed my enemy when it became clear she wasn't gonna go down without a fight." Yang rolled her shoulder. "She had a pretty downer worldview."

There was a pause between the quartet, and they allowed it to be their brief break for the time being so they could gather their thoughts. After which, Yang addressed Weiss again.

"You gonna be alright?"

"Yes...Yes I will." Weiss reassured. "Don't misunderstand. I knew full well that this would be a possibility eventually. I just wasn't expecting it to be so soon." She lightly clasped her hands. "My sister has told stories about how it isn't always possible to take people in alive when they're trying to kill you. And that sometimes good and honest people, combatant or not, end up suffering and even dying, simply because mercy was shown to the wrong person."

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Yang sighed. Lily came around and poured warm tea for all of them, which they graciously accepted.

"Our deep thanks yet again, young ones. Please, rest for now."

"We'll lend a hand once our stamina is back up a bit." Yang assured her. Once she left, she turned back to the girls. "These are good folk. All the more reason that they don't deserve the shit being flung at them."

"Indeed." Blake nodded, as Ruby gently sits up with her hands around her cup of tea.

"The world is pretty cruel, and so can the people in it. Be they human or Faunus." Ruby muttered while lightly thumbing the rim of her cup. "Just look at what happened here. These people were just trying to live their lives and help others in their own way, and all these bad guys tried to exploit them and kill them for it."

"Which is precisely why we can't forgive malevolent actions so easily, especially when they might result in a large loss of life. We have to think about how they're affecting innocent people." Blake added calmly. Weiss didn't doubt Blake's resolute statement there, because the woman's made it clear she was never going to forgive the White Fang. She didn't disagree. She wouldn't forgive them, either.

They're both fully aware that not every single member was completely and irreversibility malevolent, which is why they spared the remaining White Fang soldiers who wouldn't throw their lives away for their cause when the fight was beyond hope for victory. It meant they still had a chance to turn themselves around into something better. But the organization itself perpetuating subjugation and killing of humans and Faunus who didn't agree with them?

It needed to go down.

"We did what we had to." Yang declared calmly. "If we hesitate when we're fightin' against guys like these, then we'll be defeated. And more often than not, that's gonna result in the deaths of those we're trying to protect. Then we won't feel anything but soul crushing regret."

The visage of her mother briefly appeared in the back of Yang's mind, as well as the fate of the Branwen Tribe. How she promised to protect and lead then...yet wasn't able to do so in the end. Even if they obviously weren't the best of people, that was never sugar coated, but Raven still found her duty to them important to her. And Yang wondered if that regret of failing them and letting them die, still haunted her to this day, wherever she was.

'There will soon be a plethora of enemies that will seek to break you and your precious promise.'

'If you ever decide to forsake me as your mother one day, because of the potential trouble it might bring...I won't blame you.'

"...Don't get it twisted, though. It shouldn't be the answer EVERY time. A psycho bitch killing for shits and giggles is on a WAY higher tier of messed up than a dude who's stealing because he's desperate to feed himself and his loved ones, especially when he otherwise avoids hurting anybody. We gotta hold onto our compassion." Yang lightly piped up. "But also, we can't call ourselves reliable Huntresses if we agonized and froze up over every hard decision we make. That hesitation could cost people their lives...and it would be our fault."

"That...is a very fair point." Weiss nodded slowly. She still had a rough time taking in that out of all of them, the only one who matched Blake's level of not being bothered about ending a life, was Ruby herself. The youngest of the quartet. Ruby soon addressed her as she was thinking this, after sipping some of her tea.

"I've told you about my role model, the Grimm Reaper, right?" She began calmly. "She's saved plenty of good people, and killed plenty of REALLY bad ones. And slayed many Grimm in-between. She knew how precious life was, and brought death to those who would treat it with disrespect. She cuts down the truly bad guys, but never turned her blade on the innocent. She was scary, but in a way that made sure that those she protected wouldn't have to be afraid of living their lives. She was kind to those who suffered from unjust cruelty, and that made people feel safe around her." Ruby lifted her head. "In the eyes of the people she protected, sometimes when she came by, people familiar with her presence would say to others, 'Don't Fear The Reaper'."

"Is that so...?" Weiss understood a bit better. Blake was an entirely different story, but it seemed like Ruby and Yang have long since accepted that taking another person's life would inevitably come with being a Huntress, since Grimm aren't the only things they hunt down. And with Ruby taking after her role model, especially with how she's describing her, it made some sort of sense.

Weiss vastly underestimated Ruby's maturity. It was like she was an innocent puppy in mundane everyday situations as she's having fun with friends and simply enjoying life and all of it's wonders. But as a Huntress? She suddenly adopts the noble strength and will of a wolf, even their ruthlessness if need be and pushed enough. In some circles, wolves were a symbol of courage and resolve. And Ruby had both in abundance.

Now she was imagining Ruby as a wolf Faunus, with flicking ears and a wagging tail. It was then that she realized she was quite tired.

"I'll say again, Weiss. You shouldn't feel daunted about protecting your own life." Blake quietly says to Weiss. "When it comes to battles, especially in extreme situations, you should always strive to walk away from them alive. Even if it sometimes means the opposition does not."

"Blake..."

Blake gently held her shoulders. "I've seen the worst of humanity. And you've seen the worst of Faunus. We've both seen what happens when they prey upon the innocent and vulnerable of either or even THEMSELVES. When those people simply living their lives are caught in the crossfire of those conflicts and punished unfairly. Humans like Mellathia will torment and torture Faunus like me for pleasure, because they see us as beneath them. They don't need a reason to hurt Faunus, they'll do so because it gives them satisfaction. On the other side, the White Fang WILL kill you if you provide them a opportunity, and parade your corpse like a trophy with a banquet, simply because you're from Atlas and worse yet, a Schnee. In either case, most of them are beyond all hope of reason, and in order to protect the vulnerable and innocent as well as ourselves, they MUST be stopped, or cut down."

Silence.

"...Damn, you're really committed to taking down the White Fang, aren't you?" Yang muttered.

"I'm not vicious enough to condemn EVERY single member, but it's clear that the organization itself is a cancer among Faunuskind, and is one of our greatest obstacles to reclaiming our lost pride. I WILL remove them, before their presence becomes terminal for us."

"But...won't that mean that you'll eventually have to fight your friends Adam and Ilia, to make that happen?"

"I've already accepted that as a possibility." Blake admitted with a solemn expression.

Weiss sighed. "I think I understand, girls."

"You do?" Yang tilted her head curiously.

Weiss turned to everyone. "Our world is far too unfair and violent to always try and act with a soft hand. We have our hands full enough with Grimm as it is. We should never allow ourselves to forget or forsake genuine kindness and sincere effort as the world doesn't have enough of either. But what's important is that on our way to fulfilling our own ambitions, we also achieve results as Huntresses. As others and myself have said, no one is going to see us as reliable if we can't do that. If we try to approach our world as people who hesitate to dirty our hands in order to do our jobs to protect others, we're not going to get very far. We'll crush ourselves under the weight of those burdens. We'll be unreliable."

Weiss clenched her fists.

"And the unreliable have no right achieving their ambitions. I cannot build upon my merits and surpass my grandfather as a Huntress if I cannot even fulfill my basic duties, and I cannot do that if I stumble every time I have to make a difficult decision."

There was a soft pause.

"...You're right. Our world is pretty unfair. And...that's okay." Ruby hummed, realizing she had everyone's attention from that little remark. "After I fought with Mellathia, and now Dirce...no, even before them."

Ruby briefly looked at Yang, who knew full well she was talking about the incident from when they were kids.

"I began thinking about how unfair they were being to all of these people who did nothing to them. About how life itself wasn't being fair to them or others. Then I thought...wouldn't it be much worse if life WERE fair, and all the terrible things that happen to people come to them because they actually deserve them? Even if they were decent people who've never wronged anyone? And good things just happened to bad people who will never be punished for their wrongdoing? Who will just get away with hurting people who did nothing to them?"

There was a gentle pause in the air once more, as Ruby pushed this question onto everyone. They were still a bit stunned that she was pushing such a thing forth, out of all of them.

"So you know? I'm kinda glad that the world is an unfair, chaotic place. That chaos will keep making me stronger. And as that happens, I'll be able to keep doing more and more, so that I'll be able to ensure that kind people will have more chances to live their lives. And as I keep on doing that, I'll keep building myself up until I'm an even bigger legend than the Grim Reaper. I'll be able to bring the same comfort to others that she was able to, with her very presence. She knew a miracle wasn't going to come out of nowhere to make everything better, so she became the miracle. I wanna be able to do something like that, but even better than she did!"

Ruby lightly scratched her cheek with a smile.

"I guess that sounds pretty selfish and emotional...but that's fine, too. I'm not a hero, even though I think they're awesome. I'm a Huntress."

Blake looked curiously towards Ruby. With a bit of a smirk. "Very peculiar worldview you have there." She lightly turned to her knees. "To be honest. Even if I manage to remove the White Fang from the picture...that doesn't mean everything is going to be immediately okay. There's been too much damage done already for that. As things are now, I'm not going to be ending any cycles of hatred, probably not within my lifetime." Blake turned to Weiss. "But maybe, if we work together with all our strength...we can dent it. Even if only slightly."

"Even if it means you're gonna run into more White Fang guys?" Yang hummed. "They're definitely gonna respond to you taking out two pretty important members of theirs. Sooner or later they're gonna start hunting you both down more seriously."

"I say let them come. I too, am a Huntress. I'll be the one doing the hunting. I won't run away and become the hunted, I refuse to be their prey. I'll get stronger so that I won't have to run from them. And most of all, I'll achieve greatness as a Huntress, so that Faunus all over will similarly begin believing more in their own potential." She gently held out her hand. "It even reflects upon my Semblance. I was born with the ability to leave behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away. Now that I've resolved myself to fight, my soul responded to that; the very shadows around me are now capable of helping me attack and being on the offensive, instead of solely being used to dodge and retreat from danger."

"Pretty cool." Yang smiled as she gently laid on her back, arms behind her head. "Ya know. At one point of my life, I did somewhat wanna keep things simple. Live a life where I wouldn't know what tomorrow would bring." She raised her hand to the sky. "Then I grew a little and realized...that's pretty much a problem. Not knowing what tomorrow will bring. A lotta people equated that with giving your life so that people will be able to survive past that. People mostly see Huntsmen as hammers to throw against the Grimm to keep them back just a little bit longer. Not as people but as tools...and that ain't right. A lotta Huntsmen don't have the resolve to see tomorrow, because every time they got out to fight, they know very well they might die that very day. That silent sense of defeat they tend to carry with them...that ain't gonna be me."

Yang clenched her fist as her eyes turned red.

"Brushin' that stuff off with sugary words like 'they died to save the world' or 'they died to protect others', like it's something to be accepted. I'm not satisfied with stupid bullshit like that. The reason we become stronger is so that the things important to us don't slip through our fingers, and that the ones who are waiting for us to come back to them aren't so helpless that they can't do anything but sit there and cry. Many people should have a greater resolve to be able to live, not simply holdin' off death for a few more days. Livin' means more than that. Too many peeps, Huntsmen and civvies alike, don't have a blazing fire in their hearts. Just weak, crackling embers. They don't have that burning will to fight to protect what they cherish most, and to return to them afterwards.. Somebody's gotta turn those dyin' embers into a blazing fire, and I've decided that I'm gonna be the one who holds the torch that ignites them. The burning will and resolve to live every day of their lives happy and full, and being willing to fight for those things."

Ruby nodded. "People don't have enough courage to live happily. To really experience the world. We get to experience feelings. Not to mention food, books, sunrises, and being with each other. Even the simplest things can be pretty incredible. But they can't enjoy them if all they're focused on is not dying that day, because of all this crazy stuff in the way. They should be allowed to do these things and be happy to do them."

"Right?!" Yang soon sits up with a pumped fist. "That's when I decided for reals. I was gonna be even cooler than my uncle, even stronger than my mother, and burn an even hotter fire than my dad. I'm gonna surpass all three of them!"

Blake smirked. "That's a pretty emotional and selfish desire, Yang."

"Huh. It is, isn't it?" Yang scratched her cheek, before she cheerily shrugged. "Welp, that means I'm not cut out to be a hero, either. Those completely selfless types. Nuh-uh, that ain't me. Guess I'll focus on being a kickass Huntress instead."

Weiss nodded. "Trying to be typical heroes might hold us back. So instead, let's focus on being the best Huntresses we can be, and built up our merits that prove that we can live up to our convictions, to be worthy of them. Let's not try to imitate the stories of others, and resolve to keep writing our own. Agreed?"

"Agreed!"

With this, the girls fist pumped in the center once more, and decided it was time to turn in. It's been a long day of fighting, and they were quite tired.

Time to sleep. Tomorrow is another day.

Ruby slowly opened her eyes, only to see that it was only a little bit into dawn. She seemed to be the first of the quartet to awaken. With a tired yawn, she tried to sit up, only to find herself a bit unmoving.

"Hm...?"

The answer to her predicament was none other than Blake Belladonna.

The young Faunus woman had her in quite a bit of a cuddle hold, having pulled her into a hug with her head gently nestled against her chest. Blake's breathing was quiet and measured, and Ruby briefly wondered if her Faunus friend was slightly unused to the prospect of sleeping well. Not anything really truly luxurious, simply comfortable and at peace. Several years being enslaved, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that Blake was still adjusting to have a truly good night's sleep, with nothing to worry about too much. That sense of comfort and safety during downtime, she likely forgot what that was like for a while, and is trying to recapture that feeling of comfort.

Simply put, Blake's guard tends to be more constantly up than herself or the others.

"...Ruby. Are you awake?"

Oh. Looks like she wasn't as sleep as she thought she was. Or at the very least, she might have been awake for a while and simply chose to relax while cuddling Ruby. Either way, Ruby softly nodded.

"Yeah. I'm awake. Looks like Yang and Weiss are still out, though."

"Nn."

There was a gentle silence, with the two of them simply enjoying it for what it brought them. A sense of peace.. Blake didn't forgo the fact that Ruby didn't object to cuddling up to her, so she found it within her desire to keep her hold intact until she was told otherwise to release her. For now, she wanted something to cuddle and Ruby was the closest to her out of the other three girls.

As she thought, Ruby lightly turned over and shifted a bit, so she could turn and look Blake in the eyes. The bright pair of silver eyes met with catlike amber ones. With the eye contact, was a silent moment of understanding between the two of them.

"...Blake. I know we've already talked about it earlier as a group...but this is between you and me. " Ruby hummed quietly. "You've been a slave for a while, so you must have seen a lot of bad things. Some bad, and some even worse. It isn't too much of a leap to assume that you've killed before, is it?"

"No, it isn't. You'd be exactly right."

"...Did it hurt?"

Blake looked calmly into Ruby's eyes, and they looked back into hers with nothing but subdued curiosity, not judgement. "...Somewhat." Blake's ear twitched slightly. "There was a specific incident in mind where I willingly killed another person. And despite initial shock, I didn't regret it at all."

"What happened?" Ruby asked gently, both of them beginning to sit up as Blake was recounting.

"There were other Faunus children like me, who were forced to work for labor and fight for entertainment, under the threat of torture or death. And on one instance, one of the female 'handlers' challenged one of the children to a fight. He was terrified and scared. Regardless, he did his best to fight back, but he didn't stand a chance; she ended up breaking his jaw so he couldn't even mutter a surrender. It was invitation for her to continue ruthlessly beating him bloody." Blake didn't miss Ruby's brief gasp of shock. "I demanded to fight in his place to spare him the pain and she laughed at me. Nevertheless, she accepted. I can still remember the smug look on her face, telling me she was going to do the same to me. Break my jaw so I couldn't beg for my life, then further my humiliation by stripping me naked, and making me watch as the boy I wanted to help was executed, letting him know full well that I failed him."

Ruby blinked slowly. "What happened...?"

"She wasn't feeling so boastful once I was the one who broke her jaw, and rendered her unable to speak of surrender. And then I ended up killing her on the spot when she tried to retaliate by nearly killing the boy anyway." Blake admitted with a taciturn expression, recalling the moments with little to no fondness. "My 'handlers' were so amused by the display and my fighting prowess, they humored my desire to leave the boy alone...so much as I began doing things like that. Fighting for their entertainment."

"That must have been awful..."

"It kept the brunt of the attention on me and not on other Faunus, it kept us alive wherever I was sent. So in that aspect, I was fine with the arrangement." Blake lowered her eyes. "Taunted, tortured, insulted, reviled, subjugated, and humiliated..." Then she raised her head and stared at the sky that displayed the dawn. "Yet I survived. And I kept surviving...until my opportunity to reclaim myself came. When you freed me." Blake turned to her comrade. "That day-"

Blake was a bit taken aback once Ruby gently tackled her with a hug. Blinking owlishly, she turned to the other young woman who's currently found it in her mind to glomp her.

"Sorry. It's just...it looks and sounds like you need about five years of hugs to make up for all of that bad stuff happening over them." Ruby muttered.

Blake's eyes slid halfway closed, before she gingerly returned the hug, resting her chin atop Ruby's head. "I...appreciate it." She lightly caressed the back of Ruby's hair, silently looking forward behind her. "So...how exactly did you build up the will to take a life. I would have thought you would have been the most hesitant of us to do so." Blake lightly shifted. "You said you've heard stories about the Grimm Reaper and how she had little issues doing the same, but how else did you build it up?"

Ruby was quiet for a moment. "...My uncle, and Aunt Raven. They were both bandits when they were growing up. And they had to do whatever it took to survive." Ruby lightly closed her eyes. "Although, Dad and Yang believed that later on, the Branwen Tribe was wiped out exactly for those reasons. They did all that they could to survive. They never really tried to live. They did all they could to not die, and that was it. Because of that, they weren't prepared for all the dangers that came after them, and they were wiped out because of it."

Blake hummed as her ear flicked slightly. "All of their attempts to survive was only met by their inevitable destruction. They never tried reaching behind that. It's no wonder that Yang feels motivated specifically in this direction. Complacency was what destroyed the Branwen Tribe, and her mother Raven never forgave herself for it." Blake muttered as she and Ruby pulled away from each other. "Do I have that down?"

"For the most part, yes. You've got the basic gist of it all." Ruby turned around and lightly hugged her knees. "Back to the other thing...yes. We were both prepared for the time when we would inevitably have to take another person's life in this job. It's one of those things we can't avoid, or someone pays for it."

"Is that so?"

"Mhm." Ruby lightly hugged her knees. "I once asked Dad if it would ever get any easier to do such a thing. And he answered with both a yes and a no." Blake turned to her in curiosity. "There's no really forgetting those that we kill, sometimes. Sometimes you remember them, especially when it's something you didn't want to do, or if it was an accident. A way of respecting them is to remember them. Sometimes their faces haunt your dreams." Ruby's eyes briefly met Blake's again. "And then there are those like Dirce and those other guys. They were seriously bad. And if we didn't stop them, then people who don't deserve their wrath were going to die. So it's a tough decision we sometimes have to make, a compromise."

Blake slowly nodded, understanding where she was coming to. "And because of their heinousness, we never really lose sleep over it. We probably won't even remember it the next day. The world would be a better place without them, and thus your hesitation to cut them down decreases time after time."

"Yeah." Ruby light nodded. "Remnant's a harsh place. There are people who will cause all sorts of pain and misery simply because they can, and their targets are helpless to defend themselves and stop them from doing so. Not from a lack of trying, but because sometimes the enemy is just that overwhelming to them. And sometimes the only way to end their threat is to end their lives, so they can't spread any more pointless death to other people...or our loved ones." Ruby's grip on her knees tightened. "Sometimes it may be the only way to protect those we cherish. We can't hesitate during those moments, as they might be the only difference between hugging our loved ones or burying them."

"Hesitation is defeat." Blake agreed. "And in the worst of circumstances, defeat is death."

"Yeah..." Ruby nodded. "So, I didn't hesitate. And I don't feel all that shaken. I don't feel bad at all. Dirce was going to kill those kids to spite me, so I stopped her before she could do that." She lightly scratched the back of her head. "The Grimm Reaper was never afraid of doing the same if it meant that people were saved and her loved ones were protected. Despite ending lives to preserve others lives, she never lost her hold on her soul. So, I won't be afraid, either."

"You must really admire her, Ruby." Blake nodded.

"I do."

Both girls sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the cool breeze of the dawn. The morning sun would be rising soon, so there wasn't any use going back to sleep. They would wait for their comrades to wake up, then make preparations to head back to Beacon.

"...Ruby."

"Yeah, Blake?"

"With your scythe, and my katana..." Blake turned towards Ruby with a resolute expression. "Let's keep carving a way forward, for all of us."

Ruby smiled and nodded. "Yeah!"

Both of them vowed, with a gentle bumping of fists

Then there was an absolutely menacing growl, loud enough that it actually woke up Yang and Weiss, both shooting up from their spots.

"Hwah?! Whuzzat?! Grimm Attack?!" Yang growled as her fists and Ember Celica were at the ready.

"We're prepared! Where's the enemy?!" Weiss also exclaimed while sharply scanning the area for any hostiles.

"False alarms guys, false alarm!" Ruby shouted while waving her hands on a calming gesture. "It's not what you think, honest."

Yang and Weiss regarded Ruby with a befuddled look, before all three of them turned to Blake, who was currently raising her hand as another loud growl left her stomach.

"...Sorry."

"That was YOU?!" Weiss pointed at Blake in exasperation.

"She hungy." Yang snickered behind her fist.

"I think she woke everyone up with that one." Ruby wondered as she saw the other townsfolk just about prepared to continue on with reparations after their hard day of fighting. "How about we all get something to eat, and then we can get a ride home?"

Nobody objected, they could all use a bit more time to refresh themselves before they truly began to head home, and they also had to make sure that the Circle could recover from all of this mayhem that arrived at their doorstep.

With that, a new day soon began.

A bit shorter than usual, though this is more of a resting period where our four girls are processing to each other what happened with their rights. Especially with Ruby and Blake.

They're all a little bit selfish inside, and coming to terms with that might do them some good later down the road.

Only time will tell.