"Here ya go."

As usual, Ruby was being thoughtful. Her red cape fluttered in the breeze in front of Weiss, who smiled from the offer.

"Thank you, dolt," Weiss said genuinely.

After accepting the gesture, she pulled the red hood over her head.

It had been a few days since they set sail to the small island called Acacia. After anchoring, Ruby wanted to make sure Weiss would be safe in this new land. To do that, her face had to be hidden. Since being welcomed aboard, Weiss had been adamant that people might be trying to find her, so they were cautious.

Ruby smiled from the sight. "It looks nice on you."

From the compliment, Weiss blushed. "T-thanks…"

"Get a room," Yang joked.

"Quiet you," Weiss quipped.

Before leaving, the Thorns lowered their flag to not raise suspicion. After all, pirates, in general, had a bad reputation. When the Thorns were ready, they easily slipped into town like they'd been living there forever.

"I already like it here," Yang noted, sniffing the fresh air. "It's kinda like Patch."

"It really is," Ruby agreed.

"What's Patch?" Weiss asked.

"The place me, Yang, and Qrow are from," the captain informed. "It's a cute little island with the best weapons."

Qrow had to agree. "The weapons were a high-point. Patch is known for that."

"Here I thought you were being a weapons nerd again," the former heiress said.

From what the crew could tell, Acacia was a normal town. Nothing stuck out to them. One thing that unsettled them was seeing a few faunus locked in cages. They wanted nothing more than to free them, but couldn't draw attention to themselves.

Yang held onto Blake's arm, hoping to comfort her. All Blake could do was look away, her eyes to the ground. She silently appreciated the gesture, but nothing could quell the sadness in her heart.

Besides the discrimination, the town was beautiful. Many of the homes consisted of cabin style wood. The grass was a vibrant green, and a plethora of vegetation bloomed all around.

Acacia emitted its own aura. Various shouts, chatters, and other sounds filled their ears. The most distinguishable noise was horses' neighs, or hooves meeting the soft dirt.

"It's a shame we have to take from them," the blonde whispered.

"Do you have to word it like that?" Blake asked, disheartened.

"It's not like we're borrowing the money," Yang replied.

A sigh.

"Cheer up, kitten," Yang chirped. "Eventually, we'll have enough and we'll never need to steal again."

"That's not very reassuring," Blake replied.

Weiss glared at the blonde. "You're not-"

"Oh, there it is!" Ruby chimed, cutting her off.

In the distance, there was a small building. It was isolated from the other vendors and surrounded by trees. Almost like it didn't want to be found. Luckily, there weren't many people in the area and the trees could act as cover.

"Huh…" Qrow mumbled. "I gotta admit, I didn't think they'd have one."

"Luck is on our side," Ruby beamed. "Alright crew, remember the plan?"

Stealthily, Qrow handed his scythe to his niece. "We have to be quick, understand?"

"Aye, aye!" Ruby chirped.

Weiss looked hesitant as she stared at Qrow. "Try not to mess with them too much."

"I'll mess with them until you guys get out of the store," Qrow consoled, trying not to worry them. "Go get 'em, kiddos."

From that, Yang rolled her eyes. "You're the one doin' the 'getting.'"

"Seriously," Weiss almost warned. "Don't hurt anyone."

"Yeah, yeah," Qrow waved off.

As he walked toward the store, Ruby briefly held Weiss' hand. "Don't worry. He won't do anything rash."

Heat rushed to Weiss' cheeks. "R-right. Okay, I'll trust you."

A nod.

With that, the rest of the crew crept to the side of the small establishment. They waited to the side while Weiss pulled over the red hood to cover her face and opened the front door.

A second later, a crow swooped in. It screeched, wreaking havoc inside. The only employee that was present began to scream obscenities from the unexpected guest.

When the screams sounded, the four in-waiting darted inside with their adrenaline pumping. They had to make this quick. Otherwise, the employee would sound the alarm.

"Uhhhh," Yang muttered nervously as they searched for the money. "I don't see any!"

Frustrated, Weiss said. "It's not going to be in plain sight, you buffoon. It's over here."

Low and behold, there was a tiny knob that tried to blend into the wall. It was in the very corner of the store. Probably a hidden vault.

From the discovery, Ruby pumped her fist in the air. "Alright."

"Move aside," Blake said as her friends cleared a path for her.

In the background, the caws were relentless. The poor employee was yelling and flailing, trying to grab the bird and throw it out of his hair.

Within seconds, Blake managed to pick the lock. She jiggled it a very specific way like she'd done this a million times. It caused the crew to glance among each other in astonishment.

"What?" the faunus asked. "You know I'm good at this."

"Sometimes, I think you're too good," Yang replied.

"Lemme," with all her might, Ruby couldn't budge the door and get it to open.

She grunted in frustration. It felt like it was still locked. It cracked open a bit, but there was probably a chain on the other side.

"I- can't open it," Ruby grunted, keeping her voice low.

Since Ruby had been pulling it, Yang tried to push on it. Nothing worked.

"My turn," Weiss announced as they backed away.

A tiny black glyph appeared and spun relentlessly on the knob. Not even a second later, the doors flew open.

It felt so wrong to steal, but so right. An image of Jacques flashed through Weiss' mind. Instead of frowning, she smirked. She was finally rebelling against him, rather than simply disobeying him.

Fuck her dad.

"Nice job, Weissy," Ruby encouraged.

"Stupid door," Yang mumbled.

While Weiss and Blake rushed into the vault with a large bag, Yang and Ruby pretended to help the employee that was still squealing from the bird.

The crow flew around the entirety of the store, making sure to distract the worker. A few dust vials had fallen during the chaos. Qrow made the employee focus on him instead of what was going on behind him.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright!" Yang tried to reassure him, making him face her. "We'll catch the damn bird, got it?"

"Get this stupid thing off me!"

"Okay, okay!"

More shrieks.

Instead of helping, Yang intentionally swung around randomly in 'hopes' to hit the bird. Jokingly, the crow landed on her arm. The employee almost nabbed it, but Qrow pecked him and flew away in time.

"Agh! Shit, you pesky-"

Swiftly, the blonde swiped his hand before he could slap the bird.

"Woops."

"You're not helping!"

"I'm doin' the best I can!" Yang yelped. "Stay still!"

"I can't when this damned bird is clawing my face!"

Behind them, Ruby was carefully loading the dust into a bag. Every now and then, she looked over her shoulder to check on the rest of her crew.

The secret door was still wide open. It didn't take long for a blur of black and white to dart out the door. They sprinted across the store and out the front door like they were never there. Blake had been carrying what looked like a heavy bag since she lagged a little behind.

When they were safe, Ruby followed and then Yang.

After that, Qrow took that as his cue to leave. He flew out the wide-open front door with a final screech before disappearing into the trees.

It didn't take long for them to hear:

"Oh my god!"


Overall, they felt bad for the poor guy.

The moment they reached the ship, they set sail. It was a matter of time before law enforcement went after them and they weren't too keen on getting caught.

Looking at all this money now… it was so worth it. Wads and wads of cash were scattered all over the deck. It could be the new floorboards there was so much.

"Woah…" Ruby gawked.

"Holy shit…" Yang mumbled, ogling the cash. "We- actually hit it big this time."

Normally, they could only score a few bucks and grab some items to pawn. This time, they got a load of dust and money. It was like a new treasure.

Blake gulped when she counted the last lien. "This is more than what we had last time. Sienna took pocket change."

"Ohhhh!" Ruby chirped with glee. "We can repair the ship! And get more books, too!"

"I like the sound of that," Blake commented.

For a moment, only the tides reached their ears. The ship swayed like it was trying to rock them asleep.

As the birds chirped, Yang crossed her arms. "I hope Jacques gets word about this."

The mention of her father caused Weiss to frown. She hoped he did, too.

While they felt bad for the innocent employee, they at least stole from a known asshole. That was enough justification in their minds.

"I doubt the information will reach him," Weiss mentioned, which earned confused looks. "He owns many stores like that one. The robbery might not even make it on his radar. It happens all the time."

It was worth a try.


Stay dandy,

~Toto