Everywhere Yang looked, there was snow. It somehow came from all directions at once, and with her having understandably travelled to Mistral in summer clothing, she had no way to protect her exposed arms and legs, not to mention her face. The snow stung against her skin, briefly but no less intensely for it, and with how incessantly it hit her, she didn't have a second of respite.

The next time Yang saw Raven, she was going to punch her in the mouth.

Yang just kept walking, her boots sinking deep with every step she took. She didn't know where she was going – what little she could make out of the horizon through the storm was always the same, an endless white with no discernible landmarks – but she knew if she stopped moving for even a minute, the cold would overwhelm her and she would never move again.

She was surprised she hadn't dropped dead already, honestly. Any person in her situation would have died in a matter of minutes in this place. What little protection her Aura offered her shouldn't be enough to save her. Yet inexplicably, she was still standing. There was still something deep inside of her that kept her warm.

But that wouldn't keep her alive forever. She hadn't eaten dinner yesterday, and the fries she'd shared with Qrow barely counted as lunch. The hollow she felt in her stomach was a constant reminder that, if she didn't find something to eat soon, it didn't matter how warm she kept, she would collapse sooner or later.

She hadn't had anything to drink since she'd woken up, either…

Wait. Yang looked down at her feet. I'm dumb.

Stopping for but a couple seconds, Yang crouched and scooped up a pile of snow in her hands. She watched it as she walked onward, hoping that the pile would melt with just the warmth of her hands, but there was no sign of it. With no other option at her disposal, she took a bite off the pile, cringing as her teeth chattered with the cold that filled her mouth.

Thankfully, the snow did melt against her tongue. The taste wasn't the least bit pleasant, and it only got worse when she swallowed, but it was better that than die of thirst. She could only hope she wouldn't grow a third arm because of it.

Okay, so that was taken care of, but unless she stumbled upon an all-you-can-eat buffet in the middle of winter hell-land, she had no idea how she was going to solve her hunger problem.

But she didn't have time to make plans. No time to be scared or feel pity for herself. She had to keep moving…


Twenty-four hours. That wasn't that much time. Just a day. And at least half of that had already passed, surely. That had to be true. Raven would show up at any second and whisk her back home.

A whole day.

She had to survive a whole day in this place.

Yang drudged on, arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes fluttered open and shut. She just felt so tired, the exhaustion seeping to her very bones. If she could just lay down for a minute and gather her strength…

Her right foot sank through the snow and hit something. Wide awake in an instant, Yang looked down with wide eyes. Whatever she had hit wasn't hard enough to be stone – it was soft, almost yielding to the shape of her boot, and it was surprisingly… warm.

Yang tried to pull her leg back, only to feel it on her ankle too. Realizing whatever was under the snow was now wrapped around her leg, she tugged harder, hopping back forcefully in an attempt to free herself, but it was like she was caught in a vice-grip.

Suddenly, the snow exploded out from under her. Yang saw a gigantic shape emerge in front of her eyes, and the next second she was off the ground, being hurled skyward by a hand around her ankle. She was slammed face-first onto the snow, and then the ground became an indiscernible blur under her as she was dragged away at a breakneck speed.

Gasping for air, Yang reached out for something to hold onto, but her fingers only made trails in the snow. Desperate, she trashed and flailed her arms, until her elbow hit something solid and she managed to turn herself onto her back. She bent her neck to look at the creature that dragged her and screamed.

It was easily twice her size, probably more, a headless torso covered in white fur so thick she couldn't see what was under it. It had not two arms, but four, which went well past its waist and seemed to have two elbows each instead of just one. Its legs, in comparison, were so short they were barely visible above the snow, but the creature compensated for that by using its three free arms to bound through the snow, almost like a gorilla might do.

Yang couldn't be more panicked, but by some leftover instinct in her, she understood perfectly what was happening to her. There was only one reason a beast like this would attack her like this – to fill its belly. But first, it would drag her to its cave or wherever it lived. And when they got there, then she would be done for.

"Hey! Let me - go!" Yang kicked with her free leg, aiming at the hand wrapped around her ankle, but she missed her target wide. She tried again, and on her third attempt felt something crack under her foot.

Shrieking, the creature let go of her ankle and continued to run ahead for a handful leaps more. It turned around, kicking snow up everywhere, and shrieked again – though this time it was more of a roar, so vengeful Yang skipped a heartbeat. She saw a single yellow eye hidden deep amidst the white fur, and just below that, a mouth with two rows of jagged black teeth.

"No. No no no no-"

The creature ran back towards her, and Yang dove to the side, but it crossed the distance between them in a matter of seconds and swung around with a hand to grab her. Yang threw herself to the ground, ducking under just in time, only for another hand to come swinging the other way and grab hold of her hair. It pulled, and Yang yelled in pain as she was dragged towards the creature.

"Motherfucker!" Yang spun around, raising her leg in a roundhouse kick. She hit a knee, and the beast teetered to the right and released her hair.

Yang hopped back, and thought twice about it. This thing had evolved to sprint through the snow, while she had not, and she was tired and weak to boot. Escaping was not an option. The only way she was going to survive this encounter was by fighting.

Yang charged in, knowing that she was at disadvantage at a range. Being close to those terrifying teeth was no less dangerous, but she had to play to her strengths. She punched the monster just under its mouth, sending it skidding backwards and away from her.

The creature used two arms to right itself and stared at her for a second, appearing surprised that she was fighting back and hurting it, before it closed in on her again. It swung an arm, and Yang let herself be grabbed by the leg and lifted off the floor. As another hand flew towards her – it's gonna rip me apart instead – she threw her weight forward, swinging around to grab onto the arm lifting her.

She raised a fist and pulled back, then brought it down on one of the elbows with all her strength. The creature snarled in pain, and Yang pulled her leg free and climbed onto the arm. She ran up its length as it scrambled to catch her, and jumped at the apex, kicking the top of the beast's body as she soared over it.

Yang landed with a shaky breath, the ground rumbling as the creature collapsed behind her. She turned, fists still raised, and waited patiently for it to get up. A full minute passed without the monster as much as stirring, and Yang started to wonder if she had done more damage than she had expected – until in the span of seconds, the creature leapt to its feet, spun around, and hit her with the back of two of its hands at once.

Yang went tumbling backwards, rolling helplessly through the snow. When she finally stopped and rose, she could barely breathe, and she shook with cold and rage. The creature approached her again, slowly but with no less hostility. It knew she was a dangerous prey now, and was going to treat her as such and kill her the first chance it got.

It lowered itself on its four arms, its eye becoming level to her head, and it roared so forcefully it displaced the snow between them. For a second, Yang recoiled, and then she clenched her fists and bent forwards, matching the creature's rage with a wordless scream. Flames irradiated from her body, encircling her and driving away the storm, and her hair flowed upwards like a torch.

"Come at me, you yeti freak!" Yang shouted. "You wanna eat something, I'll break all your arms and shove them down your throat! Abominable Snowman-looking ass! Go ahead and try me!"

The creature reared back, its eye flitting up and down as it regarded her in surprise. Yang took a step forward, the fire spreading outwards like a nova, and the creature jumped back and away from the heat, hunched in terror. Snarling one last time, the creature shook its whole body and bounded away. Seconds later, Yang lost sight of it in the snowstorm.

"That's what I thought," Yang grumbled, relaxing her arms. Her hair fell over her shoulders, and the blizzard struck her again as the fire around her faded. She hugged herself, shivering once again. "So much for being warm…"

Yang looked around, hardly believing what had just happened – sure she killed Grimm on the regular, but what she'd just fought wasn't that at all. It had been just like an animal, a predator she might have found living in nature in her world.

Yang stopped.

Her world. She'd known from the moment she'd stepped through the portal, but only now did it sink in. She really wasn't on Remnant anymore. She was somewhere else altogether, a whole other plane, like Raven had said.

"This is insane," she said.

And kinda cool.

Yang shook her head. Simply staying on the move wasn't enough anymore. What if she encountered another one of those yeti-things? Or something else. Like something that preyed on them.

Well, that had been a stimulating train of thought. Rubbing her arms, Yang started walking again in search of shelter.


She ended up finding it not much later – or maybe hours had passed. She didn't have a watch on her, and her Scroll wasn't working properly, so tracking time was a guessing game at best.

Drudging through the snow, Yang eventually stumbled upon a rock wall. It appeared in front of her so suddenly in the snowstorm, she almost hit it head-on, and when she leaned back and looked skyward, she quickly lost vision of it again. There was no telling if it was a lonesome landmark or part of something bigger, and frankly Yang couldn't care less. She was just happy to have something in front of her that wasn't endless snow.

She kept a hand on the wall as she walked on. She felt it incline inwards a couple minutes later, slightly at first, and then sharply until there was no wall anymore. Yang almost cried with joy - a cave!

Yang nearly tripped over herself as she scrambled inside. The wind still reached her there, but it was much less harsh. And the silence… She hadn't realized until now how deafening the storm was. Now that she knew, there was no way she was ever going back into it.

She sat down and rubbed her hands together, her breath crystalizing before her eyes. A bonfire would be ideal, but she hadn't seen any type of wood she might use to build one. She could make her own flames, but that took effort, assuming she could even do it at will. It probably wouldn't help much anyway, since she'd have to spend her own energy to keep it going.

Looking around, Yang realized the cave went way deeper than she'd first thought. She stood up and walked further inside, figuring the farther she went from the entrance, the warmer she'd be. If actual warmth was even a possibility in this place.

The walls narrowed the further she walked, and the ceiling lowered until she could see her own reflection looking down at her on the icicles that hung from it. Much of the rock around her was encased in ice, and Yang almost slipped several times on long patches on the ground. The light from the entrance grew dimmer…

Yang stopped suddenly, holding a scream in her throat. In the half-light ahead of her, two yellow eyes hovered, staring unblinkingly. After a few seconds, they grew nearer, and Yang drew back and clenched her fists as she prepared to fight for her life again.

Then she heard the soft pitter-patter of paws, and a fox walked out of the shadows. It wasn't exactly a fox - with two long antennas above its eyes and a thin, and a tail that was as big, if not bigger than the whole of its body, it had more than a few notables differences - but it looked enough like one that Yang's mind immediately made the association.

The fox stopped a couple steps in front of Yang and sat on its hind legs, tilting its head sideways as it stared at her. When she was sure it was only curious and didn't mean her any harm, Yang breathed a sigh of relief and dropped to her knees.

"Hey, buddy," she whispered. "What's up with you? Aren't you scared of me?"

If the fox understood her, it didn't let her know. It didn't talk back at her, and Yang wasn't sure whether to be thankful or disappointed.

"Can't imagine you've seen many humans around here, right? You must be one brave fellow," Yang said. "And wow… Look at that pretty fur of yours!"

The fox spun on itself and looked at her knowingly. Its fur was a pristine silver, with nary a spot on it, almost like snow. Yang had probably crossed a bunch of its kind outside without noticing them.

"And you're vain about it, too. Don't worry, it takes one to know one," Yang said. "It must keep you so warm too…"

Yang wondered how thick that fur was. It must serve for more than camouflage and retaining warmth. It also protected the meat under it. Soft, juicy meat…

Enough for her to sink her teeth into.

She met eyes with the fox, a whole conversation transpiring in a heartbeat.

Yang lunged forward, clapping her hands where the animal had been a second before. She looked up and saw the fox running away, deeper into the cave, and without even thinking about it, Yang jumped to her feet and gave chase.

"Come back here!" she shouted. "Please, I just wanna eat you! Is that too much to ask?"

The cave walls narrowed into a tunnel. It was darker than ever, but the white outline of the fox was still visible ahead. Yang refused to lose sight of it, slipping on ice and slamming into walls without care – by all rights she was drained of all energy, but something else was moving her, a primal force deep inside which she'd never had to tap into before.

A fork appeared ahead, splitting the tunnel in two. Yang saw another three foxes in the tunnel to the right, but they were gone a moment later, screeching as they ran into the darkness. Her fox screeched too, as if asking for help, and approached that same tunnel before it seemed to think twice and took the other one.

"Stop – running!" Yang pleaded, hoarse and out of breath.

The tunnel shrank drastically, forcing her to squat to keep chase. Suddenly a wall appeared in front of them, and Yang cackled maniacally as the fox pressed itself against it, clawing at the rock in desperation. She reached out with her hand to grab it…

With one last squeal, the fox flushed against the corner and vanished.

Yang stared, dumbfounded. That… That couldn't have just happened. She lay down on the floor and looked at where the fox had vanished. Relief washed over her. The fox hadn't vanished - there was a gap under the wall, big enough for it slip through. Even now she could see its tail swishing from side to side as it squeezed away from her.

Yang crawled closer to the gap and stuck a hand in it, patting around to get an idea of how big it was. Probably just big enough for her to squeeze through as well.

If Yang were being rational, she would have accepted her defeat and gone back. There were other foxes in these tunnels, and chances were she could snag one of them, given time and effort. But Yang had discarded rationality rational a long time ago. She was stranded in an alien world, cold to the bone, with a stomach so empty it hurt. And now her dinner was running away from her, probably snickering to itself and feeling all clever about it.

This would not stand.

Yang slipped her head into the gap. Wiggling around, she managed to get her shoulders and most of her torso in as well, before she found herself unable to get any deeper. Grunting, she extended her arms in front of her and grabbed onto the underside of the wall. She pulled herself deeper, wincing as the rocks dug into her thighs, but she was all in now.

She could do this.

"That's right." Yang repeated the motion. "I'm coming for you, you silvery bastard. I'm gonna devour you… with barbecue sauce! I'm gonna slurp up your antennas!"

The farther she got, the darker the space around her became. Eventually she was enshrouded in darkness, unable to see where she'd come from and what was in store for her up ahead. Yang persisted, feeling around blindly as she pulled herself along.

As she moved, Yang felt something felt something liquid under her. For a moment she worried she had injured herself, but then she realized she was lying on a puddle of water. Water, not ice. She stopped, the discovery taking her mind off her prize for a brief second. How?

She resumed her efforts. She splashed against even more water, and it wasn't cold. Her face flushed with a gentle warmth. A gentle orange light became visible ahead…

Yang reached for something to grab onto again, but her hands met open air. Euphoric, she kicked against the rocks above her, and after a few minutes of struggle, she found herself free at last.

Looking up, Yang saw she was in a circular chamber. Her toes were under a sheet of water – thawed ice – and the walls were dripping. There was nowhere else to go but back.

Well, that wasn't exactly true. Floating at the center of the chamber was a… portal? Yang knew that's what is was, it could be nothing else, but it wasn't like the one Raven had opened before. That one had been like a vortex of red energy. This one was like… it was like the very fabric between this world and whatever else lay beyond had been torn asunder, leaving a shard, a window in its wake. Heat emanated from it, and light – the light from a red sky she could see at the other side.

And cowering between her and the portal, was Yang's least favorite fox in all the worlds.

"Ahah," Yang said, flexing her fingers as she took a step towards the fox. "Thought you were getting away, did you? Think twice."

The fox whimpered, looking from her to the portal in panic.

"Listen, buddy. This isn't personal, okay? This is just the cycle of life," Yang said. "Big bad predator catches the critter to fill their belly. Ain't nothing wrong with that. And considering what's out there, you're probably getting off easy being my dinner." She slowly raised her hands. "So stay still, and don't even think about- no!"

The fox jumped through the portal.

In a demonstration of human excellency, Yang jumped right after it.


As she landed on her feet at the other side, Yang immediately felt the change in temperature. She'd been shivering a minute before, yet now she felt like she'd been dropped inside a hot sauna. It was so sudden and extreme it made her dizzy, her vision doubling before her eyes.

Yang crouched and rubbed her forehead, taking deep breaths. The air was hot and heavy, with a faint smell of ash to it. Looking down, Yang realized she was standing on vibrant-red grass. She ran a hand over it to make sure, and yes, it felt exactly like grass – and the dirt under it felt like dirt as well.

Having successfully avoided passing out, Yang carefully rose to her feet and turned in place to get her bearings. She seemed to be standing atop a hill in the middle of a red field. The grass stretched on as far as she could see, except for to the right of her, where a river – also red - cut a straight line. Beyond the river was the outline of a jungle, but it was too far away for Yang to make out what kind of trees those were. She figured they were probably red, like everything else in this world. Even the sky was red.

Her stomach rumbled. Yang scanned her surroundings more closely. The portal was still there, behind her, and through it she could see a sliver of the damp cave in the other world. And not far from the portal lay the fox, splayed on its side on the grass, limbs and tail limp.

Yang walked over and sat beside the animal. Its chest was rising and falling fast, and its eyes were fluttering wildly. Even when it saw Yang approach, it couldn't keep them open.

"Yeah, you're not meant for this kinda place…" Yang said. "Well. Guess this is it for us. Sorry."

She picked the fox by the fur on its back, then turned it around and held it in both hands before herself. It stared at her for a moment, releasing a low whine, before it closed its eyes and didn't open them again.

Yang's stomach turned, and it had nothing to do with how hungry she was.

"You're just trying to keep on living life, aren't you?" Yang sighed. "You better make it to three-hundred and have lots of cute grandkids."

She walked over to the portal and stuck her arms through it, and gently dropped the fox on the other side. It lay unmoving for a while, and Yang feared it had been too little too late for the poor creature – but it did eventually open its eyes and stood up. It turned around and blinked at her, then scurried off to the gap and disappeared.

"I don't think life insurance covers this," Yang muttered. "Sorry, Dad."

Yang looked across the portal. She knew the cave was safe, so she could hop back over and stay there until the end of the test. The idea of going back to the cold didn't appeal to her whatsoever, though. She vastly preferred the heat here, even if it was extreme. Plus, unless she had a major change of heart about the foxes, she wouldn't be getting any food in snow-world.

Better to try her luck here. She could start by going over to that river and getting some real water in her system. After that, she could search for something to eat that wouldn't weigh on her conscience.

Yang nodded and forced herself to smile. She had a plan. Good! Now she just had to carry it out. Everything would be just fine.


The river was fire.

Worlds where the rivers run with fire instead of water, Raven had said. She hadn't been making it up.

Yang dropped on her butt, tears of frustration stinging in her eyes. Why couldn't one thing go her way? Just one thing. She wasn't asking for anything more.

Her head was killing her. She'd underestimated what effect going from extreme cold to extreme heat would have on her, and she was paying the price for it now. Her being hungry and thirsty and in all kinds of emotional distress didn't help either.

Was Raven even going to come to get her at this point? Had she ever intended to return, or had she seen an opportunity to get rid of her pesky daughter and took it?

Or maybe Yang had screwed herself out of getting rescued. She'd left the world Raven had dropped her at. How was she supposed to know where Yang had gone? How would she track her down? If she even wanted to.

Yang brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them. She pressed her face between them, shuddering all over.

She took a deep breath.

There was no use crying, especially if no one was coming to get her. Now more than ever, she needed to be strong. That was the whole point of this stupid exercise, after all.

Yang started to push herself up, but stopped when her arms and legs trembled in protest. She sat back down and looked at her surroundings. Aside from the river of fire, she saw nothing dangerous.

Rest. Then find food and water.

Yang lied down on her side and closed her eyes.


Bird daughter wake up eat.

Yang stirred in her sleep.

Wake up eat.

Something hot touched the tip of her nose. Yang yelled and sat up. She brought up her hands to swat at whatever was attacking her, only to stop and stare in awe.

There was a fire the size of her head hovering in front of her – except it wasn't just some fire. It had a defined shape, very person-like but with stubbier arms and legs and no hands and feet to speak of. Its head began with a pointy top and widened towards the bottom, where it was round – like a teardrop. There were no proper eyes or a mouth on its face, but Yang got the impression it was looking at her, and that it was… annoyed with her.

Eat.

The fire whizzed around Yang's head, then floated down to the ground to the right of her. Three tiny purple orbs lay amidst the grass next to it.

Eat fire berries feel better.

"Are you… speaking to me?" Yang said.

If the fire could frown, it certainly was doing so now. It appear. Eat.

"Are you like a fire fairy or something? Or a sprite?"

Can call if want. It tapped the berries impatiently. Notably, they didn't sizzle or catch on fire. Eat!

"Okay! Jeez."

Yang picked up the three orbs and turned them over, examining them for a moment. They were barely the size of a fingertip, but she was so hungry she couldn't care. She tossed them in her mouth and bit down. They secreted a warm liquid that flooded her senses, and when she swallowed it left a spicy taste behind. Warmth coursed through her, and she felt more filled than she had expected.

"Huh. That was pretty good, actually," Yang said. "Did you bring those to me?"

The sprite flew close to her face. Fly river fly jungle fly river bring berries.

Yang looked at the jungle in the distance. It wasn't as far away as it'd looked from the portal, but it still was no small distance.

"All the way and back? Wow. Thanks, uh…" Yang said. "Do you have a name? I'm Yang."

No people name. Bird daughter can give if want.

"Sure, but don't you wanna come up with your own name?" Yang said.

People names dumb.

"Oh, okay. I'll try not to take that personally," Yang said. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

Boy dumb girl dumb. Am fire.

"Wise point." Yang tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How about… Firefly?"

Dumb name. Can call.

"Wait, are you speaking in my mind? How come I can understand you? How come you can understand me?"

Bird daughter fire child.

"That… doesn't explain anything."

Firefly didn't seem to care she was confused. If anything it seemed tired of her asking questions, as it whisked away to float above the river, then returned to her.

Jungle more fire berries. No bring. Bird daughter come.

"Sure, I could use more food," Yang said. "I also need water, though. Do you know where I can find some?"

A hissing sound came from Firefly. The contours of its body undulated, and embers popped out of its back in puffs of smoke.

No water! Water bad evil danger!

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't think about that. I guess it makes sense that you'd be scared of water." Yang rubbed the back of her neck. "Still, I'm really thirsty. You don't have to come anywhere near the water, just point me in its direction, please?"

Firefly flew over to the river and shook its little arms towards it. Drink fire!

Yang gasped. "That's so rude! I'm just asking for help, you jerk!"

Firefly popped another ember and floated down to the river. It scooped up a little fireball from the surface, then shoved it into its chest. No rude. Drink fire.

"You're serious," Yang said. "Look, maybe that's fine with you, but I can't drink fire, just like you can't drink water. Get it?"

Bird daughter drink fire. Try.

"I can't just try to drink fire. That's not how it works!"

Bird daughter eat fire berries.

"That's not remotely the same thing."

Make bird daughter drink!

Firefly dove headfirst into the river, and a few moments later came back carrying a fireball half its size between its hands. It slowly floated towards Yang, struggling with the added weight.

Open!

"What?" Yang laughed. "No way, I'm not-"

Firefly tossed the fireball inside her mouth. Yang closed it reflexively, her eyes wide, and the fire ran straight down her throat… without harming her. If anything, the feeling was actually refreshing.

Firefly hovered close to her nose.

Dumb.

Yang groaned. "Fine, you win. I'll drink your damn fire."

She crawled to the edge of the river and looked down at it. Still a bit unsure, she carefully dipped a fingertip in. Aside from it producing a slight trail as the flames ran past, nothing happened. Biting the bullet, she scooped a handful of fire and lapped it up ravenously.

This was the weirdest day of her life by far.

After she'd sated her thirst, Yang crossed the river – jumping over a narrow point, as she still felt too weird about it to swim across – and followed Firefly towards the jungle. The sprite was clearly annoyed with her walking speed, constantly making rounds around her head in an attempt to get her to up her pace, but Yang couldn't help it she couldn't fly.

Firefly gave her no reprieve when they reached the jungle, crossing its threshold right away, and Yang was forced to follow. All the tress in it appeared to be of the same type, with trunks of a maroon color. Those were actual wood, as far as she could tell. Odder were their foliage, far above the ground. They weren't leaves.

They were fire.

Obviously.

"Can we also drink from there?" Yang asked, pointing up.

Tree fire no drink. Firefly briefly landed on her shoulder, and she flinched at the searing sensation. Dumb.

"Hey, why you gotta be like that?" Yang pouted. "We're friends, right? I don't know how the dynamic works here, but where I'm from, we're nice to our friends. Most of the time. We definitely don't make a habit of hurting each other, that's for sure!"

Home same. Unless friend dumb. Then can hurt.

"You sure are full of yourself for a thing your size. You know I could squeeze you flat if I wanted, right?"

Try. Bite finger. Bird daughter cry much.

"Yeah I'll cry on you, you little jerk."

They walked for a while more, until they came across a cluster of bushes. In an unprecedent change of pace, they were actual leaves, though they were hot-red in color. The bushes were peppered with the same purple berries Firefly had brought Yang, and it quickly flew down and started gesturing at them.

"Let me guess. Eat?" Yang said.

Firefly flipped over in mid-air. Eat!

Yang crouched near the bushes and started picking the berries off of them. She experimented with popping one inside her mouth, and was happy to find it was just as delicious and filling as the ones she'd had earlier. After that she didn't bother to gather them anymore, and just ate each one as soon as she'd picked them.

No eat all! Firefly darted in front of her face, swerving up and down. Bird daughter greedy.

"Sorry," Yang mumbled, her mouth full. She swallowed and wiped a purple trail from her chin. "Got a bit carried away. I didn't eat yesterday, so that's that."

Can bring if want. But share. Not all fire berries bird daughter.

"Well, since you're asking so nicely," Yang said dryly. "Also, why do you keep calling me bird daughter? You obviously know I'm a person. And I don't care what you believe, a person is not a bird."

Firefly hovered motionlessly before her. Bird daughter.

Yang sighed. "Of course. Everything is so much clearer now."

She continued to pick the bushes until she had two handfuls of the berries. Firefly then whisked away, going deeper into the jungle.

Follow.

Yang did so without question. She wanted to ask where they going, but she had a feeling she would get an answer that was either too simplistic or too vague, so what would be the point? And it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go, anyway.

They walked onward, passing by more of the same berry bushes. Firefly took the lead with great speed, stopping every so often to let Yang catch up, at which point it would dart ahead again. It was nervous for some reason, and after she noticed that, Yang kept a vigilant eye on her surroundings. Every time she turned her head, she expected to find something else staring right back at her. They weren't alone in these woods. Despite the intense light provided by the trees, Yang couldn't help but feel creeped out.

They crossed into a wide clearing, and Firefly came back around to meet Yang. "What?" she asked, and it pointed upwards silently. She leant back to look towards to the sky, and noticed objects scattered across the branches in the trees. She had to strain her eyes to make out what they were, but even then they seemed strange – they were shaped like birdhouses almost, but instead of wood they seemed to be built of some cocoon-like material.

Whispers wriggled inside her mind, soft voices with the same ethereal quality as Firefly's.

Return?

What bring?

Danger?

Tiny flame-like fingers grasped the doorways in the cocoon houses, followed shortly by timid heads. Yang saw a sprite just like Firefly exit one of them, and then another, and suddenly there were dozens of sprites staring down at her from the branches.

Traveler.

Bird daughter!

Fire child.

Bird daughter here?

The sprites gently descended towards her, and Yang took a step back in reflex, but the tension in her body faded as they circled her. Though none of them touched her, she felt warm, and strangely enough, safer than she'd ever been anywhere, even her own childhood home back in Remnant.

She turned to look at Firefly. She didn't know how, but she could still tell it apart from the rest of the sprites, despite them all looking identical to her eyes. "This is your village?"

Friends family. Home. Firefly floated up to her nose and rotated like a star. Share!

Yang looked down at her hands. "Right!" She crouched and dumped the berries on the grass. She felt the fire sprites' joy echo in her mind as they all darted to the berries and started munching on them.

Bird daughter kind. Firefly briefly rubbed against her cheek, then flew towards one of the trees and spun in circles next to it. Yang walked over, and Firefly dropped close to the ground. Can sit sleep rest.

"Are you sure?" Yang said. "This is your home. I don't wanna cause you any trouble."

Home no trouble. Away home danger. Firefly's body shone bright for a quick second. Friends family watch bird daughter. Safe.

Yang smiled. "Thanks. I guess I could use some rest, yeah."

She sat down, and Firefly joined the others to munch on a berry of its own. As Yang settled against the tree trunk, one of the sprites parted from the bunch and flew over to her. It hovered in front of her face for a moment, then landed on her shoulder and lay down, nestling against the crook of her neck. It was an odd, yet pleasant sensation.


Yang woke up a couple hours later with Firefly poking her nose. She hadn't fallen asleep properly, but the safety of the grove and the warmth of the sprites that had come to lay with her had lulled her into a state of idle restfulness. Roused from that, she felt she could jump over mountains - maybe even wrestle a yeti monster into submission.

Friends family help bird daughter. Firefly landed on her knee and looked up at her. Bird daughter help friends family?

"You want me to help you with something?" Yang sat up straight, inadvertently shaking off a sprite on either of her shoulders. They flitted angrily about her ears, then darted off. "Sure. Do you need me to get you guys more food?"

Food enough. Help danger. Friends family home death danger.

"Sounds serious." Yang stood up. "What do I need to do?"

Firefly flew away, beckoning for Yang to follow. They left the limits of the grove and walked for about a minute before they arrived at a rock wall. Firefly floated next to it and a little upwards, and Yang saw that the wall led up to a cliff overlooking the jungle and the sprite village nearby.

Danger top cliff. Firefly started to rise along the wall.

"Wait! How am I supposed to get up there?" Yang said. "See, this is the part where me not being a bird is important. I can't fly or float like you."

Firefly looked down at her for a moment – Dumb – and continued on its way.

Yang pursed her lips. "You're lucky I'm such a generous soul."

She took a few steps away from the cliff, then sprinted towards it and jumped. The rocks were uneven enough that she could easily find hold for her hands and feet. Unless the wall was higher than she anticipated, she should have no problem climbing to the top.

As she reached the halfway point, Yang felt something on her face. It was such a startling sensation she had to take a hand off the wall and rub her cheek. Humidity. She looked up and noticed what appeared to be specks of water falling over the edge of the cliff and hanging in the air. Firefly had taken to the side, avoiding the direct trajectory of the water.

The humidity only grew as Yang neared the top. She heard rushing water, and the noise spurred her to move faster. She reached out one last time and pulled herself over the edge, and immediately stood up to look.

It was exactly what she thought. Water. A verifiable river of it. There was another cliff up ahead – now that she had a clearer view of it all, Yang realized she was standing at the base of a sprawling mountain range – with a cave entrance in the middle, from whence the water rushed forth powerfully. It splashed against the floor below and continued on a straight line for a while, before it came to pool on a shallow crater.

Steam rose from the water in great puffs and spread across the area. Yang enjoyed the feeling. This plane, though much preferable to the frozen plains she'd endured before, was still too dry for her liking. Firefly obviously felt different, immediately flying over to Yang and sheltering under her hair.

Water! Water evil! Water stop!

Yang stopped basking in the vapor and raised her hands to shield Firefly from it. "Has this always been here?"

Home no water. No belong.

"Well, it's bad, but it's not that big of a problem, right?" Yang said. "As long as no one comes up here, you'll be okay."

Firefly gestured at the pooling water and the edge of the cliff. Water grow. Fall home. Trees die jungle die. Home die. Friends family die.

Yang looked at the pool. The water was far from reaching the edge itself, but with how much continued to flow in, it might do so in a day.

"Couldn't you move somewhere else?" she said.

Firefly lit up gently. Home.

"Okay," Yang said. "What can I do about this, then?"

Water no hurt bird daughter. Close. Investigate. Stop?

Yang nodded. "I'll see what I can find out. You go somewhere safe and wait."

Firefly didn't need to be told twice, whisking off to float beyond the cliff's edge.

Yang walked towards the water, passing by the growing pool and following the river to the cave entrance. Getting in there would be tricky – she could climb in from the side, but at that point she'd have to find another way to follow the water to its source.

This climb was harder than the last. The stones were wet, and the steam made it hard to see. Yang nearly slipped and fell several times before she got inside the cave. Once there, she looked around for dry land to walk on, but the entirety of the tunnel was taken by the river. There were a few rocks which rose from the surface of the water, and though precarious, those seemed to be her only available options if she didn't want to continue climbing along the wall.

Yang took a moment to psych herself up, then launched away from the wall and towards the nearest rock. She landed clumsily, almost slipping off as she struggled to find her balance. The rock shook under her, but thankfully it held.

Yang slowly rose to her full height, holding her arms to the sides, and took a deep breath. "Bird daughter my ass," she grunted.

She jumped to the next closest rock, and then the next after that, and so on. She moved confidently, because she had to – one moment of hesitation and she would slip and crack her skull. She might do that regardless, but this way she would be trying her hardest not to, at least.

Just as Yang began to fear she was wasting her time and would never get to wherever this river started, she saw a shimmering light up ahead in the tunnel. She stopped to look after jumping on another rock. As best she could see through the steam, the shimmer seemed to come from a portal – or a window, like the one she'd crossed before. At the other side… water.

Lots of water.

"Water world." Yang rubbed her eyes. "Cool. So we're covering all our bases today."

So now she knew where the water was coming from. That didn't tell her how to stop it, though. It clearly wasn't going to run out any time soon. For all she knew it might overtake Firefly's whole world, given enough time. As long as the window remained, it posed a gigantic threat to all life on this side.

Maybe she could close it? She had no idea how to do that, but the least she could do was try.

Yang jumped to the next rock. The window was close, just a little more to go. She jumped again-

Her foot missed the top of the rock and slipped along the side of it instead. She reached out to grab on to something, anything, but it was useless – she hit the water, falling under the surface, and the sheer force of the stream rocketed her away. The back of her head collided against stone, and she went spiraling head-over-feet, unable to see or breathe, her skin boiling-

She came flying out the tunnel entrance, soaring over the river below, and hit the ground hard. Yang pushed herself to her hands and knees, spitting what felt like gallons all at once. Her skin was red all over, and it stung.

As she coughed and panted, a red light washed over Yang. She looked up and saw a portal hovering a few meters in front of her. Raven stepped out of it, an impassive expression breaking slightly as she looked around.

"Interesting," Raven said. She walked over to Yang, raising an eyebrow as she took in her miserable condition. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. And what sort of predicament have you-"

Yang rose to her feet and punched her across the face. Raven went reeling back, her feet actually leaving the ground for a second. She ground herself just short of falling off the cliff, and walked back to Yang, an angry glint in her eyes as she rubbed her jaw.

"That was childish," she said.

"You left me stranded in a snowstorm! I could have died!" Yang yelled, eyes bright red.

Raven paused, as if considering the remark. "Perhaps it wasn't entirely childish," she said. "But it was unnecessary. Are you going to punch me again?"

"I don't see a reason not to," Yang said, but consciously unclenched her fists and took a deep breath to calm herself.

Raven considered her for a moment, then looked over her shoulder at the river. The sight seemed to surprise her, but for only a second, as she quickly returned her attention to Yang.

"I remember leaving you to your test elsewhere," she said.

"So what? I found a window-thingy and walked through," Yang said. "Am I disqualified or something?"

"A window, you say," Raven said. "No, that was resourceful of you. You survived your twenty-four hours. Exactly how you did that doesn't concern me."

"I fought a four-armed yeti bare-handed. It ran away scared," Yang said. "Does that get me extra credit?"

Raven didn't look impressed. "Welcome to the tribe," she said. "We're going home now."

Raven turned around and started walking back to her portal. Yang didn't move, casting a look at Firefly, who was still hovering beyond the steam's reach.

"Not just yet," Yang said.

Raven stopped and turned to look at her. "Perhaps you hit your head sometime between our last meeting," she said. "I thought you'd be ecstatic to get back."

"There's something that I've gotta do first," Yang said. "All this water's coming from another world. If it continues like this, everywhere near here is gonna be flooded. The jungle's gonna be destroyed, and the fire sprites are gonna die."

Raven put a hand on her hip. "The sprites can move elsewhere."

"This is their home!" Yang exclaimed. "Whatever. I'm gonna fix this, and you're gonna help me."

"Am I, now?" Raven said.

"I'm not leaving until the sprites are safe."

Raven scowled, and for a moment Yang thought she might just leave without her.

"This is a waste of time," Raven said. "Need I remind you the reason you took the test in the first place? There are lives at stake in our world. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of human lives."

"And how is this any different? Just because the sprites are different than us doesn't mean their lives are worthless," Yang said.

"It's different because they can take care of themselves," Raven said.

"No. It's different because you'd actually something just because it's the right thing to do, for once," Yang said, "and not just to save your own hide."

Raven's eyes flared. She clenched her fists, then unclenched them, and turned away. "I used to think I knew everything, too."

"Looks to me like you still do," Yang said.

Raven shook her head and took a couple steps towards the river.

"You said this water is not from this world. Fine," she said. "Wait here. I'll take care of this."

She jumped, and in the blink of an eye, turned into a black-feathered raven, then flew over the water and entered the tunnel.

Yang blinked.

"What."


Raven shifted back mid-flight and landed on a rock near the portal.

Closing a window such as this, the kind that occurred naturally, was a trivial task. The torrent that came out of this one disallowed her from coming any closer than she was now, however, and that made it a little harder.

Still trivial.

She extended her hands before her and closed her eyes, pushing her conscience through the veil until she found the signature feel of that world. It wasn't one she'd dared explore herself – she knew it likely wouldn't have gone well for her if she tried – but she had often visited worlds adjacent to it, so the signature wasn't unfamiliar to her.

She took hold of it, her fingers closing around empty air. That was ultimately unnecessary, yet helpful. She waited for the right moment when the veil pulsed, and clapped her hands.

The window closed. Cut off from its source, the remaining water flowed forth languidly, the tunnel slowly draining.


Yang had barely recovered when Raven returned, flying out of the tunnel in bird form and dropping in front of her, human once again.

"It's done," Raven said. "Shall we go now, Your Highness?"

Yang stared at her, slack-jawed. "You just turned into a bird."

"Did I?" Raven said, dusting off her clothes. "Funny. That must have escaped my notice."

"You did. How?" Yang asked. "It's not part your Semblance, right? Is it one of those weird artifacts of yours?"

"It's a long story. You should ask your uncle about it sometime," Raven said. "While you're at it, ask him for a demonstration as well."

"Wait, you don't mean…"

Raven didn't reply. The portal she'd come through was still there, and she seemed quite interested in going back.

Water stop!

Firefly appeared next to Yang, flitting up and down. It still seemed nervous about the steam, but with the water much calmer now, its excitement was showing.

"You and the others should be safe now, buddy," Yang said. "The water is probably gonna evaporate on its own, right?"

Water leave. Thank bird daughter!

Yang shrugged. "Just repaying your kindness."

Firefly flew to her cheek and pressed itself against it for an instant. The sensation was strangely close to that of a kiss. Firefly then flew over to Raven and did the same to her.

Thank bird mother!

Raven cleared her throat and waved a hand half-heartedly, as if to shoosh it away. "Yes. You're very welcome."

Tell friends family. Goodbye?

"Yeah… I guess that's goodbye for us," Yang said. "It was good meeting you, Firefly. Maybe we'll see each other again someday?"

See again. Goodbye!

Firefly flew away quickly, stopping for a second to look back at Yang, then went over the cliff and disappeared.

"You named one of them?" Raven asked dryly.

"He said I could if I wanted," Yang said. She looked at her mother, and suddenly a lot of things clicked in her head. "Wait… Bird mother. Did you meet Firefly and the other sprites before? You didn't even act surprised when I mentioned them earlier."

"Those sprites, as you call them, are strange creatures. I wouldn't put much thought in your interactions with that sort," Raven said. "We're going."

She walked to the portal.

"Wait wait wait. How did you even find me here? You just popped out like you expected me to be there," Yang said, raising a hand. "Are you – what did you say before – are you bonded to me? When did that happen?"

"If you don't come out in a minute, I'm closing the portal behind me," Raven said, and stepped through the portal.

"Oh, okay. Just leave me hanging like that," Yang said. "That's not a childish thing to do."

Grumbling under her breath, she followed Raven through, back to Remnant.


This chapter was such a joy to write. I've had the concept for it for... I don't even know how long. I think all the magic and parallel worlds stuff spiraled out of this, so suffice it to say, I'm very happy to finally be putting out here for everyone to read it!

There's a part of me that worries that some of the humor here is a little out there, like Yang just fucking roasting the yeti or going hunter-crazy on the fox. It's one of those things where I have a very specific voice for her in my head, and some of her lines might not land quite as well with most people. But I don't know, I actually cracked myself up with "Abominable Snowman-looking ass" and "I'm gonna slurp up your antennas", and I can't remember laughing at my own writing like that for quite some time... So I just had to keep those in.

Anyway. Firefly is the best character. Hope readers happy readers safe. Until next week!

-Zeroan