The pang of ages. Desperate attempts to slip back into unconsciousness proved utterly futile with the headache that drummed in her head. By now she knew the useless vow to never drink again was a swear she wouldn't keep. A reason to drink always made itself manifest somehow or the other. She lifted the lids of her eyes slowly, barely, and was met by the sight of her morning lit room. Something was out of place. The chair from her desk was pulled by her bedside. Winter. Had she stayed by her most of, if not the entire night?

'I'll find you help.'

She sat up slowly despite her head pounding out protests the more perpendicular she got to the bed. She was having control over this day. She was. She needed to have control over this day. And that started with a shower and an aspirin. Upon entering her and Winter's shared bathroom, she was painfully reminded of the events of yesterday in the absence of her reflection over the sink. She lowered her eyes, saddened by the remembrance. She was going to fix this, as best she could, somehow. She had always tried; she would always try. She turned the shower on, undressed, and stepped into the cold spray. There was the initial shiver as it washed over her, but her body's quakes slowed and then ceased as the water warmed.

"Understanding, huh?" She thought back the convenience store clerk's seemingly innocuous statement that had prompted her to open a door to Winter last night. A door she didn't even know was there, nor did she even know she had the key to it. Now that she thought on it, the clerk, this 'Ruby' exhibited the same patience that Winter had shown her countless times over the years. And in her patience, she had unwittingly given Weiss something. This something was, perhaps, a skeleton key that granted her access to that door. Were there other doors she would be able to open with it? Was she brave enough to try?

Done with her shower, she dried and dressed fairly casually despite no immediate intent to leave the house. She made to look at herself in the mirror again only to be met with that same painful remembrance. It was odd. She felt the need to falsify her existence now. Strange what the sudden absence of a mirror could do. She exited the bathroom, a bit anxious now, and headed towards the sounds and smells that tickled her senses from the kitchen. Stopping at the mouth of the hall, she held her breath at the sight of Winter in the kitchen.

"Weiss?" She loosed her held breath in relief. "Are you alright?"

"I.. am. There's a circus is my head. A headache, though the circus comment is relevant on two fronts.." She was sitting at the island now facing her sister, now content in knowing she did, in fact, still exist despite how odd a thing it was to suddenly need proven.

"Here," a plate came to rest in front of her, "and here," came a singular white pill and a glass of water. "Please eat as much as you can." Winter paused. No, she hesitated for a second before she continued. "You haven't been eating much, have you?"

"No," came her confession before she dropped her eyes to the plate in front of her. "I haven't had much of an appetite the past few days.." Winter knew she only got nosebleeds whenever she hadn't eaten much or anything for at least two days or so.

"That's alright. I can pick up some things for you to eat throughout the day that are light for whenever your appetite isn't the strongest. Something to help keep you nourished and energized."

"Thank you." She was truly grateful, looking up to meet her sister's piercing blue eyes, so identical to hers, and offering a small smile of her own in response to the one she was met with. The exchange brought a bit of her appetite back to her, stomach now open to sustenance. Winter joined her shortly after with a plate of her own. The more bites she took, the more she was made aware of how painfully vacant her stomach was. She would have no problem finishing the entire meal.

"Don't forget you have a doctor's appointment this Thursday."

"I remember."

"I'll be on base so I won't be able to take you. You'll either have to arrange the commute or have Whitley take you."

"I'll make arrangements," she almost snapped. She would rather not see Whitley for another two weeks and she was sure he wouldn't mind that either.

"Weiss—"

"Winter.. please. I'll make the arrangements."

"Alright." Her sister relented after a sigh.

Once they were both done, Winter cleared the plates and carried them away. Newly filled, Weiss began to have an unfamiliar craving. Leaving the island behind, she went and searched her satchel on the couch for the most likely culprit of this new craving. "Winter?" They were missing.

"I threw them away." She turned only to be met with Winter's back as she washed the dishes. A bit aggravated, she walked purposefully to the trash bin.

"..And put them through the wash it seems." She closed the lid on the useless things and returned the couch to snatch up her satchel. She looked down at herself. Jeans and a Libertines shirt. Appropriate enough outerwear in a college town for a trek to the convenience store. Just add cardigan. "I'll be back shortly."

"Weiss." She turned to meet her sister's front this time. Her face bore an immovable expression. "Any and every cigarette I find in this house will go directly into the bin."

"Then you won't find them," she concluded before sitting to put on her tennis shoes.

"Weiss, this will not continue to happen." She looked up at her sister, drawn there by the sudden seriousness in her tone. "Smoking, and drinking? Marijuana? Weiss you are jeopardizing your health and your scholarship."

"Lord knows my tuition could be afforded ten fold if I lose my scholarship."

"That is beside the point. For one, you will not smoke marijuana in or around this house while you live under this roof. You will not jeopardize my career like that."

"Fine." She was on her feet now, irritation growing within her that she adamantly heaved away with a sigh. "I won't do that to you anymore. It's irresponsible of me and unfair to you to put you in that position with my choices."

"Thank you." Winter was hesitating again, but longer this time around.

"Winter? What is it?"

"Weiss.." Winter seemed to prepare herself for something. " Would you consider talking to a doctor if I made you an appointment?"

"A doctor?" What did she mean? Another doctor to reassess her failing sight? Curious. "What sort of doctor?"

"A mental health professional."

"A shrink?" Winter thought she needed to see some sort of psychiatric physician?

"A mental health professional," Winter stated again. "I think you would benefit from talking to someone about your moods.. about yesterday." Yesterday. She heard the words, but what was it that Winter was trying to say? "She used to have.. episodes sometimes, mother—"

"Stop!" She didn't intend to yell, but everything Winter was saying suddenly all became far too much.

'Willow? God.. No, Klein call an ambulance! Willow!?'

"This is too much." She willed the memory of her father's panic wrought voice from her head and made for the door. "This is too much, I can't."

"Weiss!" Her sister's voice halted her. She knew that particular tone, calling after her as though she wouldn't be coming back, because there were times when she hadn't. Understanding. She turned to her sister, locking eyes with her intensely in hopes of conveying how absolutely honest her next words were.

"I'll be back shortly. I'm just heading to the convenience store." She was. "Can we.. can we talk about this later, please? It's a lot right now. I don't know how I feel."

"We can." Winter still seemed a bit reluctant to let her go. "We can. Just, call me if you have a change in plans? I won't be heading back to base until tomorrow, so I'll be here."

"I will. I promise." And with that, she left through the door toward her destination. Her walk was brisk as though she could somehow distance herself from her thoughts if she distanced herself from the house. Futility. Sharing memories of their mother with her siblings was hard enough when there was a fond, positive overtone, but this was too much. Their mother, her mother, and her episodes? She only remembered one episode, and that was of her mother dangling blue and limp in the bathroom. That made her wonder why Winter brought it up, made her wonder about a certain car crash.

She found herself at the convenience store sooner than she anticipated. She took a brief moment to steady her thoughts, forcing the unpleasant ones out of mind. She nearly succeeded, or succeeded enough rather. As calm as she was going to get, she entered the convenience store.

"Welcome in!" That same voice lofted from seemingly nowhere in particular again. She walked to the counter to find the same attendant from last night sitting in a chair behind the counter. She noticed her dress wasn't what one would expect of a uniform. Though she couldn't really remember what she was wearing last night, she was sure it wasn't this casual. "Oh, hey!"

"Hello again, um, Ruby isn't it?"

"It is!" She jumped up from her chair to fetch something from beneath the counter. When she straightened, Weiss' eyes locked on to her shirt, the skull and crossbones a familiar sight over the letters 'T M G E'. "You left this here last night."

"Where did you get that shirt?" She was completely unconcerned with what the attendant was holding out to her.

"My shirt?"

"Yes, your shirt."

"Oh, I got it from.. wait. You know Thee Michelle Gun Elephant?" This 'Ruby' seemed to latch completely onto the real matter at hand.

"Yes, I absolutely do."

"Top five songs, go." Challenge accepted.

"Can't really rank them. Their discography is too good. But, I recognize the test before me so I will offer: Brian Down, Hi! China, Akage no Kelly, Sharon by Rosso, and Lemon by The Birthday." Smirking, she knew she passed.

"しんじられん.."

"I'm sorry?" She blinked, completely taken aback by the unexpected despite the amount of bands she listened to from Japan.

"I can't believe it! You passed! Nice Libs shirt by the way."

"Thanks.."

"Oh yeah! Here." She was able to give her attention to what this 'Ruby' had held out to her again.

"My ID? I didn't know I was even missing it." She opened her wallet to find one slot empty. "I must have left without it last night."

"You did." The attendant gave her a warm, friendly smile. "But before I give this back to you, what can I get you?" She was the perpetually cheerful sort it seemed.

"Camel No. 9, please and thank you."

"Coming right up!" She fetched her request and bounced back to the counter. Perpetually cheerful and with bountiful vitality.

"Thank you."

"No problem! Eight ninety-six is your total." She began the process of tendering a debit purchase. "So, that's my sister pulling up. I was only here until she got back. Would you, uhh, be interested in listening to some TMGE with me?" 'Approved' flashing on the monitor of the card reader, she released her card and threw it into her bag as she met the attendant's, this 'Ruby's' eyes. " I mean you don't have to if you're sketched out or something? But it's rare to come across another person that actually listens to them."

"I agree." And she did. It was quite unexpected that they would share a brief moment of bonding over a band that was arguably obscure to a Western audience. Also, given that she recognized her Libertines shirt, this 'Ruby' with the saintly patience and in possession of skeleton keys might also possess an above average taste in music. "Shall we be little punk kids and deface this fine establishment by smoking in front of it?"

"We shall! But we can't leave any butts on the ground! But also, let's go to the park instead!" Ruby looked around as though to make sure no one else could overhear her next whisper. "My sister doesn't know I smoke and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Fair enough. Shall we?" Ruby nodded her head with excitement and bounded around the corner of the counter before walking through the door with her.

"Bye Yang!" She yelled, eliciting a wave from a girl with blonde hair digging for something in the trunk of her car.

"Are you sure you shouldn't wait for her to go inside?" Weiss remarked looking back at the convenience store. Qrow's. Funny, she'd never bothered to know the name of the establishment she'd frequented many times over the years.

"Nah. It's Sunday, which is a slow day, especially since it's Summer break."

Giving a small 'hm' in reply, they started across the street towards the park once the crosswalk granted them permission. Carelessly, she opened her first ever second pack of cigarettes, jamming the trash into her satchel before removing one and setting the end on fire.

"Hey, you're not a litterbug! That's cool!" She turned to look through an exhale of smoke at the girl walking beside her who was now fidgeting with her own pack of cigarettes. She must have noticed the peculiar glance she was giving her. "Uhh, I mean, I notice a lot of college kids litter around here and it's nice that someone else cares to keep their trash off the ground." Ruby smiled at her and for whatever reason, Weiss thought it a peculiar gesture. They were nearly at the park now.

"How do you know Thee Michelle Gun Elephant?"

"Oh!" Ruby stopped before bringing her newly lit cigarette to her lips. "My Dad got me into them! They're like his most favorite band. He told me that he went to the Yoyogi Riot, uh, not a real riot, but a free live the band put on in Yoyogi Park. I didn't believe him until he pulled up a video on Youtube and showed me a part where the camera panned the crowd and he was front and center!"

"I imported that DVD from Rakuten a couple years back. It was a really good concert. I can only imagine how it was live." Arriving at they're destination, they stopped and sat on a bench on the outskirts of the park.

"Saaaaaaaame. He went to quite a few of their lives, even a couple during their farewell tour."

"Did your father live in Japan? It seems like quite the length to go to for a concert if not." Though she was the one to talk given that she had absconded to England a year or two back to see the Libertines live.

"He did! Still does. I used to live there too until I came back to America to finish high school and start college." She studied Ruby's features and.. a particular mannerism she'd address after this next question.

"Is your father Japanese?"

"He is! Well, kind of? He's actually Chinese, but my grandparents moved to Japan before he was born. So that makes me half chinese, but a dual citizen of America and Japan, and I only speak Japanese and English." A rather information rich answer. They descended into a comfortable silence. She watched as Ruby hummed and bobbed her head slightly while keeping time to the vaguely familiar tune with her foot. She was halfway through her own cigarette, but..

"That's an odd way to partake in a cigarette." The observation startled her so that she dropped said cigarette.

"What do you mean?" Ruby questioned after scrambling to pick it up, a somewhat 'caught' look on her face. Bless her.

"You don't inhale."

"No way! I totally do!" Weiss cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at her. "Okay, I don't, but!" The poor girl was at a loss for a rebuttal.

"Why chance the habit if you're not committed to it?" She found this turn of events rather amusing for some reason.

"Well, I got tired of everyone else getting more breaks than me just because they smoked cigarettes!

"Sounds silly." Poor girl seemed wholly embarrassed now. It was funny that peer pressure wasn't what prompted her to pick up a cigarette, but rather some childish string of logic. "Give me that," she said before plucking the half-gone cigarette from Ruby's hand and placing it between her own lips.

"Hey!" Ruby tried to protest, but Weiss simply stared at her as she devoured the rest of the girl's cigarette.

"It doesn't suit you."

"It doesn't suit me?"

"And you don't seem to particularly enjoy it." Ruby only chuckled nervously at that. "I think it's something you could stand to leave behind.

"Yeah.." Ruby sighed. "I guess my logic wasn't the most sound. And when I do accidently inhale, I nearly ralph.." She stood up suddenly and released he pack of cigarettes from her back pocket. Ruby stared at them intently for a brief moment before walking over to a trash can and tossing them into the abyss. "Yeah, not worth it! Plus if Yang found out," she trailed off with a whistle before rejoining Weiss on the park bench.

"As more incentive for that decision you just made, every cigarette takes seven minutes off the time you have left in this world to listen to music." Ruby's eyes went wide.

"I never thought of it that way! Now I feel like such an idiot because I love music too much to not want all the time I can get to listen to it! Weiss! You've changed my life! Woah, that rhymed. It was unintentional, but still the truth." Ruby beamed at her.

"I just spoke the truth. Plus, the habit seemed ill placed with you."

"Me? What about you?" Ruby pointed at the now cool cigarette butts Weiss held in her hands. "Why do you smoke, Weiss? It doesn't seem to suit you any better."

"Because I'm self destructive at best," she smiled at the sleight she cast upon herself. Ruby chuckled at that as well.

"Oh, come on! I get the feeling you'd like all the time you can get to listen to music too!"

"You do?" Amusing, but Ruby wasn't wrong.

"I do! Plus you also don't seem like a person who'd board a slow apocalypse." She laughed at that. Strangely perceptive, Weiss had to agree with Ruby on both fronts.

"I guess you're right about both of those. I'd chart a slow apocalypse before I boarded one though."

"But I don't want you to!" Weiss found herself taken slightly aback by Ruby's smiling insistence against whatever nicotine infused end of days she was careening towards. "What if we listened to music and watched TMGE lives instead of tarring our lungs? I mean, uh, only if you want to." Ruby then descended into rambles about why they should listen to music and how it would be cool to 'nerd out' with someone else about Japanese bands and then some.

"Fine."

"Huh?"

"I said fine," she stood up and threw the two butts away before reseating herself on the park bench. "It's not a terrible idea given I've already ascertained that you have a more refined and arguably kindred taste in music that I have yet to find in anyone else. In addition, if I'm absorbing music instead of absorbing carcinogens and company, my own sister might be more at ease."

"Oh yeah! You have a sister too. Older, younger? What's she like?"

"Like a sister." Both chuckled at that. "She's older. In the military, so she's prone to being strict, but she's kind. I love her dearly. She's there for me when I need her and more, really the best friend I could ever have."

"Yup, definitely sounds like a sister," Ruby smiled at her. "But what should we listen to first? I see you like the Libertines too! Have you ever seen them live? I know I'd love to." She pulled a loose tangles of wire from her pocket along with her phone.

"I have."

"No way!"

"Way. I may have.. hopped on a plane to England on a spontaneous whim to see them in concert." Ruby laughed at that.

"That sounds like something my Dad would do."

"I'd love to listen to TMGE though. Perhaps you could be my translator."

"I definitely could! I have their entire discography on here, so pick whatever," she finished as she handed an ear bud to Weiss.

"It's a rather pedestrian suggestion, but could we listen Gear Blues in its entirety?"

"Of course! And its not a 'pedestrian' suggestion. A great album is a great album."

"That it is," she agreed accepting the ear bud from Ruby. The intro to West Cabaret Drive flooded her ear as she pulled out her phone to send a text to Winter.

'I'll be out a little longer than I intended. Listening to music with a friend at the park.'

With the message sent, she sat back on the bench shoulder to shoulder with Ruby so as to not dislodge either of their earbuds. The girl she just deemed her friend to Winter was again marking time with her feet while trying to not bob her head much for the same reason Weiss sat shoulder to shoulder with her. The entire situation brought her ease: the music, the company, the environment as they sat shaded under the boughs of great oak trees.

There was no need to exert control over her day at present when her current circumstances were a far cry from being in disarray. She was.. at ease.

…

Author's Notes:

My apologies that my updates have been rather erratic, and I can't promise that I will regulate it because schedules do me harm. But I can promise that these stories are my lovely dears and that I will care for them through the end.

Enjoy and please look forward to more, Ivel.