AYangThang: Hey all sorry I've been slacking on posting. I've been busy with work. You're getting a big dose of content tonight, so sit tight while the chapters flow in. My posting will be patchy for a little while longer while I continue to sort things out with work.

Significant Changes: This is the "time skip" chapter that used to be chapter 8. There are some content additions to the old scenes. There is also one added scene between Pyrrha and Weiss.

Original chapter length: 3,146 Revisited chapter length: 3,913

"Regular dialogue" [Faunus speech only]

Chapter 13

A few weeks passed in relative normalcy.

Then a few months, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

Ace got older.

They got wiser.

Things became easier.

Missions slowly filled their schedules promising a constant trickle of income. It wasn't much, but they were thankful. The world within the RWBY household became more hectic as Ace learned to crawl into all manner of trouble. The inquisitive little girl was always in search of adventure. Her bright crimson eyes studying everything curiously. Each dusty bunny and crinkled paper ball was of particular interest to the little girl.

As huntresses they didn't want to admit it, but, every idle failing stung at their pride. Watching Ace gain that small level of independence was intimidating. With every ounce of agency she gained, so did their daily worries. They discovered that every loose chord, piece of cutlery, cleaning solution, and item of equipment was a nightmare waiting to happen.

They took precautions. Locking their mission gear away behind reinforced steel boxes and storing their dust carefully so that it wouldn't be disturbed. Their jobs would never be completely safe, but the household had to be.

Bumps and bruises became inevitable as Ace learned to walk, and then to run. Her small feet carrying her clumsily through the house with reckless abandon. The young Faunus often went skidding into walls and darting under furniture. In a paranoid effort to keep the little girl safe from harm Yang had even tapped the corners of the tables with bubble wrap. She had been hoping the feeble attempt would shield Ace from another bump on the head next time she crawled beneath it.

Yang's efforts didn't last a day before little claws sunk themselves deep into the bubble wrap, providing plenty of fun as Ace destroyed it. Shredding the plastic with glee, and leaving another mess behind. Her tiny teeth and claws were the hallmarks of all cat Faunus. Sharp and pointy. Her ears grew fur wildly, making her striking features even more impressive and animalistic by nature.

Blake took care to clip those sharp claws short, and to trim the fur around those sensitive Faunus ears with practiced ease. They were skills all feline Faunus would come to accept as part of normal hygiene and grooming habits. Keeping a tidy appearance went a long way in life, and that went double for those who didn't appear entirely human. The more tame Ace looked to humans, the less she would be ostracized because of her heritage.

When it came to baby proofing a dilapidated and dated household, the humans were set to the task. Truthfully, it was a much more complicated endeavor than any of them had first assumed. When even the tiniest wrapper was a choking hazard, Weiss was even more inclined to keep the house cleaner than usual.

The reason for this was simple, and proven true yet again as little feet went scampering through the house. Thumping across the slippery wooden floor as Ace tried to reach her favorite hiding place. A wet trail was left behind as she retreated from the bathroom. Well away from one very agitated caretaker, the woman sighing as she squeezed water out of her shirt.

"Don't just stand there, grab her!" Weiss ordered when she noticed that Yang was in the hallway.

The blonde didn't need to be told twice as she scooped up her baby sister, holding her high in the air. "Intercepted." She shouted in victory, only to have water flung all over the place. The small Faunus shook her head from side to side, her wild mane of hair swinging back and forth. Little ears flicking away the drops of water that had collected in her fur. Ace growled playfully, her black tresses sticking up in all directions.

"Damn it…" Yang sighed, giving her diminutive little sister a harsh look. "Ace, really?"

"She's not a ball, Yang." Weiss sighed, wrapping the small Faunus in a fluffy grey towel. "Did you hate baths this much when you were her age?"

"No, just the brush." Yang said, cringing at all of the knots that had crumpled themselves into unruly black hair. "Oh, man, this is bad. I really hate to say this, but maybe Ruby's right. Maybe we should cut her hair short?"

"Who would trim it?" Weiss scoffed, plucking at one particularly bad knot. "She's not going to let us near her with a pair of scissors. Even if she did, I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"She's going to fight us no matter what we do at this point…"

"That's why I was trying to do it while she was actually in the bath." Weiss replied, knowing a thing or two about particularly unkempt hair. Missions having trained her well in gratuitous haircare. "I assumed if I doused the knots in conditioner I might stand a chance." She reached around to get a better look at the tangles. "You can see how well that worked out."

"Yep." Yang said dryly. "Looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way then."

"Seem so." Weiss agreed, pulling the brush from its hiding place in her apron pocket. "Hold her still."

Little ears flattened back at the sight of the brush. Her eyes narrowing at the offending object. She knew what it meant, and she wanted no part of it.

[No!] She growled as menacingly as she could. If she were older, it might have actually been intimidating, but her human captors could only regard her with sympathy.

Yang sighed with a knowing frown, gently smoothing out the messy black bangs. "Trust me squirt, we don't like this any more than you do."

The aggressive look melted away at the sight of Yang's fingers. Ace grabbed at them, examining and twiddling them about playfully.

"She's going to claw at us if we try to unknot these." Weiss said worriedly, biting her lip. "Hmm, perhaps we should wait for Blake. Ace doesn't seem to mind it so much when Blake brushes her hair."

"If we let her hair dry, it'll only hurt worse." Yang warned. "Besides, she's been in a bad mood all day. I don't think having Blake around will matter much."

Weiss smoothed out a section of black hair with her fingers, trying to work through a large tangle as gently as possible without having to use the brush if she could avoid it. "True, but I don't relish the thought of being used as a scratching post. This is such a mess, how does she even accomplish something like this?"

"Good question." Yang said, hiking Ace further up onto her hip. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Well, about the only one who doesn't come out of bath time unscathed is Blake." Yang winced when Ace nipped at her finger nail curiously.

Small Faunus had sharp claws, and Ace used them quite indiscriminately. Both while playing, and while upset. They were tiny, and sharp like a small kitten. None of them ever blamed her for it, but they still hurt. Part of the problem was that Ace lacked of control of her Faunus traits, something Blake promised she would learn as she got older.

Until then, they had to deal with the small hands that could claw through human aura, leaving catlike scratches in her wake.

"Alright, let's get started." Weiss said, resigning herself to the inevitable screeching. "You hold her still, and I will try to do this as quickly and painlessly as possible."

Another unhappy little growl morphed into a loud screech, and Yang resigned herself to the tiny pinpricks already dotting their way up her arms as Ace protested with all of her might.

It was on this typical Wednesday evening that Blake returned home more than a little tired. She was covered in the rustic joys of the outdoors, a mission done well and competed with a few lien for her troubles. It would be enough to cover part of the monthly bills, and there was a warm satisfaction in that. She picked a red maple leaf off of her clothing before stepping up to the door. She could hear the ruckus going on inside the home before she even entered. A smile tugged at her lips. Yang was yelling about something.

Entering in on the scene only proved her suspicions. "Under the couch again?" Blake asked with a note of humor lacing her voice.

"Yep…"

"Why?"

"Weiss brushed her hair."

"Ah, now it makes sense." Blake murmured setting the household lien down onto the coffee table. She would have to give it to Weiss later. "Sounds like that was an event in and of itself."

"Oh, you should have seen it." Yang explained, wearing another shirt that was mangled beyond repair. The skin beneath sporting angry red marks. "Ace screamed like we were killing her, and then she darted under the couch. She hasn't come out since."

Blake nodded slowly. "She likes it under there."

"Yeah, well I don't like that she likes it." Yang complained. It was clear that Ace had given several good attempts at trying to climb out of Yang's strong grip. Reaching for her little sister, she hollered once more as two sharp eye-teeth stabbed into her hand. "And what's with the biting?!" Yang shouted, pulling her hand away from the tiny terror. "What the hell did I did to deserve that?"

"Like you wouldn't bite someone who came after you with a brush…" Blake said, ears flattening back trying to drown out Yang's tirade. She bent down to get a look at the still very naked little girl who had managed to thwart every attempt at being removed from her favorite spot. "Hello trouble..."

A territorial growl was the only greeting Ace gave. [Mine.]

Blake raised her eyebrow. Her own body language placid as she considered that small detail. She had no interest in the space between the floor and the sofa, and she certainly wouldn't claim it as her own. [Yours…] She wordlessly agreed with a docile flick of her ear. Then she issued a small meow of her own. [Come here.]

[No.] She growled lowly, ears flattening back as she scooted further into the corner.

Blake cleared her throat, sitting up to see Yang giving her an impatient look.

"Well?" The blonde asked.

"She's certainly in a bad mood today…"

"What's her problem? I didn't do anything." Yang said, flaring her aura around the two puncture wounds.

"No, not yet." Blake said offhandedly. "That said, I'd be willing to bet that you were trying to put her in clothes."

"Actually, I gave up on that too…" Yang trailed off sheepishly, her thumb brushing away the two droplets of blood that remained after the bite had healed. She whipped it away on a napkin, crumpling it up to dispose of it later. "I was just trying to get her to eat."

"I'll get her." Blake too, was met with angry little mewls of displeasure, as the small child backed further into the corner and just out of reach. This undeterred the older Faunus who reached out and grabbed Ace, aura flaring around the small teeth that dug into her arm. She let it persist, ignoring the line of spittle as the little girl chewed and chewed. "Yang…" Blake said softly as she winced at a new realization. No wonder she was gnawing. "She's cutting a few more teeth I think."

"How does that not hurt?"

"Because her teeth can't cut through my aura yet. I'm a cat Faunus, same as her. Besides, she's just a baby." Blake said as she started to rub at little ears, soothing away the soft growling that was lowly morphing into purrs. "It'll be years before she'll have a strong enough bite through an aura like mine."

"Yeah, well she better knock it off." Yang shot back, more than a little angry. "That really hurts."

"She's just playing, Yang."

"She broke the skin!" Yang barked. "That's not playing."

Blake wrapped Ace in a blanket, watching the little girl claw, bite, and scratch at her arm. A low wine working up from the back of her throat, frustrated and unhappy as she worked her jaw against Blake's thumb. Her mouth obviously bothering her. "She is a predator Faunus, pretending to hunt is part of playing. Plus, she's still teething. It's probably driving her crazy."

"Yeah, well I'm not a mouse." Yang sighed grumpily.

"Your hand might as well be. If you thought teasing me with a laser pointer back at Beacon was all fun and games, think again." Blake told her. "I was practically an adult and I was drawn to it. What do you think she's going to do if she sees something enticing flailing around in her hiding place?"

Thoroughly chastised and feeling more than a little embarrassed for being reminded of her lapse in judgement, she relented. "Okay, okay, so maybe I was being an idiot... I don't know…"

"No, you were being you, and normally she loves that. She's just in a bad mood, that's all." Blake said softly as she wrangled the little girl into a diaper and one of her shirts. Anything else was a lost cause in the comfort of their own home. Before she knew it, Ace was running off again. "Where are Weiss and Ruby?"

Yang offered only a passing glance as she sat down and put her feet up. "Weiss ditched. Said she needed some space."

"She's probably having tea with Ren and Pyrrha then."

"My thoughts." Yang said, blipping on the television and leaning back to get comfortable. "And Ruby…" Yang shrugged. "Well, she came in here looking like death warmed over. She barely crawled into the shower, and then tried to eat dinner only to pass out at the table."

"Classy…"

"Right? I hauled her into bed and that's the last I heard of her." She reached over to hold a lamp in place as her young half-sister proved her brazen disregard for fear. "Ace, don't you dare."

Little ears flicked, crimson eyes looking to Yang curiously. Then she yanked on the cord.

"Ace!" Yang snapped sharply.

[Kin.] Ace mewed, red eyes flicking up to her older sister. She looked at the cord again, deciding pulling the lamp off the table would be a bad idea.

"I swear, sometimes I think Grimm are less trouble." Yang sighed, slowly releasing the lamp. She kept watching her sister intently just in case Ace went for it again.

"You only have yourself to blame." Blake laughed as she walked into the kitchen. "I'll bet you that's your side of the family acting up."

"Ya think?" Yang called sarcastically, with the tiniest of smirks. The popping of a tin can couldn't have come at a better time as Ace rushed to the kitchen. She knew what that sound was. "On your sixth, Blake." She warned, which of course meant that Ace was now behind her, clearly looking for handouts in the form of whatever canned fish she thought Blake had just opened.

"She's not going to be happy, because this isn't dinner." Blake called back. "Or anything she can have."

"Oh?"

"It was a new can of sweetened condensed milk." Blake explained loud enough for Yang to hear from the other room. She could already feel Ace clawing at her pant leg already, tiny mews issuing from the young Faunus. The little girl was still too young for milk products though. Blake wasn't even sure if Ace would ever be able to tolerate them.

"What for?"

"If Ruby has as bad a day as you implied, she would probably appreciate some homemade hot chocolate." Blake told her partner. "I thought I would make her some."

Yang raised an eyebrow, standing up, and going into the kitchen. "You've been doing that kind of thing a lot, lately."

"Don't even think about it." Blake said, warming a mixture in a pan over low heat.

"No, I'm serious." Yang said, picking Ace up when the little girl raced for her. "You've been looking after Ruby a lot recently. I just wondered what was up with that." With her youngest sister safely on her hip, Yang meandered over to the fridge, grabbing a jar of ground up meat.

"She's been taking over a lot of my charity work recently."

"Yeah, I noticed that too."

"Well, I really appreciate that."

"Why aren't you doing it yourself?"

"Why do you think?" Blake shot back, sparing a glance over her shoulder. "I've got to stay near Vale for the time being."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that."

"It's fine, Yang." Her golden eyes flicked to the troublesome young Faunus who gave the humans of the house a run for their sanity. Yang and Weiss tried their best, but Ace was a very head strong little girl. As a Faunus, her teeth and claws made it very difficult to handle her without restraint. Blake didn't have the same problems, being a Faunus herself, and so it was just easier to stay near the wayward youth. "Doing these little things for Ruby is just my way of saying thank you."

"Uh-huh..." Yang muttered unconvinced. "You sure that's it?"

"Yes, I'm sure..."

"Well, okay. If you say so."

"Listen, I'm just trying to do the right thing." Blake turned to her blonde haired friend. "Ruby's been working so hard to keep our charity endeavors afloat. She doesn't have to, but she does. The Faunus in the streets need help. With every job they get and meal they're fed, they're less likely to join extremist groups." She doubted that Yang would ever truly understand the allure of the White Fang, and other originations like it. The blonde just wasn't that inclined to cruelty, and violence came with a territory. "It's not her burden to bear, Yang, but she still does it anyways…"

"It's not your burden either, Blake." Yang rebutted as she watched her sister munch on the late afternoon snack. "It's not your job to save every single Faunus that looses their way."

"That's just it, though, Yang. It is my problem." Blake shot back. "It's why I became a huntress, to make the Faunus plight my burden. I can't help but feel like Ruby's pushing herself too hard to do all of this for my sake. Plus, with you and Weiss pulling all of those cargo missions lately..." Blake trailed off.

"Hey, I get you." Yang said with a small smirk. "You don't have to explain."

"And you don't need to go around getting the wrong idea." Blake said, turning back to the warming milk on the stove. "I agreed to stay behind because it makes the most sense that I keep an eye on Ace. At least until she's older and has better control over herself." The Faunus said, forcing the words out of her mouth. The denial would be easier to come by if she didn't have to look Yang in the eye. "Still, I have to admit, seeing Ruby come home so tired all the time makes me feel bad. A small thing like hot chocolate is the least I can do..."

Opulence was a thing of the past. So easily given to her because of bloodline and privilege, and so easily taken away by those same circumstances. She'd let go of any notion of wealth the moment she chose to be a huntress. It was not a job coveted by those in prime positions of power. Any renown she might gather was crippled by the ominous stories spun by the wealthy. People who knew nothing about the dangers beyond the kingdom walls. Grimm were not a threat deterred by money, no matter how much someone decided to throw at it.

Traipsing around in the wilderness was not her strongest suit either.

She was a huntress for hire. She expected to be compensated adequately for her time and efforts. Those who couldn't pay just weren't worth it. While it was true that some might think her a cold hearted woman, the truth came closer to the soul than she cared to admit. She had a household the relied heavily on her earnings. Team members that wouldn't be able to continue their own endeavors without funds to secure supplies and ammunition.

Blake would never have been able to volunteer her time at the soup kitchens if the team didn't find earnings elsewhere. Ruby would not be able to take costly exterminations missions out of the goodness of her heart if they couldn't fund the ventures from their own pockets.

In an ideal world, no job would ever need to be turned down. However, ideology alone didn't keep the lights on or put food on the table.

What sat in front of her was a thick packet. Inside, lay a single answer to many difficult questions that kept cropping up lately. It was almost too good to be true, but, the stipulations were long lasting as well. With warm tea to steady her thoughts, she gazed across the table to the woman she considered a dear friend.

"Are you sure?" She asked, fingers taking hold of the teacup and allowing herself a slow sip. The gentle clinking of the teacup against its matching saucer was too brief a distraction.

"Positive." Pyrrha replied with a tiny nod. "With Jaune and I going, there are going to be two other openings. I wanted you to have the first opportunity."

"Ren and Nora aren't taking them?"

"No, they've both politely declined." Pyrrha said, a waning smile indicating her just how uneasy that made her. Team JNPR had been a steadfast team, just like the members of RWBY. They were bound together, family, even if the word itself wasn't openly used. "I can't say I'm surprised. They want to have the freedom to take missions as they please."

"Yes, I see. That makes sense." Weiss told her. "Nora has always been something of a free spirit."

"Quite so." Pyrrha laughed gently. "Well, at least this way we'll have someone to look over the house."

"I'm surprised you've wanted to recruit from team RWBY, though." Weiss told her, more than a little nervous about the far reaching implications.

"Is it an unfavorable request?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that." Weiss managed a smile of her own, shaking her head at the question with a small laugh. "With Ace to look after, we're not the team we used to be. We can't just pack our things and leave on a moment's notice anymore."

"Well, there would only be room for two of you…"

Weiss felt uncomfortable even thinking about it, but, the earnings would be too large to ignore. "Perhaps that isn't exactly a bad thing."

"Personally, I would take comfort knowing that any of you were there." Pyrrha told her. "That's something I don't say lightly. If we're going to be cohabitating with other hunters, I'd like to be well acquainted with them. With Team CFVY filling the other four positions, it only makes sense for members of RWBY to fill in the remaining two spots."

"Well, I'd be happy to take a position. We could certainly use the money. However, I would have to speak to Yang before I could agree." Weiss said, her fingers falling atop the recruitment package. "She's my assigned mission partner for the time being. It would be a lot to ask of her, I don't know if she'll agree."

"Take your time and talk it over as a team." Pyrrha insisted. "You need to do what's best for all of you. I just wanted you to know that the offer is on the table."

Another chapter is headed your way shortly.