Significant Changes: Two new scenes added. One between Ruby and Weiss. One between Ruby and Ren. One scene was moved to the next chapter. The rest of this is old content, merely added onto. Themes have been heavily expanded here.

Original chapter length: 1,990
Revisited chapter length: 2,988
"Regular dialogue" [Faunus speech only]

Chapter 15

Late at night, the children's programming line-up ended in favor infomercials. The long-winded and repetitive programming ran until sunrise. The low drone of men in suits showcasing the latest technology flickered across the screen. The soft glow of the television flickering in the otherwise dark room.

That was what Yang entered in on one morning when she was trying to wake up early. The clock showed that the sun wasn't likely to rise for another hour. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, her gaze falling upon a more interesting sight. Half of the household had clearly fallen asleep on the couch last night.

Ace was laying across Ruby, using the woman as a human mattress. Little clawed fingers digging into the cotton shirt, just as always.

Yang was sure that Blake hadn't intended to fall asleep curled into Ruby. She doubted that the lone human on the sofa was aware of where her hand wandered in her sleep. Still the shared purring of the two sleeping Faunus meant that something went right. Even if that something was merely that none of them were currently lucid enough to know what was happening amongst them.

Ignoring the plethora of smart-ass remarks she could have made about it, she went into the kitchen. Weiss was already hunched over the table. The bleary eyed woman sipping on some well-deserved coffee. The dark blend thick in the air.

"What in the hell happened to you?" Yang asked grumpily, noticing her friend's rather unkempt appearance. Her long white hair in a disarray of tangles. Dark circles under her eyes telling Yang that Weiss hadn't slept well.

"Mission day." Weiss said before drowning herself in rather undignified gulp of the caffeinated substance. "Take that as you will."

"I thought you had today off…"

"So did I, but Ruby's been running herself ragged." She licked her lips, sighing deeply as the clarity began to take hold. "Blake finally convinced Ruby to stay home and rest. The only problem is, she has a mission that can't go on unfinished. Naturally, I got roped into it."

It wasn't a complete surprise, but, Yang found a mild entertainment in her friend's rant. "What's the mission?"

"Clearing out the boarders around the city." Weiss told her unhappily, lifting the cup to her lips only to find that it was empty. With a scowl she headed directly to the coffee pot to obtain more. "A few nests were found near the paths. Merchants and traders are getting restless."

"Huh…" Yang said under her breath. "Grunt work?"

"So it seems." Weiss said making a beeline for the table and plopping herself back down.

A beat of silence followed.

"Need help?" the blonde asked, arms stretching over her head. A long yawn slipping out. The smell of the warm drink in the air was too good to ignore.

"Unlikely."

"What's the briefing look like?" Pouring her own mug full dark coffee, Yang took a sip. The contents steamed thickly as she poured in a splash of milk for good measure.

Weiss wordlessly pushed the mission briefing across the table. It was too easy for a huntress as skilled as herself. However, according to the reports the hordes weren't manageable by a team of students. "It's obvious why Ruby accepted it."

"Team of fourth years got their asses handed to them, huh?" Yang shook her head. "They don't make students like they used to."

"I'd like to consider that a good thing." Weiss told her, the wayward thought sleepily skittering beyond her lips. "It means that we live in relatively peaceful times. We should hope the trend continues."

"Yeah… You keep thinking that." Yang said, closing the folder and yawning again. "You look beat. You must have gotten in late."

Weiss nodded, the implication clear. "Pyrrha and I were just discussing a long term mission assignment."

"Oh?"

"It's time for the yearly recruitment along the walls." Weiss nodded, tucking her chin into her palm. "Several older hunters are slated for retirement and positions are opening. I hear that that team CFVY have all accepted the assignment."

"The wall assignments are for lazy hunters who don't give a rat's ass about the outlying forests and supply routes." Yang shot back, but Weiss had already thought long and hard about it. "Can those lazy wall guards even call themselves huntsmen?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. She had expected that reaction. "Well, they'd have to be certified somehow…"

"You know what I mean."

"I agree that it isn't a glamorous position, and that some might find it lazy." She told Yang, her finger running the rim of her mug. "I know you think it's the coward's way out…"

"No shit." Yang grumbled.

"However, those positions are also an option for hunters with families." Weiss said pointedly, seeing vivid lilac eyes glare at her. "It's just a thought."

"Okay..." Yang said, putting down her mug. "I'm listening."

The only question was, how to make the job sound appealing for Yang? Weiss didn't know for sure, but the facts should have spoken for themselves. She could only sigh, hoping the cold truth would be enough. "The walls around Vale are the defense we count on the most. It's a mental comfort to the people. It helps to keep the peace. Seeing the hunters stationed on the walls, gates, and outposts gives everyone courage."

"Right…"

"It pays well too, Yang." Weiss dryly stated.

"How well?"

"Salary, not commission. It's a steady paycheck." Weiss explained looking down into her own coffee in thought. A fingernail gently tapping on the marbled heatproof glass. "Hunters with families like working the walls. It's close by, too, so that's something to consider."

"Lots of bonuses by the sounds of it." Yang said slowly. "I'd bet it's all too good to be true, calling it right now."

Weiss lifted her eyes to Yang. "It's like an Atlas military base in some ways. We'd stay on site while on active duty. Our close proximity to Vale means we'd be able to check in on days off."

"You're thinking of going?"

Weiss nodded. "Pyrrha was considering taking a post. They work in teams of two though, like Beacon all over again. Pyrrha would rather not be assigned a partner she doesn't know, if she can avoid it."

This surprised Yang, the blonde nearly choking on her coffee. "Wait, Jaune's not going?"

"He is…" Weiss said slowly. "However, it's not quite so simple. For room assignments and patrols they bunk in groups of eight."

"Full alliances, huh?" Yang scratched her head. "Why that many?"

"Each segment holds a full squadron of sixteen. I can only assume it's to save space." Weiss shrugged then. "Coco propositioned JNPR for the extra four slots in their room, but Ren and Nora declined. Pyrrha wanted to offer our team the remaining two bunks."

"And you wanna say yes…" Yang trailed off. "That about sum it up?"

"Given our finical situation, I think we should consider it."

"The pay is that good?"

"Well, far better than we make now, that's for sure. It would make sense for two of us to team up and bring in some real income around here." Weiss had already decided she was going to join. It would be for the best. Now, she just had to convince Yang. "Starting salary is twenty grand a year, just a little bit over Vale's minimum wage."

"Forty total in household funds…" Yang murmured, starting to see the upside in such a plan. "That's only if two of us go…"

"We make about thirty grand among all four of us on a good year." Weiss said. "I don't belittle all of the charity work that Ruby and Blake do, but breaking even finically isn't going to keep the lights on around here."

"Yeah, living off what we make hasn't been so easy…"

"Plus, working within the walls doesn't conflict with our interests remotely." Weiss told her. "Money is money…and it is, as you say, a relatively safe position for a hunter. We'd be around more consistently too. If we didn't have to take the higher paying field missions, we'd be nearby if anything happens."

"One of the safest." Yang muttered more to herself than to the woman across from her.

It was the same thing as an easy ride or cushy desk job. Only a handful of hunters stationed along the walls died every year due to a Grimm infestation. The same could not be said for the hunters sent out into the field. Their tolls were much, much higher. So high in fact, that Yang didn't even dare to look at the numbers.

When Weiss put it that way, there really was only one option.

"Alright…" Yang sighed at length. "I'll think about it…"

Convincing Yang was one thing, but it would be even harder to get Ruby to agree to let them leave. Yang could be brought to reason with a handful of simple logic. Ruby simply didn't think the same way. Lofty goals and a knack for obscurity made her an excellent leader. Her bleeding heart made it impossible to fathom the colder truths of this world.

She was too kind and gentle for that despite bloodied hellholes she chose to trudge as a huntress.

"Weiss, are you sure you want to do this?" Ruby asked, looking at the paperwork she'd need to sign. "If you go, it'll dissolve our team."

"That's true, but, I'll be in service to Vale." Weiss told her reasonably. "That's a fair trade-off."

"Yeah, but we're losing a teammate in the process." Ruby complained, tossing the paperwork onto the bedside table as she crossed the room and sat next to her partner and roommate. "I know we're not as close as we used to be, but I didn't think you'd just want to leave."

"I hate it when you say things like that. Whenever you do, you start to sound like the clingy teenager I met back in Beacon." Weiss chastised, flicking Ruby on the forehead before shaking her head. "I know it might not seem like it, but we're as close as we ever were. I'll thank you not to doubt that."

"But?" Ruby pressed, already feeling the rebuttal in the air.

"Reality as not as kind as we'd like to think it is." Weiss told her.

"That's why we do what we do, Weiss." Ruby said. "If I bench you from team missions, the world will be a lot less kind. More Grimm running around doesn't exactly made the world a better place."

"As noble as that is, it's time we start demanding a little more for all of our efforts." Weiss firmly believed that. "You know, I used to pride myself on making our shoestring budget last. The problem is, it just isn't sustainable anymore."

"What, did we miss another house payment?"

"No, Ruby. That's not the problem." Weiss said with a sigh. "Listen, it's time we stop and think critically about the future of this team. If we're really the family that you and Yang constantly insist that we are, you should accept that distance is sometimes a requirement in our field of expertise."

"And you think working the wall is going to solve our problems?" Ruby said dubiously.

"Monetarily speaking, it's a very good start." Blue eyes scanned the room. It was small, the whole house was. They'd never be able to afford a larger one without making a larger income to go along with it. "Let's be realistic. You and Yang grew up in luxury compared to this house. This is not the place to raise a child, but, here we are."

"I think we're not doing too badly, all things considered."

"It's the best we can do for now. I'm not going to argue that, but face the facts. It just isn't sustainable." And that was the entire problem. The single greatest concern they all worried about.

Ruby did too.

She bit her lip, stifling a curse as she regarded Weiss seriously. A hand pushed through her dark strands of hair. She wanted to deny it, but, she couldn't. Too many sleepless nights had drilled that single fact into her mind more than once. "We can make do, we always have before…"

"For how long?"

"I don't know."

"Have you even thought about that?" Weiss asked her. "We bought this house because it was a huge upgrade compared to a small dorm. In the long run it won't fit five of us comfortably, not as Ace gets older. The way that I see it, this place will last a few years at maximum. We're going to need a bigger home eventually. Ace will need a room of her own one day. We could use another bathroom at the very least."

"We'll worry about it then."

"And be sorely unprepared once we do." Weiss shook her head. "Ruby, you put me in charge of our finances because I have a firm grasp on the cost of living and a background in investments. I'm telling you that now is the time to start thinking about these sorts of details for the future. If we want to qualify for a halfway decent loan, we will absolutely need a larger income. This is one of the few ways we can guarantee that we get it."

She reached for the paper and pen, holding them aloft. "Sign it, Ruby. If you care about Ace at all, you have to do it."

Paperwork in hand, Ruby had a lot to think about. It seemed impossible to dismantle the team. After the years spent together, the ending of an era wasn't on Ruby's agenda. She never thought it would come down to something so pragmatic the bills. Money was an afterthought to her original goal in life. A shift in lifestyle had been felt among the entire team, but this seemed a step too far.

She wondered what others might think of it. Soul searching on her own only made her dread the results. Uncertainty rested heavily on shoulders as the concept buried deeper. On the one hand, Weiss was right, but on the other, Ruby wondered if she wasn't somehow horribly wrong. Dissolving the team in this way held a permanence unlike any other.

"And, did you sign it?" Ren asked calmly, his eyes closed as he leaned back against the bark of the tree.

Training his aura required him to relax. To focus on anything other than the emotions surrounding him. In order to use his semblance effectively, he needed a clear head. Working with the flow of ciaos instead of rebelling against it. Accepting it flawlessly, and coping as diligently with the stressors of daily life as he could muster.

Without the careful time to center himself, his aura would be useless. It was fitting then, that the people he chose to train with often pressed the limits of his abilities. His teammates and friends were unlike him, lacking a relaxed demeanor when it mattered most.

"Not yet." Ruby told him, a mirror image of the man sitting across from her. She also sat beneath a nearby tree, back resting against the bark. She could feel the breeze in the air, but it wasn't as soothing to her senses as it was for Ren. His training was always so centered compared to her own. She felt restless and fidgety. Her aura wasn't suited to being stationary. Calling upon it and then sitting still only managed to make a mess of rose petals where she sat.

"Hmm." He acknowledged softly. "Why not?"

"I don't know." She said, bitterly flicking away another petal. It was a fight just to keep her eyes closed and her breathing steady. "It sort of feels like an ending of an era."

"Maybe so." He told her. "Is that so bad?"

"I don't want to beak the team in half."

"Still, there are merits in what she says." Ren supplied, only fueling Ruby's own annoyance on the subject. "If there weren't, then you wouldn't be so conflicted about it."

There was no vindication down that line of thought. Even worse, there was no comfort in the reality that would ultimately present itself. If she didn't sign, they'd always struggle with money problems. If she did, there was no telling what the future would bring. She took her responsibilities as a team leader upon her shoulders for years, refusing to believe in another way. Things had always worked out, but now, team dynamics had taken a sharp lurch in a direction that none of them fully knew how to cope with.

"There has to be a better way." She said with a sigh. "I just don't know what that is. If I can't give a better option, what else am I supposed to do?"

"That I can't tell you." He murmured, cracking his eyes open long enough to look at her form. Tense and troubled. "Our circumstances are not the same as yours." He closed his eyes to the darkness releasing a soft breath. "I think you need to do what's best for everyone. I also think that upon further inspection you'll find that Weiss may be onto something."

"Maybe..." Ruby said, flicking away another petal.

"Well, the real question is; what's the harm in trying?"

She couldn't say anything. The question itself was something she didn't even know how to answer. She couldn't find the words, huffing a low sigh in agitation. Leadership had never been so hard. Especially when the outcome would lead to an end of that role. "What about you?" She asked feeling her throat tighten at the mere thought. "Doesn't it bother you?"

"We disbanded our team formally as of last week." He said as though it was the simplest thing in the world. "It doesn't make us any less than what we were before. Those ties can't be broken by a piece of paper."

Ruby just nodded at his easygoing answer. Deep down though, there lingered a wholly unsatisfying thought.

Maybe there really wasn't a better way...

Maybe, sending Weiss and Yang to patrol the wall was the only way to keep everyone together.

Thursday updates are now resuming properly, hope you enjoyed this one. See you all next week.