Significant Changes: Completely new scenes have been added. I hope you like it. The reason there was no update last week was due to thanksgiving festivities.

Original chapter length: 1,602
Revisited chapter length: 2,178

"Regular dialogue" [Faunus speech only]

Chapter 21

"Ren, I missed one." Nora said urgently over the feed of their connected scrolls.

"It's already in flight." The man replied a moment later over the sounds of his own gunfire. "Ruby…"

The solver eyed woman searched the skies, licking her lips as she found her target. "I've got it."

A blast of a red dust round fired into the air lading a solid hit on a juvenile nevermore making a flight. Knocking the creature's wing Ruby fired three more shots in rapid succession, one hitting its head and two burrowing deep into its chest. The Grimm took a nose dive, turning to black ash before it even landed on the ground.

"Nice shot." Nora laughed.

"Lucky, maybe. I really hate the little ones. They're harder to shoot." Ruby said under her breath as she shot down another small nevermore.

"Not me, they're easier to squash." Nora said, the sound of her hammer making an impact punctuating the statement. "Crap…."

"Only if you can catch them…" Ren told her, the sound of his own gunfire taking down the small bird.

"See!" Nora explained. "See what happens when I don't put my finger in a light socket before missions?"

"Last time you did that, you took out the power grid for our entire city block." Ruby told her unhappily. "I've never seen Weiss that mad before."

"She also blew out the windows in our bedroom." Ren recalled, equally unamused.

"Yeah, but I needed it…" Nora pouted slightly.

"That's debatable." Ren simply sighed gently, a fondness lacing his voice. "Anyway, I think that was the last of the flock…"

"We should probably do another perimeter check." Nora said, the sounds of a bush rattling sent feedback into Ruby's earpiece. "These little buggers hide everywhere when they hatch."

"Right." Ren said then.

"The air is clear right now." Ruby told them from her position. "I'm pretty sure we've scared off all the wildlife in the area by now. I doubt there's any Grimm left, either."

"Hopefully it stays that way." Ren said. "If not we'll be out here in a week cleaning up the mess again."

"I'd rather not do that if I can avoid it." Ruby sighed as she adjusted her aim and rolled her shoulders to break up the tension that had built there. The role of a sniper wasn't one to take idly. It demanded a steady hand and plenty of patience. "Beacon's getting a huge invoice on these dust rounds." She murmured under her breath as she counted what was left of her supply.

For several hours, she watched the world through the sight of her scope. Finger brushing ever so gently across the trigger as she waited for retreating Grimm to emerge from the smattering of foliage in the distance. Occasionally she would see blasts of dust and hear the pattering's of low ballistic gunfire. The loud reverberating sound of Nora's hammer made a shift in the air as it passed through the trees.

"Nest three is down." Nora replied into her scroll. "Moving on to nest four."

Ruby blinked, chancing a moment to get a drink from her canteen before returning to her watchful position in the tree once more. It was her least favorite way to exterminate Grimm. She wanted to be down where the action was. Light on her feet and slaying the beasts with deadly precision.

"Nest four is in the rocky outcropping five clicks northwest." Ren's reply followed.

"I'll have to relocate." Ruby told then. "There's no easy visual from here."

"You go on ahead, and let us know when you've found a new one." Ren responded a moment later. "Nora and I will catch up."

"Rodger that." Ruby replied, affixing her canteen on her hip and her weapon upon her back. Launching herself out of the tree she sped through the forest in record time.

The alley reeked, two huntresses holding their noses as they made their way passed a series of dumpsters and a set of double doors. "You can put your weapon in my locker along with mine. We can't carry them out into the service room." Ruby told Nora once they entered the back room of the food kitchen.

"Well, now that I'm here, what do I do?" Nora asked as Ruby pulled down two clean aprons from the shelf next to the door. "I'm not exactly a good cook, you know."

"You won't have to cook. We take just have to take care of people. First we put these aprons on, and then since we're going to be passing around food we need to wash our hands." Ruby told Nora, giving her one of the white aprons before putting on her own. "We're not going to be stationed in the kitchen so we don't need the plastic gloves and hairnets."

"We don't?" Nora asked.

"Nope, there should already be wrapped packages, all we need to do is pass those around with a bottle of water." grabbing to small kits, she handed one to Nora. "Sometimes we give basic first-aid to someone if they need it. There are medical gloves in the kit."

"First aid?" Nora muttered as she made her way to the sink to scrub up. "What, do they get into a lot of fights?"

"Bar brawls after dark mostly." Ruby said with a shrug. "A lot of the Faunus fight until they've bused their aura. Most don't go to doctors, so wounds get infected if they aren't treated."

A wave of concern flushed over Nora's features. "Why would they let injuries get that bad? There's a clinic is down the road."

"A lot of the people here are ex-White Fang. Having a criminal history is enough reason to stay out of the medical centers for a lot of them." Ruby said with a little shrug while also washing her hands. "Some of them probably have rap-sheets a mile long. Anyway, careful of those people. Some of them really don't like humans…"

It was true that teams RWBY and JNPR had grown somewhat close during their formative years in training, spending plenty of time together in-between classes. It was also true that some friendships ran deeper than others. It was simply the way of things, and nobody thought too deeply about the commonalties that bound the friends together.

Often, Blake never really thought about it at all.

Yet, the Faunus could not deny that Nora was an invaluable friend to keep. Truthfully, she had never really grown an attachment to the hyperactive woman. She was a friend, sure, but she was never Blake's first choice as a companion. They simply had different interests and preferences that kept them from forming a deeper bond.

She smiled, setting down two plastic boxes onto a nearby the table "Hey you're earlier than I thought you'd be. Did the mission end well?"

"Better than expected." Ruby shrugged gently.

"The nests were really small." Nora added in. "The Grimm weren't even fully grown get."

"No but there were a lot of them." Ruby said taking the top box. "So what's the allotment today?"

"Everyone gets a sandwich and tomato soup. Every adult receives a bottle of water each. Children get to choose between water or apple juice." Blake told them, ripping a chunk of ham from the bone it clung to, passing it beneath the counter. "If you two want to get started on the sandwiches and drinks, I can get started on the soup."

"Sounds good to me." Nora said happily, grabbing one of the boxes and speeding off towards the first waiting table of Faunus.

"Be careful of the shadows, Nora." Ruby called after her. "Hey, where's Ace?"

"Where do you think?" Blake said, tapping the counter. "She found out that if she waits under the counter I let her eat the fatty scraps."

"Ew…" Ruby said crinkling her nose.

"You don't know what's good." Blake grinned flipping a fatty morsel in the air, catching it in her mouth. "We can't pass out the fatty edges anyway. Why let it go to waste?"

"You mean besides the fact it's really bad to eat that stuff?" Ruby asked.

"It isn't any worse than the junk food you eat?" Blake shrugged, passing Ace another small morsel.

Ruby could only shake her head, failing to hide her amusement. "You win that one. I'm going to go get started."

Blake watched as Ruby took the box and caught up to Nora on one side of the room.

Blake respected Nora as a huntress. She clung to a noble cause that was not unlike her own. Equally valid, and deeply ingrained into everything that she stood for. Choosing to help protect outlying villages was an effort that should never go ignored. Especially not when help could be difficult to come by. There were some settlements that had difficulty finding aid, and Nora was completely indiscriminant. Any village to seek help was a village worthy of the undertaking.

It didn't matter the danger, or the impossibility of it all.

Nora had never turned down a job, even when she should have. Out of the goodness in her heart, she ventured to places even Ruby wouldn't dare. Far from home, help, and sometimes even all hope was lost. With Ren at her side, she would still make the trip. Nora saw more death and darkness than anyone else they knew. Her reasons buried deep, never spoken.

Blake knew that even if little tied them as friends, she could deeply respect that.

As the hours dragged on, Nora and Ruby stood together, dolling out sandwiches to the needy. Blake followed after with hot cups of soup and a bag of complimentary toiletries. Ace followed after them eagerly, looking for handouts that wasn't hers to receive. Finally, Ruby simply picked her up and carried the girl on her back.

In honesty, Blake was thankful for the fact that Nora thought to volunteer at all. She certainly didn't have to. This was a Faunus shelter, and as a human Nora had her own people to worry over. Human shelters could be just as overcrowded, if not more so. Many homeless Faunus were criminals, unable to step foot in the establishment for fear of being arrested.

Still, Nora didn't think that way. Didn't even consider for a moment that her work in this shelter was misplaced. That she might belong elsewhere. No, she just continued to pass around food and water without even thinking twice.

Homeless White Fang crowded the corners. Most of them were still peaceful, if not weary of the human help passing them by. Still, most humans helping in the shelter didn't go near the shadows, fearing being hurt or worse. Not Nora though. Like anything else, she flippantly disregarded the warnings to steer clear, even when they came from Ruby.

Ruby wasn't so fearless.

Blake watched her cautiously approaching a growling man hidden in the darkness. His threat was clear, even if it wasn't something he would ever dare carry out. He'd be banned from the shelter if he ever harmed a volunteer. Ruby placed his meal in front of him slowly before edging away again. She didn't dare turn her back until she was well out of reach. It was only then that he glimpsed the little Faunus strapped to her back. Ace happily gnawing on a small hunk of fatty ham to keep her busy.

"I think that's everyone." Nora said, returning with an empty box.

"For now." Ruby told her. "There are usually two dinner rushes. Others will be coming later."

"So what do we do until then?" Nora asked, looking over at the messy food-station that was being cleaned off by a few other workers.

"You two are done here." Blake told Nora, taking the empty box from her. "Humans aren't permitted to be here after dark."

"Huh, why not?" Nora said sadly.

"It's just a rule." Ruby said with a shrug. "I don't really get it either."

"It's to keep everyone safe." Blake said as the three of them pushed passed the metal doors leading to the back room. Even more volunteers were milling around, preparing more sandwiches and hot soup. "I know it doesn't look it, but this is a bad part of town."

"We've seen worse, though." Nora shot back. "I mean, it's better than down by the docks, right?"

"Hmm." Blake nodded. "The problem is, there's no telling how many aggressive White Fang live in these parts. They lay low during the day and come out at night. Tensions are high enough without someone getting hurt. The last thing anyone needs to hear is that a scuffle broke out."

"I need to take Ace home anyway." Ruby said, untying her apron and throwing it in the bin to be washed. Then she untied the wrap holding Ace in place, gently setting the girl on the floor. "I don't want to make the walk home with her in the dark if I don't have to."

"Are you sure that there's nothing else you need help with?" Nora asked, leaning heavily on a crumb covered counter.

"I'm sure, Nora. I'd rather you stay with Ruby. If something happens, she can't exactly defend herself with a baby on her hip." Blake said with a tiny nod. "Thanks for helping today though. I know it doesn't seem like it, but just being here matters. The more humans that come to help out, the more Faunus can see that a real community waits for them beyond the criminal acts."

"Yeah!" She chirped happily as she began to untie her own apron. "No problem. I was glad to help."

"The sun's already set behind the clouds." Blake told them, a hand falling onto Ruby's shoulder carefully. "Watch yourselves out there." She murmured, thumb brushing along the fabric of Ruby's cloak before her hand came free of the fabric. "And call me when you get home."

"We always do." Ruby told her gently, affixing her weapon to her back and putting Ace onto her hip. "Get home safe. It's going to rain tonight."

"I will." She said, patting Ace on the head before sending them off.

"You better, because I'm going to be waiting up." Ruby said before pushing open the large metals doors.