Significant Changes: Two new scenes, which is why this is so "short". Other scenes have been moved to a different place in the fiction.
Original chapter length: 2,143
Revisited chapter length: 1,522
"Regular dialogue" [Faunus speech only]
Chapter 22
The forecast called for rain, but it was obvious that a storm was working its way closer to Vale. The feeling of the cold front had been undeniable on the way back home. Nora had been excited, planning all the ways she might capture a wayward lightning bolt to store for later. Nora's exuberance was undeniable. Ruby only wished she could share the same sentiments, but storms were always foreboding when Ace was involved.
Ace was afraid of storms, though Ruby supposed any child would be easily upset by them. It wasn't just the gusting winds and booming thunder, it was the truths that would lay beyond them.
"That can't be good." Ruby murmured to herself, as thick black clouds gathered in the distance. A light flashed on the outskirts of the kingdom, a storm headed their way. Taking a quick walk around the house, she closed up all the windows before watching the storm get closer. Thick drops of rain started to thump against the windows. The rain shower turning more aggressive as the wind kicked up.
Ruby glanced towards the sleeping toddler sprawled out across the floor. She could only hope that Ace wouldn't wake up. Hefting the sleeping toddler off the floor like a sack of potatoes, she laid her down gently on the sofa. Sitting beside the girl, Ace began to stir restlessly in her dream. Tiny ears flicking as the sound of the wind howling grew louder. Ruby calmly looked outside and rubbed the little girl's back to soothe her. Occasionally her silver eyes idly glanced to the weather forecast.
In spite of the drone of the television, the house was too quiet.
She could hear the shower running down the hall, Blake working to scrub away the chilly drizzle that had begun to fall on her way home. The sound was soothing until it cut off completely. Another flash in the distance lit up the sky. Ruby turned up the sound on the television a little, in hopes that it would help to keep the storm from waking Ace.
"Looks like a storm's brewing." Blake said coming out of the bathroom donning one of her yukatas. Drying her hair with a fluffy green towel, her ears twitched around in search of the storm. "It seems like I just missed the heavy downfall. I guess I was lucky this time, huh?"
"Yeah, I hope that Yang and Weiss aren't going to be busy tonight."
"Rain breeds melancholy, and that attracts Grimm." Blake told her. "It can't be helped."
"You don't think there's going to be an inbound infestation, do you?" Ruby asked, gazing out the window.
"Hmm, no. It probably won't be any worse than the usual sorts that come out of hiding…"
"They're still going to need to clean that mess up, though."
"That's part of the job." Blake told her. "Although, that reminds me that we need to update our bug-out bags." Blake said, her fingers working the towel a bit more roughly on her scalp as she thought about that. "We should make something for Ace too."
"A backpack would be too heavy..." Ruby told her.
"True, but we could put a fanny pack around her waist with a few basics."
"At her age?"
"Nothing too heavy, but then at least she'd have one if we ever got separated." Blake told her with a shrug. "Another layer of redundancy can't hurt."
"What were you thinking to put into it?" Ruby asked, glancing over to the sleeping girl as another wave of light cracked across the sky.
"Ideally, we'd never be separated, but I'd want to put a few basics in it just in case." Blake said after some thought. "Off the top of my head, standard emergency contact numbers, a few non-perishable snacks, a rain poncho, a toy or two. An identity bracelet isn't a bad idea either."
"If it makes you feel better…" Ruby trailed off, a frown forming as she thought of ever losing track of Ace for any reason. She banished it from her thoughts as quickly as she could.
"It does, actually." Blake told Ruby.
"I wish I felt the same." The younger woman admitted. "Just thinking about it sets me on edge."
I've been thinking about it too." Blake said softly. "We set up our bags to function for long-term disasters as a team unit, but now we're down full bag two carriers. I know that you and I would be fine with our current set-up. I just worry that without the added redundancies that Weiss and Yang carry, Ace might be put at a disadvantage. We need those extra supplies, for her sake."
"We'll set something up for her then." Ruby said. "And re-outfit ours as we're at it."
When it rained, it poured, and Weiss found herself drenched as she made her way to the showers. With a caddy of toiletries in hand, a shiver rolled down her spine. Several team members trailed behind her, all of them headed for the bathrooms. The men turned down a narrow stretch of hallway and into the men's showers, while the women went to their own on the opposite path.
"That was ridiculous." Weiss complained giving her hair yet another gentle squeeze upon the tiled floor. The water falling into the drain below. "I certainly hope Velvet and Fox can manage the rest of the shift on their own."
"Me too." Pyrrha spoke out. "I'd hate to have to go back out in that. It might have been best for one of us to have stayed behind, though."
"You'd just get in the way." Coco said, shucking off her sopping wet clothes and making a beeline for the first open shower she came to. "Now that we've cleared the Grimm, all they need to do is keep watch."
"Not that Fox can actually see anything…" Yang said, in a race for the next shower, beating Weiss to it.
"He has his ways of dealing with that." Coco called out over the spray of the hot water. "I wouldn't worry about them. Fox doesn't need daylight, and Velvet can certainly handle herself."
"I don't doubt it." Weiss replied, steam rising out if her stall in large plumes as she sighed. "I do think Pyrrha's right though. I should have stayed behind to offer backup."
"Your Aura has already taking enough of a beating Weiss." Yang shot out. "Ruby would kill me if I let you catch a cold."
"She's right. Besides, you'll be more useful at first light, like the rest of us." Coco told her.
"It doesn't help that most of your dust is completely useless if it can't get a spark." Pyrrha added unhappily. "I was surprised you were even able to do battle in that sort of downpour."
"It wasn't easy, visibility was too low for me to try any dust that might have left lingering residue." Weiss sighed, the sound of her shampoo bottle clicking open echoed in the large room. "I hate fighting things in the dark."
"Which is why we shouldn't get in Velvet's way." Coco replied before turning the water in her stall off. "Her semblance is particular, and once she starts fighting, stopping isn't exactly her best option. The best thing we can do now is get a few hours of sleep before our actual shift starts. Finish up, dry your hair and hit the sack. If we're lucking we can get a solid five hours of uninterrupted rest."
"Yeah right." Yang barked out. "Good luck with that."
Coco toweled herself off. Dressing in dry clean pajamas before exiting the area and heading off back to her room just down the hall. The rest of them finished their showers, a heavy silence looming over them as the water in Yang's stall slammed off next.
"There's no way I'm falling asleep right now, I'm hitting the gym…" She groused out, still full of energy from the fight. Her semblance burning hot as her temper flared. Her hair drying almost instantly due to the raw heat sizzling from her body.
"Is she alright?" Pyrrha asked after Yang dressed and left the room.
"No, but I think she will be." Weiss said after a moment.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"She just needs time to adjust to the new arrangements." Weiss spoke out, her own shower concluding with the clicking of her supplies and the water gentling to silence. The sounds of fabric covering her form and the padding of her feet across the tiled room cut the peaceful quiet between them. "We haven't lived this way since our academy days. When Yang became a huntress, this wasn't what she had in mind."
"Did you ever consider an assignment like this before?" Pyrrha asked.
"The thought occurred to me, but then, that can't be much of a surprise given my upbringing." Weiss told her. "If I had stayed in Atlas, I would have been absorbed into the military to work alongside my sister. I can't say that a wall assignment would ever be my first option. We just didn't have much of a choice, given the circumstances. It was either this, or beginning to accept missions that were far more dangerous. I think the right choice was obvious."
"I'm sure." Pyrrha told her, finally stepping out of her own stall to see Weiss already sitting by the lockers wrapped in towels as she sorted her things. "Even so, I feel bad for Yang. I wish it could be easier for her."
"Me too, Pyrrha." Weiss sighed then, feeling that the sentiment bore repeating. "Me too."