[X] "Winter finally got word of her Mother's death, and wanted to return to Atlas immediately. Do you think she ever got to say goodbye?"'
"I'm fine." Yang insisted, contorting her arm around to show how well healed it was. "See? Nothing wrong with it."
Sensing an opportunity, Yang flexed her muscles. Already looking at her arm, Blast stared for a moment, nodding in appreciation.
Piran ignored the two. "Are you sure, Yang?" He asked. "I'd hate for you to walk out injured and come back even more injured as a result."
Yang looked at him. "Look, we both know I'm going to come back injured eventually, so why does it matter?"
Piran sighed. "I'm not getting through to you at all, am I?"
"Look, we both know you're aspiran to be a big hero-"
"You've made that pun before." Piran interrupted.
Yang frowned. "I have? Damn, been too sore to think up new ones I guess..."
"If I stop fussing, will you stop making puns?"
Yang considered it. "I won't make puns around you if you're not fussing around me."
"Deal." Piran agreed.
"Great!" Yang declared, budging past them. "I'll see you later, then!"
Running down the hallway, the yellow-haired teen looked for the exit to the airship. She slowed momentarily, as she passed a door with the Undine standing before it, and walked calmly past to avoid setting off either the murder water spirit or the crazy murder child the Undine was guarding.
...Okay, maybe she was being unfair on the kid, she had it rough.
Undine was still a freak murderer who fed people to the kid, but she was also fully aware that co-operating with Winter was getting the girl access to a better life and that stepping out of line would end with Winter kicking her ass.
Once she walked past the water spirit thingy, Yang put the Undine and her near death experience at the hands of a little girl out of her mind, and went outside.
Once she did, she took a moment to take in the sight of the village the airship had landed in.
There was a nearby building that Winter had hired out with her seemingly infinite money to house the orphans. Yang had snuck out to see it earlier while she was still a bit injured, while Winter and the others went back to the burnt-down village to find anyone who survived somehow and belongings of the survivors. Help them get back on their feet by finding all their old stuff.
There was a park near said building, but which was where most people hung out, apparently. Two apparently spent some time with the crazy girl as well, but right now, she was in the park with Cent, Ren, Nora and a bunch of orphans.
Walking into the park, Yang took a moment to appreciate the sight before her.
There was a big rope suspended across the walkway, a fierce game of tug-o-war in the process. On one side, Nora led a group of small children, pulling at the rope with all their might, doing their best to tug it even an inch, just an inch, to victory.
On the other side, the rope was tied to Two's waist, as she ate an ice cream. Ooh, Neapolitan, and with the perfect ratio of fifty-percent chocolate, thirty-percent strawberry, and twenty-percent vanilla.
Whoever was responsible for changing the tub-sold Neapolitan ice cream to be mostly vanilla had a special place in hell waiting for them.
Pushing aside her odd but delicious tangent, Yang took a moment to look at the tug-o-war again. With a burst of speed, Nora tugged, and was able to pull Two forward half an inch. In response, the blue-haired woman shuffled backwards slightly, pulling the rope and pulling Nora off her feet in the process.
"Oof!" The orange-haired girl exclaimed, as she scrambled to her feet. Then, she turned to the kids.
"Never give up!" Nora declared. "She may take our lives, but she'll never take our free snacks!"
There was a cheer, and sitting on the park bench supervising, Ren covered his face with his palm. Sitting next to him, Cent waved a little flag with Two's name on it.
Walking around the rope to the bench, Yang looked over at Cent.
"Nice flag." She noted.
"Thanks." Cent said, waving it a little higher. "Hey, did you know a survey last month amongst people from ages eleven to nineteen found that most teenagers considered waving a flag to be the most fun thing a person can do?"
"That doesn't seem right." Yang replied. "I mean, flag waving, ahead of watching paint dry and grass grow?"
"Second and third." Cent shrugged.
"Pull faster!" Nora declared. "We cannot allow this foul sorceress to take all the free ice cream! Pull harder, for glory!"
Two made a satisfied sound as she bit into her scope. Then she gasped, and put hand on her head.
"Ow, ow, brainfreeze." She moaned.
"Now's our chance!" A young voice declared, and Nora looked over at the bench.
"Ren! Now!"
Standing up and walking over to Nora, Ren reached into his pocket and pulled out a taser of some sort. Then, he jabbed it into Nora's arm.
The electricity flowed around Nora, with much more cackling around then a handheld taser should be capable of producing, and when she pulled along with the kids, she pulled the rope tense.
There was a sound, and Yang looked over at the middle of the rope. Which was beginning to fray. Two noticed this as well, so she jumped slightly. Without her feet on the ground, the force Nora put on the rope made her stumble forward, pulling her forward just far enough to lose.
"Victory!" Nora declared, making a V with her fingers next to her face. "Bring forth the victory treats!"
Ren pocketed his taser again, and went off towards the building.
"Aw..." Two said, in what was obvious fake-sadness. "I lost..."
"There there." Cent said, seemingly completely genuine. "I'll go get the Post-Defeat Cheer-Me-Up-With-Pancakes."
Nora paused, turning to Cent.
"The what now?"
"Pancakes."
Nora looked on in consideration, then quickly threw the rope at Two.
"Oh no! I lost! What a terrible, terrible thing. Now I must eat the delicious-"
"Ren didn't cook them." Cent noted.
Yang didn't see anyone move, but somehow, Nora was holding the rope again.
"Victory!"
Yang laughed a bit, and the children and orphans all looked at her. Yang spotted the fox-girl she had saved back at the burning village in the crowd, looking at her in admiration, and gave the group a smile and a thumbs up.
"So, Yang." Two said, as she plopped down on the bench next to the brawler. "We haven't really talked much, have we?"
"Not really." Yang admitted. "Which is a shame, because you seem like a pretty cool person."
Two frowned, putting a hand on her forehead to measure her temperature. "But- Oh, you mean like I'm a fun person, don't you?"
"That's what I meant, yes." Yang replied. "Where are you from, anyway? You don't look like someone who grew up outside the Kingdoms."
"Oh, I did." Two replied. "I'm just really strong so I never lost fights, and I'm a really good cook so I can eat anything."
"Anything?" Yang asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Did you know that Grimm actually tastes pretty good if you season it right?" Two asked. "I mean, it's a pain keeping them alive while you cook them but weak enough that they don't eat you while you eat them, but if you pull it off right, they taste great. Like, really, you'd think they were made to be eaten."
Yang laughed.
"Did I say something funny?" Two asked.
Yang blinked. "...You're not joking."
"No."
"...Huh." Yang pondered. "Now I'm curious, what does Grimm taste like? Misery? Sadness?"
"Nah, it's..." Two trailed off. "I can't really describe it, but you'd think they taste bad, but it all depends on how well you season them."
"How are you meant to eat a living Grimm anyway?" Yang asked.
"You gotta skin it first." Two instructed. "Which means you need to pick a weak one, the stronger ones are too tough and usually heal or something. It's hard to tell when you've done that because Grimm are made of shadows and hate, but once you can bite it without hurting your teeth, it's ready for being boiled."
"How did you even find this out?" Yang asked. "I mean, who'd think of cooking Grimm?"
"My sister." Two explained. "Three's always asking herself question about stuff. We were little kids and she wanted to know how the Grimm worked, so she did a bunch of tests. Like, she sang our Song to them to because she thought they were silent inside or something, she wanted to know what they were made of so she took them apart, stuff like that. She said she wanted to see how Grimm were made but One told her that was a bad idea so she didn't."
"I was going to say that your sister sounds like some mad scientist from a cheap horror movie." Yang noted. "But I guess she has some-one she listens to."
Two nodded.
"...That was a pun."
Two blinked, then laughed. "Oh. Someone. Some One. She listens to someone called One. You're funny."
"How many sisters do you have, anyway?" Yang asked. "I mean, I'm noticing a pattern here.
"There's six of us!" Two chirped. "One, Two- Me- Three, Four, Five-"
"Six?" Yang asked.
Two shook her head. "No, Zero. We go Zero to Five."
"What are they like?" Yang asked.
Two thought on it for a moment.
"Five's kinda simple." She noted. "She likes doing things that make her happy. She eats a lot and does fun things and once she was overage she started-"
Two blushed, looking away from the kids. "Y-Y'know, stuff. A lot."
Yang blinked, then smiled. Prime teasing material acquired.
"You mean handholding?" She asked. "Cuddling? Does she, dare I say, does she say the 'L' word a lot?"
Two blushed. "Y-You know what I mean! A-And you're too young for those kinds of thoughts! Banish all lewdness from your mind! I have to be the responsible adult about this!"
Yang laughed. "Well, okay then. What about Four?"
"She's so nice." Two said, forgetting her embarrassment completely. "She looks up to One and Zero so much! I mean, we all do, but Four gets sadder than anyone when she thinks she let them down. She can get really angry sometimes, but then she feels bad and apologies and she tries her best."
"Sounds nice."
Two nodded. "And then there's Three. She sleeps a lot. She's so lazy! Always snoozing around, and then when she wakes up she just plays with dolls a lot. Well, she's allowed to. She's my little sister, she can do what she wants. But then she makes Four upset by being lazy and Four has to work a lot to make things easier when Three should be doing it."
"You sound like you're criticising her." Yang noted.
"Maybe a little bit." Two admitted. "I think Three's just too smart, and because she's smart she thinks too much and she gets tired because she's thinking instead of staying awake. She means well, at least."
"Why don't you tell me about Two?" Yang asked, with a smirk.
The blue-haired girl paused in consideration. "Two's a happy person. But she's also scared a lot that if she gets too happy, bad things will happen. Like when she was happy, then Zero went missing and all of her sisters got seperate- Hey!"
Yang chuckled. "Sorry. Seeing you pout when you realise people were teasing you is just too funny."
"And cute!" A voice echoed from the distance. Yang frowned.
"How did Cent hear us from all the way over there-"
"And then there's One." Two interrupted. "One's, like, the best! She's always helping everyone, trying to make everyone happy. When I'm being an idiot she tells me what I'm doing wrong, if Three's going too far with her tests One stops her, she tries to make Four feel useful so she's happier, and when Five's getting too irresponsible One tries to set her straight. She's, like, the ultimate big sister!"
"She sounds like a great person." Yang admitted.
"Yeah!" Two declared. "And, like, even when things are hard and everyone else is worried about what we're doing, One's always seeing so much more than us! When we're worried about getting through hard times, we're too distracted by it. Even when One's worrying about us, she dreams big! You know what she said to me, once?"
"No?" Yang asked.
"We were going to a village." Two said. "And when we got there, it was being attacked by Grimm. One got us away, looked out while we hid, and I was getting worried because she looked so sad. So she saw me being sad because she was being sad, and she promises me, one day, she'd make a plan and not let the Grimm hurt anyone ever again."
Yang paused. "A lot of people say that. It's not like you can get rid of the Grimm, thou-"
"One promised." Two interrupted, her voice dead serious. "She never makes a promise she can't keep."
"...You really believe in her, then?" Yang asked, still not sure.
It wasn't uncommon to hear people saying they would put an end to the Grimm. Especially young children. Ruby used to talk about being the best hero who stopped all the monsters, but she grew out of it when she was six. She still wanted to be the best hero, but she was realistic enough to know that stopping all Grimm forever was an impossible dream. It was like saying you'd beat death and never let anyone die.
Hiding her disbelief, in someone Two seemed to believe with all her heart, Yang moved on. "What about your last sister? Zero?"
Two's smile faded. "Zero... I haven't seen her in a long time."
Yang looked at Two. "What happened?"
"We don't know." Two admitted. "A little bit before we all got separated and I met Cent, Zero just kinda went missing one day. One seemed like she knew something we didn't, but she was quiet and sad."
"What about before that?" Yang asked. "What was Zero like?"
"Oh, she was a kinda sad person." Two admitted. "She was the oldest of us. Like, Five used to tease her about being an old crone, though she wasn't really that old. When we were kids, Zero would be super protective. Beat up people who were mean to Four, helped One learn to fight, all sorts of things. Then she went missing and everything was sad."
"I can see why." Yang noted, as she looked over at the children, where Nora and Cent were handing out ice cream cones. "I have a sister too, you know."
"Oh?"
"Her name's Ruby." Yang went on. "She's a little bit younger then me. She's the nicest person I've ever met. A bit weird with weapons, but nice."
Two smiled. "Weird with weapons? How bad could she be?"
"I once looked over her shoulder when she was 'Designing Weapons,' and she was drawing a picture of her marrying a scythe."
Two laughed. "Your sister sounds weird."
"And your sisters don't?" Yang asked, chuckling.
There were footsteps towards the entry of the park, and Yang turned to look over at Winter approaching.
"Hello, ma'am." Yang greets. "I'm not doing anything wro-"
Then she saw the expression on Winter's face and stopped.
She was doing her best to look professional and serious, but Yang could see it. The slightly shocked expression, as if refusing to believe something could happen. Eyes reddened slightly, as if she was crying. Something had happened.
"Is something wrong? Yang asked.
Winter breathed for a moment.
"Nothing to concern yourself over." She claimed. "Merely some personal news. We may need to cut this trip short."
Yang looked at her. "Winter, if there's a problem, you can talk about it-"
"Thank you, Yang." Winter interrupted. "But really, it's nothing. I've merely... There's been a death in the family, and I need to go home for the funeral."
Yang's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry-"
"Don't worry about it." Winter insisted. "This has nothing to do with you. I'm sorry you are unable to get the full experience of this trip."
"Don't apologise." Yang insisted. "Family is important, I understand."
Winter smiled softly, then turned to Two.
"I can give you a ride to Vale." She said. "The orphans, too. After that, I need to return to Atlas, and I won't be able to organise homes for them there, but I could have a company branch look after you until I can prepare something in Atlas."
"Thanks." Two said. "Hey, are you sure you're okay?"
Winter ignored the question. "We'll leave tonight." She insisted. "Give the orphans time to move their belongings to the airship."
Two nodded, and stood to go talk to Cent about it.
Yang looked after her for a moment, and then back to Winter.
"Winter." She said. "I know you said it wasn't anything to concern myself with, but... Well, it's family. You shouldn't bottle this stuff up. If you get too stressed, I'm willing to talk."
"You're to kind, Yang." Winter replied. "Especially with someone several years your elder."
"Age doesn't matter." Yang replied. "Nobody ever takes loss well, and if I can help, I will."
Winter smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."
And with that, she left.
It'll take a while for the airship to get to Vale. What does Yang do in the meantime?
[X] Blast and Piran wanted to do a training exercise, in which they take it in turns defending a room with help of automated defences.
[X] Ren wanted to see how he compared to someone who had been trained in a Kingdom, to measure his chances of getting into Beacon.
[X] Yang notices the Undine and the girl in her care interacting with another orphan, and watches to make sure nothing bad happens.
When she returns to Vale, Yang will get some bad news. How does she receive it?
[X] When the airship lands, her father is waiting, and Yang can tell there's a problem immediately from the expression on his face.
[X] Uncle Qrow magically appears on the airship a few hours away from the city, and completely ignores the chance to annoy Winter.
[X] She receives a call on her scroll, from a number she doesn't recognise.