Chapter 22
Her eyes opened as if anticipating the wake-up call that would surely come soon. The tent was brighter on the inside now as the morning sun shined upon it with a golden light. She found that her arm was wrapped firmly around Blake who lay atop her, face buried against her neck. Though it wasn't all perfect as she moved her hand to awkwardly push some of Blake's hair away from her face. The fact they both had such long hair no doubt meant there'd be a lot of mornings where the bed simply looked like a mess of it. Her own golden hair as usual was drawn out in every direction behind her head.
The heat was almost unbearable and no doubt a cause of the Faunus that had laid on top of her all night. "Blake" called Yang in a soft tone. Blake didn't seem to react at all, prompting Yang to call a little louder as she shook at her shoulder. "Hey Blake" she repeated.
To this the Faunus stirred and raised her head slightly, her golden eyes opening up to Yang. "Mm? What...?" she groaned in a tired fashion.
"Five minutes ladies!" came a yell from Winter outside of their tent.
"That" answered Yang to Blake as her head gestured to Winter's call. The Faunus sighed as she pushed herself off Yang and rolled onto her back. Yang made a large sigh of her own, though more for the fact she could breathe fully again.
It didn't take long for the two to get dressed and leave the tent. The first thing they saw was Winter, her hair was down which was an unusual sight as she was already half way through packing up her tent. Neo didn't seem to be anywhere in sight, something that Yang was thankful for. But that would not last forever as Winter spoke out once more after noticing the two. "Can one of you make sure she is awake?" she asked nodding towards Neo's tent. Yang glanced to Blake who got the message rather clearly. There was no way Yang was going to poke her head into her tent.
The Faunus approached Neo's tent and gave a call from outside, "Neo, are you awake?" she asked. Shortly after she realised she couldn't receive a response either way and so knelt down to look into the entrance. Inside the tent she saw Neo, sitting down in nothing but her pink underwear. She looked up to Blake and gave her a threatening stare. Blake responded in kind with narrowed eyes, "We're going, so get ready" she ordered.
Neo pointed at Blake and in a slow motion she brought her slender finger to her own neck and crossed it. It was a clear threat.
It agitated Blake further but she insisted on keeping her voice quiet so that only Neo could hear. "Just give up already" she spoke with venom in her words. The smaller woman stared back at Blake as she left her tent swiftly, her gaze then lowering as her expression softened into a distant frown.
"Well?" asked Winter as she looked to Blake. Yang was in the process of dismantling her own tent in a most blunt fashion.
Blake looked to Winter, her expression still angered as she replied, though it was clear she was trying to hide it. "I don't know. I think she's getting ready, she never really gave an answer" she said.
"So long as she is aware I am quite sure she will be ready in time" answered Winter, her tent rolled up under her arm as she made her way to her silver car, opening up the boot and placing the roll of fabric neatly into the back of the vehicle.
With the light of the morning the group could finally get a good look at the area around them. As Blake had described, it was wide open plains of grass and small hills. The road continued on straight into the distance before cresting a smooth hill. There were indeed barns in the distance but they didn't look to be in good condition. Above them the clouds were many but small and separated as if the morning sun was scattering and chasing them from the sky.
Yang, with some help from Blake, had dismantled her tent and brought it back to the car. Upon their way back to the vehicle Neo had finally emerged from her own tent and promptly began to take it down also. Though her expression was blank and her eyes always seemed to look more to the ground than they should. Yang chose to ignore it as she tossed the roll of fabric into the back of the vehicle, only to have Winter sigh at her as she took it out and placed it back in a more organized manner.
"It would not hurt you to be at least a little neat Yang" said Winter as her eyes peered over, brushing her fringe from her face to allow her to look upon Yang clearly.
Yang shrugged her shoulders, "It still fit didn't it? That's all that matters" she answered.
"Yes, that logic certainly worked for your apartment too..." replied Winter with a sarcastic tone.
Blake moved to the front passenger side of the car as her eyes looked ahead, "Any idea what's over the hill?" she asked.
"It has been some time since I travelled along this road... I believe it enters another forest" answered Winter as her own eyes looked over the car and into the same distance as Blake. Neo approached the rear side of the car besides Yang who instantly started walking away from her. The smaller girl paused as she watched her before her eyes slowly turned to the boot, silently placing her tent roll into the back. Winter glanced at Neo briefly before noticing everything had been packed as she shut the boot. "Appears we are prepared, everyone inside" she ordered as she made her way to the driver's side.
One by one each member of the group entered the vehicle in their usual seats with Blake and Winter at the front and Yang and Neo in the back. With a silent hum the car came to life as it reversed itself back onto the road and set off forward. Yang looked outside her window as the green hills passed by, it seemed like such a barren place yet the amount of green she saw told her that it was more full of life than the city of Vale at this point.
As yesterday she spotted from her peripheral vision that Neo had shuffled slightly towards her. This time however she had a plan as she turned herself around and placed her boots up on the seat next to her, effectively blocking any further advance from the short woman who now looked to her legs in a confused manner.
A rush of wind entered the vehicle as Blake opened her window, letting her right arm hang out of it as her hair waved with the breeze. In the back of the vehicle the wind became a lot more turbulent and sent Yang's hair flailing in every way it shouldn't. It got into her eyes and she felt something move her legs. As she brushed her hair from her eyes she found her legs were now resting on Neo's lap who had both her arms holding them down against her, preventing Yang from moving them away. Her plan had already been foiled as she gave Neo an annoyed look. The woman simply stared ahead through the windscreen of the car.
Winter peered into her rear-view mirror to see the strange scene of Yang and Neo, raising her brow at it. "Nice to see you two are getting along" she answered before looking forward again.
"We're really not..." muttered Yang as she attempted to move her legs, Neo's grip on them was too good. Blake had glanced back at the two and her jealousy could be seen shining through her expression as she bit the inside of her cheek in annoyance.
The vehicle crested the small hill at the end of the green plains, upon the other side they neared a forest as Winter had said they might. It was as green as the calm valleys they had just left. The trees themselves were pines and stretched high and tall. Once the car had entered the forest they found the road to be littered with brown pine leaves that had long since fallen and remained undisturbed for a day or two at least. It seemed to pad the road ahead of them as the car brushed them aside, making its way by. To the left and right of the vehicle was nothing but dense forest, there was little vegetation upon the ground as the great pines blocked out most of the light that reached the ground and even then, their fallen leaves preventing anything from growing through them. But light managed to continuously shine upon the road itself through the narrow clearing above them.
"Pines already?" asked Yang as she looked from her window. The smell of the forest air came into the car from Blake's open window, a pure and refreshing scent.
"Vale itself is already pretty far north" reminded Winter.
Yang looked over to the rear-view mirror to see Winter's eyes. "Yeah, I know. Just sometimes it's easy to forget. Nothing about Vale really says "North" if you get what I mean" she answered in return.
"Speaking of the north, you'll all be happy to know I have some coats in the back for when we get to Atlas" spoke Winter.
"Well at least somebody thought about that" said Blake as her eyes scanned the forest through the open window on her right.
Winter smirked, "I think ahead on every-" she paused as a rumble came from the car. Everyone's eyes turned to her in confusion. "-thing...?" finished Winter as she noticed the car slowing down.
"Did we seriously just break down...?" asked Yang in disbelief, looking outside to see they were decelerating.
Winter narrowed her eyes at the interface on the vehicle, "Don't be ridiculous, I never break down" she replied as she started to tap her finger against the interface multiple times. The car had now come to a complete stop. Blake also looked upon the interface alongside Winter as she noticed something.
"Winter... You made sure we had everything we need right?" asked the Faunus.
Winter looked to her and nodded, "Of course, why?" she asked in return.
"So it's a slim chance you would have forgot about something like... fuel... right?" continued Blake as her finger pointed to a blinking red meter on the interface at the front of the car.
The driver of the car seemed stunned at the possibility, or simply at a loss of words. "Really?" came Yang's voice from the back of the car.
Winter leaned back in her chair, resting her head against the top of it as she gave out a long drawn sigh. "Unbelievable" she muttered. After a pause she leaned up and opened the door of the car. Standing up and out of the vehicle as her head turned left and right for any sign of something that could help them. Failing that she reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll. "This... can't be happening" continued Winter as she started to pace back and forth with her scroll in hand.
Blake popped up outside of her window as she sat on the door itself, arms leaning on the roof of the vehicle as she looked over at Winter. "What is it?" she asked.
"There's no signal, this forest must be too dense..." she replied as she held her scroll up to the sky in a vain attempt.
"So what now?" continued Blake, glancing to her left as Yang's door opened. The woman stumbling out of the car after having finally escaped from Neo's clutches.
Winter pondered as she pocketed her scroll. She looked to the car and then to both Yang and Blake. "There's only one thing we can do" she answered to the two. She took a step back towards her car and peered her head into the door, her eyes fixating upon Neo who returned the glance. "Can you steer?" she asked. To this Neo nodded once as she climbed over towards the driving seat. If she were any shorter she wouldn't have been able to look over the steering wheel.
"We're gonna push it?" asked Yang as Winter stood back outside the vehicle. The woman nodded back at her.
"Unless you have another idea?" she asked as she made her way to the back of the car. Blake pushed herself out from the window of the vehicle as she also made her way over.
"Guess it would've been too easy otherwise huh?" grumbled Yang as she followed after Blake.
Winter looked through the tinted rear window of the car, she couldn't see Neo at all due to the seat being taller than her. "Neo, ready?" she asked regardless.
The horn of the car sounded and made the three at the back jump in surprise. Winter shook her head as she braced herself up against the back of the vehicle and started to push. Both Yang and Blake assisting her to their best efforts. Slowly the car started to roll across the pine-covered road. Once they got the car moving it wasn't so bad, they just had to keep walking with it. "I'm kinda glad your car is small now" came Yang's voice. She was pushing the vehicle from between both Winter and Blake.
"What was wrong with it before?" asked Winter in response, finding it quite difficult to push the vehicle in her heels.
"Oh nothing, just, you know. The fourth person" answered Yang.
Winter gave a patronizing look towards Yang, "Be nicer to her" she said, her voice somewhat lowered in an attempt to hide her words from Neo.
"I can't, she's just so... you see what she does to me in the car. It's annoying" responded Yang, her own voice growing more quiet as a result of Winter's.
"Is you not being annoyed worth more than her combat prowess?" snapped Winter. "It is a small price to pay Yang, we already have her at a discount" she answered.
Yang gave Winter a glance of uncertainty, "We do?" she asked.
"Yes. Her kind is worth double what we're paying her. Though it leads me to believe that either she really wants to be by your side or that she has ulterior motifs. Let us both hope it is the former" replied Winter, stumbling slightly from her heels before regaining her balance.
"If she has other reasons for being with us than Yang, shouldn't we deal with her to prevent anything in the future?" came Blake's voice, her eyes were focused dead ahead.
A corner was coming up ahead as Neo appropriately began to turn it. "Her reasons may not be malicious. Unless I have proof we will do nothing, and if she does make an attempt on someone's life I am more than capable of taking her down" answered Winter once again with confidence.
"What if you don't notice she's doing something?" asked Yang.
"Just trust me" sighed Winter.
The three continued to push the car along the road, it was around an hour or so later and it didn't seem like they were getting anywhere as they finally halted. Yang leaned forward panting as Winter stretched her back before making her way towards the driving seat. "Neo, hop out. We are taking a break" said Winter as the short woman nodded, quickly making her way to the back of the car. Yang noticed this and started idly getting some distance from the vehicle and her. With a determined expression Neo opened the boot and made for the ice box. She picked up the first chilled can she found and turned to face Yang. With her boots clacking against the stone floor she made her way over to the blonde.
As she reached out to get her attention Blake passed in front of her, two cans in hand and a warning glare. Neo halted as Yang looked to Blake who offered her a drink, she accepted it with a smile, not even having noticed Neo behind her who continued to watch silently. Her eyes drifted to the ground as she turned to head back towards the car in a dejected manner. As she reached the boot a hand patted her upon the shoulder. Her mismatched eyes blinked and swapped colours as they looked back to see Winter. She held out a can of cream soda towards her. "Want to swap? You have the last apple one" asked the tall woman that towered over her. She offered Neo a gentle smile, as if she had noticed her failed attempts to get closer to Yang.
Neo hesitantly offered her can to Winter, who offered her one in return. The two swapped their beverages. The smaller woman looked back to Yang and Blake, they were talking, laughing. They were having fun. Once more Neo frowned to herself, her brow furrowing in slight frustration.
"If you want her to be happy then you have your work cut out for you" came Winter's voice again as she followed Neo's stare. Neo looked up at the woman with a confused expression, probably at the fact that somebody was talking to her like a person. Winter's icy eyes glanced back down at Neo. "Though something tells me you want to be the reason she's happy. If my assumptions are correct, right?" she asked. Neo's eyes glanced down as if in admittance. "Keep trying. She might not ever look at you the same way, but she might become a friend one day. Only... try different approaches, one might just work" nodded Winter as she gave Neo a second pat on the shoulder, "Good job steering" she praised before making her way back to the front of the car.
Neo watched as Winter left, her eyes lingering on her for a moment before looking back down to the can in her hand. With a snap and a fizz it opened as she smirked softly to herself. Perhaps she wasn't as alone as she first believed.