Chapter 68

"How... How did you find us...?" Yang was sat upon a sofa besides her father. To their left in a separate chair was Qrow, and before them all was a burning hearth that warmed the small room. They had taken shelter in the village and finally had a moment to look back on what happened.

Taiyang glanced at Qrow who offered him a light shrug in return; as if he was gesturing for him to explain. The light haired man sighed quietly before looking back upon his daughter, "We... Didn't. We had no idea you were even in Anima."

Yang blinked in surprise, "Then how did you...?"

Their attention was once more drawn to Qrow as he spoke, "It was Ruby." He paused as he stared back at the two of them. "I was tracking her and the three she was with. Protecting them even. They arrived at Higanbana, which is, or was, a very calm place. At least by Mistral standards..." Qrow's voice grew darker as it trailed off into thought.

Taiyang turned back to Yang, "I ended up in Mistral; the city itself. I couldn't find any trace of Ruby so I started exploring the wilds, going north. I tried calling her a few times but she never picked up. So instead I-"

"Called me," intervened Qrow. Taiyang offered him a stand-offish glance before allowing him to continue. Qrow leaned forward in his chair as he rested his arms upon his knees, his eyes looked to the fireplace. "I got a call and agreed to meet up with Tai some distance from the town. Ruby was still at Higanbana so I thought it was as safe a place as any to leave her unsupervised for a while. That and her trail was sloppy, it would have been easy to pick up. Only... She never left Higanbana."

"That's when the Geist got her?" Yang's lilac eyes shifted between the two men.

Taiyang's expression soured, "By the time we got back, the town was already deserted. With all the Grimm in the air, and that woman in the tower, it was impossible for just the two of us to go in there and save your sister."

Yang narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Wait... What happened to Jaune? Ren...? … Nora?"

Her father lowered his gaze as he remained silent. Qrow kept his own locked onto the fire, "You saw her scythe right...? I don't know how it happened... But... Yeah..."

The revelation came as a shock to Yang who was frozen by the thought that Jaune, Ren, and Nora, could be dead. Slain by her own sister no less. She had no words to respond with; she was at a loss.

"So... We waited. Watched the town so that we wouldn't lose track of her. We came running when we saw the fire and well... You know the rest. Ruby can probably tell us more when she wakes up... If she wakes up." Qrow was blunt in his response as Tai offered him another warning glare.

"If...?" Yang looked between the two once more.

"Well... The thing about Geists-"

"Qrow, does she really need to know this?" Taiyang interrupted the man as he stared upon him.

Qrow paused before his crimson eyes glanced over towards Yang, "I dunno. Does she?"

Curiosity forever got the better of Yang, and besides, if something had happened to Ruby she wanted to know every detail. She gave Qrow a nod and Taiyang realised that he would be unable to intervene a second time.

"Right then... So you might know that Geists typically possess things. From boulders and trees to water and sand. Their own body is weak and fragile, so they need to find a stronger host. Sometimes... That host just so happens to be a person. But mind control? Mind control isn't a thing it can do. They suffocate the host to the point they knock it unconscious, and then just like with trees and boulders... It takes control of what's left. They're generally stronger if the host is alive too; corpses are more resistant."

"Wait, if Ruby was unconscious the whole time how is she going to tell us anything...?" Yang's voice clearly held a tone of depression as she still worked through the news of Jaune's team in her head.

Qrow leaned back into his chair, "Have you uh... Ever had a dream where you saw someone say... Walking past, and when you wake up someone was actually walking past? It'll be kinda like that. Her subconscious would have heard sounds, her body would have felt movement. It'll be hazy but... She'll have a general idea of what happened. But again, because of the fact it kept her in what was basically a coma for a few days... There's no telling when she'll wake up."

For several seconds silence had drawn over the room once again.

"But... Enough about that for now... Why don't you tell us how you uh... Got your arm back?" Qrow looked to Yang's right arm.

The blonde lifted her artificial arm as her now saddened lilac eyes looked to it, "... Winter paid for it. Back in Atlas."

Qrow seemed slightly surprised, "Winter?"

"Yeah... Weiss' sister," Yang turned her attention back to the two.

"I know who she is, just didn't expect her to actually... How did you even meet her? Through your friend?"

Yang shook her head, "I met her in Vale. She helped me find Blake and eventually we went to Atlas together to get Weiss. She's a good person."

Tai examined Yang's arm with his eyes, "Well... Does it work okay? It's not uncomfortable is it?"

Once again Yang shook her head slightly, "No, it's fine. Just took some time getting used to..."

Taiyang nodded as he listened to her words. Afterwards he gave no response as the silence returned.

Eventually Qrow spoke as he gazed upon the fire once again, "You should check on Weiss while Blake gets her arm looked at."

"Is that your way of saying you want me out the room so you can talk to dad?" Yang replied bluntly as her lilac eyes shifted between the two. Taiyang smiled apologetically at his daughter.

"Yeah, got stuff we need to talk about," Qrow glanced back at her with a nod.

Yang knew better than to argue, and besides, it was probably a good idea to check up on Weiss after what she went through. She stood up from the chair and winced slightly. The deep cuts upon her shoulder and her leg had already been seen to but they still brought her pain whenever she moved. "Then see you later I guess," she turned and left the small room before Qrow looked to Taiyang with concern.

Yang made her way towards the room they were keeping Weiss in. The building was rather small but it was the closest thing to a clinic the village had. When she approached the door she felt a cold draft coming from behind it. Her eyes narrowed as she reached for the metal handle of the door. She quickly retracted her hand when she felt just how cold it was. It was unnatural. She firmly grasped the handle and turned it. She heard a quiet cracking sound; as if the mechanisms inside the handle were rusted together and finally broken free. She gave the door a push and she heard a louder crack, and she felt that the door itself was more difficult to open than it should be. She pushed firmly as the door opened and the cold breeze came flowing through. The first thing she could see was frost; it was everywhere.

She crossed her arms as she shivered and glanced around in confusion. She saw Weiss standing in front of the window with her back turned to her. She was barely wearing anything and didn't seem to notice her entering. "Weiss...!" Yang called as she made to rush towards her. Her hand reached for the quilt as she passed the bed but she quickly realised it was covered in the same frost. She swiftly chose to ignore it and proceeded towards her friend. The closer she got; the colder the air seemed to become. Weiss continued to remain still and never turned to look at her, even when her name had been called.

Yang halted behind her and noticed that her friend's skin was glistening with a layer of frost over it, her hair too. She reached her artificial hand forward towards her shoulder and saw the cold that crept across her fingers as a result. Thankfully she couldn't feel it as finally she placed her hand upon Weiss' shoulder. The woman seemed to gasp from the touch and she stood up straight.

"Weiss...? What happened?" Yang felt that the air was quickly beginning to warm up and the walls were turning damp as the frost started to melt. She saw as Weiss suddenly gave out another sharp gasp as she wrapped her bandaged arms around herself, she shivered from the cold and the frost that now melted against her skin into a cold layer of liquid. Seeing this; Yang instinctively wrapped her arms around her friend and held her close to help ward off the cold. "Weiss seriously, what's going on!? You're worrying me!"

Weiss remained silent as she continued to shiver in her arms.

Yang glanced back to the quilt; like the rest of the room it had been soaked by the melting frost and would provide no warmth to anyone now. She let go of Weiss briefly as she removed her grey jacket and placed it over her shoulders in some attempt to keep her warm. The room they were in was also unsuitable and so she took matters into her own hands, or arms, as she lifted Weiss up and swiftly carried her out of the room.

After a minute or so she opened the door to her own room using her shoulder. Inside were two beds; one for her and presumably one for Blake, despite the fact they'd simply choose to share one. She sat Weiss down upon one of the beds before grabbing the quilt and wrapping it around her form. She seated herself besides her friend and held an arm around her shoulder as she looked to her. Her face was practically expressionless; if anything at all it was closest to tired. There was something that concerned Yang as she stared at her distant expression though. There was no sign that she had cried. None at all. The blonde frowned before she spoke again in an attempt to get her attention, "Weiss... Please don't shut yourself off... We're here for you, whatever you need."

Cold blue eyes peered at Yang lazily as her words were considered. After a few seconds the smaller woman began to move.

"Hey, you don't need to move, just tell me what you want and I'll go get it for you," Yang gently tried to hold her still, but Weiss seemed adamant in whatever she was trying to do. The woman shifted herself and quite sluggishly sat herself upon Yang's lap, facing her as she wrapped the quilt around them both and rested her head upon her shoulder.

At first Yang gave thought to gently pushing her off, she was half naked, soaked, and in her lap. But when she thought about it she realised she likely only wanted some sense of comfort. She had lost her partner and she was probably freezing. It made sense she'd want to hold someone for both warmth and out of crippling loneliness. So with a frown Yang wrapped her arms around her friend in a comforting manner. But still Weiss remained silent and never spoke a word.

With her head rested upon her shoulder Yang could hear her quiet breaths. She could feel her form pressed against her and she every time she breathed she could smell her scent. It was awkward, but if it was what she needed to at least feel a little better then she would agree to it. That's what friends are for after all, to help each other in their time of need. But the fact that Weiss hadn't cried yet kept itching at the back of her thoughts. She knew that bottling up your emotions was always a recipe for destruction. Eventually it would all force itself out at once, and usually at the wrong time.

She pondered how long Weiss might be in such a state, and how long it would take for her to speak again. Her lilac eyes glanced over her friend's shoulder as she looked to an object leaning against the wall besides the door. A charred umbrella. If she had been asked who was the least likely to die a few days ago; she'd have answered with Neo. Her ability to avoid hits, to shatter and vanish, to generally beat the crap out of anyone that was in front of her... She was the strongest among them, yet even she couldn't stop Cinder alone. Yang would have liked to have gotten to know her better, even after everything she did. Weiss turned her from a person she had to keep an eye on, to what could be considered an ally. A friend. It was just a shame that now, progressing their friendship was impossible. For she had been abruptly taken from them.

If Neo was still here, she would have thanked her for what she did for Blake. In the end, she had truly become a good person. Maybe that was something she was always striving for but her way of looking at the world obscured the path towards it. With her departure she had left them nothing but memories and a broken friend, but for her sake Yang would make sure that Weiss got everything she needed. Anything she could offer that would help her move past the loss.

A few minutes had gone by and Yang glanced at Weiss from the corner of her eye. She was asleep. Gently Yang attempted to remove her from her lap so that she could lay her down in the bed itself. Her grasp around her was tight but not tight enough for the task to be impossible. She successfully removed Weiss from herself and laid her down upon her back on the bed. She removed the quilt from her; only so that she could place it over her properly. After it was all done she sat silently besides her as she slept, lilac eyes looking down upon her in thought. Was she ever going to be the same again?

Her attention was stolen as she heard the door open. In walked Blake; her right arm was bandaged entirely and her golden gaze looked to Weiss. The Faunus frowned, she guessed already why Weiss might be in their room.