Rawr, everyone! It is freaking hot outside. Seriously, it's been like in the 90's for the past week. Where the hell is my fall weather, yo?! It's almost October! This is insane!

Today's dragon of the week is King Ghidorah from the Godzilla franchise. Sometimes a dragon, sometimes a winged hydra, sometimes an alien, Ghidorah is a three-headed, gold-scaled, lightning-breathing badass who is always a match for the King of Monsters whenever they fight. Fun fact: Giant Monsters All Out Attack is the only movie that portrayed him as a good guy. He was a villain in literally every other movie he's been in. He also has other incarnations, such as Monster X/Keizer Ghidorah in Final Wars and Desghidorah in Rebirth of Mothra. I'm looking forward to seeing him, Mothra, and Rodan in the upcoming movies. Let's hope we actually get more than ten minutes of monster fighting this time around… *still salty about the 2014 suckfest*

Anyway, enjoy!

The day before exam week was a day of pain, suffering, and definite neglect toward personal health. This was especially clear in the RWBY dorm, where a loud thump from the bathroom caused Ruby, Yang, and Blake to look up with concern.

"Weiss? Are you okay?" Ruby called.

When there was no answer, Yang ran over and started slamming her shoulder against the door. Her eyes turned red as the frame started to creak.

"S-Stop…" Weiss's voice called weakly from inside. "Just…one moment…"

There was a sound of wet footsteps and a rustle of towels. Finally, the door opened and a very shaky Weiss stepped out of the bathroom. Her pajamas were wrinkled, and her hair was still mostly-wet.

Yang immediately was at her side, helping her to her bed. "Did you faint just now?" she asked, going into full Big Sister Mode.

"Just…for a moment…" Weiss gritted her teeth, pushing back the nausea she felt. She felt like she was burning up. "Can I have some water, please?"

Blake was already fishing a bottle of water from the small fridge. She opened it and handed it to Weiss. "Did you go to sleep last night, like we told you to?"

"Yes!" Weiss said, narrowing her eyes.

"For how long?"

"…An hour."

"Sweet Dust, Weiss!" Yang groaned. "You need sleep in order to live. You do know that, right?"

Weiss took a drink of water. "Needed to go over that chart again," she murmured.

"Weiss, you know this stuff better than anyone!" Ruby said. "But you'll fail all the exams if you fall asleep during class."

"And probably get sick. Not that that's important, or anything," Yang muttered, rolling her eyes.

Weiss glanced to the side. "I just wanted to make sure."

"Well, stop making sure!" Yang snapped. "You're sleeping until morning."

"But-"

"Nope! No buts! Sleep, now! I will knock you out if I have to."

"She will," Ruby whispered. "She did it to Uncle Qrow one time."

Weiss glanced at Yang's clenched fists, felt another wave of dizziness, and decided to give in. With a groan, she fell back on the bed, already anticipating how long it would take to brush her tangled hair out the following morning.

Satisfied, the rest of Team RWBY returned to their studying for another hour before they all started to get ready for bed. Blake glanced over and saw that Weiss's eyes were still open. She approached, placing a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Weiss sighed. "I'm exhausted, but…I'm too nervous to sleep." She hated that tests could make her like this. After growing up in an environment where she was expected to be perfect all the time, she found herself needing to be the same way in any situation, especially academia. If she didn't, there was a chance that she would fail. If she failed, she'd be kicked out of Beacon. If she got kicked out of Beacon, she'd have to go back home, and-

"Maybe…I can help," Blake said hesitantly. She almost didn't want to offer this, since it would involve revealing yet another secret about herself. But Weiss needed to relax, and what Blake had in mind had always worked in the past when her mother had done it for her.

Weiss looked up. "How?" Sleeping pills would be nice…but those will make me drowsy in the morning…

Blake's ears flattened and she could feel the beginning of a blush on her cheeks. She was grateful that it the lights were off. "Scoot over."

Weiss complied, though she made a sound of surprise when she felt the bed sink. "What-?"

"Just lie still," Blake muttered. "My mom used to do this when I had nightmares as a kid. If it doesn't work, we can think of something else." Cautiously, trying to keep her heart rate steady, Blake drew Weiss close so that the heiress's head was resting in the crook of her neck, just above her chest. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and let it out in a low, quiet, rumbling purr.

Weiss was completely stiff as Blake pulled her close. Thanks to Sun, Ruby, and Nora, she was a little more used to hugs by this point, but this felt like something else entirely. Was this really something mothers did for their children? For a moment, she thought of her own mother, but quickly pushed the thought aside.

Then, the first purr reached her ears and she found herself incapable of focusing on anything else. It was a deep, gentle sound that vibrated ever so slightly against her chest, soothing her nervously-beating heart. She blinked once, twice, then shut her eyes as Blake's chest rose and fell in a second long, slow rumble.

Blake felt her teammate slowly, slowly relax against her. The quick, nervous breaths grew longer and steadier. The tense muscles eased up. Another breath, another purr.

It was interesting. Blake had always figured that Weiss would be rather cold to the touch. While the heiress's skin was cool initially, it warmed quickly as she snuggled further under the blankets and against Blake.

Blake yawned, feeling herself becoming drowsier. Her purrs grew quieter and shorter, then stopped altogether. At this point, Weiss's breathing was steady and deep, signaling that she was asleep. Pulling the blankets further up, Blake quickly followed.

Yang and Ruby watched from their beds. "Aw, that is the cutest thing ever!" Ruby whispered, trying not to squeal.

"We should totally get her to do that for all of us once exams are over," Yang muttered.

"Somehow, I don't think she'd like that."

"True." Yang yawned widely. "Sleep well. Nothing but fun times this week."

Ruby groaned, putting a pillow over her head. "I don't want it… Yang, make it Yule already!"

Yang sighed. "Wish I could, sis. Wish I could."

…

It was Tuesday when Sage finally caved and agreed to carry Scarlet. He held his overly-dramatic, dead-eyed teammate as easily as he would hold a stack of textbooks, not paying any mind to the odd looks and snickers he was treated to in the hallway. As they approached Port's classroom, Sage carefully set Scarlet down.

"Okay. Time to focus."

Scarlet groaned, slumping dejectedly against his friend's side. "I can't, Sage! It's too difficult, too horrible. Tell Nimbus I love him… I am far too young to- EEP!"

Both Scarlet and Sage jumped a foot in the air as Port suddenly emerged from the classroom, smacking a ruler against the doorframe. "Oh, would you stop being so dramatic? It's an exam, not a Nuckelavee herd! Get in here, take out your pencils, and be quiet."

Scarlet and Sage exchanged nervous glances as they entered the room. "I thought Nuckelavees were solitary," Scarlet muttered. "Are there actually herds of them?"

"Dust, I hope not!" Sage replied with an inward shudder.

This particular test was on fire dragon anatomy. Everyone was hunched over their papers, filling in circles and writing answers next to numbers for the next hour. Weiss was the first to finish, with Blake quickly following. The other fire students were next, followed by everyone else. Scarlet had the thousand-yard stare by the time he turned his paper in.

Team SSSN's study session that night was in Nimbus's stall. Scarlet was leaning against his dragon's side. "Three more days… I don't think I can take this…"

"Same," Sun groaned. "Why do exams make up so much of our grade? Why?! When will we have to fill circles or write essays when we're Riders?"

"Well, it's important for us to remember the information," Neptune pointed out. "And Riders do have to write requests for grants on occasion, depending on what mission they wish to go on."

"Shut up, nerd."

"Intellectual."

Sage took out a textbook. "Come on. Our history exam is tomorrow, and you know how much Oobleck loves essays."

"Argh!" Sun leaned back against the wall, allowing his head to thunk against the wood. "Nimbus, be glad you don't have to deal with any of this."

Nimbus warbled softly, nuzzling his partner's shoulder while looking at the others with concern. They looked tired and stressed out. Was it because of these books? Should he destroy them? Taking a deep breath, he let out a burst of wind, which flung the books and papers to the other side of the stall.

"Nimbus!" Scarlet yelped. "What was that for?!"

Sun grinned. "Looks like your dragon also understands that these exams are bullshit. I say we listen to him and go play video games."

Neptune stood up and started gathering the papers. "Not an option, Sun. Don't pout! This will all be over soon."

Scarlet patted Nimbus's shoulder. "Don't do that again, okay boy?"

Nimbus put his head down with a snort. He didn't get it. These books and papers were making them sad, but they kept poring over them anyway. It was a good thing dragons never did weird things like that.

…..

Ren, going against his usual rule, made pancakes twice a day, every day during exam week. He figured that Nora and the others deserved something good to fuel them at the beginning of the day, and something to look forward to at the end. Also, it allowed the team to eat alone, without hearing the other students grumbling and moaning about how they were all doomed to fail their next test.

Nora was the first to trudge into the kitchen at dinner time on Thursday. Jaune and Pyrrha followed a minute later. All three sat down at the table, looking thoroughly defeated.

"Chocolate chips and strawberries?" Ren asked without turning around.

"Yep!"

"Uh-huh."

"Yes, please!"

Smiling to himself, Ren poured some pancake batter onto the hot pan, waited for it to start bubbling, then sprinkled on some chocolate chips and chopped up strawberries. He preferred to do it this way, rather than mixing them in with the batter. They had a tendency to get burnt if they were just mixed in and subjected to the pan at the very beginning. It also meant that he could eat his plain, as he preferred them.

Once the pancakes were finished, the team sat around the table, eating silently. Nora finished first, letting out a loud yawn. "Know what? I'm just going to bed," she muttered. "I don't even care. If I gotta study, I'll do it in the morning."

"I'm with you," Jaune sighed, picking at his last flapjack. "I feel like I haven't slept right at all this week."

"Just one more day," Pyrrha said encouragingly. "Then, we can sleep in, play with our dragons, and go Yule shopping." The teams had drawn their gift exchange partners the previous week. Pyrrha had gotten Blake, so she anticipated browsing at length through Tukson's bookstore. She also wanted to get something for Jaune. Ren and Nora too, of course. Actually, she wanted to just buy gifts for everyone. She had the money, but wasn't sure if such an obvious show of her wealth was a good idea.

Maybe just Blake and my teammates, she decided. After all, we did say that we were allowed to buy for other people as well.

Ren was lightly petting his best friend's hair. "Come on, Nora," he murmured. "Don't fall asleep. You know I can't carry you."

"You…saying I'm fat…?" Nora yawned, no true anger behind her words.

"Of course not. Muscle weighs far more, and you're a strong, scary little fighter," Ren said calmly.

"Good answer…"

"Speaking of fighting, do you think we'll start those self-defense practices over Yule break?" Jaune wondered.

"It would probably be a good idea," Pyrrha noted. "It'll give us head start to the next semester. Also, some of us do have Riders as relatives."

"I'm sure my sisters would love an excuse to kick my butt," Jaune said with a snort.

"Do sisters need an excuse?" Ren asked.

"Well, no…"

"You come from a family of Riders, right?" Nora chirped. "What are the dragons like?"

Jaune, perking up a little, took out his Scroll and flipped through until he got to a picture of his father. "Well, this is my dad, Johann Arc, and that's Ignis."

Pyrrha looked at the picture with a smile. Johann looked like an older version of Jaune with a bit of scruff and darker blue eyes. The fire dragon was a large, strong-looking creature with long black horns, dark red scales, and brass-colored eyes.

The next picture was of an older girl with brown hair and blue eyes, standing next to a copper and white fire dragon with blue eyes. "That's Mary and Brazier."

Then came a picture of a slightly younger girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes, and an earth dragon with dark brown, almost black scales, one green eye, and one brown eye. "That's Sapphire and Ore."

Then came a smirking brunette with soft hazel eyes. She stood near a pale orange fire dragon with a red stripe running from its muzzle to the tip of its tail, and striking gold eyes. "That's June and Blaze."

Finally, there was a girl who looked to be only a few years older than Jaune, and was sporting dyed orange hair and blue eyes. Her dragon was a pale green wind dragon with patches of gold and blue, and soft yellow eyes. "That's Autumn and Flurry."

"No water dragons, huh?" Ren asked.

"The most recent water dragon belonged to my great uncle," Jaune said. "My family has always had an affinity for fire dragons, with only a few exceptions."

"It shows," Pyrrha commented. "Titan obeys you just as much as he does me."

"Well, that's probably because of how often we practice together," Jaune muttered, rubbing bashfully at the back of his neck. "I'm no dragon whisperer, not like Ruby."

"She and Storm certainly do share a special bond," Ren noted with a smile. "And I saw Mudslide when we did that switch. She was calmer with Ruby than I'd ever seen her before."

There was a pause as everyone thought about poor Mudslide. Then, they all stood up to clean. Thinking sad thoughts wouldn't help anything, and it certainly wouldn't get them through the rest of their exams.

They just had to take things one step at a time. Once they got through Friday, they could start thinking about new problems. At this point, it seemed that there was no end to them.

Weiss fainting in the shower is based on a personal experience of mine in college. I went for three days with only an hour of sleep each day, due to crazy exams. (Seriously, I had a fifteen-page take home essay, a packet of multiple choice questions in class, and several more essays in class. This was for ONE CLASS!) I ended up hallucinating, and then passing out in the shower. The sad thing is that I went right back to studying after I recovered. That is one thing about college that I will certainly not miss.

Anyhoo, yes you will be meeting the Arc dragons in a few weeks. All the family dragons are coming together! Yay!

If you like what you see and want to show extra support in exchange for rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.

Peace out!