Been a while for this story, too! I really apologize and thank all reading this for your patience. As I explained in the story I posted yesterday (But, I'll say it again, for those that didn't read it), my computer freaked out and I lost a good deal of progress. So, I had to re-write a good amount of this chapter over again. Very discouraging. But, it's here, now!
Hopefully, there will be less time between this chapter and the next. Fingers crossed! Thank you to all who have reviewed and liked this story, so far, and I hope you enjoy!
"Anna is blind."
Yang blinks a few times, more tears dribbling down her face with each opening and closing of her eyes. She's completely speechless, caught off guard from such a happy, triumphant moment being snatched away from her with such speed and harsh force. She feels like someone just slammed into her gut with a sack full of cinder blocks, then laughed as they left the bag resting on her chest. Anna won't be able to see? She'll never get to see what her parents look like, see how beautiful the world could be… What were they going to do? She can't even look at Blake, her own wheezing breaths and tears being too much for her to deal with.
She doesn't think she could bare seeing the same look of heartbreak on her girlfriend's face, as well.
While Yang wheezes quietly, Blake remains absolutely silent. Her ears are tight to her skull, a look of confusion about her face. The faunus isn't quite sure what to think, right now. Her head is muddled up by so many thoughts flowing through it, though she can imagine that even more are filling Yang's. It's silent until a soft, quiet 'how?' comes from the blonde at her side. When she looks over, she can see the emotion heavily etched into the woman's face.
"It was simply… something that happened. Whether from the early birth or the mixture of your DNA, we're not certain at the moment. Other than that disability, she is a perfectly healthy child..."
Yang takes a deep breath, tearful lilac rising up to look at the doctor. "Can we see her, now?" She asks softly, a slightly hesitant look coming over the doctor's face that makes the blonde worry even more. What exactly was so wrong with their daughter that the doctor would hesitate to let them see her? Nervousness can't help but seep into her heart and down her spine, creeping slowly and threatening to overtake her completely. "Please… Let us see our baby..."
The doctor sighs quietly, giving a slow nod to the saddened blonde. "Now… This may come as a bit of a shock, if… you're not ready for it. It certainly shocked me a bit, thus the hasty diagnosis… Just… prepare yourselves, alright?"
Blake and Yang both nod, exchanging glances between one another. The look in their eyes seems to help both steel themselves for what they will see, not having a clue what could be wrong. The doctor moves over to where the nurses are cleaning Anna off, the baby wailing with the insistence of being heard. Blake, if she weren't so troubled, would be very amused that she had the exact presence of Yang when she was insistent about something. After wrapping the fussing baby up in a small bundle of a blanket, the doctor gently holds Anna in her arms. The slow walk back over to them makes Yang shift uncomfortably, her body quivering as the bundle is delivered gently to her arms. As she slowly turns the fussing bundle around, little Anna's face comes into full view.
And, Yang can see the reason for the doctor's quick diagnosis immediately, upon seeing Anna's face.
The girl's eyes are pure white, no pupils or iris' present in the slightest. However, they weren't like Ruby's (her sister's eye being a bleached and unnatural color), instead being a milky white in coloration. While it certainly wasn't exactly… normal, she had slightly feared something far worse. Though, tears still won't stop flooding her eyes as she sees the girl's eyes squint a little and stare straight ahead. She wasn't… 'She couldn't see her own mother', Yang has to think to herself with a slow sadness. She actually sniffles a bit as she looks down at the tiny girl, closing her eyes gently.
But, as she silently worries about such things, she hears a soft coo come from just below her face. It's followed by a soft structure flumping weightlessly down on her stomach, the blonde's eyes opening to see little Anna's head facing right toward her mother. Sticking out of the bundle is a blonde tail with a black spattering of fur at the tip, swaying clumsily and brushing Yang's stomach without a seeming knowledge of what it's doing. Anna's blonde ears flick slowly (having heard Yang's sniffle and directing her face toward the sound), another soft coo coming from her tiny lips. Though, this one comes out as more of a small whine.
Seemingly all at once, the worries vanish as she sees her child in her entirety. This tiny girl is the product of her and Blake, from their desire to bring to life their own flesh and blood child. Little Anna is her baby, whatever may be different with her eyes, and she's sure as hell not gonna use this as an excuse to feel sad and wonder what might have been. She shouldn't feel sad. Anna was a healthy, beautiful baby.
Maybe it would take a little for her to get used to having a blind child, but… they would get through this. With the amount of love filling her heart right now, she has no doubts that they could.
A slow smile comes to her lips as she looks over the soft, fuzzy fur that lightly covers the child's skin, her head tilting just a little bit. "Hey, there, Anna..." She murmurs, the girl's ears flicking toward the sound of her mother's voice. "God, Blake, she's so beautiful..."
She finally chances a look back at her girlfriend, happy to see the same look in the faunus' eyes, as well. The moment Blake had heard the soft coo of her daughter, seen the moving of her tail and the flicking of her ears… She knew that her being unable to see didn't matter. All that mattered was that their child was finally here, appearing to try and latch her mouth onto Yang's collarbone…
"Yang, I think she's trying to..."
"Oop! Hang on, kiddo!" Yang says gently, glancing up at the doctor slightly for approval. The doctor nods slowly, seeming to be happy that the mood has changed in the room. Usually, it went one way or another. Parents were either too filled with grief or accepting in a slow sense. While the reason for Anna's blindness still eluded her (as she had never seen eyes completely white like that, the eyes usually being deformed or too small for an immediate diagnosis like this one), she was glad to see that Yang and Blake seemed to be taking this about as well as they could. Yang certainly seemed to be feeling better after seeing her daughter, especially when the small girl signaled her hungriness by attaching to her collarbone.
Yang laughs softly, giving the baby a kiss on the soft fur of her head before slowly opening the hospital gown up. Gently guiding Anna to her breast, she smiles weakly as her mouth finally wraps around the proper area. Anna seems to immediately know what to do, quiet suckling sounds coming from her as she slowly gets used to feeding. The hand that isn't holding Anna slowly moves out to clasp Blake's, bringing a smile to the faunus' face.
Only Yang could bring her back after such a moment, her smile bringing light to the darkness once more. How did she do that? Blake had definitely been devastated by this news, as had Yang… But, the combination of seeing her child and seeing Yang's reaction had put her into much ease.
"She's got your ears~"
"Of course she has my ears, Yang. I would wonder what you've been hiding from me all these years, if they weren't." Blake replies (earning a small laugh from Yang and a pleasant hum from Anna in response), glancing over when she hears the quick pattering of boots on the floors of the hallway outside (more specifically, as her ears tell her, a pair of boots and high-heels). She smiles a little more widely when Ruby and Weiss appear in the doorway and are let inside after a moment.
Ruby is immediately at bedside, petals drifting all through the air as she looks at her sister with a mix of worry, happiness, hope, and slight expectation. It was duel parts hoping Yang was okay, as well as the baby. Though, with Yang smiling as warmly as she is, her worries are alleviated fairly easily. Her voice sounds relieved as she speaks, her eye lighting up. "Hey, you! How'd everything go? Sorry that Weiss had to drag me outta here..."
"It's fine, Rubes. I WAS gettin' pretty… loud. No harm done. I'm just glad you're here, now."
"Of course, sis! I wouldn't miss this for the world! Right, Weiss?"
Weiss, who had been watching the nurses clean up out of the corner of her eye (a slight look of unease in her icy eyes as she sees the blood), glances back to Ruby, Yang, and the still slightly hidden baby. "Of course we wouldn't. Don't be preposterous. Why would I ever miss my niece's birth for any reason, at all?"
"Aww, look at the little puffs of hair all over, Weiss~ Ohh, that's so adorable~!"
The pale woman takes a closer glance at Anna, blinking a few times as she sees how light and soft the fur was on the girl. She hadn't a clue that faunus looked like this as babies. She had always thought them to look similar to humans upon birth, albeit with tail or ears. The soft hair on the baby's head had been lovably mussed (likely from her mother), giving a look that reminded her fully of Yang. Though, the child was very quiet despite the presence of new people in the room and reminded her of Blake. It was an interesting thing to see, to say the very least. Though, she hadn't exactly seen all of her, yet. Her face was still hidden against Yang's breast.
Yang looks over at Blake and bites her lip a little, nudging her with her elbow and murmuring something near silently. This certainly gets Weiss' attention, as well as Ruby's. The redhead casts a quick glance back at her wife before focusing her attention on her older sister. "Is everything alright, guys? This is all happy, right?"
Yang looks back at Ruby with a slightly hesitant smile, looking down at Anna slowly. "Yeah, everything's fine. We were just tryin' to figure out how to… tell you guys..."
"Tell us what?"
Blake speaks up, looking between the two slowly. "Anna is blind… We just found out a few moments ago."
Ruby releases a tiny squeak of surprise, Weiss' eyes widening as this news is made known to them. Weiss's face quickly with a mixture of concern and sympathy (Ruby having a similar look on her face), her lips parting as her voice comes quietly out. "Yang, I'm so-"
"Don't."
"W-What?"
"What're you guys apologizin' for?" The blonde asks softly, her eyes slowly looking down at Anna with a loving twinkle lying deep within them. It gives a slightly more reassured feeling to the two aunts, Yang seeming surprisingly calm for this news, but still doesn't take away all the worry that they have. "It's no one's fault… Just how it is. Wait until you see how cute she is..."
She waits a few moments as Anna continues to quietly suckle, losing interest slowly after she had finished. Once completely sure that the child is finished, Yang gently coos her name over the girl's head. The little faunus ears at the top of her head twitch and direct the small face in the direction of the sound. It not only lets her face her mother, but lets Ruby and Weiss see her face for the first time. Weiss actually gasps upon seeing the milky white of Anna's eyes, hitting far too close to home for her. It easily reminds her of Ruby's damaged eye, albeit definitely a more natural coloring. Ruby, noticing her wife's reaction, gently takes one of her hands in her own and squeezes tightly.
Weiss only slightly calms down, sending a worried look to Yang and Blake. "How did this happen? Why… Why do her eyes look like that?"
"The doctor doesn't know. As far as she could tell, Anna is a completely normal, healthy baby. She just… doesn't have a pupil or iris in either of her eyes. She may have… been born that way, perhaps? Or, maybe her eyes did not develop correctly?" Blake replies, her ears flicking momentarily as Anna makes another soft sound. As Yang gently tends to the child, she turns back to Weiss. "Other than that, she doesn't quite understand it. As, Yang had a completely healthy pregnancy…"
"What are you going to do?"
"Simple. She's our kid; we love her." Yang says firmly, causing Weiss to quickly shake her head.
"That's not what I meant, Yang. Naturally, she's going to be different to take care of than what you prepared for."
"Well, yeah. I know that, Weiss. But… I'm not gonna treat her any different just 'cus she can't see, y'know? No sense gettin' upset about it. We're just gonna have to do things a lil' differently to work around it." Yang says with a smile, giving a slow nod to Weiss.
Weiss is, honestly, quite surprised by how calm Yang is being. If she had heard this news for herself, she would have been absolutely devastated both inside and out. Though… should she be surprised? That's just how Yang was. "If you need our help in any way..."
"Just you bein' here is help enough..."
Ruby manages a slightly wider smile, squeezing her wife's hand a little tighter in reassurance. "She really is precious. Wonder where she got that poofy blonde hair from… I'm guessin' it's Blake."
Yang snorts in laughter, Anna cooing happily at the sound of her mother laughing. "Yeah, 'cus Blake's about as blonde as you can be. Have you seen her? Dang, can't get blonder than that, right there."
Blake finds herself laughing, as well, Ruby and Weiss soon joining in with the cheery atmosphere. The doctor almost can't believe that this is happening. The atmosphere in the room had gone from heavy and sad to light and hopeful in such a short amount of time. She realizes very quickly that this is just a different sort of family. This was a family that did good things for each other, that had survived through enough to have this kind of hope fill them up. If young Anna was fit to be born to any family, she couldn't have been born to better women than Miss Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna. She knew that Anna was going to grow up just fine with them, sight or no sight.
The friendly banter between them goes on for a little while longer, before Yang's eyelids start to grow a little heavy. Anna even starts to have a similar look, drooping slowly down onto Yang's chest. It's quickly decided that the two should probably be allowed to rest from their experience. After all, giving birth AND being born were certainly exhausting experiences. Blake, very hesitantly, agrees to head home, herself. After all, she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the whole night.
Though, she made sure to give her girlfriend a deep kiss and her daughter a sweet one before even thinking about moving out of the room. "I love you, Yang..."
"I love you, too, babe. Now get outta here before ya drop, ya big goof." Yang murmurs into the faunus' lips, giving a playful nip before leaning back slightly.
"Are you sure you'll be alright? I can stay the night, if…"
"I'll be fine, Blake-y. Don't worry so much. Probably just gonna be in here a day or two, tops. Then, you're gonna have to deal with both of us. Won't THAT be scary?" The blonde says with a snicker, Blake smiling a little as she hears Yang's reassurances. "Seriously, babe. Get some sleep."
Blake's ears twitch a little as a sleepy sound comes from Anna, causing Yang to softly laugh again. "See? Anna agrees. 'Go get some sleep, momma! I'm gonna do it, too'!"
"Alright… I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"
Ruby and Weiss slowly leave the room to give the two their moment, holding hands as they move out into the hallway of the hospital. Weiss looks slowly up to her wife, biting on her lip just a little. "Do you think they'll be okay? With Anna being blind, I mean..."
"I think so. Did you see how happy they looked? I'm sure it was pretty sad, at first… But, Yang has a way of making the best of things, y'know? I think everything's gonna be alright with them. I always knew Yang would make a good momma, someday."
"Mm. I suppose you're right about that. If anyone can get through this, it's them."
"Oh, don't give me that, Weiss~ I know for sure that you're gonna spoil her rotten."
"I-I will not!" Weiss huffs, her cheeks taking a light pink as she pouts at her wife. "I will not be the type of aunt to lavish my niece with all manner of-"
"Uh… honey? You already did. Remember that little shopping spree you helped out with?"
"I-I… That… That doesn't count."
Ruby giggles, leaning in to slowly kiss the woman's rapidly warming cheek. "Weiss, that totally counts. You nearly made the cashier faint will all the stuff you bought. I don't think I've ever SEEN so many stuffed animals in one place, before. It was like fluffy heaven, that shopping cart!"
"It was not… Oh, fine, yes. Yes, it was 'fluffy heaven'. I'm… sure Anna will like how soft they are. That will be good... Ruby?"
"Hm?"
"What are we going to tell them about… the person you saw? The one in the Grimm mask..."
Ruby is silent for a moment, her eye looking away slowly. "I… We can't tell them. Not yet. They've got too many other things going on. We'll tell 'em when they get settled back home, okay? Yang just gave birth an'… Blake just needs a bit to get all rested up. We'll tell 'em about it. Don't worry. We'll just do what we can until then."
"I'm worried, Ruby… You're being put in danger again and I..."
"I'm gonna be fine, Weiss..."
"...That's what you said, the last time."
"Weiss, that was different. You know that."
"How is it different, Ruby? There's still a threat to your life and I feel like I'm doing nothing about it, just like last time. I was lulled into thinking everything was over, when it was so far from the truth… I won't let that happen this time. I can't… see you get hurt again..." Weiss says quietly, looking down slowly and sighing softly. "I just can't."
"Weiss..." Ruby murmurs, using her arm to gently pull her wife closer to her body. "I'm a huntress. I'm gonna get banged up, sometimes..."
"That's when it's Grimm. How many times have we seen that it's not the Grimm who are the only monsters in the world? Cinder, Torchwick, my mother… All wolves in sheep's clothing. All monsters underneath their human flesh. How much longer until we meet the next monster? How much longer until we run out of the luck that's managed to keep us together so long? In reality, how much longer until one of the monsters succeed, Ruby? What if they succeed just because I wasn't careful enough?"
Ruby blinks a few times, Weiss quietly continuing. "I suppose that's why I can't see the world like Yang does. She may always be able to see the good… I only see the bad, now. She sees a world full of life and new experiences, full of change… I see a world full of danger and bigotry, where the next snake is coiled up nearby and waiting to bite you."
"We both know that's not what you think, Weiss." Ruby states firmly, tightly holding her wife to her. "You see the change in the world, too. Weiss, you see the beauty and goodness in the world and I KNOW you can. You're worried about me and scared of what could happen, but… Don't let it take you over. Never let fear change who you are. Whatever monster comes next, we don't need to fear… 'Cus, we'll all face it together. Just like we always have. So, bring on the Grimm-mask wearin' weirdo. They don't know who they're messin' with. Not really."
Weiss slowly looks back up at Ruby, the redhead smirking a bit. "If they're goin' after me, they're gonna hafta deal with my wife, too. An', don't tell her I said so, but she's one tough lady."
A slow smile coming to her face, Weiss leans up to gently kiss Ruby's lips. "You are such a corny dolt. You know that, don't you?"
"It's what I do~"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Weiss pales slightly, the red on her cheeks just growing that much brighter as she hears Blake's amused voice from the doorway. She had just realized how closely her face was leaned in toward her wife's. The expression on her face certainly wasn't portraying thoughts of innocence and sweet kisses, that's for sure. Wincing and looking over to where the faunus' voice was coming from, she is gifted with the sight of Blake tiredly smirking at her. "Need I remind you that this is a hospital? The area where children are born, no less? We can't have you two doing those weird things you do, here..."
"Which weird things? The roleplay or the stuff with the whipped cream?"
"Ruby!"
Blake laughs a genuine, happy laugh, causing Ruby to smile wider. "Both."
"Hmph. Anyway, do you want us to drive you home, Blake? You look very tired..."
"What about you two? You've been up all night, same as me."
"I'm fine to drive, trust me." Weiss replies with a smile, nodding and gesturing down the hallway. "Shall we?"
Blake quickly moves around the house, getting things ready for her girlfriend's return home. The hospital had wanted to keep both her and Anna over for a few days, This was both to make sure that nothing was wrong with mother or child and to offer counseling services to the blonde, if she needed to talk about her daughter's condition (though Yang didn't seem to need it, as talking it over with Blake and her sister seemed to be enough for her). But, today was the day that they were finally coming home. Since the couple had no car (and a motorcycle was completely out of the question), Weiss had insisted wholeheartedly that Rose Dust offer them transportation to and from the hospital. For reasons unknown, Weiss had seemed to be a little bit jumpier in the past few days.
It was like many things were slowly fraying her nerves to nothingness, the look in the woman's eyes seeming vague and distracted every time that Blake had seen her.
She would have to remember to inquire the reason from either Weiss, herself, or Ruby. But, that was to be done after she was sure that Yang and Anna were completely comfortable. She had to admit, it made her feel sad when she stepped into the beautifully painted nursery that she and Yang had leaped into not a month or two prior to the birth. But, she hadn't let that sadness consume her. She only had to repeat Yang's words to herself, ensuring that everything would turn out just fine. She couldn't believe, sometimes, how much hope Yang was able to fill her with.
For all intents and purposes, learning of her daughter's blindness should have destroyed Yang. But, it instead made her more determined. More determined than she already had been to be the best mother she could be. Her determination was contagious, filling Blake with a very similar feeling.
If her daughter could not see, there were plenty of other ways that she COULD interact with the world. Sound, for instance, seemed to be a very pleasing stimulus to Anna, as she always made her happiest-sounding gurgles when Yang would laugh. Though, the sounds Anna made definitely seemed to please the blonde, as well. That was her Yang, bouncing back stronger than ever.
Weiss, as much as she wanted to be, couldn't make it to greet Yang when she got home. Ruby had regretfully told Blake that Weiss had some very important business to attend to with the company, but would be over to visit in the next day or so (Weiss, herself, had even called Blake to apologize, to which Blake had to assure her it was okay at least a dozen or so times). Ruby, however, was free of hunts for the time being and eagerly agreed to join her for welcoming Yang back home.
"So, what exactly did Weiss have to do? She never did tell me what the business she needed to attend to , today, was..." Blake asks, glancing over at Ruby as she arranges their room into a temporary room for Anna. For the first few nights, they wanted to keep her close to them in case any problems occurred. Afterward, if everything went well, she could be moved to the nursery they had built.
"Oh, um… Just business stuff, I dunno." Ruby replies with a shrug, carefully squishing a soft teddy bear before placing it into the tiny crib by Yang and Blake's bed. "Probably stocks or progress meetings... maybe even a new tech demo, if she's lucky."
"Mm. Does she take you to those, often?"
"Heh~ Only the tech demos. She knows that I can't stay awake during the stock stuff. I try, but every time I do..."
"You fall asleep."
"Yeah… And, I snore pretty loudly..."
"Yikes."
"Yeah, some of those business types weren't too happy about that."
"What did Weiss have to say about that?"
"She stared down one of the guys who was talkin' about me and made him shut up with just a glare. Then, she took me out for ice cream after the meeting." Ruby says with a chuckle, leaning back on the wall for a moment. "She DID tell me that it might be best if I didn't come to those meetings anymore, 'cus they're pretty boring. I think she just doesn't want me to get my feelings hurt."
"That makes sense. I've heard that it gets pretty cutthroat in the high-lien corporations. Weiss may be a different kind of businesswoman, but that doesn't mean others are quite ready to change yet." Blake says, her tail making a gentle swish behind her as she adjusts a small blanket inside the crib. "You know how much she worries about you..."
"I know. She was always fussy over me, before, but… It's been different, since..."
"Yeah. We all were pretty shook up by that..." Blake says quietly, slow memories of the fight on that fateful day seeping into her mind. The kink in her tail begins to pulse with a familiar ache at these thoughts, her teeth slightly gritting inside her mouth.
"Ain't that the truth?" Ruby replies with a chuckle, her eye looking down at her boots. "At least she doesn't blame herself, anymore. She just puts herself into making changes, erasing everything that made her company bad. She works her ass off, but she's making real change, y'know? I think it helps that she's got something to put herself into."
"I think it helps more than anything that she has a supportive wife who loves her to death."
Ruby blushes and scratches the back of her neck, a few embarrassed bits of laughter coming from her. "Heh, y-yeah… I… I guess."
"I really don't think you know how good you are for her, Ruby." Blake says with a smile, causing Ruby to blush a little brighter. "Even before you were together, you always had a positive effect on her life."
"Okay, okay, enough embarrassin' ME, what about you and Yang? You guys seem to be doin' pretty good for each other, too."
"I won't lie. She does so much to keep me upright, so much more than I think she even knows… I… I think I would have been more torn up about Anna being blind, if she hadn't been there. She's just… so positive about everything, when it comes to life. Like… when I look into her eyes, I know everything is going to be alright. No matter what happens, it'll all be okay."
"Yeah, she has that affect on people. When mom died, I think she was the only thing that kept me going, some days. It was that way she smiled at me and ruffled my hair, just… looked out for me. You could practically see the love in her eyes, when she would take care of you..."
A moment passes between the two women before Ruby coughs awkwardly, Blake laughing a little. "Well, that was a very serious heart-to-heart between two sisters-in-law about a certain blonde, ahaha~"
"Well, technically, we're not sisters-in-law, Ruby. Me and Yang aren't married..."
"Aw, pish-posh! You're about as much my sister as Weiss is Yang's! Whatever the laws, you're still family to me, Blake! Uh… Sister-in-word! Anyway, uh… When are you supposed to go get Yang and Anna?"
"About twenty minutes. That's when Weiss said that the transportation would be around to take me down. You think you'll be able to-"
"I can hold down the fort just fine, thank you very much. I'm not COMPLETELY incompetent."
"Just regular incompetent."
"Yeah!"
Blake laughs a little more, giving a slow shake of her head in amusement. "Well, then… Can my 'regular incompetent' sister-in-word help me finish this up?"
"Of course!"
Weiss' heels clack loudly upon the tiled floor of the hallway, her eyes steely with determination and a small case being held tightly in her hand. It's a shame she couldn't see Yang and Anna when they arrived home, but she saw this as a viable reason to have to miss the occasion. Thankfully, Ruby was there and could tell her how everything went when they returned home tonight.
Turning left, she moves swiftly down another hallway before reaching a set of double doors and throwing them open to walk into a large testing room with large machines and many assorted people at work. A dark-haired, lightly stubbly man with a white lab coat jumps a little from the table he had been leaning over, adjusting his glasses when he sees that the owner of the company coming toward him. Oh, yes, it was most certainly a quite terrifying sight to behold. Weiss Rose was a fair and pleasant boss (putting much money toward research of new technologies), but vastly intimidating despite her short stature. There was just something about the way she carried herself that made her seem larger than life. Perhaps it was the fact some of her scars were visible, showing how hard-fought her battles had been.
Either way, to see a determined Mrs. Rose coming toward you with such a determined expression either meant something very interesting… or very bad.
His assistants grow silent, halting in their tests and examinations to watch her walk right up to the lead scientist. He clears his throat and straightens his tie, walking around the table to meet the white-haired woman halfway there. "Good evening, Mrs. Rose. If I had known you were coming, I would have straightened things up a bit. Are you here for updates on healing dust? We haven't made much progress on it, yet. The chemical composition is still too hazardous to directly come into contact with skin without burning it, much less take away scars-"
"No, that is not what I came to discuss, today, Anderson. Regarding the healing dust, take your time with the testing. I will have no tests of it until we are sure that it will work. We're not in any hurry to release it. Anyway…" She states, walking over to the table he had been leaning over and silently clearing some space for the case she had been holding.
The case clicks open, revealing that it's filled with red rose petals. "This is what I wanted you to work on."
"Rose petals, ma'am?" Anderson asks, adjusting his glasses once more and running a hand through messy black hair.
"These are not just ordinary rose petals. These are the leftover energy signatures of a semblance, after it has been used."
"Like your wife's petals?"
"Precisely."
The scientist strokes at his stubbly chin, reaching in to take a petal from the case. "And, you want us to test your wife's semblance petals… why, exactly?"
"Simple. These are not my wife's semblance petals. These came from a suspicious figure who my wife has seen far too often to be coincidence. Whoever they are, they appear to have the same semblance as her. Since semblances are unique to specific people and rarely ever repeat, I was hoping..."
"...that we could identify this mysterious person through her energy signatures. Since the energy signatures are unique to one person, we could easily track them down." He finishes, nodding his head slowly and placing the petal back into the case. "I think we can do what you asked… It may take some time, though. Semblance energy is tricky to work with."
"Do it as swiftly as you can. This person being found is of the utmost importance to me."
"Understood. Jennings!"
"Yes, sir?" A tall, deer faunus says as she steps quickly up to him (her horns sticking up out of brown hair), brandishing a clipboard. "Did you need me for something?"
Anderson gestures her toward Weiss, a friendly smile on his face as he does so. "Mrs. Rose, this is Maryanne Jennings. One of our best and brightest upstart scientists, heading up the testing division for our new products. Jennings, this is Mrs. Weiss Rose, the owner of the Rose Dust corporation."
"P-Pleased to meet you, ma'am!"
"A pleasure, Miss Jennings." Weiss replies professionally, reaching her hand to lightly shake the other woman's. "You must really be something special, if Anderson is bestowing you with such high praise. He may be friendly, but he doesn't give out compliments unless you truly deserve them. I am confident that you will be quite the asset to the company, yes?"
"I am definitely excited by the possibilities with this company. Both in a business sense and in a social sense. If you don't mind me saying, accepting faunus into high-level positions such as mine is… astounding. You have no idea how great it feels to finally be recognized..."
"Brilliant minds such as yours should not be kept down under any circumstances, Miss Jennings." Weiss says simply, a smile on her face. "That being said, I am pleased you find the working conditions adequate."
"Oh, yes, Mrs. Rose! I love working here."
"Excellent. Now, I truly hate to run off on such short notice, but I have a million things that are calling for my attention, as well. So goes the life of an owner, I suppose. I trust everything will be taken care of?"
"Of course. Jennings. Take that case of petals down to the Analysis Lab; I want to start the investigation, myself." Anderson tells the faunus, gesturing back to the case Weiss had brought in.
"Right away!" The woman says, nodding quickly and moving to take the case in her hands. Her shoes patter on the ground as she speeds away, moving out of the large room and to a downstairs area.
Anderson turns slowly back to Weiss, smiling a bit. "We'll contact you when the analysis is complete, Mrs. Rose."
"Very good. Have a nice day, Mr. Anderson." Weiss replies, turning on her heel and moving off to the next thing demanding her attention from her. She has to admit that, the sooner this person targeting Ruby was found, the sooner she could feel at ease. If Ruby was in danger, she was going to do whatever it took to get her out of that danger. Despite the talk she had with Ruby at the hospital reassuring her, she still felt that an air of caution was still to be used.
She couldn't let any harm come to her wife again.
Blake drums her fingers onto the steering wheel of the car that Rose Dust had provided, Blake having insisted that she could drive the car herself. Waiting just outside the hospital pickup area was quickly fraying her already shaky patience. She wanted to see her girlfriend. She wanted to see her child. She wanted them both to finally be home and comfortable, to finally start the life she and Yang had been so eager to start. To think, all those months had finally amounted to this…
As a spring breeze runs gently through the open window, she's so lost in her thoughts that she doesn't notice a figure walking slowly up to the car… until it's too late.
*Smack*
A wet kiss is suddenly pressed to her cheek, Blake jumping a good amount as she quickly turns her head to the side. Yang grins and waggles her eyebrows, gently bobbing a cooing bundle in her arms. "Heya, gorgeous~ Waitin' for someone in particular?"
"Oh, you know… Two beautiful blondes."
"Aren't we all?"
"Just get in the car, you idiot."
Yang laughs heartily, quickly moving around to the side of the car and climbing in. "You got the carrier?"
"Of course. It's in the backseat, all hooked in like it's supposed to be. How's she doing?"
"Oh, you know. She was gettin' a lil' fussy, earlier, but calmed down after a bit. I can't believe how calm she is… Just like her momma, right?"
"If she could see how noticeably un-calm her 'momma' was, right now, she would have quite a different outlook on life. I've been jittery the whole ride down..." Blake says in a slightly quiet voice, Yang leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "You have no idea how quiet that house is without you in it, Yang."
"Thought you liked quiet..."
"Not that kind of quiet."
"Well, now it's gonna be louder. Don't worry. She's got a set a' lungs on her, when she does decide to cry, hehe~" The blonde chuckles, then directing the bundle toward Blake. Anna stares forward, making a small sound before leaning in a little bit. Blake laughs softly, Yang slowly handing the child into her arms with a happy smile. "That's momma, right there, Anna..."
Holding this tiny bundle, Blake finds herself more at peace than she's been in several days. "Hello, Anna..." She murmurs to her daughter as she leans forward to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.
The girl's ears flick as she hears the soft sound of Blake's words, her face gently nuzzling into the woman as she begins to quietly purr. Blake bites her lip, gently squeezing the little faunus tighter. "We're going to take you home, now, okay? You get to meet aunt Ruby..."
Anna coos and gives another gentle purr, her tail peeking out of the bundle and swaying slowly. Yang just watches for a moment, smiling a little wider with every small kiss that Blake presses to their daughter's head. "Yeah… Let's go home."
The sound of boots slowly rings out as a darkened figure walks through an abandoned warehouse, remnants of petals drifting lazily down from clothing. On the figure's face rests the Beowolf mask, cracked and dirty from the age of the beast they had slaughtered. Through the dim light of the area, they can make out five forms standing nearby. Boxes are stacked neatly on one side, ready for unloading at any time.
"I've been in to see her. She is the one we seek." The figure says lowly, brushing petals off their clothing and drawing the attention of the few in front of them. From behind the mask, a pair of wolf ears lower tight to the skull. "The plan is in motion. The coming time will be crucial to it. Remember that."
A large man in front of the figure crosses his arms across his massive chest, the shattered mask of an Ursa a slightly loose fit on his face. A black cat tail sways slowly from behind, brushing the ground briefly before resting onto it. "We've got it, Beowolf. It'll get it done."
"It had better, Ursa... You all know better than anybody, how important our mission is. We cannot afford to miss a single step." The figure says with a chuckle, walking slowly over to one of the boxes and trailing a nail along the wood. "Where do we stand, now?"
One feminine figure steps forward slowly, wearing a mask made of modified Nevermore bone. Horns poke out from behind the woman's mask, her voice dropped to a low and raspy tone. "We make sufficient progress and our numbers grow larger every day… We should be ready right on time."
"Good… Very good, everyone. Now, we move onto the next phase… Come the time of the Schnee's speech, the world will be made quite aware of our presence. Everything will fall perfectly into place."
They will fear the dark, once more.