Yang took a deep breath, then opened the door. Instantly, her eyes locked on the figure sitting on the living room couch. It was Ruby, and yet it wasn't. Somehow, her features were more shadowed, more sharp, more fearsome-looking than they had been that morning. And for whatever reason, that terrified Yang.

After a few seconds, she couldn't take it anymore, and she ducked back behind the door. The fear remained, but after a few seconds it shifted from fear of Ruby to fear of some lurking danger. Instinctively, Yang felt there was some sort of monster on the other side of the door, something she had to stay away from. But at least this way, she wasn't afraid of-

The door opened. "Yang?" Ruby stood on the other side. In an instant, she became the source of Yang's fear again.

Yang jumped in surprise, letting out a short shriek. Then, she finally did what her instincts were screaming at her to do, and she turned and ran from her sister.

"Yang!" Ruby tried to call after her, but even her words seemed distorted. "Yang, it's just me!"

Yang didn't stop running. She heard footsteps behind her as Ruby pursued her, but that only pushed her to run faster, determined to get away from the thing chasing her. She only stopped when the footsteps died away, and the feeling of terror began to ease.

Yang looked around her. Her flight had led her outside the house, and nearly to the treeline where orange leaves were gently falling in the breeze. Yang turned back to the house, and saw Ruby standing in the front doorway, several meters away. At this range, whatever was causing Yang to be afraid of her own sister was weak, and she saw Ruby as she really was – an adorable young girl, eyes wide as she stared at Yang in horror. Horror of what she was unconsciously doing.

Yang stood there for a moment, then started walking towards Ruby again. But as she neared, that feeling of terror crept up again, and Ruby's appearance took on a more terrible aspect. Those eyes...

...Were filling with tears.

Yang stood, paralyzed between her desire to flee, and her desire to run forward and embrace her little sister. But before she could act on either impulse, Ruby turned and ran back into the house. As she left, Yang felt equal parts relieved and ashamed.

That night, for the first time that Yang could remember, she was sleeping in her home, but not in the same room as Ruby. Instead, she sat on the bed in the guest room, on the opposite side of the second floor, arms wrapped around her knees. The room was bland, with an unremarkable beige color scheme and sparse furnishings, lacking the warmth of the room she shared with Ruby. It didn't feel right. Especially not without Ruby.

But she had no choice but to sleep there, because she couldn't sleep near Ruby.

She couldn't even be near Ruby. Not with that Semblance of hers. Once, they were practically inseparable. Now, just being near her made Yang feel more fear than she had ever felt in a long time.

The only time she'd been more afraid was... that one day, long ago, where she'd ventured into the wilderness, in a futile, foolish attempt to find her mother. She didn't want to be reminded of that day, of the sheer terror she felt as she stared, frozen, at the Beowolves surrounding her, eyes fixated on their sharp teeth that glistened with spittle as the monsters sensed their next meal...

But Yang was out of range now, in the guest bedroom. Here, it was almost possible to forget the aura of fear that now surrounded Ruby. In fact... the entire thing just seemed so stupid. She knew perfectly well that Ruby was still Ruby. Ruby wasn't a threat, she was Yang's sister. But Yang knew that if she went back to Ruby's side, that feeling of terror would grip her again... and once more, it would be as though she were a helpless little girl, alone except for a sleeping infant and a pack of Beowolves...

So instead, she was here, in the guest bedroom. Instead of fear, it was guilt that kept her from sleeping. Guilt, and a childish inability to understand or accept the situation she was in. It was wrong. Things shouldn't have been like this. She was supposed to be sleeping in the same room as her sister, the way she always had. She didn't get why things had to be different now, just because of Ruby's stupid new Semblance...

Maybe if she were older, she'd understand. But she was ten. It didn't make sense. It wasn't going to.

Yang peeked around the corner, trying her best to keep her fear at bay. Beyond, Ruby sat at the living room couch, reading a book. She hadn't noticed Yang lurking about, apparently engrossed in her reading. Why shouldn't she be, when books weren't afraid of her?

Yang was glad her sister's focus wasn't on her, for the same reason one might be relieved that a dangerous predator was preoccupied with something else. That was what Ruby was to Yang, after all.

Yang wanted desperately to change that. But how?

Well, she tended to just charge at her problems. Maybe this time shouldn't be any different. She took a deep breath and stepped into the room. Slowly, she made her way to the couch. It took an act of will just to get closer to Ruby, but Yang grit her teeth and pushed on. As she advanced, she focused on memories of Ruby and her in the past – talking, laughing, playing. She focused on the relationship they had, and what they could have again.

As she sat down on the couch, Ruby looked up from her book. Her face immediately took on a look of guilt. Guilt, and a trace of hope. "Yang?"

"Ruby…" Yang bit her lower lip, trying to find the words to say. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. It's just…" She sighed. "You know."

Ruby nodded. "I miss being with you, Yang."

"I know." A long moment passed. "I'm trying to be brave. It's hard." Not the most eloquent of explanations, but Yang was having a hard time coming up with anything better.

"I'm sorry…" Ruby sighed, looking down. "I wish I could control it."

"It's enough that you're trying." Yang attempted a smile. "I'm going to try my best, too."

Ruby's smile was more genuine. "Thanks, Yang."

After a long moment, Yang stretched out her arms towards her sister. Ruby, taking the hint, leaned in, letting Yang embrace her. In that moment, Yang could have sworn she felt the fear ebb slightly. Not enough, but it helped.

Author's Notes:

Not much to say here. This is just a shorter chapter, showing things from Yang's perspective. Sometimes I think of little scenes like these that hopefully help flesh out the story some more.