"I-I need to find Sh-shelter," the small girl told herself as she rubbed her arms against her chest in a vain effort to stay warm. Winter had started not too long ago, and though it wasn't snowing yet, it certainly felt cold enough for it to start soon.

She sighed as she looked throughout the abandoned town. She was in the middle of downtown, an area filled with what used to be small stores that all appeared to have been looted long ago. The buildings were decrepit and looked as if they would collapse in on themselves at any moment. The windows were shattered and the walls were broken down.

"Not a good hiding spot at all," the child thought aloud, memories of the broken down Orphanage flashing through her mind, of how the poorly built building's walls easily broke down by only a few rotten bodies slamming into them repeatedly.

She quickly shook the thought away, she couldn't think about that now. She didn't have time to lay down and cry her heart out over the only home she had ever known being overrun, to lament over her powerlessness as her friends screamed for help as their flesh was ripped from their bodies by the ravenous beast that had taken the world by storm. She couldn't, wouldn't, think of that right now. She needed shelter, a place to keep warm as she planned out her next move.

"Uuuuugh."

She held her breath. She curled herself into a ball and quickly crawled her way to a nearby wall. 'I did not hear that! I did not hear that!' she prayed for it to be true, for the moaning and shuffling that rang in her ears was nothing more than her imagination.

"Uuuuugh."

But it was not to be. The moans were clear, distinct. There was no mistaking the moans that haunted her very dreams. The undead were here, surrounding her from all sides. She placed her hand over her mouth and nose. Could they hear it? Could they hear her labored, panicked breathing? What about her heart? Surely they, too, could hear the pounding of her heart as clearly as she could. She wanted to bite down on her lip, to help her calm down and think clearly. But wouldn't the scent of blood only attract their unwanted attention?

'Oh god. They're going to get me! They're going to get me!" her arms and her legs trembled. Her body shook uncontrollably as she swallowed the bile that threatened to spill from her throat. She fought back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.

'No. I-I can fight this! I-I can sneak away!' she told herself, her eyes scanning forward into the alleyway she found herself in. She would sneak through this alleyway, make her way towards the end and run as fast as she could out of this monster filled town.

'I'm going to make it! I know I will!' she thought over and over again as she slowly stood, placing one foot in front of the other, smiling as she imagined herself in a zombie free field of flowers and puppies. 'I'm going to make it! I'm going to-'

The sound of a kicked can rang throughout the alleyway causing her to freeze, staring in horror as the can bounced along the ground before rolling away.

"Rrrraaaagh!" attracting the attention of the zombies with it.

"N-no! No!" she screamed in horror, doing away with stealth and now sprinting towards the end of the alleyway, hoping she could escape before the exit was blocked off. Her legs burned as she pumped them forward, urging herself to get away from the beast.

"Raaagh!" It was all in vain, her small body combined with the confined space of the alleyway made it all but impossible for her to escape.

"No! Let me go!" she screamed futility as she tried to pull her arm away from the zombie that latched onto her. "No! I don't want to-"

"Ret her go!" a scream followed by a loud bang was all she heard as she watched the zombies head burst, blood splattering everywhere, dirtying her clothes and face.

"W-wha?" she fell to the ground, looking behind her towards her savior.

"Raaaagh!" her skin was pale, her black veins clearly visible, much like other zombies. In her hands was a bolt-action rifle, covered in childishly painted roses and a curved blade duct taped onto the barrel. Effortlessly she tore through the zombie horde, quickly making her way towards her.

"W-what is going on?" she muttered, unsure if she should be horrified by what was happening before her or grateful for the unlikely save. Soon there were no zombies left, save for the one who saved her, and the alleyway was quiet once more.

"..." her savior looked around before lifting her head into the air, sniffing it like a dog. After taking several long whiffs of the air she nodded to herself before turning towards her. "...Hi," she waved, an awkward smile on her face.

"...S-salutations," she replied lamely. The caretakers at the orphanage always taught her to be polite, and even if the girl was a zombie she seemed...nice.

"...A-are yooou oookay?" she slowly reached out a hand towards her, offering to help her up.

"Y-yes, thank you," she reluctantly took the woman's hand despite deeming it a terrible idea. What if at this point the woman chose to eat her? What if she only saved her because she disliked sharing meals? The thought terrified the young girl.

"...M-myyyy name's Rrrrrruby!" she gently pulled the girl up. "I-I huntress! H-hunnnt wiiiiird game!" She did a half bow but quickly straightened back up into a curtsy, her cheeks darkening.

'I-is that a blush?' She thought inquisitively before dismissing the thought. That didn't matter right now. "M-my name's P-Penny! Penny Polendina!" she decided to salute, unsure if shaking hands was considered rude around these parts.

"Pennny," Ruby repeated, rolling the name over her tongue. "Th-that'sss a preeety nammme!" she smiled gently.

"Th-thank you," Penny muttered embarrassingly. No one had ever complimented her before. "I-I like your name, too! Very…" she paused, looking up and down at the woman. "...fitting?" she shrugged, staring at Ruby's crimson cape.

"Hee hee, Rice rikes it, too!"

'Rice?' Penny thought with a raised eyebrow. That was an...interesting name. "W-well, thank you for saving me, b-but I should go," she saluted Ruby again before turning on her heel and walking away.

"Go?" Ruby appeared before her once again, much to her surprise. "D-do you havvve f-famiry?"

Her hands quickly balled into a fist, her teeth clenched so hard they felt as if they would crack. "N-no," she tried to say gently, trying to calm herself. There was no need to get angry, there was no way Ruby would know.

"Frrriends?"

"...No," she growled, looking down at her feet. "I...I don't have anyone," she sighed, turning sideways in order to get past Ruby. "Now excuse me, I need to find shelter-"

"No," Ruby said firmly, placing her hand on Penny's shoulder. "I-I take you!"

"What?!" Penny looked up in shock. W-was this zombie hitting on her?! But she wasn't into older woman, she wanted someone her own age! "W-wait, I-I'm sorry, but-"

"Nnnoooo buts!" Ruby got on her knees, both hands resting on Penny's shoulders. "M-myyy fammmiry! Sh-sherter! Food!" she got back up, taking Penny's hand in her own. "W-we take care of you!"

"T-take care of me?" Penny stared dazzedly at Ruby, putting up no resistance as she was dragged away. "...W-wait a minute! You can't do that, I-I'll just be a burden! Your family...they…" she bit her lip, unsure of what to say. "...They won't accept me-"

"Nonsense!" Ruby laughed, swinging hers and Penny's hands back and forth. "Rice roves peop...Er, Rice roves kids...I think?" she muttered the last bit underneath her breath. "A-and Rang! And Brake! Nora, Ren and Pyrrha! And even…" she trailed off. "Eh, hates Jaune, but Rice roves you!" she said with the utmost confidence that Penny almost believed her.

"...A-are you sure she won't mind?" she asked, her grip on Ruby's hand tightening. Could she really stay with them? Could she finally have that which she desires most?

"...Yeah," Ruby whispered, her thumb gently rubbing against Penny's hand. They continued walking in silence through the town. When Penny's legs finally became too tired to keep her up Ruby allowed her to climb onto her back. Soon they left the little town behind and soon came upon a little building on the outskirts of the town.

'...Are those corgi's?' Penny thought to herself sleepily as she stared at the crudely painted log house.

"P-prrrreeeety, right?"

"...Yup," Penny nodded, not wanting to be rude. Sure, the corgi's were cute but that didn't stop the building from being an eyesore.

"Grrreat!" Ruby smiled as she walked towards the log house. "Werrrcome home, Penny!"

"...Home?" she muttered sleepily. 'Even if it is an eyesore, and a bit gaudy, I guess this isn't too bad,' she thought with a smile, snuggling into Ruby's cape. "Yeah...I'm home!" she sang quietly to herself. 'Yup, not too bad at all.'

-LineBreak-

Well, sorry this took so long! I've just had zero motivation, but I'm hoping to get some more writing done this year. When I first thought out this chapter I thought it'd be a cute idea to have a child Penny and have her adopted by Ruby and Weiss, and this chapter is the first small step towards that realization!