Not 2 hours later they were on a plane headed to Vale. Weiss couldn't stop fidgeting in her seat. Ruby, she was going to see Ruby, she was going to see her partner again. Not that she was much of a partner anymore; she hadn't fought by Ruby's side in years. Her hands were shaking so bad that she could barely buckle her seatbelt when they'd boarded. Now, already 30,000 feet in the air she was no better. Her hands still shook, and her heart was racing and she couldn't stop thinking about silver eyes, red hair and the scent of roses…

NO!

She couldn't think about it, couldn't get lost in those memories now. Ruby was in the hospital, she might be dying, she needed Weiss to be strong because she…- "Blake," Weiss choked out, her voice hoarse and cracking in a way that made her wince. Weak, she was so weak. "why is Ruby in the hospital, you never told me."

Blake calmly put down her tea on the tiny tray table in front of her. They could have chartered one of Weiss' private jets, they'd tried in fact but the pilot had told them it would take at least 5 hours to prepare the plane for takeoff, and Weiss needed to be on her way to Vale now despite Blake's reassurances that Ruby was by no means in critical condition, and they could take all the time they needed. Ignoring the advice, Weiss had therefore booked 2 first-class tickets on a luxurious – though somewhat cramped for Weiss' taste – commercial jet.

"She" began the faunus, not meeting Weiss' eyes "was out on a mission, 3 deathstalkers had set up a nest close to a village, so I'm told."

"Mmm…" Weiss hummed contemplatively. Three was a lot, three was a hard fight, but since the war many of the huntsmen and huntresses around the world had become stronger than they ever could have imagined. For a good team of 4 seasoned hunters, a triad of deathstalkers shouldn't have been too overwhelming. "Who was her backup, CVFY? I know they decided to stick around Vale. Nora and Ren, maybe?"

Blake lowered her eyes even more, and her faunus ears dipped in a posture sickeningly familiar to Weiss. Bad news was on the way. Was that why the monsters were able to get to the crimson speedster, because they took out her backup first? Her heart wrenched. If more of Ruby's friends died in battle, then she might not be able to bounce back this time. She'd barely made it through the war; this would be too much… Weiss snapped that train of thought off, disgusted with herself. Her friends may have died and she was worried about Ruby's feelings, what kind of twisted person was she? She took a deep breath to steady herself and waited for Blake to list the names of the dead.

"That's the thing, there wasn't any backup."

Weiss had to grip the arms of the seat to keep from falling over as she reeled in her seat. No backup? Three deathstalkers and no backup? Why was she alone? Had nobody gone with her? Had the abandoned the hero of Vale to hunt those massive monsters, full of clacking claws and dripping venom all on her own?

Blake must have seen the fire flash in her eyes as she looked up and replied in a soft voice "She wanted to go alone. She took the hunt and didn't tell anyone until she was already on her way. When she got the text from Ruby, Yang almost tore down the school she was so mad."

"But she didn't go after her." Weiss snapped "Nobody went after her, she walked into the forest all alone and she almost didn't come back!" Blake quietly cleared her throat, causing Weiss to look around. As she'd been talking her voice had risen from a hushed undertone to a near-shriek, and she'd forgotten they weren't alone. The polite passengers were trying to stare nonchalantly over their magazines or out of the corner of their eyes, while the rude ones out-right glared.

Feeling her cheeks heat up Weiss muttered a quick apology before turning back to Blake who was finally meeting her gaze, but was looking at her with- "Stop that."

She hated when people pitied her. So many pitied them – the veterans – after the war, for what they lost, what they sacrificed along the way to victory. The last person she wanted to pity her was Blake, her best friend, her sister, one of the few who'd seen all that she'd seen.

"I'm sorry" the brunette responded, turning her face back towards her cup of tea. "You should know the rest. Ruby went out alone and was gone for 4 days. The next time anyone saw her she limped into a village on the outskirts of the forest. Her…" Blake took a shuddering breath and Weiss once again tried to steel herself. She was a soldier damn it, she'd seen the destruction of the battlefield she could handle it. She had to handle it "her arm was hanging at a bad angle, the tendon in her right shoulder was severed. She also had 3 broken ribs, a bad concussion and had lost a lot of blood. She'd pretty much been running on reserve aura for the past 12 hours as she tried to get away. But Weiss…" Blake trailed off before looking up at her friend once again.

What more? What else could there possibly be? How much punishment could such a small body take, hadn't she been through enough? Giving an imperceptible nod, the heiress indicated she should continue.

"She did it. She killed all 3, alone." Blake said with a tinge of awe in her voice. All 4 members of team RWBY were celebrities, heroes after the war and renowned for their skill in combat. Even still, Ruby Rose always stood above the other 3. She was their leader – The Red Reaper – and she'd been the one to lead every charge against Salem's army of grimm. She was the one that defeated the Fall Maiden the first time, and it was she who dealt the killing blow to the dark queen. Yes, Ruby was the champion of champions, but it had been years and years since she'd heard that kind of admiration from Blake. It made her sick.

"So," Weiss whispered, voice cold with rage and fingernails digging deep cuts into the meat of her palms "So you think that because she survived, that a half blind girl alone in a forest infested with monsters survived by the skin of her teeth that she's some sort of hero? That she's an untouchable force, fighting all the bad guys and saving the world?" she spit the worlds "hero" like it was a curse, and she could see Blake physically recoil from her reaction, and she was glad.

She was glad that she could frighten her friend and make her finally see reality. She never thought she'd need to force Blake to see the consequences of their profession. Huntresses weren't heroes, they were martyrs. They were sent out there not to kill the grimm, there were too many to stop, even with Salem dead they always kept coming. No, they were sent out there to satiate the grimm. They could keep the population at bay and away from the big settlements. And when the monsters grew too aggressive and overran the huntress? Ah well, it's the risk of their profession. One more empty casket to bury. The good people wouldn't bat an eye, they just moved on with their lives, erected cold marble statues to commemorate the flesh and blood lost to teeth and fangs, and promptly forgot about them.

There were no heroes, only sacrificial lambs.

"Weiss we know, we wanted to go with her to help her, but-"

"But the team doesn't work anymore. We've known that for a long time Blake, I know that." Weiss huffed, all her anger dissipating and leaving her exhausted. Exhausted with worry, fear, and just so tired of having to have this argument. "That damn woman just won't stop taking hunts." Blake hummed sympathetically and stared down into her now-empty cup.

They sat like that a long time, the 2 ex-huntresses, both exhausted and aged prematurely by their short, violent lives. They listened to the gentle thrum of the engine and tried to sleep. Weiss had been dozing for several minutes when Blake spoke again.

"We've tried to get her out of the field, Yang and I."

"I know."

"Both Yang and Oz offered her jobs at Beacon, and I tried to get her to work with me in Menagerie, as a liaison to the human population there."

"I heard" Weiss responded, without opening her eyes. "Who did you end up getting to fill the position, by the way?" Her question was met with a with a quiet giggle

"Neptune, if you can believe it." Weiss couldn't honestly, and felt a chuckle bubbling in her own chest.

"No to be honest, I can't."

"He's actually quite competent in the role. Luckily his… erm… "charm" has tempered a little bit since we were teenagers and he's a caring person deep down." Blake replied, a calm and contented smile on her face, the first one Weiss had seen since she'd appeared on the patio hours ago.

"That's good to hear." Weiss said, and smiled back "To be honest, I can't believe Yang became a teacher either. She barely passed her own classes when we were in school!" She meant it as a joke, but the smile instantly left Blake's face as if Weiss had slapped her. She felt terrible she hadn't meant to bring that up, it just seemed natural, talking about the old times… "Blake I'm sorry-"

"No don't, it's fine. You're right it doesn't seem like a natural fit but Ozcar says she's great with the kids." Weiss squirmed in her seat. What had been a pleasant way to catch up with an old friend suddenly turned into an awkward conversation dancing around a subject. Weiss decided to stop dancing, and just ask.

"So are you two still-"

"Stop, we're fine. We talk, we've even gotten dinner a few times over the years." It sent a jolt of pain through Weiss to know her teammates had been spending time without her, but it was also good to know that Blake and Yang were at least on speaking terms. "Honestly we're good. It's just… it's just going to be strange to have RWBY back together again."

Weiss sighed and leaned her head against her seat. "I know."