So here's the next chapter. Quite a bit shorter this time, so I apologize for that, but I've been trying to not let the word count affect my writing and I really felt like chapter didn't fit in with anything else so I made it its own.
On the plus side it hasn't been very long so a shorter chapter but faster release.
Anyway, I'd rather not babble away with a long AN so here we go.
Ruby's eyes drifted open. The smell of pine trees and wet dog assaulted her nose, but she liked it. She'd grown used to it, and it was comforting. It reminded her that she was safe in her own home - that all the dangers of the outside world were kept at bay. That nothing could hurt her.
There was one more smell, though, one even more pleasant as Ruby sniffed the air. It smelled like roses and pegasus tears. Pegasus tears sounded made up to Ruby, but the roses definitely seemed true. It was a day not too long ago, when Yang said she wanted to be a "woman", and that she was tired of being a useless little girl.
The two of them snuck into their parent's bathroom late at night, stealthily pilfering a bottle that sat in the left-lowest drawer of the vanity. They tiptoed through the room; their father was asleep, and they passed through with impunity. Once they got the bottle back to their shared room they sat in the center of Yang's bed, cuddled up and drawing warmth from each other and a thick layer of blankets - and Zwei, of course.
It was a bottle of perfume, unopened; it was their mother's, and she never was one for the girly things like painted nails or earrings or perfume. It was a wonder she had it, but maybe it was a gift. Ruby had looked at it, afterwards pointing out that it was expired, probably having sat their for years. Yang used it anyway, despite the warning, spraying the liquid liberally all over her body even as Ruby waved her hands when she tried to give her some. Yang then promptly spilled the whole bottle all over the sheets and pillows.
Those were good times, and even after countless times through the wash the aroma remained.
Ruby took another deep sniff. A mid-summer day when all the birds and the bees filled the forest and the fresh bread from the bakery downtown migrated towards their house.
But it wasn't a mid-summer day. It wasn't even summer; it was winter, with no early spring and still six weeks of cold left. Ruby smothered her face with the pillow under her head, falling back on the mattress in a spiral of familiar smells.
It was all Yang. Everything was there: the bread, the pollen, the roses, and even the made up pegasus tears. Everything distinctly Yang ought to be there, but it wasn't. Her warmth, her snoring, her comforting words and caresses when things were grim. They weren't there. And even as Ruby turned to the vacant side of the bed to see if she was just deceiving herself they weren't there. And each smell seemed to fade with each longing breath, until nothing was there anymore. Not even the smallest remnant to remember her by.
She'll be home soon. Ruby reminded herself. Yang was just away on a school trip. She would come back. She had promised. Promised that she would never leave her. Not without saying goodbye.
Crack.
Something caught Ruby's attention; it was something breaking. She instantly shot up, slipping out of her bed and into her sister's bunny slippers. She tapped the ground with both feet to push her feet all the way into the the over-sized shoes, swiftly scurrying towards the door; it was instinct to go check out whatever the sound was - it could have been someone breaking in, and if that was the case then she probably shouldn't have been going down there but she did so anyway, throwing caution to the wind.
Through the door and the hallway, she rushed down the stairs, quickly like it was Christmas morning, but slowly enough between steps so she wouldn't fall on the way down.
Something stopped her as she scampered towards the front door. It was from the left; more breaking. She tentatively pressed one ear against the kitchen door - the cold hard wood tickling her cheek. Each shrill scream of glass was punctuated with a yell or shout, and it was clear the some sort of argument or fight took place. Before she could panic Ruby heard her father's voice, and then Uncle Qrow's.
They're... fighting?
It only took a minute for Ruby to realize that it was Uncle Qrow on the receiving end of the altercation.
I've never heard Daddy so mad before.
"They've given up. They say if she's not already dead we won't find her." It was Uncle Qrow who spoke this time; his words came with a slight hesitation to them and his raspy voice was even starker than usual. The subtext to his statements was unclear to Ruby. Who's given up? Who might be dead and who won't they find? No one, she hoped. Whoever it was.
"I see..." Daddy!
There was no anger anymore; all of that seemed to wash away with the last dish or vase. Only calm and collected miasma surrounded his voice, but the underlying soberness did not go unnoticed. He was frowning right now, she could tell. She missed his smile so much. It had been so long since she'd seen it, but it was burned in her mind. She was saving it, until the time came when he smiled everyday. Please let that be soon...
Uncle Qrow did not speak a word.
"It's over..." What!? What's over? Why did adults always have to talk so cryptically? I wish Big Sis was here...
"No, Tai. It's not. We'll keep looking for her. We'll find her, I promise." So it's a her... Ooh! Maybe it was that woman Big Sis was searching for? What was her name again?
"That's a promise you can't keep." Ruby knew that this was the point where Yang would have had enough, and say, "English to English translation, please."
"I-I" Uncle never stutters...
"I'm done..." Shivers spasmed across her entire body. There was something in the way he said that - or rather - the way he croaked it out with solemn purpose that meant only bad things. It was... cold, but also so heartfelt and so so utterly exhausted. Daddy... I'm worried.
"No! We can't give up!" Ruby jumped at the sudden emphatic shout, but it wasn't enough to prompt her to rush in there and the words still flew over her head.
"Yes, we can. And we are. Don't go looking for her, Qrow." Why would her father not want to help Uncle Qrow with this? Who is this person?
"No!" her uncle exclaimed.
"Yes! It's too late. I'm too late..." The beginnings of tears - Ruby could sense them.
"No. No you're not. It's not too late, and I know I won't rest until she's at home safe with her father." Ruby felt like crying, if only because of the cracked whispers of her father - the sound of someone else in pain only fueled the tears as they started to well up around her eyes. Someone must be out there right now - scared and alone - waiting for their father to come rescue them.
Yang briefly flashed in her mind, as someone who was probably missing her father very much, but she was away on a trip. And even if something had happened to her, there was no way their father would argue to not look for her. He would go to the ends of Remnant for her if that was what it took.
"Why do you try so hard, Qrow. You know it's too late for her." It was an almost threatening tone coming from her father. To actively deny to help someone when he might have a chance seemed out of character for him. There was no way he would do something of the sort; he was a huntsman after all - the strongest, most bravest, and kind people. They would never turn down someone in need. This must be some sort of misunderstanding, or perhaps there was something more to it that Ruby missed. That had to be it.
"No..." Ruby moved the shell of her ear in between the seam of the door to hear the less than a whisper. Her boots scuffed slightly against the floor as she inched over, and she caught her breath. Neither of them heard, luckily, because they would probably be a certain level of upset if they found her listening in on a probable private conversation.
"Yes. Whoever took her probably killed her when they couldn't get her. It's over." Such confusing words. Please stop Daddy... I don't like this.
"So, what? You're just gonna give up? Like that?" The last sentence was punctuated with a sharp snap, the sheer ferocity of the words chilling her bones.
"Yes." It's so cold.
"Don't let her be like Summer." Silver eyes widened in shock, more of the unexpectedness of it than anything - though, most everything today was unexpected. The identity of this mysterious female had never felt as crucial as in this moment - for just being mentioned in the same sentence as her mum was either taboo or necessitated. She found herself subconsciously veering towards the space in the lining to attempt to have better volume, but to no avail.
Ruby, extremely curious yet oblivious to the full conversation, if it could even be called that, slowly gripped the ice cold doorknob, inching it open even as it creaked until it was open a sliver but just enough for one eye to peer through.
"Argh!" Like a whistle it whipped through the air the moment after Ruby caught yellow. She shot to her feet at the punch - thrown sloppily and splitting air, clearly aimed at Uncle Qrow. Uncle Qrow idly tilted his head to the side, effortlessly dodging the blow and countering by grabbing her father's arm and throwing him over his shoulder.
The thud was punctuated with a grunt, Ruby wincing as her father hit the ground. It felt almost wrong, to stand by while her father and her uncle engaged in a heated argument, even when it was clear that she had no business entering or interfering.
"What? You mean like how you left Summer? All alone?" Uncle Qrow shot back. Ruby cringed. The tension could be cut with a knife. This was dangerous, too dangerous for Ruby to interrupt, but also too dangerous for her father and Uncle Qrow. Someone needed to stop them.
"I tried to save her!" Ruby could hear pounding against the padded floor, echoing through the usually quaint house.
"Then let's go." Clear, precise, and so very cold.
"No... I don't wanna have to see... anything." See what!?
"Fine. I'll find her myself." The air that was thick with anticipation settled, and Ruby let out a relieved sigh, relaxing against the door. She soon regretted doing so, after she leaned against the wood a bit too much and it shut closed with a click.
Footsteps approached her. Ruby anxiously stumbled as she tried to run back up the stairs and into the protection of her room, tripping over her over-sized cloak and slippers and falling to her knees. The door groaned opened to her laying there at the bottom of the staircase, and it was Uncle Qrow who stood there.
He passed right through the door frame with a purpose, not even sparing a glance at Ruby or any words - simply gulping down that poisoned liquid in his flask. She would have sworn he didn't even notice her presence if not for the shadowy orbs that glared at her in the corner of his eyes. The normal Uncle Qrow would have said something...
Ruby's eyes followed him as he made his way to the front door, opening it and deploying his beloved scythe as the door shut closed behind him. She simply stared at the wood for a good minute, attempt to soak in all that just happened, but she couldn't. There were too many variables, too many questions unanswered. People were angry, and frustrated, and depressed. That was all she knew.
Ruby finally turned back towards the kitchen after something of a whine drew her there. The sight was something she would take back if she could; it wasn't pretty. Her father lay on the floor, prostrate with tears flowing from his eyes, staining the rug below him.
"Daddy?"
His only response was more sobbing.
I've never seen Daddy cry before.