As the sun dipped behind the horizon, the future Huntsmen rested after the exhaustive few hours of dancing. If the natural beauty of the sunset hadn't caught their attention, they would probably still be dancing.
"You have great talent Flicka." Weiss commented from her spot next to Neptune as she took a seat. The faunus blushed, hoping the sun masked the glow in her cheeks.
"I'll say. Where did you guys learn to play like that?" Sun asked as he lounged on the sand.
"From our families mostly." The percussionist answered, joining the group after putting some of their instruments away. "All of our families have specialized in music for generations. We only recently decided to try more outside instruments."
"It must be great to live here." Ruby commented. "Beautiful scenery. Lots of things to do. Great Grimm protection."
"I agree but does it always get this cold at night?" Nora asked, already clutching herself and leaning against Ren for warmth.
"Yup." The drummer said with a laugh. "Once the sun goes down it can get pretty cold, especially by the water. But we always have a solution."
"What's that?" Weiss asked.
"Beach bonfire." The drummer answered, pulling out some old broken drumsticks.
"Um, sorry to disappoint but you're not gonna be able to make a bonfire with those wimpy sticks." Nora commented.
"Oh, no. This is just the kindling." They responded.
"This is for the bonfire." The keyboardist grunted, dropping down large slabs of wood onto the beach. Nora's mouth dropped open, her eye twitching slightly.
"Now, Nora, you know about fires." Ren drew out, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Soon, a large structure was quickly assembled thanks to the 12 hands on deck. JNPR refused to let Nora anywhere near the fire before it was actually built so she and Ren took a walk down the beach.
"Nothing like a romantic stroll to distract the pyromaniac." Yang commented, putting the last large piece of wood down.
"You're one to talk Yang. Must we explain the time you got so upset you destroyed a club." Ruby commented, putting more kindling into the mix.
"That's different." Yang dismissed. "Light it up!" Taking their cue, the band threw onto the fire their special lighter. Soon, the entire structure was a blaze, with fireworks shooting up into the sky for extra sparkle. Shouts of approval and awe came from below on the sand.
"Look what I found!" A call came from down the beach. Nora then appeared from the dusk, carrying what looked like an oversized pillow and small dark boards. "There can't be a campfire without s'mores!" She sung coming into the light of the golden fire.
"Good call sparky." The drummer commented, taking out some kindling sticks to use for roasting the marshmallows Nora held. Both she and Ren just stared, not sure how to respond.
"Where did you find these?" Ruby asked excitedly. Grabbing the bag of fluff and jumbo chocolate bar from Nora and box of crackers Ren had been carrying.
"Just down the beach." Ren answered, still looking over at the drummer. "Another group were leaving and after Nora mentioned that we were gonna have a fire, they just offered their supplies."
"Well that was lucky." Pyrrha commented
"Not luck, just hospitality." Flicka corrected, poking the few coals from the fire over to the edge to roast the marshmallows.
"So who wants a s'more?" Nora sung, putting three marshmallows on a single stick.
"You won't burn it will you?" Jaune asked. Nora gasped, sounding insulted.
"No need to worry about that Jaune." Ren answered for her. "Nora made the best s'mores when we were younger. Crisp but gooey." Nora smiled at the compliment, handing Ren the chocolate and crackers to start an assembly line.
"In that case, I'll take one." Ruby said. "Yang just sticks the marshmallows into the fire."
"That's best way to have them!" Yang and the percussionists said in unison. They locked eyes and Yang gave them a wink.
"Um, would someone explain exactly what a s'more is?" Blake ask, holding a marshmallow in her hand.
"The combination of a roasted marshmallow and chocolate bar sandwiched between sweetened graham crackers." Weiss explained, accepting a sandwich from Nora who just started handing them out to everyone.
"You know what a s'more is?" Neptune asked, also taking a s'more from Nora.
"I might appear to have been raised in a castle but I did have a childhood." Weiss replied, taking a bite of the dessert as memories of Klein sneaking the Schnee children into the kitchen for sweets swept her memory. "The only down side is they do make quite a mess." She attempted to say through sticky lips.
"Come on Blake." Sun said, holding out a s'more to her. "Just try it."
"Would you like a s'more too, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, taking a freshly done marshmallow away from the coals
"I'm not sure." Pyrrha hesitated. "After all those Pumpkin Pete commercials I haven't been able to swallow marshmallows."
"Trust me. This is better than Pumpkin Pete's." Jaune assured her, pressing the sugary confection between the crackers and chocolate. Pyrrha politely accepted and looked over to Blake, having also accepted her treat from Sun.
The group tried not to stare as the two took a bit of their first s'more. Sun however smiled as he saw Blake's eyes widen slightly as she took another, more eager bite. Pyrrha simply stared at the small sandwich in her hand. This is, fantastic. She took another bite of the sandwich, analyzing complex yet harmonious tastes in her mouth.
"So, you like it?" Jaune asked weary, not able to read Pyrrha's expression. Pyrrha finished her s'more in another bite, licking her fingers with a smile.
"Could I have another?" She asked with a wide grin on her face. As the sky began to darken more and filled with stars, the motley crew made s'mores until there was nothing left but wrappers.
"So, who's up for another game?" Yang asked, throwing her marshmallow stick into the fire.
"Game?" Weiss asked.
"Of course!" Yang responded excited. "If this is our last night on this island I want us to be up until night is day."
"You mean not sleep?" Jaune asked concerned.
"Um, Yang the last time one of us didn't sleep you tricked them into having a conversation with them. And by them I mean me." Blake finished.
"One: That was a different situation. Two: You probably secretly thank me for doing that. And three: We'll have the entire plane trip to catch up on sleep." Yang explained, holding out a finger for each of her points.
"They do recommend that traveling toward the sun you rest as much as you can before the journey." Ren commented.
"See? Ren agrees with me." Yang said smugly. "Now what game should we play?"
"Something that doesn't require too much movement." Weiss said, staying seated by Neptune.
"Or involves Nora dragging us across the beach." Sun added.
"Party pooper!" Nora called back.
"Why don't we play limbo?" Ruby offered, holding a large pole. "No extreme movement necessary, just flexibility and balance."
"Maybe JNPR will be able to get a hat trick." Jaune commented, patting Ren on the back and looking at Pyrrha.
"Oh no," Ruby objected, "Team RWBY for the win!"
"Pardon me ladies but I don't think you will be winning this game." Sun disagreed, standing up.
"Sounds like we have another tournament on our hands!" Yang announced, rubbing her hands with anticipation. "Flicka! Mind giving us some tunes?"
"Band?" Flicka asked before standing up. When all of them agreed, the returned to their instruments. Using notched poles to hold the limbo bar, the future Huntsmen began circling around, slowly dropping the limbo bar with each pass.
The first to be eliminated was Nora. For once her bottomless energy proved problematic when it came to slowly crossing underneath a bar. This was shortly followed by Jaune, lacking in both the flexibility and balance department.
"Don't worry Jaune." Yang assured him with a pat on the back. "Balance is an art learned." She confidently sauntered up to the bar and began to bend backwards when she realized a problem, two problems. It seemed no matter how she bent or crouched, her breasts threatened to knock her out of the competition. Seeming to find a decent position, Yang continued under the pole until.
"Yang's out!" Ruby shouted, the bar dropping onto Yang as she fell back in the sand.
"What's the matter Yang, a little off balance?" Sun teased as Yang got up and replaced the bar where it was. "Watch and learn." As the monkey Faunus approached the bar, the flick of his tail caught Yang's attention.
"Hey Sun," Yang called after he had made his way under, "just curious, how do use that tail?"
"My tail?" Sun asked confused, the object in question curling behind him.
"Yeah. I mean we've seen you hang around with it," everyone groaned at Yang's pun as she continued, "but what else can you do?"
"Uh, well, I can use it to hold thinks like tea cups, tripping up baddies, and-"
"Help you balance?" Yang questioned. Sun's mouth hung open, a small blush creeping onto his face.
"Well, yeah. Jumping over buildings, climbing in trees, I need to use it to help me pull of the stunts I do." Sun answered. "It acts as a counterbalance." A sharp crack came from the limbo line as everyone turned to Blake, her hand on her face.
"Sun...the whole point of limbo is that people can't balance..." She said drily.
"But he could still limbo if he didn't have it!" Neptune suddenly insisted. "Come on dude, show them how it's done!" Sun smiled back at Neptune and took a deep breath. He then wrapped his tail around his waist like a belt, setting an even playing field. As he started bending, however, everyone could see the difference between then and now. Sun was shaking the lower he went, but just as he was about to fall over, he sprung back! Unfortunately so had his tail to its normal position behind him. As Sun finished his pass he gave a shrug.
"Sorry folks." He apologized. "By now it's instinct. If I go off balance, my tails gonna catch me."
"Don't apologize Sun." Ruby said, patting him on the back. "I just hope you don't get mad as us for saying you're disqualified." Sun smiled down at her and extended his hand for her to shake.
"None taken. Neptune," Neptune turned toward his partner, "show them how it's done!" The two fist bumped as Sun left the line.
"So who's off balanced now?" Yang asked.
"Still you." Sun responded with a wink as he joined her, Nora, and Jaune on the side lines. As the limbo line continued, more were eliminated. Ruby was out next, losing concentration mid-bend and falling backwards. Weiss soon followed Ruby, however hers was a more voluntary forfeit.
Yeah…I'm not gonna do that. Weiss, you can't step over the pole. Yeah, the whole point is to bend under.
Following Weiss was Ren and Pyrrha, leaving it down to Neptune and Blake. Eventually, they both cleared the lowest notch on the holding poles.
"Does this mean it's a tie?" Blake asked as she straightened up after her pass.
"No! Play until the death!" Nora called from the side lines.
"No, Nora it's not that intense." Ren corrected.
"To the DEATH!" Nora shouted, holding her arm out in a fist.
"It's not to the death." He sighed.
"Blake?" Neptune asked. Blake shrugged. Nora squealed excitedly, taking the limbo bar off the poles. She passed it over to Pyrrha and the two got down on their knees to better hold the bar. Even as the girls continued to lower it and everyone thought they'd break from loss of stamina, neither Blake nor Neptune seemed to be breaking a sweat.
Neptune was making another pass, turning his head toward Pyrrha.
"Hey Neptune, watch were you're looking." Bonk!
"Yang!" Neptune accused from the sand as he rubbed his head from hitting the bar. Pyrrha was blushing, unconsciously putting her hands over her legs.
"Hey, you've got no proof it was me." Yang replied with a wink.
"Does that mean that Blake wins?" Jaune asked, blushing himself at Yang's comment.
"That's not fair." Neptune whined slightly as he got up. "I was set up!"
"But how much longer would this go on though?" Weiss asked, yawning slightly. Even in the dying flickers of the group's bonfire, everyone could see Ice Queen was tired. And she wasn't the only one. Despite Nora encouraging Blake and Neptune to continue with the Limbo contest, she quickly faded afterwards and was falling asleep sitting up with the limbo bar. Ruby had pulled out her cape and was soundly asleep under it.
"Yeah, I'd hate to leave you guys but we better be off." Flicka said from where the band was. Even the band members looked exhausted.
"Maybe it would be best to call it a night." Neptune admitted, reaching over to Weiss who sleepily accepted his hand. He led her over to where Ruby slept and sat down next to her. Ren went over to Nora, having fully succumbed to sleep, and gently leaned her over so her head rested on his thighs. Blake sat by them and Sun joined her, laying on his back with his hands behind his head.
"I guess I'll have to bend to the majority too." Yang commented, walking over to Flicka as the band packed up. "For dealing with us." She said, handing Flicka a large roll of Lien.
"Oh, Yang, really?" Flicka breathed, looking at all the cash in her hand. "All of it?"
"Yup, and no arguing." She finished sternly but with a wink. "Complements of team RWBY, JNPR, Sun, and Neptune."
"And the Schnee family." Weiss called over with a tired smile. Flicka beamed as she safely tucked the money away.
"Thank you so much." Everyone alert enough waved the band off as they headed soon faded into the dusk.
"What a way to end our trip." Yang finally said as she laid down on the ground next to Ruby.
"Yeah. Thanks Weiss for this." Jaune said as he took a seat next to Pyrrha by Ren and Nora.
"Need I remind you that you all invited yourselves?" A slight chuckled floated into the sky as they all succumbed to sleep.