After being stranded for a few days, the group decided to learn more about combat in general. They knew the time may come when they would need to know, even though it was a haunting thought. Naturally, they turned to the person who knew the most about weapons and combat.

"Alright! Listen up, peasants!" Weiss shouted. "We'll start with the basics, like handling and throwing knives."

"Um," Blake mumbled. "Peasants?"

"Brrah!"

The faunus smirked and gently pet Nora the sloth on the head. "Yes… she thinks you're a peasant," she whispered to the sloth.

"Hm," Weiss hummed. "You three are, but not my sweet wittle Nora."

"Brrah!"

Weiss had a stick in hand that acted as a whip, slapping it lightly on top of the faunus' head in between her cat ears. "In this field you are peasants."

Blake's ears flinched when the stick hit her head slightly. Once Weiss lifted it up, the faunus flattened her ears on top of the sore spot.

"Rude!" Yang exclaimed, almost taking offense from the comment.

The white-haired girl raised the stick, silently challenging Yang to speak again. "Did I say you could talk?" she remarked irritably.

Yang beamed a smile. "Nope."

Weiss rolled her eyes and smacked her with the stick on the shoulder, making Yang recoil.

"Ow," the blonde mumbled while gently rubbing her shoulder. "You really are a feisty one, aren't you?"

Weiss crossed her arms and let out an annoyed huff, not regretting the slight pink mark she left on Yang's shoulder.

"So, uh," Ruby stammered. "What's first?"

"After almost getting our asses kicked by that jaguar, you'll learn the basics of combat. You never know when you'll need them, especially since we're stuck on this abomination called an island. Now, you see those poorly crafted knives?" she used the whip to point to the ground. "Pick them up."

The three did as they were told, not liking the idea of being smacked. Weiss already had her wooden knife handy while she watched them cautiously grip the weapons and look back to her for guidance.

"Now what?" Blake asked, twirling the weapon in her fingers. "Do we stab each other?"

The sisters laughed, Weiss didn't find it humorous and glowered, dropping in a defensive stance.

"Come at me, brute," the wooden knife casted at her opponent.

"Me?" Yang pointed to herself.

Weiss smirked as a response, very confident at the challenge.

"You sure about this?" Yang asked, clearly skeptical.

"Positive," she replied. "And don't you dare hold back."

Yang held out her small wooden knife and smirked. "Alright then, my safeword is 'keep going.'"

Blake and Ruby giggled from the comment.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "I won't be needing it."

Her tone suggested she was already done with the day.

"Oh, you will," the blonde remarked mischievously.

"Come on," Weiss taunted. "Show me what you got."

Yang narrowed her eyes and jumped towards the girl, her knife held out. Of course, she wasn't planning to actually stab her, but she wanted to put on a show, hoping to make it look like she tried her best. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Weiss.

In a split second, Weiss had smacked the knife out of her grasp with her own weapon, sending it flying to the side, causing the the weapon to skid across the sand. Yang let out a weak gasp, completely blindsided from the girl's quick reflexes.

Before the blonde could even react, Weiss had grabbed Yang's arm and twirled around her body with sheer momentum. Once Weiss pivoted, she used her leg to kick the blonde's knee, causing it to buckle. She used that brief second to throw Yang over her back, slamming her on the soft sand.

"Brrah!" the sloth had a wry smile at the display.

"Uhhhhh," Yang was in a daze. "W-what…?" she looked up to see Weiss pointing the knife at her.

"You okay, Yang?" Ruby asked.

Yang slowly sat up and rubbed her head. "Damn, princess. Why didn't you do that when we stole your ship?"

Weiss dropped the knife on the ground. "I was caught off guard okay?"

"That was a good defensive move," Blake praised. "How long did it take you to learn that?"

"Well, I could do it for a while, it was just a matter of time to build the muscles required," Weiss informed.

She remembered when her father had taught her numerous combat moves as a child, always taking time out of his day to benefit her. These lessons were sometimes harsh, but now Weiss knew it was for her own good as she silently thanked him.

"You?" Yang snickered. "Muscle?" she burst into laughter.

"How do you think I bashed you in the ground?!" Weiss exclaimed. "Like the brute you are…" she mumbled.

"Okay, okay," the blonde surrendered. "I'll give you that round."

"It's not like you have a choice," Ruby said. "Face it, you got your ass kicked."

Blake chuckled from the comment. "The boxer got beaten."

"You're a boxer?" Weiss asked curiously. "I didn't know that."

"I'm good when it comes to punching and fists," Yang beamed. "But not weapons."

"Interesting…" Weiss mused.

Huh… I guess I don't know much about her life back home. Come to think of it, I don't know much about any of them.

"What's up, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

Weiss shook her head. "Nothing. On to the next session."

Blake tilted her head. "Which is?"

Weiss dragged her foot in the sand, making the shape of a circle. "You'll throw knives in this circle. Try to throw with enough force so that it sticks up out of the sand."

Yang examined her wooden knife and the medium circle. "Isn't this how guys learn how to aim their pee?"

Ruby tried to stifle her giggle, but ended up bursting into laughter. The faunus followed right after, while Weiss scowled.

Upon seeing Weiss' reaction, Yang asked. "What? It's true."

Giddy tears breached the corners of Ruby's eyes. "Hahahhaha! Dad," Ruby said in between chuckles. "Dad told us that was a guy's secret!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable."

To her it was starting to seem like a comedy session instead of training.

Blake fake wiped a tear. "Oh man. You know, Weiss, you need to lighten up."

"Excuse me?!"

It was Yang's turn to laugh. "We should go to the river soon!"

Weiss groaned, she began to think they weren't going to take this seriously. Just when she was about to lose hope, Ruby spoke with conviction.

"I think I got this," Ruby said, staring at the circle with determination.

Weiss was surprised from the statement. "Go ahead."

Ruby nodded and and heaved her arm back as if she would throw the knife like a ball. Her target was a few meters away and decently big, but she was a novice.

The brunette gripped the handle on the knife and shot it like a rocket directly at the sand circle. Weiss didn't realize her throw would be that swift, so she rolled to the side since the knife was close to her line of fire.

The impact from the knife caused a sand cloud from the sheer force. Once it cleared up, the other three stared at it in awe. The knife was slanted, but nonetheless, it was sticking out of the sand.

Weiss' jaw dropped. "H-how…?"

Ruby swung her arm around in circles while Yang answered for her. "She's the best pitcher on the softball team!"

"That's putting it lightly…" Blake mumbled. "She's the captain."

"Wh-what?" Weiss asked. "What else don't I know about you guys?"

Blake smirked. "I'm good at parkour."

"Brrah!" the sloth squealed, as if agreeing with the faunus.

Yang chuckled. "Of course you are, kitty cat," she smiled. "She uses her reflexes to the max."

We actually have quite the skilled group, Weiss thought.

"... You're right," Weiss reluctantly stated.

"Huh?" the three asked, not knowing what she was referring to.

"You are the best people to get stranded with," Weiss admitted. "Although I'd rather not be stuck here."

"Aw shucks," the blonde waved off. "We know!"

"Don't get full of yourself," the white-haired girl scoffed. "This is just the beginning."

The three groaned at the thought of putting in more physical effort in the sweltering heat.

Before Weiss could continue with the training, Ruby spoke up when she realized she wasn't the only one suffering. "Let's take a break!"

"River anyone?" Yang asked.

Blake shrugged. "We could use it. It's hotter than hell."

"Even the kitty agrees!" Yang beamed. "Come on, princess."

"Brrah!" Nora yelped.

Blake ran her fingers through the sloth's fur. "You're too hot…" she murmured worriedly.

Weiss had to admit, working up a sweat in the sweltering sun was uncomfortable. It was obvious the heat was taking a toll on the other three, with sweat beading down their faces. They weren't too keen on staying that way, either.

"Fine," she agreed, "but I get Nora."

"YES!" Yang cheered. "Let's go!"

The four headed into the jungle. Once on the edge of the treeline, Blake handed Weiss the sloth. The animal giddily smiled as she was transferred from one person to the next.

"Brrah!" the sloth squealed and wrapped her arms around Weiss' neck.

Weiss pet the sloth. "We're going to cool down, would you like to join?"

"Brrah!" Nora grinned.

"You're such a good girl~" Weiss cooed. "Yes you are~"

"Brrah!"

"Jeez," Yang playfully rolled her eyes. "If only you showed us maybe even an ounce of that kindness," she teased.

"Hm!" Weiss huffed. "It's funny. You're implying you deserve kindness."

Blake chuckled. "Would you like some ice for that burn?"

"The princess is being a dictator today," Yang said as she smacked a tree branch.

"Brrah!" the sloth nuzzled her head in the crook of Weiss' neck.

"Nora begs to differ," Weiss stated.

The group finally reached close to the edge of the river. To make sure it was safe, Ruby threw a rock into the water, causing a splash. Some startled birds flew out of the trees, but it seemed clear.

"It's safe," the brunette called.

They slowly dipped their bodies in the water, savoring the coolness. Each person was cautious, knowing danger was lurking at every turn. Blake was the most reluctant to get in the water, but she knew she had to do it unless she wanted heat stroke.

Once they started treading, Ruby swam over to Weiss and playfully splashed water in her face.

"Gah! What're you doing, dolt?!"

Ruby stopped the pitiful assault and gasped. "We should play a game!"

"No," Weiss firmly replied.

Blake said in a monotone voice. "I want to play a game."

Yang smirked. "No one wants to watch your creepy ass horror movies, kitten."

"Your loss…" the faunus mumbled.

"Oh!" Ruby had an epiphany. "A breath holding contest!"

"I'm so in!" Yang exclaimed. "Who's the judge?"

"You," Blake suggested.

"Aw, kitten!" Yang pouted. "Why me?"

"Because I want to compete against Ruby and Weiss," the faunus reasoned.

The two took that as a challenge.

Yang was surprised that the cat faunus didn't mind going under water. She gathered it was because she finally got the chance to cool down.

"Bring it on," Weiss huffed. "I can't refuse a challenge."

"Ohhhh I like it!" Ruby exclaimed. "Come on, Yang! Just for one round, please?"

"Fine…" Yang gave in.

Ruby pumped her fist in the air. "Yes!"

"When I count to three, you guys go under water, okay?" Yang said.

"Okay," they replied in unison.

"Wait," Weiss chimed. "Here," she unwrapped the sloth from her neck.

Yang reached out and Nora climbed her arm and clung to the blonde's back. "Thanks, we don't want Nora to drown."

"Brrah!"

Weiss smiled. "Be a good girl."

"Brrah."

Yang giddily pet the sloth. "Ok, now we'll start!"

"One…." she counted.

The three glared at the opponents.

"Two…"

They continued to tread water calmly.

"Three!"

Blake, Ruby and Weiss sharply inhaled and sank underwater.

Meanwhile, Yang was silently counting the seconds in her head. After fifteen seconds, Ruby was the first to emerge with bubbles breaching the surface. The blonde was surprised the first person to emerge wasn't Blake.

She inhaled for air and looked around, only to see Yang's face. "Darn it! I lost?"

"Yep," Yang chuckled.

"How long?"

"Fifteen seconds. You suck," the blonde deadpanned.

Ruby pouted. "How long has it been now?"

"Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two…"

Ruby counted along in her head with her sister. Once they hit fifty-five, Blake emerged.

"Ha," Blake smirked. "Beat you all."

Ruby pointed to where bubbles were sputtering under the surface. "Weiss is still under."

"W-what?!" Blake was shocked. "But that was a record for me!"

Ruby shrugged. "Hey, at least you beat me. I got fifteen seconds," she giggled.

Blake's jaw dropped. "How long has it been?"

Yang counted out loud again. "Seventy-two, seventy-three…"

"Wha-what?" Ruby was speechless. "Is she alive?"

Blake pointed to the bubbles. "She's slowly exhaling."

"Whew, so she's okay," Ruby said. "How's she still under anyways?"

Blake shrugged. "Maybe good lungs? I'm not sure."

"Guys," Yang interrupted. "It's almost been two minutes."

The two went wide-eyed and Blake grew more concerned when the air bubbles stopped forming.

"I-is she really dead?!" Ruby fretted.

Yang basically tossed the sloth to Ruby. "Be right back!" and frantically dove underwater after taking a deep breath.

Nora the sloth let out a squeal, but landed safely in Ruby's arms. After adjusting Nora on her shoulders, Blake and Ruby stared at each other.

"If she died, it's your fault," Blake accused jokingly.

Ruby whimpered. "She didn't! Don't say that."

Yang breached the surface with Weiss in her arms.

The white-haired girl fought out of her grasp. "I wasn't done you brute!"

The three took note that she didn't even seem to be out of breath and was relatively calm.

"How long could you stay under anyways!?" Yang yelled. "We thought you drowned or something…"

"I have good lung capacity," Weiss huffed. "It comes with being a singer."

"You can sing?" Yang asked. "I wanna hear!"

"No," Weiss shut that thought down.

"Awww come on!" Ruby whined. "Just this once?"

"No," Weiss firmly replied. "Now stop asking."

Ruby sighed. "Ok…"

Yang smirked. "I'll hear it one day."

"Whatever, brute," Weiss looked away, slightly blushing at the thought of her singing just for Yang.

"Want to head back?" Blake asked. "I've been in the water long enough."

The others agreed, along with a slight squeal from Nora. The faunus quickly trudged back on the grass, intent to dry off as soon as possible. The others soon followed when they heard Yang sigh heavily.

"Aw," Yang pouted. "I never went."

The group made their way back into the jungle, beginning their trek back to shore.

"Suck it up," Ruby laughed. "You can next time if you remember."

"Fineeeeee," the blonde drawled. "But the winner was Weiss in case you guys were wondering."

"Gee, I couldn't tell," the faunus said sarcastically.

Ruby chuckled. "She whooped our butts."

"Yeah, yeah," Blake waved off. She wasn't used to losing at something. Her faunus traits provided an edge in a lot of different competitions back home.

Ruby hobbled over a mud puddle, once she looked back up, something caught her eye. It was a dark shade of white, and the item barely peered out from a vibrant bush. Unable to contain her curiosity, she darted over, thinking it was some kind of food.

"Ruby!" Yang yelped. "Where're you goin'?!"

"Calm down, Yang!" Ruby shouted. "I just wanna check something!"

Ruby smiled and whispered in Nora's ear. "We are gonna check something out! You in?"

"Brrah!" the sloth happily agreed.

Blake, Weiss and Yang stood there in a daze, staring at each other. They silently debated if they should follow the brunette, but a piercing shriek answered for them as they rushed over to Ruby, who was crawling backwards frantically.

"What's wrong, Rubes?!" Yang asked, skeptical of how terrified her sister looked.

Ruby pointed. "A-are t-those… bones?!"

"Brrah!" even the laid-back sloth was caught off guard from Ruby's reaction.

The three stared where she pointed, carefully examining the pile. To get a better look, Blake swiped the bush's leaves out of the way and saw the shape of a human skull.

"Gah!" Blake cowered back, taken off guard. "T-they're remains!"

"Oh my god…" Yang mumbled. "We're not the first ones to be stuck here."

"Are you sure they aren't animal remains?" Weiss asked, wanting to get to the bottom of it and hoping that it wasn't actual human bones.

The faunus' eyes were still widened and she nodded. "That's a human skull."

The confidence in her tone caused Weiss to keep looking at the dirtied skull. She took a step back, suddenly feeling a bit nauseated.

Ruby broke the silence. "Do we really have a chance? To survive this?"

Yang was still baffled by the pile of bones, but knew something. "This person was more than likely alone. This time is different."

Ruby, Blake and Weiss looked up at the blonde.

"How?" Ruby asked feebly.

"We have each other."

The others nodded reassuringly amongst each other.

"Right," Weiss agreed. "We'll be just fine."

"No one is gonna die," the blonde said confidently. "Not like this skeleton…"

Blake stared at the pile of bones uneasily. "We should do something about this."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I mean we should do something about the remains," Blake explained. "They need a proper burial."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Weiss asked. "We don't have shovels or anything."

Yang walked further into the brush and returned with several flat stones in her hands. "We can use these," she said, handing out the stones to the others.

"Right," Ruby said.

She and the others knew that one of the fallen deserved a proper resting place, no matter how much they didn't want to touch the specimens.

The girls got on their knees and began clawing away at the dirt beneath them. It took a while until the hole was deep enough, and their hands were completely covered in dirt by the time they'd finished, but nonetheless, they'd dug a hole deep enough to bury the bones.

Weiss and Yang had begun the task of pushing the bones into the hole.

Yang noticed Weiss' uneasiness at the idea of moving the bones and grinned mischievously. "What's the matter, princess? You act like you've never buried a dead person before!"

Weiss' expression changed, and she smiled slightly. "Who's to say I haven't?"

Yang was taken off guard by the response. "W-what?"

Weiss chuckled. "Relax, you brute. I was joking."

"Oh!" Yang sighed. "Good, I couldn't tell."

"... or was I?" Weiss raised a sinister eyebrow, glaring at Yang before the two of them broke out in laughter.

Ruby leaned in Blake's ear. "Only they can laugh while burying bones…"

Blake nodded and blushed, caught off guard from Ruby's gentle breath in her sensitive ear.

After the two of them had finally transferred the bones into the hole, Blake and Ruby stepped in to do the burying.

"I hope we never have to do something like this again…" Ruby murmured, scooping the dirt into the hole with her bare hands.

"Don't worry," Blake reassured her. "We won't."

Ruby seemed more at ease after hearing that, and the two of them finished the burial process.

Blake wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. "Anybody want to say a few words?"

"I do," Yang said as she stepped before the freshly filled hole. "Goodbye, nameless skeleton. We hardly knew you."

"Yang!" Weiss chided. "If you could be serious for once in your life, that'd be nice."

The blonde flinched from the scolding as she looked down at the ground in shame.

Blake rolled her eyes. "I'll do it."

Everyone stepped aside for Blake as she approached the burial mound. "I don't know how to do this… but we hope you can finally rest peacefully, kindred spirit."

"I suppose that's good enough," Weiss sighed. "Come on, let's head back."

"Brrah!"

The group had turned their backs to the grave and returned the way they came. Everything seemed to go smoothly up until this point, but now the real dangers struck their minds. They walked back in silence, now more anxious about being stranded than ever before.

This chapter wasn't even written in the story until I went back and added it in. It's here for… reasons. Anywho, I hope you liked it! Don't worry, it won't be long until the plot advances, but at this moment things need to slowly graduate to get to that point!