"I don't know, Weiss. We've been here for a while…"

"It hasn't even been that long."

"Then why do I have a beard?"

"It's not a beard, Ruby. Take the fucking seaweed off your face."

"Noooo," Ruby whined. "This is its new home!"

Weiss snagged the seaweed. "You are such a dolt."

"Brrah!"

The two stared at the sloth around Weiss' neck. "See? Even Nora agrees."

Ruby was saddened that her beard was now dirtied on the sand. "Aw… you guys are mean."

The animal visibly frowned from the comment.

"Oh no," Ruby waved her hands. "Not you. I mean Weiss. Just Weiss is mean!"

The corners of Nora's lips turned up to their usual smile.

Ruby sighed in relief. "Whew. I don't know what I'd do if you hated me. Weiss I can handle."

"Hey!" Weiss flicked some sand on the brunette.

Ruby giggled. "You know I love ya, Weiss!"

"Whatever, dolt," she huffed. "What are the plans for today?"

Ruby leisurely laid back and gazed at the bright sky. "Hm… I guess we'll have to see! I mean, we have food, water, shelter…"

Weiss joined her in the sky gazing. "Whatever we're in the mood for, huh?"

Ruby giggled as she enjoyed the calm sun's rays. "I don't know about you, but I'm in the mood for being rescued."

"That doesn't sound too bad," the white-haired girl agreed. "Right, Nora?"

"Brrah!"

The sky shone brightly for another day. The night before, the shelter had shielded the group from the downpour, allowing them to get some much needed rest and refreshed for the days ahead.

For now, the two simply enjoyed the nice weather, thankful that it wasn't as scorching hot as before, but hot nonetheless. Blake and Yang were a short distance away, sharpening some of their spears.

Two colorful birds popped out of the jungle, repeatedly squawking at each other and circled the air above Weiss and Ruby.

"They're beautiful," Weiss was in awe at nature's beauty. "What are they doing?"

Ruby was dazed from the sight. "I don't know, but they seem pissed."

Blake and Yang joined the pair and couldn't tear their eyes off the scene.

"They're trying to become each other's mates," Blake informed. "If those kinds of parrots don't find a mate, they get lonely and die."

Yang's jaw dropped. "They die of loneliness?"

"Yes," Blake smirked. "Sad, huh?"

"Just a tad," the blonde replied.

"They shouldn't be picky then," Weiss chimed. "If it's that much of a struggle between life and death…"

The two colorful birds continued screeching at each other.

"They're a couple already, huh?" Yang giggled.

"I don't think we have to worry about them," Ruby smiled. "Look," she pointed to the sky.

The birds eventually stopped screeching at each other and started to fly around in peace.

"Looks like it's going well," the faunus observed. "The ritual must've succeeded."

"I bet the girl won the argument," Ruby chirped. "We always win."

"There ya go buddy!" Yang cheered. "Get some!"

"You are such a brute," Weiss said.

Yang chuckled. "A brute with awesome hair," she tugged her hair around to nuzzle her cheek against it.

"I have to say," Blake tugged her hair too. "These hair ties work well."

"You did a good job, princess!" Yang pat her on the back. "These are the strongest hair ties I've ever used."

"Because they're made of vines," Weiss deadpanned.

"Are any of you thirsty?" Ruby asked. "Just sitting out here works up a sweat."

Blake sighed. "Very."

Yang pumped her fist in the air. "To the shelter!"

"Brrah!"

"And god dammit!" Yang exclaimed. "Why isn't Nora chillin' with me?"

Ruby tried to cheer her up. "Yang, it's-"

"No!" Yang shouted. "I'm the one that found you, why don't you like me?"

The sloth tilted its head slowly to Weiss. "Brrah."

Ruby looked from the sloth to Yang. "She says she likes Weiss."

"I can tell, thank you very much," the blonde pouted.

Weiss sighed and gazed at the sloth lovingly.

I had no idea it bothered her that much.

She leaned in to the sloth's ear and whispered. "I'm going to let Yang borrow you, okay? Be a good girl."

Nora stared at her with calculating eyes. "Brrah."

Weiss smiled. "Good."

As Weiss stood up, Yang gave her a confused look. Weiss carefully unwrapped the sloth around her neck and set the animal around Yang's.

The blonde's eyes were twinkling. "Aw, thanks princess! Nora, you're so cute, you know that?"

Wow, that made her day, Weiss thought.

The sloth slightly tightened its grip around her neck. "Brrah!"

"Ah yay!" the blonde beamed with joy. "Nora loves me~"

Blake facepalmed. "How old are you again?"

"Shut up, Blake," Yang countered. "Nora's with me now," she strutted her way to the fort.

Ruby faced Weiss. "Maybe you shouldn't have given Nora to her."

Weiss smiled at the sight of Yang giddily walking to the shelter. "Let her have her moment."

The group drank some much needed water in the fort. Nora even got her own leaf-cup and slowly gulped down the treat with a smile on her face. They then finished eating the jaguar carcass by the fire, completely satisfied after the meal.

"Hopefully someone sees the smoke," Weiss said.

She was referring to the S.O.S. signal the group had lit. Being on the island wasn't too bad, but they weren't planning on staying there for the rest of their lives.

"It's no use moping about it," Ruby chimed. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to sit here all day."

"There's an adventure right behind you," Yang beamed. "Let's go explore!"

Blake shrugged. "It's not like there's anything else to do."

"Before we go," Ruby added. "How're the cuts?"

Blake bent down and untied the seaweed around her ankle. "They're already scabs, see?"

The injury was once dripping with blood, and now it could pass off as any domestic cat's scratch. Not something from a wild, menacing animal.

"Wow…" Ruby gawked. "And your head?"

"Oh," Blake gently rubbed it. "It stopped hurting a long time ago."

The brunette sighed in relief. "I'm glad," she turned to Weiss. "What about your eye?"

Weiss gently lifted the leave-patch. "It's much better."

The same held true for her injury, with a single red line going down her eye. The mark was already healing and well on the way to recovery.

Ruby giggled. "Salt water helps a lot!"

"It also hurts like hell," the faunus deadpanned.

"YOU GUYS COMIN' OR NOT?" Yang shouted as she stood by the tree line with the sloth around her neck. "WE'RE LOSIN' DAYLIGHT!"

"COMING!" Ruby happily shouted back.

The group began their trek through the jungle, excited to explore it during the day when they could properly see. Its was still dangerous, so they made sure to bring along the wooden knives that were strapped to their thighs.

"Any idea where we're going?" Weiss asked the three.

"Nope~" the blonde happily sang. "But we aren't going to that river for a while."

Ruby chuckled. "You can say that again."

Blake gasped when she saw a tree that was much taller than the others. "Be… be right back!"

"Where're you going?!" Weiss asked. "We're supposed to stay together!"

The three watched Blake shoot up the tree faster than a rocket, using her claws as leverage.

"Kitty had the urge," Yang giggled. "Sometimes she just can't help herself."

As Weiss watched the faunus scope her surroundings, a thought breached her mind.

Why do I keep thinking she's familiar? Or that I know her? I've lived on Never More almost my whole life, unless I met her before then. But that's not likely. Does she remind me of someone I know? All that I know about her is that she's an orphan, a faunus, and cares for the people close to her.

That's it.

There's no way I know her.

It's just not possible…

Then why do I feel this way?!

When she was about to tug her hair in frustration, Blake pointed in the distance. "I know where we're going!"

Ruby shouted so Blake could hear. "Where!?"

The faunus slid down the tree with ease. "It's a surprise," she grabbed her hand. "Let's go!"

Ruby immediately blushed when the faunus held her hand. At this point, she was happy with any contact with the faunus at all. Blake happily took the lead and was excited to show her friends what she saw. It was something she had been eager to explore since she was a little girl.

The group followed Blake without thought. The continued to thrash the dense shrubbery that got in their path to move quickly. After a few minutes of twisting and turning, they had arrived.

Out of the tree line and directly in front of them, a mountain stood tall that was covered in soot.

Each of them stared up at the large monstrosity in bewilderment.

"Is this what I think it is?" Weiss asked.

"Brrah!" the sloth squealed.

Blake nodded. "It's a volcano."

"Holy shit!" the blonde picked up some of the gray colored dirt to test the texture. "Is it active?"

"Relax," the faunus said. "It's dormant. The lack of smoke proves that."

"I'm goin' to the top," Yang chirped. "Anyone want to join?"

"I've never seen the inside of a volcano before!" Ruby beamed. "Count me in!"

"Only if we stay safely on the rim," Weiss chimed. "No one's falling in."

"Agreed," Ruby replied.

The three headed to the top. It was a simple trek in their flats, but still taxing, especially in the heat. However, they persevered and soon made it on top of the rim after pulling themselves up.

Not only could they see the inside of the volcano, but also the entire island. Trees scoured the forest with the ocean in the distance.

"Woooow!" Ruby beamed as she gazed down the volcano. "Why's it an icky white-green color?"

"You mean like Weiss' dress?" the blonde joked.

"Shut up, brute," Weiss fumed. "Yours doesn't look much better."

Yang scanned her once yellow dress and found she was right. It was worn and torn, disheveled to no return. It once burned brightly but now adorned more of a light brown pallor.

"Anyways, it's because of the sulfur," Weiss answered. "Don't breath in too much. Too much sulfurous vapors can be harmful."

"It's also because of the lava not being used," the faunus added as she gaped at the sight.

"R-right," the brunette was starting to get intimidated by the death trap.

Meanwhile, Yang wanted a better view, so she got on the edge and shouted inside the volcano.

"ECHO!"

The yell reverberated all the way down and Yang laughed as a result.

"Don't get too close," Blake warned.

"Don't worry," the blonde waved off. "I'm not gonna-"

Yang's heel slipped on a loose rock. Her momentum carried her body straight into the gaping mouth of the volcano.

Horror was written on her face as her body took the plunge. She heard Ruby call her name, but as the grim reality of the situation sunk into her brain, she closed her eyes, preparing herself for the long descent into death's cold embrace.

She cursed herself, knowing that the sloth was still around her neck. The last thing she wanted was to drag down another soul.

However, the next thing she knew, she was dangling in mid-air. When she dared open her eyes, she saw pale hands firmly wrapped around her arm, refusing to let go.

"Princess?"

"Brrah!" Nora squealed, clinging more tightly than ever to Yang's neck, almost choking the girl.

Weiss grunted from the extra weight. "Y-you brute!"

Blake and Ruby wasted no time and grabbed Yang's arm to help.

"This is unbeLAVAble," the blonde couldn't help but joke.

The three ignored her joke and focused on the situation. Together, they pulled Yang up and out of danger with ease.

The three flung Yang in the air, which led her to land on top of something soft. Her bleary eyes took a moment to register what was going on. Her hands were firmly on the hard ground as she tried to pull herself up in a daze.

"-ang, Yang?" a concerned, soft voice reached her ears. "Are you okay?"

Yang felt a cold hand settle on her cheek. She squinted her eyes and saw the worried expression belonged to Weiss.

Yang's eyes widened when she realized their position. She was directly on top of the girl, their eyes firmly on each other.

Oh my gosh, Yang thought, a blush forming on her cheeks. She's so close! And she's so worried about me.

"Y-yeah!" the blonde got off Weiss. "U-um, thanks to you."

"Ehem," Ruby interrupted. "And us," she pointed to Blake, who was worriedly checking Ruby over for injuries.

When Blake knew that she was okay, she rolled her eyes. "You couldn't have waited for the pun for when we actually saved you?!"

Yang chuckled. "Of all things, you're mad about that?"

Ruby smacked Yang on the head. "You're such an idiot!"

Yang rubbed her head. "I'm sulfur sorry."

"First the jaguar, then this!?" Ruby scolded her sister. "Stop giving me heart attacks!"

Sensing her sister was deeply worried, Yang sighed. "I'm sorry, Ruby."

The brunette smiled and hugged Yang. "Still, I'm glad you're okay."

Yang grinned and returned the embrace. "Me too, Rubes. I'm glad none of you fell in with me."

"I would've jumped in after you," Ruby muttered.

The sisters broke apart and Yang faced the three.

"Thanks for saving my life, guys. Especially you, princess. If you didn't grab me first I woulda…"

Weiss held her hand up to silence her. "No need to thank me, brute."

The blonde grinned when it was obvious to her that Weiss cared about her well-being, but had trouble expressing it with words.

"But really," Yang said genuinely. "Thank you."

"N-no problem," Weiss blushed. "Now let's get out of here before you decide to jump in again."

"Oh, haha," the blonde replied with sarcasm evident. "So funny."

That was too close, Weiss thought. I-I'm so glad she's okay. I refuse to let anyone die.

They slid down the mountain as fast as they could to get away from the death trap. Once they made it safely down the volcano, a grumbling noise rang out.

"Ehehe," Ruby rubbed her stomach. "Anyone else hungry?"

"I could go for something," Blake said. "We might find some fruit in the forest."

"ONWARD!" Ruby yelled and sped off.

"Is she always this energetic?" Weiss asked the two.

"You have no idea," Yang laughed.

They headed back in the forest once more, hoping to find something good to eat. After a few minutes of scrummaging, Blake found a tiny bush hidden behind a tree. This was about the tenth bush she had found and searched for food. Biting her lip in anticipation, she turned over the leaves and was relieved to find dozens of berries.

"Guys!" she called. "I found food!"

The three rushed over and Blake handed each of them a berry.

Blake popped one in her mouth. "It's not poisonous or anything. In fact, it's the best tasting berry I've ever had."

"Yes!" Ruby cheered with glee. "Something other than fish!"

Yang raised her eyebrows and bit down on the treat. She wasn't expecting something so flavorful, but loved being proven wrong. "Oh my god it's sooooooo good! Blakey, you're a genius!"

"Ahhhh," Ruby sighed in relief. "These taste awesome!" she popped several more in her mouth.

Weiss stood next to Yang, picking some more of the delicious berries that adorned the bush. As she placed a few of the delectable orbs in her mouth, she noticed that Yang was humming a surprisingly chipper tune.

"Why are you so upbeat?" Weiss casually asked.

"What do you mean?" Yang replied before dropping a few berries into her mouth. "We found food!"

Weiss shrugged. "I just figured you'd be a little more shaken up, considering you almost fell to your death."

Without warning, Yang whirled around and threw her arms around Weiss' neck, locking her in an unexpected hug. "And I wouldn't be here if you didn't save me!"

To Yang's surprise, the girl she was embracing began trembling silently, biting her lip and attempting to stifle her sobs.

"H-hey," Yang tried to get a look of her face, but Weiss buried it in her shoulder. "Why're you crying?"

"I-I already lost someone once. A-and my father might be gone too," Weiss tried to keep a steady voice. "It can't happen again, it just can't."

Yang gently soothed her fingers through her flowing white hair. "No one's gonna die. I promised all of you that, remember?"

"Y-yes," Weiss wiped the tears as she began to calm down. She smiled as she stared into Yang's kind, lilac eyes.

As if to help cheer her up, Nora the sloth squealed. "Brrah!"

"Aww," Yang cooed. "Nora wants to cheer you up, too."

Weiss sniffled a bit. "Thank you, brute, Nora."

"No problem, princess," the blonde faintly whispered.

The two gazed into each other's eyes, glad that everyone was okay.

Suddenly, Yang felt a dripping sensation on her shoulder.

Her eyes widened at the realization. "Nora…? Did you..?"

The sloth sent her a smug smile. "Brrrrah!"

Yang screamed a scream that echoed for miles.

The three covered their ears as birds flew out of the tree tops from fear.

Blake was in the middle of feeding Ruby berries when she heard the shriek. "What is it?!"

"Gross, gross, gross, gross!" Yang pried Nora off her shoulders and handed her to Weiss. "Nora shit on me!"

"Hehehe!" Ruby couldn't stop laughing. "I can't wait to tell the actual Nora!"

Weiss reluctantly held out the sloth. "Don't give her to me!"

"I guess what happened earlier scared her the shit out of her," Blake smirked. "Literally."

LOL some of your reviews and PMs crack me up. They truly make my day! Nora the Sloth's antics always brighten up the atmosphere xD