A/N: New cover photo by the immensely talented and uber kind patyhaner of tumblr, to whom I shall link to on my profile page.
The day turned to night, and the night gave way to dawn but Yang still refused to leave Rubys side. She hadn't moved since they got back, not even at Rubys continued insistence that she would be fine. After the first few hours she had just given up trying to convince her sister to leave and instead sent a pleading stare to Blake, and though she had tried her best at being quiet and gentle, Yang just wouldn't budge from her spot and Ruby resigned to the fact after Blakes failure that Yang wasn't going to move.
It was now the early hours of the morning, and while Yang lay her head on her arms next to Ruby and Weiss slept what passed for peacefully above, Blake sat on her bed and watched them. She didn't know exactly why she was doing it, but she didn't feel strange about it. The only upside to Rubys injury coming back was that it gave Blake more chances to talk to Yang alone. She didn't bother trying to wake anyone up, knowing that Weiss would rise soon and set about her morning routine. Instead Blake was content to wait it out and do her best to relax, feeling the nerves that pulled at the edges of her feelings at all times.
It brightened gradually outside, the thin rays of sunlight breaking through the curtain onto Blakes lap as she read, illuminating the pages before her. She cast a glance to the side, noticing the stirring presence up above and guessed that Weiss was about to wake up. The heiress almost always woke before six AM, and judging by the light in the room she assumed it was approaching that time now. Yang wouldn't wake for another two hours, so there was plenty of time.
She turned back to her book at resumed reading, content to wait until it was time.
Weiss did not sleep well. It was a welcome change from her usual fears of death by falling bed, but it was still a fear that kept her awake for much of the night. She didn't like that. And she especially didn't like how once again she was fretting over Ruby, a girl she initially disliked and still dislikes to this day. She was her leader, teammate and despite how much Weiss disliked to admit it, something resembling friends. But despite all that they had only known eachother for a little over a month, and already she felt so bad about Rubys condition. It wasn't Weiss's fault she was like this, it wasn't her responsibility to care about the dolt, and it certainly wasn't something Weiss would have expected to find herself doing.
She rolled onto her back and brought a hand to her forehead, holding her fringe at bay as she tried to vent the excess heat the humid night had produced. She felt her cheeks, although both her face and her hands were hot to the touch - something which made her sour mood a little worse. She really didn't like summer at all, and she would happily trade in the long days for some acceptable temperature every once in a while.
Deeming it hopeless and pointless to stay in bed, she sat up and stretched, a silent yawn escaping her mouth as she got the blood flowing through her limbs again. Pulling the covers back gently, Weiss descended the ladder and circled around her sleeping teammates to retrieve her clothes from underneath Rubys spare cape. She disappeared into the bathroom without so much as a whisper, muttering something under her breath.
Blake lowered the book a fraction, just enough to view her teammate returning from the cafeteria with a livelier spring in her step. It wasn't much of a change for Weiss, but she made her way back up to Rubys bunk with a little more bounce than earlier. The heiress checked her scroll and settled down to study, apparently unaware that she was being less than quiet. Blake was about to point this out, but soon reasoned that it was probably approaching mid-morning by now and that it didn't really matter if either of the sisters were woken up.
Knowing that Yang really ought to be up by now anyway, Blake made a decision to at least attempt to get her alone before she went to see Professor Ozpin, as at least that way she could try to hide as much information from him as possible. She waited another few minutes to make sure Weiss was totally absorbed in her work and made her move, nudging her partner on the shoulder with her hand to arouse some life into the beast. Yang shifted her head slightly but remained silent, her exhaustion making itself plain after her continuous watch of her sister.
Blake tried again, this time eliciting a grumble and a slight position change. She didn't want to forcefully wake Yang up, but at this rate her patience might run out before the blondes brain kicked into gear. A third shove, and finally she got something vaguely resembling life. Blake leant over to get a good look at her partners face, who had finally lifted her head after several more incomprehensible stutterings and managed to form a coherent sentence.
"Wha...what time is it?"
Yang rubbed one side of her face lazily as Blake glanced at her scroll, keeping her voice low to avoid waking the sleeping girl in front of her.
"It's almost ten 'o clock."
A brief pause to allow Yang to register the time.
"I'd like to talk with you before you head out, so could you perhaps go get changed and we'll have some breakfast?"
Yang lolled her head ninety degrees to look at Blake, her eyelids still half closed and her tongue poking out between her lips.
"...Together?"
"...Sure."
Blake gave a smile to which Yang returned, although it was lost amongst the bed-hair she was currently sporting. She slowly got to her feet as Blake straightened her back, glad that for once things were going relatively smoothly. She fetched Yangs clothes for her and gently guided her partner towards the bathroom, shushing her sleepy protests with a simple reminder that she had somewhere to be.
Happily enough, twenty minutes and a hasty exit later Yang and Blake were seated over in the far corner of the dining hall, as far from the other students as they could get. It was approaching 10:30 by this point and since it was a Sunday, the vast majority of students who had taken the time to sleep in were now flooding through the doors to get their food. Which, come to think of it reminded Blake of someone in particular, as they devoured what remained on their plate. Blake was far more delicate in her eating than Yang, and although her partner immediately left to go and get seconds, Blake was happy to let her satisfy her appetite before they talked.
The second plate was pushed to the center of the table a few minutes later and Yang finished her drink of water, resting her arms on the surface of their table and started to fiddle with the glass, now fully awake. Blake put her own down and leant forward a little, choosing now as the time to put her plan into action.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, catching Yang slightly off-guard. The blonde furrowed her eyebrows a little at the question and answered with hesitation, not quite understanding why Blake had asked. She didn't normally show concern for anyone, so something must be up.
"I'm fine, I guess. Why do you ask?"
"Because you've spent pretty much the last twenty-four hours kneeling next to Ruby. I know you're strong but that's a little excessive, even for you." Yang dismissed her concerns with a wave of the hand, her buzz returning.
"Naaah, I'm fine. My legs ache a little bit but that's nothing." She hardened a little, her voice changing to match her facial expression. "I just hope she'll be okay."
Blake put a hand on top of her partners, keeping her voice encouraging in the understated way she used so frequently. Yang had managed to pick up on the subtleties of Blakes speech after a few weeks and now they could have a whole conversation in front of somebody, and they would have no idea about it.
"She's going to be fine. You know how strong she is, this is nothing for her. It's to be expected that she's going to hurt sometimes after your...blunt method of helping, but you shouldn't worry about it. Weiss is with her, I'm with her and you're with her. Another week or so and she'll be back to normal. I promise."
A smile crept onto Yangs face as she listened, the immense pride of her baby sister showing through. She was hit full on by the Grimm equivalent of a train, but she has never once complained about it at all, and in fact she was taking it in her stride. Ruby put most other fifteen-year olds to shame, combat-trained or not. She was exceptional, and Yang took great joy at being her sister and friend. She made a small laughing noise in her throat and changed the subject, her curiosity pulling her attention from Ruby to Blake as it so often ended up doing. She couldn't quite stop thinking about the girl...
"I hope so. You said you wanted to talk to me about something?" She queried, sitting on her hands to stop them from fidgeting so much. Blake nodded slowly, taking another sip of her drink.
"You're going to see Professor Ozpin today, right?"
Yang nodded too, interest rising slowly.
"I have a feeling that I know what he wants to talk to you about, and I want to make sure you know what to say to him when he asks."
Yang cocked her head, mouth slightly open as she tried to make sense of Blakes actions. Her partner continued, taking Yangs silence as a sign to carry on.
"He's probably going to want to know about what we found in the forest."
"Yesterday?"
Blake rolled her eyes at the question, as though the answer was too obvious.
"Yes, yesterday. Don't tell him about what we found."
Purple eyes narrowed suspiciously, her tone taking on a skeptical edge.
"Wwwhyyyyy? Is there something going on that I should know about?"
Blake sighed to herself, putting her glass down and resting her hands in her lap. She stared at the table edge for a few seconds, then looked up to meet her partners gaze.
"Yes. I don't think we should give him any truthful information. He knows more than we do already, and both Weiss and I believe that things aren't as clear-cut as they seem."
She waited for a question, but Yang merely inclined her head for Blake to keep going.
"I don't know if you remember, but I found it odd how little we were actually told about the mission. Go and investigate, report anything you find to Ozpin. Before us, I thought that nobody had actually seen anything. But after we got back I took matters into my own hands, and without going into details found that people had seen it before. They just didn't come back to tell anyone about it."
She let her words sink in before continuing, reading the growing dismay in Yangs eyes as she pieced it together. The first tug of her nerves occurred there.
"Only one team made it back, and they were threatened with expulsion if they ever spoke a word of it to anyone. Weiss and I got information from them and cross-referenced it with all the books that were relevant in the library. We found out that although exceedingly rare, the Grimm that we saw was actually a species called 'Umbra.'"
Yang nodded as she listened, absorbed in Blakes words.
"They're very scarce, very big and very powerful. The one residing in the Emerald Forest has been forced here by something else, and we don't know what. The point is, Ozpin knew about it from the beginning and he still sent us out there. Now, I don't know why, but I do know that we can't trust him. We don't have a choice but to play along at the minute, but soon enough we'll be able to figure this all out."
She caught the flicker of doubt in Yangs eyes and quickly followed it up.
"I know you trust him, and deep down I do too. I just don't understand why he would lie to us about something potentially life-threatening. It doesn't make any sense."
She allowed a trickle of pleading to seep into her voice.
"Please, don't say a word of this to Ruby. You know how much she looks up to him and I don't want to hurt her any more than she already is."
They sat in silence. Blake was watching Yangs actions in an attempt to gauge her feelings, and although her agitation and shock were evident, she couldn't be sure if there was any hope at all. The blonde had her head held low, staring through the table to the floor below as she turned this information over in her head. She didn't move, nor did she make any sounds as she tried to understand the revelation.
Blake was beginning to think she had made a mistake in telling her partner what she knew, but her logical side reasoned that even if she had, there was nothing she could do about it now. The damage had already been done, and all that remained was to contain it as best she could. She didn't attempt to talk to Yang for fear of setting her off, and instead she waited patiently with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It wasn't quite sick, but she certainly felt worse than she did this morning.
After what seemed like hours, Yang finally broke the silence between them with a voice that sent a single chill running down Blakes spine. She had never heard her partner quite like this before, and she wasn't entirely sure how she should feel about it. It wasn't cold, and nor was it angry. It was devoid of feeling, and that more than anything else scared Blake to the core.
"What do I have to do?"
Blake swallowed the lump that had lodged itself in her throat and began to speak, quickly ironing out the shakiness that laced her words.
"Anything you think you need to do. All I want you to know is that we're all in this together, no matter how much it doesn't seem like it. We'll tell Ruby in time, but I don't want to worry her any more than I have to."
"And me?" Yang asked, raising her head just enough to lock eyes with Blake.
"I don't like putting you through this at all, but I couldn't live with myself if I kept you in the dark. We're partners, and we can't afford to keep anything from eachother."
The irony struck her hard. It hurt her to lie this much to one of the people she cared about, but no matter how much pain she felt she refused to give in to it. She was stronger than that.
Yang just nodded. She stood up and brushed past Blake on her way out, leaving the girl feeling more than a little apprehensive. Blake decided to follow her partner at least discreetly, and quickly rose from her seat in order to pursue Yang through the crowds. She tried to ignore the doubts gnawing at her heart as best she could but they were always there, constantly reminding her that she couldn't keep it up forever. Sooner or later she would crack, and then she would have nothing else left.
She couldn't let that happen.
Ruby blinked, stretching her legs and immediately regretting her decision. She gently held her injured knee with both hands and cursed to herself, jumping a little at the scolding that pierced the tranquility from above.
"Ruby! What do you think you're saying? Where did you even learn language like that?"
Weiss bent her neck over the edge of the bed to glare at her partner as her ponytail fell from her shoulder and hung down. Ruby shrunk in size, embarrassed at being caught.
"I...picked it up from Yang. She was really annoyed at something and I didn't know what it meant until she explained it to me. But I didn't know you were there!"
She gave a sheepish smile, but Weiss only glared harder at her, ice blue eyes sharp with disapproval.
"Where else would I be? If you and your sister weren't so careless you might not be so crippled and I wouldn't have to spend most of my free time making sure you don't hurt yourself again!"
Ruby flinched, but tried not to take Weiss's words to heart and instead attempted to protest the claim, raising her hand to the air in vigor.
"I'm not crippled! I could walk right now, and I'll prove it!"
She began to move, but Weiss had rapidly descended to the floor and pushed her back into place before she could hang a leg off the bed. She was fast.
"No you won't, don't be stupid. You're going to stay here for another few days until I'm absolutely certain your leg has healed."
Weiss kept her gaze level as Ruby began to pout, widening her eyes in an attempt to look as hopeless as possible. Weiss threw the appeal away with a swipe of her hand, though her tone became slightly less icy.
"Don't even try it. While I'm up, do you need anything?"
She gently pushed Ruby forward and propped the pillows back up as her partner spoke, giving her a quick look of disapproval before turning to fetch the required items.
"I could do with some cookies...I haven't eaten since yesterday... I-if that's okay!"
Weiss rolled her eyes as she stood at the door.
"Of course it's okay, you dunce. I'll be back in a few minutes."
She turned one last time to finish her sentence.
"Don't try and walk!"
She pointed an accusing finger at the bedridden Ruby before leaving, and while the girl considered trying to walk anyway she quickly realized that it would probably end badly. She glanced around the room, unsure of what to do with herself now that Weiss had left. She had never been one for being stationary, but the fact that she didn't have a choice in the matter only made things worse. A fleeting rush of inspiration caused her to attempt to whistle a tune, although the noise that she produced could only be compared to a strangled cat and she quickly stopped to protect her own ears from dying.
After another minute of idling around she finally set her sights on something and reached for her bag, pulling out the oddly large number of notepads and books that she kept in there and scattering them across the bed. She dropped the bag back onto the floor and picked up the closest one, flicking through the pages as she looked for her previous notes on this whole business of Blake and Ozpin and dust knows what else. She couldn't do anything physical for a while, so she may as well try to get her facts straight before she bluntly asked her teammate about a potentially dangerous thing.
She tossed that one aside and reached for another, quickly disregarding it as a drawing pad. But then she paused. She picked it back up and went through it again, remembering her earlier drawings of the creature that attacked them and where she had put it. She could use that, and maybe try to draw it again more accurately now that she had recovered from the shock of the whole thing. Her tongue poked out from the corner of her mouth while she searched, going through three different pads with no success.
And then she remembered a little too late that she had given those drawings to Professor Ozpin. A palm to her forehead and a quiet 'D'oh' later and Ruby had settled into sketching from memory, each stroke of her pencil serving to take her mind off the periodic twinges of pain that shot up her leg every now and then.
And maybe if she could nail the description of it, she might be able to help her team find out just what it is and how they can beat it without any injuries occurring again.
She didn't have any idea of what was coming for them.