this chapter will be much shorter than the others so far, due to the fact that it was originally an extension of the last segment. but I thought it deserved a little more TLC, and decided that i would expound on the details a bit more.

CHAPTER IV – The Dream

"MOM!" the young girl jumped into her mother's waiting arms as she walked through the door to their little home in the woods. Her mother had just come home from a mission clearing Grimm from an abandoned village a few miles southwest. She laid down her weapon, covered in the scars from the last ten years of combat and training. It was a scythe that she had designed before she had even become recognized as the worlds most successful huntress. Its secondary function being a high impact, long range sniper rifle. The crimson weapon collapsed as she placed it in the storage compartment, right next to the silver sword that had not been used since the birth of their daughter.

"Oomph, hey there Summer! Where's your mommy, in the office?" she kissed her daughter on the cheek as she brushed her white hair, tipped in vermillion, out of her eyes. She shared her silver eyes with with Ruby, and her pale complexion and personality more with her other parent, Weiss.

"Yup! She said she was almost done a little while ago! She wanted to make dinner for you when you got home." the young Summer Schnee jumped into Ruby's arms.

Time had changed the younger of the two parents, leaving her with scars from countless battles, but rather than to detract from her beauty, it served to amplify it. Her raven hair now stretch nearly to her buttocks, and the most distinguished of scars was one that mirrored that on the face of her wife's. It stretched over her right eye, and served as a reminder of an encounter in which she had nearly lost Weiss. She had jumped in front of a swinging Ursa to protect her white haired wife from the monster and received the cut that would remain with her for the rest of her life. Ruby set her mothers namesake down in front of her when a door opened down the hall, followed by the scent of her favorite thing in the world – cookies.

"Mmm, what do you say we go sneak some cookies out of the kitchen and wait for her to finish up?" she asked of the little girl clinging to her hand. The young one nodded and they ran down the hall to the kitchen, only to find one snag in their plan – Weiss was still cooking when they appeared.

"Ruby! Your home! Thank god. You know you are 2 days late, I was worried sick!" Weiss Schnee turned to face her lover, noticing a new bandage on her arm. "and what is this? You hurt yourself again?!" her own hair had been kept at a proper length but as time had gone on her face had lost some of its hard edge, due to the fact that she hadnt felt sorrow, or loneliness, which had caused it to take on that edge in the first place. After only 2 years of fighting outside of Beacon, they had mothered a child, due to the scientific advancements of the time, and had partially retired. She now surveyed possible Grimm infestations, and taught tactics for Atlas, remotely from home.

"I'm sorry, I should have sent word, but a Giant Nevermore kept me busy. As far as this cut goes, don't worry too much. Its shallow," Ruby paused, closing the distance between herself and her wife. "I'm just glad to be home. 2 weeks feels like a life time out there." she absentmindedly thumbed the snowflake around her neck, remembering all the nights she played it to keep her spirits up.

"you dolt." Weiss responded kindly, the insult becoming a term of endearment. " I love you Ruby Rose." the white haired maiden pulled her wife in by the collar and kissed her gently. The kind of kiss that could only be shared between two people who had spent years caring for one another.

"EW! That's gross mommy!" the young Summer now squeezing in between her two mothers, so as to seperate the gross thing they were doing. Her parents released one another and laughed, as they picked up their daughter.

"I love you too Weiss Schnee." Ruby responded to her wife as she hoisted her daughter onto her shoulders. "and you too, Summer." she added as she tickled the bottoms of her feet.

Weiss hugged them both very tightly as her vision blurred and went black. She awoke to the scent of roses and the feeling of a warm body in her arms.