Out in front of the house, Neo went through her pre-run stretches. Yang wasn't the only one who needed to stay in shape, and a month or two of near-malnutrition and poor living conditions had taken their toll. Though Neo wasn't in as bad a shape as Yang had been a week ago, she still needed to stay limber and agile.
The eastern sky was changing from indigo to a slightly brighter shade of navy blue, and Neo could see her breath as she exhaled and went into a vertical split. She held her right leg high in the air at a 180-degree angle to the one planted in the snow, then she leaned forward and down, until her torso was pressed against her left leg. She heard the door open as Yang walked out into the snow.
"Oh, I - sorry," she stammered, "I, uh - I didn't know you were still stretching."
Neo blinked in surprise. She could practically hear the blush in Yang's voice, and as she slowly came out of her split, she realized that Yang staring at her didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. Some part of her wondered why that was the case, but that thought vanished once she saw Yang. She had tied her mane of golden hair back in a high ponytail, and her hands were tucked in the pockets of her black-and-yellow tracksuit.
"You're wearing your hair back?" she asked, her breath smoking in the predawn air.
"Yeah, what do you think?" she asked as she reached back to touch her ponytail. Yang had started paying special attention to her hair again, and it showed - the lazy, soft-looking curls, bound together by a thick hair tie, cascaded down past her shoulder blades.
"You look good," Neo said, before she could think. The words had just come tumbling out, . She found herself blushing as she turned away from Yang to face the wintry woods.
"Let's get started," she said, before Yang could have time to respond.
/
Yang pumped her arms as she followed Neo down the snowy forest trail, ponytail streaming behind her like a banner. She felt good - her heart was pumping, her lungs swelling with every breath, and aside from the sting of the cold winter air she wasn't feeling herself grow tired or sore. It felt like she was beginning to gain her stamina back again.
Ahead of her, Neo ran as well, occasionally casting quick glances over her shoulder to check on Yang's progress. Her particolored hair, likewise in a ponytail, fluttered behind her as she sprinted over snow and gravel, footsteps light and quiet.
Yang couldn't help but notice that Neo's tracksuit fit her very well, and just as she was surprised at finding herself blushing when she caught Neo stretching, she was now surprised that her eyes were continually drawn to Neo's slender, athletic body. She had noticed on some level that Neo was attractive, she had increasingly found herself with butterflies in her stomach when she saw Neo's eyes switch colors, or when she brushed a lock of soft pink hair behind her ear...or when she showed off just how flexible she was.
Any further thoughts in that vein were banished when Neo suddenly jerked to the left, into the forest. Yang skidded to a halt and watched as Neo quickly vanished behind the bare branches and thickets of the woods.
"Keep up!" came Neo's whispery voice, drifting between the trees. Yang gritted her teeth and followed her.
/
Neo sped through the woods, weaving between tree trunks, leaping over fallen branches and rocks, and slipping around snowdrifts and thickets. Behind her, she could hear Yang grumble as she blundered through those same thickets and snowdrifts. Neo giggled to herself and leaped up on a fallen tree, running along its length and pausing at the end while she waited for Yang to catch up.
Panting, Yang stumbled through the snow and fallen branches and leaned against the log to catch her breath.
"Neo...why are we running...through the woods?"
Neo smirked and hopped down from the log.
"Isn't this so much more of an exercise than some footpath?" she asked. Yang glared at her and straightened up.
"Just...where are we going?"
Neo felt a sly grin spread across her face.
"Wherever I want. Now, keep up!" she whispered in a sing-song voice as she sped off through the woods. Behind her, she could hear Yang sigh and follow her.
Neo saw a flash of grey stone through a grove of saplings and changed direction. Emerging from the trees, she saw a stony ridge before her, a jumbled pile of boulders, some bigger than cars. Throwing a brief glance over her shoulder to make sure Yang was behind her - she was, weaving between the saplings with surprising speed, if little finesse - Neo sprang up onto one of the boulders and began climbing.
"Oh, come on!" came Yang's frustrated shout from below. Neo smiled to herself and continued to climb upwards, springing nimbly from one foothold to another, gloved hands digging into crevices. Occasionally she would stop, perched on some ledge, and check on Yang's progress.
Yang was struggling upwards at a much slower pace, her robot hand whirring as it dug into handholds, her breath growing ragged as she hauled herself from one ledge to another.
"Come on Yang, you're almost there!" Neo called. She turned and jumped straight up, sending her past the top of the ridge to the flat area above it. She stood there, flexing her fingers to get the blood flowing into them, while she waited for Yang to catch up.
Yang finally clambered over the top of the ridge and stood there, catching her breath. Sweat beaded on her forehead and ran down her neck, plastering a few stray locks of hair to the sides of her face.
Yang straightened up, breathing deeply.
"Can you keep going?" Neo asked. Yang nodded and massaged her good arm.
"Yeah, I just need a moment," she panted. She scanned the open area at the top of the ridge, then paused and looked around more intently.
Neo raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"What is it?"
"I know where we are," Yang murmured, half to herself, then set off through the woods. Curious, Neo followed her. Yang led her through a stand of trees, and as Neo slipped around one of the tree trunks she stepped out into a patch of open ground.
Neo's breath caught in her throat as she saw the vista in front of them. They were standing near the edge of a cliff overlooking a broad valley, with the sun just rising over the eastern hills, and the deep purple was giving way to a bright red. Below, as the rays of the sun crept over the valley floor, fog began to rise, while snowbanks were lit up a pale gold. Having grown up in a grey and dirty city, the landscape before her was like something she had only seen in paintings until now. Neo looked at Yang, prepared to ask why they had stopped here, but she found herself tongue-tied at the sight of the winter sunrise catching Yang's hair. It practically shone as it caught the light and filtered it through her yellow locks. Neo found that her heart had leapt into her throat at the sight.
Then she noticed Yang's face. It was sombre, and she was not looking at the landscape.
Following Yang's gaze, Neo she saw the grave at the cliffside.
/
Yang felt a pang of loss as she saw Summer's grave. She hadn't been out here since...before Beacon.
Yang turned her head as Neo walked up next to her, looking at the grave.
"Summer Rose? Was she Ruby's mom?"
Yang nodded.
"Yeah. But she raised me, too."
She was my mom, in all but name, Yang thought, with a hint of bitterness.
"What happened to your mom?" Neo asked. Yang let out a resigned breath.
"She left me...I don't know why, just that, shortly after I was born...she left."
Yang closed her eyes and let the now-familiar feeling of shame wash over her.
She left, just like everyone else. Just like Ruby, just like Blake...
Neo stepped closer.
"Why do you think she left?"
Yang clenched her fists. She felt a lump grow in her throat.
"Who knows?" she spat, "Maybe there's...maybe there's something about me that makes people want to leave me."
"Do you really think that?" Neo asked. Yang unclenched her fists, letting her hands hang limply at her sides. She bowed her head.
"Why else would they leave? I'm just dead weight to them."
That was why everyone had left her. Ruby had left because she wouldn't get out of bed, and Blake had left because Yang couldn't protect her...even her mother would rather leave than take care of her.
"I don't think you're dead weight," Neo said.
Yang scoffed.
"But I am. I could barely get out of bed when you first showed up."
That seemed like ages ago, when it had only been a little over a month. Yang could hardly believe how far she had come...how far she and Neo had come. How much they had put behind them.
"And I saw potential in you. I could see how strong you would be, once you were moulded again."
Neo took another step closer, and slipped her hand into Yang's. For half a second Yang almost wanted to pull away, but when she looked down and saw the gentle smile on Neo's face, saw her mismatched eyes looking up at Yang's...she stayed where she was. Neo's gloved hand held hers gently, but she could feel the warmth in it.
"I don't think you're dead weight, Yang. And I don't intend to leave you."
Yang's breath caught in her throat again. Some part of her worried that it wasn't true, that Neo would leave her like all the rest.
But in that moment, all she could think about was how warm and gentle Neo's smile was, and how the rising sun lit up her face. All she could think about was how much she wanted it to be true.
She was still cautious around Neo. Just because she felt guilty over trying to kill Yang didn't mean she had truly changed her ways. But if this was what Neo was really like, if this sweet, caring girl existed under all that pain...then Yang wanted to bring that out in her more than anything.
Neo blinked, and her eyes changed colors. She let go of Yang's hand and stepped away, holding her hand close to her chest. She didn't shrink away or break eye contact.
"You know," Yang said, breaking the silence, "You've met my mom."
Neo raised an eyebrow.
"She saved me on the train. She said I shouldn't expect the same kindness again," she explained, a touch of bitterness in her voice. What kind of mother considered saving her daughter's life a kindness?
" I never liked her anyway," Neo said. Yang looked at her, then let out a bitter snort of laughter. She stared out at the horizon.
"I still want to talk to her. To find out why she left."
Neo turned back towards the woods.
"Maybe you will, some day," she said, "Now come on, Yang. Let's go home."
Neo broke into a run and vanished into the woods, and Yang gave Summer's grave one final glance before turning to follow her.