Train horn. Chainsaw.

"Finally, I get to kill a Schnee."

Weiss gasped and shot up, nearly bumping her head into the bed above her.

Wait, bed above me? Weiss thought in momentary confusion. Her muscles were tense, and she was ready to jump out of bed should any attacker make themselves known, but she quickly realized that she was in a familiar place. The RWBY dorm at Beacon Academy was silent, save for the snoring of their most fiery member, and the labored breathing of Weiss. The room was dark, and Weiss reached for her Scroll. The device's glow forced her eyes to painfully readjust to the newfound lightsource, and the time displayed almost made her groan.

Weiss was by no means an early riser. In fact, she was almost always the last to get out of bed, but waking from nightmares was something she'd become used to over summer break, although nightmares of the Mountain Glenn incident were infrequent and intense, making them hard to recover from. She was wide awake now, and was definitely not going back to sleep, regardless of the fact that her Scroll's clock read 4:16AM. She carefully pushed her blankets off and rose to her feet, finding a familiar comfort in the hard wooden flooring of the dorm. The cold, unrelenting marble of Palace Schnee had never granted her such comfort.

She stealthily exited the RWBY dorm and began blearily walking to the library. Walking through the dimly lit halls of Beacon was like slipping into a pair of old shoes, and Weiss found that the path came more easily than she'd expected. Before she knew it, she was standing behind the short, wide, wood-and-glass panel doors of Beacon Academy's library. As she entered, she found the massive room to be completely empty, save for the librarian. The librarian, a Mole Faunus with small, beady eyes magnified by the thick lenses of her glasses, looked up and smiled softly at Weiss before returning to whatever she was doing behind her desk.

The library's carpeted floor did an excellent job of muffling the steps of her heels as she found her way to one of the dozens of empty tables, and sat at one of their gleaming white bench seats. The tension held in her body was almost completely erased as she took a deep breath of the library, inhaling the smell of real, actual books, as opposed to the sterile, lifeless scent of her father's library, which was full of Scroll-like data-slates which each held the collective knowledge of at least half of the Beacon library. They were far more efficient, both in cost and data storage, than real books, but they had none of the appeal that made Weiss love cracking open an old tome and studying its contents.

Weiss was so lost in her own head that she didn't even notice the only other person in the library, besides herself and the librarian, strolling up behind her and laying a hand on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt the warm touch against the fabric of her long-sleeved white pajama top, which Ruby had somehow convinced her to purchase after she complained about the uncomfortable fabric of her nightgown. She whirled around to face the villain who would dare infiltrate her personal space. "What do you—"

Her words died in her throat as she found the face of her partner. Ruby Rose was smiling knowingly at her, her silver eyes somehow gleaming in the dim room. "Hey, Weiss."

Weiss' heart jumped a little at hearing her partner's voice again. They hadn't spoken when they'd arrived back at Beacon since they all got back at different times, and hearing her partner's lilted tones again made her feel refreshed. Ruby's joyful gaze became one of confusion, and Weiss realized she must've been staring. "Ruby," she whispered, "What are you doing awake at this hour?"

Ruby cocked an eyebrow and smirked— Dust, she's spending too much time with her sister— while levelling an accusatory glare at her, "I could ask you the same thing, Weiss."

Weiss was just about to give a witty retort, but it died on her tongue. "W-well, something woke me up."

Ruby's smile fell slightly, and her eyes became soft again. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Weiss broke eye contact with Ruby and waved a hand dismissively, "It doesn't matter, why are you up this early?"

"You woke me up, Weiss. You're not as quiet as you think."

Weiss shrunk into herself. "Oh, I'm sorry."

An arm wrapped around her shoulders as Ruby sat next to her. Had it been anyone else, Weiss would've scrambled away from the contact and probably struck the person who'd dared touch her, but spending a year as Ruby's partner helped her get used to the constant physical affection, and she found that she actually missed it while alone at Palace Schnee over summer break. "It's alright," her partner whispered, "I don't need much sleep."

Weiss smiled softly at the comment, but didn't reply. Instead, she pulled her Scroll from her pocket and opened it.

"What'cha doin', Weiss?" Ruby asked, curiously peering at her partner's scroll.

Weiss sighed. She may have grown more comfortable with her partner, but Ruby still had the capacity to be annoying. "Studying some notes I prepared yesterday. I wouldn't be surprised if Oobleck or Goodwitch have a pop-quiz ready for us on our first day."

Ruby made a little 'Ooh' sound before resting her head on Weiss' shoulder and reading whatever was on her Scroll. "Do you mind me looking at your stuff?"

Weiss blinked incredulously. Ruby? Studying? Willingly? Perhaps she'd been struck on the head while on summer vacation in Patch. "What? Why?"

Weiss felt Ruby shrug. "You're probably right about the pop-quiz thing, and I want my first grade of my second year to be a perfect one!" She raised a fist in joy.

Weiss, still confused by this turn of events, begrudgingly held the Scroll between them, scrolling through it slowly enough that both of them could read what notes she had.

"Hey Weiss," Ruby started, "I have some flash cards back at the dorm. Do you want me to get those? They'd probably easier to study."

Weiss' eyebrows almost shot to her hairline. "You made flashcards?"

"Uh, yeah?" she separated from Weiss, lifting her arm off of her partner's shoulders, "What do you think I did all summer?"

Weiss shook her head and looked incredulously at her partner, "Sparring with Yang, building another scythe, playing video games, and generally not studying?"

Ruby chuckled and got up. Weiss frowned at the missing warmth of her partner. "I spar with Qrow, now." Was all she said before bolting off, leaving a flurry of roses behind her, the telltale sign of her semblance hinting that Ruby just sprinted through the library and is rocketing off towards their dorm.

Before Weiss could shake the incredulity at her partner's behavior, she had returned, her cape flowing behind her as she beamed down at Weiss, flashing the cards that she'd brought.

"I'm back!" She said with a smile.

Weiss couldn't help but find her joy contagious, and found herself smiling too as Ruby took a seat next to her. Together, they flipped through the flashcards. Weiss was easily able to rattle off the appropriate responses to Ruby's cards, which covered all the subjects of their classes, with a few miscellaneous trivia questions about the members of team RWBY, JNPR, and a few of the other students of Beacon Academy. Weiss could answer most of the questions about her own team, but had quite a bit of trouble with the other teams and students.

Ruby was not quite as quick as her partner, but had little trouble with the cards, save for the few that covered Dust theory. She quickly became bored, however, and entertained herself by making popping sounds with her mouth and drumming her fingers on the cool surface of the table.

"Next one," Weiss began, "Dust-based space travel is not viable because…"

Ruby's answer was delivered in a droning voice, "Dust can only be activated within Remnant's Aurasphere."

Weiss nodded, "Correct."

Ruby groaned, "This is boring."

Weiss shook her head, "Would you rather be bored or have bad grades?"

Ruby dropped her head onto the table, the cool white metal pressing against her cheek. "We should take sec. I'm gonna get burned out at this rate!"

Weiss sighed. No point in arguing with Ruby when it came to stuff like this. "Okay, fine," she put the cards back on the table, "What do you want to talk about?"

Ruby immediately shot back up in her seat and bounced in excitement. "I made some modifications to Crescent Rose!"

Weiss tried to look surprised, "Oh?"

Ruby leaned forward and spoke to Weiss quickly and excitedly, "I built a scope! It was frickin' hard and took the whole summer but I built my own scope with thermal vision and everything! It even ranges itself! I had to call Penny and get help for some of it but it works super good! I also got a few extended magazines and I'm working on a muzzle brake that won't totally ruin my baby's aes!" She leaned in to her partner and whispered in her ear, "I'm also working on another form that'll be super cool and helpful."

Weiss blushed at the breath in her ear, but was gracefully spared as Ruby leaned back and continued, "But Qrow won't give me Harbinger! Stubborn old man, it's not like I can't make him another scythe."

Weiss shook her head again and tried to push down the blush. "Why do you need your uncle's scythe?'

Ruby smiled at her and winked. "That's a surprise."

Before Weiss could return to reading out the flash cards, Ruby's Scroll erupted with a shrill ringing, causing her to squeak and fumble for the device, which she quickly silenced.

She looked back up at Weiss with a smirk and began pulling something from her pajama bottoms, "That's the wakeup alarm," she revealed the whistle, "You wanna watch?"

Weiss smirked and nodded, quickly stacking the cards and binding them with a rubber band before following her partner out of the library and towards their dorm. The walk back was done in a comfortable silence, both because of the lack of conversation topics and out of courteousness for those still sleeping. Weiss felt anticipation building as they approached the wooden door marked 'Team RWBY', she'd been waiting to reunite with her teammates for a whole summer.

As Ruby silently opened the door, she gestured for Weiss to plug her ears as she brought her lips around the mouth of the whistle. There was a moment of hesitation as she looked back at Weiss, just to make sure she had her ears covered, then she blew as hard as she could. The whistle's shrill cry pierced the air.

Immediately, Yang and Blake scrambled from their bunks, the former with a shouted curse and the latter with a shriek. Blake hit the floor with a groan, which was only amplified when her partner, her heavy partner, landed on top of her.

"Ruby," Yang growled, "I am going to use your tanned hide to make myself a new fucking pair of boots!"

Ruby giggled and casually tossed the whistle to Weiss, who deftly caught it. "You're gonna have to get up if you wanna catch me."

Yang groaned and got off of her partner, muttering a quiet 'sorry' as she glared at her sister. "Ruby Rose, you would be dead if you were not my sister."

Ruby's smile doesn't falter, "I know!"

Yang looked like she was about to say something else, probably a snarky or crass comment, but the beeping of the intercom interrupted her. From a speaker above them, Glynda's voice relayed the message:

"Attention all second-year students, orientation will be taking place in the amphitheater in one hour. Students who do not attend will be reprimanded. Thank you."

For a moment, everyone in team RWBY's dorm stared up at the speaker, then stared at each other. No one was wearing anything remotely presentable.

Before chaos could ensue, Ruby used her semblance to zip into the bathroom, shut the door behind her, and turn on the shower before anyone could contest.

No one else got the time to shower.

Eventually, they all left the RWBY dorm in their Beacon uniforms, Ruby being the only one of the group who looked refreshed. As they neared the amphitheater, they found it mostly empty, save for a few teams, namely JNPR and CRDL, the latter of which seemed to be missing a member.

"Guess they'll all come flooding in soon," muttered Yang.

An awkward silence threatened to hang, but Ruby kept it at bay, "Blake, what'd you do over the break?"

Blake shook her head free of her own thoughts before answering, "I spent some time with my parents in Menagerie, but I mostly did volunteer work. Menagerie is still mostly uncolonized, and the caravans need protection. What'd you do?"

Ruby smiled, "Me and Yang stayed with dad in Patch, but I was away for most of that time since Qrow insisted I 'be prepared'," she said with her best impression of her uncle, which really just sounded like she needed some water, "and sparred with me all the time. Other than that, I did the usual. Played video games, messed with Crescent Rose, built a scope, y'know, nothin' crazy."

Yang hummed, "Weird, Qrow barely talked to me and dad beyond just 'hey, I'm takin' Rubes, be back whenever'."

Ruby turned to her sister, "What did you guys do?"

Yang shrugged, "Played video games, shot the shit, sparred a little. I took him for a ride on Bumblebee, and he nearly vomited when we got back, called my baby a 'death machine'." Yang turned to Weiss, "What'd you do, princess?"

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "Do not call me that."

Yang rolled her eyes, "Whatever. What'd you do?"

Weiss uncrossed her arms. Ruby could see her cerulean eyes turn more solemn, and she wrapped her pinky around Weiss'. Weiss jumped at the contact, but didn't release the subtle hold. "I… I stayed in Atlas."

Yang cocked her head and leaned towards Weiss. "What'd you do?"

Weiss' free hand clutched her arm and Ruby could feel her hand warm up and sweat as she became visibly uncomfortable. Ruby knew that Weiss hated talking about being in Atlas, especially since she received texts near-daily from her partner about how much she despised the constant blizzards, the scummy aristocrats, the corrupt bureaucrats, and especially the corporate autocrat that is Jacques Schnee. She unwrapped her pinky from Weiss' in exchange for holding her hand, clamminess be damned. Weiss sighed and felt a little of her tension ease, "Stupid business shit," she spat, like the words were acid in her mouth.

Yang was taken aback at Weiss' cursing. "Damn, princess, sorry I asked."

Weiss gave Ruby's hand a final squeeze before letting go, "It's fine. I'm used to it."

A loud creak filled the room as the amphitheater doors swung open, letting in a flood of students. They carried with them a dull roar of at least a dozen conversations, which carried and bounced around the room. The students filled the room in an organized chaos, most of them reserved within their small groups of four. As the last team filed in, the dim lights of the amphitheater brightened and shifted, directing their focus to the stage at the back-center of the room.

The great doors at the back of the stage split and pulled apart, revealing Beacon Academy's Headmaster, Ozpin, and his assistant, Professor Glynda Goodwitch. They walked to the middle of the stage slowly, the student's cacophony of conversation dying with each of their steps. Silence fell upon the room like a heavy fog.

With a gentle tap of his cane Ozpin killed the final withering wisps of conversation. He pushed up his glasses, took a sip from his ever-steaming mug, and spoke, "Students of Beacon Academy. My students. I hope you have all had a wonderful summer break, as you have all been more than deserving of it. You have placed among one of the best-performing classes in your first year, with combat proficiencies challenging those of legendary teams such as AURM and STRQ. I am proud of all of you."

His eyes held genuine pride as his gaze swept across the room, his small smile slowly fading as he moved on to his next point, "However, this class has also had the lowest retention rate in the past decade. Extenuating circumstances have lead to some students growing uncomfortable with the reality of being a Hunter or Huntress. Due to their unpreparedness," his gaze flickered to the three members left of team CRDL: Cardin, Dove, and Sky, "some teams have been left with missing members, for which we are seeking replacements."

He took another sip from his mug and began pacing across the stage, his footfalls eerily silent against the wooden platform, "My students, last year's Mountain Glenn incident is not the first time such events have occurred. There will always be Grimm, which means there will always be problems such as Mountain Glenn. The breach of Vale was not expected, but it has happened before, and it will most likely happen again. With the rise of groups such as the White Fang, and their newfound association with crime lord Roman Torchwick, there will likely be more notable incidents which will occur during your attendance at Beacon Academy. In times like these, you must remember that the Hunter's duty and burden to protect the people of Remnant from any and all threats."

He sighed and turned on his heel, facing the crowd again, his voice solemn and hard, "There are threats to Vale and Remnant the likes of which I have not seen for many years. Hunter teams are reporting that the White Fang is becoming as much of a threat as the Grimm are, and that they are becoming increasingly large and active. I know that some of you," his gaze sweeps across the room again, briefly flickering to Blake, "Have sympathy for the cause of the White Fang. I can understand your trepidation at my proposal, but I will clarify to ease your mind. I care for the rights of Faunus, especially my Faunus students. I have seen the atrocities committed against them, and I do not support those who would be so hateful against those who bleed just as I do, and just as you do. However, it is undeniable that the White Fang has been involved in or instigated events that compromise the city of Vale and its inhabitants. Namely, the Mountain Glenn incident. They are not only a threat to Vale, they are a threat to Remnant."

The crowd of students came to life with murmurs and mumbles. Ozpin responded by tapping his cane against the stage, bringing silence to the room again, "I am not asking you to root out and destroy the White Fang. I am not asking you to hunt down the members of the White Fang. You are students, and I cannot expect such things from you. What I am asking is that you defend Beacon. I ask that you defend Vale. I ask that you, my students, my Hunters, defend Remnant. You will not be receiving missions to hunt White Fang, your missions will be focused on defending Remnant from Grimm. However, if we are under attack by the White Fang, you will be expected to defend. If your mission is interrupted or directly hindered by the White Fang, you will be expected to retaliate with appropriate force. My students, the White Fang has no mercy for you."

Ozpin's last sentence froze the air. The fog of silence became a choking miasma. Ruby's eyes widened at the words. Weiss frowned. Yang crossed her arms and sneered. Blake wore a blank expression, but her nails were threatening to break the skin of her palms.

When one speaks, it often breaks a tense silence, but Ozpin's voice only made it grow more oppressive, "Know that you will all be safe under my watch, and I will do everything in my power to keep you and Vale safe. Thank you all for being outstanding students, I am honored to be your headmaster. I will leave the rest to Miss Goodwitch. Glynda," he nodded to his assistant, who stepped forward as Ozpin disappeared beyond the great doors of the stage.

Goodwitch's voice mitigated the choking nature of the air, "Thank you all for staying with Beacon Academy. I can personally say that I am proud of all of you, and I am eager to see your progress. Classes begin at 8 AM tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Glynda's heels clicked against the wooden platform as she followed the headmaster, leaving the crowd behind her in a stunned silence. Slowly, whispers became murmurs, and murmurs became the dull roar of conversation that it had been earlier as students leave the amphitheater and return to their dorms in various states of confusion, pride, and fear.

RWBY, however, was the last team left standing dumbfounded in the room. None of them had budged an inch. Each one was still rooted firmly by Ozpin's words, their minds a maelstrom of conflicting thoughts. Their eyes had not moved from where Ozpin had stood.

Yang growled and her shoulders rose. She stomped out of the room in a huff, barging open the amphitheater doors with a shoulder. Weiss was the only one broken from the trance by the commotion, her cerulean gaze turning hard as she confidently strode from the room, her head held high. Blake and Ruby remained for a long time in solemn contemplation before the former turned and left, her gaze downturned and her footsteps silent.

Outside of her own thoughts, Ruby realized that she was the only one left in the large amphitheater. Her legs operated on autopilot. Before she knew it, she had returned to the RWBY dorm and was opening the door. The room was missing one-fourth of its usual occupants, namely Yang. Blake laid flat on her bed, her nose buried so deep in a book that Ruby couldn't see her face. Weiss sat at her desk, hunched over a thick textbook and her accompanying pile of notes. The air was thick with tense silence.

Ruby, finally unshackled from her train of thought, sighed as she saw her team. She turned around, and allowed her legs to passively carry her as she became lost in her mind once more. Ozpin's words still rang in her thoughts, providing ample fuel for questions, but no such fuel for answers. A tightness settled in her chest like chains around her ribs. She frowned as she forced herself to take long, deep breaths from her gut.

Without realizing, she'd made her way to the cliff overlooking the Emerald Forest. She'd spent a lot of time here, most of it alone, during her first year. It was a nice place to contemplate her future, her past, and her present. The trees of the forest did justice to their names, providing a dazzling, deep green that stretched to the horizon, where the sun was slowly setting. Ruby inhaled deeply, relishing in the scent of the crisp, fresh air. If she looked closely enough, she'd be able to see the many signs of life within the forest below her; birds, squirrels…

Grimm.

Her mother was buried within a cliff similar to this one. Perhaps that's why she was so drawn to it. Just similar enough to inspire tranquility, but not quite similar enough to flood her mind with loss. Carefully, she pulled off her shoes and stockings, relishing in the feeling of the verdant grass between her toes.

"Appropriate force… no mercy."

The headmaster's voice broke her relaxation and brought her back to the reason she was here. She reached into her uniform's jacket, and pulled her Scroll from one of the few inside pockets. With practiced ease, she dialed the number.

"What's up, little Rose?"

The familiar, gruff voice of her uncle made Ruby's lips twitch into a tiny smile, but the small happiness couldn't hide the sullen tone of her voice. "Hey, uncle Qrow."

"You okay?"

Ruby sighed. Of course he'd be able to tell. Heck, any random person on the street could probably hear her raging thoughts. "No… I think I…" she sniffled, and the crushing reality of her unfinished sentence brought her to tears. The tightness in her chest returned, increasing tenfold.

"Slowly, kiddo. I've got time. No need to rush."

Her uncle's reassuring voice gave her a shred of confidence. "I- I think I'm going to kill someone."

Ruby could hear Qrow jerking his head away from the Scroll. "What! What'd they say! I'll bite their head off if they hurt you, Ruby!"

Ruby giggled, but it was more automatic than mirthful. "No, uncle Qrow. I mean I might have to kill someone."

Even through the call, Ruby could feel his gaze harden. His voice came out like stone, "What do you mean, Rubes?"

Ruby blinked away a few tears and wiped her face on her sleeve, ignoring the streak of snot she left on it. "Have you killed anyone before?

"Oh," Qrow started, his voice sounding deathly grim, "I see."

Ruby remained silent as she sat on the cliff's edge and allowed her feet to dangle haphazardly.

"Uh, yeah. I… It was after STRQ disbanded. I was, uh, going solo. Your dad was busy with your sister and Raven was busy... Not being a mother. You know the rest of that story. I was escorting a caravan for a Frontier town. Don't remember the name, they're all something like Retribution, Valiance, or Hope. It was a nice group of people, they needed a Hunter to keep the Grimm off their asses, and I was… well, I was there. That's all that matters."

Another sigh came through the line, but Ruby remained silent.

"First, a bunch of Grimm jumped us, as they tend to do. They weren't too hard for me, and killing 'em got the morale up. We were all walking along, being happy and shit, when I heard something in the forest. The caravan stopped, and a bunch of assholes came out of the treeline. Just your run-of-the-mill bandits. About eleven of 'em, don't quite remember. They were pretty well equipped, would'a looted that caravan easy, if it weren't for me."

Ruby leaned forward, growing ever engrossed in her uncle's story.

"I went to work. I'd fought people before. It's way more boring than fighting Grimm, but it's way more dangerous, if you know what I mean. Anyways I…"

Ruby pressed her ear closer to the Scroll's speaker, afraid that she was missing her uncle's story, but she wasn't. He'd drifted off, and sighed again.

"Ruby, the scythe is a dangerous weapon. Fighting with it is just as much fighting against it as it is using it to fight against others. It's why Harbinger's also a sword. I can stop a sword. The scythe, though, you can't stop it. It's all momentum and no brakes, y'know?"

Ruby nodded and gave a little noise of affirmation.

"It's why we're the only scythe wielders around, Ruby. It's too dangerous for most people."

"So what happened? Did you kill one of the bandits?" Ruby blurted out, unable to keep the question from escaping her lips.

Qrow gave a dead chuckle. "Not one. I was getting cocky. Harbinger was in full swing, scythe out, I was in my element. I could gauge those bandit's Auras perfectly, dropped 'em easy, not a drop of blood. There was one person though, some kid, some hotshot. Must've thought I could use some help. Jumps out, no regard for his own safety. Selfless kid, really. Stupid, selfless kid. He got in my way, whether he realized it or not, and I couldn't stop the scythe."

"So…?"

"Went right through him. Would've been better if he'd screamed, would'a made it better, somehow. No, he just dropped dead, body in two pieces. That was the first time Harbinger ever tasted blood."

Ruby's words died in her throat, and a deep, bone-chilling dread took their place.

"There have been others, but I don't think of them as much. They weren't like the kid. The others were in defense, but that kid was an accident. I should've been more careful, I should've kept Harbinger in her sword form. There were so many things I could've done, but none of that matters. I still think about him some nights. Sometimes, he comes in my dreams, telling me it wasn't my fault. Says it like he's not cut in two."

Ruby's head drooped, and more tears stung her eyes. "I'm sorry, uncle Qrow."

"It's… it's not your fault, kiddo." A few moments of silence passed, but Qrow's voice returned again, "Why do you think you'll need to kill someone?"

Ruby's feet nervously rubbed together as she fought to push the words past her lips, "Ozpin made a speech. He said we're going to have to fight the White Fang, and that we're probably going to run into them on our missions. I… I think I know what he was saying. Or what he wasn't saying…"

"Oh, kiddo…"

A few of the tears managed to escaped, and they lazily fell down her cheeks, "I don't want to do it, uncle Qrow! No one deserves to die."

"You're just like your mother, little Rose. So compassionate, so caring. Nothing will ever change that, Ruby. Nothing."

Ruby stifled a sob, "But what if I—"

"Nothing, Ruby. You shouldn't have to do this, but you're going to have to make a choice. Ruby, there will come a time where you are in danger, your team is in danger, someone is in danger, and you're going to have to choose. Either a friend dies, or a bad guy dies. In those split-second moments, there can't be hesitation, it's gotta be all-out, or you, or Yang, or Tai, or some random kid is gonna die. I hate it Ruby, I hate that you have to do this, but if Ozpin's right, then you've gotta be ready. Don't let someone innocent die because you couldn't pull the trigger. It's that simple, Ruby, and I'm sorry."

Ruby felt the chains constricting her chest loosen, but instead they burned. "Why can't I just come home?" She sobbed.

"You can."

Ruby didn't respond.

"I didn't think so. I'm sorry, Rose, but there's nothing either of us can do. If it's going to happen, then the millions of different ways you could've stopped it don't matter. What's important is accepting what you're going to have to do, and moving past it once it's done."

Ruby didn't feel much better, but her storm of thoughts became clearer. She'd found answers, but they weren't easy ones. "Yeah..."

Qrow sighed, "Ruby, you're going to be okay in the end. No matter what, you're going to be okay, I promise."

The notion lifted her spirits a little, enough to let her breathe easily again. "Thanks, uncle Qrow."

Ruby could hear the sad smile through his voice, "No problem, kiddo."

A moment of silence passed, and Ruby''s thumb hovered over the 'end call' button.

"Hey, kid?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you call Tai?"

Ruby's free hand rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, uh, I didn't think he'd be… real with me."

Qrow chuckled, "Yeah, that sounds like your old man."

Another moment of silence.

"You need anything else?"

A hint of what could almost be related to a smile graced Ruby's lips, "No. Bye-bye, uncle Qrow."

"See ya, kid. Remember what I said, I love you."

That really made Ruby smile. He didn't say that often. "I love you too, uncle Qrow. Bye."

This time, Ruby's thumb definitvely pressed the 'end call' button, leaving her alone with her thoughts, which were mostly resolved, if not happily. She only stayed for a few minutes more before pulling on her stockings, boots, and returning to the dorm. She had a team to help.