By the time they'd noticed the brewing storm, the ice had melted from the road and they had pushed their horses to the edges of their limits and beyond. They were still days from Snowmire and their best bet would be finding the next resting lodge for shelter.

After the crippling winters that gripped Solitas some fifty years ago, a newly crowned Jacque Schnee drafted and made the Lodge Law, increasing the chances of survival on the Solitas Road and saving Atlas from a potential recession due to diverted trade.

The Lodge Law was fairly simple. An axe and shovel would be provided to each resting lodge. Salt would be stored and replenished by suppliers from the nearest village. Firewood would be stored and replenished by the user of the lodge for other travellers. Each lodge would be within twenty miles of one another.

The problem was, the nearest lodge along the Solitas Road had been destroyed, the roof crushed by a fallen tree. That meant they would have to travel another twenty miles to find the next lodge.

And they were running out of time.

It felt like he wasn't there. That he was just watching it from afar. Snow flooded into the valley, drowning trees and rolling over the ground like water. It was like a tidal wave sailors told terrible tales about. A great wall of white and brown, upheaval trees and mud ripped from the ground. Small animals fled before the tidal wave of snow and mud, trying to flee the unstoppable force of nature that pursued them like a persistent predator. Some unlucky animals were caught by the wave, dying instantly as their bodies broke and their bones were shattered by the force of the wave. It continued its deadly advance, smothering the Solitas Road and unpaved paths indiscriminately.

The unpaved paths and roads would lead to small communities that were scattered across Atlas, but there was no way of telling how far away they were and there was always the chance the small village had fallen, either to monsters or the weather, forcing them to keep on course and hope they could outrun the storm.

"This is horrible!" Ruby yelled. "We'll get snowed in overnight!"

"We can try to take the salt inside with us and use it to melt the snow in the morning!" Jaune yelled back over the howling wind. "We have to get to the lodge quickly though!"

Ruby yelled something back but it was lost in the wind. His horse panted as it thundered down the Solitas Road, fear in its eyes. Jaune tried to comfort his still unnamed steed, but could do little as he held onto the reins for dear life.

The wind howled with renewed gusto, whipping his hair into his face and biting into his skin like a horde of neverending ants. Jaune may have been raised in Nördliche Burg, but he had been made in Vale, and as such his body struggled with the weather.

"So is Ruby." He thought sympathetically, knowing the girl would be freezing. She wore her usual getup, a red battledress with a corset, armoured skirt and a hooded red cloak pinned to her breast by a large rose brooch made of silver. Her skirt only fell to her knees, with boots and a thin black garter. Her main and only protection from the elements, her cloak, flapped widely behind her, exposing her to the harsh wind even further than he was.

He may only have a relatively thin hose and tunic, but at least they covered him entirely, his own cloak clinging to his shoulders for dear life as the wind threatened to tear it off him and whisk it away.

"We shouldn't be far!" He yelled at her, and Ruby nodded back, and even though he was shifting back and forth on the back of his horse wildly, he could see her chattering teeth.

Jaune gritted his own and not just to stop them chattering like Ruby's.

He was angry, no, he was furious. Why was Ruby the one being punished for the fact he was a wanted man. Ruby had done nothing wrong, had even saved his life and those of everyone at Nördliche Burg and yet she was freezing and cold just because of him. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair!

Then, like magic, they crested the hill they had steadily ascended and a light flickered in the distance.

A resting lodge. The resting lodge. They'd made it.

"Quick!" Ruby yelled, snapping him from his temporary stupor. The light and promise of warmth reinvigorated their tired horses, who charged down the the Solitas Road towards the lodge.

The snow and wind followed them. The avalanche seemed to hit the hill with a heavy thunk, and like rolling waves, snow piled up until it burst once more over the hill, though now it was lessened in size and power.

When the lodge came into view, Jaune breathed a sigh of relief. It rested solidly in the middle of a larger hill. The snow wouldn't be able to reach them, but the road behind them was buried.

"That's good for us at least." Jaune thought as he and Ruby slowed to a halt outside the lodge. "If the tree won't slow down the Inquisitor and whoever else is after us, then a bloody avalanche of all things definitely will."

Then Jaune turned to Ruby and his relief evaporated instantly.

She could barely move, her entire body shivering uncontrolably and her lips blue. Her face was a deathly pale, and her bright silver eyes seemed dull and muted.

"We need to get you inside now!" Jaune yelled, ripping off his cloak and wrapping it around Ruby before pulling her from her horse, hastily carrying her towards the lodge and pushing at the door.

It was locked.

He pushed again.

The door rattled but wouldn't open. He could see the amber glow from the fire inside the lodge, and his stomach twisted uneasily.

He pushed again. Harder this time.

Nothing.

"Please!" He yelled, pounding on the door with his right arm, the other other propping up Ruby. "My friend she's really cold! I think she has hyperthermia!"

Nothing.

"Please! We won't take your supplies or anything we just need shelter!"

The amber glow continued to tantalisingly dance at the edges of the door.

"We'll give you our supplies if you want!"

A flicker. Then nothing.

"I promise! I swear it on my name as an Arc we'll give you our supplies so long you let us enter! Please!"

The amber was blocked by something. A shadow. There was a wonderful click as the door unlocked and a whoosh as it was pulled open and the wind forced itself inside.

"In!" Hissed a voice. A girl. "Bring the horses or they'll freeze."

"Thank you!" Jaune gasped, relief flooding his system and making him feel giddy as he gently handed Ruby over to the girl. "Thank youthankyouthankyou!"

"Hurry!" The girl replied, dragging Ruby indoors. Jaune turned and grabbed the reins of their horses, quickly guiding them inside and pushing the door shut. It burst open once more, the wind too strong.

"Now you can see why I had to lock and block it." A feminine voice said, and Jaune turned to see the girl tending to Ruby. She was taller than Ruby, with raven black hair and bright amber eyes. Two black, furry cat ears poked out from the top of her raven tresses.

"A faunus." Jaune realised, eyes widening with shock.

"Problem?" The girl asked, looking up and cocking her head with the exasperated grace of someone used to it being so.

"No! I-I'm not...I don't!" He stammered, eyes widening as he realised what she meant.

"Close the door." The girl replied, rolling her eyes, her tensed shoulders relaxing as she turned to Ruby.

Jaune nodded despite the fact she couldn't see him do so. He pushed the door shut with all his strength, barely managing to heave it shut before he locked it. The door rattled ominously as the howling wind tried its hardest to break in.

"The horses." The girl barked, dragging her own over to the door. "They can help block the door."

Jaune glanced toward the fire. Ruby laid before it, and the wind had smothered much of its flame.

"Won't they freeze?" He asked worriedly, as the girl tied the reins of her horse onto a leg she'd dragged in front of the the door.

"They'll be fine, the fire should keep going for most of the night and if worse comes to worst then they'll have their body heat to share." The girl replied, dragging over and tying his and Ruby's horse to the log, which she had piled a chair and some other logs around to make more secure. "It's the girl we should worry about. Her fingers and ears are a little frostbitten."

Jaune span around and strode over to Ruby, ignoring the girl huff something. He fell to his knees beside her, gently turning her slightly and clutching her cold hands in his own.

The fingertips were blue but not dangerously so. Luckily for Ruby they wouldn't need to be cut off. Her ears were the same, just a little blue around the bottom of her earlobes. He gently tucked a stray stand of red tipped hair behind the back of her ear when he noticed it.

Ruby was pretty much naked. Her armoured corset had been ripped off and thrown into the corner alongside her cotton chemise. Her skirt and garter had also been removed, and the only thing keeping her decent were a thin layer of cloth wrapped around her chest and her...other area.

Jaune immediately recoiled, face as red as the tips of Ruby's hair and twisted into mortified shock.

"Whahefik?" He questioned and a quiet laugh shool him from his shocked stupor.

"Her clothes were soaked through." The faunus girl explained, wiping a tear from her golden eyes. "She'd have frozen in them. Best to take them off and get her some other clothes."

"Buu?"

"Yes I took off her clothes. I recommend you do the same and put some dry ones on. No matter how warm the fire is you'd be freezing cold."

Jaune nodded, waving vaguely in Ruby's direction. The girl rolled her eyes.

"I'll get her dressed if you give me some of her clothes." The girl promised, shooing at him. "Now fetch. Don't want her waking up to you looming over her whilst she isn't wearing anything do we?"

Jaune stammered and spluttered, but obliged the request. He walked over to Petal Burst, untying Ruby's travel bag of clothes and tossing it at the girl, who caught it and began rooting through it.

"Why does she have a dozen of the same outfits?" The girl asked, pulling out a skirt and armoured corset. Jaune shrugged, petting Petal Burst reassuringly as the horse nudged her head towards him.

The girl simply sighed and chuckled when Jaune turned to face the door ad she dressed Ruby.

"It's nothing you haven't already seen." The girl teased, and Jaune just shook his head as he listened to the howling wind, the soft crackling of the fire and the gentle rustling of clothes.

"Is she okay?" He asked and the girl hummed.

"Exhausted, cold but she'll live. With all her limbs too." She replied and Jaune nodded.

"Thank you. I still don't know your name by the way."

"It's because I haven't told you."

"Oh. I'm Jaune. Jaune Arc. Who are you?"

"A girl."

"A girl who's named…?"

"Just stop."

"I'm sorry if I'm annoying you but I'm in your debt. I want to know the name of the person I owe my life to."

"You owe your life to me. You don't need to know my name."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Come on I know you want to."

"Not even in the deepest, darkest depths of my heart."

"I won't give up until I know you know. I have seven sisters so I have learned how to be uber stubborn."

"Seven?! Are your parents part Rabbit Faunus or something?"

"No! Just because my family support the chuffing Faunus doesn't mean we sleep with them!"

"Oh. So you're the type that just say you support Faunus."

"No! I just mean my parents are loyal to each other and haven't slept with anyone else."

"Really? You sounded pretty angry a few seconds ago."

"I'm sorry. I'm just used to people insulting my family because of it."

'Oh. I didn't mean to suggest…"

"I know. I'm sorry for swearing. It was unbecoming of a gentleman."

The girl snorted.

"Your inner nobleness is showing." She teased.

"Sorry."

"Don't be."

They fell into a simple and unawkward silence. It was broken by Ruby's soft snores.

"She's dressed." The girl said and Jaune turned around. The only sign of their earlier predicament was the pile of wet clothes slowly drying near the fire.

"I'll put her to bed." Jaune said and the girl shook her head.

"It would be better to move a bed closer to the fire first. She'll warm up quicker that way."

He nodded, helping the girl push one of the beds closer to the fire. It was hard at first due to a general lack of coordination between the two of them, but they quickly began to work together and the bed was just before the fire. Gently, as if lifting a baby, Jaune picked up Ruby and tucked her into the bed, who curled up and mumbled adorably.

"You seem used to doing that." The girl pointed out and Jaune nodded.

"Seven sisters remember? Some of them are younger than me." He whispered and a small smile crept onto her face.

"That's good. Some nobles would have just foisted that responsibility on maids and other servants." The girl nodded her head to Ruby, who mumbled something about eating all the sweet rolls. "We don't have to whisper by the way. She's out for the count."

Jaune nodded but moved away from Ruby anyway, not wanting to disturb her. He shivered as he moved away from the warmth of the fire, and the girl noticed, shooting him a worried expression.

"Did you change too?" She asked, noticing his damp clothing. "I told you to whilst I dressed her."

"I forgot. I was too busy…" Jaune trailed off, waving vaguely in the direction of the horses and the door. The girl rolled her eyes, sitting down on a bed surrounded by what he assumed (and hoped) were her own supplies.

"The water won't evaporate in this weather. Get changed. Now."

Jaune nodded, the feeling of being chastised by his mother filling him. He walked over to his horse, pulling off the travel bag filled with the clothing Klein had given him. He winced when he thought of the knight. Although his conversations with Ruby had alleviated some of the guilt and made him forget some of it, it still hurt to think of the knight he'd betrayed.

"Well?" The girl asked, breaking him from his train of thought.

"Oh I um…" Jaune stammered, turning to face the girl, who was lounging on her bed and staring at him with passive golden eyes. "Aren't you gonna...you know...look away?"

The girl tapped a finger to her chin for a few moments, staring at the ceiling with a considerate expression.

"Nope." She said, shrugging and looking him dead in the eye.

"P-Please?" He stammered, face flushed and staring at the floor to escape the intensity of her gaze. The girl laughed, sitting up up putting her hands over her eyes.

"You're peeking aren't you?" Jaune asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

"Maybe." The girl replied, her voice muffled and echoey. Jaune sighed, turning around to face the door. He peeked around quietly, and saw the girl hadn't moved. He sighed again.

"What's taking so long? Get the show on the road. Not like I'm peeking or anything." The girl complained dryly, and Jaune rolled his eyes.

"I don't like stripping in front of strangers." He replied sarcastically, and there was a moment of silence before the girl spoke.

"Blake."

"What?"

"My name. My name is Blake."

Jaune stared at the girl. Even with her voice muffled, it seemed like the girl had been pained to tell him her name.

"Thank you for telling me Blake. It's nice to meet you."

The girl grumbled something he couldn't hear, and when it became clear she wasn't going to say anything else, he turned around and began to undress.

It felt weird. He and Ruby had taken turns to get dressed in their previous lodges, one keeping watch whilst the other dressed. He wasn't used to getting naked in front of other people, let alone girls, so he was left with a weird, nervous twisty feeling in his gut.

By the time he'd finished dressing into a simple brown hose and white tunic, the girl, Blake, had lowered her hands and was staring at him like a cat that caught the canary.

Wait. Was that racist?

"Don't get any ideas Arc." Blake said, rolling into her bed. "I'm just bored without my literature."

"I'll buy you some in Snowmire.'' Jaune replied. "It's the least I could do to repay you for letting me and Ruby inside."

Blake tensed, and her hand flew to something underneath her pillow. Jaune had the feeling he'd done something very wrong.

"How do you know I'm going to Snowmire?" Blake hissed, golden eyes narrow and suspicious and piercing like daggers.

"I-Me and Ruby are going there too! It's the only place to go to since the road to Nördliche Burg is blocked by the avalanche and a fallen tree some forty or so miles back." Jaune stammered, and Blake glared at him for a moment or two before sighing, her body relaxing and releasing whatever weapon she had hid beneath her pillow.

"Your right." She said. "Sorry Jaune. I...I have a hard time trusting people and…"

"It's okay." Jaune replied, hiding a flinch at her raised eyebrow for interrupting her. "It was presumptuous of me to assume you were going to Snowmire anyway so all is forgiven."

Blake gave him a perplexed look, before a warm smile spread across her face.

"If only more were like you Arc." She said, rolling over so her back was to him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Jaune replied with a smile of his own, adding a firewood log to the fire before clambering into his own bed.

"I'm trusting you Arc. If you try anything whilst I'm asleep I'll cut you."

"I-I'm not going to! I-I'm not like that I swear!"

"I know." Blake snorted, and when she didn't elaborate further Jaune pulled the covers over himself.

"Goodnight Blake."

The fire cracked. Ruby snorted and mumbled. Moments passed.

"Goodnight Jaune."

He fell asleep with the howl of the wind in his ears.