Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY
Chapter 1: A Perfect Storm
A cold, nightly wind blew over the island of Patch, chilling anyone outside to the bone. A light pattering of rain fell down, but it was much less then what it had been earlier that night, when it had been a raging storm. A miserable night to be sure, but for the two current occupants of a certain cabin outside of the main town, that wasn't a problem. Their father had built this house with his own two hands and made sure that it was always warm and safe.
The younger of the two occupants, 3-year old Ruby Rose, was trying to look out the window by the living room. This was proving to be a difficult task, as even though she was on her tippy toes, she was still unable to reach high enough to see anything. Not that there was much to see, given that it was pitch black out, but the young toddler was determined.
"Ruby, you're going to hurt yourself. Come over here and sit by me." Ruby gave only a cute little grunt in response and continued her endeavor to see out the window.
5-year old Yang Xiao Long hopped off of the couch and went over to Ruby. She took her little sister's hand and pulled her away from the window.
"Nooooo…I want to look and see if Mommy and Daddy are coming back" Ruby whined and struggled but couldn't resist her big sister and was dragged back onto the couch. She continued to squirm around, but Yang had her in a tight grip.
"Ruby, stop it. Mommy and Daddy will be home soon, so let's sit here and wait" Yang was worried that Ruby would hurt herself and even at such young age, her protectiveness of Ruby was very strong.
Ruby struggled for bit before giving up. She wrapped her arms around Yang and buried her head into her sister's shoulder. She was still upset, and the various muffled sounds she was making let Yang know this, but she was willing to sit still for now.
Yang lightly kissed her little sister's head. She was worried that if Ruby kept at it, she would try to open the front door and go outside to find their parents. Even the youngest children on Remnant were told to be careful when going outside and to never do it at night.
Ruby settled more comfortably against Yang and, after a few minutes, fell fast asleep. Yang barely suppressed a yawn of her own. It was well past their bedtime and she wanted nothing more than to go back to her warm, soft bed and sleep, but she just couldn't right now. Not with Mommy and Daddy gone.
She didn't know what was going on; she and her sister had been put to bed and were sleeping soundly when a loud noise from downstairs woke the two up. Groggily, Yang got out of bed and walked towards her parents' room. The storm outside was raging quite loudly as well, scaring Yang a bit and she was hoping to sleep in her parents' bed for the night.
She found that the bed was empty and was still neat and tidy, meaning that her parents hadn't gone to bed yet. The lights were still on downstairs and she could hear the TV. Ruby had also gotten up and was anxious over where Mommy and Daddy were. Taking her hand, Yang went down the stairs to look.
A quick walk through the house showed that their parents were not home and Yang guessed that the loud noise she heard was the front door being slammed shut as they left.
Yang was a little mad at this; not only was she constantly being told not to slam doors shut, she always had to go to bed on time no matter how much she wanted to stay up. She got that adults got to stay up late and stuff, but to her young child mind it all seems grossly unfair.
Anger quickly gave way to concern as she realized that she and Ruby were now completely alone in the house during a stormy night. While all the lights were on, it was still eerie to the children and neither really wanted to go back upstairs and sleep knowing that their parents were not at home.
So they decided to wait downstairs for them to return; they couldn't be gone for very long. So they stayed down in the living room, playing with the games and toys that had been left down there during the day.
But they could only play around for so long; while the storm quickly died down it was still unsettling and just plain not fun as during the day. Their parents' absence and the lateness of the hour served to make them too upset and cranky to really focus on having fun. They just really wanted their parents back, hence Ruby insistence on trying to look out the window in the hope that she could find her them.
Sitting on the couch now, with her little sister sleeping soundly against her, Yang felt her eyelid begin to droop. As much as being in the house without their parents bothered her, the sheer weight of her exhaustion was too much for her. In a vain attempt to stay awake, she tried to focus on what was being showed on the TV; more on the various colours and shapes being shown rather then what was being said.
A news program was being shown, the same one that had been on when they first came downstairs. Yang had thought about changing the channel, to see if any of her favorite cartoons were on, but her Daddy always told her not to change the channel without permission first. She didn't really understand what the news lady was saying, but she guessed it was important. She tried to listen as her eyes slowly started to close.
"This is Lisa Lavender, bringing you an update on the ongoing situation off the coast of Vale. As previously reported, a large collision between two ships has taken place in the stretch of water between Vale proper and island of Patch. We can confirm that the ships were the Light of the North, a cruise ship from Atlas and The Cat's Paw, a passenger ship coming from the Menagerie."
"The ships entered the channel from opposite ends and were making their way to Vale's docks when a fierce storm suddenly blew in. Both ships were blown off course and collided just off of Patch. A fire started on The Cat's Paw and quickly spread across both ships. A few minutes after the fire started, an explosion ripped The Cat's Paw apart and engulfed the Light of the North, causing both ships to quickly sink. The cause of the explosion is currently unknown."
"Initial rescue attempts were hampered by the adverse weather conditions, though with the storm now subsiding, rescue boats and Bullheads have been dispatched to look for survivors. Coordination has been made more difficult due to the CCT system being offline for maintenance, forcing older radio systems to be used instead. Given the size of the explosion and how fast it happened after the initial collision, there is skepticism that any survivors will be found but Vale authorities have urged people not to give up hope. No confirm number or manifest on the passengers of either ship has been released, but the estimate number of people on board is believed to be in the hundreds."
"This is Lisa Lavender, bringing you the latest updates. Stay tune for more information as…"
Yang didn't hear the rest as sleep finally overcame her. Her head rolled over top of Ruby's, who barely stirred from her own slumber. It was well and truly past the two children bedtime and neither could do anything to resist their body's call for rest. So for the next while, the two sisters slept next to each other of the couch, heedless of the news on the T.V or the greater tragedy that was playing out near their hometown.
The girls' sleep was again interrupted by a loud noise and from the same source as before; the front door being used with far too much force. As the door was right behind the couch, the sound was very loud and startling, making the two girls practically jump as they woke up. Ruby immediately latched firmly onto Yang, tears forming in her eyes and her breathing started to quicken, indicating that she was on the verge of crying.
Yang's sisterly instincts kicked in and she immediately hugged Ruby back and tried to calm her down. She only had a few moments to do this before the sounds of heavy footstep behind her entering the house. For a moment she was afraid that strange people had broken in, but turning her head she saw the blond hair of her father and long white cloak of her mother rushing by.
The two adults ran right past the living room, not even glancing towards the girls on the couch and headed towards the kitchen. Yang didn't have a chance to call out before her father reached the kitchen table and swept everything off the top. A couple of plates and cups were tossed onto the floor, one of them breaking with a loud crash.
Yang was very surprised by this and felt her child's indignation rising again. She had been told over and over not to make a mess in the kitchen, yet here was her father making a bigger mess then she had ever made.
The reason for her father's actions was made clear when, after clearing the table, he laid something gently onto the table. Yang hadn't noticed that he had been carrying something in his arms when he had rushed on in. Her mother was also carrying something as well and placed it on the table too. She couldn`t see what it was, as both adults were blocking her view of the tabletop.
Summer moved off to the side for a second, returning with a white box in her hands. Yang knew what that was; it was the box that her parents got when either she or Ruby got a boo-boo. Without fail, when Mommy put a Band-Aid on a cut or scratch and kissed it, the pain went away.
But her mother wasn`t handling the white box with any kind of care or tenderness; instead she almost slammed it down onto the table and roughly opened it and began pulling lots of things out of it. Yang had seen some of those things inside of the white box besides the Band-Aids, but she couldn`t fathom how hurt you had to be to require all of that.
Yang was getting very confused and scared by what was happening. Grabbing Ruby`s hand, she quietly hopped off the couch and the two children slowly walked towards the kitchen. Their parents were speaking to each other but she couldn`t really understand what they were saying, only that whatever it was they were discussing, it was very urgent.
It was when Yang and Ruby had just reached the threshold to the kitchen that their parents suddenly turned around to face them. While the sudden movement was enough stop the two in their tracks, but it was the look in their parents` eyes that made them completely freeze.
It was a look of pure intensity and focus. Her mother's eyes looked to be almost glowing and both looked like they were a moment away from attacking. Their bodies and arms moved instantly to block the table, almost like they were protecting what was on it.
Yang's heart almost stopped beating for a second; she had never felt such an intense, overwhelming feeling in her young life. Her body started shaking uncontrollably and she felt Ruby cling to her with all her might.
It all lasted less than a second, as with a single blink of their eyes their parents' gaze was back to normal; filled with concern and confusion rather than this intense hostility.
"Yang, what are you and Ruby doing out of bed this late?"
Yang tried to answer her father's question, tried to explain that a loud noise woke them up and when they couldn't find them they decided to stay up. She tried to explain it all, but couldn't get anything out; all she could do was sob uncontrollably as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Ruby was already beginning to wail loudly and Yang wasn't far behind.
A pair of strong arms embraced the two crying girls; they knew instantly that it was their father. They threw their arms around his neck and buried their faces in his chest, Yang trying to croak out an apology.
"Shhhhhh, it's okay, it's alright. Mommy and Daddy aren't mad; you just…surprised us. Don't cry, don't cry…" Their father's words were soft and soothing, those of a loving parent calming down their children. He effortlessly lifted his daughters up in his arms and stood up; holding them close as he gently swayed them back and forth. This was the main method he used to calm the girls down when they started crying.
It started to work after a few minutes, with the girls' loud sobs growing quieter as they settled down. Yang messily wiped her eyes and nose on her father's shoulder before looking up again; his smiling face helped put to rest that she hadn't done something wrong. Looking over his shoulder, Yang got a clear view on the table and what was on it.
To her shock and surprise, there were two girls lying unconscious on the kitchen table. They appeared to be about her age; one had hair that was pure white while the other's was pitch black. Amazingly, there looked to be two cat ears on top of the black-haired girl's head. Yang thought at first they had to be attached to some kind of hairband, but the occasional twitch they did proved that they were real.
Yang had never seen such a thing before, a person with cat ears, and she quickly looked over to the other girl to see if she had something similar on her head.
What she saw was not as fun or exciting; it was horrifying. Looking closer, she saw that there were streaks of red in the girl's white hair and that her right eye was covered in a splatter of flowing blood. A closer look at the cat-girl showed that there was blood tripping down her head as well and falling onto the table.
It wasn't a large amount of blood and certainly not life-threatening, but the young girl had never seen that much blood on a person before and it was very scary to see. She buried her face in her father's shoulder, not wanting to look at it anymore.
Ruby also got a good look at the two girls as well and was staring at them, blood and all, with an intense fasciation that was out of place for such a young child.
The girls' father realized what had happened and quickly moved back to the living room, away from the scene in the kitchen. He was about to place them both on the couch, but decided against it, as it would still give the children a view of the kitchen. He instead placed them on one of the chairs set off to the side; it was big enough that the two could fit on it comfortably. He knelt down in front of them and gently wiped away the last few tears off their faces.
"Daddy…" Yang's voice was very quiet, almost a whisper. "Are those girls…are they going to…" she trailed off, unable to finish what she was saying.
"No sweetie, those two are going to be just fine. Mommy and Daddy are going to make sure that they will be alright." He gave his most reassuring smile, which seemed to work.
"Daddy, were those girls being bad?" Ruby's innocent question was met by honest confusion on her father's face. "Because they were outside after bedtime and you said that only bad girls leave the house after dark."
"No, no, no. They were just…unlucky. They got caught outside in the storm and got hurt; it wasn't their fault at all. Mommy and Daddy went out to see if anyone needed any help. And what do you do if you find someone who needs help?" He looked at his daughters intently, expecting the right answer.
"You help them!" Ruby answered.
"That's right my Special Little Rose. You help them, no matter what." It was a simple answer to a simple question, but one their father made sure they knew. Ruby smiled at praise and the pat on the head he gave her.
"Now…" their father said, getting serious, "Your Mommy and I need to help those girls get better. I have something very important I need you two to do. I need my Sunny Little Dragon and my Special Little Rose to sit right here and not move until we say so. Can you do that for me?"
The two girls looked at each other before turning back to their father and nodding. They may have been young, but they knew when things were serious.
Their father kissed them both on the forehead before getting up. He would have preferred putting them back into their bedroom, but he couldn't be absolutely sure that they would stay there with all the excitement going on. Better to keep them closer where he could more easily keep an eye on them while also having them out of the way.
Summer Rose looked up from her task of bandaging the white-haired girls head as her husband re-entered the kitchen. She watched closely as he walked up to the table and started raising his arm, his hand clenched into a fist. His eyes were blazing with anger and he was almost shaking.
When his fist was brought down onto the table, it wasn't with a thunderous clash but only a soft tap against the wooden surface. With Taiyang's strength, he could have smash the table and the entire room with a single blow easily, but that was not what was on his mind. The intense anger was not directed on anyone or anything, but was instead aimed at himself.
In his own mind, Taiyang had committed one of the worst sins imaginable; he had made his daughters cry. They had been absolutely terrified, through no fault of their own, and it was his fault. A parent was supposed to make their children feel safe, not make them scared. All he wanted to do was punch, hit and destroy everything, especially himself.
Summer reached out and grabbed his shaking fist, causing him to look up at her. In her eyes was the same anger and self-loathing that was coursing through him, but it was tampered with the need to focus on the task at hand. It wasn't their fault; they were so focused on helping the two girls they found washed up on the shore, that when they heard someone coming up behind them, they assumed it was an enemy and their Huntsmen instincts took over.
It was stupid of them, not checking if their own children were okay after leaving them alone all of a sudden and instead scaring the life out of them. It was careless and unforgivable of them, but they had a job to do right now. They would make it up to Ruby and Yang later; now they had two injured girls who needed to be tended to.
Summer's look and touch was all that was needed to calm Taiyang down and let go of his anger for now. It was one of the things that he loved about her; that she could calm him down and sees reason no matter what the situation.
It was the exact opposite of Raven, who could without fail light his emotions on fire, for both good and bad.
Taiyang nodded and began working on the Faunus girl, examining her head wound before cleaning the blood and bandaging it. After several minutes of silent and diligent work, the two girls were fully bandaged and as fixed up as best as they could be. Both had bandages wrapped around their head and the white-haired girl has one covering her left eye. Smaller bindings and Band-Aids covered the numerous but less serious cuts and scrapes on their arms and legs.
All in all, they were in much better shape Taiyang and Summer had feared when they found them washed up on the shore as the storm was dying down. They both had similar wounds on their heads, but it looked like they weren't very deep or serious. The wound on the white-hair girl's face had also thankfully missed the eye. That was good, since the clinic on the island couldn't handle critical cases and it was impossible to get to Vale as the weather was still too poor for travel by air or boat.
The strangest thing was that, although very faint, the two veteran Huntsmen could tell that both of the girls had their Auras unlocked. That was unthinkable of someone so young. It took years of hard-training for most inspiring Huntsmen to unlock their Auras. For someone so young to have it, it would take both a strong inner spirit and the experience of a harrowing, traumatic event.
Tonight's incident certainly counted as traumatic and it was almost certain now that it was the timely unlocking of the girls' Auras that had saved them from the explosion that had enveloped the two ships. It hadn't been enough to protect them from whatever had caused their head wounds and it wouldn't be enough to prevent scarring, but it had saved their lives.
Their musing on the girl's survival was cut short as the white-haired one started to stir. Her good eye fluttered open and she began to slowly sit up. She noticed that she was blind on one side and started to paw at the bandages over he left eye.
"No honey, don't do that." Summer reached out and gently grabbed the girl's hand to stop her. The girl looked up at Summer, eyes widening before looking around frantic.
"Wh-Who are you? Where am I? Where are Mother and Father?" the girl started to panic and tried to pull her hand away. Summer's grip became just firm enough to stop her without it hurting.
"It's okay…it's alright. You're safe now; everything is going to be all right. It's okay…" Summer's voice was soft and soothing, calming the girl down quickly. She looked in Summer's bright silver eyes and seemed to just know that the woman was speaking the truth. Summer's other hand reached out and began gently stroking the girl's head, being careful of her injury, and waited as the girl's breathing went back to normal.
Taiyang watched it all with smile on his face. That was another amazing thing about Summer, how good she was with kids. She just seemed to now just the thing to do or the words to say to calm a crying child down and bring a smile to their face. She had often said that she loved kids while they were studying at Beacon and that she wanted a large family one day.
Though, after Ruby, that specific dream wasn't likely to possible anymore.
After the girl had calmed down enough, Summer lend down so she was eye level with her. "Now sweetie, can you tell me your name?"
The girl looked down at the question, her right hand gripping her tattered dress. A long minute passed and the adults were beginning to think she wasn't going to answer and that a different approach was needed when she quietly answered.
"Weiss… My name is Weiss." Her voice was barely above a whisper and her face had an intense look of concentration as she spoke.
"That's a very lovely name Weiss. Can you tell me your last name? Or who your parents are? That will help us get you back home quickly." Summer gave her best smile, hoping to coax more out of her.
Weiss didn't look up and simply gripped her dress tighter before speaking again.
"I don't know. I can't remember who my parents are or where my home is. I can't remember anything. I can't…I…can't…" the last words were given so softly that it was barely audible. Weiss suddenly threw her head back and gave a loud wail, tears streaming down her face. That sound was one of utter despair; of a child who was completely lost and afraid.
It was bone-chilling for the two parents to hear and it shocked them for a moment. Summer recovered and immediately wrapped her arms around Weiss, holding her close and trying to comfort her. Taiyang could only stand and watch, wanting comfort this girl as well but knowing that there was little he could do that Summer couldn't.
A gasp of surprise made Taiyang turn away from the scene at the other end of the table and see that the other girl was awake. Bright yellow eyes were glancing around in fear and confusion and her cat ears were twitching. She saw that Taiyang was now looking at her and started to crawl backwards away from him. Not realizing where she was, she quickly ran out of space on the table and was about to pitch over the side backwards.
Taiyang's quick reflexes saved the girl from getting even more hurt, catching her quickly and lifting her up into his arms. The sudden sensation of falling and then being picked up did little to calm the girl down and she started squirming and struggling in Taiyang's hold.
"Where am I?" the girl said, her fear evident. "Who are you? Where's my Momma? I want my Momma!"
Taiyang glanced over to Summer, hoping she could help him. Unfortunately her hands were still full with the crying Weiss, leaving him on his own. Summoning all the experience 5 years of parenting had given him; Taiyang relaxed his hold on the girl a little bit and spoke softly.
"It's okay, you're safe now. No one is going to hurt you. My name's Tai…can you tell me yours?"
The girl looked up at him, eyes still wide. She simply stared at him for a moment before deciding that he was being genuine and wasn't going to hurt her.
"Blake…My name is Blake."
"It's very nice to meet you Blake. Now, I want to help you get back to you family as soon as possible; can you tell me who and where they are?"
Black opened her mouth to answer, but didn't say anything. She closed it and looked down, her eyes narrowing in concentration before widening.
"I…I can't remember. I can't remember my Poppa or my Momma. I know I have them, but I can't remember what they look like. I can't…"
Taiyang instantly hugged the girl tightly, just before her quiet words of confusion turned into a wail of sadness on par with Weiss's. Her cries were muffled by Taiyang's shirt, but it did little to protect his heart from being torn apart. He looked over to Summer and the two exchanged a look as the another part of tonight tragedy started to sink in.
Two little girls, cast out by a natural disaster and were, for all intents and purposes, alone in the world. The crushing despair of thinking you were all alone with no one to care about you was something Summer was well acquainted with and even Taiyang had a brief brush with it when Raven left.
Both adults had escaped from that black pit with the help of others and they weren't going to abandon these two girls to that fate. Taiyang and Summer held their respective charge closer and vowed there and then to do everything in their power to help them find their way home.
It took quite a while before the two girls finally stopped crying. After double checking they were okay, the girls were place on the ground. They were a little unsteady on their feet, but luckily they didn't fall down. Taking their hands, Summer led the two girls out of the kitchen with Taiyang right behind them.
Yang and Ruby were still sitting in the chair, concern and a thousand questions on their faces. They had heard the crying coming from the kitchen, but had remained seated just like they were told to. They stared at Weiss and Blake intently, not sure what make of the two strange girls.
Summer introduced the girls; calmly explaining that they would be staying with them for the next little while and that should try and get along. Summer's attempt to get Weiss and Blake to say hello to Yang and Ruby were met with downward looks and an awkward silence.
Ever patient, Summer asked Yang if it would be okay if she could lend some of her clothes to Weiss and Blake, as their clothes were all tattered and wet. She was so proud of Yang when she agreed without question; it would have been reasonable to assume that a 5-year-old like her would have gotten very fussing at the notion of sharing her things with strangers. But even someone so young knew when things were serious and she had been taught to always help those in needs.
Summer led the girls upstairs to the bathroom to clean them up with a gentle sponge bath. Taiyang stayed behind for a while, making sure Yang and Ruby were okay and catching the latest news update on the TV. When he got what he wanted, he went upstairs as well; first going into the girl's room to get some of Yang's clothes before going to help Summer.
After they were finished and Blake and Weiss had new, dry clothes on, Taiyang gathered up their old clothes to put into the dryer. He took the time to really look at them, noting the simple design of Blake's black shirt and shorts and the rich embroidery on Weiss's white dress. Their physical appearances said a lot, but this helped to sort out which ship each girl had been on and by extension where they had originally come from.
Black and Weiss were led back downstairs, their expression and demeanor having not change at all, and were place next to each other in the middle of the couch. Summer went into the kitchen and quickly made 4 cups of hot chocolate for the girls. She and Taiyang handed them out, with Summer assuring Ruby that she had indeed remembered to put extra milk in hers. Taiyang gave Weiss and Blake theirs, urging them to drink at least some of it.
The two didn't look up or response, but to Taiyang's relief they did raise the cups up and took a few small sips. After making sure all the girls were taken care of, he and Summer went back into the kitchen to start cleaning up.
For the next several minutes, only the sounds of hot chocolate being consumed filled the living room; loudly by Ruby and more softly by the other three. Yang kept a close eye on these new girls, not sure what to think about them. She understood that something really bad had happened to them and not knowing your family was the scariest thing Yang could think of, but them just sitting there doing nothing just didn't seem right to her.
Heedless of the atmosphere, Ruby happily drank all the hot chocolate in her mug, which was only warm due to the extra milk she had in it. She sighed contently, wiping the chocolate mustache she had acquired off her face before turning to look at the new girls on the couch.
She only stared at them for a few moments before silently nodding to herself and hopping off the chair, making sure to place her empty mug on the coffee table. Yang was so focused on her own observation that she didn't immediately noticed Ruby's sudden absence from her side. When she did and hopped off the chair to follow her, Ruby was already across the room and crawling up the stairs to their room.
Yang thought about following her, but decided against it. Putting her own half-empty cup on the table, she decided to get a closer look at still silent girls sitting on the couch.
Both were unlike anyone else she had seen on Patch. She had only ever seen really old people have white hair, but Weiss's was of such a bright and brilliant colour, like freshly fallen snow. And Blake had honest to goodness cat ears on top of her head. It was almost like something out of a fairy tale or one of the cartoons she watched with Ruby.
So it seem really out of place that such exotic and magical looking kids should still be looking so downcast. Yang didn't like it at all and when she came across something she didn't like, she would try and change it.
Standing in front of the couch with her hands on her hips, Yang confidently introduced herself personally to the girls, stating that she hoped they could be friends and have lots of fun together.
She got no response at all, Weiss and Blake continuing to stare into their mugs. There was no hello back, no thank you for letting them wear her clothes. This was very aggravating to Yang, who absolutely hated being ignored. She understood the situation as well as a young child could, but this was too much for her. The miffed blonde decided to take an even more direct approach.
Yang moved to the side of the couch Blake was on and climbed up into the empty space next to her. The cat-girl didn't look up as Yang got right up next to her, or when she started to raise her hands.
She did finally have a reaction when Yang quickly reached out and took hold of her cat ears. Blake sat up straight with a jolt, barely able to supress a scream and just managed to not her cup of hot chocolate.
Yang was happy that she finally got to react to something and she really liked how soft her ears felt. What she wasn't happy about was how, instead of yelling and telling her to stop, Blake just cringed inward, drawing her body closer together and trying to become as small as possible
"Please…" her voice was only a soft whisper, "don't hurt me."
This greatly confused Yang; this wasn't what she wanted at all.
"Why would I want to hurt you? I just want to be friends." Yang relaxed her grip on Blake's ears, but didn't let go.
"Because…that what people do to Faunus like me; they hurt you and say mean things."
"Why?"
Blake turned to look at Yang, her look of confusion mirrored in the face of the blonde girl.
"Because…that just what most people do…" Blake's answer was far from convincing even to herself. She didn't know why she thought that was the case; it was a pretty dark way to think about the world. She knew she was a Faunus and that made her different from humans, but why did that automatically mean that they would want to hurt her?
Did someone tell her that? She couldn't remember…
"Well," Yang's voice brought Blake back to the present, "I'm not 'most people'; I'm Yang! I promise I won't hurt you. I want to be friends with you."
Yang settled down right beside Blake, one hand still rubbing her around her left ear. Blake look at her bright, smiling face and couldn't help but know that she was telling the truth. She responded with a small smile of her own, which made Yang smile even bigger.
During this exchange, Weiss had kept her eyes down, only looking to the side when Blake suddenly jerked up. She listened to what she and Yang were saying with only half an ear; it really didn't matter to her. Nothing seemed to matter to her at all in this moment.
Weiss felt something climb onto the empty space to the right of her and with was it little interest that she looked up and saw a Beowolf was right in her face.
Weiss sat up lightning fast and was about to scream when she noticed that their Beowolf looked wrong. Even a child as young as her knew what the basic breeds of Grimm looked like and Weiss was able to spot several key differences.
First was that this Grimm was very small, too small. Second was the lack of any sort of snarls or growls that were typical of a blood-thirsty monster. The beasts red eyes, while present, lack the glow associated with the creatures of darkness. Finally, the monster looked far more plushy and soft then it should have been.
The Beowolf plushie moved off the side, revealing the bright silver eyes of Ruby.
"Hello! I'm Ruby and this is my favorite stuffed toy, Wolfie." Ruby held the toy animal in front of her, offering it to Weiss. The white-haired looked back and forth between Ruby and the toy, unsure of what to do.
"When I feel scared or sad, Wolfie helps me feel better. I know something bad happened to you and that you're feeling really sad right now, so you can have Wolfie. I promise he'll make you feel better." Ruby finished her explanation with a big smile on her face and held her favorite toy before Weiss, asking her to take it.
With a bit of hesitation, Weiss took hold of the plushie. It was very soft to the touch and she had to admit it did look really cute despite being based off an evil monster. In fact, seeing that something that was normally horrifying turned into something adorable honestly made her feel a little bit better. Weiss felt a small smile coming to her face.
Yang and Blake had been watching had been watching this exchange, with Yang being very proud of her little sister actions. That stuffed animal was Ruby's favorite and yet she was so willing to give it up to someone who needed it more.
"Hey Blake" Yang's words made the Faunus turn her head back to her, "is there anything I can get for you; to make you feel better?"
Blake thought for a moment; there was a lot that she wanted, not the least was to know who her parents were. But Yang couldn't help with that, so she thought of something else she could do right now.
"I'm…I'm a little cold" Blake answered. The temperate of the living room was quite warm, but there was a chill deep inside of her that just refused to go away.
Yang nodded and, instead of going to get a blanket or something like Blake expected, wrapped her arms around the cat-girl.
"This is what I do when Ruby gets cold at night. Do you feel warmer now?"
Blake was shocked at being suddenly embraced, but after a moment she realized she was feeling warmer now. It was odd that neither of the two adults could make the coldness she felt inside go away with any of their words or actions, but Yang was with just a simple hug.
Blake looked to the side and say that Ruby had done the same to Weiss, wrapping her small arms around the older girl. The same look of surprise was on her face, which slowly started to turn into an expression of peacefulness.
Both girls suddenly felt very sleepy and their eyes began to droop. The last few hours had been nothing short of traumatic for them, with them experiencing a wide array of negative emotions.
But now a sense of peace was settling over them and now, being in the embrace of Ruby and Yang, they felt they could finally rest easy for the moment.
In the kitchen, Taiyang and Summer were busy cleaning up the mess they had made. Summer was putting the unused bandages back into the first-aid box while Taiyang carefully picked up broken pieces of glass on the floor. Once he was sure if got all of them, he dropped them into the garbage can. He walked over to the kitchen counter were Summer was and let out a big sigh.
"This is one big mess, isn't it?" Summer didn't look up immediately, instead finishing her task and closing the first-aid box. When it was done, she turned around and leaned against the counter, tilting her head towards Taiyang.
"The worst storm in a decade hits Vale and wrecks two passenger ships right after the worst sandstorm in 50 years hits Vacuo and knocks the CCT out of commission. With all the radio channels being used for the rescue effort, it could be weeks before we can contact Ozpin or Qrow, wherever he is now." The strain of obvious in Taiyang's voice, but he was able to keep his volume low. What he was saying wasn't anything Summer hadn't already thought of, but that wasn't the point; he just needed to vent for the moment.
"And that ship from Menagerie, suddenly blowing up? That ship was smuggling Burn Dust I tell you. With the Schnee Dust Company expanding their monopoly, more and more smaller businesses are turning to smugglers to get their shipments. That ship probably took on passengers just as a way to hide it all." Taiyang's voice was barely above a growl and it looked like he was inches away from punching the countertop.
Summer nodded and continued to stare at the kitchen wall, organizing her thoughts. It was just so unfair, that these two girls had to suffer and all those people had to die because of a series of forces beyond their control. While on the outside she appeared calmer then Taiyang, inside her anger at it all was boiling.
After several seconds of tense silence, Summer spoke.
"It's going to take some time before we can get into contact with Ozpin. Beside the CCT being down, he's going to be busy dealing with this situation and the fallout for the foreseeable future. And those girls…" Summer took a deep breathe to calm herself.
"Those girls are probably the only survivors from the two ships; with how fast everything happened, it a miracle that they survived at all. The news is already reporting that there are no survivors and if we show up weeks later and claim to have found two girls who did survive…"
"The house would become a media circus" Taiyang finished, his face set into a grimace. With everything that had happened to them, having a bunch of reporters and camera swarming over Blake and Weiss was the last thing he wanted.
"But going public is probably the best way to find their family, if they have any left." Taiyang straightened up and looked over at Summer. He saw a particular look in her eye, one he hadn't seen in a while.
"Or…we could handle this ourselves. We contact Qrow when we can, but otherwise we keep this confidential. We look after the girls here while also investigating where they may have come from and try to find any surviving family they may have." She looked over at Taiyang, her eyes bright and determined. "It will be a mission for just Team STRQ, just like the old days".
Taiyang didn't miss the wistful tone in her voice and was just able stop himself from making a face. They both knew things would never be like they were before; Team STRQ was down one member and Raven wasn't coming back.
But maybe it was better to keep things quiet, at least for the short-term. It would be better for Blake and Weiss to be out of the public eye until they recovered somewhat. It they could locate their families on their own, that would be great, but if not they could always go to Ozpin for help.
"Okay, okay; how do we go about this?" Taiyang couldn't keep the smile off his face as the shorter women's face lit up before she immediately got down to business.
"First, one ship came from Atlas and the other from the Menagerie. I think it's clear which one came from which ship. Blake being a Faunus makes her being from Menagerie very likely and Weiss's hair and eye colour are common to Atlas. Plus, the Atlesian ship was a fancy, upper class liner and Weiss's dress was of a very expensive make."
Taiyang nodded; it wasn't a lot to go on, but it was a start at least.
Summer continued.
"When the CCT is back up, we can start looking into Vale's database for more information. We'll follow the official investigation that sure to be launched, though I doubt they'll find much. If they can find a passenger manifest for either ship, that would be great, but I'm worried they won't find one. The Cat's Paw may not have had one or had a falsified one to help hide their smuggling and the Light of the North may have its hidden away; you never know what shady dealings a group of business and political elites may have been up too."
Taiyang grimaced; they had the girl's first names, so if they could get a list of the passengers and found them on it, it would be easy to find out who they were. But it almost seemed like Fate was conspiring to make this task far more difficult.
Still, despite everything, Taiyang was happy with how Summer was dealing with everything. She had started to pace while explaining what they could do and now had her hand under her chin in deep thought. He could almost hear the gears in her head turning as she tried figure everything they would need to do to complete this task.
She looked like the great and hard-working team leader she had been back at Beacon.
Summer had always said how much she wanted a family and to be a mother, and she deeply loved caring for Yang and Ruby; but it had still been a sacrifice on her part to stay home and effectively be just a homemaker. She had trained for years to be a Huntress and was one of the best to ever graduate from Beacon. She was in her element when she was out protecting people and slaying Grimm.
This was only a temporary arrangement; they had agreed that Summer would stay home full-time until the girls were old enough and then she would start going out on missions again. That time wasn't too far off now, but Taiyang knew she was itching to get back out there. That may be one reason why she wanted just them to handle finding out where Blake and Weiss had come from.
Either way, they would take care of those lost girls as best as they could.
"Anyway, there not much more we can do tonight." Summer stopped her pacing at Taiyang's words. "Right now we need to get some beds set up for those girls and take them to the clinic in the morning to make sure they haven't suffered any major injuries."
Summer nodded at Taiyang's suggestion; it was best to take things one at a time for the moment.
"I hope Ruby and Yang can get along with Blake and Weiss. They could be staying with us for a while and suddenly having two other girls living with them will be a big change." A big sigh escaped from Taiyang as he realized that they had been neglecting to consider how this situation would affect their own children.
Summer gave a smile to Taiyang as she started walking toward the entrance to the living room. He was always worrying too much about everything; it was one of the things she loved about him.
"Don't worry. I am sure everything…will…be…fine…" Summer voice trailed off as she entered the threshold and looked into the living room.
"What it is?" Taiyang hurried up next to Summer, worried about what was going on. When he stepped up next to her and took in the sight, he understood why she was speechless.
Blake and Weiss were still sitting on the couch with their mugs of hot chocolate in their hands, but they had both fallen asleep. They were leaning against each other, resting the side of their heads against the other. The expression on their face was one of peace, something they had lack since they had been found.
But more importantly was that Ruby and Yang were on the couch as well, having also fallen asleep. Yang had her arms wrapped around Blake, her head on her shoulder and her golden hair was covering much of the Faunus's upper body. Ruby had her head on Weiss's lap, using her favorite stuffed animal as a pillow.
It was perhaps the most adorable sight Taiyang had ever seen and he understood why Summer had been stuck speechless by it.
Taiyang looked over at his love and noticed that she was looking at the scene with an intense look that he had rarely seen before. Her hands were clenched tight and it seemed like she was muttering something to herself.
"Washed up… almost at our doorsteps…all alone…a perfect storm…almost like it was meant to…"
"Summer, you alright?"
She didn't respond to the question, instead wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning her head on his shoulder. Taiyang was more than a little confused, but decided not to worry and instead enjoyed this moment.
The two adults watched the slumbering children for several more minutes before moving. Summer carefully took the now cold mugs of hot chocolate out of Weiss and Blake's grasp and placed them on the coffee table while Taiyang went upstairs to get some blankets.
As the children were tucked in for the night, the adults started to realize something deep down, Summer more so then Taiyang; that their little family on Patch had just gotten a little bit bigger.
What neither adult realized was that the four small children sleeping on the couch would become the greatest team of Huntresses that Remnant had ever seen.
That's it for the first chapter of my newest story. This one will probably take a back seat to Dark Valkyrie, but I wanted to get the first chapter out now. The initial idea for this story is based on watching several Youtube reactions to the Yellow trailer and noticing that more than one person wondering at the end if all four members of Team RWBY were sisters. This story is going to explore the notion that Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang all grew up together and see each other as sisters.
My plan is for a Team RWBY/Pollination pairing, but I'm undecided on how far or explicit I will take it. I'm open to suggestion on pairings and on where to take the story. The biggest issue is that without Blake being connected to the White Fang, there isn't as much reason for Team RWBY to go snooping and end up fighting Torchwick. Any ideas are appreciated.
As for Dark Valkyrie, I not only ask you to go check that out, but also ask for your guy's opinion on what the name of the Nora-led Team JNPR should be. My favorites are VNLA (Vanilla) and VLAN (Vermillion). Both follow the Colour Naming Scheme and both are descriptive in a way of Nora's character, both where it is now and where it will be going. If you could give your thoughts and suggestions, either in a review here, on Dark Valkyrie, or thought a PM, I would appreciate it.
As always, thanks for reading, leave a review and I'll see you next time.
