Chapter VII: Changes

Ruby was lying on her back in the empty dorm room, relatively awake though not really willing to get out of bed just yet. She was really tired, having gotten barely any sleep last night, and yet her mind stubbornly refused to slip back into the world of dreams. Still, she was not giving up, if only because she had nothing better to do at the moment; with her eyes firmly closed, she (im)patiently waited for whichever would come first: her friends or the blissful sleep.

Some time had passed — maybe five minutes, maybe half an hour — and she finally began dozing off. Before her consciousness could slip away into the nothingness, however, the soft click of an opening lock resounded in the room.

Hearing that someone just entered the dorm, Ruby partially lifted the sleeping mask off one of her eyes and peeked in the general direction of the door. Corners of her mouth twitched a bit once she recognized the white mane and navy blue dress of the newcomer.

"Hi, Weiss."

Weiss chuckled under her breath, slowly drinking what Ruby assumed to be coffee from the mug in her hand. "Good morning, sleepyhead. How was your night?"

The sleepyhead in question sat up, moving her sleeping mask onto her scalp. "Miserable," Ruby replied with a wry grin, looking at Weiss tiredly. She closed her eyelids for a moment, rubbing the sleep from her eyes; when she opened them again, the very first thing she saw was the logo of Beacon Academy emblazoned on the almost full mug of coffee offered to her by Weiss. "Thanks," Ruby said, taking the mug with a grateful smile tugging at her lips.

She took a few lazy sips of the caffeinated beverage; the coffee was a bit more bitter than Ruby liked it, but as long as it helped her wake up a bit, she didn't really care. After a while, she handed the now half-empty mug to its rightful owner, who in turn promptly proceeded to down the remaining contents in one go.

"Have you seen the other two?" Weiss asked, eyeing the haphazard heap of bedding occupying the space where Yang and Blake had slept. "They were already out back when I woke up to take a shower."

"Nope. I was about to ask you the same question, actually." Entwining her fingers behind her neck Ruby stretched, letting out a pleased little sound as all her vertebrae obediently popped into place. "Hmm. Shower sure sounds nice," she groggily pondered aloud as she cracked her neck.

Throwing the blanket off herself, she crawled towards the backpack with her belongings and began rummaging through its contents, eventually pulling out a fresh change of clothes. Taking it in her arms, she stood up and walked to the door. "Be right back," she said and left the room.

Already showered and dressed in her usual attire, Ruby re-entered the dorm, much to her disappointment finding it empty. Then, just as she was about to close the door, she heard Weiss' voice calling her name, asking her to wait.

Taking a step back, she leaned backwards and peeked her head out of the room; there, she saw Weiss approaching her from the far end of the corridor, carrying a white, steaming mug in each hand.

Once she was just a few feet away from Ruby, Weiss spoke. "I went to make some fresh coffee for us. Here, this one is yours."

Accepting the offered drink, Ruby beamed at Weiss. "You're an angel. Thanks."

Weiss rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You're welcome."

She walked past the girl standing in the entrance and stepped into the dorm, then made herself comfortable on the last surviving chair in the room. Most of their old furniture shared the same fate as their beds and rest of the chairs — battered and broken, they were now nothing more than mere stacks of loose parts arranged along one of the walls.

Once Weiss passed her by, Ruby pushed herself away from the doorframe she'd been leaning against and closed the door before taking a sip from her mug; as it turned out, this time around, the coffee was perfectly to her liking.

Savoring her drink, she walked over to the gap in the floor and perched herself on its edge, letting her feet dangle freely into the room below. "Guess we should do something about this hole if we're gonna stay here for the next three days. It's kind of a safety hazard."

Weiss smirked, teasingly lifting one of her eyebrows. "Like your bed used to be?"

"Hey, knock it off," Ruby retorted, trying to sound annoyed but failing to hide her own amusement. "It wouldn't have fallen down if the Grimm didn't tear the place apart first, and if Yang didn't punch that poor Ursa through our floor." She snorted, recalling their first visit to their dorm right after Beacon had been retaken; inside, they'd found a small surprise — a stray Ursa had made their old room its lair, taking a special liking to one bed in particular. "'Somebody slept in your bed, Blake. And for once it wasn't Goldilocks'."

Weiss snickered, then leaned in on her chair and rested her chin in her hand. "I thought Yang would actually punch you back then."

"Well, she sure did punch something," Ruby deadpanned, sipping from her mug. After a while, she placed the cup in her lap, looking into the room below. Her smile slowly dissipated, replaced by a more thoughtful, somewhat nostalgic expression. "It's a bit weird, sleeping in this room again. The initiation, our classes, the trip to Mountain Glenn... hell, even the tournament — it all feels so distant now, as if it had happened decades ago."

Weiss nodded. "In another life, even."

"Yeah... it kind of did, didn't it."

Neither of them said anything for the next few minutes, reminiscing times past and unhurriedly drinking their coffees, too engrossed in their own memories to talk to each other. The silence that snuck between them was neither particularly awkward nor comfortable — it simply was, at least up until the point when the door opened once again and the two remaining members of team RWBY had finally shown up.

"Hey, guys."

Ruby turned her face towards the pair. "Hi. Where have you been?"

Yang took off her jacket and casually tossed it over Ruby's head, adding it to the heap piling atop the mattress she and Blake had slept on last night. "Well... Sun texted Blake that he and two of the Dorks were at Beacon and would be leaving in two hours to help clean up the city, so we went to say hello."

Ruby directed a half-annoyed, half-disappointed glare at Yang, causing her to tense a bit. "And you didn't think of letting us know?"

"Uh..."

Ruby sighed. "When are they scheduled to leave?"

"About an hour from now...?" Blake interjected, trying to take some heat off Yang. "They should be somewhere around the landing platforms now, preparing."

Ruby and Weiss glanced at each other, then at their coffee mugs, then back at each other. Noticing Ruby's wordless question, Weiss rolled her eyes in a well-practiced manner, then both of them hurriedly finished their drinks before standing up, saying their goodbyes, grabbing their weapons and marching out of the room mere seconds later.

Yang stuck her head out through the doorway, observing with a somewhat sheepish look on her face as the girls strode down the hallway. She pointed a single finger in the direction of the dorm room. "So, uh... I guess we'll wait for you here," she called, getting a single 'okay' from Ruby in response, just before the pair disappeared around the corner.

"It seems that we have a while for ourselves," Blake assessed, amused.

Yang chuckled and retreated back into the room, the door closing behind her with a quiet creak of hinges. "Yeah, guess we do."

Though their meeting with Sun, Sage and Scarlet was cut short by the early arrival of the boys' supervisor — who happened to be professor Port — both girls had a good time, even getting an opportunity to chat with their old teacher for a while. They would have stayed longer, but when they learned that the guys still had a few things to do before their sortie, Ruby and Weiss bid the lads farewell and headed back, not wanting to take too much of their friends' time.

Once they left the boys far behind them, Ruby stole a quick glance at Weiss. She was tempted to ask her if she was disappointed they hadn't been able to meet with Neptune, considering that Weiss had used to have a crush on the boy, but the question just did not want to leave Ruby's throat.

"It kinda sucks for Neptune that he's still stuck in the hospital," she said instead, genuinely feeling sorry for the poor man.

According to what they had learned, Neptune felt a lot better at that point, but the doctors still wished to keep an eye on him for the following two days. Apparently bored out of his mind, he was — as Sun had put it — 'even more of an idiot than he usually was'.

"Well, at least they'll let him out before the anniversary."

Their journey back was rather uneventful — excluding their typical, friendly banter — and, before long, they had climbed the last flight of stairs, reaching their destination. Coming to a halt in front of their room, Ruby disengaged the lock with her Scroll and pushed the door open… only to slam it shut as soon as she took the briefest look inside. Her hand did not leave the doorknob, clutching it with enough force for her knuckles to turn pale, as if her vise grip was meant to ensure that whatever horrors she had seen would remain locked inside.

"I didn't need to see thaaaaat," she hissed, clenching her eyelids shut as her face was quickly getting visibly flushed.

Some muffled, unintelligible words came from the other side of the wall and someone blocked the door from within the room; only then did Ruby relinquish her hold of the knob, taking a few steps backwards and leaning her back against the opposite wall.

Weiss arched an eyebrow at Ruby, having no clue what could've caused such a reaction. "See what? The two of them making out?" She figured there had to be more to it than that, but she preferred to not assume the worst just yet.

A short, somewhat hysterical laugh escaped Ruby's throat. "Just making out? I'd sure have preferred that."

"Were they... indecent?" Weiss asked warily, not liking at all where this was going.

A stiff nod. "Very."

For a moment Weiss simply stared at Ruby, wide-eyed, well aware that simple nudity would not leave Ruby so perplexed. "You... you don't mean you saw them..." she mumbled in disbelief, feeling her cheeks growing hotter by the second.

"Yup. Totally did. I just walked on my sister having sex with her girlfriend."

With a face now almost as red as Ruby's trademark cloak, Weiss slammed her palm against the door, coping with her rapid onset second-hand embarrassment by unleashing her annoyance at the poor souls that had caused it. "You idiots!" Ignoring the steady stream of audibly embarrassed apologies coming from the room, she carried on screaming. "Couldn't you at least, I don't know, put a sock on the doorknob or something?!"

"W-we're sorry, okay?! We just didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

"Haaaaaahh..." Weiss exhaled loudly, placing the palm of her left hand across her reddened face. "We're going to the cafeteria. Make yourselves presentable before you go there." With that, she turned away and stormed off, Ruby following closely behind.

The two of them left the building without saying a single word to each other, actively avoiding eye contact as they walked side by side across the school grounds. Only after they had already covered over half the distance between the dorms and cafeteria did Weiss decide to break that silence, the echo of her blush still present on her pale face.

"Do you think we interrupted their... well, you know?" Since she'd had a moment to cool off a bit, Weiss was actually concerned.

"First time?" Seeing Weiss' meek nod, Ruby waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, I know for sure they did it back in Atlas, maybe even before that." She managed to say that with a straight face, but, nonetheless, some redness returned to her cheeks.

"You know? How?"

Ruby rubbed the side of her neck and turned her head to the left, hoping to hide her face. Regardless of her efforts at hiding, however, the traitorous blood that rushed to her ears still outed her to Weiss. "Don't ask."

Respecting Ruby's wish, Weiss tactfully did not pry into the matter. She opted to change the topic instead, wanting to avoid any further awkwardness, and Ruby was grateful to her for that. Although that air of mild uneasiness still hung between the two, they were able to talk normally, almost forgetting about the whole incident with Yang and Blake by the time they finished their breakfast and were about to leave the dining hall.

And then, the moment they crossed the doorstep and walked out, their composure was once again tested when they bumped right into the other half of the team.

The four of them just stood there for a while, avoiding eye contact, with not a word being exchanged between them, until Yang mustered her will to finally speak up in hopes of dissolving some of the tension. "Huh, guess you two started without us." She was by no means angry or disappointed when she said that, simply desperate to end this awkward silence.

Ruby's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Well, I just thought you already ate your breakfast," she replied in an innocent voice, while the intention behind her words was anything but.

While Yang and Weiss thought nothing of the sly smile that was present on Ruby's lips when she had spoken, Blake quickly connected the dots and figured out what Ruby had actually meant. Her eyes going wide and cheeks flushing red, Blake simply stared at Ruby in apparent shock, with her cat ears perked up atop her head, as if she didn't believe what she'd just heard.

For a brief moment, Blake's reaction left Weiss a little bit puzzled, but soon something clicked in her mind and she snapped her head to gape at Ruby, mirroring the look on Blake's face.

Yang just quirked her eyebrow at her baby sister. "Huh? No, we just went to see Sun and his team, then headed straight to..." She paused for a while as a spark of understanding finally flashed in her eyes. "Our... dorm..." The light blush that had been coloring her features up to that point rapidly grew in size and intensity as the realization sunk in, rendering the poor thing speechless.

In the meanwhile, Ruby's smirk turned into an impish grin as she watched the expression of pure, world-shattering shock settle on Yang's face. "What's the matter, sis? Cat got your tongue?"

Being almost surprised not to see any steam come out of Yang's ears, Ruby made a mental snapshot of the image in front of her. When she spoke again, she was practically crying the tears of laughter. "Oh, never mind; guess you've worked up your appetite. Have a nice meal." With that, she casually strolled past her sister.

Yang, the supposed master of puns and witty banter, seemed to be at a complete loss for words, mouth agape, her stare following Ruby as if she saw the girl for the first time in her life.

"My little sis making dirty jokes?" she mumbled, then turned to face her two remaining teammates. "My poor heart was not ready for that."

Weiss, having more and more problems with keeping her face straight, reassuringly patted Yang on the back and then trotted after Ruby, soon catching up with her.

Her frame shaking with mirth and her face flushed from holding back her laughter, Ruby looked over her shoulder, watching the other pair with interest. Blake walked up to Yang and wrapped an arm around her; as she led the stunned Yang to the cafeteria, she cast one last glance at Ruby and, visibly entertained, shook her head in disbelief before walking inside.

The moment the couple disappeared within the building, Ruby finally cracked, bursting out laughing.

Weiss, snickering herself, simply watched Ruby until she calmed down a bit. "What the hell was that?"

Ruby took a long, deep breath and exhaled loudly, then dried her eyes with her thumb, still grinning. "Just a bit of sisterly teasing. Yang can't have all the fun, can she now?" she replied, looking very pleased with herself, then began to walk away.

Weiss marched by her side. "I always thought that your sister has no concept of shame, but it seems you've just proven me wrong." Weiss clasped her hands together and looked Ruby in the eye. "Teach me, please."

Hearing that plea, Ruby snorted with laughter. "Sorry to disappoint you, Weiss, but I'm afraid it was possible mostly due to the shock of the sudden realization that her little sister is no longer the innocent flower she took her for."

"Wow, that's cruel," Weiss assessed, then chuckled under her breath. "Well, in her defense, she was not the only one who was surprised."

Ruby playfully swatted Weiss in the arm, her toothy grin destroying the pretense of her feigned indignance. "Hey! I might not have any experience of my own, but that doesn't mean I'm so 'pure' I can't come up with an innuendo, okay?"

"How and when did that happen?"

With a strangely elfin smile present on her lips, Ruby tilted her head and gave Weiss a long, sideways look that colored the pale cheeks with a bit of healthy rosiness. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Having spent the remainder of the day on semi-actively avoiding both Ruby and Weiss, Yang, already in her nightwear and with her mane wrapped in a towel, was sneaking down the empty corridors of the dorm building, silently making her way from the showers to her team's old dorm room. She and Blake were planning to go to sleep before the other pair — who, as far as she knew, were still hanging out somewhere with Jaune and the rest of his team — returned to the room, hoping to make things less awkward for everyone.

There was also the issue of Ruby's new weapon of sisterly banter, one that Yang was not mentally prepared to fight against just yet. 'I will adapt, and I will have my revenge,' she promised to herself. 'But that's for some other day...'

With that thought, she opened the door to her team's dorm, only to freeze the moment she noticed that Ruby was already there. Lying on her mattress, Ruby was busy doing something on her Scroll, her face being the only thing that was illuminated in the otherwise dark room; Ruby's silver eyes, shining in the soft light emitted by the screen, zeroed on Yang as soon as she set foot in the room.

"Haven't seen you all day."

Painfully aware that it was too late to retreat at that point, Yang reluctantly stepped inside and closed the door, sincerely regretting not having waited for Blake to finish her shower.

Then again, the situation likely would've been just as awkward — if not even more so.

"I, uh... yeah, I guess." Silently followed by the eyes of silver, Yang walked across the room to her mattress.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," Ruby said once Yang had laid down, her voice theatrically thoughtful. "After all, you've never been one to leave your business unfinished."

For the next few seconds, Yang looked at Ruby with a blank expression, needing a moment to process what she had just heard. Then, slowly, a small grin appeared on her face, matching the toothy smile of her sister.

Feeling some tension leave her, Yang propped herself on her elbow. "You're not gonna let me live that one down anytime soon, are ya."

"Nope. Why? Is it eating away at you?"

Yang snorted, a bit in spite of herself. "You know that I'll get you for that one day, right?"

"Not if I lock my door," Ruby retorted and stuck out her tongue. Then, her expression suddenly changed into one of concern. "I'm not taking it too far, am I?"

Yang laughed softly, feeling a bit better about the whole situation; Ruby's question was sweet, and alleviated some of Yang's lingering embarrassment.

"Nah. You just caught me with my pants down, in more senses than one," she said, traces of laughter audible in her voice. Then, her reassuring smile turned into a smirk. "But, well, seeing that it's us who didn't think of blocking the door, I suppose you could say we had it coming."

Hearing Ruby's groan, Yang chuckled and laid back down on her cot, grinning to herself. While it was true that her baby sister was growing up a bit faster than she would like her to, she still could take solace in the thought that not everything was going to change.

At six to eleven in the evening, two days after their last visit in the headmaster's office, team RWBY once again found themselves walking into the spacious room at one of the upper floors of the Tower.

Although both Ozpin and professor Goodwitch were nowhere to be seen, it turned out that the girls were not the only guests supposed to meet with the headmaster that night, nor the first ones to arrive — Qrow, leaning his back against one of the pillars, was also present, talking with a young, amber-eyed Huntress that none of the girls knew.

Qrow smirked upon noticing their arrival and Ruby, elated to see her uncle, rushed to his side almost immediately.

Once she was done with their usual greeting rituals and took a moment to look around, Ruby observed the presence of the tall white-haired woman that stood by one of the windows, realizing that Qrow was not the only familiar face in the room. Weiss seemed to be aware of that fact, too.

As Winter watched Weiss hurry in her direction, a soft smile bloomed on her lips, growing in size when the Schnees hugged. The two of them talked for the next few minutes, happy to see each other, before Weiss eventually excused herself and returned to the rest of her team, who had been chatting with Qrow and his mysterious colleague.

The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties and dressed in a way befitting someone who was used to a much warmer climate; her straight, shoulder-length brown hair framed a fairly attractive, tanned face. As Weiss approached the group, the woman's golden eyes turned to look at her with friendly curiosity.

Weiss figured that the Huntress was well aware who she was, but decided to introduce herself regardless, for politeness' sake. "I don't think we have met," she said, outstretching her hand in welcome. "Weiss Schnee."

The woman shook Weiss' hand, appreciating the gesture. "Ah, yes. Amber Terra, from Vacuo. Delighted to finally make your acquaintance."

Weiss' first impression of Amber was one of a nice, energetic person. She was not entirely sure, however, how she should feel about the fact that the way Amber looked at her reminded Weiss of a certain blond oaf thinking of the best way to mess with her.

Before Weiss could make up her mind, the door of the elevator opened and another Huntsman she did not recognize marched into the office, taking Amber's attention away from Weiss.

Suddenly, the woman let out a rather loud "Oh!" and hurried towards the newcomer with open arms, leaving Qrow and the girls. "Aidan, my boy, you finally showed up!"

Once Amber walked away to greet her friend, Qrow turned towards Weiss and looked her up and down with genuine interest. "I didn't think I'd see you up and about so soon, kiddo. Seems you're tougher than you look, huh?"

"You're not the only one who's surprised, old man," Ruby chimed in before Weiss could respond, smirking when Qrow narrowed his eyes at her. "Even the doctor said she's healing 'freakishly fast'," she said, making quotation marks in the air.

Qrow pointed a threatening finger at his niece's face. "I'm not 'old'," he drawled, glaring at Ruby for a few more seconds before his attention once again shifted to Weiss. "Huh."

It appeared that he had something on his mind as he stared at Weiss, but before any of the girls could ask him what it was, the door leading upstairs had opened and Ozpin strode into the office, professor Goodwitch following closely behind.

Ozpin cast a sweeping glance at everyone in the room, then proceeded to greet his guests. "Ah, good, seems that everyone is already here. Welcome. Please, have a seat."

Setting his cane to rest against his armchair, Ozpin placed both of his hands atop his desk and waited for everyone to make themselves comfortable; while most accepted the offer, Qrow remained on his spot by the column near the elevator, while Ruby opted to position herself behind her sister's seat and lean against the backrest of the chair.

"Earlier this week we've achieved a great victory for the humanity as a whole — Salem is dead. With her defeat, most Creatures of Grimm have withdrawn from our major cities, leaving people of Remnant free to return to their homes and rebuild, and, one day, to enjoy this new age of peace that's ahead of us. This, however, would not have been possible if not for the continuous efforts of all members of the Circle... especially the four of our guests of honor." His gaze was slowly shifting from one person to another as he spoke, pausing for a moment on the group of the four young women before carrying on. "It was often times a thankless duty, but you stood by it till the end. For that effort and all the sacrifices you've made, I thank you, in the name of all the good people you've saved."

Blake knitted her eyebrows, taking notice of Ozpin's choice of words — 'especially' instead of 'and', as if he had already included the girls when he had mentioned the Circle. "Does that mean we are a part of the Circle now? Just like that?"

"No, but it bears recognition that you have been acting the part for the past two years. We wouldn't be gathered here if not for your contributions, I'm afraid," Ozpin said, and a small wave of hums of agreement swept across their little gathering.

He continued. "The option is open to you, but only if that's what you truly wish for. If not, then this meeting here is the opportunity for you to leave it behind, and for us to thank you properly before you leave. There would be no shame in it; especially not after you bore this burden for so long, and so young. As I've already said before: I'm deeply sorry that you've been dragged into this, and after all you've been through, I can't, and won't, ask of you to join us."

To everyone's surprise, Ruby scoffed at Ozpin's ending note. "You keep saying that, but, with all due respect..." she spoke, slowly circling the headmaster's desk and staring Ozpin straight in the eye, "I'm not convinced."

Ignoring the fact that the attention of every person in the room was now trained firmly on her, Ruby carried on. "While I do not doubt that you feel sincerely sorry for every single soul that has suffered in this conflict — ourselves included — I also believe you'd not hesitate to try and make use of us once again if the need arose, with or without our consent," she stated, stopping by the left side of the clock-window, and arched her eyebrow at Ozpin, as if daring him to convince her otherwise. "Or am I mistaken?"

"No, Ruby. You are not," Oz replied in a calm, almost detached manner, much in the same way as he spoke at the entrance ceremony over two years ago. Then, his expression softened and a quiet, tired sigh escaped his throat. "Do you hold it against me?"

Ruby did not reply immediately, leaning against the cold glass and silently gazing at the city lights of Vale flickering in the distance.

"Not really. You do what you deem necessary in order to save our civilization. Use every tool at your disposal, every opportunity — as you probably should, with the things we're up against. Besides, this is what being a Huntsman or a Huntress is all about, isn't it? Protecting people, even at the cost of our own lives."

Eventually, she turned her head towards Ozpin, her expression neither sympathetic nor resentful, simply serious. "Thing is, you know us. You know that after all of this, we can't just close our eyes and just pretend that nothing is lurking in the shadows; not without fearing for our lives, much less with a clear conscience."

She shook her head. "I'm not saying that leaving us a window to bow out is not a nice sentiment; it is, even if none of us were to take it. But why try to sell it to us so much, even though we'd get involved one way or another if push came to shove?"

In truth, Ruby had a hunch she knew the answer, but decided not to voice her educated guess. She had really meant it when she said she believed that Ozpin was truly being remorseful; in his repeated, borderline insistent suggestions for team RWBY to step away, she saw a way for him to ease his conscience by putting the responsibility for their decision squarely on their shoulders.

It was theirs to begin with, of course, but… she understood the feeling. Didn't particularly hold his mental gymnastics against him, either, but she was also not fond of being used that way — not when it felt almost insulting.

She sighed. "All I'm saying is that we'd appreciate it if you were straight with us, and didn't keep us in the dark for a change — especially not to save our feelings. There's only so much bullshit we can take before we grow tired of it."

People watched her with varying looks painted on their faces — some compassionate, some intrigued, some approving; Ozpin's was one of quiet consideration, or maybe respect.

"Of course. If the Vigil is to be successful, every member of the Circle — including the four of you, should you join us — should be equipped with every piece of information that might prove useful."

Weiss frowned and glanced at her teammates, then, seeing that all of them were just as clueless as she was, proceeded to question Ozpin on behalf of the team. "'The Vigil'?"

Ozpin sat at his desk in a way that allowed him to have everyone within his field of view, including Ruby. "As you already know, killing the Witch is merely a temporary solution... but, sadly, also the best one we have. The good news is that, in theory, every budding Witch — an Apprentice, if you will — is relatively vulnerable in their early years, having neither the full power of Salem nor the allies and resources of the previous incarnation. We can take advantage of that, of course... but before we do that, we obviously need to find her first," he said, then smiled wryly. "Problem is, we don't know who the next Apprentice is going to be, or even where and when they might appear. So we keep a never-ending watch, looking everywhere and searching for the Witch's successor, all the while protecting this world from those who would like to see it thrown into chaos — that's what the Vigil is about."

"And how do we find said successor, exactly? What do we even look for?" Blake questioned.

Hearing Blake's question, Yang let out short, humorless laugh. "Well, if Salem was anything to go by, then it should be pretty damn obvious the moment you see them."

"A very good question," Ozpin responded to Blake, bowing his head approvingly. "Sadly, it's not that simple, Yang. While it is possible to recognize any Witch by their appearance — usually by some sort of a stigma — it is obvious only with 'older' Witches, who have been almost fully consumed by Salem's essence. As for the Apprentices... If you're lucky, you might spot their mark; if not, it's still possible to... well, sense them. They also 'bleed' smoke from their wounds, in much the same way Grimm do."

"Like Cinder did?" Yang asked quietly, recalling with painful vividness the image of her baby sister standing over the beheaded corpse of the woman that had caused the Fall of Beacon, and the clouds of thick, black smoke coming from the stump of the neck and the gaping wound in Cinder's abdomen.

Ozpin nodded. "Yes. In fact, I believe that the late Cinder Fall was a good example of what an Apprentice would look and be like."

Ruby, who was still standing by the window and observing the world outside, suddenly turned towards Ozpin. "Wait. Are you implying that Cinder was also a Witch?"

"No, as Salem's essence can have only one host at a time. That being said, she possibly would have become one if she'd outlived her master. Ambitious, power hungry individuals willing to abandon their humanity — those are the ones that are most likely to become a new vessel for Salem's spirit, before her essence devours them."

Ozpin clasped his hands together and rested them on his stomach as he considered for a while what else should he mention. "Just like all my 'predecessors', shall we say, were men, every single Witch was female, either human or Faunus; unlike me, however, they do not suffer any drawback of old age, aside from losing the protection Aura provides. Instead, their bodies turn into something more akin to the Creatures of Grimm than humans or Faunus — ageless husks, no longer able to generate an Aura... but perfectly capable of channeling the power of the God of Darkness."

Winter, who up to that moment remained completely silent, finally spoke up. "Is there any way to know how much time we have before the next Witch appears?"

"Yes and no. It's technically possible to very roughly predict when a Witch might show up, as most of them have appeared during, or shortly after, times of great unrest, when Creatures of Grimm were on the rise... but that's all we've got."

"Like before the Great War, or the Faunus Rights Revolution?" Ruby questioned.

"Correct. In fact, the Great War would likely never have happened if not for the machinations of Salem's latest incarnation." Ozpin grimaced. "Regrettably, we don't know much about said incarnation; we had been unaware of her existence up until about twenty three years ago, when she was already a fully-fledged Witch."

Qrow chuckled under his breath, scratching the short stubble along his jawline. "Twenty three... damn, Oz, you actually do make me feel old. I hate that about you."

Ruby rolled her eyes playfully. "Lemme guess — it's been you who has found her?"

The very moment his niece spoke up and reminded him of her presence in the room, Qrow's expression turned into one belonging to a man who knew he had fucked up. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he silently mouthed a curse, then, reluctantly, looked at Ruby, forcing a smirk. "Nope. Your mom did. That's how our team got involved with the Circle in the first place."

"Oh." Ruby deflated a little bit. 'Add that to the list of things that potentially got mom killed, I guess...'

While that little nugget of information stung her too, Yang was quick to set the conversation back on track, hoping it would take Ruby's mind off the painful subject. "Okay, let's say we've learned that she's somewhere out there. What's the stage two? Track the bitch down and get rid of her?"

Although the question was directed at Ozpin, Qrow was the first one to answer. "The Witch Hunt. So yeah, pretty much, though it's much easier said than done. And if we're unlucky and again screw up killing her before she gains power, allies and resources — we're at War, and thousands die. No pressure."

Ruby snorted at that, stepping away from the window. "Yeah, no pressure whatsoever." She walked over to the rest of her teammates, she plopped down on the empty chair between Blake and Weiss before turning her eyes to Ozpin. "So, that whole Vigil thing... what should we do?"

"If we are to find the next host in time, we need to bolster our numbers, as there are less than one hundred Circle members in all four Kingdoms combined; we need more trusty eyes so we can watch over the whole of Remnant." Laying both of his arms on the desktop, Ozpin straightened a bit. "Which brings us to the first official point on tonight's agenda. Your decision."

The girls glanced at one another, then back at Ozpin.

"What would be expected of us?" asked Weiss.

"To focus on your studies until you graduate, obviously," professor Goodwitch stated, smirking a little at the surprised looks her response elicited. "Of course, you would still be informed of any developments that might occur. We, in turn, would simply expect you to keep your eyes open, and possibly investigate some leads for us."

"And after we graduate?"

Glynda pushed her glasses up her nose as she took a brief moment to ponder over her answer. "I believe you already have a pretty good idea how we work and what we do. You'll be Huntresses, first and foremost; the main difference between you and other alumni would be your knowledge about the world we live in, and the responsibilities coming with said knowledge." She smiled sadly. "In fact, you all have already begun walking this path. Now you simply have to decide whether or not you wish to continue pressing onwards."

After a while of consideration, Yang crossed her arms, then, turning her face towards the rest of the team, nodded. Weiss and Blake were quick to respond with similar gesture, and Ruby, who did not want to pressure any of her teammates into joining on her account, was the last one to follow suit.

Yang's eyes returned to Ozpin. "Well, seems that all four of us are in. Are we supposed to swear an oath, or something?"

Ozpin chuckled softly, shaking his head. "No, nothing so formal; we used to have an oath a long time ago, but it later became the oath every Huntsman and Huntress is supposed to swear when they graduate their Academy. For now, all I need is to just hear you say 'yes'."

And that's exactly what he heard a moment later — a firm 'yes', uttered by four different voices speaking one after the other.

Other members welcomed the four young Huntresses to the Circle with amiable smiles or supportive word; Winter especially seemed to be pleased, pride lighting up her features when she congratulated her sister and the rest of the team. Qrow, on the other hand, didn't say a word, probably not seeing a reason to; he simply stood behind his nieces and smirked, resting his hands on Ruby's and Yang's shoulders. Still, although his demeanor was one of approval, there was a hint of concern hidden deep within his red eyes.

Once everyone said their piece, Ozpin continued. "While we are still by the subject of recruiting more trusty eyes for our cause..." He turned to face the daughter of the Belladonnas. "Blake, what can you tell me about your parents?"

The meeting continued well into the night, covering a wide array of subjects — from reports brought by the representatives of the three other Kingdoms, to the long-term plans of the Circle, such as recruitment and hunting down the few remaining allies of Salem that were still at large. By the time the last question of the night was finally answered, the soft light of the dawn had already started to tinge the eastern horizon with a lighter shade of blue.

Eventually, the meeting dissolved into a bit of a social gathering for the participants to freely mingle and chat before they scattered to the four corners of the world. Ozpin was sitting in his armchair, leisurely sipping coffee as he watched his guests unhurriedly preparing to leave. Though he was quite satisfied — to say the least — with the course of the meeting, he knew he had one more thing to do before everyone headed their own way.

"Before we end tonight's meeting... I have one more announcement to make." Once the soft murmur of casual conversation dissipated and every face in the room was turned towards him, he took a deep breath and continued. "With the start of the new academic year, I'm going to step down from the position of the headmaster of Beacon Academy. From that point onwards, Glynda Goodwitch will take up the mantle of the headmistress of this school."

For a few moments, dead silence permeated the air, eyes of everyone staring at the gray-haired man with various degrees of surprise. As one could expect, professor Goodwitch was an exception; still, Ozpin's declaration left some impression on her — instead of being surprised, she seemed to be uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

For the first time during the whole meeting, Qrow seemed to be taken aback. "What about you, Oz?" he questioned, a small frown marring his forehead.

"I think it'd be best if I kept low profile for some time. As for the details... well, they remain to be seen."

"Headmistress..." Glynda tasted the word on her tongue, then, after a moment of consideration, shook her head a bit. "This will take some getting used to."

"Yeah, you can say that again..." Yang murmured, every bit as stunned by that announcement as the rest of her team. "It will be weird without you around, professor Ozpin."

"I'm inclined to agree," Glynda sighed and looked Oz in the eye, her lips forming a slightly bitter, self-deprecating simper. "I just hope that the trust you put in me and my abilities is not misplaced."

Ozpin smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure you are going to take good care of this place, dear friend, just as you have been taking for many years. And please, let's not make my retirement sound so final..."

Suddenly, a soft, green glow encompassed his body, quickly turning more and more opaque until he appeared to be nothing more than a silhouette woven from pure radiance. Then, just as abruptly as it began, the light disappeared, revealing the form of a young, green-eyed lad with dark hair and tanned complexion now sitting in Ozpin's armchair, a small grin present on his freckled face as he looked at the people gathered in front of him.

"After all, the inauguration ceremony will hardly be the last time we are going to see each other."

The four members of team RWBY left the CCT Tower alongside Winter — who was still slightly distracted after witnessing Oz's little 'trick' for the first time — and a-bit-broodier-than-usual Qrow. The sun, having already risen above the horizon by then, was hiding behind the massive building housing the office that would in a few months belong to Glynda Goodwitch, the outline of the spire set ablaze with the light of the morning.

They passed by the shallow ponds and stopped in the middle of the courtyard, about to part ways with Winter.

"So, Winter... are you going to stay in Vale for long?" Ruby asked.

Winter shook her head, then looked to the west, in the direction of the air harbor. "No. Duty demands that I head back to Atlas in three hours; there is much to do back home, and I need to report to general Ironwood as soon as possible."

"Would you mind if I accompanied you for about an hour or so?" Weiss asked, visibly disappointed by the news.

Winter seemed to be somewhat pleased by that question. "No, I would not."

Knowing that tagging along with her sister meant going different way than the rest of the team, Weiss directed her eyes towards her teammates, silently asking them if they had anything against it.

Ruby smiled in response to the pleading look she was given, then gestured with her head for Weiss to go. "We'll see you back in the dorm." She turned towards Weiss' sister. "Have a good day, Winter."

With a small, respectful bow of her head, Winter bid the group farewell and departed together with Weiss. Having waved off the two, Ruby, Blake, Yang and Qrow headed their own way, south, towards the ballroom and the dorm building.

"I wonder, Blake..." Qrow spoke once the Schnee sisters were nothing more than two small figures barely perceivable in the distance, "how do you feel about the prospect of recruiting your parents to the Circle?"

Blake glanced at Qrow, then let her gaze drop to the ground as she considered what to say, her cat ears lying flat atop her scalp. "I... I'm not sure. I can see why Oz would think it's a good idea... hell, to be honest, a part of me even agrees with him. They're influential, especially among the Faunus. Trustworthy, too. It's just... they are my parents. I'm not sure if I want to get them involved." She sighed and once again looked at Qrow, shaking her head. "I really don't know. I need some time to think this through."

Qrow nodded in understanding. "Sure thing, take your time. There's a reason why Oz left the decision up to you." Having said that, he proceeded to address the rest of the team. "So, the four you are gonna stay here until the anniversary, then head to Patch, right?"

Ruby was the one to answer. "Yup, that's the plan. Well, for Weiss and I at least. These two," she pointed her finger at her teammates in a mock-accusatory manner, "are about to get stolen by Blake's parents for the next week. Which also means that the rest of us have to sit out Blake's birthday."

Blake rolled her eyes. "It's not like you two can't come over on the day of, Ruby. I didn't think I needed to stress that."

"Yeah, I know, I know. I just kinda assumed that your parents would like to, y'know, have you all to themselves."

A short, soft laugh made its way past Blake's lips. "True enough. Still, I don't think they would mind it too much — after all, they wanted to get to know not only my girlfriend, but also both of my honorary sisters, and I suppose it is as good of an occasion as any."

"D'aww," Ruby cooed, pulling the smiling Blake into a sideways hug.

"And what about you, Qrow?" Yang asked. "You gonna stay in Vale for now?"

"For a while, yeah. I doubt I'll be staying here for long, though; Autumn won't find herself all on her own, now will she?"

The fate of the Fall Maiden's power remained unknown since the death of Cinder Fall. Nobody really knew why Ruby hadn't been the one to inherit it; some speculated that she simply hadn't been the last person in Cinder's thoughts — which seemed very unlikely — while others suggested that it was because of her silver eyes, or maybe due to the fact that Cinder had been merely usurping the power, rather than having naturally inherited it herself. Whatever the case might have been, Ruby was more than happy with that outcome.

Ruby shrugged. "Well, that could happen. It won't, but it could."

They kept on going south, strolling down a somewhat enchanting alley with young trees growing on both sides of the road, leaves of gold swaying slightly in the chilly, autumn wind. The girls didn't talk much, weary after a relatively long day and eager to reacquaint themselves with their makeshift cots. Qrow, on the other hand, didn't participate in their lazy conversation at all, nor did he seem to pay any attention to the words they spoke; busy contemplating something that was on his mind, all he did as they walked was sneak brief glances at his nieces from time to time, knitting his brows a bit every time he did so.

Eventually, Ruby had taken notice of her uncle's behavior and nudged him with her elbow, bringing him out of his reverie. "What's up, Qrow?"

He blinked, then looked at her questioningly. "Huh?"

"You kinda look as if you wanted to tell me something."

"Uh, yeah, I guess..." he muttered, breaking the eye contact and rubbing the back of his neck, as if he was feeling guilty of something. "I guess I'm just sorry that I dumped that piece of info on you out of the blue. You know, the one about your mom."

"Eh, don't worry. I do know that your urge to brag tends to get the better of you," she assured in a deadpan voice, getting a snort of laughter out of Yang and making Qrow relax enough to feign an indignant stare, to which Ruby responded with a soft smile. "Seriously though, it's not a problem. I'm not a kid anymore, and it's not like I'm going to turn into a crying mess every time someone mentions Mom. Sure, it was not exactly pleasant, but... it's not a bad feeling, knowing that we managed to finish something she has started."

Qrow chuckled, throwing his arm around Ruby's shoulder. "Heh. Yeah, she'd be proud of you. Yell at you for risking your life so much, too, not to mention brutally murdering yours truly for dragging her precious offspring into this whole mess." Smiling to himself, he affectionately ruffled Ruby's hair, much in the same way he had her mother's all those years ago. "You might not be Summer, but you sure are her daughter." An idea sparked in his mind, quickly turning his smile into a grin. "Your hair is just as fluffy and fun to mess with as hers, y'see."

A moment and a single half-hearted elbow to the gut later, Qrow still believed the laugh was worth the price he'd had to pay for his bit of mischief. The rest of the group snickered along as they continued their stroll through the campus grounds basked in the warm glow of the morning sun.

Author's Note:

And there I was, hoping that this chapter won't pose as many problems as the last one did. Oh brother, how young and naive I was...

Sigh... Sorry for leaving you guys hanging for three flippin' months (damn you, university). I don't think I'm entirely satisfied with the final outcome, either, but, still, I hope I did not disappoint you with this update... too much, anyway.

If you have a moment to spare, I'd really appreciate if you told me what you liked or disliked about this chapter or the story so far as a whole — it would really mean a lot.

Guest (A me): It is a consolation! Kind of. I mean, I'm still annoyed as hell at myself that it took me so long to get through that one (and this one too, in fact...), but I'm really glad you were able to enjoy it. I'm also really grateful you mentioned what you liked about previous chapter!

TheLatiKing: "I wish chapters were made faster" — you and me both, my friend. You and me both. In theory, future chapters should be far easier for me to write (while this one was especially hard for a few reasons, mostly the meeting part), but nowadays I also have much less time to write than I used to, mostly because of the university. In any case, I'll try my best to be faster, because — and believe me when I say it — no one is more pissed off at my writing pace than I am myself.

Anonymous guest: I will continue, don't worry. Still, thanks; it's always gratifying to see that there are people who would like the story to continue c: