Walking into the campsite was like being dropped straight onto a tightrope, even if the scene Yang found wasn't too abnormal. Blake was huddled under a blanket across the clearing, back turned to the fire. Ruby sat with one leg extended, her thigh wrapped in cloth strips, with Weiss pressed close at her other side. The heiress actually had her face pressed into the girl's shoulder, tightly gripping her brown cloak as her body shook, her other hand tightly gripped around a magnificent saber. Ruby absently rubbed circles on her back, but her gaze remained deep in the fire. One of Blake's knives lay discarded beside them.

Yang could've dismissed it as Weiss being traumatized by the Grimm— her first encounter with one, most likely— but the way Ruby was handling it stirred doubt in that notion. She'd expect the smith to offer some kind of comforting words, not just stare into the flames.

Yang approached the two carefully, but made no attempt at stealth. It didn't matter anyways; neither of them noticed her steps, so both jumped when she spoke. "Uh, hey," her voice was low and quiet, as if her volume could cause the two to spontaneously combust. "What… happened?"

The question was too broad; what happened to Ruby's leg? Where'd the sword come from? What happened when she was gone— how could the atmosphere have become so grimly charged?

"Hey, sis." Ruby's voice had a distant absence, and she didn't bother turning to Yang. She just let her dead words hang in the air. "We kissed."

Weiss let out a loud snort against Ruby's shoulder, her voice shaking out and barely audible. "Seriously? That's what you're leading with?"

"You… you kissed," Yang blinked. "Er… Weiss, I assume?"

Weiss lifted herself just enough to send a one-eyed glare at the Huntress before burying her face in the cloak once more. "Yeah. Weiss." Ruby answered dully. "She started it— I guess stabbing me in the leg put her in the mood."

Both of Yang's eyebrows shot up with surprise, and Weiss briefly parted to bat Ruby's shoulder with a palm.

Ruby breathed an empty chuckle and rubbed her neck. "It was an accident. I'm fine."

Yang's shock didn't ease, but Weiss settled back into the smith's cloak. She really didn't like the way her sister was talking. Ruby wasn't one to speak so curtly, or with this kind of snark. "Okay… and what else happened?"

Ruby shrugged. "Ask Blake. I don't want to talk about it."

Yang physically recoiled from the callous dismissal, then reached forward to grab her sister's shoulder. The moment she touched her, though, Ruby quickly spun and slapped her hand away. Yang finally got a look at her eyes.

Ruby was enraged, and her boiling silver eyes were the only part that couldn't hide that. Yang immediately backed off, hands raised in defense. Ruby turned back to the fire, her whole body radiating a violent energy that dared Yang to try again.

Moving to heed her sister's suggestion, she approached Blake with considerably more caution. It didn't seem necessary, though, not when Blake flipped over and gave the Huntress a small, sad smile.

Yang looked back to the huddled couple, then plopped herself down at the fay's side. "What the hell happened?"

Blake's smile briefly dropped, but it was replaced by a sly smirk. "Well good evening to you too, Yang. I'm doing great, how about you?"

"I'm serious."

Blake's smirk curled even more, but that only highlighted how wooden it was. She reached out, slowly laying a hand on Yang's knee. "You know, we could go have spooky forest sex instead."

If Yang was blind, she might have been convinced by the offer, but everything she saw from Blake was completely contradictory. Her voice was thin and dispassionate, her eyes were desperate— more for an escape than a midnight escapade— and she was curled up defensively beneath that blanket. "I don't think you want to do that, Blake," with a slyness that she couldn't stop, she added, "Humans aren't your thing, anyways."

"I've made an exception."

Yang offered nothing but doubt. "We were both drunk, I was so tits-up that I don't even remember it."

Surprisingly, a glimpse of hurt flashed over Blake's expression. It was corrected in an instant. "I wasn't that drunk."

"Didn't you put down a keg of Dragon's Breath?"

Blake scoffed. "Please, we were drinking stuff a hundred times stronger while your people were smashing rocks in a cave."

"Oh… right. Uh…"

Their reminiscing was not of the fond variety, and the ensuing bout of awkward silence made that clear. Yang rubbed the back of her neck, turning to take a quick look at the others as she did so. They'd adjusted at some point, and now it was Weiss who sat straight up with Ruby's head in her lap, absently combing through the mangled brunette locks with her free hand. The smith continued to stare into the fire, though, which troubled Yang greatly.

She turned back to Blake, pleading, "Blake, just tell me what happened."

Blake stared into her eyes for a long time, then sagged with a deep sigh. "Weiss begged me for forgiveness, and I didn't give it to her. She doesn't deserve it."

Yang pursed her lips. "Surely, that's not all."

Blake's eyes shifted beyond Yang, towards the fireside couple, no doubt. "I may have been a bit… overzealous with my rejection."

Yang groaned, frustrated. "Blake, what did you say?"

"I…" Yang caught a shred of guilt behind her amber irises, but it was quickly covered with indignant frustration. "Why does it matter, anyway? She's just another stuck-up noble, sucking dry the lives of those who've actually worked for a living. Yang, her fucking dad tried to kill Ruby— your sister! So what if I hurt her feelings a little! Everything I said was true!"

Her words were delivered in a sharp hiss, just low enough that they could pretend the others couldn't hear. Unfortunately for Blake, the almost-paternal look of disappointment was not what she had expected from Yang. "Blake—"

"What? What did I do wrong, Yang? Her people enslaved my family, my people, took my fucking parents from me! You can't tell me that she deserves even a shred of my empathy, not after what happened to me, and especially after what happened to your own fucking sister!"

"Don't fucking—" Yang screwed her eyes tight and bit her lip, calming herself. She drew a deep breath, and met Blake with a level gaze. "Do you think I don't care? Do you think I'm happy about what happened to her?"

Blake gulped, not daring to answer either way. The Huntress may have been holding a calm expression, but she could see it was just a mask, one that could slip away with a single breath.

"I'm fucking not. I'm not okay with it, I'm fucking livid, but guess what? I'm not gonna take that out on Weiss! Of all fucking people, Blake, do you really think she's the one you should be blasting all your shit at? Sure, her family's fucked, but that's not her fault! And what the fuck was she gonna do, start a fucking revolution?"

"She cou—"

Yang thrust herself up to her feet, towering over the prone fay with a furious scowl. "No, Blake, I am talking, so listen!" Blake snapped her mouth shut and raised her hands in defeat. Yang paced for a moment, gathering herself with more deep breaths. When she spoke, it was more than loud enough for the others to hear. "Gods, what… what is wrong with you? You can't even give her an ounce of credit? Do you really think she knows the extent of her family's— and not hers, her family's— abuse? I can guarantee that you are the firstfay that woman has ever spoken to!"

Blake tried to defend herself. "There's no way that—"

"Hey, Weiss!" Yang called over her shoulder. The girl had already been watching their argument, but still jumped when she was beckoned. "How many fay, besides Blake, have you actually met?"

Weiss' eyes went wide at the question, the intense glare from Blake making her falter, but she shakily answered, "N-none?"

"Don't lie!" Blake accused.

"I'm not!" Weiss shouted defensively, making the still-absent Ruby in her lap jolt. "Besides Blake, I have never spoken to a fay! I swear, my soul to the Watcher!"

"For whatever that's worth…" Blake grumbled, only to be immediately silenced by Yang's glare.

"Blake,'' sharp, taut as a wire, Yang's voice demanded her full attention. "What exactly do you think you're achieving, besides ruining your own people's image? What a fucking liasion you would be— it's as if you're trying to confirm every nugget of royal bullshit she's ever been fed! She stabbed her own fucking dad to run away with a group that's got you in it— what else is she supposed to do, prostrate herself before you? Grovel at your feet?"

"She basically did." For the first time in this entire argument, Ruby loudly made her presence known— only to throw Blake to the wolves. Her voice was cold and sharp, and she spoke without even turning away from the fire. "Blake suggested she kill herself."

Blake's final shred of confidence shriveled and died, every argument struck dead in the span of eight short words. She had no words left to fail her, and was left at the mercy of Yang's looming glare.

So far, the Huntress had been excellent at keeping her rage from reaching her face— and she still was, by most standards. Unfortunately, her anger was belied by two things: a twitch in her eye, and sparks around her fingertips. Yang screwed her lids shut and breathed hard, making Blake close her own eyes in anticipation of what the Huntress was about to do. Yang would either burn her alive, or beat the everloving shit out of her.

Instead, Blake found herself suddenly hoisted by her collar. Yang dragged her to her feet, bringing her close enough that she could feel the sweltering heat from her words.

"Go. Apologize. Now."

A/N: maybe tentatively hopefully fingers crossed getting another ch out by wednesday night. going on vacation :)