Ruby huffed. She wiped the sweat from her brow and stretched her arms. Valerius was heavy, but she and Yang managed to get him up on the table without much fuss. Thankfully, the household matriarch had only responded to their abduction of her dining room table with an exasperated sigh.

The operation to excise Valerius' chains was simple.

Blake, being the most knife-savvy of the group, volunteered for the cutting position. She'd open Valerius from pelvis to shoulder, slicing deeply enough to expose the winding links of iron. "I had a friend who was a proper surgeon during the war," she had explained. "I can probably remember how he did it, though my memory of the steps is a bit… hazy."

Yang's job was to take the exposed sections, hold them in her fingertips, and carefully melt the links so the separated parts could be removed. Bit by bit, she would break him free.

Since Valerius was very much in danger of bleeding to death during the operation, Weiss was tasked with freezing shut any areas of heavy bleeding— they wouldn't be able to use sap to heal him, not while wrist-deep in tissue and bone, and none of them had the clerical knowhow to actually repair anything that couldn't be sapped back to wholeness.

Qrow's responsibility was keeping him unconscious, which was a talent they hadn't really expected him to have. Apparently his transformation magic could thrust Valerius' brain into a deep torpor (with only a moderately worrisome possibility of putting him in a coma forever), though he'd have to stay in direct contact the entire time for it to work, so any disruption could lead to a sudden and violent awakening.

Which left Ruby with the job she wanted the least: watching over the whole thing. In truth, she was not at all interested in seeing Valerius' insides— she didn't even want to be present for the operation— but now she'd have to keep an eye on every cut, every twitch, and every stray movement that could mean something was going wrong. She was not at all excited— well, she was very excited, just with the anxious unease of someone who would imminently have to watch a living person be opened like game.

Seeking relief from her anticipation, Ruby sought her paramour. Sitting atop a stack of nondescript sacks, wiping her face and aggressively finger-combing a tangle of unruly white locks, Weiss Schnee carried the same ethereal beauty as the day she'd stepped out of that palanquin— even if she needed a long night with a hot bath. They all did, really.

Her approach wasn't immediately noticed, so Ruby brushed her shoulder with the back of a hand. "Weiss?" she called quietly. "Could I see your sword?"

Weiss pulled her handkerchief— Qrow's, actually— from her lips and nose, revealing blood on the cloth. She seemed a little better than before, but that might've been because the bleeding mouth, flushed skin, and trembling hands could be explained by exhaustion now. "Of course, love," she answered, perfectly casual and sincere. "What's mine is yours."

The ease and seriousness of those words churned something warm in Ruby's gut, bringing that warmth up her neck and heating her skin in red blooms.

Before Ruby could say anything else, Weiss jolted as if a certain sword-bound spirit had objected directly into her mind. "Oh, er… what do you need him for?" she reiterated apologetically. "He doesn't want to be in any hands but mine."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. "W-well, I just… I feel bad for Myrta, and I wanted to apologize on our behalf. We've really abused her kindness."

"I enhanced her crop," Weiss stated, raising an eyebrow. "We don't have any money, so that'll have to be enough payment."

Ruby shook her head. "No, not payment. I just wanted to give a formal apology."

Weiss made a pleased little hum. "As our leader?" she asked, quirking one eyebrow at her paramour.

Ruby opened her mouth to object, then shut it and sheepishly nodded. "Y-yeah. As the leader, I suppose," she scratched the back of her neck, "if everyone's okay with it."

Weiss scoffed affectionately, the way one scoffs when they see something that is simply too precious for reality. She pinched the front of Ruby's tunic, pulled her close, and wrapped her arms around the smith's waist, perching her chin on the girl's sternum so she could meet her eyes. Her voice came soft and true, even though it still shook with red cravings. "I couldn't think of a better one."

Ruby stared down at Weiss, her chest feeling so full that it choked any response. Weiss just smiled up at her, fangs still slightly red from biting her own cheeks, and it was a cruel, unforgivable tragedy that Ruby physically couldn't contort herself to bend forward and kiss Weiss on the lips. Instead, she settled for pushing the duelist's hair back and laying a long, gentle kiss between her brows.

A strangled cough made the couple freeze and turn, finding a rapid burst of movement as one purple-dusted Blake tried to hide the fact she'd been staring. Yang tried to hold sparks and small blazes between her fingertips, practicing to melt the chains. Qrow had his hands on Valerius' temples. To Ruby's infinite frustration, Weiss pulled away.

"I'm surprised he said yes," she admitted, deftly taking the fay saber off its new frog. "I think he has a soft spot for you."

Ruby was handed the fay sword named Aulus Casta, and she took it into her hands.

'It is not a soft spot,' Aulus said into her mind, making Ruby jump. 'It's called respect.'

Ruby exhaled a laugh through her nose and spoke down to the blade. "I'll make you a proper sheath when I have time, okay? As payment for… all this."

'Child, if you made me a sheath I would kiss you.'

Ruby coughed, right out of the back of her throat. "N-no thank you!"

Aulus snorted imperiously. 'That was a joke; I'm married.'

"Did he say something strange?' Weiss teased, leaning towards Ruby with a knowing grin.

"No!" Ruby fervently shook her head. "No, not at all."

Weiss gave her a doting look. "He's just like that. If you need to shut him out, just picture slamming a door between yourself and him. That usually works for me."

Ruby nodded, then turned to flee from the barn before stopping suddenly. She whirled around on a heel and threw her arms around Weiss without warning, pulling her fully onto her feet for a proper embrace. She held Weiss as if she'd slip away, and kissed her temple like she'd never get another chance.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Ruby said. "This thing— the sap— you'll get through it, okay? I believe in you, and we'll all do what we can to help."

Weiss gripped the back of the smith's tunic. "Ruby—"

Whatever Weiss was going to say was shoved back down her throat when she felt soft, gentle lips pressing on the shell of her ear. "Be back in a moment," Ruby whispered, "promise."

Before Weiss could breathe, scream, or even finish turning red, Ruby had scampered away in a flash of petals.

Ruby was still blushing by the time she pulled herself out of her Semblance, the flat soles of her strapped fay sandals (one of a thousand things generously donated by Myrta and her family) gracefully tapping flagstone. Moving in and out of her Semblance was so easy now, almost tooeasy, making it hard to move without tapping into that speed.

She knocked on the now-familiar door before her. After a short moment, Myrta opened it. The fay woman eyed her cautiously since she'd come with a hand on Weiss' saber, but Ruby spoke with deliberate, careful ease that made the mother's broad shoulders relax.

Well, she didn't do any of the speaking. Her mouth moved on the sword's— Aulus'— volition. She fed her own words to the spirit in the sword, trusting that he wouldn't twist her apology, and watched as Myrta's anticipation melted into a caring, matronly smile. It was a pretty overwhelming sight, tapping spots in Ruby's brain that she hadn't felt in a long time, so she was just left gawking at the pretty lady when Aulus was done.

"Ruby?"

Ruby jolted. Myrta snapped her fingers in front of the smith's face, getting her attention. The woman said something Ruby didn't understand.

Aulus helpfully chimed into Ruby's mind. 'She's asking how you learned her language.'

"Magic sword," Ruby told him to say. Myrta raised an eyebrow at her answer, then sighed. She put one of her big hands on Ruby's shoulder and squeezed, saying something for Aulus to translate.

'She's glad you ended up okay,' the sword said. 'And she appreciates your apology, but she wants us to leave after this. Understandable, if you ask me.'

Ruby nodded and said 'yes!' in her normal tongue, which Myrta picked up on. She gave Ruby an enthusiastic 'yes!' of her own with two thumbs-up, which sounded weird. Ruby laughed. When Benedicta started crying from another room, they went their separate ways.

So now Ruby was alone, and everyone was busy.

'You're not alone,' Aulus said. It was probably meant to sound reassuring, but his voice suddenly appearing in Ruby's mind made her jump.

"Oh, uh… thank you?" she said to the sword, turning it around as if one side would hear better than the other.

'You don't have to speak, you know. I can hear your thoughts."

"That's… weird."

Aulus somehow rolled his eyes. 'Well you did ask for me, so now you have to deal with it.'

Ruby looked around the living room. "I could just leave you here—"

'No!'Aulus shouted, making Ruby jump out of her skin. 'I, er… I mean, you don't have to.'

"Are you asking me to hold onto you?"

Aulus didn't say anything, but Ruby could almost see the timid 'yes, please' of his nonexistent body language.

"You too?"

'Me too what?'

"Abandonment issues."

Aulus snorted, but it took him a long time to audibly admit: 'I suppose.'

Ruby gave the sword a tentative hug. The angle was weird, but she managed it.

'Oh. Thank you.'

"Of course," Ruby assured, nodding. She started to examine the sword itself; the tip, the edge, the blade as a whole. She checked the engravings, then jiggled the hilt and knuckle guard. "You know, you're in a miraculously good state."

'Being stuck in a Grimm has a way of preserving you.'

Ruby nodded. "Just a little honing and you'd be perfect."

Aulus scoffed. 'I'm as sharp as I can be.'

Ruby scoffed right back. "Are youa blacksmith?"

'No?'

"Then you've got things to learn. Come on, I'm sure there's a whetstone around here somewhere. It'll give us something to do besides watch while…" Ruby let her voice trail off. Aulus knew what she meant, anyways.

'I suppose I don't have a choice.'

A/N:im going on vacation! wooo! unfortunately that means i wont be posting next week, including this coming sunday. good things is, next chapter's gonna be part of the cap for this... arc... part... whatever's been going on since the part 1 end lol. the 'running from the cops' arc ig