Ruby was growing restless, constantly squirming in the saddle. She sat in front of Weiss, with the heiress' arms around her sides to keep her from falling. It was pleasant, the added warmth against Ruby's back did wonders for repelling the chill of Vale's autumnal winds.

Unfortunately, they'd been riding for hours without pause, and Ruby was woefully unfamiliar with how a horse should be ridden. Her back twinged with every bounce, and the pinch between her shoulder blades was unbearable. She rolled them back, but received no relief.

Noticing this, Weiss nudged her. "Are you alright?" She asked, leaning closer to speak in the smith's ear.

Ruby blushed and recessed into herself, suddenly reminded of the talks they'd had on the night Weiss had fallen asleep in her bed. "I-I'm fine," she muttered. "Just a little sore."

Weiss hummed and leaned back, making Ruby miss her added warmth. "That's because your posture is terrible. Have you ever ridden before?"

Ruby turned to the heiress, the pain in her back ruining her angry expression as she twisted. "O-of course I have!"

Weiss raised a regal brow and smirked. "And when was that?"

Ruby stammered, then turned forward once more, slumping with defeat. "I… don't remember," she admitted. "It was when my mom was still alive, so I was really young."

She wasn't looking at Weiss, but Ruby could feel her gaze quickly grow pitying. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Ruby shook her head. "Don't be, please."

There was a long moment of silence, broken when Ruby yelped. Weiss' arm had disappeared from her side, moving instead to press a hand against the smith's lower back. "You need to straighten your back, and pull your shoulders like you're trying to hold an arrow between the blades," Weiss instructed. "And try to move with the horse."

Ruby gulped, sitting up less to heed the heiress and more because her body was stiffening at Weiss' touch. She was making it really hard not to think about that night. "So… Weiss," she drawled awkwardly, trying to drum up a distraction. "You seem to know a lot about this."

Weiss let out a single huff, more rueful than humorous. "I rode a lot at home," she stated simply.

Ruby pounced at the opportunity. "Wow, that sounds great! Vale's probably the perfect place to ride."

The heiress shook her head, not that Ruby could see. "Vale is not my home."

Ruby turned, her back loudly popping as she craned to look at Weiss. "Huh? But you're—"

"I'm from Atlas," she said, her eyes staring far past Ruby.

"Atlas!" Ruby exclaimed, much too loudly. "S-sorry, I've just… never been outside of Vale. I heard there are some incredible smiths in Atlas."

Weiss finally met Ruby's eyes, her cerulean irises awash with joy, pain, and longing. She gave a little chuckle, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly. "Quite, one such legend made my rapier."

Ruby beamed at her. "Really? Oh Gods! We forgot to get it! We need to—"

Weiss reached up to her shoulder, pushing the girl so she faced forward again. "No, it's gone now. My father…" she choked up suddenly, tears nearly bursting past her eyes. "He destroyed it."

Ruby whirled on her again, wincing as she moved her sore back again. "That bastard!" Weiss recoiled at the curse, unused to hearing such anger from Ruby. Her silver eyes were boiling with rage. "How dare he! That piece was beautiful!"

Weiss' eyebrows rose high. "Ruby, you've barely seen Myr—" she cleared her throat, hoping Ruby wouldn't catch that, "my rapier."

Ruby pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. "I'm a smith, Weiss, I never forget a good sword."

Weiss blinked, a small blush rising over her cheeks. "R-right, er…"

"And what were you about to say?" Ruby leaned closer, smirking. "Because it sounded like you named your sword."

Weiss' blush intensified. Of course she'd caught her slip. "N-nothing, just a slip of the tongue."

Ruby snorted. "You're a terrible liar."

The heiress recoiled with genuine offense. "Hey! I—" I'm a great liar, she almost said. "I… okay, fine! I named my bloody sword! Are you happy now?"

Ruby smiled, surprising Weiss with how genuine it was. "What'd you name it?"

Weiss gulped. Their horse, which Ruby had taken to calling 'Carrots' on account of its orange coat, perked its ears as if it also wanted to hear. Weiss looked away and mumbled, her face only growing redder.

Ruby leaned back, pushing herself close to the heiress as she cupped her ear. "What'd you say? I couldn't hear you."

Weiss' whole body grew significantly warmer with the girl's proximity. "Myrtenaster," she mumbled a little louder. "Are you happy, now?"

Ruby settled back towards the front of the steed, still affixing Weiss with that brilliant smile. "Myrtenaster…" she tried the unfamiliar word on her tongue. "What's it mean?"

Weiss sighed wistfully, her mind brought to a place she'd long left behind. "It's a kind of flower in Atlas. Our estate used to be full of them."

Ruby could see the homesickness cross Weiss' face, reminding her of what she'd left behind. "Oh, gods…" she mumbled.

Weiss looked down with concern. "Ruby? What's wrong?"

Ruby looked to her sister, who had taken to sitting behind Blake on the saddle. Her potion had been drained on its first use, so she'd long since healed. "N-nothing."

Weiss' arm came around her again, hugging slightly closer than before. The heiress took the reins, her voice completely doubtful. "Are you sure?"

Ruby sighed. "I‒ we … our father's still in Patch. I ran away from home, just so…" her voice cracked, and she let her words trail off into the air. She looked down at her lap, her back protesting as she slouched with sorrow.

She suddenly found Weiss' warmth returning, heralded by the heiress' arm wrapping around her waist. She pulled her in for a gentle hug, promising, "You'll see him again, Ruby," she muttered. "My soul to the Watcher, I swear it."

Ruby turned her head, finding Weiss' face close enough to kiss. The smith faced forward again, hiding her blush. "D-don't say that."

Weiss pulled her tighter for a moment, then returned both hands to Carrots' reins. "I mean it," she said, adjusting herself to get a modicum of space. "You've all done so much for me, it's the least I could give in return."

Ruby reached forward to stroke their horse's ginger mane. "Thank you," she whispered, uncaring if Weiss actually heard.

"Fix your posture," Weiss gently demanded. "We're probably going to—"

"Hey, lovebirds!" Yang's shout made them both turn scarlet as they scooted apart, embarrassed. "We're not too far, but we should stop for a moment! The horses need a break!"

Weiss growled. "Cad…"

Qrow Branwen held his chin high, taking a deep breath of the crisp Vale winds. He tapped into his magical senses, searching for the scent of his quarry.

"Huntsman!" Shouted Pyrrha from atop her gargantuan horse. "Make haste. We're not paying you to suck air."

Qrow growled, reminded of the leash he was on. "Maybe if you didn't stand so close, this would be easier."

The Knight Captain scoffed. "I don't see how that would help."

"You don't," Qrow muttered, too quiet for her to hear. Truly, her scent was overpowering, and not just by her proximity. It was sharp and piercing, but also muddled, as if he were surrounded by a hundred different magic users. Much as he tried to ignore rumors, especially ones about Pyrrha's outlandish origins, he was beginning to fear that they were true. And if they were… well, he hoped they weren't. He didn't want to see what such a creature in the Knight Captain's skin would do to their quarries.

Just as his thoughts turned dark, a sharply familiar scent crossed the winds. Smoke, acid, burning iron, accompanied by a puff of mint and frost. Among the smells floated a pair of fay scents, a strong lavender that almost overpowered the weaker aroma of roses.

He looked up, towards the revealing winds. "This way."

A/N: i have returned to announce my stunning failure at taking a break. i went a *day* without writing and it sucked ass, so i may or may not have cooked like 4 chapters over a single weekend. gf is weeping at what ive done lol. anyway, yeah pyrrha is gonna be one of the next villains, but she wont be the only one- and she's *really* not the pyrrha you know. something is seriously wrong with this dude. but hey, at least we get a little fluff, amirite? who doesnt love a little fluff :)