Yang's body jolted upright in her bed, eyes wide as she sputtered and coughed roughly. Her chest felt like it had been smashed with a hammer as her eyes rapidly blinked, feeling them stinging from the thick dark smoke that clung to the air as she flung herself out of her bed. The blonde roughly hit the wooden floor beneath her, clutching at her burning throat and coughing again, suddenly feeling an extreme almost searing heat against her sweating skin. She frantically whipped around the room, staring in horror at the embers that flung up through the floor and flames that licked away at the walls around her room. Her eyes instantly went to Weiss's bed, her panic rising in her chest like a frantic Grimm clawing away inside of her as she found it empty.

She slammed her door open, her watery stinging eyes squinting as she stumbled and coughed down the hallway, hissing in pain at each flame that licked or stung her exposed arms. The brawler literally kicked the door to Ruby's room open, shocked to find the room empty and vacant, a similar panic reverberating through her entire body. Perhaps it was better that she wasn't there, it meant there was a good chance that she was safe somewhere else, and Yang chose to cling on to that hope, letting the thought cool some of the burning worry that raged in her brain like the flames around her as she shut the door. Her eyes traced the hallway to her dad's room, intending to make sure him and Zwei were safe.

Yang let out a shocked yelp as she ducked and rolled past a falling piece of burning ceiling, cursing loudly as she felt the embers singe her back slightly. She coughed again after inhaling another deep and painful breath of smoke, covering her mouth with her arm and wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. An anguished curse is the only word she could force as the burning wreckage blocked her path, she slowly felt her knees growing weaker as the blonde stumbled into the living room, still coughing as she frantically took in her surroundings.

Yang felt her world stop, time seeming to pause as embers froze in the air, smoke swirling through the air now hanging unmoving in place, as the sound of a shriek of pain reached her ears. She slowly turned to see the snow white hair of Weiss, shuddering and doubled over in pain, staring up at the one demon that ran ice through the brawler's veins, Adam. She watched as that horrible red glow under his mask seemed to glint, a smirk pulling to the man's lips as she screamed in terror, feeling her muscles lock like rusty robotic joints as the edge of that blood red blade tore through the back of Weiss's dress.

"Die, fucking Schnee."

The only thing Yang could feel was the cold abyss of helplessness at the sound of the heiress's horrid gasp, only emphasized by the callous horrific taunt of Adam. She could almost hear the air leaving the girl's lungs as red began to creep and spread through the fabric around the blade that protruded from her back. The blonde managed to choke out an anguished sob as she watched Weiss sluggishly turn her head, icy blue eyes full of terror and pain, and the light in them slowly dulling as they locked with her own. The brawler barely registered the ice queen's lips moving as she whispered desperately, reaching a shaky and weak hand out.

"Y-Yang…"

The sound of Weiss's pained pleas and sigh of her quickly paling skin broke her completely, Yang felt her head spinning as her muscles seemed to drain, she limply crumpled to her knees as she desperately fought to move or run to her teammate, to do anything. She couldn't force herself to help at all and could only stare helplessly into those pleading blue eyes, her own mind screaming and berating her.

"No…no no no! Not Weiss, please no! MOVE you useless idiot!"

She felt the swallowing abyss in her chest tear holes in her body as that awful blade was yanked unceremoniously from the ice queen's chest, her body limply thudding to the burning floor and crimson pooling around her like a dark ocean. Yang hardly even recognized the steps Adam was now taking towards her, the blonde's body shook and shuddered with her mind violently swirling past far too many emotions to count as tears simply flowed from her eyes like a river. She couldn't dare to look away from Weiss's lifeless body as she berated herself endlessly.

"It's all your fault, you stood there helplessly while she died. She'll hate you forever, and you'll die too."

As Yang knelt there, her own mind doing far more damage to herself than anything she had received, she felt the burning wind whistling maliciously as the blade swung for her head. The sight of Weiss's broken body permanently burned deep into her skull like a dark unending nightmare of her own inability to do anything.

"Weiss!"

Yang's dry and strained throat screamed out as her body violently jolted upright in bed for, to her, the second time. She gasped for any tiny wisp of air she could, feeling a crushing and suffocating vacuum tearing through her lungs alongside the visceral pain radiating from her throat. Her entire body wracked and shuddered with horrid convulsions as each gasp sent waves of pain through her chest. Through her shaking she could feel the sweat dripping from her brow and mixing with the tears that stung down her eyes as she blinked, a loud ringing in her ears drowning out the sound of her own pained and panicked gasps, and the images of the nightmare lingering in her vision like a ghastly reminder.

The shuddering brawler recoiled slightly in surprise at the feeling of cold gently taking hold of her hand, her eyes darting panicked over only to freeze in place as her dizzied lilac gaze met Weiss's confused and concerned eyes. This was far from the first time Yang had woken from a nightmare to find the comforting feeling of the ice queen by her side, but the brawler couldn't unsee the burned and echoed image of Weiss's bloodied body crumpled before her, shuddering and choking back a sob as she recalled the crimson pool forming around the girl. She lurched forward, throwing her arm tightly around the smaller girl and squeezing herself tight against her, clutching onto Weiss as if she might vanish if she didn't hold on.

"W-weiss… you're alive… I thought-"

The heiress gasped softly in surprise, both from the sudden squeeze, and from Yang's words as she slowly understood the implication of them. She looked down at the blonde in worry, quickly returning the embrace, gently holding the brawler close and running her fingers across her shaking back. The blonde only squeezed tighter, her chest violently rising and falling with her panicked gasps of air.

"It's okay Yang, I'm here. I'm okay, I promise, I won't be going anywhere."

Weiss hesitated for a brief moment before tentatively and gently running her slender fingers through Yang's soft blonde locks, thankful when the brawler continued to hold onto her without a complaint or hint of anger. Slowly, the heiress lifted Yang's head, letting their eyes meet and feeling a twist of pain shoot through her chest from the terrified look in her friend's lilac eyes. Yang shakily allowed herself to look into Weiss's eyes in turn, her voice a pained whisper.

"There was… just so much blood… I thought I lost you too… I couldn't do anything. I'm so sorry…"

The heiress's voice caught in her throat from a moment, choking softly as her own mind tried to conjure an image of what awful visions could have plagued the brawler. She pondered how she'd react if she experienced something similar with any of her friends, feeling an awful dread gnawing away at her insides from the thought.

"You poor brute, usually I don't even show up in these awful nightmares of yours…"
The ice queen made sure to hold Yang's gaze after the thought, matching her soft whisper with an equally gentle tone in an attempt to soothe her panicked friend.

"I promise you, nothing will happen to me, Yang. I'm right here with you, okay?"

Yang had to take a few more ragged breaths, holding Weiss's gaze for as long as she could to try and wash the awful visions from her own eyes. Slowly she nodded, her body shuddering from the strain of her gasps as she let her forehead rest against the heiress's for a beat, closing her eyes to try and calm herself, and offering a small pained smile in response.

"Okay…"

She exhaled slowly, meeting those icy blue eyes, only to see Weiss's face flash back to that awful look of dying pain she witnessed, causing her to physically flinch for a moment. She regretted the look of worry that took over the heiress in response, letting out a ragged breath as she couldn't help but squeeze the smaller girl once more, averting her gaze with slight embarrassment.

"Can um, can you stay tonight, Weiss?"

Yang felt her embarrassment grow somewhat as she stole a glance at the ice queen, noting the slight pink hue her cheeks took in response to the question, and finding her own face gaining a little heat. The blonde just couldn't shake the echo of Weiss's lifeless form from her head and just hoped she could keep the girl close for as long as she could to cleanse it, at least for a while. The brawler looked up as Weiss hesitated, the heiress offering a somewhat uncharacteristically bashful look before whispering back.

"Yes I can, i-if you're okay with that of course."

Yang nodded in response, nervously running her hand through her own hair, she wasn't even quite sure why she was so anxious to ask. Her brain quickly conjured the thoughts of the two's time together a few nights ago, when Weiss was still sick. This obviously wouldn't be the first, but for some reason the blonde couldn't help the burning feeling in her cheeks, coloring them a slight pink along with her heartbeat quickening. As she looked up into those icy blue pools she just… couldn't bear to separate from the heiress at this moment, knowing that if she was left with her own thoughts for even a moment the gruesome echo would come clawing its way back into her mind, causing an awful shiver to shoot down her spine like an icy set of claws scraping down her back.

The brawler slowly wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's frame, nervously swallowing at the feeling of her throat drying slightly, trying to ignore the subtle pounding in her ears. Yang let out a ragged sigh, as Weiss returned the embrace, feeling her smaller gentle hands squeeze onto her softly. She slowly leaned back downward, letting the heiress get situated under the blanket with herself, feeling warm embarrassment etch through her at how little room there was and how close the two had to squeeze together.

"S-sorry, Weiss are you comforta-"

Yang stopped, gasping slightly as she felt another slow squeeze on her lower back, soft snow white hair pressing right up under her chin as the ice queen slowly nuzzled closer to her. The blonde couldn't help further heat rushing to her cheeks with the feeling of the smaller girl's comforting warmth gently against herself, the soft vanilla scent that always seemed to highlight the ice queen taking firm hold of her senses. She felt the gentle fleeting feeling of her warm skin against her own, shuddering softly at the odd comforting feeling it brought her.

"None of that you brute."

Weiss mumbled tiredly, Yang opting to simply stay quiet and hold the girl close hoping she could get some sleep. She could feel the slow rise and fall of the ice queen's chest against her own, focusing as hard as she could on the warm feeling and rhythm in an attempt to shove away the dark cloudy murmurs of this night that whispered at the edges of her mind. It didn't take long for her to feel the heiress's breathing slow, the girl having apparently drifted off to sleep comfortably in her own arms, a thought that definitely confused the blonde, several conflicting feelings bubbling to the surface. She tried, genuinely as hard as she could to sleep that night, her eyelids growing ever heavier from exhaustion, but each time even a sliver of darkness took her mind into the realm of sleep she'd jolt awake, her own breathing growing rapid and panicked as she saw a new visage of that awful bloody scene.

Weiss couldn't stop a long gentle yawn from escaping her lips, gently holding a hand in front of her mouth and blearily blinking away the remnants of sleep that clung to the edges of her eyes. It was far too early for her to be awake as she saw only the smallest sliver of sunlight peeking through the leafless trees, the orange light reflecting softly off of the white snow that clung to the ground, but it was the only way she could see off Ruby and the others on their journey. She couldn't help but steal the smallest glance at her blonde companion next to her, immediately feeling a pang of guilt shoot up her spine at the girl's slumped and tired shoulders along with heavy bags under her eyes. The heiress knew the poor girl probably didn't sleep at all last night, even after her own intervention, she felt awful that her own presence in the brawler's nightmares had caused such a horrid reaction. Weiss couldn't help but wonder why she had suddenly started to appear in Yang's night terrors, she hadn't even been present for the event and yet… Yang seemed to care about her that much.

Deciding to try and distract herself she glanced at her other companions outside, Jaune, Nora, and Ren were all gathered together, an array of supplies and travel bags between the three. She couldn't help but worry somewhat about the group, their journey would be obscenely long, and probably very dangerous. The heiress did feel a subtle pull at her heart to join them, but knew that it just was not something she could justify, she had to return to Atlas after all if she ever wanted to restore her family's name. As much as the idea of returning to her family caused her actual disgust, she couldn't help but wonder when travel would become safe enough for her to leave on her own, or if her father was already on the way to get her, a thought that sent a bitter shiver across her body.

Weiss was quickly yanked from her muddied thoughts as Ruby bounced her way out of the house, closing the door seemingly as quietly as she could behind her and joining the group of them, apologizing for being late.

"Sorry! I wanted to be super stealthy on the way out so I wouldn't wake dad…"

Yang let out an exhausted sigh, her body slumping and her dull lilac eyes flicking towards the house.

"You left him a note at least, right?"

Ruby nodded to her sister, getting a sort of sad and guilty look in her eyes as she kicked at the ground.

"Yeah… I still feel bad, but there's no way he'd just let me go."

Yang seemed to simply shrug, a pained smile pulling to her lips as she slowly wrapped her arms around the smaller redhead, seemingly clinging her close for a moment.

"Please, please be safe, okay?"

Ruby sniffled, smiling as she gave her sister a firm squeeze, holding onto the girl equally as tight.

"I will, you too okay? Maybe you can even join us, if you feel up to it!"

The Heiress grimaced slightly at the contort Yang's face went through, seeing hints of pain, anger, and guilt flash through her tired eyes before she closed them, hand slowly shaking and tightening into a fist. Ruby frowned somewhat, giving her sister another gentle squeeze before turning towards Weiss, arms open expectantly.

"Weisssss!~"

The ice queen couldn't stop the huff from escaping her as she pouted and crossed her arms indignantly, only to let out a yelp as the smaller girl threw herself at the heiress, knocking the two of them to the ground with a grin and a tight hug.

"Ack- You dolt, can you ever just hug me normally!"

Weiss screeched in mock annoyance, seething slightly from being knocked over before letting out an audible sigh, her arms slowly hugging the redhead back, who simply grinned back up at her with a happy beaming smile.

"Mmmmmm, nope! I'll miss you too much."

The heiress rolled her eyes and failed to suppress a grin from tugging at her lips, replying with a squeeze of her own before sitting up, placing a gentle but firm hand on her leader's forehead and pushing the redhead back.

"Yes yes and I'll miss you too, but off me you!"

Ruby happily giggled and obliged her teammate, allowing the heiress enough space to stand and indignantly dust herself off, Ruby's eyes growing somewhat sad as she looked between Weiss and Yang.

"I really will miss you both, I'll try to send letters okay!"

Weiss nodded solemnly, very quickly realizing that this may very well be the last time she sees her leader for who knows how long? She let her eyes lock with those silvery orbs, a thousand words between friends silently spoken in the briefest of looks as Ruby nodded back to the heiress.

After a brief exchange of goodbyes and well wishes from the remainder of team JNR, the ice queen found herself shoulder to shoulder with the blonde brute, both gazing as the group of four slowly disappeared into the snowy forest, starting a journey that would no doubt be far too long and dangerous for either of the girls not to be worried.

Weiss took a slow, deep breath, letting the chilled air cool the burning anxiety that bubbled up in her throat. Her thoughts were a fiery whirlwind of worry, not only for her recently departed friends, but finding herself fretting about Yang's current mental state. Almost on instinct she found herself looking to the taller girl beside her, noting in dismay as the blonde's eyes were squeezed tightly shut, her calloused knuckles white and strained with how roughly she forced a fist, seeming to try and stop the shudder that rippled through her hand. The heiress slowly reached out, gently taking the brawler's hand in her own, letting a breath that she didn't even realize she was holding go as she felt those fingers squeeze her own in response.

"Hey… Weiss?"

The ice queen blinked in surprise at her name, looking up at her blonde companion curiously, letting her thumb softly trace along her knuckles.

"What is it Yang?"

She felt the tension build in the muscles of Yang's arm, hand tightening around her own as the blonde let out a shaky breath, obviously averting her gaze as she furrowed her brow, seeming to be mulling over what she wanted to say. Weiss couldn't help but feel her heartbeat pickup with a hint of anxiety forming in her gut, but quickly felt it melt away as those beautiful lilac eyes locked with her own, immediately finding herself unable to not have a soft pink hue come to her cheeks.

"I Just… Thank you for being here, I really don't know where I'd be without you these last… jeez weeks? Almost a month… You've done too much for me, even when I didn't deserve it..."

Weiss couldn't help but let out a small giggle as the brawler seemed to trail off in her stilted thanks, embarrassment evident in her voice and the small reddish color that took to her cheeks as she struggled to form the words she wanted to. She opted to give the larger girl's hand a quick but gentle tug, pouting up at her in mock annoyance.

"Yang Xiao Long I will not tolerate any of this 'not deserving' nonsense. Understood?"

The heiress blinked in surprise, her pout turning from teasing to genuine as the blonde's lips slowly upturned into a grin, the happiness from the girls chuckle almost breaking her own visage of annoyance.

"And just what is so funny about that?!"

Much to Weiss's dismay, Yang's grin only grew wider and thinner into a smirk as she leaned down to reach eye level with the heiress, a mischievous evil look glinting in those lilac eyes of hers.

"Oh nothing, you're just cute when you don't hide how much you care~"

If the heiress's face could grow redder it's quite possible she'd be mistaken for Ruby. She felt heat flood to her face far too quickly as she leaned away from the brawler's face on instinct, mouth agape as her mind turned like a rusty cog wheel in an attempt to come up with some sort of retort. The only sound that left the ice queen's lips was a high pitched squeaking sound as she struggled to speak, Yang's smirk growing ever larger at the strain.

"I… you- Silence you Brute!"

Weiss finally managed to let out an indignant retaliation, crossing her arms with a hmph, her face still very much pink with embarrassment as she tried desperately to ignore just how much her heart rate had spiked in response to this. Only to be firmly reminded as Yang's hand left her own, feeling the blonde's strong arm quickly wrap around her waist and lift the heiress effortlessly off the ground, forcing a surprised squeak and a flurry of squirms out of her as the brawler hugged the smaller girl close. Weiss's already red and flushed cheeks only grew hotter as her mind exploded with electricity. Despite her indignance, the ice queen did eventually wrap her own slender arms around the blonde, letting out a soft and somewhat content sigh and accepting the hug.

"I'm happy to be here for you, Yang. Whenever you need me."

Though Weiss felt a familiar lightness tug at her heart, some small pieces of her true feelings bleeding into her words, she couldn't help but note the genuine happiness that lit like a warm calming flame in those deep purple eyes she was staring up into. The heiress's one goal was to help her friend heal, and she was content that she had at least seemed to help somewhat in that department. The two girl's eyes remained locked for a few moments, Weiss very aware of just how close the two girl's faces were, and having to stifle a giggle as recognition crossed visibly into Yang's eyes, the girl suddenly blushing quite hard and slowly lowering the ice queen to the ground, much to her dismay.

"U-uh, maybe we should head back inside! B-before dad wakes up…"

The heiress had to stop herself from giggling as she watched with amusement as the brawler stuttered to try and distract from the moment. She smiled as she saw the brawler's hand reach up and awkwardly brush her bangs to the side before running her own fingers through her golden locks, a nervous habit of the girl's that Weiss had very easily picked up on. The ice queen couldn't help her smile from widening at how cute Yang always was when she was embarrassed, she would only act like this when her feelings were genuine, at least that's how it seemed to her anyways. Any other time she would act flirtatious it always seemed to be more in a playful sense, and the thought of those feelings potentially being genuine towards herself sent a glowingly sweet feeling through her veins. It dawned on her that maybe, there was even the smallest chance that Yang would reciprocate her feelings? It was a thought that had crossed her mind a few times, more of a fantasy really, but with reactions like this it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. As warm and comforting as the feeling was, she had to admit that she'd never attempt something like that first, at least not now while Yang was still very much recovering physically and emotionally, but she couldn't stop a smile from playing on her lips as her mind conjured up the scenario for her.