Chapter XIV: In the shade of Autumn leaves, part one

Ruby spun around, obediently following her partner's lead as the two of them swayed in rhythm of some classical piece, dancing on the training field in front of her home while sun hung high in the clear skies above, wholly indifferent to Ruby's plight. Feeling Weiss' hand leave her back, she allowed herself to be pulled to the side and passed her partner by in a slow pirouette; she then let Weiss' fingers slip from her grasp, turned to face her, and bent in a deep bow, while Weiss did the same about five feet away from her.

A wide, completely unapologetic grin graced Weiss' features, leading Ruby to feel ever-so-slightly torn between being glad that Weiss was enjoying herself and wanting to wipe that smugness off her face.

Straightening her back, Ruby stepped onward and slightly to the side, approaching Weiss with the palm of her hand forward, readied at her face's height. The moment Weiss' hand touched her own, the two of them began walking in a circle, each bending their knee every three steps.

Looking her grinning partner in the eye, Ruby asked in a jokingly pitiful manner: "Remind me, how did I end up in this situation?"

Weiss laughed merrily at that — an all too rare, precious melody of joy, one which Ruby could never get enough of. She let go of her hand and turned around, her left palm meeting Ruby's as the two of them smoothly reversed the direction of their walk.

"Whatever could you possibly mean, Ruby? I asked if you could help me with some light exercise, and you, being the kind soul you are, graciously complied. You certainly remember that much, no?" she said innocently, playful sparks gleaming in her blue eyes.

Weiss was correct — Ruby did remember having done that in the morning. What eluded her was how ballroom dancing fell under the category of 'light exercise', and how in the world hadn't she realized that Weiss had been up to something when she'd asked the question with that suspiciously sly smile present on the crime scene. Imagine Ruby's surprise when the two of them had walked onto the sparring field, only for Weiss to pull out her Scroll, put some classical piece on repeat and bow in front of Ruby, asking for a dance with a cheeky little smirk.

"Yeah, but I thought that you'd want to do some stretches, or maybe go for a jog or something..." Still, a promise was a promise, and Ruby was never one to back on a given word. It's not like she'd never pulled a fast one on Weiss before, either, roping the prim and proper heiress into something she wouldn't otherwise have done, all in order to get her out of her icy shell.

It didn't mean that she was not allowed to whine at least for a little bit, however. And whined she had when Weiss had started her lesson, only to have it playfully pointed out that at least she hadn't been put in high heels. Weiss also hadn't missed the opportunity to gently remind her that knowing how to dance would prove useful when the four of them would go to the New Year's party at Schnees' — which, again, had been Ruby's idea to begin with.

Weiss chuckled under her breath, once again changing the direction of their steps. "I've never said that. What I did once say — repeatedly, might I add — was that I'd one day prove it to you that your 'I can't dance' excuse is utter nonsense. The day has come, and would you look at that — you're catching on rather quickly, if I dare say so myself!"

Though Ruby rolled her eyes, the praise did make her a teeny bit happy behind her mildly exasperated facade. She hadn't made as much of a fool of herself as she'd feared she would — Weiss was a good, patient teacher, and — at the end of the day — the routines Ruby had been put through were far easier than even the simplest of exercises she'd perform with her scythe. The trick was to remember the steps, but she'd gotten that down after a couple of attempts.

When the time was right, Ruby, with her right hand still pressed against Weiss', spun around in front of her partner, then extended her left arm to the side while Weiss gracefully slid into position behind her back, off to Ruby's left. Taking Ruby's outstretched hand in her own, Weiss wrapped her right arm around her partner's back, and the two of them began dancing forward, with Weiss a step behind Ruby.

"Besides," Weiss started, taking advantage of the fact that her right hand was now resting on Ruby's side and poking the girl with her finger, which caused her to stiffen momentarily, "come on, you're enjoying yourself." Though Ruby couldn't quite see her face, she could hear a smile color Weiss' voice.

Weiss... wasn't entirely wrong. While to say that Ruby had been less than thrilled at the beginning to have been tricked into an impromptu dance lesson would be a severe understatement, the whole thing had slowly started to grow on her somewhere along the way. In a strangely nostalgic manner, it kind of reminded her of learning how to fight under uncle Qrow — something once daunting that she'd hated and avoided suddenly becoming actually kinda fun and enjoyable.

It was funny, how one's perception of certain activities changed with the right teacher... or perhaps it was just something inherent to sharing an experience with a person you care about, especially when said person is clearly into it. Either way, Ruby didn't hate it nearly as much as she'd expected to... not that she'd admit it out loud, of course; had she done that, she'd never hear the end of it. Good thing that Weiss was behind her and couldn't see that well the tiny, treacherous smile present on Ruby's lips.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Snowflake," Ruby deadpanned, still intent on keeping up the pretenses, her response eliciting a small giggle from Weiss.

It had been a long while since the last time she'd seen Weiss smile so openly and laugh so brightly. Though Ruby might not have been entirely sold on the prospect of learning how to dance just yet, she cherished that carefree moment the two of them were sharing, glad to see her best friend simply enjoying herself.

Having crossed a certain distance, Ruby took one more step forward before turning around to face Weiss, taking her partner's left hand in her right, while Weiss herself once more wrapped her arm around Ruby's back, smiling softly as they began to sway gently from one side to the other to the beat of the music.

"But, speaking of going for a jog," Weiss spoke, "I'm not exactly opposed to doing just that later on. I don't think I'm ever going to match your freakish stamina, but that's no excuse for me to get out of shape."

Ruby grinned. "That is an idea I can get behind."

They danced on and off for the better part of the next hour before Weiss had finally decided that she'd had her fill. Having finally been released, Ruby shuffled to the edge of the training field, taking a bottle of water lying in the grass and promptly unscrewing the cap.

While Ruby was guzzling down her drink, Weiss picked up her Scroll from the ground and turned off the music. Looking at Ruby, she grinned. "See? Was it really that bad?"

Letting out a contented sigh, Ruby wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and screwed the bottlecap back on, then directed her eyes towards the sunny sky and put on a theatrically thoughtful look, as if trying to remember something.

"How did that phrase the police use go again? 'Everything you say can and will be used against you?'" she mused, then turned her eyes towards Weiss and narrowed them in a pointed glare. "Yeah, I'm choosing to remain silent."

She stared Weiss down for a couple of seconds, then, once Weiss started cracking up, she softened her expression into an easygoing smile and turned away, heading towards the porch. Weiss followed after her, sitting right next to Ruby when the girl plopped down on the edge of the veranda.

"You know," Weiss started, "I think I can kind of understand where you are coming from." Seeing the puzzled look sent in her direction, she went on to clarify. "Not liking to dance, I mean. I used to be the same."

Ruby blinked, slightly taken aback. "Really now?"

"Mhm," Weiss hummed, looking straight ahead. "I was taught how to dance not because I wanted to, but because I was told to. My father figured it'd be a way for me to charm potential business partners and investors, or, at the very least, that it'd make me a better wife material."

"I... kind of had a feeling your answer would go in that direction."

Weiss laughed softly. "Yes, I suppose it's a recurring theme in my life," she said, nodding. She didn't seem to mind thinking of her past — in fact, a tiny little smirk was present on her lips as she continued to reminisce. "In any case, I certainly didn't make it easy on him nor on my teachers. I must've had about... eight instructors, none of them lasting more than two months before handing in their resignation — and a couple of them did that much sooner. I think that my record was six days."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "And then he employed that old hag — a woman so experienced and so jaded that even bratty Weiss Schnee couldn't get rid of her. I've heard that she used to be a dancer of world renown, but eventually her age had forced her into retirement, after which she'd opened her own school. She made it very clear that I wasn't the first rich brat she'd taught, and likely not the most rotten. And indeed, no matter how insufferable I tried to be, she clung to her post like a limpet; eventually I just gave up and learned to tolerate her, figuring that I might as well cooperate — the sooner I'd get her out of my hair, the better, I thought. We were never cordial, not by any stretch of imagination, but I'd like to think we've worked out some mutual respect by the time we parted ways."

Weiss sighed. "Still, it didn't really mean that my attitude towards dancing had changed. What skill in it I had was supposed to entertain all those two-faced sycophants that would show up at my father's parties, and, frankly, I had absolutely no interest in doing that. Playing nice with those people, laughing politely at their dumb jokes… it made me feel unclean. To die on the inside, one papercut at a time. Not that I had much choice… but the resentment remained."

"So... what changed your mind?" Ruby asked. "I mean, you seemed to be enjoying yourself just now. For three hours straight."

Weiss looked at her fondly and chuckled. "Oh, I don't know — perhaps because I got to dance with someone I actually wanted to, without the need to play pretend. Also, let's not forget that I got to prove my point — you can dan— ow!" she spoke, only to be promptly silenced with a half-hearted elbow jab to the ribs that caused a short laugh to burst forth from her lips. "Yeah, well... in any case, thank you for humoring me."

A gentle smile blossomed on Ruby's face while a wave of pleasant warmth spread across her body. "You're welcome, I suppose."

Ruby's words drifted off into comfortable silence, one that went on unbroken for the next couple of minutes until the moment the door leading onto the porch slided open and a man's energetic voice came forth.

"Dinner's on the table!" Taiyang called, not even waiting for the two to reply before disappearing back inside.

"Coming!" Ruby called back over her shoulder. Standing up, she looked at Weiss with a tiny smile, then gestured with her head towards the entrance to the house and the food waiting therein. "Let's go."

After dinner, each of the girls busied themselves with their individual preparations for Blake's birthday, with Ruby disappearing within the workshop and Weiss heading upstairs and locking herself in their shared room to work on her song. Hours flew by in peace, and by the time Weiss had finally decided to set her pen aside and take a break, the sun was well on its way towards the western horizon, beginning to color the sky orange.

As she stopped the audio sample she'd been listening to on her earphones for the past half an hour, she was made aware of the soft melody that was echoing throughout the house, carried by the sound of guitar strings and what Weiss instantly recognized as Ruby's voice. There were words to that song, but their meaning was lost to her, muffled by the wooden door standing between her and the melody.

Pulling out her earbuds, she pocketed her Scroll and let herself be drawn towards the music. The moment she gingerly twisted the doorknob and slipped into the dusky corridor, the incomprehensible gibberish from before gave way to the touching lines of a refrain.

Now it's time to say goodbye

To the things we loved

And the innocence of youth

How the time seemed to fly

From our carefree lives

And the solitude and peace we always knew

To Weiss' trained ear, Ruby's singing immediately came off as unpracticed, as the girl had noticeable problems with pulling off the lower tones, while her voice would occasionally crack or fade into airless silence whenever she'd start running out of breath. Still, there was a certain degree of charm to her singing — much like Ruby herself, her voice was honest. She sang with her heart, and that alone was enough to leave Weiss transfixed at the top of the stairs, with her daring not to make another step lest she interrupted the rare spectacle.

And so she listened quietly to Ruby's song; a song of sorrow, pain and determination, of innocence lost and of rueful longing after something that could not be restored. A song of someone who knew what sort of grim future awaited them, and yet did not waver. Still, when the refrain came back around, doubt began creeping into the lyrics, preparing the scene for the bitter disillusionment of the next verse.

Now it's time to say goodbye

To the things we loved

And the innocence of youth

With a doubt in our minds

Why we chose this life

And at times we can't help wondering...

Were we born to fight and die?

Sacrificed for one huge lie?

Are we heroes keeping peace?

Or are we weapons?

Pointed at the enemy

So someone else can claim a victory?

A shiver had run down Weiss' spine when the song had gradually decreased in tempo over the course of the last two lines, with the melody shifting disquietingly from G major to G minor. Weiss' eyes watered a bit and a certain tightness appeared in her throat, remaining there while Ruby was finishing the song with another round of the chorus.

Eventually, the song had ended with the last pull of a guitar string, somewhat abruptly but not unfittingly, with the last note hanging in the air, slowly vibrating into silence. A couple of seconds had passed and just when Weiss regained the presence of mind to move or to do anything, Ruby's voice reached her from down below, giving her a start.

"So, how did you like the song?" Ruby called, apparently having been aware, somehow, that Weiss had been listening. As it turned out, Weiss must've been less sneaky than she'd initially thought.

Surprised to have been spotted, Weiss let out a nervous laugh. With a noncomittal 'well...' meant to stall for time while she was getting back her bearings, she began her journey down the stairs as she considered her response.

"There's certainly some room for improvement as far as your technique is concerned," she said eventually as she reached the turn of the stairs. Ruby, who was sitting on the couch with an acoustic guitar resting in her lap, pouted adorably at those words, bringing a tiny smile to Weiss' lips. "But I like your singing voice. And that you sang it like you meant it."

The pout disappeared from Ruby's face, but the way the girl smiled wryly and her gaze dropped to the floor made Weiss somewhat regret having said that; Ruby had that 'yeah, well...' kind of look one would have when a nail had been struck right on the head. Not an unhappy expression, but not exactly a happy one, either.

Having berated herself in the seclusion of her own mind, Weiss took a seat in the nearby armchair and looked at Ruby, leaning in curiously with her chin resting on her hand. "So, I didn't know you played guitar," she started, hoping to steer the conversation away from the heavy subject. Besides, she was genuinely interested.

Ruby let out a small, ever-so-slightly embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah, well, I didn't exactly have many opportunities to do so ever since enrolling at Beacon, so I've gotten rusty, but I still remember a thing or two," she said. "Let's just say I had plenty of free time at my hands before Beacon. Been taking lessons for about two years, from that one guy in Patch."

"I see." Weiss took a moment to look at the instrument. While guitars were far removed from her area of expertise, she could tell that the one Ruby held in her hands was not new; it was an old friend, well worn and well loved, with the dark wood of the guitar's body bearing visible marks of age and long use. Here and there was plastered an old sticker, likely once-colorful, but now faded to the point of being nigh completely unrecognizable. "Still, I've never even seen that guitar at your house; where was it?"

"Oh, this?" Ruby questioned rhetorically, glancing at the instrument in her lap. "It was over in dad's room. I gave it back to him after I'd enrolled at Beacon."

"Can he play?" Weiss asked, cocking her eyebrow.

Ruby snorted with laughter at that, then looked at Weiss with a toothy grin. "You kidding? That old thing was his. He used to be in a school band back in his days."

This time, it was Weiss' turn to laugh. "Alright, I admit, that does sound like him."

"Right?" Slowly, Ruby's grin was replaced by a wistful smile. She brushed her fingers against the strings, her gentle caress causing the guitar to sing softly. "He was the one who suggested me picking up guitar in the first place. Said that 'I'm good with my hands', and that I'd get the hang of it sooner rather than later. He gave me my first lesson, too, and would later teach me some more whenever he'd find time... and he was so hyped about it every time we sat together, you can't even imagine."

"It was nice of him."

"Yeah," Ruby agreed quietly, her gaze slightly absent, as if her mind was wandering. She lazily plucked a single string, then another, going from the thickest to the thinnest and then back again. "I think it was his way of bonding with me, you know? Making up for the time he was, well... not around. He had managed to reconnect with Yang through hand-to-hand combat, but me? I kept following Qrow as if I was a stray puppy, and, looking back, I think that there was a time when Dad believed that he'd lost me to him. With Yang, it's easy to see whom she modeled herself after — her fighting style, the way she dresses... even her demeanor is similar to dad's. Me? People say I'm the spitting image of Mom, and my weapon is essentially a mix between Mom's and Qrow's." Ruby's eyes, which had been staring blankly at the floor up to that moment, zeroed in on Weiss, and the girl smiled somewhat wryly. "Makes you question who was the father figure to me for a good chunk of my childhood, doesn't it?"

Weiss nodded while a small frown appeared on her face. She felt bad for Taiyang, and was not surprised in the slightest that he had gladly jumped at any opportunity to bond with his youngest. It had to hurt, with Crescent Rose's mere existence serving as a reminder that he'd failed his children and that — at least for a time — someone else had taken his place in their lives.

Although he most certainly was not without a fault, Weiss couldn't really find it in herself to judge him too harshly in the light of his circumstances at the time. After all, his shut down had been only human, and he had pulled himself together in the end, doing everything in his power to be the best father he possibly could ever since; the fact that his relationship with his children didn't appear strained at all was the best testament to his efforts.

The more Weiss thought about him, the more similarities and uncomfortable parallels she noticed between him and her own mother. Both had buckled beneath the weight of their own grief, and both had effectively abandoned their children, only to have it haunt them for years afterwards. Taiyang was definitely the more sympathetic figure in her eyes — having been by far more proactive in seeking amends — but even despite her clear bias, Weiss had to grudgingly admit that perhaps Ruby had been onto something, back when she'd convinced Weiss to at least try and give her mother a chance.

Not wanting to go too far down that train of thought, Weiss decided to change the subject, latching onto something that had piqued her curiosity. "If you don't mind me asking... what was your mother's weapon like? I don't think you ever mentioned."

Ruby brightened up nigh instantly, eager sparks gleaming in her eyes and her ears perking up. "Ah, right. Gungnir. A sword-spear that could double as a sniper rifle. Fired... .308 rounds, if I remember correctly, compared to Crescent Rose's .50s. Less of a kick, but not a peashooter either."

Weiss was silent for a while, processing the information she'd just heard. Then, she said slowly, "So, what you're telling me is that Summer was the sni-pear of her team?"

Weiss herself winced at what she'd just said, only now aware of the full extent of the transgression she'd just committed. She facepalmed in a show of her burning shame, all the while Ruby was shaking with laughter, giving her a look that was part-amused and part-incredulous.

"Ugh, I've been spending way too much time with Yang. I'll see myself out," Weiss said, standing up from her armchair.

Ruby clapped her hands and, setting the guitar aside, also got back onto her feet before stepping closer to Weiss. "Good idea. But let's go and grab you a hoodie first," she spoke, patting Weiss on her shoulder as she passed her by. When she reached the foot of the stairs, she turned around and smirked at the blank, questioning stare she was being given. "It might get cold by the time we get back from that jog."

Dressed in a navy blue hoodie, Weiss trotted down a forest path alongside her similarly clothed companion. Specks of evening light littered the forest floor while the shadows began to lengthen all around them, drowning their surroundings in various shades of browns, reds and oranges. The fresh air of the woods was cold, but not uncomfortably so, cooling down her body as she ran with Ruby towards Patch.

Though she didn't like running nearly as much as Ruby did, it felt good to get moving again, to have her blood flow briskly through her veins. Before they'd started their jog, Ruby had said to her — no, commanded her — to speak up if she started to feel any sort of pain or a weakness spell, but if the last five minutes of their light jog were any indication, nothing of the sort was going to happen. She felt fine; her stomach had not screamed at her in protest even a single time, and she could breathe freely, with her chest full.

If anything, she was enjoying herself — the exercise, the scenery, her company, and the quiet melody of the autumn forest, disturbed only by their steps on the dry leaves and the sound of their breathing. Amidst the tranquility of the woods, running alongside her best friend, Weiss found herself at peace.

Glancing to her side, Weiss noticed that Ruby was watching her, her silver eyes searching dutifully for any signs of pain or distress. Seeing that concern, Weiss smiled softly to signal that she was just fine.

"So, about that song... were you the one who wrote it?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Ruby affirmed, turning her eyes to look ahead as she ran. "The lyrics, anyways; the melody might or might not have been inspired by something I've heard before, I'm honestly not sure."

"When?"

"Back in Atlas. Didn't really have an opportunity to actually play it till today, though."

That news hit Weiss harder than she would've expected. Initially she'd presumed that Ruby must've written the song recently — perhaps sometime after the reclamation of Beacon — but 'back in Atlas' was roughly equivalent to 'before Ruby had spilled blood for the first time', and that painted the verses speaking of 'a line that they'll cross' or 'holding their attack' in a different, more depressing light.

Rather than being written from the perspective of Ruby's past self, like Weiss had assumed, it was an actual glimpse into the way Ruby had felt back at the time — how they all had felt, but dared not to speak of it aloud. The revelation made the song hit different in retrospect; after all, reflecting on the hardships of one's past from a distance was one thing, while being reminded how bleak the future had felt and looked was another.

"I see," was all that Weiss let out, for once at a loss for words. "You did well."

Ruby looked at her, and for the briefest of moments a tiny wrinkle formed between her eyebrows. Then, without missing a beat, her expression shifted into a smirk. "Damn. That's a high praise, coming from you," she teased.

Weiss giggled at that, relaxing a bit. "...for a rookie," she retorted playfully, giving Ruby a sideways glance. She was grateful for that jest; Ruby's joke had most likely been an intentional attempt to cheer her up, and the Dolt, as per her usual, had mostly succeeded. "What about your schematic? All done?"

"Yep. Ordered the materials already, too. You?"

"I'm getting there. I think I'm just about done with the lyrics after today," she replied. "Have you been waiting long for me?"

"Not really. Had just enough time to tune the guitar and play two songs by the time you showed up."

"Hey, speaking of, would you play that song again for me sometime? I didn't get to listen to it from the beginning."

"Aww, you're making me blush," Ruby cooed, laughing, then looked at Weiss with a somewhat pleased, somewhat abashed smile. "We'll see about that."

"While we're at that," Weiss continued, striking the iron while it was still hot. "have you written any other songs?"

"One or two," was Ruby's noncommittal response after she'd broken off their eye contact. She was clearly trying to play it off as nonchalance, but Weiss knew her far too long to fall for it, realizing full well that it was only meant to mask the bashfulness bubbling beneath. "And before you ask: we'll see."

Weiss chuckled. "Alright, alright, I'm not pushing." 'For now.'

A while of silence followed as they ran through the woods, to be eventually interrupted by Ruby. "Say, what do you think of dropping by Signal tomorrow?" she asked, looking down the path. "I could try to pull some strings so they'd let you borrow the piano for a couple hours, while I'd start working on the thingy for Blake? See, they got lots of really cool equipment in the workshop there, and I could really use their metal lathe and..." She glanced at Weiss and, noticing her increasingly amused expression, immediately realized that she was getting carried away; closing her mouth shut, she sheepishly averted her eyes while a faint blush began to creep onto her cheeks. "Can't machine all the parts I need at home," she mumbled an explanation in layman's terms.

Weiss giggled; while she'd learned a thing or two about weaponsmithing over the course of her three-year friendship with a self-professed weapon dork, whenever Ruby started getting excited about some tool, technique or a gadget, the Dolt could as well speak in a different language and it'd make next to no difference to Weiss. It was admittedly somewhat irritating, but also kind of endearing; besides, Ruby was cute when she was geeking out.

"Fine by me."

Before long, their forest path gave way to pavement as they left the woods and entered the outskirts of Patch. Ruby led Weiss down one of her old favorite routes, showing her the town while she was at it.

Up to that point, Weiss' knowledge of Patch had been limited to a couple of streets and the place Ruby and Yang were usually getting their grocery from. With Ruby to show her around, it was quickly remedied; in a relatively short span of time, Weiss learned where to find some nice shops, the workshop of Ruby's tailor, Ruby's favorite bakeries — all three of them — a nice pizza joint, the mall, a cinema and a couple other places.

After about an hour and a half of roaming about the town at a leisurely pace, Weiss believed she had a decent grasp of why so many people had decided to settle down in Patch, with its scenic avenues lined with trees, peaceful neighborhoods and quaint squares. If there was one thing that struck her as slightly odd, it would be that every now and then some seemingly random passerby would recognize Ruby and greet her in passing, only for her to respond in kind, smiling politely and sometimes even addressing the stranger by their name; that said, Weiss quickly chalked it up to living in a smaller community.

The two of them strolled lazily under streetlights on their way back home, the sun having set a good while ago. Having drank her fill of water she'd just bought at a convenience store, Ruby screwed the cap back on and casually tossed the bottle to Weiss, who then proceeded to finish it off in a couple of hearty swigs.

Weiss crumpled the bottle and was going to throw it into the trash bin by a small café they were just about to pass. As the two of them approached, a rather large, burly man in an apron walked out of the store and, minding his own business, grabbed one of the tables standing outside the venue; just when he was about to take it inside, Weiss tossed her bottle into the nearby bin and the sound caused the man to look up at the two girls passing by. Suddenly, his eyes sparked with recognition, his bearded face cracking into a broad grin.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite Huntress in all of Remnant," he called, setting the table back on the ground with a thud. "Ruby, dear, how have ya been? We've been hearing a lot about you lately!"

"Hi there, mister Burrow," Ruby said; although she smiled back at the black-haired man, it was easy to tell by the way she rubbed her neck that she was feeling rather bashful in the moment. "Eh, it's going, you know. I'm just glad that the things had finally slowed down a little."

With that out of the way, Ruby looked at Weiss and pulled her closer, introducing her as her right hand and best friend. The man, after taking a good, speculative look at Weiss, offered her a handshake, to which she politely obliged.

From what Weiss gathered from the conversation that followed, mister Burrow was the owner of the quaint little establishment they were standing in front of, and Ruby had used to be a regular before her time at Beacon. For the most part, Ruby and mister Burrow were just catching up, with the man doing most of the questioning, every once in a while directing a question or two at Weiss herself.

At some point, Ruby asked about 'Bryn' — perhaps the man's wife, or his daughter — and mister Burrow beamed at her, his eyes lighting up with pride, as if Ruby had just reminded him of something relevant, or of news he had wanted to share with her. He then went on to say that 'his little girl' was just fine, and very excited about starting her education at Signal come next spring, 'to follow in Ruby's footsteps and one day become a Huntress'.

Although Ruby grinned at the news and said bashfully that both he and Bryn were giving her way too much credit, Weiss noticed that Ruby's smile didn't quite reach her silver eyes.

Before long, the pair bid their farewells and, after a promise of dropping by sometime, took their leave, with mister Burrow waving them off. Ruby didn't say anything while they were slowly leaving the establishment behind, remaining quiet even after they had taken the turn and the café disappeared from their view; deep in thought, she walked in silence, eyes staring at some unspecified point ahead of her.

As they were approaching the dirt path leading to Ruby's home, Weiss decided to break that silence. "So… what's your story with the Burrows? Have you known each other long?"

Ruby blinked rapidly, as if startled a bit, only to let out a small laugh. "Most of my life, really," she replied. "Both dad and mom were pretty well-respected in the community. So, when… you know, some people around town kinda got together to help Yang and I out; the Burrows included. We'd get ice cream on the house, or someone would come to fix our plumbing free of charge, things like that."

Weiss smiled a bit. "It was really kind of them."

"Yeah, the community definitely made things a bit easier for us," Ruby agreed. "When I started my first year at Signal, Yang and I would sometimes pay people back a little by doing small favors. Grocery runs, dog walking, the works. Or babysitting, in case of miss and mister Burrow."

Having done some quick math in her head, Weiss blinked. "Hold up. Weren't you, like…"

"Fourteen-ish?" Ruby suggested, amused smirk upon her lips. "Yep. Formally it was Yang who was doing the babysitting, and I just tagged along to help out. In practice… eh, it depended. Bryn was a sweet kid, tho, so it's not like it was particularly demanding."

"Sounds like that Bryn girl is really looking up to you," Weiss pointed out, having some vague idea why that fact seemed to be bothering Ruby.

"Yeah... she's a good egg," Ruby admitted, letting out a sigh. "Haven't seen her in a good while, but I guess she must've been keeping up with the news..."

"You don't seem too thrilled about her wanting to become a Huntress."

Ruby huffed through her nostrils, looking Weiss in the eye with a wry smile that asked a wordless question: 'am I that obvious?'. Turning her eyes towards the cold pavement beneath her feet, she spoke, "Bit over two years ago I'd feel honored to learn that I'd inspired someone to follow in my footsteps, but now... I dunno. I guess it's because now I know what lies behind all the smoke and mirrors. And I can't help but feel responsible for her getting into this mess so willingly."

"Do you think she's making a mistake, then?" Weiss questioned.

"No, it's not that," Ruby replied, shaking her head. "I just hope that she won't ever have to go through anything like the things we've gone. There's wanting to help people, and there's… that."

"Me too."

Weiss' quiet agreement dissolved into silence that lasted for a couple of seconds, until Ruby took a deep breath, only to let it all out in a loud exhale. "Well, anyhoo, enough of that; no point in spoiling a nice evening with me getting all existential. I'll be fine."

"If you say so. But I'm here if you want to talk."

Ruby smiled at her — a genuine, loving smile. "I know." The two looked at one another for a spell; then, Ruby swatted Weiss across her shoulder and took off running, with Weiss chasing after her into the night.

Author's Note

So, yeah. Third year of BA in English studies — much less chill than I'd hoped. Oh well.

Speaking of third year — today passes the third anniversary of After the Storm. Damn, time sure flies. Gotta admit, I feel kind of silly that the main ship hasn't sailed yet, after three years and over 130k words, but hey, it'll be worth it, I promise!

I apologize for the meager length of this update (don't even ask me what fraction of the whole chapter it is...), but I figured that it's about time to show that I'm still alive and still working on the story; besides, I really wanted to post something on the anniversary, even if I had to pull an all-nighter on a weekday. The update is about two weeks late as it is, but juggling uni, two D&D campaigns, my personal life and the preservation of my sanity leaves painstakingly little time to actually work on AtS. Worry not, however; I'll carry on with the story, no matter how much my life gets in the way. I might switch to shorter updates until I'm done with uni.

After the Storm has always had a special place in my heart, and I can't possibly stress enough just how much you folks mean to me. To my old readers, thank you from the bottom of my jaded little heart for sticking around all those years, and to the new ones, thank you for picking up this story; thank you all for your comments and through them making my days. Though my relationship with this fic sometimes borders on love-hate, you make it all worth it. All I can say is that I hope you're enjoying reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it for you.

The song used in the chapter is obviously Time to Say Goodbye, by Jeff and Casey Lee Williams, and all rights go to their respective owners.

I hope I'll see you in the next update; we still have a ways to go.