Yang had absolutely no idea where she was. Though 'Mistral' was the obvious answer, where in Mistral was a mystery, and one that she wasn't sure would be solved anytime soon. What had started as an angry power walk out of the summer home had soon ramped up to a light jog, and then a run. As though her legs were trying to keep up with her brain, Yang had eventually broken into a near sprint, flying down the sidewalks of the capital city. She was trying to get as far away from her own thoughts and the memories of what she had just seen as possible, no matter how futile the effort was. There was no outrunning the past- whether or not it was specifically her past didn't even matter.

While Vale City was a fairly straightforward grid with shops and intersections clearly labeled, Mistral was much more like an outdoor maze. The buildings were more spread out, the overall geography was uneven instead of mostly level, the roads were winding, and the street names didn't seem to follow any rhyme or reason. Yang's total focus on just running and not paying any attention to her surroundings didn't help her chances of keeping track of where she was, and before long, she had found her way into a public park. The paths only got more confusing and isolated as she made her way down the trails, passing the odd couple or solo hiker every now and then. Eventually, her run slowed to a jog, and then her jog to a walk.

Yang Xiao Long was completely and totally lost, in more ways than one.

The blonde doubled over and held her knees while taking ragged breaths in the middle of a forested footpath. There was seemingly nothing around her but rustling trees and birdsong as far as she could see. In any other situation, Yang would either think it was beautiful or boring, depending on her mood and the company she was with. Standing there alone, sweaty, frustrated, and full of guilt, she just felt like she wanted to collapse. Yang reached her metallic stump up to try to brush her matted hair out of her face, only to remember that she didn't even have her mechanical arm anymore. The total absence of feeling against her face as she raised what was left of her arm served as a bleak reminder of just how helpless she was… and there was only one thing she could think to do.

"Fuck!"

Yang practically screamed the word as she crouched down, digging the nails of her remaining hand into the side of her scalp as she hissed in frustration. Upon standing up straight once again, she began to pace back and forth along the path, fuming all the while. Everything sucked, she had pushed those she cared about away, and there was nothing she could actually do about the situation that was making her feel so terrible. While she did want to talk to someone and try to stop throwing a fit, several bridges had already been temporarily burned and others were ones she didn't particularly want to cross.

Jaune meant well, but he was too nervous and careful in his approach to give her any advice that would help to whip her whiny ass back into shape. Corsac would give her calm, rational advice that would make her want to punch him in the jaw through her scroll, which wasn't an option and wouldn't help to make her feel better if it was. Sun had enough trouble dealing with his own issues and was likely worked into a nervous sweat right alongside her, and they both had shirked their commitment to meditation in the past few weeks, which was something that would have actually helped. What Yang needed was someone who wouldn't probe where she didn't want them to, while still keeping a practical and realistic edge about the situation. A dose of somewhat distant, meaningful care that would help her to slowly come down from her rage, frustration, and sadness and focus on what good was left in her life.

Yang suddenly stopped as she was struck by a realization and took out her scroll. She flicked through her contacts to find who she was thinking of, and upon seeing the name, everything just felt right. The line rang only twice before the call connected.

"Blake?"

"Yang?" came the hesitant reply, followed by a labored yawn. "Are you…"

"I'm fine," Yang lied, realizing she couldn't exactly wipe her cheeks while she was holding her scroll. Instead, she opted to turn and continue walking down the path, looking for a way out or at least some sort of landmark. "I just… needed some time alone. Now, though, that time alone is just… getting kinda lonely."

"Yeah. I… know that feeling," Blake admitted. "Sometimes the idea of being alone is more appealing than actually being alone when you're upset..."

"Yeah…" Yang agreed before taking a deep breath and letting out a deflating sigh. "We haven't really talked much. You know, since… Beacon. Not one-on-one."

"I guess we haven't," Blake realized, sounding slightly more awake. There was a pause on the other end of the line alongside some rustling, suggesting that the faunus was making her way out of bed. "With global comms being down and all, we couldn't really keep up. Still… it doesn't feel great how we left things. I probably should've made a bigger effort to sit down with you in Mistral the first time, a-"

"This isn't about that," Yang interrupted as she leaned back into the wood of the park bench and looked up at the canopy of leaves. "We're all kinda fucked up inside, and Beacon hit us all differently. I called to check up on you, see how you've been, and… I feel like I need you right now."

"…you need me?" Blake asked hesitantly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I… miss you," Yang admitted as she closed her eyes, pausing to listen to the sounds of birds and insects around her for a moment. "We've been back together for a few days now, but I mean… I miss just talking to you, alone, and being around you when it's just us. I think it was good for both of us, back in the old days. I also think we could both use someone to vent to that we've known for a while. I'm… not okay, Blake. With Ruby."

"…me neither," Blake admitted. "But I'm not about to complain when she was your sister. It doesn't feel right to draw attention to myself over it, unless it's just Sun and I."

"And that's fucked up," Yang warned. "It shouldn't be that way among friends, especially when I'm sure you're still feeling it over your dad."

There was a barely audible noise of frustration from Blake's end, followed by a pause that lasted just long for Yang to wonder if she had said something she shouldn't have.

"…yeah. Sun has been a big help with that, but it's still… it doesn't feel real."

"I can't even imagine," Yang consoled, softening her voice. "But with Ruby… when we were up in Atlas, the Aces started becoming our friends and kinda mentors, I guess? We all did a few patrols and small missions with some of them, and Jaune got partnered up with Elm. Apparently, the Aces lost a member they cared a lot about. Their leader. Guy by the name of Vine. Clover was there when he died. Harriet was really close with him, and it fucked her up bad. Elm just outright refused to deal with her feelings about it at all, Harriet kept it all in and lashed out at people when it was brought up, and all that among other things led to the entire group becoming fractured and hostile to each other once Marrow came along. I don't want that to happen to us over Ruby. I need help, Blake. We can't afford to be like that. I can't afford to be like that, and today… that's what I started doing to all of you. Maybe not to the same degree that Harriet and Elm did to their team, but I can see patterns forming."

"You wouldn't let it get to that point," Blake reassured. "You always call us out on our shit when one of us starts acting up, and the fact that you're calling me now shows that you're too self-aware to let anything like that happen. Have you talked to Jaune about this?"

"Not yet," Yang answered as she pulled herself back up into a sitting position and let out a sigh. "Our relationship… it's not really focused on stuff like that right now. I think he wants it to be, but… I don't know, I kinda like things being so simple. I need him as an outlet of a different kind, and I know how fucked up that sounds. I'm sorry, but it's true. I don't want super heavy emotional shit getting in the way when things between him and me and Corsac are otherwise so good right now."

There was another pause, and Yang could practically hear the gears turning in her friend's head.

"So… the three of you really are…"

"Jaune and I are fucking," Yang confirmed outright. "A lot. It's fun, it's helping us both out, and… yeah, we talk about things and it is more than just that, but… listen, I don't know how to explain myself. I care about him a lot. I trust him. But the way he processes things and reacts to them and sympathizes… it's just not what I need right now. Corsac and I are… we're getting there. We haven't done anything physical yet, but we've got an emotional connection that's totally unique to the two of us. Corsac and Jaune have one too, and they might be having sex with each other? It's complicated. I don't want to make it more complicated by bringing my feelings about Ruby into it right now while we're trying to navigate the three of us becoming a unit. That's part of why I feel like you and I need to reconnect. I want my team back in my life, full-time. Team RWBY."

"I do, too," Blake agreed. "Yang, I just need to know… you and Jaune and Corsac, are you… happy? With the whole situation?"

"Yeah," Yang answered immediately. "I know it probably sounds fucked from an outside perspective, but… yeah. I really am. I will talk it out with them soon, solidify everything, and… let them know how I feel about Ruby, but I need to figure it out for myself, first. I need your help, Blake."

"You gave up an arm to protect me," Blake pointed out. "Of course I'm going to be there for you. Where are you right now?"

"That is… a great fucking question," Yang answered as she stood up and turned in a circle, looking for any sort of landmark. "I'm on a bench in some kind of public nature reserve or some shit. Maybe a national park?"

Blake paused.

"That is… so wildly unhelpful. Share your location? I'll come to you."

Yang brought her scroll down in front of herself and began fiddling with the settings, enabling the speaker as she worked to follow Blake's instructions.

"You really don't have to come all the way out here for me…"

"Yes, I do," Blake protested. "I think we could both use a hug right about now. You're one of my best friends, Yang, even if I don't always act like it. Sun's been helping me to be more… open and honest with how I feel about everything. So, consider this me being honest about us. And Weiss. Maybe we can call her when I get there?"

"Maybe we can," Yang considered as she returned to her bench. "It's been too long since we've really felt like a functional team. Not entirely our fault, but… we used to be a big deal on campus. We used to turn heads and stir up trouble, have fun, take on missions way above our level and somehow come out on the other side looking like fucking badasses…"

"You're still a big deal to me, Yang," Blake offered. "You always will be."

Author's Note:

Better strengthen the teams again before the final battle…

-RD