Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 10 years, Level 10

"DAD!" Yang called up the stairs "WE'RE OUT OF ZIPPERS AGAIN!"

"How, it thought we just picked up a dozen at the start of the month." Tai came down to see his blonde daughter with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had out her sewing kit with several shirts and capes strewn around the living room.

"First, it was ten," Yang responded pulling a needle from the pincushion on her wrist and began sewing a small tear in one of Ruby's capes. She had taken over sewing duty from her father over the past year. Partly to take some of the work from her father… Mostly because he was terrible at it. Surprising, considering how often it needed to be done. Beyond all of the usual wear and tear on clothing of kids and a huntsman, they needed to alter every shirt they got for Lenore. "But we also got those a shirt and winter coat. Between that, the one that broke on floral print blouse and… the one Rubes tried to sew on to her cape to be a ghost…

"Ruby…" Tai sighed "And I suppose it can't be salvaged…"

"She managed to put the PLASTIC needle through the METAL bracket." Yang tossed him the destroyed zipper from the trash. True enough, several punctures could be seen metal teeth of the zipper. "She lucky I could save the cape."

"Alright, I'll add it to Lenore's list." Tai whipped out his scroll and typed. "She should be back tomorrow."

Chores had fallen rather naturally. Tai would prepare a light breakfast for the family before he'd leave for work in the morning. Yang would handle any yard work and tailoring, as well as doing any prep work needed for her Father to cook dinner when he'd get in.

Lenore would take care of shopping when she was on her way back from her wandering. Her flight and storage abilities made it a no-brainer, but what hadn't been anticipated was the sizable drop in food spending. It had taken some time for figure out why, but Lenore had taken up couponing. She would spend time during her travel to pick up discarded periodicals in search of useful ones and shop all across the kingdom. She said she didn't care, but Tai thought she secretly enjoyed the little puzzle she had created for herself.

Ruby was left with cleaning the interior of the house… however, she had somehow managed to avoid inheriting domestic skills from either of her parents. Tai had once come home to find the vacuum hanging upside down from the drapes with Ruby attempting to free her shoelaces from the ceiling fan with a ladle… he'd decided it was best not to ask how it had occurred. He just made sure Yang new to check on her every half hour or so...

"Anything else?" He was about to send the updated list.

"COOKIES!" Ruby shouted down from upstairs.

"Even if you say not too, Lenore always sneaks some extra for her," Yang smirks at her father. "Can't think of anything, but maybe she could pick up some food from Vacuo."

"She's not in Vacuo…" Tai paused "She better not be in Vacuo… AGAIN!"

Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 11 years, Level 10

"Lenore!" Ruby shouted, jumping up and down on the roof. She was waving her arms wildly to get the older girl's attention as she landed. "Don't say anything! Use your semblance."

Lenore was surprised at the girls over the top enthusiasm… not that it was out of the ordinary… she was never truly prepared for it.

Ruby Rose, Female Human, Age: 8 years, Level 4

"You…" Lenore felt something run down her cheek. "... changed your name…"

"Yeah…" Ruby scratched the back of her head. "I… kinda wanted to do something to honor her memory. Dad said you had met her, right?"

"I did…" Lenore sat down on the edge of the roof. "She… seemed kind."

"She was… I don't remember her that much, but she was" Ruby took her place next to her sister, wrapping herself in the warm wing. "Do… you think she'd like it."

"I'm not sure… I'm not very good at understanding people…" Ruby giggled at her sister's obvious admission. "But I do know you and I know that you are very kind as well."

"Thanks, Lenore." Ruby hopped off the roof landing perfectly despite the height… "I'm gonna grow up to be just like her."

Lenore sat in silence for some time after Ruby had returned inside. "Hopefully, as she was… not as she is."

Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 11 years, Level 10

"Lenore, look at these!" Ruby ran up to the older girl with a bouquet of flowers in hand. The flowers were yellow at the center surrounded by black petals that became red near the tips. "It's us!"

Lenore took one of the flowers and gently rolled the stem in her finger.

"Wow, Ruby really…" Yang walked up with a familiar wide grin on her face. "ROSE...to the occasion! Huh… huh?"

Ruby groaned… but she knew it wasn't over…

"Oh, when she used rose…" Lenore explained, "She was referring to the flower, your name and the fact that you accomplished something."

"Gah…" Ruby pulled at her hair, Yang's puns were bad enough… but Lenore had, for some reason, picked up the habit of explaining EACH and EVERY one… "WHY! Why do you never run out of these!"

"If I said it was easy, I'd be…" Yang's grin grew wider "DANDE-LYING!"

"This is killing me." Ruby dropped to her knees.

"She used dandelion because the end sounds similar to 'lying'..." Lenore tilted her head "I don't believe that words will be fatal…"

"It's an EXPRESSION, LENORE!" Ruby rolled into the fetal position, shouting at the two "How do you decode her puns but not understand THAT!?"

"Oh, come on. LEAVE her be!" Yang was doubled over laughing "I'm just trying to CHLORA-FILL time, I could keep going for FLOWERS!"

"I want new sisters…" Ruby moaned...

Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 12 years, Level 10

It was a rare occurrence that the entire family made trips into the city together. Between Tai's work a full-time teacher and part-time huntsman, Ruby and Yang's elementary school and training, and Lenore's travel… it was difficult to get free time together as a family.

"Shoot!" Tia scowled as he searched his pockets. "I think I left my wallet in the last store... Yang, could you run back…"

"It would make more sense for me to go." Lenore volunteered "I'll be the quickest."

"Well, if you're sure…" Tai hesitated slightly, Vale has had decent faunus relations but he always worried about Lenore walking alone… bet she was getting older. "Alright, we'll meet you back at the ferry. Come straight back, okay."

With a nod, Lenore took off towards the last shop. The rest began their walk towards the port when Yang turned back. "Hey, dad. I'm gonna go with Lenore, give her some company on the way back."

Lenore was walking her way back. Her Magpie's Nest was full from the day of shopping, so she had to carry the misplaced wallets. Unfortunately, she hadn't planned for this, meaning she needed to walk back.

Note… pockets from now on.

She had been walking for a few minutes when she felt something hit her aura. She turned her head tos see a group of three young people gathered behind her. Another strike… "That has to be the ugliest faunus I've ever seen. I mean they all are but seriously, look at…"

She shook her head. None of this was new, rather boring actually. The only useful information was the fact that their tiles said they were first years Signal Academy, the school Tai teaches at and Yang will be attending in the fall.

"Hey!" One shouted as she turned to leave. "That symbol! Isn't that Mr. Long's wallet!?"

"That filthy faunus is a pickpocket!" Another sneered as he cracked her knuckles "Let's teach her a lesson, maybe we can get some extra credit."

Lenore flipped the wallet into the air and caught it in her teeth. She was about to take off when a strong right cross breaks her aura, knocking her to the ground. "Holy crap, she's out of Aura already? Pathetic."

When Yang turned the corner, all she could see was red. In the alleyway across the street, two kids her age were standing on her sister's wings while a third was repeatedly kicking her in the ribs. In a single motion, she kicked off the sidewalk, shattering it in the process, and crashed into the first assailant!

In an instant, she had thrown four quick jabs sending the girl crashing into a dumpster. The one on her right reached for a sword, only to get an elbow to the face.

"Wait, you're… damn." The only one still standing turned and ran. Yang was about to follow when she heard her sister moan.

"Don't try to move, I'm here," Yang said, gently hugging her. She did her best to hide her tears from the older girl. "Big sis is going make sure everything is gonna be okay."

"Hey! What's going…" a dark-haired man rushed around the corner brandishing a metal club. Yang quickly moved herself between Lenore and the new arrival, who dropped the club and slowly approached. "Is there anything I can do?"

"My sister… she's hurt…" Yang fought to hide her distress from the half-conscious girl in her arms. "I… scroll…"

"Absolutely." the man held out his scroll. "Can you call someone, or do you want me to get an ambulance?"

"Our dad, he's waiting for us…" Yang rubbed the tears from her eyes. She was trying so hard to put on a brave face. "He's at the docks."

"My shop is right at the end of the block." The man motioned to a small shop not too far away. "If you want, you can wait for him inside."

Yang hesitated, she wouldn't normally trust a complete stranger… but this guy came armed to help her sister… most people had just walked past, but this guy… "Hey mister, you're okay with her being a faunus?"

"Of course," he smiled at the two girls. "I'm one too."

"Okay, thank you." Yang carefully lifted her sister onto her back only to notice a problem. "Geez, this is a lot harder without you folding up your wings…"

Lenore mumbled something incoherent as her sister carried her.

Tai rushed into through the door of the corner store, ignoring the closed sign on the door. The man within leads him to a back room where he saw his two daughters asleep on a small cot. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding and leaned up against the wall.

"Thanks… for helping them…" Tai sighed as he took a seat next to the store owner who passed him a cup of coffee. "I should've been there…"

"Hey, it may not be worth much coming from a complete stranger…" the shop owner sipped the coffee. "You can't be there every second, you just have to hope they can support each other when you can't."

The two sat in silence for a time before one would finally break it. "Name's Taiyang Xiao-long, you can call me Tai."

"Tukson," the two men shook hands. "So the kid back there is your adopted daughter?"

"Yeah, it's been almost five years." Tai smiled as he thought back to the girl who had become an irreplaceable part of their family. "She's lucky we found her… but we're just as lucky she found us."

"Your other daughter, she fell asleep before she could give me any names…" Tukson emptied his cup. "Would her name be Lenore?"

"Yeah…" Tai tensed slightly. "You… know her.

"Ha, who could forget a bird faunus who gets airsick." Tukson laughed as he poured a fresh cup for himself and his guest. "Not really. 'bout five years ago in Mistral, an associate of mine bought an orphan faunus to the airfield I was working and… persuaded me to bring her with me to Vale. She didn't really know Lenore either, had just met her earlier in the day… Did she ever wind up making it to Patch?"

"Yeah," Tai relaxed, he remembered that she had mentioned a few people had helped her get to Vale. "We actually live there."

"Well, I'm glad things worked out for her." Tukson smiled "Too bad I didn't find out sooner, Kali would have loved to see her, she and her husband went back to Menagerie a week or so ago."

"She's mentioned Kali, seems like a really good person. If you talk to her again, tell her thanks for me." Tai finished his coffee and lifted his daughters. "Thanks again, for the help and the coffee."

"Just glad she's got a good family behind her now." Tucson held the door, as Tai carried the sleeping children out. "Tell her if she ever needs anything, my door is open."

"Yang…" Lenore groaned. She was in pain and groggy, the last thing she remembered was Yang's eyes, not their usual calming lilac, but burning red.

"It's okay, Lenore. She's only sleeping." Tai looked down on his daughters. "Are you alright?"

"My vitality has dropped by one third and my Aura is depleted…" Lenore's gaze never left her sister. "I can feel a fractured rib and a sprain in my right shoulder…"

"Lenore… I'm so sorry…" Tai hugged her close as he boarded the small boat back to Patch. "I should have been there."

"I was… wrong…" Lenore had tears running down her face. "Yang warned me… but…"

"Shh, it's okay." Tai took a seat as the boat began to move. "Even the smartest people in the world make mistakes, but they learn from them."

"I did…" she pulled herself up to Tai's shoulder and hugged him. "I will try training again…"

"I'm glad to…" he was cut off when Lenore leaned over the side of the boat. With a terrible gurgle, she sent the remainder of her lunch to the sea. He smiled as he gently rubbed her back, focusing on the calm ocean.

Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 16 years, Level 10

Lenore collapsed onto her bed, it had been converted from a guest room not long after she arrived. Despite her not having little desire for possessions, her room was rather full. She had a locker at the end of her bed for all of her spare clothing and shelves on the wall for numerous storybooks that Ruby had purchased in their youth. Her desk was neatly ordered with three large binders in the corner, each containing every drawing and card Ruby and Yang had given her over the years. She reached into a low drawer and pulled out some scraps of brightly colored paper and gently flipped and folded them, it was… comforting. The gifts the Xiao-long Rose family, her family, gave her… each one was her treasure, wrapping paper included.

It had been a long and difficult day. She truly loathed combat training… it shortened her time exploring, she'd see her sister's hurt… and it somehow exhausted her… She'd fly for days on end with no difficulty but her muscles would ache after minutes of sparring with Yang…

She had improved, her self-identification made that clear. In the past several years, she had increased her physical status a great deal. Her Fighting was now a 6, Strength, a 4, Endurance, a 7… her strongest by far was her Agility, at 19. It made her adept in dealing several quick blows… that would hardly dent an opponent's aura. Her inability to harm her opponents combined with her, as Qrow would put it, unbelievably weak aura… made victory all but impossible.

Even Ruby, who had only truly been training for a year, could defeat her with relative ease. Her Fatal Feathers had gotten her a few early victories, but now, she was lucky if she would land a single strike…

Further widening the gap was the fact that both of her sisters had managed to unlock their Semblances. Although they were never used during training, the knowledge that even her victory would be meaningless… made her question the point of continuing.

"Lenore…" Ruby knocked gently on the open door. "Can I come in?"

"Not now…" Lenore turned her head away. She knew if the young girl tried, she could get her way with a look. "I would just… like some time alone…"

"You're lying." Ruby's voice came through the door. "You can't stand being lonely… please…"

Lenore didn't answer, instead, she just lifted her wing. Without missing a beat, Ruby rushed from the door and dove beneath her favorite blanket and snuggled up against her sister. "Tough day?"

No answer…

"We know you don't like fighting..." Ruby whispered. "But you keep trying… You try so hard…"

Still nothing…

"You don't want to be a Huntress, you don't want to be a hero…" Ruby continued, pulling herself from her comfy cover. "You just want us to know your safe…"

Lenore sat up once she lost the warmth at her side. She saw Ruby carrying a long red box with a yellow ribbon. The younger girl carried it over to the bed and placed it down next to Lenore. "I hope you like it, I worked really hard on it…"

"Ruby…" Lenore felt tears running down her face. She hated this… tears… they would come out at the most inconvenient of times…

"Geez, sis... " Ruby couldn't help but laugh… she always got so emotional over gifts, no matter how small. "Ya, haven't even opened it yet."

Lenore tugged the bow, gently folding it and placing it to the side. Next, she took her claw and carefully cut the tape holding the paper together and slowly unwrapped the box. She took the paper and began to fold it when her sister groaned. "LENORE! OPEN THE BOX!"

Ruby's outburst caused Lenore to recoil back. She understood that what her sister wished to give her was WITHIN the box but she couldn't help it. She found a small amount of amusement in her sister's extreme reaction, causing her to slow down slightly. Ruby was shaking as Lenore lifted the lid.

A pair of knee-high boots, black at the top becoming silver steel as it reached the foot. Running up the opposite sides of each boot was an odd outcropping, hollow with several rounded recesses within. The front area that would cover the shin was reinforced, almost armored, with thin metal scales. The metal covering on the toe and heel had odd separations as if they were meant to move. What surprised her the most though was the weight, they were light… almost lighter than her normal boots. Stamped on the back, just above the ankle, was, a tiny rose… Ruby's symbol. She had obviously used a great deal of her free time making these.

Lenore reached out and pulled her sister into a hug. She struggled to get the correct words, but she had learned that hugs would portray the intended response. "Thank you."

"You haven't seen the best part!" Ruby was practically shouting. "Put um on!"

"How…" as Lenore pulled the shoes on, an odd thought crossed her mind… "These fit...very well…"

"You can be a really heavy sleeper." Ruby ignored her sister's confusion as she checked to make sure each buckle was properly fitted. Once she was satisfied she stat Lenore on the side of the bed. "Now… It should work by you doing what feels natural… Try… flicking out your toes."

Lenore was perplexed by the strange request but listened all the same. Near instantly, a trio of razor-sharp claws folded out from the front of the boot while a fourth jutted out from the back. Ruby was correct, moving each claw felt… right.

"How does it feel? Do receiver switches chafe? Are the buckles too tight…" Ruby questioned nearly every aspect of the weapon's design. "Do you like it?"

"Ruby… it feels… like…" Lenore couldn't describe it. It was similar to when she attempted to describe flight, something so natural it didn't require thought. "...they were always there…"

"I'm glad… those tonfa dad made…they're good weapons..." Ruby hesitated "But I don't think they would ever be right for you."

"I agree…" Lenore looked at her former weapons she had left on the side of her bed. Despite all the work her father had done… they never seemed… to fit properly in her claws. They would feel fine for a time but inevitably… they would feel wrong.

With another flick, the front talons moved together to form a single blade jutting directly forward. Another caused the claws to return but with a soft rubber coating on the interior.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. I thought I'd need to tell you how to change modes…" Ruby watched as her sister quickly cycled through the different forms. "The slot on the side is for dust grenades. I couldn't think of a way to work a gun in… so I figured a bombardment would be the next best thing."

"Ruby…" Lenore retracted her claws. "Thank you."

"I'm just glad you like her." Ruby hopped off the bed and made for the door.

"Her?" Lenore was confused "I was unaware that boots had sexes…"

"No... Lenore…" Ruby smacked her forehead. "It's… our weapons are more than tools… they're like our aura, extensions of ourselves. It wouldn't be right to just treat them like… things."

"I will do my best to treat… her… with the respect, you would…" Lenore responded as the boots disappeared.

Midnight Dreary stored in Magpie's Nest: 13/20

Break AN: So... I'm not 100% happy with the next mini story... In fact it's the reason this chapter is a bit late. I've been flipfloping on deleting it for a solid hour today and it HAS been deleted several times during the week. I feel like i can't end these on a complete downer so.. if anyone has strong feelings like i should get rid of this one or not... let me know and i'll take it into consideration. I'll delete the AN next week either way.

Lenore Xiao-Long, Female Lenore, Age: 17 years, Level 10

"Yang…" Ruby walked into the living room where her two older sisters were sitting. Lenore was focused on the video game she 'didn't really care for' while yang polished her twin gauntlets, Ember Celica. She swayed nervously as she gained her sister's attention. "Could you… come with me to the city tomorrow..."

"If you need something from Vale." Lenore pulled herself away from her game momentarily. "I could go get it."

"NO! I mean...uh…" Ruby practically jumped. "I… you are in the middle of your game… I wouldn' want to interrupt…"

"Rubes…" Yang raised an eyebrow at the younger girl's odd demeanor. She placed her weapons on the table and gave her sister her undivided attention. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah…" Ruby didn't make eye contact, instead focusing on counting the floorboards. "I just need…"

"Uh… What was that?" Yang asked. Ruby responded inaudibly again. "I can't help you if I don't know what you need…"

"Bras…" Ruby turned bright red. "I...I need… Dad said he'd… but I…"

"Sure, no problem." Yang smiled, returning to her gauntlets. "I needed to pick some up anyway."

"This was awkward…" Ruby collapsed into a nearby chair. "Probably a lot more than it needed to be…"

"Oh, absolutely." Yang laughed at her sister's misery.

"Lenore…" Ruby waited for one of the telltale signs that her sister was listening. "Do you want to come too?"

"No thank you." She barely looked away from her screen. "My undergarments still fit fine."

"Awe, don't worry about it, Sis." Yang replied with a big grin. "I'm sure yours'll grow soon."

"Why would I want that?" Lenore wasn't even looking at the other girl's horrified expression. "They're just added weight… It would just make me top heavy."

There was a long silence with Ruby looking back and forth between her two sisters. Lenore was completely oblivious to Yang's eye color change. What she did notice, was the distinct click of Yang's gauntlets shifting into combat form. Within seconds, Lenore was off the ground and through the door… closely followed by a very angry Yang.

AN: These are the last of my mini stories about Lenore's childhood with the Xiao-long/Rose family. I REALLY enjoyed writing them and hope you all enjoyed reading them. I am not sure if my next chapter will be ready to post next week, I hope it will be but if it isn't ready... I will not post it. INSTEAD I will post the chapter of my Pyrrha fic I mentioned a few chapters ago. Unfortunately... I don't know how often that will update, I've only got two chapters of it written (and the second still needs a little bit of work)... but I really want to focus on this. But Either way I think I'll be skipping 12/24 and 12/30. Not that I won't be writing but I need to... family those days so... I'll use that time to build a buffer of chapters. I hope to be through the Initiation within two chapters. I don't plan on just retelling the rwby story once i get there though... The 1st volume covers their ENTIRE semester there is plenty of room for shenanigans at that time. Honestly, the only story I plan on retelling is the Vol 1 finally. I have a plan for Badge and the Burden and Jaundice, but they won't be in heavy focus... Also... I can't wait to write Ozpin again... he is so fun to write. now for thoughts on each mini.

Chores

So, I actually wanted to write this one earlier but I couldn't work it into an actual chapter. Originally, I had Tai being the one sewing but... I thought giving Yang that trait might be more fun... Also... last week we found out Ruby can't cook that well... I swear I had this written before that. Also, Immagine trying to cloth someone with arms twice as long as long as they are tall, everything would need to be custom made... It would be a nightmare. On top of that, she can't do it herself... I want to try and make it clear that Lenore does care and tries to contribute in any way she can (also likes to spoil Ruby a bit). The Vacuo thing... My friend bought up it being a running gag after reading the last update... so i felt i needed to be used at least once more.

Name

This. This is what I was talking about. This is actually a bit of what I imagine happening in cannon. The name difference is DELIBERATE. It needs to be. This may not be the reason but... if we never find out why... i'll be a little p. ...

Pun-nished

So... Yang's puns... they are Lenore's fault. I thought about having them fly over Lenore's head... but that didn't seem funny or intersting. THis on the other hand... Having someone go around behind yang explaining every one of her puns... poor Ruby.

City Trip

So... this was a long time coming. I had this one planned for a bit. Tukson's return, a bit of news about Kali, Yang's Semblance (even if she didn't know) and... Lenore getting mugged... I originally had written a discussion with the Signal Headmaster and Tai written in but It didn't feel like a good ending for the chapter... so I cut. Just assume that those three got severe detentions and will NEVER show their face in Tai's class again...

Weapon

Like i said... Tonfa were NEVER going to be her weapon. Actually, from day one I had planned to have her with talon weapons. When you're flying the best thing to do is use the limbs closest to the ground to attack so claws are perfect. On top of that... of course Ruby would be the one to make them. The keeping the wrapping paper is actually based off of a family member of mine would keep it saying that it was part of the gift... Never to this extreme but it felt like something someone who never really had a family may react to receiving gifts with true love behind them. Originally there was a gag written in where Lenore tries to name it... names include, Stab, Claws, Stabby, Stabby-Claw-shoe... she is NOT good at it. I just decided Ruby learned her lesson from the transformation story.

Underwear

...I already said...