Thanks to reviewers: Knight7572, TheWick, dracohalo117, Kabalandstryker, Matt Cyr, ExKage, Guest 1, ByLanternLight, and Guest 2. I appreciate you all taking the time to share your thoughts.

Yang leaned over a hunched Ruby as they held thick paper cups up to the extra wide hospital room door and tried to listen in on the now silent voices inside. She faced one direction down the hall, holding her IV stand with one hand while Ruby faced the other direction. Both on the lookout for a wandering nurse who would order them back to bed and not caring that it was easier to stay awake standing up. Not to mention trying not to be caught eavesdropping by their teammates or hospital staff who could show up any moment.

"Yang?"

"Shh. I think I hear the ocean," the blonde whispered to her sister jokingly.

Ruby growled briefly, stopping long enough to slurp from a rich 'Strawberry Avalanche' milkshake in the second cup she was holding. "I'm serious, Yang. Should we stage an intervention? Last time Weiss and Blake had that tone Blake ran away."

Yang let out a sigh. They couldn't hear everything. Perhaps every third word, but their tone of voice was clear. "No… They needed to clear the air between them instead of tip toeing around…uh, where they come from. I think this is good for them."

Ruby, wearing her school uniform and missing her dirty red hood, looked up at her sister standing over her as they both continued to eavesdrop. Yang wore her pajama shirt and shorts underneath the sky blue hospital robe, the extra covering being most unusual for her. On the other hand the brawler's normal body heat was usually a lot higher than average thanks to her fiery semblance which was suppressed at the moment. Ruby could actually see evidence of goosebumps on the visible parts of her sister's arms where the IV ran up her sleeve.

Then there was the IV stand Yang held on to. Her grip was white knuckled as she leaned toward the door with the heavy paper cup held up to her ear. The bruise on her forehead and spreading into a black left eye had become more noticeable.

Yang noticed the shift in Ruby's attention. She reached down and mussed over the younger sister's dark red hair with the upturned cup she held, which was empty of the water she had been allowed earlier. Mostly.

"Yang!" Ruby whined, forgetting the need for stealth momentarily. She brushed the intrusive object away and the water droplets out of her hair.

The older sister smiled warmly. "Relax, Rrrubes. I'm just making sure I don't stumble with these meds in me. Remember the doc's orders? No more bouncing my head off the floor for at least three weeks?"

She raised her cup holding arm up in a heroic pose of achievement as Ruby scowled up at her sister's lightheartedness. Yang went back to listening for further sounds coming from Weiss' closed door. It sounded like someone finally walked out of the bathroom but forgot to flush the toilet.

"Ruby, you know me. Do you think I'm going to stand for earning a shaved head for some surgery if I can avoid it? This is all just a precaution."

Her baby sister went back to listening in on the now silent room behind the closed door, unconvinced. Fortunately Ruby's natural predisposition for being distracted by the next thought that came into her head had plenty to keep her from dwelling on any one worry for too long. Her worry over her other teammates. Not getting caught by her other teammates for snooping. Not being busted by the floor nurse for not keeping Yang in her boring room when the obvious solution was to watch over all her friends together, thus the snooping. That dance with the evil brain freeze ninja as she slurped her fantastic milkshake as she snooped. A strawberry milkshake. Strawberries. With fudge. Mmmmmm… so sleepy.

Yang smiled at the obvious signs Ruby's face went through. Glad her sister was too sleep deprived to dwell too much about the day. Of course she was also keeping a lot from Ruby. The brief talk with Blake earlier had alarmed the Faunus, adding to her partner's inner burden and Yang was determined to avoid doing the same to Ruby.

She wasn't worried about surgery. This wasn't the first time Yang had gotten hurt. Life happened and lively kids growing up in the outdoors tended to bounce off the ground a lot. Plus both sisters knew about 'Just In Case.' They grew up in a Huntsman's cabin out in the more remote regions of a woodland island that preserved its undeveloped nature. Which the sparse inland inhabitants just happened to share with the occasional roaming Beowolf pack or Boarbatusk herd that made their way toward the coastal fishing villages from the inner island mountains.

However, Ruby had also struggled with Yang being hurt in their early years. Her tiny four-year-old body snuggled up to big-sissy Yang in bed when she had fractured a leg, earned from jumping out of a tree while playing 'Huntress and Grimm' during recess. The little girl afraid her sissy would go bye-bye just like mommy went bye-bye.

Minute traces of that would probably always linger despite how much Ruby tried not to so that her sister wouldn't fuss about it. Now she had Weiss injured as well. Not to mention all those people who were still being brought in to the hospital as they were dug out of collapsed buildings. Thankfully Ruby was too focused on her team to turn on a broadcast and hear what the news had to say.

Yang made sure that happened. The private talk with Blake while Ruby was busy messing up the admittance forms with Weiss hadn't gone so well. Her thoughts became a bit slurred inside as the day progressed, and it took effort to keep it out of her voice. Yang had asked Blake to take care of Ruby but unfortunately worded things like she was reciting her last will and testament. Which, if Yang was honest with herself, wasn't far from the truth. Bad things had happened today. A reminder that Yang had faced certain death once before as a child and had nearly gotten Ruby killed along with herself.

Nor did Yang know why she was let go this morning on the train. That smug little twerp of a girl/woman/whatever had her and she hadn't stood a chance; toyed with as if a plaything during the entire fight. A guardian to a criminal that dealt with terrorists and murderers, not to mention had helped Grimm into the city with a carefree smile. Who actually prolonged the fight because Yang was that outmatched and couldn't see it. Not the sort to grant enemies quarter or clemency.

Neo could have tossed her unconscious body off the speeding train and into the Grimm while she had been helpless to do anything about it.

Yang closed her eyes tightly. Stupid mood swing. Stupid mania. First thing I 'see' waking up being my mom walking away from me again. And I was hurt too.

No. Even if she had stumbled through it, she was right to ask Blake to care for Ruby if something happened. Even if it was unlikely, she could still blow a blood vessel in her brain and Ruby would freak as the surgeons dug into her head to fix it. Yang couldn't even confide that she was unable to remember anyone's name. She could say their names, but couldn't recall them in her thoughts. A symptom the examining doctor said should clear up within the next twenty four hours as her nervous system began to rewire itself during the healing process. A serious symptom, but not by itself a sign of dangerous or lasting neurological damage. The momentary hallucination upon regaining consciousness was more worrisome, but understandable given the combined factors of prolonged fighting, lack of sleep, stress, the pressure of the overall situation, having suffered a head injury then reviving in an expected combat environment as well as Yang's psychological background.

Yeah. Heavy stuff tonight, Sis, she foggily and lovingly thought while looking down at her eavesdropping sister. Focusing on that love to keep her stress and blood pressure low. The love that Yang's adoptive mother had shown her and now passed on to Ruby through her. Pushing the symptomatic pull toward depression away.

*Sluuuuuurp*

Ruby neared the end of her last milkshake with her ear pressed up to the empty eavesdropping cup she held to the door. It was surprising the sound didn't echo down the hallway.

"Ruby!" Yang hissed instinctively, the name blocked from her mind but readily available to her tongue as she looked around for an alerted nurse or guard. "Don't slurp! Ice Queen can hear…uh- 'barnyard manners' a mile away!"

Sure enough came an icy voice through the closed door. "We could hear you two lurking out there like a pair of voyeurs, but now you are just insulting our intelligence. You may as well loiter in here where I can keep my eye on you two."

Ruby didn't hesitate, thrilled at being 'accepted' inside by her partner. She flung the door open and plunged inside in a blur and a cloud of manifesting rose pedals. "Weiss! I am so glad you are still okay! I was worried about you, but I was worried about Yang and about you and about Yang and you were in separate rooms and-"

Yang just smiled as Weiss' stern and tired voice drifted out of the dark room, halting Ruby's circular verbal rut before it became an everlasting feature that would haunt patients long into the future.

She walked in, pulling her IV stand behind her. The room was lighted solely by the overhead bed lamp illuminating a resting Weiss near the windowless far wall. An empty place for another bed with its assorted and hibernating recovery room paraphernalia gave the Heiress privacy and extra room for her unauthorized late night visitors.

Blake had been sitting in a folding chair next to the Heiress holding a book. The Faunus girl now had her feet up off the floor and was almost sitting on them; the book she held nearly implanted into her face as Ruby hovered over her partner on tip toes asking if Weiss felt okay. If she needed anything. Anything. Honestly, anything at all. It wouldn't be a problem. Unless it cost more than eighteen Lien because then it would be a problem and was all she had until the end of the month which was three weeks away-

"Ruby!" Weiss snapped. She lowered her voice back to a more friendly-for-Weiss volume. "There is something you can do for me. Something very important."

Ruby's eyes lit up as Yang walked in behind her and Blake decided it was safe enough to lower her feet back down to the floor. "Of course, Weiss! Do you need me to get your textbooks? But… you shouldn't study and let your head rest. Oh, I know! I can wash and iron your combat skirt. But… you all made that rule that I'm not allowed to iron anymore. Oooh!-"

"Ruby! I need quiet! So why don't you sit on that corner chair and get some sleep. You and Blake can take turns keeping watch over Yang and I. You have had less sleep than anyone and Blake just had four cups of coffee. I do not think anyone will mind if you go first."

Ruby slunk backward and stared at her toes, which she now tapped on the floor nervously. "You're right, Weiss. I should have thought of that. My team is hurt and I'm making you do the leader thinking when you should be resting. I'm not being a good leader right now, am I?"

Weiss looked over Ruby's shoulder at Blake and Yang, who looked back. It was mentioned that Ruby might blame herself. If she hadn't fallen through that sinkhole nothing about today would have happened. She and Yang wouldn't have been injured. Innocent civilians wouldn't have been hurt. However, none of that was Ruby's fault and it could easily have been worse had the attack taken place at a later date.

"Ruby, you were the best team leader we could have had today. Better than I would have been in that situation. You are just tired and concerned as a teammate right-"

"That's right!" Ruby exclaimed suddenly, pointing her finger into the air. "We need a party!"

Weiss just stared at her partner, jaw frozen in mid-speech. Clearly wondering which twilight zone that made up Ruby's disjointed brain this came out of.

Ruby's finger swung through the air like a sword which came to a stop before Blake as Yang took a seat in the aforementioned corner chair to watch the show.

"The school year is almost over and we haven't had a birthday party for either of you two yet! Quick! When is it?"

Blake's expression grew sheepish. "I don't celebrate my birthday. Not since I was six."

Ruby's own face became horrified. "You- you haven't had a birthday party in eleven years?"

Blake dropped her book as she suddenly found herself crushed by Ruby's speeding body and nearly fell backward to the floor along with the folding chair she had been sitting in. The young girl seemingly trying to envelop Blake in woeful hugs with her arms, legs and head. Her entire body in fact. As if she were some empathy predator pouncing on the prey of terrible sorrow and ingesting it through osmosis.

The Faunus girl wasn't sure how much to say to get Ruby to stop given they had been trying to listen in at some point and had been doing a poor job of it. Opening up once had been enough and something she didn't want to repeat.

"Ruby, you can let go." Blake kept her cool as she struggled to free her limbs in order to dislodge the foreign mass that was attached to her body. "I don't really care about my birthday. It's just another day for me."

This paradox seemed to be the magic incantation that would free Blake from the empathy monster. Ruby slowly removed herself and stood before Blake's chair. The Faunus recovered her book and ran a free hand through her hair as if checking that her black bow was still in place without appearing as if she was doing so.

She looked at Ruby, the other girl's eyes wide and disbelieving. Almost in shock. As if not having birthdays was the worst thing that could happen to a person. "Honestly, Ruby. My birthdays used to be signs that my mother was thinking of me. She was working hard every day so that one day she could show up at our door and take me back. But she died a long time ago and the- people- who took me in afterward had other priorities than dumb birthdays. You know. Like struggling every day against a prejudiced society so that we weren't treated as lower lifeforms and animals? To not be held down and exploited just because we look a little different? Silly birthdays don't matter much when you are just trying to survive. So I never bothered to tell anyone."

"So… when is it?" Ruby asked, clearly not going to accept dodging the question with a valid reason why a girl's birthday might not be a high priority.

Blake sighed and rolled her eyes. "Summer." She saw Ruby fold her arms and the determined expression in her face. "Moonfall. Is that good enough?"

Ruby seemed to accept this for she spun around to point her demanding finger at Weiss. "And you?"

Weiss just smiled. "Sorry, Ruby. Mine is in Moonfall as well. And in case it escaped your clearly impaired attention, they occur during summer vacation. It is quite alright. My birthday parties are part of my duty to my family and far more elaborate than what you can give me in a hospital room. Even though they are more about reminding high society of our exalted place above them and that we were important people rather than the fact that I was born-"

The Heiress quickly clasped her hands over her mouth. Slowly she lowered them back down. I really need to watch myself whenever I get a concussion in the future, she thought to herself. "It was fine," Weiss continued as if pretending she hadn't spoken the previous sentence. "My recital was the same day last year, so I was able to sing on stage before everyone during my birthday concert back in White Castle. It was an astounding success and Father was actually a little proud of my performance."

Ruby was now leaning on her elbows, grinding them into Weiss' bedding and giving the girl her full momentary attention as the forgotten cups she held were crushed against Ruby's cheeks. "Oooooh! Was it recorded? I want to see that. I bet it's uploaded somewhere. Quick! What day was it so I can look it up later!? Please-please-please-"

"What are you? A five year old? Stop begging!" Weiss snapped, eyeing the collapsing paper cups in Ruby's hands which were now smearing trace milkshake residue onto Ruby's face. "Everyone? New rule: Ruby is not allowed sugar while sleep deprived."

Then she sighed, holding the bridge of her nose and slightly shaking her head as a pair of silver eyes bored into her unblinkingly. Knowing Ruby wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted, but having gone without sleep for so long and running on a sugar high the girl's ability to focus her attention was clearly compromised even more than usual. She would forget about it when the next idea hooked her flitting awareness. Telling her would just save time while the result would be the same, as well as saving herself the extra stress on her bruised neurology. "Fine. It was held on the twenty second."

Ruby's unblinking eyes (or were they supersonic blinks?) brightened up as she looked upon Weiss, her chin propped up in her cardboard holding hands. Then she stood back with a slightly disappointed expression. "Aww. Both of your birthdays are so far away and during Summer Break and we won't be together to celebrate- Doesn't-matter-we'll-have-them-right-now-anyway-I'll-be-right-back!"

In a sudden flurry of rose pedals Ruby vanished from the room, leaving the now slowly closing door to indicate where she had vanished to. Plus the two empty and collapsed milkshake cups now littering Weiss' bed and threatening to possibly defile the Heiress' sheets with the remaining droplets within if she were to move in the slightest.

Weiss eyed the other two girls sitting within her hospital recovery room. She righteously folded her arms across her chest, unwilling to risk either soiling her sheets, lowering herself or asking the others to do so in cleaning up after the redhead like some maid and preferring to lecture Ruby when she came back. "Seriously. No more sugar to keep Ruby awake. I do not care if she wants to reward herself or not."

The white haired girl let out a deep sigh of surrendering to the inevitable. "I may as well call the nursing station and let them know Yang is moving in with me."

Blake rose from her chair, Yang eyeing her carefully hidden expression. The Faunus took a brief step to the Heiress' bed and collected the abandoned milkshake cups. "I'll just go throw these away."

Weiss watched her teammate as she exited the room with the used cups. "But there is a trashcan right there in the corner," she quietly commented while her teammates left her one by one.

Yang eyeballed the closing door with skepticism. Even with a mushy brain, Yang could tell something was up with Blake. "Maybe she just needs a bit of air. She was just engulfed by Ruby just now. You know how clingy Ruby can be when she forgets about the concept of personal space and how you and… Blake are… well… not." She turned to face Weiss. "You don't have to have the nurses move me in just for a few hours, you know. We'll get some good long sleep in the morning after the next… uh… head scan."

Weiss just turned her nose up as her arms remained crossed and choosing not to mentally comment on the education standards of Patch if it didn't go beyond words with two syllables. "Nonsense. The staff needs to know where you are at all times, Yang. I'm not the one in danger of a hematoma. If anything, we should all be in your room right now. Besides, with Ruby around you will probably be kept here anyways. It is better that the nurses don't have to hunt you down."

Ruby ran into Blake standing outside Weiss' room. Literally. Dodging those orderlies as she retrieved her things from Yang's room hadn't been easy. Okay, it was ridiculously easy. The haggard men had been rolling Yang's deserted bed out at the time and was momentarily puzzled by the sudden gust of wind that swept past them as she used her semblance to slide underneath, through the door, swipe her backpack and zoom back out along the ceiling as the orderlies' slow-motion heads turned around looking for the cause of the first gust. Then there was the Atlesian Knight guarding the intersection near the elevators and that enthralling call button begging the world to be pushed. That stretch of wall and several ceiling tiles now had dirty footprints marking them and the childish girl hoped the custodian wouldn't be too mad.

Blake caught Ruby for the second time that night, instinctively absorbing the collision on a hastily planted leg. Neither of the girls had been paying much attention to their surroundings.

"Oh, sorry Blake!" Ruby exclaimed in an almost whisper that echoed in the otherwise empty hallway just outside Weiss's door. She wore her backpack and held her arms close to her chest protectively. "I wasn't watching where I was going because I think Yang is being moved and I was thinking about sugar too and how I'm not much of a Dust user like Weiss is, but I am a big sugar user and how great it would be if I could use sugar like other people use Dust-"

"Ruby? Breathe," Blake interrupted as she separated herself from Ruby and held her up as the other girl regained her balance. The redhead almost seemed to vibrate in her hands even at rest. Actually given Ruby's speed semblance, the accelerated heft in using that enormous Sniper-Scythe the girl trained with, as well as imitating a vacuum cleaner if cookies were present, the sugar hypothesis wasn't all that far-fetched.

Her fellow Huntress-in-Training took a deep breath and plunged forward as if she hadn't stopped speaking. "-any way I'm really sorry.-Oh gosh, you look mad.-Are you mad?-Did you have fight with Weiss?-Please don't be mad at her.-She's come so far and I've seen her making an effort to say 'hi' to Velvet-And I know you had to deal with a lot of silly people things that I don't really understand what difference-"

Blake closed her eyes briefly as she leaned up against the wall. Maybe allowing the extra sprinkles and super fudge swirl in those strawberry milkshakes Ruby had ordered on the way back to the hospital hadn't been such a good idea. If that hadn't been, the other two milkshakes consumed in the air taxi Professor Ozpin had called for them certainly was. However, as ridiculous as the idea had been, Ruby had been insistent on not being mistaken as a 'caffeine smuggler' by the glaring security guard who had been eyeing them as they had left for Beacon to gather their overnight necessities. Of course, why she would think coffee would cause problems while milkshakes wouldn't was a mystery.

She took a breath to interrupt Ruby again before the sugar hyped girl could suffocate herself by forgetting to breathe between sentences.

"Ruby," Blake quietly spoke. The other girl went silent, waiting expectantly with shining silver eyes. "It's really okay. I'm not angry at Weiss. I'm angry for Weiss. For… all the… for treating her like something they- Never mind. I just needed a moment."

"Blake, is this about what you and Weiss were talking about? Because Yang said talking was a good thing. But we didn't hear much! I swear! Just something about Weiss's old friends were bad friends and you didn't have any family-"

"She has scars, Ruby," Blake simply stated in a gloomy, whispered voice. "Several of them. She keeps most of them secret because her family drilled it into her head that having them is… a shameful embarrassment to the Schnee name. Just because some other self-righteous-" The Faunus caught herself before she used a word that could hint at what she believed. "-idiot might say something that- Uh. Never mind."

"Is this about her tushie mark?" Ruby asked in an equal whisper. Blake nodded. "I know Weiss gets after me a lot for not having all that sophista-ma-kated stuff she did with fancy tutors and everything. But I'm not stupid either. Patch isn't tame like Vale is, and us locals like to joke that fancy people who think they know things visit so that the animals won't starve during the winter. Yang and I both know a scar when we see one."

Blake looked down at the shorter leader, clearing the indignation from her vision as Ruby spoke. "Back at Signal they showed us a lot of pictures in health class and we had both Faunus and Human kids. I know humans can be born with tails too, but they are not the same at all. They are vesti- vistagle- uh-"

"Vestigial?"

Ruby's eyes shined with appreciation. "Yeah, that. They can be ugly and warped and they can get hurt easy and-"

"I know that," Blake quietly interrupted. "I had a couple too." The girl raised up her left arm and rolled it on its side, displaying her wrist.

Ruby glanced only briefly. "Yeah. They taught us Faunus can have a lot higher chances of those sort of things than a human does. I suppose with Weiss being from a fancy shmancy family it would be real trouble for her."

"But those people-" Blake reached up to point at her black bow. "Ruby, how would you feel if someone cut these off just to shield themselves from having to deal with what I am?'"

Ruby's warm, innocent and friendly eyes looked up into her own. "Blake, that would be horrible and we would stop them. All of us, including Weiss. I wish you would let them out at least in our dorm, and I know Yang feels the same. It should be your home where you don't have to hide and a place to run to. Not away from." She said the words with her naive, child-like love. Without a trace of anger. "I may not understand like you do, but do I know seeing that meant something different for you than her. And I didn't say trouble for the grown-ups. I said trouble for Weiss, and it sounded like the people that got invited to her house weren't nice people. Plus Weiss makes such a big deal out of being perfect all the time. So if Weiss needs it to be a birthmark? Then it's a birthmark, because she is our teammate and we care about her and don't want her to be hurt."

Blake leaned back against the wall, nodding her head with closed eyes. Letting the angry feelings release themselves away from her inner self. At least for now. "You are a lot smarter than Weiss gives you credit for, Ruby."

The other girl just rolled her head back with a laughing snort. "Naw. Things are pretty simple, really. It's always people that insist it is more complicated than it has to be."

Blake nodded, not in agreement, but in appreciating the value of seeing the world through Ruby's simple eyes.

Something dropped out of Ruby's arms and rolled across the thickly waxed and shiny floor. A cupcake from the hospital cafeteria with white frosting and wrapped in a thin blue napkin.

Ruby dove at it, both of her arms still protecting other hidden objects held up to the blouse of her school uniform. "Five second rule!" she cried as her body, weighed down by the backpack she wore, thumped to heavily to the floor.

Okay. Maybe not that simple, Blake thought, hoping Ruby had brought more than one uniform to change into. Four Strawberry Aftershock milkshakes had definitely been too many.

Strapped in by the five-point safety harness, Winter pushed her flight couch away from the pilot's controls at the front of her airship's cockpit. The complex navigation systems had been programmed and now assumed control of the craft for the first leg of what would be an equally complex flight plan to be regularly recalculated along the way. Her ship's modular cargo section was overloaded with large metal casks full of atomized Burn and Ice Dust, her ship's piping precisely mixing them and channeling the jet of superheated steam through various thrusters for extra speed. Not to mention the Lightning Crystals plugged into the power grid and enhancing the grav-alloy propulsion vanes. In fact, she had required disposable Rocket Assisted Take-Off pods just to get airborne due to being overweight with volatile propellant dust. Even now most of the extra power to the four slender vanes reaching along her main fuselage was dedicated to keeping her aloft.

The long banners that normally trailed behind those propulsion vanes had been retracted to reduce drag. Impressively decorated as a display, they actually also served to triple the apparent length of her airship for electronic or Grimm eyes seeking out something to tear from the sky. Not that the Atlas Military would ever tell anyone of course. If she crossed paths with a Giant Nevermore, piloting what amounted to a flying bomb without visual countermeasures would prove… interesting.

Especially since Remnant's long distance airships were not designed primarily for speed but survival. In a world populated with both terrestrial and aerial species of Grimm, airship hulls traveling between the kingdoms weren't going to be made using flimsy sheet metal like a civilian's town car. Burning dust at a phenomenal rate that would push even her airship's engineering tolerances throughout the flight to Vale and flying at high altitude seeking the trade winds of late spring, the vessel was only reaching airspeeds a bit over fifty knots. Three times the velocity of what her vessel would normally be cruising at for twelve times the burn rate of propellant. Technically the vessel could triple that speed even in level flight, but not without being stranded before reaching a refueling point or overheating vital components by running them flat out for days on end. Not to mention those gravity vanes could only keep so much mass aloft, even overcharged as they were.

Over five months' worth of normal energy consumption would only result in the travel time being reduced by a factor of three and a half. However, following General Ironwood's order, Winter would reach Vale in a few days instead of two weeks as Vale's Breach investigation could not wait.

This suited Winter just fine.

Using the multitude of electronic instrumentation that crowded the space usually meant for a crew of three, the woman pulled herself along to the communications panel immediately behind and to the left of the pilot's position. The heavily padded chair sliding along the guide rails sunk into the flight deck with Atlas manufactured precision and efficiency; allowing mobility within the cabin without the pilot removing her safety restraints and climbing over permanently fitted seats.

Winter manipulated the control surfaces while critically eyeing the displays. After several bureaucratic transfers through the various departments once the transmission connected, a gruff female voice projecting from the cabin speakers took the call and put her on hold. Too much time seemed to elapse.

The voice finally returned. "Ms. Schnee?"

"Yes," Winter replied crisply as she eyed the readings before her. Signal strength and bandwidth was slowly ebbing away as she was nearing the outermost range that even her equipment could transmit to the CCTS tower in Atlas. Voice only due to both the transmission limitations and that of the technology a hospital's nursing staff would be using.

"Your sister says she will accept your call. However, since legal is only permitting this due to doctor's orders for chemically induced insomnia, you will need to keep it brief and not disturb her rest."

"I understand. I will instruct my lawyer to officially forward my most sincere gratitude, and will of course avoid causing any disturbance."

There was the typical sounds of the call being transferred yet again before a familiar and excited voice came through. "Winter?" The tone dropped to a formal one as if the speaker was remembering her manners. "I was not expecting you to call at such a late hour. I am appreciative that you have taken upon yourself the inconvenience to do so."

Winter spoke in an equally formal tone. "It has been no inconvenience at all, dear sister. General Ironwood informed me earlier about your injury and I been in contact with our legal representative since then. Are you well?"

"I will recover soon," Weiss replied, her voice tinny over what must be the hospital room's intercom system since Scrolls were not permitted to broadcast any signal within such buildings. "The doctor says I simply need to rest and let myself recuperate once they clear us from observation-"

"Oh-my-gosh! This that your sister? Hi Weiss' sister! What was your name? Oh right, Winter. Hi, Winter! Don't worry, we'll take good care of Weiss and make sure she doesn't do her schoolwork like the doctors said- HEY!"

"Ruby!" Weiss' raised voice carried through the connection. "Sorry about that, Winter. Ruby is… just excited about observing our birthday early for no reason. I promise that I will not allow my minor convalescence –Ruby, I am talking about you here- interfere with my training. Hey! Did that cupcake fall on the floor? No, don't eat it! What, were you raised in a- You know what? Don't answer that. You shouldn't be having any more sugar anyway! I thought we made a rule about that!"

Another voice, this one spirited and more distant sounding, filtered through the commotion. "Actually, you made the rule, like… uh, ten minutes ago. We didn't actually agree to it."

A fourth voice came through the airship's speakers. This one more calm and reserved. "Yang, for the moment Weiss has a point. Ruby is going to start vibrating through the floor if she eats any more, and she needs sleep more than I do."

Winter spoke up in the momentary lull, forcing herself to not become distracted. "Weiss?" She said in a warning tone. "You are supposed to be resting and yet it sounds as if you are having a party!?"

The first unfamiliar voice spoke up. "Oh, it's okay, Ms. Winter, ma'am. The party hasn't even started yet."

"RUBY!" Weiss nearly screeched the name. "Stop trying to help! Sorry about that, Winter. It's just a bit of a commotion right now with Yang moving in. They will settle down in a minute. I promise. You hear that Ruby? I promised my sister, and if you don't settle down I will organize a much needed food plan for you once I am thinking clearly because I will not condone this sort of behavior! Omph-"

The voice belonging to this- so far unimpressive- 'leader' suddenly was very close to the intercom receiver and speaking very fast. "You're right, Weiss. You are my friend and you come first. Well, after Yang because she is my sister. But your my partner and my bestest friend forever! Ack! You're trying to talk to your sister! Someone shut me up!"

There was some ruffling of fabric. Weiss was speaking. "Okay, Ruby. I forgive you. If you stop trying to gag yourself with MY bedsheets and let... GO!"

The fourth voice, neither belonging to Weiss, Ruby nor the one identified as Yang, spoke up. "Come here, Ruby. You wanted to figure out how to show us those home movies on Yang's Scroll without breaking hospital rules. Right?"

There was some more shuffling and the distasteful chaos died away. Weiss resumed the conversation. "I do apologize for all the turmoil, Winter. I think in her own way Ruby has been trying to cheer us up after the day we've had. She actually is… somewhat adequate in looking after our team when she remembers to slow down. She just does it in an annoying way."

Winter finally had a chance to speak. However she found herself almost speechless for numerous reasons. "I… see. I wanted to check in on you and let you know my ship will be making a layover for some necessary servicing in Vale within the next few days. From what I have learned after Professor Ozpin's conversation I had tonight, you have left out many important details in your correspondence."

Weiss' dejected tone came through loud and clear. "Yes, Winter."

The woman let out a silent sigh. "I expect a progress report from you once I arrive. Nevertheless, I do look forward to spending a full day of family time with you and meeting your… comrades."

The young girl's voice skyrocketed with joyful hope. "Really? An entire day?"

Winter smiled, knowing how much Weiss revered her. "The overhaul will take several days at least. Perhaps I can even apply for some leave from my duties during my stay."

"Oh, Winter!" Weiss' transmitted voice revealed that her blue eyes were sparkling with joy even from nearly five thousand miles away. "That would be wonderful!"

"I am satisfied that you are happy, Weiss," Winter truthfully stated and even allowing a slight display of warmth creep in to her speech. "I have to go now. I will not be in communication range for much longer."

They said their farewells and the woman cut off the transmission.

Winter felt too many emotions and closed her eyes to process them quickly. Weiss sounded both annoyed and happier than she had ever been in Atlas. Even healthy in spirit as a young girl should. Surrounded by friends. Actual friends instead of all those self-serving pretenders attending the family's biannual galas. Even to her ears, this Ruby's statement held only the simple ring of truth. A fact as sure as snow was cold. You are my friend and you come first.

Then came guilt. First. Even as important as Ruby's own blood sister. Not even Winter herself had been able to put Weiss first. Not like a child deserved. She hadn't had that luxury. Now Weiss was experiencing people who cared about her as much as the manner in which they did so might vex the young heiress. And according to General Ironwood, willing to fight at Weiss' side and Weiss at theirs. At least one person willing to face danger to save her. Then there was the trepidation of Weiss going after the White Fang herself and had required saving.

On top of all that was the fourth voice. One that held out an agonizing hope too good to be true.

Winter steeled her soul, not allowing what she had heard to have any effect on her emotions. That fourth voice could still be anyone, she told herself. It might have not even been the subject. Highly improbable that it was a nurse, but possible.

Calling the girl 'subject' helped in keeping herself centered. Telling herself what she didn't really believe was the case kept her objective.

With deliberate purpose Winter unfastened her restraints and left the cockpit cabin. It was a short distance to her quarters. Simply beyond the cockpit door, down a small set of stairs and a right turn as the rest of the vessel was devoted to equipment, consumables and mission related modules. Once inside she walked over to her bed and knelt at the foot where her personal foot locker was clamped to the deck. Unlike most of the other furnishings, as fine as they may be, this one was of the most exquisite quality. Handmade and carved of the finest Mahogany wood and elegant silver trim, yet lacking the famous Schnee snowflake. Even though the locker had retracted wheels for easy transport and an electronic locking mechanism normally associated with the military, this one object in the compartment was alone in stating "Don't breathe deeply because your great-grandchildren will be paying damages if you break something."

Carefully, the woman released the latches and lifted the polished lid. Inside lay several sets of uniforms, toiletry and weapon maintenance items, and other personal necessities. All arranged with academy precision and neatness. Winter began to remove them one by one until the rich wooden chest appeared to be empty. With near reverential attentiveness she lifted an improvised yet unsuspecting panel that divided the trunk into upper and lower sections. Safeguarding the meaningful objects underneath and allowing Winter to quietly take them wherever her duties sent her.

At the bottom and exposed to light for the first time in so long were seven small objects. Six of those had suffered fire damage. Some quite significantly. The seventh still pristine within its paper wrapping. Under those were a thin stack of yellowed papers bound by the black ribbon of mourning, worn and faded with time, as well as a few bound volumes. Winter focused on planning the task ahead. She would need to gain the trust of that subject most of all and whom would be the most wary. Unimportant to her mission, yet incredibly important to Winter, was that there was only one plausible way to know if the girl was an imposter or not. If the girl was not who she claimed she was Winter had to be prepared to gain her trust, wring all the information she had out of her, and then harshly expose and destroy the girl in righteous retribution. Yet if she was… no, Winter had to be detached and objective in her planning. Methodical. Dispassionate.

The uniformed woman rose up and paced to the cupboards over the stowed kitchenette space. Unlocking the doors, she removed several clear bags and secured the cabinet's surface. After kneeling before the trunk once again Winter carefully, oh so carefully, placed each object into one of those bags and sealed it. All the while making effort to prevent her hands from shaking. The faintest smell of fire eleven years past wafting through the air as the tokens were disturbed after their long rest.

After everything was secured once more Winter stepped away and sat down at the work desk occupying her quarters. Knowing she would be unable to sleep for quite some time and having six hours before contacting the first cruiser by which she could arrange a mid-air refueling, the woman began to organize for her upcoming task. With renewed focus and determination she began to type on the holographic surface. Either way, Winter would be prepared to do whatever was necessary. She was a soldier after all.

Weiss stood before Yang's bed clutching her IV stand in the dim light. In her other hand she held a different white cupcake, the other one having been thrown away to preserve Ruby's dignity as a human being. Before her Yang lay nestled under her disheveled blanket and wearing a slight smile. The motorized frame propping the blonde brawler up into a relaxed sitting position. Ruby, now dressed in her pajamas, sat on the bed as well; her back to the wall bordering the bathroom with her legs draped across her sister's lap. An excited gleam shined in Ruby's eyes as she clutched the backpack in her arms. Blake sat at the foot of the bed having not elected to change out of her own school uniform, her own legs tucked to the side and leaning her weight on one arm arching over Yang's covered ankles. Both Yang and Blake also held their own day old snacks.

"Come on, Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed in a loud whisper and patting the bedding between herself and Blake. "There is plenty of room and you won't be able to see if you just stand there!"

Yang raised her arm and beckoned with a finger. "What's wrong? You don't want to climb into bed with me, too? It's re-ally cozy." She gave a teasing wink.

Weiss sputtered for a moment. "Don't be so… so…" She glanced at Ruby's unchanging and clueless expression.

Yang let out a quiet laugh as Weiss took her 'I'm-stamping-my-foot-on-the-inside' pose. "Hey, someone has keep our team in the moooood."

"That's right!" Ruby said excitedly as Yang's banter flew right over her head and scored a hit on Weiss' highborn Atlesian propriety again. "This is a 'No Gloomy Zone.' And Yang! You're supposed to not think more than anyone!" Ruby returned her attention to her partner as Yang mussed the leader's dark hair. She let out a long overdue yawn before being able to speak. "Weiss, this our Slumber-Birthday Party for you and Blake. Haven't you had one of those before?"

Of course Weiss was never ever going to admit the truth. Not that she had ever desired such a "Slumber Party" back in Atlas. Her social peers at the time were nothing like the ones she had here in this room. On the surface everything First Family aristocrats of Atlas ought to be, yet not as well. These teammates nothing like they ought to be on the surface, yet somehow-

Of course Father would never have approved in any case, the heiress guiltily thought. Too undignified and low borne for the Schnee bloodline, not to mention-

Yang spoke up quietly, this time with a more serious kindness and pulling the heiress out of her momentary reflection. "Rub-Ruby's never shared this with anyone outside the family before. It's… special."

They all turned to face the blonde for a variety of reasons. She brushed off the verbal stumbling. "Okay, all that sounded a lot better in my head. I have a concussion, on drugs and am wiped out, alright? The doc says it will wear off soon. Honest. Now, I don't want to get all Blakey-"

"Not funny," Blake muttered.

"-so W-ice, just crawl up here with us into the 'No Gloomy Zone.'"

Weiss rolled her eyes at their immature phases and let out a gruff sigh as she climbed up between Ruby and Blake. Carefully arranging her IV line so as to not entangle or catch on the bed frame, Yang's IV stand, random limbs nor anything else. The heiress settled in, smoothing out her simple nightgown and maintaining socially proper spacing but noting Ruby shifting closer to Yang. The youngest girl reached over, ready to tap the waiting Scroll propped up on the hospital tray before them. Ruby looked at Blake with a questioning look.

"Yes, Ruby. You won't get in trouble with the nurse. I triple checked that it is in offline mode so it won't interfere with the bio-monitor signals."

Ruby accepted the reassurance. "Okay? Everyone have their cupcake? Then, go!" She tapped the screen and quickly settled snugly into Yang who wrapped an arm around her sister.

The Scroll went through its 'opening file' phase and then showed only black on its small screen. Soon enough it changed to show some walls that appeared to have been made of whole trees stripped of their bark. Yet the atmosphere of the room was warm. Good lighting filled the room and printed flora art hung on the wall over a brown upholstered couch. The video seemed to be of lower quality for the resolution wasn't up to par. There didn't seem to be any sound either.

Weiss briefly looked at the sisters in confusion. They, on the other hand, were mesmerized by the odd opening. Expectant and snuggled close together.

On the screen Ruby appeared carrying a lemon cake with four lighted candles carefully in both hands. Her plain shirt and knee length skirt colored black and grey. The view now followed her movements as she set the confection down on a simple wooden coffee table. She waved to the camera and said something. Somehow Ruby seemed different.

Then Weiss saw a small child run into view and tackle Ruby's legs. The child's faced turned. It was a smiling, joyful, excited little girl with blonde hair arranged in twin pig tails. Young lilac eyes laughed at the camera with the rest of the innocent face.

Weiss glanced quickly at Blake who returned the look, then back at the small display before them. That wasn't Ruby but someone much older who had a very similar appearance.

An even smaller child with dark hair, this one barely keeping itself upright in the forward rush and wearing a black and red polka dot shirt with diapers, came tottering into the picture. The woman scooped the toddler up as the blonde below clung to her ankle; all three with gleeful giggles. The woman reached in to her pocket and withdrew a cookie. The toddler in her arms lunged at it like a little land shark.

To Weiss' side, Ruby and Yang waved at the video. Yang spoke first. "Hey, Mom. It's good to see you again. I know it's early but we couldn't really wait. I think Ruby wanted our friends here to meet you and- well… It's their early birthday. Ruby is a lot like you were about that."

Ruby spoke up. "Yeah, Mom. By the way, we got into Beacon just like you and dad and Uncle Qrow did. We're even on the same team like you were! You'd be so proud of us, I know. We're a bit banged up and wish you were here right now. Anyway this is our team. And our best friends and partners. Weiss and Blake."

Blake scooted closer to Weiss and waved to the screen. She subtly nudged the Heiress with her elbow. Weiss waved as well despite how…strange… this experience was. Seeing Yang as a little girl and Ruby in diapers. The younger girl sitting next to her practically the spitting image of the woman shown whom Weiss just recently learned was long deceased. Not to mention pretending to interact with a dead woman whom Ruby could have been the reincarnation of in some sort of weird electronic séance.

Blake spoke up. "It is an honor to meet your mother, Ruby. Thank you for sharing something so important with us."

That's right. Blake lost her mother too. In fact, never had the chance to even know what she may have looked like.

Weiss instinctively remembered her Atlesian manners. "Yes, Ruby. I graciously offer you my thanks as well."

The three pictured on the screen gathered, or in little Ruby's case was carried, around the couch and leaned over the birthday cake.

Ruby spoke up from where she cozied with Yang. "Okay, everyone. We each take turns saying something we are grateful for and take a bite."

Yang went first, being the older sister and that apparently it was her birthday being played in front of their eyes. "I am grateful I'm alive. That I can say that each day is a gift to live to its fullest alongside my sister, her partner and my best friend."

Ruby spoke immediately after Yang went silent and started smacking her frosting covered lips. "Blake? Your turn."

Blake thought for a full minute at least, staring at the cupcake she held near her lap. Long enough that Ruby paused the video. Blake hugged her knees before she spoke, careful about dropping crumbs into Yang's bedding. "I am grateful for you, Yang and Weiss. After I left… you know, I didn't have a place I belonged any more. They were my brothers and sisters for most of my life, and… that was all gone. Beacon was my one chance to start over and do something honorable with what I had learned from them. Then I was teamed with you three. I didn't want to call attention to myself and everything inside told me to hide in plain sight. Yet I was able to be part of something again. Then you all… when you found out what I was, I expected that... it was all over. Maybe I'd be expelled when word got out. Maybe arrested and sent to prison. Maybe worse. Instead you kept my secret and spent the weekend searching the city for me. To bring me back. Even Weiss chose to accept me when she had every reason not to. When knowing Torchwick and the White Fang were collaborating and it was eating at me, you all cared and intervened for my sake. You all supported my need to try and stop them."

Blake felt a tapping on her right elbow. She raised her head and saw Ruby's hand reaching past Weiss and poking her with a small stuffed animal. A brown duck holding an umbrella.

She took the stuffed toy into her hands. "Thank you, Ruby. Where did you get this?"

Ruby hugged the backpack in front of her once more. "Well, when I was going to the cafeteria I noticed a sign saying the gift shop would be open really late for all the families waiting down in the lobby. I thought that was really nice of them because if they get someone who's hurt a gift, then they have hope that they will give it to them. Of course now I'm broke. But at least I have my emergency cookie stash taped under the toilet tank- Eep!"

Ruby clasped both hands over her mouth, wide eyes slowly turning from Blake to Weiss who sat between them.

Weiss was scowling at her sugar hyped partner. "You are an addict. You know that, right?"

Ruby tucked her face into Yang's shoulder as if to hide from the girl sitting next to her. Her muffled voice sounded sheepish. "I just have a really high sugar burn thingy. Like Yang. Only without the fire."

Yang came to her sister's rescue. "Weiss, it's your turn. Hit 'play' and tell us what you are grateful for."

Weiss put her finger to her chin in thought. "Well, I am grateful for-"

"Zzzzzzzzzz-"

The now speechless heiress stared at the suddenly unconscious Ruby lightly snoring into her big sister's shoulder. Yang gave her a look and held a finger to her lips to cut off Weiss' outrage before it started.

The brawler cuddling her sister spoke in a soft whisper, gazing at her sleeping form. "She should have been asleep before lunch and it is past midnight. I think this is the first time today that she felt we were safe enough to let herself go. Surrounded by the people she cares about. Plus I'm sure the sugar crash helped a lot."

Yang looked at her teammates. "We all have reasons to wallow in our own private sorrows right now. The Ice Queen and I are alive only because someone chose not to finish us off. That is it. R-Ruby was probably captured and could have been shot escaping. Innocent people were hurt because we couldn't stop them. We don't even know what happened with Ruby at the back of the train while we were fighting our way forward. Sure, O-Oob-whats-his-face was supervising us and was the official Huntsman. But my little sissy here was our leader through it all. She was the one driving us forward to this point. Sure, we wanted to go after the bad guys but Rubes made it happen. What if things had gone different? She's already lost a mom. What if she lost her only sister and best friend because of the choices she made as leader?"

There was a moment of silence between the three as they looked at their small, childish leader.

Yang continued with her almost usual spirit. "We have a lot to be grateful for. We didn't stop the train, but we stopped it from being a lot worse. And even if we had stopped the train, we would have been trapped. Wouldn't we have been overrun by the Grimm? I for one am glad things turned out as they did."

Weiss and Blake returned their attention to the little video that had been playing once more. Little Yang was ripping open wrapping paper with a relish as little Ruby played with what every small child knew to be the best gift ever invented: a cardboard box.

Blake spoke up in agreement with the 'No Gloomy Zone' policy Ruby had established. "Weiss? I think it was your turn."

Weiss looked at her sleeping partner. "Right. What was I going to say? Ah yes… I am grateful for-"

"Coooookies," Ruby mumbled in her sleep.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the repeated interruptions while Blake held a light hand over her mouth to cover a smile. Yang let out a quiet chuckle, careful not to disturb her sister's slumber.

"Okay, Weiss," Yang replied. "Let's call this a free pass. Dig through Ruby's backpack. I bet she got you something too."

Weiss, with a curious Blake looking over her shoulder, slowly unzipped the backpack clutched in Ruby's arms. Inside were a tangled mess of the leader's clothes strategically crammed together so as to guarantee they would all be horribly wrinkled as efficiently as possible. The heiress again rolled her eyes in a huff, blowing into her white bangs. She tactfully reached in. After a moment, her fingers touched something and Weiss pulled it out. An envelope addressed to Blake. She quickly handed it to the Faunus behind her and went searching inside the pack again.

This time she pulled out an envelope with her own name on it. Weiss neatly opened up the paper and withdrew the contents. A plain, unassuming card. Yang egged Weiss to open it up and read it out loud.

Weiss gave a polite cough into her fist. "It says: 'Roses are Red. Violets are Blue. I ran out of money, so I can't buy poo. But true friends are free, so this Red Rose will have to do. So no matter if you are rich or lose it all, you have a friend who will Fri with you to the End. No matter what. Because that's what true friends do. -Ruby. P.S. Get it? Fri-end? P.S.S. Yeah, I know I messed up the poem. I tried, honest.'"

"Awww," Yang cooed in her teasing tone as her sister was safely asleep. "My little Rubes found her special someone! I bet the invitations are already in the mail. So, Weiss? Will it be a private ceremony or a big Atlas royal shin dig? Or maybe you want to secretly slum it in sin back on Patch." Yang immediately scowled at the Heiress, pointing at her with a nearly accusing and protective finger. "Just know if you think things about my baby sister, I am perfectly okay with going to jail."

Weiss delicately refolded the card and replaced it in its envelope. She looked out across the room at nothing in particular. "I was an evil person in a past life. I just had to be," she whispered in resignation before taking a small bite of cupcake.

Blake just smiled. If anyone could reeducate Weiss in what the term 'friend' really meant, it was innocent, naïve Ruby. The Faunus hid her smile behind her hand while the Heiress politely chewed. Perhaps deep down Weiss knew that too.

Ruby crawled silently through the tall dry grass on all fours. Her head down low, gaze intent. From upwind came that sweet smell of her prey. Happy sounds drifted through the air. A drop of drool escaped her lips as her mouth parted to show her hungry teeth. Footsteps faintly crunched up ahead in the distance. The grass parted to show the unsuspecting village at last. She tensed her muscles and shook her raised behind. Eyes locked on the two figures conversing on main road leading into the peaceful hamlet.

She lunged, covering the distance instantly and sank her teeth into the first figure. A moment later she was on the second, throwing away the first victim. Other villagers began to cry out, pointing in horror and fleeing into the imagined safety of their homes. Ruby was in joyful pursuit. Shutters slammed over windows and bolts slid to place to secure doors.

Ruby stood on two legs and let out a childish growl as she held her arms up, fingers extended. The frosting of her first two victims covering her hungry face. She turned toward the first gingerbread house, its door made entirely of fudge.

Ruby, the cookieman-eating monster, lunged at the door with a playfully girlish roar and began to chew her way through.

Yang gazed down at the sleeping little sister she held. Ruby was curled up into a ball now, both fists tucked up under her chin as she slumbered peacefully.

"Cooookie peeeople…" the young girl muttered.

Yang ran her fingers through Ruby's dark red hair with a fond smile.

Weiss on the other hand let out a huff. "You know, that is just really weird." She sighed in surrender. "I guess it is better than acting it out in the dining hall again while we eat. That is just embarrassing."

Yang didn't take her eyes from her sister. "If you want to try and stop N-ora from starting it, be my guest."

The Heiress continued to contemplate the two close sisters as Blake looked on as well; Weiss thinking about her own big sister and feeling a bit nostalgic for the few similar moments she had also experienced in her childhood. Blake remembering treasured memories of sleeping in her grandmother's lap after a dinner of freshly caught tuna.

Weiss inwardly shook herself and looked at the other two conscious girls sitting on the bed. "So I suppose you two are going to leave it to me to explain the innumerous reasons why Ruby can't actually adopt Blake?"

The black haired Faunus dropped her gaze back down to the plain card she held. We overheard you lost your family. Then the ones taking care of you went bad and you had to run away. IOU one adoption into ours. Happy B-day, Ruby.

"I'll talk to her when we return to Beacon," Blake replied quietly. "Somehow I don't think their father would approve of Ruby making that sort of decision behind his back."

"Yeah," Yang spoke in turn as she continued to comb her fingers through Ruby's hair. "I've already had to play 'Mom.' I am so not ready to play 'Grandma' at seventeen. Especially toward my partner. That would just be weird."

"I know. Having a kid-mother younger than I am with Weiss as the wicked other-mother?"

Weiss grumbled. "Oh, don't you start as well! Yang's demented jests are intolerable enough without you encouraging them."

The Faunus girl reached past Weiss and just barely traced a single finger following Yang's hand through Ruby's hair. "It was very sweet though."

Several soft moments went by as they all sat on Yang's hospital bed, turning in toward self-reflection.

"Blake?"

"What is it, Yang?"

"My dad. He'd probably- I mean it would be a huge deal and everything, you know. But in the end he'd welcome you in. He's… lost a lot too. In the past, you know? If you had wanted to, he wouldn't turn you away from being family."

Blake was understandably silent for some time. "Thanks, Yang. But I'm a-"

Yang interrupted in annoyance. "You're one of us. Bow or no bow."

Blake gave the blonde a sly look, the black bow on her head twitching ever so slightly. "I was going to say I am a Belladonna. I can't imagine suddenly being something else."

"Riiiiight," Yang rolled out, disbelieving her partner.

There were a few more seconds of silence before Blake spoke again. "Yang, thanks for the sentiment. Coming from you, I know that means a great deal. I mean, Ruby's mom adopted you. Right?" Not to mention you virtually adopted your sister.

Yang nodded silently, a trace tear attempting to escape her eye as she held Ruby. "Yes. And as much as I may feel the need to search for my mom, I'll never forget our mom and what she was to us."

Weiss shook her head, then brought her hand up to her brow to steady the sudden bout of dizziness. "May we have this discussion when Yang's already limited vocabulary isn't further impaired, please? Listening to her talk is really confusing."

"What do you mean Ruby was born with her aura unlocked?"

Weiss posed the disbelieving question after their small exchanges turned to how Ruby even remembered her mother. She had been complementing Yang on how she had been keeping Ruby's toddler memories of her mother alive all this time. Yet Ruby's feelings of her mother were more than that of just a child growing up watching old home movies and tales spoken at bedtimes.

Blake looked across the Heiress toward her blonde partner. Her golden eyes slightly narrowed. "Yang. That does sound far-fetched."

Yang simply shrugged as if they were debating that the sky was blue. "Our mom... Ruby's mom claimed it was a rare thing from her mother's side. We don't know how it happened or exactly when. So for Ruby, it wasn't some major right-of-passage like when we had ours released. It was just always there and she kinda of had to grow into her semblance later on as part of her training with Uncle Qrow. Before that it was mostly just those rose pedals poofing into existence when she got excited or nervous. Or was just feeling a lot, especially after our mom passed on. My dad called it 'poop-pourri' sometimes because those pedals would be floating around when Ruby messed her diaper during potty training. Or tried to lie her way out of trouble."

Weiss let out a stern breath regarding the sisters. "That explains a lot."

Yang smiled, knowing what Weiss was saying regarding 'poop-pourri' but ignored it. "Actually it does. Imagine being surrounded by your mother's aura and always embracing yours as you grew inside her. Having that for your entire existence until she was just… gone one day. Ruby still feels that absence. Not that she is sad about it anymore. It is just that bond will always be real for her. You know?"

Blake and Weiss looked at each other, both thinking the same thing if for different reasons. That experience was impossible to imagine, but it sounded… nice. And sad at the same time.

Ruby walked along the roof to the end of the last rail car, her black boots making small thumps on the metal. Slung over her shoulder was an enormous backpack that comically dwarfed her small frame. The girl stopped at the edge. With one hand above her eyebrows she peered down the view of the tunnel rushing past and into the dark distance. The wind whipped at her hair.

The redhead dropped the towering backpack behind her. There were undefined noises and rustling coming from inside. Ruby took in a deep breath before letting out an echoing call. "Here Grimmy, Grimmy, Grimmies! Here Grimmy, Grimmies!"

Soon below her feet and chasing the last train car were a sea of cute Beowolves. Bouncing up and down like excited puppies. Snapping at her toes and yapping up at the girl in cute puppy barks.

Ruby kneeled down, peering fondly at the numberless black creatures foaming below her feet. "Aw, did you all miss me? Yes you did! Yes you did! Who's hungry?"

The frothing of cute Beowolves redoubled in energy.

Ruby stood back up and turned around toward the cartoonishly oversized backpack sitting there on the roof of the train car. She pulled it open and lugged out the equally massive burlap sack from within. On the side, under a 'Grimm Chow' label in bloated sky blue lettering, was a Beowolf caricature with its tongue sticking slightly out of one corner of its mouth. It was winking while giving a happy thumbs up of approval.

Ruby hefted up the colossal and weightless sack. "Okay, Grimmies! Din din time!"

The girl tipped the sack and shapes of people began to fall out. Defiant yells mixed with disbelieving cries. Dim screams of rage blanketed by the wind rushing past. Screams of horror. Screams of the doomed. Black and white protective fabrics. Silver masks hiding their faces. Forms of people simply disappearing into the blackness below, the sounds carried away by the speed of the wind flowing through her hair.

Ruby watched as the endless cascade flowed from the giant sack she held. "Sorry, baddies. My Grimmies can't help what they are, but you had a choice. So off you go."

Yang looked down at the ball curled up into her side. "Ruby? Are you awake? You're shaking." She reached over and slid the sleeping mask covering Ruby's eyes up over her head.

Both Blake and Weiss looked over at other two, then at each other. Had the nurse missed something? Had Ruby been hurt as well?

A small voice carried itself out of Yang's tightening arms where Ruby was now burying her face. "It was just a dream?"

Yang's lilac eyes met the eyes of blue and amber. Blake reached passed Weiss and laid a hand on her leader's side. Her breathing was ragged. "We're all here, Ruby. We're safe."

Weiss was about to comment before Blake's eyes told her to remain silent.

Yang released her sister from her strong grasp, confident Ruby wouldn't accidentally use her speed semblance before she was aware of her surroundings and zoom straight into a wall. "I'm guessing it was a bad one, huh?"

Ruby uncurled out of Yang's embrace. To Yang's surprise she scooted away, ending up with her back to the wall with her knees level with her chin. Hugging her legs. "No. I was the bad one."

Yang reached over and rubbed her sister's shoulder, offering comfort. "Hey, now. Like you could ever be a bad per-"

Ruby weakly tried to shove the comforting hand away, causing Yang to bear an expression of bewilderment. "I was! I was like a good guy, but I was getting rid of baddies. Like Torchwick."

Yang's look turned into a puzzled one. "We did that. Torchwick is behind bars-"

Ruby interrupted again. "NO! Like I was like a good Torchwick getting rid of baddies."

Yang looked at the others in confusion. Ruby wasn't making a lot of sense, however it was obvious her dream had distressed her.

Ruby hiccupped. "It started out okay. There were Grimm-"

Weiss interrupted. "How is that starting out o-"

She stopped herself when Blake glared at her. The Faunus unseated herself from her position on Yang's bed and crawled around the Heiress, forcing her to slide over the bedding taking Blake's vacated place at Yang's feet. Blake settled herself once more. Not crowding Ruby nor making physical contact. Simply settling in so that the girl was very loosely sandwiched between herself and Yang.

Ruby had stopped shaking but she was clearly not recovered. Unexpectedly she leaned into the Faunus. Wrapping an arm around hers as if seeking a security blanket to hold. Blake took the sign to scoot in closer to the young girl.

"Ruby? It's okay. I've had those kind of dreams, too."

"Blake? You were a baddie once. Right?"

The question surprised Blake. They were fairly comfortable and open about her knowing a great deal about the White Fang. On the other hand, their group still skirted around the subject of Blake's specific involvement. She thought for a moment before answering.

"I thought I was on the right side for the right reasons. And yes, I was part of things I regret."

"Like the people on the train?"

Blake threw an arm around Ruby, taking the moment to exchange glances with Yang as she rested her chin on Ruby's head in comfort. Just as the young girl had been impelled to show comfort earlier regarding her birthday, Blake now returned that offer. "There was a time when I was just as angry. And I did fight. More so, even. It's just that what I really wanted was equality and peace. Just as I do now. That was why I fought and why I finally had to leave. Why seeing Torchwick's involvement tormented me. They were my only family for a long time. My brothers and sisters. Now the White Fang has mutated into something so corrupt and distorted that I can't even recognize it anymore. Become something that is too far gone to be saved. The people on the train chose to be part of that."

Blake felt a small arm wrap around her middle. There was a sniffle. "You turned to good. Others could too. Right?"

The Faunus pulled Ruby in and pressed her lips into the girl's hair in sympathy. "Ruby, I know what you are going through. I was on missions that went bad before. Things that I was a part of that troubled me. Everything went so fast today that it's just starting to catch up. Alright? That is all those kind of dreams are. A part of you just trying to make sense of it all."

She motioned with a wave of her free fingers to Yang, who moved closer to them. Embracing Ruby between them.

Yang spoke to her sister softly. "It's over, now. So why don't you try to go back to sleep? We've got you, Rubes."

Ruby rubbed the troubles from her eyes and nodded off, clutching at Blake's arm.

After a moment, once the room was quiet once more, Weiss crawled back across the bed and over to the other three. Carefully sitting before the other girls with Ruby in the center as she dozed back into slumber.

No one spoke for quite some time. Afraid of disturbing their leader who probably needed rest more than any of them.

Weiss broke the silence first with a whisper. "What was that about?"

Yang scratched her head with a free right arm. The left one now pinned by her sister's inert body. "I don't know. Her dreams are too… cartoony to be that bad. Like the one where she rides in on a Beowolf to save a Prince from bran muffins. Only the Prince is Zwei and she is wielding a giant can opener."

"She rides a Grimm?" Weiss asked incredulously.

Yang nodded her head at the dozing girl they were surrounding. "She actually likes Beowolves. They let her be what she was meant to be, you know? The future hero who protects the helpless from monsters. Without them she'd probably just be some boring woodcutter and never make a difference in the world. This time? I don't know. She wasn't making any sense. Blake? You seemed to understand."

Blake nodded as the two concussed girls circled back to the subject. "I know a thing or two about nightmares. Ever have a dream where you were the monster?" she asked timidly. "Nightmares as a kid where the riot police are hurting everyone and there is a club someone dropped and you just need them to stop? Ruby had one of those about the train."

Yang's eyes dropped down to gaze upon her sister and feeling sympathy for Blake. "We faced, what? Three bosses? There was a small army behind us. How bad do you think it was back there?"

Weiss spoke up immediately. "Please! Professor Oobleck was with Ruby. He's a trained Huntsman and she doesn't have a scratch on her! She would have held back and let the actual Huntsman- okay. We are talking about Ruby here. However, we all know the difference between fighting Grimm and fighting actual people. Right? I know Ruby understands that more than anyone. 'Grrr. Dice Grimm. Stop bad guys.' We've all seen the difference in her fighting. Right?"

Yang joined in the reassurance. "Of course she would. She would never fight real people as if they were Grimm. That would be horrific with that scythe of hers, even with the protective gear they wear. Besides, she loves her Crescent Rose. Using it in that way would be like sacrilege."

"Ooooh. Yang used a big word."

"Not the time, Weiss."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Isn't it? Going down this path is the last thing Ruby wanted for us tonight! Look at what she did. She shared something very personal with us to give us something to celebrate. Encouraged us to dwell on what we are grateful for instead of what happened today. Was looking out for all of us until she literally passed out in your arms. So you know what? Whatever may come out of all this, we face it together."

Weiss made her decision. Blake's expressions after being joined by Yang and Ruby restoring her confidence after their private conversation about a previous mission on another train. Remembering Blake's worries about that horrible Lieutenant possibly recognizing her while rescuing his blood enemy. "If someone ever comes for Blake, we stand with her as a team. No more running."

Yang nodded. "If Weiss loses her money, she has a home with us."

"Hey!"

Yang smiled with trace humor. "I'm serious. You have more to lose than the entire school ten times over, and somehow I don't think you know how to be poor if Daddy gets angry." The brawler gave a cocky grin. "We are your backup plan if you need it."

Blake intervened before the conversation could degenerate into Weiss defending herself from something that was true. "If Ruby someday carries a burden too heavy for her, we carry her for as long as it takes. We never quit. Never give up. She wouldn't even hesitate to do that for us."

Yang stretched out her right hand, palm down. "Agreed?"

Blake rested her own hand on top of Yang's. "Agreed."

Weiss, accustomed to far more formal Atlesian pledges and taking a moment to interpret what was occurring, placed her own hand on top of theirs. "Agreed. We're a team."

They looked down at the sleeping leader. Yang spoke softly. "Hey, look at that. She's smiling."

The blonde pulled up her sister's hand and placed it on top of theirs. The three looked at their joined hands. During initiation they had been assigned their places in this team by random encounters in a forest for their education, and not exactly without reluctance. Now their team was a pact. One made willingly and with declared intent.

Blake gazed at their hands. The arrangement full of meaning and promise that she hadn't experienced in a long time. She looked at Weiss. The Heiress of the reproachable Schnee Dust Company had vowed to stand with her if she was discovered. The phrasing hinting at the acknowledgement of her criminal past. If it caught up with her they wouldn't merely stand by her. Team RWBY, including a Schnee of all people who had been the one to declare it, would stand with a former member of the White Fang and face the challenge as one. The hinting by Yang that they would run as a team if they had to.

Blake didn't feel isolated anymore either. Not that she was isolated from the rest. Just that she had been the only Faunus on the team. Now, even if she was alone in the knowledge, Blake knew she wasn't alone. Was no longer the only Faunus in their dorm. She made a silent vow to herself. Ruby was right. If Weiss needed to be human, then she was human. Even if she wasn't. And despite what the rest of her family had done, they had also kept Weiss as their own.

She reached into a pocket and withdrew the paper inside with Ruby's handwriting. IOU one adoption into ours. Blake couldn't help but smile. The girl somehow couldn't help but make a difference in her odd little ways.

Weiss on the other hand didn't really understand what she felt. This was so informal and lightly spoken compared to the formal and weighty binding oaths of the Families back in Atlas. She just understood that it felt… good in a way. Like a small weight she hadn't realized had been there had vanished. The Heiress looked at Blake and saw her expression. One of fulfillment and relief. Of being wholly accepted despite being 'tainted.' That a missing part within the girl had finally been sated after amputating herself from the dastardly White Fang.

Sisterhood.