-Caged-

Sitting on the corner of a rooftop, with the city lights stretched out before her, Ruby sighed contentedly. Out here, in the midst of the concrete jungle that was the City of Vale, was where she came to clear her head. The youth had never liked the wide open spaces that suburbs or the countryside provided. But this? This was home to her, in more ways than one. The background noise of city life was cathartic to her. The footsteps of a thousand people making their way to and fro, the growling of a hundred engines as they snarled in gridlock traffic, voices, chirps, honks, and everything else. All of the things which a 'normal' person would find annoying, instead brought the red-tipped brunette, a measure of peace.

With a groan, Ruby rose to her feet. Though the drop before her was three stories, the seventeen-year-old was steady. Heights had never bothered her, and the rush of adrenaline that she got from being in such a precarious position far outweighed any risks in her situation. But, she wouldn't tell Yang or Blake that, no use getting into another argument - especially since she was on thin enough ice with them anyways. Then, as if on cue, the phone in the pocket of her faden and slightly torn jeans buzzed with an incoming notification.

'Dinner's almost ready. Coming home tonight?' The screen read. While Ruby was inclined to just ignore it, she felt that Blake at least deserved a reply. She might have been fighting with her sister, but Blake didn't need to be a part of that.

'Already ate, thanks though. Might be home later.' Was her terse reply. It was true, if not probable. There was always a chance that Ruby might make it home that night. But, for a while now she'd much preferred to be alone. Though Yang had accused her of it once, in one of their fights and in a moment that her older half-sister had instantly regretted, Ruby didn't hate her family. She just.. Needed to not feel so surrounded. Yang and Blake meant only the best for her, Ruby recognized that, but it made her feel so smothered sometimes!

Her phone buzzed again, but Ruby didn't even look at the screen before shoving the device back in her pocket. With practiced ease, she spun and stepped off the ledge to drop the three-and-a-half feet back on to the rooftop. Hands jammed in her hoodie pockets, Ruby made her way over to the door that would take her back to the streets.

...Or, it would, if she could get the damn thing to open. "Shit." Ruby muttered under her breath. Two, then three, then four more tugs did nothing to grant her access to the building. "Great. Just great." She griped, and looked around at the surrounding buildings. The rooftop she'd jumped from to land on the one she currently stood atop was a few feet too tall for her to jump back to. While Ruby considered herself a pretty decent free runner and climber, she knew that the odds of her actually making the jump and pulling herself up without falling down to the streets below was.. Slim, at best.

What's more, she was in one of the slums of the city - a good chunk of the buildings here hadn't been updated in decades. As Ruby suspected, this was one of the many that didn't have rooftop access to the fire escape, which meant she really only had one option left. The apartment on the opposite of the one she'd jumped from was just about the same height as the one she was on now. A couple inches difference, but that was negligible in the grand scheme of things. The only thing that gave Ruby pause was the fact that she wasn't in an area she usually explored.

There was no telling where she would end up at the end of her nighttime adventure. The next building might have an unlocked rooftop door, or it might not. Sure, Ruby could have made herself comfortable enough to get some rest and hope that someone would come up in the morning for some fresh air or a smoke, then let her down, but she was never one for waiting. Better to push ahead and see what she could make of things, despite the uncertainty of it.

With that last, lingering thought keeping her going, Ruby quickly stretched out her muscles before starting to run towards the unknown. One foot in front of the other, her pace quickly reaching a sprint. She needed to build up as much speed as fast as she could, before pushing off into a jump that would carry her across the gap. Luckily, this was far from Ruby's first time flirting with the dangers that came with a three-story drop.

With a bend of her knees, a satisfied grin, and a roll to help absorb the impact of landing on concrete, she was across. With a practiced fluidity, Ruby popped back up to her feet to go see what kind of mischief she could get in to.

***^v^***

"Anything yet?" Came a concerned voice from the kitchen, along with the telltale beep from their oven to say that the shepherd's pie was ready.

"No, nothing." Blake answered. She and her girlfriend Yang - Ruby's older half-sister - had been living together for a few months at that point, and things had been.. Turbulent, to say the least. She and the vivacious blonde got along perfectly, but when they had to deal with Ruby's antics, on what was becoming a depressingly regular basis, things grew strained.

The raven-haired young woman knew that the youth had her share of issues, a penchant for running away among them, but damn if it didn't worry the rest of their little family to no end. She glanced one last time at her phone, where the last message remained sent, but unread.

'Okay.. Stay safe, we love you.'

Blake knew by that point that Ruby would answer if and when she felt like it, or would unceremoniously breeze in the front door if she felt like gracing them with her presence. Deep down, she knew that thinking that way was unfair to Ruby. Her childhood had been upended, she'd had her teenage years taken from her and replaced by a need to just.. Survive.

Yang tried her best, and Blake always marveled at just how much she went out of her way for Ruby, but the girl continued to defiantly go her own way. Blake knew her partner well enough to see how much it tore her up inside, and desperately wished there was more she could do to help with the situation.

She left her phone on silent, resting on a short table beside the couch, and made her way to the kitchen. Blake smiled warmly at Yang, sitting across from her and trying to put her worries from her mind. "Smells gre-" "I just do-" The girls spoke at the same time. After her tiny blush faded, Blake picked up her silverware and nodded at her partner. "You first." She said soothingly, though she already suspected what was on her mind.

"I just.." Yang sighed, and ran her palm across her left cheek to clear up a couple of drying tears. "I.. Well, 'we', try so fucking hard, Blakey." She managed to get out, the exasperation clear in her voice and the exhaustion clear on her face. "What are we doing wrong?"

After chewing and swallowing her food, Blake set the silverware back down and met her girlfriend's eyes. "Remember what Dr. Mott said?" She asked. About a month ago, after a lot of thinly veiled threats and the proverbial gnashing of teeth, Blake and Yang had convinced (forced would be a more accurate word) Ruby to see a therapist to help see if there was any way for them to help Ruby with her issues and for them to come together as a real family. "Trying to force her into a routine, or to impose stricter rules, will just drive her away."

Gently, Blake reached across the table, over the table setting where Ruby would sit when she was home, to take the blonde's hand. "You're doing great, I promise." Blake soothed, running her thumb over the back of Yang's hand before retracting her own hand. "We just have to be here for her when she comes home. Besides.. It's been two days now, she'll have to come home for a shower sometime if nothing else." She pointed out, and nodded at Yang's plate. "Now eat up, it'll get cold if you don't."

With an amused snort and a roll of her eyes, Yang finally looked down at the meal she'd made. "Yes, mom." She muttered teasingly.

***^v^***

With a groan, Ruby blinked the sleep out of her eyes and rubbed the crust out of the corners of them. She yawned, stretched, and rolled on to her back to look at the sky. The early morning sun greeted the youth from the left, and so Ruby rolled to the right as she got up, if only to spare her eyes for another minute.

She grunted, stretching her back and popping her neck as she shook the dust off of her clothing. Ruby had spent the night as she usually did, on a rooftop, surrounded by nothing than the dirty city air, the noises that came with it, and her own thoughts.

Ruby had made sure to end her night on a rooftop that at least had a sturdy set of pipes leading down the side of it, and so getting back down onto the city streets was no issue. Pretty soon, she was weaving her way back towards her usual stomping grounds.

Along her journey, Ruby used what little bit of money she'd managed to scrounge up - doing odd jobs and various tasks from anyone who seemed like they needed a hand - to get her hands on some spray paint. Normally, Ruby preferred to just walk and think, but today, she had a plan.

The city had finally finished construction on a brand new high-rise tower, and Ruby was on a mission to be the first to stain the white brick it was built of. Along the way, various ideas crossed her mind. It wasn't often that she got to be the first to do something - whatever she came up with would have to be good.

By the time she hopped over the railing of the adjacent parking deck, after checking to make sure that no one was looking at her, the beginnings of a scene were firmly rooted in Ruby's mind. And so, she took a deep breath, and began to give her vision shape

***^v^***

After a hellishly busy morning, Weiss was finally able to push her chair away from her desk and sigh. Meeting the staff and her 'co-workers' had taken far longer than she thought necessary, and she'd just wanted to get to work. Then, as if enough time hadn't been wasted, it quickly came to her attention that neither the water nor the internet was properly working for parts of the office. By the time everything was in working order, it was the early afternoon.

After making her was swiftly through the office on the eleventh floor, Weiss got in the elevator (thankfully empty) and hit the button for the ground floor. Once she was truly alone, the girl let out a slow breath while collecting her thoughts. Weiss wasn't stupid. Far from it, in fact. She was a straight-A criminal justice major student at one of the most prestigious law schools in the country, a fact which she took a lot of pride in.

Still.. A nineteen year old had no business working in a law office, unless they were a receptionist or secretary. But a manager? Weiss saw the looks that people had been giving her that morning. Some bemused, others annoyed, but without fail everyone had a 'look' to give her. Weiss knew that it was because they all suspected how she got her position - one look at the door to the office space would confirm it. 'Schee & Co. Law Offices - Vale Branch'. Schnee. Being the favored daughter of the wealthiest man on the east coast had its perks, she supposed. But, the cost was that her father's reputation always preceded her. By default, people thought that she was a spoiled brat, a girl who only got to where she was by begging daddy for a favor.

As untrue as it was, there was nothing she could ever do to dissuade them, and so Weiss just stopped trying. She doubled - and then tripled - down on her studies, making sure that she earned every grade she got in school. In a rare show of positive acknowledgement, her father had installed her in the office of the newest branch of the firm. Officially, she was an intern, but everyone knew that with her family behind her, Weiss was the real one pulling the strings at the office.

Weiss glanced down at her watch as she walked across the lobby, and grimaced. She'd been so caught up in putting out the fires of that morning that she didn't have long for her lunch at that point. Oh well, it wasn't like she ever ate a whole lot anyways. A simple salad, maybe some fruit, and a coffee would be more than sufficient to keep her going until the workday ended.

Unfortunately, it looked like even that simple pleasure was going to be yanked away from her. Though Weiss paid no mind to the police cruiser parked partway on the curb, with its lights flashing, she couldn't as easily ignore the sight of someone flying over a fence right at her. Her ice blue eyes met a pair of widening silver ones, and Weiss stepped back just in time to avoid the sole of one of the girl's boots hitting her in the jaw.

"Watch out!" A young voice called out. The girl landed, badly, and gave out a yelp of pain as her ankle twisted under her. Still, she stumbled forwards before one of Vale's Finest rounded the corner and caught up. 'H-hey! Lemme go!" The girl snarled, struggling as she was pushed down onto the sidewalk.

Finally, Weiss snapped out of her shocked state, and could practically feel her anger steaming out of her ears. "You want me to watch out?! Y-you dolt! Do you have any idea who I am?" She shouted, gesturing very animatedly and advancing towards the now cuffed girl, before one of the officers moved to block her path and stop her.

"We're well aware, Miss Schnee." The officer said firmly, holding up a hand to ensure that Weiss couldn't get any closer. "We'll need you to come down town with us as well." She gawked up at him, and took in a breath to enunciate just how much that would inconvenience her, and how this was not the day for that, before he spoke again. "Just to make a report. Shouldn't take more than an hour." He finished.

Though her hands were shaking with her anger, Weiss nodded. She understood the protocol for these things better than most. At least it would give her a chance to get away from the office for a bit, she mused. As her would-be assailant was being loaded into the police cruiser, the younger girl gave Weiss a curious look. She ignored it for the most part, as she did with everyone else. It was her pure white hair that usually got people's attention, and Weiss had long ago gotten sick of people ogling it. "Very well." She informed the officer - Brants, according to his stitched-on nametag. "I trust she'll be charged accordingly." Weiss finished, and before the officer could answer, marched over to the parking deck to get in her car.

***^v^***

"You've got the wrong girl! It wasn't me, you're all just profiling me 'cause I'm dressed like this! Isn't this police brutality?!" Ruby shouted out, shaking the bars of the cell in the detention center for added effect. She was railing against the world, spouting off anything that she thought would help her get out of this mess.

She'd barely finished her mural - a grey, white, and blue floating city above a serene lake - before being spotted by the officer who arrested her. She knew there was no way she'd get out of this one, and grimaced. After mulling things over, Ruby's shoulders sank, and she swallowed her anger. At least for the moment.

"Can I have my phone call?" She asked sullenly, looking down at the floor.

"See? That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Came the clipped tone of the officer in charge of the local jail. Before Ruby could say anything, or even bite her tongue to prevent her from saying it, she was handed an old rotary phone with a long cord. "Five minutes, Rose." She was warned, and Ruby grumbled out that it wouldn't take that long.

Ruby stared at the handset for a minute, dreading what she had to do. But, she sucked it up - what other choice did she have? - and began to dial. After two rings, then three, Ruby was beginning to worry that she'd be sent to voicemail. But, when the telltale clatter of a phone being answered came through, she breathed a soft sigh out.

"H-hey Yang.." Ruby said softly, grimacing to herself. She knew her sister would be furious with her. "I, uhm.." She gulped. "I need a favor."

-^v^-

A/N: Well.. Never thought I'd get here, I'm usually an RPer as opposed to a proper writer. Not a whole lot to say about this first chapter, except to clarify that Ruby is seventeen in this first bit - making the other girls nineteen. I plan on keeping this story going for a while, because I've never been a fan of shorter stories (no offense to those who write them!). Thank you to everyone who might read this, and I hope to keep you coming back to check this out very regularly! I hesitate to promise a regular update schedule, just to keep pressure off of myself - but hopefully something new will be up every couple of weeks