The Other Daughter

Chapter 13

Feeling her eyelids grow heavy as the evening sky blanketed the ballroom, Yang crashed onto her hastily laid out sleeping mat to take a moment to breathe. Beside her, Ruby was lying on her stomach, scribbling notes into a book of some kind. She playfully kicked her legs back and forth behind her, softly humming a tune. Yang noted the pink roses printed onto her white pants, and the eye mask hugging her head of red-streaked hair. These features did little to help her childlike appearance. Having seen her in action, Yang could scarcely believe the cute and innocent soul before her was the same girl who wielded Crescent Rose like a pro.

What was more, Ruby always seemed so positive about things. Even as they were mere hours away from one of the most important tests of either of their lives, she was somehow maintaining an air of cheerfulness. If nothing else, Yang was hopeful that Ruby's latent battle prowess hidden beneath all of her outward cuteness would be enough to handle whatever came her way. And if not, she had family at her side to back her up, whether she knew it or not.

"So," Yang started hesitantly, "who is that Roman Torchwick guy on the news? Do you know him or something?"

Ruby paused, her pencil poised to create the next letter in the message she was writing down.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?"

Turning toward Ruby on the soft pillow at the edge of her mat, Yang shrugged. "You seemed a little...affected by that news report about him back on the ship."

"Oh." Ruby sighed, kicking her legs back and forth again. She hugged a pillow in the shape of a dog's face close to her chest. Its tongue stuck out in a playful manner, matching Ruby's own cuteness. "Actually, he's the same guy I saw the night I stopped that dust shop robbery. It kinda worries me that he's still out there."

Yang frowned up at the ceiling, then decided Ruby might mistake her expression as confirmation of the fears she just shared, so she put on a smile instead. "Well, I'm sure he'll be caught soon enough."

"I hope so." Ruby looked down and continued to write. "By the way, Yang, I wanted to ask you...why'd you step in earlier? During that whole thing with Weiss?"

Yang's heart skipped a beat as she scrambled for an answer that seemed plausible enough. Then she mentally slapped herself for not thinking of the obvious best response which, while not the entire truth, wasn't exactly a lie.

"I just don't like bullies. I can't stand by and watch someone carelessly hurt or put down others."

Ruby nodded and stole a glance at Yang. A smile crept across her lips. "Thanks, Yang."

Silence hung between the sisters as Ruby busied herself with her task. Finally, Yang couldn't take the curiosity anymore.

"What's that?" she finally drummed up the nerve to ask, her eyes cutting sideways to observe the pages of Ruby's book.

Ruby lifted her pencil from the page. "A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going."

"That's nice of you." Yang laid sideways, her head propped up against an open palm, allowing a direct view of Ruby.

"It's better than just sitting around. Other than you, I don't really know anyone here."

"Look," Yang said in what she hoped was a supportive tone, "it's only been one day. I wouldn't get too down about it."

Ruby nodded. "I'll try." She was about to write another word, but paused, her pencil hovering just out of reach of the page. She turned to her sister again, lips folded into a nervous crease. "Hey. I know we haven't really gotten to know each other yet, but thanks, Yang. You're a pretty great friend."