Wo-hoo chapter 3 is done! I was going to post it tomorrow, but sleep deprivation kinda throws all my sensibility out the window.

This was fun to write, especially the geese part. Was it necessary? Hell no, but I enjoyed doing it.

3. A Surprise

"What the hell is this?"

"Hum… It's a statue?"

"I can see that, Ruby! You don't come home yesterday, only show up barely at dawn, and you drag me all the way here to see a statue? You'd better have a good explanation, young miss."

Yang was not amused, and Ruby couldn't blame her. The younger sibling had almost forced her out of bed, hastily dressed in her usual attire, a brown pair of pants and boots, and an orange shirt under a brown vest, the bright yellow scarf hanging out of her neck from the long hike to the clearing, tangled in the disarray of her long golden locks.

"I was hoping you could… help me carry it to our house?" The red-hooded girl gave her sister a hopeful grin, trying her best to be persuasive.

The blonde dropped her mouth open, even more stunned than before.

"Just... Why?"

"It's a surprise!" The redhead opened her eyes wide and pouted slightly, a tried and true technique she knew Yang couldn't resist. It was a low strategy, but, in the end, results spoke for themselves.

"Oh don't give me the puppy eyes. Ugh fine. You don't play fair." The blonde feigned a frown, failing to look disappointed.

"Thanks!" Ruby gave the blonde a warm smile, grateful that no further questioning was taking place. Although, it was a little a little strange...

"Don't thank me, you totally owe me one for this. At least she's cute." And leaning backwards, she added. "And has a nice butt."

Ah, there it is. The archer thought, as a mischievous grin overtook her sibling's face. She didn't bother to retort, hoping the conversation would die out. If Yang felt like teasing her younger sister, it was going to be a very long trip back.

"Which reminds me... You never told me you were into girls, Rubes."

"Yaaaaaang!"

The blonde was quite strong, especially given her age, yet it still took them most of the morning to return to their house. Penny was unsurprisingly heavy, the solid stone proving a challenge to carry. After many, many stops, they'd finally made it back to the small hut they both shared, ragged breaths illustrating just how exhausting the task had been.

"So, where do you want me to put your girlfriend?" Ruby shot her older sister an accusing glare at the remark, trying to dissuade her from further inappropriate slander. Knowing the girl, it most certainly wouldn't work, but she was growing tired of the persistent embarrassment. Just as she had predicted, it had been a long trip, in more than one way.

"Just drop her by the door." Her response, meant to sound as nonchalant as possible.

"You sure? I could always bring her to your room, so you two can get more privacy."

This time, the younger sibling didn't say a word, but slid her hand along the red cape, letting her hunting belt appear in view. The knife, that the dark haired girl kept sharp through constant maintenance, glimmered under the light of the noon sun, carefully spelling the intended message. I WILL stab you.

Yang laughed nervously at the threatening look she got, not used to seeing her sweet little sister being so frightening. There were no more witty remarks, and Ruby smiled victoriously to herself as she reached for the door.

The house was modest, a wooden shack with a tall, angular roof covered by straw, meant to avoid large concentrations of snow during the winter. The construction was rather rough, but it served its purpose, and the two girls living by themselves didn't need, neither could they afford, any luxuries. As long as it didn't rain on the inside, which it hadn't for a while and hopefully wouldn't start again, it didn't really matter if it didn't look like a palace.

Although its exterior, the inside was surprisingly cozy. The entrance led directly into a wide compartment with various clumsy cabinets furnishing its walls. On the eastern wall there was a metallic wooden-powered stove with a mess of grimy pans on top of it, remnants from that day's rushed meal, as well as, most likely, Yang's on the prior day. The blonde wasn't particularly fond of cleaning, but she made up for it by being an incredible cook. The geese were still lying unattended atop the counter, and Ruby made a mental note to skin them and salt the meat later, after she had gotten proper rest.

To complement the kitchen's functional side, there was also a round table flanked by four chairs, a number that once was not too large. It was the place the sisters used to spend time with one another, and there was no form of decoration on it apart from a single red rose inside a metallic cup. It was somewhat cheesy, but the huntress liked it nonetheless, it gave the otherwise austere environment a distinct touch of home.

Beyond the doorway were the girl's own bedrooms, two distinct cubicles after they'd grown up and stopped sleeping by each other's side, with maybe the exception of nights where a thunderstorm roared outside. In those rare occasions, they would both instantly seek the comfort of the other, none of them admitting which one was genuinely scared. In all fairness, they had every right to be, as a wooden house offered no protection against the fiery rage of the elements, and they were just one stroke of misfortune from having all they owned turned to ashes.

The sculpture was left near the entryway, between a corner and a large cupboard, facing outwards. Ruby yawned, the excitement finally vanished, making way for the fatigue produced by the many hours she had of debt to her bed. Gesturing her sister to take care of the unwashed clutter, she decided towards a much needed rest. She could go a day without hunting, their finances weren't that tight, and she would probably just fall asleep on top of a tree.

The archer walked over to her room, a diminutive section composed of her cot, a dresser that housed all her clothing, and little more. The lack of empty space might have given it the appearance of a prison cell, but it was great at conserving the heat in the colder seasons. Besides, she had all the breathing room she needed just outside, in the wide open fields.

Slipping under the covers and on top of the straw mattress, the warmth carried her mind away and she fell asleep within minutes.

Ruby was awoken from her slumber by a stinging pain in her midriff, hunger taking over now that the lack of rest wasn't dulling her senses. In the midst of the confusion caused by Penny, eating hadn't been a priority, and she was now facing the consequences.

The half-conscious huntress headed to the common area, where her sister sat, just as dazed. She grabbed a stray piece of bread that was starting to go hard, and noticed though the small opening in the wall that the sun was almost setting. Absentmindedly chewing on it, she made her way towards the dead birds on the counter, and started to prepare them.

The skin and the feathers weren't of any use, so they were carefully ripped out and rerouted to a nearby bucket. Next, she slashed along the sternum, creating a direct opening to the internal organs. The intestines and other undesirables took the same path of the upper layer, while the edible parts were separated for later confection. Ruby scowled at the liver, a piece she particularly dreaded, but didn't dare to throw it away and upset Yang. Finally, she chopped the remaining meat in smaller fragments, covering them in salt after being properly washed, and pilled them inside a wooden box, conserving it for later consumption.

Since the blonde was still dozing off, Ruby decided to start cooking dinner by herself, a small gesture of apology for the trouble she had put her through. She filled a pan with water, and set it on top of the stove to boil, throwing in a couple of wild herbs she had gathered during one of her outings. She was about to proceed, when a panicked scream froze her blood.

Throwing her head back, she saw her sister lying on the floor, a look of pure dread on her lilac eyes, evidently shivering from shock. In front of her was the stone statue that had not only started moving, but was readying an attack, a fist rolled back menacingly.

The archer dropped everything she was doing, jumping between the two girls and stretching her arms wide, in a position of surrender.

"PENNY NO!" The golem stopped, and looked perplexedly at the new figure in front of her. "It's me, Ruby. You're safe here."

"Ruby? Where am I? Who is she?" She lowered her arm, retreating from the attack stance, but still bearing a defensive tone, a hint of rage in her voice when mentioning the blonde.

"...it can speak?" The youngster glanced at her sister, who'd just whispered in horror. Yang remained immobile on the ground, face completely drained of color.

"Oh shut up, Yang. Not now!" The reprimand came out sterner than intended, but her serious attitude was more than justified considering the circumstances. Facing back towards the marble creature, she took a step forward and calmly gripped the cold stone arm. "I told you I could help, remember? Well, this is my house, and that's my sister."

It took a couple of seconds for the sculpture to make sense of the words, but within a flash her eyes widened in excitement, and her arms were wrapped around the archer in what would sooner be considered a death grip than a hug. The dark-haired girl felt her joints crack loudly, and thanked the heavens that no ribs were broken.

"OH THANK YOU, RUBY! YOU'RE THE BEST!" The affectionate gesture came to an end when the victim started desperately hitting her jailor's shoulder with the palm of her hand, the lack of air in her compressed lungs getting more and more concerning. After Ruby had time to recover from near-death, she proceeded with the introductions.

"Penny, that's Yang Xiao Long, my sister. Yang, this is Penny. It's… a long story" She added quietly to her sister, who accepted the marble hand gesturing for a handshake. After the contact broke off, the blonde kept staring at her own fingers, unable to believe what she'd just touched.

"It's very nice to meet you, Yang!" When no response came back, Penny leaned into Ruby's ear and questioned in a murmur. "She doesn't say much, does she?"

If only you knew. The huntress waved it off, finding the truth an unnecessary complication for another time. If the marble girl was going to stay with them, she would find out eventually.

In the meanwhile, the older sibling managed to snap of out her daze, and left the room shaking her head, simply mentioning she had to get ready to go out, and something about not being able to handle all that sorcery.

Ruby took a sit at the table and gestured her stone friend to do the same, intending to explain the circumstances that led to that point.

"During the morning, we b-"

Her speech was cut short by the distinct sound of wood cracking, followed by a loud thud. In treating the statue like any other guest, she'd forgotten marble wasn't exactly light, and the chair in which she had tried to sit was reduced to a few loose planks of lumber.

"I'm so sorry, Ruby!" The golem returned to her feet with some difficulty, due to her weight, and immediately started gathering the wooden splinters, worried about destroying her benefactor's house. The huntress laughed at the mess, and assured the visitor that there was no harm done. The white-skinned girl was not very convinced, still ashamed to be a burden, but ceased the task and stood for the rest of the conversation, letting the red-hooded archer clarify the events of that morning.

When the epic but truthful tale, complete with impromptu sound effects, came to an end, and the giggles they shared vanished at last, Penny stretched her hand towards her companion's, and squeezed it softly, looking her in those intense silver eyes.

"Thank you, Ruby, really. What you did for me… I'll never be able to-"

"Huh, Penny? You still there? Everything okay?" The human looked disconcertedly at the sculpture, who had abruptly stopped speaking, removing her hand from hers and making a serious expression. She didn't look back at Ruby, but stared at the other side of the room, towards the bedrooms that lied behind her.

"There's someone in your house." Penny whispered the words with no hesitation, clenching her fists.

When the archer looked back she saw a man, dressed in a brown overcoat and matching slacks under loose leather boots tied at the top just below the knee. The only hints of color in his outfit were a stained orange shirt hiding behind the coat and vest, also brown, and the scarf tightly wrapped around his neck and jaw, yellow in color. His face was full of dirt, as was the jacket, and he was carrying a large hat that covered all hair.

Ruby sat back down and payed no mind to the newcomer, who sighed deeply after seeing the smashed seat on the floor and then proceeded to the door. Waving at the girls, he opened the entrance and took a step outside, before being stopped by a call.

"Good luck!" The stranger chuckled at the dark-red haired girl's words, and left.

When the huntress tore her sight from the door, she was met by a pair of monochromatic eyes staring back at her with confusion. The stony creature hadn't relaxed from her attack position, yet unsure of how to feel about the intruder that had just casually strolled through to the exit.

"It's okay, Penny. I said you're safe here. That was just Yang." The youngster tried to comfort her friend, who looked even more confused than before, although no longer tensing her muscles.

"Is she a man?"

"What? No! It's… complicated" Ruby hoped there would be no need to go on, but she had no such luck, as the statue still had her gaze fixated on her with a curious look. "During the night she arm-wrestles soldiers at the tavern, and makes money from the bets. So she had to look like a man, because no one would take a girl's challenge seriously. Honestly the only reason she still hasn't been caught is the poor guys are always different, their squads are constantly arriving and leaving our village, moving somewhere else to prepare for the war…"

The marble girl looked satisfied with the answer, even if still a bit surprised, to put it mildly.

"So, where were we? Oh right, I was gonna say, you can stay with us here." When the stone girl turned to protest, she continued with a chastising tone. "Hey, no arguing! You will and that's final! And tomorrow I'll work on getting you unbound to that podium, so you can walk around more freely."

"And how are you going to do that?" The question came with the raise of a brow, sitting somewhere between amazement and doubt.

"I'm going to visit the witch."

For clarification, a thin and short-ish girl like Penny (1,65m - 5'5'') would weigh around 147kgs (322lbs) in solid marble. It's pretty heavy, even for two people, but not impossible.



Feel to free to review to scream at my incorrect assessments of human strength, or with any other opinion. As always, your views are welcome.