Blake

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss screamed at Ruby from across the classroom. I'd noticed Weiss getting more and more aggravated at Ruby as the day had went on, but this outburst was the worst of it so far. Maybe the pressure of a raging Boarbatusk rushing at her had made Weiss snap. Either way, Ruby hadn't noticed Weiss' rising frustration, and I could see the hurt showing on her face at hearing Weiss' harsh words.

Weiss had seemed perfectly cordial with Ruby the previous day, after our battle with the Nevermore, but had turned cold this morning. Yang and I had discussed it while the two of them were out of earshot; we'd both noticed Weiss' angry glares at Ruby. I shared a look of concern with Yang as she turned to rest a comforting hand on Ruby's shoulder. I looked on quietly as Weiss dispatched her opponent, before strutting out of the room. I shook my head in disapproval as we rose to leave class, jotting down a quick note of our assigned readings for that night.

Ruby made her way after Weiss, with a hurt, yet concerned, expression. Yang made to go after her, but stopped when I laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking my head at her. Yang sighed as she looked at Ruby's retreating figure, before nodding at me and leading the way back to our dorm. I took one last glance at Ruby as she turned a corner in the hallway, hoping that the two of them would manage to settle their differences.

When Yang and I arrived out our dorm, Yang still had a concerned expression on her face. I stood in the doorway as she climbed up onto her bed. I looked at our new, shoddily made bunk beds and couldn't hold back a smile. Weiss had seemed happy enough when we'd woken up, for Weiss' standards. She'd helped us decorate and build our bunk beds, our first team assignment, and the first order issued by our new leader.

"I hope they'll be okay," said Yang, putting words to exactly what I was thinking. "We've only been a team for one day; we can't be fighting amongst ourselves already." I smiled at Yang's concern.

"They'll be okay," I replied. Yang looked up at me, looking unconvinced. "Yang, they'll be fine."

"Will they though? I mean, we don't even know what Weiss is mad about."

"She's probably jealous, or upset, that Ruby was named our leader."

"But Professor Ozpin chose all the leaders, Ruby had nothing to do with that! And anyway, I think she'll be a great leader. She's smart, and dedicated, and self-sacrifi-"

"Yang!" I interrupted her rant, trying to calm her down. "There's no need to convince me. I trust Professor Ozpin's judgement. She might need to find her feet, but she definitely has what it takes." Yang smiled at my words, relief beginning to show on her face. I smiled back at her before continuing. "Just think of this as the first hurdle she needs to make it over to become who she needs to be to be a leader."

"So you're saying Weiss being mad at her is a good thing?" Yang asked, looking confused, and somewhat upset.

"I'm saying it can be, for both of them." I held my hands up, motioning for Yang to calm down. "Ruby needs to work out how to deal with issues like this. And the earlier she gets her bearings, the better for the team." Yang nodded in agreement as I spoke before looking up at me and smiling.

"You're right," she said. "We just need to let them sort out their differences. After all, they were paired together yesterday,"

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked, confused. Yang

"Well, we were paired together, and here you are, looking out for me." she replied, smiling and slightly blushing. "They need to make up with each other, because they need to have each other's backs, just like you have mine."

"And you have mine?"

"Absolutely!"

"I see what you mean," I said, moving to sit on my own bed. "We have our bunks paired together as well." I observed.

"Exactly!"

"Do you think we'll always be a team split into pairs? That doesn't seem like a very good mentality for a team to have." I asked, gazing up at the bottom of Yang's bed, deep in thought.

"I think we'll make a good team, but we might be closer to our first partner. Besides, Weiss was the first friend that Ruby made here. So that leaves us."

"Oh, so I'm just your partner because there's no one else left?" I asked, feigning an affronted tone.

"I didn't mean it like that. I dunno, I just… It makes sense to me that the pairs would stick together."

"I know what you meant, and I agree. It has seemed that way so far."

Yang and I shared a smile, Yang hanging over the edge of her bed to look down at me, before beginning to unpack our text and note books; we didn't know how long Ruby and Weiss would be, so all we had to do was to just wait for them to come back. A ruckus in the hallway outside made me look up at the door, hoping that they were coming back. But when the door remained closed I realised the noise was Team JNPR returning to their dorm across the hall. I sighed quietly to myself as I turned my attention to the open book on my lap.

I looked up as Ruby came in the door, looking much happier and more relaxed; a small smile on her face. Yang leapt off her bunk and grabbed Ruby in a bear hug, lifting her into the air. I smiled to myself; Yang was so protective of her little sister. I found it adorable, but at the same time I felt a little jealous of Ruby.

"Hey, are you okay?" Yang asked. I looked up quickly, worried she was asking me, but sighed in relief when I saw she was still facing Ruby. Ruby was nodding and smiling at Yang, reassuring her.

"Yes Yang, I'm fine, really," she said, smiling at her sister. "I just… I'm fine."

"Just what?" Yang asked. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"I'm okay, I promise. I just needed to sort this whole 'being a leader' thing out." She smiled up at Yang's concerned face, the kind of smile that made you feel like everything was alright; the reassuring smile of a responsible leader. So she has figured it out, I thought, smiling to myself as a turned back to my book.

The three of us finished our homework and waited until well after sundown for Weiss to come back. Eventually Yang and I decided to go to sleep. We'd decided to give Weiss and Ruby time to sort out their own problems, and maybe Weiss just needed more time to think things through. Sparing another few seconds to peer out into the hallway to see if she was coming, Yang and I went to sleep, leaving Ruby up. She had decided to stay up studying until Weiss came back. I didn't doubt that Ruby would stay up for Weiss: the two seemed close to one another during our day in the forest. That was, if studying didn't bore her to sleep first. With that thought leaving an amused smile on my face, I dozed off to sleep.