Chapter 28

With a flash, Glynda appeared in the living room. Ruby leapt to her feet from the couch and nearly cried out at the sight before her. Weiss was clutching her side, stained with blood, an equally bloody gash across her left eye, which had swollen shut. Yang held an unconscious Nora, Blake holding Ren, but in Glynda's arms lay Pyrrha, head wrapped in a bloody bandage, which dripped on the floor.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby cried. "Weiss! What-"

"Ruby, calm." Glynda interrupted. "Blake, Yang, take them to the guest room. Weiss, take a seat and rest." She ordered. As the aspects left the room she gestured for Ruby to follow her, taking Pyrrha to the kitchen and laying her on the table. "Ruby, Pyrrha will be fine. She needs stitches, and may have a concussion."

"What happened!?" Ruby yelled, clutching at Pyrrha's limp hand.

"The escort was ambushed by Cinder's accomplice and their thrall." Glynda explained, turning Pyrrha's head to the side and peeling back the soaked bandages.

"And they did this?" Ruby warbled, heart clenching as her mistress flinched and whimpered in her sleep.

"The thrall was a sniper in a superior position." Glynda explained. "Pyrrha, in her wisdom, decided to charge her anyway." Opening her kit, Glynda withdrew a bottle of antiseptic, more bandages, scissors, a needle and thread. "Take off her boots." She instructed. Ruby glanced down at Pyrrha's leg to note one of them dripping with more blood, the metal plating punctured with a clean hole. Letting go of Pyrrha's hand, she reached to unclasp the straps holding on her greaves, allowing her to gently remove them and the boots beneath. "The bullet went straight through. The wound needs to be cleaned and bandaged...what are you doing?"

Ruby lay her hands on either side of the wound, eyes shut tight. She reached out toward Pyrrha's essence, focused on the wound, and for the first time felt true strain. Healing Pyrrha's fatigue was easy. Muscles were eaten away in miniscule amounts, regenerating them took all the effort of breathing. This was different, with muscle and flesh torn asunder, traumatized, throbbing. Ruby was not used to this strain, and grit her teeth as she knit the wound closed in her mind's eye, until finally letting go, opening her eyes to find the flesh bloodied, but seemingly whole, a star of scar tissue where the entry wound had been. Inspecting the exit wound, which had been much less clean, she found it too closed with with jagged scar tissue.

"It worked." Ruby huffed, not realizing she was out of breath until she did so.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Glynda asked.

Ruby shook off the fatigue and circled the table. "I'm fine." She reached out to Pyrrha's face, placing her hands on either side of the wound at her temple.

"Are you certai-" Glynda started.

"I'm fine!" Ruby snapped, closing her eyes and reaching out with her mind once more. It was far more difficult this time. The wound was far more sensitive, the bone bruised and chipped by impact. She could feel the trauma inflicted upon Pyrrha's brain, but dared not attempt to heal that, lest she do something wrong. Flesh was simple, flesh was like cloth, muscles knitting together like fibers to create thread, skin like a protective cloth, but this weaving was far more stressful than any clothing she had formed, and by the time she felt it was done, she readily fell into Glynda's arms, breathing heavily, dizzy from exertion.

"Stubborn...how do you feel now?" Glynda inquired.

"I'm...tired...don't take me away." Ruby plead drowsily.

Glynda sighed, setting Ruby in one of the chairs and pushing her closer to her sleeping mistress, where she latched onto Pyrrha's hand. "You're as bad as each other." Glynda murmured, running the sink's hot water tap and opening the cupboard to take a bowl.

Blake whispered in Glynda's mind, evaluating Nora and Ren's injuries - severe silver-smoke inhalation for Ren, minor for Nora, silver burns to the eyes of both though far worse for Nora, and shrapnel wounds to Nora's legs. Nora's condition was far more serious, having absorbed the bulk of the blast by throwing Ren out of the way. Most of Ren's injuries occurred when he dragged Nora from the deadly smoke. Blake would have no trouble treating the shrapnel, but the smoke effects would make for a long and painful recovery for both werewolves.

"When you feel better, clean the blood from her skin and remove her clothes." Glynda instructed, placing the bowl and a cloth on the table before Ruby. "I will bring her sleepwear." Ruby groaned in response. Filling another bowl, Glynda returned to the living room, finding Weiss still by herself, staring into the hearth's flames. "Would you like to feed first, or second?"

Weiss sighed shakily, reaching to rub at her eye, before freezing. "It's going to scar."

"It is." Glynda confirmed. Usually, injuries suffered by vampires repaired themselves without scars, but those inflicted by silver and fire were different.

"It burns." Weiss whined.

"Hmm." Glynda hummed.

"I should have listened to you." Weiss admitted.

"You should have." Glynda said. "But you didn't."

"I'm sorry." Weiss apologized.

"I know Weiss." Glynda set the bowl aside and undid the top few buttons of her shirt. "Come here, the sooner the better."

Weiss obeyed with another sigh, turning to the witch and shuffling closer. She still hated how much the idea of feeding appealed to her. She could already feel her heart beating faster, Glynda's scent growing stronger, her mouth watering as Glynda gently guided her closer. "Thank you." She whispered, before allowing her fangs to sink into Glynda's neck.

Glynda grunted. "It's okay Weiss, take all you need."

When Glynda ambled into the guest room, holding a bandage to her throat, Yang decided it was time to return to her partner. She could not, and would not pretend the day's events had not shaken her. Weiss asked her to restrain herself, both as she talked to Cinder, and again as she confronted her, and for the sake of faith Yang had obeyed, no matter how much she desired to reduce the vampire to a pile of ash. Indeed, the only reason Cinder survived the attack had been Yang's sheer panic, fear of losing Weiss, fear of incinerating them both by accident, had tempered her fire.

And Yang was beyond thankful for it. She had taken enough from the world...so much, too much to forgive. If she took Weiss? She feared her flame would either be extinguished, or left so rampant that Patch would be reduced to a graveyard of ash, all left of Yang Xiao-Long fluttering away upon the sea winds. But now Yang was angry, at Weiss for endangering herself, at Cinder for harming her love, for being so close to justice, yet so far, saved by one of the few beings in all of Remnant that Yang truly feared, but most of all she was angry at herself, for allowing it all to happen. She could have killed Cinder at any time, she could have reduced her to ash the moment she reformed, but she did not. She chose to let Weiss endanger herself. That would not happen again.

As Yang entered the room, she noticed her partner had not moved, still staring into the hearth's flames. Her hair was bedraggled, her clothing singed and dirty, and as she circled around she noted the droplets of blood on her shirt. But her face was devoid of the substance, owing to the bowl of murky water on the table before her, and the cloth pressed over her newly injured brow. Weiss did not seem to notice Yang's approach until she had taken a seat, flinching when the aspect lay a hand on her shoulder. Weiss' gaze was both shocked and dazed, sclera dull, but not pitch black, firelight gleaming, setting her sight alight.

"Snowball?" Yang asked softly. "Are you okay?"

Weiss quirked a pained smile, answering instead by leaning into Yang's touch, until she was safely tucked into Yang's side. Anger be damned, care came first. "Cinder was right." Weiss murmured.

Yang felt a jolt in her heart. "What...you should have joined her?"

"No, gods no...no it's the feeding." Weiss explained. "She was right, it doesn't compare. Compared to my first, compared to Ruby? Glynda was like stale bread. Ruby was like...rich Mistrali delight, after a glass of fine wine...it has put things in perspective. I think I understand her better now."

"What's there to understand?" Yang growled. "She was a monster. She hunted virgins for the thrill."

Weiss shook her head. "I don't think so, not really. That was just what she told Glynda, what she admitted to herself."

"Admitted...what, she was lying to herself?" Yang pressed.

"She was in denial." Weiss confirmed. "At least, she was until confronted by me. You saw how she acted around Glynda. She was bored, rehearsed. She was a vampire hunting human prey, virgins for the thrill of it. Typical, easy to digest. She didn't care if people judged her for that." Yang felt Weiss sigh against her neck. "When Cinder looked at me, it was like I was a dream come true. She completely changed, surprised, unguarded. It felt like I was watching the Cinder I fell in love with break down before me, not this monster who took my heart on a whim."

"You...seriously believe she loved you?" Yang asked.

"I believe she believed it." Weiss nodded. "She believed she loved all of her victims, and I believe that rationalizing what she did was the only thing that kept her sane, and that sanity cracked when confronted by my survival. She lost her composure, let snippets of the truth flow, tried to make me understand why she did the things she did, the pain she felt from it, the regret and sorrow."

Yang scoffed at that. "Well excuse me for not being so ready to feel sorry for the crazy vampire bitch who tried to kill you twice. She could have stopped at any time, but she kept going."

"Because insane individuals are in control of their rationality." Weiss snarked, rolling her eyes, wincing as the swollen one twitched. "Perhaps I'm a bleeding heart, perhaps my pity has tempered my ire. Perhaps the thought of a woman I fell in love with truly suffering saddens me." Weiss' voice grew thick. Yang felt a surge of jealousy but swallowed it. It was difficult hearing the woman she loved empathize with her attempted murderer, let alone her former lover. The hatred she felt for the monster refused to die, even as Weiss tried to douse the flames with her empathy. "Cinder may well have been a good person once. Perhaps the girl who threw herself in front of us truly loved her...I wish things had been different. I wish we could have met under different circumstances. Perhaps we could have been friends. But it seems fate is cruel to us all."

That much Yang could not disagree with. Sure, Weiss had a point, a few even. Vampires were not born evil, they were raised or turned that way, and even so their society was fairly passive as far as blood sucking monsters go. Maybe Cinder was just an unfortunate, tattered soul who fell to a danger plaguing all of her kind. Maybe, just maybe, she could empathize with that a little, but at least Yang had no choice when summoned, when bound, her will was that of her master or mistress...or maybe Cinder had it worse. Yang was aware it was not her own choice, but Cinder's own mind had betrayed her, seemingly. Yang did not know what to think, but Weiss at least had one thing right, Cinder was not such a clear cut monster. But she could still hate her like one.

"Don't ask me to hold back again." Yang changed the subject. "This is the third time I've watched you almost die...from now on we stand together, we fight together, and if it comes to that we fall together."

"I think I've had enough fall in my life." Weiss murmured.

"Shut up, I'm trying to be serious." Yang tried to chastise, but the giggles against her chest made it impossible to be genuine.

"I'm sorry...never again, I think I've learned my lesson." Weiss apologized. "So long as you are by my side, I can do anything." Removing the cloth from her eye, she hissed. "Gods...damnit that burns...I guess I won't ever be perfection again." She joked bitterly.

Yang scoffed. "Are you kidding? That's just another thing mortals get that we don't. We go through rough battles and come out unscathed. You? You'll carry that scar for the rest of your life, eternal proof you survived and grew from this day." She cupped Weiss' cheek, careful to avoid the wound itself, but soothing the swelling. "You will always be perfection to me."

Weiss' lip quivered, she laughed, then hissed as salty tears ran into the cut. "Stop being so perfect yourself." She whined, clutching at Yang's chest. "I love you too much already."

"Wait until you hear how much I love you." Yang chuckled. "It'd probably make Blakey blush."

Weiss scoffed. "That'll be the day."

Calmed and content, Yang had allowed Weiss some space, retreating into the familiar hearth once more. She was surprised at the lack of damage to the living room. Her flames normally burned bright and hot, and her dramatic and fiery entrance had only occurred a few days prior. Glynda had seemingly gone over everything with a fine-toothed comb, not a singe was left. Yang often found herself impressed with the power of humans, and this was no exception. Seriously, even the rug was intact. What the hell did she do? Time dilation? Could humans reverse time now? Did Glynda keep spares of everything she owned? The more Yang thought about it the more confused she got, until the front door bursting open startled her, causing her to flail out of the hearth and scramble to her feet, a panicked ball of flame held poised to attack, until Winter Schnee stood at the living room's entrance, panting and flustered.

"I came as quickly as I could!" Winter wheezed, bracing herself against the door frame. "Weiss are you…" She cut herself off, finally catching sight of Weiss and her condition. "My gods." She gasped.

"Winter, it's okay." Weiss tried to placate her sister, though the effect was mitigated by the swollen gash across her eye.

"Okay?!" Winter's voice cracked. She pushed off her support to approach her injured sister, distraught. "Okay is unharmed. Okay is not scaring the living hell out of me!" She knelt down, cupping Weiss' face with shaking hands. "Ironwood told me you were involved, but he neglected to inform me of your injuries. What happened?" She turned to glare at Yang. "You were supposed to protect her!" Winter hissed, only to start at the sudden vice grip on her wrist, and the equally cold single-eyed glare of her sister.

"Yang saved my life, no thanks to my own actions." Weiss sternly lectured, before softening her grip. "It was my idea to follow, it was at my request that I fought Cinder alone, and were it not for her interference, we would not be having this discussion. She saved my life Winter, she deserves your gratitude, not your ire."

Winter sighed, bowing her head. She rubbed her eyes before turning to face the aspect. "I apologize Yang...this is a taxing situation."

"Yeah, it is, and we're trying to relax after it." Yang admonished.

Winter nodded. "Right...I shall...make us some tea then."

Pyrrha awoke slowly, groggy and groaning, the dull light from her window illuminating the room, stinging her deprived eyes. She grimaced, a dull ache in her leg and skull becoming evident, contrasted by a comfortable warmth pressed against her side. She blinked blearily at the crimson in her peripheral to find Ruby's delicate features sleeping silently, an odd occurrence. Ruby rarely slept. She had the ability, but found it boring, generally preferring to snuggle with Pyrrha until she fell asleep, before returning to her reading. A part of Pyrrha was saddened that Ruby did not stay in her arms, but it was made up for by the warm smile and eager embrace when she awoke, not to mention the fresh brewed coffee.

The aches in Pyrrha's body pulsed with her increasing heart rate, growing in pain, sickly and unpleasant. She groaned, raising her free hand to rub at the offending location, only for it to explode in pain. Reeling, agonized, a wave of nausea swept through her system, bile rising through her throat. She desperately lurched to the side of the bed, slipping from beneath her summon to avoid hurling on the bed. She barely saw the floorboard before her eyes shut, and her stomach made a volatile escape.

The sounds of liquid splashing against metal would have confused Pyrrha, had she not been in several sorts of agony. She choked, cracking open her eyes to find a bucket had been placed below her. A gentle hand rubbed circles on her back. She would have smiled, had she not suddenly vomited once more. Gods she hated being sick. Even worse was the pain in her skull, throbbing angrily as blood rushed to her head. She sobbed.

"It's okay Pyrrha." Ruby soothed. "It's just a concussion...you're gonna' be okay."

Pyrrha groaned in response, head hanging over the bucket as she awaited the next attack, though it never seemed to come. A towel appeared in her peripheral, and she took it, wiping her face of the various fluids that escaped during the ordeal, before slowly rolling over onto her back. She blinked up at Ruby, who smiled gently down at her.

"Feel better?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha could not lie, panting, closing her eyes and trying to will away the pain. "It hurts." With a pang, worried realization shot through her clouded mind. "Cinder!" She gasped, trying to push herself up, but Ruby held her down firmly.

"Cinder is gone, Pyrrha, she's gone." Ruby informed.

"Gone?" Pyrrha felt fear clench her heart, and Ruby hastily shook her head.

"As in gone...gone...uh." Ruby considered her words. Grabbing a pillow, she gently coaxed Pyrrha's head upward to wedge it beneath. "Weiss and Yang followed you, because they thought something might happen, and they were right. So when Cinder escaped they followed her, and Weiss tried to fight her but she's alright." Ruby hurriedly assured. "She got hurt, but Yang saved her, and Cinder was hurt bad, but this girl came out of nowhere and started begging for her life, but then the Templars arrived, and they were gonna' kill her anyway, but then a Nosferatu, Salem, appeared and took Cinder away. She said Cinder wouldn't be a problem anymore. I don't know what that means really, but Glynda said it doesn't worry her, so it probably means it's fine. I don't know, I wasn't there." Taking Pyrrha's hand, she clutched it close to her heart, closing her eyes.

"What about Ren and Nora?" Pyrrha asked.

When Ruby looked up, her eyes were shimmering. "They have silver poisoning. They'll be okay, I think, I don't know. I was tired, and worried, and scared Pyrrha. I tried to heal you and I think I did it right but I don't know. I-I've never healed wounds before, I just…" Ruby shuddered.

Pyrrha's heart ached, her eyes stinging again. She pulled her summon to lay at her side, reaching around to stroke her hair soothingly. "I'm alright Ruby, I'm here, I'm alive."

"I was so scared." Ruby shivered. "We heard the shooting, Glynda left me to get all the medical supplies out, and when she got back you were unconscious and bleeding and all I could think about was what you said to me, and I didn't say it to you, and I just wanted you to be okay." She rambled, half muffled in Pyrrha's chest.

Pyrrha felt guilt at her summon's pain. There was no one to blame but herself, her recklessness, she was shot in the head, an inch, a millimeter even, and she would have died, and yet she charged headlong into certain death regardless, not giving a single thought as to what could happen. She was a fool, a damned fool. "I'm sorry Ruby, I wasn't thinking clearly." She whispered.

"Please don't do that again." Ruby sobbed. "I don't know what I'd be without you."

"I promise, I'm not going to leave you...you're...you're important to me Ruby." Pyrrha struggled. "I care for you very deeply."

"I care for you too." Ruby sniffled. "Do...do you think you can eat? You lost a lot of blood, you need the nutrients."

Pyrrha felt like she could eat a horse, but at the same time, eating meant moving, and she was not sure that was wise right now. "Perhaps later, Ruby. I'd like some time to wake up first."

"Would you like some water?" Ruby asked.

To rinse the taste of vomit from her mouth? Yes, but that would mean Ruby leaving. "Soon, Ruby, soon...let us rest for a while, together."

"Oh, sure." Ruby perked up at that, snuggling back into Pyrrha's side. "I like being together." She murmured.

Pyrrha smiled, managing a chuckle. "Me too Ruby, me too."