Ember Legacy, Volume 2

Chapter 15: Debts Paid

Kingdom of Vale,

Western Outskirts

"True Dragons are among the Universe's most perfect beings. This is a useful bit of information. Squirrel it away like a nugget of Fafnir's gold; take it out and burnish it now and then as we proceed."

~ Shawn MacKenzie

The dozen adventurers set out early the next morning at a rather lackadaisical pace, one which was immediately commented upon by several of the newer fellowship members.

"Why in the name of Oum are we moving so slow?" Nebula asked Ruby somewhat crossly.

The brunette leader of their expedition shrugged unconcernedly. "My horse is slow."

From the other side of the diminutive girl, Blake hid her grin at the purple-haired Knight's obvious exasperation, her Faunus tail wrapped around her waist but the tip still flicking with humor.

"And why, pray tell, is your horse so slow?" the armored woman asked with slow and careful enunciation.

"Oh, well, I don't get along well with horses. So, I have to ride one that's pretty tame, y'know?" Ruby gave her a guileless smile.

"I… see."

"So what's the plan, Ruby?" Yang called out humorously, evidently having picked up on the exchange as well. "Just travel as far as we can every night, camp out in the woods?"

"That's the plan," Ruby replied over her shoulder with a nod. "Shouldn't be any settlements or taverns or the like between here and our goal, so we'll make camp when we need to."

"About that," Nebula began hesitantly. "If I may ask… what exactly is our goal?"

Ruby gave the Knight a sideways glance. "Pyrrha didn't mention it?"

"I did not bring it up with Lady Nikos, no. We are here at your pleasure, if you wish to inform us of our objective that is your prerogative."

"You Knights are such a polite lot," the brunette giggled. "Want me to let everyone know at once?"

"If it pleases you, m'lady."

"None of that now, just Ruby." The silver-eyed girl gave Blake an amused look and a matching grin. "You okay taking the lead, Blakey?"

The Cat Faunus grinned back, finding it easier to hide her blush when interacting with the effervescent Human girl. "I won't get us lost."

"Didn't think you would," Ruby murmured, giving her a quick wink before bringing her horse to a halt alongside Nebula and Dew to wait for the other pair of Valesian Knights at the rear.

This time, she did let a faint hint of a blush escape.

And, of course, it was noticed.

Her Faunus ears twitched as Yang eased her horse alongside hers. When she spoke up, there was no need to look her direction to know how wide a smile she bore, it was evident in her voice.

"Sooo, kitten… You and Ruby, huh?"

"No, Yang," the Rogue sighed. "There is nothing going on there."

"Suuure there isn't… or at least, not yet." The blonde brawler leaned over from her horse to give her arm a nudge. "But you wish there was something there, right?"

"No, Yang," she repeated levelly.

Much to her irritation, Weiss moved her horse up on the other side of her. Wonderful.

"I'm not entirely convinced there, Yang," the platinum-haired Elf stated humorously.

"I do believe you're right, Weiss," the blonde replied, her own voice still full of merriment.

"How nice," Blake sighed. "Now I have the both of you to irritate me."

She kicked her horse into a slight trot to outpace the snickering duo, shaking her head in resignation of a very long journey ahead of her.

o o o

They made it most of the day, perhaps an hour or two from setting up camp for the night, when they came across their first violent encounter in the dense forest.

The path they were on, if one could call the ancient, overgrown game trail as such, had twisted and wound its way through the dense foliage for some time now. The column came to a halt after the next bend as Blake found something odd blocking their path up ahead.

"Is that…" Dew, pushing her long dark blonde hair to the side, peered ahead uncertainly. "Is that a really big man on a horse?"

"Not quite," Blake murmured at her side. "It's a Centaur."

"Annnd he looks drunk," Ruby mentioned nonchalantly.

"And this would be bad?" the Knight queried.

"Well…" Blake sighed uncertainly. "They're known to be more violent when drunk, but not necessarily as immediately belligerent. So long as we don't provoke him-"

"Oi, you lot!" the Centaur suddenly roared. "What the fuck are you doin' in my forest?"

"Never mind," the Faunus Rogue sighed once more.

"Just passing through, friend!" Ruby called out cheerfully. "We're causing no harm to the forest, nor are we here to threaten anyone!"

Several snarled words issued from the Centaur's throat next, incomprehensible to Blake. It didn't sound friendly, though.

"Oh, well now, that's just uncalled for," Ruby snickered. "I mean, I don't even think that's anatomically possible."

"You speak Centaur as well?" Blake asked humorously. It was only one Centaur, after all, against the dozen of them. She wasn't overly concerned.

"Understand, yes. Speak, no. We should go around him before he calls in some friends."

"Yeah…. no." Yang moved her horse next to Ruby and dismounted. "Be easier just going through him."

"Yang… we're keeping a low profile, remember?" Ruby whispered harshly, leaving Blake to wonder as to her meaning.

"I know, I know," the blonde called back dismissively, waving her hand over her shoulder. The unarmed and unarmored brawler rolled her shoulders as she walked and flexed her biceps. She opened her mouth and roared out some more of the same incomprehensible language.

"And apparently Yang can speak it just fine," Ruby sighed.

"Do I want to know what she said?" the raven-haired girl asked humorously.

"No, you really don't."

"Somehow I figured that."

With a fierce cry, the Centaur charged, sword leveled at the blonde in his path. As he raced at her, Yang neatly sidestepped and delivered a shattering blow to his flank, crushing his arm and even caving in half of his torso. The creature was dead before it skidded to a halt.

"I'll be Oum-bloody-damned," Dew gasped at the display.

Ren cleared his throat gently from behind. "Language, please. And should I check on that?"

"No, no need… though…" Ruby cocked her head to the side and listened intently. "Yeah, that figures." She turned in her saddle, raising her voice. "Prepare for combat, we have incoming!"

Blake pulled her bow from the saddle sheath and tugged the quiver of arrows over her head. "Centaurs?" The rumble was like that of distant thunder, growing louder by the second.

"Mostly, yeah, and a bunch of 'em."

"Right." Blake hopped up to stand on the saddle before leaping onto a branch overhead. She quickly scrambled further up, readying an arrow as the others below her got ready.

It didn't take long for a massive form to come hurtling out of the dense forest edge. Blake sent an arrow into its hide, but it was quite likely that the Centaur, twice the size of the first one, hardly even noticed it. He hefted a massive spear as he bore down on the end of the line, but was halted right in his tracks as he met the business end of Nora's even more massive warhammer. There was a loud squelch as half of his lower horse-like torso was torn away, and as he plunged into the dirt the orange-haired warrior spun and delivered the fatal blow to the back of his head.

The next Centaur, through, Blake managed to catch in his throat, but more and more began to appear. She rained arrows down, keeping her shots tight and focused.

With a loud battle cry, several of the Knights initiated a charge of their own to break up the incoming Centaurs, even though they were dwarfed by their opponents. The lances wielded by Pyrrha, Nebula, and Octavia proved to be a greater advantage, however, as their longer reach would impale their opponent before they could strike back.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ruby spinning among the attacking creatures, and she quickly tracked the brunette to get a good look at the darkly-flaming warscythe. It was indeed as impressive as Nora had made it out to be, though she was perfectly happy to observe it from up here.

Several Centaur stumbled to a halt as they tried to catch up with the nimble brunette, skewered by numerous ice spikes that sprouted from the ground in front of them, presumably courtesy of Weiss.

Blake spared a glance down to the other end where Yang had ended up, searching for the flash of bright golden hair to see if she was still alright. What she saw took her breath away, as the blonde caught a charging Centaur by his forearms and effortlessly lifted him over her head, only to slam him into the ground, crushing his bones into pulp.

"Gods," she breathed. The Faunus Rogue didn't have much time for introspection, however, as the tree she was on shook from an impact. Glancing over, she saw what looked to be an armed man standing there menacingly, only he had the lower half of an upright goat.

Shit, and now we have Satyrs...

She nimbly flipped backwards off of the branch, firing an arrow at the lunging Satyr while suspended mid-air and upside-down. It caught him in the eye, dropping him to the forest floor as she herself landed in a wary crouch, her tail out straight behind her for balance.

The raven-haired girl was immediately forced to leap aside to avoid being crushed by a rampaging set of hooves, unable to even get an arrow off as she whirled about, dodging frantically.

And then there was a flash of red, and the Centaur toppled bonelessly to the side. Ruby was there, grinning at her widely.

"Okay?" the brunette called out. Blake replied with a grateful nod before they separated, Ruby to soar overhead with her dangerous cleaving weapon trailing black fire behind her, and Blake to seek some cover to snipe from.

She saw Jeanne defending herself furiously against a pair of Satyrs, her shield and sword flashing out to catch each sword thrust of her opponents. Blake was quick to even the odds, nailing one of them with an arrow to the back of his disjointed knee, causing him to stumble. The blonde squire took immediately advantage of this, skewering the one still on his feet with a deft twist of her blade through his guard, before turning to finish off the wounded one. Their eyes met briefly and shared a grin before moving off once more.

The rest of the battle passed in a blur of rampaging hooves and flashing blades. Blake ended up back-to-back with Pyrrha, the armored warrior dismounted now and fighting with her sword and shield. The Cat Faunus stood firm, sending out arrow after arrow into any enemy who lumbered into range. Dimly she registered the fact that she'd need to find her horse again to retrieve her other quiver if this continued much longer.

Fortunately, though, with two arrows left a sudden hush fell over the forest, broken only by the harsh breathing of herself and her companion.

"Are you well?" the redhead panted, her emerald eyes roaming the woods.

"I am," Blake answered levelly. "You?"

"Uninjured. We should look for the others."

"Agreed."

Nora wasn't too difficult to find, her excited war whoops piercing the veil of quiet as she celebrated. Ren was next to her, crouched over Gwen as he healed her leg, while Octavia and Jeanne stood watch over them.

"Jeanne," Pyrrha breathed, perking Blake's Faunus ears up. She had observed a good deal of familiarity between the Knight and her squire, but also discerned an undercurrent of affection above and beyond that of their mentorship. She made a mental note to ask Ruby about it later, but for now it was a little amusing to watch the pair dance around each other verbally as they assuaged each other's well-being after the fight. It would seem that the other Knights weren't oblivious in the least, as they shared a brief glance accompanied by a poorly-concealed smirk behind their backs.

Blake approached the orange-haired warrior as she did an odd sort of victory dance. "Er, Nora? Would you like to call the others in?"

"You betcha!" the diminutive hammer-wielder chirped. She braced her feet apart and held her hands up to her mouth. "RALLY ON ME!" she bellowed.

"That should do it, thanks," Blake sighed, massaging her ringing furry ears on top of her head.

Ruby was the first to show up, and surprised the Rogue with a quick hug. "You okay?" the brunette asked as she leaned back, gazing at her probingly.

"Fine," Blake murmured back. "You?"

"Yep, I'm good."

"Good."

They stood there for a few moments with their arms around each other, staring into each other's eyes intently, before Pyrrha cleared her throat gently next to them.

"Not that anyone here minds in the least," the redhead began humorously. "But if you are in that same position when Yang arrives, I expect the teasing to be fierce and merciless."

The two of them leapt out of each other's embrace, both blushing furiously.

"Right, right," Ruby declared loudly. "So, how's everyone? Any wounded, Ren?"

"Only Lady Darcy, a leg wound which I already healed," the raven-haired Cleric replied mildly. "Nobody else has shown up yet."

Others began trickling in, all unwounded though they brought with them a depressingly few amount of horses. Nebula and Dew remained mounted on their warhorses, while Weiss and Yang towed along two of each, including Blake's, much to her relief.

"So," Ruby sighed at the assembled fellowship. "The obvious good news is that there are no fatalities or serious injuries. But… we have six horses between the twelve of us."

"We could trade off?" Jeanne proposed hesitantly.

"I think that'd be our best bet, yeah. Except for Gwen, who needs to rest her leg, and Weiss, who should keep her stamina high as she tends to drain the fastest with her magic use."

The platinum-haired Mage looked as if she might object, which made Blake's estimation of her rise a bit, but Yang elbowed her in the side and whispered quickly into her pointed ear.

"Yang and I don't need to ride, we can just walk," Ruby continued. "And I can't ride any of them anyways. Let's take some time to find any of the horses that were slain, gather up our supplies. Blake, you want to help me search bodies?"

The Faunus Rogue nodded easily, ignoring the subtle looks of distaste from the Knights. It's not a glamorous job, but one that should be done anyway. Never know what trinkets might be found.

o o o

As it turned out, there were a goodly number of baubles and coin on the Centaurs and Satyrs, as well as more than a few potions. Weiss was able to identify the more useful of those, Healing and Stamina Restoration and the like. There was one potion of Strength, which Weiss immediately handed over to Nora, much to her joy, and another of Aura Regeneration, which she slipped into her own pouch. Ren claimed a sickly-green-looking liquid which Weiss assured him was a potion to neutralize many poisons.

As they trekked along the path, cognizant of the fact that they wouldn't be making much more progress tonight, Blake strode alongside Ruby's side, eyeing the gleaming dagger in the brunette's hands.

"Picked up a new toy?" the raven-haired Rogue asked humorously.

"Well…" Ruby mused, turning it over in her hands. "It's only a minor enchantment, but I suppose it's better than not having anything that… Yeah, okay." She seemed to come to a decision, and handed it over to Blake, hilt-first. "It's not much, but at least you can defend yourself with it at close-range, right?"

"Er… right," Blake murmured, accepting the gift and tucking it into her belt. "Thank you."

"Well, I'm still gonna work on enchanting Gambol Shroud for you tonight. I managed to retrieve all of my supplies. Hey, your arrows… do you make them yourself?"

"Most of them, yes," Blake replied, reaching back to touch the feathered shafts over her shoulder. "I tend to supplement with bought ones, but they're usually of poorer quality."

"Gotcha. And how many did you retrieve?"

"About half a quiver."

"Okay… So while I'm working, see if you can't fletch a few more, the enchantment I'm going to place will work best if the arrows are made by your hand."

Blake nodded wordlessly, her mind running through what fletching supplies she had brought along, deciding that she could perhaps create another quiver's worth.

An hour later they had camp set up. Half of the Knights volunteered for first watch while Ren and Nora cooked up dinner for everyone.

Ruby, after making sure everyone was settled well enough, situated herself up against a tree trunk on the edge of camp. She sat cross-legged with her knapsack at her side and several items spread out before her, including a scroll that she was reading intently.

The Cat Faunus quietly walked up to her, taking her time while watching how focused the brunette was on what she was reading, the tip of her small, pink tongue poking out from between her lips in concentration. Gods, she is adorable. She gave herself a quick shake to dispel the unwanted thought, gracefully dropping into an identical pose across from Ruby.

The other girl's silver eyes snapped up, immediately crinkling in pleasure at her company. I will not blush, I will not blush…

"Is there anything you require from me, besides… this?" She handed her Duskwood bow over to the brunette. She was slightly surprised at the amount of reverence Ruby displayed as she handled it, turning it over in her hands and making soft little noises of appreciation at the scrolling runework carved into the bow.

"There's one thing…" Ruby murmured as she easily unstrung the bow, setting the string aside next to her. "I'm going to need a hair from you, not cut but rather with the root attached."

"Okay," Blake shrugged. She complied, pulling on a strand and plucking it out before setting it in the brunette's hands. "How long with this take you?"

"Oh, all night," Ruby replied unconcernedly.

"What?"

"Really, it's not a problem." The shorter girl smiled guilelessly at her. "Done it plenty of times before."

Blake nodded slowly. "Very well… Er, is it alright if I stand watch over you while you work? I can do my fletching and still keep you safe…"

Ruby blinked her wide silver eyes at her. "I would like that," she stated softly, a faint pink dusting her cheeks.

"Okay," she murmured, turning away in embarrassment. She snuck a peek over her shoulder as she went to get her supplies, and was surprised to see the girl pluck one of her own red-tipped hairs and add it to Blake's in her hands. Shrugging, she grabbed what she needed and got herself set up against a neighboring tree not five feet away.

The diminutive girl didn't make any further conversation as she read a few words aloud from the scroll, words that seemed to linger in her mind as fleeting as a summer storm before wisping away. Then she rested her hands on the bow, eyes closed and back erect, mumbling more words under her breath that were too soft for even her Faunus senses to catch.

Ren stopped by with dinner, quietly asking if he should disturb Ruby, but she waved him off. The Rogue paused in her fletching preparations to wolf down the tasty stew. It wasn't seafood, but quite pleasurable nonetheless.

A half hour later, and six arrows in, Yang plopped inelegantly next to her, careful not to jostle her elbow.

"How's it going?" the blonde asked softly.

"Well," Blake replied neutrally, showing her efforts so far. Yang just grunted but then indicated her sister with her head for further clarification. The Cat Faunus sighed and shook her head.

"I have no idea what she's doing, but so far so good, I suppose."

Yang nodded, content to lean her head back against the tree and observe the brunette openly. The Rogue gave up on her efforts for the time being and did the same.

"Yang," she began hesitantly. "What was it you talked about with King Ozpin? Why was he so eager to help us?"

The blonde worried at her bottom lip for a moment, displaying an uncharacteristic reluctance. "Did Ruby mention anything?" she finally asked.

"No, she keeps avoiding the subject."

"Well… Okay, I can't go into the specifics, but… The King, he knew my dad. And Ruby's mom."

Blake nodded slowly. "And that was sufficient to obtain his assistance?"

"He knew them really well," Yang clarified. "So, yeah, he felt obligated to help."

"Very well," Blake sighed, knowing she wouldn't get any more out of the unusually recalcitrant woman.

"Right, then," Yang grunted, levering herself to her feet. "I got me a certain Elf who's keeping my bedroll warm, don't wanna leave her waiting too long."

Blake snorted humorously, waving her off as she sauntered deeper into the woods. The Faunus woman supposed there was no harm in the two of them sleeping outside the camp edge, the both of them could hear anything coming up to them and could easily handle themselves.

She settled back against the tree, unwilling to resume her fletching just yet. Instead she watched the annoyingly attractive brunette, her mind's eye reminiscing upon the maid's outfit that she'd tricked the shorter girl into wearing in the castle. A small grin formed on her lips, and an involuntary purr rumbled through her chest at the memory.

"I know what you're thinking about," a playful, sing-song voice whispered from behind her.

The Cat Faunus gave a startled squawk as she gracelessly spun around in her seated position. Twinkling turquoise eyes looked back at her.

"Nora," she hissed. "What are you… I mean… I don't know what you're talking about," she finished weakly.

"Uh-huh," the orange-haired warrior smirked, hopping down next to her and leaning against her shoulder. "You were purring."

"I wasn't-"

"While looking at Ruby."

"That doesn't mean-"

"And you had a really sappy grin on your face while doin' it." Nora giggled as she nudged the raven-haired woman. "You got it bad for her, don'tcha?"

"I…." Blake sighed, staring down at her hands. "Yes... yes I do." She turned her own amber eyes upon her companion fiercely. "Not a word of this to anyone!"

"No worries, Blake, your secret's safe with me," she snickered. "So when are you gonna make a move?"

"I don't… Does she even like girls?"

Nora clapped her hands over her mouth, laughing silently and allowing tears of mirth to freely flow over her cheeks. Blake just sighed indulgently as she waited for the hammer-wielder to calm down, mindlessly working on another arrow as she did so.

"Okay," Nora eventually wheezed. "So… yeah, I can definitely say she likes girls."

"How do you know?"

"Hmm... Nope, can't tell you. Another secret, okay? But yeah, totally into girls. And, like, not the way Yang likes everyone, I mean she's exclusively into girls. More like Weiss."

Blake blinked her eyes uncertainly, almost dropping the arrow she was working on. "I… see. That was disturbingly comprehensive."

"I aim to please!" Nora giggled. "Seriously, though, when you gonna ask her?"

"Perhaps…" Blake set the completed arrow down, glancing up again at Ruby to make sure she was still heavily engaged in her enchanting. "Perhaps when this is over and the Orb returned to Vale," she whispered.

"That long?"

"Yes, I don't… I don't want to complicate things. Even if…" Blake's head dropped, her raven tresses hiding her face. "Even if there's a chance… I can wait."

"Hmm." Nora got to her feet, but bent down over Blake, tipping her head back and boring her intense turquoise orbs into her. "But can she?"

With that, the orange-haired girl skipped away, calling out for Ren to hurry up with the dishes so they could "...hit the sack, if you know what I mean."

Blake managed to finish the arrows that she had materiels for, bundling them into her quiver and taking the purchased ones aside. Those she began to disassemble, keeping the arrow heads and fletching if they were of a good enough quality, but discarding the generally inferior shafts.

Her eyes rested upon Ruby the whole while, her mind awhirl with conflicting thoughts, emotions, and desires.

o o o

Morning dawned bright and early. Blake had taken a shift with Weiss in the middle of the night, their enhanced night vision allowing the pair a better chance of detecting any approaching threats. For all that, though, the night passed without incident. Blake even managed to grab a few hours of sleep while Yang took her spot at the tree to watch over her sister.

When the Cat Faunus awoke, it was to a gentle nudging. A pair of sparkling silver eyes peered at her as she cracked her own amber orbs open. The brunette looked disturbingly awake for someone who didn't sleep at all the night prior.

"Wakey wakey, Blakey!" the shorter girl giggled. "C'mon, I got something to show you!"

Groaning, the raven-haired girl dragged herself out from under her bedroll. A few others were up already, blearily walking around and gathering their wits.

By the time Ruby had dragged her to the other side of the camp where the pathway lay, most of them had gathered around curiously.

The brunette reached behind a tree trunk and withdrew Gambol Shroud, as well as her new quiver of arrows. Blake accepted the bow gratefully, running her hands along the smooth, dark surface. It seemed to resonate slightly, like a tingly feeling where her fingertips caressed the wood.

"Yep, she recognizes you," Ruby giggled from her side. "You can feel it, right?"

Blake just nodded wordlessly, her eyes wide with wonderment at the feeling of, well… life within her previously inert bow.

"Okay, so here's what we do," Ruby began in a firm voice. She indicated with a pointed finger a spot up the road where she'd previously secured a brightly-colored ribbon. It was a good distance off, but nothing Blake hadn't managed before. "Nock an arrow, draw but don't release."

The Rogue complied with her directions, the arrowhead unwavering on the target while she absentmindedly took into account wind speed and direction.

"Think about the target," Ruby continued.

Okay, sure… Hello little ribbon, you're my target today, how are you? She suppressed a giggle at her uncharacteristic silliness. Presumably the petite brunette was beginning to rub off on her.

"Now look at me while keeping the arrow drawn."

She furrowed her brow in confusion, but glanced her way in compliance once again.

Ruby grinned at her widely. "Keep your eyes on me while thinking about your target, and then release. Don't look away from me, okay?"

"Alright," Blake conceded. She knew by now her aim had drifted off target, but with a shrug she released the string, fully expecting it to be lost into the woods.

Her eyes widened as she looked over, echoing the gasps from the others of the fellowship observing. The arrow was embedded through the ribbon and into the tree, quivering slightly from the impact.

"How…?" she breathed incredulously.

"That's the enchantment," the brunette said, clapping her hands together with palpable glee. "You'll always hit the target you're thinking about. But you gotta use arrows you make yourself or it won't work. I mean, it'll be a regular bow then, but it's attuned to your aura, and you leave a trace of that when you fletch…" She grinned and shrugged. "Well, I'm not gonna get technical about it, but that's how it works."

Blake shook her head, still in shock at the incredible enchantment that her leader had crafted for her. "This is… amazing."

"Oh, and it gets better!" the brunette burbled. "If Weiss and me can enchant your arrows while locking in the aura signature… hmm, I'd have to let her know… Hey, Weiss, you know how to do that?"

The platinum-haired Elf shook her head slowly, eyeing the brunette like she'd never seen her before.

"Well, no worries, I can teach you… Anyways, if we can enchant some arrows up, they'll still work, but then the actual arrow will do more damage, like to Dragons and other beasties you can only hit with magical weapons." She stood in front of Blake, her hands behind her back and a wide grin still on her face. "Sooo… you like?"

Blake enveloped the brunette in a wordless hug, careful of her newly enchanted bow still in her hands. "I love it," she whispered. "Thank you so very much."

Ruby chuckled embarrassedly as she returned the hug warmly "My pleasure, Blakey."

"Okay!" a loud voice called out from back in the camp. "Where's everyone? We gettin' ready to head out or not?"

Ruby and Blake were quick to once again separate from their hug before Yang could come up on them. From the snickers of the others in the group, nobody was fooled in the slightest.

"Heya, kitty cat!" the blonde called out cheerfully as she slung an arm around the Faunus Rogue. "So what do ya think of my little sister's work, huh? Pretty impressive, right?"

"It is, most definitely," Balke replied, shrugging the arm off but giving the brunette a warm look before walking to retrieve her arrow.

When she returned, the fellowship was gathered and packed up, save for one usually boisterous orange-haired hellion.

"She's difficult to rouse on the best of days," Ren sighed. "Especially right at dawn."

"I can kick her," Jeanne stated dubiously, earning her several incredulous stares.

"Do you truly value your life and limb so cheaply?" Weiss scoffed amicably.

Ruby chuckled as she walked up. "Don't worry guys, your fearless leader has this."

She bent over the cocooned form of the prone girl and whispered loudly. "Nora, some girl just hugged Ren!"

In the blink of an eye, the orange-haired warrior was up and ready for immediate action, Magnhild at the ready.

"Where is she? I'll break her legs!" She glared around the gathered companions. "Wasn't anybody here, was it?"

Every female in the group took a hurried step away from the chagrined man, shaking their heads rapidly.

"Good. Hey, we going somewhere?"

A/N: Some get jewelry for their crush. Ruby enchants a magical bow. Hey, whatever works. And it seems as if Nora and Ruby have already had a heart-to-heart.

Much love for my marvelous Betas, KellyConnely and PandaAnimeLover, and tons of hugs for my wonderful reviewers, RatedRSuperStar87, RedWing36, Nicodemus Cain, AntonSlavik020, kaiju62, FoxyFoxation, ExKage, TacoKing23, and bankerrtx01. Love you guys!

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