Chapter 40

Yang was still struggling to use the lighter when she and the others arrived at the house. Even shifting the arm into its "Fine Control" setting - which slowed movements but technically allowed for greater precision - was not enough. She did find the prosthetic to be rather intuitive. Sure, her movements were clunky and the sensations it returned were not ideal just yet, but it was not so bad. It was just like using a natural arm, albeit one that seemed to occasionally decide to do its own thing. An app on her scroll allowed her to easily shift the settings, though most were still locked away, with only "Default" and "Fine Control" available.

The biggest problem for Yang, aside from the frustration resulting from her lack of dexterity, was the aching, itching pain in her stump. Her painkillers took the edge off, but even so the discomfort did not entirely go away. Still, it was nothing she could not handle. Her phantom pains had been infinitely worse. Yang was determined to ignore the pain and power through, hoping to have the prosthetic fully mastered by the time it was healed enough to use to its full potential.

Yang decided to give the lighter a rest for a while. There was something else she could do anyway. "Hey Pyrrha." She called, flopping down on the couch as the adults headed to the kitchen.

"What's up?" Pyrrha asked.

"Let's play some video games." Yang replied. She clicked on the television and started up the console. "I haven't been able to play since...you get it. It's something I can do, so let's do it!"

"I'm still terrible at it, you know." Pyrrha warned, taking a seat beside Yang.

"I could use the confidence boost." Yang chuckled. She passed a controller to Pyrrha as the game's menu appeared. It was a 2D fighter, Vytal Festival Extreme 3, Yang's favorite game. Pyrrha had never been clear on why Yang liked it, other than the fact that one of the characters bore a passing resemblance to Yang. Ruby was much better, leading Yang to rage-quit frequently. Still, she always came back for more. "Hit start already."

"Oh, sorry." Pyrrha did as instructed. "Who should I be?"

"Be whoever you want." Yang answered. As usual she selected the character that looked like her, the brawler Celica. Taking Yang's lead, Pyrrha selected a character similar to herself, the hoplite Aegis. "Interesting choice. Quick, but doesn't do much damage. I look forward to juggling you."

"And I look forward to feeding your ego." Pyrrha joked. She had never played many video games, as her parents thought them juvenile and discouraged her. Yang talked of combos, counters and all kinds of super moves, but the best Pyrrha could manage was slapping the buttons as fast as she could, hoping to luck into success.

Fight! The announcer shouted. Pyrrha spent the first few seconds of the match jumping in place as Yang closed in. Then, nothing. Yang grunted and looked down at the controller, trying to get her new fingers to cooperate. It gave Pyrrha the time she needed to find an attack button, which sent Yang's character tumbling. Celica jumped back up and charged at Aegis, only for Yang to hit taunt instead of kick, allowing Pyrrha to accidentally grab her and toss her to the ground. Yang began to groan, growing visibly frustrated as Pyrrha inadvertently obliterated her character. Player 2 Wins!

"Goddamnit!" Yang shouted. "I've got fucking stupid fingers! Shit! Rematch!" Both combatants selected the rematch option, and though it was less one-sided, the result was the same. It was repeated again on the third attempt. If the strength in Yang's prosthetic was not being heavily limited, she likely would have snapped the controller in two.

"Maybe we should take a break." Pyrrha suggested.

"No, I have to get this." Yang refused. "Maybe I just can't deal with your randomness. Go hang out with Summer or something, I'm gonna' fight the AI."

"I'll just watch." Pyrrha offered.

Yang shrugged and switched to the game's single player mode, selecting a medium difficulty bot to fight against. Unable to accurately control her fingers without looking at them, Yang was no match. She bumped the difficulty down and still lost. Finally, fighting a novice level AI, she managed to eek out a victory. "Well that's fucking depressing." Yang groaned. "I can barely beat super-easy-bitch-mode."

"I'm sure you'll get it with time." Pyrrha encouraged. "It's your first day. Hell, the surgery was like six hours ago. Give it a week and you'll be back to wiping the floor with me."

"I'm just glad Ruby's not here." Yang sighed. "That was embarrassing."

"Yang, you knew this wasn't going to be easy." Pyrrha noted. "You haven't had an arm for months. If your natural arm was broken and in a cast for that long, you'd probably struggle like this too. And didn't the engineer say the connection will get better with time?"

"Yeah, I know." Yang nodded. "It's just...I want to go back to being normal again."

"Yang, you were never normal." Pyrrha chuckled. "Though who am I to talk? Take it easy, start small, and you'll get there before you know it."

"Where's there?" Yang asked.

"Wherever you want it to be." Pyrrha replied after a moment's hesitation. "I know if you set a goal...a realistic one at least…you'll eventually get there. You're too strong to fail."

"Stubborn too." Yang smiled. "You're right. I'll get the hang of this damn thing. Just...it would probably be for the best if we quit the game for now. I don't want to end up busting another TV."

"What?" Pyrrha gasped.

"Once I got so mad playing against Ruby that I threw a controller through the TV." Yang admitted. "That wasn't an easy one to explain to mom."

"Potentially dangerous though they may be, the knife and lighter were inspired choices." Winter praised. Summer started brewing coffee for everyone. "They're perfect for Yang to practice with."

"I hope she doesn't get too frustrated." Raven sighed. "She can be destructive when she's angry."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that." Summer declared. "Pyrrha's been quite the calming influence."

"Yeah, she'll probably be fine." Raven shrugged.

"How has business been?" Winter asked.

"It's been a little rough." Glynda admitted. "I'm down two personal trainers most of the time now that Nora's out too, and even finding temps to replace them is tough."

"At least my side of the business is going smoothly." Raven added. "It seems martial arts are all the rage these days. It used to be I'd get mostly kids and teens, but lots of adults have been signing up lately."

"Do you have room in one of your classes for me?" Winter asked. "Our little scuffle showed me how inadequate my skills are."

"Hmm...I don't really have any beginner slots." Raven replied. "All the classes are sort of in the middle of stuff so-"

"What about private lessons?" Winter asked.

"I don't really do private lessons." Raven answered.

"I'd pay handsomely." Winter offered. "I've always preferred one-on-one instruction anyway."

"Define handsomely." Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I hesitate to put a figure on it, but if you'd be willing to train me, I'd pay whatever you consider a fair price." Winter responded.

"100 lien an hour." Raven named her price.

"The gym takes 25%." Glynda noted.

"Right...make it 150." Raven corrected. "I'll have to stay after my normal hours, so I'll basically be working overtime. Two hour-long sessions per week."

"Make it daily and I'll pay you 200." Winter haggled.

"Deal." Raven agreed. "But you're starting as a white belt. I'm going to push you hard."

Winter smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Raven just...please don't hurt my girlfriend." Summer sighed.

"At least not the face." Winter joked.

"You will go home from my lessons bruised and aching." Raven warned. "I'm not going to take it easy on you."

"I plan to exceed your expectations." Winter boasted. "General Ironwood didn't take it easy on me either."

"That sounds like a challenge." Raven pressed.

"Maybe it is." Winter smirked.

"You're in for a world of hurt." Raven threatened.

"Bring it on." Winter challenged.

"Oh God…" Summer sighed.

Glynda groaned. "I'll need to write up some liability waivers."

After a long day of classes, Ruby slipped her laptop into her bag and headed for the dorms. Her classes had been going quite smoothly, though as time went on she had become concerned about her future. Despite having thought about it for years now, Ruby had no clear goal or career, outside of art commissions for the nerd demographic and maybe a portraiture business on the side. Ruby loved her art, it being the one thing at which she was the best in the family, but making a career out of it might not be the best course of action, and she did not want to burn out on her passion.

So Ruby was left feeling insecure. Aside from her artistic talents, she had no marketable skills and no idea to what else she could apply herself. She lacked her mother's talent for cooking and Yang's passion for fitness. She could not make heads nor tails of Weiss' business studies, let alone Blake's flexibility. Ruby was afraid. Was she just a pretty face who could draw cool pictures? She never wanted to be a starving artist, or a mooch. She wanted a career someday. The only question was in what?

At least life in general seemed to be going well. Yang had called to gush about Winter's gift, for which Ruby had given aesthetic advice. The arm could have come in a matching flesh tone, but Winter had been concerned that Yang, given her mental state, would reject something so poorly trying to imitate natural skin. Ruby agreed, and luckily had already given the matter some thought as part of an art project. Yang's portrayal in the project as a charismatic brawler had been hindered by the accident, not simply due to her loss of an arm but due to the choices it presented Ruby.

Ruby could draw Yang as she had been, with two strong arms, as she always would be in spirit. She could have chosen to depict her as she currently was, notably missing her arm, but no less strong in her eyes. The final option was to depict Yang as Ruby hoped she would be, with a prosthetic befitting of her character, gold and black, like her late motorcycle. The choice had not been a simple one, so Ruby had decided to draw all three, planning to ask Yang before submitting the project, in hopes that by that time Yang would have recovered, and Ruby could portray her as she wished.

The perfect opportunity had dropped into Ruby's lap, and she sent the prosthetic picture through to Winter. She in turn had the color scheme adapted for the real thing. Yang had been ecstatic, especially after seeing the picture Ruby had drawn, tearfully praising both Ruby's work and Winter's effort. Afterwards, Yang had talked about Winter's commitment to Summer, and the effect that had on their mother, as well as Yang and Pyrrha's double date with the Valkyries, and Jaune's realization. Ruby was not surprised that Jaune had to be told so directly, as he had always been imperceptive when it came to relationships. After all, he had been the last to notice when Nora and Yang started dating.

Ruby brought Yang up to date on current events in her life, her progress on the project, Sun's party (leaving out a few critical details), and Weiss' reconciliation with Neon. The time since her trip to Patch had been surprisingly eventful, though happily drama free. Though the matter was not discussed with Yang, Emerald had left Ruby alone entirely (and never returned the collar) and Cinder seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet. Yang had been quite interested in Weiss' wellbeing, surprisingly so, having apparently bonded with her during the trip, noting that Weiss had seemed troubled. Ruby was happy Weiss had made friends with Yang. She had expected the pair to butt heads. Perhaps if they had met pre-accident that would have been the case.

After knocking, Ruby entered her room to come upon an interesting sight. Weiss was sitting at her desk, head buried in her hands, not the most unusual, but Blake? Blake was sitting on Ruby's bed, wearing nothing but her black underwear, skin lightly flushed, ears flat against her head.

"Uh...is everything okay?" Ruby asked.

Blake smiled nervously, nodding. Weiss let out a groan. "Ruby, I assume you are familiar with heat?" Weiss asked.

Ruby's jaw dropped. She closed the door and placed her bag on the floor beside it. "I didn't think it would be so sudden."

"It's not...I really should have explained this properly beforehand." Blake sighed. "I'm not in heat yet, but I will be, in about a week or so."

"Ruby sat beside her girlfriend, laying a hand on her shoulder. Her skin was warmer than usual. "You're hot."

"And here I thought you were with me for my brains." Blake joked. Ruby lightly slapped her, scoffing, as Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's a warning symptom, that my body is preparing for the heat cycle."

"You literally heat up?" Ruby asked.

"My metabolism increases, my body temperature rises, I become more sensitive physically, naturally more amorous." Blake explained. "While my subset of Faunus share similarities to feline species, we typically only have one bout of heat per year."

"Okay, so what are we gonna' do?" Ruby asked. Blake huffed, standing to begin pacing. Weiss attempted to resist staring at her scantily clad rear as it passed by.

"Ruby, I know you love me, and you enjoy the way I treat you when I let go, but this is more strenuous than that." Blake warned.

Weiss failed.

"Explain it to me then." Ruby requested.

Weiss was okay with that.

"The biological urge to mate will rule me." Blake declared. "Meaning the only ways to satiate it are attempted and/or successful impregnation. As the latter is not a choice, that means constant attention, to keep my sanity in check. Catnip taken during heat has a suppressive effect, but only for so long. It's like dulling the pain of an itch."

"So we take a week off, and I can take care of you." Ruby suggested.

Has Blake's rear always been so...shapely?

"Ruby, what is our record?" Blake asked.

Of course they've made a game of it.

"Uh, I think five, in four hours." Ruby recalled.

Of course it's more than mine.

"And we were exhausted." Blake noted. "Now imagine that, every day, two or three times."

Ruby held up a finger, mouth bobbing open and shut before she closed it, face scrunching in thought. "What do you usually do during heat?"

Suffer in isolation as your body begs you to ravish the people you love most, praying that catnip will suppress things enough that you don't tear the door down.

"Usually I isolate myself." Blake answered. "Failing that, Winter is very patient, very calming company. But that's not an option this time."

Oh yes, very calming. After your first heat was a crash course from furry hell.

"What if we had help?" Ruby asked.

"What?" Blake and Weiss gasped in unison.

"Help, assistance!" Ruby continued. "I mean, if you're okay with that. Velvet and Coco would understand."

I would understand.

"You...you're sure?" Blake pressed.

Ruby nodded, standing to pull Blake into a hug. "As long as you're okay with it, I am too. I mean, we're in college. Try new things, new experiences, new people…" Blake laughed, pushing Ruby back onto the bed and bending down to kiss her.

God damnit Blake, your rear is borderline shoved in my face...though it's not an entirely unpleasant view.

"So, Coco and Velvet?" Blake said.

Okay, Blake's rear has definitely grown more voluptuous, perhaps due to sharing sweets with Ruby.

"Yeah." Ruby confirmed. "I mean, to be honest, they are really hot, and I wonder if Coco wears her glasses during sex."

Maybe I should start eating more sweets.

"She takes them off to sleep at least." Blake shrugged.

Maybe if I put on a few pounds I could finally fill out. Blake loves Ruby's curves.

"The only time I've seen her without them is when she gave me her pair." Ruby noted.

She looks so hot in those glasses. She should wear them more often.

"I walked in on them nude." Blake reminisced. "Coco was asleep. She looked so cute, not trying to be composed or teasing."

I got to see you both nude...in my bed...sadly without me included, but still.

"Is she a snuggler?" Ruby asked.

I'm a snuggler.

"She was a little passed out on Velv, but I can see it happening." Blake replied.

"So you're really okay with it?" Ruby pressed.

"I am Ruby." Blake confirmed. "We don't have to invite them in right away, just when things get to be too much. We need to ask them first."

"I wish you would ask me."

Blake jolted, turning to look at Weiss, who hastily tore her eyes from Blake's rump.

"Hmm?" Weiss hummed.

"Uh...you do?" Ruby asked. It took a few moments for it to hit Weiss, then panic gripped her heart.

I...I said that out loud.