my ice cream is melting

[spotto]

The Goat, the Sheep, and the Lamster
also known as TGtSatL
what a horrible acronym
...also known as the Lamster story
chap 3

3

 

The morning's events replayed in Ruby's mind as she stepped up to the zombie of a cafeteria lady with her tray. It was around five in the morning when she woke up and Yang herself had been up as well, though her sister wasn't known for being an early riser back in the house. Weiss on the other hand was the very opposite of what one would call a morning person. Ruby was desperately hoping the rocky morning was the result of reasonable grumpiness from not only the early hour but also because someone finding themselves locked in a cage didn't lead to a normally happy person. The odds that Weiss would mellow out seemed to be thinning with time however because Ruby had yet to interact with the explosive girl in a positive manner, a long six months it would be indeed. Or maybe she was only swarmed with these thoughts because she had been chewed out intentionally loudly when she saw Weiss at the cafeteria. Who knows how she realized her sheets and blankets were thrown about when they had just left the cell block moments before, but Ruby shuddered at the thought. She turned back towards the tables and noticed her bombastic sister was already harassing her easily agitated cellmate. 

 

"Wow, you're shorter than I expected! I don't even think you're taller than Ruby! Guess I don't have anything to worry about after all," Yang laughed and threw an arm behind her head. 

 

Weiss did not in anyway match her mood, holding her tray away from the blonde with a visible snarl on her face, "I will kill you. I will literally kill you."

 

Ruby chuckled nervously as she approached the two, "Yang, what are you doing?"

 

"Just checking to see whoever you're forced to sleep with, er I mean, bunk with isn't anyone who'll give you a hard time," Yang patted Weiss on the back, who was not amused at any of this whatsoever, "She seems harmless!"

 

Weiss looked up from picking her food, her already familiar glare setting on Ruby, "...did you go?"

 

"Go? Go where--Oh!" Ruby shook her head, "I didn't need to."

 

"Well then you won't get to go again until tomorrow," Weiss chewed her food spitefully, "You do know you're scheduled before lunch."

 

Ruby set her tray down with enough force it made quite the booming noise, "Weiss, there are a lot of things I'll do for you to adjust, but this isn't one of them! What you're asking is impossible!"

 

"Wow, are you two still bickering over potty rights?" Yang shifted herself closer to her sister and her icy 'companion' who had scooted away further along on the cafeteria table, "You do know there are those especially artistic folk in here that use the bowl as a palette and the walls as a canvas—"

 

"NO NO NO WE ARE NOT HAVING THIS CONVERSATION!" Weiss threw her arms up as she immediately shot out of her seat, "Why would you EVER bring something like that up!? WHO DOES THAT!?"

 

Ruby's boisterous older sister could only grin in response as she lowered her voice, "I'm just saying, if you can't even make up over such a non-issue like this you might end up in a cell right next to one of 'em."

 

"Oh god Yang please shut up," Ruby began, "I thought you being here would make this place better, not worse."

 

She threw an arm over her dear sister, her cheeky grin showing no signs of falling off, "It is an ultimate shame that you are here with me, dear sister, but alas I cannot hide the horrors of the world from you anymore. You've fallen into the same abyss as me, and so the wrong side of humanity will shine upon you again and again, until our eyes sear themselves backwards in our sockets and the world remains black forevermore."

 

"...there really is too much freetime in here," Ruby mumbled, somewhat left impatient by the worldly views of her wise and great older sister.  

 

Yang stole an apple slice from Ruby's tray, "So how d'you like the food here?"

 

Ruby peered down at her grub, having eaten it without comment this entire time. There wasn't much to really mention. It was not delicious in any way, but it wasn't so awful that she had to gag or anything of the like. It tasted a lot like the cafeteria food back at her school actually, and while tolerable she hoped this wasn't all there was in the facility. At least there wasn't any physics-defying toast. Considering where she was though, it would be far too optimistic to think so.

 

"Uh, it's alright? Where's your lunch?" Ruby asked.

 

Yang licked her lips, "Already finished. I had cup noodle."

 

"...where on earth did you get that!?" The moment Yang had mentioned her lunch however, Weiss got up with her almost full tray and headed towards the trashcan.

 

"Oh you know, the canteen. I mean I've had that stuff lots of times but it gets real boring real fast," She stole another apple slice, "Cup noodle's not that filling."

 

Ruby watched as Weiss dumped her contents in the garbage can, "You don't say."

 

"Where is this canteen you speak of?" Weiss demanded suddenly, returning to the two from the other side, alarming Ruby.

 

"Hold up there champ," Yang pulled Weiss into an embrace with her sister, "Canteen stuff ain't free, you know!"

 

Weiss struggled to escape Yang's grasp, "Excuse you, I have plenty of money."

 

"Do you have it here right now?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

 

Weiss' pale complexion reddened, "Fine, I'll just have to make do without lunch."

 

"Oh ho ho, no you don't. If the two of you want to keep away from the scary felons running about around here, you're both going to need to add a little weight, a little muscle, you know what I'm saying?" Yang flexed a bicep, and Ruby realized how much stockier her sister was since she last saw her.

 

"And yet you keep stealing my lunch!" Ruby accused, reaching for another apple slice but none remained.

 

Yang gave out another hearty chuckle, "That's fine! I'll hook both of you up and get you whatever you want from the canteen. Anything there tastes far better than the crap here."

 

"I don't want your pity money," Weiss growled and almost bit into Yang's arm, but Yang reacted instantly and simply let the yippy little dog go. 

 

"Well you need to eat something!" Yang called out as Weiss strutted off.

 

"Your presence has already ruined my appetite."

 

The two watched the high-strung girl disappear around the corner, presumably back to where her personal quarters were, which she of course shared with Ruby. It was not the personal sanctuary Ruby could hide in for the entirety of her stay with seemingly an equally reclusive person. That was her first plan after all, to avoid all the people both bad and good and just hole up with a good book or something, but then Ruby wondered if prisons even had books. Surely if this was a place of punishment, books wouldn't be avaliable? Or perhaps only really poorly written books by authors who bribed publishers to get their content out there were avaliable. Ruby didn't know what she dreaded more, the people or the terrible books.

 

"Well if she wants to continue having noodle arms that's her problem," Yang wrapped an arm around Ruby's, "You sis, have no choice! To the yard!"

 

As Ruby was dragged to the outdoors, she noticed that same guard, Blake, watching them from afar. Yang seemed to refer to that guard much more casually than Yang usually regarded people of authority, which for a moment piqued Ruby's interest. The glaring sun soon blinded Ruby as she adjusted to the bright light, seeing a small crowd of tall muscular women doing various exercises including working out with the gym equipment. Yang pulled Ruby to a vacant station, a typical bar with some weights sitting by the side. Yang effortlessly added a few weights on and gestured to Ruby to lie underneath.

 

"Uh, isn't that a bit much for a beginner?" Ruby eyed the large double digits on each of the weights.

 

Yang waved her worries away, "Don't worry sis, with me as your trainer you'll have no problems at all!"

 

Ruby took her position, momentarily cringing at how damp the bench was. Whoever was here before had just used it and as Ruby could tell by the slickness all over her back, used it quite a bit. She raised her arms, gripping onto the bar tightly. Yang grabbed the middle of the bar and stared directly down at her nervous sister.

 

"Alright Rubes, all you gotta do is take a deep breath before you start, get a good grip on the bar, and don't ever lock your elbows or you're gonna have a bad time. Are you ready?" Yang prepared to guide her sister's movements.

 

"How heavy is this again?" Ruby asked, noticing the many weights in the corner of her view.

 

Yang turned and took a quick look at the weights, "Oh it can't be more than fifty pounds, pretty light if you ask me."

 

Ruby did not know her own limits, having moved and carried some heavy materials as a part of her very specialized hobby, but not bothering to really weigh anything. Would fifty pounds crush her? The saving grace was Yang's arms in position to guide Ruby as she lifted the weights up, her arms shaking from the sudden force, but after a few presses Ruby started to become used to the movement.

 

"Wow, fifty is nothing at all to you! Hold on let me add some more!"

 

"Wait Yang!" Ruby's calls were unanswered as Yang abandoned the post immediately to reach down for more weights. Ruby found without Yang's guidance the weights were putting quite a lot of pressure on her arms and especially her chest, but she still managed fine, grunting with every lift. How many times did she need to do this without having noodle arms? Ruby had never thought of her arms as gelatinous mush. They may have looked unimpressive on the outside, but whenever Ruby had to bring them out, her flexed muscles shone through and almost looked fitting in the scheme of the yard.

 

Almost.

 

"Hey Blake! You're watching the Xiao Long genes coursing through that body!" Yang directed her arms at Ruby's continuing workout, feeling quite proud that her little baby sister wasn't all that different from herself in terms of physique, which was pretty important in a place like this.

 

Blake watched Ruby for a few seconds, before turning her attention to Yang, "While I've been meaning to ask how you two are related, I'm actually here for more pressing issues."

 

"Don't tell me there's more to that write-up last week! Because if there is, you're taking away my hair products over my dead body," Yang gritted her teeth as she shoved her face into Blake's, though there was no tension in the air as she said that. Ruby could even tell through her struggling efforts to continue pumping iron that Yang's threat was hollow.

 

Which was surprising because Ruby's sister hogged that bathroom for hours when she was still living in their father's house. That might have been the one good thing in Yang moving out. The amount of allowance she spent on conditioner was especially hair-raising. The drain was no longer a golden radiance keeping Noah's Arc afloat either. Now the bathroom was empty more often than occupied and a little ounce of freedom returned to Ruby's life. She would be more than happy to whisk away such rights for the return of her sister, however.

 

Blake quickly shook her head, "Yang, you know how unwise it is to ever mess with those. No, I'm here because I assume you adore and love your dear little sister...don't you?"

 

"...is that a counter-threat?" Yang's eyes widened, "Blake, I thought you were the good one!"

 

"Yang, this is serious," Blake started, "I just thought to let you know."

 

"Wait," Yang placed her weights back down, "Is Ruby in danger?"

 

Ruby stopped pumping, sitting up on the benchpress, alarmed at Blake's news. How could she be in danger? She just got here and as far as Ruby remembered, she didn't do anything to anger anyone with maybe the exception of—

 

"Weiss. It's about Weiss," Blake said, "Ruby's cellmate."

 

Yang raised an eyebrow, "That Weiss? Short little shrimpy munchkin Weiss? Noodly-armed Weiss? Could take a walk on a frigid winter's day and you'd never be able to find her, that Weiss?"

 

"...I see you've already formed an opinion in the few minutes you've met Weiss," Blake sighed and crossed her arms, "Well you'll probably change your opinion when you hear this. Her full name is Weiss Schnee."

 

"Schnee—" Yang's eyes widened, "Schnee!?"

 

"Schnee."

 

"What, so she's related to them? I mean if one of them managed to wind up in a place like this she must not be all that close to—"

 

"She's the heiress, actually."

 

"Heiress!?" Yang's voice jumped a pitch in an instant.

 

"Wait what?" Ruby interjected, wiping the sweat off her brow with a nearby towel, "I think I'm out of the loop here."

 

Before anyone could respond Ruby found herself forced into a faceful of bosom, as the powerful arms of her sister constricted all around her waist, threatening to snap the poor girl in half if she didn't suffocate to death first. 

 

"Blake, you should transfer my sister to another cell quick!" Yang paused for a moment, "Such as mine, for example."

 

"If every inmate came in here requesting transfers there'd be no end to the cell-swapping," Blake turned away, looking at the doorway to make sure no one was eavesdropping, "I thought to warn you at the very least."

 

Ruby finally managed to escape death's embrace, taking a few breaths to get a hold of herself, "So...Schnee, Weiss, what is this? Can I get some answers here?"

 

"Ruby, I know this is the opposite of what I said earlier, but I'd rather not get you involved in all this," Yang rubbed her shoulder, "All you have to do is, uh, don't upset Weiss, I guess?"

 

Ruby pouted, "A little late for that."

 

"It's better if she knows," Blake reasoned, "The more she knows the more she can protect herself."

 

"Is she really that dangerous? You said so yourself Yang, she's as short as me! And I'm short!" Ruby threw her hands up, "But I still have room to grow, too!"

 

"She can't hurt you directly," Blake mused, "if we're doing our jobs properly."

 

"That's reassuring," Yang chimed. 

 

The guard's eyes narrowed, "But she comes from a very powerful family, full of deadly connections and stolen riches."

 

Yang continued, "So while she can't punch you or anything, she can easily get someone else to do it and splat, you're dead."

 

"But, but I don't want to hold it in until lunch tomorrow!" 

 

Blake furled her brow, "...what?"

 

Yang chuckled nervously, wrapping an arm around Ruby's head, "Ahaha, that's uh, that's an in-joke. Ruby, you can use the one in my cell and I'll speak to Weiss about all this, maybe we can come to an agreement. That family likes agreements, right?"

 

"They make a lot of them, but keeping them is another question."

 

"While you're waiting, why don't you...you probably don't want to stay here, do you?" Yang glanced at all the sweaty muscly ladies in the room, "At least by yourself."

 

Ruby merely peered up at Yang with sad bubbling eyes, her mouth still covered by Yang's forearm. Yang's response was to look back up at Blake with her own pleading eyes. The guard sighed, placing her palm on her forehead.

 

"Yang, I'm a correctional officer, not a babysitter."

 

"Oh wait, isn't there that fancy place with the words I rarely venture into?"

 

Blake chimed, "The library?"

 

"Yeah, that pl—"

 

Ruby immediately ducked out of Yang's grasp, taking a quick two steps into Blake's personal space, almost setting off Blake's protective instincts. Had Ruby been anymore forward she may had been forced to the ground with her wrists in cuffs, but Blake stood pat.

 

"There's a library!?"

 

"Yes?" Blake pointed at a building across from the yard, with two doors as the entrance and indeed faint outlines of shelves in the windows. A stormcloud of dust rose up as the young inmate sped into the building, and the doors were left swinging before they could say another word.

 

-

 

Weiss Schnee tapped her foot in her cell, her arms crossed and her eyes focused on nothing at all like she was waiting for something to happen. She was relieved that the small girl who was infuriatingly not smaller than her had not returned either and enjoyed the rare illusion of privacy. Unfortunately such illusion was shattered when a neighbouring inmate yelled at her to stop tapping her foot, but Weiss paid no mind and simply closed the door so none could invade what personal space remained. She glared deeply at her foot which continued tapping. They were trapped in a pair of gaudy white tennis shoes, which aside from the colour she would normally never be caught dead in. Whenever Weiss found herself in an unsavoury situation, she would tap her heels and the distinct noise would actually calm her anxieties, but these replacements could not hold a forte to her precious heels, and so her own tapping infuriated her further.

 

She finally let out a frustrated sigh and laid down on her bed, which was not nearly as comfortable as her large queen-sized bed at home. Whenever she was in a moment of stress she could take a quick fifteen-minute nap in her bed, which although did feel far too big for her liking was comfortable enough that her nap would put her in tip-top shape so she could focus once again. Instead she was surprised she managed to get any sleep last night not only with this bed, but with that incessant cellmate of hers constantly turning and tossing directly above her. She had always wanted to sleep in bunk beds, but never considered the sleep habits of her bunk partner, so to speak. If it had been someone who slept soundly as she always had a bunk bed would be far more desirable.

 

And if she had the top, of course.

 

For some reason however, Weiss was inclined to take the bottom when she first arrived. Maybe she just didn't want to put in the effort of getting up there; bunk beds always seemed to be made just a little too tall, but Weiss would never admit to forgoing a challenge. Perhaps she was understandably distracted by the events of the day and simply headed for the nearest bed avaliable which was the lower bunk, but by the end of the night not having the top bunk was not at all significant to her. In the end she was stuck in a place against her will that she could do nothing about.

 

Weiss peered out the window, seeing the bright blue skies overhead and watching the birds she never gave much time to fly by. The chirping of the birds were drowned out by a sudden clanging noise at the door. Weiss turned around to see that repulsive blonde giant standing by.

 

"Helloooooo Weiss, can we have a little talk?" She asked coyly. 

 

Yang was visibly sweltering from the heat outside, balancing her jacket on her forearm and showing off her very toned shoulders. There were tattoos covering up every inch of both her arms and more poking out from her tank-top. Weiss couldn't help but keep her eyes, if just for a moment before looking away, at Yang's bosom, though if anyone asked she was just staring at the sweat accumulated all around Yang's chest. Yang also reminded Weiss that she never asked where the shower was and missed it through all the disastrous events of yesterday.

 

"What?"

 

"Oh wow I thought I'd need to convince you to even talk to me," Yang took a sip from the mug she had stereotypically banged at the bars with, though usually that happened in the inside and not out.

 

"Get on with it," Weiss looked at the mug and couldn't make out what kind of drink was in it. It also didn't smell like any beverage she had encountered before either, but as impossible as it was, Weiss could smell a hint of alcohol.

 

Yang took a second sip, "So I hear you're giving my sister a hard time."

 

"And?" Weiss scrunched up her nose, wondering what this oaf wanted from her now. 

 

"Well," Yang cracked a knuckle, "could you not?"

 

Weiss was not amused, "Am I supposed to be scared?"

 

"Haha, I was wondering if that would work or not," Yang took another sip of her mystery drink, "Look my sister is a nerd. She is not in here for anything crazy like drugs or violence. She'll be out of here before you even know it, so is it so hard to ask just for you to be a little more, oh I dunno, sane over that space you share?"

 

Unfortunately such words did not seem to lessen Weiss' annoyance, "No."

 

"Wow, how did previous cellmates of yours deal with you?" Yang's patience too was thinning and she took a large gulp out of her mug.

 

"What? No. This is the first and I'll see to it only time I'll be in here," Weiss responded with for once more words than constant defiance.

 

"First? You're just as raw as my sis!" Yang threw her arms up, almost forgetting she still had liquid within her mug, but moments before disaster kept it level with the ground, "Do you realize how many enemies you have locked up in this place too!?"

 

Suddenly Weiss grabbed Yang's shirt, pulling her down to eye level.

 

"You know who I am," she whispered.

 

"Whoa, calm down there girl. I had no idea you had a thing for me, though I'm not surprised."

 

Weiss gritted her teeth, "Why do you know who I am? No one knows what I look like."

 

"I feel like we're going off-topic here," Yang downed the rest of whatever was in her mug, "All I'm asking is for you to go easy on my sis. Or not even easy, just y'know, normal."

 

"In exchange for keeping this information under wraps?" 

 

"Wait what?" Yang's eyes widened, seeing this opportunity. She didn't want to resort to violent threats, since that usually didn't end well, but never expected to already have an edge on the heiress, "Uh, yes. I'll do my thing, you do your thing. Deal?"

 

Weiss grumbled, clearly not satisfied with this revelation, "Fine."

 

Yang wiped off some sweat off her brow, "That went much more smoothly than I thought, guess I'll get myself washed off now. Nice talking to you!"

 

"Wait."

 

"Oh what now does Ruby have some disgusting habit you want added to our contract or somethi—"

 

"Where are the showers?" Weiss ignored.

 

Yang stopped dead in her tracks, "No one told you?"

 

"Don't answer me with questions, just tell me where they are!"

 

"I can take you there since I'm heading there too," Yang started sliding the door open, "I mean, if you don't mind."

 

Yang eyed the shorter girl grabbing a clean set of clothes and other supplies, "Ugh is this all they give you for shampoo?" She held up a miniscule bottle that resembled the sample sizes provided in hotels, which were always disallowed on planes. The unnecessary small size of such a crucial product had always set Weiss off, and seeing it again in all places was not aiding in her mood. 

 

"Oh yeah that was a real problem for me too when I was new."

 

Weiss raised a brow, "Was?"

 

"Oh no you don't. I'm not letting anyone near my treasure trove." Yang turned away playfully, still keeping Weiss in the corner of her vision.

 

"Then we'll have to have a very, very temporary truce," Weiss could not believe she was saying this, but she definitely needed far more than this worthless amount of goop these people considered shampoo. Yang's hair was unlike any other prisoner, perfectly fine and divine as if she was a lead in a movie, playing a very obvious undercover agent inside a hardlined prison, "to allow a second deal."

 

Yang swung back around, smiling, "I'm listening."

 

-

 

The library was a lot bigger than Ruby had ever imagined. Then again, Ruby was imagining a sad bookshelf with numerous documents detailing how one could become a better person or several versions of the Holy Bible, anything that made sense for people in this facility. Instead various fictional novels of all sorts of genres and even nonfiction books lined the many shelves in the library. There were a few other inmates sitting around reading as well, and most of them didn't look quite as big and intimidating as the ones right out of the yard. Ruby could not believe it, but perhaps she had found her people in a place she truly didn't expect to fit in anywhere.

 

She had been sitting at a table for about thirty minutes, but Ruby would have felt it was only a few as she immersed herself in one of her favourite series she never expected to be sitting, just asking to be read on the top shelf. Chair legs screeched across the ground as other avid readers started gathering at the doorway. Ruby took one moment to return to reality before Blake, the friendliest guard, as Ruby was now referring to in her head, approached her.

 

"Freetime is over. You have to return to your cell."

 

Ruby was about to put her book away when Blake waved her down, "You can take it with you."

 

"I can!?"

 

"Yes. You should also go to the showers before returning," Blake started returning some nomadic books back to where they were, "I'm assuming you never had the opportunity to when you first arrived."

 

Ruby shrugged, "There were a lot of delays, and so I got here pretty late."

 

Aside from some surprising incompetence, Ruby recalled the trip to the prison wasn't, or so she assumed, routine either. The driver of their transport was screaming at other cars passing by or at least the ones that could pass by, as there was this huge traffic jam. He even exited the vehicle and threatened many other drivers that he'd release his prisoners and 'sic them on you all' as he said it if they didn't move any further, and that was only the tip of the iceberg. One of the few things Ruby was thankful for was Weiss' save during the drive-thru incident. She was as far more impatient with the ineptitude of the driver than Ruby was, so she couldn't at all assume that she had done what she did for the others, but even unintentional, it helped and Ruby was indeed grateful. Especially since the day's events distracted her from reality for a bit, diminishing the great anxiety she had during the trip to merely a small nagging voice in her head.

 

When she reached the showers they were all inside stalls with fairly tall doors. Only a few inmates remained, still showering or finishing up. Ruby noticed at the far end that her sister and someone else she couldn't make out were probably arguing, or at least having a heated conversation.

 

"You're taking too much! We had a deal!"

 

"You of all people should know I'm going to need this much to clean any part of my hair," It was Weiss, who poked her head above the door, "And quit looking!"

 

Yang whined, "I don't know, maybe this wasn't a good idea after all, having to share and all..."

 

"You have four other bottles of conditioner right here! Again, quit looking!" Weiss' glare almost projected through the door, but the top of her eyes were still visible.

 

Ruby took the stall next to them, "Hey Yang can I borrow some shampoo too?"

 

"We'd have to strike a deal," Yang said, smugly, "I've got some high quality goods here, you know."

 

"I'm your sister!" Ruby reasoned.

 

"This one isn't even allowed in the country," Yang stared longingly at the bottle, "It's going to take more than just being related to me, sis."

 

Ruby shrugged, "What do you want?"

 

"I don't know, maybe help me wash my back?" Yang grinned, facing her back to her sister. There were soap suds surrounding most of Yang's torso like she was trapped in a cloud. Ruby noticed there was very little of the soap left, and gave Yang a glance as she held up the soap.

 

"It this it?" Ruby doused her hands into the water, trying to dilate and spread the suds.

 

Yang tossed her hair out of the way, "Hey I'm not the soap dealer, she's the soap dealer."

 

She pointed at the only other woman left showering, who had just finished. She didn't look any different from most of the other prisoners except for her skin that gleamed in the light like that of a baby seal. Or maybe Ruby only had that impression because she was a seal faunus, but the soap definitely helped her look the part. The woman then waved her porcelain hand at Yang before exiting the showers. Ruby began adding even more suds to Yang's back when she noticed underneath all the bubbles was some sort of elaborate jet-black chinese dragon, its nose touching the crest of the neck and its tail ending near the tailbone. 

 

"...when did you get this, Yang?" Ruby attempted to rub it off with her thumb, but as expected it stuck as stubbornly as her sister's hair would be in a brush.

 

"Oh, you like it?" Yang flexed her back, "I got that a little while ago."

 

The dragon's amber eyes were right on the contour of Yang's shoulderblades, which protruded in an angle that made the eyes bulge out menacingly. Ruby quickly covered them up with more bubbles, finishing her cleansing touches before holding her hand out for Yang's secret stash of shampoo.

 

"It looks so vicious," Ruby said as she began stripping, "Kind of makes me want to get one too, but not so big." She was lucky she was used to public showers among her peers after lacrosse practices, but she was naturally disappointed that the only team sport avaliable here was basketball.

 

Yang plopped an almost empty container on Ruby's palm, rinsing off her body before standing straight up to pick up a towel, "Of course not so big, you don't start giant as your first." She caught Weiss looking away just then and another smirk picked up on Yang's face, "What happened to 'quit looking', hmmmm?"

 

Weiss' cheeks turned beet red as she quickly shuffled out of her stall, "Who'd look at a brute like you?"

 

The heiress made it a point to reach the exit as quickly as possible, keeping her head down with a towel covering her face. Yang snickered and took back the now empty bottle from Ruby, seeing her younger sister weave her fingers through her hair. Yang pulled her sister towards herself without saying a word and almost instinctly began washing her back. They both ducked under a nozzle and rinsed out anything remaining that wasn't just water and Ruby began to dry her hair. Another inmate entered the showers, heading straight for Yang without any change of clothes or any items to indicate they were actually in the showers to shower.

 

"Hey Blondie!" She called, "I heard you have the dibs on the conditioner!"

 

Yang hummed as she began to dry her body off, "Yeah that's me, what about it?"

 

"Well I want some of those goods, I can't keep this hawk here up without something to you know, make it stay up," She pointed at her fiery red faux hawk hairstyle, one rather rare for a female much less an inmate, yet Ruby could tell it fit the lady to the tee, especially to her equally as red fox ears.

 

"What you got to trade?" Yang asked, "I don't even know what you offer."

 

The redheaded woman bordered the sisters and closed in as if they were in a huddle, "I can get a pound of dust in here in maybe a week, two weeks tops. Any of you interested?"

 

"Dude, no. I don't do any of that stuff," Yang warned, growling, "And don't offer that to my sister either."

 

"Wow but literally everyone—"

 

Yang gripped the woman's shoulder, "You got anything else to offer or are we done here?"

 

"Uhhh, the only other thing I can get in here are office supplies."

 

Ruby perked up suddenly, "Oh oh, like staple guns?"

 

"Ruby, what would you even do with one?" 

 

"They're funner than regular staplers..."

 

Yang tapped her chin for a moment, picking up her fresh set of clothes, "How specific are these so-called office supplies?"

 

"What do you mean? You want art supplies? I can get those," She even pulled out a brush from under her bra as an example, "Any size you want."

 

"I was thinking more like drafting pencils. Are there pencils specifically just for drafting? Because I don't think we'd need smuggling of number two pencils," Yang began, "Oh and paper of course."

 

The redhead nodded, "Hmmm, I could do that. Give me a few days tops and I can get them for you, so long as I gets that bottle of Wolfe hairspray."

 

"I just ran out of those, but I can restock in about a few days too. Meet up at my cell at around 3pm next week, and we'll see what we have then, how 'bout it?" Yang reached her hand out and the other girl shook it before wiping her wrist off a nearby towel because Yang had not dried up yet.

 

The woman smiled before taking off, "Pleasure doing business with you, Blondie."

 

"No prob," Yang gave a casual salute before she began redressing herself. Ruby found the entire exchange rather peculiar, in particular why her sister who was never all that interested in art wanting to trade for pencils of all things.

 

She was then playfully elbowed in the side of her ribs, "They're for you, stupid."

 

"Me?" Ruby blinked quizzically, "How'd you know?"

 

"What do you mean how I know? You've been drawing boring-looking machinery since you were a kid," Yang said, "It's hard not to notice when your sister's first drawings were gears and bolts instead of freakin' stickmen."

 

Ruby clasped her arms, closing her eyes, "Hey machines are way cool, I've had good taste since I was a kid."

 

"So yeah I figure if you're staying here for a while you might as well spend it doing something you actually like," Yang threw her arms behind her head, about to turn for the doorway, "You know, between all the reading and schoolwork you'll do too."

 

Ruby jerked, "Wait, schoolwork!?"

 

"That's right Rubes. Learning, the worst punishment there is!" Yang grappled Ruby and started digging her fist into Ruby's head. The younger sibling struggled for a moment, contrary to her own grin under Yang's hearty laughter before they noticed a guard running towards them, and Yang dropped her sister immediately.

 

"What are you two doing!?" The unfamiliar guard demanded, holding her mace closely.

 

Yang held her arms out, "We were just fooling around. She's my kid sister y'know!"

 

The guard pointed the two out of the showers, "Hmph. Get back to your cells."

 

As the two stepped through the corridors, Ruby felt her stomach rumble. She noticed the time was just past six and every inmate that had been wandering the yard, halls, or cafeteria was now locked tightly into their cells. Yang waved at Ruby before she took a steel staircase up to her own level, which Ruby noticed housed one inmate each instead of two like the entire bottom. She finally reached her own accommodations, stepping inside before the slam of the door shook Ruby in its sheer weight and sound. The young girl wondered if she'd ever get used to hearing that same noise over and over again.

 

Weiss had just made her bed, keeping her single pillow as fluffed as humanly possible and flattening out the sheets. Her tone of voice was not one of excitement, "Oh. You're back."

 

"Uhm...yeah. I'll just leave you to be now!" Ruby said as she attempted to climb the walls to her bunk. The crevices in the wall were very shallow, but Ruby figured with enough practice she'd keep as little weight as possible in as little time as possible on each crevice to maximize her climbing efficiency. It was something to do aside from nothing, which she figured was what most people did in tiny little cages. Besides, she had to admit she had been admiring those practical monkeys bouncing off buildings from afar anyway. A little bit of parkour into her repertoire wouldn't hurt one bit. 

 

She heard a loud sigh coming from behind her, "You can go up normally."

 

"What?" Ruby jerked her head around, "No no it's okay! Your wall idea is super cool anyway."

 

"For the love of—I'm letting you go up normally. What if you hurt yourself?" Weiss continued, still eyeing Ruby's one leg clinging on the tiniest of cracks.

 

Ruby planted her feet back on the ground, mostly in surprise than complying with Weiss' words, "Wait, was that concern?"

 

Weiss lost count of the many times her forehead and palm connected, "Of course not! Do you have an idea how distracting it would be if you cracked your head and the guards had to come in? What if they thought I did that to you? I'd rather not be falsely accused twice! Now be like a normal person and climb onto your bunk properly!"

 

Unfortunately for the heiress, Ruby was one to cling to super cool ideas, "You don't have to worry about me Weiss! I guarantee you I won't fall."

 

She flattened her back to the rear wall and made a running start, although still short due to their cubicle-like amount of space, and attempted to run up the narrow walls next to their bunks. Weiss could only cry out in reaction as Ruby somehow managed an impressive backflip before gravity slam dunked her back onto the ground face first. Weiss was by her side in an instant, practically into her left ear.

 

"You idiot! I said go up normally! Go up normally you dolt!"

 

Ruby was not fazed. She rubbed her forehead that took the most impact, which was thankfully not bleeding and stepped back to the wall again, "It's fine Weiss. I'll get up there, you'll see. I refuse to mess up your sheets anymore!"

 

"At least climb the walls like I said and not run up them!" Weiss shrieked, pulling her away from the wall, "Conserve what few brain cells you have left!"

 

Ruby took a deep breath and relaxed, noticing Weiss' hand was still clinging onto her arm. She calmed down, the sudden burst of adrenaline fading away. The idea to run up the wall was a scene in her favourite series she had been re-reading in the library, where this monster-hunting student was able to dash vertically up a cliff with her gigantic red axe, beheading the great jackdaw monster that terrified the lands. It was one of the iconic scenes of the series and Ruby desperately wanted to find a way to mimic such a ridiculously awesome scene in real life. If only she had the powers of that physics-defying toast earlier, the feat would've been accomplished in a cinch.

 

It took Ruby a few minutes but she managed to clumsily reach the top of her bunk via climbing a second time, and rested her back to the wall, pulling out said book to continue reading. The monster-hunting student was currently being lambasted by her partner for doing such a stupid thing, but ultimately lauded her underneath all the lectures that the plan had actually worked. She looked up from her novel for a moment to see Weiss had took a seat near the single desk in their cell, entirely focused on writing something out. For a moment she wondered how often Weiss might be using the desk. She'd need a proper surface to draw up ideas for her next design after all, and she'd hate to hog the desk if Weiss needed it. As Ruby returned to the fantasy of her novel she was again interrupted this time by her own biology. It finally dawned on her that she missed dinner.

 

"Ruby!" Weiss stood up, whipping around to face her, "Keep it down!"

 

"I'm sorry! I can't help it. I forgot to eat dinner."

 

Weiss' glare again reappeared, causing Ruby to imagine how she'd look as an older woman, wrinkles all over her forehead and eyebrows. All the children would run away screaming the moment they saw her, convinced she was some sort of evil witch cursing all she set her permanent wicked glare on. She'd live in a huge overgrown mansion all by herself, surrounded by sixteen cats which all had the same temperament as her, and the children would spread rumours of missing kids that had attempted to retrieve balls from her yard. Ruby quietly chuckled to herself before a packaged pastry was pushed into her face.

 

"What are you laughing for!? Take this," Weiss pushed the pastry further in when Ruby did not immediately take it, expecting supernatural reflexes.

 

"Oh uh thanks?" Ruby was bewildered, staring at something she'd sooner expect in a convenience store than here. 

 

Weiss sat back in her chair, "From the canteen."

 

"You're really giving it to me?" Ruby had still not opened the package. Perhaps it was poisoned!

 

"Whatever keeps that stomach of yours quiet," Weiss reasoned, "Otherwise you could starve to death for all I care."

 

"That's uh, nice of you," Ruby said as she finally and loudly opened up the plastic packaging. Weiss' grip on her pen was starting to contort the poor thing when she attempted to tolerate further noise during her pressing need to write. She had the words organized to a tee in her head, but the numerous distractions were whisking the floating phrases away, popping in the clouds never to be seen again. She yearned for her private room at home, quiet, undisturbed, overly large...

 

Thankfully the rest of the night went swimmingly and Weiss was able to finish two satisfying pages. She wondered if perhaps it was too long. Regardless at the moment the length was just what it had to be for all the content she needed contained. She felt she was on a roll with all she had jotted down so far, and at the moment nothing was threatening her non-stop work. For her to finish, to continue on this unrelenting pace of well-placed words and well-chosen vocabulary, everything needed to be perfect, including the atmosphere of her surroundings so she had the utmost of focus. The lights suddenly began to dim.

 

A husky male voice called out, loud and clear, "Lights out!"

 

And then the lights went out entirely.

 

"No!" Weiss threw her pages into the air and slammed her head onto the desk.

 

Ruby wanted to speak up, maybe somehow calm down her cellmate, but Weiss said no words after that outburst. The lack of any lighting soon drowned out any energy remaining and Ruby preferred the comfort of her pillow instead of comforting Weiss. She knew there was a very low chance anything she said would help and there was an extremely almost guaranteed chance she would instead annoy Weiss, so the natural thing was to just sleep as the scary voice had implied. Time became an essence as the darkness enveloped her consciousness, sleep drove on.

 

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