LAMBCHOP

[spotto]

After much consideration I've decided to nickname this story "Lambchop."
The obsession with woolly hooved animals + their meat has an explanation I swear. (A DUMB explanation, but an explanation nonetheless)

The Goat, the Sheep, and the Lamster 

4

 

Night was opportunity for the twisted folk, the immoral creatures that feast upon any unsuspecting victim at their most vulnerable of hours, whether it be a jealous spouse ending the life of their significant other as they slumbered cluelessly in bed, or a commuter returning home from overtime, drowsy until they are pulled from their vehicle and left abandoned in the middle of the streets. Valuables went missing as doors and windows were accessed outside their owners' sights, and foolish partiers were left unconscious with their pockets picked outside a bar. But above all they would be caught, if they were unlucky enough.

 

Blake loved night shifts. Or rather, she preferred them. It wasn't so much the rowdy inmates who were occasionally overwhelming that bothered her. After all, that came from the job description. No, she took night shifts so she'd be alone, without her co-workers around. They would naturally assume she prowled the sinners' aisles during the night just because it was the easiest shift of them all especially since Blake, having taken the day shift as well, would then have a whole day off tomorrow. In the night, incidents were rare and escapes in particular rarer. Perhaps that was because all guards were instructed to shoot on sight should anyone dare attempt to take foot outside of the facility, which Blake thought was, in general, a bit overboard considering the type of offenders they housed. There was no need for a board displaying days since the last escape attempt like certain other prisons she visited during training had, which was a tad unsettling in its grim connotations. To most, a night shift was just a long, dark, echoing six-hour walk.

 

She held a flashlight, usually the hallmark of a night guard but one Blake technically did not require. Her eyes were sharp enough to make out each and every inmate that oddly enough slept soundly in the cell block, cell block D it was called. Still, she held it for good measure if only because that was what a night guard was expected to do. The blindingly illuminating light would bounce off the prisoners as they slumbered, disturbing them only slightly but subconsciously instilling to them all that yes, they were being watched as they always were, and no they could do nothing about it. Did Blake bask in such psychological power? Well, no, but she held the flashlight anyway. She held it because she had to. It was required.

 

Required not to get caught.

 

Except for one night, when she was finally given a shift. She had only been working at this prison for a few weeks and an employee had to have earned the trust of their employers before they could be solely responsible for a whole block of convicts for six hours. When the option came up, she jumped at the opportunity to see, walk around, discover if there were any nightcrawlers who maintained their sleep cycle even in a perpetual routine like prison. After a few mindless hours pacing around the block, she took a break foolishly next to a cell she assumed housed two inmates out like logs. She had crouched down, sighed, and pulled off her hat, adjusting her two cat-like ears after they had been cooking inside for so long.

 

She was wrong.

 

Her name was Yang, who had arrived only days before. It was her first time and Yang acted brave around her peers, shrugging the stay like it was something she had experienced before, usually a newbie mistake to make, but Yang kept her composure the entire time. She convinced many she was a veteran that was not to be trifled with, but alone inside her cell Blake could tell she was as scared as anyone would be. Blake approached her that day, seeing the blonde uncharacteristically shake and lightly bawl in the assumed privacy of her cell. Though the guard did not approach with any sense of kindness, she was ultimately curious how Yang was so able to put up such a front but be so vulnerable alone. The blonde did not continue to show this side of her the moment Blake arrived, flashing a thumbs-up and a wide grin despite the puffy eyes indicating otherwise. They had a long talk of nothing much, nothing at all related to why Yang was here or why she had such a sunny disposition inside such a depressing building.

 

She learned of her sister and her lovely family. In fact she raved about the family endlessly, but rarely spoke about herself. Blake did not include much details of her own life either, only mentioning a man she had spent years growing up with. Yang had quickly pointed out that they may have been a compatible pair, even though they had just met and she had no clue who this person was. It could've been her father or brother instead of just a childhood friend, but Yang jumped to conclusions anyway. 

 

During the night, the same girl noticed her ears, and spoke nothing of it. She simply gave her a wave hello and wondered why she was taking two shifts in a row. Blake had to coax Yang's acknowledgement of her heritage out of her, who was still treating what she saw as nothing. 'What, you mean faunus can't even be guards? No one ever decided that! What's the big deal?' she had said. Blake eventually had Yang promise not to ever mention her ears to anyone else, but wondered how well she could trust a felon she met during the morning. 

 

Months had passed, and Yang never spoke a word.

 

They had always said, the teachers, the trainers, the superiors in this field of work, to never befriend the inmates. They were after all damaged people and could take advantage of your position at anytime. Blake witnessed it first-hand several times, feeling the same disappointment to those fired co-workers as her bosses when they had basically become corrupt. One should always keep themselves focused on the job and the job only, never to be distracted, never to sway your ways and betray your own self, your own identity, and your own people. Here she was, a faunus prison guard watching over inmates, mostly faunus, and feeling like she might lose herself to despair the more and more she spent at this detention centre. She'd never mention it to a single soul, but the night shift was in fact six hours of relief. Relief from her own colleagues who would without pause comment on their large faunus population, speak down upon them and compare their jobs to that of wild animal handlers. They would even take sides during an altercation, always the human's, even if they were equally troublesome inmates with repeat offenses, and Blake could not do a single thing about it. This was the type of environment that would change people's career paths in an instant.

 

If of course, her job as a prison guard was her only job.

 

She continued canvassing the halls, walking past Yang whose legs were splayed out around the covers, one hanging off. Having been here for a while Yang ended up with enough respect to request a solo cell, and Blake may have pulled a few strings to let her have it. Was she herself corrupt already? That was a question she didn't need to answer. She smiled regardless and took the stairs down to the one directly below, a frown now in place of that brief beam, but then her eyebrows peaked.

 

Weiss Schnee.

 

Blake took a deep breath, seeing that she wasn't even in bed, but asleep on top of her desk in the middle of writing something. Pages were strewn throughout the cell, and some of them had illegible scribbles on them as if she had attempted to write in the pitch blackness of the night. If she had been anyone else Blake may have awoken her to get her into bed, but she was a Schnee. A dangerous, unforgivable Schnee that controlled such a large percentage of the underground. Most people would be satisfied if a family like that was behind bars just like Weiss was, but to Blake a fate like that would've been letting them off lightly.

 

Before her mind wandered further, she noticed Yang's younger sister, Ruby, sleeping in the top bunk, in not quite as a messy position as Yang but still not one with proper posture or comfort. For one thing she was sleeping backwards, her pillow facing the bars instead of the other way around, but that didn't seem to bother her whatsoever. She remembered the numerous stories Yang told of Ruby and was baffled when she discovered she, like her sister, had wound up here. It was not her business or authority to dig up the permanent records of those she herded, but Ruby's crime truly piqued her curiosity.

 

Her eyes switched back to Weiss, who murmured in her sleep, twitching slightly. Blake examined her position closely, noticing that Weiss' stature really was lacking, and unlike some prisoners, prominently Yang, she did not have the physique a stereotypical inmate might have. As she continued scanning the cell, Blake finally caught a glimpse of the readable words on one of the pages lying beneath the desk, half crumpled up.

 

It was a letter to her father, patriarch of the Schnee family.

 

'—ou are responsible for everything I have in my life and for that I am grateful for. If you are severely disappointed I do not blame you at all for feeling this way, for it is right, and I am not in anyway criticizing that of your prized— excellent lawyers who have always bail— exonerated you as you rightly should have, but it is only a suggestion you speak to these lawyers once again, to listen to my side of the story, my defence, which I felt they did not adequately—communicate effectively to the court. Regardless of whether you believe in my innocen—plea, I hope—humbly request that you revisit my case—'

 

The words stopped into a long, drawn out line of ink that looked to rip through the page itself. Blake blinked, a moment to process what she had just read. She almost let out a laugh in disbelief. What was this girl doing, calling her father to magically and probably illegally fix all of her problems like the spoiled brat always had? Blake shook her head and finally continued her walk down the corridor. Her goal was finished after all, and she didn't need to complete her shift, to do so would be wasting time. No one else was around at the prison and no one would know she had left early. It was in fact a habit pretty much every employee had. She had her information, and her plan would ensue at a time appropriate.

 

-

 

Sunlight ruthlessly attacked Weiss' eyelids, their symbolic fists pounding at her eyes until they opened rather suddenly, in a mood that was not unlike the one she had as she fell asleep.  A tray of cold uneaten breakfast was on the desk next to her head, and it was only then did she notice that a blanket had been draped around her while she slept. She turned around and did not see the only possible guilty party who could have done this. In fact her own bed was as neat as she had kept it last night. It was the bunk on top that only had a lonely pillow sitting in the middle. Weiss finally peered at the clock just outside the cell and noticed it read eleven o' five. Breakfast was long over, lunch was soon, and freetime had begun over half-an-hour ago. As Weiss stood up, she noticed the paper that was cluttered about on the floor was neatly stacked in a pile on the desk as well. For a moment Weiss' rage rose up, knowing Ruby probably at the very least accidentally read some of the words as she gathered them up, but the anger dissipated soon after. It was utterly asinine to be angry at this point. She had overslept, but was kept warm and undisturbed as she did. There was only one person to blame for that.

 

She finally noticed a familiar half-eaten pastry sitting in the tray as well, and tore it off the offending blue plastic, which housed the awful cafeteria food the prison provided. She folded up the blanket and replaced it where it was, exiting the cell on a mission to locate that infuriating girl. She headed straight to the cafeteria. Lunch was soon after all. 

 

The crowd around her dissipated as she stomped through like the tides of Moses. They all sensed her direct path and let her be lest test her unbridled fury as they had overheard countless times yesterday. She found Ruby was sitting alone at a table, with several packages about. Weiss slammed the half-eaten pastry right in front of her, hoping it'd make a loud, commanding noise but being made out of dough, instead emitted a pitiful noise too low to hear.

 

"Ruby Rose!"

 

Ruby almost threw in her body backwards in surprise, "What'dIdonow!?"

 

"What is this!?" Weiss pointed incriminatingly at the half-eaten pastry.

 

"Uh, the pastry you offered me last night! It was quite sweet and delicious!" Ruby responded immediately like that of a cadet responding to her boot camp drill instructor.

 

Weiss sat down, still sneering at Ruby, "And why, if it was so delicious, has it been left half-eaten!?"

 

"Well, you said yesterday it was only for my stomach to stop growling, so I only ate enough to not be super hungry," She responded so very honestly.

 

Of course Weiss was not satisfied by that answer. She wasn't satisfied by anything it seemed, "Do you know how rude it is to not finish food offered by other people?"

 

"Well you slept for a long time and we both know how much breakfast here sucks so I decided to let you have the other half for when you woke up?" Ruby's words were fast and jumbled, but still clear enough to make out. She didn't want Weiss to yell about that to her as well, after all.

 

Weiss pushed the pastry towards Ruby, "Finish it."

 

"But you missed breakfast!" Ruby patted her belly rather childishly, "And I didn't!"

 

"Yes, you ate the disgusting breakfast. Make it up to your tastebuds," She continued pushing the pastry, "I'll be fine."

 

"Isn't it hypocritical to tell others to eat food when you don't eat any yourself?" Ruby paused, "In fact you didn't even eat lunch yesterday! Did you even eat dinner?"

 

As if on cue, Weiss' stomach cried out in response, trying so desperately to communicate to others what her brain refused to do. It yearned for food, gasped for food, its emptiness so vast the echoing gut bounced its emergency alarm through the walls of the cafeteria, a place filled with its needs. Weiss grabbed her abdomen and faceplanted the table, angry at her own body now. What couldn't she be angry at? The dull pain from slamming the table must have annoyed her as well. Curse its physical presence blocking Weiss from smashing herself straight to hell where she'd prefer, even over a place like this. No, she wasn't angry. She was in despair.

 

"Weiss!? Are you okay?" Ruby swung around the other side to sit next to her.

 

Weiss gave up, "When's lunch?"

 

"Yang's off at the canteen buying stuff now! In fact she already gave me some from her personal stash," Ruby lifted up a few of the plastic packages. There was a packet of ramen, some chunky meat soup, a bag of crackers, another of the same pastry which Ruby had now learned was called a honey bun, pocky, and even a frozen TV dinner. To a student this was a feast, and to an inmate, the only happiness they really had, though sometimes the student too.

 

The heiress looked on at the food with dull, lifeless eyes. She had the choice of the impossibly low-quality cafeteria food, or commoner convenience store drivel. Truly, this was the bottom of the barrel for her. Life could not possibly get any worse, and with that attitude, that meant everything from now on could only go up. Well, that would be what Ruby's mindset probably was, but for Weiss, she continued to stare at the food listlessly before finally grabbing the packet of ramen. The gaudy graphics on the packet clearly indicated it was beef flavoured, and Weiss noticed the absurd amount of sodium listed on the back. She wondered if she should be eating this regularly here, or risk dying of a heart attack before she was released. Maybe that fate was better than the one she had.

 

For today, she'd humour Ruby. 

 

"I've never had this before."

 

"You've never had ramen!?" Ruby gasped, "Or just the beef flavour? Personally I prefer chicken."

 

Weiss one-eyed the packet, "Not in a cheap easy-to-cook packet anyway. I've had real ramen before, of course."

 

"This is real ramen!" Ruby pulled it back, "Look at all the salt! And the MSG! It's great!"

 

Weiss could only sit there, slack-jawed as Ruby continued to ramble on about the positive qualities of instant ramen. She learned throughout the rant that Ruby did not come from a very wealthy family, and in fact, her father was often at work so easy-to-cook meals were a go-to for her. Yang wasn't even home half the time to cook for her. Ruby had created so many creative meals with ramen as the main ingredient, like she knew she had a limited amount of resources for variety and just worked with what she had. It would've been admirable if it wasn't so sad.

 

"Wait, so you've never cooked a single thing for yourself?" Weiss asked, still reeling from Ruby's ramen recipes.

 

"I've cooked rice and toast before!"

 

Weiss tilted her head into her palm, "That doesn't count."

 

"Does baking count? I know how to bake cookies!" Ruby said, trying to keep her home economics image up.

 

"Cookies are literally the easiest thing to—"

 

"Nooooo, that depends on the cookie," Ruby was about to start another tangent, "I've baked oatmeal, almond, butter, sugar, gingerbread, chinese, peanut butter and of course chocolate chip before! The world of cookies is endless! And some are much easier and harder than others to not only make, but perfectly make, whether be its texture like chewy or crunchy, or how sometimes the cookies taste even better with unorthodox ingredients like black sesame se—"

 

"You look awful."

 

Ruby blinked, pulled back, and noticed Weiss' attention was caught elsewhere. She was momentarily annoyed that her cookie discussion was ignored, but then she noticed what Weiss noticed and agreed it was a little hard to not comment.

 

"What happened, uh, Blake?" Ruby was unsure if she had gained enough interaction experience to call Blake by her first name.

 

Blake was standing there, in her same uniform of course, but her hair was so unruly it rivaled Yang's morning tangled disasters. Her eyes were weighed down heavily by the bags underneath and she was yawning every other second. Yang merrily headed towards them soon afterwards and dropped a huge batch of canteen food onto the table. She noticed Weiss and Ruby's stares and sat down next to her younger sister.

 

"If you're wondering about Blake, she had a night shift, but then got called in today because another guard was sick. Being the workaholic she is, of course she had to come in!" Yang explained, "This isn't the first time. Blake, I told you, you don't have to take other people's shifts all the damn time."

 

"Don't tell me how to do my job," Blake responded bluntly.

 

"See? That's so cute. She misses me so much she has to stay here twenty-four seven," Yang laughed, grabbing one of the packets holding a cracker snack and ripping it open.

 

Blake attempted to glare at Yang, but it was as it had been that day, interrupted by yet another yawn. It wasn't that bad of a problem, since violence was fairly unlikely in this prison, though she had experienced breaking up a fight once while being incapacitated by lack of sleep, and had to go home early due to pepper-spraying herself. Her co-workers and Yang did not let her off easy after that. All she learned from the experience was to work on her ability to function while sleep-deprived as opposed to not being sleep-deprived. 

 

"You are throwing your integrity away for a bunch of convicts. What has your life come to?" Weiss remarked, about to tear open the ramen packet.

 

Her limbs and mind may have moved in slow-motion due to her drowsiness, but Blake knew a comeback when she needed one, "Really? You of all people are going to be telling me that? Do you realize where you are?"

 

"Please, you're going on about that again?" Weiss scoffed, "For me this is temporary. For you this is your career of choice, so excuse me if I find your baffling passion for a bunch of degenerates to be off."

 

It did not take long for Ruby to realize she was probably included in that insult, but it wasn't all that offensive really. The natural opinion of those locked up in a place like this was very low and before she ever ended up here, she did not think highly of them either. Yes, her sister was one of them as well, but Yang always did live life on the borderline, whether it be something utterly reckless or drawing along the lines of legality. If someone told her when she was younger Yang might've ended up in here someday it wouldn't have been surprising. Of course, there was a very large flaw in that sentence.

 

Blake crossed her arms, "I see you too consider yourself a degenerate."

 

"Hardly," Weiss began, "I am merely a victim of circumstance."

 

"Really? You, a victim?" Ruby noticed Blake crack a smile, not in any sense of happiness of course, as it was more like the step before a laugh of disbelief, but it was certainly an expression that was hard to imagine on someone like Blake.

 

The heiress was not amused, "Is it not obvious? Take one glance through this cafeteria, and tell me the biggest difference between I and the rest of these riff-raff."

 

"Gee, I don't know. That's so hard," Blake started, "Everyone else sure doesn't have their heads so far up their ass like you."

 

"Ha. Very funny," Weiss explained, "It doesn't take a genius to realize I'm one of the few civilized trapped in a cage full of animals."

 

And just like that, Blake was suddenly very awake, "You think just because you're in, for once in your entire feeble little life, the minority that it makes you automatically innocent?"

 

"Of course not. That's stupid. But it doesn't take a statistician to tell you that most of these degenerates just happen to be faunus," Weiss continued, "Oh there are a few of us who have gone astray as well," she eyed Ruby in particular, "but I wouldn't be surprised if that was indirectly the cause of—"

 

"No, you are not going to continue your parade of ignorance and bigotism!" Blake's voice was high enough that even the practically dead lunch lady was alert enough to listen in, "What you're doing is moving to a new country and belittling the people directly in their faces! Do you even care about the potential consequences!?"

 

Weiss narrowed her eyes, tilting her head upwards in order to counter-act the difference in height she had with the officer, "Well, that's where your job comes in, doesn't it? Or does that not apply when you don't happen to like someone?"

 

"You want me to do my job?" Blake reached for an unfortunately familiar jingling noise on her back, "Then I will do my job. Turn around!"

 

The high-strung girl, who was momentarily taken aback by Blake's forwardness, was once again gaining the familiarity of the cafeteria table though this time not self-inflicted. Blake had not let up slamming her into the surface, roughly twisting her arms behind her back to shackle her wrists. She gritted her teeth as she was forced back up, eyes connecting with Ruby's before Blake pulled her back towards the cell block. None of these events were surprising however, due to Weiss' nature this whole situation felt telegraphed from a mile away. What was unexpected was Yang's fistpump just after the two left the cafeteria.

 

"Yang? What the hell!?" Ruby, bewildered, could only say.

 

Yang's chuckle had an inkling of nervousness to it, "Er, let's just say I won a bet."

 

"What kind of bet? Wait, isn't that illegal?"

 

"Ruby, where do you think you are?" Yang reminded, "As soon as we saw her a whole bunch of us got together to see how long it'd take before she got in trouble. And I thought a week might have been a little too soon. Turns out it's the closest out of all our guesses!"

 

"Well I hope it was worth it. What d'you wager?" 

 

Yang turned away from her, saying nothing. There was a massive grin still plastered on her face however. Ruby knew immediately that was not a good sign, "Yang! What did you wager!?"

 

"Oh you don't have to know Ruby. The important part is I won, so my side of the deal doesn't have to happen," She patted her little sister on the head as she stood up, grabbing more than half of the food pile on the table.

 

Ruby quickly scooped up the rest of the food as well, but as she turned back Yang had long exited the cafeteria, escaping to who knows where. Ruby grumbled and attempted to head the same direction, but the volume of contents in her grasp were tumbling off her elbows and wrists onto the ground. She found herself picking up items she dropped moments before fairly often before she noticed she was also holding an open ramen packet, Weiss' lunch. She had no idea where Blake had taken her, and honestly Ruby could understand Blake's frustration with the girl but knowing that Weiss had eaten very little since she arrived, the prospect she may starve to death was very real to Ruby. She'd rather that not happen no matter to who it was. Still, the ramen would just have to be saved for later because she knew Yang had skipped straight into the yard and thus, a large crowd just waiting to impede or steal her packets.  The sun beamed on and on that day, oblivious to the events and not lessening its powerful rays or hiding behind clouds to perhaps match the usual mood throughout the detention centre. Ruby made the best of it and spent most of it outdoors with her still zipped-up lips of a sister. Unfortunately it was mostly pumping iron when Yang never stopped commenting on her extra noodly arms.

 

-

 

Finally as the sun set and dinner was consumed, Ruby who had just finished her shower was taking the trek back to her cell. Yang was pouting throughout the entire trip back, a bump having spoiled her little victory fist from before.

 

"I can't believe they thought I cheated!"

 

"I can't believe you offered me as their servant for a week!" Ruby glared extra daggers at her sister.

 

Yang's endless smile did not leave her even with her disappointment, "Oh Rubes, it was just laundry and cleaning. You still don't have to do it since nobody won."

 

"Still," Ruby crossed her arms and turned her head away, "You could've at least asked me first."

 

"Okay sis, next time I use you as a bet I'll ask."

 

"No no I meant don't do that at all! Geez!" Ruby threw her arms up. Her sister was still her sister even after all these years, even after her long absences and mysterious activities she took part in during the nights. 

 

Yang stuck a tongue out before returning to her topic at hand, "But really, just because I happen to be closer to Blake than the other guards? I'd never ask her to purposely do something like that!"

 

Ruby shrugged, "You have to admit their reasoning was sound. Blake's apparently never done something like that. They said she's the most chill guard around, like you described her before."

 

"Yeah, that is strange isn't it?" Yang stroked her chin in deep thought, "I guess she was just really tired and grumpy."

 

She really must've been because Ruby hadn't seen Blake at all after the incident in the cafeteria. Perhaps the confrontation dragged her so far past her point of tolerance that she had to go home or else. In the long-run that was probably for the best though, seeing as Blake didn't seem to have the clearest of minds and calmest of emotions without her precious slumber. Those were two qualities a correctional officer most certainly should've had, though considering how most of the guards Ruby saw around were as interested in their duties as a wet rag, it probably wasn't all that well enforced. Ruby watched her sister head up the steps before she reached her own and before she could even step through the door she heard Yang exclaim.

 

"Blake! What are you doing in my bed!?"

 

Ruby ran up the steps, curious.

 

Blake shot out of the bed, rubbing her eyes and trying to hide her exhaustion to the best of her ability. She was ultimately failing, and the small yawns and attempts to not stretch out her limbs were not helping. A different guard who was overseeing the inmates returning to their cells noticed the lag near the end of the corridor and began approaching them.

 

Yang double-taked, diving into her cell, "Blake! Yo, you're going to get it if you don't get out of here! Hey! Wake up!"

 

"Sorry, I just saw the," a yawn, "bed while passing by and couldn't," another one, "resist."

 

Ruby did whatever she could to delay the second guard, stepping in front of the door and trying to wave her away, but she was only able to buy seconds as the actions were futile and the guard yelled at Ruby to return to her own cell.

 

"Belladonna!" She finally saw Blake, "What are you doing?"

 

"I was," Blake shook her head a bit, trying to keep her composure, "doing an impromptu cell search."

 

The guard tapped her shoe, somewhat skeptical, "Then did you find any contraband?"

 

"Well er," Blake attempted to continue her little excuse, but her brain, still trying to catch up with her panicking body was tripping over its ethereal legs.

 

"Yeah! She sure did!" Yang smashed her pillow behind her back and pulled out what seemed like a glass shard from within its case, "Look, a pointy thing! That can stab someone! Yep, good thing she caught this before I did something terrible!" 

 

The guard examined the shard. In fact she handled it in her palms for a bit too long, the sharpest side causing a small cut in her finger. The sight of blood was enough for her to let go of Blake's unscheduled search, pulling out her handcuffs to restrain the blonde, "Hm. If I recall this is your third infraction this month. You know what that means."

 

Blake watched as the guard whisked Yang away, the two holding eye contact and Blake comprehending the silent message she received. With Yang incarcerated in some sort of strange recurring loop, her promise to stick by Ruby may have been broken once again. Though Blake knew that this second time was not at all her fault, aside from the fact that Yang technically did have a forbidden object in her cell. Yang was escorted past Ruby's cell and the younger sibling would no doubt have many questions on her mind such as where on earth Yang was going. After the two disappeared at the end of the hall, Blake reached for the pillow she saw Yang smack, lifting it up and seeing sticky residue all over the cotton within. She could tell from the other remaining pieces inside that it was an almost empty bottle of conditioner. The product was so high quality it was produced in glass containers, which were in itself forbidden to be kept by inmates. Yang likely smashed it so the product itself would not be discovered, so the officers would not be suspicious of her very large hair product stash. Blake made a mental note to keep those now confiscated materials from being taken from Yang forever.

 

She grabbed the pillow and headed down the stairs, and as expected Ruby was glued to the bars still looking down the hall where they had taken her sister.

 

"Blake, where'd Yang go?"

 

Blake could see Ruby's eyes, orbs preparing to water, gleaming off the bright industrial lights that kept the facility as grey as possible. A dull throb began to develop in Blake's sternum, knowing this was could have been prevented had she not reacted so strongly to Weiss' debilitating words. She sighed, closing in to the bars and putting a hand on the younger sibling's shoulders.

 

"I'm sorry. She'll be gone for a week at least," Blake glanced downwards in shame.

 

"But where?"

 

The officer took a deep breath, "It's basically another building but she has to stay in her cell for most of the day."

 

"You're saying you put her in jail when she's already in jail?" Ruby's voice teetered dangerously near the edge of incomprehensible.

 

Blake was hit harder in her chest when Ruby had spoken as if she herself had done so, which was technically not wrong, "Ruby, you have an incredible sister. Don't worry about it, she'll be back before you know it."

 

These first two days weren't so bad with Yang watching over her every move and making sure any who even dared breathe too hard on Ruby to keep away. With the only exception of Weiss, Ruby had an unusually smooth transition into life inside the joint. One week without Yang would've been fine, right? Ruby did just spend the entire afternoon at the yard around the weights while Yang was trying to convince a few `associates' that she had won the bet legitimately. Ruby had upped her workload since the day before, now realizing the heavy metals she was used to back at her home were apparently of an impressive weight. With a decent prowess in strength, even without Yang what would Ruby have to worry about?

 

 "Well okay," Ruby calmed down a bit, "uhm, is that where you put Weiss too?"

 

The guard took a peek behind Ruby and realized there was no sign of the far less agreeable prisoner, "What? But she was just here."

 

A growing dread replaced the guilt that wracked her chest. Yang taking the fall for her was one thing, but losing an inmate entirely would've pretty much ended her time here. Maybe the words of everyone, including the missing girl really should've gone through to her and she shoud've went home to sleep. Her fears were unfounded when the unusually messy blankets shifted. 

 

"There she is, sleeping."

 

Blake had not taken her to anywhere as severe as where Yang was headed. As much as she wanted to throw her there for the entire duration of her stay, speaking hateful words was not against the rules here. Perhaps if she continued to do so endlessly there would be a justification but for now there was nothing on Weiss and as far as her record showed she was as clean as a thistle. So instead Weiss lost her freetime rights and thus was stuck in her cell for the day. They had predictably argued on the way here, but with the two of them low on energy due to a lack of sleep and food respectably, the insults were as intimidating as a yappy toy dog.    

 

Ruby scanned her cage, searching for something but finding nothing, "Er, did you at least let her eat?"

 

"No. Missing two meals isn't the end of the world," Blake reasoned. It was as harsh as a mother telling their child they couldn't have dinner, a fairly childish punishment but Weiss acted the part, and so it was fitting.

 

"Uhm but missing six meals probably is?" Ruby dashed to Weiss' side, having not seen her in bed because her hair blended with the colour of the sheets. The lack of neatly folded blankets should've been a clue Weiss was around, but Ruby was more concerned about the cell above her to pay close attention. She didn't want to be chewed out by waking the often irritated girl up, but since she hadn't chewed anything in a while, she probably didn't have the energy to muster anything up.

 

"Six meals!?" Blake remained standing near the bars, keeping watch on the two when her shift was already over. There was a fine line between being a little hungry and dying.

 

Ruby nudged the blanket cocoon, but it did not budge. She then prodded the lard of fabric, but it did not move. Finally, she gave up on any sense of gentleness and threw the sheets off of Weiss, who shivered instantly as the draft stormed in. The heiress' fine pale skin was so stark white it too resembled the mattress beneath her, and Ruby, seeing this, began shaking her awake.

 

"Weiss! Hey, Weiss!" Ruby shook her shoulder, but again Weiss did not stir. She made small noises as if deep within a dream but otherwise did not react one bit to the nuances of the real world. Ruby took the stakes higher, going for her sister's patented technique at waking others up, usually Ruby. She despised when Yang awoke her in such a manner, but she had to admit it was extremely effective.

 

Ruby brought her hands to Weiss' mouth and nose and plugged up her already hampered breathing. In an instant the napping inmate's arms flayed into the air, her eyes shooting wide open. Ruby jerked her hands back as soon as Weiss began sitting up with a thousand-yard stare so powerful few words could describe. Its full impact could not be reached however when Weiss' next move was not one of a lecture or a shriek, but rather to clutch her stomach, knowing its emptiness had gone to point that it became painful. Every time she took a breath deep enough to shift her diaphragm, her stomach wailed its neglected state tenfold, stretching its influential grasp towards each and every limb and organ. A weakness set in and Weiss yearned to return to the softness of her pillow, sleep a mercy from the state of her impoverished body. Ruby then handed her that same half-eaten pastry, saved from earlier in the cafeteria.

 

"Are you serious?" Weiss mouthed, a whisper so soft had Ruby not been right next to her she would've been convinced Weiss was rendered mute.

 

Ruby flashed a reassuring smile, "You haven't eaten in how long and you still won't take this?"

 

"It was meant for you," Weiss turned away and noticed that insufferable guard, Blake, was standing by, "What are you still doing here?" 

 

She attempted to sound as annoyed as possible, and she was, but her voice was barely audible. Blake dug into her pockets, remembering a small snack she kept there for around lunch time. She sighed and slipped a package of cheesy fish crackers through the bars, before stepping away to finish off her workday. She held little sympathy for the ungrateful spoilt princess, but she had been through Weiss' situation before. Extreme hunger was not an experience she'd wish on anyone. Both Ruby and Weiss sat silent, astounded when they finally saw the small packet sitting on the floor. 

 

"That is not a snack I saw coming from her," Weiss commented as Ruby retrieved the crackers.

 

Ruby began ripping the package open, "She's got good taste! These are delicious! Have you had them before?"

 

Weiss made no movement to confirm, which usually meant no. No was at this point Weiss' default state anyway, so if she would not even lift a finger to acknowledge your question, she most certainly meant no. 

 

"Wow that really explains why you're sour all the time," Ruby began to speak before realizing her own words, "You've never tried so many wonders of the world. How could you have ever experienced happiness?"

 

Fortunately for Ruby, Weiss was far too starved to remark on Ruby's high praise for such common food fodder. Yet despite her sheer hunger she still never made a move for any of the food. Either she truly detested cheap convenient food or she had the iron will of a Shaolin monk. Ruby was sure of one thing, Weiss was very, very stubborn. She grabbed the pastry and took a bite out of it herself, noticing the other girl finally donning an expression that wasn't perpetual disappointment. Ruby then skillfully chopped into the remaining pastry into a second half and once again, offered the remaining bun to her cagemate.

 

"Please?" Ruby tilted her head slightly, eyes widening out for the glare of the lights to bounce off her grey eyes. This was a trick as old as history itself, mastered so well by her corgi Zwei that he ended up becoming ruler of the dinner scraps. If Weiss could resist this, Ruby would finally be convinced she was not actually human, but some sort of alien visiting the planet to test the species' intelligence, now wanting to return home to report to her superiors that annihilating the earth was in their best interests since they were dumb enough to imprison her.

 

Weiss' stomach answered for her, growling in response. If it had any autonomy or free will it would have demanded the brain to be replaced long ago. Weiss finally gave in, exhaling in defeat as she took the now quartered pastry. As she took her first bite, the fluffy texture and sweet honey exploded her tastebuds, leading her to scarf it down in seconds. There was no point in holding an image in a place filled with thugs and rats, and her body decided shoving as much food as possible down her throat was the number one priority. Ruby poured her a handful of the crackers, and they too had her tastebuds bouncing. Weiss would hesitate to say these were the tastiest foods in the whole wide world, but when you were that desperate for food anything would excite your senses.

 

Ruby did not take a single cracker, allowing Weiss to practically down the whole package in minutes. Neither of the two foods were able to fill her need, but at least she didn't feel as lethargic as before. Just as she sat back to relax, she noticed Ruby stepping towards the far wall, back flattened against its surface.

 

"Oh by the way, I was working on this earlier. I think I can do it now!" Ruby adopted a crouched stance, and in Weiss' absolute horror she sprinted towards the wall.

 

"Ruby, no!" Weiss attempted to impede her, but only managed to trip Ruby as her body flung head first into the wall, which along with Weiss was starting become her greatest nemesis. She crumpled to the floor, clutching her head.

 

Ruby cried out, "Why! Why did you stop me!?"

 

"Because no one in any realm of the universe can defy physics!" 

 

"The toast could!" 

 

"You smashed the last of your brain cells out, didn't you?" Weiss grabbed Ruby's arm and pulled her into a sitting position. She folded some toilet paper into a stack and placed it underneath the faucet for a few seconds before pressing the damp tissue onto Ruby's head. Ruby flinched when she felt the water spread around the growing bump on her head, but afterwards the sting of her wound began to dissipate.

 

Weiss directed Ruby to sit on her bed, "Who are you even trying to impress pulling that kind of stunt!?"

 

"Well, I was hoping it'd be you, but I'm starting to think you'd sooner believe you were going blind if you saw me jump the walls." 

 

"Why would I care if you could run up the walls!?"

 

"Because it's cool!"

 

Weiss massaged her temples while her other hand was still pressing onto Ruby's injury, "Just. Just rest. Okay? You can even take my bed if you're not going to go up normally."

 

Before Ruby could protest, Weiss pushed her head down until her balance gave out and her head fell onto the pillow. There was no difference in the comfort of this mattress and the one above, but it felt less springy, which meant it felt less fun, and so it fit Weiss to a tee. She didn't mind staying down here for a while at least. She then noticed Weiss still had a hand to her forehead.

 

Ruby turned to face her, "Uh, I don't think my head hurts anymore."

 

"Nonsense. I will let off when it's time."

 

"What are you going to do, yell at it until it heals itself in fear?"

 

Instead of yelling, Ruby managed to earn a stone cold stare from the heiress. She remained silent as if in defiance and Ruby felt the pressure on her head increase. Weiss shifted onto her knees, expecting to keep at it on Ruby's bump for some time. Ruby yawned, feeling drowsy from just lying in bed, but she didn't want to fall asleep in Weiss' bed. When after several minutes Weiss finally moved away from Ruby, it was just to replace the tissue. The clock hand ticked countless more times until Ruby heard no more, deep into the depths of dreamland.