baaaaaa

[spotto]

Wow I really need to stop ending chapters with a character falling asleep. It's so cliché.

SPOILERS: THIS CHAPTER ENDS WITH A CHARACTER FALLING ASLEEP OMFGGG RUINED FOREVAAA!!11!!1!

EXTRA SPOILERS DON'T LOOK: the chapter after this one DOESN'T end with a character falling asleep.

actual spoilers: I do not know how drugs work. If you do, please kindly share how wrong this chapter is.

the last spoiler I swear: Congrats! After this chapter you are halfway through the first arc! Technically. (I mean, every chapter after this is going to be longer and longer so probably not)

5

The ceiling tiles numbered in the dozens. There were about four or five cracks in one of the corners. One part of the wall was slathered with stains, its origin for once not a mystery anyone would ever want to discover. Yang would have to say her least favourite colour was either white or grey because they were all she saw inside these fours walls, behind the steel grey door. She turned in her bed, trying to fall back asleep knowing the sun had only recently woken up itself, but her mind was running marathons, too restless to succumb to the darkness that was sleep. The last few days had been a whirlwind of activity. After her father called her a week back that Ruby had a 'very small chance' of losing her court case and winding up here, she never expected it to actually happen. Her father had not revealed any details of Ruby's legal troubles, but she prepared all she could to make sure her stay was as comfortable as possible. That couldn't prevent Ruby from running into quite possibly the human version of a blizzard, and they had been riding out the storm to this day.

That was fine. Heck, finding out that same blizzard was actually a Schnee, fittingly enough, was still fine. Even though Yang found the information to be rather alarming, so far Weiss was only bark and not bite. Unless Ruby was injured physically by Weiss herself or in some indirect manner there was nothing to worry about. She'd have hell to raise if something had happened to Ruby, more punishments be damned. Yang was unsure whether or not how she landed in here was the best decision or not. On the one hand, now her dear younger sister was alone and probably scared out of her wits. On the other, if she had not given herself up her favourite guard may have been fired. Blake always meant well, but occasionally her own decisions were a nightmare.

Of course there were far more cons to being in here than pros, even if the sacrifices to save Blake were necessary. Her hair products were probably all gone now, and by being in here she could only make do with the facility's own, in her opinion, inadequate supplies. Yang also loved people, so being stuck in this room for a little over a week with little interaction with anyone was not what she was looking forward to. It was going to be boring and lonely, but she'd have to find a way. On the bright side, surpassing her total push-up record of five thousand could now be easily accomplished! It wasn't much, but Yang thought she'd make the most out of it..

Never mind how she herself would up here in the first place. It had been almost a year now, though if anyone new had asked Yang her response would always be some form of non-answer. A surge of bitterness would rise up her chest whenever she thought about the circumstances that led to her arrest. Oh, Yang wasn't about to claim innocence or anything to that extent, especially since that would be a blatant lie, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. In fact, Yang wasn't entirely convinced she had done anything wrong. Yes, it was wrong in the eyes of the law, but to Yang's mind she had done what was necessary. Some people might even call it a necessary evil, but Yang would've left it at that, necessary. Her biggest mistake out of all of this was who she had been working for as opposed to whatever wrongdoing she had committed. There was a reason Yang had moved out so young, keeping her night-time escapades a well-guarded secret from everyone she knew. To the point that, even within a secluded room where socialization was nowhere to be seen, Yang would never let out a single peep, whether it be the written word or even a mere thought be anywhere near the details of her crime. She would never consciously think about it. Ruby must not know. Ruby must never have the chance to know.

Yang had a whole nine days to over-think all the actions she took in her life, from her most recent to her past. This included memories way back in the day when she and Ruby were kids walking to school. Every time they would take a different path, even if there was seemingly no other way to get to their destination. They'd find a way, from invading the sewer systems to trespassing through other people's yards. The roof idea had to be abandoned when Ruby scraped her knee climbing a neighbour's rusty drain pipe. Yang could still remember her dad lambasting her in front of all the patients in the doctor's office while Ruby was getting a tetanus shot. They rarely strayed from their normal path after that, but both she and Ruby were forever disappointed with the move. Her sister had always blamed herself for ending their adventures to school, but Yang knew who really was at fault.

And so she wondered if that was the same for why Ruby was here. She was a very impressionable child. When there was a hero show on television she'd tie a towel around her back and dash through the house. Once she almost leapt off the roof attempting to fly, but luckily their father was there to catch her. When her class had a field trip to a war museum Ruby spent the entire time gawking at the fighter planes, tanks, cannons, and bayonets that were used in the historical battlefield. There was even a demonstration Ruby took part in that parents came to watch. One segment each student had to pick their career of choice and dress the part. Ruby came in wearing a soldier's uniform. Neither Yang nor their father knew where on earth she even found such a costume, but the toy rifle got her suspended that day. About the only thing their father or their teachers didn't forbid Ruby from doing was draw, and she kept most of her artwork a secret, only ever showing them rather normal sketches of forests or rivers if they ever asked. Only Yang ever saw her pages and pages of weapon designs. They started simple like a sideways 'L' representing a pistol, but eventually they developed into the ultra-detailed engineering drafts today.

Maybe she somehow knew of Yang's illegal exploits and went down that path as well? Yang hoped not, but the chances her charges were unrelated were low. She threw her arms behind her head and rocked her body back in forth in boredom, head too busy to sleep, but surroundings too bland to care. She heard footsteps growing louder and assumed it was a guard handing out breakfast, reminding her that she also had to suffer through nine days of horrible food. Even so, Yang wanted to hang around the doorway to try to converse with at least someone before any company possible disappeared for several hours, so she bounded to the door.

"Blake?" Yang exclaimed.

"Can't stay here long," Blake started, "I just came here to apologize for my incompetence yesterday. You didn't have to take the fall for me."

Yang waved her off, "Aw it's nothing Blake. You'd do the same."

"Except you actually had contraband. Landing in here was inevitable," Blake noted.

"I was going to transfer the contents to a plastic one later," Yang shrugged, "but hey if I didn't have it none of this could've happened."

The guard added, "Speaking of which, I kept at least half of your shampoo stash so you'll still get that back after."

"Sweet," Yang grinned, "You keep reminding me why you're my favourite."

Blake whipped her head back and forth, knowing she wasn't supposed to be here especially so early in the morning, "Alright I have to go. I hope your time here goes by as quickly as possible."

"Wait."

Blake only took a single step before she stopped, "What is it Yang? I really do have to go."

"Can you watch Ruby for me? Seeing as I'm here and all. I don't want to let her down again," Yang let out a rare frown.

The officer nodded, "Done."

"Thanks! You're a real pal Blake," Yang gave her two thumbs up and vanished deeper into her cell. Blake hurried down the hallways back to the main building, towards the D wing that she was responsible for. Keeping an eye on Ruby wouldn't be too difficult, especially since she had been watching a certain cellmate of hers the moment she arrived.

-

The first thing Ruby felt when the day began was something moist on her head. She brought her hand to grab at it, and it was the dampened toilet paper still stuck to her forehead. She sat up and noticed for the second day in a row, Weiss had not fallen asleep in her own bed, or even a bed at all. She was still at Ruby's side, her arm having slid off Ruby's head and onto her chest, snoring lightly with her own head resting on the edge of the mattress. Last morning Ruby had left her alone and kept her warm with a blanket, but Weiss ended up skipping a meal thanks to that. This time she was in an even less comfortable position, and the last thing she needed was to miss another meal.

As Ruby sat up, she carefully swung her legs to the side of the bed, inching herself towards the foot of the bunk so she wouldn't disturb Weiss' slumber. Ruby decided to wait until breakfast came around before waking her up. She peeled off the drying tissue on her head and rubbed against the area of her forehead that had collided with the concrete walls. It felt a little raw, stinging slightly when she touched. She didn't feel the bump was that much of a bulge, but the lack of mirrors kept her from definitively knowing the extent of her wound. She'd just have to hope it didn't stand out too much. Until they could access the showers, reflections were off-limits. She threw open the cabinet and began her morning routine, wondering if she could fill up the sink and try to gauge any information from the water's inconsistent and unclear image, but knew it was very likely Weiss would be angered by a waste of water or something like that, and so she never went through with it.

The day's earliest meal arrived minutes later. For once, there was steam emanating from the trays, suggesting the food was actually warm today. That was an improvement from the sad disasters they were served yesterday. Ruby swiped a bagel that felt like it had just came out of the oven and waved it around Weiss' sleeping face, making soft airplane noises. The movement allowed the steam to spread and encircle the sleeping inmate, and Ruby hoped her nose would do the honours today. After all, she was very hungry.

The bagel was plucked out of the air like that of a shark bursting out of the waters to strike a low flying bird. For a moment Ruby was taken aback by the sudden movement, but when she caught a glimpse of Weiss' eyes she could tell she was operating on pure instinct. Only a few seconds later did Weiss even process she was awake, just as she swallowed a bite of the bagel. She rubbed her eyes, simultaneously yawning.

"You didn't sleep in my bed Weiss?" Ruby inquired.

The heiress shook her head, "If you hadn't fallen asleep I would not have either."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's fine," She placed her half-eaten bagel down and headed for the sink, annoyed she had bitten into food before her morning preparations, "How's your head?"

"It's still a little tender, but it feels way better," she felt around her head for the bump again, "Uh, thanks for last night."

Two days ago she could not have ever imagined thanking this person who had issues with everything Ruby did, even the insignificant habits like leaving her toothbrush halfway off the sink. Granted, that meant it had a fairly high chance of falling onto the rustic stone floors, but there were far less shrill ways of going about it. The two of them ate breakfast in silence, only when the clock was about to strike ten was even a peep heard from either two.

"Did you leave the entire food stash with your sister?" Weiss asked, thinking ahead towards the next meal.

"Uhhh," Ruby struggled to find words, "Yeah, but it's probably not there anymore."

There were no questions, only deadpan glares.

Ruby rubbed the back of her head, "Yang got in trouble so she's not around for a bit."

"Why is that not surprising?" Weiss sighed, though wondered if this was a blessing in disguise. She was free from that golden idiot for at least a few days, and well, she never planned to rely on what this facility considered 'food', and she wasn't about to do so.

She noticed Ruby pulling out an envelope from underneath her pillow, photos pouring onto her palm. The arguably taller of the two sat on the floor with her legs crossed, raising her head with an eye towards Weiss like she was silently asking for something. The heiress turned her attention to the photos, seeing as they were fairly normal pictures of family and sometimes friends, and found nothing out of the ordinary or anything worth asking for. Yet Ruby kept up the staring, leading Weiss to crouch down next to Ruby to see what on earth she had wanted.

"What?" Weiss said, impatient.

"Yang gave me these, and she had some of them on her walls...but this isn't just my space, so..."

"You can't come right out and ask?"

Ruby shook her hands, "I didn't think you'd say yes."

"These walls are as droll as they are," Weiss glanced at Ruby's pile, not finding them all too interesting, until she saw a strange black and white creature on one of them. Ruby noticed immediately, and brought that particular photo to the forefront.

"Oh, do you like dogs? His name is Zwei," Ruby filed through and pulled out more specifically of her pet, "He's a corgi!"

"A slobbering disgusting mutt?" Weiss began, "Knowing you it probably isn't trained either, doing its business wherever it pleases."

Ruby held the photo next to her chest, "What!? Zwei is perfectly trained! He can do backflips and jump over hoops! He's the best friend ever, unlike you!"

For a moment Weiss processed what Ruby had said, implying that though they were not best friends by any means, Ruby had just acknowledged her as a friend. That in itself was quite incredible considering they had known each other for all of two days, but Weiss did not comment on Ruby's words, choosing to take a closer look on the photo of the corgi, which was on its back, showing its belly to the photographer. She held it up high, letting the light bounce off its back to free its image from the sun's glare. A smile threatened to plant itself on Weiss' face the more she stared at what she just called a mutt, but she held back, putting the photo down.

"Alright, you can put up your photos," she said with the photo still in her hand.

Ruby perked up, "Really!?"

"On one condition," Ruby's whole body practically drooped at those words. Weiss had almost thought she was the dog as opposed to the one in the photos, "I'll decide the composition."

"Er, why does that matter?" Ruby couldn't understand Weiss' reasonings for putting the photos up instead. Maybe she wanted to place them in an area of the wall that wouldn't impede Weiss' view, but that meant she'd prefer boring off-white and incredibly hard, as Ruby had found out earlier, walls to lovely photos. Perhaps Weiss wanted her own family on the walls too and was making room?

Weiss huffed, "Must you question every single thing I do? I'm already letting you put up the photos."

Ruby shrugged and remained quiet, letting her cellmate put them up on the walls. They didn't look to be placed in any special order or area to make their surroundings look more aethestically pleasing than they already were, which confused Ruby further. After a few minutes Weiss finished, placing her arms akimbo as she looked pleased at her so-called work. Ruby scanned the walls as well, noticing that many of the photos were indeed in ideal places, but one photo was missing.

"Wait, where's that pic of Zwei?"

Weiss looked away, "Those were all the photos you gave me."

"What? We were just looking at it, the one where you can see Zwei's little belly!"

"I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about."

Ruby tilted her head, seeing the smallest edge of something in Weiss' palm that was strategically placed behind her back. When she stretched her neck to see what it was, Weiss turned slightly as well, keeping her palm out of sight. This continued for a few seconds and Ruby wondered if Weiss realized she already knew where the photo was. Her pitiful attempt at hiding it away was long discovered, but Weiss kept up the act as if she knew nothing. Finally, Ruby adopted a wide grin not unlike that of her sister's and pounced, fingers splayed for attack, a direct hit at Weiss' open sides thanks to one of her hands preoccupied with the photo.

"What are yo—pftahaha!" Weiss burst out laughing as she fell over onto her bed, Ruby's onslaught unyielding as her fingers furiously moved across Weiss' waist. Weiss' feeble attempts to push Ruby off her were for naught, but the heiress finally gave and revealed the photo in her palm, turning and trying to claw away from the hands of unrelenting laughter. Ruby eventually let up, grabbing the photo while Weiss was trying to catch her breath.

She certainly sounded angry, but the dimples on Weiss' face did not agree with her tone, "What on earth did you do that for!?"

"You were about to steal my picture, so I had to do something!" Ruby raised her arms straight into the air while holding the photo, like she had just won a championship and was lifting up the trophy for the audience to see. She stared down at Weiss still lying perpendicular on the bed, flaunting her victory over the downed heiress.

"Fine, you can put that photo wherever you want," Weiss conceded, not knowing why she had kept that photo from Ruby's sight. As if a ploy like that would have ever worked, but in a place like this with time that felt endless, Weiss felt to try.

Ruby flashed her pearly whites, "Well in that case!"

She bounded over Weiss' pillow and taped the photo of Zwei right next to Weiss' bed, "I think this place is best."

"What? That's right where I sleep!"

"Exactly!" Ruby opened her palm near the photo as if presenting a prize, "Seeing Zwei when I wake up in the mornings brightens up my day too!"

Weiss could not deny she was thinking of placing that photo around there, but to actually do so was something she did not want to do, especially in front of Ruby. She supposed in the end she did get what she wanted, albeit in a very undesirable manner. The dog was cute, she had to admit, and it definitely wasn't a mutt. She allowed Ruby's placement and sat back up just as they both heard a click from the door. Ruby took off to check and was able to slide it open fairly easily. They were now able to mingle with the rest of populace instead of being stuck in their cage like they had been for a several hours. Ruby was tolerable, but being stuck in here with her for the entire duration of the stay would drive her insane. As Weiss stood up to head out, Ruby hesitated to leave, standing by the doorway watching the other inmates file into the halls.

"What are you standing there for?"

Ruby was no longer as cheerful as she was moments before, and Weiss could've swore she heard an audible gulp from the girl, "With Yang gone it's sort of scary to go out there, but I guess that sounds dumb to you."

This was the girl who insulted over half the people living here without a moment's thought. It was like she already knew she had dozens of enemies and was just inviting more in. Ruby thought Weiss as fearless, though others might instead regard her as foolishly suicidal.

"Why do you need to be afraid?" Weiss asked, "Unless you upset someone to the point they might retaliate there is no reason to think anything would happen."

Ruby knew Weiss had a point, but she felt so comfortable when Yang was around. This time a bunch of random people might come up and talk to her or something, which really wasn't something to be afraid of, but she preferred to at least be near someone she trusted during that time. She couldn't possibly ask Weiss to stick around, who might draw in more sketchy people than repel. For a moment she wondered if Blake was around, perhaps she could spend a majority of the time in the library like the first day. Yang would've probably wanted her to continue her everyday training at the weights though.

Weiss interrupted her thoughts, pulling her out of the cell with her and closing the door, "Listen, you will meet me at the cafeteria in a few minutes. Don't eat any of the filth they call food."

"Huh? What's going on?"

"I'm going to get us some food is all," Weiss started, "What do you want?"

"Wait, from the canteen?"

"No, from the soup kitchen fairy," Weiss said, deadpan. A moment went by when Ruby was actually considering this response before Weiss continued, "Of course from the canteen! Where else did you think!?"

Ruby shrugged, "I didn't think you had money."

"I do have money. I swim in money," Weiss emphasized, "Now what is it you want? Hurry it up before the lines are too long."

"Oh, you've been there once!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, "Where else did I get that pastry?"

"I thought it was from Yang!"

"Why would I ask anything from—" Weiss stopped and sighed, "Just tell me what you want!"

"Oh uh, I guess double chocolate chip cookies. I heard they had those."

"Ruby! That's not a meal!" Weiss threw her arms on her sides, patience thinning rapidly.

Ruby began playing with her fingers, "Oh, for lunch! Uh, some mac and cheese. They have that right?"

"Alright, meet me there," Weiss pointed her towards the cafeteria before heading the opposite direction. Ruby was now standing alone in the hallways, unfamiliar people stepping around her and doing their own thing. Ruby hurried through the crowds making sure not to hold eye contact with a single person. She kept her head down until she reached the open doorway of the cateteria, and was about to stealthily slip in when she smacked face first into chest.

Ruby knew immediately it wasn't Yang. She was bouncier. She peered up to see Blake, who raised an eyebrow as Ruby rubbed her forehead. Her bump was the first to impact with Blake, so it felt slightly sore as a result.

"Oh hi Blake! I'm glad you're around today!"

Blake kept her gaze on the reddened mark on her forehead, "What happened to you?"

"Huh? Oh that. Er, just an accident in my cell," She said quickly, wanting to enter the cafeteria before Weiss came back.

Blake furled her brow, examining the wound closely, "Accident? Did Weiss have anything to do with this?"

"Weiss?" Ruby took a moment to recall. Technically Weiss did trip her, which led to her fall, but she was the one who ran towards the wall in the first place, "I can't say she didn't have a part in it..."

That was not what she should've said, Ruby realized as Blake made a u-turn with her heel, power-walking through the hallways like she was on a mission. Ruby tried to follow, hoping she wouldn't do what she thought she was going to do to Weiss. A lot of the traffic was heading the other direction considering it was around lunch time, and just as they entered the canteen area, where many other crowds had formed, did they see Weiss arguing with the woman behind the counter. She too was dressed in the orange inmate garb and managed the food as a job. Though Weiss was arguing it seemed more like a one-sided smackdown to Ruby than anything as they drew near.

"—haben noch Schulden!" they heard Weiss finish as she turned around, noticing them. Was Weiss speaking German? That wasn't unexpected, but for what reason would she need to switch her language at the canteen? Ruby wasn't able to wonder for long.

Blake approached with a glare, "You, turn around."

"What? Again?" Weiss raised her arms, "I haven't done anything."

The guard noticed the canteen worker quickly shake her head in what seemed like panic, "Then what were you just doing?"

"Wait Blake!" Ruby finally managed to say, "She didn't hit me! I swear!"

"Is this about that?" Weiss eyed Ruby, "That was an accident. Maybe it wouldn't look so bad if you took her to a doctor."

The officer stopped just before she cuffed the heiress a second time, still twisting her arm behind her back tightly, "Please tell me what exactly happened."

"I was running and tripped over Weiss' foot," Ruby replied.

"How do you know that wasn't on purpose?"

"Well if she did it on purpose she must have some strange ulterior motives because she watched over me all of last night," Ruby said rather casually.

Weiss almost broke her own wrist when she jerked forward, "Ruby! You don't need to tell her that!"

Blake loosened her grip, but then turned her eyes on the canteen worker, "What was she doing just now?"

"N-nothing!" The woman said, tossing several boxes of mac and cheese and a large case of cookies onto the counter, "Take your food! Please go away now!"

The guard narrowed her eyes, unwilling to let go of the heiress but now without reason to restrain her. She knew Weiss did something or said something to the canteen worker, who had maintained a clean record her entire time here to even have this job. Without hard evidence she could do nothing and begrudgingly let Weiss go, though not without a subtle shove. Weiss rubbed her sore wrist, stepping away from the guard and gesturing to Ruby to pick up the food. Ruby managed to hold it all in both her arms, but was pleasantly surprised at the cookies. Though she was less overtly suspicious of Weiss, she did wonder if she obtained the food in a neat, legal manner. When she noticed the cookies were indeed double chocolate chip, her mind instead prioritized to the feeding of these delicious treats over any questions she might have had. Blake kept close as the two headed back to their cells to eat, and left wordlessly when they arrived.

Ruby set down their new stash onto the desk, just as she saw Weiss pick up an envelope on the floor. She took one glance before dismissing it, holding it out to Ruby.

"It's for you," She said, seemingly unpleased.

Without even looking at the address or whoever it was from, Ruby tore the envelope open, pulling out a letter, "Hey! It's from dad!"

"Splendid, why don't you read it in silence at that corner while I start on the food?"

"Aw it says he's really busy with work so he can't come visit this month," Ruby frowned, quickly scanning down the letter, "Zwei misses me a lot."

"At the corner, in silence," Weiss repeated.

Ruby held up the letter, "Look! Zwei even left a pawprint at the end of the letter! Isn't that cute?"

"Adorable," Weiss mumbled, "At the corner, in silence."

"Oh right, well uh I already finished reading so it's a little late for that," Ruby said.

Weiss sighed and they went on to eat their meal without incident. Well, aside from the cookies Ruby overindulged on, which led to indigestion, which lead to the grand return of the potty argument, wherein Weiss finally gave in with her unreasonable demands, but luckily a cup of water settled Ruby's stomach before all hell broke loose. Afterwards Ruby was in a dilemma, wondering if it'd be better to continue with Yang's regimen at the yard or to flee to the library, the most relaxing place in the facility. Weiss returned to writing more letters, which when Ruby inquired into was given a rather rude and brash response as always. So Ruby headed off to library to pick out a few more books from her favourite series, and just like that freetime was over. Dinner was eaten, this time actually without incident, and the day drew to a close. Ruby had survived the day without Yang's interference, and she only had eight more to go.

Several days passed and the routine Ruby was finally getting used to was suddenly no longer a routine. As Yang had said before, school could not be escaped, not even in the confines of prison. Ruby had always assumed when she got out she'd be held back a year when she returned to public school, but instead she was thrust into classes that felt much too advanced to her, what with every other student being older than her. She managed through the Math and English courses, to Weiss' surprise, but during another picture-perfect sunny day at the facility, Ruby was sitting at her desk, pounding her head for answers while doing her least favourite subject, History.

Weiss was watching from bed, having allowed Ruby use of the desk while she was once again writing whatever mystery letter she might be doing. Her handwriting was not as neat and steady as she would have liked it had she been using the desk, and with Ruby taking much longer than she anticipated, Weiss stood up in a huff and peered over Ruby's shoulder. She had long finished her work, easy as it was considering her private classes had gone through such subjects years ago, so it was baffling how Ruby was struggling, no matter how young she was.

Ruby could feel Weiss hovering behind her, "Uh, something you want?"

"Those two are wrong. Do you even know what you're doing?"

"Er what? How are they wrong?"

Weiss crouched down, annoyed that in a place residing two people there was only one chair, not that there was much room for a second chair, but still, "Here, give me the textbook. The line was on the chapter we were supposed to read, were you just skimming?"

"But I thought that line was referring to the Siege of 1868."

"No, the siege is expanded in the column paragraph here, see?"

Ruby squinted as she read the textbook closer, "Ohhhhhhh."

"You also have to be far more elaborate explaining King Solomon's political antics," Weiss said, reading through Ruby's work, "and how it lead to the assassination of Princess Aoi."

Ruby, intrigued, reread the paragraph she didn't manage to absorb the first time around, "Wow, people in the past were pretty whack."

"Yes, history is in general rather...whack," Weiss noted Ruby's peculiar choice of words," which is why we must learn from them to not repeat their catastrophic mistakes."

The student quickly scribbled down her answer after Weiss' guidance, and happily raised her page, "Y'know Weiss, you sure know a lot. Did you go to a prestigious school?"

"Heavens no. I was tutored by the finest of instructors money could afford."

"Well that explains a lo—" Ruby covered her mouth in seconds, cutting herself off but not nearly in time to reduce the damage caused.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" Yep, too late.

Ruby waved her arms, trying to will away the tension with physical force, "Er, I mean. You just don't seem to be a people person is all! Heheh. And if you didn't go to school that sort of explains it?"

"Well excuse you," Weiss began, "I could've gone to school if father allowed it. I was always curious of the activities that took place there."

That was the very first time Weiss had spoke of anyone she knew on the outside. Ruby was starting to think she had sprouted out from nowhere, probably from some sort of Venus fly-trap, but a paradoxically really pretty white one with petals like that of a lily. Ruby just happened to be the unsuspecting ladybug prey, but instead of being entirely digested and no more, she was somehow allowed to sleep on the edges of the petals, teetering on the border of life of and death. It was a lifestyle that was oddly enough not as terrifying as it sounded. Perhaps they were starting to have a symbiotic relationship, though Ruby still hadn't figured out what the flower benefited from the ladybug. This was a relevant time as any to delve a little deeper into Weiss' personal life, if only for curiosity. If she had this loving family Ruby had, she'd seem all the more human.

"So, your dad didn't let you go to school? Was there anybody you hung out with, a sibling or neighbour maybe?" Ruby asked, wondering if a simple question like this was enough to open up the heiress.

Weiss almost hesitated before she answered, "Father did not allow it."

Ruby had almost spoken the awful, forbidden line a second time, 'that explains a lot' but kept the thought inside. The way Weiss had responded did not leave open for further questions, but Ruby did her best to find a way to learn more. It was certainly more interesting than doing homework, that's for sure.

"My dad takes care of both Yang and me, so we're a family of three! Well, until Zwei came along, but then Yang moved out, so we're still a family of three. I'm sure there's someone on the tip of your tongue you could mention. It couldn't have always been a family of two!" Ruby believed adding a few tidbits of her own family might make the conversation continue in a very natural manner, finding casual talk with Weiss a rarity.

It was at this moment when Ruby noticed Weiss taking long glances at all the photos plastered around the cell, each and every last one of them pictures of Ruby's friends and family, with a healthy dose of an adorable fluffy dog. Maybe with Ruby having put so much of her own life up, she had caused Weiss to feel even more homesick than usual? It didn't seem like she had anything personal she'd want on the walls. On the other hand Weiss might have been a person who'd rather not put anything on the walls, preferring the clean sterile white of things, sort of like her entire person.

Weiss responded late, "We live in a very large place. Servants, butlers, chauffeurs, many people hired for upkeep. With that many people I wouldn't say it's just father and I."

"Are those employees your friends?"

"They do their jobs," Weiss followed.

Ruby continued, "Then I wouldn't really include them. In which case it really is just you and your dad! You two must be close."

"I wouldn't really say that. Father isn't home most of the time."

"Oh, well my dad is off at work all of the time too. I usually have tons of hobbies though to make up for it, and I have lacrosse practice too, so it's more like we're both not really at home too often!" Ruby playfully tapped herself on the head, "Good thing they let me take Zwei to practice or he'd actually be neglected!"

Weiss nodded slightly, "They all must really miss you."

"Well the lacrosse team might miss my backbreakers but they'll probably win another title without me," Ruby began, thinking back how she had turned her attention more to her tinkering projects after that championship, "Plus they always hound me to copy my math homework."

"It's of some consolation that I don't need to intervene for all your homework," Weiss added, picking up the textbook again, "Now, where were we?"

Ruby wasn't done, "But seriously Weiss! Lacrosse is a sport of geometry! If they improved their math they'd improve their skills too!"

"Okay Ruby, let's focus on history."

And just like that Ruby lost track of her mission to dig into Weiss' personal life. It didn't seem like she was all too open about it anyway, so perhaps this was for the best. She wondered if after all this was done and over with if she'd even see Weiss again. At the moment it felt like just a co-existing kind of life, where neither one will annoy one another all too much and hopefully time flew by as a result. Ruby learned earlier that the courses were a six month program that basically allowed all who took part to graduate. In which case, Ruby would suddenly be propelled ahead of her peers back at school and wouldn't even need to go back unless she really wanted to return to high school for whatever reason. This meant Ruby would have far more time for what she wanted to work on as opposed to numerous distractions. With Weiss by her side, she could already feel that diploma in her hands.

After a whole hour passed, Ruby put down her pencil and stretched, satisfied that she had finally finished all her homework. Weiss wanted to shoo her away from the desk as soon as possible, but as Ruby stood up a small vial dropped onto the floor. Luckily it was strong enough to not shatter as it impacted the ground, but its noise was distinct, and could easily catch a guard's attention. It sounded of glass, which in itself was already a forbidden item for the inmates to have. Their cups were plastic or Styrofoam and there were no mirrors aside from the showers all due to glass shards having potential to be weapons. Weiss snatched it from the floor immediately, examining it and eyes widening as she realized what Ruby had stored.

"Ruby! Why do you have this!?"

Ruby began rubbing the back of her neck, "Uh, long story."

"This isn't allowed here, you do know that ri—" Weiss only twisted the top slightly before pulling the vial away from her as if it she had just unleashed a bomb of poison, "This is dust!"

"What!? Dus—mmfph!" Ruby's words were minced as Weiss smashed a palm into her face.

"Don't say that so loudly, someone may hear!"

Ruby ripped the hand from her jaw, "You're not speaking quietly either!"

"You're the one who brought this in here!"

"It's 'cause Yang made this deal with someone—"

"Of course it's Yang! It's always that oaf!"

Ruby started flailing her hands trying to calm Weiss down, though evidently she too needed the calming, "Well the girl she made the deal with got really mad since Yang wasn't around to do her side of the deal so she told me to make up for it I had to hold this for a while!"

"Are you insane!? Why would you trust the people in here!? They're all convicts you know!"

"Well so are you!"

"What? How dare you!"

"But you are!"

"That's not the point! If they do a search now we're both de—"

"Is something the matter?" A shadow blocked out the fluorescent lights that lined the corridor, and they turned to see Blake, prison guard, whose duty was to enforce the rules, such as no dust, which was a drug and would probably ruin their days and nights for the rest of time, if Ruby and Weiss' reactions were any indication.

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

The vial in their panic was flung into the air. It smashed into the ceiling before landing on top of Weiss' head, white powder flying all over the place. Unfortunately Weiss was not starving herself like when she first arrived, which would've given her a paler complexion and perhaps would've been suitable camouflage for the dust. That was of course if we assume the guard watching them had suddenly gone blind in a stroke of unbelievable luck, but instead it was, unbeknownst to them, a faunus guard who could tell even if Weiss was made out of dust, that dust had fallen onto her. They had no chance.

Ruby saw those events as if they were played in slow motion. This was it. The end of the line. Even if by some miracle Blake did not extend their sentences to the heat death of the universe, she for sure brought upon herself the greatest of Schnee fury. Never would Weiss aid her with her homework. She would instead through sheer outrage invent magic so that she could smite upon Ruby over and over and over again until not a single hair remained unsinged on her body. Every follicle would cry tears and her nerves would die gasping, as she'd crumple into the ground as a pile of sad, regretful bones, never to amount to anything in her life. She'd be buried in an unmarked grave, and hundreds of years from now a futuristic hover mall's foundation would be built over it, her life so forgotten her resting place was then public grounds purchased by the great galactic government, crown of the Milky Way. Tears flowed down Ruby's face as her mind raced to every worst possible scenario, not able to say a word to defend herself, caught so red-handed.

Weiss on the other hand was not there. Not all there, anyway.

Blake slid open the barred doors and entered, slamming them closed behind her. She grabbed a blubbering Ruby, whose words were mangled and mixed with salt and tears. Weiss was not any better, who leapt onto the top bunk without effort, as if all of Ruby's previous wall-climbing techniques were to be laughed at, and she began pounding the ceiling and walls like a rabid honey badger.

This wouldn't be an odd sight if perhaps an inmate had finally snapped and wanted to use all their physical power no matter how futile to escape the prison, but when Weiss began slamming, elbowing, kneeing, hip-checking, and especially head-butting the walls would it be plainly obvious something was very wrong. The noises that came out of her mouth were not unlike that of a pig's frantic screeching as it realized its impending doom within the slaughterhouse.

Blake took priority and jumped onto Weiss' bed, grabbing the heiress by her arms and attempting to pull her down before she seriously hurt herself, but Blake found herself struggling, the effects of the dust, especially when inhaled in such an uncontrolled large amount was dangerous. The user would feel invincible at first, feeling as if they had a glowing aura emanating from their body keeping them from any physical harm. Before they were able to boast and demonstrate this power however, they would suddenly feel like the world was going to end in some sort of way, either it be something personal like financially or a familial issue or the world literally ending. Seeing as Weiss' proximity was walls all around in a small room viable to drive a claustrophobe to suicide, this was a natural response and not one Blake was unfamiliar with. She usually had help however, but felt the need to tackle this incident herself. If only because Ruby was in here too and she had promised a certain sister to keep her safe.

Weiss began smashing her fists on Blake's shoulders who tried to use her stance and upper-body strength to constrain her, "Off! Off! G'off!"

"Ruby! Grab her legs!" Blake called, stiffening her shoulders as she tried to endure the pain of Weiss' immense blows. Her sensitive ears picked up each and every fibre of her uniform that began to unravel as Weiss' blunt impacts became tooth and nail.

Ruby obeyed, wiping the tears from her face and hugging Weiss' shoes to her chest. Blake wrapped her arms around Weiss' torso and kicked the two of them from the bed, all three dropping to the ground heavily. Blake was grateful the night shifts were so sparse. The prison hadn't even bothered to employ more than one guard per block during these late hours. When every inmate was inside their cage, there was less need for more shepherds. The guard maneuvered around the flailing girl and moved Ruby's one hand to Weiss' chest.

"This is very important Ruby," Blake began, "Listen closely."

"I-I'm-I'm listening!" Ruby hiccupped.

Weiss' legs were starting ease out of Ruby's grip, her words deteriorating into mere gibberish, "Gwaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"

"I need to go to the hospital ward and get a sedative. While I do that you have to keep Weiss down. Do not let her get back up. Stay here and hold her down. I've seen you in the yard. You have the strength to do this. Do you understand?"

"A sedative!?"

Blake nodded, "Dust is normally not this powerful, but she inhaled an entire vial. If we don't knock her out she'll at the very least give herself numerous contusions and who knows what bouncing off the walls, and will likely hurt you too. At worst, her heart will be beating so fast she'll suffer a massive heart attack."

"Oh god no!" What had Ruby done!?

"So keep her held down and I will be back!" Blake slowly backed up towards the bars, making sure Ruby had a good hold on Weiss. She then slid open the door and closed it once again, no doubt to make sure if Ruby was not able to keep Weiss under control she doesn't go sprinting into the hallways and wrecking the entire place. Blake dashed off down the halls and Ruby now was alone to contend with the reckless tantrum. Ruby's own heart was beating rapidly, but she didn't know if it was because of the situation. After all she was only centimeters from Weiss' face when the vial exploded, and no doubt she too inhaled a little. Only when she saw a reddish tinge all around her skin did she realize she must've been on as well. She felt so powerful, like if she pressed any harder she'd crush Weiss into the ground, and had this unbearable urge to move around to expel all this adrenaline she suddenly possessed, but Ruby bit the inside of her cheeks, doing her best to remain where she was. With the cell locked in as it was, the last thing they needed was for the two of them to tear each other apart like piranhas.

Ruby noticed through the crashing loud movements how dilated Weiss' pupils were, who continued to spout nonsense abou the cracks in the ceiling giving in and the leaning bunk beds falling off their supports and flattening the two of them. Or at least Ruby was almost sure Weiss said that as her words came out so fast and indecipherable, Weiss might as well have been spouting off the recipe to the latest and greatest cookie discovery. Ruby kept composure, her patience wearing thin the longer Blake had left. Then, a sharp pain pulsed through her forearm.

"Ow!" Ruby pulled away her left hand for just a second, with Weiss' mouth clinging onto her wrist. She had no clue how she didn't feel this chomp sooner and shook Weiss off, forcing the throbbing limb back onto her before she could scoot away, which she almost did. The heiress was arching her head attempting to bite again, and Ruby shoved a fist down her throat, keeping it balled as hard as possible to keep the teeth from sinking too much into her hand. It was all she could do. Oddly enough it was working and it didn't seem to be as painful as Ruby expected.

Blake had turned the corner and had a syringe in her palm, though for a split second she wondered if she should let this play out. After all, Weiss was not at all her favourite person and if she ended up succumbing to an overdose that would make her job a little easier to bare. But soon Yang's face flashed in her mind and she couldn't let Ruby take the fall for such a blunder like that, and so her legs moved ever faster until she finally returned to the cell. She almost slammed the bar door open and dived in, helping Ruby hold Weiss still while she administered the sedative into her shoulder. It only took a few seconds before Weiss' flailing came to an abrupt stop. Had it not been for the disarray the cell was in, the scene may have resembled a botched lethal injection.

Both Ruby and Blake took a few moments to catch their breaths, but Blake found her composure far sooner than Ruby, so she eyed Ruby, who had clutched her chest and made repeated small movements over and over again like she was restless.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

Ruby started shaking, tears returning to her eyes, "N-no..."

"Oh no, you breathed some in too, didn't you?"

"Not as m-much," She held her shaking body, as each second ticked by. Each second felt timeless, like the next second she wouldn't be here, or something horrible might occur. The seconds were so important, so valuable, she had to steal them, take them back for herself or nothing, nothing would be left. She could grasp the seconds and try to trap the all she wanted, but there was no way to reapply the wasted time back into her life, so it went on like a cycle. Stealing seconds to use but not being able to use them, but stealing them anyway to try to use them. She had to do something, else nothing would be left. There was no such thing as endless time. Whoever came up with that idea was a crackpot. If people didn't steal their time back they'd have none. Nothing would be left. All would be gone and none would be left. It'd just be a desolate wasteland of nothingness. Nothing. Nothing would be left. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Noth—

"Ruby!" Blake grabbed hold of the girl's shoulders, "Calm down."

Ruby shivered, "Blake is it supposed to be l-like this?" More tears. "Am I going to d-die?"

"No, no you are not going to die," Blake poured some water from the faucet into a cup, and handed it to Ruby, "Drink lots of fluids. Rest. Don't worry about it the feeling is how dust is."

"Why would a-anybody take this if it's like t-this!?" Blake looked on with worry, wondering if she should've brought two sedatives just in case, but Ruby was not to the extent of Weiss, and so she felt it unnecessary. How would Yang react if she found out Ruby had been on dust? The result would not have been pretty.

Blake shook her head, "Again, it's usually not this strong. This must've been a very concentrated vial."

The guard began cleaning up the shards and remains of the vial with her gloved hands, and then pulled out a dustpan for the rest. She also prepared a wet rag to clean up the place a bit so none of the narcotic would remain. After the cell was spotless, Blake took off and returned with a cup of tea. This was something she would normally never serve prisoners and came from the staff's office, but this was an exception. She crouched down, handing the warm drink to Ruby who was sat on Weiss' bed, near the edge. They had laid Weiss down earlier who was still unconscious as if nothing had ever happened.

Ruby took a sip, and then another sip, and almost took a gulp before Blake blocked the cup from returning to her face, "Ruby, pace yourself. The tea's hot."

"B-but it doesn't f-feel hot," Ruby said.

"That's the dust. It dulls sensation and pain. You're actually burning your tongue right now," Blake explained.

Ruby stuck out her tongue, waving it around and trying to will her nerves back to her body, but nothing was working. She'd have to take Blake's word for it, "Why are y-ou even giving me this, aren't I in b-big trouble?"

"Why would you be in trouble?" Blake raised a brow, "Isn't Weiss responsible?"

Ruby lowered her head, her vibrating finally starting to slow, "No. It was me. I had the vial."

"You?" Blake's eyes widened. Where on earth did Ruby manage to find dust? Was there something about this girl that Yang never told her? She supposed Ruby found a way to this place somehow, but from her reaction to the dust Blake couldn't believe it'd have anything to do with the drug at all. Blake did not say more, allowing the silence to lead Ruby to explaining her crime. Blake knew she owed Yang a huge favour, but she was unsure as how to keep Ruby from trouble when she had committed one of the worst non-violent infractions. Blake was almost thrilled to have an excuse to throw Weiss into a different slammer, but she didn't have the heart for the younger sister.

Ruby continued, "A week ago Y-Yang wanted to give me some drafting pencils, for a hobby. She was going to give this lady some hairspray as a trade, b-but then Yang went to uh, that place, a few days ago."

"Segregation," Blake informed, "The inmates like to call it the hole though."

"Yeah o-okay," Ruby continued, "but since Yang ended up there, the lady got m-mad. She said she went all the trouble of getting the supplies for nothing, and with Yang gone she would have none of her own stuff l-left too, so she said I had to do something else to m-make up for it. She told me to just hold the dust for a w-while, and I didn't even know what it was. I thought it was like m-medication or something."

"You are extremely naive," Blake said.

Ruby covered her face with both her hands, "m'sorry."

"It's okay. This is your first time in. Everything is strange to you, and with Yang not around you don't really know the ins and outs," Blake took a glance at Weiss, "and I doubt she's making it any better."

Ruby noticed Blake's stare, "Actually Weiss has b-been pretty good, especially recently. I just screwed it all up."

Blake stood up, patting the young girl on the head, "If she gives you any trouble after this don't hesitate to come to me."

"Wait uh, do you need to know the name of the lady who gave me the vi—"

"Do not say another word," Blake stopped Ruby, holding up a hand, "I'm going to assume Yang failed to tell you the most important rule in prison."

It would be just like Yang to forget something like that. Ruby sat still, mouth closed waiting for the explanation. Blake responded by crouching closer to Ruby, her lips drawing near Ruby's right ear.

"You did not get this from me, but the most hated of people in this facility are informants. If this person you got the vial from found out you told me, your life here will suddenly become much more dangerous," She began, "For your honesty and because I owe so much to your sister, I'm going to let you off with a write-up. Instead of everything that just happened, all I found was the vial in your cell. It's a drug offence so it will count for two strikes. Don't do anything else or you're going exactly where Yang is."

Ruby nodded knowing she got off extremely lightly. Blake exited the cell, closing the doors once again and scanning the other cells, giving off glares to nearby inmates that probably heard the situation. They too knew of the number one rule in this facility and all the others, so what just transpired won't be leaving anyone's mouths anytime soon. Before she stepped away she took one last look at Weiss, still out of it.

"By the way, when Weiss wakes up she'll—," Blake stopped herself, "Well, there's no real way to prepare you. The aftermath of an overdose is quite unpredictable."

Blake had already felt sorry that she had to live with that time bomb every single day. Had she struck Ruby down with everything she should've received, Blake may not have been able to forgive herself. Ruby gulped when she heard Blake say those words. Sure she escaped the institution's penalties, but considering she was locked in a tiny room with Weiss, there was still hell awaiting the next day or whenever Weiss would wake up. The tea thankfully calmed her down and she was able to relax, back pressing to the wall. The after-effects of the drug too would come soon enough, and Ruby hoped it wouldn't be as bad as media ever depicted it. A relaxing afternoon of homework became a nightmare of chaos in the evening, and Ruby clumsily climbed onto the top bunk, her body finally realizing the toll it had taken from the sample of dust it had endured earlier. She fell into a dreamless sleep before she even realized her exhaustion.