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When the gigantic clock in the Beacon dining hall struck 7, the preparations for the Thanksgiving feast were complete. Lights on strings looped around the columns, garlands of fake leaves decorated the arches, and, most importantly of all, food of such variety and abundance bore down on the tables that the wood groaned and threatened to crack. The students were streaming into the dining hall by the dozens, buzzing excitedly.
“I’m going home over break, me mam bakes a mean biscuit.”
“Didja know that Ozpin caught a Nevermore-sized turkey?”
“Dude, I can’t wait to dig in!”
Similar talk reverberated through the dining hall, filling the room with cheer.
Yang and Ruby squeezed to the front of the crowd, and stopped only when they saw the food. Their eyes widened in unison. They began flitting from table to table, breathing in the roasted turkey, dipping fingers in the cranberry sauce, drooling over the mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy. Blake and Weiss, who struggled to keep up, saw the siblings about to dive into a miniature fountain of melting chocolate, the centerpiece of every table. It took their combined efforts to restrain the sisters.
“Yang, calm down,” Blake said, pulling Yang back by the back of her shirt, “you’ll have plenty to eat later.”
Meanwhile, Weiss grabbed Ruby’s arm, slapping her hand away from the fountain. “Absolutely not.”
“But Weiiiiis. Chocolate!”
When all of the students had tramped in, they found their usual table, and waved over Team JNPR. They chatted among themselves, catching up, saying hellos, and, in the case of Yang, Ruby, and Nora, eyeing the food-laden table. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Yang piled a miniature mountain of mashed potatoes onto her plate.
“Ahem. I’d like to make a toast!” announced Ruby.
Yang groaned and reluctantly pulled away from the potatoes.
When everyone’s eyes were trained on her, Ruby poured herself a cupful of apple juice from a crystal flagon. She smiled at her friends, and raised her glass. “For another kickass year - to JNPR and RWBY!”
“JNPR and RWBY!” chorused the two teams. Nora followed up the toast with an enthusiastic “Aww yeah!” before stuffing her face with turkey. Those who had drinks drained them, and those who didn’t followed Nora’s example. For a few minutes, the sound of munching and crunching and slurping filled the dining hall, and there was no talk except for the occasional “Pass the cranberry sauce” and “Can I have the salt” and “Ruby stop spelling ‘Weiss is a butt’ with your gravy.”
After most had polished off their second helping, Weiss tapped her knife against her glass. The noise rang across the table, clear and precise as a bell. “Excuse me. As this is Thanksgiving, I thought that it would be fitting to say thanks.”
Murmurs of assent went around the table. Ruby flashed her a double thumbs-up sign, grinning, mouth full of roast beef, having finally relinquished her hold on the gravy.
“Why don’t you start, then, since it’s your idea?” Pyrrha suggested.
She nodded, not looking taken aback or nervous at all. “Yes, of course, I would be honored.”
Clearing her throat, Weiss stood and raised her glass of water. “I’m thankful for my privileged place in Beacon, for this opportunity to study with such worthy classmates. I’m thankful for the wonderful professors, I’m thankful for my parents, and I’m thankful for the rigorous coursework that keeps me on my toes. But most of all, I’m thankful for my friends.”
She paused. Yang got the feeling that she had rehearsed these lines before, and held back a grin. “You all are my inspiration, and I hope that we will see much of each other in the coming years.”
Weiss sat back down to a rousing round of applause.
“That was some speech,” Yang said to Blake.
“Indeed.”
“Why don’t we go around?” Weiss said. “That way, everyone can have a chance to speak.”
“Ooh! I’m next, I’m next,” exclaimed Nora, who was sitting near Weiss. Without waiting for an objection or confirmation, she jumped to her feet, and grabbed a glass full of a mysterious clear liquid that she had brought with her to the festivities. “I wanna give thanks for Ren, ‘cause he’s the best friend ever, and I wanna thank sloths and my mom and my other mom and our Dark Lord Satan and Team JNPR and everyone here and I hope none of you gets eaten by a Grimm!” She beamed, drained her glass of mystery liquid, gave a refreshed “Ahhh!” and sat down.
“Wait,” whispered Yang to Blake as she applauded, “did she mention a Dark Lord Sat - ?”
Ren, who was next, stood up. “Uh. I’m not very good at these things.”
He looked at Nora, who grinned encouragingly. Bolstered, he continued. “I’m thankful for my parents, who have always been there for me. I’d also like to express my thanks to everyone here. You’ll all be fantastic hunters and huntresses, and I look forward to working with you.”
He sat down and people applauded, Nora loudest of them all. When the applause was dying down, Nora poked him in the shoulder. “You didn’t thank sloths, you big dummy.”
“Oh, right. My bad.”
From the corner of her eye, Yang saw Ruby suppress a giggle.
Next in line was Jaune, who got unsteadily to his feet, and held up his glass. “It’s been said before, but I’m grateful for every single person at this table. You guys are awesome. Seriously. I can’t even do half of the stuff you all can,” he laughed, his grip around his glass tightening. “I’d also like to thank my dad, because without him, I wouldn’t have had the guts to come here. That’s all.”
He sat down so quickly that soda sloshed onto the front of his shirt, and a warm round of applause followed. Yang glanced at Ruby again. Her little sister was no longer laughing; instead, she was staring intently at Jaune, a crease between her eyebrows. Yang bit her lip, hesitant to disrupt the flow by taking her sister aside, but wanting to do so anyway.
“I am grateful for meeting Team JNRP and Jaune,” Pyrrha began, making Jaune splutter on his soda. “I could not have asked for a better team, or a better leader. I’m also thankful that I was accepted into Beacon. Last but not least, I would like to give thanks to my mother and father.”
There was applause as Pyrrha sat down, and proceeded to help Jaune mop up his soda. She snuck another glance at Ruby, who was gripping her spoon so hard that her knuckles turned white. Before Yang could figure out what to do, Blake had stood, and she tore her eyes away from her little sister to concentrate on the speech.
“Forgive me if I make mistakes, this is my first time,” Blake said. “I’m grateful for having a roof over my head. And I’m grateful for Beacon, for my teammates, for my friends. I don’t throw this word around lightly, but you all feel like a second family - ”
“I’ll be back,” said Ruby in a choked voice, leaping out of her seat and cutting off Blake mid-sentence.
“Ruby?” someone said, but she was already dashing out of the hall, an arm over her face. A sick feeling tinged Yang’s stomach. She waved down Weiss and Jaune, both of whom had stood uncertainly after Ruby’s outburst.
“Just indigestion - runs in the family - ” Yang assured them, flashing a smile and getting out of her seat, “I’ll check on her, keep on givin’ thanks, good feelings all around okay bye!”
She rushed out of the hall, leaving behind a table of baffled JNPR and RWBY members, but she couldn’t have cared less. All she could think about was the blank look in Ruby’s eyes when Blake had mentioned family. She tumbled into the corridor outside the dining hall, nearly colliding into a pair of students.
“Hey, watch it,” one of them called, but she hardly heard him. She pelted down the hall, blindly looking around, trying to catch a flutter of the red cloak. She scoured the toilets, the library, the laundry room, even the dormitories, which were on the other side of campus, calling Ruby’s name everywhere she searched, but her attempt was fruitless. By the time Yang had limped back to the main building, it was nearly 9, and she still had not found Ruby.
“Dammit!” Yang slammed her fist into the wall, leaving an indent the size of a tennis ball. A group of first-years scuttled away, shooting frightened looks over their shoulders.
The grand double doors to the dining hall were open, and she could catch a glimpse of her table near the back, where Jaune was animatedly recounting a story, but she had no desire to return until she had found Ruby. Once Yang recovered her breath, she turned around without thinking, and began bounding up the stairs two at a time. She could get a clear view of Beacon from the roof, and maybe, just maybe, find Ruby.
When she reached the top, she tried pushing open the door, but it was locked. She rattled the doorknob. No use. She stared at the stubborn knob, then suddenly a wave of anger crashed over her.
“Aaargh!” Yang threw a right cross at the door, snarling. The poor door was no match for her fist. It shot from the frame like a rocket, skittered along the roof, and tumbled off the ledge. She heard a dull thud and a cry of pain from far below. She lowered her fists, Ember Celica clanking as she retracted into the wristlet, and stepped onto the roof.
Sitting in one corner, with her hood thrown over her head and her legs dangling off the edge, was Ruby. If she had noticed Yang’s noisy entrance, she didn’t show it.
Yang’s face softened. She stood there, quite still, and only made her way over when Ruby remained silent, ignoring her. When Yang was right next to her sister, she crouched down and sat, also dangling her legs off the edge. There was a moment of quiet as they both stared into the horizon. The sun had dipped below the earth, and had left behind nothing but a mere ghost of warmth.
“Vale looks great from this angle, huh?” Yang said at last, trying to break the ice. Ruby didn’t respond.
“Watch out or you’ll fall,” she laughed. Still no answer.
“So what’s the matter?” Yang asked, this time serious.
Ruby bristled. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse. “I’m fine.”
“Nah, you’re not. Big sis senses’re tingling.”
“I don’t want to talk.”
“You have to, I’m not leaving, it’s Thanksgiving for Chrissake - ”
“Just go - ”
“If it’s about mom, I’ll underst - "
“Liar!”
Ruby whirled to face Yang at last, chest heaving. Her eyes were rimmed with red.
“You have no idea how I feel,” she spat. Yang blinked. “I was closer to mom than you, you didn’t know her like I did, you didn’t give a damn, you weren’t hurt when she got killed, you got right back up and applied to Beacon and moved on.”
“Ruby, of course I was hurt when mom died!”
“She didn’t die,” said Ruby, her voice rising, “she got herself killed. She left us. Jesus! Can’t you get that through your thick head? She - she lied.”
“Ruby, mom did what she had to do,” Yang said shakily. She placed a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, but it was tossed off. “She had to make sacrifices.”
“Yeah? Well, she dragged me into it,” Ruby shouted, her voice echoing across the rooftop. “It’s Thanksgiving and she’s not here - she’s never gonna be here - I won’t see her again, ever. She swore that she would be here, so where is she? Where the fuck is she? Where?”
Ruby’s voice broke on the last word, and she turned away, taking deep breaths.
“Ruby…”
“Just go away,” she croaked, but without much conviction. Silence once again settled over the two. Even though it was a warm night for autumn, Ruby was shaking. Soon a minute had passed. Then another. A half-moon rose and shone upon them indifferently.
“I…” Ruby took a deep breath, her voice tremulous. “I…I loved…”
She broke down, her narrow shoulders heaving with the effort to sustain her sobs.
“I loved her - so much -”
“Shh, shh.” Yang wrapped her arms around her, patting her back, letting her bury her face into her bosom. Ruby cried quietly, her whole small body wracked by uncontrollable trembling. No words were exchanged, but Yang thought that she might understand. The tears had been building inside of Ruby for years now, never allowed to spill, always pushed back and swallowed and ignored. She could not show weakness, could not afford to show weakness, but a part of her soul, the part that soothed and eased and loved, had died with Summer.
When Ruby’s sobs were finally subsiding, she pulled away. She impatiently wiped her face on her sleeve. The half-moon hung over them, as pale and constant as ever.
“Good luck,” muttered Ruby.
“Hm?”
“Those were my last words to her. Not ‘I love you’. Just ‘good luck.’”
Yang was at a loss. She placed her hand over her sister’s, and tried to find the right words to say. “I’m … sure she knew what you meant.”
Ruby turned to Yang, and cracked a sad, unfathomable smile. “Thanks.”
Ruby got up, dusting off her skirt. Suddenly she was back to her old self, upbeat, bubbly, but her voice was strained when she spoke. Yang decided not to press the matter. “Let’s head back!” she said. “We’ve been out for ages.”
“You’ve been out for ages, kid,” Yang corrected, also getting up. “I’ve just been looking for you.” She noticed the gaping hole where the door used to be. “Woops.”
Ruby grinned. “Last one to the table takes the blame.”
“Ohoho, not so fast!”
They raced back to the dining hall, shoving and giggling, each trying to get the edge. As their feet pounded down the stairs in unison, Yang looked sideways at her laughing sister. These things, she knew, could not be changed overnight, but they were taking steps. Small steps, yes. Unsteady steps, certainly.
But steps nonetheless.