Team RWBY stared blankly at the Huntsman who would be on the mission with them. All four of them were frozen in place, a collective look of dismay on their faces.
"Professor Oobleck?" Weiss finally managed to say, her voice a mix of surprise and utter disbelief.
"Yes! I am afraid those bags won't be necessary, girls!" Dr. Oobleck said, his words coming out in a rapid-fire burst as he paced back and forth, a cloud of motion and energy. "Seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission! I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations! Rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland, and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon! I packed all of our essentials myself, plowed the air, and readied the airship! And!" he paused, holding up a finger, his eyes narrowing in a focused, professorial glare. "It's Dr. Oobleck. I didn't earn a Ph.D. for fun. Thank you very much."
"Uh..." Weiss said, still processing the information.
"Come now, children! According to my schedule, we are already three minutes behind!" Dr. Oobleck declared, waving them over to a waiting airship.
Ruby sighed deeply, a long, weary sound that echoed her frustration. "Well, all right then. Let's... get this over with. Let's go save the world" She and her teammates shared a collective look of resignation, their shoulders slumping.
Just then, a voice rang out, full of playful indignation. "Save the world? You're going on world-saving missions without us?! I'm hurt! Sad!… Maybe a little hungry. That last one's not your fault, though, Ren." Nora said, glaring at Ren, who simply looked away with his arms crossed.
"Sounds exciting. Where are you going?" Jessica asked with a warm smile.
"We're going just outside the kingdom," Ruby said with a weary indifference.
"Hey! So are we!" Nora said, her face lighting up with excitement.
"Ren and Nora wanted to shadow the sheriff of a nearby village," Pyrrha said.
"We set out tomorrow," Ren added.
Just then, Neptune and Sun walked over to them. "Then you can party with us tonight!" Neptune chimed in. "We're shadowing a crime specialist. All inner-city detective stuff. We get junior badges!"
"We normally go to the city with you guys, which means stuff's always exploding and junk," Sun said, gesturing with his hands. "So we thought this might be a better way to check out the kingdom when it's, y'know, normal."
"Well—" Ruby started, but was cut off once again by Oobleck's distant voice.
"Four minutes, ladies!" he called out.
Ruby sighed deeply, a final, resigned sound. "We better get going," she said, before turning to her friends with a sad smile. "We'll see you guys soon."
A wave of worried and sad expressions washed over their friends' faces. Without another word, Ruby turned and began walking to the ship. The rest of Team RWBY looked at their leader worriedly, their earlier frustration now replaced by a protective empathy.
"Well, wish us luck, guys," Yang said, a quiet grimness in her voice as she followed Ruby. Weiss and Blake followed suit, their expressions a mix of nervousness and resolve.
The team boarded the airship, and with a roar of its engines, the craft lifted off the ground, carrying them away from the comfort of Beacon and into the unknown.
Onboard the airship, the team was packed into the small, cramped passenger area. Yang, her arms crossed, looked at their manic, fast-talking leader. "I guess I just never saw you as much of a fighter, Dr. Oobleck," she said, her voice laced with a playful skepticism.
Dr. Oobleck's head whipped around, his eyes wide and focused. "I admit I fancy myself more of an intellectual, but I can assure you, as a Huntsman, I've had my fair share of tussles!" he said in a rapid-fire burst.
Ruby's mind immediately went to food. "Like the mushroom?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Those are truffles," Blake corrected dryly from her spot beside Ruby.
"Like the sprout?" Ruby asked again.
"Those are Brussels," Yang said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.
Dr. Oobleck, ever the teacher, didn't miss a beat. "Besides, given my expertise in the field of history, as well as my dabblings in the arts of archaeological surveys, our dear Headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular assignment!"
Weiss, her arms crossed, took his words in. "What does history have to do with this?"
"What a preposterous question, you silly girl!" Dr. Oobleck exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with a sudden, zealous passion. He began to pace back and forth, explaining in a torrent of words that Weiss could barely keep up with.
After a few moments of listening, a look of utter bewilderment on her face, Weiss managed to get in another word. "And that means...?"
Dr. Oobleck came to a sudden halt, his expression turning grim. "The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves. But, it is also the location of one of the kingdom's greatest failures."
"Mountain Glenn," Ruby said, the name coming to her instantly, a dark memory from her history lessons.
"That's right," Yang confirmed, her voice now serious. "It was an expansion of Vale. But in the end, it was overrun by Grimm and fenced off from the rest of the city."
"Precisely!" Dr. Oobleck said. "And now it stands abandoned, a dark reminder."
Blake looked out the window of the airship at the desolate landscape below. "And a likely place for a hideout."
"Precisely!" Dr. Oobleck replied.
Just then, the airship arrived over a large, abandoned building. Without a moment's hesitation, the doors opened. Team RWBY and Dr. Oobleck jumped out, landing in combat-ready stances, their weapons drawn. Except for Ruby, who stood in the middle of her team, her hands empty.
"Ladies, you may still be students, but as of this moment, your first mission as Huntresses has begun! From this point forward, you need to do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" Dr. Oobleck commanded.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang all nodded in unison.
"Right," Ruby simply said, a resigned look on her face.
Dr. Oobleck's eyes fell on the backpack slung over Ruby's shoulders. "Ruby! I thought I told you to leave all your bags back at school!" he said, his voice accusatory.
Ruby rubbed the back of her head, a nervous laugh escaping her. "Uh... But... you hadn't told us to listen to you yet... so I didn't," she said, her voice a little too indifferent.
Dr. Oobleck looked at her, then to the side, a low whisper escaping his lips. "She's not wrong." He sighed, giving in. "Very well, Ruby, leave your bag here. We can pick it up upon our return."
"But I—well—" Ruby started, but Oobleck interrupted her.
"Young lady, what in the world could you possibly have in that bag that could be so important for you to bring—" he started, because the backpack began to move. A small, furry head with floppy ears peeked out of the top, and with a soft bark, Zwei fully emerged.
The rest of Team RWBY stared at Ruby and the dog, their faces a mix of disbelief and shock. Ruby looked over her shoulder at the dog, a long sigh escaping her lips. " I don't understand pets," she whispered to herself.
Zwei barked in response, his tail wagging happily.
"We're here to investigate an abandoned urban jungle teeming with death and hostility," Dr. Oobleck said, his voice low with disbelief. "And you brought... a dog?"
"I... uhh..." Ruby stammered, completely at a loss for words.
"Genius!" Dr. Oobleck suddenly yelled, spinning around. He zoomed past Ruby, scooping the dog up into his arms, and held him high, spinning around with him in a circle.
"Canines are historically known for their perceptive noses and heightened sense of sound!" Dr. Oobleck exclaimed, his voice a rapid-fire torrent of information. He held Zwei up, shaking the little dog excitedly. "Making them excellent companions for hunts such as ours!"
Zwei barked excitedly in his grasp, his tail a furry blur.
Ruby sighed, a mixture of exasperation and amusement in her voice. She looked at her teammates, who were still processing the absurdity of the situation. "Right... genius," she muttered to herself. "That was definitely what I was going for."
Blake, ever the pragmatist, stepped forward, getting straight to the point. "So, what are your orders, doctor?"
"Ah! Yes! Straight to the chase, I like it!" Dr. Oobleck said, finally dropping Zwei to the ground. "As you have been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hot spot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behavior, one of which being... Grimm!"
Team RWBY looked at each other, their faces a mix of utter bewilderment and disbelief. It was a reason so simple, so painfully obvious, that they couldn't help but feel a little silly for not having considered it. Ruby looked back at him, her eyes narrowed. "What?" she said.
"Grimm," Dr. Oobleck repeated, his voice dropping to a low, conspiratorial whisper. "A creature of Grimm, approximately 100 yards from us at this very moment."
"What!?" Yang exclaimed, her voice tight with surprise.
The team's eyes darted around, finally settling on a lone Grimm Beowulf slowly crawling around a derelict building. It looked like a scout, its head low to the ground. Weiss, Blake, and Yang immediately readied their weapons, their instincts taking over.
"Stop," Dr. Oobleck commanded.
"Huh?" Blake said, confused, as the three girls lowered their weapons and looked at their leader.
Dr. Oobleck simply took a slow sip from his thermos, the action a sharp contrast to his usual manic energy. "There are a number of reasons why Grimm would congregate in this particular area. The most likely of which would be their attraction to negativity. Sadness, envy, loneliness, hatred—all qualities that are likely held by our hidden group harboring ill intent."
"So, what now?" Ruby said, her mind already racing.
"We wait. We track. If the specimen leads us to its pack, that pack may subsequently lead us to our prey," Dr. Oobleck stated.
"How long do we wait?" Yang said, her eyes fixed on the lone Grimm.
"It's uncertain. Hours, days, weeks. Why, lone Grimm have been known to stay isolated from the pack for months... and there's the whole pack."
"What?" Weiss said, her voice a strained whisper.
The team's heads snapped back towards the Grimm. The lone Beowulf was no longer alone. Dozens of its kind had appeared, their red eyes glowing in the darkness of the abandoned city, their menacing forms now a sea of black fur and bone.
"And now they've seen us," Dr. Oobleck stated calmly.
Weiss looked at him, utterly bewildered. "What!?"
"And now they've seen us!" Dr. Oobleck repeated, his voice a little louder, causing Weiss to whine in frustration.
Ruby sighed, a sound of complete and total resignation. "I take it tracking is out of the question?"
"An accurate assumption, yes," Dr. Oobleck replied.
The Grimm Beowolves let out a guttural roar and began to charge towards them. The ground shook with the force of their thundering footsteps.
The team turned to their professor, waiting for his command.
"Show me what you're capable of," Dr. Oobleck stated, a sharp glint in his eye as he took another sip of his coffee.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang charged forward in a unified assault, their training taking over as the Grimm thundered towards them.
Ruby, however, hesitated for a moment. She let out a heavy sigh before slamming her hands together in front of her. Dr. Oobleck watched her, a curious, scholarly glint in his eye as he took a sip of his coffee. For some reason, forming her blood scythe took more energy than she had anticipated, and her breath came in shallow gasps. After a moment, the weapon finally formed, and she charged forward to join her team.
Yang was a blur of golden motion, her Ember Celica a force of pure, kinetic energy. She slammed her fist into a Grimm Beowulf, its bone armor cracking with the force of the blow, before a shotgun blast at point-blank range sent the creature flying back. Three more Beowulves gave chase, and Yang simply laughed, a confident grin on her face.
Multiple Beowolves charged at Blake, their claws extended. With a blinding flash of motion, a clone of Blake appeared in their path. The Beowulf's claws passed through the clone, which vanished just as the real Blake appeared above the Grimm. She flew at the creature, her Gambol Shroud a sharp silver arc that sliced the Beowulf in half. She landed gracefully, her form a symphony of speed and shadow as she began taking down the other Beowulves with dizzying speed.
Blake glanced over and saw Weiss. The graceful heiress was being pursued by a horde of Grimm. Weiss leaped into the air, her Myrtenaster a streak of cold steel as she expertly carved a Beowulf into pieces. She then used a Glyph to dash forward, her sword a blur of motion as she effortlessly chopped off the heads of five more Beowolves in a single, fluid movement.
Meanwhile, Ruby, her scythe humming with dark energy, charged at a Grimm. She brought her blood scythe down in a wide, powerful arc, slicing the creature in half from its head down. But as she dealt with another Grimm, one managed to sneak up on her. The Beowulf's jaws clamped down on her shoulder, its fangs piercing her aura. She grunted in pain, the shock causing her to stumble. Instinctively, she reached for the Grimm's head, her fingers digging into the bone. She squeezed with her bare hand, and the moment the creature died, its essence flowed into her, a dark, hot rush of energy that surged through her body, feeding her.
Ruby's eyes snapped open, a brilliant, burning red. A slow, sinister smile spread across her lips. "Much better," she whispered, her voice a low growl. She looked towards the horde of Beowolves that were still charging, her grin widening. "Show me what you got!" she yelled, charging forward. As she did, a white mask, its red markings pulsing with each kill she took, formed on her face, hiding her features.
Dr. Oobleck watched in amazement, his eyes wide. "Amazing," he said, his voice filled with a scholarly reverence. "So this is what the Headmaster was talking about." He walked up to Ruby, who was now a whirlwind of devastating power, her movements both brutal and efficient.
Ruby finished off the last Grimm in her immediate vicinity and looked at Dr. Oobleck, the white mask disappearing back into her skin.
"Come," he said, taking a sip from his thermos. "I am certain this is the first bout of many. Shall we continue?"
Ruby looked at him, then down at her hands. Her blood scythe deformed, the dark energy trailing back to her wound, knitting it back together. But as she felt the flesh on her shoulder heal, she also felt a strange, unsettling sensation. Like the person she was right now wasn't really her. Something was... definitely changing within her.
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In the aftermath of their third successive bout with the Grimm, the air was thick with the scent of ozone and dust. The abandoned streets were littered with the dissolving carcasses of Beowolves, and the team stood, breathing heavily, their weapons at their side.
Dr. Oobleck, ever the man of action, didn't seem to have a single drop of sweat on him. His eyes, however, were keen and observant. He turned to Yang, who was still buzzing from the adrenaline of the fight, her fists still smoking slightly.
"Tell me, Yang," he said, his voice surprisingly calm. "Why did you choose this line of work?"
Yang's confident grin faltered for a moment, her mind defaulting to the standard, heroic response. "Huh? Well, you know, to fight monsters and sav—"
"No," Dr. Oobleck interrupted sharply, cutting her off with a precise, almost clinical gesture. "That is what you do. I want to know why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a Huntress."
Yang blinked, the question forcing her to confront the core of her identity. She looked down at her gauntlets, then back at him, her smile returning, this time more genuine and a little defiant. "The honest reason? I'm a thrill-seeker." She shrugged, her hands gesturing to the chaos around them. "I wanna travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. And if I get to help people along the way, then that's even better. It's a win-win, y'know?"
A knowing glint appeared in Dr. Oobleck's eyes. He nodded slowly, a small, intellectual smile on his face as he took another sip of his coffee. "I see."
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In the quiet aftermath of yet another battle, Dr. Oobleck sat on a crumbling piece of rubble, his thermos in one hand, his other hand meticulously jotting notes in a small leather-bound notebook. His eyes, keen and analytical, settled on Weiss as she gracefully dispatched the last dissolving Grimm carcass with a final, elegant jab of her sword.
"And you, Ms. Schnee?" he said, his voice a calm counterpoint to the recent violence. "A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself doesn't need extra work. So, why choose this over a cushy job in Atlas?"
Weiss looked over at him, her expression a mix of annoyance and pride. She used her sword to flick a piece of Grimm bone from the tip, her movements still precise and controlled. "It's exactly as you said," she replied, her voice cool and measured. "I'm a Schnee. I have a legacy of honor to uphold. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I would do with my life. It was my duty."
Dr. Oobleck nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving her. He finished writing his notes and looked up at her, a knowing glint in his eye. "Interesting."
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Blake's Gambol Shroud swung out, its blade arcing through the air and cleanly slicing through the rusted metal door of a dilapidated building. She stepped inside, her movements fluid and silent. Little Nevermore Grimm birds, disturbed by the sound, flew out of the building, shrieking. Blake didn't even look up. She simply raised her weapon, pointing the gun at the sky as she fired, the sharp crack of the shots echoing through the abandoned city. The Grimm birds fell, their bodies dissolving into smoke before they hit the ground.
Dr. Oobleck peeked into the building, watching her with a knowing look before he turned his attention to her. "And what about you, Blake? You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose."
Blake's gaze was hard, her focus unwavering. "There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing," she stated, her voice holding a deep, resolute conviction. "Inequality, corruption, someone has to stop it."
"Very well," Dr. Oobleck said, his tone a quiet challenge. "How?"
Blake's face fell. Her brow furrowed, and she looked away, her mouth open slightly, unable to form a response. The question was too big, too complex. Her resolve was clear, but the path to achieving it was a foggy, uncertain mess.
Dr. Oobleck simply nodded, a hum of understanding escaping him. "Hmm," he said before he rushed off, leaving her to her thoughts.
Over with Ruby, she was leaning against a ruined building, her scythe's blade stabbed into the ground, a cooked turkey she had managed to find skewered on its tip. She was playing around with Zwei, her face a blank mask as she teased him with the food. She let out a small, mirthless laugh as the dog yapped and jumped after it, his little legs flailing in the air.
She felt a presence and turned to see Dr. Oobleck watching her, his eyes filled with a new, clinical curiosity. "What?" she asked, her voice flat, her face revealing nothing. "I got bored." She picked up her scythe, the turkey still attached. "Are we ready to keep going?"
"No," Dr. Oobleck said, his voice quiet. "I believe that will have to do for today. It's going to be dark soon." He turned to Weiss, Blake, and Yang, who were now gathered around. "You three, set up camp in that building," he said, pointing to a large, abandoned structure. "Oh, and please make sure that there are no more of those creatures. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter. Come, Ruby."
Dr. Oobleck walked off, his fast pace eating up the ground. Ruby followed him, Zwei trotting happily at her heels.
Weiss, Blake, and Yang entered the abandoned building to set up camp. As she stepped over the threshold, Weiss looked back at Ruby, her heart squeezing with a quiet, worried ache. She was afraid for her partner, for what she was becoming.
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Ruby, Dr. Oobleck, and Zwei stood at the edge of a jagged cliff, the air cold and still. Below them, the ruined city of Mountain Glenn stretched out like a silent, broken tomb. But it was not the city that held their attention. In the dark, treeless forest beyond, a massive herd of Grimm Goliaths moved in a slow, synchronized march. Their colossal, elephant-like forms were a silent, terrifying testament to the ancient power of the creatures of darkness.
"What is that?" Ruby said, her voice filled with a morbid fascination. "It looks cool."
"That, my dear girl," Dr. Oobleck said, his voice a low, reverent hum, "is a Grimm."
Ruby watched them for a moment, the primal, untamed beast within her stirring at the sight. Her hands came together, her blood scythe reforming into a blood-red sniper rifle. She aimed her gun at one of the Goliaths. "Let's kill it."
"I'm afraid your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size," Dr. Oobleck replied, a sense of finality in his tone.
Ruby's eyes remained fixed on the Grimm. "But what if it attacks us?" she asked, her voice quiet with a hint of challenge.
"Fret not, Ruby. Those Goliaths are not concerned with us," Dr. Oobleck said. His voice became a low, scholarly explanation, a sound that seemed to fit the grave, solemn landscape around them. "Ruby, not every Grimm is mindless. Or rather, not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you just fought, that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years. And in that time, between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing: they've learned. They've learned that when they attack our borders, they are likely to die. And what we lack in strength, we make up for in will."
One of the Goliaths, as if sensing their presence, looked over. Its glowing red eyes seemed to find their mark on the cliff. Its gaze passed over Oobleck and settled directly on Ruby, who stared back, meeting the silent challenge of the beast.
"And that killing one human will only bring more," Dr. Oobleck said, his voice soft but firm.
"Then why are they still close to the city? What are they doing?" Ruby asked, breaking the silent stare-down.
"Waiting," Dr. Oobleck simply said.
The Grimm Goliath herd continued its silent, inexorable march.
Dr. Oobleck began to walk away from the cliff's edge. Ruby looked back one more time at the majestic, terrifying sight before turning and following her professor and Zwei.
"Doctor Oobleck?" Ruby said, her voice hesitant.
"Hmm?" Dr. Oobleck hummed in response.
"I was wondering—"
"Wondering why I've been interrogating your teammates all day?" he asked, his voice returning to its normal, rapid-fire tone.
"A-actually," Ruby corrected, a small smile on her face. "I was wondering... why did you want to become a Huntsman?"
Dr. Oobleck stopped walking. Ruby and Zwei also stopped, standing in the cold, still air. Dr. Oobleck pointed at the ruined city below them. "Look around and tell me what you see."
"Lots of old buildings... uh, empty streets..." Ruby said, her voice a little unsure.
"I see lives that could've been saved," he said, before continuing to walk.
Ruby's face fell into a small frown, but she followed him, Zwei barking happily behind her.
"As a Huntsman, it is my job to protect the people," Dr. Oobleck said, his voice becoming a powerful, impassioned monologue. "And although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger impact if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I am able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it into the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland and I see lives that could have been saved. But I also see an opportunity. An opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy. And, therefore, become stronger. I am a Huntsman, Ruby," he said, his voice imbued with a deep, profound conviction. "Because there is nothing else in this world I would rather be."
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In the silence of the abandoned building, Team RWBY gathered around a small fire, its flickering light casting dancing shadows on the worn walls. The air was cold, but the fire was a small pocket of warmth. Blake knelt, using a stick to poke at the glowing embers, her head bowed in thought. Weiss stood a little ways off, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her eyes scanning the darkness outside, ever on guard.
Yang walked toward them, her face grim. "I can't believe we didn't find anything," she said, her voice a low murmur.
"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time," Blake replied, her voice soft. "I guess we can't always have luck on our side."
"That's not what I meant," Weiss suddenly interjected, her voice tight with frustration.
Blake looked up from the fire. "Huh?"
"Earlier, about upholding the legacy," Weiss said, a small frown on her face. "There's more to it than that."
"Yeah, me too," Yang sighed, sitting down beside Blake. "I mean, I don't know."
Without thinking, Blake reached out and took Yang's hand. She looked at her partner, a rare vulnerability in her eyes. "I don't know either. I know what I want to do, but... I figured I'd always just take things one step at a time."
Yang looked down at their joined hands, a silent comfort passing between them. She squeezed Blake's hand. "Well, it doesn't matter," she said, her voice filled with a quiet certainty. "We know why we're here. Right?"
A comfortable silence fell over the group, broken only by the crackle of the fire.
Just then, the entrance to the building was filled with the familiar, humming energy of Dr. Oobleck. "Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire!" he exclaimed, before stepping aside to reveal Ruby, who walked in with a heavy sigh. She knelt down by the fire, her body slumping with exhaustion, before simply extending her hands toward the warmth. ".. Warm," she whispered, the single word carrying a world of meaning. Zwei settled down beside her, his head resting on her leg.
"Very good, eat your dinners and hurry to bed," Dr. Oobleck said, his voice as quick as ever. "We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?"
The rest of the team remained silent, a silent agreement to let their leader have the final say. Ruby let out a soft sigh, standing up with a tired yawn. "I guess I'll take first watch."
Without a word, Weiss walked over to Ruby, her hand gently resting on Ruby's arm.
Yang watched them, her head tilted. She had been watching them for a while now, her big-sister instincts on high alert. The two of them had yet to talk, nor said anything about how they felt about each other. It was frustrating just watching them get all cuddly and yet they had yet to start talking about what they were. Shaking her head, Yang focused back on her sister.
"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress?" Yang asked. "I mean, what did you tell him?"
Ruby looked between Blake and Yang, then at Weiss. She managed a small smile. "Hm. No, he didn't. Weird. Oh well, goodnight, guys."
She looked at Weiss, her smile softening into something more genuine. "Goodnight," Weiss whispered back, her hand letting go of Ruby's arm with a soft squeeze.
Ruby walked off to a vantage point, leaving her teammates to get their sleeping bags out. One by one, they fell asleep, still questioning their reasons for being Huntresses, as Ruby stood watch, staring out at the night sky.
Zwei walked over, his little legs thumping softly as he sat down beside her. He looked up at her, waiting. After a moment of hesitation, Ruby reached down and gently petted him on the head.
Ruby let out a soft sigh. "Don't worry," she whispered. "Hopefully, things will get better tomorrow." She looked back at the night sky as Zwei laid down beside her, the two of them a small, quiet presence in a world of darkness.