In a Land Far, Far Away # 8

(It is highly recommended that you read the Author's Notes below before reading this piece.)

***


“Mama...”

A mewl.

“It's cold...”

A shuddering breath came out as a puff of white mist, a small form shivering in the dark. While the abandoned church slated for demolition in the spring provided a roof over her head and kept her out of the snow and wind, it did little to keep six year old Blake Belladonna warm.

“Papa, I wanna go home...”

One day.

It had been one day since bandits attacked her village, the merciless humans sending the small community of Faunus into a panic. Dust weapons boomed like fireworks. Faunus men, women, and children screamed as they fled from the wooden shacks that were their homes, trying to escape the unforgiving slaughter. With only their farming tools and their own natural prowess as their weapons, the Faunus men of the village rushed the bandits head on, hoping to give their wives and children the precious seconds they needed to escape.

“Big Brother...”

Chief Belladonna, along with his oldest, Adam, stood at the forefront of the village's defensive line, the two bull Faunus doing what they could to stop the invaders from advancing any further. It was a losing battle they knew, despite the Faunus outnumbering their attackers nearly three to one. There was only so much one could do against Dust rifles and other Dust powered weaponry, especially ranged ones, but they still fought anyhow. With their backs turned to their loved ones, they fought tooth and nail, roaring in defiance and desperation. And that was the last time Blake ever saw her brother and father again, the cat Faunus soon after losing her mother when they got separated in the forest after they and the many other surviving Faunus stumbled upon a pack of Beowolves during their escape.

Sniffling audibly, Blake rubbed at the tears pooling in the corner of her eyes, the Faunus curling up even smaller on the wooden and rotten pew she lay upon. Feebly rubbing her hands together in a vain attempt to shoo away the numbness in her fingers, Blake breathed on her frozen digits again, her misty breath doing little aside from momentarily filling the frigid air with a burst of white.

“Where are you...?” the small child whimpered, another shiver racking her form.

At the sound soft rumbling, the cat Faunus flattened her feline ears against the top of her head. She had barely eaten a bite of breakfast yesterday morning before they were attacked, Blake having since then filled her belly with nothing. After running barefoot for who knows how long in nothing but her thin pyjamas, Blake's first reaction upon coming across this decrepit building was to pass out on the nearest elevated surface. Since then, she hadn't moved, Blake too tired and traumatized from yesterday's events to even go looking for something to keep her warm in this place.

The creaking of the heavy, wooden doors at the back of the abandoned church made Blake jump.

“B-Big Brother?” she squeaked in a stuttered whisper.

Pushing herself upwards to dare a glance over her makeshift bed, Blake quickly froze halfway in her movements, horrified. Amber coloured eyes widened at the sounds of shuffling, booted feet which clearly didn't belong to her brother. Neither she nor Adam had shoes, or boots for that matter, a simple fact in the harsh reality of Faunus life. The feet that entered the church did however, Blake's heart pounding noisily in her chest as the doors creaked again, whomever had entered closing it soon after their entry.

“I told them I could do it,” came a murmur, the words only audible because of Blake's feline ears. “I'm not afraid of ghosts.”

Blake held her breath, still halfway between lying down on the pew and rising to look over the pew's backrest. Despite her best efforts, Blake was unable to keep quiet. The cool draft which followed the doors' first opening made her shudder, the cat Faunus exhaling noisily, her teeth chattering a few times. Only when she sneezed did she catch herself, Blake quickly slapping a hand over her mouth to stop herself from making any more sounds. It was too little too late by then unfortunately, for she had already been heard.

“H-Hello?” someone said, the original shuffling stopping.

Blake further tensed in terror.

“Is s-s-someone there?”

Blake dared not utter a single word, the Faunus biting her tongue hard to prevent another outburst. Seconds ticked by without another sound, save from the blowing wind which seeped through the cracks in the old church's foundations. Just when Blake thought the person had left, the sound of thumping boots broke the silent air again, footsteps slowly heading towards the front of the church where she lay.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

“I-Is someone here?” the voice repeated.

Blake's heart thrummed in her chest.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“A-Alright N-Nora,” the voice continued, a slight waver in it. “You got me! N-Now come out!”

The hand over Blake's mouth squeezed harder, nails digging into her cheeks.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“N-Nora, I said-”

Amber coloured eyes met lavender ones as a small blonde girl with long unruly hair walked into sight. The little girl, dressed in a long brown wool jacket and yellow scarf, froze in her steps the moment she spied Blake curled up on the front most pew. For a few tense seconds they stared at each other, neither moving, both of their breaths coming out as tiny clouds of white when they exhaled. Just when the moment seemed to stretch on forever, the blonde girl slowly turned towards Blake and opened her mouth to-

Blake screamed, the Faunus leaping off of the pew like a bat out of hell, Blake running deeper into the church, away from the other child. A high pitched shriek quickly joined Blake's scream, the blonde girl also making a run for it, back the way she came, in the opposite direction of the Faunus. All the while, she screamed about ghosts and demons and haunted churches.

***

It was warm.

For the first time since finding this abandoned church, Blake awoke feeling warm.

A day and a half had passed since her encounter with the blonde girl. To Blake's relief, no one else stumbled upon this desolate building, leaving her in peace. But as peaceful as it was, it didn't stop Blake from growing hungrier and hungrier as the hours passed by. While used to not eating much, due to her situation as a Faunus, Blake hadn't eaten anything since fleeing her village days ago. But as hungry as she was, Blake didn't go thirsty.

At times, the young girl made quick trips to the outside, with the Faunus popping snow into her mouth and drinking down the liquid when it melted on her tongue. While the chilling precipitation soothed her parched throat, nothing could substitute for real food however. And as more time passed, Blake felt herself get weaker and weaker, from the cold, and from the lack of food.

But today, she was warm.

Was she dead?

A gasp sounded as Blake's eyes fluttered open, her vision taking a bit of time to focus.

“Sorry,” a voice said, putting Blake on edge the moment she heard it. “Didn't mean to wake you up.”

Blake shot up to sitting position as the voice spoke again, the motion leaving her dizzy due to hunger. She swayed a bit in her spot before something wrapped around her shoulders and held her steady. It was then the scent of spring flowers on a warm sunny day came to her nose, the Faunus girl momentarily closing her eyes as she inhaled deeply.

She was warm.

A giggle sounded, snapping Blake out of her stupor. The Faunus quickly pulled back out of the arms holding her. To Blake's surprise, those small arms belonged to the blonde girl from a few days ago, the girl now in nothing but a yellow t-shirt with a black, flaming symbol printed on the front of it and black sweat pants. Blinking the last remnants of sleep from her eyes, Blake looked down at herself to find the blonde girl's jacket draped over her shoulders.

“What-”

“I'm Yang,” the blonde girl said, holding out her hand to shake.

Blake stared at the offered limb blankly. When it became evident the Faunus had no intention of returning the gesture, the girl named Yang frowned for a moment, before dropping her hand down to her side again. The blonde's frown didn't last long though, Yang smiling again seconds later.

“What's your name?”

Blake stared at the other child in confusion. Was this girl for real? Yang wanted to know her name? Didn't her parents teach her to never talk to strangers?

Silence surrounded the pair as Yang waited for Blake to answer the question. For a while, Blake stared at the other girl, the smile never faltering on Yang's face. Yang looked to be around the same age as her, though quite evidently better off considering the near pristine condition of her outfit as compared to Blake's. Unlike regular humans however, Yang didn't seem to be the least bit hostile towards Blake. Whether it was due to Yang's obliviousness to the situation or not, Blake didn't know.

“Blake...” Blake said quietly, the ravenette eventually succumbing to Yang's warm look. She shyly looked down at the ground upon answering, pulling Yang's jacket tighter around her shoulders.

“That's a pretty name.”

At that comment, Blake's eyes shot up to met Yang's gaze again, her amber coloured eyes wide with shock. Yang just grinned more at Blake, causing the Faunus girl to blush. Blake pulled her gaze away from the other child once more, trying to ignore the heat rising to her cheeks.

“So how come you're all here by yourself, Blake?” Yang asked, the blonde quickly realizing her error when Blake's head drooped down, her eyes going wet with tears. Blake's feline ears were flat against her head.

“I'm... waiting for someone...” the Faunus mumbled in barely a whisper. Blake swallowed thickly, hugging herself. She sniffled, blinking a few times to hold back her tears. Feline ears picked up the sounds of a clenching fist.

“Waiting for who?” Yang dared to ask.

Blake's head drooped even lower at that question, the Faunus bringing up her knees to eye level so she could hug her legs.

“Someone...” Blake said dejectedly.

They were dead.

Her mother. Her Father. Adam.

As much as she didn't want to believe it, Blake knew it was true. If someone was still alive, they would have found her by now, today being day three since she fled the attack on her village. As quick as she was on her feet, Blake was still a child, one who had yet to beat her older brother Adam in a foot race. The fact that neither Adam nor her parents were here only solidified that horrifying fact.

They were dead.

They were all dead.

And she was alone.

Blake whimpered, softly.

A loud growl emanated from Blake's stomach, making the Faunus grab at her shirt unconsciously. For a moment, she'd forgotten her hunger. But her hunger apparently hadn't forgotten her. Another gurgle sounded a few seconds after the first one, a hunger pang following up and hitting her hard. Blake bit her lip to hold back another whimper. At the sound of crackling, amber coloured eyes raised from Blake's knees to the plastic bag hanging from Yang's hand.

“Hungry?”

Blake stared at Yang in confusion. Then the other girl reached into the plastic bag she held and pulled out a cellophane wrapped ham and egg sandwich holding it up to her. The smell of this tasty meal hit the Faunus like a ton of bricks, Blake's mouth watering within seconds of inhaling that heavenly scent. Without thinking, Blake slowly reached for the wrapped meal, the ravenette only snapping out of her stupor and pulling back her hand as if burned when her fingers were an inch away from the morsel. Lavender coloured eyes blinked in confusion.

“What's wrong?” Yang asked.

Blake turned away from her present company, hugging her legs to her chest again.

“That's yours,” was all the homeless girl said, in spite of her loudly her stomach growled.

“Nuh uh,” Yang said, shaking her head.

Blake glanced back at Yang again.

“I had mine already,” the blonde explained. Yang patted her own stomach, the sound it making not quite hollow. Yang set the wrapped sandwich down on the top of Blake's knees.

“This one is yours.”

Blake was as stiff as a board. “For... me...?” The Faunus gulped, staring unblinking at the sandwich now just inches away from her face. The smell was so much stronger now, Blake feeling her resolve quickly crumbling.

“Yep!” Yang piped, smiling brightly. “I had Uncle Qrow make one for you.” Another smile.

Blake swallowed again, tearing her gaze away from the food to look at the human girl. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. After fighting with herself for the better of thirty seconds, her stomach protesting all the while, finally two words escaped the Faunus' lips, making Yang scrunch her brow.

“But why?”

A golden eyebrow raised at that question. “Because.”

“Because?”

“Because I told him too,” Yang reiterated. It was clear the other girl didn't understand why it was such a big deal.

“But why?” Blake repeated, the beginnings of tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

Didn't Yang know she was a Faunus? Didn't the blonde see the ears on the top of her head? Didn't Yang know humans and Faunus weren't supposed to be nice to each other? That's what those bandits were screaming when they attacked Blake's village days ago. How they were monsters. How they were evil. How they didn't deserve to live. That's why Blake and her family and her friends had to live outside of the human towns, far away from humans. Because they were monsters. Because they were ugly. Because they were a mistake.

Yang continued on, unaware of Blake's inner struggles. “Because I told him-”

“I'm not like you!” Blake exclaimed, clutching at her legs, burying her face in her knees. The ham and egg sandwich fell to the floor, having been jostled in that motion.

“I'm not like you,” Blake whimpered, tears rolling down her cheeks. With her face buried in her legs, Blake couldn't see Yang, but she could clearly hear the uneasy shuffling of booted feet and the rustling of cotton.

“You're not supposed to be nice to me!” Blake yelled, sniffling a bit. She clutched at her legs tighter. Her feline ears were pressed flat against her head as she despaired.

It was silent for a good few seconds, before Yang spoke up again.

“But why?”

For such a simple question, the answer to it was oh so very complicated.

“I'm not like you,” Blake repeated, sniffling yet again. She hiccuped as she inhaled shakily.  

“Because of your ears?”

Blake's head shot up straight, the Faunus gasping when a small, soft hand stroked the fur on her feline ears. Wide amber eyes stared at Yang as the girl continued to stroke her ears with the utmost gentleness.

“You're right,” Yang said, turning her gaze from the ears atop ravenette's head to meet Blake's gaze after a few seconds. “You aren't like me. I only have two ears.”

At these words, Blake's lip trembled, more tears streaming down her cheeks. Her gaze dropped to the floor again, where Blake's thoughts soon were filled with-

“So what?”

Blake's head jerked up again, the Faunus gawking at the human child in surprise. Yang smiled at her, Blake noticing for the first time that one of the blonde's front teeth was missing.

“So you're not like me. So what?”

The shivers that took hold of her were uncontrollable.

“But... But...” Blake fumbled for words, the Faunus at a total loss for words. “But you're not supposed to be nice to me!”

“Nope!”

Blake blinked again. “No?”

“Nope!” Yang repeated, showing another teethy (minus one tooth) smile.

Blake squeaked when Yang plopped down next to her on the pew, soon after pulling her in for a hug. “I can like and be nice to whoever I want. And I want to be nice and like you. So nopeity nope nope!”

“But-”

“Nope!” Yang's smile was like the sun. “No buts!” Yang said, hugging Blake even more. “I like you Blakey. So if someone else doesn't, just tell me and I'll beat them up for you.”

For the longest time Blake stared at Yang, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Then the flood of tears returned, along with the hiccups and the sobs, and Blake buried her face in Yang's shoulder, crying.

***

[A/N: Warning! Violence ahead! Skip to the next section if you don't wish to read it.]

“You filthy mutt!”

A cry of pain.

“We're gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!”

More days passed, the amount of time since the attack on her village now being a week. Yang visited Blake every day at the church following their little heart to heart, usually three to four times in the span of twenty four hours, often bringing with her food and books. Upon learning that Blake loved to read, the little blonde brought every book she could get her hands on, including her school books.

Countless hours went by, just the two of them enjoying each other's company. Some times Blake watched Yang do her homework. Other times Yang would just sit and listen as Blake read to her. And yet other times, the two children would just curl up on the half broken church pew, napping side by side. It was almost like a fairytale to the cat Faunus, how things suddenly got better. But just when Blake was starting to believe that life wasn't so bad after all, reality came crashing down upon her head again in the form of four high schoolers who snuck out of class to smoke a joint.

“You think you're better than us?!”

A hard kick to the ribs had Blake yelping in pain, her vision blurred with tears as she lay whimpering on the dusty marble floor. Yang's jacket (the blonde having left it to the Faunus since the first day they truly got to know each other) was torn from her shoulders the moment the boys reached her, tossed haphazardly in the direction of the back of the church. All the books Yang left to Blake were torn up and their remnants scattered all over the floor. And Blake, well, she was subjugated to taunts and hurtful words. Words soon turned into shoves and slaps, which then turned into punches and kicks. And all the child Faunus could do was curl up as much as she could, hoping for the pain to stop.

It had been nearly ten minutes now, and there was no end in sight.

“You think you can get away with this!? Huh!?”

Blake screamed as one of her feline ears was wrenched upwards, the motion harsh enough to yank her entire upper body off the floor with it. Frantic, she clawed at the offending limb holding her appendage hostage, somehow managing to draw blood after the third swipe.

“You goddamn animal!”

Blake's face smashed to the ground hard, her cheek exploding in pain as her head bounced off of the floor a second after impact. Her vision nearly went completely black at that hit, the sounds around her starting to echo as if she was standing in a very long tunnel. The pain in her head was almost unbearable, her limbs feeling like lead, the taste of metal lingering in her mouth. A hand fisted her hair, pulling her head off the ground as a blurred face came into her view.

“Any last words mutt?”

A chorus of chuckles and laughs sounded around the small child. Blake could only stare weakly at her attackers, her body in too much pain to do anything else. The boy holding her huffed, giving his companions a cocky look.

“Didn't think so,” the high schooler said. He cocked back his free fist, grinning.

“Hey!” came a shriek from somewhere behind them all. “What are you doing!?”

Blake was dropped.

“Shit! Run!”

Multiple footsteps scrambled away from her, but the cat Faunus barely heard them. Just like how she barely heard a lone, smaller pair of booted feet racing towards her. The blackness spreading across her vision was rapidly gaining speed, as was the cold numbness spreading across her battered limbs. Just as amber coloured eyes drooped shut, Blake made out a flash of gold.

“Blake? Blake!” cried a frantic voice, one the ravenette vaguely recognized. Whatever the voice said after that was lost, Blake already too far gone.

The last thing Blake remembered before her thoughts ceased to be was the scent of flowers on a warm sunny day.

***

[A/N: It's safe to read again.]

She was warm.

Amber coloured eyes opened blearily, to survey the scene. Well, one amber eye did, the other opened halfway, still quite swollen. Blake squinted against the light that met her gaze, the Faunus now registering the dull pounding in her head and the raw ache of just about every part of her body. At least the bed was soft and the blanket was-

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait! Blanket? When did she get a blanket? Feline-like eyes scanned their surroundings again. When did she get a bed for that matter? Or a yellow painted bedroom? How in the world did she end up-

“Nuuuh...”

Blake's breath hitched in her throat when she felt movement beside her. Muscles quivered in fear, breaths coming out in ragged gasps as the previous day's events came back to her in a flood of memory. She remembered it all.

She remembered waking up with Yang's coat warming her. She remembered munching on the tuna omelette and toast Yang left her before the blonde dashed off to the school for the day. She remembered calling out Yang's name happily upon hearing the church doors open only to realize it was not Yang who stood in the door way. She remembered watching as the books Yang left her were torn to pieces and tossed on the ground. She remembered the hate filled words. She remembered the mocking laughter. She remembered the pummelling fists that refused to stop. She remembered-

An unintelligible murmur made Blake tense, the child Faunus soon after whimpering in pain and shutting her eyes as she curled up, waiting for another beating. Seconds passed by, then a minute. Then another minute. And another one. After a total of three and a half minutes passed and nothing happened, Blake dared a look over her shoulder, as she was currently lying on left her side. To her surprise, what she found was not the group of mean boys who nearly beat her to death but instead was a mop of... black hair with red highlights?

“Don't go...” came another murmur.

Blake blinked. Clutching at the back of her shirt (a familiar yellow t-shirt with a black flame on the front) was a little girl. The girl had to be as least some years younger than her by the looks of it. She was dressed in a brown long sleeve top with cartoon Beowolves on it, the human still deep asleep, dreaming of who knows what, tucked under the blanket along with Blake.

The bedroom door opened with a creak. Blake sat up startled, only to whimper, one hand grabbing at her throbbing head, the other grabbing at her bound ribs. Multiple bandages clung to her skin all over her body, the Faunus feeling them as they rubbed against the clothes covering her as she moved. Tears pooled in Blake's eyes, the ravenette forced to bite her lip to keep herself from waking up the sleeping girl next to her.

“Blake!”

Hands rested on her shoulders, pushing Blake back down in bed.

“You need to sleep! You're hurt!”

“Yang?” Blake said weakly, her vision blurring as the room spun. “Where-”

“My house,” Yang said, rubbing Blake's feline ears gently.

The Faunus relaxed at that familiar feeling, closing her eyes. Yang was always gentle when she stroked Blake's cat ears. It was nice.

“How...?” Blake mumbled, exhausted.

“Uncle Qrow,” Yang explained.

Blake could only assume this Uncle Qrow was the one who brought her here from the church.

“You're in my bed,” Yang continued. Her gaze momentarily darted to the other girl next to the Faunus. “And it seems RuRu here wanted to keep you company too.” The blonde giggled.

“Ru... Ru...?” Blake asked, lethargically opening her eyes again to look at her companion.

Yang pointed to the little girl still sleeping soundly next to Blake on the bed. “My sister. RuRu,” Yang said. “Her real name is Ruby, but she still doesn't know how to say my name and calls me YaYa instead. So I call her RuRu.”

Blake smiled at this explanation, one which made complete sense in a six year old's mind.

“RuRu likes to cuddle too,” Yang said, reaching over Blake for a moment to pull the blankets up higher on a slumbering Ruby. “But only with people she likes. So she must really like you.”

Blake turned her head to look at Ruby. With the Faunus now flat on her back as opposed to lying on her side previously, Ruby clung to Blake's right arm, the younger girl sucking on her right thumb as she slept on, the human child completely obviously to the conversation happening right next to her. A small smile spread across Blake's lips at that cute sight.

“Blake?” Yang said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Do you... umm...”

“Yang?” Blake looked back to her unusually nervous friend, her brow furling.

“Doyouwanttobemysister?!” Yang exclaimed in a whoosh of a breath.

Blake took a few seconds to process the question, her eyes nearly popping out of her head when she finally did. “Eh?”

“I-I m-mean,” Yang stammered. “You don't have to if you don't want to. It's just that I really like you Blake. Really, really much. And I know Ruby likes you too, and she's always wanted to have another sister, and I wanted another sister too, so I asked Uncle Qrow and he said it's alright and-”

“Yang.”

Yang quieted down, tears in her eyes, surprising the Faunus.

“I was so scared, Blakey.”

The blonde sniffled miserably. Yang quickly rubbed away the unshed tears in her eyes before they could fall, but the tears didn't stop coming.

“When I saw them beating you up, I got so scared. I screamed and scared them away, but you were so quiet and hurt and weren't moving. I was so scared.”

Tears flowed freely down Yang's cheeks now, her hands balled up, her fists rubbing at them furiously to stop them. That didn't work of course, the blonde openly sobbing the longer the conversation went on.

“I ran back for Uncle Qrow as fast as I could, but *hiccup* you still weren't moving when we came back and-”

A pale, bruised hand reached up, brushing away one of Yang's tears. Yang cried harder at that gesture, the small blonde shuddering as the tears didn't stop.

“Don't cry... Big Sis.”

At those words, Yang froze, wide, tear filled lavender eyes gawking at her companion. “B-Blakey?” she stuttered. “D-Did you just call me...”

Blake gave her friend a small smile, tears pooling in the corner of her own eyes. Her healing split lip twinged with pain at that action, but the Faunus ignored it.

“If you cry,” Blake continued. “Then I'll start crying too, Big Sis,” she said.

Yang's eyes widened even more before she burst out hollering this time, the blonde collapsing onto the bed, hugging the Faunus tightly too her. Blake grunted from the initial movement, wincing in pain. Pain was quickly replaced with unimaginable happiness however, Blake sniffling as she held tightly to her new family and sibling with her free hand, Ruby still holding her right arm hostage.

By the time Qrow came to check in on the girls an hour later, he couldn't but smile as he stood in the doorway to Yang's bedroom. All three girls were dead asleep now, smiles of various degrees stretched across their faces. On the right side of the bed, Yang slept peacefully. On the left side of the bed, there was Ruby with her thumb in her mouth. And in the middle of the bed and the two sisters, cuddled between both girls, was the household's newest member, a cat Faunus by the name of Blake.