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The Vytal Festival was supposed to be a place where she could show off what a good fighter she was. Her team had selected her for the solo fight, figuring that she'd be able to carry them to victory, carry Beacon to victory. But instead, she'd hurt her opponent, when she'd just been trying to defend herself.

…….hadn't she? Or had she really just…..broken Mercury's legs without any provocation? That's what all of the broadcasts showed, after all. Yang thought he'd lunged at her, that he'd attacked her, but who was she to question the video evidence?

And no one else was going to believe her, not after seeing that footage; not her teammates, not her uncle, not even her sister.

So she ran. She grabbed a few things from her room, and while everyone else was distracted with the rest of what was going on, Yang disappeared.

It would have helped if she'd had any idea where she was going, but truth be told, she hadn't had much of a plan when she left. She considered going back to Patch, to her dad, but if someone wanted to find her, that would be the first place she looked. And she couldn't bear the thought of putting her dad in danger, not after what she'd done.

It was going to be hard, figuring everything out on her own, but she had to. If she had stayed, it would have endangered everyone she loved, and she refused to make their lives harder because of her.

But now she had to figure out how to survive on her own. She was going to have to change her look; with the broadcasts of her, she was too recognizable. Which meant that she was going to have to cut her hair, for starters, a thought that genuinely made her want to cry.

Yang knew she didn't have much of a choice, if she wanted to stay under the radar. So she stole a knife from a distracted merchant, determined to just…..get it over with.

At the first cut, the first locks of golden hair fell to the ground, and Yang let out a soft sob. Her hair was one of her few vanities, and she'd kept it long in homage of her mother, even though she hadn't known her. Her father had once remarked how much Yang's hair reminded her of Raven's, and she had been so proud of that, so proud of her long hair that she'd barely ever let anyone touch it let alone cut it.

And here she was, chopping it all off.

It felt silly to be so sentimental about her hair, but it was one of her only connections to her family right now. Cutting it off felt like she was cutting them out of her life……and the fact that she'd run away only made that thought that much worse.

But she had to, if she wanted to survive. Swallowing another sob, Yang squared her shoulders and chopped off the rest of her long hair, committing herself to this life, to protect the people she card about from her, and to hide herself away from the shame she felt for what she'd done.

Whenever she feels like getting into a bit of trouble these days, Neo knows who to go to. It was a surprising friendship, the sort that had been forged on a lie, but she had grown to actually enjoy Sun's company. Perhaps because he indulged her mischief, because she didn't have to completely hide herself when she was around him.

She's going to be disappointed when he finds out who she truly is.

For now? She'll enjoy his company while she has it, lightly bonking him on the head with Hush from behind to gain his attention, grinning all the while.

press(ed leaf) conference ** accepting

"eugh, clincally," qrow's over the worst, doesn't mind talking about it, though clearly it doesn't bring up good memories, "every step 'a th' way."

"it was like every single bad decision i made over the last 25 years turned in'ta'a pack'a ravagers that ripped right back outta my body, except all within a week.

"...it started on th' flight in t'Atlas. headache, dry mouth, stomach churnin' an' not cause'a air sickness," that panic attack on the cliff earlier hadn't helped either, "not takin' that celebratory swig an' everythin' that came after... was th' hardest thing i've done in a long time. but cheers to, what? i'd been more hinder than huntsman ever since that train left Mistral. i didn't deserve it. an' after th' next skipped urge and th' next... i didn't feel like they deserved me that way either. i had to be sharper to have any chance at facin' what was comin'... i had to be... a better me. i left a lot'a things behind that day. that's hard, too.

"anyway, i hid it pretty well until everyone tucked safe and sound into th' academy. wasn't too hard t'blend in when we were all tired. all overwhelmed. just excited enough t'keep it together. ...i never made it t'th' dorms. dunno what happened... only that i woke up in th' infirmary instead. hours? days? i had no idea at the time. it was like Callows' poison all over again but worse. probably should'a stayed longer, but i busted out of that bed as soon as i stopped seein' things that weren't there. me an' medical machines don't mix.

"still don't know who i owe for covering for me, but no one seemed surprised i'd gone missing for a spell. it didn't stop there, but between sheer willpower an' aura, i could handle myself. funny thing is, feelin' better was rough, too. it all hit harder: th' pain, th' fatigue, th' chills ...but also th' colors, th' voices, th' feelings, th' drives. like dawn blindin' your eyes 'cause y'pulled th' curtains open too fast. ...enough t'make a man's head spin, even sober. i'm still gettin' used to it."

...it's still rough to admit how much he was missing out on, on top of it all.

Mercury had slept over, after he’d finally let go of his anxieties and slept with Sun. It had definitely been different, from his usual quick and dirty kind of encounters. The kind that didn’t involve sleeping over and being wrapped up in blankets and the other’s arms. The assassin had half redressed to sleep, putting on his under shirt and briefs to lay down. 

He hoped he hadn’t been kicking Sun in his sleep. He usually slept pretty still. He was barely awake, but he didn’t really want to get out of bed. He should get up, and get fully dressed. Maybe wake Sun up and they could go get breakfast. That’s what dating people were supposed to do. 

Right?

After a few moments he rolled over and pressed his face into the crock of Sun’s neck. He didn’t want to get out of bed yet. Getting out of bed meant they might have to have a conversation about all the scars sun and felt. Because his hands had been everywhere and the memory of that made Mercury’s face a bit red. 

🥣 for Weiss maybe?

It was pretty ironic that the 'ice queen' had caught a cold, but here was - bundled up in her bed covers and feeling generally awful. She was missing out on class because of this! What if her grades started slipping? Not to mention how bored she was.

She barely registers a sound within the room, and she groans weakly as she turns to face the centre, believing it to be one or more of her teammates returning to the dorm. "Ruby? If you've brought me yet another glass of milk, I--" She freezes upon opening her eyes and seeing not the figure of one of her teammates, but that of Sun Wukong.