When you're brave enough to blackmail one of the strongest huntresses in the world with their location, you're crazy. 

Weiss used this advantage to her convenience. Raven was kind enough to offer her a seat inside her tent the first few minutes she entered the camp. Weiss wasn't expecting this kindness to be long-lasting but she took what she could get. The woman handed her tea and sat with her even, simply enjoying their drink. 

A girl who was a little older than Weiss with short hair and fierce eyes entered the tent with snacks. Weiss watched the girl give her a nasty look but she can't figure out why. Probably because they weren't used to being blackmailed around here. She quickly left after, giving them privacy.

"So? How'd you lose your eyes?" Raven asked her under the pretense that she covered her eyes due to being blinded. The white-haired huntress could roll with that. Perhaps Raven heard of her travels from all across Sanus and Anima. 

"Lost it to a Giant Nevermore." Weiss answered. She took a sip from her cup before looking up at Raven. "Why and how did you know I was alive?" She inquired. 

Raven finished her tea before she answered the girl. "How can I not? After your death, a new huntress made a name for herself across continents in months. Not to mention, Qrow passed by a few weeks after you 'died'. He said we might encounter a new player in the game. I assumed it was another maiden but it turns out, it was you." 

Weiss smiled at the thought of Qrow looking out for her even if they barely knew each other. Perhaps it was her sister's influence or Ruby's? She didn't know. 

"Besides, someone as powerful as you? You're bound to be hunted down." Raven told her as she reached out for a cookie. For a moment, Weiss saw tenderness and sadness as she looked at the baked good. Raven turned to look at her, specifically at her cape. She decided not to pry but took note of it. "All over Anima, some are starting to look for the Snow Angel that helped throughout Sanus." 

Weiss was silent as she reached out for a chocolate chip cookie on the plate. Raven ate with her guest, waiting for the girl to say anything. 

"Let me guess, a few came your way looking for me?" The girl asked, taking her cup once more. Raven stopped her hand and poured more tea in her cup. 

"Yes. It was a tempting offer but if anyone heard you were alive or similar to the 'late' Weiss Schnee, Yang and Ruby would have found me sooner." Raven sounded disheartened about the thought of it. Somehow, Weiss guessed it was something about Summer and abandoning her child. 

"If my guess is right, they would have started their search the moment the school year ended at Beacon. Give it a week before they could find me." She guessed, drinking her tea again. 

Raven knew that bringing the white-haired brat was trouble but she would have caused it faster if she didn't take her in. 

"Let me stay here for a day or two and I'll be on my way then." Weiss requested, putting her cup down. "Then you can move again." 

"And risk my whole tribe being found because of--"Raven was furious that Weiss had such audacity to threaten her but Weiss was smarter. She held an offline scroll in her hand. 

"I don't like using anything that will track me but I will if you don't even consider it. Just one night." Weiss was fast and even if Raven was faster, one move and the girl can activate it.

Of course, it was all a huge bluff. Weiss left everything back at Patch, including her scroll. This one was stolen from a fallen hunter she met on the way. She took it just in case she needed desperate help but so far, she didn't have any reason to use it. 

Raven glared at the girl. She dislikes being used like this. One time in her lifetime is enough. "Fine. One night. After that, we'll leave you to your own devices." 

"That's more than enough. Thank you." It was settled. Weiss had a place to stay for the night without any threat of Grimm attacks. It was a small thing but a night where she can be remotely safe was a good one. 

==========

Blake held a map of Remnant that was inked with X-marks as she walked in a town with Ruby and Yang. It was her way of tracking Weiss when she still could feel her and track her through shadow magic. All across the continent, she marked where she felt Weiss stay, where she lingered and where she fought. 

Unfortunately, the markings stopped at the mid-south of the continent. She had a few markings in red where she suspected Weiss could have gone according to her sources but her magic could only track the girl so far. 

It has been three days since they started their search for their missing 'dead' teammate. Being outside the kingdoms helped them feed the natural diets that helped them recover and made the whole process go faster. 

Ruby had hunted for animals and humans they came across that harbored ill intention. Yang was in charge of devouring the blood-drained bodies so they won't have any evidence left of their existence. Blake ate the souls of the poor beings. It was efficient. 

They have arrived at the last town that Weiss has possibly stayed in before she lost Blake's tracking. The town was bustling with activity. Taverns were full of huntsman and huntresses, stalls, and shops selling weapons and dust, inns that housed travelers from all over the world. 

For a while, Ruby had recalled of her time doing work as a huntress back when she did jobs with her mother. Summer had trained her how to fight and how to help people in many ways. Back then, times were simpler. 

All of them decided that it would be best if they all rested for the night. They all settled at an inn that was a few blocks away from the docks that housed ships that left for Menagerie or Anima. They took a single room enough to fit them all. 

Once they were settled, all of them freshened up. Yang came out of the shower last, dressed down for sleeping. Ruby and Blake were enjoying mugs of drinks for their nightcap as they looked down at the map. 

Yang sat on a bed as she dried her hair, decompressing from a day's travel and fights. Blake took her towel and helped her dry her hair. Ruby watched the two of them share such a simple moment of intimacy. 

The girl missed her lover. Just when they decided to be together, life just had to tear them apart again. Recalling such a depressing thought made Ruby sigh. 

"So, what now?" Yang asked her older sister. 

Ruby looked up at them then glanced back at the map. She was thinking of what they should do. Weiss could be halfway to Minstral by now but even then, they wouldn't be able to know properly. 

"Anima is a continent that's full of magic. They say it's the very birthplace of fae-bloods like us." She told them. "That just means it will be harder to find her there." 

Blake and Yang exchanged worried looks before sitting next to each other. "What do you mean?" Blake asked. 

Yang groaned. "I heard of it from mom. I knew Qrow was going to pull something like this on us." For some reason, Anima was a continent rich in magic. That just makes it harder for the three of them to find anyone. They guessed that Weiss would try to reach Minstral at some point but they don't know when. 

"It's not necessarily impossible because I still have a connection to Weiss. The closer we get to her, the easier I can find her but that just means we'll have more Grimm to worry about." Ruby took the map and folded it in four, the continent of Anima being the only one revealed. 

"At least we're going in the right direction." Blake leaned her head on Yang's shoulder, holding the brawler's hand. "She sure held out well." 

In town, they all heard of a name. Whispers in the shadows, hushed talks about it. Even people of the inn seem to be talking about someone who passed by the place a few weeks ago. 

"Giant Nevermore..."
"Covered her eyes.."
"Blinded.."
"White cape."
"Alone."

"Snow Angel."

The rumors were that a huntress traveling alone has come to town looking for a way to travel across the sea to the next continent. Someone from a nearby village was looking for a huntsman or a huntress who could save their town from a Giant Nevermore. A huntress in a white cape took the job for the lien and dust they offered. No one knows how the fight went exactly but the white-caped huntress came back with her head bleeding and lost her eyes. There was so much blood that it was impossible not to lose her sight. Still, after she could get up and walk, the huntress left on the next boat to Anima. 

Ruby couldn't believe such a rumor. Afterall, Weiss wouldn't allow herself to lose an eye, much less two. Blake listened in for more stories of the mysterious Snow Angel but it was one of the stories that stuck through the town. 

"If Weiss was injured just like they said, she'd be struggling to get by." Yang pointed out, shifting on the bed.

Ruby shook her head. "I have a feeling they're just rumors." The brunette stood up from the bed and finished her now cold drink before she took Crescent Rose and gave it a check-up. "If she was injured that bad, she would have asked for help."

"But you said it yourself. Even if she knows we're coming, she'll be moving." Yang frowned. "Maybe she'd head to Minstral or Argus to get better medical help."

"Maybe she will. We'll just...have to guess when we get there." Ruby was distracted and distant. She oiled and cleaned up the blade of her weapon in such an absent-minded manner.

Blake and Yang were worried that this whole thing might be getting to her. You'd think that someone who has been sealed away from her family and friends for half a century would react like this after a few months of separation from her lover.

Yang stood up and pulled Blake out to the veranda and left Ruby on her own for a moment. The blonde closed the door and leaned on the veranda of the room, looking down at the almost empty streets of the town. 

"You think she's gonna be alright?" Yang asked Blake who stood next to her. 

"I think she's just worried. After being away from her mate for so long as that is painful." Blake denoted. 

It didn't occur to the blonde that Blake knew how deep their relationship went. Ruby and Weiss have been messing around and dating for a semester and a half. She saw how they cared for each other and made sure that their movements on the field fit with one another. They have gotten closer in ways they don't know. 

"That's...unbearable." She knew. After all, Blake was her mate. For so long, she's been together with the girl and accepted how opposite they were. Light and Dark. Flames and Shadows. Even with such differences, they truly loved one another. That speaks volumes of how deep a connection goes.

"It is. Especially since she knows how loss feels like. She doesn't want to feel it again." Blake reminded Yang of her adoptive mother. Summer Rose. Her death made such a mess to many of their friends and family. For Ruby to similarly feel the loss of letting Weiss go must be painful.

Yang wrapped her arm around Blake's waist, pulling her close. Her hair glowed slightly, providing heat from the cold autumn night. They both hoped that the next days ahead would be kind to them. For now, they just had to be ready for anything that might come their way. 

Ruby knocked on the veranda door and opened it. "Guys, let's get some rest. The Innkeeper says the ship will leave tomorrow at dawn." 

Yang and Blake turned around and headed in together. Both ladies wrapped Ruby in a warm hug. "We'll catch up to her so don't worry."

Ruby simply hugged them back, taking comfort from her companions. They were right. 

All three of them headed back inside and retired for the night as they hoped that Weiss would make it easy for them to look for her.

===========

This one needed to be re-written since I didn't like how it felt in the first version.

 I hope you all liked this chapter!

Stay safe and have a good day, my guppies. Leave a comment and vote as always~ 

With love,
Sapphy~