Ch. 3 First “Friends”

Alabast watched from afar the night before he goes to Beacon as Roman Torchwick attempts to steal dust from a store late at night. He is about to go and deal with him when one of his henchmen goes flying through the window of the store. Then another followed by a little girl that takes out a giant scythe that is bigger than her. She seems to also like the color black because she wears a black and red almost goth lolita outfit or whatever, he hates fashion with a passion.

He sees the orange haired b*stard himself exit the store after all the henchmen are beaten spectacularly by the girl. He decides he will just watch and let her handle it.

The girl gets shot at but is able to dodge the shot from Romans cane by jumping and spinning in the air. Roman starts climbing a building across the street and is halfway up when the girl sees him and shoots a round from her scythe to propel herself through the air and onto the top of the building. She catches up to him when he is near the opposite ledge of the building. As he faces away from her an aircraft rises up. Even though it made no previous noise and should have been seen if it was there before, but whatever.

Roman jumps in and turns around. Alabast hears something about Little Red and then he throws a refined red dust crystal at the girls feet and shoots it. It ignites and right as it is about to engulf her Alabast activates his semblance and covers the girl on darkness to protect her right as a purple magic circle appears and also protects the girl from the explosion, so he drops the darkness and sees a blond middle aged woman jump onto the roof to join Little Red. Now that Alabast sees her he realizes that she was a professor that was watching him absolutely beat down the instructor for the combat test or whatever it was supposed to be. She was Glynda Goodwitch and along with being a professor she was also a huntress. So Alabast decides it's best for him to dip before he gets caught up in whatever is happening. So he goes and finds a hotel and just listens to music to try and get the images to get out of his head, but no matter how high the volume it doesn't work and he eventually falls asleep.

He wakes up and goes about his day walking through Vale and enjoying the peace of the towns people. He even stops by a bookstore and sees an old acquaintance, it was Tukson. He didn't want to have to hunt the man down as a mission in the past and luckily it was given to someone else who isn't as competent. Tukson is an alright guy but Alabast doesn't really care for him. He just didn't want to hunt a man who was essentially innocent in his eyes.

And so after scaring Tukson and explaining that he also left the White Fang Alabast left and went to the Bullhead going to Beacon early. When he got there nobody was inside so he went to the back and put his back to the wall. He put music on and closed his eyes until he heard a voice from the previous night and saw Little Red with a not so little Yellow lady. Alabast learned they were sister because they were talking so loud and heard that Little Red was moved up two years. This impressed Alabast and he remembers her fighting the night prior.

Then he sees the news and turns away from the screen as it talks about the White Fang. Then Glynda appears and talks so he ignores that too. When she finally disappears he sees a blond man trying not to throw up. He also sees Red and Yellow go to the window along with a lot of other students around to admire the view. The puke guy just goes and throws up near the two sisters and gets a little bit on Yellows shoe. Then he gets called Vomit Boy and then they land.

Alabast waits until everyone else leaves to exit. As he does so he sees Little Red and Yellow talking before Yellow gets taken away leaving Red alone and dizzy. Then he sees something that he really didn't want to see. It was a bloody Schnee. And the brat of the bunch as well. It's the Princess Weiss Schnee.

Red falls due to being dizzy she collided with a cart carrying a bunch of cases for the Schnee brat. The cases go into the air and fall after the collision. Then the brat decides to start yelling at Little Red and something strokes the fire inside Alabast when the brat Schnee takes out dust from a case.

Alabast storms over just as Red sneezes due to the dust in the air and ignited it. The blast nocks the vial of dust out of the brats hand and goes flying in the air. Alabast then steps in when the Schnee calls Little Red a dolt and goes off on her.

"No, you listen here you brat! Its not her fault you were carrying around dust in a vial on unmarked containers and didn't take the proper precautions on securing it! And she wasn't the one to open a vial and start waving it around! The blame may partially lay with her but you aren't getting away scot free either. And she already said sorry, Princess" after Alabast finished talking the brat looks at him and sees his ears and tail and looks even more pissed off.

Alabast had his arms crossed as he looked down at the Schnee. He was absolutely fuming and has to grab his biceps so his hands don't try and draw his weapon. That's when he hears a voice that he admires from behind him. But he doesn't dare turn around.

"It's heiress actually. Weiss Schnee, Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world"

Alabast can hear the voice get closer and then move to his right as the person stands next to him. He doesn't dare look as he continues to glare at Weiss.

Then the brat has the audacity to speak: "Thank you! Finally some recognition!"

Then the feminine and beautiful voice starts next to Alabast again. "The same Schnee Dust Company famous for its controversial labor forces and wuestionable business partners"

Alabast can't remember the last time he smiled even when talking to Blake. But when he looked at the owner of the voice and saw it was actually Blake he couldn't help but smirk. He quickly made it disappear though and looked back to the Schnee who dares to back-talk. "What?! How dare… th..the nerve of….. uhhh"

The Schnee was infuriated and took the vial from Blake who was holding it and walked away while her men moved the cases after her. But then the worst thing happened, Blake saw Alabast. She muttered "Black Wolf" and was a bout to run when he put a hand on her shoulder and almost had it cut when Blake drew her weapon and turned around ready to fight.

Little Red, actually named Ruby Rose, just looks at the scene unfolding in front of her. It's just like a movie she used to watch.

Alabast simply held up his hands up palms facing Blake showing he doesn't want a fight. But Blake doesn't lower her weapon which is a black short sword with a black ribbon tied to the end. It's called Gambol Shroud. He then says "Blake, I ditched the White Fang as soon as I found out that they were attacking innocent people. I wanted to see if you were ok. I know they attacked you recently and I came as soon as I can. It must have been scary being a human surrounded by Faunus trying to hurt you right?"Alabast tried to wink but he remembered that he has his left eye covered so it just looks like he is blinking. So he just sighs and hopes that Blake understands that he isn't going to blow her cover if she was trying to hide her ears. Blake always makes him act stupid when she is in front of him. It's like he can't think sometimes.

Blake finally lowers her weapon and puts it on her back but doesn't look at Alabast with kindness. She keeps her eyes narrowed at him and doesn't look pleased and eventually just turns and walks away.

Alabast takes a step and reaches out with his right hand that had a black glove on. But then he just closes his hand and brings it to his chest. He knew that Blake wouldn't be happy to see him, but he really hopes she would. Their relationship wasn't bad before it actually improved as they got older. But now seeing her look at him like that it felt like his heart isn't there and the void inside him grew. Even the flame disappeared a little. He closed his eyes and moved his head down.

"Err….uhmm….. Thank you for standing up for me back there. You looked very cool….I mean you are very cool! Your like super tall, you have some cool battle scars, and your hair looks so fluffy I just wanna play with it! And you have this mysterious vibe that is also super cool! And-"

Alabast turns around to see Little Red behind him as she keeps talking seemingly to herself more than him and just keeps talking. But it seems to stop the void from expanding so he decides befriending this Little Fed wouldn't be that bad, but he wouldn't get attached. "Aren't you scared of me?"

The girl looks up into his red eyes with her clear vibrant silver eyes. "Why would I be? You tried to defend me against the mean girl. I figured you couldn't be all that bad, and besides...I don't know anyone here yet so I figured that I could do worse than the big nice guy that tried to help. Like it could have been Vomit Boy, but I'm sure he is also nice"

Right as soon as she said Vomit Boy the guy appeared and was about to join the conversation but looked at Alabast and heard Vomit Boy and just slouched his shoulders and walked away.

Alabast shrugs his shoulders "Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I'm nice. You don't know me"

Ruby then emailed brightly at Alabast and it normally would tick him off if somebody smiled directly at him in front of him like this but this time it doesn't. It almost seems nice. She says "I heard that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. My name is Ruby Rose! You can call me Crater…. actually, just call me Ruby"her smile falters when she is about to say Crater Face but quickly stops herself.

"Whatever, I'll call you Little Red or Ruby. The names Alabast Noir. Call me whatever, I won't care"

"I like Little Red I guess. And I'll call you... I know, I'll call you Ally!"

This causes Alabast to get a tick mark on the visible part of his forehead and lean closer to Ruby. "I changed my mind. I do care what you call me, and it won't be Ally. Choose again"

"Awww, but I like Ally. Fine then! How about wolfers. No? Then what about Boulder! Charcoal! Ash! -"

Ruby seemed a little sad about getting her nickname rejected. But recovered instantly and then started listing possible nicknames until Alabast had enough and heard a decent one.

"Stop! Alright, alright. I get it, go with Ash. At least it sounds better than 'Ally'"

"Yay! Now we're friends Ash!"

Alabast thought he would be mad or something with this girl being so straightforward but is either ok with it or just too tired to deal with her enthusiasm.

"Whatever Little Red. Now where do we go. Nobody is here and I have no idea where we are supposed to go"

They both look around and don't see anybody near them, leaving them alone and lost.

Ruby looks worried and sad. "Uh oh"

Alabast grabs her hood and puts it over her face so he doesn't have to see her acting cute and adorable. "It's not that big of a deal. There are only a few places that they can be. So don't get all sad. It's bugging me"

Ruby then grabs the hood and pulls it farther over her head and replies meekly. "Sorry"

Alabast sighs heavily and rubs his face with his right hand. "I didn't mean that in a bad way. Just be yourself, anything is better than the funk your in now alright". That was his attempt to make Ruby feel better and it somehow worked.

"Ok! Wait…..you were in the White Fang?!?"

Alabast covered her mouth with his giant hand and brought his left hand out from under his cape and brought his index finger in front of his lips and shushed her. "Keep that quiet would you. I don't want the entire campus knowing. I think Ozpin already knows anyway. I don't care if they find out later, but wait until after our first two days ok?

He takes his hand off of Ruby's face and stands straight up and looks around then back to Ruby.

"I left as soon as soon as I heard that we were attacking innocents. I thought we were fighting for equality sand not for the sake of violence or whatever they are saying now"

"Ohhhh. That's good at least. See, you do have a good heart! I knew you couldn't be bad! Now where do we go Ashy?"

Alabast sighs heavily. "It's in one of the buildings with a giant room probably. Let's head to the Auditorium first and check it out"

As Alabast leads the way Ruby doesn't like the awkward silence so she defaults to her favorite things. Weapons. "Sow what's the giant weapon on your back? I have my baby"

She takes out Crescent Rose in its compressed form then turns it into its scythe form and slams it into the ground. Alabast keeps walking but looks over his shoulder then turns back to looking ahead. Ruby continues after she runs to catch up to him. "It's not actually my baby but I made it myself and it's name is Crescent Rose. What's yours!?"

Alabast reaches above his head and grabs the Handle of Nights fall that is bigger than him in its compressed state. He pulls it off his bag and holds it in his right hand and makes it turn into its main form the great sword still holding it in one hand. "This is Nights Fall"

He grabs the blade with his left hand and pulls it off revealing the long katana blade. "This katana is called Hollow Silence"

Then he turns the great sword blade into rifle form. "Lastly, this is Dark Heart"

He puts them together and then puts them onto his back again and looks over to see Ruby practically floating with stars in her eyes staring at his weapon. He clears his throat. "Ahem. It's rude to stare ya know"

"Oh! Sorry, but it's so cool! It fits you so well! I also don't know anyone that can wield something like that in one hand either!! I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons. I just think they're so neat. So did you make it?"

"No. It was given to me after years of hard work and proving myself. I just got it a little bit ago after an important mission. I didn't even get to choose the names either. But I guess it made my life easier so I don't mind"

"Wow! You must have been pretty important then! Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to bring this back up"

"I brought it up first so don't worry about it. Besides it's just us two for now. So if you have a question I'll answer one more for now"

Alabast can't help but get caught up in Ruby's positive energy. He doesn't feel better but he is enjoying having someone to talk to after so long.

"Sweet! Let me think... When you said you saved that Blake girl earlier, what was that about?"

Alabast scratches behind his right ear roughly. "Of course you would go for a heavy one. Haaaaah, well it's a story alright. It was a while back. I actually saved her when we were much younger. I was probably 6 or something at the time and didn't even have aura yet. This is actually what helped me join the White Fang. So I was at a peaceful protest for Faunus equality with my mother and got speedster from her. I was going through the crowd when I saw a little human girl my age in the crowd. She was about to get beaten by some other humans who got a little rowdy and wanted to start trouble. So I went and attacked one of em and she was able to escape. That girl was Blake. After I left the White Fang I tracked her down to here and wanted to restart my life while I was at it"

Ruby was looking at him with even more stars in her eyes than she was looking at his weapon. "You are her hero! That's so romantic! That's an amazing story and it makes me have so many more questions! So do you lo-"

"We're here!"

Ruby sees that they entered the auditorium just now and there are tons of people around. She then sees her sister in the crowd waving at her. "That's my sister with the yellow hair. Her name is Yang Xiao Long, wanna come and meet her?"

"No, I'll see you later Little Red. Go say hey to your sister"

Alabast then walks to wall and leans against it watching Ruby as she meets her sister. Then he sees the Schnee brat scare Ruby as she jumped into her sisters arms. Then Ruby gets off her sister and takes a pamphlet from Weiss. Then Weiss points over to him and he looks around then points to himself and tilts his head causing some girls to "Awwww" including Yang. Even though he looks scary apparently they thought he was adorable and looked like a confused puppy.

Then Ozpin appears on the stage with a microphone. Alabast barely listens but pays attention to Glynda. She basically said that they sleep in the ballroom tonight and have initiation tomorrow morning or something like that. This causes Alabast to sigh since he only has sweatpants and a long sleeve compression shirt to sleep in.

So everyone funnels out of the auditorium and head to the ballroom where a bunch of sleeping bags are layer out on the ground. Alabast doesn't care about where he sleeps so he goes and changes first. There are lockers out in the open so he goes to the bathroom and changes into the grey sweatpants and white compression shirt. It doesn't show off his scars at least.

After putting everything into his locker he walks out and sees Ruby and Yang towards the side of the room. There aren't many sleeping bags still open and has to walk past Ruby and Yang. He hears Yang and Ruby talk as he gets closer. Yang loudly talks. "It's like a big slumber party!"

Ruby doesn't look up from her writing. "I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though."

Yang responds "I know I do!" Then she actually purrs as she watches several muscular, shirtless guys... and Vomit Boy, dressed in feetie pajamas, waving to her, which makes her groan. Then she sees a 6 foot 6 man with long black and gray hair, Wolf ears, a long tail behind him that doesn't drag on the ground, wearing grey sweatpants, a long sleeve compression shirt and no shoes. He also has a wristband on both wrists that has a chunk of metal on the top portion, the Bestia Fang in its inactive form.

Seeing him approach Yang nudges Ruby. "Your hot, tall, and mysterious looking friend is coming over here sis"

Ruby finally looks up from her writing to see Alabast walking towards them with a neutral look on his face. At least the parts not covered by his hair that can be seen. Ruby looks between Alabasta and Yang and says "Yang, you're drooling, cut it out"

Yang snaps out of it and quickly wipes her mout with the back of her hand to clear the drool only to realize that Ruby just tricked her. She looks to Ruby who looks kinda smug. Yang sarcastically says, "Oh, you are just so adorable aren't you"

After she said that she got hit by Ruby's pillow in the face. Ruby then looked over at Alabast who was still walking towards them and thought of something. "Hey Ashy, we have an open sleeping bag next to us right here". She points to her right because Yang is on her left and the others are full.

Yang whispers "Quick thinking Ruby and I didn't think you were so bold! Good job!" And gave a thumbs up to Ruby at the end.

"It's not like that Yang! We're just friends for now!"

Alabast gets to them and sighs. "Haaaah. Sticking with Ashy aren't we. And there aren't other spots so whatever"

Then he crosses his arms and leans forward over Ruby. "And what do you mean by friends for now eh? Don't get ahead of yourself Little Red"

Yang starts laughing and slaps Ruby's shoulder. "Hahaha! He caught you Rubes! But I can't believe you two already are using nicknames! Hahaha, guess it's only a matter of time then!"

Alabast then turns his head to the right and glares at the blond bombshell of a woman in her lilac eyes. "There won't be anything that changes in time. And you don't even know me"

Yang shrugs her shoulders and smirks at Ruby. "Ruby here says that you seem all mean and scary but beneath that your just a lost little fluffy wolf cub. She even says you defended her when she exploded and Weiss started shouting at her. You can't be all that bad"

Alabast is taken aback by how Ruby described him to her sister. "Whatever". He then goes to lay down. As he lays down he can't get comfy on his side so he keeps rolling over until he is facing Ruby and Yang with his tail near his chest almost becoming a pillow between his arms. He then sees Ruby and Yang looking at him with soft eyes and tilted heads. "Stop looking at me like that! It's creepy and I won't be able to sleep!"

Yang and Ruby don't stop but Ruby starts talking much to Alabasts annoyance. "I was actually just writing a letter back to my friends at Signal. I skipped two years and was able to attend this place. So I had to leave all my friends behind. But I'm here with my sister Yang! And now I've made a friend! (That's you by the way)!" Ruby starts out with lots of energy then gets kinda sad when she talks about leaving her friends behind but then picks up the energy at the end and loudly whispers to him.

Alabast rolls his eyes and responds "Aren't you lucky. Consider yourself lucky considering you're from around here. I'm from Menagerie and I know four people here now. And only one 'friend' unless your sister wants to be like you and force friendships?"

Yang laughs slightly at Ruby forcing a friendship. She knows it's a joke but still…"I just might do that mr. lonely"

"I never said I was lonely! I'm perfectly fine on my own!" Alabast snaps back and shows bares his teeth at Yang.

"Sorry! Didn't mean to strike a nerve. I would actually like to be friends if that's alright with you...(hehe) Ashy!"

Alabast was calming down and closed his mouth and eyes getting ready to sleep but then he hears Yang giggle and snapped his eyes open and slightly growled. "Grrr….. don't push your luck…. Blondie"

"Woah… he gave you a nickname too! Now we're all friends!"

Alabast didn't even acknowledge Rubys declaration.

After Ruby calms down a little she looks around her and notices a girl sitting against a wall reading a book. After noticing her she whispers "Blake?"

This causes Alabast to snap his eyes open and look at Ruby. He follows her gaze and sees Blake reading in dim light against a wall not too far away from them. And his body visibly relaxes. He wasn't even aware he was so tense before because he already relaxed a little because he knew Ruby and Yang.

Yang sees him relax and follows his gaze. "Do you two know her or something?"

Ruby nervously laughs. "Haha… or something"

Yang narrows her eyes while she looks at Ruby and Ruby looks away. Ruby then sighs. "Fine! She also tried to help me stop getting yelled at but it actually seemed like she was just trying to get a ride out of Weiss for some reason"

Yang then looks at Blake. "Why would she start something with a heiress from the biggest dust company?"

Alabast shrugs. "Beats me"

Yang then looks back to Alabast and sees him holding his tail to his chest and wonders what it feels like. Then she shakes her head to clear her thoughts. "Well why don't we just go over and say hi?"

She stands up and grabs Ruby and Alabasts hand and tries to pull them towards Blake. She is able to pull Ruby up but Alabast seems to just be sliding along the ground on the sleeping bag. She strains a little bit as she pulls him. "What...are you made of!"

Ruby stops struggling and comments. "Muscle and fur!"

This causes Blake to notice the three approaching her. And she isn't too pleased to see Alabast. But this is the first time she hasn't seen him in his uniform. And she hasn't seen him sleeping or lying down either. She sees him laying on his side while spooning his tail as his hair lays on the sleeping bag. She also sees the scars on his hands and face, but not his left side of his face. She wonders how he got those. She was curious but never asked.

Finally Yang got to Blake. Yang sings "Hel-looooo! I believe you three may know each other?"

Blake looks at Ruby over her book that is hiding her face. "Aren't you... that girl that exploded?"

Ruby smiles. "Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater..." Ruby gets embarrassed that she almost called herself Crater Face again. "Actually, you can just call me Ruby"

Blake looks back in her book "Okay"

Yang whispers to Ruby "What are you doing?"

Ruby whispering back. "I don't know - help me"She then goes back to smiling.

Yang looks at Blake. "Soooo… My name is Yang, you and I haven't met yet. What's your name?"

Blake sighs into her book because of these distractions. "Blake"

Yang responds. "Well, Blake, I'm Ruby's older sister! And this guys friend! I like your bow!"

Blake irritatedly responds. "Thanks!"

"It goes great with your... pajamas!"

Blake narrows her eyes at Yang. "Right..."

Ruby laughs uncomfortably while Yang continues. "Nice night, don't you think?"

"Yes - it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!"Ruby and Yang stand there and don't move. "That I will continue to read" Ruby and Yang continue standing "As soon as you leave!"

Yang whispers to Ruby. "Yeah, this girl's a lost cause"

Ruby turns to Blake. "What's it about?"

Blake is clearly surprised "Huh?"

"Your book. Does it have a name?"

"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body"

Yang adds in sarcastically "Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!"

Ruby continues. "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"

Blake laughing a little. "And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

Alabast is surprised that Blake laughed. He rarely saw it after her dad stepped down from High Leader. She only laughed near Adam and never around others. This makes him hug his tail harder as he curls up almost into a ball.

Ruby smiles brightly at Blake. "Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

Blake smacked at Ruby. "That's... very ambitious for a child" Then her smile turns into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale"

Ruby doesn't stop. "Well, that's why we're here! To make it better"

Yang hugs Ruby and lifts her into the air. "Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!"

Ruby is kicking out trying to get away. "Cut it out!" the forced sisterly bonding evolves into a dust cloud of fighting limbs and flying stars. As they try not to fall on Alabast.

Blake laughs slightly. "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"

Weiss storms onto the scene in her own pajamas as Ruby traps Yang's leg. "What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?"

Weiss and Yang see each other and say the same thing at the same time. "Oh, not you again!"

Ruby hushed them and whispers. "Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!"

Weiss unhappily responds. "Oh, now you're on my side!"

"I was always on your side!"

Yang buts in. "Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!"

Weiss gets a little louder. "She's a hazard to my health!"

Alabast speaks up finally. "I'll be a hazard to all of your health's if you don't get quiet!"

Weiss yelps. "Ahh. When did he get there!" Then everyone notices him curled up and looking adorable.

Yang is the first to respond. "Alright tough guy. Me need to be cranky, I'll push you back to your spot" Yang then puts her hands on his back and feels his muscles.

"If you are done groping my back you can push me now!"

Yang nervously laughs and starts pushing. Then Ruby joins in to try and help. Or cop a feel, who knows. And they eventually get him back into his original spot.

Ruby and Yang dust their hands off and watch as hair falls from their hands. Yang comments. "Muscles and fur indeed"

Then they climb into their sleeping bags and go to sleep.

Blake, who rolls her eyes at the fight and the comedy skit, simply closes her book, reaches over to grab her candle, and blows it out, enveloping the area into darkness.

In the middle of the night Ruby wakes up. She tries to go back to sleep but then hears a whimpering sound next to her. She rolls to her side and sees Alabast in curled up and is still bigger than her. She then sees his face twitch in pain and he grips his tail closer to himself. She notices that he doesn't have his blanket on and puts it on him. As soon as she brings it to his shoulders her hand gets grabbed hard as she is yanked to the ground.

When her world stops spinning she realizes that she is now in his chest pressed against his chest. His tail still in front of Alabast but now between him and Ruby. The tail continues past Ruby's face and goes under her head and continues a little farther.

Ruby tries to move but realizes that Alabast has a tight hold of her and won't let go. Even tighter than Yangs hugs, but not enough to hurt her, just keep her from escaping. Ruby calms down a bit and realizes that he is still asleep and that he was having a nightmare before and still seems to be in one. She starts petting the tail and realizes that is the fluffiest thing ever and can't stop. She eventually feels his chest and how dense it is as is shocked. Her sister has muscles but Alabast is all muscle. Then she feels a person behind her now snuggling next to her. She then sees long blond hair from behind her and knows that Yang has famously moved next to her in her sleep just like when they go camping or sleep on the ground close to each other. Now Ruby is stuck between a Rock and a Hard Place.

Ruby tries to move but is now completely stuck since her sister is using what's left of the tail as her pillow. Alabast also moves his right arm from Ruby's back to Yangs back and pulls them closer. He's still asleep but does this subconsciously. Ruby can't do anything but enjoys the tail pillow and muscle backboard and eventually falls back to sleep. Even with Yangs snoring now in her ear.