I hope there aren't any spelling issues in this one. Might have skimmed through the proof reading, life kinda decided to start happening all of a sudden.

5. Monsters in Disguise

The hooded figure hopped nimbly from branch to branch, trying to keep balance at the high altitude. Falling would certainly shatter some bones, but the height advantage gave her the element of surprise, and it was a tradeoff she most certainly needed. It had been two nights since Ruby hunted the beast, and it still evaded her. Shadows and silhouettes were her only rewards, but she knew she was getting closer. The ground was torn and scratched, marking signs of recent struggle. It had been there, and the noticeable trails meant it was growing desperate, feeling trapped. She was counting on it, letting the creature tire itself out before moving in for the kill. That was the way of the hunter, cunningly working against the animal's natural strengths.

In fairness, she was starting to grow tired as well, a subtle pain creeping into her leg muscles. The prolonged hunt was draining, but without the psychological warfare of being chased, the archer was confident she could outlast the creature. It wasn't exhaustion that got them in the end, it was panic.

She had never hunted a monster before, used to small game only, a buck at best, but the rules were the same. If the prey was bigger, she only had to stalk it longer.

"What am I hunting?"

"A lycan. A man who can transform into a fiend. What it can transform into, I do not know. It's elusive, this one. Only rumors of its passing, and the carcasses of its victims."

Ruby wasn't happy about hunting something that passed as human, but she had been given no choice. If that was the price to helping Penny, it was worth it. Seeing her friend freed from her magical shackles had been a reward in and of itself, and the grateful smile it had earned her was still fresh in her memory.

She shook those thoughts from her head, trying to focus on the task at hand. No matter how sweet the subject, losing concentration could get her killed, especially while she kept to the treetops.

"I didn't know you cared about monsters terrorizing the village."

"Oh please, as if that bothered me in the slightest. You are to bring me its ears. They are objects of great power, and I need them. How you get them is not my concern."

Dusk was starting to fall, so the dark haired girl slid from a branch and carefully made her way back to the ground. It was not the most favorable place for her to be in, but the darkness made her already poor footing into a death trap.

She kept running, the adrenaline of the chase pumping into her veins, feeling her goal growing nearer. After some time, only the moon light remained, and she was forced to set up camp for the night.

She lit a small fire to keep any poachers at bay, and set her tools on the ground. The cloak doubled as a very reliable heat source, so she had no need for a bedroll. Lying on the cold hard ground, Ruby rolled in her cape, and quickly dozed off. The task would have to wait until the morning, when light was again available.

But whereas the huntress rested, her prey did not, and it tired of waiting to be caught. A trapped animal will do anything to survive, even attacking if no other way is possible.

Penny had taken the last couple of days to adapt to her new life, trying to become a useful member of the household. It was strange being alone with Yang, the blonde still seemed mildly suspicious of her, but Ruby had yet to come back from the errand she was running for the witch. The golem was astonished to find she missed the red-hooded girl, someone who had so recently entered her life. Still, the archer had taken great efforts to help and befriend her, that form of selflesness was bound to leave a mark.

She was helping wherever she could, absorbing new information with every breath. She'd never had to wash dishes, or cook, and it seemed each new activity required her to train and fail. Her caretaker was evidently trying hard not to lash out at the statue, recognizing good intentions where skill and knowledge was clearly lacking. Yang only thanked the heavens that most of their appliances were made of sturdy wood, and thus not easily breakable. While she was strong herself, the stony creature was absurdly mighty, and still had a long way to go in measuring her force.

On the other hand, the blonde was strangely glad to have the marble creature around. It didn't just ease the worry of her sister's absence, but an extra pair of hands gave her a lot more free time. The statue's eagerness to be of use was commendable, and it didn't hurt how little maitenance she required. Penny didn't sleep, neither did she eat, drink or require any form of compensation besides patience. It was essentialy the perfect helper, or she would be in the future with some effort. Although having someone walking through the house was she slept was more than a little distressing. She was willing to give the white-colored girl a second chance, but it was hard to get her head around their new predicament nevertheless.

That afternoon, the golem was washing a large pan they'd used to prepare some of the salted meat Ruby had gathered over time. The older sibling would later take it into town to sell it, since they had more than they needed, and she had a better standing, or rather not nearly as bad, with the village's inhabitants.

Penny found herself humming, this new and simple life breathing joy into her non-existant lungs. She still missed her father, but, for the first time since he'd left, she didn't feel alone. She had new friends, people she could trust. She could see and feel the sun on her marble skin, even if going outside was unadvisable - someone spotting her would mean a lynching mob at their doorstep within minutes. She just wished the dark-haired huntress would return soon.

The strange melodic noise attracted company into the kitchen, in the form of a golden-haired woman.

"Hey Penny, did you say something? I heard your voice, but couldn't understand a thing." Any form of singing or music was foreign to their household, usually restricted to inns and castles where bards performed in return for coin, so Yang hadn't even considered that possibility.

"No, I was just... actually I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Look, Pen, you're pretty and all, but you're not really my type." The blonde jested, trying her best to act natural in the face of what looked like a serious conversation brewing. Her natural included a whole lot of teasing and a couple of inappropriate jokes that she wasn't sure the statue would understand.

As expected, the ivory figured just stared confusedly at the remark, so Yang waved her hand to signal the other to proceed.

"I was wondering, why do you and Ruby have different last names? You are sisters, right? But you are Xiao Long and she's Rose, why's that?"

The bright-haired girl's smile turned into a deep frown, and she took a seat at the table. They hadn't yet procured a steel-reinforced chair that could withstand the sculpture's weight, so her guest had no choice but to stand.

"We're only half-sisters. We have the same dad, but different moms. Ruby would've kept the Xiao Long surname, it was our father's, but she was born outside marriage. She's what people around here call a bastard."

"What's that?"

"It's an insult used to mark those who were born from an affair. It's a stigma, they're supposed to be lesser than the rest of us, murderers and thieves or the like. You've never been outside, so you don't know the way everyone looks at Ruby, the things they say behind her back. It's disgusting."

Her voice was faltering, filled with an unbearable rage. Penny could tell it was hard on the brawler to talk of these matters aloud. Yang might have never felt the discrimination on her own skin, but years of seeing her sister suffer had changed her, anger burning inside her and threatening to surface.

"That's… awful."

"It's a load of horse crap, that's what it is! They have no right to hurt her, to treat her like she's just an animal! Sometimes I just…" She stopped, noticing her fist slammed on the table. The white-colored girl looked terrified, so Yang forced herself to inhale and exhale, trying to calm down. "…sorry, it's just not fair. A lot of people hate us around here. It's why we live farther away from the rest."

The golem said nothing, her face clouded in horror. She had no idea there was so much pain inside this family she'd been made a part of. They had been so kind, always with happy-looking smiles on their faces. Now she knew better.

"They tell stories, you know? It began after the marriage proposals, a few boys who came around asking for my hand. When I rejected all of them, they started to spread slander around. Of how we're monsters in disguise, or how we lie with each other in sin at night, all kinds of lies."

"What about your parents? What happened to them?

"My mother died giving birth to me. I never even met her. A couple of years later, dad met another woman. Summer, she was Ruby's mom. Well, actually she was our mom. She was the one who stayed by our side while we grew up. She was great, sweet and caring, and she made the most amazing cookies. Until one day she just… got sick. We couldn't find out what was wrong, and we never found a cure. It was pretty hard on all of us, but dad took it the worst. He started drinking, and, a couple of weeks later, joined the army. That was the last we saw of him."

"I… I'm so sorry, I had no idea."

"It's okay, Penny. I'm sorry too, that you had to hear all of that. But you're one of us now. Welcome to our family of misfits." The blonde shot her a warm smile, recuperating from the heavy topic they had been discussing. It was hard talking about it, but the sculpture deserved to know.

Before any more words could be uttered, the peaceful moment was interrupted by a loud crash, and they both turned to see the red-hooded huntress slam into the door, collapsing inside the hut. Her cape was tattered, her body covered in a mix of sweat, mud and blood, and there were cuts and bruises all through her skin. Before she passed out, the archer managed to get a few loose words out.

"I couldn't… it caught me…"

And with that, consciousness abandoned her.

I like this chapter, it's straight to the point, no lollygagging. There's some Penny and Yang bonding time, some backstory, Ruby doing Ruby-things, all good shit.

As always, thanks for the support, you guys are great. I'll see you soon.