Forever Home (ch5)

EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL PATRONS! THANK YOU GUYS!

At the most difficult point in Weiss' life, things are only getting worse, and Blake is only getting older. Without Penny there to help Weiss now, there's only so much Blake can do for her...

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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													Chapter 5. Love And Loss

Weiss got sick.

She'd gotten sick plenty of times before, but never like this.

In the past, it had been seasonal colds or the occasional headache or stomachache here and there.

But the day after she'd been assaulted by the sharp pain in her chest, she got sicker than she ever had before.

When she woke, her eyes were sore and puffy from crying all night long. She laid there for a long while, not moving, her thoughts a haze of confusion and hurt. When she tried to push herself out of bed, she didn't get very far before she fell back onto the mattress.

Blake stayed anxiously by her side and meowed in distress until Weiss' father was drawn to the room. He found his youngest daughter feeble and ill, a dire contrast to the healthy girl he'd seen last night at the dinner table. He couldn't think of anything else he could do other than bring her to the hospital.

The diagnosis was inconclusive. The professionals could find nothing physically wrong with Weiss, and failed to find the source of the sudden chest pains she'd described.

But they did discover she was under a great amount of emotional stress.

Once they'd shared their results with Weiss' father, he could do nothing more than bring her back home and lead her to bed once again.

Blake had been waiting anxiously all day for their return. All the fairies of the house had become subdued with worry, especially Penny. She knew Weiss' sudden decline in health was because of how she'd cut their bond last night. But the humans couldn't understand that.

Blake didn't let herself resent the little fairy for all of this. After all, Penny had been observant enough to recognize what had happened, and smart enough to address it as quickly as possible. If she'd waited another year, another month, or even just another day longer, Weiss' condition might've turned out to be worse than it was now.

As soon as the girl was back in bed, Blake jumped up beside her once again, cautiously sidling onto her chest. Weiss sniffled and drew her beloved cat closer, hugging her gently.

"Blake... I don't know what's... what's wrong with me... I can't go to work or to school like this..."

Blake didn't know what she could do. She could only watch helplessly as Weiss suffered all alone, for reasons she didn't even understand.

Blake laid herself down on the girl's chest and purred softly. At the very least, that still seemed to comfort her.

Weiss reached up to stroke her back and massage Blake's injured ear as she always did.

"Thank you, Blake... I always feel better when I'm with you..."

Blake rasped out another purr.

But Weiss' words sent and inkling of despair into her stomach.

Blake and Weiss were now both sixteen years old, going on seventeen soon. Weiss was in the prime of her life, but Blake was at the end of hers. She didn't know how much longer she'd be around for her.

And she hated to think how Weiss might react to her passing.

On top of Winter and Penny leaving her, Blake refused to leave her, too.

Subconsciously, her claws curled into Weiss' clothes a little bit, protectively, unwilling to let her go.

"I'll stay with you for as long as I can. For the rest of my life. That, I can promise you."

Or at least, that was what she'd thought.

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As days passed, Weiss' condition gradually improved once again.

But it took longer for her to resurface from this depression than it had when Winter had moved out.

She missed a full week of school and work, which caused her great panic since the end-of-term exams were coming up quickly. She studied as much as she could at home, and was determined to get better no matter the cost.

Blake watched as the girl pushed herself to her limits and beyond, anything to get herself back on track with her work.

Before long, she was in school again, straining to do her best.

Blake hated to see her like this. She hated spending every day in that house worrying about whether or not Weiss was all right.

Her only relief was in the late afternoon when the front door would open and Weiss would limp in, utterly exhausted. But she always had a smile and a warm embrace for Blake.

She ate her supper, sat and played with Blake, studied a little, and then went to bed.

In this manner, Blake saw her through to the end of the school term and into her summer break.

Weiss enjoyed the freedom of summer to an extent, but she preferred to have some kind of schedule or work to focus on. So after a few days of rest at home, she set out to find another job.

Blake ended up seeing the girl about as much as she did when school was in session. Her time with Weiss was limited to evenings, nighttimes, and some weekend days.

But she did all she could, always making sure to have Weiss relax and take her mind off the daily chores and stresses. It was her pleasure to make Weiss forget all of those things, even if just for fifteen minutes a night.

She kept her promise for as long as she could...

...until Weiss' father came to a decision.

He told Weiss one summer evening at the dinner table, and Blake overheard the entire conversation.

"Weiss," he said gruffly. "Your grades are outstanding enough to allow you to graduate high school a year early. I've arranged for you to stay at a local university and start attending classes there in the fall."

Weiss was shocked by the sudden news.

"Father!" she cried. "You didn't consult me about this!"

"Because I knew you'd refuse it. So I didn't give you a choice," he grunted.

"Father, you can't-"

"Weiss, listen to me." He leaned over the table a little bit, his eyes serious. "The doctors all agreed this would be good for you. You've spent too many years cooped up in this house. And I suppose a great deal of that is my own fault.

"So I've opted to make things right. You need a change of scenery. You need a fresh start. It's for your own good."

Weiss was speechless and appalled. She could only push her chair away from the table and rush out of the kitchen. Blake followed as quickly as her old legs could allow, slipping in behind Weiss before the bedroom door was shut.

Weiss threw herself onto her bed and sobbed into her pillow. Blake jumped up beside her and brushed against her, mewing softly in an effort to cajole her.

But Weiss was inconsolable this time. She just kept shaking and crying.

"It's not f-fair... He didn't even ask me... he just made all of these decisions on his own... I'm not r-ready to go to college yet... I'm scared..."

Blake didn't know whether to be more distressed for Weiss or angry at her father. She wasn't quite sure what college was, but if Weiss didn't like it, then neither did Blake.

"He said it was for her own good," Blake growled. "Has he seen this? How could this be for her own good?"

Weeks had gone by since Weiss had last cried herself to sleep.

But it happened again that night, and Blake was helpless to stop it.

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Weiss began packing her things a few days later.

That made Blake's fur stand on end; the last person who had packed things up like this had been Winter, and she'd moved out of the house entirely.

The only solace came to Blake when she saw the little crate next to Weiss' bags. Blake hadn't gone into that thing in months, since her last visit to the vet. But she'd gladly go in it again if that meant she could go wherever Weiss was going.

Weiss was in her room that day, packing up clothes and personal items she'd be taking with her. Blake was in the living room with a couple of fairies, Penny included.

"I'm still so angry at him," Blake was hissing. "How could he do this to her?"

Penny flitted down to sit on the floor beside the cat.

"Maybe it really will be good for her, though. At least she'll be away from him. He always did like to keep control over everything. At least now maybe she'll have some freedom."

Blake tried to think on the positive side like the fairies did, and that raised another question.

"When we leave, will you come with us?"

Penny sadly shook her head.

"No. I should stay here. I wouldn't want to risk re-forging a bond with her. I think some distance is good for me and Weiss as well. But at least she'll have you with her, Blake! And I'm sure she'll attract other fairies wherever else she goes!"

The cat dipped her head. That much at least gave her a bit of comfort in all this.

Weiss finished packing her clothes and brought them into the living room, along with a bag where she'd put Blake's cat bed and a few of her toys. She set that bag down next to the crate, then knelt down beside her cat.

Blake purred instantly and pressed up against her legs. Weiss took care in picking her up and cradling her.

"Maybe this won't be all that bad," she murmured. "I'll get to live away from home for a bit. That did wonders for Winter. I can make my own schedule for classes, then go to work during my free time."

Blake noticed that Weiss had mentioned nothing in the way of trying to make friends, however. It sounded to her that Weiss would be doing the same things she'd done in high school and middle school thus far, only this time she'd be living elsewhere.

Blake believed that was a step in the right direction at the very least, but she really wanted Weiss to make some friends and have people who could help her in her times of need.

Blake could only do so much for her, like lie beside her and purr. Weiss needed human support, people who could hug her and talk to her and listen to her like Winter had always done.

Once they'd gotten settled into their new place together, Blake would see if there was anything she could do to encourage Weiss to make acquaintances.

The cat was pulled from her thoughts as Weiss laid herself down onto the floor, keeping Blake atop her chest.

"Just three more days," she sighed. "Then we'll be moving out of here, Blake."

Blake purred and curled her tail, feeling the familiar touch as Weiss' fingers brushed over her chinked ear.

But the sound of footsteps broke their private moment, and Weiss quickly put Blake aside and stood up as her father entered the room.

"Is everything packed?"

"Yes, Father. Everything except essentials I'll still need up until the day I go."

"Very good." He looked over her luggage and was about to turn and leave when he spotted Blake's carrier crate. "What's that?"

Weiss titled her head, puzzled.

"Blake's crate. I've packed a bag of her supplies to take, as well."

It was at that point Blake could sense the atmosphere in the room change.

Weiss' father heaved a long sigh.

"Weiss, this university doesn't allow pets."

Whatever beginnings of a smile had been starting to appear on Weiss' face were wiped clean in an instant. Waves of dismay began pulsing off of her, and Blake was bristling as well.

Weiss shook her head, pleading.

"What? You went through all of this trouble to get me into a university, and it wasn't even one where I could take my best friend with me?"

"You'll make new friends there. You won't need the cat."

"How could you say that?" Weiss accused. "Father... Father, no... I've got to take her with me-"

"You can't."

"But that was our deal!" Weiss cried. "Our deal was that I would care for her for the rest of her life! That I'd pay for her expenses and be responsible for her! How am I supposed to do that when I'm a hundred miles away?!"

"I suppose you can't," he acknowledged. "But I can promise you I'll keep her here. I'll care for her."

Weiss was distraught and outraged.

"Then I'm not leaving!"

"It isn't your choice to make."

Painful tears stung at the backs of Weiss' eyes. Her hopes and optimism about moving out and starting over afresh were shattered yet again.

Choking back a sob, she ran past her father and disappeared into her room once again.

The man watched her go.

Blake was about to charge after Weiss when she paused for a moment. Weiss' father let out a deep sigh and sat heavily down into his arm chair.

Blake's paws were itching to take off after Weiss, but something made her linger there.

Her eyes met the man's, something that had happened only a few times in all her years here. He wasn't smiling, and he didn't seem proud about what he'd just done.

"I suppose you hate me now, too," he said. "Well, you'll be stuck with me a while longer. But at the very least, this should only make her more relieved and eager to move out. Even without you, she'll learn to enjoy it."

Blake's bristling fur began to lie flat.

Maybe... Maybe this man was really trying to do what he thought was best for Weiss, even if Weiss didn't see it that way.

Blake blinked up at him and held his gaze for a moment.

"I understand what you're doing," she mewed. "But that doesn't mean I have to accept how you're doing it."

And with that, she raced off down the hall after Weiss.

Blake had seen her cry so many times in the past year. Probably more times then she'd ever seen her cry in the seven years since she'd started living here with her.

Blake was starting to get used to seeing Weiss cry herself to sleep without supper; she'd almost forgotten what it was like to see her fall asleep peacefully.

She jumped onto the bed, crawled up to Weiss' collar, and bumped her head against the girl's chin softly. Weiss wiped her eyes and struggled to look up at her.

"Oh, Blake... I-I'm so sorry..." She hugged her cat with a gentle firmness, kissing her nose softly. "I can't... take you with me... I-I can't..." She turned her face away and sighed. "I guess I can only... do what Winter does and come to visit whenever I can... b-but I..."

She didn't finish her thought, but Blake felt she had a good idea as to what it entailed.

Weiss couldn't bear to think about what would happen if Blake were to pass away when she wasn't home.

Blake now harbored the same fear.

While she didn't expect death to be just around the corner, it was certainly creeping closer with each passing day, and Blake could feel it for herself. Any accident or sudden illness could mean the end for her.

In the past, during her time living with the cruel man, Blake hadn't feared death. On some days, she argued that she might've welcomed it. If it had come to her then, she wouldn't have refused.

But now, and for the past seven years, she'd had something to live for, something to love-

-something to make her fear death.

Like Weiss, Blake had thought they'd be together until Blake's final moments. If she could pass away with Weiss' gentle hands and kisses being the last things she ever knew, Blake would have few qualms.

But to think Weiss might not be around anymore when the fateful day arrived...

Blake gave out a low, mournful yowl, one that suggested to Weiss that the cat could sense the pain brought on by her dilemma. Weiss' chest trembled beneath her paws, and the girl clung a little tighter to her.

"Blake... I love you so much... I wish you could understand that..."

Blake lifted her head and looked directly into Weiss' eyes.

"I do," she said.

It came out as a small mew to Weiss, but she actually smiled.

"You... you do understand... don't you?" She stroked her fingers over Blake's ears, first the good one, then the bad.

"Yes," Blake purred. "I wish you could understand that."

Even if Blake hadn't been fortunate enough to learn how to speak the human language over the years, she wouldn't have needed Weiss' words of love to know she loved her.

Weiss showed her love in many different ways other than simply saying it.

It was in the way she woke early every morning to feed her.

It was in the way she always made time to play with her at night.

It was in the way she touched her as if Blake's existence truly meant something.

She knew Weiss loved her a million times over. She just wished Weiss knew she felt the same way about her.

Blake was miserable at the thought of being left behind in just three days' time. But she didn't let that stop her from doing her best to provide a bit of comfort for Weiss now.

She let her purr rumble throughout her chest, so that Weiss could feel it.

Even after all these years, Blake had never forgotten or failed to keep her first promise to Weiss. But now, she realized she wouldn't be able to keep the second one.

She had promised to be with Weiss for the rest of Blake's own life.

But now...

Shortly after Weiss fell asleep, Blake's purr came to an abrupt stop. Despair clutched at her heart as she slowly backed away and slipped off of Weiss' sleeping form.

Blake jumped off the bed, pried open the door, and ran as quickly as her legs could carry her. She skidded to a halt in the living room, where all of Weiss' packed bags were now shrouded in evening darkness.

The fairies were all asleep up on the shelves and window sills, but Blake couldn't afford to be quiet anymore.

"Penny!" she yowled. "Penny, please!"

The fairy in green woke right away and hurriedly flew down to her.

"Blake! What's the matter?"

"I can't go with her! I can't go with Weiss!"

Penny nodded sadly.

"I know. I heard what her father said-"

"But it's not that simple!" Blake cried. "I made a promise to her, Penny! I promised I'd be with her for the rest of my life, and now... now... I won't be able to..."

She upturned imploring golden eyes onto the little fairy, her claws kneading into the carpet.

"Penny, please. You've got to help me. There must be some way. There must be something your magics can do. Make it so that no other human can see me except for Weiss. Make it so that she's allowed to bring me. Anything!"

Overwhelmed, Penny flew back a few inches.

"Blake, I can't do those things. At least, not as quickly as you'd need me to. Altering the rules of a human school would take months, because I'd have to change all kinds of things, including peoples' minds. I wouldn't be able to do it alone, either. And there's no way I could make you invisible to everyone except Weiss. If you're invisible, you're invisible to all humans, and that would include her."

Blake hissed in frustration, lashing her tail.

"There must be something!"

Penny looked away.

"I'm not sure, Blake. I'm sorry. I don't know what I can do to help you. I really want to, but I just don't know how."

Dejected, the little fairy left her and returned to her shelf, where she curled up miserably.

Blake didn't know what else she could do. Her grief manifested itself in a series of mournful yowls, cries of sorrow that filled the entire house.

She cried until her throat was sore, and she had no choice but to go limping back to Weiss, where the pillow case was stained from her tears.

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Their final days together came and went.

Weiss made sure to stay with Blake every second she possibly could, pampering her, feeding her all her favorite food flavors, and petting her until she fell asleep.

Those days passed by all too quickly.

Now, the two of them were waking on the morning Weiss was set to depart.

Seven long years of love and affection were coming to an end within a matter of hours.

Weiss could hardly stop crying all morning long. She'd unpacked all of Blake's supplies and put them back into the den for her.

While her father began taking Weiss' luggage out to his car, Weiss knelt in the living room with Blake in her arms, sobbing into her fur.

"I-I'm... going to miss you so much... Every second of every day, I'll be missing you, Blake... I'll... come back as often as I can. I'll try to take days off work and come back every weekend. I'll... I'll..."

Her trembling voice tapered off helplessly. She didn't know how much more time Blake had left in this world. If her father had let Weiss finish her final year of high school and go off to college a year later, Weiss might've been able to linger in this house long enough to see Blake through to the end of her days.

But now, she would have to leave her beloved friend behind, never knowing if this might be the last time she'd ever see her.

It was unbearable, to think that any moment when she'd be off at this new school, that Blake's health might be dwindling.

At the very least, Weiss had begged her father to monitor Blake's condition and to call her right away if anything seemed to be amiss.

"If... If anything happens to you..." she hiccuped. "If anything happens to you, Blake... and I'm not here for you, like you've always been for me... I'll never forgive myself..."

Sadness and sorrow cut into Blake's heart like claws as she listened to Weiss cry. The cat did her best to curl her own claws gently into Weiss' shirt in an effort to hug her as a human would.

She could only manage a small, feeble purr now as she tucked her head beneath Weiss' chin and rested there, savoring every last second with her. She could feel Weiss' chopped little breaths in between her sobs, feel the way her grip kept tightening little by little, not wanting to let go of Blake...

Her father came back into the house, and announced it was time for Weiss to go.

Weiss cried so hard. Harder than Blake had ever seen before.

If Blake herself had been able to produce tears, she knew she would've been doing just that.

When Weiss tried to put her down, Blake mewed softly, brokenly.

"No... please... don't go..."

But she realized she was only making this harder for Weiss.

So Blake pressed close to her one last time, then allowed herself to be set down onto the carpet.

As Weiss looked down at her, her tears never stopped dripping, her blue eyes filled with a mixture of awful pain and heartbreaking love. She reached out her hand and stroked Blake's back a few times, then traced her nails up along the underside of her chin, around to her cheek, then up to her ears. She massaged Blake's chinked ear one more time, then bent forward to kiss her head.

"I love you, Blake..." she whispered. "I love you so much. M-More than anything... I promise I'll never stop loving you as long as I live..."

She wiped her eyes and sniffled deeply.

Blake returned the words to her.

"I love you, too. I love you so much..."

Now more than ever, it hurt to know Weiss couldn't understand her.

Blake watched as the girl who had saved her life stood up and turned away.

Weiss walked towards the door where her father was waiting for her outside. She left a trail of tears seeping into the carpet behind herself, a trail that Blake followed desperately-

-right up until the door was closed in front of her nose.

She could still hear Weiss' sobs as the girl walked down to the driveway. Blake hurried to jump up onto the nearest window and watch her go.

Weiss limped to her father's car and got in. And as it started to drive away, she looked up and saw her beloved cat.

Blake bore her gaze into Weiss' tearful blue eyes for as long as the street would allow, until the car that took Weiss was completely out of sight.

Blake howled.

The sound began at the pit of her stomach and worked its way up her throat to be heard, a low, mournful, forlorn cry.

She yowled at the empty house where Weiss had just been only minutes before.

She yowled so sorrowfully that the fairies all stopped their merry work and were silent.

She yowled at the window where she'd last seen the car taking her away.

She yowled for hours until that very same car returned, but only a man emerged.

At that point, she jumped down and ran into Weiss' bedroom, leapt up onto her bed, and continued her mourning.

But even after he'd walked in through the door, Blake never stopped yowling.

Even in the late afternoon, when he'd filled her bowl with food and tried to bring her back into the den, Blake never budged from Weiss' bed.

She yowled into the late hours of the night, until she had no voice left.

Some false flicker of hope inside of her made her believe Weiss would be coming back any minute now.

But she never did.

Blake had exhausted herself. She curled up on Weiss' bed, hoarse and ridden with anguish.

She'd never once slept alone in this house, not since she'd been allowed into Weiss' room nearly eight years ago.

But now, that room was empty and cold.

It seemed much larger without Weiss here. Everything seemed more intimidating, and less appealing.

And Blake knew that wherever Weiss was, she was huddled up alone in some strange bed, crying her heart out.

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Blake barely ate or moved for the next several days.

She stayed atop Weiss' bed, sniffing the remnants of her scent, and yowled for hours on end.

The whole house seemed quieter and sadder, even the fairies.

A week soon passed, and Blake kept expecting Weiss to come back home for at least a day or so, but she never did.

Blake more or less subjected herself to spending the rest of her life this way, mournful and lonely. Those feelings might even turn out to be what spelled the end for her.

About ten nights after Weiss had left, Blake still lie on her neatly-made bed, breathing in the lingering bits of the girl's familiar scent. She had done her crying for the evening, and had miserably settled down to close her eyes and let sleep come and take her.

That was when the fluttering of tiny wings reached her ears.

She cracked open one eye, almost disinterested in whatever the fairies would have to say to her. She felt nothing really mattered anymore. There wasn't much that could faze Blake now.

The cat watched as Penny hurried into the bedroom, a faint glow of brightness in the dark.

"Blake!" she called out. "Blake, please come with me!"

The cat lifted her head slowly and blinked.

"Why? Is... Is Weiss home?"

The hopeful note in her voice vanished as soon as Penny shook her head.

"No, that's not it. But Blake... I think I've found out a way for you to see her again!"

That was the only thing in the world that could've still motivated Blake to leave that bed behind.

She was up on her paws in seconds, her old joints aching and sore, but she didn't care. If there was any chance she'd be able to see Weiss again with Penny's proposition, she'd try it.

Penny waved her to the doorway, and Blake flicked her tail, indicating she needed a moment. She hadn't moved very much in days, and she was feeling her age now more than ever.

She made the jump down onto the floor and hissed slightly as the landing impact sent a jolt through her body. Grunting, Blake stretched herself out a bit more, then followed after Penny as quickly as she could.

The fairy led her down the hallway, into the living room, and then to the parlor. She paused near the front door. Blake flicked her tail.

"What is it, Penny?"

"Hold on!" the ginger-haired fairy said. "I've got to open the door for you!"

"For me? Why?"

"Blake, you've got to come outside for this!"

"What?" Fur bristling, Blake backed up a pace. "I've never been outside all my life without a carrier and a human close by! Why would you make me go out there alone in the middle of the night?"

"Blake, you've got to trust me! This is part of how you can see Weiss again!"

Again, those words made the cat freeze in-place.

She stayed put now as she watched Penny hover near the door's lock. With her tiny fingers, she reached into the mechanics of the lock and moved things around until it clicked and the door opened.

"Come on! Help me open it!"

Cautiously, Blake pawed the door open enough so she could slip through. There was a screen door as well, and once Penny had unlocked that, she pushed on the handle high up while Blake pushed her weight against the door down below. With their combined efforts, they managed to get it open.

Instantly, Blake's senses were overwhelmed by the outdoors. Crickets and frogs were chirping loud enough to make her ears ring. She needed to fight off her instinct to drop into a crouch and start prowling around the territory.

There were thousands of scents, some belonging to other cats, all of which filled her nostrils and hit the roof of her mouth in a plethora of unknown identities.

Fur bristling until it was all completely on-end, Blake stepped slowly out into the tough grass, her golden eyes wide and alert for any signs of danger.

Penny, however, was the most energetic Blake had seen her in weeks, probably the most excited she'd been since losing her bond with Weiss, even.

"Penny!" she hissed. "Get on with it, please! Why did you have to bring me out here in the middle of the night?"

"Because-" Penny spun around to face her, then waved her hand in a signal. From the nearby bushes, two more fairies emerged. "We're going to help you get to Weiss!"

Blake's eyes widened when she recognized the other fairies as Ruby and Yang. She'd only seen them several times within the past few years, all times they'd come over to visit Penny for tea.

Blake's fur began to lie flat as her ears perked up.

"But... how?"

"Glad you asked!" Yang said.

"We all agreed it's the only way to do it!" Ruby added.

"What?" Blake pleaded. "How can you help me see her again?"

To that question, Penny replied:

"Blake, we're going to make you human!"

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A/N: If you've seen Dash's artwork and comics, you should've known this was coming!