Later that night, when everyone else had gone to sleep, Yang's eyes open. The girl sits up in bed before hopping out and starting to get dressed.
The noise doesn't carry far, but it does wake up her sister, who groggily rubs her eyes as she tries to find the source of the noise. "...hello?"
Yang looks back at Ruby. "It's just me, go back to sleep."
"...why are you getting dressed?" She yawns, sitting up as she looks at her sister. "Where are you going, this late?"
"I'm going to find my mom." She says, looking determined.
"...what? You mean the lady from the picture?" She's more awake now, but not enough to get up off her bed, yet.
She nods. "Yeah, I heard Dad say to Uncle Qrow that she left, and I'm gonna go find her."
"...why?" She scratches her head, resigned to not get any more sleep, tonight.
"Because I want to bring her back." She says, determined.
Ruby looks down at her sister's hand, where the only source of light is in the room. "...is that Uncle Qrow's scroll?"
Yang nods. "Yeah, I bet we could find this place and ask her why she left."
The younger of the two just blinks dumbly at this. "...how did you even get that?"
"I, uhh... got it from Uncle Qrow's pocket..." She says with a bit of guilt.
"You got what from where?" The voice comes from the ajar door, which opens to reveal Daring, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
Yang groans in frustration, covering her eyes. "Did everyone wake up?"
"What do you mean?" She quietly yawns, tottering her way to the blonde girl. "I had to go, real quick..."
Sighing, Yang pulls her into a hug. "Look, just go back to sleep, okay?"
The filly shakes her head. "I can't. Not if you're going somewhere."
Ruby nods, pointing to the littlest sister. "Yeah! What she said!"
Yang sighs. "What, you going to come with me or something?"
They both nod as one, Ruby supplying the reply. "If that's what it takes."
Huffing, Yang nods. "Fine, we'll get the wagon so I can just pull you two."
They quietly cheer, just barely remembering in time that their father is asleep in the next room.
Nodding, Yang stands up in some of her normal clothes. "Okay, get dressed and come on."
They nod and Ruby rushes to her dresser, while Daring simply straightens her hat.
Yang giggles as she hugs Daring. "Lucky you, you get ready so fast."
The filly giggles, hugging back and nuzzling her cheek.
When Ruby is done dressing, Yang stands up. "Okay, let's go. We have a lady to find."
Her sisters nod, the smaller one hitching a ride on the blonde girl's shoulder as they quietly hurry outside.
Going to the wagon, Yang motions for Ruby to sit down. "Here, you can sit in here and I'll pull."
She nods and eagerly climbs in, beaming as memories of being pulled around for fun come back to her.
Yang looks at Daring next. "Do you want to ride with her?"
She shakes her head, patting the girl's shoulder where she's laying. "I'm comfy."
Nodding, Yang picks up the handle to the wagon. "Alright, let's go find her!" With the sort of confidence children tend to have, she sets off into the night.
Later that night, Yang is looking tired as she continues to drag the wagon behind her. She double checks the photo before looking around and sighing.
Ruby has already fallen asleep in the wagon, and Daring starts to nod off. The only thing keeping the girl and the filly awake is the sun starting to peek over the horizon, its light bright enough to shine through the trees and into their eyes.
The oldest girl lets her hair fall in front of her eyes to shield them from the light as she crests the next hill. Her legs stop their auto pilot for just a moment as she gets to the top, unsure if she should keep going.
Daring, honestly more tired than she'd like, slumps to the side, rubbing up against Yang's cheek.
Looking to her, Yang reaches up and rubs her head. "You can go to sleep if you want. I'll keep walking."
"...nuu... you'll be bored..." She flaps a wing uselessly, trying to right herself.
"Heh, I've been bored for a bit on this trip already." She answers, looking up once more before she stiffens up. "Is that...?"
Daring's rose-colored eyes narrow as she looks forward. "...I dunno... sun's in the way..."
"It's some kind of building." Yang says, moving once more down the hill, a smile on her face showing her hope.
The filly's ear twitches, a sound she finds familiar drawing her attention. She gently prods the girl's arm with her hoof.
"Huh?" She looks to her sister curiously.
"Yang, I... hear something..." Her eyes and ears turn every direction they can, her sleep-deprived brain trying to figure out what it was or where it came from.
"Like what?" She asks, continuing to walk.
"I don't know... scratching? Growling?" They're almost at the building before it all clicks. "...oh, no..."
"Huh?" Yang looks to Daring, not looking in front of them as she walks.
She suddenly hears a howl as four pairs of glowing eyes appear in the doorway of the building before them.
Yang freezes as she sees them, eyes wide. "...Grimm?"
Four beowolves emerge from the abandoned cabin, their eyes fixed on the girl, the wagon, and the pony. One of them starts to howl as the others edge closer.
Eyes wide and fearful, Yang tries to back up with the others towards the tree that surround the yard.
Growling, two of them rush forward to try and cut them off.
Instead, they get cut in half.
Confused, yang looks up to see a familiar figure.
Her Uncle Qrow smiles wryly, putting something in his pocket. "Hey, kiddo. You have a fun adventure?"
She shakes her head, a bit stunned from his sudden appearance. "Not really... we walked all night."
"I can see that." He pokes her head, letting her hair fall over her eyes. "Next time, don't run away without letting someone know where you are. And don't take my scroll without asking."
She looks down, scuffing the ground with her foot. "Sorry, Uncle Qrow..."
"Apology accepted. Now stand back as I finish these two-" He chokes on his words, eyes wide in shock as he sees a certain filly tottering over to the beowolves, her hat barely hiding her sleepy expression. "D-Daring, get back here!"
She turns to look at him, which gives the creatures the opportunity to lunge at her.
Fortunately, the man was faster, slicing them in half at the neck and kicking their bodies back at the shack.
As the corpses dissolve into smoke, Yang runs over with the wagon, picking up Daring. "You're not supposed to go closer to Grimm!"
She whimpers quietly. "I wanted to help..."
Yang hugs her. "No crying, no getting hurt." She nuzzles her.
The filly hugs her in return, trying to forget what just happened. She knew it was useless, but she felt she had to try.
"...that was brave though." Yang adds after a time. "I just worry about my sisters."
Qrow sighs, patting her on the head. "You realize you're supposed to start with the positive, right? Makes them more likely to get everything and not focus on the negative."
She looks up at him, bags under her eyes as she blinks. "Huh?"
"...you know what, I'll explain it to you later. For now..." He holds out his hand, an eyebrow raised. She sheepishly puts his scroll into it. "Thank you." He opens it and sees the pictures, sighing softly to himself. "...Yang... this place is abandoned. I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"Oh..." She slumps a bit. "So she's not here?"
"I'm afraid not." He shrugs slightly. "I'm not even sure what she was here for."
She sighs, looking up at him. "Can we go home?"
"Sure, kiddo." He takes the handle of the wagon from her, gesturing inside. "Hop in."
She does so, bringing Daring with her as she settles in, trying not to wake Ruby. "How did you find us?"
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a thin white object with a yellow diamond in the center. "Your father's scroll. It made it easy to locate mine, and I knew you had it."
"Cool." She giggles softly. "I'm glad you found us."
"So am I." He huffs quietly, muttering to himself. "Who knows what would've happened if I were a few moments later..."
"Yeah..." Yang shivers a bit before snuggling close with her siblings. "Is Dad mad?"
He is silent for a while, looking back at her and her two sleeping sisters. "...I think it's better for him to tell you, himself."
"Oh... okay." She nods, her eyes drifting closed. "Good night..."
He chuckles, shaking his head. "Sleep tight, kiddo."
When Yang wakes, it's in a more familiar environment on a couch she knows well.
She feels a familiar weight on her chest, and can see Ruby draped across their father's chair once she opens her eyes to look around.
Groaning, she tries to crane her head to see a clock or something, having no clue what time it is. The only thing that makes her know what happened wasn't a dream is the soreness in her legs.
"See? I told you she'd be awake in time for dinner."
"I wonder if the other two will be." Her dad's voice responds, sounding a bit tired.
"Who knows? It's been a long night for all of them."
Yang looks to Daring as she sleeps on her, a hand coming up to rub the filly's ears. A smile almost instantly grows on the little pony's face, an ear twitching beneath her fingers. Yang giggles as she hears her father sigh quietly.
"Thanks again, Qrow."
"Hey, I was the one who came to you with my issues." He shrugs a bit. "It's only fair I help with yours."
Nodding, Tai walks over to Yang, placing a hand on her head and whispering seriously to her. "We'll talk later, but don't ever scare me like that again or endanger your sisters, got it?"
She nods, tension clear in her body.
Grunting approvingly, he leans forward and kisses her head. "You can sleep more if you want."
"Yeah, she was pretty much asleep on her feet, earlier." He scratches his head a bit. "I'm amazed they were still awake when I got there."
"Were they delirious yet?" Tai asks as he moves to stand.
Yang hugs her dad before he can stand up. "I'm sorry..."
Leaning down, he does the same for her. "I know."
"I don't know. But Daring was especially... well, daring, in trying to protect her sisters." He points to her. "She could barely walk."
"You'd think she was the big sister." Tai says, chuckling as he pets the filly in question.
One of her ears flick at the touch, and her eyes slowly flutter open. Then they're wide open and she jumps to her hooves, wings flared and body tense.
Yang snorts a bit, murmuring in her half asleep state.
Tai strokes the filly's head more. "Easy, you're back home."
She only relaxes a little bit, turning to look at the man in confusion. "...daddy?"
"Yeah?" He asks, picking her up.
Her muzzle scrunches up a bit as she considers her question. "...did we win?"
He nods, rubbing her head. "Yeah, you won."
She relaxes slightly, then closes the distance between them quickly for a hug.
He hugs her in return. "Are you okay?"
"...I'm fine... not hurt at all..." She clutches him a little tighter. "...just... scared, a bit?"
"That's understandable after what happened. He says softly. "You're safe now, though."
She rests her head against his chest, closing her eyes to try and focus on him. "...thank you..."
"You're welcome." He takes her into the kitchen to make sure dinner will be ready, holding her against his chest.
Qrow smiles at this, walking over and patting Yang on the head playfully. "I'm glad you're all safe."
She briefly wakes up again to look at him. "I still want to look for her... but not like that. That was stupid and the others could have gotten hurt..."
"Yeah, I think that's the best course of action." He shrugs. "I'm glad you learned something from this, at least."
She smiles at him, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Uncle Qrow."
"You're welcome." He chuckles, crossing his arms and smirking at her. "Don't think you're getting out of your punishment, though."
"Aww..." she pouts a bit before yawning.
"Get some rest." He glances at the kitchen, then leans in to whisper to her. "I'll make sure he doesn't take away your desserts."
She giggles, nodding as she yawns once more. "You're the best uncle..."
"I know." He grins cheekily, ruffling her hair.
She smiles, closing her eyes as she once more goes to catch up on sleep.
"Sleep tight, princess." He sighs, standing up and pulling out his scroll. He opens it up and looks at the picture inside. "Need to be more careful..."