So… this is our room?" Weiss asked after surveying the utilitarian four bed room. It wasn't possible to discern exactly what she thought of the living quarters, but it was safe to say she was not in love. She made it a point to look at Ruby as she said, "our."
"So it would seem." Blake mumbled as she pushed past Weiss to claim the inner right bed. Putting herself in the middle would make it appear she was not afraid of her teammates and wanted to integrate into the team, she did not, but she imagined it would afford her a bit of good will. Plus, it was close enough to the window that she could make a near instantaneous escape with her Semblance.
"Yeah! Isn't it great!? I'll have to put in my posters, oh and I'll need a place for my comics! And I wonder if I could get a machining table in here for Crescent Rose? And we'll need a T.V. for sure! I wonder if there's enough closet space for my capes? A mini-fridge for the cookies! And, hmm, I always wanted a goldfish, or… maybe hamsters! Or both! Probably not together though… they'd probably eat each other, or, well, like the hamster would eat the goldfish… unless, do hamsters eat meat? Hey, Weiss, do you know if…" Weiss had tuned out everything Ruby had said after, "Ye-" and so she did not respond as Ruby continued his stream of consciousness as he claimed his bed, the inner left, and then immediately starting bouncing on it while spinning around Crescent Rose and making comic book sound effects. Blake deftly moved around the twirling, razor-sharp weapon as casually as one would avoid a lazy dog in the middle of the living room.
"I've slept in worse, like, way worse. I wonder if there's enough space in the bathroom for my shampoos, conditioners, fire Dust serums, mousse, sea salt spray, hair sprays, and the cream set? If you guys hear any noise in the bathroom it's just me renovating some space for my brushes, 'kay?" Yang half-announced and half-said to herself as she jogged to the bathroom door. Several seconds later there were a few dull thuds and a split-second after those a deep crack.
Weiss wanted to sigh, but she was sure she would be doing that a lot in the near future and she didn't want to run out. She claimed the left-most bed, the one next to Ruby, since Yang had thrown her bag on the right-most. She, too, ducked nimbly under a slice of Crescent Rose that strayed too close. Her younger self would have been amazed and dumbfounded by the sight, but having spent years training to immediately react to warnings from her Aura made it literally second nature to dodge the slow, relative to his actual fighting, and playful strikes Ruby was throwing at the air. But it is ridiculously childish. Weiss admonished him in her mind while she started unpacking the first of her suitcases. She really wasn't certain how she would survive until the rest of her stuff arrived. She was kind of looking forward to shopping in Vale, but she was certain Ruby would tag along if he got wind of it, and then Yang as well.
She had finished stowing away the contents of her first suitcase and was about to start on her second when she noticed Ruby had gotten tired of playing on the bed and was now half-heartedly unpacking his own luggage. Well, he was just shoving it under his bed, but she imagined in his mind that counted as unpacking. Despite her strict and rather traditional upbringing, Weiss didn't believe she was particularly sexist, that being said, the way Ruby was treating his possessions and living space she felt could best be described by the word "bachelor," followed closely by "teenage boy." That brought her to another point of concern she had with the room assigned to "Team Kickass," unilaterally dubbed by Ruby in lieu of the official team designation they'd be assigned in the induction ceremony that night, Ruby was, Weiss was ninety percent certain, male.
Now, Weiss would admit rather easily, easy by her standards, that her decision to attend Beacon over Haven was rather last minute, and so she had not conducted an inordinate amount of research into the culture and customs of the kingdom. However, her education had immersed her quite deeply in the other cultures of Remnant, such as they were, and she wasn't aware that Valeans were quite this, eh, liberal, to put it nicely, with mixing the sexes, especially in terms of teenagers. That's not to say Weiss was especially concerned by sleeping in the same room as Ruby, she'd made her peace with not having a private room already, and she'd probably have to entrust her life to Ruby in some fights in the future so being comfortable sleeping near him seemed to be a small and reasonable intermediate step. All that said, it was still quite a strange feeling to be sleeping in the same room as a boy. I wonder if he sleeps naked? The thought jumped into her mind unbidden and the ridiculousness and impropriety of it made her blush as she tried to banish the thought and associated mental images.
"Whatcha blushing about, Weiss?" The innocent and confused voice of Ruby arrived into Weiss' ear far too close for comfort, she instinctively turned to face him and he was indeed within just a few inches of her.
"A-a-ah-. Ahem, nothing. At all!" She stammered into a far too forceful denial while leaning away from Ruby and frantically avoiding eye contact.
"Huh? Do you just randomly blu-Eh?-Ahh!-Gugh!" Before he could fluster Weiss any further, Ruby was plucked by the back of his cape's collar like a puppy and held firmly under Yang's arm.
"C'mon, Rubes, let's check out campus."
"Yang! Don't treat me like a kid! I was talking to Wei-"
"I convinced Mom to tell me how we can sneak into one of the armories."
"Eh!? Really? Really, really!? Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go let's go let'sgo letsgo letsgo lesgo esgo 'sgo sgo go go go!" Ruby was practically vibrating under Yang's arm as she carried him out the room. Just as she stepped through, Yang turned back to give Weiss a small, soft smile and winked. Yang hoped it was a start to bridging the uncomfortable distance she'd put between them.
Weiss tried to return the smile but she knew it ended up looking pained. She thought Ruby was a good person at heart and Yang was at least trying to be kind, but… she just didn't like them. She wanted to like them, she needed to like them, but they scared her. Not in a physically intimidating sense, at least not with Ruby, but rather with the future they represented for her. She almost felt homesick, but her home frightened her even more than the increasingly miserable feeling that she wouldn't be able to fit in this foreign land. There was a tight pain in her chest and she felt the ache of tears on the verge of breaking free. I refuse to be this pathetic! I'll make this work! This will work! Weiss the Huntress. It'll work, I'll be happy, it will work. She took a few deep breaths as she talked herself up internally and she started to feel a little bit better. Then she noticed Blake watching her and she felt so embarrassed she just wanted to launch herself out the window with a glyph, "I-I'm going to take a shower! That forest was so filthy! Ugh, what a horrible place!" She made a show of grumbling as she forced herself to casually walk to the bathroom. She thanked the gods that they didn't have communal showers.
Blake could read Weiss like an open book, and she found it disgusting. She wanted to hate Weiss for feeling sorry for herself, she wanted to punch the spoiled Schnee heiress for sitting safely on a bed and looking so miserable when she had seen little Faunus children begging and starving after their parents had been worked to death in Dust mines. She wanted to hate Weiss so badly it hurt. It hurt that she couldn't. She felt pity for Weiss, and that made her absolutely disgusted with herself. Blake wanted to bash her head against the wall until her ears were torn off she felt so betrayed by herself. For a brief moment, so short she could almost convince herself it didn't happen, Blake saw Adam sneering at her, she saw her people starving, beaten, dead, she heard the chilling vitriol of the curse, "Race traitor!" that she'd heard thrown at so many Faunus by so many others but screamed at her by every Faunus she'd ever seen, she saw a younger, sadder version of herself snarling at her and holding a bloody blade with pure animal hatred in her eyes, and Blake wanted to kill Weiss.
The infinitesimal moment passed, and Blake was left with suffocating shame. She'd seen Weiss be a brave fighter. She'd seen her smiling with simple joy after they'd defeated the Nevermore together and they'd shared a quick but deeply meaningful smile together. They were comrades, and she'd already betrayed Weiss, just as she had betrayed the White Fang, and just as she had betrayed her parents.
They were the same age. Weiss wouldn't have even learned to walk when the SDC started extremely exploiting the Faunus and it was doubtful she'd been involved in any of the company's decisions since then. Blake doubted Weiss had ever killed anyone, she doubted Weiss had ever forced anyone to starve or slave away in a mine, she doubted Weiss had ever raised a hand against the defenseless. So why had Blake been about to kill her? Why had she imagined running Gambol Shroud through Weiss' neck? Why did the sickening image of Weiss drowning in her own blood and staring at her in shock and fear refuse to leave her mind? Tears slipped around the fists she'd pounded into her tightly closed eyes, desperately trying to block the mental image out.
Blake knew why. It was because Weiss was a Schnee. Because Weiss had the misfortune of being born as something Blake hated. A last name and a pair of fuzzy ears. Neither had been asked for but they compelled them to hate each other. Blake had known it would take more than just running away to erase what she'd done in the White Fang, and what the White Fang had done in her head, but it was already so much worse than she imagined. She now fully understood what her father had been trying to tell her about the burden of hate when she was a stupid little girl. Blake didn't want to hate Weiss, but she didn't know if she could stop herself. She wanted to throw off her hate, but she was afraid that there would be nothing left of her if she did.
So she cried. She cried silently while keeping her guard up. As terrified of being found out and killed as she was terrified of herself.
Yang hummed casually while she furtively snaked a hand towards her target. Her ferociously honed muscles and perfectly controlled nerves in combination with the multitude of enhancements contributed by her Aura made her strikes imperceptible to a normal human. Her target, however, was no normal human and slipped gracefully out of her range just before her strike could make contact. She considered a follow-up but deemed the openings it would create too risky compared to the low chance she'd be able to lay a hand on her target. So, she continued her cheerful humming as if nothing had happened while Ruby glared at her from just beyond her arms' reach. It didn't help that he was still sore that she'd lied about being able to penetrate into one of the school's armories.
Yang knew she was a bit of a sadist in general, but seeing Ruby cut his eyes at her and sulk struck some incredible combination of older sibling sadism and sisterly affection. She just couldn't keep the smile off her face when he was upset at her.
Besides that serving of familial cruelty, Yang's smile was mainly being sustained by overwhelming satisfaction. She'd had no doubt that she and Ruby would pass the initiation, but it was still quite the feeling of accomplishment having actually achieved it, not to mention they'd wound up on the same team! Plus, seeing how easily he'd dodged her half-serious grapple brought a swell of pride to her chest. Not even a year ago he would have struggled to stay out of her reach, but now Yang was pretty sure that Ruby could dodge anything she threw at him. Not that I'd ever admit that to him! Yang knew she was good, like, really good, but she knew Ruby could be truly great, one of the legendary huntsmen. She glanced back at him, still pouting but steadily drifting back towards her, perhaps unconsciously. Gods, he's just too cute! It should be illegal to be that cute and that skilled. If I weren't so sexy and badass I might be jealous.
Presently, Yang was aware they'd arrived at their destination, namely, a little secluded garden with an ostentatiously decorated gazebo where Summer had told them to wait for her. Ruby, acrobat that he was, hopped over the gazebo's balustrade with contemptuous ease and fluidly switched into a somersault which saw him gracefully cover the distance to one of the gazebo's benches and ended with him perfectly sat on it. He stretched lazily. Yang was more inclined to just kick one of the gaudy columns down to gain entrance, but she figured vandalizing school property would be a poor way to start her, surely, spotless academic career at Beacon, so she coolly slid over the balustrade, holding and pivoting her body on one arm, and casually strolled over to sit by Ruby.
They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Yang spoke up, "So, whatcha think of Blake?"
Ruby twirled Crescent Rose once, he'd been fiddling with it, and holstered it before looking up to his sister, "Hmm, she's pretty cool. A real enigmatic badass type, y'know? I, uh, didn't start off on the best foot with her, but I think we're cool now." He mumbled and looked away sheepishly.
Yang's comfortable grin turned predatory and she punched his shoulder lightly, the impact flared dimly with Aura, "What did you do, Rubes?"
"I didn't do anything! And, quite frankly, dear sister, I resent the accusation!"
Yang quirked an eyebrow and her smile fell into a condescending little smirk.
"She asked me if I was a guy! So I-"
Yang snickered but tried to keep her face composed, it kind of worked.
Ruby glared at Yang and punched her arm, she didn't seem to notice, "YANG! You asked me what I did! Ugh! Why did you ask if you don't even care!?" Ruby's voice cracked.
"Ahahahaha, I-haha-I'm sorry-ha-sis." Ruby unleashed a few more punches while Yang laughed into her hand. "Go-hahaha-go on!"
"You. Are the. Worst!" Ruby pouted and slouched, looking away from Yang.
"Ahaha, eh-ahem- hehe… I-I'm so-heh-sorry." Yang definitely didn't sound sorry as she managed to get her laughing attack under control. When Ruby hadn't responded after a few seconds Yang frowned. Ah, I might have messed up. Ruby's perceived masculinity, or lack thereof, had popped up a few times before, most of his life he hadn't seemed to notice or care, but recently he had started making a bigger deal about it. Yang guessed it was related to puberty. I could tell him it's the hair, but if he trimmed that beautiful mess of silky scarlet locks down to a buzz cut or something I think it would kill a piece of my soul. Yang slid over to Ruby and put a loose arm around him. He didn't acknowledge her, but he didn't try to stop her either, Yang counted that as a victory. Yang started idly playing with Ruby's hair, twisting little curls and softly combing through it with her fingers, he tensed a little at first, perhaps expecting a noogie, but steadily relaxed into it over the course of a few minutes. "Still mad at me, little brother?" Yang asked softly, not breaking the combing rhythm she'd built up.
Ruby sighed lightly, "No." The silence returned for another little while, "I wish Dad was here to see us." He said, softly but steadily.
Yang kept her rhythm, "Me too, Ruby. Me too." She hummed and pulled him a little closer, "He would be so proud of you." She said, warmly and firmly.
He leaned into her side, "Thanks." He sounded like he was tearing up a little bit. Yang didn't look and kept combing his hair. "He'd be really proud of you too."
Yang closed her eyes slowly and took a steady breath, but she kept messing with his hair without interruption. "I hope so." She quietly sighed.
"I'm proud of you." Ruby spoke with the total confidence of innocent adoration.
Yang's breath hitched, "Ah-Ruby…" She looked down at him with the kind of honest, vulnerable eyes she'd rarely ever shown him, and never shown anyone else. Her hand kept tussling his hair by habit.
Ruby met her gaze with those impenetrable but ever-so-kind silver mirrors of his, "You've always been here for me, even when Mom wasn't." He flushed in embarrassment and looked away from her eyes, leaning into her side, "Thanks for being my sister, Yang. I love you." He mumbled into his sister's side, face as red as his cape.
Yang blinked away a few tears and wrapped her little brother into a tight hug, she had to swallow a few times before she could speak, "I love you too, Ruby. Thank you for being my brother." They held each other for a long time, enjoying that ever elusive treasure, pure, undisguised love. Eventually, Yang ruffled Ruby's hair and planted a happy kiss on his brow before leaning back enough from the hug to see his still rose-red face. She smiled, "As long as you're with me I'll always Ru-be okay!" she giggled at her pun.
"Yang!" Ruby groaned dramatically before giggling along with her and snuggling back into the hug.
They stayed there, smiling and laughing, for a long time.
Chapter 12
Beacon never fails to impress, Summer Rose thought, staring out the ship window. She'd been wasting time with some scroll game that Ruby had forced her to download, and Gods if her pitiful ability with it didn't make her feel old, so she'd been surprised to find her flight almost over; she'd have to thank Ruby for the game, she hated the flight from Vale to Beacon.
She stretched languidly and looked to observe the other passengers while waiting for the ship to land. They were all what she'd expected, friends and family of Beacon's new freshman class arriving for the induction ceremony the coming evening. A third of the parents seemed to be civilians, a much higher ratio than she expected, she'd be very surprised if a third of the freshmen were first generation huntsmen. The civilians were, of course, all huddled on one side, away from the brightly colored and occasionally boisterous huntsmen and huntresses with all manner of nasty weapons hanging off them. Summer examined the mass of civilians with quick, precise, and rhythmic glances, first to a face, the eyes, the brow, the mouth, then the shoulders, the hands, the knees, she picked each one apart like a frog under a dissector, she listened easily to the hum of their conversation, subdued and regularly halted by the periodic shouts of the huntsmen, and found only tense and artificial topics. No one noticed her inspection. Not for the first time in her life, Summer wondered what it was like to be a civilian, not for the last time she brushed the thought away. Like wondering how different your life would be if you had been born the opposite sex, it was irrelevant to reality and impossibly broad to meaningfully imagine.
Eventually the ramp was lowered and the passengers disembarked. The Sun was low over the water, painting the sky with an uncapturable spectrum of reds and oranges that were clearly reflected by the placid sea and only broken by a few flights of geese. Summer was tempted to take a dive, but ascending the several hundred meters of cliff face would be a pain. Jeez, I think like such an old woman now. Lamenting her lost youth, Summer Rose meandered away from the large crowd of family and friends that an uncharacteristically upbeat Glynda Goodwitch was addressing. Summer could tell she hated it, but taking Glynda out of her comfort zone seemed to be the main way Ozpin got his kicks. Their eyes met for a moment and she took the opportunity to wink at Glynda and give her a big, goofy thumbs-up. Summer felt she'd always shared Ozpin's sense of humor. Glynda almost rolled her eyes, caught herself, and focused back on the crowd.
A few minutes later saw Summer Rose strolling from bush to tree, always staying in the evening's long shadows, as she approached the central tower of Beacon. A casual observer from almost any angle would simply see a young woman walking in the shade, but Summer was making sure that any potential observers she detected never had the chance to lay eyes or Aura on her. There was a single guard stationed at the base of the tower's only entrance, a bored upperclassman by Summer's estimation, who probably drew the short straw while the rest of his team went to Vale to drink or see a movie and get away from commotion of freshman initiation. She kept up her approach, staying concealed until her Aura informed her he wasn't looking her way, and took advantage of the brief moments of direct sight she got on him to study his eyes, his blinking tendencies, where his gaze went and how long it lingered. He seemed tired and bored. Summer applied a little extra Aura to her hand and pushed forcibly on the last tree between her and her destination without breaking her stride, a quiet shiver went up the tree, as if it alone had been struck by particularly strong gust of wind, and a red songbird went flitting from the tree, right in front of the guard, leading his gaze opposite of Summer's approach. She walked past him just as casually as she had approached, and went just as unseen.
No one was within so Summer made her way to the waiting elevator. Inside she pressed a hand against the hard plastic of the scanner and simultaneously presented both her eyes to the camera above it, the security system chirped its approval and the elevator doors closed. Summer leaned against the polished silver wall opposite the door and pocketed her hands, "Take me to the bastard," she said simply. The elevator immediately whirred into action and Summer lifted her head in surprise, "Holy shi- that worked? Forget about the Grimm, this is the scary stuff in the world. Y'hear me elevator? I've got my eyes on you." She glared at the retinal scanner. There was no response. She stubbornly held her glare, steadily narrowing her eyes into a more and more menacing expression while tensing her muscles and calling upon more of her aura until… ding! Summer smiled in triumph, until the doors opened and she realized that the sound had not, in fact, been an admission of defeat from the elevator's AI or whatever.
"I suppose you'll want me to install stairs?" The gray-haired fox intoned sarcastically from behind his desk, the last rays of the evening Sun striking the left of his face, revealing a soft, indulgent smile and an honest eye sparkling in amusement, while his right side was cast in impenetrable shadow.
"Just take the brain out of your elevator. And put your office on the ground floor while you're at." Summer walked over to stand in front of the desk, he motioned for her to sit, she did not.
"Talking like that it's no wonder the elevator doesn't like you." Ozpin raised his eyebrows in mock admonishment.
"Oz…" Summer sighed.
Ozpin regarded her for a long moment, looking up into her silver eyes like he was searching for something, when he didn't find it he frowned, "I thought it was too much to expect, but I had hoped you'd changed your mind." He looked to the setting Sun and hummed so softly even Summer's superhuman ears barely picked it up, "I'll take care of them as well as I can any of my students, but I can't promise they'll be safe."
Summer scoffed, "I know you can't. But, if you get my son killed I'll take my chances with Raven."
Ozpin, still facing the west window, nodded as to himself. He turned back to Summer and met her twin silver mirrors with his own simple brown eyes, they held a depth of intensity which Summer knew she could never match, she considered that more of a blessing. "It would be much, much easier if I could have your help, Summer."
Summer frowned, "I don't want to have this argument again, Old Man. Whatever you thought I am, whatever you might still think I am, I'm not. I'm a mother that happens to be a huntress. That's it. I don't want to be anything else."
"I understand, truly, and I don't want you to be anything else. Qrow hasn't had to change a bit to-"
"Don't you dare try to use him against me!" Summer roared even as her Aura flared, the heavy metal chair beside her creaked and was pushed away.
"Summer. Please. Just teach a class or two, I'm sure your children would be overjoyed and you could do them, and all the other students here, a lot of good just sharing some of your experience. Whatever you think of me and what I'm trying to do, I promise you that you can still have a meaningful, positive impact while staying away from the rest of it." He met her furious expression with his own increasingly sad one, his voice ever softening. "If you go back to that house it will drive you mad with how empty it is, don't do that to yourself. I promise you it's no way to live."
Summer clenched her fists and took a ragged breath, "There really isn't any justice, is there?"
Ozpin smiled humorlessly, "There isn't."
Seeing him sitting there, smirking sardonically, his ridiculous glasses looking like they could fall off his nose at any moment, messy silver hair as confused and eccentric as the rest of him, Summer had never been so incensed by a person her whole life. Yet even this boiling rage, which flooded her limbs so as to make them shake and lit her mind alight so as to almost render her senseless, was nothing compared to what she'd once felt about him. This rage was bitter, impotent, the kind of anger that was aimless and choked by its owner so it was like a dying, rabid animal, thrashing at its own weakness and only dangerous if you were foolish enough to stick your hand in its mouth. It lacked that black, freezing, and solid spine of hatred to anchor and animate it. Summer had left hatred behind a long time ago, it was too heavy and she was too tired to carry it, but, sometimes, she missed its comforting weight. "Fine. I'll play teacher for you, but don't get ahead of yourself. If you send Qrow to 'talk to me,' or anything like that, I'll end it right then and there."
"You have my word. I'll have Glynda send you details in the next few days." He looked down to his watch, which was strange considering that, by Summer's count, there were no fewer than a dozen clocks embedded throughout every conceivable part of the room. "Well, I do believe I have an induction ceremony to prepare for, and no doubt your children are waiting for you." He smiled brightly and stood, "It really is good to see you again, Summer."
I wish I could say the feeling is mutual. Summer held herself back from such a childish retort and turned away from Ozpin, strolling back to the elevator. Just before she entered it, she stopped. She looked at the waiting machine with distrust and hummed in consideration, then, with a shrug, she stuck her head in, "Hey, metal box, go up a floor." The elevator ding-ed in acknowledgment and Summer retracted her head from the closing doors. When she heard the elevator settle down on the floor above she rolled her shoulders and set her hands at the seams of the closed doors, and, with a little Aura, she forced them open with an awful whirrgr-gr-gr-grk.
"Summer, what are you-?" She heard Ozpin ask behind her, and without warning she dove through the doors into the open elevator shaft, "Any damage is coming out of your paycheck!" She heard echo past her.
The induction ceremony, Weiss had been surprised to see, was conducted with little more pomp than the civilian school graduations she'd seen in movies. Winter's induction into Atlas had been quite the spectacle: a parade of the students in their cadet uniforms, oaths and vows, speeches from senior officers of the military, a stereotypically Atlesian ceremony, Weiss supposed. By the same measure, I suppose a perfunctory speech from the headmaster and an announcement and acknowledgment for each new team on the stage from a crowd of over-excited family and bored students may be stereotypically Valean. In truth, the lack of ceremony suited Weiss just fine, she was more than ready to get down to the hard work of becoming a fully realized huntress, and one step closer to taking the Schnee dynasty out of the hands of her foolish father and into the hands of one worthy of it, namely, her hands. All the same, the homesick patriot in her was pleased with the knowledge that the snowswept Fatherland could certainly not be outdone by Vale in terms of spectacle.
What most certainly did not please her, however, was the selection of Ruby Rose as her leader. It's one thing to be on a team with the little brat, but I'm suppose to take orders from him!? Weiss could hardly contain her consternation. It was truly beyond her; she had seen nothing from the boy to indicate some special leadership ability, and certainly nothing to justify her being lead by him, How galling. She thought, miserably. Demeaning and clearly improper as it was, she had resolved to bear with it for the time being. Not so much out of a willingness to give Ruby the benefit of the doubt as out of the surety that he would inevitably screw up in a big enough way to get him relieved of the position. She didn't want the boy to fail, but she simply could not accept being subordinate to the likes of him.
Shaking herself from the feelings of frustration and confusion that she was coming to believe her tenure at Beacon would make her well acquainted with, she turned her attention to her strolling companion, Blake Belladonna. "So, Blake…" the taller girl didn't turn to look at her and the conversation withered on Weiss' tongue before it could begin. Cursing internally, Weiss searched her mind for some kind of conversation starter, desperate to break the rather awkward silence that had descended upon them, I know some people are reserved but this is ridiculous! We just found out we're going to be spending the next four years of our lives together, work with me here, Blake! Weiss begged mentally. "Ah! You, that is, your bow! Is rather stylish, fashionable, and so forth… It really… ties together your outfit!" Did I just accidentally make a pun? "… I like it!" She finished lamely, looking up at Blake with faux enthusiasm. After a few moments of studious non-response from her would be interlocutor, Weiss turned her gaze to the floor, I really do think the bow is cute… She thought, glumly.
"...thank you." Came a whisper like a twig breaking on a silent night.
Weiss turned to look at Blake with ferocious surprise, eyes gleaming with hope and ponytail flying like a whip. Finding the girl still staring straight ahead and stone-faced as ever, Weiss' joy was dampered, but a small smile still found its way to her face, "You're very welcome, Blake. Perhaps we could go shopping for clothes in Vale proper at some point, only if you'd like, of course!" Weiss, ever the ambitious one, pressed her advantage.
perhaps." Blake replied after several steps, and Weiss cried triumph in her mind. Small steps conquer great mountains. She remembered her grandfather often saying.
Now content with the state of affairs, Weiss allowed silence to descend once more, a much more comfortable one this time.
For her, at least.
Several minutes later, the monochrome pair found themselves at the rendezvous point appointed by the sibling pair of their team: a clearing emerging almost magically from the labyrinthine tangle of shrubbery and trees that composed the sprawling gardens around the central campus of Beacon. An ornate gazebo dominated the clearing; therein, Ruby, Yang, and some woman unmistakably related to Ruby were sat and chatting away happily. Weiss had hardly taken one step into the clearing before Ruby's head snapped over and a million-lien smile split his face. She rolled her eyes as the boy stood and waved them over with a frankly ridiculous amount of enthusiasm, "How can he be so childish? I really don't envy you being paired with that dolt, Blake!" She said with a huff as she marched off to the gazebo, Aura-sensing Blake trailing behind with a forced casualness that Weiss was not perceptive enough to recognize as put on.
Had she felt comfortable enough to speak her mind, Blake might have shook her head and said something to the effect of, "You hardly seem the least bit more mature than him, yourself."
As they approached the gazebo, Weiss took a better look at the trio. Ruby was, of course, all smiles, and looking rapidly between Yang, the other woman, Blake, and Weiss herself while yapping to both groups with a rapidity that Weiss was already becoming quite proficient in ignoring after only having known the boy for around thirty-six hours. Yang seemed herself an unparalleled master in the art of ignoring Ruby, throwing noncommittal responses to the boy with a practiced rhythm as she gave a warm, but clearly measured, smile and wave to Weiss and Blake. Weiss paid considerably more attention to the older woman, Late thirties, perhaps forty?, Weiss considered. It was always hard to tell with seasoned huntsmen and huntresses, masters of Aura as they were, and this woman was most certainly a powerful huntress, anyone with even a fifth of Weiss' combat training and Aura mastery would be able to tell that in a heartbeat. She sat with a poise that was almost ethereal, as if she could just as easily vanish suddenly, stretch languidly, or strike to kill in a fraction of a moment. Her Aura was totally serene, like a frozen lake surface on a clear winter day, and gave away nothing at all of her feelings or intentions; had she not seen the woman sitting plainly in front of her, Weiss doubted she would have ever been able to sense the woman's Aura with her own. She wore a cape much like Ruby's, though white on the exterior, and just as with him it didn't so much drape over her as follow its mistress harmoniously, like a second skin. Also like Ruby's it was clearly infused with Dust. Her expression was the picture of maternal patience and warmth as she nodded along politely to Ruby's exuberant and exorbitant account of, seemingly, everything that had happened in the last day and a half, but Weiss could tell there was something off about it, Forced, perhaps? Put on?, Weiss considered. It wasn't much, but, seeing how perfectly inscrutable everything else about her was, it stood out like a Grimm at a wedding. "Good evening, Weiss, Blake, my little blabbermouths here have told me quite a lot about you two. I would say I hope they haven't been too much trouble, but I know better!" She chuckled with a demure smile, easily cutting through Ruby's prattle. Yang rolled her eyes good-naturedly and provided an indulgent smile. Ruby interjected with a cry of embarrassed indignation, cheeks flushed and eyes flitting between the woman and Weiss and Blake, but he remained silent. Weiss noted how easily the woman took command of the situation. Despite their reactions, Ruby and Yang clearly respected and deferred to her, "I'm Yang and Ruby's mother, Summer Rose. A pleasure to meet you two." She inclined her head courteously.
The pleasure is certainly mine, madam. Weiss Schnee, at your service." Weiss replied with a simple curtsy, Mother? Certainly in Ruby's case… Is Yang adopted? Her step-mother perhaps? A complicated family situation. I can relate, but it's one more annoyance to navigate with these two. Gods, please let Blake be normal. Weiss silently pleaded in her mind.
"Blake Belladonna, ma'am." Blake greeted evenly.
Blake Belladonna was fighting every instinct in her body telling her to run. Grimm were one thing, huntsmen- and huntresses-in-training were one thing, even fully fledged huntresses were one thing but this woman was something else altogether. Blake had met huntsmen and huntresses a few times in the wilderness, out on their own missions. They had never bothered Blake or her comrades when she had encountered them, but she had heard of times they had. Reports and stories like those had never been pretty. Now, away from the Fang and Adam, Blake wondered if some of those stories had been exaggerated, to sow fear and hatred against huntsmen and prevent White Fang members from idolizing them or seeing them as potential allies, If that was the intention… it certainly didn't work in my case. Even so, she had never seriously doubted what violence a master of Aura could unleash, and now, having met several professors at Beacon and having been packed into the school auditorium with over a hundred huntsmen and huntress parents at the induction ceremony, her own Aura and instincts screaming and commanding her to flee all along the way, Blake could be confident her intuition had been spot on. And none of them were quite what the woman before her was.
Summer Rose was… different. Something about her commanded attention in some subtle way. Blake found herself focusing on every twitch of her lips as she spoke, she was constantly aware of what her silver eyes were gazing at, every movement, no matter how small or even imagined, Blake was acutely aware of. Certainly this woman was powerful, but there was more to it than that. Oddly, Blake found herself less intimidated by her than any other human huntress she'd ever met, and that terrified her. By all rights she should have been the most intimidating, perhaps aside from Headmaster Ozpin, but the fact that she wasn't set off all kinds of alarm bells, A semblance, perhaps? Just the expert application of an incredibly powerful Aura? Blake wasn't sure.
As the conversation went along, mostly perfunctory niceties and motherly anecdotes Blake could easily imagine her own mother breaking out to tease and embarrass her in front of her friends, she found herself thankful that she had clearly been placed into the: reserved, aloof, introverted category in the minds of those around her. Topics flowed around her like she was a rock jutting from the center of a stream, only occasionally a little wave splashing over her: Q: What have you thought about Beacon so far, Blake? A: It's been very educational. Q: Where are you from? A: A little town in Mistral. Simple enough to pass through with half-truths; she had learned a lot so far, namely that her life was clearly the butt of some cosmic joke, and she had spent many years in Mistral. As this pattern repeated she tried to relax and unravel the mysteries of Summer Rose. The latter she had no luck at, but the former she found surprisingly easy. She certainly wouldn't call herself relaxed as such, but fight-or-flight had been brought down to just a general wariness and anxiety. She found herself able to consciously think about things other than where to dodge or how to parry if one or all of those around her suddenly attacked, something she found rather novel, If I stay wound this tight I'll be getting gray hairs in a week.
After ten or so minutes the talk seemed to wind down, clearly no one had much more to say and everyone was feeling rather relieved and fatigued after the emotionally, and for the students, physically draining last couple of days. Attention turned to evening plans; Summer, Yang, and Ruby were going to some restaurant in Vale and Blake and Weiss were invited. Blake had politely declined, of course, and Ruby had quickly turned his needling to Weiss as Summer looked on with amusement and Yang threw in the occasional friendly jab at Ruby's expense. Blake found herself drifting away from the chatter and looking to the western horizon where the Sun was just low enough to start casting hues of orange in the sky, she idly mused that this was, more or less, the furthest west she'd ever been, and wondered if she might ever make it to Vacuo, I'm sure I'll get exiled or something within the year and have to run off to Vacuo to start my life over again. Maybe I'll be able to travel the whole world one life ruining decision after another.
"Oh, Blake, I meant to say earlier, I love your bow, it's adorable!" For a moment, Blake thought she was dead. It was like she blacked out, short-circuited, like she fell out of time and might have stood there dumbly for a tenth of a second or her whole life. At that moment, Blake understood what it meant to be frozen with fear.
Rational thought returned slowly, "We-...I...Th-"
"Oh that's true! As expected, my partner is powerful and fashionable! Maybe I should consider bows… But wouldn't that be kinda girly…?" Ruby's attention to her bow smothered Blake's recovering mental composure in its crib.
"You know I have been meaning to ask about that bow, Blake, it's pretty bold. Where did you get it? I might try something like it out, if I could find the perfect one…" Yang chimed in, sizing up Blake's bow.
"Aha! I already complimented Blake on her bow." Blake wanted to cry.
With everyone's attention on her, on her bow, her secret, Blake could do nothing. Aura and instinct, a lifetime of training, intellect, knowledge, and a relentlessly cynical and smartass mind were all for naught. Silence had hung in the air for just a tad too long, as if in slow motion Blake saw Yang and Weiss' inquisitive expressions start to morph into confusion as they awaited her answer, Ruby was in his own world, apparently in rigorous internal debate as to the stylish merit versus effeminate demerit of bows, and Summer was observing her with an expression of gentle affection. For all the world, Summer's countenance was unimpeachably warm and amiable, the very picture of maternal grace, as it had been since Blake laid eyes upon her, and yet… and yet… A sense of mortal fear had gripped her, completely beyond the mere anxiety that it had usurped.
Blake's senses were pushed to their limit, her body, her Aura, all that she was. It was as if her life and all that she knew was flashing before her eyes, as had only happened in a couple of her closest brushes with death. In a way so primal it couldn't even properly be called thought, Blake decided to subtly reach for Gambol Shroud. She had to know, if she were going to die either way, she had to know. The barest twitch of her muscles, and Blake saw it, simultaneous, perhaps even before the muscle activation, Blake saw it in Summer's eyes, death. The certainty entered Blake's mind, She's a hair away from killing me. And then something in her eyes changed, and Blake knew that Summer understood exactly what Blake was doing. She knows my secret. The revelation was incontestable in Blake's mind.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Blake, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that, Gods know I wouldn't want my new friends' mother suddenly picking apart my outfit, will you forgive me?" Summer's voice cracked Blake's frozen world and plunged her into frozen waters, she shivered and suddenly felt very tired.
"I- Of course… ma'am, no offense taken. I'm just… tired." Blake said and meant it.
Yang looked at her, half-sheepish, half-sympathetic, "Yeah, I'm sure we're all beat right now, haha."
Weiss sniffed imperiously, "Speak for yourself, I could have taken ten times the Grimm." Then she looked to Blake, adopting what appeared to be her poor imitation of Summer's kind, matronly persona, "But, I'm sure anyone would be overwhelmed doing so much fighting and socializing with strangers without a break." Weiss nodded, as if sagely, and Blake thought the somewhat patronizing affirmation was rather diminished by the childish boast that had immediately preceded it.
Ruby inclined his head gravely, "Yeah." He said, clearly having no idea what was going on.
Summer smiled indulgently and rose from her seat, striding past the children and out of the gazebo in one motion, a fearsome grace that made Blake feel even more exhausted. "Yang, Ruby, say goodbye to your friends. I'll be waiting at the landing pads."
Yang rolled her eyes, "Mom, I'm seventeen, not seven, you don't have to tell me how to talk to people."
Without breaking stride or turning her head, Summer called back, "Don't roll your eyes at me young lady." A heatless reproach that sounded very well used.
They all quickly said their goodbyes, and, though Weiss and Yang were clearly curious as to the cause of Blake's discomfort, she was relieved to see they seemed mostly sated by assuming she was simply anti-social and overwhelmed by Summer's presence, Which… isn't entirely wrong, honestly. Blake had to admit, if only to herself.
So, what now? She considered to herself as Weiss, Yang, and Ruby disappeared into the hedges, Ruby's boisterous blabbering fading steadily, punctuated occasionally by a bark of laughter from Yang. Blake turned her face back to the west, the Sun just a hair's breadth above the horizon. She exhaled quietly and stretched, resting her elbows on the gazebo fence and soaking in the sunshine. She was surprised by how calm she was. Summer knew. As far as Blake knew she might have already told Ozpin and someone could be on their way to arrest her right now. Maybe the scandal of a White Fang member infiltrating Beacon would be too embarrassing to admit, they might just execute me right here and claim I disappeared. Who would even care? Mom and Dad probably already think I'm dead… if they think of me at all. As for Adam and my 'Brothers and Sisters…' Blake blew a strand of hair out of her face and laid her head down on her arms. I could just run now. And where would I go? Menagerie? How? By myself? With no money, no allies, wanted by the Fang and the humans? I might as well just dig a hole and give Gambol strong a long, deep kiss and save some Grimm the trouble. A drop of water hit her arm, and Blake realized she was crying. I should have just taken all the money I could find and rented a ship back to Menagerie. I could be at home right now eating dinner, mom's stuffed salmon maybe or dad's barbecued meat. For a moment Blake was there, the smells, the tastes, the cool evening breeze coming through the open windows from the sea, her parents asking her about her studies, it was like she'd never left. The moment passed.
"I thought you'd still be here." Summer said simply somewhere behind Blake.
Blake didn't react, but three thoughts ran through her mind, I should run. I should fight. I should give up. She would never outrun Summer, that was plain enough. Fighting would be a generous description of what would no doubt be more fairly termed a slaughter. And as to giving up…
Blake thought about it. Everything she had done in her whole life had been selfish; running away from home, joining Adam's faction, rising through the ranks, running away from Adam, convincing herself she could make it as a huntress, it had all been her playing at hero and rebel. Her whole life she had wanted to be a leader and a fighter, a revolutionary leading the faunus into a new age. All the delusions of a child, she understood now. Every time she had come up against something difficult that intruded on her perfect little illusion she had simply run. Her parent's conservatism and Adam's violent radicalism both. Once, she had told herself that was all because she was an idealist, I'm simply too pure for this world. She had been telling herself.
But not anymore. Blake was tired. Just… tired. Tired of running nowhere, tired of fighting for nothing, tired of killing for reasons she didn't agree with, tired of stealing to get by, tired of hiding just to survive, tired of living an empty life.
Blake closed her eyes, felt the Sun on her face, memorized the feeling. After a long moment she sighed and opened her eyes, the Sun was touching the horizon. She turned to face Summer.
The huntress was leaning against a column at the entrance of the gazebo, looking past Blake at the sunset, "It's a beautiful view." She said.
Blake decided. She drew Gambol Shroud and fell into a ready stance, "I won't go alive." She felt a sense of zen. Having made a life out of bad decisions, Blake decided to stick to one. She had come to Beacon to be a huntress and she would either leave one, or she wouldn't leave at all.
Summer didn't react, Blake hadn't expected her to, "It's a good stance, practical, spartan, it doesn't fit you though. Your Aura is screaming out for more elegance, some humor wouldn't go amiss either."
Blake didn't respond, she wasn't so green as to be distracted by her opponent's words. She kept her eyes on Summer's feet, ready for the slightest movement that would signal an attack.
"How many people have you killed, Blake?" Summer asked, turning her gaze back to the sunset.
The distant chirping of a bird was the only sound for a long while. Blake was having to fight down the rising hope that Summer wasn't here to arrest or kill her. Keeping her voice even, she responded with the truth, "I… don't know."
Summer smiled sardonically, "Too many or too indirect?"
Blake maintained her even tone, "The latter. Lots of… bombs… and fires…" Blake found her throat constricting and drying, "I… with Gambol Shroud no-not many." A tear struck Gambol Shroud and ran down its blade.
"I'm sorry." Summer said softly, "Why did you kill them, Blake?"
Another tear hit Gambol Shroud, then another, and yet another, but Blake's stance did not falter and her eyes and Aura-sense did not stray from Summer for even an instant, "I-I, for free-" the vile justification of Adam's came to her lips unbidden and she choked it off with a sob, "I… I…" She didn't know what to say, so she quit trying. Speaking was starting to hurt her, anyway.
"Even in a thrown away world lousy with monsters we still make more for ourselves." Summer muttered under her breath, though certainly she would know that Blake's Aura-enhanced hearing would easily pick it up. At a normal volume, she continued, "Do you have any intention to harm Yang, Ruby, the students and staff of Beacon, or the people of Vale?"
"No. None." Blake responded instantly, hope blooming in her chest and mixing with her shame and fear in a mixture as hot and salty as her tears.
"Well, then, you have nothing to fear from me, little Miss Belladonna."
All the energy evaporated from Blake in an instant and she stumbled backwards, leaning against the railing and wiping her face with a handkerchief while gulping down air, Gambol Shroud idly finding its way back to its holster.
Summer observed Blake but said nothing, giving the confused, terrified girl a moment to put herself together, "I have to go soon to beat Ruby and Yang back to the landing pads. But…" Summer chewed on her lip for second.
Even as frazzled as she was, Blake noticed the action immediately, so uncharacteristically revealing compared to the Summer she had seen thus far.
"I don't know you, Blake. I don't know all that you've done or why, but I can promise you that you aren't the only person to have made bad decisions." Summer smiled sadly and Blake saw something painful and scary in those silver eyes of her, enough that Blake had to look away. Summer continued, "Not the only person to have killed and regretted it, given up on something, or maybe someone, important and run away, and not the only one to want to live on selfishly all the same. All I can tell you for certain is that it's not a crime to want to live, and that you can never escape your sins and regrets. There's no starting over, only changes in scenery." Summer looked around and Blake knew she was seeing something else, a different time, maybe a different place. "You can try to do better… or you can try to forget. I guess… well, no, never mind." Summer tittered, the act was so out of step with the atmosphere Blake actually took a double take. "Well, that's enough midlife crisis philosophy between strangers for one evening. I wish you goodnight, Blake Belladonna, if everything goes well we should be seeing more of each other in the future, my little brats in tow." Summer turned to leave.
Blake called after her, "H-how many other people know?" Blake hated how scared and desperate she sounded.
Summer turned back and observed Blake for a moment, getting a read of something, "That you're a faunus? Or former White Fang?" Blake made to respond but Summer cut her off, "Ah! Both, right? Well as to the former, every professional huntsman and half the upperclassmen who bothered to observe you for more than half a second." Blake cringed and a smirk played on Summer's face, "As to the latter, hmm, I can't say for sure, but that old gray fox in the henhouse, er, clock tower certainly knows more about you than you'd hope. As to anyone else, probably not. I'd encourage you not to worry about it but you wouldn't listen to me, which would be the smart move, for the record. All I can say is that Oz let you in for a reason, if you don't give him a reason to change his mind you won't have to worry about him or any of the staff coming after you on account of your past. Anything else? I'm going to have to run for real at this rate."
Blake hesitated for a second, "Um! How, did-"
"How did I know?" Summer interrupted, "I have an eye for these things." She said seriously, pointing at her deep silver eyes, "Well, that, and your whole attitude, fighting style, and emotional instability just screams 'former fanatic child soldier,' add in you're a faunus and I figured the Fang was a safe bet."
With that, Summer turned back and, in a flash, was gone. Blake caught just a shimmer of silver in the direction of the central academy grounds.
All alone, with night setting, Blake groaned and fell backwards, her Aura taking the impact with the wooden floor. She brought out her scroll, found the first seafood restaurant on campus, and placed an order for a random item on the menu.
She would go when it was ready. For now, she just wanted to lay, quiet and unthinking, in the dying light.