Team RWBY and JNPR trudged down the Mantle side street, gutters and sidewalks piled high with recently plowed snow, as they made their way towards the city center to board a bullhead back up to Atlas. The Faunus ghetto (and that was the nice term people used – some of the others she'd heard, especially from the people up in Atlas, made even Ruby want to deck someone in the face) didn't have the sort of support the other parts of Mantle had. Clearing the streets was more of a community effort, having only one motorized plow to clear the whole neighborhood. They were told that it could take days to clear the streets after a fresh snow compared to the mere hours it would take the rest of Mantle. Atlas, utilizing dust technology, could have their streets so spotless not even an hour after a blizzard that you couldn't tell it had snowed at all.
They were stuck in Atlas for the foreseeable future. After landing, Ironwood greeted them warmly and set them up at the academy – rooms for each team, access to the dining hall, and even encouraged them to participate in classes as they pleased. Ruby and Jaune were quick to take advantage of the leadership and tactics lectures while everyone else joined in for sparring classes. On that front, however, they had found they had outclassed the rest of their peers over the course of their travels. Only the senior students could keep pace and even then just barely. Put Yang in the ring and the match was so one-sided it was painful to watch.
So they found themselves with an abundance of free time. Ironwood allowed them to train alongside some of his specialists – sometimes even Weiss' sister, Winter – when they were available, but otherwise they were sitting on their hands. Qrow told them that they were in a holding pattern until he, Ironwood, and Ozpin (if he decided to show himself) decided what to do next. Ruby argued that they should be headed to Vacuo. The Relic of Knowledge was safe in the vault with the other relic and Atlas was geared up for any assault Salem could launch on it. Did Vacuo even know what was going on? Wouldn't it make more sense for Salem to go after the easier target, take Shade's relic, and then use that power to attack Atlas?
If they were going to be stuck here then they'd at least do some good. Blake wanted to see firsthand how bad things were for the Faunus in the dust mines. Using her Belladonna name, she was able to get in contact with one of the community leaders down in Mantle, a former foreman turned baker. They spoke many times by scroll over the course of a week and Blake was excited, so genuinely excited for the first time Ruby could recall since Beacon. Things were going really well according to Blake. She was even able to introduce Weiss to the man and they were so sure that Blake and Weiss, the daughters of the two symbols of both Faunus hope and Faunus hate, coming together with the Faunus of Mantle would make a real difference. They were finally able to set up a face-to-face meeting with the unofficial council of Faunus leadership in the ghetto.
It was a complete disaster. They met at a lodge near the center of the neighborhood. Weiss and Blake opted to go up to the room alone while the rest of them waited down below at the pub. It didn't take long for the shouting to start, curses and slurs just as bad as the ones she had heard up in Atlas. The baker ushered them back downstairs in short order, hateful cries chasing them all the way out of the inn. Weiss was fuming, biting back her rage. Blake just looked…beaten. The man offered heartfelt apologies, assuring them that he'd speak with his compatriots and make things right. Yang's sharp red eyes showed just how ready she was to "make things right" then and there, and Nora looked eager to help.
That could have gone better… Ruby thought sadly. Flanked by her sister and Jaune, she stared after her teammates as they led them down the street. Weiss and Blake kept a fair distance ahead of the group. Weiss' rage had burned out, replaced by a sullen silence shared by Blake. The Faunus girl's shoulders were hunched, cat ears drooping. Neither said a word. Not even Yang could fix the mood, trying both optimistic reassurances and corny jokes, before eventually giving up and joining the rest in silence.
Ruby stared quietly at her friends' backs and puzzled over what she could do. She had caught some of the choice words the council had for Weiss, but they hurled even harsher abuse towards Blake. Ruby really felt out of her depth when it came to stuff like this. They hadn't really talked about it back at Beacon, after the fight with Roman at the docks. Weiss blew past all the talk and accepted Blake as she was. Blake was her friend, practically her sister, and Ruby didn't see how an extra set of ears factored into it. Why did people make it more complicated than that?
Ruby looked to her sister for help but Yang looked just as lost as she felt. Her eyes had lost their angry red hue but she still looked frustrated, bitterly chewing on her lip as she watched her partner sulk. Ruby glanced back to where Ren, Nora, and Oscar followed along. Nora offered her a reassuring smile, but both she and Oscar looked worried. Ren, as stoic as always, had his eyes cast down, deep in thought.
A hand landed on her shoulder and gave her a light jostle, snapping her out of her musings. Jaune looked down at her with a lopsided grin and presented Ruby with his solution – a large, perfectly rounded snowball. Ruby quirked an eyebrow at him as he forced it into her hands and quickly stepped away, stooping down to scoop up another large handful of snow. Packing it quickly and expertly, he leaned around Ruby to present it to Yang, who took it with a slowly growing grin on her face. Jaune ducked away one last time to gather up his own projectile before returning to Ruby's side.
Raising a finger to his lips in an exaggerated hushing motion, Jaune mouthed the countdown silently.
Three.
Ruby tested the heft of the snowball. Way bigger than she was used to, but she'd make the heavier ordinance work.
Two.
Jaune cocked his arm back and grinned sideways at his co-conspirators.
One!
They let their snowballs fly. Two found their targets, Weiss getting pelted squarely in the back while Blake took a shot to the shoulder. The third flew embarrassingly high and to the left, landing out in the street. Their victims came to a sudden stop and whipped their heads back in unison. Jaune immediately looked off to the side, whistling innocently. Yang folded her arms across her chest, smirking in triumph. Ruby, at least, tried to appear apologetic, giving Weiss her most sympathetic smile. Blake and Weiss glared daggers at the trio. Weiss' hand snapped to her rapier, eye twitching, as she opened her mouth to-
"From dooooowntoooooown!" Nora shouted, holding the last syllable as her own boulder of a snowball arced through the air and came crashing down on Weiss' head, dusting the livid heiress from the shoulders up.
Ruby and Yang burst into laughter, pointing at Weiss in glee as the girl shook in rage. Jaune ran a hand through his hair nervously as Oscar offered a whispered "nice shot" to Nora, who was smacking Ren in the arm in excitement. Ruby's laughter slowed to a wheeze and she elbowed Jaune cheerily in the side.
"How did you miss?!" she guffawed. "She's like right there!"
"Small target!" he cried indignantly. "I'd have an easier time hitting a poodle than-"
Jaune never saw the glyph appear beneath his feet but it was hard for him to miss the snow pile Weiss flung him face first into.
Ruby cackled gleefully as her friend tried to free himself. He was buried nearly down to his waist in the snow, upper body completely stuck as his legs fought to find traction on the slick pavement. Ruby couldn't hear his muffled cries for help over her own mirth. She also didn't notice the glyph appear beneath her feet. Before she could react, Ruby found herself buried right next to Jaune, legs flailing as her feet failed to reach the ground.
Yang immediately jumped back a step and knelt to pack herself a new snowball. Her eyes darted warily between Weiss and Blake, who was advancing slowly on her.
"Semblances are cheating!" Yang laughed, flinging a snowball at her partner.
The snowball passed right through as the clone vanished without a sound.
"Semblances are cheating!" Yang shrieked, voice rising in panic as she turned to run. Blake was already there waiting for her, dual wielding snowballs.
—
The combined efforts of Ren and Oscar freed him from his snowy prison and Jaune, in turn, pulled Ruby from hers. Cute (and hilarious) as it was, he fought the urge to snap a picture of her plight before helping her out. Though her reality-defying (and dream-denying) petticoat protected her unmentionables from the world, Jaune could imagine the beating he'd receive from Ruby's team if he even attempted it.
The battle waged for the better part of the afternoon. Alliances were forged and broken just as quickly as teams RWBY and JNPR fought in the street. New combatants joined the fray as neighborhood kids, drawn to the ruckus, came to play. The only respite to be found was when the battle had to be put on hold to allow cars to pass, huntsmen and Faunus children alike panting for breath on the sidewalks as they waited for the fight to be called back on.
Jaune slumped down against a nearby shop with a satisfied sigh as he watched the war slowly wind down. The afternoon reminded him of the food fight they had back at Beacon. He was nearly as helpless here as he was back then – seriously, the Schnee semblance was broken – but it brought a smile to his face all the same. He had spent most of the battle holed up behind an impromptu fort, making ammo for the neighborhood kids to keep up a steady barrage against anyone who came near. He watched now as those same kids were still going full tilt. Nora and Yang had one each on their shoulders as they grappled in the street. Blake was sitting on a curb and chatting with an older girl, probably a big sister ordered to make sure her younger siblings didn't get into too much trouble. Weiss, scion of the Schnee family and supposed enemy of all Faunus kind, was giving a pack of kids a ride on her summoned knight.
"Throwing in the towel, Vomit Boy?"
Jaune grunted at his best friend and scooted to the side to make room for her. Ruby shook the snow from her hair and slid down to take the spot next to him. She bumped shoulders playfully with him, so he bumped back. They went back and forth, gradually upping the force until they were nearly knocking each other over. With one final bump, Ruby let herself lean companionably against Jaune's shoulder.
"Thanks," she said, "For earlier. I think they really needed that. I needed that."
"No prob," he said. "Some people around here really suck."
"Some people really, really do," she agreed with a sigh. "Can it be Vacuo time now please?"
"I wish," Jaune laughed. He had agreed with her when she made her Vacuo argument when they first arrived in Atlas.
"Well!" Ruby squeaked, perking up a bit. "At least we've got a mission now!"
"Solving Human-Faunus relations with snowball fights?" he joked.
"Keeping Yang from killing someone when Blake and Weiss try to talk to those old jerks again," she corrected with a giggle.
"Think they're going to give it another go?" Jaune asked.
"Duh," she said, flicking a bit of snow at him. "And we'll be ready."
"With snowballs?" he asked with a grin.
"With snowballs," she agreed, leaning just a bit more into Jaune's side as they watched their friends play in the street.