The city lights splashed the world with color, illuminating it seemingly from nothing.
There was a certain beauty to it, something unnatural and wonderful that couldn't be recreated without meeting the perfect conditions. The way that the black pavement changed colors under the neon lights above was almost like stars in the sky. The water that had been left behind by the summer rain streamed colors across the ground.
If not for the roar of a motorcycle's engine, there would have been an eery calm about the world.
Blake was the disturbance in that peace. It was the sound of her bike breaking through it all, and puddles splashed around her ankles and onto her boots as she sped through them.
It was rather late, and Blake was annoyed. Seriously annoyed. She was being called away from a night on the town with her friends for work reasons that she needed to attend to immediately (at least, that was what her editor claimed.) That was what had her speeding across the city of Atlas in hopes that she could get back to her apartment and get to work.
The call had been simple and it had played out everything that she could have ever needed to know: It was a starting point if anything else.
The news (although Blake suspected it ran much closer to a rumour): Jacques Schnee, CEO and Owner of SchneeCorp had been hospitalized under unknown circumstances.
All in all, it wasn't a lot to go on.
For the average person, that wouldn't have been news at all, it would have been a story about an old businessman being in poor health. Most people would gloss it over and only remember it if it somehow popped up in the evening news or if they read the required trade magazines where the story would get picked up. For the average person, Jacques Schnee's impact on their life was tangential at best.
But Blake Belladonna wasn't most people.
She'd been reporting almost exclusively on SchneeCorp and its holdings for close to three years now. Her life had carried her through factory floors and assembler positions, it had been enough to get her removed from press briefings, and it had been more than enough to put Blake in a position where the average member of SchneeCorp's upper management was happy to keep her at arm's length. Further if they could help it.
But that was the curse of the life that she'd chosen. Her life was as centrally tied to SchneeCorp as it was to anything else, and so any and all news about the company was something that she needed to be on top of. It was her job, and Blake was damn good at it.
At least, that was what her editor from The Fang said every time she sent in a new article.
With all likelihood, Blake suspected that this story was going to go any of three ways.
The first possibility was that Jacques Schnee was going to be released from care with nothing to report on and nothing wrong, there for some sort of elective procedure (Blake had serious doubts that plastic surgery wasn't something that the older Schnees used regularly).
The second, was that the story would turn out that he was just an old man in poor health and he would be back home soon enough and they would return to the status quo until the time of his retirement..
The third was that Jacques Schnee's condition would be poor, and that the old man would pass away.
As shitty as it was to think, there was a small part of Blake hoping for that third possibility. She didn't like Jacques Schnee, that was true. Blake thought that he was a horrible, evil man, and she generally wanted to see him specifically go out of business. That didn't mean that she was wishing death on the man.
No, Blake didn't want him to die. She just knew that the man's death would be the best for her career- it would give her the most to work on and the most to investigate.
Blake didn't particularly like how she felt when she thought about it in those terms, but it was what it was. Her life relied on whether or not she was going to be able to have a good story to put out into the world.
Already Blake had tunnel vision with regard to what she was going to have to do by the time she got home. The first thing that she was going to have to do was sit down and start making phone calls. Her main contact within SchneeCorp was a reliable man, but whether the man was going to be available so late at night was the big question that Blake had to ask. After that, Blake was going to have to hope for a doctor with loose morals and she'd have to cross her fingers and hope that one of the Schnees would be willing to answer her calls.
Blake wasn't counting on that point in particular. Jacques Schnee's oldest daughter Winter was the best bet, but the woman had chosen a military life and was notoriously hard to get ahold of as a side effect.
Blake managed to get back to her apartment, cold and annoyed. The building was silent, a testament to how late it was, and most of the lights had already gone down. Blake did her best to ignore it and made her way up to the door to her apartment. She already knew that her roommate wasn't going to be home- Yang had been the one to invite her out for the night in the first place.
If anything, the quiet was going to be something that Blake could take comfort in.
She kicked her boots off at the door and took the chance to slip out of her jacket as she made her way across the apartment and made her way into the room that she called hers. Her laptop was already there on the desk, waiting for her. Beside it there were piles of notebooks and sheets of paper that Blake had worked on in the past. The pinboard had a few articles that she was particularly proud of pinned up, but Blake pushed past them in search of her list of contacts.
Finding it, Blake took her seat and wriggled her laptop mouse. The screen came to life, and Blake went straight to her emails to see what had come in. As expected, there were already messages waiting for her from just about everyone that she worked with.
Blake clicked on one email in particular- it was from her editor, and read it over before opening up her Skychat to send the woman a message.
It was probably going to be a little bit before she heard back from the woman, but for now Blake was content to wait and see how things managed to pan out.
Blake picked up her phone and called the first name at the very top of her list of contacts in the hopes that the man she was trying to get ahold of was going to pick up and would be willing to share some details of the story with her.
The phone rang, but only managed to give a busy tone. Blake grimaced, and set the phone back down. She'd call the man back in an hour and hopes that he would be able to help her.
For now, Blake supposed that she was going to be able to poke around and see what sorts of stories came up that she could put to use.
"I love the dress, kid."
Weiss almost felt intimidating by the other woman who was staring down at her from behind a pair of sunglasses. For a moment she reminded herself that she wasn't always the worse dressed member of her trio of friends, despite the fact that it may have felt that way.
Of course there was a reason for that feeling- Coco Adel was the heiress to the Adel Garments fortune and Neptune Vasilias was never held to the same standards on account of sex and nothing else, and he still managed to dress well on top of that..
That wasn't something that Weiss minded so much, so she was sure to take a seat across from Coco. "I'm glad you like it." Weiss said, smiling sweetly at the other woman. "Have you heard from Neptune yet?"
"He's running late." Coco responded, removing her sunglasses and folding them before hanging them from the front of her shirt. "Something about traffic."
"Of course." Weiss said, hesitating as she slipped out of the jacket that she was wearing. It was just enough to make her more comfortable for the night, although when she was wearing a two hundred dollar dress that was next to impossible to do. Relaxation was impossible when father's money was involved. "How are you?"
"Fine." Coco said with a shrug, leaning back in her seat and looking all too cool for her own good. "I've been hoping that we'd be able to enjoy dinner and catch up without getting watched."
"I agree." Weiss sighed, resting her hands down in her lap. "I really needed the distraction tonight, I'm glad that you were happy to come out."
"I wasn't doing anything." Coco replied, smiling and reaching for her bag, from which she removed her phone. She checked it for only a moment before turning the thing off and setting it face-down on the table. Weiss wished that she could feel like she was able to go ahead and do that sort of thing, but it wasn't possible. "-And you needed me."
Coco had a better lot in life from her, regardless of whether or not Weiss was the one coming from the greater family fortune. Coco was given a free reign to do whatever she wanted. She'd managed to make a name for herself, and she'd done it without dipping into her family name too much. Internships at magazines and photo shoots had made Coco Adel a household name by her own merit. Really, Coco was admirable.
Weiss couldn't boast as much. She'd truly gotten by on her father's fortune for some time, as unhappy as it made her. Of course, that had managed to estrange herself from her family in some ways, but Weiss was used to that at this point in her life. The one that she wasn't able to be in contact with at all was Winter, and Winter had left on her own decision. Weiss truly admired her sister for that.
But still, the fact was that Weiss had spent her entire life on her father's leash.
"It's too kind of you, either way." Weiss said, setting her phone on the table as well, although she set it there face-up. "The news from home was..."
"I get it." Coco replied, shrugging. "When are you flying out?"
"First thing in the morning." Weiss said, calming down a little bit when she saw the familiar bob of blue hair approaching their table. "I haven't heard much from anyone, but..."
"Nobody blames you for it, Weiss." Coco said calmly as she turned her attention to Neptune.
Weiss had known Neptune for most of her life. The two of them had grown up together, going to the same schools and never growing apart all that much. He was a little bit of a dork, but neither Weiss nor Coco minded it so much. He was a ray of sunshine in their lives in a lot of way, with a group of just as fun friends that had come from different walks of life from their own.
"Hey," Neptune greeted them sheepishly before he took his seat. "We order yet?"
"Not yet." Weiss said, smiling up at her old friend. "Mostly just talking."
"Hey-" Neptune hesitated, taking the third seat at their table and reaching into his pocket to set down a small package that had clearly been wrapped hastily and topped off with two silk flowers. Weiss didn't have a single doubt in her mind that Neptune couldn't have afforded the real thing, but he liked things that lasted. It was one of those nice things about him that made Weiss think he was worth keeping around. "-Me and the guys decided we wanted to get you something. I know it's not much, considering everything but-"
Weiss smiled up at Neptune and took the small package, setting it down in front of her and feeling some great reluctance to go ahead and open it. She looked her friend in the eyes and nodded. "I appreciate it." Weiss said, keeping her voice quiet. "It's been hard ever since I got the news. You'll be sure to thank them for me?"
"No problem," Neptune laughed. "They're all glad to help. And so am I."
Weiss took the package and stowed it away in her bag. Maybe she would open it later when she felt like she really needed the pick me up. Right now, she was with Neptune and Coco because they were the ones that she always went to for help. They weren't vapid or bad people like the media said.
Really, the average person didn't see where they were coming with.
"Have you heard anything new?" Coco asked, looking over at Weiss. "About-"
"No." Weiss sighed, feeling a wave of worry flash over her. "Klein called, but he wasn't able to tell me much about what's going on. Whitley hasn't said anything to me and neither has mother, and Winter..."
"I'm sure she knows." Neptune said, shrugging. "She's smart, and she's with smart people."
"You're right." Weiss admitted, knowing that her voice was going a little too quiet. "The plan is that I'm flying straight to Atlas in the morning, and once I get there I don't know what I'm going to be able to do once I arrive other than… wait."
Coco reached over and Weiss smiled just slightly when she felt the other woman pat the back of her hand. It was a gentle, comforting thing, but it was really what she needed then. What Weiss wanted more than anyone else in that time was to be with people that loved her.
She had that in Coco and Neptune.
Weiss took a deep breath and decided to follow up on what she'd been saying. "Klein said that it sounded like it could have been a heart attack, but he didn't sound that confident about it." She shook her head and relaxed, even if it was just slightly. "We're hoping that it'll be a short stay and then he'll be out in no time."
Neptune stared her down with worry in his blue eyes. "And if it's not?"
That was the exact question that Weiss didn't want to have to confront, but it made sense that it was one that was asked of her. "If it's not, then I'll have to step up and become the new CEO of SchneeCorp."
Saying it out loud only made it scarier to think about, Weiss realized. Before it had just been something bouncing around in the back of her mind that she would have to confront later on. But that was a problem for later, right now Weiss was certain that what she needed to do was enjoy the time that she had in Vale while she still could. All of the bad things could come in the morning and she could confront them then.
It wasn't as though they weren't going to be just waiting for her the very second that she stepped off of the plane that she'd requested.
A waiter came by and offered them menus and suggestions for what to order, and Coco was all too happy to wave him off and buy them just a little bit more time alone. Weiss was sure that they were all going to end up ordering the night's special anyways, since that was what happened every time their trio went out together.
Once they were certain that they were alone again, Coco spoke. "Do you think you're ready for that if it's what it takes?"
Weiss froze up. She felt like there was some sort of icicle freezing itself over in her chest. To try and force herself to calm down and keep her composure together, Weiss laced her hands together in her lap and squeezed. "I have been thinking about it." She admitted calmly. "I've gone to school for business so hopefully that'll be enough, but..."
"No telling until you're there, right?" Neptune asked, his eyes wide and soft. "I'm sure you'll do great either way."
It wasn't the best reassurance in the world, but Weiss would take it. It was about the kindest thing that anyone could have said to her, and it was a fast reminder as to why she kept Neptune, whose family had more or less accidentally struck it rich around. He was one of the most honest people that she knew.
"Thank you, Neptune." Weiss said, sighing as she slid her menu in towards the center of their table to signify that she knew what she wanted. "It's just a lot to think about."
"We believe in you." Coco said, smiling and mirroring Weiss' actions. "If you need either of us, you can just ask and I doubt that either of us would mind flying up to Atlas. I know that I was planning to see the festivals once winter came-"
"Yeah!" Neptune added, grinning. "We can make a vacation out of it and have fun up there. Skiing maybe?"
It was optimistic, Weiss knew. They both were just looking for excuses that would mean that they would be able to come up and enjoy the city. She was certain that Neptune and Coco did genuinely want to be there for her, but it wouldn't have been the first time that they had planned a trip somewhere with more than a few ulterior motives in mind. They would be there for her, but if they were coming to Atlas they would enjoy it.
Weiss was sure that if things were as bad as she was worried they were, then Coco and Neptune wouldn't want to attend funerals or do whatever else was coming up in Weiss' future.
"I'm sure it'll be good either way." Weiss said finally, forcing on a reassuring expression and forcing her voice to get a little bit more gentle. "You two know me."
"I'm serious." Coco spoke up, and she stared Weiss down with so much intensity that Weiss almost wanted to shrink away as much as she could in an attempt to relax. "If you think that you need us for anything, just tell us. Your father's in the hospital, we'd be bad friends to just leave you alone with that, especially with..."
Coco didn't need to finish the sentence. All three of them knew perfectly well what was on the woman's mind and that was very much a bad thing.
The fact of the matter was that despite their squeaky clean image and what the world saw, the Schnee family was dysfunctional and not without its history of backstabbing, power plays, and just about anything else that someone could think of- adultery included. If they weren't wealthy Weiss was sure that they would have been considered trash the second that people found out about it.
But they were rich, and so things that should have been looked down upon became matters of family intrigue.
Weiss didn't even know how to think about what that meant most of the time.
It was good that she had people from the same world as her that did know what it all was really like. That was really all that Weiss could have ever hoped for.
"I'll be sure to call." Weiss said, forcing herself away from the train of thought as the waiter began to approach again. "Right now I think I just want to enjoy my time with you two and then I'll be sure to call when I land in Atlas in the morning. I wouldn't want for you two to worry."
"We're going to worry either way, you know that snow angel?" Neptune said, breaking out an old pet name that Weiss had never stopped hating. Once it had come with different associations to it, with certain intents that Weiss and Neptune agreed were best forgotten. Now it was just a term of endearment between two friends. "Your father's in the hospital, we're going to worry."
Weiss hesitated, because she knew full well that her friends were really just doing their best to be there for her at a difficult time. As hard as it may have felt to believe them, they were there for her. And Weiss loved them both for it.
"I know." She said, forcing a weak smile as their food was finally brought to them. "It just feels like so much." There was really no way to go ahead and explain what she was feeling, but Weiss wasn't going to hesitate so much. "You two dropped everything for me-"
"And we were happy to." Neptune sid, smiling so gently at her. "You needed us. What sort of friends would we be to let you go through all of this alone."
They were right. They were kind.
"I really can't thank you enough for this" Weiss said, smiling softly across the table at them.
"We're happy to be here, really." Coco reiterated as she pulled her food towards her. "But we should probably have dinner before you had back to your place so that you can pack."
"Do you want us to stay around and help you?" Neptune asked, leaning in slightly and poking at his dinner with his fork. "Because I'm not doing anything if you think you need it."
That was really too much, Weiss thought. The good thing was that she knew for a fact that she wasn't going to be giving up her apartment while she was away. There was no benefit to it. Really, Weiss was just intending to pack clothes and her toiletries before she slew out in the morning.
"I think I'll be fine." Weiss said, smiling. "Thank you, though."
"We're always here you if you need us." Neptune replied. "Just say the word and we'll be there."
Weiss smiled softly and nodded and finally began to enjoy her meal. Once it was over, the three of them stayed just a little longer than they needed to talk, but then Weiss was off to her apartment in the hopes that she could pack everything that she could everything that she would have ever needed for that time back in Atlas.