A Moment's Pause

by DarthUtopia

How different would the life of Weiss Schnee, and of all her friends and allies at Beacon, have gone if but a moment longer had passed? Coincidences shape the futures of all much more than they would think.

It had already been a long day.

Weiss Schnee, proud heiress of the SDC, stepped from her private Bullhead onto the courtyard outside the prestigious Beacon Academy. With an impatient glance from her narrowed blue eyes, her father's staff began unloading her belongings, in particular the precious Dust that her status allowed her such a limitless supply of. She had arrived a minute later than the airship so as not to be disturbed too much by the crowds - she was undoubtedly of a higher class than most other soon-to-be students, and it wouldn't do to mix too much with them. By her design, the courtyard was nearly empty. How pleasing.

Her Scroll buzzed, the mark of her father's, or most likely his secretary's, persistence. He refused to accept the evidence as she had presented it; he would not acknowledge Beacon's edge over Atlas when it came to the quality of its graduates. She was sure that the question of distance, of how difficult it would be to influence her from another continent, had barely crossed his mind. Dismissing the message with a nonchalant flick, she continued to gaze at the cases of Dust as they made their way onto trolleys.

She paused for but a moment to collect herself and gather her thoughts. Whatever people thought of her, she had to make a proper and businesslike first impression. The scowl on her face gave her away, however, and one of the staff stopped in his tracks, gazing back at her with a concerned but strangely amused expression.

A thud brought her back to reality. Her staff cursed as they wheeled their trollies around - what was that? An apparently unconscious, or at least unresponsive, girl lay across the floor, sobbing slightly. Standards had clearly slipped; Winter would no doubt be shocked. Why would Beacon accept such children? She repressed her sighs one last time, ignoring the girl and instead stalking ahead to the main hall.

Narrowly avoiding an explosion in more ways than one, Ruby Rose picked herself up, staring forlornly around the deserted plaza for just a glimpse of a friendly face.