A biting chill blew through the Kingdom of Vale, the remnants of a week-long blizzard dropping down on the buildings blanketed in white. The townsfolk were wrapped in heavy coats, long scarves and warm hats as they walked through the Market Quarter, buying food and decorations as Renewal drew closer. Bright, colorful lights hung from streetlights and gutters, pine trees tied to the tops of cars stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, the echoing of an annoyed man's bell rang through the air as he asked for donations with a bucket of Lien. "Come on, folks! Give a coin and help out the less fortunate!" he shouted out, before saying "And so I can go home" under his breath. He soon heard the clink of Lien coins and looked to see a young woman in front of him.
The woman stood close to his height, aided by her dark brown high-heeled boots She was dressed in a long white jacket, dark brown pants and a long green scarf around her neck, draping over the back of one of her shoulders, a silver fur cap atop her head and covering her ears. The annoyed donation collector was looking into her hazel eyes, seeing her warm smile, her caramel-colored skin slightly visible under the streetlights.
"Happy Renewal!" she said cheerfully, giving a friendly wave to the collector. He let out a long sigh, a cloud of cold breath billowing from his mouth. "Hey, cheer up! It's a time of giving and helping out! This is goin' to charity right? Act like it, you grump." she said with a laugh, wrapping her arm around his back and giving him a quick squeeze. The man looked at her with a puzzled expression, the woman chuckling and moving her hand away. "And speaking of helping," the scarfed woman continued, circling around the collector carefully so as not to trip on her long neckwear. "I'm looking for this bookstore that a friend of mine recommended, I think it was Tukson's Book Trade. You know the way?" she asked, the man reaching up just underneath his hat to scratch his forehead.
"Head three blocks down the road and turn right, it's next to the coffee shop; you can't miss it." he said, the woman smiling and walking off with another wave of her hand. As she walked, she heard a low chuckle from a nearby alley, stopping and turning to see a young man in a black pilot's jacket with a white fur collar, matching black pants, boots and neatly combed silver hair with black roots. "Of all the people in this posh, stuck up town… You mark some poor sap asking for charity." he said with a smirk. She pulled the wallet out of her pocket, softly digging through its belongings without looking up at him. "Charity is kind of pointless, why give money to people who don't get anything useful?" She said, the man softly tucking his hands into his pockets to keep his bare hands warm. "Like what?"
"Seeing how much I can bribe you to stop being a smartass with me." she said, the man rolling his eyes. "You haven't got enough Lien in the world, Emerald. Anyway, you wouldn't be a 'master thief' if you didn't have me as a lookout." he said, Emerald pocketing money from the pouch and pointing it at him. "Mercury, If I give you 20 Lien, will you give me five minutes of silence?" Emerald asked, the man shaking his head as they turned the block. "If you gave me 35 we might be onto something." he offered, Emerald sighing and pouring the coins into her own pouch at her side. "I hate you…" she muttered, Mercury grabbing her hat and running ahead. "You love it!" he called, Emerald blinking as she realized what he did and chasing after him. "Mercury! I will bury you in the snowbank!" she shouted as she chased after him. They stopped just before the doors, Emerald forcefully taking the hat back and putting it on her head. "Now's not the time for your temper, Em. We got work to do." Mercury said, Emerald growling and opening the door.
Once inside, they saw an front room lit with a warm, orange, inviting glow. Wreaths and small ferns littered the room with books new and old lining the shelves. "Smells like every mold in the world…" Mercury commented under his breath, before Emerald butted him with her elbow. She walked over to the counter where a box wrapped in purple wrapping with little black cats printed on rested by the bell, ringing the bell three times. Through the back doors stepped out a middle-aged man with short black hair, black muttonchops and hazel eyes carrying a stack of books, setting them down on the counter6 The man was dressed in an unzipped crimson jacket. "Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun, we're doing a big Renewal sale on specific titles. How can-" he began, stopping his regularly recited speech and turning his head over his customer's shoulder. He thought he saw her reflection in the store window, moving slightly across the shelves, but shook his head, muttering about how "this holiday's getting to me" and turned his head back to Emerald.
"Good evening, I was looking to pick up a gift for a friend. I think she'd like a nice book to read. You've got Violet's Garden?" Emerald asked, Tukson nodding and pointing toward a nearby shelf. Emerald rubbed her chin, looking at the ceiling and shaking her head. "Hrm… I don't know, maybe she wouldn't want that? How about The Thief and the Butcher?" she asked, Tukson pointing to another shelf. "Paperback and hardcover." he said, Emerald nodding and smiling. "Options are good… but maybe not that one either…" she muttered, Tukson letting out a grunt of annoyance. "Oh! Hold on! Hey Merc, what do you think Cinder would want?" Emerald asked, turning to Mercury, who stood by the front door, reading one of the books he grabbed off the front shelves.
Tukson choked back a gasp, Mercury looking up from the book. "Well, let's see… I'd say… A History of Tombs." he said, Tukson gripping his fists. "You know, Tukson. Renewal is a time of giving and appreciating what you've been given. Cinder gave you papers to become an honorary citizen. She gave you the starting money for this store. She paid off council members to keep your shipments from being inspected, and how do you show your appreciation? How do you repay her?" Emerald asked, bending forward and drawing herself closer to the shaken bookstore owner. "Look, kid, my business with Cinder isn't up for you to de-" he began, Emerald slamming her hands down onto the counter.
"You skip out on delivering Dust and weapon shipments! You buy a ticket to Vacuo and start packing your bags! You're trying to run out on us!" she shouted, snarling at Tukson. Tukson calmly glared at her, cracking his knuckles. "Listen! I only needed to do jobs for her to keep the store afloat! It took a while to turn a profit off my stock and giving you guys the Dust kept doors open! I'm not a dog you can kick around and pull on a leash until he obeys! I'm my own man and I'm telling you and your little friend to get-" Tukson said before his sight became an unfocused blur surrounded by dots of flashing lights. He shut his eyes tightly, opening them to see a blade jabbed to the side of his neck. "Nobody cares about excuses." She said, slashing in one quick slice deep enough to slash his larynx, massive gushes of blood splattering his coat, the desk and the floor as he grabbed Emerald's arm, lunging his head down and biting his fangs deep into the flesh of her arm.
"G-Gaaahahh!" She shouted in pain as his jaws bit deep enough to hit the bone, her own blood splattering onto her arm as his blood nearly geysered out of each side of his neck. Mercury hopped the desk quickly, grabbing him by the jacket and tugging as he slowly faded out of consciousness and lose strength in his jaws. Mercury kicked him in the head, sending him onto the floor in a pile of his own blood. "Damn it, the bastard bit me!" She exclaimed, using her scarf and wrapping the green fabric around her maimed arm to stop the bleeding. "We got to stop the flow or they'll follow the blood." Merc calmly stated, Emerald tucking the bloodied scarf under one arm. "Let's just burn this and leave." She said, much calmer than she was earlier.
The two stepped into the backroom of the store, Emerald pouring more red powder onto the floor as they looked for an exit. They stepped out the backdoor, the wounded killer reaching into her pocket and pulling out a glowing orange-red crystal, smashing it against the metal frame of the door before throwing it back into the store. Emerald pulled out a chained sickle, spinning it quickly in her good arm and throwing it onto the room of nearby building, the sickle catching on the gutter. "Hrm… it's got enough hold, but we'll have to climb carefully or it'll tear through the gutter." she said to her partner, who simply fidgeted slightly and grabbed onto the chain, putting his foot onto the wall to support his lower body. "You grab my shoulders, there's no way you're making it up there on that arm." he said, Emerald nodding and gently grabbing onto his shoulders.
Mercury climbed slowly, putting his feet onto the wall and taking careful steps, lifting his partner off the ground. Emerald swung her legs forward, wrapping them around Mercury's waist and pulling herself closer to him, arms resting against his chest and neck on his shoulder. "You'd better hold on tight." Mercury said with a smirk. "Just climb, you dimwit." she shot back, Mercury chuckling and climbing as the light of the store grew brighter, the crackling of fire growing louder in their ears. Mercury came to a stop, his breath growing faster his body shaking. "Hey Merc! We gotta get climb before the rest of the Dust goes up! Move it!" Emerald shouted, Mercury shutting his eyes and continuing to hyperventilate. "Mercury! If you don't feel like going to jail, then climb!" she shouted, shuffling her legs and slamming her knees into his sides.
Mercury shot open his eyes, scrambling up the chain and bringing the two up to the roof, dropping Emerald and running to the far end of the roof. With a glass shattering bang that Mercury felt deep in his stomach, the bookstore became engulfed in a cloud of bright flames, Emerald watching in silent awe before turning to her terrified compatriot and putting a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, we've got to get back to Beacon before anyone sees us." she said, Mercury slowing his breathing and shutting his eyes. "R-right… but we're getting your arm treated before we go. If anyone asks, you got attacked by a wolf.." he said, looking to Emerald's scarf-wrapped arm turning more red. "A wolf? Everyone says that. Can I be attacked by a puma?." she replied, Mercury rolling his eyes. "...A puma? Fine, you were attacked by a puma in the middle of a busy city during the holiday seasons." he said sarcastically. "Yeah, something like that…" Emerald said with a dazed smile, Mercury taking her arm and putting it over his shoulders to help her walk as they went to get her treated.
The blare of a firetruck rang out as it passed by Beacon Academy, Ruby turning her head from the snowman she was working on to watch the blinking lights. "Oh man… a fire on Renewal? I hope everyone's alright…" she said, before hearing Jaune's voice from a distance. "The firefighters in this town do a pretty good job, they'll be fine." He said, moving past a snowbank to reveal he was hauling an entire wheelbarrow of snowballs. "But more importantly, Can someone help me get the other wheelbarrows!? I've been hauling all of them myself!" he shouted, looking around the area. "...Jaune, how long have you been making those?" Weiss asked, glancing up from the book she was reading from underneath a dead, snow-covered tree. "Long enough, Weiss… Long enough." He said, his eyes narrowing to a glare at the white clad huntress. "We are going to be in war, and war requires ammunition!" Jaune exclaimed, punching down and squishing some of the snowballs in the wheelbarrow.
"...I thrt snrbrl fights were just srmthing you do for fun." Blake said, a bit flabbergasted at the hundreds of snowballs from behind her overly poofy coat and long, bright orange scarf. Ruby quickly feigned backing away slowly, putting her hand in front of her mouth to whisper to Jaune and Weiss. "Don't move… there's a giant penguin talking to us…" she whispered, Weiss putting her hand to her face and letting out high-pitched, artificial laugh. "Ohohohhoho~ It's fine, Ruby. We can just throw her a fish and she'll leave us alone." she replied, Blake grumbling and pulling the scarf off her mouth and setting around her neck. "I didn't have a lot of winter clothes to work with, okay?" she said, the gathered hunters laughing before being cut off by the joyous holler of Nora.
"INCOMING TOBOGGAN!" She shouted, her sled leaping over a snow packed ramp and over Jaune's head. Jaune shouted, covering his head and getting down on his knees so it wouldn't hit him in his face. "Hey Jaune." Ren said, waving with one hand while in the air as the toboggan landed on the ground, pushing up a small wave of snow that nearly covered the two teams as Pyrrha raced over to join the others, carrying a wheelbarrow of snow. "Here's the other wheelbarrow, Jaune!" she said, lining hers up with his. Jaune smiled and nodded to Pyrrha before walking over to the snow ramp, Ruby following after him and putting up the hood of her prized red cloak. Jaune adjusted his green and yellow striped hat before he puffed his chest out.
"Alright, here's the rules." Jaune said, lifting one of his gloved hands, his index finger extended. "We will be in teams of two, the reason why is because I'm kind of tired of everything being four." he explained, Ruby nodding in agreement. "We do use four a lot, so 2 v. v. 2 v. 2 v. 2 would make for a more fun game.""The teams will be Thunder Dragon, Team Penguin," Jaune began, Blake growling under her scarf. "Masters of Remnant and… wait a minute, where's Yang?" he asked before hearing the roar of an engine ring out through the darkness.
The gathered hunters were struck by the flash of a motorcycle headlight and turned to see Hornet charging up to them, making a sharp turn, creating another wave of drifting snow as she stopped in front of them, snow hitting the team leaders. "Damn it!" Jaune said, wiping the snow off his shoulders before the water seeped in and made him cold. Ruby looked to her sister, seeing her dressed in a brand new black leather biker jacket, long yellow scarf, brown pants and heavy black boots with black-tinted goggles covering the rest of her face. Her long blonde hair was tucked into her bright yellow helmet.
Ruby's older sister pulled up the black-tinted goggles over her head, blue eyes winking at the Huntsman and Huntress in front of. "'Sup, Jaune? Do I know how to make an entrance or what?" Yang asked with big grin. "...You know Hornet's tires aren't meant for snow, right?" Blake pointed out as Yang stopped the bike and stepped off, pointing her thumb firmly into her shoulder. "It'll be fi-" She said, the bike immediately slipping out and falling over. "...ne. Okay, maybe you were right about that." She said quietly, before turning back to the annoyed Jaune as he practiced his best frown and folded arms pose. "What're we doing?" She asked, removing her helmet and flipping her hair back, which made her sister roll her eyes. "Snowball fight. Today. We had it scheduled for TODAY since it wasn't a blizzard, remember? The reason why it was TODAY is because we've been waiting a whole week." Jaune said, vexed at the blonde Huntress' flippancy at failing to remember their scheduled snowball fight.
"Oh, cool. So, it's RWBY vs. JNPR, right?" she asked, Jaune sighing and putting his hat over his eyes. "No, we're doing teams of two. We've done four on four games too much since coming back, Ruby and I wanted to change it up. The teams are Thunder Dragon, Team Penguin, Masters of Remnant and Crescent Sun!" Jaune explained, Yang nodding and sitting down. "...Who?" she asked, Ruby letting out a groan. "Thunder Dragon is Ren and Nora, Ren is a dragon and Nora has thunder! Team-" Ruby began before Yang cut her off. "How is Ren a dragon?" the older sister inquired. "He likes green, dragons are green, he's a dragon! Now if you let me finish…" The younger sister raved, pointing to Blake and Weiss. "They are Team Penguin, it explains itself! Blake is a penguin, and Weiss is a penguin sycophant." she said, Weiss shouting back "...Do you even know what that word means?"
"Shut up, Weiss! We've been working on this all week! Jaune and Pyrrha are Masters of Remnant because… well… I don't know, Jaune just really wanted to be called that." she said, Jaune turning and scowling at her. "And we're Crescent Sun because I have Crescent Rose and you're like a walking sun." she finished, Yang quietly scratching her head and then letting out a long-drawn "Ohhhhhhhh" before finally nodding and smiling. "Alright, now that we're clear on that, Pyrrha. It's time for… The document." Jaune said, with a dramatic pause for emphasis. Pyrrha stood up, stepping onto the ramp opening her coat to remove a folded piece of paper from an inner pocket, unfolding it and clearing her throat.
"Rule 1… Both ...pla… All parti…" She said, trying to read it a couple of times before she quietly walked back over to Jaune. "Uhh… Jaune?" She asked, Jaune looked over at her, his hand scratching underneath his hat. "What's wrong with the rules?" Jaune asked. "I can't read your handwriting… It's kind of squiggly." She admitted with a frown, Jaune bit his lip, grabbing the paper from her and getting back up on the ramp. "Fine, I'll do it, jeez..." He cleared his throat, trying to hit a deeper voice than his usual tenor. "Okay, rule one! We cannot make snowballs, we can only acquire them from the wheelbarrows provided in the center. You can only make snowballs once we run out of the wheelbarrow." Jaune began, Yang raising her hand. "...Yang, there isn't questions in the ru-" he said, Yang dropping her hand. "If there are four teams, why are there only two wheelbarrows? Are you that bad at counting to four?" she asked, Jaune's fists tightening and crinkling the document slightly.
"It's a design choice! It's meant to add a challenge to obtaining ammo! And you try finding four wheelbarrows and filling them with snow!" he snapped, taking a deep breath. "Right… onto rule two." He said, ignoring anyone else trying to speak up. "You can be hit three times, if you are hit three times, you can no longer participate. If both of your team's members get hit three times, that team is out." He continued, looking at the seven other participants. "And the third rule… You're supposed to be hitting each other with snowballs, punching people is not allowed… Yang." Jaune said, Ruby giving her sister an evil eye from under her cloak, remembering all the years snowball fights ended in black eyes. "Final rule, Semblances are allowed, as long as they don't hurt anyone or any bystanders… Nora." he said, Nora sticking her tongue out at him in response.
"Now, with the rules understood, we start on three. Everyone get in position!" he ordered, Ruby jumping off the ramp and running toward a nearby tree with her sister in tow. Blake and Weiss got up, running toward the school, Blake unzipping her heavy jacket as they ran. Ren climbed onto Nora's back, the two running to the embankments near Beacon's walkways. Jaune slid off the ramp, springing back to his feet and being joined by Nora. "So, where are we headed?" she asked, Jaune turning and heading north of Crescent Sun's tree toward the stone archway leading to the moat, the water of the moat frozen from the cold. "I've marked Crescent Sun as the best team to go against due to their experience in snowball fighting. Ruby will probably be the one headed to gather snowballs, so we take her out and we force Yang out of hiding and the rest will be easier to take on. On top of that, if we spend time acquiring snowballs and letting the other teams eliminate each other, we have the advantage." he explained, Pyrrha nodding in agreement as they stopped at the pillar.
"I'll take to throwing, you focus on gathering snowballs. Ready?" Jaune asked his partner. "I'm ready." she said, Jaune clearing his throat. "One… two…. THREE!" he called out, signaling the beginning of what would be the best snowball fight Beacon Academy had ever seen before. Ever.