Everything in square brackets is a flashback.
The sunset is a blurred red and yellow that comforts Weiss better than her parents ever did, and she can hear the birds calling out to one another.
The girl by her side blends into the darkening environment naturally, while the bright white of her own clothes standout strongly in the absence of light.
Weiss shivered a bit as the heat provided by the sun takes its well earned departure. She pulls down the sleeves of her jacket, and even if Blake noticed, there are no words exchanged.
[The snow contrasts with the chosen colours of her teammates but it fits Weiss. That shade of white is much more welcoming than the paint that covers the halls of the family mansion.
Ruby is rolling the ball of snow that she claimed would soon be the lowest part of her snowman's body, "How are you cold, Weiss? Isn't Atlas always this chilly?"
Yang and Blake throw snowballs each other with a combination of accuracy, speed, and power that only two huntresses-in-training could be doing so easily.
A carefully aimed snowball nailed Yang in the face, and it's only after she gets up that she chimes into Weiss and Ruby's conversation.
"Ironic isn't it? The girl with a frozen heart can't tolerate the cold." There is an impish look in Yang's eyes that Weiss can't ignore. It reminds her of Ruby.
Her dad used to tell her that snow wasn't meant to be played with, that it was part of the weather system, and nothing more.
It seems Weiss made a habit of loving things that she knows he would hate.]
"You're shaking."
Both Blake and Weiss turn around to see Ruby holding two mugs, and her older sister carrying two more.
She studies the cups in her partner's hands, then comes to the conclusion that the one on the right was hot chocolate, and that the one on the left was coffee.
"It's cold." Weiss says as she reaches out for the coffee. Though now the steaming mug in her hands brings warmth that an Atlas kid probably shouldn't need, but she has never been good with low temperatures.
[The three siblings look smaller when they're shoulder to shoulder in their father's study. Winter has yet to fully grow while Weiss and Whitley never quite reach the height of their other immediate family.
Jacques Schnee was looking at his own children like the rich folk look at the less fortunate, "Between you all, your combined grades show that there is some major slacking going on in at least half of your classes."
Weiss bites her lip.
It was less slacking and more struggling. Even when her math teacher suggested getting a tutor, the only thing Jacques did was laugh in his face.
Of course her father wouldn't want to admit that his kids weren't perfect, that they couldn't do everything with flawless ease. So instead, he puts them at fault for their human mistakes.
Whitley can't write to save his life, but he is amazing at numbers. For Weiss and Winter, it's the reverse. Either way, it simply cannot be.
Weiss avoids looking at her father, rather she focuses on the goosebumps forming up her arms. It's so damn cold, all the time. It drives her insane.
The streets, the classrooms, the mansion, the people, her family. They all chill her to the bone. She hates it.]
"Are you scared?" Ruby asks them.
There's so many things that run through their minds; swords that glow red and spears that slice like fire. The enemy that is out there, and ready to devour them whole.
The fact they are just four teenagers with the weight of sky weighing on their shoulder, and that burden hurts. It burns until there's nothing left.
(Just like old Atlas of legend, and Weiss doesn't miss the irony)
"To be honest, I'm terrified." Yang stares in the distance, and for a second, Weiss wonders what colour that those eyes are currently. "We are really over our heads, aren't we?"
Blake's grip on her cup of tea tightens, "Maybe, but weren't we always? We slaughtered a Nevermore during our initiation, and I thought that taking on the White Fang by myself was a good idea."
Ruby laughs, and it almost doesn't sound bittersweet. "You think that's bad? The reason I got into Beacon in the first place was because I tried stopping a robbery, and almost got myself killed if it wasn't for Glynda."
"Isn't that what makes us huntresses though?" Weiss has a small smile on her face as she looks at her friends, "We kill monsters for a living. I honestly think that part of the job is being reckless."
Yang's orbs look with her own, and they are bright lavender. "I think we have that covered then."
[There's blood running down her face as Weiss rises from her knees. She knows that her aura must be gone by now, but the knight is still there.
The freedom that she has been yearning to have since she was a little girl standing in front of a crowd is finally in her reach, and it well take more than the threat of harm for her to stop.
After all, if that's all it took, she wouldn't be here right now. Bleeding perhaps, but feeling powerful.
Her sword clicks, back into the fray she must go, but she has always been fighting, and this is a battle that for once she has chosen.]
"You know, I really don't miss having to wear a bow on my head to hide my ears, but I do miss Beacon. I miss it really badly."
Yang shakes her head with a worn grin at Blake's comment, "I miss my arm." It's said lightly enough to be taken as a joke, but there was definitely something underneath.
The next thing spoken by Ruby had no such subtlety. "I miss Pyrrha and Penny."
A sad silence follows her words.
Weiss observes the stars, remembering a time where they along with the moon were her only real friends. It doesn't need to be like that anymore.
[It was pouring rain outside, so the four of them were stuck in their dorm. They sat on their respective bunks, sneaking glances at each other, like they were waiting for someone to speak.
"So," Ruby nervously starts, leaning over the side of her bed, "Family day is next week. You guys have anyone coming?"
Weiss and Blake may be as different as black and white, but they both answer with the same sad and small "No."
Different reasons maybe, but the faunus and the Schnee had both forsaken family in order to come to Beacon.
"Our dad might come, and our uncle is trying to make it." Their fourth teammate utters from across Ruby. "But hunting and teaching gets in the way a lot." As always, there is no mention of any mother.
The room is quite for a bit, until Ruby speaks again. "Well then, let's go as each other's family!" She states it so simply, like it's the obvious answer that they should all have saw right away.]
"I missed you guys."
Three heads snapped towards Weiss, surprise written on each of their faces.
"What?" There is a bit of defensive edge in her tone, a lingering trace of a life where she was always being accused of some sin or another, "We lost each other too."
And they had.
Yang finished her drink in one long swig, "Easy frostbite. You're not wrong, and it really is good to see you all again. To be all together again."
Blake's ears flickered up and down, the same way they do whenever she's trying to decide whether she should say something. Eventually they stayed in the down position; a sign of nervousness.
"I think I realize now, that even though I reunited with my parents, in doing so, I abandoned the family that I found here, and I am so sorry."
[Beacon was silent after Family Day, everybody was resting in bed after the activities that staff had set up for families to accomplish together.
"Can we do this again?" Blake's voice is meek. A vulnerableness unknown to a school full of young and furious warriors. "I just don't want to be alone every year on this day."
To the shock of everyone, even herself, Weiss was the one to answer, "We will." There was an oath in those two words that nobody in the room wanted to break.
"Our first tradition!" Their leader shouts, and everybody laughed.]
Ruby fiddled with her mug, spinning it in her hands, luckily she had already finished. "Yeah you did," she said bluntly, "but you are here now, and I don't think you plan on leaving anytime soon. Do you?"
Blake shook her head quickly, "Never again. I swear."
Their young leader gave a thumbs-up, "Then you're welcomed back! We promised to be each other's family right?"
"Yeah, I guess we did."
Said I'll always be your friend, made an oath, I'm gonna stick it out 'till the end.
Dedicated to the friendship between Team RWBY, because it is precious, and must be protected. Get it? Sorry.