I sat in our room, perusing one of our school books. Another test was looming and naturally I was looking to pass it. The door of our room burst forward, and Ruby charged in.

"Weiss there you are," she panted. "Have you been in here all day?"

"Obviously Ruby," I told her. "How else do you expect to pass our next test?"

"Come on Weiss," she said, pulling me up by arm. "All you do is stay in your room and study." I pulled my arm away from her. "And when you do leave you head to the training field."

"Well, I guess I could take a break," I sighed, setting down the book. She grabbed my hand.

"Great! Let's go!" she yelled pulling me along.

"Wait! Hey, I'm not ready," I screamed at her. "Where are we going?"

"In town of course," she said. I rolled my eyes and played along.

We made it into town and walked along the closed storefronts. They were decorated in gold and silver garlands, red and green lights, and tons of pine branches and wreaths.

"It looks so beautiful Weiss," Ruby said, her hands clasped together.

"Yeah, Christmas is nice," I replied. "Shame it's so late. I would have loved to do some shopping."

"Hey," she said turning in front of me. "I have to go get something, you mind waiting?"

"No, go ahead," I answered. She smiled and ran off. I kept on walking through the streets, the lights blurring into stars in the distance. I lost track of time, and somehow found myself down by the lake. I walked over to the dock, and leaned on the railing. I looked out on the lake, the shattered moon reflected in the still water. It was a serene peace, a peace I could only find in this locale.

"I knew you would be here," I heard. I looked over to my left, Ruby standing there. "This is your favorite place."

"Sorry about dropping out like that," I said. She walked over to my side.

"It's okay," she said. "I kinda wanted to see the lake too."

"It's very calm and pretty, the moon," I said. "Just sitting there, contemplating. Looking to see what happens."

"Sounds familiar to me," Ruby said.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. I could see her inch towards me, although she tried to hide it.

"A person just standing there, unassuming," she said. "waiting for the moment to strike." She lunged at my waist, wrapping her arms around me and burrowing her face into my shoulder. She laughed. "You're cute when you're quiet Weiss." I snickered and wrapped my arm around her waist. Slowly, small dots of white fell from the sky, the downfall slowly growing. Ruby lunged forward.

"Oh my god Weiss, it's snowing!" she screamed, jumping up and down. "You know what that means?" she asked.

"No I don't," I answered.

"It means tomorrow we can make snowmen, snow angels have snowball fights," she screamed. "It's gonna be a snow day!"

"It would have to snow pretty hard for that," I replied. She just laughed and shrugged it off.

"Also Weiss," she said. "You know that thing I told you I had to go get?"

"Yeah, what about it?" I asked.

"Well halfway through I kinda forgot what I was going to get, and so I just got lost trying to find you," she said rubbing the back of her head. She was always a bit of a ditz. "But I did find something to occupy us for tonight." She said, pulling something out of her cloak. She held up a bottle filled with gold liquid on one hand and green bottle in the other.

"Is that, alcohol?" I asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I never got to try the stuff, but my Uncle Qrow was always drinking it. Found a couple of bottles. So how about we head on back and have a taste test?" she asked with a sly look on her face.

I could hear ringing. Not from my alarm clock though. I haggardly tried to roll out of bed, but an arm latched itself around my waist. Ruby laid on my right side, nuzzling into my shoulder. Her breath was light and marked with small snores. I raised my arm, passing my fingers through her red tipped black hair. All at once, I was hit with the massive need to pee. I lifted her arm, and quickly slid out of bed. As I rushed out the world began to wobble. I staggered myself and slowly made my way to the bathroom so I wouldn't pass out on the ground. I threw the door open and slipped my panties off my legs, and slumped on the toilet, finally able to relive myself. I leaned back, trying to recollect what happened the night before. I rubbed my temples, my head pounding. God, what happened? Ruby and I got back with the booze and then, nothing. Is this blacking out? A rasping knock echoed through the room. When I rushed into the bathroom, I had neglected to close the door. I hit the lever on the toilet and slugged out. Thank god Ruby is passed out, that would have been a horrible scene. I found my way to the door and haggardly pulled it open, bottles clanking as they rolled against the door. A tall man stood in the doorway, bearing a tabard with the image of a Cross against a golden starburst, resting on a brown background. His arms and legs showed off the red and yellow armor that gleamed with light, blinding me. I rubbed my eyes, my head aching from the reflection.

"Let me guess, first drink?" the figure asked.

"God damn it Mikal just leave," I croaked out, slamming the door. The door stopped just short a few inches, his foot blocking the door. He forced his way in, easily overpowering me.

"I am a Paladin," he said closing the door behind him. "But I am not Mikal. I am merely an envoy on of my dimension hopping master." His foot grazed a bottle and he picked it up. "Cuervo, that explains a lot." He shook the bottle, a look of surprise on his face. "Did you drink the whole bottle?" I racked my mind for some memory of the last night.

"I think it was half empty when she found it," I said, wearily putting memory cues together.

"Still, cactus juice," he said passing his feet through the bottles. "And apparently, vodka, whisky, and gin." He picked up each bottle. "Smirnoff, Tennessee, and Old Tom. Damn, she found the good stuff." He walked around the room, making his way to my bed. "You know the incredible thing is, I smell a rather distinct lack of puke. That is fucking incredible. For first timers you are incredibly tolerant." As he got to the bed, Ruby roused from her sleep, a horrid moan passing out of her mouth.

"Weiss," she moaned. Her face had turned sour and she leapt out of bed and straight into the bathroom within a second. Another second and the sound of heaves filled the room.

"Well that's one way to use semblance," he said. I strained my eyes on him, the light reflected off him irritating the back of my eyes.

"Who are you?" I demanded of him.

"I am Benjamin, Holy Paladin of the Order, and I was sent here to check on you two," he announced. "And it seems I have arrived a little late." A flush came from the bathroom, and Ruby hobbled out, exhausted. She shambled over to us and leaned on my shoulder.

"Weiss," she moaned. "My head hurts. Make it stop."

"The Hangover, God's way of saying you made a poor ass decision," Ben said. I shot him a dirty look. "Come on, you two are far too young to be drinking." I scowled at him, but my head would not relent from pain. Ruby shifted her weight off me, and a piece of cloth fell through her figners.

"Hey Weiss, I found these on the floor in the bathroom," she said holding out her hand. I stood horrified as she tried to hand me the pair of panties I had tossed to the ground. Ben just stared deadpan, and pushed Ruby's arm down. I quickly grabbed them, frozen with embarrassment.

"Okay Ruby, for future reference," he explained. "I know you're trying to be helpful and all, but in the future it would be best to not try and return your girlfriend's panties in front of anybody else, let alone a Paladin." She blushed and hid the underwear behind her back. "In any other circumstance I would probably punch you in the cunt," he explained. "but from what I observe it seems that has already occurred. Several times." I stood, jaw dropped. He smirked, "Oh yeah, just because your brain didn't record anything doesn't mean there ain't anything there. There's a little bit there Veiss," he said.

"My name is Weiss," I screamed at him.

"Not in German it's not" he said. I wobbled around, unable to stand. I lost my balance and fell over, only for him to catch me. "All right both of you sit down." He said guiding Ruby by her shoulder. Ruby fell on the bed, sitting back up, and Ben slowly set me down. He pulled out a pair of sports drinks. "Drink these, slowly," he emphasized. I pried the lid off and sipped at the sweet and salty liquid. He pulled out a small bottle and shook out two pills.

"Should help with the headaches," he said holding out his hand. We each grabbed one and quickly swallowed them down. He stood up and walked over to the door. "All right, keep tight. I'm gonna get something fill you to up." He stepped out, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"How you feeling Ruby?" I asked her.

"My head hurts, and I feel dizzy," she said. "But I'm feeling better." I smiled and took another sip at the sports drink. I replaced the cap and set it down on the floor, while Ruby chugged hers down, desperate for something to drink. My head suddenly burned, an image flashing in my mind. "Weiss, are you okay?" Ruby asked me, hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine," I choked out. The image flashed again, and it was more vivid. I saw pale skin, a small body, and a pair of exposed breasts. The image fizzled out, Ruby taking its place. My eyes widened, and my memory returned. "Ruby, do you remember anything from last night?"

"No, I don't," she said. "I just started drinking that strawberry stuff, and then I woke up puking in a toilet."

"I guess you drank more than me," I said. I noticed her hair pressed against the left side of her face. I reached out, straightening her hair out. She looked me in the eye, and my face fell. "Ruby," I sighed. "I think, I think we may have done something last night."

"Well yeah," she said innocently. I stared at her. "Besides drinking, what?"

"Ruby, I think," I tried to say, the images flooding into my mind, her breasts exposed, holes torn in her tights. "I think we had sex last night." I choked out.

"What?" she asked, yet again innocently. I looked her in the eye, and slowly her cheery face dropped. "What do you mean Weiss?"

"I mean," I choked out. "I think when we got drunk; I took advantage of the situation and forced myself on you. I mean, I don't remember any resistance but."

"But nothing then," Ruby said. "If I didn't resist then no harm no foul."

"I can't believe you're talking like that!" I screamed jumping on her. "it's hardly nothing. I just took something even though I had no idea what you wanted. It is horrible, I am a horrible person." I slumped back on the bed, my hands in my face, tears emptying out of my eyes.

"Weiss," Ruby said calmly. I looked up, and saw through my blurred vision Ruby leaning in to hug me. "Do you want to know something?" she smiled. "To tell the truth, I would be far angrier in this situation if it were some guy but." She leaned back as I kept bawling like a child. She brushed the tears from my face, my nose catching her scent. "You were drunk too Weiss, you had no way of controlling yourself," she reassured me. I threw myself into her arms, crying out. "Weiss, I'm okay."

"But Ruby," I bawled. "I raped you, I just kept going. I can remember it, I just kept going. I raped my friend." She moved her hand to my face, holding me back. "Ruby?"

"You're wrong Weiss," she said. She leaned in, and touched her lips to mine. My heart rushed and tears came out again, overwhelming me. She broke the kiss, her bloodshot eyes shining in the light. "I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone else. I love you Weiss."

"But I, I don't understand," I told her. "We're both girls."

"Yeah that's kinda strange to me too," she said. "I mean i'm into guys but, there's something about you Weiss. Something different. Not because you're a girl, but because you're Weiss." She made a wide toothed grin. "The only thing I'm mad about is that I don't remember our first time."

"But what," I said. "what if I don't feel the same way?"

"Doesn't mean I'll stop loving you Weiss," she said. "I mean in that way, I mean in any way but not that way either," she rambled on. And suddenly, my heart felt lighter, and a grin made its way onto my face, my chest began to jump, and I couldn't stop the laughter that began to bellow out of my gut.

"Oh my god, I can't believe I didn't see it before," I laughed. "It was so obvious. The way you leaned in at the lake, the hugging, the rubbing your head into me; I knew I should have trusted my gut."

"Well Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, I," I said. "I, I don't know how to feel about it." I told myself to say no, but for some reason, my gut wouldn't listen. "But at the same time, I'm not against it. I guess, we could try, experiment." She squeed, and threw her arms around me, throwing me on the bed. She loomed over me, her arms on either side of me. My eyes locked with hers, and my heart pounded as she leaned in to give me a second kiss.

"Ehem," I heard spoken from the doorway. Ruby and I broke our gaze and looked over at the door, Ben standing in the doorway hold a paper bag, filled with what I assume was our meal. We kept in position, still staring. "You know, by this point, anybody in your position would be on the ground sprawling in pain," he said setting the bag down on the night stand. "Or does this cross on chest mean nothing to you? Just like everybody else?" Ruby slipped off me and I sat up.

"Well Mikal did a poor job of explaining it," I told him. He grabbed the bag and pulled out its contents, a pair of, something that was wrapped. He handed them to us. I passed it over in my hands, wondering what it was, while Ruby tore into hers.

"It's called a burrito," he said. "Mexican fare." I slowly unwrapped the paper, revealing a white and brown loaf of some sort. He pulled out a third from the bag, and unwrapped it. "Ground beef, seasoned with spices such as cumin, turmeric, with sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, what have you." He took a large bite out of his and I looked over to Ruby who had done to same. I sighed and took a bite of mine, and the flavor rushed my senses. It was crisp, spicy, and sweet all at once, and with one bite I already felt satisfied without even swallowing. I looked back over to Ruby, who was taking another bite. As she chewed, I noticed some of the filling had gotten on her cheek.

"Ruby," I said. She looked over at me. "You got something on your cheek." I said pointing to my left cheek. She rubbed her arm against her right cheek.

"Did I get it?" she asked, the filling now spread over more of her cheek. I smiled and pulled out my handkerchief to wipe it off. Out of nowhere, a cloth hit Ruby in the face, covering most of it.

"Clean yourself up," Ben said. My eyes shot over to him. "No reason to be messy." Ruby pulled the paisley blue cloth off her face, taking the mess off with it.

"You are incredibly rude you know that?" I told him.

"Honey, no way I'm leaving you two alone together," he said. "Not after that little scene I saw."

"And what is so wrong with that?" I asked him. He stared at me straight faced.

"You serious?" he asked me. "Do you seriously not know who or what a paladin is, or represents?" He pointed to the cross on his chest.

"From what I've heard, you are all just a group of bigots justifying being cruel," I told him.

"News media are rather polarized today," he said calmly. "always looking for some controversy, not looking at the truth or the intent.

"And what is the truth and intent?" I asked him.

"You know I could stand here and prattle on for five hours about every aspect of that loaded question, but nobody has any time for that," he said. "To put it simply and as short as I can: We serve God, They do not. We work to serve God, They work to defy Him. We believe the Bible to be the Word of God, They do not."

"Sounds a lot like you're with us or you're against us," Ruby said.

"Exactly," he said. "If God is for us then who can stand against us? If the world hates you, know that it hated Me first; A servant is no greater than his Master."

"All you Paladins do is quote that book," I replied.

"That book is our Faith," he replied sternly. "Like I said, the Word of God. It is our Faith, our identity. Do not call our path foolish and then go and put undying faith into the path of the world, for that is the same thing, but with a different master. Man must serve something."

"That is incredibly dark," Ruby replied.

"It is a shame you cannot see the world as we do," he said sullen. "but I cannot expect those not in Christ to see as we do."

"And what would you do to make us see the way you do?" I asked him.

"I cannot force you to believe something you do not believe," he said. "you cannot force faith. Faith only comes from a decision to follow. Your faith must be your own or else it is not true faith."

"So you have no problem with us not believing the same thing as you?" I replied.

"I would love it if you would, but there would be no way to tell if it was genuine," he said. "And even God would prefer you to have no faith then to have ingenuine faith."

"Hey Ruby, Weiss we're back!" Yang screamed as she burst into the room, Black following behind. She turned to Ben. "Who are you?" She asked him.

"My name is Benjamin," he replied. "And I believe that this is the sign that this conversation is over. Good Bye," he said bowing. He passed out of the open doorway and past Blake.

"Hey, what conversation?" Yang yelled after him. "What were you talking about?"

"Already explained it, not repeating it," he called from down the hall. Yang turned back towards us and a wide look of confusion on her face.

"What happened to you two?" she asked. I finally took a close look at Ruby and myself. We were still wearing our regular clothes, aside from our jackets, which were tossed aside somewhere in the room. Ruby's corset was undone, the strings hastily pulled from their loops, sticking out at various lengths. Her tights had several tears and holes, primarily around her inner thighs. Her hair was also an incredible mess, several strands of hair sticking out, and her hair still retaining some bed head, despite my fix. At that point my hair clip could no longer keep its grip and fell out, rolling on to the floor clinking against a bottle. Following suit, my hair fell to my side, revealing a frizzy, split ended curtain on my hips. Yang went to pick up the clip, but likewise she picked up the bottle.

"Were you two drinking?" she asked us. I turned to Ruby, a guilty and downcast expression painted on her face. Yang marched over to Ruby, dropping my clip by my side. "Ruby, you know you're too young to drink," she scolded her. "All of us are. Let alone five bottles."

"I'm sorry Yang," she pleaded, wide-eyed. "I just found them, and It was snowing and I wanted to do something with Weiss."

"You look like you did something," Blake replied. Ruby looked down, noticing the loose strings on her bodice.

"Wait, did you two?" Yang asked. I hid my face, turning red, while I could see Ruby smiling devilishly. Yang laughed and pulled Ruby into a big hug.

"Yang, too much," Ruby groaned out. Yang let her go, and fell on the bed between us, placing her arms on our shoulders.

"I knew that you two secretly liked each other," she affirmed. "all that sexual tension made it obvious." I looked away, unable to look her in the eye.

"It's not like that at all," I told her. "We just got drunk and…"

"Come on Weiss," she said smacking me on the back. "They say alcohol brings out the true you. And I guess while we're on the subject," she stood up and walked over to Blake. "Blake and I are together," she said grabbing Blake's hand as she laid her head on Yang's shoulder.

"We knew that," I told her flatly.

"Everybody knows," Ruby said. "And I mean everybody."

"Incredibly obvious," Ben replied, appearing out of thin air. Yang and Blake jumped away in shock.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby yelled. "I thought you were done talking."

"I said that the conversation was done," he replied. "also; my semblance. By leaving trace amounts of my aura behind me, I can return to any location I have been within two days. I call it, Total Recall."

"Fuuuck You," Yang retorted. He shot her an ugly look.

"From a combination of latent memory and a rather thorough ass-chewing," he said. "I seem to have remembered the purpose of my assignment."

"Didn't you say it was to check on us?" Ruby asked him.

"That was part of it," he said. "Actually I was supposed to inform you that the Grand Paladino, my boss, Mikal is arriving later today and specifically requested that you be present."

"Why us?" Blake asked.

"You four are the most influential people at this school," he explained. "as such he, and many of us, see you four as examples of the school. How he sees you four, will heavily influence how he sees the school, and what decisions to make regarding it."

"What decisions?" Blake asked.

"Military reinforcement, Grimm hunts, funding," he said. "also Paladin garrisoning."

"Garrisons?" Yang interjected.

"Essentially how many troops to place, the intent of their placement, and the necessity for, morality checks," he listed.

"What is a morality check?" I asked him.

"Nothing you guys need to worry about, I'm sure," he explained. "All it is an observation of how many policies need to be put in place to facilitate a cultural shift."

"What?" Ruby responded.

"Effectively whether or not we ally with the territory or conquer it," he huffed. "You girls are impossible to intimidate."

"Wait what's going to happen to Beacon?" Blake asked.

"You'll be fine," he said. "You're more valuable as an ally than a territory. The only major factor is how he sees you and Beacon." He looked at his watch. "Anyways, he'll be here at noon; and by the way it is now 9:36. You may want to change and clean up." He snapped his fingers, and a flash of light replaced him. We stared at the spot he had stood, awestruck and unable to speak.

"Wait, it was obvious to everyone?" Yang asked.