Ruby, Weiss and Yang sat silently in their dorm. They were waiting for Blake to return from her conversation with Professor Ozpin. They weren't sure what to expect, what he might say to her. They wondered if he knew she was a faunus, if he had always known. Perhaps he even knew that she had been a member of the White Fang. The thought filled Ruby and Yang with dread, and Weiss with hope. Maybe she'd be arrested after all. Maybe she'd face judgement for the crimes she committed against humanity. Maybe, just maybe, her shadows would be stripped from her by the light, revealing her for what she was. Maybe Weiss wouldn't have to share a room with a terrorist.

I watched family friends disappear, board members...executed.

The most powerful emotion in her mind wasn't hatred, not anymore. More than hate Blake, more than hate the faunus, she feared them. They were the monsters under the bed, the creatures who lurked behind every closed door and peered through every window. They were the ghosts of her nightmares, and they had been for most of her entire life. It was fear. Weiss tried to hide it, tried to hide her insecurity, but she could only hide from so many people. She could hide from everyone on the outside, everyone who looked into her frozen castle. But when she looked inwards, at herself, she saw everything. She saw her terror, her weakness. And where terror lurks, hatred is always close by. Like a small child hiding underneath sheets, pretending at being a ghost, Weiss used her rage to give herself a feeling of power. She used it to hold others back, to keep them from seeing how scared and vulnerable she really was. It was when people got close, when they invaded her castle, that she got hurt. It was when they sensed weakness that the monsters attacked.

"Blake!" Weiss was drawn from her thoughts by the squeal of her team leader. Ruby hurried to the door as Blake pushed it open, looking sad, angry, and confused at the same time.

"So? How'd the talk with Ozpin go?" Yang asked, walking towards the faunus, trailing behind her sister.

"It was...I'm not quite sure. He's a strange man," Blake replied.

"He really is! He gave me cookies when I first met him, not that there's anything wrong with that..." Ruby agreed, trailing off. As Blake walked past her two teammates, making for the bathroom to get ready for bed, she turned around.

"I just remembered...thank you, both of you, for standing by me. For not pushing me away," she said, her voice sincere, cracking as if she was going to cry, yet no tears came to her eyes. Ruby and Yang smiled at her, all three trying hard to ignore Weiss. They felt bad about it, albeit very slightly in the case of Yang, but Blake needed support and trust. If Weiss wasn't going to give it to her, it was best not to antagonize the heiress into starting another argument. Weiss ignored them as well, lying in her bed with her pajamas already on. She had nothing left to say.


Weiss lay awake, her eyes darting around the room and her neck craning so that she could get a view of Blake. She couldn't sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, her throat instantly felt cold, as if steel was being pressed against it. After a few more seconds, it felt warm, and she imagined a cascade of blood pouring down her neck, trickling down her shoulders and chest. She wasn't able to keep her eyes closed for more than ten seconds. After that, they shot open. A few times, her hand flew to her neck, tracing a line across it as if to make sure there was no gash there, no cut for blood to fall from.

It's because they've been at war with my family for years.

Every noise in the room instilled her with a horrible fear. Every gentle breath her sleeping teammates took scared her, every time she moved and her bed creaked, she almost jumped. Blake shifted in her sleep, and Weiss sat up, hitting her head against the bottom of the top bunk.

War, as in actual bloodshed.

Blake turned around, startled as well, and saw Weiss grabbing her forehead, massaging it. She hadn't been asleep, either. She'd been lying awake. The heiress briefly glared up at Blake before stepping out of bed and quietly exiting the room. The faunus wanted to say something, but found that her lips wouldn't move. There was nothing to say.

My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember.

She was filled with indignation, with anger. Weiss didn't trust her. Weiss wouldn't listen. She kept on pretending that Blake was a White Fang operative, that she was the enemy. No matter what she said, no matter how many times she tried to say that the White Fang was no longer a part of her life, Weiss kept refusing to believe it. And yet, it made sense. She knew the White Fang, and knew that Weiss' fears were more than justified. She couldn't bring herself to really feel anger. It was more superficial than anything, a gut reaction to the discrimination she had tried to avoid her whole life.


At lunch, the absence of team RWBY's W was quite conspicuous. Ruby and the rest of her team dined with team JNPR as usual, the two making awkward small talk until someone broached the topic of Weiss. So far, they had only seen her for classes, and she sat as far as she could from her team, left before they did, and was always lost in a crowd of people when they made their way out to find her. Jaune and his team were worried, as were Ruby and Blake, but Yang had a different reaction. The flame of her anger tended to burn bright, and it had not yet died down.

She's a terrorist who hates humanity, just like the rest of the White Fang filth!

Yang couldn't forgive her for the things she said and the hatred she'd displayed. It wasn't even about the faunus, not mainly. Yang just couldn't understand why she took her prejudice out on Blake. Weiss was judgmental and cold, but seemed to have been thawing. Yang liked to think that she knew Weiss, that the heiress cared enough about them to let them see who she really was. She had been wrong. In a way, Weiss' revelation was more shocking than Blake's. Yang always had suspicions about Blake, always thought that she was hiding something about herself. Blake was secretive and mysterious; of course Yang would be interested in what secrets she had to keep. Weiss was a different story. She was harder to understand. All she'd been, up until a few days ago, was a spoiled heiress. She was stuck-up, entitled, bratty, and quick to judge, all things typical of those born in sheltered wealthy families. At her core, however, she was a good person, someone willing to learn from the mistakes she made.

You have no idea what my family has been through because of the White Fang!

She was much, much more, and Yang wasn't sure how she felt about that. She had suffered, clearly, more than the average person, and yet was so cold and bitter that it was hard to sympathize with her. Whatever she felt, she took out on Blake. That was what angered Yang the most. Discriminatory as she was, Yang had thought that even she would understand that Blake was her friend. And yet, against her will, her fury began to fade. She couldn't hold onto it forever. Weiss' absence was worrisome, and spending so much of her life caring for Ruby, Yang had grown very protective of those close to her.

"So...where's the Ice Queen?" Nora asked, surprising almost everyone at the table. No one had expected her to present the topic, absorbed in her own world as she often was. Only Ren was unfazed; he knew Nora long enough to understand that there was much more to her than what people could see.

"Well...you heard about what happened at the docks, right?" Ruby asked. Team JNPR all nodded, listening intently.

"You didn't hear everything. There are some details that got kind of left out." At this, Blake flashed Ruby a quick warning glance, her eyes widening slightly. She knew what Ruby wanted to say, and wouldn't let her. No one else could know that she was a faunus. She hid behind her bow and her secrets for a reason. When leaving the White Fang, she intended to start a new life, one where she wasn't defined by her race, but by her actions. She donned her disguise due to a mixture of fear and hope, hope to be recognized as more than a faunus, and fear of what might happen should she shed her bow.

It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!

Weiss, sitting alone, wherever she was, had tapped into that fear more than Blake would like to admit. It was the first time since joining the White Fang that she'd had a direct encounter with a human who knew who she was and who hated her for it. Or, to be more accurate, feared her for it. Deep in the back of her mind, she knew that Weiss wasn't like Cardin; she didn't outright despise the faunus. She didn't discriminate against them because of cruelty or a sense of superiority. She was afraid, just like Blake. She didn't admit it, hiding behind her cold, biting fury as she always did, but she was. There was no other reason for her inability to sleep while Blake was in the room. She was a target, even to this day. Yet her actions and her words stung, like salt poured into a wound that grew wider with every passing minute. Blake had felt the familiar sting of discrimination, and it hurt no less than when she'd dealt with it before.

"...I met this really weird girl named Penny! She was nice, though, and she was really strong! She was all like swish! Swoosh! And her swords hit everyone and they were all like aaagh! And then, she shot this really big laser beam and cut open an airship and it was just the best!" Ruby said suddenly, taking Blake's warning into account. She sent her teammate a sad glance, and Blake mouthed silent thanks to her.

"Uh...not to sound rude, but how does this relate to Weiss?" Jaune asked, confused.

"I said she was weird, right? Well, uh...she kind of creeped Weiss out, so she's a little scared that she might show up. You know how Weiss can be; if she wants to be alone, she always finds a way," Ruby replied, laughing a little too loudly. She had no idea how true her words rang.

"Really? That's all?" Pyrrha asked, doubtful. The famous Huntress-in-training was always incredibly perceptive. Usually, it was a trait which Ruby and her team admired. Today, however, it simply frightened them. Today, they were in on one of Blake's many secrets, and while they were sure that team JNPR would accept her no matter what, they didn't want to betray her trust. She deserved better than that, and they couldn't reveal that Weiss and Blake had been arguing without revealing why.

"Pretty much, yeah. You remember how Weiss was when she first met Ruby? It was kind of like that with Penny. Of course, if my little sis hadn't decided to make friends with her when we clearly told her not to, Snow Angel might still be hanging out with us," Yang chimed in when her sister was finally unable to think of a convincing lie.

"Hey, she was really nice!" Ruby replied, feeling a little defensive of her new friend.

"And creepy. Remember how she just came up behind Weiss and was all like 'and I think Weiss' hair looks wonderful today!' That's what stalkers do, sis." Pyrrha's doubts were lessened by this; she did indeed remember how the heiress had reacted to Ruby when they first met. The conversation continued on from there, moving to other topics that had nothing to do with Weiss, and yet the three members of team RWBY felt as if a little of their teammate's coldness had rubbed of on them. They felt numb.


"Professor Goodwitch?" Weiss approached Glynda Goodwitch after classes had come to an end. Her appearance was as refined and elegant as ever. Her clothes were perfectly straightened, her nails perfectly filed, her ponytail perfectly adjusted, and her makeup perfectly applied. She looked as meticulous as ever, her appearance betraying no sign of fatigue. She used her makeup to cover the circles under her eyes, so that no one was aware that she hadn't slept at all the previous night. She had said nothing about her troubles to Ruby and Yang. Ruby had tried on multiple occasions to talk to her, and Blake kept glancing at her when she thought the heiress wasn't looking, but Weiss had shut them all out.

"What is it, Ms. Schnee?" Glynda asked.

"I was just wondering if...if I could have a different dorm." At this, Glynda looked at Weiss strangely, as if she didn't fully understand the request.

"Excuse me?"

"A different dorm. New living quarters."

"Why on earth would you want that?" Weiss sighed, not sure how to answer the question. Very rarely did she ask for something material without receiving it; it hadn't occurred to her, in her haste to ask, that she would not be granted special treatment at Beacon.

"Well...it's for a few reasons, really, but mostly, it's because I've been having a dispute with one of my teammates. I was hoping that some separation would be good for me," she replied after careful consideration, well aware that her reasons sounded shallow and unlikely to be taken seriously, but she couldn't tell Glynda about Blake. Her pride wouldn't let her. She couldn't bring herself to reveal her darkest fears, her deepest insecurities, not to anyone. Fear made her weak. It invited pity, and there was nothing worse than pity. She didn't want people to tell her they were sorry, that they'd be there for her, because she might believe them. And she knew that it was when you trusted others that they were able to hurt you the most. She had trusted her family. She had trusted her father. She had trusted Blake.

"Ms. Schnee, I'm surprised that you of all people would make such a request. I thought you would know better than to assume it would be granted," Glynda sighed, shaking her head.

"But-"

"If you're having issues with your friend, talk to them. I can't imagine what you might be upset about, though; you and your team seemed to get along very well." Weiss nodded, thanking Glynda for her time, and walked away.


Weiss was studying by the time her teammates got back to their dorm, talking lightheartedly. As soon as they entered the room and saw their teammate studying on her bed, sitting hunched over her books, Ruby, Blake and Yang ceased their chatting. Weiss didn't look up. After a few seconds of awkward stillness, Ruby moved over to their dorm window, now wide open, and closed it. The drapes ceased to blow in the wind like leaves on a tree, their swaying growing smaller and smaller until stopped completely. The room, however, was still uncomfortably cold.

"Weiss...what's with the window?" Ruby asked.

"I needed fresh air," was the simply, curt reply. Weiss didn't look up from her books.

"Uh...what're you studying for? You're at the top of every class," Yang asked, feeling slightly annoyed by the heiress' insistence on working so much. She never seemed satisfied, never seemed happy with herself as she was. She always needed to be better, to strive towards an ideal only she seemed to think was there.

"For now." Weiss seemed determined to keep conversation to a minimum. After Ruby and Yang spoke, Blake reluctantly took her turn. Looks from her teammates and a sense of longing within herself spurred her to action, but she knew it would be futile.

"Weiss, we need to talk about this. You can't avoid me forever." The thing she wanted most was to salvage her broken friendship with Weiss, yet her worlds were hollow. She knew that they were useless.

"I'm going to bed," Weiss spat angrily, almost as soon as Blake finished speaking. She walked from where she sat, put her books back in her bag, and moved back to her bed. She wrapped the covers around herself and lay beneath them. She was already in her nightwear.

"I know you didn't sleep last night. If the issues you have with me are that debilitating, this isn't something we can just let go. You need to talk to us," Blake tried again, the sad looks from her teammates making her try once more.

"Please, Weiss. Look, I'm sorry I got all pissy. Now I just want to talk, as a friend," Yang pleaded, hoping that perhaps she could convince Weiss to talk by reaffirming that she was still her friend. It was a true statement, not a lie told to comfort the heiress. Yang couldn't stay angry forever. Blake wasn't the only friend of hers who needed comforting.

"What if I order you? As team leader? You can't disobey the leader's orders!" Ruby tried to sound chipper and lighthearted, but fell horribly short. Her voice was too high pitched even for her. Weiss made no reaction, no motion at all. It was as if she was frozen over, an ice statue. Blake knew before the others; she wouldn't respond. She needed to be alone, or at least, wanted to. Blake could empathize with that.

"She's not going to respond," Blake sighed, drawing shocked glances from Ruby and Yang. She understood what they didn't. Weiss' struggles were similar to her own. They'd tried to talk to her enough; it would come to nothing. She had no more desire to play along.

"But-"

"Believe me, I know." Weiss felt a strange sense of familiarity, a connection she couldn't quite explain, and then realized who had spoken. The feeling faded as quickly as it had come. She already had a connection to people like Blake.


Chapter complete! So, I made Weiss a little like Blake this chapter with her trust issues, but that's just the nature of the story. Weiss doesn't want to trust Blake because of who she is, and doesn't hang out with her team because she doesn't want to interact with her. Basically, Weiss is screwing herself over and bringing about the loneliness she fears so much. However, this doesn't mean I'm going to neglect Blake; I want to include her own self-destructive behavior in the story, so expect a little more Blake next chapter. After all, that was pretty much my favorite part of volume 2; it was a side of her I didn't expect to see, but it added so much to her character!

Also, I can't help but feel that volume 1 introduced so much interesting stuff about Weiss (her beliefs regarding the faunus and hatred for the White Fang, her relationship with her dad, insight into her family life, etc.) that all seemed to get ignored in volume 2. At least we learned about Winter, and got some insight into why she became a Huntress. I should probably stop thinking about this kind of stuff; it only gets me more excited for volume 3, which is a long ways away.