A note, "~~~" after a passage designates a scene change.

Chapter 2: Thresholds

In which one of our heroines trembles at the threshold, a first kiss is given, and an unexpected guest arrives.

Ruby was winning. She was more than two-thirds finished with her plate of ribs while Nora was only a bit more than half-finished. Though Ruby was both shorter and weighed less than Nora her appetite was, and always had been, huge.

Ruby was well-known for constantly rising early in the mornings, never wanting to stand still or slow down. Everyday at home she had trained, honing the skills and techniques that her uncle had taught her, and she had trained with him every time he had come to visit her. She had not seen Qrow for two years, nobody had, in fact. But Ruby was sure that wherever he was he would be able to take care of himself with the same fighting skills he had passed to her.

At home Ruby had even been allowed to help her family keep the local Beowulf population under control, fighting entire packs. As a result of her constant training and refusal to remain still she was always famished for meals.

At Beacon her habits had not changed. Ruby would often spend the time given for traveling to her next period class by doing various stretches and exercises before the bell rang. At first it had irritated and annoyed teachers, but they soon realized that it wasn't meant as a prank or distraction. And, of course, Ruby regularly sparred with anyone willing to match her.

The constant upkeep of her strength and agility was what allowed her to save Weiss's life.

When Ruby felt the weak tug on her cloak she had turned her head, curious. As soon as she saw Weiss swaying above her, an animal-like panic in her eyes, Ruby had nearly choked. She managed not to, and instead swallowed the rest of her food quickly.

"Weiss? Weiss are you okay!?" someone shouted.

Ruby heard more shouts of surprise begin to spread and bent at Weiss's side, pushing the sounds out of her mind. She searched for any sign of injury, trying to discover what could have hurt her friend so badly so immediately. She pressed her ear to Weiss's chest and heard faint, irregular beating. Ruby noticed with even more horror that Weiss's chest was neither falling nor rising.

"I've been a team leader for a bit more than a week and now one of my teammates is dying on the floor" she thought.

She scooped Weiss into her arms and began to sprint towards the nearest exit, certain that she had no time to spare. More cries of shock and dismay rose from the other students at dinner as she jumped from table to table, heading towards the nearest exit. She recognized headmaster Ozpin standing in the doorway just before she knocked him over in her sprint. She did not dare slow, and rushed outwards into the cool night.

She hurried past Beacon tower, through the various residential halls, past the gardens, and crashed through the entrance to the Healer's Ward with her shoulder. The door flew open with so much force that it fell from its hinges and hit the floor with a thunderous boom.

"Somebody help! My friend Weiss collapsed at dinner and she's not breathing! I'm not sure what's wrong with her, she could be dying" shouted Ruby.

A mature Faunus with elk horns protruding from his head rushed out of an office at her dramatic entrance.

"Place your friend on one of the bed's here - yes - that's right, just like that. Tell me, did she give any kind of warning to you? Do you have any reason to believe that she may have been allergic to what she was eating? Possibly even poisoned?" demanded the man.

"Nothing, she just stood up and tugged on my cloak. I saw her fall and I could tell she wasn't breathing so I ran as fast as I could" responded Ruby.

"Damien, look at this girl, do you know her?" asked the man.

A Beacon senior appeared by the older healer's side and his face assumed a sickly pallor when his eyes fell on Weiss.

"She's Weiss Schnee, a freshman. I healed a couple cracked ribs earlier today after she was kicked during close combat training. I thought she was fine, honest! I-I, I don't know what happened " explained Damien.

"By the Goddess Above boy, why didn't you file the report!? Never mind, just find the Headmaster and bring him here now, Glinda too" said the man.

"I'm Ruby, her team leader, how can I help?" asked Ruby.

"I'll use my healing magics to relieve the pressure on her lungs. I'm afraid my student was too forceful with the magic he used to mend her ribs, her bones have actually shrunken and are crushing her lungs. I should be able to save her, but I'll need you to get her breathing started as I readjust her ribs. By the Goddess, I hope you've been paying attention in your basic Medic courses" he said.

"Got it, just tell me when to start; and please... save her."

"Alright, start the mouth to mouth in three, two, one, now!"

Ruby opened Weiss's mouth and then pressed her mouth to her friends, sealing them together. She attempted to breathe life into her friend while watching the professor, whom she did not know, work. His calloused hands hovered over Weiss's chest, and a red glow emanated from them. The opaque red light then fell slowly, as if a fog was descending upon Weiss. It slowly sank into Weiss's motionless body and Ruby continued the kiss of life, hoping. ~~~

Weiss was back in White Castle. It was silent as snow as Weiss traversed the Gothic structure, abnormally so. The voices of cooks and workers that had always echoed through the court-yard and halls were absent. And yet, despite the eerie atmosphere Weiss felt calm, even happy. She didn't remember returning to the castle, but that did not trouble her. Her legs were guiding her to some part of the castle she was intimately familiar with. Her family's private quarters.

Her family's quarters inhabited the top fourth of Castle White's grandest tower and each window therein overlooked the castle. Weiss reached the the tower she had been raised in with a smile on her face and a growing expectation in her heart she began to ascend the rough, pale steps and paused occasionally to admire the view from the windows of the tower. But whenever she stopped something in her heart seemed to grow impatient, and prodded her to move further upwards. So Weiss climbed and climbed, allowing herself to be guided by some intangible force.

When she finally pushed against the door to her family's quarters it made the same squeak as always and swung inwards. The foyer was as she had remembered it, quiet and neat. But somehow Weiss knew that her solitary odyssey was not yet at an end. She passed through the adjoining rooms until she came to an oaken door. Her mother's study.

Her heart throbbed, begging her to open the door and once again embrace her mother, she was somehow sure she would be able to do so. However, something else stayed her hand. Weiss trembled with conflicting emotions, knowing that the door ahead of her was both an end and a beginning. Opening the door would return the joys she had lost. Opening the door would abandon the joys she had found.

Her hands shook while her mind raced, and she stood, unsure. Weiss was surprised when she saw her hand extend, as if some other soul was commanding her limbs. The deafening silence that surrounded Weiss ceased when her skin touched the metal of the doorknob. Her head was instantly filled with the soft chiming of her mother's voice and the high, nasal tone of her laugh. The feeling was of drinking from a cool gourd of water after having been thirsty for so long that one forgets what it feels like to have their thirst quenched. As soon as Weiss heard the sweet, maternal sounds she recognized just how deeply she had missed them.

Weiss started to twist the knob when a hand closed on her wrist. She turned her head and her mouth was captured in a firm kiss. She blinked, stunned at the sudden contact of warm, soft lips upon her own. She had never been kissed for so long or with such passion. She liked it. She really liked it.

The enjoyment was only fleeting as almost immediately her chest filled with an excruciating pain. Her lungs burned with the primal desire for more air, and her ribs felt as if they were breaking within her. When she felt a gust of sweet, warm breath snake into her lungs the pain lessened slightly and she was able to take a breath. The kiss now broken, Weiss drank greedily from the air. As soon as enough oxygen was back inside her lungs she screamed, the pain within her immense. Her eyes flew open and she looked upwards, searching for anything or anyone that could ease her pain.

A face appeared over her and she felt a pair of rough hands hold her head steady.

"Focus on my face, my voice. Study every detail of my face and repeat it back to me. You've nearly made it, you can rest soon but not yet, you need to hold on until the pain has passed."

"Old. You look, old. Something is coming out of your head, I think they're...horns? Horns? Copraz! Copraz please, I can't... pain, 's too much..." gasped Weiss.

"Her words are slurring and she's slipping into shock. Damn me damn me damn me! What was that adrenaline spell?"

Copraz's words were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Weiss, stay awake, you have to stay awake!" shouted Ruby.

But Weiss's eyes were already closing again, and she yearned to return to Castle White and find the oaken door. Her eyes were shutting and the pain was once again fading when the sharp sting of a slap jolted her eyes open. The new pain brought her back from the threshold for the second time and she looked up into her savior's face. ~~~

Ruby's hand remained upraised, ready to deliver another slap, but she saw that was unnecessary. Weiss's eyes had opened with a new clarity that told of actual consciousness. Ruby lowered her hand and grabbed one of Weiss's dangling hands with it.

"You made it Weiss, you collapsed at dinner and weren't breathing. I was terrified that we had lost you until I felt you... uh, felt you...". Ruby's voice trailed off.

Weiss, though still wincing in pain every few seconds, was coherent enough to catch the hesitation in Ruby's words.

"When what? What did I do Ruby?"

"Well I was giving you mouth to mouth, like they taught us in class, and your lips... well they pressed back against mine. I'm sure it was just some kind of involuntary reaction or something. But anyways that's how I knew you weren't, uh, yeah. Anyways, sorry about slapping you."

When Ruby reached the part about Weiss's lips pressing against her own she was certain she saw a blush cross Weiss's face, but it was soon gone. In its place was a look that Ruby had never seen on Weiss before, but still easily recognized.

"Thank you Ruby. I know that's a weird thing to say to someone after they've just slapped you in the face, but still. I think - no, I know just helped save my life. Thank you" said Weiss.

"Ehem, I believe some thanks are also due over on this side of the bed Miss Schnee" said Copraz, a benevolent twinkle in his eye.

Weiss looked over at the Faunus healer and looked as if she were about to laugh. Instead she began to cough heavily and for a second Ruby was worried that Weiss was not yet safe.

"That's fine Miss Schnee, cough it up. Your lungs were under a severe amount of pressure from your improperly mended ribs, I expect you'll be coughing for several days. I'm afraid you'll need to stay in the medical ward for at least two days so I can monitor the spells I used to readjust your ribs. A pity, considering that you'll be missing the Founding Feast. But better alive and bedridden than dead" offered Copraz.

Ruby frowned when Copraz mentioned Weiss would miss the feast but then reconsidered.

"If I hadn't been able to carry her so quick, or if Copraz had messed up..." she thought.

Ruby grabbed Weiss's hand once again and gave it a squeeze.

"Profess Copraz is right - about giving him some thanks I mean. He saved your life after all" she said.

"Ruby, please. Almost dying has not made me forget my manners. Thank you very much Professor, I owe my life to you. And you too Ruby, I wouldn't be here if you hadn't helped the Professor."

Clapping came from the doorway and Ruby turned to see Ozpin standing in the room with them. His signature green scarf was stained with coffee and Ruby's heart sank when she saw the extent of the stains. Ozpin's sharp eyes must have noticed where she was looking and he smiled at her.

"Miss Rose, if you believe that I would punish a student for ruining my scarf in the process of saving another girl's life... perhaps you should seek Copraz's healing powers as well" said Ozpin.

The air hung heavy with a pregnant pause and was then filled with laughter. Even Weiss managed a few laughs before lapsing into a small set of wheezes and coughs.

Soon others began to arrive in the Healer's Ward. Glinda arrived soon after Ozpin and helped Copraz to set up spells for Weiss's comfort and continued monitoring. She also repaired the door that had been a casualty of Ruby's haste. Almost as soon as it had been repaired the door burst open with another violent noise as teams RWBY and JNPR arrived, spearheaded by Nora.

Weiss frowned at the new arrivals and shook her head.

"This is the Healer's Ward, not the sparring grounds. If you're going to behave like Neofaunts and stomp about then I will ask for you to be removed" she huffed.

"Wait a second, I thought Weiss was hurt? How can she possibly be hurt if she's already back to being our resident ice princess?" asked Yang with a smile.

Weiss attempted to compose her face in a disapproving manner and failed. Instead she smiled at how her teammates had sped to see her. To Ruby's surprise she was told that only ten minutes had elapsed since her dash from dinner. She had been sure saving Weiss had taken at least an hour, perhaps several hours, but that was not the case.

What did end up taking hours was finally getting the Healer's ward mostly emptied and quieted for the night. Ruby helped Glinda and Copraz to convince the other students to allow Weiss some rest, though it was no easy work, as her friends were determined to spend the night standing guard over their injured princess. But eventually Ruby and the two professors managed to convince them that they would help Weiss more if she were allowed to rest in quiet for the night. And sure enough, soon after the others had left, Weiss seemed to fell asleep.

Ruby noted that her friend's chest rose and fell in the normal rhythm and reasoned that it was time for her to return to the rest of her team.

"Better let Weiss get to sleep, I'll just head out now. The teachers will probably ask me to go soon anyways" she thought.

Ruby had just begun to twist the doorknob when Weiss's voice sounded from behind her.

"Ruby, where are you going?" asked Weiss.

"I was going to head back to the dorms for the night and come back tomorrow, to let you get some rest like Copraz ordered."

"That's a load of nonsense Ruby, you know it as well as I do. You played just as much of a role in saving my life as Copraz did, if anyone should get to remain here it should be you" said Weiss.

As Weiss spoke Ruby returned to the foot of Weiss's bed. Weiss was quiet for a moment longer, as if carefully weighing her next words.

"I guess I can't force you to stay, especially after all you've done for me today, but I really think it would help to have my best friend nearby while I recover" finished Weiss.

"Did you just call me your...?"

"Ah! Don't repeat that to anyone," Weiss cut Ruby off.

"Of course I will, as long as I'm allowed by Copraz. And so long as you meet my two conditions."

"Conditions?"

Ruby continued, "The first is that you promise to give me guitar lessons as soon as you're able."

Ruby could tell that Weiss was taken aback, but she nodded and spun her hand in a 'Go on' gesture.

"The second requirement is that you have to allow me to call you princess."

If Weiss had been taken aback before now her mouth gaped in surprise. Ruby smiled on the inside at achieving the desired effect and waited for her friend's response.

It was not the response she expected.

"Here I was, expecting you to tell me something serious and you say that. You never give up do you? Well... alright then, its a deal" Weiss sighed.

She stretched her hand out and for a moment Ruby simply stood there, mouth wide. She had expected a refusal, possibly even an emphatic huff, but her befuddlement was brief, and she shook the offered hand.

After their deal was done Ruby closed the curtains around Weiss's bed and climbed onto the bed next door. She felt as if she had not slept in a week and was in need of a nice, long hibernation. Almost as soon as her head hit the thin Healer's Ward pillow she slipped into a deep sleep.

Ruby awoke to the sound of people chatting and a wonderful aroma filling the room. She rubbed sleep from her eyes and was about to climb out of her bed when the privacy curtains were wrenched to the side. Sudden sunlight made Ruby shield her eyes as a figure appeared at the foot of her bed.

"Rise and shine sis, heroes like yourself need to wake up early" said Yang.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up, stop being so pushy. What's that delicious smell?" asked Ruby.

"Chocolate chip pancakes, freshly made by Blake and yours truly. Optional syrup and whipped cream toppings available for a fee."

Ruby grinned and followed Yang to a table that had clearly been hauled out from some forsworn storage closet moments earlier. Ruby wasn't sure if she could trust how soundly built the table was, but she had every confidence in Blake and Yang's cooking. The three of them ate while Professor Copraz appeared to check on his patient.

After consuming three pancakes in about as many bites Ruby walked over to Weiss and was glad to see her awake and eating her own breakfast. Weiss waved a greeting to her teammates as she spooned a bowl of porridge into her mouth and the four of them were soon immersed in conversation. It was not much later when the door crashed open for a third time in less than 24 hours and the girls spun their heads to see what had happened now.

On the threshold stood a bear of a man, whose weight was likely three times Ruby's own. His face was covered with 5 O'clock shadow and his eyes were full of a manic energy.

As soon as his eyes connected with Ruby's own they charged towards each other and he swept her into a crushing embrace.

Uncle Qrow had returned.