I don't own RWBY. Only Skarlet, Kobalt, Lavender and Topazu.

SKLT: Kobalt

Sometimes the greatest challenge we can face is the one we must adapt to.

Spear and rapier clanged together as they collided. Both weapons were very similar, both were made of the same metal and both had revolving chambers filled with raw Dust. They might as well have been mother/daughter weapons. As they should have been. It was training time for Weiss, head of the Schnee Dust Company and her daughter Kobalt. The twelve-year-old was a mixture of both parents, with silver blue hair tied into a tight braid, cold blue eyes and pale skin. Normally, she would be sparring with her father, Neptune due to him having a similar weapon, but her mother insisted that she spar with her instead while he watched on the sidelines. As her mother put it, "Sometimes you're going to be in situations that put you at a disadvantage and you'll have to improvise."

Kobalt hadn't designed her weapon, Myrtekaiser, with close-range combat in mind so this immediately put her in an awkward position as she clumsily blocked Myrtenaster. Suddenly, her left foot started to slip on the padded floor which gave Weiss a chance to stick her revolver rapier underneath her spear and wrench it from her hands. Her mother then swept her feet from under her, knocking the pre-teen on her back with Myrtenaster's blade pointed at her chin.

Weiss sheathed her rapier and walked barefoot off the mats in order to retrieve her shoes to which Kobalt had gotten up into a cross-legged position and narrowed her eyes at her mother. "That was cheating!" she screamed.

Weiss sighed and, once she slipped on her boots, met her daughter's gaze. "No, that was combat. Your enemy's not going to play fair, Kobalt, especially if you're going up against a Creature of Grimm."

"Dad never does that!"

Weiss groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Yes. Your father. Your father has a tendency to go easy on you. An enemy in real life would never do that no matter how old you are. You have to learn these things if you're going to be a Huntress!"

Kobalt scoffed before stepping off the mat, forgetting her shoes in the process and collecting Myrtekaiser. "Maybe I don't want to learn it from you!" she snapped. With that, the pre-teen stomped off to her room.

Neptune, who had been watching, whistled. "Well, that could've been better."

Weiss sighed as she sat down next to her husband. "What am I gonna do with her? She gets along so well with you. Well, sparring wise but that's aside the point."

Neptune shrugged. "Maybe because I don't knock a twelve-year-old who's shoved into a situation that leaves her at a severe disadvantage on her butt."

Weiss glared at him. Neptune put his hands up in defense. "I'm just sayin'!"

The Schnee Dust Company CEO sighed as if understanding what her husband was saying. "I know, Neppy. It's just that, I want her to know how it feels to really be a Huntress. It's not glamorous. It's a matter of life and death. I just want her to understand that."

Neptune wrapped a comforting hug around his wife. "I'm sure she will, just give her time." This caused Weiss to smile at her husband and she planted a kiss on his cheek.

However, unbeknownst to them, Kobalt was listening to their conversation the whole time.

The next day, after lunch, it was once again Neptune's turn to spar with Kobalt. He had his shoes and socks on the side and his weapon set on guandano mode as usual, something he always set it on when sparring Kobalt. He then noticed his daughter walking up to the mat, slipper shoes in one hand and Myrtekaiser resting against her right shoulder in spear mode.

"Hey, Kobi. Ready to start?" Neptune asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Actually, yes, Dad. There's just one thing." Kobalt answered, setting herself into a combat position.

Neptune rose an eyebrow. "And that would be-?"

"Do not, and I mean do not, go easy on me."

This caused the elder Vasilias to scrunch his face in confusion. "Are you sure, sweetie?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Really come at me."

Neptune shrugged and shifted himself into a fighting stance. For a moment, father and daughter stood like that, neither making a move except for breathing. Then...

Kobalt charged first, swinging Myrtekaiser at her father who blocked it with his guandano. Neptune knocked the spear aside and attempted a stabbing motion with his weapon to which Kobalt dodged. The girl swung her weapon at her father only to once again have it blocked. For what seemed like several minutes, Neptune and Kobalt had their weapons locked together as they pushed back and forth, neither backing down. Eventually, Neptune shoved his daughter off him, causing her to hit the floor. She rolled back to her feet and charged. Her father spun his own weapon around, its blade splitting into three which he used to pin the spear to the mats.

Kobalt narrowed her eyes as a faint light appeared on her right arm. Before Neptune could react, Kobalt shot her hand out and runes burst out, knocking her father off his feet and allowing Kobalt to pull Myrtekaiser from under the trident's blades. It was a that moment, both father and daughter began to bob, weave and clash to the point it looked like blurs to the naked eye.

After what seemed like almost an hour, both Kobalt and Neptune laid their weapons on the ground, their bodies glistening with sweat and breaths ragged. It was also at that moment they heard someone clapping and turned to see Weiss, a proud smile etched across her face.

As it turned out, Weiss had gone in to see what the commotion was in the sparring room and was greeted with the sight of her daughter and husband mock-fighting with the same kind of intensity she put Kobalt through yesterday and decided to watch.

"Hello,-huff-Mother-huff. How-huff-long were you-huff-standing there?" Kobalt formally asked Weiss, gasping for breath.

"Long enough to be proud." the SDC CEO responded walking down to the training mats. "However... now that you've proven you can handle yourself in intense situations, let's try sparring with me again."

As she said that, Weiss sat down and pulled off her shoes and unsheathed Myrtenaster. "Neptune, go take a break."

With that, Neptune walked off to retrieve his socks and shoes while Kobalt turned to face her mother who tossed her a water bottle. The pre-teen chugged down the cold liquid as she worked to catch her breath.

"Shall we begin?" Weiss asked, assuming a combat stance.

Kobalt smirked as she readied herself. "Let's."