Embers of Autumn
Chapter Five
Always an early riser. Whether she had to or not, Weiss always got up at the same time. Though keeping that regimen is a little more difficult to keep these days. Her sleep is deeper, more restful, and that's a hard thing to willingly put aside for her particular breed of daily cares.
Awareness comes back steadily, her first breath feeling cold in her lungs but vitalizing. The chill inches through her body, waking her muscles and encouraging her to stretch. One arm goes up from the bed, one leg tucking upward as well, the other half of her limbs are pinned to the mattress. She blinks her vision clear, opals catching meager morning light through an airship porthole before she turns her head away.
Again? She wonders silently at the mess of dark hair at her shoulder. Her brow knits briefly, mild annoyance pulling them together, but with a little sigh the expression smooths and she chances to press her cheek to the top of Ruby's head. Barracks on an airship this size were rather compact, meant for a crew of no more than ten, and the few beds were arranged on top of one another. Weiss didn't ignore the bare bones likeness to their dorm room when she first came aboard yesterday, but it had been a bittersweet reminder that she allowed to pass rather quickly. But Ruby somehow winding up in her bed is a relatively new development, one she actually doesn't mind at any rate. Even though she snores on occasion.
Weiss has to fight a little to get out of bed, making an effort not to wake her but also having to fight herself free of Ruby's grip all the while trying not to fall off the top bunk. Wordless grunts of protest punctuate the little tugs of Weiss' arm from Ruby's hands. When she's finally free, ignoring the little shiver at the loss of contact, she starts to methodically preen and prepare herself for the day. She leaves the barracks perfectly pressed, per the usual.
She stifles a yawn behind her palm as she walks through the sliding door to the mess hall, one brow quirking as she considers for the hundredth time how it got that name because, frankly, she's never seen a cleaner place outside of her own home. It's a modest dining area, nothing like what some of the fleet flagships boast, but the food is fresh and made to order, and the coffee isn't so strong it'll change your religion. Half way to the counter her gaze is snatched up by a bright yellow mass, looking to see the back of Yang's head. There's a fondness blossoming in her chest right beside the curiosity of whether or not the state of her hair was from a restless sleep or just...that way. Her expression contorts suddenly at the smell of something just awful.
Waiting for her breakfast at the counter she taps the top of it with one pale painted nail, still staring at Yang, initially drawn to the still powerful looking muscles in her back through a white tank top. She tries to stay away from the stump, mostly suspicious that somehow Yang would know if she started gawking. She watches the brawler shift in her seat, her hand coming into view and revealing the cigarette pinched between her thumb and index finger. Weiss lifts one snowy brow, unimpressed. The expression holds even after the chef passes her a tray and she starts away from the counter.
"Smoking isn't permitted on the airship." she says casually, appearing from behind. "In fact, the sign's on the wall next to you."
"Hm? Oh, morning," Yang greets, taking another drag and exhaling in the other direction.
She sits. "Could you put it out?"
"In a minute."
Weiss brow knits. "Please?"
"When I'm done."
Weiss' eyes thin and she reaches out ever so gently with her aura, the pointer finger on one hand flinching upward to help her focus. The next time Yang puts the cigarette to her mouth she jerks, hand snapping away from her mouth so she could see for herself the lack of smoke coiling from the end. A moment longer and she registers the icy coldness against the pads of her fingers, her brows popping towards her hairline.
"You little shit," she laughs, setting the frozen cigarette down on the table. "Nice trick."
"I've been practicing." Weiss smiles, comfortably smug as she takes a knife and fork to her breakfast.
She shakes her head. "...It's not that I didn't believe it when Uncle Qrow told me, I just...can't quite wrap my head around it."
"I can't either. Not entirely." Only in quieter moments, only when she sees the change in her eyes in the mirror, or when she tries to summon and the glyphs appear with almost no effort. "It's...quite something."
Yang nods, slouching in her seat, pushing the frozen cigarette back and forth.
"So when did you pick up such a nasty habit?"
"A few months ago," Yang sniffs, "something to keep my hand busy." Something to keep her mind off of the numbing frustration of struggling to do the most mundane things.
"Well you're going to have to drop it." she takes a bite, chews and swallows. Schnee's don't talk with their mouths full. "It'll raise your blood pressure."
"So?"
"They won't go through with the procedure if your vitals are even a little outside a normal range. That is...if that's still what you want."
"Oh sure." Yang nods, unfazed. "Should be easy. It's not a habit really, just when I'm bored." Or when I'm jonesing for a lay and can't handle fighting to rub one out with my off hand. Kind of like now, when just sitting on a washing machine during the spin cycle could get her off. Easy.
"Then we'll just have to find a way to keep you occupied."
Yang chuckles to herself. God knew what the uptight heiress had in mind. Canasta or some other stupid highbrow shit.
"And,"
Lilac eyes lift, expecting to meet Weiss' gaze to instead finds her brow knitted almost too tight, eyes on her plate.
"I...I don't want to impose but...I think you should consider seeing a councilor before the operation."
"What for?"
"I just," she pauses, then takes a stabilizing breath and sets down her utensils. "I'm worried. I feel like...I can't help but feel like you're...angry."
"Of course I'm angry." Yang grins, scratching the back of her head. But the easy grin on her face falters, fades, and she leans on the table by her elbow. She's angry because she still needs her father's help to get dressed at eighteen years old. She's angry because she can't tie her own shoes or ride her motorcycle -god that was one of the worst things. She's angry because nothing makes the phantom pain stop so she lays in bed at night sweating through it while biting her tongue. "But not at you. I couldn't be mad at you or Ruby."
"And Blake?" Weiss feels a heated prickle against her aura.
"...Just angry that she felt like she couldn't come to us. She promised, but...you know."
Weiss only nods.
"Ruby is doing what she thinks is best, I can't hold that against her. That just wouldn't be fair. And you," Yang has to stop and think of the right words. "If I'm angry at you it's because I'm spoiled and like to think it's all about me. I forget that people have their own lives that don't revolve around me. You couldn't control your dad, you couldn't keep him from taking you back to Atlas, so,"
Weiss exhales, a little relieved.
"Sorry about that, by the way."
For a moment she looks up, mild confusion there for a split second before it morphs into vulnerability. "I'll be all right." is all she says.
"And Winter? How is she?"
"The last report I received from her doctor says she was awake and responsive." the reply is strangely textbook, almost unfeeling. "Hopefully I'll have a chance to visit with her when we get back. Which reminds me, there will be papers for you to sign when we arrive."
"...Um, can you forge my signature or something?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Weiss sputters, wiping her mouth on a napkin. "Actually, we can take fingerprint verification now, so no worries about that."
"Sounds fancy." out of reflex she smirks and reaches into her tank top -the black lettering on the front proudly declaring Haute Mess- to the space between her breasts where she keeps a small box of cigarettes and her lighter. Before she can pull them out her eyes are pulled up to meet Weiss', a razor's edge inching through the glare, convincing her to just leave them be. "God, what are you, my mother?"
"No, I'm actually here for you." then her features stretch, gaping. "Oh, that was terribly rude."
"But it's true, so it's still funny." Yang had to admit it that was a good one, especially for Weiss. She still has a faint itch to reach for her cigarettes, but strums her fingertips over the pad of her thumb instead. "Speaking of which...did I thank you?"
"Hm?"
"For saving my butt."
"You did, don't you remember?"
A cock-eyed smirk. "In my defense, I was really hung over."
Weiss giggles and then wipes her mouth again. "Oh, I know. But I'm pretty sure I heard a thank you somewhere between the vomit and you laughing at yourself." Which the combination of those two things even being possible blows her mind. For some unfathomable reason, Yang Xiaolong thought the sound of herself retching was hilarious. "Though, I'm curious,"
"About?"
"You didn't seem too bothered by that woman trying to kill you."
Yang scoffs. "What can I say, whiskey takes me to a dark place after a few shots. Besides, I wasn't even aware of that until you showed up. I was just going to take her home."
Weiss drops her fork, stainless steel chiming against hard plastic. Initially her thoughts fly to the potential of Yang getting her father tangled up in that mess along with Zwei, but then the phrase takes its intended meaning and she blinks, surprised. "You meant to sleep with her?"
"Yeah. And?" one brow tips upward, mouth neutral. "Got a problem with it?"
"Considering what she wanted to do to you,"
Yang tosses her head towards her shoulder, golden mane moving in congress with the gesture, and she gives Weiss a slanted glance. "Well, when you're looking at everything through a thick sheen of liquor, everything's a come-on." And I was needy as hell. Yang has been needy for a while, in all honesty. She has an itch bad enough to hump just about anything with a pulse, and for a moment she just contemplates Weiss, watching her shake her head and return to her food. Yang would take her if she asked. Sure enough, she'd sit her on the table -sating a months old curiosity that she's only on-again-off-again entertained- and ruck her skirt up around her waist to feverishly, meticulously dismantle that pristine prettiness of hers in search of something that makes the lofty heiress seem more human.
Yang bites her tongue. She may be stupid, but she wasn't that careless. Doing that would hurt all the wrong people in all the worst ways.
Better to change the subject altogether.
"Has Ruby gotten any more texts from Jaune? Or calls? We should be in Mistrali airspace..."
"Not that I've heard." she finishes the last bite and crosses her silverware on the plate before covering it with a napkin and pushing it aside.
"Vomit boy," Yang sighs with a certain fondness. "I hope he's all right, Ren and Nora too...I don't know if Ruby will be able to handle it if they're not."
Weiss feels her heart hitch, the same notion crossing the back of her mind like a heavy shadow. Yang hasn't seen the extent of Ruby's battle with her guilt, but she was already worried, and that alone gave Weiss pause. Then again, being as close a set of sisters as they, perhaps Yang was privy to some sort of link that she and Ruby simply weren't. But Weiss shudders all the same, making a conscious effort to not let her mind wander too far into the dark. All she knows is that any situation short of salvageable stood to break Ruby, and nothing could prepare Weiss for that.
"It's because of me." Weiss exhales, sounding pitiful. "She wouldn't have left them if-,"
"If some psycho hadn't tried to ice you and your family." It takes every ounce of her self control not to laugh at her own play on words, so she scowls to help keep it down. "Don't blame yourself for Ruby's choices, okay? Just," vulnerability creeps into her stern features, her lips pulling into a thin line as her line of sight breaks away, "just help her handle the consequences." Because her baby sister is still so young, maybe still unprepared to shoulder the weight of these things. She's always been so optimistic, she wasn't ready for that to be truly tested, wasn't ready to face the fact that things don't always turn out the way you think they should.
"Of course I will. Why would I do anything else?"
"I know you're neck-deep in your own mess right now, with the company and everything."
"Fair enough." a little nod and a sideways glance. "But...I'm going to do my best for her. I promise." Though a little voice in the back of her head tells her how useless that will be. Her best has never been good enough, not for anyone.
"Oh I know." Yang smirks.
One white brow spikes, the pink scar over her eye stretching a little.
Yang laughs softly at her expression. "You said 'I love you' in your sleep."
"Excuse me?"
"Again, hungover, not deaf."
Weiss straightens, quiet shock in her eyes and gentle redness in her cheeks as she sputters. "Y-Yang, I don't know what you're thinking -Ruby and I, we just," She just wants to hold her hand and not feel so alone and hug her and disappear in her warmth and...oh god.
"I'm not thinking anything." Yang gestures with her hand, dismissive. "You're her best friend -after me of course- and she counts on you. I could be blind and still see that. And whether you know it or not, she's always tried to reach out to you, especially after the Emerald Forest. You remember?"
Her expression softens, hands folding together atop the table. She slowly nods.
"So just be there, okay? Be her friend. After that...it's none of my business, but I'll say this," Yang leans forward, a little redness ringing the lilac in her eyes. "Don't make her cry or, Maiden or not, I'll find you."
Weiss only nods.
(II)
It's early morning in Sanctum, and Jaune didn't sleep last night.
Dressed in a shirt and sweatpants on loan from the academy -all of their clothes had to be laundered after coming in from the swamp- Jaune sits on the edge of his bed in the infirmary, hunched with his elbows propped on his thighs and his mouth pressed into his folded hands. He's sat this way almost all night, rarely moving to either pace the floor or use the facilities. His body buzzes uncomfortably, like his skin doesn't fit right, and while he's felt like this for a while, the sensation has hit a fever pitch.
Jaune watches over Ren and Nora, he can't even consider doing anything else. He finds himself wandering to Nora's bed off and on throughout the night, her sleep fitful. She has started sweating and throwing up like Ren, though not nearly as bad. She still has a little color in her face and wakes for long periods, whereas Ren hasn't opened his eyes in nearly two days and his skin is the most unsettling shade of gray. The doctors here keep telling him he'll be all right, that the bacterial infection he contracted from the polluted water just needs to run its course, but that does little to soothe him. He still feels as bent and numb as yesterday.
The faunus try to keep him company, Tag more so than Billy. The few times he's seen the bison it was brief, a few passing questions of marginal concern. He wants to think they're just reserved, not really uncaring like they sound. Tag is the exact opposite. She sits with him, close to his side, and talks to him at length. She brings him food even though he has no appetite, accepting the gesture so as not to seem rude. It's easy because she seems so maternal to him, likely not much older than his own mother. She moves between him and Ren and Nora, occasionally putting a gentle hand on them, a ripple of energy working through the brief connection. They'll be all right, she says, they're auras are still strong. And that somehow brings him more comfort than the word of the doctors.
"Any word back from your friends?" Tag speaks softly, just loud enough for him to hear.
"Yeah." A short, to-the-point response of I'm on my way. "I don't know when they'll get here."
"But that's good, isn't it? It means they're all right,"
"I guess so." he takes a deep breath, feeling the pulse of Tag's aura as he registers the bulk of her tail between them. He had been watching the news in passing on the ward keeper's small television, a flat screen monitor perched on his desk, and had yet to see anything in relation to a successful assassination. He could only assume Ruby reached Weiss in time. Something in him feels bitter at the thought, and something else is beyond caring. Right now he's so fixated on making sure that Ren's chest still rises and falls that he simply can't be bothered with anything else.
When Nora suddenly coughs it jars him, his knee-jerk reaction is to stand up and move around to her bed. The coughing doesn't stop and he helps her sit up, her eyes still closed as if sleeping. Her hands search for the edge of the bed to hold onto, leaning over it unsteadily. Jaune snags the waste bin with his foot and pulls it over just in time to catch the mess that comes from her mouth. When the fit passes her helps her lie down again after offering her a few sips from a bottle of water.
It doesn't take long for Nora to fall back to sleep -she's already exhausted- and when her breaths fall into a steady rhythm Jaune goes back to his previous place. Tag is smiling at him, not seeming to mind that he just stares at the floor.
"It's like you've done this before."
"I have seven sisters." he says with a puff of air, like it should be enough to explain everything. The way Tag nods shows that it does.
"They're fortunate to have you."
A little, caustic laugh. The hell they are.
"...Have I said something wrong?"
"No. It's nothing."
Tag leans forward, angling her head to try and catch his distant gaze. She knows that's not true, her aura bristling at his deflection. However she can see something in his face, something commingling with the dark circles and the redness in his eyes. Pain. Frustration. Things that make her heart clench.
"You need to sleep." she says instead. Now isn't the time to pressure him.
"I can't."
"What if I could help, would you let me?"
He pushes his hand through his hair, raking his scalp. "...Yeah. I guess."
She smiles a little wider, standing up, gesturing with her hand for him to lie down. She tries not to laugh at the flicker of confusion on his face. When he settles she kneels beside the bed. "Ready?"
"Sure." This should be good. He just registers the gentle touch of her knuckle to his temple, a warmth washing over his aura, and then nothing.
Looking only a little smug Tag nods, smoothing a few stray blond strands from his forehead before standing up. She leaves the ward and makes her way out into the corridor, then out to Sanctum's courtyard. Her dark eyes fix on the fountain at the center of the complex, on the big shadow of a shape sitting on its edge. She walks through the grass to reach it, not on the large flagstones that just feel unnatural. All of Sanctum feels like that to her, save for the few places they have seen that still grow green. She stomachs the feel of cool marble under her bare feet as she reaches the fountain, walking its narrow rim with her tail lazily swishing back and forth.
"How's the boy?"
Tag smiles, feeling Billy's energy brush against hers in acknowledgment. "He's asleep, finally." She comes to sit beside her Guardian, tucking against their massive frame. "Have you slept?"
"A while. It's difficult here." Much like Tag they feel a strange aversion to the place, something that rubs them the wrong way and won't let them fully relax.
"Have you eaten?"
"No." they grip the reptile skin bag at their side with their hand, giving it a shake. "My bag is empty."
"They will give you food inside, it's not good for you to go without."
"I know." Billy pulls her in, tucking a large hand under one leg to hoist her into their lap. They like the feel of her weight, find it comforting. "Once the sun is up and the humans are awake. Don't worry."
She remembers when they were younger, how they would faint dead away if they didn't eat every few hours. Now that they're older -pushing passed fifty with gray in their hair- it hasn't improved. "If you insist," Tag sighs in resignation. "Silly old bison."
A deep laugh vibrates through them. "Did you ask the boy about the Grimm?"
"No, he's not of the mind for talk of that." she leans against their chest, feeling the hard leather of their binder beneath her shoulder. "His pack mates are much too sick. But more of his friends are coming, maybe they know something."
Billy hums with a nod. "I wish Hunter Holiday could have told us more."
Tag nods as well. Dakota Holiday is a Sanctum instructor that first turned them on to word of Caissa and the black queen insignia, having lived there -apparently- before it was abandoned. They asked about the significance of the mirror, only to receive a funny look from the dark skinned man. All he had to say about it were rumors and gossip of Witches that is nearly twenty years old. And when they tried to question him as to how the little town came to be deserted, he said next to nothing. He seemed visibly worried that someone would hear if he said anything about it. That alone raised ten times as many questions as when they started.
"Perhaps he would have been more keen to speak if he knew who you really are."
"I disagree." Tag shakes her head. "Besides, aren't you the one always reminding me to keep my secrets secret?"
"...There's that. My apologies."
Tag laughs, and then her jaws part with a gut deep yawn. Then she shifts to sit between their thighs, sprawling across their lap with her head cradled in the crook of their tree-trunk arm.
"Sleep. We have a little time."
"I'm not sleepy, just need to rest my eyes." Tag sighs, content.
"My mistake." Billy smiles. They know better, sure enough as the woman goes quiet and starts to softly snore.
Billy gently rocks back and forth, knowing it will help keep her down, their free hand scratching at the black and white paint on their face unconsciously. The Dust in it is almost depleted, a little worry buzzing through their chest. Maybe there is a butcher in this massive village somewhere that would be willing to part with the animal fat they need to make more. Where would they even begin to look for a butcher in a place this big? The faunus takes a deep breath, silver eyes set in uncertainty. They can't imagine a place like this ever springing up in their jungle home, can't wrap their head around how humans stand to live in it, and the thought makes them miss Menagerie that much more.
After an hour or so the wash of gray across the landscape is chased away by the sun beginning to burn on the horizon. Billy blinks, shying from the sudden onslaught of light in their face. The flinch makes Tag stir but not immediately wake, the otter tucking closer to Billy's chest. It will be a few minutes more before her eyes open and she smoothly straightens, not startled but with her attention obviously jerked by something. Billy watches her stand up, curious but quiet. Tag steps away from the fountain, her chin tipping steadily upward, her eyes thinning to focus on something above the horizon.
"Look there," she points, "a star."
"...but it's moving."
Oddly enough, it is. Tag watches it a little longer and notices how it seems to follow the horizon to the east for a moment before appearing to go the opposite direction. Then it starts to grow larger, coming closer.
"...Now it looks like a bird. Mind you, not like one I've ever seen, but," Billy eases to their feet, "how on earth..."
"That's no bird." Tag gapes. "First the humans have iron boxes that roll by themselves and now they fly. Nature's mercy,"
"Iron can't fly." Billy shakes their head, casting a shadow over Tag as they stand beside her. "...It has to be some sort of magic."
Tag nods, readily agreeing. It has to be magic, she felt it distinctly when it pulled her out of her delicate sleep. It had been a strangely abrasive...chill just beneath her skin.
The airship touches down on a stretch of asphalt outside of Sanctum's courtyard, its contents lurching with the resounding shunk of its reconnection with the ground. The hatch at its back end folds open, allowing the four humans waiting to walk in time down the ramp. Ruby brings up the rear with her uncle in the front, Weiss and Yang between them. She notices a weird stiffness in the way her partner walks, and her hands fuss together in front of her, a behavior she doesn't usually see unless Weiss is anxious.
Ruby lengthens her strides to catch up. "What's wrong?"
"Hm?" Her ponytail whips as she quickly turns her head. "Oh, nothing, just..."
"Look, Weiss, whatever Yang said-,"
"No, it's not that." Not entirely, though Yang's friendly warning had been echoing between her ears. "Just...do you feel something? Because I do."
"...No. What is it?"
"Just...I don't know how to describe it." It's something like yet unlike Ruby's presence. There is nothing soothing or reassuring about this heated brush against her aura, and it seems to pull on her like a string of anxiety attached to the middle of her chest. She can almost sense where it's coming from, but can't fully suss it out.
Ruby manages one hand between hers, stilling them as she laces their fingers together. She flashes that comfortable, optimistic smile. It's a smile that reminds Weiss that she isn't alone. I'm here for you. And as much as she appreciates and reciprocates the gesture, it does nothing to settle the uneasiness churning through her. The sensation pitches, making her body tense as they enter Sanctum's courtyard, that string pulling more taught by degrees and demanding more of her attention. Like an itch she can't reach.
Qrow squints as he walks, his neck craning forward to focus on the little movement perhaps a dozen yards ahead of him. From here and with his liquor blurred vision he can only make out dark smudges at the foot of what he assumes is some sort of water feature. He intends to ignore them, his steps unaltered, but has a sinking feeling that they won't ignore him.
"Hey,"
Qrow Branwen is a fucking psychic.
"They look like faunus, Uncle Qrow. Do you know them?" Yang asks, her head turned.
"I guess we're about to find out." he grumbles, stopping as he sees the smudges drawing closer in his unfocused peripherals. The girls gather round behind him, Ruby keeping at least one step ahead of Weiss out of instinct. Turning to face them, Qrow finds himself nose to collar bone with the tallest one. He looks up, a stupid smirk stretching his mouth. "Well hey up there, what beanstalk did you fall out of?"
"I recognize you."
"Yeah, I get that. Can't say the feeling is mutual though." he laughs, mostly to himself. "So which is it, do I owe you money or did I steal your lady?"
"Neither." comes a rough reply. "You came to my village nearly sixteen years ago, you and several others. One of them went by the name Ozpin."
Qrow blinks, features stretching. He rubs his eyes briefly, roughly, and then looks up again. "Funny...you didn't seem this tall when I was sober."
Weiss tries to focus on the continuing exchange as her gaze wants to pull to the side. Her fingers flex against Ruby's hand, trying to keep herself grounded, but it isn't working. She can't stop staring at the other faunus. At first she blames it on the splash of bright red paint on her face, but then the faunus looks back at her, the older woman making a face of distinct interest and curiosity. The look of someone seeing something for the very first time. The warm creeping feeling under her skin surges again. It's coming from her.
"So what are you doing so far from home, big-and-tall?" Qrow crosses his arms.
"Looking for Ozpin, among other things, though I've heard he hasn't been seen for some time."
"True enough." he nods.
"But you were there." the faunus' face creases tightly into a hard scowl. "Perhaps you can tell me what happened."
"As much as I would love to, I'm afraid me and these young ladies have shit to do. But I'd be more than happy to discuss this over a drink or two later."
When he tries to walk away the faunus' massive hand snatches the front of his shirt and jerks him back to center. "We'll discuss this now,"
"You'd better move that before I move it for you," he cautions with a gesturing dip of his chin, his brow knit and his lips thinned.
"Billy, stop. We don't have to do it like this." All the humans watch as the other faunus convinces Billy to loose their grip with just a touch of her hand on their forearm. "I'm willing to bet these are Jaune's friends."
Ruby sputters excitedly until the words form. "You've seen Jaune? Is he okay?"
"We have." a curt nod and a little smile. "He and his pack mates are sleeping, so why don't we all sit down and talk this out? Without the posturing?"
"Uncle Qrow," Yang bumps him with the back of her hand as she almost whispers to him. "Look at his eyes."
"They." Tag corrects.
For a moment Yang just stares, a little stunned, lilac jumping from one faunus to the other. "Oh...sorry."
"What about it, kid?" Qrow pulls her attention back.
"They're just like Ruby's."
Billy cocks their head as Qrow stares up at them, squinting again. Ruby almost jumps between them, standing on the balls of her feet. "Oh, let me see!"
Tag smiles with a little laugh. "I knew it." Then she turns her head and looks Weiss straight in the eyes. "I knew you were a Maiden."
The other conversation falls away, Weiss pales and takes a recoiling half-step back. "H-how?"
"This girl is your Guardian, isn't she?"
"My what?"
Tag's brow quirks, and for a tense moment the two just stare at each other. "You...this must be new to you."
She flinches, appearing mildly offended. "Clearly. And how do you know so much about it?"
Tag's smirk turns mischievous as she steps closer to the heiress. "Billy's been my Guardian for a long time -likely since you were a baby, and I have been their Maiden."
Weiss bites her tongue against something brash perched there, a reflex reaction to someone making any reference to her obvious youth, and she focuses on Tag's eyes. The light catches the flicker of emeralds in her dark irises as Weiss feels a much less pressuring contact along her aura, a testing hand as opposed to a taught demand.
"What's your name?"
"...Weiss Schnee."
The faunus' brows lift, at least appearing impressed though the name is wholly unfamiliar. Likely one of the few people in all of Remnant that doesn't understand the weight of it. "Well met, Weiss Schnee, I'm Tag." and she offers a hand in greeting, quietly surprised when the human accepts and resisting the urge to laugh at her surprise when Tag takes hold of her wrist. Tag feels the chill again, but it isn't so intrusive, and by the look on Weiss' face, she's sure the human is feeling a similar sensation.
"Spring." Weiss says without meaning to, watching with quiet awe as Tag nods. "Will...are you here to help us?"
"I would like to think so. Nature isn't known for bringing the likes of us together by chance."
Author's Note: That last part was really hard to write and I'm not sure why. If it feels like it doesn't fit, I feel you, but it's there all the same. Maybe it's meant to be, as first impressions tend to be awkward. I'm going to try really hard to update weekly or bi-weekly, depending on how this works out. True, no Team Evil this round, but I'm working on it. Writing villains is HARD. Questions and comments are always welcome.