Thanks so much for the support, guys! As always, the amount of follows, reviews, and favorites this story has gotten continues to blow me away. I hope you enjoy chapter 6 of Conjuring up smiles!
Once Ruby explained the whole nevermore situation to Ozpin and Glynda, the latter seemed as though she was about to tear the brunette's throat out. Ozpin, however, simply looked amused.
"Well, I'm glad you're both safe. Though next time you might want to consider a safer method of transport. Speaking of transport..." He gestured to one of the Bullheads, beginning to address the group at large. "It's been a long day for everyone, and I think it's about time we got some rest. Teams will assigned upon our return to Beacon." Everyone filed onto the airship, and many skirted around Ruby and Weiss, giving them odd looks and murmuring quietly as they passed.
Ruby flopped down in a seat, head in her hands.
"Ugh...I screwed everything up." The scythe wielder mumbled.
"What do you mean, sis?" Yang sat down next to her, fixing her half sister with a concerned look.
"I crashed a nevermore into the side of a cliff, and my partner hates me. One of the only friends I might have made at this school, and she wants nothing to do with me." Ruby continued, sighing sadly. Yang draped an arm over Ruby's shoulders, hugging the brunette close to her side.
"Hey, that nevermore thing was super cool! Nobody else would have thought of it, and you're not in trouble...Yet. Besides, when it comes to friends, you've always got Jaune and Pyrrha and the others! Weiss'll warm up to you." Ruby raised her head from her hands at this, fixing Yang with a hopeful look.
"You think so?" Yang nodded confidently, flashing the red-clad girl a grin. Privately, the brawler didn't think that Weiss was worth her little sister's time, but considering that Ruby was stuck with her, she didn't have another option but to reassure her.
"I know so." Ruby's gaze drifted across the airship, where Weiss was seated next to Blake. The two were busy talking, with Weiss looking furious and Blake appearing indifferent.
"How are things between you and Blake?" Ruby asked, and Yang shrugged.
"I like her. From what I can tell, she's a brilliant scientist, and she can hold her own on the battlefield too. She's also drop-dead gorgeous. But...She's really quiet. I have no idea what she's thinking half the time. She barely said a word to me on the way back here." Yang's smile faded for a moment before returning to her face with full enthusiasm again. "But something makes me think we'll get along fine."
"Weiss, you can't hate her forever. She's your partner." Blake said in a pacifying tone. The heiress huffed, crossing her arms.
"Not if I have anything to say about it. I'm going to go straight to Ozpin and tell him he made a mistake." Weiss declared, icy blue eyes narrowed in anger. Blake sighed. Normally, she wouldn't have anything to do with the heiress's temper tantrums, but as soon as they boarded the ship Weiss had dragged Blake over to the closest vacant seats and began griping about her 'terrible disgrace of a partner.' Blake had humored her at first, but she was starting to lose her patience.
"Weiss, what is this really about?" Blake's question made Weiss stop mid-rant, her expression transforming from angry to confused.
"I-You-What on earth do you even mean?" Weiss shot back defensively.
"I understand that driving a nevermore into a cliff was reckless and idiotic and all those other things you mentioned. But if that's the only reason you were mad at her, you'd have stopped complaining five minutes ago." Weiss froze, and Blake got the feeling she was calculating her next move very carefully.
"I...I just...I..." She trailed off, then appeared to deflate. "Fine. If you must know, I learned that she's the one who's been giving me all those paper flowers. And since she's such a child and treats everything like it's some big joke, those flowers were probably a joke too." Weiss finished, her eyes trained on the ground. Blake sat back in her seat, sighing. Her gaze drifted across the room, where Yang had a struggling Ruby in a headlock. Ruby attempted to break free for a few seconds before going limp. Yang released her, and the two broke out in laughter, shoving each other playfully.
"Weiss, for all her faults, I don't think Ruby's a bad person. She's childish, like you said, but she's never actually shown any malice towards you or, as far as I know, anyone. I don't think she's the kind of person who would toy with your emotions like that. I don't really know why she was giving you those flowers, but I don't think she meant anything bad by it." Blake chose each word carefully, and Weiss seemed somewhat calmed down by the end of it.
There was something else nagging at the dark woman, though. Something she wasn't about to mention just yet, but something definitely noticeable. The black-clad woman had watched Weiss brush off people like Cardin without giving them a second glance, but suddenly this Ruby Rose girl had gotten under her skin with ease? Also, it was worth noting that while Weiss ridiculed Ruby's idea to ride the nevermore with vehemence, the white-haired girl had, in fact, gotten on board with the idea just enough to ride the infected all the way back to Beacon.
A small smile crossed Blake's face. It seemed that the heiress might not be as cold hearted as she seemed. Although, if Ruby was going to have any chance in breaking through that icy exterior, it would take a lot of hard work.
Blake's train of thought was cut off by an announcement over the airship's intercom.
"We are approaching Beacon and will be landing shortly. Please remain seated until the airship comes to a complete stop."
The students left the airship and were immediately ushered into the same lecture hall their orientation had been held in. Ozpin made his way to the front of the room and began to speak.
"You will now be organized into teams. Please listen closely and step up to the front of the room once your name is called." The students stepped up to the front of the room, were assigned a team leader and a team name, then left. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren were assigned a team, led by Jaune and called team JNPR. Ruby gave Jaune a thumbs up as he left, and he returned with a shaky smile. Finally, it was their turn.
"Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Blake Belladonna. Yang Xiao Long. The four of you will be called team RWBY. Led by...Ruby Rose." Ruby gasped, and Yang wasted no time before tackling her with a hug. Ruby had never expected to even get into this school so early, never mind become team leader. Once Yang released her from the hug, Ruby could have sworn she saw Blake smile a little. However, her attention was drawn more to Weiss. The heiress's expression was dark, and as soon as the next team was called up, the white-clad girl turned on her heel and stormed out without a word. Ruby sighed sadly.
"Don't worry about it." Yang reassured her as they left. "She's just jealous." Ruby watched the heiress go with a forlorn look.
"I hope you're right..." The three girls began to walk back to their dorm in silence. They were just passing another dorm building when two familiar figures emerged from it, jogging towards them and waving.
"Hello!" Pyrrha said cheerily, followed by a smiling Jaune. "We were hoping we'd catch up to you. Ren and Nora are making pancakes in Jaune's dorm, and we were wondering if you wanted to join us."
"You'd better decide soon, though." Jaune added. "Or Nora will drink all of the syrup."
Yang and Ruby both nodded in agreement, but Blake shook her head.
"Sorry, but I should get back. I have some reading to do before school tomorrow, and Weiss won't like it if I stay out too late." Everyone bid Blake goodbye, and the black-haired girl began to walk away. However, she hadn't taken many steps before she was stopped by an insistent Ruby.
"What is it?" Blake asked, somewhat confused. Ruby had her eyes fixed on her boots, and appeared a little uncertain of what she was about to say next.
"I know it's kind of a strange request, but I was wondering if you could maybe...Give this to Weiss for me?" Ruby asked hopefully. Blake blinked.
"Give what to Weiss?" With that, Ruby reached into Blake's bookbag and pulled out a rose, a small smile on her face. Blake nodded.
"Impressive. I'll make sure this gets to her." Ruby's face lit up.
"Really? Thank you so much, Blake!" The brunette chirped.
"Ruby! Are you coming or not?" Yang called from where the others were waiting. Ruby turned around and ran, still yelling her praise for Blake over her shoulder. Blake smiled begrudgingly. Despite her childishness, Ruby was a good kid.
Weiss paced around her dorm, fuming. She genuinely could not believe the decisions that the Beacon administration had made. Making Ruby the team leader? How absurd! Ruby was a child, for heaven's sake! Weiss sat down, then instantly stood up again. Her mind was made up. She would go directly to Ozpin and Glynda, demand a change in partnership (or at least a change in the leadership of the team) and then get this all sorted out. She stormed over to the door, fully intent on leaving, when it was opened by Blake.
"Someone's upset." Blake commented, taking in Weiss's angry appearance. Weiss tried to compose herself in vain.
"If you must know, I'm heading to Beacon's administration right now to get this whole mess sorted out. It's absolutely ludicrous, the way this team has been arranged." Blake raised her eyebrows.
"Well, don't let me stop you. Just let me give you something first."
"What could you possibly have to give me that's more important than-" Weiss stopped dead when Blake handed her the rose. The heiress almost seemed ready to explode.
"Of all the most impertinent, childish things-" Weiss was cut off again when Blake turned the rose around. Written on the back were three words.
Sorry about today.
Weiss seemed to lose steam as Blake watched. She took the rose and sat back down on her bed. Blake resisted the urge to laugh. It seemed that the heiress had fallen for this girl hard if a single rose managed to derail her so quickly.
"So, about that trip to Beacon's administration...?" Blake prompted her blushing teammate. Weiss blinked, apparently confused.
"What? Oh, that. Forget about it. You've seen the way Ozpin works. He probably wouldn't change it even if he wanted to. There's no point in going." At least, that was what Weiss told herself as she placed the rose along with all the others she had received. There was no other reason she wanted to keep Ruby as a partner. It wasn't like she found the magician charming in any way, right? Weiss went to bed that night with a multitude of confusing thoughts in her head, most of them about a certain Ruby Rose.
And that's that! Please leave a review if you're so inclined, or if I messed up on anything.
As always, thank you for reading and have a great day.