Even though I said I was having a hard time with ideas I managed to happily write this chapter. I'd like to give a shout out to Shi'uri for putting an extra little spark in my mind to get it done. Consider this chapter a Christmas present from me to you.
Caden
It took us awhile but we eventually calmed down from the emotional high we were in. Aunt Weiss still had some tears but she was smiling now which definitely warmed me up. I was glad Mum had shown up, I don't know how I would have handled the situation. Aunt Weiss had never been this emotional in my presence.
Mum looked at both Aunt Weiss and me. "Is everyone doing okay?"
Aunt Weiss nodded her head a little. "Yes, I'm feeling a bit better now." She turned towards me. "Thank you for coming to see me. I'm sorry that I had a moment there."
I patted her hand. "It's fine. Everyone needs to vent sometime, and it just happened to be your turn."
Mum stood. "I'm glad that it's all settled for right now. Caden, lets get back to the living-room before your mother bores your friend to death."
I followed Mum to the door and opened it. "I'll talk to you later, Aunt Weiss. Please get better soon."
Aunt Weiss waved. "I'll try, oh, and Yang, can you reach inside that drawer and toss what's inside it to me?"
Mum obliged and took out a red scarf. She seemingly understood what it meant. "Here you go, Weiss. Will you be okay while we are out here?"
Aunt Weiss wrapped the scarf around her neck, it's fabric a bright contrast against her white hair. "I think so. I'll be right here if you need anything."
Aunt Weiss went back to laying down and we left the room to let her rest. When we made it back to the living-room, Mother and Natalia were still talking and I almost hoped they didn't notice me and Mum's disappearance. Mum took one step and Mother immediately turned and stared at us. I've always hated when she would do that to us. It made me feel like I was paralyzed by her eyes alone. Mother was like a predator ready to pounce on us.
"So.." She began. "Where did you two go? It's rude to leave your guests alone."
Mum stuttered a little. "B-But Natalia was with you. Besides, Caden and I went to go check on Weiss."
Mother raised an eyebrow. "How was she?"
Mum smiled. "We had a very involved family moment. I'll fill you in later after Caden leaves. I hope we didn't miss much."
Mother shook her head. "Not really, no. Natalia was just talking about her old community. Such a fast talker she is."
I saw Natalia's face redden. "I hope Mother didn't bore you. I had to go do something."
Natalia raised a hand. "It's fine. Your mom is cool."
Mum laughed. "Wow, Blake. You've finally hit 'cool' status. Congratulations, hun."
This was pretty much how the rest of our visit went. My parents seemed to have gotten a bit younger now that it wasn't just me in the house. I guess they were feeling old with Natalia around to remind them that I wasn't the only teenager in the world. It was nice to be back at my house even if it was only for today. I can't say I missed Mum's teasing though. She kept asking about if I had found a boyfriend or something but I just said no and tried to ignore her. School alone took up enough time as is.
About thirty minutes before the time I figured we needed to leave to get back to Beacon to not be past curfew, Mother had went into the kitchen and a delicious smell attacked my nose. I jumped up and ran into the kitchen and saw my favorite dish. Baked potatoes, salad, and the main dish, cooked salmon. It was like she didn't want me to leave at all.
I tried to sneak a bite but was slapped away. "Wait until the table." Mother pulled the plate away.
I sighed and decided to wait. "What's all of this for?"
Mother put some plates on our table. "I figured that a nice family dinner would be a perfect way to end your visit. Especially since you haven't had any real cooking for a whole week. I know what they serve at that school."
Mother called everyone in except for Aunt Weiss who opted to take a plate back to her room. Natalia was nice enough not to ask about her as she probably guessed that it was a tricky subject right now. After everyone sat down, Mum immediately began to rip apart every edible object in front of her. Mother just looked at her with a frown but said nothing. I guess after so many years of being with her she just gave up. I don't blame Mum though, this food was more than ten times the quality of what can be found at Beacon. Even Natalia couldn't help herself, even going as far as to ask for seconds.
Unfortunately, we got to the point where Natalia and I had to leave. We could have stayed longer but I didn't want to risk missing curfew and facing whatever punishment the teachers had.
Mother hugged me and barely tried to let me go. "Be careful on the way back. No detours, please."
"It wasn't bad on the way up here. I'm sure we'll be fine on the way back." I assured her.
Mum delivered one last back-breaking hug. "Stay tough. I'll make sure to check on Aunt Weiss for you later tonight."
I nodded. "I didn't know."
Mum shushed me. "It's okay. Besides, you were going to know at some point. But, enough with the sad stuff, you need to get going before you get in trouble. Plus, I'm sure your other teammates are wondering where you are."
Natalia chimed in. "I doubt it. They've probably been training all day."
Mother looked at me. "So while your teammates were bettering themselves, you were over here fattening yourself off my cooking. Something sounds off about that."
I looked down at the ground. "I get it, I get it. We'll go ahead and leave."
Mother just laughed and kissed my forehead. "I'm just giving you a hard time." She leaned in and whispered into my ear. "Although you may want to watch what you eat. Your behind is getting a little big."
I jumped back with a red face. "MOM! Was that really necessary!?"
Natalia looked confused. "Did I miss something?"
"NO!" I yelled. I calmed myself down a little. "Lets just go before they say anything else."
We started on our way and I looked back to wave at my parents. They were yelling their good-byes and Mother was still laughing to herself. I was glad I was getting away from their jokes but I knew I was going to end up a little homesick when I made it back to Beacon. At least I had my friends to make me feel better. Natalia seemed to be enjoying the walk back, taking her time to look around and such.
"So what was that 'family moment' about earlier today?" Natalia asked, breaking the silence.
I kept walking along the path. "It was about another member of my family who died before I was born. My aunt misses her a lot and today was especially bad for her."
"Oh." Was all Natalia said, not wanting to pry apparently.
We kept walking in silence all the way back to Beacon. The sun was low but we thankfully didn't break curfew. We made it into the dorms and walked into our room where Lauro and Damien were waiting. They looked tired from whatever training they did today.
Damien saw us walk in. "Where were you two? I haven't seen you guys all day."
I flopped onto my bed. "Natalia and I went to go see my parents today."
Natalia copied my actions. "Yea, they were nice. Totally worth the walk."
I turned over and looked at the ceiling. "You're just saying that because of the food they made us eat."
Natalia looked insulted. "That's not true. They seemed like cool people. They food was just a bonus."
Damien stood up. "Wait! You two went and ate home-cooked food without us?"
I quickly apologized. "I didn't think you guys would want to see them, plus, you said you wanted to train with Lauro."
Damien looked at Lauro. "Aren't you mad you got to miss some good food?"
Lauro just went back to studying. "Food is food. Taste doesn't mean much when you need nutrients."
Damien groaned. "You can be a real killjoy sometimes. I know I would have loved to get some good food. Beacon may be a top school but the food is barely good enough to not be considered fast food."
I laughed. "Maybe next time I go see my parents you can come along with me. Just don't expect food since even I didn't expect my mother to make anything."
Damien just went back to lounging on his bed with a huff. I didn't feel like arguing with him and I was glad he gave up so easily. It was such a tiring day, both mentally and physically. Maybe I should have taken the airship instead of walking. I guess I'll consider it when I get ready to go see them again. The shower turned on and I saw that Natalia had left the room. She probably had the best idea, after walking all day, we probably both needed a shower. The boys were nice enough to not mention it if they had noticed. Oh well, I probably wouldn't have cared if they did, I was just too tired.
Blake
I knocked on Weiss's door. "It's open." I heard her say. I walked in and saw Weiss laying down with her scarf wrapped around her neck. She looked better than she did this morning at least. Her eyes were still puffy though. I walked over and sat on the chair that was pulled up next to her bed.
"How are you feeling, Weiss?" I asked.
She gave me a smile. "A lot better now that I saw Caden. I'm guessing she has already left?"
I nodded. "Yea, Caden and her friend left a couple hours ago."
"I only saw her for a minute but her friend looked nice. I hope she'll keep Caden on track." Weiss said.
A smile showed up on my face. "From what I've heard about her, I'm sure she will. She's a nice girl."
Weiss smiled at that thought. "Good to know. Now I don't have to worry as much."
"Weiss, you worry more about her than I do, and I'm her mother."
Weiss just kept smiling. "I know, but she still is my niece. She's still a big part of my family."
I didn't want to bring it up but I had to. "Are you going to stop the drinking, Weiss?"
Her body went tense for a second. "I'll try, I really will. Sometimes it's easier just to check out though. I don't really want to but it helped me."
I gave her a hug. "You don't need that stuff, Weiss. You have me and Yang to help you. We all know what you've had to go through and we want to help you as much as we can."
"I know, Blake. Even Caden told me that."
I pulled back and looked at her. "She doesn't know about the drinking does she?"
Weiss shook her head. "Thankfully not. I don't want to stress her anymore than she already is."
I laughed a bit. "That's true. She still hasn't even got to the hard part of the year yet."
"Oh good lord, don't remind me. All of those tests."
I stood. "Weiss, how about you get out of this room for awhile and come watch something with me and Yang? I promise not to get all lovey-dovey with her."
Weiss pushed her covers back. "That sounds nice actually. I was in here all day and it's getting a little boring."
I helped her up and with an arm over her shoulder, we walked into the living-room where Yang was busy trying to find a movie to watch. She saw Weiss and smiled. She scooted over and gave her a spot to sit while I went to get something from the kitchen. When I came back, I saw Weiss and Yang laughing away at some joke I missed and enjoying themselves. It made me wish I had a camera so I could record this moment forever.
Thank you to all who are still reading this and to those in the future who happen to find it. And before my final line, I would like to say that anybody who wants to write their own story, whether it be on this site or somewhere else, don't be afraid to. There are plenty of people who will want to read it and enjoy it. As always, reviews are welcome, and remember, have fun!
