AN: Hope you enjoy this chapter! Sorry for the delay in crossposting.
"All of Atlas is in shock after the announcement of the sudden and unexplained disa"—the feed cut off suddenly, as the signal from the CCTS tower became too weak to support the words. Now, there was only garbled static.
"Damn," Winter muttered. She wished for a moment that glaring angrily at her scroll would make it work. She would have liked to know whose sudden and unexplained disappearance had been announced, for that was often code for "died in skirmishes with the White Fang."
She was now completely disconnected from the outside world, which meant that she would be unable to receive her father's response to her check-in.
It really was cold out here. She had a few more hours of walking to do, and before then the most interesting thing that could happen to her was an encounter with grimm. Not unlikely, considering her proximity to two different faunus encampments. If those weren't sources of negative emotion, Winter didn't know what was.
In any case, the snow was deep enough that any grimm larger than a creep would sink into the snow, as Winter had already done multiple times.
She wished it hadn't snowed. Footprints she could track, CCTS communications she could track, but these woods were the perfect place to disappear. Her own cleverness come to bite her.
Her left foot sank to the ankle into a particularly deep drift. What was the purpose of her doing this, anyway? Weiss had not returned, or tried to contact Father by any means—she was no longer a threat, even if she was alive.
Was the company worth her little sister's life?
It was, Winter told herself sternly. Wherever Weiss was, she was still unfairly advantaged. The girl was devious, ruthless; she had killed Echo.
Remembering that, Winter couldn't help but feel just a little proud of Weiss. Her training really had paid off—no, the cold was getting to her. She had to get to Weiss, had to—
The radio in her scroll crackled to life, just for a moment.
"-ley Schnee, newly declared heir, delivered a statement on the suspected dis-"
The radio shut again. Winter stumbled.
She really had to get to the village—hopefully they would have a better connection somewhere. She was probably mishearing, but it was best to check.
She was angry at Weiss for the moment, but she had to make sure that anger was still justified.
"You've got a virus," Naya explained to Weiss. "Have you ever had a cold before?"
She nodded. "When I was very little, before my aura was unlocked." It was even more miserable than she remembered. She was unaware that a human body could contain as much snot as hers apparently did.
Blake was hiding.
"She blames herself," Naya explained the first night at the Wayfairer's House. "Give her time to come around."
Weiss tried to be understanding, but she had assumed that a promise to stay with her automatically also meant staying in the same room.
She wasn't exactly confined to her room, and the clothes Aria gave were comfortable and not anything like what she typically wore, but it was still hard to feel herself operating below capacity. If it was entirely natural, that would have been fine, but it wasn't, and there was a day sized hole in her memory to prove it.
The person directly responsible for her sickness was dead. Weiss had, apparently, seen to that herself. She didn't remember killing her guide, but she assumed that's what had happened.
Without thinking, she reached for Myrtenaster where it rested by her bedside. The blade was clean—long clean, but she remembered how red it was, right after.
I did that, Weiss thought, I killed someone. It mostly left her numb to think about. She had trusted Echo, more or less, as much as she trusted anyone. She assumed that since she had been chosen as a guide, she had passed a screening of some kind. Her father at least was known for his security consciousness. That was the explanation he gave for not allowing her or Whitley to leave the house all that frequently.
Unless—unless it hadn't been Father who had chosen Echo as her guide. It might have been Winter, who had been strangely enthusiastic about a banal trip to Vacuo. It would have been Weiss's first time camping, had there been no assassination attempt, but that was no reason for Winter to find it at all interesting.
But why would Winter want Weiss dead? Winter was a Huntress and part of the Atlesian military. Weiss was the Schnee heiress who could do little beyond wait and hope she got into an Academy other than Atlas.
Could she be jealous? That made no sense.
Weiss felt another pang of longing for… something. She wasn't sure what, exactly. Blake, maybe, or at least the companionship Blake represented.
There was a knock on her door. It was probably Naya with more medicine that tasted like dirt, or food that was mostly soup, but still Weiss felt something like hope. Maybe it would be Blake.
It was Naya. "Is Blake still in her room?" Weiss asked. 'Does she hate me?' she didn't ask. She had some dignity left.
"Yes," Naya said. She handed Weiss a pill and a glass of water. "Take this," she said. "Congratulations, you've graduated to actual pills."
"Oh, goodie," Weiss said without enthusiasm. She took the pill. "Thank you," she said. It didn't taste like anything, which was better than the liquid medicine.
She coughed into her hand.
"Aria will talk to her," Naya said.
Weiss stood. "I'm sick, not an invalid," she said. "Having a stuffy face doesn't mean I can't train, at the very least."
She grasped Myrtenaster again.
"What do you think you're doing?" Naya asked, but she did not move to stop her. "You know how to use that thing?"
Weiss spun the dust cartridges nervously. "Of course," she said. "All three of us received combat training." Whitley always hated his lessons, but Whitley hated most things his sisters were better at.
"I suppose there is a sense to that," Naya said.
"It saved my life, I think," Weiss said. "I think I killed someone."
Naya did not look as shocked as Weiss expected her to. "Ah," she said. "You don't remember this?"
Weiss shook her head. "I'm just guessing. I woke up standing over a body."
"That would do it." Naya looked at Weiss thoughtfully. "You will be good to travel tomorrow, if I convince Aria to use her semblance on you.
"You're kicking me out?" Weiss couldn't help the panic that crept into her voice.
Naya nodded. "Call it a kind of pragmatism, perhaps," she said. "I have taken vows to help any traveler I find along this path, and this is not a vow I take lightly. But, there are others in this House whom I must also care for. And Aria can make you well in that short of time."
"Do you think Blake will come with me if I go?" Weiss asked.
"Aria recognizes her," Naya said, "and Aria rarely recognizes faunus from as far away as Menagerie. You might not the only person with someone after you."
"Menagerie?" Weiss asked. That was the island they'd tried to put all the faunus on in the last war. If Blake was from there, what was she doing with the White Fang here?
"Yes," Naya says. "But it means we can't really let her stay either." She almost looked sad. Almost. "I hate to leave you out in the cold, but we have contacts and they will be able to help you far better than we could."
"You sure that Aria can make me well?" she asked. As if for emphasis, she was forced into another coughing fit.
"Yes," Naya said. "She can fix your aura."
Wow. "How come she hasn't done that yet?" She had been sick for a day and a half—surely this was not a semblance only triggered by strong fear of being killed?
"She has her own reasons to be hesitant. I'm sorry, but you'll have to struggle on sick until just before you go."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes." Naya picked up the now empty glass. "You should rest," she said, looking pointedly at the bed. She left.
Weiss collapsed onto her bed, still holding Myrtenaster. A half-forgotten melody rose to her mind. "Mirror, can you tell me, tell me who's the loneliest of all." She wondered if her father had ever caught the meaning of that song. Probably not. He was convinced of his own perfection as a father.
She sang a little more, finding comfort in it. There was no crowd here to applaud, no… no expectations.
"I didn't know you could sing," she heard. She looked up. Blake was standing in the doorway. As Weiss looked, she clambered up onto the windowsill. She sat there, watching Weiss. "I'm sorry I haven't talked to you," she said.
"You promised me you wouldn't leave," Weiss said, not getting up.
"I know," Blake said. "I'm not very good at staying." In that moment, she reminded Weiss very much of the rare stray she saw in Atlas—skittish, and with good reason.
"You can always practice," Weiss said. "I can help you?" She coughed into her elbow, wincing at the noise.
Blake smiled. "Sure," she said. "I hope whatever Aria does will make you feel better."
"I hope so too."
AN: Please review! They make me indescribably happy.
