The dorm room after classes was relatively quiet. Blake was, as usual, reading, with those books she finished added to the small pile she had. Yang was listening to music on the radio, and Ruby was currently working on some of her homework.
The sun sank in the sky beyond, the three of them waiting and letting time pass by. Blake and Yang had left the disagreement from before behind, focused instead on what they were doing. Ruby in the meanwhile was more worried about it, legs kicking idly behind her.
At last the most sistinguished of them let out a groan. "Ugh, she's taking forever," the team leader complained. It had been some time but there was no sign of Weiss returning from her supposed training. At this point Ruby was wondering if she just planned to stay out all night, which didn't bode well for them talking.
"...Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki of the Holy Quintet were identified as part of the operation to..." Yang, noting her sister's annoyance, pulled out her earbuds and turned off the radio for a moment as she looked over at Ruby.
"Yeah," she agreed with a nod. "Wonder what's taking her so long." This had been her idea in the first place, so it not working out could only be blamed on her.
From her bunk, Blake shrugged as she turned a page. "Why are you surprised?"
Ruby turned her gaze downwards, across to her sister's partner. "Because we're partners," she answered like it should have been obvious. "You think she would want to be friends, or at least work with her team."
Blake held back a roll of her eyes as she gave Ruby her attention, at least for the moment. "She doesn't want to be a part of this team. At least she doesn't agree with how things currently are. I don't think she'll be coming back soon."
Ruby sank under what Blake was saying, her confidence issues resurfacing beneath it. Maybe Blake was right, maybe Weiss felt that way about her. She couldn't even command the respect of her team, so how could she be a leader?
Yang hopped down from the bed at that point, hands resting on her hips as she prepared to sally forth into the school once more. "I'll go find her," she told Ruby with a grin. "And drag her back if need be." And then she'd have a talk with Blake about not provoking her sister's lack of self-worth.
"Thanks Yang," Ruby replied with a smile. "Do you want me to come with you?" It might be easier that way, and she should really show some concern for her team members even if they didn't do the same. Maybe Weiss would think better of her if she showed that she meant it.
The blond gave a dismissive wave as she took a step forward. "Nah, I've got this. You just hang tight here." Ruby might not enjoy her methods of persuasion if the Princess didn't want to come with so better she stuck around the dorm room.
"Okay. Good luck," Ruby said as Yang headed out the door, returning to her homework. She had faith in her sister to manage things, if anyone could. That was how she was
Yang waved behind herself as she closed the door and moved out into the hall. With the rest of her team left behind she set off to find Weiss, as she had said. Her first destination then would be the gym, since the heiress had said she would be training. And if she wasn't lying that was the place where she would do it.
The halls were relatively empty, though not entirely so. People moved between rooms and activities, some headed for clubs while others went to their own after school activities. All to be expected from a place like this.
Yang strode forward with a confident gait, as comfortable as ever in this environment. She thrived in public, drank in attention, and she had no problem taking it easy when she wasn't doing the above. It was enough that she was becoming something of a familiar fixture in Beacon, but there was certainly no problem there.
"Hey," she said as she walked along, waving to people she knew as she passed them by. That was quite a few people, though not as much as it could have realistically been. What could she say? She was just naturally charismatic. Though the hair probably had something to do with it.
Her popularity had all sorts of benefits as well, at least for her. "Yo, Xiao Long, you gonna be at the rumble tonight," one of the sophomores called as she passed by.
Yang grinned, flashing him a thumbs up before he passed by. "You know it." Call it a college subculture, but a fight club style activity showing up in a combat school wasn't unexpected, and she fit right in with it.
"Awesome," the guy responded and was soon left behind as Yang moved along towards her intended destination. As fun as that was, it wasn't her major concern at the moment. She had to focus on her goal, and not get distracted from it.
At last she arrived, moving into the lockers that were a part of the general exterior of the gym. It was doubtful that Weiss was in here if she was training, but the blond considered it worth checking so she didn't miss her on the way in. Better safe than sorry.
As expected though, a quick look confirmed that Weiss was not in there. Her stuff was though, which limited the options that were available. At least Yang wouldn't need to go wandering the school to find her.
With that finished she moved on into the gym, walking past workout machines and exercise equipment as she looked for a certain white haired heiress. If Weiss was here she was not the only person in the room, with other students currently working out and practicing.
That meant there was another round of waves and greetings as well as some idle chit chat as Yang moved on. She didn't mind, and it didn't mean much time spent away from what she had come here to do.
Just as quickly she found who she was looking for. Weiss was currently in workout garb, wielding Myrtenaster as she danced between targets in some routine, stabbing and striking as rapidly as she could. Yang had to stand back and watch for a few minutes, lest she get the Princess ornery at her for interrupting her in the middle of a sequence or something.
"Hey," she said with a wave once Weiss had stopped for a breather. "You busy?"
Weiss wiped her brow with a towel, a fair bit of sweat worked up. Given how long she had been here though it wasn't entirely a surprise. "Yes," she replied succinctly.
That also was not really a surprise for the blond, who rolled with it when faced with the dismissive answer. "You know you can't just hide in here forever."
That earned a harrumph from the heiress, seeming to take offense at that statement. Then again, most people probably didn't accuse her of running from her problems, even in this oblique way, if Yang didn't miss her guess. "I'm not hiding. I am well aware that I can't stay in here all night."
The somewhat-happy mood diminished slightly, though Yang was not in full on rage mode just yet. "Really? It sure seemed like it, with how long we've been waiting for you back in our room." She folded her arms as she watched for a reaction, determined to get her to come with, one way or another.
"I told you I would be training," Weiss pointed out as she held Myrtenaster in a loose grip, making no move to leave. "You didn't have to wait on my account."
"I wasn't," the blond replied. "Ruby was. She wants to talk to you about what happened in class, among other things." That was understating it a bit, but it seemed she wasn't going to get Weiss to go along via exaggeration.
Weiss didn't quite roll her eyes, but it was obvious that she wasn't giving it that much thought as she prepared to go through another routine. "I don't see what there is to talk about. She beat me this time, that's all."
And now Yang was starting to get annoyed. Was the Princess really that dumb, or was she just trying to brush her off? Either way it wasn't going to work. "Come on, it's more than that and you know it. She's trying to be team leader and you just keep insulting and degrading her. She wants to know why, and frankly so do I. And you avoiding her is not going to solve the problem."
That earned another dismissive remark from the heiress, unsurprisingly at this point. "I am not avoiding her," she reiterated. "You make it sound as if I've never had a disagreement with someone."
"Well, the way you're acting sure makes it seem like you haven't," Yang shot back, drawing a fair bit of attention to this ongoing disagreement. She didn't mind too much though, since if there was anything that would sway the heiress into doing what she wanted, it would be the pressure of public appearance.
Weiss glanced about, not immediately objecting ti what had been said, before she straightened up from her combat stance. "Fine," she ceded at last. "I suppose my training can wait for later." It was clear that she was not happy with it though.
Still, it was better than nothing, and that was good enough for Yang. "Alright. I'll wait for you outside then." Presumably Weiss would want to change back to casual clothes before heading back to the dorm room. A reasonable concession given the situation.
Weiss grunted as Yang waved and headed off, moving past people as she headed out of the gym. Well, she could call that a mission well accomplished, with only escorting the Princess back to Ruby left. And there was no reason for that to not be the easy part now that she had Weiss' compliance.
Once outside, she took up a position waiting near the locker room exit, resting with her back against a wall. It was best to be comfortable, since she didn't know how long the heiress would take.
A few minutes later Weiss emerged, still visibly unamused but stuck into going along with this. She was clean and composed as usual, which spoke volumes as to how quickly she could recover. Yang was impressed with the turnaround time, having expected it to be at least a few minutes longer. But she supposed that it was just another of those useful business skills
"Let's go," the heiress said brusquely. Yep, nothing remarkable there.
Yang nodded in agreement nonetheless. "Sure thing." There was no point in sticking around here any longer.
With that the two of them set off back towards the dorm room. Yang led the way, though she wasn't going very fast on account of the person accompanying her. Weiss had a particular speed she moved at, and Yang tended to move faster than that. So she'd live with it.
Of course, the two of them headed somewhere together without the rest of their team earned attention, but no more than usual. Indeed, the bristling aura that Weiss was giving off served as an effective deterrent, though it was useless against the heat Yang was putting out in return. She liked to think there was a joke in there somewhere, but she was still working on it.
Back they went, soon arriving in the hallway that their room was located in. Other sounds made their way to the ears of both Huntresses, one of whom was ignoring the other, which seemed to be coming from JNPR's room. At least that team was enjoying itself, or simply not having the issues that this one was.
"Hey guys, we're back," Yang announced as she entered the room with Weiss in tow, to find the other two team members doing exactly what they had been doing when she left, though it appeared that Ruby had gotten more agitated in the process.
"Thank you Yang," Ruby responded almost immediately, beaming as she sat up once more. Her faith in her older sister was touching, causing the grin the blond wore to widen in turn. Yeah, she was pretty awesome.
The door closed behind Weiss, who stood there with arms folded as she looked about. Meanwhile, Yang walked over to her partner, tapping Blake on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said, gesturing out the door. This was a conversation best had in private.
Blake glanced over at the other two before nodding in agreement. "Alright." She marked her position and rose from the bed, surreptitiously slipping a vial of Black Dust into her pocket in a smooth motion as she got to her feet.
"Now, you two have fun," Yang said with a wave as she moved for the door, Blake following after. One way or another this was going to work out, and she closed the door before Ruby or Weiss could complain.
Rather than moving on though, she kept up a position outside even if it was against the opposite wall. Blake stood nearby, a hand resting on her hip as she watched her partner. "So what do we do now," she asked calmly.
Yang grinned as she watched their room. "We're going to stay out here and make sure that neither of them leaves without talking everything out." That was the way she liked to do things, and it was the best way to handle it as far as she was concerned.
An eyebrow rose as Blake shifted on her feet. "I don't think they're going to be happy with that," she pointed out.
Yang was unconcerned with that fact, indicating as such in her posture. "They'll get over it," she replied, dismissing that with a wave of her hand. Better to get them not actively fighting and annoyed her, rather than the reverse. Ruby deserved that much.
At least Blake didn't contest that, falling silent. A few minutes passed before she turned, walking down the hall away from the room without a word.
"See you later then," Yang called with a wave as she watched her partner go. She wasn't sure what she was up to, but it was her choice. The fact that she was going off on her own was a sign that it probably mattered.
Well, in the end it was none of her business she supposed. With Blake gone she turned back to watching the room and waiting. This had better work out, or else she was not going to be the happiest person in the dorm right now. One way or another, she would get them to settle things.
The door closed with a solid finality, leaving Weiss and Ruby together alone. Ruby was quick to climb off of the bed, and she waited at her bedside as she looked at Weiss. Now was the moment to begin, to do as Yang had suggested and work things out, to be a good team leader.
But in spite of that, neither said anything for a few minutes, simply looking at each other. Well, Ruby did, combating her nervousness. Weiss on the other hand looked merely disinterested in what was going on. It wasn't too hard to read her opinion on this matter.
At last Ruby mustered the courage, glancing about as she spoke. "So, uh, should we do that homework we have to do for Goodwitch's class?" It would be a good way to ease into things, hopefully.
The suggestion earned a shrug from Weiss. Perhaps it wasn't what she had been expecting, but to Ruby's relief she didn't reject the idea either. "I suppose." Even she recognized that they needed to do that homework eventually.
"Great," Ruby replied with a grin. She grabbed a paper from up on her bunk along with a pencil, sitting down at one of the desks as Weiss sat down at the other with her own paper. This was going to be interesting.
"Soooo, do you want to start, or should I," the team leader then asked, not wanting to offend the heiress when she was getting so close to making things up to her. It was a small gesture that would help things, at least in her mind.
The response she got in turn was swift and near monotone. "Age," the white haired girl asked succinctly.
Well, that certainly made things easier for Ruby to decide. "Fifteen," she replied casually, ready to get going with this whole thing.
Weiss scribbled that down in shorthand and moved on without sparing a moment for any secondary chit chat. "Hometown."
"Patch," Ruby replied with little space between the question and answer. "It's a small island off the coast of Vale." She felt like she should specify where it was since not many people seemed to know.
That was added to the paper in shorthand as the heiress glared back at her partner. "I know. I'm well versed in the geography of Remnant."
A nervous chuckle escaped as Ruby rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, or a perceived version of it anyway. "Oh yeah, of course. I'm sorry, I don't know why I thought you wouldn't know. It's just that I always have to explain where Patch is and so yeah..." She fell off as she noticed that she had begun to ramble, her embarrassment redoubling.
Weiss merely gave her a judging look before getting back to the homework at hand, her thoughts enigmatic. Ruby had a feeling that they weren't all that nice. She'd have to try harder then.
"Parent's names," the heiress said without another word, moving on in this assignment.
To her credit, Ruby would like to say that she bounced back remarkably quick to answer the question that had been asked of her. "Summer Rose and Tai Xiao Long." She would explain if need be, but she had much the same inclination to leave things unsaid that Yang did. It was a sensitive subject for them both.
Fortunately Weiss didn't ask, merely writing down the names before moving on with what they were doing. "Hobbies."
Ruby tilted in her seat, legs swinging free as she thought. "Well, I like music, weapons, board games, some sports, reading." That was said before a laugh escaped, aimed at herself. "I guess I just like a lot of stuff."
Yet another lack of a response to that before the next question came in the form of a statement, the same pattern repeated. "Post-graduation plans."
For Ruby that was as easy as breathing, a question that she had answered many times and would most likely have to keep doing so into the future. "Become a Huntress and fight Grimm of course," she replied automatically. She didn't even bother listing alternatives, because to her there were none. One way or another she would become a Huntress like her mother.
Weiss finished writing that down before placing her pencil off to the side. "That's all," she announced, indicating that Ruby could get started whenever she was ready.
The younger girl took her pen in hand and sat poised to write as she watched her partner carefully. "Okay then. So how old are you?"
"Seventeen." The response was succinct, concise, much like how she had been talking earlier, and it gave Ruby the impression that she had had some training in interviews or something like that. It made sense, if not helping the atmosphere in the process.
Well, there wasn't much she could do about that, so she might as well go onwards and forwards. "Who are your parents?"
"My father is Asche Schnee," Weiss began with an intonation further indicating that this was something she had repeated often when she needed to do so. "My mother is Maria Schnee."
Ruby jotted that down and moved on to the next question on the list, heeding her partner's desire to handle this in a relatively rapid manner. "Alright, what kinds of hobbies do you have?"
That took a moment to get something in return, though it wasn't unexpected given how long she herself had taken. She supposed that her partner was merely thinking things over, that was all. "I don't have any hobbies," Weiss said, much to the other girl's surprise. "I take everything I do seriously, and I simply don't have the time for extraneous activities."
"Oh, um, okay." That seemed awfully depressing, not to mention boring, but Ruby supposed that she couldn't complain about it. Well, she could, though it wouldn't be appreciated on the receiving end. That just served to make it all the more aggravating.
She twirled her pen as she noted the lack of hobbies before moving on. "What do you plan to do after we graduate?" She had a suspicion, but some confirmation couldn't hurt.
Weiss subtly straightened up at that, interesting to Ruby though she didn't comment on it. "Once I graduate Beacon, I will become a Huntress until I can no longer do that, or until I am required to become the CEO and owner of the Schnee Dust Corporation."
Yeah, that had been pretty much what Ruby was expecting. But she couldn't just skip over the question even if she assumed she knew the answer. Besides that, it seemed that her partner was a lot more on the ball about the future than she was, beyond the bare basics.
At this point she was out of listed questions, and it looked like Weiss was prepared to be done, but Ruby wasn't about to let her go just yet. She had to talk to Weiss and work things out now, or else she never would.
With no time left to put it off, she took the plunge. "So, uh, why don't you like me?" It spiked her own nervousness, but she braced herself for the answer that she would get.
"Why?" Weiss asked in turn, brushing over any surprise that she might have felt in turn at the question. "Do you really want to know?" She met Ruby's gaze, the team leader repressing a shiver in turn.
"Yeah," her partner reiterated, not eager but still determined. She was going to make Weiss like her, no matter what it took.
The heiress sighed, hands resting in her lap as she gave this quite a bit of thought, if appearances were anything to go by. "You nearly blew me up, for starters. You and that sister of yours are incessantly annoying, you don't pay attention in class, and for being skilled enough to get into Beacon when you're only fifteen, you don't seem to be taking this very seriously. That's why."
"Oh." Ruby would cede what was being said to some extent, since there had to be some basis if it was coming from her partner. Still, she couldn't help but protest at least a little. "I'm still trying you know."
Weiss harrumphed, clasping her hands together though they stayed in place. "Not very hard," she shot back. "One time is fine, a couple I can accept. But when it happens over successive days, then that's when we have a problem."
"But I am trying! It's just hard getting used to being in Beacon after jumping grades. I'll work it out soon," Ruby protested, rising a bit from her seat in defense of herself.
"And that is why I think you aren't a good team leader," Weiss countered, cooling down as the argument heated up. "You can't handle how things are here at Beacon, and while you might, and I emphasize might, be a good team leader at some point in the theoretical future, you aren't now." Her head tilted upwards, eyes closing. "Honestly, I don't know what Ozpin was thinking. You would assume he was a good judge of character, but apparently not."
Ruby's annoyance was growing, much like that rage her sister was famous for, though she would not explode like her. But regardless, the emotions aimed at her partner were growing more heated every second. "Well, it's not as if you're any better," she returned, practically shouting as she rose from her seat.
"Excuse me," Weiss asked with an air of disbelief. It was all the more unexpected coming from Ruby, when the girl hadn't really acted like this outside of a stressful situation.
Having come this far, Ruby was not about to back down or stop. "Yeah. All you've done this entire time is try to boss me around, insult me, and completely ignore the fact that I'm supposed to be in charge. If anyone here is childish, it's you, because that's how you've been acting this whole time."
She might not know what the heiress was thinking, but she had a fairly good idea as the response to that came. "Hey, I did what I thought I had to do at the time. And unlike you, I've been preparing my whole life to be a leader. So at least I'm qualified."
Ruby was quick on the turnaround from that. "Well I'm sorry, but not everyone can be the next in line to a major company. Some of us have to take the time to learn stuff like this. That's what I've been doing, and you haven't been helping."
"I wasn't aware that it was my job to babysit you through this process." Well then, this was going well. Or not, but Ruby was beyond caring at this point. Now it was about venting, and she'd feel a lot better when it was done than she did now or before. She could pick up the pieces afterwards when she had a chance to think about it.
She stamped her foot on the ground, fists clenched at her side. "Yes it is Weiss. You're my partner, and partners help each other out when they need it. They aren't supposed to tear each other down when they're struggling."
Weiss seemed to be offended by that, but Ruby couldn't bring herself to feel bad about it. "Hey, I've helped out. It's not my fault that you find it hard to do things right."
"I'm doing my best. And that doesn't change the fact that you haven't been a very good partner." A small wish went out for Yang to be here to back her up, but Ruby knew that her sister would be a no-show. She had to handle this alone.
Weiss shrugged, arms folded across her chest at that point as she continued to grow colder in the process. "Well what do you want from me," she asked. "I can't look after you the entire time we're here. If you can't handle things, then it would be better for you to fail now before you drag the rest of us down with you."
Ruby pouted at that point, resisting the urge to stamp her foot once more. "Hey, why do you automatically assume I'm going to fail? Ozpin chose me for a reason, and if he has confidence in me then I don't know why you can't either."
"Ozpin isn't perfect you know," Weiss replied with a roll of her eyes. "It's entirely possible that he could have made a mistake. We don't know if he did or not."
For her part, Ruby chose to believe in the Headmaster, lest her own confidence abandon her abruptly. She had faith in him and his judging of character. "And what if he's right? What if he's right about me and you're just jealous that it isn't you? That's not fair, and that makes it as much your fault as mine."
"Me, jealous?" Ruby grunted at the implied laugh therein, though she didn't comment on it. "I'm rich, popular, talented. I'm a Schnee, and I certainly have no reason to be jealous of someone like you."
This time Ruby was the one to roll her eyes in response to something being said. "Yeah, sure. And yet somehow, in spite of all that stuff, you still aren't team leader. I mean, I don't really want the job to be honest, but now that I have it I have to do it as good as I can."
It made sense in her head, but it did not save her from a critical look directed at her by the heiress. "So I'm simply waiting until the task proves to be too much for you. That's how the business world works, and I see no reason for it to be different here."
While Ruby would admit that she didn't have business training like Weiss did, and her understanding might be deficient as a result, but she had the sneaking suspicion that that was not how it actually worked. "Um, Weiss, that makes it sound like we're competing," she pointed out with the slightest hint of nervousness, since she knew Weiss was more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than her.
"Aren't we?" Weiss answered in a less than promising manner. It led Ruby to wonder exactly where she was pulling that from, since there had been no indication of this being a competition thus far.
Ruby shook her head. "Uh, no? We're students. On a team. There's nothing for us to compete over in the first place!" She didn't think it was that hard to figure out, but apparently it was for her partner, which made it all the more frustrating.
Weiss' head tilted upwards in that still condescending expression of hers. "If that's your opinion, then so be it. You can have yours and I'll have my own, thank you very much."
Ruby took a step forward, emphatically shaking her head once more. "But it doesn't work if you do that," she replied. "You're my partner, and I can't have you competing against me when we're supposed to be working together. Then we'll both fail. Do you really want that?"
She wasn't exactly sure what, but something in there seemed to have given Weiss pause. Her spirits rose, confident that she was getting through to her partner and that this could be settled once and for all.
"I suppose not," Weiss ceded at last, with the barest hint of reluctance on her part. That earned a mental sigh from Ruby as she went on to clarify. "I do have a reputation to maintain after all."
Okay, so not quite the pure motivations that the younger Huntress-in-training had been hoping for, but it would have to do. "Thank you Weiss! And I promise that I will do my best to not let you down," Ruby said with all the energetic sincerity that she could muster.
The icy atmosphere began to diminish, though it was maintained to some small extent for now. "You had better. This is your last chance," the heiress said with all the force of a proclamation. There was doubt whatsoever that she was serious.
Ruby snapped off a salute, in half jest. "Got it." She had to now that she had decided on it and she would, one way or another.
"See that you do." Weiss nodded before turning back to her desk. There was a lull before she shifted once more, continuing onwards like the interruption had never existed. "And please do something about your sister. I can't focus when she's goofing off all of the time."
While Ruby was more than ready to let Yang defend herself, since she was really good at it, she nonetheless chose to speak up even if it jeopardized the progress she had just made. "I don't see what's wrong with that," she replied with a shrug. "That's just how Yang is."
"It's annoying," the heiress reiterated firmly. "This is Beacon Academy, one of the foremost combat schools on Remnant. If she wants to joke around and party, there are plenty of other places more suited to it than this."
The reluctance to get involved faded away as Ruby continued to defend her sister. Yang would have, had, done the same for her after all, so she considered it a sisterly duty. "Hey, you saw how well she can fight. She can be serious when she needs to be."
An eyebrow rose in a coolly skeptical look, not entirely a surprise if Ruby was to be honest. "And that time is when we're in class or at school?"
She might have had half of a point there, but it was also obvious that she was exaggerating, even from someone who wasn't the epitome of social tact. There was the difference in experience to take into consideration as well. "Trust me. Yang has her quirks, and she may do pranks and stuff, but she'll always be there when it matters."
"Of course you'd say that," Weiss snapped back, almost defensive in tone. "You're her sister." Which was true, though the team leader would deny that it had an overwhelming impact on her opinion with regards to this whole thing.
She plowed ahead anyways, nodding fervently. "Yeah, I am. I've known her a lot longer than you have, and that's why I can say it. If you aren't going to talk to her about it, then at least trust me.
Of course, that might not be saying much given how much Weiss seemed to actually trust her at this point, but she went for it anyway. And it seemed that Weiss recognized it too, which Ruby was grateful for, to say the least. "Can you guarantee that?"
"Yes," Ruby answered without hesitation. She knew her sister and would never doubt her, not even for a second.
A piercing look was sent her way before Weiss gave her verdict, tone hinting at a sigh in the process. "I suppose I can give her a chance as well, if she's willing to put in the effort. It wouldn't be fair otherwise."
Ruby grinned widely, replicating how she had looked when Weiss shad first accepted her own promise. "Thank you," she said to her partner, not needing to hide how she felt at all. It was a weight off of her shoulders and mind to know that they had finally worked things out.
At that point Weiss turned back around to her desk, picking up her pencil and beginning to scribble away. Ruby didn't mind too much, since the conversation was pretty much over at that point. Instead, she headed back to her bed after retrieving her stuff from the desk, to get to work on her homework and to write up that paper she had to do.
They were silent for several minutes before Yang returned, the door swinging open as the blond admitted herself, the blond wearing a grin. "So, you guys friends yet?"
Ruby looked up from her bunk bed, wearing a grin similar to that of her sister at this point. "Hey Sis," she replied with a wave before nodding. "Yep." It might not be perfect, but at the least they had an understanding. If only in her mind anyway.
"Hey, good to hear. I told you it wouldn't be that bad," Yang said as she moved over to her bed, though she didn't climb on to it just yet. She seemed happy, which made her sister happy in turn. Weiss might be reluctant, but the team was coming together at last.
There was a lapse in conversation at that point, replaced with the mere rustling of paper and scratching of pencils and pens. Yang at last got on her bed as well, pulling out a magazine. They had resolved their problems, even temporarily, though Ruby would have to talk to Yang about her joking later. Right now she merely contented herself with working on her paper.
"So where's Blake," Weiss asked after a few minutes, not looking back at the blond as she wrote in elegant script. While Ruby wasn't distracted by the question, she was at least glad that the other two team members could tolerate each other, as opposed to how the heiress thought of her and her sister.
Yang shrugged from her bunk, putting on her best impression of her partner in the process. "She left after you guys started chatting. I'm sure that she's around here somewhere."
"I see." Ruby could swear that she had heard some disappointment on Weiss' part but she was probably just reading too much into it. Weiss didn't strike her as the kind of person to get down over something so trivial, and it wasn't as if Blake wouldn't be around later. So it was most likely nothing in the end.
It seemed that Yang had noticed as well though, not earning any shock from Ruby in the process. "Why do you ask," she said as she leaned over the side of her bunk, grinning mischievously at the white haired girl.
"Curiosity," Weiss replied calmly, ignoring the looks being directed at her by the blond, whom Ruby thought might have gotten the idea that it was more than just that. But she certainly wasn't going to say it aloud. "Is that a problem?"
Yang propped her head up with the palm of her hand as her grin sat undiminished. "Nah, just wondering." Much to Ruby's relief, it seemed the both of them were willing to let the argument lie there and not go on further.
At that point the silence of homework returned as the trio got back to what they had been doing before. It was a mood that pervaded for some time, Ruby writing away as she considered the essay that she was working on. There was a lot she could write now, and she had plenty of time left as well, so she wads devoting her full effort to it with the motivation that she had been given to do so.
Eventually the door swung open to admit Blake into the room, the raven haired girl silent as she moved directly for her bed whilst giving everyone else merely a swift look. "Hey Blake," Ruby called upon seeing her, waving from her bunk in the process.
"The Ice Queen was looking for you," Yang added from her own position, turning her attention away from her magazine even if it was only for a moment.
Weiss huffed indignantly, somehow still not happy with the return of that nickname. "I was just wondering where you were. That's all."
"I was in the library," Blake explained calmly, and Ruby nodded in understanding. It was the most likely place she'd be based off of what her team leader knew about her, so she had no reason to doubt it. It explained why she had taken so long as well.
Weiss rose at that point, placing her pencil down as she turned towards where Blake rested. "Have you had dinner yet? I was planning to get some now"
"No," Blake answered disinterestedly. Which Ruby wasn't surprised by any more, though Blake made no effort to elaborate on that further either.
Weiss moved towards the door then, though not in any sort of hurry. "Well then, I see no reason why you can't come with." That was at least a tad presumptuous, but it was effective as well as Blake got back up and moved to join the heiress.
"Alright," she agreed without complaint, much to Ruby's shock and relief. She hadn't expected Blake to give in so easily, but she was glad that it hadn't turned into another argument, her obsessive worry it felt like these days.
At that point the heiress glanced back at the two sisters, seeking their attention and opinion. "What about you two?"
Ruby hummed, feet clicking together in idle thought before she shook her head. "Nope. I want to work on this right now." Much as she might not want to, she had just made a promise she couldn't renege on. "Can we practice together later though?"
At the same time, Yang concurred with what she had said. "I'm going to eat later. You guys go on."
Weiss didn't immediately leave, instead walking over to the bed and rising up to see what Ruby was working on. Ruby shifted so her partner could get a better look as she glanced over, grinning as Weiss noted the actual essay rather than, say, comic books she could have been reading.
"I don't see why not," the heiress decided as she returned to her starting spot, voice somewhat softer than it had been for the duration of their argument. "Goodbye." With that she left the room, Blake following behind and leaving the sisters alone.
Ruby hummed as she turned back to her essay, writing down another sentence of what she now knew about her partner. It had been a lot of work, all told, but it had not been an entirely bad day. She had made progress, and she would not let her partner down. That much she could resolve.
