AYangThang: To those of you celebrating a holiday (whatever one that might be) this winter season, best wishes to you and yours. I will be back in the new year strong with this fiction. It's wormed it's way into my heart and mind. I hope to see you there. Until then, enjoy this chapter. There's even some Ruby/Blake fluff mixed in for your enjoyment.
See you in 2019!
Woman in the Mirror, Part 2
Amid all of the parties going on around them, Blake had retreated to quieter grounds.
She sat in front of the flickering firelight at the midnight hour. She was so close that the heat kissed her skin, and she basked in the fiery warmth.
She wasn't very spiritual, and she didn't put faith in gospel truths. Still, out of respect for brothers and sisters of the White Fang, she sat quietly in front of the fire that was kept burning at Beacon's temple. It was her turn to keep watch over it, feeding the flame and leaving an offering of silk, food, and wine. Ruby sat beside her. She younger woman was used to the concept of keeping a midnight vigil. She didn't say anything as she fumbled with the crosses on her cloak, fingers running over the forged metal.
Out of the corner of her eye, Blake smiled at the shadows splashing across the wall. "You don't have to stay." She said softly, a soft amusement reaching her voice. "As soon as someone comes by with more wood, I can go back to the party. I'll meet up with you there, if you'd like to spend more time with everyone."
"I don't mind. I like it here. It's peaceful, we could stay all night, if you wanted." Ruby said, her eyes trailing around the large room. "Besides, they say that the fire burned for thirty days and thirty nights. If we let it go out now, the souls that are gone now might never find their way back home. That's what they say, right? That lost souls will always gather by the fire?"
"Some people say that." Blake agreed. For as long as Blake had known her, she had never once seen Ruby pick up a scripture of any kind. The Faunus didn't let her gaze stray from the flame. "Do you really believe that's possible?"
Ruby shrugged, standing and walking up and down a few of the pews. Her fingers tapped along the spines of old books that collected dust. They were sitting idly, alone and forgotten. Very few used this as a place of worship anymore. If it hadn't been one of the few standing monuments of the Great War, Ruby doubted it would still be standing at all. She walked to the back. The two large double doors opened towards Beacon's grounds. She could see crowds of people across the campus, fairly far away.
"I learned it in history class as a kid." Ruby began. "Before the kingdoms were made, Forever Fall belonged to the Faunus. Back then, Beacon was a human village. Together, the two communities managed to live side by side. Then, the Grimm came. The villages were small, and got destroyed. The surviving humans ran away, and abandoned the Faunus to die. They say this shrine was the last building standing between the Faunus, and the Grimm…"
"That's right." Blake murmured. "The humans had run when the hunters and huntresses defending the villages died. Those that had gone to get help thought it would be a lost cause, but these doors held. Over a hundred Faunus survived the Grimm attack, but with nowhere to go, and no one left able to fight, they had to wait for help. They kept the fire burning, praying that help would arrive, and finally it did…"
"I don't know if I believe in god or anything like that…but, I do believe in people. I'd like to think they did keep those fires lit, wanting to be rescued." Ruby said softly, fingers trailing over the thick wooden doors. "If people want to believe a higher power saved those Faunus, I'm not going to say they're wrong. I don't really know."
"I see." Blake murmured.
Ruby turned to Blake then, making her way back to where Blake sat. "What about you?"
"We light these fires as a promise to all Faunus. Where these fires burn, so long as they continue to burn, they will always be sheltered." Blake recited, the teachings of her father once again spilling from her lips. "I might not have a lot of faith, but I do believe in that."
Ruby didn't hesitate to sit Blake's lap, the younger woman only smiling as the cat Faunus gazed at her. Blake was obviously perplexed, her ears twitching as her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Ruby only continued to smile as she lifted a finger, tapping Blake's nose softly before that same palm began cupping her cheek. Ruby leaned forward then, pressing her lips to Blake's. When she felt the raven haired Faunus relax into her touch, Ruby leaned further still.
The hand cupping Blake cheek drifted along the nape of her neck, and finally behind her head. The other found a perch atop Blake's shoulder, a gentle insistence coaxing the Faunus onto her back. After several blissful moments Ruby broke the kiss. Her nose gently touched Blake's. The crowds in the distance, their mingled breath, and the crackling fire had forced time to stand still. Then, with just the tiniest flick of Ruby's teeth against her lips, time seemed to tick once again.
"Do you believe in me?" Ruby asked softly.
"Always." Blake said. "You've never given me a reason to doubt you."
"Not even a little?"
Blake chuckled, the line of questioning was almost absurd. "Not even a little."
"Do you think the others feel the same way?" Ruby wondered aloud.
Blake focused on the true depth of that question. The seriousness in Ruby's tone, soft yet sincerely concerned. She took her hands that had been resting on Ruby's thighs, and instead used it to guide Ruby to lay down atop her. The two cuddled close on the dusty shrine floor. "What brought this on?" Blake asked gently.
"All of our talk about faith." Ruby explained, fingers toying idly with a few strands of black hair that spilled over Blake's shoulder. "I mean, don't you think having faith in your team leader is important? We have a mission coming up soon, you know. I'm a little worried Yang might not be able to do it. The one we have coming up is really easy, but if her head isn't in the mission, someone could get hurt."
Blake reached for the hand that was toying with her hair, freeing her locks from that gentle grasp. She lifted that hand to her lips, pressing a gentle kiss to Ruby's knuckles. Then, her lips trailed down along that calloused palm, following the curve of Ruby's wrist. Finally Blake sighed, meeting Ruby's eyes. "We're headed to the villages on Patch and the other islands. It should be fun. A group of first year students could do it."
"If they assigned a first year team, a teacher would have to go with them. If we go, they don't have to." Ruby told Blake. "You're right that it should be easy. Yang and I know all of the paths. Still, I'm worried."
"We'll be fine, Ruby, just like always." Blake said softly. "We won't be far, and you both know those woods like the backs of your hands. Besides, this mission might be good for Yang. She's been so restless recently. A few nights out on the road might calm her down."
"Do you really think so?" Ruby asked.
Blake nodded, her arms wrapping around Ruby to flip their positions. There was always something amusing of having Ruby pinned beneath her. Her heart throbbed, a few filthy thoughts skittering across the depths of her mind. She'd never act on them, not here. It was hard not to lose herself in those silver eyes, though. Grinning as she leaned down to capture the leader's lips once more. Just when Blake thought the night would be perfect, the sound of several logs hit the floor, and the gentle gasp that followed it made Blake want to melt into the floor.
Her ears pressed down flat atop her head. She managed to pull herself away from a blushing Ruby. Just as Blake suspected, by the sound of stifled laughter, her mother stood in the doorway.
"At least it's not dad." She sighed, hiding her face in her hands as Kali somehow managed to laugh harder.
Neither Yang nor Weiss truly got any sleep that night. They were both too tired even for the promise of rest. In the distance the lit fires and dull roar of gatherings along the cliffs edge made the night seem endless. The hours dragged on slowly. It was agony, but, it might have been for the best. Weiss couldn't pin down how she felt about the whole matter, torn between a low boiling anger, shock, surprise, and a distant sense of personal failings cackling in the depths of her mind.
With a possessive sort of vitriol, she had to wonder if this whole mess could have been prevented.
If she had just told Yang how she felt, and insisted on keeping every threat to their relationship away from the blonde, would they have been happy?
Weiss knew that hindsight was to blame for the clearly malicious retrospect. Yang wasn't someone she could control, and that was part of her appeal. The Schnee name did nothing to shackle Yang down. She wasn't the least bit intimidated by the man with enough power to squash them all with a flourish of his wrist and ink in his pen. Even after being disowned publicly by him, Weiss had powerful relatives in high places. Yang just didn't seem to care. She never had.
Yang and Weiss had spent the night curled up on the lower bunk, wordlessly trying to come to terms with the facts at hand. Occasionally, Yang would start crying again, a few tears silently slipping out as Weiss brushed them away with her sleeve. When the grey morning sky began to appear, the blip of a scroll went off, the alarm announcing a new day was soon to begin.
Yang was the first to move. She silenced the alarm, weakly glancing to Weiss. "I need to get ready for class."
Weiss was too tired to list off all of the reasons why that was a bad idea. "Don't you think you should skip?"
"We can't afford to." Yang said, looking back at the clock. "You have Peach's class in an hour, and I need some air."
Yang was right, of course. Skipping even one of Peach's classes promised that Weiss would be buried under an entire day of skipped reading and reports. Who knew what she might miss in the lecture beside. Skipping just wasn't an option that would end well.
"What about Blake and Ruby?" Weiss pressed, a bylaw in the student handbook coming to the rescue. "You need to tell them what's going on. This is something that would certainly qualify as team meeting material. If Ruby called an official meeting to order, we'd have the excuse to skip our entire day."
"It's too soon. If she called a meeting, she'd have to issue a report on what it was about." Yang replied then. "I don't even know what my options are, or, even if there are any options that'll go the way I want. Before I do anything else, I need to go see the family doctor in Vale."
"Which begs the question perfectly." Weiss let the inquiry itself roll off of her tongue, tasting the words slowly as they went. "What do you want, Yang?"
In that instant, Yang looked to be on the verge of another breakdown. She looked down at her clothes, scowling at them. She wanted a whole list of things, some of them a conflict by nature. "I don't really know." She said as she licked her lips. Yang knew Weiss was right, but at the same time, she just wasn't ready. She looked up to Weiss, the shame in her eyes crystal clear. "No matter what I do, they're going to hate me after this anyway…"
Weiss felt a wave of guilt slam into her, hissing air between her teeth as she bit back a curse. "God, stop acting like the world's going to end." The white haired woman muttered, vexed beyond belief.
"Then stop looking at me like I have all the damn answers in the world." Yang returned equally as choppy.
Weiss sighed, rubbing her face with her hands, already dreading the thought of her sensitive skin breaking out in acne from all the stress. "Ugh. I can't stand to have you look at me that way. It's entirely off-putting." Weiss glanced down to the floor as she crawled out of bed, gathering her things. "We have to do something, at the very least Ruby and Blake deserve something. Besides, unless you plan to blindside them, it might not hurt to soften the blow a bit. I'll make sure I lay the groundwork, so that when you do tell them, it won't be a complete shock…I hope."
"Do you really think that will work?" Yang asked.
"To be honest, no." Weiss could already feel the oncoming headache. "I'm not sure of anything. Now, go and get ready for class. I'm going to do the same down the hall."
Weiss did strictly as she said she would. Dressing for class, and looking much less eager to learn than usual. Her mind had fogged over, her thoughts in a haze. As much as she wanted to hate Yang, she couldn't bring herself to do that. If anything, she still felt love for that impossible blonde with the lilac eyes. Much to her surprise, something else had buried itself along with it. It wasn't betrayal. It wasn't jealousy, either. It was something else entirely.
Something much more timid, fragile, and nameless.
Classes seemed meaningless as Weiss put her hair up and into place. She finished her routine more quickly than she otherwise would have. She scurried off to listen to Professor Peach give another long lecture. Weiss took notes simply because it was the only way to keep herself awake. The professor droned on and on. The ordeal couldn't have been more draining unless it had been presented by Professor Port.
Then, like every Monday, she headed to breakfast.
As expected Blake and Ruby had already collected a table.
Both of them smelled of the burnt wood and incense placed in the bonfire. They each had the remains of a burnt candle sitting on a plate, numbers etched into the wax. The number of warriors who hadn't made it home, left unidentified in the onslaught of war. For the rest of the week Blake and Ruby would carry their wax molds from class to class. A standing icon displaying the significant loss of life. Weiss looked down at the simple white wax with reverence.
The dead could have been kin to anyone, even one of her own ancestors, for all that anybody knew. That's what made the astronomically high death toll so terrifying, and why, she suspected, that Ruby insisted on attending the event every year.
"Morning, Weiss." Ruby greeted as she held her mug of hot chocolate in her hands.
"Good morning, Ruby." Weiss said as she set down her meal tray. A bowl of fruit, a hardboiled egg, and a piece of toast completing her breakfast.
"Careful, Oobleck filled the coffee machines this morning. It may be too hot to drink." Blake said in way of greeting, sliding an already topped off mug of coffee across the table.
"Typical." Weiss sighed. She reached for the drink, warming her hands on the mug. "So, how was the remembrance ceremony? It certainly seemed lively from here."
"Fine." Ruby squeaked far too quickly for her own good.
"Right…" Weiss deadpanned, eyes flicking to Blake. "What happened..."
"We had a little mishap. Don't ask." Blake groused, her cheeks beginning to turn pink as she looked down at her plate. "Besides that, it was the same as every year. If you've been to one, you've been to them all." Blake replied with a flick of her Faunus ears. She topped off her tuna sandwich with the other slice of bread. She cut it in half before lifting one half to enjoy it. "Signal kids were there again this year. I still don't know how I feel about that."
"Professor Goodwitch sang a few of the old hymnals though. That's always a treat." Ruby said. "Plus, I got to see my dad, since he was watching the Signal kids. Blake's right though, they were really rowdy with all of the master huntsmen and huntresses around. It kind of reminds me of when I first started here. They were a lot like that."
"It's amazing we weren't blown sky high, then." Weiss muttered under her breath.
"I texted Yang before the sun went down." Blake went on to say between bites of her breakfast. "She said she wasn't feeling very good. Did she catch a cold or something?"
"Or something sounds about right." Weiss mumbled before she sighed at length. She glanced around the mostly empty eatery, no one was close by. "Regarding that, I need to speak with the both of you. Last night, while you two were away, Yang and I had a conversation."
"Oh. Did she say what was going on?" Ruby asked with concern.
"In a manner of speaking, she did. A few things trouble her, actually. One might say that the largest issue has been caused by all of the smaller ones." Weiss said hesitatingly, feeling completely inept. She doubted she was doing any good at all, but she was nothing if not persistent. "It's a delicate matter, and not something I should say out loud."
"Is it bad?" Ruby asked.
Well, it certainly wasn't good, but Weiss wasn't going to say that. She wanted her words to be a comfort, but she realized that wasn't likely to happen. She fumbled for a moment, taking the time to peel the shell off of her egg. The distraction was something she sorely needed. "Hmm, let's call it a...situation...of sort. The negative qualities depend on your point of view, I suppose. Most people would probably think it to be a blessing. I know I would, if it were under different circumstances. Perhaps it still is a blessing, it's too soon to tell, really."
"Weiss, stop being evasive." Blake demanded. "What's actually going on?"
"More than you know, Blake. We're all a large cause of it in ways you'd never think." Weiss bit out, causing the Faunus to deflate. Weiss paused, lifting the mug to her lips. The scalding coffee was too hot indeed. Thankfully, her aura protected her from truly hurting herself. With a frustrated sigh, she set the mug back down. Weiss looked down at the table sadly, then. "We've taken Yang's resiliency for granted, all of us. The results speak for themselves."
"Weiss…" Blake trailed off.
"I can't say more than that." The white haired woman refused to say more. "It's her truth to tell, not mine."
"Then, why hasn't she said anything?" Ruby asked again.
"Ruby…" Weiss struggled hard with what to say, she tried to force a smile. It just didn't reach her eyes. "She has her reasons for not saying anything. They're not good reasons, and I strongly disagree with them. Still, they're hers to have." She paused then, sighing. "You've always trusted Yang. Right now, she needs your wordless support more than ever. When she finally tells you…and she will have to tell you, be just gentle with her."
It was just enough.
And yet, oh so inadequate.
As fourth year students, they each had their own projects ahead of them. As individuals, they needed ways to distinguish themselves. Sometimes, it was expected of them to leave the campus in order to meet their requirements. Weiss desperately took that opportunity that evening. She needed a distraction away from Beacon. Her sister's classified dust experiments were the best reason she would ever get.
She would be able to put that in her mission dossier late into her adult life, completed or not.
As sisters, Weiss and Winter were nothing if not masters at their semblance. The elegant sound of pens scratching across paper filled the white sterile room. Both of the women hunched over the dust collected in the mines. More testing had to be done. With the dust distributed properly, Winter had retired to her small home in Vale. She would be stationed there for a short time. Thankfully, the abode suited all of her needs. It came complete with its own miniature office and testing facilities.
It was nothing compared to the manor. It didn't have the staff of Atlas Academy. What it did have was peace and solitude, and that was something the siblings desperately needed.
The sound of another glyph fracturing promised another failed attempt. Still, Winter pressed her semblance further until the glyph shattered entirely into nothing. With a muttered curse she pulled off her goggles. The tiny crystals seemed the same as before. "It's just no use. They won't adhere to my glyph for the life of me."
"Mine either." Weiss said as she paced the length of the room thoughtfully.
"That rules out gravity." Winter concluded. "What does that leave us with?"
"Nothing, we've run the entire gambit, including dust amended summoning. The only thing we have left is to test the dust on Grimm. If we do that, we can see if it reacts to them at all." Weiss replied, gesturing to a small nevermore that hopped around in the cage seeking a way out. Winter had hatched it out of an egg purely for dust testing. "I just don't understand what's going wrong. I refuse to believe there's dust we can't manipulate."
"You're sure that you've tried everything?" The elder sister asked. "Your glyphs have always been easier to adapt."
"That's only because I've spent more time perfecting them." Weiss replied, feeling slightly aggravated at the thought. Although they were siblings with the same semblance, Weiss had chosen mastery over her glyphs. Winter, on the other hand, chose mastery over the ability to summon what was inside of them. Their semblance was nothing if not complex. It was always in need of refinement. "If it won't react at all to our semblance, perhaps these crystals aren't dust at all. Perhaps they're just minerals."
"Have you ever researched a mineral that emits an energy like this?" Winter asked.
"No, of course not." Weiss said. "It was just a thought. A foolish one, but, a thought none the less."
"We're both tired. We really should call an end to this for the night." Winter signed at length. "You have class in the morning, and I don't imagine the commute to Beacon will be a pleasant one."
"I need the research for my project. I'd be able to pass my dust theory class with flying colors if I could just manage to figure out why these crystals act the way they do." Weiss rebuked as she replaced her goggles and looked at the dust under the bright lights once more. The way the crystals shimmered were new to her. "Honestly, that alone is worth the research."
Winter nodded, returning to her own notes. Closing one thick file, she placed it away in the cabinet and reached for another. "I firmly believe this dust has merely exposed a gap in our training. Possibly something that our family has never before needed to address." She managed to make it through two entire pages of documentation before she realized that Weiss looked completely exhausted. "Weiss, you really should go to bed."
The younger sibling sighed wearily. "I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway."
"Why not?" Winter wondered. "You appear to be quite exhausted to me."
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, conflict toying with her. "It isn't anything I can't handle on my own. Think nothing of it." She said with a waning smile. "I am quite tired though, so perhaps I will retire to my room for the evening. Goodnight, dear sister. Sleep well."
"To you as well." Winter replied with a gentle smile of her own. "Try not to overwork yourself."
"I could say the same to you." Weiss placed away her materials and shrugged off her white lab coat. "This research will take years. We know that from experience, so we really shouldn't dwell on our lack of findings."
"Are you saying that for your sake, or mine?" Winter queried softly.
"Perhaps the both of us." Weiss offered in return. Her fingers tapped thoughtfully on the white door handle, hesitating. Then she turned to regard her elder sister. "As of right now, the research access on this dust has been stated as classified, correct?"
Winter nodded slowly. "Indeed. Although, I do retain the authority on the topic. Given our bloodline, we're entitled to certain liberties."
"I thought so. I might seek out a few of those 'certain liberties' then." Weiss murmured. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Winter said simply.