"Come on, Blake! The sun is going down fast and I want to get some shopping done before the best stores close!" Weiss said from outside the dorm.
"I'm not going out there and freezing! You might be immune to cold, Snow Queen, but some of us have to wrap up!" Blake shouted back, a zipping sound coming from the door. After another minute, Blake stepped out in a large black coat with a bright orange scarf around her mouth and a tasseled snow hat on top.
"Blake…" Weiss said, Blake nodding and letting out a muffled "Yes?" through the scarf. "You look like a penguin." the Schnee heiress said with a smirk.
"... I'm nrt a pmngrn" Blake said completely muffled, glaring at Weiss who simply chuckled and started walking.
"Don't worry, we'll buy you some fish along the way. It'll take about an hour, unless you want me to ride on your back while you slide down a hill." she joked, Blake letting out a low growl through the warm fabric.
The two friends headed out, stopping at the gate and swiping their I.D. cards. "Student IDs Accepted. Weiss Schnee, Year 1. Blake Belladonna, Year 1. Have a Happy Renewal!" the card reader said in its robotically chipper tone.
"...Really? They programmed it to tell us that? Seems like a waste of taxpayer dollars." Blake said, pulling down her scarf.
"Well, sending penguins to school is a waste too." Weiss said, Blake glaring back at her.
"Stop it." she said as the gate finally opened.
"March!" Weiss shouted, waddling back and forth through the gate.
"Why are we friends again?" Blake asked as she walked out of the gate, heading onto the sidewalk, Weiss ending her march of the penguin and following after her.
"So, where are we going first?" Weiss asked.
"Well, first is getting the Kings & Pawns Collection for Ruby and I know just the place to get it." Blake said, Weiss rolling her eyes.
"I can't believe you associate with that farmgirl. How does she not drive you insane? She's like a small dog pretending to be a person." she said, Blake putting on a quick smirk.
"She's usually quieter when she's reading. In fact, I'm a bit cash-strapped and the Collection's pricey. Maybe if you buy it for her she'll leave you alone." the "penguin" said, Weiss opening her mouth to object to the idea before stopping and thinking on it.
"Perhaps you're right…" she admitted as Blake came to a stop at a nearby store. The store had opaque white windows and a green stone banner reading "Tukson's Book Trade" in golden letters. Blake stepped through the doors to the familiar spruce bookshelves and peppermint aroma that wafted through the store, Weiss following behind. Blake looked over at all the books, grabbing at her pouch to remind herself to keep her purchases low in the store. "Hrm… I must admit, the atmosphere is rather nice here." Weiss said as she walked over the counter, ringing the bell twice. Within a few seconds, a man with short black hair, black muttonchops and hazel eyes dressed in a red short-sleeve shirt stepped up to the counter.
"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun. How can I help you?" the man said, Weiss giving a curtsy.
"Greetings, Tukson. I was hoping you'd have the… what was it called again, Blake?" Weiss asked, turning to Blake who was looking over a copy of The Thief and the Butcher.
"Kings & Pawns Collection." Blake said bluntly, the storekeeper smiling.
"Hey kid, how's Beacon been treating you? Glad to see your nose isn't broken anymore." Tukson said, Blake smiling as she skimmed through a few pages of Violet's Garden.
"Thanks Tukson. Still haven't replaced the fluorescents? That humming is gonna drive me nuts." Blake said, Tukson rolling his eyes.
"It's not in the budget, Blake. Get off my back." he said jokingly, Weiss clearing her throat.
"So, I see you two are well acquainted…" Weiss said, Blake turning her head and nodding to her friend.
"I've been going to Tukson's Book Trade since I arrived in Vale. It's a nice place to read and relax after a long day of studying." she said, looking back to the shelves and grabbing another book.
"She's one of my best customers. Always comes in with a little gift. Speaking of. you got a Renewal gift for me, Blake?" he asked, Blake stopping her book search and reaching into her bad.
"Of course I do. You'd think I'd forget?" she said, stepping up the counter and placing a metal file onto the counter. "Your claws have been getting jagged these days. You gotta take better care of yourself, Tukson." Blake explained, Tukson sighing and shaking his head with a smile across his face.
"Thanks, Blake. It's just what I've always wanted…" he said sarcastically, withdrawing a set of long black claws from the fingertips on his right hand and filing it.
Weiss's eyes widened as she slowly walked out of the store, feeling a sharp pain in her back as she shut the door, taking rapid breaths and clutching gently at her chest. "Weiss? Are you okay?" Blake asked, the Schnee heiress seeing her standing in the store's doorway.
"I-I'm fine… it was getting a bit stuffy in there. H-here!" she said, tossing her loaded pouch to Blake, who quickly caught in. "G-get whatever you need, I'll just wait out here!" she said, Blake looking at her friend for a few seconds before uttering a quick "I'll be back in a minute" before returning to the bookstore. Weiss took a deep breath, the pain in her back subsiding. "It's not him… it's not him, Weiss… he's just a bookstore clerk… it's not- AHHH!" Weiss exclaimed as she heard the door open behind her, turning sharply to see Blake standing in front of her with a plastic bag holding a box of five books in her hand.
"...Weiss, are you okay?" she asked, Weiss giving a shaking nod.
"Y-yeah, you just startled me is all. You got what you need?" Weiss asked, Blake holding up the plastic bag. "Good. We'd better get moving…" she said, making her way down the sidewalk with Blake following after her. The overcovered woman grabbed Weiss' shoulder.
"Weiss, listen. Before we get to the next person on my list, I want to make sure you're alright. I don't want you having an episode in the middle of another store." she said, Weiss sighing a bit.
"Fine… I was a bit nervous around Tukson... it's not something I want to get into, but let's just say I don't exactly get along with Fauni." Weiss said, looking away from Blake.
"And what is that supposed to mean, exactly?" Blake asked in confrontational tone.
"I said I don't want to talk about this! Can we get off the topic of Fauni and get back to shopping?" Weiss asked, glaring at Blake.
"...Well, that's gonna be difficult since my next gift is going to be for Velvet., so…" Blake said, looking away from her partner in Renewal shopping.
"...Don't worry, Velvet's the exception. I know just the place to go!" Weiss said, a faint smile on her face as she lead the way to a nearby antiques store. The store's window had several knick-knacks and oddities on display, Weiss looking over the window display for a bit before smiling. "Yes! It's still there! Come on, Blake! Before we get eaten by seals!" she called, Blake running faster, fueled by her annoyance at the constant penguin jokes as they stepped inside the store. The inside was somewhat dusty with dim lightning. "Man, no one in this district puts lighting in their budget, do they?" Weiss asked, Blake chuckling a bit though still unsure if Weiss was all there. She seemed a bit too enthusiastic about this experience given what had happened.
"Weiss, are you feel-" Blake asked, being cut off by the sound of Weiss ringing the counter's bell. A giant of a man with a wild white beard that seemed to be bigger than his own head and beady blue eyes clad in heavy maroon coat.
"Ohohohoho! Do my eyes deceive me? Weiss Schnee in my humble little shop?" the storekeeper said in a jolly baritone, his stomach shaking hypnotically with laughter.
"Ah, yes. I'd like to beard something- I mean buy something!" Weiss said, hoping he didn't notice her slip of the tongue.
"Ah, yes! What can I interest you in?" he asked, Weiss trying to not lose herself staring at his massive beard.
"It's like it's consuming his face… Oh! Uh… I mean! I-I was hoping to buy the m-music box on the display, please!" Weiss stammered, Blake resisting the urge to smile at seeing the usually calm and collected Schnee being so flummoxed.
"Ohohohhohoho! That old thing? Why yes, it should be 50 Lien for it!" he said, Weiss looking into her pouch and pouring out five gold coins with small chips of emerald embedded in them. "Yes, yes! Thank you, Ms. Schnee. Will your friend be needing anything as well?" he asked, pointing to Blake, who was looking at some of the old, dust-covered books, Weiss slowly grinning and emptying her pouch.
"I'll take all the books on the shelf!" she demanded, Blake looking up and uttering a quick "Wha?" as the old storekeeper walked over, grabbing as many books as he could in his first go and began ringing them all up. By the end of the process, the man's beard could be barely seen from the tower of books in front of them.
"That will be... 275 Lien. Good choice, Ms. Schnee! You got those books on clearance!" he said, counting coins on the counter while Weiss and Blake worked on putting away as many books as they could into their bags.
"If it's not too late, maybe he'll give you back five less Lien for a refu-Ack!" Blake exclaimed as a large burlap satchel was thrown to the floor in front of them.
"On the house!" the storekeeper said as he carried a jingling pouch of coins to the back. The junior Huntresses loaded the books into the satchel, Weiss swinging the loaded bag onto her back and walking out the door, Blake carrying her book collection in one hand and the music box in the other.
"Weiss, why did you buy all those books?" Blake asked as they continued their trek through the Market Quarter.
"It makes for an easier gift exchange. Like gift cards but without the looks of disappointment." Weiss explained, Blake rolling her eyes at this.
"If you say so… I think we're all set after this. We'd better get back to Beacon and get to work on wrapping." Blake said, Weiss nodding and moving carefully to not upset the satchel of books. The two made the long walk back to Beacon, Weiss becoming more and more exhausted from carrying the books. As they arrived at the gate, she fell onto the satchel, the various edges and hardbacks feeling like a mattress for the Schnee heiress.
"Ah… this is nicer than it should be…" Weiss said, sinking further into the satchel as Blake scanned in her I.D. Card.
"C'mon, Weiss. Hand me your card, we gotta get this stuff wrapped." Blake said, holding a hand out. Weiss lazily reached into her pocket, handing Blake her I.D. card, Blake sighing and swiping the card.
"Welcome back and have a happy Renewal, -Blake- and -Weiss-." the card reader emitted as the gate opened once more, Blake grabbing the resting Weiss and pulling her back to her feet.
"Here, we'll switch bags. You carry my gifts and I'll carry yours." she said, handing Weiss the two bags and reaching down to pick up the heavy satchel
"Fair enough. March!" Weiss exclaimed, waddling towards the school, Blake growled a bit but soon started to laugh as Weiss' penguin march.
"Okay, okay. We march." Blake said, waddling after Weiss. The two laughed as they made their way back to the school, stopping their penguin march upon reaching the door, their smiles subsiding.
"No one will ever know we did this." Weiss said bluntly, Blake nodding in agreement as they went through the doors. They headed their way down to the dining hall, seeing that tables had been pushed back and several spruce trees had been placed around, covered in colorful lights and decorations, people gathered around in groups and handing out gifts. Weiss had spotted Emerald giving Mercury a new pair of boots, Mercury grinning from ear to ear.
"Wow, thanks Emerald! These are awesome! Love the wings!" he said, gently poking the wings on the sides of the boots.
"Glad you like them, Merc. So, what did you get me?" she asked, Mercury's smile sticking as he handed her an emerald necklace.
"Eh… Ehh? How about it? Doyaliiiiiiiikeit?" Mercury said, pointing at her with two finger-guns. Emerald stared at the the necklace and then slowly looked up at him with a look of pure murderous contempt. Weiss quickly scurried off to hide, hearing cries of "You're gonna die, Merc! I guarantee it!" coming from the table mixed with the sounds of running, things being knocked over and Mercury laughing himself into a mixture of fear and hysteria.
She made it to table where Team ANVL, Velvet, Blake and Ruby sat, Ruby having amassed a massive pile of gifts. "What is this? Farmgirl, how did you get so many gifts already?" she asked incredulously.
"Well, half of them are Yang's…" Ruby replied, looking through her bag for Weiss' gift, Weiss taking a seat beside her.
"So Weiss, Blake says you've got a big bag of gifts for us. Wanna pass a few around?" Pyrrha asked, Weiss nodding and smiling, reaching into her satchel and pulling out a book.
"For Jaune." she said, handing him the book.
"...The Big Book of Sheep, 101 Steps to Creating the Next Big Lamb Farm…?" he asked, reading the title aloud in complete bafflement.
"Well, you did say you lived on a farm, so I figured you'd want to get a start on… raising the sheeps!" Weiss said with artificial enthusiasm, giving Jaune a thumbs-up.
"...Weiss, we have crops, cows, chicken and even sheep for the last 70 years. I think we've covered our bases." Jaune said bluntly.
"Look, it's the thought that counts!" Weiss snapped, Jaune letting out a yelp and nodding as she passed more mismatched books over to the rest of the group.
"Anh! Uh… W-Weiss… Velvet stuttered out as she looked at her book, blushing beet red at the cover image of a long haired, lantern jawed muscular man shirtless and draped in red silk covering anything below his waist. "To Tame A Lion, Romance of the Colosseum?" she asked, hands trembling and about the drop the book while Weiss rubbed the back of her head.
"Eheheheheh… well, I figured you've been getting older and you haven't got a boyfriend yet, so-" Weiss said, Velvet standing up and putting her hands on the table.
"You don't have one either!" she exclaimed in an exasperated tone.
"Hey! I have an image to maintain! I can't just go with any poor schlub that gives me the time of day!" Weiss shouted back.
"...I hate Renewal" Jaune muttered while they argued, slumped into his seat looking at his book of sheep.
"Don't worry, Jaune. I don't think Weiss meant you." Ren said calmly, Jaune's eyes widening.
"What? No! I mean I'm sick of having teenage girls yelling while I sit in silent rumination be a Renewal tradition for me!" Jaune exclaimed, Ren shrugging.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I got you a hat." Ren said, placing a small green and yellow striped hat with a small green puff ball on top onto his head.
"I really hate Renewal…" Jaune grumbled, Nora playfully batting at the puffball, Blake staring at the madness in front of her with a quizzical expression.
"Well… this has been fun but I'd better take my… advanced robotics book and all of Yang's… stuff… and get going. I'm sure she'll love a book on… the history of the Mistral Trade Routes… Yeeeeaaahh." Ruby said, awkwardly stuffing everything she could into her hands and walking out. Ren opened his book How Trees Work: An Arboreal Adventure and began reading.
"Fascinating." he said, Weiss breaking from her heated argument to let out a confident smile.
"Finally! Someone who appreciates my efforts!" she exclaimed, turning to Blake. "Now, Blake. You may be wondering where your gift is." Weiss said, Blake dreading the possible book on proper silverware cleaning or the art of stamp collecting.
"Well, I was rather hoping you didn't get me anything…" she said, Weiss letting out her signature laugh.
"Ohohohohoho~ How could I possibly forget Madame Belladonna?"she said with an overly stuffy accent and a painful-looking smile.
"Please stop. I want the old, snippy Weiss back." Blake muttered under her breath.
"Well, don't you fret as you will be getting ALL OF THESE!" Weiss said, pouring books onto the table, overtaking most of the gifts and some spilling onto the floor.
"Ren... Weiss is scaring me. She has so much holiday spirit I think she's going to start vomiting joy." Jaune muttered.
"Wow… look at that kindling, Blake! You'll have roasted pork for weeks!" Nora said excitedly, Weiss waving her off.
"Oh, don't be silly, Nora! Blake would absolutely adore…" She said, reaching into the pile of books and looking at a title "Are You Afraid of the Bears?" Blake burying herself into her scarf.
"Your gift is upstairs under your bed. You will not be asked back to Renewal…" she muttered, Weiss smiling and bowing.
"G'day then, friends! And a happy Renewal to all!" Weiss said giddily, skipping away and passing Emerald attempting to throttle Mercury with the necklace.
"I feel like I'm hallucinating." Blake muttered, looking around the room to see if the insanity wore off yet.
Weiss made her way to the dorm, the big fake smile slowly dropping with each step as she entered the empty room. "WHAT was that, Weiss? You get one chance a year to spend time with your friends and now most of them think you're a closeted psychopath!" she said, dropping backfirst onto the bed. "I guess that's what I get for trying to do things the 'right' way..." she said, looking up at the ceiling when the door clicked, turning to see Blake slowly step in. The Schnee heiress sprang herself up into a sitting with a wide grin.
"Cut it out." Blake said bluntly, Weiss' smile dropping immediately.
"Blake… why can't I have friends? Why do I keep failing to make friends?" Weiss asked, Blake slowly walking over and sitting next to her.
"Because you're forcing yourself too far into it. When we were penguin walking to the school, it was fun and I could tell you were enjoying yourself. But then you got up to diving board and made a running leap into the deep end." the older Huntress explained, Weiss shutting her eyes and nodding. "Weiss… what is this all about?" Blake asked, Weiss taking a deep breath.
"You know how Jaune says he hates Renewal? Well, I've hated it for a long time too. My father always spent more time focusing on his business meetings, mom was busy socializing and Winter had her training in Mantle… then she became an apprentice to General Ironwood and soon she had no time. Velvet would try to help, but she was occupied with housekeeping to stay for more than an hour at a time. Renewal dinner was the only time we'd be together and we'd all just sit in silence before I was sent up and find a pile of gifts on my bed. it might have cost more than a normal gift but... he didn't know what I liked, so he just threw money at the problem." Weiss explained, tears falling down her cheeks. Blake put a hand on Weiss' shoulder, lightly rubbing her shoulder and pulling them a bit closer together.
"But this is a new chapter in your life. You might not know how to do things, but this is a clean slate. It's like Professor Ozpin said. Everything you were before you came here doesn't matter, I'm not your father, Ruby isn't your sister, we have both time to listen to you and we all care about how you feel. So focus on being yourself, and just try and be happy for yourself and not because you want us to be happy, okay? No more forced smiling." Blake said, smiling as Weiss tightly wrapped herself around her friend.
"Thank you so much, Blake! I don't know how I can ever repay you!" she said shakily, staining Blake's shirt with tears. Blake gently pulled her away.
"You can start by looking under your bed." she said calmly, Weiss nodding and wiping her eyes before getting up and bending down to look underneath her bed. She let out a gasp as she got up, bringing with her a beautifully-crafted white wooden violin and bow.
"Blake… I don't know what to say…" Weiss said, breathing heavily in excitement.
"Well.. Don't break it. That cost a lot from my stipend, I had to not eat for a week pay for it." Blake explained nonchalantly, a genuine smile forming on Weiss' face.
"I-I will! I'll take good care of and clean it every week and-" Weiss began excitedly, Blake holding up a hand.
"You were going to do it again. How about instead you play a Renewal song?" Blake suggested, Weiss nodding and putting the violin under her chin, pulling back the bow and producing what sounded more like a dying cat. Blake put her hands on her head, gritting her teeth in pain.
"Maybe you should try and practice first…"