Olivia's eyes blearily opened to take in the world around her, sixth sense working in tandem to try and make sense of where she was. She and Weiss were in a small room, Olivia herself propped up on what appeared to be a hospital bed with a thin blanket laying overtop her. The walls were lined with a few counters along with various medical instruments, one of which was an IV currently dripping some type of blue liquid into her arm.
Olivia became aware of how her hand was entwined with Weiss's own and quickly let go, pulling away slightly but resisting the urge to wipe her hand off. The soft song that the heiress had been humming was similarly ended, Weiss's eyes fluttering open in surprise.
"Oh, Olivia! You're awake!"
Olivia brought a hand up to hold her head, feeling a headache beginning to pulse behind her eyes from the lights in the room, "What… what happened? How'd I end up here?"
"You don't remember?" Olivia could hear the worry in Weiss's voice, and she stood in order to reach over and lay her fingers across the faunus's forehead.
Olivia batted her hand off and scooted away slightly, shooting the other girl a look of annoyance, "What are you doing?"
Weiss paused with a worried frown and rubbed her hand absentmindedly, "I was checking to see if you still had a fever. How do you feel?"
Olivia's entire body ached. Her head was pounding, heart beating unnaturally fast, stomach protesting every small movement she made, and her limbs felt like jelly, 'Not to mention whatever's wrong with my aura…' Her sixth sense was alerting her to how it was fluctuating drastically, dipping low only for the needle in her arm to inject more liquid and even it back out a moment later.
"I feel great."
Weiss crossed her arms, striking a pose that she might have otherwise used while convincing Ruby to finish her homework, "No, you don't."
Olivia had the sudden desire to rip the needle from her arm and stand, but began feeling woozy the instant she started to move. Sheer force of will alone kept her from emptying her stomach, and she clenched her teeth shut for a few seconds before replying tightly between them, "No. No I don't."
"I'm glad we're in agreement," Weiss dropped the pose, then hesitated in moving her hand forward, "Are you going to stop fussing?"
Olivia narrowed her eyes, but remained where she was instead of pulling away, "Only if you tell me what happened."
Weiss rolled her eyes and reached forward, placing her fingers across Olivia's forehead once more, "I would have anyway, you dunce."
Olivia waited a few moments for Weiss to finish checking her temperature before looking at her expectantly once the hand was pulled away.
Weiss made a small 'hmm', sound in her throat, putting a finger to her chin in contemplation, "Well, you don't seem to have a fever at least. Now that you're awake I suppose the nurses should check on you again, and I'll need to message Ruby…" she tapped her chin, frowning slightly, "It hasn't been that long, though. She needs her rest. I suppose my promise was to send a message after you woke up, and that we never really specified how long after…" Weiss trailed off in thought.
"Princess…"
Weiss came back to herself, eyes focusing back on Olivia, "Right! What's the last thing you remember?"
Olivia frowned in thought, mind managing to pull up bits and pieces of the dream she'd been having. Killing the bandits, speaking with Widow… standing in a field of white while hugging Weiss tightly… 'That one has to be her fault. I mean, who holds your hand while you're asleep? Of course she'd end up in my dreams…' The memory of the hug stood out most though, and Olivia found herself missing the feeling of those arms wrapped around her.
She coughed, pretending to clear her throat, "Um, last thing I remember, right…" Olivia thought back further, to the last thing she remembered while being awake, "We were on a field trip to Forever Fall… collecting… tree sap?"
Weiss nodded, "With the infinite wisdom bestowed upon you while being deliriously sick, you thought it would be a fantastic idea to wander off from the rest of the group and fall unconscious in the middle of the forest. The rest of us fought off a pack of beowolves and chased one before finding you."
Olivia groaned, "How bad was it?"
Weiss made a small 'hmph', "Well, I'll need to order another combat outfit, that's for sure. I expect many members of team Lion might do the same. I certainly wouldn't want to dress in one that's been covered in blood."
"Covered in…" Olivia shook her head, "That bad, huh? I'll admit, I wasn't feeling the greatest…" she felt her stomach grumble and shuddered, "...Still don't."
Weiss's expression softened, "Miss Goodwitch said it was a sickness that affects faunus far more than it does humans. After a little consulting with Blake, we figured out that you must have gotten it from your… ahem... fling."
'Right… Melanie was taking care of her sister for a couple days before I went there…' Olivia nodded, "Makes sense."
"Blake just went to get treated as well. They have an antidote from the sounds of it, but it only works more as a preventative measure. You're stuck on aura enhancers until your body can fight it off, unfortunately."
'Blake is getting…?' Olivia paled, eyes darting over to Weiss who flashed her a smile as if pleased with herself.
"Yes, I figured it out. Honestly, how long did the two of you think you could hide cat ears from your teammates? I might have figured it out sooner if Blake didn't spend so much time avoiding the spotlight as she does."
"Does Ruby know, then?"
Weiss shook her head, "She's still in the dark for the moment. Ruby was a little too… devastated... by everything that was happening to notice what Blake was doing next to her."
Olivia smirked, "Glad to know you care, Princess~ Guess that means you weren't particularly upset?"
Weiss shot her a glare, "Don't be ridiculous. I just happened to be on Ruby's other side and caught Blake touching her 'bow'. That, along with the conversation she had with Miss Goodwitch, was more than enough to tip me off. I'm not stupid, you know."
"Far from it," Olivia agreed with a small chuckle, "You're the smartest person I've ever met," she could see a small smile beginning to form on Weiss's lips and decided to backtrack, knowing a Schnee with an inflated ego could never be a good thing, "Still need to work on your skill in the ring, though. No amount of page turning will ever bring you up to par~"
"If there's one thing you're an expert at, Olivia, it's ruining a moment."
"It's a gift~" Olivia laughed, then began to cough, feeling her gut wrench violently and a hot liquid attempting to come up her throat.
Weiss's eyes flashed in worry and she placed a hand on Olivia's shoulder, "Careful! You only just woke up… You lost a lot of blood between the forest and here."
After a handful of seconds, Olivia's stomach calmed and she got her breathing back under control, gulping to force down whatever threatened to surge forth. The taste of acid remained in her mouth, burning the back of her throat enough to be an annoyance but not much more.
Olivia tried to clear her mouth a bit before speaking, "How much is 'a lot'?"
"As in… you would have died if we didn't find you when we did?"
Olivia couldn't help but laugh again, her own private joke causing her to gasp in pain yet still laugh past it, unable to contain herself. 'Oh my Oum, imagine that! The Black Lotus killed off by germs when so many hunters tried and failed. I'm sure Widow would have been disappointed!'
The reminder of Widow brought back more of Olivia's memories, of how she had left the group to find a nice, quiet place to relax. Widow had found her out in the forest, already nearly passing out from the overwhelming heat and fatigue. 'Did she leave me out there to die?' Or had the resourceful woman found some other way to help her? Olivia doubted Widow would have ever simply walked out of the forest and asked for help from a bunch of humans, let alone a Schnee.
Weiss placed her hand on her hips, glaring down at Olivia fiercely while she laughed, "It isn't funny!"
Olivia fought to get herself under control, groaning as her chest spasmed a few more times. She waved Weiss off, shaking her head simultaneously, "I mean, it's kind of funny, Princess."
"What in the world is so funny about dying!?"
Olivia chuckled lightly a few more times, ending with a satisfied humm, "You wouldn't get it." She glanced back around the room, knowing from her sixth sense already that what she sought wasn't there, "What did they do with my clothes?"
Weiss frowned, looking around the room before giving a small shrug, "Disposed of them, probably."
Olivia let out a sigh of annoyance, "I liked that outfit…"
Weiss waved a hand nonchalantly, "We can get you more clothes. Better that than walking around as a carrier for the virus. You wouldn't want to risk other faunus's lives, would you?"
"Of course not," Olivia scoffed. She fidgeted with her blanket, then realized all she was wearing was a small dressing gown. Olivia's cheeks brightened slightly, and she let the blanket fall back into place, "Did Goodwitch or the nurses say how long I'd be stuck in here?"
"At least for the weekend, but you did wait longer than most other students do before reporting their illness. You might be in here a few days longer than that."
'Oh no, but what about classes~'
Olivia's grin was interrupted by Weiss who beamed widely, "Don't worry! I'll be sure to bring all of your class assignments and homework so that you can stay caught up!"
"Greeeat…" Olivia faked a smile for Weiss's benefit, then turned to scowl at the floor, 'Juuuust what I needed.'
"And I did promise to help you study, so…"
Olivia perked up slightly at that, having enjoyed their study session before. She then remembered her side of the deal, and rubbed the back of her neck, "Sorry we won't be able to train for a bit… I could give you a regimen, if you wanted?"
"Hmmm," Weiss thought on it for a moment before shaking her head, "I might train the wrong way if I do it on my own. I'd rather wait until you're there so that I know I'm not making any mistakes."
"That's… true, I guess. Wouldn't want to practice the wrong way," Olivia felt a little better, though either way she was still letting Weiss down.
"Do you feel like you could eat anything?" Weiss asked.
Olivia felt her stomach protest at the mere suggestion, and shook her head back and forth in tiny motions, "Not a chance."
"Well, whenever you are…" Weiss left the offer open, sitting back down in her chair and getting comfortable. It was then that Olivia's eyes were drawn to the numerous other chairs decorating the floor around the bed, and she counted them out.
"Was… was everyone here?" Olivia could hardly believe it. Nora and Ren made sense, perhaps Ruby… 'Do the others… actually care about me that much?'
Weiss frowned, noticing the strange tone in her teammate's voice, "Well… why wouldn't they? They're all your friends, aren't they? Isn't that what friends are supposed to do?"
'Sure, but so was Malachite, and she'd spit on my grave if it meant making a few extra lien. I doubt even Melanie would care, aside from having to find another girl to keep her company.'
"I don't know… I guess… I haven't really had that kind of friend before now," Olivia confessed.
"That's…" Weiss frowned minutely, staring off into space for a moment before regaining focus, "Understandable. I didn't really have many friends of my own back in Atlas, either."
"Pfft, what? You, Princess? But you're the life of the party!~" Olivia teased, smiling widely when she was rewarded with a blue eyed glare for her efforts.
"And what was your excuse?"
Olivia chuckled darkly, "An overbearing mother."
"But didn't…?" Weiss paused in confusion, looking both curious and hesitant to continue with her question. After a gesture from Olivia, she finished it slowly, "...Didn't your parents die?"
Olivia nodded, "They did, but I was… adopted, in a way. Not in any legal sense of the word, but even so… We found each other through circumstance, and… I was foolish enough to trust her."
Weiss looked ready to pry further but, after a small shake of Olivia's head, dropped that line of questioning, "You talked a lot while you were delirious, you know."
'Hopefully I didn't say anything too damning…' Olivia tried to play it off and gave Weiss an expectant look, "Really? What did I say?"
Weiss shrugged slightly, "You were fading in and out, but it sounded like you were talking with your brother, mostly… Jace, wasn't it? Ruby mentioned hearing something about the comic books the two of you read as well," she smirked, "Must have been a crazy dream."
Olivia could imagine what part of the 'comic book' she might have been talking with Jace about, and decided against asking further. Drawing more attention to the name 'Black Lotus' would do nothing except endanger her secrets. She gave a hesitant chuckle, "Yeah, pretty messed up."
Olivia felt two familiar presences approaching the door from out in the hall, an idea coming to mind. The moment before the pair reached the door, she turned to Weiss with a wide smirk and raised her voice so it could be heard from out in the hall, "For the last time, Princess! You can't snuggle with me!"
"What are you-?"
Weiss was interrupted as the door opened to let in Ren and Nora, the latter wearing a vivacious grin, "Oh, hoh? What's this I hear? I hope you know you'll need our approval if you want to date dear Olivia, Weiss~"
Weiss's cheeks burned, her mouth working without any words escaping. Ren looked between Weiss's face and Olivia's, easily noticing the cheshire grin the faunus sported. He placed a hand on Nora's shoulder, "I don't think Weiss is the one wanting to share a bed."
It was Olivia's turn to brighten, though not nearly as much as Weiss had. She shot Ren a nod of respect, "Fair play, Ren. That wasn't half bad~"
Ren's expression remained neutral, though he did angle it slightly in confusion, "But… I wasn't kidding."
Nora laughed and backhanded his shoulder lightly, "Come on, now. No teasing the sick girl!" her eyes returned to Olivia, looking her over, "How are you feeling?"
Olivia shrugged, "Not great, honestly. The Princess here told me it was pretty brutal."
"Oh, yeah. I thought I'd never get that blood out~"
It was then that Weiss's breath caught, and she placed her hands on her hips from where she sat, "Nora! And… Ren, too. You really should dispose of those clothes!"
Nora waved a hand dismissively, "What!? No way! My outfit can't be replaced!"
"The bleach they supply to our rooms is rather efficient at removing stains," Ren tacked on, "We spent half the night washing it out."
"Do you think it would work for my outfit?" Olivia asked hopefully.
Ren frowned, "No bleach is that good."
The two settled into chairs of their own, willing to pass the time in the company of both members of team Rainbow. Olivia was grateful for it, and chatted away with the three of them for a while longer before Blake returned. The girl rubbed a hand over the crease of her arm as she entered, likely having received her injection there.
Eventually, Weiss texted Ruby to let her know that Olivia had woken up. The young reaper arrived in only a few short minutes, blowing through the door in a semblance infused flurry of petals. Her eyes fell on Olivia and she cheered, pumping a fist into the air.
"Hey, kid~"
Ruby zipped to the side of the bed next to Weiss and threw her arms around Olivia, hugging her tightly, "I knew you'd be okay!"
Olivia could hear the slight tremble in her voice, and wrapped her own arms around the girl comfortingly, "As if I'd get taken out because of a little blood loss. You're talking about Olivia Mandevilla here. I'm made of tougher stuff~" Olivia grinned as Ruby pulled away, wiping a sleeve across her face with a small sniff, "I probably would've been fine even if you hadn't found me."
'Widow likely would have taken me with her to the White Fang camp. They'd certainly have some stolen aura enhancers on hand…'
Ruby punched her on the shoulder, "Not likely!"
Olivia gave her an offended look, putting a hand to her own chest, "You doubt my resourcefulness?"
Ruby scoffed, "What could you have possibly done?"
Olivia put a hand to her chin, and shrugged to the younger girl after a few moments, "I would have thought of something."
"You were a little too busy imagining yourself as a comic book character for that," Ruby chided playfully, "I bet the Black Lotus would be able to get out of that situation, though. She always pulls one over on Ozborne!"
Olivia could sense Ren and Nora turning to each other with worried glances, and forced herself to let out a weak chuckle, "Your little comic book character has nothing on me, kid. All I need is an eraser~"
"Pfft, you can't erase ink!"
Olivia grinned, "You can if you try hard enough."
She felt Ren lean sideways, cupping his hand to whisper into Nora's ear while pointing to the box that housed Ruby's comics. The ginger Mistralian had a look of sudden realization, eyes following where Ren pointed. She mimicked him, whispering in reply before the two of them nodded in agreement.
Olivia then paused in confusion herself, wondering why the box was there in the first place. She leaned over the side of the bed to look down on them, drawing the attention of Blake.
"I brought them down yesterday," Blake confessed, "and read some of them this morning. I hope you don't mind."
'Just another person that will have an inkling of knowledge about the Black Lotus… Where's the harm in that?' Olivia thought sarcastically, then spared her faunus teammate a small shrug, "Fine by me. What about you, Ruby?"
Ruby studied Blake closely for a few moments before speaking, "As your team leader, I demand you take care of them!"
"I'll keep them in mint condition, I promise," Blake replied gladly, "I'm almost done with another book. I'll keep reading the comics after that as long as I won't be getting in Olivia's way."
Olivia waved a hand, "No, you're fine. I've been a bit too busy lately to really sit down and enjoy them with some peace of mind, anyway. What with all of Oobleck and Port's homework…" she trailed off, feeling her body beginning to slacken tiredly and blinking away the haze that appeared in her eyes. Olivia breathed deeply, letting it out in a yawn hidden behind her hand, the vestiges still apparent as she began to speak once more, "I just haven't really gotten the chance…"
Blake heard everything and gave Olivia a worried glance, checking her over until her eyes fell on the IV. Olivia followed her gaze to the bag, now hanging empty from the pole next to her bed. The line itself leading into her arm was also empty, a small amount of blood having returned up the line.
Blake jumped up and excused herself, announcing that she was going to go find a nurse. Olivia struggled for the next few minutes, feeling herself becoming more drowsy and struggling to follow the conversation. Once Blake returned with the nurse, everyone else remained silent while she did a check up, flashing a light past Olivia's eyes and asking her how she felt.
"I feel just fine. Good as new, even."
Weiss shot her a death glare and interrupted the proceedings by clearing her throat, "Don't let her fool you. She told me only an hour ago about how terrible she felt. Olivia has a bad habit of not accepting help from anyone."
"I would never lie about my health, Princess," Olivia lied.
Weiss raised an eyebrow in disbelief, then turned that same look on to the nurse, "For all we know she could be flatlining and only remaining alive from sheer stubbornness."
The nurse chuckled, checking a few readings on the monitor, "Your pulse has dropped significantly and your breathing has slowed. Both clear signs of being tired," she tutted, giving Olivia a sly grin, "Can't fool me. Sorry kid," then turned to eye the rest of them, "Your friend needs sleep. I'd suggest you all leave for now. We'll see how she does off the infusion for a while, and administer further dosage if necessary."
Ruby began to pout, but upon noticing Olivia once more hiding a yawn, she gave up with a small smile. The young leader patted Olivia on the shoulder, "You get some rest. Team leader's orders."
"Well," Olivia couldn't help but yawn again, eyes fluttering closed while she fought against it, "If you say so…"
The group said their goodbyes and began to head out. Before she left, Blake snagged Olivia's scroll off the counter and handed it to her, in full view of the rest while hiding the small wink she gave, "Let us know when you're feeling up for another visit."
"Will do," Olivia nodded and set the scroll off to her side.
The nurse left along with them, shutting off the lights on the way out and returning the room to a dim state. Olivia's faunus eyes could still see everything in shades of grey, and she focused on her sixth sense all the way until her… friends… had left.
'They're… they're the real deal…' Olivia still couldn't quite believe that they had been so concerned for her. A part of her felt guilty, and after a few seconds she realized why.
'I… don't deserve them…'
She wasn't cut from the same cloth. The others… they were all true heroes in the making, unbound by the blood that stained Olivia's hands. As easily as her blood had tainted them and their clothing, they had washed it clean. Meanwhile… it was only fitting that hers had been disposed of.
Olivia felt her scroll buzz and reopened her eyes enough to peek at it. A message from Blake was posted across the screen, and she picked it up to see what her fellow faunus had to say.
"I'm glad you're okay, Olivia. Weiss just mentioned to us how surprised you were that we wanted to stay by your side. You might not realize it, but… you're a good person, too."
Olivia's hands shook slightly, invigorated by multiple other messages being received. She went down them one by one, from Nora, Ren, Ruby, and even Weiss.
"Hey! You're gonna kick this cold to the curb, then we'll kick it down in Vale! No excuses!"
"You may feel down on yourself, Olivia, but I assure you your doubt is misplaced. I remember the tough little girl that saved us outside that grocery store and gave us a place to spend the night, when Nora and I were at our lowest… We aren't just your friends. You are ours, as well. I'll never forget that little girl, and you should never forget what you mean to us, either."
Tears welled in Olivia's eyes, and she was forced to blink them away as she scrolled down further, first to Ruby's message and then to Weiss's.
"Aww, Olivia! Of course I care about you! And not just because I'm team leader, either! Who else can I look up to? Who else will keep me safe? Weiss!? You're not just an essential part of our team, you're a part of our family! I know everyone would agree!"
Olivia rubbed the hem of her blanket across her face, trying to dry up the tears that had begun to flow freely. She had spent years looking for revenge, out for the blood of those that had taken so much away from her. The Black Lotus had hardened her heart, not allowing any to tread there aside from Widow herself. Now that she'd resumed being Olivia… that defense had deteriorated, leaving her weak to the affection being so blatantly put on display.
She continued on to read the final message from Weiss.
"Oh, Olivia. You really are a dunce sometimes, you know that? I hope everyone's messages helped to clear up whatever doubts you may have had. If not, I could get Yang and Pyrrha in on it as well, maybe even get Ruby's father and uncle's numbers to see what they have to say? You might be blind to it, but I spent my entire life looking for the sort of relationships that you've already managed to create. These people care about you deeply, no matter what color your veins are or how sharp your wit might be.
And if you ever need a… physical reminder, know that I'm always available for a hug. We can even pretend that you couldn't sleep without it, just so you can save face. I… really liked the one we shared before. I'll be disappointed if we never do again…
Sleep well, friend…"
Olivia reread the message a few times before typing a reply. She debated on what to say, writing out quite a few sentences several times over, only to delete them once more. Finally, Olivia settled on two simple words, so hard for her to say before but now immortalized between the two of them for the rest of time.
"Thank you."
Olivia fell into a restless sleep a short time later, conscious mind eventually becoming overtaken by dreams as she revisited a familiar snowy white plain. Unlike before, however…
Her friends remained.
So, the possibility of Blake connecting the Black Lotus dots has become a ticking time bomb, and Olivia has made some progress in understanding what it means to be one of the good guys.
Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for reading!
- Sybaen
