Legal Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth. The True Runes and any other Suikoden-related lore that pops up in this fic are the rightful properties of Konami.
Chapter Fifteen:
"Oh, this looks positively fascinating!" Penny's voice tore through the crowded street around them, her green eyes gleaming as she pointed at a nearby stall. Clover smiled at his sister's exuberance, especially when she turned towards him hopefully while pointing at a small metallic carving of a rose at the edge of the shop's counter, "This reminds me of Ruby due to its shape and the fact that it is made out of silver!" She informed him brightly, "Do you think it would please her if I purchased it as a gift?"
Clover's smile widened at the slight blush that dusted the girl's cheeks then. Despite her automated status, it seemed Penny was very much a real girl. "I think she would be glad to receive it, Penny." He told her truthfully.
Penny positively beamed, "Then I shall buy it!" The redhead was quick to inform the patiently waiting stall owner who hurried to bag the small item.
Around the adopted siblings, the Wintertide Festival was well and truly underway throughout the streets of Atlas and Mantle. They'd spent the morning earlier traversing through the crowds lining the streets with Pietro and Maria, but their father had insisted they spend the rest of the day seeing just what was being done about the festivities without the "old folks" slowing them down. Clover suspected that was largely because he'd wanted to spend some time alone with Maria once they'd passed a craftsman and blacksmithing area that had been set up for display, given how Pietro's eyes had lit up as he described it to the humoring small woman.
Penny, who had never seen a festival quite like this before in her limited years on Remnant, had been most eager to do just that as she pulled the mer along behind her excitedly to dart through the throngs of people, both Mantle and Atlesian citizens alike. It seemed as if the events of the festival had spilled out into every street and alleyway they came across. There was an energetic and rather excited hum buzzing throughout the chilly air as they moved about and took in the various sights and activities. While there was no getting past the frigid temperatures of Solitas, there was a slight warmth that encompassed the city due to the hustle and bustle all about them.
"Oh, excellent!" Penny exclaimed happily once she was clutching her newfound purchase to herself, "I cannot wait to show Ruby!"
Before Clover could good-naturedly tease the girl on how much she seemed to enjoy the brunette's company, a voice spoke up from behind him: "Show me what?"
Both Penny and Clover turned around, Penny's eyes lighting up excitedly at the sight of Ruby Rose herself standing there with a happy smile plastered on her face as well. Behind her were Blake and Yang, both of whom raised their hands to wave in greeting. "Ruby!" Penny awkwardly got out, suddenly shoving the bag with its gift quickly behind her, "Salutations! Wh—what are you doing here?"
Ruby and Clover both raised eyebrows, the brown-haired man leaning over to whisper to his adopted sister, "Didn't you buy that to give to her?"
Penny looked exceedingly flustered at his remark, awkwardly shifting her gaze from him to Ruby, "Please, Clover!" She exclaimed, "Now is neither the time nor place!"
Clover was about to ask when exactly it would be when Ruby decided to answer Penny's earlier query, "Oh, we figured we would check out just what Mantle is doing for the festival." She answered as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly, her small wings shifting slightly behind her cape, "The Atlas side of things was a bit too stuffy."
Yang smirked, "That's putting it mildly." She told them, "Didn't exactly seem like much of a celebration with how orderly everything was there."
"It was nice and quiet though." Blake tried amending, the feline ears on the top of her head twitching slightly as she added, "Though the energy here reminds me more of celebrations in Menagerie."
Yang turned to regard her companion and winked, "Gotta live it up a little sometimes, huh?" She said jovially.
Blake merely nodded, her cheeks tinted slightly red. Ruby grinned at the both of them, her silver eyes darting around the space quickly not a moment later, "Hey, have either of you seen Uncle—?" She asked before getting cut off.
"Looking for me, pipsqueak?" A familiar voice drawled just then from an alleyway off to the right. Qrow Branwen stepped forward then, his hands thrust into his pockets as he strode towards the group, giving a slight nod in greeting to both Penny and Clover as he did so. There was an amused look in his red eyes as he reached out and ruffled Ruby's hair not a second later, "Next time, don't wander off so fast if you don't want to leave someone behind." He said amusedly.
"But I swear, we thought you were right behind us!" The half-Winged Horde girl exclaimed.
"Yeah, not exactly our fault if you couldn't keep up, old man." Yang teased her uncle with her arms crossed over her chest, a smirk lighting up her face.
The elf rolled his light red eyes, "I could still run circles around all of you and you know it." He told her flatly before his gaze landed on Penny and Clover, "So you guys found some of our teammates too?"
"Too?" Blake questioned as her golden eyes widened slightly when she looked over in the direction that Qrow had just come from.
Standing in the middle of the alleyway where more shops had been set up was a smiling and waving Fiona, along with a less enthused-looking Harriet. "Your uncle seemed a bit lost, so we pointed him back in the right direction of the main street." Fiona said in way of explanation as the pair joined up with the others.
A slight flush crossed over Qrow's pale features then as he rubbed the back of his head, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, "I would've found it eventually." He mumbled.
"Uh-huh." Harriet replied with a smirk, "Sure you would have."
"I'm a bit surprised you aren't spending the day in Atlas, Hare." Clover told her just then in an attempt to give poor Qrow a break from the teasing, the other man shooting him a grateful look.
A slight tint of red coated Harriet's cheeks then as she glanced at Fiona briefly, "Fi wanted to see how Mantle would handle the celebration first." She said almost shyly and out of character.
"Oh, don't act like you weren't curious yourself!" Fiona teased her slightly, leaning over to gently tap the other woman in the shoulder.
That only caused Harriet's blush to deepen, "Whatever." The Ace Op murmured under her breath.
Penny, having successfully hidden Ruby's gift bag on her person then, suddenly clapped her hands together, "Oh, I know!" She said excitedly, "Since we're all here, why don't we take to checking out the shops together?" Her green eyes lit up as she continued, "There are some lovely items to peruse through!"
Ruby's silver eyes widened at the prospect, "Hey, that's not a bad idea!" She said, "I've been wanting to get a souvenir for Dad."
"My parents wouldn't mind something as well." Blake admitted thoughtfully.
"I'm game as long as we can haggle." Yang proclaimed, an eager glint in her violet eyes at the prospect.
Harriet smirked, "We can definitely show you some of the best haggling spots here." She declared, seemingly taking the event as a personal challenge as she turned to the sheep Faunus by her side, "Isn't that right, Fi?"
Fiona nodded with a bright smile on her face, "That's right, and we can show you the best spots to eat for a bargain afterwards too!" She said jovially.
There was loud cheering throughout the group of assembled females then, and then they were off, weaving through the crowds as if they had never even been there in the first place. Which just left Clover and Qrow standing there awkwardly together. Clover smiled at the elf slightly, "Guess they forgot about you again too, huh?" He joked.
Qrow let out a long, exasperated sigh, "It happens when they get excited like that sometimes." He said, shaking his head fondly.
"Should we try to follow?" Clover prompted.
Qrow shook his dark head of graying hair, "Sometimes, it's best to give them space." He informed the mer, a glint in his eyes as he smirked, "And the mention of food got me rather hungry."
Clover smiled, motioning over his shoulder in the opposite direction, "I'm sure we can find something in the meanwhile." He said with a confident wink for good measure.
"Hey, boss man, over here!" Elm's boisterous voice shouted across the space as soon as Qrow and Clover entered the street that had been designated for food vendors.
Clover couldn't help but smile and wave back at her as she lifted her arms over her head to wave the two men over, both her large hands occupied by sticks with some kind of smoking meat attached to them, "Why am I not surprised to find you here of all places?" He joked amicably as they came over to stand by the table where the female knight and Vine were sitting.
Elm grinned, "Well, you know me," she answered, "Always up for looking for good grub when I have a day off!"
"Careful, Elm, you're dripping." Vine noted calmly from beside the tall woman, moving his salad out of the way of the meat juices dripping down from her sticks.
Her grin became slightly sheepish as she promptly tore a hunk of the meat off of one of the offending sticks with her teeth, "Better to eat it while it's still piping hot, anyways!" She exclaimed loudly.
"Indeed. Though the frigid air helps to keep vegetables nice and fresh comparatively." Vine murmured, munching a piece of cucumber carefully.
Elm shook her head at her companion's remark as she sat back down once more, "I'll never understand how you got so tall just eating fruit and veggies like you do." She stated, though there was an obvious undercurrent of fondness in her voice all the same.
"You'd be surprised at the nutritional benefits of—" Vine cut himself off as Elm tore another hunk of meat off of one of the sticks she was gripping, "And you've tuned me out, haven't you?" He asked with a knowing sigh.
Elm's smirk widened, "I get it." She said, "Veggies are good for you and all that. But nothing beats good ol' meat on a day like today!"
"That's what I was just telling Ren!" Nora's voice spoke up then with a happy gasp as she and the black-haired young man in question came trodding over with trays of their own, Nora's being much more piled high with various foods than Ren's more modest assortment, "Gotta stock up on the proteins to stay strong today!"
Elm nodded approvingly as the two younger knights sat down at the table as well, "Ah, this one here gets me!" She said proudly, clearly happy to have a protégé of sorts to mentor in the finer world of festival food.
Nora's pale blue eyes lit up with challenge as she grabbed a stick with meat on it off of the top of her tray of food then, brandishing it like a sword in front of her that she pointed at Elm, "Bet you I can eat this quicker than you can!" She challenged the larger woman.
Vine sighed, "Please don't encourage her." He muttered while at the same time Ren also sighed and said, "Just be sure to be careful and not choke this time, all right, Nora?"
Nora blushed slightly at the exasperated concern in Ren's voice then, "Aw, thanks, Ren!" Her eyes gleamed and she continued, "But I've got this!"
"Oh, you're on!" The tall woman said as she ignored her teammate's earlier remark to point her sword-stick of meat at the redhead just then, "You're going down, girlie!"
As the two continued to trash talk one another, two more figures approached the table, Marrow and Jaune having apparently just finished up getting their own food from the nearby stalls. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw the two females tearing into their meat with carnivorous gusto, "Nora challenged someone to an eating contest again, didn't she?" He asked with a resigned tone to his voice.
Marrow looked over at him askance, "You mean she's done this before?" He asked curiously, clearly amused at the sight.
"Oh yeah. Mess hall trips as a team were often the thing of nightmares." Jaune told him with a nostalgic smile on her face.
Vine's expression was serious was he regarded the display happening before them, "There can be no winners here." He stated resolutely. Ren merely nodded his head in agreement, body poised as if waiting to pat Nora on the back should she actually choke.
"Um, we could maybe find a spot elsewhere to sit if this is going to be too distracting?" The blond-haired young man offered to Marrow apologetically, face tilted towards an empty table not too far away.
Marrow glanced at him briefly, his tail wagging excitedly at the prospect, "Might be a good idea until they're done, at least." He said with a smile.
As the two young men walked off then with a wave to their friends, Qrow watched them go with a raised eyebrow, "Those two have gotten closer, haven't they?" He remarked, clearly happy for Jaune even if he didn't say it out loud.
Clover smiled at the observation, "Seems that way." He replied, glad for both of them. Marrow was a good young man, as was Jaune. From what he'd gathered about the blonde's experiences at Beacon, he deserved to have something pleasant in his life once again. Marrow did too.
Qrow bumped his shoulder briefly, knocking him out of his thoughts. A wry smirk was covering his face, "Let's get some food too while we're at it, huh, lucky charm?" He asked in amusement.
Just as a perplexingly flustered Clover nodded his head in reply, Ren spoke up, "Pretty sure that counts as a tie, Nora?"
"What?" The girl exclaimed in exasperation, "That's not fair!"
"Again!" Elm yelled out vehemently, the two diving into the food on Nora's tray once more with gusto. Just like Marrow and Jaune, Clover and Qrow quickly took their leave at that moment. Both pairs forgotten by the others in the food stall competition chaos as Nora and Elm tried to determine a winner.
The exhibition hall was crowded as Qrow and Clover made their way over to the waiting area for combat participants. Oscar Pine slowly trudged back in from the tournament grounds, a slight limp at his side that would no doubt be healed in no time once his Aura returned. The fourteen-year-old from Mistral looked rather dejected, having just lost his second bout, though he quickly schooled his expression to be more grateful and happier at the sight of his friends waiting for him just outside the arena.
"You did great, Oscar!" Weiss was quick to inform him the second he got within earshot, beaming proudly at the boy.
Ilia was standing by her side as the two had started willingly spending more and more time together following her acquisition of the True Lightning Rune, nodding her head enthusiastically in response to the white-haired girl's assessment, "Considering that you still haven't unlocked your semblance yet and your Aura control still needs fine-tuning, you held your own quite admirably." She told Oscar gently.
Joanna clamped a large hand down on the dark-haired boy's shoulder in a comradely fashion, "They're right," she said, "Especially given how many more years of combat experience some of the other competitors have on you."
Oscar's freckled features reddened at the commentary, knowing there'd been some talk of a mere child wanting to participate in the tournament earlier. He'd wanted to do so for the extra training, he'd confided in Qrow earlier, the elf being quite impressed by his dedication to doing so ever since they'd arrived in Atlas. Oscar smiled slightly, "Thanks. I knew I wouldn't get too far, but I still wanted to give it a shot, you know?" He said shyly.
"Are you kidding?" Weiss asked, putting her hands on her hips as her pale blue eyes shone, "Making it to the second round is pretty impressive!"
"Especially since you didn't rely on your Rune magic to do so." May told him brusquely in agreement, crossing her arms over her chest as she shot him an approving look.
Oscar rubbed the back of his head and laughed a little, "That would definitely be cheating though, wouldn't it?" He asked, clearly conflicted over the use of magic.
May shrugged, smirking over at Joanna, "No rules to say you can't." She explained simply, as if that solved any moral dilemma.
The tall, dark-skinned woman next to her nodded in agreement, though an assessing light was in her eyes, "Still, it's pretty impressive that you didn't." She said, "Technically, you gave yourself a big handicap compared to everyone else and you still advanced."
"You're going to make a fine knight one day, if that's what you want to do." Clover assured the youth proudly.
"Careful, Ebi," Joanna teased, "We're going to try poaching him for the Happy Huntresses long before that at this rate." The group laughed in good spirits at the remarks, Oscar looking both pleased and bashful all at once. After saying congratulations to the boy for a job well done once more, the two Happy Huntresses took their leave since they actually had come to the tournament to look for potential defenders of Mantle, leaving the others to their own devices.
"Oh, we're supposed to meet Ruby and everyone over by the crafting booths next!" Weiss said in remembrance, turning to look at Clover and Qrow expectantly, "Do you want to come with us?"
"Sure." Qrow answered, shooting an amused look over at Clover as he winked slightly, "Let's go and see if the brats even remember that they forgot about us earlier."
The brown-haired knight nodded his head in agreement, "I'm sure Penny and everyone else will be thrilled to hear about how well Oscar did too." He replied honestly.
Oscar blushed slightly in embarrassment as they headed out of the exhibition hall, "Thanks, guys." He managed to bashfully get out. They'd barely made it five steps outside onto the street when a sarcastic slow clap caught Qrow's long-tipped ears, the group of five spinning around to face its source not a moment later.
A rather snide-looking white-haired boy around Oscar's age dressed in fine clothes and who bore more than just a passing resemblance to Weiss herself stood behind them. He lowered his hands as soon as he was certain he had their full attention, "That was quite the performance." He stated haughtily, looking down at Oscar as if staring right through him.
"Th-thanks?" Oscar asked as he blinked his hazel eyes, unsure of how exactly to respond to the obviously sarcastic remark.
"I mean, you only managed to make it to the second round, but you had a lovely support group going all the same." The unidentified boy said, his pale blue eyes flicking disinterestedly amongst the group before landing on Weiss with a sneer, "I'm surprised. After all, my dear sister never attended one of my events unless forced to do so."
Oscar and Ilia's eyes both widened in surprise as Weiss frowned and stepped forward, crossing her arms over her chest, "Whitley." She said in way of greeting to her estranged little brother, "What are you doing here?"
It didn't exactly seem like the younger Schnee was very comfortable with the concept of "slumming" if his stiff posture and nervous glances around the streets of Mantle were any indication to Qrow, but he tried playing things coolly regardless, running a hand over his collar as he snidely responded, "Why, obviously I'm here to see the festivities, sister." He replied, "It's so rare for there to be anything remotely of interest here in Mantle, don't you think?"
Qrow watched as Clover's eyes narrowed at the jab at his home, but the mer seemed to know better than to take the bait from a kid. "Oh?" Weiss asked just as coolly, raising a white eyebrow up, "So you didn't come to observe the fights and wish you could participate in them again like when you were younger?"
Cold fire seeped into Whitley's glare then, "Why would I ever want to act like an uncivilized barbarian?" He asked haughtily, as if the very idea Weiss suggested was offensive.
"Yet you were there long enough to see Oscar's fights." Weiss noted smugly.
A flash of red suddenly tinted the teen's cheeks as he coughed and averted his gaze quickly, "I was just curious to see if you or any of your low-brow friends would be participating." The youngest Schnee jabbed as he smirked slightly, "After all, it's been so long since I last saw you or dear Winter." Weiss' expression fell slightly at that remark as she turned to look at the ground then, Ilia reaching over to grab her hand in a reassuring grip.
"And shouldn't you be blaming Jacques Schnee for that instead?" Winter's brusque voice suddenly spoke up then from behind the group. The oldest Schnee sibling was standing there with Robyn at her side, her expression completely neutral as she regarded her little brother.
"Winter..." Weiss began though she trailed off, apparently unsure of how to continue.
Whitley seemed taken momentarily by surprise, though his eyes narrowed not a second later, "Father didn't force you both to leave." He answered angrily.
"In a way, he did." Winter told him flatly, taking a step forward, "If you didn't spend so much time in his shadow, maybe you'd understand that as well."
The white-haired boy's hands clenched into fists at his sides, "And whose fault do you think that is?" He mumbled under gritted teeth.
Winter ignored him, however, raising a white eyebrow as she stared him down coolly, "Was there a reason you tracked down Weiss and her friends?" She asked, clearly unamused by the family reunion.
Whitley glanced over at the three younger members of the group then, smirking cruelly as he did so, "I just wanted to personally make sure that our dear sister and her friends would be in attendance for the dance that Father is hosting to close out the festival on." He told them, "It would be most upsetting if they couldn't go."
"There's some sort of catch, isn't there?" Weiss asked him suspiciously then, "What is Father up to, Whitley?"
"Even if I knew for certain, I wouldn't tell you. You lost that privilege when you left." The white-haired teen spat out angrily before schooling his expression to be falsely amicable, "I do hope you and the others will make it, sisters." With that, he turned on his heel and spun away with one last unimpressed glance over his shoulder at everyone.
Robyn harrumphed as he made his exit, "Considering how we'd all gotten invitations beforehand, this just further proves Jacques Schnee is up to something." She said with narrowed eyes.
"Indeed." Winter replied with a thoughtful look, "I'll have to inform His Majesty later on."
Qrow looked over at Weiss then, noticing that the young woman was shaking slightly as both Ilia and Oscar moved to place their hands consolingly on her shoulders, "You all right, ice princess?" He asked in concern.
She gave a curt nod in response, "I'm fine." She informed Soul Eater's bearer, holding her head up high, "I just wish I knew what Father was planning."
"Something tells me we'll figure that out before long." Robyn told her gently.
Clover raised an eyebrow at seeing her and Winter standing side-by-side, "You guys decided to come to the festival together?" He asked, surprised and wondering when the pair had gotten so close.
The two women blushed and looked away from one another then, "I'm not as familiar with Mantle as I should be, and Robyn was kind enough to guide me." Winter finally stuttered out.
Qrow smirked, "No need to be so bashful, ice queen." He replied jokingly.
Winter's eyes narrowed into a pointed glare, but before she could offer up her customary terse response Robyn quickly held up her hands, "I think the rest of your party is waiting for you guys in the next street over." She informed them, "Don't want them leaving, do you?"
Ilia smiled slightly, "With some of their attention spans, that's a real possibility." She noted as Weiss and Oscar both nodded their heads in earnest agreement.
As they moved to continue you on to the street that Robyn had helpfully indicated, Clover glanced over at Qrow thoughtfully. "Something on your mind, lucky charm?" The older man asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I just didn't realize that you all had been invited to this dance event too." Clover admitted, a considering smile on his face, "Though it's going to be tense, a part of me is relieved you'll be there."
"Yeah." Qrow hummed in agreement, feeling his face slightly warm at the mer's genuine comment, "We have a way of keeping things lively."
"That's true." Clover responded, his face turning slightly red as he added, "Whatever Jacques Schnee is up to, at least we'll find out about it together." Qrow resisted the sudden urge he had to reach over and grasp the other man's hand in his own reassuringly just then, but just barely.
Author's Notes: This is the first time I've written Whitley, so I hope I did him justice here. Thank you so much for reading! :D