Ch. 10: A Rose's Thorn
Workers and tradesmen split in front of her as she violently made her way to the workshop. Weiss wholly embodied the manifestation of "pissed-off", and it was apparent to all of those who leaned away from her as she walked by. She heard her boots as they slammed on the wooden walk, boards creaking in protest as her march announced her coming. She was trying really hard not to scowl, well, who was she kidding, she wasn't trying at all. For forty minutes Weiss had waited at the canteen, having to decline service an embarrassing amount of times, to the point that staff began to give her looks for not ordering food. Weiss's hands were balled into fists as she fumed, I refuse to believe Ruby forgot about our date- lunch, she internally corrected herself. She better have lost a finger on a grind stone to make me wait like that!, Weiss turned the corner walking past a set of workers riding a lift filled with bricks and stones, nearly losing her balance as she avoided their proximity. She didn't have time to berate them for nearly colliding with her, such was her focus on finding that short, jabber-jawing, buff, bright eyed- Again, Weiss had to stop herself, she couldn't let her mind indulge in pleasant thoughts if she wanted to stay mad at the smith.
There was an unorthodox amount of people gathered at the entrance of the workshop. Weiss was distracted enough to wonder about the gathering but quickly decided it wasn't worth the effort of thought and would only serve as an obstacle to her objective: giving Ruby Rose a deserved earful. The press of bodies that she shoved through made the blistering forge humid, quickly she found herself surrounded by sweaty bodies she was absolutely not thrilled to be near. Spying the Forge Master towering above most Weiss called to him, "Master Onyx! What in the hell is happening?" The giant peered around at her shout and found her after finally looking downwards. His arm reached through the throng and his hand clasped around her wrist, engulfing it almost twice over. With a tug he pulled her past the bodies and past the front desk, bringing her into an area normally barred from all but metal crafters.
"Huntress Weiss," He greeted, Weiss frowned at the formality in his voice and decided to take some of Ruby's advice, "Please… J-just Weiss is fine Master Onyx." The man smiled his scarred grin at her, "Well 'Just Weiss' you have to call me Onyx then." Weiss hesitantly mirrored his grin at the joke, "Yes… Well what is going on? And where is Ruby?" Weiss felt her earlier irritation return, momentarily forgotten by the absurdity of the amount of people crammed into the front lobby of the sweltering building. Onyx hummed as he glanced over her head, peering at the point of interest of the mob, "Actually, I'm glad you're here Weiss, maybe you can finally pry that fiend away from her work, she finished her damn project two days ago and hasn't stopped since." The man nodded his head in the direction he was looking before, offering a hand to Weiss. The petite archer put hers in his and with his aid stood on the desk in front of them.
At the front-edge of the crowd Ruby sat, her eyes were hidden in the shadow of exhaustion, the weight of her work showing in the slump of her back and sag of her shoulders. Streaks of sweat smeared soot down her face toning her skin shades darker in piece-meal spots. In front of her sat an unsheathed long sword, double edged with waves of black down the blade. The metal shimmered in a way she had never seen between the crests of coal, reflecting light so much brighter than what seemed possible in the cast of the forge fire. Ruby was grinning like an idiot, her own silver shined as she peered proudly around the crowd, lighting even further as she met the gaze of Weiss. Ruby threw her arm up and waved at the girl causing Weiss to roll her eyes so hard she nearly fell off her make-shift perch. Ruby came to her, pushing through the crowd as they focused on the naked weapon.
Weiss hopped down and waited for the girl as she shoved through the spectators, the strong smith wrapping Weiss in a sweaty hug, "Weiss! You won't believe it!" The white haired girl was glad that Ruby couldn't see the look of disgust on her face, the archer instead looked pleadingly at Onyx who simply smiled his cracked grin. "There is little I find outside of my capacity to imagine Ruby." Ruby pulled back and shook her head, "Well I think I have you beat! I found a way to meld that Yian Garuga!" Weiss's eyebrow shot up in response, she really couldn't believe it actually, she had seen the materials herself and had pinned them hopeless. The archer unconsciously craned her neck towards where the blade sat, even if she couldn't see it through the bodies that blocked her, longing to examine the blade.
Ruby saw the girl's disbelief and grew smug, "Yup! All it took was infusing the materials with silv-" A loud shush hissed behind her and Onyx raised his eyebrows and shook his head at the girl, "Oh yeah, Onyx says I need to keep it a trade secret, something about rights to forge and- I dunno! I can't really think right now I'm so tired." The girl let out a tittering laugh tinged with hysteria that could only be brought by the drunken call of sleep. Weiss found herself fearing for the girl's sanity and held her shoulders a little tighter, "Yes. Well, as pretty as it is Ruby there is no way it can be used for combat! Those materials were much too weak."
"Actually," And this time it was Onyx who bewildered her, "It's quite the premium blade. Graded at eleven with dragon aspect and a mild elder seal." This caught the attention of several of the onlookers who began to mutter to one another. Weiss herself pondered at the implications, a typical Yian Garuga weapon were infused with poison or fire, the fact that the aspect had changed boggled the mind and implied something she couldn't quite grasp.
Ruby giggled, "Oh my goodness Weiss I can't wait to get my hands on more!" Before Weiss could respond, a burly man rivaling Onyx's height stepped to the counter, his voice quiet but deep, "Hail Master Smith," the man nodded his shaved head to the blade, "How much for that piece? I wish to test it's might." Onyx smiled and looked at Ruby expectantly causing the man, Ruby knew him to be a Hunter named Yatsuhashi, to look at her. Nervously, Ruby pried her arms from Weiss and rubbed her hands together, "What's your offer?"
The man eyed her and let out a hum, "How does one hundred and twenty thousand sound?" Ruby nearly shrieked, fainted and agreed all at the same time but hid her excitement well, seeing that Onyx had made a hand signal to her right. With an even tone Ruby replied, "Two hundred thousand." The man grimaced but didn't reply, pretending to mull over the outrageous increase in price, "One eighty." He said, with a tone of finality. Ruby smiled and stuck out her hand, "Deal." She knew she could have gotten more if she had been stubborn and had bartered properly, but simply put she was much too exhausted to bother haggling with the man further. The giant took her hand and shook once, simultaneously pulling several sacks of zenny from his bag and dividing them on the counter. When the count was finalized the man shouldered his way through the crowd and retrieved the sword, grabbing the hilt and weighing the blade expertly in his hands. The giant let out a content huff and nodded towards Ruby as he retrieved the sheath, the crowd thinning out and some even following him as he left the workshop.
Ruby finally let out a squeal and turned to see Weiss giving her a small smirk, "As the daughter of a merchant I have to say, not too shabby Ruby Rose." Weiss walked over and recounted the sacks of coin for her friend. Ruby giggled at her friend's remark and then let out a shriek as Onyx picked her up from behind, spinning his apprentice in a circle as she protested loudly, "Look at my girl, making big sales and even bigger discoveries!" Ruby's blush bloomed fully on her face as she whined, "Onyx- Stop! Oh my gods you are so embarrassing- Weiss! Save me-e-e-e-e!" Weiss stuck her tongue out, surprising herself that she could be so childish, and collected the zenny in a single pile. As she watched the two swing around she grew perturbed at their prolonged contact, "Onyx, put her down, she needs to get some sleep." The smith sent her a knowing look and tried to keep his smug smile from showing, tossing the brunette into a pile of leathers. The grunt of pain Ruby let out was comical and Weiss giggled as she began gathered Ruby's things.
"Ruby! Three days off, that's an order pip-squeak!" Onyx called to the girl who frowned but nodded her head in agreement, eyes already drooping as Weiss took her by the arm and lead her out of the shop. Thankfully the day was cloudy, and the usual heat was abated by fluffy covering of the sky. Weiss sighed as she breathed the sea air, glad to be rid of the stench of soot and steel. Ruby stumbled behind her and Weiss adjusted her grip on the girls arm so that she could take her hand and pull her along. As they walked along the path Weiss saw a few stray people give them looks and even smiles as she took the girl in the general direction of her abode.
Weiss wasn't stupid, no one could be when Ruby was so obvious in her crushing. The girl for all her faults wore her heart on her sleeve, and Weiss had known from the first moment they had met on that boat that she sought after Weiss. Schnee's were no strangers to suitors and wooers of all types and creed, and so Weiss had become accustomed to their wanton affections that always ended with her swift refusals. But some how when it came to Ruby, it didn't feel so unnatural. It didn't feel forced or ulterior like so many had before. In the past she had been a trophy, a beauty doomed to be flaunted at parties and bear spoilt children for the rest of her life. Here, in the New World, she was no one but a Huntress, worth only what she could manage on her own. Here there was no gain to being with a haughty, stuck up girl, there was no reward for tolerating her nagging or suffering through her lectures. Yet Ruby had chosen to stick by her even when that side of her personality had been exposed. Ruby chose to like Weiss, and in a way Weiss had chosen her too.
True, the two had not known one another for long, but their daily meetings and hours spent talking away had immensely heightened Weiss's affinity for the girl. She could not be sure if she exactly had deeper feelings for the young woman, but she certainly would not mind if Ruby would ask her on a date proper. The white haired girl was simply waiting for the brunette to work up the courage. Weiss glanced at the zombie-like Ruby that trailed after her, eyeing the immodest smith's garb that the girl wore, her eyes hovering far too long on toned shoulders and stomach. Weiss stumbled on a small rock and whipped her head forward, disguising her blush behind her braid. Physical attraction certainly isn't an issue, she thought, disturbed that she had allowed herself to ogle for gods sake. She could hardly be blamed, being raised the way she had seldom left time for relationships, and even less for romantic ones.
Ruby shuffled behind her oddly quiet, the smith's usual hyper activeness curbed by the days of work she had forced upon herself. Weiss felt concern gnaw at her stomach but she stowed the feelings away, Ruby would be back to normal after a night's and day's rest. The two approached the sisters' shared room and Ruby had enough presence of mind to fish her keys from her pocket. When her calloused hand left Weiss's she felt a pang of something echo in her chest, rubbing her own fingers together at the loss of contact. As the brunette opened the door Weiss followed, simply so she could ensure the girl actually went to bed and didn't do something rash.
To her utter mortification and surprised delight Ruby stripped her breast binding and threw it on the floor, heading for canopy doors opposite of the room. Weiss had the good grace to turn her head as the girl undressed, who had seemingly forgotten that Weiss was present. Regardless, she had gotten an eyeful and the blush that haunted her earlier returned with cruel vengeance. Her back has absolutely no reason to look like that, she lamented in her head, reminding Weiss of the cobbled stone paths of the Schnee manor. Ruby opened the doors out to her fabled waterfall Weiss had heard so much about, and against her better judgement Weiss peeked over as the door clambered open, getting a full view of a shapely bottom as Ruby turned the corner from her sight.
Weiss collapsed on a nearby bed, she assumed Yang's based on the disarray of that side of the room, and closed her eyes in defeat. You are absolutely lusting after this girl you hardly know like some animal in heat. She draped her arm over her eyes and sighed, taking the time to clear her mind of what she saw and failing to do so spectacularly. After a few minutes, Weiss heard the door open but didn't dare to look, keeping her arm sealed over her eyes to eliminate temptation. Ruby apparently saw her if the small 'eep' that whispered across the room was anything to go by. Weiss heard a shuffling and a quick opening and closing of drawers and then a heavy silence.
"Are you clothed now?" Weiss said, still not removing her arm.
A shy voice answered, "Uh, y-yeah. Sorry, I wasn't thinking." Weiss released herself from her obscured view and saw that a fiercely embarrassed Ruby had sat on the opposite bed, somehow wearing more than her usual smith uniform, a loose shirt over cotton shorts.
"Don't apologize, you're probably out of it from overworking yourself. Im surprised you made the walk back, besides," From where the next sentence came from and why she spoke it she would wonder at for a long time, "It was a lovely view."
Weiss avoided Ruby's eyes and an awkwardness set upon them, Flirting Weiss? You must control these idiotic thoughts. When she found the courage to look at Ruby she wasn't surprised to see her gobsmacked. The two marinated in the moment before Weiss cleared her throat, "Anyway, I must be off, I'll set your money to the side here." Weiss did so, fumbling with the coin pouches as she made her way to the door.
"W-Weiss!" The white haired girl turned and saw Ruby reaching out to her, approaching and stopping a few feet away, "I-I totally forgot about our lunch today, I'm really sorry, can we meet tomorrow?"
Damnit, Weiss felt any residual anger melting away at those bruised silver eyes, "Don't worry about it, I think you had more important things on your plate. And let's do the day after tomorrow, you need your rest Ruby." The brunette smiled and awkwardly held her arms open, Weiss rolled her eyes but accepted the hug, saying her good byes and leaving the room.
As she walked away Weiss could only think on those eyes, so shining and bright, silver wasn't a common eye color and Weiss began to wonder at the mutation. A full bodied sigh escaped from her and all the pent up energy of the last hour begged to be released. With a purpose in her step and memories of toned backsides in her mind, she made her way to her room for the express purpose of relieving her stress and then practicing with her bow.
AN: Thank you for your patience. More action ahead, so don't worry. Please enjoy.