Chapter sixty-nine

Dances and Masquerades

Journal entry #235

"Neph invited Raven and I to go dancing with her and Sunstone. Eclipse and Terra decided to take the boys to check out the preparations for the falling of the Twilight Veil. Apparently, it's a big deal here and many Vacuoans believe that it's a time where the living and dead can mingle closely with each other. It sounds super spooky!"

The day of the dance had arrived and it had turned out to be a masquerade dance this year. Team RWBY wouldn't have had dresses for it if Mrs. Aurum hadn't generously sent them with Weiss' new clothes.

On top of the box that it had come in was a small note. "For the girls of Team RWBY." The only indicator of who it was from was 'A friend of your mothers' which was vague… and a tiny bit creepy.

They had asked Vice-Headmaster Theodore but he had simply shrugged before saying it wasn't his or Ebony's idea to do it.

The girls hadn't seen Headmistress Sunstone so they assumed that she was still unconscious so that eliminated her from the list.

They eventually gave up trying to figure it out and just settled for not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

The girls of team NIYT, JNPR, and RWBY had split between team NIYT's room and team RWBY's since it was closer while the guys used JNPR's room.

Ruby hummed softly as she adjusted the black dress that she had on. It went past her knees and she had purple leggings underneath.

Thankfully, whoever had ordered the dress had asked for flats and not heels. She had not wanted to be wobbling on stupid lady stilts all night. Blake's…. no…. HER ribbon was wrapped around her neck loosely.

"You look lovely, Sis. Blake is a lucky woman to have you," Yang commented as she brushed her hair in the mirror. Her dress was a yellow one that didn't quite reach her knees, with purple and white trim around her hips.

Pyrrha was sharing the mirror with Yang and putting on emerald studded earrings as she did so. Her dress was a form-fitting red one that was floor-length, but allowed generous amounts of leg to show.

"I think we're lucky to all have dates. That is quite nice."

[I've come to these, though never as a student before. Always as a helper. It'll be nice to have fun tonight.]

If Yang's dress was short, then Neo's dress was downright scandalous. The strapless dress barely reached past her hips, the only part of it that wasn't see-through was the part covering her chest. Unlike most things when it came to Neo, this wasn't a glamour and she had actually ordered this dress a while ago.

Her only glamours were around her eyes and hair, as well as her wolf ears. Her Faunus ears and hair were brown, with a blue streak in her hair, while her eyes were light green.

Across her upper back was the same tattoo that Sunstone had. The shattered moon was just above where her shoulder blades met her spine and the meteorite was right below that.

Pyrrha and Ruby had turned dark red when they saw that the young woman's black panties were visible through the fabric.

"Um… Neo, don't you think that it's a bit… risqué for a school dance?" Pyrrha asked nervously as she watched Neo give it an experimental twirl.

[Pyrrha darling, I'm twenty-three I can be as risqué as I'd like. It's not like I'm going wearing nothing at all. But it's sweet of you to care. You don't need to worry about me, I'm sure Jaune is going to love that dress.]

Neo silently giggled and Pyrrha stammered softly before Yang turned around. "Speaking of dates, who did you ask?"

Neo winked and smiled before putting a finger to her lips.

Blake was putting the finishing touches on her eyeliner while Trifa helped Ilia zip her dress up.

Blake's knee-length dress was a maroon color with the edges going from dark red to black. The heels she had picked were the same shade of red. Once her eyeliner was done, she paused before she put Ruby's feather back into her hair.

"Something wrong, Blake?" Weiss asked before she walked over.

"I've been thinking about this for a while… I want to cut my hair."

Weiss tilted her head. "Oh, why's that?"

"You've had long hair since we were little kids. What changed?" Ilia asked softly.

"Honestly, I just feel like a change. Does that make sense?" Blake asked, receiving two nods.

"Yes, it does. Ruby will like it," Weiss told her, knowing that it would catch Ruby off guard. She would need some time for her eyes to acclimate to seeing Blake with a shorter haircut, but overall, she would like it once she did. It would just take some time to adjust but Ruby wouldn't let a silly thing like sensory disruption stop her.

No, it wasn't really about getting her hair cut even if that was a small part of it. Blake was a little worried about how Ruby would react towards her. An understandable feeling even normally, but on top of that, her autistic girlfriend had only known Blake's hair as it was now. In a way she wouldn't know how to see it short and it would throw her off. Yang had told horror stories about growing up with little Ruby having the resistance of granite regarding suggestions that their room could use a change.

When asked why Ruby ended up describing seeing that kind of drastic change for the first time, she said it was as if she was being punched in the face by a ghost. What her eyes told her and what her brain was trained to expect could be a sensation so powerful it could almost be physically impactful.

Blake knew that it would take a moment for Ruby's instinctive sense of unease to fade. It was the main thing holding the Faunus back; she didn't want to throw Ruby off but she knew that Ruby would want her to do it if she really wanted to.

Ilia's body, and dress, changed color into a light hue of red as the two girls talked. The Faunus wasn't sure how it worked, but Mrs. Aurum had managed to figure out a way to have her dress match her Faunus trait. Her dress was the same length as the one Blake wore.

Weiss had gotten a ballgown that was purple and white with a yellow sash that wrapped around her waist. Like Pyrrha's, it had a slit that allowed for a generous amount of her leg to show, but unlike the Gladiatrix's, it was a classic strapless cut so it left the back of her shoulders as well as her upper back visible.

"I think I will, I just need something to cut it with," Blake murmured.

"Allow me to help you then, Miss Belladonna," Trifa responded softly, her bare feet moving silently over the cave floor to Blake.

The Spider Faunus's dress was black, gray, and white and patterned like a spider's web. Her dress was the most conservative of all, the only skin that was showing was from her neck up. Everything below that was covered. The 'web' started at her neck, ended where her wrists were and continued down the rest of the fabric.

"Thank you, Trifa."

"It is of no concern. I'm sure Miss Rose will like your new style," The girl quietly said before she removed the gray gloves on her hands and grabbed some scissors.

Neo silently hummed as she looked at the time on her scroll. [Well, it's almost time for the party to begin. I'll meet you all topside.]

She glamoured a white and pink half-mask over one side of her face before winking and leaving the room.

The young woman had been looking forward to this all semester and she didn't want to be late, especially not when she had a date waiting for her.

She wasn't sure what theme the auditorium would have tonight but she did know that it was going to be over the top, as usual. Vacuoan dances always were.

Neo waved at Ren, Jaune, and Yuma as they emerged onto the surface from a nearby entrance. She didn't know how Ren managed to make a forest green suit with a pink shirt work but he pulled it off. The mask around his eyes was the same color as his suit.

"W-wow N-neo, that's… a very short dress." Jaune stammered slightly before Ren nudged him. Jaune's own mask was yellow and white, which was not only fitting but also providing a brilliant contrast to the beet red it was failing to hide.

[Try not to stare, okay? You have your own girl to look at.]Neo silently laughed before she looked them all over. [I'm sure your respective ladies will be happy to see how handsome you all look.]

"I'm sure that your own date will like how beautiful you look." Ren said politely.

[She, but I have played for both teams.] Neo teased with a wink and a smile while Yuma simply smirked.

He had grown used to her sense of humor over the past few months. "I'm sure that she will." The Bat Faunus cracked his knuckles before adjusting the mask on his face that looked like that of his animal trait.

"Speaking of, I think our dates are here. At least mine is, see you all inside."He gave a peace sign before he walked over to Trifa who had just popped out from the caves. Like Yuma, her mask was in the image of her animal trait.

Neo blew her a kiss towards her as the two walked by, which made Trifa blush. She had too much fun teasing the Spider Faunus. Her two teammates knew that it was all in good fun and would tell her if she took something too far.

She waited with Ren and Jaune as people moved past her to the auditorium. When Blake, Weiss, and Ilia emerged, she smiled widely.

[Now, the night truly begins. Let's boogie. See you, boys, later.]

Neo moved towards them and managed to catch Ilia unaware, wrapping one hand around her waist. [Hey, beautiful. Waiting for someone?]

Ilia giggled softly, turning red, pink, and orange as she did. "Depends, are you a lovely Wolf Faunus… Miss Lockhart?"

Neo spun her around and the two stared at each other. [Indeed, I am. Miss Amitola.]

Like the rest of Ilia's outfit, her mask changed colors when she did. So, the Chameleon Faunus was three colors from head to toe. At least, before she settled down, and the colors faded.

The two Faunus both chuckled. With Neo linking her arm around the one that Ilia offered since the younger girl was taller, if only slightly. The older girl smiled at Blake and Weiss. [Have fun with Yang and Ruby, you two. Oh, and you both look beautiful.]

The two girls headed off, leaving Weiss and Blake with Jaune and Ren. Neither of the boys said anything about Blake's new haircut, but she knew they noticed.

Finally, the other members of their teams came out of the caves. Nora and Pyrrha smiled as they saw the quartet waiting for them while Yang and Ruby hung back a bit.

Pyrrha looked like a goddess to Jaune. Her long red hair wasn't up, so it flowed down her back like a waterfall. She made a few short strides in her red heels before she was face to face with Jaune and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "That was from both of us."

Jaune stammered softly before he blushed. "You look amazing."

"You look very handsome," she complimented back as she wrapped her hand in his. Her green eyes never leaving his blue ones.

Nora bounced over to Ren excitedly. Her pink dress was interrupted only by a thin line of green around her neck. "Boop."

She poked his nose and he did the same to her. "Boop."

Those two words said all that they needed to say. They both knew that.

Nora looked at Weiss and Blake. "Go on, go see your ladies!" She waved them off, smiling as she did.

Blake and Weiss listened to her and moved to go see their teammates, partners, and dates.

Weiss reached Yang first and gave a small smile. "You two look beautiful."

"You do too, Weiss," Ruby smiled back a bit before moving to meet Blake halfway.

"You're absolutely stunning. My Frozen Flower." Yang whispered into her ear once she had pulled Weiss into a small embrace.

"You're quite beautiful yourself. My Burning Dragon." Weiss raised her eyebrow at the new nickname. Yang knew that Weiss often raised her eyebrow in curiosity with her, so it was a good thing.

"Like the nickname?"

"It's quite befitting for me, I suppose."

"That's why it suits you."

As the two talked, Blake and Ruby were admiring each other.

"You cut your hair…" Ruby murmured.

Blake's ears flicked down in embarrassment and her gaze turned downwards. "Do… do you like it?"

Ruby nodded. "It'll take a little while to get used to it. But yes, I know that once I'm used to it, I will love it."

Blake purred softly at that; her throat rumbling with each quiet purr. "I'm so glad. I thought that it would bother you."

"It's… more like having a geometric failure in my head. Like having blueprints for an oval, trying to line it up with a square and getting an error message saying that it doesn't. I just have to rewire a few things to get it working again. What matters is that you're happy. That's what's important."

Blake laughed softly before she pulled Ruby into a hug. "That means a lot."

"You mean a lot to me," Ruby whispered into her ear.

"Um, Ruby… I'm going to say something… and I don't want you to feel pressured to say it back right now, ok? You can say it whenever you want to."

Ruby nodded, slightly pulling away and removing her slivery red mask before removing Blake's black and purple one.

"I love you too, Blake."

Blake's face went a dark red, both from Ruby beating her to the punch. But also, because Ruby said the L-word.

"I-I love you… you dolt," Blake stammered out, her purring started again, a lot louder and more intense. Her entire body was shaking from how loud she was being.

Ruby nuzzled Blake and put her own mask back on. "What do you say we go dance? Or at least sway… You know what I mean right?"

Blake tried to respond but was so tongue-tied that she simply redonned her mask and nodded.

The black and red couple took each other's hands and walked towards the auditorium. Their hearts were both pounding from excitement and from what they had admitted to each other.

Theodore and Ebony were watching the students enter the auditorium from the balcony as they sipped their drinks.

"These are always fun… way better than back when we were in school. At least, I think so." Ebony tapped her glass on the balcony railing.

"It was a simpler time back then, but I have to agree. Sunstone really went all out this year."

"I'd expect nothing less from The Demoness of the Sands. She very rarely doesn't go full throttle," Ebony murmured.

"That hasn't changed since we found her all those years ago. Not that it's a bad thing."

Ebony laughed lightly. "Why would it be? She's a committed woman."

"She certainly is."

Their Scrolls buzzed in unison. "Guess we should go get changed. You know how she likes to make an entrance," Ebony chuckled.

She grabbed his arm after setting her drink down on a nearby table and after a moment they vanished from where they had just been standing.

Ruby and Blake kept their hands interlocked as they entered the auditorium. "Wow, this… this is not what I was expecting."

The very large room was perhaps twice the size of Beacon's auditorium and it was split down the middle. Half of the room was decorated to be like a night club while the other half looked like something out of Vacuoan Nights. Even the tablecloths were perfectly split between the two themes.

It was a jarring mix, but it also felt uniquely Vacuoan. Bizarre and eclectic but nice as well. Plus, being perfectly symmetrical meant that it didn't bother Ruby as much as it would've otherwise.

"Take one of these. They're tuned into the Aura in the middle of the room and they'll allow you to cross the barrier if you chose to do so," She pointed to the nightclub half. "That side will be more catered to Vacuoan metal and faster-paced songs while the other side will be slower-paced. The barrier cuts off the noise from the other side so the music on one doesn't interfere with the other. If you want to go to the other simply press the bracelet against the barrier and it will let you cross."

Blake and Ruby both took one and put them around their wrists. "So, which one do you want to go to first?" Blake asked softly.

Ruby pointed to the nightclub side. "Let's try that side first."

"Okay, let's do that."

The song that had been playing when they entered had just ended as they crossed the threshold and the noise became audible.

A new song started to stream from the speakers. It wasn't Vacuoan Metal, but Menagerie pop music which started off quiet, and then the two male vocalists started to sing in a mix of the Low dialect of old Mistralian as well as in old Valian.

The two languages complemented each other exceptionally well and it was a high-energy song that made it great for dancing.

Neo smirked at them before turning her attention back to Ilia and moving her body in an alluring way. The Chameleon Faunus had her hands on the Wolf Faunus's hips and was swapping between red, yellow, pink almost as quickly as the musicians were singing the lyrics.

She wasn't the only one who was changing parts of herself, Neo was alternating between eye colors just as much. One second, they were green, then blue, red, purple, brown, silver, gold, then back to their normal pink then back to green.

The two looked like they were having a lot of fun together and they weren't the only ones who were. Yang and Weiss were dancing next to Jaune and Pyrrha, they were all weaving between partners with just a look. They might've had their own dates but that didn't mean that they couldn't have fun with their friends too.

Yang waved them over and the duo saw no reason not to go be with their friends. "Took you two long enough!" Yang had to almost shout to be heard over the music. "What kept you?"

"Tell you later!" Blake half-shouted back which satisfied her partner, for now at least.

Ruby, who was still really bad at dancing, was content to half sway and half try to imitate her sister's dancing while Blake stuck close to her.

Yuma, Trifa, Ren, and Nora weren't in sight so Blake guessed that they were either on the other side of the auditorium or had melded with the crowd.

As the song ended and a faculty member handed out drinks, Pyrrha wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Do you guys mind if Amber takes over for a little while? She's saying that she'd like to dance."

"I certainly don't mind at all. She's my teammate just like you are." Jaune said before he took a sip of his punch.

Team RWBY collectively nodded. "His opinion is the one that really matters here." Weiss chimed as the music started up again and any further conversation halted for the time being.

The song that came on was by the same vocalists as the previous one but it had a faster tempo to it. The major difference was the addition of a female vocalist who switched between the two languages that the male vocalists used so she was able to sing with one, or both of them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Blake saw that Neo had gently pushed Ilia away before she turned around and walked backward until her back was touching Ilia's chest. Neo's lips were moving in a silent hum to the music before she turned around, putting her leg on Ilia's hip and rubbing the girl's pink cheek with a hand.

Blake wasn't the only one who noticed the two since Yang chuckled to herself as she danced with Weiss. {Neo is really enjoying this; it looks like Ilia is too. Not that I can blame her, Neo did say that she's been looking forward to coming to this.}

After a half-hour of dancing, Ruby and Blake needed a change of pace and it seemed like Jaune and Amber did as well. Once the current song ended the two pairs headed towards the barrier and held up their bracelets.

The barrier shimmered and let them through into the more relaxed, slower-paced Vacuoan Nights side of the room.

They saw Trifa and Yuma swaying, the male Faunus being close to the wall to avoid hitting people with his wings. Ren and Nora were in a corner in their own little world.

Blake gently grabbed Ruby's hand and led her over to a less occupied area of the room. "Miss Rose, may I have this sway?"

Ruby smiled and laughed quietly. "You may, Miss Belladonna."

The two put one hand on the other's shoulder and one on their hips and started to sway. "Ruby, this night has been amazing. Is it silly that I don't want it to end?"

Before Ruby could answer, someone else did. "Nah, it's not silly Kit… Blake. Stuff like this might not be my cup of tea but it's dang important. Life can't be all business."

Roman Torchwick sauntered over to them from the wall he had been leaning against. He had an outfit not dissimilar to the one that he wore 'undercover' except it was all black and it actually had a tie, a sky blue one.

"If this isn't your thing, why are you here?" Blake asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Security, though the three bigwigs aren't here yet," He paused as his scroll buzzed and he checked it. "Actually, I retract what I said."

The barrier separating the room winked out of existence as Sunstone, Ebony, Theodore, and another man approached the door

Sunstone looked like the Old Vacuoan goddess of death. She had on a black and white mask covering the top portion of her face but where the mask ended the paint began. Her black and white dress almost seemed to be shedding feathers as she walked, her arm around the strange man's arm.

If Sunstone was the image of death, then Ebony and Theodore were the images of fury and war respectively.

Ebony's dress was dark purple, unlike Sunstone's mask which covered the top half of her face, hers only covered the left side and the uncovered right side was painted a dark red, her blue eyes seemed alight with fire and her arm rested on Theodore's own almost lazily.

Theodore lacked the face paint that his two companions had but his outfit was no less dramatic. Blackened clawed iron gloves were on his hands and his dark red suit was matched with a dark purple tie.

Sunstone's companion had on a full mask that covered everything but his eyes which were as gold as the sun, his brown hair was slicked back and his gray suit bore the image of a wolf on one breast pocket.

Sunstone stepped forward and everything fell silent as she took off her mask. "I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves thus far this evening. It is far from over. Tonight marks the beginning of The Vytal Festival Tournament as well as the falling of the Twilight Veil, where the boundaries between Remnant and the Twilight are at their thinnest. Do not fear the dark my friends, and let the fun begin."

She reequipped her mask and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, from behind the auditorium, loud Vacuoan metal was heard. "If you wish to hear Blackened Melody live head outside, otherwise you may stay behind," Ebony called and that got people's attention.

Blackened Melody, a world-famous Vacuoan death metal band performing live at Shade? Their shows were supposed to be among the best of the best and tickets were an incredibly rare thing to get.

People started to head outside in waves, not wanting to miss a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Neo beamed happily. Had Auntie Sunstone really listened when Neo casually mentioned that it would be a dream come true for her to see the band perform? She looked at Ilia and pulled softly. [C'mon let's go see them play!]

"Sounds awesome, I've heard their shows are the stuff of legends."

Yuma and Ilia as well as Nora and Ren joined them.

The barrier raised again but this time facing the back where Blackened Melody's guitar chords echoed over the sands. "There will still be music in here for those so inclined, as I said… the night has barely begun." Sunstone smirked before her companion pulled away slightly after appearing to say something.

The Headmistress nodded and then left the building with Theodore and Ebony.

As the music inside picked up again, slow music this time. Ruby and Blake looked at each other. "So, am I the only one who thought that was weird as hell?" Ruby asked.

"Nope, it was definitely weird. Sunstone isn't normally one for theatrics. At least, not like that," Amber muttered as she walked up with Jaune, confusion and worry on her face.

A new voice, one that was deep and growling than those of the teenagers intruded over the group. It made the hair on the back of Ruby and Yang's necks stand up. Something about it was… almost familiar.

"She's been having dreams, dreams of death and betrayal. The three of them are members of a sect of an ancient Old Vacuoan religion which believes that visions can come to them in dreams. That's what she believes her dreams are, visions of the future." The voice never rose about a whisper but the small group heard it as clear as day.

Everyone's heads turned to Sunstone's companion who looked like he was barely paying attention to the small group of teenagers.

"You sound like you know them all very well. Who are you?" Yang asked, wariness in her voice as she moved a tiny bit closer.

His golden eyes were full of pain and sadness as he tried, and failed, to look Yang in hers. Instead, he opted to stare over her head.

"That's because I do. I know them better than I know myself… and a lot better than I know my sister it seems. As for who I am… it doesn't really matter. You won't see me like this again… but you may call me Muninn and the future comes for us all."

With that cryptic statement, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Muninn is someone canon, not a new character.