Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Co-authored with ToxicExotic

Notes are long ;-;

New Colours of Atlas

I had never really understood why many people saw me as uptight. Sure I had a tendency to not tolerate when people acted like idiots, and was more than happy to tell any loudmouthed gaggle of students to shut the hell up when they interrupted my studying; but apart from that, I liked to think of myself as pretty relaxed. Certainly more than any other member of my family at least.

Winter, as much as I loved her, was extremely overprotective. I knew it was only because she cared, but it was a little suffocating sometimes. Although, even that still didn't stop me from looking up to her. How could I not? She was strong, beautiful, and driven; only twenty-three and already a prominent figure in the Atlesian military. A constant reminder that I could do anything I wanted so long as I put in the effort.

Whitley on the other hand was kinda of the opposite. While I loved him too, it was hard to deny that he had a cruel streak to him. Though he was always pretty ok with me, the only thing he ever offered Winter were sneers and insults. And towards the staff, he was a little shit. Of all the Schnees, Whitley was definitely the one who revelled in being rich the most, using his name and power to get pretty much everything he wanted.

Unfortunately there wasn't really much to say about my parents. My father has always been distant with unreasonable expectations. Anything unrelated to the family company was irrelevant to him, but should something ever threaten it he would make it a top priority to have it seen too. My mother on the other hand was pretty non existent. Little more than a spectre around the house, rarely went without a glass of wine, but she seemed satisfied with her life. Being the wife to the CEO of the world's largest Dust company certainly had its benefits after all.

All in all though, I considered myself to be the most normal of the family. I'd never shared my brother's penchant for cruelty, never tried to uphold my sister's or father's high standards for everyone, but I'd also never found myself just happy with letting life happen around me.

I liked to study. I liked being top of my classes and excelling so that I would one day take over the family business. Those were the things that came first for me. But I also liked to have fun hanging out with my friends. Well, friend would be more accurate. While I did have more than one, many of them lived in Vale so unless I hopped onto a plane for a few hours, they weren't exactly in reach. Thankfully though, I did have one friend who had moved to Atlas to pursue her modelling career. And she was rolling down the aisle between the tables towards me.

"Hey, Weiss." Reese smiled at me with a wave as she approached on her skateboard, her bright green hair peeking out of her hood to hang down one side of her face and her teal green eyes twinkling in the light as she sat down. "How was class?"

"Boring." I said with a small chuckle as I returned the smile. "But that tends to be the case when I know everything the teachers are talking about."

"Please tell me you didn't correct him this time?"

"Only because he didn't get something wrong this time."

"Typical." The girl reached out and pulled a piece of salad from my plate. "So what time is your doctor's appointment?"

"One o'clock." I replied with a shrug. "My hormones have been stable since my operation, so it's just procedure at this point."

That was something I was extremely grateful for. I still remembered the painful time as a young teen when I first started hormone replacement therapy. It had been a rough year full of frustration that they weren't working fast enough and that I was still stuck in a body that wasn't mine; but they had eventually begun to work. My facial features had softened, my chest began to grow, and I finally started to feel more comfortable with my own body. Those things had only improved after undergoing orchiectomy last year.

As well as making me more comfortable, the removal of the testicles I had been born with meant my hormone dosage had been reduced. That too had taken a huge weight off my shoulders.

"That's good then." The Mistralian gave a wide smile. "My shoot is at three."

I roll my eyes, but not in any mean spirited way. It wasn't the first time Reese had made that attempt.

"I'm not interested in modelling."

"Oh come on." Reese leaned forward a little. "You worked so hard for your body. You don't want to show it off at all?"

"I show it off all the time." I laughed. "Daughter of Jacques Schnee, heiress to the world largest energy company, remember? Cameras follow me everywhere."

"That is totally not the same thing."

"I supposed that is true." I grinned wickedly. "I don't have to make that silly duck face at the paparazzi."

I laugh as I duck the half eaten piece of lettuce. I really did appreciate Reese's efforts, that she was trying to get me out of my shell more and more while also building my confidence. In truth, the girl had played a big part in getting me to where I was. It was nice having someone so supportive as a friend, someone who was always there when she needed her; and I'd needed her many times over the years.

"Shut up." Reese chortled. "But fine. We're still chilling after my shoot though, right?"

"Absolutely. Whitley and my parents are down in Mantle for the weekend, so it will be just us."

"Thank god. Let me guess. Studying, movies, and taking full advantage of the one month of summer that Solitas gets?"

"Spot on."

"Sounds perfect to me." Reese pulled out her Scroll as it rang in her pocket and her smile broke into a grin.

"Arslan?"

Reese's girlfriend. She'd met her in Argus on the way back from their trip to Mistral last summer. The girl had been smitten the moment she saw her, and I was thankful they'd hit it off. She was nice, and treated her well; even if Reese was a little bit of a dolt.

"Mhm." She turned her Scroll around to show a picture of the blonde girl in bed, clearly having just woken up due to how messy her hair was. Although, that particular detail wasn't too out of the normal for her.

"Cute." I joked.

"Jealous?"

"Please, two uptight people together is never a good idea." I teased, causing the girl to giggle.

"You ain't that uptight. We do need to find you a girlfriend though."

I roll my eyes again. It was yet another thing Reese was rather insistent on.

"Just go and call her, will you?"

"You don't have to tell me twice." She winked and stood up from her seat. "Meet me at the studio?" I give a nod. "Shoot might run over, so just come in when you get there."

"Wha…"

My momentary confusion meant that by the time I said a word, it was too late. The Mistralian had already hopped onto her skateboard and cruised away with a smile on her face. It was just like Reese to announce something and leave, usually because she knew that I would turn her down otherwise. So since the girl was already rolling out the door, I simply shook my head and returned my attention to my food while flipping open my class notes to look over. With my appointment not being for another hour, there was still plenty of time to study.

It was much sooner than I thought that I found myself parking my car in front of the photography studio. Thankfully my test results hadn't taken very long to come back, one of the perks of having private medical care from the top hospital in the city. However, that did mean that I would be spending longer at the studio than intended, which meant more time for Reese to try and drag me in front of the cameras. I didn't mind though. It was always fun to watch Reese work, especially when it was for sports magazines. So stepping out of my car, I locked the door and threw it a fond look.

I'd always like driving. Unlike the rest of my family who preferred to have a driver, or Winter who refused to use anything but military airships, a long drive had always helped to clear my head. So much so that I ordered a car the very second I turned sixteen. I really hadn't thought about how expensive it was at the time, but Reese had been very quick to tell me that 800,000 Lien was a little overboard; especially for driving around a city as small as Atlas. However, I still considered it worthwhile. Just like Reece, the car had been something I had relied on a lot over the years, and being able to drive it myself always gave me a sense of control.

Turning away from it though, I walked toward the building and pushed the door open. Giving a small nod to the security guard, who had seen me enough times to know not stop me, I walked through the door into a hallway. It was lined with photos and posters of past models, their clothing ranging from sportswear to dresses and suits. There were even two of a woman wearing absolutely nothing, instead she was covered by the edge of a bedsheet; though I would use the word covered in the loosest sense possible. As I continued down it towards the double door at the end, through which I could hear music, I recognized a few of the models from around town, and there was even one of Reese.

It wasn't surprising though. As much as I always joked about her simply pouting at the camera, the girl loved what she did. She'd been sporty since the first time I'd met her, but she also had a good eye for fashion. Both of those aspects had been brought over into her work and she was willing to do most jobs she received, but she had become rather well known for the shoots that she did with sports magazines. Reese absolutely loved the popularity too, since the renown made sure that she was a regular pick for shoots that advertised new equipment that she was excited to get her hands on in general.

As such, as I walked through the doors, it wasn't surprising to see Reese surrounded by cameras. Flashes and commands filled the room as the photographers and other members of staff files around doing their jobs. Just as always, a massive smile was on the girl's face and I knew for a fact it was genuine since she was atop something she hadn't shut up about for the past month. The newest kind of board that would be released to the public in a few weeks; however, unlike Reese's usual skateboards, this one was a hoverboard.

Smiling at just how happy I knew my friend was in that moment, I walked over to the nearby tables and pulled a piece of quiche from one of the trays. Thankfully the food was always rather good at the photoshoots.

Just as Reese had said, the session lasted a little longer than was planned. It seemed both the photographer and the company wanted some very specific shots, as well as a small clip that would be used in a television commercial. I had pretty much tuned out by that point since there was only so much entertainment one could get from watching the girl do the same tricks over and over again, especially when I saw them all the time anyway. However, when they began to shoot the video, something happened that caused my attention to return.

At the orders of the company, another model was brought into the shot, and from the moment she stepped up, I was unable to drag by eyes away from her. The girl was mesmerizing. Her skin was almost entirely light blue, and the only places that it wasn't were what seemed to be stark white freckles that littered her entire body. Simply looking at her felt like I was looking at the sky. To add to that effect, her hair was a deep orange and fell down her back like the first streaks of sunset across the sky.

"Alrighty." She said with a smile as the crew, placing a hand on her hip. I couldn't help but follow it to see her toned stomach peaking out beneath a cropped jacket. "What'cha need?"

"Hmm." The photographer stroked his chin thoughtfully for a second, but quickly held his finger up with inspiration. "I like what you have now, but maybe we can go a little earlier in the day? Maybe sunrise?"

"Gotcha."

In the blink of an eye, the girl's skin flickered and changed. Her pleasant blue skin turned a deep yellow that bordered on orange. Her freckles switched from white to murky gold, and her hair became what her skin previously had ,the pleasant blue falling down her back. Even I had to blink at the change. It was like seeing the beginning and end of a day painted onto the body of an attractive girl.

"How's that?"

"Hmm." The photographer hummed again, dropping his camera back around his neck and pulling what looked like a palette swatch from his pocket.

For what felt like minutes, I watched the man press little tickets of colour to her skin. She smiled all the while, seemingly more than happy to change her colours however the man pleased. I'd never seen a faunus with such a trait before. Usually they had ears or tails, or sometimes claws and scales; but this girl was able to control the colour of every part of her body, even to the point where she was changing the colour of each individual freckle.

"Shoul…"

"Ahh!" The small yelp escaped me before I could stop it. In watching the new girl, I'd failed to notice that Reese had sidled up next to me. "Gods! Don't do that."

"Do what?" Reese asked, genuinely confused before taking on a mischievous smirk "Why are you so flustered?"

"I'm n-not." I stutter in return. Unfortunately my eyes once again flicker over to the faunus girl, and when they return to Reese, I see her following my gaze with a knowing grin.

"Oh?"

"Be quiet."

"OH?"

"Shush." I hushed her as her voice raised.

"Took a liking to Ilia, huh?"

Ilia. So that was her name.

"No." I was all too aware of how unconvincing I sounded.

"Mhm. Suuuure. You know I could introduce you? She's pretty cool."

The grin on Reese's face was enough to make me roll my eyes. The girl was forever playing matchmaker, always trying to get me to approach any girl I showed even the slightest bit of interest in. Again, it was something I didn't really mind since I was definitely interested in a relationship, but it was also something I never really took her up on. One of the unfortunate things about growing up wealthy was that it was always tough to tell who liked me for me and who simply liked what dating a Schnee bought them. It was something that always made me nervous to get started with anyone.

"No thanks." I shake my head and take another piece of quiche. "I'm good."

"Suit yourself." Reese shrugged, though she was wearing a grin I had learned ages ago was a bad omen. "So how was the test?"

"Everything's normal." I smile, choosing to ignore whatever my friend was planning. "How is the shoot going? Are you enjoying the hoverboard?"

"Uhhh, do you enjoy studying? Do dogs enjoy belly rubs? Hells yeah I'm enjoying the hoverboard. I was worried the lack of wheels would make it feel less stable and that I'd fall off easier, but it feels perfect."

"If it gets the Reese Seal of Approval then it must be good."

"Mhm mhm." She took a mini hotdog from the table and happily bit into it. "You know… My birthday is next month…"

I gave the girl a sidelong glance and saw her stick out her tongue.

"You mean the nine month anniversary of your parent's mistake?"

"Bitch."

Both of us chuckle as Reese bumps my shoulder. That was one of the many things I loved about the girl. She was able to take pretty much anything in stride, so it was very easy for me to be a lot more open with her remarks. Usually everything was so polite and formal due to the parties my family threw, minding my manners and conducting myself with the grace of a Schnee; but with Reese it was so easy for us to just throw insults at each other and joke around.

"So how much longe…"

"Reese. We're ready for you."

"I guess that answers my question."

"Like fifteen more minutes." Reese stuffed the rest of the hotdog into her mouth and quickly swallowed. "Just enjoy the show." She walked off but turned around to face me with a wink. "Even if it's not me you're looking at."

With how regularly I shook my head at her, I was always surprised that I hadn't developed neck problems. Unfortunately, she wasn't totally wrong though. As I sat down on a nearby chair to watch, my eyes were yet again drawn to Ilia. She looked very much the same as before, maybe with a lighter skin tone than before, except her hair was a much darker shade of blue. She was still beautiful though, enough to maybe make me reconsider Reese's offer to introduce me. However, with so much college work and how much I did to prepare to take over the company, I wasn't really in any position to date.

Summer had always been a treasured thing in Atlas. Being located on Solitas, the northernmost consistent of Remnant, the land was constantly ravaged by blizzards. In fact, the only reason the city was hospitable at all was the heating system that ran throughout the entire city. It was constantly active, heating the city to the point where, despite the snowstorms, it was rare to actually see much snow inside the city itself since it would all be melted before landing. The same was true for Mantle, the lower part of the city that sat at the bottom on the mountain Atlas as perched on.

That heating system was part of the reason my family were so well regarded throughout the city. Being the world's largest distributor of Dust, a naturally produced crystal that acted as an energy source for pretty much everything in Remnant, my family was responsible for making sure the system operated properly. It was a decision that proved to be rather controversial at the time since my father had never been the most likeable person. However, as much of a control freak as he was, I firmly believed that even he would never shut off the heat.

That didn't mean it wasn't occasionally turned down though for maintenance. Summer was the perfect chance for that, and though there was still a little bit of chill in the air despite the sun, I was used to it. Thankfully, all the pools at Schnee manor were heated independently, and me and Reese regularly made use of them.

"Gods." The girl breathed happily and lazily floated on the surface in a purple and green, acid washed bikini. "When was the last time we had the mansion to ourselves?"

"The staff are still here." I replied, treading water next to her.

"You know what I mean." She gently moved her arms to spin in place. "Feels good not having your brother drooling over me."

"He's fourteen." I laughed. "He drools over pretty much every girl he sees."

"You two are definitely related then."

I smacked some water at her, causing her to flinch and lose her balance. Giggling happily, I watched her flail around jokingly for a few seconds under the water. It was just like her to be dramatic about a little water, but it was fun to watch. It didn't last long though and she quickly resurfaced with a grin on her face.

"You're gonna make me drown one day."

"I could convince people it was an accident." I shrugged.

"Sassy. I love it."

Rolling my eyes at my friend, I turned away from her and slowly swam to the edge, feeling water hit me in the back of my head but refusing to indulge her. Reaching the steps, I pulled myself out of the pool and suppressed a small shiver as I walked to my drink. Taking a small sip, I heard the screen door open and turned to see Klein walking through it with a fresh drink for Reese.

"All well out here, Miss Schnee?" He said in his usual jovial tone. "Do you need me to turn up the heat at all?"

"We're good thank you, Klein." I smiled back at the man. Though he was our butler, the portly man had been with the family since before I was born, and was pretty much family himself.

"Can I ask for something?"

"No."

"You can ask for anything, Miss Chloris." Klein replied happily. He'd always had a soft spot for the skater girl.

"You think you could put on Shattered? It starts in four minutes."

A groan escaped me and I turned to see her giving Klein a wide, pleading smile. He returned it and gave the girl a bow before he turned on his heel and made his way back out of the room. Shaking my head at her, I reach down and pick up the study guide.

"We're supposed to be studying. You have a test coming up."

"We wiiiill." The girl said, swimming over to a pair of inflatable chairs and pushing one towards me. "After Shattered. I don't get to watch the next episode live, remember?"

"Fine." I sighed. "But I hate this damn show."

Walking over to the mirror as Reese scoffed, I pulled the bands from my wrist and tied my long ponytail that reached to my knees in a few more places so that it wouldn't get caught on the plastic. While I was there, I took the chance to look at my body too. It was clad in a pure white bikini that tied around the neck, and the bottoms had a little skirt that hung a little down my thigh.

One of the good things about being a Schnee was that we'd always had rather lithe bodies due to my father's strong genes. My father, Winter, Whitley; all of us had always looked more on the thin side with narrower shoulders than my mother's side. My mother's side definitely fought back though, most significantly in the eyes and hair, which were always pale blue and stark white respectively. Because of those naturally softer features, and because I started them young, I'd taken rather well to the hormones when they'd kicked in properly.

My body was lean and smooth, my hips were a little wider, and my arms were a little on the thin side; though I still regularly exercised. The thing I was very happy about though were my breasts. They had been a little tender when growing in, but that had gone away after a while. The doctors had also warned me that there was a high possibility that they would grow in to be uneven and that I would possibly have to get surgery to augment them a little, but thankfully they hadn't. In fact, even though they were still barely reaching a B cup, I was very happy with them since they suited my smaller frame.

"Hey gorgeous." I heard Reese say behind me and spun around to smile at her. "Wanna stop ogling yourself and get your fine ass over here? Show's about to start."

Just as she said it, a bright light poured from one of the glass walls of the mansion as the huge television that took up almost the entire wall came on.

"Alright, alright." I breathe, making a show of walking over to the inflatable chair. While I wasn't vain in any way, even I knew my legs were excellent. "Can't believe you are making me spend an hour listening to Doctor Oobleck theorise about how the moon was shattered."

"Please. You liked the last theory the guest had."

"Because it was so outlandishly ludicrous." I guided myself into the chair gently so as to not spill our drinks and pushed away from the ledge towards my friend. "An old god blasting through it because humanity disappointed him. What a load of rubbish."

"That's the beauty of it." Reese laughed and accepted her soda.

"If you say so." I pouted, though it quickly ended as I was poked in the stomach. "Why can't you watch it next week anyway?"

"I already told you before we left. The release party for BreezLight?"

I averted my eyes. I knew exactly what I had been doing as we left, and what had made it so that I didn't hear what Reese had been talking about. Obviously Reese had figured it out too, because she chortled and let out a soft crooning noise.

"Ooooo. Someone got it bad."

"Do not."

"Totally do. You're even blushing."

"No I'm not." I turned my head away and took a sip of my drink, but it only made the girl happier.

"That does it." Reese said through her chuckling. "I'm definitely introducing you two at the party."

"Wh-What?" I stutter. "Who says I'm going?"

"You did." She pointed a finger at me and stuck out her tongue. "I asked as we were leaving and you said yes."

"That's not fair. I wasn't paying attention."

"Too bad that isn't how this works."

I scowled at her as she leaned back in her chair, cursing the gods for my unawareness. Knowing Reese, she'd probably realised I wasn't paying attention at the time and took full advantage of it. Unfortunately, even if I hadn't given her my word, I knew I knew I would be dragged along anyway since it wasn't too uncommon for us to bring each other to events and openings.

"Fine." I relented. "But no introductions. I'm too busy to date anyone."

"Still with that excuse." Reese said, teasing tone dropping for a minute and becoming more serious. "Weiss, you're amazing. I know you've still been struggling with getting out and actually dating, but you're smart, fun, interesting, and absolutely gorgeous. And I'm not just saying that as your best friend."

Reese was right, dating had always been a struggle for me. Though I was very happy and comfortable in my body, there was still the worry that someone else might find an imperfection I had overlooked.

"Really?" I ask.

"Really." She said firmly and reached out to rest her hand on mine. "And if someone doesn't see that, then they're a fucking idiot and need to go buy the strongest glasses they can find."

I feel my face break into a grin and give the girl a nod. Just as always, I counted myself lucky to have her.

"Thank you."

"So you'll let me introduce you?"

I look at her and nibble my bottom lip. While I wasn't particularly against being introduced, I was still a little nervous.

"I'll think about it." I reasoned.

"Better than I thought I'd get." She said with a wink and turned back to the television.

Letting out a soft chuckle, I leaned back into my own chair and cast my eyes the same way just as the show was about to start. I may not have liked the show, but I definitely enjoyed hanging out with my friend.

"You also promised to buy me a hov…"

"Don't push it." I laughed.

"Worth a shot." She shrugged with a snort of her own.

A/N

Hello everyone. As promised, a new fic for everyone. This story is predominantly my own, much like TWTCIA, but I do bounce ideas off of Toxic and take his thoughts into consideration, so I feel it's only right that I give him some writer's credit :)

So this is going to be a little different to my other works. While TWTCIA and HIF have big, overarching plots that carry the whole thing, this fic will not have such a thing. It will be much more character focused with a lot of dialogue with a bigger emphasis on interactions and more grounded moments. As everyone knows, I love writing those kinds of things, so I hope it's something you all look forward to. Naturally, that means the story will be a lot shorter too. I don't know how much shorter, but I think 10 chapters will likely be the max and those chapters will be around 3k words... except chapter 2, which is written and around 10k words xD

Now just a few things about the world. As you can probably tell, I have chosen to go which some canon elements of RWBY such as Dust (thought its more just an energy source here) and Atlas being more more technologically advanced. I have also chosen to implement their rule regarding LGBT people too, that rule being that all elements of that spectrum are widely accepted. However, even with acceptance, there are undoubtedly personal issues people face and I don't intend to shy away from them. I will also say that I am not trans myself, but as with all my fics I try to do my research, especially with sensitive matters such as this. I will try to make it as accurate as possible, but there are obviously things I may not be able to represent accurately.

As for the characters, I've decided to go with some more unorthodox choices xD Reese was originally Pyrrha, but changed due to how I wanted the character to be. Ruby and Yang were kinda out of the question just due to how much would have to be moved around, and Blake wasn't possible for reasons that I hope will become clear. So we looked outside a little and thought Reese could be a really cool character to work with. Hopefully you all grow to love her too xD

Anyway, I have rambled here too much. I know this story will probably not get a lot of attention just due to the fact that the only member of Team RWBY with a prominent role is Weiss, but it's more something to explore a new avenue and relax a little, and I hope those of you who do read it enjoy it :)

As for when the next chapter will be up, unfortunately I have no idea. It is written already, and just needs editing, but I am thinking maybe a monthly upload, but I can't promise anything. Chapters will just kinda come out when they come out, so follow if you want to not miss them.

Anyway, that's it from me. Please let me know what you thought about it, and I hope you all had a good day :)

P.S. No other notes will be as long as this one xD