Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Kingdoms of Ice. Enjoy the 1200-word chapter. I don't own RWBY. Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth do.
"I must warn you." Verm stated, turning towards Winter, crossing his arms as he did so. "My mother is known for her intense presence. She will be trying to make you seem smaller than you actually are." Verm added as he paused to let Winter walk past him, curious as to how this was going to do when it came down to it.
Verm hummed as he watched Winter walk by him. He knew that she was just here to do a transaction, but Raven wanted control, she wanted to be powerful. The woman didn't really get this far by being nice, she was reasonable, yes… But Verm knew that was ruthless at the end of the day.
"Why does she always have to be like this?" Verm questioned as he turned and walked towards the arch which marked the beginning of his mother's camp. "Mother? Lady Schnee has come to discuss something with you." Verm added, cracking his fingers as he did so.
Winter looked at her surroundings, the gate looked like a mixture of Mistral stone and fresh timber from the forest. There was a nevermore skull attached to the middle of the gate, she could see fresh crimson paint upon the mask, along with feathers surrounding it. She looked at the rest of the gate which had upper scaffolding and dozens of well-armed guards who patrolled it as well, currently.
"Lady Schnee." Winter heard, causing her to turn, resting a hand on her sword as she did so. "I'm surprised to see you here; I thought my assistance was still sufficient for House Schnee." Winter heard as she rested her hand on her sword.
"The war in Solitas gets worse every day, Lady Branwen." Winter responded, looking around for the source and blinked. "Things were bad enough at the moment, your shipments haven't arrived in 2 months, I was sent to get it." Winter added as she shook her head.
She turned to see the source of the voice. A woman who had at least a few inches of height on her, she wore crimson and black mistral armor along with her signature red dress. She wore a vibrant bird like Grimm mask with much more elaborate markings then her son. Her weapon, the sword which Winter knew as Omen sat at her hip. Winter straightened up, her head coming up to Raven's upper chest as the woman approached her.
"Clan Branwen isn't in much of a position to divert many resources at the moment." Winter heard from Raven as she brushed off her armor, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth as she did so. "I am surprised to see you in person, House Schnee usually isn't one to settle their affairs personally. I do respect you for that." Raven stated, placing a hand on her helmet as she slowly pulled it from the top of her head.
"House Schnee is not one to shy away from their affairs if their personal enough." Winter said before she hummed and brushed off her uniform. "But I have been told many times that I am surprising because of what people believe about House Schnee." Winter added, crossing her arms behind her back as she did so.
Winter tilted her head slightly, not at all scared or intimidated by Raven's statue, her eyes betrayed no fear towards the woman at all. She knew for a fact that Raven was trying to access her stature, trying to get under skin when it came down to it. Winter gazed into her crimson eyes as a breeze swept through the camp, carrying fresh leaves as well.
"You are very unlike what I expected as a noble of House Schnee." Winter heard from Raven as she nodded. "But as I said? I currently cannot assist you. My forces are currently deadlocked in a skirmish with other houses here and I've not gotten word of my scouts in two weeks. My son was busy planning a counterattack when they struck." Raven said as she nodded towards Verm who was silent, curious how this would go if given the chance.
Verm's eyes narrowed, not betraying any emotion as he thought about how this was going to be. Winter seemed smart enough to deal with her own issues, however. That seemed counterintuitive to whatever the Atlesian lord had planned.
"I require those supplies ASAP." Winter pointed out, resting a hand on her sword.
The soldiers around her all readied their own blades or guns. There was a massive movement as the soldiers around her all drew their own weapons. Both Raven and Winter shared a look as they mentally pondered their next move towards the other.
"There's the Schnee stubborn nature I've expected…" Winter heard before Raven held up her hand. "I will make you a deal. If you help me with my issues? I will surrender whatever supplies I do not require at this moment. I suppose that will be satisfactory to you?" Raven stated to which she nodded to Winter who frowned at her.
Winter could assume that it had been part of her plan, but she didn't have either the evidence, nor the time to accuse her. There simply wasn't anything to be gained from it when she thought about it.
"And I suppose you will be negotiating with my mother in the meantime?" Winter questioned to which Raven nodded to herself once more. "Fine. I will defeat the rest of the soldiers and force their surrender. I will also guess that you had a plan in motion to deal with this before I arrived with my own soldiers?" Winter asked as she slowly stood up.
Raven stood up as Winter clicked her heeled boots together while she hummed to herself. Raven turned to Verm who was quite curious as she nodded to him.
"Verm? Lead the reinforcements alongside Lady Schnee." Raven stated to him. "I will be preparing our defenses for the moment. They will be preparing for another wave of enemy combatants when they arrive. I must make sure we survive to fight another day." Raven stated while she turned, Omen readied for a fight.
Both were quite curious. Verm looked at Winter to which she hummed while she nodded to her soldiers. She was aware of how things would be done when it came down to it. Winter went to turn back to Raven who was already talking to her own soldiers.
Winter sighed as Verm gestured her away at the moment, both of their soldiers preparing for this mission.
"We're handle it, mom." Winter heard from Verm who was tired and sighing to himself. "Just don't die before we come
Author notes
Phew. Another chapter done! I want to point out that next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show more of Winter and Verm fighting the rest of the enemy force. Next chapter will be 900-6500 words and will be delayed at the moment. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter will be much longer at the moment and hopefully won't be delayed as much.