AYangThang: Obviously I've been gone for a while, enjoying time with my niece and nephew. As a reminder they will be staying with me until July 10th. After that, updates will continue as normal.
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 11: Weiss: The Atlesian Way Part 6
The future promised to be a hard one ahead, difficult conversations forming every turn. Still, she needed to have them, and do it soon. Part of her decision came in the form of self-preservation, and the other came in the form of backwards loyalty. Private business matters now threatened to spill over into her private life. She could have kept them concealed. In fact, logically, it might be better that way.
It certainly wasn't any of her responsibility to educate Blake on topics that generally wouldn't leave the confines of a conference room. Then again, to keep the matter from her would only lead to awkwardness later. If it were anyone else, the thought would be a non-issue. Weiss wouldn't have considered it.
However it was Blake, and that made a world of difference.
That defining detail swayed the carefully thought out position. It was just enough to leverage Weiss into a decision. So, Weiss called her, inviting Blake to the office the next afternoon. The Faunus eagerly agreed, making a dry quip about showing off part of her new wardrobe. Weiss had been unsure how quickly Blake would take to the new attire that had been given to her.
Untailored as most of it was, Blake still managed to look quite fetching the next day.
A slender pencil skirt that sat just above the knee. A matching blouse suited the business casual upper-crust that would inhabit the top levels of many SDC offices. Her black hair drifted down her shoulders pleasantly enough, a touch of make-up highlighting her eyes, which were one of her best features. Sun kissed long legs were covered modestly by black pantyhose, a set of heels clacking across the marbled floor.
There was an ambitious spark beneath the intent, and Weiss felt her mouth go dry just thinking about it.
If things went according to plan, typically, Blake's position would be in the home. Carefully entertaining the shark pool of other high profile spouses. Seeing her now, it was hard to imagine such a thing remotely possible. The way her intellect shimmered behind her eyes was maddening enough. It made Weiss bite her lip. Just the mere concept that Blake could give up her life as a huntress…that alone seemed unfathomable. Especially now, when she looked ready for a mission in espionage, not a companionable afternoon within the confines of the corporate office.
Weiss found a struggle in forming words.
This might have been her idea, but, that didn't make the taller woman in front of her any less intimidating. Like a fish out of water, even simply breathing became harder by the moment. "You're late." She murmured lightly when everything else would seem trite in comparison. "Punctuality is of utmost importance, especially during my workday."
"Tell that to the fine people of Atlas." Blake responded, grasping at the small talk for all that it might be worth. "The traffic was horrible, and Yang was driving. We left with plenty of time to spare. At least that's what we thought."
"You were on the back of her bike, in that?" Weiss asked, her eyes widening imperceptibly. Her shock only known to those who could be able to notice the slight difference in her stance. The blonde was a speed demon by every measure, and Bumblebee itself was a contraption that Weiss had very little experience with.
A smile played on Blake's lips. "You make it sound like it's impossible."
"It sounds like a sight to see." Weiss shot back, averting her eyes and clearing her throat. The mental image her mind conjured up was something akin to sidesaddle. Not only did that seemed completely impossible, she would think the bike would become unstable. Sighing gently, she cleared her head. There was obviously something more practical she overlooked. "In any case, I'm glad that you could make it. I have a meeting to attend, but I've left some files on my desk. If you wish to look over them, I think you'll find the information perfectly insightful."
"Well, a glance couldn't hurt." Blake said with a shrug, but Weiss only frowned.
"We'll see about that, I suppose." Weiss murmured then.
"Is it more about the underwater mines?" Blake asked when the woman in front of her seemed so tense.
"It's nothing so simple." Weiss replied, licking her lips and steeling herself against the wave of anxiety she felt. "You wanted to know about your father. Those documents will tell you everything that you want to know."
"My father..."
Weiss saw the way that Faunus ears twitched, and didn't miss the quick blink of disbelief. She pushed through Blake's moment of surprise. She couldn't let the woman's mind wander too far into the void. "If you want to read them, now would be your best chance. I'll be back when I'm finished with Coco. I wish I could reschedule, but this is just too important to mishandle. We're finalizing the dust quality for Coco's new line. I've invited her to inspect the samples for herself. As I said before though, it shouldn't take too long."
Blake glanced around the large room. Being left along inside was unsettling. "I'll be waiting here, then."
"Yes, you will." Weiss managed to say, feeling a little guilty that the ticking clock was not on her side today. It never seemed to be. She hated that. As she made her way to the door, she glanced back to Blake. A compliment was in order, she decided. Something to ease the mounting tension she could see filling those amber eyes. It couldn't be empty, either, like so many other things were. It needed to have weight. It needed to be tangible. Most of all, it needed to be honest.
Honesty itself, for Weiss at least, had always been a lonely thing.
What could she say to make Blake smile? Her first thought sprang to mind. It didn't seem enough, but, it would have to be. "You look quite fetching, you know." Weiss allowed herself to say in almost a whisper. "Dressed like that, I mean."
Blake blushed deeply, lost for words when Weiss very nearly slammed the door behind her. A small flush of pink barely touching her cheeks when the compliment left her mouth. Left to the silence of the large SDC office, Blake took hold of the first folder waiting for her and began to read.
Blake deserved to know the truth. At least, that's what she told herself as she continued to read every page.
About her people…
About Menagerie…
About her father's position…
And the sins of the Schnee Dust Company…
She deserved to know all if it as intimately as Weiss did.
The files were a gateway into all of it. A snapshot of the past and its many lies. Sprinklings of half-truths made everything bitter. There was a lot of dealings between the Schnee Dust Company and Ghira Belladonna himself. The Belladonna line was long and storied. Before Ghira there were his uncles, father, and grandfather before him. Before Menagerie itself, there were countless other Faunus whose fates were twined deeply within the company.
All of it rested as a historical record.
Some of it was hard to swallow down as truth. Most of it concealed facts that Blake had learned of before. The White Fang and Beacon took to teaching Faunus history very seriously. Of course, there were things that Blake had assumed, but had no proof of. Not until the record of those events were in front of her, lingering on those yellowed pages. They were undeniable. Reasons drifting wordlessly between every name on the dotted line. Blake would never know why so many had sold their souls.
Part of her never wanted to know, either.
Signatures she recognized were penned across those dotted lines. Official court rulings drenched the company in every sin. Notarized documentation of freed Faunus that had trickled out from slavery over the years painted the company in a brighter hue. A fuller picture of the volatile wars that followed for each of the kingdoms lay in front of her. Following history into the world she had grown up in, turning pages further, it guided her into today.
A question reached her mind at the end of the long paper trail. It was hard to ask. "Weiss, do you two get along?"
"Ghira and I?" Weiss asked, looking up from the work in front of her. It could wait.
"Yes." Blake asked as she closed the folder. "Do you?"
The white haired woman blinked at such an odd question. She should have been expecting it, and yet, it seemed so strange to hear. It was a difficult question to find the words for. "It's not a simple yes or no answer." She gently cleared her throat. "We don't have that luxury anymore." Weiss finally admitted. "We don't see eye to eye on many things, and it's made something of a rift between us. I wouldn't say that we hate each other, but, we stand on different sides. It's unavoidable."
"Why?" Blake asked, her ears drooping ever so slightly. "What happened?"
"The company happened." Weiss said dryly. "You've seen the evidence, Blake. That's all there is to say about it."
"But why?" Blake asked. "It doesn't make any sense. You haven't done anything wrong."
"Not yet, but, I could." Weiss told her. "When I was a mere huntress, I wasn't a threat to the livelihood of his people. You said that I was a good person, and that was good enough for him."
"And it's not anymore?" Blake shook her head. "That just doesn't make any sense to me. You two used to spend hours talking about all sorts of things jut a few years ago."
"A few years is all it takes." Weiss said, realizing for the first time that Blake wouldn't look at her and see a villain. Perhaps, for the sake of argument, she should have. For whatever reason, Blake couldn't. The Faunus was in too deep, and that made the truth so much harder to explain. "There was a time he could take me at face value. Now, I'm the owner of a company that could easily destroy the fragile existence they have."
"That's ridiculous…"
"He's right to be worried." Weiss shot back. "The only reason Menagerie can exist is because if the company. My grandfather gave Menagerie dust. He set it up carefully. A monthly charitable donation, tax deductible. It was only supposed to last until the island became established. My father used the island as an excuse for publicity, so he kept giving once he inherited the company. The more he gave, the more he could excuse away what he was doing to his employees."
"That's completely disgusting…" Blake growled under her breath. "And once my dad became the chieftain, he actually agreed to continue accepting dust like that?"
"He didn't exactly have a choice…"
"Weiss, that can't be true."
"It is, and humans are to blame for that. More aptly, my father and the Atlesian council are to blame for it." Weiss said coolly. "The island can't afford to purchase the dust they require. The cost of the shipments would be too high. My father wanted it that way. The donations were supposed to end once my father stepped down. However, I saw no reason to discontinue them. Especially once I found out that Menagerie would never be able to afford purchasing the dust directly."
"Those idiots on the island don't even care, do they?" The Faunus asked hotly. "They don't give a damn that they're living carefree. Meanwhile other Faunus end up dead in the mines because of them. Those were filthy donations, and they took them anyway."
"They're not filthy anymore…" Weiss said, unsure of why the anger in those amber eyes hurt so much to see. She wanted to soothe it away, but she didn't know how. "I would never intentionally harm Menagerie, Blake. Never, but, that doesn't change the fact that I have the power to do so. Your father knows that."
The Faunus just growled low and under her breath. She was at a complete loss for words. It surprised her then, when a cool hand fell over hers. Gently pleading to ease the death grip that Blake had affixed to the armchair.
"The Faunus never had a choice." Weiss urged softly, thumb brushing over Blake's knuckles. Mapping out the anxiety and the anger that quaked from within. "When it came to stepping down from the White Fang, neither did your father. You need to know that. For generations, it was either Menagerie or nothing. His generation was no different."
"I refuse to believe that. There's always a choice, Weiss. That's one of the founding principles of the White Fang. We've always stood by that. Even when the White Fang turned violent, that principle didn't go away."
"What choice did your people really have, Blake?" Weiss asked then. "The kingdoms would have exterminated the entirety of your race the moment they felt threatened again. My Grandfather would have supplied the armaments willingly, and you saw those records. He wouldn't have hesitated, not even for a second. War made him money. He might have been considered enlightened for his time, but he was still a slave to his own greed."
"But to think that the Faunus of that era would cower in spite of that...That even years down the line, my own father would cower..."
For Blake, it was a dark stain on her pride as a Faunus. Old and angry wounds, emotional and physical, making for a potent sort of poison. Blake's own toxic history reminding her of just how flawed the White Fang had been in their thinking. How twisted Blake had once been in hers. The Faunus felt burning in her amber eyes, a sting she wasn't completely unused to.
For Weiss, reclaimed guilt bubbled to the surface. Seeing those clear tears lingering at the edges of Blake's eyes, wet and unyielding, called to the surface memories of her own youth. A childhood filled with misguided hate, and a father who fanned those flames by twisting his three children against each other from the start.
The paperwork was just a version of the truth, emotion and intent ripped away from the events. The players involved, nothing more than shadows of the men that they knew. Without those key details, the events themselves had done a grave disservice to the history both women had come to understand.
"When the wars were done, Menagerie offered an uneasy peace." Weiss finally told Blake. "Years later, the White Fang lifted up from the ashes to continue those peaceful proceedings. Your father held influence in the White Fang. Eventually, he was making strides as a leader, Blake. He was making changes, but, he was slow in making them. You know what happened after that, you were there…"
Blake knew, but she refused to say it.
Coldly, and perhaps with just a hint of cruelty, Weiss continued to speak. Continued to air out everything that Blake's own guilty soul wanted to forget. "The White Fang wanted him out. He stepped down and took the only position of power that he could. As the Chieftain of Menagerie, he can do what the white Fang can't. He can speak to the ears leading the kingdoms directly. The problem is, now he doesn't have any choice but to play the same games that I do. That means playing damage control. It's just the way it is."
"What damage could you actually do, Weiss?" Blake said, nearly barking a laugh as she pushed those unshed tears from her eyes.
"All I'd need to do refuse is to give them anymore dust."
"You wouldn't do that!"
"That doesn't matter. The lives of thousands are his responsibility." Weiss said. "Refined dust wouldn't last a month. First the power would dry up. Then, water treatment would shut down. The communications tower would drop. The medical center wouldn't be able to perform complex surgery. Eventually ammunition would run out. Crude dust might get them by for a while, primitive weapons might hold the line, but that would go away too."
Blake hissed between her teeth. Thinking about that made her recall all of the villages that just didn't stand a chance without dust. Her voice spoke the awful truth aloud. "So, they'd either have to leave before that happened. Either that, or take their chances against the Grimm and the elements…"
"A total evacuation would require the aid of the kingdoms, and they'd probably be split up for citizenship between Vale and Vacuo. Atlas would never think to take them in, and our political ties with Mistral would keep Faunus from mass settling there." Weiss went on to say. "Even if Menagerie could find a new dust supply someplace, they'd never be able to pay for it. I'm the only chance they have. No other company has the manpower or the recourses to donate such a large amount of dust to an island the size of Menagerie."
"Why didn't he ever tell me?"
"You want nothing to do with that island, so why would he?" Weiss simply shrugged. "This isn't your burden to bear."
Weiss once again offered Blake a way out. To end this relationship of theirs before it truly began in earnest. The offer was sound, but the Faunus refused to take it.
Amber eyes found their resolve. A fire burned there anew, and it was something that Weiss couldn't simply disregard. Blake was taller than her, sleek and powerful. Her years of continued hunting molding Blake's body deliciously. Womanly curves hiding her raw power well. Power that Weiss became intimately aware of when amber eyes became almost catlike. Blake surged forward with a hot and heavy kiss that nearly crumpled the both of them.
Brazen talk turned very real in that moment. Weiss could feel it bone deep. Tangible to all five of her senses, limited as they were compared to Blake's own.
For all that Weiss could have planned, she could not have anticipated that. The sudden feel of Blake's lips on her own had been intoxicating. The pressing of their bodies together through layers of fabric had called to a deeply buried need. The length of the kiss itself had been exhilarating, ludicrously happening in in her own office of all places.
It was all too much, and her own fumbling had been awkward as hell.
Blake's self-satisfied smirk soothed away the cold annoyance that Weiss couldn't conceal when they broke away. In the end, Blake's mood had been uplifted considerably. Meanwhile, Weiss felt her own mood begin to drift.
She hated the insipid way she handled her emotions. When they unnerved her so greatly, she couldn't help but withdraw into herself. It was an easy pattern to fall into, slipping into the mindset like a second skin. It was a vice Blake would simply have to get used to, but Weiss prayed the Faunus wouldn't learn to hate it.
It would have been easier to live in a constant state of denial. Yet, with Blake's heart in her hands, Weiss couldn't do that either. Not with the way Blake's kiss had lingered on her lips in an electric way. Irrefutably enjoyable. Undeniably addicting. It would be a memory to haunt her thoughts even hours after it was over. She could only pray it didn't creep into her dreams as well.
She had arranged a first date that was suitable for her lifestyle, doing her best to find ways to accommodate Blake's simplistic joys. The sushi restaurant was the easy choice, but what came after would be much harder. Weiss had searched a great deal for solutions, and yet so few things would appeal to the both of them. Frankly, Weiss had no desire to do anything beyond a meal at all. Previous suitors had done nothing more than try to worm their way into her bed.
Weiss hated to admit it, but, if they were to take the evening beyond the distance of a good meal, things could happen…
She tossed that wayward though aside the moment it bubbled into her brain. Her logic knew better. Knowing that Blake would never do something so risky. Not this early. Not while everything was still so fragile. Still, Weiss felt an edge of concern cloud her mind. Old habits and atlesian expectation burned its way into her thoughts. There was only one person she knew that had so willingly defied the Schnee Family name, and had done it successfully.
Besides that, Winter deserved to know about the woman slowly carving her way into the block of ice Weiss had for a heart.
"It's just so crazy to me. One moment she's one of my dearest friends, and the next she's..." Weiss trailed off, biting back a sigh. "Anyway, I don't know what to do about all of this." She leaned over her martini, gazing down into the untouched liquid and hating herself for it. "Why is dating the only area of my life that makes me feel so inept?"
"Likely because we weren't raised to do such a thing." Her elder sister posed. "We were raised to abide by the men in our lives. We've only been seen as respectable if we were doing as we were told. Obviously setting out on our own the way we did put something of a strain in Father's plans. Functional co-dependence isn't something you can just conjure up at whim."
"Which is why you're still single." Weiss jibed under her breath, but, Winter merely shrugged.
"So it is." The woman agreed softly. "To be honest, I'm still trying to get over the fact that you're courting a woman."
"Courting is a rather strong descriptor, don't you think?" Weiss replied then.
"Perhaps…"
The two women let the conversation slowly die a quiet death as they sipped their drinks. The younger of the two still feeling the ball of anxiety roll around in her gut. Winter expected a lot from her siblings, and Weiss had always tried to live up those expectations. She had failed those endeavors many times, suffering the disappointed glances Winter would offer in return. She had no idea how Winter might react to the truth. Now that it was out, Weiss could only wait and find out.
"Weiss, were you ever interested in men at all?" Winter finally found herself asking when the silence grew to be too much.
"I was never completely disinterested." She answered softly. "There were certainly a few handsome boys at the academies. They managed to get my attention. It just didn't happen to go anywhere."
"And when it came to women?"
"It never crossed my mind…"
"Not once?"
"You mean to tell me than it crossed yours?" Weiss shot back when the too casual question irked her. She expected something like that out of one of her friends, or at least a crude acquaintances. She had not expected it from her older sister.
"Most certainly not." Winter protested dryly. "Even if it did, I wouldn't amuse the notion in the slightest."
"So, if a respected peer came onto you, you would completely reject them? You'd cast the thought from your mind instantly, correct?" Weiss asked then. "You wouldn't at least consider the situation on its own merits?"
Winter found her own shoulders slouching ever so slightly at the weighted question. "It has never happened, therefore, I have no experience from which to draw an answer from."
"I was once like you. The mere concept was an insult. At the very least, it was idiocy. Still, when Blake finally did approach me, well…" Weiss paused, choking back her words. She took a moment, glancing to her sister. It was now or never. "I found that I could not completely reject the thought of it."
"Obviously, or else you would have." Winter retorted. "That much is certain."
"Is it?" The younger sister said slowly. "I wonder... It's strange, Winter. Truly. I keep trying to ask myself why I allowed this to happen. Deep down, I know that I didn't want to reject her, either." Weiss admitted then. She twiddled with her fingers beneath the bar, unseen, but obviously distracted. "I am not completely disinterested in Blake when I think of her as a suitor. If that is apt enough a qualifier for most men, then shouldn't it be the same for most women?"
Winter didn't have an answer, the scowl upon her face was cold. The meticulous way she took a breath and counted the passing moments seemed to be explanation enough.
"You're disappointed in me, aren't you?" Weiss asked.
"No, Weiss, you could never be a disappointment purely for whom you choose to date." Winter said, managing to offer a lilt of gentleness in her tone. "I'm not displeased with you. If anything I'm a little bit worried. Father will be outraged, but surely you know that…"
Weiss could only nod.
"So long as you're careful, that's all I can hope for." With a little bit of effort, Winter schooled her features into something more neutral. "Frankly, what you do in your private life isn't any of my business." She explained with her typical aloofness, only the smallest hint of a frown betraying her. Concern still edging into her gaze. "You have always been the softest of the three of us, Weiss. The most easily upset and quickest to anger. Growing up, it made good sense to me that my beloved middle sibling would be the black sheep. You've always done your best to defy our father in every way possible. What's one more defiance in the grand scheme?"
"I don't know, Winter, and that terrifies me."
"You'll be fine, dear sister." Winter said. She fished out her credit card from the thin wallet she kept in the breast pocket of her coat. "After all, what do you really have to lose?"
Everything...
She could lose everything. Or so her paranoid mind whispered as she hunched over her untouched martini.
Idly, she lifted her fingers up to her lips. The kiss still fresh in her mind. Full of need, and unimaginable desire.
Maybe she was being just a little foolish. Winter was probably right.
Or so she hoped.