[Weiss]
"Hey Ice Queen!" Weiss' attention snapped up from her studies as Yang barged into their dorm room with a wide smile on her face, which almost looked like a smirk. "Come with me! There's something I need to show you."
"Can it wait?" Weiss asked, her voice laced with irritation, "Finals are just around the corner and I need to be prepared." She'd accepted long ago that her teammate didn't take her studies as seriously as she should, but Yang couldn't possibly just wing the finals, could she? Weiss hadn't seen her study at all during the last few days.
Yang rolled her eyes. "That's over a week away, you'll be fine." When Weiss went to protest, the blonde simply flipped her book shut and effortlessly pulled her chair away from the table. "We're about to graduate and you're going to spend the last month we have at Beacon studying?"
"Yes! Unlike some people, I take my studies seriously!" Weiss snapped back, still glued to her chair. She knew if she made an attempt to move back to her desk, Yang would only grab her again. "It's how I've stayed at the top of the class all throughout the semester."
The brawler silently mocked the heiress before starting for the door, "Allow me to be more clear: Ruby has something she wants to show you. She sent me to drag you out of this stuffy room." They all had grown older, so their dorm room had become quite small for the four of them.
At the mention of her girlfriend, Weiss immediately stood from her chair. "Alright, lead the way." She tried to sound annoyed by the fact that her study session had been interrupted, but she couldn't prevent the curiosity from slipping into her voice.
Yang smirked, giving a mock bow as the white-haired girl passed, "After you, m'lady." Weiss scoffed as her friend closed the door and returned to her side, "She's got you wrapped around her finger."
"Oh, so Blake doesn't have you whipped?" Weiss raised a brow and a victorious smile crossed her lips when Yang's face turned as her sister's cloak, "I vividly remember you going all the way across Vale just to buy her a can of her favorite tuna." She watched as Yang stuttered and stumbled over her words, trying to form a coherent sentence.
"H-hey! They were out in the other stores! B-besides, it couldn't be just any can!" Yang turned away from her friend, her face still burning. "This is not about me and Blake, this is about you and my sister." At first, Yang hadn't been too accepting about her and Ruby's relationship, as she feared Weiss would break her heart. Weiss had been pleasantly surprised to find out that Yang had helped Ruby plan their first date, but she knew the blonde would do anything to make her little sister happy.
A few minutes of silence passed between the two as Yang led her outside of the building and towards the city. Confusion washed over her, where was Ruby? "Hey, Yang? You said Ruby had something she wanted to show me?" Weiss asks as suspicion replaced the confusion she was feeling. Yang turned towards her with an unreadable glint in her eyes.
"Oh she does. Tonight. I brought you out here so we could spend some one on one time together." Yang spun back around and retrieved her wallet from her pockets, "I was hoping we could eat at that new restaurant downtown? The one Pyrrha mentioned last week? She said it was pretty good."
"I guess I could," Weiss mused, following closely behind her teammate. "It would be nice to get to know each other better."
The two entered the newly opened restaurant and the waiter led them to their table, a small two-person table off to the side. Once they sat down, Weiss took a moment to examine the restaurant. It wasn't as fancy as she was used to, but she supposed it was alright. It wasn't too bad. She caught a few suspicious glances out of the corner of her eye and she frowned, "Don't you think people might get the wrong idea? We are alone. . ." Yang's eyes darted up to her from the menu and she quickly looked around. As a smirk came to the brawler's face, an uneasy feeling settled in Weiss' stomach.
Yang cupped her hands and realization dawned on Weiss a moment too late when the blonde suddenly shouted at the top of her lungs that they were not on a date. Embarrassment struck her like a truck as silence fell over them like a blanket and every head in the room turned to them. "This is will be the last time I ever go out into public with you, Yang Xiao Long." She whispered under her breath. The waiter returned to their table and took their orders, retrieving the menus from them and walking away towards the kitchen.
Suddenly, a plate was set in front of her and Weiss turned to the woman who'd set it there without paying attention to the contents. "Ma'am, I didn't order this." There was no way their food would arrive that quickly.
"Oh I know, but the girl over there said you would like it." The young waiter gestured to the back of the room, but frowned when she found that the area was vacant. The look of confusion quickly faded from the woman's face as she turned back to Weiss, "It's already paid for. If you'd like, I can fetch a to-go box."
Weiss finally looked down at the plate in front of her and her brows raised. A slice of red velvet cake sat there, perfectly cut out and practically calling her name. Peering closer, she could make out the shape of a heart etched into the icing. It almost looked familiar. . . "Looks like somebody's got a crush on the Ice Queen!" Yang laughed, drawing Weiss' full attention again. "We'll take a to-go box." The lady walked off.
"I hope they're not too infatuated." Weiss muttered under her breath as she nudged the cake to the side, "I have Ruby."
Yang's smirk didn't go unnoticed by the heiress, "What is it?" Weiss asked suspiciously, "You're hiding something, I can feel it." Yang just shrugged and took a sip of her tea that had just been delivered to their table, she thanked the waiter as they left to fetch their food. "Aren't you going to eat that?" The blonde asked, gesturing to the cake sitting off to the side of them.
"I will later." Weiss replied bluntly, meeting Yang's eyes again. Her friend's happy lilac eyes had turned to a burning red and the frown on her face was practically screaming murder. Fear traveled up her spine, "Yang?" She whispered meekly, fearing she had somehow upset the blonde.
"Yang!"
Blake?
[Present Time]
Weiss was reeled back towards reality once again to find Yang's angry red eyes screaming redrum. Blake was standing almost between them, fending her girlfriend off from Weiss. What had she done this time? Weiss glanced downwards, putting the pieces together when she seen a tattered red cloak held close to her chest. She'd given it to Yang. . . That's why the brawler was so pissed off. How did she even get her hands on it again? She could feel her heart starting to ache when the faint smell of roses filled her senses.
"Give. It. Back." Yang's murderous voice caused her to jump slightly and she hesitantly handed the cloak back to Yang, who snatched it without hesitation. "Don't ever touch it again! Don't even look at it!" A part of her wanted to stand up to the grieving woman, she wanted to tell her off and prove to her that she had tried to find Ruby.
"You know," Weiss spoke before she could comprehend what she was doing, "you're not the only one grieving." Blake's eyes turned to her and she knew she was treading on thin ice judging by the look the faunus shot her. They'd found a hotel to stay in while they were in Atlas, Blake having convinced Yang to accompany them while Weiss prepared to take over the company in a few weeks. Sure, they could stay in the Schnee Manor, but Weiss wasn't about to deal with her father.
Yang's cool lilac eyes turned back to Weiss again, this time they were glistening with unshed tears. "I might as well be. You got over it pretty quickly. . ." The blonde started for the door, leaving the food they'd brought back waiting on the table, "I'm going for a walk." Without another word, Yang exited the hotel room and shut the door behind her.
Silence filled the room for a brief moment before Blake broke it, clutching her right arm as her ears drooped. "It's just the grief talking, don't listen to anything she's saying. She's not in control of herself right now."
"I know." Weiss replied quietly as another awkward silence washed over them, "How. . . How did I end up with the cloak?" She knew if her partner's name left her lips, she would lose her composure and break down. She had to remain calm and in control at all times.
Blake's golden eyes met her icy blue ones, "It fell out of her pocket." The faunus informed her, "You reached to hand it back to her, but I guess you kind of zoned out."
"Oh."
Her entire body felt like at least a dozen Ursai had trampled her. She could barely move without searing pain traveling through her body and bringing tears to her eyes, her left side was almost immobile and her chest felt as though she'd been crushed under a mountain. But she was alive. . . The last thing she remembered was fighting off a nest of Deathstalkers, only to attract an Alpha Beowulf. Her aura had already been depleted and her energy was spent. All she remembered after the wolf's arrival was reaching for her weapon attached to her back.
The sound of an airship's engine whirring caused her to open her eyes and she forced herself to sit up, biting down on her tongue as an attempt to swallow the scream of pain bubbling up inside. Her silver eyes glanced down to examine herself and she winced at the smallest movement she made. Her aura was still trying to recharge and heal the wounds littering her body. How long had she been out? Where was she? She quickly looked up and around her, taking in her surroundings. Apparently she'd wiggled her way into a small cave on the side of the mountain judging by the fading light shining in from the cave's entrance.
Crawling her way towards the light and ignoring the throbbing pain coursing through-out her body, she managed to squeeze herself out of the cave just in time to catch a glimpse of a vaguely familiar pink and green airship sailing away into the clouds. A cold wave of realization washed over her.
Where was Weiss?
[A few hours later]
"Hey, hey Miss!"
Ruby vaguely heard the sound of a woman's voice quickly growing closer and she was snapped out of her thoughts. She refocused her vision and glanced up to see a young lady coming her way, waving her hand to get her attention. "You're one of the huntresses who cleared out the Grimm nest, right?" Ruby only nodded, ignoring the pain she was feeling in her back. It was definitely bruised, she wouldn't be surprised if her entire back was black and blue.
"Your friend left before we could pay her," Ruby perked up slightly at the mention of her partner and relief washed over her, Weiss was alive, "here, take this, please." The lady handed her a small bag of coins, "It's all I've got right now, I'm sorry if it isn't much."
Silver eyes stared down at the brown bag for a split moment before the huntress shook her head, "Is there a hotel somewhere close by? A place to get food?" She asked and the woman nodded, briefly giving her the directions. "Thank you. Keep the lien for yourself, you'll need it more than I do. Food and shelter will do just fine as payment."
Paying no attention to the worried look the woman gave her, Ruby started down the street again. She couldn't wait to collapse on a comfortable bed and rest her aching joints. A thought crossed her mind.
Feeling the lady's eyes on her again, she stopped in her tracks and turned to face her. "You said my partner left," she whispered, worry evident in her voice, "did you see where the ship was heading?" The woman nodded and Ruby's full interest turned to the young lady, "Would you mind telling me?" From there, she would know where to find Weiss.
[Later]
She looked like a mess.
Having finally arrived at the hotel and gotten a room, she'd removed her combat outfit to determine the extent of her injuries. Just as she'd predicted, her back was covered in nasty bruises and small cuts she'd sustained from the fall. There was a deep cut across her cheek covered in dried blood and dirt. Many other small cuts and scratches littered her body, but her aura was working on healing them already while slowly recharging. A good night's rest would help a lot.
The bruises were mostly located around her upper body, such as her shoulders and a dark one right at her hip, which was probably broken. Ruby would have to have that looked at as soon as she could. But for now... A warm, relaxing bath was calling her name.