"So, how do I look? Spiffy enough?" Weiss looked her teammate up and down as Ruby twirled on the spot. Truthfully, she didn't look much different than normal, with a black skirt, full length stockings, and a long-sleeved black blouse, and her traditional red cloak. The only differences were the skirt being a bit longer than normal, and the lack of red flair that she was used to, although that was probably a good thing at the Schnee Estate. Still... Weiss pushed herself forward and tugged a loose corner on the blouse which had come untucked.
It's hardly perfect, but then again, this IS Ruby we're talking about. It will have to do, I suppose, she thought to herself. She pushed back on her wheelchair and gave a non-committal shrug.
"And we are officially landed," a deep male voice sounded over an intercom into their cabin. "Please begin making your way to the docking ramp, and thank you again for choosing Air Atlas for your transportation needs."
"Well, ladies, that's our cue," Jacques had stopped outside the cabin, suitcase in hand. "Ready for Atlas, Miss Rose?"
"As I'll ever be, sir!" Ruby stood to attention and gave Jacques an exaggerated salute.
"Very good. I'm glad you're taking to the position. Let's go." With that, Jacques started down the hallway as Ruby took her position behind Weiss' wheelchair, who craned her neck to follow Ruby with a raised eyebrow.
"What? Too weird?" Ruby asked as she pushed on after Jacques. Weiss began tapping agitatedly on the arm rest for a second before settling herself. She turned herself around and looked up to Ruby, held her hand out horizontally above her head, and lowered it to in front of her chin.
"Down? Oh, tone it down?" Ruby asked.
"Phew, thank goodness." Weiss gave her partner a gracious nod, then pointed forward in a grand gesture.
"Alright, alright. Hey, you're not gonna boss me around too much, right? I guess I kinda work for you now... hmm, this is a little weirder than I realized..." Ruby rambled on as they approached the docking ramp. A warm breeze greeted them as Weiss shrugged off Ruby's concern with a wave of her hand.
"Oh... oh wow, I guess that's why your dad wasn't too impressed with the rental back in Vale." Ruby's eyes went wide as they left the shining, metal ramp and were greeted by a sleek, black limousine with tinted windows parked down the runway. Two men in dark suits and sunglasses were putting their suitcases into the trunk. "Wait, why is the limo parked on the runway?" Ruby wondered aloud.
"Because this is our airport, naturally," Jacques interjected, handing his suitcase off to one of the men. "We do hire outside air travel of course, maintaining airships is unreasonably expensive, but there are plenty of firms willing to service the Schnee port. Now, let's be on our way, ladies," he added, gesturing to the limo.
"Right, yes sir," Ruby responded with a bit less gusto than last time, directing Weiss over to the rear seating as Jacques took his place in the front passenger seat. "Better?" She whispered to Weiss as she opened the door. Weiss hobbled out of the chair on her good leg, bracing herself on the car as she ducked in, settling herself on the black leather. She gestured to the seat next to her as Ruby seemed to pause for a moment.
"Uh, yeah... look, I'm just trying to do this right, okay?" She said as she took the seat next to Weiss, who responded by scowling and grabbing her scroll.
You're doing fine. It's just weird is all. I'll get used to it.
"Alright, well, uh, if I screw up, let me know, please?" Weiss gave her an incredulous look as the vehicle lurched into gear.
There is a data limit for text on this, you know that?"
"Oh, haha, Princess, well I'm glad you haven't lost your sarcasm along with your-" Ruby stopped herself as Weiss narrowed her sky blue eyes at her. She picked her scroll back up.
Going to finish that?
"Weiss, I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean- I just- I really need to think before I talk..." Ruby hung her head. "That was mean, and uncalled for." Weiss glared daggers at her for a couple more seconds before giving a silent sigh, holding her finger to the bridge of her nose.
You messed up.
"Yeah, I know that," Ruby said sorrowfully.
Good. Now, don't do it again, please.
Weiss offered her left hand. "Right!" Ruby grasped it with enthusiasm. "So, is there anything else important before we get there?"
My brother, Whitley. Just ignore him if possible. He takes after my parents.
"Well, I guess it's good I'm just supposed to follow you around, right?" Weiss frowned slightly at that remark.
You'll probably have to spend some time with Kohler. He runs the security. He's not bad. He trained me before I went to Beacon.
"Alright," Ruby held her hand up, counting fingers off. "Avoid Whitley, yes sir and yes ma'am, no slouching, don't talk to your parents before they talk to me, don't piss off Lehman, umm..."
Weiss put a hand to her forehead. "Beacon gets destroyed and I'm still helping her with notes..."
"And don't pet the dogs," Ruby said as they finished up an impromptu quiz. Weiss gave her a nod as the car crawled to a stop. The privacy window separating the cabin from the front lowered and Jacques peered back at the two girls.
"Well, we're back, girls. Let's see to the welcoming party."
"Welcoming party?" Ruby asked Weiss as Jacques got out of the front seat. Weiss gave her a non-committal shrug.
"Whelp. Let's do it!" Ruby clapped her hands, a determined look gracing her features. It was at that moment the door next to her popped open, sending a startled Ruby jumping into the roof of the vehicle. "Oof!" A man had opened the door for them, Weiss' wheelchair waiting for them. Rubbing her head, Ruby extricated herself from the car and stood with a hand extended for Weiss. Weiss accepted the offer and hopped on her good leg over to the chair.
"Woah. This really is a whole other world." They were now on a hilltop, the driveway extending down the hill practically to the horizon, where a tall, picketed gate separated the estate from the rest of the world. Vibrant, well-groomed grass rolled across the estate, only occasionally broken up by a pond down on the east side, and a manicured hedge line on the western side of the estate. The mansion itself was a massive affair, the sun gleaming off the white marble. A massive, vaulted roof was supported by columns on each side of the front doors, which were made of an oddly vibrant, pale red wood. She was shook from her reverie by a nudge from Weiss next to her as she realized they had an audience arriving.
A pale woman in a long, dark blue dress with white accents along the sleeves was strolling down the stairs from the mansion in heels. She had pale blue eyes, her blonde hair arranged in a neat bun, and she held herself with such a lofty manner Ruby half expected her to float right off the ground. Behind her, a lanky, younger boy followed her, with a curt expression on his face. He could have passed as Jacques' younger double, down to the pale blue eyes, trimmed snow-white hair, and neatly pressed suit and tie. Lastly, an older gentleman of moderate complexion followed the two. In contrast to them, he had dark, short hair, and a precise goatee, though both were streaked by gray. His attire also contrasted in color, a jet black suit, white shirt, and black tie. Ruby could feel him analyzing her with sharp, narrowed eyes as he followed them down the steps.
"Oh, my darlings!" The woman had a voice light, airy tone to it. "We were so worried about you both!" On reaching the bottom step, the woman strode up to Jacques and gave him a brief hug and a kiss on each cheek. "I cannot imagine being trapped in such a place!" She continued as she drifted over to Weiss. "And my dear, dear, Weiss, how are you doing?" She reached down and briefly put her arm around her before straightening up again.
"Yes, dear sister," the young lad spoke up. "Do tell us how you're doing," he requested with a poker face. Weiss narrowed her eyes at him in a discourteous glare.
"Ah, Galiena, did you not inform Whitley of his sister's condition?" Jacques asked his wife. "You did get my message I sent off when we landed, yes?"
"Of course, honey," she responded with a dismissive wave. "Stygian notified us immediately." The dark-haired man gave Jacques a curt nod.
"My apologies! It must have slipped my mind," Whitley claimed, though his face was still rigid.
"Oh, so are you doing well, my dear?" Weiss' mother turned back to her. "Jacques said you were in that horrible battle!"
Weiss opened her mouth briefly before snapping it shut and responding with short nod.
"Well, wonderful! We've a dinner almost ready to celebrate your safe returns! Come, come!" With that, Galiena Schnee turned improbably on a high heel and began making her way back to the doors with Whitley in tow. Meanwhile, the dark-haired man stepped his way down, still giving Ruby an appraising look.
"Mr. Schnee, I take it this is the... intern? You mentioned in your missive?" He asked Jacques, who seemed to relax just a hair as his wife continued away.
"Ah, yes, this is Miss Ruby Rose, a teammate of Weiss'. She is here by Weiss' personal request. She already has combat experience, but I'm sure you'll be whipping her into shape anyways," he said with a chuckle as he put a hand on the man's shoulder and turned to face Ruby.
"Miss Rose, this is Stygian Kohler, head of security here at the household. He'll be your superior."
"Okay... uh, sir!" Ruby gave a belated salute to the two men.
"Very well. Miss Rose, please follow me. I wish to see what I'm working with," Stygian gave her a curt nod and headed up the stairs. Ruby looked to Weiss, who gave her a nod and pointed after Stygian.
"Come now, Weiss, we wouldn't want to keep your mother waiting," Jacques started up the stairs before pausing as a realization hit him.
"Ah, would-" before he could finish his request, a servant had fetched the crutches from the back of the limo and offered them to Weiss, who hopped up out of the chair.
"It never seemed like so many stairs before..."
"Weiss, will you be okay?" Jacques questioned his daughter.
"Never better," she thought to herself bitterly. "But damned if I'm going to let him see weakness."
She gave her father a stern nod, and began working her way up the stairs, one step at a time.
"So, Miss Rose, tell me of your combat experience," Stygian asked Ruby as he led her down a brightly lit hallway with his hands held behind his back.
"Well, I've been training in combat since I was ten, although I didn't make my weapon until I was fourteen," she started.
"You made your weapon?" He asked, turning his head slightly.
"Yes, sir. I named her crescent rose," she answered, patting the metallic box strapped to the back of her belt.
"So, practical experience, please. I don't particularly care for whatever they pretend they teach you in school."
"Um, I've been in three fights against the white fang," Ruby started. Stygian gave her another short look as he continued.
"Interesting. It seems they were looking into that academy of yours. It makes one wonder if they had an inside agent," he pondered aloud.
"I... don't think so," Ruby said with less assertiveness than she'd intended.
"Oh? Were there not faunus at the academy?" He asked her as he came to a stop next to a polished, white wooden door on the right.
"I mean, yeah, there were, but we already kinda figured out who a few people were that had infiltrated the school, and they were humans."
"Hmm... Continue, then. Do you have any other practical experience?" He asked her as he opened the door and gestured for her to go inside.
"I fought some of those new model Atlesian mechs. Plus some of the soldier units that were going nuts at Beacon."
"Not too bad," he admitted as he followed her into a massive gymnasium. Light poured in from windows several stories up, illuminating the cold, marble floor. To the far side from them were a pair of double doors. Next to them were tall, metallic lockers. The rest of the room was oddly bare. "Perhaps you'll be salvageable yet," he commented as he continued walking over to the lockers.
"What?"
"Miss Rose, how old are you?"
"Sixteen... sir," she said slowly, giving him a curious look.
"Frankly, Miss Rose, if Mr. Schnee had not given a glowing recommendation, I would immediately demand you be tossed out. It is one thing to train the heiress, but being given command of a teenager is insulting." He pulled a keychain from his suit pocket and unlocked the locker farthest from the doors, revealing a dulled, ordinary looking longsword held in a holster on the back wall of the locker. He withdrew the sword and turned to Ruby, holding it aloft in both hands. "So, Miss Rose, let me see why I should not report to Mr. Schnee that you are a hopeless case."
"You... want to fight me?" She asked him.
"Of course. I assume you have unlocked your aura, correct?" Ruby nodded, a smile growing on her features as she grabbed Crescent Rose and the weapon opened up into its scythe form. "Good. Don't hold back."
"So then Lena just collapsed on the spot!" Jacques tsk tsk'd to his wife's story as the elderly Klein Sieben began pouring a glass of wine for him. "I told her she pushes herself much too hard, and sure enough! Heart attack at 45!"
Weiss frowned slightly, but getting the gossip column was inevitable after their time gone. They were seated around the large, ebony table in the dining room, waiting as Klein directed the rest of the servant to set dinner. Klein gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he passed by, giving her a smile before heading off to help direct a young man with a Maultsachen dish.
"Well, enough for things around here," Galiena said as she gently stirred a drink in a cocktail glass. "Jacques, dear, what happened over there? The reports were saying it was a terrorist attack, but you know how unreliable the news can be."
Jacques gripped his wine glass just a bit tighter has allowed himself a sip. "It was those white fang," he answered with a scowl. "Damn terrorists, and nobody's doing a thing about them. Well, although, our Weiss acquitted herself admirably against them," he said with a fond glance down the table to his daughter, raising his glass slightly. Weiss gave him a brief nod before he continued. "Atlesian military was there, and they botched the whole thing. Obviously, we can't trust any of them. If they're not outright against us, then they're so incompetent it doesn't matter anyways."
"And, Jacques, dear, that's why you brought that, er, thing back with you?" Weiss dropped her mask for a moment, looking at her mother in disgust before setting herself back.
"Galiena, please do try to be courteous to Miss Rose. She saved Weiss' life during that awful battle. The family does owe her a great debt." Weiss noticed Whitley's eyes glance very briefly at his father before returning to the task of cutting a slice of roasted pork on his plate.
"Oh, well that's excellent then, I suppose..." she answered as she poked at the salad before her. "Still, she's far too ragged looking; we'll have to fix her up if she's to be around the household. Weiss, dear, she's your friend, yes? Do take her into the city tomorrow and get her cleaned up. She needs her hair done badly. And see if you can't find her better attire. That hood will simply not do. Klein shall accompany you."
"Yes, ma'am, of course," Klein gave a short bow to the lady.
"Well, at least it'll get us out of the house," Weiss thought to herself as she gave her mother an affirmative nod.
"Are you sure that is wise, dear?" Jacques interjected. "Weiss is still recovering, after all." Weiss turned her head to her father in silent rage.
"You're paying that girl to be security, yes?"
"Well, yes, that is the purpose-"
"Then I don't see any issues. Vale may be a rundown doghouse, but Atlas is much safer. And I don't want to see that girl around here until she gets trimmed up."
Jacques coughed into his fist. "Well, Weiss, you heard your mother. I suppose Miss Rose should be shown around town anyways."
Ruby and Stygian stood at odds in the middle of the gymnasium, weapons drawn on each other, the only sound being each person's even, measured breaths. Ruby decided to initiate, dropping her scythe to her waist and charging forward. She started with an upward swing, which Stygian sidestepped, turning his evasive maneuver into an aggressive one as he spun on the spot and delivered a quick jab into Ruby's side with his elbow before settling himself into a wary stance again. Ruby opted for another aggressive move, jumping forward and bring crescent rose down in a diagonal arc, which Stygian once more evaded, this time crouching to the right. As Ruby spun to bring the momentum of her first swing into another, however, she felt a sharp jab in her back just as it was turned, sending her off balance and crashing into the floor.
"Now, Miss Rose, this is not the first time I've fought a scythe wielder," Stygian admonished her. "Please tell me you can do better this," he continued, feigning interest in the pommel of his sword. Ruby picked herself up, a smirk on her face. Even with the older man's taunts, just being able to get back into the action, being able to feed off adrenaline, was a thrill.
She jumped forward again, this time pre-emptively spinning herself three hundred and sixty degrees as she reached him. Stygian managed to pull backwards out of range, which Ruby responded to by taking off from the ground and sailing over him, bringing crescent down with all her momentum. A brilliant clang rang out as Stygian raised the longsword over his head to halt the blow, before turning on a dime and delivering another quick elbow to Ruby in the gut before spinning out and resetting himself in front of her.
"Miss Rose, do you have a semblance? If so, I highly suggest using it if you desire to hit me at some point," Stygian taunted her.
Ruby shrugged. "Alright."
In a puff of roses, Ruby seemingly vanished before Stygian before reappearing right in front of him, already in the middle of a horizontal swing. Stygian, however, was already taking one step forward, his blade held down vertically in one hand, nocking itself into the angle where Ruby's scythe edge met the haft, swinging her around him by the weapon. Ruby's momentum carried her past him and she landed with a slide as she turned back around. Giving another shot, she lurched forward and feigned a downward trike, intentionally pulling up short as Stygian raised his sword to defend himself. Using her momentum and activating her semblance once more, she cannonballed straight into him at maximum speed with her right shoulder, sending both of them to the ground in a tangled mess. Ruby shifted her weight to try and roll out, only to find a pricking sensation against her aura and found that in the chaos, Stygian had his sword held along her midsection as he kept a grip around her shoulder with his other arm.
"I believe that is check, Miss Rose," Stygian said in a huff. Ruby growled, trying to scramble her brain to figure out how to bring crescent rose to bear. "Do you admit defeat?"
Ruby hung her head, not knowing how to extricate herself. "... Yes," she admitted with a sigh.
"Very good." Stygian withdrew his sword's position, let her go, and stood up, patting his suit down. "Miss Rose, intentionally closing in on someone with a sword when you have an overlarge scythe was exceedingly stupid."
Ruby gave him a baleful look as the head of security gave her a dressing down.
"But... it was also very unexpected and creative. Your semblance is also quite interesting. I was not sure what to expect out of a speed semblance, I admit."
"Wait, you knew my semblance?" Ruby asked him.
"Of course. What, you think the head of Schnee security doesn't do his homework?" He asked her with a bemused expression as he offered a hand to her. Ruby accepted it and pulled herself up. "Granted, it was mostly a convenience that I was able to pull your file, on account of being young Miss Schnee's teammate."
"You had files on all of us?" Ruby asked with some incredulity.
"Of course!" Stygian puffed up a bit at the insinuation. "It was part of my job to ensure her safety when she enrolled at the academy. So, yes, I had a file on you, your sister, and the faunus."
"How much do you know about us?"
"You mean, do I know that your faunus has ties to a terrorist group? It is lucky she was not observed making any hostile moves against the heiress, or things would have gotten very complicated."
"She's not our faunus. She has a name, and it's Blake," Ruby said through gritted teeth.
"Hmm..." Stygian's lip curled very slightly as he stroked his goatee. "My apologies," he said with a short bow of his head. "The white fang has taken friends from me. And I have a long memory. Miss Schnee has vouched for your friend before, so I will not attempt to broach the subject any more. Now, come, I am sure the household staff will have set your room up by now."
"Wait... what about that whole 'judging me' thing?" Ruby asked him. "Does that mean I passed?"
"Well enough for now. I didn't particularly mean much of what I said earlier, for what it's worth. I was evaluating your temperament more than anything," he said as he walked back to the locker to stow his weapon. "After all, if Mr. Schnee wishes your employ, there's little I would do about it. That said, you are very rough. Do they not teach you children how to duel anymore?"
"Well, we were more focused on fighting grimm than people," Ruby answered as they headed back out the gym. "I mean, we had duels, but they didn't really teach technique for it."
"Well, then we'll have to fix that. I'll expect to see you and Miss Schnee at eight in the morning from now on. I'm sure she's gotten rough around the edges as well if they don't bother teaching proper technique..." he grumbled. "Now, let's see," he pulled a card from his suit pocket as they turned into the hallway. "The eastern guest room, third floor," he muttered. "Naturally... you'll be quite near Miss Schnee's room, I suppose that makes sense. Let's see if the staff have you set up, that should give us time before dinner is finished." In response to the proposition, Ruby's stomach growled.
"So, are meals always just the family?" Ruby asked him as they approached a staircase. "When do we eat?"
"The staff have a separate meal room on the first floor, it won't be anything as fancy as the family usually, but occasionally the Madame will have the chef make something special as a show of gratitude. As for timing, I'm putting you for the same schedule as Miss Schnee, since you're her attached escort. Since you're apparently quite hungry, we can have you grab something quick after we-here we are!"
The third floor was painted a subdued, navy blue, contrasted against clean, white floor tiles. "Right here, the first room on the left," he strolled up to an oak door and gestured for her to open. Ruby obliged and was greeted by a lavish setup. Her old room back home was just a short, basic bed and a stubby desk with a mirror. This bed was a massive thing, draped by a canopy, held up by polished oak. Instead of a desk was a huge vanity, freshly painted white, along with several cabinets she noticed on the near wall. And on the right was-
"Wait, is that a bathroom?" She asked him as she darted in with a flash of rose petals. "In a guest bedroom?" Not just a bathroom, as it turned out, but a full shower as well, tiled with a dark, speckled granite.
"Welcome to the upper crust, Miss Rose," Stygian noted with a hint of amusement from the doorway. "It does come with perks."
"Okay, well, let's grab something to eat, then," Ruby darted back out into the hallway. "This is great, but I'm starving!"
"Agreed. I've put my own dinner off long enough. Oh, one last note while we're here. Down the hall, do you see the ebony door down there?" Stygian pointed to a door at the far end of hallway.
"Yeah?"
"That is Miss Schnee's room. If you need the Madame or Mr. Schnee, their room is on the second floor, as is Whitley. We can go on the full tour tomorrow. Mr. Schnee requested that I take you around the grounds, so we can acclimate then. Now," he said as they reached the bottom floor once more. "Take a right here... then a left... another right and here we are, the servants dining room."
"This... is gonna take some getting used to. This mansion is like learning the school again!"
"You'll get used to it, I'm sure," Stygian said with a wave of his hand. He opened the door and Ruby was greeted by a comparatively plain room, aside from the fireplace in the far wall, currently unused thanks to the summer season. There were multiple, long, polished wooden tables set with identical, navy blue table cloths. Stygian walked to the near wall and opened a door, at which Ruby could hear a racket of clanging coming from inside. "One men's and one women's order, Bryce! Oh, and a pot of tea!" Ruby could hear more indistinguishable shouting before Stygian closed the door and sat down at the end of a table.
"Uh..." Ruby started as she took a seat opposite him. "What was that about? Men's and women's order?"
"Ah... right... "Stygian scratched the back of his head. "The Madame is..." he paused for a long moment, thinking on his choice of words. "Very concerned with the welfare of the staff and household. To put it bluntly, she has hired a dietician who is convinced of a strict, dietary plan for the men and women. I would not advise you to break from the plan, at least until she changes her mind. Each day has its own, different meal for each gender."
"Oooookay. I guess that makes sense," Ruby said with trepidation.
"So, while we wait on our food, do you have any questions?" Stygian held his arms open. "I am a reasonably open book about some subjects."
"Well, where'd you learn to fight? Do you have a semblance? I haven't fought anyone who could dodge like that."
"I was trained in combat as an apprentice by an old fellow who himself was taught by a survivor of The War. Nothing too special to say, really, old coots passing down their old ways, but I apparently impressed enough at a dueling show that old Nicholas offered me a job. Turns out I also have a knack for information gathering as well. Which is good, I don't get to stretch my muscles as much as I used to. As for a semblance, no, I'm afraid if I do have one, I never figured it out," he admitted as he reached for a kettle of tea that a servant had deposited at the end of the table for them, along with a couple of plain, small mugs.
"How do you react so quick, then?" Ruby asked, tilting her head to the side.
"That's an old coot secret," he responded with a short smirk. "You don't like tea?" He asked, indicating the pot.
"Caffeine before bed is bad for me. Also apparently it's bad for me in general. Weiss gets mad at me if I have sugar or caffeine."
"Hmm... perhaps some of her mother is rubbing off on her," the older man mused.
"No, I think it's just that I get really hyper. And annoying, I guess," Ruby admitted.
"Ah, the advantages of youth," Stygian commented as he sipped his tea. "Anyways, to actually answer your question earlier, your body is quite expressive." Ruby raised an eyebrow at the remark. "It's a function of your weapon; when you angle for an upward strike, your left shoulder dips, your right shoulder inches forward, your waist turns, and your left foot drags. Pretty standard and correct scythe technique, nothing wrong with that, but you were quite easy to read until you activated your semblance. Granted, you still had tells, but they are much harder to read, of course."
"You can tell all that just by looking at someone and act on it in the same instant?"
"It takes time and practice; like I said, it's an old coot technique. Miss Schnee knows how to do these things, but I doubt she's practiced enough to execute. Her older sister, though... heh" He shook his head and a pause elapsed for moment as a servant emerged from the kitchen with two plates; a dish of fish and steamed broccoli for Ruby, and a plate of thinly sliced beef, onions, and an unidentifiable dark green flower Ruby had never seen before.
"Cheers, Miss Rose," he offered, raising his cup of tea slightly.
"Thanks..." Ruby paused to examine her plate.
"I assure, you it's probably not poisoned," Stygian noted to her as he started on his own plate.
"So, Weiss' sister is pretty good?" She asked as she started cutting her fish.
"The best," he said curtly. "I couldn't hope to beat her at this point. I think Weiss could probably approach her eventually. She has her sister's drive, maybe more, although not quite the same natural talent. Err, please, don't tell her I said that."
"Right, no problem," Ruby said as she dug in. "Oh, back to questions, Weiss said you have dogs?"
"Yes, we've a stock of Atlesian shepherds. Excellent, excellent dogs. There's a reason the police use them. But, I would advise against contact with them until they've had time to acclimate to you. They are naturally distrustful of strangers."
"Okay, well-" Ruby was interrupted by a knock on the door. She turned and saw Weiss on her crutches, standing in the doorway, which was being held open by a kindly looking older gentleman.
"Well, I'll leave you to it, then, Miss Rose," Stygian said. "I'll see you both tomorrow morning. Remember, eight o' clock, sharp. No tardiness."
"Yes sir!" Ruby gave her exaggerated salute before spinning around and departing with Weiss.
"Well, are you going to be alright, now, Weiss?" The older fellow asked Weiss as they moved towards the staircase, giving a significant look to the stairs. Weiss brushed him off and marched over to the stairs with a determined thunk. "I'll see you tomorrow, then," he said, a warmth in his voice.
"So... how was dinner?" Ruby asked as she caught up to Weiss, taking up a spot next to her as she worked the stairs with her crutches. Weiss blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and let her face show her displeasure. "Well, I got my butt kicked by your teacher," Ruby continued on. Weiss huffed as she turned herself around on the landing to the next level. Ruby took that as a sign to quiet down as she followed Weiss up the stairs until the third level. When they arrived, Weiss pointed to the ebony door down the hall.
"Oh, yeah, uh, Mr. Kohler said that was your room?" Weiss nodded and they took off down the hall to her room. Ruby opened the door for Weiss, who tromped in, set the crutches on the wall, and stumped over to her bed and flopped onto it gracelessly, exhaling loudly. She gave herself a moment and pulled out her scroll and tapped out a message.
We're going out tomorrow.
"Huh?"
Mother wants you to fix your hair. And your nails, probably. And we'll go clothes shopping. She hates your hood.
"Wait, my hood? Aww..." Ruby pouted.
Thanks.
"Huh?" Ruby looked at her with a confused look.
I'm sorry for being pissy earlier. Thanks for being here for me.
"Hey, it's okay," Ruby said, planting herself next to Weiss on the bed and bouncing a bit on the soft mattress. "Oh, after eight or whenever. Mr. Kohler wants to put me into training. And you too, I think."
Please just call him Stygian."
"Sweet, works for me." Ruby paused with a sigh and leaned into Weiss' shoulder. "I mean, really though, I should be thanking you, Weiss." Weiss pulled over slightly, giving Ruby a confused look. "Well, I mean, I get paid a bunch of money to train with a weird old guy, live in a fancy mansion, and hang out with you. Although if your mom doesn't let me have sugar, I might explode at some point..."
Weiss just smiled and leaned back into Ruby, the two watching the last vestiges of the sun set into the horizon out her window. There was a whole world of problems she'd returned to, on top of the ones she already had, but for now, she had this moment with Ruby.
A/N:
Getting back into the groove feels good. Now that everyone is heading their separate ways, we'll be dedicating chapters to specific settings, rather than bouncing around like a snooker ball mid-chapter. Hopefully, this keeps things concise and clear in the minds of the reader. Thanks, again, for everyone who's left a review, follow, and favorite.
Music o' the day: Onyeng Yar - Faun