Chapter 3:
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A/N: I want to give shout out to Adel Aka on Youtube for giving me a lot ideas to work with and to KHARAKI TAKAN for PM chatting me to get those idea straight. They gave me a lot to think about and I can say they are an inspiration for what is to come. Thanks you for reading and review if you love me!
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Ruby looked even worse than usual. Yang had been worried about her sister since yesterday but now she was really worried. Ruby had always been a bright and excitable kid, but was now being crushed under the job of team leader and her remedial lessons… and possibly bullies… Yang tried not to think about that. That was the whole point of today. Give her sister as many opportunities to tell her about it as possible and if that doesn't work, she would sit her sister down in a café or something and interrogate her until she spilled. But honestly… she was just kinda happy to see her sister after so long.
All week, the only time Yang saw her little sister was when she came back to the dorms to study because the library kicked her out. Blake noticed something was up as well, however, she seemed reluctant to get involved. Weiss had been giving Ruby withering glares and Yang was wondering if maybe the bully was Weiss… if so… Yang was ready to punch that bitch into next week. However… Yang had an outing to plan…
Weiss was walking through Vale with a dour look on her face, Ruby looked nervous as hell and Blake was well… Blake. Needless to say, she was putting herself out on a limb to get these stuffy introverts to actually go out and socialize. Nerds…
Weiss had threatened to sue her for everything she owned, twice, during her 'convincing' to come out to see the preparations for the Vytal festival. She finally relented after Yang said there might be cute boys from other kingdoms. For some reason Weiss had blushed and huffed, but agreed to come along only to scout out those who would be participating in the Vytal tournament. And the promise that they could stop for ice cream. (Who knew Ice Queen was into sweets?)
Blake had to be bribed with Yang's silence on the exact nature and location of her stash of the 'Ninja's of Love' novels. (Porn…They were porn. Definitely, definitely porn...)
Ruby was the hardest, but after much deliberation, Yang had used brute force… of puppy dog eyes and guilt trips ('Guess my sister doesn't want to spend time with me… gets into Beacon and we are suddenly strangers… whatever will I do? It was just going to be me all alone my anti-social partner and Weiss… nobody will get my jokes… and they'll probably hate the cookie dough ice-cream I was going to buy…'). By the end of her spiel Ruby's lower left eyelid was twitching in an expression Yang read as a mix between irritation, frustration, restraint, and sheer loathing of something, (Hook, line, and sinker!~). A plate of cookies and three cups of espresso later, (Since when did Ruby drink coffee?), and Ruby was antsy but no longer struggling to stay awake.
Ruby looked like hell though. She just kept staring at the floor when not looking around nervously. They passed an old man setting up for the Vytal festival, vendors were preparing their stocks all neat in a row and someone had put up a big happy banner which read 'Welcome to Vale!' Weiss who had been in a sour mood before hand suddenly had a bright smile on her face as she swirled around happily to look at all the food stalls. Interesting…
"Oh! The Vytal festival! This is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss said looking excitedly around. Yang smirked at her teammates' antics. How could she go from Ice Queen to looking actually… normal? She was actually smiling…
"Damn girl, I don't think I have ever seen you smile that much!" Yang said mock cringing. "It's kind of freaking me out!"
Weiss shot her a glare before going back to seeing looking around, smile returning. "How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a fair, and a tournament! All in celebration of the unifying under the Four Kingdoms under international common law! The sheer amount of planning and organization that goes into an event like this is simply breathtaking!"
"Man, you really know how to make a good thing sound really boring." Blake said off hand, smirking at the heiress' reaction to the festival.
"Oh, quiet you!" Weiss said. "I'm going to see if any of the competition is coming in today! To the docks!"
Ruby looked down again as her team began to head towards the docks, only for someone to try waving them down and calling them. Ruby and the team stopped and saw an old man wheezing to catch up to them. When he did, he stopped a minute and took a breath.
"I knew I recognized you!" the old man said with a bright smile towards Ruby. "You're the girl in the red hood! You saved my dust shop!"
Ruby looked surprised and Blake raised an eyebrow. Yang just smiled and rubbed her sister's shoulder. This is what she needed!
"This dolt saved your shop?" Weiss asked. The man's eyes widened so they could almost see his eyes. "She fought the White Fang?"
Weiss didn't see the way Blake's eyes narrowed, but Yang saw. Hmm…
"Miss Schnee! Yes, she did! But not against the White Fang! A man named Roman Torchwick has been robbing shops left and right! Why, my competitor got robbed not even a week ago! This little one was very brave! She stood up to the men robbing my shop! Stopped most of them and only the Roman Torchwick got away but boy howdy was it a fight! A Huntress showed up and there was an enormous battle in the sky! Then the police showed up and a nice young man showed me how I could get my insurance to cover the dust and the window she accidently broke." The old man gushed. Yang had to admit she was impressed. "She was a real hero! She made some mistakes yes, but she got the bad guys!"
Ruby smiled. The first smile she had seen on her for awhile and offered the old man a hug. He accepted it warmly and gave them each a flyer for his grand re-opening. Ruby seemed a little happier and that was enough to make Yang smile. Now off to see what crazy heiress wanted…
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"Tell me again why we are spending our Friday evening visiting some stupid docks? We could be shopping you know." Yang said.
"They do smell like fish." Blake offered but from the tone of her voice Yang wasn't sure if that was a positive or a negative. Weiss was excited, however.
"I heard students from Vacuo might be arriving by ship today from the street vendors." Weiss said smugly. "As a representative of Beacon, I feel it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."
"She wants to spy on them to give herself the upper hand in the tournament." Blake said.
"Or to check out cute boys who could use a lovely escort~ " Yang said smiling.
"You can't prove that!" Weiss scoffed with a hint of a blush forming. Then seemingly all hell broke loose. There was shouting, what sounded like an explosion, and evil laughter followed by more shouting and gunshots.
"Get back here you damn Animal!" a sailor shouted trying and failing to hit the Faunus with an Ice and Lightning security dust round, trying to freeze-taser him.
"Someone stop that filthy scoundrel!" another shouted as he tried to shoot him with a similar round. "Stow-away!"
Ruby's team turned and saw a Faunus cartwheeling off a ship before twisting in the air thanks to his bright yellow tail and landing on his feet.
"Thanks for the ride guys!" The Faunus said with a large grin and a salute.
"You no-good Faunus!" Yet another shouted uselessly as he was out of range of their weapons. Weiss, thinking fast, tried trapping him with a glyph, but the Faunus just jumped up and wrapped his tail around an overhead lamp post.
"Hey! A no-good Faunus would have been caught!" the Faunus said overhead somehow getting a banana out and peeling it. "I'm a damn-good Faunus!"
"Get down from there this instant!" Weiss shouted trying to grab him with another glyph only to get a banana peel in her face for the efforts. The Faunus chuckled evilly and ran off only stopping to wink suggestively at Blake who could only watch wide eyed.
"Well Weiss… you wanted to see the competition and there it goes!" Yang said as the sailors ran past them trying to catch the Faunus. Weiss growled and chased after them and the team followed suit. Ruby was surprised how fast Weiss had gotten. Unfortunately Weiss still wasn't fast enough.
Weiss watched as the Faunus managed to slip down an alleyway and there were shouts of 'Where did he go?' and 'I lost him!'.
"No! He got away!" Weiss all but shrieked. "If I ever see that filthy no-good degenerate rapscallion, I will end him!"
"Stop calling him that." Blake said stepping forward. "He's not a rapscallion, or filthy, or a degenerate. He's a person."
"Oh. I'm sorry." Weiss said voice dripping with sarcasm, still upset by the slimy feel of the banana peel on her face. What if she caught some weird Faunus disease? "Would you like me to stop calling something that it is? I love grammar and using the proper terms, but even I call a 'custodial engineer' a 'janitor'. He is a Faunus, he is filthy as there are not likely showers for stowaways, and he is a degenerate rapscallion! He threw a banana peel at my face!"
"Stop it!" Blake said raising her voice, but Weiss wouldn't back down. She had a terrible day, and this was the breaking point of her politeness.
"Stop what?" Weiss said in a mocking tone. "He already broke the law! Give him time and he will join the other Animals in the White Fang!"
"You ignorant and judgmental little bitch!" Blake said before she seemed to realize what she said. She then tried to leave but Weiss was hot on her tail. She was looking for a fight.
"Oh do you have a problem with me? Are you one of those Faunus lovers?" Weiss asked. Blake winced.
"N-no! I just- I just think we shouldn't think all of them are going to join a terrorist group!" Blake said righting herself.
Ruby took a deep breath, walking towards her arguing teammates… time to be a team leader… "Hey, maybe-"
"I don't see what is the problem! They are just a bunch of freaks and the White Fang is a terrorist organization with no redeeming qualities!" Weiss said unintentionally interrupting her and standing in front of her.
"The fact you don't see the problem, is the problem. You don't see people who have been oppressed or hurt, you just see whatever your close-minded little racist mind wants to see!" Blake said getting close to snapping. She was trying but this Schnee bitch didn't know the buttons she was pressing, she was just pressing all of them!
"I'm not racist! I love the people of Vacuo, Ministal, and Vale just as much as my own home Atlas! I just don't like that species! The Faunus are a totally different species!" Weiss said exasperated. "An entirely different animal!"
"They're people! Maybe if we started treating them-"
"Like us? We do. They are protected by the law. They have all the same privileges as us. They even have special privileges! It's actually better to be a Faunus than a human nowadays, they just have to-"
"What act against their instincts? Behave like you?" Blake challenged.
"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Weiss said, disbelief and anger coloring her words. "You claim they are people just like us, but they act like animals at times! You claim they get abused or mistreated, but they don't! You seem to forget that we just had a war with them! As a species! Now, they are breathing down our necks after a conflict that cost a lot of human lives, and I for one don't like it! We gave them everything, a home, an entire continent where they can go be weird together on, a place in society if they follow human rules and-"
"Yet you discriminate them! Even the ones with mild Faunus traits are discriminated! People can say they are fine with a cat or rabbit Faunus, but will they let a scorpion Faunus or a tiger Faunus work in an office-"
"They have traits that make them dangerous!" Weiss argued. "It would be no different then a person with a dangerous semblance! You think Yang could work well at a desk job?"
"Hey!" Yang said indignantly and all the while Ruby couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Yang fought back a growl. So much for a team outing… and all thanks to the Schnee bitch. While Yang could get where Weiss was coming from, Yang holding some similar views just not as extreme as Weiss was being, but Weiss also didn't need a bitch to her teammate dammit! Ruby saw Yang's eyes go red and it was only her sisterly hug around Yang's waist that held her back from hurting her partner.
'Okay!' Ruby thought seeing Yang's eyes go back to normal. 'I don't need to worry about Yang going on rampage and destroying the street. Now if I can just get them to stop fighting-'
"Yes, there are rules in place! Yes! People will discriminate against Faunus if they are being intimidating! We gave them everything and they are biting the hand that fed them! The White Fang and the rest of the Faunus with them are just a bunch of dangerous animals that resort to violence!" Weiss yelled.
Blake was shaking with fury. That was it! Blake snapping was like thunder. Her face became wild, angry, venomous, and to Ruby's mind… like a cat hissing and snarling at all of them…
"We got tired of being pushed around! We got tired of seeing our friends and family living in slums because no one will hire them for a decent job! We got tired of being called Animals and Freaks! We got tired of being labeled second class citizens because of our animal traits!" Blake snarling. Weiss was frozen in place and in the back of her mind Blake knew she messed up, but it felt good to finally be able to say what she had been feeling since she first laid eyes on the Schnee Heiress. "We are so tired of being treated as potential terrorists, so we became them to get some equality! You humans think you are so much better than us! Just who do you think you are!?"
Yang and Ruby stood in shock. Thankfully there wasn't anybody on the street. Blake was panting heavily, and reality slowly started sinking in. She just outed herself as a Faunus in front of her Schnee team mate… a look of fear was quickly replaced with a look of anger once more as she growled and bolted.
Ruby tried running after her, but the older girl must have been holding back on her speed because she couldn't even see her anymore. She walked back to her team, well Weiss and Yang, and sees them engaged in a shouting match. Ruby sighed. Maybe she should get them back home…
:
Weiss and Yang were still arguing all the way back to the dorm. Ruby had to stop Yang a few times from hurting Weiss.
"Just what is your problem?!" Yang yelled towering over the smaller girl. "Faunus or no, Blake was our team mate! What you think that just because you're Weiss Schnee you can't associate with her?
"Do you even have a grain of intelligence in that thick skull of yours or is it all just hair?!" Weiss yelled back. "Do you know what this is? She could've killed me! She is probably some White Fang member here to assassinate me!"
"Are you hearing yourself right now?" Yang said derisively. "You don't know that! She could-"
"I know because it's happened before!" Weiss shouted. Yang was surprisingly started by the little heiress' sudden intensity. Weiss was shaking. Her whole body seemed to be red, near purple with rage. However, most alarming was the tears forming in Weiss' eyes. "I hate the Faunus."
"But why? I mean-" Ruby began but was cut off by the increasingly cold stare of her partner. "I mean... Blake's our friend so..."
"You want to know why? Why I can't stand the idea of a Faunus team mate? Not only do they keep playing that sad 'oppressed Faunus' card enough to make me gag, but they seem to forget that they started a freaking war. A war with MY family. With actual bloodshed! People I knew, board members, family friends, uncles, cousins, and nieces? Kidnapped and exhorted for money or executed. My best friend Chole, who used to play with me while our fathers were doing business, and we'd braid each other's hair, paint our nails, and talk about cute boys? Car bomb along with the rest of her family. Anybody who got close to use? Dead. Servants around the house, people I thought we could trust? Sympathizers or the White Fang in disguise trying to kill me and my family." Weiss spat shaking, shuddering with rage and hurt.
"My mother was one of their first victims…" Weiss said in a near whisper that seemed to echo around the silence of the room.
"Weiss, I-" Ruby started. She could understand this! She could help-! She just needed to get through to-
"It's also why I hate you, Ruby." Weiss said glaring at her making Ruby freeze. "You just stand there and take it. You have the option of escaping, fighting back, something and you don't take it. You could transfer schools. You could just do anything, but sit there and let it all happen. You don't have the stuff to survive. I didn't come to Beacon to make friends or to learn how to save people. I came here to learn how to defend myself. That way when those damn animals come after me… I'll be ready."
Ruby was frozen still. Yang was too. Weiss wasn't done yet though.
"Oh and Yang? I know I'm a cold hearted bitch, but this is just sad. Your sister is being bullied. Cardin. But she won't let anyone help her because she wants to save some Faunus girl from him. You two talk it over." Weiss said dismissing herself. "One last thing: Shout at me, threaten me with violence, or otherwise intimidate me again, and I will hurt you."
With that Weiss was left. Yang flopped down on her bunk, looking dumbfounded and lost. Sitting on the edge of her bed she looked up at Ruby. "Is it true?"
Ruby looked down. "Yeah…"
Yang looked down. "Tell me everything…"
:
And so Ruby did. The more Ruby talked the sadder Yang became. Ruby hated this. Ruby got to the part about Cardin's plan for Jaune.
"He wants to use the sap to make a bunch of Rapier Wasps chase him around and look like a fool." Ruby said. "I'm planning on standing up to him then."
Yang looked up, her eyes were red but not with anger. Rimmed red with sadness… "Why didn't you tell me? I'm your big sister, I… I'm supposed to protect you."
"You can't protect me from everything Yang." Ruby said quietly. "I want to be a hero, but Weiss is right. I can't handle Cardin anymore and I was stupid for even trying. So… tomorrow during the field trip… I'll stand up to him consequences be damned. I'll get Goodwitch or Ozpin on his case and he won't be able to send any naked stuff…"
Yang got up and hugged her little sister. "You don't have to do this alone! I could've-"
"Made yourself the next target? Help him make me miserable by using some kind of dirt on me to make you do stuff?" Ruby asked bluntly. Yang stilled. "He would do that you know. The only thing I don't think I could handle was him using me to hurt someone I love. Let me be strong on my own. If you want to help, then let me stand up for myself."
Yang sniffed. "But I promised since mom died, I'd-"
"I'll figure it out. Trust me. I got this." Ruby said with a smile. A real hero… cheers people up. They were supposed to calm worries and fear just by being there... like her mother had. "After tomorrow you want to spend all Sunday in our pajamas and show Pyrrah and Velvet Street Fighter? I don't think they have played that game."
Yang chuckled and hugged Ruby tighter.
"Sounds like a plan." Yang said before turning serious once more. She let Ruby go. "What are you going to do about Weiss and Blake?"
Ruby frowned. "Haven't gotten to that part yet. Weiss… she just needs some time to cool off before we can do anything…"
Yang was suddenly very interested in the floor.
"Ruby… do I… intimidate people often?" Yang asked. Ruby blinked.
"Kinda… but you are a good person. You are just kinda… intense. I guess you could say you are a fierce friend." Ruby said honestly, but Yang didn't look cheered up. "Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for listening to me." Ruby said. Yang stared before giving her a curt nod.
"Any time Rubes." Yang said sighing. "But seriously, any plans for Weiss and Blake?"
Ruby thought a moment. "The police are out. If even half of what Weiss said about Blake is true than-"
"What do you think about that by the way?- I mean- sorry, you were thinking of a plan?" Yang asked with a wince.
Ruby nodded hesitantly. "Cardin sucks as a person but he is an amazing leader and tactician. One of the maneuvers Cardin does is to flush out a target is by making them wait. She can't leave Vale easily… so if we get Dad on board, he can pull a couple favors and help find her without spooking her… but since he won't be back home until next Wednesday from that one conference. I don't think the CCTICS (Cross Continental Transmission International Call Service) is open right now either since they're solar powered…"
"I got a guy. He's supposed to know everything in the city." Yang said laying down in her bed. "But same deal unless you want to try seeing him tonight… I don't have his number, so we'd have to go to his place…"
"Sneak out?" Ruby asked. Yang nodded. "I don't know Yang. I feel like it should be pretty hard to sneak in and out of Beacon academy… besides aren't we on an island? It's not like we can just ride Bumblebee out to Vale when the bridges are up."
Yang thought about it. "Damn."
"As for Weiss… I think she was just pushed too far today. She seemed to like the Vytal festival… maybe after I deal with Cardin, I can work on getting us a spot in the planning of one of the dances she was talking about. That would make her happy right?" Ruby asked. "Maybe once she is happier, we can just… I don't know… talk to her."
"You've been MIA and you know more about what makes that girl tick than I do." Yang snorted. "But yeah… that could work. But how about reconciling the Blake and Weiss?"
Ruby looked down. "I… don't know… Blake seemed pretty hurt by the things Weiss said. Weiss also feels hurt… a lot hurt, by a lot of people, and… I don't know how to help that. We just need to have Blake drop her pride… and Weiss drop her prejudice... somehow…"
"Funny thing is I almost agree with Weiss." Yang said surprising Ruby. "Faunus shouldn't be discriminated so badly, but there were some stuff that just made sense, you know? Like the workplace laws… Also if I was hunted like that and they tried to hurt my family… I'd be pretty gun-ho about hating them too…"
"I don't think I would…" Ruby said softly. Yang raised an eyebrow. Ruby sighed.
"I feel like I understand them a little bit." Ruby admitted. "I can't understand what it would mean to be hated or looked down on because of something you can't control but I can understand the feelings behind it… and I think Weiss does too… but I agree that they shouldn't be fighting. The problem is I look at Blake and I don't see any of the stuff that Weiss talked about…"
"Yeah… me neither… Blake and I aren't the best of buds, but I get the feeling that she gets what Weiss went through as well. I've been meaning to talk to her about it and then… this happened." Yang said with a sigh as well. "Have you ever showered with her before? You know after practice?"
"No? Why?" Ruby asked curious.
"Well that's why I was floored that she was a Faunus you know?" Yang said propping herself up so she could see Ruby easier. "She even took off her bow and was naked but… scars Ruby. She has lots of scars. I have a fair few, but this was nothing. Now that she outed herself as a Faunus I wonder if those scars came from..."
Yang trailed off. Ruby didn't know what to say to that. Humans have always treated Faunus poorly in the past but... when did it ever change? When would it ever stop? Blake and Weiss were two very hurt people. That much was obvious… but what would it take to get the two to reconcile? Was it even possible? Both of them seemed to have strong reasons to hate the other. Or at the very least to never forgive...
Ruby sighed. She was supposed to be the leader. She felt like it was her fault the argument happened in the first place. If she just stepped in a little sooner or at least told Weiss to stop calling that Faunus Animals then maybe everything would have been fine and they could have had a nice evening.
Ruby had to look inward as well. If she was going to make a change in this world she needed to start with the woman in the mirror. She needed to stop thinking in certain terms she had learned and not stare at Faunus' animal bits. Velvet's rabbit ears were really cute on her though...
"Our team is pretty messed up huh?" Yang asked.
Ruby nodded tiredly. What would it take to keep this team together?
"Tell me about it… Yang?" Ruby said eventually.
"Yeah Ruby?"
"Thanks for being my sister. With you by my side I know everything will work out." Ruby said. Yang was very quiet.
"No prob, Rubes." Yang said. "We will face- Well… you will face tomorrow together- wait… dammit…"
Ruby giggled. "I get what you mean…"
Tomorrow, she'd stand up to Cardin, reconnect with Weiss, find Blake and figure out what was bugging Yang and make her feel awesome! Yay?
"Good. G'night Ruby." Yang said tiredly. Ruby smiled at her.
"Good night Yang."
:
Weiss came back to the room and saw Ruby still up. She was working on her homework. Or at least what Weiss thought was homework… Weiss walked to her own bed, but Ruby stopped her before she could lie down.
"Hey Weiss!" Ruby whispered. Weiss was tempted to ignore her, but relented. "Where'd you go?"
"What? You can talk normally, you know. Yang sleeps like the dead." Weiss said unconsciously critiquing. Ruby looked nervous and Weiss braced herself. Here it comes, the sympathy, the pity, the looking down on her further. "Anyways… I needed to give my father a call… he likes staying updated. Is there anything else you needed?"
Her Father and Winter taught her to be strong despite the loss, but would still send her piteous looks every now and again. Or avoid her in fear of the White Fang attacking them. It all started five years ago… She remembered a time where her family was happy. Winter smiled more, her father was less paranoid, he wasn't so full of hate and fear. She remembered, when she was much smaller, him bouncing her on his knee and spoiling her rotten with fresh blueberries. Her mother…
Weiss kept up a cold façade. She was dead. While it hurt, she couldn't let the pain get to her. She couldn't let the White Fang know that they had gotten to her… but at the same time that cold façade tended to push everyone away. After Chole died when she was twelve and her mother at thirteen Weiss had become what Yang would coin an 'Ice Queen'. The only ones she could afford to show any kind of positive emotion were her sister, brother and father. What hurt, however, was she had been starting to get close to her team… her version of close anyway…
While she came to Beacon to learn to defend herself, in a school that would push her, and not belittle her ability by making everything easier for her because of her money… she had also wanted to gain some acquaintances? Allies? Friends maybe? People to have her back… but day one proved that she was going to be stuck with a Neanderthal with boobs larger than her head, a hyperactive chipmunk with a sweet tooth and a stupid sense of ideals and now… the one who she thought was the only level headed and intelligent one out of the bunch… was actually a Faunus with radical extremist leanings; and the worst part? Weiss had wanted to be her friend…
"I was… well… I was wondering if you wanted to work on getting in charge of one of the dances you were talking about…" Ruby said as Weiss' eyes widened. "I'm not much of one for crowds but I thought it would be fun to plan one with you… since you seem to like planning and stuff..."
Weiss… honestly didn't know what to say. Wasn't she supposed to be trying to give her some kind of 'hero speech' or apologize profusely? Both seemed the kind of thing Ruby would do.
"Ah… um… okay… what do you have as a theme?" Weiss asked, hesitant, but curious. Where was Ruby going with this?
Ruby smiled. "I was thinking that since we are getting to know a lot of different cultures, but we could do something from Vale! Kind of like 'Welcome to Vale!' since they are coming from all around the world to visit."
Ruby then explained her color scheme and they spent a good bit of time talking about the specifics for the party. Weiss herself was surprised to find she was actually getting interested in the speedster's idea. Weiss soon was loosening up and Ruby had to admit, Weiss was pretty fun to be around when she was doing something that she liked to do. She seemed to love planning and design as much as Ruby loved weapons and sweets.
"Oh! And we have to go in different colors! Being united as a team is nice and all but it would be a great way to show Ministralian and Alesian participants that the Vale is still strong about color! Oh you would look stunning in a red dress I say in a window today, and I am sure we can find something yellow that your sister can wear! I can wear a white dress showing I am not from Vale but am still able to respect both cultures and Blake can wear -" Weiss thought aloud before she cut herself off… "Ruby?"
"Yes, Weiss?" Ruby asked. Weiss struggled to speak.
"I think I really messed up with Blake... but… I just…" Weiss said. Ruby considered the girl before her.
"Weiss, what do you want? What do you really, truly want out of life?" Ruby asked. Weiss sighed.
"I'm not interested in your moral bullshit." Weiss said bluntly. "But to answer your question I want to be free. Free from… well, everything. Free from having to have a bodyguard do a five point room scan and check all my closets before I went to sleep. Free from having taste testers checking for poison. Free from being locked up and not allowed to go anywhere without an accompaniment of at least five trained guards… My father was confused as to why I wanted to become a huntress so badly and to this day I don't know the exact reason he let me go.
"I may not be Huntress material with my background, but I know that Huntress' can protect themselves. I mean, they can take on giant Grimm and fight off ruffians so if I am going to be safe then this is the best way… My father would rather I stay locked up in the estate. Safe from everything while he protects us… but that's not really living. If I live that way, then the White Fang truly would have won. I refuse to live my life in fear of them."
"Do you think you're free now?" Ruby asked. Weiss snorted.
"Hardly. I'm here at Beacon finally but I have to deal with all these… Faunus… I know they aren't the White Fang, but I still have trouble with the disconnect. Even someone like Velvet who I honestly don't think would hurt a fly ticks off my radar. I just didn't think I'd have to worry about my own team…" Weiss finished darkly.
"Do you think Blake is a bad person?" Ruby asked. Weiss frowned.
"I don't know what to think, but she's a Faunus. They…" Weiss' frown deepened as she recalled everything, she actually knew about Furries and found Blake didn't match any of it. Granted she never suspected the other times either…"It doesn't matter. She's just…"
"I think she is kind of like us." Ruby said when Weiss didn't speak for a while. "The White Fang hunts you... Cardin bullies me- and I know that's not the same so please don't get mad! I just think... maybe we as a whole, Humans I mean, seem like that to Blake. Bullies and terrorists."
"That's preposterous. Not all of us are like that. Like them." Weiss said, tone telling Ruby she was on shaky ground; however Weiss was beginning to sweat. She had been alarmed that Cardin would act that way. She had been sheltered a lot, she honestly didn't think a Human would treat another Human that way… like the Faunus would… if Humans could be like that then maybe the reverse was true? If there can be bad people among the good guys, the Hunters, then maybe there can be good people even in the White Fang? No... that was foolish... But maybe Blake was right about the discrimination…
"Well, I was thinking about what Cardin does with the Aura." Ruby said carefully reading Weiss for any sign of anger. She was shaking but listening. "He doesn't hurt me. It is just really humiliating and mean and- it just doesn't feel good. I could fight back or tell someone that's my fault and it's on me, but what if you couldn't? What if there was no escaping it? Being constantly harassed like that… it'd make anyone go bonkers…"
Ruby's words seemed to have an effect on Weiss she wasn't expecting. Weiss was crying.
No! It was easier to just make them all monsters! It was easier to believe Blake was like that too… that she was just some animal waiting for the right trigger to snap but…
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean- I'm sorry Weiss!" Ruby said.
"Shut up you dolt." Weiss said wiping her eyes. "I just got some dust in my eye…"
No… The White Fang… they were bad guys. Weiss could accept that. Not… not that they were people… they were monsters like the Faunus who killed her mother… she-
"Weiss can you forgive Blake?" Ruby asked. Weiss stared. Blake… Blake wasn't like the mental image of the Faunus she had in her head… she was calm, collected, passionate when she was riled up… she seemed so… Human… Out of the three of the other team mates Weiss felt the most kinship with Blake… she had some weird views on Faunus, but she was a surprisingly well reasoned and well thought out person-. Weiss caught herself. She viewed Blake as a person… Not as an animal, not as a monster, but a person…
Weiss silent for over a minute, and Ruby was panicking. The question slipped out without her thinking about it and now Ruby felt like she wanted to crawl under a rock and die.
Weiss, to her surprise, didn't get angry.
"I don't know." Weiss said. "It depends…"
"On what?" Ruby asked uncertainty.
On whether or not she is part of the White Fang. On whether or not she was a criminal with blood on her hands. On whether or not she is going to kill her when the right opportunity arises. On whether or not-
"On whether or not I can." Weiss said oblivious to Ruby who gave a nervous laugh as she inwardly panicked.
'Yes. If she is a criminal that is going to kill me then I have no qualms hating her…' Weiss thought. That felt right. That felt safe. She couldn't forgive someone like that. She didn't do anything wrong. She was still right. The Faunus were still all monsters trying to kill her… but…
"She's a Faunus. It's not like she's a White Fang member..." Ruby reminded her gently. "If that is the case you were just really mean and should apologize for offending her…"
Ruby snapped her mouth closed. 'What am I doing!? Dust dammit brain! Say nice things!'
'Never!' her inner monologue thought, nearly making Ruby's eye twitch in irritation.
"But why hide!?" Weiss said hot anger bubbling out. Confusion. Anger. Frustration. This kind of thing should be simple! "Why pretend to be Human, to be our friend? Why would she-"
"While she did pretend to be Human, I don't think she was pretending to be our friend." Ruby argued, then she smiled. "She was too emo anyways."
'Brain!' Ruby mentally shouted at herself. She needed to shut up! Weiss obviously didn't need someone to play devil's advocate here! She needed to find a way to defuse the situation without making her look like even more of the emotionally insensitive idiot she felt like!
Weiss frowned at that. "I guess so… I… I need to think…"
Ruby nodded, feeling like she had just dodged a bullet. "Always a good idea."
Ruby was smacked by a pillow.
Apparently not that one though…
:
Elsewhere…
Blake ran and ran until her abnormally (to a human anyways) powerful lungs gave out leaving her red faced and gasping for breath in a dark alley.
'I am such an idiot! Why did I think that, that was a good idea!?' Blake thought panting. 'Out yourself as a Faunus to your former bigoted and already frustrated arch-enemy spouting propaganda for the misguided organization you used to be part of! That will go over well! Why am I so bad at being good!?'
"Heh. I thought I spotted an alley cat, but it looks like I found a fox instead." A boy said dropping down next to her. Blake looked at him with a shard of disbelief despite her exhaustion.
"Seriously?" Blake said still panting. "That was the best you had?"
"Um… Oh! Ahem… Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Cause you're wickedly beautiful!" the boy tried again adding a roguish smile. Blake actually smirked at that one. It was kinda cute... "So… ah… realized I didn't think this through but um… you wanna grab some coffee?"
Blake was sweaty and gross, and her bow wasn't in place very well… Blake sighed undoing the bow and letting the wig fall off revealing shorter black hair which came down just below her human ears and her cat ears were revealed on the top of her head. She wiggled them and let them twitch, allowing them feel fresh air for the first time that day. "Sure… know any places that will serve a couple of Faunus?"
:
A/N: Yes… Weiss' backstory was changed as well… As well Blake hiding how she was a Faunus. Sorry the bow was kinda dumb... New hairstyle resembles Cinder's short haircut. Tell me what you think and I am willing to answer any questions you guys have.
I had some extra time this week, so this chapter is coming out a little early. Again huge shout out to KHARAKI TAKAN for helping me finalize some thoughts in my head. It really helped.
EDIT: Removed 20'ish instants of the word 'Furry' from the last two chapters and replaced them with 'Freak', 'Faunus' and 'Animal'. Also altered the conversation between Velvet and Ruby in the Second chapter. Let me know if you find anything else wrong with my story. I love criticism and spelling errors for me to fix!
Until next time. Review if you love me!