Winter is mentioned by name in the description, but has yet to appear. Time to fix that!
This doesn't really fit into the other chapters, so making it its own mini-chapter. Interlude if you want to be fancy, which Winter does.
"Could you repeat that, Penny?" said Winter Schnee. "Did you request me to tell you a joke?"
"I did, Specialist Schnee!" Penny's head bobbed like a metronome. Her big green eyes looked to Winter, wide and eager, as they always did. Winter wasn't sure whether that was due to the girl's curious personality, or if Pietro Polendina had only programmed her eyelids with one setting. "You see, I heard Specialist Bree say something that sounded quite insulting to Specialist Amin! When I questioned her, she explained that she was not in fact being rude, as it was a 'joke'. I wish to understand why it is that designating something a joke makes it acceptable when it would otherwise not be!"
"I see." She'd need to tread carefully here. The last thing Winter wanted was for Penny to go around throwing casual insults and passing them off as humor. It would not do for Atlas's state-of-the-art android to start acting like Qrow Branwen. "It is said that humor is an integral part of the human—and faunus—experience. Although I must caution you, not all situations are well suited for it, particularly the variety that might cause offense if taken at face value." With that disclaimer, she pulled out her Scroll, looking for something safe to demonstrate. Her many years of education with the family tutors, Atlas Academy, and the military had prepared her for a wide range of situations, but explaining abstract sociological concepts to robot children was not one of them. Hopefully no one would ever question why 'clean jokes for impressionable youths' was in her search history.
"This one is apparently a classic." Winter began. "My father had four children. The oldest was named Spring, the second Summer, the third Autumn. What was the fourth child named?"
Penny thought for a moment. "Hmm! Given the clear pattern of your father naming his children after the seasons, I would say the fourth child was likely, but not certainly, named Winter."
"No, it's—" Winter read the punchline more closely. "I stand corrected, 'Winter' is, in fact, the right answer." That was irritating. What were the chances that she'd find a joke that would work if anyone but her told it? It had probably written pre-Great War, before naming children after seasons and colors became common practice.
"But of course it is! How silly of me!" Penny exclaimed. "You specified that it was your father, and as your name is not Spring, Summer or Autumn, the fourth child must have been you! I suppose it is rather amusing when a problem is simpler than it appears to be!"
Winter grimaced. She would freely admit that she wasn't the most humorous of people, but it was still rather painful to hear Penny explain the punchline like that. She'd read somewhere that it was like dissecting a Grimm; you understood it better but the Grimm died. Then again, wasn't Grimm dying a good thing?
"Delivery for Specialist Schnee." A postal clerk interrupted, handing Winter a thin envelope.
"Thank you, Private." The man saluted and walked off. Winter turned the envelope over. It was postmarked with the crossed axes of Vale, and bore a 37-cent stamp picturing Beacon Tower...
"Is that a paper letter, Specialist Schnee?" Penny asked curiously. "I have never seen one in person before! Who is it from? How strange, I see nothing resembling a snail about it!"
"It appears to be from Beacon Academy." Winter explained patiently. "As such, I am almost certain it is from my brother and sister, who are students there." Well, prospective students the last she'd heard, but she doubted the initiation exam would have proved any trouble to Weiss and Sable. Plus, it was hardly likely they would write a letter specifically to announce they'd failed to make it in.
"How exciting! Is it from Spring, Summer, or Autumn?" Penny practically vibrated. "I might encounter them, when I travel to Beacon myself! That would be splendid!"
"I do not have..." Winter corrected. "...well, I do have three siblings, but their names are not Spring, Summer and Autumn. That was part of the joke."
"I see! So your 'joke' allowed you to misrepresent your family life, despite such falsehoods normally being frowned upon! What a fascinating concept!"
Winter sighed.
Once back in the privacy of her rooms, Winter neatly sliced the envelope open. Just as she thought, two letters on Beacon stationery were inside, in the twins' neat handwriting.
Dear Winter,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to let you know I have passed initiation, and am officially a student at Beacon Academy, assigned to team RRWN.
I regret to inform you I was not made team leader. That position was given to my partner, a girl named Ruby Rose. She was apparently sufficiently skilled to enter Beacon two years early, despite her somewhat rash and childish nature. Nonetheless the headmaster has made his decision, and I will do my utmost to make the team one you would be proud of.
My other two teammates are named Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Miss Valkyrie is quite eccentric in personality and rather lacking in social graces, but her combat skills are remarkable. I personally witnessed her slay a Giant Nevermore using her Semblance. Mr. Ren is in contrast polite, quiet and rational, and I am pleased to have him on the team. The two have apparently been friends since childhood, difficult as it is to believe.
Other than that, the Beacon grounds are as beautiful as advertised, and attending classes at a Huntsman Academy has certainly been a unique experience. Overall I am settling in well, even if the rooms are considerably smaller than at home, and the cafeteria food not up to Klein's standards.
Love,
Weiss
Winter smiled fondly on finishing Weiss's letter. A team she would be proud of, hmm? It was good to see her sister's regard for her undiminished after all these years, even after she'd offloaded the pressure of their inheritance onto her. The Weiss of her memories was a little girl who'd hung onto her big sister's every word, and tried so hard to copy her every move. In spite of everything, that little girl was still somewhere in there.
She turned to the other letter.
Dear Winter,
I passed initiation, and have been made leader of Team SJBY.
My partner, Jaune Arc, leaves much to be desired in terms of ability. I intend to rectify this as quickly as possible. My other teammates are Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long, who I find to be satisfactory. I am confident that under my leadership, Team SJBY will succeed, whatever it takes.
Regards,
Sable
As expected, her brother's letter was much different. Much as Winter would like to say she loved her siblings equally, that would be a lie, and they all knew it. But could she really be blamed for it, when one was so much easier to bond with than the other? In contrast to his twin, Sable had been a sullen, stubborn boy, with a temper as black as his hair. Winter had tried to tame him the best she could, a process involving countless stern words and rapped knuckles. Then again, how many of those unpleasant traits came from being treated as the superfluous Schnee? If Klein's stories were to be believed, the boy had been an afterthought literally since birth. Apparently Mother had chosen the girl's name first, and then wanted to name the boy 'Schwarz' to pair with Weiss, until Father pointed out how incredibly stupid it sounded. As awful a parent as he was, even Jacques wasn't cruel enough to let his son go through life named Schwarz Schnee. Well...there was nothing to be done about the past. At least she'd fared better with him than with Whitley.
And at least the twins got along these days. Exactly how well was something only Weiss and Sable knew, along with the provenance of those identical scars neither would speak of, and whoever had set the bar on fire at the Solstice Gala that one time. Whether it was an alliance of convenience in her absence, or if (miracle of miracles) they had truly come to care for each other, Winter had a hard time telling from a distance. It was a sad thing when two siblings had to form an alliance, like rival kingdoms teaming up against a common foe. Sadder yet when that was still one of the healthier relationships in the family. But the day Weiss came for Father's throne, the three of them would stand together, and maybe that was good enough.
Later, Winter. See you again in...*checks*...two volumes. Assuming this thing even makes it that far.
That joke is a very old one, and it doesn't work so well in a society where you can plausibly name your child 'Winter'. I imagine Ozma inventing it to mess with the original Winter Maiden (this is totally canon).