Location: Whisper Blossom City, Vale
June 16th-September 27th
[Dusk By Dawn]
On their way to Whisper Blossom, Sun taught her many things about living life on the run; most of the simplest little tricks to some of the most complicated in case she's caught in a difficult situation. After they passed their first stop, using her semblance to lock the freight back, she'd made sure to listen very closely when he was explaining, focusing on his voice to drown out the sound of the train.
One of simplest tricks was to find the closest color she can to whatever she's wearing and hide with the items. If there is a tarp, hide beneath the tarp and stay as still as she possibly can. This only worked when there wouldn't be a physical security check.
Unless she had a specific destination, she was told to switch trains whenever she can to avoid suspicion, but make sure that the one she is boarding is heading in the direction she wants to go. There were also small spaces beneath some of the freights in Vacuo that she could climb into, according to what Sun had explained to her. She hoped she would never have to do that.
Instead of waiting for the train at the cargo station, where she's very likely to be caught, wait for it at the exit and catch it as it's slowly leaving the station. Sometimes, she would have to wait a few hours or a few days for a rideable train.
During those times, he'd even given her some information that would help her concerning food, such as; carry a backpack with her, like she did before, but keep a small tent inside of it with her food, lien and clothes wrapped up inside the tent packaging, and instead of sleeping within the city, stay around the homeless area or make camp in the woods to prevent her belongings from being stolen.
For food, he suggested a portable cooker, which requires just a simple spark of fire to get it going, and packaged foods that you would find in a gas station. For beverages, she should keep more water on her than anything else, but don't pack too much and restock whenever she can.
The train didn't have any more stops on the way to Whisper Blossom, and the two spent the time exploring the train as he was teaching some exact locations to hide whenever the train stops. Sun told her not to come out of her hiding spot unless they were away from traffic in case someone called the authorities on them, he also warned her to make sure she has a really good hiding spot when the train arrives in another country as it would be switching locomotives.
As they were approaching Whisper Blossom, he suggested that she try and memorize the train routes as quickly as she could in case she's caught. The train slowed down, she bid him farewell and he made her refresh her promise to keep herself safe. He ducked away out of view again as Weiss left the train a few minutes before it would come to a complete stop at the station.
Taking a shortcut through the forest, Weiss arrives at the small town quicker than she'd initially expected.
She stands at the top of the hill, staring down into the dark, illuminated town. Her body aching and her worn out muscles practically numb with exhaustion, her knees buckle beneath her and hit the ground, she makes herself comfortable by folding her legs to the side. She was hungry, she was tired, but she didn't have any food on her and she didn't feel like she could sleep.
Weiss notices a tree just to the side of her and she looks up at it, deciding that it would be decent enough shelter for a quick rest. She pushes up to stand to her feet, her legs throbbing as she stiffly walks over to the roots of the tree. She pulls her red cloak around her and sinks down at the base of it, hunger clawing at her empty stomach. Choosing to ignore it, she detaches Myrtenaster from her side and closes her eyes and relaxes against the tree.
Something is dropped in front of her.
Curious, she opens her eyes again and sees her human-sized Arma Gigas standing next to her, a pile of bare tree limbs in front of it. Her brows crease together in bewilderment and she looks down at the wood. It was firewood. 'When did I…?' She shakes her head, fixing her gaze on them. "I don't remember summoning you…" She murmurs, the summon only stares at her and its head turns to the right, Weiss turns her attention in that direction.
Several pairs of red eyes were staring at her through the darkness. Grimm. Weiss clears her throat and she grabs for her weapon, switching the barrel over to the red dust. She thrusts the blade into a thick piece of wood and the sword turns red, fire traveling down from the silver to the bark. Thankfully, the ground below was dirt and would prevent the flames from reaching the tree. "Thank you…"
She didn't sleep. She couldn't.
She got comfortable, but she was unable to sleep despite how physically exhausted she was. The pain tearing at her belly prevented her from doing so, she hadn't eaten much since she'd left the manor, and it felt like all of the nutrients that were supposed to have sustained her had vanished.
Weiss rested as much as she could, but she could never fall into a deep sleep. It was either her hunger pains were overwhelming her ability to sleep, or the ground was just thoroughly uncomfortable with only an old cloak. She savored the few minutes of sleep that she did receive. Before she knew it, daylight had arrived.
When she lifts her head, she sees a vaguely familiar airship flying overhead. It takes her a few minutes to register that it was her sister's private airship heading towards the docking station. Good, she wasn't going to be late for their meeting… She needed to let Winter know she was here somehow without drawing too much attention.
Groaning, she lifts herself up off the ground and brushes off the dirt from her cloak and clothes. Although she felt like she'd been run over by a freight train, she stiffly starts down the hill and follows the airship.
At first, her sister hadn't recognized her and almost drew her weapon at her before her voice registered in her mind.
Apologizing, she excused herself from the party that had accompanied her and discreetly gestured for Weiss to follow her while maintaining perfect posture. She leads her down a backstreet and towards an old restaurant, once they were inside, Winter's demeanor changes.
As it was still very early in the morning, they were the only people inside, aside from a waitress who greeted them happily. "Where are we?" Weiss murmurs.
Winter ignores her and addresses the waitress at the counter. "Thank you, Paula." She says gratefully, Weiss' eyes flicker between her and the lady, "you know what to do." The lady smiles and Winter walks away, Weiss following silently in closely behind towards the back corner of the room where they would be mostly unnoticed.
Her sister immediately disregards any sort of greeting as she sits down, "Do you feel pregnant?" Winter asks inquisitively as Weiss takes her seat across from her, the younger Schnee clenches her fists upon hearing the ridiculous question and raises her eyes to meet Winter's mischievous blue pair. The older woman could see Weiss' irritation, of course she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to poke some fun at her.
Weiss heaves a sigh, withdrawing her elbows from the table and relaxing herself. "All I know is that I'm fed up with being sick." Winter raises a brow, urging her to proceed and aggravation pools in Weiss' chest. "I just want to eat, but nooo! I lost count of how many times I lost my stomach on the train!" Winter releases an amused chuckle and Weiss pushes herself to her feet to stand over her sister. "Do you know how humiliating that was?!"
The military specialist shrugs indifferently. "No." She answers, gesturing for Weiss to sit down, to which she obliges. "But I'm not the one who decided to have a baby with her girlfriend before marriage."
"Alright, that was low." Weiss mutters blankly, wearing an unamused expression.
Winter chuckles, "Ah, my apologies." The expression on her face becomes serious and she frowns at her younger sister, but Weiss pays no attention as her eyes drift towards the back of the restaurant, lured away by the delicious smell of cooking food. "Anyway, I have prepared you a starter bag that should get you through the year." Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss sees Winter lean down and retrieve a white and silver bag from the space next to her, she sets it on the table and unzips it. "I know you won't always be near civilization to rent a hotel, so I packed you a tent you can use for shelter-"
The sound of snapping fingers jerks Weiss' attention back to the military specialist and she refocuses on her. "I'm sorry," she apologizes, avoiding eye contact with her stern sister, "it's been a little while since I've eaten, so forgive me if I'm not myself at the moment…"
Winter raises a brow and she leans forward just a bit, "What do you mean? How long?" She sounds concerned.
Weiss shrugs, "I ate yesterday morning, so I should be fine," her brows furrow and she shakes her head with a light laugh, "I must be out of practice. When we were doing our training missions, sometimes we only had one meal a day." She sighs, hunger tearing at her stomach almost painfully, "I should be used to this… Why is it affecting me now? It hasn't been that long."
The woman sitting across from her stares at her for a long moment and Weiss almost feels like shrinking under her unreadable gaze. As the silence grows, Weiss subconsciously fiddles with the bracelet on her wrist. A look of disbelief crosses her face and Winter abruptly moves and she rubs her forehead, releasing a stressed sigh. "Gods, please tell me you are not serious."
"I'm sorry?" Weiss murmurs in confusion. "I mean, it has been a month since Beacon." She pauses for a second and Winter remains silent, "It has been a month, right…? I've lost track of time."
Winter releases a chuckle and she straightens her posture, "It has, and you need to eat more, Weiss." Weiss opens her mouth to protest, but Winter raises her hand to stop her, "You're providing for two now. Here." She slides over an identification card and the younger Schnee's eyes widen upon seeing the name and picture, "This is the identity you asked to take on, no?"
Weiss clears her throat, "Yes, it is." She says as she takes the card and the bag with a quiet 'thank you'. "What is today, by the way? The fourteenth, right?"
"Ah, so that's what she meant." Winter laughs quietly. Weiss' brows crease together, but before she could say anything a plate of food was set directly in front of her. Her eyes snap down towards the steaming plate and widen again, her stomach rumbles as Winter hands the waitress her card and quiet words are exchanged. Without thinking, Weiss quickly reaches over and grabs the utensils, unwrapping them from the paper, then discarding the ones she didn't need and stabbing her fork into what appeared to be some kind of meat.
Winter scoffs across from her. "Weiss! Where are your manners!"
She pauses and a tiny smirk forms on her lips, she waves the ID smugly. "I'm sorry, who? My name's Violet, and I did not take proper etiquette classes." Her sister smiles knowingly and Weiss giggles happily, the energy having been restored to her body like a lightning bolt.
"Anyway," the military specialist continued as Weiss dug into her food, only half listening to Winter, "we cannot continue to meet like this," Weiss glances up at her curiously, "my troop is beginning to wonder why have been sneaking around, and General Ironwood will soon be giving us military issued scrolls." The younger woman pauses to listen, "This means I can no longer pay funds for you or purchase anything as they will be monitoring everything. Our meetings will have to be far and in between."
"Then, what do I do?" Weiss whispers almost dejectedly.
Winter sighs, "I packed you some lien in your bag, that should hold you over for quite a while if you're smart." Weiss opens her mouth to protest again and Winter frowns at her, causing her to swallow her retort almost immediately. "Not the 'straight A's' type of smart, Weiss. Every decision you make will have its consequences, and I, nor your team, will be there to save you from them."
Winter's brow creases upwards to form a look of sympathy. "You're on your own now, sister."
The air around them became cold and if it wasn't for the intense hunger pains twisting inside of her stomach, Weiss would've lost her appetite. She lifts her head to look at the woman and she mimics her posture.
"I understand."
Winter stayed long enough to ensure that Weiss had everything she needed before she received a call from her commander, the two of them bid each other a brief farewell and the special operative left as quickly as she could. Once she was gone, the waitress approached their table with a to-go box and informed her that the meal was already paid for, but the look in the woman's eyes said she knew more than she should, Weiss couldn't tell if the lady was supposed to know or not considering the interactions she'd had with Winter.
Weiss packed her food and slipped it into her bag, concealing it as deep as she could to prevent hungry wild animals from tracking it down. She left the restaurant as quickly as she could and avoided interaction with anybody, heading straight towards the train station. Unable to find a rideable cargo train, she made her way to the passenger trains and bought a ticket.
While waiting for the train to arrive, two men dressed in Atlas military clothing approached her and thoroughly questioned her, asking if she knew of the missing Schnee's whereabouts. Weiss, with jittery nerves and panicking on the inside, answered that she did not and feigned ignorance towards her disappearance. She had to keep reminding herself that she no longer looked like herself, her long white hair now replaced with a short bright purple, and her appearance having changed from a prosperous young woman to the equivalent of a lowlife.
The men left after she'd finally managed to convince them and get them off her case; she thanked the Gods that she'd been within a large crowd as they believed her nervous state, like most of the people there, was due to having been approached by authority figures.
Upon her next stop, still within the city of Vale, she left the train station with a plan in mind. She made sure nobody followed her and acted as normal as she could be when around people, she took a backstreet out of the town and started for the forest.
On her way there, she'd been stopped by a small faunus child approaching her and asking for food, at first she'd been hesitant, but when she'd looked where the boy had come from, she saw a young woman around her age watching her almost fearfully. Weiss sighed and quickly counted her lien, deciding that she had enough to purchase another meal, she handed the child her take-out box and watched his face light up.
While she was walking away, she overheard him addressing the woman as his sister, causing her to briefly wonder what had happened to their parents.
A cold feeling settled in her stomach. What if they'd been killed…? What if her own child suffered the same fate? They wouldn't have an older sibling, or any family, to watch over them… She shook her head. 'I won't be killed.' She told herself confidently, 'I'll protect them.'
Weiss makes her way towards the heart of the forest, far out of earshot of the surrounding villages. She finds herself in a tight clearing, overgrown by weeds and tall grass, there were also unseeable thorny bushes everywhere. She removes her bag from her back and sets it down while simultaneously summoning her Boarbatusk. The creature patiently awaits its order as she hides her bag behind a tree, retrieving her old clothes from it and changing into them. She sets her bracelet to the side, not wanting it to get damaged in the battle.
All she had to do was stage a fight with a hoard of Grimm.
She withdraws her sword, lets out a sigh and closes her eyes, focusing on summoning every Grimm within her ability. Soon, she heard the growls of an Alpha Beowulf, the confused cawing of the Griffon, the humming of a Lancer, the rumbling of the Nevermore, and the snorts of the Boarbatusk. She knew that somewhere among them, her Arma Gigas remained silent.
'Now.' She opens her eyes and charges forward, initiating battle.
After what felt like an eternity, Weiss drops to her knees and pants heavily as blood trickles down from her open wounds, turning the white of her outfit a bright crimson red. Weakly, she inspects her injuries and she grunts as she activates her aura, watching her cuts and bruises heal. "I'm sorry," she whispers with a hand on her stomach, a twinge of fear in her heart, "but it had to be done…" The summons around her vanquish and she's left in the battle-worn clearing on her own, her body is numb and she aches all over as the exhaustion and lack of food has finally caught up with her.
She remains still for a long while before stiffly rising to her feet and shedding her bloodied, ruined clothes. She approaches her bag and grabs her red cloak, wrapping it around her body and lifting the bag up over her shoulder. She'd seen a creek on her way here, and she was sure that it would lead to a larger body of water where she could clean up.
Walking away, she glances back over her shoulder and she releases a sigh. Hopefully this would deter the authorities from her trail.
Days pass and turn into weeks, the weeks turn into months. She'd long since lost track of time, but she knew it was somewhere within the colder seasons, and by the falling autumn red leaves, she suspected that it was either late August or early September.
After her meeting with Winter, Weiss encountered a woman in her late forties while searching for a place to sleep considering the hotel was full and the forests were dangerous. Somehow, the lady knew that she was pregnant before she even told her and she was very helpful, she explained that she'd been kicked out of her husband's house when she was twenty-one and had to raise their one-year old on the streets. With every lesson she was taught, Weiss made sure to listen closely and she soon adapted to the woman's accent, using it as her own to hide her actual voice.
The first lesson she was taught was to create a life, have lien put back in case of a medical emergency. So, that's where she started.
After a while, Weiss had finally created a routine to follow and even made a living for herself under her new name; she hadn't seen Winter in a while and she was running low on lien, so Weiss began moving from village to village taking on Grimm hunts. She always made sure that she wasn't getting herself into a ton of trouble and that it was Grimm she knew how to take down. Despite being offered a place on a team several times for her abilities, she rejected and explained that she was a solo huntress. It made good money, too.
Now that she was making some lien and wasn't living off of what Winter gave her, she rarely went hungry anymore and when the weather was terrible, she would rent a hotel room without having to worry about running low. Sometimes, when she was stocked up on enough lien to last for a week or two, she would reject the payment and continue on to the next village, where she would be searching for her next job.
Her way of transportation was still using the train carts, or sometimes slipping under the carts if there was space on the platform. Although it terrified her, she had to trust that everything would be okay, and she was never alone. That was her second lesson, do whatever it takes to get away from somewhere, but never to put her life at risk, and to instead watch the more experienced people before deciding on what she wanted to do.
It opened her eyes; there were more homeless people around Remnant than she'd previously thought. Most were kind and respectful, always willing to spare a shoulder to lean on or an ear to listen to and never pressuring her into revealing too much. Recently, she'd been lucky enough to have encountered a group of people around Vacuo heading towards the heart of Anima and she's been traveling with them ever since.
"Yo, is it just me or is da train a'slowin' up?
Weiss is snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing an old, broken male voice speaking over the chugging of the train. She shakes her head and sits up, the other three people she'd joined on the train sitting up as well, heads swiveling as they searched for a proper place to hide. The woman next to her speaks hurriedly as she pulls herself up into the bars of the cart above them. "I don't remember no security check."
"Vi'let." The man addresses her sharply and Weiss turns her head to look at him, coming to realize that she'd been clutching her red cloak close. "I take ya bag, you hide up 'dere." He gestures behind her and Weiss' gut churns upon seeing the tight space just above the wheels. What was that called again? "Go," she moves quickly and she looks over her shoulder at him again, noticing the younger guy retreating to the back of the train, the older guy speaks again and grabs her bag. "I gotcha bag, just hide."
Swallowing her fear, Weiss pulls herself into the tight space; she can feel the vibration of the wheels below her. Hoping her bright red cloak doesn't give her away, she stays as still as she can as the train is slowing down, she can no longer see any of the people she was traveling with, so it was safe to assume that they'd found a place to hide.
Soon, the train has come to a full stop and she hears voices drifting down from somewhere ahead of them, but they aren't far. One was vaguely familiar. Her body tenses up suddenly and she releases a quiet swear through gritted teeth, finding herself to be in a rather uncomfortable position, but she couldn't move or else she'd give away her location. "You are proving to be very difficult." She mutters to her swollen belly.
Footsteps are approaching.
Something whams against the train cart with a heavy clank and Weiss winces. "We know you are in there! Come out immediately!" She feels every nerve in her body flinch and she wants to cower back deeper in her hiding spot, recognizing the voice as Winter's.
"I'm gay!" The young man hollers loud and confidently, not missing a beat and causing the other two people she'd been traveling with to burst out into laughter, she's forced to stifle a laugh.
She hears feet dropping against the platform and looks to see the three of them exiting the train carts, the young woman gesturing for her to stay hidden as she steps out.
Winter's voice is stern, annoyed. Weiss can almost see her scowling. "Are there more of you?"
She couldn't let them do this, she traveled illegally as well. Maybe she could help get them out of the situation, Winter is her sister after all.
Weiss sighs and she squeezes herself out of her hiding space, her worn out shoes hitting the metal platform and stabilizing herself. Hearing more footsteps approaching, she quietly slides out from under the train cart, with slight difficulty. She wouldn't be able to do that for much longer if she kept growing like this…
Weiss' eyes drift upwards to meet Winter as she walks around to stand next to the woman, who eyed her with surprise. Shock crossed the specialist's face for a brief moment before her expression shifted into neutral again.
It's been awhile since she'd seen her sister, and she didn't look happy with the situation.
"What's the report?" A man over Winter's scroll asks.
Winter's co-worker answers for her when she remains silent, his voice is smooth, yet somehow annoying. "Three faunus and a young woman were found hiding away in the cargo train heading towards Mistral."
Another few seconds of silence.
"September 27th at 5:45." Ah, so that's what day it was… Late September.
Finally, Winter speaks. "You," she looks directly at Weiss with narrowed brows, " come with me ." Chills race up her spine and she quietly walks to her sister's side, avoiding eye contact with her as the specialist turns her attention back to the family. "I will let the lot of you go this time," her co-worker turns to her in disbelief, "but if you are caught again, you're going behind bars."
The tall woman turns and she walks away with her hands neatly folded behind her back, "Come, we are going to get you a proper train ticket." She whispers under her breath, "That's all I can do."
Weiss spares a glance over her shoulder at the family before scurrying to catch up with her sister, she gets just around the corner stopping dead in her tracks when a pain stabs at her groin and spreads through her abdomen, lightly touching her lower back.
She lets out a pained hiss and mutters a few Winter pauses ahead of her and looks back at her with worry in her eyes. "Sit down." She tells her as Weiss leans against a wall, "Rest for a little while."
"No shit." Weiss scowls at her.
She closes her eyes and brushes the hood of her cloak back as she leans her head against the wall behind her.
A musical laugh grabs her attention and electrical shocks shoot through every nerve in her body, causing her to jolt up and her head to swivel towards the busy streets.
She barely hears the train starting up behind her and chugging away. She knew that laugh. Her heart constricts inside her chest. "It… It can't be." She murmurs, pulling herself to her feet and ignoring the pains in her groin and Winter's annoyed protests, she braces herself against the wall and leans around.
Her heart stops.
Weiss' eyes widened at the sight of a familiar brunette passing through the street, a beautiful, bright grin on her face and her soft silver eyes lighting up like fireworks. Weiss' heart flutters like a thousand butterflies when the reaper giggles, listening to one of her redheaded friend's jokes as she skips happily down the street, hands tucked neatly behind her.
Her shoulders were more broad, her facial features were defined, she's finally let go of the childish, silky skirts in turn for a pleated leather red skirt, a skin tight-shirt with a mesh top, and she wears a dark corset with loose straps.
"Ruby…"
Ruby's hair was wild and untamed, but in a way, it made Weiss want to run her hand through those silky looking dark locks…
Gods, she'd grown up so much.
Where was this girl when she was dating her? Those gloves would've come in handy….
"Weiss?" Winter asks from behind the former heiress, Weiss doesn't look back at her and instead keeps her attention focused on Ruby, "Weiss, you can't." A firm hand is placed on the young woman's shoulder, gently pulling her back around and out of sight. "Father is still searching for you."
Winter was right… As much as Weiss wanted to have those strong arms embracing her again, to breathe in the sweet smell of roses… She knows she can't.
Clutching the bracelet on her wrist, she looks back at her sister quietly, sorrow in her eyes. She moves to watch Ruby again and her heart slowly falls, watching as her beloved walks farther and farther away from her. She wants to call out for her, to get her attention and hug her again, she wants her to know she was here . Weiss' hand slowly moves to rest over her swollen belly and she ducks out of sight again.
"I know, but I do love her." She whispers to her sister, avoiding eye contact with her. "You can't control my decisions."
Winter frowns in worry. "I'm not trying to control you, Weiss… If you want to talk to her, then talk to her, but you know it'll be risky… I just want to protect you."
She knows Winter is concerned, but she doesn't understand. Weiss shakes her head, wrapping her arms around her midsection and walking away. She looks back at her, her heart hurting like it was being crushed beneath a thousand boulders.
"I know, Winter." She frowns, aggravation swelling in the pit of her stomach and replacing her grief. "I'm an adult, I will be a mother. I know what I'm doing."
Winter stares at her for a long moment and she sighs, rubbing her forehead. "This is why I worry about you. This is precisely how I know that you haven't the slightest clue what you are doing."
A nagging voice at the back of her head knew she was right. She doesn't know what she's doing.