Act #2
Chapter Fourteen
Location: Coquina/Southspear, Vacuo
November 14th
Childhood pt.2
They arrived at the settlement of Coquina last night, parting ways with a few individuals they met along their journey; they'd never interacted with the Tribe much, they simply kept their distance and observed, only asking a few questions here and there. From their appearance by itself, Weiss could tell that they were previously military officers, but considering they were traveling with a small Tribe in Vacuo, it was safe to say that they were long-time retirees.
Once they departed, Slate informed everybody that they would be settling down for the night and Weiss immediately went on the hunt to find Iris some new clothes within Coquina. Weiss had already learned to blend in with them and that meant tolerating their poor choices of fashion; most of her Tribe wore old rags and tunics, there were a few people who seemed to be fashionistas, but they were only found within busy villages.
Weiss only found a few outfits in Iris' size, seeing that she was steadily outgrowing all of them, and even went a few sizes up so that she wouldn't need to spend any lien next time she's required to throw them out. She bought two outfits for herself, but they were put away in her bag with Iris' newer clothes.
Unfortunately, the child never liked a change of clothes and would dirty them up within minutes out in the Vacuo sand.
"I think this will suit you just fine…" Weiss murmurs as she pulls the shirt over her daughter's head, swatting her hands away when the ten-month-old baby tries to pull it back off. Iris grunts and slams her palms down on the wood below them, Weiss just chuckles. "Are you ready to go outside?" She asks softly. They were sitting in the caravan while the rest of camp was already beginning to bustle with activity.
Silver eyes glare up at the woman and her brows pull together as she pouts, "No!" She protests with a high-pitched voice.
Weiss sighs and she stands to her feet, "Alright, well, I'm going on out." She says as she approaches the door and opens it, stepping outside and around the corner. Iris does this every time it's time for a bath, or to change out of her clothes, she makes a big deal out of it and acts all grumpy unless Weiss walks away from her.
Then, suddenly…
A cry comes from the caravan and Weiss peers around inside, chuckling when she sees Iris crawling towards the door, calling for her. Weiss moves around back into Iris' sight and the baby's head slowly moves up to look at her, "I'm here." Weiss giggles as she lifts the child up and into her arms; Iris clings to her and buries her little face into her shoulder.
"No bye-bye." Iris mutters quietly in annoyance. Weiss giggles again and readjusts Iris to hold her more comfortably, she glances around for any sign of their Tribe and spots them a little ways off. A cold feeling settles in her stomach upon realizing that not one of the Tribe has approached her this morning.
Normally, they would come by and ask if she wanted some breakfast, or at night, they'd ask her and Iris to come sit around the fire and listen to old stories with them.
Recently, not a soul has spoken to her. Not even Amaranth. The woman has barely looked at her while Ash always looked pitiful and apologetic. At first, this was fine because Weiss has grown to enjoy her privacy, wanting to focus more on her daughter than the life she was living now. She's let her guard down.
She was rethinking everything now… During the past few days, she's noticed the Tribe watching her daughter with an unreadable look in their eyes, yet none have ever seemed to want to confront Weiss about it. They never said a word, they only kept their distance and watched. Their negativity has drawn Grimm towards their camp multiple times before they reached Coquina.
"Excuse me?" She says to grab everybody's attention and chill races up her spine when cold eyes turn to look at her, a few people are glaring in the direction of her daughter. She places Iris down at her feet and moves to stand over her. "Anybody mind telling me why you all seem to be avoiding us?"
Slate stands to her feet and whispers something, the people around her seem to let down their guard and look away from Weiss, returning to what they were doing. Slate approaches her and keeps her distance, "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to come any closer, Violet."
Well, she figured that.
"Why not?" Weiss presses almost menacingly, keeping her daughter behind her leg and ignoring her quiet pleas to be held. "Considering the way you all have been treating me and my daughter recently, I believe you owe me an explanation."
Confusion flickers across the old woman's face before her expression hardens. Weiss keeps her posture, ready to withdraw her weapon if she needs to. "Have you heard of Silver-Eyed Warriors…?" Slate asks her carefully. Weiss' eyes move down to Iris and her gaze meets with the child's confused silver pair. She clears her throat and looks back at Slate.
"Of course I have." She answers.
Slate sighs, "Then you know the legend." She must've seen the look of pure bewilderment on Weiss' face, "Silver eyes bring Grimm and bad luck," she explains as a hostile emotion crawls through Weiss' entire being, "they were previously our saviors, our protectors from Grimm, but as time goes on… We learned that the Grimm are drawn to their silver eyes…" Her voice becomes soft. "Anybody who is friendly with a Silver-Eyed Warrior will meet a terrible fate as the Grimm attempts to track down the warrior themselves…"
"That's ridiculous!" Weiss snaps at the older lady. "People with silver eyes are human! Just like you! The Grimm are drawn to you all because of your distrust!"
Slate raises a brow in disbelief. "These warriors have a target painted across their back and we don't want to be around when the Grimm manages to find the one with silver eyes." She lets out a breath and her gaze becomes solemn, "Violet, you don't have to keep protecting that child… You can leave her behind, leave her to the Grimm," Weiss' blood was boiling with red hot rage now, "you can save yourself, you'll be out of danger if you come with us… You can always have another child-"
Weiss cuts her off with a menacing stare, "My baby and I are safer alone than we are with superstitious, judgemental assholes."
A shriek causes terror to shoot through her body like a bullet, piercing through her heart and sending vibrations of adrenaline coursing through her. The world around her becomes a blur as she withdraws Myrtenaster from her side effortlessly and she spins around, her eyes momentarily met with Bast's familiar pair. He had Iris...
The blade of her weapon ignites with red dust and she thrusts it towards him, aiming to impale the blade through his gut; Bast swiftly moves and the flame narrowly misses the man's abdomen. Weiss takes advantage of his off balance stance, before both feet can hit the ground, and swings the red hot sword at his feet. He's slow to evade this attack and the side of the blade comes into contact with his dusty skin, sizzling as it burns the flesh beneath. Bast lets out a scream of pure anguish, releasing his hold on Iris.
Reattaching her weapon to her side, Weiss takes Iris from the injured man. "You're okay, you're okay, little Flower." Weiss cooes to her as she quickly walks away to put distance between herself and the Tribe, "Mama's got you…"
The child is crying from both the sudden attempt of abduction and her frightening fall; thankfully the thick layer of sand cushioned her. Weiss looks over her shoulder to see Slate kneeling next to her friend, cold eyes glaring in Weiss' direction as she retreats.
"We will remember this!" The old lady calls after her, "Don't come crawling back to us when your child inevitably meets their fate! You'll die out there, Violet!"
"I'll take my chances..." Weiss snarks beneath her breath.
She slows her pace to a quick walk and her stomach becomes hollow. She was leaving everything behind again, all of her belongings and the so-called friends she'd managed to make within the little time she'd spent with them. Weiss holds her whimpering daughter close and quietly cooes to her, trying to calm the little girl down before she attracts Grimm towards them.
Iris lifts a hand and her head turns towards the Tribe growing smaller and smaller in the distance. "Bye-bye…" She says sorrowfully, almost as if she understood what was happening. Weiss doubts she does, though. She probably just knew they were leaving home…
Weiss stops as Iris lifts her head and she laughs. "Hi!" Her daughter chirps happily. Weiss tenses and she turns to peer back over her shoulder, adrenaline rushes through her again when she sees a rather large portion of the Tribe rushing towards her with weapons in hands.
"Stay back!" Weiss screams, unable to withdraw Myrtenaster from her side with Iris securely cradled in her arms. Left with no choice, she lets out a shaky breath and a glowing glyph forms only a few in front of her, blue mist hovering and swirling around as her Arma Gigas rises to its full height and readies his sword; with him as a distraction, Weiss breaks into a run and desperately searches for a place to hide within the desert.
Her feet were sinking into the sand, slowing her down far more than she would've liked, she ducks behind a sand dune and leans her back against it, hoping they wouldn't continue their pursuit. She hears a scream and she feels a cold wave of shock sting at her, one of them had been injured by her summon's attack. Guilt pierces at her gut, knowing that some of these people had families to return to. Hopefully her Knight wouldn't be too rough with them… She'd hurt Bast, they were simply protecting their own, after all.
This wasn't exactly a life or death situation. For them, at least. She should've expected this. They only ran from dangerous wildlife and malicious Grimm, and Weiss was a human… Of course they would come after her for injuring their friend.
It was suddenly quiet, she no longer heard the commotion of battle occuring behind her. She knows that her summon has been vanquished, so she remains where she is and slows her rapid breathing as an attempt to stay hidden. After a few minutes, she finally rises and exits her hiding spot. They were heading back to camp, she can see the outline of their bodies disappearing into the Vacuo heat.
They were heading back to treat their friend's wound.
She can't go back and fetch everything…
She was out in the harsh, hot weather of Vacuo, potentially surrounded by Grimm and Vacuoan wildlife, and she didn't have anywhere to go… She doesn't have Winter here to help her this time, and now her daughter's life solely depends on the choices she makes within the next few hours.
What has she done? If she hadn't listened to Winter, she would have sought out her family, her friends! This would've never happened! Iris could have grown up in a safe environment, surrounded by people who love her and would protect her.
This was all her fault… Why has she been so stupid…? A small voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her to get up and begin her search for her team, but the thundering paranoia at the front of her mind silenced the voice.
It has been a year or so since she disappeared, and the whole world thinks she's dead. What would be the point in revealing she's alive? What if her friends have already moved on? She can't just show up one day with a child…
Especially if Ruby's moved on.
Her heart racing a mile a minute and her legs aching, Weiss gradually reclines against the dune behind her and brings herself down to the dusty ground. Her arms slacken around Iris and the ten-month old lifts her head from her chest with a look of bewilderment in her silver eyes, almost as if asking 'what happened?' or 'are you okay?'
Weiss laughs pitifully and moves so she can hold her daughter up with one knee. Her whole body feels heavy, she just wants to lay down, curl up, and rest, to sleep the stress of the past hour off. "We're alright, my little one." She whispers between breaths as her adrenaline fades away, "We've lost them. No more running today, I promise. "
The baby leans forward and tiny, chubby hands grab Weiss' face. Iris giggles and babbles happily, nearly sending Weiss' heart into overdrive. "We'll rest here for the night." Weiss murmurs quietly as her daughter pulls at her hair, cooing imperceptible words as she plays. "Maybe, if luck is with us, we can find an Inn to stay at tomorrow, huh?"
Iris just stared at her with an innocent smile on her face. "Ma-ma!" She burbled.
'Mama...'
"Yeah..." Weiss whispers as an indescribable emotion flows through her, her heart warming and a giggle escaping her as tears sting at her eyes. "Mama..."
Weiss loosens her legs and rests Iris down in her lap, smiling as the baby rolls off and into the sand, sitting up to grin at her happily. Weiss knows Iris has absolutely no idea what just happened, all the child is aware of is that she's still with her mother.
"Oh, to be young and carefree again…" Weiss chuckles as Iris pushes at her knee stubbornly, making a noise that sounds like the word 'up'. Weiss raises a brow in amusement and pulls her knee up, giggling as Iris topples forward with a confused look on her face.
Iris cries again and pushes herself to sit on her hands and knees again, pouting as she pushes at Weiss' leg. "What is it that you want?" Weiss asks between giggles, stifling her laughter when she sees the pout on her daughter's little face.
The silver-eyed child whines and faces Weiss, she squeezes her hands into fists multiple times as if she were reaching for her. "Mi-mi!" She says, mimicking her mother's demanding tone. She left all of her belongings back in the caravan, including Iris' baby food… She was slowly introducing the baby to solid foods in an attempt to wean her. She didn't have those anymore…
"Right now?" Weiss mutters as she tilts her head back against the sand, letting out a heavy sigh. "No, absolutely not, do you know how bad your teething hurts?"
It was the main reason she began feeding her baby food, Iris' growing teeth were beginning to hurt and if she felt the need to chew, she could chew on her baby food. No matter how disgusting it looks...
"Mi-mi!" Iris demands again with a pout on her face, mirroring the look on Weiss' face. "Wa' mi-mi!" Defeated, Weiss sighs and she leans up to take the little girl into her arms, lifting her tunic and allowing the child to feed. Once Iris has become drowsy, Weiss pulls her knees to her chest and lays Iris down as comfortably as she could against her chest while simultaneously readjusting her shirt.
She cradles her close and shuts her own eyes, she can already feel the heat of the midday beginning to bear down on her ruthlessly. She hasn't had breakfast either, her meal from last night was already gone. While Iris was full and content, Weiss was hungry and impatient.
Her nerves shiver and she bites her lip, ignoring the hunger pangs in her belly. She'd gotten used to eating every day again, regardless of whether or not the food tasted bad. Her body didn't understand and would take time to adjust to the new situation. She needs to find a way to sustain herself and her daughter. Without eating for herself, Iris' milk will dry up.
She desperately wants to return to the Tribe and plead with them to allow her daughter to stay, but she's already ruined any chances of herself and Iris ever being welcomed back. The only village for miles was Southspear, to the south of Coquina and leading towards Feldspar.
Southspear was a week's trip on foot… They couldn't make it that far, especially not Iris. Without refreshments, they would fall victim to the heat and the desert that is Vacuo within mere hours, perhaps a day at the most.
"What the fuck have I done?" Weiss whispers to herself as her chest tightens with guilt and shame. She's doomed her daughter; after promising that she'll protect her, she's managed to walk them straight into their deaths. "Damn it, damn it, damn it…"
Perhaps if she simply kept her mouth shut while she was with the Tribe, she could've stayed with them a little while longer. "I'm sorry," her voice cracks and her hand runs over Iris' head, brushing her ivory locks back, "I'm so, so sorry…"
Tears sting at the edges of her eyes upon the thought of losing her baby girl due to her negligence and stupidity. The thought of Iris' optimistic behavior slowly declining as hours pass by, until she was lethargic and mostly unresponsive, causes a choked sob to escape the young woman.
Iris was her whole world now, the very center of her universe. She'd promised that her child would live a better life than she did… What kind of life was this? Always running, always hiding, always alone? She wants her daughter to have friends, to experience a normal childhood, but she can't quite give that to her despite how badly she wants to.
Maybe she shouldn't have listened to Winter and tracked down her teammates instead… That way, Ruby would've been there when Iris was born, when she said her first word, when she began walking… She would be there for everything, and their friends would be willing to help if either of them were tired out. She didn't doubt that in the slightest.
It was too late to turn back. Her friends believed she was dead, and they were all legal huntresses now. Besides, at this point, it's possible they've already forgotten her existence. She has nowhere to go and she has a ten-month old little girl depending on her for survival…
She's lost almost everything she's loved within the span of a year…
Now, she would lose her daughter, and there's nothing she can do to save her because of her own foolishness. Weiss suppresses a cry of anguish as an attempt not to wake Iris, she instead grits her teeth and leans her head back against the sand. She needs to at least try…
There's a shuffling noise somewhere behind her… Someone swiftly moving through the sand and towards her and Iris. Weiss lays her daughter down and she stands up, her hand on Myrtenaster as she comes out from the other side of the dune, Iris whining as she wakes up due to the sudden change of position.
Her bag lays in front of her, Iris' stroller strapped neatly above it.
"What?" She murmurs, lifting her head to see the one-eyed woman from before standing a few feet away. She scowls at her and steps away from the bag, her voice is full of caution. "Did you plant a bomb there? Planning to take me out yourself?"
She raises a brow at this, "You really don't recognize me?" She asks with an almost playful tone, Weiss sneers at her as she comes closer. "Aw, that hurts, Snow White!"
"I don't know who the hell you're talking about." Weiss snaps, refusing to take the bait. Every nerve in her body was telling her that this was a trap to lure her back to Atlas. Her paranoia was speaking louder than logic. "I'm not opening that bag to be blown to bits," she meets her gaze, "you open it."
She rolls her eyes and kneels down, unstrapping the stroller from the top and easily unzipping the bag. She raises her hands in an innocent motion when nothing happens. "Now," she stands up as Weiss slowly moves forward to take the bag, "about this." She removes a red cloak from seemingly nowhere and it requires every muscle in Weiss' body not to snatch it from the woman. She doesn't say a word and simply hands it to her with a seemingly understanding expression.
She looks towards Iris and Weiss immediately moves into her line of view, "Stay away from her."
The woman lets out a laugh. "You really think I'll hurt your little warrior in the makin'?" She asks as she sighs and rolls her shoulders. "I know we weren't exactly close, but I'm still the same person who saved your ass from that Centile way back then." Weiss' body tenses. "Am I mistaken' in sayin' this?"
Weiss snaps before she can stop herself, "I could've taken it!"
"So you admit it!" She claps her hands together in a victorious motion and grins, "Man, I was thinkin' my eye was finally goin' bad!" She crosses her arms as Weiss walks back over to her daughter, her nerves buzzing with annoyance. It feels like everywhere she turns, no matter how hard she tries to blend in, someone manages to discover her identity.
Eden, Sun, Robyn, and now this woman
Sun was supposed to be the only exception… Things were not going as planned.
"Slate's right 'bout one thing, Snow White…" She bristles hearing the nickname, "You won't survive out here alone…" Weiss stays quiet and glares in the woman's direction, still unable to place a name to her face. "You don't wanna die before She can find you two, d'ya?"
When Weiss doesn't respond, she scoffs and shakes her head, she gestures towards the east in the direction of rising smoke. "Well, there oughta be a factory to the east. Find it and take the underground to Southspear, it'll take you to the cargo train station faster than you'll ever make it on foot."
The woman was right, there had been an underground subway for transportation a little ways away from the factory. The civilians boarding it mostly consist of faunus, all of them looking rugged and exhausted. Weiss remains at the back of the bus, not bothering to interact with anybody and only vaguely listening in on their conversations. She was mostly focused on figuring out what to do now that she was completely on her own.
She lifts her head as the bus begins to slow and comes to a screeching stop, jerking forward briefly as the rusted frame squeals and sways beneath the weight. The door slides open, and Weiss waits until a good majority of the people have exited before stepping off of the platform with the hover stroller. Her eyes scan her surroundings and her stomach plummets.
The people of Southspear were building an elaborate underground metro system that permits civilians to travel throughout the dangerous deserts of Vacuo, completely unaware of the previous attempt of a 'better future' and its inevitable demise. This place was a near replica of Mountain Glenn.
If she learned anything from Doctor Oobleck's lecture, she knew that this place would not last for very long… Especially with the overgrown sand dwellers she encountered during her travels with the Tribe.
Weiss sighs and starts for the escalator leading straight up to the heart of the town, she kneels down and presses the button for the stroller to shift into its carrier form, dropping her bag out from the compartment below. She lifts her bag over shoulder and grabs the carrier with her spare hand. It was heavy, but she couldn't exactly push the stroller up an escalator.
She casts one glance back at the subway and her blood runs cold upon seeing a tall, lanky man with a pristine white jacket begrudgingly stepping aboard the subway. He turns around, his lip lifted into a scowl as he scrutinizes the filthy people surrounding him.
Her Father…
Their eyes meet and an expression of shock and rage contorts on his narrow features as slow realization dawns upon him, his eyes darting between Weiss and the baby. Someone must've reported her presence in Vacuo, perhaps someone from the Tribe… She wouldn't be surprised if he knew what name and appearance she was hiding under.
Weiss' feet become frozen to the ground while every nerve and muscle in her body screams at her to run. She can't move; the angry glower on her father's face told her everything.
He begins walking towards her-
The subway doors rapidly slide closed, trapping him on the metro and preventing him from approaching her. Weiss releases a shaky breath she hadn't realized she was holding and watches as the bus begins to roll forward. She can see her father shouting from the other side, the unadulterated rage on his face was almost funny now that it wasn't directed towards her.
Her long forgotten fear settling back in, she feels her body grow numb and her ears begin to ring. The authorities were cruel, if she and her daughter were captured they could easily be put back under Jacques' control, regardless of Weiss' age. They could deem her mentally ill and put her back in the manor… As for Iris, Jacques could gain custody once it's proven that she is his legal granddaughter and he would win the custody case due to the fact he runs a successful company.
Weiss shakes her head.
No, she won't allow any of that to happen.
She needs to leave Vacuo now.
Weiss quickly moves towards the escalator and catches the first rising step, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. Iris' face is switching between wonder and bewilderment as they ascend upwards, her brows pull together.
"Uh-oh." She cooes as the environment changes, the dark and gloomy lights below gradually turning into the orange glow of the setting sun. "Aaahh!" Iris laughs, clapping her hands together happily.
Weiss giggles, "Beautiful, is it?" Her eyes fix on the town ahead of her, "Unfortunately, this place will have been destroyed by the time you're old enough to remember it…"
"Man, I can't wait to show you what Vacuo's all about!" Sun says with a happy grin, his tail lashing rapidly behind him as he prepares to brag about his homeland.
Blake chuckles, "Sun, we're here on a mission" she reminds him, "I already visited Vacuo with my team when we were still at Beacon. I think I know what Vacuo is like."
Sun tsch'd and crossed his arms, "No, you visited with a trained huntsman to protect you. Otherwise, you don't know crap about how to survive here." He gestures towards himself with his thumb, "Luckily, you got me!" He stops and looks around, his brows creasing together in thought. "So who do you think this guy is? We were told he was last spotted here in-"
"Just look for a guy selling high-priced stuff that clearly doesn't belong to him." Blake interrupts, scanning the area suspiciously with her senses on high alert. "Everything will be overpriced, his deals will be too good to be true, and he'll be trying to pry any sort of personal information out of you."
"Right, right." Sun claps his hand together as they arrive within a small marketplace with many stands set up. Each table was littered with junk, "I'll take the right, you take the left."
They separate and Blake approaches the first vendor she sees, offering a kind smile when an elderly man with a leathery face stands up to greet her. She examines the items he was selling, taking a moment to question the pricey ones and watching his eyes intently. She asks him about potential deals, but he passes it off with a warm smile and informs her that he's simply wanting to get rid of some stuff; his wife died only a few days ago and he requires lien to give her a proper burial.
Sending him her condolences, she moves on to the next scan begins by asking if they have any deals available. This table was littered with high-priced items, which only raised her suspicions. After a few minutes of gentle, innocent probing, the man becomes genuinely confused by her questions and she moves on. If they weren't becoming frustrated and trying to lower her suspicions, then they weren't the man she was searching for.
"Did you hear what happened in Coquina a few days ago?"
Blake's ears twitch, overhearing a conversation between two passerbys.
"About the giant white soldier appearin' outta thin air? Ye, Vajo told me all about it!"
Blake lifts her head, an image forming in her head as confusion washes through her like a cold wave. Surely, they couldn't mean a giant white knight, could they? But, the description fits…
She shakes her head, choosing to believe otherwise.
She looks back at Sun as finishes up, the last few vendors being young Vacuo women with very little to sell. Her friend is standing at a rather pricey looking stand, his tail waving with mild interest and excitement. Blake's eyes pull together and she approaches him, finding her friend to be admiring an object labeled 'semblance amplifier'.
"So you're saying if I attach this to my body during a fight," Sun rubs his chin and Blake grits her teeth, "it'll make my semblance stronger?"
"Yessir!" The man grins with a smug look on his face. "But they're goin' quick for strong huntsmen like you, they'll be gone soon!"
Sun's face drops, "Oh, really? Um," he removes his wallet, "how much is it?"
"Eight hundred thirty-five lien." The man says casually, "One thousand if you want the booster, there's only one left! Lucky you!"
Blake reaches and grabs her friend's wrist, snatching him around to face her. "What are you doing?" She hisses under her breath, "Don't you remember the plan?"
Sun scoffs, "Of course I do! You're ruining my plan!"
"Well, hello lil' lass!" The man greets her warmly as he removes a long box from beneath his desk, setting it down on the glass table. "Don't worry, I have somethin' for you as well!" He says as he presents a box full of expensive jewelry to her, his eyes glimmering and glancing downwards. "Come, come! Try it on! I'm sure I got somethin' to match that pretty ring of yours! Why don't you take a lil' look?"
Blake scowls at him, "No thank y-" Her gaze flickers down to a familiar crystal blue, chain-link bracelet positioned neatly within the box. She approaches without a word, noticing a bright white pendant folded beneath it.
The puzzle pieces click in her head.
"Oh you like this?" The man picks it up and offers it to her, there was a gleam in his eye. "Here, hold your hand out. Let's see if it matches your ring." As soon as he says this, Sun comes forward and calmly takes the bracelet from him, giving it to Blake. The dealer stammers for a second before falling calm.
Identifying the bracelet, Blake glares up at him and he raises a brow. "How much?"
The scammer smiles again, "Three-hundred lien." Blake rolls her eyes and steps back out of his sight to remove her wallet, taking thirty lien from it and handing it to Sun, who passes it on to the seller. "Now hold on justa minute!" The man dissents, "This jewelry used to belong to the royalty of Vale! You can't just-"
"That's complete, utter bullshit," she mutters, annoyed, "even if it did, it would be worth thousands more. It sounds like a scam to me." Blake interrupts him, presenting her huntress license and watching as rage reshapes his face. This was definitely the guy they were looking for.
"Tourmaline Saw, you are under arre-..." He reaches under his desk, his arm out of Blake's line of sight.
"Can't take me to jail if you're dead!" She's cut off by the man swiftly withdrawing his weapon; a grenade launcher rifle. He fires the first grenade and Sun is in front of her within seconds, redirecting the grenade with his staff; sending it flying in the opposite way of the running civilians behind them, the bomb erupts only moments after it collides with the ground.
"Why do we always get the crazy ones?" Sun glances back at Blake, who meets his eyes as she slips the bracelet into her pocket, zipping it to keep it and her ring secure. "Ready to take this guy down?"
Blake smirks as she steps into position, weapon already in hand. "Certainly."
"When will we see Ruby?!"
Next chapter, actually!
Why is Jacques here? Why hasn't he done anything?"
The rest of the world deems Weiss dead, people have called him crazy and delusional for firmly believing she is alive. Additionally, he is slowly losing his mind over it, so he decided to head out and search her last known location. When he saw Weiss, he couldn't just assume it was really her, but her look of recognition and fear confirmed it.
- He is currently being called crazy for shouting that it's her on the metro train. :D
(note: those retired huntsmen were hired to search for her privately, and they informed him of a woman somewhat matching the description (same age, has a child, is a huntress, isn't native to Vacuo))
"Is Blake going to say anything?"
No. I'm sorry, but Blake not saying anything about the signs of Weiss being alive is an important part of the story. Her view of it is, "if she wants to be found, she'll let us know"
"WHY HASN'T WEISS GONE TO FIND HER TEAM ALREADY?! THIS IS SO ANNOYING!"
Here's the thing, she was going to do so once they settled in Coquina for a few days, take some time to wind down from the journey; however, guilt is a MAJOR reason. It's not that she doesn't trust them, she entirely does, it's the mindset of "it's already been a year or so, what's the point in telling them I'm alive now?"
"Why is she listening to Winter?"
Winter is the only family she has, other than Iris, at the moment. She wanted to trust that she knew what was best, but just like canon Weiss, she has gotten really tired of people choosing what's best for her (ex: Winter sending her out on her own, Slate suggesting she could have another child) and it'll be brought up in a few chapters!
Stay tuned if you want to see the Weiss/Winter argument regarding whether or not she should have run! I am very proud of said scene.