Weiss woke up to the trumpet screaming in her ear.
She almost knocked her head on Ruby's bunk as she jumped out of her bed, before falling out to the floor as the horn finally stopped. "Rise And Shine, Ice Princess!"
"Lord, was the whistle not enough, Ruby!?" Weiss growled as she picked herself up, before seeing her fifth teammate at the other side of her bed. "Oh, of course, it's you."
"Just Hurry Up And Get Dressed." Scythle said as she put away her instrument. "Starting Today, You And Me Will Be Getting Up At 0500 For A Jog Around Beacon."
Weiss felt a vain throbbing as her scar twitched. "And why would we be doing that?"
"Because Goodwitch Put Me In Charge Of Your Combat Training." Scythle said, placing her hands on her hips as her cape blew in a breeze from the window. "And I Want To Make Sure You're In Tip-Top Shape. It's All A Part Of The Scythle Diefull Multi-Step Improvement Plan."
"Scythle, I am not running around Beacon Academy before the sun rises." Weiss said as she stood up. "Besides, we have Grimm Studies with Port today. I believe it'd be best if I saved my energy for any activities we have in that class."
"Spoken Like A Girl Who Hates Of Exercise." Scythle shook her head.
"We still have another three hours until class starts…" Weiss muttered to herself before she turned towards the closet. "I guess I'll get dressed. See if there are any projects I can touch up while I'm awake."
Weiss disappeared into the closet. Once the door closed, Scythle looked down at her wrist, counting off the seconds before the door opened again. Weiss stepped back into the room, a far more noticeable scowl on her face as she marched towards the purple girl.
"Diefull," Weiss began growling. "Where is my underwear?"
"You Mean These?" Scythle asked as she held up a bag.
"Why does Ozpin always put me in charge of the morning paperwork?" Goodwitch yawned before taking another gulp of her coffee as she walked down the sidewalk.
"You'll Need To Try Harder Than That, Weiss!" Scythle yelled as she rushed past the blonde woman.
The woman was about to ask what was going on before Weiss pushed past her, probably the angriest Goodwitch had ever seen the young girl. "Get back here, Diefull!"
Goodwitch watched the two continue to race down the path before sighing to herself. "You made Scythle her tutor…" The woman told herself.
"Great Hustle Today, Weiss." Scythle said as she and Weiss made their way back to their dorm room. "You Did Better Than I Thought You Would. Though We're Probably Going To Need To Work On Your Endurance When We Get The Chance."
"My legs are still attached, right?" Weiss gasped, wiping sweat off her forehead.
Weiss ran her eyes through her almost empty locker, confirming once again what was missing before she turned to the rest of the room. "Alright, who took my Dust?"
"Step Two Of The Scythle Diefull Multi-Step Improvement Plan!" Scythle announced as she held up the cartridges of Dust.
"Handicapping me in Port's class?" Weiss snarked before lifting a finger. "And does every step begin with you stealing my stuff?"
"It's Occurred To Me Recently That I Haven't Really Seen You Fight Without Dust." Scythle began explaining before pulling the cartridges back as Weiss tried to snatch them.
"And what of it?" Weiss asked. "That's like saying I've never seen you fight without shooting."
"This Is Different." Scythle said. "I Can Still Use My Weapons Without Bullets. But Your Entire Fighting Style Is Almost Entirely Based Around Dust."
"That's how Myrtenaster works." Weiss said before pulling out her sword, holding up the revolver chamber to the girl. "This is a multi-action Dust rapier. It utilizes raw Dust to enhance its and my capabilities."
"Yes, Yes, Thank You For The Exposition." Scythle quipped. "But That's Not The Point. The Point Is You Hardly Ever Use Your Sword As Just A Sword."
"Not true." Weiss argued. "I regularly slash and stab at my opponents."
"And You Always Use Dust To Do It." Scythle stated. "Your Sword's Either Electrified Or On Fire, Or Projecting Ice Or Something. Yeah, It Gives You Some Variety, But It's Not Going To Do Much If Your Foundation Doesn't."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm Saying You're Dependent On Dust." Scythle stated. "So Let's Try To Test Your Capabilities Without It. Have You Use Your Sword As A Sword Instead Of A Magic Wand."
"Just give me my Dust back." Weiss scowled as she made another attempt to get the powder back. "I need it!"
"See, That's What I'm Talking About." Scythle said as she pointed at the girl. "'You Need Dust.' You Come The Closest To Using A Conventional Weapon Of The Entire Team, But You Refuse To Develop Those Abilities. What Will You Do If You Run Out Of Dust In A Fight? I Mean, Even Without Ammo, Crescent Rose Still Works, So Does Gambol Shroud, And… Okay, Maybe Not Ember Celica, But Yang Doesn't Really Need Weapons."
Weiss attempted to take the cartridges back one more time, and in a blur, Scythle stuffed them into her locker. As the door was slammed shut, the purple girl smashed her hand on the keypad. The rockets under the locker activated, launching it out through the roof.
"… Where did you just send that?" Weiss asked as the smoke dissipated.
"IDK." Scythle shrugged. "I Just Sort Of Smashed The Buttons."
Weiss's eye twitched as she stared daggers at the purple-haired girl. "Scythle," Weiss began growling before pointing her rapier's blade at the girl. "If you do not recall your locker this instant-!"
"Woah, Fine. Chill, Snow White." Scythle said as she reached into her pocket. "No Need To Get So…" Scythle's eyes widened as she pulled out her empty hand before she began patting down the rest of her pockets. After a moment, she gave the white-haired girl a nervous grin. "Hehe, My Scroll Was In The Locker When It Launched…"
Weiss's eye twitched again.
"Don't Worry, Don't Worry." Scythle waved her hands before she began scratching the back of her head. "We Only Have Four Hours Left In Class. We'll Just Check Where It Landed And Go Get It After. You Can Last Until Then, Right?"
"Cutting it a little late, aren't we?" Port asked as Scythle and Weiss returned to the classroom before he cocked an eyebrow. "Ms. Diefull, are you alright?"
"Peachy." Scythle said, rubbing her shoulder before wincing as she and Weiss took their seats.
Port hummed away his confusion before he directed his attention across the classroom. "Well then, would any pair like to volunteer to begin dual Grimm hunt training?"
As multiple students raised their hands, Weiss grabbed Ruby's wrist, attempting to yank the girl's arm back down. "Ruby, we can't spar today." Weiss whispered to her partner.
"Huh? Why not?" Ruby asked. "Did something happen to your weapon?"
"Yeah, your sister happened."
"Do you mean Yang or-"
"Ah, Ms. Rose and Schnee." Port called out, causing a chill to run up Weiss's spine as he gestured for them to stand. "Why don't you two start us off?"
"Um-Actually, Pr. Port," Weiss began. "I've been having issues with my weapon today, so I don't think-"
"It looks alright to me." Ruby said, glancing down at the blade at Weiss's side. "Blade's still sharp, still has good structure, and the revolver mechanism looks fine."
"Ruby, you're not-" Weiss began hissing.
"Sometimes we must use our weapons when they are in less than stellar condition." Port interrupted, glancing up at the axe hanging on the wall. "As I can attest to, but that's a story for another time."
"N-no, please, do tell!" Weiss said, forcing a smile before glancing at the clock. "Preferably for the next four or so hours."
"Step into the arena, and we can begin the match." Port said, once again gesturing for the two to stand.
Ruby wiggled her hand out of Weiss's grip, almost jumping into the center of the classroom before pulling out her weapon. Weiss, meanwhile, let out a sigh as she got up, shaking her head as she rested her hand on Myrtenaster's grip.
"Please be something small." Weiss muttered as she pulled out her weapon before cages clanged to the ground. "Please be something small."
With a strike of Port's fists, the cage doors opened. From one, a small Taijitu leaped out, no bigger than Ruby or Weiss. From the other cage pounced a Beowolf, digging its claws into the floor as the Grimm briefly eyed up the Huntresses.
"… Of course." Weiss muttered.
"I'll take the wolf." Ruby said before she dashed forward.
"Wait, Ru-" Weiss attempted to say before the white snakehead shot toward her.
Weiss brought up a glyph to catch the attack, before the creature swung its tail, almost managing to bite the girl with its black head. The blue-eyed girl jumped back, dropping the glyph before aiming her weapon at the creature. With a pull of the trigger, the sword clicked, reminding Weiss of the lack of Dust in it.
The snakes coiled and tried to jump at Weiss again, and Weiss slid to the side, avoiding one head before she slashed at the other. The snake caught her weapon in its mouth before swinging its tail around again, wrapping itself around Weiss's arm before the white head bit into her shoulder. Weiss winced in pain as she swung her arm, trying to shake the creature off as the white head let go of her weapon and bit into her hand. Gritting her teeth, Weiss stumbled backward and slammed the creature against the desks behind her.
With the third bash, their grip finally loosened, and as they slipped off her arm, Weiss plunged her rapier into one of the heads, pinning it to the floor. The other head let out a hiss before attempting to bite her, pushing the girl back as Weiss's hand slipped from her weapon's hilt.
Weiss stared at the snake coiling around her weapon and it stared back, sticking its pronged tongue out almost to mock her. After a moment, Weiss let out a huff, before casting a glyph on her weapon's handle. In a flash, the weapon was launched into the air, getting caught by another glyph that was about to launch the weapon to the girl.
The Taijitu jumped first.
The snake bit into the girl's other shoulder, causing her to stumble back as its teeth tried to break her Aura. As her weapon clattered to the floor, Weiss attempted to pull the creature off of her, casting glyphs along its body to pull it off. Before her struggles could continue, a red blur sliced through the serpent's neck. The creature let go of the girl as it let out a call of pain.
As the Grimm began to evaporate, Weiss looked to the side to see Ruby standing next to her, the blade of her scythe hanging over her head as she gave the girl a grin. "Having a bit of trouble there?" Ruby asked.
"I thought you called the Beowolf?" Weiss asked.
"Already killed it." Ruby said, gesturing over her shoulder to the smoking remains of the hound.
"Rather quickly, might I add." Port said. "Ms. Rose will certainly be getting top marks for that." Ruby gave a fist pump as the professor turned to the white-haired girl. "As for you, Ms. Schnee… Well, it certainly wasn't your best performance in my class."
Weiss let out a sigh as she and Ruby turned to return to their seats. "Why didn't you just freeze it?" Ruby whispered. "Or set it on fire?"
"Because of your sister." Weiss growled.
"Okay, Let's See…" Scythle muttered as she sat down at the terminal. "Locker Number 71814…"
"My performance score in Port's class is going to take such a hit because of you…" Weiss muttered.
"Oh, Like It Was That High To Begin With." Scythle snarked as the computer ran its search. "Quit Your Bellyaching And-Okay It's Done." Scythle turned back to the monitor before her eyes lit up. "And Good News, My Locker Isn't Too Far From Beacon. It's Just About A Quarter Kilometer Into The Emerald Forest…"
The two girls shared a glance as Scythle's words set in. After a moment, the purple-haired girl gave Weiss a shrug. "Well, Look On The Bright Side: This Will Be A Great Chance For You To Practice More Conventional Forms Of Combat."
"Are you insane!?" Weiss yelled. As Scythe opened her mouth, Weiss slapped her hand over it. "Rhetorical question. You saw how I did in Port's class. If I go out into the Emerald Forest like this, it'll be a disaster."
"Well," Scythle said as she pulled Weiss's hand from her face. "You Won't Improve If You Don't Practice. Come On. The Sooner We Get Your Dust Back, The Sooner You Can Stop Whining." Scythle jumped out of her seat, gesturing for Weiss to follow her as she turned to leave.
Wiess let out a groan before she pulled out her Scroll. "Hello, Pr. Goodwitch? It's Weiss. I have a question, what would happen if my combat tutor were to disappear mysteriously? Like, say if Scythle went into the Emerald Forest and never came back. What would happen then?"
"Don't you think we should have brought the rest of the team?" Weiss asked as she followed Scythle into the Emerald Forest, once again tethered to the purple girl's left wrist by the cable connecting to her right.
"Nah, It'll Be Fine." Scythle stated. "Besides, This Is A Scythle/Weiss Chapter, We Can't Have Them Cramping Our Style."
"You do realize this entire forest is infested with Grimm, right?" Weiss asked.
"I Survived An Entire Day On My Own Out Here." Scythle stated.
"That day was so quite." Weiss mused.
"Between The Two Of Us, We Should Be Fine." Scythle said. "Besides, Don't The Professors Periodically Cull The Older Grimm To Ensure First Year Initiations Won't Involve Anything Too Dangerous?"
"Those first years tend to have ammo!" Weiss pointed out, holding up the empty chamber of her weapon.
"Jaune Doesn't Use Firearms Or Dust," Scythle began. "And He Made It Through His First Day."
"That's different!" Weiss argued. "Jaune had Pyrrha to carry him and-"
"Shush." Scythle interrupted, slapping her hand over Weiss's mouth. "Do You Hear That?"
Weiss was about to ask what the girl was talking about before she heard bushes rustling. Glancing in the sound's direction, the two saw red eyes peering at them before the Grimm marched out of the shadows, revealing an Ursa.
"Wow, Two Fights In One Chapter." Scythle joked. "This Chapter Is Really Turning Out To Be Action Packed!"
"We need to get out of here." Weiss said as she grabbed the cable, attempting to pull Scythle with her.
"Oh, Come On, It's Just The Once." Scythle pulled the cable back. "Besides, We Could Use The Warmup."
Before the argument could go on further, the Ursa lunged at the two, bringing up a paw before the two jumped out of the way. The strike sank into the ground before the two Huntresses turned to face it, pulling out their blades before the creature yanked its paw out.
"Alright, Weiss, Let's Show It What We Got!" Scythle yelled.
"That isn't a lot!" Weiss tried to get out before Scythle charged at the creature, dragging the white-haired girl along with her.
The Ursa attempted to swipe at the approaching girl, only for Scythle to duck under its attack before jumping up to slash it with her knives, leaving cuts through its mask before she jumped away from it. As Weiss was pulled in by the cable, she brought up her sword before slashing the bear across its chest. If its arm weren't caught by the cable, the Ursa would have staggered back, before it regained its footing and tried to whack Weiss with its other paw. The girl held up her sword and felt her feet dig into the ground as she blocked the beast's claws.
Scythle jumped back in, slashing her knives across the beast's shoulder, causing it to stumble back and release the cable. Regaining its footing, the Ursa attempted another downward strike, only for a glyph to throw Weiss and Scythle away from it.
"Okay, I'm Getting Bored Of This." Scythle sighed as they landed before glancing at Weiss. "Care To Finish This?"
"What do you expect me to do?!" Weiss asked, lifting up her empty chamber.
"I Don't Know, Use Your Semblance?" Scythle asked before the bear charged at the two.
The two jumped over the attacker. As they landed, Weiss noticed a large rock behind them, before turning her attention back to the beast as it turned to face them. Behind the stone, a white glyph glowed to life before the Ursa tried running at them again. Weiss and Scythle jumped back before the glyph launched the rock under them, and the stone slammed into the Ursa before crashing through a tree.
The large plant collapsed on the monster before a trickle of black smoke began to rise up from under it.
"There." Scythle said before holding a hand up. "That Wasn't So Hard, Was It?"
"… That was just one Ursa." Weiss stated. "And a fairly young one based on its armor. Even Jaune could have beaten it."
"Weren't You Acting All Scared Earlier?" Scythle asked.
"Let's just go find your locker." Weiss said before turning to lead the purple girl into the forest.
"According to the coordinates," Weiss said as she looked down at the map on her Scroll, before looking up towards the chasm before the pair. "Your locker should be down there."
"I Don't Know, This Sounds Too Easy." Scythle commented. "I Mean, We Still Have At Least Another 1000 Words To Fill Out Before The Chapter Can End."
"Can you not jinx it?" Weiss growled. "I'm hoping we can get my Dust back and have a nice, leisurely stroll back to Beacon without having to worry about any more…"
As the two looked down into the pit, they beheld a Deathstalker, with its tail wrapped up beside it as it slept. Surrounding the beast was a pack of Beowolves, each one also slumbering as a shallow river rolled under the giant scorpion. All of their masks glowed with dull reds, indicating they were all asleep. In front of the Deathstalker, in between its claws, was the locker the two sought.
Weiss took a step back before sitting against a rock. "A Deathstalker… And a pack of six Beowolves… Of course…"
"We Can Probably Take The Beowolves." Scythle noted before wrapping her hand around her chin. "The Deathstalker, Though…"
"A Deathstalker's tough enough when my weapon's loaded." Weiss stated. "And with a full team."
"Oh, Don't Be Such A Downer." Scythle said before giving Weiss a rough pat on the shoulder. "I Took Down A Deathstalker On My Own! It Was Crippled, But Still. We Just Need To Figure Out A Plan Of Attack."
"Would be a lot easier if my options weren't so limited." Weiss said before she glanced across the chasm. On the other side stood large, tall trees, filled with thick branches held up by large trunks. Weiss cocked an eyebrow before she stood up, looking back down the chasm at the scorpion monster. "Wait a minute… If we chop down some of those trees, we might be able to pin the Deathstalker down. That would make dealing with it easier."
"Perfect!" Scythle clapped. "Let's Get To It."
A glyph glowed to life in front of the two, allowing them to jump to the other side of the pit. Once they landed, Weiss began sizing up the trees. She pulled out her rapier and scratched marking into the sides of them, occasionally glancing back at the beasts in the pit.
"Okay, that should do it…" Weiss muttered before she turned to the purple girl. "You'll need to do this quickly. Once the first tree hits, it's going to wake those things."
"Eh, Don't Worry." Scythle said before she unfolded her Scythleg. "I Was Born Quick."
"Explains a lot." Weiss snarked before Scythle leaped into action.
In a blur, the purple girl sliced through the tree trunks, dragging Weiss behind her as she cut through one after another. As the trees began leaning towards the pit, Scythle stood behind them, holding up a hand to her mouth as she yelled, "Timber!"
The Deathstalker's eyes glowed as it lifted its head up before it got knocked back to the ground as the trees fell on it. The Beowolves jumped awake before the scorpion let out a shrill hiss. The wolves turned their attention upwards, catching a whiff of the Huntresses' scent.
"You Ready?" Scythle asked as she gave her staff a twirl.
"As I'll ever be." Weiss grumbled as she readied her sword.
A pair of hounds leaped out of the hole before charging at the two, bearing their fangs and claws before Scythle and Weiss swung at them. The Beowolves were pushed to the side and slid past the pair as more wolves climbed out. As their numbers grew, the beasts began circling the girls, and Weiss and Scythle scanned over the pack as they put their backs to each other.
A Beowolf charged them again, only to get blocked by one of Weiss's glyphs before the girl slashed at it. Scythle spun her staff around, knocking back another attacker before it tried clawing at her again, each slash getting knocked away with a spark of electricity. Another came at her, only to get slashed as Scythle spun around, raking her leg's blade across its chest.
A Beowolf tried jumping Weiss's glyph before the girl brought up her sword and plunged it into the monster's neck. Another pounced at her before Weiss cast a glyph, launching the carcass at the attacker. The white-haired girl turned to face another Beowolf, striking back a claw before she began jabbing into it, pushing it back before it fell over.
With a swing, Scythle cracked a wolf's mask before bringing up her staff to block a strike from another. Weiss cast a glyph in front of her, blocking off another Beowolf as it tried to bite her. The two spun around, and as the glyph faded, Scythle jabbed her staff into the monster's mouth as Weiss slashed the Beowolf's neck. After a moment, the two remaining Beowolfs fell.
"Alright," Scythle nodded as she and Weiss turned back to the pit. "Six Down, One To Go!"
As the two prepared to jump at the scorpion, the Deathstalker threw the logs off of itself.
The beast reeled its tail back before stabbing it into the edge of the cliff. Scythle and Weiss jumped back as its stinger tore through the ground, almost slashing through them. Its claws peered out as the monster climbed the stone walls.
"Great." Weiss groaned. "Just great! A Deathstalker's hard enough to fight normally."
"Oh, Will You Quit Being Such A Negative Nancy?" Scythle snarked. "We Made It This Far, Didn't We?"
Weiss was about to argue back before she saw the scorpion's claw coming at them. Casting a glyph, the girl launched herself and Scythle out of the way, letting the claw dig into the ground before the two stood on a glyph above the creature.
"Alright, Weiss, Pop Quiz:" Scythle began as she held up a finger. "What's A Deathstalker's Weakness?"
"It pretty much doesn't have one." Weiss responded. "Its only real vulnerability is the gaps between its plating, but we can't… Wait a minute…" Weiss looked back down at the creature beneath them as its eyes and stinger glowed brightly. "The armor on its legs is thinner than the main plating. We could cripple it and then grab my Dust."
"Sounds Like A Plan!" Scythle said as she pounded her fist into her palm.
"It'll still require a bit of force, though." Weiss stated. "And it will put us really close to the danger zone."
"Eh, Ain't That What We Signed Up For?" Scythle shrugged. "Let's Do It!"
Weiss took in a breath before she and Scythle jumped off their platform. The scorpion attempted to jab at them again, only for its strike to be blocked by a glyph. The two Huntresses landed on another before they launched off, and Scythle spun her blade around to cleave through two of the creature's right legs. The monster staggered, holding itself up with its claw before swinging its tail at the two.
Weiss and Scythle shot up before hitting another glyph and once again launched at the creature with a spin. The scythe blade tore through the monster's left-back leg before Scythle spun around to get the next one. The creature let out a hiss before jumping around, almost whacking them away before Weiss brought up another glyph.
Scythle once again leaped up, slicing off its front leg. Before she could cut the next one, the appendage came up and batted her away. Weiss's arm was pulled hard as Scythle arched through the air and struck the ground, pulling Weiss out from behind her glyph. With a hop, the Deathstalker tried to jab at Weiss before the girl jumped towards her companion.
Casting a glyph beneath them, Weiss shot herself and Scythle into the air. As they came to rest on another glyph, the two looked down to see the Scythleg left in the ground, stuck by its blade before the Deathstalker jumped on top of it.
"… Now what?" Weiss groaned. "Your knives aren't strong enough to break its skin, and neither's Myrtenaster without Dust."
"… Say's Who?" Scythle asked.
Before the girl could question what Scythle was talking about, the two heard the Deathstalker roar before grabbing a tree. The monster tore the plant out of the ground and threw it at the two. The glyph beneath them slanted before the two were launched off of it, allowing the tree to fly by before they landed on another.
As the Deathstalker turned to face them, Weiss looked down at her sword, seeing her reflection in the blade before her blue eyes widened. "I have another idea." Weiss said before the glyph beneath them disappeared. "Hang on!"
As they fell, the Deathstalker jumped at them before they landed on another glyph. In a flash, the two were launched at the creature, and Weiss held out her blade before casting glyphs behind the pommel. As the creature leaped up to try and crush them, Weiss activated her glyphs, casting her sword forward.
In what almost sounded like a gunshot, the sword tore through the two remaining legs on its right side.
The two girls skidded to a stop as the Deathstalker fell to the ground and turned to see it struggle to lift itself. It hopped up and down more like a fish than a scorpion as its remaining leg and claws struggled to support its weight. Casting another set of glyphs, Weiss shot her blade through the remaining leg, and the monster let out another frantic yell as it was left unable to move.
"Phew, that worked." Weiss said as she landed, letting Scythle lean on her shoulder before she brushed sweat from her brow. Once they knew the Deathstalker couldn't attack them anymore, the two turned to reclaim the purple girl's prosthetic.
As they approached the Scythleg, Weiss glanced at Scythle to see the girl staring at her with a grin. As Scythle set her stump in her prosthetic, Weiss let out a sigh. "Okay, maybe you were right." Weiss admitted. "I can be just as capable without my Dust as with it. But that doesn't give you the right to take my stuff without my permission!"
"This Whole Thing Was Still Worthwhile." Scythle said as she fastened the weapon on. "You Did Good Back There. Even If I Took Out The Most Legs And Grimm."
"Let's just get my Dust and head back." Weiss said. "I've had enough battling for one day."
The two girls jumped into the crevasse and approached the locker. With a click, the locker door opened, and the two went wide-eyed as they saw the sot-covered interior. Broken shards of glass lined the bottom of the cabinet, with thin traces of ice across the walls.
Weiss felt her scar twitch before Scythle let out a chuckle. "Come To Think Of It, Powdered Dust Is Extremely Volatile, And These Lockers Don't Exactly Land Softly… Oh, On The Bright Side!" The purple girl reached in, pulling out her sot-covered Scroll before dusting it off. "My Scroll Survived The Crash! Aren't These Things Just A Miracle Of Engineering?"
Without turning to look at her, Weiss grabbed the device out of her hand and threw it against the stone wall. The Scroll let out a crack before it fell into the shallow stream and let out a few sparks before finally dying.
"… I Was Planning On Flying Back To Beacon On The Locker," Scythle began. "But I Guess We're Walking."
This chapter was inspired by a post I saw on Tumblr, talking about how, in the later volumes, Weiss has become more reliant on Dust and rarely uses her sword as a sword. So, with that in mind, I decided I would write a chapter where she was forced not to use Dust; and as a bit of a self-imposed challenge, I also went out of my way to avoid having the characters fire any bullets.
Starting this chapter was actually kind of difficult. At first, I had a section where Scythle took Weiss's Dust in the morning, but then I tried a training fight between the two before deciding on what I did. The problem with those was that Weiss went along with Scythle's idea a bit too willingly, and it didn't really have anywhere it could go as this one did.
I originally included a fight scene between Weiss and Scythle and a flock of small Nevermores, but I felt it was too easy for them. So I replaced it with a battle with the Ursa.
Fun fact, Scythle's locker number, 71814, is the date this story was first published. I've always loved little details like that.