Fortunately, the team was able to get back to Beacon the next day.
The sun's harsh rays beamed through the window, casting the room in a bright light. Currently, team RWBY was gathered around a table with mountains of books. They had a few assignments to catch up on since they missed a day.
"Ruby Rose!" Weiss scolded.
From the sudden yell, all three of her teammates flinched. It had been relatively quiet, which was almost too good to be true.
For a while now, Ruby had been strangely silent. Her nose was deep in the book she was reading. If she could dive into the pages, she would. As a result, she was unaware of her surroundings for several minutes now.
That was so not Ruby. She didn't get lost in textbooks!
From her full name, Ruby snapped to her attention and slammed her book shut. "H-huh what?!"
Weiss walked over from across the room and snatched the book in her grasp.
"W-wait, that's not-"
"I knew it!" Weiss exclaimed and held up the book for her team to see. "She's reading a weapon's magazine!"
Hidden inside the bland pages of a textbook, was a colorful magazine. The vivid image of a rifle fell out of the book and fluttered to the carpet below as the team watched.
Blake couldn't help but admire her resourcefulness. "Clever…"
"I was not reading it!" Ruby tried to defend, swiping the magazine off the floor and dusted it off with great care as if it was her child. "Okay, I was…"
Weiss put her foot down. "This is why your grades are dawdling behind ours!"
From the sentence, Yang chuckled and quoted. "'Dawdling…'"
Scowling, Weiss leered down at her as if challenging her. Her voice dropped menacingly low. "Do you have something to say?"
Yang heaved a sigh and released her pen. "I think we need a break."
"It's been ten minutes," Weiss deadpanned.
"You know Rubes' attention span," Yang reminded, glancing over at her sister.
Ruby was back in her own little world, reading her magazine like nothing happened. "What?"
Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Incorrigible."
Blake placed a comforting hand on her girlfriend's back. "A five-minute break sounds nice."
"But-"
To change her mind, Blake reeled her in for a sweet kiss. Soft pairs of lips pressed onto each other for a brief moment. Blake held the kiss until she felt Weiss dissolve into her touch. Hesitantly, she pulled away.
"A small break and we'll get back to it," Blake said with a sly smirk, impressed at how flustered she could make her. "You really shouldn't move your arm around that much. Do you want some ice?"
Flushed, Weiss sat down across from the sisters. "T-that would be nice…"
While Blake disappeared to fetch some ice from the kitchen, Yang stared across the table at Weiss. Her hand was under her chin with the biggest smug grin Weiss had ever seen. Her eye twitched in irritation.
"Holy crap," the blonde said, keeping that smirk. "A little kiss makes you redder than Ruby's cape."
Embarrassed, Weiss covered her face with her hands. "Shut up, you oaf."
Happily, Blake presented the bag of ice to Weiss. It was wrapped in paper towels so it wouldn't sting her skin and disrupt the stitches.
"Here you go," Blake said happily.
"Much appreciated," Weiss replied, grabbing the bag.
Slowly, she slid off her light jacket and let it fall onto the back of the chair. The dorm room had always been too cold for her. Even at a steady seventy degrees. Underneath, she was wearing a tanktop so her injury could be frequently cooled.
Weiss sighed in relief as the ice soaked up the burning sting. The wound only flared up when she moved her arm too much and too abruptly. She probably unintentionally grimaced earlier, which caught Blake's undivided attention.
Yang put her hand under her chin as she watched her white-haired teammate. Seeing those stripes was still new to her. It was just like when she found out Blake was a faunus. The markings of faunus were fascinating and gorgeous to her.
Weiss never showed her stripes in public, but now she felt comfortable enough to in her own room. Something all her teammates were thankful for.
"All this scolding is actually hurting you," Yang chimed. "What a weird timeline we live in."
"Quiet you," Weiss scowled lightly, adjusting the bag.
Blake fondly placed a hand on her girlfriend's own. "Did you have a chance to finish that book?"
"I have maybe one-hundred pages left," Weiss estimated. "I'll finish it in maybe two days if we can get these assignments done."
Hearing that made Blake grin brighter than the sun. She was practically bouncing in her seat. Her cute reaction made Weiss smile. She was truly passionate about books. And she admired that.
"I can't wait," Blake chirped enthusiastically. "It's hard not to spoil it."
"Please, keep that cute mouth of yours shut for a while longer," Weiss beamed her a smile.
The comment caused Blake to blush. It came natural for her to compliment others, especially her girlfriend, but she never knew how to react when she was flirted with.
Yang stood from her chair, catching her teammate's attention. "You lovebirds are too cute. Anyone want some brain food?"
Weiss couldn't help but retort. "Ramen doesn't count as brain food."
"I want some!" Ruby exclaimed. "Me, me, me, me!"
"Now you pay attention?" Weiss quipped.
Yang laughed as she headed for the kitchen. "She's selectively distracted."
Before Yang could find something to toss in the microwave, the bell chimed. The ring resounded through the room and jammed through their brains, halting all thought. They sat in silence for a few moments as they contemplated what that meant.
"Crap," Ruby yelped and slammed her hands on the table. "Don't we have Port's class now?"
Hastily, Blake checked her scroll. "It's two o'clock already?!"
Yang only shrugged as she grabbed her notebook. "We have ten minutes. We got some time."
Thinking on her feet, Weiss threw the bag of ice across the room and into the sink. That earned a slight pang on her side, but she ignored it and approached her dresser.
Blake hugged her from behind to stop her movements. Her arms wrapped around her waist to secure her. "I know you don't want to be late, but take it easy."
"Right," Weiss murmured, glad that someone could remind her.
With some help, Weiss was able to drape on the top layer of her school uniform. Blake was careful in making sure her arm remained stiff and unmoving during the process.
"You good?" Blake asked to make sure.
"Perfect," Weiss replied, straightening the sleeves. "We will not be late because we forgot, that's so irresponsible."
Footsteps rumbled through the room as the girls tried to pull their things together. About a minute later, it appeared the team was mostly ready to go.
When Weiss went to grab her bag, Blake picked it up instead. "I got it, okay?"
She really didn't want her to use her arm more than necessary. Even though that was difficult.
"Thank you," Weiss said, blushing a little from her thoughtfulness.
"No problem."
Naturally, Ruby finished getting ready first and opened the door for her team. They had about six minutes to spare, which was more than enough time to walk there.
Blake and Weiss held hands as they walked down the halls. They were finally walking along a similar path. They planned to forge ahead down this new road. Together. Bubbles drifted around the couple as if their happiness took form.
When the team made it down the hallway, they rounded a corner. Only, there was a tall, glimmer of white with a bun. Her hands behind her back and she had superior posture.
Dramatically, Yang covered her eyes. "Jeez, she's blinding me."
Weiss stopped in her tracks the moment her eyes laid on her.
"Winter?"
Come to think of it, the woman looked like Weiss. Pure white hair, piercing blue eyes, and a stoic demeanor.
Blake stared at her, deep in thought. That's her sister? She's so regal...
From the call of her name, Winter pivoted around robotically. From seeing her sister, she lightly smiled. It was ghostly like it was almost not there.
"Weiss, can we talk?"
An eager nod.
"Of course!" Weiss beamed, somewhat surprising her teammates. They hadn't seen her this eccentric in a while. "We can after class. Will you be here for long?"
Winter carefully examined the entire team. They seemed like nice girls.
"I wouldn't want to distrupt your studies," Winter said. "Go on, now. I will be waiting."
"I look forward to it," Weiss sent her a grand smile.
This caused the corners of Winter's lips to tilt upward slightly. Only slightly. As the team took their leave, Yang paused like she wanted to say something.
"Yes?" Winter asked, puzzled.
Yang stared at the taller woman like she was a magnificent statue. "Wow, you guys are kinda like replicas."
That earned a quirk of a white brow.
"Yang!" Weiss yelled down the hallway.
"Yeah, yeah, comin'."
Lyrics from This Game: "Never the fools. We make the rules. Walking the path we choose. Never taking orders from a single soul. Cause that's not our style. And together we will forge ahead down this new road." "I know the road we have chosen is no mistake."
Stay dandy,
~Toto