Insert attempted joke here. Canned laughter. Casual dismissal of own joke.
Weiss told the group what happened to Ruby the moment her partner drifted back into a fitful sleep. Losing your magic was not the sort of secret you kept from someone, Weiss figured, and it was better to let the others know what had happened before they found out later themselves.
It went about as poorly as she had expected it to.
Yang had been livid after laughing off the supposed joke. She cursed Lady Malachite for denying Ruby the medicine needed. She swore up and down she'd personally tear apart every Grimm between them and Mistral, promised she would turn Remnant upside down to make someone, anyone, pay for her sister's condition. Yang might as well have set the floorboards on fire with her anger alone if Blake hadn't led her out of the manor. For her own part the Faunus took the news remarkably well - as well as anyone learning their friend had effectively been crippled - nodding solemnly before stashing her own emotions in favor of curtailing Yang's.
Qrow had not learned until later that morning, after Weiss and the others forced themselves to eat a flavorless breakfast in silence. The veteran Hunter brushed it off as a joke as Yang had, going so far as to say Ruby had been delirious. When it sank in though he seemed furious. Less so than Yang had but still livid by the news. Unlike Yang who had Blake to keep her in check Weiss opted to let Qrow seek out the lady of the house.
Not a chance was she getting in his way.
Though she had woken briefly to eat half of a sparse breakfast composed of toast, battered eggs, and crisp bacon cutlets, Ruby drifted back to sleep with Weiss as company. Not before her partner, her… Whatever they were now, made a tearful, desperate plea through a panicked smile.
"You'll fix me… Right, Weiss?" Ruby had begged, voice cracking on every word. "Just like you'll fix Yang?"
Weiss' jaw set as she glared at the fog swirling before her. She had no idea if she would fix Yang. If she could fix Yang. Hells, she had still yet to learn how to manage a barrier, a staple task for people with magic like hers, much less undo a twisted man's experiments. Merlot's notes remained unhelpful or out of reach. Anyone who might have trained her now rested across an impassable line and within Ozpin's clutches.
She exhaled heavily, closing her eyes and nursing her temples. Yang needed help. Ruby needed help. They all needed answers and the Church may or may not be holding a sword to their necks at that very moment.
It was beginning to make sense why Qrow drank so much.
Giving in to the crushing despair hanging over her would be easy. Compared to the fog cloaking Liar's Bay it felt like she had been stuffed beneath a mountain. Weiss' chest felt compressed from every angle, so stomped her misery down obstinately, beat it with her boot heel and throttled it into submission. As tumultuous as her thoughts were in that moment she could not afford to let them drive her to inaction. People depended on her. Her friends depended on her. Her family.
Larkspur called out to the group below them and Weiss opened her eyes to watch them clamber out of a lift, arms clutching sheets of paper. Crude estimations of runic shapes littered the pages and Weiss cursed her fortune or lack thereof, watching as paper after paper were placed out across a long table for her to examine. Larkspur nodded appreciatively, appraising them with a passing interest before smirking at Weiss.
"Well? Your turn to do something."
I could say the same for you. Weiss sighed and sauntered past the group, leaning over the table as her eyes drifted over the illustrations. I understand sending a group instead of me, they can cover more ground quicker, she mused, dragging one sheet close and furrowing her brow. It looked like a goldfish whose innards had been dragged out, turned inside out, and summarily dressed up in a jacket and tophat. But gods above these imbeciles have no idea how to draw runes!
Some were serviceable. Weiss recognized 'wind', 'water', 'breath', and 'sky'. A few she knew despite not knowing their names, and a few she could guess at just based on similarity to those she was familiar with. Yet many more remained that confounded her.
It helped little that people had messed up a rune and thought scribbling over their mistake was excusable On her first pass through Weiss collected no less than a dozen sheets and fed them to a low burning fire nearby. At least three dozen more remained, all in varying degrees of usefulness. And with no one else available to help her sort them she had been left on her own to do so.
Sorting them proved to be easy, if meticulous. Runes she knew outright were stacked to her right, ones she felt certain of just to their left. Those she was unfamiliar with were left spread across the table for her to discern.
"You're certain you saw all of these?" Weiss asked at one point while holding a dubious scrawling in her hand. The closest approximation she could make was a rune for 'wheat', one which had no magical meaning. Despite that Brawnz nodded emphatically, promising he and others had double and triple-checked to verify it. "Very well then, thank you."
Weiss fed the sheet to the fire.
The morning wore on. Hot tea had been delivered and by the time Weiss finally took a sip it had become lukewarm. She passed on the offer of biscuits, waved off lunch but accepted a stool to sit in and rest her legs.
At one point wind blew up the cliff's face and threw all the papers into the air. After a frenzied effort to collect them all again she ordered everyone "helping" her to find paperweights, accepting the measly rocks as substitute and pinning down her sorted sheets.
Morning became afternoon and the sun lazed above overhead, warming Weiss beneath the meager awning she worked beneath. Fresh tea was delivered, those instructed to copy runes had returned from another trip below. More scrawlings for the fire. More indecipherable gibberish. Weiss leaned back on her stool at one point and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hand, groaning and tilting her head back.
"I hate this," she complained not for the first time.
Larkspur chuckled across the table, idly fingering a sheet with a bemused smile. "Look on the bright side, it's a lovely day." Grey, expansless clouds swirled to Weiss' right, obscuring not just the city but the ocean beyond it. "And you're… Almost done?"
"Almost" must mean something different from wherever Larkspur was from. Two-dozen sheets had been confirmed and stacked in a neat, orderly pile to Weiss' right, and several had been ruled out as mistakes and fed to the flames. Eight remained, and of those eight only two Weiss felt certain she knew. Although "earth" and "traveler" made no sense when applied to fog they each possessed an innate magical quality and couldn't be discarded. Weiss added them to her completed pile, chugged the last of her now cold tea, and stared holes through the remaining pages.
It wasn't enough that she needed to properly identify the runes present. If that was the case then Larkspur would be right and the end would be in sight. Every rune possessed an opposite however, a specific key for its particular lock. Some made sense - earth and wind contrasted and cancelled each other out - while others seemed nonsensical.
Why "breath" and "vitality" were considered opposites was a complete mystery. Weiss suspected there stood a reason for it but no one present could even venture a guess as to why.
Yet another painful reminder that she had missed out on crucial training through the Church. Not painful enough that she considered returning but a massive inconvenience.
Lunch had come and gone, and another crew of workers ascended from below by the time Weiss made it through the papers. Their arrival signaled two in the afternoon if she had kept track properly, meaning she had spent five hours at it. All things considered not too terrible; except they were rudimentary runes. If she had reliable scribes or even half-trained ones it would have taken a fraction of time. Instead she had been made to decipher the charcoal scratchings as much as the runes themselves.
But she was done. A short stack of papers remained in front of her and she thumbed through them as ashes of their discarded brethren drifted aimlessly past her nose. Thirty runes in all, which meant sixty once their opposites were brought into play.
Not impossible, far from it even, and with the proper symbols now in her grasp Weiss could begin to undo the fog barrier surrounding the city.
A little improvisation was necessary, and Weiss had no idea whether it would help or hinder her efforts. Barriers often had a point where they were bound, be it a runestone, a central hub of sorts, or the point of origin where the barrier had been erected. Weiss knew the location of neither and the denizens of the city were just as clueless as she was. Without a specific location to begin her work Weiss descended a level to gravely, weathered roads, stood at the rotting wooden guardrail, the only thing between her and a hundred foot plunge to her doom, and began to weave runes into the fog.
The ordeal proved to be even more a test of patience than transcribing had. Although Weiss only spent half an hour on the task, an agonizing minute per each rune, the focus required had multiplied exponentially. A single stroke out of place could render the rune useless. A mistaken rune could either have no effect or cause an explosion that would bring the mountain crashing down.
The latter might have been a little dramatic. Maybe.
Weiss made a concerted effort not to find out.
Ten runes down. Weiss paused to slake her thirst with a flask of water, allowing herself a pair of stale biscuits and a moment to rest. Twenty runes written and she had to sit, head throbbing more so from focusing than magic fatigue. To release the barrier, theoretically anyways, she only needed enough magic to compose the rune itself, the intensity of it irrelevant to its purpose. Assuming that held true Weiss had only left a sliver of energy in each rune she made, enough to maintain it, and moved along the edge of the cliff in that manner.
The thirtieth rune went down and Weiss stepped back to inspect her work. While those in the fog swirled about with the mists her own hovered steadfast along the fog's edge, pulsing softly with an array of colors. As ready as she felt to be done with it she checked the papers tucked under her arm against the runes twice, and only once she felt satisfied did she then step back.
"You all might want to step back too," she cautioned, smiling as workers eased away from the edge. "There's no telling what might happen. The barrier could come down," Weiss explained, raising her hands and pressing her lips into a tighter smile. "Or I could kill us all on accident."
"Nice joke, Weiss," Larkspur quipped, her smile evaporating as Weiss shook her head.
Not far away May whimpered, hiding behind Brawnz for all the good it would do. Weiss closed her eyes to focus and the wind whipped up, carrying with it the tang of salt on the air, the stench of waterlogged wood, and the smell of piss.
Someone had soiled themselves. Lovely.
Weiss concentrated, slowly turning her hands, fingers outstretched. In perfect synchrony her runes twisted with her, shimmering growing into a soft pulse, then a vibrant glow. Like a lock she made a full ninety-degree rotation before stopping, cracking open an eye to check if she was still alive.
Unlike a lock there was no click. In its place the runes pulsed, hummed, then burst into light. Strands of magic wove into the fog and began to spread out, growing thinner as it filled the canvas with a rainbow of radiant veins. With little reason to their paths the veins webbed out, fanning left and right erratically but never crossing. Runes within the fog lit up as her magic reached them, pulsing with the same latent energy as her own. Where the fog had been a muted gray before it now throbbed and oscillated, switching between greens and blues, reds and oranges, tinted by yellows, shades of everything above, and occasionally black.
Weiss couldn't think of a rune that appeared as black and that concerned her, but there was nothing she could do now but stand back with the others and watch it unfold.
Despite the size of the barrier her magic triggered runes within it at a remarkable speed and within minutes the entire thing had been set aglow. So concentrated was the magic that Weiss' skin tingled, hair standing up on end as though drawn up by static.
Heat washed over them, then a chilling wind. The air shifted, swirled, toppling over itself in a drunken effort to supplant itself, climbing higher and higher into the sky. As it climbed the fog thinned, runes vanishing and the mists that had cloaked Liar's Bay disappearing with a silent gasp.
Weiss watched in stunned silence as the city beneath was revealed to them in its entirety. She had known Liar's Bay was a mess the first moment she stepped into it. From cramped, soiled streets to its unruly inhabitants she had expected the real city to be a cruel mockery of civilization. A nest of deplorable souls and cretins.
Except it was neither. Both of those required people.
And sure, there were people in Liar's Bay, yet instead of crowds clogging the streets she could make out small pockets roaming among them, listless in the shambling city. Buildings decayed before her eyes as stone, brick, and wood vanished with the mist, vitality sapped out of everything below them. Three story buildings had been reduced to their foundations, homes stood as poor imitations of themselves, hollow corpses deprived of any inhabitants beyond disease-ridden rats and squatters.
It looked like the sorriest excuse of a city Weiss ever had the displeasure of seeing. Leafless trees listed in the wind. Patches of pale growth climbed up decaying rubble. Gulls, ravens and crows, and even a muskrat or two prowled the cityscape.
"Holy shit…" Larkspur breathed out, railing creaking as she leaned forward on it.
Weiss saw it even before the woman beside her pointed it out. The right side of the city still stood, although "stood" might be generous; Liar's Bay stumbled on two stumps that had once been legs, then fell and dragged itself through mud and shit, that sounded more apt. But at least it remained relatively in-tact.
The same could not be said for the rest of it. Buildings had been erased, the ground itself cleaved apart, stone and soil upturned, trees uprooted, and buildings reduced to piles of rubble. Water, either from the ocean or rainfall, collected in the deep gouges, drifting down into a larger crater at the rear of the city where it became stagnant, green and rancid, and perhaps the source of the city's unpleasant stench. Weiss could only stand and stare as she canvassed the city's landscape.
And that was before she realized the gouges were claw marks. She though that roads had sunken into themselves at first until she noticed the shapes, narrower where claws must have dug in and widening as they stretched across the land before ultimately vanishing beneath the incoming waves.
Similar marks scored across the cliff's face and massive chunks of stone had been rendered from the rock, piling beneath the bluffs and creating a small mountain unto itself. Weiss' eyes drifted back to the gouges, then to the crater, watching ripples dance across the swampy water as wind skated across its surface.
She expected whatever had created the marks to emerge now that the barrier was gone. Weiss strained her ears and listened in terror as she tried to anticipate some gargantuan beast's awakening, the chains binding it undone by her folly.
Nothing came. No giant Grimm emerged from the depths or clawed its way up to the surface. As more people moved to the railing to gaze upon the city and its depressing splendor there was no sign that death incarnate had been roused.
Gulls cried out gently and the wind whistled its way up the cliffs, tussling Weiss' hair as it brushed against her.
But no Grimm. Whatever had been responsible for the city's ruin was gone: dead or departed.
And with the fog gone the view of the sea was now clearer than ever, a rolling, eternal expanse that disappeared across the horizon. A new terror gripped Weiss and she chuckled, because what else was she supposed to do?
It's out there… Isn't it?
She would find out soon enough, one way or another.
/+/+/+/+/+/
All of Liar's Bay's docks were relegated to the not-completely-ruined side of the city. Between the ground itself sinking into the ocean and rubble canvassing the rest there would be no way to build a stall, much less a dock fit for seafaring vessels. That helped to explain too why all of the lifts, which Weiss had learned ran off water pressure, somehow, ran along one side of the bay too. Once their group had been outfitted with new clothing - a gesture Weiss assumed was a futile effort to make up for selling them out - they gathered what meager belongings they had and made a trip to the lifts. After a silent trip down they disembarked along rutted roads, moving through the now much sparser crowds on their way to the docks further below.
For not the first time it occurred to Weiss that, given their line of work, they really should be wearing something more suitable for combat. Her new leathers made up for some of her lack of protection. Her quick reaction times and the pointy metal stick swinging from her hip would make up for proper metal armor.
The rest of her friends had been dressed in much the same manner. Yang had been given a new-to-her long coat because the tattered tail and the sheared off sleeves were clearly not new, although the latter was Yang's choice. Steel-plate padded boots and a single steel-padded bracer made up the rest of Yang's new "armor".
"Nice and breezy!" Yang laughed, her one exposed leg blasted by the cold wind rolling along the street, her other encased in the still remaining black legging.
Blake had opted for something a little more practical. Steel toed boots, a long-sleeved deep purple quilted doublet and studded leather chaps provided more protection than simple cloth. The Faunus' new utility belt swung from her waist, two slots empty as twin daggers remained clutched in her hands. Blake insisted she had been testing their weight; Weiss couldn't help but notice the wide berth the city's residents gave them as a result. The Faunus retained her black scarf and kept it up so amber eyes peered out over it, exposed feline ears flicking and swiveling at the slightest of sounds.
Weiss grabbed Ruby's elbow to steady her, smiling uncertainly when Ruby laughed.
"I'm okay. I'm okay!" Said the girl using her scythe as a walking stick and leaning heavily on Weiss. Ruby took a deep breath, released it in a raspy cough, and spat out black phlegm before shaking her head. "We can keep going."
If Qrow hadn't gone ahead to make sure their ship was properly supplied Weiss would have asked him to carry Ruby. Not that she expected her partner to allow it; Yang tried several times and had been rebuked every time. That left Weiss to walk slowly alongside Ruby, one hand clutching her elbow and another on her back.
Considering they were about to set sail Weiss supposed dressing in full armor would be a touch silly, but it still would make her feel better about Ruby's safety. Instead of a breastplate Ruby had opted to wear a décolletage blouse with belled sleeves, the garment distressingly more "breast" than "plate". Over the slate gray garment she donned a black corset that further worsened Weiss' qualms with the new outfit, nor did the black skirt, torn crudely to fall at her knees instead of her shins, or the heavy leather boots instill much confidence. Ruby's usual red cloak fluttered behind her as they went, hood hanging down, and as Weiss caught her eyes wandering yet again she forced herself to stare either at the cloak or the road ahead.
Their pace was slow. Unhurried. Ruby insisted they move faster yet each of them scolded her, gently unless they wanted to incur Yang's ire, reminding the brunette that the ship would not leave without them. Even if they wanted to move faster Ruby wouldn't be capable of it.
The healer had suggested Ruby remain bedridden for another two days at the very least. Miss Malachite's missive, assuming it had reached the Church, meant Hunters or Wardens were on their way to collect them.
Or kill them. It was an either or, really, and none of them were keen to sit around and find out which it was.
Now that the city had been exposed Weiss felt a sordid sense of wonderment at how sparsely populated it was. Residents who had until that afternoon lived among ghosts now found themselves with much more space to conduct their illicit activities in, and despite being in the clear light of day many did just that.
They passed by a group of men and women sat outside of a shambling inn, taking turns passing around a pipe filled with what looked like dry grass and reeked of a dying flounder. They turned down an optimistic, raunchy man promising them all a good time. Gently, at first, until he slid up beside Ruby to try and appeal to her. For once it was Yang keeping Weiss from killing someone, although Blake might have been keeping Yang in check too.
Upon reaching the docks it didn't take long to figure out where their ship was. Weiss figured it was a safe bet they weren't traveling across the ocean on a fishing trawler, which struck four off the list immediately. A schooner listed idly against one dock, its crew and guests embroiled in either an orgy, a fight, a play, or some unholy combination of the three.
Weiss made Ruby look away and covered her partner's ears when the shouting started.
"Hey Blake? You thinkin' what I'm thinking?"
Apparently not as Blake torqued Yang's head to make her stare forward, covering Yang's ears while folding her own. "Walk," the Faunus ordered, to which Yang snickered.
"Aye aye, captain!"
"Hey Weiss?" Ruby asked. "What's that moaning?"
Weiss clamped her hands down harder.
She had heard plenty of horror stories about how foul-mouthed sailors could be. It came then as a surprise that the conversations along the docks were polite, if a bit gruff, with words clipped by almost unintelligible accents and lingo she could not make heads or tails of.
Fewer warehouses sported any kind of activity. With the illusion lifted it became clear that the city was a fraction of what it purported to be. Less cargo being brought in, fewer workers handling it. Even Lady Malachite's warehouse had been shown to be a pale reflection of itself: sparsely manned and even lighter in its goods.
They found Qrow standing along the edge of the docks chatting with what Weiss first assumed to be an overgrown, sentient orange. Then the orange stretched its arms and flexed webbed digits, spindly legs bending as it bounced in place. It occurred to Weiss that she had never seen an orange with fins or gills either. Or wearing a breathing apparatus.
Or heard one talking.
The Varuna clacked its teeth and turned when Qrow waved to them, black eyes peering curiously up at them. The creature only rose to Weiss' waist, and what she assumed were black eyes appeared to be tinted goggles that matched its rusted… Muzzle?
She was never quite sure what they were, those masks, only that they apparently helped Varuna breathe on land.
"Was wonderin' when you girls would get here," Qrow drawled, grinning, and looking just vaguely like he was grateful they'd interrupted a conversation. "They just finished loading everything." A pair of blue-skinned Varuna scuttled up the gangplank. "Almost done," he amended. "How are ya feeling, Ruby?"
Ruby gave a thumbs up and a smile, then promptly turned her head away and hacked up another viscous glob.
"She's… Great?" Weiss cautioned.
"Definitely not a healer." Weiss glared at Yang for the quip, the blonde grinning back. Yang reached over and rubbed Ruby's back. "You okay, Rubes? We can sit down if you want."
"No! No, I'm alright."
"Have sorweed! Good for sick!" The Varuna's voice came through muffled and oddly echoing, further distorted by the sound of popping bubbles. It danced from one foot to the other. "Want sorweed? I get."
Qrow held out a hand before Ruby could even answer. "She's good, pal. Just needs some rest."
"Sorweed?" Ruby asked, because of course she did.
Blake chuckled under her breath. "Helps with nausea. Sailors use it a lot," she said, narrowing her eyes at the Varuna. "It's also highly addictive. The White Fang dabbles in trading it."
"Only little! Quit any time!"
"Quit now," Yang said.
The Varuna stared at the blonde for a moment, then a little longer. It scratched along its gills before blowing out air in a whistle. Except judging by its body trembling Weiss figured it must be a laugh.
"Later! Later! You guests, yes? Come sail? Ship? Away?"
"This is them," Qrow acknowledged. "This is Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Blake," Qrow listed off. "And this… Charming little fella is Naranča, the captain of our ship."
"Pleasure, yes! Pleasure to meet! Happy to sail!" Naranča shook his tail fin before cocking his head. "Naranča mean orange! Learn language, it good! Given to Naranča by friend!"
Weiss looked the peculiar man over, because it was apparently male, however you told them apart, and raised an eyebrow. "Orange? Wonder why he named you that…"
"I like oranges!" Naranča offered helpfully.
"I'm sure that's why," Yang snorted.
Another group of Varuna shuffled up the gangplank and Weiss watched as one with seafoam colored scales slipped, pinwheel its short, stubby arms before plummeting into the water below. Just as she considered calling for help the Varuna popped up from the water, waved, then clambered back up handholds along the ship's hull. The remaining crewmembers on the gangplank carried on with their work unphased.
Right. Varuna. Aquatic.
It occurred to Weiss as they were led aboard that she had few interactions with Varuna. Which was to say none. She'd seen them among Vale's docks, even occasionally in the city itself, but they often kept to themselves and interacted only rarely with the other races.
Unless you were venturing out to sea in which case there were no better sailors you could hope to have.
Except for seasoned sailors, which Weiss assumed these people were. Hoped they were. Otherwise the trip to Mistral would be hell.
Crates were constantly being shifted across the deck while they walked along the ship's deck. Cremembers scurried about with their assigned tasks, checking ropes, inspecting cargo, and securing cannons along the sides of the ship. Is it fore and aft? Weiss wondered, too embarrassed to have to ask. Instead she contented herself with watching a Varuna scramble up a mast with surprising deftness, scurrying across the narrow beams along the mast to inspect it.
"It's a merchant vessel," Qrow pointed out, answering a question Weiss missed. That explained all the crates at least. "They were already heading to Mistral when we found 'em, and they agreed to stop a little further south to drop us off."
"Pleasure to help! Happy! Pleasure!"
Weiss cringed as she listened to Naranča's feet slap wetly against the deck, skin suctioning against wood before peeling off with a sloppy pop. All the Varuna walked to the same result and the chorus of squelching steps made her skin crawl. She caught a glimpse of Blake with her ears folded flat and narrowed her eyes, sticking her tongue out jealously when her friend smirked.
"Should only take us a week or so to get there, assuming the weather cooperates," Qrow said.
"And the Grimm," Yang pointed out.
"Yeah, that too. So long as we don't do anything to attract them though they oughta leave us alone."
Except just existing was enough to draw their anger. Sure, magic attracted them, but if they caught sight of you then they'd attempt to tear you apart. Nothing insulted a Grimm more than a living person. Short of becoming ghosts Weiss expected they would run into trouble at some point whether they used magic or not. So did the crew of the ship too considering the canons and the barrel of peculiar looking spears...
"They're harpoons," Ruby whispered helpfully, making Weiss' face burn as she realized she'd said most of that out loud.
"Thanks," she whispered back, smacking her forehead when Ruby giggled.
Through a heavy door they were led down a set of narrow steps and into the belly of the ship. Barely tall enough for Qrow to stand in and wide enough for three of them to stand side by side it was not something Weiss would consider spacious. Or comfortable. In fact, she felt grateful in the moment she did not suffer from claustrophobia.
Their rooms were laid out along a long hallway that spanned the length of the ship. Several doors were already closed and only a few had been left open. For them to pick and choose, Weiss assumed, following the group to the rooms.
Only three rooms were available. For five of them. Weiss poked her head into one and felt relieved when she saw two normal sized beds inside, a small table with two stools, and little else. Something occurred to her though and she stepped out of the room, looking between her company with a frown.
"How do we use the restroom…?"
Qrow, ever the helpful soul, reached around the corner, produced a bucket and offered it to Weiss. She politely declined with a gag and slinked back into the hallway past him.
"Leave port soon! Disembark! Go!" For a being that typically did not use the common tongue Weiss had to give Naranča credit for his vocabulary. "Take rooms, make of sleeping. Eat in floor above. Kitchen!" He smiled, or tried to, the mask concealing most of his face. "Holey wood make poop!"
Okay, maybe she wasn't that impressed.
Naranča left them, feet smacking the wood as he waddled away. Only once he was gone did Yang let out a groan, tilting her head back and throwing her hands up before jabbing a finger at Qrow's chest.
"Really? This was the best you could do?"
"Hey, it was short notice, firecracker. You should be glad I got us a ship in a single day," Qrow said defensively. "You have any idea how much of a pain it is to usually charter one? Not to mention get one to agree to take you without notice?"
"It helps to have someone bribe the crew," Blake said conspiritally. Qrow cracked a grin and nodded.
"Sure does. Look, it ain't great, I'll admit it. But they seem like decent people and we're getting out before Ozpin or anyone has a chance of catching up. I say let's be happy about it and make the most of things."
"I've never been sailing before," Ruby mused, eyes shimmering with unbridled excitement.
"Do you get motion sick?"
Ruby regarded Blake curiously and smiled. "No, why?"
"Good, just asking."
Qrow produced his flask and sloshed the liquid inside, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk. "This room's mine, by the way. They've all got two beds, so you girls figure out how you wanna split them up. Unless one of my nieces wants to crash with me?"
Yang pulled a face and shook her head. Ruby looked ready to agree before Weiss tugged on her sleeve, turning to her partner with a curious smile. "Yeah?"
"Well, if you want to share a room with your uncle then I won't stop you…"
"It might be fun!" Ruby agreed with a nod. "I'm thinking there's a but here though?"
"But," Weiss began, cheeks flushing. "If you'd like, perhaps we could share a room again? It would be just like old times."
Ruby's eyes lit up immediately, face split by a blinding smile. "Yeah! We should do that, Weiss! We can pretend like we're back in Vale!"
"Y-Yes, yes! Exactly like that."
Yang whistled. "Wow, look at you go, Ice Queen. Barely out of her deathbed and already wanting to sleep with my sister."
Weiss' flush turned into a complete burn, either from embarrassment or rage. "I… What… You degenerate, that is not why I'm offering!"
"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Weiss."
"Yang, be nice!"
"I am!" Yang replied, grinning and winking at Ruby. She turned on Weiss and wagged a finger patronizingly, trying and failing to adopt a serious expression, lips quivering as she frowned. "Be in bed by nine, and I mean separate beds. And be a gentlewoman and leave if she has to change or use the bathroom."
Qrow might have butt in but he had already vanished into her room which left Weiss to deal with matters. Poorly.
Weiss stomped her foot. "What do you think I am, a pervert?"
"I think Yang's projecting," Blake mused. Yang had the audacity to gasp, putting a hand to her chest and reeling back.
"Blake! I thought you were on my side!"
"I'm on nobody's side." The Faunus shook her head. "But I am sharing a room with you, it seems, and I would prefer not having to risk Weiss embalming you in ice for teasing her." She took Yang by the collar and pulled her towards the door opposite of Qrow's. "Come on, let's get settled."
"Wow, Blakey, now you want to sleep together? This is so sudden!"
"I'm willing to bet you fit out the portholes," Blake said, voice monotone. She arched an eyebrow when Yang giggled at her and the blonde promptly went silent, disappearing as she was dragged inside the room. The door shut behind them and Weiss was left in the hallway with Ruby who looked confused about the entire ordeal.
"Wait… I just got it." Ruby's face turned to match her cloak and she looked at Weiss stunned. "Are we really -"
"Come on!" Weiss 'gently' urged Ruby inside their room, pushing her ahead before turning to close the door, although not before shouting into the hall. "Yang, you are insufferable!"
She could hear Yang's howling laughter even through two doors.
/+/+/+/+/+/
When the ship left the docks, aptly named Ship by the unimaginative crew piloting it, Weiss had been below deck settling in. Ruby insisted that they ascend above and watch the city and Vale fade into the distance. Maybe sentimentality prompted her. Maybe neither of them would believe they were truly gone until they saw it vanish over the horizon.
The sun welcomed them to the surface with a glare fit for a scowling mother. A hefty splash of saltwater tried to help keep them cool and caught her right in the face. Weiss sputtered and wiped herself off fitfully, cursing the sea and all its inhabitants at once.
Still dripping and with the taste of salt on her lips Weiss took Ruby by the hand and led her up steps to the raised deck over the captain's quarters. Starboard? Weiss wondered, butchering nautical terminology for the third time. Naranča greeted them with a squelching wave and Weiss offered a hesitant smile in exchange.
Liar's Bay had already become a smudge against the now blurry mountains that surrounded it. Rocky coastline and rough beaches stretched to the city's left and right, sheer cliffs giving way to brazen trees that grew along, and sometimes over, the edge. Then it vanished.
Not suddenly - the entire kingdom wasn't some grand illusion - but with surprising speed they left Vale's shores behind them. Leaning against the railing with Ruby they watched as the final specks of the kingdom they had called home vanished against the yawning gasp of the sky.
Despite what they were fleeing Weiss felt a longing. Vale was her home, its people, for the most part, amicable and friendly.
So long as you were human, or Ydran, or sometimes Dimuran.
The kingdom hadn't been perfect. Faunus remained oppressed and marginalized, nobility ran amok and conducted themselves as they pleased, and much of the kingdom was left to fend on its own. There was Ozpin, roaming bandits, and maniacs like Merlot within its borders.
Yet it had been home and so Weiss shed a tear or two watching it disappear, wiping her cheeks with the heel of her hands when Ruby nudged her.
"Hey… We'll be back."
"Naturally," Weiss agreed, managing a smile and nod. Ruby sniffled and wiped her face on her sleeve. "Only it will be better."
Ruby meant to say, "Because we're going to save the world!" What came out was a brief coughing fit that left her grimacing as she spat over the side of the ship. Her shoulders shuddered and Weiss rubbed her back; hardly medicine but it felt nice all the same, Weiss hoped.
"Better," Ruby wheezed in agreement.
It would have to be better. Without somehow dismantling the Church their return to Vale would end with their deaths, subjugation, or a combination of the two. Ruby knew that too, she had to, but her partner still managed to look chipper as they looked out over the quickly expanding ocean.
"Hey, Ruby…?"
"Mhm?"
"Do you really think we can make things better?"
Ruby didn't hesitate to beam, bumping her hip against Weiss'. "Of course we can! Don't you?"
Weiss rolled her tongue in her mouth and folded her hands. She leaned against the rail and watched the water part in the wake of the ship, only to stubbornly fold back in on itself and resume its naturally relaxed state. A gull landed on the water's surface nearby and was soon joined by others.
"Weiss?"
"How are we supposed to improve things? It's the Church of Remnant, Ruby. As in the entire world." Weiss shook her head. It wouldn't just be Vale they had to help but every kingdom. Menagerie too, and whatever smaller countries that made up Remnant's population.
Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss and leaned against her. Weiss thought it a lovely gesture until the brig rocked while cleaving through a wave and she yelped, grasping the railing tightly to keep both of them upright. When it settled again Ruby giggled, laying her head on Weiss' shoulder.
"We'll figure it out."
"This isn't something we can just "figure out", Ruby. We need a plan."
"Then we'll figure out a plan!"
"Ruby…" Despite herself Weiss smiled. She gave a short laugh and wrapped one arm around her partner. "Planning to make a plan is not in of itself a plan."
"Is too."
"You're a brat."
"Yep!" Ruby smiled brightly, chin resting on Weiss' arm. "But I'm your brat!"
"I…" Weiss clamped her mouth shut. She blinked. Heat crept up her neck and she stared down at Ruby, watching as her face began to burn up too. "Come again…?"
"I'm… Your brat?"
Oh good, Weiss hadn't misheard anything. Which meant the tremor in her chest was perfectly legitimate. The words meant nothing really and yet both of their faces had suddenly become flushed. Clearly, they had spent too much time in the sun already.
The boat rocked again, and Weiss stumbled back, yelping as her back hit the railing and dragging Ruby with her. When it settled, they were left pressed close, Ruby's face inches from her own. Nevermind a tremor, Weiss' heart felt ready to burst.
Ruby's hands settled on her side, then slid down to her hips. Silver eyes flickered between Weiss' own and her lips.
"You dunce…"
"Yep…"
Weiss licked her lips and cleared her throat. They had kissed once already, hadn't they? Why was she hesitating then? The part of her trying to withdraw into herself was brought out, kicked swiftly in the ass and told to get on with it. Weiss closed her eyes and leaned in, hands gripping Ruby's cloak tight.
"Hey, what are you two up to?"
Ruby's forehead bonked Weiss' nose, which made Weiss withdraw with another yelp. Her back hit the railing again and one foot flailed out, pushing Ruby off balance. Only by some miracle did Weiss grab the railing and Ruby, sliding an arm around her partner and catching her before she hit the deck. That left Weiss effectively tipping Ruby backwards, face hovering precariously over her throat, with Ruby's arms linked around her for dear life.
Qrow snorted, then grinned as he crossed his arms. "Hey Ruby, aren't ya a little young for kissin' someone?"
"I'm twenty!" Ruby whined.
"Yep. Too young. Besides, I always figured you'd end up with that blonde kid. What's his face? Jack? Jim?"
Weiss huffed, then stammered, trying to somehow tell Qrow simultaneously he was an ass while also demanding he leave. Ruby came up with the perfect response before she could.
"Uncle Qroooow!" she protested, whining as she still hung from Weiss' neck. "Knock first!"
Or... Not-so-perfect.
Qrow blinked, looked around at the wide-open deck, the sprawling blue skies, and the rolling ocean surrounding them. He chuckled and nodded once. "Oh right, silly me." He rasped his knuckles against the railing before leaning on one arm against it. "Better?"
Naranča either blew a raspberry or was laughing again. "Hello! I'm here too!"
Weiss righted Ruby, rubbing her back to make sure she was unharmed from their almost fall. Then her partner left her standing against the railing and slipped away, stomping to her uncle and proceeded to pound her fists against his chest.
"You jerk! We just want some time to ourselves!"
"I mean you're kinda out in the open!"
"That's not the point and you know it!" Ruby folded her arms and scowled. "We were having a moment…!"
"She's still right there, ya know," Qrow chuckled and nodded towards Ruby. "Go ahead, I can wait. No tongue though."
Ruby's face regained its brilliant shade of red and she drew up her hood before pulling it down over her face with a whine.
Qrow chuckled at his niece's expense and patted her head, then smiled at Weiss. "You said you wanted to talk to me earlier, Ice Queen? Well, I got a minute..."
One of Weiss' eyes began to twitch as she lifted her hands. Considering how ineffective whaling on Qrow had been she gestured angrily, motioning to Ruby, then herself, then Ruby. "Can't it wait?!" she snapped; in case the motions were lost on Qrow.
They were. Qrow shook his head and for once managed to look serious about something. "You said it was important, and that you needed my advice." He glanced at Ruby, smiled apologetically, then slid his hands into his pockets and rocked on his heels. "Sorry for ruining… Whatever that was, but I'd rather get this out now. You don't mind Ruby hearing it?"
"Of course not!"
"Sweet. Let 'er rip then, Ice Queen."
Weiss briefly considered, hypothetically of course, whether a man frozen in a block of ice might sink into the ocean. She huffed and ran her hands down her face. "Fine, if you're going to be stubborn. It's concerning a dream I had recently. And while I'm not usually the one to put stock into such things…" She bit her lip, craned her neck and tapped the Warden's mark imprinted on her skin.
"You're thinking it had something to do with that?" Qrow asked.
"How many dreams do you have of women mutating into monstrosities and trying to kill you?"
Qrow frowned, tilted his head, and tapped his chin with a finger. "Well, funny you should mention it…"
"Uncle Qrow, please take this seriously!"
"The woman in my dreams pleaded that I help her. I saw her in the Church," Weiss explained, placing a hand over her heart. "She was desperate. Frantic, even. Then she grabbed hold of me and began to change." Weiss shivered and closed her eyes, which had the unfortunate side effect of making recalling the scene easier. The woman becoming inhuman, plummeting into an endless void. "I was hoping… You might be able to identify her?"
Ruby joined her and her arms came back around to hold Weiss, bringing some modicum of relief. Weiss smiled, grateful for it, and held Ruby in return, one arm slipping around her waist.
"Well, a description would help, for starters."
"Blonde," Weiss spat out immediately, sighing when Qrow gestured for her to elaborate. "Blue eyes lighter than my own, younger. Maybe your age." She paused, inspected Qrow closer, then shook her head. "Younger than you."
"Hey!"
"You are kinda old," Ruby said beneath her hood.
"And before you so helpfully ask, no, it was not Goodwitch. I had never seen this woman before, and I never had that dream before either, which makes me believe it has something to do with my mark."
"Anything else you can tell me about this mystery woman?" Weiss could only shake her head. "Hm, not much to go off. Lemme think…"
While Qrow paced around the deck Weiss tried her damnedest to think of where she might have seen the woman. Was she a noble? A merchant? No, she was certain neither of those were the answer. Nor had she ever seen the woman in their travels.
Another Warden perhaps? Possible, although she had never dreamed of another Warden, not before or since. Maybe it had only been a dream and nothing more. Something brought on by stress, or maybe by miasma poisoning. For all she knew she was fretting over nothing.
It was touching then that Qrow took several minutes to mull it over before returning to them. The apologetic smile he bore didn't instill confidence in his answer however and his beleaguered sigh and shrug put the nail in the coffin.
"Sorry, kiddo, but I can't think of anyone that matches. I know most of them," Qrow said. "The Wardens, and none of 'em look like that. Only blonde I know is Glynda." He went silent then snickered. "Well, and Tai, but he's a man, and unless you were seriously confused in your dream…"
"I'm confident I know the difference, thank you."
"Right, which means we got no clue who your mystery woman is." Qrow stepped closer and patted her shoulder. "But hey, we're gonna go meet one of Raven's pals."
"Are they actually pals?" Ruby asked immediately. "No offense to Aunt Raven but it's kind of hard to imagine her having friends. Or pals." Ruby's brow furrowed. "Or acquaintances."
"Ew, please don't call her your aunt again, Ruby." Qrow covered her mouth before his niece could point out it was technically true. "We'll see if Rvene's pal knows anything, and if not then I can look around in the Church a bit. Got some friends in Mistral that will probably, almost certainly not betray us."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "How reassuring."
"If you have another dream like it then tell me, alright? Maybe if we can get more information I can tell you who she is, or at least what she might be."
Oh, was that all she needed to do? How lovely. Just have another horrifying nightmare and then maybe they might learn more. Sure, why not! I love not being able to sleep!
"You'll figure it out, Weiss! I know you will!" Ruby smiled. "Just like I know you'll help me, and Yang."
The intent was there but Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed. "Sure. I'll save the whole world myself."
"Well not alone, no, but we all will! We've managed this far, right?"
"I'd hardly count serendipity as a plan moving forward."
Ruby giggled. "Okay, no, but we'll think of something! Plan to make a plan about planning!"
Weiss blinked. "... What?"
And because the damnable man never passed an opportunity to be a nuisance, Qrow chimed in. "Ruby, you've gotta plan about making plans to plan your planning first," he said, as if reciting something profound and not absolute crock. "And after you plan to make plans -"
"You're not helping!" Weiss shouted.
"So loud!" Naranča wheezed. Or laughed. Possibly screamed.
"We'll figure this out," Ruby insisted gently, turning her head as she was wracked with a coughing fit. She still came back with a smile, hugging Weiss and getting on her toes. The kiss was brief, much too brief for Weiss' liking if she was honest, but it left both their faces scorched, nonetheless. "I know we will."
"You're right. Of course we will."
Weiss didn't believe it, not for a second. Ruby did though. Even with her magic stripped away and them abandoning their home Ruby still somehow remained optimistic. That, or a dreadfully good liar. Weiss knew it was the former and she would just have to hope some of Ruby's optimism would rub off on her.
Serendipity wasn't a plan, but they would think of something. They would have to. And the smiling, dopey, lovable, giggling ball of joy staring at her would not let her rest until they made certain of it.
She pulled Ruby in for another kiss and this time Qrow didn't interrupt them. Oh, she caught his shit-eating grin out of the corner of her eye but he wisely remained silent. The second their lips met she swore she'd been struck by one of Nora's spells. Electricity coursed through her, her heart thrummed erratically, and she sighed, lips against lips, as Ruby's hands worked their way into her white locks. Weiss gripped Ruby's shirt and held onto her, feeling so heady she feared Ruby or herself might float away.
"Hey, get a room you two!"
Ruby backed off a sputtering mess and Weiss conjured a rune of fire in record time. The boat rocked and she howled over Naranča's attempt at an apology as her fireball exploded harmlessly off the port side.
"Xiao Long, I'll kill you!"
Hollow as the threat was Yang exploded into laughter, joined soon by Qrow while Blake offered an apologetic smile, hands up in defeat. Deciding maybe flinging fire on a wooden ship was a bad idea Weiss attempted to send Yang into the sky with sheer willpower alone.
Yang remained firmly planted. Weiss remained annoyed. And Ruby, despite being just as embarrassed as her, stole another kiss on her cheek and giggled.
For folks who may begrudge my usual travel sections, which can admittedly be long, fret not! The journey to Mistral isn't going to be long, although I do have some fun in store! So stay tuned to find out!