Here's chapter 6, everyone.
"So, how is she handling Myrtenaster, Willow?" Summer asked over the scroll as Willow was watching her daughter training with her weapon. "I had that baby work out well with its change to the sharp edge form too. Come on, admit it."
Willow chuckled and one of the training dummies was knocked down by a powerful swing that Weiss gave it. "Well enough for me to allow her to fight the way she does." She sighed happily. "Thank you again for making it years ago."
"Hey, you thanked me enough. I'm just happy that I got to see the video you took of her when you gave her the weapon. I showed it to Ruby and she was super jealous." Summer giggled.
"Well that'll make it all the more better when she gets her own weapon after all." Willow replied, hearing Summer's blowtorch going off in the back. "Are you working right now?"
"Duh." Summer responded, not saying much else.
"Don't overwork yourself, you dolt." Willow let out a small smile and thought about Myrtenaster for a moment. "About her weapon, I… Wanted to know. Was it difficult making the second blade for it?"
"Huh? Uh, no? Willow, lots of hunters out there have weapons that can transform. Adding a second type of blade on that baby was no challenge at all." Summer explained.
Willow took a moment to look over at her daughter, who at the moment was using the sharp edge blade instead of the rapier form. "Well I'm glad it wasn't much trouble. Having her use a rapier like this would have proved to be a bit… difficult."
"Again, duh. Rapiers aren't meant to be swung around, Willow." Summer stopped using her blowtorch for a moment when she heard a knock on her door. "Ugh, I bet that's Tai. Gotta go, Willow. I'll talk to ya later."
Willow chuckled at her whining and nodded. "Of course. Speak with you later, Summer." With that she ended the call and put her scroll in her purse as she stood up from her chair. "Weiss, sweetie, I think that's enough training for today." She called out to her daughter.
Weiss lifted her head up and she ran over as she got right in front of her mom. She let go of Myrtenaster from her teeth and smiled up at her mom as her tail swayed back and forth. "I think I'm starting to get used to fighting this way, mom."
Her wolf form. Willow did her best to not freak out when she first learned she was able to do it a few years ago, but to keep her from knowing the truth, she passed it on as her semblance finally being unlocked. Weiss believed it, but she did question why she didn't have glyphs, since it was the Schnee family semblance.
Luckily for Willow, she had enough knowledge of aura and semblance to tell her that a person's semblance can vary based on their own personality. She used that as praise for Weiss, telling her she was special enough to break free of the hereditary semblance their family had to manifest her own unique semblance.
"You are, sweetie. I'm proud of you." Willow smiled gathering up her clothes and Myrtenaster, getting Weiss back inside as she made sure not to get in anyone's way. After getting in Weiss' room, Willow dropped her daughter's clothes on the bed and walked to the door. "Let me know when you're finished changing, snowflake."
The white wolf, who at the age of fifteen was already big enough to be considered a normal sized adult wolf nodded. "Okay, mom." She had on a bit of a blush, since her 'semblance' didn't work well with clothes.
Willow closed the door behind her and sighed a bit, looking down the hall as she saw Whitley walking to his room, but his arms were behind his back as he was wearing his short sleeved white dress shirt. "Honey, are you-?" Before she could finish, he walked passed her.
As Willow turned to watch him walk, he stopped and sighed as he turned around. "What is it, mother? I'm a little busy right now."
Every time he spoke that way, it hurt Willow's heart, so she moved her bangs out from her face and looked to the side. "Well I was just going to ask how your studies are going."
"Fine. They're going fine. Is that all, mother?" Whitley asked, keeping his arms behind his back as he spoke, seeing his mother move a bit to hold one of her arms with her hand. "Is there… Something wrong?" While he had changed a lot in the years that had gone by, he still had that part of him that showed concern for his family.
"It's nothing, honey… I'm sorry if I was getting in the way of your studies." Willow looked down, having lost a bit of that spark she had years ago.
Whitley said nothing as he turned, walking back to his room, but his mother didn't see him frowning when he turned around. Willow herself bit her lip and lifted her head up, watching as her son walked into his room.
She wanted to cry, but she couldn't. Through the years, Jacques had slowly broken her spirit, but not completely. Willow let go of her arm and composed herself as she heard Weiss opening her door. "I'm ready, mom."
Willow looked at her outfit, what she called her huntress outfit. It was what she wanted to go to Beacon with, even though she wondered why Weiss didn't want to go to Atlas at first. "Good, because your sister is here today." She knew Weiss would love hearing that.
A small gasp escaped her lips and Weiss looked giddy with excitement. "She is? Oh that's wonderful! I wanted to congratulate her in person for becoming a Specialist."
Willow nodded in agreement, only learning of Winter's promotion days ago on a scroll call. "I as well, snowflake. Come now." She offered her hand to Weiss. "She messaged me saying her airship landed twenty minutes ago, so I'm sure she'll be here any minute now."
With Myrtenaster on her hip, Weiss happily took her mom's hand and the two walked down the hall together, though not before Weiss glanced over her shoulder at her little brother's room, frowning a bit since she knew he wasn't going to leave his room to see Winter. She turned back and once they got to the staircase, she saw Klein and her frown went away, replaced with a smile. "Good morning, Klein."
Klein had a tray with two cups of tea and two muffins, surprised that Weiss and Willow were walking down the stairs. "Oh, snowflake, Ma'am. I didn't know you two would be venturing down to the lower floor." He turned to meet them back on the first floor. "I noticed you both were heading upstairs earlier and thought you'd be up for longer."
Willow shook her head and was grateful that the long time butler was going to bring Weiss something to eat and drink after her training. "Winter is coming over today, so we'll be waiting outside for her. You're welcome to join us of course."
"Ah, yes, Miss Winter's promotion. I was wondering when she would return home with the news in person." Klein was walking next to the mother and daughter, keeping the tray in his hands as they got to the first floor and walked outside.
The fresh air made Weiss sigh happily as she wore her wolf head necklace, playing with it a bit with her right hand. "I can't wait to see her. It's been a few months…"
Willow could tell from the way she trailed off that Weiss was saddened at how long Winter would be away for, so when she and her daughter sat down by the white table outside in the courtyard, she placed her hand over Weiss'. "I know you miss her, snowflake. She misses you too, but remember, we should be supportive of her. This is what she's wanted to do, and I know when you go on to Beacon… I'll… I'll miss you so very much too." She let out a smile still. "But I'll still support you one hundred percent of the way, my little snowflake."
Weiss teared up a bit and let out a smile of her own, leaning over to hug her mom as Klein gently laid the tray down on the table. "Thank you, mom… I love you."
"And I love you too, snowflake, or should I start getting used to calling you the shining knight?" Willow grinned, feeling her daughter tense up at her words, as she knew Weiss must have been blushing from that.
"M-Mother!" Weiss pulled away and looked to the side, clearly embarrassed by the old title she once wanted to be known as. "You know that was just when I was a child…"
"I seem to recall you mentioning it a few weeks ago when you were brushing your hair." Willow continued to tease, chuckling at how Weiss held her head in her hands. "Oh come on, sweetie. There's nothing wrong with it. There are a lot of huntresses out there with titles they go by."
Weiss was still blushing, but she lifted her head up, moving her hands away. "I-I guess, but it's still so embarrassing. I came up with that when I was a child."
Willow reached over, grabbing the cup of tea and moving it towards her daughter. "Honestly, that feels like it makes it better, snowflake. How many huntresses and huntsman can say they stuck with a name for that many years before becoming one?"
Weiss fiddled with her thumbs as she looked at her tea, letting out a small smile. "I suppose that would be something to… be proud of. I just hope no one makes fun of me for it." She lifted the cup up and sipped some of her tea.
"There will be too many people praising you for your abilities and how you'll be helping people to worry about such meaningless comments, sweetie." Willow stated as she reached over for her own cup of tea.
"Hmm." Weiss responded and gently grabbed the muffin, taking a small bite and smiling at the taste, but after she swallowed it, she heard a sound that made her turn immediately.
Willow looked over as well, knowing all too well what that sound was. "Looks like she's here." She got her scroll out. "I'll let her know we're in the courtyard, snowflake. Klein, if it isn't a bother, can you pull up two more chairs please."
"Of course, Ma'am." The butler walked over to some of the other chairs and pulled them over as Willow sent her eldest daughter a message to meet them over in the courtyard.
Weiss said nothing, looking over at the gate with joy in her heart. Willow loved that look, folding her hands on the table as she too began to look towards the gate. After about three minutes, the person they wanted to see walked through when the gates automatically opened.
There she was, in her Specialist attire, Winter Schnee. She was one of the youngest Specialists to be given that status, but to her family, she was just Winter and both her mother and little sister wanted nothing more than to jump out of their chairs and run over to her, but they held it in when they saw her look towards them.
Winter sighed happily, slightly because she wanted a break from her duties, but mostly because she was finally able to see her family again. She walked towards them, her arms behind her back, though not in the same manner Whitley or Jacques would walk. She walked in a respectful manner. "Mother… Little sister… It's so good to see you both." As she stood in front of them, she looked over at Klein. "And you as well, Klein." The butler nodded and looked happy to see her again.
Weiss slowly got out of her chair and took a step forward, being a few feet away from her older sister. "I-I heard about your promotion." She was a little nervous, ever since Winter joined the Atlas Military, she was a bit more strict about certain things. "I'm really happy for you, Winter."
"It was a bit… Unexpected at first, but thank you, Weiss." The Specialist looked at Myrtenaster. "How have you been?"
"O-Oh, well mom is helping me train a lot more, so I'm getting better and-." Weiss yelped when Winter lightly slapped the top of her head, which while Willow was a bit against that, she knew it was never to hurt Weiss.
"I wasn't asking about that yes, little sister. I was asking how have you been. Are you eating well, have you taken up any hobbies while I've been away, any new friends?"
Weiss rubbed her head and groaned a little. "Uh, well I still talk to Ruby and Yang sometimes."
Willow chuckled a little and stood up, walking over to her eldest daughter to give her a hug. "She's being modest. She talks to them a good bit." The mother whispered to Winter.
Winter nodded and hugged her mother back. "I know how she gets, but thank you for letting me know, mother." She whispered back and looked over Willow's shoulder at her little sister. "Are you going to stand there all day, or will you give your big sister a hug?"
Hearing that got a small gasp from Weiss as she looked up at her big sister, who, after Willow pulled away, offered her a hug, so Weiss smiled and moved in, embracing her big sister. "Welcome home, Winter."
The warmth of the words from her little sister made the Specialist hug her back and close her eyes. "Thank you, Weiss." She stayed like that for a moment before lightly pulling away. "Now then, I can ask this. How HAS your training been?"
Weiss perked up at that and looked to her mother. "Mom, can I show her?" Willow thought about it for a moment and since Jacques was away for the week, she nodded. "Okay, I'll be right back!" She ran over to a bush and hid behind it.
Winter chuckled a bit and walked over to Klein, not forgetting to give him a hug as well. Once she did, she pulled away. "She still prefers to fight as a wolf I see."
Willow thought about Lazuria when she said that. "Not all the time, since the issue with clothes always comes up, but she's wanted to show you how well she's learned how to fight in that form."
"I have no doubt in my mind that she can't, mother." Winter said as she saw the white wolf walk out from the bush, with her clothes on her head.
Willow walked over to her and picked her clothes up for her as she smiled down at her daughter. "I've got these for you, sweetie."
Weiss nodded, not able to speak since she was holding Myrtenaster with her teeth, so she ran over to her older sister, looking up at her as her tail wagged. Winter let out a small smile and watched as Klein set up some of the training dummies, so the Specialist took a seat on one of the chairs and patiently waited to see how well her sister could fight in her wolf form.
After Klein finished putting up the training dummies, Weiss growled a bit and ran at them, full speed as she had Myrtenaster in its sharp edge form, swinging at it as she dashed by it. The wind from the force of her swing wasn't too powerful, but the cut was clean and split the dummy in two in a horizontal slice.
Winter clapped a bit for her sister, impressed by her speed and ability to cut right through the training dummy. "She's doing better than I thought."
Willow nodded as Weiss turned around and jumped up, slashing at the neck of one of the dummies when she got close enough, only to land at an angle of it. She went in for the legs, bringing it down since it cut right through. She treated it like the monsters she would see hunters slay and slammed the blade down on its back, 'finishing' it.
"Ferocious would be the word, but I've seen her fight when she isn't using her wolf form. She has elegance as well. Two very different styles… It's impressive to see her juggle both." Winter remarked.
While she was praising her, Willow was still nervous for her youngest daughter. "Yes… But sometimes she gets a little tired."
"Well it is training, mother. It's only natural to get tired from such activities." Winter noted.
"I know, I know." Willow sighed. "I just hope her wolf form isn't straining her is all." She watched as Weiss continued slashing at the dummies, even pouncing on one to stab at it like she did to the last.
Winter placed her hand on her mother's shoulder. "You know Weiss doesn't stay quiet about a lot of things. She'll tell you if she ever feels strained."
"Y-Yes, you're right." Willow sighed a bit and continued to watch Weiss train.
So with this chapter, it's finally shown that she can in fact become a wolf. Been excited to get to this chapter. Myrtenaster in this was given two blades to work with, since rapiers are technically not to be used as slashing weapons.
To JJ- An obstacle is the best way to describe Jacques, yes. And as for vacations, well, sadly Willow at this point can't get away from him for a certain reason, but when he's out on business trips, she can easily enjoy the time he's gone.
To GoldElite245- Thanks. Glad that I'm writing him well enough to show that, yes, he is to be hated in this story.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 6. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 7.