Here's chapter 73, everyone.
Blake could feel her worries lessen with each passing day. After she revealed to Yang of her past ties to the White Fang, it was like a burden was lifted off her shoulders, and she was able to move on with her life, but at the same time, she knew it was never that easy. The White Fang was still around, and because of that she continued to wake up at times during the middle of the night, sweating and taking heavy breaths.
"Again… I guess I can't complain. I know it won't go away.
"Hey…" Blake heard a whisper and was surprised when she saw the white wolf of the team. "I heard you breathing a lot heavier than normal. Blake, are you okay?" She kept quiet, since Ruby and Yang were still asleep.
The cat Faunus sat up and looked down at Weiss. "Why are you using your semblance?"
Weiss sighed, blushing a bit in embarrassment as she didn't want to outright admit why, but she knew she had to. "Sometimes… I like sleeping this way, and I also kind of… Ran out of aura because I overdid it with trying to use glyphs."
"Is that right?" Blake let out a small smile and moved herself a bit and planted her feet on the ground while still sitting on the bed. "Sorry if I woke you."
"Don't be. I honestly should change back before going back to sleep, but again, are you okay? You're sweating." Weiss' ears drooped a bit, seeing as she thought Blake was sick.
"J-Just a bad dream. Honestly I shouldn't let it get to me…" Blake chastised herself as the two teammates continued speaking quietly.
Weiss leaned over and nuzzled up against her a bit, and Blake sighed, knowing she was only trying to help. "Let me change back," She whispered and Blake turned around, knowing Weiss wanted the privacy. After the flash of light of her 'semblance', Weiss quickly got into her nightwear and she tapped Blake's shoulder. "You're good to turn around."
As she did, Blake was greeted by the sight of her teammate being her human self in her nightgown. "We should head back to sleep-."
"You can talk to us too, Blake." Weiss said, surprising the cat Faunus. "I know you talk more with Yang than you do with Ruby or I, and that's fine. She's your partner, but we're your friends too… Right?"
Blake lowered her head, sighing as she felt guilty. "I never said you weren't, but there are… Some things that I can't talk to everyone about."
"I can't say that's unfair." Weiss sighed. "No one is forcing you to talk, right?"
"N-No, of course not." Blake confirmed and Weiss nodded, happy with that answer, even if Blake did stutter a little.
"Good." Weiss offered her hand to Blake. "We could get some fresh air. That always helps me when I have nightmares from time to time."
Blake was surprised by her offer, so she took Weiss' hand and stood up. "I guess it couldn't hurt, but you know if we get caught-."
"I'll explain why we're out after dark." Weiss assured and the two teammates made their way out without waking their respective partners. "Would you be okay talking about that nightmare you had?"
With the years of Willow constantly comforting her when she was a child helped Weiss with Blake. "I… Don't like to think about certain people in my life. But these nightmares I have make me remember them."
Weiss and Blake were out on one of the balconies at the moment, and the white haired teen looked up at the night sky. "Remembering someone hurts you." She frowned. "I can't say I know how that feels."
"You shouldn't have to." Blake commented, choosing to look out at the courtyard. "Honestly from what Yang's told me, you didn't have to worry about any one like that."
"Hmm." Weiss figured that Yang would share a few details of her life with Blake. "My life wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows either, but I also can't really complain." She grasped her wolf pendant and smiled. "But this isn't about me," She looked to Blake. "Why does remembering a certain person upset you so much?"
Blake thought about how to answer that for a few moments. "Seeing people I once called friends end up losing their way… It hurts. And because of what they do."
Weiss didn't know exactly what she meant, so she continued to delve deeper to know more about her friend. "Are there a lot of friends like that for you?"
"Two… At least." Blake's ears flattened against her head under the bow. "I don't know if they'll ever really be the same."
"I'm sorry…" Weiss trailed off a bit, knowing that feeling. "I… Actually do understand that kind of pain." Blake's ears twitched in response and gave her a questioning look. "My brother."
"Oh." Blake remembered how things were for Weiss and her little brother when she cried about him not approving of her life choices. "I'm-."
"Don't be sorry. Like I said before, this isn't about me," Weiss leaned a finger over and pressed it against Blake's chest. "You however should be able to get those people out of your head." Blake was surprised by that. "Do you think they can be the same as they were before?"
Blake knew what she was asking, and she took a breath. "Only… Only the one. The other is too far gone."
Weiss bit her lip, hating the idea of her own brother being too far gone, but he wasn't yet, so she had to speak up for Blake. "Don't give up then. At least on the one person."
"I-I don't know if I can help them." Blake admitted, and her thoughts to one of her old friends plagued her. "She's lost a lot."
"Honestly, Blake, what you're telling me is very confusing…" Weiss had to be honest. "But I still stand by what I said. The one person, keep trying for them. That can be how you escape those nightmares."
"You make it sound like you've had this talk before." Blake commented, and Weiss gave her a small smile.
"My mother," As she said that, she thought more about the times she'd walk around the manor, looking for her 'Father' to maybe play or even talk to, but whenever she couldn't even get him to notice her, her mother would be there to tell her that there are still others in her life that required her attention too. One being her brother. "I still have a lot to learn myself about… Confronting people. I'm not very good at it."
Blake felt confused by her statement, since she was confronting her right there. "You're standing there talking to me about how to deal with my nightmares. I don't know if you can say you're not good at confronting someone."
Weiss ran a hand through her long hair and shook her head. "I'm simply helping my teammate right now… Confronting someone is much different." She lowered her head. "I can't even confront my own brother."
The cat Faunus of Team RWBY felt bad for her, but she couldn't think of what to say to help, only something to get her to not look down on herself. "I don't know if it helps, but… I'd like to say that what you're doing is impressive."
"Huh?" Weiss raised her head back up and looked confused.
"Beacon. You said your brother wasn't able to accept what you do, but I still think you're doing a good job with it." Blake's ears drooped a bit. "Back when I didn't think of your name as much more than… Well, you know," Weiss stayed quiet to let her continue. "I couldn't get why you'd even want to be here."
"Blake, I already told you this isn't about me, toni-." Weiss tried to stop her, but Blake cut her off.
"You already helped me feel better, Weiss. And honestly, you were right before. I should talk to you and Ruby more." Blake offered her hand to her friend. "I'm not great at confronting either, but I can at least try to help my friend."
Weiss' eyes widened, and hearing Blake say those words touched her heart, but instead of taking her hand, she wrapped her arms around the cat Faunus, surprising Blake a bit. "I'd say you succeeded in helping me feel better."
Without letting go, Blake nodded and hugged her back. "I was serious. About you being here."
"I know." Weiss smiled and pulled away from the hug. "I honestly do wish Whitley would be as understanding, but even so, I can't let that stop me, and you," She pointed at her again and tapped the middle of her chest. "Can work on reaching out to that friend of yours."
Blake was a bit nervous about doing that, but she did believe it was still possible to help her old friend. "I'm not making excuses when I say this, but even contacting her isn't easy to do."
"I'm sure you'll find a way, and if not, then you can ask us to help you." Weiss gave her a reassuring smile.
While the help was appreciated, Blake couldn't let Weiss help her contact her old friend. It was a clash waiting to happen if she did that, so she shook her head. "I'd rather I do this alone." Weiss was a bit surprised by that, but she chose not to pry and simply nodded. "I'm sorry for not saying more."
"Don't be." Weiss looked out at the stars again. "Hey," Blake looked towards her, wondering what she was thinking about. "I know this is an out of nowhere question, but what are your parents like?"
"M-My parents?" Blake had no idea what would have brought that question on. "Well, uh-."
"Sorry." Weiss cut her off and looked away from the stars to talk to Blake. "It's just that you've met my mom, and you know… About my dad, and don't forget you've met Ruby and Yang's mothers, so I was just curious about yours."
It was a valid question, and Blake had nothing to hide with her parents, so she let out a small smile of her own. "My mom, well she gets excited about a lot of things. And my dad… He tends to get a bit overprotective of me."
Weiss was glad to hear Blake had loving parents, so she nodded. "They sound nice. Do you think they'd ever like to visit Beacon?"
That question wasn't one Blake felt like she wanted to hear, so her smile faded and she looked away. "I-I don't think so… The last time I saw them wasn't great."
"Oh." Weiss felt a little guilty bringing up past pain.
"I," Blake sighed and didn't want to hide certain parts of her life, but she did have to stretch the truth as well. "I ran away from home."
The shocking knowledge of that made Weiss freeze up. "W-What? Why would you do that when your parents-."
"Because I made a stupid decision, Weiss." Blake almost yelled, but kept her voice down, while Weiss was a little startled by that. "A decision that means they probably hate me…"
"No." Weiss instantly shot that down and Blake's ears perked up. "Do you have their numbers?"
"What?" Blake felt like she heard wrong.
"Do you have their numbers? Because if you do, then call them. Call them and tell them where you are, Blake." Weiss was getting antsy from the conversation, and a little too forward for Blake's liking.
"And why would I do that? Weiss, I ran away from them." Blake reminded, and Weiss crossed her arms.
"You said they'd hate you, and you know that isn't true whatsoever, so call them and let them know that you're here. Because just like how you said you approve of my choice to be here, I approve of your choice to be here too. And that means your parents should at least be given the chance to know." Weiss said defiantly, while in the back of her mind she thought about how her family was divided on what she's chosen in her life.
Blake sighed and shook her head as she tried to walk away from her teammate, but Weiss grabbed her arm. "Let go. I am NOT having this conversation, especially when asked me if people were forcing me to talk."
Weiss loosened her grip when she said that, feeling hypocritical in that instance. "I… I just want you to give your parents the chance."
"You don't even know them." Blake yanked her arm away, and Weiss frowned. "Just because I told you what they're like doesn't mean you know anything."
"I'm not saying I do…" Weiss muttered. "But if you ran away, then… They must be worried sick."
Blake tensed up and could feel the pain in her heart as she imagined her mom and dad crying for her. "S-Shut up… I already live with that guilt. I don't need it shoved in my face!"
Weiss took a step back, seeing as Blake was getting angry at that point. "Alright."
"Alright?" Blake repeated.
"I'll drop it…" Weiss walked slowly passed Blake, and the cat Faunus could tell she was feeling a bit sad. "I'm really sorry for bothering you about this."
Blake sighed and tilted her head back as she thought about her mom and dad. "Damn it." She watched Weiss walking away, so she chose to run over and stop her. "Hey,"
Weiss didn't make any move to get away as she turned to face the cat Faunus. "You don't need to apologise, Blake. I was in the wrong there."
"Maybe, maybe not, but I can't hide from them forever. I'm not stupid." Blake stated, and Weiss looked hopeful. "I want to talk to them again. I want to tell them I'm okay, but I'm scared… I'm scared that they'll be ashamed of me."
"If they love you, then they won't be." Weiss gently spoke, as she thought about her mother.
"They've got to be asleep, Weiss…" Blake was trying to make excuses, and it seemingly worked as Weiss nodded in return.
"You don't have to call them now, and you don't have to listen to my advice. In the end, I just want to help you, because you chose to look at me, and my family differently than most Faunus would." Weiss smiled, and Blake returned it since they understood each other more. "For now, we should probably head back to bed."
Blake nodded and followed Weiss back to the dorm, with the thought of calling her mom and dad at some point that week.
Blake and Yang have had a lot of talks together, so I wanted to show she can talk to her other teammates and friends too. So yes, I will have some scenes with Ruby and Blake interacting. They need it just as much, and obvious little hints were dropped in this chapter for future plot points to occur.
To JJ- Yeah, her birth father basically felt the pain of being unable to protect his family in the 'right' way in his mind, so he left them for other reasons to be talked about later. As for the 'sisters' thing with Willow and Lazuria, well, as you said, I'll tell you soon enough in the story. It's not an in-law thing by the way. They refer to each other as sisters from how close they were.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 73. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 74.