Here's chapter 81, everyone.
Winter was sat on Blake's bed, having been told of Weiss' birth Mother, and how she had the same 'semblance' Weiss had. It was a lot to take in, and while Willow wished she could tell the whole truth, especially after the pain of knowing what lying had caused, she couldn't. "That's a lot to take in, Mother."
"It is, yes. But now do you understand why I didn't want you kids to know back then?" Willow sniffled, seeing as she's had to recount the story several times in one day.
"I can't say I like it, but I do understand why you would." Winter folded her hands in her lap. "And you're sure you've never been in contact with that woman since she had to leave?"
Willow nodded. "If I did, I would have tried to get her to see Weiss by now." She felt the pain of losing Lazuria, but she kept herself composed. "And yes, I know you have resources that could help find her, but-."
"Then why not let me try? Honestly, I don't have much to say for a woman who would leave their own child like that, but… I don't know the full story either. Even so, I believe that she has to make things right." Winter stated.
"Just as you said. You don't know the full story, and she told me in the time that she had, her being around Weiss would be a danger to her." Willow explained.
"And how exactly is she a danger, Mother? Or is this something else you won't tell us?" Winter questioned, still trying to get more out of her Mother, but she did make sure not to go too far to avoid another argument.
"Winter, please." Willow sighed. "Lazuria asked me to keep her problems away from Weiss, so if you knew what she was dealing with, it would bring a risk to your sister."
Hearing that was enough to make Winter back off a bit. "I see."
"Yes. In the end, I really wish she could see Weiss again, and… Maybe she can one day if she's still alive, but back then, there was nothing either of us could do." Willow said sadly.
"Hmm. Okay." Winter got up and walked to the door. "It's getting late, Mother, so I shall be in my airship, since I wasn't able to inform Ozpin that I'd have no quarters to stay in for my visit."
Before she could leave the room, her Mother got up as well. "Nonsense, you can come over to Summer's room. Remember, she works here, so she has enough space."
"Very well, but if I'm an inconvenience-."
"Stop. You know Summer would rather sleep on the floor than let someone else sleep in an airship, sweetie." Willow smiled and took her eldest daughter's hand. "Come on."
"You wanna see if Yang is doing anything right now?" Ruby asked Blake, though the cat Faunus thought she meant to tell her how she felt right then, and the blush she had was easy to catch. "I-I mean if we could just see if she wants to hang out is all. Not to tell her about, well, you know."
"Oh," Blake rubbed the back of her head. "She's just doing a bit of training if you wanted to go and check on her."
"Sweet! I'm gonna see if she wants to spar." Ruby cheered. "Maybe you and I can go a few rounds too."
Blake shrugged. "Sure."
Ruby and Blake made their way over to the training room, so the rose girl tried to make some small talk on the way there. "Did you show Yang yet? Your art I mean."
"I did. It's actually why I took pictures of my art. To show her without accidentally showing the unfinished ones I'm still working on." Blake explained, while the art of the cat and the dragon was in the back of her mind.
"Aww, you need to show Weiss now too." Ruby said with joy in her voice. "I know she'll love the art you drew of her."
"I guess it's only fair since I've shown you and Yang. Oh, and don't tell her, but Yang suggested I draw her as a puppy… I'm not doing that." Blake stated.
Ruby giggled. "Yeah, Weiss would probably freak out and threaten to freeze you in place like she usually does."
"Already told Yang that, so I'll just stick to her normal size." Blake was glad she could have normal conversation with more than just Yang now.
"Or you can draw her as a puppy and not show her… Y'know, just let me have it." Ruby half requested, half joked around with her.
Blake playfully rolled her eyes. "And risk having Weiss see it? No thanks."
Ruby let out a cute pout, wishing Blake would actually say yes, so she mumbled something Blake could hear, seeing as they were standing right next to each other, and her cat ears were more sensitive than a human's, even under the bow. "Not like I wanted it anyways…"
"Were… Were you actually serious about that?" Blake questioned, and it was Ruby's turn to blush.
"Kinda." Ruby squeaked.
Blake sighed, but she let out a smile. "Okay, but you have to swear that if she gets mad, you're taking the fall for it. I'm not getting turned into an icicle for this."
Ruby gasped and quickly gave the cat Faunus a hug. "Yes! Thank you, Blake!"
A few students were actually in the hall at the time, looking over at the two with confused expressions on their faces, so Blake groaned, wishing her team leader didn't just up and do that in front of everyone. "You're welcome, Ruby…"
Weiss cut down more of the hard light enemies in her path, not taking a moment to relax as she still chose not to use her wolf changing ability. Yang was even more worried at that point, since she noticed Weiss was sweating a bit, and her aura was a bit low. "Uh, Weiss, don't you think you should take a break? You've been at this for awhile."
With a roll of her eyes, Weiss jumped away from an attack and shook her head, choosing not to look over at Yang as she responded. "No. I told you before that even if my aura is low, I don't need to stop training."
Yang sighed. "Come on, Weiss." She walked over to the training console and was about to stop the program, but she was greeted by a glyph that was over the console entirely, stopping the blonde from pressing any buttons. "Weiss!"
"What did I just say, Xiao Long?!" Weiss yelled out, but in that moment of being distracted, she was hit by one of the hard light rifle rounds, knocking her back a bit and making her drop the glyph that she casted over the console, so Yang quickly turned the program off.
As soon as the training program turned off, Yang ran over to check on her friend. "Weiss, are you-."
Weiss slapped her hand away and got up, dusting herself off as she glared at the blonde. "Why did you turn it off?! I was fine, you oaf! Ugh, now I have to reset it and-." Yang had enough and grabbed her arm, choosing to ignore anything she said as she started pulling her to the seats. "Let go of me!"
"Not until you calm down." Yang said without raising her voice. "Sit." She ordered as she let go of Weiss' arm, but when she wasn't doing so, Yang crossed her arms. "I can stay here all day and keep you from getting near that console again."
"What is the matter with you?!" Weiss yelled, and Yang sighed.
"Trying to figure out why my best friend is acting like an idiot." Yang countered.
Weiss growled, but she didn't try retaliating. "I'm not doing anything but what everyone else here would do. Train, but I guess you can't handle me taking one shot to my shoulder."
"One, your aura is pretty damn low. Two, you've been going at it for almost two hours, and three, you haven't even tried using your wolf-."
"I don't need that!" Weiss shouted while stomping her foot against the ground, but Yang noticed she was slightly shaking. "I… I don't need to fight as a damn wolf, Yang. I can fight like a Schnee would… I can… I…"
Yang figured what Willow and Weiss had talked about was getting to her, and while she wished she had all the details, she had to just be there for Weiss. Not a moment later, Yang pulled her close and started rubbing the back of her head. "Weiss… Take a second. Please."
"I-I… I…" Weiss couldn't say it. She couldn't admit that she wasn't a Schnee by blood, so instead she buried her face into Yang's shoulder. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry."
"Shh, it's okay. I'm not mad at you, silly. I just want you to be okay." Yang closed her eyes and kept rubbing the back of her head.
In that moment, Ruby and Blake made it to the training room, and when they both saw what was going on, Ruby froze and gasped. Blake didn't expect that either, and not a moment later, the rose girl used her semblance and was at Weiss' side in a second.
Yang realized her sister was there when she opened her eyes, so she lifted a finger up to her own mouth in a shushing motion, as Weiss needed to let it out at the moment. Ruby bit her lip and nodded, as she watched her girlfriend crying into Yang's shoulder.
"Ice Wolf… Someone's here to see you." Yang let out a smile and gently pulled away for Weiss to turn around.
Weiss gasped when she saw that it was the one girl she didn't want seeing her like how Yang had seen her not moment ago. "R-Ruby?"
Ruby took Weiss' hand immediately. "Yeah…" She squeezed her hand, hoping Weiss could talk to her. "Weiss, I… I don't want to make you talk. That's the last thing I'd ever do. Force you to talk about something that'll hurt, but-."
"No, I can tell you. I can," Weiss took a breath and watched as Blake walked over as well. "Blake, you're here too."
"I don't exactly think I can stay away when one of you is like this now, can I?" Blake offered a supportive smile, one that Weiss needed.
Weiss sniffled and wiped her eyes of the few tears that managed to escape. "T-Thank you, and, honestly I'm glad you're here too." She glanced over at Yang next. "I'm still really sorry for yelling at you, Yang. It was wrong of me."
Yang waved it off. "Don't worry about that, Ice Wolf."
Hearing that nickname again made Weiss clench her fist, the one Ruby wasn't holding. "I'd rather you just drop that nickname though…"
"Huh?" Yang, Ruby and Blake looked confused by her request.
Weiss sighed in response, choosing to take a seat as Ruby followed her down. "There's," She needed to think of the word. "Too much to think about now. What my Mother told me outside."
Blake spoke up. "Too much in what way?"
"Who I am…" Weiss said, still confusing her team. "You three know about my semblance. Not my glyphs." Yang and Ruby nodded, while Blake silently waited on her to continue. "The real reason I didn't have glyphs to begin with, is because I'm not a Schnee by blood."
All three girls believed in that moment that they misheard her, all freezing up as Weiss looked saddened with what she said.
Seeing that they weren't saying anything wasn't a shocker to Weiss, so she continued. "It's true. My Mother wasn't the one to give birth to me."
"No way…" Yang muttered, taking a step back as she couldn't believe it.
"Yes," Weiss glanced at Ruby to see how she was taking it, and the rose girl had the most shocked and sympathetic look on her face, so Weiss let out a somber and light laugh. "Shocking, right?"
"Weiss…" Ruby wrapped her arms around her. "I-I don't-."
"It's okay to not know what to say." Weiss said, not returning the embrace, since she was both physically and mentally exhausted, as it was even showing in her eyes as they looked baggy. "And before you ask… I don't know how I have glyphs if I'm not a Sch-."
"Yes you are." Ruby blurted out, and Weiss remained silent, knowing where she was going. "You're a Schnee, and nothing can change that." She pulled away from Weiss, her own tears in her eyes, as she now understood why her girlfriend was in so much pain before. "You're Weiss Schnee, so don't let anyone tell you otherwise." The rose girl planted her lips on Weiss', surprising the older of the two as she started closing her eyes.
Yang let out a smile for the two of them, while Blake was still taking in what Weiss just told them.
"She's not a Schnee by blood?"
After a few moments of their kiss, Ruby slowly pulled away, looking into the cereluen eyes she loved, and hoped to wake up to every morning in the future. "You are Weiss Schnee."
Weiss teared up, burying her face into Ruby's chest. "And you're the biggest dork in the whole world… I love you, Ruby Rose."
Ruby, Blake and Yang were taken aback, as neither Ruby or Weiss had used that word in their relationship yet. Weiss didn't regret it either, as she nuzzled into Ruby's chest, the one girl she was ready to truly stay with.
While seeing them like this, Blake herself looked over at Yang, who was holding her hand up to her mouth in shock. In a good way, though still very much a shocking moment for them. It started making Blake think more about what she and Ruby talked about, and as Weiss was still in Ruby's arms, Blake took her scroll out and looked at the pictures of her art.
She smiled when she found the one of Weiss and Ruby as wolves.
"I love you too, Weiss." Ruby declared, and Yang almost let herself cry on the spot, while Blake knew Ruby would say it as well. "I love you so much, Weiss Schnee, so promise me, you'll never stop looking at yourself as Schnee."
"I promise, you dork…" Weiss stayed in Ruby's embrace, truly happy to hear Ruby returning her love.
Just gonna say here for reassurance, the plot is going to pick back up. I'm even in the middle of writing out more for what will happen with the main plot, as well as supporting characters to drive it forward. It's still fun to go with the flow, so I hope people enjoy the plot progression in the coming chapters.
To JJ- Luckily Weiss calmed down a bit before Ruby saw how she was acting, and just a little tease, this isn't the last of Weiss acting in that way. Other moments in this story have the chance to get her riled up. I'm prepping for how I wish to write out her parents, since the history of the characters are different now.
To Pun Lover- I'll give you that one… But it was still a bit of a stretch.
To the guest on chapter 75- Yeah I watch him a good bit as well, and Okami is honestly just a fun name to use. I was also debating on the Wolf's actual name in the game, but I felt Ameterasu was too long.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 81. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 82.