Here's chapter 100, everyone!
I'll keep this short. I'm happier than ever to post this. This is the second chapter 100 of a story I have been able to post. I'll talk more on it down below as I don't wanna take up any more of your time.
Nel thought about what Weiss asked and had only one thing to say. "Your Mother? Well, sorry, but I don't even know who your Mother-."
"Her name is Lazuria Okami." Weiss interrupted, and Torn froze, as Nel raised an eyebrow. "My Mother, Willow Schnee, she told me that when I was born, my birth Mother couldn't keep me…" Weiss slowly got up, as she wiped her tears away, with Ruby holding her arm still.
"That sounds like a rough thing to deal with, but again, I don't know her. A name like that is something I wouldn't forget." Nel said while still in her wolverine form.
Weiss looked down, saddened by that answer, while Torn spoke to her, and only her.
"Do not let the others know I am speaking with you."
Hearing that did startle Weiss a bit, but she kept her composure, knowing Torn was speaking with her, so she continued speaking with Nel like he wasn't talking to her. "What you said… Is it all really true? Was I really born as an… Animal?"
Nel sighed. "Yes, but you don't have to live like us. So forget what you learned today." Nel shrunk down a bit, and as she did, she entered one of the houses.
Not a moment later, light flashed from inside the house. Weiss knew what she was doing, and instead of waiting on the woman, she pulled away from Ruby, as she felt like no one was around her.
Ruby on the other hand refused to let her go, as she tried catching up to Weiss as she walked off. Blake gave Yang a concerning look, and the blonde shook her head. "This is messed up…"
Ren and Nora were equally concerned, since not only was something like that dropped on Weiss, but also learning that she wasn't a Schnee was something they didn't expect to hear. "Should… Should we talk to her?" Nora asked.
"She won't hear us…" Blake stated, and Yang knew that was the truth. "You both didn't know, but as you heard, Weiss is adopted, and after her mom told her, she was crushed."
"So hearing something like this would make her shut down entirely," Ren assumed, and Blake simply nodded.
After a few moments of silence, Nel walked out of the house, back in her human form, fully clothed as she heard what they said. "I didn't want to tell you kids, but you wouldn't just leave it alone."
Yang growled. "Do you even hear yourself? Honestly. That girl you just made walk off, she's been my best friend for years, and all her life, just like my little sister is to become a huntress to help people. Yet here you are, telling her that her life is a fucking lie!"
"I only told her the truth. She doesn't need to change anything about her life just because she knows what she is now." Nel stated as she crossed her arms. "What you do with information is what affects a person."
Nora chose to speak up at that point next. "Your attitude isn't helping anyone here. So why don't you do what Yang said, and leave. You're not welcomed here."
"Hmm." Nel shrugged and walked away from them, but she glanced over her shoulder. "A word of advice… Out there, in the world, make sure that if your friend is going to use her ability, to not reveal she also has a semblance. At least then she'll be able to live a safer life."
With that, Nel left, while Blake and Yang were keeping that in mind, since they now knew people would be out there hunting the kind of person Weiss was.
"Where exactly are we going?" Willow asked while following Raven, and the black haired huntress was making sure that where she was taking Willow wasn't going to be too dangerous for her.
"Just wait and you'll see. Also, keep back when I tell you. Got it?" Raven ordered, and Willow was a little concerned when hearing that.
"Raven… What do you mean by keeping back?" Willow asked, as they got closer to the snow covered forest that were close to the mountains of Atlas. "And you know that I could've paid for the ride here. You paid for dinner."
The black haired huntress shrugged. "It's fine, and by keeping back, I mean be on the lookout. Grimm could be in the area we'll be going to."
"Grimm? But I thought you told me you wouldn't take me on your hunts until I disarmed you." Willow reminded.
"I only agreed to take you on one IF you disarm me, not when, and this isn't a hunt, but at the same time, if Grimm end up being around, I expect you to listen." Raven said, and Willow's heart was beating a little faster, as she never saw a Grimm up close before.
While she did want to join Raven on a hunt, the idea of just randomly, and pretty much out of nowhere going somewhere that Grimm could be was a bit frightening. "O-Okay."
"Relax. I've been around that area before. The worst there are simple Beowolves, so as long as you keep your aura up and listen to everything I say, you'll be fine." Raven assured.
Willow felt trusting of her, so she let out a small smile and took a breath, seeing the cold air in front of her. "I understand, Raven."
"Good." Raven continued leading Willow to the snow covered forest, and as they got close, she stopped. "Okay, before we go in, I need to know you're comfortable with doing this. Because if you'd rather not run into Grimm, we can just go back."
"No, we already made it out here, and I trust you enough to know I won't be hurt." Willow continued to smile, and Raven let out a light blush, so she simply nodded and began walking into the forest, keeping an eye out for any Grimm, while the sound of snow crunching under their boots was heard.
Willow was focusing on keeping her aura up, since a sneak attack would at least be repelled by it. "I've only ever been in one forest before… And it wasn't this one. The trees always look the same though."
"I can't imagine dead trees would look any different from each other." Raven replied, and as she continued leading Willow around, she noticed a white furred rabbit was hiding away, and decided not to up and kill it for food, since she was with Willow.
Because of that, Willow noticed it and smiled. "Hey, little one." Raven internally groaned, wishing she did take the chance to kill it as soon as Willow was cooing at it.
The small rabbit gently hopped over, sniffing at Willow's hand for a moment after she knelt down, and the white haired woman smiled. Before she could do anything, a branch broke and the rabbit ran back into a hole, as Willow got up and looked around.
Raven held her hand up, signaling Willow to stay still, and she glanced over, seeing that it was simply a deer. "No need to get antsy… Also, don't forget that I also don't have my sword on me, so you need to swear you'll listen to what I tell you to do."
"I'm not an idiot, Raven. I'll run if I need to." Willow assured.
"Running isn't the only thing I'd want you to do. Supporting me with your semblance is also an option." Raven stated, and Willow was surprised by that.
"I can't exactly make that many though." Willow reminded.
The black haired huntress smirked. "I think you'll do fine. Now let's go."
As Willow sighed, she looked back at the little rabbit, seeing that it was safe in the hole, so she smiled and began following Raven again.
Weiss was sitting in one of the houses, while Ruby was standing near her. "Weiss, you still don't really know if what they're saying is true. It could all be a lie, and maybe they're just people with two semblances. Nothing is impossible."
The white haired teen looked destroyed, and she let out a light, yet somber chuckle. "Nothing is impossible… Meaning I really could have been born an animal, Ruby…"
Ruby frowned and wrapped arms around Weiss' head, holding her close as the white haired girl closed her eyes, burying her face in Ruby's chest. "So what? Even if you were, nothing changes who you are now."
"You have a good friend."
Torn had said to Weiss with his semblance, and instead of recoiling from him speaking, she said nothing as she knew he'd speak to her.
"I'm very sorry. Because for your whole life, you had no knowledge of who you truly were. Lazuria's little cub."
Weiss' eyes shot open, but she didn't move, since Torn had asked of her to not let anyone know he was talking to her.
"I know you have a lot of questions, and while I am happy to answer them, know I can only tell you what I know. And the most important is that I do know… Or I did know your Mother, but sadly she was marked by The Relentless."
"Everything will be okay, Weiss." Ruby's voice interrupted, and as Weiss felt her girlfriend, stroking her hair. "I promise."
"Ruby," Weiss gently pulled away, as she had tears in her eyes from Torn telling her that the Relentless had marked her birth Mother for death. "I… I can't become a wolf ever again…"
Hearing that, Ruby gasped and shook her head. "N-No, that's not fair to you, Weiss. You spent your life with that, and I told you that nothing will change because of this."
"In the end, it's your choice what you do with your ability, just know that your Mother is still alive…"
Weiss' entire body froze, and Ruby noticed how she reacted. "Weiss? Weiss, what's wrong?"
"Tell her."
"T-The bird… He… He knows my Mother, my birth Mother." Weiss got up from the bed and walked out of the house as she looked for Torn. "Where are you?! Where is she?!"
Ruby was taken aback by the suddenness of her girlfriend's outburst. "Weiss, calm down. Who are you even yelling at?" She asked as Torn flew down in front of them, and Ruby yelped as she almost fell back. "Gah!"
"You! Tell me… Tell me what happened, now!" Weiss yelled, and the others were at that point hearing her, so they started making their way over.
Torn sighed. "Your Mother is alive, and while I wish I could tell you where she is, I don't truly know. She moves from place to place, keeping The Relentless back."
"When did you last see her then?" Weiss questioned, and Ruby was listening in, wanting to support her girlfriend. "Don't keep anything from me, or I swear-."
"I have nothing to hide." Torn assured. "Your Mother told me she had a child, but to actually run into you in this big world of ours… I should count myself lucky." He was smiling as much as a hawk could smile. "If I see her, I'll be able to tell her the kind of person you are."
"No." Weiss said, and both Torn and Ruby were surprised. "I don't want you telling her anything… My Mother, my birth Mother had to give me up because she was marked, right?" Torn nodded. "Then I'd only get in the way… So keep what you saw of me today to yourself."
Ruby frowned and placed her hand on Weiss' shoulder. "Weiss, this guy might be able to help you meet the person who gave birth to you. Why wouldn't you want that?"
Weiss rubbed her eyes, as a few tears she couldn't control fell. "Because… I have a family already… And because I'd just be a burden to her. It's why she had to give me up…"
Torn shook his head. "You were never a burden to Lazuria. The pain in her heart was there, and she truly wished to raise you, to be in your life, but she didn't want The Relentless to mark you. She did it to protect you."
Yang was leading Blake, Ren and Nora over as she noticed the bird. "Hey, what the hell are you telling her that she's yelling?"
"Don't start, Yang." Weiss demanded without looking over.
Ruby looked to her sister, shaking her head a few times, so the blonde brawler sighed and waited to see what Torn would say. "I wish I could help your Mother more than I have, but she herself does not wish to stay in one place for too long. She believes she is the burden, not you."
Weiss reached up to her wolf pendant, as she felt Ruby holding her hand as tight as she could, showing she was with her in whatever Weiss would want to do with the information. "I still… Don't wish for her to know that you saw me…"
Torn was saddened by that, but he would respect her wishes. "Very well. I won't say a word."
"Thank you…" Weiss silently said, as Blake and Yang walked closer to her, and she let her tears flow freely at that point.
"Weiss," Ruby's gentle voice made her girlfriend turn to look at her. "I want you to know that I'll never let your life change. No matter what I have to do, I'll keep you living the way you want to."
The white haired girl was still crying, as she simply embraced Ruby, needing her close, while Yang rubbed her shoulder, and Blake kept close to her team, knowing how hard things would be for them with the new information of Weiss' true life.
Torn flew up a bit, and began trying to use his semblance to speak with Nel.
"Nel, I know you're upset about having to move out, but we need to respect these kids' wishes… Nel?"
After a few moments of not responding, Torn's eyes widened and he heard the sound of a gunshot, startling the Beacon students as well.
"Oh no…"
Chapter 100. It finally happened... Again. Sheesh, it's the second time I've done this, as I mentioned above, but seriously, I just wanna thank everyone who has read a single sentence of this story. Even that much shows that I did something that people would read. I was afraid on whether this story would be a good one in terms of reading, and from what it looks like, a lot of people really do enjoy it for what it is, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for sticking with it.
To JJ- Yeah, it's a bit hard to write out when a character has to go through a crisis, but I'm glad you're understanding of what it's used for. As for Nel, she's a hard ass, and again, glad you understand that her character is like that for a reason. Also, I did thank others already, but I'd like to thank you as well for reviewing every single chapter (at least I think you have, either way it's close).
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 100. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 101.