SO here we are with Chapter 3 of this story, and I have to say, I did not expect the kind of reception to this story that I ended up getting, like seriously. 2 Chapters in, and it has 38 Followers, and 32 Favorites? That was not something I expected, by I am beyond happy about all this, so thank you everyone for Taking your time to read this story, and all of that. Onto the Review responses!
Annjames: Well, here we are then yeah? I'm glad to hear you like the story though, so hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Dracus6: Oh! I'm sorry about that then. I was Ranting about the fact that I ended up with, like, 4 or 5 different Private messages that were worded in a way that demanded I pair the members of team RWBY together, and I kind of took that out on you, so I am very sorry about that. As far as the story idea goes, that is a good one, but I'm honestly not sure if I would do it. I have a lot on my plate between work, and then things with writing, and all that, but maybe one day. Stay tuned either way I suppose ;)
IhevMelons9: Well, I'm glad you enjoy the story as well, and I promise I won't burn myself out on this. I was just saying that I was trying to keep things to a chapter release a week so that I have a buffer period while I'm writing the next chapter, or the one after if I finish the next. It allows me to stop at anytime so I won't get ahead of myself. That's all. Now, as far as the interactions between members of team RWBY, and the Shepard's, well, It will still be a bit before we have Panne, or Tiki for that matter, show up as is likely obvious, but the Maribelle and Weiss one, that's something that will happen eventually, I can assure you of that. Just not this chapter, as you will likely see.
Well, that's enough of that wouldn't you say? On with the Story!
Disclaimer: I don't one RWBY or the Fire emblem series, and as such I have no say as far as anything considered Cannon!
Weiss could say with certainty, that after three weeks of being around the Shepherds, that they were all insane. Between Vaike, a blonde brute of a man, and Sully, a woman who might as well have been a Man with how rough she was, she now knew how most of the damage to the barracks came to be. The blonde man was a complete and utter buffoon, and seemed to always be picking a fight with Sully. She wasn't completely sure why the idiot did as such, but considering how he was always soundly beaten by the redhead, Weiss's confusion was more than palpable.
Then there was Mirel. Where to even start with the mage? She was smart. Incredibly so, but she spoke in such a roundabout way, Weiss felt like she was in front of her father's Board of Directors, and they were dissecting literally everything she said with a scalpel. Every cut was precise. Every word, measured. It honestly left her feeling more than a little uncomfortable with how the woman spoke. Still, after talking with her a bit, she found that the woman just spoke that way, and meant nothing by it. It was just her Quirk.
Stahl was another interesting character to say the least. When he had met Weiss, he was on kitchen duty, something that she always looked forward to now. Stahl had to be one of the best cooks she had ever met, and that was downplaying it by a fair bit if she was being blunt. The man's eyes seemed to flash with more than a little joy at hearing those words coming from her, even as he put another helping into her bowl as it was stew that night.
Finally was Sumia, the sweetheart that she was. Weiss had trouble thinking of someone more nice then the grey haired Pegasus knight (in training she would insist). She loved to read, though, it was with a red face, that Weiss learned that those books tended to be on the raunchier side. Even ignoring that however, Sumia had her own quirk of falling, but whenever she was mounted on a Pegasus, she was more graceful than most people on land.
Which was why Weiss was currently following Sumia towards the training grounds for Pegasus knights. After learning that only women could ride upon the winged horses backs, Weiss asked if she could talk with someone to have her hand at riding on one of them. Sumia had been hesitant as to say if she could, at least until Chrom had overheard the conversation. The Blue haired prince had come up to the two of them with a smile on his face, something that left both Weiss and Sumia's cheeks aflame. The bastard didn't seem to even notice!
Weiss's grumbling must have been heard by Sumia, as the grey haired woman looked towards Weiss with a questioning look. Clearing her throat at the look, The Ex-Heiress looked away while responding "Just remembering what Chrom did before we left."
"Ah! I suppose to someone who isn't used to it, it'd be irritating?" Sumia said with an understanding tone "There were more than a few accusations thrown at Chrom of him being a playboy, but since he's so dense, they had little ground."
Huffing at that, a scathing tone left the snowy haired woman "Whether he's dense or not, that doesn't mean he should be that charming!"
After the time that Sumia and Weiss had spent with each other, the Pegasus knight knew that was just her defense mechanism in a sense. So it was with amusement, that Sumia's own response was thrown "Well, you have to admit he's nice to look at."
"I… won't deny that." Weiss coughed into her fist slightly, her cheeks inflaming a bit more, even as her eyes darted to the side "He does have a nice butt though."
Under any other circumstances, Weiss would have never been caught dead Gossiping about boys in any way, but over the first week that team RWBY had been in this world, Weiss had never felt as free as she did on Remnant. She still had her cold outer shell, but it was muted compared to how it used to be, as the worry of her image, and her father, had disappeared. Still, that did little to hide the growing blush she had when Sumia giggled.
Her thoughts, unbidden, as silence overcame them again, went towards her team. She hadn't seen much of Blake in the three weeks that they had spent meeting all of the Shepherds, and if she had been honest, she wasn't sure what the Faunus was doing either. She had seen the black haired woman grabbing a book here and there, while also writing things down. More than once she had seen the Blake writing something down in a journal, before disappearing once again. She had been curious enough to ask Frederick, but the man had stated that he was unsure as well.
Yang, on the other hand, was in full swing of training herself the Frederick way. Weiss had heard horrors of Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour within the first couple of days she had stayed in the Barracks. It was nothing compared to how bad it actually was, and Yang took to it like a fish to water. Not only did the Blonde have the energy to get through all of the workout without much of a problem, she then proceeded to ask Frederick for a way to test her strength, and then lifted the man's armor covered horse!
Finally was Ruby. She had seen the Reaper the most out of the four, but even then, most of her time was taken up by trying to get a grip on her fighting style once again. Besides the balance of a Scythe being a problem, there was also the fact that the silver eyed woman was getting magic lessons from Mirel. So that was another thing that Ruby needed to integrate into her fighting style. It was also that same idea that had led to the other three to find out if they had magic potential.
Unsurprisingly, Yang had no potential at all. The Blonde took it in stride, saying that her fighting style was more Physical anyway and that she wasn't worried about it. Blake had a little potential as it turned out, but she could barely make a fire from a training Tome before she ran out of 'Mana' as Mirel called it. Ruby was the surprise, as she apparently had an extremely large amount of potential, to the point she started to train in it after all.
Weiss, herself, on the other hand, had about an average amount of potential. It would take a fair amount of training for her to be able to use magic in a fight, so it was with a grandiose sentence that Mirel had said for her to practice, but take up something else as to be able to fight in the meantime. This was another reason for her to try and see if she could ride a Pegasus. If she had enough talent for it, she might be able to actually be able to become one after all.
Breaking out of her thoughts for the time being, Weiss couldn't help but gape at the sight before her. High above in the sky were several Pegasus knights, all of which were doing maneuvers that were not too dissimilar to what she had seen Sumia doing before she had asked to try her hand at it in the first place. Still, she could see that one of the women had spotted them, a speck of blue, as it broke off from a group and headed in their direction faster then any Atlesian ship.
The Pegasus that the woman in question was riding on reared as it neared the ground, before softly landing on the ground, the majestic beast tossing its head a few times, before folding its wings inward, and setting itself into a slow gait, settling itself in front of the two. Moving off of its back, a stern eyed woman settled herself in front of them, her red eyes looking at the two with a raised eyebrow, though there was a warmness to them when she looked at Sumia.
"Sumia, it's good to see you. Might I ask who this is?" The woman asked, her arms going behind her back, her eyes trailing over towards Weiss.
Standing a bit straighter, Weiss gave a slight bow, her hand going onto her chest as she did so "I'm Weiss Schnee ma'am."
"So your one of the women I've been hearing about from her Grace." The woman said, a smile appearing on her face at slight reddening of Weiss' cheeks "I am Phila, captain of the Pegasus knights. Might I ask why you are here?"
Sumia chose this time to speak up "Weiss was interested in trying her hand at becoming a Pegasus knight."
"Is that so." Phila said with a raised brow towards the snowy haired woman. Weiss started to feel uncomfortable at the woman's staring, even as she knew that she was being sized up. The uncomfortable feeling wasn't there for very long, however, as Phila gave a smile and a single nod "Alright. If Sumia believes that you have the capability, then I will give you a chance to prove as such."
The acceptance wasn't something she expected to get so easily, but a quick glance towards Sumia showed that the grey haired woman was giving a soft smile. Turning back towards Phila, while also making a mental note to thank the Pegasus knight later, she let Phila lead her towards the Stables where she found several different Pegasi in their stables, either sleeping for the time being, or eating at hay that was left for them. Despite the smell that would always come from a stable, Weiss, couldn't help but stare at them.
"Beautiful aren't they?" Phila's voice sounded out, causing Weiss to jump slightly, a bit of heat going into her cheeks "It's alright. Most new recruits have the same starry eyed look when they first get an up close look of a Pegasi."
Swallowing a bit thickly as she looked over the beautiful creature in front of her, she gave a simple nod "I can see why. I've never seen anything like this before."
"Of course." Phila said with a nod, even as she placed a hand on the former Heiress' back, gaining her attention "Why don't you walk up to one of them and see how they react to you? Don't be afraid of them."
Looking towards the older woman, and Sumia, who was standing near the doorway giving her an encouraging smile, Weiss turned her attention towards one the Pegasi, seeing that the winged horse in question was staring at her. This one in particular had a fiery mane of red hair, the body being a soft chocolate brown color. There wasn't a single spot on this particular one either, but without conscious thought, Weiss' hand drifted towards the pegasi with a sort of reverence.
A single snort from the horse was all the warning that Weiss had before the mare in question bumped her hand with its nose. A startled gasp left the snowy haired woman at the feeling of the soft fur on the Pegasi's muzzle, before her hands curled up slightly, running gently up and down the beasts head. A whinny left the Pegasi after a moment, getting a slightly startled laugh to come out of Weiss, even as she slowly moved forward to place a hand on the Pegasi's neck, a smile appearing on Weiss' face the whole while.
A light laugh sounding out through the area caused the snowy haired woman's attention to shift, as she saw Phila staring at her with a slight smile, a nod leaving the Captain "Good. It seems that she took to you well at the very least. We should get her fitted with some gear, and then get you started on learning how to fly."
"Does she have a name?" Weiss asked after a moment, her blue eyes trailing back towards the Mare, whom gave another noise, this time of what seemed to be happiness, as she prodded the Ex-Heiress in the torso softly with her nose, earning a smile in response.
Sumia jumped in this time, Phila giving a nod towards the Grey haired woman as she left, likely to get gear "Most Pegasi don't have names until their Riders give them one. Once we're sure, you get to name her."
It didn't take a genius for Weiss to understand what Sumia meant by being sure. Phila was more then likely just humoring her due to Weiss being a part of the Shepherds, but whether she could actually ride on the pegasi's back was a completely different question altogether. Still, despite the chance that she could be denied her training, she couldn't deny the fact that she was extremely excited to try and learn. This was one of the few things she could say with certainty was her choice after all.
A headbutt to her torso once again caused Weiss' attention to shift towards the Mare once again, what seemed to be a disapproving huff coming from the Pegasi "What's that about?"
"Pegasi tend to be able to sense the emotions of those they bond with." Sumia said with a smile, her voice showing her happiness "I suppose it's not a matter of if you two will bond anymore. She's already chosen you it would seem."
Giving a startled look towards the Pegasi, Weiss' attention shifted towards Sumia once again "Wasn't that a little fast? I've just met her!"
"Sometimes that's all it takes." Came the simple reply, this time from a different, unfamiliar voice.
Turning towards the Source, Weiss had to raise an eyebrow at the redheaded woman that had walked into the room, a saddle in her arms. Her red hair was at a length that it stopped just below her knees, a pair of white winged clips in her hair, likely to keep the bangs back. She was adorned in similar armor to that of Sumia, though the coloring was red as well, but it was the eyes that were a similar shade to her that mainly caught Weiss' attention.
Off reflex, a scathing retort was on Weiss' lips, only to be cut off when Sumia spoke up first, pure joy in her tone "Cordelia! It's felt like ages since I last saw you!"
The woman, Cordelia as her name apparently was, just gave a smile back, "It's good to see you as well Sumia, but I need to start putting this on the Mare."
"Let me help." Weiss spoke up before she realized that she had spoken, still she took the momentum from the abrupt statement, and walked up to the redheaded woman "She's going to be my partner from now on, I should learn how to gear her up."
The stubborn willfulness that Weiss held in her voice seemed to be enough to startle the woman slightly, before a soft laugh left her, a nod not being to far after "Of course, how about we teach you then? Sumia has no Pegasi of her own quite yet, but she has been a great help when it comes to teach recruits how to set up the Tack, as well as securing the saddle."
A blush went up Sumia's face at the compliment, but she didn't deny it, her face showing something akin to begrudging acceptance. Weiss simply took it as Sumia having tried to deny it before, to no avail. Still, Weiss' stock of the redhead in front of her rose for the time being, even as she help said woman with the gear that her partner would need.
Awakening of a Rose.
It had taken longer than she would have admitted to set up the Tack correctly, but Weiss eventually did learn how to set it up to a degree. After the fact, Sumia had assured Weiss that she would help the Snowy haired woman out when she needed it, something she was grateful for. There was far too much for her to learn without a bit of repetition to it after all.
Taking a deep breath when she left the stables, the Mare that had claimed her following by the reigns that Weiss held, the snowy haired woman could feel the heat of Joy bubbling up in her chest once more, but she forced it down for the time being when she felt several eyes land on her. Phila, first and foremost, was looking at her with an appraising look, but there were a couple of other Recruits there as well if she were to base by the other women in the area having nervous looks.
Giving a simple nod towards Weiss for the time being, Phila put her hands behind her back as she started to walk in front of the recruits that were gathered "The lot of you are here to try and become Pegasus knights, the best of the best that Ylisse has to offer. I won't lie when I say that most who try, fail, as they are just not suited for the aerial combat that comes being a Pegasus knight. Some of you will be injured just from initiation alone, and that could spell you being cut from the program. Those of you that make it through this, however, will be trained to be the best of the best. So those of you who don't think they have what it takes, may leave now."
Her words had seemed to startle a few of the women that had been gathered, but none of them moved an inch. Weiss had heard worse from her teachers when she had begun her training to be a huntress if she was honest. Phila's words painted a grim picture as far as being a Pegasus knight, but it was an honest one.
It did little to sway anyone there however.
Giving a smile towards the lack of movement from the woman before her, Phila nodded before continuing "Good. Then let's get startled shall we?"
Weiss could feel her excitement starting to bubble up underneath her skin, even as she made sure to keep her outward appearance as neutral as it always had been. The carefully crafted mask she had made after dealing with her father for years coming out without her even trying really, though even then she could see the subtle smile that Phila sent her way. The knowing look that she had was all Weiss really needed to see to know that the woman had seen through her mask. Still, she didn't say anything, so the snowy haired woman took a guess that she simply wished to see what would happen.
The new recruits ended up being paired off with a more seasoned knight, likely to give them tips on how to fly with their partner. Surprisingly enough, however, she noticed that Sumia was helping a recruit with sitting on her Pegasus correctly, even if the grey haired woman didn't have one herself. Still, she had little time to worry about that, as her own 'instructor' was telling her how to sit on the Pegasus before her, a critical eye coming from the woman.
Weiss hug onto every word that was being said to her, adjusting her posture as was needed, and making sure to rub her Mare's neck every once in awhile as she was starting to get antsy. Still, she stood in place for Weiss after a few seconds, the former Heiress' legs in the stirrups on the side, and having the bar at the arch of her foot. Putting herself down a bit closer to the Pegasi's back, even as the mare started to take off in a trot, startling the knight that was helping her. Before she could even register what was happening, Weiss found her, and the mare up in the air, a shouting Pegasus knight running to her own partner to try and catch up.
Despite the situation, however, the bubbling excitement in her breast decided to break free now that she was in the air, and a yell of pure joy left her, even as she clung to her back while she spun in a circle in mid air. The adrenaline that went through her system at that was enough for Weiss' to let out a whoop of excitement, a Grin in place on her face.
Leaning with the pegasi as it turned, Weiss could see several recruits flying through the air, though none did what her's had with the spin in mid air. The Knight that was trying to teach her had a disgruntled look on her face as she caught up finally, but Weiss wasn't sorry at all. The feeling of freedom she had in the air at the moment, was something that she hadn't felt ever. Even managing to go to beacon, and meeting her team, couldn't compare to the sheer joy she felt.
She wouldn't trade this feeling for the world.
Awakening of a Rose.
Blake could feel the beginning of headache starting up, and that had little to due with the smell she had to deal with. Being in the Sewers, however, likely had that effect, even as she continued to run through the tunnels as fast as she could, though not for a reason she would have liked if she was being honest.
It all started with her conversation with Frederick three weeks ago if she was being honest. With the man that she had spotted on the rooftops, it was little wonder that she had asked about the state of information gathering by Ylisse as a whole. It was why when she heard that it was pretty much nonexistent, that she had the beginning of a headache that seemed to carry on to today.
At first it was just her watching most of the Shepherds, trying to gather what she could of them for whatever Future Tactician that Chrom decided to appoint to the Shepherds. It was a simple enough thing, even after learning of Weiss's hopes of becoming a pegasus knight, something that even Blake could tell was needed as far as the Shepherds were concerned. Writing down their skills, so that said Tactician could know what he/she was dealing with was a simple enough matter.
The not so simple matter came from Blake deciding to try her hand at creating an information network.
Honestly the Faunus didn't know why she was bothering with this in the first place, but it was something that she decided to do, and she was sticking to her guns in this case as it where. She liked Chrom, Lissa, and even Emmeryn the few times they had spoken. She liked Ylisstol a lot more then she had literally any of the places she had lived, besides Menagerie if only because of the sheer Faunus presence of the island. In the three weeks she had lived here, however, she had not seen a single person be rude to her just because of her ears.
She had earned more than her fair share of looks when she was still a new presence in the city, but after awhile, she didn't garner as many looks as she used to. People that were rude to her were people that were just being rude, while people being nice to her, were very genuine about it. It wasn't something she was used to, and if she was honest, it left her with a warm feeling in her chest every time she felt it.
Which was why she was currently more than a little wary about the fact that she could be risking that with her little stunt right now.
Still, she ignored that for the time being as she jumped over a pile of refuse, and bounced off the wall near it to jump on top of the man that was running away from her. Almost right away her nose took note of a Familiar sweet smell on the man in front of her. Amber eyes trailed over the breast pocket the man had, a stick of some kind sticking out of it, but other than that, everything on the man seemed to as uniform as a thief could be.
"Hey now Kitty, is that any way to greet a guy?" The man spoke up, his voice betraying the nervousness about him, though he still had an easy going look to it, despite the place they were in.
Keeping a knife situated near his throat, Blake's golden eyes trailed around the area making sure there was no one else near, before she leaned down towards the man, her eyes narrowing "Who are you exactly? I thought I smelled you the first day I was in the city. That was you on that rooftop wasn't it?"
"You caught a whiff of me from that far away?" The man's voice sounded out with a hint of awe in it, even as his eyes trailed up towards her ears for a split second "The hell is your nose?"
Despite herself, a hint of amusement bled through Blake's voice at that statement "One of a kind. You didn't answer my question though."
"Should be kinda obvious Kitty. I'm a Thief, and I saw the prince himself in town. Ain't stupid enough to try and Rob him, but that didn't mean I couldn't spot other things." The man's voice spoke up, the waver in his voice disappearing at the moment at least "Thought I saw some sorta weird looking lamp on that younger girl's hip, but the Scythe she had on her made me have some second thoughts about trying to nab it."
Blake could give the man some credit at least. For a thief, he was a lot smarter about what he would try and steal then a lot of others in his position would have been. Honestly, with the way the guy looked, she guessed he was more of a 'Steal only what I need' type. Those types tended to aim for those that wouldn't miss what was stolen, so she didn't have to worry about him stealing from poor people at least.
Getting off of the man, a hand went out towards him to help him up. At his confused glance, Blake spoke with her normal monotone "My main reason for chasing you was to see if you were some kind of threat to Chrom and Ruby."
"Nah, I'm just a small time thief Kitty." The guy spoke with a smarmy look on his face that made a frown appear on the Faunus' face "Was there something else you wanted from me then so I can leave without you stabbing me?"
She really didn't have to think on it for very long for the question to leave her, her hand on the sword on her side just in case, but she decided to ask "You wouldn't happen to have any friends that would be willing to work would you?"
"Friends aren't exactly something you get a lot of being a Thief you know." The man's deadpan tone caused a slight wince to leave the black haired woman, but she could see a smirk appearing on the man's face nevertheless "Don't mean there aren't people you could find for it though. Why? You looking to build an assassin's guild or something?"
"Information network actually." Blake said with a simple tone, her eyes trailing to the side, eventually locking onto something with a hint of red near one of the turns not to far off "I'm going to need people that won't just stab me in the back after all."
The man in front of her took his eyes off of her as well, locking onto something just behind her, a smirk appearing on his face, even as he took out a lolipop of all things from his breast pocket, and nodded "I get it, and I might even be willing to help you for not just turning me in or killing me, later of course."
With the sound of the last word leaving his mouth, a sword sang as it left its sheath, blocking a sword that was a foot away from hitting the Faunus in the back. Blake in turn, had done the same thing with a man that was going to attack the person she had been speaking to. Her eyes locked onto the man in front of her, she still called back as she knocked the man backward "I'm Blake by the way."
"Gaius." Was all the man said before he dove after the man she knocked backwards.
Blake in turn dove towards the one that Gaius had intercepted, her sword flashing forward faster then the man could react to, the blade digging into his chest, and through the heart. A hint of nausea went through the Faunus' stomach, but she buried it for the time being, her sword colliding with another, the sound of metal echoing in the Sewer.
Ducking under another swing that a third thief made, her sword swung out hitting the one that swung in the arm, her foot connecting with the one she blocked in the stomach. The third thief was clutching at his arm, the large gash she had made causing the limb to go slack. A part of Blake felt disgust at herself for severing the tendon in the man's arm to make it so he couldn't use it. That disgust only lasted a few seconds as the Thief's good arm came up to try and strike her with a dagger her had, only for her sword to go through his throat after she dodged.
Her sword left the dying man quickly, as the last one took a swing at her once again, the sloppy attack being easy to move out of the way with. The single swing she used against him was as well. That did little to spot the shudder she felt as she looked over the aftermath of the fighting. Seven men were dead in the sewers at the moment, each of them wearing the attire of a thief, but there was nothing else on them that could be distinguished as to why they attacked.
Pushing the guilt to the side for the moment, she turned towards Gaius, to see the man kneeling over one of the bodies. A frown made its way onto her face at the sight, at least until the man stood up and held something in his hand. Frowning, she bent towards one of the others, and found a similar object on him, a small metal join of a sort, a simple three slashes on it.
"You find one of these coins on them to Kitty?" Gaius' voice sounded out behind her something got a nod in response "Gotta say then, Sorry about this. Seems like they were after me. Don't know what I did to piss em off, but I don't see why they'd be after you considering how new you are to this city."
A grimace made its way onto the Faunus' face at that statement, leading to her shaking her head "Maybe not. Your not the first person I asked about this, and considering I've been seen with the Prince of Ylisse, it might not be a stretch to say someone wasn't happy with me."
"Whichever it is, seems you dragged me into it since they saw me with you. I'm betting these weren't all of the guys either." Gaius spoke with a deep sigh leaving the man, though there didn't seem to be any regrets either "Gotta say though, it's more exciting then my normal stuff, but I wouldn't mind working with ya if you actually pay well enough."
Giving a suspicious look towards the Thief in front of her, she voiced what was likely an obvious question, but one she needed to know the answer to "Why would you help me?"
"Why not?" The ginger haired man said with a shrug, his smirk appearing once more "Sides, you coulda just ran after these guys showed up, but you actually stuck around. Not too many people who'd do that for someone they don't know. So, if your paying, I'll help you. Fair enough?"
She wasn't sure what to think of the man in front of her giving that as his reason for wanting to help out, but she supposed there was a bit of truth to the phrase 'Honor among thieves' in this case. Still, as much as she didn't want to admit it, she didn't know everything she could if she really wanted to start an information network. Gaius seemed to be a bit shady all things considered, but he also didn't seem to be lying.
"Alright." Blake said after a few seconds, her eyes closing for a second, before opening them and holding a hand out.
When Gaius grabbed her hand to shake on it, her only thoughts were on trying to make sure that everyone she cared about never went in blind if it came down to fighting, or war. She just hoped she didn't regret it.
Awakening of a Rose.
A shudder went down Blake's spine as she finally made it back to the Shepherds barracks, nausea overwhelming her as everything that happened today finally hit her. She ended up stumbling into the main room of the Barracks, completely ignoring the hand that touched her shoulder, as she went to the nearest door that led outside once again. Her hands barely managed to find purchase on a tree before everything that she had eaten decided now was the time to leave her stomach. The faunus wasn't sure how long she had been standing there if she was honest, but a voice speaking to her broke her out of her nausea induced haze.
"Are you alright dear?" The person in question, a woman by the sounds of it, her voice dainty, and with a hint of arrogance.
Turning towards the voice Blake found her looking at a young woman, her blond hair put up in two curls to the sides, white bows holding them up, as well as frill filled clothes covering her form. Blake took a few deep breaths, before nodding "As well as I can be."
"You look quite ill at the moment if you want my opinion." The woman spoke with a raised eyebrow, a slight smirk appearing on her face as well "Ah, but where are my manners! You must be one of the new Shepard's that my darling Lissa told me of, upon my arrival today!"
Blake looked like she was going to say something else, before the Nausea hit her once again. This time, however, it didn't manage to get much father before a slight green light surrounded her. Blake let out a gasp of surprise, her eyes trailing over towards the blonde woman, a staff in her hands, which the black haired woman hadn't noticed until now. The woman's smirk grew in such a way that honestly reminded the Faunus of Weiss when they first met. Still, the woman took the staff back a moment later, a soft look in her eye despite the smirk in place.
Giving a nod, the woman moved the staff away, even as she put her hands onto a new object, a parasol in this case "I am Lady Maribelle Themis. It is my pleasure to meet someone whom has taken care of Lissa in my absence."
"I'm… Blake Belladonna." Was the weak introduction, her voice slightly scratchy from the bile that had left her.
A nod left the woman, even as she tenderly grabbed Blake's arm "As nice as it is to finally meet you, we must get you to the infirmary. Even if it is something minor, we should check you for anything else."
Digging her heels into the ground slightly to stop the woman from dragging her along, Blake shook her head, her thoughts rushing while she spoke "I-i'm not sick. Its…"
"You had to kill someone, didn't you?" The woman's voice spoke up, the normal superior tone softening a fair amount as Maribelle spoke more of a statement than a question.
A slightly startled noise left the black haired woman at that statement, but she didn't deny it. That was all the reason that Maribelle needed evidently, before she moved the Faunus over towards a tree away from where she had vomited. The young Noble had disappeared back into the Barracks not to long after that, leaving Blake to her thoughts for the time being.
Her mind kept rushing back to what had happened in the Sewers, and after that, in fact. Even in her time with the White Fang, she had never killed someone like she had in that sewer. The White Fang that had died during the breach of Vale had been different, at least since she wasn't the direct cause, and even that took her awhile to get over. This, however, was a different matter, as she had killed someone directly, with her own hands.
Despite herself, she could feel her knees move up to her chest, her head resting on top of them, and her hands drifting to the top of her head. She stayed this way for what felt like an hour or more, at least until she heard some more footsteps heading her way. Lifting her head up, she ended up seeing a familiar cloak of red, before she ended up getting barreled into by the silver eyed girl, barely managing to uncurl herself.
"Blake! Are you alright? I ended up hearing for Maribelle that you threw up, and that you ended up needing to kill someone." While, normally the girls voice was in a constant speed up when she was worried, this time, Ruby's voice was steady and calm, her worry evident, but the comfort she was trying to bring there as well.
Letting a shaky breath, Blake let herself fall apart for the time being, her eyes trailing over Ruby's shoulder to see Maribelle just smiling. Blake tried her best to convey the gratitude she felt towards the noble woman, before she put her head into Ruby's shoulder. The two of them just stayed like this for the time being, until eventually, Ruby backed up a bit, her eyes looking Blake over with Worry.
With Ruby letting go, the Faunus curled in on herself once again, though the reaper made sure to have her keep eye contact while she started to speak "Blake? Whatever happened, I don't think anyone's angry at you."
"I-I know that Ruby, but I killed someone. Not indirectly, like during The Breach, but actually killing someone." The black haired woman said, her head falling onto her knees again "I was in the Sewers chasing after a Thief that I thought was familiar, or had stolen something, I can't remember, a-and after talking I was ambushed by 6 more."
A soft smile greeted her in response, when Ruby decided to speak up once again "You know, looking back on it, I think Uncle Qrow was subtly teaching me how to deal with killing someone. I wouldn't have noticed it before, as worried as I was about, well, everything. I, kinda sliced off a Scorpion Faunus' tail without hesitating?"
"You did?" Blake's startled voice sounded out, even the tone unfamiliar to her own ears. It was a shock after all, considering what that implied for Ruby.
Giving another nod, Ruby continued "I was talking to Frederick too, and when I told him about how my Uncle taught me, he seemed to agree with it too. That doesn't matter right now though. What matters Blake, is that you feel sad about it right?"
"It's not that Ruby." the soft response was followed by Blake curling in on herself once again "It just took one taken life for Adam to go down the path he did. What's to stop me from doing the same?"
And there it was, the real worry she had been dealing with the whole day. The fact that she actually killed someone had been running second seat to the one thought that she might end up becoming like Adam. He had been a good man, someone that Blake truly respected when she first joined the White Fang, but then she killed one human while 'Protecting' her father. It had been a downward spiral not to long after.
A hand landed on her shoulder cut off the train of thoughts Blake held, looking up towards Ruby, to see her shaking her head "The fact that your worried about that, means that you won't Blake! Your a good person, and everyone here has your back if you need it!"
Despite herself, Blake couldn't stop the slight laugh that went through her. That one little bit was all that was needed for the floodgates to open, her eyes watering, even as she started to laugh and cry at the same time. Ruby, for her part, just stayed close by, as a way to give comfort to the black haired woman, and that was it. She didn't say anything else, and while the lingering doubts were still there, and likely wouldn't go away anytime soon, the words still helped. Blake just needed to hear it from someone else.
Omake: Blake's barracks logbook- Entry3: Weiss Schnee.
Name: Weiss Schnee
Age: 20 (of time of Entry Added.) Unknown Birthday due to Weiss not answering when asked.
Weiss Schnee, the Former Heiress to a company known as the Schnee Dust Company, something that is unknown to this world as a whole. Upon arriving in Ylisstol, she decided to try her hand at becoming a Pegasus knight, something that wouldn't take very long for the woman to accomplish. A spear or a sword are the types of weapons she can use well enough, though her pegasi, Blütenblatt, seems to have a preference of Weiss using a Spear while upon her back.
Class: Pegasus Knight.
Reclass: Cleric, Mage.
Promotions: Dark Flier, Falcon Knight.
Personal Analysis: After meeting with Mirel, it was found that Weiss has a fair amount of Magical potential, but it would take a bit of training for it to be usable in combat, and as such she focuses her time on other aspects of battle. Learning how to use Magic, however, would be good for her, as it would teach her to either attack from a distance, or lead to her learning how to heal, taking some of the workload off of Lissa, and Maribelle.
Dark Flier would be the best option for Weiss as far as promotions go, as it would lead to her learning to fight with a tome, as well as her sword and spear, leading to have more utility in a fight. This doesn't discount the possibility of her other option of Falcon knight, as it would have her utilize staff's instead, this giving use a more mobile healer. Either option, no matter which she chooses, will benefit the army in the long run.
And there we are with Chapter 3 of this story. Honestly, the last bit of the chapter was killing me with how it refused to be written, and I'm not completely happy with it as a result, but I still hope that you all enjoyed it.
Thank you to everyone who followed and Favorited this story. I'd normally get specific with who did and who didn't, but with me being invited to a wedding, and helping to plan things out on top of that, I don't have as much time as I would like, and am Posting this in one of the Brief Windows of time I have as a result. PLEASE GIVE ME A REVIEW IF YOU WOULD KINDLY!.