Ruby could see Weiss' hands shaking a little as she paced, and Ruby swung her arms back and forth as she bounced on her toes, waiting for third of their trip to arrive. A moment or two later, Penny skipped over and saluted in greeting, bringing a small smile to Weiss' face briefly before it vanished again, and continued pacing, muttering to herself.

"Salutations Friends!"

"Hi Penny! How're you?" Ruby smiled warmly at the second of her closest friends.

"I'm doing wonderful today!" Penny's smile was just as wide, although it shrank a little seeing Weiss pacing back and forth. "What seems to be the problem Weiss?"

"My sister is coming to visit soon, and she wants to see a demonstration of how far I've got with my summoning skills." Weiss answered without looking up, continuing to pace back and forth.

"Your sister?!"

"Special Operative Schnee?"

Ruby and Penny replied at the same time, and Penny's response was enough of a surprise for Weiss that she stopped pacing to stare at Penny. "You know Winter?"

Penny nodded, "Yes! Whilst I would not say we are friends just yet; I hope we will be friends soon."

Weiss cast her eyes to one side slightly, "Does...does Winter ever say anything about me?" Her voice was quiet, almost as if she was afraid of asking.

Penny thought for a moment, then did a mini jump and her eyes lit up, "Yes, she has done! She asked me how you were faring when I last saw her. I said you were doing well, had made friends, and I viewed you as one of my best friends! I think she was happy with that?" Penny tilted her head slightly, "She gave a very small smile, nodded, and then walked off. I don't think she was unhappy at least!"

Weiss looked thoughtful, and Ruby was just looking between them both, "Wait! You have a sister?! Is she older or younger? What's she like? Is she like you? Or not like you?"

Weiss snapped out of her slight reverie to interrupt Ruby's rapid-fire questions, "Yes, I have an older sister and she's in the Atlas military. Can you just stop with the questions? I thought you two were going to help me with my summoning, not quiz me on my family." Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ruby who looked away and scratched the back of her neck, a nervous tic that Weiss noticed she'd picked up from her elder sister.

"Sorry Weiss, I just want to know as much about you as I can."

Weiss softened quickly, "I'm sorry I snapped at you...I...I'm not very good at summoning. I've mastered pretty much all aspects of my semblance other than summoning. It's something that Winter never fails to pick me up on, saying I need to work on it more and put more effort into." She sighed and looked down.

"And that's why we're here! We're here for your moral support, we're morally ready!" Penny's words lightened the mood, Ruby nodding and grinning at her side.

Weiss managed to at least bring her expression back to neutral but kept her mouth in a tight line. She drew Myrtenaster from the loop on her belt and took her stance. Penny and Ruby stood back to give her space, and Weiss flicked her rapier slightly, and concentrated, a large spinning glyph appearing on the ground. Ruby stared at it, taking time to see what it looked like; It was similar to her other glyphs, however different at the same time. Instead of the whole glyph being a snowflake, half of the spikes were swords, and it had a small snowflake at the centre, circles and other spikes surrounding it. It's quite similar to Weiss, Ruby thought to herself, Spiky, but beautiful. Although it is missing the nice, warm bit at the centre that Weiss has once you get to know her.

Weiss let out a groan as the glyph flickered and vanished, breaking Ruby's thoughts on her partner. "It's okay Friend Weiss! Try again!" Penny called out to Weiss, her voice supportive. The white-haired girl nodded and flicked her sword again, calling the glyph forth. It lasted even less time than before, flickering out of existence quite quickly, causing a frustrated cry to sneak out of Weiss' mouth.

She went to throw her weapon, but changed her mind at the last second, collapsing to her knees and just holding it in front of her with both hands. Weiss stared at it, her Father's words ringing through her head 'You will never amount to anything as a Huntress, so don't even bother. Your barbaric semblance is useless outside of battle, which you will never engage in whilst running my company anyway. Your older sister betrayed us, do not make the same mistake as her. You don't have an ounce of what that infuriating General called "Talent" so it's far better for you to just give up.'

Weiss felt a soft and warm pressure against the small of her back, the pressure gently rubbing circles creating a soothing feeling. A similar comforting pressure was on the outside of her right hand as she held Myrtenaster's blade. She looked to her left and right, seeing Ruby kneeling next to her, one arm behind Weiss' back, responsible for the soothing circles. Penny was on her other side, gently holding Weiss' hand under the blade. Weiss shifted her hand slightly, and Penny wrapped both of her hands around it, smiling gently at Weiss. Ruby, very tentatively, touched Weiss' knee with her other hand, causing Weiss to look at the hand and then Ruby.

"Ah, sorry!" Ruby withdrew the hand quickly, "Thought it might help with comforting you."

Weiss nodded slowly, her voice barely above a whisper, "It's okay, it did." Ruby's eyes were such a beautiful silver, Weiss wasn't sure she'd ever noticed it before. "I don't think I can do this."

Ruby gently put her hand back on Weiss' knee, moving her thumb to rub Weiss' kneecap through her tights. "Why not?"

"Summoning is the pinnacle of our semblance; you can call on creatures you've defeated in the past to aid you in your fights. But they have to be ones that helped you move on from who you were."

Penny was still giving Weiss a small smile, "You're absolutely incredible Weiss. You're so good at controlling your semblance, this is just another part of it. You can do this."

Ruby looked at Weiss' face, staring at her eyes, "We're here to help you Weiss. Every enemy you beat shapes who you are in some way, so think of the ones that have had the biggest impact. You can do this."

Weiss looked at the two girls in turn, each of them holding a similar expression to each other, a soft look that screamed they believed in her and the words they had said to her. Slowly, Weiss got to her feet, Penny giving her hand a small squeeze before walking back to just behind Weiss, Ruby joining her. Weiss closed her eyes, bringing an image of the glyph she needed to the forefront of her mind and, with a flick of her wrist, casting it onto the ground in front of her.

Keeping her eyes closed, she focused of pouring aura into the glyph, thinking of all the enemies she had beaten that had changed her. The Beowolves her sister had sent at her in a training situation, making her improve her glyphs and the speed she did them. The giant knight created from a Geist that her Father and his team of scientists had forced it to bond with, in an attempt to stop her from going to Beacon. That had been the one that had changed her the most, the scar over her eye being a grim reminder of the battle.

The giant suit of armour is the best one to go with. Weiss was starting to focus on it, bringing the image of the towering monster to the front of her brain, before a small memory wormed its way into her thoughts. One of her holding a cup of coffee out for Ruby late at night, having decided to support her team leader and be the best teammate she could be, instead of constantly undermining her and being, no other word for it, a spoilt brat.

She felt a rush of energy and then felt the glyph vanish. Still with her eyes closed, she lowered Myrtenaster slightly, she'd failed again. Maybe her Father was right, maybe she didn't possess the talent needed to become a Huntress? Maybe she should go back to Atlas…But did she want to go?

There was a loud whooping, cheering, and some clapping behind her that shocked her out of the spiral downwards. She opened her eyes and then immediately narrowed them. Where her glyph had been spinning was a summon. She had actually managed to summon something, hence the support from her friends behind her. Ruby and Penny came sprinting up to stand on each side of her, and as they bent down to see the summon better, Weiss looked it over.

The four eyes were a silvery white colour, icy blue behind it all, and they glowed, the lines on its skull matching the colour of the eyes, and although the actual bony structure of the skull didn't glow with the same intensity and was a little duller, it still shone. A small pair of fangs looked sharp and pointed, jutting out from underneath it's upper jaw to hang downwards over the lower jaw, and a small spout of steam puffed out of its mouth. It's back was covered in small plates of bone, varying in size but matching symmetrically, and the two large curling tusks that almost reached its forehead looked as strong and dangerous as the original's had been. Without warning, it squealed loudly, jumped in the air, and span rapidly, creating a rotating wheel, tusks and bony plates making a sharp edge that shot towards Ruby.

"Oh my Dust it is SO cute!" Ruby exclaimed as the summon smashed into the tip of her boot and bounced backwards. Weiss rolled her eyes and bent down, opening the palm of her hand and the Boarbatusk trotted onto it, four eyes glaring out at Ruby and Penny as they crowded round Weiss and her hand. The summoned Boarbatusk was constantly giving out a high-pitched squeal of pure rage that would have been terrifying, if not for the fact the summoned Grimm was barely four inches long.

"You did it Friend Weiss! You successfully summoned something!" Penny was bouncing on her toes in excitement, something Weiss wasn't sure whether it was natural, or something she'd picked up from the excitable third member of their trio.

"I…I guess I did, didn't I?" Weiss seemed unsure.

Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss, giving her a tight squeeze from the left side, "Yes, you did. When I first discovered my semblance, I could barely go a few feet before I'd have to stop. Think about how far can I go now though? You've summoned something for the first time! You just need to practice it, and then you're bound to improve! I'm so proud of you!"

Penny squeezed Weiss from the other side, a little more forcefully than Ruby had, and Weiss' was sure she felt her ribs creak and crack as the android hugged her. "Friend Ruby is right! I'm proud of you as well! And more practice will help, and we will help you to practice as much as we can, because that's what friends do!"

Weiss, once Penny and Ruby had relaxed their death grips on her and she felt she could breathe again, thought it over. She had summoned something, and whilst she didn't think she could withstand the embarrassment of showing it to Winter, her two closest friends hadn't cared about how small it was, just that she'd succeeded. She allowed herself a grin that stretched her mouth and lips. "Yes, it is. And you two definitely helped me today."