Chapter 26
With the sun now at its height in the sky the car continued on through the mountain paths, travelling along its winding roads. Other than the lake they had stopped by there wasn't much else to see than the vista of the other stone mountains that surrounded the area. The further in they continued the road only became rougher, though thankfully the car itself held up against the abuse.
The road extended up briefly as the vehicle crested its apex only to reveal the end of the mountain trail as the road then descended down into a valley. Before them they could see the wide ocean in the distance, they had finally reached the north side of the continent. The port could also been seen, a small grey town with multiple docks and ships coming back and forth. Gulls flew over the port, mostly secluding themselves to certain boats that no doubt carried a variety of fish.
"That's it right?" asked Yang as she leaned between the two front seats of the vehicle to get a better look.
"It is, hopefully we can find ourselves transport relatively fast" answered Winter as the vehicle made its way down towards the port.
The car came to a checkpoint outside of the town as it slowed to a halt besides a window. A man peered out through it and Winter needed simply show him a card. His eyes widened and he nodded silently to the woman before allowing her to continue on. Within the town were few buildings, though mostly residential or industrial. There were maybe two stores that they passed, it was nothing like Vale which had almost anything you would need. Citizens could be seen walking the streets, usually alone and mostly people who appeared in their thirties or higher. There was an almost gloomy presence to the town, as if all the joy had been sapped from it for there only to be hard labour left in its place.
Turning a corner the vehicle continued on through the town, eventually coming nearer to the port. There was another checkpoint coming up and once more Winter slowed the car down to stop at its window. She stood out from the car and approached the small box-like building as she began conversing with the man behind the window. Yang could only hear some of the words she spoke of, such as finding out when the what the next outgoing vessels to Atlas would be. Once more she saw her flash her card which no doubt stated her identity as the man behind the window quickly got to work, searching through his documents.
After a short while Winter got back into the car, closing the door and glancing over to all three. "We appear to have luck on our side, there is a ship preparing to head out now. Shipping furniture apparently" she answered before the car passed through the checkpoint and onto the dock itself.
"You're not worried they're going to tell your father you were here?" asked Blake as she looked over to the woman.
"They would not be able to contact him directly if they tried, they would have to send it up a chain of command here before even being able to contact Atlas. Though I doubt they will even bother considering it is a mess of calls to make" replied Winter with confidence as the car turned down a thin road and towards a large vessel ahead which had a ramp extending from its rear that led into the ship itself.
"I've never been on a boat before" said Yang, normally she'd travel by air if she needed to get anywhere which was normally to Vale from Patch.
The car bumped slightly as it connected with the ramp and slowly made its way onto the ship. "Let us hope you have good control over your stomach in that case" responded Winter. The inside of the ship they had entered had a few large containers but the centre had been left clear as to easily transport said containers in and out of the cargo bay. However, Winter had been told there was no more cargo to be loaded and so assumed it to be a safe bet to simply park the vehicle in the middle of the empty path. Turning off the ignition she opened her door and stopped from the vehicle. The other four doing the same. Behind them a voice called out before the ramp started to pull up, closing the back of the cargo bay.
"Sooo... what now?" asked Yang.
"This is no luxurious ride so things to do are going to be limited to watching the ocean and talking to one another. So I suggest perhaps just going up to the top deck and getting settled in" answered Winter.
"This sounds like it's gonna be a lot more boring than I thought it would be..." muttered Yang as she followed after the woman with Neo and Blake doing the same. The ship was large in size and proved some time before they found their way to the top deck. As Winter stated, it was nothing to compare to a ferry made for transporting people. Everything they saw had a function intended for the work that took place upon the vessel. The ship had already set sail and as they moved to the back of the boat they could see the port and the mountains they came from slowly moving further and further away.
"Ahh..." was all that came from Winter's voice, seemingly as if remembering something.
"What is it?" asked Blake as she looked to her with golden eyes.
"We should have brought the coats up from the car... It is going to become very cold very fast..." said Winter, folding her arms as she turned to lean against the railing behind her.
Before anyone could suggest going back for them Neo had turned on her heel and started marching away. The three watched her go curiously before looking back to one another. "Does she even remember the way...?" asked Yang.
Blake shrugged, "She might stay lost long enough for us to leave without her" she answered coldly, which earned her a slight look from Winter who narrowed her gaze.
Yang quickly shifted the topic as she turned her attention to Winter. "So what can we expect when we get to Atlas? Are we heading into a port?" she asked.
Winter tapped her finger against her chin as she looked up the sky. "We will be arriving in the capital city itself. There will also be plenty of snow, it will be cold and from there we will spend a day in the city re-supplying before making for my father's mansion" she answered, looking back down at the two.
A rush of wind came towards the three that chilled right through to the bone. Yang and Blake both instinctively wrapped their arms around themselves (Or in Yang's case, arm). Winter didn't seem near as bothered by it as the two were. "Wh- I wasn't expecting... that" stuttered Blake, the rush of wind had hit her right in the back and sent chills up her spine.
From there on the wind didn't give up as they moved into the open ocean. The continent that they had come from now barely in sight and merely a dot in the distance. "Y-Yeah... Where's Neo with those coats?" asked Yang as she glanced around.
As if summoned, the small woman appeared as she exited the ship, bundle of coats in hand and wearing her own light pink one. She approached Winter first as she took her white coat from her. Then moving to reluctantly offer Blake her purple one and then the same for Yang, a yellow one, though she refused to look at her directly. Each put on their coats as the wind continued to harass the ship.
Yang's gaze lingered upon Neo before turning to face Blake. "Wanna head back inside...?" she asked.
The Faunus nodded, arms still wrapped around herself. "S-Sure. I didn't know I hated the cold this much..." she answered before turning to start heading back towards the interior of the ship.
"We might find some place to sit. They should have like a cafeteria or something right?" asked Yang as she followed after her partner.
Winter watched as they left, arms casually folded as her eyes peered over to Neo. The smaller girl was glaring at the two, or likely just Blake as her fists clenched. It didn't seem like seeing the two together was ever not going to annoy her. "Calm down" came Winter's voice as her gaze pierced her. Neo turned her attention as if by surprise, looking back up at the woman as she frowned. With a pause Winter continued, "I know what happened at the cabin" she said.
To this Neo's eyes blinked and turned white as she took a step away from her, worry written across her face.
"Yang appears to have forgiven you, but I should not need to tell you that if you attempt something like that again... We will have an issue. Understood?" asked Winter with a stern tone, her long silvery hair waving in the cold sea air.
Neo nodded twice in an apologetic manner while holding her hands behind her back.
Winter rested her sight on the woman a while longer before turning her gaze forwards. "It will be a few hours until we reach Atlas, you do not get sea sick I hope?" asked Winter, her voice now calmer. Neo shook her head in response as her eyes blinked, returning to her usual brown and magenta as her eyes looked out over the ocean. The continent they had come from now simply gone from all sight.
"Hey, this looks like a good spot" said Yang.
"That's the car" answered Blake as she looked to Winter's car, seemingly unimpressed by Yang's ability to find a place to sit down.
"I bet it's a lot warmer than anywhere else, and it has the comfiest seats too" nodded the blonde as she opened up one of the back passenger doors, gesturing towards it with her head.
The Faunus sighed and made her way over to Yang before entering the back seat of the vehicle. Yang followed behind her before closing the door. "I didn't think she would have left it unlocked" said Blake as she glanced around the interior as if expecting something to be missing, it appeared just as they had left it which came as some relief.
"I'm pretty excited" said Yang, seemingly out of the blue as Blake looked to her confused. "For Atlas I mean. After we find Weiss and we all go find Ruby it's gonna be awesome. Right?" she asked as she turned to the Faunus.
Blake half-smiled and gave a nod, "Sure it will" she answered.
"What?" asked Yang as she raised a brow at her, having caught on to something in her expression.
"What do you think she'll say?" asked Blake.
"Who, Weiss?" replied Yang.
Blake nodded as she idly clasped her hands together in her lap. "I can't stop thinking about it. What if they think it's weird? What if they don't like the idea of two people in the team being in a relationship? Won't it get in the way? Won't there be favouritism?" asked the Faunus, almost running out of breath by the end of her words.
Yang smiled and placed her hand firmly onto Blake's shoulder, "You worry too much. We're a couple now, they're just gonna have to learn to accept it" she answered.
Blake smirked softly, "Sometimes you don't worry enough" she answered.
"It's better that way though right?" asked the blonde.
"Depends on the situation I guess..." replied Blake as she shuffled herself closer towards Yang, coming into contact as she leaned against her.
The two sat in silence for a short while before Yang spoke out, "Do you think it'd be possible for me to get robot arm?" she asked.
"I guess asking why would be a stupid question?" replied Blake.
Yang snorted, "Duh, yeah. I want to punch things for real again. Kicks haven't been working out too great for me" she answered.
"It made you faster" commented Blake as she referred to the time Yang had chased her back in Vale.
"Don't you like... find it a bit annoying though? I know I do" replied Yang.
Blake frowned lightly at the subject they were approaching. "Be more specific?" she asked.
Yang thought on her words briefly before adjusting herself to promptly sit upon Blake's lap, facing her. She placed her one hand upon her shoulder. "I want to hold you, with both arms. It... Doesn't feel right with just one... Get it?" she asked.
A little stunned by the fact the beautiful blonde was now in her lap, Blake replied. "Well... I can see what you mean. But it never bothered me, I'm more than happy that we're even together, plus a metal arm wouldn't be so comfortable around my waist" she answered.
"But... we could do a lot more if I had two arms" responded Yang.
"A lot more?" questioned Blake with uncertainty.
"Yeah you know... like... stuff. And things" answered Yang awkwardly as her lilac eyes briefly turned aside.
"Stuff... and things...?" asked Blake. After a short silent pause she chuckled at the woman.
"Wh- Don't laugh!" replied Yang, but in truth she herself was barely holding in her own laughter.
"I'm not laughing" lied Blake, she clearly was. Her chuckling was halted firmly with lips as Yang leaned down and kissed her passionately. The Faunus gave out a surprised moan as her hands softly moved to rest upon Yang's back. After several seconds they parted.
Yang smirked at her before her expression softened, "But serious though... I feel like I can't give you like... I... It's hard to word... I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't feel like I'm doing enough for you. With one arm. It's like I'm only putting in half the effort towards our relationship or something" she said.
Blake smiled gently up at her, "You shouldn't worry about that. I..." she halted her words after almost having let something unintentional slip from her lips. "I'm just happy. In fact I couldn't be more happy" she answered.
"You're sure...?" asked Yang.
"I'm sure. You told me that to you I'm just Blake and nothing more. Well to me you're Yang. Nothing more, nothing less. It goes both ways, and I-" pausing once more the Faunus almost let the word slip again. "I really really like you" she nodded at Yang.
Yang watched her girlfriend, eyes searching her features before she grinned down at her. "You're really cute" she stated.
The Faunus blushed as her golden gaze coyly looked up to her. "And you're really flattering" she replied. She then watched as Yang brought her hand back towards herself to undo the zip on her coat. "Uh- Yang?" asked Blake.
"Don't get too excited, it's just the coat. It's still cold in this car right? So we can just share our body-heat like they do in all the movies" replied the blonde as she brought her hand to Blake's coat afterwards, slowly unzipping it to reveal her usual attire beneath.
"Well... I guess it is a bit... chilly..." admitted Blake, it took a lot of focus for her not to bluntly stare down at Yang's chest. She was wearing her usual orange tank top.
Yang moved to press her body against Blake's, wrapping her arm around her back as the Faunus did the same. Yang could feel the heat from the body of her partner as well as the beat of her heart which, as usual in times like these, was racing. "What did I say about not getting excited?" asked Yang with a light tone.
"You know yours is beating fast too right?" asked Blake with a blush.
"Bet I can make yours beat faster..." whispered Yang in an almost growling fashion as her head tilted down to meet Blake's lips once more, locking the two into other deep kiss. Blake's arms squeezed tightly around Yang's form. Already she had forgotten about the cold, all she cared about now was her partner as she felt her press her body more firmly against her own. She felt that Yang's heart was beating faster, and her own probably was too. She was shocked to soon find that her partner's hand had moved down to her top, placing itself against her bare skin as it attempted to slide up her shirt. Instantly the Faunus let out a yelp into the kiss which caused Yang to break from it in surprise. "What's wrong?" asked Yang with some alarm.
"Y- Your hand's... really... cold..." shuddered Blake as Yang looked down to her hand, quickly pulling it out from under Blake's top.
"Oh- Uh... Sorry... Kinda forgot about that" chuckled Yang softly. Blake gave her a disapproving stare in return.
The vessel continued on through the cold waters as a mass of land was sighted in the far distance ahead, it was surely to be Atlas but it was far too difficult to make out any terrain as of yet. The waves continued to be pushed aside for the ship as it made its way through the waters. A journey it had performed numerous times, everything was still going just as planned.