Chapter 27
The flakes of snow fell down upon her gently, some landing in her silver-white hair as they simply blended in. Others fell upon her pale complexion and melted away instantly as her suitable icy eyes stared out over the black expanse of ocean. She was at the front of the ship, sat upon a fold-out chair with a small foam cup containing hot coffee. The steam created from the conflicting heats raised from the cup as she sat with her legs crossed. It was cold enough to have sent the other three inside but she had insisted she was fine. Growing up in Atlas the cold was something she had gotten used to and it only served to her as a reminder of home.
The only lights were those from the rest of the ship behind her and those ahead over the dark sea. Night had since come over the ship as they grew nearer towards Atlas, she could now see the city in fact. A shining maze of white and blue lights, towers like icicles that reached higher than any dared in Vale, swift lights moving about on the highways that extended above the ground and snaked around the city itself. The snow that forever blanketed the city only made the sight more awe inspiring for it lit up brightly as a result of the city. It looked like something from a fairytale, sitting there in the distance. Separating the blackness of the sea from the rest of the continent and even the sky became impossible as the clouds halted the shining presence of the moon.
Two beacons, the ship and the city, drawing ever closer to one another. It was a view that Winter felt she could never tire from no matter how many times she saw that city, be it from sea or sky. It was always the same, simply breathtaking. She brought her cup to her lips as she sipped from it. The coffee burned at her tongue for only a brief moment as she sighed afterwards, her breath becoming visible in the cold air. She paused before reaching into her pocket as she withdrew her scroll, eyes glancing over the screen as it lit up her face. Her finger hovered over the image of Weiss as her eyes frowned at the device.
Ever since Weiss returned to Atlas... nothing. Yet it was likely she had attempted to contact both Yang and Blake, so why not herself? She had time to think upon the reasons and had a sure idea on why it could be. Their father was a selfish man who cherished only power, respect and control. At a young age he would have shown them compassion and love, he would have spent time with them and taught them personally. But it was all a charade, it was to ensure their loyalty to their father at an early time in their lives, to simply accept him and thank him for what he had done for them. There came an age however where that would change, for both of them. It first happened to herself, suddenly her father was too busy, he had meetings left and right, important calls to make, business trips to plan. Suddenly she was left in the dark and abandoned, only with the servants of the mansion to finish what remained of parenting.
It made her cold.
She would look to Weiss and see the affection she once received from their father, the attention that was once her own, yet she held no jealousy. As a child Winter was as sharp as ever, her mind was like a weapon. She caught on quickly to what was happening. Now that she had been adequately tempered and moulded into something her father could stand to look at, it was Weiss' turn. And so from the background she would watch her sister as she progressed through an identical childhood to her own. The guests would faun over her, tell her how beautiful and talented she was. Just as they had said to her. But they would not even glance upon her, their favour had turned to Weiss in order to earn some sliver of respect or acknowledgement from their father. She was the new topic, the latest gossip. A fashion.
That's all it ever was to them. A game of deceiving smiles and shaking hands with the right people while concealing a dagger behind their back to further their own standing. Weiss and Winter were alike in many ways but some things set them apart, one difference being that Winter was forced to grow up faster than her younger sibling. The reason being? The White Fang. Her father couldn't possibly take out his anger upon Weiss, he wasn't finished fashioning her into a suitable heiress. But Winter was finished... As a result he'd yell at her, chastise her for not being good enough. He'd blame her for his lot in life. Through her father's resentment of her she learned to despise the man, but she stayed for a while longer if only to spare her younger sister the same fate a little more.
That was another difference between her and her sister. Winter refused to give up, everything she did she had to meet to its end. Weiss? As a child giving up had become something of a bad habit of hers. Winter had abused this fact of her sibling, embedding the seeds of doubt as to why she was so content on playing house. Giving up meant she would never attempt to leave after all, to remain and live a charade of a life. Winter had by this point wished to make something more of herself than simply a trophy on the wall of her father's mansion. She was going to become something that had nothing to do with her status as a Schnee. She wanted this for Weiss too but at the time she was simply too young to care for herself to escape with her. Before Winter left she made sure that in the future Weiss would follow in her footsteps. That was her parting gift to her father, her revenge.
Her only regret being that her leaving likely only placed more pressure upon her sister, in the end it was a choice she had to make for herself. Ever since then some sense of guilt shadowed her for leaving Weiss to become the one heiress to the family name and so she had promised herself that should Weiss not be able to leave of her own power she would simply return to take her away from her father. By force if necessary.
Thinking back on this, the reason Weiss never called her made more sense. Weiss wanted to impress their father more than Winter ever did, even though that might be a different case now her father still held some sway over her thoughts. She had no doubt that he had poisoned Weiss against her through kind words of praise mixed in with the reasons she had such a burden upon her shoulders. That reason being Winter herself. It was the only explanation she could find and if such was truly the case...
She wouldn't be able to forgive herself for what she'd do to her father for turning the one person she cared so deeply about against her. If there was one thing she feared it's what would happen during that moment of confrontation. She might very well end up dismantling the Schnee name, she might even dismantle their entire legacy. All for the sake of her sister, the one relative in her life that never expected the impossible from her. The one relative that simply loved her for who she was.
Still looking upon the image of Weiss upon her scroll her eyes turned back to the city, now larger and brighter than before as the vessel drew closer. She pocketed her scroll and took a second sip from her coffee, cooler now than before. The sound of clacking heels came from behind her as they approached, she didn't have to look back to know who it was. Often did Neo come to her now when she was feeling lonely or upset, usually a result of Yang and Blake. She heard something drag along the floor as a box was pushed besides her chair, the short woman then sitting upon it as her mismatched eyes stared out at the city, widening slightly at the view.
Despite her childhood Winter's heart was not completely made up of ice. She was able to thaw it and show the compassion that her father once demonstrated to her at a young age. Not only that but she had a soft spot for all things broken and unwanted. She turned her gaze to Neo as she held out her cup of coffee, the smaller girl looking upon it and as she realised what it was she shook her head. Winter smirked softly, "I take five sugars with it" she admitted. She knew that Neo would only ever eat or drink sweet things, it seemed to go well with her theme and she wondered if she only did it for the sake of that reason. Though her own reasons for five sugars were simply that she herself couldn't stand coffee all that much, she'd never tell anyone else how she took it though.
Upon hearing this Neo accepted the cup and took a sip from it, both hands folding around the foam material in order to warm her hands.
"Nice view" stated Winter as her eyes looked ahead to the city of Atlas once again. Neo nodded in silent agreement. Speaking with Neo was forever going to be a difficult task but it was far from impossible. She turned her attention to her fully, "How are you?" she asked to which the smaller girl shrugged. Stubborn. "Was it them again?" she continued as she received a hesitant nod in response this time. Winter sighed softly through her nose, she knew that Yang wouldn't do it on purpose which must have meant Neo simply stumbled upon them without them noticing again. She would love for a way to completely stop Neo's obsession with Yang but at the moment nothing came to mind for a way to accomplish that. All she could do for now was comfort her when she was down.
Neo offered Winter her coffee back to which she accepted it and took another sip from it herself. The smaller girl was staring at her for some strange reason as Winter raised a brow at her in a questioning manner. Neo blinked as both her eyes turned magenta. Winter understood that Neo more often than not attempted to use her eyes in communication, to describe how she was feeling mostly. But this one was new to her, never before had she used this combination to her knowledge.
"What is it?" asked Winter as Neo kept staring at her, her expression was blank as she reached a hand out to place it upon Winter's thigh, firmly grasping it. Winter's eyes watched the hand and she knew what those eyes now meant and what Neo was probably trying to tell her. She had to be careful with what she said next. On one hand, accepting this would be a step towards getting her off Yang's back, it would also probably keep both Yang and Neo happy. But on the other hand... Winter herself felt no attraction to the girl, agreeing to anything would be completely one-sided on Neo's part. If she shot her down she would likely continue to spiral around within her depression. Not to mention the fact that Neo mostly communicated through action, she could only guess how she'd communicate her feelings, no doubt it would lead to a lot of lost sleep...
Neo tilted her head slightly at Winter as she pondered her decision, her fingers grasping more tightly at her thigh. Yet her expression remained blank. Perhaps it wasn't love she was after, perhaps it was simply company.
Winter sighed to herself. If only Neo had kept her hands to herself, she wouldn't have to make this decision. She wasn't prepared to become what Neo wanted from her, that simply wasn't who she was. For Yang's sake or not. She stared into Neo's eyes and frowned softly. "Neopolitan..." she began in a calm and soothing tone. "I know that you might be feeling... lonely. But what you want with me will not heal the hole in your heart, it will only numb the pain for a while and soon enough you will just return to as you are now. I am not what you want, and I think that you understand this. Don't you?" replied Winter.
Neo's eyes drifted asides for a moment as she seemed to think upon her words. It was a good reaction, more than Winter could have hoped for. It showed that she didn't feel instantly rejected. After a short while the small girl blinked as her eyes returned to their usual brown and magenta, her hand slowly slipping away from Winter's thigh.
Winter reached out her arm to place it across Neo's shoulder. "I can be your friend Neo, and as a result of that I will watch out for you and support you. I will be here for you. But a friend is all I can be" she continued in her soft tone. Neo nodded slowly once more as her eyes stared out to Atlas, drawing ever closer. It would not be long now until they reached it. Neo leaned against Winter, her head resting against her shoulder as the two watched the light-show of a city.
She was thankful that Neo seemed to understand completely, and thankful that she was able to spare herself the carnal relationship the girl seemed to want. Relationships were never much a worry for Winter, she had a few in the past sure but they only ever got in the way of her work, so each ended swiftly. All of her past partners had been men but after tonight she gave thought to it. She'd always been open minded about the subject and was equally attracted to some women as she was some men, but never had she entered a relationship with another woman. But nor did she expect she ever would if her current line of work continued, and that went for any relationships at all.
To think that the quiet girl next to her wanted nothing more than to share her bed in order to sate her desires... it was somewhat unnerving considering what Yang had told her she was capable of. She apologized in her thoughts to Yang, if she accepted she might have been able to twist Neo's mind into falling in love with her, and thus sparing the blonde the trouble. But then she'd be in a loveless relationship on her part with somebody she wasn't even attracted to. She cared for Yang, and even Blake, but she wasn't about to make that kind of sacrifice for anyone but those closest to her heart.
Once more sighing to herself she broke away from her thoughts. Eyes glancing down to Neo resting upon her shoulder, her blank expression still present. A soft smile appeared on Winter's face as she spoke, "You should try and find someone shorter" she said.
To her content it worked as Neo tried to hide her smirk, having found their comparison in height humorous. When stood besides one another it would be easily capable for Neo to comfortably head-butt Winter in the gut, and that was with her heels on. It made Winter question her age, Neo was certainly the shortest person she knew standing at 4'10 in her boots. Shorter even than Weiss which she never thought would be possible for anyone.
"How old are you, if you do not mind" asked Winter, in response Neo raised her hands in front of herself. She opened both her hands flat. Ten. Then a second time. Twenty. She then held out one finger. Winter would never have guessed. "Twenty one? I thought you would have been closer to Yang's age than mine..." she replied. To this Neo shrugged her shoulders, as if simply unable to come up with a response, or unable to answer it due to her lack of speaking.
The best case scenario for all this was if Winter could by some means find someone who was attracted to the girl. By no means was she unattractive after all, in fact she was rather beautiful. But if she could find somebody who liked her it could solve many of the problems the group faced, especially if Neo fell for them. The issue being of course... where to find somebody like that?
A light shined past her eyes, forcing her to squint as they refocused to see that it was a lighthouse. The city was so very close now, even this late at night it was alive. She could already hear the sounds of traffic. It was good to see a city that wasn't left a ghost town like Vale. For a while now they had been alone travelling and it felt although a breath of fresh air to soon be among people once again.
Men yelled orders to one another from around the ship as the crew prepared themselves to dock as they grew nearer the port. Finally they had reached Atlas.