Rawr, everybody! This week sees our heroes enjoying the Festival and our favorite villains making some preparations!
Enjoy!
"Come on, Storm! You can do it!" Ruby shouted as the dragons came around the track, kicking up dust, sneezing when they put their heads too close to the ground. "You're almost there! Come on!"
Emerald and Jade were standing nearby, watching the foot race. The course was essentially set up like that of a horse racetrack, except bigger. Emerald hadn't bothered entering Jade, as earth dragons aren't exactly known for being fast runners. She couldn't help but notice how Ruby's cheers never wavered, even as Storm fell further and further back.
The white wind dragon was the fifth to cross the finish line, after two other wind dragons, a fire dragon, and a very sleek water dragon. Her fins drooped as she slowed down and padded back over to Ruby.
"Good job!" Ruby patted her dragon's dusty brow. "Fifth place on your very first foot race! You really are amazing."
Almost immediately, Storm's disappointment was replaced with pride and she perked up, warbling cheerfully. She trotted after the other racers to where two adult water dragons were hosing them down, washing the dust away. Several fire dragons grumbled when it was their turn.
Wow, Emerald thought as she watched Ruby, who was still beaming proudly at her dragon. She got Storm's mood from zero to a hundred with just a few words. Maybe there is something to that silver-eyes myth. At first, she had only wanted to get close to Ruby in order to learn more about the ice dragon and the hybrid earth dragon, but now she was starting to think she had found an incredibly promising recruit for Cinder's cause.
Only time would tell, she supposed.
Storm came back just as Ruby was handed a pink ribbon, which she proudly put on her dragon's halter. "My first prize!" She beamed, tossing her head so that the ribbon swung back and forth.
"Congrats," Jade said with an easy smile. "I still haven't won anything yet."
"You will! Just keep trying," Storm chirped.
The two Riders led their dragons toward a sparring ring, where Yang and Fang were supposed to meet them. As they walked, Emerald was asking Ruby about the dragons at her dad's broodery.
"York lost his Rider, and an eye during a fight with a pack of Beowolves," Ruby explained. "He wouldn't move or even acknowledge anyone for over a year. After we got Caboose, though, he got some life back. He's still really sad, but he acts more like a fire dragon sometimes."
"I always thought it was only the big brooderies that took in dragons like that," Emerald said.
"Well, most brooderies are a main source of money for whoever owns them, so they're actually less likely to use up stable space on dragons that can't produce eggs," Ruby explained. "Dad still fights Grimm. The eggs from Church and Tex help with the income, but it's not the biggest part of it. He'd rather help another dragon than try making more money."
"Huh." This guy sounded like someone who genuinely cared about dragons, unlike the dragonmasters, who only cared about dragons when it was convenient. "That's very decent of him."
"He's the best," Ruby said proudly.
They reached the sparring ring and were able to see Fang pinning a larger earth dragon to the ground. He leaped on top of his opponent, roaring loudly in the other dragon's face, before reluctantly joining Yang at the edge of the ring.
Yang looked up from dabbing a scratch with an alcohol-soaked cloth. "Hey. I see Storm did good in the race."
"She sure did!" Ruby declared. "How's Fang liking the sparring?"
"I don't think he'll ever leave," Yang said dryly.
"Storm, you gotta try this!" Fang was saying eagerly, wincing as Yang dabbed at his cut. "This is the most fun I've ever had."
Storm shook her head. "You go ahead without me. Fighting is your thing."
"It'll be your thing too, once combat training starts," Fang pointed out.
"I…don't really want to think about that…" Storm muttered, glancing to the side.
"Don't worry," Jade assured her. "Fighting comes naturally once we're older, or so I've heard. And our Riders will only make us fight people who deserve it." She already looked forward to fighting off any enemies of the cause Emerald kept telling her about. "And big scary monsters who all deserve to die. We'll be killing a lot of those."
"M-M-Monsters?" Storm swallowed loudly.
Ruby jumped when her Scroll buzzed. She opened it to see a message from Ozpin. "Uh, I need to go," she said, smiling apologetically at Emerald and Yang. "I'll see you guys later." She called Storm, who walked with her back to Haven Academy.
Waiting by the guest stalls were Ozpin and a man Ruby had seen in the newspaper before.
"Miss Rose, this is General Ironwood," Ozpin said, nodding to the man. "He's one of the top people involved with Penny's creation."
"Nice to meet you, sir," Ruby said, nodding politely.
"Likewise," Ironwood replied. "I understand that there were some issues with the unit last time you used it."
"Yeah, the light flickered a few times, and she asked to stay on Storm's head longer." Ruby frowned. "This won't hurt Storm, will it?"
"I checked the inner workings, and everything seems to be in order," Ironwood said. "For the unveiling, we'll have it plugged into the speaker systems, so we wanted to test out how it'll react to that."
"We're ready to go!" Ruby quickly took Storm's ribbon and hung it up in her temporary stall before leading her dragon after the two dragonmasters.
Like at Beacon, they ended up at a spot behind the larger stables, the fire one in this case. A single speaker, identical to the ones used in the arenas, was set up there. Ozpin took Penny from her case and placed it on Storm.
Ironwood watched with interest as the metal spread over Storm's back and legs. "Looks like the size adjustment mechanism is working fine."
"Salutations," Penny said. "Awaiting Rider command."
"Hey, Penny," Ruby greeted. "We're going to be doing something new. Ozpin's going to plug you into another system, so you'll be able to talk really loud to several people."
The light blinked once. "Auxiliary cord plugin authorized."
Ironwood took the cord and plugged it in on the left side of Penny. The light turned yellow and blinked rapidly.
"Reading… Device recognized." The light turned green again.
Ozpin then turned on the speakers, putting it to a low setting. "Have her say 'Test, test, one, two, three.'"
Penny obeyed, and the voice came from the speaker clearly.
"Perfect!" Ozpin sighed. "That's all we need."
The light turned back to yellow. "Is there not more I can do to assist you?"
"Ruby, have it detach," Ozpin said.
"Command: Detach," Ruby said obediently.
"Acknowledged…" There was a definite sullen tone to Penny's voice as she was taken off of Storm.
Storm warbled sadly. That session had been too short. Penny hadn't wanted to leave. As she watched the older humans talk about what to do next, she couldn't help but wonder if mechanical beings like Penny were also subject to the same unfair rules that dragons were.
….
"And then the guy was like 'Oh, I'm so sorry, sir! I thought those were your real legs!'" Mercury took a sip of his coffee, feeling a flush of satisfaction at the genuine laugh his story elicited. She's so eating right out of my hand.
"What did you do then?" Weiss asked, still chuckling a little.
"I just walked off and left him standing there awkwardly. Sometimes, that's the most satisfying thing you can do." Mercury shrugged. He glanced out the window of the coffee shop they were relaxing in. "What's up with Specter? He seems a bit glum."
Weiss looked outside, letting out a sigh. Specter's frills were droopy, and his gaze was downcast, just as it had been that morning. "I hoped he'd be better today. I think he feels bad about not getting first prize at that beauty contest yesterday."
"Competitive, isn't he?"
"He takes after me," Weiss admitted. "Members of my family are expected to be very…driven." She paused to sip her latte. "I've been trying to tone that down both for my sake and his. As long as we can fight Grimm and protect people, it doesn't matter how many ribbons or trophies he earns."
"Good point," Mercury said, nodding his head. Huh. Wasn't expecting something like that from her. This priss and her designer dragon may actually fit in with our cause. It'd be nice to not have to kill them, I suppose.
The two finished their drinks, and Mercury stood up. "Well, I'd better get Rudder ready for the junior swimming race. Wanna come with?"
"Thank you, but I'm actually meeting Blake here in a little while," Weiss admitted. "I thought it would be convenient for us to talk here in the meantime."
"Well, glad I ran into you." Deciding to go all-in with his flirtatious approach, Mercury leaned against the table with a casual grin. "So, how about a kiss for luck?"
Weiss's cheeks flushed, but she kept a calm smirk on her face. "I would, but Rudder doesn't seem to be the kissing type."
Mercury let out a laugh, a brief, real one this time. "Good one. Later, snow angel."
After he left, a voice nearby piped up: "Didn't think you were such a flirt."
Weiss looked over to see Blake standing by the booth, arms folded and an amused smile on her face. Her cheeks flushed further. "I'm honestly not. Sometimes, I just come up with the perfect thing to say at the right time."
Blake sat down across from her, holding a mug of tea she had already purchased. "So, do you think he likes you?"
"I can't tell," Weiss admitted. "He seems to be the type to casually flirt with people, so I'm not taking it too seriously."
"But, you're still having some fun with it," Blake finished, taking a sip.
"Well, yes." Weiss glanced at the table. "This isn't my first Festival, but it's the first time I've been able to wander around and do as I please. Things like eating fair food, staying up late, flirting with boys… I didn't get to do that before."
Blake nodded in understanding. She hadn't been able to do much of that in the past either, though for different reasons. "The fact that your dad would probably hate Mercury doesn't hurt either, I'll bet."
Weiss allowed herself a coy smirk. "I will neither confirm nor deny that."
The two continued to sit in companionable silence until Weiss got up to get another coffee. She also brought back two scones. "Might as well," she said. "They're homemade, after all."
"Thanks." Blake took a bite out of hers. It was warm and coated with cinnamon sugar. She glanced out the window. "Specter still looks depressed."
"I'm hoping he'll get better. I don't know if entering him in more contests would be a good or bad thing for him."
"I already decided not to enter Pit in anything," Blake said. "It'll be pretty obvious how much bigger and different he is from the other earth dragons if he's being closely examined right next to them."
"I mean, it is publicly known that he hatched earlier than the other first-years, and I'm pretty sure I've seen pictures of dark silver earth dragons, so you might get away with it." Weiss shrugged. "But, it's your choice."
"I've just been really on edge since he pulled that stunt with the Council," Blake sighed. "I don't blame him for doing it, but that was too close."
"I just hope that was the only culling we'll witness." Weiss stared into her mug. "Everything about that was just so wrong. I've never come across something that was perfectly common and legal but felt so…disgusting." She felt a shadow of that about her own situation with her father, but she knew that Jacques put on a good act in public, and that most victims of abuse just aren't known about by people. That was an issue of ignorance and not enough action. What happened to Tornado felt like nothing short of a government-sanctioned murder of a child.
"I have." Blake leaned back. "In a way, the fight for Faunus rights mirrors the fight for dragon rights. Did you know that there was a time when Faunus could be hunted like animals?"
"Surely, that was a long time ago, during the more superstitious times before civilization really picked up." Weiss's heart sank when Blake shook her head.
"It wasn't as long ago as that." She looked at Weiss with a grim smile. "The world sucks, and it always will to a certain level."
"We'll work to make it better," Weiss insisted, reaching across the table to touch Blake's hand. Gestures like that still felt strange to her, but it somehow felt right in that moment. "You know I'm on your side."
Blake's expression softened, her cheeks warming slightly in response to Weiss's hand, which was also surprisingly warm. "I know. Thanks."
Weiss withdrew and finished her coffee and scone. "Should we walk for a bit? Our dragons look bored.
Outside, Specter was letting out yet another long, whistling sigh. "Seriously, Pit. What other creatures have you seen with pure black eyes."
"We've only seen a few birds, squirrels, and a dog in our lives so far!" Pit grumbled, his patience wearing very thin. "And squirrels have black eyes, at least they look like they do."
"Do people find squirrels scary?"
"Why would they even-?"
"Okay, boys," Blake called as she led Weiss out of the coffee shop. "Let's go."
As they walked down the road, Specter continued his lament. "I have rodent eyes! That's why I didn't win."
"You won second place, Specter!" Pit snapped. "If you were downright horrifying, you wouldn't have even placed."
"So, I'm only slightly horrifying!"
"I will have Fang rip your tongue out if you keep on this tangent! Then, you really will look scary!"
"You're so cruel…"
…..
Cinder looked lazily at her Scroll, smiling as the picture of the black queen chess piece pulsed, signaling the addition of more files, more connections, more ammo. Everything had been connected and programmed correctly.
It looks like that little chameleon has her uses, Cinder mused. It would be nice if I could get her out from under Adam's thumb. She filed that thought in the back of her mind for the time being. There were more important things to focus on.
Tomorrow was the last day of the Festival, and the unveiling of the unit.
The next phase in her plan was about to begin.
Dun dun DUN! What could Cinder be planning? Will Specter ever grow to love his gorgeous ghost eyes? Stay tuned!
If you like what you see and want to show extra support while earning sweet rewards, my P/atreon is Solora Goldsun.
Peace out!