It was halfway through their first proper full day of classes, and Blake was deeply annoyed with everything. There wasn't much that she actually had to do that day, and the team had more or less done nothing but class work that day. That didn't make it all feel any less frustrating, though.
The situation was so different from what she was used to that Blake couldn't help but feel almost disoriented. Staying in one place, with new people around every corner- that wasn't what she was used to. Blake couldn't remember a time in her life when she'd done that sort of thing, even back when she was a child.
All four of their team had decided to take a table near the door to the dining hall. Blake was sitting diagonal to Weiss, with Yang at her side and Ruby sitting directly across from her. She had a plate of food in front of her, but she hadn't managed to eat anything from it yet that day. Just a problem of nerves, and a constant feeling like she always needed to be checking the area for some sort of danger Blake couldn't quite name.
For the most part it was quiet. Once in awhile someone from another group or team would come over to where they were sitting. Blake was doing her best to ignore all of it.
"-really excited for later today." Ruby was chattering excitedly as she shifted around in her seat. "We have our first real day in the training rooms where we get to use them! I can't wait to see what it's like with all four of us fighting-"
"Yes." Blake sighed, since she wasn't going to be able to relax and had begun to give up on eating something. "It'll be interesting."
Yang stretches slightly. "We know how to use the simulators, so we should probably do that." She hesitated for a long moment and looked between Blake and Weiss. "Have either of you used simulations?"
"I can't say that I have." Weiss said, shifting in her seat and Blake was sure that the girl was trying to cross one leg over the other. "I suspect they won't be too difficult-"
"Nah," Ruby replied, smiling. "Yang chooses strong ones for us to use."
"Right." Blake sighed. "I've never used a simulation, but I've never had to use a simulation."
Ruby stared at her, and for a moment Blake couldn't help but think that there somehow managed to be stars in Ruby's eyes over the whole thing. That was interesting, at the very least. Of course, Blake was sure that to imagine someone like Ruby had never had to meet someone that never used a simulation machine for their training.
As long as Ruby didn't go thinking about what that actually meant, Blake was fine to play along.
"It'll be fine," Yang said, shrugging and leaning forward against the table a little bit as she pushed her empty tray in towards the center of the table. "It'll be fun, really. No better stress relief around here."
"Right." Blake said.
Off on the other side of the room, Blake heard the door open with a loud slam. She nearly whorled around in her seat to see who could have possibly wanted to slam the door open. It was rude, for one.
But what she saw made Blake's heart skip a beat in her chest. Standing there, tall, thin, and somehow imposing despite those facts was the patriarch of the Schnee family, head of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss' father, Jacques Schnee- formerly, Jacques Gelè.
Thousands of thoughts were rushing through Blake's mind, every piece of evidence that had ever been presented to prove that this man was one of the great evils of the world, every piece of propaganda that had been dropped into her lap. Blake wanted to go ahead and do a thousand things, and one of them was to get up in run, while she also wanted to get up and fight.
She opened her mouth to say something, turning just slightly to face Weiss, but only saw that the girl had quietly gotten up without saying a word to any of her teammates and was on her way to meet her father.
There was something about Weiss' stance that was wrong, and Blake couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. All that she knew was that it was wrong.
Blake looked between Ruby and Yang, to see that both of them were looking a little concerned, but Blake wasn't sure that either of them had managed to cross the line over into worry just yet.
The good thing was that under her bow she had her second set of ears, and Blake was able to listen in on anything. No amount of whispering would be enough to keep her from hearing what was being talked about.
"-you'll be returning to the ship at once." Jacques Schnee hissed at his daughter. Blake thought of another man, much different from this man but just as controlling and cruel. "And when you do, you'll return to Atlas with myself and your brother-"
"But-" Weiss began, and Blake could hear the thin layer of panic that was hiding underneath her tone. "Father, I've decided that I want to stay here at Beacon."
"So I've heard." Jacques replied in a deadpan that had so much harshness tinting every word that Blake couldn't ignore it. Her heart was beginning to pump a little too hard, and she was starting to feel a little bit more worried with every second that passed her by. "I do not appreciate your willingness to hide from me, Weiss."
"Father, I'm sorry." Weiss said, her voice getting a little bit quieter than it needed to be as she bowed her head ever so slightly in submission. "I want to stay here, and I know that I'm strong enough-"
"I don't care, Weiss." Jacques replied, not giving Weiss any chance to finish what she'd been saying. "You are going to return to Atlas, and when we get back, I will deal with you there."
"No." Weiss responded, taking a few steps back so that she could begin to extract herself from the situation. "I'm staying here."
Blake heard the slap of skin against skin before she saw it, and it was enough to make it feel like her heart had frozen in her chest. Her mind raced back to a camp, to the smell of firewood and tobacco burning alike. Echoing there in the back of her mind, Blake could even hear his voice.
She could almost imagine the scent of blood, and the twinge in her right ear made her wince.
Blake turned her head, just slightly so that she could see what was happening over her shoulder.
Weiss was standing there, shock written all too clearly across her face as she was tugged in towards her father by the wrist. Based on the way that she was being held onto, Blake could tell that the grip was tight, probably enough to bruise if it wasn't for Weiss' aura. It was troubling, and Blake wanted to get up and jump into the middle of it so that she could do something to intervene in what was happening.
"No," Jacques snarled at Weiss. "I don't think that you understand, you don't have a choice in this."
"I'm not-" Weiss seemed to shift her body so that she could properly dig her heels into the ground and try to pull away. The grip was too tight, and Blake felt a tweak in her own wrist that had been won under similar circumstances. Blake unconsciously tugged her remaining sleeve down on her arm to cover her wrist better.
Weiss looked up at her father, and Blake was able to see the fear there all too easily. "Let me go-"
"Absolutely not." Jacques replied, pulling Weiss back in closer.
"We have to do something-" Yang spoke up at Blake' side, and for the first time since the man's arrival, Blake found herself able to concentrate on something other than Jacques Schnee. "This is seriously messed up."
Blake nodded, and that seemed to be all of the encouragement that Yang had needed to be able to do something. Without any hesitation, Yang was on her feet and beginning to stalk towards Weiss and Jacques.
Ruby didn't say anything, but soon she was getting up as well.
That left Blake with a choice, and she took the option that felt better. Even if she wasn't personally Weiss' biggest fan, she wasn't going to sit by and let things play out like this and only get worse and worse and worse. So she forced herself up to her feet, turned, and began on her way to aid in the intervention.
"Hey!" Yang shouted before Jaques or Weiss could say anything else. If there was anything that Blake certainly admired in Yang, it was that she was willing to jump into something when she was needed. "Let her go!"
Jacques froze where he was standing and his expression grew to be much more severe as he turned his attention on to the trio of girls that had decided to step in. "What?" He snarled, not bothering to let Weiss go. At his side and still with her wrist grasped in her father's hand (when Blake looked at her, the word that came to her mind was 'frail'), completely unsure of what to do. "This is a family matter."
"Yeah, well when you're messing with my teammate, it becomes my business." Yang snapped back. "And I think it would be for the best if you got your hands off of her."
"This is a family matter." Jacques reiterated. "And I refuse to leave it unresolved because of some commoners."
Blake looked past Jacques so that she could get a chance at making eye contact with Weiss. It locked easily enough, and Weiss was staring at her with disbelief written across her faces. Blake said nothing just nodded slightly in Jacques direction before gesturing with her arm, pulling it in towards herself quickly.
It was advice that she didn't want to have to give in any situation.
But Weiss understood. Blake watched the white haired girl's expression twist into one of determination, and she watched as Weiss braced herself before mimicking what Blake had gestured perfectly.
Weiss ripped her arm away from Jacques and took the opportunity to put space between the two of them. Blake held her head high and stepped in a little bit closer to Weiss and Weiss was glad to make her way over so that the two of them were sharing space properly.
"Blake-"
"It's fine." Blake said, glaring at Jacques.
Yang looked at Weiss and Blake, and it was obvious that she understood what was going on herself. That was about the best that Blake could have hoped for.
Jacques was beginning to stalk towards Weiss again, but Yang was quick. "Don't." She commanded, and for the first time Blake realized that the blonde's eyes had managed to turn burning red at some point. She had absolutely no idea how it had happened, and that was scary.
"Do I need to call the authorities on you, girl?" Jacques asked, his voice hard and cold. "I'm simply trying to return home with my daughter."
"No." Yang replied, not wavering. Blake looked to Weiss and nodded at her without saying a word before stepping forward to stand at Yang's side. Unsurprisingly, Ruby decided to slide in next to Weiss so quickly that Blake almost missed that she'd even moved. "You're going to leave my teammate alone."
"What is the-" Jacques looked between all four of them, and Blake couldn't help the slight smile that began to crease across her face at the understanding of what was happening. They'd managed to pen the man into a position where he had very few ways to respond to them. "What is the meaning of this?"
"We aren't letting you hurt our teammate." Blake spoke up then, and she couldn't help but feel that there was something a little bit wrong with her speaking up and referring to Weiss as a teammate. It wasn't something that she would have ever expected, but it was also something that made sense to say.
After this was all over with, Blake was sure that she and Weiss were going to have to talk sometime.
For now, that didn't matter.
"I don't think you understand, girl." Jacques said, standing up and bringing his arms together behind his back. "I am a very powerful man, and I will not stand for this- "
"That won't matter, Jacques." The doors slammed open, and stepping through them standing tall and with his head so high up that he could be doing just about anything and still manage to communicate power, was General James Ironwood of Atlas.
All at once, things began to click into place.
"What?" Jacques whorled around to face the general. "General, these children are aiding in the kidnapping of my daughter."
The general nodded, and looked at the three of them. He seemed to look past Blake, past Yang, and only looked at Weiss. He raised a dark eyebrow, and waited.
Whatever Weiss was doing behind Blake, it had managed to communicate something to the General.
"Jacques." James said, his voice hard. "I think that it's for the best that you leave. Girls, if you could make your way to your dorm."
As much as Blake didn't like the request, she also didn't think that she was exactly in a place where she could go ahead and question it so easily. She looked over at Weiss and then to Yang and Ruby. All three of them fell into a line with Weiss walking between Ruby and Yang as they walked and they made their way out of the mess hall and made their way up to their dorm.
The entire way, nobody said anything. Blake was absolutely certain that she knew the reason for that too. It would be too easy for someone to be able to listen in on them and figure out what was going on with them. It was for the best if nobody listened in on their baggage.
But once they all were in their own room and the door was closed, things changed.
"Are you okay?" Yang was the first one to speak up, and her voice was so hard and insistent as she stepped up into Weiss' space. "Are-"
"I'm fine." Weiss answered, raising her hands up in front of herself like she needed a shield. "I'll be okay."
"Are you sure?" Yang asked, her eyes worried and her worrying her lower lip for a moment. "Because we can totally go back and break his legs if you want us to."
"It's best we don't." Blake said calmly. "If the general at the Atlesian Military is handling the situation, us getting involved won't help with anything."
"Blake's right." Ruby said, looking up at her big sister. "We got Weiss away from him. That's what matters, right?"
"It's... appreciated." Weiss said, before anyone could get a chance to answer at all. "I'm sorry that you had to see that."
"Don't." Blake said, keeping her voice hard as she seated herself on her bed. The space was something that she needed, just the same way that Weiss probably needed it.
"But-"
"I know." Blake said, trying as hard as she could not to think back on what her own life was like. She didn't need to think about Adam right now. She didn't need for Weiss or her teammates to know about that. "Are you going to be okay?"
Weiss eyed her warily, and Blake didn't know how she was supposed to read into it at all. She made her way across the room and finally seated herself on her own bed. When she did, Blake couldn't help but notice that it was completely stiff and nervous in every way.
"I... think so." Weiss replied. "It'll depend on what happens when I hear from the general, I think."
"Wait-" Ruby asked, deciding to jump onto her own bed and settle against the wall. "Why do you think you'll hear from the general?"
Weiss was quiet for a little longer than she needed to be. Blake suspected that she had her own reasons for the way that she acted.
"I'm... just sure." Weiss said, calmly. "And I'd prefer not to talk about it too much."
"Alright." Yang said, flopping back onto her back on her bed. "If you think that's what you want."
"It is." Weiss said, blinking and letting herself relax a little bit. "Thank you all for your concern, though."
"We're teammates." Ruby said, smiling over at Weiss calmly. "Of course we're going to be here to help you out if you need it."
"Yeah." Yang said, shrugging. "That's what good teammates would do."
Blake needed to think about everything that was going on sometime, if only because she had a lot of deeply confusing feelings to get over at some point. Her history wasn't something that she was going to be able to get past and ignore so easily. Weiss was carrying a scar that she had placed there, and Blake knew that was something that she was going to have to address at some point.
But not now, she thought. For now, it was for the best if they all took the time to rest and see how things played out.
Things could have been much worse, Blake supposed.
It was taking an absolutely enormous amount of restraint to not grab Jacques Schnee by the neck and slam him against the wall so hard that it shattered bone. James had been expecting what had happened on some level, but the fury that was coursing through his every vein was coming with an intensity that he hadn't felt in a very long time.
"What in the hell were you doing?" James nearly shouted the words at Jacques.
"I was disciplining my daughter." Jacques replied, placing as much distance as the two of them could have in the cramped office that was now their battleground. "You, general, were the one that decided to intervene."
"No." James answered, holding his head high. "I believe that honor goes to your daughter's teammates."
"And you should be stepping in to discipline them." Jacques replied. "Armed students going up against a civilian. It's a very bad look, General."
"I don't care." James replied, keeping his voice as hard as he could manage. This was only going to get worse and worse the more that the two of them spoke. The responsible thing was to wait and hope that Ozpin or Glynda arrived sooner than later. It was better for just about everyone involved if there were witnesses to how things were being handled. At least that way James would be able to do his job without worrying that he'd end up being hit with a lawsuit for it.
He knew Jacques Schnee all too well. The man was litigation happy even on a good day and James had learned very quickly that was a force that he had absolutely no interest in involving himself with.
"You don't care?" Jacques sneered, his blue eyes blazing. "If that's the case, then why don't you explain what I'm doing here?"
"I didn't think that would require explanation." James answered, his voice hard.
"Oh!" Jacques replied. "The man that has no family doesn't understand how punishing children goes. Who would have imagined?"
That was a jab that James didn't think he was going to be able to ignore. He clenched his hands into fists and grit his teeth. One more word, and he was sure that he was going to step in and try to smash the man against the wall until he bled.
The sound of the door opening was a blessing.
James snapped his attention away from Jacques as quickly as he could manage and looked over his shoulder to see Ozpin and Glynda coming in. He'd only been expecting to hear from one of them, let alone both of them.
"James." Glynda said, her voice hard and annoyed. "What is the meaning of this call?"
"Glynda." James greeted her, turning away from Jacques entirely. The intelligent thing to do would be to keep himself from turning his back to his enemy, but Jacques was a civilian, and that was a good thing. "I was alerted to an incident in the mess hall." He began his explanation. "When I arrived I found Mister Schnee in a confrontation with his daughter and her teammates, and I believe it goes much further than just that. If it weren't for the girl's aura, I suspect there would have been bruises."
Glynda's eyes widened, and Ozpin raised an eyebrow in interest. It was about as interested as they could ever get, and James didn't care for that so much. Glynda looked like she was about to say something, but she didn't move.
Instead, James and Glynda both looked to Ozpin, if only because this specific incident fell under Ozpin's realm of influence. James was involved because Jacques was ultimately a citizen of Atlas. However, Beacon Academy was Ozpin's realm.
"I see." Ozpin said calmly, taking two steps forward. "Mister Schnee, could you explain yourself?"
"I-" Jacques began, his voice so enraged and fury coursing throughout his entire being. James didn't want to think about it too much, if only because he was absolutely certain that he had seen this before. He had to wonder how many times things like this had happened without someone noticing it before.
Knowing Winter, and having met Weiss and Whitley both, James didn't want to know. He couldn't help but wonder where the boy was, but it was all too likely that Whitley was all but under house arrest in light of Weiss' choice to leave.
"Jacques?" James asked, prompting the other man forward.
"I was merely trying to collect my daughter so that we could return to Atlas." Jacques said, collecting himself so quickly that it was close to impossible to believe. "She refused, and so I turned to more corporal methods as a parent has the right to do."
"That-" James began, keeping his temper in line as best as he could. "Is completely incorrect, Jacques."
"I have to agree with the general." Ozpin said calmly. "Mister Schnee, if you could board your ship and begin your trip back to Atlas, then I believe that you would be able to escape prosecution from Valean law enforcement."
"Ozpin-" James began, surprised. He knew that they were leaving him an opening to deal with this through Atlesian means. That wasn't as simple as it sounded. "Are you-"
"Sure?" Ozpin asked. "Yes. I believe I am, if we're to avoid an international incident."
James couldn't help his nerves over that little statement, if only because there were so many ways that this could go wrong. However, there was something that James could do. He took a deep breath and nodded slowly before speaking up.
"Very well." James said calmly. He turned his eyes to Jacques and finally let himself pass down a order. "Jacques, I will be escorting you to your quarter, and then to your ship. Am I understood?"
Jacques' eyes widened in anger, and James had to do everything in his power to keep his temper under control. He was sure that he knew what was going to come next- it was going to be yelling, or insults, or pointed barbs that were very specifically aimed at certain parts of him.
But the man's mouth clamped shut, and that was something that James supposed he could be grateful for. He gestured to the door, and Jacques understood. Of course, the fact that Jacques knew that James was armed at all times was a factor in the man's choice to move.
They exited the office and James followed after the thin man closely. It was a couple minutes walk across the campus before they reached the building that Jacques had been staying in since his arrival in Vale. There didn't need to be much said between them, and that was a good thing. James didn't want to have to engage Jacques any more than he had to at the moment.
There was no way that things could get better. James was already sure that the contract that the two of them had been working on was out the window, and he couldn't blame Jacques for refusing it at that point. Not much could put a better damper on a delicate situation than an arrest.
But Jacques collected his things, even if he ordered his son around to do the same. James kept a particularly close eye to that, and just let everything that the Schnee patriarch said bounce off of him. Under every word there was some sort of pointed insult. There were comments about James' relationship to Winter, and suspected meddling when it came to Weiss. It was all stuff that James had no choice but to admit that he was expecting on at least some level.
It would be an hour before Jacques and Whitley were ready to leave, and after that James escorted them to their ship and didn't dare leave the Beacon docks until he'd personally seen to it that they were off and on the way back to Vale. He was going to have to make some calls to make sure that Jacques was looked after upon his arrival, but James knew that he was going to have some time.
The flight to Atlas was one that he was familiar with- it was lengthy.
But there were more important things to do first, and so James made his way towards the dorms because it was a good idea to check in on Weiss Schnee and see to it that the girl was doing well. Part of him told him that he should let the girl have her time to recover from this incident, but the emotional part of James told him otherwise.
When he reached the room that Weiss Schnee was staying in, James knocked gently and waited.
It was the youngest member of the team that opened the door.
"Hello?" The girl asked, cocking her head and staring up at him with familiar silver eyes. "You're-"
"Hello." James said calmly. "May I come in and speak to your team?"
The girl seemed to shrink a little bit, dejection showing clearly in her shoulders. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"
"Not quite." James answered as the way was created so that he could step inside. All four of the girls stared at him, and James just gestured to the empty bed. The youngest member of their team took her place, and James took a position near the wall in the clear view of all four of them. "I'd like to start by commending all four of you on your behavior earlier."
"Thank you." The girl with black hair responded, her tone cool.
James looked to Weiss though. "However-" He began calmly. "Regardless of the situation, some of you may see some sort of reprimand for everything that happened. I would suspect it will be a slap on the wrist at the worst." He glanced over at the blonde, but only for a moment. "As for you, Miss Schnee-"
James felt terrible for calling out the girl specifically. "I have some news, but I'd rather not give it to you in a place where you don't want others to overhear it."
Weiss blinked up at him with her mother's eyes, and James didn't know how he felt. But the girl's expression softened and she relaxed a little bit before sitting up properly. "I want to hear it here, if that's not a problem."
"Very well." James responded calmly. "I was asked to escort your father and brother to their ship, and they are on their way back to Atlas."
If there was a better way that James could have been able to explain the situation, then James would have been much happier with it. But the girl was sitting there and staring at him with disbelief. "You're telling the truth?" She asked, leaning in slightly.
"I am." James reiterated, as calmly as he could manage. "If he attempts to make contact with you and you wish for him to stop, you may come to my office during the day and I'll be happy to help you."
"Are you... sure?" Weiss asked calmly, leaning in. "What does this mean?"
"It means that you are free to continue your studies here at Beacon Academy, and that should you feel that you need something or help, you are free to ask for it. I have no intention on contacting your father with regards to this issue unless it somehow becomes absolutely critical."
Weiss smiled and nodded, and James returned the expression because really, there wasn't all that much else that he could do.
"Thank you, sir." Weiss said calmly, her eyes bright with something that James had been yet to see in them. "For everything."
"I am just doing my job, Miss Schnee." James responded calmly. "I'll leave you now." With that he gave a low bow and began to make his way away from the room and towards the door. "If you need anything-"
"Wait!" Weiss exclaimed, her voice all too calm despite the exclamation. "You know where my older sister is, right?"
James paused, because that was one of those questions that he supposed he should have been expecting to be asked at some point, but he hadn't been expecting to hear it so soon. Especially not now.
"I do." He said calmly, turning back to face the girl. "Is there a specific reason that you ask?"
Weiss nodded slowly, and James nodded in understanding. There was definitely something that he could do with regard to this situation, even if it was just a balm that would surely wear off later.
"I see." James said, sighing. "I'll be sure to have a message passed along to your sister to make her aware of her presence. I'm sure that she'll find herself in Vale sooner than later. When that happens, I'll be sure to give her time off to see you."
"Thank you, sir." Weiss said, her eyes bright. "It means a lot."
"It's no problem," James replied in an attempt to keep his voice as even as he could possibly manage. "I do hope that all four of you are able to get some rest."
With that, he slipped out and closed the door behind him because that was about all that he could do at that point. He let out a heavy sigh and was able to hear the four girls on the other side of the door beginning to talk quietly amongst themselves.
It wasn't James' business, and so he took the chance to leave and begin the walk back across the campus until he finally reached his own room where he was finally able to unwind for the night, at least in what small way it was possible to do so.
Rest wouldn't come easily. In fact, James managed to spend close to half an hour in bed before he decided that lying there trying to sleep was a fruitless effort. After that, James took the chance to sit down with a copy of the Schnee Contract and did his best to ignore the lingering monster that was waiting for someone to slip up, just outside of the city.
Things could have been much better, James thought as he circled a specific point on the contract. But, he knew- things could have also been much, much worse. The grimm was a good enough reminder of that fact on its own.