New chapter! Let's get going.

Jumpingninjo- I'm not going to lie, my original plan from way back when I started writing this was that Ruby wouldn't wake up until after Jacques took Weiss back and that she'd only learn what was so significant about a Rose's cloak from Aurelius as Jacques was dragging her off. This would have meant they wouldn't get together until after Volume 4's events, and with people getting irritated by me dragging it out I decided to have it happen early and now I don't even have the heart to make that happen anymore.

Metalfury00- To answer your questions in order:

1. Neo and Roman will be making an appearance soon, probably not for a few chapters though. They will most likely be playing a fairly large role in the events from this point on.

2. The Winter and Aurelius ship was something that, I think, was first discussed in the closing AN for chapter 27-28. There was even one person, randomletterz, that suggested calling the ship "Permafrost" because of Winter's somewhat icy personality and the fact that Aurelius is ancient. I'm trying to decide if that's a good name or not right now, so meh.

3. Kinda? It's a bit more complicated than that…

Chapter 41: Grave Business and First Lesson

Patch, Xiao Long Residence

Ruby let out a sigh as she looked out the window, frowning slightly. Yang put a hand on her shoulder, causing the wolf faunus to look at her. "Hey, are you sure you're okay with doing this?" the blonde asked quietly.

Ruby looked at her sister meekly, playing with the blue rose in her hand. "Yeah… I mean, I'd have to take her there eventually, right?"

"Take me where?" Weiss asked, coming down the stairs. Ruby glanced at her meekly. After dinner the previous night, Ruby had taken the heiress to a clothing store and, to her surprise, her white-haired girlfriend had refused to get anything similar to her normal outfits. Ruby was surprised to learn that Weiss wasn't willing to let the faunus buy her anything too expensive, instead going for a simpler wardrobe. Ruby glanced at the girl with a weak smile, subtly admiring how she looked wearing a white shirt and jeans. The only potentially expensive thing Ruby was able to convince the girl to get was a pair of shoes. Ruby, meanwhile, was wearing her normal outfit.

"Well… there's something special about the place we're going, Weiss. At least to me…" Ruby said, causing the heiress to frown.

"Special how?" Weiss asked, causing Ruby to look away.

"You… You'll see when we get there, okay?" Ruby said meekly. Weiss looked at the girl and nodded with a sigh.

"Alright, let's get going then," Weiss said, causing the wolf faunus to hop up with a weak grin. Ruby grabbed her girlfriend's hand, gently pulling her towards the forest. Weiss glanced around cautiously, hand resting on Myrtenaster. She glanced at Ruby, noticing the other girl seemed relaxed and calm. After a few minutes, she decided to speak up. "Ruby, why are you so calm going through here? I thought Patch was known for having a large number of Beowolves."

Ruby blinked in surprise. "Hmm? Oh, they only come out at night usually, and even then, they know to stay off this path unless I'm… upset."

Weiss looked at the girl in confusion. "Why would you be upset exactly? What's along this path that would affect you that much?"

Ruby looked down sadly. "That painting from the restaurant, the one you said you wanted to see where it was painted… It was painted back before my mom died. It was her favorite spot on Patch…"

Weiss went to speak before a thought crossed her mind. "You don't mean…" Ruby nodded sadly, causing the heiress to give her a hug. "We don't need to come out here if you don't want to, Ruby."

Ruby returned the hug with a smile. "It's fine, I was planning to bring you here some time anyways. I… I wanted you to meet her." Weiss looked at the girl in confusion before the trees started to thin out, causing the wolf faunus to sigh. "We're here, c'mon!" Ruby quickly grabbed her girlfriend's hand, gently pulling her out of the forest.

Weiss let out a gasp as they walked towards the cliff, gaze moving across the heart of the island. "Wow… I can see why your mother loved this place so much…"

Ruby smiled sadly. "Qrow told me that mom would come up here whenever she needed to think about something." The couple walked forward, Weiss squeezing Ruby's hand as the gravestone came into view. Ruby knelt down and placed her hand on the gravestone, running her hand along the Rose crest. "He said that when he decided to propose, he asked her right here… She wanted to be buried here because so her spirit to be able to look out on Patch."

Weiss knelt down next to Ruby. "I'll admit this is a beautiful place and I can understand why you brought a flower, but I don't understand why you brought a blue rose."

Ruby grinned holding it up. "I read that if you bring a blue rose, a real one, to someone's grave, you can call on their spirit," the wolf said, causing Weiss' eyes to widen. "Even better, I've done it… I was actually able to talk to my mom."

"So, when you said you wanted me to meet your mother…" Weiss gestured meekly to the flower.

Ruby nodded, a slight blush on her cheeks. "I thought you'd like a chance to talk to her. And, well… I kinda wanted to talk to her again before my birthday."

Weiss frowned. "Right, her birthday's in two days… And I can't get her anything with the CCT down. There must be something…" Weiss fought off a light blush as a number of possibilities came to mind. "Something that isn't inappropriate anyways." She shook her head before smiling. "Alright. Let's give this a try, shall we?"

Ruby nodded, placing the rose on her mother's gravestone. "Hey mom… I'm back and I brought someone for you to meet." Ruby waited a moment, remembering the delay from before. She glanced at Weiss meekly. "It… takes a while…" As a minute passed, Ruby's face slowly went from meek to nervous, before finally ending in a slight panic. "M-mom?" "Why isn't it working? Was it only a one time thing? Was I just imagining it last time? Gods, does Weiss think I'm going mad now?" Ruby let out a quiet whimper as she started to tear up.

Weiss looked at her in concern. "If Ruby said this worked before, it must have… Maybe it just takes too much energy for a spirit to appear twice so close together or…" Weiss' eyes widened. "Wait… That's not what happened, is it?" Weiss took a quiet breath, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder. The wolf turned to look at her, causing the heiress to give her a hug. "Ruby, maybe she needs to rest. Showing up like that must take a lot of her strength. We'll try again in a week, okay?"

Ruby nodded sadly, getting up with Weiss' help. "Y-yeah… We'll try again…" Weiss frowned but stayed quiet, not wanting to get Ruby's hopes up. While the Red Rose wasn't looking, Weiss pulled out the Scroll Aurelius gave her, sending a quick message before closing it.

Bastion, Citadel Command Center, with Winter

Winter let out a quiet sigh as she walked into the room, getting a strange look from Aurelius. "What are you doing here, Schnee? I thought I told you to take a break. I assumed Atlas Academy didn't train the concept of leisure out of you. Was I wrong?" he asked, ear twitching slightly before he glared up at it. "This is going to take a bit of time to adjust to…"

Winter glared at him. "I was hoping he would have forgotten about that…" She took a deep breath before speaking up. "We still need to continue the search for survivors and-"

Aurelius let out an exasperated sigh. "By the gods, you really don't know how to truly relax, do you?" Winter's fists clenched as she went to counter the remark, only for Aurelius to turn to Odin and Janus. "I am leaving the two of you in charge for today. It appears Specialist Schnee needs to relearn how to actually have fun." The two Prefects shared a look before Odin shrugged. Aurelius stood up, walking past Winter. "Come along. At the very least we're going to take a walk."

Winter let out a growl and went to speak before Aurelius' Scroll went off. "Apologies, one moment," he said, opening it to look at the message from Weiss.

Weiss: Did you bring Summer back by any chance?

Aurelius' eyes widened slightly before he sent a response.

Aurelius: What makes you think I did that exactly?

Weiss: Ruby just took me to Summer's grave and tried to speak to her. It didn't work, but I remembered you mentioning having another Avatar laying around. Considering it's almost Ruby's birthday, I couldn't help but wonder.

Aurelius: Perhaps I did, would it be wrong of me to reunite them?

Weiss: No, but Ruby was extremely upset… I feel like I should tell her. Maybe you could do me a favor and I'll keep it secret.

Aurelius scoffed as he sent his next message. "I wasn't aware your sister was capable of blackmail, though her reasons are cute."

Aurelius: Very well, what do you want?

Winter went to question the Blue Rose when his Scroll chimed again.

Weiss: I can't get Ruby anything for her birthday with the CCT Tower down, but I know she really misses her mom's chocolate chip cookies. Could you maybe get me the recipe so I could make her some?

"That's an interesting request from my sister, I will admit," Winter said, glancing at the Scroll over Aurelius' shoulder. The Blue Rose jumped slightly, a look of annoyance on his face.

"By the gods, did you forget what personal space is as well? I expected you'd at least be able to maintain a respectful distance and not rest right against my back!" he grumbled, causing Winter to blink before she realized what she had done. Aurelius was taller than she was and she had just attempted to look over his shoulder at a message on his Scroll… While using him as a support. She took a step back, cheeks red and sputtering as the realization she'd unintentionally pressed herself right against him sank in. Aurelius glanced back at the Scroll before sending one last message. "Great, there were so many better ways to phrase that, why did I have to pick the one that shows I haven't had an interest in romance in almost 2500 years…"

Aurelius: Very well, I'll see if I can get her to part with it.

Aurelius sent a quick message to Summer before he closed the Scroll, starting to walk toward the lift. "How do you feel about taking a look at the Central Arboretum? I honestly don't believe you've ventured beyond the Tower other than to leave on searches and perhaps get a meal. I feel you might appreciate it."

Winter let out a sigh. "Very well, but I do have a question." Aurelius glanced at her before she continued. "Why are you so willing to help Weiss? I understand you care for the happiness of your family, but I know you offered her residence here if something were to happen."

Aurelius hummed quietly as the lift moved down the Tower. "While she might not realize it, Weiss is currently torn between two different views of the world. The compassionate, caring part of her looks into the future, desperately hoping to make the world brighter for herself and those she cares about while helping everyone she can. The disciplined, rational part of her has been drilled to uphold a duty to others that leaves her fearful of abandoning the past or making changes that she needs to make in order to make her dreams for the future a reality. Some day soon, she will be forced to either make a choice that could destroy her or realize that the specific duty she has been shouldered with is not one she should bear. If the latter happens, she could become the person she was truly meant to be, someone unburdened by the sins of previous generations and unworried about what the future has in store, finally being able to focus on the present."

Winter scoffed quietly before speaking up. "I doubt it could be as difficult as you make it sound." When she looked back at him, she found him giving her the same look he normally gives her before he asked her something she didn't know the answer to. As he studied her, he finally spoke up.

"Can you honestly say you aren't in a situation similar to her own?" he asked.

Winter opened her mouth to answer when she paused. She thought back to how much happier and more open Weiss was since the tournament started. She remembered the remarks Aurelius had made about her discipline leaving her with little creativity and how she could no longer truly relax. "I joined the Atlesian military to escape the burdens and expectations of being heiress, but… Have I forged another cage for myself through my own obsession to be free of it?" Winter looked down, a frown on her face as she unclenched her fists. "…No," she muttered through clenched teeth, frustrated at herself for not noticing it sooner and at Aurelius for bringing it to her attention.

"Then you've taken the first step along the way to breaking free of your situation and learning what I've been pushing you towards," Aurelius said calmly, causing Winter to face him with a glare.

"And what is that exactly? Every time I ask, you refuse or give a cryptic answer!" she growled.

Aurelius simply looked at her as the lift came to a stop, stepping off. "It's something that I simply can't tell you. It's something part of you already knows, even if you're not aware of it. If anyone were to tell you, you would simply reject it and try to prove it false. The only person who can tell you what I've been trying to teach you is yourself, and you can only learn it when you're ready."

Winter blinked in confusion before she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Hey, Ice Queen!" The duo turned around to see Qrow standing behind them. "What are you doing down here? I thought you'd be bossing around the grunts or digging through rubble, not wandering around on a date with Aurelius."

Winter growled, a light blush on her face as she went to draw her sword. Aurelius stepped forward, holding his hand up to stop her. "Qrow, I'm not sure how drunk you are, but this isn't a date. I was simply taking her on a tour of Bastion since we've already picked through the rubble and found everyone we could," he said before smiling subtly. "However, I think you have a date of your own to prepare for in the next few days. Perhaps rather than try to pick a fight within a flying city holding more than half the population of Vale you should try to get cleaned up."

"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't been on a date in years," Qrow said with a growl. Aurelius hummed and turned around, Winter looking on in confusion. "Hey! I asked you a question!"

"If you want the answer, you'll have to wait until Ruby's birthday… Oh, and try to be sober for it if you would. I'd rather not have any… incidents because you're hammered," Aurelius started before glancing over his shoulder. "Come along, Schnee." Winter blinked before following the Blue Rose, a frown on her face.

"Was that really necessary?" she asked, watching Aurelius' tail twitch.

"No, but Summer's death has left him bitter at the world. If I were to tell him she was back, he wouldn't believe me. By leaving him confused, I guarantee that he'll avoid causing trouble for a few days and leave us both in peace." His Scroll chimed and he glanced down at it, quickly sending the message ahead. "Now then, where were we?" Winter let out a quiet sigh, trying not to think about her own feelings regarding Qrow's taunt.

I'm going to cut this chapter short here. Let me know what you think about this.