Looking through everyone's comments since chapter 43, even combining the people in favor of Weiss keeping pure white hair with those in favor of her having white with black tips and a number of people in favor of specific, minor changes, it still results in a near-tie with the number of people in favor of her either immediately or gradually shifting to black hair with white tips. This creates a problem since if I split the first group up into the individual solutions voted on, it ends up with her eventually having black hair with white tips getting a fairly large plurality. As a result of this, and out of respect for a request from a reviewer that she keeps a bit more white in her hair, I'll most likely have her intentionally keep a few streaks of white that go from root to tip.

My goal was for her to end up with silver eyes as well, but I may have it be that her eyes have a few specks of blue in them as well, if only because Neo kind of already has the eye-color changing thing going for her.

For the guest reviewer asking about Weiss' song, she's actually going to be writing "This Life is Mine." There's going to be some fun moments with her and Aurelius using it to torment Jacques, along with another "Loki trolls Jacques" scene soon.

On another note, I've managed to see the first episode of Volume 5 as of last night and I've made an observation. I do not believe I will be able to use the character of Professor Lionheart as he is at present. My plans for Mistral always required him to be based off another character/person that people tend to think of when they hear the name "Lionheart," Richard I of England, a man known for being a fierce, courageous fighter and having a short temper. This, ironically, makes him the exact opposite of canon Professor Lionheart, or at least what he appears to be.

Chapter 45: Realization and Understanding

Patch, Xiao Long Residence, with Weiss

Weiss let out a frustrated sigh as she crumpled up the paper in her hand, quickly throwing it into the nearby waste bin. She tapped her pencil against the table as she looked down. "Writing songs never seemed this hard before…" she thought to herself, head propped up on her free hand. "Why can't I think of anything?"

Weiss heard a knock on the door and let out a frustrated sigh. She turned to look as the door open and blinked in surprise at who walked through. "Winter? What are you doing here?"

Winter smiled at her sister as she stepped forward. "We've found everyone we possibly can in the ruined areas of Vale and Aurelius insisted on organizing a festival to help boost spirits. He insisted I take a break, so I felt that I should check on you." Winter put a hand on Weiss' shoulder and looked at the sheets laying on the table. "I see you're trying to write a new song."

Weiss scoffed, putting the pencil down. "I think "failing" would be a better word than "trying" in this case…" the girl said, putting her head down. "I just… I can't think of anything anymore. What am I going to do?"

Winter brought a chair over to sit next to Weiss, looking at her for a moment. "Perhaps you just need some time to clear your head. Why don't you tell me about your time in Beacon while we think about it? I'm curious about how you came to be in love with your team leader," Winter stated, causing Weiss to blush. While the woman was genuinely curious, she was also interested in learning more about the girl.

"Well… I suppose it all started when I arrived at Beacon. I brought a large number of Dust canisters with me so I wouldn't have to worry about running out when using Myrtenaster and Ruby almost fell on top of them."

"What do you mean almost?" Winter asked, causing Weiss to sigh.

"I had them in a number of cases on a luggage cart and Ruby lost her balance. I didn't know it at the time, but her primary semblance, the Rose Storm, allowed her to recover almost instantly after her tail brushed against the cart. I guess the casual show of her abilities stopped me from simply exploding at her. After that, her interest in my singing stopped me from making any remarks about her being a faunus and, in the time since, I'm actually ashamed to admit that I ever thought so poorly of the faunus in general, especially after Ruby went out of her way to defend me in front of Blake back when she insisted every Schnee was heartless. Ruby was just… She didn't care I was a Schnee. She wanted to treat me like a person, to let my actions and opinions speak for me instead of the views of Jacques." Winter frowned subtly, thinking about her own meeting with Aurelius. "Not only that, but when I agreed to walk with her to orientation, she explained how she did that and she had the cutest look I've ever seen!" Weiss said with a small smile.

Winter smiled at her sister. "So, you had an interest in her even back then?"

Weiss blushed slightly. "Maybe, I'm not sure. I had a brief chance to learn more about her the night before Initiation, when I learned that she's terrified at the thought of losing her cloak, and during initiation I realized that we both hated the fact that people judged us for who our families are instead of by our own merits. When she suggested that we don't think of each other as a Schnee or a Rose, I knew I had to agree… Or, perhaps it'd be more accurate to say I was meant to agree. After Initiation, we'd fallen into a prank Aurelius had played back when he was still Professor Bisman." Winter raised an eyebrow at this, causing Weiss to continue meekly. "He said there were two spots in Emerald Forest that, if anyone was paired up in, would eventually cause them to fall in love. Ruby and I had been paired up in one of those locations, with Blake and Yang being paired up in the other. Bisman, or Aurelius I guess, said it was just a joke, but at the time the thought of it being true terrified me enough I almost completely pushed Ruby away."

Winter smiled. "It seems that you've changed your mind on the matter."

Weiss nodded. "I'm honestly glad I did, if not…" she took a deep breath and continued her story. "Anyways, after this I decided to try to bury the hatchet so to speak. We ended up becoming good friends and I got her a ticket to one of my concerts. After that, she shared a bit about her family's history with me and shared anything else she learned when she could. As time went on, I started to find myself looking forward to any time we would spend together and missing her dearly when she wasn't around, even if I didn't want to admit it. When we had a dance, I wanted to convince myself that she was just a good friend, but the person I asked out turned me down and Ruby had seen me ask someone else out. When I heard she was going to ask someone out and had to see that, not knowing it was me… I actually felt jealous and angry at whoever could do that to her. Then when we got to the dance, Ruby asked me to dance with her, saying she didn't want me to say I didn't get to dance with anyone… The entire thing and what she said to me… I knew I was in love with her when that happened."

Winter frowned, thinking back to her own interactions with Aurelius. The way his subtle, almost teasing, acknowledgements of her ability to think for herself and her slowly becoming more open affected her. The concern she felt when he ran off during the Battle of Beacon. The way her face heats up whenever he teases her or when she gets caught watching his tail or ears move… The way he's been so open and welcoming to her and Weiss. Winter didn't hear Weiss calling to her as she thought back to all the questions he'd asked her and the comments he made.

"Why was I really asking him so much about Sanctuary when I could have outright asked what I wanted to know? Why was I so concerned about his condition after he fought Cinder? Why did I insist on taking this assignment when being around him make me uncomfortable?" A few new questions entered her mind. "Why did I not notice that I was pressing myself against him when I tried to see what Weiss was messaging him? And why did Qrow's taunting remark about me being on a date with Aurelius affect me so strongly?" Winter thought back to the only hint Aurelius had given her on the topic.

"It's something I can't simply tell you. It's something that part of you already knows, even if you're not aware of it… 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 went wide-eyed as she finally understood what Aurelius meant when he said every question had the same answer, and that answer just hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Winter? Are you-" Weiss started before Winter interrupted.

"Oh god, I'm in love with Aurelius," she muttered absentmindedly, causing Weiss to blink in surprise.

"U-um, okay? What's that got to do with anything?" Weiss asked meekly before Winter blinked, her face turning bright red.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something he told me," Winter said quickly, taking a deep breath. "Weiss, I think I understand why you're having such a hard time right now." Weiss looked at her older sister hopefully. "Before, you could always look to the past and know that it would be yours one day, that it was your duty to carry on where others left off. You could also look to the future and see everything you wanted to do and everything you had to do in order to make everything worth it. Jacques ensured that even if your heart looked to the future, your mind would be stuck in the past and duties that shouldn't be yours." Weiss went to retort, a glare on her face, when Winter put a hand on her shoulder. "Stop to think about it. He took away every tie you had to the past and you immediately felt like the future you hoped for was forever out of your reach, didn't you?"

Weiss looked down meekly. "Yes…"

"Aurelius predicted that you might find yourself in a situation like this. He said that you would be forced into a position where your mind and heart would be torn between your perceived duty to the past and the hope for a brighter future. He said that you couldn't pick one without sacrificing the other and that it would destroy you."

Weiss pulled her legs up, tucking them under her chin. "So, what do I do? Do I pick one and let the misery eat away at me until I finally give up?"

Winter put a hand on her younger sister's shoulder. "No, you do what Aurelius said you would have to do." Weiss looked at her in confusion. "You need to find a way to not only reconcile them, but ground yourself in the present."

"How am I supposed to do that?" Weiss asked.

"Focus on what you do have. Remember, you have Ruby and she'll always be with you, so you can rely on her to help you rebuild yourself and keep you in the present. When you wake up in the morning, I want you to look in the mirror and name off things you can be proud of. I want you to do this until you name off at least five things and at least thirty seconds pass. If you run out of time before you name them off, don't stop until you come up with five. If you come up with five things in less than thirty seconds, keep going until you run out of time. Can you do that?"

Weiss nodded quietly. "I… I can try. Thanks, Winter."

Winter pulled the girl into a hug. "I'm glad I could help you, Weiss. I should get back to Bastion, there's some things I need to take care of."

Weiss nodded as Winter left. "Maybe that's what I should be writing about…"

Winter took a deep breath as she walked toward the landing pad, a small smile on her face. She finally understood what Aurelius was trying to make her understand. Winter's thoughts wandered to what she would say, or perhaps do, when she saw the Blue Rose again before a collection of memories entered her mind. She thought back and remembered his casual show of power during their first encounter, the ease with which he destroyed the Grimm Drake, and the amount of knowledge he held. Following that was the memory of how he was apparently created by the brother gods themselves to serve a purpose. Winter wouldn't lie and say that his strength and wisdom weren't appealing, but a single treacherous memory slipped into her mind.

"I'm over 2600 years old, Jacques! You are all children to me!"

Winter paused, a frown on her face as realization struck her. "I've fallen in love with Aurelius, a being created by the gods themselves and ancient beyond measure. Someone that hasn't shown any interest in anyone." Winter let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand down her face. "Why do I feel like this is going to be a hopeless struggle?"

I know this chapter's a bit short, but I lost interest in writing for a day and I spent the second half of today's writing session rereading old chapters for this one, only to find out that many of them have errors in spelling, grammar, or word choice that disrupt the flow of the story. When I finish this part of Weiss' character arc (basically, up until 1-2 chapters after she makes the transition, at the minimum) I'll go back to look at them and correct the ones I can find, unless people would prefer I keep writing.

Also, I just noticed I gave Winter one hell of a Senpai, didn't I…