Weiss raised an eyebrow, holding her blade up by her own chest. The blade was backwards, a defensive way of holding it meant for grapples and not for slashing or stabbing. Weiss didn't move, not towards the door and not towards the girl. Ruby took this as a silent message for her to continue talking. In order not to break what little trust she had gained, she held both her arms up and held her palms open and fingers spread apart.
"My name is Ruby Rose." She spoke loudly and with purpose, trying to ensure her words were clear. "I am the princess of Vale, and I am here because I have no one else to turn to. I need your help for something of utmost importance, I need your help to save my kingdom- maybe even the world.". Weiss raised her same eyebrow even higher. "If this is true." Weiss started, readjusting her grip on her dagger. "Then why not send a messenger or mail requesting aid from my kingdom?"
Ruby threw both arms out infront of her, childishly shouting and waving her arms around to accentuate what she was trying to get across. "I did!" She whined, seemingly distrought and at her wits end. "I sent multiple messages and they got declined. I didn't know what else to do but hope to meet you in person."
Weiss blinked for a moment "Seriously?" she asked. Her deadpan look made her hard to read, but she wasn't disappointed at Ruby, and that quickly became apparent when she continued. "Why would my father not send aid to a kingdom in need, especially one we've had such history with such as Vale?" Weiss clenched her teeth with a 'tisk tisk' before lowering her blade. "Please explain to me what is going on, you have my ears and if you can convince me my sword as well."
Ruby smiled softly and jumped into the air. Putting both her legs out infront of her, she dropped onto the bed and landed in a sitting position on the bed. She put both her hands on her thighs and leaning forward, although she was a child eagerly telling a story around a campfire. "A plague known as the Black Fog has taken root in the forests of Vale. The Brandwen clan has been almost completely consumed by the smog. It mind controls people effected by it and uses them to create more Black Fog. Animals are being mutated into weaponized monsters and everyone outside my kingdoms boarders are being picked off one by one."
Weiss frowned, Ruby continued. "I need to find a cure, and cut off the original source of the Black Fog. This is clearly magical in nature, normal medicine has no effect. I cant find a solution well my kingdom is being strangled, our economy is failing and we are running out of food as the farms get consumed by the Black Fog. I cant solve the issue well remaining in the kingdom, ill simply starve or be consumed by the Fog." Ruby leaned in, putting both her hands together as she begged. "Please. I need your help."
Weiss finally relaxed as the girl finished her plea. She pulled a fluffy blue armchair out from the corner of the room and sat down. Putting her elbows on her knees, she crossed her fingers and put her chin on her fingers. "May I ask a few questions?" Weiss asked, Ruby quickly and calmly nodding in return. "Why me?" She asked simply, figuring the rest of the sentence wouldn't need speaking.
Ruby looked to the side for a second as she considered. "Atlas is really strong. I heard so many stories about Atlas's wealth and power. There access to technology and materials lead to a military unrivaled. Your kingdom wouldn't help me but I thought, maybe you would?" Weiss stared at her for a moment, and Ruby tried to further explain.
"I thought like maybe you'd be just as strong as Atlas itself, and I think im right!" Ruby's worry momentarily faded as she shook her legs side to side, seemingly getting excited. "Your fight was super cool! Your super talented and your ice magic is really impressive. You were extremely alert and broke my hold very easily. You are the exact sort of person I need." Ruby leaned back and held her hands up, putting Weiss in a picture frame made of her fingers.
Weiss looked at Ruby's childish disposition with distain as Ruby leaned side to side to get different angles of her face. "How did you even get here?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms. "Atlas is on an island, a big and very cold one. Your not exactly dressed for the cold, not to mention Atlas's 'unrivaled military' certainly doesn't make intruders easy."
Ruby nodded along "Well- the Kingdom of Vale used to be made of several clans. Thievery and ninja arts were common skills, and even with the Brandwen and Rose clans merged into a kingdom those arts are still very important to our culture." Ruby leaned back and fanned herself with her hand, beginning to boast about her talents. "Brandwen has the best thieves in the world, and the Rose clan has the best ninjas. You had a lot of security- like ALOT. But for me getting there was relatively simple- albeit time consuming."
Weiss nodded, and motioning towards the girl with her chin. "And the cloathing?" She asked, Ruby simply smiled happily, standing up quickly and holding her arms out to the sides. "Traditional Rose ninja attire!" She turned herself side to side so Weiss could see her. Her outfit had plenty of rose detailery and was quite thick to give her as much armour as possible. "Sure its not meant for Atlas but my sister is daughter of the Brandwen leader and has an afinity for fire magic. I learned the basics from her, enough to keep me warm in any weather."
Weiss nodded, clapping her hands to get Ruby's attention. Ruby perked up, before turning towards her and sitting down. "Alright, assuming ill help, what do you plan to do next?" Ruby closed her eyes as she thought it out in her head. "Get more help and find a cure." Weiss almost instantly scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "I mean more specific then that. Where do we go? Im not going to piss off my father without a good plan."
"Ah" Ruby cringed. "Right. Well uh-" She fiddled her fingers. "I'll admit I don't have any idea about the cure. I was figuring I could gather up a few knowledgeable people, capture someone under the effects of the Black Fog and see if they can't get something out of studying them. I mean- theres gotta be a cure! Powerful dispel magic might work, but I don't know how hard it is to get rid of the Black Fog, so I might need multiple people. I have one person in mind but their sorta in the opposite side of the world- if we could figure out a few people to get on the way that'd be great."
Ruby put on her best showmanship grin, hoping to god that she had won over the warrior princess. Weiss thought about it for a moment before standing up "I have an idea on who to talk to. She might also be able to give you a bit more... direction." Ruby smiled earnestly this time. "Haha!" She cheered, clapping her hands. "I knew that going to you was a good idea." Ruby stood up and reached towards the Kunai in the wall, pulling it free and pulling her cloak out to her side, slotting it in among the countless other knives. "Where do we go?"
Weiss's eye twitched as she saw the blades. "You faked disarming?" She asked, a mild growl to her voice. "NO! I disarmed!" Ruby argued, putting a hand to her chest in in disbelief at the acusation. "I just had a backup. You think a Ninja wouldn't have a backup!?" Weiss sighed and pinched her nose, looking down at her feet. "Meet me at the front of the castle. I'll be there as soon as I can." She dismissed, before standing up and turning around to leave the room.
-
"How are you not freezing!?" Ruby shouted as she stared at Weiss in her armour, holding her facemask over her nose and ears. Both girls had their capes on, but well Weiss walked on although the storm didn't exist, Ruby was busy using hers in an attempt to shield her face from the pounds of snow battering her. "Ice Dust." Weiss answered simply, Ruby squeaking in confusion as the two walked beside each other through two feet of snow on brick roads. "How does Ice Dust keep you warm?" She asked- practically shouted, although given how loud the wind was shouting might be required to be heard.
"Ice dust controls Ice and snow." Weiss holds out her hand, and the snow simply slides off her fingers instead of getting caught on her cloathing or her limbs. "I basically just create a barrier of cold around myself to prevent heat transfer. If you touched me right now you'd probably freeze instantly." Ruby nodded slowly "Right." She didn't really understand Ice magic and probably never would, but it was clear to her Weiss did and that was all that really mattered.
"Where are we going anyway?" Ruby asked, lifting her arms up to her face and squinting her eyes "I can't see shit." Weiss simply glanced towards her before returning her eyes forward- keeping her chin high, back straight, and footsteps steady to keep her image in place. "Must you ask so many questions?" Ruby whined, not caring at all about how she looked to onlookers; it wasn't like they could see her anyway through this storm. "Must there be so much snow!? Seriously does it ever stop snowing?"
"Ofcourse." Weiss replied. "We get around two months of sunshine a year." "WHAT!?" Ruby screamed, making Weiss let out few muffled chuckles. "Its summer!" "Late Summer." Weiss corrected, making Ruby groan in frustration. "I know im never going here on vacation." She grunted as she pulled her arms closer to her chest, once more getting another chuckle out of Weiss. "Relax." She reassured. "We are here."
Ruby looked side to side, she saw the gate of an estate to her left, and looking to her right she saw another. "Where? All I see is snow." Weiss put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, the ice magic flaring up against Ruby's fire magic as a glow of blue and red dance off her fingers. "Right here." She pulled Ruby to the side of the path, grabbing the metal gate that was just out of view and opening it before walking through.
"With all due respect this looks no different then the last three miles." Weiss rolled her eyes "Who are we meeting anyway?" Ruby asked, Weiss finally deciding to quit chastising her and actually give her answers; it was important to actually answer this afterall. "Penny Polendina. A Noble Women. Her and her father are inventors and are incredibly intelligent. If anyone can figure out a place to start on finding a cure it will be here; she is a master of making something out of nothing."
Ruby nodded along, soon finally seeing the signs of the mansion. She had no clue how big it was, but considering the doors were three times her height it was probably pretty big. "Can she fight?" Ruby asked, Weiss ignoring her and knocking on the door. "Ask her and not me." Weiss said simply, putting her arms behind her as the two waited for someone to arrive.
The door opened after a few moments to a tall, thin butler in a black suit and a orange tie. "Ah, Miss Schnee. Please do come in." He took a step back and pulled the thick, heavy door in. Ruby gawked at its width, several inches, no doubt so thick to keep the cold at bay. "What is the purpose of your arrival? And who is your companion?"
"I am here to speak to Miss Penny." Weiss responded, holding her hand up to decline the man taking her robe. "And this is Ruby Rose, the Princess of Vale." The man nodded "Ah. Miss Penny is in her workship. She requested no visitors but im sure she'd appreciate your visit. May I escort you?" Weiss nodded, smiling softly towards him, a look that made Ruby puff her cheeks. "All I ever got was glares..." She mouthed to herself as the two of them followed the man.
Ruby's head constantly moved side to side as she let out 'ooh's and 'aah's. She was facinated in Athlesian architecture, using the beautiful paintings on the walls and the contrasting decorations to Weiss's castle. Where the castle had giant armour sets and excessive ammounts of high metals, this mansion had homey orange wood and paintings in every style from Vacuo to Mantle. She had to be elbowed by Weiss to be snapped out of it, whining in pain from the heavy armour, rubbing her shoulder and looking at the white haired girl. "Whaaaat?" She whined, before noticing that the butler was gone, they had gone down several flights of stairs to the basement, and was standing infront of a black door with carvings of bronze dragons on its front. "Oh, right." Ruby cleared her throat before loudly knocking.
"I said you can come in!" A voice responded, high pitched and chipper. Ruby cringed at the fact she had been so distracted she didn't even hear that, opening the door and stepping inside. Weiss let Ruby take the lead for the first time, walking behind Ruby as the two entered the room. The room maintained the polished wood of most of the house, but the floor was replaced with smooth black marble. The room was incredibly dark, with only a single lamp illuminating a several meter long table made of black basalt. If you can even call it a table- it was a giant brick with no notable features.
The table was littered with various chunks of metal. Canisters of liquid or powdered dust were contained in boxes and raw dust crystals were jabbed into random scrap and strewn about all over. A women was bent over fusing two bits of metal together with a chunk of fire dust attached to some metal tube. "What is that?" Ruby asked, whispering to Weiss. "A blowtorch. One of the Polendina family's many inventions."
Ruby took a deep breath to build confidence before finally getting her attention. "Hello?" The girl perked up and stopped hunching over the table. She clapped her hands and Ruby jumped as all the lights in the room turned on, allowing them to see her clearly. Penny had a huge head of bright orange hair, the ends were frizzed and made it look much longer then it actually was- it almost looked like an afro with how unkept it was, but Penny quickly ran a small metal stick through it and the frizzled hair was suddenly turned into smooth, shiny curls.
"Sorry, let me just get myself presentable." Penny spoke, turning to face them. She removed a set of goggles from her face and quickly took a white, oil stained apron off her and placed it on the table behind her, using it to cover whatever it is she was working on. "Salutations!" Penny put her hand to her forehead, then her chest, then bowed to the two girls. "Im Penny Polendina! To what do I owe this pleasure~?"
"We need your help!" Ruby quickly replied, lowering her facemask and clenching her two arms to her chest as she clapsed her hands in prayer. "What for?" Penny replied, putting both her hands on the table behind her and leaning back. Penny had a set of white, elbow high gloves that were stained with soot. She had a light brown top under a black vest which contained several buckles and pockets. Her pants were black jeans held up with a brown belt that held multiple tools for her work. She had a set of knee high black boots with a design of falling coins going down the leg, loweing in density the closer to her heels they got.
"I am Princess Ruby Rose of Vale. My kingdom is under threat of a strange plague called the Black Fog. It mind controls humans and breeds inside them, and any animal it infects is turned into an armoured monster called a Grimm. I need your help to combat the threat and find a cure." Penny put a hand to her chin, gasping innocently at the news "My that sounds serious!" A devious grin formed on her lips "Do I get to experiment on people?"
Weiss chuckled as Ruby instantly turned red and began stuttering- having not expected the question. "Uh I mean- I guess? As long as its to find a cure. I don't know how you cant find a cure for a disease with a bit of experimentation." Penny clenched her fists and bent forward, cheering silently at the news. "Yes! Consider me onboard, I need to test my new invention anyway."
Penny turned around and removed the apron, picking up the weapon she had created. "Whats the invention?" Ruby asked curiously, Penny looking over her shoulder at Weiss "Okay so you remember the crossbow I invented?" Weiss nodded "I don't!" Ruby shouted, prompting Penny to explain. "So a crossbow is basically a bow that fires bolts without you having to pull back the string, firing them with much more force."
Penny turned around, holding it out with both hands as she presented it to them. "BEHOLD!" Penny screamed with far too much enthusiasm "A gun!" The shotgun was made of a similar orange red wood as her house, with a fine metal handle and trigger, along with a metal plate around the trigger to keep the gears inside mostly hidden. "Its sorta like a crossbow, but instead of firing bolts it fires metal shrapnel using a dust powered explosion!"
Weiss whistled in approval as Ruby went wide eyed and screamed nearly as loudly as Penny did "THATS SO COOL!" she shouted, Weiss flinching at the loud noise before turning to Penny. "Short name, nothing more fancy?" Weiss asked as Ruby dashed forward and hovered her hands over the gun, wanting to feel its craftmonship so bad but holding back out of respect for the creation. "Well a gun is the name for the whole concept of dust powered shrapnel launchers. I'll give this a more specific name when I make more like it."
"That is so coooool" Ruby repeated in a hushed whisper, bouncing up and down as she admired the craftsmanship "We are going to be leaving Atlas shortly." Weiss added, clearly wanting to get things moving instead of geeking out over Penny's newest invention. "Are you sure you want to come?" Weiss asked "I cant really stick around. Father is going to realise I left sooner or later and I want to be off the continent before he does."
"Ofcourse! I can leave as soon as im packed." Penny nodded, turning around and beginning to gather bullets from the table and medical supplies from the nearby shelves. "Did you not tell your father your leaving?" Weiss shook her head "No. We suspect that my father denied Ruby the help she requested. If that's true, father will simply attempt to keep me in the castle. If he uses his full power to pin me down I don't think there is a way I can leave without being given a life sentence or having my heir stripped from me. Running away is a much smaller punishment."
Penny nodded in agreement, beginning to pack her items into a large brown backpack with orange buckles. "Got it. Where are we going first?" Ruby finally stopped hovering over the gun like a hawk to stand properly and answer the question. "I was thinking we'd stop at Mistral first!" Ruby announced. "There's a few people I want to try to recruit there, and its pretty close to Vale so we could make sure the Black Fog hasent spread yet. Plus south most Mistral is a good jumping off point for where I want to go next."
"Geeze." Weiss remarked, leaning against the wall to relieve some pressure from her legs "A pilgrimage across the entirety of Mistral?" Penny happily marched towards the door, her gun over her shoulder. "I'll get my riches!" She cheered, Ruby following her with an excessive march, pulling up her facemask again as she prepared for the cold. Weiss simply sighed, turning and moving towards the door. "This is gonna be a pain the ass..."