Author's Notes: Hey everyone! Ready for another chapter? Thank you for all of your reviews, I really appreciate the kind words. Didn't get much feedback on Eryka, which makes me either nervous, or glad that apparently everyone accepts her haha. So anyways, here's the next chapter! A ball game in the sun, a long overdue conversation between Pyrrha and Ruby, and a sleepover to cheer up our favorite Sunny Little Dragon! Enjoy guys! - Dave
Act One: Chapter Four: Sunny Little Dragon
...
"Hey, Jaune! Throw it to meee!" Ruby squealed excitedly, the sweet aroma of freshly cut grass strong in her nostrils. She stepped backwards, arms extended over her head, hands wide open to cup the beating sun above. Jaune grinned, reeling his arm back, football firmly gripped between his fingers.
"Ready, Rubes?!" He shouted admix a chuckle.
"Yeah!" Ruby yelled from far across the open expanse of short stubbly grass. Jaune's grin only widened.
"Go get it!" Jaune channeled an extra bout of aura into his arm, and launched the ball across the field. As the ball hurtled over the blank blue sky, eclipsing the sun, Ruby grinned and shot off in a flurry of rose petals, appearing at just the right spot to have the leather ball land squarely in her pale palms. With a beaming smile, the Rose held the ball up over her head.
"Yay! Again!" With a dash of red petals, she was before Jaune, startling the teen. "C'mon Jaune!"
"Okay, okay, Crater face." Jaune grinned, ruffling her hair, Ruby grumbling at her nickname. "Hey, if I've gotta put up with Yang calling me "Vomit boy" all weekend, let me have that one."
"Okay." She chuckled, looking at the orange haired Valkyrie bouncing in the distance.
"Jaune! C'moooon!" Nora yelled. Jaune laughed, rolling his shoulder. Ruby raised her eyebrow with a bemused smirk.
"Tired, are we?" Ruby giggled. Jaune shrugged, chuckling under his breath.
"Hey, I was never a sporty kid. Only time I went outside was to go to school or dragged out by my sisters." He grinned at the memories. Ruby smiled, happy to learn more about Jaune. He always mentioned his family, but never in detail. Just short snippets of memories.
"What did you do? Playing with your sisters I mean." Ruby shrugged, stepping back as Nora closed the distance, the three of them easily forming a triangle to throw the ball between them, admix gentle conversation. Jaune shrugged, overarm throwing the ball to Nora, who easily caught it, grinning widely.
"Eh, you know. Sibling stuff. Play with a ball, build snowmen, shove the smallest in a tire and roll it down a hill. Guess who always ended up in the tire?" Jaune rolled his eyes, thumbs pointing to his chest. "This guy."
Ruby smiled and caught the ball, chuckling under her breath at her own wash of memories. She threw the ball to Jaune. "Me and Yang, we used to play hide and seek all the time! Sometimes she'd forget to look for me. I'd try and cut her hair for it." Ruby grinned as Nora snorted.
"How far'd ya get?" Nora raised an eyebrow, catching the ball with both her cupped hands. Ruby shrunk her head into her neck, an effacing wince on her face.
"I cut a lock off once." the Rose winced. The other two gasped, Nora almost dropping the ball, fumbling to keep it off the floor. Jaune gaped.
"She must'a tried to kill you!" Jaune scoffed. Ruby laughed meekly, rubbing the back of her head.
"Yeeeaaah...Hiding behind Dad's leg worked...mostly." She shrugged, catching the ball as Nora threw it. Nora's grin devolved to a sad smile.
"I never had sisters. Bet it would'a been cool, having an older sibling." the usually chipper girl sighed heavily.
"I'll be your older brother, Nora. Does that count?" Jaune gave a smile, to which Nora beamed brightly.
"Yeah...it does. Thanks Jaune!"
"I guess I'm a...little sister." Ruby shrugged, chucking the ball to Jaune, the distracted boy fumbling to catch it as it rebounded off his chest. Nora cackled.
"Yay! I'm a big sis!" Nora bounced eagerly. Ruby laughed adoringly at her friends as Jaune wheezed, his chest aching, wind knocked out of him. Jaune looked at Ruby, beaming widely as he regained his breath.
"Ready Rubes? Ooh! Hey, let's see if we can reach fifty passes without dropping it!" Jaune maniacally smirked, Nora nodding rapidly on the spot. Ruby let her twinkle widen, silver eyes scanning the whole field around them. Then the ball hit her squarely in the chest, startling the young girl. The ball fell to the floor. "Err...good start Rubes." Jaune sneered.
Ruby shook her head and rubbed the ache at the tingling skin of her collarbones. "Sorry, just thinkin."
"About?" Nora picked up the ball, trying to spin it on her finger to no success. Ruby giggled at her, huffing to sober up from her bout of laughter.
"Just...this. Being here, you know?" Ruby gestured to all that surrounded her. Jaune and Nora shared a glance, albeit a short one as the copper haired girl went back to profusely trying to spin the ball atop her fingertip.
"This field?" Jaune looked around, Ruby scoffing and rolling her eyes.
"No ya doof!" She grabbed his head with her hands and forcefully turned his head with a crack to face Beacon. "Beacon!" The quirky, chipper Rose calmed, eyes felling. "That night, I really thought the school was gonna fall, ya know? I thought we were gonna lose all this, but just look around, Jaune." Ruby beamed, looking at team CFVY all laying in the shade of a maple tree, hands behind their heads in a circle chatting as only family could. Jaune noticed and smiled, looking at CRDL playing baseball with SSSN, a loud metallic bang signalling the hit of ball on bat, sending the stitched ball soaring into the clear blue abyss above.
"Yeah. Yeah, I get what you're saying Rubes. Being back here is...well, it's perfect. I really feel at home, really feel like we've got all the time in the world." Jaune grinned, sitting then laying back on the bushy grass with a content hum, arms behind his head, staring up at the consistently deep blue sky above. "This is great."
"Yeah it is!" Nora threw herself onto her leader, Jaune groaning within a wheezy laugh. She rolled off the laughing teen to giggle beside him in the grass.
"Yeah. My thoughts exactly." Ruby sang, laying down beside him, mimicking his pose. "I'd say let's guess the shapes of the clouds, but...it's such a clear sky today."
"Yeah. Kinda kills that plan dead, huh?" Jaune chuckled, nestling more comfortably into the floor. He crossed his leg over his other knee, humming a tune to himself. Ruby listened for a moment, before turning her face in the grass to face him.
"What song's that?"
"Hmm? Oh I dunno. Just a tune that Pyrrha hums all the time. She says it's a song that's really important to her. Dunno what it is though for the life of me." Jaune shrugged, humming again.
"Mmm. Sounds oddly familiar." Ruby huffed, turning to look at the sky again. Nora just grinned like a Cheshire cat to the sky.
"I know what it is." Nora quietly sung to herself, cackling almost silently.
"Ruby!"
"Ahh!" The aforementioned girl sat bolt upright, startled by the white haired teammate of hers blocking her view of the sky sharply. Weiss raised a plucked brow at the teen, before scanning her Celeste eyes over to content Jaune and legs-kicking-at-the-air Nora.
"Weiss? What's up?" Ruby raised an eyebrow, hands in her lap, wringing the hem of her frilly black skirt. Weiss let the smallest of smiles grace her face at her partner's concern.
"Not much, I can't find my scroll, do you know where it is?" Weiss asked, hands on her hips. Ruby shrugged.
"Night stand?"
"Nope." Weiss shook her head, Ruby tapping her chin to think of somewhere else it could be hiding. With a bright burst of silver in her eyes, Ruby snapped her fingers in a eureka moment.
"Blake's nightstand?"
"Why would it...no."
"..."
"..."
"...My nightstand?"
"Ruby!" Weiss huffed. "Jaune? Have you seen my scroll at all?" the Schnee turned to face the Arc as he opened one eye to look up at her.
"Fraid not. How'd you - of all people - lose your scroll? All you do is sit and text on that thing." Jaune grinned, quickly flinching in on himself as Weiss rolled her eyes and pressed her heel onto his stomach, the teen laughing as he curled up instinctively around her foot.
"Very funny, but I will have you know I do not, thank you very much." Weiss frowned, crossing her arms.
"Weiss, reeeelaaaax." Nora sighed contently, smiling with closed eyes as she lay back into the grass. Weiss huffed at the trio of friends laying in the grass.
"So, neither of you have seen my scroll?" Weiss huffed loudly, eyeing Jaune and Ruby specifically.
"Nope." They said in unison, not opening a single eye between them.
"Urgh, useless! Nora, hav-"
"Head's up!" Sun yelled, too late.
KONK!
Weiss fell back into the grass, stars spinning around her head as the baseball came to rest in the soft grass beside her. Jaune and Ruby sat bolt upright, crowding over the dazed Schnee.
"Weiss, you okay?" Jaune asked, unable to see the chirping birds and stars Weiss could, currently orbiting her head. "Weiss?"
"But I don't wanna go to school today, ma! I wanna stay home and bake cookies with you!" Weiss slurred, tongue hanging out her mouth, her eyes still rolling around in their sockets like washing machines. She shook her head and rubbed it, grumbling. "Ow."
"Oops. Sorry." Cardin rubbed the back of his head, setting the baseball bat down and helping Jaune sit Weiss up. "I forget I gotta mean swing."
"Yeah, I've often been on the receiving end of it." Jaune chuckled, Cardin scoffing. The bigger teen, who everyone seemed to note was on a redemption campaign since returning to Beacon, went to open his mouth, some form of words or apology teetering at the tip of his tongue. Jaune held his hand up, smiling. "In the past."
They turned back to Weiss as the dazed Schnee rubbed the lump on her head. She frowned and slurred.
"I want some ice...for my head!" She hiccuped, Nora giggling and poking the lump on her head, Weiss swatting her hand away.
"Uhh, yeah...can do." Cardin stood up, huffing as he walked off towards the school. Jaune bit his lip, but let the words tumble out, even as he knew he should stop them.
"...I mean...you're the ice queen and all..."
"Jaune...I swear to-"
"Okay, okay." Jaune surrender, turning to sit back on the grass as SSSN raced over. Neptune's eyes were filled with worry, doting over Weiss.
"Weiss! You okay?"
"Do I look okay?!" the Schnee snapped, rubbing the lump on her scalp. "Seriously, do I look okay? How bad is it?" Weiss hissed as Nora once again "booped" the bump on her head. "Ow!"
"Err..."
"Just say yes, dude." Scarlet shrugged, gulping at Weiss' hard stare. "I-I mean don't do that, that's...that's crazy."
"What's crazy?" Pyrrha asked, smiling brightly as she and Blake padded over, school uniforms locked up in their stuffy dorm rooms on such a hot day, instead wearing off the shoulder baggy tops and shorts. Jaune marveled secretly at all of Pyrrha's wonderful porcelain flesh on show, Sun doing the same to Blake - not so secretly. Sage quickly scooped Sun's bottom jaw off the floor.
"We might have given Weiss a concussion." Scarlet shrugged. "And by us, I mean Cardin." the red head said to the red head. Pyrrha gasped, kneeling in the grass beside her friend.
"Weiss, are you okay?"
"Peachy." The Schnee deadpanned, her hand pulling tufts of grass out of the earth. Pyrrha doted over her, while Blake sat down on her own, flicking open her book, smiling as the sun's rays warmly lapped at her bare thighs and legs. Ruby looked up to the sky at the chirping of a bird, beaming at the huge Eagle casting monolithic shadows as he circled overhead, occasionally blocking the sun. She grinned and looked back around the field, her silver eyes widening at the woman walking towards them.
"Err, Weiss?"
"What Ruby, my head hurts-"
"Weiss? What's happened now?" Winter asked, crossing her arms. Everyone raised eyebrows at the military woman. She wasn't - for the first time ever to them - wearing her military garbs, but instead a simple pale blue tee and a pair of white shorts. Her hair was still tied in it's customary bun, but a few wavy white locks hung down either side of her face. Weiss blinked and looked up at her sister, squinting at the halo of bright sun around Winter's head.
"Are you okay?" Winter softened, crouching beside her sister. Weiss nodded, blinking out of sync. Winter frowned and looked with steely hardness at the other teens. "What. Happened?"
Sun gulped. "Err...
"He konked her on the head!" Scarlet yelled, pointing at the returning leader of CRDL. Cardin offered the ice pack, Weiss sighing as it touched her head. Winter simply removed his hand and replaced it with her own.
"Keep pressure on it, you boob." Winter huffed, rolling her eyes.
"I'm trying." Weiss mumbled, Winter letting a small smirk grace her face.
"Are we going to have this conversation again?" the older Schnee chuckled lightly as Weiss gulped and shook her head, pressing the ice pack to her wound. "Are you okay?" Winter asked softly. Weiss smiled lightly.
"Yeah."
"Good. Now-"
"I don't think I've seen you in casual clothes since you were my age." Weiss raised an eyebrow. Winter's expression sobered, eyes downcast.
"Yes, well. That's mainly my fault. For not seeing you as often as I'd like. No, I decided to take some well earned- and saved up - time off. It's nice...besides, Professor Goodwitch needs all the help she can get. In fact, I'll be running combat classes for the next month." Winter held her hands behind her back, chin high.
"You're here for a month?" Weiss' expression lit up, her smile a megawatt gleam. Winter smiled back.
"I am. So, make sure you bring your absolute best to training next week. Or, I'll have to see if Father's receptionist offer is still open." She smirked, Weiss frowning.
"I will, I always do." Weiss held her chin high, as only a Schnee could. Winter smiled proudly.
"Excellent. You and I will be practicing Glyphs while I'm here too." Winter added, clearing her throat and standing ramrod straight, the military backbone in her body still tightly wound to a working environment. "Oh-Eight-Hundred hours on Monday morning. Agreed?"
Weiss nodded, smiling as Neptune pressed the ice pack softly against her scalp. Winter gave a curt nod and gestured to the school behind them.
"Very well. Weiss, keep pressure on that pack and alternate between hot and cold. And as for her friends...stop knocking her over the head, please." Winter huffed, turning and almost military marching away, earning a wolf whistle from Russel Thrush, who got immediately dive bombed by Dulcis the Eagle.
"Ah! It's going for my eyes!" He cried in a flurry of snapping beak and feathers.
Cardin scoffed and shook his head, getting up and picking up the baseball bat and ball. "You err...you gonna be okay?" he coughed into his fist. Weiss frowned at him. "I'll err...take that as my signal to leave then. Sorry again."
"He's getting better, huh?" Nora shrugged, hugging her knees. Weiss scoffed.
"Uh, he almost killed me, you dunce!" Weiss snapped, Nora grinning at the reaction she'd sought to elicit. Jaune sat back down in the grass, without even realizing he'd perched beside Pyrrha. He looked down out of the corner of his eye, gaze raking over her long pale legs, powerful thighs flexing lightly as she straightened them. Jaune gulped and looked away, shaking his head.
"So uhh, how was your morning, Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, Pyrrha looking up at him with a fond, beautiful smile. He swallowed thickly at her sparkling eyes, her beaming lips, her porcelain curves, all barely hidden by the baggy crimson top and beige short shorts. Keep it together! Ahh, I'm losin it!
"It was...less than eventful." Pyrrha chuckled weakly. "Blake and I got some studying done in the library for Oobleck's class. You?"
"Heh, well hey at least you did something academic. We had breakfast then played outside with a ball all morning." Jaune rubbed his face up and down. Pyrrha bit her lip and nudged him with her elbow playfully.
"I know which one I'd rather do."
"We can play again in a bit if you'd like." Jaune smiled, Pyrrha beaming back.
"I'd like that. As long as I'm on your team." She longed for him, ached for him, leaning in without realizing, Jaune mirroring her thoughts. Then his mind raced to darker thoughts, thoughts he hadn't had since midnight, waking up in a cold sweat, flicking on his lamp in a dazed panic to check she was in her bed, asleep and well. He tore himself away with a huff, staring at the others with a fake smile on his features. Pyrrha sighed, leaning back onto her rear and hugging her pale knees, closing her eyes and letting the sun's rays warm her skin, if Jaune's embrace wouldn't.
Sun sat beside Blake, grinning at her. She tried to focus on her book, tried so very hard to read the words on the paper, but unable to shake the eyes of Sun Wukong over the lip of the book. After rereading the same line five times she sighed and dropped it into her lap.
"What is it, Sun?"
"Nothin. You just look...really...c-cute today, is all." He rubbed his head, blushing. Blake smiled and her Cat ears perked up.
"Umm...thanks." Blake smiled, looking at her book, hiding her face behind it. Sun nodded, wringing his lip between his teeth, an almost awkward silence foaming between them.
"Heads up!
KONK!
"Dude, ow!" Sun yelled, clutching his shoulder as the baseball rolled to a stop at his feet, Blake's golden eyes snapping up in instinctive worry, immediately calming down at realizing it wasn't life threatening.
"REN!" Nora yelled, leaping up and tacking the incoming teen into the grass. He chuckled amidst a groan as his back met the earth, wrapped snugly in the Valkyrie's arms. "Where ya been?!"
"Talking to Professor Goodwitch." he wheezed, trying to wriggle out of her tight grip. Then the Valkyrie's eyes popped wide. She sat up, nose to nose with him, her orange bangs shielding her eyes.
"Why?"
"I...Something doesn't feel right." Ren said, Nora sobering and letting him up. Ren dusted himself off and huffed. Nora raised a brow, picking a twig out of his hair, concern swimming in her turquoise gaze. Ren looked over his shoulder at Ickford and his team, all walking along the perimeter of the field, Jaymes smirking at them. "He's walking around like he's invincible all of a sudden. One minute he's expelled, then a week later he's back like nothing happened." Ren huffed, thumb swiping under his left eye.
Nora nodded, frowning at the obnoxious teen and his team across the field. "Yeah, fishy doesn't begin to describe it." Nora grumbled.
"Fish?" Blake snapped her head up over her book. "I want all the fish."
Nora chuckled at her, looking back at Ren, sobering. "What did Goodwitch say?"
"Said she couldn't disclose that information, asked if I had anymore questions and if not, to leave." Ren shrugged, raking a hand through his black mane. Something definitely wasn't right...
...
Winter marched her path down the halls of the dormitories, navigating the maze of corridors until she entered the Visitor's wing. She was being housed in one of the Suites saved for visiting family members or live-in teachers. She stood before the door to her room, pulling her scroll out of her back pocket and swiping the device over the scanner, until the light shone red to green. The lock undone and she opened the door, stepping in and throwing her scroll onto her adjacent bed. Scrubbing her face up and down she padded over to the large rectangular mirror on the wall and observed her reflection, eyes snapping to the other bed in her shared Suite. Winter frowned.
"Eryka, it is almost mid day, why are you still in bed?"
"Err, cos I'm tired? Duh?" Came the muffled reply from the lump under the sheets and messy blue hair spread over her pillow. Winter huffed and clenched her fists, before blowing out a calming breath, something a Yoga and martial arts specialist taught her in Mistral to combat her rising blood pressure. Winter knew what her problem was, it was her obsession with everything being done right. Life in the military had taken her Schnee family inherited overbearing nature and supercharged it.
For example, everyone had to be up and dressed by six thirty on the dot, bed's made to crisp perfection. It wasn't a nuisance for her to wake up that earlier, it was just the way life was to her. Add Military training and expectations to that mix, and you ended up with blood boiling Winter Schnee, who wanted to pull her hair out at the fact Eryka was still in bed, her shoes thrown across the room and her clothes dumped in the hamper - Winter would assume on purpose - to overhang and pool on the floor.
Winter's eye twitched if the pencils on her desk were out of alignment. To have to share a room with the most laid back, relaxed, messy woman on campus almost gave her an aneurysm there and then. Winter took two long, deep breaths, before forcing a very plastic smile onto her features.
"Eryka..." She said in a very insincere high pitched tone. "...-It's almost noon...maybe you should get up now, hmm?" Winter's voice squeaked. The response she got was a ruffling of sheets, followed by a hand poking out from the white bedding, middle finger waving to the Schnee.
"Bite me, Wints." groggy Eryka grumbled. Winter's eye twitched, marching over to the bed and flipping the mattress over, Eryka yelping as she suddenly found herself face down in carpet. "Okay...maybe breakfast does sound good."
SLAP!
"Ow! Hey!"
"IT'S NOON, YOU BOOB!" Winter yelled, echoing across the halls of Beacon.
...
RWB and JNPR sat at their usual table, smiles on their faces as idle chit chat rebounded between each of them. Ruby, a megawatt beam on her face, laid out her plan for the weekend.
"Okay! So we're all sleeping over tonight, yeah?"
"Seems like it. No objections?" Jaune looked around, met with smiling heads shaking right to left. "Yeah, we're in, Rubes."
"Yay! Sweet, oh this is gonna rock! We're gonna cheer Yang up so much I know it..." Ruby's smile wilted slightly. "...I hope so, anyway."
"Don't worry, Ruby. We'll drop as many pun set ups as possible, she won't be able to resist." Jaune smiled, Nora bouncing in her seat, buzzing.
"Ooooh! I can't wait, Renny! A sleepover! A real sleepover with friends, and candy, and stories, and-" Ren placed a finger on her lips, silencing the Valkyrie, his own lips quirked into a bemused smile.
"I'm excited too, Nora." he said in his usual calm and stoic tone, quivered ever so lightly by a breathy chuckle. Nora beamed before returning to wolfing down her lunch. Jaune however huffed, looking at his bowl of soup. His eyes flit with jealousy at Blake's Tuna steak, Pyrrha's ham sandwich, even Weiss' salad looked more appetizing than usual.
"What er, what time are we leaving?" Blake asked nervously, swallowing her bite of flaky Tuna while wringing her fingers. Her heart was hammering like war drums at the idea of seeing Yang. The last time she saw her it was in a puddle of blood, her's and Yang's swirling and mixing vivid reds. She'd bandaged her slippery stump, beads of hot ruby red claret staining her fingers. Blake whimpered under her breath at the horrible memory of cradling Yang's head in her lap as they waited for the airship, as the CCT tower erupted with a bright white light.
She reached under the table to touch her fingers to the scar on her stomach, tracing the hard bumps of healed white flesh. She bit her lip and let her shirt drop back down to cover the wound on her toned stomach.
"After dinner." Ruby shrugged, eyes studying Blake's pained expression, but decided it better to ignore it for now. "Bout half six?"
"Sweet." Jaune gave a firm nod, before picking up his spoon. "Why did I get soup again?" He huffed, looking back up at the front of the cafeteria. "They had ham sandwiches."
"Mmm!" Pyrrha swallowed a mouthful. "Here, you can have my other half. I don't mind."
"Oh, well...th-thanks Pyrrha." Jaune smiled, reaching over and accepting it. Pyrrha smiled at him and he beamed too, before they once again blushed and looked elsewhere.
"Urgh, these two." Weiss grumbled into her palm, fingers tensed and paling as she raked nails down her brow.
As they handed their empty trays back in at the front of the hall, the seven friends began to walk back to their respective dorms. Jaune caught up with Blake, talking with her about a book he was reading that she might like. Weiss, after finally finding her scroll on her nightstand - even though she was certain it wasn't there - was texting someone intently. Nora leaped up onto Ren's back a′la piggy back, giggling into his neck as he rolled his eyes with a smirk. The group all moved through the halls of the Academy, leaving Ruby to walk besides Pyrrha. The two walked in an awkward silence as a heavy weight seemed to drag the very air around them.
Ruby bit her lip and looked up at the warrior goddess, before flitting her eyes to the others walking ahead. With newfound bravery, and a need to spill what was on her mind, she grabbed Pyrrha's pale arm, startling her. Emeralds reflected silver, confusion knitting her brow.
"Ruby? Wh-What-
"We umm...c-can we talk?" Ruby asked gingerly. Pyrrha nodded and took a step to the side of the hallway, letting other students file out of the hall. She crossed her arms under her chest.
"What's wrong, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked softly. Ruby sighed and swirled a hand in the air around her head.
"We umm...we've managed to tip toe around each other since we got back to school, haven't we?" Ruby winced. Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly and she bit her lip, nodding to her shoes.
"We have."
"I just...I wanted to talk abou-
"Penny." Pyrrha nodded sadly. "Ruby...I-I'm so, so, sorry." emerald eyes watered slightly as she looked deep into her wide silver pearls. Ruby softened her gaze and sighed.
"It wasn't your fault, Pyrrha. It wasn't you." Ruby muttered, rubbing her arm as she shuffled her boot into the carpet. "I don't blame you. I don't. Pinky promise." Ruby smiled, holding out her smallest finger to the taller woman. Pyrrha smiled warmly and chuckled minutely, lifting her own to loop around the Rose's little stem.
"Thank you, Ruby. I...I still feel so much guilt over what happened. I-It was still me who did it, after all."
"With your body? Yeah. But not this." Ruby tapped the side of her head. "You had no intent in here. You were...tricked." Ruby sighed heavily, looking downcast. "We all were."
"Mmm. After all that, after being friendly to that Emerald girl and Mercury boy...they were helping Cinder." Pyrrha spat with a frown.
"Ow." Ruby winced, as Pyrrha's finger tightened around hers.
"Oops! I'm sorry!" Pyrrha let go. Ruby shrugged, chuckling.
"S'okay. No, I umm...I wanted to talk about what happened...up in the tower." Ruby bashfully rubbed her arm, stepping aside a little more to let a team of students move past. Pyrrha's eyes widened. Of course she wanted to talk about that.
"Your eyes." Pyrrha muttered, Ruby nodding.
"Yep." the wilted Rose popped the "P".
"Did...D-Did it hurt?" Pyrrha asked. "I'm sorry, I'm just...unsure what to ask."
"I...dunno. I felt like I blacked out, y'know?" Ruby bobbed her shoulders. "I just remember seeing you about to...b-be killed and I...I just snapped."
"Mmm...W-Why did seeing me trigger it? I always assumed you were closer to Penny than me." Pyrrha asked. Ruby blinked at her, then down to her feet.
"Because you're my friend, Pyrrha. And...you don't realize how important you are to everybody." Ruby said softly. Pyrrha smiled at her and blushed.
"Oh...w-well, that's..."
"I'm sorry I didn't get there earlier." Ruby muttered. Pyrrha's emerald gaze exploded wide on her.
"W-Why?"
"Because you got shot in the ankle. How is it?"
"Better. Aura's a great thing." Pyrrha chuckled lightly, rolling her heel. "But, honestly Ruby...I got to live, because of you. You saved me...I-I..." Pyrrha looked down sadly. "I don't think I've even thanked you for that yet. I'm sorry. In any case...my life, I owe to you."
"I'm just glad you're here. I...I'd miss you so much." Ruby hugged the Invincible Girl. Pyrrha slowly softened at the contact and hugged her back gently.
"Thank you so much, Ruby Rose." Pyrrha muffled into her raven black hair.
"Don't mention it." Ruby beamed, reeling out of the hug. "Oh! Hey, let's seal this new sweet friendship with a handshake!" Ruby held up her hand. Pyrrha tilted her head with a bemused smirk.
"Weeeerrrre...we not friends before?"
"Oh! Yeah! Course! B-But, now we're like...better friends!" Ruby exclaimed brightly. "Hold out your hand!"
Pyrrha chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes, holding out her hand. "Sooo what makes this handshake different?"
"Yang taught me, we did it when we were little!" Ruby looked at her hand and gargled, before spitting a wad of saliva into her palm, offering it to Pyrrha. "Now you!"
"Th-That is..." Pyrrha grimaced, but saw how happy Ruby was. She sighed and gargled, blushing, until her mouth had a wad of spit. She tilted her head over Ruby's hand.
"Your own hand!" Ruby stepped back. "Gross dude!"
"Oh, that's gross?" Pyrrha scoffed. She huffed and spat into her own palm, repulsed. "Eww."
"Now, shake!" Ruby held out her hand. Pyrrha winced and slapped her wet hand into Ruby's, shaking up and down. "Yeah!
"Y-yes...this is...lovely." Pyrrha lied, separating their hands. She looked at her sticky wet hand. "I umm...may need a towel."
"Yeah...Heh...didn't think this through." Ruby looked around. The Rose looked down at her skirt.
"I know what you're going to do...and don't." Pyrrha chuckled, holding her hand out like it was a roaring flame, keeping it as far from her body as possible. "We'll wash up in my Dorm-"
"Hey I wondered where you two wen-
SQUISH!
Pyrrha's saliva drenched hand pressed into Weiss' forehead, the Heiress gasping and raised her hands to fan her face.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, what is that and why is it wet?!" Weiss cried.
"I'm so sorry!" Pyrrha pulled her hand away, wincing at the wet hand print on her brow.
"Well? What is it?!" Weiss frowned, still repulsed. Ruby looked at her own hand and hid it behind her back.
"Spit." Ruby mumbled under her breath.
"Excuse me?!" Weiss shuddered. "Eww...EWW!" The Schnee screamed and took off running. "I'm gonna hurl!"
Pyrrha winced and looked at grinning Ruby.
"Funny." Ruby chuckled, Pyrrha biting her lip to hide her grin.
...
Eventually the day came to a close, and as the two teams of RWB and JNPR finished their dinners, they returned to their respected dorms and gathered a few supplies for a fun weekend. Their goal? To cheer Yang Xiao Long up. The poor girl had suffered a horrific injury, and in such was stuck at home, and incredibly miserable. She needed her friends, whether she admitted it or not. So that's what they'd do, go home with Ruby and be there, even if it took all weekend.
Ren tucked a sleeping bag into his bag, followed by a handful of sundries. Nora did the same, reaching for her plushy sloth on her bed. Ren huffed.
"Nora. Can't Captain snuggle bubble stay here?" Ren asked. The look Nora shot at him said otherwise. Her eyes watered and she hugged the sloth tightly. "Never mind."
"Damn right never mind." Nora mumbled, tucking the sloth into her backpack. The orange haired girl looked up at Jaune, as he pushed his own sleeping bag into his duffel bag. "Hey, Jauney?!"
"Yes Nora?" Jaune chuckled at her always cheerfulness.
"I'm a bit...nervous about this. Seeing Yang again is...well...I-I dunno, just-"
"We feel the exact same way, Nora. She lost her arm, and that's gonna be a hard thing to get used to. But, what's hard for us is a thousand times harder for her. We just gotta be there." Jaune squeezed her shoulder. "Whether the hard head wants us there or not."
"She'll cheer up when she sees us all, I'm sure of it." Pyrrha added as she threw Jaune his toothbrush from the bathroom doorway. He caught it, murmuring thanks, before tucking it in his bag. "Jaune, I wanted to take my pillow but I don't have any room in my bag, can I please put it in yours, i-if there's room of course!" Pyrrha stammered nervously.
"Yeah, course. Pass it here." he held his hand out. Pyrrha smiled and grabbed it, walking over to give it to him. Instead she bent down to place it in his bag, their faces very close together. They both looked up into one another's eyes, noses almost touching. Jaune breathed out, hot on her lips, and Pyrrha swallowed. She closed her eyes, as did he and closed the distance without thinking, until he grit his teeth and tore himself away, Pyrrha sighing and nodding to herself, standing up straight to flatten out her skirt.
"I'm umm...just going to get changed." Pyrrha exhaled loudly, grabbing a handful of clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. Ren and Nora huffed as soon as the door locked, magenta and turquoise eyes locking on Jaune.
"What're you two doing?" Nora raised her brow.
"Not talking about it." Jaune shook his head. "Tired of talking about it."
"Okay." Ren nodded, Nora biting her lip with a sigh. "So...it will be good to see Yang again. Gods know it's been different without her."
"I miss her puns, and I never thought I'd say that!" Nora exclaimed in her usual loud and exaggerated voice. Ren nodded somberly, looking up at Jaune as he worried his lip with his teeth, flexing his fingers in thought, eyes darting to the bathroom door and then back to his lap.
"Jaune..."
"Mmm?"
"You and Pyrrha. You need some time to yourselves. To just...talk. We'll be at Taiyang's all weekend. I think that you and Pyrrha should take an evening to go into Patch's town square. Just the two of you. Talk."
"Ren I appreciate the thought, but-
Ren stood up and paced up to him, eyes flaming with magenta anger. He shoved a handful of Jaune's sundries into his chest, Jaune dropping his bag to catch them all.
"Talk." He snapped, pacing back over to Nora. Jaune sighed and went to stick the items in his bag. As soon as he unzipped the bag and bent down to place everything in there around Pyrrha's pillow, her scent wafted up off of the plushy fabric. His heart ached at the smell and he quickly shut the bag, groaning into his hand. Ren was right. They needed to talk. Find out where they stood, and more importantly what they definitely both wanted.
The bathroom door opened and Pyrrha stepped out, wearing figure hugging black jeans, knee high lace up boots, and a baby blue off the shoulder top, that clung to her buxom chest and then hung loosely around the rest of her frame. She pulled on a warm beige suede jacket and tied the belt around the middle, sighing contently.
"Are we all ready to go?" she asked, picking up her bag.
"I think so, right guys?" Jaune smiled as Ren and Nora stood up. Everyone happily in their casual clothes, they grabbed their coats and made their way out into the hall. Ruby was already in the hall, frowning.
"Ruby? What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked as Jaune shut the door to their room with a click. Ruby shrugged and thumbed over her shoulder at the door.
"Weiss." she grumbled. They peered inside and saw the bossy Schnee carrying several bags.
"Err, Weiss? It's two days." Jaune chuckled.
"Yes but three nights." Weiss held up her finger. It was true, they'd be staying from Friday till Monday morning. Oobleck's class didn't properly resume until Tuesday, so up till then their days had all been study time, Combat practice and recuperation. "And you can never be over prepared."
"You can! You can you can you can!" Ruby yelled, Weiss wincing. She went to retort, but Ruby yelled again. "Can!"
Blake stepped out into the hall, panting, clutching her bag to her chest. "I don't know if I can do this." Everyone looked to the incredibly nervous Faunus. "Y-You're gonna have to go without me, I'm sorry!" Blake went to shut the door but Ruby and Jaune stopped it with their hands.
"Hey hey, whoa, hold on Blake!" Jaune called, Ruby pushing the door open as Blake staggered back, hyperventilating and tugging her cat ears. "What's going on?" Jaune asked softly. Blake panted and licked her lips.
"I'm scared, okay?" Blake whispered. "I haven't seen her since she lost her arm, and I'm scared because it's my fault!"
"No it's not, it was that...Adam guy." Jaune huffed.
"Believe me Jaune, that's why it's my fault."
"Oh it's your fault, it's my fault, it's everyone's fault, who cares?!" Weiss snapped. Everyone looked at her in shock. "It doesn't matter, and Yang isn't going to care, because right now she's dealing with her injury, not who to blame. So...be there, like we're all being there for each other, right?" Weiss looked around at the group. Everyone smiled and nodded.
"Right." Ren beamed. Blake bit her lip, and looked at her hands as Ruby took them gently.
"Please, Blake. I'm her sister, but...you're her partner...her best friend." Ruby pleaded. Blake's eyes widened and a new fire burned in her heart. She firmed her lip and gave a nod.
"O-Okay...okay." Blake blew out a steely breath and nodded to herself, more than anyone else. "Let's go before I change my mind." she scoffed at herself. It wasn't a threat, more an attack at herself and her struggle to deal with emotional stress. Ruby smiled and hugged the Faunus girl.
"Thanks Blake." Ruby whispered. Blake, taken back by the affection, wrapped her arms around the Rose, sighing contently at being cared for, at being home.
...
The stars twinkled in the black abyss above, like glitter thrown over black silk. The shattered moon cast a bright white glow across the land of Patch, like a broken panel of ice, floating on a sea of oil, the cracked segments of the moon all bobbing around the crescent of white.
Ruby smiled with relief as their walk down the long winding dirt path came to end amidst the edge of the woodland, a small warming house sat in the clearing. The windows were lit up warm amber, and a rising column of smoke left the tall chimney stack.
"Why couldn't the airship docks be closer!" Nora whined as she shuffled tiredly behind Ren. Her eyes pert up the moment she saw the house. "Yay! We made it!"
"Okay, so, like a surprise party, right?" Ruby whispered at them all. "I'll go in, make sure she's in her room, then you guys come in. Then...we surprise her!"
"Good plan!" Jaune thumbs upped her, grinning. Pyrrha smiled as the rose shot off in a spray of petals, before letting her gaze fall to Jaune, and her smile falter to a longing frown.
Ruby knocked on the door, and not long after did the door open to her father, Taiyang, standing there, hands drying into a tea-towel. He smiled brightly and wrapped his still damp hands around her back, hugging her tight.
"Ruby! Hey sweetheart!" He smiled. "Oh, I missed you."
"It's only been a week Dad." she laughed. Taiyang pulled back and looked at her with knowing eyes. Ruby shrunk under his gaze. "O-Oh yeah...you don't have to worry though! Everything's fine at school." Ruby looked around her dad, then pulled back to look at him. "Is Yang in her room?"
"Hasn't left it." Tai sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. "She...She's not as sunny as she used to be."
"Well, I might be able to change that." Ruby beamed, before waving at the distant path. "Come on, guys!"
Tai looked up with confusion knitted eyebrows. Soon six teenagers were stood behind Ruby, beaming at him.
"Hello sir." Ren smiled. "We've come to cheer up our friend."
Tai grinned and his eyes fell to Ruby, smirking. "I take it this was your idea?"
Ruby shrugged. "Kinda. Come on guys." Ruby stepped around her Dad as he motioned aside to let them all in. They all kicked off their dirty shoes at the door and shucked coats off, hanging them up, with a thank you to Tai as he smiled at them.
He ran his hands through his blonde locks and nodded up the stairs. "You know where her room is." Ruby beamed at her Dad and shot up the stairs like lightning. "Now, who wants a drink?" Tai smiled to his new roommates for the weekend.
"I'll help, sir." Ren said, stepping forward, clearing his throat. "Nora will have tea with five sugars - make it three, she doesn't notice the difference." he whispered in Tai's ear, the man nodding with wide eyes.
"Whoa whoa, should I be writing all this down?" Tai chuckled as Ren carried on.
Meanwhile upstairs, Ruby crept up to the door marked "Yang's room." She blew out a breath and knocked.
"Go away." Was the response. So, this is what Dad's been dealing with, Ruby thought with a sigh. She knocked again and the same response greeted her, albeit angrier. Ruby groaned and opened the door, peering in as Yang stared out the window, her reflection a somber one. The bandage around her stump was lighter colored, having recently been changed and redressed. She turned her head and saw Ruby, her eyes widening minutely.
"Ruby?"
"Hey sis!" Ruby beamed, stepping in to shuffle her feet bashfully, arms behind her back. "Thought I'd come home this weekend and say hi."
"Oh...well, hi, I guess." Yang mumbled, looking back out the window. Ruby cleared her throat.
"So er...whatcha been doing?" Ruby asked, as Yang scoffed.
"Well I haven't been playing guitar if that's what you're wondering." Yang snapped. Ruby frowned.
"Yang, I-"
"Ruby, I appreciate you being here, but...just...please leave me alone." Yang sighed, practically begged with her wavering voice. Ruby stepped back and looked into the hall, at the six other friends all stood holding hot mugs of cocoa and tea. Ruby grinned and played the part.
"Oh, okay...well...I guess you won't wanna see what I brought." Ruby sighed exaggeratedly. Yang looked up, lilac eyes knitted in confusion.
"W-What'd you bring?"
"Oh you know, I brought some juniper. I could only pick four of them though." Ruby spoke.
"You know I don't like juniper berries." Yang huffed.
"Oh, and I also brought..." Yang looked up as Ruby flung the door open, both teams stepping into the room. "RWBY too!"
"HEY YANG!" Everyone cheered.
"Ah! Wh-What, what're you all doing here! I-I'm not fit to be seen, er, hang on-" Yang reached across her bed, tugging a box of tissues under her blanket and a TV remote. The teams laughed as Blake stepped forward, kneeling beside her bed. Yang snapped her eyes onto Blake's, and the lilac infused with gold. Blake smiled and handed Yang the handle of a cup of cocoa. Yang took it in her only hand and stammered.
"Hey Partner." Blake breathed tearfully. Yang set the cup down and wrapped her arm around her partner, Blake wrapping hers around Yang, tightly holding the blonde as she sobbed, Blake tearing up too.
"I'm so sorry." Blake breathed, as Yang's hand went up the back of Blake's head to stroke down over her cat ears.
"D-Don't be." Yang sniffled, eyes watering down her cheeks. "It wasn't your fault."
Blake smiled into Yang's hair as she hugged her friend. To hear the subject of her woes say that it wasn't her fault helped relieve her guilt in magnitudes. The nerves she'd felt hammering her heart for the last day leading up to this moment had stopped, as two best friends reunited. The others all smiled and huddled around, as Yang looked up and wiped her eyes, beaming for the first time in weeks.
"Y-You guys, you didn't have to."
"We know. But we love you, buddy." Jaune smiled, wrapping his arms around Yang, hugging her tightly. "Besides, us blondes gotta stick together, right?"
"R-Right." Yang chuckled. He pulled back and was replaced by Pyrrha, then Nora, Ren and finally Weiss. Each hug warmed her in different ways, all of which were gentle waves of tingling sensitivity she hadn't felt since she'd lost her arm and been sent home. Her friends had made her feel again.
So here they all sat, JNPR and the finally complete RWBY on the floor of Yang's room, in a circle. Cups of half drank lukewarm cocoa sat by their hips, as Yang pulled on some grey sweatpants over her sleep pants. She sat next to Ruby and kissed her sister's hair quickly.
"Thanks, sis." Yang murmured, rubbing the stump of her arm. Jaune hugged his knees and rested his chin on his wrists, working up the courage to ask.
"Hey Yang?"
"Mmm?" Yang looked up at him, smiling lightly.
"Are..." He swallowed. "Gonna sound stupid, but...does it hurt?" Jaune rubbed his cheek nervously. Yang shrugged and looked at her stump.
"A bit, worse at times. The phantom limb pain sucks though." Yang huffed. Jaune smiled softly across to her.
"Totally badass though." Jaune grinned, nervous of her reaction. Yang, to the golden haired girl's credit, just chuckled lightly at him.
"Thanks, Jaune." Yang smiled. "So err, Blakey?"
"Yeah?" Blake looked up at the brawler.
"How's things with Sun?" Yang grinned, and everyone smiled brightly at the brawler and her teasing nature slowly coming back. "You tied tails yet?"
"W-What does that even mean?" Blake chuckled, smiling at the blonde. Yang shrugged and laughed lightly as she dropped her hand into her lap, fiddling with the drawstrings. "Being with friends...sigh...this is perfect." Blake sighed with an uncharacteristically large smile on her face as she leaned back against the wall, purring.
"Oh my god, you purr?!" Yang squealed excitedly, lilac eyes widening. Nora gasped and squealed into her hands, eyes wide with glee.
"That is so...cute!" Ruby and Nora screamed at once. Blake's eyes widened and her smile vanished in shock. Her cheeks went red and she hid her face behind her mug.
"Guys, stop." Blake whined.
"That was adorable though." Pyrrha smiled, a hand on her chest. Jaune smiled at the friends conversing, repairing one another piece by piece. Blake fidgeted and looked at Yang.
"Hey, umm...Yang?"
"Uh huh?" Yang looked up at her with a small smile.
"H-have you thought about...going back to school?" Blake asked hesitantly. Yang sighed heavily and shook her head.
"I...I can't. I mean, how can I? Look at me, Blake. I'm missing one of my weapons, pretty much." Yang huffed. "Besides...i-it still hurts and stuff...I-I dunno! I want to, of course I do, but..."
"We miss you." Weiss said, and all eyes landed on the Heiress as she ran a finger over the rim of her cup. Her dimming eyes lifted to Yang's. "We really miss you. It just...isn't the same without your puns, or teasing...or just you in general."
"Yeah...you don't realize how important you are to us, hell the whole school!" Nora exclaimed brightly, Blake nodding beside her. Yang smiled lightly at the praise and blew out a breath, looking up at the long silver box on her desk, a gift from Ironwood. "I'll think about it, okay? C-Can we talk about something else now?" Yang asked with a croak.
"Yes...err...w-what did you want to talk about?" Weiss cocked her head, hugging her knees. Yang shrugged.
"What's new with all of you? How have you been...you know, coping?" Yang shrunk her head into her shoulders, gauging their reactions. Smiles fell, looking bashfully at one another. Pyrrha's eyes nervously met Jaune's, both gulping and fidgeting. Weiss cleared her throat, snapping her fingers together with wide eyes.
"We met Neptune's older sister!" Weiss beamed, everyone else mirroring her expression. Yang raised a brow at them.
"He has a sister? Is she...you know..." Yang swirled a hand. "...is she hot?"
"Another example of the Vasilias family being able to make ridiculously cool, good looking people? Yeah. Beauty incarnate." Jaune shrugged, voice tinged with jealousy, Pyrrha snorting into her palm, much to his glee as he smiled at her.
"She's staying at Beacon for the next week or two. She's sharing a room with my sister." Weiss smiled. Yang's eyes widened.
"No way, your sis is there?"
"Yeah. She's helping out Goodwitch." Weiss sobered and frowned. "Which brings us to our first problem returning to school. Bullies."
"No." Yang frowned. "You are kidding me, right? Seriously?" Yang's eyes swirled red for a split second between winks. Weiss huffed and thumbed to Pyrrha.
"This...Ickford Dunce, he keeps picking on Pyrrha. Blaming her for what happened at the Tournament." Weiss huffed. Yang gaped, before clenching her dentures.
"Oooh, that...JERK!" She thumped her fist into her thigh. "Pyrrha, are you okay?"
"He's picked on Weiss, too." Nora added, Ren nodding. Yang frowned, before snapping her eyes to Blake and her lack of bow and ribbon. The broken brawler's eyes watered slightly as she shook her head, mouthing "No", praying that he wasn't a Faunus xenophobe. Blake caught on to her reaction and smiled, leaning over to stroke her thumb over her hand.
"He hasn't picked on me, or Ruby. Just Weiss and Pyrrha. He hates the Schnee's for some reason...and really hates Pyrrha." Blake's ears lowered. Yang stood up, growling.
"Ooh, tell me where he is, I'll-" She awoke to the present, and became aware of her current state when she went to thump fists together, and almost punched her upper arm, no fist to meet the other. She sighed and sat down, cross legged and looking at her lap with a broken, solemn expression. The other's all shared worried looks, before Ruby tried desperately to change the subject.
"I know what we can do! We errr...we caaaaaan..." Ruby looked around the room, when her eyes landed on a deck of cards. "We can play a game!"
"Ruby!" Weiss whined. The Rose got up and grabbed the pack of cards, stopping to glance at the silver rectangular box on the desk. She bit her lip and went to ask, but decided better of it for now, returning to her friends.
As Ruby began to slide cards to each player, Jaune saddled up to Pyrrha, the red head hugging her knees to her chest. He nudged her softly and she snapped her eyes to his.
"Jaune?" she asked softly. He worried his lip and leaned to her ear.
"We need to talk...A-About some stuff."
"What stuff?" She asked innocently. Jaune gave her a knowing look with a frown and she sighed. "Right. Of course."
"I want us to have a bit of privacy for this, and...well Ren had the idea that we walk into the small village back by the docks. We'll grab a coffee and have a talk, okay?" He asked softly and she couldn't help but smile at his idea and soft tones.
"O-Okay..." She reluctantly nodded. She was scared. This was it. The inevitable conversation of how he couldn't see her romantically anymore. Jaune gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze and stood up, flattening out the creases in his jeans. All eyes of the card game players looked up at him.
"So umm, Pyrrha and I are just gonna take a walk into that small village down the road. We won't be long." Jaune swallowed thickly.
"We'll come with you, right Yang-"
"No!" Jaune said, coughing into his fist at Ruby's confused look. "No, it's just..."
"Jaune and I have a lot to talk about, don't we?" Pyrrha said with a sad smile, Jaune nodding to his shoes. The group all exchanged looks.
"Okay, well...don't be long." Ruby huffed, turning back to her cards. Yang looked at Pyrrha and gave a small smile, along with a wink. Basically the brawlers soft side, saying "Don't worry, it'll be okay."
Pyrrha smiled to her and grabbed her coat, pulling it on and tying the belt around the middle as Jaune tugged his black coat on too.
"We won't be long. You guys want anything while we're there?" Jaune asked.
"Err...Gummy worms!" Nora exclaimed brightly, Yang nodding in agreement.
"Cookies!" Ruby cried.
"Gums and cookies, got it. See you in a bit." Jaune opened the door, letting Pyrrha walk out first. Jaune looked over his shoulder at Ren, who gave a small smile to him and a gentle nod. Jaune meekly smiled and shut the door behind him. They had to have this conversation. Now? now, there was no going back.
...
Rouge sat in the JSPR Dorm room, looking at the scroll in her hand, scanning the display on screen. It ranged from a collection of numbers, squad Aura levels, and text conversations between squad mates. That sort of information was invaluable - and dangerous in the wrong hands - what with dates and times and even GPS tracking on fellow squad mates. Weiss Schnee should really be more careful, and remember not to leave her scroll unattended.
Rouge grinned maniacally at the copied information now stored in her scroll. She got up and paced out of the room, locking the door with a click. Funneling down the nighttime corridors of Beacon's Dormitory block, she finally met the door she was after.
RWBY's Dorm room. She grinned and scanned her scroll, the copied code from Weiss' scroll easily unlocking the door with a click. Gingerly she opened the door to the dark and empty room, shutting the door behind her and sealing herself into the room. A manic grin spread over her lips.
Her wig was itching like fire ants gnawing at flesh. With no audience in an empty dark room, she shucked it off, pealing the fake locks off, swishing her pink and brown tresses back and forth, cascading down her shoulders to frame her pale face. Rouge colored eyes flickered within a blink. Heterochromia eyes scanned the room, one pink and the other brown.
With a satisfied smirk, the short girl approached the wardrobe, opening it and grinning, taking out one of Weiss' frilly white dresses. She looked at the full height mirror, squinting and comparing her height and the length of the dress. She smirked, satisfied, before taking out a matching pair of shoes, and a crown-like hair ornament. She hefted the clothes up and folded them under her arm, before setting the room back to normal and almost gearing to leave. She paused, looking back at the beds.
The make-shift bunk beds made her raise a brow, before she saw the bed in question. Ruby's. It was obvious, so obvious, what with the picture on her bedside table, propped up against the windowsill. She picked up the picture, frowning at the red rose, the girl in question smiling brightly between the Faunus, the yellow haired aggressor and frost haired Heiress. She set the picture back down, fighting the tensing urge to crumple it up, maybe tear it.
With a final sneer, she picked up and reset the wig, eyes blinking back to rouge. She turned and left the room, one of Weiss' outfits under arm. Her plan was so close to coming to fruition...
Author's Notes: So yeah, another chapter. Not brilliant, I know. I struggle with proof reading chapters this long, so if there are any mistakes hidden, I'm sorry I missed them. I must've reread every bloody line nine times. Nightmare haha. Please remember to review, I always love to hear your feedback, it helps and encourages me to write all the more! Right, Review begging over, I'll see you next time! - Dave