Chapter 8
Laying the Sun to Rest
α
"It's the last rose of summer and all her company is gone…"
The words met the ether and danced toneless into the cloudy sky. Raindrops fell with unbroken constancy, cold and harsh and dour. They fought those words, those whispers from trembling lips, but lost out in the end. The words passed through unscathed and made for the heavens, their speaker left behind with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"No flower like her, no rosebud left behind. But I won't leave you, wilted yellow rose. I'll spread your petals across the world of my heart."
She took a deep breath, stretching her chest. It felt so very tight. The ocean scent came in and settled. It tickled her nose and poked at her mind, but elicited no response aside from a scant few more tears. The tears were almost constant now. They had been the whole week, just like the cold rain, since she said goodbye. Not a final goodbye, only the last she knew was heard.
She hoped it was, at least.
"Oh no, I won't leave you there alone on your wilted stem…" She said, loosing another whimper into the salty ether.
Footsteps sounded off behind her. They were soft and slow, almost cautious, but they could be heard over the downpour. Heels clicking softly on wetted concrete. A presence approached with them, one that had grown familiar to her. Very familiar, and very welcome too. Now, perhaps, more than ever.
"Thus kindly I scatter thy leaves o'er the bed, where thy mates of the garden lie scentless and dead."
Ruby didn't turn to look. She knew the voice and the presence with it. More than that, she didn't want the woman to see her. So much, so very much, had come to pass. She did not want Weiss to see her reddened eyes or splotchy cheeks. Ruby didn't know why, only that she did not want her to see.
"You have a good memory for pretty things, don't you?" Ruby said. She lifted her gaze heavenward with vague hope the rain would wash the tears away. It did, and the cool touch of the sky-water felt wonderful on her flushed face.
"I don't think it's all that pretty." Weiss said, coming to stand beside Ruby, "The man was talking about a dead lover. It's more sad than anything…"
Ruby looked down and turned to Weiss. Sore sight be damned, she wanted to look her friend in the eye. She still had no love for the thought of being seen, but it mattered little and less.
"Saying goodbye to those you love can be very beautiful." Ruby said, "It's your last words to them, even if they don't hear it. Why can't that be pretty?"
Weiss looked into the silver eyes before her. She searched them for the meaning under the words, noting only in passing their redness. Whatever she hoped to see was not there. All in all her effort was wasted.
"The airship leaves in ten minutes." Weiss said with a sigh. She let go of trying to read her partner, at least for the moment.
Ruby looked back to the waters beyond her vantage and the heiress left her side. She could not see the waters, hidden as they were by the deluge, but she looked all the same. It struck her as odd exactly how similar the sight was to a place she so often visited. Both in aesthetic as well as feel.
She stood there for a few minutes more before departing. The bag of luggage she toted behind her had soaked up enough rain to be nearly twice its weight, surely ruining a few of her belongings. Ruby didn't care, nor did she even think about this. She simply sauntered off for the airship landing with her eyes on the ground and her mind in another place.
Another place that overlooked the sea, where there lay an all too familiar stone marker.
Ђ
Weiss awoke to the faint tapping of rain against glass. It amazed her that the sound could still rouse her. The weather had been the same for almost ten days now, letting up only a few times. Even then it wasn't for long.
She sat up in her bed and stretched. Sleeping in a hotel of any less than four stars was still new to her, and had ravaged her equilibrium. The unfamiliar sheets, the distinctly economy feel of the bedding, the cheapness of the air—none of it sat well with her, not at all.
Yet, she found herself loathe to take issue with it. It was off putting and irritating, but she couldn't seem to get truly angry or indignant.
A brief look around the room told her two things. First was that she couldn't tell what time it was, as the overcast skies ensured scarcely little light. Second was that she couldn't see the cheapness of Patch's finest hotel room, a miracle of no small welcome, for the exact same reason.
The heiress stood from the bed and made another round of stretching, this time for her back. She finished and was about to be off for the bathroom when the faintest whisper of a snore caught her ear. Weiss turned around and looked to the other bed. There she saw the silhouette of Ruby, curled up and clutching tightly to her pillow.
With that sight, Weiss remembered why she couldn't get mad over the less than ideal accommodations. It was for her that she was doing this. At some point, the heiress had set herself second to another person. A most egregious act to the old Weiss Schnee, one the new found more acceptable.
Weiss sighed and went on about her morning business. She hoped it was morning, at least.
When the heiress finally emerged from the bathroom a half-hour later, Ruby was awake and the lights were on. She returned to the sight of the hotel in its full glory—or lack thereof—along with that of her partner, sitting up in bed, head propped against the backboard with her pillow. The woman looked just as off and dour today as she had when they left Vacuo. Little surprise, all things considered.
Weiss crossed the room, still drying her hair with a plain white towel, and took a seat on her own bed. She looked to the television her partner had turned on. It was presently tuned to the news—the weather, to be specific. Strangely, it seemed Ruby was keen to watch it muted.
"More rain, huh?" Weiss said, patting her locks with the towel.
Ruby shifted, hugged her knees to her chest and sighed.
"Think the funeral's gonna get rained out?" She said.
"Let's hope not." Weiss replied, "The sooner this is all over with, the better."
She stood and walked over to her suitcase. It stood beside a dresser of exceedingly low-quality wood. Weiss lifted the thing and set it on the dresser before opening it and removing her desired outfit. A simple choice—indistinct t-shirt and unassuming slacks, both black, along with her usual coat. With these draped over her arm, the heiress turned back for the bathroom. She was nearly there when she stopped and looked back to Ruby.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the profile of a woman she almost did not know. Same raven tresses, same silver eyes, same everything except for her demeanor. Something seemed lost and the heiress knew it. She knew it well...
Weiss sighed, deep and mournful, and said, "You know Ruby, you can talk to me about it."
The woman only shrugged in reply, so Weiss left it at that. Towel clutched loosely in her hand, she entered the bathroom and shut the door.
Ђ
The whole of Patch felt eerily consumed by the malaise that came with the rain. It was as if some force had gripped the very atmosphere all around, choking those within in its hold. Colors were dimmer and people appeared to have less life to them. Even the bright lights of the few cars passing by looked lusterless and hollow.
Weiss sighed. The umbrella she held for her and her partner was growing heavy, though she would never admit this. Ruby would surely take it if she asked, but she would not. They had only a little further to go now.
"So, what kind of a guy is your Dad?" Weiss said, trying for anything to break the ominous silence.
"A nice guy." Ruby said.
Again, Weiss sighed. Every question she asked lately was met with this. A succinct, flat response—devoid of any real want for conversation. It was starting to get to her.
"Did he sound like he was doing well when you talked to him?" Weiss tried again.
"Uh huh…" Ruby groaned her reply.
No luck, the heiress realized, and likely no point. Grieving was a long and arduous process. Perhaps she could get over such things well enough, having had little familial closeness for quite some time, but it felt like her partner could not. She hoped she was wrong, but doubted more and more that Ruby would be alright.
Their walk remained silent the rest of the way until they reached a café. Its red brick façade would have been warm and welcoming under other circumstances. In the gloomy rain, it looked like little more than another dull and lifeless shell—no different from every other building they passed.
Once they were under the green awning out front, Weiss opened the door for Ruby and both entered. It was bustling inside, but everyone looked like they had little going on. Coffee steamed and newspapers shuffled—lit warmly by the incandescent light overhead—but none appeared interested in much of anything.
Ruby looked around for a moment before heading off to a table by the window. Before following, Weiss wondered if the woman's preference for such seating was somehow ingrained.
At the table sat a man somewhere in his early forties, by Weiss's guess. Blonde hair and lavender eyes with somewhat of a strong chin. It was obvious at a glance that he had not touched a razor all week—the stubble on his face was well on its way to becoming a beard. The dishevelment of his clothes spoke volumes of how he must feel.
"Hey Rubes!" The man said, standing from his seat before either woman could take theirs. He put on a forced smile as he spoke. Not entirely forced most likely, based on how he swept Ruby into a tight hug, but enough for Weiss to pick up on.
"Hey Dad." Ruby said. She patted the man's back as if it were only a friendly hug.
"It's good to see you." He said after letting her go, "How are you holdin up?"
Ruby ignored him and Weiss nearly called her out for acting so. She didn't assume to know the woman quite as much as a close friend, but this was certainly not how the heiress had thought she would act around her own father. She didn't say anything in the end, only sat down to the table after Ruby.
The man's face briefly showed his hurt, but the expression was replaced with another forced smile at once. He sat back down and flagged a waitress over.
"I'll have a decaf with two sugars." He told the woman after she asked for their orders.
"Atlesian Blend, no sugar." Weiss said when the woman looked her way.
The waitress looked to Ruby, but got no response.
"And you, Ma'am?" She said with a friendly grin. Still nothing from Ruby.
"She's making up her mind." Weiss said, "I'm sure she'll think of something here in a minute."
Weiss flashed the waitress her own little grin and hoped it didn't look as wrong as it felt. The woman seemed nonplussed. After she left, Weiss turned to Ruby.
The grey and gloom outside the window looked to have the woman's attention. Her eyes appeared glued to something out there that only she could see. They stared, unmoving and unblinking.
"Did the doctors tell you anything, Ruby?" The man said, pulling Weiss's attention away from Ruby's silent vigil.
"Nothing they didn't tell you." Ruby replied, "Just said her heart gave out on her. No idea what could have caused it."
They sat in silence for a while after that. Silence, that is, aside from the constant patter of the rain. No bustling conversation, no shuffling commotion from the other patrons. Only that rhythmic patter until the waitress returned with their orders.
The woman sat them down on the table, flashed a smile and said, "Enjoy!" before heading off to her other duties.
Weiss looked into the blackness of her cup. Its roiling surface smelled divine, as Atlesian ever did to her discerning palate, but it did not appeal to her. She had no inclination to drink it—despite the beverage being her favorite. Another look to her right told her why, though she knew without doing so.
Ruby's empty stare into the ether.
"I want to bury her next to Mom." The man said, breaking the silence.
"Sounds about right." Ruby replied. If it elicited any emotion in her to hear that, Weiss couldn't tell.
"I'm so sorry, I haven't introduced myself!" The man blurted.
Weiss looked back to him and saw a hand extended to her. Looking up from the hand, she saw a smile that could only be hereditary. The same earnest, heartfelt smile that Ruby had given her in that alley. She wanted to puke for some reason, but took hold of the hand and shook it instead.
"I'm Taiyang." He said with a vigorous grip and shake, "Ruby's old man. And you must be Weiss, right?"
"Weiss Schnee of the Schnee Du—" Weiss began, returning the vigorous shake, before stopping herself abruptly, "I mean, yes. Weiss Schnee. Pleased to meet you, Taiyang."
The man smiled a little wider.
"Tai's just fine, Weiss. You've been good to my Rubes, so you're ok in my book."
Their handshake over, both took their seats again and resumed staring at their drinks. Neither moved to touch the steaming cups, neither spoke another word. Once again, the patter of the rain took its place as the only sound and Weiss's mind returned to fretting.
"When's she gonna get here?" Ruby said.
"Should be any minute now." Taiyang replied with a worried look.
"Did she say anything else to you, Taiyang?" Weiss said before finally touching her coffee. She didn't lift it off the saucer, only wrapped aa single finger around the handle.
"I assume your question means you got the same vague message?"
"Meet me at your sister's favorite café." Ruby said, repeating the text she had gotten on her scroll that morning.
"That's about it." Taiyang said, picking up his coffee and taking a sip. If the scalding-hot ichor hurt, he didn't show.
Weiss was going to offer her own thoughts when the sound of a bell stopped her. It was quiet enough, but in the odd atmosphere of the café it carried distinct and sharp. Much more so than it should have. All three turned to look. Taiyang and Weiss with actual interest, Ruby with only passing curiosity. The faunus that entered was one that only Taiyang knew with any real familiarity.
Her eyes were about the liveliest thing Weiss had seen all day—piercing, golden and keen. They flicked to the trio immediately. The woman was soaked to the bone—she had either forgotten or not cared enough to bring an umbrella—but did not appear to mind the cool air in the building. She approached quickly, pulled a seat from a nearby table and joined them.
Weiss was briefly unsettled by being so close to a faunus, but pushed the emotion away.
"I'm glad you guys came." She said.
"It's good to see you, Blake." Taiyang said, holding out a small menu to her, "Wanna order a drink first?"
Blake looked to the little booklet, then back to him. The grave expression on her face said all that needed saying, and he retracted the offered menu. Blake then sighed and slid a simple backpack—a small, compact thing she'd had for some years—from her back and set it on the table. She unzipped it and pulled something out.
Something red and tightly wrapped up with a piece of twine.
"Before I say what I need to…" Blake said, casting a quick look to Ruby, "Yang wanted her sister to have this if she… if anything ever happened."
Ruby was finally pulled away from whatever fascinated her outside the window. She had looked back into the grey after Blake's initial entrance, but now turned and focused on the faunus—more so on the red thing being held out to her.
"Yang wanted you to have this, Ruby." Blake repeated herself, inching the thing closer.
Ruby reached out and wrapped one shaking hand around it. She brought it close to herself as though it were some captivating treasure. Her silver eyes watered up and a few tears fell freely, running down her cheek and dripping onto the red fabric in her hand.
"What happened to my sister…" Ruby whispered, not quite asking, as she placed the thing on her lap, "What killed Yang?"
Weiss and Taiyang held their breath. Both wanted the answer as well, but neither dared to push for it. The push was on Ruby's end and the ball was in Blake's court.
"I'm sorry I ran off at the hospital." Blake said, "But there's a lot to tell. A lot going on. I wasn't in a good spot that day—I'm still not, but I'm better now."
Blake raised her hand and flagged the waitress. She gave off a powerful presence by merely being there. Perhaps it was the sort of celebrity factor carried by such a well-known huntress. Whatever it was, it worked a charm and the waitress popped up immediately.
"Can I get you something, Ma'am?" She said, notepad and pen in hand.
"Whatever the Princess is having. No sugar, lots of milk." Blake said, glancing at Weiss.
The heiress's blood began to boil a bit, but she pushed the comment aside. She could already tell she didn't like this faunus much—she didn't like faunus in general—but had other concerns on her plate. With a brusque clearing of her throat, she looked away and ignored it.
"Right away." The waitress said and was off again.
Weiss took another sip of her coffee while Blake began to rummage around in her backpack again. She let her mind wander to other places while the beverage teased her palate. Back to the University and what was beginning to feel like a different life. Back to the elite society and high lifestyle she had once thought would be impossible to let go of. Back to her muster class, where she had met the woman she now cared enough for to be second to.
Lastly, her mind turned to the woman that was nearly a spitting image of herself. The white hair, the icy-blue eyes, and the powerful mien were conjured into her mind's eye when a buzzing started in one of her pockets. The ring came shortly after and Weiss was feeling around for it in the next moment. She found it quickly enough and flipped it open.
'Winter' flashed across the display as the scroll continued to ring.
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"Excuse me, I have to take this." Weiss said before standing up from the table. In her hurry to leave and answer the call in private, she almost knocked over the table and fully ignored her present company.
Ruby watched her go with a blank stare while Taiyang showed a sense of curiosity in his eyes. Blake watched as though it were something she had expected, and in a way it was. The high and mighty have little need for manners around their lessers, as she believed.
None of this was either felt or seen by Weiss. She exited the café and took a spot as far from the door as she could while staying under the awning. The rain had picked up in its intensity, but was not yet blowing sideways. With any luck it would stay that way long enough for her call.
She clicked the answer button as quick as she could—just after the fourth ring—and placed it to her ear. With a hiss of dissatisfaction and disappointment, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Weiss." Winter's voice answered back with poorly hidden ire. The heiress knew she had messed up but hoped she could play it off.
"How are things, sister?" She said, trying to sound sincere.
"You said one week." Winter replied, "It's been two now. Where are you?"
"I know what I said." Weiss agreed, "Something's come up though. I'm going to need another week or two…"
There was a pause and Weiss could've sworn she heard a fatigued sigh. After this came only silence. A minute passed and she began to worry when a chill ran up her spine, raising gooseflesh all along her arms and neck. She wrote it off to the wind.
"This isn't like you, Weiss." Winter said, breaking the silence.
"What's not like me?" Weiss replied, almost indignant, when another chill ran through her. The thought she might be getting sick was brief and ignored.
"Your grades are going to suffer if you miss this much time." Winter said after another sigh, "Father won't be happy and neither will I. Now tell me, Weiss—what is so important you'd take all this time off?"
The words stung. It wasn't as though they were untrue—quite the opposite, in fact. This was going to hurt her grades, piss off her father and sister as well as look bad on her. Only those without drive would find a reason to push studies or work aside. She had drive, much and more, and was not one of them. She had goals and objectives and all the capability in the world to reach them, but the words still stung.
Then a pair of silver eyes zipped through her thoughts, and she remembered. A deep breath, a slow exhale and one quick image gave her all she needed to answer. With gusto and with honesty.
"My friend's sister died." Weiss said, sounding different even to her own ears, "I'm acting as support for her. The funeral is tomorrow and we'll probably be another week out before our return."
"You have a friend?" Winter said with little attempt to hide her surprise.
"I- uh…" Weiss stuttered, but could produce no more. The incredulity of Winter's tone, so obvious and unhidden, stunned her. More than that, the truth in her sister's shock—or the reason for it, as it were—was not lost on her.
The heiress tried a few more times but fell silent when further stutters were all she could offer. A warm feeling slid across her cheek and tickled her cool skin. She brushed it away and looked up, into the grey mass beyond the awning. It hardly looked like clouds at all. The scene in the heavens above looked like wet concrete. Something was so wrong, but she simply could not place her finger on it.
"Must be an important friend." Winter said, and Weiss's face was suddenly hot. The cool imparted by the rain left all at once.
"She is." Weiss said. She wanted to say more—probably should have said more. She did not.
There was another stretch of silence. Weiss was about to set into fretting and second-guessing herself when Winter spoke again.
"Be careful, Weiss. Don't get in over your head." This time her voice was different. In a sense it seemed warm, maybe even empathetic.
"I'll keep you up to date." Weiss said, reining in her wild thoughts, "Will you keep this between us?"
"I'll do what I can." A pause, then, "Just don't lose track of your priorities…"
What exactly were her priorities now? Was this still just her putting a friend before herself? Weiss thought so—or wanted to, at least. Things were starting to become harder to keep track of, though. Things were different and she found her self-questionings becoming more and more commonplace. And if her priorities were shifting? If things were moving around on her list of importance, was that so bad?
The answer was not yet there for her, no matter how hard she looked, and she could feel Winter growing impatient on the other end.
"I'm still a Schnee." Weiss said, hoping it was enough.
"Try not to forget that." Winter said, and the line went dead with a click.
Weiss looked at the scroll and sighed. She slid it shut, turned and walked to the café door. A cold gust of wind blew under the awning and nearly bowled her over before she could grab the door-handle. The heiress braced herself, pushed the hair from her eyes and looked into the wind. No real idea why, she simply did it.
"I am… aren't I?" She asked the howling grey, and went inside.
Ђ
Ruby watched Weiss leave. A brief pang shot through her and was gone as quick as it came. Once her friend had disappeared out the door, she turned her eyes back to the rolled up red thing on her lap. She placed it on the table and stared at the twine like it wasn't to be trusted.
"What killed her?" Ruby said again, almost demanding.
Blake's own stare was locked to the fabric in Ruby's hands. The day Yang had gotten it was still fresh in her memory. The thing was supposed to be a graduation gift for her kid sister and Yang had told her many times how proud she was for thinking of it. Ruby would absolutely love it; she had been so certain. Now, seeing the dejected woman look at it with her dead stare, Blake wondered.
When no answer came, Ruby took hold of the twine. With a shaking grip, she pulled it until the knot came undone.
"A letter?" Ruby mused once the thing had unfurled.
Indeed, there lay but two things within the red fabric. A simple letter, sealed with a cartoonish postage-stamp, and a rose-shaped pendant—it was silver and shone like a star under the incandescent light. These sat upon what appeared to be a cloak. No longer wound up tight like a scroll, it looked like a folded up cape with a hood.
"Ruby…" Taiyang said, his voice dreamy, "Unfold that and hold it up. Let me have a better look at it…"
She was fairly entranced, but Ruby did as her father asked. She took hold of the fabric and stood. Once fully unfolded, it reached to the floor and pooled at her feet. It was indeed a cloak and just as scarlet red as newly bloomed roses.
"That looks just like your Mom's." Taiyang said with a sparkle in his eye, "If it were white on the outside, I might've thought it was hers."
"Oh Yang…" Ruby muttered. She bunched the cloak up and hugged it to herself, fell into her seat and started to cry. Quiet sobs, but the force of it rocked her shoulders.
Taiyang looked away, realizing his comment was in poor taste and timing. Blake reached out for a moment as if to console the woman, but pulled her hand back just before contact. She missed Yang already—just over a week out. She couldn't imagine how her sister must feel.
"I know it probably doesn't mean much…" Blake said, "But Yang wouldn't want you mourning her. I know you need to though…"
Her own words didn't make sense, and Blake regretted saying anything at all. It came as a large relief when she heard the café door open and turned to see the heiress waltz back in. The haughty demeanor of the woman irked her—even at a glance—but she tried to pay it no mind.
Weiss crossed to them and took her seat again in silence. Her face almost looked alarmed. Blake was the only one to notice this and said nothing of it.
"Tell me now." Ruby said. Her tone was grave and demanding, something Weiss had never heard from her.
Blake looked to the woman and sighed. It was finally time to get it off her chest it seemed.
"Not here." Weiss said all of a sudden.
The heiress didn't realize she had said anything at all until she saw the others looking at her. She had already lifted her cup to have a sip of the now-cold coffee when she noticed their stares. The cup found its way back to the saucer while she looked from each pair of questioning eyes to the other.
"What?" Weiss said with no small indignation, "Did I spill some on me?"
"Why not here?" Blake said, thinking the woman was trying to pull something.
She knew the Schnee family—who didn't? This set her bar of trust and respect for the heiress low from the start, unfamiliarity notwithstanding.
"What do you mean?" Weiss demanded, and her confused tone got through to Blake.
The heiress had no clue she had said anything at all. With a sigh, Blake let it go and decided it best not to press the matter. She picked up her coffee, which the waitress had brought while Ruby was sobbing into her gifted cloak, and downed it in one go. She then stood and made for the door.
"Let's go home and talk about this, eh Rubes?" Taiyang said before Blake could exit.
Blake looked back and saw the woman's face leave the folds of her cloak. The red-streaked eyes and splotchy cheeks stung her heart to see. She had only seen Yang cry twice, and both times her face looked exactly the same. Being around Ruby was becoming less and less appetizing as the resemblances continued to crop up.
"Come on." Blake said, turning back to the door, "Let's go get this over with."
Taiyang stood and walked to the door. Once out, he quickly hailed a cab while the others followed. Ruby packed away the unopened letter and followed her father. Weiss came shortly behind, casting a brief and vaguely spiteful glance to Blake as she walked out. The faunus held the door for the other three and left last.
Before exiting, a chill ran down Blake's spine and stopped her in her tracks. She spun around and scanned the café, none too sure why. When it became clear there was nothing there, she left.
Nothing she could see, at least.
Ђ
When they reached Ruby's childhood home, the rain had finally let up a little. It was no longer a pounding torrent just short of turning sideways. Now it had resolved to more of a heavy drizzle—still cold and ominous, much to the chagrin of all.
Taiyang held the door and the three women entered. It was obvious from the first step that he'd left a decent bed of embers in the covered hearth, as the house was warm and welcoming. They were glad to be greeted by this, especially Weiss. In keeping her partner covered with the umbrella and guiding the preoccupied woman for most of their walk from the main road, she had gotten quite soaked herself.
They spread out across the living area. Blake found a corner and posted up, leaning against the wall, close to the smoldering hearth. Ruby sauntered in like one of the living dead and collapsed onto the large sofa in the center of the room. She still held the bunched up cloak to herself, like some sort of charm, and sobbed. It was weaker now, but Weiss could make out the faint jump of her shoulders.
"Hey Weiss." Taiyang called softly.
The heiress turned and saw him motioning to her. She walked over to him, standing in a little arch that likely led further into the house, to see what he wanted.
"Go down the hall and up the stairs at the end." He said, pointing to a flight she could barely make out in the dim light, "Turn right at the top and hit the second door. You'll find some dry clothes that should fit."
Weiss opened her mouth to ask what it was all about, but decided not to scrutinize the obvious kindness. She started down the hallway when his voice caught her ear again.
"Just try to avoid the yellows." He said, sounding somewhat more somber, "It was Yang's favorite color—might upset Rubes. I don't want you sitting around here soaking wet, but she's got enough to deal with."
"Thank you." Weiss said, "I'll find something in a neutral color. I prefer those anyway."
They shared a companionable grin and Weiss went on. She found the room easily enough, just as he said, and picked out a simple outfit. Thankfully her undergarments were dry, so she only took a pair of black chinos and an unremarkable grey shirt. Not much different from what she had on, all said and done, which the heiress noted with passing interest.
While Weiss changed, Taiyang rejoined the others in the living area. He took a seat on the sofa by Ruby and, in a very fatherly manner, tossed an arm over her. He pulled her into a half-hug and began to gently rub her head.
"It's gonna be ok, Rubes." He cooed.
Ruby made no fuss. If anything at all, she appreciated the little bit of affection. Blake watched this from her corner-post and again her heart panged. Memories can be such terrible things in times of hurt—even more so when they are good ones.
"You're probably not going to believe most of what I have to tell you." Blake said after a few moments watching them. She wanted it over with so she could head off and figure out what to do with herself now.
The scene before her was only making it harder.
"What was it…" Ruby muttered, pushing her father away and sitting up straight.
The look on Taiyang's face was nothing short of hurt. He cast his eyes to the floor as if to observe the carpet. Blake kept her silence—coming up with how to say this was no easy feat—and the minutes began to tick by. It was when Weiss reentered the room, sporting drier clothes that fit oddly well, that Blake decided to finally say her piece.
"We were after a man wanted in all four kingdoms for murder." Blake said.
Taiyang stood up suddenly and headed toward the kitchen. He stopped just short of where the wood floor became tile and turned back to them.
"I'm gonna fix us something to eat." He said, "Hope you're all good for tuna."
And with that he left them to it. Blake's golden eyes briefly glinted at the mention of the food, but she turned her mind back to the matter at hand in the next instant.
"Like I said, we were after a wanted murderer. No name, no aliases, no real info about him except his preferred attire. A man in a black cloak was all we had to go on…"
"Aren't huntresses supposed to hunt Grimm?" Weiss said.
Blake cast a look her way that was mixed disgust and astonishment.
"Aren't the Schnees supposed to be exceedingly intelligent and well-informed?" She retorted with a sneer.
Weiss—blood once more boiling and indignation rising—managed to rein her tongue in at the last moment. This was not her stage and not her play. She knew this and decided to let it go, once again, for Ruby's sake.
"Point taken." Weiss said before taking a seat next to Ruby, "Please continue."
"We've been on his trail for two years now." Blake went on without missing a beat, "From Atlas to Vale to Vacuo, and somewhere beyond that…"
She put all her weight on the wall and slid to the floor.
"We entered the Vacuan Badlands about three months ago. The trail had gotten very fresh and we were sure the bastard was almost in our reach. Every day reinforced that fact to us, so we pushed on like madwomen."
"Are you going to tell me what happened to my sister?" Ruby piped in.
Blake looked up from her absent stare at the wooden floor. The eyes she met were empty save for a faint flicker of fury. Not for her, no, but it was there.
"I'll get to that." Blake said, hating that look in the Ruby's eyes, "But you need to hear the whole thing."
Ruby kept up her glare and Blake looked away, back to the floor. She began to trace the knots in the wood as she picked up her tale again, hoping to distract herself so she could get it all out.
"I don't think we were even in Vacuo anymore when it happened. Following after him led us across a desert, along an unnatural riverbed, through a valley, and finally… to the second most impossible thing I've ever seen."
"Second?" Weiss said, now thoroughly intrigued.
"Yeah." Blake agreed, "The most impossible thing came later. What we saw was like a giant lake—water just as blue as a dream. It was sunken too, like the earth had tried to swallow it up."
"Nowhere like that on any map I've ever seen." Weiss said.
"Let her speak, Weiss." Ruby said, her tone almost angry.
"We managed to cross it after encountering a Grimm that looked like a giant shark." Blake went on, feeling gooseflesh on her neck at the memory, "I passed out for most of that, but when I came to we were on an island at the lake's center. Once we pulled ourselves back together, it was a 'no turning back' sorta deal. So we had a look around.
"Didn't take much to find this giant wall. Thing was white as snow and bigger than most buildings I've seen, even in Atlas. When we finally got in, after a good chunk of it collapsed, there was an entire city behind it."
Blake turned her gaze from the floor to the hearth and stared into the last flickering embers. The recollection was turning out to be more painful than she had expected. But as much as she wanted to stop her telling, something kept pushing her on. Something just beneath the skin, much like a whisper.
Let that one with the silver eyes know…
She shook her head a few times and took a deep breath. This was shaping up to be a very painful ordeal…
"I've never seen anything so beautiful and horrible at the same time." Blake went on, "Flawless white buildings, fountains all around spouting the same blue lake-water, streets paved with actual gold… and tombstones as far as the eye could see."
Weiss gasped. She couldn't decide if she believed it all or not, but it was almost like a clear picture had entered her mind. If Blake could have seen it, she would have known it was what she and Yang saw in that place. Like a photograph, not a memory or imagining.
"We eventually found him once we pulled ourselves together. I wish I could say how long it took, but—and I know this sounds crazy—it was like time… well, it was like there was no time. It didn't just feel like it was out of whack, but more like it wasn't there at all…"
Blake shuddered. Ruby continued to stare, unmoving and silent, but Weiss was beginning to find herself unnerved. The words coming from the faunus in the corner were all too real.
"When we finally caught up to him it was in a giant palace. And as if everything else wasn't crazy enough, this was where I saw the most impossible—and terrifying—thing I have ever seen.
"We went in and it was like we left Remnant behind. There were doors all around us in this empty space and a giant white throne at the center of the room. And there he sat, like some awful king."
"He did it?" Ruby said, her tone now reflecting the anger Blake saw in her eyes. Weiss heard it too and felt another pain run through her heart.
"It killed her." Blake said, grave and serious, as she finally returned Ruby's intense stare.
"It?" Ruby parroted.
"He talked to us like he knew something. When he attacked—When it attacked, it was like nothing I've ever seen. It looked like a corpse at first, but turned into something worse than any Grimm."
"What could possibly be worse than a Grimm?!" Weiss said with unhidden alarm.
"This thing, Princess." Blake replied, and went on, "It moved so fast I couldn't even see. I'm sorry Ruby, but I couldn't even join the fight. And Yang was no match, not at all, for whatever the hell it was. The fight was over before I realized it had really begun.
"It claimed to be 'Old Man Death' and said something about Yang 'not being the one'. Then it acted like it was… going to kill her, right there, but stopped. It touched her forehead instead and told me to tell you all of this, then tossed us both through one of those doors like a couple of broken dolls."
"What did he do to her?!" Ruby shouted.
"That touch left some kind of mark on her—a black, upside-down cross. I don't really remember much after being thrown through the door, though. When I came to, we were in the hospital. You know the rest from there…"
Blake looked away from the hearth and squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to hold back the tears, but they won out in the end. Two of the women in the room cried during the few minutes of silence that followed. Soft and quiet, it was hardly audible. Weiss, the only one whose eyes remained mostly dry, couldn't even begin to comprehend or believe Blake's story. Yet, in a very unsettling way, it felt true…
The heiress had known many liars in her life. If this faunus was another, she couldn't tell.
"I'm going to bed." Ruby said after a good five minutes. Her voice wobbled with all the crying but held just enough to be understood.
She stood and left the room without another word. Weiss watched until she had gone beyond the arch and turned back to Blake, who still sat sobbing to herself. Despite her feelings toward her, justified to any degree or not, the sight hurt to see. She knew huntresses were no small matter and that this one was something of a legend in the field, making the display all too human. All too relatable…
"I'm guessing no one really wants dinner." Taiyang said.
Weiss and Blake turned to see him standing just outside the kitchen. One brief look around and he read the situation well. With a sigh, he walked on into the room and stretched.
"There's two guestrooms upstairs." He said after popping his back, "You can both have your pick. Blankets are in the hall closet."
Blake gave him a look of gratitude while Weiss could only eye him with confusion.
"There's no need to go back out in that awful weather." Taiyang said, more to the heiress than Blake, "Stay the night here. I'll make sure you're all up early enough to get ready for the funeral. Now go on and get some sleep."
Upon standing to protest the offer, and politely decline if at all possible, the fatigue of the day and all its emotions hit Weiss like a brick wall. It didn't take much coaxing from there for her to agree. Blake was a tad more averse to it, but gave in as well after some small persuading. From there they all turned in, after Taiyang had doused the last of the hearth, but none noticed the fifth among them.
All said and done, none could've if they'd tried.
Ψ
Everyone got up early to more of the same mess. Dour moods, grey skies, cold rain and all the silence one could choke on. Taiyang tried a few times during breakfast—tuna prepared the previous night with some plain rice—to hold a conversation worthwhile. No one joined him and he gave up after the third try. Weiss did offer a compliment on his cooking, but this went no further.
The cold crept throughout the house while they all got ready, casting a pallor despite to match the dreary day. Blake's typical attire was already in standard funeral colors, so she wore what she had. Weiss's borrowed outfit was much the same. Taiyang dug up a fitting set of black slacks and a black blazer to toss over a simple white shirt.
The three of them had gathered in the living room and were waiting in yet more silence when Ruby finally emerged from the upstairs. The crackling hearth threw dancing reds and oranges across the room, catching and accenting the outfit she had chosen. Weiss found herself breathless at the sight, despite the circumstances.
This time, the question why didn't cross her mind at all.
Ruby's outfit consisted of a solid black dress that looked like it belonged in the heiress's wardrobe. An innocuous bodice wrapped around a frock with sleeves to her wrists. The sleeves were puffed and a petticoat filled out the knee-length skirt. The thing that drew everyone's attention was the stark-red cloak over all this, clasped by the rose pendant just below her collar.
"It's about time, right?" Ruby said, sounding dead as the night before, and walked to the door. She spared none of them even a second look.
The three shared a brief glance and left without another word. The trip from the house to the funeral—in another cab—was equally as silent as breakfast. Once more, it seemed Ruby found something in the grey skies that caught her eye. She stared out the window the whole way, silent and motionless.
They arrived to a crowd the likes of which even Weiss had never seen. The heiress stared in shock at what must have been a few thousand people and faunus. Bustling bodies filled the little knoll and stretched all along the path up to the small funeral home at its crest. There were hunters and huntresses; there were police and military personnel; there were men, women and children of all walks of life. To her slight alarm, Weiss even managed to spot a small group of faunus sporting White Fang attire.
"I'm surprised there aren't more…" Blake said, standing just to the heiress's left, "After that herd of Grimm we stopped on the outskirts of Vale, you'd think the whole kingdom would've shown up."
"Yang was pretty famous, huh?" Weiss mused in reply.
"Blazing Sol was known all across Remnant, Princess. There might be twenty people here that knew Yang. The rest knew Blazing Sol, and that's who they're here to mourn."
"Missed indeed she shall be." Said a very familiar voice.
Weiss spun around so quick she nearly fell over. To her utter amazement, there stood Mister Axter and her own father. Only some ten yards off stood Winter as well, presently having some sort of conversation with an Atlesian honor guard. Weiss's stomach twisted and turned.
"Tell us Winter did not." Axter said, scratching his neck, "Knew I did that passed she had. Ears everywhere have I, Weiss, and miss this for anything I would not."
Without another word, Mister Axter hobbled off on his twisted wooden cane. He barely reached most of the other guest's waists as he made his way through the crowd, but the comedy of this sight was lost on Weiss. She turned back to look her father's way and saw the man headed for her sister. Both were now giving orders to the soldiers—instructions on when and how to fire the salute, undoubtedly—and wearing looks that could easily be mistaken for disgust.
Head spinning and stomach churning, Weiss turned away to say something to Ruby. A question maybe, or even just a simple condolence, but the woman was nowhere to be found. Another look around and she managed to spot the red hood—likely pulled up to fend off the cold drizzle—bobbing through the crowd.
The heiress swallowed the lump in her throat and followed, ignoring the almost painful chill that shot through her spine.
Ψ
Weiss was still amazed with the organization of the massive gathering when it all culminated. In what felt like no time at all, the entire procession began to work through the funeral home and bid their individual respects. One by one, every man, woman and child approached the casket and said their goodbyes. Some left little gifts—mostly trinkets or flowers, though a few placed letters and keepsakes in too—while others even planted a kiss on the woman's forehead. A cultural thing, the heiress assumed.
When her own turn came around, Weiss felt odd beyond reason. Something foreboding reached out to her, but beyond that was the realization that this was her first meeting with her partner's sister—her friend's sister. It was at a funeral and the woman was dead as they came. But she looked so very peaceful, so entirely unbothered by the whole predicament. And if her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, Weiss might've even sworn she could see a smile on her face.
"Rest well…" The heiress whispered. Then, without thinking about it, she reached behind her neck and undid a clasp.
She'd all but forgotten about the necklace that had been around her neck since they left the University. The dainty thing came off and pulled away like a ghost. She picked up Yang's left hand and wrapped the delicate chain around it, then placed it back on her chest. With a final bow, Weiss stepped away and the procession went on.
The rest of it went smoothly. It was like there had been some clandestine rehearsal, what with the way everyone moved as if in lockstep. None lingered or outright bawled. Many cried—even Mister Axter, much to the heiress's amazement—but none let go and lost it. They said their farewells, left their offerings and moved on.
At some point, Weiss lost track of Ruby and the rest. The crowd was massive and she assumed they must have found their way to other, more well-known acquaintances and friends. It hurt a bit to assume such, but she let it go and looked for her own family while the procession headed to the bottom of the knoll.
Her father was the easiest to spot. The man's regal mien and distinct attire could be discerned from almost any distance by the heiress. She walked over to them quickly and joined their march beside the honor guard.
"I didn't expect to see you here, Weiss." He said, never breaking his forward stare.
"I told Winter my friend's sister had died." Weiss replied.
"I didn't expect your friend to be her sister." Winter said, keeping pace and stare just like their father.
"Is this why you tossed your education aside?" Her father said with a scowl.
"I didn't toss my education, Father." Weiss said, and she believed it. Thinking about it though, that was a somewhat different story. She had begun to wonder...
"Considering the circumstances, I'm going to overlook it. But when this business is over I expect you to remember what's important, Weiss. Don't let something silly come between you and what's important."
They marched in silence from there, moving alongside the massive body of mourners. The Atlesian soldiers looked like a well-oiled machine meant for a military competition, not an honor guard for one individual. Again Weiss found herself moved by the sight, and again she found herself thinking of her father's words.
What was important now?
The procession came to a halt when the pallbearers reached the grave. Finding she couldn't see from her vantage by the honor guard, Weiss broke away. Like a lost child, she pushed and squeezed through the crowd as politely as possible. She reached a break in the mourners and emerged at the front—directly before the grave—and saw something she could never have been ready to.
Ruby stood as the lead pallbearer on the left side, Taiyang on the right. They held the massive gilded casket like a couple of stone sentinels. No emotion on either of their faces, not even the expected sorrow. Only the most blatant look of gravity and duty the heiress had ever seen occupy her friend's face. Before she could think on it further, the preacher emerged from behind the pallbearers.
He stepped atop a podium and placed a dusty old book on it. With a clearing of his throat and a straightening of his glasses, the old man opened the book to a marked passage and began to read.
"Bereaved friends and family, we have gathered here today to bid farewell to a most beloved huntress." He began with a voice deep enough to shake the earth, "Blazing Sol as she was known across the Four Kingdoms, Yang Xiao Long as she was known to close friends and family. A bright light taken from us far too soon."
His words were broken by no less than some hundred loud cries. A good many had reached their limit and were no longer able to hold it back. Weiss felt nothing for them, but instead found herself looking back to Ruby. The casket was still held aloft by its bearers and the woman had a steady stream of tears running down her reddening cheeks.
That hurt to see.
"A few of her closest acquaintances have some words to say before we give her back to the Dust." The preacher said before stepping down. He took a spot beside the podium with his hands clasped in front of him while Blake came to take his place.
"Thank you all for coming." Blake said, trying to hold her own emotions at bay, "Yang was a good woman—a caring friend, a stalwart fighter, a sincere idealist and a paragon among huntresses. My time with her is time I will never regret. It was time well spent and left me memories I'll cherish forever. I'm sure I speak for us all when I say she will be sorely missed…"
Blake paused and scanned the mourners. Her eyes landed on a White Fang standing at the front of their little cluster and she went on.
"Brothers and sisters of the White Fang! I speak to you as well, and thank you for putting aside your enmity to attend. We might have been on opposing sides at times, but our pursuit of the one who murdered your leader brought us together in a like cause! So I thank you for coming to pay respects, even if she was once your enemy."
Once Blake finished her piece, she stepped down and Taiyang ascended. He cast a sorrowful look across the crowd before saying his own.
"I still remember the day my daughters first told me they wanted to be huntresses." He said, choking up but pushing through, "They were both barely tall enough to reach the sink without a stool. Then the day came when an accident stopped my youngest from pursuing that dream. At the hospital, Yang swore she would make it happen for both of them.
"And she did. Yang breezed through Signal like a woman possessed and went on to Beacon. She became one of its most prestigious graduates and soared only higher from there. Along with her partner, Miss Nightshade here, her exploits saved countless lives across all of Remnant. But never in all that time did she forget what meant the most to her. Never once did Yang let go of why she was doing it or what was pushing her to keep doing it."
He stopped and leaned over the podium, shaking like a leaf against the overwhelming emotion. Almost a minute passed before Taiyang recovered enough to go on. He stood straight and cast a powerful look into the body of people.
"Yang fought Grimm and man alike—whatever got in the way of keeping her promise! She wouldn't let anything stop her from keeping that promise to her sister! That may have led her here, to such an early grave, but I know she wouldn't have it any other way… So let us all bid her a fond and thankful farewell, not forgetting that she did what was important to her!"
When he finished, Taiyang's speech served as something of a rallying cry. The crowd still gave off a mass sense of shared mourning when Ruby took to the podium, but it also gave off a clear aura of shared pride. When Taiyang relieved his sit-in pallbearer, even he looked somewhat better off. Like a weight had been lifted, if only a little.
"My sister…" Ruby said, then stopped. Her voice was off by a mile to Weiss's ear and her eyes looked like she'd rubbed sand in them.
The heiress watched in silent horror as Ruby shook. When she finally recovered enough to go on, the heiress wished she could do something—anything at all—to lessen the burden. Even if only a little, it would be better than nothing.
"My sister was my role model." Ruby said at last, looking over the crowd as if accusing them, "She was the greatest person I have ever known. No matter what was wrong, she would do anything she could to fix it. She almost always turned to her fists first, but she never turned her back on someone in need!
"There's so much I want to say, but none of it really matters now… I wish I could talk to her one more time—I've got so much to tell her about—but that won't happen. So instead, I'll say this: I miss you, Yang, and I hope you can rest peacefully up there with Mom."
Ruby turned like she was going to exit the podium, but stopped. She turned back and looked to the hole below the stand, where the casket would soon be placed.
"Scatter softly, Sis…" She said, then walked off the stand.
The preacher took her place. Ruby resumed her spot as lead pallbearer, relieving the man who'd held it for her, and continued her sentinel vigil. The preacher cleared his throat and gave the final words.
"A final eulogy for the deceased." He said, then looked to his book, "Man was born from Dust, and with Dust hath he shaped the land. By Dust hath man defied the Grimm. By Dust hath he built his kingdoms. By Dust hath man crawled from the edge of oblivion and made his home upon Remnant. For all these gifts, man must give back. In passing, we all return to the Dust—for it is from Dust we come and to Dust we must return.
"Yang Xiao Long, we commend your body to Remnant's embrace! Rejoin the Dust and pass into immortality! Rest in peace and serenity among your forebears, standing as the vanguard to vouchsafe passage for those who come after you!"
The preacher raised his eyes and slammed the book shut.
"We bid you farewell, Yang Xiao Long! Find safe passage back to whence we all came!"
When he finished, the bearers stepped forward and placed the casket on its bed. All watched in rapt silence as the mahogany coffin disappeared into the earth, bidding a last farewell to their blazing sun. When the fillers began to shovel the dirt in, Ruby stepped in front of them. She tossed something in and ran off. Before chasing after her, Weiss peered into the grave to see what it was.
A ratty old book titled 'Riddle-de-Dum' with two scribbled marks in crayon on its cover. She looked a little closer and saw it was the letters 'R' and 'Y', scrawled out as if by children who had just started trying to write. The worst pain yet tore through Weiss's chest.
She looked up and ran after her friend, now beginning to worry more than ever.
α
Ruby ran like hell was at her heels. She had always been a fast runner. Ever since the days when she raced Yang, starting around the time she was seven, Ruby knew she was faster than most. The day she decided to pursue becoming a huntress was the day this became one of her proudest points. She trained it relentlessly and eventually made even the wind jealous.
The crowd blurred by first, so quick it looked more like one giant blob than thousands of people. Then it was only the tombstones all around and the grass beneath her feet. These looked like blobs of grey, white and green. Only a few moments after that, it was the forest surrounding the graveyard. She crossed the few hundred yards and entered the tree line in only a matter of seconds.
She disappeared inside and let go. Sure that none could see her, Ruby let every ounce of it flood out at once. Every tear, every shout, every scream—she let it all go while her feet carried her madly onward.
Her lungs began to burn. Her legs followed shortly after and Ruby knew it wouldn't be long. The same reason she couldn't join her sister was already beginning to crop up and haunt her again. The same thing that had disqualified her from Signal. The same thing that had kept her from fighting by Yang's side.
"Damn it!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs.
She could feel her speed beginning to dip and pushed her legs all the harder. Her chest was quickly becoming numb, but Ruby didn't care. It was all falling apart—had fallen apart. So she pushed and pushed, pressing further into the pines and poplars. The cold air and rain began to bite into her, its effect amplified by her soaked clothes. This too went mostly unnoticed as the feeling began to leave the rest of her body and her mind started to go blank.
"DAMN IT!" She screamed again with the last of her breath. Two steps after that, Ruby's right foot found a rock and she went tumbling ass-over-teakettle.
The woman rolled through the last of the woods, bursting out of the tree line like a bowling ball. She tumbled a few more times and finally came to a rest. Ruby sat up slowly and began to rub her aching head. She opened her eyes and looked around. Somehow, she ended up exactly where she meant to go. Her eyes quickly found the marker on the edge of the cliff and the woman stood to her feet. She walked to it in a trance, entirely unaware of the presence watching her.
The wind blew hard and cold over the cliffside as Ruby approached the lonely stone grave-marker.
Ͼ
When Weiss left the crowd, only her sister took any real notice. Every other attendee was preoccupied with either open weeping or saying their last goodbyes. Weiss did not see Winter fall in behind her—following with nigh-perfect stealth—when she ran off after her friend.
For a second time the heiress had seen the woman tear off like a tornado turned on its side. So fast was Ruby's egress, Weiss would've been out of luck altogether without the footprints left behind. It was obvious she could move with speed unimaginable, but it seemed her footfalls were no less heavy for it. The tracks she left were deep and almost perfect—the rainy weather had softened the ground and made it even better.
Weiss followed as quick as she could manage. She'd never been a slouch or shirked her exercise, but this was ridiculous. The distance to the timberline was a few hundred yards at least. By the time she finally reached it, running at her top speed, the heiress was already panting.
She stopped and leaned against a tall poplar, gripping her side and cursing her choice of footwear. Heavens only knew why, but she had decided heels would be all she'd need for the whole outing. This had been at the beginning, now over two weeks ago, before they had even left the University. Rarely if ever was she so caught off guard—and in so very many ways—it never ceased to boil her blood when it happened.
"Come on, Weiss." She hissed to herself, standing up straight, "You've come this far. May as well give it what you've got…"
With only a moment's thought, Weiss kicked off her heels and picked them up. After taking another few moments to get over how awful the ground felt to her bare feet, she pressed on. Go big or go home, it would seem, was her choice.
The woods she ran through were thankfully sparse with debris. Little aside from pine needles littered the ground and the few briars she came across were easily avoided. Once or twice she came across a gully, but this was easily cleared. She had been renowned for the long jump when she was younger.
At last the end came into sight. The trees began to thin ever further until it finally opened up onto a clearing. There she stopped, just at the edge of the trees where a good ten yards stood between her and a cliff. This cliff led into a decent drop, and there near the edge stood the one she had chased after.
Weiss's stomach sunk as she watched Ruby, standing not ten feet from the drop.
Ђ
"How are ya, Mom?" Ruby whispered.
She knelt down to touch the cold surface of the marker and began to trace her fingers over it. The carved letters never ceased to feel strange. No matter how many times she read them, they never stopped sounding wrong. It always felt like someone was playing an awful joke, but she knew that wasn't the case.
"I'm sorry I haven't visited for a while…" Ruby said, speaking softly to the stone, "There's a lot going on right now, though. I'm going to this really nice school and I've made an awesome friend. She acts cold and mean sometimes, but I know she's a really good person inside. I've seen it…"
A single tear slid down her cheek. If she possessed the capability to think on it, she might've found it surprising there were any tears left. But she didn't. As it stood, Ruby was doing well enough to talk at all. Introspection was off the table altogether.
"I'll bet you and Yang are gonna have some neat things to talk about." She said in a trembling voice, "I'll bet you two are gonna get along really well."
She had to stop for a moment. The pain was coming back with a vengeance. Her head felt like it was going to split and her eyes burned like they would melt at any moment.
Feeling the world spin, Ruby leaned over and pressed her head to the cold stone. It felt wonderful to her feverish skin. With a deep breath, she found the will to speak again.
"Please take care of Yang." She managed to squeak out, "And Yang, you be sure to keep Mom company. I know she must have been lonely watching us for so long. So, please…"
Ruby found some strength and stood on her wobbling legs.
"Both of you, take care of each other." She said, now staring over the roiling ocean below the drop.
The rustling of Weiss emerging from the woods went unheard. Ruby was off in her own place—her own hell, in no other words—and had no mind left to take in her surroundings. Her sight had tunneled and her ears heard no more than the raindrops all around.
Weiss watched for only a moment before starting her approach. She moved as soft as she could, trying not to be heard. Had she known the woman was so far gone, it likely wouldn't have mattered. Her own mind was chasing the four winds. They were now unwitting partners in the same ship. Different destinations, maybe, but sitting in the same vessel.
The heiress began to strafe to the left and failed to notice the stone marker at Ruby's feet when it came into view. Her eyes, her mind, and her very soul were all focused on one thing. So far as she could tell, the sorrow had driven her friend to the edge. Literally and figuratively.
The wind picked up suddenly and blew hard across both of them. It came at just the right moment, carrying the loud crack of the salute from the funeral. Twenty rifles all going off at once split the air and the wind carried this to them, causing both women to jump in surprise.
To Weiss, it looked like she was doing it.
"RUBY!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.
The heiress went into a sort of autopilot and lunged forward. Never in her life had she moved so fast. She crossed the ten feet between them in the blink of an eye, grabbed Ruby's arm and lurched to her right. Both of them went sprawling into the mud as another round went off, sounding like thunder booming over their heads.
They tumbled twice before coming to a rest. Some way or another, Weiss ended up straddling Ruby's waist and lay sprawled over the woman. When she opened her eyes and realized this, the muscles in her back couldn't fire quick enough to lift her face away. The next moment, Weiss found herself staring into the silver eyes she had spent the last few weeks worrying so fiercely over.
They looked tired and hurt—even a bit confused.
"Ruby…" Weiss whispered, feeling her eyes begin to sting and water, "Why…"
Ruby stared up at her friend, wondering exactly what she'd done to deserve being tossed into the mud. The world was spinning, her head was hurting and her mind was still mostly lost to the ether. When she spoke, it felt like her mouth was full of cotton.
"What?" Ruby said with no small effort.
"You can't jump!" Weiss screamed in reply, "I know this is bad—it's just dreadful! But you can't jump, Ruby!"
Again, Ruby could only stare up at the woman.
"Give it time, Ruby!" Weiss went on, oblivious to her friend's confused stare, "If you'll only give it time, it will get better! There's no reason to throw your life away!"
"What?" Ruby said again, now with a small bit of her senses restored.
"Your sister wouldn't want this, I'm sure..." Weiss said, "Anyone so loved they could bring a crowd like this to their funeral wouldn't want something like this! And think of your Dad, Ruby… He'd be devastated!"
"Weiss, what are you talking about?"
The heiress opened her eyes. At some point in her raving, she'd shut them tight and begun to cry. Seeing her friend's face, and realizing the woman hadn't a clue what she was on about, Weiss sat up a little straighter. Ruby did too and, with Weiss sitting on her lap looking like a lost puppy, her heart settled a little. Things were falling to pieces all around her, but there was at least this.
Something that hadn't gone belly up yet.
"I thought you were gonna jump…" Weiss whispered, staring into the mesmerizing silver eyes before her.
Something clicked in Ruby's head. Looking into the confused and bewildered heiress's eyes—eyes that almost glowed with teary, icy glory—something simply fell into place. The pain of the whole debacle took a back seat and decided to simmer while another took its place at the forefront. Her heart thudded a few times in a most peculiar manner, her eyes started to water over again and her face nearly split with the widest smile she'd sported in weeks.
"Weiss you dolt…" Ruby cooed with her cheshire grin, "Why would I do that?"
Weiss really was confused by that. Not only the question, but her own lack of an answer. Why did she assume that? It was obvious. She assumed because she had seen. Long, long ago, as if in another life—but she had seen it.
"You weren't?" Was all she could manage.
"No." Ruby said, "I'm hurting, I won't lie, and I'm very tired from all of this. But I didn't come here to jump, Weiss…"
Ruby pointed over Weiss's shoulder. She turned around to see what it was and her eyes fell on the stone marker. How had she missed it?
"What's that?" Weiss said in a dreamy tone.
"Mom's memorial." Ruby said, "I came here to visit it. Sorry if it looked… different, since I ran off like that…"
Weiss turned back around. She didn't care all that much about the stone. It was Ruby she was worried over. Worried enough to go rolling in mud…
"Why'd you run off?" She said.
"I haven't felt this way since Mom died…" Ruby muttered, looking down toward her hand, "It got to be too much. I just… needed to come here. I needed to talk to Mom…"
Ice Queen had been a popular and accurate moniker for Weiss throughout a good portion of her life. She was calculating, aloof, cold and ruthless—with both her actions and goals. Whatever she wanted, she would get it come hell or high water. Whatever she believed, those around her would believe the same or find some other space to occupy. For a long time, this didn't bother her. If her heart was ice, so be it; it made for easier execution of her plans.
But that ice was gone now. And her exposed heart, beating in the open for once in her life, was breaking. Not for her, but for another.
"Will miracles ever cease…" Weiss muttered, to herself more than anything.
"Hm?" Was Ruby's confused reply.
"Nothing…"
Ruby smiled again. This one not as wide, but a smile all the same. A warm one at that.
"I'm glad I got to know you, Weiss." She said, which drew a wide-eyed glare from the heiress, "I really am. You've been a good friend to me."
"What are you on about?" Weiss said, shocked. It almost sounded like her ungrounded assumption might actually have some merit to it.
Those silver eyes met hers again, and again her friend offered a sweet smile.
"I'm done trying to make this normal life thing work." Ruby said, "I'm done acting like there's another way I can help people…"
Ruby took a deep breath and looked off toward the drop. Another tear slipped down her cheek, barely visible now that the rain had finally let up. As she did, Weiss saw another foreign glimmer in her eyes. They looked murderous.
"I'm going to find that man and I'm going to kill him."
Ω
She moved before her brain had a chance to wonder why. In the blink of an eye, Weiss brought her left hand out of the mud and swung. She swung hard and she swung true. The open, muddy palm found Ruby's face and just about knocked the woman over.
"YOU IDIOT!" Weiss screamed, and realized there was no stopping herself.
Her chest began to heave and her mind started to feel hot. A lot of things were about to come out, and there was diddly anyone could do about it. Least of all herself.
"Why would you throw away what your sister gave you?!" She screamed again, "Why would you drop such a golden opportunity to make something good of yourself?!"
Ruby's shocked eyes turned slowly back to meet Weiss's. At the same time, she inched her hand up to the bright red mark on her cheek. She touched it like it were aflame—it may as well have been with how it throbbed. Seeing all this, Weiss took another deep breath to yell some more.
And then it came out as uncontrollable as vomit.
"Why would you leave me…" A whisper, not a yell. Weiss startled herself with that.
Her friend was hurt, more than she knew how to deal with. Her friend was suffering in ways she could not relate to. Her friend was talking what seemed like nonsense. She wanted it to stop, wanted all of it to stop, but couldn't seem to articulate that. Come to think of it, she could hardly articulate anything.
It was all so new, and this was a very bad time not to know what to do. Or maybe—as Fate oft has it—it was the perfect time to learn.
Weiss's head was swimming, her heart thumping like it might stop at any moment. It was hot and beating like a drum. She could feel each pulse in her eyes, her ears, her teeth, her fingers—everywhere. But it wasn't frightening. It was liberating, if anything.
One last time, Weiss looked Ruby in the eye. She felt a bit ashamed for falling apart when her friend needed her most, but that bit of her mind was out for coffee—back in ten. Now it was only the raw feeling, the raw emotion, the raw Weiss Schnee come to the surface and handed the reins. Now it was time for what had been simmering to take over and show its hand.
Weiss leaned toward Ruby, and Ruby did not back away. She was confused but not afraid. She watched as Weiss's face drew closer and closer, until their noses nearly touched. Then, before either could formulate an idea of what was going on, Weiss closed the last distance.
What can be said of what transpired? Their lips met, their minds met, their hearts met? All of this and more, there on that cliff. All of this and so much more, there under those grey skies.
Neither was averse to it, either. Once it was started, Weiss's head cleared a little and she regained herself somewhat. Ruby didn't move, didn't blink, only took it in. Something clicked in her after a moment, and she too began to push into it. It felt natural and it felt right; like the stars had lined up in single-file and some door had opened up on a grand, new truth. It was that sort of 'aha' moment where things finally made sense.
It was Fate, and they both greeted it with open arms.