Yo Peeps, GMG here with chapter 35. Not much to say, so chapter...
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY...
Beacon, having been the host for the fair grounds below the Amity Coliseum, also found itself host to the nomad merchants as they arrived in Vale. The large clearing used was now almost packed to the brim with stands of all shapes and sizes. With all these new things, it was no surprise that all the various entrants for the tournament and any spectators had taken to looking over these new shops.
So, it was no surprise that Team RWBY was among them. May had come along, since it had been her idea and she was speaking with Blake and Ruby as the five girls made their way to the fair grounds. When Weiss caught sight of the shops, she had to admit some surprise. She expected them to be a bit rag tag and worn, and while the latter was somewhat true, the stands were organized and displayed what they sold clearly. There wouldn't have to be much of any digging through things.
Her ice blue eyes had also noted that Yang was wandering off towards a stand with various colorful beads and trinkets. Leave it to the brawler to find the brightest thing in the whole fair ground. Shaking her head in amusement, she noted the other three talking quietly. Well, as quiet as one could do in a large crowd. She could see that May was slightly uncomfortable with all the noise, if the occasional wince was anything to go by. Ruby was looking around before her eyes lit up and she started babbling to the other girls and pointing at something.
Following the direction, Weiss saw a stand with piles and piles of books. A few glances around showed a few more similar stands, but the one Ruby had pointed at, also had a food stand, with cookies on display. It wasn't of similar style to any of the other nomad stands, so she figured it was from the original fair. Either way, her leader had seen cookies. When the three started off in that direction, Weiss shook her head. Let May and Blake deal with that. Turning, she caught up with Yang, the blonde sifting through bead necklaces.
"You are such a child, Yang," Weiss started. "Bead necklaces? We could probably get some at a store in Vale."
Yang grinned and looked at her. "Not just bead necklaces," she retorted. Looking around she made an "aha!" noise and lifted something from a woven basket. Handing it to Weiss, she looked rather pleased with herself. "They make these cute wooden doll things too."
Small bar-like eyes stared back at her as Weiss looked at the figure Yang had handed her. It was pretty cute. She rolled the thing over in her hands, looking it over and nodded to herself. This was almost certainly hand made and she hadn't seen one of these things outside a few online sites. "Do you even know what these are, Yang?"
"Nope!" The blonde replied. "Does our all-knowing Ice Queen know?"
"Hopi Kachina Dolls," Weiss said. "Some of the nomadic tribes make these to teach the female members of their communities about some of the older gods."
The woman running the stand finally made herself known. "Not many know about that, child." The wrinkled lines of her faces tightened as she smiled. "Would you perhaps like to purchase one? I may also have a book or two on the subject lying around. If not, I'm sure one of the others would."
Weiss looked at the colorful figure again and mulled it over. "Sure. How much?"
The woman gave her price and before Weiss could give her the money, Yang was already handing over the needed lien. "I've got this, Princess." She pulled another few cards out and handed them to the woman. "I'll take one too." The woman smiled kindly as Yang fished out another doll.
Digging through some stuff below the table in a few boxes, the old woman hummed to herself as she sorted through some things. A small noise of agreement came from her as she lifted something from one of the boxes and she looked at it with a small smile. Looking back at the two girls, she handed it over. When Yang made to get her lien, the woman cut her off. "A gift," she spoke. "For two lovely girls. Like the White one said, it's tradition to teach those with the dolls about our gods. What better way than the book, hm?"
Weiss smiled in return. "Thank you very much, ma'am. I appreciate the gift."
"Think not of it child." The woman made herself busy fixing the bead necklaces. "It was a gift enough to know that others still know about our way of life, if only what these dolls mean." Her expression turned bittersweet. "So many forget."
Weiss placed her hand on one of the woman's. "Well, I shant forget about this, then." She glanced at Yang. "I'll make sure she reads the book too."
Yang rolled her eyes. "I was going to." When Weiss kept her gaze, she snickered. "Okay, probably."
With RBM...
Paper and plastic crinkled loudly as Ruby fished another cookie from her bag of the treats. She hummed happily as Blake and May were sifting through the books. Blake, she noticed, had a method for choosing books from the pile. She'd take one, crack it open, read a few parts before either returning it or setting it aside. What little free space had been available on the table of the stand was being filled with a small pile of books.
May's own collection was noticeably smaller and she held it in her arms. The sniper glanced over the titles on the book spines once more before turning to the stand owner and paying. She was given a bag and she slipped the books inside of it, thank him. He looked at the bow wearing girl and laughed. "Your friend sure likes books, yeah?"
"I guess," May replied. "Most of the books on her team's bookshelf are hers." She looked over at Ruby. "I think Ruby's the only reason they aren't all hers."
The cloaked girl grabbed another cookie as she looked at the various titles. She also kept some space from Blake, allowing the Faunus to explore as she was wont to do. To Ruby, many of the titles seemed boring. She frowned lightly, but kept looking. A glint of color caught her eye and her attention snagged on the silver lettering imprinted on the spine of one of the books. The Brothers Grimm, it was titled. Grinning, she tucked her cookie bag in her belt, lifting the few books off of the one she found and pulled it out. Turning to the stand owner, she beamed at him. "How much for this one?"
"And these?" Blake added, motioning to her stack.
The man coughed into his hand, slightly surprised by the size of the stack. Glancing at Ruby he smiled. "You can have that one, if your friend is buying all of these." He gave Blake the price, smirking at her surprised expression. "Not as high as you thought it would be?"
Blake nodded. "Many of the stores in Vale would've charged twice the price, even for used books like these."
The man shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm not them. Besides, it's wonder if I can even sell half as many as are in that stack. With scrolls and all the technology, so many more are forgetting about books." When he noticed her unsure expression, he laughed again. "It's a fair price for me, child. Don't worry about it. Now, let's get you bag for that heap of books."
Blake smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, sir."
"No problem." He handed a bag to her and one to Ruby. Smiling at the three of them, he straightened a book pile. "You three have a nice day."
As they turned to leave, Ruby snapped a playful salute. "Will do!" She turned and skipped along. "Banzai!"
Behind her, Blake rolled her eyes. "Banzai indeed."
End...
Another chapter down. I had someone ask me awhile ago about doing something more for Weiss and Yang and I hope this appeases you somewhat. As for the Hopi Kachina Dolls, I was watching, I believe, How It's Made and they did an episode on them and some other stuff. The dolls are pretty cool looking and I'd like to get one myself. I kind of collect little odds and ends, so I have an assortment of stuff that would look like it came from a fair like this. Adieu for now!