Weiss slept fitfully that night, and several nights more as the exact same desperate need to find the answer within herself controlled her dreams which were less than unhelpful to the heiress.
The energy she did manage to get out of her sleep was exhausted after a single class, yet she still had several more to go before she would be allowed to see the case of her pillow again.
She walked listlessly with her team to the next class, not one of them commenting on her quiet attitude the last few days. She noticed every now and then her leader would look back from her place among the group as if to make sure everything was how she'd last seen it. The look of concern in her light silver eyes strange to Weiss as she'd never seen the girl so hesitant.
Weiss felt herself stumble on the three stairs that joined the two buildings with a hallway that had been constructed long after the stone structures had been completed. She found herself hanging onto Ruby's shoulder as she steadied herself.
"You guys go ahead. If Goodwitch asks, tell her I'm tending to a team issue." Ruby instructed, impressing Weiss with her newly forming skills as the team leader.
"See ya later then!" Yang ruffled Ruby's hair as she walked past, Blake nodding silently as she followed.
Ruby put her arm around Weiss and started walking back to their dorm. Weiss was too tired to complain about missing class, and with Ruby's arm forcefully guiding her down the hall, she could do little but keep walking.
They arrived at the room some time later, Weiss feeling her body radiating heat as Ruby forced her down onto her bed.
"Try to get some rest, okay?" Ruby asked, putting the scroll Weiss hadn't noticed away as if she'd already finished whatever she'd used it for.
"Kay." Weiss closed her eyes obediently as she felt her tiredness take over. She sighed inwardly as her dreams once again began to torment her.
Somewhere between the sixth or seventh repetition of dreaming and waking up, she noticed a presence in the room. Unfortunately she fell into yet another dream before she could do more than notice Ruby conversing with him.
The room was dark when she finally awoke completely. A steady throb in her temple told her she'd yet again failed to get enough sleep to do anything more than stay awake for the next hour or two.
She sat up, surprised when a figure jumped out of the chair at the desk.
"You're finally awake." Ruby whispered in courtesy to her other teammates.
"What time is it?" Weiss grumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"About three AM." Ruby answered while fiddling with something on the desk.
"Why are you up? You should be sleeping. We have class tomorrow." Weiss said, her disapprovement clear in her voice.
"Actually, we have the day off tomorrow. Everything's been taken care of." Ruby said approaching Weiss with a small cup and a glass of water.
"What? How?" Weiss asked, her confusion evident as she ignored the items in Ruby's hands.
"While you were asleep, I had a doctor come in. He said you have a fever and the best thing is a bit of bed rest." Ruby forced the glass of water into Weiss's hands and put the small plastic cup to her lips, tilting it into her mouth. Weiss coughed hard at the vile taste of the medicine as it stung her throat. She quickly downed the glass of water that did little to alleviate the taste. "I've gotten permission from Ozpin to miss classes for the next few days."
Weiss nodded, feeling suddenly tired again. "Thank you. But you can still go to class, I've taken care of myself before."
Ruby shook her head, unnecessarily tucking Weiss in before feeling her forehead. "You're part of a team now, Weiss. And on my team we take care of each other first, academics come second…. You don't have to be alone anymore."
The last sentence she whispered more quietly than the rest as Weiss's eyes closed and she sunk back to sleep. This time, there were no dreams.