An ordinary day of lectures, lovebirds and preparations for a certain someone's surprise birthday party went by without any noticeable incidents. Weiss even was delighted by a completely oblivious Ruby, who somehow managed to be even more adorable than she usually was that day. The heiress concluded the meditation exercise Ms. Grey had taught her the day before was already having a positive effect on her apperception, because Weiss began to be less and less annoyed by the antics of her team mates and other friends alike. However, team RWBY was currently plotting an investigation of 'Coragon's', while already on the way to the place. Of course Weiss had informed the Headmaster and her team about her results, after she had confronted the new tutor with the message hidden on the mask. Prof. Ozpin really had forgotten about the bar team EMRD had frequented regularly back in the day. Said bar being the only lead they had, the Headmaster tasked team RWBY to investigate, and see if they could find out anything about the three suspected Emerald Ghosts. The team had concluded that the location they had been seen last, maybe even the current whereabouts were the only things possible to find out.
"Okay, team," Ruby addressed her partner, sister and sister's girlfriend, "there it is," the little rose then pointed out the obvious. Team RWBY was somewhere in the central district of the City of Vale, 'Coragon's' red lighted sign hanging above a row of seemingly old fashioned windows and a wooden door on the other side of the street. The building itself appeared to be made of stones, like the old ruins which could be found littered across the Emerald Forest or Forever Fall. That choice of design created the appearance of an ancient castle, to which the design of the building itself with its fake battlements and arrow loops added perfectly. "Let's go through the plan again."
"We go in, and act natural," Yang recited what the young leader had come up with, slightly annoyed, since she had done so three times by the time they arrived. "As our expert in subtlety and espionage," the brawler then continued with a delighted smirk, "we will let Blakey do the actual talking to the bartender."
"That sums it up, I think," said expert added, and nudged Yang in a playful, loving manner. Ruby reminded the team of the other approaches towards the patrons; so that Blake would not have to do all the work, while the rest would literally sit around. All four of them had their weapons with them, and wore their usual combat attire, since the Huntresses in training were on a mission. Weiss wondered about the way Blake was going to approach this, as the team was crossing the street, and entered 'Coragon's'.
The establishment turned out to be much like the heiress had imagined it. Ms. Grey had mentioned a medieval themed bar, and it delivered from the entrance to the counter. The walls were adorned with wood boarding, which made them look like they were actual wooden walls, as were the ceiling and the floor. There were actual torches, halberds, swords and shields for decoration purposes hanging on the walls, as well. To earn a few extra points for historical accuracy, straw had been laid out on the floor. There were a lot of alcoves, separated from the main area via chest high dividing walls. To add up to the flair, tables and benches were made out of solid wood, as was the counter, which ran across the far wall of 'Coragon's'. In addition there was a small stage, on which one could perform old folklore songs, just to add even more to the atmosphere of the place. Weiss could really imagine a group of three or four young bards, who just happened to look like her and her team, performing the very song she was hearing via speakers concealed in the decoration.
As they entered the establishment, Weiss could feel many gazes placed upon her, many of them not pleased to see her. The heiress realized that many of the other patrons were Faunus, and they most likely recognized her. Thus, she could feel a bit of hostility building up around her, as team RWBY sat at a free table in relative close proximity to the counter. Weiss and Ruby chose the wall side of the table; Yang and Blake had their backs turned to the room. It did not take long for one of the two waitresses to approach them, and take their orders. Since they were over sixteen, except for Ruby, beer was ordered by Yang and Blake. While the little rose had to stick with a soft drink, the heiress chose one, earning her a sheepishly shy smile by her partner. Her outfit matched the theme of 'Coragon's' perfectly, because it was an old fashioned, green dress with an apron, seemingly made like in the times it was supposed to represent.
"I'm afraid I won't be much help here, guys," the heiress stated, and looked around. Some of the Faunus patrons returned to their respective conversations and drinks, while others looked over to her frequently.
"Hey, it's not like you're doing anything illegal, Weiss," Yang remarked.
"But I see, what you mean," Blake added, as she took a look around herself. Their drinks arrived shortly afterwards – in tankards, including the soft drinks for Weiss and Ruby.
"Wow, they're surely thorough with their theme," Ruby said, and looked at the others. All three of them nodded in agreement.
"Well then," Yang then spoke up, "to another successful day as Huntresses of Beacon!" she then toasted with a smirk, and the team just followed suit. Everyone just took a sip of their respective drink, and Blake seemed to notice something.
"Oh, the tankard's broken," the Faunus said, and pointed at a small crack in the edge. "I'll better inform the bartender, be right back."
Shortly after Blake approached the bartender, a Faunus man in his mid 40s, tall, bearded like a goat, for he was a goat-Faunus after all, and somewhat muscular as far as Weiss could see, a group of four Faunus in White Fang uniforms entered the bar. Three of them were similar in size and figure, hiding their Faunus features under the hoods and wearing the Grimm masks, the group was infamous for. Another, most likely the leader of the quartet, was a head taller than the others, wore the uniform and mask, but not the hood, since his antlers would simply not allow it. They took a short look around, and then went to the counter, where they surrounded Blake almost instantly – she just happened to be the only one there at the time.
"What's that?" one of the subordinates said aloud, and pointed at the bow adorning the Faunus girl's head. Yang already got up, clenched her fists, and snarled a little bit. Weiss and Ruby also got up, and the heiress already prepared for the inevitable encounter, still in hopes the situation would be solved peacefully – or without violence, at least.
"Excuse me?" Blake asked, turned towards them, and immediately froze on the spot. She appeared to be startled, scared even of them.
"Pretending to be a Faunus with that thing," stated the one with the antlers, and tried to get a hold of Blake's bow, "or hiding your true heritage?"
"N-no," she answered, and tried to get away, but one of the White Fangs pushed her against the counter. Yang then decided that it was enough. The brawler grabbed the one on the far left, turned him around, and punched him in the face. In the meantime, Weiss was wondering about the strange behavior of her black haired friend. Being startled was one thing, but in that moment Blake appeared to be frightened by the White Fang presence around her.
"Leave her alone!" Yang yelled, while she engaged the Faunus who dared attack her girlfriend. Of course the other two henchmen came to the aid of their comrade, as did Ruby and Weiss to help Yang. While the older sister stood her ground during the erupted fistfight rather gracefully, the younger one did not fare that well. In fact, the little rose received two punches into her face and a kick in her stomach area. After she had tumbled backwards against the nearby wall, the heiress was shoved aside by the physically superior White Fang Faunus. As they tried to get a hold of Ruby, the heiress cursed, and flung the Faunus against the wall behind her partner via white propulsion glyphs, while pulling Ruby towards herself with her right hand. It was a good choice, since the henchmen got to their feet immediately after landing on the floor. However, before they could do anything else, Weiss immobilized them with black gravity glyphs around their feet and hands, restraining them without much of an effort.
The one with the antlers turned out to be a more significant challenge for Yang. Weiss turned around, and as the brawler was about to pull him away from Blake, just before he could rip the bow of the black haired girl's head, he managed to grab the arm Yang had used for a straight punch into his ribcage. The punch itself seemed to have had little – if any – effect on the Faunus. He twisted the arm, forced Yang to her knees, and then kicked her in the head. That way, he stunned her, and used his advantage to insult the brawler.
"What's the matter, bitch?" he said. "Go back on the street, and hook up some di-AAARGH!" he was not able to finish his insult, for someone grabbed his head from behind with one hand, the left one of his antlers with the other, and broke it off – very forcefully. He did not even have time to scream in pain for long, because he then was smacked in the side of his head with his own body part. The force of the blow threw him off his feet and onto the counter. As he was no longer blocking the line of sight, Weiss immediately recognized Diana Woods. What? She came out of nowhere… Weiss thought, while the wolf Faunus started to beat the White Fang Faunus into submission, again with one of his own antlers in hand, as if she intended to add insult to injury.
"What's yer fuckin' problem, cunt?" the Faunus woman asked, growling like the wolf she partly was, although she kept beating the man. The other two Faunus still tried to free themselves of the glyphs the heiress had locked them in, to no avail. The third henchman, however, was still free to engage the raging wolf Faunus when Marine Lancaster – Weiss recognized the dog Faunus just as quickly – appeared behind him, and put him into a headlock with such force, the heiress feared the dog Faunus would strangle the White Fang henchman with his arms. His twin brother Robin Lancaster showed up behind him shortly afterwards. Diana Woods got a hold of the leader's throat, and pulled him off the counter. He was still somewhat conscious, although she was crushing the throat of the man so hard, he was on the verge of suffocating – and the Faunus woman seemed to have no intention to let go.
"Get the fuck outta here, 'fore I forget meself. And take yer fuckface suckers outta me face, else I rearrange ALL yer faces… 'Specially yourrrrrs…" she growled at him in a low, threatening tone of voice. The heiress could feel the growl in her guts, and although she was not even at the receiving end of it, it was simply frightening. "Molestin' a girl with four supposed men… Disgustin'…" she added, lowering the tone of voice and growl even more. Marine gave Weiss a short nod, and the heiress released the two Faunus from her glyphs. They were at least smart enough to not try anything after their release. While Ruby attended to Blake, who still appeared to be frightened, Yang was still collecting herself. The effect of the kick to her head by the antlered Faunus must have been more severe than what the brawler usually dealt with when she got hit. Meanwhile, Diana Woods 'guided' the White Fang Faunus she was holding by his throat to the door, and literally threw him out – and his broken off body part after him, insulting him in various ways while doing so. Marine Lancaster followed suit with the one he had in a headlock – without throwing insults at him – and Robin Lancaster kicked one of the two, who had attacked Weiss and Ruby, in his bottom with every step he took, thus guiding him to the door as well. It appeared he had much fun while doing that. Yang had recovered from the concussive kick to the head in the meantime, and took the liberty of taking care of the last henchman. Meanwhile, Blake, Ruby and Weiss sat down again, with the black haired girl between her friends, obviously looking for protection.
"Thanks, guys," the bartender addressed the returning trio after they had taken out the metaphorical trash they had called the White Fangs while throwing them out. Weiss now took a closer look at them, while they exchanged some pleasantries with the barkeeper like close friends tend to do, which confirmed to Weiss that the remaining members of team EMRD were still regulars at 'Coragon's'.
Diana Woods was wearing a pair of cargo pants, combat boots, a simple shirt and a combat vest, all of which matched in a brownish color scheme, and their pattern resembling the bark of a tree. Her shoulders were covered by small leather guards, which were colored in different shades of green in a leave like pattern. Her companions were wearing a uniform like set of cargo pants, shirts and boots, which each had a camouflage pattern. The only difference between their attires was the color scheme – Marine Lancaster in blue colors, Robin Lancaster in red. All of them had folded weapons in designated bags on their backs, easy to reach.
"Glad, we're not the only ones willing to help," Marine Lancaster stated, and looked around. His voice was rough and deep, but he spoke in a friendly tone. Weiss noticed that a couple of other patrons had stood up in order to intervene, and were sitting down again – the trio just had been quicker. However, the heiress could not tell where they had come from. She was just glad, as Marine was, that the situation was resolved before anything really bad happened. "You alright, girl?" he then asked Blake. She just nodded somewhat fearfully. I don't think you are… Weiss thought, however.
"Mind, if we join ye?" Diana then asked. Of course Ruby invited them to sit with team RWBY at the table, while Yang joined Blake between the heiress and the little rose.
"Who of you is the glyph user, if you don't mind me asking?" Marine Lancaster asked politely, after he and his brother had fetched their drinks from a relatively dark alcove, from which the trio must have emerged.
"That would be me, Sir," Weiss answered, just as politely. "My name is Weiss Schnee," she then introduced herself, "and these are my friends, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and Ruby Rose," the heiress completed the introduction of team RWBY in the order they were sitting at the table right then.
"I knew that face was familiar!" Robin shouted excitedly, "You look awesome, Blake!" he added, and winked at her, while pointing at Blake with both hands. While such a compliment in itself tended to be a reassuring thing, Weiss noticed Blake had only calmed down a bit by then. Her friend was still nervous, but the heiress was not able to tell why.
"Marine Lancaster," the man in the middle of the trio introduced himself, after being reminded of his manners by the heiress.
"Rrrrrobin Lancasterrrrrr," his brother followed suit, as if he was an announcer in some sort of sports event. Yang could seemingly not resist smirking at that behavior.
"Diana Lancaster." The last of the trio growled her own name, and eyed team RWBY down one by one.
"Wait, isn't your last name Woods?" Yang asked Diana, out of simple curiosity, Weiss supposed. Come on, Yang, are you serious? While the brawler just realized, what she had said, she got a curious look by all three Faunus – one suspicious, one surprised and amused, while the last one was furiously skeptical, to say the least.
"I've married Marine o'er there…" Diana growled as her reply.
"And how do you know her maiden name, Miss Xiao Long?" Marine asked, still being polite. Diana tensed up, and started growling again, while Robin jumped on his brother's lap, looking at his female companion like a scared child, and even started to whine.
"Uh, we met your team leader, and she mentioned you…?" Yang answered in form of a question, while looking at her team mates for help.
Diana Lancaster suddenly shot up. Although she did not growl at Yang, all four girls were startled by the sudden movement. "WHAT?!" the wolf Faunus shouted aggressively, yet surprised, drawing all the attention inside 'Coragon's' towards her. The other two members of team EMRD looked just as surprised, although they were busy getting one brother off the other's lap.
The brawler started to explain: "Well, we've met your team leader in her house, where we saw a photograph of you all, and she explained to us how you guys saved Blakey here…" As Yang put her left arm around her girlfriend's shoulders, the three faces of the Faunus started to light up. Too close, Yang… That was too close… The heiress thought.
"That's some actual good news," Marine then said. "Would you mind telling us how she was, when you saw her?" he then inquired, as if he intended to draw the attention away from Blake. He must have noticed her nervousness as well, Weiss assumed. Since these three individuals and Ms. Grey had been a team, and maybe even still were, the heiress did not mind letting Yang answer the question – she would have done it anyway, even if the heiress would have protested.
"I think she's fine, and definitely a good teacher. Just yesterday she beat up one of our fellow students for being a total… Jerk, and-" Thankfully Yang did not forget her manners and at least thought about her wording before insulting someone. Being Huntresses in training or fully trained Huntsmen and a Huntress, all seven of them were role models – Yang especially so towards her little sister.
"Say what?!" Diana interrupted Yang loudly – again.
"She's a tutor at the Academy now?" Marine asked in addition. "Since when?"
"Since Monday, I think," Yang assumed, but neither of team RWBY knew the exact first day of Ms. Grey's employment at Beacon.
"Wooooo! We gotta go visit her, visit her, visit, visit, visit!" Robin suddenly sang – if one could call it that – and started to bounce around.
"Calm down a'ready, ye maniac!" Diana tried to intervene, but said maniac just did not listen to his sister-in-law. Weiss could not tell whether she was still angry, because of the White Fang quartet, or angry again, because her brother-in-law embarrassed all three of them by bouncing around the establishment like Nora on some illegal substance – the heiress could recall one named Speed which could cause such hyperactivity on 'normal' people. The heiress could not believe there was someone, let alone a full grown Faunus man, with worse behavior issues than Nora appeared to have.
"Sit down, already," Marine said after a few moments.
"Butbutbutbutbutbutbutbutbut…" Robin protested, and lowered his dog ears. Diana started to rise, when Marine finally regained control over his seemingly hyperactive brother.
"The only butt involved in this conversation is yours, brother. On this bench. Now." Said brother simply submitted, while almost whining like a dog, as Marine pointed at the seat the red clad of the twins had left empty for his antics.
"What was that about?" Yang asked bluntly.
"Excitement got the better of me, but seriously: Can you blame me?" Robin defended his joyous outburst. "I mean: We were certain she had perished by now."
"He's right about that," Marine added, and nodded to his brother. "And I am just as relieved as he is to hear that she is well and working again."
"Well, finally another good teacher at the place," Diana remarked with an amused snarl, however that was possible. While Yang exchanged some of their experiences with certain professors, Weiss watched Blake from time to time. The Faunus girl used the idle chit chat team EMRD's members, Yang, and Ruby had engaged in to simply lay low in a metaphorical way. She was probably still dealing with the surprise, or shock even, the assault might have caused.
"Blake, what's wrong?" Weiss asked her friend quietly, startling her in the process.
"Uhm, still a bit shaken up, I think…" Blake answered, almost whispering. As I thought…
"They surely surprised you, hm?" the heiress tried to tease the Faunus a bit – with the intention to ease her mind, of course.
"Yes," Blake replied, after she calmed herself a bit further, "but not in the way you might think."
"Oh?" Weiss wondered, "I don't think I get what you mean, Blake."
"The real surprise was: They did not attack you, and you were clearly visible," Blake started to explain.
"I think they didn't see me, because I sat a bit off to the side, with my back to the wall," Weiss replied, "And you were somewhat the center of attention… Being the only one at the counter, I mean."
"Yeah, I didn't think about that…" Blake then said, and looked over to Yang and Ruby, who were still engaged in their conversation with team EMRD. They were talking about searching someone, while Marine looked for something on his Scroll. When he showed a picture of a young man with a black and red jacked, a Grimm mask covering his upper face, and a red sword in hand, Blake became uneasy again; even more than during the assault of the White Fang Faunus. These four merely startled the black haired girl, but this one, even though it was only a picture of him, plainly frightened her.
"His name is Adam Taurus," Marine started to explain, "and he's one of the leading heads of those four idiots we threw out." Blake took a hold of Yang's arm under the table, out of sight of everyone in the bar. Yang simply put that arm around her girlfriend's waist, for reasons of concealment, Weiss assumed.
"He's s'posed t' be responsible fer a heist on one o' them SDC warehouses last week. Went south fer sum reason, though," Diana added snarling, although everybody who had watched or listened to the news knew, what that reason was: The Emerald Ghosts.
"But the Ghosts intervened, so… Everything's cool," Yang stated.
"Maybe, but what do the White Fucks need a ridiculously large amount of Dust for, eh?" Diana asked in return. To that, none at the table seemed to have an answer. The wolf Faunus let a few seconds pass, before speaking up again: "See? That's the real question right there."
"And it's not like they couldn't pull off such a thing again, elsewhere," Marine added. The heiress, like the rest of team RWBY could not agree more to that.
"Maybe it's more about damaging my father's company…" Weiss assumed, and rightfully so. A successful heist would have caused a significant financial damage, while the failed one still had done some damage to sales, most likely – Other companies might not have wanted to become targets for the group of Faunus, after all. And Weiss could not blame any of them.
"Probably," Diana replied to the heiress' assumption, "But ye heard the news, right? Were prepped for sum heavy liftin', far's that security guy's accuracy's concerned."
"Yeah, the guy was right there," Yang said, "And saw these three 'Ghost' characters."
"Mhm…" Marine leaned forward a bit, and took a very close look at the brawler and Blake, who still held her girlfriend's arm. Weiss felt uncomfortable, because the three members of team EMRD in front of them changed their respective stances. They were not hostile, or repellent, but reserved. Diana even kept her level of aggression she seemingly always had, but it clearly took more effort to do so.
"A particular interesting set of characters, won't you agree?" Robin suddenly spoke up, and startled the heiress in the process. "What do you four think about them?" he then asked, looking at Weiss, as if she was to begin answering.
"Well…" she tried to start, but immediately found herself at a loss of words. As it turned out, the heiress never actually thought about what to think of the Emerald Ghosts herself. Naturally there were the many opinions and thoughts covered in the news – interviews and articles alike – public discussions and their presence always shadowed Faunus rights protests – presumed presence that is. Weiss was still thinking about her answer, when suddenly a group of people busted in the door. Hostile tensions immediately rose as at least a dozen White Fang brutes literally stormed the establishment, armed with red bladed swords. Weiss could not make out any striking features of certain individuals in the group, with the exception of one whose antlers were no longer complete. While they were rallying around the table teams EMRD and RWBY sat at, the other patrons fled the building; the White Fang let those people leave, at least.
"Well, look who't is…" Diana snarled at them, as she got to her feet. Marine signaled the barkeeper and other patrons, who had not left yet, to do just that. As he and his brother exchanged a brief look, followed by a collective nod, the heiress was certain the twin brothers had some sort of plan. "Gathered sum friends fer round two, eh?!" Diana continued to taunt the White Fang Faunus, who had gathered around her, while Robin and Marine slipped into the back of the bar seemingly unnoticed by the group.
Ruby wanted to follow suit, but a quick glance by Weiss convinced the little rose to stay out of the upcoming fight for the time being. The heiress was sure, however, that she and her friends would get involved eventually. Blake, on the other hand, was anxious to get involved immediately, which made Yang simply hold her tight, while Ruby and Weiss turned over the table to create an improvised cover – as bad as simple wood possibly would be for that matter.
"You little slu-" the humiliated Faunus of the White Fang started, but he was interrupted by an enraged Diana Lancaster.
"I TOLD YE T'GET YER FUCKFACE OUTTA HERE, PUNK!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, as she unfolded her weapon into an automated shotgun in brownish colors; its barrel appeared to be adorned with a strange looking chain, decorated with engraved leaves, colored in green. The weapon appeared very bulky to Weiss, and by the movements of its wielder the heiress could safely say that it was as heavy as it looked. "Now it's playtime, bitches!" She growled at them. The antlered Faunus started laughing, but was cut off, quite in a literal sense, when one of his followers was knocked of his feet by a shot. By the time the group had realized that one of their own had been almost killed, Diana just shot at two others – apparently at random – who were lucky enough to get hit at their armored chests, thus surviving the onslaught by the enraged wolf. "Come on, baby! Show me what ye got!"
Having yelled that, Diana deemed it a good idea to change her weapon into its melee form – many Huntsmen and Huntresses had chosen that approach to their Foldable Frame weaponry, after all. But Weiss, like her team mates, had never seen such a thing before. The shotgun took on the form of a sword, encased on one side, while the blade seemed to be the chain which decorated the shotgun form before. While Ruby whispered the word 'chainsaw' in a mixture of astonishment and surprise, the weapon started to roar like such a tool. The White Fang thugs in front of her jumped back a bit, as much startled by the sudden noise as the heiress was, but then engaged the Huntress with the chain sword in close combat.
Steel clashed on steel, the Huntress' weapon roared with every strike she performed against her opponents, and sparks started to fly around inside the bar. In that moment the not so medieval fire-extinguishing system was activated, preventing the furniture from getting set ablaze by those sparks. While the White Fang was surprised by the sudden, unnatural downpour, the wolf Faunus fighting them took immediate advantage of their moment of abstraction. She grabbed one of them by his chest armor, shoved him into another, and would have brutally dismembered them with her weapon afterwards, were it not for their heavy, full body armor suits; they were tossed against the wall like the three before them, instead. With five fighters incapacitated after mere seconds, the group of White Fang Faunus fled 'Coragon's' hastily, panicked even. But after they stormed outside, gunshots were fired. And a lot of them, in fact. Are they just…? Weiss thought, but could not finish it, because Diana addressed her.
"YOU!" she yelled, and pointed at the heiress, who had been watching the entire encounter from behind the table. "What should I do with'em?"
Weiss left the cover, and noticed Ruby behind her. "What?" The heiress yelled back over the sound of the running fire-extinguishing system.
"Choice's simple: Gut'em, or let'em go?" Diana explained, and held her chain sword close to one of the beaten Faunus' neck. As she made her weapon roar once again, Weiss screamed at the top of her lungs: "LET THEM GO!"
As soon as Weiss had said that, the chain sword's roar stopped. Diana looked down at the Faunus. "Ye heard th'lady: Get outta here," she said, and although the heiress could not hear it very clearly, she was convinced the Faunus could, for they got to their feet and stumbled out of the bar. Team RWBY and Diana Lancaster left the bar as well, all five of them soaked to the bone.
The police arrived to the scene shortly afterwards, and started questioning witnesses, teams EMRD and RWBY included. While Weiss and her friends tried to give as many details as possible to the officers, mainly the headcount of White Fang fighters, the weaponry used in the fight, words that had been spoken, and names, the seasoned Huntsmen and the equally seasoned Huntress provided information about the way the Faunus group went, and what had happened before, and after the fight, to which the police had been called. All this took something around one and a half hour, before team RWBY finally went home, back to the Academy.
"Damn it," Yang suddenly spoke up loudly after she entered the dorm room as the last of the four. Ruby went straight for the bathroom, while Blake and Weiss took a seat on their respective beds.
"What did you want to ask her?" the black haired Faunus asked her girlfriend, while both were getting rid of their footwear.
"Why she wanted Weiss to decide…" said girlfriend replied, and looked at the heiress. Weiss was just as confused as the couple about that. "I mean, you had a clearer look at her than I did, am I right?"
"No," the heiress answered, and shook her head gently, "I'm afraid I couldn't see much because of the water, just as you couldn't."
Blake hugged Yang seemingly out of nowhere as the blonde was about to reply to Weiss. "Hey there, what's wrong?" she then asked her girlfriend, hugging her as well.
"I'm afraid, she was testing Weiss," Blake said quietly, before looking at the heiress directly, "and I think you passed the test." While Blake seemed to have confused Yang, Weiss tried to figure out what kind of test this possibly could have been.
"Wait…" the heiress then spoke up. "How do you come to this conclusion, Blake?"
"Well, you might not have noticed the way Misses Lancaster looked at you," Blake started to explain. After a brief thought, Weiss shook her head – she really did not notice that. "She was very skeptical, to say the least."
"Yes, I know: I am a Schnee, and no Faunus likes my family for obvious reasons…" the heiress admitted in an annoyed tone of voice. Why did Blake have to remind her about that circumstance at that moment? The Faunus nodded, while Yang took her left hand into her own, and squeezed it a bit.
"But you stepped in for me, a Faunus, although you didn't do much to help me directly…" Blake continued her explanation, and took a deep breath, before continuing further. "She could've killed all of them easily, as far as I could see. She was the superior fighter in that engagement. But she held back, for some reason. It's just a hunch I have to admit, but…"
"…It somewhat makes sense…" Weiss assumed, and finished Blake's sentence for her in the process. "But it's just an assumption," the heiress then clarified, "as is team EMRD being the Emerald Ghosts – still, I'm afraid."
After saying that, Weiss went to her desk in order to write the report for Prof. Ozpin. Ruby reemerged from the bathroom, wearing her pajama pants and tank top, as she always did when going to bed. Yang had decided to occupy the bathroom next, and Blake left the room in order to get a light snack.
"Still on duty, I see?" Ruby asked. The heiress did not even realize her partner so close behind her, her shoulders literally touched the soft, warm chest of the little rose.
"Reports don't write themselves, you know?" Weiss remarked harshly. Why did Ruby have to get THAT close to her? If she wanted to take a look at what the heiress was doing, a step to the right would have sufficed just fine. "And I don't want to forget anything. Besides, I've always written the reports right after missions, so why bother now?"
"Because something's clearly bothering you," Ruby answered in an unfamiliar gentle tone of voice, and placed her hands on heiress' shoulders, "and it seems you're tensed up, as well," she added, and started to massage Weiss' shoulders without a warning – let alone permission. Naturally, she tensed up even more during the assault on her personal space, and when the unexpected strong hands of Ruby started to push her muscles, Weiss started to flail around.
"Dolt, what are you- Ouch!" the heiress exclaimed, shoved Ruby back to the middle of the room, and huffed at her. However, before another fight broke loose – which would have been the first in a long time – Weiss realized how right Ruby was about her being tensed up, although the little rose did not know how to massage properly, it seemed. "S-sorry," Weiss said, as she looked at Ruby's surprised, and somewhat saddened face. What's with that?
"No, no, I'm sorry," Ruby insisted surprisingly, "I forgot you don't like being touched without permission. I just tried to be nice."
"Okay," the heiress sighed, "and I overreacted. Now that that's done, I have to admit, you're right." As if on cue, her back started to hurt rather badly at the shoulder blade area, probably through the combination of the incorrectly applied massage and the fact, the muscles actually were tensed up quite a lot. "So, do you know how to fix that?"
Ruby simply nodded. "I could try again, provided you agree with it…" she then said shyly. You're blushing? Why?
"Alright," the heiress replied in acceptance of the offer. "What am I required to do?" she then asked, although she had sat down at her desk again in order to finish the report first. Weiss deemed it obvious enough that the massage would have to wait until she was finished, and Ruby got the hint, it seemed.
"Well… You would have to undress…" Ruby almost whispered embarrassedly, "S-so I can apply massage oil and stuff properly!" the little rose added hastily, when Weiss took in a sharp breath.
"…Of course… You'll use a towel, I assume?" Why would I even THINK it could be a different reason? Weiss thought to herself. She was talking to Ruby, not to Yang, after all. The brawler would have been much more suggestive in that regard, though.
"For the oil? B-but of course…" Although Weiss did not look up from her report, she knew Ruby was fiddling about with her fingers in front of her chest nervously. She could feel a subtle smirk sneaking onto her lips as she kept thinking about it, while Ruby started her preparations, by the sounds of it. Her partner's behavior was always childish to some extent, but the heiress had grown to like it for some reason. After all, that was what made Ruby Rose who she was. As the report reached its conclusion a few minutes later, Blake returned from her little snack prowl.
"Hello… What's going on here?" the Faunus inquired, while still standing in the doorway. Weiss turned around and looked at what Ruby has been doing behind her back, immediately asking herself the same question. Ruby had folded the cover at the foot of the bed in an orderly fashion, and in its stead her big red towel with the black outlined rose in the center if it covered sheets and pillow. On the end table there were three bottles with what Weiss assumed were massage oils. Ruby sat on the edge of the bed, smiling shyly and fiddling with her pajama pants and tank top, while blushing as well.
"Well," Weiss said after taking in the sight, "This is far more than I was anticipating for a simple massage." The heiress had just finished the report and put pen and papers back to where they belonged in an orderly fashion. Now she had to undress herself, and lay down on her bed so Ruby could begin, yet Weiss hesitated – and she felt lucky to have done so. A few seconds later Yang reemerged from the bathroom, ready for bed. She did not even take notice of what was going on as she planted herself on Blake's bed, while the Faunus entered the bathroom to prepare for the night. Now Weiss stood there, and did not know what to do.
"Wow, Ruby, what's going on over there?" Yang finally took notice of the situation on the other side of the room, and started to grin slyly.
"It's just a massage, Yang," Weiss stepped in, before Ruby would embarrass herself even more by stuttering, while trying to explain the situation. The heiress braced herself for the teasing comment her blonde friend was about to deliver.
"That explains the missing rose petals and perfumed candles…" Yang remarked with a suggestive wink at Ruby, causing the younger of the sisters to blush even more.
"Stop this, right now!" Weiss commanded, and looked at the blonde angrily. She just raised her hands in defense, but snickered nonetheless.
"Alright, alright. Shall I leave you two to your moment, though?" The brawler then asked, now looking at Weiss in that suggestive manner. At least she left her sister alone, more or less. Don't make a scene now… Weiss warned herself, and took a brief moment to collect her thoughts via the meditation exercise Ms. Grey had taught her.
"I don't think that would be necessary," she then replied, "However, since Ruby has to be able to apply everything properly, I ask you to look away for a moment – out of courtesy."
"Sure thing, princess," Yang answered and grabbed one of Blake's books in order to pretend to read it. Weiss just knew Yang would take at least one peek at her, as she went towards Ruby, who immediately closed her eyes, and covered them with her left hand. The heiress could not help but smile at that, as she loosened her combat skirt, and placed it on the chair she always used to store her clothing temporarily. It felt a bit strange to her to wear nothing but white panties as she lay down on her belly.
"You may begin now," Weiss then allowed Ruby to get to work on her back. The little rose immediately started by opening one of the bottles, and pouring some its content on the heiress' back. As she then started to spread the cool oil on Weiss' back, the sound of Ruby's nervous breathing caught the heiress' attention. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, I just… I'm just a bit out of practice," Ruby replied nervously. What she did, though, was at least equal to a professional massage in a spa, if not even better than the last one Weiss had received. When Ruby started the actual massage, the heiress could not decide whether it felt good or bad at first. The little rose started with the shoulders, correcting the error there caused by the incident earlier. She pushed her thumbs against them rather forcefully, and caused a bit of pain at first, before it turned into a more pleasurable feeling of relief. Ruby then continued the same procedure again and again, working her way downwards slowly, while moving her strong hands in small circles.
"Mmmh, good…" Weiss moaned – without the intention to do so – and Ruby just laughed a bit, quietly and shyly. "Oh… Shouldn't have said it like that…" the heiress then remarked.
"It's okay, Weiss… I'm glad you like it…" Ruby whispered in return, and applied even more pressure on Weiss' back muscles.
"Aaah…" Weiss exclaimed during the immediate rush of pain, which might have sounded a bit different, if it were not for the given context. "That hurt…" She added.
"It will be better, soon, Weiss," Ruby simply replied, and stroked the back up to the shoulder blades, and then down almost to the hips again, once. That move made Weiss sigh in relief, because of the short break created by it. As the massage continued, her back started to feel warm, because of the oil applied to it. That warmth spread through Weiss' entire body as it helped Ruby loosen up the back. Interestingly enough, the heiress felt somewhat excited around her lower stomach area for a moment, but when she asked herself if she was aroused, the feeling vanished as quickly as it came. So, Weiss just shrugged it off as a side effect of Ruby's masterfully done job.
Although the heiress enjoyed the massage quite a lot, all things considered, she was glad when it was over. Ruby had been very thorough, and managed to loosen up many of the knots in her back rather effectively. While the little rose was cleaning the remainders of the massage oil from Weiss' back with an additional towel, she hummed a slow, somewhat romantic melody to herself.
"Okay, all done," Ruby eventually said, "Do you feel any better?"
"What a question: You just worked a wonder on my back, Ruby," Weiss replied, and turned around. Her partner was already cleaning up behind herself, when Weiss realized she was still only in her panties. Although she covered herself quickly, she could have sworn Ruby took a short peek at her chest, but the heiress decided to simply ignore that. It was late, she was tired, thanks to Ruby's massage skills, and drifted away into the realm of dreams almost instantly. This time, however, her dreams were different than usual.
The next chapter: Grapevine
Hello there
I actually liked the outcome of this, but I request, as always, feedback of you. It doesn't matter, if you liked it or not, just point out, why you formed the opinion you did, so that I can improve, if the need arises.
Sincerely
Eryrthreas