Where was Cardin Winchester?
The million lien question on everyone's mind as they waited at the temple ruins. Everybody gathered here had succeeded in reaching their destination and passing the difficult part of the initiation test. Returning back to the start with a trinket came akin to a victory lap for any of them.
The only problem was there were no relics to collect, bringing us back to everybody wanting to know where the one person having them could be. And although Jaune was the person most out of the loop from their group, the consensus somehow made him the person in charge of taking complaints.
And oh boy, could Weiss Schnee complain.
The rest had chilled out eventually and spent time enjoying the amenities provided by the gracious host. Anything missing was added by Sky on request, including a portable toilet used on construction sites.
Only the Schnee heiress couldn't stop being persistent. "How much longer do we have to wait? I have something important to discuss with him."
Jaune would have laughed at the thought of having a productive discussion with Cardin, if he hadn't been annoyed to the absolute limit by the little snow fairy. Cardin Winchester didn't negotiate about anything. When he wanted something he took it, unless you stopped him with arguments of the physical variety.
But he had to give her something. "Ask Russel. He should know."
The young man in question only vaguely acknowledged the mention of his name. Russel Thrush was in the middle of creating something that looked like an ad for camping equipment with Ruby and Yang as his unwilling props. Despite arriving among the first, the passengers he had arrived with still remained as lifeless as ever. The two frozen girls sat around a roaring campfire, Yang holding a cold beer in her left and Ruby having a stick with marshmallows.
"What are you doing with them?" Jaune asked, more curious than perturbed by the sight of his friend posing two living mannequins.
"Making it as comfortable as possible for these two, hoping it will quell their unending rage just a little bit."
Jaune,Sky and Dove nodded in understanding that eluded the rest of the present company. Weiss gave Sky a piercing look and he leaned into her to explain what had happened to Yang and Ruby. Pyrrha, mindful to keep unmistakeable distance from her partner, listened in to the explanation of how Russel's semblance worked. Nikos hadn't spoken a single syllable in the presence of the heiress, keeping to small exchanges with Dove and watching the case of hard light dust like a hawk.
"That's insane…" Weiss muttered as she watched Nora pinch Ruby's cheeks to amuse herself, until Russel chased the girl away with Ren apologizing on behalf of his partner. "Why are all your semblances so broken and highly exploitable?"
"Do you think that's the case?" Dove asked, biting into a freshly prepared hotdog.
She pointed at the dish. "Your friend used his power to summon a barbecue grill! Together with three kinds of meat and two vegetarian options!"
"How are the shrimp skewers by the way?" Sky asked as he manned the grill station, putting another piece of grilled food on her plate.
The heiress looked down on the steaming dish. "They are quite delectable and… that's not the point. Stop changing topics!"
"You mentioned the food."
Pyrrha commented on the exchange with a small spiteful chuckle. A small frown was the only sign Weiss even noticed, more infuriated with herself for the loss of composure.
"Quite so. I seem to lack focus around you ruffians."
"Maybe milady is warming up to the peasantry."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "But seriously, where's Winchester Mr. Thrush?"
"I will be with you in a second," Russel carefully turned their heads to have the sisters make eye contact. "I have to make sure they become partners. Can't remember if they looked at each other before."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Jaune sat down and watched Russel do his meticulous prep work. "I remember Yang not being thrilled to partner up with her sister."
"Well, what choice do they have?" Russel posed Ruby's arm a bit higher to prevent the marshmallow on her stick from burning. "Everyone else is already taken. Even you got the emo cat girl that somehow completely flew under our radar. Cardin will be pissed when he hears you got the secret girlfriend of Mr. Moo."
Both turned their attention to the pair keeping their distance. Blake stayed away from the group to take care of Adam and his enormous hangover. Lovingly she had his head on her lap while she continued to scold him between stealing little kisses from each other.
"Caught me off guard like you. Never mentioned the girl even once. Secretive and protective about her for some reason."
Russel scoffed. "I can think of a reason. The white knight believes we are a bad influence for his sweetheart. You're not the only one he ghosted, Jaune. The first time you speak to each other after months of radio silence and he asks you to play bodyguard for his broad."
Weiss cleared her throat loudly to remember the two of her presence.
Russel sighed, clearly annoyed by the impatience of the heiress, but hurried up regardless to get it done. The finishing touches on his appeasement diorama were another bag of cookies in Ruby's lap and two prepared burgers on paper plates.
"And done."
There was no visual or auditory sign when the influence of the semblance vanished. The onlookers presented an eerie scene of two lifelike dolls springing to life from one moment to the next.
"... at? Ruby what…"
"...on`t do it!"
All attention focused the rebooting girls on the campfire. Russel did nothing, letting the girls acclimate since changing location and position of your body in a perceived blink of an eye can be very disorienting. The backlash tended to get stronger with the duration the senses had been stopped.
Yang had the most trouble, looking around like a cagey animal in clear distress.
A gentle hand coaxed the blonde to sit down. "Easy there, take a sip and breathe slowly."
She relented to his suggestion and battled her dry throat with a deep gulp and kept blinking rapidly to moisten burning eyes.
"The first time is always the most confusing. Your sister can attest to that."
Ruby's eyes were already focused on him, the hand around her stick gripping strong enough to crack the bark. "Why did you do this?"
Yang was still trying to make sense out of the situation, completely dizzy from the influx of stimuli. "Could somebody tell me what is going on?"
Pure, unadulterated disdain laced every syllable of Ruby's answer. "He turned us off. Used his semblance to shut down our senses and drove us away. We left Cardin on his own against two elder grimm."
The bottle in Yang's hand exploded, aura preventing cutting herself to shreds. Red embers gave Russel a piercing glare and the blonde was one twitch away from falling into a frenzy. Once again and to Yang's great annoyance, her show of anger didn't have any effect on the mohawk guy.
Like Cardin earlier, Russell acted severely unimpressed. "As much as it annoys me to be the emotional punching bag for Cardin's decisions, I can understand your pissed so let it all out with a few swings."
Yang didn't need much convincing to vent her frustration on a willing target. She threw a right straight punch without wind up towards his skull at a blinding speed, stopped short by a palm appearing between the most vulnerable part of Russel's face and the approaching fist to make it stop dead.
A weird sense of dejavu filled Yang from Jaune Arc holding her fist in a firm grip, although he looked far less bored than last time. "I take the blame. Cardin is doing this because of me."
It was at this moment that Ruby decided she had had enough and made it known.
"WHO GIVES A DAMN ABOUT THAT!? WHY ARE WE WASTING TIME? YOUR FRIEND COULD BE DEAD, YOU ASSHOLE!"
The small redhead had some impressive pipes for lungs. Even Yang was stunned, her own anger overshadowed and forgotten by the raw display of emotion. She knew exactly where all the frustration of her little sister was coming from and it worried her how single minded Ruby could become to live up to a simple oath.
She lost someone dear. Nobody else will suffer the same under her watch.
Jaune Arc had the profound reaction of open laughter towards the honest conviction of a girl with a hero complex. Then he was joined by Sky and Dove in full blown cackling and Ruby deflated in the face of three guys finding joy at the possible death of their friend.
Yang scowled at the three gasping for air and holding their sides. "You think this is funny? Even if he's tough, it's no guarantee for survival against two elder grimm."
Jaune wiped the tears from his eyes and suppressed the last chuckle. "Cardin hasn't been serious today."
"How would you know? All you did was sit here on your ass!"
A new voice answered for Jaune.
"Because the forest hasn't caught on fire yet." Adam decided to join the conversation with Blake trying half-heartedly to pull him back from the crowd. "Cardin's semblance is the most destructive weapon imaginable. If he had to use it, we would know by now."
Jaune put a hand on Yang's shoulder with a smile. "Just wait here and he will turn up eventually."
"I can't accept that!" Ruby yelled, weapon drawn storming off towards the treeline. She made it five steps before stopping with her shoulders slumped and staring into the distance.
"Ruby?" Yang approached her unmoving sibling.
Adam scoffed. "Looks like he's giving you no choice in the matter."
Seeing the effect of being stopped for the first time from an outside perspective, Yang felt creeped out by the image of her little sister as still as a corpse. Only from a really close angle you could see her breathing from shallow chest movement.
"I rather not have her run around aimlessly in a grimm-infested forest. The whole savior shtick is cute but utterly pointless."
Eyes turning red glared at Russel. "What gives you the right to decide for her? We are not your toys!"
"No, you are my responsibility until Cardin comes back. So either behave or I will make you. I'm done negotiating."
"MOTHERF…"
Yang stopped. Russell clicked his tongue.
He sat both sisters back down at the campfire. On the way he passed Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, who all backed away from him with tense expressions. Sitting down himself, Sky and Dove immediately joined him without saying a word, handing Russel a bottle and hot dog.
His eyes never left the frozen expression of anger on both girl's faces. "You know, I thought we hit it off pretty well. What a waste."
Another person agreed with the current situation being a waste and decided to do something productive with her time. Jaune realized the lack of pestering and saw Weiss approaching a new target. The dainty little thing emanated a pressure with her presence, unrecognizable from the easily riled up princess from before. A game face if ever Jaune had seen one.
A lot was going on behind those ice blue eyes when she offered Adam a handshake. "Weiss Schnee. It's so nice to make your acquaintance Mr. Taurus."
"Really?" Adam asked with doubt in his voice, but accepting the gesture in kind.
Her grip was firmer than expected. "Of course. I admire your methods and followed your career closely from the very beginning. I would love to have an opportunity to exchange thoughts about current events."
"I figured my first face-to-face meeting with a Schnee would be more antagonistic."
The formative years of the White Fang as a united group had been a time of bloody struggle. Before coming together under one banner, hundreds of splinter factions existed with different ideals and approaches towards the cause of faunus equality, some more violent than even the most radical members today.
It reached an insane fever pitch fifteen years ago.
The Schnee incident.
A stain of shame on the White Fang history.
"My father always says the poorest way to face life is with a sneer, Mr. Taurus." The smile on her face looked bittersweet but honest. "I won't besmirch the name of my family by succumbing to baser instincts. Determination to create a better future, not anger about the past, drives the Schnee bloodline."
"Does everyone have a place in that future?" Adam asked calmly.
Weiss didn't miss a beat. "Do you think everybody should have one?"
Irritation grew exponentially inside Blake the longer she had to witness a Schnee up close. The mere proximity made her skin crawl from every little gesture and sound coming out that conceited bitch.
"Typical behavior of the morally unjustified to dodge uncomfortable questions."
Blue eyes moved a fraction to make contact with Blake's. "I replied to a loaded question with one of my own. Anything else would be dishonest."
Blake didn't like being dismissed so easily. "What would your family know about virtues like honesty? While your father profits from controversial labor practices and systematic racism in your dust mines, your sister spins the civil war in Vacuo in Atlas's favor and takes advantage of people wanting to free themselves of oppression."
The heiress seemed to think for a moment, then excused herself with a raised finger and got another plate of food under the watchful eyes of Blake and Adam. She offered them both from the selection of seafood skewers, which Adam ignored and Blake responded to with a glare.
Weiss shrugged and took one for herself. "That sure was a lot of words you just used. Big and important sounding words with a lot of conviction behind them. And you kept it pleasantly short and to the point without rambling about a dozen side tangents unrelated to the subject at hand."
Blake's eyes narrowed to amber slits. "Are you patronizing me?"
"Maybe a little bit." Weiss took a chaste bite from her skewer and chewed with a hand obscuring her mouth. Jaune could see she was also hiding a smirk and something tender fluttered in his chest from that small display of mischief through the ironclad expression.
Adam saw it as well and put a hand on Blake's shoulder. "I think she got the point."
"It's Weiss Schnee, Adam! This is our chance to really make a difference!"
The plate of skewers dropped on the ground. Slender, pale hands grabbed Blake by the wrist, who drew her weapon in pistol mode on instinct. Slowly, without any indication of being a threat, Weiss raised Blake's hand that was holding the gun until it pointed the heiress right between the eyes.
Cold metal of the muzzle pressed against her forehead and she cocked the hammer for Blake. "Then do something," Weiss said evenly, any ounce of patience gone. "Stop wasting time with empty platitudes and put those words into action."
The mood at the ruins changed in an instant. A relatively harmless get-together had turned into an active hostage situation. And somehow the hostage seemed more in control than the trembling faunus holding the weapon.
"What are you waiting for?" the heiress guided a damp finger of Blake on the trigger. "You've been so eager a second ago. It would only take a twitch to inflict a devastating blow to the remains of my family. A lot less effort than bombing the hospital where my mother laid in labour with my unborn baby brother."
For the first time, the frigid mask cracked and Blake saw the raw emotion burn in Weiss's eyes. "Change the world again. Show how much you really care about your equality."
A second later, the gun was ripped out of Blake's grip and landed safely in the outstretched hand of Pyrrha. The redhead had a look of disbelief towards Weiss which the heiress matched with an expression of mild curiosity.
"I figured you would use the opportunity to get rid of me, Nikos."
Pyrrha went a few shades paler.
"Oh relax, she wouldn't have done anything." The significantly smaller girl stepped up to the towering amazon and took the gun back from Pyrrha. "I've faced people wanting to kill me since birth. You recognize the signs of somebody willing to end a life by the resolve in their eyes."
Blake had forgotten how to breathe, her eyes glued to the Schnee casually walking back to her. Weiss came to a stop before the cat faunus, pointed the gun at herself and pulled the trigger, the hollow sound of a metallic click and scattered gasps from those who hadn't figured out a vital detail.
No bullet in the chamber and an empty magazine.
"Ironically, the person most stressed about this situation was the girl with the gun."
Blake couldn't take it anymore. She had to get away.
Her escape came to a stumbling halt against a nearby tree when her feet refused to carry the shaking girl further. Still in view of everybody, they bore witness to the pitiful scene of a person coming undone at the seams under the emotional distress. Weiss Schnee had destroyed Blake Belladonna without putting a single scratch on her.
She was given no time to gloat about it, when a tossed scroll hit her on the temple. Scrambling to catch it, Weiss looked at the outdated model with scorn before giving Adam Taurus the same treatment.
"Use this when you have something of value to discuss. Stick with me for all your concerns. Refrain from antagonizing my girlfriend. She plays no active part in the White Fang anymore."
The scroll was put into a pocket in her white skirt. "That is evident at a glance. I see an armchair idealist without the backbone to follow through on her beliefs. A toothless cat without claws mewling for attention."
"Don't underestimate her conviction. She might surprise you."
Adam left Weiss without another glance and joined Blake for emotional support. It took a few moments before she allowed herself to relax into him and the floodgates opened. He never let go during the whole duration of his girlfriend crying her eyes out. Weiss showed the barest of frowns and turned away with a huff from the tender display, only to find Jaune Arc much closer than expected.
Intimately close. Staring at her.
"Do you have something to say to me as well? How did my family blight your life?"
The youngest Schnee had to re-evaluate the human brute if he had connections to a illustrious faunus terrorist like Adam Taurus. Not to mention the muscle gathering around him in Winchester and his overpowered companions. Under those aspects, reducing Jaune's future partner to a blubbering mess could only prove to be detrimental down the line.
Caring about it became more and more difficult.
She still lacked composure, tested again when the blonde had the gall to bend down to get on her eye level. "Just letting you know that after today, my attraction towards you isn't superficial anymore."
Weiss was ejected out of scheming Schnee mode by force. "I beg your pardon?"
"You are interesting. I like interesting."
Sound of engines punctuated his statement as everyone present looked to the sky for an approaching bullhead. In mere moments, it would reach them and who would be on the airship was clear immediately. Time would tell what it meant for the initiation test and their future at Beacon.