Weiss Schnee

"Its quite the view." She couldnt agree more. The Vale skyline was somehow completed by the floating arena now safely tucked into the city's barrier. It floated a good few hundred metres above ground, and it made use of some quite complicated magics to make sure it didn't reduce a good chunk of the city to constantly having it be night time.

Though the light redirection wasn't the most complicated magic involved in the arena. The gravity field it generated to keep afloat was impressive enough to make any Wizard want a look at the structures internals, a veritable Gravity Dust engine more powerful then any airship would ever need... well, unless Ironwood decided the fleet needed a much bigger ship.

Speaking of the fleet, a few of the ships from the Atlas armada floated nearby Amity Colosseum, they almost resembled bodyguards in the way they slowly orbited the structure... though the irony of defending something that much bigger then yourself was not lost on the Queen.

"Yes... and now it's my problem to deal with for the next ten years." So many things she wanted to say about the marvel of both magic and culture that was Amity Colosseum, and the Vytal festival... but the words she spoke were still honest. In truth Vale would be forced to maintain the upkeep of the floating arena for the next decade, and it wasn't exaclty the cheapest thing to keep floating.

"Maybe I can just find a clearing near the city and let it drop..."

A temptation she wasn't stupid enough to even think about entertaining.

Finally she turned from looking out the window and set her sights on the man waiting to speak with her. It was only fair she ignored him no longer, after all... she had sent for him specifically. He was already bowing by the time she had turned, and Weiss had to keep herself from rolling her eyes or smiling about it.

"You may rise Clover. None of my other Knights treat me with such respect, I don't expect you to." Probably not the best words to use if she was trying to maintain an aura of leadership and dignity... but this man was probably going to be closely guarding her for the next nine months, she didnt want to be unfriendly.

He kept his head down however. "I am not your Knight, your Majesty... I am sworn to both the King of Atlas, and the Crown Prince of Atlas."

"You're not in Atlas." She stood and moved around her desk, approaching him with a slight frown. "I expect you to listen to my orders, and my first order to you has already been spoken." She paused in front of him with crossed arms and he let out a gentle sigh before standing... he was taller then Weiss, but that really hadn't been that much of a surprise.

"Very well." He still spoke rigidly, as if he was expecting to be reprimanded for the way he spoke at any second. Weiss glanced over him for a moment, he didn't wear armour, rather the signature outfit of the Atlas military that had been decorated with a few different signs of respect. His brown hair was unexpected of his species which seemed to usually hold more ginger hair colourings, and his eyes... a gentle green in colour... no... more like Lime.

Weiss moved back to her desk and retrieved her Scroll, quickly pulling out her Scrying Orb and calling the only person she knew that could help Clover understand how foreign his behaviour was here. "Ruby Schnee." She quickly asked her wife to join her in her office, and the call ended with what Weiss assumed was a hurried zip of rose petals.

"The Queen Consort?" Well he was speaking without being spoken to... so that was good at least. She turned back to him with a smile.

"Yes, I hope talking to Ruby will be enough for you to see that things are done a bit differently in-" She was interrupted as the doors shot open and a cloud of red passed around Clover and reformed in-between the two of them. Ruby held Weiss's hands and quickly looked over her face with worry. "Ruby-" Weiss chuckled gently. "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."

With some help from both Glynda and Penny, Weiss had been whipped up a new tea to help dull her instincts, which was making time spent away from Ruby possible. Apparently her wife didn't need the drink however... to be honest, Weiss was growing more and more jealous by the day that she couldn't use Pride.

Ruby placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before turning back around and eyeing Clover. She slowly let Weiss's hands go and moved closer to the man, like she was analysing him... before her sights dipped down to the weapon on his hip. A Hook Sword as Weiss recognised it... though she was sure Ruby was more concerned with it's magical nature.

"Yep." Ruby poked the handle of the weapon and that action seemed to make Clover even more uncomfortable then he already was. "I can definitely whip up something better then this." She stood back up properly and tilted her head as she eyed him. "So... you're gonna be guarding Weiss and Weiss junior?" The Queen nearly face palmed.

"Ruby we are not naming our baby-"

"Ruby junior then?" She had turned to look at Weiss with a wide grin and she simply sighed.

"Keep trying to think of names Ruby..." Weiss had realised that Ruby had only been suggesting girl names so far... it was rather odd, they were just as likely to have a boy afterall.

Clover seemed to have reached a new level of uncomfortable just standing there while they spoke, which Weiss found mildly entertaining. In truth, she knew he'd crack, she just preferred it was sooner rather then later.

"Speaking of names, I decided on what my other Magic item will be!" Weiss wasn't sure how those two topics actually correlated... but she was intrigued nonetheless.

"Perhaps Your Highness should keep that to herself..." Clover finally interrupted their conversation and Weiss nearly cheered, Ruby however simply looked at him with a tilted head. "Because... well... we may battle in the Vytal Festival... you should keep that information to yourself." He looked incredibly awkward as he spoke, clearly being able to freely talk like this was a new experience.

"Oh yeah!" Ruby clapped her hands together and nodded. "You're smart!" She gave him a grin before turning back to Weiss. "I like him." Weiss simply nodded in response before glancing back at Clover.

"Has this explained a few things?" She almost smirked as she spoke, and the Knight sighed with a nod.

"Yes... very well Your Highness... i shall be more direct."

Weiss clapped her hands together. "Excellent."

"A contract?"

"Yes. So long as my child is born safe, healthy, and strong, Ruby will construct a Gilded Magic Weapon for you with whatever enchantments you might request... as long as it's feasible of course." She had sent Ruby back to work on her Magic item before they got to the details. Not that she didn't trust her wife with these things, rather she knew it would be cruel to make her sit through something she'd no doubt find boring.

"Gilded huh..." Weiss nodded as he thought it through, she had a freshly brewed cup of tea that she had been nursing close by on her desk. Seeing Ruby again and having her leave had nearly triggered some of her instincts again... "What would you expect from me exactly?"

"You do your best to protect me whilst I'm pregnant, and that will be all. I hope that your good luck will do the rest." He chuckled at her words, there wasn't any point trying to hide her reasoning.

"I see... well, to be honest I can't really control it, it's more of a passive effect." He had very professional mannerisms, even the way he sat in that chair across from her was nearly complelty rigid looking.

"What parts of your power can you control? I didn't see a listed Affinity in your documents."

"Most people would have seen my green eyes and assumed Support you know."

"I'm not most people, and two of my close friends both have Support Affinitys... your eyes are different." The question had been eating her up inside for a while to be honest, she wasn't good at controlling her curiosities at the best of times, and being pregnant wasn't exaclty the most in control Weiss had ever been.

"Unfortunately Your Majesty... Legally I cannot disclose my Affinity." That made her even more curious!

"A contract with Ironwood?"

He shook his head in response. "Any disclosing of information about the magic I have an Affinity for, including the fact I even have it, is highly illegal."

"No information about it...? There's only one kind of magic like that..."

"You know that pretty much tells me what it is right?" She practically smirked, but was a little surprised when he smirked as well.

"I am legally obligated to not directly disclose anything about my Affinity."

She chuckled lightly at his words and nodded.

"An apparently brilliant fighter with both a blessing in Good Luck and an Affinity for Time magic..."

Perhaps the good luck had spawned his rare Affinity... but, that question was likely without an answer.

"Do we have an agreement, Clover?" She slid a document across the desk and he sighed without even glancing over it.

"I've been ordered to defend you and your child by the Crown Prince anyway, your Majesty... I couldn't refuse if I wanted to."

She drew the paper back slightly at that. "Do you want to refuse?"

He rested his hand on the desk, with his fingers just barely touching the edge of the document. "I mean... i didnt say that."

"Amity Colosseum has been fully cleared out-" Weiss had a conundrum to solve... "There weren't any intruders or stowaways found-" She had recently come to learn that Dragons didn't get morning sickness. Obviously that was an answered prayer, but the question remained... what was the drawback? "As for the general maintenance, the engine and systems haven't been checked since it left Atlas-"

"Are Dragons just innately better then Humans and other species in every way?"

The answer had to be no right? Perhaps she was choosing to look at things glass half empty... well as for positive changes in her life-

"I believe it would be most imperative to have Glynda check the Runes and Engines as soon as possible-" She let out an audible groan which interrupted the man... finally he had said something she actually had to respond to, and it was this stupid shit again.

"Glynda and Ruby will be checking the systems."

"How hard is it for them to wrap their heads around??"

The council remained silent for an awkward moment after that, but the technician began speaking again not long after... leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts again. She should probably be paying attention, but seeing as how this was already a sorted issue... well she didn't actually have to be hearing this right now for any other reason then formality sake.

She downed the rest of her tea in one go and her bodyguard immediately took the cup as it was set down and moved over to one of the tables spread around the outside of the room to refill it. Clover had gotten used to his duties rather quickly, but usually a servant would be the one to do things like that... When Weiss had asked him about it, he said it was to ensure she wasn't poisoned...

Weiss would bet money however it was because he was bored.

She sighed as her eyes flicked back to the man spouting off the info she didn't need to hear, as her eyes passed the left side of the council table they paused on the empty seat next to her... She missed Ruby. Sure they had seen each other this morning... and last night... and frankly all the time but... they hadn't... 'been together' since Weiss had gotten pregnant.

"It's only been two weeks Weiss... calm down..."

It was easier said then done... She had been a virgin till she was twenty-one, gotten a few weeks worth of 'experience' with her wife, and now it was back to abstinence for the next nine months... sure they could still probably do it, but Ruby wasnt too comfortable with the prospect anymore. She was painfully aware of the fact that Weiss was currently carrying their child, and she had said something about it being 'awkward'.

Weiss scrunched her face as she looked down at her body... before slowly raising her wrist up to her face and sniffing it gently...

"I certainly can't smell a baby..."

Maybe it was a sensation reserved for the other parent... That thought process died as she realised the entire council chamber had gone quiet again, glancing up, she became painfully aware of them all staring at her awkwardly... With her wrist still held to her nose.

She very slowly dropped it back to her lap and cleared her throat with a light blush of embarrassment. "Continue." Thankfully they all seemed to want to move on from that as much as she did...

"Perhaps losing myself in thought during these meetings isn't the best idea..."

She attempted to concentrate on the technicians words... she caught the odd word or phrase that she recognised here and there... but rather then helping her understand, Weiss found herself lost in thought reminiscing about Ruby's own magical talks. She hadnt heard one in a while, mainly because Ruby had been incredibly concentrated for the last week.

Between training with different weapons, magic practice, and making her magic item, the Queen Consort was nearly as busy as the Queen herself... perhaps she should schedule a lunch date. Not that she had to of course, with a simple call or message delivered by servant she knew she could have Ruby here now if she wanted.

Which she did, but that was besides the point.

"Just because I'm pregnant dosent mean I have to keep Ruby attached to my side for the next nine months..."

Still, it was getting harder and harder to satiate the call of her instincts... The tea - while effective - could only do so much, and her body seemed to be growing a resistance of sorts to the effects. Hopefully her will alone would be enough to carry her for the rest of the pregnancy once the tea lost all effect complelty... but until then?

She brought the cup up to her lips and took a calm and completely refined sip-

"Hey Weiss!!" The doors to the council chamber slammed open and in strode the Queen Consort sporting two large red wings and scales of the same colour flooded over her body.

Weiss nearly cursed as she wiped some spilled tea from her cheek, it was still boiling hot but... well, she was still a Dragon, it didn't hurt.

"Woah... who's this?" Ruby stepped around the technician with a curious expression, she had stolen the show the instant she had entered, and the raw presence she excluded in her half form wasn't exaclty helping things move back to normal.

"One of the Technicians for Amity Colosseum. He came with the convoy and was just relaying some information about the stability of the structure." She tried to keep her cool, but seeing Ruby in her half form was always a difficult situation to keep calm in... especially now that she was in control.

"It is entirely unfair that transforming gives her muscles like that..."

Weiss wasn't complaining, rather admiring... a bit too much.

Ruby shrugged at the explanation and moved over to the table, circling it and arriving next to the Queen. Clover actually had to step out of her way, which surprised Weiss... Ruby usually would move for someone else... why did she have Pride activated?

The woman had her hands behind her back as Weiss had finally noticed, it hadn't looked foreign until it lasted for long enough to clearly be purposeful, and once she had moved behind Weiss's chair the Queen had gotten an inkling about what was happening.

Ruby draped her arms around the chair and slipped a necklace around Weiss's neck. She leaned forward to allow Ruby to clasp it at the back, and she was even gentlemanly enough to sift Weiss's hair out of it.

Weiss glanced down at the pendant now resting above her chest... it glowed with some kind of magic, and it seemed to contain some kind of a gem inside of it... a beautiful blue in colour, but why would Ruby go through the trouble of decorating it if she had made it...?

She held the pendant up closer and her head tilted as she recognised the gem for what it was.

"Dust?"

"Yeah. It's a Magic item powered by Dust. It still needs a connection to your soul to work though, so it'll count towards your total." She nodded along to Ruby's words.

"And what does this do exactly?" Surely there was a reason this couldn't have waited... not that she didn't enjoy the gesture, rather it wasn't usually something Ruby would do...

"A few things... firstly if you press the Storage compartment for the Dust, it'll send out a ping. An alert of sorts to people keyed into the item."

"So you?" She didn't see Ruby's grin, but she knew it was there.

"Yep. The more important part is that it produces a calming scent. It should counteract the effects your instincts are having on you, so no more tea necessary." She stepped around to Weiss's side now with a bright smile, one Weiss struggled to return.

"Ruby... as sweet as this is... I don't think there's any scent that could-" She froze as Ruby suddenly leaned in, her face right next to Weiss's own and her mouth barely an inch from Weiss's ear.

"Its my scent." She then stood up straight again like nothing had happened, and Weiss was left sporting a blush to match Ruby's scales in colour.

On the one hand... it was pretty genius. The Dust power source should make it register as a scent not produced by herself, thus one she wouldn't ignore. Being Ruby's scent as well meant that it should trick her instincts into thinking her wife was by her sides at all times. Truly a marvellous idea.

On the other hand... Weiss had never felt more flustered in her life.

She was unable to take her eyes off of Rubys almost smug expression for a good while before remembering that this had happened in the middle of a council meeting. She quickly glanced to the other present members and was greeted by there own flustered expressions... the only one that didn't care was Ozpin apparently.

"Welp, Imma get back to it then." Ruby gave a small wave before calmy walking out of the room like nothing had happened, as if she hadn't just walked in, made the mood incredibly awkward, then left.

Weiss let out a sigh before waving her hand slightly, signalling the man to continue his rant. After he began to talk for a while, Weiss's tea remained untouched and she was forced to face the facts of the situation...

The necklace was working.