Weiss Schnee
"Shouldn't you be relaxing??"
"You kidding? This is relaxing!"
"You have a fight tommorow, Uncle Qro- Ahh!!"
"Pay attention, kiddo!"
"I married into this family..."
Weiss let out a gentle sigh, the bench of the training room wasn't exaclty the most comfortable of places to sit - especially in the castle - but it put her near Ruby so this was good enough for now. A cup of tea was set down next to her and she turned to thank Blake as the woman joined her in seating, though she shot off a quick glance to Yang over at the weapon rack with Sun and Celica.
Weiss wasn't subtle in following her gaze and let out another sigh. "Shouldn't she be relaxing too...?" The exasperated noise that came from Blake was enough for Weiss to know she had just stepped on a landmine.
"She should be. Seriously, eight months pregnant and she's acting like the babies out already. Honestly-" She took a sip of her own tea, and Weiss found herself mildly entertained by this annoyed version of Blake. "-if we ever have more kids I'm not letting her carry again." She folded her arms in a huff and Weiss contemplated suggesting maybe that was why Yang was acting this way... but decided to not poke the bear.
"Or cat...? Faunas... let's go with faunas."
She shook those thoughts from her head and turned back to watch Ruby's 'training'. So far it was just a lot of Qrow hitting her with a training scythe and screaming the word "Training!" everytime he connected. With another sip of her tea she decided that it was actually pretty funny to watch.
While this wasn't exactly serious training, it was pretty obvious that Qrow had been avoided Ruby for the last few days. Only said girls insistent begging for training had made the Harbinger finally show up at the castle, and it only took an hour or so before they were back to normal. Ruby breaking his nervousness and apparent guilt in record time it seemed. Blake and Yang followed as well, mainly because Sun and Celica wanted to play in the castle... and Blake didn't want Yang walking home again from the colosseum.
Honestly, Weiss wished she had half the energy Yang did. It was unclear to her exaclty how the effects of pregnancy changed between species, but her families desire to not have records of any Dragon weaknesses really was biting her in the arse now. It wasn't like their desire to keep any and all weaknesses hidden mattered in the end anyway... they were all wiped out regardless, and no matter how Rory had done it, Weiss didnt think that mattered either.
If the Vytal festival had taught her anything, it was that just because they were Dragons... didn't mean they were safe. Qrow, Pyrrha, Adam, Raven, Carmine, Nora... all of them were stronger then both herself and Ruby, and it would take some serious training to change that. Weiss lacked the time to participate in such heavy practice, and with the baby coming she doubted Ruby would either... not that Ruby would be forced to take care of their child if she didn't want to. Weiss just assumed she'd be a naturally talented mother like her own parents were to her... meanwhile Weiss lacked any memories of parental affection to draw an idea of what she was supposed to do from.
"I'm sure it'll work itself out... even if I'm horrible at it... either way... at least they'll have Ruby."
She was confident that her wife would never leave their child.
Troubled dreams were a common problem of late. Usually they followed along a pattern of sorts. Weiss would find herself somewhere she didn't recognise, surrounded by people she didn't recognise, yet she was always certain something was missing. It was odd. The dreams were nearly every night, and her current lack of sleep wasn't exaclty putting her in the most healthy of conditions... not that one could get much worse feeling then pregnant without falling into fatal illness territory.
Still, Ruby was a constant source of warmth that cut through any and all bad dreams the second she awoke. The memories of foreign people and places being swiftly and soundly replaced with her snoring wife and the sounds of her heartbeat. She cuddled closer to Ruby, resting her face under the girls neck and closing her eyes, soothed by the almost lullaby like effects the beat of her heart had on her soul. She felt Ruby's arms instinctively wrap around her body tighter as she pressed closer, and Weiss was left securely safe and sound in her wifes arms... protected from everything this world could throw at them. She couldn't help but smile as she ran a hand over her own belly, wondering if the baby inside was soothed just as much by Ruby's presence... or perhaps even moreso.
Weiss was just thankful to have the proper Ruby back. As horrible as what had happened was... perhaps it had been a good thing in the end. Ruby wasnt using Pride anymore, and that left her as the silly girl that Weiss fell in love with... rather then the confident woman she would grow into. Not that Ruby was a child mind you, by every meaning of the word she was an adult... it's just that she still had a lot of growing up to do. Perhaps that was why Weiss was certain she'd be such a good mother.
"Not that I'm going to let our child call you 'mother'... that's mine I'm afraid."
She let out a gentle chuckle, followed by a yawn. Without even being awake Ruby had managed to calm her enough to let her slip back into sleep again. Hopefully this time to a better dream. One of a place she knew, and people she recognised... and of course... one without a missing piece.
???
Calm steps. Not fueled by the patience necessary for stealth, rather a trained habit that was more difficult to break then simply follow. Their movements were sleek and refined, all of their training culminated into making them as perfect as could be.
At least that's what others had said.
In truth... they hated the quiet. Quiet meant chatter. Unending and painful chatter that never stopped until noise began again... and only their training was keeping them from causing some noise just to get the sounds out of their head.
It was painful... stealth was painful... they didn't like it.
Chatter... chatter... chatter... it was horrible... but, a light at the end of the tunnel was fast approaching. Each soft and calculated step brought the end to this torture ever so much closer... all they needed to do was make it to that door... and do what they had been ordered to do.
One more step... one more careful movement... each was counting down to the eventual end. Soon, they could make some noise... soon the chatter would be silenced... soon there would be screaming. Whether of pain or anguish wasn't relevant... all that mattered was that the noise happened. They needed it... even moreso then they usually needed to accomplish any given goal... they needed the chatter to stop.
Finally... the door. Their hand slowly reached out... the anticipation nearly killing them as the chattering grew in volume, the unending conversations like a landslide of noise in their head that would never stop...! But they couldn't hurry. They had to follow orders... they had to be careful-
"There you are." A voice not one of their own, a voice from outside their head.
They quickly turned and drew a long thin blade from their hip. The weapon extending out and pointing at someone's throat, a person who had suddenly and rudely appeared and was interrupting their-
Oh... it was one of them.
One of the people that could tell them what to do.
"It's been quite a while... how have you been?" Her voice was cool, calm. At a normal volume, which surprised them... but, this one was adept at Illusion magic. She was likely using it to keep her voice just between them. They shrugged in answer and the woman rolled her eyes. "I almost forgot you couldn't talk... anyway, I'm here for you. There's been a change of plans."
They looked at her confused... what were their orders now...? Were they not meant to finish the job...? But... that was unfair... that meant no reward!
They wanted to protest, but lacked a voice to do so. Luckily, this one was good at reading people... and that apparently included them.
"Don't worry, you still did a good job. You'll get your reward." She patted them on the head and their anger was instantly replaced with elation.
So long as they got their reward... they didn't care what changed.
"Come on, Neo." The green-haired woman turned to move down the hall, and they promptly followed after. Leaving the sleeping Queens in their room undisturbed.
Qrow Branwen
"Are you ready?" He let off a yawn in response, not bothering to give that question an actual answer as he stretched a bit. That seemed to piss his opponent off a little, but its not like that would matter in the end. "I'm talking to you, Qrow."
"Oh I know-" He kneeled down a bit to stretch his arm out further. "I just don't particularly care."
"How is someone like you the peak of our world..." Carmine's mutters were full of venom and mild rage, Qrow had noticed long ago that she didn't exaclty like him... which was odd to say the least. She seemingly respected everyone else on their level of strength, but perhaps it wasn't respect that she lacked for him.
The colosseum was as full as ever today... in fact it looked like there was actually more people stuffed between every seat. Somewhere in that giant crowd was Qrow's family... or at least the ones who could be here today. It put a smile on his face to think about. Yang, Blake, Sun, Celica, all of whom were here somewhere, and no doubt hoping he would win. Not even mentioning Ruby, Tai, and all of his others kids who were watching somewhere else... It's funny, even though there had been so many more people in the tribe... he had never felt as surrounded by loved ones.
"Summer... Tai... you both gave me this family... even without meaning to..."
For that he would forever owe them an unpayable debt.
"Don't get distracted now, Qrow." He ignored her, staring up at the sky with a smile as the sun lit up his face in a beautiful light... he couldn't help but be happy when he thought about how his life had changed. From where he started, to where he was today.
"Hey Carmine... I got a question for ya." But for now, he had something nagging at the back of his mind... something rather unpleasant. She tilted her head as he drew his sword and settled his gaze on her in a glare. "What did you say to Ruby?"
Carmine took a step back slowly, reaching for her knife as she struggled to form an answer... which was enough of an answer for Qrow.
"Let the battle commence!!"
Mana has a burning sensation when you apply it too fast and too hard. It dosent have a drawback, rather it just gives a light sting to your body when you use it too quickly, and it can upset your stomach. Going from a full mana tank to nearly empty in less then a second can give a similar sensation to how one feels after throwing up. The sudden emptiness being much too fast and unexpected for your body, or in this case soul, to handle properly without giving it some time to calm down.
The battle was over in an instant.
Carmine's eyes burned with confusion as the barrier around her halted all movements. She struggled against it momentarily, unsure of how or why it had spawned already... but her brain slowly caught up to what she had seen. Her body relaxed slowly, only her breaths staying laboured and struggled as she tried to not show her panic. Qrow loomed over her, his dark cloak billowing out to almost cover her as well as his scythe's blade rested cleanly around her neck, only stopped by a barrier not of her own creation.
His body burned, a stinging sensation that he would definitely be feeling for the next few minutes. It was only beaten out by the urge to throw up that brew in his soul, his practically empty mana tank screaming at him with rage at his own stupidity for pulling a stunt like that.
There were no cheers from the crowd. It even took Port longer then expected to announce the victor. But none of that mattered to Qrow. In one fell swoop he had proven his own power, and in doing so, Vale's. So long as he was here, no other kingdom could attack, or risk having the same fate bestowed upon them... though with no barrier to save them next time. He drew his weapon from her reach and smirked a bit as his cloak disappeared and the scythe changed back into a sword.
"Hey Carmine-" He grinned with a touch of snark as he rested his sword over his shoulder. "Seems like you weren't ready."
The instant he said go, Qrow had already transformed. His mana burned with a searing pain as all of it shot into his body at once, his own mana mixed with Deaths and the strange concoction skipped all pretence of being used in a spell, moving straight into his body instead to power it up. A highly inefficient usage of his mana, but it didn't matter... he only needed to be as strong as possible for as small a time as possible.
His body shot forward without warning. The people in the stands were still waiting with excitement for someone to make the first move by the time he had reached her, all of them being too slow to follow what was happening... but of course they were. So was his opponent, and that was exaclty the point.
His blade formed into a scythe at the last second, his cloak following as it shot from his back, all of it being too slow to keep up with his current speed as he used everything at once.
This strategy was usually incredibly stupid. You put everything into one shot, and if it failed you were screwed. It essentially meant forgoing a fight altogether, and instead settling things with a coin flip. If he hit her, he won. If he missed, she won.
But he wouldn't miss. Carmine was a Wizard afterall. She wasn't skilled enough in close up fights to be able to react even if she was fast enough to keep up. This strategy would never work against Pyrrha, Raven, or even that Nora girl. All of them would somehow avoid his attack, or be prepared enough for it that it would be a waste.
But once again, that didn't matter. At the end of the day what mattered was a simple detail... he was stronger then her. And if he didn't hold back anything... if he immediately went for the kill so to speak, then she stood no chance.
His blade met the barrier already forming around her neck, and his momentary speed and strength ran out as his mana supply cut off. His body stopping suddenly and time resuming its normal speed as the crowd waited for the already finished fight to begin.
Weiss Schnee
"I... didn't know he could do that."
Weiss shook her head with a sigh. Sure it was a very useful display of power, but in doing so Qrow had probably pissed off everyone that had come to watch today. Instead of the amazing finale they had been expecting, something to rival the scale of the previous two battles... it was this?
She glanced at the other people in her booth and let out a sigh. Everyone else was as confused, if not more, then herself. Gillingham looked ready to scream, Leo was staring straight at her with fear, and her father was still trying to figure out what had happened without showing it... and failing.
"Well... Qrow's now one of the few people that have won multiple Vytal festivals in a row..."
The day was long after that. The crowd had erupted into loud boo's after a few minutes, and Qrow almost seemed to revel in it and Carmine's apparent embarrassment at the whole ordeal. The award ceremony wasn't very fun for anyone involved, Qrow himself seeming the only one mildly entertained by the whole thing as Gillingham was forced to put a medal around his neck... ok, admittedly Weiss did really enjoy watching that as well.
So, after the hours it took everyone to enter the colosseum, the less then a minute fight, and the hours it took everyone to leave... Weiss was finally able to go home again, to a very excited Ruby.
"Weiss!! Did you see it!? Did you see it!?" She let out a small sigh and nodded gently as her wife greeted her without a 'hello'.
"Yes Ruby, I was there remember? I couldn't have not seen it."
"I know that!" She practically pouted before continuing. "I mean cause I didn't see it! It was way too fast!" Weiss couldnt help but smirk gently in response.
"What makes you think I saw it then? I'm not that fast."
"But you saw it live!"
"Does... that make a difference?" Apparently not the correct thing to say, judging from Ruby's exasperated expression.
"Are you kidding! It makes a huge difference!"
Weiss was 'forced' to sit through a magic lecture of Ruby's throughout dinner after that. The girl having apparently taken apart one of their TVs today to figure out how it worked and why exactly the difference occurred. It was the best meal Weiss had eaten in a while, though perhaps that was mainly due to finally being treated to one of her wifes adorable rants alongside it again.
"I hope... that life always stays this way."
Roman Torchwick
"So how long are we supposed to just sit here and wait?" He kept on nervously glancing out the window, pulling his hat down over his face further whenever anyone came by.
"We arent the ones who organised this, so unfortunately i dont have an answer for you, Roman." Cinder looked less impressed then he did, though her annoyance made him more anxious then anything... he didn't enjoy being confined to such a small space with her, and this carriage wasn't something one would call spacious.
Finally the door opened, in stepping the ruler of Vacuo, and the 'ruler' of Vacuo. Gillingham scoffed the second she saw him, and Carmine simply sat without a second glance. The silence was tense for a while, feeling too thick to speak or even see through as Roman tried his best to not look at anyone funny. He wasn't confident that he could get away with his usual sass today.
"So... why did we need to have this meeting now?" Cinder was the first to speak as the carriage began to move, though Roman was unsure of their destination.
"Your information was wrong. The Dragon... she was more willing to go for the kill then I thought." Carmine practically growled the words out.
A nod from Cinder was her response before speaking. "Yes... I am currently having Emerald look into that. None of our information pointed to her taking such drastic action against you."
"Speaking of which... why isn't she dead?" She turned to Roman now. "I thought your pet was going to take care of them."
He barely managed to hold himself back from losing it... but now wasn't the time to get angry. That would probably just get him killed. "Neo isn't my pet."
"Oh? Sorry, is she your... daughter?" Carmine chuckled as she spoke, and Cinder glanced at Roman as if to tell him to contain himself.
"We can't risk setting either of the Dragons off yet, not until we have better information." She responded for Roman, and in doing so caused Carmine to look at her... their Gold eyes practically being reflections of each other.
"So when are you going for the baby?"
"Later. We need them to be old enough to work, but young enough that we can hopefully make them forget their parents anyway." She let out a sigh and leaned back. "Around five to eight I suppose..."
"So until then what's your plan?"
"We don't have one. For now we'll lay low..." She glanced at Roman. "-and we'll have to send Neo back for... repairs."
His eyes widened at her words and he wanted to protest... but couldn't. Even if he tried to say something, what good would it do? Best case scenario they kill him quickly for trying to get in the way... and what would that leave Neo with? No one...
He gripped his cane tighter, and kept his mouth shut, much to Cinder's approval.
"Good... then get out of my carriage." Carmine let out a sigh as the vehicle moved to a stop, and Roman couldn't get out of there sooner. For now at least... before Neo had to get sent back to that place... he could spend some time with her.