The headmaster of Beacon stood before his office windows staring up into the sky above as a mix of Military aircraft and the civilian transports they were escorting descended down through the clouds to the docks at the edge of campus, they marked the first of many promising huntsmen and huntresses that would be arriving from Remnant's Northern kingdom.
For many, it would be a chance to test their skills against their neighboring academies and perhaps to even claim some glory and the title of champion, as the victor of the tournament.
Yet if one were to look closely enough at the kingdom around them they might peer beneath the veil of peacetime merriment and the sense of unity the festival sought to promote and see the growing tensions underneath. The kingdoms criminal element growing bolder by the day, the sudden spike in Grimm activity beyond their walls and now the risk of invasion by a threat far greater than he might have ever imagined looming over them, with his attempts to mitigate tensions between their order and those with the knowledge to combat the new enemy they now faced, slow going.
The earlier conversation with James had gone as well as one might expect, and while he had his assurances that no immediate action would be taken against their allies, the old wizard couldn't help the anxiousness welling up inside him as he watched the first wave of students exit the transport ships and take their first step onto Beacons grounds, the Nightingales warning regarding this 'Hermause Moras' abilities whispered in the back of his mind.
The ability to twist the minds of men to such a degree, as to render them little more than mindless puppets dancing upon their master's string... it was a frightening power, one that not even the brother Gods themselves had possessed during their reign over remnant, for had they, he imagined the catastrophe that rendered their world what it is today, may have never come to pass.
Speaking off which, he couldn't help but wonder if their former lords had taken notice of recent events, the relics were proof enough that at least the elder brother still held aspirations towards Remnant, aspirations that would no doubt be threatened by the appearance of this new entity. How might they have reacted to its presence, or if they had not already, once said being finally showed itself... could they expect the second coming of the gods any day now?
Even if he and Qrow's theory's as to its interest in Miss Rose were wrong, and this Mora was not yet aware of the Relic of knowledge, if what Mikael said regarding the outer beings' nature, primarily its seemingly endless hunger for knowledge, would have already placed it at odds with the Brother God's vision for Remnant, and if they were to clash?...
A shudder ran through his body, his grip around Long Memory tightening to the point its hilt gave an audible creak, taking in a slow breath through his nose the Headmaster of Beacon steadied himself, his gaze shifting towards the crowd of students departing the landing crafts below, the subtle clicking of heels alerting him to his deputies approach.
Stepping into view beside him, the blond combat instructor glanced up from her tablet her lips twitching down into a frown at the sight of several Military vessels dotting the skies above Vale. "Of course... James certainly loves to bring his work wherever he goes" He was a general for pete's sake, did he really not grasp the meaning of subtlety?
The headmaster chuckled softly at his deputy's words. "They are quite the eyesore, aren't they." Tilting his head towards the tablet he watched as the footage from several cameras across the academy, including the Nightingales' own room, disappear one after another as his deputy collapsed her scroll back into its compact form. "I take it you found him?" he inquired evenly
While Miss Volkihar had informed them her brother had returned to his room to rest, Glynda had still felt the need to ensure his location herself and after discovering his room empty, had he not stepped in, would have likely led a small manhunt across Beacon to find him.
His deputy gave a swift nod in response to his words, pocketing her scroll with a relieved sigh. "Qrow spotted him leaving the teacher's dormitories a few minutes ago, he's making his way back towards the combat arenas as we speak." She replied rubbing at her brow in frustration, Miss Xiao Long had likely informed him of the footage of their most recent interaction, so it wouldn't take much for him to assume that like the classroom, his own room was under surveillance as well "He must have been staying in one of the empty dorms." She surmised
"Just as miss Volkihar suggested." Ozpin sipped at his mug once more, in all honesty, he was hardly surprised by the Dragonborn's actions, he doubted anyone would be able to allow themselves to relax, let alone sleep knowing their every move was not only being observed but judged as well. "While I admire your dedication to safeguarding those girls, I can't help but think you may be acting somewhat paranoid, however shaky our relationship might be they are our allies, Glynda, if we continue to treat them as adversaries, they may end up as such."
The blond combat instructor shook her head dismissively "With respect Headmaster, I fear you may not be acting with enough caution toward the situation at hand" Adjusting her glasses she turned her attention towards the office window staring down at the campus below. "Regardless of his intentions at the time, he still withheld crucial information from us, information that might have prevented more harm."
'Or led to further conflict.' He thought to himself, it was easy for a person to claim they could remain rational in the heat of the moment, and while Glynda had always been one of the more grounded members of their brotherhood, even she had been thoroughly shaken upon learning of the existence of the relics, Salem and the mission given to him by the gods all those aeons ago. "I seem to recall James levelling some similar accusation towards us when the time came for him to be brought into the fold, even you yourself had more than a few doubts and questions when you learned the truth behind the academies and our organisation. "
Glynda's gaze shifted off to the side her grip tightening audibly around her riding crop "I suppose you... have a point there, but still, had this information been brought to light sooner, we may have had more time to prepare a more thorough defence and ensure no other students have come to harm because of that... creature." Who's to say Miss Rose had been the only one targeted that night or those following her abduction? The academy grounds had been left open to this creature for a number of weeks leading up to Miss Volkihars arrival and the subsequent construction of their barrier, time that this creature may have used to take hold of any number of her students, turning them into tools to enact its schemes here on Remnant.
"In all honesty, the situation could have certainly been handled better on both sides, had both of us acted sooner much of this week's drama may have been averted." Their own paranoia and suspicions certainly had a hand to play in the outcome of recent events, of that there could be no doubt, and so long as attitude towards the situation remained the same it was only a matter of time before things began to come undone, so if they hoped to survive what was to come, they would need to nip this in the bud as soon as possible.
Turning to regard his deputy once more he added "I won't stop you or Qrow from keeping tabs on his activities across the campus but it might be worth looking into removing the surveillance equipment from his accommodations."
Glynda's gaze snapped towards him her face morphing into a disapproving scowl and just when it looked as though she was going to argue, the old wizard added "This incident proves he already knows of them, meaning their usefulness moving forward is all but gone... though perhaps if he believes he has a place that offers him some peace and privacy, he may be more inclined to use it, rather than looking for ways to circumvent it again in the future." Building trust between them was a must at this point, and an olive branch such as this may be the foundation upon which they could further strengthen this alliance.
While her scowl remained he did spot a flash of consideration in her emerald green eyes, though before she could give her reply, a sudden chime from his terminal drew their attention, tapping the interface an all to a familiar face and name flashing into view, requesting entry into the office "It would seem James has arrived." Tapping the acceptance icon on the interface, Ozpin reached across his desk retrieving a clean mug before pouring himself and his guest a fresh brew, for a moment he considered adding something else to his own for the meeting ahead, given how James had reacted to the news regarding recent events earlier today, he had a feeling he may need it.
The door to his office slid open allowing James entry. "Ozpin" He greeted evenly while offering a small nod towards the deputy headmistress "Glynda"
"James" The blond combat instructor replied evenly.
"It's good to see you again old friend." The headmaster replied, stepping forward he offered the mug out to his old friend, noting the absence of a certain white-haired specialist he had spoken to only a few short hours ago "May I ask as to the whereabouts of Miss Schnee, I would have thought you'd want your second, to be a part of this meeting?"
"As you can imagine the content of our last conversation, primarily the segment regarding her sister's team left her somewhat shaken." James replied, retrieving a small hip flask from within his dress coat, which he used to top off his coffee before taking a long sip " I granted her a leave of absence for the rest of today so she could spend time with her sister."
'That's all she's doing I hope.' Glynda thought to herself, she'd known James long enough to know the man had a tendency to act first before considering all his options, the fleet outside was evidence of that, she just hoped he hadn't done something that could put them all at risk. "I'll be outside" Glynda sighed to herself as she made her way towards the office doors her scroll already in hand, it would seem there was one more person in the academy she would need to keep an eye on today, speaking of which "... I will take what you said earlier into consideration," she added as she passed.
"That's all I ask" The headmaster nodded, his deputy disappearing through the office doors behind them.
"Something I should know?" The General inquired
"Just a small disagreement, nothing more." He waved off, bringing up Mikael's disappearance earlier today would only cause more issues than it was worth. "I apologise that I wasn't there to greet you and the Atlesian detail when you disembarked into Vale, but as you know recent events have taken up much of my time, still I trust there were no incidents during your trip after we last spoke." The open sky of the frontier could often be just as dangerous as the forrest and valleys below.
"My men are more capable of handling any threats we might encounter beyond the walls of our kingdom." Taking another sip from his coffee the general's tone took on a far more serious edge, his eyes peering out the office windows and down towards the city below "Though recently I've found myself more concerned about those growing inside our walls."
"The fleet outside my window is certainly evidence of that, I trust you haven't forgotten our conversation from earlier today? " The old wizard replied evenly, leaning forward on Long Memory he fixed the General with a flat look, the smallest hint of frustration seeping into his tone. "Not only can shows of power such as this can give off the wrong impression, but we also have enough to deal with as is, without throwing the arrival of a small army into the mix."
"I haven't forgotten." James replied earnestly and despite his better judgment on the matter, he would respect his friend's wishes... for now "But regardless of 'Recent events', you can't deny the situation with the Kingdom has become tense, the White Fang are growing bolder and with confirmation that Torchwick is not only involved but has been supplying them with vast quantities of Dust, we need to be ready for when they intend to use it." He stressed, and with the Vytal festival being the most likely target they had to assume that time would be soon.
"I'm aware of the situation regarding the White Fang, the council has already made several requests to withdraw more Huntsmen from the field as added security for the festival." He was already in the process of making arrangements for those stationed in the areas surrounding Vale, however, the number would be far below what was requested. "Though for obvious reasons I've chosen to keep that number to a more reasonable level." And while there were certainly some on the council who may disagree with his decision, they needed just as many able bodies out on the frontier as they did those patrolling the city at this time.
Taking another sip from his mug the General tilted his head towards the window, his fleet hovering in the sky above Beacon "Then perhaps some of my own men could help bolster your numbers" James offered, setting his mug down on the desk between them he went on to say "I can loan you a small battalion alongside specialist Schnee and a full team of my best until the Vytal festival has reached its conclusion."
The headmaster sighed softly, the offer was a generous one to be certain and knowing the council had it been made to them directly, they may have jumped at the chance of having some of Atlas's best under their thumb, believing Atlas's presence here would act as a deterrent and perhaps it would to some among the more rational of the White Fangs ranks. However, there would be just as many among the once peaceful organisations ranks who would see Atlas' arrival as a challenge, even more so once the news that two of the Schnee siblings now resided within Vale for the foreseeable future, nor how the people themselves would react to Atlas's presence.
Steepling his fingers together he leaned forward on his desk "It is a generous offer, James. Though I worry how the people may react to seeing a foreign powers military, suddenly decide they wish to take up residence in their city, nor the council for that matter?" He would at least trust this hadn't been a spur-of-the-moment decision in light of the new information revealed during their previous conversation.
"I've already spoken with the Atlesian council regarding my concerns and will be making the offer with Vales own following this meeting" James replied evenly, while both Sleet and Camila had been apprehensive at first given the political backlash Atlas could receive for attempting to interfere in the affairs of another kingdom when he'd first raised his concerns with them, given the rise in the White Fang activity they'd observed in recent months, and its proximity to the Vytal Festival they'd been more inclined to consider his appeal.
In the end, the decision was made to extend the offer of additional support, if only to ensure the safety of Vales Citizens as well as those in attendance of the festivities from Atlas. "Given your status as the head of security assigned to the festival, I was hoping I would have your support on the matter when the time comes." Leaning forward on the desk between them "You were the one who insisted on utilising Salmon and Volkihar to bolster our defences, I am merely following that example, things are going to get worse before they get better, not only is Vale now a greater target for Salem but this Hermauose Mora as well, and when the times comes we need to be ready."
The Headmaster acknowledged his claim with a hum. "On that, we can both agree" In truth, he doubted his former love was not at least somewhat aware of the sudden change in their situation nor would she have been content to sit back and watch, not after the sudden appearance of a barrier around their own base of operations, with likely more to come in the future.
Leaning forward he retrieved his coffee mug taking a long slow sip before regarding the general once more. "Verry well, you will have my support with this appeal, however, I will not have your soldiers on campus, there has been enough of an uproar as is and I'd wish for my students to be able to focus on their classes rather than events outside of their control." Some certainly more than others "Any access will be relegated to Huntsmen personnel only, do I make myself clear on that."
"Believe me the last thing I want is to cause any further unrest." James replied pleased by the headmaster's compromise, it was about what he expected the outcome to be all things considered, however even if he still felt more needed to be done to ensure the security of not only Beacon but Autumn and the Relic' housed within the academy walls, now wasn't the time to press the issue.
For now, he'd take heart in the knowledge he'd accomplished one objective here today, as soon as they'd settled in he'd have his men begin looking into their missing technology, it was imperative they recover the Missing Paladins before they had time to put them to use, and with the confirmation of Taurus' involvement in the theft, he had little doubt as to when that time would be.
As for his concerns towards their so-called allies, he would leave that in Winter's more than capable hands, of all those under his command he trusted her to do what needed to be done should the time come. Speaking of which " Moving on has there been any progress of their so-called, defences" James enquired, he still had his doubts as to the legitimacy of their claim, though given the Magnitude of the enemy they now faced he couldn't afford to fully disregard these notions without evidence.
"Miss Volkiar delivered a copy of their final product to me earlier this afternoon." The Headmaster replied, admittedly he still didn't quite know what to make of the young woman, every time he laid eyes upon her, he found himself overcome with a sense of unease, it was a primal feeling one he could only compare to the feeling of facing down a great predator, yet despite its overwhelming presence there was something else, a subtle feeling of disinterest mixed in, a silent assurance that while he might stand in its presence, he would not come to any harm.
Curious, much like the diagrams she had delivered to him. Reaching down into one of his drawn he retrieved said diagram laying it on the desk in front of him and pushing it towards James, the General took the diagram in hand, studying the sigil intently for a few moments his eyes gliding over every arc and spiral of its design, much like many of there members he'd taken the time to delve into the occult, in hopes of gaining a better understanding of there enemy and her abilities.
And while the majority of what he'd found was complete nonsense, there were still sections that bore a great deal of resemblance to both Ozpins abilities as well as those they'd observed from that criminal, yet he found himself lost as to what exactly he was looking at right now. Peering over the edge of the paper he asked "What is this?" Ozpin gestured down to the table between them, obliging his friend's silent request he set the paper down between them.
"This, is a relic of a bygone age, my age... hmm, the last time I saw one up close I was a young knight setting off from my home kingdom to explore this world." The headmaster replied a look of nostalgia passing over him for a brief moment one mirrored by the Generals' sudden fascination with the item. "When the gods reigned over Remant and Magic was a more common sight across Remnant, sigils such as this were used to imprint the effects of elemental spells and incantations upon an item, much like how we have utilised dust in our own weaponry and clothing."
Though, much like today, their effectiveness throughout a drawn-out conflict diminished with time, with commanders quickly coming to rely more on actual magicians given their individual skill and the diversity of magic at their disposal after all, why waste time, resources and most importantly Gold, developing a stockpile of magical weapons for a battalion's worth of men, for a siege that may very well last days perhaps even weeks; when a group of mages around a tenth of that number could carry out the same task in a fraction of the time, as such sigils were reserved for aiding squads of common footsoldiers tasked with purging Grimm that had taken up residence near the kingdom's walls.
"A weapon then." James surmised, silently committing the design to memory.
"Quite the opposite actually, this sigil is designed to be infused into an item worn by the users such as an article of clothing." The headmaster replied gesturing towards the three rings that made up the sigil. "Each of these layers is a defensive spell. From how Miss Volkihar described it, the outer two are to mitigate Physical and Magical threats to the user's body, while the centre works to fortify their mind against outside influence." A powerful defence considering the means by which the creature first attempted to lay claim to Miss Rose.
"And you've confirmed this." James inquired still somewhat sceptical as to the validity of Volkihar's claims.
"She was able to activate the sigil for a few moments so that I might examine it" Ozpin replied, channelling some of his own remaining magic and bringing the sigil to life once more before his eyes "And while I am admittedly somewhat rusty, it was easy enough to distinguish whether the spells infused within were harmful or not."
James nodded slowly, taken aback for a moment by the display, he recovered quickly enough adding "It proves their functional if nothing else."
Though that in of itself did raise the question as to how they would maintain their power once passed off to Miss Rose and her team, as he knew it the signals drew power from an individual's own magic, and while those alive during the rain of the Gods all bore some semblance of magical ability from which it could draw power from, those girls however did not, though Miss Volkihar had assured him their lack of magical ability wouldn't be an issue, a difference in the system of magic they were operating with perhaps?
Whatever the case may be, her words had given him a few ideas, as it did James it would seem, judging by that look of his he could already see the gears in his colleague's head beginning to turn. "I had considered commissioning them to create more for our own agents if they proved successful."
James tilted his head up to regard him. "Why don't you?" He inquired if Oz believed they could be used to gain an advantage even if marginally over, Her, why did he hesitate?
"It would seem some of the key resources necessary to create them may not be native to Remnant." Miss Volkihar had been quick to inform him of this issue after delivering the design, and while there had been some initial concern on his part as to how they would proceed once these items had been exhausted she had assured him there were ways to circumvent the issue be utilising a portion of their own magic. "They've made do with what they've had on hand since their arrivals, and while there are apparently ways in which to circumvent the issue by utilising their own reserves of magic, this process is both time-consuming and taxing on the caster."
Yet another difference in how their own system of Magic functioned in comparison to the denizens of Nirn, the energy that powered their own magic came from both within and the greater universe around them, flowing freely through all living things, through all worlds. Magicka she had called it, a simplistic term and somewhat on the nose in his opinion though no less fascinating. The magic under His and Salem's command had stemmed from the brother gods and had subsequently been stripped from the world following their departure, yet the power wielded by Serana and Mikael remained, evident by how they retained their arcane abilities after arriving on Remnant.
He had been tempted to ask if she might be willing to channel some of this energy for him, to act as a conduit so that he might study it; so that he might familiarise himself with its presence, that he might learn to sense it in its most primal state, and perhaps learn to call upon it himself. If he could it might allow him to regain some of the strength he had sacrificed by creating the Maidens and granting Qrow and Raven their own abilities so that he might perhaps tip the balance of power between him and his old love back in their favour.
But caution had held his tongue, if he did ask and she or her brother agreed to his request, he could not be certain how this energy and the power that resided within him might react when they came in contact. In a perfect world, they might mingle and allow him to stand once more as the proud sorcerer he had been all those years ago, but there was just as much of a chance that the powers were too foreign to be able to exist together within a single host and that attempting to combine them could have disastrous results.
"That seems rather convenient, don't you think." The general pointed out much to his displeasure.
"And I will remind you, James, that we have observed such instances during Amber's as well as Frea's demonstrations with the Maiden power " He replied with a flat look. "Much like with Aura, Magic requires the wielder to possess both a strong body as well as mental fortitude so that they might withstand the strain of such power, and just as huntsmen may succumb to Aura exhaustion after a battle, the overexertion of one's own magic can leave even the most experienced wizard out of commission for several days."
And should Beacon be subject to an incursion, be that at the hands of this so-called Daedric prince, or his former love looking to take advantage of the chaos, he would not have their new allies left too weakened to aid them. "So for the moment, they cannot afford to be wasteful on projects that may not be viable in the defence of Beacon."
"Regardless there's more that can be done on our end in preparation for such an eventuality, rather than placing too much reliance on strangers." And if things escalated in the coming weeks as he expected they would, such preparation could be what decided whether this Kingdom would continue to stand once all was said and done.
"While that is most definitely true, some situations may require a specific skill set, the kind that I am no longer capable of providing." The headmaster replied. "Have some faith, James, I haven't become so complacent over the years as to not notice the signs, I've already taken the liberty of reaching out to Leonardo and Theodore regarding the situation, they are increasing security around the academies and will be monitoring the situation within their respective areas for any news that may allude to this creatures activity."
"And you think that will be enough?"
"No" But it was all they could do for now without raising alarm or exposing the threat to the public "But for the moment, they're the only options we have."
/
Her hour of victory was at hand.
She watched on in no small amount of pleasure as her forces edged deeper into her opponent's territory one step at a time, soon it would be time for them to make landfall and that was when the true battle would begin... Hmm, she almost pitied the witless fool, almost that is, those marauders and their fool of a commander would soon roo..., uhh wait that didn't sound right, how had Weiss said it that one time?
ruu, no, no that wasn't right either, ugh what was it
roug?...No, that wasn't right.
rueg?... still no, but better.
...rue?
Yeah, that was it.
They would RUE the day that they had dared to encroach on her great kingdoms borders, by all accounts the battle should be a swift one, not only did they control the skies above that desolate sand pit, but they outnumber the blond devil and her poultry band of marauders a hundred to one, cannon fire would rain down upon their lines, their capital would crumble beneath her soldiers might, with her mighty banner planted atop its ruins.
And all would know the power of the Scarlet Empre-
"Trap Card."
Ruby blinked her dream of triumph screeching to a sudden halt "Huh?" She gasped her eyes flying down to the game board where her sister's card lay, her eyes widening at the sight of the stylised Nevermore. She gasped through gritted teeth, her grip tightening around her cards as everything seemed to be coming to an end before her very eyes.
No, no she could counter this, her eyes fell back to her cards, all she had to do was... 'All I have are unit cards!' And she'd already used two of the support cards she had ready to boost her soldier's morale so they could survive the push through Grimm territory into Vacuo, she hadn't even considered if Yang might have had a Grimm Calamity card ready for her.
That combined with the debuff multiplier she'd gain from her expedition, stacked on top of her Giant Nevermore card effect... "You know what comes next little sister." Yang grinned evilly as she plucked the dice off the table "Question is, are you feeling lucky?" Ruby shrunk down in her seat watching with bated breath as Yang rolled the dice between her fingers a cold sweat forming across her brow.
If Yang could get this next roll, her precious soldiers would be wiped out!
"I play, the Argus accords."
Ruby gasped her head turning so fast there was an audible creek to her fellow bookworm of a teammate. Blake held the card up between them for all to see before gesturing down to the board as she spoke. "For every two territory tiles I cede from my northern border to Altas, I can excavate one card from Rubys' discarded pile and add them to my hand, while my opponent gains a point five boost for each territory tile gained, I will be ceding twelve tiles."
Blake turned her attention to the board retrieving her own counters from the spaces occupying Mistral's northern coastline and replacing them with Ruby's own. The red-clad reaper fought the urge to leap across the table and hug her Faunus teammate, with the boost she'd gained from the ceded territory from Mistral, the debuff multiplier she'd gained from her army journey to Vacuo began trickling down to almost zero.
"What the heck Blake!" Yang slammed her hands down on the table, the entire game board shuddering from the blow.
She'd been hoping her sister would try another one of her big gambol strategies like she always did whenever they played together back home, and now was no different, there was a reason the Dragon Continent was considered a deathtrap for players, the times three negative multiplier for every tile you passed through would decimate most armies and likely would have Ruby fleet if she hadn't plaid those Arms Trade and Military Rally booster cards earlier, sure, her army survived but at the cost of her stacking one hell of a debuff multiplier.
Her trap card should have been what finished her, multiplying the standard four until tiles target by her nevermore by eight wiping out her whole dumb fleet in a single move, that is if it wasn't for "Prime Minister Belladonna" swooping in at the last second and ruining all her fun. "I almost had her" she groused her eyes flickering red for a moment in frustration, the knowing smirk her partner wore certainly wasn't helping things either.
"And now she has you." Blake replied evenly as she accepted the stack of discarded cards from her red-cloaked leader, Yang glanced down at her board and cursed silently, now with her trap cards effect was cut down to basically nothing, it was all too clear Ruby's army would overwhelm her own come next turn if she didn't do something soon.
"Go for the Mechanised unit cards, they have this damage multiplier when they're deployed beside lower-level units." Her leader not so subtly whispered towards her, further adding to her older sister's ire as she hastily began slapping down addition unit cards to bolster her defences against her sister's advance.
Blake hummed in response sifting through the various military-themed unit and support cards Ruby had used throughout the game, eventually, she found a set of three cards each depicting a squad of Atleasian knights, her amber orbs trailed down to the card effect written below and found herself agreeing with her leader suggestion she added them to her own hand along with a unit card for an Atelsian Battleship, a Beam Turret trap card and the Military rally booster card her leader had played the previous turn as an added boost to her own forces.
Handing Ruby back her cards Blake took stock of her teammate's positions on the board, she hadn't been quite sure about the game when Ruby and Yang had suggested it to them earlier that morning, even growing she hadn't really seen the appeal in board games, much rather preferring to curl up in her favourite corner of the Manors library and lose herself within the pages of one of the many novels dotting its shelves for hours on end.
Her smile dipped lightly, her thoughts had been drifting more and more back towards her old life on Menagerie with her Mom and Dad, more importantly, the argument she'd had with them before she'd run off to Join the White Fang.
Looking back on it all she couldn't help but feel disgusted with herself, with the things she'd said to them in the heat of the moment, they'd only been trying to look out for her, to protect her as any good parents would, had she not been swept up by the rallies, the speeches about honour and freedom for her people, she might have been able to see it sooner, instead she'd taken their words, their fear... their love for her, and spat it back in their faces.
It was despicable, so much so she wouldn't be surprised if they never wanted to speak to her again after that, and given all she'd done in the name of the White Fang between then and now, she couldn't say it would be undeserved, the White Fang she thought she knew, the one she had joined had fallen so far, farther then she could have ever imagined possible, to the point it was now unrecognisable when compared to what it was before.
And she was reminded of the role she'd played in its downfall, every time she turned on her Scroll, or looked at a newspaper, the White Fang was plastered across the front page, another attack, another robbery, to the point it had been an almost daily occurrence for almost a month now. A part of her had been asking herself why she hadn't been looking into things, why she hadn't gone out there to confront them as she had back at the docks, well, that was before the night Ruby had been abducted by a literal God, a God that may well return any day now and try to abduct her leader again, by force if need be.
A threat as large as that, one so insurmountable that the likelihood of them surviving such an encounter was almost zero and if she were being honest the thought of running had crossed her mind more than once, as shameful as it might have been to admit. Don't get her wrong, she loved her team they were quite possibly her closest friends, the sisters she had never realised she wanted growing up, and yet even that hadn't been enough to stop some old habits from rearing their ugly heads.
The only difference being this time around, it wasn't like what it had been with Adam, here she wasn't thinking about running because she'd grown to disagree with a cause, nor doubt her place among her teammates, in truth she was afraid, truly afraid, not only for herself but her friends as well, and while yes she could leave if she wished, not only would she be condemning her friends to carry on without her, but there was no guarantee she would be spared even if she did.
Especially considering what that thing had tried to do to Ruby while she'd been trapped there with it, if she ran Mora could come for her, could come for any of them really the second they stepped out of Beacon alone, and twist them into loyal puppets that would carry out his will with a smile, no, there was no escaping this and that fact helped... put certain things into perspective, it made her consider her recent choices more carefully, as well as the consequences of her past ones and how she might make amends to those she loved, in the event the worst should happen to her.
The biggest and quite possibly the heaviest choice on that list was the decision to finally reach out to her parents again, the thought had come to mind a little after they first bumped into Ruby and Yang's uncle earlier that day, and then again when Weiss mentioned her sister would be arriving that afternoon, she couldn't deny she was somewhat jealous of her teammate's having their family members present at such a crucial time, while her own relationship with her parents was a little up in the air right now, yet there was so much she wanted to say to them, so much to apologise for, the last thing she wanted was for their last conversation to be a stupid argument.
"Yo, Blakey you doing all right?"
"Hmmph!" Blake's mind snapped back to reality her eyes darting towards the source of the voice, settling on her partner, the blond's free hand raised in what looked to be a wave, likely in an effort to get her attention.
Blake looked down at her cards and then back at the board, noticing the change in some of the pieces between Rand Yang's side of the board, while Weiss still seemed to be struggling to maintain her grip on Vales borders, both her and Yang slowly inching further into her territory. "Sorry." Blake apologised sitting up a little straighter in her seat "Is it my turn again?"
"Weiss' actually." Yang laughed pulling her hand back and scratching the side of her head nervously "You doing okay, you were pretty zoned out there... do you want to take a break?" Yang inquired, the concern in her violate gaze mirrored by her two teammates, whose attention shifted from the board and towards her.
"It's fine." Blake assured her friends "I've just... had a lot on my mind, is all." She didn't want to ruin today by bringing up her personal issues with her parents, she could handle that herself when the time came, for now, today was about her and her team. "I want to keep playing."
"Alright then." Yang replied her usual cockiness returning as she turned towards the Schnee Heiress flashing a toothy smile "Let's see if Ice Queen can manage to make a comeback."
"Hmph, we'll see won't we" The Schnee Heiress rolled her eyes in response adopting an even outward demeanour while on the inside she was panicking, the game had gone far worse than she could have ever imagined, she'd spent a good while preparing for the game reading up on the various cards available for each deck, the advantages and disadvantages of each player kingdom, and had devised what should have been a winning strategy.
So why was she the one so close to losing!?
At first, it looked as though Ruby had been given the short end of the stick, from what she'd read online in preparation for all this, while Atlas was by far the most powerful deck in the mid to late stages of the game, given the high resource costs for the majority of its cards, the strength of her army and subsequent ability to expand was more limited in the beginning, yet her partner had powered through, her past experience in the game shining through as she quickly took all of Solotas under her banner.
Now if only she could get her to put as much effort into their study session as she did the game, she was sure she could get her to jump up a grade or two at least.
As for the other kingdoms, given its vast forest and plentiful landscape, Blake had been able to build a surplus of resources to help build and expand Mistral's reach across anima, this came at the cost of having fewer higher-level unit cards than the others, much like the trade hub that made up a majority of the kingdom itself, a player who chose Mitral relied on boost from resources cards and pickups from other players to strengthen their deck and expand their territory, something Blake had been capitalising on expertly throughout the game evident by her play last turn
Then there was Vale, the kingdom recommended for new players given its relative abundance of resources, alongside a relatively evenly balanced number of unit and booster cards the player could use to their advantage with the added bonus of a reduced debuff from Grimm thanks to the defence bonus from its natural barriers almost eliminating the player's worries towards Grimm incursions and allowing them to focus solely on the game itself.
And finally, there was Vacuo, its lack of natural resources, treacherous landscape and the increased chance of Grimm encounters a player risked for every three tiles they claimed, the only real benefit coming from Shades status effect that boosted the resilience of Vacuo cards while traversing Grimm territory, though even then the unit cards she had were far weaker than the rest, making it one of the most difficult kingdoms to play.
However, these same drawbacks also served to be its greatest advantage, like with Ruby no player would risk setting foot in that sandy deathtrap without proper preparation or a clear strategy, as such none of them had paid her moves any mind for the beginning segment of the game, leaving that blond devil ample time to build up her army and chip away at the surrounding territory a few tiles at a time, to the point she could begin her push into the neighbouring kingdoms undeterred.
And so she did, her raiders smashing through her border with Vacuo and claiming Several of her western settlements in one fell swoop, with the resources she'd claimed from them fueling her push further into Vale. Ashamed as she was to admit it, in her panic she'd moved the bulk of her forces against Yangs in hopes of pushing back her invasion and reclaiming her lost territory, giving Blake ample opportunity to slip into her land unnoticed and push back her border with Msitral to the mountain range east of her capital city. Now here she was her forces split in two holding off both advancing armies, losing more and more territory with each passing turn.
Drawing from her deck she stared down at her hand analysing the cards she had at her disposal before turning her attention back towards the board, while things may seem dark all was not lost, after all, Blake's most recent play had created an opening in Yang's defences, one she would not leave unexploited.
Selecting the card with a stylised depiction of Beacons auditorium back when the academy served as the king of Vales Palace, said monarch stood before his war council sword raised high in an act of defiance, Weiss raised it up like a judge ready to deliver her final verdict. "I play Kings Ralley" Weiss declared slapping the card down before her. "Until the end of this turn, my base unit cards gain a time-three bonus to their attack rolls at the cost of me being unable to conduct an attack phase for the next two turns." She said moving her Valion Legionares to attack Yang's desert raiders, turning her gaze towards Yang she smirked holding her hand out politely "The dice if you would."
Said brutish Blond turning her gaze away from the massacre taking place to the north of her capital and down to her trap card section of the board, empty after having been exhausted fighting off the majority of Ruby's fleet to no avail, said leader giving her partner a thumbs up, while her elder sister let out a frustrated huff "Don't think I've forgotten how I ended up like this." Yang glared back at her partner playfully, before passing over the dice to her white Haired teammate. "I'll get you for this later."
"If you can make it out of this in one piece." Blake replied her amber eyes flashing dangerously, a mocking smirk adorning her features.
Seconds later the dice hit the table and Weiss Legoniaries cut a path through Yang's desert raiders, forcing her several tiles back towards Vales's former border with Vacuo, Weiss whipped her head back the oh-so-usually calm and composed heiress unleashing an almost evil cackle as she plucked Yang's piece from the board one after another, depositing them in the game box beside other discarded unit pieces, and admittedly Blake was taken aback by how deeply she was getting into all of this, seeing her act so carefree was both strange and oddly endearing.
"And thanks to the bonus granted by Vale, seeing as I conducted a successful attack that resulted in me gaining territory, I am able to conduct a second attack this turn." With the most vindictive smirk she had seen, Weiss's arm swept to the side levelling a single finger towards her teammate. "The time has come for you to answer for your transgressions Belladonna, know every drop of blood, shed in our conflict shall be repaid in full as I reclaim...what...is...mine..." Weiss trailed off her hand falling limply to her side, face turning the colour of Rubys' cloak.
Blake cocked a brow at the sudden change in attitude and as she looked at her team Yang looked like she was struggling to hold in her laughter while Ruby had a look of awe written across her face her head on a swivel as she glanced between their white-haired teammate doing a remarkable impression of a tomato and someone behind her, here ears twitched beneath her bow as the subtle clicking of heels grew closer leaning back she turned to glance back over the chair towards the source of her teammate's reaction and stilled.
Snow white hair held up in a neat bun, slate blue eyes and features nearly identical to her own teammate combined with a custom Atlesian specialist uniform and sabre strapped to her hip, the same description given to all White Fang members to identify Winter Schnnee former heiress of the SDC and 'Ironwoods Attack Dog' as Adam had put it. She'd been preparing herself all day for this meeting ever since Weiss had announced she would be arriving earlier that day, and despite her own assurances, a small part of her was still a little hesitant to meet the eldest Schnee sibling in person.
Adam had fought her more than once before on a few missions where Atlas had responded in force, sure she'd had her mask to protect her from the cameras and prying eyes of soldiers, though...she hadn't exactly changed up her style at all since leaving the Fang behind, and then there was her weapon. Mecha-shift weapons were just as good at identifying someone as their fingerprints, they were flashy, unique to their wielders' own style, and far too expensive to just cast aside or replace with another at the drop of a hat.
She had to stay calm, she was not a white Fang member anymore, she was a student of Beacon Academy, a huntress in training and this woman was not the enemy commander whose skill and ruthless efficiency on the battlefield were fearfully whispered of among their ranks, this was her friend's sister. Turning back around in her seat she took a slow deep breath through her nose, preparing herself for the moment to come, she had to have faith, should anything go wrong, in both herself and her team so that they might explain everything and hopefully defend her case and her place here at Beacon.
"W-Winter" Weiss squeaked out before hastily brushing down her skirt and jacket, before adopting a more formal possible in an effort to make herself as presentable as possible, despite the warm flush she felt across her face and ears. "It's so good to see you, I...I was under the impression you would not be joining us until later." She sputtered
"A recent development in the proceedings meant the need for my presence has become unwarranted as such the General granted me leave for the rest of today." The elder Schnee replied evenly as she came to a halt before her younger sibling, the lie crossing her lips easily enough and judging from both the accepting and somewhat excited look in her sister's eyes, it would go unquestioned, though speaking of said sister. "Though I hope I'm not interrupting, you seemed rather, enraptured, in your game a few moments ago."
Her eyes turned from Weiss's remarkably flushed face to the board game surrounded by who she knew from the file provided to her by General Ironwood to be her teammates, her gaze settled on the red-hooded girl for a brief moment before shifting down to the table between them "Remnant?" she noted curiously "I've never quite played it myself, though I've heard it is quite highly recommended."
"Y-Yes" Weiss replied stepping back slightly to allow her sister to examine the board, while gesturing to her team leader. "Ruby and Yang ordered it earlier in the week and recommended I joined them once it arrived for some team bonding." Weiss smiled awkwardly her sister humming in response, in that moment her leader decide to speak
"It's really nice to meet you, Miss Winter, Weiss has told us so much about you." she greeted the elder Schnee
"All good things" Yang jumped in gesturing to herself " I'm Yang by the way, that's Ruby and the quiet one over yonder is Blake."
Said Faunus girl nodding her head to the elder Schnee in greeting. "Good afternoon."
"To you as well." Winter replied nodding her head to each of the girls in kind "I'm thankful that you all have taken such an interest in my sister, I was admittedly concerned by the content of Weiss's letters earlier in the year, though all things considered I assume its safe to say any animosity between you all has been put to rest."
"Yeah, things are definitely better now than back then...I guess you could say we all kinda got off on the wrong foot." Ruby rubbed the back of her head nervously as she glanced between her teammate who themselves bore some varying looks of embarrassment. Looking back on it now calling their first few weeks at the academy a rough start would have been putting it lightly, it wasn't all Weiss or Blake behind all the drama either, she... she hadn't exactly been the most mature back in the forest either or with the wakeup calls she'd given her team over the first few days.
"Beacon was a big step for everyone." Blake picked up "And while there was bound to be some animosity in the beginning I can say with some certainty we all made more than a few mistakes over the first couple of weeks." Her ears twitched slightly beneath her bow the battle at the docks replaying through the back of her mind.
Weiss shifted slightly "We... all could have handled things better." Her treatment of Ruby following initiation and then the incident with Blake that followed a few weeks later flashed to the forefront of her mind.
"Some of us more than others" Yang supplied recalling the night Ruby had been taken, the rational part of her knew there was nothing she could have done at the time to stop it, but she still couldn't forgive herself for letting her little sister down."But we got through it, and I think we're all better because of it"
"Yeah, we're all besties now, right Weiss" Ruby piped up
"Ruby, please." Weiss rolled her eyes in response to her leader's words. Honestly, would it kill her to use a term that sounded a little more... professional, while in front of her sister, still there was no hiding the smile that made its way onto her face, a smile that did not go unnoticed by the eldest Schnee.
"Are you now?" Winter regarded her younger sister curiously.
Weiss looked off to the side embarrassment clear in her gaze and once more she found herself surprised by the display that was so unlike the younger sister she knew back in Atlas, who would have shied away or greeted such advances with distrust and disdain, recent events notwithstanding. It would seem attending Beacon had more of an effect on her sister than she first believed, even if its more laidback approach to teaching in comparison to Atlas's own left it wanting in her eyes.
Though looking at her sister now she couldn't deny Weiss had grown, perhaps not as much as a huntress but certainly as a person over the months spent here, still...she hoped that displays such as what she'd witnessed shortly after her arrival would not be a reoccurring theme. "While I'm pleased you've taken some initiative during your time in Vale and started making friends, I would ask that in the future you be more, considerate, of the environment you chose for... recreational activities, I imagine not everyone here looks to share in you and your team's zeal."
"Yes, I...I suppose so." Weiss shrunk down lightly at her sister's words, hands fiddling with the edge of her skirt nervously as she glanced around the library spotting more than a few eyes pointed their way, likely in response to her previous outburst. "Perhaps, I did get a little carried away." she muttered to herself.
Winter released a small breath through her nose, the edge of her lips twitching up ever so slightly. Despite her previous words, she couldn't bring herself to reprimand Weiss for her lack of self-awareness as she would have normally. If anything she considered that slip in the dignified mask she and her siblings had spent years perfecting a blessing, it was proof of Weiss and her team's resolve, that despite being faced with such an insurmountable situation as had been described in the General's report, they had not allowed it to control them, nor lead them into disappear. "What's done is done." she said
Weiss lifted her head up to meet her elder sibling's eye, her tone holding none of the disappointment nor scolding edge she'd initially been expecting, her sister tolerated nothing but excellence be that from her siblings or herself, that mindset was what allowed her to rise through the ranks as a specialist so quickly.
Although, considering their surroundings now may not have been the time or the place for a stern word.
Noting Weiss's curious gaze Winter moved to shift the conversation back on track. "Perhaps once you've finished you would mind allowing me to inspect your dorm room, I'd like to ensure Beacon has been accommodating you appropriately." As well as to ensure her sister and her team had been keeping the dorm to an acceptable standard.
"Actually, we kind of already had something planned out ahead of time for when you finally got here, if that's okay?" Ruby quickly added, she didn't want to you know, impose anything, if Winter wanted to have some you know 'sister time' with Weiss like she and Yang did from time to time, then that was okay too.
"It's nothing extravagant." Weiss picked up stepping beside her sister she gestured back towards the entrance of the library a hopeful smile crossing her features. Given the spacing issues her team had suffered at the start of the year after moving into their dorm it hadn't been easy fitting the table and chairs they'd had to shift some furniture around in order to make it work not to mention the spread they'd managed to procure being nothing extravagant, though she hoped that wouldn't be too much of an issue. "Just some tea and cake we procured from the cafeteria, given your schedule and the time you said you'd arrive, I was hoping we might all enjoy some quiet conversation before you were forced to retire for the evening."
Winter hummed in response, admittedly it was a rather nice gesture and given the amount of time and effort her sister and her team had seemed to have put into this in preparation for her arrival it would be rather inconsiderate of her to refuse them without proper reason, and in such a private environment... perhaps they may be more willing to indulge some idle questioning.
"Verry well." Winter replied smiling warmly towards her younger sibling, before gesturing back towards the entrance of the library "If you wouldn't mind?"
"Of course." Weiss nodded eagerly to her sister, though as she and her sister departed from the others, a stray worrying thought made its way to the front of the young heiress's mind "Although... you should be aware, the bunk bed only looks unstable."
Winter quirked a brow at that "Bunk...beds?" she asked
Ruby gave one last waver to her partner before turning her attention back towards shuffling her discarded cards back into her deck. "She seems really nice, and that sword looked so cool~" The young reaper added, while at first glance it didn't appear to be mecha shift like her own baby or have any attachments for Dust like Weiss's did, she had spotted some mechanism around the guard that drew her curiosity "Do you... think if I asked nicely she might let me take a look." Or failing that answer a few questions about its design.
Yang chuckled in response to her sisters' antics "Maybe after sis." Ruby had done the exact same thing with Blake and Weiss's own weapons near the start of the year, in her own little dorky, weapon-crazed way, it was how she got around to bonding and getting to know new people, even if their teammates had been a little prickly at the start.
Still, she couldn't help but think her sister was being a little narrow-minded, if what Weiss had told them was anything to go by not only was her sister pretty high up in Atlas food chain with an impressive mission record to boot, personally she was more interested in hearing those stories more then anything. Her gaze drifted towards the quiet member of their group "Your sure you're okay with this Blake." She hadn't forgotten her partner's concerns from earlier today nor how she'd stiffened when Winter finally showed herself. "If you wanna hang back for a bit while everyone gets settled in, we could come up with a cover for you."
"It'll be fine" Blake replied slipping her own deck back into the box beside the other pieces, looking up at the other she offered her best reassuring look. "If there was a chance she might have recognised me or made a connection, she would have done something about it already." If the eldest Schnee sibling felt she was a threat in any regard she was confident the specialist would have acted without question. "And even if she does know, the more I try to avoid it the more likely I am to give her the wrong idea."
"If anything does happen, we're with you." Ruby replied
Blake smiled "I know." With the last of the game pieces and cards away she scooped up the board folding it away then slipped it back in place in the box, Sealing the lid she stood up from her seat and passed the box back over to her leader, who tucked it away under her arm. "...If we have time we could try and pick up our game later. " She offered, pushing their chairs under the trio began making their way towards the library doors.
"It's okay" Her leader replied stepping out into the hall she peered down at the box cover and smiled "I'm just glad we got to play, with everything that happened it's nice to be able to do something... Normal, you know." She didn't really know how to put it into words, it was just nice to be able to forget about everything and enjoy some time with her friends.
"Tell me about it" Yang sighed stretching her arms out behind her head as they rounded the end of the hall, pushing open the door into the hallway leading towards the student dorms "I still can't believe I let a couple of noobs like you and Weiss pull something like that on me." Not that she'd been expecting her friends to be bad at the game or anything, but being a more experienced play she had a clear advantage. "I knew I shouldn't have gone easy on those first couple of turns."
Blake cocked a brow at that, Noobs were they? "It's your own fault for prioritising Ruby." Blake added glancing back over her shoulder a challenging glint in her eyes "And as I recall I wasn't doing too bad for my first game."
Yang met her partner's gaze head-on and shrugged "We keep score on who wins." The brawler tilted her head towards the youngest member of their team. "Last time I checked I was two ahead, and I wasn't going to give her the chance to close the gap."
"Says you!" Ruby scowled shoving her sister with her free hand "The only reason you won last time is because I had to walk Zwei, and Dad decided to take over for me while I was gone." Ruby sighed recalling the panicked look on her dad's face when she walked back in to find her armies wiped out and her kingdom's borders pushed back to the edge of her capital, at that point the game was already decided and surrender was her only option.
"Then I'm one ahead and still winning" Yang reached out to ruffle her sister's hair.
"Quit it!" Ruby ducked under her sister's arm and out of range and stuck her tongue out at her mockingly before storming ahead past Blake and shooting off down the hallway, leaving her sister and Teammate behind.
"And there she goes."Blake trailed off falling back slightly to walk beside her partner "Do you really have to goad her like that so often."
"It's part of being a big sister, you gotta show dominance or she'll walk all over you with her cutesy little-sisterness." She clenched her fist in front of her dramatically for added effect.
Blake rolled her eyes in response "How devious of her." she said
"Oh, believe me, she is." Yang reaffirmed "Honestly you wouldn't believe how often she was able to weasel her way out of trouble with Dad and Uncle Qrow back home." Honestly, the second it looked like they were going to tear into her, she'd get all flushed and teary-eyed with a quivering lip and they'd cave in a matter of seconds.
She recalled one of said times raising a finger up as she spoke. "There was this time when we were younger she stacked up all the chairs in the kitchen to reach the cabinet where Dad had hidden the Halloween candy." Long story short there was no candy for trick-or-treaters that year and Ruby spent a week in bed puking up rainbow-coloured Vomit, she paused for a moment before a second finger rose to join the first "Or there was this other time she tried to cut class to go to this weapon convention back on Patch. The only reason we even found out was that Dad had been subbing for her teacher that afternoon."
A third finger joins the other two... along with a small scowl on Yang's face "Then near the end of her first year at Signal, she nearly blew the roof off of the shed back home after trying to make her own ammo for Crescent Rose, all because the stuff at the store wasn't "packing enough punch.", and overloaded her casings with fire dust." Ruby was lucky she got away with some small burns and didn't lose any of her fingers when her self-made ammo went off prematurely, suffice to say the scare had been enough to ensure she didn't try it again, though she still made a point to keep a close eye on her for a couple of weeks after that, especially when Ruby disappeared into the shed to work on upgrades for her scythe.
"Seriously" Blake commented a little shocked by the story, of all of them Ruby was the most professional when they were doing weapon maintenance. "She's usually so careful whenever we're in the workshop."
"Yeah, she was a lot more... I don't wanna say reckless, but gung-ho back then." Yang shook her head lightly, the first design Ruby built for Crescent Rose had been cobbled together from a bunch of spare parts they'd got from the junkyard, an old rifle receiver and stock along with a farm scythe she got from that old lady, Madam... something, who lived a little way down the road from them. "I mean she still is even now, but that accident was enough of a wake-up call for her to slow down a little, and she's been super careful when it comes to weapons ever since." Yang sighed stuffing her hands into her blazer pockets as she walked her eyes trailing down to the floor below "Sorry, kinda dampening the mood now, aren't I... I just worry about her, you know?"
Shifting closer to her partner so she could bump the blond's shoulder reassuringly, adding. "I know you do." Their situation had brought out a far more serious side of Yang than the seemingly fun, easy-going, walking ray of sunshine she'd met in the ballroom back at the start of the year. "But that's not necessarily a bad thing. If anything, it speaks rather highly of you that you're willing to go so far for her."
Up until recently every time they walked into a room, be it a classroom, the library, or even their dorm Yang had to be the first one through the door, the first one to start surveying a room, and she imagined if something was waiting for them on the other side, the first to face the fire. "Ruby's lucky to have a sister like you."
Yang perked up at that a small smile gracing her features, smiling softly she nudged Blake back with her own shoulder "Thanks partner." she said, though her partner's response did bring up a question that had been bouncing around in her head for a while about her most reclusive teammate. "What about you? Any adorable little fluffy cat-eared brothers or sisters you'd like to talk about?"
Blake snorted in response "Sadly no, my parents stopped after me... and before you say anything, I'll have you know I was a very well-behaved child." Yang shot her an exaggerated but knowing look, and Blake rolled her eyes, her lips twitching up into a small smile "Well... most of the time." Though now that the thought was in her head she couldn't help but wonder what life might have been like with a younger brother or sister in her life.
The word chaotic sprung to mind, she hadn't been shy or anything growing up, she'd talked and played with other children when she left the Manor, though at home she mostly hung around the library, or spent the day lounger around the sitting room with her parents, looking back on it now having a younger sibling or two running around after her might have shook things up a bit.
The rest of the walk back to their dorm didn't take long, she and Yang chatting along the way, though every once in a while they had to contend with a few glares and choice words sent their way by the few disgruntled students that seemed to have been caught up in their leader's semblance. Looks like they'd need to have a talk with Ruby about using her semblance in the halls again, the chewing out they got from Miss Goodwitch last time was bad enough, she didn't want to deal with another.
Pushing open the double doors leading into the common area of the first-year dorms, the duo glanced around for their teammates, finding the ground floor empty it was clear the others had already head backed to their room to get started. Blake and Yang moved to follow, making their way across the carpeted floor to the stairwell, yet just as they reached the threshold of the door a low thud echoed through the room, causing the two to stop and look at each other curiously. "Did you hear that?" Yang asked. Blake's ears twitched beneath her bow, tilting her head up towards the source of the noise just a muffled voice cried out in alarm.
"BIRDY! NO!"
Blake blinked " Was that... Ruby?"
Before Yang could give her reply, a loud crash echoed from one of the floors above, followed swiftly by more yelling this time by what sounded like Weiss. The partners winced sharing a look of equal surprise and concern, they could have only lagged behind by a couple of minutes, so just what the heck was going on up there?
A/N: I have returned to the scene, I'll be finishing Uni in the next few weeks and hopefully graduating along with it. so hopefully this means I'll have more time to invest in the things I like doing, case in point this new chapter I'm putting out today.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of shadows rising, feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think, any criticism you have are always welcome as they help me improve my writing, I wish you all a good summer and will be seeing you all again in the next one, bye now.