The heiress couldn't help but roll her eyes with indignation and let out a small huff of annoyance as the smaller redhead girl tugged and dragged her by the sleeve. Weiss observed the surprisingly bustling streets with a look of exasperation at the younger girl's antics. A happy grin plastered on Ruby's face in stark contrast with the ice queen's own feelings on the impromptu trip.
"Where exactly are we going again Ruby?"
The redhead responded with another tug, much to the heiress's annoyance. Ruby grinning as she answered.
"Come ooooon Weiss, I told you there's a whole market with tons of stalls in town! I want to see what's around!"
The heiress pinched the bridge of her nose, confused as she asks.
"And what does that have to do with me exactly?"
The redhead's demeanor grew more sheepish as she stopped, finally allowing the heiress to drop her arm to her own side.
"Well… I might have overheard you complaining about losing all your spare clothes at Beacon… sooo I figured we could fix that! Come on, it'll be fun! We can check out all sorts of stalls and definitely find you some new stuff to wear!"
Weiss felt her cheeks flush as she crossed her arms in defiance for a moment, turning her nose up at the younger girl.
"How dare you listen in on very private complaints!"
"I could hear you through two walls complaining about it Weiss…" Ruby replied with a deadpan stare.
The heiress felt herself grow more embarrassed, a simple "hmph!" escaping as she resumed their walk, not needing to be dragged along by Ruby any longer.
Weiss did see the redhead perk up, seemingly happy to have her on board. Only to watch Ruby grow sheepish as she mumbled through the next couple of words at absurd speeds, skipping straight past the ice queen.
"And what exactly was that last part, Ruby?" the heiress arched an eyebrow at the girl, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"IAlsoThoughtMaybeYou'dWannaGetYangAGift!" The words tumbled from the redhead's embarrassed mouth like a speedy whirlwind, the heiress only just managing to piece the sentence together the second time after a brief pause. She felt her cheeks run redder as she glared at the girl in response.
"And why would you think I'd want to do that!?"
Though the question rang from her in quite an annoyed tone, the heiress did have to admit to herself that the idea was appealing. She'd like to get Yang something small, hopefully just to lift the blonde's spirits slightly.
"I- Um! Well, I just uh. You two have been spending a lot of time together and I just thought she might appreciate it more from you!"
Ruby pauses to rub the back of her head sheepishly, with an embarrassed smile, clearly stuttering over herself as she tries to mask her true reasoning. Weiss blinked back at the girl in response, opening her mouth to pry deeper only to have Ruby swiftly change the subject.
"I was gonna get her something too!"
The redhead pouted, deflating slightly.
"She's just so hard to get stuff for! She always gives gifts and never asks for anything, it's the worst!"
Weiss, growing slightly more embarrassed at the younger girl pointing out their time together, let's out another indignant huff. Deciding to simply walk ahead and leave Ruby to catch up to her.
"Hmph, I'm sure I can find something suitable for that brute!"
The pair travel down a simple cobblestone path leading into an array of colorful tents and stalls, set up with a variety of different goods, most of which homemade or homegrown. Weiss was surprised at the amount of people that meandered these makeshift shops, having assumed far too few people lived in this town to cause quite this much bustle. Still, the heiress happily absorbed the scenery, catching an array of interesting smells from foods or spotting odd trinkets buried among the shops.
As the heiress let her eyes wander the sights, only half listening as Ruby rambled about her favorite stalls to visit at a speed far too inconvenient for Weiss to have to pay attention to, her icy eyes settled on a quaint wooden stall, outlined with glass display cases. The cases seemed to contain jewelry formed from inactive dust crystals based on the colorful yet familiar dazzles she could pick up from a distance. Her interest piqued, the heiress slowly made her way past a few other pedestrians towards it, Ruby taking a few moments before realizing her partner had started to wander before running after her.
As the white haired girl approached, the stall runner and presumably jewler, an older and broad shouldered stout man stood up from his chair with a surprisingly pleasant smile. He gestures to the heiress and her partner with a rough and calloused hand as the pair stopped in front of the stall.
"Please if anything catches your eye feel free to ask."
Weiss offered the shopkeep a polite curtsy, smiling and nodding as she let her pale blue eyes slowly wander along the fine ridges and vibrant hues of the colored crystals before her. Several pieces had been meticulously carved into various sizes, ranging from simple geometrical shapes to complex designs such as flowers or animals.
While the heiress took great care and time looking across the selection, Ruby flippantly ogled, wide and starry eyed at each new pretty crystal she came across, causing the older man to chuckle at the juxtaposition of the pair.
The redhead looked to the man, cocking an eyebrow and tilting her head, asking with confusion.
"So these are inactive right? They won't like, blow up or anything if I touch em wrong?"
Weiss grimaced at the obvious answer to the redhead's question, but the shopkeep seemed to take it in stride, seeming to enjoy the questioning.
"No need to worry little one, you'd be hard pressed to even get these to shatter, much less react."
He paused in thought for a moment, glancing down at the display case before him.
"There is a rumor that even inactive dust can still have some minor effects though. I dunno the validity of it but it's quite interesting, I've heard several accounts of different types doing different things."
To this, Weiss's attention was caught, looking up from the display to the man, opening her mouth to ask something, only to stop in her tracks as her eyes went wide at the sight of one of the pieces on display. An icy blue snowflake, seemingly carved from some inactive form of water or ice dust, intricately chiseled so that the edges were flat and reflected light easily back into itself, causing a dazzling array of radiant hues to sparkle off of it depending on the angle it was observed at. The snowflake itself matched Weiss's eye color almost perfectly, much to the heiress's amusement and wonder.
The man followed the heiress's gaze, motioning to the earring she was obviously ogling at.
"Ah caught your fancy huh? I'm quite proud of this one myself, supposedly this type of inactive crystal has a very minor calming affect when held, makes it easier to dispel anger and the like."
The gears in Weiss's mind stopped for a moment, having previously wanted this piece for herself, but now reconsidering. Perhaps this would be a good gift for Yang? Certainly if it did contain that sort of ability that would be wonderful for the brawler, and even if not it was obviously beautiful. The thought of gifting the piece to the blonde brought a small pink hue rising to her face, warmth spreading to her cheeks.
While Ruby was completely distracted by a series of miniature swords and other weapons carved from the crystals, the shopkeep noted the heiress's sudden shift in mood and was quite amused at the girl's blush.
"Got someone special in mind for it lass?"
Weiss spluttered in response, her cheeks changing from just the slightest tinge of pink to a much darker red as she tried to compose herself, crossing her arms in response.
"S-so what if I do?"
The older man chuckled, opening the case and setting the sparkling snowflake down on a velvet pedestal for the ice queen to observe.
"Call it intuition, but ima guess someone special in your life could use something like this."
Weiss couldn't help but let her eyes be drawn to the piece, her mind drifting to the saddened blonde brawler, feeling a twinge of pain spiderweb up her chest. With confidence she nodded to the man.
The older man chuckled once more, giving the heiress a nod back.
"I'm sure your partner will love it quite a lot!"
The heiress could feel burning heat flood into her already red cheeks as her flustered demeanor took over briefly, her nose quickly upturning with a huff.
"It is absolutely nothing like that! Just a gift for a friend, but I would very much like it, yes. Though I have one request."
The man cocked a curious eyebrow in response to the girl, open to her request.
"She's… well. Jewelry isn't exactly her thing, could we maybe put it on some sort of chain, so she can attach it to whatever she likes?"
The man grinned, giving the heiress a wink and gingerly picking up the snowflake, placing it on the work bench behind him.
"You got yourself a deal lass, I'm sure your 'friend' will be quite happy."
Weiss rolled her eyes once more, covering her mouth with a hand as she tried to dissipate the flush in her face.
After a couple of minutes, filled with some very light strikes of a hammer and fiddling with extremely small materials. The shopkeep places the glittering snowflake in the heiress's outstretched palm, a brand new silver chain attached. Some Lien being exchanged from the girl in turn, Weiss silently thanking herself for remembering to save some of her father's allowance on the side before he cut her off.
With a brief wave from the older man, the two girls made their way back into the market, weaving between patrons and sellers alike. The redhead breaking the silence between the two rather quickly. Much to her annoyance Ruby leaned over her shoulder, a large and knowing grin pressed to her face.
"So, is that for you or Yang?"
Though the question was simple, the heiress could almost sense the spider web of traps laid within it. Ruby giggling as Weiss stammered made responding that much harder for the ice queen.
"For me to know and you to find out later."
The redhead whined in response, berating the heiress with insistent questions as she led them both through a multitude of tailors and craftsmen. It took the heiress quite a long time to choose a new outfit from the selection of stalls, something that brought Ruby endless dismay, an occasional jab of "I'm booooored" being tossed the heiress's way. The girl was especially antsy since she had very quickly settled on an outfit that was all too similar to her old one very early into their trip, leaving the girl with nothing to do after changing into it.
"You dragged me out here Ruby, you suffer the consequences."
Weiss tossed the redhead a victorious smirk, satisfied with her opportunity to turn things around on the younger girl as she stepped into a small changing booth, having picked out a simple blue and gray dress, happy with the more intricate detailing it had around the neck.
As the heiress finally stepped out, quite satisfied with her new look, she found herself perplexed to see her teammate nowhere to be found. With an audible groan and a pinch of the bridge of her nose she muttered.
"Oh you insufferable dolt, where did you run off to this time?"
Weiss indignantly cut her way through the crowd, icy eyes scanning with a scowl for any sign of red capes or rose petals scurrying between the crowd. The heiress finally stopped at seemingly the edge of the haphazardly strewn together collection of stalls, sighing as she let her eyes scan the nearby tree line. The heiress let out an annoyed growl as she spotted the missing redhead, bent down in the grass and cutting the stems of some flowers.
Weiss stomped her way over to her teammate, huffing in frustration as Ruby turned towards her with a sheepish grin when she heard her partner's approach.
"Look Weiss! Sunflowers! Those are Yang's favorite."
Though her arms were crossed in annoyance, the ice queen did arch an eyebrow at that, choosing to file that piece of information away in the 'Yang Vault' as she dubbed it in her mind.
"Well if you're quite done playing in the grass, I'd like to head back soo-"
Weiss froze mid word, much to Ruby's confusion. Behind the redhead she observed a myriad of red glowing eyes begin to pierce their way through the tree line, followed very swiftly by an array of growls. The heiress blinked a few more times before snapping to attention, her hand flying to Myrtenaster's hilt at lighting speed, shouting.
"Ruby watch out!"
The redhead turned into a blur of fuzzy red rose pedals, seemingly phasing straight through the ice queen and appearing at her side, gigantic scythe already expanded as a barrage claws and teeth raked at the girl's previous location, several Beowolves having pounced from the darkness of the forest.
Quickly Weiss set up a wall of glyphs between the two girls and their combatants, Ruby quickly firing a couple rounds into some of the Grimm and swiveling in place to see if any civilians were in danger. A cacophony of screams of terror follow as the market began to clear of people, running away from the two huntresses and the small horde they found themselves against.
The heiress huffed as she dashed forward, a flurry of piercing blows raining into the nearest dark creature like a relentless rainstorm, blobs of strange goo flying out from the quickly dissipating corpse of the creature.
"I thought you said Grimm activity on Patch was low!"
Ruby used the already placed glyphs as a ramp to launch herself into the air, spinning head first into the group like a lightning fast buzzsaw, easily dicing two more Grimm into nothingness, the same goo splashing from them.
"I said low not none! Look! They're still dripping, they must've come from a spawning pool!"
Weiss grimaced as two more slashes came at her from either side, a glowing glyph forming beneath her to launch the heiress gracefully into the air, the two Beowolves colliding and tearing into each other with their claws before the ice queen landed a foot on both of their heads, a flourish of her rapier dispatching them with ease.
"Probably behind that tree line! We need to carve our way through!"
In synch the red and white pair unleashed a flurry of coordinated attacks, Ruby's blinding speed and wide weapon swings making easy and short work of the plethora of targets, Weiss weaving herself in between each strike of Crescent Rose, almost dancing as she jumped over or ducked under the scythe swings with assistance from her glyphs. Each move percicsely picking off any targets that the redhead failed to catch in her swings.
The two cut their way through, Cresent Rose making short work of the nearby trees as the two set foot next to an inky bubbling pool. Weiss felt her stomach churn, as if it might flop out of her mouth when she caught a glimpse of a half formed eye. One or two different sets of Grimm eyes seemed to peer up from the dark sludge. Wordlessly the two share a nod before removing the problem at the source, this specific Grimm pool never to be a problem again.
The ice queen looked the two of them over with a huff of exhaustion, noting each had taken a hit or two and both seemed quite winded. She scowled at the realization that they had become somewhat rusty after the fall, having spent most of their days recovering. Ruby, seeming to share the thought, collapses her weapon and mumbles between light pants.
"That… hah… shoulda been way easier, we need to train more Weiss."
The heiress nodded in a rare point of agreement with her partner, returning her rapier to her hip, still slightly winded from the encounter.
"That's enough excitement for the day I believe, shall we return?"
Yang sighed in annoyance as she wiped sweat from her brow, propping the broom handle against her opposing shoulder. The blonde growled at how much difficulty she was having with a task as simple as sweeping the front porch. She dusted some dirt from her gray jacket, which was lazily put on over an orange tank top. Yang glared down at the ground like it was an enemy that had just dared to touch her hair, feeling the heat from her golden tangle start to build up in her ponytail.
She took a shaky breath, trying to calm herself for a few moments, only to find that task equally as difficult when she accidentally dropped the broom to the ground. Yang found herself gritting her teeth, eyes having flickered to their red glowing state, somewhere in her mind she knew this was an absurd overreaction but she just could not find the will to care. It was as the blonde contemplated snapping the thin wooden handle in half that she noticed two familiar girls making their way down the path, the smaller redhead waving enthusiastically from a distance.
Yang exhaled, her shaking hand forming a tight fist as she let the heat from her locks slowly dissipate, eyes fading to their normal lilac hue, allowing the annoyance in her face to bleed off before the pair arrived.
"Yaaaang! We're back!"
Yang cocked an eyebrow as the energetic redhead bounded up the stairs to her, grinning widely with her hands behind her back. The heiress tailed behind, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"I can see that, like the new outfit Rubes."
The blonde looked her little sister over quickly, before her eyes trailed to the heiress behind her, only to stop in surprise. Her lilac eyes taking in the sight of Weiss from head to toe for a few moments, her mouth slightly open in surprise. "Of course she picks a dress that makes her look beautiful for casual wear…" Yang's body went rigid as the thought crossed through her mind, shocked that she had even had that thought in the first place as she tried to justify to herself. "I mean Weiss has always been pretty but- wait no, did I always…?"
Yang realized that she had been staring for much longer than she intended, feeling a slight pink flush bloom to her cheeks, the odd warmth from them feeling like it had spread down into her chest. The blonde blinked and shook her head to try and tear her eyes from the heiress, almost doing a double take as she realized Weiss was… was she blushing!?
Yang was eventually distracted as Ruby stood on her tiptoes, reclaiming her attention by taking her hands out from behind her back to present a couple of fragrant orange sunflowers, the blonde contently taking them from her, happy to have something to distract herself.
"Awww thanks sis!" She cooed as her knuckles ran though Ruby's hair, much to the smaller girl's dismay.
"Ack- Stop that!" The redhead pouted at her sister, pulling away and attempting to fix her messed up hair. "I know flowers aren't usually your thing but you always seemed to like sunflowers soooo…"
Yang could only roll her eyes playfully, giving her younger sister a quick hug of appreciation, much to her sister's content.
"Ruby? Is that you? Can you come and help me in the kitchen for a minute?"
Tai's voice rung out from the house, causing Ruby to pout and give a quick "bye talk later!" before dashing inside, leaving Yang alone with the heiress.
Playfully, the taller blonde turned to the white haired girl, jokingly asking.
"So where's my gift from you?"
The brawler arched an eyebrow, jokingly adding to her sarcastic question, only to be surprised as Weiss shuffled awkwardly in place in response.
"How- How did you know!?"
The heiress asked, a hint of indignance in her voice, her arms crossing into a huff.
Yang ran her hand through her ponytail, confused as she dropped the teasing act.
"Oh I, uh. I was just kidding, I wasn't actually expecting anything." The blonde shrugged, offering the ice queen a quick grin. "Though now you've got me curious!"
The blonde was amused as Weiss huffed again in response, rolling her eyes and walking past her into the house, turning her nose up at the taller girl.
"Hmph! Well now you'll just have to wait!"
Yang responded with a playful eye roll of her own, opting to follow the girl inside, deciding to abandon the infuriating sweeping work for another time.
"Awww don't be so cold ice queen.~"
The blonde grinned as the heiress began to stomp back to their room, Yang squinting with suspicion as she noticed a couple of minor scuffs and dirt on the heiress's shoulder. A slightly concerned frown forming on the blonde's face.
As the two entered, the taller blonde paused for a moment, watching the heiress head over to her makeshift side of the room. She sighed for a moment, eyeing the girl.
"Hey, Weiss?"
Without even looking up, the heiress simply responded.
"Nope, I said you'd have to wait, you brute."
Yang scratched the back of her head once more, taking a softer tone and dropping her teasing.
"It's not that, are you okay? Did something happen while you guys were out?"
Weiss blinked in response, slightly surprised as she followed the blonde's gaze to the spot on her dress, gasping.
"I just bought this! Hmph." The girl paused, overtaken by her own annoyance before signing and responding to the blonde's question.
"Just some minor trouble, a small spawning pool of Grimm. Nothing to worry about at all."
Yang sharply inhaled at the information, her expression shifting to one of annoyance as her eyes slid to the floor. Her fist tightening as her mental state started to spiral slightly, dark thoughts swarming in her head like insects. "You're useless to them, weak. They fight while you sit here struggling to do basic things."
"Sorry I wasn't there with you guys..."
Weiss scoffed, striding over to the brawler with confidence and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"None of that, understood? You are resting and recovering, I would much rather see you healthy and…"
Yang's eyes slowly rose up to look at the heiress, blinking to try and figure out if she had seen an illusion for the second time today, a slight pink hue having taken to the ice queen's face as she faltered on the last part of her sentence.
"…and happy, Yang."
The blonde felt her heart and chest tighten like a vice, her appreciation for the heiress's kind words along with the strange warmth the girl seemed to be able to cause her conflicting heavily with her dark feelings of uselessness and self doubt. It made her so angry that she just couldn't seem to force the thoughts away, no matter how much she tried to pretend like nothing was wrong or how much care her friends showed her. Yang's tightened fist shook as her breathing hitched, feeling stuck between wanting to cry and scream as her eyes flickered to red.
Yang flinched in surprise as she felt the ice queen's small and cool hand wrap around her fist, seemingly dulling the heat she felt radiating off of her, the heiress pulling it towards her. For a brief moment the confusion broke the brawler's focus, causing her to stare at Weiss in curiosity. Which only grew as those icy blue eyes met hers, an action that had recently been more and more of a calming effect for the blonde, she felt the heiress press something into her palm and give her a smile.
"I suppose I can give it to you early."
Yang raised an eyebrow, shakily turning her hand over to reveal the sparkling ice blue snowflake. Her eyes slowly wandered across the crystalline surface, noting the color reminded her immediately of a certain heiress's captivating irises, a thought that did cause a small blush to come to her cheeks. She let her thumb slowly rub across the smooth and cool surface, feeling what heat had built up in her hair dissipate as the tension in her shoulders loosened. When her eyes slowly faded back to their lilac hue, she raised them up to meet the heiress's once more, feeling far too flustered to come up with a witty joke in this moment.
"I um, dunno what to say Weiss. Thanks… but you didn't have to-"
"I didn't, but I did it anyway because I wanted to." Weiss cut in, having no intention of entertaining any complaints from her blonde companion. Her delicate hand still clasped against the brawler's rough and calloused knuckles. She bit her lip for a moment, looking between Yang and the charm nervously, wondering if she had chosen poorly for a gift before continuing.
"I know jewelry isn't exactly something you'd like, so I had them add a chain so you can use it for whatever you like, if it's not to your liking I'm sure I can-"
Yang, deciding it was her turn to cut the ice queen off pulled the smaller girl into an embrace, arm wrapped firmly around the smaller girl. The brawler smirked slightly at the adorable squeak that escaped the surprised heiress's lips, feeling her shoulder tense and spine going rigid momentarily. The blonde paused, wondering if she should let go before quickly throwing the idea away as she felt the smaller girl's muscles loosen, feeling two small arms resting against her back.
"I love it Weiss, thank you."
The brawler whispered as she tightened the hug briefly, squeezing the ice queen in appreciation, earning an indignant huff from the girl, much to Yang's amusement. Deciding to teasingly add.
"You know, it kinda reminds me of you. Wonder why that is? You want me thinking of you more often or something?~"
Weiss went rigid again, thankful Yang wasn't able to see how red her face went in response to that comment, feeling her composure slip as she rushed to justify.
"That! T-that was not my intention and you know it you insufferable brute!"
The blonde couldn't help but chuckle, practically able to hear the embarrassment in the ice queen's voice. With a smirk, Yang pulled back from the hug to tease the girl further, adding.
"So it's a total coincidence it matches your beautiful eyes huh?"
Yang paused as the words left her mouth, her eyes going wide after she spoke. "What did I just say?!" A dark red blush began to creep its way into her cheeks, which only intensified as her lilac eyes met the exact pale azure pools she had just complimented, the face they belonged to an obvious shade of crimson as the ice queen stared back with a look of shock.
The brawler felt as if an hour had passed in the couple of seconds the two's eyes met, both girl's blushes spreading before almost simultaneously they looked away from each other. Yang's arm dropped to her side awkwardly, shuffling in place as she averted her gaze from the ice queen. Weiss in turn crossed her arms, turning slightly away from the taller girl in an attempt to hide the color and embarrassment on her face.
"Why did I say that!? I mean it's TRUE but why did I SAY it!?" The thoughts raced through the blonde's head, the burning embarrassment she felt in her cheeks only matched by the oddly warm feeling spreading down her chest and placing butterflies in her stomach. "Why is Weiss making me feel to WEIRD recently!?" The brawler was in the middle of trying to parse this information as her train of thought is broken by Weiss awkwardly clearing her throat.
"U-um yes! The charm is quite beautiful, that is why I picked it."
The shorter girl's response was dripping in trepidation, a nervous shake to her voice as she feigned ignorance to the blonde's compliment. Weiss's eyes were locked onto a point of the room as far from her blonde teammate as possible.
Yang jumped on the chance to sweep that slip of the tongue under the rug, hoping that despite the fact she could hear Weiss's sudden shift in demeanor in response to it, that maybe she was simply wrong, and the ice queen had misheard her.
"Y-yeah! The charm, the charm is beautiful!"
The brawler laughed awkwardly, her hand running through her locks in nervousness, continuing her goal of looking anywhere that was not the ice queen.
"T-thanks again Weiss!"
Yang took a slow breath, deciding to finally look at her friend. As her head slowly turned, she found herself captivated as her soft lilac eyes mixed with those pale icy orbs, the brawlers eyes locked with the ice queen's once more. As Yang felt the familiar heat rise to her face, knowing the redness had resurfaced, she noticed quite obviously the light pink hue that had formed on Weiss's normally pale but beautiful face.
The blonde felt herself wrestle with an assault of strange emotions in that moment, her mind wracking to discern the warmth she was experiencing in her chest. Yang felt her heart thundering in her ears, threatening to pound its way out of her chest like it wanted to escape and run away. She wasn't sure what exactly, but something had changed between her and the ice queen.