It had been eleven years since Mother first arrived, and ten years since she was killed by the light from Summer's eyes. With her finally gone from their lives, Weiss and Winter were able to finally pursue their dreams. Winter became an Atlesian Specialist, earning top marks in every category. She trained every day, preparing for the possibility of Mother's return.

Meanwhile, Weiss had made it. She was now officially a Huntress-in-training, attending one of, if not the most prestigious academy on Remnant, Beacon Academy. She was now part of a team as well. Her partner, Ruby Rose, was difficult to get along with at first, but they quickly patched up their problems with each other, and Weiss even vowed to help Ruby in becoming the best Huntress she could possibly be. She owed it to Ruby's mother, after all.

Yang was just a ball of energy and cheerfulness, but also of anger and protectiveness, almost like Winter. It was hard to believe that she and Ruby were actually sisters.

Blake was… honestly, the most confusing out of all of them. She rarely spoke, and when she did, her words were short and curt. She always had bags under her eyes, like she had not slept properly for years. She kept her cat ears hidden under a black bow when they first met, but surprisingly, she revealed her identity as a faunus to the rest of the team right after initiation was over. She told them about her past as a former White Fang agent, a terrorist organization which had fallen apart and split into multiple small factions after the deaths of Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus. She emphasized, however, that she never killed anyone, and had nothing against Weiss and her family. Weiss was confused, but also sort of grateful for her blunt honesty.

But there was something about Blake that always set Weiss on edge, something about her eyes. They were filled with pain and trauma, just like her own. The heiress soon wondered if Blake had gone through some traumatic event like herself. It was certainly possible.

Finally, there was their sister team, JNPR, which was composed of their leader, Jaune Arc, his partner, the famous champion Pyrrha Nikos, and their two other members, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Jaune Arc was… interesting and infuriating at the same time. He was a clumsy dolt on the best of days, and he was constantly flirting with her or serenading her with that guitar of his, even though Weiss made it clear that she had no romantic interest in him. If anything, a far better match would be him and Pyrrha, who was obviously head over heels for him. It was honestly a wonder that he never noticed it, his attention solely focused on Weiss.

Then, there was Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. The reason they are mentioned together was because they were practically joined at the hip, and yet, they seemed to have nothing in common with each other. Ren was quiet, thoughtful, and honestly looked a little dead inside, while Nora was loud, hyperactive, and disturbingly enough, always eager to break someone's legs. Weiss never saw her do it, but the semester was still young. It could happen.

Despite the frequent chaos within their own team, things were going… rather well. They were earning top marks and rose to become one of the top teams in the academy. Everything was getting along, despite the few hiccups they initially went through. However, the same could not be said for Blake, who never really interacted with the others unless she absolutely had to. Even Yang, her partner, barely saw her outside their room, despite the blond brawler constantly trying to get her to stop hiding in there like a vampire and go out into the world.

One day, the two teams were sitting together in the cafeteria, like they always did. Nora was at the front of the table, animatedly telling everyone a fantastical story of when she and Ren encountered a massive horde of Grimm, while Ren was correcting her every now and then. "It was a dark and stormy night!" "It was daytime." "Me and Ren were surrounded by hundreds of Grimm! Maybe even thousands!" "It was only twelve at most. And it's not 'me and Ren', it's 'Ren and I', Nora." "Yeah, that's totally what I said. Anyway, we were surrounded! Ren turned to look at me with his vulnerable, pretty eyes! 'Oh, Nora!,' he cried! 'There's too many of them! We can't possibly fight them all! Whatever shall we do?'" "When did I ever sound like that?" "But I was not afraid! I told him, 'Don't you worry your cute little head, Rennie–'" "Seriously, Nora?" "Hush, Ren! Now where was I? Oh, yeah! I said, 'Never fear, Rennie, for I am here!' And with my magnificent Magnhild, I single handedly killed every Grimm in the vicinity! And Ren said, 'Oh Nora, you were so brave! As a reward, I will make you as many pancakes as you want!' And I said–"

"Okay, that's enough, Nora," Ren sighed, interrupting her story. "You do know none of what you said actually happened, right? It was all just a dream you had last night. You even told me about it this morning." Nora sat back down and pouted with her arms crossed.

Pyrrha looked around the table and realized that one of them was missing. "Where's Blake?," she asked. "Hiding in our room again," sighed Yang, rolling her eyes. "Seriously, there's definitely something going on with that girl. Maybe being in the White Fang messed up her head or something?" "Yang!," Ruby scolded, smacking her sister's arm. "Don't be mean!"

Jaune, being the master of good timing, chose this moment to woo Weiss again. "Uh, hey Weiss," he said nervously. "So… I heard there's this new Spruce Willis movie coming out soon. Maybe you would like to… watch it with me or… something?" "Smooth, Vomit Boy. Real smooth," Yang snickered. Weiss raised an eyebrow as she sipped her soup. "I think I'll decline that offer, Arc. I'm not a fan of his movies," she said. "Take that back! He is a cinematic genius!," Nora gasped dramatically. "U-umm, why not take me to the movies with you, Jaune?," Pyrrha asked anxiously. "Nah, you probably wouldn't like it," said Jaune, inadvertently brushing her off. "Come on Weiss, I think you should go," Ruby said encouragingly. "I don't think Blake's the only one in a bad mood. You've also been kind of tense lately. A movie could help."

"Yeah, exactly! So what do you say, Snow Angel?," asked Jaune. Suddenly, Weiss choked on her soup and began coughing violently. "Whoa, careful there, Ice Queen," said Yang, thumping her on the back. "You gotta be more careful when you're eating. The same thing has happened to Ruby a bunch of times, usually when she's eating cookies." "Yang!," whined Ruby, her face turning red with embarrassment. Ren, being the most observant member of the team, immediately knew that something was wrong. "Weiss, are you alright?," he asked.

Weiss cleared her throat loudly. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she sighed, coughing a little. "I just choked, that's all. Alright, Arc. Have it your way. If it will get you to finally stop pestering me, I'll go watch that Spruce Willis movie with you." "Really?," Jaune asked excitedly.

"Really," said Weiss. "But… I need you to promise me something first." "O-okay. What is it?," Jaune asked nervously. Weiss narrowed her eyes and gave him a cold glare.

"Do not ever call me Snow Angel ever again."