SNOWFLAKE
It started with a single snowflake. I remember very little about my time with the Tribe, but I remember clear as day, the time I awakened my semblance. I was eight years old, young and afraid, though not at first.
I remember laughing at the sight of the first snowflake, falling on my nose, the happiness I felt stimulated my semblance to create more snow, but the more it did, the more my body heat began to drop. It wasn't long after that that I would find myself in death's embrace. At the young age of eight, I stared death right in the face- something I've done a lot more since, but there's nothing quite like your first.
The thought of losing everything in a single moment is terrifying, actually, I don't think a word exists to explain that kind of fear and grief of what it feels like to be on the brink of death.
The Tribe has always taught us that the most effective way to control your power is to draw upon a memory- a moment in your life where you can draw upon the emotion that lead you to awakening or controlling one's power. Mine was the memory of my mother, Esmeralda Edelweiss or as my father used to call her, Shirayuki. Her skin was bright and smooth as porcelain, her lips red as an apple, and who can forget her most prominent feature, the reason why Father calls her Snow White, her hair that's white as snow. She's a foreigner, living in Mistral, but of Atlesian decent. The day I awakened my semblance, Mother held my ice cold hands, and warmed them with her soft and tender touch.
I remember her soothing smile, and the dance we did as the snow began to fall from the sky. Everything about her was gentle, beautiful, and awe inspiring. It's a memory I hold very dear to my heart, and why I carry my mother to this day. Every time I use my semblance, I think of her and the dance we did in the snow.
A memory unique to me, which why I don't understand how Swan was able to use... her. After our last encounter, it was clear that me and her are from the same Tribe, but still. I can only think of one answer to that question, but I can't be sure. I have to see it for myself- who she is underneath the mask.
But first...
"I'm just saying! JNPR can still work!"
Nora yelled as I walked down the stairs. I stretch my arms and looked down at the oversized shirt with the pumpkin pete's rabbit embroidered at the center that Jaune lent me. Even with a towel draped over my head, slightly covering my eyes, I can still see everyone gathered in the living room, though I kind of figured that out thanks to Nora's yelling.
"Isn't that right, Ezra?"
Nora placed her hands on her waist, as she turned to face me with a massive grin on her face.
"Sorry, what were you talking about?"
Ren sighed and shook his head, and began to promptly explain what all the commotion was about.
"We were talking about team acronyms. How you'll fit in our team specifically."
I smile and looked at Ruby, who was bouncing uncontrollably in her seat.
"You so eager to get rid of me that you'd discuss this without me?"
I jokingly asked. Ruby pouted and frantically waved her hands.
"NO! Of course not, it's just that you took forever showering, we kind of got bored and started without you."
Blake stepped in beside me and nudge me on the shoulder.
"Quite the opposite, they're not trying to get rid of you, we're trying to fit you in. It's just Nora's making a big fuzz about the acronyms."
Nora once again, zipped through in between me and Blake.
"I'm not the one making a big fuzz about it, everyone else is! It's not so complicated, ain't your middle name like Percy or something?"
I mean yeah.
"It's Perseus actually. WAIT! How the hell do you know that!?"
Without missing a beat, Nora smiled and pointed her finger at Yang.
"YANG TOLD US!"
Yang blushed the moment our eyes met, and quickly looked away. I understand the embarassment, and a part of me feels like I should be too, but frankly, I'm kinda surprised she remembered. The sight of Yang blushing caused the tension in the room to rise, ruining whatever mood they had before I walked in, so I just went ahead and let it go to settle the debate.
"Y-yeah, no. Percy, Perseus- whatever's fine. JNPR it is."
Everyone smiled softly after hearing what I had to say on the matter. Though it wasn't a smile of pride nor was it a smile that signified our bonds, but rather of relief. I guess it shouldn't surprise me that forgiveness is only a part of redemption. In fact, it's only the beginning.
Although, not everyone is open to the idea of forgiveness.
"Hold on now."
Qrow stood up with his flask held tightly in his hand.
"I don't mean to ruin you guys' moment, but you all seem to be forgetting something."
He paused for a moment to get a drink, then continued to gaze at me with his piercing eyes.
"This man is the reason why Beacon fell in the first place. You've all spent time with him before only for him to betray all of you-"
Jaune cut him off.
"He came and saved us. We have the relic because of him, what more are you asking of him?"
But Qrow was undeterred.
"Right. The relic, of course, but let's not forget we lost the Fall Maiden because of him."
Jaune squinted his eyes and stepped forward, refusing to lose to Qrow's scare tactics.
"Yeah, I remember. I also remember that we lost Pyrrha because of all of you."
The room fell silent. Even Qrow was caught off guard. Just then Weiss, stood up and placed her hand on Jaune's chest, gently pushing him away from Qrow.
"Jaune, please, calm down. This is hardly the time to be arguing. Not when we finally have everybody back.
Just then, the young boy named Oscar stepped forward with Ozpin's staff in hand.
"She's right."
Oscar then smiled and looked me in the eye, and it was at that moment that I realized who this person really was.
"I can't believe it. You really are Ozpin."
Oscar chuckled and nodded.
"Hello again, Mr. Flyheight, or should I say, Snow?"
I sighed and shook his hand.
"It's nice to see you again, Professor."
"Likewise."
He casually replied. Oscar placed both hands on his staff and gently tapped the floor, garnering everyone's attention.
"What Mr. Arc said is true. We wouldn't have the Relic of Knowledge if it wasn't for Ezra's heroics, but Qrow is also right, your past actions have led to the Fall of Beacon, and as such, I don't think you should be surprised if people subject you to... interrogations along the way."
I see nothing wrong with that logic, so I entertain the idea of Qrow and Ozpin's questioning. Or Oscar's. Whoever.
"Okay, true. Alright then, what are you questions?"
I ask Qrow who raised an eyebrow, still skeptical at my presence.
"Let's start with the Black Swan... what's your relationship with her? You two talked and argued like you both have history with one another."
That part of the question's easy to answer.
"Swan and I used to compete against a similar target: Project Polendina. I've known Penny Polendina to be an artificial girl before she even left Atlas. I was tasked to steal her schematics, but I was outclassed by Swan every single step of the way. In the end, I opted to sabotage her mission instead of competing with her, and she's held a grudge ever since."
Everyone was shocked at what I just said, but their surprise didn't last very long.
"I'm not buying it. I know there's more to this. Why is your semblance similar then? Explain that."
I can tell that he's starting to get drunk, probably already is, but his question did raise a couple of eyebrows, Weiss' in particular was a little bit more curious than the rest.
"Yesterday Ozpin mentioned about the Snow's and Schnee's being cousins. My family's semblance is hereditary. Every Schnee is born with white hair, and every Schnee is able to use glyphs as their semblance, maybe the Snow's are the same?"
Yang, who have been silent all this time, spoke after realizing the one thing I been wishing nobody would.
"Yeah, but that would mean Ezra and Swan are blood related..."
Blake stepped forward and looked me in the eyes with concern written all over her face.
"Ezra, are you?"
Faced with a sight like that, I was overcome with an urge to soothe her pain and curiosity, and I was left with no choice but to tell the truth. Unfortunately for them, the truth isn't exactly any better than them not knowing at all.
"I-I don't know."
Which obviously wasn't good enough for Qrow, but before he could throw any sort of tantrum, Ozpin stepped in to calm the situation down.
"SEMBLANCES." Ozpin raised his voice. "Are the manifestations of a person's innate and personal power as an ability that's typically unique from one individual to the next."
"However..."
He continued.
"Semblances are also the manifestations of their collective life experiences, built around beliefs, a person's upbringing, and culture. All of which can be altered... and manipulated."
That last part caught everyone's attention.
"Manipulated? Manipulated how?"
Ruby asked. Ozpin sighed and glanced at me apologetically.
"Is it safe to assume then that your silence is a sign of your lack of knowledge regarding this matter, Mr. Snow?"
I nod, as I truly have no idea what he's trying to say.
"Very well. Tribe Snow cut themselves off from the rest of Remnant after the Great Wars, cut themselves off from the Schnee's, their own family, because of their pride and ambition to be rulers of the world. The Snow's are a smart and cunning Tribe, even then they knew that they weren't strong enough to conquer anything, even with their silver eyes."
I ran my fingers along the side of my face the thought of Ozpin mentioning my sliver eyes.
"I- helped the leaders of the world back then to prepare for whatever the Tribe was planning, but they never came out of the forests of Mistral... though I have heard of rumors about their rituals. The way they condition their young to be powerful."
Before Ozpin can continue, Yang spoke once more.
"The three feathers. The representation of their beliefs... power, fury, and authority. A youngling was forced to kill another person and coat their 'feathers' in blood as part of their initiation."
Wait, what? That's ridiculous, I've never heard such a thing from my grandparents. I look at Yang, defeated, but she could do nothing but look away, while she explained what she just said.
"Take it with a grain of salt, I did hear it from my mother after all... and you obviously know which side of the table Mom stands on."
The more Ozpin continued explaining, the more I wanted him to stop. How could I not? Torture, murder, pillaging... even incest as a form of manipulating their young to develop a personality, or culture that'll give birth to the trademark semblance the Snows had. To think that my semblance was born out of such... defilement. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. That's the tribe I came from?
"Okay, okay. We get it."
Ruby stood up and protested.
"The Snow Tribe is terrible... Swan is terrible, but Ezra is no longer part of the Tribe nor is he associating himself with Swan. He's here, he's ready to help, and like Weiss said, for the first time in a very long time, we're all here complete."
She sighed and shook her head.
"We've all worked so hard to prevent the one horrible thing that we all shared as a group, and we succeeded! You're telling me we can't even have one night to feel good about ourselves?"
Everyone fell silent at what Ruby just said, as Ozpin apologetically nodded.
"You're right Miss Rose. I'm sorry, Ezra, I didn't mean to dump all of this on you all at once."
Still reeling from what I just heard, I was able to gather enough of myself to accept Ozpin's apology.
"I know it didn't appear that way, but I am happy that you're here, Mr. Snow. Isn't that right, Qrow?"
Ozpin gave Qrow a menacing stare that eventually caused him to break down and agree.
"Alright then."
Jaune spoke with a commanding tone.
"What's next?"
Ozpin smiled as he glanced at me and Weiss.
"We take the relic to Atlas."
And in unison, me and Weiss spoke.
"You've got to be joking..."
For the rest of the night, the team and I spent teasing Weiss about returning to Atlas and finalizing a plan on how to get there. The City of Argus, huh? I wonder what surprises lay there? Personally, I'd appreciate it if there weren't any more. I've had enough surprises to last me an entire lifetime.
Ruby
It started with a single snowflake... That night Ezra blew up Ironwood's ship, I thought I'd never see him again. I remember it clearly, how snow suddenly began to drop from the sky and I was greeted with the sight of Ezra's smiling face, as I fell down.
At first I thought, he probably did that so I the last thing I'd remember him by would be of his smile. Never did I thought, that that smile was as genuine as Ezra ever has been, and it frightened me to no end that I'd never get the chance to see that smile again.
Not a moment goes by that I didn't think of Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Ezra when we were all away from each other, and now that we're all together once more, I'm over the moon.
"You know, gold looks good on you."
The night was young, but everyone was tired and went their separate ways to clear their heads. I chose to get some training in before calling it a night, only to find Ezra alone in the training room, polishing Pyrrha's sword and shield.
"Heh. Nora said the same thing."
"Probably because it's true."
I was planning on training, but I guess I can scratch that in favor of some catching up with friends.
"So uhm... how are you? Haha."
I chuckle awkwardly, not knowing what to really talk about with Ezra.
"Fine, how about you?"
"Doing alright. Got knocked out pretty hard, but alright. Haha. Sooo... silver eyes huh?"
Ezra paused for a second then laughed.
"Yeah, always been told having silver eyes stood out, so I was asked to always wear contact lenses no matter what, makes it easier to blend in during missions. To protect me, they said. Turns out the power it has against grim was what they were trying to hide."
That is pretty crazy.
"At least you know your history and why you have them. Back in Haven, Swan called my eyes dirty? Any clue what that means?"
I ask, desperate to know more about our eyes, but all I got from him was a disappointing head shake.
"Hey, I wouldn't listen to half the things Swan says, alright? She's untrustworthy and manipulative... must have gotten it from her- our Tribe."
I guess looking at Ezra now, I've come to realize that no amount of longing can really change the fact that who he really is, and who he was at Beacon are two different people. No that's not right, he's not different, I just never really knew him fully.
"Something on your mind, Ruby?"
Ezra casually ask, making me feel stupid for even feeling awkward to begin with.
"Nothing, it's just that I haven't seen you in a while, and I really don't know how to strike up a conversation with you since-"
Ezra cut me off with an awkward chuckle of his own.
"Since I wasn't really the person you thought I was?"
I smile back at him and looked away, but Ezra simply kept polishing his golden shield.
"Don't worry, I'm used to it. I can tell you all I want that the days I've spent with all of you in Beacon are real. Just as real the crimes and sins I've committed, but I understand if you don't feel the same way nor can I convince you to believe me. Yet."
But the thing is...
"I want to. Actually, a part of me- a BIG part of me already do. I believe you're the Ezra that I met in Beacon, the same one that fell in love with my sister, the same guy that I became really close with, it's the other things about you that I'm struggling to understand and link to my friend."
The weirdest part about all of this for me is how Ezra never seem to feel offended by all of this. By me bringing up Beacon.
"I know. The things I've done as OWL... is not something I'm proud of, not anymore at least. It's a bit of a long story, but the good thing about all of it is that I'm not planning on ditching any of you anymore. We have all the time in the world to get to know each other."
All the time in the world, huh? Something about the way he said that feels really comforting, and familiar. Somehow, just from those words alone, I can feel it in my bones, that I was right. That he IS the person I became friends with, and my heart has never been so full because of it.
"I've missed you, Ezra."
"Me too, Ruby."
Weiss
It started with a single snowflake, the day Ezra descended from the tower with Ruby clinging to life in his hands. I remember being confused, scared, and hurt when I was finally faced with the truth that Ezra is OWL. I didn't know what was going through my head back then, but I decided to let him go. Ever since then, I've been haunted by the fact of not knowing the consequences of the decision I made that faithful day.
"What are you gonna do when we get to Atlas?"
I ask Ezra who was sitting on the floor with his back leaning on the couch I'm sitting on. I patiently packed my dust cartridges in my suitcase while I waited for him to finish his tea.
"This is amazing, Weiss. I didn't know you could whip up something so delicious. You know I'm not much of a tea person, but I think I'm going to change my diet after this."
I know it's a compliment but...
"Why does it sound like an insult when you say it?"
To which he could do nothing but laugh.
"You know I'm going to get shot on sight when we get there right? Heck, those soldiers in Argus might kill me before we even take off."
He said it in such an upbeat tone, like he's not worried about it, but it's absolutely plausible that that might actually happen.
"Considering the ruckus you caused three years ago, they just might. The people of Atlas don't forget so easily. I'm asking if you have a plan, dork."
He took another sip of his tea then stood up.
"I think I'm just going to wing it!"
Wing it?
"By the gods, you haven't changed have you? You're still reckless and have no regards for safety when you most definitely should."
Ezra simply raised his cup and smiled. I guess him acting like this, acting like he was in Beacon is a good sign... that I was right to let him go. I tried to hide my smile, but couldn't and Ezra didn't miss the chance to tease me a little bit more. He leaned forward with that big grin of his close to my face, forcing me to look away.
"Seems Ice Queen has a warm and fuzzy side to her after all!"
I really don't know why everyone enjoys calling me that.
"Oh! Can it, will you?"
The two of us laughed till my stomach began to hurt.
"How's your wound?"
Ezra asks. I rub my side just as he asked me.
"Fine, surpringsingly, I mean, it left a scar but the way it is right now, it feels like nothing ever happened to it. Jaune's amazing."
As soon as I said that, Ezra fell silent, opting to stand there dumbfounded.
"What?"
I asked.
"Well, it's just you've been critical of him since Beacon. He had a big crush on you, and our whole class knew. Heck, the entire campus knew, but you've never given him a chance. So to hear you compliment him is a little bit... hmmm, how should I explain this... weird."
Again, another one of my friends making me sound like a really bad person. Maybe I am?
"Am I really that bad?"
"Not as bad as me, I bet you."
I furrowed my brows and smiled at him softly, not knowing how to react to him chastising himself in front of me. Partly because it's true, but at the same time it's me being angry at the fact that he wouldn't let that go, despite my forgiveness of him.
"How about now?"
Ezra must have realized how deep in thought I was, as he reeled me back in with a question with no context.
"How about now, what?"
Again Ezra raised his cup.
"Jaune, you nerd. He did save your life after all. Are you willing to give him a chance now?"
To be perfectly honest, this wound is still so fresh in my mind and everything else that happened in Haven for me to even think about that, but now that he's brought it back up on the table.
"I don't- what about Pyrrha?"
"Wants nothing more than for Jaune to be happy. Don't worry about that, alright?"
I could do nothing but sigh at the fact of how ridiculous this conversation have evolved into. What started as the two of us drinking a cup of tea together to catch up turned into him teasing me about Jaune. I want to scold him, but after being away from him for so long, I feel like he's entitled to push some of my buttons.
"Ezra, Weiss."
Before we could continue our conversation, Blake and Jaune came down the stairs.
"Hey there, B, Fearless leader."
Jaune laughed, clearly embarrassed by being called a fearless leader. Blake on the other hand, was way too comfortable with Ez, as she came in with a hug right away- something that she noticed, causing her flinch and stepped back a few feet from Ez.
"Hey... Blake."
I raise an eyebrow at her, curious as to what happened between her and Ezra while they were at Menagerie.
"Ezra..."
The two looked back at me with their eyes wide open.
"Are you two? Dati-"
Before I could finish my question, Blake held on to Ezra's hand and pulled him away.
"Come on, don't forget you promised to teach me a couple more of your sword tricks."
To which Ezra more than eagerly accepted her invite, but not before winking back at me and leaving me alone with Jaune.
"So, Weiss, how's your wound?"
Funny how Ezra just asked me that. I closed my eyes to laugh at the coincidence privately, but when I opened them, Jaune was already kneeling down, mere inches away from me. All of a sudden, all this talk about giving Jaune a chance came flooding back into my mind. I can feel the heat of my blood rushing through my face, making me blush.
Of course, Jaune didn't see it that way.
"Weiss! Your face is red! Are you running a fever or something? I just discovered my semblance, I have no idea what sort of side effects it might have on people. HERE, let me check if you have a fever."
The flustered Jaune leaned forward and touched my forehead with his, causing my heart to beat faster and faster. Whatever Jaune's doing now is exhilarating, but just the way he tossed himself towards to perform such a childish way to check for a fever did nothing but make me laugh.
"Hahahaha."
"W-Weiss, is everything alright?"
A chance, huh? Maybe. It wouldn't be the first time I've given somebody a chance. I still remember it, the day I met Ezra. Even then I had a sense that there was more to him than meets the eye, and back in Haven, Cinder asked a fair question. After all that he's done, was it even right to give him a chance. In the end, Ezra proved her wrong and me- right. I'm glad I trusted him, I'm glad I let him go, and I'm glad I gave him a chance.
Maybe I should put a little bit more faith in his judgement once more.
"I'm fine Jaune."
I grab hold of his hand and looked him in the eye.
"Listen, back in Beacon, I didn't exactly treat you fairly, but you stood close to me regardless, our friendship grew and you ended up saving my life."
Jaune blushed and looked away, embarrassed to make eye contact with me.
"Don't worry about it, Weiss."
"No, really. You deserved better Jaune. Me escaping Atlas, meeting my team again, and Ezra being back opened my eyes to a lot of things that I've taken for granted and that includes you. So let me apologize, and say thank you for saving my life."
Still embarrassed, Jaune eventually gathered himself, placing his hand on top of mine, as we both stared at each other's eyes.
"You're welcome, Weiss."
Yang
It started with a single snowflake. All I can remember when I got hit by Roman's Paladin was the world, spinning violently out of control, till out of the corner of my eye, I saw a single snowflake. It was Ezra, using his semblance to dash towards me as fast as he can and save me from the crash.
I remember it like it was yesterday, the night me and Ezra became a couple. I remember it just as clearly as the night I lost my arm, and the fire emanating from his blade that embraced and protected me and Blake that night against... A-Adam.
These past couple of months have been incredibly hard. To cope with all the lost, all the pain. I honestly don't know how I'm standing on my feet.
That's a lie. I know exactly why. It's because of Ruby... and oddly enough, because of Ezra.
All this time I've kept to myself the one thing that's been keeping me going, a secret that I now share with Weiss. That I've held on to this illusion that maybe despite all of what's happened, Ezra was the person I believed him to be, the person that I loved.
My biggest mistake that night in Beacon was to not believe in him, and I want to... so much to tell him now that I was wrong to doubt him, that I should have stood with him because HE DID no matter how much I pushed him away that night.
I want to so much to let him know that I still love him.
But looking at him right now from a far, sitting on the railings of the training ground patio with Blake standing right of in front him... with their hands tightly wrapped around one another, I can tell that he's already moved on.