The elevator door opened, and Weiss sighed as she stepped out of it, observing the floor where Ozpin's office was located, here in Beacon's old lighthouse. It was about time she took care of this before getting some rest. She was only a few floors shy of the top of the lighthouse, and nothing about the floor itself was out of the ordinary, but she noticed that the room furthest away from her left was the only one with an engraved double door, made of solid oak.

There it was, the door she was looking for. She had no doubt it was Ozpin's room, so she went straight for it and knocked.

"Come in."

Hearing Ozpin's voice, Weiss entered and quickly observed the interior. She had visited the academies of the other kingdoms a few times before as a vacationing child, with Beacon being one of them, but this was her first time here in Ozpin's office, and it surely wasn't built like any other normal office room. There was a distinct polish to the place, and the chandelier and brownish red colors gave off a royal feel, which wasn't surprising given his lineage. The Levert family were historically connected with Vale royalty as special units, advisors, and commanders, and Ozpin being the headmaster of a private military company like Beacon seemed only fitting. With how beautiful the room looked in contrast to its function, Weiss suspected his guests here weren't limited to just faculty and students.

"Hello, Weiss."

Weiss saw Ozpin sitting at his desk; behind him were large windows that no doubt gave a clear view of the school grounds.

"Hi, Ozpin." She made a slight bow. "Sorry for being late… And that you had to send Pyrrha for me."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it anymore."

Something caught Weiss's eye; looking at her right, she saw awards of various types on a display stand. Some of them were of Beacon's achievements as a private military company, while the others were of Ozpin's accomplishments as a Hunter on the battlefield. For Ozpin to be put as Beacon headmaster also meant he had to have great skill too, so it wasn't really a surprise to see these awards. Hunters were mercenary forces for hire that conducted missions around the world, with their skills requested by kingdoms and civilians alike, so a certain degree of competence was to be expected. Their services could be broken down to protecting civilians as guards, providing additional support to a kingdom's armed forces, and slaying Grimm, that last one being their original purpose.

But income was a main selling point of becoming a Hunter nowadays. Anyone blessed by the gods with a Semblance from birth – a gift which always manifested at around one's 16th year – were incentivized to enroll in academies like Beacon, as the pay was the sum of both a contract's commission and a monthly stipend according to their final grade assessment after the Hunter trials, making it a lucrative line of work as long as one had the gift. So much so that even with the standardized practice of only allowing people age 18 to 30 years to join, the academies still grew over time, recently showing their number of accepted applicants exceeding expectations.

"You should see the one on your left too. Tell me what you think about it."

Looking at her left, Weiss saw a large world map, hung at the left wall. It was done in the style of the Remnant Era – the time before the Dust Revolution, where Grimm were at their strongest and much recorded information was lost and fragmented – and she went towards it to get a closer look.

There was Solitas up north, Anima to the east, Belua down southeast, and Sanus being large enough to have both the west and center. They were the continents where Atlas, Mistral, Menagerie, Vacuo, and Vale were located respectively, with the latter two sharing Sanus, and the map marked the location of those five kingdoms. But there weren't always only five of them in the world. They happened to be the only ones that lasted just long enough to be part of the Dust Revolution, and the five kingdoms secured their existence from then on, prospering as a result.

But as developed as humanity was nowadays, the Grimm were still not outdone. There were six other marked locations on the map, with five on each of the continents, showing the Grimm strongholds, one for each kingdom, located deep in the wilderness of their respective continents. They were the source of every Grimm that periodically invaded the kingdoms – how they came to be, no one knew – and these bastions were protected by Class Twos and by what could be best described as an unpierceable veil of darkness. It wasn't an exaggeration. While the Grimm were unable to regain the ground they conquered, the kingdoms failed in destroying the Grimm strongholds as well, and the peace everyone enjoyed only came to being because of a longstanding stalemate.

Though it seemed even that was good enough for most, especially when one compared it to how horrible the state of humanity was before the Dust Revolution. Many people even thought that this was the best situation humanity could get, treating the Grimm as simply a force of nature at this point, as inevitable as a hurricane. What could humanity do anyways once the situation with the Grimm really went downhill, after all? She personally disagreed, but she understood their argument.

Weiss looked the continent called Tenebrae at the northwest side of the world map. It was the sixth Grimm stronghold in the world, though she would argue it was more than that. A land that used to have multiple kingdoms far back in the Remnant Era, it was now completely overrun by Grimm, with no kingdom succeeding in going beyond its coasts. With its border ironically shaped like the Grimm, Tenebrae was widely believed to hold a horde so large that it could very well be impossible to overcome if it ever launched an attack. It still hadn't done so however, remaining dormant all this time, but only because three thousand or so miles of ocean protected humanity from its wrath, nothing more or less.

"Looks good, doesn't it?"

"It's a nice map," Weiss said, turning to Ozpin. "And a nice conversation piece too. It got me thinking of a few things."

"Then it's done its job," Ozpin replied. "Please, have a seat."

She did so, taking the vacant seat at Ozpin's left side and putting down her luggage, with Myrtenaster still by her side. The chair she sat on was surprisingly comfortable; with the ambiance of the room and Ozpin's hospitality, Weiss would have felt at ease taking her time here and talk about other things, had she been under different circumstances.

"How are you today?"

"I'm ok." But Ozpin resorting to Pyrrha to stop her from dueling Yang still felt awkward to Weiss, so it didn't feel right to delay things any further than she already had. She opened one of her bags, and handed over a folder filled with the documents he requested. "I think this is everything you need."

Ozpin took her folder and looked at its front page. "You're sure in pursuing citizenship here?"

"Yes, Ozpin. Thank you for expediting the processing of my student visa going here, but that won't be enough."

"Student visas last two years, though. That's plenty of time to get valuable experience here in Vale as a Hunter, without burning your bridges in Atlas."

"I want to be here permanently. I've made up my mind."

"It seems you have." Ozpin paused for a few moments, his eyes looking at her papers. "I just wanted to confirm it, that's all."

"Anything else you need?"

"There's no need to rush, Weiss. I understand you feel uneasy for arriving late, but there's no need for you to dwell on that either. I've been headmaster for a decade, and I've seen worse offenses." Ozpin showed a small smile. "Besides, since you're here, I want to make sure first that all your documents are good before you go. It might take a while, but it's better that we catch any errors now rather than later. Can you stay here for a while? I'd like you to meet professor Glynda as well while I'm checking this. She's out doing something else right now, but she should be back soon enough."

"That's ok." Weiss would have preferred to lie down in bed, but much more preferred to not turn down Ozpin, given everything he did for her. "I'll wait, take your time, and thank you for all your help."

"You're welcome."

Weiss nodded. "Thank you again for giving me this opportunity. You've done so much by letting me into Beacon on such short notice, especially when I come from a different kingdom altogether, and now you're helping me process my citizenship too. I can't thank you enough. I don't think any other headmaster in the world could have done what you did."

"Us Vale headmasters were recently given leeway by the royalty to accept potential Hunters as we saw fit, and I'm glad I got to help you because of that. It would've been much harder otherwise, your student visa for one thing." He began to read her documents. "With that said, it'll still take time to iron out everything with the embassy and schedule meetings, so this won't be a fast process. But at least we get to shave some months off, so you should be a Vale citizen well before your student visa expires."

"That's fine." Weiss just wanted to get the ball rolling, so to speak. But as determined as she was to integrate here in Vale, the thought of leaving her Atlas heritage behind – her citizenship and her home – weighed heavily on her mind.

"It's a shame that you had to leave Laran though, right when you were about to take their Hunter trials."

"I can always start over, Ozpin. It's not like I can't recover from it. There are worse things than having to start a whole month again."

"I'm sorry about what happened to Winter."

Weiss noticed that Ozpin stopped to spare her a look in the eyes. She couldn't help but look away, but she appreciated his words nonetheless. "…yeah."

There was a long pause as Ozpin continued to check on her documents, flipping through the pages.

"Did you say goodbye to your family today before you left?" he said, breaking the silence.

Weiss shook her head. "I already told them I'd leave once I got into another academy, so when I confirmed that you'll help me, that's when I told them I'd be leaving soon, and we left it at that. I left our mansion in Calypso City without saying a word, but I don't hold a grudge against them, if that's what you're thinking. It was hard for everyone, not just me."

There was another pause, then Ozpin slowly nodded. "How's your father doing?"

Weiss realized she was starting to slouch, so she immediately straightened up, not wanting to look sloppy. The chair she sat on really was comfortable though, which she felt she needed in retrospect, now that Ozpin was asking about her family. Not that she could blame him for this; it was only natural for him to do so, given what happened to Winter.

"He busied himself a lot more with work this past month," Weiss answered. "He was almost never home."

"What about your brother?"

"Whitley busied himself in more work too. Being the favored heir, it's just normal for him to take after Jacques." It wasn't every day that the youngest son was preferred to become the CEO of the family business, but Weiss would readily admit that her brother Whitley had always been the most involved in the company. The youngest among three siblings and born without a Semblance, Whitley went to great lengths to differentiate himself from her two older sisters, and that showed in his straightforward nature and his near perfectionist drive in managing business matters. His efforts paid off – his sisters caring more about being Hunters couldn't have hurt either – though it was ironic that he was pretty much the sole heir now. "He wants the CEO spot the most out of us three anyways. He'll be fine. You don't have to worry about him."

"And your mother?"

Her mother Willow though… Weiss sighed, remembering what they talked about. She found herself wondering how her mother was taking this, now that she had said her goodbyes, but Weiss shrugged off the thoughts; now wasn't the time. "…she's ok. Willow's doing her best."

"It sounds like everyone has their ways of coping with what happened, despite the difficulty of it. I can only imagine how you're dealing with it yourself. But you can always find help here in Beacon, remember that." Ozpin still checked her documents while he talked, but he made sure to spare Weiss a few glances here and there. "With that said, I have a few questions about Atlas. I haven't been there in a long while, and I was wondering if you could answer them."

"Ok, what are they?"

"First, about the Schnee space program." Having said that, Ozpin set her documents aside. "It was back in… When was that… Year 2037 if I'm not mistaken, when your father announced his project, wasn't it? It's ambitious to launch stuff to space and make a profit, but I really did hope for their success. Do you know if your company has any plans to restart it before you left?"

Ozpin was right about their space program being ambitious. The Dust Revolution brought many scientific discoveries people back in the Remnant era could only dream about, chief among them being computers, airships that made travel far safer, advanced weaponry for foot soldiers, dustmetal for Hunters, and communication via electromagnetic waves that helped humanity push back the Grimm; first developed by Vale, the connection that Dust helped create between the five kingdoms also made Vale's language the universal one. But having benefited so much from Dust also showed how much humanity still lacked in other areas, at what else could be improved.

A better network was once such area. The devices people used were powerful in their own right, but their capabilities were limited when the best grid they could use couldn't go bigger than the size of the kingdom they were on, pretty much limiting outside connectivity to phone calls. Ideas of a wider area interconnected network that bridged the kingdoms were proposed, but none left the planning stages, as that meant putting undersea cables in deep water infested by Class Two Grimm; far from the reach of human forces at the coast, the ocean hid dangers far better than the wilds ever could.

And so her father Jacques thought of a different way of going about it. If they couldn't build undersea cables to connect the kingdoms, then how about connecting them wirelessly through space?

Dynamic utility spark transferrers, better known as Dust, had always been known to fail once it reached the stratosphere. But Jacques believed that the key issue to solve was how to insulate Dust from the effects of weakening gravity to make it work. Once space travel through Dust was established, he would then launch specialized structures he referred to as satellites, which would transmit specific radio waves between kingdoms that would make communication easier than ever before. It was a bold plan, but space was her father's dream, and he pitched his project's novelty and value both commercially and militarily to investors. But while some companies did invest, her father couldn't produce enough results to ensure a sustainable return – Dust still couldn't propel things to space as far as Weiss knew – so the project was terminated in Year 2039.

"My father really believed in it," Weiss answered. Jacques truly believed that space offered benefits that humanity could afford to look into more, arguing that the Grimm were much less of a threat nowadays than they were in the past. Weiss didn't think that last part was true, but she also shared her father's sentiments wishing his project the very best. It just wasn't meant to be. "But no one in the company wants to talk about it anymore, let's put it that way. As much I'd like to know more about space, it's just too risky financially to put more resources into it. There's no reviving the project, and since I'm not there anymore, there's nothing I can do to change that anyways."

"I understand. But as long as some people still think about it, then space and worldwide connectivity are bound to be tackled again. Maybe not by your father, but someone else for sure. That's pretty much how it is. Ambition isn't something that goes away just like that." Ozpin looked at the ceiling for a moment, then looked back at Weiss. "We have Bartholomew Oobleck here in Beacon as an Applied Sciences professor, by the way. He's shown interest in space as well. You should listen to what he thinks about these technological problems."

That was true. Weiss checked the tenured staff of Beacon before leaving Atlas, and saw that Oobleck – a great Dust machinist, Hunter, and one of the heirs to Oobleck Universal Machineries, the largest aerotech company in Vale – was also here as part of the faculty, and he was coincidentally her Applied Sciences instructor for her class tomorrow. She heard a lot of good things about the man and his company; if space was ever going to be pursued again, there was a good chance that it would be them leading the way. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Now since we're on the topic of ambitions, we've all heard of Atlas's announcement last month that they'll start focusing on how to take down the Grimm stronghold in Solitas. What's the latest news on that? Are they doing anything about their promise? Have they started to ask for help from companies like yours?"

"Not that I know of. And that's assuming Atlas is even serious about it." Weiss didn't think that 'ambitious' was the right word to use. The Atlas people's mixed reaction to it was one thing, but with no plan mentioned, the announcement appeared to just be someone's idea to raise more taxes for the military, and it looked like that was indeed the case after all, with a month passing by without any progress to speak of. Weiss wondered what was the point of it; the kingdom's budget had already been changed to favor the military since last year, so why this push for more funds? Weiss said as much to Ozpin, adding, "Whitley might have listened to some proposals from the military, but if that was being seriously discussed with our company, then even I would have heard of it."

"Ah, so that's how it is. Pyrrha didn't know any plans either. But it would be an incredible achievement if Atlas succeeded, don't you think so? For one thing, it would finally break the Grimm stalemate."

"People aren't really expecting anything, though." Weiss would have asked Winter about the whole thing, given that she was a commanding officer in the Atlas military, but her sister kept herself busy for so long, and by the time she managed to talk to her… She shook off the painful memory. "But I guess we'll see."

"Pyrrha had the same reaction too."

"I can't blame her. It's not exactly easy to support something that smells like bureaucratic work, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean." Ozpin paused for a few moments before continuing. "You're right. Since nothing's happening, then yes, I suppose we'll just have to see what happens next."

There was something in Ozpin's tone that Weiss couldn't quite tell what it was, but she set it aside, as a different topic came to mind. "Speaking of which, now that you brought her up… Why is Pyrrha here in Beacon anyways?"

"What did she say to you?"

"Well… I only knew of her when Laran and Soteria had a joint exercise, so it's not like we're close back or anything like that, but the way we met earlier made me curious…"

"Pyrrha's in a situation similar to yours, actually. She was about to take the Hunter trials in Soteria as well, but her situation couldn't be helped, so much so that she would rather start over anywhere else than stay any longer in Atlas. She reached out to the other academies, and that was when we first talked on the phone."

That surprised Weiss. Pyrrha was vague to her when they talked at the plaza, but it didn't cross Weiss's mind that the girl was here to escape from something. For someone so decorated with awards, she thought that Pyrrha was here for something special; now that Ozpin basically said otherwise, then it had to be something much more delicate, so she decided not to ask further about it.

"Pyrrha feels indebted to me for putting her here in Beacon," Ozpin continued. "And it's not a feeling I think I can remove from her, even though I've said multiple times that everything was good. She was in my office earlier in fact, and we were observing the plaza from up here… Imagine our surprise when you suddenly started a fight with other students. Pyrrha was all too willing to jump in, and I had to allow her to intervene before you and the blonde ruined the place."

That last part felt awkward to hear, and Weiss fell silent.

"Did you apologize to the people you argued with?"

"…yes, I did."

"Are you sure?" Ozpin steepled his hands. "I don't think those girls looked the type to hold a grudge, but I don't want this to happen again to you with other students, who may be too quick to respond negatively at being shouted at. Think of it as part of taking care of yourself… One of the last things you want is for other people to get their revenge on you when you least expect it."

Weiss recalled how it all happened, and she felt guilty for how she reacted. The way she snapped at Ruby was particularly painful; it was so unlike her to just blow up like that, even during her time as a student at Laran. She apologized to those girls as much as she could under the circumstances. But was she going to be like that again during her stay here in Beacon? Now that was a question Weiss couldn't quite answer, and she stopped herself from slouching again in her seat.

Take care of yourself too, Weiss.

Weiss recalled Ruby's words. After how she acted to her, Ruby still went out of her way to apologize and reconcile, and Weiss appreciated her sincerity and efforts; it was surprising, even in retrospect, to see Ruby be so forgiving while under stress. But now that Weiss thought more about it… Did she really say enough to make amends? Blake and Yang were one thing, but Weiss now found herself thinking that Ruby deserved a better apology than what she gave her earlier, now that Ozpin brought the issue up.

"You seem to be in deep thought."

"Sorry. It's just that I never acted like that before… It shouldn't have happened. It's embarrassing me to even think about it."

"What happened to Winter shouldn't have happened either."

"…you're right. It shouldn't have."

"So will you be ok here in Beacon moving forward?"

Weiss repressed her memories of Winter – she had to control herself somehow, this wasn't good in the long run – and she bowed slightly. "…I'm ok, Ozpin. It was a mistake on my part. I'm sorry about what happened earlier. But I've apologized to those girls at the plaza, and I promise I'll do better. I won't let something like that happen again."

"Alright, very well." Ozpin reached for Weiss's documents again. "Part of my job as headmaster is to guide students during their time here. It's only one month's stay, but it's a fast pace, and the stress of training and studies can get to people every now and then. Just know that I'm here to help, and you know where to find me. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask." But his phone suddenly beeped as he began reading through her documents again, and he made a quick glance at his device. "Looks like Glynda needs me to take care of a few things. I'll have to cut our meeting short."

"That's ok," Weiss said. "I take it you'll just reach out to me if there are any issues?"

"Don't worry, I don't see any problems here with your files as far as I can tell. I'll contact you first thing if there are any issues down the line, though I doubt any would pop up at this point."

"I guess I'll see you at the opening ceremony then." Every academy had one, and it was tradition to have the students listen to the headmaster's opening words.

Ozpin nodded. "I'll also update you of the status of your citizenship every now and then, so no need to worry about that as well." So saying, Ozpin closed Weiss's folder. "It's good that I got to talk to you as much as I have today. You've also answered my questions, so thank you for that. Rest as much as you can today. I know that things have taken their toll on you, but it'll be a long month ahead starting tomorrow, so keep your mind focused."

"Yes, Ozpin. I will."

"Thank you for your time, Weiss. Take care."

"Take care too, and thanks for your help." With a farewell gesture, Weiss stood up and stepped out of the room, closing the door on her way out.

Weiss left the old lighthouse briskly, and upon leaving she saw a number of students making their way around the school grounds. They were minding their own business, talking alongside their friends, smiling in the midday sun as they walked past her. Pretty much the same scenery she found when she first arrived here. From where she stood, the plaza was clearly visible in the distance, including the spot where she first met those three girls. But as tired as she was earlier, she somehow no longer felt the urge to go lie in bed, even while carrying around her weapon and luggage.

Ruby's words once again came to mind. Who knew when they would meet again? But maybe… Ruby couldn't have gotten far, could she? If rest wasn't about to come to Weiss, then maybe touring the whole school to find Ruby would, and at the same time clear the lingering guilt for how she yelled at her. She felt she needed to do it now, not even stopping by her assigned room to drop off her bags; Weiss felt she just might miss the girl if she delayed any further. She definitely didn't feel like lying down in bed now. If she couldn't find the girl today, then there were always other days, but if she did, then her efforts would have been worth it.

Weiss went back to the plaza, feeling better at the thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ozpin made sure that Weiss had a good head start in leaving the building before he himself left his office, going down through the elevator to meet Glynda. She was in a meeting with the royalty, and they were asking for his presence to explain a few things, so it wasn't something he could just deny outright.

His thoughts went to his conversation with her about Atlas. He understood Pyrrha being in the dark when he asked her, and the Atlas citizenry's indifference about the whole plan was also expected. But for Weiss to also not know anything about it was notable as well, and it was easy to think that Atlas wasn't even trying. But Ozpin knew better of course. Her response only reinforced his belief that Atlas was hiding something, and he needed Leon to get proof of it as soon as he could.

I will find the truth of the world, Ozpin. And I'll make sure you see it face to face, with your own eyes.

Memories of an old friend's promise came to mind, and as to what it meant. If Atlas became the first kingdom to do by themselves something that the other kingdoms couldn't do combined, then there was nothing stopping them from flexing their newfound power on the world stage.

He entered a meeting room, and found Glynda seated and tapping her fingers on the boardroom table. "Took you long enough," she said.

Ozpin nodded. "Right. Let me talk to them. I'll take it from here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"The food was great, Ruby. Your mom really knows how to cook."

Ruby nodded as she felt the bite of a cold breeze. It was night now, and after having eaten so much of her mother's cooking they needed a place to relax. The living room would have been fine, of course, but she felt like enjoying the outdoors instead, so she suggested that they stay awhile on their canopy swing at the back of their house. Cale proved surprisingly easy to convince, and so here they were. The stars in the night sky were in full view from where they sat, without any obstructing clouds, and the shattered moon shined bright.

"Yeah, she really does." She had been observing Cale for some time while they ate and chatted. He presented himself well, and her mother Summer was all too happy with his compliments over the food. Both of them actually helped themselves to seconds and thirds. "You sure your mom's ok with the dishes? I can help clean up."

"It's ok. My mom's pretty set in doing it." Cale meant well, but she knew it just wasn't right to let a guest clean up after himself. Indeed, her mother took it upon herself to clean up the kitchen before Ruby could even offer to do it herself. But it was notable that her mother gave her a sly smile afterwards, as if she knew something Ruby didn't.

"This swing takes me back. Haven't been in one of these swings since forever. Did you your family buy it?"

"My dad built this thing back when I was young. Looks nice, doesn't it? DIY stuff was one of his side hobbies, and he once said that spending some leisure time outside the house would do me some good. I guess he had a point. I enjoyed having many overnight camping trips here, and when I learned to look forshooting stars, I used to pray to them that I get a Semblance asap, even though I was born with the gift, just because I couldn't wait." Ruby smiled faintly. "But yeah, I gained mine two years ago."

"I got mine around three." Cale pointed at the sky. "I wished on something else, though. Right there."

Ruby knew enough astronomy to figure out where Cale was pointing at. The constellation was nearest Orion the Hunter, as if facing it in combat in the night sky; the stars aligned to form a particular animal. "Lupus Adamanteus?"

"That's the one. It was a pretty nice coincidence too. My Semblance–"

"Is a wolf?"

Cale flashed a smile; he was seated on Ruby's left side as the canopy swing was rocked back and forth. But it wasn't him that was doing it, not exactly. There were two large, spectral arms that came right out of his back, glowing blue with clawed hands, that did the rocking, and their gentleness belied their monstrous appearance. "Yeah, something like that."

The sight of those fearsome arms rocking their swing would have unsettled a lot of people at first glance. But they were none other than a part of Cale's Semblance. He had what was called an avatar, which was a seemingly alive humanoid manifestation that fought alongside him. Very rare, and not that well understood, but reportedly unrivaled in combat.

"Mom was very impressed." Ruby had pressured Cale into showing his Semblance during dinner, just to get an idea how he got into Beacon. She even revealed to him her own Semblance, which was a speed boost that generated rose petals. But a power as common as hers was sure to pale in comparison to his; in contrast, Cale could summon a portion of his Semblance without wielding a dustmetal weapon, which was almost unheard of. "You're still holding back, aren't you?"

"I only look like it because I left my weapon at home," Cale said. "And even if I did have it, showing the whole thing… It's not as easy as it looks, let's put it that way."

"It's alright," Ruby replied, and realized something. "I can see now why you got accepted into Beacon. No doubt you get much stronger once you wield your sword, and I'm sure you have the fighting skills as well to match your Semblance. You have to be one of Beacon's best enrollees in a long while." She then chuckled a bit to herself. "Little old me, though? I just have a speed boost."

"Thanks for the compliments, but you shouldn't sell yourself so short. A lot of Hunters do have it as a Semblance, but a speed boost will always be useful in the field. Lives are saved just by being at the right place in the nick of time."

Ruby shook her head. "But that's the thing. Too many Hunters have this ability already, and I don't have anything else to make them reconsider if the worst happens. I'm as ordinary as Hunters can get."

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself. You sound like you're going to fail the tests already."

"I know I can make it." Ruby didn't mean to sound that way, and so she was quick to remove any doubts. "I just want to cover all the bases. Mom and Dad both said that Beacon's tests are pretty hard, and I don't think they'd make that up." Ruby then looked at Cale. "Were they difficult when you took them?"

"You'll do fine," Cale said. "You don't need a power like mine just to pass. Besides, people with speed Semblances get into Beacon all the time, and in any case, there's always Signal Academy. Or any of the other academies in the world, as long as you can get a student visa."

"A student visa's a headache to get, though. I don't think I'd get that anytime soon."

"Yeah… I guess you're right, scratch that."

"That's fine. This year's Hunter tests for Beacon and Signal will be held inside Beacon's grounds, so I plan to take both of them, but I'll pick Beacon as soon as I get it." A soft smile formed on Ruby's face. "I want to graduate in Beacon just like my parents, and rise through the ranks like they did. There are times when they try to make me reconsider, knowing the dangers and the workload, but I don't take that against them. For all the work they're doing to protect us from the Grimm, it makes me want to contribute as much as I can too."

Cale slowly nodded. "Your mom, Summer… She told me a bit of what she does when we first met."

"Pretty cool, huh? I know this sounds silly, but I've always wanted to be like my mom and dad, and continue what they started, even with a Semblance as ordinary as mine." Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I must sound like some silly kid. I know I can't be the same as they are, and that I'm my own person, but…"

"Don't be sorry, Ruby. Your role models are your parents and that's how it's supposed to be." Cale took a deep breath. "I can see now why getting to Beacon means a lot to you. Sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean to brag about passing Beacon and leaving as if it was nothing. It was just… I just couldn't help myself."

"What happened back then? Why did you leave Beacon anyways?"

Cale paused to gather his thoughts, and he took another deep breath. "I understand how you want to be just like your parents. I felt the same way too. My mom and dad were pretty happy when I passed Beacon, back when they were still alive."

Ruby felt an awful pang in her heart. "…I'm sorry. I… I didn't know."

"It's alright." Cale showed a soft smile of his own. "My parents used to be Hunters at Signal Academy, and following in their footsteps was the only thing I could think of when I was a kid, which was in line with the family tradition. The Steel family made their claim to fame by killing a lot of beowolves at a time before Semblances arrived, a thousand years ago." Cale showed Ruby the wolf pendant he wore around his neck. "This emblem's been part of our family ever since."

A cold wind passed by, and Ruby felt its chill despite her cloak. This night was colder than usual for spring. She went just a bit closer to him, and her eyes soon met his.

"Growing up I've always wanted to the best Hunter there ever was, so imagine how happy I was when my Semblance manifested… That the time came when I could finally prove myself." Ruby thought she heard a low growl; she then realized that Cale's avatar had stopped rocking their swing. "I wanted to carve my own path by going to Beacon though, so I did. I aced all of Beacon's Hunter tests last year, and I was allowed to visit my parents in Signal a few days later to celebrate."

Ruby felt a bit of envy upon hearing that Cale was allowed to visit. Beacon never made any effort to do the same for her family. Did Signal do that for Cale simply because of how rare his Semblance was? She shook off the thoughts. Now wasn't the time for that.

"But that night a report came that Grimm were invading Vale. Signal was tasked to take care of it, and they sent two teams which included my mom and dad. But the mission was mishandled the moment they sortied, and they were all killed."

Ruby's eyes widened. She wouldn't have believed it if Cale hadn't told her himself. Even considering the dangers of the job, how could eight Hunters be killed just like that? It was unheard of in this day and age. "Cale, I'm so sorry…"

"There's always a risk of that in the life of a Hunter. It's just a consequence of what Hunters do, and I had always prepared myself for it. But what I wasn't prepared for was what happened afterwards. Signal faculty suddenly decided not to allow me to visit anymore. All the slain Hunters were cremated, news of it snuffed out, and the exact details of what happened were deemed classified. Signal even had signed papers and everything documenting the legality of it. There was nothing I could do."

"I'm sorry." Cale's parents must have knowingly signed something. They must have. And to deny Cale the knowledge of how his parents died in the field… "I couldn't have known."

"It's ok, Ruby. I understand that you really want to be a Hunter. I admire that, don't get me wrong. And there's a part of me that wishes I could go back to being just like you. But to be honest I was left disillusioned, so that's why I dropped my Beacon enrollment. I didn't care back then what my mom and dad signed up for and I still don't. I had a right to know what happened and it was denied to me. What was stopping the other academies from making me sign something just as bad? That's why I eventually left Pharos this month… There were too many memories."

Ruby gently held Cale's right hand with her left. She felt terrible hearing this, and felt guilty about it. If only she hadn't been so… "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have bugged you about any of this had I known."

"The funny thing is, I'm not even angry at Signal or my parents. They signed something, and at the end of the day they died protecting Vale. It's part of a system that has served humanity well and I'm not about to upset that, especially when I'm not the only one who's suffered like this. That's why I went to Patch, so that I could leave everything behind. But your mom… She somehow found out who I was, and so she invited me to come over for dinner. She wouldn't take no for an answer either, so here I am."

Ruby wanted to say more, but the words wouldn't come out, and she fell silent. Why didn't her mother tell her about Cale? She must have her reasons, but still. It also didn't help that Cale was being too gracious. He didn't have to tell his story to a complete stranger like herself.

"Don't feel bad. It's not like I forced myself to do this. I guess I just needed to tell my story to someone else, that's all. A person who hasn't heard any of it before, and is willing to listen." Cale chuckled bitterly. "I must sound pretty pathetic to you though, running away like this."

"Please don't say that."

Cale just shrugged, and released his Semblance, his avatar vanishing in a blue haze. "Well, that's why I left Beacon, and I told you all about it tonight, just like I promised. Anything else you want to ask?"

Ruby caressed Cale's hand; being reminded that he kept his promise to her only her feel even worse. "Would you have just kept to yourself if my mom didn't know you?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"It's not good to shut yourself off, Cale." His dull, defeated tone hit Ruby hard, far more than she expected, and a well of repressed emotions burst forth. "My parents are either out in the field or busy at the office, with very little time in between. My old friends have their own lives now, but at least they have other people to share it with, while I'm the only one here in this town with a Semblance, and I've been training here by myself for the past two years. Can you imagine how lonely that can be?"

"...has it really been that long?"

"Yes…" Ruby felt a tear fall down her eye; she quickly wiped it away and tried to laugh the whole thing off. It was sadly unconvincing. It only made him look at her more. "My mom's going to leave for work tomorrow, and I'll be stuck here again on my own. But it's not like I can blame them for that. I want to be just like them but at the same time I want them only for myself. It's funny, isn't it? And how could I even feel bad about that anyways when I still have them, while you…"

"Ruby…" Cale stopped himself for a moment, as if he was supposed to watch what he said, but soon his right hand held her left too; now both of them held each other's hand. "Your mom told me about you before we met. She told me that it hurts them every day they couldn't be with you. But I didn't know it was this bad. I'm sorry."

Fighting off her tears, Ruby smiled upon seeing them hold hands, not at all taken aback by it. Now her mother's reaction from earlier made sense. Her mother had always been a good judge of character, and she must have a lot of trust in Cale to tell him that much. Ruby realized she felt the same way. She felt comfortable with Cale right from the start. "Now you know why I feel this way. It's not normal to want to be alone all the time, Cale. Believe me, I know how it feels."

"I trust you on that, Ruby."

"So promise me you're not going to lock yourself in a room one day, ok?" Ruby cried out. The thought of Cale possibly succumbing to his loneliness, to the very thing she battled to stave off every day, wrenched at Ruby's heart. "Even if we don't hang out at all, at least talk to me once a month or something. Please don't shut yourself off. Please promise me."

Cale looked as if he remembered something, then took a deep breath. "I promise, Ruby. You have my word."

"Thank you, Cale." She remembered what he told her the day before, that words had weight. The phrase stuck itself in Ruby's mind, and it brought relief in her heart.

Another cold wind passed by, and Ruby found herself huddled much closer to Cale than she thought. She must have inched her way nearer to him without even realizing it. Just how long had she been so close? But Cale didn't seem to mind, and neither did she.

Ruby still felt guilty, but she understood now what Cale was going through. He once shared her passion, but was a victim of circumstance, and went to Patch to be alone and live his life in peace, away from the world. He didn't even bear a grudge; he was that resigned to his fate. But maybe there was something she could do for him. She just needed to gather up the courage. "Thanks for humoring my silly request, for telling me what happened, and I'm sorry for what happened to your parents. I know why you're here, and there's no way I can fault you for it. To be honest, I thought I could ask you to teach me a thing or two, to increase my chances of getting in." Ruby felt she needed to admit that; telling him the truth was the least she could do. "But you don't have to worry. I won't bother you anymore about it. I'll keep in mind what you said to me."

"Ruby…"

Gathering as much strength as she could, Ruby gave Cale the most confident look she could, and gave him a thumbs up. "I said that I'd pass, didn't I? I promise I'll make you proud of me. Knowing how the system failed you, I'll make it my project to fix the whole thing once I rise up in the ranks, no matter how long it might take. When I'm done, other people won't have to experience what you did."

Right then and there, Ruby thought she saw a shooting star from the corner of her eye, and so she quickly made a wish, just as she used to do as a kid. But it was more of an oath, really. If anything, she was even more determined to get into Beacon. For herself, her parents… And now for Cale, too. She smiled again at the thought.

"You're really set in doing this, aren't you?"

"I can do it, Cale. I swear I'll make it happen." There was a sureness in Ruby's voice as she said that. Knowing his story inspired her to do more, and perhaps that was all she really needed. "I just have to train harder, and study more for the written exams. I promise I'll make it. I won't let you down."

Cale fell silent again, and Ruby felt him caress her left hand with his thumb. He then closed his eyes, and he had a look of being in deep thought. What could he be thinking about?

His steel blue hair was ruffled by another cold wind, much stronger this time, but Cale didn't flinch at all, while Ruby felt its harsh bite even with her cloak fully wrapped around her. Instinctively she went closer, and she realized she had effectively nestled herself to him, just a few heartbeats away from his embrace. Then Cale did the rest.

"It'll be easier if we went together."

Ruby couldn't hide her shock upon hearing what Cale just said, and as to what he just did; the warmth she felt from his embrace was a wonderful comfort. Her body then moved on its own. The next thing she knew her head was resting on his shoulder, and her right hand was on his chest.

"Your mom tried to convince me to join you in your plan to become a Hunter, and to give my life some direction as well. I didn't want to think about it at first. But now I've decided to honor that." Cale then seized his Semblance again, and his avatar's arms jutted out from his back. They soon went to work softly rocking the swing. "Since Beacon's where you want to go, then I'm just going to have to come along with you."

Ruby's heart raced at this new but pleasant experience, of Cale embracing her and keeping her warm. She could feel him breathe on her hair; she wondered if and when she should tell him to let her go, or if Cale himself would soon let her go, but the thought of all that soon vanished as she remained beside him. Neither of them budged. "What changed your mind?"

"You, of course." Cale made it sound so obvious that it made Ruby blush. He even chuckled. "And your mom will blow a gasket if I let you trip on a rock while in Beacon. I don't think I'd hear the end of it."

"Hey! I can take care of myself. I'm not that helpless, ok?" Ruby was unable to resist a giggle herself.

"I'm sure you can. But I just can't have you be a hypocrite and leave me behind while you go on your quest to change the system. Someone's got to keep you grounded, you know?"

That made Ruby laugh. Already Cale was poking holes in her plans. It seemed like it was his nature to be like that, and he didn't sound at all like his earlier morose self. Ruby smiled; anything to help Cale get back on his feet. "…you're right. Thank you."

Cale continued to hold her close, and his warmth shielded her from the cold as both of them went silent, staying in each other's arms. Never could she have imagined how good this would feel; her heart felt much lighter already. She really had no idea.

"The night's getting pretty frosty," Cale said. "My Semblance makes me resist many things, but I don't want you to get sick just because we overstayed our welcome. Do you want to go inside?"

"I'm fine." Ruby didn't want this to end so soon, and her tone clearly showed it. She stifled a yawn. "Can't we just stay here for a bit longer, though? It's not really that cold."

"Are you sure?"

"…yes."

Cale nodded. "...alright, Ruby. We can stay here for a while."

Time passed, and eventually Ruby yawned again in Cale's embrace. There was no doubt now that she was getting sleepy, but she wasn't surprised by it. Any girl would easily fall asleep in his arms, and… A sudden thought came to her, and so she raised her head to look at Cale in the eyes. "Have you ever had another girl put her head on you like this?"

"No," Cale replied, smiling as he did. "You're the first one."

"Heh, you don't say?" Ruby smiled too. They had just met, but they had learned so much about each other in only a few hours, and they now got to a point where she was now smelling his scent, feeling him breathe, and enjoying the warmth of his body heat. All this intimacy felt right to her. Did Cale feel the same? She felt his heartbeat quicken. Perhaps time would tell for sure, but for now, this was enough. "Just tell me if I'm overstepping here, ok? I've never done this before."

"Me neither."

"Then that makes two of us." Ruby went back to rest on Cale's shoulder, and yawned again. Sleep felt so near to her now that she was in his embrace. "Thanks again for sharing your story to me, Cale. Thank you for being with me like this, for promising to never want to be alone, and for helping me get into Beacon."

"We both don't have to be alone, Ruby. Thank you for waking me up to that."

Ruby closed her eyes, smiling contentedly, and she soon drifted off to sleep. All this warmth he was giving her – all this comfort she felt – was too much to not surrender to, and she offered no resistance.

Ruby woke up, and realized that she had dozed off on the bench she sat on. How long did she sleep? It had to be an hour at least, though she wouldn't be surprised if it was more than that.

She was at the ground floor of their dorm building, and she remembered waiting for the long line of people to the elevator to thin out. But this time there was no one around except for her now, so she quickly went towards the elevator. It had been a long day of enjoying Beacon's beautiful scenery, her scene at the plaza aside, and now she needed to lie down in a soft bed.

Cale, I…

Ruby shook off the memories. After spending some time at the plaza, she then went strolling around Beacon's schoolgrounds – she had yet to explore everything the academy offered since her first time being here, so she didn't stay long in one place – and finished all the sandwiches she had left. She intentionally avoided the cafeterias; she was saving that trip for tomorrow, when she would have a better appetite. The food was all very good, her mother used to say, and Ruby looked forward to trying their menu.

She arrived at the sixth floor, and it didn't take long for her to find her quarters. All of Beacon's rooms were made to house four people, so she knocked three times to alert her roommates in case they were inside. No answer came though, and Ruby found that the doorknob was unlocked. That had to be a sign that she could go inside, then. She opened the door, and she was greeted with a shocking sight that made her drop her luggage.

"Ruby, it's really you!" Yang cheered. "I knew it! I just knew it! I just knew you'd be the one, Ruby! Alright!"

"Nice guess there, Yang." Blake's deadpan tone was unmistakable. "Though at this point, with the two of you here, why not her as well? Why don't we just complete the whole gang while we're at it?"

Weiss's eyes widened, and her mouth was slightly agape, but she quickly calmed herself. "...hey, Ruby."

Ruby didn't know what to say. "Wait, what…"

"What you see is what you get," Blake said levelly. "I arrived here first, by the way. Then Yang, then Weiss, then you."

Ruby had to do a double take, but there was no mistaking what was in front of her. Against all odds, all four of them had been given the same room number, and thus they were roommates for the next month until the trials. What were the chances? Not that she was complaining; she was fine with Blake, and she was happy that she had someone familiar like Yang as a roommate. But Weiss? Ruby had forgiven her already, but memories of being shouted at came to mind, and she was careful not to show any apprehension.

"Yeah, with these two around, I figured you'd be coming here too. Because why the hell not?" Yang smiled as she patted Ruby on the back. "Nice to have you as a roommate, Ruby. I have the top bed on the right, while you have the other one on the left, while Weiss and Blake get the right and left lower beds."

"...um, ok?"

Weiss crossed her arms. "Don't get carried away, Yang. You think Ruby's going to side with you here?" She and Ruby made eye contact at that moment, though Weiss quickly turned to look at Yang. "Why don't you let her see what you have there so that we can find out?"

Ruby then realized that Yang held something in her hand, but one glance at it was enough to make her wince. Yang held such garish yellow curtains; her taste in clothes was one thing, but how could Yang even consider these things? "The bedsheets we're using are maroon," Ruby said. "Don't we have something better to match them?"

"At least Ruby understands good color sense," Weiss said. "We have the maroon curtains I keep telling you about, Yang." Weiss pointed to something neatly folded on her bed. "That's the best we got to work with. So please, for the love of everything just match the maroon with itself? You'll thank me later, I promise."

"Nah, we have more than that to choose from," Yang replied. "We also have lime green, pink, and brown bedsheets here. We can use these brown sheets to match the yellow curtains."

"This room isn't your fashion sense, you know. Those were the ones I kept telling you notto pick. Seriously, what does your own room even look like? You can't possibly be this bad at decorating."

Yang rolled her eyes. "I have dibs on this, little girl. I arrived here before you did." Now to be fair Weiss wasn't short – Ruby was just as tall as she was – but Blake and Yang were taller, with the latter being the tallest, though not by much. Yang then gave Ruby a look. "I'm sure you can see this room's a dull gray, Ruby, and Weiss is acting like she owns the place even though she was the last to arrive before you. Blake's not picking a side, but since you're here, what can you say about that?"

Ruby said nothing, and saw Blake shrug. Not that surprising to see the faunus not be particular about any of this. But it was true that their room was dull and lacked color, now that she noticed it, but surely they could do better than those garish things Yang wanted.

"It's obvious that you're just pressuring Ruby," Weiss said. "Maybe if you just backed off a bit, she'd get her words out."

"Yeah, like what you did a few hours ago?" Yang casually tossed the folded yellow curtains to her bed, then crossed her arms. "I'm sure you're a pretty good listener, Weiss."

"As if you're any–"

"Guys, stop it!"

Ruby unsheathed Crescent Rose with a flourish, and with that she embraced her Semblance to instantly grab everyone's attention. That plan didn't fail in the slightest as all eyes were on her now. The faint smell of roses hung in the air, while her rose petals gently drifted around her; peculiar traits of what really amounted to a simple speed boost.

"Nice scythe," Yang said.

"We just forgave each other, you guys. Don't tell me you two are about to fight again?" Sighing, Ruby sheathed back Crescent Rose, and let go of her Semblance. It wasn't like her to assert herself like this – she could feel her heart race – but to see them argue so soon wasn't something she wanted, especially after patting herself on the back hours ago. Ruby glanced at Blake. "What's going on here?"

Blake sighed as well. "I made a few phone calls after we left the plaza, and came back here to rest. Yang arrived an hour later, and eventually wanted to change the curtains and the furniture. All fine with me, but then Weiss arrived around two hours later as well, just when Yang began to check what colors we had."

"Can't you two just agree on something about this?" Ruby asked, looking at Weiss and Yang.

"I arrived before Weiss, but she kept acting as if she had the better say in all this. Hey, I really tried to be nice this time around."

"You're acting as if you have a better say in this," Weiss rebutted.

"Weiss was being pushy, while Yang was being stubborn. Nothing more or less than that." Blake shrugged. "As for me, I stayed out of it. Why even bother? We'll have different teammates and rooms after a month anyways, so no point in prettying up what's meant to be left behind."

"…that's one way of looking at it." Ruby understood Blake's point, but Ruby also believed it was worth changing the room even though they were just staying here for a month. Even Blake would have to admit that the furniture could be arranged better, wouldn't she? Her expressionless look didn't inspire confidence in that, though. And for someone who liked reading – if the books on her bed were anything to go by – she was surprisingly ok with the small bookshelf being placed right beside the door, far away from the beds.

Ruby realized she was in an unusual situation, stuck with two girls not willing to compromise to the other, and one too indifferent to care. But this time Ruby didn't cause an accident, and she was in a position to prevent one instead. She knew what she had to do.

"But I agree with Weiss and Yang." Ruby made her posture and tone to be as confident as she could. "Guys, I know we didn't exactly meet under the best circumstances, but that's all in the past now. We've already patched things up with each other anyways, so let's maintain that, ok? No reason not to have an enjoyable stay while we wait for the trials. Also, given that this room needs a bit of redecorating, I want everyone here to benefit from that. So Yang decides where the rest of the furniture goes, while Weiss picks the curtains. For me, I just want the bookshelf put in the middle of the room, right below the window."

That surprised the three girls.

"And Blake… You don't mind my idea, do you? I mean, this room will only be ours for a month, but making it better would make our stay here more memorable, wouldn't it? Is that a bad thing?"

Blake paused, then sighed while scratching her head, as if realizing something foolish and being reminded of it. "…no, I don't mind. Not at all, Ruby." With that said, and without any hesitation, Blake walked to the bookshelf herself to start moving it.

Yang, on her part, simply nodded. "Sounds fair enough. That works fine with me too." She gave Ruby a small smile, then went to help Blake.

Ruby turned to Weiss, and this time they kept eye contact; her icy eyes had softened now. "...didn't think Blake and Yang would agree to that so easily," Weiss said. "And here I was, trying my best and failing to convince them. Who would have thought?"

"Yeah, who would have?" Ruby was being honest; she didn't think it was going to be this easy, but perhaps certain things helped – or hindered, in Weiss's case. "Did you really have to be so pushy?"

Weiss said nothing. Then she looked at Ruby in the eyes. It was a purposeful one, as if she was making an effort to do so. "…I'll tell you all about it," she finally replied. "But first, let's give these two some space to move stuff around."

"Alright."

Weiss then went out of the room, and Ruby followed suit. With the two of them now in the hallway – and they were the only ones there too – Weiss leaned on the outer wall of their room, and she took a deep breath. "…for the record, I wasn't being pushy. I was just trying to yank Blake into a vote, but as you can see, that didn't work out at all."

"Ah, I see. Yeah, I think that would count as being pushy for her." Ruby decided to lean on the wall as well, right beside Weiss. "But Blake's pretty ok. She and I first met at the plaza, and I was telling her a part of Beacon history when I bumped into you."

"Really?"

"She's not much of a talker," Ruby said. "She's the type to only have a few strong opinions, so I'm not surprised to hear that she didn't side with anyone over an issue like this."

"You can say that again."

"But you weren't settling for those awful drapes, of course."

"Not in a million years."

"Heh, I figured as much. I wouldn't go for them either."

"Blake listened to you about the bookshelf, though. That made her move pretty fast."

Ruby shrugged. "Maybe she was so indifferent, she never even thought of moving it herself."

"…that somehow makes sense." Weiss chuckled a bit. "I suppose it's as simple as that for someone like Blake. But how in the world did you make Yang listen to you? I couldn't stand hearing about what she wanted for the room. That yellow curtain she liked was fit for a hazmat suit or something."

"They really did look like that, huh?"

"No kidding. Xiao Longs have a martial family history, but who would have thought they'd have bad fashion sense too? Makes me wonder what their house in Mistral looks like. I hope they don't just scatter their aurastone collection on the floor."

"There are worse things than having bad taste, though." Ruby crossed her arms as she slowly nodded, recalling the first time she saw Embercleave. While she knew about aurastone weapons in general, she didn't know where every single one was located, much less this information about Yang's family, so she made a mental note of it. "Yang and I met on the airbus going to Beacon, actually. She did me a favor, and we hit it off right away."

"You must have made an impression with them to go along with you that fast."

"I wouldn't say that. I was just being friendly, that's all… But I guess that only shows how much it counts. First impressions last, and goodwill really goes a long way. I think that also made it easier for me to reconcile the four of us, after what happened at the plaza… Not that I wouldn't have given up otherwise. I was at fault, so it was my responsibility to mend things… It was the right thing to do. And maybe hope to give some goodwill along the way."

The two went silent. Soon they overheard Blake and Yang talk about how exactly to place the bookshelf near the window, and they heard the sound of some books falling to the floor. Blake was being particular not having her books read, much less even looked at, while Yang just laughed it off. Then came the sound of furniture being moved, which was audible even from outside.

"Those two seem to be hitting it off," Weiss remarked.

"You sound surprised," Ruby replied. Both girls then heard what sounded to be an embarrassed shriek, and a guffaw followed after it. "But you don't have to worry about them, I think they'll be fine."

There was another pause, much longer this time; Yang could now be heard talking with Blake about what to hang on the walls.

"You know… I didn't think we'd meet so soon," Weiss finally said. "Much less like this, sharing the same room as well."

"Me neither. But hey, stranger things have happened."

"…"

"…Weiss?"

Weiss closed her eyes, as if in deep thought.

"…you ok?"

Weiss then took out Myrtenaster, and observed its blade and design for a while before putting it back in its scabbard beside her waist. Ruby observed the aurastone rapier as much as she could. It really was beautiful to look at, and Weiss's gesture appeared to be an old habit. "I tried to look for you after I finished talking to Ozpin. I spent a good amount of time doing that, actually. You can probably imagine my shock when I saw that you're our fourth roommate."

"Wait, you were looking for me? For what?"

Weiss took a deep breath, and sighed; Ruby thought she saw a hurt look in Weiss's eyes, if only for a moment. Ruby then got the hint. "It's ok. Take your time."

"…I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have done that to you… And I feel like I haven't apologized enough."

"It's alright, Weiss. Don't think about it anymore."

Weiss shook her head. "What you did was hard, but it was the right thing to do, so don't ever think otherwise. It's not something anyone could have done. As for me, I should have known better. I could have given people the benefit of the doubt, fostered more goodwill to others, rather than losing control of myself and shouting at them." She moved to make a deep bow in front of Ruby. "Thank you for being the better person. Please take this as a proper apology. I'm sorry, please forgive me."

"Don't bow like that. Everything's ok now. I'm the one who started it anyways, and we forgave each other already. That's all that matters." Ruby went to put a hand on Weiss's shoulder, and gestured to have her stand straight. "Are you ok? Something on your mind?"

"I have a lot going on right now…" Weiss looked at Ruby in the eyes, pale blue meeting silver. Ruby saw that hurt look again, but Weiss covered it up as quickly as it appeared. "Sorry… I must sound like I'm just rambling here. I'm fine. Don't think too much about it."

"It's ok. I'm down with a good old rambling from time to time. I've done it myself." Ruby realized that there really was something bothering Weiss for her to go through all this – as to what it was, she couldn't say – and so she did what she thought best; she gave Weiss a reassuring smile. "I know we aren't exactly the roommates you'd want. Blake isn't the warmest person out there, and I think Yang has issues of her own. They mean well though, and if nothing else, I'm here to listen. It helps to talk it over, and it beats chatting with a wall every time. Then again, I'm the clumsiest girl you'll find in Beacon…"

"…"

"I mean, if being with a klutz like me is ok with you…"

Weiss slowly smiled back. "Of course I'm ok with that." The hurt in Weiss's eyes was gone now, at least for the time being. She sighed in relief. "Thank you for listening to me as well. I really mean that. It helps a lot."

Ruby nodded. "Anytime, Weiss." If Weiss was going to tell her more, then she would be all ears, but as of right now, this was enough.

"Just know that I'll rip you a new one if I catch you bump into someone else again."

Ruby giggled as she rolled her eyes. "I'll be careful next time, don't worry."

"We're just about done here, you guys!" Yang shouted. "Come take a look!"

And with that, Weiss stretched her arms. "It looks like it's our turn to decorate. Which reminds me, I found a maroon rug that we can use, to match the curtains and the sheets. I take it you're fine with that, right?"

"Sounds good to me."

"But what about you? Don't you have something in mind as to how the room should look like?"

"It's fine," Ruby said, shaking her head. "All I want is for us to get along, and find the best compromise so that everyone's happy. We're only going to be together for a month before we get reassigned with new teammates after the trials anyways, so it doesn't make sense to waste time fighting when we can be doing something more productive."

"Fair enough," Weiss replied. "But I'm not humoring any more of Yang's ridiculous opinions on color design, ok?"

"Don't sweat it, Weiss. I'll back you up when it's needed." Ruby smiled softly. "Though if you can help it, being more patient with them goes a long way. I know they're good in their own way, and I'm sure these two will pick up on your goodwill sooner or later. Just look at the good side of things… Yang can't be that bad, you know?"

"Hey, you guys still there?" Yang yelled. "Don't you guys give me the silent treatment. I get dibs on everything else if you don't come here!"

"Are you sure about that last part, Ruby?"

"Yes, Weiss. I'm sure."

"…alright, I'll keep that in mind," Weiss showed a faint smile. "Then let's go back before Yang actually puts something crazy and burn our eyes out."

"Yeah, let's go." Ruby returned the smile, and they both went back inside their room.