Author's Notes

I don't usually do pre-chapter content warnings, but this one might be unpleasant to read at parts. No gore, no blood, but some disturbingly violent behavior.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

Chapter 11 – Basic Human Decency

In which Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao-Long resolve an interpersonal dispute.

It was inevitable that Weiss would eventually bump into her team again, for all that she tried to delay it. She'd shown up to combat class the very moment the bell rang, ensuring that her sister pair of teammates couldn't get up and sit next to her without disrupting the lesson. The downside of that was that it meant Weiss didn't get to sit next to Blake…unless that was an upside.

I hope she doesn't despise me. I wouldn't blame her if she did.

"Welcome, students. Today marks the first day in this class in which students shall be called up to engage in practice spars. Please allow me to explain the rules. Firstly, your safety is paramount, so when…"

Weiss already knew by heart the Vacuo-Mistral Practice Bout Rules, the industry standard for nom-competitive training matches, but she listened along anyways. The key was that both fighters immediately stopped all combat the second a victory was declared. In normal matches, advanced Dust-powered force fields were employed within the sparring ring that would activate to separate the two as soon as a victory was declared on a linked tablet controlled by the two judges.

However, because this was Beacon and the mold was broken before it even formed, the arena had no such precautionary countermeasures installed. There weren't even shields for the audience.

"If you continue to fight after I have called a match, I will forcibly separate you using my semblance. If you continue after that, I will assume you are eager for a new opponent and fill that role myself." Her stern voice, coupled with the timely and quite dramatic removal of her spectacles, made everyone know that that threat was not an empty one. "Now, then. Are there any students w–"

Yang's hand shot up like a lightning bolt. "I volunteer."

Goodwitch had no qualms. "Very well. Against Miss Xiao-Long, let's have…Miss Valkyrie. Please leave all explosive ordnance in the footlocker at the edge of the audience viewing area."

As the match began, Weiss switched from casually spectator mode to strategic analyst in an instant. Yang was her teammate, and thus it was Weiss' duty to understand her teammates strengths and weaknesses to capitalize on the former and improve upon the latter. If and when they eventually did face real threats, Weiss would also be best suited to give out orders if she had a keen understanding of what Yang was capable of.

Both Yang and Nora seemed roughly evenly matched in terms of raw strength, and while Nora's weapon had the advantage of reach, she didn't get a chance to use it before Yang was too close and engaging in fisticuffs. Nora hastily dropped her hammer and switched to bare fists just to avoid being pummeled.

Within seconds of the first punch landing on Yang, the entire arena was immersed in the fire that shot out of Yang's hair. Her eyes were burning red, and every now and then, they would glance back at the stands – but not at the bulk of her team, which was seated together. No, she was singling out Weiss to stare at.

Despite Nora's best efforts, Yang's blitz wore her down almost instantly. She hadn't been expecting the first fight of the year to be such a ruthless punching match, and her assumption that this was going to be a learning opportunity and not a frenzied beat-down had cost her. Furthermore, that semblance of Yang's, the fire one, it seemed to have some other effects that empowered her that only activated upon the first hit from Nora. Weiss would have to find out more about it later.

Goodwitch raised her riding crop like a referee's flag and brought it down. "Victor by aura depletion, Yang Xiao-Long."

Instantly, Yang's fires ceased, and the bright light that had threatened to blind the onlookers was replaced by a garishly blonde head of hair. Checking her scroll, she smiled.

"89%. Not bad. You know, Miss G, I think I have another round in me, if that's okay."

"Before you do, I shall break down your fight and offer advice. Rather, I would have liked to, but there was not much to speak of in terms of form or finesse, so I suppose I shall only say this: brute force will not always be enough, especially when your opponent is a twenty-foot-tall Grimm that can outmuscle you. However, your victory was swift and efficient, so I suppose I must commend you. Now, let us decide your next opponent."

Weiss raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Schnee. Do you have a comment on your teammate's performance?"

Shaking her head, Weiss said, "No, ma'am. I have a recommendation for her next opponent."

"Who do you have in mind?"

"Myself."

Goodwitch didn't seem enthused by Weiss volunteering herself, but she did seem to appreciate the prospect of a different type of opponent – Weiss' fine tuned skill as opposed to Nora's heavy firepower – so she allowed for it.

Blake didn't.

Before Weiss had even risen from her set, her best friend was standing in her way.

"Weiss, you cannot do this. Yang was pissed at you all day, and she's –"

" – going to do this sooner or later." Weiss checked her sword to ensure it had a full complement of Dust. "At least this way, Miss Goodwitch will be there to separate us when my aura reaches the red."

Blake grimaced. "You saw what she did to Nora."

"She meant for me to see. Blake, I live in the same room with her. Confronting her in a school-sanctioned duel is probably safer than waiting for her to corner me in a hallway."

The two of them glanced at the fourth member of Team RWBY, who was cracking her knuckles and waving their way.

"Miss Schnee," called Professor Goodwitch. "Please don't dawdle."

"Weiss," Blake breathed. "You have to admit, challenging her to a fight is a bad idea."

"If you're able to think of a way in which Yang Xiao-Long doesn't beat me black and blue at some point in the future, I'd be happy to try it."

Blake grimaced, but she couldn't exactly argue with Weiss' logic. Yang had been showing off with the underlying message being that she could beat the stuffing out of anyone (Weiss included) with little to no effort. This wasn't Weiss rushing headfirst into her own death needlessly but Weiss choosing to address a threat on even ground, at a time of her own choosing rather than Yang's.

This team is so fucked. I've ruined my relationship with one, and the other is unironically a threat to my life. Yang's not one for half-measures; she broke my aura during initiation and was reeling up for another punch before Pyrrha caught it. Ozpin might've been right about the obstacles that wished to destroy us including our own peers.

She didn't have a plan for this or anything. There was no 'earn Yang's respect in a fight' or 'make the duel a metaphor for the team' going on here. Weiss just wanted to address this sooner rather than later.

I just hope this can be the end of it, one way or another.

Stepping into the ring was a new experience for Weiss. She'd fought before, but that was in practice training grounds with private tutors or standardized huntress curriculum proctors. Audiences were nothing new, but they typically consisted of Kali, Klein, Father, or any combination of the three. This was a crowd of students that didn't know Weiss personally and would be competent enough to actually critique her professionally.

"Didn't think you had the guts to actually face me, chicken wings."

Weiss said nothing in response, instead only drawing her sword. Yang balled up her fists and cocked the shotgun elements, discharging a spent round from her brief spar with Nora.

"Hope you don't mind that I touch you without your permission." Yang squinted. "That oughta be okay this one time, eh?"

Again, Weiss remained silent, but her heart dropped at the words that were being used so carefully against her. Any rapport she'd built with the team during their heart-to-heart on the first day had truly died.

No. It didn't die. I killed it.

"You may begin," said Goodwitch.

Yang didn't rush in this time. It had worked to her advantage last time because Nora had assumed it to be a polite and friendly spar, but this time Weiss was already forming Glyphs to act as a shield around herself before Goodwitch even finished enunciating the first syllable of her sentence.

Yang tested the barriers with a round of buckshot, and Weiss took the opportunity when she reloaded to fly up into the air.

There were some minor whispers from the audience, but Weiss didn't think this was a case of shock at the mere existence of the Faunus. Weiss had made no attempts to hide her wings – Beacon had even accommodated her by allowing modifications to her uniform. What likely surprised the students was that they weren't merely for show.

Most Faunus have traits that can't be used in combat, and many who do are too ashamed to break them out for fear of it being seen by jealous humans as some manner of unfair advantage. I suffer neither drawback.

"Where you goin', Weiss-Cream?" Yang fired another shot from her gauntlets, this time actually aiming to hit Weiss and not merely test her defenses, but another Glyph rose and blocked it. "Awww, c'mon. You're the one who wanted to fight me. Why don'tcha come on down?"

Her Glyphs would be enough to hold back ranged attacks, and the room was fortunately a rather tall one. Weiss rose up until she was sure that she was high enough to avoid Yang's reach, then steadied herself and remained there.

Truth be told, she had no intention of going head to head against the wall of meat and muscle that had torn Nora apart, but she had no strategy that could overcome her. Weiss had her Dust, but fire seemed to be Yang's forte. Ice would melt, wind wasn't aggressive enough if Yang dug in her heels, and lightning might sting but wouldn't deal enough damage to her aura. Plus, Weiss didn't want to just feed into that semblance.

Even if I could triumph against her here, she'll just break me in half some time tomorrow when my back is turned. I can't prioritize victory in the immediate future at the expense of my long-term survival.

The problem was, Yang held all the cards. She could choose to never forgive Weiss, and she could choose to pulverize Weiss any time over the next four years.

Maybe I should just drop down and get this over with now. I'm going to have to face the consequences of my actions at some point.

Remaining beyond the range of an enemy's attack was a valid strategy, and Weiss doubted Goodwitch would force them to directly engage one another, but Weiss couldn't just stay up above forever.

That didn't mean she had to roll over and die. Weiss summoned all of her Wind Dust and let out a gust of wind with the strength of a small tornado to put enough pressure onto Yang that she couldn't freely move. Using that moment when her opponent was trapped in place, she descended from the skies and back to the ground below.

This isn't going to be pleasant.

"Ah, there you are," Yang said when Weiss' Wind Dust was depleted. She brushed her mussed hair out of her eye. "Thanks for the blow-dry. How about I pay you back with some hot curling?"

It hadn't been until Nora had first struck Weiss that the flames ignited, but the same problem arose from when she'd hid in the space beyond Yang's reach: Weiss eventually needed to fight. Not hitting your opponent wasn't a valid strategy for a victory by ring-out or aura depletion.

Letting out a small ball of electricity, Weiss willed it forward, but Yang dodge-rolled out of the way and watched as the attack gradually continued on in a straight line before colliding with the wall off in the distance.

"Yeesh." Yang's faux smile opened up a pit of fear in Weiss' stomach. "Someone's a little skittish."

This was most unpleasant for Weiss, and Yang was clearly relishing every second of it. She knew she was the stronger of the two. Weiss had her unique strengths, but in a solo fight with no allies to empower via the use of her semblance, she was outclassed.

I won't just give up, though. I'll fight!

Dashing forward, Weiss drew back her arm for a fencing thrust and slashed Yang directly across the face. It was a clean hit, and Weiss followed up by driving the point of Myrtenaster into Yang's shoulder.

The blade landed, and Yang's aura began to drop. Yang merely glanced at the sword that was pressed so hard into her that it was beginning to bend from the stress.

"I warned you not to make Ruby cry, Weiss. You know what's coming."

Weiss swallowed uncomfortably and pressed her rapier further, using a Glyph behind her heels for leverage, but Yang was utterly unphased. Her aura was yellow now, and she'd intentionally let it happen.

She's storing something up. She's letting me charge up my own doom.

Don't attack, and be defenseless.

Do attack, and make it all the more worse when Yang let loose.

Her sword hand trembling, Weiss drew back and retreated a few paces to gain the distance for a running start to her next attack. Until such time as she was defeated, she would need to conduct herself as best she could, and that meant fighting with courage and dignity. Yielding when she had an advantage was not an option.

Remember, Weiss, she can't kill you. Rough you up a bit, but nothing below red aura.

Yang's grin was not the grin of someone who wasn't going to be able to enact their perfect revenge, though.

Weiss glanced at the audience, just to see how they were reacting. Most didn't even seem to be aware of the tension, but those that were clearly knew that the stakes on this were higher than a ring-out and some embarrassment at having lost. Blake was biting her wrist, clearly distressed by the turn of events, and Weiss felt all the more horrible for having forced this.

I think this was the right call, but I didn't consider that I was essentially forcing Blake to watch.

Ruby was –

Weiss tore her eyes away before she could get a good look at Ruby. Deciding to leave that small part of herself blissfully oblivious, she turned her attention back onto Yang.

Yang's lips moved, but no noise came. Still, Weiss could read what she was mouthing.

Five.

Weiss' breath hitched, and she nearly dropped her rapier. Every huntress instinct in her body told her that this was no bluff, that a real predator truly was about to sink its jaws into her.

Four, Yang mouthed with a smile.

Weiss took a step back. Running would…there was still time to surrender and…

Three.

This was coming, whether or not Weiss surrendered.

Two.

One.

Zero.

Weiss' entire world lit up in flames, enough that they no longer shot straight up. Some even flickered her way, and she had to raise her aura to prevent being singed.

Yang lunged for Weiss, roaring with anger. Counting on her semblance to save her, the heiress formed a wall of Glyphs, but Yang shot her gauntlets down straight into the ground. The momentum burst threw her straight into the air with just enough altitude to flip over the Glyphs and land right behind Weiss.

Myrtenaster glinted in the artificial light of the hall as Weiss tried to react with an attack, but Yang punched her in the sword hand with enough force that it might've broken a bone. The sword dropped out of her stinging, searing fingers, leaving Weiss defenseless.

Fight was gone, but when Weiss attempted flight, Yang caught her leg and slammed her down into the arena's solid base so hard that the ground cracked. Weiss had landed on her wings, and she was almost certain that one of them did break.

"Hope you enjoyed your moment, Weiss."

A fist collided with the back of her head, and Weiss felt her aura crackle as her face slammed into the ground. Aura protected her from physical damage, but the pain was still there from the impact and its massive transfer of momentum right through her. Even the heat from Yang's presence was blistering. Weiss had to close her eyes to avoid even more pain, depriving her of her sight.

"Yang, stop!" said a voice that sounded like Blake's.

"I didn't hear a surrender, and her aura's good. So, I think I'm gonna keep going."

Weiss felt a hand grab hold of her wings and yank aggressively. Aura again protected her, but it could do nothing to shield the fistful of feathers that were torn, yank, wretched out of her body. She couldn't pinpoint exactly where it had happened on her body, but that area of her wings felt raw, like it had suddenly been dipped in hot water after being exposed to ice for hours.

"Nhooo," Weiss tried to wail, her face still stuck against the floor. "Nnnnnhhhggg…"

The other wing was yanked, and Weiss' entire body flipped over. Both of her wings were aching now, and her head felt like it could split in two from the throbbing headache caused by the injury. Fingers gripped her jaw, forcing it open, and something both light and spiny entered into her mouth. Weiss realized they were her own feathers just as the same fingers pressed her mouth shut.

Then, her ponytail grew tense as it was lifted up, and her skull was slammed into the ground once again.

And again, a second time.

"The match is over."

The slamming stopped, but Weiss' head remained pulled up by her hair.

"Her aura's still just low yellow, Professor."

"Let. Go. Of. Her."

There was a fierceness to the professor's voice that hadn't been there before. This was no longer the stern, strict, rule-abiding Goodwitch who radiated distaste with childish antics. The woman that was speaking was now enraged.

"Geez, okay."

Weiss felt the tension on her hair release, and she dropped back down onto the ground. Her throat seized from the unpleasant sensation of the down that had been stuffed inside of it, and she involuntarily coughed. That made it hurt even more, and Weiss weakly tried to turn her body onto its side so that she might be able to spit out the feathers, but her arms didn't have the strength. Instead, she just continued arrhythmically choking on her feathers whenever she needed air.

"Miss Schnee! Miss Schnee, are you – Winchester! Arc! Contact the nurse's office! Now!"

Weiss felt like she was dying. She was fairly certain she'd swallowed some of the feathers at this point, and an equal number were lodged in various points down the length of her throat. Just as Weiss' own attacks had fueled Yang's beat down, it was parts of Weiss' own body that now endangered her.

Weiss assumed it was Goodwitch who propped up her head, though she couldn't see. Even as the feathers were carefully plucked out of Weiss windpipe and levitated to safety, the scratches that they'd made still burned. Weiss tried to focus her still-solid aura on the injuries to seal them up, but the darkness, headache, numbness and pain all around her was too horrible a mixture of deprivation and overstimulation of her senses for her to control her aura in any meaningful way. It tasted of trickling blood, all the way down.

Weakly, Weiss sucked in a breath, just to test if it was safe. When nothing impeded her airways, she exhaled and repeated.

"Breathe, Miss Schnee. You're okay. Just breathe."

Breathing was easier said than done.

"Now, then. Miss Xiao-Long."

"It was a spar, and you hadn't called it," came Yang's voice. "I stopped when you told me to." There was a pause to the defensive words in a defensive tone. "I played by the rules, ma'am."

"Once Miss Schnee is taken to the infirmary, I shall accompany you to your dormitory. There, you shall be given time to collect your effects. By the authority of the Deputy Headmistress of Beacon, you may consider yourself expelled from the academy, effective immediately."

"Whuh – but…BS! It was a spar, and I followed all the –"

"Miss Xiao-Long, that was behavior unbecoming of a huntress. If I am to be honest, I am considering detaining you for assault."

"It was a spar!"

"Yes, you've said that several times now. And if you think that you do not need to consider your actions during a spar, or that you are exempt from basic human decency when you step into the ring, you are not the kind of woman we at Beacon wish to train as a huntress."

"B-Bas…"

Trying to talk was a mistake. Her throat was still too damaged.

But this was too important.

Weiss forced her eyes to open, even as the dizzying effect of suddenly regaining her vision took hold. For a few moments, she was too disoriented to make sense of what she was seeing, having lost all sense of direction, but her ability to interpret the world around her slowly began to return to her after a few blinks and a moment of calm.

Once her vision was back, Weiss felt stable enough to attempt to flare up her aura around the inside of her esophagus. She had never lacked it, just the coordination of her mind and body to properly implement her lessons in controlling it.

"Basic human…and Faunus decency, ma'am," Weiss eked out.

Goodwitch pressed the back of her palm to Weiss' forehead, as if she were checking her temperature. "Miss Schnee, try not to speak."

"M-Ma'am," Weiss weakly muttered. Instead of trying to force herself to stumble through her words, she instead let a few seconds pass just to let her throat heal further. "Yang is…my…I'm leader."

"You are okay, Miss Schnee. The infirmary will have sent a stretcher by this point."

"I'm…leader, ma'am. I'll…decide…punishment."

Goodwitch frowned at that, first in trouble at understanding, then in something that resembled annoyance. "I've made my decision."

"Team RWBY …my. My. This…choice."

"What I just saw was proof enough in my eyes that she does not have the moral character to become a huntress. We must carry ourselves to higher standards, and we cannot permit slips like that. A huntress with a short fuse who uses her skills to torment those weaker than herself is unfit."

Weiss wanted to laugh, but that seemed like the kind of thing that would hurt, so she just smiled. "Weaker? O-Ouch."

"Miss Schnee, this is no longer about just you. I have a responsibility to vet those who I permit into Beacon, lest I end up empowering a future rogue huntsman or huntress."

Weiss shook her head. It felt like an egg right now, with a weak shell that would crack under the weakest of pressure and let her brains ooze out onto the floor.

"Lose her…lose Ruby…lose everything. Need to keep the team."

Goodwitch shook her head decisively. "I'm afraid not. The pleas of children cannot override a pattern of behavior beginning in threats of bodily harm and ending in those threats being followed through. This is my decision."

Weiss bit her teeth to endure the pain and raised her arm to grip Goodwitch's sleeve.

"Please. Please. My team. Earned it. Have to keep it. Please."

Goodwitch looked away, and Weiss followed her eyes to Yang. She also noticed that the entire class was standing up in their seats in alarm, and she suddenly felt quite self-conscious about her pathetic and emotional appeal to Goodwitch's sympathy just now. The smarmy little jokes, too.

"…very well. I shall remand her to your custody. At any point, if you feel you cannot…suitably 'reform' her, you may contact me privately. Furthermore, I shall issue additional punitive measures to whatever you decree in accordance with Beacon's code of conduct."

Goodwitch glared directly at Yang.

"This will not go unpunished."

Weiss actually managed to stand herself up on her own before the stretcher and several members of faculty arrived. It hadn't been a complete beatdown in which all her bones were broken, after all, just a heated fight (literally and figuratively). Her wings were twisted out of shape, but it was broken bones, not severed limbs or shredded flesh.

She hadn't noticed until Yang was escorted away by another professor and the class was dismissed early, but Goodwitch had actually been telepathically restraining Blake.

"I'll fucking kill her," Blake hissed, true murderous intent behind her eyes. "I'll –"

"Miss Belladonna, please don't say anything I'll have to report." Goodwitch adjusted her eyeglasses tiredly. "...at least wait until I'm out of the room."

Weiss stretched herself a little bit as Blake ran to her side.

"Can I touch?"

"Of course."

Blake immediately began to fawn over the damaged limbs, spending a lot of time on the ripped patch of feathers that Yang had…had…

Weiss touched her throat and tried not to cry.

"Speak. I can speak. I can speak, and I can speak."

"W-Weiss?"

"Sorry, never mind that. I just…in that moment, I needed to remind myself that I wasn't still lying down there with a mouthful of feathers."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "That thing is no partner of mine. I'm going to call Mom and see if attacking a Faunus trait can be classified as a hate –"

"Please don't."

"Weiss, she –"

Weiss held a hand over Blake's shoulder. Blake nodded, and the hand went down. "It was a fight, and a brutal one at that, more than it needed to be, but she did stay within the rules. Truth be told, it was far more about humiliation than pain. And yes, she is an utter trollop in need of punishment, but I've been beaten during spars before, and I'll probably be beaten again. It wasn't like she was trying to kill me."

Blake looked like she had more she wanted to say, but at the last moment, she shook her head. "You're the leader. I won't rob you of that, not now. But I don't think I'll forgive her."

"Oh, you'll be pitying her the moment you hear what I have in mind for her."

Blake chuckled at that.

Weiss didn't actually have some extravagant punishment in mind, but she wanted to put Blake at ease. Yang probably did deserve expulsion…the feathers, Gods, that was just…but that would kill Team RWBY. She'd just intervened on Goodwitch's chosen verdict on impulse, her own guilt over what she did to Ruby still floating around in her mind.

"Oh shit, Ruby!"

Weiss looked back at the empty stands for her last team member and was surprised to find that she actually was still there.

"H-Hey."

"Hello."

Ruby kicked off the bench she'd been sitting on and calmly walked over to Weiss. When she got close, she stretched out her arms and stopped.

"May I?"

Weiss couldn't help the genuine smile that rolled out across her face. "Yes, Ruby. You may."

Ruby threw herself into Weiss' arms and began to weep.

"She did that…and it was because…and you got…you were riiiiiight!"

Weiss patted the teary-eyed child on the back. "No, Ruby. I wasn't right. What I said to you was just as bad as –"

"It's not!" Ruby cried out. "It's not, because Yang did that in my name! She did it for me, she thought I wanted that, she thought that would make me happy! You were right, I was still acting like a little kid and letting her be my shield, and she…she did that because you yelled at me! If I acted like a big girl and had just stood up for myself or even not run to her every time something went wrong, you wouldn't have…" Ruby swallowed. "Your pretty, pretty wings…and I ruined them. Me, all because I was too much of a baby and Yang thought she has to stick up for me all the time."

Blake was still wincing as she ran her hand along Weiss' wings and inspected the damage. "Gods damn, she really did a number on you. You probably won't be able to fly for a week, and your aura will be sucked away like a sugary drink through a bendy straw."

That only upset Ruby further, and she squeezed herself tighter to Weiss. "Weiiiiisss! I wanna be a good huntress! I wanna be a good teammate! Please, I'm sorry about the…I'll wake up extra early and I'll write notes in every class and I'll catch up on my studies and I'll never do drugs and I'll ask you when you want to be touched and I'll eat my vegetables and I'll –"

She's trying so hard. I don't think she ever meant any malice by any of her actions, not like her sister did. She was just a little too young and sheltered to think through the consequences.

Weiss let out a sigh and gently pried the limpet Faunus of a human off of her. "Hey, Ruby."

"Y-Yeah?"

Weiss lowered her voice. "If you promise to go in the direction of the feathers, and if you promise to be very gentle – especially in the broken parts – would you like to pet them?"

The tears in the corners of Ruby's eyes seemed to act like magnifying glasses, making her wide pupils even bigger. "R-Really? You're sure?"

Weiss nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Oh, Weiss! Thank you thank you thank you!" Ruby wasted no time in detaching herself from Weiss and circling around to join Blake at her back.

Just like with Team White Bread Peanut Butter and Jelly, Weiss hadn't liked Team RWBY at first. The idea of being partnered up with people who weren't up to her exacting specifications, people who would just get in the way of her already perfect partnership with Blake – it left a bad taste in her mouth.

But, as she'd started to learn upon coming to this strange school in this strange city, there was always room to grow. Ruby needed to mature a bit and brush up on the book smarts she'd skipped. Yang needed to get over herself and dislodge that stick from her ass before it poked out of her open mouth. Blake…well, Blake was pretty much already perfect…maybe she could get over her fear of vacuum cleaners? Weiss really didn't know.

And as for Weiss herself, she needed to improve herself in the domain of empathy. Just because something made her upset didn't mean that the people who caused it were her enemies. Intent mattered just as much as effect.

I really have to work on not exploding every time any little thing doesn't go my way. It's basic human decency, after all.

Next Chapter: This F***ing Pig

In which Weiss Schnee is pitted against Professor Peter Port's pet porcine pest.

Author's Notes

I know I promised joy and wholesomeness as opposed to the usual bleakness of Faunus Weiss fics, but…uh…

Uh…

Well, there's no lingering damage that won't just heal away, at least. It was more an act of humiliation than one desired to inflict pain.

And there will be consequences. I know in the past I resolve these kinds of conflicts within one to two chapters or sometimes even less, but Yang won't be accepted back with open arms just like that. You can count on me – Rat's honor.

To clarify - Weiss' wings aren't torn off, nor are they mangled. She broke her bone and lost a patch of feathers, but it's the equivalent of a broken arm.

We're rapidly switching back and forth on who's right. First, Ruby was evil, then Weiss was biased, then Weiss was a bad leader, and now Yang's a jerk. Up, down, up, down.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!