AN- Hello again! Long time no see everyone and welcome to another chapter of RWBYS: AfterShock. Before I get into the usual shoutouts, I want to say its great to be back writing. A lot of stuff has happened between the last time this story was updated, life came at me fast, between that and other stuff, I wasn't in to great a place to write and keep to it. Not to say that i never stopped think about the stories I wanted to write and where I specifically want to go with this story and I'm no where near done with this story. But moving foward I want to try to at least have a chapter out every two weeks. i decided to pick up the story again after getting all the volumes on Blu-ray a week ago and ever since then its been bouncing in my head to pick it back up.
Now, moving on. Shout outs to Lord Zerith and Nico2411 for leaving reviews and everyone thats favorited and followed the story since the last update years ago, it mean so much to me more than you'll ever know.
On to the usual announcements, RWBY is owned by RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum, while I only own any OCs for this particular story. Now without further ado, enjoy Chapter 7!
Black, White, and Faded Silver
He awoke to the smell of smoke filling his lungs as he jolted out of his bed. His dark blue orbs darting around the burning room around him. The deadly blaze was eating away at the room like a hungry predator after a kill, slowly closing in around him. His eyes finally landed on the wooden door as smoke seeped in from under it.
With no other choice and not wanting to risk burning his hand on the door knob, Silber charged shoulder first into the door. The door frame exploded into splinters as the boy was meet with black smog clogging his vision and a blast of pure heat
"Silber!"
No, no, it… it couldn't be. Even while surrounded in flames, the voice was enough to send shivers up Silber's spine. It sounded like...
"Geist!"
It was as if his body went into overdrive at that point hear his voice. He pushed through the suffocating smog and the rich smell of scorched wood, dead set on finding the man. Sifting his way through the dark cloud of smoke,
The building shuddered as it creaked and groaned before all at once the ceiling caved in. It came down like a fearsome avalanche of ash and flames. Silber blacked out from the crushing weight of a heavy wooden beam that crashed onto his back.
The teen woke up to a blurry haze of heat and smoke choking him as he tried to force himself to his feet. It immediately came to the hidden crimsonette's attention that he wasn't going anywhere, courtesy of the smoldering heap of his house that rested on his back. His futile attempts to escape were rewarded with even more bone crushing weight put down on him, making it even harder to breathe.
Rasping for breathe like someone wrapped their hands around his neck, Silber looked up in horror at what was in front of him; three shrouds of darkness surrounding Geist, now on his knees as his arms hung weakly by his side. And what surrounded the shadows threatened to make the brave face he forced on to shatter like it wasn't there to begin with.
It was his team.
Ruby was sprawled out across the ash coated grass with blood running down the side of her head. Laid next to her, Crescent Rose with it's blade broken. Weiss wasn't too far from Ruby, her snow white bolero riddled with burn marks and blood, along with her scar reopened. Myrtenaster's fine blade was snapped in half with the broken blade embedded in the ground, missing it's dust cylinder.
Blake laid face first into the ground, her body covered in gashes and bullet wounds with her wrist ribbons unraveled with pieces of them burnt. Gambol Shroud laid in pieces next to it's wielder, it's blade chipped heavily with it's ammo clip missing, trigger broken, and sheath bent. Lastly, Yang completed the circle, her wild golden hair covering her face as she was laid on her side. Burn marks and deep cuts lined her body with parts of her clothes torn, only one of her Ember Celica was still attached to her wrists and just barely clinging on as it was.
Silber finally sucked in a rush of air once he saw that the four were breathing, but froze once more when he looked past them. Not even 20 feet away from Ruby, lied a sword firmly lodged into the ground. It's now dull golden cross-guard shined faintly from the flare of the fire-consumed house and scattered around the sunken blade were scuffed pieces of ivory white metal with hints of gold on a few select pieces.
Jaune's sword.
Quickly, blue orbs scanned through the billowing smog looking for the blonde knight, but not a trace could be found. All he saw was more damaged weapons that belonged to the rest of team JNPR. An eerie thought snaked it's way into his mind. He knows what happened to JNPR. Suddenly, the wraiths made their move as the leader moved over to Geist before it turned to the trapped teen.
Burn.
That was the first word to come to mind when Silber looked in the shadow's dark amber eyes. Like if he was under the figure's gaze any longer, he would catch fire himself. It turned back to the defeated man and the two held a wordless conversation for what seemed like eternity.
Then time slowed and the shroud placed a hand on Geist's head. A brilliant yellow glow enveloped the Huntsman and no sooner than that happened, he started to scatter. It started from his head, slowly working down.
"Stop! Please stop!" Silber's desperate pleas fell on deaf ears as Geist, for the second time, faded away in a cascade of golden embers that gently floated away into the night sky. The shadow turned to the trapped boy, who thrashed wildly at the sight of seeing the man be disintegrated into oblivion.
Silber clawed at the debris that ensnared him like a wild animal, grunting and gasping while trying to fight off the tears that were threatening to fall. He didn't have time to cry, he had to avenge Geist and team JNPR. But most importantly, he had to protect his teammates… His sisters.
The other two shadow figure's arms wrapped around his in a firm hold, stopping him from trying to escape. The amber-eyed shadow stared down at the boy with an emotionless glare. Then it turned back to the rest of his teammates and Silber already knew what it had in mind.
"No." his voice a low mutter as it took a step. "Stop."
"Please!" Louder this time, but the figure didn't stray from it's path.
"Stop!" His voice raised, but it was too late. The figure touched Blake, making her start to fade. It felt like someone had just hit in the gut with a sledgehammer without aura. The figure stepped over to Weiss and not long after the heiress started to fade as well.
Then the wraith stopped in front of Yang. "Stop! Please, stop!" Silber cried out, tears falling freely as he fought against the vice-grip that the two shrouds had him in. The amber-eyed figure paid him no mind as it slid a smoky hand through Yang's mane of blonde hair before she started to fade just like the others.
Not missing a beat, the figure stepped over to the defenseless form of Ruby. "Stop! Take me instead, please!" The shadow stopped for the briefest moment, turning to look a the quivering boy that laid trapped under the scorched wood. The way those burning amber orbs gazed at him told that the entity had nothing short of enjoyment at what it was doing.
The entity returned to its slow strut before it came to a stop at where Ruby laid. To Silber, time seemed to slow to a dreadful crawl as the amber-eyed shadow bent down. Its smokey appendage caressed the young team leader's cheek.
Silver eyes shot open as a horrendous shriek escaped Ruby's throat as she, just like the shadow's other victims, started to dissipate in a glare of yellow and orange. Silber watched in pure unadulterated terror as Ruby Rose, his leader and ...sister, disappeared along with his team and Geist. The only thing left from them was blood.
Their blood was so red.
Red like roses was the only thing he could compare it to.
He felt as though every part of his body went numb as a painful howl ripped out from his throat. The world seemed to darken as the burning-eyed shadow stepped over to him till everything was a murky black.
The only source of light, the fiery amber eyes that have been haunting him since that night.
Breaking through the darkness was a voice, more like a dark hiss that sent a cold shiver up his spine.
"You could have saved them."
Silber shot up with a heavy gasp, fumbling out of his hammock. Slamming down onto the wooden floor with a resounding 'thud'. His breath was fast and uneven as he pushed himself against the wall in fright.
The hidden crimsonette pulled his knees to his chest as his lungs worked overtime to suck in air, only to force it back out a half second later. He clung to his legs so hard that his nails almost broke skin. The teen's dark blue orbs darted wildly around the shadow-filled room, while his heart raced not believing that the nightmare was over. Everything felt so real.
The screams. Oh gods, he couldn't erase the sound Ruby's screams from his mind. And those eyes.
Suddenly, a noise pierced through the dark room. An obnoxiously loud snore. His eyes, finally adjusted to the light-less room, searched the room frantically for the noise. They came to a stop on Yang's bunk.
Slowly reaching his feet, Silber saw Yang draped across her bed with her bed sheets haphazardly hanging off the bed, almost falling down onto Blake's bunk while the dark haired beauty slept blissfully unaware of the sheets in her face. Turning around, the Schnee heiress was also bundled up in her bed sheets, her chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. Finally, Silber caught a glimpse of Ruby through a crack in the makeshift curtain that encircled her bed.
On her face, a small smile from an obviously pleasant dream, most likely about an endless amount of cookies all to herself. Finding some reassurance in seeing his teammates peacefully asleep, Silber slunk down against the shelf between the beds, his quaking legs no longer able to hold him up.
He stayed there trying keep himself from crying and waking up the team. He knew he needed to tell them, but a part of him hesitated. How He didn't know what to do, so he just sat there staring at the wall listening to the quiet breathing, or in Yang's case snoring, that somewhat comforted him.
It felt like forever until a sliver of light strayed into the shadowy room. With a weak sniffle, Silber hooked a finger to the curtain peeling it back enough to see the tip of the sun just barely begin to rise from the horizon.
The crimsonette didn't know how long he had sat like that, but what he did know was that it wouldn't be long now till the other members of RWBYS, Blake usually would wake up and he looked too much like a mess to not raise questions. No, what he needed was a nice shower to take his mind off.
Who knows, maybe today would be great day after all.
It had to be.
City of Vale
With the Vytal Festival fast approaching, classes had a small break in-between semesters in preparation for the upcoming festivities including a dance, the festival's renowned tournament, and a cultural showcase that would present the many cultures that dotted the world of Remnant. As such, many students took it as a break to catch up on work for class, train for the tournament, or hang out. Team RWBYS chose the latter.
Weiss lead the team down the street, which was in the process of being decorated. Streamers hung down from windows, balloons were tethered to trees and lampposts. An elderly man hoisted a banner above the street that said "WELCOME TO VALE" in bold red letters.
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss stopped to look at the decorations raising her arms in wonder. Ruby shrugged at the sight.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss." She stated. A quiet mutter soon followed, directed at no one in particular.
"It's kinda weirding me out..."
The Schnee heiress's head whipped around to her partner, a stupefied look on her face.
"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! Dances! Parades! A tournament! The amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" She rhapsodized, as if the only thing she was interested in was the celebration's planning.
"Only you, Weiss. You're the only person I've ever talking about the festivals planning instead of the festival itself." The gray-clad teen jabbed jokingly. Weiss only shot him a dirty a look.
"Quiet, you!" She retorted swiftly, before turning back and walking to the docks. Even before stepping on the years-old wooden planks, the five teens were instantly greeted by the acrid stench of dead fish, and the sight of innumerable boats docking into port, some offloading their cargo, while others had their crews step of the ship. Some wore normal attires fitting for a sailor, while others wore combat gear of various colors and styles, most likely they were hired security to fend off the inevitable encounter with the Grimm.
"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang questioned, annoyed at having to stop here when she could be at a club or getting a good workout in back at Beacon. Ruby pinched her nose in an, albeit futile, attempt to prevent the bile from invading her nostrils anymore than it already did.
"Ugh, they smell like fish!" She groaned as two sailors made their way past them.
"It's the docks, Rubes. Not the bakery two streets over." Silber deadpanned, making her turn to him with a dirty look, but didn't say anything else. "But I'm with Yang on this one. Why are we here? I could be looking at some new mods to put into my gauntlets or back at the weapon lab."
"That's the last place you need to be." Returned the snow-haired teen with a sharp tone. Before Silber could question what she meant, the Schnee continued.
"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom!" Weiss started walking off again.
"She want's to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament" Blake whispered back, with a small smile. Unfortunately, Weiss's keen hearing decided to kick in. The mentioned heiress whipped around with a frown now in-place of the smile that she had not but a moment ago.
"You can't prove that!" She quickly defended.
"Sure..." Silber drawled sarcastically, a short grin on his face. Weiss shot him another dirty glare, but turned around before anything else could be said.
"Whoa"
Ruby had come to a dead stop, and was looking down a street with newly piqued interest. Silber and Yang turned back to see what had grabbed the red-cloaked girl's attention, only to be met with the sight of a vandalized shop. The windows were shattered, it's remnants now littered along the street, with it's previous spot now occupied by several strips of bright yellow caution tape.
The interior wasn't in any better shape either, with shelves were lying on their side with whatever merchandise they held now on the floor. The large glass tubes at the back of the store were bone dry, and the front counter lied in shambles of glass and wood. Whoever did it must have not read the word 'gentle' in the dictionary.
The five teens walked down the street to the ransacked store, where two detectives was scrounging around the scene. Ruby looked up to the bearded one, who was occupied with writing details down on his notepad.
"What happened here?" She asked. The detective looked up from his notepad with an annoyed grimace.
"Robbery. Second Dust shop hit dis' week. Dis place is turnin' into a jungle." He answered, walking over the shards of glass to his partner.
"That's terrible..." Yang sighed.
"Hey, they left all the money again!"
Ruby seemed to find something of note in that statement, as she let a quiet hum escape her throat, as did Silber. They both looked to the two detectives.
"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick. Who needs that much Dust?"
"I dunno. An army?"
"You thinkin' the, uh, the White Fang?"
"Yeah, I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough for this."
Silber's hands started to shake as he started to spiraling, his thoughts returning once more to his uncle. A seemingly inescapable subject for him.
"Hmph!. The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss spat, her nose held up. Blake turned to her, a twinge of anger leaking through her usually calm face.
"What's your problem?" Blake asked angrily. Weiss turned to her.
"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane!"
"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths! They're a collection of misguided Faunus!"
"Misguided!? They want to wipe humankind from the face the of the planet!"
"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a Dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale!" Blake countered angrily, her arms now crossed.
"Hmm.. Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy that Silber and me ran into a few months back… Maybe it was him. What do you think, Silber?" Ruby asked.
"Hmm?" Silber hummed, turning away from the ransacked shop, only to notice that all eyes were on him. "Oh! Uh, yeah, he was kinda into just getting as much dust with as little collateral damage. Maybe after that he switched up tactics to throw of the police?"
Weiss' hard gaze lingered on him for a second, "That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum" Her words only angering the dark-haired beauty, but that didn't seem to faze her as she continued. "Those Faunus only know to lie, cheat, and steal."
Yang, not wanting any further tension to occur, inserted herself into the argument, "That's not necessarily true..."
"Hey, stop that Faunus!"
Whatever argument Weiss and Black want to have would have to wait as the team took off towards the source of the distress, leading them back to the docks, where a pair sailors are trying and failing to catch a blonde monkey Faunus running down the deck of the boat, stopping on the edge.
"Thanks for the ride, guys! Haha!" He laughed as he leaped down to the dock and took off once again.
"You no-good stowaway!" One of the sailors yelled after him.
"Hey! A no-good stowaway would have been caught! I am a great stowaway!" He shot back as he peeled banana while hanging down from a lamppost by his tail. Just before he would take a bite of his snack, a stone whizzes by his head.
"Hey! Get down from there this instant!" called one of the detectives from the Dust shop crime scenes, irritated that just as he was gonna be off duty, some punk kid just had to cause trouble. The kid seemed to think on his request before quickly giving his answer.
A banana peel to the face.
It didn't take long for the Faunus to resume his escape, passing by four colorful teens and an amber-eyed beauty with a peculiar-looking bow. Giving her a wink, he dashed off behind a corner with his pursuers not far away.
"Well, Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes..." Yang broke the short silence.
"Quick! We have to observe him!" Weiss called, already trying to follow after the blonde.
The RWY of RWBYS gave chase without a second thought given, Silber followed until he realized they were missing one. Looking back, Blake hadn't moved a step, something clearly taking her out of reality.
"Hey, uhh… Remnant to Blake, you ok?" Whatever she had on her mind was gone for the moment, as she was now focused on him.
"Yeah." She said curtly, joining the silvette in catching up to their teammates. Weiss, still in the lead, turns the corner ramming right into something and let out a yelp as she fell down with it. Whipping her head around in search of her quarry, the Schnee heir soon realized that her fumbling let the Faunus escape.
"No, he got away!"
"Uhh… Weiss?" Looking to Yang, she saw her pointing strangely at what she was sitting on. Looking down, Weiss realized that she wasn't sitting on something. She was sitting on someone, a red-haired girl with freckles that dotted under her green eyes, who was smiling widely even as she laid on the ground.
Startled by the sight, Weiss leapt to her feet like a cat dropped into cold water, while the girl still laid on the brick road.
"Sal-u-ta-tions!" She greeted happily, not the least bit upset about being ran into.
"Um… hello." Ruby replied awkwardly, not really knowing what else to say.
"Are you… okay?" Yang questioned next.
"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking" came the downed girl's answer quickly.
"Are you sure?" Came Silber's question.
"Certainly!" The freckled girl assured.
The five teammates all shared bewildered looks with one another before Yang decided to address what they all thought, "Do you… wanna get up?"
The girl seem to think on that for a moment before coming to her conclusion, "Yes!" and with that she leapt up effortlessly making the first year team take a step back as she returned her look to them."My name is Penny! Its a pleasure to meet you all!"
"Hi Penny. I'm Ruby." The team leader introduced herself.
"I'm Weiss."
"Blake."
"Silber." Waved the only guy on the team.
"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?" Yang asked, receiving a smack in the side from her partner. "Oh, I'm Yang."
The green clad girl's already big smile grew even bigger, "It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
"You've already said that." Stated Weiss, giving the girl weird look.
The statement seemed to make Penny pause for a brief second to process what the heiress said, responding with a brief but still cheerful, "So I did!"
"Well," Weiss started, turning to walk away along with the rest of team RWBYS. "Sorry for running into you!"
Ruby and Silber gave a short wave to the freckle faced girl, "Take care, friend!"
Yang couldn't wait more than a couple yards to break the silence from the awkward meeting, "She was...weird..."
"Now, where did that Faunus riff-raff run off to?" Weiss didn't entertain the comment, focusing on her previous objective, earning her another sharp glare from Blake that went unnoticed by the heiress.
"What did you call me?"
Weiss turned for Penny to be within inches of her face, making her jump back nearly bumping into Yang in the process. Flabbergasted, her mouth hung open as she looked back and forth trying to understand how the ginger haired girl could have appeared in front of them so fast. Yang recovering before her teammate, rushed out an apology, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"
"No, not you." Penny responded with a serious look in her eyes, walking through the group to reach the youngest members of the group. "You! Both of you!"
Ruby and Silber looked between each other and the girl frantically, with the red hooded girl being the first between them to respond, "Us? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh-"
"You called me 'friend'!" Penny accused, looking between the both of them. "Am I really a friend to both of you?
"Uuuuh..." Silber started after looking over to Ruby, returning his gaze to Penny. Behind her; Weiss, Blake, and Yang were over her shoulder, making sure to stay out of her line of sight, shaking their heads and signaling with their hands to tell her no. "T-Totally, sure! Why not?"
The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself. A triumphant laughed escaped from Penny's lips as she threw her arms into the air, causing the three fall flat on their butts with a gasp at their failed efforts.
"SENSATIONAL! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys, Ruby! And Silber, we can go the theater, and go out to lunch, and walk each other back to our respective dwellings." Penny continued to list out friend activities, Ruby leaned over to her freshly recovered partner as she dusted off her skirt, letting out a low groan of realization. "Is this what it was like when you first met me?"
"No, she seems far more coordinated."
"So..," Yang began, getting the overjoyed girl's attention, giving Silber a respite from the girl's barrage of words. "What are you up to in Vale?"
"I'm here to participate in the tournament."
"Wait," Weiss interrupted. "You're fighting in the tournament?"
Penny responded with a nod and firm salute, "I'm combat ready!"
"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss responded.
"Says the girl wearing a dress." Blake broke her silence, earning her a glare from the heiress of the SDC.
"Excuse me," Weiss crossed her arms. "It's a combat skirt!"
"Yeah!" Ruby chimed in, sliding over to the older girl as she held her hand out, giving it a low-five with a resounding smack.
"Wait a minute." Weiss called out in realization, taking Penny's shoulders in her hands. "If you're here for the tournament, does mean you might that monkey tailed rapscallion?"
"The...who?" Penny questioned before Weiss shoved a hastily drawn picture of the blonde faunus in her face before an exasperated gasp escaped her lips. "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"
"Why do you keep saying that!" Blake raised her voice, pulling Weiss' attention to her.
"Huh?
"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate!" Blake demanded, her amber eyes shooting a harsh glare at the snowy haired girl. Weiss met her burning glare with one of her own, releasing Penny. "Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like for me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or that lamppost as a lamppost?"
"Stop it!"
"Stop what? He clearly broke the law." Weiss pointed matter-of-factually. "Give him time; he'll probably join with those other Faunus hooligans in the White Fang before long!"
Clenching her fist in a tight ball before turning to walk away, Blake growled, "You ignorant little brat!"
"How dare you talk to me like that!" Weiss followed, her voice raised with no sign of calming down. "I am your teammate!"
"You are a judgmental little girl.
"What makes you say that?!"
"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you accuse him of being!" Blake responded heatedly with no signs of letting up.
The Sun soon turned a vibrant orange signaling dusk's approach, as the bickering between the continued as they made their way down the street, Yang slid up to Ruby and Silber, an uncomfortable look on their faces at their two teammates arguing. "Um, I think we should probably go..."
"Where are we going?" Penny asked excitedly, even through all the arguing her smile never completely left her face.
"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorist and killers!"
"That's not what I meant Weiss, and you know it!"
"Uh… We're probably going to head back to Beacon. I have a feeling that they won't be done for a while." Silber responded as he, Ruby and Yang made their way to catching up their teammates.
"Oh, Ok. Goodbye, friends Ruby and Silber!" Penny waved them off with a cheerful smile.
Taking in a deep breath, Silber turned to his remaining teammates, "Hey, Ruby. Do you think after we get back to Beacon and Weiss and Blake calm down, that I could talk to you and Yang about something."
The sisters share a look between them, before Ruby's silver eyes land back on him. "Sure, anything in particular you want to talk about?"
"Just," The boy hesitated under their gaze for a brief second. "Something I've been thinking about."
Beacon Dorms
Before long, day had found itself turned to night and the soft green glow of Beacon's tower illuminated the campus. And though the night itself was as calm as one could wish it to be, the dorm room of team RWBYS was anything but. The argument that was started in downtown Vale between Blake and Weiss had not only continued after reaching Beacon, but grew worse as they sat on their respective beds arguing back and forth. All while their teammates watched on in awkward silence, finding no real place to jump in and stop them.
"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem?!" Weiss countered as she sat down on the bed opposing Blake, her cold glare not diminishing in the slightest.
"And that is the problem!" Blake returned, her amber eyes burning to match the snow haired girl across from her.
"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you?" Weiss asked, rising to her feet, her voice rising to meet her actions. "The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"
Blake rose to meet her, "There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!"
"Alright, why don't w-"
"Keep out of this, you." Weiss coldly interrupted the boy before his sentence could be finished, leaving no room for reply. "And what do you mean people like me?"
"You're discriminatory!" Blake accused harshly.
"I'm a victim!" Weiss snapped, her stare not breaking as she leaned closer to Blake as her voice lowered, "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus?"
Breaking the stare off, Weiss stepped over to the bookshelf by the wind, leaning on it as she looked off outside over the courtyard, the starry sky being encroached by clouds on the horizon.
"It's because they've been at war with my family for years now. War, as in actual blood shed. My grandfathers company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched as family friends disappear; board members execute; an entire train car full of Dust stolen. And every day, my father would come home furious. And that combined together made for a very difficult childhood."
Her pale fist banged against the desk as silver eyes softened towards her, a comforting hand reached out from Ruby, "Weiss, I-"
"No!" Weiss jerked away from her, stomping towards the dark haired girl. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves , and murderers!"
Blake's hand balled up into a fist as her face grew red and her voiced raised, "Well maybe we were just tired being pushed around!"
The silence that followed was stunning as it could have been broken by a pin drop. Weiss' legs stuttered back away from the now revealed Faunus. Blake eyes dashed to her other teammates finding similar shocked looks on their faces.
"I...I.." Blake tried and failed to stutter out, her bow seemingly drooping down as she did, before dashing out of the room without further explanation.
"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby hollered after her, shooting across the room to door frame after the Faunus girl, only to find when she made it out to the hallway that she was nowhere to be found. Yang set herself down on the bed, the event clearly taking its toll on her as a dejected look found its way on her face.
"Weiss, what the heck?" Silber broke the uncomfortable silence.
Weiss looked up from her hands, her ice blue eyes focusing on the boy, "What? You heard her. She admitted to being a member of the White Fang!"
"No!" Silber wasn't accepting her answer. "You pushed her into saying something she wasn't ready to say."
"Guys, please don't start arguing again." Ruby pleaded."
"Yeah, hows about we take five from the shouting match?" Yang suggested, backing up her sister. She rose to her feet, her lilac eyes lowering to look at Silber. "Wasn't there something you wanted to talk about with Ruby and me?"
A conflicted look struck across the beanie wearing boy's face, looking away his was low. "No, not after all that."
"What?" Ruby questioned before Weiss let out a snort.
" That's typical for you to say."
"What?" Silber's voice broke as he turned to the ice queen, who's gaze only seem to grow colder the longer she looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?'
"What I mean is that for that for the past two months, you have been the single most untrustworthy member of this team." Weiss accused with a pointed look before continuing on. "You love to talk circles around everyone else with your jokes, until someone starts to mentions your activities in Vale before coming to Beacon. Seemingly, the only that can make you be quiet, add that with you spacing out in class like you're not even there, staying up for brothers know how long every night, whether it be in the weapons hall or shuffling about the bathroom."
"You don't know anything about me, Weiss"
"And don't you think that's the problem? We saw what Blake was keeping from us and she wasn't even trying. With you, its like that's all you do, so the question remains what are you hiding.
"Weiss, I think that's enough." Yang stepped in once again, attempting stop it from escalating.
"No, Yang. It's not. I know you've caught the looks he's given you and Ruby. I've noticed them since the night before initiation." Weiss pointed out to the sisters, Silber's shoulder tensed before his feet moved for him.
"That's it. I'm not doing this anymore tonight, I'm gonna see if I can't crash with JNPR for the night." The boy turned his back to the heiress, infuriating her even further. "Don't turn your back on me, we're not done here!"
Weiss' hand shot out snagging the boys beanie when he reached down to grab his bag. Silber felt it the second she did, the deep crimson hair he hid beneath the hat now in his eyes and whatever Weiss was going to say before was now dead in her throat as silence returned to the room.
Slowly raising up with the bag in his hand, the boy looked at his remaining teammates despite the fear that was already rising in his chest. The looks on their faces were all he needed to see, Weiss had dropped the hat in shock, while Yang had a hand on Ruby's shoulder gently trying to put herself in front of the younger girl. All the while her silver eyes never left the boy standing by the window, taking in his features with his now revealed crimson hair. So dark at the roots, it could almost be mistaken for black.
But Ruby as naive as she was knew better than to think that. Because it was the same mistake that people made about her hair.
"Silber..." Ruby started quietly, moving closer.
Silber's mouth gaped open, as a million thoughts panicked about in his head, trying to say something, anything to explain himself. He remembered practicing what he would say for this very moment, but now that it was here and he was speechless. The air in his lungs seemed to last shorter and shorter with every breath and the temperature in the room seemed to climb higher by second.
He couldn't tell if the wetness on his cheek was sweat or tears and before he knew it, the wind was rushing past his ear as he jumped out the window, bag in tow, drowning out Ruby's voice as she called out to him to come back but remained unanswered.
Beacon Courtyard
Blake stood in front of the statue that stood in the middle of the courtyard, her signature bow removed, revealing a pair of feline ears atop her head.. The Moon and light post highlighting the statue as she gazed lingered on it. It featured a huntsman and huntress standing on an outcropping, but they weren't the subject of her scrutiny, the stone beowolf that lied beneath them did.
She was striving to become a huntress, to be a defender of Humanity and Faunus alike, but if Faunus were considered to be freaks and monsters then what did that make her? She thought desperately of anyway to make sense out of all of it. The pain that Humanity forced on the Faunus and how the White Fang only furthered that pain through its violent campaigns towards its vision of a peaceful world. Nothing comforted her, only pushed her further to the verge of crying.
"I knew you'd look better without the bow." A voice above pulling her from the pit of her thoughts.
Looking up, her amber eyes fell onto the initial subject of her and Weiss' explosive argument. The blonde Faunus boy from the boat hung upside down from his tail.
Before another word could be said between them a boom rumble through the campus as a gray object streaked across the courtyard, heading towards Vale followed by another rumble.
"What in the brothers was that?" Asked the boy, flipping down from the post to his feet.
Blake knew immediately what made the noise and it made her already anxious heart beat faster as she thought on it, his name slipping past her lips. "Silber."
AN- Welp, both cats are out of the bag! If you liked Chapter 7 and the story so far please leave a review and hit the follow and Favorite buttons to stay updated on the story and there while definitely be more updates. Thanks for reading! PEACE ~ DEVA