Break
Weiss groaned quietly as she was torn from her restless sleep by another wave of shivering aches.
She had lost count of how many times it had happened throughout the night; it had certainly been frequent enough to prevent her from getting any meaningful sleep at the very least. The unrelenting pain from her side only further exacerbated the issue, forcing her to do nothing but curl up on her good side, pull the blankets tight, and wait for the worst to pass. At the rate she was going, it would be a miracle if she even managed to crawl out of-
As if on queue, her scroll began to quietly chime, prompting a resigned sigh as she blindly reached out to silence the alarm before cracking an eye open to glance at the time: 6am. Wonderful. Unless she wanted to face the barrage of questions her teammates were sure to ask about last night's events, she would have to force herself out of bed and face the day…
Her entire body protested as she sat up; her arms and legs felt as if they were about to give out at any moment as she carefully rolled out of sweat soaked bed sheets and stumbled across the room to the cold tile of the bathroom. Exhaustion and feverish heat left her lightheaded and winded by the time she finally stepped through the doorway and flicked the light on.
Weiss' eyes slammed shut as the bright light stabbed at them, forcing her to raise a hand to shield them before she slowly pried them open and forced herself to look in the mirror, examining the absolute mess of a woman looking back at her. Flushed cheeks, clammy skin, and sweat-soaked bangs plastered to her face mixed almost perfectly with a rumpled jacket and skirt. Her jacket just barely hung onto her shoulders exposing her pale under shirt so suffused with sweat that it clung to her form, enough that she could even see the outline of her harness through the thin fabric.
"Wunderbar," Weiss breathed through parched lips, as she closed the door, and shambled to the sink, immediately turning it on cold. "Einfach wunderbar…"
Even her words felt sluggish, like each one was trudging through a blizzard just to be heard, and splashing cold water onto her face did little to help any of that. The residual droplets slowly rolled off her as she rested her hands on the edge of the sink and leaned forwards until her head pressed up against the mirror.
It really was just her luck. A fever to go along with the dull ache of her wings and side, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what was making her feel so sick. The wound itself almost seemed to mock her with each passing moment, throbbing in time with her heartbeat as she struggled to catch her breath.
The situation was decidedly bad, but she would need to get a better look at the wound to know just how bad. Which meant she had to get her harness off…
Weiss let out a resigned sigh before she pushed away from the sink, wasting no time in shrugging her jacket completely off before getting to work finding, and unclipping the infernal series of straps that made up her harness. Pain rippled out from her side as she stretched to reach some of the clips under the shirt, leaving her weak-kneed and whimpering from the effort until she finally abandoned any attempts at modesty, and all but ripped the whole ensemble off, clips and all.
Frustration helped her push past the pain the harsh movements elicited, the harness dropping to the ground as she peeled off her soaked undershirt, finally revealing the gauze underneath, soaked through with a sickening purple.
Dread gripped Weiss' mind as she tore away the bandages, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood in a vain attempt to keep the muffled cries at bay as each layer she removed revealed yet more purple-soaked gauze. When she finally peeled away the final stretch of cloth, the source of the sickly sweet scent became abundantly clear. Weiss' breath caught in her throat as she stared at the thick patch of purple spreading across her stomach from the reopened stab wound.
"Scheisse…" Weiss swore under her breath as her hand ghosted over the area. The wound was almost hot to the touch, and as one of her fingers brushed against it, she grit her teeth flinched away as a burning pain surged from the wound. "Scheisse, scheisse, verdammt… What is this?"
The question remained predictably unanswered as she racked her lethargic mind for anything that could be done. However, with each option she considered and promptly discarded, panic set in more and more.
What was even going on?! She should have had at least a bit more time before an infection set in- Yes, her aura had always been slower at healing than Winter's, but this was far too extreme! Hell, it was as if her aura hadn't done anything at all! It made no sense!
A shiver racked her body as she leaned against the sink to support herself, glaring at the wound with enough frustration to re-cauterize it several times over. Everything was falling apart… God, why now!? She was only three months away from the end of this madness! This was insane-
A sharp pain cut through her rising panic as Weiss raised a hand and struck her cheek with enough force to leave it red.
There was no need to panic. Not yet. She would be fine. She had figured things out last night, and this was hardly the first time things had nearly fallen apart. She just had to pull herself together, grit her teeth, and face the day as she had always done before. She would figure out a solution. She would make it through the next three months. She would last. She had to. She couldn't just give up. Not after everything she'd gone through.
With a glance at her scroll to remind herself of the time, Weiss turned the shower on cold and began readying herself for the day. She didn't have time for this. This… weakness.
Once the water was running, she stepped in, gritting her teeth in an attempt to keep her volume under control as the icy water made contact with her fevered skin. The cold shock was decidedly unpleasant, but compared to last night it was almost laughable.
She grabbed the washcloth and soap, methodically scrubbing away all the fever sweat and grime she could find, before allowing herself to exit the shower and towel off. More purple liquid clung to the towel as she dabbed at the wound, prompting her to pull the medical kit closer to redress the wound. When the cut of gauze she'd prepared fell from her shaking hands, Weiss clenched her teeth and glared at the slip of fabric before retrieving it from the floor with a tighter grip.
"Verdammt nochmal," Weiss ground out, disposing of the soiled bandage and fishing out another cut along with disinfectant from the medical bag. Weiss choked back a frustrated growl as the shaking forced her to readjust and tighten her grip on the bottle.
Despite her apparent lack of fine motor control, the cold shower at least had her thinking coherently enough to form some measure of a plan. Though even calling it a plan was a bit much. All it came down to was somehow getting antibiotics or something to help-
Weiss sucked in a sharp breath as she pressed the soaked gauze to her wound and the disinfectant began to burn. It was substantially worse than the night before, and bubbled twice as much, but even more concerning was how quickly it stopped. Within a few scant seconds the burning sensation lost amidst the fever aches and familiar burning of her unbound wings, leaving the wound looking hardly any different.
Anger flared deep in her chest as she stood and grabbed the useless bottle, ready to pitch it across the bathroom until she caught a glimpse of her wild eyes and angry snarl in the mirror. She looked like- like an animal.
Immediately, she forced down her emotions, schooled her expression once more, and placed the bottle down on the counter. She could practically hear her fathers voice echoing in her mind as she stared anywhere but the mirror.
"I'm trying…" Weiss whispered to the empty room, her head pounding. "I just… I need just a little more time. That's all."
Nobody responded. She didn't need them to. The obvious answer already rang crystal clear in her head.
"Trying is meaningless."
"I'll figure it out. I always do."
"Every second you waste 'figuring it out' is another second-."
Weiss' eyes snapped to the doorway as a series of sharp knocks cut through her mind's haze.
"Weiss? You ok in there?"
Despite the wall separating them, Yang's voice grated on her eardrums. Of course she had taken too long. God help her should she do anything right. Now her teammates were awake and ready to add yet another obstacle in her improvised plan.
"Yes! Sorry! I'll be out in a minute!" Weiss shouted back as she snatched up the medical kit and hastily re-bandaged the wound before frantically throwing her harness and dirty uniform back on ending what little comfort she had garnered from her shower.
Did she even have classes today? It didn't matter. After last night, the likelihood that they'd be required to go to classes was practically nonexistant. Ruby would likely know. She could be reliable like that, even if she was oftentimes rather scatterbrained.
With a deep breath, she pulled her jacket on and exited the bathroom with her head held high. Immediately, her teammates glanced up at her with apprehensive looks, a feeling Weiss quickly mirrored as she noticed Yang conveniently positioned to block the doorway from the room. Almost as if she were expecting her to try and run…
Weiss crossed her arms, and shoved down the sick feeling in her stomach. "Well? Make it quick. I have things to do today."
All three of them shared a brief look before Ruby nodded to Blake.
The blood drained from Weiss' face as Blake pulled out a very familiar looking bag from under her bed.
"We talked," Blake said, her gaze cutting into Weiss. "If I had things my way, I'd have already spoken to Ozpin about this, but Ruby and Yang convinced me that we should at least hear you out first."
"I told you. I sustained some minor injuries-"
Weiss barely even got the words out before Blake was right in front of her, glaring at her with an intensity that was beyond unsettling. As she shifted back a small step, Blake growled out, "Stop. I am so sick of hearing your lies, over and over. I could hear you in the bathroom just now Weiss. You're not ok."
Weiss could feel the panic rising as she glanced towards the doorway, only for Yang to lock eyes with her and lean back against the door with her arms crossed.
"No more running," Yang stated firmly, shaking her head. "Ruby thinks you're hurt. Blake thinks you're hiding something. Given what's in that bag, I'm starting to agree with both of them."
"I am not hiding-"
"I know what Adam's like, Weiss!" Blake shouted before taking a deep breath and gripping a spot on her waist. "I know better than anyone what he's capable of. Even if we were all there, he would have cut down every one of us without even trying!"
Weiss wanted to refute her, but the desperation in Blake's voice made it… difficult.
"Please, just talk to us Weiss," Ruby pleaded. "What's going on? Are you hurt? Did something happen after the attack?"
"Of course not," Weiss scoffed as she flipped her braid to buy herself time to process the accusations. "You're all being ridiculous. I'm fine, just a little tired is all. Besides, why would I keep something from Ozpin and Ironwood?"
"Because you're more scared of your dad than either of them."
Weiss' eyes snapped wide open as she tried to take another step back, only for her back to hit the wall, jarring her thoughts even more as her wings cried out in protest. "How could you possibly – that – That's utterly ridiculous!"
"I've heard the way he talks to you Weiss," Blake spat back, matching Weiss' icy glare. "I know what that's like. That desire to please, to help. I'd be willing to bet that if he asked you to jump off the CCT tower, you'd ask where he wanted you to land."
"That- That's not-," Weiss could hear the stutter in her voice, the way it cracked as she lied through her teeth, and that, more than anything else, worried her. "He provides me with everything Blake! Lien, schooling, a… a home. Of course I want to help him in any way I can!"
"Even if it makes you miserable, right?" Yang's lilac eyes were so unashamed in their display of pity it made Weiss' stomach churn.
"I'm fine Yang. Now can you all please stop this? I have business to take care of today," Weiss said, glancing around the room with what she hoped was a convincing scowl.
"Weiss…" For the first time, Ruby spoke up and met Weiss' gaze with a quiet and determined yet sympathetic look. "I know you probably think we don't really care, but we do. We're supposed to be teammates, and teammates don't let their friends suffer like this."
Weiss took advantage of Ruby's unintentional distraction to slip away from the wall and Blake, striding further into the room as she spoke. "So… What? You don't think I can take care of myself? Little wonder where Penny got that idea from. Well, allow me to set the record straight. You don't get to decide what's best for me Ruby! Being made 'team leader' doesn't make you responsible for managing my life. None of you have any idea what's really going on, and even if you did, you wouldn't be able to do a thing about it! So kindly back off!"
"So something is going on."
Weiss snapped around to Yang. "I said I'm fine. Nothing happened that I can't handle."
"Like when your dad found out about your whole 'academic leader' thing?" Yang retorted. "I told you, you can trust us Weiss. No matter what."
Weiss' shoulders drooped but she stood firm, gritting her teeth as the small measure of control she had scraped together was torn out from under her.
Blake stalked from the wall towards her, eyes narrowed as her eyes darted over Weiss, as though she were searching for something. "No. If this was as simple as her dad being angry at her, I wouldn't have found that bag. This is… different."
Weiss stepped back towards the main door, desperately racking her mind for a rebuttal, only to feel a light pressure on her shoulder. She whirled around, throwing aside Yang's arm and forcing her to suppress a pained hiss as the harness pulled at the wound again.
"You can't keep me here! Let me out! Now!" Weiss roared as she frantically whipped her gaze around the room to each of her teammates, only to find Ruby and Blake stepping closer than they were before.
"Weiss, please," Ruby pleaded, breaking the silence as she reached a hand out. "Just let us help you."
"I can't!" Weiss' own hand shot out, slapping the offered hand as she stumbled away from them, and back towards the bathroom. Her left hand roughly tangled in her own hair to keep it from shaking too much. "Just leave me alone!"
"Weiss please -"
"NO!" Weiss barked as she swung around, stumbling slightly as she fixed an icy glare on all three of them. "You all seem to think you know what's best for me without knowing anything at all! I told you! I. Don't. Want. Your. Help! Why can't you all just leave me be!?"
"Because you're clearly in way over your head! Instead of handling this like an adult, you won't tell anybody what's going on, you antagonize people who are trying to help, and now you just keep lashing out at everybody around you!" Blake exploded as she stomped harshly up to Weiss with anger burning in her eyes, her arms raised.
She'd lost control of her temper. Again.
Weiss tucked into herself, making herself as small as possible as she prepared for Blake to strike her. With any luck, Blake would freeze up again too.
A stuffy silence hung heavily in the air as she waited. Her hands shook, her eyes clamped shut and she grit her teeth, but the strike never came. She could still feel Blake looming over her, though. Slowly, Weiss opened her eyes again, only to be assaulted by the sight of not anger, but pity on Blake's face.
After what felt like an eternity of tense silence, Ruby's exhausted voice finally broke the stalemate. "What's going on Weiss?"
"Yah, no offense, but this seems kinda excessive," Yang said, nodding her head at the bag. "Granted you haven't exactly been the best at taking care of yourself since- well ever… but still."
"Typical," Weiss spat back, her eyes unfocused, her thoughts verging on animalistic. "Such caring teammates. Please. Continue to tell me what is best for me."
"Yah, you said that earlier," Yang retorted as she moved from the door to stand alongside her sister and partner, opening her arms to gesture to them. "We're not asking for you to tell us your life story Weiss. We just want you to let us help where we can."
Weiss shook her head as she stumbled back from them, only to hit Blake's bunk. Her hands shot back to catch herself on the bunk's footboard and she gasped sharply as her wound screamed at her. She really didn't want to deal with this anymore; her head was spinning and her fever was only getting worse by the minute. She needed to find some medicine to deal with this immediately, or the everything - everything - she'd done up until now would be for naught. All because stupid, caring teammates couldn't take "no" for an–
Her eyes went wide as the reality of the situation set in.
It was too late. Even if she got something to help, they would never let up, not now that they knew she was hiding something. They would never give her a moment's rest. Perhaps they would even inform Ozpin or Ironwood about the situation, force her to reveal her heritage to them and then the rest of the world-
Her vision blurred at the edges as fear clawed mercilessly at her mind.
"...nonononononono…"
The words came out in a single flow. Weiss clutched her head so hard that her nails dug grooves into her scalp as she spiraled further and further into mindless panic. Her knees colliding into the wooded floor did nothing to snap her out of it. Her mind would not – could not stop. She could hear the others' voices, but they sounded miles away. Water felt like it was filling her lungs, choking the life out of her one strained breath at a time–
A hand came to rest her back.
With a pained yelp Weiss threw herself between the beds, slamming into the small makeshift bookshelf, knocking a few of them to the floor as she scrambled into the corner and curled into herself. Her body protested the sudden movements, but her panicked instincts were so much stronger. They drove her away, left her wet-eyed and glaring when Yang dared to reach for her again…
…Only to hastily pull back with pity in her eyes.
Weiss choked down a sob and ground her eyes into her knees, whimpering in disgust. Weiss Schnee, pitied by a former terrorist and a couple of low-class fools. She really was a disgrace to the Schnee name. A filthy, feral Faunus, cornered with nowhere to go. Just like her father had always said–
Darkness pooled over her as heavy red fabric settled on her shoulders.
Panicked eyes met silver as Ruby covered her in her cloak, slowly pushing Yang away as her gaze softened more and more, crouching down to get more on Weiss' level.
"It's just me. Everything's going to be okay. Okay?"
No. It wasn't ok. It would never be ok. They were going to find out and tell everyone and then her future was over. There was nothing she could-
Slowly, Ruby lowered herself onto the floor beside her, speaking in calm, soft tones. "It'll be okay. Just try and focus on my breathing."
The bindings kept her from ever truly keeping pace with Ruby's breathing. Her breaths were more stilted gasps than anything, but she held onto the rhythm like a life preserver regardless as she fought back against the panic gripping her.
What was she doing!? This unsightly display was unacceptable! She had to get herself back under control! She had fought through sickness before. She could do it again. Even now, backed into a corner. She could salvage this. She just needed to try harder. Push them away-
Weiss slumped back against the wall with a small whimper as her wings and wound both throbbed in sync. Everything was too much. Her body ached as her muscles tenses and seized, her hands shook as she gripped her hair tighter and tighter, and her skin burned…
She let out a shuddering breath as she dropped her head to her knees; fatigue and fever weighed her down more and more with each passing moment. She couldn't even convince herself to try. She didn't want to try. She didn't want to push them away, even though everything her life had taught her demanded it as a necessity.
Weiss brushed aside the foolish thoughts as her eyes frantically flicked around the room, taking it all in. If she couldn't push them away, then there was only one option. She had to leave Beacon. Go back to the manor.
She didn't want to, but then it didn't matter what she wanted. It was the only way to keep this secret. No one could know the truth, or her chance at making a difference, a real difference was over. Father had been right all along- She should have just stayed at the manor. The manor had been safe. Safe and cold, and lonely and, and…
Her gaze landed on her desk's pen holder, and the single white feather that still sat in it.
She could still vividly remember how Ruby's face had lit up as she theorized about the beautiful bird the feather belonged to. The way Blake had smirked as they swapped secrets from their pasts. How Yang beamed when she let her brush her hair…
She wanted…
More of that.
Weiss took a shaky breath and slowly rose to her feet, red fabric pooling at her feet as she let Ruby's cloak fall away. The familiar pull that dragged her to the rooftops, and begged her to feel wind beneath her wings gently nudging at the edges of her frantic mind.
"Weiss?" Ruby asked as she hesitantly glanced over her shoulder at Blake and Yang, the two both now watching intently. "You, uh, feeling a little better?"
"No," Weiss whispered as she clasped her shaking hands together. "I… don't want to go back."
"Uh," Ruby nervously squeaked as she shared a quick glance with her sister, scratching the back of her head as she turned back. "I'm not sure I understand Weiss."
"I know you don't," Weiss croaked as she continued to spiral down the fevered pitch, the edges of her vision blurring slightly. "None of you do."
"We're trying," one of them - Yang? - said. She could barely hear them through the torrent of emotions that cascaded through her mind…
"I know," Weiss swallowed, her throat almost numb, her face no doubt flushed from sickness and emotion as she struggled to slowly peeled off her jacket, locking eyes with her teammates one by one as she continued saying, "but after this, my life will be in your hands as much as my-"
Unbidden, the warning her father had repeated again and again rang through her mind. "If you tell anyone, some day, the media will find out, and the Schnee name will be run into the mud. Perhaps you can scrape by working in the mines."
Weiss paused just as the jacket began to slide from her shoulders. Her vision pulsed inward as she stood quietly, poised on the edge of what she could only describe as insanity.
Jacques' warning screamed louder and louder but one by one, her fingers let the garment slip away.
The soft thud of the jacket hitting the ground sent her heart rate through the roof. Sweat beaded on her brow as she looked up and took in the confused and muddled expressions across her whole team before slowly turning and exposing the side of her left wing.
She kept her eyes fixed on the three girls, searing every minute change in their expressions into her memory. The way Blake's brow furrowed for a single moment before her pupils went wide. How Ruby's soft smile gave way to a shock, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Yang's supportive grin morphing into a horrified gasp as she glanced over to Ruby and Blake, gesturing at Weiss as she spoke.
…
Yang was supposed to be speaking… Her mouth was moving but the words- they sounded strange- like a mess of random sounds that didn't even seem to register.
"Wha-" Weiss began just as the edges of her vision pulsed black and the world spun out of control as her legs gave out.
"Weiss?" Ruby's confused voice was the last thing she heard before darkness fully took her.
"Weiss!"
Ruby's eyes went wide as Weiss collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
"Weiss!" Ruby shot forward in an explosion of petals with a hoarse yell before reforming just in time to catch her partner before she hit the ground, slowly lowering the two of them to the ground and laying Weiss' head to rest in her lap.
Before Ruby could say anything, Yang was beside her resting the back of her hand on Weiss' forehead.
Yang shook her head slowly as she said, "She's burning up. Her breathing sounds pretty shallow too... She's really sick, guys."
"No wonder she looked so pale," Ruby said, frowning as she tried her best to focus on Weiss, and not the… the wings… that she could feel jutting into her legs.
"Soooo," Yang drawled as she pulled her hand back and awkwardly glanced between Weiss and Blake. "She's, uh-"
"Clearly not ok," Ruby cut in as she grabbed Weiss' discarded jacket and folded it into a makeshift pillow. "We can talk once she's better."
"Right. Medical before personal," Yang said as she leaned back. "Ok… Ignoring the Rement shattering revelation-"
"Yang!" Ruby snapped as she switched out her lap for the makeshift pillow. A spike of panic surged through her as she glanced down at Weiss' shirt and spotted a growing dark patch under one of her harness straps. "Blake! Get the kit! She's bleeding!"
She only got a breathless heave in response. Ruby glanced up to see her teammate edging away, her eyes locked on to Weiss' back.
"No," Blake stammered practically shivering as she hugged herself. "I – This – This can't – This is some sort of sick joke, right?"
"Blake!" Yang snapped, glaring at her partner.
Blake froze. Her gaze darted between the sisters, confusion and fear swirling in her wide eyes as she leaped back leaving a shadow in her wake to launch herself toward the hallway door — only to skid to a halt as Ruby appeared in front of her in a storm of rose petals.
"Blake! What are you doing?" Ruby pleaded as Blake's panicked eyes flicked between her and Weiss. "Weiss is hurt! She's-"
"She's not human!" Blake hissed before shaking her head and wrapping her arms around herself again. "You saw the – she… She's a Faunus! Weiss is – Weiss hates the Faunus, Ruby! How can she-"
Ruby gripped Blake by the shoulders and looked her hard in the eye. "Blake! I know this is a big surprise - I understand - but we've got to focus right now. Weiss is hurt."
"But-"
"Later!" Ruby cut in, pointing at the bloody patch on Weiss' side. "We can figure this out when Weiss is better!"
For a brief moment, Blake seemed torn before she finally gave Ruby a small nod and rushed to the bathroom. Ruby let out a relieved sigh and returned to Weiss' side before sucking in a sharp breath. The bloody patch had already grown to the size of her fist.
She and Yang jumped as Blake dropped the medical bag beside them and knelt down, tearing their attention away from the injury. "I don't think last night was the only time she's done something like this."
"Well let's just hope it's better than it looks then," Ruby said.
"Wouldn't be Weiss if it was though," Yang chuckled as she scratched the back of her head.
"Of course," Blake muttered as she pulled at the strap of the strange harness that cut over the dark splotch on Weiss' side. "This thing needs to go."
"Got it," Yang grunted as she traced along the leather straps until she arrived at a pair of clips on the front that held the bindings in place. With a quick twist of the wrist, she unlatched the straps before glancing at Ruby. "Could you hold her up for a moment, Rubes?"
"Already on it," Ruby said as she took a place opposite her sister before slipping her hands beneath Weiss and lifting her into a sitting position. She couldn't restrain a shocked gasp when she finally got her first look at Weiss' wings. They had to be wings, but between the scarce feathers, taught muscle and the lines of skin that had clearly been rubbed raw by the harness, it was… difficult to tell. They were so thin and bony. If they were even half as hurt as they looked…
Ruby swallowed the knot in her throat as she reached out to brush at the edge of one of the featherless wings, only to flinch back as it stiffened under her touch. "This must be how she's been keeping this from everyone…"
"Medical first, Rubes," Yang said as she snapped open a second pair of clips at Weiss' shoulders, allowing the side straps of the harness to slide free. The instant it was loose, every ounce of tension in Weiss' body seemed to rush out of her, leaving her breathing noticeably less shallow as Yang yanked off the harness.
"You might want to lay her down for this Ruby."
"Gotcha." Ruby said as she glanced in Blake's direction as she spoke, noting the medical kit already sorted beside her, gauze strips and disinfectant at the ready.
Once she had set Weiss back on the ground, she rolled her undershirt up enough to finally see the wet, haphazardly placed gauze bandage barely held in place by medical tape. With barely any effort, she pulled the bandage away.
"Shit," Yang swore as they watched Blake gingerly reachout to brush the skin around the festering stab wound.
"He – he stabbed her," Blake's voice trembled as she drank in the wound. Weiss whined as her fingers barely even brushed the area around the stab, but her eyes stayed shut. "These burns – Why isn't her aura healing this?"
Yang held up the bloody, purple-soaked bandages. "Might have something to do with the purple stuff. Any ideas, Rubes?"
"Working on it," Ruby mumbled as she began pacing. "Okay. Her wounds are way worse than we thought, and she clearly didn't want to go to the infirmary because they'd see her wings, but her aura's not doing anything to help either. We need medicine, and I'm guessing if she'd been able to call someone and get something without questions, she'd have already done that."
Blake covered the festering wound with a fresh piece of gauze and pressed down. "This must be why she kept asking about her sister. Antibiotics might help – but I have no idea what this purple stuff is…"
"Whatever it is, it's not good," Yang growled as she pulled out her scroll. "I think we need to get some help. Secret or not."
"No, we can't tell anybody," Ruby stated firmly. "You both saw her. Weiss was terrified of even telling us about this. We have to at least try to keep her secret. Right?"
"We don't even know what's wrong with her, Ruby!" Blake shouted. "It's not worth the risk."
"If you were in her position, wouldn't you want us to at least try?" Ruby drilled Blake with a hard look. "We did everything we could to keep your secret."
Blake wilted, her bow dipping ever so slightly. "That – this is different, Ruby… This is life and death. Do you really think Weiss would want us to risk her life over this?"
"Yes! Maybe – I don't know, I just—" Ruby dropped her arms with a heavy sigh. "I know it's probably stupid and I'm being dumb, that we should just tell somebody, but—"
"Ok."
Blake's eyes went wide as she glanced up at Yang. "What?!"
Yang wet her lips as she glanced between the two of them. "You heard me. Ignoring Weiss was how we ended up in this mess. She's asked us to try, so we try. Once. And only once. If push comes to shove, the infirmary is only a few minutes away."
"Have you both lost your minds?!" Blake shouted as she shook her head in disbelief, glancing between the two sisters. "How do you even plan on trying to help her? We have no medicine, her aura's not healing her like it should, and we don't have anybody we can ask for help!"
"Insanity is part of the Patch charm," Yang chuckled before glancing down at the scroll. "I know a couple people in Vale who might be able to help without asking too many questions. It'll probably cost us though."
"I doubt Weiss is gonna mind us borrowing some Lien. We just have to keep her name out of it," Ruby said as she glanced at Blake. "While you're doing that, I'll see if I can contact Winter. Blake, can you take care of Weiss?"
Blake let out a deep breath as she began to go through what they had left in the medical bag. "Uh- Maybe? I doubt it will help a lot, but I can clean out the wound a bit more, finish the dressings. Stitches would be ideal. We could also run an Ice bath for the fever. "
"I'll get the bath then," Ruby said with a nod, pausing as she stood up. "You know how to stitch?"
Blake shrugged, keeping her eyes firmly locked on the bag. "I'm not great at it."
"Still gonna be better than me and Rubes," Yang chuckled as she glanced up from the scroll. "Do you need me to pick up some stuff for that?"
"No," Blake shook her head before pointing towards her duffle bag. "Side pocket. Small red pouch."
Ruby burst over to rummage through Blake's bag, pulling out the pouch and tossing it towards Blake as she made her own way to the bathroom. Blake's bow twitched as she snapped up a hand to catch it without even looking.
Once she'd begun running the bath, Ruby took a moment to lean against the sink with a quavering sigh and shaking hands. She needed to calm down, to breathe. "Come on Ruby. You can do this. Weiss needs you."
Ruby gave her head a single, violent shake to try and clear her head before looking at her still-trembling hands. Deep breaths… Ruby sucked in a lungful of air and clenched her hands. She had to go find a way to get in touch with Winter. Now.
"Ruby?"
Ruby's eyes shot to the doorway where she saw Yang with a proud smile plastered on her face. "Oh… uh… Hey, Yang."
"Hey." Yang's warm voice was barely audible as she took a couple steps into the bathroom and pushed the door closed behind her. "You're doing great Rubes. It's ok to take a second, y'know."
"But – But Weiss and Blake—"
"Will be fine for a couple minutes," Yang said as she closed the distance between them. "It's ok to stop and breathe for a moment."
A warm hand came to rest on her back as Yang stepped beside her, rubbing small circles into her back just like she had when they were little. She could practically feel the tension bleeding out of her shoulders as Yang continued the small motions.
"Right. Breathe." Ruby swallowed the lump in her throat as she forced herself to take a deep breath. Three seconds in, three out. Just like she had done for Weiss. Count the seconds. Focus on that. It didn't matter if Blake could hear her, she needed to stay grounded, stay strong. Worry about what if's later.
"Need a count?" Yang's voice was always so strong. Just like she was. An immovable rock. A pillar of awesome.
"Nono. I got this," Ruby muttered as she took a deep breath and let it out before nodding her head again. "I got this. Thanks."
"Hey, I've always got your back sis," Yang said as she rapidly patted her back.
Ruby snorted as she glanced at the tub to check the water level. "You're insufferable."
"Insufferable? Man, Weiss really is rubbing off on yah," Yang teased as she hopped up to sit on the counter.
"Any luck with those 'people'?"
"Nothing yet, but if they don't respond I'll just go poke around downtown and get their attention. You and Blake just focus on doing what you can."
"Okay."
Yang shrugged as she gripped the edge of the counter. "If all else fails, we take her to the infirmary. Her life isn't worth a secret, Ruby."
"I know," Ruby groaned. "But she would hate us if we didn't even try."
"Yah," Yang chuckled, shrugging again. "But at least she will be alive to hate us."
Ruby couldn't argue Yang's logic. Not really. The problem was Weiss hadn't been very logical whenever… this came up. She'd alway cared more about keeping her secret than anything else, even her own wellbeing, which begged the question that had her insides tied in a knot.
Just how far was Weiss actually willing to go to keep this all a secret…
"It won't come to that," Ruby nodded firmly, more to herself than anything else. "We've got this. I know we do."
"Aww. Still all grown up and confident," Yang smiled as she ruffled Ruby's hair before glancing down at the scroll as it buzzed in her hand. "Alright. Then let's prove you right."
Clipped Wings will return soon…
ATTENTION
NEW CHAPTERS ARE CHAPTERS 2,3,4
CHAPTERS 1-4 ARE ALL EDITED AND FINAL
CHAPTERS 9 AND 10 ARE ALSO COMPLETELY NEW BUT UNEDITED
VOL2 WILL BE IT'S OWN FIC AND PART OF THE SERISE! PLEASE MAKE SURE TO SUB TO THE SERISE TO SEE WHEN IT DROPS!
(As much as I would love to dethrone the top five Faunus Weiss fic's, I have been convinced keeping word count reasonable for new readers is more important and nicer.)
Ok now that that is out of the way….
Awkward wave
Heeeeeey, how y'all doing? Hope life ain't too busy or hard. Can't believe it's been a whole, checks watch, Twelve…. Thirteeen...
Months…
Ok so in my defense the delay was only partially my fault.
Ok fine. It was entirely my fault. I vastly misjudged how long finishing vol one would take. Originally I thought we would only be needing to really edit 6 chapters. Chapters 1-4, 7 and 8. 1-2 and 7-8 were the ones I wanted to hit the most because not only were they the weakest chapters from a writing stand point, but as a couple comments pointed out, they were way too close to a couple chapters from another fic. As we all know though, the best laid plans rarely last past initial contact.
Hiccup number one came when Ao3 kind forced me to redo 7-8 earlier than I had planned, (really sorry about the panic that caused), and thus in an anxiety fueled panic, I completely rewrote 2 chapters in a month. However, I won't lie, the whole experience rattled me a little, and I spent another few months going back through every chapter that had been inspired by any other fic, which also resulted in the creation of 2 additional chapters- which are now chapter 3 and 4.
So in short, we went from editing 6 chapters to rewriting 6 and editing 11. And then life happened as it always does. I won't share all the details, but part of the delay did come from personal life stuff. There was a passing in my family, I was in a car accident, I had to move, and of course working full time is a hell of a drug- But on the upswing, I am now engaged! So we got that going for us!
Honestly, I kinda wish there was something more dramatic like a earthquake taking out my computer or something, but that's the gist of it. Nothing earth shattering, just a whole lot of small delays that = big delay. A fanfic writer tale as old as time.
So where does that leave us. Well, as of now we have edited 4 out of 11 chapters, HOWEVER. I am hard at work on Vol 2 and we are making plans to alternate between vol2 chapter and vol 1 chapters, So rest assured there is LOTS more on the way. Even if it is slower than I had hoped.
Also I really hope Remnants has at least been a bit of a stop gap. I stopped writing it as aggressively to try and write Vol 2 as much as I can. I will update it as often as I have spats of inspiration, but right now, I'm basically writing with the time I have before work in the morning and my break. So it is a bit slower going than before no matter what.
As always a huge shout out to my TWO beta readers. That's right TWO. Shikotan (ShinraSorceress on AO3) who helps with all the technical edits, and Alucard45 who handles all the continuity editing/tracking and German, the fact they have put up with me so long is incredible and they deserve all the praise for it.
Special thank you to SirDarkvid who did the title cards for Vol 1 and 2. He and Alucard co write a fic called One Last Patch, and have quickly become my go to for working out new ideas. Go check out their fic if you like the world Clipped is becoming because they have absolutely been a huge help and inspiration for this. And a special thank you to everyone who comments and dm's me as well as tries to keep my spirits up. Y'all are appreciated far more than you will ever know.
All of you are amazing, talented and just all around awesome. So. Yah. That's the big ol update. Thank you all so much for sticking around this long. My god has it been a ride. Unless something major changes this should be the last update, with the next being the start of vol 2.
That's all from me, see you all in Vol 2. For real this time.
Fly high and fly far,
Quinn, signing off.