Small Issues
AN: A shorter, more mundane chapter compared to the action packed one from last time. Things for this part of the series are winding down and will be done soon enough. Once they are, I'll likely be putting the full series under a single title for those who'd prefer the more linear read. I'll be able to add the chapters from Larger Issues to that easily enough too, once all of the others are posted which would be about 116 chapters just to get to Larger Issues beginning and just shy of 130 for the current point of Larger Issues. So yeah, if anyone is interested you can expect two or three chapters being added to that every week. It just might be the most regular content I'll provide for quite some time.
Back to Class
Roman walked tiredly into the warehouse after landing. This was a small seaside town north of Vale that had seen better days with most of its population having moved away. There were still several hundred people but simply meant that any increase in business was a good day. At the same time, this warehouse was out in the abandoned area of town, where most buildings were left to the mercy of the elements.
And that made it perfect for the master gentleman thief.
With a sigh of relief, he sat down on a comfortable swivel chair in front of his desk where he had planned all of his heists, a map of Vale on the wall above.
The White Fang were unloading what they had gotten away with, and for many it was more Dust than what they would go through in a lifetime and then some. But in this old warehouse, it was almost a drop in the bucket given that it was filled with stacks and stacks of crates full of the elemental minerals nearly up to the ceiling and barely leaving much room for the forklifts to operate in the central path.
He didn't miss that his partner had been busy, having already dropped off her load and went into town for ice cream, if her note was any indication. It had been part of the plan that, unsurprisingly, police WOULD have their attention on him at the docks. And with their focus there, their backs were turned on the dozen or so Dust shops that his partner robbed of their supplies.
And he was sure that once she found out, if she didn't already, would gloat about her success. At least she'd be quiet about it.
Still, all he wanted right now was to avoid having to deal with a certain woman with a fiery gaze. She just rubbed him the wrong way, seeing him as just a tool. A very valuable tool, but still just a tool.
Granted, he and his partner had fought against being used like this, literally, but being outnumbered and overpowered had a way of making people relent. And the need to relocate since destroying the safe house during that fight.
The fact that She had the support of the White Fang, also by force and coercion, only made her more dangerous. Granted, it was only a branch of the larger organization but it was an organization that had surprisingly deep pockets and resources to do what they do.
At the same time, he fully believed that the White Fang leader was much like himself in many ways, enough that it was almost scary how similar they are. But that made him predictable to Roman- they were both cooperating just so long to use her resources for themselves and backstab her once they felt it had gone on long enough.
Now both of them had their different opinions and needs that would change when that would be compared to the other but Roman was fairly sure that if either of them did the deed, the only real reason either of them would be upset would be because that they didn't do it themselves.
Of course, he was quite sure that she would be expecting one or both of them to do just that.
Then his scroll buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out and looking at the ID, "Speak of the devil." He mutters before tapping the green icon to accept the call.
"It seems that you are slipping, Roman."
"Hey, hey, hey… you wanted the best thief in the business and you got him. Besides, you knew full well that my end was the dangerous part buuuut it was good enough to let my partner take care of her part flawlessly."
"While you failed."
"I wouldn't say that." He spun in his seat to look down from his office at the Faunus sorting out the Dust. "Even if I didn't get everything that I wanted to in this heist, I still got millions worth of Dust. Heck, these mutts of the White Fang can melt down the containers to make new weapons if they want."
"I'll admit, that is not bad… but your plan assumed that you could get much more."
"Hey, I'm not the one who insisted on using the White Fang for this sort of thing! Most of these guys are useless and half of the best ones got killed! Maybe next time I should screen them for basic competence!"
"Then in the interest of our next job, you're in luck. Only the best will be accompanying you and I'm sure that you will have some fun in the process."
"This had better be good."
"Don't worry, it's only a short trip to Atlas. One of my associates has made the arrangements for you to clear out a few toys."
"A few days in Atlas would take the heat down."
"Good, I'll send you the time and location of where you'll be picked up tomorrow. You'll be working with Adam to ensure that this is successful."
"And no witnesses." He grumbled. He had his own code of conduct and part of that was to keep the body count low, drawing less attention to him.
"Whatever is needed to finish the mission. Have a good night."
And the call ended, leaving Roman to his thoughts and to light up a cigar. A minute later a text came from Her providing where his transport would get him.
"Swanson!"
It took a few seconds but the woman in question arrived at his door, uniformed like the rest aside from the more ornate sword on her hip. "Yes sir?"
"Once your boys are finished unloading and moving everything inside, they are done for today."
"Yes sir."
"And Swanson?"
"Yes?"
"Tell the ones in teams three, seven, and eight that they did a good job and deserve a treat for their good work."
"Yes sir!" She saluted and left to pass the word.
Roman sat back and sucked on his cigar as he did what he could to let the stress of the day go. Reaching to the small fridge next to his desk, he grabbed a bottle and drank right from it. And if there was anything he learned back in Mistral as he got into his profession, it was to ensure to reward those working for you for a job well done and deny it for those found wanting. And if possible, make sure that both sides see what the others get and why, they will sort themselves out soon enough.
—-
As expected, Team RWBY and Sun were rather tired from the night before but only the latter was able to come in with a clean slate and this spared the disappointed looks from the teachers all day. Not that he didn't get looks of his own- having been waived the uniform requirement and having not brought his Haven uniform due to a combination of not thinking it was needed, hating it, and not having grabbed it in his rush to pack his bag and run thinking it was time to go. That meant that he drew eyes as the lone man out… and stares due to his open shirt displaying his abs.
Not that he wasn't used to being stared at for his looks, quite honestly his whole team did back in Mistral and it was something that sparked a bit of jealousy from the other male students at Haven. The mere fact that none of them tried to use that popularity to their advantage only seemed to make them more appealing to the girls interested in them… granted his best buddy was somehow bestowed with a strong desire to date AND inability to have one successfully despite his looks and academic achievements.
But getting back to his classwork was a pain, especially with having to get used to new teachers. Oobleck with his rapid-fire speech, Port with droning stories, the extra workload for everything that he had missed since he left Haven…
At least with Goodwitch's class he could cut loose a bit.
"Alright, hold still and this will only hurt for a moment!" Cardin swung his axe at Sun's neck only for the blonde to duck underneath. "What the?" For his troubles, he received a quick jab to the gut under his armor.
"Come on man, gotta try harder to get me!" Sun dashed in with a smile and punched Cardin in the face, sending the much larger man stumbling and Sun grabbed his armor collar.
"Just who do you think you are?!"
"I'm the Donut Lord, ya jerk!"
Cardin swung his arm and caught Sun's face with an elbow, forcing him off and allowing him to stand upright, but then the words hit home to cause confusion. "Donut Lord? What the heck is-"
He didn't get to finish as he missed his opponents jumping high and drop kicking him in the chest. Acting on his training, Cardin rolled to his feet and redoubled his efforts to beat the monkey boy, shifting his axe to mace mode.
"Woah-ho! Now that will do some damage!" Sun laughed as he drew his own weapon from under his shirt, assembling it into staff mode in a flash and used it to vault over Cardin as he swung at him again.
But now that Sun had drawn his weapon, he stopped the game of bobbing and weaving around Cardin's attacks. Now it was a game of whacking the bird with a stick.
The armored teen found himself under assault from different angles and couldn't counter as his mace was shorter than the staff and its greater weight meant that it wasn't nimble enough to exploit any openings that Sun left.
Cardin was built like a tank and had the armor of one to add to his aura, meaning that the battle went on for a few minutes. That's not to say that he didn't get a few shots in himself- Sun didn't expect that the mace could make the floor explode and Cardin got lucky with a few swings of his fist as the weapons were clashing. But the tank was worn down by the nimble monkey, the buzzer sounding off that aura had reached ten percent and that the match was over. Though that did not come without Sun jabbing his staff straight into Cardin's chest plate and pulling the trigger for a shotgun blast at point blank.
"Well done, Mr. Wukong, you certainly know your strengths well." Goodwitch says as she steps out onto the arena. "Though I would recommend not playing around as much and finishing fights quickly if you can."
"Hehehe, I'll try working on it." The blonde admits as he stowed his weapon away on its harness under his shirt.
"And Mr. Winchester." She paused as Sun offered a hand to help the larger man up, though Cardin hesitated momentarily before accepting. "Good job recognizing that your normal tactics were not working and trying to adjust on the fly. I recommend further training for such encounters in the future."
He didn't say anything but the nod of acceptance was enough before the boys went back to the stands where their team/friends were waiting.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Ruby was clearly excited.
"You saw me fighting last night." Sun replied, finding that she was getting this way now was a bit odd.
She ducked her head and played with her fingers. "Well… yeah, kind of…" She admits. "But there was so much going on I kinda missed a lot of it."
"Eh, fair point." He shrugged it off before sitting next to Blake. But the girl had only been paying half-attention to the fight, which was more than any other rounds today. But she was busy writing in a notebook, which he found to be notes on everything they had learned about the attack at the docks last night.
They had seen the news report about the incident-
Sun leaned over and read some of the text. "Are… you that worried you'd forget something?"
If it had been anyone else, Blake would have just tried to blow off the question as trying to do some homework or taking notes for the class. She hadn't yet been open with her team about her past or what she thought of last night's events. Not even what she had done over the weekend.
To be fair, the team hadn't told their side either. Most of the reason was that by the time things were done with the police, they were all exhausted and once Ozpin escorted them back to their dorm building, they took quick showers and collapsed in their beds for the two whole hours of sleep they got. The rest of the day was a struggle to stay awake, especially in Grimm Studies with Professor Port, and trying to do their own classwork.
And with the way things were looking so far today, that conversation wouldn't be happening.
—-
"So…. Uh, do you think we should give it to them?" Nora stood in front of the door of Team RWBY with the bag of candies that they had bought for them.
Ren looked to his best friend. "With as tired as they are, some sugar should help them."
Not finding any reason to refute that logic, Nora knocked on the door.
No answer.
She knocked again a bit louder.
No answer.
"Maybe they aren't back yet?" Nora was sure they were in the room but she could have missed them while grabbing the candy… and being given a warning not to eat any of it.
The door opened to reveal Weiss. "What is it?" The girl had dark circles under her eyes and hair down but still in uniform.
"Whoa! I-I mean… hey, Weiss!" The short ginger tried to cover up her surprise at both the sudden appearance and the normally impeccable appearance of the heiress. And the ink on her cheek was a little distracting, and from Nora's personal experience the girl had laid her head down on something she had just written.
Ren covered for her distraction. "The movie last night had put us in the mood for some sweets and we bought some extras for your team." Nora held the bag out and when Weiss opened the door wider the pair could see the state that the rest of the team was in.
Ruby was using a book as a pillow, hopefully not drooling on the open pages. Yang was slumped back in her chair, head tilted back to face the ceiling as she snored, a pencil still in her dangling hand. Blake was on her bed with books on her lap but had somehow passed out looking like she was trying to reach her toes.
"Thank you… that's really thoughtful." Weiss took the bag and sat it on her desk.
"No problem!" Nora gave her a salute before she and Ren crossed the hall to their room, leaving Weiss to go back to sleep at her desk.
Back inside, their blonde leader turned to the pair. "So, did they like it?" His homework was half done thanks to a little encouragement from Pyrrha.
"I believe that we will have to wake them for dinner." Ren replied as he went to his own desk to get to his homework.
"Yeah, they're sleeping like babies!" Nora was almost giddy about the prospect of being the alarm for dinner.
—
The next day the girls were better rested, as was Sun, though all five of them had their homework done just in time… but not up to their usual standards.
"Now, can anyone tell me what sorts of Grimm that would be extremely rare to find in the Kingdom of Vale but popular in other areas?" Professor Peter Port asks as he looks around the room. Admittedly, this was a question that would normally not be covered in a First Year class but he had a fondness of asking it to test each time in his long career.
"A Geist?" One girl responds.
"While Geists have been found occasionally in Vale, they are rather uncommon at the best of times all over Remnant." Port explains, showing that while she had a decent answer, she overlooked a few details. "Anyone else?"
"Stallions?"
"I'm afraid that they've never been recorded on this continent. They have been strictly confined to Anima."
"Manticore?"
"Same as the Stallions, though there have been sightings of them in Solitas."
"Lancers?"
"They are not common but their hives can be found on every continent but Solitas, though most are found in Anima."
"Sulfur Fish."
"Woah-ho! Now that is the answer I was looking for! Thank you Mr. Wukong!" Port was almost ecstatic before turning to use a holographic projector to show the class a life-sized Grimm of the species.
For most of the class, they were disappointed by its size, being barely larger than a kickball but the rest of its appearance made up for its diminutive size. Its body was covered by its mask that appeared to be a canid skull with its single eye in the 'nostril opening' of the skull while a pair of short horns stood out of the 'eye sockets'. Six, fairly short legs ended with bone white claws, and emerging from the back of the skull were several white plates over the black flesh much like the rear end of a Death Stalker. But instead of a tail with a stinger, it possesses three tails with sharp barbs near the end and each of them glowed with heat- a fireplace poker left in the flames too long would be an apt description.
"This class… is the Sulphuric Fish. Do not let its size fool you- those tails are its main weapons and they WILL BURN whatever they touch and hook into clothes and flesh.
However, if they are alone or only in a small group, they will usually flee when someone approaches. It is when they have others of their kind around do they attack using swarm tactics… at first." He paused to ensure that the class was paying attention, pleased that they were. "But when there are enough of them together, they will link together and form a golem of sorts, similar to how a Geist might, but instead of possessing an object the Sulphur Fish use their own bodies and raw numbers to do so.
Even then, what the combined Grimm can make like that can vary from a humanoid form made up of dozens to large draconian forms when hundreds have gathered together. Even then, they may shift their combined might to suit the task at hand."
As he spoke, the hologram provided images of the attacks: first the lone Grimm lashing its tails like short whips, then for more holograms to crawl all over the teacher and lash him… some of the more squeamish students found themselves very nervous at the sight of so many bug-like things on anyone. Then the golem was formed and while Port wasn't the tallest man around, he was still dwarfed by the golem, barely coming up to the 'hip'. Then the more serpentine form came into existence and that looked like it could swallow the golem whole. The fact that the 'mouth' was glowing bright red from all of the Sulphur Fish tails inside made even the most steely-nerves in the class doubt their capabilities and they all could almost feel the raw heat that would be inside the 'mouth' from the hologram that couldn't even fit fully into the large classroom.
Then the bell signaling the end of the class rang, disrupting the tension caused by the hologram.
"Alright students, your homework will be to choose a rare species of Grimm and write a full report on it and how you would fight it. You'll have two days to complete it."
—
History class with Doctor Oobleck was no less interesting as the teacher went over how the current Kingdoms were established hundreds of years ago.
"Now, Amalek Mali was considered the richest man to have ever lived on Remnant and that still holds true to this day! His influence spread across modern day Vacuo and into Vale." The hyperactive teacher paused to sip from his coffee. "In fact, that then was only the borders of his empire but the effects of his rule can still be felt to this very day!
Amalek Mali, as one born into royalty, was already wealthy. However, unlike many rulers before and after him, he believed that it was best to share his wealth with the people of his empire. He did so by building schools, temples, hospitals, irrigation networks and increased mining activity for precious metals and minerals including Dust.
Even the Schnee family can trace its roots to the mining boom started by King Amalek Mali that began their tradition of innovation in the field.
Now, does anyone care to tell us what his estimated net worth was while he lived?"
Silence reigned over the class as they tried to guess while others were looking through their textbooks to find the answer.
But Oobleck ran on a different level of speed. "King Amalek Mali had an estimated net worth of five hundred billion lien in today's standard currency." He grinned as that amount settled in and left the class stunned that anyone could be so wealthy. Even Weiss was left in awe despite the billions she had access to.
"Yes, King Amalek was a very wealthy man who invested heavily into his people. And thanks to that investment, his city of Timbuktoo prospered greatly and that led to other nearby cities sharing in that prosperity as well. The effects were so great that many decades after King Mali's death, the empire lived on with success.
However, that economic success is also why many historians believe helped to lead Vacuo to the state it is today. The success that the people enjoyed meant that they became more lax and when Mantle and Mistral began taking advantage of their hospitality and resources, Vacuo was unprepared.
It should be noted that thanks to the strong ties with the Kingdom of Vale, then the Kingdom of Weald, through trade, negotiations, and acceptance that Weald came to their aid. However, by then the land had been ravaged by strip mines, diversion of water, and dumping of waste that slowly destroyed the grasslands that once covered much of the region. The war that followed for the liberation of Vacuo devastated most of what was left."
He let that sink into the minds of his students for a minute, rather pleased that they took that part of history seriously.
"Vacuo's recovery is still an ongoing process from The Great War and will continue for as long as required for the land to settle and life to return to its former state." He told them all slowly so that nobody would miss it in the otherwise silent room… then reverted back to normal. "I want reports on the life of King Amalek Mali and his influences that persist to this day by this time next week!"
And class was over as the bell rang and the green haired man zipped out the door.
—-
Finally the weekend came and there was an argument about Faunus once again.
"What do you mean you haven't told your friends about it?" Sun asks. "I thought you said you'd tell them when we left the police station?"
"I… uh, haven't had time." Blake responded nervously.
"Haven't had time? It's been a week… and you live with them."
"I know, Sun… I know." She dropped her head to the table with a thud. The two of them were in the library and working on Oobleck's assignment, the cat girl picking the mind of the Vacuo native for information on the king that may not have been in the books. The boy knew some of the folk tales but readily admitted that history was never his thing.
Still, the addition of those stories would be helpful as they researched and found which parts had merit to various degrees.
"Just couldn't work up the nerves?"
"That and we've been busy. Being exhausted on Monday really set us back on top of what we didn't get done last weekend."
"Eh, no need to tell me twice about that." The blonde shrugs. He had his own lists of extra assignments to ensure he caught up what he missed. "Still, you need to have that talk."
Silence was his answer. Not ignoring him since she wasn't doing anything but sitting still. Not reading or writing, just nothing.
"Want me to be there when you do?"
That got the amber eyes to snap to him. "You'd do that?" She was surprised by the offer but it was one that sounded rather appealing, after all, she had found herself trusting him enough to tell him about her past and he's done nothing but help her so far.
"You were able to get it out last weekend, shouldn't have too much trouble now."
"You say that like it was easy."
"Not really, but you did feel better when you were done, right?"
Blake had to think back to Sunday and the whirlwind of emotions and events that happened. But one thing that she noticed now with that reflection, she had felt better after telling him about the White Fang… though she had left out the vast majority of her involvement in the organization.
"Yes, I did."
"Then let's go tell them!" He stood up, only to be yanked back down by his wrist.
"We need to finish this first." Blake reminded him as she taps her partly done report with her pencil.
Sun raised an eyebrow at the cat. "Are you just trying to delay the talk?"
She returned the gesture. "Are you trying to delay doing your report?"
They locked eyes as blue matched gold for a few seconds before they both spoke. "Yeah."
Turning back to their books with a small laugh at what they just did.
"Finish the report then talk?" Sun rubs the back of his head.
"Y-yes."
"Alright, no backing out."
—
In a darkened room, a scroll rang and flashed. Its owner's arm reached out and plucked the device off the bedside table and held it up to see who was calling her, though the sight of the name made her groan.
"What do you want, Watts?"
"Oh, you sound cheery, Cinder."
"It is one thirty in the morning." She nearly growled and wanted nothing more than to hang up and go back to sleep.
"Is it now?" She could hear his smugness clearly, he knew full well what time it was for her and called solely to irritate her.
"You better have a good reason for calling me at this time of night or I will roast that scrawny ass of yours the next time we meet."
"Hmph, I should have you know that I'm calling on behalf of Our Lady." He paused as he could almost feel the mixed emotions of hate for him and respect for Salem through the scroll. "But we decided to alter your plan, just a little."
"What sort of alterations?" Cinder seethed at the thought that Watts could change her plan after all of the work that had gone into it. Granted, much of its success relied on Watts himself and his technological expertise.
"Oh, it is not a big issue… but it would help you greatly if things go as expected."
"How?"
"Let's just say that attentions will be focused elsewhere. I'll explain more once we meet after your associate takes care of his assignment in Atlas. I've heard of a couple brothers with a knack for getting into very secure places who should serve our purposes quite nicely."
"Fine, send me where to meet then." With that said, she hung up and rolled over to get some sleep.
—
Far to the north in Solitas, Roman Torchwick looked through binoculars at the military facility he was assigned to raid.
To be quite honest with himself, this sort of thing would normally not be on his list of things to do. However, one of his 'employers' friends had ways to make this so much easier. It was only thanks to that did Roman find this job worthwhile.
He checked his watch, finding that it was nearly time for the operation to begin… and he couldn't wait to get out of the snow.
Alarms could be heard ringing out from the facility and personnel came running out the doors and began gathering on the other side, not just because of the smoke that poured out of the doors when they opened but so they could presumably get a roll call to ensure everyone got out.
"Alright boys and girls, it's showtime! Let's make this quick and clean." Roman stood up in his all white snow suit, much of his red hair under a matching white knit hat with a feather stuck into it for a little flair.
The White Fang group with him were also in snow gear, all of their normally black parts of their uniforms were now a very light blue and even the emblems on their backs are now an icy blue. When they were crouched down together, they appeared more like a rough patch of snow than a group of Faunus extremists. Even the weapons they carried were painted white and compact as much as possible to avoid standing out.
Roman's cane gun was the only exception and even then his jacket held a sleeve on the back to carry it with only the silver hook being exposed.
Quickly and in a line, they made their way down the hillside towards a large bay door where a camera turned towards the group of fifty one.
"Good afternoon!" The voice of Arthur Watts came through the camera's speaker. "Please make this quick as I'd rather NOT damage this facility more than it is."
With that plea, the bay door that bore three emblems on it- one stylized spear set against fears for Atlas, one snowflake for Schnee, and green power symbol that is normally found on electronics- rolled up to reveal forty shiny new machines standing ready for their pilots on one side and racks of rifles and pistols that bore the same general design, sleek rounded edges and soft curves with gleaming clean chrome and black grips.
"Oh hello…" Roman briefly examined one of the rifles before spotting a truck nearby. He turned to his squad. "Load these up in the truck, racks and all if needed." He did not miss the ammunition sitting in the rack ready for use. "The rest of you, hop in and start them up but leave one for me."
It didn't take long for the air to be filled with the whine of the machines coming online and grunts of the men loading the truck.
And Roman sauntered over to a camera near his chosen machine. "Yo Tech Head, are you there?"
"Of course I am. But good job spotting those weapons, just came in today from another facility and I've been going over their plans. Quite impressive actually."
"Just wanna check, is there anything else we need to grab here while we have time?"
"You do not have much time." Watts reminded the thief. "Which is why I provided some additional assistance for you." He left that hang as the camera turned to watch as another three trucks drove over, not by themselves but by three humanoid robots who parked nearby. "Plenty of spare parts and weapons here for your new acquisitions along with the tools required for them."
"Not bad, not bad at all." Roman was liking how this was going but they needed to move fast and every second wasted was a chance that they could be seen on camera, despite Watts' assurances that they wouldn't, or of someone spotting them early. He whistled to get the loaders attention and held up three fingers, pointing at the trucks that the robots were exiting. The Faunus didn't need to be told twice and they were just about done loading up everything anyway.
Thirty seconds later, he had climbed inside his own mech. "Time to go, people!" He led the charge out the door and back the way they came from the woods, the mechs being followed by the trucks. Inside the facility, all of the mechanical arms and tools they held began moving and running, the loud noises and echoes covering the sound of the thieves' escape.
What went 'missing' wouldn't be discovered for a few more minutes as the personnel scrambled to figure out what was going on inside.
—
"So… ummm… ah…" Blake was struggling to get words out.
She and Sun had finished their reports for Oobleck just in time for dinner to start. The meal was good, as usual, and the conversations were mostly about what the others were going to write in their history reports. It was rather amusing to the cat when Weiss found out that they were already done and she hadn't even started. Granted, the heiress had chosen to work on Port's assignment first but the fact that she wasn't done yet struck at her ego a little.
Ruby and Yang had yet to begin either assignment, instead they were concentrating on their homework from Weapons class.
But it was just the five of them in Team RWBY's dorm room, Blake didn't want to speak in the common room for the dorm as anyone could walk in on them at any moment and she wanted the more familiar setting to do this. Team JNPR weren't involved due to trying to get it out with those she was closest to. Not that the other team weren't close friends but not as close as the other girls are given that they are a team that shared a room for weeks by this point. The first semester was nearly over by now and many students were looking forward to the early summer break, including the sisters who were planning to go home for at least a few days.
"Looks like the cat's got her tongue." Yang joked, cutting through the tense atmosphere and getting a chuckle from Sun and Ruby, though the former earned him an elbow to the ribs.
"Whenever you're ready, Blake." Weiss insisted, always one who'd try to stay on track.
The girl took a deep breath, helped by a strong hand on her shoulder. "When it comes to the White Fang… you could say that I was born into it." And so she recounted the story that she told Sun for her team.
Ruby and Yang were respectfully silent through the tale, though they expressed some rather appropriate reactions to how things went in the organization. As for Weiss, she sat in quiet contemplation as she pieced together parts of her childhood with the history that she was given by someone she had been conditioned to distrust deeply when she was back home in Atlas.
And to be frank, she was rather disillusioned at the superiority that most of the people claimed to hold over the rest of the world, especially her father. That's not to say that she didn't see through them starting early in life but she still had internalized many of those horrible traits.
Ruby had begun tearing down her isolationism. Yang has been helping her learn to relax and have fun. Blake… had been the biggest blow to her as she learned to question her prejudices and form her own opinions. Even Sun has been helping her with not judging someone at first glance as he has proven to be multifaceted.
"And so I wound up trying to see how far I could get here with the help of a little black bow." Blake concluded, wiggling her ears under the cloth, much to the delight of Ruby and earning a giggle from Weiss.
"So… is anyone else going to be telling stories about their questionable pasts?" Sun asks, helping to break the silence.
Yang shrugged, "Eh, I could tell you all about the first and only time I got drunk… but I don't really remember it after my uncle let me try last year."
Ruby winced at the memory as she was distinctly the only one sober that night, even their dog having some alcohol while their dad was away for the weekend. Having to rub Yang's back and hold her hair while she heaved in the toilet was a powerful memory that she'd prefer not to recall if she could help it.
AN: And now Team RWBY knows a bit more about Blake, abbreviated and detail lacking, but it is more than before. Certainly more than enough to get Weiss to have another weekend full of self-reflection. Plus we have some more worldbuilding and slice of life... while Roman deals with the fallout from the docks and a new job. Plenty of setup that some of you may recognize from Big Issues.
Until next time, reviews are welcome!