Foreword: Hello reader! First of all, welcome to Cold Smithing. I'm not much of one for author's notes before a chapter begins, but I felt this was important enough to mention before you begin reading. This story takes place in an alternate timeline, in which the Vytal festival doesn't trigger the fall of Beacon and team RWBY continues into its second year. This means a lot of volume 3 is scrapped, and most of the source material pulled from is volumes 1 & 2. At inception, Cold Smithing was meant to take place during volume 2, and be interwoven with canon, but this changed as it felt too limiting to the direction I wanted to go with the plot.

But that information isn't important. You're here for a story, after all! Details of what happened in this timeline will be dispersed throughout the story, but they aren't particularly important.

Now then, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1 — In Which Ruby is Stubborn

Beacon Academy; a school with a rich diversity of teachings ranging from fine arts to mathematics, carpentry to literature, and even culinary to wilderness survival. The most important facet though, and the reason it was so heralded worldwide, was because of its intensive combat training, preparing generations of hunters and huntresses to defend the world of Remnant from the horrors of the Grimm.

No matter the subject a student specialized in, lessons always managed to find a way back to being about hunting; whether it be poisoned cakes, calculations of projectiles, or forging flares from scrap materials of a fallen Bullhead airship, every teaching had an application to survival. Students, from their first year until their last, were sent on missions as hunters and huntresses-in-training. They were the elites, privileged with the knowledge of some of the greatest minds as their professors.

So to be lectured on the importance of 'weapon maintenance' for the entire duration of the ride back from the latest mission was unappealing to a certain Schnee, who stood gritting her teeth during the landing of their Bullhead transport. The week-long mission during her post-semester break didn't help her tolerance of trivial matters.

"I'm not saying you have to be able to build Atlesian Knights, Weiss! It'd just be useful if you could repair your own weapon." The red-headed leader of Team RWBY—Ruby Rose—said. She then followed it with a quiet mumble, "then I wouldn't be stuck with it all the time."

Weiss' eyebrow twitched, having had enough of the scolding from her younger superior. The pristine girl placed a palm against the butt of her Myrtenaster as she turned back to face Ruby on the exit ramp, fury in her eyes.

"And I told you that it would be a waste of my time and resources! I'm a Schnee, Ruby! That means I have an army of the best engineers money can buy at my beck and call. I have more important studies to focus on than some day labourer's tasks!"

Weiss huffed, drawing her shoulders back into her typical, perfect posture. Ruby looked completely downcast at her last retort. She would have continued her backlash, but as Weiss watched the fight drain out of Ruby's face, replaced with a slight wetness at the corner of her eyes, the white girl sealed her mouth shut.

Yellow hair caught the two's attention as their teammate Yang placed a hand on her downtrodden sister's shoulder.

"Come on, Weiss. You know how hard Ruby works on her projects."

"Oh, her tinkering?" Good going, Weiss. Put more red dust on the flame, why don't you? The Schnee winced internally, unable to stop her mouth from continuing. "I hardly think playing around with some scrap metal and bolts is hard work."

The final member of their team, a raven-haired Blake Belladonna, sided with the sisters as she joined them at the bottom of the exit ramp, breaking her own silence to toss in two cents. "I think it might be helpful if you learned how to pick up a tool or two, Weiss. Ruby already does all of our weapon repairs; another hand might really help free up her time."

"Then why don't you volunteer, Blake-y?" Yang said across Ruby, causing the faunus girl to bury her face back into the book in her hand, boredom laced into her tone.

"Lookouts aren't exactly known for making noise."

"Exactly!" The redhead burst upwards from under her teammates, face filled with determination again. "Blake can't do the repairs, and Yang wouldn't pay enough attention in class—"

"Hey!"

"So that only leaves you, Weiss. Will you please take the course with me?"

"Rudimentary Mechanics One?" Weiss blinked, looking at the piece of paper that her leader pulled from somewhere and held up to the heiress' face.

"Yeah! You still have an open elective for next semester, so you can take it with me!"

"And what of Yang and Blake?" Weiss tried deflecting, but her partner's view didn't so much as waver as she waited for a response.

"Sorry, Ice Queen, but Blake and I got into Professor Peach's special culinary class. Partners only." Yang grinned cheekily, stepping back from the rest of the group and walking away from the landing pad. "I'm gonna get a head start to Ozpin's. catch you all later."

"I think I'll go with Yang. Make sure she doesn't get into trouble." Blake said with a small smile towards Ruby, heading off after her buxom partner.

Weiss sighed, the rest of her team successfully cornering and abandoning her with the young girl still holding up the sheet of paper. "Ruby, I—"

"What if your weapon breaks in combat, Weiss?"

"Excuse me?"

"In combat. What if Myrtenaster's dust canisters jam, or lock again? I won't always be there to protect you."

"I—" Weiss bit her lip, unable to think of a retort. She's… right. Frustration continued to bubble up. Come on, Schnee. Be the best teammate. "I'm sorry Ruby, but I said I don't have the ti—"

"Time? You have a full slot, and I know you don't have any plans for it. Course selection's been open for three weeks now."

"What!?" Weiss took a step closer, glaring down her teammate with all the hatred she could muster. This was a step too far, criminal even. What if Ruby had been looking through her scroll and found sensitive information from the Schnee Dust Company instead of the hole in her timetable? Or worse? With a quick look around, it seemed no one was paying the two any attention on the landing pad. The few students waiting for lifts milled about, while others looking to get some fresh air and a nice view of Vale lounged about. turning back to Ruby, she lowered her voice a few decibels.

"How did you know about that open slot?"

"I... might have... maybe... sort of... peeked over the bed when you were filling it out before the mission?"

Ruby flinched at the sound of grinding teeth, and smartly held her tongue from going any further, watching her partner's snow-white skin turn red, until finally—

"Fine!" Weiss shouted. "I'll take the stupid robotics course!"

"Mechanics…"

"Whatever!"

Weiss crossed her arms, chin held high as she spun on her heel to start walking towards the school. When she didn't hear the sound of combat boots hitting the ground behind her, the heiress sighed. It was no secret that despite Ruby's position as leader, Weiss still managed to rule the quirky girl's every move. She denied it, of course, but cases like these didn't help her point. Ruby stood still where the Bullhead dropped them off, waiting for Weiss' permission to move. She wasn't about to incite the Schnee's wrath again.

It brought a frown to the girl's hidden face.

"Come on, Ruby. You're going to be late for debriefing again."

"Right! Coming!" Ruby singsonged as she caught up to her partner, things returning to their comfortable norm. They made it a few steps in silence before Ruby opened her mouth again.

"And Weiss... thanks. I didn't want to take it alone."

"Don't mention it. Seriously, Don't."

"And then after we found the artifact, a goliath noticed us, so we had to fall back to the extraction point." Ruby spoke, feet swinging from her chair in front of Professor Ozpin's desk. The rest of her team was sat beside her, Weiss on the right, Blake and Yang on the left.

A sip filled the air, the sound echoing off the walls as the clock tower continued ticking. It was always an off-putting feeling, sitting in this room. The sounds of the mechanisms were more oppressing than any silence ever dared to be. And the man in his green suit, cane leaned against the side of his desk of gears and glass, was made no less intimidating by the mug he held to his lips. Ruby continued to fidget, waiting for the response to her debrief, while Yang twirled a lock of her hair and Weiss sat ramrod straight. something about a room with glass walls, ceiling, and floor, was frightfully unusual, and always kept its guests stepping as carefully as they could; lest they shatter the very beacon of Beacon.

"A goliath in the midst of Forever Fall? This is certainly concerning. Thank you Ruby, girls, for discovering this, and I'm glad you all got out safely." Ozpin set down his steaming mug, gaze sweeping over the team before him. "Is there anything else that happened?"

The four girls all sat silent, expecting the meeting to be over, until Ruby jumped in her seat, remembering a singular fact.

"Oh! Weiss broke her weapon during our run to the extraction point, fending off a rogue beowolf, but it's fine, I fixed it on the ride back."

"Did she now? And why were you the one to fix it?" Ozpin questioned, his eyes set on Weiss instead of the team leader.

"Weiss doesn't know how to repair weapons, sir."

The heiress' eyebrow twitched, set off by the quiet snickering from a certain blonde down the line. She didn't dare glare at Ozpin, instead trying to burn a hole through the top of his desk.

Ozpin just continued his stare, though Weiss could swear she saw the corner of his lips turn upwards as he spoke. "Well, perhaps she would consider taking a class on it? Beacon is providing a course this semester called Rud—"

"Rudimentary Mechanics One, yeah! She's going to take it with me."

There was a beat of silence, before all hell broke loose. Yang slapped her knee and bent over laughing as Blake slipped her partner five lien, muttering under her breath about some bet and then whispering into Yang's ear. Weiss' voice became a screech as her eyes widened, turning and beginning to rant at her Leader, who in return sputtered out as many apologies as she could.

"What part of Don't don't you understand!? You, you insufferable little—"

Ozpin cleared his throat loudly, cutting off the four. They all sat, faces red for various reasons.

"Well then, if that's settled, you girls are dismissed. There won't be any more missions until the students are settled into the new semester, so enjoy your short break. I look forward to seeing you and Miss Rose in my class, Miss Schnee."

"Of course, sir." Weiss replied, bowing slightly as her mind raced. Ozpin is teaching mechanotics? Great. Just great! Look what you've done now, Schnee!

The four girls stood, moving to leave the office. As they began moving forward, Blake and Yang cut between the white and red duo, keeping Weiss from returning to her tirade. The heiress let out a "hmph," arms crossing as her skin slowly changed back to its natural tone. Yang and Ruby fell into a comfortable conversation, thoughts wandering away from the events of the mission, and towards ideas of what to spend their bounty on. The miscreant was blathering on about new parts of sorts for her weapon, while Yang nodded along and made a mention of her own desires here and there—mostly about a new hair product line her friend Coco had mentioned.

Not that Weiss was eavesdropping intentionally. No, her own companion was as silent as a cat, her feet not making a sound as her heels struck the ground. Weiss', on the other hand, clacked loudly down the hall, her semi-stomps a warning for anyone who may have gotten in their way as they returned to the dorms.

"You know, Weiss, you didn't have to take the course."

The Schnee in question turned to Blake, a moment of confusion overtaking her face before turning into a frown. With how often she scowled these days, the young heiress was sure she'd end up a wrinkled prune by her thirties.

"I didn't have a choice in the matter; you know how she gets." Weiss lazily gestured a hand in the direction of their red leader, who was currently waving her arms animatedly while practically yelling about the latest breakthrough in hyper-sensitive aura-reactive metals. "Had I continued to refuse, I'd lose hearing in my ears from her stubbornness."

Blake let out a small chuckle, the monotone girl's laugh a velvety smooth symphony on the ears. "Now now, she's not that bad. She would have given up… eventually."

"I doubt it." Weiss said, cutting herself off with a yawn. She covered her mouth as it widened, trying to stifle the action. Their dorm room was only a little further, and after a week in the field they could all use a good rest. An early night, and a late Saturday morning, was just what the doctor ordered for the four girls.

Though Weiss was incredibly tired, Yang was doing all she could to keep up with her sister, and upon closer inspection Blake sported bags under her own yellow eyes, Ruby seemed to have the energy to take on a Nevermore still. The white-haired girl groaned internally, worried that their fearless leader would decide it was time for bonding activities instead of sleep.

Oh I'll bond all right, bond directly with my pillow.

With a swipe of her scroll, Weiss opened the door and walked in first, closely followed by the rest of team RWBY. As soon as the door was shut the four girls, Ruby thankfully included, stripped down and changed into their pajamas, Yang heading into the shower first before the others could complain about how long she'd be.

Blake was the first to notice, and let out a quiet huff at her partner as she grabbed a book to read while she waited. Ruby merely ignored the bathroom, opting instead for her sheet fortress hanging from the ceiling. Weiss decided on the same, figuring she could just wash up in the morning and burn her contaminated covers later.

When her head hit the pillow, the snow-themed teenager felt bliss begin to envelop her. The smooth caress of blankets and the comfort of her semi-isolation wrapping around her body like a mother's arms. No fear of Grimm attacks, no lookout shift in four hours, just pure, unadulterated sleep—

"Pssst. Weiss!"

She ignored the voice of her leader, eyes glued shut as her brows knit out of their peaceful positions.

"Weiiiisssss!" Her leader whisper-yelled again, sounding eerily close to her head.

Weiss gave in, cracking one eye open to find a silver orb staring back, Ruby hanging upside down from her bunk. She didn't bother speaking, not trusting herself to be capable of holding back the venom in her voice. Rather, she waited for the smiling girl to continue whatever it was she felt the need to bother the heiress with.

"Thanks for agreeing to take mechanics with me. You won't regret it, I promise!"

The leader's teeth shined between her lips as her grin split her face, her eyes sparkling. She looked so genuinely happy, that Weiss didn't even notice when her own lips turned up. Her leader did though, and it only fuelled her joy further.

Once Weiss realized why Ruby was letting out a soft giggle, she immediately returned her face to her neutral scowl out of instinct, the barest hints of red dusting her cheeks.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Weiss replied, slightly amused tone betraying her mask. Ruby merely gave a thumbs up before pulling herself back up into her fort.

"Good night, partner."

"... Good night, Ruby."

A/N: Hey there reader! Thanks for reading to this point. Honestly, I'm unused to putting author notes after chapters too. Novels don't really have footnotes all that often, but I digress! This is my first time stepping outside or original works and into fan fiction, so hopefully I don't fall on my face too much. Sadly I can't promise consistent updates, since my life isn't all that user friendly at the moment, but fingers crossed, right?

If you have any, all feedback is appreciated.

Notes:

20/01/2016 - Revised to correct a couple missing pieces of information on setting, align Blake's dialogue more with her personality and known traits, and did minor lexical touch ups.

17/03/2016 - Fixed 'timestable' to 'timetable' and 'ruby' to 'Ruby.'

02/06/2016 - Standardized date format in notes to DD/MM/YYYY, and altered an instance of American spelling to Canadian.

30/03/2017 - Added a foreword talking about timeline position, and adjusted the author's note slightly accordingly.