Roses & Thorns – Volume 1 – Chapter 4

-Emotive Masquerade-

Ruby had never been a good student. A short attention span and a strong sense of adventure had doomed her to boredom whenever she was forced to sit down and listen to a teacher drone on for an hour. At least in History, she got the benefit of watching Professor Oobleck zoom around the classroom as if he was trying to speak to each row of students directly at the same time. It also helped that Velvet always sat on the front row, the faunus' attentive habits generating no small sense of enjoyment for her. Each time the teacher would sprint to the other side of the room, the girl's eyes would follow, and the ears atop her head would flop in a way that made her lips twitch into a dorky smile as she watched.

Fortunately for her, Weiss always kept amazing and meticulous notes detailing everything from what the Professor had said to what students had added to the conversation with their questions. At least, she usually did. This time the young heiress was embroiled in a heated argument with Ruby's sister, both of them whispering sharply to one another whenever Oobleck was on the other side of the classroom from them. "All I'm saying is be careful." It was Yang who was warning the white-haired girl, an odd occurrence that truly caused the other two members of team RWBY to begin listening. "If she flies off the rails again, Goodwitch isn't going to be there to pull her away."

"You would know all about flying off the rails." Snapping the retort at the blonde girl, Weiss turned to face the front of the class, figuring that she might as well look like she was paying attention. She had tired of this argument quickly, refusing to be deterred from the path she had chosen to take in dealing with the Briar girl. Though she would never admit it, she had taken a page out of Ruby's book, engaging and trying to understand a person in an attempt to win them over to her side. So far, it had produced favorable results, yet another thing she could never admit to her partner, for fear of never hearing the end of it. "I know what I'm doing."

A huff came from the direction of Yang, who shook her head angrily at the comment. Lost in the heat of the moment, she rose the volume of her voice a few notches. "You don't even know-"

"Is there a problem, ladies?" The high strung and frantic pace of the Professor's speech caused her to cringe as she realized she had revealed their conversation to the entire room, as everyone turned to glance in their direction.

Sitting up straight, she wracked her mind for an excuse, anything to explain a sudden outburst in the middle of a quiet classroom. Rubbing the back of her head unsteadily, she stammered over a sentence and tried to piece together what she had actually heard the professor say. "Well you see, I was just upset about.. The, uh.."

"She was just upset about how the Faunus were treated leading up to the revolution." Yang found herself rescued by Blake, whose bored expression truly sold the deception, looking as if she had actually just been listening to a quiet tirade about the war. "Specifically the various hate crimes that were committed in the interment camps that were set up for the displaced Faunus population." She couldn't truly be sure of the reason, but there seemed to be a distinct bite behind the bored facade that the black-haired girl wore, and a lingering taste of bitterness.

"Ah, yes! Those actions were despicable, simply despicable!" Taking another sip from his mug, the professor was off again, and Yang mouthed a silent 'thank you' to her partner, earning a slight nod in return. "Many of the attitudes of that time can unfortunately still be found today in Remnant, laws in outlying villages still pop up from time to time to this very day insisting that Faunus be segregated from the human population in public. The kingdoms have been quite adamant about turning away such propositions, however, and no such law has been passed in decades. Now!" The green-haired man took another long drink from the cup in his hand, zooming about to the middle of the room and waving his pointer toward the various non-human students in the class. "Have any of you been subjugated or discriminated against because of your Faunus heritage?"

Ruby, who had been paying only partial attention for most of the time, took the time to perk up and glance about the classroom. A boy to her left was the first to raise his hand, followed quickly by Velvet Scarlatina in the front row. When she turned around, she saw the two Faunus members of team CAIN raise their hands. Iris had her's high into the air, violet eyes narrowed in the angriest expression that she had seen the playful fox-girl ever hold. Those striking purple orbs found her, and though she was flashed a quick smile, the animosity upon the other's face was not diminished for even a moment.

Turning back around quickly, she let out a squeak of surprise when Professor Oobleck suddenly appeared back into her vision, having moved up the aisles between the desks. "Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember, students, it is exactly this discrimination that breeds only more hate and violence!" In a flash, he was gone, back down in the main center of the lecture hall. "Back on point, who can tell me what is largely regarded as the turning point in the uprising? Yes, Ms. Schnee?"

"The battle at Fort Castle." Weiss answered confidently, her hands folded neatly atop each other on the desk in front of her. "The collective human forces were routed and General Lagune was captured, signaling the end of the push into Faunus territory and the beginning of the end for the war."

"Precisely! Now tell me Ms. Schnee, what is usually cited as the main advantage the Faunus held over the human soldiers during the battle of Fort Castle?"

Caught off guard by the question, she stammered over an answer for a long moment. "Um.. The advantage was.." There came a snorting laugh from her left, causing her to glance over and see Cardin sneering at her.

"Very well, Mr. Winchester, would you happen to know what the answer is?" The Professor turned his gaze upon the leader of CRDL, who remained sitting in his relaxed position as if he couldn't be bothered to give the teacher his full attention.

"All I know is that it's easier to train an animal than it is a soldier." Cardin's racist remark caused Oobleck to shake his head with disappointment, but more than that, an angry growl came from the back row. Turning, the boy glared at the source of the noise, the very girl who had pelted him with an apple during lunch. "Got a problem, mutt?"

Even as Iris made a move to stand and attack, her features twisted into a snarl, Claire held her back with a hand on a slender shoulder. "I have the answer Professor." There came a strange quiet over the classroom at her remark, all eyes sliding toward her as she took on the unfamiliar role of the calm one while her teammate stewed in anger. "It's night vision. Most Faunus have near perfect vision in the dark, and General Lagune had thought to overwhelm the rebels forces during a midnight attack, but his soldiers were quickly outmatched and he himself was captured." Sliding her gaze over the boy that had been insulting her species, she matched his glare with a level expression. "Stupidity and overconfidence have never been traits that make an effective leader, an example one such as yourself could learn from."

Cardin had started to rise from his seat when Oobleck shot him down. "That's quite enough Mr. Winchester. See me after class for additional readings, so that you will be better prepared next time a question arises." Reluctant and defeated, the boy slid back down into his chair, hanging his head as the teacher continued on with the lesson.

Staring up at the wolf-girl from where she sat, Weiss couldn't help but wear a small smile at the way the leader of team CAIN had put down the Winchester boy, using the power of words over that of muscle. In fact, joy almost matched the disappointment she felt with herself at not knowing the answer in the first place, but both emotions did not come close to the curiosity that burned in her thoughts. After seeing Claire go from calm to enraged with a snap of the fingers on a half dozen occasions already, it was strange how she had handled the situation with Cardin, as if the blatant racism had not bothered her. Having sensed her gaze, brown eyes slid over to regard her with a raised eyebrow. Turning back to the front quickly, she could have sworn the air reeked of her embarrassment, having seen the amused grin her former opponent had shot her way.

Weiss followed behind the rest of her team in silence, so lost in her own thoughts that she almost ran into the girl who stopped shortly after exiting the classroom. Looking up with a rude remark on the tip of her tongue, she bit it back when she saw the reason Yang had stalled. In front of the blonde brawler was the reason that she and her teammate had been arguing during the long class. Even as Claire stood there, idly thumbing at a tear in the right pocket of her shorts, it was hard to imagine that this was the girl being passive. Even without any expression, the Faunus looked like she was a hair trigger from anger.

But her voice was low as she spoke with Yang, the mumbling words accompanied by a shuffling of feet that would have made anyone else look timid. After a long time, the blonde gave a slow nod. As if on cue, the private conversation was shattered by the arrival of a raven-haired fox, who slammed into the side of Weiss' teammate with a wry grin on her face. "Come on, Blondie. Let's give the lovers some time alone." Iris quickly closed one violet eye in a wink in their direction as she pulled a protesting Yang off in another direction.

When she returned her gaze to the remaining member of team CAIN, Weiss had her hands on her hips and a glare in her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Dammit Vex. She, uh.." Raising a hand, the Faunus in front of her rubbed the back of her wild mane and let out a breathy chuckle. "She thinks I'm only interested in you because I'm.. Uh, interested, in you." The emphasis the girl had put on the second iteration was strained, and even against the tanned tone of Claire's skin, she could see a darkened hue take over.

"That's preposterous!" As odd as it was to see the fierce leader of a rival team blush, the situation was made all the more awkward by the various students that had taken note of their conversation. "I mean, I-I'm-"

"Straight. Yeah, I kind of figured." Claire took a long moment to compose herself before continuing, choosing her words carefully as to not insult the smaller girl. "Not to offend you or anything, Schnee. But you aren't really.. My type, anyway." Giving a quiet cough, she glanced away, locking eyes with one of the many eavesdroppers long enough that the girl gave a quiet squeak and skittered away.

"Oh." There was no disappointment in Weiss' voice. If anything, a touch of relief could be heard in the tone as the heiress tilted her head, causing the side ponytail to fall about a slender shoulder. "So why did you listen to me, why did you agree to train with me?"

Grateful that the silver-haired girl had stepped out of the minefield of a conversation with her, Claire brightened up at the chance to explain. "It's simple. I'm here because others saw something worth putting here." Rolling back her shoulders in a heavy shrug, she could not maintain contact with the piercing blue eyes in front of her, unaccustomed to such personal revelation. "I guess I'm tired of being a failure to their effort, and I want to do it right for once. This is me.. apologizing, I think. To them, to you."

"Hmph." Weiss had folded her arms halfway through the explanation, leaning back on her rear foot and appraising the Faunus with narrowed eyes. She held back the surprise from her expression, finding that none of her suspected motives had been the one driving the other girl. "Well, you're still terrible at apologies." A smirk caught the corner of her classmate's lips, flashing for a brief moment. "But, that's better."

"Glad you approve." Sarcasm was thick on Claire's voice as she spoke, shaking her head with a soft chuckle. "Anyway, its study hall. Free period. We should train." Giving the shorter girl no chance to refuse, she gestured toward the hallway that led away from the main atrium. "The outdoor fields should be empty, unless you have somewhere to be." It seemed that the other did not, falling in step beside her and remaining quiet as they joined the masses of students milling about.

"So, what'd you say to Claire?" Iris pestered the blonde at her side as they walked into the atrium together, a literal bounce in her step that caused the curls of her hair to mimic the movement. The large hall was full of students that were heading either to the dorms or outside, eager to take advantage of the lull in classes and stretch their legs. Descending the same stairs she had escaped from CRDL on, she tossed a glance toward the quiet blonde at her side, receiving a flash of lilac eyes in return.

"I was letting her know that if she hurts Weiss again, I'm giving her back double." There was a dangerous look that clouded Yang's features before it disappeared, replaced again with a more neutral expression, but that was all that Iris needed to undoubtably believe what the brawler was saying.

"Protective of you. I like it!" The Faunus girl pranced ahead of her, speaking cheerfully as she spun in a small circle. "Though I wouldn't envy you if you ended up on the wrong side of one of Claire's kicks. She loves that move. Just a touch of her semblance to get someone weightless, then pound a boot into their stomach as hard as she can. Never seen someone get back up after that one."

"Hey, Iris?" Black fox ears perked up and the beautiful girl spun in her direction, causing the white half skirt to flutter in the sudden wind. Yang found herself treated to a gorgeous sight outlined by the rays of the afternoon sun beginning its descent toward the horizon, as the other stood in the doorway to the Academy's massive gardens. "You seemed to take what Cardin said back in there kinda personally. Which, I mean, I get. What he said was disgusting, but.."

"But you want to know why I was ready to tear his throat out instead of just throw an apple, yeah?" A vivid image of a hateful expression sprang to mind at the words, one that she had studied for a brief second before turning back to the front of the classroom. Brilliant violet orbs held none of the usual playfulness that Yang had come to expect in the other, and the Faunus' tail drooped as she turned to exit the atrium, stepping into the light in slow, pondering footfalls. "That's a simple story, actually. Not a fun one though. Come on."

They both fell silent as she was led around the decorative pond that sat in the middle of the columned plaza. It was quiet, peaceful, and already starting to drive the hyperactive Yang up a wall when the girl she accompanied finally spoke up. "My birth parents were Faunus like me." Raising a hand to touch at the tuft of fur at the tip of an ear, and then to brush down the length of a fluffy tail, Iris ended with her fingers wrapped around the bright purple hairs at the end of the appendage. "Never able to hide what they were in order to pass as Human. It's something that some of us do, just so we won't be treated differently."

As the girl stopped at the edge of the pond, Yang stepped up beside her, staring into the glittering surface of the water. She focused on the orchids that bobbed gently in the calm liquid, forcing herself to stay quiet and let the other continue. "So they didn't hide who they were, they displayed it openly, dared anyone to call them on it. They were.." Iris paused for a moment, eyes flitting about as she searched for the appropriate word. "Inspiring. They didn't care who saw, they didn't care what others thought. They were free of the hate because they chose to be."

It clicked for Yang then that this was the reason for the outgoing and flirtatious personality that Iris flaunted, it was an attempt to follow in the footsteps of her parents. Despite this realization, it was not lost on her that the Faunus girl had used a past tense when discussing them. A familiar ache settled underneath her heart gnashed its teeth once again, like a cut that would never heal, as her thoughts drifted back to her own dead parent. It took no small effort to gulp down the pain that threatened to lump in her throat as she glanced at the other girl. "..Were?"

A nod came, one that was accompanied by a strained twitching of fox ears. "They were Faunus Rights activists. Attended all the protests, donated to all the causes, helped plan all the rallies. Usually these are peaceful events, but sometimes.." Trailing off to collect her memories, Iris kicked a loose pebble into the water, scuffing the edge of her shoes sole against the stone as she thought back. "A mob gathered, and attacked the protestors. A lot of Faunus were hurt, but people didn't stop when they backed some of those who had attended into a corner. They were killed in the confusion, by some old guy who had lost his father in the war and decided to get what little payback he could."

There came a strangling noise that sounded like a sob being choked back, but when Yang turned to comfort the Faunus girl, there was no trace of tears or sadness on Iris' face, only anger. Clenched fists were balled up so tight that the knuckles had turned white as the entirety of the fox-girl's frame shuddered, strongly effected by the memory. After a long moment, slender fingers left their position, and the smaller frame beside her stilled. "The story hit the news, and my parents were plastered on channels across Vale. It led to some reforms being passed, an effort to calm the Faunus population after the attack, but it wasn't enough."

Shrugging, Iris tilted her head and leveled her gaze on the enormous stone fountain that sat in the middle of the pond, continually recycling the water without end. "Anyway, the Vex family. Big Dust importers and partners of the Schnee Dust Company, caught wind that I was orphaned. They saw a chance to gain some positive PR and took it. I was adopted and raised from lowly Faunus to example that we aren't all animals, that we can be taught the social niceties." Glancing over at the blonde that was listening to her story, she formed a small smile. "I must sound ungrateful, but the truth is that a cushy life can't feel the void left by the loss of family."

"No, I.." A large hand was placed on her shoulder, a gentle touch that let her know Yang was there. "I understand."

Stowing away the question that was suddenly in her mind, Iris let her fingers glide against the comforting touch for a moment before sliding away. "So that's why Cardin gets to me. In the end, even with my parent's deaths, nothing really changed for the people in power. They got an uplifting story about how wealthy industrialists saved a poor orphan girl, and the Faunus who had been attacked were forgotten in a matter of weeks." Turning to face the blonde girl, she injected a hard tone into her voice. "Cardin just reminded me that there comes a point where you have to stop asking to be treated equally. You just have to fight for it.. And even then, sometimes you lose."

Yang gave no immediate answer, instead soaking up all that she had been told. It spoke volumes of the Faunus' trust in her that the girl would share this story, despite her own heritage. Instead of repaying it in kind with cheap words, she reached out and drew the other into a firm embrace, holding the slender frame of the fox-girl close as she shared in the old familiar feeling of grief.

Steel rang against steel, driving Weiss back several steps as the force of the blow sent vibrations through the blade of Myrtenaster and into her arms, causing the already sore muscles to seize and ache even harder. "Come on, Schnee! Dodge it, don't just take it!" The words made her growl in anger, glaring at the larger girl who was sparring with her. They had been at it for a good half hour, and the ability to dodge the wide sweeping arcs of the blasted saber assaulting her was becoming more and more difficult.

Blades clashed together once again, and her stronger opponent used nothing but brute force to shove into the lock. It succeeded in unbalancing Weiss, and she stumbled back. The heel of her boot caught on the loose dirt of the practice field, and the world rushed up to meet her as she fell back on her rear. When she had sufficiently recovered to regain awareness of her surroundings, she found the edge of Staccato Scar pointed directly at her throat, and a furious expression awaiting her on the other end of the weapon. "I told you to move, not engage me!"

Slapping aside the length of steel with her own weapon, she glared daggers up at the Faunus who had agreed to train with her. "You can't expect me to dodge after forcing me up and down this entire field several times over!"

"Yes, I can." Brown eyes narrowed down at her, and Claire backed away, sheathing the Dust saber through the loose belt that she wore over her hips. "If this was a real battle, you would have been dead the moment you hit the ground, even with your Aura up!" Barking the statement over her shoulder, she strode to collect the jacket she had discarded before they had begun. Lifting it from the long grass, she gingerly ran a hand over the emblazoned symbol on the back of the garment before turning it and shoving her arms through their respective holes.

Behind her, the Schnee girl was still complaining, spouting off something about her not knowing when to ease up and let the heiress recover. Rounding on the smaller girl, Claire stretched out her arms, letting the pale blue eyes regard her in her entirety. "Look! I've barely broken a sweat, and you are utterly soaked. It's called endurance training, Schnee, not play time!" Yelling at the other student, she knew that part of it was the heat of the battle wearing on their already frayed nerves, but a large part of her knew that coddling the girl would lead nowhere. She had agreed to train with her, and she would not be held back by a lesser stamina.

"It's barbaric! You have no form, no coherent style!" Weiss stalked towards the wolf-girl, stamping her boots into the dirt with each step. Red faced and clenching her free hand, she glared up into the equally as menacing scowl. "Fighting against you is like fighting an.." The color drained from her face as she bit back the last word she had been about to utter, noticing the way the lines beside the dark brown orbs tightened in response. She had tried not to include her opponent in the thoughts she generally had on Faunus, but in the heat of the moment it had slithered to the surface, bringing with it a generous helping of guilt.

"A what? Say it!" Leaning in, Claire waited to speak until their faces were only inches away from each other. Instead of yelling as she had before, she dropped her husky voice down to a dangerous whisper. "Say it, Schnee." There came no response, the heiress only silently glaring back at her for a long moment. With a low growl, she shoved past the smaller girl, heading for the entrance back to the school.

Turning with the shoulder that slammed into her own, Weiss yelled after the girl she had been fighting, calling out with a minute amount of the confrontation gone from her voice. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business, your highness!"

The words, yelled back at her before a door was slammed, caused the bubbling anger within her to rear its head again. With a cry of frustration, she shoved Myrtenaster into her belt, stomping towards the door and throwing her empty hands into the air. "Ugh! You really are an uncivilized animal!"

Ruby was sitting cross-legged in the middle of her dorm, Crescent Rose separated into sections and the scythe's beautiful innards opened for all to see, if she hadn't closed the door first. Taking an oiled rag, she continued to remove the inner workings of her weapon and clean them. Building the exquisite item had been a difficult task, with many hours of trial and error that led to a hundred different tiny injuries, from bruised limbs to cuts from mishandling the long blade. Training to use the dangerous instrument had been even harder, taking years of singular focus and direction from her uncle Qrow to truly establish a firm grasp on the style she would implement in battle.

But maintenance? Maintenance was a breeze. It was key to keeping her sweetheart in tip top shape, and ensuring that she would never be let down when it mattered most. This was when Ruby Rose was at her calmest, when she was allowed to drown out the world around her and focus on nothing but the weapon. This, she understood. People made no sense, a chaotic mess of interactions and expectations that changed from hour to hour, minute to minute. People changed. People left. Weapons made sense. They had a firm beginning, a firm end, they had gears that moved in set patterns, and needed attention like clockwork. She didn't have to guess.

Lost in her own world as she was, she did not notice that she was no longer alone until a pair of black heels stopped at the edge of her whirlwind of a workspace. Her gaze shot up and connected with a pair of amber orbs held in a bemused expression. "Blake! Sorry, I thought you would be in the library, and I don't like using the communal workstation-"

"Ruby."

"-cause Rose has a lot of parts that could be easily lost-"

"Ruby."

"-or stolen, with how some of the other students have been looking at her-"

"Ruby!" Shaken from her flurry of apologizing and explaining herself, she found that Blake was now incredibly close. The older girl's hands were gripping her shoulders, and an exasperated look dominated the angles of the beautiful features. Ruby found herself utterly mesmerized, staring upwards like a fool as the brunette spoke softly. "You're fine. I just wanted to read or draw anyway, so I'll stay out of your way."

Only managing to free herself from the spell after her teammate had stepped around her and toward the more stable of the bunk beds, Ruby let out a long breath as her lungs remembered that breathing was a necessity. "O-okay." She watched as Blake settled down in the very corner of the sprawling bed, opening the notebook that had been laying atop the sheets, off into a different world in the blink of an eye.

Turning back to her disassembled weapon, she slowly eased back into the same position she had been in before, wondering how she had been able to bear such an awkward crossing of her legs for so long without noticing. Recovering the rag she was using to clean, Ruby set back to work, trying to put the other girl out of her mind as much as was possible. Focusing on the task at hand, it suddenly felt oddly exposed and personal, as if every move was now being weighed and judged against her by the girl behind her. It felt as if she was now being watched like a hawk.

Blake was watching her, or rather, peeking at her over the lip of her leather-bound journal. She wasn't staring for pleasure's sake though, she was attempting to capture the image that she had stumbled into earlier. Ruby Rose, the eternal optimist, had always worn a smile either in silver eyes or on pale lips for all the time that she had known the younger girl. But not when she had walked into the dorm. There had been nothing but intense concentration and something more akin to anger than frustration before she had been noticed. Then it was gone, replaced with a practiced smile so fake that it shattered the illusion of the many that had come before it. Her mind had raced through a dozen interactions, placing the pieces together and noting the differences between the moments that had been real, and those that had not.

She knew little of the past life for her teammates, aside from Weiss. Heir to the Schnee Company throne and an accomplished songstress in Atlas, there was not much about the silver-haired girl's life that couldn't be learned from a quick search on her scroll. But there was precious little knowledge of the two others outside of the fact that Yang and Ruby were sisters and that their uncle had trained the scythe-wielding prodigy for years. She hadn't wanted to know more, and expected no questions of her own past in return. But now there was something directing the pen in her hand, committing the memory of Ruby's expression to paper before it could disappear forever.

A mask had slipped and a question had surfaced. Curiosity pulled at her, demanded to know why the seemingly perpetually happy girl was more than likely faking most of it. She wanted to identify what drove the girl to don a mask in the first place, and she wanted to obliterate it. Blinking, she pulled back from the journal she was sketching in, raising an eyebrow in response to her own protective instincts that had flared up. Simply thinking about Ruby being hurt was enough to ramp her up, faster than most things could ever hope to, tied only with the subject of her race and her own past. It confused her, to feel such a familiar fury in the face of a mere thought. She had felt this indignation before, many times, but only when looking upon actions that collided with her own morality.

Glancing over with the intention to further study the smaller girl, Blake found herself gazing across the short distance into two pools of unreadable argent color. Their attention was fully captured, having caught themselves staring at one another and now trapped in the uncomfortable moment. A heavy, awkward silence descended upon the room as seconds passed. Silently screaming at herself to stop leering like a moron, she took a moment to collect her scrambled thoughts and speak up. "Are you okay, Ruby?

Instantly, the strange expression on the girl's face was replaced with a bright, cheeky smile. It was a gorgeous smile from a beautiful girl, but it was also fake. Blake knew now. The tell was in her teammate's eyes, where the attempt at portraying happiness never seemed to reach. "Of course!" A tilt of a head brought the longer side of highlighted bangs past the shorter girl's shoulder. "I was just wondering what you were drawing.. Your pen was moving really fast, and you looked really into it. Heh, you looked pretty cute, all concentrated and everything. I mean I didn't even know you could draw!"

Her mouth opening into an 'o' shape as a hand flew to cover it, Ruby mentally groaned and prayed that the other didn't see the heat that she suddenly felt on her cheeks. If her teammate had noticed, the raven-haired girl didn't give anything away, turning to regard the page with an equally embarrassed smile. "Oh, I wasn't sketching anything substantial. Just a few things I've seen today, nothing important." Judging by the way Blake was suddenly hugging the notebook close, she had no doubt that at least some of what was said wasn't true, but pressed no further. Instead, she gave an interested noise and turned back to the pieces of Crescent Rose that were slowly coming back together as the minutes stumbled on by.

Connecting the bladed edge of the scythe to the main barrel of the weapon, she kept her eyes locked to the floor as much as possible, running back over her words in her mind again and again. It wasn't like she hadn't called other girls 'cute' before, but it was the way she had said it, and the way she had accompanied it with that giggle. The blush on her cheeks only grew as she stood, certain that the angled golden eyes were fixated upon her at the sudden movement. Letting a thumb press in the button on the side of the metal shaft, she moved with the motions as Crescent Rose folded into a more compact form, leaving itself in a much more manageable shape. "Perfect."

She deployed it a moment after, letting it expand into it's full form, the action bringing an instinctual grin to her lips as she turned. With one hand holding Crescent Rose across the back of her left shoulder, and the other upon her hip, she cocked her head to the side as Blake looked up to regard her. "Come on, you have to admit that you love my sweetheart as much as I do."

"It is a particularly beautiful weapon." Blake brightened at the genuine emotion that took over her teammate's face this time, glancing up with a broad smile of her own. She closed the half-finished sketch her journal, setting down the pen in favor of raising her scroll. "Now hold still, I need a picture of you being cocky." Looking past the device in her hands, she winked at the younger girl. "So when people ask if you and Yang are really sisters there will be some comparison."

Complying with her wishes, Ruby's grin turned into much more sheepish expression as Blake set aside her scroll, the picture taken. "Half-sisters, really." Blinking at the surprise confession, she remained quiet, letting the brunette continue. "I mean it's obvious, isn't it? She's Yang Xiao Long. If something gets in her way, she just punches it. If it doesn't move, she punches it even harder. And I'm.. Well, I'm just me. 'The rose girl'."

Setting down the notebook she had been drawing in, Blake slid toward the edge of the bed. Many times she had seen the self-deprecating side of Ruby, the side that didn't give herself enough credit, the side that had somehow decided she wasn't good enough. It was nonsense, but it was a nagging insecurity that plagued her younger teammate. "Well, you are a dorky mess of a teenager, that's for sure. But.." She drew out the last syllable, enjoying the way silver eyes lit up far too much as she stood and walked over to the other girl. "I'm pretty sure you're more than just 'the rose girl'. Hell, I'm pretty sure that Yang is in your shadow now. After all, you are the youngest student at Beacon since.. Ever?" Chuckling softly, she reached up and tucked a long lock of Ruby's bangs behind a small ear, marveling at the way the black hair transitioned into a brilliant red color. "What I mean is.. Don't sell yourself short. You're probably one of the best trainee Huntresses in the world, and you're a great friend. At the very least, I like you."

"You like me?" There was a sense of wonder in the tone of the smaller girl's voice, as they stared at one another. It took Blake a long moment to realize how comfortable and forward she had been, a tangle of thoughts pointing out that she had been touching a warm, blushing cheek for far too long to still be considered simply a friendly gesture. First came the guilt, from the fact that this girl did not truly know who she was, and that this girl was her partner's little sister. Next came the fear, its whispers for her to run from this moment of intimacy becoming far too powerful of an urge to ignore.

Unaware of the battle raging only a step away, Ruby hadn't pulled away from the soft contact. If anything, she found herself leaning into it, a mess of confusion and emotion swelling inside her as she stared up into the bright eyes. Suddenly, the taller girl pulled away, as quickly as if her hand had been burned. There came a stammering of a mumbled apology, with Blake butchering words as she struggled to slip past toward the door. "I.. There's.. Probably go."

"Wait, Blake-" With one hand outstretched toward her retreating teammate, and the other holding up Crescent Rose, Ruby found herself alarmingly alone directly following a moment she had felt nothing but companionship and shared fondness with another. It felt empty, and the hasty withdrawal from the other girl had hurt, leaving a pounding ache in the center of her chest. She was left with a thousand racing thoughts, the most prominent of them being a single, painful question that was voiced with a soft whine. "What did I do wrong?"

Author's Note: Bit of Black Rose enters the fray! Check out my profile for a link to the album containing Claire and Iris' emblems! It's what I've been working on the last couple days along with this, and I'm really happy with how they turned out! Sorry this chapter was a bit late, but with how much I work, not a lot of free time is left over.. Anyway, much love to my readers and the RWBY subreddit! Please feel free to drop a review, I'd love to know what you think of the story so far. - Fox