Weiss was looking at her sister in disbelief. She didn't just ask me to...

"Why would you do something like that?"

"Oh, you know," Winter winked, still smiling, "some sibling fun. Don't you think it'd be fun?"

"I don't know, Winter. I feel it's very wrong." Though this is the chance for the two of us to build a bridge.

"Eh, when has wrong ever stopped a Schnee?"

"Don't even joke about that, Winter."

"All right, all right. Jeez. It was meant as a lighthearted joke. You know how I feel about that."

Weiss puffed her cheeks, but didn't say anything.

"You're cute when you puff your cheeks. Do you do that with Ruby too? Does she act all adorable and stuff as she does when I yank her in the bushes or wherever?" A smirk the size of her face played on Winter's face.

Weiss couldn't believe her ears. "You… Are… Evil."

"I'm evil? How exactly?"

"Easy. You come from nowhere and take Ruby away from me after I tried to gain courage for a few months already. You steal her first kiss from me. You yank her in the bushes. All that. But yet," a victorious smirk crept up on Weiss' face, "in the end, she always comes to me and tells me how much she likes me."

"Oh?" Winter's eyes widened for a moment. "Did she ever tell you that you're the best girlfriend ever, even if you make her knees weak? Because she did say that to me, you know?"

Weiss' lips thinned into a barely visible line. "You're lying."

"Nope. Ask her, if you want. Or," Winter started her no-crap talk, "we can have some fun with her without her knowing. What do you say? Come on, can you not be Ice Queen for once?"

"Why does everybody keep calling me that?" To say Weiss was irritated with the nickname was an understatement. Oddly enough, Ruby was the only one Weiss hanged out with a lot that never called her that. And Weiss was very thankful for it.

"Well, maybe because you totally act like one. Loosen up a bit and have fun with someone that isn't Ruby. Come on. I know I haven't been the best sibling in the world, but I'm giving you a chance to bring our sisterly bond closer together," Winter said, reaching out a hand tentatively.

She is right. It's just harmless fun and a chance for us to become real sisters, like Ruby and Yang. She hesitated for another moment, even blushing a little, before accepting the offered hand. "Let's try it then, sister." I'm not letting you steal another first from me, though. And I'm going to go to Ruby right now and puff my cheeks at her and show her I can be adorable too. And I'll find a way to make her knees weaker than you do. I'll do that because that's what Weiss Schnee does!

Completely oblivious to the tension surrounding the Schnee sisters for the past few days, more concerned about not disappointing either of them rather than watching their interactions, Ruby sat on her bed, twiddling a pencil around in her fingers whilst scouring her brain for the answer to the question laid before her.

How did she know what direction Nevermores flew in the winter? How would that help her in the future, at all?

"South. It's warmer, and important knowledge for both huntresses and huntresses in training, Ruby."

Ruby almost screamed from the sudden interruption, unaware that there was even another presence in the dorm of team RWBY, and had to take a second to catch her breath. Peeking up from the covers which were hastily thrown onto her head in fright, Ruby identified her previous assailant as none other than Blake Belladonna, resident ninja and book worm.

"Did you mean to say that? Were you thinking out loud again?" Blake enquired, head tilted and an eyebrow raised.

"Haha… I uh… Wow, Blake, you scared the life out of me. I uh, guess I was?"

Blake hummed, and proceeded to sit down on her own bunk, pulling a book out of nowhere. An impressive ability, clearly. Her amber eyes scanned the pages of the book, devouring the tale held within, and became completely isolated to the world around her. Ruby knew that once the faunus was on a roll, there was no way to get her to stop.

Except for a bucket of water - but Yang still had the bruises to testify against the idea of a bucket of water being a good one.

Sighing, collecting the pencil she dropped, Ruby turned back to her piece of homework set by Professor Port. Grimm breeding habits was quite easily one of the most boring topics taught in the whole school. They never learned this in Signal academy! It was all about finding the weak points, and learning to fight, not all this boring 'ecology' this and 'food chain' that. Somewhat angrily scribbling down the answer to the question, handily provided by Blake with a side of heart attack, Ruby huffed once again and let her face hit the paper.

"Something the matter?" Blake asked the girl, letting her eyes rise from the neatly flowing story to the not-so-neatly flowing state of Ruby's bed wherein the girl herself lay.

"Agh... It's just… I don't even know. Can we go out and spar or something?"

"Mmm… I'm rather enthralled by this book, so I'll have to pass on that offer."

"Pleeease Blake? Just a quick one? It'll be great, I promise!"

"No means no, Ruby. Apologies."

Ruby kicked her legs like a little girl. She felt so energetic but drained at the same time. At the one hand, she had two girlfriends. Fantastic! A reason to wake up at a reasonable time at the weekend! But on the other hand, if they found out about each other, they would hate her forever, and hang her at the gallows! Probably. Ruby reckoned that the Schnees still hanged people, maybe even drew and quartered them.

"Go and burn off your energy with Yang. She's down at the gym, last I checked."

Ruby's facial expression instantly improved. "You're right! Thanks Blake, seeya later!"

And no sooner than the goodbye was given, Ruby flew out the door in the trail of beautiful rose petals. Blake rolled her eyes, and continued reading the story. Poor Dr Grey, she thought, the reds and the blues sound like a lot of hassle to handle, especially for a woman so smart. Perhaps we're not too different.

The swaying green grass of the gardens tickled and teased at Weiss' legs, brushing the smooth white limbs as they found their way through the well kept field. The smile on Weiss' face was certainly a sight to behold, as well. It was a true, genuine smile that she wore unlike the fake facades which she beheld to members of the Schnee Dust Company board and business associates. The girl was pleased that she and Winter had finally found common ground upon which to fix their relationship, in a way which would make everything work. Winter had even gone one step further and suggested something so magnificently brilliant, that even she could not deny the younger sibling her congratulations.

For now, she saw fit to lie on the grass, under the shade, in the cool heat of late morning. A careful breeze provided background noise as it whistled and rustled its way through the leaves of the tree.

Students wandered mindlessly along the paths of Beacon's grounds, often coupled with their teams, family and friends. Closing her eyes, Weiss could almost pick out the different things they were talking about, but even her hearing wasn't that good. All in all, the immediate surroundings put the Schnee to peace and lulled her into a light nap.

One thing she certainly wasn't counting on was a hyperactive ball of red energy slamming into her side, and sending the two entities tumbling several meters.

"Weiss!"

"Ruby!" Weiss admonished, "What have I told you about tackling me with that silly semblance of yours?!"

"My semblance isn't silly," Ruby whined, "It's perfectly fine! And it's super cool! Don't say you wouldn't want to run around really fast. It's awesome."

Weiss had to admit, it did poke at the childish urges locked away deep inside the icy fortress of her heart. "Not at all," she said with a scowl. A light one at that - she could never be genuinely angry at Ruby. "It'd be nice if you did happen to stop crashing into me at the speed of sound, though."

"Okay, it uh, won't happen again!" Her cheery smile had returned, before she looked around and quickly asked "By the way - Weiss? Have you seen Yang anywhere? Blake told me she was at the gym, but I had a look, and she wasn't there, and I'm super bored and want somebody to talk to or to play with or to fight with or to build weapons with and-"

Ruby's ramblings were cut off with a manicured finger to her lips. "I have not seen her most of the day, no. I'm afraid you'll have to go and ask somebody else. Perhaps she is with your father, or somebody else."

Her eyes lit up with an impending idea. "Thanks Weiss! You're the best - have I told you you're the best? 'Cus you totally are, and yeah, I'm gonna go look for Yang now, see you later!"

As quickly as the girl appeared, she was gone again, flying away in a storm of red rose petals. Weiss swore she heard a couple of childish squeals, and apologies as the miniature blizzard flew through the sparse crowd on the paths. A quick sigh was all she had to offer at the spectacle, and she lay back down on the grass, intent on catching the morning nap which had so easily evaded her in the form of Ruby Rose. Closing her eyes once again, she was about ready to stand up and punch somebody as another voice interrupted her attempted slumber.

"She's certainly cute, isn't she? I can see why we both fell for her."

"Winter. Please. I just want a morning nap. Is that really too much to ask for?"

Cracking open one eye, Weiss spotted Winter stood above her wearing her normal dress and rocking her signature double-ponytail. A smirk played on her lips, though it wasn't a mocking kind.

"Well, I would like somebody to talk to. And as it seems our little rose happens to be busy, I thought to myself, 'Why not my dear, dependable sister?' So here I am. I hope my presence is not that intrusive."

Weiss mumbled something along the lines of 'No, It's fine' and simply rolled over. She loved her sister of course, but dust she could be annoying at times. She wouldn't necessarily count this encounter as wholly annoying, but it was pulled at the frayed ends of her patience regardless.

Weiss' previous statement of 'not wholly annoying' was retracted rather quickly and republished as 'mostly' when the incessant poking at her sides began. Winter knew the easiest way to grab the heiress' attention was to just keep poking her, because she caved rather easily according to past experience living in the Schnee manor.

It didn't take long for the cave-in to begin.

"Winter. What, dare I ask, do you want?"

"I want to talk about stuff."

"And what, in this context, would 'stuff' be?"

"I don't know. What's it like to be a huntress, say?"

Weiss actually had to stop and think to herself for a moment. What, in her opinion, was it like to be a huntress? Sure, there was lots of education and teaching involved, but that was also matched by the sheer volume of practical assignments, Grimm slaying, and undercover crime-hunting - not that the last part was actually set by the academy, mind.

"It's interesting, to say the least. You meet lots of different people - some you grow to like, some you hate from the beginning, and all of them from different walks of life. It's truly fascinating, I reckon. The bonds of the teams are stronger than steel, and the thrill of the battle is exhausting and exhilarating. I'm afraid it's hard to put into words, dear sister, but I reckon if you asked Ruby, it would end up being something along the lines of-" her voice raised quite drastically in pitch - "'It's totally awesome!' or 'There's cool weapons and… stuff!'"

Winter giggled at the impression. "That does sound pretty befitting of her, to be honest. Tell me, is she ever away from that amazing scythe of hers?"

"Hm. Now that I think about it, she carries it literally everywhere - she even stores it at our bed-side sometimes, instead of the lockers, which I'm pretty sure isn't allowed. There was this one time though, on our trip to Mount Glenn, where she lost it as she fell through a sinkhole of some kind. Blake had to carry it all the way to her as we fought our way through the tunnels to find her, and oh my, she was complaining all the way along. 'This thing is so heavy! How does she carry this? Ruby must be ridiculously strong!' It was rather… humorous to say the least."

Winter had stopped giggling and was having a miniature laughing fit. "Ahaha - oh my, you were right. Being a huntress does sound like a lot of work indeed."

"Carrying Ruby's scythe around? Yes. Impossible." Her face was set completely straight.

"Has she let you pick it up before? She let me do so the other day - it is absurdly heavy."

"No. She's been wanting to get her hands on Myrtenaster for a while," Weiss said, gesturing to the shining rapier sheathed at her hip, "Perhaps we could sneak it out of her sight if I let her touch Myrtenaster for a while."

"Hehe - be careful making sure she doesn't attach a flamethrower to it, or a gun, while you aren't looking!"

The sisters burst out into laughter, having long forgone standing up in favour of just staring upwards as their chests heaved as a product of the banter. Weiss hadn't been this happy in a long time. What would make her day, though, would be a flustered Ruby - Weiss put that on her mental to-do list, and settled down alongside Winter.

"Oh my, is that the time? I'll have to be going, sister, lunch calls and mother would be most displeased if I were not to show up. I'll be seeing you!"

Winter skipped off, flanked by flowers, on the beautiful path back to the dining hall. Perhaps now, finally, after all the madness, Weiss could get her well deserved rest. Stretching her limbs, and popping a couple bones here and there, Weiss snuggled into the comfiest position she could beneath the tree. Her eyes lazily fluttered shut, and soon enough, she was drifting off to -

"Heya Weiss! 'Ya seen Ruby around anywhere? I can't find her, Blakey says she's lookin' for me, and I can't -"

"DUST DAMN IT YANG!"

Yang flinched at the angry cry and looked at Weiss, perplexed. "Jeez, Ice Queen. Why are you so yangry?"

Weiss shut her eyes while exhaling slowly. "That nickname and pun certainly didn't really help matters."

"Something wrong, Ice Q… I mean Weiss?"

"Nothing except everybody pestering me when all I want is a nap in the sun. Ruby went to look for you around the campus, by the way."

"Oh. Well, thanks for the info, shewolf!"

Yang waved and tried to storm off, and Weiss would like nothing more than that, but as she waved nonchalantly, she heard the nickname. Her expression darkened. "What did you just call me?"

Yang's eyes widened in newfound fear at the killer look in Weiss' eyes. It actually made her uncomfortable. Why did I have to poke the wolf? "Uhh… Err… Shewolf... Why?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Uhm… Well, Ruby told me she was, um, seeing you? Sorry."

"YANG XIAO LONG, IF YOU EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN, I WILL…"

"Welp, as fitting as the nickname is, Xiao Long out!" With those words, Yang disappeared as quickly as she could. Weiss was looking in the direction the blonde took for a while before lying down again, though this time not trying to take a nap since she was way too angry for anything like that. Instead she was looking at the sky, trying to make out shapes in the clouds as a way of calming her down.

Not long after having resumed her search for Yang, Ruby happened to stumble upon a man of strong build and blonde hair - her father. It looked like he was just having a stroll around the campus, as were many people. No particularly interesting battles seem to be set for the day, and so there was little reason not to go outside, relax, have a little fun.

So, initiating the normal "I've just seen someone I know" procedure, Ruby got close down to the ground, legs at a low angle and hands brushing the floor. Barely a moment later, she took off in a signature blizzard of red rose petals, and it took less than a second for the speeding red blur to then proceed to crash directly into the side of her father.

The poor man's only warning was a squeal, which sounded something like "Dad".

Opening his eyes, he took a brief second to decide whether or not he was dead, but Ruby promptly interrupted him by sticking her mug into his face.

"Hey dad! Whatcha been doing? Something fun? Exciting? Boring dad stuff?"

Huffing and rolling his eyes, the man got back to his feet with a smirk. The man stood much, much taller than Ruby, towering at well over six foot five. "The usual," he said, "I've just been looking around for you two scamps all day. Seriously, we haven't spent much time together, have we? What kind of festival even is this?!"

Ruby twirled around on her foot and head in one direction like a ballet dancer. "Uh, a totally super awesome festival where you get to watch me kick some butt in the tournament? It's great!"

Taiyang hummed in agreement, and began to walk alongside her. "So what have you been up to, squirt?" Yang used the same sort of nicknames with Ruby, often referring to her height, being only fifteen and three quarters years old. 'The three quarters is important,' she insisted.

"I've not actually been doing an awful lot lately, except for that one spar with Weiss… and when I disassembled sweetheart here a few days ago… not much else, really. Hanging out with everyone else? I mean, that totally counts, right?"

A small chuckle escaped Taiyang's throat. "Sure it does, sweetie."

Ruby huffed and turned on her heel towards Taiyang with a pout. "Don't you sweetie me! I'm way taller than before, now, and I'm also super good with Crescent Rose, so I could totally kick your butt if I wanted to!"

Standing on the tips of her toes didn't make her stature, at five foot two, any more imposing than before. If anything, the pout she wore on her face made her incredibly adorable.

"And besides! I drink milk!"

The last part certainly wasn't a secret. A mysterious yet persistent lack of milk in the fridge at their home in Patch would prove so much. Blake also happened to like milk, and so in her new environment, miniature fights erupted over milk and ended as silly slap-fights or absurd insults.

'Your scythe is oversized!'

'Your swords are tiny and weak!'

'Your hair is too messy in the mornings!'

'You never even get up in the mornings!'

'All I want is my morning coffee! Why do you two take it upon yourselves to drink all the milk in our fridge, and disallow me my one luxury? Stop being so childish!'

So on and so forth.

It wasn't long until the chattering pair stumbled upon the gyms which Beacon provided for the students - the arenas and the gym were very close to one another, the arenas for one-on-one battles whilst the gym was more used just to train general characteristics. Yang especially spent a large amount of her time here, both to train herself and blow off some steam. More than once had she seen most of team CRDL walk out of this building with questionable bruises and worrying scorch marks.

When asked about her muscles, Yang was a lot more open than Ruby and her little abdominal definition - she would actively try to find opportunities to show off her perfectly toned six pack and killer biceps. This would usually make Blake especially flustered, who was not quite as nearly comfortable with such close and intimate contact.

Ruby idly wondered if Weiss had any kind of muscle at all, skating around the battlefield like a graceful swan. She probably had great legs.

"So, missy, are you going to stand there gawking all day or are you going to head on in?"

Snapped straight out of her daydream, Ruby spun towards her father, who still wore a silly grin on his face. Nothing extreme, like Yang's full shit eating "I just made a pun" grins.

"Ahaha - uh, yeah, let's go."

The first thing that Ruby noticed upon stepping in, was that the room was completely empty. Deserted. Desolated. Utter silence.

The second thing she noticed was that she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing in the first place.

"You reckon Yang's in here?"

Oh, right.

Heading around the gym, Ruby looked in every little nook and cranny the place offered, to see if the blonde brawler lay anywhere odd. Unsurprisingly, in such a deserted place, she didn't end up finding her. Huffing and sitting down, Taiyang lifted her chin up to look at him. "Hey, what's gotten you down all of a sudden?"

"Well, you see, I happen to be dating both daughters of the Schnee Dust Company's director," is what she wanted to say. She didn't, of course, because that would be ridiculous.

She, however, was the technical word.

"Yo! Rubles, you in here?" A head of flowing blonde hair turned the corner, just out of Taiyang's sight. "There you are, found you, 'ya little scamp! How are things going with your girlfriends, Winter and Weiss?"

Yang could have sworn no person alive has ever jumped as high as Ruby in that moment. The thought of it amused her to no end. "YANG! WHY WOULD YOU… DAD'S HERE!" The look Ruby had on her face was her best imitation of Weiss' killer face. However, with her sheer lack of any evil, Ruby looked more like an insulted child than a thoroughly pissed off girl.

Yang's smile didn't falter for even a fraction of second. Even more, she made her most innocent eyes while still smiling ear to ear. "Oh? Isn't something this beautiful something you tell your parents the soonest you can? I mean, it's not every day one gets to see a person dating one, much less two children of the most powerful family in Remnant."

Taiyang watched the two girls go on and on for a while, all the time smiling. The smile turned into a snicker, which then turned into a chuckle, which further turned into silent laughter and it would probably evolve even further. Alas, it was not meant to be.

"... And I was about to tell him about it!"

"Well, sorry, sis, I thought you already di- hahahahaha!" Yang started laughing wildly. "I can't take it anymore, Ruby! I am, oh, so- hahaha, so sorry!"

"Yang, this isn't funny!" In that moment, Ruby heard her father's light laughter just before Yang erupted into a laugh so viciously loud Ruby could swear someone's eardrums might end up pierced. The reaper's gaze was fixed on her father, though. Her father, whose lips were slightly parted, revealing the pearly white teeth underneath, his eyes gently shut from the laugh. Realization suddenly swept across Ruby's face. "DAD!"

"So sorry, squirt, but Yang came to me earlier and told me. Then I got an idea of having some fun with you. So blame your old man, not your sister. But the opportunity was too golden to pass up."

"But dad! It's not funny! I really don't know what to do about it!"

Yang kept laughing her butt off on the floor while Taiyang was talking through chuckles. "I am so, so sorry, honey, I really am. I know it's hard for you, but you're worrying too much."

"What do you mean?"

"Sweetie, I saw the two girls act very differently in your presence as opposed to when you weren't there. If you're afraid of staying alone, I'm pretty sure it won't happen. Even if they find out about each other. I mean it."

Ruby looked down on the floor. Taiyang's smile vanished and he moved closer to Ruby. He held her chin and made her look him in the eye. "Trust me, honey, I know what it's like. If you want me to, I could tell you. Actually, to both of you. I owe you that much as your father. Though I understand why you wouldn't want to hear my story, so just know I'm here for you if you need advice, okay?"

When Ruby gave her father a gentle nod, he continued. "Now, since you are both here… Do me a small favour."

Yang has meanwhile recuperated and was standing next to her sister, watching the whole ordeal while holding a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby spoke. "What can we do for you?"

"Spar for me. I want to see how my daughters match up against each other."

There was a glimmer shooting through Ruby's eyes as Taiyang uttered the words. A determined smile crept back on her face and in an instant, she turned towards Yang.

"Bring it on, sister."

Yang replied with a happy voice. "Glad you got your smile back, sis. Now do your best. Which still won't be enough to beat me, but hey, might as well go all out." She winked.

"Like hell I'm losing against you!"

Watching the two huntresses in training jump to their battle positions, Taiyang felt pride creeping up on his mind. I have been truly blessed. He looked up at the ceiling. Raven, Summer, thank you for giving me these two.

Hey, everybody! Thanks for reading another chapter of Caught in a Blizzard! As always, reviews are appreciated, and both me and JackThePegasus are more than happy for every new follow or favourite.

Now, some news. I am very sorry to say, but this story is being put on hold for a while. I'd prefer for this not to happen, but we are both experiencing a small blockade at the moment. The story will continue at the earliest convenience, though, so don't fret, this isn't being pushed aside.

Thank you for understanding!