Chapter 14

"You're not my mortal enemy Yang." Winter sighed, taking a seat on the bed. "And yes, I am worried for my sister, and it seems you are as well."

"Of course I am." Yang defended. "She's Ruby's friend, and now she's my friend."

"You have to understand, before now, Weiss was not the type for friends." Winter explained. "Now all of the sudden she's very vulnerable and utterly surrounded by them. You especially." The bed suddenly bounced, and Winter looked to her side to see Yang lying next to her, glowing blonde mane splayed out across the sheets. It was a beautiful sight, Winter had to admit, if grudgingly.

"So what, you're afraid we're gonna' take advantage of her?" Yang asked.

"At one point, yes." Winter confirmed. "As was common during Weiss' and my own younger years. But now, I'm more worried that Weiss will start giving more than she's ready to allow."

At this, Yang frowned, screwing up her face in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I overheard you, after the General visited." Winter hissed, hunching over to hide her face. She could feel tears welling in her eyes already, rubbing them dry. "She expected me to take that responsibility Yang, but I couldn't. Eyes blackened, teeth at my throat, I would let her drain me dry before harming a hair on her head."

Yang remained silent as Winter composed herself. She had expected anger, she had expected coldness, but misery took her off guard and tugged at her soul. She had met people like Winter before, seemingly set in their ways, leading personal crusades against her kind, and others. Time and time again she had seen them fall, sometimes by her own hand. Perhaps in another life, another time, Winter would have been her victim, but it seemed in this one, they were a strange kind of comrades.

"What do you want me to do Winter?" Yang asked.

Winter turned to the aspect in surprise. They stared at each other, until Winter took a breath. "Take care of my sister Yang. Reign her in, should she push herself too far. Weiss has always been as much a danger to herself as others, only now she has reason for her self loathing." Winter swallowed the lump in her throat, lifting a leg onto the bed and turning to face Yang proper. "I escaped my father's influence as soon as I was able, Weiss stayed out of a misguided belief that as her father, he loved her, and deserved her love in turn. But she was wrong, and it is purely because of Ironwood's support that I was able to save her from his wrath. Now her heart has seen her turned into this…" Winter hesitated, scowling off at a corner of the room. "We were raised to view those inhuman as beneath us, and time and time again, that belief has been justified."

"And now here she is, cuddling up to a demon, I know, I know how it looks." Yang admitted. "I'm not a succubus Winter, I'm a fire goddess. I don't get summoned to make people happy. I'm summoned because I burn, and more often than not the things I'm incinerating are just as misunderstood as me, and I hate it, that feeling of binding magic, strangling my essence, compelling me to obey. It's torture. Kill they say, this troll ate a few sheep. I saw a werewolf and I want its teeth. I have a grudge against one of my own kind and I want their death to be slow!"

Yang's voice rose in volume, her eyes glowing like red hot coals. She sat up, glaring Winter in the eyes. "Have you ever been ordered to kill someone, something, and it had no business being attacked?" Yang's voice suddenly wavered, her expression sorrowful. "Have you ever had someone beg you for their life, had every inch of you want to just close your eyes and let them go, only to find yourself holding their blackened skull?"

Winter could only stare in shock as glowing tears streaked down Yang's cheeks. The aspect pulled herself out of bed, her hair flowing through the air with ethereal flame as she paced over to Weiss' desk. She opened several drawers until one tinkled, and pulled free a small vial. Observing her reflection in a mirror, she used it to scoop up some of the liquid.

"Tears of Flame, figured Weiss might have a use for them." Yang laughed breathlessly. "That's the difference with Weiss, Winter." She set the vial down, turning to lean against the desk. "I'm here by choice. Sure, Ruby invited me here, I'm not bound to anyone but her. I'm free to do what I want, but she asked me, asked me to spend time with Weiss, so I did. And for the first time in my existence a human, vampire, whatever, appreciated me for me. She talked to me, I listened. I talked to her, she listened. And when she asked me to come with her, I agreed, because it was my choice, my choice Winter, to stay by your sister's side, because in less than a day she showed me more care and consideration and appreciation than most of the humans I've met during my existence, because she's the first of your kind my presence brought happiness...because I feel good when she smiles."

Yang ended with a fond smile, the likes of which Winter had never expected to see from Yang, let alone an in-depth perspective of a bound summon. Truth be told, Winter had not once considered the experience from the other side, even having met Blake numerous times over the years. She had never thought to ask. She just silently accepted that Blake had defeated her, and submitted to Glynda. It made sense in her mind. Perhaps if she gave thought to the experiences Blake endured under Taurus' command, she would have been more sympathetic, or at least less angry that Glynda let her go free. It was times like these when Winter realized how narrow her worldview was. Perhaps Weiss was the wise one, trusting in Glynda, trusting in Ruby, trusting in Yang.

"Thank you, Yang." Winter finally spoke.

"For what?" Yang asked.

"Opening my eyes." Winter answered, standing. "I...have a lot to think about, but for the time being I must focus on hunting Cinder. And knowing that I can trust you, that you are dedicated to Weiss' happiness, brings me great relief."

"Careful." Yang chuckled. "I'm almost convinced you like me now."

Winter rolled her eyes, shooting Yang a wry smile. "Perhaps it runs in the family, hmm?"

The flames seemed so dull with Yang gone, Ruby observed, as she sat waiting in the living room. The whole house seemed dull really. She missed Yang, she missed Weiss, but they had each other, and Ruby had Pyrrha and Blake and Glynda, so it was unfair to complain. She was thankful for their company, and went out of her way to assist them. Pyrrha was simple. Sometimes she just needed a helping hand, fetch some ingredients, look up a page, copy down notes, tell her how great she is when she is feeling down...Pyrrha was her mistress, and she served dutifully, because nothing felt better than making Pyrrha happy, not even eating cookies. And cookies were amazing.

Glynda preferred solitude, excepting Blake, and that was only because the aspect was generally silent, dozing in her feline form, her company alone raising Glynda's spirits. But still, Ruby found a few little ways to help her, refreshing her coffee, bringing her lunch - which also allowed Pyrrha to focus more on her own studies and training - and providing blood to keep her ingredients and gardens healthy.

Blake, on the other hand, simply enjoyed interacting with another of her kind, and likewise, Ruby felt the same. Before Yang came along, she was her senior. It brought comfort to have an elder aspect to look up to. Blake had already taught her to read and write, skills that had brought her much joy, absorbing books one by one, so much knowledge, so many interesting and beautiful things, all experienced thanks to Blake's initiative. Every night Blake would recommend her a new book to read, and every morning Ruby could find herself brimming with newfound knowledge to gush over. It brought Blake a sense of pride, seeing Ruby grow, and though recent events had limited their time together, that was about to change.

"Ruby." Blake spoke, joining her beside the fire. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm well, I think." Ruby replied. "I just hope Weiss and Yang are alright alone."

"I think they can handle one night in isolation." Blake joked.

"I know, it's just...I liked having them here." Ruby sighed. "Penny too. Now everything is back to normal and it feels weird."

"It's natural to miss the people we care for when they're gone." Blake encouraged.

"Isn't it selfish to want them with you all the time?" Ruby asked.

"No, it shows how much you care for them." Blake wrapped an arm around Ruby's shoulders.

Ruby leaned into Blake's side. Blake was not as warm as Yang, nor was she as cold as Weiss. Blake was...neither warm nor cold really, more like the absence of temperature. Ruby found the feeling oddly pleasant. "I care about them a lot, I care about all of you a lot."

"And we care about you too." Blake chuckled, pecking Ruby on the temple. "Are you ready to learn?"

"I always am!" Ruby cheered.

Blake pulled away, turning to sit cross-legged before Ruby. "Good. Tonight I will teach you the fundamentals. We start simple, and work our way down into more finite weaving, and once you can do that, it's all about instinct. Because that is what we are, just as our bodies move, our essence will flow according to our will. But to run, a child must first learn to walk." Blake reached forward, grinning as she lay a hand upon Ruby's knee. "And I expect you'll be sprinting by the end of the month." Ruby's eyes shone with excitement as Blake pulled back, summoning a tendril of dark that curled about her left hand. "Do as I do." Blake instructed.

Ruby reached for her nearby satchel, pulling free the blade Blake had gifted her, unsheathing it, and slicing her wrist, allowing a comparable amount of blood to flow free before willing the wound shut, the crimson stream snaking through her fingers.

"Good, now." Blake held her hands as if manipulating a marionette, the dark tendrils hanging from invisible strings. A twitch of her fingers, and it flickered into smaller tendrils, which wound into ropes. Another flicker, threads, a curl of her fingers, and the threads entwined, weaving together until light no longer passed through, and a pitch black patch of fabric floated before them. Ruby stared in awe, her own essence flicking about beneath her own fingers. Blake laughed, dissolving the fabric back into its pure form once more. "I couldn't resist, but these are the steps we will practice tonight. First, close your eyes."

"My eyes?" Ruby nearly questioned. "Okay." She chose instead to trust her mentor's orders.

"Now, picture your essence floating before you." Blake instructed. Ruby did so, in her mind's eye it gleamed in invisible sunlight. "Now imagine it separating, dividing itself into many smaller portions, just as mine did." Ruby did so, easily, the image a near perfect recreation of Blake's demonstration. "Now, entwine them, again, just as you remember." The essence obeyed her command, morphing into several dozen gleaming ropes. "Now draw them out, longer and thinner, until you can scarcely see them" Once more the image changed. As the ropes thinned, so they extended, until the dozens of ropes became dozens of hair thin threads. Blake hummed. "And now for the hard part, weave them together, like a wicker mat, over and under, crossing over." Ruby struggled to recall the pattern...over and under, cross over, yes, she could see it now, the many tiny strings converging in an orderly fashion, over and under, cross over… "Now tighten, draw the threads close, see them bind to one another, stronger than before." The threads drew thogether, shrinking, forming, until a crimson replica of Blake's example existed, pictures in her mind. "Now open your eyes."

Ruby obeyed, then gasped, for the image she had seemingly imagined now floated before her, gleaming crimson in the firelight, Blake beaming with pride. "I-I did it!" Ruby exclaimed in shock. "How?"

Blake reached forth and plucked the cloth from mid air, examining it closely. "We are little more than our essence Ruby, our minds, our souls are but one, entwined. We are pure existence, and that is the basis of tonight's lesson. The most important thing to remember, is that anything you can see, you can do. You merely need to break down the barrier conjured between."

"Wow...did I do it well?" Ruby asked, watching Blake tug and fold the crimson cloth in various ways.

"You did perfectly Ruby." Blake admired, laying the swatch on the flood. She conjured a dagger, stabbed it into the cloth, and dragged it down. "Well, that's interesting." Holding the cloth once more, Ruby saw the split knitting itself back together, like her own skin. In mere seconds it looked brand new. "It seems to have inherited your physical properties. Glynda will be interested in studying this. Try again, but this time with your eyes open." Ruby sliced her skin again, repeating the steps once more. This time she watched as her essence split and formed, far faster this time, almost as fast as Blake's. The aspect of shadow grinned when another swatch hung in midair. "Now make it bigger."

Weiss awoke warm and hungry. It was a shock to her, how alien it felt, likely because she had not spent the prior day hooked up to an IV. It was different from usual hunger, no dull ache in her stomach, but a subtle feeling of fatigue, her mouth uncomfortably dry, and her attention drawn subconsciously to the cryo unit in the corner. She groaned, burying her face back in the warm mounds beneath her.

"Good morning to you too." Yang teased. Weiss did not have the energy to react, instead huffing into the warm flesh. "Are you okay Weiss?"

Weiss merely moaned as Yang's heated fingers ran through her hair, massaging circles into her scalp. It was criminal that she needed to move. "I need...blood." She mumbled hesitantly. She felt Yang nod and hum.

"You want me to get it for you?" Yang offered.

If Weiss had her way, she would never do anything again, just lie there, in the arms of a goddess for the rest of her days. Not a terrible way to go really. "No...no I need to do it myself." Weiss wanted to die.

"Okay then, do you want me-" Yang started.

Of course she did, Yang was her lifeline. "No." Weiss interrupted. "N-not yet. I don't want you to see." But she was a coward.

Yang did not seem to mind, humming in understanding. She turned them over, leaning over Weiss to plant a kiss on her forehead. Weiss felt everything burn. "I'll be right outside. Want me to make some coffee?"

She wanted Yang to make her warm again. "Please, and thank you." Weiss managed a smile, which Yang reflected tenfold before slipping out of the bed. Weiss watched her bare behind bounce as she made her way through the door, shooting a smirk over her shoulder before closing it. "You did that on purpose." Weiss half groaned to herself, curling up as a shudder went through her body. She wished she had the time to relieve herself, but she had another, far more serious urge to satiate, and latching onto distractions would be her undoing.

With a burst of energy, Weiss flung the covers off and pushed herself up and onto her feet, then immediately shivered as the cold hit her bare skin. Thankfully, among other things, Yang had fashioned her a robe of firesilk, which she plucked from its hook on her wardrobe, stepping into her slippers as she tied the warm fabric around her waist. It was nothing compared to Yang's skin, but even a shadow was enough to keep her comfortable.

Suitably warmed, Weiss made her way to the cryo unit, undoing its latch to reveal the blood packs within, all neatly labelled with a tag in Glynda's perfect - infuriatingly so - cursive. That one skill above all else had always eluded Weiss. She could not write nor read most of the beautiful scrawl, but Glynda's brand seemed a perfect blend, reasonable in both elegance and legibility.

Stop stalling Weiss. It's a fucking nametag...with Winter's name on it...oh gods this is morbid.

Plucking the blood pack from the unit, Weiss shut and latched it. She laid the pack on top, then opened the bottom drawer of her wardrobe, the chilled drawer hissing as it received fresh air for the first time in over a week, revealing several wine bottles and glasses. Weiss had converted this drawer into a hidden chiller with Port's assistance. It did not take much, some measurements, copper sheeting, rubber sealant, and a jury rigged cryo cell. Really, the only reasons chillers were so expensive were the build quality and export costs. And keeping the cryo crystals charged was a drop in the bucket, cryo energy being far easier to harvest and store than thermal energy. You could not make something too cold, it would only become brittle rather than exploding or bursting into flame. And if you were throwing cryo crystals around enough to break even a brittle one, you were a moron and liable to freeze yourself to death anyway. No, this was not advanced technology, just the greed of Atlas depriving the world of a valuable convenience. Cheaper models could easily be manufactured, but that would cut into the profits, so they did not bother.

Weiss plucked one of the glasses free and kicked the drawer shit, returning to her desk and setting it down. She grabbed the blood pack and sat at the desk, trying not to think about what was coming as she pulled the cap off. The scent hit her, thick, metallic, and above all else, appealing. A disgusting shudder ran through her body, and she forcibly looked away, hands shaking as the crimson liquid filled the glass, glancing back only to ensure it did not overflow, and stopping as the liquid approached the brim.

"Ugh...I'm sorry Winter." Weiss whispered as she sealed the bag and placed it aside. This was it, Weiss thought, no more delays, no more excuses, just her, Weiss Schnee, a vampire, and a glass of blood, a wine glass, how fancy, how fitting for the Ice Queen of Atlas Academy. How far she had fallen. She stared down at the dark substance and wished, prayed that she would throw up, but no, the more she hovered, the more she smelled, the deeper she gazed, the more that alien part of her mind throbbed and thrashed, pleading, begging to be sustained.

As she gripped the stem of the glass, Weiss' eyes stung. Raising the edge to her trembling lips, the first tears began to fall.

Weiss slowly opened the door, and Yang climbed from within the fire to see the young vampire clutching the handle so tightly it crumpled. She turned to look at Yang, and she felt her figurative heartbreak as she witnessed the broken look on her face.

"Y-Yang?" Weiss pleaded.

Yang did not need to be asked, striding forward and meeting Weiss as she collapsed, sobbing into her arms, clutching her tightly, as Yang lovingly stroked her hair, shedding silent tears of her own. "I've got you Snowball. I've got you."