Chapter 15: Associates

Weiss Schnee

"Any questions?" Azura Thrym announced, the formal class presentation over. While Port always had a habit of shambling his lectures forward at a dead grimm's pace, the faunus professor was much more expedient. Where Weiss would usually be near asleep, glaring into the ticking clock and begging it to move just a little faster, she was now barely able to get quick notes by the time Q&A was opening. It was kind of refreshing, and despite the speed no one had any questions. No one but Jaune. "So none?"

There wasn't much missing from her presentation and, when she let him speak, Port outlined in great detail next week's mission. A full force extermination to remove the nevermores from Emerald Forest in time for next year's initiates, at least to make it not likely for the incoming students to run into pairs. All of Azura's favorites were going, JNPR, CFVY, SNNA, and SSSN, but of course the ones going in first were RWBY tagged directly to the professor. Port planned to lead the other teams like CRDL in the back to watch and reinforce if anything were to happen. In truth, it's more like the lesser scoring classes were being held back. Weiss didn't mind. Vanguard meant RWBY were the best, ignoring Azura who was picking favorites.

"Over here professor!" Pyrrha called out, quickly standing up from her seat, an excited smile on her face.

"Yes Pyrrha?" Azura answered in response. The girl was definitely a favorite of hers, but Weiss understood, the tall huntress was hard not to adore.

"Jaune has a question." Azura's expression went flat and Pyrrha sat back down, waving over to the blonde haired boy. Weiss never knew exactly why she stuck up for him so much, but people had said similar things about Ruby's more lackadaisical nature. We are alike, huh?

"Any questions not from Jaune?" Azura clarified, giving off one of those nasty snarls. She had this was of contorting her face and highlighting the scars as if to remind you what did this was monstrous and powerful, but she on the other hand was alive.

"Seriously? That's just mean," Jaune remarked, sitting back down disappointed, strangely unaffected by the woman's attempts at intimidation.

"I think we can take one more from the boy, Professor Thrym," Port commented, bouncing as he was one to do on his heel. Unfittingly respectable, resoundingly optimistic, and frightfully vapid, two of these things had to make him at least somewhat kindred with the blonde boy, but perhaps that judgment stretched on the mean side.

"Peter, your faith will doom us. Alright Jauney boy, you got my attention. Make it count," Azura answered more casually. Another trait of Ruby's aunt by association was her habit of referring to people in a general manner, whether it be students or other faculty. She seemed to not have respect, or even acknowledgement, for social distinctions between people or the histories of cultures. All titles were laughable and all that measured a person was themselves and in that spirit was their first name. Thinking that way was alien to the heiress, after all what was Weiss' worth in dust compared to the Weiss Schnee?

"So it's a nevermore hunt... can we skip it if we helped kill a nevermore already?" Jaune asked from his seat casually, the spectacular, if absent minded stupidity, of that question at least funny enough to let her put away the previous chilling thoughts.

"See? I told you," Azura mumbled to Port who laughed.

"Actually we killed a nevermore," Weiss added, maybe unfairly, but she couldn't resist promoting team RWBY's exploits. She was damn proud to take out that massive flying beast on her second day, setting them beautifully on the path of glory, path of popularity, path to number one on the class wide roster.

"We were there! That has to sort of count, right? I mean, I just got a thing—"

"You can reschedule your play date with your Mistralian sweetheart the week after, I hear nevermore feathers can be considered romantic," Azura put an end to it right then and there. She could be casual, but not to be confused with questionable. She was not one to ever say no twice. The few that did push it felt the wrath of an almost impressively poor temper.

"You are a future hero of this new age, my boy. A man who tires from the hunt after just one kill is no more a hunter than a boy with his first glass of wine is a sommelier. I think you can learn plenty from another shot!" Port added with a softer tone and definitively more positive than his Faunus peer.

"I understand, professor," Jaune capitulated. He looked low, offering only a small mouthed 'I'm sorry' to Pyrrha whom returned a very happy smile. Whatever plans they had might have ended and though the redhead wouldn't have been mad about it, something anyone after meeting her would have agreed, she seemed thrilled that it was worth a little public humiliation to preserve. Jaune, for all his flaws, was always happy to be mocked for her it seemed, thinking on their past. Okay, fine, Weiss thought, conceding as well, they're a cute couple.

Thinking that thought, or more precisely having the time or the whim to think on it, seemed sort of refreshing. The freedom to be carefree in minor things was a strangely addicting and vice this life away from home allowed.

"Speaking of experience, I'll be busy during the tomorrow's class having a meeting with associates of mine. In light of that, Weiss Schnee," Azura shouted, snapping Weiss back from her rapid and loud mind.

"Yes, professor?" Oh no, Weiss nearly muttered. Azura always seemed to have it out for her, pushing and pressuring, at least it felt that way. Everything was reminiscent of a test, and whatever this was likely meant another obstacle to prove something arbitrary.

"You'll lecture class on how a fight with a nevermore goes," Azura announced just as Weiss predicted. Of course, more work on top of planning for next week's trip. She didn't ask Yang, though who in their right mind would offer that madwoman class control. Still, not the other Faunus who knew just as much, or her precious Ruby Rose, though that would have meant Weiss doing it practically from behind the scenes anyway.

"Don't stress over it though," Azura added, maybe seeing the expression of frustration that Weiss was sending off right at her, "you won't be graded except for some extra-credit. I just trust your experience and I know you know your grimm." Oh. Weiss was hit with a little bit of guilt, though she still felt a little right, but just there was a weird sense of trust in how Azura said that.

Azura Thrym, Auntie herself put trust in her. Damn it, Weiss thought to herself as the class ended, now I have to do it, I have to care, and I can't even be mad. I hate you.

The library ended up the first destination when class ended. The former RWBY night raids of yesteryear had ceased quite a long time ago, and now each of the team members were left to their own devices. Blake worked for Ozpin or studied on her own scroll, Yang disappeared into the night, her own quest not quite over it seemed, Ruby and Weiss found that this time could be spent together, though often in studies or training. Today however, Weiss couldn't help but come directly to the source of all contemporary and arcane knowledge of the grimm nevermore.

It wasn't graded, and perhaps even if it was Azura wouldn't have applied much of a weight to a unique assignment. Still, something possessed her to look through the library's assorted works on the subjects. The Modern Bestiary by an unknown and not so modern author referred to simply as the Woodsman and the Hunter's Creature Consortium penned by Beacon's first headmaster were a must. Also noted was Qrow Rose's Contemporary Analysis on the Grimm Threat, which Weiss would be both surprised and unnerved to discover cited Azura Thrym as the foremost expert on nevermore extermination available at time of printing. Other digital digests on the feathered fury found themselves filed in Weiss' scroll.

All in told, ten books, accompanied by twenty papers downloaded, were being carried together very neatly, if uncomfortably, as Weiss walked to her dorm. The trek wasn't particularly difficult or as awkward as Ruby made it look when they were together, face buried in the leather spines and musty smell of rather worn tomes. Still, it didn't make it any less difficult to see, Weiss was forced to take quick looks around the mound she was holding to navigate Beacon's twisted and curved paths. It was these sort of moments the heiress actually detested her limited stature and build. Pyrrha grew up to be giantess, where I literally cannot see past my source material. This is a rather bad joke.

The dorm was a mixed bag proposal. While the library was a safer bet in terms of quiet study time, not showing up to their tutoring sessions would send Ruby on a man hunt, which meant loud noises, eventually being caught, damaged property, and plenty of related rule breaking.

Sliding the door open, Weiss was surprised not to find Ruby there at all. Only Blake who was unsurprisingly propped against the wall on her bed, reading from her scroll with the occasional sounds associated with typing. They didn't say much to each other whenever it was just the monochrome pair, simply a nod of mutual respect. The heiress didn't want to interrupt Blake's reading and the Faunus returned the sentiment in kind.

Weiss didn't have much of a desk, only a nightstand, but it didn't restrict her from being orderly. The primary source she was working on would always be in front of her as was the scroll. To her right would be the five most relevant cross references and on the floor to her left were those of lesser importance stacked with their bindings pointed at the young huntress. This allowed her to easily identify them if she needed to. Other notebooks were piled neatly out on the bed's fringes, less relevant than direct sources and so much less important to rely on.

The first piece of work was to recount the fight as it happened and put it on paper, or at least the digital equivalent. It was supposed to be primarily a firsthand account, the other material left on the wayside for more personal connections. It seemed so long ago that she had entered Beacon and the most relevant memories of that day were less about the nevermore and more about Ruby, how they met, how much the little hooded child just crawled its way under Weiss' skin and into her mind, first as an irritation then a slow shift to admiration. She was so unique, a complete and total natural whom was unprofessional, and for her lack of classical perfection had some sense of inclination to it. Ruby was the one that killed the nevermore, though it took a group effort, she was still the one to snap through that feathered monster's neck.

Soon enough, reeling the memory back from Ruby to the nevermore ended up a very effective way to revision the fight, the bird's natural weapons, razor feathers famed for their sharp piercing power, its massive claws and seeming near invincibility. The first source, the mentioned book by Qrow, spoke over other faculties that larger versions had, a sharp beak that could break bone, and the sheer weight if, in desperation, the winged beast came crashing down on the opposition, almost always a much smaller hunter.

Soon Weiss was in full swing, her own memory being sacked quite effectively to the records. She had outlined a basic presentation for tomorrow's class, not only covering the kinds of nevermores that were common to the Emerald Forest, but also branching out into mountain varieties and some that lived in native Atlas. That peace was broken by a squeak, followed by rushed footsteps through the door.

"Friend! Girlfriend! I am home!" Ruby paraded herself inside, though Weiss only gave her the shortest of looks. It wasn't bad to see her or anything along those lines, but Weiss wanted to focus and while it was nice to know where Ruby was, she trusted the redhead to be perfectly fine on her own.

"Hi Ruby," Blake answered, softly flipping a page which prompted Weiss to do the same.

"Hello. Sorry about rushing out of class, Ruby, I just needed to collect some study things for Professor Thrym's new assignment," Weiss clarified, both absolving herself of guilt and telling her sweetly that she was busy. Ruby didn't buy it.

"No problem, Weiss. You know you look really beautiful today." Ruby was in a flirtish mood, she could tell that the redhead was swaying in front of Weiss' bed, shadow dancing back and force across the heiress' page.

"Thank you Ruby, but I really need to focus on this." She could almost hear Ruby pout, upset about the more stringent situation.

"You know she only wants you to kind of talk about our initiation. Port's going to take up most of the class."

Damn! Weiss internally screamed, pulling out her schedule. There was no way her two hour platform time was going to fit after one of Professor Port's sermons on Hunterly virtue. Everything needed to be reset, her speech on different types would have to be diminished into a foot note. Maybe if she asked to go first there was a chance to really get into the specific anatomy of the nevermore. It would be unprofessional, but instead of naming sources perhaps just a pamphlet handed out before class would do, perfect way to skip over such an annoying technicality.

Lost in thought, Ruby pulled the presentation notes right out of her hand to skim it herself.

"Hey!" Weiss shouted, but no one seemed to pay it mind.

"Weiss...the class is an hour long...this would take... three." Maybe for a slow loser who doesn't understand how to speak quickly and orderly it might! Weiss almost screamed, though just glared angrily, taking back her precious schedule. "Why are you so worried about this anyways? It's not that big of an assignment," Ruby tagged on questioning her.

"She wants to impress mama bear," Blake joked with a seeming disinterest she always tried to put on, but Weiss could tell that was an act, just her way of pressing buttons. Traitor always tried her best to embarrass Weiss about Ruby. She would so have her revenge.

"I am so not!" Weiss tried to muster a defense, but the one thing she was never good at, is talking in a flustered moment, "That doesn't even make sense, they are not even related!" That is such a lame defense, Weiss noted in her own head.

"Figuratively, Ice Queen," and Blake instead voiced.

"So, you want to impress Auntie, uhh..." Weiss turned to really look at Ruby closely for the first time since she entered the room and discovered something adorably haunting. She was red and glowing with a stupid dolt smile on her face that meant she thought Weiss was being cute, which the heiress would adamantly defend she never was. "For me?" That put the nail in the coffin. Ruby was lost in red and now Weiss felt dreadfully embarrassed. Blake was so dead to her.

"It's important to have good relations with the family and close associates of someone important, at least that's what I've always thought…" Weiss just felt herself ramble as the pair both individually turned to mush. Moments like this made her really hope nervousness got less intense with the passing of time.

"We could study together and, uhh, I could help?" Ruby was getting a little cutesy now, a dangerous proposition considering what counted for studying in such emotional times.

"I suppose so, sure. I just think—" Weiss was about to add, You should sit on your bunk to keep us focused, but no, Ruby did not. Instead, the redhead shuffled her way into Weiss' bed, all over the cross references and notebooks like a complete slob.

"Ruby, I was using those books!" Weiss shouted, quickly pulling them out from underneath the younger girl. She giggled, helping except when it came to the last one, a single book on Econ Weiss remembered from her own studies. A Modern Valen Market: The Economy of a King by King Geordie, one of the more popular books on burgeoning free market dust trade right before the rise of the Constitutional Monarchy in Vale. The first thought Weiss had was how absolutely trashy, even if famous, that piece of literature was. Next, was why the hell it was in Weiss' collection. Not thinking much of it, she tried to take the tome from Ruby's hand only to feel a pulling force on it.

"No Weiss, that's my book," Ruby grunted, tugging back on it with a protective panic.

No Ruby, there is no way in hell 'A Modern Valen Market' was ever, or will ever, be your book, was what Weiss would have said in return if she could have said anything at all. She was more locked to an open mouthed and raised brow sort of look, only letting a click of her tongue sound out in place of a question.

"No look, I'm sort of reading up. I rented this from the library. My scroll recommended it for Econ studies." Ruby looked like a cat caught with a dead bird or something to that effect, like as if Weiss would be mad about as sudden new interest in what she would have considered the least inclined subject for her girlfriend. Weiss didn't know what to say at first, glancing back to Blake who instead of pretending to be reading was staring back just as confused.

"Don't look that surprised! I can be smart, too!" Ruby cried out, embarrassed, "It's not like just 'cause I drink milk and eat cookies doesn't mean I can't take a late blooming interest in economy. Like, I just learned today that lien is fat money!" The redhead was scared, and what did she do when scared? She panicked.

"Fiat money, not fat money. Do you even know what that means?" Weiss asked, perhaps a little cruely.

"It's money that receives its worth through government regulation and law as form of accepted value instead of any physical or practical inherent worth." Ruby looked so happy, just a smiling dunce knowing that she was not only right on the money, but that Weiss was kind of blown away.

"Ruby... I mean, it's a kind of important thing for you to know, but why are you reading about economics? It's not a thing this academy teaches." Weiss found the question she was looking for all of a sudden and Ruby looked a bit mixed between bursting happy and a little fearful.

"Please don't make a big deal out of this?" Ruby asked with a chuckle, scratching the back of her neck.

"I'll try," Weiss replied not lying, but not exactly in the strongest faith that it wasn't.

"Okay, so I remember before your dad let us go, he talked about what kind of pressures you'll be under as the next head of your family. He talked about how I'd drive certain people away that could be helping you," Ruby paused with a sigh, grasping Weiss' already quaking hands. She disliked the pressure her father placed on her, but Ruby... messing with her head was unforgivable. Weiss wanted to make sure to keep that man far away from her partner as was possible forever, no matter the cost.

"I don't care what he told you Ruby, you are—"

"Shush, let me finish," Ruby interrupted, putting a finger to Weiss' lips, "I don't want to give up, but I know he wasn't lying. So I want to be able to sort of fill in, make up for the people who might not be there. So that means learning a bit about what you will be doing. I read a bunch of stuff about dust in the last few weeks and not only is it helping me as a huntress, I can really get a picture on why your family is kind of a big deal. Econ is next since I can help with the business," she was so red now, so ruby red, "Plus, if I'm here for the long haul, I, uhh, should know what the person I'm maybe in the distant future married to, you know, does?" Ruby had a hard time looking directly at her girlfriend, but she spoke pretty steadily for such a bold proclamation,

"Ruby… I… first of all I really appreciate that, I mean, a lot," Weiss took a deep breath as she paused, "but I grew up restricted. I can't choose what I want to do. Don't you let me chain you up and make you do the same. Your dream is to be a huntress. Be one." She didn't mean to sound chilling of cruel, and Ruby seemed to pick up on that, not faltering in the slightest.

"I'm not ruining my dream, I'm just adding to it a little. You'll need me to kill monsters." Her reply was soft spoken, almost a hush as she moved a tad closer, their faces only a shallow shift away. The rift would have been so easy to seal.

"As if I couldn't kill them myself," Weiss joked pridefully, not wanting the poor moods to ruin a moment. She was not immune to childish whimsy from time to time. Ruby closed that gap and soon they were kissing on top the sheets. It was kind of nice considering time alone was quite limited, not since they enjoyed that evening together after the dance.

Only they weren't alone, and a small shuffling noise alerted them. Blake, whom before blame was thrown around Weiss made sure to note was purposefully quiet this entire time, wasn't reading and more importantly was not facing the door anymore. Instead, she watched comfortably balled up with a pillow, opening a jar of peanut butter.

"Blake, I'm sorry, this is inappropriate in front of you, uhh, could you give us just a moment? I'm sorry," Weiss bumbled pushing off Ruby a slight distance away, a silent thud as her partner hit her head on the bunk above. The heiress swore she had done that every single time they shared the bed together. It was rare, but still how many times before a girl learns.

"No, keep going, this is good stuff," Blake replied, taking a small spoonful of peanut butter onto a cracker and enjoying a bite. She had the most intense watchful eyes, amber and attentive. They were especially the same eyes she had reading some of her more illicit reading material, the lewd woman.

"We are not a TV drama!" Weiss shouted, tossing one of her many pillows at Blake. She just ducked slightly to the left, the feathered projectile limply and harmlessly falling to the floor, neither teaching nor stopping her target.

"No, you're more like a bad novel, I think. Stop ruining the scene and get back to it," Blake commented with a devil's smile. She enjoyed toying with them, playing her little games. Weiss swore to all the heavens as soon as Blake started dating anyone to expose every little embarrassing secret she had. From bad poetry to baby pictures, the heiress had a company to back her exploits and war would be at her doorstep.

"No—" Weiss never got to finish her rant, though she barely considered it started as tiny arms forced her down onto the bed. The little red idiot was on top of her now, in front of Blake, and whatever gods could see.

"Sure!" was combined with a kiss that dissolved quickly into a just a pair of chuckling lips pressed onto the ice princess. Pushing her off was easy, Ruby didn't have much a sexually aggressive nature, and sure as hell not the want to resist an angry Weiss. Both she and Blake were laughing now, making a mockery of the prideful Schnee.

"I swear, you are such a traitor!" Weiss was flaming mad now, a quaking rage in her, though neither of the perpetrators seemed to take her seriously. Ruby was convulsing in a giggle fit so horrifying on top of all of Weiss' expensive rented books and Blake was, though much more ladylike, silently chuckling into her wrist.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Ruby, I so do," Blake added, making Ruby laugh even harder. Blake looked just about to say something, but her scroll shined a bright white a small tone playing lightly from it. She was quick to snatch it up and even quicker to stand up from her bed a ghost white. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. Ozpin needs me."

She never checked the device, never even looked at it, and before Weiss could reply to call out the bull, Blake was gone in a dash right out the door. She wanted to chase after her, pull the Faunus girl back by the ears and make her explain all this weirdness. Still, the conversation before rung in Weiss' ears. Somehow her father was involved, and despite all her martial strength, despite an impressive reputation, despite all her perfect mental faculties, she felt powerless in his game. He made a mockery of her and her friends like this, turning people around her into pawns.

"Weiss, uhh, sweetheart?" Ruby asked, pulling on her hand, driving attention away from the missing teammate diving out the door and back onto her own girlfriend, "Are you okay?"

"Ruby, no pet names, okay? I really don't suit nicknames," Weiss joked, sliding her hand more intertwining with Ruby's, "I'm fine, just thinking about some things." She didn't want to worry her partner about Blake more than she needed to. Guilt over the previous issue with her father still haunted Ruby enough as is, adding to it was certainly a bad idea.

"So," Ruby paused, a sign she was going to ask something dumb, "Blake left. At the dance we did some stuff, uhh, would you like to ushh-maybe, I don't really know, but like that stuff? Unless that's still a little ways off. I know I said it was, and you are shaking your head no, so I'm guessing no, okay no," Ruby rambled nervously as she always did at these kinds of moments. Weiss as she had mentioned was shaking her head no and giving her a scolding look. Someone was still rather aware of what they were supposed to be doing.

"You are tossing about on my mound of homework, not exactly alluring," Weiss lectured. Ruby made a silent embarrassed effort to organize the rather large mess she had made in the rush to both make out with Weiss and roll around in the aftermath. It wasn't too bad and now it was just the two of them, some ten books, and a few notebooks. It was nice like that, and when Ruby moved to get out of the bed, Weiss pulled her back.

"You said you were going to study with me, right?" Weiss gave a confident smirk and Ruby rewarded her with a smile.

"Absolutely, partner."

"Well, if you are going to study the market world you aren't going to be like those other royal charlatans! Only the best works to introduce you to the subject," Weiss reached over to the bookcase next to her headboard, pulling the closest book, a personal favorite of hers, out from the case, "The Dust Economy by Otto Schnee. My grandfather started the SDC, which is now the biggest supplier of dust in the world. You'll learn more from him than a forcefully abdicated king, I can promise you that! Just be careful, that is a first edition mind you!" Ruby took it warily, eyes mystified at the sizable leather bound book.

"It's really big," Ruby muttered, opening to the first page.

"Lots to talk about, though I'd advise skipping the Faunus serfdom section. Not that relevant anymore and a little racist, you know it's an old book and all," okay, awkward, "Just saying."

Things developed quickly into one of the most peaceful times Weiss could remember between them. She would read a quick page or two, Ruby would ask a question about particularly arcane words or alien concepts. Eventually the pauses became longer and longer as an hour or so passed. The two of them found themselves under the covers now, Ruby cuddling up for warmth, which didn't seem to bother Weiss anymore. They were both lost into their books, though lost was a bit more literal in terms of how much progress Ruby was making.

"So why is your grandpa talking about a unified Atlas and Vale?" Ruby mumbled into Weiss' shoulder.

"It was a pipe dream of his. Our family is from Atlas. We have traditional holdings and titles in both countries," Weiss simplified, knowing it didn't really matter. Her family was kind of heavily related to both, even spending more and more time in the Atlas corporate headquarters.

"So you're the pretty foreign girl?" Ruby asked more muffled, not even reading anymore.

"I was born here!"

"Still pretty."

"You are dim sometimes." Ruby laughed at that.

"Let's have a picnic next week again," she barely managed, now drifting off to sleep.

"When?"

"During the hunt."

"We'll be hunting nevermores."

"We'll eat nevermore."

"Ruby, are you even reading?" Weiss asked, looking down to see she was nestled almost uncomfortably close to her clavicle, face pressed unladylike in the heiress' chest. If she wasn't such an innocent little thing the silver huntress would have smacked the idiot out of her.

"Wake me up when dinner star..." she was drifting off now completely, the warm Ruby arms reaching around her partner weakly squeezing.

"Okay, but I'll be testing you on what you've read!" Weiss threatened half seriously, trying to get her up.

"If I win can I have cookies," Ruby was almost unrecognizable speaking softly into Weiss'.

"Only if you pass." Ruby didn't reply now, she was gone, asleep dreaming of whatever dolts did. Weiss kept working though, she wanted to be perfect for the presentation, even more for the hunt. Just as good as Azura, if not better was the goal, and every time Weiss thought she couldn't take one more gods' damned page about the most evil flying chicken Remnant had ever seen. Weiss would scratch her little Ruby's head for luck, a perfect little totem of fortune.

*** OMG I'm sleepy and want to die! :D I need to stop staying up super late to finish these XD Now it's off to editing by the fabulous LazyKatze who works so outrageously hard it's paramount to indentured servitude.

Speaking of LazyKatze, me and her are doing a wonderful Fantasy White Rose A.U. called The Snow White Knight and the Red Rose :D Check it out on my profile, just two clicks away!

Also more OC cameos in the form of Team SNNA! These are just cameos of course you'll never get more than a brief mention, but I like doing stuff for friends and it's just an easy way to fill extras I need to make Beacon feel as big a school as it is :D