Chapter 25

Stick

"I hate you."

"Shame, that."

"I'm being – ugh – serious."

"Is that so?"

"It is so."

"Then I guess nothing much will change if I make you carry my gear as well?

"Wait – no! Don't you da- oh Dust, my spine!"

Rose sighed in relief, popping her back for good measure. Her shirt was sticky with sweat, and clinging to her a tad uncomfortably. Her nose curled at the acrid smell of her perspiration. Team RWBY and Rose had been making their way into the centre of the twelfth forest training grounds for about an hour now. Rose was by no means unfit, but walking with the handicap of a leg in a cast through a darkening forest fit to bursting with undergrowth was pretty decent exercise, all told. Blake, Ruby and Yang all seemed completely unfazed. They were easily walking through the forest with serene expressions, obviously enjoying the beauty of nature.

It probably helped that Weiss was carrying literally all the supplies. She was panting heavily, and her travelling clothes – consisting of sturdy pants, boots, t-shirt and trademark bolero jacket, all white and blue – were drenched with sweat. She seemed exhausted, groaning as she struggled under the increased weight of Rose's own small pack, now added to the inhumane amount of gear she was already toting.

"They will never find your body." Weiss muttered, sending a potent glare toward Rose.

"Hey guys!" Rose called, getting the attention of the younger women that had walked ahead. "Weiss said she was pretty hungry, so we're going to be moving at double pace until we make camp for dinner, 'kay?"

Blake snorted, looking between Weiss – who, in all her sweaty glory, looked about ready to commit magistricide – and Rose, who held an air of smug victory. She wasn't going to say a word, she might be teammates and more recently friends with Weiss but she didn't feel the need to begin her own 'training' under Rose just yet.

Ruby didn't consider the situation with near as much thought, beyond wondering just what they would be eating for dinner.

Yang was going to reply, really she was, but when Weiss grabbed the bottom of her top and lifted it up to wipe the sweat from her face all the coherent thought in her brain was replaced by images of a flawlessly pale, well toned stomach dripping with beads of sweat. She felt a spike of warmth in her stomach, a warmth that travelled straight to her cheeks.

"Unf." Yang managed, her voice catching in odd mix between a groan and an exhalation. When Rose turned to her with a knowing quirk to her lips, eye alight with amusement Yang's blush darkened even more deeply. "Yeahsoundsgood." She said in a rush, turning on her heel to escape her sister and her tormentor.

Her sexy, sexy tormentor.

"This'll do." Rose declared, and Weiss promptly fell over, panting and groaning as she divulged herself of the mountain of packs she was carrying. Ruby looked on worriedly, moving toward the pile of sweaty heiress and all her equipment. She quickly rummaged through her bag whilst Weiss recuperated.

"Here." Ruby offered, shaking Weiss shoulder lightly with one hand, a flask of water in the other.

Weiss cracked a single eye open, as well as opening her mouth in the beginnings of a snarl. Then she saw the water. Her almost-snarl stopped, before turning into something altogether softer

"Thank you, Ruby." She said, a hint of smile audible in her tone.

"You're welcome, partner." Her younger friend beamed.

"Okie dokes!" Rose announced loudly. "First things first, we are going to set up a duty roster."

A series of groans came from the sister duo, a grunt from Blake and a barely audible promise of painful dismemberment from Weiss.

"Do we have to?" Yang pouted. "We haven't even had dinner."

"Exactly, and it's getting dark so the sooner we get this done the better."

"I'll take first watch, I suppose." Blake sighed, pointing at her night-sight capable eyes.

"Actually, that won't be necessary." Rose denied politely.

Ruby blinked slowly in confusion. "Uhh, what about Grimm? I know the training grounds are usually really clear but shouldn't we still be careful?"

"I've got a teensy reward for Weiss that pretty much solves that problem."

"Reward?" Weiss croaked dubiously, glaring at Rose from down below, where she was still sprawled in the dirt.

"For doing so well, and not complaining." Rose smiled happily.

"Didn't she threaten to first freeze you solid during your next shower and then throw you off the highest tower at Beacon?" Yang asked. "Because I didn't know I could dream up threats that fun."

Rose waved her off. "Casual death threats are the name of the game with Weisscicle,"

"Call me Weisscicle again and I swear I'll bury you alive." Weiss growled at Rose.

"See?" Rose asked blithely, grinning at her sister. "Nothing new. But like I said, I've got a reward for you."

"Which would be…?" Weiss prompted with an air of resignation.

"A new runic spell scheme." Rose smirked.

Weiss blinked slowly, before excitement lit behind her eyes at Rose's declaration. "You know some of the spells I used in the future!" She whispered giddily.

"A couple of the easier ones, and your magnum opus." Rose nodded.

"Magnum opus?" Weiss repeated slowly. "You mean to tell me you know what could possibly be my life's greatest spellwork?

"Localised time dilation." Rose provided.

Weiss gaped at her. "What? Are you sure it is dilation, not personal acceleration?"

"Completely sure."

"But that- how? The power requirements alone would be utterly inhuman, and the number of paradox prevention matrixes you'd need in order to stabilize it are preposterous! How could you possibly factor in the nature of time and causality into a spell?!" Weiss shot off several remarks in quick succession.

"An explanation for those of us who aren't familiar with magic?" Blake cut in calmly, her features curious as to what had gotten Weiss into such a tizzy.

"Weiss made a spell that slows down time."

Yang whistled. "That sounds super impressive,"

"And impossible!" Weiss remarked.

"But I still don't think I really understand the big deal, I've seen people make themselves faster in a couple of tourneys." Yang finished.

"What you saw is acceleration." Rose told Yang. "The mage makes their body faster, but thought processes and reflexes don't increase. Weiss' time dilation doesn't increase the users speed; it actually slows the flow of time for everyone except the caster in a set area. Everyone else looks like they're moving through jelly, and thinking just as slow too, or that's how it has been described to me."

"You haven't used it yourself?" Ruby asked curiously.

"I couldn't if I tried, only Weiss can, and thats because of her semblance." Rose explained.

"I've been meaning to ask about that." Blake admitted. "I've seen you cast several minor spells, and every time a small system of runes is called into effect. It looks a lot like Weiss' glyphs and I was wondering what makes Weiss' semblance unique in comparison to regular spell runes." She gave her white haired teammate a look that made it obvious that her question hadn't been made in the spirit of disparaging her skills.

"I'll let Weiss field that one."

Weiss nodded slowly. "You don't need a glyph semblance in order to do magic, it is completely possible to use standard runes to cast some of the most powerful spells known on Remnant. But glyph semblances, for lack of a better term, are like secret signatures. Glyphs carry certain traits that impossible to duplicate using standard runic. They provide a unique flair, if you would, to our spellwork. They cannot be copied and any glyph specific spell is impossible to wield for anyone except the one it was created for."

"That's a good summary." Rose granted. "You know Glynda, of course?"

"Not as well as you do." Yang chimed in with smirk.

"Probably for the best." Rose laughed lightly. "Well, her circular glyphs, in the most basic of terms, provide her with immense control and manipulative ability. That's why her grasp of telekinesis is both so incredible and unique, no one else could ever hope to achieve the same level she has without a similar semblance."

"So you're saying that every glyph user has a special, beneficial trait unique only to them and their magical ability?"

"One or more, yeah." Rose confirmed.

"What's yours, Weiss?" Yang asked curiously.

"Durability, complexity and…" She trailed off and her eyes widened immensely.

"Stability." Rose finished for her with knowing smile. "The fractal nature of our ice-queen's glyphs lets her absolutely cram it with parameters and stabilisation patterns. She can make the spell as complex and stable as she wants, basically. And the durable nature of her spell anchors the effects instead of allowing the spell to dissipate. No one else but her could ever hope to cast it."

"So why did you memorise it?" Ruby asked.

"Because she asked me to." Rose shrugged. "That isn't the whole reason, but it's the one that matters the most."

"Thank you for that." Weiss said with a small smile, which soon morphed into a hungry grin. "So about this spell-"

"Ah pup pup pup!" Rose raised a hand and shook her head. "No way am I going to even begin teaching you the magnum opus before you get a better grip on your semblance."

Weiss looked ready to argue, before she frowned. "I probably wouldn't be able to cast something that complex anyway." She conceded, and Rose swore she was almost pouting.

"Whilst the others set up the tents, I'm going to teach you how to cast runic sentry wards."

Dinner consisted of a packet of fresh noodles, some vegetables Rose had nicked from the Beacon kitchens, and a sizeable amount of chicken stock. It was a simple, lightly spiced noodle soup but it was well received. Beacon's meals had a tendency to be on the heavier side on account of the trainees requiring an exorbitant amount of calories in order to perform at peak efficiency. So a light soup of veg and rice noodles sat extremely well with Rose and the young team.

They sat round a fire in the middle of their camp clearing, with two (and only two, Yang noticed) tents to the left of fire. A small stream bubbled joyfully by about twenty metres to their right. In a circle with a radius of at least one hundred metres was an array of sensory runes. These runes would warn the caster of any negative presence that passed near them - faunus, human or Grimm - and would waken them from even the deepest sleep.

Suffice to say that Weiss' teammates were practically worshipping her new ability to nullify the requirement of a night watch - at least in low risk areas. It suited her well, just as Rose knew it would. Despite her distaste for acting the part of the pampered heiress, she was incredibly unenthusiastic when it came to chores. But with her new role as permanent sentry her teammates were completely willing to leave her the lightest allotment of tasks.

It was a neat system that benefited everyone; Weiss didn't have to undertake the tedious labour she so detested, her teammates could enjoy a full nights sleep and conflict was greatly mitigated.

"I can't believe I forgot the smores." Ruby wailed mournfully, having gone searching for her package of smore supplies and discovered them to be absent.

"It's okay sis." Yang comforted, patting her little sister on the shoulder in a show of support.

"Maybe next time." Blake told her.

"Ugh, and I totally promised Weiss some smores." Ruby turned around from her seat on her log. "I'm so sorry, Weiss- ah... Weiss?"

Rose chucked lightly at Weiss who was slumbering softly, slumped over on a log she previously had her back propped against. "She's probably pretty pooped from all that training earlier."

Blake winced in sympathy. "That didn't look like fun."

Rose gave her a wide smile that did little to inspire confidence in Blake's heart. "Just because you got off easy today doesn't mean I'm not going to work you into the floor tomorrow."

"That's what I was afraid of." Blake muttered.

"Chin up, Blakey." Rose said. "I've got rewards for you lot if you impress me as well."

"Ohhhh prizes!" Yang cheered. "What you got, big sis?"

"Well, I'm going to teach you how to throw massive fireballs, Yang."

"What in Oum's name gave you the idea that would be a good thing?" Ruby questioned, horrified.

"I trust Yang not to throw gigantic, explosive fireballs willy nilly." Rose waved Ruby off. "And anyway, if I ever caught her doing so... well, we can cross that bridge when we get to it, right sis?"

Yang nodded fervently at the predatory, demanding glint in Rose's eye, which disappeared as soon as she agreed. Then it hit her.

"That is going to be badass." Yang fist pumped.

"Oh, oh! What about me?!" Ruby stuck her hand straight in the air.

"Want to work on those plans to upgrade Crescent Rose?"

Ruby suppressed a squeal in order to avoid waking Weiss, managing to curtail the noise of her glee by squeaking aloud into her cape. She practically bounced in her seat. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!"

Rose laughed, leaning over to ruffle Ruby's hair. The younger girl grumbled at Rose before stifling a wide-mouthed yawn.

"What about me?" Blake questioned.

"I was going to teach you about makeup."

"...Makeup?" Blake uttered slowly, the word tumbling out of her mouth heavy with incredulity.

"It's a start on teaching you about professional disguises." Rose told her.

"Ohh, you're turning my partner into a spy!" Yang grinned. "I'm totally cool with this."

"Me," Ruby yawned loudly again. "Too."

"I'd like that." Blake agreed with a small smirk, before turning to the rapidly dwindling Ruby and the already sleeping Weiss. "Maybe it's time for bed?" Blake suggested.

"Sounds good." Rose stood up in a stretch. "Blake, do you mind bunking with me and little Rose?" The cat faunus shook her head in the negative, and Rose promptly got the sleepy Ruby on her feet.

"Come on, lets hit the hay." Rose said.

"Operation 'climbing-into-my-sleepingbag-sounds-amazing' is a go." Ruby mumbled, stumbling across the clearing and practically falling into the larger of the two tents. "Night." She called, voice muffled from within the tent.

Blake chuckled as she followed Ruby's lead, albeit more gracefully, slipping into the tent with nary a sound. Rose, who had been making her own way to the tent was stopped by Yang.

"I see how it is, leave it to me to wake up Weiss!" Yang grumbled.

"Who said anything about waking her? You're sharing a tent, just carry her." Rose advised with a cheerful wink. "Good luck, sis!" She said before Yang could get a word in, slipping into the same tent as Blake and Ruby.

"I knew she was up to something." Yang muttered, slipping the glove off her right hand. The fire was small, but Yang quickly snuffed it out using her bare hand, patting out the flames unflinchingly as her semblance provided her with immunity to the flames. With a sigh she stood, dusting her ashey hand off on her pants before turning to look at Weiss.

The heiress was curled up, sleeping peacefully. Her white hair was let loose, cascading around her shoulders instead of being held in its customary side-ponytail. Her face, which was usually either completely impassive or intimidating and expressive, was serene. It was such a peaceful cast on her features that it left Yang slightly entranced. She was beautiful, even more so than usual, almost as if she were truly glowing, softly pale in the moonlight.

Carefully, slowly, Yang picked her up from her relaxed position. Weiss mumbled a little in her sleep but thankfully didn't wake. Lifting her bridal style Yang smiled softly at how cute her crush looked right now. Until she took a deep breath, and caught her scent.

Yang, despite her best efforts to not give into her pervy side, couldn't quite dismiss how good Weiss smelt. She knew that it was sweat and dirt and who knows what else from her jaunt through the forest earlier that day. She knew it was a unhygienic, and should not be at all attractive. She also knew that it was completely innocent.

But Weiss still kinda-sorta smelt like sex, and that was totally a turn on.

Yang mercilessly battered her libido in submission. She was acting like a creepy old man, sniffing around an unconscious teenager girl. She walked slowly, doing her utmost not to jostle Weiss too much as she moved toward the tent. It was a good thing Weiss was so petite, or this would be a much more difficult endeavour.

Especially when she had to figure out how to put the warm, cuddly bundle in her arms down. Weiss was at this point practically snuggling into her blonde teammate, clinging to her warmth. Yang couldn't quite find it in herself to complain. Manoeuvring herself carefully, she lowered herself and her cargo down slowly, laying down on the unzipped, heavy duty sleeping bags on the ground. It was almost perfect.

"Rose you maniac, Weiss is going to kill me." Yang whispered as she found herself lying on her back with Weiss cuddled firmly into her side, apparently unwilling to let go. Eventually as some time passed Yang found herself relaxing. It was nice, Weiss was soft and warm, and her hair was smooth, laying -

Yang stiffened, eyes going wide as she felt a light pressure on her collarbone. Craning her head downward she peeked at Weiss sleeping next to her. And she was nuzzling Yang. She wasn't quite sure what that pressure had be-

"Mmm-ph!" Yang stifled a moan, her eyes fluttering shut as Weiss pressed a lingering kiss to the pulse point on her neck in her goddamn sleep. This was ridiculous! She fully admitted to having some inappropriate thoughts earlier, but this was too much. Weiss was kissing her sleep! It was totally unfair an- oh my Oum she's doing it again. And again. And again. And again.

Weiss was practically laying siege to Yang's neck, trailing kisses up and down its length unconsciously. Yang was wide awake, feeling flushed, breathless, totally turned on and a little guilty. Only an little guilty, seeing as none of this was really her fault. And Weiss really was trying to kill her. She was so warm and she smelt so fucking good and she was kissing her and Yang thought she was just about ready to melt into a big, horny puddle. Her crush had some serious sleep-game, because one of her hands had found its way underneath Yang's shirt and was trailing lazily over her taught stomach. Yang had to repress a variety of sounds at the fire Weiss' touch elicited on her body, at the gorgeous feeling of her sweet lips on her neck. And as Weiss suddenly shuffled and moved a leg, slipping it between Yang's and moving it upward...

Yang stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle what would have been a downright pornographic moan. This was absolute insanity. Weiss was all over her, kissing and rubbing and touching and fuuuuuuuuuuuuck. She turned her heavily blushing face toward the sky, facing the roof of her tent.

"So this is how I die?" Yang mumbled, her accusation travelling upward toward the heavens.

FAVOURITE~REVIEW~FOLLOW!

This chapter is going up an hour or two later than I wanted it to. Why? Because I managed to lock myself in my own bathroom and had to McGuyver my way out. (I kicked the door down. Ooops.)

Alls well that ends well, though!

Cheers!

(P.S. I re-edited this chapter because people mentioned it was done poorly the first time around. My bad.)