Deviation Actions
Literature Text
“That’s right…that’s how you hold it. Good job, little one. I think you’ll get the hang of this really fast.”
“Thank you, dad! Do you think I can help you when you go on the parade this time?”
“Haha, I think it would be best if you stayed home for this one. Your mother would be worried sick if I brought you with us, you know that.”
“Yeah, yeah…maybe next time?”
“Next time, sweetheart.”
---
And when the next time came around, her father honored his promise. It took a lot of courage on both their parts to participate with the recent change in management. Instead of raging arguments, there were now sparking riots. This small civil rights group had ended up encompassing most of the Faunus population at its peak, which was around the time things started getting major.
Blake Belladonna was always at the front of these rallies. Once she was old enough to understand what they were screaming…FIGHTING for, she wanted nothing else than to help in any way possible. From the first day she could hold a sign, memorize a chant, she was an active member in the White Fang protests. All they wanted was equality, rather than the animalistic treatment her people were being given beforehand. She feared the direction it was going, though…the first time she disassembled and reassembled her very own weapon, she knew the times had changed.
She remembered the first bloody riot…she remembered it quite well. She was young at the time, preteen aged. Her father warned her that things were taking a turn, but she insisted on coming with him.
That was the first day she’d ever hurt a living person.
And it was the day she lost her father.
---
“…And that is why it is imperative to never trust a single Beowolf…where there’s one, there is a whole pack in waiting.”
Clearing his throat and glancing down at his watch, Lupen looked over the class with his sleek yellow eyes and nodded.
“That is all for this morning. Remember to have your reports on Beowolf behavior completed by next class. Hopefully we can get clearance for a trip to observe them soon. I’m sure many of you are more partial to ‘hands-on’ teaching, anyway.”
Bobbing his head, he walked behind his desk and shuffled some papers together, taking a sip from his coffee cup and watching the class file out. Good…not bad for your first day. He thought to himself, straightening up and tilting his head, looking at four students who still had yet to leave. He noticed them acting odd through his entire lecture, and he wondered why.
“Ahem…students…did you have extra questions regarding the lecture, or…?”
He began, instantly noticing a fiery look in the eyes of the girl with long blonde hair. There was a wildfire in her head…it almost looked like her eyes were changing color. Narrowing his eyes, he looked at the one possibly acting the strangest of all, at the left of the group from his view. She reminded him a lot of himself, actually…it must have been a coincidence. Shaking his head and breathing out, he ran his fingers through his hair, wondering what to do. It seemed like they were at a standstill.
“What did you say your name was, sir?”
The fiery girl asked him in a tone of voice matching her countenance, standing up and putting her hands on the desk in front of her. Curling his mouth slightly, he nodded.
“My name is Lupen Belladonna. And you four are?”
He counter-asked, tilting his head to the girl’s left and right. She suddenly got a look on her face as if she had bitten her tongue, and she sat down hard. After a few seconds of silence, he cleared his throat and the girl to the right of the group jumped slightly
“R-RUBY ROSE!”
She loudly said, eyeing her teammates and nodding towards him. Rolling her eyes, the girl next to her with white hair and a red cloak covering her shoulders breathed out sharply, looking up at the man.
“Weiss Schnee.”
She choked out, not particularly wanting to say her name at the moment. Hmmm…the wealthy heiress I’ve been hearing so much about. Interesting. He thought, touching his chin.
“And you two?”
He asked lightly with a tilt of his head, genuinely interested in this odd bunch. Much to his dismay, the girl who already seemed angry stood up quickly again and kept her eyes down and to her right…fixing them on the final teammate with long black hair and eyes that he noticed were similar to his. Quickly, she grabbed her arm and pulled her up.
“Do you know who THIS is, professor?”
She demanded, the other girl’s head just going along as she shook her. Swallowing, he shook his head slowly, leaning forward.
“I don’t believe I’ve known any of you personally until now, no.”
He answered, leaning back. He was starting to get annoyed at this behavior…he already had to deal with the fact that he was a Faunus teacher. The first at this academy if he could remember correctly…and humans weren’t too fond of Faunus. But, before he could say anything else, the girl being held got her arm free and put her hand up, causing the other to take a step back. Closing her eyes and moving her hand to her head, Blake touched the bow sitting on top, taking a loose end between her fingers and pulling it until the ribbon was free and her secret was uncovered. Gasping and sitting forward, putting his hands on his desk, Lupen couldn’t help but let his mouth hang open with his eyebrows twitching. She has…feline ears...He thought, planting his hands on the desk and starting to stand up. Putting up her hand again, Blake stopped him, closing her eyes briefly.
“You might not remember me…but I saw it the moment I noticed you…dad…”
She said, getting quieter with every word. Turning to the side, she walked slowly out of the row, making her way out of the class without saying another word. Clenching her fists, Yang climbed over the table, running after her and leaving Ruby, Weiss, and Lupen alone in the room.
“So…can you talk to Beo-OUGH!”
Ruby began before she was elbowed by Weiss.
“We have a class to get to, I’m sure. Sorry…sir.”
Weiss covered, dragging Ruby out of the row and along by her arm.
“Ow, ow, owowow- Could you stop that, Weiss? I CAN walk you know.”
Ruby whined as she was drug up the center aisle and out of the class. Sighing, Weiss let her go after they were out of the room, closing the door behind them and leaning on it. Leaning next to her, Ruby tilted her head forward and looked up at Weiss’ face. Blinking and turning around quickly, she saw that there was no trace of Blake or Yang except for two sets of footprints in the snow that had slowly begun to accumulate.
“Should we…go after them?”
Ruby awkwardly asked, eyeing the tracks and then Weiss. Shaking her head lightly, Weiss put her arm around Ruby, wrapping the cloak around them both again.
“No…I think that Yang can handle her.”
Weiss answered, following Ruby’s lead. The snow hadn’t gotten too deep, but it was coming down steadily…Weiss was starting to worry that it would get bad. Not soon, but eventually. I really don’t want to have to explain Ruby clinging to…She thought, before feeling a squeeze around her waist and back, looking down to see Ruby’s arms holding tightly to her. Sighing, she gave up and put her other arm around Ruby the same way, walking with her to their next location.
---
After she exited the class, Blake broke out into a run, seeing her opening and tearing across an area in front of this section of class buildings. Keeping her in her sights, Yang ran through Lupen’s door soon after, vaulting over a small stone wall and running to catch up with Blake who in turn kicked up her speed. Not willing to let her go without a fight this time, Yang pushed herself and jumped, tackling Blake to the snow. Breathing heavily, Yang turned her over onto her back, holding her shoulders.
“Blake…don’t…run like that…again…I’m not…repeating…the Vale…Fall festival…”
She said between breaths, swallowing and taking a deeper one, the frigid air piercing her throat. Blake looked up at her surprised that she would go to all the trouble to stop her like that…
“Thanks for pulling me to the ground…Yang…”
“I just want to know…what’s going on here…”
Yang continued, disregarding Blake’s attempt to get up. She was tired of watching the details slip by her, as she was sure her friends were as well. The truth was the only thing that would settle her flipping stomach, and it was about what she needed right now. Trying to sit up again, Blake tried to pry Yang’s fingers from her shoulder to no avail. Narrowing her eyes, Yang simply stared at Blake’s; trying desperately to uncover what was behind them. The time for sitting still was done to her.
“Yang…”
Blake said flatly, staring her back in the face just as fiercely, but perhaps with more frost. Just simply saying her name had enough power to make Yang’s shoulders slump and her grip weaken. Slowly, Blake picked off her fingers and shook her head. Rolling off her into the snow, Yang laid with her arms and legs splayed out, Blake doing the same across from her. Starting to say something but stopping herself suddenly, Yang let out a sigh, watching her breath billow off into the waxing daylight, the risen sun catching edges in the architecture and spraying rays down into the snow. Although clumping clouds kept the snow moving and the sky white, the sun had found a crack to shine through in the impenetrable shield miles above the girls’ bodies, higher above the mechanical Bullhead ferrying either people or cargo across the islands, floating by at a leisurely pace.
Farther above the words that were lost to the days of silence, the words that could have or would have been said, though none of them were forgotten…most were just regretted and filed away. Finally letting out one last breath, Blake decided to be the one to quell the icy atmosphere around them.
“I don’t mean to be silent, Yang…”
She said quietly, moving her arms back and forth almost unnoticeably. Swallowing and tilting her head down to look across her body and past her feet at Blake, Yang simply shrugged and laid flat again.
“I just want to know that you’re okay. I don’t think you should handle everything by yourself…no one should.”
She replied in between deep breaths. Sitting up slowly with her hands supporting her torso, Blake leaned her head back and shook the snow out of her hair, with Yang rolling to her stomach soon after. Re-tying the bow around her head, Blake flicked her bangs out of her eyes and got to her feet, holding out a hand to Yang after stretching.
“I can’t promise anything…but I can try. I’m just not used to this kind of help from anybody, you know…?”
She wearily said as Yang took her hand and stood, straightening up after a slight stumble. Nodding slowly, Yang narrowed her eyes and looked to the side at nothing in particular, the tracks they left catching her eyes eventually and bringing them up to focus on the sleek stone wall in shadow across from the two, cutting her eyes back to glance at Blake for an instant. Crossing her arms and nodding, Blake took the first step and walked into the long hallway, patting the snow off her uniform and waiting for Yang.
“Yeah…I can understand. Just don’t go back on me, Blake.”
“Like I said…I’ll try my best.”
“You promise me?”
“Promise.”
---
Late afternoon days later
---
The day was late, and so, logically, the air had cooled to near mind numbing levels. Of course, that didn’t stop Weiss and Ruby from having the window to team RWBY’s dorm room open. Sitting across from each other on the windowsill, they were simply resting after a day of…not much. They didn’t have anything too hard to study, which was what they were doing right now, and they hadn’t been given much work in their classes if any. The holidays were coming up soon, and contrary to prior belief, the chains of schoolwork were actually a bit looser than normal.
Humming to herself a distant tune, Weiss only just noticed a different sound, but one even more distant to her ears. She wasn’t sure if it was real or not until she was positive she heard something else out of the ordinary. Looking up from her work suddenly, she eyed Ruby who had begun to tap her fingers on the wood of the sill. A seemingly unconscious movement, but still a movement nonetheless. On top of that, a movement that was distracting.
About to clear her throat, Weiss cut her eyes up to Ruby’s head and stopped when she saw the set of red headphones tightly wrapped across the top of her head, the cups around her ears seeming to move with the tune of whatever she was listening to. A slight smirk creeping across her face, Weiss tapped Ruby on the shoulder, causing her to jump and squeak. Pressing a button on the player and pulling the headphones down around her neck, Ruby looked up at Weiss with a puppy dog face, blinking.
“What’s up, Weiss? Did I get this stuff wrong again…?”
She asked carefully, looking down at the paper and scratching her head upon examining the current page. Shaking her head, Weiss tilted her head back, stretching slowly.
“No, Ruby…it looks right, actually. No, I was wondering about that music you were listening to a sec ago. You seem to enjoy it.”
Weiss confirmed after yawning and putting her hands back on the sill in front of her. Smiling almost as quickly as her face fell at first, Ruby nodded and looked at the mp3 player in her hand.
“Yep, music is one thing that’s always stuck by me. I’ve never had to worry about it leaving or anything, so of course I love it! I like so much too.”
Bobbing her head, she closed her eyes and put the player next to her pencil on a table beside the window, breathing out and taking the headphones from around her neck.
“Well…if you like it so much, do you think I would? I never get a chance to listen to music. I guess the last time I really just sat still and heard it was at the Vale Fall festival, and even then I wasn’t really paying attention.”
Weiss asked, bouncing her leg softly off the outside of the windowsill where they were perched. Shrugging, Ruby smiled a bit wider and offered her headphones with one hand while picking up the mp3 player and cycling through the track listing with the other, looking for something she assumed Weiss would like. After going through her whole collection once over, she shook her head and put it on shuffle. A little musical roulette never hurt anyone.
Looking back up at Weiss, Ruby let go of the headphones and brought the volume down a bit, pressing play and watching with her smirk starting to return. Closing her eyes, Weiss slipped them on, adjusting her hair carefully and shooting Ruby a dirty look when she snickered quietly. Paying attention to the sound coming through the things, she leaned back against the frame of the window, shutting her eyes again and suddenly twitching her cheek. Opening her eyes and blinking, she leaned forward a bit and then went back again, not sure how to sit when listening to something like this. She didn’t really know how to describe it…so many different sounds that should never be put together actually making something that was pleasant to listen to, albeit difficult to get used to in a setting like this…she liked it.
Ruby shook her head and smiled, watching Weiss react to her good friend. Sighing and stretching, she twisted her fingers together and pulled her arms high above her head, coaxing a yawn out from deep within her. Swinging her leg over the sill and back into the room, she stood up and put her hands on her lower back, leaning back as far as she could and letting out a quiet noise from the activity. Pulling off her boots, she decided to plop down on Weiss’ bed, one of her arms hanging off the side and her feet crossed behind her.
Glancing over at Ruby, Weiss slowly pulled the headphones off after the song came to an end. Closing her eyes and tilting her head down, she carefully set them down on the table, along with the music player. Swinging her own leg back inside the room, she stood and gathered the papers laid out across the windowsill before closing the large glass sentinels with a soft clang. Bowing her head for a moment and putting it against the wood separating the panes of glass, Weiss closed her eyes again and let her thoughts wander. With the windows shut, a rush of warmth followed from the opposite direction, comforting air washing over her instantly and giving her a chance to get her thoughts together and in order again. Straightening up, she locked the windows shut with the latch, putting a hand on her neck and rolling her head to work out the stiffness caused by exposure to the cold for so long. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the ceiling, a small chuckling laugh crossing her lips as she remembered the effort it took to get the bunk beds set up. In the end, Weiss was glad that her vote was overturned. It didn’t really even matter that she was in danger for a few hours every day. Well…they would always be in danger if they all got what they wanted. To become Huntresses like the stories said. Personally, she didn’t mind much whether she became a Huntress or not. The training itself was well worth the time it took to gain it, anyway. No, she probably wouldn’t be a Huntress. She WOULD have a company to look after in a few years, after all.
But what about the others? How did she feel about them?
Walking towards her bed, Ruby sat up when she noticed her coming, moving over a bit. Nodding lightly, Weiss took up the space Ruby made and put her elbows on her knees, resting her chin in the palms of her hands. The others…she knew that Yang wanted to become a Huntress, although probably not as bad as some people she knew. To her, it just looked like Yang was having a good time.
Blake was definitely a strange case. Weiss wished she knew what exactly to say about what she’d seen earlier in the week in Grimm Studies. The girl was a strong one, that much was obvious. From what little she’d heard, Weiss gathered that Blake had a cloudy past, and one that almost never showed through. At this point, she felt pretty bad for yelling at her over something that obviously was affecting everyone…the revelation bit down hard when it was brought to the surface, though. Luckily for both of them, though, Weiss could feel the stranglehold loosening. She might have some questions to ask later.
Finally, she turned to her right and tilted her head slightly to look at…well…Weiss didn’t know how exactly to label her. She turned to look at Ruby…that one girl. That one girl that made her the angriest, and yet…the happiest…so far. She hated looking at her, but enjoyed it too. Her fighting style was horrid, but it still got the job done without being fancy, and did a GOOD job too. Not to mention the way she did things, it was INFURIATING sometimes…but at the same time…she was a leader that had a few good cards in her hand.
Weiss…didn’t really know how to react to her own inner process. She had never thought about things like this before. To tell the truth she just didn’t think she’d need to, if she was going to be by herself irreversibly one day anyway. This time at Beacon was for learning…and nothing else. At least…that’s what she told herself subconsciously the first day she set foot on the grounds of the school. That was before she’d been faced with this…anything like this.
The look she was getting right now…even though neither of them had said a word, Ruby’s face looked…serious for once. But curious. Weiss could practically see her mind working however it did inside her head, ticking away seconds like hours. Inside her own head, there were plenty of questions that were being answered unconsciously, without her even knowing they were being answered…or asked for that matter. Just as her mind was swatting away at questions, her body was drawing closer to a warmth that only came from one place. And…she could feel Ruby’s moving towards the same goal. Weiss had no idea what was going on in the other’s head, and that was fine with her. All she knew was that a few…past mistakes…a few errors on both their parts…could be cancelled out easily. Slowly, Weiss forgot what stood in their way. She forgot the things that made her angry. She just thought of the things that made her feel at home…for once in her life.
Closing her eyes, she leaned in and brushed her lips past Ruby’s, feeling the heat emitting from the other’s face with what she was sure was a small blush on hers. Now, no problems were showing, no obstacles standing in their way…just clarity as they both readjusted, with Weiss being softly pressed back onto the bed, Ruby showing through her timidity with strength that she didn’t know she had. Feeling a light being flicked on, Weiss moved one of her hands up Ruby’s side, pushing down on her back and moving one of her legs up. As she felt her skin rub against stocking, she also tried to focus her attention on understanding and memorizing what she felt in this moment. Tilting her head slightly, she made a more distinct pass, moving her head forward as well and meeting Ruby’s lips with her own vitality. Stopping for an instant, Weiss was almost amazed at how…soft Ruby was. How comforting the feeling of her presence could be. It was almost laughable, and she probably would have laughed in another time, ANY other time, but…with everything blended together like this she didn’t care if the whole world was laughing or crying…she knew that this meant they never would be…the moment was so static, but dynamic as well, both of their inner workings exposed clear as day, to each other at least.
Slowly, Ruby pulled up and took a breath after the long kiss, her eyes wide but her mouth small. She didn’t expect any of this to happen, either. To her, Weiss was always an untouchable. Someone who knew what she was doing, at least to herself, and didn’t want to bow to anything else, any other rule but her own. They both fought each other for control, and Ruby was afraid of what the outcome would yield. Little did she know that it was all spilling over when there was nobody around to scrutinize the perfect behavior of the heiress Weiss Schnee…the bitter tears that fell from her eyes when the curtain closed. They may have both been afraid, but Ruby felt it the most. She only wanted to be a Huntress, not get on everyone and their cousin’s bad side. And just when she thought she was in the clear for at least a little while, Weiss…well, she showed her up. She was the center of attention that she dreamed she was, out in the open. All it took was one late-night look outside when Ruby realized the true reason…got the whole story. It took her only a short time to realize that she needed to be tall; she needed to convince Weiss that she had her back. And…it seemed like she had proven herself.
Looking each other in the eye for a longer time than they knew how to measure off the top of their heads, they simply rested in that room, examining the things that made them realize that they were alive and well. After another solid minute of silent conversation, Ruby slowly rested her head on Weiss’ chest, wrapping her arms around the other’s back. In response, Weiss placed her hands on Ruby’s lower back and her chin on her head, closing her eyes and breathing slowly, relaxed and content.
Letting her eyes shut as well, Ruby focused her attention on the steady rise and fall of Weiss’ chest, listening to her inhale and exhale. For an instant, she wished she had a camera so she could take a picture…frame that picture…and look at it as often as she could in order to keep this memory solid, and foremost in her mind, but she soon dashed away that thought. She didn’t need a picture to remember how she felt when she had her first kiss…and how could she forget what it was like to be wrapped up in someone’s arms like this?
There was no place either of them would rather be. For once…everything was perfect for them. Perfect.
---
Elsewhere
---
“GAH, come on? More work AGAIN? Geez…”
“Perhaps if you paid more attention-“
“Yeah, yeah…I’ve heard that before, Blake.”
“Well, just remember it next time, unless you feel like spending all your free nights here.”
“I’d rather NOT. Spend all of my nights here, is what I mean. I’m sure that there’s a lot else to do.”
“I wonder what Ruby’s up to.”
“I dunno. She’s probably studying; she’s been on THAT one for as long as I can remember. One night when I got up to go to the bathroom she was up, still studying. Dead of night! I think she needs to calm down a bit.”
“Maybe you could take a couple tips from her, Yang.”
“Maybe…maybe. Ugh. Oh well, when I get out of here I’m going straight to bed.”
“Suit yourself.”
“What, you have something better in mind?”
“I don’t know. We don’t exactly have to be back tonight, with it being the weekend. I think we get a bit of free leave.”
“Oh, alright. You thinking of anywhere in particular?”
“A few places.”
“All-nighter?”
“Why not?”
“Cool.”
