Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/2024064.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Underage
  Category:
      F/F
  Fandom:
      RWBY
  Relationship:
      Blake_Belladonna/Weiss_Schnee
  Character:
      Blake_Belladonna, Weiss_Schnee, Yang_Xiao_Long
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-07-26 Updated: 2014-11-02 Chapters: 3/? Words: 5463
****** Echo of Me and You ******
by Lady_Amarant
Summary
     It takes longer to recover from things than people realize. It's
     something both Blake and Weiss have to face as they fight for their
     lives.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Fitting the moonlight fell shattered. It ran across the room in broken pieces,
reflected off a broken moon, gleaming blithely as Yang’s riptide snore broke
any silence there could be. Any semblance of sleep was long lost by the time
she had started up her nightly chainsaw, and Blake was left staring at the
silvery pieces along the floor with scattered thoughts all trying to get her
attention at once. She kept her eyes on the rug, trying to ignore her own
thoughts, trying to ignore the memory that burned its way through her mind and
screamed its panicky way through her limbs. A slight twitch and pull on the
crown of her head reminded her the bow still set there, still rested from the
day and her neglect to remove it once they returned. It was odd to know, that
now she could pull the ribbon free when it was just her team.
Eyes lifted without her meaning to, looking at a pool of white made dull as
shards of moonlight fell next to the lower bunk. Her team, including the
heiress of the Schnee empire. The feeling of her throat closing made Blake
lower her eyes again, her arms settling on her legs as she couldn’t stop the
memory from rising to her ears.
”Well, maybe we were being tired of being pushed around!”
Slowly, the ribbon slithered from her head, pooling in her lap as her ears
twitched at the sudden freedom. Even then, she had let Weiss push her into
saying it. She had let Weiss make her angry, and lose control of what she was
saying. Blake looked back up, ready to tie her bow back if that mess of white
hair even shifted. But Weiss was perfect even in sleep, lashes making startling
dark slashes along light skin and soft breaths easing past her parted lips. She
barely moved, meaning it was less time she had to spend brushing out her hair.
Blake had to envy her; the course rat’s nest she called hair took what felt
like a whole team of Huntresses to tame. If things were different-
Things weren’t different. She wasn’t stupid enough to think it could have been
anything else, not with how the Schnee company ran their business. Not with how
Weiss was raised to think about Faunus. Blake moved to tie her bow again,
closing her eyes. It wasn’t as if she was hiding anymore. She could sleep with
her ears in the open, hearing Yang’s thunderous snore and her sister’s lighter,
almost silent one underlying it without the ribbon muffling them. The looks,
though... the little glances up, Ruby’s curious, wide-eyed look, Yang’s
outright staring... Weiss pretending her eyes didn’t hold a hostile look when
she saw them, because Blake was a teammate, she didn’t care...
Blake sighed as she felt the slight pinch of the bow in place, settling her
arms back across her legs as she leaned forward. She needed to sleep. It
wouldn’t do any of them good if she didn’t sleep. Every time she laid down,
however, her ears twitched as she remembered carelessly letting them know,
watching Weiss’s eyes change as she understood what Blake had just said-
A soft rustle caught her attention. Slowly, she looked up, her lips parting
slightly as her gaze caught with ice blue eyes. Weiss didn’t move, her face
still immobile as she looked up at the bow, then back at Blake’s face. Then,
eventually, she closed her eyes without a word passing her lips. Blake’s hands
shook slightly as she sat up slightly, not sure what to make of it. There
hadn’t- she hadn’t looked at her with any malevolence but-
Yang snorted, her own snores nearly waking herself up. The noise made Blake
look over at the position of the moonlight, realizing how late it really was.
She needed to lay down. Just- close her eyes. Even just an hour would help. A
hand reached up to the bow, her ears twitching... then dropped.
Maybe... maybe later.
===============================================================================
Nothing felt as good as limbs falling into a long stretch. Blake could hear the
kitty jokes in Yang’s voice already, but as her back arched, she found herself
not caring for a few seconds. Gambol Shroud shifted against her back as sweat
cooled against her skin. A good workout, a good stretch, nothing could match
that. As she stood, her nose wrinkled at the scent and the feeling of hair
matted against her head. She needed a shower.
With a sigh, she removed Gambol Shroud and collected clean clothing. It was
time to immerse herself in water. Not exactly ideal, but she couldn’t exactly
lick herself clean. And she knew the shower that no one looked at, where she
could undo her ribbon and massage her ears under the spray of the water. A soft
sound touched her lips at the thought, spurring her feet on to the showers.
The first cold blast always made her yelp. She should have been used to it by
now, but she wasn’t. Not yet. It warmed fairly quickly, sluicing away the grime
and sweat as she lifted her face to the water. Her hand lifted, a groan
slipping from her lips as her ears sprang free. Blake knew she should wash her
hair, but this felt too good.
”Of all the childish-!” The outburst made Blake jump, reflexively moving to tie
her ribbon as she turned. Weiss, as she had guessed, came stomping in, covered
in- Blake blinked. Was that mud? When she had turned to leave, Weiss wasn’t
covered in mud. And Ruby hadn’t done anything, if her irritated words were
translated correctly. Her clothes were carefully removed and folded, even now,
and she turned-
Suddenly, Blake realized she was holding her ribbon half tied around her ears.
Weiss... took care of herself. And was looking at her ears. With a sneer that
she soon wiped off her face, looking away. Of course. “I’ll get out soon,
Princess,” Blake told her, unable to keep the sarcastic tone from slipping from
her lips.
”No, it’s... okay.” The uncomfortable words wrung out of Weiss as a deep red
blush settled in. She started washing up, the mud flaking down the drain. Her
hair laid against her back with the water, still that icy white. Fingers
flitted in expert movements meant not to waste a single motion of effort,
almost hypnotizing Blake. Weiss’s voice came out soft as she looked over at
her, eyes sweeping up to her ears. “It’s just you, me, and-”
”Get out of my way get out of my way get out of my way-” A mud-splattered Yang
streaked past them, shedding clothing as she went. Her hair was absolutely
coated in mud, explaining her reaction. The rest of her muscular body went
untended to as she instantly started tending to her hair, ignoring the two
girls trying very hard to wash up without paying attention to the other, the
odd moment that had started broken by the golden whirlwind. She dunked her head
under the spray of water, then attacked it again with shampoo. Yang looked up,
finally seeing Blake still awkwardly holding her ribbon half tied. “Oh! You
have your ears out!”
”Um.” Blake finally lowered her hands, ribbon held in one of them. “Yeah.”
”You look really good like that,” she commented offhandedly, scrubbing her hair
furiously. “Uugh, Ruby, why...” She continued to complain loudly as her hands
moved through her hair, pulling it over her shoulder. “Oh, come on! There was
that much mud?” More shampoo squirted straight onto her hair, then Yang worked
it in, grumbling.
Weiss snapped her shower off. “I’m done,” came her short response. She reach
for a towel, her face tight and angry. Blake’s ears twitched as something rose
in her throat, watching Weiss tuck the towel around her and gather her soiled
clothing. She- Weiss didn’t look back at them as she left. Just after she
exited, Yang snorted.
”You’d think she’d be okay with that by now.” Suds rinsed down the drain, and
Yang studied her hair again. Satisfied, she started conditioning her hair,
studying Blake. “You really do look good with your ears out. Too bad Weiss is
weird about it.”
”It’s not unexpected.” Blake finally started washing her own hair, fingers
moving quickly through the grime. “After what the White Fang has done to her
family, I’m surprised she wanted to trust me again after twelve hours.”
”Yeah, but...”
Blake smiled over at her, the curl of her lips grim. “It’s nothing, Yang. It’ll
be fine.”
The words didn’t mollify Yang in the least. Her hands stroked over her hair,
massaging in the conditioner as the mud on her body took a beating from the
shower. “It shouldn’t be,” she finally said. “Just because you’re... well, it
shouldn’t make you have to say that.” Her fingers played with the ends of her
hair as it fell over her shoulder and across her impressive chest. “You’re not
part of the White Fang. She should know that just from the time she spent
around you. And she knows that you’re a good person.” Finally realizing there
was more mud on her body than her hair, Yang started scrubbing herself down.
“You shouldn’t have to hide yourself when you’re around us, Blake. Maybe she’ll
see that soon.”
It sounded nice. Blake ducked her head under the water, rinsing the suds out as
she considered the words. Yang was right, she shouldn’t have to hide herself.
She didn’t want to. But... she wasn’t that child anymore. “It’s too much of a
risk,” she finally said, finishing up with her hair and reaching up with her
soaked ribbon to hide her ears. “It’s too easy for people to find out.”
Water running was the only sound for a long time as they washed up. The silence
spun between then, but neither of them wanted to break it, almost fearful of
what would be said instead. She could feel Yang look over at her occasionally,
but even then, she didn’t speak up. Blake’s shower had just been shut off when
she heard Yang say “Hey?”
”Hm?” She turned to her, ears twitching towards her under the bow.
”You really look good without the bow. And I think Weiss thought so too.” Yang
gave her a lopsided smile, making a blush crawl across Blake’s cheeks. “I think
Ruby used the other showers. Let her know I’ll be out soon for dinner?”
”Sure.”
What was that about? Telling her about that, and that she thought Weiss might
have... Blake quickly dried off and pulled on her fresh clothing, still feeling
her cheeks burning. Figuring out Yang’s mind sometimes was a headache.
There was time tonight that she could go out and do some more training. And
this time alone, without her team. It would help her focus her mind a bit. She
also... wouldn’t have to see Weiss’s looks or hear Yang’s weird comments. Sleep
might actually come easier if she did that too. In all truth, going out wasn’t
really a bad idea the more she thought about it.
Her ears twitched.
***** Chapter 2 *****
With the festival coming up, teamwork was more important than ever. They had to
learn each other’s movements like the back of their hands, anticipate how the
other would attack, and how to work together. It made a difference, Blake knew.
When she and Adam took down those AK-130 Androids, being able to guess where
he’d be meant a lot. With the four of them, and the four incredibly different
fighting styles, they had to learn each other’s movements.
“So that’s why we’re out here!” Ruby finished enthusiastically. Blake agreed
with her, but it still stunned her how much energy their leader had. “I think
we should pair off with people we don’t normally fight with. Weiss, you should
go with Yang, and I’ll go with Blake.”
”Yeah!” Yang grinned, looking at Weiss. “I’ll take Ice Queen and thaw her out a
little.”
”Hey!”
Yang ignored Weiss’s offended outburst, her face sobering just slightly. “You
sure though, Sis? I mean, it might work better if we go as a team so we get
used to each other as a group, then break off like this.”
And there was another good point from Yang Xiao Long. For all her wild grins
and odd comments, when she had a good observation... Blake shifted, stepping
forward a little. “I agree. By going as pairs, we might run into something we
can’t fight unless we were used to each other.”
”Oh.” Ruby deflated a little bit, the realization she might have gotten ahead
of herself just a bit hitting her. “Then, maybe, we can do that after we’ve
practiced against each other a little?”
”Sure. That sounds good.” Blake looked at Weiss, who shrugged.
”Whatever. Just so you know, I think the pair plan was perfectly fine.” Weiss
turned her head to look at a grinning Yang, who slapped a hand against the
slender girl’s back.
”Ah, don’t be that way. So, into the woods?”
Ruby nodded, pumping a fist into the air. “Let’s go!” she crowed, her
enthusiasm returning. It was so Ruby that Blake couldn’t help letting a small
smile cross her face as she followed the young girl. The other three were just
so... different than she was used to. So much like actual teenagers. It almost
made her feel old, despite being the same age as most of them.
Someone moved in beside her, a flash of gold betraying Yang’s presence. “Hey.
How you doing?”
The question took Blake by surprise, and she looked over at the other girl.
“Why do you ask?”
”Not every day someone accidentally outs themselves then has to go back to the
person that was badmouthing their people.” Yang looked up at Weiss, frowning.
“She’s been good about trying not to offend you anymore, but she’s been really
Ice Queeny lately, if you know what I mean.”
”Like she doesn’t know how else not to be rude,” Blake cautiously guessed,
watching as Yang nodded.
”Exactly. I mean, it’s good she’s trying not to make it seem like she cares
what kind of organization you’ve been in, but there’s other ways to do it, you
know?” The blonde grinned at her, nudging her slightly. “Hey, so, you got any
plans after this? Ruby was thinking about playing this game we have and it’d be
really cool if you joined.”
That... didn’t sound bad, but it would push the limits of the socializing she
was willing to do. “Maybe,” Blake told her, her tone telling her that it was
closer to a “no.”
Yang threw an arm over her shoulder anyway. “You’ll have a lot of fun, I
promise. It’s this board game with cards where...” She trailed off as her arm
lowered, steps slowing. Ruby came to a stop as well, Weiss running into her.
Blake ignored them, her own senses stretched out at Yang’s reaction. She
couldn’t see anything, but there was definitely a rustle nearby. Ursa,
probably, nothing major, but-
Something told her to dodge, and she flipped backwards just as a claw came down
next to her. A shadow clone was left in her place as she dodged again, tricking
the Grimm into attacking it as Ruby hefted Crescent Rose, aiming and firing. It
damaged the Grimm, but turned its attention to her, just as Weiss finished her
movement to activate the Dust in Myrtenaster. The rapier slammed into the
ground, and ice sparked in a line to pin it down. Definitely an Ursa, but it
was so big. Blake lowered her head slightly, her hand wrapped around the hold
on Gambol Shroud’s sheath, shifting her balance. If she could get it in Yang’s
range- A quick dash brought her close as she sliced her sheath up, forcing it
to stumble back.
Then dashed to one side as it shook its head, and swiped at her. Her feet
landed next to Weiss, just as the other girl activated another chamber of Dust.
Red glowed out of the corner of her eye as arms moved, shooting the Dust out at
the Ursa. As Blake slide the blade free of its sheath, the Ursa finally fell
into Yang’s welcomed shotgun punches, howling as she pummelled it. She darted
forward as Yang pushed it back, arm sweeping her katana across-
And let out a small yelp of surprise as it turned suddenly, hitting her
solidly. Once she landed, she slid a bit, slamming Gambol Shroud into the
ground as her legs suddenly fell off a cliffside. They had been that close?
Carefully, she pulled herself back up, drawing in breath as she did. “Be
careful! We’re really close to the cliff!”
”Oh really?” The distracted sarcastic tone could only be Weiss, broken off as
Blake could see her moving out of range of the Ursa, long legs quickly pulling
her out of danger. “Like we couldn’t find that out on our-” A vicious swipe
sent her flying over the edge of the cliff, dazed, further out than even one of
her glyphs could save her. Without thinking, Blake slammed the katana part into
the dirt and jumped after, letting the ribbon around her arm unwind as she did
so. If Weiss timed a glyph jump right, she should be able to catch her, and if
they couldn’t make it back up with another carefully placed glyph once they
came closer to the cliff, a jump off one of her clones would definitely put
them on solid ground. Weiss finally righted herself, pulling her feet under her
as a white surface appeared under her. A perfect jump, and now they just needed
to catch- there! Blake’s hand wrapped around Weiss’s soft one, gripping tightly
as she gathered herself for her Semblance, readying a clone to leap off of.
It was then she felt it. Her ribbon, shaking as they swung back. The ground
must have given way, and her blade must be coming free. Knowledge hit her, and
her mind scrambled for an answer to this problem. They needed to get back
there, now, before they fell. “Weiss!” she finally yelled, feeling the ribbon
shake again. “We need something to jump off of right-”
Too late. The tension in the ribbon fell slack as the katana slid off the
cliff, their weight too much for the soft ground. Blake held tightly to Weiss’s
hand as the hilt fell into her hand, shifting modes for her to whip out,
wrapping around a tree as they fell. Weiss summoned a glyph as they did so,
slowing them down enough that by the time they reached the tree, they came to
rest on the branch.
And then Weiss’s eyes rolled back as her legs gave out. As Blake caught her,
she just then noticed the other girl’s face half covered in blood.
===============================================================================
If anything, Weiss took more damage than Blake realized. The Ursa must have
given her a horrible blow if it cut through her Aura. Once she helped Weiss
down, she inspected the unconscious girl’s head, frowning as she saw the
laceration. It wouldn’t kill her - it was even already healing due to her Aura.
But how did the Ursa-? Blake carefully tried to clean Weiss’s face best she
could, waiting for the girl to wake up. While waiting, she looked for their
scrolls, frowning as they weren’t found. They were isolated, injured... what
else could be better than that?
Several minutes later, she could hear a groan as Weiss shifted, and her eyes
slowly opened. They focused quickly on Blake, and she sat up quickly, a hand
going to her head. “What just happened?” she asked thickly, a thin river of
pain weaving through her words.
”The Ursa hit you.” Blake moved to stand, helping Weiss up as well. “It managed
to cut you up.”
”Well that’s great.” With those grumbled words, Weiss looked around, frowning.
“Where are we? And where’s Ruby and Yang?”
”We got separated. And we don’t have our scrolls.”
Weiss’s warm and soft hand slid from Blake’s at those words. “What? And why are
we just standing here? We need to- ow.” She lifted a hand to her head,
grimacing. “Why isn’t the pain going away? My Aura should be taking care of
this!”
”I don’t know.” Blake looked up the cliff, remembering how the Ursa fought, and
how fast it was. “Everything about that was weird. Weiss, if you’re still
hurting like that, you should stop moving and let your Aura heal you.”
”And we don’t have time to just wait around.” The girl pulled her hand from her
head, lifting her chin slightly. “We should get moving. If we do, we should
find the others before nightfall.”
Weiss wasn’t wrong. Blake considered her words, thinking. It would be better
for Weiss if they waited for her to heal. And easier for them to fight if Weiss
wasn’t dealing with an injury like that. On the other hand, Weiss would be
horrible to be around if they waited. And the sooner they found the others, the
sooner she could have Ruby and Yang sit on her and not have to deal with it.
”Fine.” At least it should be easy to find them. The sisters had seen where
they fell, and were probably already on their way.
”Fine,” Weiss echoed, lifting her chin. “Then let’s go.”
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     This would have come out earlier, but as I've learned, planning and
     then getting married is not exactly good for writing.
“Just admit it. We’re lost.”
Blake didn’t even bother to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she jumped down
from her vantage point in the trees. There was nothing nearby that she
recognized, nothing that made sense. Wherever they had landed after being
separated wasn’t anywhere they had been before. “I wasn’t denying it,” she
replied coolly. Didn’t change the fact they needed to figure out what was
around them so they could at least try to figure out a decent direction to go.
Blake frowned as she looked around, thinking. Weiss still had that gash on her
head, and they needed to be careful, and- “What... are you doing?”
”I,” Weiss started, her voice arching primly, “am not going to just sit here
and be lost. I’m going to go be unlost, or something like that.” Her legs
started to stretch into an annoyed gait, posture stiff as she took two graceful
steps before her balance wobbled. Blake took a half step forward instinctively,
ready to catch her if she had to before Weiss steadied herself. “You can come
with me or not. But nothing’s going to be done by just climbing trees.”
That caused a frustrated growl to build in the back of Blake’s throat. “At
least I’m trying to get an idea of where we are and what’s around us! Nothing’s
going to get done by rushing forward with a head injury like that. We need to
take a moment to make sure we don’t run into some Grimm and you-”
The frosty glare could have come from Weiss’s Dust chamber. “I’ll be okay. You
need to stop worrying about me. I can take care of myself.” The way she tossed
her head angled just right to show off her scar, silently hammering her point
home. “Are you coming or not?”
Like she had a choice. “Be careful,” Blake told her shortly, coming up beside
her. “You’re still not that steady.”
Nothing stopped Weiss from rolling her eyes dramatically. With a huff, she
started out, Blake following her closely. Her gait pretended to be perfect just
enough that anyone who didn’t know the team would be fooled. But Blake’s sharp
eyes noted when Weiss’s foot didn’t quite hit the ground right, her arm lifted
up a bit to correct her balance on flat ground. Her Aura was still working to
heal her, and while she was doing a lot better than before...
Why didn’t Weiss just trust her? Trust she could help her find their way back
without Weiss getting more hurt? Something was out in these woods that had
grown nastier than usual. And they were alone, without Ruby or Yang. Without a
way to contact anyone else. They needed to be careful, and yet Weiss- Blake
grit her teeth. She should have never told Weiss she was a Faunus. It changed
the dynamic between them, even though Weiss had told her she didn’t care. She
had started to warm up a bit, and then this. Ice Queen. Damn it, why had she
let her mouth get away from her?
Speaking of the Ice Queen, she stopped without warning, tapping one foot as she
crossed her arms. “We’re getting nowhere,” she announced, annoyance coloring
her words. “This is ridiculous! We should be seeing something familiar by now.
These woods aren’t exactly new to us.”
Tell me something I don’t know, Blake thought with a mental snort. Instead of
that, she said, “Well, if you had let me get an idea of where we were first...”
That glare was much warmer than the last one Weiss gave her. “Oh shut up,” she
grumbled. “Well, we’re going to be here until nightfall, at least, even if Ruby
and Yang find us. And this place is pretty clear with a pretty good view of
what’s around us.”
Blake nodded, knowing where Weiss was going with this. “I’ll gather firewood.
It’s been warm, so we shouldn’t need any blankets.”
”Yeah.” Weiss’s voice trailed off a bit, her thoughts taking over a bit. Then
she shook her head, not quite looking at Blake. “I can scavenge a bit around
here,” she told her, voice softer and gentler. “So at least we’ll have dinner.”
It made Blake’s head hurt a little as she went out to gather sticks for
firewood. The arch frostiness and standoffishness had been replaced when a
thought had occurred to Weiss. Maybe it finally hit her how bitchy she had been
and the words she had told Blake back after she had let slip she was a Faunus.
She just wanted Weiss to be... closer to her. Her hand paused above a stick as
her own thoughts wandered a bit. Closer, nicer... just... she wanted to be able
to look at Weiss without worrying that she’d have a grumpy look aimed at her.
That she’d have a soft smile for her, and she could...
A dream. Blake shook her head, gathering the stick. Weiss was a teammate. That
was all. She started back to the clearing, eyes sweeping back and forth. It was
weird no Grimm had been sighted. At least a Beowolf should have been seen,
but... nothing. That made Blake more nervous than being lost. What was out
there that made the monsters run and hide? What other things existed?
When she returned, Weiss had started a small fire with a collection of berries
beside her. “They’re not poisonous,” she told Blake when her eyes darted to
them. “I remember that from class. I’m not Ruby, after all.” The words lacked
bite as she sat down, her back resting against a tree. Her features melted into
relaxation as her eyes closed, then blinked back open. “What?”
Oh. She had been staring at Weiss. The blood on her face, though... Blake
carefully placed the firewood down, coming over to her. “Your face is covered
in blood. You’ve been bleeding since we’ve started walking. Let me help-”
”I can do it,” Weiss interrupted, her voice icy again. “Don’t worry about me.”
That was enough. She had finally started acting like a human being, and as soon
as it came time to actually touch her- “What the hell is your problem?!” Blake
knew her mouth was running on erupted anger at this point, but stopping it
wasn’t happening. “You act like it’s a hardship to be alone with me, then start
acting like a normal person, and then when it comes time for me to touch you,
you start acting like a bitch again. What is wrong with you? You say you don’t
care if I’m a Faunus, that I was in the White Fang, but you don’t act like it.
Like you think I should have remained lost!” And that was what hurt the most.
The thought the maybe... she shouldn’t have gone back. That no one could see
her as Blake, but a Faunus. A former White Fang member. Not... Blake
Belladonna.
”Are you really that full of yourself?” Weiss struggled to her feet, her own
fury bubbling to the surface. “That I’m still all about you being a Faunus?
You’re who you are, and I can’t do anything about that. It’s just...” She took
a breath, trying to look for the words. “It’s just... hard. I trust you. You’re
my teammate, and I really do trust you. I don’t care you’re a Faunus or that
you were once in the White Fang. It’s just...” Her voice dropped as she looked
down, a thought different than what she was talking about slipping in. “...
hard.”
”If it’s that hard, maybe you should get Daddy to transfer you to a different
team.” The words came out before Blake could stop them, and Weiss turned back
to her with blazing eyes.
”Do you really think that’s what it’s about? Do you really think I’m that much
of a coward?” Weiss took a step forward, her hands curling into fists. “I’m not
dependant on my father at all. Everything he’s done, I don’t need in my life.
So don’t even think I’m even thinking about it! I’m not about to transfer out
just because of what I feel about you.”
A little closer, and Blake could feel the warmth of Weiss’s skin. “Well, maybe
you should. It’s not going to make being part of a team any easier.”
Weiss’s lips thinned at that. “Maybe you should, if you can’t handle me.”
It hurt. It hurt worse than she expected. Weiss... did Weiss even care if she
left or not? Her retort died on her lips at the pain, retreating to hide in a
change of subject. “It’s getting dark,” Blake told her shortly. “I’ll take
first watch, Princess. You get your beauty sleep.
The words closed Weiss’s face off, pain flickering through her eyes. “Fine.”
”Fine.”
===============================================================================
The next day wasn’t any easier. Waking to the shining white of Weiss’s hair
only caused the pang in her to resurface. And she couldn’t exactly leave her
and make it back to Ruby and Yang alone. Weiss was, for the moment, still her
teammate. They still needed to make it back together.
Weiss’s head had finally healed. Which meant she could walk in a silent
straight line away from Blake, letting the Faunus fall behind so she didn’t
have to even pretend there was a chance to talk to her. They didn’t need to
talk, except maybe in a fight. And that was okay. She didn’t need to talk to
someone who found it hard to be around a Faunus, even if she trusted her.
It was still too quiet. She could see Weiss moving her hand to Myrtenaster,
also on edge. It didn’t take a genius to realize something was coming.
Something big. But when was the question. Blake’s own hand rose to Gambol
Shroud as she looked around. What was it? What could there-
A growl answered that. Beowolf. More than one by the sound and look of it. And-
crap, Ursa. Blake’s heart picked up as she realized where the red eyes came
from. They had surrounded them, too silently even for her sharp Faunus ears to
find. Or maybe her own thoughts had deadened her hearing. Blake’s teeth grit as
she looked around, taking in their numbers. With Weiss, it would be no trouble,
even if they were not exactly... friendly. Just Beowolves and Ursa.
Ice sparked along the ground at that thought at a charging Beowolf as Blake
dodged the swipe of an Ursa’s paw, pulling Gambol Shroud free as its claws ran
right through a shadow clone. Her blade pulled free, the same motion slicing it
through the Ursa as she turned, other arm pushing the sharp end of her sheath
through the next of a Beowolf. She could hear the pained sounds of Grimm behind
her and Weiss’s shouts, punctuated occasionally by the screech of her Dust
chamber shifting and the sound of it activating. Blake shifted her stance to
see one Ursa flying into the air, aided by a glyph. A careful aim of her pistol
put a bullet into its head as it fell, leaving Weiss ready to stab another Ursa
in the eye. It was too easy to take them down.
And then the ground rumbled, and Blake’s bones shook at the roar of an Ursa far
too large coming nearer.
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