Surprises
Sighing, Weiss stood up straight and stretched. Her search was pretty futile. She had even lost the makeshift staff when she had stepped into an unsuspecting hole in the ground. Nothing seemed to match what Ruby had asked for. Everything was far too small and rough to be useful. A rough breeze wound through the stream and Weiss instinctively pulled up Ruby's hood. Zweii whimpered and brushed up against her legs, prompting her to bend down and pick him up. "Just this once," she warned him before berating herself for talking to a dog again. Zweii happily snuggled himself deeper into her arms.
She wasn't sure how long she had been out, but she supposed that since she wasn't having any luck she ought to just return to camp. Ruby could probably make do with something else--the girl always managed to pull through for them in the end, even if it did sound kind of outlandish to begin with. When there'd been a tear in the tent and they needed to fix it... only without any thread, she had had the brilliant idea of using her hair. Weiss was still mildly upset that she had had to pluck out one of her hairs, but it had work. She was still surprised that the tent had held up together even after a good week or so had passed. Who knew hairs could be so strong? She still doubted it'd last though, but the lone, white hair had done wonderfully well so far and didn't look like it was about to break any time soon. Astonishing. If she didn't know any better, she'd have accused Ruby of being a Huntress.
But Ruby, a Huntress? Please. As if. The mere thought of it made her laugh and Zweii looked up at her, just as surprised as she was. "What?" she demanded. "I can laugh too!" Zweii stared up at her a moment longer before letting his tongue stick out and panting happily. Shaking her head and refusing to admit that she had yet again talked to a dog, she hurried back to camp.
Fear had a grip on her, yes, but it had lessened over time. She had reasoned that if Ruby and Jaune could venture out alone and return safely, so too could she. Zweii, dog that he may be, was of some use. His intincts would surely warn them beforehand of anyone suspicious. As it was, they made it back to camp without anything eventful happening. "I couldn't find anything matching your description."
"Oh," frowned Ruby. "Well it's okay. We'll manage! Jaune's back too."
Weiss glanced sideways and nodded at Jaune who returned the gesture. "Any ideas?" Ruby's brow furrowed in thought, but she didn't say anything. Jaune approached them and looked at each of them in turn. "We're not quite sure how to cook the rabbits Ruby caught."
"We could just use the pot." Ruby and Weiss stared at Jaune. "What? Was that a bad idea?" Of course! The pot! Why didn't she think of it? It could work as a frying pan all the same! She hated how Jaune had been the one to think of the idea though. "So... rabbit steaks a go or no?" he tenatively asked in the silence. Sighing, Weiss just walked away in defeat. "Guys?"
"Yeah, sure, Jaune," agreed Ruby. "How close are we to the next town over?"
Weiss tuned them out and stared at Zweii. He was very much content to lay in her lap and she was fine with it. He kept her warm and it turned out he wasn't as dirty as she thought he was. He was remarkably free of fleas and the like and seemed to care a great deal about her. Her stomach began to growl, but she ignored it. The next town was only a day's journey away.
She spared Ruby and Jaune a backwards glance. They had been very friendly and of great help, but the threat of the White Fang still loomed over her. She really didn't want them involved with her any more than was necessary. After reaching Valos they'd go to Beacon. She'd just have to get a ship from Beacon to Atlas and she'd be home in no time. Beacon. That's when she'd lose them. Just a few more days and they'd be safe.
"What'cha thinking about?" prompted Ruby as she fell in next to her, Zweii promptly ignoring Weiss in favor of his true owner. "Zweii!" complained Ruby half heartedly as Zweii licked her face.
"Nothing." She didn't dare look at Ruby. The younger girl had somehow managed to penetrate through the many walls she had built up with just a simple look.
"What's up?" called out Jaune from the open tent flap. Weiss was on guard duty tonight and he and Ruby didn't mind sharing the tent. Yet another reason why Weiss was convinced there was something going on between the two.
"Nothing!" repeated Weiss again, raising her voice slightly so Jaune could hear her. He poked out his head for a moment, decided nothing was wrong, and went back inside. The wind picked up again and Weiss pulled the cloak around her tighter, scooting closer towards the fire. The sound of something clicking together brought her head up and she looked around, wary. Her gaze eventually settled on Ruby.
"Haha..." shrugged Ruby lightly, smiling brightly. Despite her cheery outlook, it didn't stop her shivering and quick breaths floating out like clouds. "Sorry." Weiss frowned and wondered what in the world Ruby was apologizing for. It wasn't like she could help being cold! "It's usually not so bad, I'm kind of used to it, really, but then you know, sometimes the wind blows and it gets all chilly and kinda cold and then you can't help but shiver, ya know?" she rambled on, avoiding Weiss' gaze.
And then she remembered how Ruby had given her cloak and said she ought to have it so she wouldn't be cold. She was mildly aware of Ruby still rambling on and realized that it was her nevous tick. "Here," sighed Weiss, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, as she draped Ruby's cloak about her shoulders.
"No, it's okay!" started Ruby quickly, catching Weiss' hands. "I'll be fine. It's nothing!"
Weiss' eyes narrowed at her and Ruby quickly quieted down, relaxing her hold on her. "I'll be fine. You're freezing." And it was true. Ruby's hands were sickeningly cold and she was still visibly shivering, her teeth occasioinally chattering. She expected Ruby to stubbornly refuse, but she didn't. She just nodded and let her gaze remain fixed on Zweii. It was almost as if... as if Ruby looked chastised. But why?
"Um... Weiss..."
"What?" Oops. It had come out as a snap instead of a gentle inquiry.
Ruby winced, but continued on anyway. "You can let go of my hands now." Weiss promptly looked at her hands and quickly let go of Ruby's hands, turning away and hiding the creeping flush on her cheeks. "Thanks!" One careful glance downards revealed Ruby's hands promptly rubbing against each other rapidly. "I'll get to cooking right away. You must be hungry." Weiss nodded, but otherwise kept her back to Ruby.
As Ruby hummed away, busy with dinner, Weiss tenatively glanced down at her hands as she uncrossed her arms. She had never held anyone's hands before... not like that anyway. Shaking her head lightly, she scanned the camp again. Again there was nothing amiss. Sighing, she gingerly allowed herself a small peak at Ruby only for the girl to look up and smile at her. Quickly looking away, Weiss pulled over her pack and began to go through the things in it again, needlessly rearranging everything back inside.
Okay. Maybe she... could be a little nicer and more observant towards Ruby and Jaune. They didn't know she was a princess and was used to a certain degree of comfort. But, clearly they had realised she wasn't their usual ordinary commoner if Ruby had been fine with suffering the cold to help her stay warm. Her jacket was thin and light, but it was still rather warm. And she had grown up in Atlas for nearly all her life. The cold wasn't something new to her, much less Vale's cold. She did not need Ruby's cloak and would not accept it any more.
Grimacing, she pushed aside the thought that Ruby's clothes were actually pretty thin and full of patches themselves. Jaune's were no better, but they looked considerably less worn. He also had the sensibility to wear more than one layer. But that could just be because he came from an affluent family, a tiny voice piped up. Ruby clearly did not come from the same wealth that Jaune did. Maybe the one set of clothes was all she had and it would be considered lucky to even have a full set of clothes and boots.
She had never really thought about that before, she admitted to herself quietly. She spent most of her time locked up in castles and noble courtyards. She had never actually interacted with or seen commoners asides from the servants assigned to her. And well... they were servants to the royal family, so they had to be considerably well off compared to other commoners. She wondered if it was normal for commoners to be as ragged as Ruby and Jaune were. Maybe it was just a Vale thing. Once she got back home she'd have to ask her father to allow her to venture outside of the castle more often. It didn't feel right making decissions regarding the lives of the commoners when she really didn't know anything about their lives. And with the amount of wealth they had, surely not all commoners had to suffer as much as Ruby and Jaune, right?
But again, but she was just overthinking things. The citizens of Vale were different from the citizens of Atlas. She was sure her father was being reasonably fair to everyone in the kingdom. But what about the rumors, asked the tiny voice inside of her. And okay, okay, maybe her father did do a lot of questionable things, but it was for the benefit of the kingdom. Convicting any and all citizens rumored to be spies for Vacuo though? ... They had trials before convictions! Fair trails? ... O-Of course. Sure about that?
Weiss wasn't sure though. There were plenty of nasty rumors about her family and her father, she couldn't deny that. Over the years they had gotten considerably worse, but as far as she was aware her father still did everything by the book. Barely, scoffed the tiny voice inside of her that Weiss decided she'd ignore for the time being. Her father wasn't exactly the best king ever, but he was a good king. He had saved Atlas from ruin and reformed it until they were considered one of the strongest kingdoms in Remnant. And with Sir Ironwood overseeing the orders of knights, they were definitely worth fearing. But it wasn't like they had used that fear to their advantage... very much... They had used it to seize control of all the different warring factions within Atlas and formed a true kingdom out of it, established trade routes, worked out political ties with the other kingdoms, routed the ill famed Hunters and Huntresses, developed a strong military, instilled an even stronger government, and the list could go on and on. Could her father have made other choices that ultimately resulted in the same end? Yes. Should he have? She didn't know.
And that was the honest truth. She didn't know. She could argue for days about what her father had done right and wrong, but at the end of the day she herself still wasn't quite sure whether or not his actions were the right ones given the current circumstances at the time. And maybe that was why her father had conflicted feelings about her inheriting the throne over Winter even though he had made it clear that he wanted neither of them to inherit, but, begrudgingly, Weiss might make a slightly better option if he absolutely had to choose.
Bitterly, Weiss pushed all thoughts of her family out of her head for future Weiss to deal with. It was childish, but she just didn't want to think about it right now. Besides, she didn't need to let royal matters distract her. Maybe she should just stop worrying so much and pretend she was a commoner like Ruby. Ruby was so carefree and spirited, Weiss envied her--not that she'd ever tell Ruby that. But as much as she longed to be as carefree as Ruby, she knew she never could be. She'd been raised to analyze every single little detail, no matter how minute it might seem. It was something she'd never be able to let go off. It was a part of her just as much as her snow white hair and icey blue eyes were.
"Is everything okay?" Startled, Weiss raised her eyes and saw Jaune in front of her. "Sorry... you just looked like you were having a bad night."
"Oh, no, everything's fine."
Jaune gave her a long look and then slowly nodded. "Okay. But if you need to talk, I'm here. I promise I won't tell Ruby." Slow as he was, his gentle smile and the care and worry in his voice and eyes made him mildly appealing. Mildly. "Oh, and thanks for giving Ruby back her cloak."
Weiss just nodded. "I'm sure she hasn't really told you... but that cloak means a lot to her. It's the only thing of her mom's that she's got left."
"She might have mentioned it..."
If Jaune was surprised, he didn't show it. "Well. I'm glad you and Ruby are friends." Weiss immediately started to protest. They were not friends. They never would be. "She doesn't have a lot of friends." Weiss' words died in her throat and she just looked away. "She's a good friend, if you give her the chance," continued Jaune, not noticing. "She's helped me loads before." Weiss just nodded, the realization that maybe she and Ruby weren't so different just beginning to dawn on her.
"Guys! Dinner is ready!"
Standing up and brushing the dirt off of him, Jaune held out a hand to her. "You must be hungry." Weiss rolled her eyes, but took his offered hand anyway.
"... Thank you... for... talking to me." And unlike the many time she had thanked someone before, she found herself actually meaning it this time around. Jaune might be annoying, dim-witted, slow, useless, and a plethora of other things... but he was nice. She couldn't deny him that.
Jaune's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, yeah, sure, no problem."