“Ah Maria there you are. I was hoping to run into you,” Willow's voice came down the hallway to the younger woman who tilted her head to the side in silent question.
“I wished to speak with you about leaving your empty cashew wrappers all over the-” Willow was interrupted as Maria paled and held out a hand before being pulled away to one of the many weapon replicas she had placed around the home embedded into masonry with gravity dust.
Sadly for her however Willow was well used to unruly children. Granted the first time Maria had escaped by this method, amusingly when she'd wanted to ask about her intentions towards her daughters, which included Miss Rose, she’d let her go because she found it entirely too comical and ingenious.
This time however she merely formed a glyph in her way after calculating the proper force needed in her mind.
A loud clang echoed through the mansion as Maria rolled to a stop on her back mere feet from Willow after rebounding off the glyph.
Maria’s eyes darted to Willow and the surrounding corridor searching for an escape route and finding none as various glyphs shimmered to life.
“Well that’s not fair at all,” Maria complained.
“Trust me. I know,” Willow smiled down at her.
“So what was your punishment?” Weiss asked as Maria finally rejoined them a few minutes later in Weiss’s, or rather their room now at the manor.
Maria shivered. “Ye don’t want to know.”
“Come on, we're going swimming right?” Ruby asked as she came out of the bathroom dressed for a day lounging around the Schnee’s pool.
“Aye may as well since I’m grounded ,” Maria whined as she began stripping not even bothering to leave the room to change.
“You let her ground you?” Weiss asked curiously.
“We compromised,” Maria said after a long moment of silence as she chucked her shirt onto the bed to look for her swimsuit.
“What was the compromise?”
“I accept being grounded or I have to wait a year to propose,” Maria whined as the other two gasped.
Maria shrugged but remained turned around despite the color they could see taking residence in her face.
“I mean I did promise if Ruby got us to your room and she held up her end of the bargain,” Maria said uncertainly.
“Take your time. Only when you’re ready. Our answer won’t change,” Weiss assured her as Ruby hummed in agreement while fidgeting on the bed.
“Hey can you hand me my drink, Ashes?” Winter asked as she lounged by the pool.
“Sure thing babe,” Cinder said pulling herself out of the water and going over to the tray of drinks that were near Willow dodging the others as she weaved over with a practiced ease before she heard the telltale sound of wind whipping and turned to look at Maria who was hanging a dozen feet in the air with her hand on her kama she’d thrown into the air and now released as she went careening back towards the pool tucked into a ball.
A massive splash caused everyone inside the pool and several feet outside of it to get drenched in water as Maria came up to the surface looking remarkably smug as she looked at her two girlfriends.
“I wasn’t in the pool because I didn’t want to get wet. So why did you think that was a good idea?” Winter hissed to Maria who smirked in response.
Winter prepared to go on a tirade before with a loud oof she was pushed forward into the pool with Maria barely managing to get out of the way as she came splashing into the water.
A low growl drew their attention back to the edge of a pool where a summoned Boarbatusk looked at them all before dispelling.
“Weiss…did your summon just push me into the water?” Winter asked remarkably calmly despite the water dropping from her face.
“No, Winter I swear I didn’t,” Weiss proceeded to protest against her guilt as Winter maintained eye contact, snapped her fingers, and summoned several Beowolves who leapt into the pool splashing the other trio before paddling over to Winter to await her command.
“Do you know how long it took Ashes to put sunscreen on me today?” Winter asked in a hiss.
“I mean I’ll do it again. You don’t even have to ask,” Cinder said and when Winter made to glower at her she squeezed her hands imitating an action she’d undertaken earlier that day as Winter flushed.
Winter ignored her fiance and climbed on top of summon’s shoulders and glared at her sister. “We shall see if you think your little prank was worth it at the end of our battle sister,” Winter declared.
“Oh I’ll show you exactly what I think about this,” Weiss said as she turned to her girlfriends. “This is a matter between sisters so if you’d sit this out,” Weiss said as Maria grabbed Ruby and rolled her eyes before holding out her hand.
In a flash with a loud bamf they were pulled out of the pool and onto the small cushioned area Maria had made under a post with her replica Kama under it as she put the other one she'd used for the cannon ball back up.
“Cashew?” Ruby asked tantalizingly, holding the tasty treat a few inches from Maria’s mouth. Maria smirked and opened her mouth so Ruby could deposit the treat and they could watch Weiss try to battle her sister.
To her credit Weiss did try, but it was clear that while she’d improved dramatically Winter still held the upper hand in summoning and so Weiss was getting dunked far more often than her sister.
It almost appeared to be over as Weiss pulled herself out of the pool and faced a smug looking Winter before she noticed how amused Weiss looked.
“Giving up already? I hope you don’t disappoint your partner’s with such a…lack of stamina?” Winter taunted Weiss who glared back at her as her face became drenched in color as she heard Cinder chortle and her own partner's chuckling.
“You know I had thought to perhaps concede but now I’ve decided I don’t care if I lose as long as you lose with me,” Weiss said simply as she closed her eyes and concentrated a moment.
Ruby cottoned on after a moment and poked Maria as she pointed out that they needed to back up.
Maria took her at her word and they both walked another dozen feet away as the air grew heavy with Weiss’s aura before she finally clicked her finger and the giant nevermore from initiation made itself known as it blurred into the air and spread its wings for a moment.
“Weiss we can talk about this,” Winter said nervously before Cinder propelled herself away from the blast zone in a dead sprint as Weiss gave her older sister her most condescending smile.
“Perhaps later. I’m not sure how long I can hold the summon. My stamina is lacking after all,” Weiss said as Winter began a futile attempt to escape the pool as the Nevermore crashed down.
For one glorious moment the entire area was still before it passed and the summon hit the water sending liquid sloshing all over the backyard and drenching everything within a thirty yard radius of the pool save for Klein who somehow had procured an umbrella from seemingly nowhere as he walked over to Willow who had woken from her nap and was now soaking wet.
The Schnee daughters froze as Willow slowly sat up and removed her sunglasses and leveled the two of them with a glare comparable to the harshest Atlas winters.
“Towel ma’am?” Klein asked as he offered the towel to Willow who gently wiped her face off with it.
“Thank you Klein. I believe I need to educate my daughters for a moment,” Willow said as she stood up.
“Weiss.”
“Yes mother?” Weiss asked as she prepared to bolt to her girlfriend’s sides as soon as she could.
Before she could, she was pushed forward and into the pool as the same low growl from before rang out like a gunshot in the near silence.
“Mother…it was you!” Winter accused, pointing her finger at her openly smirking mother who stood arms crossed as she looked down at her children.
“It was. As huntresses you should always be more aware of your surroundings and potential threats. Don’t just assume or go with your first instinct. Now how to punish you?” Willow said as she began her own summoning.
“I’m sorry we’re so late Whitley but the hunt went on longer than we thought. There was actually a secondary underground cavern they were using to gain access to the village,” Pyrrha apologized once again as Whitley merely smiled and waved her off.
“It’s quite alright. I’m just pleased you’ve returned and unharmed at that!”
“Now time for a fun dip in the pool,” Pyrrha said as they heard a splash as they rounded the corner only to gape at the sight before them.
“How long has this been going on?” Whitley asked aghast at watching his sisters in some sort of summon water fight with his mother.
“Eh fifteen or so minutes,” Ruby answered as she and Maria lounged under a shaded umbrella as they took turns feeding each other snacks and commenting on the water fight.
Maria decided to get her own treat and as she leaned over to feed Ruby her next cookie she waited until she opened her mouth and snuck her own kiss instead causing Ruby to squeak in surprise.
Maria turned a smirk toward Whitley and Pyrrha who sighed fondly as they looked back towards the ongoing water battle.
“Miss Willow, you have a meeting in a few minutes with the board,” Klein tried to interject as Willow paused for a moment to think on how best to respond.
“How important was it?”
“From what they said extremely,” Klein answered.
“Your opinion?”
“Time with family is far more important. I would reschedule,” Klein said, offering his own opinion.
“Do so please. I’m winning!” Willow said as she dove back into the fight with enthusiasm.
Klein walked over to the side and out of splashing range before he began sending a message stating a family emergency had come up and the meeting would be postponed.
It was nearly another half hour later before the siblings conceded to their mother who seemed positively radiant at getting to critique her daughter’s summoning skills and offer pointers while trouncing them in a water fight.
As she approached her other new daughter she squashed the tall redhead in a hug who did her best not to shiver at being soaked from the hug.
“So good to see you. I’m glad Whitley settled down with such a responsible young woman,” Willow gushed, still clearly riding the high of fighting with her daughters.
“Come along Winter, Cinder, we still have that shopping trip planned for today,” Willow ordered giddily.
“Of course mother,” Winter replied promptly, even soaked as she was.
“Yeah sure mom,” Cinder said offhandedly before she appeared to realize what she said and froze, turning red in the face as everyone slowly turned to look at her.
Thankfully her survival instincts still worked as she instantly decided to remove herself from the awkward situation of her own making by sprinting and leaping over the gates to head back inside the manor.
Despite that however the smile never stopped growing on Willow’s face.
Cinder had been noticeably skittish hovering, almost glued to Winter’s side ever since they started the shopping trip.
She didn’t withdraw from Willow, not entirely, but she was hovering just in range as if afraid she’d said something, or uttered some feeling she’d long since buried and was worried how their relationship would change as a result.
It made perfect sense to Willow. After all, the last time Cinder had a pathetic excuse for a mother in her life…well things hadn’t ended well, and she was likely confused not wanting their comfortable dynamic to change even if she knew it was unlikely.
Willow was content to let her figure it out in her own time. She was just pleased to be enjoying life again on her own terms rather than one dull, drunken day after another.
Her exercises, and training was starting to bear real fruit and she felt closer to the young woman she once was rather than the washed up has been she’d allowed herself to become under Jacques.
She banished any thoughts of him from her mind, refusing to allow him to even come anywhere near her children, the only good thing she’d gotten out of that marriage and the only reason she couldn’t bring herself to regret marrying him entirely.
Through them she’d gained even more family. Sure some of them were a bit rough around the edges, but they were happy.
She drew herself out of her musing and decided to cut Cinder a bit of slack so she could have a few moments to deal with her own thoughts, or rather ignore them completely as she was wont to do.
“How about a small game daughter’s mine?” Willow asked. “Here’s a simple list of items. See which if you can spend less getting all of the items on this list, and meet me at the food court in ninety minutes time so we can spend the rest of our outing together. No stealing the items either,” Willow said with a playful glare at Winter who looked affronted at such an accusation.
At least until Cinder snorted, making Winter realize why Willow had done it. She waved them both off and took a moment to browse a few shops for potential gifts for her family before deciding against them for the time being.
She made her own way to the food court and ordered a small treat to help pass the time as she looked at the various messages she’d received from her other children and smiled.
She switched over to the business side of things and efficiently spent a bit of time sorting everything out on that end so it wouldn’t intrude on her private time with her daughters.
She smiled a bit at a silly message from Ruby before a shadow fell across her and she looked up to find a nice looking gentleman looking nervously at her.
Having no reason to be rude she introduced herself to see what he needed.
Winter was sure she’d managed to acquire everything for the lowest lien possible and couldn’t wait to see what her prize happened to be should her hunch prove correct.
Watching Cinder act spooked like a startled cat that hadn’t yet realized it had a new owner or home had been fairly amusing if she ignored the implications behind why she acted that way.
She knew her fiance would need some time to come to terms with what she’d clearly already internalized and believed so she’d refrained from poking fun at her for it.
She found her mother at the food court sitting area and fought the urge to squeal as she found a suitor chatting her mother up. She saw him appear dejected for a moment before he politely excused himself and left.
At least he took rejection well and politely. Then again if he’d been polite about his interest her mother wasn’t prone to unnecessary cruelty so at least they’d handled it like adults.
It did however bring up something she’d wanted to speak to her mother about though so she approached and greeted her with a smile as she sat down.
“How was your trip Winter?” Willow asked politely as Winter handed her receipts over for her mother to verify.
“Uneventful thankfully.”
“I see. You look as though you have something on your mind, my eldest,” Willow asked gently to see if she wished to share.
“Yes, as intuitive as ever mother. I…saw that gentlemen speaking with you when I arrived. Is he?” Winter trailed off.
“Merely lost and looking for assistance I assure you,” Willow said although Winter was well aware of when her mother was hiding something which she conveyed with a look toward her mother.
“Perceptive. Yes he asked to spend time with me, but I turned him down, and he took it well enough,” Willow replied.
“He seemed devastated,” Winter jested.
“Well, I can hardly blame him for that,” Willow joked.
“You know…we don’t mind if you wish to find a…partner,” Winter put forward as Willow sighed.
“Thank you but I have no interest in such a thing presently nor am I likely to do so in the future,” Willow said, hoping to close down the line of conversation even as she knew it wouldn’t. Her eldest was many things but unrelenting would be one of those.
“Yes, but why? We only want you to be-”
“Happy? I assure you I’m happier than I’ve been in decades,” Willow tried once more to dissuade her daughter.
“But mother surely,” Winter tried again.
“Winter. When you are near Miss Fall what do you feel? Can you not feel it in your soul? Does it not nearly sing with joy? Do your summons not adore her? Can you feel your love for her through them?” Willow asked.
“I felt none of that with Jacques. I convinced myself I did. I was so sure of it that when I was asked I answered that I did feel that even though now I know I did not. Because of that I spent a decade living a lie only to find out I’d married a monster disguised as a man.
If I could be fooled so completely? So utterly? How can I trust myself again? No, I refuse to allow that. My priorities now in life, and the only title that matters to me is as your mother. To watch you grow into the strong wonderful women and men is all I could ever ask for. It is my privilege.
I do not need a partner for that. You all are what give me purpose in life. You make me more happy than any relationship ever could.”
“Mother,” Winter said at a loss for words.
“Do you know how silent the halls of our home were? Before this? You were afraid to laugh, or do anything for fear of upsetting him. Now? Our house is a home. I can hear laughter every single day. Our family is together. Is whole once more, and that is what I truly treasure. You now feel safe at home and can express yourself.
Why would I risk that for some dalliance or likely fleeting relationship?
I already failed as your mother once. I will not be found wanting again.”
“Hey, uh mom,” Cinder said as she came over, still looking dreadfully embarrassed as she cut through the slightly melancholy atmosphere that had formed.
“I uh…appreciate what you just said, and how nice you’ve been to me. I want you to know that uh your daughter is…brothers this is hard,” Cinder lamented.
“Yes I believe I’ve heard you say ‘her ass is fantastic’ many times,” Willow teased the younger woman who flushed.
“I mean I’m not wrong,” Cinder defended herself before backtracking, “wait no I didn’t mean that. Well I did but.”
Willow’s gentle laugh cut her off. “It’s alright dear. Like I said her summons don’t lie. It’s one of the main reasons I never objected to Weiss’s unusual relationship either,” Willow confided.
“You mean?” Winter asked, sounding ill.
“Yes. Your sister is likely to marry them both. Her summons adore the two of them equally. You’d feel it yourself if you weren’t so set on antagonizing your future sister.”
“She’s not my sister,” Winter rejected the claim ardently.
“She’s as good as,” Willow said with a smile.
“There’s still time for Weiss to change her mind!” Winter insisted.
“You’d best get used to it Winter. When have you ever known your sister to give up on something she wanted?”
“Ugh, what a nightmare. This is literally something I’d have a nightmare about,” Winter said, bemoaning her fate.
Cinder was of no help having laughed so hard she choked on her own spit and began coughing.
At least she was sure she’d won the bargain hunting game.
“What’s wrong Ruby?” Weiss asked as they prepared for the gala that was being hosted that evening.
“Cinder keeps sending me photos of your sister’s legs after I told her yours were better,” Ruby replied with a face that said she wasn’t sure how to feel.
“Ruby, don't participate in such a farce,” Weiss ordered from the bedside table where she was rummaging around.
Maria perked up from the bed where she had yet to get dressed in her outfit. “Are you, Weiss Schnee, gonna let Cinder tell you you’re second rate?”
Just as Maria knew she would, Weiss's face twitched as she warred with what she knew was a trap.
“I know that you’re playing me, but you know what? You’re right. Take a picture and make them weep,” Weiss commanded as she posed for Ruby.
“I bet Winter can’t even bend down without pulling a muscle in those tree trunks she calls legs,” Weiss muttered as Ruby and Maria took the chance to send a multitude of pictures to Cinder with the hashtag best Schnee legs easy gg .
“You know I’m shocked that worked as easily as it did,” Ruby said when Weiss went into the bathroom for something she said would aid in her posing.
“Pff she’s easy to understand and motivate if you know her like we do. At least she’s not as dense as someone I could mention,” Maria teased Ruby with a smirk.
Ruby flushed already knowing what she was going to bring up and buried her face in her hands. “Come on at least I didn’t miss you two,” Ruby begged.
“Aye, but still how’d you bring back a pair of twins who were street walkers and think they wanted to play games with you?”
“They asked if I was looking for a good time, and I asked if we could play a game and they said they loved games so I brought them back to the rooooooom,” Ruby wailed.
“Not what I expected Weiss and I to walk in on for sure,” Maria said with a smirk.
“They looked very uncomfortable and lost being asked to play actual games with you,” Weiss put in as she came out of the bathroom.
“It’s alright. We know ye didn’t mean anything by it, and you learned a valuable lesson,” Maria put it as she rested her head on Ruby’s shoulder.
“We’d best get ready for this fancy party,” Maria said with an eye roll as she kissed the other two on the cheek and went into the bathroom.
I don’t know, are you Winter Schnee going to let Maria tell you that you don’t measure up to your younger sister?”
Just as Cinder knew she would, Winter's face twitched. “You know exactly what you’re doing… but you know what? You’re right. We’ll get more photos after the gala.”
Cinder waited til she left the room and fist pumped before thanking Maria for the advice. A private photo session with Winter is just what she needed after the horribly boring gala they’d all have to suffer through for the evening.
Hopefully it wouldn’t be that bad.
It was worse. Somehow, or someway the food was even fancier, the people even snobbier, and everyone outside her own group far less tolerable than normal.
Worst of all she’d lost sight of Whitley, Pyrrha, Weiss and her two girlfriends. Winter had been required to assist Willow, and that left Cinder nursing a drink as she wandered the halls of the gala area looking for something to alleviate her boredom.
She blinked as she saw Whitley walking outside the back door from above and went over to one of the large balconies to get a better look at what he was doing leaving the party.
If he was angling for some private time with his girlfriend she’d leave him be, but if it was anything else she would join if only to have something to do with someone she could stand.
She blinked as she looked at a car pulling up to the back gate. They were handing him something. A bag perhaps? She was too far away and it was just dark enough that she couldn’t be certain.
Once the car drove off he put his hand up in the air which had…something in it and with a loud bamf was suddenly pulled across the lawn and into an open window elsewhere on the floor.
Cinder tore out of the room as she looked for Whitley. It was as she turned a corner that she smelled it.
The greasiest most delicious burger she’d ever smelled, or maybe that was because she hadn’t eaten in a while.
Regardless, she was on the hunt.
Another minute of following the intoxicating smell and she finally found the door that held the treasure.
With almost zero regard for subtlety she pushed the door open and blinked.
Pyrrha and Whitley were sitting together as were Ruby, Weiss, and Maria and each of them were looking at the door as if expecting her.
“Looks like Pyrrha was right,” Maria groused as she pushed ten lien towards the redhead and everyone followed suit.
“We bet when you’d show up for this,” Weiss said as she lightly shook the bag containing a bounty of flavor. The bag was slightly wet from the grease. It would be heaven she was sure.
“I should be angry you bet on me, but I’m feeling generous. Gimmie the bag and no one gets hurt,” Cinder demanded, her hands already reaching out and stretching for the bag of greasy goodness as she walked across the room.
“Sure thing sis,” Ruby said as she took the bag from Weiss and tossed it bag her way.
“Yeeeeees,” Cinder cheered as she ripped off a wrapper and took a bite. The flavor exploded as she hummed in delight and took a seat on the floor.
“Uncle Qrow said he and Auntie Robyn found a new place to get burgers from so we thought you’d like them.”
“The dingier the dive the better the burger. If your uncle likes it then it has to have great burgers. I was so right. I’ve never been more right,” Cinder praised herself as she took another bite.
“Wait, where are my fries?” Cinder asked as she looked to Whitley who was happily eating what should have been her fries.
“He’s a growing boy,” Pyrrha defended before she giggled at Cinder’s affronted look and pulled another bag out from behind her with her fries in it.
Cinder took it with a nod and savored the smell before she stuffed a few in her face.
“Do try and not ruin your dress,” Weiss chided her.
“Aw didn’t know you cared,” Cinder mocked her.
“Like it or not you’re as good as family, and will be someday so your behavior reflects on the rest of us,” Weiss said with a haughty sniff.
Cinder pointed to Maria and Ruby who were inhaling food at a rate that bordered on absurd.
“They have their…charm,” Weiss said, doing her very best not to look in that direction.
“Oh I’ll bet,” Cinder said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“So this is where you’ve run off to,” Willow said as she walked into the room with Winter in tow.
“Who won?” Willow asked looking over at Maria who pointed to Pyrrha.
Willow then sighed and took ten lien out of her pocket to hand over to her youngest’s fiance before she took her own bag.
Cinder had frozen, her cheeks still bulged with her last bite of the burger as Willow had come into the room.
Sure she’d accepted her as a mother figure, and accidentally on purpose called her that, but she didn’t want to think anything less of her due to her eating habits.
It was strange, but not unpleasant to have an actual mother in her life that she felt she could actually go to and trust.
Willow gave her a smile and a shake of her head. “I’ve seen you puke Menagerian pasta into the sink dear.”
Cinder swallowed even as her face colored slightly and she made a promise to herself to never try any new style Maria claimed was ‘mild’ without confirming it by having Winter try it first. “Yeah that’s fair.”
Winter was rummaging through her own bag before she snarled. “Where’s my spring roll?”
Whitley silently ate his spring roll making sure to look directly at Winter.
“You!” Winter seethed.
“Stop it Winter. He’s a growing boy,” Willow chided her eldest who grumbled swearing revenge and Cinder felt herself fall a little more in love with Winter at that statement.
Even if she thought Whitley’s smug look as he purposefully savored the spring roll while lying in Pyrrha’s lap was actually hilarious.
Pyrrha twirled Whitley around the floor, her red dress she’d worn at Beacon had been resized and repurposed, and Whitley looked very handsome in his finest suit as they took a turn on the dance floor to let the others finish eating some actual food.
“What has you smiling?” Pyrrha asked genuinely curious.
“Who would have thought that I’d meet my soulmate while visiting my sister at Beacon? I can’t believe you even gave me the time of day with how insufferably smug I was,” Whitley said.
Pyrrha giggled, the musical sound drawing the eyes of everyone much like it always did, but sadly for them Pyrrha only had eyes for the young man in her arms.
“What matters is we’re here now, and my family has grown so much. My mother loved you, and your mother,” Pyrrha confided in him.
“Yes, you mentioned they were already plotting a wedding date for us if we don’t decide soon,” Whitley joked.
“They likely will,” Pyrrha said as she twirled him once more before stepping back to his side.
After a moment more Whitley spoke up sounding almost tentative. “What would you say to a spring union?”
Pyrrha almost stumbled as she looked at her fiance in shock. “Really?”
Whitley couldn’t ignore the hope in her voice. “Of course. Spring is always lovely in Atlas. It’s a time of renewal, and hope. I’d much rather marry you then than in the midst of a dark frigid Atlas winter. If you’re amenable that is,” Whitley offered.
Pyrrha stared at him before she grabbed his collar and pulled him in for a heartfelt kiss. Once she heard clapping and whistles she backed off sheepishly and apologized as she pulled him off the floor.
“In case that wasn’t clear enough my answer is yes.”
Whitley thought the smile she wore was the most lovely thing he’d ever seen.
“And you think this will send the right message?” Willow asked as Cinder and Maria nodded frantically as Ruby got the device set up.
“It’ll show ‘em you mean business for sure!” Ruby chirped in as she finally got the machine working.
“Now for the final touch,” Cinder said as she produced a pair of shades for each of them.
“And did you tell the others about this?”
“Of course not. If Winter had a name for her swords they’d be ‘Buzz’ and ‘Kill’,” Cinder complained as she held up her hand for a high five from Maria without looking.
“And here I thought you were fond of her,” Willow joked as she slipped on her shades.
“I adore her more than life itself, but I’m not that delusional,” Cinder said as she put on her own shades.
“And you two?”
“The fun we have when she’s done getting mad is totally worth the yelling we endure for it,” Maria said sagely as Ruby nodded in solemn agreement.
“Didn’t need to know that,” Cinder put in.
“Then next time learn to soundproof your room. We heard you,” Maria sniped.
“Pff like you don’t-”
“From the other end of the manor,” Maria finished as Cinder flushed and looked to Willow who mirrored Maria’s smirk.
“I’m glad you have a healthy sex life dear but try to keep it down a little.”
“...ok,” Cinder squeaked as she walked ahead to get her equilibrium back.
“Well let’s do this thing!” Ruby said as she straightened up and hefted the box to her shoulder.
“They should be here soon,” Weiss tried to console her sister as they stood in the back of the room with the board members from the rescheduled meeting.
After assuring them that the emergency was settled they’d rescheduled and now stood in the meeting room.
Everything seemed like it was going to be alright until they heard a heavy bass start drifting down the hall.
“Have you seen Ruby or Maria today?” Weiss asked nervously.
“No, nor have I seen Cinder,” Winter supplied before she could be asked.
The other board members looked to the door where the noise was steadily growing louder and closer.
“This is why Whitley and Pyrrha took the day off,” Weiss realized with horror.
“We can probably survive the fall if we use your summon and take the window,” Winter offered.
Weiss seriously considered it for several moments before she shook her head.
“I was afraid you’d say that. I assume mother is with them.”
“She probably started the whole thing,” Weiss lamented.
“Probably.”
After another minute of the board members looking confused, the music reached a crescendo as Maria and Cinder each kicked open a door and walked in wearing dark shades as they held the door open for Ruby who placed the boombox down at the head of the table as Willow Schnee entered the room like she owned it.
Technically she did so she took her place at the head of the table and lowered her shades slightly to look over them at the board members before she made a hand motion at Ruby.
Ruby turned off the rock music and took a step back as Willow glanced around the board room.
“Sup bitches?”
Weiss and Winter whimpered as their partners cackled in the background. It was going to be the longest meeting.