Icy Remnant

I had gotten up earlier than expected and decided to take a walk around campus to kill time till class. As I wandered around, I saw a face I was not expecting, Shion Zaiden. They were also wandering around as I was lost in thought at the implications of their appearance. I better see how bad things are first before jumping to any conclusions. I walked up to the non-binary person and greeted them with the intent of shaking their hand.

" Hello there, I have not seen you before. Do you teach the upper years?"

Shion took my paw and shook it as I used Soul Archive on them, and they replied.

" Shion Zaiden, Nightmare Hunter. I am currently seeking out my prey that has infiltrated the school."

" I see; best of luck to you."

I stopped myself from outwardly grimacing at what I had learned from Soul Archive. There are 4 Nightmares in the area; that's two more than in Ice Queendom. I need to check to see if that particular variety of Grimm possesses anyone I know. They were in the Grimm Encyclopedia, but I did not put much thought into it as things had played out more along the lines of the original RWBY than Ice Queendom on the opening day of Beacon. Thankfully the Nightmares are easy for me to detect with my Magic and Divinity.

I re-entered the dorms and spread my Magic out first and found some abnormalities with Weiss and Pyrrha's Auras. I am guessing it's the Nightmares I am detecting. I also found the other two. One was with Cardin, the bully and racist. The other was with a kid I was not familiar with, and I decided I would run some experiments tonight to see if I could safely extract the Grimm. For now, I will attend class like normal, well at least I won't be completely bored this year.

***

I was enjoying my free period in peace since I had already finished my assignments early. I found a nice little spot in the woods near the campus that had just enough sunlight, plus a large boulder that I flattened out into an even stone slab to sunbathe on. The sun-warmed flat stone against my back felt nice, and I plan to chill until the next class starts. I heard someone approach me, and I looked to see Weiss, much to my surprise.

" Weiss, what brings you here?"

I asked with a bit of curiosity, as she did not strike me as the type to seek solitude out in the woods. The snow princess looked at me with a complicated expression and kept silent for several moments before saying something that I could barely hear.

" What was that, Weiss? Please speak up."

Weiss took a deep breath and then said with difficulty.

" You were... Right."

" About?"

I asked for some context so I didn't misunderstand anything, and she replied.

" About what you said yesterday."

I honestly was not expecting my words to get through to her so soon. I thought I would have to deal with the cold shoulder treatment for a month or two. I then asked with renewed interest.

" And what brought this revelation on?"

The snow princess looked away and answered as she gripped her school skirt.

" Ruby was studying last night to catch up, and I will admit... That I am a bit... ignorant about some things."

I saw how hard it was for her to admit that to me, and I could not help but ask.

" Do you really hate me that much to the point that you find it very difficult to be open with me?"

" Hate... Is a strong word..."

Weiss answered after a pause, and I decided to continue this line of questioning in case removing the Nightmare proved troublesome or if I let things run their course to peek into her innermost thoughts through her dream world later on so, she would not completely reject me from her heart. It would be a chance to get a lot of blackmail and teasing material. Hmm, maybe I should let a Nightmare possess me to see who enters my dreams? That could be fun, a lot of fun for me if I could keep the Grimm under control, but I am getting sidetracked.

" Weiss, what is it about me that bothers you so much, aside from the obvious that we both already know?"

The snow princess kept silent for several moments before answering.

" You appeared practically out of nowhere after my Father's mysterious disappearance before getting divorced by my Mother in the end, with Winter no less. I admire and aspire to be like her in making her own choices to run her life how she wants despite my Father's... Disapproval. You changed her in ways I still don't quite understand, and seeing my strong, unyielding sister agree to be part of a harem, your harem, I don't know how I am supposed to take that and why it happened in the first place.

I still believe Winter can do better than a womanizing rogue like you, and I hope she will see sense in the future. I don't like you; I dislike you; I can't understand you. You are someone I never expected to have any part in my life, and yet here we are, talking to one another about... Things."

Weiss looked like a weight got lifted off her shoulders as she told me how she felt about me, and I decided to return the favor.

" Weiss, when I first met you, you gave me the impression of a spoiled brat with a lot of issues. I love and care about Winter, so I tried to put aside my bias for her and look at you objectively for her sake. My bias was mostly right, but I decided to be civil as best as I could be with you in order to not embarrass her in front of her family, aside from some teasing, of course. You still have a lot to work through, Weiss, but seeing the you of now compared to yesterday make me hopeful and curious as to how you will grow.

While I have no doubt we will still have our differences, I think a willingness to communicate and change can bring about a fruitful relationship. For now, Weiss, can we at least agree to be... Reasonable with one another."

" Very well then, Silva. We have an agreement."

Well, let's see how things pan out in the coming year.