38

Chapter 38: Affinity Found

Ruby stared up into Winter's piercing blue eyes, her mouth falling open in shock. "Uhh…"

Winter stared back passively, unblinking.

Umm… Oh, what do I do?! Ruby's mind was a jumbled mess, Winter's question having completely upended her thoughts. To anyone else, she'd have no problem explaining her relationship. They'd all decided not to hide their status as Mates, something Ruby was thankful for. She was pretty sure trying to keep her relationship a secret would make her explode.

Winter, however… that was a different case.

Weiss said Winter wouldn't have a problem with our relationship… well, that she was least likely to have a problem with it, but that's practically the same thing… right? Oh, I wish Weiss was here…

"You, um…" Ruby tried, her mouth feeling unnaturally dry. "You know what a Mate's Mark is?"

Ruby gave herself a mental pat on the back. Yeah, that's a good way to start… or at least to buy time while I figure out what the heck I'm supposed to say!

Winter merely raised an eyebrow, unconcerned about the mental maelstrom she'd inflicted on the girl before her. "Yes, I do." She folded her hands behind her back, giving Ruby a patient look. "Miss Rose, has Weiss ever said anything about our father to you?"

Ruby blinked at the question, then her expression changed to the closest thing she had to a scowl. "Enough to know I don't like him."

Winter's brow raised a bit, and Ruby thought that, for a split second, the corner of her mouth quirked upwards. "Well, then you likely know that he tried to instill a… certain perspective into my siblings and I, regarding the Faunus people."

Ruby's face darkened to something dangerously close to anger. She just nodded slowly.

Winter went on. "I'm afraid he may have succeeded in giving those views to my younger siblings, but I always felt that my father's teachings were… flawed to say the least. When I eventually left home, I made the effort to gain as much knowledge as I could on the subject, so I could make my own views."

Ruby's proto-scowl faded, understanding in her eyes. "So… that's how you learned about Mate's Marks?"

"In a way. Information on that specific subject is rather difficult to come by outside of Menagerie. But I learned enough from texts and a few personal inquiries to understand the basics: sharing aura with one another, sensing each other's emotions. An interesting, if odd practice. And over the years," Winter's eyes narrowed slightly. "I've seen enough of them personally to recognize one when I see it."

Ruby gulped, flinching under the sharp glare. It was a lot like Weiss', only scarier.

Winter kept up the stare for a few seconds, then closed her eyes. She took a deep breath through her nose, and when she opened her eyes, they were… well, not softer, but not as cutting. "Miss Rose," she said calmly. "I won't procrastinate any longer, you are in a relationship with a Faunus, yes?"

Ruby frowned slightly, cheeks tinting from Winter's bluntness. "Yes…"

Winter's face fell a bit. "And… I can think of only one reason that my family symbol would be a part of your Mark's design." She sighed deeply, and Ruby saw resignation in her eyes. "Weiss is part of your relationship, isn't she?"

Ruby shrank further.

Weiss is gonna kill me.

"Yes… she is…"

Winter's shoulders tensed ever so slightly, and Ruby winced away from her, expecting the older woman to explode in anger. Instead, surprisingly, Winter simply clenched her jaw. "Okay," she said, her voice tight. Without another word, she set back down the hall.

Ruby watched her go for a moment. She shot Penny a curious look, the android having watched the whole conversation in silence. Penny just shrugged, looking just as confused as Ruby. They both quickly followed, Ruby wobbling slightly as she worked her crutches.

Silence was never something Ruby enjoyed, especially when coupled with the rather stern, blank expression Winter had. It only took about thirty seconds for Ruby to say something, pushing herself to keep even with the Specialist. "Miss Winter?" she questioned hesitantly. "Are you angry?"

Winter glanced at her, and Ruby flinched at how cold her eyes were. "My feelings are none of your concern, Miss Rose."

Ruby gulped but pressed on. "What are you going to do?"

Winter didn't even bother looking at her this time. "I am going to take both of you to this meeting with Ozpin, listen to what you all have to say, and once that's done," her eyes narrowed, her tone of voice leaving no room for argument, "my sister and I are going to have a long talk."

Ruby's arms felt like lead, as did her sinking stomach. Swallowing down her nerves, she tried to salvage as much as she could. With a hint of desperation in her voice, she begged. "Please don't be mad at Weiss."

Surprisingly, Winter stopped walking, so suddenly that Ruby nearly tripped doing the same, Penny having to grab her by the shoulder to keep her from falling. When Ruby looked up, she found those crystal eyes boring down at her, a single sleek eyebrow raised in question. It took all Ruby had to keep eye contact. "She didn't do anything wrong… right?" When Winter's only response was her brow arching further, she went on. "I mean… her being with us isn't a bad thing… is it?" She finished uncertainly, unnerved by Winter's lack of response.

An uncomfortable silence filled the hall, and Ruby wished more than anything that her Mate's Link somehow extended to Winter. After feeling her team's emotions nonstop for over a week, being faced with such an unreadable, emotionless situation was nerve-racking.

Just when Ruby thought that she'd blown any chance of having Weiss' sister even remotely liking her, Winter's shoulders sagged. Not much, but enough to lessen the strict, commanding air the woman always had about her. She frowned slightly, looking away from Ruby in a way that reminded the sniper of Weiss doing the same movement.

"I never claimed she did something wrong, Miss Rose." Her tone was still prim and proper, but Ruby could hear some underlying emotion in it. "But I worry that she doesn't quite grasp the scope of what this relationship involves. Personally, politically…" Winter shook her head, letting out a sigh. "I need to speak to Weiss on this later." She gave Ruby a long look, glancing briefly at Penny. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. When her eyes opened, Winter appeared calm and collected. "We're going to be late for the meeting. Come."

Winter took off again. Penny and Ruby sharing just a quick look before following, Ruby wondering just how much trouble she'd gotten Weiss in. A full minute of silence passed, only the clanking of Ruby's crutches being heard.

"Miss Rose?"

Ruby looked back up at Winter, crutches wobbling as she kept moving. "Yes?" she asked nervously. "And, um… you can just call me Ruby… y'know… if you want…"

Winter raised a slim brow, and Ruby noted just a tiny flicker of warmth in her eyes. "Ruby," she corrected, brow raising higher at the bright smile that earned her. "Could you tell me how Weiss has been doing in her classes?

Winter was mildly alarmed at just how huge Ruby's smile was. "She's amazing! Like, the smartest person in school, except maybe Pyrrha and Ren every once in a while. One time, in Grimm Studies, she…"

RWBY Dorm

"Well, that can't be good."

Weiss shot Yang an unamused look as she pulled her hair into a sideways-ponytail, but couldn't chastise her. For Ruby to get that panicked, and now feel this guilty, something major must have happened. She frowned at the thought, trying to think of what could have gone wrong so early in the day.

Blake hummed in agreement, smoothing down the front of her shirt. The three Mates were rushing to get dressed, having overslept a bit, then taking a while to pull themselves away from each other's warm embrace. They'd started moving faster when they realized something felt wrong, like they were missing something, or, rather, someone, in their already overcrowded bed.

Weiss made a mental note at the thought. First, get us all new scrolls, then, ask about getting a bigger bed. She picked her scroll off the nightstand, opening it and tapping on the screen, but nothing happened. She sighed, not even bothering to close it as she tossed it back on the nightstand to join the rest of the dead scrolls. Hopefully, we can salvage the memory chips. I'd hate to have to tutor Ruby without all my school notes.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a now-familiar sound filling the air around her. A small smile spread over her lips as she glanced at Yang. The blonde met her eyes with a smirk, leaning against the window with her arms crossed. They both turned to face Blake, who was running a brush through her hair with her eyes closed, her left ear twitching with each pull.

"Blake," Yang said, a slight teasing in her voice. "You're purring again."

Blake froze mid-brush, eyes snapping open as her purrs cut off abruptly. She looked over at her Mates, cheeks tinting slightly at their wide grins. "Sorry," she muttered, having an embarrassed smile of her own. "It just kind of keeps happening."

Yang just chuckled, reaching up to give Blake's ears a quick scratch. "We know, Kitty Cat." Her smirk softened as Blake leaned into her touch, once again radiating Happiness, Relief, Contentment. "I'm glad you're feeling better after talking to your mom. But you might want to try reining it in a bit before you end up purring like a motorboat in Ozpin's office."

Blake winced slightly at the mental image, leaning away from Yang's hand. "Oh, that would be so mortifying. I'll try to get a handle on it."

Weiss laughed quietly at them. Since waking up, she'd felt almost unnaturally calm considering what they were about to go do. She wondered if Blake's happiness was bleeding over into herself, but pushed it aside to question later. She fished around through one of her bags, humming happily when she found the compact she was looking for. She flipped it open, giving herself a quick once-over. She smoothed her bangs, trying to make herself look as presentable as possible. She paused when her eyes drifted downwards, catching sight of her Mark.

She sighed. She looked at her girlfriends, watching as Blake discreetly pulled a small orange pill bottle out of her bag. Blake quickly swallowed one of the capsules, then stashed the bottle back in her bag. Weiss decided not to comment on it, instead asking, "So, do we know what we're telling Professor Ozpin?"

Yang let out a rueful laugh. "Not much point in hiding anything. He had us cold last night."

"Yes, but," Weiss paused as she pulled Ruby's cloak down from the girl's suspended bunk, the ropes creaking softly as the bed swayed. She folded the cloak over her arm and continued. "How much do we tell him? He knows we fought Torchwick's Paladin, but not why we were there in the first place."

Blake let out a huff, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I don't know. He already knew I was a Faunus before I enrolled, but I'm not sure if he knows I was part of the White Fang. And even if he does, I have no idea if he knows what I did with them."

Yang frowned at that. "So, if he doesn't know about you and Adam… yeah, that could be bad." She looked between her girlfriends. "So, then what? We lie? Say we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

Weiss grimaced. "That might have worked if it was just us four, but since Sun and Neptune were there with us, not to mention Penny…"

"Yeah," Yang commented with a chuckle, shaking her head in disbelief. "Robot girl. That's a new one."

Blake nodded in agreement, frowning at Weiss' words. "It looks suspicious, seven students from three different schools, all at the same place in the same fight." She groaned, pressing her palm to her forehead. "Dammit… there's no way around this, is there?"

She felt someone put their hand on her shoulder. Blake looked up into Yang's lavender eyes, the blonde giving a warm smile.

"Don't start freaking just yet, Blake," she said. "For all we know, Ozpin already knows all about you, and won't bat an eye. And if he does, we got your back."

Weiss appeared at Yang's side, giving a stiff nod. "Agreed. Though, was it me, or did Professor Ozpin seem like he already knew something about what we did last night? Beyond fighting the Paladin, I mean."

Yang shrugged, her hand falling from Blake's shoulder as the Faunus stood. "I think that's just how he is all the time, Weissy. It's kinda creepy, honestly."

Blake laughed weakly at that, then glanced at the wall clock. They had forty minutes until ten o'clock, but they had decided to show up a half-hour early just in case. Blake let out a deep sigh. "Alright… let's get this over with."

Yang patted her on the back, grinning broadly. "That's the spirit."

Weiss rolled her eyes as she followed her girlfriends out of the room. Remember, Weiss, you chose to be part of this insanity. She let out a sigh, her lips forming a slight smile as she stepped in line with Blake and Yang.

Several flights of stairs later, and the leaderless Team RWBY reached the elevator to Ozpin's office. To their surprise, Sun and Neptune were already there, sitting on the floor playing some kind of card game. Sun scowled at the cards in his hand, opening his mouth to say something to Neptune, when he caught sight of the approaching girls. He waved to them as they drew near.

"'Sup, guys! Wanna be dealt in? It'd be nice if Nep had someone to trounce other than me."

Neptune met Sun's scowl with a smirk. "Ain't my fault you can't bluff to save your life, bro."

Sun responded in the mature manner of sticking his tongue out at him.

"How long have you two been here?" Blake asked.

Sun shrugged, looking back at his cards. "Twenty minutes, maybe? We ended up coming early because someone freaked out thinking we were late."

"I thought Ozpin said nine," Neptune grumbled, drawing a new card from the deck. "My bad."

The minutes ticked by slowly as they waited. Yang had sat down next to Neptune, joining in the game when it became apparent they might be there a while. Blake and Weiss stayed standing, watching the game with slight interest, despite neither of them knowing how to play. Their thoughts, however, were mostly focused on figuring out why Ruby was suddenly feeling excited and happy after being so worried.

Sun had just thrown down another bad hand, all of them laughing at his misfortune when Blake's ears suddenly twitched. She tilted her head up a bit and smiled. "I can hear Ruby. She's close."

Weiss looked at her, slightly envious of Blake's enhanced hearing. She strained her ears, trying to hear what the cat Faunus had. After focusing for a few seconds, she could just hear Ruby's motormouth going from down the hall and around the corner.

"...Yang got up on this big platform, and started firing as it flew around her…"

"Oh, boy," Yang said, shaking her head with a small smirk. "Ruby suckered someone else in for storytime." Blake let out a small giggle, thinking about the same.

"...and then, Weiss used a bunch of velocity glyphs, and sent me moving faster than I've ever gone before! The Nevermore never knew what hit it!"

Weiss smiled a bit. It had been a few months since she'd heard Ruby recount their first fight at Beacon. The first few weeks after the event, it was all she would talk about to anyone who would listen, their moves and attacks becoming more grandiose with each retelling. It had annoyed Weiss to no end at the time, but after growing closer to Ruby, knowing her as well as she did now, Weiss felt nothing but warm affection towards her youngest girlfriend.

"Indeed?"

...and now she felt nothing but pure, abject horror.

No… no, no, it can't be. Why… why would she be here, now? And… oh, Gods! How much did Ruby tell her?!

Blake and Yang flinched away from Weiss as Panic, Fear, Shock rolled off Weiss like a tidal wave. The look of terror on her face didn't help them feel any better.

"Weiss?" Blake asked, putting a hand on her shoulder as Yang shot to her feet. "Weiss, what is it?"

Weiss couldn't hear her, her eyes glued on the hallway corner, wishing, begging, that she had heard wrong, that she'd made a mistake, that…

...that her elder sister Winter wouldn't walk around the corner, an interested look on her face as Ruby hobbled beside her on crutches, babbling away. Penny standing on Winter's other side, looking just as invested in Ruby's tale, only cemented the nightmarish image.

Blake and Yang stared at the approaching trio with wide eyes. Yang leaned over to Weiss and whispered, "Uh, Weiss? Is that…?"

"Winter," Weiss whimpered weakly.

"After that, we… oh, hey guys!" Ruby looked away from Winter, having noticed her team standing outside the elevator. "Look who I found!"

Weiss could only watch in horror, mouth agape, as Winter gave Ruby a calculating look. "I believe I found you, Ruby."

Weiss' heart jumped. Since when did Winter call anyone by their first name?

Ruby just shrugged. "Eh… same thing."

Winter seemed unimpressed with her answer, though… no, Weiss must have imagined the slight twitch in Winter's lips.

Weiss nearly flinched when Winter's crystal-blue eyes turned to her, only stopped by years of practice. Winter looked her up and down, and for a heart-stopping moment, Weiss thought her gaze lingered on her neck. The moment was gone just as soon as it happened, and Weiss shuddered as their eyes met. The tension ended, thankfully, when Winter's lips curved into a very light smile. "Hello, Weiss. You look well."

Weiss felt a bit of weight fall off her shoulders at Winter's tone. It was calm and proper, but it wasn't cold. There was none of the disappointment or judgment Weiss had been fearing. It was faint, but Weiss almost thought she heard a bit of warmth in her sister's voice. With a shy smile, she responded. "T-thank you, Winter. It's good to see you."

Winter gave her a nod, then her gaze drifted to her side, blue eyes scanning Blake and Yang. Weiss flinched internally when Winters' eyes flicked to the top of Blake's head and started feeling uncomfortable when she stared at Yang for a little too long. To their credit, the partners didn't seem that affected by Winter's stare. Blake met her gaze evenly, her face blank, not even reacting when Winter looked pointedly at her ears. Yang just gave her a large smile, though anyone who knew her recognized the glint in her eyes, the one that said, "If you have a problem with me, bring it on."

The analysis ended when Winter nodded to the two. "Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao-Long, I presume?"

Blake gave her a respectful nod, while Yang beamed. "That's us!" the blonde boomed. "You're Weiss' big sister Winter, right?"

Winter raised an eyebrow at her, and Weiss radiated her annoyance at Yang's bluntness and her worry of Winter's reaction. To her relief, Winter simply nodded. "Yes, I am. I would like to have a proper conversation with you both sometime soon, but Professor Ozpin is likely waiting for us. Now…"

Winter paused as she turned back towards Ruby, her words trailing off quietly. While Winter's focus had been on Blake and Yang, Weiss moved closer to Ruby, throwing the red cloak over the younger girl's shoulders and sleep clothes. Ruby gave Weiss a warm smile as the heiress clasped the cloak around her neck, coaxing a small smile from Weiss. Then Weiss' eyes widened, and she glanced towards Winter nervously.

Before even a second had passed, Winter continued like nothing happened. "Ruby," Winter looked down at Ruby, the young leader looking up at her commanding tone. "Is this everyone Professor Ozpin requested?"

Ruby glanced around the hall, taking note of Sun and Neptune frantically cleaning up their messy pile of cards. "Yes, this is everyone," she answered.

Winter nodded at her. "Good. I will go up and inform Professor Ozpin that you are all here. Penny, please wait here for the moment."

Penny gave Winter a sharp salute. "Yes ma'am, Specialist."

Winter returned the salute, Weiss shocked to see that the same small smile on her lips as she did so. With a wave of her scroll, Winter called the elevator and stepped inside. As the doors closed, she met Weiss' eyes one last time, sending a shiver up the younger Schnee's spine.

Once the elevator started its ascent, Yang let out a light hum. "So that's your sister, eh, Weiss?" A small smirk formed on her lips. "She seems cool."

Weiss didn't even acknowledge Yang's poor attempt at humor, already rounding on Ruby. "Ruby, what did you say to Winter?"

Ruby flinched at Weiss' sudden intensity, ducking her head a little. "Not… much. Just a few stories about our classes. Nothing major."

Weiss narrowed her eyes. There was something in Ruby's voice… like she was hiding something. "Really? That's all? You didn't mention anything that might have been… odd?"

The fact that Ruby wouldn't meet her eyes did not instill confidence. "Um… not… exactly…"

"Ruby, what did you do?" Weiss was trying very hard not to growl out the words. She was vaguely aware of Yang putting a hand on her shoulder, strong fingers tracing circles on her skin. It calmed Weiss, at least a little.

Ruby made an uncomfortable sound, and there was guilt in her eyes when their eyes met. Ruby quickly looked away.

"Winterknowswe'reMated."

Ruby mumbled so fast, Weiss wished she could believe she'd misheard. "W-what?" she breathed in disbelief.

Ruby groaned, then gave Weiss the biggest, fakest, guiltiest smile she'd ever seen. "Winter, uh… knows that we're Mated?"

…

Weiss stood still as a statue, her eyes wider than ever. Behind her, Blake's shocked expression quickly crumpled as she groaned in the back of her throat, covering her face with her hand. Yang only winced, any annoyance she would have felt towards Ruby being drowned by her sister's own shame and worry.

Off to the side, Sun inhaled sharply, sensing the rising tension in the area. "Oh, this ain't gonna be good." He took a not-so-subtle step away from the Mated quartet, Neptune following suit. Penny looked between the two groups, unsure what exactly the problem was, but decided to follow Sun's lead, standing with the two boys while they waited for-

"WHAT?!"

Ruby cringed, her stomach turning at the overwhelming Shock, Fear, Panic radiating from Weiss. Before she could answer, Weiss was right in her face.

"Why would you tell her that?! I didn't want her to know yet! I-I don't know how she'll react!"

"Weiss, calm down," Yang ordered, pulling the panicked heiress away from Ruby, shooting her sister a sympathetic look.

Weiss turned her focus on the blonde, her emotions growing stronger by the second. "I will not calm down! I have no idea what Winter will think of this, of us! I wanted to…. to… I don't know! Ease her into the idea, or… something! But I can't do that now because Ruby just-"

"She already knew what a Mate's Mark was!"

Weiss stopped mid-word, her head snapping back to Ruby. The leader flinched under the attention, which only grew worse when, as one, the rest of the teenagers turned their attention to her.

"W-what?" Weiss stammered faintly.

Ruby shifted awkwardly in place, her arms starting to feel sore from leaning on her crutches. She tried to meet Weiss' eyes, but the intensity in them made her look away. "Um…" she tried, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "Winter, she… um… she already knew what a Mate's Mark was."

Weiss' look of surprise was mirrored by Yang and Blake, the Faunus' ears perking up a little. "She… did?" Weiss asked.

Ruby gave a slight nod, finally able to meet Weiss' eyes. "Um… yeah, she did. And… when she saw your snowflake on mine…"

Weiss blinked, comprehension in her eyes. "She… oh…"

"Yeah… Sorry, Weiss."

Weiss saw the guilt in Ruby's eyes and felt her shoulders fall in regret. She let out a low sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No… no, I'm sorry, Ruby. I shouldn't have blown up like that. Just…" She let her hand fall and gave Ruby a worried frown.

Ruby looked down guiltily. "I didn't really tell her anything. She asked me if I was in a relationship with a Faunus," her eyes darted to Blake, then met Weiss's eyes, "then if you were part of our relationship."

Weiss grimaced, closing her eyes. "And you said yes."

"...sorry?"

Weiss groaned, burying her head in her hands.

Yang frowned, having felt Ruby and Weiss bounce between Worry, Fear, and Guilt through the whole conversation. "What exactly is the problem here? What, is Winter anti-Faunus or something?"

Weiss shook her head, crossing her arms as she turned to Yang. "No, not as far as I know. Yang, Winter is extremely critical of… well, everything!" She sighed heavily, looking at the floor. "Our relationship is about as unconventional as possible. I don't know if she'll approve of… us."

Blake hummed in understanding. "And you want her to."

Weiss looked up, blue eyes drifting across each of her girlfriends, her Mates. She shrugged helplessly. "She's my big sister," she muttered quietly. "I want her to be okay with this… You all make me happy. I just wish… I hope that's enough."

A broken look came across Weiss' face, one that stirred Ruby to action. With a small grunt, she hobbled forward, letting one of her crutches fall as she gave Weiss a strong one-armed hug. Weiss returned it instantly, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl as she rested her chin on her shoulder.

"It'll work out, Weiss," Ruby soothed, giving Weiss a squeeze. "If it helps, she didn't seem angry when she found out."

A weak chuckle broke past Weiss' lips. "Winter always has her emotions locked down tight, Ruby. If she's angry, she won't show it."

"So, not a hothead like you?" Yang quipped with a smirk.

Weiss scoffed, shooting Yang a weak glare. "Yang, you are not allowed to call anyone a 'hothead'."

Yang's response was to tussle Weiss' hair with a little more force than necessary, prompting the heiress to bat her hand away, telling Yang not to do that.

Ruby pulled away from Weiss, giggling as the two started arguing about which of them was hot-headed. She felt Blake put a hand on her arm, finding the cat Faunus holding her discarded crutch. Smiling to each other, they turned to watch the heated argument unfold, unconcerned given the undercurrent of playfulness the Link added to their barbed words.

After the arguing duo wound down (Yang eventually conceded that she did have the hotter head, given that she was just hotter in general. Weiss gave up rather than risk another argument, this time filled with Yang's groan-worthy puns), and the three outliers were sure there would be no more family-fueled drama, the minutes started slowly ticking by. Team RWBY huddled up together, discussing quietly what they were going to tell Ozpin. Sun and Neptune started their card game up again, while Penny stood over them, watching the game with interest.

As ten minutes passed with no sign of Winter or Ozpin, the group figured they would be stuck waiting until ten. It was only moments after realizing this (and after losing three hands in a row), that Sun decided to break the silence.

"So… can I ask a question?" All eyes turned towards him, Blake meeting his eyes first as he'd looked to her.

"What's up, Sun?" Yang asked.

Tossing down his cards, the game purposefully forgotten, Sun said, "Something's been bugging me since last night, and if you could clear it up, that'd be great."

"What is it?" Ruby asked.

Sun put his hands behind his head, leaning back against the wall. "What were you guys talking about last night? I tried to follow, but I kinda got lost when you started talking about you guys using the wrong Semblances."

Weiss grimaced, while Yang and Ruby shared a look. Blake looked around at her Mates, receiving nothing but helpless shrugs. "Something weird happened during the fight with Torchwick," she finally admitted. "I… I don't know how, but… he had me and Ruby pinned down, but right when he went to finish us off, I threw up my arms and…" She trailed off, unsure how to properly explain.

Yang had no such problem. "Blake somehow made one of Weiss' glyphs."

Sun blinked, while Neptune just seemed confused. "She… made a glyph?" The blue-haired boy asked. "Like, those spinning snowflakes Weiss can make?"

Weiss made a disgruntled sound at his description. "Yes, one of those. Except, this one was purple."

Sun's mouth opened a bit in surprise. "Uhh... "

"Oh, it gets better," Yang cut in, crossing her arms with a smirk. "Right after that, I start running to pound on the mech, and suddenly I blasted off across the field just like this one always does." She threw an arm around Ruby's shoulders, giving her sister a shake strong enough to nearly make her drop her crutches.

"You used Ruby's super-speed?" Penny asked, tilting her head with a puzzled look on her face.

Yang grinned wider, a spark of excitement in her eyes. "Yep! With those rose petals and everything. Except, y'know, yellow." She finished with a small shrug.

Sun stared at her, mouth agape. Then, with a blink, he snapped it shut. "...okay, it's official: you four are the weirdest team I've ever seen."

Ruby pouted, while Weiss and Blake gave him a flat stare. Yang, however, snorted in amusement. "Well, you ain't wrong."

"But… that should be impossible," Penny piped up, her brow scrunched in confusion. Her eyes glowed brightly, tiny streams of blue dancing across them. "No one has ever used another person's Semblance, according to my records." She frowned, her eyes glowing brighter. "Maybe if I search the internet…"

"Do you guys have any idea how you did it?" Neptune asked, arms crossed in thought.

Blake shook her head, looking down as she turned her hands over, eyeing her palms. "Not a clue. It just… happened."

Neptune groaned lightly in discontent. "C'mon, there has to be more than that." He glared down at the floor as if staring at a puzzle that was missing pieces. "Something had to have caused it. I mean, people don't just gain a second Semblance."

At his words, Ruby frowned. Something Neptune said sounded familiar. "Second Semblance…" she muttered to herself.

It hit her like a bolt of lightning. Ruby's eyes grew huge as she latched onto the idea. "Yes they do!" she shouted, startling the group.

"Uh," Neptune droned slowly. "No, they d-"

"Blake!" Ruby steamrolled right over him, spinning on her crutches so fast she nearly fell. Blake and Weiss both reached out to steady her, and both could practically feel the excited energy buzzing beneath her skin. "You told us before that Mates could gain a second Semblance! What if that's what's going on?"

Blake frowned in confusion, but her eyes soon widened. "You mean… an Affinity?"

Weiss and Yang jolted in surprise at Blake's words, while Sun's jaw dropped. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, jumping to his feet. "Are you serious? Affinities are super rare. Like, one in a million rare. You think you guys got one?"

"Wait, seriously? Oh, man, that would be epic if we-"

"Uh…" Neptune raised a hand as he clambered to his feet, cutting off whatever Yang was going to say. "Could someone please explain to the uninformed human? What's an Affinity?"

Blake and Sun shared a look, Sun giving her a small shrug. Blake turned to Neptune, about to speak, when Penny cut her off.

"Affinity," the synthetic girl recited, her eyes glowing. "A unique ability shared between Faunus Mates, created from the mixing of auras, not unlike a Semblance. Chances to attain one estimated at two-to-five percent. Chances increase if the parents of a Mated Faunus have an Affinity, though exact chances are unknown." Penny blinked, and her eyes faded back to normal. She met Blake's eyes, head tilted. "Is that correct?"

Blake blinked at her, stunned. "U-uh… yes," she said, shaking off her shock. She managed a small smile. "That's exactly it, Penny. Thank you."

Penny beamed. "Happy to help."

"But…" Weiss said, putting her hand to her chin in a thinking pose. "That still doesn't make sense. An Affinity is the same ability shared between Mates. You and Yang used two completely different powers."

Blake frowned. Weiss had a point, but… it still felt like something was missing.

"Have you guys tried it since?"

All eyes turned towards Sun, who looked back curiously.

"Tried what?" Yang asked.

"Using Ruby's superspeed," he bobbed his head towards Blake. "Or making another glyph. Have you tried yet?"

Blake hesitated, her ears dipping nervously. She looked to Yang, and the blonde could only offer a shrug. "No," she said to Sun. "We haven't. I guess it slipped our minds after last night."

"Well, try it!" Sun pushed, looking a little excited. "See if you can do it again."

Blake's ears shot up.. "What… here? Now?" The rest of her team looked equally surprised.

Sun nodded. "Sure. Make sure last night wasn't a fluke or something."

Yang looked thoughtful for a moment, excited even, but quickly shook her head. "Tempting, but… I ain't trying right now. I remember when Ruby was first learning her Semblance and, even if I could pull it off, I'd rather not accidentally blast through a wall." Beside her, Ruby grimaced. Yeah, those early days hurt a lot, especially before she learned how to run and stop. And those walls didn't always break!

Still, Ruby latched onto the idea, new fantasies forming in her head. If her team really had formed an Affinity, one that somehow let Blake use glyphs and Yang superspeed, she wanted to know exactly what it was. And if Yang was out, that left…

Blake felt Ruby's curiosity and excitement before she met her leader's bright silver eyes. She didn't even need to ask, she already knew what Ruby was thinking. Her ears pinned back again, wary of the look on Ruby's face. "Ruby…"

"Could you try it?" Ruby asked, her tone calm, but hopeful. Blake wasn't fooled, however. In addition to her escalating emotions, Ruby's eyes were twinkling in awe, just at the thought of Blake using Weiss' Semblance.

Blake let out a distressed huff. "Ruby, last night was an accident. I don't even know how to make a glyph."

Ruby was disappointed for all of a second before her head snapped towards Weiss. "Weiss could you-"

"No," Weiss denied forcefully, exasperation in her tone. "I can't just show her how to make a glyph, Ruby. It takes years of practice to get to the point I am at, and I'm still not that good at it." She continued before any of her team could deny her words, though her chest warmed at feeling that they were all about to do exactly that. "Each of my glyphs is different, complex. None of them are as easy as just waving my hand and having it appear."

"One of them is."

Weiss shot Yang an unamused look, making the blonde put her hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm just saying. Blake was able to make that one last night without a thought. So that one, at least, can't be too hard to make."

Weiss opened her mouth to retort, then paused. She hesitated, looking deep in thought. "Well," she said hesitantly. "Maybe there is one. But…" She turned to Blake, frowning slightly. "Blake?"

Blake looked down, thinking. She looked to Ruby, seeing the excitement in her eyes, and Yang, who stared back curiously. "I… could try," she said hesitantly, meeting Weiss' eyes. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

Weiss just stared for a moment, her lips pulled to a fine line. Then she let out a sigh of exasperation, muttering under her breath… "Of all the ridiculous things…" Her eyes sharpened, and she took a step forward. "A simple barrier glyph. A single hand motion, with a simple command."

"Command?" Blake repeated, confused by the term.

Weiss ignored her, holding out her hand, palm up. "Easy enough to start out." She bent her fingers, crossing her pinkie over her ring finger. Her hand glowed with white light, and a small glyph a foot wide formed above it, spinning lazily. "It's the simplest glyph I know and the easiest to make."

Blake eyed the spinning snowflake, trying to remember what Weiss had just done. "Okay…" she said slowly, turning her palm up beside Weiss'. Trying to ignore everyone's eyes on her, she asked, "How do you do it?"

Weiss' eyes met hers briefly, before jumping back to their hands. Her fingers relaxed, and the glyph faded away. "First, you need to picture what you want to make. Think of a smooth surface, something solid."

Blake's brow furrowed as she tried to understand. "Like what?"

"Anything," Weiss said, still looking down. "A shield, a wall, anything will work, so long as you can picture it clearly."

Blake frowned in thought, the first thing she latched onto was the wall behind her bed. She leaned against it often enough as she read, she could picture it easily. "Okay… I think I have something… now what?"

"Now, try to cycle your aura through your arm." At Blake's confused look, she clarified. "Have your aura run down your arm to your fingers, then back up to your elbow. Keep a constant flow of aura moving through your arm."

With a slight nod, Blake tried to replicate what Weiss described. A slight tingle built in her arm started rushing through it, speeding up to her thumb, through each of her fingers, then back down her pinkie. "Next?"

Weiss pursed her lips, radiating indecision. "Then… move your fingers… like this." She bent and crossed her fingers like before, slower this time so that Blake could see. The instant the motion was complete, white light enveloped her hand, and a small ringing sound filled the air, another glyph phasing into existence above Weiss' hand.

Blake stared at the glyph, her heartbeat increasing. She looked at her hand, feeling her aura rushing beneath her skin. Can I really…? Slowly, she moved her fingers.

Weiss was still talking as she did. "If you've done it right, the glyphs should just appear. At least, that's how it worked the first time I formed-"

Shriiing!

"-this… glyph… oh, wow…"

Weiss and Blake both looked down in amazement. Beside Weiss' glyph was an off-color copy, a violet snowflake spinning at the same slow speed.

"I… I did it," Blake breathed. A tentative smile formed on her lips, growing larger by the moment. "I made a glyph."

Weiss nodded dimly, shock plain on her face. "Yes… you did."

"Okay," Yang piped in, reminding the monochrome pair that they had an audience. "That is seriously awesome."

Murmurs of agreement came from the surrounding teenagers, save Ruby, who was looking at the two glyphs with just as much contemplation as excitement.

"How's it feel, Blake?" Yang asked, leaning in close to the pair, looking between the two glyphs in awe.

Blake thought for a moment, making sure to keep her aura moving as Weiss instructed, watching the violet light dance across her hand. "It… doesn't really feel like anything," she admitted, puzzled.

"It's an extension of yourself," Weiss said quietly, finally lifting her eyes from the glyphs. "It's like your arm or your leg. It's there, but you don't feel it unless something happens to it." To demonstrate, Weiss lifted her free hand and gently placed it on top of Blake's glyph.

Blake sucked in a startled breath. Weiss was right, she could feel her glyph as easily as she could her arm, feeling Weiss' cool hand on its surface. It was disconcerting as she and her glyph were clearly separated, yet somehow felt attached, as if there was a phantom connection running from her brain to the glyph.

"Penny, can you hold this?"

Blake and Weiss jumped, startled from their thoughts. They turned just as Ruby handed her left crutch to Penny, who just looked confused.

"Ruby?" Yang questioned.

Ruby glanced at her sister, then held up her now free hand, looking at it intently. "I want to try something." She took a step closer to Blake and Weiss, holding her hand open just as Blake had.

Realizing what Ruby wanted to do, Weiss said, "Ruby, I don't even know how Blake can do this. You can't just expect-"

As Weiss was speaking, Ruby stared at her hand, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She twitched her fingers.

For a brief moment, Ruby thought it had worked. Her hand glowed, and a wispy, red circle formed above it. In the next instant, however, the light flickered out, and the circle collapsed, fading away like crimson snow.

"Aww…" Ruby pouted as she flexed her empty hand, oblivious to the freshly shocked teens around her. "I thought I had it."

"You had the gesture wrong," Weiss said faintly, drawing Ruby's attention.

"I did?" she asked.

Weiss swallowed, then bobbed her head to the glyph in her hand. "You didn't have your index finger bent right… see?"

Ruby looked at Weiss, then Blake's. "Oh… okay, let me try again." She held her palm up, then replicated the position of their fingers. 'Like- THIS?!" She squeaked when her hand was engulfed in red, and another snowflake joined the other two. Bright red, the same color as Ruby's cloak, with a darker shade backing it. Unlike the other two, Ruby's was spinning wildly, matching excitement plain in Ruby's smile.

"I did it!" she cried proudly. If it wasn't for her braced leg, she'd have jumped for joy. "I can make glyphs, too!"

Blake beamed at her, no less confused, but unable to be worried in the face of Ruby's joy. Weiss stared at the crimson glyph, eyes darting between it and its violet counterpart. Slowly, bolstered by Ruby's exhilaration and pride, Weiss' unease was pushed aside, and a small smile spread across her lips. "Y-yeah." A shaky grin escaped her lips. "You can. You did. And…" She trailed off, her gaze snapping to Yang.

Yang didn't hesitate, practically shaking in anticipation. "Like you're leaving me out of this!" She laughed, throwing up her hand next to the others. "If Ruby can do this, I probably can too. So, once the aura's moving, I just move my fingers like this, right?"

Weiss watched Yang's fingers bend, and her eye widened in panic. "Yang, wait, you didn't cross your-!"

Anything else Weiss was going to say was drowned out by a sharp, piercing sound, like the echo of glass shattering. For all of a second, a golden yellow glyph formed over Yang's palm, before expanding rapidly. The edge of the glyph shattered through the others, hitting all four girls at once in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of them, sending them to the floor.

As Yang crashed to the floor, throwing her hands out to catch herself, the oversized glyph faded away, peaking at the size of a dining room table. Everyone stared at the empty air in shock.

"Uh…" Yang droned in confusion. "What just happened?"

Weiss groaned, rubbing at the small bump the hallway wall had given her when she slammed into it. "You didn't cross your fingers. That's the part of the gesture that helps control size."

"Oh. My bad."

Weiss shot Yang a look, slightly annoyed. Then she slumped, smiling ruefully as she climbed to her feet. "It's okay. I did the same thing when I was first learning."

Yang blinked, then grinned. "Yeah, well… I did it, though! For a second there, I saw it!"

"And felt it," Ruby moaned, holding one hand to her stomach while she rubbed her braced leg with the other. "Ow, ow, ow."

As Yang helped Ruby back to her feet, Blake looked around at her Mates. Disbelief, Excitement, Curiosity, Awe radiated from them all, matching her own feelings perfectly. She laughed lightly at the absurdity of it all. "We can all make glyphs," she said in disbelief.

"I think it's more than that," Ruby countered, leaning on Yang as the blonde took her crutch back from Penny. When everyone looked to her, Ruby clarified. "Think about it: we can all use Weiss' glyphs, but Yang was also able to use my super speed. And Weiss, you said yesterday you think you used it too, didn't you?"

Weiss thought back to that moment, high above the Vale streets. "I'm… not sure, Ruby," she answered honestly. "I just know that what happened felt a lot like what Yang described."

Ruby nodded excitedly. "Well, if you two can use my Semblance, then Blake probably could, too." She looked quickly at Blake, seeing the Faunus blink in surprise. "And we can all use Weiss'. So…" She started looking between Yang and Blake, practically vibrating with anticipation.

Yang's eyes widened at the same time Blake's did. "Maybe it extends to me and Yang," Blake finished.

Yang let out a near-manic laugh, a gleam in her eye that Weiss and Blake had only ever seen in Ruby. "Okay, we need to figure this out. 'Cause if we can each use each other's Semblances… hell, what if we can use more than one at the same time? Oh, we could kick so much-"

"Let's calm down for a second, Yang," Weiss interrupted, placing a hand on Yang's shoulder. Truth be told, between Ruby's giddiness and Yang's enthusiasm, both she and Blake could feel the start of an adrenaline rush threatening to kick off. Trying to bring everyone back to reality, Weiss continued. "I agree we should test this further, but in case you've forgotten, we are waiting for a meeting with Professor Ozpin. Let's get this out of the way first, then we can spend the rest of the day… experimenting with this."

Yang frowned down at her, her excited buzz dieing down quickly. "Man, nearly forgot about that." She crossed her arms with a scowl. "I hope this is over with soon. Now I have all these ideas."

"Same here, Yang," Ruby agreed, stars dancing in her eyes like she'd been handed the keys to a high-grade weapons factory.

Ding!

All eyes turned towards the elevator, some more surprised than others. The doors slid open, and Glynda Goodwitch stepped out, holding the door open. She looked over the seven teens, then nodded to herself. "It seems everyone is here. Professor Ozpin is ready for you all. We'll have to make two trips, given the size of the elevator. Team RWBY, if you would enter first."

Ruby looked to each member of her team, feeling a bout of Apprehension from Blake and Worry from Weiss. It was tempered by the Confidence Yang exuded, who Ruby sent a thankful look towards. Giving Weiss and Blake an encouraging smile, Ruby pushed her crutches forward, leading them in.

As the group started towards the elevator, Neptune leaned over towards Sun. "So, if I heard that right, each of them basically has four Semblances then, right?" he whispered.

Sun nodded, a bemused smile on his lips. "Sounds like. Kind of epic, ain't it?"

Neptune nodded back slowly. "Yeah, but… if we end up going against them…" He shot Sun a significant look. "We ain't winning the tournament, are we?"

Sun barked a laugh, getting an odd look from Blake. Unconcerned, he replied. "Oh, not a chance in hell." He grinned widely, an excited gleam in his eyes. "Gonna be a fun fight, though."

Neptune rolled his eyes at his friend's flippant attitude. Sun was still chuckling when the elevator doors slid shut.

Penny merely stared at the closed doors, head tilted to the side as the previous few minutes played back in her mind. After a moment, she reached a conclusion. "I have chosen some very strange friends," she said with a nod and a smile.

Betaed by Covert Weapon

Old A/n: Long-ass chapter and the meeting still hasn't started. I promise it will begin and conclude next chapter, plus we can get some actual siblings time with the Schnee sisters.

For those wondering, the reason updates have been kind of weird the last few months is- drumroll, please- I bought my first house! Yes, I am currently in the process of boxing up my things and furnishing the place, and once I'm all moved in, hopefully, I will be able to dedicate fome actual time to writing this and a few other projects. Thank you all for being patient with me, and I hope to have some more content for you soon.