Chapter 10 — In which Blake is Observant

The paper between Ruby's fingers rustled and crumpled as she played with it, more interested in the page itself than the contents on it. Watching the dust fall in the sunlight streaming through the library's massive windows had already lost all appeal, as had tapping a beat with her fingers. It should have been bearable, but after listening to paper crease for a solid five minutes Weiss had finally lost her patience.

"Are you going to read the textbook or make origami with it?" The Schnee questioned in a huff as she put her own textbook down. A shush echoed down the bookshelves at her, causing the heiress' eye to twitch.

"Heheh, sorry Weiss," Ruby whispered, looking abashed. "I wasn't trying to bother you. I'm just, kinda, sorta, maybe bored."

Weiss stared at the shorter girl beside her, getting two silver eyes staring right back in return.

"Like, super bored. Super mega ultra bored."

The Atlesian blinked.

"I might actually die if I get any more bored—"

"Okay, I get it!" Weiss finally burst as quietly as possible, throwing her hands up to try and speak louder with her actions. "But what do you want me to do about it? I'm not going to read your textbook for you. Besides, we haven't even studied for an hour."

The clock chimed on the hour, as if supporting her case.

"I've already read the chapter, and the next, and taken notes!" Ruby held up a sheet with what looked like chicken scratch scrawled between cartoonish drawings of Grimm creatures with oversized heads. "I'm going to starve of fun at this rate." She added a couple pathetic, fake coughs at the end of her statement and shivering.

Weiss turned away, looking back down at her own book. "No."

If Ruby wanted to be silly, she could entertain herself; Weiss had serious work to do. Even with her head-start on her mechanics assignment she was halfway to the deadline and still not sure how to do the "mechanical" part of the project. It was one thing to forge some metal plate, but another entirely to use that piece in a more intricate system.

And it still had to be for her partner. What did Ruby need that she didn't already have and could be made with the Schnee's amateur abilities? She was pretty certain her leader's scythe was so specially customized it had a snack compartment hidden in the handle. And didn't that idea just scream Ruby? Better if the snacks somehow doubled as Grimm poison.

It probably has a million different tiny components keeping it all functional. It's all I can do to keep Myrtenaster clean of dust build-up. Weiss huffed, flipping through the pages of yet another design cookbook. After having already burned through two before it, her spirits weren't exactly high. She has to need something. Something that isn't just an additional gun strapped to the side. I mean, come on! Half of these weapons are just a sword with a gun taped to the side of it! Pole gun, trident gun, mace gun… Gun gun!? Why does the gun shoot a gun?

"I've got it!" Ruby suddenly whisper-shouted, clearly not paying any attention to her own studies anymore. "We can play the question game! That way we can both study while I keep from withering to nothing out of boredom!"

Weiss stared in reply, one perfectly shaped eyebrow arching toward her hairline. "The question game?"

Ruby nodded sagely, face the epitome of stoicism. "As your leader I order it."

The heiress let out a long groan, arms falling to her side. After a pause, half hesitation and half hoping the red reaper would give up, she caved. "Fine, I'll bite. What's the question game?"

"Why, only the simplest game ever! I ask you a question, and you have to answer it. Then you ask me a question that I have to answer. You can't ask a question that's already been asked, and you have exactly one pass, so use it wisely! All answers must be the truth and nothing but the truth."

Instinct kicked in Weiss' gut at the rules, screaming and kicking to not play. What if she asked a question about the SDC, or Winter and the Atlas military? The voice in the back of her head was as loud and clear as the day she'd left her home.

What if it's about you and Ruby? What if it's about your mother? You won't be able to hide.

Weiss shuddered, biting her bottom lip as her stomach did a flip. It's Ruby. She's absolutely harmless. There's no ulterior motive here, other than getting out of doing her work that is.

Harmless people don't snap on their friends and accuse them of betrayal as soon as things get rough. Who's to say she won't do the same to you?

"Weiss?" Ruby's voice cut through the intrusive thoughts as her hand landed on the white-haired girl's shoulder. She was giving Weiss a pitiful smile, the worry written across her glassy irises as she forced herself to look happy. "Don't worry," she said, seemingly reading the heiress' mind, or maybe she noticed the heiress' hand shaking lightly against the pages of her book. "We'll start simple, and we can stop at any time, okay?"

With a long breath through the nose, Weiss straightened her back and returned the smile, equally shaky. "Okay." I'm just stressed. Ruby is… she's my friend.

"What's your favourite ice cream flavour?" Ruby continued her stare, grin turning indulgent as she watched her partner go from composing herself to confused.

"Umm…" the fencer thought for a minute, caught off-guard by the mundane-ness of the question. Sure, Ruby said it'd be an easy one, but of all the questions to ask… did the younger girl even know what french vanilla with toasted almonds and a rum liquor even taste like? Especially one produced by the top dessert chef in all of Atlas...?

"Vanilla?" She replied, uncertain.

Ruby stuck her tongue out, face twisting in disgust. "Ugh, really? But that's so… boring!" Weiss' eyebrow twitched as her leader flopped down on the table in exaggeration. "I thought you would've had something more interesting with all your money."

"Well excuse me for liking a delicate flavour such as vanilla. And what's your favourite? Cookie dough?"

"Uh-uh, can't answer that one, Weiss. You have to ask a different question from me."

"Fine. What's your favourite frozen dairy treat?" The Atlesian glared daggers at the deadpan she received. "Oh all right! Favourite place in Vale?"

"The ice-cream shop!" Several shushes came from seemingly everywhere as Ruby became a little too excited. Her cheeks tinged red, but she smiled nonetheless. "But really, I love the movie theatre. The little theatre we had in Patch was more the opera theatre with a big projector screen that they used on Wednesdays for old movies. In Vale, I don't have to wait for the movie to come out outside of theatres to watch."

"Huh," Weiss sat, stunned momentarily. "How come we didn't see a movie when we went out to Vale before?"

"That was your celebration. Duh." Ruby stuck her tongue out, shrugging as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. An obvious thing the older teen was certain wasn't as clear as her partner was making it out to be, despite her own flushing cheeks. "But I'd love to see a movie the next time we go out, if you're okay with that? I haven't gotten out to the theatres as much as I was hoping I would, what with all the catch-up work I've been doing to stay in Beacon."

The two sat looking at each other until Weiss realized the other girl was actually waiting for an answer. Clearing her throat, she replied, "Yes, well, I'm sure we could make time for a movie. Just nothing too vulgar or violent."

"Aww, what about the new Achieve Men movie? It's more comedy than action."

"Is that your question this round?"

"Oooh, clever, but your mistake was giving me the chance to change it!" Ruby rubbed her hands together, brain at work. "All right, here's your question: What's your most embarrassing memory?"

"Hey! What happened to easy questions?"

Ruby giggled, turning back to her notebook to work, presumably. "Should have answered if you were willing to see the Achieve Men instead, then."

"Dolt…" Weiss cursed under her breath, digging through her memories. She'd had a few mishaps at Beacon, but there was something deeper, clawing at the back of her mind. "Oh no…"

"Got a juicy one? You gotta answer the question, Weiss." The smile plastered across Ruby's face was predatory, sensing a golden opportunity about to come up. "Unless, of course, you want to use your pass now."

The heiress placed her face in her hands, avoiding eye contact as she felt her face heat up from the memory.

"I was five. We were having pancakes for breakfast to celebrate my sister Winter's birthday. We so rarely got pancakes, and so I was a little too… excited. Do I have to tell the story?" Weiss tried, hoping that just maybe her partner would show mercy.

She didn't.

She just grinned wider. Like Nora on pancake day, ironically.

"You'll pay for this, Rose."

"It's worth the price."

"Ugh, you're impossible." the Atlesian mumbled into her palms. Speaking louder, she continued. "While we were waiting, I got into an argument with my father. I was… less controlled at that age."

"I dunno if I can believe that, Weiss." Ruby had completely disregarded her work, attention fully on her partner. "I've never seen you get into arguments, ever."

Ignoring the dolt, Weiss finished her story.

"I didn't notice the server approaching the table with the syrupy pancakes. One moment, I was arguing with my father, the next, I'd slammed my small fist on the table. I hit the plate, and the pancakes went flying. Right. Into. Winter."

The younger girl placed a comforting hand on Weiss' shoulder. "There there. It could have happened to anyone."

The white-haired girl peeked an eye through her fingers, finding Ruby's sincerity to be completely false, her cheeks barely holding back the laughter she knew she'd be scolded for in the library.

"I hate you…" Weiss said half-hearted, trying to push her face into another dimension through her hands to hide her glowing skin.

"Hey, I gave you the choice to use your pass." the esteemed leader said far too smugly.

"Fine. I see how this game works now." The heiress said far too calmly, lifting her face out of her palms.

Ruby gulped.

"So. Ruby. Have any crushes in Beacon?"

"Uhh… uhh… uhh…" The crimson-dyed girl froze, stuck in a loop. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for something—anything.

"Jaune, perhaps?" Weiss pushed on, smirking. She finally had some control. "Or maybe Ren? I don't know if Nora would like that."

"I—uh…" Ruby's namesake slowly crawled up her neck, skin flushing as she continued to stammer.

"Oh, don't tell me you have something for Sun? Just think how Blake might feel about that? Actually," Weiss tapped a finger to her chin in faux thought. "Maybe she'd appreciate you taking him off her hands.

"Or maybe you're into something a little… different?" Ruby's eyes shot toward Weiss as the older girl went on, sweat beading across her brow. "Perhaps you're after an upper year, someone big and strong, like Yatsuhashi? Or… could it be… someone more delicate, like Velvet?"

"Pass!" Ruby shouted, earning a plethora of shushes again—along with a few dirty glances from bystanders walking past. Her face was completely red as she whispered a second time, much quieter. "Pass…"

"Ah-ha! Victory!" Weiss whisper-shouted. "In your face! And now you can't ask me either." The older teen leaned back in her chair, arms crossing under her bust. "I hope you'll think twice about challenging me now."

The red-headed girl grumbled incoherently under her breath, still waiting for the heat to die away from her head, neck, and shoulders. "Beginner's luck… Who's your favourite teammate?"

"Zwei," the Atlesian responded without missing a beat.

"No fair! He's not even an official member!"

"I think he'd be quite offended to hear you say that." Weiss smiled, continuing before her teammate could argue further. "Happiest memory?"

"Oh, umm…" Ruby looked down, nibbling on a finger in thought. Her face scrunched a little, an array of emotions Weiss couldn't decipher passing by. "I guess… and don't laugh! But my happiest memory would be this one time when Yang made me cookies as a kid."

"Cookies?" Weiss deadpanned, feeling both unsurprised and disappointed.

"Yeah. She burnt them, like reeeeaaaally badly. They were pretty much black and stuck to the pan, but she spent three hours in the kitchen trying to make them just like mom used to, and when dad finally came downstairs to see why there was smoke in the house, it was the first time he'd smiled since mom died."

Weiss blinked. "Oh. Oh. Ruby, that's…" The heiress tried, but was left speechless.

Ruby, meanwhile, still had her face scrunched as she stared down at her textbook. "Okay, fine, you can laugh." She muttered, "I get it, they were burnt cookies."

"No!" Weiss shouted, then after the wall of shushes came from the library goers, she repeated more softly, "no. Ruby, that's… a beautiful memory."

When the reaper still didn't look up, Weiss lifted an arm above the younger girl's shoulders. She hesitated before finally placing a hand around her partner and pulling her closer.

"Thanks, Weiss." Ruby smiled, no longer staring into the abyss. "Sorry, that got kinda heavy. Umm, as for your question… What's your latest secret?"

The fencer rubbed at her eyes, regaining her composure. "Secret? And here I thought partners were supposed to tell each other everything."

"Boo, lies, that's lame." The redhead put on a show of pouting. "Everyone's got a secret, like when you stole ice cream from the freezer at night, or that time you accidentally shipped your sister's favourite brush to another continent. Everyone's got something."

"Another continent, huh?" Weiss smirked.

Ruby blushed her namesake. "It was hypothetical and could happen to anyone with a sister!"

"If you say so. As for secrets… I suppose it's a little early, but I could reveal it now." Weiss said as she leaned down toward her knapsack, rummaging through the contents. "Ah! Here it is."

As she got back up, she found her teammate leaned right up beside her trying to sneak a peek into the bag. "Shoo, back! You'll see it in a second. Have some patience, you dolt."

Ruby merely giggled as she leaned back again. "So what is it? Show me, show me, show me!" She whisper-shouted, practically bouncing in her chair. "You can't be all mysterious and then not deliver."

"You're insufferable," Weiss rolled her eyes, smiling. "I don't even know why I do these things for you."

"For me!? It's a secret for me?"

"Yes. You remember the project the headmaster gave us for class?"

Her teammate let out a gasp. "You finished already?"

"Er, not quite… But I've been practicing a part of the process, and I managed to make something. It's not some incredible, foldable, multi-function mecha-shift weapon, but I… I put a lot of work into it." Weiss fiddled with her hands out of sight, eyes cast down and away. Finally, after an awkward pause, she thrust her hands out between the two of them, a short, yellow-silver blade resting on top of them. "Here."

"Wow, cool! You made me a knife? Can I touch it? Can I? Pleeeeaaaase?"

"Yes yes, just take it already!"

Ruby lifted the blade out of her partner's palms, carefully running a finger down the side of it. By all accounts, it was the plainest knife imaginable. It was unmarked, slightly off-balance, a little uneven, and was fitted into a very basic-looking rubber handle. It was boring beyond compare to look at, yet Ruby was staring as if she'd just been handed the tool to first make sliced bread.

Before Weiss could say another word, her teammate had pulled out a black piece of paper from her own knapsack and ran the knife through it, tearing a slice through in what wasn't the cleanest of cuts.

"You made this? That's amazing, Weiss! Normally I have to get my blades for Crescent Rose custom-ordered and wait forever for them to ship. With a little extra sharpening this baby will take out grimm like it's nobody's business! Why'd you make a knife though?"

"Actually," the heiress interrupted, taking the knife back along with the paper, "It's a little more than just a knife." She lifted the paper, playing up the theatrics as her confidence revived itself. With a small push of her aura into the blade, she brought the weapon down on the paper again, only this time a spark flew across, followed by the entire paper bursting into flames and quickly disintegrating, turning to nothing but ash in a matter of seconds. "It's a knife infused with red dust."

"No way." Ruby watched, unblinking. "That's a thing!? You can actually do that? I mean, I know sometimes people weave dust into clothes and all that, but metal? You can put the dust in metal!?" She gushed, ignoring the wave of shushes that threatened to kick the two girls out.

"Quiet!" Weiss hissed, reigning in her partner. "Yes, though not easily. This took me several attempts, and I'm still a ways away from being able to use it properly."

"Weiss, you made a fire sword. A fire sword. That's so awesome!"

"Yes, well, it's nothing that couldn't be accomplished with covering a regular sword with dust." The heiress tapped her heel impatiently, the rhythmic click-clack keeping her steady. "I need to use this in a way unachievable by any other methods, or else the whole ordeal will be pointless. Why go through all the extra work of infusing the metal with dust if the dust alone, or metal coated in dust, will do the exact same thing? Stop that!" The Atlesian snapped her hand out, catching Ruby's wrist mid-swing with the knife. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, you're beating yourself up like usual."

"Excuse me!?"

"But this is so cool, Weiss! Like, mega cool." The younger girl smiled brilliantly, unable to take her eyes off the blade. "This already replaces so much. A coat of dust lasts what, one swing through a beowolf? Not to mention the time it takes to coat evenly beforehand, the extra materials you have to carry around with you, the waste of dust every swing, or the fact that I'm holding a little fire sword!"

"It's a knife, Ruby."

"Same thing! The point is, it's incredible, and you could hand this in to Ozpin alone. The utility of it would be enough to get a hundred. Think of all the mechanisms this outright replaces! Like your dust cartridges on Myrtenaster. If you just had the four elements in the blades, you wouldn't need that whole compartment. No more running out of dust, vials jamming, or any other mechanical failures!"

Ruby set down the weapon, turning to her partner. "Thanks, Weiss. This is awesome. Now I just need to learn how to use a knife."

Weiss opened her mouth to say something, then shook her head instead, smiling. "You're welcome. Hopefully you can put it to good use. So…"

"So?"

"How's your history report coming along?" The older teen smirked, her partner groaning in response.

"I thought we were playing the question game?"

"We are, and you're out of passes." Ruby pouted, unable to escape. Either she answered the question and worked on her homework, or stopped the game and worked on her homework.

"You suck."

"I could have sworn you were singing my praises a minute ago."

"Fiiiiine." Ruby dragged out, moping about. "It sucks. I just—how do you even write a history paper? Do I just copy what the textbook says? That's not proving I know anything. A kid could do that."

"You are a kid, Ruby." Weiss added, still grinning.

"Am not! I'm sixteen—that's legally old enough to run away from home."

The heiress arched a brow.

"What? Every kid looks up when they can run away. It's like, universal law." The young reaper crossed her arms, pouting. "But that's not the point. This paper's a load of crock, and Professor Oobleck is definitely going to fail me for it."

"Hmm," Weiss hummed in response. She couldn't fault the girl for her attention in class. Doodles in the margins aside, Ruby did have full notes from all of their lectures, and for all her shenanigans she spent almost all of her free time studying the material she was least familiar with.

Finally, the heiress looked back to her teammate and asked, "have you actually written a history essay before?"

"Wha—? Of course I have!" Ruby balked, taken aback. "This one's just… different!"

"Relax," Weiss' chair scraped as she adjusted it, trying to get more comfortable. "I wasn't insulting you, the question is genuine. I don't remember writing any proper historical papers until my final year or two before Beacon, so I wouldn't be surprised if you managed to skip the whole ordeal entirely."

"But… I've written about history before," Ruby tried again, wilting.

"Yes, likely reports or some other lighter work where regurgitating the textbook is enough, correct?" The Schnee gave as neutral a look as possible, trying her best to not come across as judgemental. It worked, as her partner slowly nodded, conceding her inexperience. "Right, well, the main difference here is that you're being asked to extrapolate. These papers require you analyze what happened, and try to put a why to it. It's about digging into the material, asking questions about it, then trying to answer those questions."

Ruby stared back in silence. Seconds ticked by, a creeping dread of awkwardness slowly crawling up Weiss' spine, until her teammate simply stated:

"Huh."

And that was it. No more questions, no complaints, not even a thank you. The younger girl simply turned back to her paper, looked down, and stayed silent.

And then she started writing, and—reading over her shoulder—Weiss breathed a sigh of relief at the list of inquiries on the subject matter she saw forming.

For all her complaining and time spent trying to study, Ruby was still unusually brilliant. The moment reminded the heiress just how easily her junior could absorb and understand information, and given some proper direction, suddenly she couldn't put her pencil down. It was times like this which reminded Weiss of how Ruby hadn't just gotten into Beacon by dumb luck, and how her being the team leader truly wasn't a mistake.

"Okay," Ruby started, breaking Weiss out of her thoughts, "I think I've got enough to start with now. Thanks, Weiss." Ruby turned, and her smile was so small, yet so genuine, that Weiss felt her cheeks heat up.

"Of course! I told you I'd be the best teammate." The fencer preened, trying to clamp down on her swelling pride.

"Yeah, you really are." Some best partner. Glad to know you'll leave me to die as soon as you take a hit.

Weiss froze, hearing Ruby's voice in the back of her head, followed by another.

As if some scrap metal and some words of advice could make you any less of a failure. You don't even have a plan for this assignment. You'll fail again, you'll fail her, and you'll run like you always do.

"Weiss? Hellooooooo, Remnant to Weiss? Anyone home?" sound filtered back in from the world around her, Ruby's pestering finally being heard. She took a long, slow breath through her nose, blinking the fresh liquid glassing over her eyes before it could be noticed.

"Yes, sorry, I was just…" The white-haired girl tried, but couldn't find the words. "What was your favourite part of our trip to Vale?" She tried instead, changing the conversation.

"Uhh, wasn't it my turn to ask a question?"

"I believe you asked me how to write a history paper." Weiss said after a pause, gathering her wits again.

"Ugh, I've taught you too well…" her partner deflated, laying her arms and head on the table dramatically. "My favourite part was probably getting a new outfit," she admitted.

The Schnee perked up, eyes widening. "Really? I thought you hated clothing shopping?"

Dust swept under Ruby's finger as she dragged it across the table. "Yeah, well, taking the ugliest things I could find for you to reject—"

Weiss' eye twitched. I knew it!

"—ended up being fun, and the new outfit is like, really cool…" She sighed, rubbing her finger and thumb together to get rid of the built-up dirt. "I just wish I had a chance to, y'know, actually wear it? When I walked out of the changing room, I felt so amazing! And walking around Vale? Food with Blake? I felt… powerful! Commanding… attractive," Ruby smiled sheepishly as she whispered the last of her sentence. "But we haven't gone back to Vale since! We were supposed to go bowling!"

The striking of pins and a hefty ball slamming into wood floors ran through the fencer's mind, memories of playing the game once as a kid floating back. The ball hurt her fingers, the shoes were ridiculous, and she was pretty certain her brother Whitley spent the entire time laughing at her terrible throws.

"Yes… bowling…" Weiss paled, dreading the day she'd have to relive the Valian sport. "Or how about more of that clothes shopping you ended up enjoying so much?"

"Only if you score high enough," the reaper replied cheekily. "But if I do good on this paper, you're gonna have to go bowling with me."

"Deal." The heiress stuck her hand out, Ruby quickly snatching it in a handshake. "May the more studious student be victorious."

"I'm gonna make you eat those words on the lane."

The two girls smiled at each other, before turning back to their work.

"And thanks again, Weiss," Ruby whispered, for once aware of the fact that they were in a library, "for the knife, and for taking the course with me, and for sticking with me through it all. It wouldn't be the same without you. You really are the best partner ever."

Her smile was so small, yet so warm, that it was infectious to the Schnee.

"Some best partner. Glad to know you'll leave me to die as soon as you take a hit."

Weiss felt herself crack, her teammate's voice echoing in her head.

She did her best to smile back. "I'm trying to be."

Hello reader! Thank you for once again engaging with a chapter of my story. I hope you liked it, though if you didn't I'd love the feedback in a review or message. I'm not the fastest writer, often building a chapter over the course of several short sessions with weeks between, and as time continues to pass I forget more and more of the fine details I've written before, and have to re-read further and further back to remember just what I've done in this universe.

Needless to say, I cringe every time as any writer or artist does looking at their old work. I hope that it's less a case of I'm a terrible writer, and more that I can't un-see the mistakes I've made. At least with the magic of a digital format I can go back to edit the story. This is, ultimately, a draft, and I'm sure once the last chapter's written I'll have gone back to edit the whole thing yet again.

Perhaps you'll read this message then, dear reader. Or now, I guess, if now is then.

And thank you, reader, if you've followed and/or favourited this story. I lead a rather busy lifestyle that often lacks the time to write, but whenever I see a notification related to this story, it reminds me to breathe, sit down, and put at least one more word on the paper. It makes me smile uncontrollably that you would like this silly story of mine enough to want to be notified for an update.