#I absolutely kicked it when I saw the new tapestry I was freaking out so I had to draw sOMETHING

[ravenxbones]

⚜️//On and on the ravens flew, even to the misty lakeside manor where THE COUNTESS dwelled. It was said that she felt no warmth, no cold, no joy, and no sorrow.//⚜️

[ruffsficstuffplace]

The Viridian Vanguard (Part 19)

Note: We now return to your regularly scheduled screwing with Weiss for fun.

“… As every city-state in Heartland struggles with the sudden and dramatic influx of refugees from Candela; the armed forces ready to deploy and reassign a record number of both active and reserve personnel there; and the enemy’s weapons and magitech proves far more advanced and dangerous than previously known, the whole realm can’t help but ask:

“Have we opened yet another Pandora’s Box? And more importantly, will we be able to close it once again, as we have done for others like the Sekhmet Scourge?

“Both the AFA and the Church of the Holy Shepherd assure the public of their preparedness to face and end this new threat--”

Ka-chik.

Pyrrha looked up, the holo she was watching automatically paused.

Weiss sighed as she stepped out of the main house’s bathroom and back into the kitchen, freshened up and in new clothes. “Bathroom’s free if you need it!” she said as she walked over to the fridge, and grabbed a bottle of milk. “Sorry for taking so long, there was some gunk underneath my fingernails that just would not come off...” she grumbled as she headed to the table, and took a seat beside Pyrrha.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Pyrrha said, waving her off and dismissing one of the “earphones” hovering by her head. “Your training today was quite a lot messier than mine, anyway.”

“You can say that again...” Weiss grumbled as she twisted the cap open. “So, what’re you watching?” she said, glancing at Pyrrha’s paused holo.

“Oh, just some international news, is all,” Pyrrha replied. “Force of habit, I was always expected to keep on top of every little thing happening in the realm.”

Weiss nodded. “Anything worth sharing? I haven’t had the time nor the desire to check on almost any news from outside the Valley since I started staying here full-time,” she said, before she took a long drink of her milk.

Pyrrha looked back down at the holo, it resumed playing.

“--but doubt and disillusionment among the people grows, especially with the defection of the current Holy Shepherd, Pyrra Nikos--”

With a swipe of her hand, Pyrrha closed it, and shut off her comm-crystal shortly after. “Just more of the ever escalating bad news that’s been coming since the Eve,” she replied. “More fuel for anxiety and stress, than anything worth knowing about, really.”

“Noted, thank you,” Weiss said, before she took another drink.

“We’re back!” Yang called out as she and Taiyang walked into the kitchen, hauling Jaune between them. “Sorry we took so long, Jaune here insisted he wanted to reach the finish line before we officially called it a day.”

“Did he make it?” Pyrrha asked.

“Yep!” Taiyang said as he held Jaune up by his armpits, Yang carefully put his feet back down on the floor. “He collapsed on his face with his nose clearly inside the line, which still counts!” he said as the two of them helped him into a chair, before heading off to the sink.

Pyrrha and Weiss stared at the exhausted and sweaty Jaune, unsure of how he was staying roughly upright. “Are you sure you should have brought him back here?” Pyrrha asked.

“What, should we have left him outside in the dirt?” Yang joked as she and Taiyang washed their hands, then put on their aprons.

“No, I meant, he looks like he could use a trip to the hospital, not dinner,” Pyrrha replied.

“He’s fine! All he really needs is food, and lots of it,” Taiyang said as he started pulling out pots and pans, utensils, and bowls. “Trust me, I’ve gone to human college for this, and I’ll have you know I’ve already had my Fae physical trainer’s license renewed!” he said as he pulled a knife off the magnetic strip on the wall.

“Here, try giving him this if you’re so worried about him passing out!” Yang said as she rummaged through the fridge, pulled out the half-eaten Cheese, then tossed him to the table.

Pyrrha caught him, Weiss unwrapped the fibers he was covered in, and put him in front of Jaune. Depressions quickly formed on Cheese’s surface, sized accordingly to the reduced area:

:)

Jaune looked down at him with tired eyes, before he fell forward on the table and on top of Cheese, face-first. Weiss and Pyrrha flinched, the latter stood up and pulled Jaune back up. Cheese was now squished and stuck to Jaune’s face, his features warped but still recognizable:

:|

Weiss cast a withering look at Taiyang.

“He’ll be fine come morning, Fae food solves a lot of problems,” Taiyang said as chopped up and prepped ingredients at lightning speed. “Mark my words, after a couple more months of training and some echoes in his system, all he’ll really need is a decent snack and he’ll be back in action in no time!” said as he slammed his hands on the counter.

All of the prepped ingredients flew up into the air, he caught them all in their bowls and plates before any touched the ground, then passed them onto Yang.

“You ladies better stuff yourselves silly tonight, by the way, because we’re heading to the Pits before breakfast!” Yang said as she started dumping the ingredients onto blazing hot pans and woks, the kitchen filling with the sounds of sizzling and frying. “5AM tomorrow—and I mean 5:00 sharp—we are heading out to the Tubes, then lining up at the Pits to get the best chance possible of getting our team name before someone else does.

“We absolutely can not lose our name, alright?” Yang said as she tossed ingredients in a wok. “The cost of failure will be as catastrophic as it is unacceptable.”

“Piper, you make it sound like this whole thing is a high-stakes military operation,” Weiss said.

“And I’m being as serious as any CO in the AFA!” Yang said as she tossed the wok, before she started stirring other ingredients, or putting in more. “Make sure to set several alarms, and know that I’ll be coming to fetch you personally too, just in case.”

So it was that Weiss set alarms for 5AM with the help of some of Winter’s plushies, adding, “She seems pretty deathly serious about this, so don’t freak out if she does anything a little crazy, alright?”

The plushies she was talking with all nodded or made noises of agreement.

“Good plushies,” Weiss said, petting them, before she headed off to get ready for bed. Winter wasn’t around, as she had a night shift with the Watchers, but as she was exhausted from the day’s training and schooling, and had a belly full of delicious food, she slept peacefully…

… Up until 5 AM sharp the next day, when Yang kicked open her bedroom door, screaming “WEISS, GET UP! WE’RE MOVING, NOW!”

Weiss bolted up in her nest, the gems on her collar flashing bright blue. “Wait, what? What’s going—HEY! YANG, WHAT THE FUCK—PUT ME DOWN!”

“No can do, Weiss!” Yang cried as she ran off with Weiss on her shoulder

“At least let me get dressed, damn it!” Weiss screeched as she uselessly flailed her legs.

“You’ll be fine, trust me!” Yang said as she rushed through the Schnee sisters’ home, got into the waiting elevator, and nearly broke the button for the ground floor.

“Why are you even rushing so much?!” Weiss said as the elevator started going down.

“Because, our name becomes available at six, and the wait at the Pits is going to take at least an hour!” Yang replied, running in place. “I’m ashamed you’ve forgotten already, Weiss!”

“Well forgive me for having terrible memory recall when you break into my house, and kidnap me at this ungodly hour!” Weiss cried, before the doors opened, and Yang bolted out of the elevator and the barn, then up the path leading to the Tube station.

“PUT! ME! DOWN!” Weiss cried as she was bounced about on Yang’s shoulder.

“No! You’re. Way. Too. Slow!” Yang said in-between pants for breath.

The Tube station came into view, Pyrrha was already standing there in her day clothes plus a jacket, patiently waiting with a pleasant smile on her face, up until she saw Yang and Weiss run up. She watched as Yang stuffed Weiss into the log that was already open and waiting, Weiss furiously wrestling to get out, before Yang successfully immobilized her with the safety straps, then shut the hatch.

Everyone could hear Weiss screaming bloody murder from inside the log, up until the Tube technician sent her rocketing off.

<Legal?> Pyrrha asked as Yang climbed into the second Tube.

<Yes,> one of the technicians said, pulling out a physical copy of an agreement Weiss, Yang, and Pyrrha had all signed just days earlier.

Pyrrha slowly nodded, before it was time for her to get into the third and last log.

Less than a minute later, Weiss staggered out of one of the Pits’ Tube stations, grabbing onto a nearby column for support as she gazed out at the lobby before her.

It looked like the interior of some ancient, lavish underground arena, the walls, the floor, and the massive columns liberally decorated with commemorative statues, reliefs, and tapestries of the Valley’s greatest Pit Fighters and legendary clashes, all bathed in a warm orange glow by enchanted torches. Everywhere you looked, you’d find antique, handcarved and shaped stone, metal, and ancient wood; lovingly tended plants and carefully woven displays of elemental magic; shining metallic threads and precious stones; paintings, banners, and emblems made of old canvas, paper, and cloth, decades to centuries or even a thousand years old. The only things that really clashed with the aesthetic were the inevitable abundance of clearly modern posters, banners, and holographic advertisements for the latest fights and notices; the songs and music being used, like this week’s latest hit pop songs; and all the support and gimmicks for comm-crystal apps, and marketing promotions.

Weiss would have to find another day to take it all in, however, as Yang grabbed her hand, and started ploughing through the crowds with her and Pyrrha in tow.

The Pits were packed even for the early hour, folks crowded around the feeds of ongoing fights, cheering in delight or howling in despair; argued with one another over bets and odds, the likeliness of certain match-ups and their outcomes, or their allegiances and devotion to certain Pit fighters; or screamed and gushed over the particularly famous ones doing live appearances and interviews then.

Eventually, they rounded a corner and went down a hall to an entirely different section, where the decorations were much less elaborate and space-consuming, the holos were filled with take-a-number systems and administrative notices, and all the furniture was less luxurious and more utilitarian than the lobby, more long stone benches, than cushy, pillow-filled nests. It was packed to the brim with folks, but much quieter and peaceful, as Pit fighters or their representatives waited to be called up to the counters.

Yang screeched to a halt just before she hit a solid wall of Fae standing around at the very back; she frantically tried to look for a gap between the crowds, a path to the ticketing machine, and groaned as she found none. She turned to Weiss, put her hands on her shoulders, and said, “Air Xiao Long.”

Weiss scowled, and replied, “I am not doing that.”

“I don’t think you realize I wasn’t asking,” Yang said, before she picked Weiss up.

“HEY!” Weiss cried. “YANG, PUT ME DOW--!”

Yang threw her, heads turned and ears twitched as Weiss’ went sailing above the crowds, past some hanging decorations, signs, and lighting, before she hit a floor-to-ceiling banner, rolled down its length, and safely onto the floor.

“TICKET!” Yang shouted from behind the sea of folks. “GET A TICKET, WEISS!”

Weiss scowled as she picked herself up by the edge of the nearby counter, held out her hand, and a small bird calmly put one in her hand.

“DID YOU GET IT?!” Yang yelled from the back, hidden by all the folks in-between.

“GOT IT!” Weiss yelled in reply, raising her hand and the ticket into the air, before she had a moment of realization, and awkwardly put it back down. She clutched it tightly in her fingers before she started to squeeze into the crush and back to Yang and Pyrrha, excusing herself and apologizing all the while.

In the back of her head, she started plotting her revenge...