If It Be Thusly (Weiss Schnee x Reader)

That My Blade Is Gospel

Mantle was once the centre of civilisation of the continent of Solitas. It was the beating, urban heart of a kingdom that dominated the citizen life of the cosmopolitan Kingdom of Mantle. It's a shame what has happened to it in the modern day. Instead of being made of marble and gold it's become a city of smoke, brick and dirt, kept trapped under the oppressive shadow of the flying city of Atlas: that levitating island of wine and glass. A few cable cars connect the two cities, haphazardly hanging metal boxes that hug thick metal wires, giving their occupants a view of the smokestacks and the fumes. You sit in the cable car, watching a few flocks of birds flutter between the snowflakes. Weiss bought the tickets for the car, which you thanked her mightily for. You go to the city below occasionally to find cheap things for the house, like flowers and bland food, but the ticket price always makes you grumble. You sit beside Weiss, absently watching the clouds slip further and further away as the cable car descends. She's flicking away on her scroll, writing a message or something. You don't really care. You inhale deeply and stretch out your arms above your head before getting up to your feet. You meander to the other side of the cable car and lean up against the glass, watching the impressive landscape. Beyond the city is the snow plains, and beyond that is the rest of the world, hiding behind the horizon. You've never been outside of the frozen continent of Solitas, but you hear that in the rest of the world's flowers can bloom row on row in endless meadows and gardens. You sigh and let your mind's eye wander, creating dreamscapes of viridescent light. Weiss notices your daze and raises a curious eyebrow, her eyes more interested with you than her scroll.

"You okay?" She asks, slipping it back into her pocket. You hum absently before turning around to face her, resting against the glass.

"Just thinking about what life's like outside Atlas," you say wistfully.

"Outside Atlas? Vale is boring, Mistral is behind the times, Vacuo is... well, I don't like sand. It's harsh, gets everywhere, it's hard to walk on too."

You laugh, "And Atlas is much better? Look below us, there's a city of smog and squalor."

"Uh... well..." she stumbles through words, trying to muster a defence. "At least Atlas City is good?"

"Apart from the people who live there," you add slyly.

"Hey!"

"What? It's true," you roll your eyes. "I have never met an Atlesian I've liked."

"(Y/N), I'm Atlesian."

"Although I am allowed to make exceptions," you mutter lowly. "And you're the exception."

"I'm flattered," she says in deadpan, though there's the phantom of a smirk below her impassive mask.

"You should be."

She crosses her arms and scrutinises you. "You've really never been outside the Kingdom of Atlas?"

You look at her as though the answer is obvious and tell her, "I'm poor, Weiss. You should know this."

"Right, of course," she mumbles, looking apologetic. This is uncomfortable all of a sudden; she feels guilty for her wealth, even though she never asked for any of it. It's unlike her to feel... upset for somebody else like this. "Well, that's a shame," she says, trying to will away that guilt and empathy.

"I guess," you shrug. "I try not to think about what I don't have, because I know in the end no matter how much people have or don't have, they'll always yearn for more. It's better to find contentment with what you have than to keep scrambling for material things."

"That's a way of looking at it, I suppose." Weiss thinks that the sentiment of what you said is nice, but that you're just trying to convince yourself you're content because you think you'll be happier for it. In truth she thinks you want a lot of things that you can't have: money, talent, popularity. "You can be content with what you have, but there's nothing wrong with wanting more."