RWBY: Remnant's Blond Bard

Chapter 15

The shared hot spring contained only the four of them. No one else was using the resort or, if they were, then they were in the private springs. The hot water ate away at his muscles and tinted his skin red, and it would have been supremely relaxing if not for the company he kept. Willow was chatty, asking him how he felt and how comfortable he was, but that only served to highlight the absolute silence from Weiss and Whitley. Not just the fact they weren't talking, but that Willow didn't involve them in the conversation.

"Yeah, Atlas has seemed great so far. What about you, Weiss?" He reached out desperately for her. "What's your favourite part of the city?"

Weiss Schnee would have had his heart pounding in her two-piece swimsuit with her pale skin flushed pink from the heat, if not for the glacially cold look in her eyes. The girl was stunning, but it was hard to notice anything other than how much she disliked him. And while it was a relief to know his Charisma wasn't some sledgehammer hitting people and taking control of their minds, he'd have preferred it if she at least gave him the benefit of the doubt.

I'm not the one who caused this! It's your mom you're angry at. Not me!

"Weiss," said Willow, addressing her daughter for the first time, and to chastise her no less. "Don't be rude. Jaune asked you a question."

"I like the mountains," she gritted out. "They're tall, peaceful, and secluded."

The kind of place where no one could hear a musician scream. He was sure she didn't mean it like that, but it really felt like it. Desperately, he looked to Whitley, who, against all odds, took some small amount of pity on him. Probably a bit of charity for his trying to involve them more.

"I like the museums. They have interesting exhibits of past civilisations. I enjoy watching documentary videos online about them. I do also enjoy music," he added. "My sister's especially."

Weiss chuffed. "I thought you were more obsessed with that new girl?"

Whitley winced and blushed. "Sister, I told you it's not an obsession. I just appreciate her music. Guitar Cutie – that's her name, stop smirking! – is a talented musician."

Jaune had long since let himself sink down into the water, his mouth and chin under it so he could expel his frustrated scream as a torrent of bubbles. Whitley was a fan of his female alter-ego while hating his male self. It was too much.

"That's lovely," said Willow, "my favourite place is the horse races. I'll have to take you some time, Jaune. Such wonderful animals, and a refined sport. Have you ever been?"

"I haven't—"

"Then that'll be our next excursion!"

They were already planning the next? She had promised to show him the various sights of Atlas, of which he supposed horse racing qualified, but it sounded like another case of the two of them being out together. He wasn't sure that would help in bringing their family back together – and that was his problem now, wasn't it? Thanks to his intrusive Semblance that couldn't mind its own business, he now had to deal with this family schism.

Because somehow the consequences of him not doing so were going to bounce back on him.

It was hard to tell if his Semblance was simply being prophetic and telling him what would happen if this wasn't fixed, or if it was changing reality to force consequences on him that wouldn't otherwise be there. Both were kind of insane to consider. His Semblance knowing the future suggested it was deterministic, and that was a philosophical rabbit hole he didn't want to go down.

How was he meant to fix their relationship, though? Through the power of music? That was the only thing that came to mind since he was for all intents and purposes a bard. Quests in games didn't normally screw you over by asking you to cast fireball if you were a warrior. His Semblance might well have been, but he had to work on the assumption that any quest he was given was theoretically possible.