RWBY: Black Cat

Chapter 18

"One of the worst feelings is losing your best friend. A best friend is more than a boyfriend, a sibling, or even a parent. A best friend is someone that you can genuinely tell everything to. It's someone that might not be able to relate to you all the time, but still may try to show compassion for the things you go through. It's someone you can tell about stuff that you may not even be able to tell your own parents. It's someone that will never judge for needing to vent or rant about something that is bothering you. It's someone that you always feel comfortable around, even if you're both socially awkward people. I would rather lose anything than my best friend."
      - Angela He

The rain continued to fall, not as heavily as it had earlier in the week, but hard enough that a few of the huntresses and huntresses-to-be were a little uncomfortable. Yang turned to Blake. "Is there any shelter around here?"

"Besides the White Fang stronghold? Not that I know of."

Ruby shivered. "Do you think there's any point in moving?"

Glynda shook her head. "Let's just stay here, and put up with the rain."

Raven nodded. Neo had shuffled closer to her, sharing body warmth. Team RWBY had also huddled together. Glynda was alone, but that was okay - she appeared to be totally unaffected by the cold. Yang shot a round from Ember Cecelia at the fire to keep it going. "Professor Goodwitch, I think you're the last one to go."

Glynda nodded. She opened her mouth, as if she were about to speak, then closed it. She finally managed. "I-I can't. I made a promise."

Neo was surprised to hear Glynda's voice catch in her throat. Instinctively, unthinkingly, she shuffled away from Raven placed a hand on Glynda's knee. Glynda blinked a couple of times, as she turned to look at the huntress beside her. "Neo?"

Neo was as confused as Glynda was. Why did I do that? She wondered, not betraying her thoughts to the others. She would have let me die...

Oh well. Too late now. The gesture was done. Neo just smiled encouragingly. You can tell us.

The rest of the circle waited silently. Glynda sighed. "I guess...you want to know about Leif. Why we were always so close."

Raven inclined her head slightly, and Blake's cat ears flicked up with interest.

Glynda hesitated, gazing into the dancing flames in front of them. "Leif and I knew each other for a long time. A long time before we went to Beacon. But I actually had a much closer relationship with his sister."

"My family lived in a small town, near the industrial part of Vale, and Leif's moved there when I was about seven. They were right across the street from us, and they were shunned by most of the people there, simply for being faunus. The fact that all of them except the mother were type twos really didn't help. I did the same for a long time, mimicking my parents. Then, when I was twelve, and Leif's sister was thirteen, we both applied to go to Beam Academy - the mainland's equivalent of Signal. She got in, and I didn't. When she asked me whether my application was accepted, I told her the truth, albeit reluctantly. But then she wrote to the headmaster, to put in a good word for me, and I found myself there, in the same room as her, the next week."

Neo listened silently, intently. She was surprised that Glynda's voice was so...animated. It was normally very hard and sharp, almost commanding, but she seemed to have lapsed into a more relaxed tone.

"I grew to really look up to her. She'd done something for me, even though I'd treated her pretty terribly. We remained great friends for the next three years, until we were fifteen and sixteen, and..." she trailed off, her breath catching in her throat.