Out of the Ashes

White Lion

"Woahhh!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly, "I forgot how big the tower looks up close!" Weiss smirked over at Ruby, crossing her arms calmly. "You should see the one in Atlas."

You nodded, racking your brain for any information you knew about the CCT in Atlas. "That was the first one, right?" Weiss turned to face you, obviously surprised by your knowledge on the CCT.

"C-correct! Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

"Ooh~ Look at me. My name's Weiss. I'm rich." Ruby cooed mockingly in a high-pitched whiny voice, a large grin spreading over her face when you let out a hearty laugh.

Weiss crossed her arms, "Don't be a pest, Ruby. Besides, the only reason we're here is because you like the tower so much. We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

Ruby froze like she had just been caught red-handed stealing cookies from Ozpin. "I-I know...but it's soooo cool!" The small redhead squealed, earning another laugh from you and a jealous glare from Weiss.

"Ooh! I'm gonna take a picture!" Ruby dug into her pocket, pulling her scroll out so quickly it slipped out of her hands and landed with a clack on the ground.

"Oh. You dropped this." A ginger-haired girl bent down, picking up Ruby's scroll and holding it out towards her.

Weiss blinked a few times in surprise while both you and Ruby let out a bewildered "Penny?!" Penny gasped in realization, her eyes widening. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you since the night at the docks!"

"Uh...uhm...I-I think you're mistaken!" Penny stuttered, ending her scentence with a hiccup was so powerful that Ruby's scroll went flying back into the air, before landing gently into it's red-haired owner's hands.

"I-I've got to go!" Penny spun on her heel, speed walking away from your little posse. "What the hell was that about?" You pointed at Penny, looking at Ruby for an answer. "I don't know. But I'm going to find out." Ruby shoved her scroll back into her pocket, a determined expression set on her face. "Weiss, stay with (Y/n) and stick to the plan. I'll meet up with you guys later! Take care of each other!" Ruby sprinted after Penny, waving back at the two of you.

"W-wait!" You stretched your arms out towards Ruby in a panic. "Don't leave me with Ms. Grumpy Skirt!" You wailed, sinking down to your hands and knees dramatically.

"Oh please," Weiss scoffed "I'm not that bad." "Not that bad my ass." You grumbled quietly, standing up and dusting yourself off. "Don't you have a call to make?" You tapped your wrist, glaring at Weiss coldly.

"Yeah..." Weiss looked off to the side dejectedly, and you could feel your heart ache at Weiss' sad expression, until you remembered the Neptune thing from earlier. "Well, then let's get going. We don't need to waste time."

~Timeskip~

"Thank you for calling the Atlas- oh! Ms. Schnee! Good afternoon!" A young woman, who you presumed was the Schnee Co. secretary, answered the call.

"Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister Winter might be here as well..." You smirked slightly, looking down at Weiss. Her face scrunched up for a second, until relaxing again.

"No thank you. I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list." Weiss pulled out her scroll and connected it to the Terminal with a small click.

The secretary raised her eyebrows at Weiss' list of files. "I see...If you don't mind, what, may I ask, is this for?" Weiss smiled innocently, showing off her perfect teeth. "School project~"

You smiled, liking the sudden change of  attitude. 'I'm so going to tease her about this later.' The secretary put her hand on her chin thoughtfully, breaking you from your trance. "Hmm..There are some sensitive documents on this list, Ma'am." Weiss nodded knowingly, "Well then, I'll be sure to treat them with care!"

The secretary let out a small sigh. "Very well. The documents are being transferred to your scroll now." "Wonderful. That will be all then." Weiss grinned, pulling her scroll off the terminal. "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

Weiss face dropped once again, "Yes...I'm sure..." "Well then, have a nice day." The secretary smiled as the terminal faded to black, mirroring Weiss' downcast face.

"Okay, what was that about?" You tapped Weiss' shoulder gently. "What was what about?" Weiss answered coldly, shaking your hand off of her.

"Y'know, the whole 'I'm a completely happy and content person...until you mention my father' thing." You rested your hands on your hips, awaiting an answer.

Weiss sighed and picked herself up and out of the chair. "That's nothing. Mind your own business."

You scoffed angrily, crossing your arms, "What's your problem? Why have you been acting so mean lately?" Weiss laughed sadistically, as if you should've already known the answer.

"You're just so clueless, aren't you?" Weiss took a step forward, so that you were face-to-face with each other. "Yeah! I am! And, quite frankly, I'm justified because I haven't done anything wrong!"

Weiss narrowed her eyes, "Nothing wrong?! Don't act like you don't know that I-" You held your finger against Weiss lips, making the latter's usually pale cheeks flush a dark red color.

"Not here, Weiss" You muttered quietly, glancing at the crowd that had gathered around the two of you. "Let's go somewhere more private and discuss this." Weiss looked around, finally noticing the crowd as well. "F-Fine. But we're going to talk about this today."