True, I just thought the author was trying to suggest there was a write in option.
But, it is true that so far the only person in the quest to actually call Pyrrha friend is Weiss. So, I guess we should let her pay. It's an interesting contradiction, Weiss fighting to save every scrap of money on her own expenditures and then volunteering to pay her friend's. Of course, Weiss will probably expect to be on our team if we have any say in it and further encourage her by taking her money. Team of four... Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora... Hm... Blake might go with Weiss, that would throw things off. And then there's Yang and Ruby... Well, we can always pull what canon RWBY did and have a secondary team we hang out with.
[X] Weiss spots your frown. "Pyrrha," she says with deliberate casualness, like she's trying not to have you lose face. "Since we're friends why don't I cover for you?"
Of course, Weiss will probably expect to be on our team if we have any say in it and further encourage her by taking her money. Team of four... Weiss, Pyrrha, Ren, Nora... Hm... Blake might go with Weiss, that would throw things off. And then there's Yang and Ruby... Well, we can always pull what canon RWBY did and have a secondary team we hang out with.
Honestly being roped into being on the same team as Weiss is the only reason I'm slightly cautious about the vote. I'm not inherently against being on Team Weiss, I think the dynamic could be pretty interesting, but I kind of want to keep our options open until the choice has to be made.
My guess is that if we go with Weiss, the Relevant Teams will look something like this-
Blake-Ruby-Yang-Juane
Pyrrha-Weiss-Ren-Nora
(The order isn't indicative of anything)
Which... isn't a bad split, really? And I tend to prefer potentially owing Weiss something big (which isn't a guarantee) over us owing our uncle, and the Blake solution is interesting but not gaining any momentum so...
[X] Weiss spots your frown. "Pyrrha," she says with deliberate casualness, like she's trying not to have you lose face. "Since we're friends why don't I cover for you?"
Perhaps you let more of what you felt than you meant to show on your face as Weiss gives you a look of concern.
"Pyrrha," she speaks with a voice of deliberate casualness, in what is an obvious attempt not to wound your pride. "Since we're friends, why don't I pay for you?"
It's a generous gesture, albeit one with hidden undertones, and one you didn't quite expect out of the Schnee. Her desire for your friendship isn't just superficial. She's willing to put her money where her mouth is, so to speak. She's really driven to become your friend by any means.
But no. Friend or not, you won't allow yourself to be in anyone's debt. Your pride won't let you owe anything to anyone else.
"It's fine," you tell the white haired girl. "I'll pay myself."
You are not so poor that you need a personal heiress to take care of you. Weiss looks like she's about to say something but stops herself, and simply nods at you instead. She understands pride.
You reach for your wallet and dig lien out. A heavy bundle of notes leaves your wallet. Your wallet is left in a a sad, deflated, and almost pitiful state. You're going to be feeling this for awhile.
You might actually have to… get a job. Like a plebian.
"Thanks," Piper shoots you a jaunty salute, and slides the lien into her coat so quickly that you don't even see her hand move. She tosses you a few vials full of dust, which you snatch out of the air and drop into your pockets, smooth as silk. "Nice doing business with you."
Her hand darts out of her cloak in an offered shake. You don't respond. "Hit me up sometime, yeah?"
You just stare back at the girl who just took all your money.
"Sheesh, tough crowd." The hand slides back into the coat. "Offer's open if you ever want to take it."
"Ciao." Piper turns and disappears quickly into the mass of tents, and soon you can see no sign of the huge coat wearing girl.
You sigh as you watch her leave. You probably will have to get a job after all. That was near robbery. After a moment Weiss clears her throat behind you. You turn. "Yes?"
"So, the Piper girl is gone." Weiss says offhandedly.
"Yes, she's gone." You agree.
A beat passes.
"Well?"
"Well what?" You glance over at the snow haired girl.
"Aren't you going to invite me?" Weiss folds her arms under her chest and taps her foot impatiently. The look is quite amusing. "To your camp?"
"Am I?" You smirk back at the girl. She opens her mouth, probably to complain, so you cut her off before she can follow up on your jape. "Yes. Yes, I am. Follow me."
You find your way back to your camp easily, weaving through the masses of people with a light foot. It's easy enough that you must seem as if you had known the path all your life. Weiss follows after you with a less subtle step and Blake… disappears. You're almost startled when she steps up to your side after you stop.
When you arrive, Yang and the Jaune boy are nowhere to be found, but Nora, Ren and Ruby are back from whatever they were doing. The first and the third are chattering away about something or another. Ren is sitting on the siding doing maintenance on his spear, which looks ridiculously complicated, unfolded as it is into a thousand different functions. He looks up as you approach. "Welcome back."
"Thank you." You drop onto a upturned log near him, letting the fire bring some of its heat back into your chilled bones. Your shield thunks into the ground near your feet and you start peeling off your armor piece by piece, pauldrons first, breastplate, then greaves, loosening your tense and tired muscles as they're freed from the encapsulating embrace. What you wouldn't give for a hot bath right now to wash the sweat and grime off.
"Your friends?" Ren asks, eyes landing on Weiss and Blake.
You nod. "We met. Before initiation. They've just arrived." You see Weiss incline her head slightly out of the corner of your eye. "I invited them over."
Ren looks contemplative at that, frowning slightly. "This isn't our camp, Pyrrha. I'm not sure that Ruby and-"
"We brought our own tents," Blake says, cutting him off. She produces a bundle of cloth and tent poles from out of sight. She seems ridiculously prepared for everything. Is she a maid or something? "There's no need to worry about sleeping arrangements."
"Ah." Ren's eyes soften, and he smiles back at them. "Then in that case, I'd have to ask Ruby-"
"Ask me what?" Silver eyes shift in your direction- Weiss's direction. The girl either has the ears of a bat, or the almost preternatural ability to know whenever her name is said. Could be a semblance. "Who's that?"
In any case, Ren doesn't seem to be that perturbed to being constantly interrupted. "They're Pyrrha's friends," he explains smoothly. "They wanted to know if they could stay the night. They brought their own tents."
"Pyrrha's friends?!" The girl inhales hugely and is in front of you in the blink of an eye. She thrusts one hand out and when Weiss hesitantly gives her one back, she clasps it with both her hands and shakes it up and down. "It's nice to meet you! My name is Ruby Rose, and I'm Pyrrha's friend too."
"I… see," Weiss manages to say, caught off guard by the sudden enthusiasm of the red cloaked girl. The line of people who can sympathize with her is endless. "Well, my name is Weiss Schnee."
Ren drops his spear. He looks at Nora, who clutches her hands together, very, very tightly. Ruby keeps talking at her silent form, and continues to blather as she turns, shaking, and levels a glare at Weiss. The black haired boy reaches out a hand hesitantly for Nora's shoulder, but she just bats it away.
"What makes a Atlesian stray for far away from their vaunted Republic?" The ginger spits out in a display of true vehemence you didn't think her capable of. Behind her Ruby starts to slow as she begins to catch on to the fact that perhaps Nora's attention is away from conversing with her. "Wanted to bring the revolution - heads rolling? Innocents dying??"
That's vicious. You look towards Weiss, who only manages to splutter in response. "What are you-"
"Well of course an Atlasian wouldn't get it. It's only so natural, right? You only respond with terror. Just elect another butcher. What else would you teach with?" Ruby's head whips so fast between her newfound friends you're surprised she hasn't snapped her neck.
Weiss's eyes widen with fury. Blake lips form the words 'oh no'. Weiss snaps back at Nora, "Are you accusing Atlas of being a terrorist state?"
"Only makes sense given Atlas's history," Nora snorts. Ren has stopped messing about with his spear now and only looks on with familiar haunted eyes. "What else would you call the things you did to the royal family but terrorism?"
"The Atlasian revolution was a movement supported by popular opinion!" Weiss swipes her hand through the air. "There were trials and the verdicts were handed down by the will of the people!"
"Sham trials!" Nora shoots to her feet, fists angrily clenched by her side. "The mob howling for blood, innocent blood, no matter where it came from!"
"Innocent?" Weiss roars. "They were hardly innocent! They were the ones who brought the war upon us! How many Atlesians died for their arrogance?"
"Like your revolutionary council has done that much of a better job?" Nora's eyes crackle with thunder. "It's military dictatorship, wrapped up in a fancy name."
The two of them face each other down, Weiss's hand on her rapier, Nora's arms surging with lightning. Ren and Blake eye each other - but neither looks willing to get involved in a fight with the other for their respective partners. You almost throw your breastplate back on, so convinced that it will come to blows.
But the first shot is fired not by Weiss or by Nora, but by a pair of shotgun gauntlets throwing up a spray of dust-fire into the air. "What the fuck is going on?" Yang roars, hair backlit by an luminescent aura of gold and yellow.
Dinner was delayed by a good hour or so.
Half of that was Ruby trying to explain to her sister what in the name of all the Seven Great Extinctions what had just happened. It's a fumbling bewildered explanation, where the explainer basically knows as much as the person listening to the explanation. Finally Yang just sighs and talks to the two culprits directly.
"Listen I don't know what the two of you have against each other," she tells them sternly, golden aura fading. "If you want to beat each others faces in, I'm not your damn mom, but you're not going to do so in the middle of a Grimm infested forest. Wait until you get back to civilization to go for each others throats."
Neither looks at her or each other. Weiss sullenly folds her arms under her chest while Nora just balls her fists up by her side. Yang sighs and barks at the Jaune boy. "Banner boy, you're the one who saw this coming. Deal with it."
The other blond shrugs and hands over a large nylon sack, before leading away the two belligerent rivals off to the side. Yang watches them leave then opens the sack. Inside are eight plastic packages of heated ready-to-eat meals, though now long gone cold.
She glances over at you. "You hungry?"
Ready-to-eat meals, the cheap kind at least, are not exactly appetizing at the best of times, and when they're cold sludges of slimy protein mash are almost disgusting. But you choke yours down anyway. You're hungry, and you'll need the calories tomorrow.
Yang picks at her food besides you. You watch her, as she in turn watches the Jaune boy try to adjudicate between the Valkyrie and the Ice Princess through the flickering firelight of the campfire. "Are you going to let them stay?"
Yang blinks, caught off guard by your question. "Yeah?" She shrugs. "I mean, I might as well. Already cooked up the two extra meals for them because Banner boy said that they were coming and if they agree to join us for the test, we can't really turn them away."
Ah, the strangely difficult test that everyone keeps talking about but nobody bothers to elaborate on. You suppose you'll hear about it tomorrow when the time comes.
"Why didn't you stop them?" Now it's your turn to blink, surprised by the sudden question. "They both respect you, right?"
They would have listened to you. That's true. You could have stopped them if you wished to.
But you didn't wish to.
"It's better to let them air their problems out at each other face to face, rather than bottle that anger up and hold a grudge," you explain. You put the empty plastic bag that once held your dinner down by your side. "If I suppressed them, they'd never consider the matter over. If I let them settle it now, it'll be done with."
"Not in the forest, surely."
"Why not?" You shrug. "It's not as if they're the only ones here. If a Grimm attacks, it won't be catching only the two of them off guard. But if they have to go into battle side by side with that resentment, it will poison their teamwork, and leave them vulnerable"
Yang considers your words carefully. You can watch her think over them, but in the end she shakes her head. "I don't agree. It's not as if they have to fight. It's the easiest solution, but it's not the only solution."
Sometimes, fights are just fated to happen. Destiny is not something that can be easily turned away.
But this is a very Mistrilian thought and not something you think the Valeborn Yang might share so instead you just quietly sit by her side, and watch her pick at her food quietly, mind still far away in contemplation.
Dinner comes to everyone else in turn. Blake, Nora and Ren eat their meals quietly, with no signs of complaint. Ruby gets halfway into hers, then claims she's not hungry anymore. Yang tosses the remains over to you to polish off. Weiss barely manages to finish hers, grimacing all the while. And the Jaune boy actually prays before eating his like it's a meal at home with his family or something.
What a madman.
Finally, you split the watch. It's a semi tent city, but each camp apparently is apparently still in charge of setting up its own pickets for the night, with the presumption that if any Grimm are stupid enough to attack over thirty hunters in a large formation, every camp will come to each other's aid. And with the moonlight of Selene over your head, you fall asleep.
[ ] Only to be awoken by a strange encounter with Ruby in the middle of the night. What is she doing?
[ ] You wake up to share the midnight watch.
--[ ] with Jaune
--[ ] with Blake
[ ] You dream of the past. Of destiny, and how you followed it, only to cheat it in the end.
[ ] You sleep soundly through the night, and wake up very well rested for the next day.
[ ] Write in
QN: Hahaha, this one took a while. My fault, my apologies. Some stuff to chew on here.
Three weeks worth of editing made a glopping noise as it flowed down @logiccosmic 's keyboard.
Adhoc vote count started by Jemnite on Apr 5, 2018 at 7:47 AM, finished with 609 posts and 24 votes.
[X] Only to be awoken by a strange encounter with Ruby in the middle of the night. What is she doing?
There is a way to get dust without owing anyone a favor or having to pay exorbitant amounts of money but it involves the power of friendship and I'm not giving any more hints than that.
Is anyone else really curious about what's up with Blake in this setting? Are the White Fang even a thing? Why is she trying to ingratiate herself with Weiss? And hiding one of her arms?
At least we got Weiss and Blake back to the camp so we might be able to find out.
[X] You wake up to share the midnight watch.
--[X] with Blake
Ask Nora if she has any extra dust on the basis that she owes you for stealing your kill.
She carries like a literal grenade launcher with multiple reloads- just one of those grenades has all of the dust you'd need.
It wasn't a listed vote option because Nora is your Beacon frenemy and Pyrrha is not the sort of person to think of something like that on her own without player justification.
She's not hiding one of her arms- it's just a stylistic feature of the outfit that is probably linked to some obscure cultural origin. Both her arms are totally normal arms belong to a totally normal faunus.
(Pyrrha doesn't know this but the shrine maiden fad is actually a cultural import from Menagerie, which I gave an aesthetic which can roughly be describe as 'jungle Japan'. This information isn't important at all so I'll just give it to you OOC.)
She's not hiding one of her arms- it's just a stylistic feature of the outfit that is probably linked to some obscure cultural origin. Both her arms are totally normal arms belong to a totally normal faunus.
The Atlesian revolution was a totally justified response to the abuses of the monarchy. Let us not forget it was they who led Mantle into the horror that was the Great War and their arrogance which brought so much harm to resource poor Mantle which was already suffering under their misrule. If the execution was unnecessary or cruel, the point must be made that the military was not the one to bring the case against the royal family. The case was, after all, the People vs. the House of Mantle. The military merely held the trial.
And it also must be noted that the people literally voted the military into government after they held fair impartial elections which every other kingdom refused to send observers to because they were afraid of what looked like an anti-monarchist sentiment that threatened to spread to their own kingdoms. So claims that the Atlesian administration is a dictatorship are unfounded.
Besides this shit is like more than 50 years old. It's settled history. Nora is the weirdo for bringing it up.
[x] You dream of the past. Of destiny, and how you followed it, only to cheat it in the end.
I think Nora might be related to the Royal House of Mantle, or one of the remnants of hardcore monarchists. Interesting since she was orphaned, but reasonable if her family (or at least the people she lived with) we attacked by Atlas agents taking out a potential* threat to the stability of the kingdom republic.
*An admittedly real one, depending on how much of a power base they had.
