The Winter Challenge - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Monday arrived sooner than expected - possibly because they spent the weekend practicing and working on homework, possibly because the weekends always flew by when Weiss was with her team (or, in the case of Blake and Yang, possibly because they spent every second shamelessly flirting with one another).

If someone told her before move-in day that her favorite memories of Beacon would occur outside the hours of organized instruction, she would’ve called them crazy.  The sole reason she enrolled was for the esteemed academics - what possible use could she have for free time besides getting ahead on studying?  How things had changed…

What hadn’t changed, however, was that she still woke up earlier than most, and most definitely before her teammates.  She was the first one awake on the majority of mornings, with the lone exceptions being the days when one of her teammates stayed up all night working on a late project, reading a book, or trying to beat the last level of a video game (she gave Ruby a hard time about that one, especially when Blake beat it in one try).

Glancing at the clock and confirming it was time to get up, Weiss paused when she sensed that today was...different.  Initially, she had difficulty putting her finger on the source of the feeling.  It could be that they were normally rushing to class on a typical Monday.  Or it could be that the air was so cold that she wanted to burrow under the covers rather than start the day.  But what type of person would she be if she lollygagged in bed rather than take care of her responsibilities?  

She’d be Yang - that’s who she’d be.  And, seeing as how they already had one Xiao Long on this team, they certainly didn’t need another one.

With that in mind, she forced herself out of bed and regretted it the instant cold air touched her skin.  Goosebumps appeared in no time, and her teeth chattered while she hurried to the dresser for warm clothes - that’s when she glanced out the window and noticed something important.

It snowed last night, which explained the bone-chilling cold as well as the blanket of white covering every surface outside their window.

The first question that flitted through her mind was how this might affect the start of The Winter Challenge.  Would it be postponed?  Would it take place inside?  Had it already been scheduled inside?  The lack of details was maddening, in a way, because it meant they had to ‘wait and see.’  That was, without a doubt, her least favorite way of doing anything.  Why ‘wait and see’ when they could take charge of their destinies?

But, since the weather and The Winter Challenge were out of her hands, she would have to ‘wait and see’ what the day would bring. 

After collecting a warm outfit from her dresser, she tapped Ruby’s shoulder before hurrying into the bathroom to get ready.  Even though Ruby liked sleeping in (like her sister), she insisted that Weiss wake her up each morning.  When pressed to explain why, Ruby gave a typical-Ruby response about how that’s what partners should do, etc., etc.  

Weiss was fairly certain that Ruby just didn’t want to set an alarm, but agreed to the request anyway.  Tapping Ruby’s shoulder didn’t take a tremendous amount of effort.  Plus, the time it took for Ruby to wake up after Weiss’ gentle alarm was just about the same as Weiss’ much abbreviated morning routine.

Once upon a time, she had an elaborate morning routine, but that was before living in a room with three other girls and one bathroom.  It became obvious on the first day that they all had to make concessions to make this living situation work, so they did.

She still felt so proud of how they handled the situation.  While it might seem like a small or insubstantial accomplishment, it wasn’t to her.  Here was a group of strangers forced into the same room together - there was bound to be at least one person unwilling to give up as much as the rest.  She was wrong, and never so happy to have been wrong.

After flying through her routine, she returned to the room right as Ruby dropped down from her bed.  As usual, her first action of the day was to stand in the middle of the room, raise her arms high over her head, and yawn. 

When Ruby’s pajama top rode up, Weiss turned away and hurried over to her desk.

Ruby was in the midst of a growth spurt that made her seem taller each day.  With their schedule, however, there wasn’t exactly time to go shopping every weekend to buy clothes that fit her new frame - not that she or Yang had the money to do that anyway.  As a result, her wardrobe looked a little...little...recently, which meant Weiss kept accidentally catching glimpses of Ruby’s stomach and long (and growing longer) legs.

It wasn’t a big issue, but perhaps Weiss could order some new clothes in sizes that lasted the rest of the year.  The last thing they needed was for Ruby to become as immodest as Yang.

“Morning, Weiss!” Ruby called out before disappearing behind the bathroom door.

“Good morning,” Weiss mumbled in response while busying herself at the desk.  It wasn’t long before Blake sighed and pushed off her covers, probably cursing the chill in the air even more than Weiss.  Almost immediately after Blake sat up, Yang dropped down from her bunk without a second thought about the cold, even though she wore only a tank top and shorts to bed.  

“Ughhh…” she groaned while stretching her back with an audible crack.  “It’s winter break.  Do we have to get up so early?”

“You don’t want to miss breakfast, do you?” Weiss replied.

“If it means I can sleep in?  Sure.”

Shaking her head at the response, Weiss gave up on the conversation in an effort to preserve her sanity.  By now, she understood that she and Yang were fighting a never-ending battle over sleeping in versus waking up at a reasonable hour.  Both of them insisted that their way was right, and both of them insisted that the ‘right’ way resulted in better results.  Fortunately, Ruby was on Weiss’ side, which meant she already won - Yang just didn’t know it yet.

Instead, Yang turned towards Blake and smiled - one of those warm smiles that Blake probably likened to the sun rising on her perfect morning.

“Good morning,” Yang directed to Blake, and Blake only.

“Good morning, Yang.”

“You wanna go next?” Yang offered, motioning towards the bathroom when Ruby flew back into the room.

“No, you can go.”

With Blake’s permission, Yang smiled, grabbed a pile of clothes from her dresser, and headed to the bathroom.  She hadn’t made it through the door, however, before pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it into the hamper, giving everyone an unimpeded view of her back before the door closed.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the display, which was either boastful or shockingly immodest, but one of her teammates seemed to have difficulty diverting her gaze from where Yang just stood.

If Yang was around to witness the expression on Blake’s face right now, she would probably say something along the lines of ‘like what you see?’ coupled with a sultry wink.  Weiss couldn’t get away with saying such a phrase, however, so she let the moment slide in favor of half-heartedly reading her notes from Professor Oobleck’s class.  

What doodles would Yang’s display inspire Blake to draw later on...or had she already drawn them?  Yang had pulled that little stunt for months now, so it was likely that Blake already found the inspiration or motivation to recreate her morning view of her partner’s unclothed back.

If Weiss was a nosier person, she would check Blake’s notebooks for more evidence of romantic feelings.  But when she already knew that they liked each other, that was unnecessary and a waste of time.

...who was she kidding?  She would do it if she knew she could get away with it.  But Blake would figure it out somehow, and that would be the end of life as Weiss knew it.  Even worse, Ruby would get involved and throw down the holy-stinging-grail of hurts - something like ‘we don’t choose who we love, but we choose who we trust.’

That sounded like a situation Weiss wanted to avoid at all costs, so she would just imagine the other doodles lurking in the pages of Blake’s notebooks.

While her teammates went about their morning routines, moving with sloth afforded by a day without classes, Weiss sat on pins and needles waiting for the inevitable notice to arrive.  The Winter Challenge had officially started.  At some point today, they would receive a time and location for the daily event, and who knew how much notice they would have to prepare.  

What if they only had a few minutes?  What if there wasn’t enough time to make it to the location?  If it was across campus, it could take quite a while, especially in the snow...

“We should build a snowman!” Ruby said, pulling Weiss out of her thoughts to find her teammates all dressed and ready for the day.  Ruby and Yang stood by the window with matching smiles, and Weiss wasn’t even vaguely surprised by the sight.

Of course Ruby and Yang loved snow.  That fit their personalities perfectly - affectionate, effusive, and playful through and through.  And nothing said ‘playful paradise’ like a fresh blanket of thick, powdery snow.

“I’m not going outside,” Blake replied while getting back into bed and pulling the covers over her legs as she settled in to read.

“But a snowman would be fun, right?”  Sitting on the edge of Blake’s bed, Yang playfully tugged at the covers (and didn’t lose her fingers).  “Or snowwoman?  We can make it a girl!”

“You go ahead.  I’d rather stay here and read.”

“Aww...but if you put on some warm clothes, you’ll hardly feel the cold!”  

Huffing in disbelief, Blake lifted her book in front of her eyes only for Yang to gently press it back down.  If anyone else did that, Blake would probably bite their head off.  Instead, Yang earned herself a slightly-stern expression.

“We’re supposed to stick together, remember?” Yang said, her eyes never straying from Blake’s.  “Plus, I don’t want to leave you here by yourself…”

The tender, caring tone worked like magic - that’s the only way Weiss could describe it.  Blake fought against it, but it was a losing battle like it usually was.  How could someone turn away from the thoughtfulness rolling off Yang right now, especially when everyone in the room knew that building a snowman would make Yang and Ruby happy?

Eventually, Blake sighed in (most likely pretend) annoyance and returned her book to the nightstand.

“You have to promise to stay close to me the entire time.  Otherwise, I won’t go.”

Laughing at the demand, which probably sounded more like heaven than a demand, Yang nodded and shook Blake’s hand to solidify their deal.  (Another gratuitous action with the sole purpose of touching Blake in any way, shape, or form - which Weiss noticed, of course.)

“I would’ve done that anyway,” Yang added with another chuckle.  “But yeah, I promise!”

Satisfied with the assurance of a personal heater following her around, Blake finally left the warm confines of her bed behind.  Her feet hadn’t yet touched the floor when a noise broke the silence - the unmistakable sound of an envelope sliding under the door.

As soon as they heard it, Ruby disappeared in a cloud of petals and raced into the hall.  Quickly looking in both directions, she made a noise of consternation before walking back inside and grabbing the envelope from the floor.

“Still didn’t catch them?” Weiss asked, trying to hide her amusement at Ruby’s never-ending game of cat-and-mouse with the person in charge of delivering Beacon’s official announcements.

“No!  There’s never anyone there!”

Weiss looked at Yang, who waggled her brow before grabbing the envelope from Ruby’s hand and tearing it open.

“You’ve gotta be faster, Ruby,” Yang teased at the same time, knowing just as well as Weiss that the person delivering the envelopes wouldn’t be caught no matter how fast Ruby ran.

“How can I be faster?” Ruby mused, her brow adorably furrowed while she pondered the question.  The rest of them smiled at Ruby’s confusion while Yang pulled a card from the envelope and read aloud.

“‘To the teams partaking in The Winter Challenge - please report to The Great Lawn in one hour.’”  With a heavy sigh, Yang slipped the card back into its envelope and dropped it on top of the dresser.  “Are they afraid that if they give us one morning to do nothing, we’ll never do anything again?”

“Wouldn’t you?” Blake teased.

“Absolutely.  I’d never get out of bed again.  Ruby would have to bring me food and magazines.”

“Which I’d totally do!” Ruby was quick to add before hopping in front of them and holding her arms out wide.  “They gave us an hour though, so...breakfast?”

For some reason, Ruby looked at Weiss for approval, which was completely uncalled for.  Weiss wasn’t in charge of when they ate breakfast.  Although she usually offered her opinion when she felt they were eating too early, too late, or too often, that was only so her teammates knew when they were off schedule or wasting time in the cafeteria.

“That sounds good,” she replied regardless, and smiled when Ruby gave a delighted “Yes!” combined with a hop of joy.

After Ruby waved them towards the door, Yang smirked.

“You’re so whipped.”

“What does that even mean?” Weiss snapped, but she rolled her eyes when Yang shrugged and feigned innocence.

Making the executive decision not to pull on that thread any longer than necessary, Weiss left the room and quickly caught up with Ruby so they could walk to the cafeteria together.  When Ruby looped her arm through Weiss’ and tugged her closer, she smiled and felt her irritation from Yang’s comment fade away.

It was strange - but nice - to have teammates and a partner to call her own.  Before coming to Beacon, she never realized how incredibly lonely it was to fight as an individual.  Sure, it gave her the ability to make her own decisions without any pesky input, but it also limited her ability to learn and adapt.  It put the responsibility of survival squarely upon her shoulders, which she was perfectly fine with, but...it was nice to have a team to belong to - to truly belong to.

Having a team eliminated the moments of isolation she’d learned to override with annoyance - like having no partner for school projects, having no friends to eat lunch with, having no one to walk next to in the hall.

Ruby was her built-in partner.  In a way, Ruby had to work with Weiss on projects (or risk failing them) and she...well, she didn’t have to eat lunch with Weiss, or walk with her to class, or make sure she was included in everything they did.  She didn’t have to do any of that, yet she did.

Maybe Ruby wasn’t the partner Weiss would have chosen for herself, but now...she wouldn’t choose anyone else.

“I’m so excited!” Ruby remarked with another happy hop.  

For an instant, Weiss thought Ruby was referring to the upcoming challenge.  It only took her a second, however, to realize that Ruby was excited about breakfast.

“Maybe they’ll have something extra special today,” Weiss suggested and smiled when Ruby let out an adorable little squeal and rushed forward to open the cafeteria door.

Because it was the first ‘official’ day of winter break, the cafeteria was emptier than normal.  If Weiss had to guess, most of the school decided to take advantage of their rare time off and sleep in.  Or, for the more motivated amongst them, the extra time meant extra practice.  Knowing what she did about her fellow classmates, however, she wagered it was mostly the former…

Whatever the reason, she and her teammates walked into a mostly-empty room with no line and plenty of open tables.

“Uh...is it even open?” Ruby asked.  From the slight smile, Weiss deduced that the question was a joke and not a legitimate query, which meant she didn’t need to point out the obvious signs that the cafeteria was, in fact, open.  From the unlocked doors to the workers setting out trays of food to the few students already eating, the answer was pretty obvious.

Thankfully, Weiss was learning how to differentiate between Ruby’s jokes and her serious inquiries.  It was hard to tell sometimes.  Those innocent, doe-like eyes made it seem like she was lost, but in reality was far from it - thankfully.  If Ruby was actually that dense, Weiss would have to transfer to another institution.  Or go to Professor Ozpin and demand a new partner, like she’d been prepared to do when school started.

“Most likely…” Blake mumbled while joining the non-existent line with Yang.  When Ruby pouted at the dry response, Weiss laughed and patted her shoulder.

“I knew you were joking.”  

From what was a pretty menial comment, Weiss earned a blinding smile.  For some reason, Ruby loved it when Weiss understood her jokes.  And Weiss loved it when Ruby was happy, so...it was a win-win as long as she put in the effort to decipher what was innocence and what was levity.

After collecting their breakfasts (a collection of too-much-sugar and not-enough-nutrition), the four of them claimed their usual table and sat down to eat.

“Wonder what the first challenge is,” Blake commented while sneaking a glance at Yang out of the corner of her eye.  The look was subtle, but Weiss suppressed the urge to make a comment somewhere along the lines of ‘don’t worry - she’s still there.’  Instead, she smirked and glanced at Ruby, who was devouring her food like any typical day.

“Whatever it is, it’s gonna be cold.”  Sensing Blake’s adverse reaction to the word, Yang leaned into her partner’s side and smiled.  “But don’t worry - I’ll be glued to your side all day.”

“Just today?” Weiss asked.  When both girls looked at her with varying degrees of surprise written on their faces, she shrugged and picked up her spoon.  “You’re supposed to be together all week, remember?”

“Oh...right.”

Before Weiss could respond to Yang’s lackluster comment, Ruby pointed towards the cafeteria doors with her fork.

“Look!  Pyrrha and Jaune are here!”

Pyrrha and Jaune picked that moment to walk into the cafeteria, conspicuously missing their other two teammates.  Instead of picking up food, however, they spotted Team RWBY and walked over.

“Alright,” Jaune said while pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his back pocket.  “Which one of you gave this to Nora?” 

When he dropped the paper on the table, they leaned forward and found that it was the page Nora swiped from Ruby a couple days ago.  This copy, which was once Weiss’ pristine, unblemished handout, had been folded, crumpled, and written all over.  One of the corners had torn off, and it looked like some type of orange fluid had spilled near the bottom.  

Sight of the poor piece of paper made Weiss want to grimace, but she forced an impassive expression while reminding herself that this wasn’t her copy anymore.  Hers was lost - or stolen - and this was Nora’s, not hers.  She had Blake’s copy, which was still in perfect condition sitting on the desk in their room.

“That would be Ruby,” Yang answered, ratting out their leader.

“Well, I hope you weren’t planning on winning,” Jaune replied with a grin.  “Because Nora’s serious about this.  So serious that she’s competing in every challenge - by herself.”

For a second, that statement failed to register with the four of them, as they looked at each other in confusion.  Eventually, Ruby voiced their shared question.

“By herself?” 

“By herself,” Pyrrha repeated, her eyes twinkling in amusement.  “After making us practice all weekend, she decided we weren’t trying hard enough to win, so she told us to ‘take a hike.’”

“How will she even do the events on her own?” Weiss asked, struggling to wrap her head around this unexpected change.  “Some of the challenges are specifically team or partner-oriented.”

“Ren will join her on the partner stuff,” Jaune replied with a shrug.  “He volunteered.”

“Nora made him promise to help,” Pyrrha whispered behind one hand before laughing.

“If they’re the only ones competing…” Blake said, glancing at Yang before turning back to Jaune and Pyrrha.  “Then what are you going to do?”

After looking at each other, Jaune and Pyrrha both gave some measure of shrug or uncertain response.

“Hang out, I guess?”

“We can have some partner practices,” Pyrrha suggested.  “Or just take it easy.”

The response shocked Weiss - because she couldn’t imagine ‘taking it easy’ when there was a challenge to be won.  And because she couldn’t believe that Pyrrha Nikos, of all people, was ducking out of a competition.

“Surely you’re kidding,” she replied with a shake of her head.  “You won’t actually skip, will you?”

Their attention returned to Pyrrha, who looked surprisingly comfortable with her decision.  And when she met Weiss’ gaze, it was with a relaxed expression.

“I’ve skipped every break for the last fifteen years of my life.  I’d like to think I’ve earned some time off by now.”

Setting a hand on Pyrrha’s shoulder, Jaune gave a gentle squeeze and smiled.

“You deserve it,” he said before turning back to the rest of the table.  “We all do!  Well, maybe not you guys, cuz I’m guessing you’re going all out for this.”

Weiss scoffed at the idea that they would do anything other than ‘go all out’ for this challenge, but noticed that her teammates shared glances rather than her resolve.

“Anyway, we’re gonna grab some food,” Jaune said, giving them a quick wave before walking away.  Pyrrha also waved before following her partner, leaving behind a table stunned into silence.

It was only when Jaune and Pyrrha reached the line that Yang turned towards Ruby - her expression one of pure shock.

“While we’re working our butts off, Pyrrha and Jaune will be relaxing??”

“So they’ve decided to be unproductive,” Weiss replied, dismissing the notion that her team would ever do the same.  “That’s their prerogative.”

“Yeah, but like -”  Looking around the table, Yang let out a little huff of air.  “I mean, we could do that too.”

“I thought you wanted to win,” Blake asked.  “We’ll get to use the upperclassmen combat rooms, remember?”

From the expression on her face, Yang was struggling with what she wanted more - a week to do nothing but watch TV and flirt with Blake, or the rest of the year using the combat rooms reserved for the higher grades only.  To Weiss, the decision was ridiculously easy.  However, she realized that she would probably have to convince her teammates several times that the reward was worth it.  

In a fight between sloth and greed, which won out in the end?

“Well, this just got easier,” she pointed out.

With Pyrrha sitting out, one of their strongest competitors was on the sidelines.  So maybe they didn’t have to give this their all, although that strategy didn’t feel right to Weiss.  If she was going to win something, she wanted it to be clear that she was the best - not that she was the best just because others didn’t show up.

“I guess…”  Looking much less enthusiastic after learning that laziness was a possibility, Yang poked at her breakfast until Blake leaned over and nudged her shoulder.

“It’s only one challenge per day.  We’ll have plenty of time outside of that to do whatever we want.”

When Blake smiled - a small, encouraging smile - Yang lost her reticence about doing anything other than following Blake to the ends of Remnant.

“That sounds like a great week,” she replied, her eyes never leaving Blake’s while they did that weird silent communication thing they always did.

Satisfied that Yang would stop complaining now, Weiss left the lovebirds to their nest and focused on Ruby instead.  As usual, Ruby was just happy to be eating breakfast.  Happy to be eating, in general.  

Weiss wished that everyone was as easygoing as Ruby.  It didn’t matter if they were scheduling extra practices, waking up early, trekking outside in a torrential downpour - as long as Ruby was adequately fed, she was content.

“Are you excited for the first challenge?” Weiss asked when Ruby was between bites and able to respond.

“You know it!  I hope it’s something really fun.  Or really hard.  Or both!”

The response cemented Ruby as the perfect partner for Weiss, because how many other students sought out challenges?  

But challenges were how they got better...and wasn’t that the point of school, to begin with?

“Hopefully, it will be both,” she replied and smiled when Ruby gave a soft ‘mhmm’ before taking another bite to eat.

Weiss didn’t know what it was, but she found it surprisingly relaxing to eat breakfast with her team.  Even on the cusp of the unknown adventure just minutes away, she didn’t feel jittery with nerves.  She only felt...content.  Secure.  Confident.  Like the four of them could accomplish anything.

That was the true power of having a team, and she looked forward to proving just how great of a team they were over the course of the week.  At the very least, they were leaps and bounds better than the other two teams competing against them, both of whom strolled into the cafeteria with not much time to spare before the first challenge began.

“Morning nerds,” Cardin grumbled while walking past, but the insult lacked much of the cruelty from when school started.  And he steered clear of bumping into their chairs, something he hadn’t seen fit to do until Yang had a few choice words with him.

Maybe he was growing up.  Or maybe he finally learned his place after being repeatedly put in it by bigger, stronger, faster, brighter huntsmen.  Regardless, Team CRDL shuffled past in a lazy crawl, lacking much of the ‘bad boy’ vibe they tried to cultivate for themselves.

Team SSSN was right on their heels, and entered the cafeteria with a completely different energy than the sluggish team before them.  For one thing, Sun was already talking a mile a minute and bouncing on his toes like he might levitate right off the ground.  The rest of his team was more restrained...until they burst into laughter at something he said.

“Hello ladies,” Neptune greeted them.  When he set his hand on the back of Ruby’s chair and flashed a flirtatious smile around the table, Weiss rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to smack his hand away.

“Good morning, Neptune,” she replied while reaching over and pulling Ruby closer to her.  While romance was probably the last thing on Ruby’s mind, she wasn’t going to risk someone like Neptune weaseling his way into Ruby’s life with a smile and well-placed compliment.  And she was positive Ruby would do the same for her in return - that’s what partners were for.

“Ready to kick butt?” Sun asked, and tried to snatch a grape off of Yang’s plate only for her to swat his hand away.

“Yours, most likely,” Blake replied in her signature drawl, although there was a hint of a smile on her lips while Team SSSN laughed at the response.

“Someone’s got claws,” Sun joked while he and his teammates headed towards the line for food.  “See you out there!”

After Team SSSN left the table behind, Weiss looked at her teammates and scoffed.

“They’re going to stuff themselves and participate in the challenge right after?” she asked before shaking her head at the ill-advised ‘strategy.’  “What a horrible decision.”

“They’ll be that much easier to beat!” Ruby pointed out before giving her empty tray a push towards the center of the table.  “Are you guys ready?”

Weiss nodded and pushed her own tray forward at the same time as Blake.  Yang, meanwhile, popped her last grape into her mouth then flashed a thumbs up.

“Let’s do this!” 

And, with that verbal cue, the four of them stood and left the cafeteria behind.  Their next destination took them into the snow-covered wonderland just outside.  

The instant they stepped through the doorway, Weiss’ cheeks and the tips of her nose grew cold, and her breaths became visible puffs of air.  Fortunately, the grounds crew had already been out this morning, leaving clear pathways in their wake.  The areas outside of the sidewalk, however, were covered with several inches of fresh snow.

“And The Winter Challenge begins…” Blake muttered while they headed towards The Great Lawn and their first challenge.  From her tone and the frown on her lips, the weather dampened any enjoyment she might’ve found in spending the day with Yang.  

The expression disappeared the instant Yang wrapped her arm around Blake’s shoulders and tugged her close.

“Come here, you,” Yang cooed while enveloping Blake in so much warmth that her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink.

It was actually a blush, but Weiss would let Blake pretend it was from Yang’s warmth.  Which...technically it was.  Except it was less ‘cozy-red warm’ and more ‘the-girl-of-my-dreams-is-pressed-up-against-me warm.’

When a gust of wind whipped across the open space, Weiss shivered and pulled her jacket closer.  If there was one drawback to combat skirts, it was that they offered little in the way of protection from the elements.  Not that she needed much warmth in the midst of battle, but walking across school grounds was a separate thing entirely.

“Are you cold?”

Finding Ruby looking at her, Weiss shook her head and hugged her arms across her chest.

“Just a little, but I’ll be fine once we start.”

“Why don’t you take my cloak?”

Before Weiss could protest, Ruby removed her cloak and wrapped it around Weiss’s neck.  She took a few extra seconds to resituate the material until it was just right, her warm silver eyes and tender hands reinforcing what a gentle, caring person she was.

“There you go,” she said softly, pulling the cloak over Weiss’ shoulders and running her hands up and down Weiss’ arms to warm her up.

It worked.  Ruby’s hands lent temporary heat to her arms while the cloak added a layer of warmth above and beyond her prior outfit.  Plus, she liked to think red went perfectly with her traditional color scheme...

“Thank you…” she said, and the two of them shared a smile before hurrying to catch up with their teammates.

“Kinda bummed we have this challenge thing,” Yang said from up ahead, oblivious that Ruby and Weiss had temporarily stopped.  “I wanted to build an adorable cat snowman!”

“Excuse me?”

Cringing at the look Blake gave her, Yang waved her hand as if erasing what she just said.  “I mean, I wanted to build a ferocious, fire-breathing cat snowman!”

When Blake shook her head, Yang laughed and pulled her partner closer.  For a second, it almost looked like she was going to kiss Blake on the temple.  And she almost leaned in and did it, but then she glanced at Weiss and smiled.

“Like what you see?”

Rolling her eyes at the response, Weiss decided to toss a tease right back at Yang - see if she could handle playing on Weiss’ level.

“You two are such great partners,” she replied, drawing immediate and identical looks of surprise from the two girls.  Blake hid the emotion almost immediately, of course.  Yang, however, looked at a complete loss for how to respond.  (Obviously, she wasn’t ready for that when she lobbed a tease Weiss’ way.)

“Uh…thanks?” she said, shooting several sideways glances at Blake to judge her response.  When it became clear that Blake wouldn’t say anything anytime soon, Yang nudged her shoulder and smiled.  “I think we are too.”

That got a reaction, and it appeared in the form of a light blush on Blake’s cheeks.  Surely feeling the rising heat, she ducked her head and hurried towards the small group of people standing at one end of the Great Lawn with a barely audible, “I think so too.”

Weiss grinned at the reaction, which was perfectly in line with what she’d learned to expect from Blake.  At least, it was what she’d learned to expect from Blake when Yang was involved.  If anyone else used that line, they would be met with one of those blank stares Blake had turned into an art form.  With Yang, however, she was shy.

“Uh, Weiss?”

Feeling a soft tug on her sleeve, Weiss turned and found Ruby looking far more bashful than usual. 

“Yes?”

“What about us?”

When Ruby gestured between them, Weiss smiled and gently looped her arm through Ruby’s.

“We’re the best partners, of course,” she replied while leading Ruby towards the starting point of their first challenge.

Her response was true for more reasons than one.  Out of all the partner pairs at Beacon, Weiss had yet to find one that had more built-in synergies than her and Ruby.  Their differing skillsets meshed together in a way that gave an enormous boost to their fighting potential.  And, maybe most importantly, they got along well...once Weiss learned that she didn’t need to be the best at everything.

With their arms still linked, the two of them stopped beside Blake and Yang at the outer edge of the Great Lawn, which was aptly named due to its large size.  On an ordinary day, the space was a field of green grass used by students for a variety of purposes, from picnic spots to impromptu games to aerial practices.  With the recent onset of snow, however, the lawn was empty save for the small group of people who beat them here.

Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch stood to one side, each of the teachers giving them nods of acknowledgment when they arrived.  Then there was Nora, who jogged in place and stretched like she was about to run a marathon.  Ren stood by Nora’s side, looking cold but unceasingly patient when it came to his partner.

“Hey guys!” Nora greeted them with a wave, her breaths coming out in quick billows of frosty air.  “You ready?”

“You bet!”

As usual, Ruby caught Nora’s energy like the flu and was bouncing up and down in no time.  The resulting motion encouraged Weiss to release Ruby’s arm, which she did with a sigh.  Ruby’s presence was an added warmth she would miss until they started moving around.

“We’ve been training all weekend!”

“How have you been training?” Blake asked, watching Nora with equal parts curiosity and entertainment.

“Obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, foot races…” Ren answered before shaking his head.  “Anything she got her hands on.”

“Is it just us two?” Nora asked.  “That’ll be fun, right Ren?  You and me versus Team RWBY!”

“Do we need to go over the definition of ‘fun’ again?”

“‘Fun’ is you and me.”  Gently touching Ren’s nose, Nora smiled.  “And anything else the world throws at us!”

Smiling at the response, which was Nora’s unique blend of sweet and crazy, Weiss noticed Professor Goodwitch glance at the time.  It must be close to the start of the event, which meant they were now waiting for their final competitors to show up.

“They’re almost here,” Blake said, answering Weiss’ silent annoyance and nodding behind them.  Team CRDL and Team SSSN sidled across campus, not at all rushed even though they were on the verge of being late.

Weiss didn’t understand how they dealt with such tardiness.  Weren’t they concerned about missing appointments or class?  Regardless...eventually they joined the rest of the group and Professor Ozpin spoke.

“Welcome to the first day of winter break, and the first day of The Winter Challenge.”  

Nora clapped at the introduction, earning a variety of glances ranging from confused to amused.  Professor Goodwitch, in particular, sent Nora several long looks while she continued warming up.

“As you know, life as a huntsman isn’t for everyone,” Professor Ozpin continued.  “You’ll face trials that much of Remnant can’t even fathom.  Certainty will never be guaranteed, and you’ll always expect the unexpected.”

When Professor Ozpin eyed each of them in turn, Weiss nodded at his cryptic words.  She understood that life as a huntress wouldn’t be easy, and that she wouldn’t be able to plan everything the way she liked to, but that’s why she had a team to lean on for support.

After a poignant silence passed, Professor Ozpin looked up at the sky, where small snowflakes still sprinkled towards the ground.  

“Sometimes, it will be more than Grimm you’ll fight against.  The terrain, the elements, other huntsmen - you must be prepared to overcome any circumstances thrown your way.”  Clasping his hands behind his back and straightening his posture, he gave them a small smile that looked almost like a smirk.  

“That being said, your first challenge is now upon you.”

With that sentence, Professor Goodwitch waved her wand towards The Great Lawn.  The snow at their feet flew upward in a flurry of icy cold air, making Weiss briefly shield her face while the snow whipped past before dropping her arms and watching the landscape alter in front of them.  

Under Professor Goodwitch’s direction, the snow drifted into tall dunes, sank into foxholes, formed into tall pillars and other obstacles.  At the four sides of the lawn, a tall wall was built.  Behind each wall, a flag appeared - one in each of their team’s colors.

The Great Lawn had suddenly become a giant, snowy arena, and it was immediately apparent exactly what game they’d be playing.

“Oh hell yeah,” Weiss heard Yang whisper from beside her.