Weiss all but collapsed on top of the bench, bracing herself with her hands as she leaned back, taking deep breaths of fresh air.

The sparring match had left her almost completely drained. Her knees felt weak, her arms were sore from the continuous clashing of Myrtenaster and Crescent Rose, a fine sheen of sweat covered them and her face, and her Aura, she knew without needing to look at her scroll, had dropped far into the red zone by the time the match ended. Although she probably wouldn't have minded breaking her rule of constant composure by sitting at the arena floor what with it being entirely empty, the heiress had forced herself to make it to the locker room instead.

It was also empty. With the day all but over and Ruby having chosen to do the opposite of her partner, Weiss's breaths carried uncontested.

Usually she would hit the showers as soon as possible but, for once, Weiss didn't mind just basking in the aftereffects of her exertions. Every bead of sweat that slid down her chin and along her slender neck, every ache and pain in her muscles and lungs, and the dull throbbing of her left hand that had come with gripping Myrtenaster so tightly. Despite that, it was Myrtenaster that she still clutched in her hand.

She hadn't sheathed it when the match ended and found herself carrying it from the arena and to the locker room. The tip was currently raised, Weiss maintaining a grip on it, and though all it would take was to lower it and have the weapon lean against the bench to free her hand, the heiress didn't do so. In fact, the heiress's fingers brushed along the length of the hilt, the smooth, easy strokes along the metalwork easing the soreness in her digits after having clutched it so tightly.

This was far from the first time that Weiss had chosen to engage her partner and her precious scythe in a duel. However, this duel in particular had to be the most exhausting. Typically they don't last this long, Weiss or Ruby choosing to concede when they believed they had enough. This time, it didn't seem like either of them could get enough.

Sure, Weiss had been exempt from combat during the entire week and more that it took to rebuild Myrtenaster so it could be rightly assumed that she enjoyed the refreshing experience to be fighting again. And, true, she did enjoy it but…

The heiress looked over to her rapier, twisting it around in her hand so that she could see the line of Dust along the cylinder, one or two cartridges partially depleted but nowhere near enough to need switching them out.

Every time they dueled, Weiss had always picked up on some kind of connection between Ruby and Crescent Rose. As wild as her combat style was, there was nonetheless some kind of symmetry that eliminated the separation between weapon and wielder. Weiss tended to view such a notion as ridiculous even if she decided that it was the most apt way to describe it with not only Ruby but Nora, Pyrrha, Blake, and the rest of their teammates and friends. And, today, she believed that she not only understood the actual truth to it, but now she possessed her own, true connection to Myrtenaster.

In establishing that connection with her weapon, she has become more secured in this lifestyle that, like Myrtenaster, she had originally felt nearly nothing for. Her weapon, her studies, her attendance at Beacon - all of it unimportant and expendable.

Now, when she took in the silence of the locker room, she felt at ease. While she caught her breath, the young heiress basked in this comforting sensation of being in the center of such a school that had her feeling so free to explore these opportunities that she had originally been denied, all of them in the company of the many friends she's made since coming here.

After I get back to some of my studies, Weiss reminded herself. Throughout her time forging her new Myrtenaster, she had dedicated the bare minimum of her time to her intellectual pursuits. She had a couple tests that, while she believed she was prepared for, she could be moreso and an essay that could use an extra source material. After a long, hot shower, mind you.

What was becoming much too often though, as soon as Weiss had come up with a plan that she was about to follow, there came an interruption. In this instance, the slamming of a locker that had her jumping and whipping around to locate the source.

The source, more often than not, being the red-cloaked dolt that fate had chosen to overturn Weiss's life so utterly and who now took a seat next to her.

The heiress was slightly amazed – and perhaps a little jealous - at how much Ruby seemed to have recovered from their duel. The younger girl was vigorously wiping at her face, clearing what sweat was left before turning to give Weiss her trademark smile. "Heya, Weiss! All better now?"

"Ruby-?"

"Good!" the scythe-wielder chirped, interrupting her. "Because four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream! A dream that one day, the four of us would come together, as a team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had ever!"

"I…Ruby…" Sighing, Weiss closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, her good feeling abruptly vanishing. "What are you talking about?"

Ruby was swinging her legs excitedly, immune to her partner's exasperations. "Now that you've got a brand new Myrtenaster and I'm all cleared, I think we desperately need some team-bonding activities. It's been too long since you, me, Yang, and Blake all got together to have fun and with the rest of the new exchange students arriving soon, the tournament at the end of the year, and getting assigned our first genuine mission, now is the best and only time we're going to have any kind of fun amongst ourselves!"

Weiss was perfectly aware of all that was awaiting Team RWBY in the near future which was why the only thing that she had been planning on was catching up with her work. Conveying that to her team leader was a chore of itself though for, when Weiss was about to open her mouth to explain that to her, she was once again interrupted.

"Which is why I took the time between classes and helping you to schedule a series of wonderful events for us tomorrow!" Turning in her seat, Ruby picked up the binder next to her that Weiss only now noticed that she brought with her. A big, white, heavy binder that bulged with papers and plastic tabs to mark individual sections.

A binder that was very familiar to Weiss and she glared accusingly at the cloaked girl. "Is that my binder?"

After setting it on her lap, Ruby met Weiss's glare unflinchingly, not so much as blinking as she declared, "I am not a crook."

She quickly flipped open the binder but Weiss caught the sheet that had been taped to the front and was pretty sure that above the crudely-scribbled BEST DAY EVER ACTiViTiES! and beneath the red slash marks was the original title of Vytal Festival Activities…along with Weiss's name.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss noted dryly.

"Only one way to find out!" Ruby shifted closer to the heiress and tilted the contents in her direction so that she could view them. "Have you heard of Remnant: The Game? Yang and I used to play it all the time back home and since there's four of us, I thought this would be perfect!"

Again Weiss's original plans of how she was going to spend her time resurfaced but found that their appeal was starting to give way with how Ruby stared so intently at the sheets of paper, an excited smile on her face. Her gaze flicking between Ruby and the binder, Weiss internally sighed.

"No," she admitted. With her weapon at her one side, Weiss sidled up to have her partner more firmly at the other. She gently took the binder and shifted it just enough so that it was open along both of their laps. "But I suppose I wouldn't mind learning about it."

Coming Soon…

At Some Point

Probably

Could Be The Next Day

Maybe Even Tonight