Wandering Weiss

a RWBY fanfiction by The Overlord Bear

Summary: Were it not for a wandering musician's cynical words, Weiss Schnee would have continued on the path to becoming a Huntress. Now, a disinherited Weiss lives as a wandering singer, trying to be a hero in a different manner, with that wandering musician named Jaune Arc as a companion...

Chapter 1: A Change of Path

Weiss Schnee took pride in being a Schnee who thought differently than most of her family members, with her older sister Winter being an exception.

"Are you sure about doing this, Weiss?" said older sister asked her, sitting beside each other on the younger sister's bed. "The world out there is dangerous, and all the more so for a Schnee."

She could've entered Beacon Academy. Weiss knew that.

Thing is, the society she wanted to help showed her a different picture...the bigger picture.

"I was going to enroll into Beacon Academy," Weiss answered, holding a pillow close to her chest. "But recently, I've been feeling like I'll just waste my life by becoming a Huntress."

Winter, ever the dear older sister, nodded, allowing Weiss to continue.

"Still, I can see the merits of living as a Huntress," the younger sister continued. "But now, I don't think that life would be enough for me."

She looked beyond the transparent window of her room. The falling snow that she often enjoyed now felt like they were burying her heart.

"What changed your mind, then?" Winter asked, and that was the big question, wasn't it?

Weiss could have said that she was inspired by some wandering musician, some romantic event that children would enjoy.

"You know...I liked you and your singing...until I found out about you wanting to become a Huntress."

Yes, she was inspired by a wandering musician, but by one with a with a cynical perspective on Hunters. They had an argument, and she was silenced by his cynical words.

"Hunters don't understand the bigger picture. Helping others isn't just killing Grimm, arresting criminals, and wrecking things with sword-guns."

Cynical, yes...but he had a point. A point she hated, but a point worth pondering about. Or maybe it was just her wanting to prove him wrong and beat him at his own game. Either way, the life of a Huntress seemed so stupid now.

Weiss wanted to run the Schnee Dust Company better when she inherited it eventually, but if running it meant turning herself into a distant and nearsighted figure on a pedestal?

"I realized that I haven't been looking at the bigger picture, Winter."

"And I think I should go search for myself and what I'm supposed to be," Weiss didn't admit out loud. "Without the rest of the family and the SDC interfering."

Weiss had expected the disinheritance, but that never took away the pain brought upon by her father's declaration.

"You disappoint me. Get out of my sight."

She would have broken down on the spot if she didn't remember Winter. Still, she couldn't hold a little of the tears back as she turned her back on her father, whose hopes she had utterly crushed.

Weiss wanted to rebel against her family's darkness...not lose her family.

"It's okay, Weiss. I'll welcome you if you'd like to visit me."

She would keep her crying quiet. She didn't want to fall apart further than she already had.

"Still, don't you dare give up now, Weiss. I'm certain that you can fulfill your dreams."

Good thing Winter still supported her.

"And if you think that you can't, then I shall try to help you with the best of my abilities."

Now, she would move forward. Weiss saw no other way but that.

"Thank you, Winter," she said, letting go of the embrace they shared. "I need to pack my things now."

"Don't bring too many things with you, then." Winter replied, before she paused and thought in silence for some moments. "Have you decided about where you will go first, though?"

Now that made Weiss pause to think as well.

Where would she go?

Where would she stay?

There were a lot of other important questions, and they had begun to overwhelm her.

Yes, Weiss had begun to realize the gravity of her actions.

Still, Weiss was a stubborn girl. She had decided to go on the path of a wandering singer, and she had no other way but forward.

"Hm...perhaps you will be able to get along with a certain wandering musician I hired, Weiss."

And it seemed like Weiss had found the way forward.

"Weiss Schnee? Aren't you supposed to be in Beacon Academy right now, trying to be one of them?"

Weiss never really expected the way forward to have the musician who led her towards becoming a wandering singer, though.

"I changed my mind," Weiss told the blonde musician, not letting herself waste what was probably the only way for her to properly start her journey as a wandering singer. "And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind a singer accompanying you in your travels."

At that, he stared at her.

Then, he laughed.

Weiss had a hard time keeping her cool, but she persevered.

"Wow, I never expected myself to be that inspirational," the musician said, grinning.

"What is he talking about, Weiss?" Winter suddenly asked. She didn't know about that mind-changing conversation, after all.

"I complained, basically," said the mind-changing musician. "We had an argument, and I won."

Weiss silently nodded, although she frowned at the smugness of that irritating young man. He was correct, but he didn't need to rub it in.

"So," he continued, offering a hand and a smirk, "Name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue. Ladies love it."

"As if, you dolt," Weiss shot back. "I am willing to go travel with you, but I will not tolerate your irritating attitude."

"Try me, then, Ice Queen," the blonde challenged, still smirking.

Weiss facepalmed and counted to ten.

"Are you sure about this, Weiss?" asked the older Schnee sister. "Perhaps we should find a more respectable musician," she added, glaring daggers at the young man whom she had hired for a performance at a recent SDC ball.

The younger Schnee sister shook her head, though.

"Irritating he may be," Weiss reasoned, "But I need someone with what they call 'street smarts.' Did I use that term right, Mr. Arc?"

At that, Arc stared.

Then, he snickered.

He wasn't even fazed by the glares he was receiving from two scions of a wealthy and powerful family.

"It's funny to hear someone like you say stuff like that," he said, "But yeah, you used it right. Also, just call me 'Jaune.' No need to be so formal, and I'm not quite older than you, you know. Like, I'm seventeen years old right now."

That made Weiss raise an eyebrow. He sounded older than the age he claimed to be when she remembered the way he talked to her the other day.

Still, Weiss would go with him. She didn't want to stay for longer in the mansion she needed to leave.

"Very well, then," Weiss said with a nod. "Please inform me when you're going to leave."

"Okay," Arc replied, walking past the recently disinherited girl. "We're leaving right now, then."

"What? Right now?"

"Yeah," he answered, back facing his new companion. "If you're gonna be slow with your last-minute preparations, then you'll have to grow up some more, Ice Queen."

"Mr. Arc, I will not tolerate your - "

"No," Weiss interrupted, raising a hand in front of her older sister. "No need, Winter."

Weiss would prove herself. She decided to take this rocky path, and she will not run away from it.

"I'm going to be traveling light."

"Your bag's fine, but what about your hair?"

Weiss felt a headache growing. If Arc were more polite, she would have listened calmly, but no, she had to deal with his grating idiocy.

"What is that supposed to mean, you dolt?" she spat. Weiss really didn't like where this conversation would most likely go to.

"Your long hair looks pretty heavy, Ice Queen," he answered, pointing to a side of his head to reflect the side which had her ponytail. "I don't mind long hair, but there is such a thing as hair that's too long for wandering."

Weiss groaned. As much as she loved her hair and hated his argument, he had a point again. The length of her hair would make it easy for street rats to stop her from moving, and even if she could maintain decent combat ability despite her hair's length, traveling as a wanderer would make such a length impractical.

"Fine," Weiss grumbled. "I'll do it myself. Do you have a pair of scissors?"

"Do I look like I have a pair of scissors with me?" Arc asked back, making a show out of showing his bag and his guitar case. "Ow!"

"I'll be buying a pair, then," Weiss declared, taking a platform heel off Arc's foot before walking her way to a shop. "With your money," she added, showing his wallet between her fingers, "So that you won't be going anywhere else until I've done what I need to do."

Weiss had discovered some perks that disinheritance brought, so she decided to utilize them. Besides, she had had enough of Arc's attitude.

Perhaps her rebellion wasn't as bad as she thought back there, then.

Short hair felt insufficient, and ponytails felt inefficient, so...

"You look like your sister."

"Is that supposed to be a insult?"

Weiss, after cutting her hair in front of a restroom mirror and leaving the hair length at around upper back level, decided to bunch her hair into a bun similar to her older sister's. Unlike Winter's hairstyle, though, Weiss had her bangs cut short.

It was something to remember her older sister by, all while Weiss incorporated her individuality into it.

"Not really, honestly," Arc answered, taking in the sight of Weiss's new hairstyle. "It's not bad," he added. "It fits you."

"As it should be," Weiss responded, unable to suppress the proud smile that formed on her face. "Here's your wallet, then."

Arc then took some time to silently check at the wallet in his hand..

"Huh...I was expecting you to be more extravagant with my lien," he commented as he pocketed his wallet, "But I guess I thought wrong."

"I'm not that stupid, Arc," Weiss shot back while they started walking again. "I regret losing the luxuries of being an heiress, but I will not forget about the importance of being economical."

"Wow, I guess should I leave you alone, then," the blonde snarked. "Clearly, you know everything about life."

The former heiress grumbled, but she didn't dare impart physical harm upon her companion.

"Alright, then," she said, slowing down. "Where are we going next, oh fearless leader?" she continued with added sarcasm.

Weiss kept her eyes trained on him when she saw Arc's eye twitch at her question. Then, she saw his face crinkle into a grimace, turning away in a futile attempt to hide the fear she expected to be shown eventually.

"...Vale," he answered. "We're gonna ride a Bullhead..."

"And what's wrong with a Bullhead?" she wondered with with a gleam in her eyes. "Motion sick?"

The curse that came out of his mouth made her grin.

"Shouldn't you be bringing medicine for such a problem, dear street-smart wanderer?" Weiss continued. "It's such a basic thing, you know."

"Being street-smart doesn't mean being loaded with money, Ice Queen!" Arc shouted back at her. "And are you asking me to leave you alone here, Ms. Wannabe Wandering Singer?"

The former heiress's expression then twisted into a scowl, for she had met another hated but valid point.

And so, the snarking and wandering duo went on a Bullhead ride to Vale.

Also, Weiss realized that observing her blonde companion being disturbed by his motion sickness wasn't as funny as she first thought. It was more awkward and disgusting than funny and ego-boosting, really, especially with her sitting right next to him.

Weiss reminded herself about how she chose this path, counting to a hundred and "I brought this upon myself, and there is absolutely no turning back now..."

"So you're testing me?" Weiss asked, referring to her companion's mockery. "If you were expecting surprise from me, then...Wow, I'm sooo surprised."

"Oh yeah, I'm surprised too," Arc retorted, doing an irritating imitation of Weiss's voice."I'll keep the sarcasm going, and I'll be left all alone in a hotel, no money to pay for the one room that's supposed to be paid by Jaune Arc and his limited money in the wallet that I took from him again!"

Arc received a pillow to the face for that.

"You're lucky I have standards," he muttered while putting the pillow in between his head and the floor.

"As if you have standards," the former heiress scoffed. "And if you do have standards, I doubt that they're agreeable."

"Shut up and enjoy your bed, Ice Queen. You need your voice tomorrow."

At that, Weiss had to squash the building savagery inside her.

Yes, she hated how he had been talking to her. Yes, she felt like he deserved the barbs she shot back at him.

Still, she had chosen to go with him. She knew that he was a cynical young man, and that he knew important things that she hadn't learned much before.

To top it all off, a single day hadn't even passed in her journey as a wandering singer. And yet, here she was, struggling with keeping her cool.

Winter would be disappointed, yes, but Weiss wasn't going down.

It hurt to admit that she was being immature, but Weiss wasn't going to give up on trying to become a true hero.

If she needed to be humbled, then she would take it.

And so, Weiss huffed, swallowing her pride as she laid on her side and covered half of her face with the blanket she had.

"I'd like to apologize, then," she tried to say out loud, but it ended up coming out as a whisper. It was harder than she expected, but again, no turning back.

So, the former heiress rolled over to look at the one who should be receiving her apology. She paused, closing her eyes, and then she took a deep breath.

And when she opened her eyes...

"Jaune," she called, choosing to call him by the name he asked to be called. "Are you still awake?"

He turned his head to look at her.

"Yeah," he answered. "I'm still awake."

Then, Weiss closed her eyes again.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke.

"I'd like to apologize," she declared, forcing her eyes open. "For my rudeness." And then another deep breath. "I would be wasting my life if I continue with that sort of immature attitude."

There was silence after that.

Jaune looked at her, and Weiss couldn't figure out what emotion he currently held through his face. She hoped that he wasn't going to mock her again, too. If he mocked her again, then she'd let her savagery explode on him.

Then, after what felt like a long while of silence, he replied.

"I'm sorry as well, then...Weiss," he said, blue eyes open as it focused on her lighter blue ones. "I was looking down on you, and I didn't consider you someone who could think better."

Snarky and cynical he may be, but when she listened to him say that, she felt like he actually had standards that were better than what she first thought. She had some doubt, yes, but she would give him a chance, since their journey together hadn't even gone past a day yet.

"Thank you," Weiss decided to say, rolling over to have her back facing him while she went to sleep. "And good night."

"You're welcome," he answered back. "And thanks," he followed up. "And good night."

And then there was calm silence.

Weiss breathed a soft sigh of relief, and sleep came to take her some time later.

Author's Note: Some fact about this: This isn't my first uploaded contribution to the archive of RWBY fanfiction. If you're looking for that, then go check out the third chapter of The League of Extraordinary Jaune-tlemen. Warning: It's filled with insanity, particularly of the yandere kind.

Anyway, about this fanfic, well, doing a forum version of Coeur Al'Aran and College Fool's The Writer Games in the Professor Arc Forum got me spawning a bunch of different Weisses. This Weiss isn't from one of my entries in that, but writing those Weisses made me more inclined towards writing this fanfic. Also, speaking of inspiration, I drew some of that from Coeur's "Winter is Coming" entry in The Writer Games for this fanfic's Jaune.

As for the music in this fanfic about a wandering singer, her companion guitarist, and their travels, well...I'll be writing some details, but I won't go as far as writing down stuff like chord progressions and song lyrics. The rest of the details is something that I'd like to leave to you and your imagination, dear readers. Feel free to look for appropriate music, or, if you're feeling confident enough, write your own songs for this fanfic.

Now, I'd like to say this: Honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated.