Sorry for the massive delay. I more or less lost my inspiration for this within a week of the previous chapter and my mood actually hit the lowest it's been at in years. At almost 4000 words, I hope this makes up for it.

The 0bservanc3- the only part of this I can answer without letting anything slip before we get to it is to say that, if anything, the term "Firstborn" would only apply to Aurelius himself. As for everything else, it's either spoilers to mention or something I haven't even decided yet.

AnegOtaku- honestly the delay between chapters made me rethink her hair a bit and I'm not entirely sure if I want such an extreme change to Weiss' hair anymore. Other than that, the last bit of your review made me hilariously self-conscious about my choice of words even though I know it's not a big deal.

Bman000444- I've never heard about fanfiction Friday before but I feel honored that it got on there. Honestly, hearing this was up there got me motivated to get back to writing.

Chapter 63: Isolda's Day: Preparations, Ice Skating, and a Heated Confrontation

Bastion, Ruby and Weiss' home, bedroom

Weiss let out a yawn as she woke up, stretching slightly under the blanket, ear twitching slightly. She hummed as she looked out the window into the artificial yard of their home before looking at the girl beneath her with a smile. Ruby was still sound asleep, a small, gentle smile on her face. "And to think there was a time when I actually found you a bit annoying, even if only for a day or two… Gods, that seems like it was so long ago." Weiss' smile widened. "Now, I wouldn't give this up for anything."

She let out a sigh as she slipped out of bed, quickly sliding into her pajamas, a white and blue-trimmed version of the ones Ruby had lent her in Patch, before walking towards the kitchen, feet padding silently along the carpeted floor of the hallway. "Okay, Weiss. You need today to be perfect," she muttered to herself as she got out a mixing bowl and a few ingredients for cookies. "You just need to make the cookies your amazing girlfriend and mate loves, take her on a walk in the arboretum, and then go out to dinner and- oh no!" Weiss let out a groan and held her head. "Ugh, there's no way I'll be able to make a reservation for any restaurant now… I hate doing things off a whim." She let out a sigh, tail flicking to the side in annoyance. "I'll just have to improvise, I suppose… I hope Ruby likes it."

The fox nodded with a small smile as she got to work, humming as she started making the cookies. Ten minutes later, the smell reached the bedroom, causing Ruby to stir. "Mmm… Something smells nice…" she thought as she rubbed her eyes, slipping out of bed and getting into her pajamas before moving downstairs. She stepped into the kitchen, tail wagging at the smell. She walked up to Weiss and wrapped her into a hug from behind, causing her to jump slightly. "Morning," she said cheerfully.

"Dolt! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Weiss scolded gently, causing Ruby to giggle.

"You're adorable when you're being tsun tsun, you know that, angel?" the wolf said playfully, gently nipping at the fox's earlobe.

Weiss let out a gasp, her cheeks tinted. "Ruby!" she squeaked before playfully pushing the girl away. "Stop, we can do that later!"

Ruby grinned before she spoke up. "Hey, do you mind if we meet up with Tai, mom, Qrow, and some of the other teams from Beacon for a party today? I asked Tai if he'd organize it."

Weiss blinked. "What? But I wanted to just have some alone time with you, Ruby…" she said.

Ruby clasped her hands in front of her, ears flattening slightly as she looked at the fox with pleading eyes. "Please, Weiss? For me?"

"Great, now I can't say no to her when she gives me that look… I mean, I can still propose at the party and it takes care of the fact I didn't plan this out…" Weiss thought as she let out a sigh. "Alright…" she said. "We'll go to the party."

Ruby grinned and threw her arms in the air. "Yay! Thanks, Weiss!" she cheered as she wrapped the girl in a hug. The White Rose rolled her eyes before giving her mate a gentle kiss and stepping back, making Ruby pout.

"Ruby, don't give me that look. I need to finish the cookies," she said, smiling at the excitement that flashed through the younger girl's eyes.

"Cookies? Are you making the ones from my birthday party?" Ruby said, a bright smile on her face as Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Ruby, I'm making those cookies…" she said before sighed. "You're such a dolt sometimes…"

Ruby grinned and giggled. "But I'm your dolt, right?" she said playfully.

Weiss hummed before she stroked the wolf's cheek. "Yes. You're definitely my lovable little dolt," she said before the oven's timer went off. She grinned at the excitement in Ruby's eyes as she pulled the cookies out. "I don't think I remember seeing you this way before we started dating, Ruby."

The wolf shrugged meekly. "I guess it's just that since our lives aren't in danger and there's no reason to be on alert all the time, I can just relax and be myself more instead of being "Ruby Rose, Huntress-in-training," you know?" she responded as she watched the other girl.

Weiss smiled slightly as she put the cookies on the counter. "I'm glad. It means that you feel like you can be yourself around me as much as you make me who I want to be," she said, watching Ruby blush and squirm out of the corner of her eye. "Gods, Ruby, why do you have to be so adorable when you're embarrassed by praise?"

"Oh, It's nothing, Weiss. I'm just glad I can help you and make you happy," Ruby said, looking away with a blush. The girl reached for one of the cookies, a questioning look on her face.

Weiss rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yes, Ruby, you can have some, just don't spoil your breakfast, alright?" she said before Ruby grinned grabbing a cookie.

"Thanks, Weiss! You're the best!" she cheered as she got a glass of milk.

"So you keep telling me," Weiss said with a smile. Ruby's love and praise had been a serious ego boost for her in the two months since Jacques crashed the wolf's birthday. "Hey, Ruby?" The wolf looked at the fox as she shifted shyly. "Thank you… for everything."

Ruby swallowed the bite of her cookie. "Weiss, it's nothing, really," she said, wrapping the other girl in a hug. "All I'm doing is showing you how I feel and giving you the love you deserve. It's not that much…"

Weiss smiled as she returned the hug. "But it means the world to me, so thank you," she said before taking a step back and smiling slightly. "Now button up your shirt already so we can make breakfast."

Ruby let out a squeak and quickly did so. "Sorry!"

Weiss gave a quiet giggle. "It's fine, Ruby, really. Now come on, let's eat and go for a walk, okay?"

"Right! Then we go to the party."

"Of course," Weiss said with a smile. "Don't eat all the cookies though, we'll take some with us." Ruby let out a sigh and nodded happily as she started helping her mate.

In the Rose Quarter Arboretum

"Qrow! We already talked about this! Stay away from the punch!" Tai yelled, a look of frustration on his face.

"C'mon, you damn killjoy, a little booze wouldn't hurt," Qrow said as he took a sip from his flask while Aurelius sighed.

"Qrow, we agreed that you wouldn't drink as much…" Summer said sadly, causing him to pause.

"Look, it's just…" he started before letting out a sigh, putting the cap back on the flask. "You can't just expect me to stop overnight, Sum."

"I get the distinct feeling you asked me to help specifically to break up fights…" Aurelius muttered as Janus stepped forward, stopping next to him.

"We have reports that Councilor Colvin has been attempting to disrupt the faunus' plans to celebrate the Winter Festival," the Prefect whispered quietly. "A few people claim that he's trying to convince the rest of the Valian Council to ban the faunus from taking part in the festivities over the coming days." Winter looked on in shock at this while Aurelius grunted.

"Vale is still very much in ruins and much of the population is living as refugees in Bastion. Remind him that if he expects to have any authority over the people of Vale, he'd get on an airship back down to his city or expect a visit from Loki," he said, causing Janus to glance uneasily at him. "I'd rather have Loki bored with a goal in mind than bored and not having anywhere to direct his frustration…"

Winter paused as she stepped down from a ladder. "Are you sure that's wise?" she asked. "From what I've seen, Loki isn't… discrete about his antics."

The Blue Rose let out a sigh. "I've come to learn that, with individuals such as him, it's best to treat them as a serious and legitimate threat when they start to decide the rules don't apply to them. Loki is simply the easiest way to remind someone this isn't the case."

Winter opened her mouth to protest before her vision clouded briefly.

Ancient Draconys

Isolda nervously followed the Marcus as he continued down the path. She'd never seen him upset before and it was unnerving to see the usually-relaxed man so clearly on edge. Before she could say anything he stepped into the clearing and glanced around, quickly spotting one of their brothers. "Julius!" he shouted, getting the man's attention as he turned away from the rest of the group with a roll of his eyes.

"Well, if it isn't the firstborn returning to grace us with his presence," he said sarcastically. "What brings you here to speak with us?"

Marcus stopped in front of the man and glared at him. "We had an agreement, Julius," he growled out.

The man raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you really come all this way over a single insignificant fox?" Julius asked incredulously.

"The why doesn't matter. I agreed to let you hunt for what you need not for sport!"

"Perhaps I needed a fox hide," Julius said condescendingly.

Marcus tensed up as he spoke. "I already explained what our deal mea-"

Marcus was cut off as a flame-cloaked fist hit him in the stomach, sending him flying into a tree twenty feet back. Julius let out a sigh as he crossed his arms. "I don't care about your childish rules and demands, Marcus. All you seem interested in is hiding in the woods and just playing with animals."

The rest of the group talked quietly while Isloda looked on in shock, watching Marcus get up, a snarl on his face. His shirt was charred and more than half his cloak had burned away from the hit. The woman blinked in surprise as the torched fabric started to quickly mend itself back into the flawless white it had been before. The quiet laughter from the group ended when they noticed the man's eyes glowing, causing Julius to slip into a more aggressive stance. "I'm tired of you thinking you're above everything and everyone else, Julius!" the white cloaked man growled.

Isolda watched in shock as Julius was cloaked in flames, his skin flaking away to reveal jet-black flesh underneath, his coat bulging in the back as something pushed against it, eyes turning deep red. She looked over at Marcus and took a step back. A strange green color was slowly spreading along the veins in his neck and hands before a tiny vine burst out of one of them. The man seemed to either not notice or not be concerned by the development as he continued to glare at Julius. "W-what's going on?" she thought quietly, watching the two as Marcus' cloak disintegrated into petals, quickly drifting away from him in a cloud before being pulled into clusters and forming thin plates. Roots crawled out around his feet, rising like tendrils around his boots as his eyes turned silver.

"Enough, both of you!" a voice said sharply, causing the rest of the group to look in the speaker's direction. Isolda glanced at the two newcomers hesitantly before taking a step back. Two figures stepped forward as one surveyed the gathering. Even at a quick glance it was obvious that the two were twins, sharing the same dark brown hair and light skin. Their eyes, clothes, and mannerisms were the only ways to tell them apart, as Isolda knew that their voices were similar enough as well. The one that spoke up glanced around with pale eyes that glared angrily at the gathering, none of the usual fatherly calmness in his expression or stance.

His brother put a hand on his shoulder, a wicked smile on his normally expressionless face. "Now, brother, why don't we just let them have their fun? It's not like they can permanently injure each other, after all," he said with a hint of amusement. His eyes, one red and one brown, shone with bloodlust and excitement.

"Ah, Helios, Thanatos, you honor us with your presence," Julius said as he turned to face them, his form returning to normal with a slight bow. "Marcus and I were simply having a… disagreement."

"Disagreement?" Marcus growled, the air bristling as he clenched his fists. "We had a deal with simple, easy to follow rules and you-"

"Marcus!" Helios said, blue and silver eyes glaring at the man as he clasped his hands in front of himself, smoothing his tan robe. "That's enough. Surely you can forgive Julius for this?"

Marcus glared hotly at the Brothers and Julius before he twitched, the roots returning to the ground and vine receding before his cloak reformed. "Fine, I'll let it be for now," he said, turning to leave.

"Stay," Thanatos said as he stepped forward, adjusting the blood-red tie of his black suit. "Your flaws do not excuse you from being here when we need to speak with your brothers and sisters." Isolda noticed Marcus flinch as he stopped, sighing to turn around and pull his cloak over his shoulders, hiding his frame from view. Isolda felt a pang of regret at the frustration in the man's eyes as the returned to the normal blue before he pulled his hood up, face vanishing under an unnatural shadow.

"He's right, Marcus," Julius said, a mocking tone in his voice. "You're too much of a hermit for your own good."

"I'm tired of you being so condescending when you talk to me, Julius," Marcus snapped quietly before going silent.

Modern Times, Bastion

Winter let out a sigh. "Perhaps it'd have been easier if you held that outlook from the beginning," she muttered, blinking in confusion. "What do I mean by that? Am I really responding based off daydreams?" she thought before she paused, not noticing Aurelius' confused glance. "Wait, Aurelius said that all of his brothers and sisters had silver eyes when they slipped into the vigil and that he's as vulnerable to fire as any other Rose… The Julius in that daydream had red eyes and Aurelius, if that's who "Marcus" is, had his cloak reform on its own. That can't be right!" She let out a relieved sigh before frowning. "…Right?" Winter wouldn't admit it, but she was finding it increasingly difficult to separate the reality of the present and the things she knew from the visions of the past and the illusions of her daydreams.

"Winter, is something the ma-" Aurelius started before he heard a whimper from Summer before the Green Rose ran off to a nearby bathroom. He cast a glance at Qrow. "Is something wrong with Summer?"

Qrow shrugged with a sigh. "She's been like that all day," he said, rubbing his chin.

Aurelius nodded slowly with a sigh. Winter took the opportunity to speak up, finally giving in to the treasonous part of her that latched on to the daydreams. "Aurelius, you said that all the… Stalwarts had silver eyes when they entered the Vigil, correct?" she asked, quickly continuing after getting an odd look from Aurelius. "I can't remember if this is the case and I was trying to get a better picture of what Isolda would have looked like."

The Blue Rose hummed quietly, a distant look in his eyes before he stepped closer to her, whispering quietly. "Honestly, if you want to know the truth, I don't remember seeing any of the others except Julius, Isolda, and myself enter the Vigil. I know Isolda had silver eyes when she slipped into the Vigil, but Julius… I can't actually remember all that much from back then. It just makes sense that it'd be the same for all of us, though."

Winter nodded, slightly disturbed. "So that's why nobody knows the full story then? Mar- Aurelius himself doesn't recall enough for the full picture… Does that mean that maybe…"

Her thoughts were cut short by a sigh, causing her to look at Aurelius and follow his gaze as Summer walked back in. "By the gods, I thought I told you to use protection," he said sternly like a parent scolding their child.

Qrow blinked in confusion while Summer whined, ears flattening. "I forgot… I didn't think that this body-"

"I told you that it was meant to become a perfect replica of the body of whatever soul inhabited it," Aurelius continued. "Just because it's not your original doesn't mean-"

"Wait, hold up," Qrow said, glancing between the two. "Are you seriously telling me Sum's pregnant?" Aurelius let out a sigh as he nodded, causing Qrow to turn to face him fully. "And why the hell didn't you tell me that she could get pregnant?"

"I told Summer, I figured she would have told you," he said, glancing at Summer.

"I take responsibility," she said weakly before sitting down. "I think we should wait a day or two to let Ruby know, though." Aurelius and Qrow nodded quietly as they got back to work, leaving Winter confused by the situation while Qrow couldn't help the smile on his face.

Bastion, Central Arboretum, with Ruby and Weiss

Weiss let out a content sigh as she walked along a path through the snow-filled fields, hand clasping Ruby's. "It's amazing that they could make a place like this, even if it's someone like Aurelius," she said idly.

Ruby grinned. "Yeah, but it's only the second most amazing thing here," she said, squeezing Weiss' hand.

The fox rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face. "Dolt, just because you say it doesn't mean it's true… but thank you," she said, giving Ruby a peck on the lips.

"It's true though! You're so amazing and I'm glad to see you in your normal outfit again!" Ruby chirped.

Weiss sighed, shaking her head at how much Ruby liked her dress, more than normal after she had the Schnee family crest replaced with a modified Rose crest that had a snowflake in the middle. "Ruby, it's not like it's been forever since I wore something other than jeans and a t-shirt."

"I know, but you look a lot better in white anyways and the dress really suits you!" Ruby said with a grin, causing Weiss to roll her eyes.

"Well, I suppose if it makes you happy, I'm glad I still have it. Honestly I like it too, it reminds me that not everything changed," Weiss said with a soft smile.

Ruby shrugged. "I mean, your hair's barely changed and it's been a few months…" she said, causing Weiss to hum quietly. Unlike what Aurelius stated and they expected, Weiss' hair stayed mostly white. The black only reached about one or two inches up her hair from her tips and the roots had turned black.

Weiss shrugged slightly. "I mean, I can always dye it white or make it fit the Rose family theme if I want…" she said casually as she glanced at a nearby frozen pond. She smiled as she looked over the flat surface. "Hey Ruby, have you ever tried ice skating?"

Ruby blinked in confusion before shrugging. "I mean, not really. It wasn't anything I put thought into. Why?"

Weiss looked at her mate with a grin, tugging her to the frozen surface. "Come on, how about I show you?" she asked as Ruby shifting uneasily.

"I don't know… We don't even have ice skates and-" Ruby started before Weiss rolled her eyes and lifted a foot, humming as she quickly made a set of ice skates with her semblance. "…I don't know how to skate."

Weiss let out a sigh. "I'll teach you, okay? Please?" she asked, looking at Ruby hopefully.

The Red Rose pouted. "That's no fair, I thought the puppy dog eyes were my thing…" she whined before nodding. "Okay…" Weiss grinned and got to work, making Ruby a pair of skates and carefully pulling her onto the ice. "Alright, so just show me what to do."

Weiss nodded, tail twitching as she started moving along the surface, making sure to stay just fare enough away that Ruby could see how she moved. She staggered slightly as her tail twitched, holding up a hand to both balance herself and prevent Ruby from moving to help. "I've never done this with the tail," the fox muttered shyly as she tried again. After a few attempts, Weiss smiled as she quickly figured out how to adjust her movements and turned to face Ruby. "See? Give it a try."

Ruby nodded quietly, taking a brief moment to process the demonstration. "Right, so I have to be careful how I shift my weight… and make sure my tail doesn't twitch…" she thought as she started moving slowly, smiling as she started to become more comfortable with the motions. She looked at Weiss with a grin. "Easy!" she said.

Weiss grinned as she started moving, picking up the pace as she moved gracefully along the ice. "Let's see just how good your secondary semblance is, Ruby," she thought as she slid to a stop, putting the momentum into a spin. Ruby watched in awe as Weiss pulled her arms in, spinning faster before outstretching them, letting herself slow down to face the wolf with a grin. "Well?"

Ruby let out a whine. "That's not fair, that takes more than just watching to figure out," she said with a pout, causing Weiss to roll her eyes with a grin as she moved closer. "Hey Weiss? Where did you learn to ice skate?"

Weiss shrugged, a distant look on her face. "Before I took up singing, I tried a number of things to try to find something to call my own," she said, tapping her chin. "I tried painting for a while, but lost interest around the time I took up fencing and probably can't make anything of any real quality. There was a bit of overlap between the ice skating and fencing but doing both at the same time was too exhausting and by the time my endurance was good enough for both skating was more a thing I did out of boredom or for nostalgia. I used to play the piano, but…" Weiss shrugged quietly as she looked around. "This is a beautiful place, isn't it?"

Ruby nodded with a grin. "Yeah, but it looks even better right now," she said with a wink, causing Weiss to blush.

"This would be a good time to ask, wouldn't it?" Weiss thought before taking a breath. "Ruby?" she started, getting the girl's attention. "Before we go to the party there's something I need to-"

"Oh gods, the party!" Ruby said with a whine, grabbing Weiss' hand. "We're going to be late, c'mon!" The wolf started pulling the fox along, getting a frustrated growl in return.

"Why do you have to be such a scatterbrained dolt, Ruby?" she thought before taking a slow breath. "Calm down, Weiss… just have patience with her, you can ask at the party…"

And we're finally moving again. Next chapter's the actual party, more looking back at the past, and something I'm sure a lot of people are getting anxious waiting for. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.