Weiss stared across the table at Yang, who was currently engrossed in some message on her phone. Weiss rolled her eyes. Didn't Yang know how rude that was? Weiss looked around the small selection of tables around them. Yang had picked out a small sandwich shop just off campus for lunch. The seating was entirely outdoors, and the restaurant itself was less of a building than it was a small shack with a kitchen. Weiss had no clue how the shop kept business during the winter months. Despite her initial misgivings, she had to admit Yang's choice was quaint, almost adorable even. The food was good too, she found. Yang had ordered for herself and her sister, who had yet to arrive, and then eagerly suggested several possible choices for Weiss's order. In the end, Weiss had just let Yang order for her, with a pleading "keep it light" in hopes that she wouldn't be served some unhealthy abomination.

Yang had delivered in the end, as when they received their meals Weiss was surprised to find that she actually quite enjoyed it as she and Yang ate and chatted. They'd covered the basic small talk, not wanting to delve into too deep a conversation before Ruby's arrival, and Weiss had learned a little bit more about Yang. She'd been a business major, same as Weiss, she rode a motorcycle, and she played some card game that Weiss couldn't bother to remember the name of, among other things.

"Yang! You guys ordered without me?" Ruby's shrill voice came from across the small group of tables. She squeezed through the other tables and slipped past the few other people eating as she made her way to Weiss and Yang's seats, practically collapsing into an empty seat between the other two girls.

Yang pushed a paper-wrapped sandwich towards Ruby, grinning. "Don't worry, I ordered for you. Besides, I was hungry!"

Ruby ignored Yang's explanation in favor of tearing into her waiting sandwich, clearly famished following her run. Weiss noticed that her hair was damp. The rest of Ruby was devoid of sweat, so Weiss assumed it was from a shower. She frowned. Yang had flagged down Ruby near the start of her little tour, and that had been over an hour ago. If her hair was still wet from a shower, Ruby had finished her run recently. Had she really been working out that long? Weiss's legs felt weak at just the thought of such exertion.

"Sho, what'd I miff?" Ruby asked, swallowing a mouthful of her sandwich. Weiss cringed at the girl's lack of table manners.

Yang shrugged. "Not much. Just small talk. You gonna introduce yourself properly or no?" Ruby choked on another bite of her sandwich as she registered Weiss's presence. She coughed to clear her throat and then turned to Weiss. She was smiling, albeit nervously.

"Uh, hi. I know we got off to kind of a bad start, but I'm Ruby Rose!" She held out her hand. Weiss politely shook it, reminding herself that she was making an effort to make amends with this girl.

"Weiss Schnee. A pleasure to actually meet you," Weiss replied. The response had come out a bit sarcastic, which Weiss hadn't really meant, but found that she couldn't stop herself to slipping into that usual mocking drawl. Luckily, Ruby took it well, giggling.

"So, you guys gotta give me the story! I want it from both of you!" Yang said, interrupting.

"Excuse me?" Weiss inquired.

"The story?" Ruby asked.

Yang groaned. "Ugh, you know! How Ruby ran you down, Weiss! And whatever you did to get her calling you a hooligan, Rubes."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "There's not much to tell. She wasn't paying attention and ran into me. We both fell, and then I chewed her out."

"And then I distracted her in class so she couldn't take notes!" Ruby chimed in, her voice falling as she realized what she was saying. "…Okay, I might be a hooli-whatzit."

Yang slammed her fist onto the table, hunching over in a fruitless attempt to contain her laughter. "I still can't believe that Ruby actually ran straight into you. Like, c'mon sis. I know you're kinda spacey, but this is a whole new low!" Yang's voice was strained, as she was gasping for air between fits of laughter at the situation Weiss had described. Weiss didn't see quite why she found it all so funny if she was being honest.

"Yes, okay, I am a dolt, thank you. That has been clarified. Sooo, Weiss, you're from Atlas?" Ruby quickly moved to change the subject, steering the flow of conversation away from her own embarrassing shortcomings.

Weiss was eager to change topics as well, so she nodded at Ruby's question. "Yes, I've lived in Atlas my whole life. My father decided it was… imperative to send me to Beacon for a year."

Ruby cocked her head. "That's a little weird. Why?"

"Yeah, I'm wondering the same!" Yang chimed in, having recovered from her laughing fit. "What's a miss moneybags like you doing in Vale?"

Weiss froze as she realized where that line of questioning led to. She answered Yang with a polite "I'd rather not get into it, if that's alright with you." Yang seemed disappointed that her question had been dismissed, but Ruby unknowingly came to Weiss's rescue.

"Miss moneybags?" Ruby inquired. Yang slapped a hand onto her sister's back.

"Yeah, Weissicle here's father is the head of Schnee Dust Company!"

Weiss watched as Ruby's mouth fell open and her eyes widened. "Whoa! Really?"

Weiss gave Ruby a curt nod. "Yes. I'm the heiress, actually. I'm going to finish up my business degree here, and then I'll be provided a company job."

Ruby leaned across the table, visibly interested. "Do you have any cool stories? Like, super-secret experimental dust labs that you know about? Cutting edge dust tech hidden away from the public?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. Ruby had her head in the clouds with such fantasies. She was starting to doubt the girl's ability to hold an actual, grounded conversation. "No, I'm afraid that I don't have any stories of the sort."

Ruby laughed and sat back. "Heh, woulda been cool if you did. Guess we'll have to talk about the less cool stuff."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Ruby pulled out her phone and tapped at it a few times before showing Weiss an article on dust powered engines. From a quick skim, Weiss found it detailed the new engine model that was soon to be released, and soon to become standard in dust powered vehicles.

"So like, how much do you know about the technical stuff? I wanna know how accurate these press releases are, because they kind of seem insane. The power density listed seems kind of improbable for the size."

Ruby's sudden shift from babbling dork to engaged, focused conversationalist took Weiss by surprise. She found that the rambling was nowhere to be found as Ruby continued to point out the specs of the engine and ask further questions.

"I'm sorry, I'm actually not at liberty to talk much about these things. Company secrets and all," Weiss explained. She was taken aback. Weiss considered herself to be fairly well versed in not only dust, but the workings of the products her father's company produced and tested. She was familiar with the inner workings of most any dust powered mechanism, from firearms to cars, but found that Ruby had surpassed the limit of her knowledge once she slipped into more complex questions about the engine model. This girl was definitely more than she seemed, Weiss surmised.

Ruby looked a tad disappointed when Weiss shot down her questions. "Ah, yeah, should've figured that. My bad." Ruby's disappointment quickly faded, replaced by a sort of reserved embarrassment. "I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to dust tech. I got into tinkering with stuff in high school and never really stopped. It's all really cool, and I kind of had a knack for it so I figured it'd be a fun hobby to keep up. I even do maintenance on Yang's motorcycle!" Weiss was fascinated with how suddenly Ruby seemed to switch moods. It was almost comical.

"So, you two said you were sisters?" Weiss questioned, drawing the conversation onto another topic before Ruby could continue to ramble anymore. She eyed Yang's strikingly blonde hair and lilac eyes as she asked, wordlessly expressing her questions.

"Yep!" Yang responded. "Same dad, different moms. I got everything from my dad, but Ruby's all her mom, down to the eyes!" Glancing at the younger girl, Weiss took note of her silver eyes once more. They were striking, and seemed almost out of place in comparison to Ruby's awkward personality. Two separate mothers certainly explained the two sisters' almost contradictory appearances, Weiss surmised.

After a few more minutes filled with conversation and eating, Yang and Ruby excused themselves. Ruby claimed she had another meeting set up with her roommate, and Yang announced that she had another shift to cover at Summer Breeze. The three girls parted ways soon after, and Weiss found that she'd chatted much longer than she intended to as she headed for her apartment.

A light buzz and a muffled ringing from her purse signaled a phone call, which Weiss quickly answered when she saw the name on the screen.

"Winter, hello," Weiss began. "What did you need?" She tried to hide some of her excitement from her voice. Out of her entire family, Winter was about the only blood relation Weiss was on good terms with. It had been far too long since they'd last spoken.

"Hello, Weiss. I was just checking in on you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to see you off before you left for Vale. General Ironwood has been running me ragged for months." Winter's voice was tinny and fuzzy coming through the phone's speakers, but Weiss could still hear the tiredness in her sister's voice.

"I understand. It is good to talk, though."

Winter let out a small laugh. "Indeed it is. How is Vale? Are you doing well?"

"Yes, of course!" Weiss assured. "My classes are challenging, but I'm staying on top of assignments. I'm not involved in any extracurricular organizations, unfortunately, but-"

"I'm not talking about your grades, you boob!" Winter chastised. Her words were harsh, but her tone was playful. "Have you settled into your new apartment? More importantly, have you made any friends? You can't just isolate yourself for a year."

Weiss thought for a moment. She'd been in Vale for nearly two weeks, and she couldn't honestly say she'd made any friends, let alone tried to, but Winter would be upset if she admitted as much. She thought back to the lunch she'd just spent with Yang and Ruby. It had been surprisingly tolerable, daresay even fun.

"I suppose I am. I met a nice pair of sisters recently. We've gotten along well enough." Weiss chose to omit her and Ruby's initial grievances.

"Good. I know you don't want to be in Vale, but friends will make the year more bearable. I've got to go now, but I just wanted to make sure you were doing fine," Winter said.

Weiss laughed. "I'm just fine, Winter."

"Just making sure. Love you, little sister."

"And I you, big sister," Weiss said teasingly, returning her sister's usual stiff sign-off. She slipped her phone back into her purse, and glanced behind herself, towards the sandwich shop she'd just left. Yang had been a decent conversationalist, and Ruby had shaped up to be a surprisingly bearable individual as well once she gained her footing in the flow of conversation. Perhaps Winter was right. Friends might not be a bad idea.

Just a heads up: there will not be a new chapter next week.