We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum (God rest his soul), VIZ Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.
Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and Traines.
Return of the Dragon Warriors
Volume 1 Chapter 4: Breaking the Icy Wall
The sound of clashing steel rang through the halls as Weiss attacked the training robot before her. It struck with curved sabers, slashing, stabbing, and hacking at Weiss furiously. As the white-painted robot, with multiple blades sheathed on its back, pressed its assault, Whitley and Silfrdrengr watched from the sidelines. As the dragon lazily watched, curled up under a blanket, Whitley's eyes were fixed. The way his sister dodged, weaved, and practically skated out of harm's way was… for lack of a better term, hypnotic.
Weiss whipped her rapier Myrtenaster with a flurry as she blocked and deflected strikes from the sparring robot before striking back with her own flurry of slashes and stabs, her blade becoming a blur of motion. However, it quickly began to mimic her movements. It blocked and parried her slashes as she began to backstep for distance. Adopting a basic fencing stance, Weiss held Myrtenaster up near her head before dashing in. The sparring robot, mimicking her movements, did the same as the tips of their blades collided in a shower of sparks.
Pulling back, Weiss unleashed a barrage of thrusts and stabs that the sparring robot quickly blocked with a barrage of its own. Sparks danced off their blades as they collided before Weiss went in for a slash only for the sparring robot to block with its saber and parry downwards while going in for a slash with its other blade. Deflecting upwards, Weiss knocked her blade free of its first blade before deflecting the second one upwards. With a stab, she managed to hit it in the chest as its chest lit up green.
"Point: Weiss Schnee. Well done. Would you like to go again?" A monotone, robotic voice came from the sparring robot as it disengaged from Weiss.
Panting slightly, Weiss frowned. She still wasn't as fast as she'd like. She needed to be even faster and more skilled. "Increase difficulty level by two stages. Go from Level Two to Level Four. Voice lock command: Weiss Schnee." Weiss told the sparring robot.
"Command received." The robot replied as another pair of arms sprouted from its sides with each arm reaching behind it to grab two more sabers. Looking like an intimidating Spider Bot preparing for a hunt.
Whitley immediately became worried when he saw this. "Um… sister? Are you… sure that's wise?" He asked, concerned that his sister might be pushing herself.
"You don't improve if you don't push yourself, little brother. Watch and learn." Weiss said with determination.
"Initiating introduction protocols. Bow to your opponent." The sparring robot droned out before bowing to Weiss as she bowed back.
Bringing her blade up, Weiss stared intently at the sparring robot as it rose up from its bow. "Initiating shadow fighting protocols. Blades at the ready." It said in a monotone before raising its blades.
Her eyes set in determination, Weiss then called out the command to start the match. "Begin!" She called out, rushing in as quickly as she could.
However, as Weiss dashed in, the wrists of the four arms began to spin the blades, forcing her to spontaneously stop her charge and set herself in place. Sparks danced off of the floor as the four blades cut into the ground, forcing Weiss to stop and wait for an opening as she slowly backpedaled. Soon, like lightning, the two upper blades struck, forcing Weiss to block and defend. She barely got Myrtenaster up before the next two blades struck from below, forcing Weiss to bend back as her ponytail was missed by the length of a hair's thickness.
The two blades on the left side of its body then struck from different directions, the upper coming from the left while the lower came from the right in a scissor maneuver. Bringing Myrtenaster up, Weiss barely blocked the strikes from the middle and was sent skidding back by the force of the twin blows. Recovering, she managed to catch sight of two blades coming down onto her from above as the robot closed the distance, like it was nothing. Raising Myrtenaster's blade up, she blocked the blows only to then be slashed with the speed of a levin bolt from the heavens across the waist by one of the two lower blades as the robot stopped moving.
"Point. Would you like to continue?" The robot asked in a monotone voice.
"Damn it! I can't seem to get through Level Four!" Weiss cursed, rubbing where she was cut, thankful her aura had taken the blow.
"Can… can I try?" Whitley asked nervously.
This caught Weiss by surprise as she looked at him." You… want to try it?" She asked her brother, genuinely surprised.
"Yes…" Whitley answered nervously, giving her a nod.
Shrugging, Weiss picked up and tossed him a training rapier, forcing him to scramble to catch it. "If you really want to. MM Model 3.0, lower difficulty level, please. Level Zero." She told the sparring robot.
"As you wish, Miss Schnee. Beginner Mode activated." The sparring robot replied as it put away all of its blades before retracting three of its arms and using its one remaining arm to pull out a blunt blade.
"Level Zero!? Weiss, you can't be serious!" Whitley said as he leapt from his seat, clearly offended at such a move.
"You've never trained or sparred before, Whitley. We all have to start somewhere. I started with Level Zero, as did Winter. Even mother did when the Musketeer Mentor sparring robots were first in development by the company." Weiss explained to him as the robot entered a stance with its arm holding its blade up on the opposite side of its head.
Whitley sighed, seeing no way to argue with her. "Yes, sister." he muttered with soft sarcasm.
As he stepped up, he stared at the robot before him. Part of him felt insulted facing a soulless machine as his first opponent. However, when he saw Weiss moving forward to unlock his Aura for him, Whitley stepped back. Confused, Weiss looked at him in shock.
"Is something wrong, Whitley?" Weiss asked him, not understanding.
"You, Mother, and Winter all unlocked your Aura naturally. I wish to do the same." Whitley explained. "I don't want my potential to be stunted."
Sighing, Weiss shook her head. "Whitley, I don't want you getting hurt."
"That's why you put it at Level Zero, though. It can't hurt me. Well, unless you bought a bad robot." Whitley replied as he stanced up.
Sighing, Weiss nodded and stepped aside. "Very well. Proceed…" She told him, stepping aside and going to sit by Silfrdrengr as the dragon looked up at her.
"Initiating introduction protocols. Bow to your opponent." The sparring robot said in its usual monotone voice.
Whitley and the robot bowed in unison to start the match. And, as soon as it was done, Whitley went on the attack. Raising his blade, he swung wildly at the robot as it raised its blade and blocked. Deflecting his strike, the force throwing him slightly off balance, it then jabbed at his chest with the blunt blade. Surprised, Whitley barely got his blade up in time to block before deflecting and going for a stab at its chest. Despite this, the sparring robot brought its blade down and knocked Whitley's blade from his hands, the training rapier clattering to the floor before Whitley found himself jabbed in the chest and knocked to the ground.
"Point. Would you like to go again?" The robot's monotone voice asked Whitley in a way that, if it were not a soulless machine, would have sounded mocking to the boy.
"Yes!" Whitley ordered as he kipped up off the ground.
As Whitley picked up his training rapier, he held it at the ready and bowed with the sparring robot. When the two rose up from their bows, Whitley rushed in at the sparring robot. He swung at its waist only to find his blade easily blocked. Swinging back around, he swung for its other side only to be blocked again. Growling in frustration, he swung for its head only for it to block and push away his blade. Stumbling back, Whitley found himself jabbed in the chest again, knocking him on his rear end.
"Point. Would you like to go again?" The sparring robot's monotone voice asked again.
"YES!!" Whitley yelled as he got up again.
'Whitley not good.' Silfrdrengr chuckled into Weiss's mind.
"He's only just starting out, Silfrdrengr. Don't be rude." Weiss said, looking at her brother sympathetically but internally agreeing with Silfrdrengr.
'But true…' The baby dragon chipped in.
Whitley ran forward and did a full upper body thrust towards the robot's chest. However, the wild thrust was deflected down, causing Whitley to stumble. As he got up and turned around with a look of rage on his face, he was met with a blunt blade smacking hard into his forehead. Standing there for a moment, Whitley soon crumpled to the ground.
"... Point. Would you like to go again?" The sparring robot asked, only to get no answer. "Point. Would you like to go again…?"
Weiss sighed at this. "Stand down. Systems off." She said, causing the sparring robot to deactivate. "I'll go get the first aid kit…" She said, getting up to go find it.
"Stupid… junk…" Whitley said through gritted teeth.
Soon, Weiss came back with the first aid kit and pulled out an alcohol pad. Lifting Whitley's hair, she began dabbing the alcohol pad where the blunt blade had struck his forehead. Hissing in pain, Whitley tried to endure it as Weiss wiped and dabbed his forehead clean.
"Weiss. Can you please teach me?" Whitley asked through gritted teeth.
"I don't see why not. Other than the fact that I have never had to teach before. It might be better to ask Winter." Weiss told him as she took a bandage out of the first aid kit and put the bandage on.
"Then can you teach me how to unlock my Aura?" Whitley asked, turning to look at her.
Weiss smiled as she got the bandage on perfectly. "That much, I can help you with." She told him, patting him on the shoulder.
"Thank you, sister. It… It means a lot." Whitley answered with a small smile.
"Normally, without someone unlocking it for you, your Aura will either unlock on its own when it reaches full development or in a highly stressful situation when you need it most. The latter of which is extremely risky. But, thankfully, the development of Aura can be accelerated with training, physical, mental, and spiritual. Which would you prefer to try, Whitley?" Weiss explained, stepping back to give her brother a bit of space.
"Let's try training for now. After that robot got lucky on me… I'm not exactly in a risky mood." Whitley answered, still clearly frustrated with that robot.
"We'll start with some conditioning, then. Drop and give me thirty pushups." Weiss told him.
"Pushups…?" Whitley asked but got immediately cut off by Weiss.
"You want to unlock your Aura, right? Well, this is where it starts without taking the more dangerous route." Weiss explained.
With a sigh, Whitley dropped down and began to do pushups. At first, it wasn't too bad. However, as it came around to the tenth, he began to feel the burn in his arms. And, by the fifteenth, his arms were already trembling. By the time he tried to go for his nineteenth pushup, his arms gave out and he fell face first into the floor.
'New Whitely needed.' Silfrdrengr said with a chuckle.
"Don't be rude, Silfrdrengr. He's doing much better than I did when I first started out. I could barely get to ten." Weiss replied, trying to encourage her brother.
"That's… something… at least…" Whitley panted.
"After you rest, we'll try twenty crunches and then a lap around the training room." Weiss replied to him.
"Mind if I get my scroll to call Winter?" Whitley asked as he got himself off the floor.
Weiss nodded. "Be my guest. Winter can help us draw up a proper training regimen for you." She replied, going to get him some water.
Whitley soon sat back down on the bench and pulled his scroll out of his pocket. After finding Winter's contact, he made the call. To his surprise, Winter not only picked up, but picked up quickly.
"Whitley? Is something wrong? Has the dragon escaped? Did it eat a plant?" Winter asked, a concerned tone coming through her voice.
"No, Winter. Nothing that serious. I was just hoping that you could do me a favor…" Whitley reassured her, trying to not sound self-conscious.
"And what would that be?" She asked curiously
"Would you mind… teaching me to fight like you did Weiss?" Whitley asked, coming off a bit more nervously than he would have liked.
"This is new from you. What brought this on?" Winter asked.
"Silfrdrengr and I were watching Weiss train, and I couldn't get over how… elegantly Weiss fought. It made me want to learn more about her and bond with her more. The only way I could think of for how was through training." Whitley explained, feeling embarrassed at having to admit this.
"I can only promise to do my best. No one truly fights the same. Weiss and I are similar, but there are plenty of differences." Winter answered him.
"That's more than enough for me. Thank you, elder sister." Whitley told her with a smile.
"Anytime. I'll be sending Weiss a text full of some things she can work on with you until I can get time off. Have you tried the training robot yet?" Winter explained, before pivoting to ask him.
Whitley took a quick but infuriated glance at the robot, which was just standing there, then looked back at his scroll. "I did. I lost three times in a row at Level Zero and Weiss had to get the first aid kit." Whitley told her in an annoyed deadpan.
"... I will let you in on a secret. On the condition you do not speak of it to anyone else." Winter said through some snickering.
"Your secret is safe with me." Whitley replied with a frown.
"When I started with Weiss, she lost five times in a row to that same robot." Winter explained with a small snicker.
Whitley had to bite back a snicker of his own. "Please tell me it was on Level Zero." He replied with a grin.
"And Level One as well. Don't get frustrated. People go at different rates. If you let yourself get frustrated, then you have truly lost." Winter explained.
"Thank you, sister. I appreciate it." Whitley told her with a genuine level of gratitude in his voice.
"And, for the record, I lost four times in a row to Level Zero. And yes, Weiss knows." Winter answered.
Whitley nearly laughed at that as he tried to stifle himself. "By the gods, really?" He asked her, trying to keep from laughing.
"No matter how strong the warrior, Whitley, we all start somewhere. No one is good at first." Winter explained. "Even geniuses start at rock bottom."
Whitley smiled at that. "Thank you, Winter. That means a lot. See you soon." He replied.
"Good luck. You're going to need it." Winter answered.
Then he heard a voice in his head. 'I'm telling.' The familiar voice said.
He then turned to see that Silfrdrengr was staring daggers at him with his eyes. Realizing that Silfrdrengr must not have appreciated the laugh at Weiss' expense.
Three Weeks Later
"Come on Whitley. I said forty sit-ups. You've only done twenty-five. Slowly. Pick up the pace." Weiss sternly ordered as she held the boy's feet down.
"I… am… trying… Weiss…!" Whitley grunted as he tried to go for his twenty-sixth sit-up.
"Come on, Whitley. Work through the pain. Feel the burn." Weiss told her brother as he struggled to do number twenty-six.
As Whitley, wearing proper training clothing, worked through said pain, they were observed by Winter. Her eyes sternly watched them as she gently patted Silfrdrengr, who wrapped himself around her shoulders like a scarf. Huffing and puffing, Whitley gave it his all, but he couldn't move anymore after his thirtieth sit-up. Which got Weiss swiftly on his case.
"Come on, Whitley! You can do better than that! Push it!" Weiss encouragingly told her brother.
"That's enough, Weiss. We can't push him too hard, too quickly. He's only been at this for three weeks. And he's doing better than I expected him to. Whitley. Take five." Winter explained to the two.
Weiss frowned but nodded in response. "Fair enough." She replied, releasing Whitley's ankles.
"Silfrdrengr. Wrap yourself around Weiss. I will begin with stances and basic moves after his rest." Winter explained gently to the dragon.
'Okay.' Silf answered with a nod, before leaping onto Weiss and wrapping himself around her like a scarf. 'Comfy.'
Rolling her eyes, Weiss smiled and gently scratched him under his chin. The dragon let out a noise akin to a purr in response. Meanwhile, Whitley sat on the bench, wiping off the sweat with a towel. He was drenched head to toe and panting profusely. The previous three weeks were, in his own words, hell on Remnant. Every part of him day after day felt sore, and he hadn't seen much improvement. His dejected face swiftly caught the attention of his sisters, which caused Weiss to pipe up.
"Don't beat yourself up too much, Whitley…" Weiss said, but was cut off by Winter.
"I wonder where he learned that from?" Winter sarcastically asked.
Weiss sighed. "I know, I know. I did the same thing when I was starting out…" She muttered.
"Just keep resting, Whitley. Then, when you're ready, we will run through some basics." Winter explained.
"Of course, sister. And… thank you." Whitley answered with a small smile.
After a few minutes for Whitley to catch his breath, he forced himself from the bench for another round. Winter threw him a training saber, to which the young Schnee only barely caught it. Yet it was hard to look at his sister. For Whitley, this would be one of the harrowing trials he had ever faced.
"Now then, Whitley. Let's start with some basic fencing stances. First and foremost, the En Garde stance." Winter said before beginning to adopt a stance.
Soon, Winter was standing with her feet shoulder width apart, her knees bent slightly, and her body leaning forward slightly. She kept her sword arm extended forward while positioning her rear arm slightly further back. Looking it over carefully, Whitley tried to adopt this stance himself. As he did, Winter continued explaining.
"This is the most basic and widely used stance in fencing, Whitley. It provides a balanced and ready position for both offensive and defensive actions." Winter told him, observing her brother as he tried to adopt the stance.
"I understand." Whitley said with a nod as he attempted to get the stance down.
"Your feet are too far apart. Bring them closer together." Winter instructed him.
"Sorry." Whitley replied, hastily fixing his feet position.
Winter nodded as she then moved to the next stance. She extended one leg forward while keeping her back leg straight. She remained upright as she did so, her sword arm fully extended. Turning to Whitley, she held the stance and explained it as he tried to mimic her.
"This is the Lunge Stance, which is utilized when executing a lunge attack. It allows a fencer to cover a significant distance quickly and launch aggressive attacks." Winter explained as Whitley tried to copy her.
"I think I've seen you and Weiss use this one a lot." Whitley replied.
Winter nodded. "As well you should have. It's the most aggressive of the basic stances, transitioned to for pure offense." She noted as he continued moving into position.
However, try as Whitley might, he could not get the correct position of his legs. When he tried to correct his back leg to be straight, he couldn't get his front leg forward enough. And, when he tried to fix the front, he would have to bend his leg. As though his body couldn't understand what it needed to do. All of which cause Winter to sigh and shake her head. While Weiss had to keep Silfrdrengr from chuckling like a baboon on the bench.
"You're too stiff, Whitley. Loosen up a little." Winter told her younger brother.
"Sorry… I guess I'm a bit nervous." Whitley answered as he took a deep breath.
"It's perfectly natural to be nervous. For now, just take deep breaths and try to loosen up." Winter told him, a small smile on her face.
Whitley nodded as he did his best to loosen up. This didn't exactly help him as much as they would like, as when he tried to bend forward again, he simply fell flat on his face. Which got Silfrdrengr to cackle like a hyena, further embarrassing him. As Whitley picked himself up, his normally pale face was redder than a tomato and not just because of the bruise.
"Don't worry, Whitley. Once you have the basics down, it gets much easier." Winter told him, trying to ease his embarrassment.
"It would be nice if I could get one of these right…" Whitley grumbled, dusting himself off.
"Let's stick to the En Garde stance for now. That seems to be the one you have the least trouble with. After you get that down, we can do some light sparring." Winter replied, trying to keep Whitley's spirits up.
"Okay…" Whitley replied, his dropping morale beginning to show in his voice.
Whitley began trying to drop into the En Garde Stance at will. Bit by bit, he slowly got a little better at positioning himself correctly. Once he had it down, Winter stepped in front of him. Adopting the same stance, she held her training saber at the ready.
"Now then. Take a step forth with your forward leg and attempt to strike me." Winter told him.
"Hyaah!" Whitley cried out as he stepped forward.
Bringing his saber down, Whitley tried to strike at Winter. However, Winter easily blocked the sloppy lunge strike. Nodding, Winter looked over his form.
"Good. Now again. And, this time, go for more than one strike and advance as you do so." Winter told him.
"Hyaah!" Whitley yelled, putting a bit more force into his next strike.
Whitley advanced forward as he tried to strike at Winter. First overhead, then a low strike, then a strike at her waist. Winter blocked and lightly deflected each one but nodded at his form and performance.
"Good. Now try a combination. Thrust, slash, and stab while trying to maintain your form." Winter instructed, going slowly.
"Hah! Hah! Hyah!" Whitley yelled as he advanced while trying to follow her instructions.
Mustering what he could, he thrusted forward, slashed across the chest, and attempted to go for a stab. However, while this is what he would have wanted to happen in theory, Winter ensured that remained theory only. His thrust was turned aside by a parry, the slash was blocked, and he had to stop himself from tripping, forcing him to abort the thrust. All while Silfrdrengr still holding his breath not to laugh at Whitley's hilarious expense.
"Not bad for a first attempt. Do you want to keep going?" Winter asked, looking over his form.
"Yes. I want to at least get one right today." Whitley answered with a nod, mustering what determination he could.
Nodding, Winter held her saber at the ready as Whitley did the same. The two then adopted the En Garde Stance again before beginning. Whitley tried to advance while maintaining his form. He slashed high at his sister before attempting to slash low, then went in for a stab and a thrust. However, Winter easily batted aside and blocked his blows.
"Slow. Again." Winter told him as Whitley took a deep breath.
Advancing forward, Whitley slashed low before thrusting at Winter, then aimed high and slashed downward before going for a stab. However, these two were easily blocked and batted aside again. Sighing, Whitley tried again. He slashed low, then high, thrusted, high again, low, and stabbed. However, once again, all of his blows were blocked and deflected. This time, he made the mistake of going for a lunge and overextended himself. This caused him to fall over as Winter dodged aside, causing Whitley to fall face-first on the floor again.
Whitley, in a fit of rage, pounded his fist into the ground. "Useless. I'm bloody useless!" He scowled as he got up.
"Whitley, please calm down. You're only just starting out." Weiss tried to tell him.
"We've been doing these stance basics for more than an hour! I've been at this for weeks and nothing is sticking, Weiss! Nothing!" Whitley snapped, which caught his sisters off guard.
"Maybe my teaching style doesn't work for you. Have you considered hiring a professional trainer, Whitley?" Winter replied, trying to be helpful.
"If father finds out, after both of you have trained and had desires to fly the coop, he'll flip out! He would have my hide, then lock me up and throw away the key! I'm stuck here, because you two will get to be free! Why did I bother trying anything!?" Whitley snapped out, showing a side of him that the two of them had never seen, leaving them flabbergasted.
With that, Weiss surprised Whitley by standing up, walking up to him, and pulling him into a hug. This made Whitley freeze up, and slowly look up at his sister.
"W-Weiss?" Whitley asked, his voice shifting to a trembling whisper.
"It's going to be okay, Whitley. We'll figure something out. I promise." Weiss assured him.
To their surprise, however, it was Winter who spoke up. "I may have an idea that father can't mess up. Though it entails a few other risks." She said in a musing tone.
Whitley, after gathering his composure, looked at his oldest sister pleadingly. "I am willing to try anything, Winter. Please." He begged her.
"All right. I am going to call a contact I know from the military. He can get me in touch with one of the royal lines of the Tenrō clan." Winter explained, which caught her younger siblings completely off guard.
"The Kaiser's Dogs? Why would you want to go to them for help? Why not the Beninezumi or the Kokutonyagi?" Weiss asked, confused.
"The Zodiac clans are a fickle, muscle-bound mistress, Weiss. They move and shake in ways that most don't understand. In the years I've been through the academy and now the military, I have only begun to understand it. But the clan I've dealt with the most is the Tenrō. Yes, they still bear many hallmarks of their raider ancestors, but they also don't take kindly to people interfering in their interests. And I know how I can make you, little brother, an interest." Winter explained to the two of them, which only served to further confuse them.
"How…?" Whitley asked desperately.
"Because there were Tenrō clan members at Weiss's party. And key to this plan is their crown prince. Or prospective crown prince, as he likes to be called. He's about as rebellious as they come, stubborn as a glacier, but with a heart of pure gold. And his family, indeed even he especially, owe me a few favors. And believe me, little brother. The idea of spiting father through you, is likely the added bit of spice we need to get this through." Winter explained further.
Whitley smiled at this plan while Weiss still seemed skeptical. "Still… you know how their clan sees our family and company because of what father has done. What if they still refuse?" Weiss said, unsure of the plan.
"If it doesn't work out, I will get a replacement. But I am confident I can pull it off. I just need a bit of time." Winter answered.
Whitley nodded as Weiss sighed. "I trust you, sister. Please do what you can." Whiley replied happily.
"It's nothing, Whitley. Besides, this is far simpler than what I normally have to do on the job." Winter replied with a smile. "Now, off you two fly. Your elder sister has to work her magic."
Half An Hour Later
Winter sat in a plush chair with tea at her side. It had taken a bit longer than she had expected, as the Tenrō inner workings meant getting patched around to multiple different middlemen vassals and housecarls. But she finally did it. When the line got picked up, she was greeted by a booming, gruff voice. As if a mountain somehow learned to speak.
"Tenrō residence. Who is it?" The booming male voice asked.
Winter flinched and turned the volume on her scroll down a bit. "It's Winter Schnee, Lord Scar. I'm sorry to intrude upon your off time, but I need to call in a favor." She told him.
"Oh, gods damn it. I swear that my family needs to shape up. This is the third favor this week!" He groaned, vibrating the scroll in a way she didn't know was possible.
"No, no. This is a personal favor from me." Winter explained, hoping to appease him.
"Well, bite my jorts off with a glacier and call me the Kaiser. What is it?" Scar answered, his tune changing rapidly after hearing that.
"I need someone to train my younger brother Whitley. He wants to become a Hunter like our sister Weiss is aiming for and needs someone to train him. I tried to help, but my style of teaching and combat didn't mesh properly with him." Winter explained to the best of her abilities.
"... Give me one second." Scar replied, his voice clearly displaying shock at such a request. "Sapphire! Get the defibrillator! Daddy's gonna need it at this rate!"
Winter held the scroll away from her as Scar's voice boomed in the speaker. She felt her scroll vibrating as she worried that his almighty voice might break it. Once he was done, she brought it back to her ears.
"So you, a Schnee, are asking my family, who have stood politically against your father for years now, to train your baby brother? That sounds like you want a fight with your old man or something…" Scar asked, clearly not taking it seriously.
"We just want to get Whitley away from him so that father can't influence him. Whitley wants to make his own decisions when one of us inherits the company. Also, this would make for a perfect opportunity to anger father in a way that he can't do anything about." Winter explained.
"... How badly has he hurt this boy?" Scar asked, his voice darkening like a rumbling storm.
"Whitley was on the verge of frustrated tears at the idea of being left alone in this house with him and mother after Weiss leaves for Beacon as soon as she gets in." Winter explained, frowning at the memory.
The scroll sat silent for an eerie amount of time. She didn't know why, but it both concerned and scared her. Finally, Scar answered, but with something even she didn't expect.
"I'll need to put the scroll down for a bit. And yes. I'm helping you. No one should be held in chains like that." Scar answered firmly, as firmly as a bar of steel.
Winter sighed in relief. "Thank you, Lord Scar. This means a lot to us." She told him with a smile.
Meanwhile: In the Tenrō Residence
The man behind the scroll was a towering, mountain of a man. His scarred frame looked constantly on the verge of bursting at the seams. Even the simple act of getting out of a massive, well-worn lazy boy chair caused his muscles to ripple and flex in ways that defied belief. A spiked mane of grey hair cascaded down his back as storm cloud eyes scanned towards the hallway up into the upper floors.
The room surrounding him was rustic to say the least. While modern appliances, pictures of the innumerable family, and various trophies hung throughout the room, it was accented by runic carved wood, stone floors, and furs. So many furs. It was as if it was a cave bored out by raiders, then forced and contorted into a place for royals. Without moving from the spot, his chest began to move, and let loose a hurricane of a call.
"SYLVER!! Get down here!" Scar roared, loud enough to wake the dead, and then put them back in the grave after they woke.
"Screw you, old man!!" A preteen's voice called down back.
"If you don't get your ass down here, I will involve your mother! I don't have the time and patience for your nonsense today!" Scar roared.
"Ughhhhh! Fine!" The preteen voice called out as the sound of stomping footsteps could be heard.
Soon, a tall, preteen young man came into view. He stood at a staggering height and well-defined muscles despite having a face more befitting of someone who hadn't even hit puberty yet. He had a pair of silver furred wolf ears on his head and a silver furred wolf's tail on his rear end. His silver eyes glinted in the light. On his back, he had a large claymore-like sword strapped to it.
"I have an offer that you can't refuse." Scar sternly said.
"If it's about ruling the clan, then yes I can." The young man deadpanned.
"No, that's a bridge we will fight on in a legendary battle tomorrow, son. I have a different offer." Scar groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Sylver raised an eyebrow at that. "You have my attention, old man." He replied.
"Do you remember going to that Schnee Birthday party like a month or two ago?" Scar asked, testing his son.
"Yeah. The one where I met a Schnee I begrudgingly respect because he's not a total ass to Faunus. Why?" Sylver asked, raising an eyebrow.
"How would you like the opportunity to train that boy?" Scar asked, which visibly caught Sylver off guard.
Sylver's eyes widened at that. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, old man! Let's grab hold of reality and take it for a ride!" He replied in disbelief.
"I was just on the scroll with his eldest sister asking that very same thing. And, since all you do around here is cause trouble, eat all my corn dogs, and break shit, I'd figure you could at least do that in a more productive way. By causing trouble, eating fancy corn dogs, and breaking shit in that asshole Jacques Schnee's place." Scar explained.
Sylver thought about that for a moment. "I dunno. Me as a teacher? I can't even teach a dog to not pee on the floor. Or teach Skylar to not scoot her butt on the floor…" He replied in an unsure tone.
"Alright. I'll go tell Winter that you've consigned her brother to eternally being under his thumb. And passing up the golden ticket opportunity to piss him off…" Scar said with a shrug, and began to turn around. Only to get stopped by Sylver.
"You had me at 'golden opportunity to piss him off,' old man. I'm in." Sylver replied with a feral grin.
Scar then let out a big smile at that. "I knew you'd come around." He replied with a chuckle.
"When does he get here, old man? I wanna start ASAP." Sylver told his father.
"Would you hold the running of the stupid wolves for a minute, boy? I got to work that out with them first. What, did you think I was gonna schedule it without knowing you'd be on board?" Scar groaned out.
"Fair enough. I'll start working out a… what do you call them… lesson plan?" Sylver replied.
"Something like that. Go ask old man Yūri. I'm sure he'll give you some pointers. Or put you in the Hashi. It's about a fifty-fifty." Scar explained.
Sylver gave an uncharacteristically big smile to his father before running off. With a smile of his own, Scar sat back down and picked up the scroll.
"Sorry about the wait. Sylver's on board. When can you send your brother over?" Scar asked after picking up the scroll.
"As soon as he's packed and ready." Winter's voice replied over the scroll.
"You know, I've always liked you, Winter. Don't know how your dad didn't fuck you up. But, for the world's sake, that's a good thing." Scar answered with a smile. "Don't worry. We'll treat him like one of the family."
"Thank you, Lord Scar. We'll see you soon." Winter replied with a happier tone.
Three Days Later: Tenrō Airship Port
For many down below the Castle of the Wolf Kings, it must have been a surreal sight for a Schnee Dust Company Airship landing on their royal Airship port. Yet a throng of retainers and housecarls stood there waiting for them as if they were no different than any other important dignitary. Whitley, after saying his goodbyes to Winter inside the Bullhead, was dropped off with his luggage. The icy nip of the arctic air hit him, despite being bundled up. Something about the place made it exceptionally cold. This was cut off by a series of footsteps, the most prominent being Scar's.
"Welcome, young lad!" Scar's voice boomed as Sylver trailed behind him.
"Lord Scar Tenrō, I presume?" Whitley asked, his bags in hand.
"Oh, cut the lord crap out here, boy. It's not needed." Scar replied, brushing it off. "It's our job to make sure you feel at home here. Which will be important. I'm not originally from here either, so I understand it can be daunting."
"At least Atlas doesn't make you fat…" Sylver muttered.
"What was that?" Scar asked sternly.
"Nothing, Sir Fat's Alot." Sylver answered in surprise.
"... You're allowed to talk to your father like that?" Whitley asked in shock.
"We have a unique relationship." Sylver explained.
"Well, I'll leave you two boys to it. Shiro said dinner's at six. Don't miss it." Scar explained before leaving.
"Let's start by getting you to your room. After that, we'll start with some conditioning to prepare you for the training, twig boy. Your first exercise is laps around the castle on your hands. In your underwear." Sylver told the Schnee boy.
"... But I'll freeze to death…" Whitley meekly said.
Sylver gave a wolfish smirk. "Not if you unlock your Aura before then. You wanted Zodiac training and you're gonna get it. Welcome to your first day of hell on Remnant, kid." He told Whitley.
Whitley gulped as Sylver led him into the bizarre castle. It was a lot to take in, and he was admittedly now fearing for his life. But at the same time, he was in a place where his father couldn't touch him. For the first time in his life… he was truly free.
To Be Continued…