If It Be Thusly (Weiss Schnee x Reader)

Oh, Mirror

"Well, I didn't ask you to do that, so..."

Max shoots her one last look of disbelief before spinning on his heel and stomping away. "Unbelievable."

Elise, for her part, doesn't chose to berate Weiss, but simply look at her and shake her head before following her friend. Weiss watches them with a frown as raindrops trickle down her face like tears.

"Those two," she mutters, grabbing your arm and pulling you onto the street. "They like each other more than they like me. Not that I care," she mutters. "I'm just fine being alone."

You pat her wet head with your hand. "Too bad, 'cause you're not alone. You're stuck with me."

"True. It's like having a ball and chain on my ankle," she smirks. "Speaking of being stuck with you, we need to start doing more training for the exam."

"More? This past week has been the hardest training I've ever done." You groan and slump your shoulder. Each fibrous muscle is sore.

"And you've been satisfactory. Good, even. But the exam relies on its participants having trained for a large variety of potential opponents. Grimm, robots, other huntsmen. We need to start preparing different plans for different enemies, not just refine our basic sword techniques." She makes a good point. At this point you're getting good at fighting in a contained environment under sparring rules, but the exam is specifically meant to assess your ability to adapt to the unorthodox scenarios that occur in the wild.

"Fair. So, what's the plan?"

"I know this café where we can work on said plan."

Your smile becomes wry. "Oof. A café? I don't know... are you s-"

"I'll pay," she says quickly, shutting you up.

"Oh. Well, in that case." You suddenly get much more chipper about it.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

Together you walk through the battering rain and towards the more commercial side of Atlas, where the shopping never stops and the money must flow. It's got wide streets and glitzy signs everywhere, as well as well-dressed people walking up and down the pavements in long winter coats and fedoras. You feel out of place here, like a sheep amongst wolves or a snake below a flock of hawks.

Eventually you reach the restaurant she had in mind, which is definitely stylish. It has large windows divided by mahogany pillars, from which a golden light leaks out, radiating warmth and an inviting atmosphere. That golden light hangs on the falling raindrops and mist, giving the establishment an almost hallowed mirage around itself. Weiss walks inside, grateful to be out of the rain. She pulls her blazer off while waiting to be served, though her blouse seems just as drenched.

"I should get Myrtenaster the ability to transform into an umbrella," she laments, practically wringing her ponytail like a wet rag.

"A bullet-proof umbrella, maybe."

Weiss hums, as a young but refined waiter arrives, offering to seat you both although warning that the place is busy right now, for obvious reasons. You look around, noting that most people are just as drenched as you and have steaming cups of coffee or hot chocolate on their tables, desperately trying to exorcise the cold.

Weiss still asks to be seated regardless, and he leads you both to a booth by the window. You slide onto the soft, plush chairs, eager to relax your legs. You rest your head on your arm and watch the misty, half-formed world outside.

"I hate this weather," she mutters, still dripping.

"Mhm. It's pouring out there. Very atmospheric, actually. You could have a good detective novel start on a night like this."