The Remnant Theater (RWBY x Azur Lane)

Burning the Candle

It had been several days since Oscar had last seen land. For a boy raised on a farm in the middle of Anima, the change was unsettling if not frightening. An endless blue surface stretched beyond the horizon, and he could not see the bottom of the sea in the water. The thought of the unknown, of what could be lurking below them understandably frightened the boy.

To that end, Friederich der Große made a point of staying close to Oscar. She offered to give him comfort in the form of a massage with her hands on both his head and back as a means to soothe Oscar. More than once did Frederich, otherwise known as Mutter which was "Mother" in their language, offer to hold him close, feed him and otherwise pamper him like a small child.

On the one hand, it irked Oscar because he was fourteen. On the other hand he could see why she did this since he was still short to the tall woman not to mention she obviously saw herself as the mother figure. Truthfully, Oscar took solace in this comfort. Despite the intimidation shown in her battle rig and her horns, she was surprisingly gentle.

For those acts of kindness, Oscar was glad when she was around. Most of the other Ironblood girls and women made him nervous in different ways, including even Friederich. Bismarck did not need her main weapons to intimidate. Her stoic demeanor alone did that. Even when Frederich claimed she was indifferent to Oscar at worst, Bismarck gave no hints to that. She was a Beast of Steel in her own way.

Then there was Tirpitz. He first met her after Frederich and Eugen left to check on the other girls the first day he was in their company.

"Schwester, wer ist das?" The young woman clad in a uniform white as her hair asked Bismarck in her native tongue when she jumped on board.

"Mutter found die junge war von Grimm Kreatur umgeben." Bismarck answered.

"Ah. Du. Spricht du Deutsch? English?" The other woman asked Oscar neutrally.

"What.... What are you saying?" Oscar asked timidly.

"English then." The woman said. "What is your name?"

"O-Oscar Pine." He stuttered.

"I see. My name is Tirpitz, Schwester to Bismarck. That would be sister in your language."

Now that Oscar had seen the pair side by side, he had noticed a resemblance in their facial complexion. Since then, Tirpitz had been polite, but she was distant. She was easily the most antisocial, even to her sister of whom she interacted with the most.

"Ja. She is known as ze Lone Queen of the North." Prinz Eugen had told him. Eugen, she made Oscar nervous not by demeanor or coldness. No it was that damn teasing! That woman did it to everyone, but she especially enjoyed how flustered Oscar got. For that, he was at least given some measure of sympathy from her sister and Z23.

Admiral Hipper, or Hipper for short, was actually said to be Eugen's older sister. The only reason Oscar could not determine that for certain was because it felt like a role reversal. That and..... well..... Hipper did not exactly look like she was older than Eugen. It probably contributed to her insecurity and temperament. More than once had Oscar been called a "Dummkopf" by her. He supposed that was their word for idiot.

Of the ship girls as he know them as, the one that seemed to have everything in equal measure was a girl about his age that called herself Z23. While she could be temperamental as well, it was usually spurred by Prinz Eugen. Instead, she was more of stern disposition but still showed some sympathy for him.

"I'm sorry that you vere dragged into zis." She had said apologetically. "But Mutter's logic is sound. Vith no train or others to help you, ve had to take you vith us. Ze mission is greater zan one boy."