White Sheep

Chapter 8 - Like Herding Sheep

Argh, this week has been kind of killer, lol. A lot going on at work. Anyway, here's the next chapter, though I wasn't able to get this one to College Fool to look at, sadly.

Beta: College Fool

Cover Art: Kegi Springfield

Chapter 8 – Like Herding Sheep

It was like the aftermath of a bomb going off. Silence hung in the air like a thick shroud, and it clogged their throats so that they couldn't speak. Weiss shook her head in some vain attempt to dispel her partner's words. "That's mad," she whispered, "That's insane. You can't force people to do what you want!"

"Of course you can," Jaune said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "That's what being a leader is all about. Didn't you ask how to make people do what you want?"

"That's not what I meant!" Weiss denied. She looked to Pyrrha and Ruby too, in some desperate attempt to convince them of her sincerity. Pyrrha looked troubled and nervous, but it was Ruby who stared back with wide, open eyes. "I wouldn't do that," Weiss said again, "I wouldn't use force to get what I want!"

"I-I didn't say you would," Ruby stammered.

She stammered, which meant she thought about it, and the fact was enough to make Weiss feel sick. She rounded on her partner. "A leader doesn't rule through fear. That's not how any leader – any employer – should. Leadership is a position of responsibility; it's your job to look after those below you."

"It is," he nodded, "If something goes wrong then those below you die. Mom told me all about that. That's why it's important that they follow your instructions to the letter. That's why it's important they know they can never hesitate or doubt your words."

"But you don't have to make them afraid of what will happen..."

"Don't you?" he asked. "Then what happens if you give an order that would save Ruby's life and she doesn't follow it? What if it's a decision based on information you have but she doesn't – and if she ignores the order, she dies?" He looked to Ruby, who took a step back. "Isn't it better that she be afraid of you than dead?"

"I..." Weiss didn't have an answer.

Was that what it meant to lead? She could remember her father's lessons on the subjects, which coincided so easily with what her partner said. Jacques ruled by fear, though he never struck anyone but his own daughter. He held people's livelihoods over their head, imposing strict targets and deadlines and ensuring that any who failed to meet them were ruthlessly purged from the company. "There can be no mercy, Weiss," he would say, "Give one person an easy time and everyone will think you've gone soft. I don't care if their mother just died; if they can't leave their personal problems at home, they're out of a job."

She didn't want to be like her father.

Weiss looked to Ruby, lost and alone, half-hidden behind Pyrrha, and wondered what she could do to force her will on the girl. She could overpower her physically, perhaps even restrict her ability to talk with her sister – use that as a reward for good behaviour and impose her will on Ruby that way.

Something unpleasant rolled around in her gut.

"There has to be another way," she whispered. "I... I'm not willing to do that."

"Well I suppose there is one other way... mom always says it's not quite as effective, but it's definitely there."

"What is it?" She would take anything at this point.