White Sheep

Chapter 28

"It probably doesn't help that Weiss' hair dye didn't wash out fully," Nora giggled.

Yeah, not at all. She'd been ranting about that all night, and his automatic comment about it looking nice had earned him both a stink-eye, and a question as to whether he thought she was some kind of brainless bimbo. He'd winced and backed off. Complimenting his sisters always worked when they were upset, but it didn't have the same effect on Weiss.

Well... it was that, or she just hated the colour that much.

"She's ordered some specialist stuff to get it out," he said. "It should arrive tomorrow. At the very least, she'll be back to normal before the dance."

The mention of the upcoming event brought different reactions to the three before him. Blake sighed and slumped a little further over her book, while Nora perked up instantly, eyes sliding to her childhood friend. Ren just sat there and continued reading.

"I've heard about it," he said. "It feels strange to have a dance so early into our stay, but it's a mandatory event, so there's that."

"It sounds annoying," Blake grumbled. "I'm not interested."

"Oh, you're going," Nora said. "It's the perfect chance for the beautiful Blakerfly to spread her wings. I won't accept anything less!"

The Blakerfly in question groaned, but didn't argue. Maybe she just figured it wouldn't make a lick of difference, or she was just resigned to Nora winning out in the end. He sent her a pitying look, even if he didn't understand her reluctance.

He'd never been to a dance before. It sounded interesting.

"Yeah, it does," Remy said. "It will be a good chance for us to make connections, network with potential allies and secure of power base."

"Remy, we're not doing that."

"What? But your Uncle Watts always said that was what formal dances were about."

Yeah, but Uncle Watts was all work and no play, and not quite as cool as his Big Sis. Not that he'd ever say that out loud, since his Uncle would probably slump into a dead faint, and Cinder wouldn't let him live it down. There'd been a similar occurrence once where Jaune had admitted to liking Uncle Hazel's birthday gift more than he had Uncle Tyrian's. Uncle Tyrian had practically burst into tears, and then sulked in a corner for hours. He'd had to coax the man out with hugs, promises to train with him, and kind words. He'd been six at the time, but he'd soon realised it was safest to like everyone's presents equally.

"We're going to dance and have fun," he declared. "Besides, it's like a ball. I know from the stories that those are all about romance."

"Yeah, well good luck convincing the blonde to go with you when she won't even talk to you."

Ugh. Thanks, Remy.

"Hey there!" a voice called to them.

Blake quickly tried to slip behind Ren. "Hide me."

"Hey Blake!" the blonde faunus waved, slipping over to their group with another guy in tow. His eyes lit up the moment he caught sight of Blake, and he moved over to stand next to her. "How you doin'? Haven't seen you for a few days."

"Oh, I'm great," she said. "Thank you for asking... um..."

"Oh yeah, this is my partner and best buddy." He gestured to the blue haired teen next to him, only to blink when there was a curious absence of said person. "Oi, Neptune. Where are you?"