RWBY Through Worlds

189: Breaking Down

[Theme song AMV by Batman FanGurl--and was the first time I heard this song. It's awesome.]

Winter kept a close eye on Weiss as they kept going.

Both her and Meridian seemed to grow more peevish with time, and his Semblance did nothing to help, from the look of it.

But there was no outright loss of control.

Winter wondered if they'd overreacted.

But Qrow was still uneasy, especially since they hadn't found anyone else yet.

"I just can't believe they all wouldn't have gotten this far if we did. There were only 4 of us--the odds weren't in our favor," he said.

At least he was talking about numbers and not his Semblance.

"Plus, with my Semblance--" Qrow said, more from habit.

"One more word," Winter warned.

"Okay, but get real, it can't be helping," Qrow said.

"I fail to see how bad luck would make us lost," Winter said, "or how good luck would magically arrange a pathway through this maze. And since you seem to be the least affected by these Grimm, it really doesn't have any bearing on this conservation."

"About that, I can't figure that part out," Qrow said. "They feed off weaknesses, right? There's no way I'm immune to that. But none of them got me completely except the Deimos, and that wasn't just the mind..."

Humility? How disarming.

Winter reminded herself not to say that outloud.

Aloud, she said with a shrug, "Perhaps higher Aura? Schnees don't have that, unfortunately, not inherently. Hazel has also been less affected, and he regenerates fast."

"I guess that could be it," Qrow said thoughtfully. "Hmrf... you're worried about succumbing?"

Winter had hoped it wasn't that obvious.

"Well, after before, I wonder..." she said.

"That doesn't make you a worse person." Qrow seemed to read her mind. "Just seems to depend on other factors... and then, there's the magic..."

"Magic?"

"Well, the Grimm have been after the Maidens as well as the Relics. With all we've learned about them, I wonder if the magic itself makes it worse... I do have the least of it."

Not a pleasant thought.

"But it's also a boost to Aura," Winter said. "Though... that seemed not to help Cinder at all."

"I don't know, it's just a thought."

Winter looked at her hands. "I look forward to this finally being gone."

Qrow looked like he wanted to say something else--and not something upbeat--but before he could decide to do it, Weiss interrupted them.

"Are we getting anywhere yet?" she said. "I'm tired."

She was working Winter's last nerve with this whining--especially since it was just not like Weiss and she wanted to slap her and snap her out of it.

[It's cute that Winter actually thinks that whining is not something Weiss does naturally. But I guess Weiss is usually on her best behavior around Winter.]

Qrow sighed and flew upward to try to get an idea of where they were going.

Winter didn't like to say it, but she was tired also... more so than she'd been in general.