We do not own RWBY or any other copyright content. All rights to it go to Monty Oum (God rest his soul), VIZ Media, and their original owners. All OCs are owned by us.
Writing credits go to Uzumaki Ricky, Monsterhuntergod, Sharad the hedgehog, and Traines.
Return of the Dragon Warriors
Volume 1 Chapter 6: Schnee Family Dust Up
For the first time in what felt like forever, a year had passed in the Schnee household that moved faster than glacial pace. It was not an easy year however, as it seemed to evolve and weave into new and interesting situations. Like a river folding into a larger one. However, if anyone asked what happened, the evolving family could be split into three factors.
The most visible and chaotic form of change was the ever-growing frame of Silfrdrengr. The first few months he grew rather slowly, simply putting meat on his frame and staying around the size of a small dog. Then, almost instantaneously, he began to grow rapidly. Each day Weiss woke up to find him larger. Each day, he required more chilled food to feed him. Each day, he accidentally broke things or knocked things over. It got to the point where he was forced to remain in the form of a small dog in the house, except those times when Weiss or Klein could take him out to exercise. Despite Weiss frantically looking through the book, she could not find a straight answer on just how fast, or how big, he was going to get. Making her begin the search for more books on the topic of Dragons…
While Weiss and Klein fretted over what to do with the ever-growing goliath in their midst, Whitley had a far more productive year. Most of his time was spent in the grueling clutches of the wolves' den with Sylver. While his family did not get to see him much, only on the weekend breaks Sylver would give him for a satisfactory performance, each time he came back he was noticeably different. The young lad had become a lot fitter, melting away the refined and soft features he had before, instead replaced with weather beaten, hardier edges to him. He stood up straight a lot more, with a silent confidence, and noticeably less formality in his speech. When he spoke of what he did, he spoke of the grueling, downright insane forms of training he had to undertake. Even mentioning a red-caped friend of Sylver's that joined in assisting his training as of late.
When not training, Whitley had taken to artistry as a form of relaxation and venting after difficult training. He found that creating something rather than just destroying allowed him to calm his mind after a long day of demanding work. The form of art he had taken to was sculpting, his favorite form of it being ice sculptures. Something about creating something beautiful from ice was satisfying for him.
Yet, despite these developments, what gripped the house in a state of cold war was the ever-freezing relationship of its masters. Though the two tried at first to stay somewhat civil, Winter, Weiss and Whitley soon got a firsthand look at why their mother took up drinking. Their parents had devolved into arguing about everything, from the most minor preference disagreement to the direction of corporate affairs twenty-five years from now. It left the air in a frigid tension that could be cut with a knife, and both Willow and Jacques were left on a hairpin trigger. Even snapping at those that had nothing to do with the disagreements on occasion. It was clear that eventually, something would snap and give way. And one day, a particularly hot one in the dead of summer, the two familial titans finally clashed.
To the dismay of everyone, the mansion's A/C units shorted out and turned the house into a blistering sauna. Servants did their best to labor under the heat, with Klein having to implement rest breaks to prevent heat stroke while they waited for the repairmen to call back. Weiss and Silfrdrengr sat in lounge chairs, with Weiss having to fan herself, and the tiny "puppy" face first in a bowl of melting ice cubes. Yet she flinched when the thunderous voices of her parents flared up like a wildfire in the next room.
'They're fighting again…' Silfrdrengr groaned into Weiss's mind. His voice had taken on the upper-class flair of Klein's and the tone of Winter and Weiss.
"I know, Silfrdrengr. Just try to endure it, please." Weiss sighed in frustration.
'Why do we? He shouldn't be yelling at her like that!' The dragon asked, confusion and frustration mixing in his voice.
"Because Mother wants us to not get involved unless we truly need to…" Weiss sighed again in response.
'She took up drinking to get away from the man for years! She's not in any right mind to be making decisions on people intervening!' Silfrdrengr snapped, lifting his head from the ice cubes and sending one into the wall where it snapped into a few smaller pieces.
Managing a small smile, Weiss patted him on the head to calm him down. "I know, I know. But she seems to have finally found her resolve to stand against him. I think we should encourage her on this." She replied with a lighter tone to her voice.
'... Can I at least turn into a shorter haired breed? This high-class Pomeranian's coat is too hot for this heat…' The dragon groaned.
"You should have considered that before you chose to be in it in front of Father." Weiss replied teasingly.
"Do you seriously think that you of all people have any leg to stand on in the grounds of morality!?" Came the thunderous, wrathful voice of her father from the other room. Shattering the slight peace of mind that Weiss was trying to maintain.
"More than you do, Jacques! You treat our workers like they are nothing but subhuman garbage while you have them worked to death! But the only subhuman filth I see is the one standing right in front of me with the ridiculous, bushy thirty lien mustache!" Willow's voice snapped back.
Weiss flinched at hearing this. It felt as if daggers were thrust into her heart. However, the curly, fluffy hair on Silfrdrengr's disguised back stood up and with his little legs rushed around the corner to get a better look. Seeing this Weiss followed before scooping the "puppy" up into her arms. Before her stood her parents, sweating profusely with their clothes hanging close, and their faces contorted with wrath and hatred. Seeing it made her sick, and she wanted to do something, anything. But she felt as if she could not or else it would make things worse.
"Without me, you would have been begging on the street after what your father did to destroy his own company! I brought it back, and not just that, I improved it! Look around you Willow! This mansion, that dress you wear, the very ground you walk upon is because of me! Your father chose me for a reason! And if you cannot accept that, then I now understand why your mother fled into the hinterlands!" Hearing that Willow was shocked to her core for what she had just heard. "She couldn't handle the truth of what it means to survive in this world!!" Jacque roared back, taking several steps forward that pushed Willow back close to the wall.
"You leave my parents out of this! This company was getting along perfectly before you wormed your way into my father's good graces to marry into money like the greedy bastard you are! And my mother only divorced my father and left us behind because she saw you for the bastard you truly are! A selfish, self-serving, avaristic, pathetic little man who envies others having what he lacks!" Willow snapped back, staring Jacques down as she pushed him away from her. "The only mistake he ever made was choosing you over my Mother!"
Jacques soon steadied himself and scowled at her. "Oh? So, is that why you sent our son off to the Kaiser's Dogs then? To get back at me? All over a single decision over your Father? I did not think you had it in you to stoop so low." He inquired, which caused several of Willow's forehead veins to burst.
"For your information, Whitley wanted to get away from you and live his life as he sees fit! He wanted to be strong and bond with his sisters, so Winter called in a favor to the heads of the Tenrō! Our children despise you, Jacques! If it were not for you, this family would be not only financially successful, but loved and respected! Not that you would know what that looks like, since you have no love or respect for anyone or anything but yourself and your precious, 'all-mighty' lien!" Willow roared at him.
Silfrdrengr growled at all this, staring at Jacques with fire in his eyes. Weiss tried her best to get him to stop, but it was too late. Jacques and Willow, both noticed them.
"Shut that mutt up, Weiss! He does not belong here!" Jacques snarled at her, causing Silfrdrengr to bark at him furiously.
"You leave him out of this, Father! He's only trying to protect mother and I from you!" Weiss snapped out.
Willow turned to look at Weiss with a forced smile. "Weiss. Please take Silf into the next room with you." She told the Schnee heiress before glaring at Jacques. "I can handle this on my own." She added coldly.
"Yes, Mother…" Weiss nervously said, part of her not wanting to.
"You will do no such thing, Weiss! You will shut that mutt up and sit and watch! This is what happens when you defy me!" Jacques snapped at her.
Weiss gulped at that and looked to her mother for guidance. With a sigh, she gave a relenting nod, and Weiss went to sit down in a nearby chair. Still holding the glaring "pup," with his eyes giving the man the evil eye.
"Now, where were we? Ah, yes! You are sending our son off to the Kaiser's Mutts! You could have chosen literally any of the three Zodiac clans of Atlas to send him to for training! I would have accepted the Beninezumi to turn our son into a proper soldier! Even the Kokutonyagi and their drunk, religious nonsense would have been preferable! Yet you choose the clan predominantly made up of mere beasts!" Jacques roared out.
"It was Whitley's choice to make, Jaques! Not yours! He deserves to take the path he deems will make him happy, free of your manipulative, conniving greed!" Willow snapped back.
"As his father, I decide what makes him happy!" Jacques snapped at her, glaring at her viciously.
"You only get to decide what makes him happy when you actually act like a father, rather than a dictator! You are not half the man my father was, so you do not deserve the respect of being called his father! You are lucky he even calls you 'pops' for how you treat him! Especially after you smashed the ice sculpture he made you for your birthday last week!" Willow roared at him.
"That slob of an ice figure was made by him? I could get a better looking one than that waste of water, off the streets!" Jacques shot back in disgust.
Enraged, Willow raised her hand and slapped Jacques across the face as hard as she could without using Aura. "Well, then maybe you should go back to them!" She snapped at him.
Glaring harshly, Jacques wordlessly raised his hand and backhand slapped Willow across the face. The blow knocked Willow to the ground, sending her to her knees. Seeing this, Weiss had finally had enough as she rushed to Willow's side. Throwing Silf into the seat as she rushed over.
"Mother!" Weiss called out in concern, kneeling to help Willow nurse her cheek before glaring at Jacques as she stood back up. "That is enough, Father! I want you to leave this house right-" She began to say right as Jacques's backhand slapped her just like he did Willow.
"You stay out of this, Weiss! The adults are talking!" Jacques snapped at his daughter.
Before Jacques could utter another word, he felt a rush of freezing wind hit his back. Weiss and Willow looked to see Silfrdrengr's body was encased in a frigid aura, and his eyes began to glow red. Soon his body was engulfed in a prismatic shimmer as rapidly the "pup" took a different shape. The chair was soon crushed under a reptilian, four-digit foot and a limb as thick as an apple tree. Silver scales shimmered into place upon its ever-growing form as two leathery wings sprouted from its back, the white fur from its puppy form disappearing, engulfing the humans in shadow. A fin ridge tail unfurled behind it as a long, serpentine neck raised a fearsome, strongly built head, akin to that of a prehistoric monster. Thick, railroad spike-like teeth snarled at him as the Dragon grabbed Jacques by the shirt and slammed him into the ground.
'Keep your hands off them!!' Came the primeval, guttural roar blasting into Jacques' mind like an explosion as the dragon unfurled its reptilian lips to fully reveal its teeth to the man.
Jacques turned as pale as a sheet. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING!?" He screamed in terror.
'By the time I'm done with you, you will wish you were there!' Silfrdrengr mentally growled, before pinning the man to the ground with him front hand. Talons digging into the marble floor as easily as sand, and Jacque immediately felt pressure on him. Just enough to keep him pinned.
"W-Willow! Weiss! Help!" Jacques called out in a panic.
'You dare ask them for help!? After what you have done!? I should freeze the blood in your veins! Cut your flesh with metal! Tear you apart as you have done to your own family!!' Silfrdrengr roared into Jacques's mind as he slowly added more pressure to the man's chest.
"Silfrdrengr, stop! Please!" Weiss begged, standing up and running up to her Dragon.
The truck-sized Dragon turned his head to look at her. To his surprise, he saw both Weiss and Willow crying, their faces morphed with worry and fear. He cocked his head to the side in confusion at this, but he felt them.
'He hurt you. He's hurt you for years. Why defend him now?' Silf asked, slowly turning to look back at the terrified Jacque.
"Because he is not worth it. He is not worth bloodying your claws over. Please, just… let him go…" Willow pleaded with him.
Silfrdrengr looked at the women, before turning his head to look at Jacques. The man lay under his taloned foot gripped in primordial fear. Sweat, both from the heat and fear, poured off him and pooled on the floor below. Finally, the Dragon relented and released Jacques from his crushing grip.
'I spared you because of them! Remember that!' Silfrdrengr snarled physically and into Jacques' mind.
Trembling, Jacques backed up against the wall. Fear overtaking him as he eyed the Dragon like it was the devil incarnate. Seeing her husband cowered into submission, Willow saw an opportunity. A chance to truly free her family, company, and family name from his tyrannical grip. She then slowly stood up and walked over to him, forcing the man back to his feet and pressing him against the wall.
"I want a divorce, Jacques. I am leaving you. And I intend on taking everything. The children, the house, the company. All of it." Willow sternly told him, leaving no room for argument.
"B-B-But I…" Jacques tried to say, only to see Silfrdrengr's head poke up from behind Willow and let out a deep, guttural, throaty growl at him. The vibrations of which rattled the paintings on the walls. "O-Of c-course… I-I can get a lawyer by the end of today…"
Willow nodded at that. "Good. Now leave. I will set you up with a place to stay for the night, but I want you out of this mansion until then." She sternly told him.
Jacques gave a wordless nod. Under the stern gaze of the now amber eyes of Silfrdrengr, he was not prepared to fight much more. With that, Willow let him go and called for Klein. Without a word, Klein understood the situation and led Jacques towards the door. Willow then nearly fell backwards due to the heat and exertion, only to be caught by Silfrdrengr's head.
'It's okay. I got you.' The dragon calmly said.
Willow smiled and hugged him gently. "Thank you, Silfrdrengr…" She replied, gently petting his snout.
'What are Dragons for?' Silfrdrengr replied as he pulled her into a hug alongside Weiss, holding them closely. Giving them comfort finally after what felt like forever.
Four Months Later: Imperial Atlas Divorce Court
Whitley sighed as he stepped out of the Tenrō-labeled Limousine outside the courthouse. Its grand marbling, decorative vaulting, and painted windows, all meant to give a sense of grandeur and strength to it, fell flat to the boy. Even howling, nipping wind did little to faze him. He wore a light blue suit and pants with white dress shoes, and, most daringly, a red tie.
'Why do I have to be here? I have hardly seen Father this past year.' He thought to himself as he pulled out his scroll. 'I just hope Master understands.
He soon punched in a number on his scroll and waited. It took four rings for the call to finally be picked up, and the voice of Sylver finally came in on the other line.
"Hey, Whitley. What's up?" Sylver's voice asked.
"Hello, Master. Sorry to call on such short notice, but I will not be able to make it to training today. It is the day of the first hearing for my parents' divorce proceedings." Whitley explained.
"That's what you're calling about? It's no big deal. Take as long as you need. Just call me when you're ready to come back to training." Sylver's voice explained, which caused Whitley to sigh in relief. "And what did I tell you about calling me 'Master?'"
Whitley smiled at that. "Right. My apologies, Master." He replied playfully.
Sylver let out a knowing sigh that came through loud and clear through the scroll. "Alright, you little scamp. Get in there and raise hell on your dad." He playfully said.
Whitley chuckled a bit. "I will. Thank you. I will call you back after the hearing is done." He told his mentor.
"Don't worry. I'll have plenty more training lined up for you when you get back." Sylver answered with sickening glee. With that, Whitley ended the call and made his way in. Into a proceeding he did not want to do but knew he needed to do.
To Be Continued…