Step By Step (ch2)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR ALL MY PATRONS!

I'm glad to see there are still a couple Schneekos fans out there in spite of canon doing its thing...

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

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												Chapter 2. Desperate Measures

No early morning sunlight fell across her face, but Pyrrha's eyes fluttered open to be greeted with a pale blue canvas, waiting to be painted by the clouds.

She rolled onto her back and took a minute to fight off the clutches of sleep before pushing her pillow against the headboard and sitting upright. Her arms stretched and her back curved as she began to truly wake up, the sleep in her tired eyes being rubbed away by warm hands.

The straps of her sleepwear - not quite a nightgown, not quite a nightie - still clung to her shoulders, the soft rose color contrasting beautifully with the golden ribbon wrapped around the bottom of her chest, matching trim decorating the edges as it clung loosely to her form. The bare skin of her back was warm against the pillow and she placed one hand to the back of her neck, gently massaging any stiffness out with her fingers, mindful not to snag the small bow that tied the upper half together.

Pyrrha blinked a few times and glanced at the three empty beds, slowly registering that she was in fact alone, and understanding the reason she was up so early on a day that had nothing to do with Beacon activities in any way. She felt the familiar tingle in her chest that she had experienced just before she slept and idly pulled her crimson hair over one shoulder, running her fingers through the knots and tangles of the night's rest before she felt awake enough to shower without accidentally using Jaune's bodyspray on her head.

It would be a few minutes, but after a quick glance at her scroll, Pyrrha allowed her body and mind to wake naturally, watching the outside world rise from its slumber just as she had done moments earlier. She hoped that today would be a very good day indeed.

. . .

When she woke, she felt she hadn't rested at all, and realized that was exactly the case. She'd only passed out at dawn, and now it wasn't much later. But when she remembered what she needed to do today, her eyes opened wider.

"Pyrrha… I've got to-"

She pushed herself up, alabaster hair spilling down over her shoulders. Her head felt like it was stuffed beyond capacity with cotton - it was suffocating. She hissed and laid back down for a moment.

/No, no, no! Not today, please!/

She tried resting for another moment, but the migrane never faded. But Weiss was nothing if not stubborn, and she'd been looking forward to this date for days. Not to mention how much trouble and stress she'd gone through last night to make it happen.

She all but forced herself up this time, needing to use the bed for support. Putting a hand to her chest, she felt it pounding unnaturally hard for such a simple task. Even with her cooler aura, the room felt hot, and it took her a minute to finally start walking. She needed to lean on the wall as she headed for the bathroom.

/It'll pass,/ she told herself. /I've just got to walk it off and it'll be gone before long…/

. . .

The floor was pleasantly mild under her feet as she made her way out of bed, casting the sheets aside for the refreshing rush of cool air that tingled her skin and sent a single shiver down her spine.

Birdsong made its way to her ears, muffled by the windows and yet still bringing a smile to her face. Her scarlet hair rested over her shoulder as she re-made her bed, tucking the sheets back beneath the mattress and gently pulling the quilt back up to meet the pillow, gliding her hands over the surface to push out any lumps in the stuffing.

With a satisfied sigh, Pyrrha moved to the opposite side of the bed to check her scroll for any messages. Finding no new ones, she assumed that she would receive a notification about the nature of her date with Weiss in the next half-hour or so. Enough time to shower and truly wake up, and enough time to throw on a shirt and some jeans to get breakfast - she could always change to be more presentable a little later.

Sweeping up her previous underwear and lightly tossing it into the 'used' basket - marked pink so there were no "smelly boxers" mixed up with the girls' - Pyrrha pushed the bathroom door open and stifled a gasp at the cold - no, freezing - tiles against her skin. Maybe the shower would be a little warmer than usual this time.

. . .

Weiss hoped a cool shower would help fight the heat that was coursing through her. She needed to lean against the sink as she disrobed, refusing to look at the mirror behind her, scared of what kind of condition she'd truly find herself to be in.

Her stomach yowled as she started the water and stepped in, shivering violently at the initial cold. She slumped against the wall, waiting for the throbs in her head to die away, but found they never did.

The water served to dissolve the feverish heat that had overcome her, but the exhaustion remained. She moved lethargically, and it took much longer to wash her hair and body than it should have. She closed her eyes for a moment, watching colored blotches dance across the backs of her eyelids. She reopened them to find the dizzying spots lingered.

It was a miracle she didn't fall stepping out, and the process of dressing was painstaking. She'd neglected to bring a fresh change of clothes, so she settled for slipping back into her nightgown for now, at least until she could make it to her drawers again.

If she could make it that far.

With every passing second, the prospect seemed further and further from her capabilities.

. . .

Pyrrha's showers rarely took longer than fifteen minutes; she preferred to enjoy the rush of sensations as they came rather than lounge in the heat, and today was no different.

She had folded her nightwear in half and placed it on the sink, turned on the shower at a temperature nestled between mild and warm, washed herself quickly and methodically, and was in the process of massaging shampoo into her temples, her eyes closed and a contented smile on her lips.

The water ceased to flow after a short while and Pyrrha remained stationary in the shower for a few moments, listening to the droplets patter against the floor and feeling them trickle down her skin. A hand reached for the nearest towel, color coordinated to avoid mixups and she stepped out onto the floor, rubbing the red cloth against her hair. She moved down her body efficiently, drying off her skin and ensuring she wouldn't leave a trail of water back to the dorm.

Satisfied that she was done in the bathroom, Pyrrha checked herself once over in the mirror for any potential embarrassments and walked back to 'her' corner, picking up the clothes she had laid out the night before and dressing herself simply while humming a spontaneous tune. She would wrap her hair into her ponytail and head to the cafeteria for breakfast, and check her scroll once she returned.

. . .

It was a slow and painful process simply to cross the room. Each step sent a small shock of pain up through her body right to her skull, and Weiss didn't even bother going toward her drawers; she knew she wouldn't be able to dress herself in this condition.

Perhaps if she just rested another few minutes…

She limped to her bed and sat down heavily, bringing a hand to her face. She still felt excessively hot, but the dampness from her wet hair seeped into her back and caused her to shiver. Weiss realized she hadn't even brought her towel with her, and to go get one would mean venturing back to the bathroom; she knew for a fact she wouldn't make it without collapsing.

Weiss shivered again, hugging herself as she looked toward her scroll. A small whimper worked its way up her throat, not wanting to have to message her friend and cancel plans unless it was an absolute last resort.

/Right. I was going to rest a bit and see if it does anything to help…/

She swayed a bit, head and chest still pounding. Weiss closed her eyes and fell back onto the bed almost against her will, and her conscious left her far too quickly to be considered anything other than blacking out.

. . .

The winding maze of Beacon's halls were empty, save one teacher, who greeted Pyrrha with a smile as she gave a polite "Good morning". It was the only encounter she had on her way to the dining hall. That too, was practically deserted, a handful of students strewn across the tables being the only other signs of life.

The cafeteria was "self-serve" during the summer break, so Pyrrha took her time deciding on what to eat. Fifteen minutes of thought led to a further fifteen of self-indulgence, seating herself against one of the many windows lining each side of the building and dipping a spoon into many, many layers of ice-cream.

Normally she would have reprimanded herself for choosing a dessert as her first meal, but one day of treating herself couldn't hurt, and so her mouth never stopped curving upwards as she reveled in the taste, suppressing the urge to kick her legs under the table like she had done ten years ago.

The sun beamed through the glass as Pyrrha ate, and her thoughts bounced between the delectable food in front of her and the coming day. More specifically, the first time ever that she would be able to spend an entire day with Weiss as just the two of them. No interruptions, no accidents, just two friends having a grand time together.

The tingling in her chest was back and she started on the remaining ice-cream with zeal, itching to get back to the dorm to check her scroll for any news.

. . .

When she regained consciousness, Weiss realized she'd passed out, but didn't know for how long. She was lying on her side, her legs still off the side of the bed, and when she tried pushing herself up, her torso throbbed in vehement protest. She winced and stopped trying to sit up, instead reaching out for her scroll on the bedside table.

There were no new messages, but she knew she should at the very least send one to Pyrrha to cancel today's plans. She felt the tears of frustration welling up all over again, and knew her fever probably wasn't helping with her state of mind.

Her fingers tapped shakily over the buttons, and she checked and double-checked that she'd selected Pyrrha's name and not one of her teammates. Her hands trembled as she typed out a message:

Pyrrha, I need you to forgive me, but I've got to cancel today's plans. I'm so sorry.

That was what she'd intended to write anyway. But the heiress only managed to type a bit of it out before a shudder ran through her and her eyes closed on her once more.

She just barely managed to hit the Send button before she passed out once again, and the shortened message went out:

Pyrrha, I need you

. . .

In the same way her journey there was uneventful, the walk back to her dorm was just as dull. Not that Pyrrha minded of course; her mood was lifted more than usual and it only seemed to get better, a slight spring finding its way into her step when she had a corridor to herself.

She happily pushed the door open and let it close behind her, almost immediately catching the flashing light on her bedside table. Her heart skipped a beat as she practically sprung over, hoping that it was exactly what she thought it was.

Pyrrha sat on her bed and held the scroll on her lap, tapping the envelope icon on the screen, her eyes lighting up at the (1) highlighted next to it. Sure enough, at the very top of all her messages was an untitled one from Weiss. She didn't even think anything of the lack of a subject, and opened it with an even larger smile on her face.

A smile which faded the instant she read what was inside.

The excitement in her chest was rapidly replaced with an unsettling feeling she couldn't quite place, and her brows fell in puzzlement. She shouldn't jump to conclusions, but the urge to go as soon as possible was stronger than her rational thought.

Pyrrha wasted no time. She folded her scroll and held it close, her stride carrying her to RWBY's dorm room door in seconds. She caught herself seconds before opening it forcefully, instead rapping her knuckles on the surface gently. She waited a few seconds before speaking, keeping her voice loud enough for Weiss to hear, but low enough to avoid showing her rapidly-growing worry.

"Weiss? Is everything okay?"

. . .

Her mind was swirling, the colors behind her eyes a mash of dizzying spots. She heard and felt every beat of her heart ringing in her ears, causing her head to ache even more than it already was. She was somewhere on the border of consciousness when she heard a tapping sound, and she knew it was coming from the door.

At the sound of Pyrrha's voice, Weiss grew confused and then frightened. She'd sent a message to cancel plans with her friend, hadn't she? So why did Pyrrha feel the need to come see her anyway?

Weiss feared she'd be yelled at, all rationality gone from her mind in her delirious state. What if Pyrrha was mad at her now? What if Weiss had truly upset her with all of this?

Before she could think of what to do, she felt a miserable sob work its way up her throat. She tried to push herself up, but only ended up collapsing back onto her side, blinking tightly to force out the tears. They rolled over her nose and across her cheeks, seeping into the bedsheets only to be followed by more just seconds afterward.

"Pyrrha…" Her voice was soft and cracked, and she knew she couldn't hear her like this. Weiss closed her eyes and curled in on herself, mumbling apologies. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad…"

. . .

In many ways, the silence should have been soothing. Perhaps Weiss was just tired or asleep, or maybe she was in the bathroom and unable to hear.

But instead, it only served to agitate Pyrrha's nerves even more. Something wasn't right about the way she had received such a short message, especially given how urgently she had responded to it. Her impulsive side was willing her to break the door as soon as possible to make sure that everything was okay, but she knew that if Weiss was perfectly fine, such an action would be both embarrassing and difficult to explain.

Pyrrha tried again, a little louder in both knocks and voice.

"Are you there? I received your message. Did you need me for something?"

It was hard to keep her tone calm and level with her head swarming with worries and potential scenarios, and it took a lot of willpower to resist banging on the door with her fist and shouting for her friend. She grasped the handle with one shaky hand and tested it, but it gave her little movement. Locked.

She was trying to keep calm and think logically but there was no arguing with her gut feeling, and her instincts told her something was very wrong indeed.

. . .

Weiss laid there helplessly for a few minutes, panting for breath as she buried her face in the sheets in an effort to wipe the tears away. But the action only served to smear them, and more tumbled down. She sniffed, but the breath hitched and caused her to cough, and an ache shot up her throat instantly.

She could hear Pyrrha talking, but her voice was muffled by the pounding in Weiss' head. She couldn't make sense of any of it.

But she felt she should at least go to the door and give her friend a proper explanation for all of this.

Weiss used all the force left in her body to push herself up, clinging to the bed for support. Tears dripped down to the floor, heavy and bitter, weighted with her regret. She managed a few steps, bound for the door, trembling.

But she felt the strength leave her body, and she stumbled, falling softly forward onto her hands and knees, a short cry of pain escaping her lips.

"Ow-"

Weiss whimpered and tried to swallow, tried to breathe past the stifling heat and shuddering shivers that contrasted one another. Nothing felt right inside of her, and her chest was pounding chaotically.

It was a long moment of fear and pain, drowning in that stress and sickness; she didn't know if she'd be able to get past it.

. . .

Pyrrha froze.

She was used to listening for the slightest things - it came naturally with training and combat - but this was still imminent danger.

She had heard a thud. Muffled by the door, but certainly real.

And then there was a cry.

It was the only explanation Pyrrha needed.

She just had to hope Ozpin would understand the reasoning for the property damages she was about to cause.

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A/N: Gah this was another one of those 'if I didn't break up this part here then this chapter would be ridiculously long so I just had to find the best 'break' in events so I could make the chapter lengths consistent.' Sorry about that. 2 chapters in and the characters haven't even seen each other yet.