The Stray

"The Stray" is the fifteenth episode of RWBY, which premiered on the Rooster Teeth website on October 31st, 2013.

Summary
Team RWBY is walking through Vale on Friday during the preparations for the Vytal Festival. On Weiss Schnee's insistence, the team visits the docks. Weiss states that the students from Vacuo are arriving today and claims that she wants to welcome them on the behalf of Beacon Academy, but Blake Belladonna correctly suspects that she merely wants to investigate the competition.

Ruby Rose notices that a nearby Dust store has been vandalized and robbed. According to some detectives from the Vale Police Department, this is the second incident that week. The detectives add that, similar to the previous incident, none of the Lien has been taken, just the Dust. The cops suggest that that the only thing someone would need that much Dust for is an army, and as such, the White Fang could've been the robbers. While talking to her teammates, Weiss agrees with the cops' suspicion of the White Fang, calling them degenerates. This sparks a brief argument between her and Blake, the latter stating that they're simply misguided. Blake eventually claims that the White Fang being the robbers doesn't make sense, regardless. Ruby, agreeing with Blake, suspects Roman Torchwick, due to having seen him attempt a similar robbery, which she successfully foiled.

Weiss then reasserts that Faunus are no good and only know how to lie, cheat, and steal, a statement that greatly angers Blake. Yang points out that she feels that isn't necessarily true. However, the conversation is interrupted by Sun Wukong, who's being chased aboard a docking ship. He jumps onto the docks only to continue being pursued by detectives, and he passes by Blake, whom he winks at. Weiss is led to believe that he is a participant in the tournament and leads her teammates to chase after him.

While following Sun, Weiss literally runs into Penny and watches as Sun begins to parkour into an alley. After an awkward introduction between Team RWBY and Penny, Ruby calls her "friend" off-hand as she and her teammates walk away. Penny, stunned to have been given the label "friend," asks Ruby to confirm their friendship, becoming ecstatic when Ruby says yes. It is then that Team RWBY learns that she is a participant in the upcoming tournament. Following this, Weiss makes more extreme comments about Sun, which further infuriates Blake and soon devolves into an argument between her and Blake, continuing throughout the day and back into their dorm room that night.

When Blake accuses Weiss of being discriminatory, Weiss claims that she is a victim of the White Fang's actions, surprising Blake into silence. She goes on to explain that the organization has been at war with the Schnee Dust Company for as long as she can remember, and its members have killed numerous people she has known. She also states that they are responsible for numerous cases of robbery, with one particular occasion involving an entire train full of Dust being stolen. Furthermore, their actions have infuriated her father on numerous occasions, resulting in a rather rough childhood for Weiss.

Weiss angrily tells Blake that she despises the White Fang because they're liars, thieves, and murderers. Letting her emotions get the best of her, Blake yells that the White Fang, referring to them as "we," were tired of being pushed around, accidentally revealing her identity as not just a Faunus, but also a former member of White Fang. Upon realizing what she has done, Blake panics and runs from the dorm with inhuman speed, stopping when she arrives at the stone statue at the end of the wide walkway. She then proceeds to remove her bow to reveal a pair of cat ears atop her head. Sun, off-camera, states that he knew she would look better without the bow, implying that he knew she was a Faunus.

She is not seen by the rest of her team throughout the remainder of Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile, Blake is seen sitting at a table with Sun at some sort of café in downtown Vale, where she asks Sun if he wants to know more about her.

Trivia

 * When Sun and RWBY meet in slow motion, the same signature sound effect used in the Rooster Teeth show The Slow Mo Guys is heard.
 * The two policemen shown in this episode are voiced by Burnie Burns and Joel Heyman, who also acted as policemen in three Rooster Teeth Shorts, Stronger Tides, Prank King and The Reunion.
 * A slightly modified version of the music from "Wings" can be heard after Blake leaves the group.
 * In the directors' commentary on the DVD/Blu-ray, Miles and Kerry state that the significance of Blake staring at the statue after she runs away is that she wants to be a Huntress, but they slay beasts, the Grimm. So, where does that put her?