I do not own RWBY or any of it's characters.
"Haah, this isn't looking good is it Ruby?"
Summer Rose knew that she wasn't going to make it out of this situation alive, and it killed her. Joking to herself, she thought about how that was worse to her than the dozens of beowolves slowly starting to surround her.
Perhaps if she didn't have the extra burden that was currently shivering in fear clutching one of her legs, Summer Rose may have been able to walk away from the coming fight unscathed. However, she knew she would never abandon her Ruby like that, and so she was worried.
Worried about whether or not she would be able to watch her precious rose grow up.
Ruby Rose on the other hand, a mere five year old girl that barely understood what was happening, had much simpler things on her mind. Fear. Which is why it wasn't until the 3rd time her mom had called her name that Ruby managed to move again, and looked up towards her mother.
"Ruby, I want you to get out of here alright? Just run as fast as you can for as long as you can." Her mother told her while still watching the beowolves. "I'll be right behind you, so if you don't see me immediately don't come back for me. I'll definitely catch up."
Flashing her trademark grin at her daughter, Summer gave her thumbs up and said "I promise."
Summer handed off the bag of supplies that she had gathered and tossed it to Ruby. Although Ruby caught the bag, and put it on she still didn't understand what was happening. Looking at her mother, Ruby was still paralyzed by fear.
It wasn't until her mother forcefully grabbed her and threw her a distance away from herself and the beowolves that Ruby's feet started to move.
She ran, and ran, and ran, until she couldn't run anymore and fell face first into the dirt, snot and tears all over her face.
Ruby just laid still, letting herself cry her tears and collect herself. Being allowed to think Ruby understood that her mother had lied to her about being right behind her, and so Ruby could only cry harder.
As the night progressed, and the first glimpses of morning light could be seen, Ruby silently stood up, wiping off the dirt and tears from her face, and started back in the direction she had come.
She did not have the strength to run anymore, so she could only walk and pass the time wrapped up within her own mind... It seemingly trying to protect her from what she knew was going to be waiting for her.
It wasn't until the sun had fully emerged from the horizon, when she finally made it back to where her mom was.
She hadn't been attacked by a beowolf the entire way back, which should have bothered Ruby, but she couldn't think about that fact as she noticed a figure collapsed on the ground in front of her.
Running up to the person she instinctively knew was her mother, Ruby once again felt the urge to cry.
Summer Rose had did it. She had killed all of the beowolves that had overrun her village and threatened her and her daughter. It wasn't without cost though. She had poured quite a bit of her aura into her daughter to protect her from the rest of the forest, and there had been many more beowolves than she had expected.
Still, Summer had done it. Using the full power of her Semblance and then pushing her body to the limit, Summer had managed to kill every beowolf that had appeared, but not without her own fair share of injuries.
She knew that she was dying, but her thoughts were focused solely on Ruby, hoping that her daughter had at least run far enough to reach the next town, and take refuge there.
As she started to feel the sleepiness that marked the end of her life, Summer felt a small, shivering weight fall on top of her, jostling her awake.
She was paralyzed seeing Ruby there, holding on to her mom as best she could, and wanted desperately to tell Ruby to run, to leave her, that she was sorry she wouldn't be able to keep her promise, anything to let her daughter survive, but all she could do was let her tears fall freely.
Ruby understood everything her mom had wanted to say, but she couldn't say anything either, crying because she understood this was the last time she would see her mother.
Slowly, Ruby could feel her mother passing, but she had cried all that she could cry. She knew that she didn't have the power to save her mother, and because her mom had to protect her, she had died.
She hated her lack of strength. Hated that she was a burden that had cost a life, and she would never let herself become such a thing ever again. There were fresh tears flowing down her face, but Ruby now had a fire in her eyes, and woe to those that crossed her path.
What she didn't realize at the time was that there was a massive amount of power swirling around her, fueled by her grief and her rage. Ruby, at the age of five years old, had unlocked her aura, and it was strong. Even if Ruby had noticed she wouldn't have cared. She could only cry for her mom.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Ruby managed to gather herself together.
Ruby knew it was strange, that she had collected herself so quickly after her mother's death, but her mom was a huntress, and she had adopted from a young age the same mindset her mother had. Ruby knew that she couldn't just keep grieving and crying like a little kid, and forced herself to grow up.
To say that Ruby's heart hadn't broken into pieces when her mother died would be a lie, but she knew that she had to survive. She couldn't let her mother's sacrifice be in vain.
Ruby was confident that she could survive this though, as Summer had taken every precaution with her only child, so that by this time Ruby could survive on her own no matter the location or environment.
So Ruby steeled herself. It was hard, and she still cried, but she could do what she needed to now, and that was bury her mother.
Keeping with the things her mother had taught her, Ruby stripped her mother of any useable gear. She kept the strange scythe that her mother had used and loved, and the red cloak that was her mom's signature look. She collected as many bullets as she could for the weapon, but realized she couldn't effectively defend herself with the scythe as it was still too heavy for her.
After checking her mother's body for anything else could use, Ruby set about making a grave.
It was near sunset before Ruby had finished burying her mother. She finished off the crude grave by dragging a large, smooth stone to mark the site.
It was only after she had finished saying her last goodbyes that Ruby's stomach finally let it known how empty it was, but as much as Ruby would have loved to eat something to quiet her crying stomach, she knew that she had to find some kind of shelter first.
Gathering the bag of supplies, Ruby set off from the clearing, hoping to find some kind of shelter before it got too dark to see. Looking back at the grave one last time, Ruby couldn't say anything. It was too painful to talk, and too painful to leave her mother behind.
Ruby let her instincts guide her feet, and hoped that there was someplace to sleep peacefully for the night. She didn't know how long she would be in this forest, but she didn't know where to go to find any other people, so she could only do her best alone.
It wasn't until the day was at the cusp of night before Ruby finally found a promising place. It was a cave, but it seemed naturally hidden and out of sight, Ruby only having managed to find it because she tripped.
She knew that there was a possibility that the cave might already have an occupant or two, but Ruby didn't care. She was exhausted, hungry, and depressed. So, without a second thought Ruby walked into the mouth of the cave.
She didn't immediately hear any snarling or growling, so Ruby set up a makeshift campfire near the mouth of the cave so that the smoke could escape. Deciding to look around now that she had some light, Ruby found that the cave was small, but luckily there were no grimm occupying it.
It even had a pool of water that Ruby could drink from (after testing it first of course). However, there were more pressing things on her mind, and that was food.
She managed to find a few cans of food after rummaging around in the supply bag for a few minutes, but she knew that the little amount of cans she had would not be able to last her. She would have to gather fruits and edible plants, and eventually she would have to hunt.
For now though Ruby was content to open a can of what she presumed were beans and dug into them heartily. After finishing off the can, and preventing herself from opening any more, Ruby washed down the beans with water.
She now had time to think about what she was going to do, and everything that had happened over this short, but incredibly painful day.
Her goal was to eventually find people, and somehow manage to contact the uncle that her mother had always talked about. She thought that maybe he would be a nice person, and take care of her. However, she knew that first and foremost she had to survive, and she couldn't just struggle by to survive. No, Ruby Rose was going to beat this forest, and she was going to thrive off of it as she did it.
Her plans settled, Ruby began to let herself fully grieve for her mother's death as any five year old would. She did remember to stay quiet enough that the local grimm wouldn't give her any problems, but she cried the last of her heart out, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
This marked the day that Summer Rose died, but the day Ruby Rose was truly born.
A/N:
So, there you have it. I honestly didn't know if I wanted to write something like that into the story, as I myself am typically only able to read tragedy like that. It was painful to write, but it needed to be done.
If you guys have any suggestions for me or my writing (that's way too rusty for my liking) please feel free to let me know. I am always happy for any reviews/critiques that you guys have (as long as you don't just simply say "this sucks" at least explain why it does).
Oh, and I'm keeping it T for now. I don't think this chapter crossed M rated territory, but if the story ever does I will hastily change the rating.
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you in the next one.