Ruby Rose had been having a bad feeling forming in her gut ever since the headmaster announced that all of the new initiates would be launched into the emerald forest, a known Grimm-combat zone, and it only got worse when he explained how they were determining teams for this year, as she worried about the safety of whoever might get paired up with her.
"At least Yang knows about my...condition, albeit unintentionally, so she knows how to deal with it," Ruby grumbled under her breath as she ducked through the underbrush of the heavily wooded forest, trying to avoid catching her cloak on a low branch or stepping on any dry sticks in case she alerted some nearby grimm to her presence.
She didn't even want to begin thinking about how difficult it would be to explain her situation to someone else, considering that Yang's reaction to her news had been relatively extreme, even nearly devolving into violence on her little sister, until her uncle had managed to talk the blonde-haired girl down and asked for Ruby to explain the whole story to the pair. Her stomach had been doing flips throughout the entire story, but somehow she had managed to avoid losing her cookies as she recounted the truly scarring experience.
Now though, the only options the respectfully intelligent 15-year could see didn't exactly fill her with confidence. In a school full of hunters-to-be, her particular situation could be considered an affliction punishable by death, and she had already been surprised that the headmaster still allowed her to come to beacon to try out after he got in contact with her uncle and the man explained her full story to him, though she didn't miss the minor lifting of the black-haired man's eyebrow as he took a sip from his mug as he listened.
So really all she could do was either manage to meet up with yang and get paired with her big sister to at least get some manner of protection from the rest of the school, try desperately to avoid revealing her secret to her new partner, or pull out from the school and see if she could gain an apprenticeship under a licensed huntsman and finish her training that way, all without slipping up and revealing her secret.
Considering how honest she could be, she didn't really expect that she could keep a secret like that for the next four years, especially when she would have to live together with her new partner, and whoever else was put onto their team, however that was going to be decided at the end of this trial by fire.
Ruby scuffed her boot across the ground in annoyance as she continued walking, hoping against hope that she would either run into her sister, or some grimm, and manage to miraculously avoid everyone else that was in the forest.
Her chances weren't exactly great, given her luck.
Of course, just as she stumbled through another bush, she came face to face with the last girl she would have ever wanted to see, who recoiled in horror at the sight of a red-haired blob come flying at her suddenly, and Ruby had to believe that it was only thanks to her reflexes that saved her from being launched backwards through the forest by the white glowing glyph that suddenly appeared beneath her feet, which she only just managed to throw herself out of the way of.
Nearly injuring Ruby didn't seem to stop Weiss Schnee from launching into an animated rant against the black-haired girl, of course blaming her for the entire ordeal, "honestly, not you again! Can't I even finish this simple mission without you getting in my way?"
"It's nice to see you too, snow angel," Ruby muttered dryly with a wry smirk upon her face, and was thankful that it seemed Weiss hadn't heard her use of Jaune's lame nickname for her, as Ruby was sure it would have only further incited the white-haired girl's temper.
"Wait a second..." Weiss paused, her back to the younger girl as she had begun pacing around the clearing in what Ruby could only assume was an attempt at working out her anger, before the white-haired girl rounded back on Ruby, making her squeak childishly at the burning glare aimed in her direction, which made Ruby suddenly remember what the professors had said about how they were determining partners for this year.
"You?" the white haired girl screeched, and Ruby noted that the trees emptied of birds at the sharp tone, the sky filling up with black as they all attempted to get away from the noise that disturbed them, though this reminded the girl of the bird that had gotten caught in her cloak, but she managed to brush that off, since she had a much bigger concern at the moment, a fuming heiress that only seemed to expect the best, and was currently ranting as such, "If anything I wanted to get Pyrrha, or at least that Blake girl, not this child!" She complained loudly, making Ruby wince at her sharp words.
"Hey, being paired up with you isn't exactly my first choice either princess!" Ruby retorted sharply, finally lifting herself back onto her feet and dusting off her combat skirt with some annoyance, before making sure her weapon was still attached to her belt, "If I could have had it my way I would be paired up with my big sister, and we would already be on our way to the relics on the other side of the forest."
"Don't you start with me you child," Weiss snapped back, pointing a finger accusingly at the younger girl, who shrunk back nervously, unsure of what exactly an enraged heiress could potentially do to her with the correct prodding, so she instead decided to keep quiet and hopefully let Weiss burn herself out before they began to make their way to the old temple that the headmaster had explained was their destination.
"Fine, I suppose that for now we will simply have to suck it up and you'll have to do your best not to get in my way," The older girl muttered, though Ruby's enhanced hearing caught it, making her bristle slightly, "but once we are out of this forest I intend to go to the headmaster and submit a formal complaint about this, and attempt to get a new, less pathetic team mate," Weiss explained to her, and Ruby had to try hard to bite her tongue and avoid defending herself, knowing that it could be all the tinder needed to reignite Weiss's temper.
Marching silently behind the older girl as she took point, seemingly confident in her directions, Ruby's eyes trailed up to the sky, trying to gauge what time it might be, and how much longer it might take to get to the temple, and from there to retrace their steps back to the cliff side.
She didn't want to be stuck in this forest once night fell, especially with Weiss around. There were things far more dangerous than the creatures of grimm that came out once the moon and stars appeared, and the faster they got this done, the faster she might be able to meet up with her sister.
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"We're lost, aren't we?" Ruby asked, sitting upon a tree stump in the clearing they had passed at least three times by now, as the sun continued to steadily cross the sky overhead, causing the younger girl's pulse to quicken slightly, though she did her best to hide her nerves from her unwilling team mate by covering it with an air of indifference.
"Of course we're not lost you dolt, I simply got myself slightly turned around, when you nearly crashed into me earlier, and now I need to regain my footing by getting to higher ground and recalculating our path," The white-haired girl snapped back, allowing Ruby to add another item to the list of things not to say to Weiss Schnee 'Don't accuse her of not knowing where she's going.'
Suddenly Ruby doubled over as a sharp pain ignited in her chest, feeling as though someone had driven a knife into her stomach, and she had to bite her lip hard enough to draw blood to avoid crying out and alerting the other girl to her discomfort. She refused to give the heiress the satisfaction of knowing there was something wrong with her, and she was sure that the girl would lord it over her just like she had been ever since they met up.
Thankfully the pain passed relatively quickly, and she managed to straighten up before Weiss returned her attention to her partner, though she did give her an odd look, like she knew that something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it, before turning away on her heel and stalking over to a nearby tree, another white glyph forming underneath her feet.
"Stay here you dolt, I'll only be a few minutes while I try to find some landmarks, and perhaps spot the temple so we can get out of here faster," Weiss said in a clipped tone, before her glyph activated, and launched the slim girl skyward, up into the trees and out of Ruby's sight.
The younger girl finally got a chance to release the breath she had been holding ever since Weiss returned her attention to her, just as another sharp spike of pain erupted in her gut, and she released a low groan as her body warned her that her time was running out quickly. Managing to lift her eyes up into the sky, she felt herself beginning to sweat as she noticed the pale oranges and purples that signified it was late afternoon or early evening, and that the sun was probably already setting.
'No, I need more time, we haven't even gotten to the temple yet, and I know how Weiss will react if she sees me,' Ruby thought, before another burst of pain made her fall from her makeshift seat, and she writhed on the soft forest floor as it felt like her insides were being rearranged while someone prodded at them with a knife repeatedly.
Gritting her teeth, the girl managed to force herself back into a kneeling position, and from there found the strength to get back onto shaky legs, one hand still holding her abused stomach, but she was able to push the pain to the back of her mind for now as Weiss came back down, landing with nearly no sound except for some cracking branches.
"Well, the good news is that we aren't as far from the temple as I thought we would be, and that my directions were accurate, as I knew they were," The girl added in a snide tone, making Ruby have to bite her lip again to avoid launching an acidic comment back at her, "The bad news is that it's going to be night soon, and I don't think we'll be able to make it to the temple and back to the cliffs before it's too dark to see in this forest."
"I also don't think that it's a wise idea to travel through the forest at night, especially since the grimm tend to be most active at this time, and I'd rather neither of us ended up dead or eaten before we have a chance to get back to beacon," The white-haired girl continued, and for a moment Ruby thought that this meant Weiss might be beginning to warm up to her, before a darker part of her mind reminded her it was more likely that Weiss didn't want to risk her own neck, and didn't give a Beowulf's bottom to her well-being.
"Come on, I saw a cave not far from here where we'll be able to set up a makeshift shelter for the night, and it should be easily defended between the two of us," Weiss explained, before beginning to walk away again without checking to see if her partner was following, though Ruby was more than eager to get to this supposed cave and hopefully off of her feet for a time, as her stomach was still doing flips. It took a monumental effort for her to put one foot in front of the other as she followed the commanding heiress, but didn't say a word in protest of the strict pace the girl was setting.
By the time the pair reached the cave, Ruby's stomach pains had only become worse, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to hide it from her partner, though she still grit her teeth and tried to play it off, knowing that if worse came to worse and the heiress noticed, there was one sure-fire, if not unpleasant way to play off her symptoms, though she knew it would leave her a blushing, stuttering mess for a time.
What the girl's didn't expect to find was a blonde-haired girl to come flying out of the cave and barrel over the smaller of the two girls, and pull her into a bone-liquefying hug that left Ruby's lungs crying out for air, "Ruby, you're okay!" Yang cried in obvious relief, squeezing all of the life out of her little sister.
"Yang, I know that you are rather exuberant, but could you perhaps avoid choking the life out of another student, especially one whom I might add, is your sister?" A far calmer voice asked, catching Weiss and Ruby's attention, as the black-haired girl looked over her sister's shoulder and through her stick and leaf filled mane to see the last member of their little group, Blake Belladonna.
Ruby caught Weiss mutter in annoyance, "Of course, not just the two sisters, but the girl that insulted me as well. I must have done something absolutely horrible in a previous life to deserve this," But Ruby brushed that off for now as she was finally dropped back onto her feet, and got a chance to look up at her big sister.
Besides her hair looking more than a bit unkempt, there were some scratches on Yang's skin, and some tears in her clothes, as well as what Ruby thought might be blood, but she was sure it wasn't her sisters, so she instead changed the subject and finally asked an important question, "What are you two doing here?"
Yang grinned wide and sauntered over to her partner, before pulling the black-haired girl into a one-armed hug, smiling at her little sister, "Blakey and I have been making a steady pace to the temple, with her occasionally climbing trees to correct our course, but we've been finding heavy opposition by the creatures of grimm, so once she realized it was going to be dark soon we decided to call it a night and found this cave, which was thankfully barren of any grimm," The blonde explained.
"I would assume that you both have also come to the same conclusion judging by your presence, and I'm sure all four of us can stay in this cave tonight, and then head out to the temple tomorrow morning as a group," Blake spoke up sensibly, "You know that there is strength in numbers, and considering what we have been facing so far a pair of extra hands wouldn't hurt."
Ruby noticed out of the corner of her eye that it almost looked like Weiss was prepared to turn down the girl's offer, but the younger finally stood up for herself and spoke before Weiss got the chance to be rude to the other team, "We would love to share this cave tonight, as long as you both don't mind up?"
"Of course we wouldn't mind little sister," Yang said with a grin, suddenly appearing beside Ruby and pulling her into a hug, using her other hand to ruffle her sister's short hair teasingly, making Ruby groan in playful annoyance and try to push her brute of a sister away from her with little success.
"Oh fine," Weiss said reluctantly, looking away from the group of goofballs she had been stuck with for the night, "I suppose having another set of eyes to watch my back that don't belong to that dunce will be useful."
That was obviously the wrong thing to say, as Ruby was suddenly pushed behind Yang, whose flaming aura had ignited, and a wave of heat was brushing up against the younger girl's skin as the now red-eyed blonde glared at the heiress, "What did you just say about my sister you stuck up little rich girl?" The blonde growled at her, and Ruby shouldn't have been amused to see Weiss take a step back from the sudden change in Yang's personality.
"You must have been hearing things, I said nothing," Weiss said, turning away from the seething blonde with a dismissive huff and stalking over tot he cave they would be sharing, brushing past Blake with not even a word of apology as she brushed shoulders with the girl, "I'll take the last watch before daybreak, so decide between yourselves who is going to stand guard for the rest of the night," She announced with a wave of her hand.
"Stuck-up little," Yang trailed off with a growl as her aura settled down for the moment, before she turned back to her younger sister, looking serious all of a sudden, causing Ruby to swallow nervously in an attempt at moistening her dry throat.
Pulling the younger girl in close in a way she hoped looked like only a hug from where Blake was still standing watching the pair, Yang leaned into Ruby's ear, and she could feel the blonde's breath tickling her skin, though the girl's question made her blood run cold as she reminded her of the oncoming danger, "have you been having any reactions yet?"
Ruby, who couldn't trust her voice at this moment, found herself only able to nod to her sister's question, and by looking down, she saw Yang's eyes were wide with concern and barely restrained fear, but she firmly pushed those emotions away as she gripped her sister by the shoulders and stared down into her eyes, "don't worry, everything is going to be okay Rubes, I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you."
"It's not them hurting me that I'm worried about," Ruby replied in a weak voice, and she knew Yang was aware of what her real concern was, but the blonde chose to ignore it for now, and instead pulled her little sister close again, before spinning the pair around to face Blake, who was still watching the two sisters curiously. Ruby almost thought that she saw the girl's bow twitch like a pair of cat ears as one of her eyebrows rose in curiosity at what the girls had been talking about, but once they approached the girl didn't ask any questions about the matter, and it seemed to be dropped for now.
And the sun continued to sink below the horizon, as the sky turned a darker purple and blue, and Ruby's time began to run out.
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Ruby tossed and turned on the cold dirt in the cave, trying desperately to get to sleep and hopefully ride out the pain even as night set in, and Yang and Blake sat outside of the cave, taking the first watch of the night as they got to know each other better, her older sister insisting that she take the second watch with Weiss, finding a suitable excuse for Blake that since she was younger, she needed to get at least some sleep.
Unfortunately sleep refused to come to her, and Ruby could feel the pain returning full force, like massive contractions in her stomach that were beginning to expand out to the rest of her body, it's final warning before the changes began, but she did her best to hold it back for as long as she could.
All too late she realized, there was no holding it back, as her eyes snapped open, now a murderous blood red instead of their usual soft silver, while her nails began to lengthen and become sharper.
Groaning in pain as she tried to keep a hold of at least her thoughts, that turned out to be a losing battle as well, as her muscles flexed beneath her dress, thankfully not ripping the stretchy material, before settling back into her normal frame, though her nails were beginning to better resemble claws, made for rending through soft, yielding flesh.
Running her tongue over them, she felt her teeth becoming sharp fangs, made to bite into prey without resistance, as she only just managed to fumble with the clasps of her cloak and shrug it off of her shoulders. Somehow even with her unwieldly claws, she managed to unhook her belt as well, and Crescent Rose fell to the ground with a dull thump that she was thankful didn't wake her impromptu partner.
Knowing now her time was up, she made a mad dash for the entrance of the cave, forgetting for a moment that both Yang, and more alarmingly Blake, were right outside, keeping a watch for any grimm that might think the four girls easy prey.
Leaping out of the darkness of the cave, Ruby nearly landed on the fire the two girls had set up to fight off the slightly cool chill of the night, startling both girls into standing positions as they drew their weapons, believing that they were under attack.
Yang was of course the first to recover her senses once she caught sight of their guest, and had to bite back a cry as she saw her younger sister, bent over on all fours, her claws digging into the soft dirt as she growled at the pair, showing off fangs meant for a predator.
Blake had no such reservations, and though she paused at the sight of what could only be Ruby, judging by the girl's remaining clothing, it still looked like a threat to her, and the girl drew gambol shroud to protect herself and possibly destroy this monster if it made a threatening move against her.
Growling again, Ruby began to charge at the black-haired girl that was holding a weapon at her, thinking that she was going to attack first, and Blake's nerves grew, beginning to charge at the much smaller but faster creature that Ruby had become, now that she had signalled herself a threat.
What neither girl saw in their tunnel vision was Yang come flying between the pair, using the Gauntlet on one of her hands to block gambol shroud's blade, while her other hand crashed into Ruby's forehead, causing the girl to stumble out of her charge and go sliding past the two girl's harmlessly, slightly dizzied but uninjured for the moment.
Turning her attention from the new threat Ruby had turned out to be to her partner, Blake shot Yang an incredulous look for her defending such a monster, but stopped short when she noticed the pure anguish reflected in the blonde's eyes. Stopping to catch her breath, the Faunus girl managed to find her voice and ask, "Yang, what's going on? what happened to Ruby?"
For a moment she didn't think that the blonde was going to answer her, as she kept her eyes focused on her little sister, who was still laying on her side in the dirt. Once she was sure Ruby was at least stunned for now and no longer going to be a threat, Yang turned her attention back onto her partner with a pair of tired eyes that looked older than they should, "That is the result of an attack when Ruby was a child."
"What could possibly do something like that to such a sweet and innocent girl?" Blake couldn't fathom anything short of a mad experiment gone wrong causing a reaction like that, but she hoped Yang had the answers she was looking for in order to be able to understand all of this, and that she would be willing to share them with her new partner.
Yang looked away for a moment, hurt flashing across her face, before she returned her attention to her partner with a cold look, and began to explain, "When we were both very young, Ruby often liked to go wandering through the woods around our place on patch island, and Dad and I never thought much of it, because patch was deemed a safe place from the creatures of grimm."
Blake could already tell where this story might be going, and her stomach did a flip as she continued to listen to Yang's story with barely restrained horror.
"Ruby was out in the woods when it happened, and to this day no one knows how one got through, but suddenly she was attacked by a large Beowulf, my uncle later identified it as a former alpha looking for a new pack, and it got the drop on her." Yang gave a dark chuckle, "I think Ruby was only eight at the time, and stood no chance against the damn thing. If not for dad hearing her scream before she lost consciousness, she probably would have died that day, and the grimm would have gotten away with it."
"Dad and I rushed to where we had heard Ruby's scream, and caught sight of the largest Beowulf I have probably ever seen standing over her, a large bite taken out of Ruby's arm. It's a small miracle that she didn't lose the arm, and I don't think anyone other than a fully licensed hunter could have stood a chance against that Beowulf."
"After pushing me behind him, since I was only ten and had just started my training with him and my uncle, dad charged at the Beowulf, and I have to believe now it was only because it was distracted by Ruby that allowed dad to finish it off in one blow. I don't know how long the fight might have taken, or who would have won if he hadn't gotten that good first strike in."
"Once I was sure that the Beowulf was down I rushed over to Ruby and began going over some of the first aid training that I remembered being taught, but Ruby was bleeding too heavily for me to do much when I didn't have any kind of supplies with me, and even tearing off parts of my skirt and applying pressure wasn't stopping the bleeding enough."
Blake could see that moment still haunted Yang, as her eyes were glassy as she continued to tell her horror story to her partner, both girls having forgotten about Ruby's presence for the moment, as the girl was still reeling from Yang's attack.
"Dad thankfully pulled me away and began to apply his aura to Ruby's wound, and it slowly closed, but it seemed like it was resisting his healing at the time, as it kept oozing out blood even as it was healing. Once he deemed it safe enough to transport her, dad lifted up Ruby and we went home, then he got in contact with our uncle and led a team of hunters around the island to try and sniff out any other Beowolves that might have slipped into the forests unnoticed."
"As for Ruby, she was unconscious for three days, and ran a high fever, but I managed to take care of all of her needs in the mean time, and finally she woke up, and gave me one of her big smiles," Yang laughed as her eyes were filled with tears as she recalled seeing her little sister wake up after such a harrowing experience, and ask her for some cookies.
"After that dad and our Uncle began to train us harder, wanting to make sure something like this didn't happen again, and uncle pulled Ruby aside to begin crafting her weapon, which would later become Crescent Rose mark 1."
"What does that have to do with her strange transformation?" Blake asked in confusion, not making the connection between a beowolf attack and Ruby seemingly becoming a monster.
Yang took a deep breath before she continued her story, "It was about a week after the accident that it finally happened. Ruby and I shared a room, so I was always being woken up by her in the middle of the night tossing and turning, but I didn't mind that much since she was my little sister, and it was to be expected," Yang admitted with a small smile, "unfortunately that night it wasn't just Ruby's normal problems with getting to sleep, it was something much worse."
"When I turned over to tell Ruby to stop fussing and get to sleep, I caught sight of her bent over on her bed, groaning in pain as her muscles looked like they were flexing and contracting under her skin," Yang explained, "It was really kind of gross at the time, but I pushed the thought aside because my little sister seemed to be in pain, so I jumped from my bed and hurried over, hoping to find a way to help her."
"I had to watch as her nails became claws, her teeth became sharp like a Beowolves, and her hair grew longer and longer, until it fell down past her butt. She ended up ruining her mattress and sheets during her first transformation, and when she turned to look at me her eyes were full of bloodlust. I was understandably afraid."
"Thankfully she seemed to manage to hold onto some manner of control, since she pushed herself away from me and tried to hide against the wall, wanting to keep from hurting me, I think. At that point I called in dad, and he was more than a bit shocked when he caught sight of his little girl looking like a cross between a human and a Faunus."
"Luckily for us her bloodlust hadn't fully set in, or she probably would have hurt me instead of shying away, and it gave dad a chance to get a good look at her and try to figure out what had happened, before he went to call our uncle. Meanwhile, he told me to be careful and not make any sudden movements around Ruby, but watch over her to make sure she didn't hurt herself."
"So what did they figure out?" Blake asked, cursing her dry mouth as she listened to this unwinding horror story.
"They believe that when the beowolf bit Ruby, it did something to her DNA that caused a sort of mutation. As everyone knows, Beowolves have an unnatural connection to the night and the moon, and it seemed like whenever the moon grew more full, the more feral Ruby became, though it also seemed like it didn't always activate at night."
"What do you mean by more feral?" Blake inquired, dreading the answer.
"On the night of the full moon, Ruby's form completely changed for the first time," Yang stated, her eyes haunted by the old memory, "her skin became completely pale white, like a beowolf's armour, her hair once again grew long and shaggy, and her body became thin and gangly, like a teenager going through puberty. She looked more like a wild beast than my little sister, and if I hadn't already been recognized as safe by her, then she probably would have attacked me right there. Instead she ended up crashing out through the window, and disappearing into the forest."
"I was quick to go and get dad, and he told me that he was going to find Ruby and promised to bring her home, before he and Uncle Qrow left to search the woods for her. I told them both everything I could about the transformation beforehand, but I still don't think that they were quite ready for what they were going to see that night.
"When they came home, the sun was already rising, and Ruby was being cradled in dad's arms, her nightgown tattered, but she didn't look any worse for wear, except for some blood on her hands. He told me to go and run a bath for her, while they talked, and I was quick to take Ruby and bring her upstairs."
"By the time we were finished they had already gone over everything, and though my Uncle wanted to go the safe route and bring Ruby to Vale so he could watch over her in a safe location to try and find a way to cure her, dad was completely against it, and practically had to strong arm uncle Qrow into backing down for the time being."
"Anyways to finish off my long story, Once Ruby got older and after a few more transformations she began to figure out ways to tell when she was going to change, and managed to hide herself away so that she wouldn't potentially hurt anyone, we both went to signal so we could be watched by uncle Qrow while we got our training finished, and from there we came here."
"And Ruby never had any problems with her transformations while you were at signal?" Blake asked curiously, since that didn't sound likely given the story she had just heard.
"Oh she did have a few more transformations, but since she could tell when they were coming now, she always managed to get to uncle Qrow in time, and he locked her into his private training room, which can only be opened by his voice, so she wouldn't hurt anyone," Yang finished, "I'm actually surprised that both of them agreed to let Ruby come to beacon, but I believe Ozpin knows about her situation, and has a plan for it, but Ruby hasn't let me in on anything yet, so I have to guess that he's waiting for her to finish initiation first."
"And since she only has lengthened claws and teeth, this means she isn't all that much of a threat then, correct?" Blake tried to determine, turning to look at the younger girl.
"It's only a quarter moon tonight, so she's kind of at her weakest," Yang clarified, "If it was closer to the full moon she would be a lot stronger, but as it is now I can probably keep her in check if things get too bad."
"It sort of sounds like she's a werewolf," Blake made the connection, "Transforming at night based on the phases of the moon, becoming more like a beast and potentially hurting others while she's changed."
"I know it sounds crazy, but this is just what we've had to deal with since Rubes and I were kids, and I think we've sort of gotten used to it. At least as much as you can in this situation," Yang admitted, trying to play off the matter as a joke.
"So, will she be okay for tonight?" Blake asked cautiously, looking out of the corner of her eye at the younger girl sprawled out over the ground, while her other eye remained focused on her information base regarding the girl's transformations.
"Yeah, as long as you don't paint yourself as a threat then you should be fine. The only reason she tried to attack you before was because she thought you were threatening her with gambol shroud. If you put it away and approach her cautiously then she should ignore you."
Sinking back onto her makeshift seat of a fallen log, Blake released a sigh, trying to digest all of this new information she had been fed, and feeling like the night had been going on forever, even though it was probably only around midnight at this point.
A question was still prodding at the back of her mind, and it filled the hidden Faunus with concern as she looked over at Ruby again, "Wait, what about Weiss?" The Black-haired girl asked.
"What about her?" The blonde asked, not understanding where Blake was going with this question, and not wanting to think about the stuck-up girl anymore than she had to.
"She doesn't know about Ruby's situation, and according to your story Ruby doesn't transform back until daybreak, so when Weiss wakes up for her shift, won't she get suspicious about Ruby being missing?" Blake explained patiently, though a hint of concern slipped into her voice that Yang caught.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that too much, Weiss doesn't seem to care about Ruby at all, so I'm sure her being missing won't even come across as a blip on her radar," Yang said, waving her hand dismissively, "Don't worry so much kitty-cat, I have everything under control."
"If you say so," Blake replied, clicking her tongue in annoyance at the blonde-haired girl's nickname, but not wanting to respond, knowing it would only encourage her further.
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As Yang had thought, Weiss hadn't even batted an eye at Ruby being missing when she went in to shake the white-haired girl awake for her supposed shift, after making sure Ruby, who had woken up, was safely hiding up in a tree, out of sight of the girl.
Once morning broke, Ruby sighed in relief as her body returned to normal, and she could think clearly again without the bloodlust or animalistic thoughts invading her mind, and slipped easily out of the tree Yang had helped her into with a small smile.
Unfortunately that smile vanished when she returned to the camp to find Weiss glaring at her, obviously unimpressed with her disappearance.
"And just where have you been all night?" Weiss snapped at the girl, seething with unbridled anger at the younger girl, who could only cower at her fury, refusing to admit her secret to the stuck-up heiress that seemed so keen on seeing her backside as soon as possible. There was no point in explaining her entire back story to the girl when she barely cared about her opinion or safety already.
Once Yang and Blake woke up, the four girls set out once more towards the shrine, and managed to meet up with Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren at their halfway point, all of the students picking up their chess pieces before the group of eight began the long trek back to the cliff side.
Thankfully the return trip didn't take nearly as long, and it was only around midday by the time they made it. This of course didn't stop Weiss from grumbling in annoyance as Ozpin explained they were the second and third teams to leave the forest, and that a group of four boys had made it through the forest and back by the end of the previous day.
The team announcements were a blur for Ruby, but she did distinctly remember her amazement at being declared the leader of team RWBY, and Yang pulling her into another bone-crushing hug while Weiss glowered at her in the background, but she tried to ignore the frosty heiress as best she could.
Despite her little problem, Ruby couldn't really see things getting any better than this, even though she would now have to keep her secret from Weiss, which might be a monumental task she was just willing to deal with in order to remain on the same team as her big sister and newfound friend Blake.