The scream was undeniably Ruby's. Anyone would an ear could tell from miles away. To Qrow it was heartbreaking. As he ran faster than he ever did before he couldn't help but wonder just what Ruby was facing. All around Qrow was dead bodies either crushed by debris and rubble or mauled to death by a Grimm. It was hard to look but Qrow found it even harder to avoid.
The tower finally came into view and what Qrow saw was something he could never have imagined. The way Beacon just sat there empty of students. A place so full of light and happiness turned to nothing but a dead zone. How many lives? Qrow didn't want to know the answer. He grimaced at the state of the tower Ozpin has spent so long in turned to nothing more but piles of cogs and broken building.
It took Qrow a minute and he didn't know how he had missed it. But the large dragon Grimm just sat there, clinging to the side of the building like a lifeline. It's glowing eyes were widened and unblinking. Qrow frowned again and continued running. His niece was up there and at the moment that was his priority.
Qrow cringed as he ran up stair after stair, past old relics thrown carelessly on the ground, group pictures smashed beyond recognition and more bodies of staff that never made it. He tsked loudly as he made it onto the roof and stumbled over a tiara. Qrow didn't have time to contemplate just why the golden band was lying there or where he had seen it from before. His only priority was right in front of him.
Ruby looked peaceful to say the least. A little tattered and a few marks here and there but that was to expected. God knows how many Grimm Ruby had fought. Or who she had fought. Qrow took the rose into his arms and smiled at her gentle snore.
"It's alright I gotcha kiddo, I gotcha" Qrow assured and hurried back the way he came. He shivered as the dragon looked at him but it didn't make a move.
Qrow made it back to the loading bay quick enough and found Yang still lying where she had been left. The Faunus girl was gone and everyone else had either boarded an airship to safety or were still waiting for any sign of friends.
Qrow grimaced again as the distinguished logo of the Schnee dust company flew by and turned away before he started something he'd regret. His second biggest concern at that moment was to get his nieces back home with Tai.
Qrow turned to the wreckage one last time and shook his head.
It had been a little more than a week since the fall of Beacon. The days had gone slower than anything Ruby had ever lived through and she found herself longing for the days she spent back in Beacon. But thinking of Beacon made her think of Pyrrha and Ruby didn't like to think of that much.
For the first time that week Ruby managed to stomach a small breakfast and she wandered around the house completely at a loss of what to do. She was so used to waking every morning to go to class. Not waking every morning in a silent house.
Ruby passed by the room Yang was occupying and took a peak around the doorway. As usual Yang was in bed just staring out the window with a distant look in her eyes. Ruby could feel her heart breaking. She missed her bright happy sister. Not the shell of her former self.
Ruby backed away from the door and the crushing guilty feeling sat in her stomach again. She couldn't help but blame herself for everything. It took Tai a good few hours to calm her down after a nightmare and the whole time Ruby blamed herself through sobs. She couldn't stop herself from taking all the blame.
Blake was gone, Weiss was gone, Yang was depressed and Pyrrha was... Ruby stopped herself and headed into the kitchen to put her plate away. Her skin itched. It had been happening for the entire week and Ruby couldn't get it to leave. She scratched at her wrist as she shuffled around the kitchen and gave a smile at the pathetic attempt of a motivational note Taiyang had left on the counter.
Ruby turned around still wearing her small smile and jumped when she almost ran into Yang's chest. It was the first time since they got home that Ruby saw Yang out of bed. Her face was expressionless and she barely batted an eyelid in Ruby's direction before brushing past her and heading toward the fridge.
"Are you ok?" Ruby asked quietly. She scratched harder at her arm when Yang ignored her. Ruby tried to keep it going "Any news from Weiss o-or Blake?"
Yang's fist clenched tightly around the handle of the fridge and she turned around sharply "Shut up Ruby"
Ruby backed up a bit and her bottom lip wobbled. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks but Ruby brushed them away furiously. All her fault. The words echoed around her head.
"Don't you get it Ruby?" Yang growled "They're never coming back. Blake ran and Weiss was taken away. What don't you get about that"
Ruby was taken aback by her sisters loud tone. The first words she had spoken to her since Beacon and they were in spite. Ruby let a stray tear fall down her cheek before she ran off up the stairs.
"This is all your fault. Your not special like Qrow said. Your just a burden" Ruby muttered as she paced back and forth. Her skin was stinging again and digging her nails into her palms only helped for a few moments. She bit her lip to stop it from wobbling and fling herself down into the bed.
It brought the memory of Qrow explaining what happened all back to Ruby as she stared at the ceiling. How he said Pyrrha was gone, the Grimm has frozen. How Ruby's eyes were special. But they weren't special enough to save Pyrrha. If only Ruby had of been faster. All her fault.
Ruby looked down at her wrist as blood was slowly bubbling to the surface. At first she was shocked to see the crimson. Ruby waited a minute and when her aura didn't heal the small wound she frowned. But to her surprise the itch was gone. Ruby continued to scratch harder at her wrist and more blood spilled slowly from the small wound. Ruby smiled
hey thanks for reading I guess. This honestly came to my mind last minute and I wrote it mostly out of boredom too. Opinions? This was honestly thrown together about ten minutes ago and I hope the characters aren't too OOC. I might write more I dunno. Thanks again for reading :)
