Ruby wasn't born with a soul mark, but that was fine! There were plenty of people who didn't get their soul mark until they were in school. Besides, Mum knew all sorts of stories about people who fell in love with someone who wasn't their soulmate and went on to be awesome! Ruby could be just as awesome as them. That's why she was going to be a Huntress! They were so cool and they got to save the day and fight monsters and help people heaps.

When Ruby turned ten and her soulmark still hadn't shown up she locked herself in her room. Everyone in her class had a soulmark, she was the only one who didn't and it sucked. It sucked so much she ignored Yang banging on her door, and Zwei's confused barking. She could mope if she wanted to, it was her party.

"You know, my soulmark didn't show up until I was fourteen." Ruby jumped and glared at her uncle Qrow. "Yeah, it's not what you want to hear, but you can't change it."

Ruby didn't say anything, just tried to glare a hole into her floor.

"Come on, if you aren't downstairs I have to eat your sisters cooking and no one gets cake. You wouldn't subject you're favourite uncle to that would you?"

"You're my only uncle." Ruby complained.

"So I had better be your favourite." He grinned at her.

"Did you get me a birthday present?" She asked, poking her tongue out at him.

"Hmmmm." He made a show of thinking about it. "Nope."

"Uncle Qrooowwww." She complained, laughing.

"Well, if you want a present you have to come downstairs to get it."

Ruby looked away, curling up into a ball. Qrow sighed and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Fourteen? Really?" she asked, peeking up at him.

"Mmhm, haven't met them yet either. But I will, and yours will come in too, and you'll meet them." He squeezed her briefly. "Gonna come down to your party now?"

"Yeah, otherwise Yang will eat all the cake."

"Can't have that." Qrow agreed. "Come on then." He picked her up and carried her over one shoulder.

"UNCLE QROW!" She screeched, giggling and hitting his back.

"Problem?" He asked, tickling the back of her legs.

"Ahh, stop it put me down!" Ruby laughed.

"Hmmm nope." He said, bouncing down the stairs.

With the birthday girl back in attendance (and almost dropped in the cake, thanks Zwei) the party started again.

Eventually Ruby just ignored her lack of soulmark. She started wearing full length sleeves, and tights under her dresses. She started to use private changing rooms, or get changed in stalls. It wasn't that she was ashamed or shy, she just didn't like the looks people gave her when they realised she didn't have a mark. Like she had to be pitied, or there was something wrong with her.

Even Yang got awkward about it sometimes.

Uncle Qrow was awesome though! He started teaching her how to use a scythe! And helped her design Crescent Rose. Even if he did keep trying to sneak clockwork into it, or initial QB somewhere in the mechanics. She was too cleaver for him though.

Thanks to him she was awesome! If he hadn't been helping her she'd still be complete rubbish. Her teachers might have made her change weapons.

So maybe she didn't have a soulmark, she was going to be an awesome huntress anyway.

Neo was born with her soulmark. Bright red, very messy, writing scrawled 'Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to are you ok? I'm really sorry please be ok.' Along her collar bone.

She wanted to know what exactly they had done. Roman thought they sounded annoying "just like you." But he was an ass so she'd just pickpocket him and buy some ice cream.

Neo didn't worry about it, soulmates were guaranteed to meet. Only… what would she say? She couldn't say anything; would they even know who she was?

"Neo, what are you doing here?" Roman asked, looking up from his table. "Actually, whatever it is you want I don't want to know."

Neo pouted and let her eyes switch to brown. Roman sighed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Pouting even more, because Roman was being no fun at all, Neo pulled out her Scroll and typed: I want Ice cream.

"Well Neo, I would love to take you for ice cream however someone seems to have taken my wallet." He raised an eyebrow at her. "You wouldn't happen to know where that went would you?"

Neo pulled a face and made a big show of thinking it over before perking up and producing his wallet from her pocket. Tossing it back to him she grinned as he sighed.

"Fine, where are we going?"

She bounced on the spot, thrilled. Roman was so fun when he did what she wanted. Exactly what she wanted.

Cinder hand her plan of course, blagh blagh infiltrate the Vytal Festival, blagh blagh exchange students, blagh blagh snooping. Whatever. As long as she got to screw with people she was fine with whatever reason Cinder had.

The disguise was boring though. Black uniform and black hair, ugh. She stole Romans eye colour for it though, the squeak he made when she showed him would be treasured forever.

But wasn't treasured enough to change the fact that Cinder had made her dye her hair! No illusions, just sticky, smelly, doesn't wash out hair dye.

Neo wanted to slit Cinder's pretty little throat. But then she'd be out of a job. Getting paid got her more icecream than revenge would.

And for a school full of hunters and huntresses in training Beacon was really boring at- Neo checked her Scroll- 2am. There had to be something she could do that didn't involve blowing her cover, but no everyone was all boring and asleep.

Someone bumped into her and Neo found herself looking up at Beacon's dark and unimpressive ceiling. Rude! But she couldn't kill students. Yet anyway.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I didn't mean to are you ok? I'm really sorry please be ok." Said the girl in PJ's. She cringed and held out a hand to pull Neo up. Neo took it with a grin. When the girl looked like she would start talking again (and Roman was going to love that her soulmate talked enough for the both of them she just knew it) Neo held a finger to the girls lips, quickly tapping at her Scroll.

I'm fine I wasn't looking where I was going. Also you're my soulmate*~*~ Neo held the scroll right in front of the girls face.

"Oh! Um, sorry I don't think I am? Only I, ah, don't have a soulmark? So it's probably not me?" The girl bit her lip adorably and Neo wanted to eat her up, or lock her up somewhere no one else would ever see her…

Actually the two weren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

Is this your hand writing then? Neo typed out, pulling the collar of her top down to show off the red words.

The girl was silent, eyes wide. "Yeah, that's me." She said. "But I don't have?"

How about we pinch some ice cream from the kitchen and talk? Neo was not going this long without ice cream, screw Cinder.

"Ah, sure I guess? Won't your team worry?" She asked and did Neo's soulmate have to be this adorable? Really? Neo could practically hear Roman laughing at her.

Instead Neo shook her head, shrugged lightly, and gestured for the girl to lead the way.

The girl took Neo's free hand to do it. Too. Cute.

Wait, this girl probably had a name.

Damn it.


So we have another one! Ruby/Neo and longer than I thought it would be. I'm sure Roman is thrilled about Neo's soulmate.

Also the first chapter of this got way more response than I was expecting, thanks everyone! It's awesome to wake up to a bunch of alerts! Feel free to request anything you want to see (or see more of)

-Shade