0004
0004: Tell them the truth. As embarrassing as it is, this is the best solution.
0004: "I got kidnapped by amateur cultists and they accidentally sacrificed themselves…?"
"Uh… yeah. Hi!" You say. "I, um… kind of got kidnapped by cultists and was gonna be used as a sacrifice, only they screwed up and sacrificed themselves instead."
From the woman's expression you can tell that she is having a hard time believing that such a thing could happen. "…I think that maybe you should start again from the beginning."
You do so, and tell her everything that happened since you woke up in the van (except for the part where you tried to get them to let you go by claiming you weren't a virgin, which she doesn't need to know about). When you get to the part where you disrupted the ritual she frowns, takes out some scroll-like device, and begins sweeping it across the room.
"I see…" She says, as you finish. "And are you absolutely certain that nothing came through due to the ritual?"
"Well I didn't see any demons. Although there was one thing…"
0004: "Totally not my fault." And then proceed to explain what actually happened. Wonder if this woman has similar eyes to what you saw in the bowl?
"…When I picked up the bowl I saw a pair of eyes. It definitely weren't my reflection, they were blue. Kind of like yours actually…. Exactly like yours…"
She frowns at this. "I see… Such an event could be caused by any number of different factors. It could be nothing, but I will be sure to look into it." She places the device back in her pocket. "In any case miss…?"
"Ruby Rose."
"…Miss Rose." Her expression softens, and her mouth quirks upwards into a small smile. "If your story is accurate, then you may well have averted a major catastrophe. And for that you have my thanks."
*You have received Winter Schnee's respect! +500 Winter points!*
"In any case," she continues, "I need to ask you to come in to Beacon at 3PM tomorrow for further questioning. Standard procedure. If there is nothing else, then one of my subordinates will escort you home."
Is there anything else you would like to ask, say, or do before going home?
Yes (please specify)
No (timeskip to tomorrow morning)
The number is 0005.
0005
0005: Ask for her name! We voices know it, but I don't think Ruby does. Refrain from gushing. Do not ask her for her autograph, as you do not have anything for her to sign. Ask her about her weapon instead. DO gush.
You actually do have something to write her autograph down on: the receipt from the ice-cream store. You refrain from asking though, to try and maintain some small illusion of not being a complete dork.
"Can I ask your name first?" You ask. "You haven't told me it yet."
"Oh, I apologise. Its Winter. Winter Schnee."
"Also, if its ok with you, can I see your weapon?"
"I suppose there's no harm in it. No touching though." She draws her sword, an elegant duelling sabre. "Are you an aspiring huntress, or just an enthusiast?"
"Huntress in training! Two more years in Signal and then I'll hopefully get a place in Beacon." You say as you carefully examine the blade. "Wow. She's really beautiful."
"Why thank you. I made it myself. Originally I had a different one, which was given to me by my father, but there's something about wielding a weapon that is truly your own that nothing else can match."
You nod furiously in response to her words. "Yes! I know exactly what you mean!"
*Winter is pleased by your compliments toward her weapon! +100 Winter points!*
0005: Ask her if she'll need your contact info before going home.
"Will you need my contact details? You know, just in case there is an emergency."
"Not unless you plan on skipping out on the interview, but if we absolutely must contact you then we only need to look your details up on our database. I will however give you my details, just in case you need to contact us."
You offer her the aforementioned ice-cream reciept. She scribbles her scroll number down on it and hands it back to you.
*You got Winter's scroll number!*
0005: Ask what will happen to the artifacts (knife, bowl, candles, notebook etc) then time skip :)
You ask Winter what they will do with the stuff the cultists used in the ritual.
"Anything that we can't immediately identify will be sent to Beacon's research lab to be examined more thoroughly. After that they will either be locked away, destroyed, or put to use depending on their powers and effects. You can ask me, or whoever sees you, tomorrow and we may be able to tell you more about what was used here today."
You thank Winter for answering your questions and say goodbye. Wow, she was really cool. You hope you see her again soon.
You are then driven home by a very quiet Atlesian hunter (for the first half of the journey you thought that you'd done something to annoy them, but it turned out that they were just kind of shy). Once you arrive at your house (which is actually your Uncle Qrow's house, but you stay here often enough that you think of it as home just as much as your home back on Patch), you immediately flop straight in to bed, exhausted by the day's events.
In the morning you shower, and then enjoy a nice big bowl of Pumpkin Pete's cereal. Uncle Qrow is still not here (off doing huntery stuff as per usual), so you have the house all to yourself.
You've got ages before you have to head to Beacon, and nothing important on your schedule aside from one last bit of summer homework, but you've still got a couple of weeks before you have to do that. In the meantime maybe you could wander around Vale and see what you can find.
5 time slots left
Go to map (This will allow you to choose from a variety of locations in Vale. Each one will have a different encounter. None of them are absolutely vital, but all of them should hopefully be fun and/or interesting. You do not have enough time slots to visit everything so choose carefully.)
Just go and get your homework done already (This will provide you with a substantial chunk of information on the nature of demons. It will use up one of your time slots.)
The number is 0006.
0006
0006: Just get your homework done. I know it's annoying but who knows how much time will be left after your interview.
0006: Finish the dreaded homework. You still have more time to explore later anyway.
FINE HEAD VOICES! YOU DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE FUN FOR THE NEXT HOUR ANYWAY!
…While Ruby gets on with her final essay of the summer, here's something a little more interesting.
"A Basic Introduction to Demons"
The name 'Demon' is actually quite misleading as it implies that all demons are of a single species. In reality there are many different types, ranging from fae, to ghosts, to grimm, and more. They also, most likely, do not originate from Hell, however this issue is hotly debated to this very day due to the lack of information we have about the dimension from which demons originate. The name, along with said belief, came about due to the fact that most demons encountered by humans or faunus have been antagonistic towards our species'.
The most common and well known demons are ones with powers over the basic elements of the world, such as fire demons, however the idea that all demons draw their powers from the elements has been disproved by ones that have powers that are harder to classify, such as mental or illusionary powers. There is believed to be a nearly infinite variety of demons, so many that we cannot possibly identify them all.
Most Demons cannot enter our realm freely unless they are extremely weak (much like how a fishing net allows small fish to get through but catches any larger ones). These weak demons, known as imps, lack the power to remain in our world for long, unless they possess the body of a living being. Intelligent beings such as humans and faunus can shrug off an imp's attempt at possession easily. However any animals that are possessed cannot, and their instinctive resistance results in it and the imp being driven feral and mutating, turning into the monstrous "Grimm". When the host body dies, the demon is sent back to its home realm. It should be noted that many leaders in the field have hypothesised that it should be possible for an imp to possess a young or infant child, due to their consciousness not being fully developed. Thankfully, there has yet to be a single recorded instance of this occurring throughout history.
More powerful Demons need to be summoned into the world via ritual. They can then be made to remain in the world via either providing it with a host (which can now be a person if the demon is strong enough to overcome their consciousness), binding it to an object, or binding it to a person. The difference between a demon "possessing" someone and being "bound" to someone is that when they are bound the host retains full control. The demon does however retain power over its own abilities, and so must be forced to co-operate via some other method.
The only time that a demon requires no host at all to remain in our world is when they are monstrously, powerful. In these cases the demon, or "Titan" as demons of this level are more commonly known, can bind themselves permanently to the world itself, becoming impossible to banish. The only way to deal with Titans is to constantly drain their power out of them, rendering them incapable of any action. Thankfully, there have only ever been four instances of Titan-class demons throughout history.
There! You're finally done with your homework. Now you have no obligations until you start your next term at Signal.
Its time to finally go out. You've plenty of time to wander before heading to Beacon. Where do you want to go first?
4 time slots remaining
The Book Store: You recently discovered a book shop that sells really nice books quite cheaply. Its owned by a friendly faunus man named Tuckson.
Ice cream store: You never actually got to finish that ice cream before getting kidnapped. You deserve another one (and if someone tries to grab you again, you'll have Crescent Rose with you this time)
Coliseum: A place where hunters and huntresses can test their skills against one another. There's no tournament right now, and you need to be 16 to sign up for anything, but its always fun to go watch.
Gym: You don't really need to go to this place, but they have a nice wide area for training with weapons.
Cafe: This place is one of the most popular places for dates in the city. You could go there and have a date with a nice big mug of the best hot chocolate in the world.
Clothes Shop: You wear your combat skirt a lot. Maybe you could go see if there's anything you can get to expand your wardrobe.
Scrapyard: You used to go here to get cheap parts when you were still a beginner when it came to making weapons. These days you only use the best parts for Crescent Rose, but there's still a high chance that you'll find something interesting.
The number is 0007
(Remember guys: more asks = more updates. Don't forget to send me prompts.)
0007
0007: Go to the Scrapyyard! Time to loot loot loot
0007: scrapyard! See if you could salvage something interesting!
0007: scrapyaaaard
You decide to go visit the scrapyard.
Before you leave the house you pick up Crescent Rose and strap it to your back. You are never going to leave the house without it again. You also take a bit of cash for anything you might buy while you're out.
You have to climb over the fence to get in. The security guards don't actually care about anyone sneaking in, but it is still technically their job to keep out trespassers so going in through the front isn't a good idea.
You don't find anything that looks like it will be immediately useful to you, but you do find a few sheets of good quality metal that could be used to make replacement blades for CR (which you stash away near your entry point so you can come back and pick them up when you're on a more serious scavenging trip). You also find a large revolver cylinder, which you pocket for future use in new weapon designs.
As you start to make your way out, you realise that you've unwittingly picked up a friend. There are a few stray cats that make their home here, and one of them seems to have taken a liking to you.
You make an attempt to lose it by taking a roundabout route to your exit, but it keeps up with you right up to, and over, the fence. At that point you resign yourself to the fact that its here to stay, as you don't have the heart to chase it away. Admittedly, out of all the stray cats that could have decided to follow you, you could have done a lot worse for yourself as this one is really pretty, with a glossy black coat of fur and intelligent amber eyes.
What should you name your new friend?
Also, where will you go next?
3 time slots remaining
The Book Store: You recently discovered a book shop that sells really nice books quite cheaply. Its owned by a friendly faunus man named Tuckson.
Ice cream store: You never actually got to finish that ice cream before getting kidnapped. You deserve another one (and if someone tries to grab you again, you'll have Crescent Rose with you this time)
Coliseum: A place where hunters and huntresses can test their skills against one another. There's no tournament right now, and you need to be 16 to sign up for anything, but its always fun to go watch.
Gym: You don't really need to go to this place, but they have a nice wide area for training with weapons.
Cafe: This place is one of the most popular places for dates in the city. You could go there and have a date with a nice big mug of the best hot chocolate in the world.
Clothes Shop: You wear your combat skirt a lot. Maybe you could go see if there's anything you can get to expand your wardrobe.
The number is 0008.