A/N:
It's been 3+ years. Hopefully some of you are still active.
Appreciate the random reviews I've gotten over the years.
Enjoy.
Chapter IV:
Oh, hey there. I guess you were right; people do take walks in the desert.
What do you mean, I was right? When were you... oh.
Yeaaaah, that was me. I've been here the whole time.
Why? Will I even remember this?
...you remembered the last one, didn't you?
Why are you here?
Because I... I made a mistake, Weiss.
W-what? How?
I can't tell you any more. I'm sorry- you're waking up.
Weiss reached over from her face-down sprawl to turn off her alarm-
How can it be a mistake if I finally feel like I can... trust someone?
-that normally signalled the ungodly hour at which she had to in order to be "Weiss-ready" for classes.
Blake was the one who called it that, didn't she?
Weiss rolled over to sit on the right edge of her bed; her toes dangled just slightly off of the ground.
I wonder if she came in and saw Ruby.
Ruby…
Weiss' world was a mess; Ruby had likely slept on the floor the whole night, Blake could've assumed various, questionable, less-than-decent scenarios, and her nightstand... well, it was on the right side of the bed.
Wait, what the hell?
"RUBY!" Weiss panicked audibly; she was cradling her right arm in her left when the door flew off of its hinges and the brunette came running in, confusion written on her face and sleep addling her brain.
"W-w-what, Weiss? It's like... what time is it? What's wrong?" The alabaster girl craned her neck past the sudden intrusion to see her door and its surroundings in various states of disrepair.
Worry about out there later. Focus, Weiss; you just moved your broken arm with no pain or aura assistance.
Words escaped her; instead, Weiss decided to flail around her right arm while her face displayed nothing but incredulity. Ruby blinked over to the bed and held the arm still before feeling the aura flowing through her assigned charge's body.
"Uh... Weiss?" Ruby glanced up and melted; all thought of coherence evaporated as the moonlight filtered in through the window and reflected off of Weiss' skin; she was literally glowing with magnificence and beauty, and yet her eyes were those of a terrified little girl who hadn't a clue of what was going on.
Should I tell her?
She'd probably freak and pass out. Damn it, Ruby, you fucked up again. How can we explain this one to Qrow?
Easy. We aren't.
Ah.
"Your… arm." Ruby lamely stated.
"So… whaddaya wanna know?" Ruby went for lamely; she sat at the counter, shoulders drooped as Weiss fixed breakfast angrily and quietly. All Ruby got in response was the metal whisk clanging against the bowl over and over.
"I think you've beat them enough, Weiss." Weiss turned her head slowly, continuing to beat the eggs before pouring them into the hot pan without looking. They sizzled as they hit the pan and her expression softened; her eyes drew down to her chest, where a rose imprint was partially revealed by her nightgown.
"I'm assuming it has to do with this." Not a question, just a statement. The tone of voice reminded Ruby of her uncle when he was angry… No malice or yelling; just a quiet, smoldering anger.
It fits her, honestly.
"Yeah."
"And the mark?" Ruby sighed.
"Each mark is a manifestation of a dragon's aura. Compared to a human's aura, a dragon's aura is exponentially larger, so creating marks is a simple process for the latter, but a human's aura can be doubled or tripled in capacity and recharge rate through the application of a mark." Weiss had turned away from the eggs and stared at Ruby as she yapped to the window.
"Basically, what happened is that I accidentally applied a mark which… actually made it more powerful than a deliberate one since it was technically more pure of intent. Intent matters a lot among dragons; it's like an honor thing, but it can create issues or cause problems if mishandled. Most dragons don't… uh, mark humans because…" Ruby trailed off and looked at Weiss' openmouthed stare.
"Because it kiiiinda links them to the humanforeverandtheysharesomeoftheiremotions andstuffanduh, um, oops?" Weiss' grip on the pan tightened as the hand on the whisk loosened, and the whisk clattered to the ground as the pan lifted up off of the burner.
And because Qrow says humans are evil. That they killed his si-
"...what kind of link. The dreams?" Ruby blushed and continued in a more controlled manner as Weiss returned to the eggs.
"So… intense emotions are part of it, and the dreams, too; they'll calm down as you control your aura more. Since you went into aura shock, you don't have access to the entirety of your reserves but once you do, you'll have to exercise your aura, so to speak, so that it doesn't overload you. I can, uh, teach you how to do that." Weiss shook her head as she pushed the eggs around in the pan.
She doesn't deserve it, you know. Just let her implode, who cares! Ju-
"Can I turn into a dragon now?" Ruby snorted and laughed out loud for a while before opening her eyes to see Weiss staring her down with a death glare. Ruby coughed.
"Uh, hah, no. 'Fraid not." Weiss sighed and started towards the loaf of bread, beginning a cycle of toast. Her left foot tapped anxiously on the ground, but otherwise she seemed to be taking the news quite well.
"Okay." Ruby frowned and looked incredulous at the back of Weiss' neck.
"...Okay? That's it?" Weiss nodded and pulled down on the toaster.
"Yep. That's it. What, most humans ask more questions? What even are you, by the way?" Ruby's frown faded and she looked down at the table, her hands crossing in a distinctly nervous, human gesture. Weiss narrowed her eyes at the being sitting in her kitchen.
"I'm uh, well… I'm what you call mostly a dragon." Weiss raised an eyebrow, but Ruby continued.
"Mostly, because my father wasn't a dragon. My mother was, though; as far as my uncle tells me, she was one of the most powerful dragons to ever live, but she chose to live among humans for a majority of her time in the world." Ruby shook her head and unclasped her hands.
"She fell in love with a human, traded her immortality for the ability to have me and then died to a mob when they found out she was a dragon about four years later. My uncle rescued me in part due to my father's aid, who died in the rescue attempt… and my uncle received an addition to the scar across his face that he's famous for. Of course, that's all that he tells me whenever I ask." Ruby looked up as the toast pinged out of the toaster and Weiss shook the bewilderment off of her face, putting more bread in.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be; I don't really remember either of them." Weiss gulped and turned around again.
Qrow does. He hated your father, and he hated the humans that killed your mother. He hates humans with good reason, and so should you. What are you even doing talking to this bi-
"Speaking of which… how old are you again?" Ruby sat up straight in the chair and her eyes gleamed red for a brief moment.
"Didn't anyone ever teach you that it was impolite to ask a dragon their age?" Weiss' eyes flashed in surprise before Ruby broke the facade, chuckling.
"Kidding. But seriously." Her eyes reverted to silver as she narrowed them at Weiss.
"That's probably one of the only off-limits questions you can ask." Weiss nodded with a gulp and turned around to plate the food; Ruby had asked specifically for none but Weiss felt ravenous, eating for the both of them. Ruby only looked on in wonder.
"The appetite isn't supposed to set in for days. Also, you're gonna need to wear shirts that don't… you know." Ruby motioned up and down at Weiss' chest and immediately blushed as Weiss hunched over her food and began eating faster.
"Fhine I whill." Weiss spoke through a mouthful and kept shoveling food down. Ruby laughed and turned to put her feet up on the other stool.
"You always eat like this?" Weiss looked up with a frown and paused eating to swallow.
"No, you've just only seen me eat when I feel like I haven't in a while." Weiss frowned before resuming eating. Ruby shrugged and popped up off of the stool, pacing around a little to inspect the room. It was decorated simply for being such a large apartment; she could tell that some teams would certainly adorn their rooms with a lot of flair and excitement. It certainly had the capacity, and it made Ruby wonder more about Blake, her current charge's enigmatic partner. Shaking the thought, Ruby had another pop to the forefront of her mind.
On a whim, Ruby decided to test Weiss; she curled her fingers around her palm and summoned a bit of aura up, creating a budding flame. The flame grew into a fist-sized fireball before she turned, eyes blazing, into a throw towards Weiss. Weiss shrieked and held up the empty plate as it glowed and the fireball seemingly absorbed into the metal plate, vanishing before Ruby's eyes.
"I'm shocked. Usually tha-"
"I'm shocked too!" Weiss interrupted and continued indignantly.
"What in the hell was that? Why the hell, what, what?" Weiss threw the plate at Ruby and Ruby's hand glowed red as she caught the plate; it melted in her hand and slowly reformed into a small ball. The ball grew upwards into a stem as Weiss watched, amazed. The stem sprouted a pair of leaves and a few thorns before sprouting into a small, red-hot rose. Ruby looked up from her creation and blinked, her eyes returning to silver. Her other hand beckoned Weiss closer, and Weiss stood up almost against her will.
"It's almost like…"
"Like you know what to do, right? It's… instinct at its finest." Ruby smiled as Weiss drew closer; the smile seemed predatory at first, then softened.
She's vulnerable! Strike, and move on to set a trap for her partner. DO IT! What are you-
Hush. Now.
Weiss looked up at Ruby before looking back at the rose before her, still glowing from its forge from flame. The attention to detail was stunning; each thorn looked as sharp as a sword and each petal delicately crafted in such a short time. Weiss wondered how often Ruby did such things.
Blow. Gently, now.
Weiss looked up again at Ruby, who nodded in return. Closing her eyes, Weiss inhaled in a large breath and exhaled slowly, her eyes opening as the temperature dropped beneath her face. The rose cooled back to normal, then colder. Ruby yelped as the rose grew ice crystals and Weiss outstretched a hand to catch it, but was too far; her hand clasped thin air and the rose stopped falling. Both of their eyes opened in shock as Weiss lifted her arm experimentally and the rose lifted as well. The rose shifted to the table as Weiss moved and gently set it down, the bottom growing ice to create a stand.
The two stood in silence staring at the rose for a while before Ruby turned to look at Weiss; her shock not having erased from her face.
"What was that?" Weiss turned with an equal amount of awe on her face.
"I was hoping you'd know!" Ruby stared for a while before seemingly having a lightbulb click in her head.
"What's your semblance? Teleportation? Telekinesis? Phase shifting?" Weiss shook her head.
"No, I make glyphs. Nothing like… like that." Ruby shook her head and kept grilling.
"It's important to figure this out. Are the glyphs invisible or visible? Can they accelerate you? What's the scale?" Weiss had the same lightbulb click and nodded.
"Either one, but they can change my velocity, yes. Any scale I desire… but any glyphs on the far end of either spectrum are difficult to control. Does that mean…" Ruby nodded and began the process of melting the rose back into a plate.
"Yeah, you've got a better grasp on your semblance because of the aura reserves…"
Liar.
Shut up.
"...But they've come back pretty quickly, I must say. You must have had a powerful aura to begin with, honestly. Astonishing…" Ruby trailed off to herself as the plate reformed entirely, and she gestured at the plate to Weiss.
"This time, less ice. Just try to cool it to room temperature." Weiss nodded and focused both hands; this time, the plate simply turned its dull grey again; in the center, however, a snowflake pattern appeared where there was smooth space before, etched into the metal.
"Like I said… amazing." Weiss beamed and stood up straighter.
"Of course, that's nothing for the great Weiss… Schnee…" Her eyes drooped and she began to faint; Ruby sped to catch her and chuckled softly to herself as Weiss fell unconscious in her arms.
"Twice in two days, eh? Weiss, oh Weiss…" Ruby swooped her right arm under Weiss' legs and trekked back up the stairs towards Weiss' room; glancing over her shoulder at Blake's closed door across the banisters, Ruby stepped over the broken door from earlier.
"Yikes. Guess I'll have to fix that…" Ruby laid Weiss gently in the bed and fluffed a pillow before sliding it under her head.
"Sleep tight…" Ruby sighed and began working on reforming the hinges as her eyes flared to life again.
A/N: Thanks for reading. R/F/F.
-ken
