She walked through the forest, her hood covering her head while snow fell all around her. The place was familiar to her, but there was something wrong about it. The trees were of a sickly grey and the sky seemed bleak, as if the sun and stars had all disappeared.
The little girl looked ahead, never slowing down, but her legs hurt, each step she took was harder than the last. For some reason, her vision was blurry, and she could feel tears streaming down her face.
She blinked, and found herself in front of a cloaked figure, whose face was also covered by a hood.
"H-hello?" The girl called while shivering.
The white figure stood still, its identity unidentifiable.
"Come to me, Ruby."
The girl in red flinched. That voice scared her…. It was distorted, evil, like nothing she had ever heard before.
"Ruby. Come to me, Ruby."
"Who are you? Tell me, please!"
"Ruby. Come to me, Ruby. Ruby."
She backed away, stumbled and fell on the snow. The figure turned its head down and looked at her, and for a moment, she saw its eyes. Pure, shining white eyes.
"Ruby."
"Stop! You're scaring me!"
"Ruby. Ruby. Ruby."
-x-
"Ruby! Wake up, already!"
Weiss stood beside the bunk bed, looking up at her young leader in frustration. She had been calling the redhead occasionally for the last few minutes, but got no response. She crossed her arms and sat at the opposite lower bed.
"Yang! Make your sister get up!" She pleaded "We can't get to class late again, or our grades will be terrible."
The blonde looked at the heiress and rolled her eyes.
"It was you who asked."
She punched the bed above her. A very loud yelp was heard, and suddenly Ruby was on the ground between the two beds.
"W-what?!" The youngest girl exclaimed, sitting up. She looked between her sister and Weiss "Why? Who had this idea?!"
The two blurted out each other's name at the same time.
"What! That is not how I do things!" Weiss defended herself, wearing her usual offended expression "I tried waking you up like a normal person for minutes, but you didn't respond."
"Yeah…" Ruby agreed "But you can be pretty mean sometimes…" She muttered.
"What did you say?" The heiress questioned pointedly.
"Nothing." The leader answered quickly before looking at her sister "Couldn't you just have shaken me or something?"
Yang raised her arms apologetically.
"That doesn't sound quite as fun. Sorry." She explained, but then frowned "You've been sleeping in a lot lately. Is something wrong?"
"Uh, no." Ruby said lamely.
Both Yang and Weiss glared at her, clearly not believing their leader. Even Blake looked from atop her bed with an amused expression.
"Do you also despise Crescent Rose with all your heart?" The quiet girl deadpanned.
"Uh… I have to go to the bathroom!" Ruby screamed and rushed out of the room in the blink of an eye.
"Yup. Something's wrong." Yang sighed, resting her head on her hands.
Weiss raised herself from bed and picked up Myrtenaster. She looked at the weapon carefully, checking to see if there was anything that could cause problems in combat. After a few seconds, she sheathed the rapier and looked at her teammates.
"We had better get to class. Ruby can catch up later."
Yang got up and Blake jumped down from the bunk top. The three girls went out of the room and walked through the hallways of the school. At first Weiss and Blake walked together at the front, but after a while the black-haired girl slowed down until she was beside Yang, who still looked worried.
"Hey. Do you think it's something serious? With Ruby, I mean." She said evenly.
The blond girl's shoulders dropped a little.
"Sincerely, Blake… I have no idea. I've never seen her acting this way before." She confessed in a sad tone "Ever since we got to Beacon, she's been kinda strange. Sometimes she gets distracted all of a sudden, looking out of windows or something. And not in a excited Ruby way. Like, normal person way."
"Maybe she's growing up?" Blake suggested "Teens are all about angst."
Yang rolled her eyes.
"Please. Not in my family they aren't." She said, looking almost offended "Besides, Ruby never sleeps in. She's the definition of a morning person. And sometimes I hear her muttering in her sleep, like she's having nightmares, you know?"
"She doesn't strike me like someone who would have nightmares. I mean, she really enjoys hunting Grimm, for a starter. What could scare someone like that?" Blake mused.
The blonde looked at the ground, pondering the question. She really couldn't think of anything that would give Ruby nightmares. In almost all ways, she was braver than her older sister even.
Damnit, there's no answer. This shouldn't be happening! I've always been able to help Ruby. She's been with me all my life. Why can't I figure her problem out this time?
"I'm sure everything will be okay, Yang. If you need me to help, just ask." Blake offered.
"Thanks. You're a pretty good person, Blake." Yang smiled.
The black-haired girl slowed down for a second, her eyes widening a bit.
You're wrong, Yang. Stay away.
She shook her head and continued walking. Luckily, the blonde seemed to not have noticed her brief pause.
"You can also ask Weiss for help anytime." She whispered so the heiress wouldn't hear "She may seem cold from the outside, but she cares about Ruby too."
"Really? Doesn't seem so to me." Yang answered in disbelief.
"She'll open up. I know it. Just don't make a big deal of her behavior." Blake assured.
Yang nodded, and her thoughts turned back to Ruby.
Blake looked away and frowned a bit.
Miss Belladonna, you're the biggest hypocrite alive.
-x-
Ruby stopped in front of the door and reached for the knob. She touched the handle and gulped, her throat dry.
Be discreet. Be the ninja. Be the Blake.
She repeated the thought a few times before turning the handle and poking her head into the classroom. She looked around and smiled. Nobody seemed to notice her.
Ruby opened the door more and it made a terrible screeching noise as it rasped against the floor. Suddenly, dozens of heads turned to look at the redhead.
Professor Port was up on the stage, doing his usual ranting about his many adventures in the wilds, killing the biggest and meanest Grimm ever. Nobody was sure if he was exaggerating or simply making everything up.
"Miss Rose. You're late." He boomed, and she felt her face go red "That is not acceptable behavior coming from a Huntress, even one in training."
Be cool. Be natural. Be the Yang!
She stepped into the classroom and raised both of her thumbs while smiling widely.
"It's okay, professor. It won't happen again!" She yelled so loud even the professor raised his eyebrows.
"Just take a seat, Miss Rose, and be quiet."
The girl lowered her head in shame and walked to the classes, taking a seat beside Yang. The blonde smiled at her.
"Don't try being me, sis. Nobody can pull that off." She advised quietly.
Ruby pouted and crossed her arms.
Be offended. Be annoyed. Be the Weiss- ah, forget it, just be the Ruby.
She spent the next minutes listening to Port's amazing Grimm massacre tales. Halfway through the lecture, she stopped paying attention, and simply took to staring blankly ahead. The professor didn't seem to notice, maybe because the majority of the students looked the same as her.
However, she snapped out of this state when she heard a faint whisper.
"Ruby."
The redhead looked to Yang, but the blonde was in usual Port-class mode. Ruby shrugged, assuming she had just fabricated things out of sheer boredom.
"Ruby!"
She looked around, but nobody was paying attention to her. She frowned confusedly.
"You dunce!"
Ruby looked up and backwards and finally found Weiss's frustrated face.
"Hi." The redhead whispered.
"Are you okay?" The heiress asked in the same tone.
"I'm scared." Ruby admitted.
"Really? Why?" Weiss questioned worriedly.
"You're talking in class. You're Weiss Schnee. Don't you see something wrong in this situation?"
Weiss had to gather all of her strength and patience in order to not yell at her leader in anger. She counted from one to three several times before whispering again.
"This is an exception. It will never happen again." She looked at Port nervously, but he was too engrossed in his own talking to notice the conversation "Now answer the question! Are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay. Why do you ask?" Ruby answered calmly.
"Don't you lie to me, Ruby Rose! This morning was not okay. I'll get to the bottom of this!"
"Aw, Weiss! You really care about people after all." The redhead smiled brightly.
Weiss's face reddened immediately.
"No, I-I don't care! It's about the team performance, no personal feelings!" She whispered hurriedly.
"I knew your icy heart would melt eventually, Weiss. I'm so happy!" Ruby said, completely ignoring her teammate's words.
The heiress's hands slammed against her desk.
"No! I don't care! Stop spreading lies born of your stupid little girl imagination!" She blurted out.
The classroom got silent. The white-haired girl covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widened in a way completely unfit of her usual behavior.
"Miss Schnee? What is the cause of this outburst?" Port asked, leering at her from the stage "Surely that was not directed at me?"
"No!" Weiss yelled, and then covered her mouth again. She took a deep breath before speaking again in a composed tone "I was… daydreaming, professor. And I… talk when I… dream…"
"That's preposterous!" Port boomed "Luckily, you have very good grades and are an exemplar young lady. I'll let this incident pass this once."
"Thank you!" The heiress blurted out. She then lowered her head "I'll just stop talking."
"That would be for the best." The professor remarked, and then resumed his tale.
At her side, Blake chuckled.
"You had better cool down, ice queen, or you'll melt." She whispered playfully.
Weiss seemed to lower in size.
"I hate you all."
-x-
Team RWBY sat down in their table on the school cafeteria. Students chatted and ate loudly all around, but they had managed to find their own quiet place to talk and have fun.
Team JNPR always sat with them. However, as Ruby took her seat, she noticed something strange.
"Where's Jaune?" She asked.
Pyrrha looked up from her plate. She contorted her mouth a little, as if in thought, before shaking her head.
"I have no idea." She answered briefly.
"He's been absent a lot lately. Hanging out with Cardin Winchester." Ruby noted, making a disgusted face at the mention of the bully.
"Yeah, well. I'm sure he has his reasons, he just doesn't want to share them with anyone." The experienced champion said bitterly, turning her attention to her plate once again "Of course, he's done a lot of secret-keeping before."
"What?" Yang intruded confusedly.
Pyrrha looked at the blonde sadly but didn't respond. The sisters shared a concerned look, deciding to leave the girl alone with her thoughts. They turned to Nora, who once again was sharing her weird dreams with anyone that wished (or not) to hear, while Ren ate beside her, occasionally adding or correcting a detail of the story. Nobody questioned how he knew so much about what his friend dreamed.
After a few minutes, Jaune finally made his appearance. He sat beside Pyrrha and sighed. He had an ugly bruise at the side of his head, and while he frequently had those, they were always from accidents. This one looked like it was made on purpose.
"You're hurt." Pyrrha noted.
"Don't worry. It's not bothering me at all." He answered, smiling tentatively to his partner.
"Jaune." She said in a serious tone "Who did this to you?"
"I did this to myself, okay?" He responded, before muttering beneath his breath "Maybe not directly, but it's my fault for being stupid."
Pyrrha got up from her seat and put her hands on her hips. She stared down at Jaune, but he refused to stare back. Everyone on the table looked at the pair nervously. They had never seen Pyrrha angry before, much less at her partner.
"You know what, Jaune? I've been helping you since the beginning of the semester. I did not even know you that much, but you looked like a good guy, even when you were flirting with both me and Weiss the first time you saw us. I've been nothing but supportive and friendly to you."
"Uh, Pyrrha, maybe you should calm down and you two could-" Ruby spoke up meekly, but stopped when the girl looked at her briefly.
"No! I'm tired of talking to you, Jaune. I'm tired of helping. I don't know what trouble you've gotten yourself into, because you've evaded me every time I asked about it! Now, you help yourself. I won't be there to pick up the pieces if you don't."
"I'm sorry, Pyrrha. I just can't tell you." Jaune said. He seemed genuinely sad.
Pyrrha looked at him and didn't speak for a few seconds.
"No more excuses." She said evenly "Get your problem fixed, before one of us has to leave the team." She looked at everyone else who was gathered around the table
"I'm sorry you guys had to see all of that, I didn't mean to spoil the mood. Have a nice day."
She turned her back and walked away in a quick pace. Everyone looked to Jaune, who was staring at his plate in silence.
"Get up, you dunce!" Weiss exclaimed "Go after her and make up before it's too late!"
"I can't talk to her. She wants to know what's happening, but it's only gonna make things worse." Jaune explained "You all listened. She doesn't want excuses."
"Then you gotta fix your problem. Seriously, Jaune. You can't just stand by this time." Yang joined in with a nicer tone than Weiss had used.
Jaune sighed, and then his Scroll buzzed. He looked at it and groaned.
"I'm so sorry, guys. I gotta do something right now." He got up and looked at everyone sadly "I know this just makes me look like even more of a jerk, but I really can't ignore this. I'll try to fix stuff. I promise."
He took off running, clearly distressed. Nora and Ren shared a glance and got up too.
"We're gonna go talk to Pyrrha. Maybe cheer up her up a bit." Nora said. She was speaking in a tone disturbingly normal for her.
The pair left quickly. Team RWBY stayed at the table, finishing their meals in a strange silence.
"I bet the root of everything is Cardin." Blake said. The team looked at her seriously. She wasn't one to share her opinions in conflicts like this "We've seen Jaune hanging out with him and his team, and he didn't look too happy."
"Well, Cardin has always picked on Jaune. Why would it affect him more now?" Yang questioned, but then she snapped her fingers "Pyrrha hinted that Jaune was keeping another secret, but she knows what it is. And if Jaune told her recently, then maybe Cardin knows it too?"
"Blackmail? That seems a bit extreme for a Beacon student." Weiss commented.
Blake looked at the heiress and raised an eyebrow.
"Cardin is a bully. Jaune may be his only human victim, but he's always harassing the faunus students. And from what I've seen, they get much worse than Jaune."
"Well… Jaune is someone easy to bully around. Sorry, I don't mean to belittle him or anything, but we have to be frank here." Weiss said. Her teammates looked a bit uncomfortable talking about their friend like that, but they saw her point "So there's always going to be someone to bully him. And the faunus aren't saints. So we can't just assume Cardin would seriously blackmail someone just because he bullies-"
"Wait. Go back to the faunus point." Blake interrupted "What exactly do you mean?"
Weiss didn't speak for a few seconds. She had a look of an adult trying to formulate an explanation of something obvious to a child.
"You know what I mean." Weiss said lamely. She didn't sound at all like her usual eloquent self "Most of the faunus are evil. They've been murdering and stealing from us for centuries. So maybe Cardin's picking on them is justified."
"That is not true, Weiss!" Blake exclaimed in disbelief "The White Fang is evil, not the faunus. You can't judge them based on one terrorist organization."
"Most of them do join the White Fang, though." Weiss said matter-of-factly.
Blake took a deep breath and shook her head. She got up from her seat calmly.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Weiss. I'm going back to our dorm."
She started walking away to the exit. Weiss looked at her teammates in confusion. Yang shrugged her shoulders, and Ruby didn't say anything. The heiress got up and followed her partner in a hurry.
The blonde girl turned back to her plate, only to find her food was cold. She crossed her arms.
"Well, this was a fun lunch. Right, Ruby?"
The redhead girl blinked and looked at her sister.
"You could say that." She answered, smiling faintly.
"You okay, sis?" Yang asked.
"Sure. I just have a lot to think about, you know, concerning Jaune and Pyrrha and stuff." Ruby got up "I'm gonna get Crescent Rose and train a bit. Wanna meet me later?"
"Maybe. Enjoy your date with your weapon."
The younger sister stuck her tongue out playfully before leaving.
Yang looked at her plate again and her stomach growled.
"I hope they're still serving food." She muttered sadly to herself.
-x-
Hello, readers. It is I, Zeroan, the one and only.
Okay, let's drop this silly act. I just wanted to explain some stuff that might confuse you guys about this story.
Children of Summer is set in pretty much the same universe as original RWBY. Unless stated otherwise in the story or by Word of God (ME! HAH!), lore and backstories are the same.
This is currently Act 1, which runs parallel to RWBY Volume 1. You've gotten some hints in the prologue and this chapter about the over-arching story, but for now you can expect nothing too out of the normal. But maybe the different take on Jaunedice and Ruby's dream can give you an idea of the tone I'm going for here.
Anyway, thank you for reading this story of mine. I hope you guys enjoy what i have in store.
-Zeroan
