First off let me say, WARNING this chapter is hella long. Okay anyway sorry about being away for so long everyone I kinda fell out of writing and got distracted with other things, and then I got a new computer was busy messing with that for awhile, but hopefully this chapter can be an apology granted I feel it wasn't very good, I feel I rushed the end really badly. Anyway tell me what you thing as this is probably my longest chapter ever.


Taking in the Sights

After that rather...awkward situation they had found themselves in, Rodric had followed Ruby silently back to her dorm, nothing was said between them on the way back which, in itself, was rather strange. Ruby was never quiet, from the time he spent with the girls, despite it being no more than a week, he learned that this girl was never quiet. When she stumbled forward slightly he realized what it must have been, seems sleep has finally caught up to her. He shook his head and closed the distance slightly to make sure she didn't collapse and injure herself, how ironic it would be to injure herself in such away, after she came out unscathed from the explosion in the forge. Glancing over his shoulder, he wondered what would become of the forge considering it was left in a rather abysmal state, though considering how loud it was, it would probably be fixed by the time she visited it again.

As they reached the dorm she clumsily unlocked the door and strode in, he however, remained on the outside of the threshold. He could feel the angry look coming from Yang at her spot on the bed, the others how ever seemed to already be asleep, otherwise he would probably be receiving the same treatment from them. Ruby turned to him, half-lidded, and barely conscious as she instructed him to not be so long as they were going to get up bright and early to travel down to Vale. She also informed him that she was going to leave the door open slightly seeing as he didn't have a 'scroll' as she called it, he simply nodded and bid her goodnight, she merely nodded and yawned before closing the door slightly. He stood for a moment and listened until he heard the creak of the bed signaling her climbing up into it, a moment later the shuffling stopped and was replaced with light snoring. He smirked as he turned away and headed back towards the stairs that would lead him towards the roof.

As he closed the door behind him he sighed softly, he strode over to the railing that allowed him to look over the edge and leaned against it, the cool breeze blew over the roof as he raised his eyes to the sky. The blanket of darkness was dotted with bright stars, slowly he lowered himself down to the ground before leaning back, he flinched slightly when his bare back met the cold rooftop. As his back became accustomed to the cold he rested again as he looked up at the stars, he couldn't believe they seemed much farther than he was used too, not to mention they didn't look all that different that he remembered them. Running his hand through his hair he chuckled softly, Has it really be that long? As he slowly lowered his hand to look back up to the stars above, he slowly nodded to himself answering his own question, clenching his fist he frowned. It wasn't fair, he wished to be up there again, to touch the sky and feel the wind against him, to look down and see the ground rushing by, to return home and see-

He shot up as he shook his head, trying to remove the thought from his mind, he had been dwelling to much on his past, it only made sense for those memories and feelings to surface again. He slowly shook his head, that's right...it only makes sense, he gave a heavy sigh as he tilted his head back and looked up once again. He was thinking about things he couldn't control, he had to focus on the fact that he was going to be heading into this 'Vale', and if he was being honest with himself he was mildly excited. He had been here for a better part of a week and all he had managed to see was, a forest off in the distance, the dorm, a library, a gym, and the dinning hall. It seemed it was finally a chance to experience something new, a small smirk played on his lips, he wondered just what this Vale would have in store for him, though with how excited Ruby seemed it must be something very interesting. He gave a low chuckle as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, it seemed he would have to turn in for the night, if she was serious about getting up bright and early.

As he walked back down the hallway towards the dorm a soft click reached his ears, he turned and was met with the emerald eyes of none other than, "Nyx?" The girl stiffened slightly as she looked over her shoulder then back at her as she gave a nervous wave, "What are you doing up so late?" She fidgeted slightly as she took a nervous step towards him.

"J-Just, you know, thought I would take a little stroll to help me sleep..." He looked down at her to see still in her sleepwear, complete with slippers as he looked back up at her.

"Like this?" She looked down at herself and crossed her arms, something was wrong, she refused to look at him anymore, even when he moved to stand in front of her she averted her gaze. "Nyx...what is it?" She merely shook her head.

"I-Its nothing, I just needed some fresh air, believe it or not, it does get stuff in those dorms sometimes..." She gave an empty chuckle, he wasn't buying it. Frowning he took hold of her shoulders to keep her in place as he leaned down to look directly into her eyes.

"Nyx, I don't appreciate being lied to, especially by someone who made it there duty to try and fix my problem..." She flushed slightly at that and turned her head away to look out the window, "Now, what is the matter?"

She bit her lip as she stared out into the moonlit courtyard of Beacon, everything was cloaked in an almost ethereal glow, it didn't look real yet it was still beautiful nonetheless. She mentally sighed, no matter how much gazing she did, that wasn't going to stop Rodric from questioning her, and he did have a point. She made it her job to poke and prod until he told her what was wrong, it only made sense that it would come back to bite her in the ass. She sucked in a breath and slowly let it out as she shrugged out of his grip, surprisingly he didn't resist, she took a step back as she clutched her sides, her gaze never leaving the window. "I-It's just," Her voice wavered, she scoffed slightly, she hadn't even began and she was already losing her nerve. She took a moment to calm herself before continuing, "not everyone is like you Rodric. Not everyone is so...understanding, and willing to look past appearances, its been hard ever since I came to Beacon. While there are people who are like you that don't care what I look like, others...others aren't so kind."

She ran her fingers through her hair and over her ears, her other hand found her tail waiting at her side, she pulled it close against her as she began to slowly stroke it. Glancing over towards Rodric she noticed that he too was now looking out the window, he hadn't urged her to continue or give typical advice such as 'just ignore them.' While she wouldn't hold it against her team for giving that type of advice, sometimes she wished they would simply, listen that's all she really wanted from them was just to listen to her. Taking another breath she continued, "I never really cared about it, ya' know? People say what they will and life goes on, why let someone get to you, when they'll eventually fade into nothing but a memory. It's just..." She frowned as she tried to find the words, "It's just I've never had someone so...relentless in harassing other faunus, let alone me. He just...it's like he makes it his mission to make sure he ruins my day, to make me feel like dirt, to make me feel less than what I am, to make me feel like shit!" She was shaking, she didn't realize it until she felt the calm hand of Rodric being placed on her shoulder, she looked up at him before looking back outside as she let out a shaky breath, "Sorry..."

She couldn't help but smile slightly when he said nothing, most people would hate that the person they confide in remain silent, but she was glad it allowed her to just get everything off her chest. "I just don't know what I'm suppose to do, I can't go to any of the teachers because what would that honestly do, ya' know? My team, I love them, but they have other things to worry about than a bully...my mom always told me to keep smiling, to keep smiling because the moment I don't then they win. I do, I still smile regardless of how much I hurt inside...it's just getting so hard to fake it any longer I don't-" She was cut off when her face pressed against Rodric's chest, a deep blush covered her face as she felt his arms tightly embrace her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she heard his heart beating loudly in her ear, she tilted her head up slightly and fought back another blush when she saw an almost animal like ferocity in his eyes.

"Nyx," She jumped slightly when he spoke, thankfully he released her as she stumbled back slightly to look at him, that same ferocity remained in his eyes and made her tremble slightly. "There are times when one must ignore the violence they see, because it will simple breed more hate and more fear, correct?" She nodded slowly after a moment, that look in his eyes was strong, it filled her with a sense of bravery yet at the same time fear. "But, there are times when people must be made an example of, to show that fear will not reign over you. To show that we will not stand for this treatment any longer, to show that we are no longer afraid." She looked at him curiously, as she was about to speak he continued, "Things will change, I can guarantee that." A strange warmth filled her chest as she repeated those words in her head, while they sounded much like the hopeful words of her friends and family, the way he spoke held such a sincerity to it she couldn't help but smile. "Give it time, and justice will come, and it will strike hard on the deserving, for now ease your mind and return to bed, let not these trouble waste you away Nyx."

She bit her lip as she smiled trying to fight back the laugh she felt brewing in her throat, he spoke so strangely almost like an old-timey gentleman. She bit down on her tongue to keep the laugh from slipping out as she slowly nodded and turned to go back to her dorm, as she touched the handle she turned to Rodric and smile, "Thank you Rodric, I know it sounds strange, but...I believe you. People usually say that to make me feel better, but for some reason, I believe it when you say it." She shook her head, "Goodnight Rodric."

"Goodnight Nyx, and remember what I said 'Things will change...'" She nodded as she slipped back into her room and closed the door, as it clicked close a low rumbling growl could be heard echoing through the now empty halls. He turned back towards his destination, with a scowl set on his face, "Things will change...I can promise that."


Groaning softly he slowly opened his eyes to find that the room was still fairly dark, he tried to close his eyes when felt someone shaking him, frowning he turned to see Ruby kneeling next to him an obviously excited look plastered on her face. It only caused him to groan again as he covered his face rubbing his eyes, "Gods...what time is it child?"

She bit her lip as shook slightly trying to contain her laughter, she didn't want to wake anyone else up, instead she slowly pulled out her scroll to check the time, "It's just past seven." She couldn't stop it, she giggled softly when he groaned in annoyance before looking up at her again.

"Why on earth would you wake up at such an ungodly hour?" He restrained himself from unleashing a string of curses as he tilted his head back to see that the sky was barely turning colors as the sun was still rising.

"Well I said we would be heading out to Vale really early remember?" She smiled as he groaned again, having apparently forgotten that she had indeed said that, though as excited she was her face fell, "Well...I-I mean we can always go later if you're still-"

"N-No, no it's fine I just didn't expect you to actually wake me up so...so early." He frowned slightly as he rubbed his eyes, why did I do that, he wondered. Though his thoughts were stopped when Ruby clapped her hands together.

"Great, well first you need to take a shower, after what happened last night in the forge I'm sure you itching to clean up a little...I know I was." Even though she was mostly protected from everything that happened, she was still sweating and covered in ash and dust, seeing as he suffered a little more she expected him to be eager to bathe. Though as he continued to sit there looking at the ground she tilted her head slightly, "Whats wrong? You do know how to use a shower right?" She smiled slightly when he glared up at her.

"Of course I know how to use a shower, I just don't have a change of clothes, the only shirt I did have was ripped to shreds in that explosion." He moved back slightly so that his back was firmly against the wall as he rubbed his eyes once again when he found them stinging, Ruby sat next to him tapping a finger to her chin her face twisted in concentration. Only the gods know what she could be thinking of, he smirked slightly as he yawned loudly.

"Oh! I could go across the hall and see if Jaune or Ren have an extra shirt that you can borrow, I mean you can't very well go wandering out in torn clothes." Rodric hummed slightly, while the two boys shirts might fit a little tight on him it seemed like a better alternative than missing out on this little excursion. Shrugging slightly he nodded, as she clapped her hands together, "Right, well while I do that you go ahead and take your shower, and I'll be back before you know it." Quickly getting up she made her way out of the dorm and across the hall, she knocked on the door and waited, when she heard nothing she knocked again. It was the fifth time that she knocked did she hear something from the other side, although it sounded like someone falling out of bed, it was a sound nonetheless. A moment or so later the door opened to reveal a very disheveled and very tired Jaune wearing a bright blue onsie, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as he rubbed his eyes.

"H-huh, oh...what's up Ruby...wait," He rubbed his eyes again and shook his head to wake himself up just a bit more, "Ruby? You're up this- wait what time is it? Did I oversleep again?!" Ruby frowned at that, as she shook her head sighing heavily, she could get up early, she just chose not too...why was it so hard to believe that?

"No Jaune you didn't oversleep, I, believe it or not, woke up early. I just came over to ask if you perhaps had an extra shirt that you weren't using?"

"Uh...for you?"

She sighed softly as she faced palmed, "Yes Jaune, for me, since as you can see I clearly don't have a shirt." She looked at him to see a confused look on his face, or a face still clouded with sleep, she honestly couldn't tell, "It's for Rodric we had a little...incident in the forge, and he doesn't have a spare one, and we had planned to head out to Vale."

"Oh...I knew that." He moved away from the door and walked over to his dressed pulling out one of the undershirts he used for his uniform and handed it to her, "Was that it?" She nodded happily, "Well in that case I think I'm going to get back to bed then, goodnight Ruby...or good morning, ah you know what I mean."

Ruby walked back into the dorm with one shirt in hand, now all she had to do was- it seemed she didn't think this through in it's entirety. She gulped softly as she stood outside of the bathroom door, she couldn't very well go in there and leave it for him, what if he was out of the shower and she walked in and saw...everything. She shook her head as she felt a small blush crawling up her neck, though she couldn't just hold onto it, cause he would come out and look for it and then it wouldn't be much different. She bit her lip and decided on what to do, she knew the bathroom like the back of her hand, gripping the door handle she slowly opened it as she shut her eyes. As quickly as she could she ran into the bathroom and left the shirt on the sink before running back out, though not before she slammed right into the wall next to the door.

Hearing a thud Rodric turned slightly, though through the bit of fog from the hot water he couldn't see much, shrugging slightly he went back to bathing himself.


Ruby sat at the table they had rubbing her forehead, probably not a good idea to go running through the bathroom with her eyes closed, gently prodding her forehead she winced slightly. Thankfully that loud smack of her head colliding with the wall hadn't woken up anyone else, aside from Blake and Weiss probably being angry with Rodric, she knew for sure that if Yang found out where they were going she would tease her mercilessly. Even though she knew it was a harmless trek through Vale, she just knew that Yang would make something out of nothing, and she didn't really want to listen to that for the coming days. A soft click caused her to drop her hand and jerk her head up, Rodric came out of the bathroom wearing the same pants from the night before much to her dismay, but with the white shirt thrown on. Suffice to say Jaune wore a much smaller size than Rodric seemed to, as the white shirt was practically a second skin to him, the thing that got her though was his long hair which was normally tied back hung loose on him. While most of it fell over his back some of it fell forward over his shoulders, "Wow..."

"Hm, what is it?"

She felt the heat creeping up her face as she quickly tried to find something to say, "I-I uh...w-well i-its just your hair. I've never seen it down on you, you've always had it up, so it was just...surprising I guess." He hummed slightly as he tucked the loose hair behind his ear pulling it over his shoulder and down his back, she had to turn away to keep the blush on her face hidden.

"Hm, I suppose I have, well besides that I suppose I am ready to go." He looked towards the beds as he tilted his head slightly, "Will the others be joining us?"

She shook her head, "No, knowing them they wouldn't want to wake up this early, especially Yang. I had planned to stay in Vale as long as I could, I doubt they would have wanted to...what about you, how long do you want to say in Vale?"

He gave another soft hum as he slowly shrugged, "As long as we can, I would like to see what this town looks like, it has been much to long since I have seen a civilized town, I'm sure it looks much different that I am expecting." He made his way over to the door and pulled it open as he looked over to Ruby, "Shall we be having breakfast, or will we eat in Vale?"

"I know a good place or two in Vale." She smiled as she got up from the chair and ducked under Rodric's arm as she walked into the hallway wither her hands behind her back. She didn't turn when she heard the door click behind her, she began to walk down the hall listening to the heavy steps of the one behind her. "So...you're a dragon huh?" She smiled when he sighed heavily behind her.

"Yes child, must I go over this again?"

"Just on some stuff that we didn't get to cover is all, such as how you got to be the way you are now." Another heavy sigh was another smile across her face.

"Yes, I suppose that deserves some explanation hm?" He shook his head smiling slightly when he saw her nodding furiously, "Well," He rubbed the back of his head not exactly sure on how to explain his situation, "I suppose it might have been because I had died but-"

"What?!" She had stopped so suddenly that she was almost thrown forward when he ran right into her, she quickly turned around a look of shock clear on her face, "Y-You died!, B-But you said...you said dragons were immortal, h-how could you-"

"Hang on child I never said we were immortal, I merely said that we have long lives, we can still pass from old age...or from other means..." He rubbed the back of his head as he shook his head, "However, because we simply die doesn't mean that is the end for us, we are made from the very essence that makes up the world, when we pass we simply return from where we came from."

"So...you go basically return to dust?"

"That is how the old adage goes doesn't it? I suppose it's true in a sense, when a dragon dies all their essence returns to nature, but that doesn't mean that we are simply gone forever. We simply vanish for a time I suppose, we enter a sort of hibernation, our bodies fade back to nature while our souls linger...I can't honestly explain how I came to be, I can't seem to remember much about my own passing. I am certain that it wasn't because of my age, that I know for sure."

Ruby didn't miss the anger lacing his tone, she let the subject drop when he had stopped speaking, though she would lie if she said she wasn't curious. She wondered what he meant that their bodies vanished, shaking her head she tried to put it out of her mind, if she thought about it to much she would end up bugging him about it. To take her mind off of it she smiled and turned around as she began to walk backwards facing him, "You know since the tables are turned I'm surprised that you aren't asking me questions, about Vale you know?"

"I suppose it's because I can contain my excitement unlike a certain girl I know." He chuckled softly when huffed in mock anger, "I suppose it's because I don't know what to ask, or where to begin for that matter, for the week that I've been here I've seen so much, yet almost nothing at the same time. It's confusing honestly, everything is so drastically different...the things I saw and heard from the void did nothing to prepare me for any of this, it makes me wonder just how much time has passed since I met my end." He trailed off as his eyes returned to the now stone pathway as a breeze blew across his face, everything was different yet strangely all the same, there were so many things he wanted to know yet he didn't know where to start.

Looking up he saw that Ruby had turned back around, possibly to make sure she didn't run into anything, he smirked slightly as he wondered where to begin. As the stone of the school slowly vanished giving way to a long empty runway he shook his head, the answer was right there and he took this long to notice. "You hunters...you're not like the hunters from my time, tell me about them."

Ruby looked over her shoulder nodding before turning back around, he wanted to know everything about hunters, she wasn't exactly sure if she could deliver on that type of information. Sure she always dreamed about being one, and she practically followed everything they did religiously...who was she kidding she knew she would be able to tell him everything. "Well," She wrung her hands as she began, "you're right hunters aren't like those from your time. Mainly because we don't listen to a king, for now we listen to our headmaster, Ozpin, he's the one who tells us the things we need to do and what missions were allowed to take. After we graduate we apply for hunting licenses in whatever Kingdom we live in, that gives us access to jobs coming in and out of the Kingdom, I guess it's sort of like contracts? All the hunters have access to any job through a website that hunters can go to, there they can pick any job and just like that they have it." She took a breath before continuing, excitement slowly building through her body as she spoke, "The missions come in many types; either extermination jobs where people need Grimm cleared out of an area, escort jobs where hunters are needed in assisting local military in transporting high value prisoners, even down to simple delivery missions but that's mainly because they go through high Grimm infested areas."

"How do you know so much about these missions Ruby?" She gave a loud nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head, yet she didn't say anything, "Ruby?"

"W-well I might have peeked at the website, I-It's not illegal to look, but that's all I can do. Seems there's a password that's needed that's only issued by the Kingdom after a hunter applies for a license."

"Tell me are you forced to stay as hunters once you graduate?"

"No...we are free to choose other careers if we want, but most people stay as hunters because it's...it's amazing. Sure most people do it for the fame or the glory, heck some people do it mainly for the money, but there are a large group of people that do it, to make a difference. Some people want to simply help others in a way that police officers and lawyers couldn't, we are the ones who make a physical change in the world." Though he couldn't see it, she had a large smile on her face as they grew closer to the airship in the distance, "I'm sure you've seen or at least heard that the Faunus aren't exactly the most respected race, but they're here so that they can change that, to show that there are those who want to help and make a different. To show that they aren't at all like the Faunus in the White Fang."

Rodric was silent as he listened to her, these hunters seemed so vastly different than the ones he lived alongside, they were much more honorable that was for certain. It also seemed they carried everyone's hopes on their shoulders, hopes for a better world, and better lives, though it seemed like Ruby was perfectly content with bearing that burden. Already it seems better than my time.

"Well here we are." Rodric looked up to see a large metal contraption sitting at the end of the runway, it was completely black though there seemed some windows in the bottom portion that sat along the ground. There seemed to be a few people entering it from where they were, and just like that it's terrible.

"We're getting on that thing? Really?" Rodric had his doubts about this strange machine, though from the way the others were acting, laughing and smiling, and holding hands with one another it seemed that they had more trust in this machine than he did. He frowned when he heard the soft laughter coming from Ruby.

"What's the matter afraid of heights?"

He scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, of course I'm not afraid of heights, what I am afraid of is some strange metal contraption being used to take us to Vale. I would much rather it be me who could fly than to trust someone else with that duty, but it seems I have no choice in the matter now do I?" He gave weary sigh when Ruby simply shook her head, "Let us be off then I suppose..."


Ruby had to keep her gaze outside of the window to keep from cracking up, the moment the airship began to move Rodric dug his fingers into the seats and practically went rigid. With every bump from the turbulence he seemed to get more and more anxious, as funny as it was she couldn't help but feel bad for him, she had hoped that flying would have helped him relax more seeing as it was something he said he longed to do, yet... "Rodric, are you alright?"

"P-Perfectly fine, child." He frowned when his own voice betrayed him, he couldn't believe the position he was in, here he was finally amongst the clouds and yet he was scared stiff of being in this metal contraption. "H-How long did you say this flight was?"

"...an hour?"

"Lovely."

Ruby frowned slightly at that, she wanted him to enjoy his time in Vale and if he was like this now she could only imagine that it would sour his experience there as well. She turned to look at the clouds passing by as she sighed, she didn't understand, he had said he wanted to fly again but why was he acting so...scared. She hummed softly as she tried to figure him out, this was flying technically but- her head snapped up as she realized something, while this was technically flying it wasn't flying for him. He was a dragon, he was used to feeling the wind on his face so this was very unnatural for him, quickly standing she grabbed his arm only to feel his arm twitch as his grip tightened. "It's alright I think I know how to help you relax, come on."

Rodric looked up towards Ruby before slowly letting go of the seat and stood letting her guide him, she took him towards the back of the cabin leading him to a single door, he was about to ask about it until she threw it open. His heart clenched but slowly relaxed when it opened to a metal walkway connected to the cabin, they slowly made their way along the outside, strangely enough he found it quiet. Looking over the metal railing he could see the ground rushing by as a familiar sense of vertigo brewed in his chest, "Ruby...this is wonderful but it's it a little too quiet and too calm to be outside of this machine?"

"Well that's cause there's a aura generated field around this part of the airship, it allows the passengers to stand on the outside without the wind pressing against them and the loud noise, but..." She fidgeted slightly, "There is a way to turn it off, I just don't know if you would-"

"Please! Would you be so kind as to turn it off." Ruby simply nodded as she moved over to a dial worked into the metal of the ship, she placed her hands on it and looked over to Rodric.

"It's going to get pretty loud so...brace yourself." She slowly turned the dial down lowering the aura barrier the dust crystals generated, slowly she began to feel the air rushing past them until the barriers were completely gone leaving them to the full force of the wind as it blew against them. She had to brace herself to the metal bar running along the wall, she turned to see Rodric looking in the direction of the rushing wind, the look on his face could only be described as true joy. She couldn't help but give a wide smile as she saw it, he was no longer shaking or looking nervous, he stood tall as he walked towards the very front of the ship. Doing the best she could she followed him, she wanted to call out to him, but when she did the roaring wind cut her voice off.

It was hard, moving against the wind, but he forced himself forward determined to reach the front to feel the full force of the wind against him. That familiar feeling, and the sense of vertigo returned full force as it made his chest swell with pure joy, his body seemed to tingle all over as the wind roared in his ears. As he gripped the metal bars that kept him from going over the edge he leaned forward and closed his eyes as all the memories came flooding back to him. The wind rushing over his body and beneath his wings as he flew through the skies, the vast emptiness ahead of him, to go wherever he pleased whenever he please. He felt a pressure in his chest slowly growing, being back in the skies ad brought him a great pleasure he thought he had lost, slowly he tilted his head back and took a deep breath. As he opened his mouth he gripped the metal bar tighter, as he let forth a loud bellowing roar that seemed to make the very air quiver with it's might. The roar lasted for a mere moment before slowly fading away, letting the silence return.

"W-Whoa..." With great difficulty she crossed the metal walkway to stand next to Rodric her hands holding the metal bar in a death grip as the wind rushed around them "That was crazy..." She had heard Grimm roar before and she had seen lions roar from when she went to the zoo, but never something like this. It was so deep, and loud, and help such a fierce presence behind it, she couldn't doubt anymore that what he claimed to be was true. He really was a dragon.

"I...I apologize, i-it's just been a long time since I last felt the wind in my face like this, it brought back such wonderful memories that I couldn't contain myself." Rodric had to shout over the air to speak to her, he had worried that he might have frightened her with his display of pure excitement, he looked down towards her only to see that she had a look of pure wonder in her eyes.

"N-No that's perfectly fine I'm glad you're feeling better..." She bit her lip as she looked out towards the clouds before looking back up at him, "D-Do you think you can do it again?"

He merely chuckled as he looked out towards the clouds rushing by as he felt the pressure building in his chest one again, he took a deep breath and tilted his head back as he released another bellowing roar into the sky, perhaps even louder than the first time.


Lifting the cup to her lips, she slowly sipped at the liquid inside grimacing at the bitter taste, How can these humans drink this swill. She set down the cup as she leaned back in her chair tilting her head back as she looked up at the sky. Her associates had told her to return to the base within the hour, that meant she had at least a bit of free time to waste until she returned. Sadly all she had to do was stay in this town filled with these wretched humans, twice she had to scare off some man who had the audacity to come up and try to, as they say, hit on her. She ran her fingers through her silver tresses as she closed her eyes, maybe she would return sooner, she couldn't stand to be around these humans and animals for much longer.

The ground suddenly began to shake slightly as she opened her eyes to see the cup before her swaying, it seemed others could feel it as well as they all began to mutter among themselves as to what it could be. A moment later a loud bellowing roar rushed through the area shaking the windows and echoing through the now dead silent street, a small smirk played on her face as she quickly stood and began to walk from her table, "Well...seems someone is enjoying themselves."


They both received strange looks as they stepped off the airship, though she couldn't help but expect that since Rodric roared like that, she could hear some of the people muttering around them. She ignored them and quickly pulled Rodric away from the air dock and further into Vale, she stopped when they walked onto the main street that was lined with all sorts of shops, ranging from simple clothing stores, to weapon repair shops. Rodric looked around at all the tall buildings, in awe at such simple yet grand structures as he chuckled slightly shaking his head, "So this is what you humans have been up to over the years, well I must say it is an amazing sight."

Ruby eagerly nodded her head when she saw that Rodric at least seemed interested, "Yeah it has so much more stuff than what you can see right now, come on let's go I want to show you my favorite place." She quickly rushed off leaving Rodric shaking his head as he followed as quickly as he could behind her. As he followed he took notice of all the large buildings that were around them, all the metal vehicles that drove up and down the road, but he seemed to take more notice of just all the people that were around. In the small village he had lived by there couldn't have been more than a hundred people, but here, he easily passed by that many as he followed Ruby. He had to admit watching the people milling around and going about their daily tasks did remind him of the village, he was pulled from his thoughts when he once again almost ran into the girl before him, she had to at least say something when she intended to do that. He shook his head as she happily declared, "Here we are."

Looking up at the large white building he read the name From Dust Till Dawn, with a large white banner underneath it stating in big red letters, 'Grand Reopening.' He tilted his head slightly, Grand Reopening for what?, while he would have pondered it for a moment the ringing of a bell pulled his attention forward as he watched Ruby enter the shop. Sighing heavily he quickly followed her into it, it wasn't a fairly large shop but with the way everything was organized it certainly seemed huge. In front of him behind a large glass counter stood an old man who gave him a smile as he nodded towards him, looking off to the side he saw strange tubes descending from the ceiling, each one filled with some strange powder all in different colors. Ruby was at the other end of the glass counter looking at whatever lied inside of it, he looked around the rest of the shop as he made his way over to her, there were rows of brown wooden shelves all filled with different types of snacks from what it seemed like. In the back he could see glass doors with many beverages behind them, and next to them he could see rows of magazines, it seemed this shop had a little bit of everything in it. Moving over to the case that Ruby was currently...uh drooling over he looked into it and couldn't help but laugh slightly at the sight.

"What's so funny?" Ruby wiped her mouth and looked up at Rodric curiously.

"Oh, nothing I just didn't think you were the the type to obsess over jewelry."

She quickly shook her head, "No, no this isn't jewelry this is-wait what's that suppose to mean?!" She glared up at him, yet it didn't seem to do much as he just smirked at her, she huffed as she looked back down at the crystals in the case. "Anyway, no this isn't jewelry, you remember that stuff I put in my bullets last night before they uh...you know. Um, anyway, that stuff was Dust and this is their refined form." She motioned for the older man to come over to which she pointed to one of the burn crystals in the case, he simply nodded and fished it out of the case before handing it to her, "I'm not an expert when it comes to Dust, that would be Weiss, but I do know that we pretty much use Dust for just about everything. From souping up our weapons, to powering the airship we came in on, I hear some people weave this stuff into their clothes to enhance their aura and stuff. It's uh pretty versatile, here." She handed him the crystal, to which he turned over in his hand looking at it, he couldn't believe such a simple thing was so powerful and yet she claimed it was.

He brought it towards his face looking at it, as he slowly turned it over he noticed a slightly glimmer in it, there seemed to be something swirling around inside of the crystal. He wasn't sure if there was actually something there or if it was merely his eyes, but there was no denying the power he felt rolling off of it. He could feel a massive energy flowing through his hands and arms, and at the center of it was the crystal, he brought it closer to his face and sniffed at it trying to get some sort of idea of what it actually was. Though the only thing he could smell was a tinge of smoke, with an undertone of...roses? He shook his head as he brought it close to his face again and this time he ran his tongue over it, only to hear Ruby cry out in surprise. "W-What are you doing?!"

"Hm, is something the matter?"

"Yes! I mean...no...maybe? I don't know really, I mean people have tried to fuse dust with their bodies before I just never seem someone...lick a dust crystal like that, are you alright?"

He shrugged slightly as he set the crystal on the glass, "I suppose, my tongue tingles a bit, other than that I believe I'm fine." He crossed his arms as he looked down at all the crystals in the case before sighing, "Why do they come in so many colors, aren't they all the same thing?"

"No, see this one?" She held up the crystal that he had licked, "This one is a Burn crystal, when someone uses it, it generates fire. That one there is a Frost crystal, it generates ice, and that one is a Shock crystal...I'm pretty sure you can figure out what that one does. Those are pretty much the basic ones, but the Schnee Dust Company -they're the one's who mine and sell all the dust- they have people that, I don't know, combine them to create other types of dust. They've made Dust that heals wounds, restricts movement, and I think one that makes people always tell the truth...right?" She turned to the older man who nodded making her smile as she turned back towards Rodric, "Pretty much we have all types of Dust that can be used to do all kinds of things."

"Interesting..." He trailed off as Ruby went to look around the rest of the shop, his gaze drifted back down towards the crystals that lay in the case, it was still so strange to think that those fragile rocks were so powerful. Then again, considering all the other strange things he's seen in the last week, it made sense to say the least. He shook his head as he looked below the crystals and noticed a price for them, unsurprisingly he didn't know what it was, it didn't seem to be any currency he had ever seen, even though he had only see one type. Though before he could say anything about it, he felt Ruby tugging on his arm urging him to follow her. Sighing softly he relented and followed the girl back out into the city, the sun seemed to have risen higher in the short time they were in the shop, and it seemed like a few more shops had opened in that time. Though he couldn't exactly stop to look at any of them as he was pretty much being dragged along by the young girl in front of him, it was just as well though, he didn't know what these shops were and he felt if he were to stray off on his own he would no doubt end up lost.

They passed by many buildings, some with interesting looking trinkets hanging in the window, and sadly they passed buy a building that was releasing the most heavenly aroma he had ever smelled. But, despite his watering mouth and growling stomach they pressed on, he had no idea where she was dragging him to but much to his surprise, just after that thought they in fact stopped in front of a large store. There weren't any windows displaying their wares but from the name he was able to gather that it was a simple clothing shop, Ruby didn't say anything as she walked through the open doors, he had no other choice but to follow her. As he crossed through the doors he was slightly taken aback with how large the store actually was on the inside, from front to back it was lined with rows upon rows of clothing racks all holding different styles of pants, shirts, and other types of clothing. "Ugh..."

He arched his brow in confusion as he moved over to her, "Something the matter?"

"I hate clothes shopping..."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that, "I don't understand, if you hate shopping for clothes, why did we stop here?"

She shrugged slightly, "Well you did say that you didn't have many clothes aside from that shirt that was ruined right?" He merely nodded, "Well I figured, since we're out it would be a good idea for you to pick something up..." He turned to look at the hundreds of clothing racks sitting before him as he felt himself groan in annoyance, "So...anything strike your fancy?"


They began to wander around the large clothing store looking at different styles of clothing, he began to understand why Ruby disliked shopping for clothes now. Though when he would turn to her she would always be smiling, or laughing as she looked at the shirts, sometimes she would pull one off the rack and hold it up to him, saying that he would look good in it. Most of the time it would be a joke of a obnoxious drawing or some words that she said 'fit him' but other times she would find something he honestly liked. He in turn tried to do the same, finding shirts that he thought she would like, strangely he began to enjoy himself as well, he would find himself smiling each time he handed her a shirt that she would like. One of the times he turned to her, he saw that she had a handful of shirts in her arms, some of them ones he had found for her and others she no doubt found on her own, "Are you really going to get all of those?"

She looked down at the ever growing pile in her hands as she chuckled nervously and took three from the bottom of the pile and laid them across the racks, "Well now I am, I don't need that many shirts after all, but this one I'm definitely getting I mean look at it!" She tossed the pile onto her shoulders as she held up a black shirt with a picture of three Beowolves howling up at the shatter moon, "You can't tell me that isn't cool!"

He only chuckled as he looked at the shirt, "Isn't it...a little big for you?" She instantly pulled it against her chest looking up at him with puffed up cheeks.

"So, I can grow into it...in the mean time I can wear it to bed." She quickly folded the shirt up and buried it underneath the pile she had accumulated, "A-Anyway why haven't you picked anything yet we've already been walking around for awhile, and I'm the only one who got anything." He said nothing as he turned around and went back to looking at the clothes on the racks, Ruby knew right away something was wrong, Rodric was a strange, thickheaded and obnoxious person, but he was also pretty transparent. She said nothing as she walked over to him to look at the shirt he had pulled from the rack, "So...is something wrong?"

"No."

She sighed as she rolled her eyes, she should have known it wouldn't have been that easy to get him to answer, she took a step back and scratched her head. This wasn't her place, she didn't really know how to talk to people that were upset, that was mostly Yang's place, she always found a way to get people to open up. She shook her head and was about to drop the subject when she notice Rodric look at the price on the shirt he had been looking at, "Wait is that what the problem is?"

He quickly dropped his hand and turned around looking at her, "What I-I don't know what you're talking about."

She scoffed and shook her head, "Rodric if that was the problem you should have just-"

"There's nothing wrong!"

"...should have just said something, I'd be more than happy to lend you some money so you can get something."

"No, that won't be necessary, you should be using your money for something important."

"Well...isn't this important? I mean if you don't get something now you won't really have much to wear once we get back to Beacon." Rodric frowned, though he couldn't deny that she was actually right, if they left now without him getting anything he would be stuck wearing Jaune's clothes. Even so he would gladly put up with it if it meant that she would keep her money, though when he looked down at her he could tell that she was willing to put up a fight over this. He shook his head anyway and went to argue his case only to have her continue, "Besides it isn't that much to begin with, I've been saving money since I was in Signal I have plenty, not to mention my dad gave Yang and I some extra money in case we need it, so plenty...see?"

He crossed his arms as he looked at her, "I have a feeling I'm not going to have much say in this am I?"

"Nope."

"You know this is really-"

"Nope."

"You shouldn't be doing this in-"

"Nope."

"Ruby really don't-"

"Nope."

"Ruby I-"

"Nope."

"Ruby-"

"Nope.

"..."

"..."

"R-"

"Nope."


After much grumbling on his part they exited the store with bags filled with clothes for the both of them, despite his protesting ans arguing she had paid for his clothes herself. He had at least offered to carry the bags as some sort of 'favor for a favor' but she even declined that offer, he didn't know why she was being so difficult over this. He shook his head and put it out of his mind for now as he followed the red clad girl as she strolled down the street with a hop in her step, he could only guess why. The city had gotten a lot more lively since they entered the clothing store, now he could see just the sheer number of people that populated the city, both human and faunus alike. At first one would assume that they were living together almost harmoniously, but for someone like him who grew up around truly honest and kind humans he could see small gestures that were displayed towards the faunus. It was something as simply as one of the humans giving the faunus a wide berth, or simply refusing to hold the doors open for them under the guise of forgetfulness or being distracted by some trinket or item that the store held. He wasn't blind and he new that no one else was, and that sickened him, that they simply allowed this all to happen and went about their lives as if nothing was wrong. He didn't understand how humans in this time could be so cruel to people they shared a city with, he felt a low rumbling growl growing in his chest, though it was quickly silenced when he bumped into something.

Looking down he saw that Ruby had, once again, stopped walking with no warning whatsoever. He was beginning to wonder if it would be a reasonable request to ask if she would purchase a bell, that way he would at least know that when the ringing stopped he wouldn't run into her anymore. Though as he looked towards her, he noticed she had stopped but was looking at one of the shops across the road, more importantly the one aptly named The Baker's Dozen, there wasn't much of a mystery as to what they carried. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at how childish she was at times, "Ruby..." Saying her name seemed to pull her from her daze as she looked up at him, only to flush slightly and quickly look away, "We've been at this for a few hours already what do you say we take a break?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Sure."

"Hm, how about at that place right there, The Baker's-"

"Yes!" She dashed across the road and into the shop before he could even finish his sentence, he merely stood there for a moment looking at the trail of red petals she left behind. He shook his head and hurried across the road, thankful that it hadn't been busy.

Rodric sat at one of the small tables the bakery had, surprisingly enough it also turned out that the shop was also a small diner. According to the menu they had hanging on the wall, while they didn't have much in the way of food, aside from a few sandwiches, they had lists of different cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, and just about anything else sugary sweet that Ruby had instantly gushed over. He didn't understand how she could possibly enjoy sweets this much, they weren't healthy for one and they definitely weren't healthy in the amounts that she was eating them in, and now she was sitting in front of him shoveling some sort of cold confection into her mouth. He shook his head sighing softly, "So what did you call this...treat again?"

"Mhp, ish ice cweam." She swallowed the mouthful of ice cream she had and quickly wiped her mouth as she chuckled slightly, "Sorry, I was saying that this is ice cream and it's soooo good, you have to try some."

"I...I'm fine really I rather not...fill myself on such a..delicious looking treat when there is dinner to be had back at Beacon." In truth the confection that she was gorging herself on didn't look appetizing in the least, she at least seemed to enjoy it, which was good enough since he had suggesting coming here in the first place.

"What? No, come on you have to try this, at least a tiny bite, its not going to kill you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

"Oh come on don't be a baby, here just a bite." She scooped up a big spoonful of her favorite strawberry ice cream and held it out for him, she couldn't help but smile at the uneasy way he looked at it. She motioned for him to hurry as she laughed slightly, "Come on its melting."

Frowning Rodric leaned forward and took the spoon into his mouth as he ate the ice cream she held for him, the first thing he noticed was that it was cold, very cold. It made his jaw hurt with how cold it was, he frowned and groaned slightly, but once it passed he noticed the second thing; the sweetness. It was really sweet, and creamy, and honestly much more flavorful than he had though, "This...isn't as bad as I thought it was."

"What that's it? Come on you know it's so much more than 'not bad', what do you really think?"

"If your expecting me to gush over how 'amazing this is', much like you do might I add, I wouldn't hold my breath, I acknowledged that it is in fact delectable, but that is all you're going to get from me."

She frowned as she went back to scooping spoonfuls into her mouth as she huffed, "You're no fun, you know that?"

"I am quiet aware."

She smirked and shook her head as she helped herself to the rest of the ice cream, she was just about finished when she felt her pocket buzz slightly. Holding the spoon in her mouth she pulled her scroll out and opened it up to see she had a message, a message from Professor Ozpin no less, the spoon fell from her mouth as she read the message. She had to stop and re read it over again as she gave a soft sigh and looked up at Rodric, "Well I guess our day out is over..."

"Hm, why is that?"

"Ozpin wants us back at Beacon...he wants to talk with you."


After following a rather upset Ruby they both found themselves on another airship, much to his displeasure, though he was a lot better about it now. They sat further to the back with the bags sitting at their feet, he looked over to Ruby to see her slouched in her seat, she seemed to be taking it a lot harder than he was, but he understood he actually did enjoy their little outing. Despite that there was a pressing question he wanted answered, "So, what did Ozpin want?"

She sighed softly and shrugged, "He didn't say the only thing that the message said was..." She pulled out her scroll to read what the message actually said, " ahem, 'Ms. Rose at your earliest convenience I would like for you to bring Rodric to my office, I have a matter I wish to discuss with him, thank you' that's it." She set her scroll on her lap and huffed in annoyance, just when she was starting to have fun to, it wasn't even one o'clock yet and they were already having to call it a day.

"Strange what could he want with me I wonder..."

"Who knows with him, probably just pulling you away to tell you something you already knew, he does that a lot sometimes."

"Well, hopefully he has a good explanation for this, I was actually enjoying taking in the sights and the strange foods you forced upon me."

"Forced? Please I saw the way you were eyeing my food, I had to share otherwise I risked it going missing when I turned my back."

"I would never steal food from a child, they need the sustenance to grow, and in your case you need plenty of it hm?"

"Wha- I'm growing at a perfectly normal pace thank you very much!" She crossed her arms and huffed heavily, she wasn't angry at him she was mostly surprised that he was actually joking around with her, at least she thought he was...that's what it had sounded like to her anyway. She glanced over at him and saw him staring out the window with a faint smirk on his lips, she couldn't help but smile knowing that he was finally starting to relax around them, or rather around her for now. She knew that he would soon warm up to the others, though Weiss was going to be slow progress she felt that they would eventually get along much like the two of them did. Then a thought struck her, "Say Rodric..." He gave a small hum to signal that he was paying attention, "you know, you never did tell me how you got be...you know like this."

"I suppose I haven't." He looked towards her before sighing, "The truth is, I don't actually know." She stared at him wide eyed and gaping mouth as she struggled to form words, in her shocked state he continued, "That is the truth believe it or not, when I was...dead." He frowned at his choice of words before crossing his arms, "Well I suppose there is no better way to explain that than to be blunt, so yes while I was dead I lacked a physical body all I was, was merely a consciousness. I could still sense and perceive things around me, such as how I described being able to still sense the world and all it's changes...I was there and yet I wasn't." He sighed heavily, "Do you remember how I said when a dragon dies we merely release our essence back into the world?" She nodded slowly as he chuckled softly, "Well I suppose that had something to do with being able to sense the world around me."

"What do you mean?"

He tilted his head back leaning it against the rumbling window of the airship, "Well it's not a definite answer but, I mean it's something, what I mean is that since I am an earth dragon when I died I returned to nature. Every tree was me I can only assume, I was able to feel and 'see' and sense things through that. That is how I am able to know simple things, everything else is a mystery to me, since you humans have pushed nature far away from your personal lives it is hard to learn about something you cannot see."

"We only did that because of the Grimm though...wait were you able to see them while you were...you know?"

"Strangely enough...no, I could sense just about every other creature that wandered through the forests but these creatures I've never noticed...why is that?"

"Because they lack a soul I guess."

"...What?"

"Yeah, the creature's of Grimm don't have souls that's why they can't generate an aura like the human and faunus can...though that doesn't exactly explain why they attack us." This time it was Ruby who sighed heavily, she leaned her head back against the cushioned seat, "Supposedly that's why the Grimm attack us, because we have something that they don't and they are merely trying to take it by force. But, I read that researches said that they are attracted to negativity, like hate and war and stuff like that...with the way people still treat faunus and each other its no wonder they are still so close to the kingdoms." She gave an almost weary sigh that Rodric picked up on, he recognized the way it sounded as he had sounded the same way only yesterday, "All they do is take and kill, ruining peoples lives and family, they don't care what they destroy to feed their need for destruction..." Ruby kept her eyes closed as Rodric merely looked at her, something told him that Ruby was hiding a deep scar in her heart, something she had yet to come to terms with. Nothing more was said as they returned to Beacon in silence.


As the airship docked they picked up their belongings and headed towards the school, after Ruby informed him of the nature of the Grimm they both remained silent as they walked on. The air was heavy with silence and Rodric didn't know how to break it, something was ailing the young girl before him and he didn't know what to do to comfort her. He wasn't even sure if it was his place to comfort her, what if it was merely some resentment for the Grimm, what if he brought up bad memories by trying to talk to her about it, what if he merely angered her when she wished to not speak of it. Gah, why must humans be so difficult! "Rodric?"

His head shot up at her voice, "Yes?" She was merely looking at him curiously before jerking her head further up their path, his eyes followed hers and fell upon the woman standing there waiting for them. Her arms were crossed and she had a deep scowl on her face as she tapped her foot impatiently, "I guess she means to lead me to Ozpin."

"Yeah I guess so..." He looked towards her and noticed the dejected look on her face, he sighed softly.

"I...actually enjoyed today Ruby, perhaps we can continue again tomorrow?"

"I can't classes start up again tomorrow..."

Damn. "Well perhaps next weekend then?"

She gave a faint smile, "Sure that sounds like fun."

"Well-"

"Today Rodric." He turned and glared at the woman who simply returned the searing glare with an equally frigid glare, huffing indignantly he returned to the task at hand.

"Well we shall continue our little expedition next weekend, for now could I trouble you to take these bags back to the dorm, I'll be meet you there soon." She nodded as she took the few bags he had and watched him walk away following Professor Goodwitch who seemed to be in a hurry as Rodric had to jog to keep up with her.

Sighing softly she turned and headed back into the school carrying their bags, she grumbled to herself about the whole situation; having to end her trip early, having to carry all the bags back to the dorm, having to be away from Rodric...she really liked being around him, despite him seeming scary he was pretty fun to be around. With plenty of trouble she managed to make it back to her dorm room with only few stumbles, though as she stood outside the dorm she found herself with one final challenge...how was she going to open the door? She couldn't reach her scroll, huffing she kicked at the door hoping someone was in, thankfully it seemed like there was...sadly it was-

"Well back from your date I see, how did it go?"

"Ugh Yang it wasn't a date, we were just hanging out."

"Uh-huh did he buy you all those?"

"Ugh..." She shuffled into the room instantly cursing her luck that it was Yang who had been the one to meet her, she had wished that it was Blake or Weiss but no it had Yang. Sighing heavily she wondered if Rodric was having any better luck with his situation.


The cramped space did little to alleviate the tension between the two people stuck in the elevator together, Rodric glared at Goodwitch out of the corner of his eye as she had huffed again for the fifth time in the last ten minuets. He knew she wasn't exactly thrilled to be stuck in here with him, but she could at least go about it a little more quietly, shaking his head he returned his gaze to the red number above the door watching as it slowly grew. She hadn't spoken a word to him since they were outside, she wouldn't tell him what Ozpin had wanted or what it was all about, and frankly...he was annoyed beyond belief.

Thankfully the metal doors eventually opened revealing a long white hallway lined with windows that let the afternoon sun pour into the hallway, "Go on he's waiting for you. He rolled his eyes and stepped out of the elevator and made his way down the hall, surprisingly he didn't here the sound of her heels on the floor meaning she wasn't following him, casting a glance over his shoulder he saw that the elevator doors had closed once again. He gave a weary sigh as he proceeded down the long hallway towards the large set of doors.

Pushing them open revealed a large room that was equally empty a single desk sat in the center and sitting behind the desk, "Ozpin..."

"Rodric, I'm glad you could make it, please take a seat."

"What's this about Ozpin, and no games just tell me."

"Why it's about your enrollment of course."