RWBY Destiny 10

Ruby didn't scream when she fell down from the back of the Nevermore while it was still mid-flight, 80 feet from the ground. Neither did she scream when she crashed heavily down into the trees below her, slapping hard against each branch until her cloak getting caught in the many limbs of the tree finally slowed her descent. She dropped to the rocky forest floor, rolling onto her hurt shoulder and letting a hiss escape her lips.

She finally hunted down the Nevermore that had escaped from her. But chasing it down had been rather difficult. Every time she had gotten closer to it, it would flutter off somewhere else, circling above the trees and hungrily looking for prey to eat. Finally she had set a trap for it, using her cloak as bait. Stuffing a bunch of Grimm meat up it from the monsters she had slayed before, it looked like her, kind of. A smellier meatier version of her. Then she left the bait out in the middle of a clearing, waiting for the bird to descend. It circled once, twice above her, the red cloak catching it's eye and the smell of meat attracting it. Then when it had descended downwards, Ruby had shot out from the brush she had been hiding it and leapt right onto it's back.

It launched upwards, squawking angrily around the mouthful of meat and cloak in it's mouth. Ruby merely dug her scythe blade's into the shoulder of it, causing it to cry louder as she held on. The monster rose higher and higher, trying to shake her off by twisting suddenly to the left or right. But her blade held true and Ruby wasn't going anywhere soon. When it realized this, it seemed to give up, contemplating what next to do.

Ruby took this moment to free her blade and using the boost from her semblance, she speed up the back of the Grimm, and sliced the back of it's neck. The bird let out a huge squawk of pain, it's head rearing back and losing hold on Ruby's bait. Ruby lost balance on the bird's back and fell onto her back, the bait falling right into her lap. She clutched it with one hand and then dug her blade once more into a section of the bird's back not a moment too soon.

The bird did a barrel roll and Ruby found herself holding on for dear life by one hand. With her other hand she discarded the meat under her cloak and deftly reattached the hood to it's rightful place on her shoulders. It was a bit stained with blood and smelled like meat but she ignored it for now. She'd think about how best to wash it later. For now she had to focus on killing this Grimm off. The monster still sensed that Ruby was holding onto it, so it lowered it's altitude enough that Ruby was brushing against tree tops now. The branches and leaves smacked against her hard and she could feel her grip on her weapon slipping. Scratches formed on her face and she tried to lift her legs up to avoid banging them on the trees, using her free hand to smack away the offending objects in her way. A clump of leaves made it's way into her mouth and she spat them out, the taste nasty in her mouth.

The Nevermore noticed that it hadn't successfully shaken her off so it lowered even further and this time Ruby had no choice but to dislodge her blade or else risk full body slamming a really thick tree. Letting go, she timed it just right so that she landed on a sturdy branch underneath her.

The speed at which she had been going translated into a shaky landing because of the rapid decrease in velocity and motion. Luckily Ruby was nimble when it came to trees, having spent the better portion of two years up in them. In order to prevent breaking a bone or slipping off, she jumped off the branch she had barely touched down upon, digging her blade into the trunk of the tree and spinning herself forwards to the neighboring tree. She landed on that branch successfully, but she kept going with the momentum, knowing she had to catch up with the bird again. Already it had sensed that the load was gone and was flipping back right side up, and ascending.

Ruby trailed after it, huffing from exertion. Tree leaping wasn't as easy as she was making it look. She was keeping up with the monster, however, and landing on an springy branch, she bunched her leg muscles together and lifted up and into the air, her hand outstretched. It held on firm to the Nevermore's feathery tail and the bird let out an angry growl at having her back again.

"Missed me, mister birdy?" Ruby asked as the tail lashed up and down, the girl holding on fiercely. She was going to use it to launch herself closer to the monster's head, she just had to time it right. When the tail went up again, Ruby let go, allowing her body to twist in the air with the angle she was thrown at and gracefully ended up on top of the bird's head. Then before it could do anything, she sunk her sharp blade up to the hilt into it's cranium.

There was only a small whimper to let her know it was dead before it's wings froze in place and the great body of the beast began plummeting down. The young girl's hair flew straight up as did her legs, her stomach jumping up as she fell downwards, only her hold on her weapon keeping her still attached to the bird. But she didn't want to crash down with it. Ruby wretched her weapon free and instantly separated from the beast. Folding her weapon to her side, she grabbed the sides of her cloak and used it like a parachute to slow her descent. It didn't work quiet like she wanted it too, barely slowing her down before she hit the tree line. She had simply not been high up enough for her to slow down in time. And so it was why now she was cradling her hurt shoulder as she leaned her back on the tree she had hit.

The heavy thud of the Nevermore's body a meter or two away notified her of the monster's carcass hitting the ground. It caused the leaves from the trees around her to fall down and shower her. She huffed to blow away the leaf that had fallen over her eyes. "Well that just went great," Ruby said sarcastically. "I should have been able to land better. Some great warrior I am." Bitterness filled her voice as her mind wandered back to a memory.

"You have silver eyes, Rubes. Do you know what that means?" Ruby's mom had told Ruby, while tucking her into bed. She was explaining this to Ruby who had been constantly confused why everyone treated her differently in the village. As if she was a delicate doll.

"What does it mean, mommy?" A seven year old Ruby asked, snuggling up to the teddy bear her mother gave her to cuddle up with.

"It means that you are stronger than other hunter's. More special than them."

"Really?" Ruby had asked in excitement. "What kind of powers will I get?"

"Who knows," Summer Rose had smoothed down her daughter's hair and leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. "Everyone with silver eyes has different powers. But they were the original hunter's. The strongest of us all. And carrying their silver eyes means you carry not only their strength but also their greatness on your shoulders. Ruby Rose, you will be this village's savior one day." The village had hope for Ruby becoming a force to be reckoned with. Someone who could stop the tide of the Grimm from ravaging their village. She was the only silver eyed person the people had seen in the past thirty years.

"I can't wait!" Ruby had exclaimed as her mother got up and turned off the light in their room. "I want to save the village now!"

"You're still too young. And you certainly won't be able to do it unless you go to sleep. You need your sleep to grow tall and strong!"

"Okay mommy," Ruby said and turned onto her side, screwing her eyes closed shut. She was still too excited to sleep so when her mom left, closing the door behind her, she took to talking to her bear about what cool ways she would save the village until she finally fell asleep.

The memory of this faded away and Ruby tried to hold back the tears in her silver eyed gaze. "The village savior, huh? I'm a terrible hero. I couldn't save them that day. I couldn't save any of them." Terrifying Grimm screams rang out through the night, instantly setting the small village on high alert. The families of hunter's and huntresses had come out, ready to fight, but they had been no match for the monsters, which had picked them off one by one in the dark. Which had set their houses on fire.

"Ruby run!" Summer had ordered her daughter as she stared down the face of the Nucklevee. Already it had devoured three of her comrades.

"But mom!" Ruby had protested, standing and quaking behind her mother. Tears streamed down her face. She had begun her training at the age of ten but two years of training had not prepared her for the real thing, the Grimm that she often practiced on being weaker or near death.

"Just go!" Summer insisted, raising her weapon to block an attack from the Nucklevee's hand that sent her feet stumbling back but she grit her teeth to stop her movement, not wanting to open the way for the monster to snatch up her daughter. One of her neighbors lunged at it, trying to make a pass for it's legs. It released it's hold on Summer's weapon in order to use both hands to capture the man and lift him up in the air. Where were the reinforcements? Probably busy with the other herd of Nucklevee that had shown up by the west wing of the village.

"I can't leave you here! I want to help!"

"You cannot. This is a job for grown-ups! Just run, run away and wait for me by our favorite tree. I'll be there at sunset." Summer couldn't wait any longer to check if Ruby would listen to her. Her neighbor would die if she didn't help him right now.

"Will you be there?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide in fright as the monster let out another screech. Summer ran at the beast, leaping up to slice the creatures arm's off.

"I promise. Now go!" Summer let out a war cry as the monster moved out of the way, letting her fall to the ground as she missed her target completely. The man's frightened cries filled the air as the mouth of the beast elongated and swallowed him down in one gulp all the while he remained screaming.

Ruby couldn't stand to look anymore. She ran, ran as fast as she could, her semblance aiding her as she swerved through the mass of humans fighting Grimm. She was a red blur, scattering petals as she went. When she finally reached the tree only then did she stop, breaths ragged in her chest. Even from here she could see the black plume of smoke that signaled her village was burning. Screams carried on the wind that occasionally caressed Ruby's face, bringing with it the heavy copper scent of blood. She stood by that tree, waiting and waiting until the sun had begun to set, washing the forest in cruel crimson. Only then did Ruby venture to the village, worried for her mother.

"She promised me she would be at the tree. She promised," Ruby whimpered to herself clutching her hands to her chest. "Why wasn't she there?" The walk back was slower, Ruby not using her semblance in dread of what awaited her.

When she got to the village she found her worst nightmares had come true and even more. The trees leading away from the village had been flattened, signaling that the Grimm had escaped the village and were making their way out into the inner world, while leaving her home in ruins. Smoke curled up from the dying fires, each and every house smashed to bits. Blood and bodies littered the streets, Ruby recognizing too many of them. There were her childhood friends lying with their lower bodies missing, her trainer with his head ripped off but with his flamboyant colored cloak giving him away, her local newspaper deliverer, hoof marks trampling him to death.

All Ruby could think was why? Why had this happened? Why had they all had to die? A soft voice drew her attention to rubble by her side. She approached it, worried that it would be a Grimm. She unfolded her weapon, holding it in her shaking grip as her breaths burst past her lips in frightened bursts.

"Ruby...?" a voice asked and Ruby nearly dropped her weapon.

"Mom?" she called out, rushing towards the rubble. Buried halfway underneath it was her mother. The woman looked terrible, blood caking her mouth and one eye shut closed.

"Mom!" Ruby cried out, dropping to her knees by her mother, discarding her weapon to the side.

"Ruby...you shouldn't have come back. It's not safe..." her voice was weak and she coughed, a thin trickle of blood coming from her mouth. "But I'm glad you came back. I got to see your face one more time."

"Mom, don't say that. You're going to be okay," Ruby's chin quivered and tears began to flow freely from her eyes.

"Shh, don't cry my brave girl. You are stronger than that. And you will have to continue being strong. You are the only one who can keep the Grimm away now. The only one with enough power. I"m sorry that...that you got stuck...with this big...of a destiny, but I know you can do it."

"I can't do it! I couldn't even stop the village from being attacked!" Ruby could barely see past her tears now and she reached out for her mother's hand. It was cold.

"You must...use your anger as fuel..." another cough. "Ruby, I want you to take my cloak."

"Your cloak?" Ruby sniffled. "I can't take it. It's your trademark." Everyone knew her mother in the village by her red cloak. Summer Rose and her cloak were always together, like a pair. One wouldn't be found without the other.

"And now it will be yours," Summer said and Ruby began to panic as her mother tugged the cloak free from her shoulders and let it pool around Ruby's feet. Ruby knew this was it. "Mom no! You can't die. You won't die. You won't!"

"It's already too late for me...the rubble crushed my internal organs. But remember I love you. And so did your father. And now I will be together with him and the both of us will...always...look...down on...you," Summer's words got softer and slower and her eyes lost their spark.

"MOM!" Ruby's cries of grief pierced the air. She rose to her feet, grabbing her scythe. "I'll free you right now. I'll get the rubble off of you," she vowed and began picking at it with her blade frantically. But each hit got weaker and weaker until she sunk back to her feet, her whole body shaking in grief as tears streamed down her face in river's.

"Don't leave me," she whispered, knowing her words were in vain and reached for the cloak her mother had passed down to her. She lifted it to her face, inhaling deeply. It still smelled like her mother. A loud shriek pierced the air at this and Ruby rose to her feet, wiping her eyes and nose on the back of her sleeve so she could see better what had caused that noise.

It seemed the Grimm hadn't gone as far as she thought they had. She raced after them, following their path of destruction. They were heading for something, the inner world as the hunters and huntresses had come to call it, for they knew their history well. That they had come here and formed a life in the Never After in order to protect those weaker who lived past the woods in a safe inner world. Ruby had always wanted to see it, but no one had ever gone to the inner world in over a hundred years. No one was certain it was even there and with the increase in Grimm attacks, the warriors had little time to think if there was even anyone in the inner world to protect, because they were so busy fighting for their own lives. Hundreds of brave warriors had died in the years and it wasn't as easy to replenish those who died. Cultivating a good hunter or huntress took time and it was often the young ones that fell victim to the Grimm's hungry jaws.

Ruby wasn't sure about saving the inner world in this moment, but the urge to kill the Grimm, to avenge her fallen mother, and the destruction of her village ran strong through her veins. It was what fueled her on, what gave her speed an increase, what propelled her blade into the back of the first Grimm she found. Her world was glowing brightly around her for some reason, almost in a silver tint. If she had a mirror she would have noticed that her eyes were luminescent, trailing silver streaks as she zoomed past, her mother's cloak waving behind her. But she was too focused on her anger to notice any of this. At the back of the group there were only a few straggler Grimm, and where Ruby had been afraid of them before, now she was emboldened by them. She cut down the ones in the back, digging deeper into the horde. They began to notice her now but it was too late.

"You stupid Grimm!" she growled out in her child's voice. She struck two down with her weapon. "You took everything away from me!" Three went down this time, their bodies thumping heavily to the ground. "And now I'm going to take away everything from you!" She launched up high into the air over what looked like to be the center of the horde. Here her anger reached a peak and as she brought her scythe down, a comet of silver and red, the world around her got too bright and she blanked out.

When she came to, all the Grimm were dead and she sat on top of a pile of their carcasses, Crescent Rose in her hand. This had been her power, she was certain of it. The power held by those with silver eyes. And she was going to use it. She just had to figure how to use it better. "I couldn't save my village," she murmured to herself, standing up straight, her cloak billowing behind her in the breeze. "But I can make them proud by avenging their deaths and keeping the world safe from the Grimm."

Ruby knew she had a great destiny- she wasn't sure if this was the one her mom meant, but with no other hunters but her left, she was going to commit to the near insurmountable task of keeping the Grimm away from the wall.

And with that Ruby had decided she would be brave from that day on. She would live up to her reputation as a silver eyed warrior. She went back to her village and gave all her fellow villagers a burial, digging them a neat little cementary. She gave her mother the nicest grave and brought her fresh roses whenever she could. Ruby would make sure to prune the place and take care of the markers there, but she also focused on other tasks, namely on bettering herself. She studied how to survive in the wilds, although she already knew how to do this pretty much already, having been taught this by her mother. What she needed was to focus on her fighting skills and this she trained day in and day out, until it was as easy and natural to wield Crescent Rose as it was to breathe. She followed books directions that she found in her ex-mentors house and trained from those.

She lived a peaceful albeit lonely life in the ruined remains of the village. Her weapon and cloak became her most trusted possessions and she treasured them above anything else. They were the only reminder of what her life had once been, what it had once held. But it had all come to an end when the number of Grimm began to rise. Each day they stormed out of the cave where they came to be, as if their lives depended on it. And each time Ruby would slay them as if her life depended on it. This pattern had continued for six months? Eighteen months? A year maybe? It was hard to tell when there was no way to keep track of time. Ruby only knew years passed by because each end of the year was marked by the sight of Ezio, a star that only showed up on the last two days of the year.

Ruby wondered for how much longer this would continue. She couldn't keep up with this onslaught of Grimm forever. And she still was no closer to figuring out how to activate her silver eyed powers beside that one time she had when she had been furious and mad with grief.

Ruby let her thoughts go back to the present and she got up on bruised legs. This was no time to be reminiscing on the past. She still had two more Grimm to find. Placing a small twig she had found on the floor into her mouth, she used it to bite down as she popped her arm back into the socket.

"This is the Never After?" Yang glanced around the expanse of the dense and dark woods that stood in front of her. Team JNPR was standing behind her, eyes taking in the entirety of the woods. "I was...I don't know. It doesn't look as bad as I was expecting it be." She shrugged, a tad disappointed.

"Not as bad?" Jaune blurted out, indicating to the forest with his free hand. "These woods just scream evil!"

"I have to agree with Jaune. They may not seem as intimidating right now, but once we enter them it shall be a different matter entirely," Ren explained, tightening his grip on Stormflower, his weapon.

"Good luck to you all down there!" Commander Fred called down to them from where he stood on the top of the wall. He gave them a brief salute and Nora gave him an excited wave back. "Thanks!"

Jaune merely gave a small sad laugh and sucked in a breath as he looked at the forest in front of him. It was quiet, no sounds of any kind of wildlife coming from it. He had expected the screams and cries of Grimm to populate it but there was just nothing...which made it worse. "Team, are we ready to go in?" he asked them, picking up his shield where it had rested by his feet.

"Yes," Pyrrha grimly nodded her head. "But we would have been more prepared if we could have gone tomorrow at the break of dawn rather than now. It is getting a bit dark." Pyrrha tried to not let resentment into her voice at queen Weiss's orders. She had insisted that the team head into the woods even though it was getting dark and soon it would be really hard to see anything in the woods, leading them into a disadvantage. She had stated that they had already dropped behind schedule due to the airship malfunctioning and thus could not dawdle any longer. Pyrrha had been less than happy to hear this; everyone had been. Their chances of finding anything at night was worse, adding on top of their already low, practically non existent chance of finding anything in the Never After besides Grimm.

"Let's go then. If we can cover enough ground before it gets too dark we can find a nice place to rest," Jaune suggested as the team began to take their first steps into the woods. The forest felt cooler, the trees blocking out much of the warmth from the sun. The trees here were tall and gnarled, with thick twisted branches. The undergrowth was also twisted, like claws that tried to grab at the traveler's feet and trip them up. Jaune hadn't gone more than ten feet before he fell. Twice.

"Damn it," he grumbled angrily as Pyrrha kindly helped him back up to his feet. He brushed some dirt off of his shirt front and shot Nora a glare as she and Yang snickered at him.

"Try cutting the brambles away with your sword," Pyrrha offered helpfully.

"Or I could walk first and scout a more accessible path for us? The space in these woods is narrow, we shouldn't be traveling this close to one another," Yang said.

"If we travel single file then it will make us easier to pick off. By keeping together, if a Grimm attacks, then we can have immediate back up to fight it back," Jaune explained his reasoning for keeping the group so tightly knit. "And I don't want you heading out ahead by yourself. It's too dangerous."

"Fine," Yang relented and the group continued traveling in this manner. They were all silent, only the sound of Jaune's blade swishing and cutting away the brambles in front of them filling the silence around them. He was at the head of the group, figuring if something charged at them he could use his shield to block them. Pyrrha was on his right behind his shoulder, Yang behind his left shoulder. Ren and Nora made up the back of the group and they kept their eyes peeled for any signs of threats, hands tight on their weapons.

Already it was getting darker in the woods, the trees blocking out most of the light and making the place more naturally dark in comparison to other forests. "Should we stop here and camp for the night?" Ren asked as they neared a patch of land that was flat and relatively free from flora.

"This spot is no good. In normal woods, it would be fine. But given that this is a Grimm infested forest we should look for a more secluded place," Yang reasoned. The team nodded their heads and continued on. It was getting harder and harder to see, the night falling rapidly on them.

"I think we really need to stop for the night soon," Jaune voiced, concern for his team's well being in his voice.

"There's still no good spots," Yang argued.

"Why don't we just sleep in shifts and camp somewhere close by. We don't have much light to go by and we don't want to use torches so that we can walk around at night. It could attract unwanted attention," Ren reasoned.

"Fine," Yang huffed, but in her head she really was hoping that some Grimm would appear sooner or later. These woods were turning out to be a bore. Jaune and Pyrrha went around cutting down some intrusive undergrowth in a small but flat space, while Nora and Ren took out the camping gear so that they could set up a mini tent.

"Spread that this way. No, this way," Ren insisted as Nora someone managed to tangle up the sheets around herself. He let out a sigh and took to helping her unravel. Yang stood guard, eyes on the trees surrounding them. "So no fire?" she asked, just for clarification. It was going to be dark soon, too dark to see how to set up the tent.

Jaune paused in his motions of cutting down a thick thorn. "Maybe. A brief one, don't make it too big." Then he whacked his blade down and tossed the thick thorn to Yang who caught it in her hand easily. "Use the stuff we've cut down to build it up."

"It might be hard since their all fresh and not dry dead wood, but I'll get it working," Yang set about collecting the cut off undergrowth.

Within half an hour they had their camping area set up for the night, a small fire going that helped to light their progress. The last pole of the tent went into place and Ren wiped sweat off of his forehead, glad that the rest of the tent building had gone without too much accident, Nora only having gotten stuck in the tenting once more.

"I'll take first watch," Yang offered, standing up from where she had been crouched over the small flame she had built.

"I'll take it with you!" Nora offered with exuberance. "That way we can talk about girl stuff!"

"Sure, I'd love the company," Yang nodded her head, swiftly accepting. Nora and her got along splendidly. She couldn't explain why, except that the orange haired girl's bubbling excitement and energy invigorated Yang and gave for a nice change of pace from all the old town fogies that she often meet on her journeys. It made Yang's own outgoing and gregarious personality all the more pronounced. It also helped that Nora loved doing silly things, like pranking her friends. Yang also enjoyed pranking others, although given her line of work, she didn't have friends to do it on, so she did it with her enemies.

"We'll head to bed then. You two wake us up in about three hours. Me and Jaune will take the next shift. And Ren will take the last one," Pyrrha said and the three headed into the tent. It was only Yang and Nora outside now and the two settled down by a tree trunk farther away so that their loud talking wouldn't wake up the sleeping members. The fire crackled merrily as they talked. Yang was in the middle of recounting one of her pranks when she heard a low growl. "And then, when the gangster came into the bar, looking to rough me up, the bucket of glue I had placed over the door tipped down and fell all over him. He was now glued to the spot! The town thanked me for helping get rid of the bad guy. With him all glued up there was no way he could hurt anyone anymore or escape prison."

"That's so funny!" Nora laughed and wiped away a tear that had leaked free from her eyes. A growl permeated through the air and stopped the two girl's talk immediately.

"Did you hear that?" Yang asked intently, leaning forward and letting her hands settle down to her side from where she had been holding them crossed behind her head as a faux pillow while she leaned on the tree.

"Could it...be Grimm?" Nora asked, her eyes wide.

"Only one way to check it out," Yang got up to her feet, adrenaline churning through her veins. Oh boy, she hoped it was a Grimm. She'd finally get to fight one, right in the heart of the Never After! She'd have bragging rights for forever if she fought it. She strode over to the other side of camp where the growl had come from. She peered into the woods but it was too dark to make anything out.

Yang shrugged and let out a disappointed sigh as she turned on her heel to face Nora. "I guess it's far away or something." It was a bust. Even if there were Grimm they didn't seem to want to attack.

"Uh, Yang," Nora's voice was timorous, something unusual for her. She pointed one hand up to point at something behind Yang.

"What?" the blonde asked, annoyed with Nora's quiet behavior. Behind Yang, not that the girl was aware of it, was a pair of red gleaming eyes.

"I think you should look behind you," Nora finally stated, her eyes growing even wider. That was when Yang felt a great breeze behind her. It stirred her hair, sucking inwards. It felt like something was inhaling her scent. A resounding growl, one that vibrated her bones from the proximity and made her ears hurt, let her know just exactly what this something was.

A Grimm.

She turned around and was greeted by a paw to the torso that launched her backwards.

"Yang!" Nora cried out and rushed to meet the blonde, catching the girl in her arms and stumbling back as she tried to stop her momentum. "Are you okay?" she asked, watching in concern as blood trickled down from a scratch down the girl's side.

"I'm fine," Yang got up, brushing Nora's hands off of her. Her voice was hard but filled with something. Excitement? Anger? "Go wake up the others. We have a fight on our hands." Yang strode in the direction of where the first Grimm was, now joined by another. Yang was strong, but she wasn't sure she could take on two of them, especially in this weak visibility and in this tiny space without hurting someone.

Nora rushed over to where the team was slumbering and Yang cracked her knuckles and her neck, giving the two Ursula in front of her a grin. "Which one of you fuckers hit me?"

The combined roar of both of them was her only answer before they lunged at her, maws open wide and teeth gleaming in the weak glow of the fire. "I guess the both of you want to die. Be my guest," she said calmly, hand in a come hither position.

And then she moved forwards to meet them.