Lunch seemed to be a wonderful, quiet affair for the two today, since it was still early there weren't many students in the cafeteria. In fact, only Blake had been there, curled up at a table reading while the sun streamed through the windows, bathing her in its warmth and light. Ruby waved to her, which she returned with a nod. Pyrrha offered her a shy smile and wave as well, and was intensely surprised when Blake actually smiled at her as well.
The meal itself was a very nice and tasty taco salad with extra cheese sauce for Pyrrha, Ruby snagging a couple slices of pizza for herself. Remembering to pick up dessert for Ruby, Pyrrha guided the tired girl towards a table near the center of the room where they could talk and monitor the room as a whole. While the meal progressed, Ruby seemed to come back to life from their training session.
"We make a good team Ruby," the redhead offered as they enjoyed their desserts, keeping her voice down due to the subject material. Ruby looked up from her sizeable slice of chocolate cherry cake with a beaming smile surrounded with chocolate frosting. "You are very good on your own, but I feel that there is room for improvement. And I know that I have very much to learn as well."
"Yeah, but you were all cool with your moves and stuff," Ruby chirped around the mouthful of cake, surprisingly not spraying Pyrrha full with the mess in her mouth. It was an afterthought that perhaps it was from growing up with Yang. "I can cover some of the basics, and you might be able to pick it up. It would be awesome if you can find your own source."
Pyrrha paused in the middle of her bit of dessert, the strawberry slipping off her fork to plop back into the shortcake and whipped cream. "Source? What's that?"
Ruby paused in inhaling her cake like a vacuum to consider her answer, tapping her fork against her lips. "Source… It's like a pool of energy where all we can do comes from…" Ruby tried to explain as obliquely as possible, while watching Blake out of the corner of her eyes. If Pyrrha had thought it was difficult for her to keep the secret, she could only be amazed at Ruby being able to do so.
"Something like a mana bar from that game you showed me?" Pyrrha asked, seeing a way to describe magic without revealing that it was a real world thing. If it was a thing from a game, they could talk about it openly without exposing the secret.
Ruby seemed to actually consider it for a moment before nodding her head in agreement. "Yeah! That's a great way of putting it. So think of it as a mana bar, but for everyone it's different… kinda like the difference between an arcana caster and a divine healer or one of those cool druids; but more inside, in your feelings and emotions, but not just those. Like for me it's my desire to protect people that helped spark my first use, I stopped a bookcase from falling on Yang."
That was certainly impressive, if a first feat of magic was powerful enough to stop an entire bookcase, she could only imagine what she was capable of doing now. She must have showed her how amazed she was about her being able to do that, or it could have been over the link they shared, but Ruby let out a soft laugh and shook her head. "It was purely accidental, and it took me years to learn how to do it again."
"Did you get a letter and owl? Banking with goblins?" Pyrrha teased quietly, giving her a playful grin as she laughed softly.
Ruby shook her head, rolling her eyes at the silly reference, like she'd been expecting it for a while now. "I wish, no… I had a mail correspondence course, and Zwei. No, that place isn't real, but it would be kinda cool to see it if it were. Probably would be a complete tourist trap though."
"Could you imagine the insurance nightmare that place would be? The moving stairs, the various dangers they face yearly, the countless ancient artifacts…" Pyrrha began to ramble, putting more thought into it than the creator probably did.
"I just wish I could play with the lake squid! He sounded so fun," Ruby offered with a laugh that Pyrrha swiftly joined in with. It was nice to just have a bit of fun geeking out sometimes about silly little things like this. As the laughter died out, they finished off their desserts.
"I don't feel like going to the gym today, I think I'm going back to the dorms and take a shower," Ruby offered, turning towards the rooms before Pyrrha patted her on the shoulder.
"Hey, why don't you join me in the baths? You've been there right?" the taller girl asked with an open and friendly smile, before a look of embarrassment crossed her face. "I mean the student bath house, just past the dorms, not the ones in the dorms."
Ruby blinked at her partner in confusion as she tried to explain her real meaning before just answering the original question. "No, it's just a big bathtub isn't it?" she asked with a confused expression on her face, that's when it hit her. Pyrrha was shocked and nearly appalled at what she had said. The fingers on her shoulder tensed a little bit as the Amazonian began to loom over the shorter girl.
"Ruby… you have been at Beacon for a few months already, you should know that nothing is ever as you expect," Pyrrha explained as she stared her partner square in the eyes. "Think more along the lines of Roman Baths."
"What's that?" the younger girl asked, before being hefted up into the taller girl's arms with ease and carried off towards the distant building. Despite her mighty stuggles, Ruby was unable to free herself from the redhead's grip as she was carried while being slung over the taller girl's shoulder.
"You know, you really should listen to me when I say you should try these things Ruby," Pyrrha explained while the smaller girl satisfied herself with several words that someone of her youthful age shouldn't know. But as she was in college, it probably didn't so much as raise an eyebrow from any but the strictest of prudes. Being as this was Beacon, those were somewhere else entirely. "I think that you will thoroughly enjoy this, I do apologize for being so forceful, but it is time to educate you on this matter."
Ruby tried to protest, tried to fight her way free of the Amazonian's grip, tried to whine and complain about being forced to go sit in a stupid tub and waste time she could be doing something more productive. She did have a point about this being a form of harassment, but Pyrrha continued to carry her through the rather empty quad with ease. Getting to the baths, the redhead opened the doors with her free hand and walked Ruby into the changing rooms, paying for both of them on her card in the auto-teller before making sure to cycle the turnstile a second circuit so no one got a free use. "I ask that you please not waste my money, and at least give this a try."
"Fine… but will you put me down now?" Ruby grumbled as she was carried into a strange locker room. While the floor was smooth concrete, the lockers themselves seemed to be hewn out of a rock wall. Okay, that was somewhat impressive. The roof itself almost looked like a natural cave, if it wasn't for the pot lights illuminating the room.
While Ruby was busy gawking around the room, taking note of the details that went into the walls to make it look natural, Pyrrha was taking care to lower her down on the bench. "Do you still believe this is going to just be like the bath in your home?" she asked to draw the younger girl's attention out of her examination of the room.
"Okay, so it might be a bit cooler than I was thinking," Ruby conceded with a huff as she looked at the lockers. "Umm… there's no suits… just a towel and a lock, with a key on a chain," she pointed out as she opened one of the lockers, looking inside curiously. She picked up the 'towel', and watched it unfurled before her to reveal it was actually a lot larger than it looked all folded up. She could almost use it as a towel.
"That's for you to wear in the baths themselves until you are fully submerged. The boys have a separate section so you can go bare entirely if you want, but most just wear the towel around the open air areas," Pyrrha explained as she began stripping off her clothing and setting it into her locker. "You keep the key with you on the chain. I generally dangle it on my wrists."
"Huh… that's kinda neat," Ruby offered while looking at the chain dangling off the keys. "What's to stop the boys from peeking though?"
"About a couple tons of machinery, two concrete and stone walls, and a really good security system," the redhead explained while stripping out of her clothes, putting them into the locker before grabbing out her towel to wrap up in.
After following suit, Ruby was shown into the showers, which after a brief pause led into the bathhouse proper. The scene awaiting her was nothing close to what she had been expecting. There was rock walls surrounding everything, steam drifting lazily up off the standing water, a waterfall circulated the water, giving a faint noise that served to underscore the music filtering through hidden speakers. "Woah…" Ruby chimed in as she looked around the area with her eyes wide and jaw hanging slightly slack.
"It's usually not this empty, but that's probably because it's early on Saturday, a lot of people stop in before going out on Friday or later tonight," Pyrrha explained, waving towards the empty area, where there was only one other living being present. "I… did not know that animals could come in here."
"Hello girls, don't mind me," the deep, booming voice of Zwei offered as he paddled in one of the side pools.
The two girls both stared blankly at the dog that had caused them so much trouble previously, millions of questions raging through their minds as they tried to figure out what they should ask first. Instead they simply ensured that the towels were firmly in place before taking two pools separated by a thin sitting area where they could talk, but there was no chance of accidental contact being made. The silence that followed was relaxing, aided by the heated water working its magic on their tired muscles.
"I would like to apologize for forcing you to come here," Pyrrha offered after a few minutes of silence, breaking it with her own quiet voice. "I don't know why I did that, it just felt like… I had to…"
"Probably a part of the Pactio, since we are supposed to help each other grow as individuals as well as partners in magic," Ruby mused while she closed her eyes to just allow herself to relax. Her arms were sitting on top of the water, letting them drift there lazily. "
"It was kind of weird, but I think I somewhat enjoyed the decisiveness that it gave me. Have you had any impulses that you felt regarding me?" the Amazonian woman asked as her entire body began to float in the water, remaining mostly submerged in the deliciously warm water.
"Kinda? I've felt the need to try and meddle with you regarding that Jaune guy, but I don't know why," Ruby admitted as she reached up to scratch her nose in thought, kinda wondering about what she was feeling regarding those two in particular.
The red coloring Pyrrha's cheeks was from more than the heat of the bath area, realizing that the thundering in her chest was as good as a confession across their link. Clearing her throat, she tried to piece together an explanation that wasn't completely and utterly lame. "You… remember that I have… feelings for him right?"
"Yeah? But why wou- oh… OH! I'm supposed to be helping you two get together!" Ruby cheered, finally putting the pieces of the puzzle together.
"You don't have to… but if there was a potion or… something…" she tried to suggest, getting a snort of laughter out of Ruby.
"No, you never want to use love potions, they always end in horrible ways and zany antics," the younger magician explained between fits of giggles as severla examples flooded into her mind, a few of them going over to Pyrrha through their link, which made her start giggling as well.
The two of them spent a little while giggling as examples played out through their connection. Zwei's ears perked up at this, and he stalled his paddling to look over at them while clinging to the rock edge. His entire bottom was waggling as he sensed that despite their prior protests, they seemed to be developing nicely that soon they might even consider expanding on their current contract. In his instinctual doggy brain, he knew that having a mate would be good. And if the mate had a side-mate then it would be fine for Ruby to have side-mates of her own. So Pyrrha was a good first mate to have a Pactio with, as she would help Ruby be a stronger magic user in both their Pactio, and by allowing her to have multiple other contracts. This was a good plan, much better than the haphazard one he heard about through the other companions about the ermine out in Japan.
This would be much better, since he was planning things out properly.
Once the pair had gotten their composures back, they settled into a comfortable silence, just allowing their thoughts to float much the same as their bodies in the water. After nearly ten minutes, an idea popped into Pyrrha's head, and she rolled over onto her stomach to look over at Ruby. "Do you trust me? I want to try something."
Ruby made a curious noise as she peeked open her eyes to look over at her partner, seeing the placid smile on her face she considered the question. "Yeah, I do… bu-"
Pyrrha was on the move already, waving for Ruby to follow her. The pair met over at the base of the base of the waterfall, where Pyrrha took Ruby's hand and slipped them both behind the falling water, revealing a rather warm cavern with long flat benches and curious piles of stones around what seemed to be a heat source. There were benches along the walls, and a single flat stone area in the middle of the room that had a hole at one end.
As sweat began to bead on Ruby's body from the heat, she found herself being guided to the bench with gentle fingers, her towel being shed as she walked in the area. Pyrrha used her long, tender fingers to brush away small beads of sweat from Ruby's face as she laid her out on the flat stone. "Just relax, if you feel like this is too much for you, let me know…" she instructed, cradling Ruby's head as she nestled into the hole on the table.
Ruby was about to ask questions as she watched the hand that had been cradling her head disappear from view beneath the surprisingly comfortable and warm table she was stretching out on. Pyrrha seemed to be focused intently on Ruby's face as a smooth, rounded object brushed against the mage's thigh, drifting upwards slowly along the flesh. This was making Ruby's heart race, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the tender, caring gaze locked on her face. "This might feel weird, since I'm inexperienced, sorry," the redhead offered with a sheepish grin as the smooth object settled on her thigh, before being mirrored on the other side a second later.
Slowly, her brain picked up what was going on, and her suspicions were confirmed a moment later as a smooth, rounded stone passed through her vision before being settled on her stomach, the slow seductive warmth of the stone spreading out through her body to work its tender magic. She'd heard of hot rock therapy before, but she never thought it could be so awesome, especially with how silly it sounded otherwise.
"Are you alright Ruby? Do you need some water before we continue?" Pyrrha asked, interrupting her thoughts as she paused with a rock in her hand, obviously heading somewhere else.
Ruby blinked slowly as she tried to process the question, she was a little thirsty, but otherwise fine. "I'm alright… I never thought about doing this before."
"I wish I was more skilled at this, but I had a masseuse teach me a little bit. Now, I think that's all the ones for the front, and I start working with other stones, and then we can have you flip over to do the back," Pyrrha explained, taking a pair of stones and slowly rubbing them over Ruby's arms, getting a moan of pleasure as the tension released from them.
Pyrrha continued working slowly over the tired muscles, grinning as Ruby began turning into putty in her hands. It was somewhat cute, how the younger woman continued to relax and enjoy the massage. She found herself wanting to bring this sense of peace out in the girl more and more as the relaxation spread throughout her partner's body. The link between them gave her a trickle of a sense of what Ruby was feeling, and she could only smile as she remembered how it felt for her as well.
The slow massage took the better part of a half-hour, and the redhead was a little surprised that Ruby didn't turn into a cartoon puddle of living goop with how boneless she was acting. A smile spread on her face as she thought how cute it looked to her. The thought that it was her work that had granted Ruby this reprieve from the tensions she hadn't known she was facing was a rewarding and pleasant feeling. "I am an amateur, but you don't seem to mind that much," she offered up with a small, contented smile.
Ruby turned her head enough that she could look at her partner with a satisfied smile on her face. "Thanks, that was amazing," she offered as Pyrrha picked up her discarded towel and spread it over her exposed backside. Her sleepy grin grew wider as she watched her partner kneeling by her head. "I should learn to do this sort of thing to pay you back."
"I'm sorry, but could you leave me some talents you don't have?" Pyrrha asked with a teasing smile as she reached out to stroke Ruby's hair back out of her face. "I want you to know that you inspire me, and I would… I think that I would like to be your full and proper Pactio partner."
Ruby's eyes widened in shock at that confession, she knew that she must have that silly slack jaw look she got when people shocked her completely. Pyrrha seemed to understand what she was trying and failing to say, as she reached out to cup Ruby's cheek in her hand. "You wanted to protect others, and that is a goal I want to help you with, if you will let me. I want to be your partner, and be the knight against the darkness."
Ruby closed her mouth, giving Pyrrha a smile as she felt tears stinging her eyes. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she nodded her head. "Yes Pyrrha, I will be your partner, and help you with magic and mundane. We will stand together, and protect those that cannot face the darkness," she answered; half-remembering that this was supposed to be a formal agreement, even as the tears of joy trickled down her cheeks.
Pyrrha wiped away the tears with a soft laugh, giving her a sympathetic smile even as she found herself tearing up as well. "What do we need to do to make it official?"
"We have to get a mediator to draw a ritual circle, and then exchange a vow or ritual to seal the contract… with either blood or a kiss, and then we get a new magical Pactio card, probably replacing the one I keep in my Scroll," Ruby explained with a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks as she thought about the process. She would rather avoid the blood route, since she'd never heard of a good ritual being formed with blood before.
Pyrrha bit her lip and looked away as she blushed as well, looking out towards the waterfall. "The last time… when we made the Mistake Pactio, that Zwei made the circle, didn't he? Would it be better to get someone else, or can we use the same mediator?"
"I think we can have the same mediator, since you mediator can grant multiple Pactio partners," Ruby explained while scratching her head in thought. "I think that they get some sort of fee for doing it from the local magical council, and are penalized for the Mistake ones... or something like that."
Pyrrha let out a breath as she seemed to be considering something, before cupping her hands around her mouth and calling out through the waterfall. "Zwei! Come here!"
Almost as though he'd been waiting outside, Zwei popped in with a wide doggy grin and a waterproof container holding what appeared to be pieces of chalk. "How may I be of assistance?" he asked in his booming voice, echoing in the enclosed rock cavern.
"Pactio ritual circle, which I believe is safe to assume you knew already," Pyrrha stated with a rueful smile as he began prying at the box's lid with his teeth. She heard Ruby getting up off the massage rock, and hoped she was rewrapping the towel around her. It was going to be awkward enough kissing her as they were, she didn't want to think about kissing Ruby while she was still naked. But she thought it was safer to do this in privacy. "We are still alone, right?"
"Oh yeah, empty save for you and me," Zwei agreed as he managed to get the top off, and pulled out a piece of chalk. With his mouthful, he muttered about giving him a moment to draw the circle out.
Pyrrha watched him drawing out the circle, wondering if the some of the symbols were the same as the ones for the astrology signs for a reason or if that was just a coincidence. Instead of voicing this, she decided she would investigate it later, once she had her own Scroll to look things up with. It was a bit awkward talking magic with the small dog form, or really talking to him in general felt weird.
Being herded by a corgi was a novel experience, and judging from Ruby's face, she would likely have agreed. "Now then, we can't have none of that namby-pamby forehead or cheek smooching. What we are going for is a full-on-the-lips kiss," Zwei commanded, sounding much like one of the directors Pyrrha had worked with once upon a time.
The thought almost made her laugh as she turned to share it with Ruby, however seeing Ruby's smile made her aware that she likely already had shared it with her unintentionally. The faint glow of magic that sprung up from the circle caused their towels to shift a very little bit, though their hair seemed to make up for it by creating full halos around their heads by standing on end.
Ruby smiled warmly as she looked up at Pyrrha, a sensation of surprise rippling through the magic. Apparently the thought that Pyrrha had about this being far stronger than before wasn't far off. Slowly the two merged, Pyrrha kneeling slightly, their eyes speaking volumes about the emotions they were feeling at that moment. The desire to help the other, the strength they promised to share, the magic that only two hearts united in a common goal could feel.
When their lips met this time, it didn't feel the same as the accidental brushing at the base of the stairs. This felt like two halves joining together to create more than what they were apart, power and emotions surged through their bodies like tidal waves threatening to sweep them away, and the only thing keeping them grounded was the partner on the other side of the circle.
And just as suddenly as the waves started, they subsided with the deep voice of Zwei proclaiming the Pactio to be complete. The two took a step apart, just as the card blasted through the waterfall with force enough to part the water temporarily. It came to a screeching halt between them, hovering in the air between their eyes. The card itself was glowing faintly with magic, and the design of the image on the card had more than upgraded.
Pyrrha stood tall and proud, her weapon a gleaming bronze javelin that gave hints at being so much more, while her circular shield shined with a power of its own. Her clothing had been replaced entirely with a suit of bronze armor that wouldn't have been out of place for the gladiator rings of Ancient Rome. "Sweet, you're like a real-life Athena or something! She was the goddess of smart war, right?"
"Very good, not many realize that," Pyrrha answered while taking the card in her hand, and smiling happily as she looked it over, marveling at the Latin writing she couldn't quite make out.
"Yes," a sharp voice stated from the entrance, causing three heads to whip around to see Glynda smiling at them with a slightly bemused expression, though the crop in her hand made them question if that was an honest smile. "But might I suggest you not do this type of magic when the card could be seen by normal students?"
"Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am," the two guilty parties chimed in broken unison, their cheeks completely crimson at the scolding and being caught like they were. "We'll be going now."
"Must remember to have Elphaba check the wards on this side of the bath… animal or no, that male should not be able to be here," she stated, her eyes locked on the corgi who was attempting to look perfectly innocent, even though he had a chalk outline around his mouth, and otherwise his fur was plastered to his body from the moisture.
"It's probably because he's been fixed," Ruby offered up, not seeming to notice the pained look on Zwei's face as he dropped to his hind knees and seemed to reach out to the heavens for salvation. If Glynda was amused by that, she didn't give a single indication of it, meanwhile Pyrrha reached over and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"Let's just… go…" she offered, trying to avoid humiliating the dog even further than his owner had just done in the most blunt way possible. She would sneak him some ham or something from dinner, since getting reminded of… that… sounded rather painful. Walking over to the poor little miserable ball of wet fur, she picked him up and started carrying him towards the waterfall. "We can make it back to the dorms in time to study a little before supper."
Ruby seemed to agree with that as she began leading the way towards the shower room, while Glynda just stared after the pair. Apparently there were college students that enjoyed studying for their classes; it was a rare find these days.
Giving the pair's retreating backs a smile; she settled down on one of the benches and enjoyed the dry sauna area that had been built in to the bath area. She had a meeting here in a few minutes, and it wouldn't do to be anything less than completely relaxed and ready.
After showering and getting dressed, the pair met up with Zwei who had dried off outside, watering the gardens in front of the baths while he was at it. The trio walked towards the dorms, the humans making idle conversation about their classes, while the dog bounced along happily. There still wasn't much of a crowd, so it was a very nice day for them to have a leisurely stroll through the quad.
All that ended when they made to the dorms, finding the lounge to house only Ren and Nora working on some project at a table, while Jaune was busy trying to win Mario Kart against a pair of girls that Ruby only knew as R. Lalonde, and A. Mizuno, a blonde girl with a somewhat sophisticated air and a rather muted blue haired girl with a studious feel about her respectively. They had rooms at the other end of the hall from her, and she didn't socialize that much.
Leaving that slaughter of Jaune's game playing ability aside for now, the pair made it up the stairs, where they faced something that sent chills down Ruby's spine. A foe so dastardly that there was no chance of either of them escaping. There, at the top of the stairs was a grinning, evil, vicious quandary known only to younger siblings the world around, the older sibling. Yang leaned against the doorframe, smirking at Ruby and Pyrrha, letting Zwei bounce past to the rooms where one could hear Weiss's squeal of joy.
"So… slip her the tongue?" Yang asked casually, giving them a knowing smirk.