"Come on, wake up."
Someone was softly shaking her shoulder, trying to nudge her awake. For a second, Ruby was drawn back to a more innocent time, when friends would rouse her from nightmares and make her forget about the dreams.
The illusion was shattered as Maia shook her again. "Sorry Rose, but the investigators want a few statements before they'll let you go."
"Sure," Ruby said, yawning and blinking.
Maia helped her off of the motorcycle, walking her to the waiting investigator. The fox faunus had a notepad out and was waiting patiently. Ruby looked back at the restaurant and saw a group of faunus setting up crime scene tape and snapping pictures.
The fox faunus nodded to Ruby."Can you please describe the circumstances of your attack?"
Ruby scratched her head. "Well, I mean, there wasn't much going on. I think everyone left, so it was only me in the bar, and then those two attacked me."
"Did you provoke them in any way?"
Ruby shook her head. "I don't know them and I don't think I've even seen them around here before. I was just sitting there, and one of them pushed me to the ground and I think the other one hit me with a chair."
The fox waved with his hand. "Can you describe what happened in greater detail?"
"Well, they hit me with the chair a few times, and then one of them tried using his aura to suffocate me or something. It, uh, didn't work, and I'm mostly okay right now. And then he got tired, so the other guy pulled out a gun and was about to shoot me when Maia arrived."
"And then I shot the man with the gun in the head," Maia continued. "Afterwards, I subdued the other one and handcuffed him. I'll write up a more detailed report tomorrow, I need to get Rose home right now."
The fox scribbled on his notepad. "That's good enough for now," he said, turning to Ruby. "Ma'am, I promise you that we'll do all we can to bring these criminals to justice," he assured her. He clearly wanted to say more, but Maia was standing right there, a bemused expression on her face.
The fox faunus tipped his hat, then turned and walked into the bar.
"This is going to get ugly," Maia noted, walking to the bike.
"What do you mean?"
Maia pulled the two helmets off the bike, handing one to Ruby. "I'll explain more when we get home, but if you haven't noticed yet, the entire investigative team is made up of carnivorous faunus."
"Uh-oh," Ruby realized, putting on her helmet.
Remembering to keep her hands in an appropriate place this time, Ruby tightly grabbed Maia's waist and pressed against her, taking in her warmth and familiar smell. Maia sped all the way home, the empty streets allowing her to drive faster than speed limits would normally allow.
The arrived home in a few minutes, the purring of the Dust-powered engine abruptly coming to a stop as Maia pulled out the keys. Maia opened the door to the house, eyeing the width of the doorway.
"Let's get this inside," she said, grabbing the handlebars. "I don't want to leave it out here, just in case something happens to it."
"Good idea," Ruby said, grabbing the back wheel.
The two of them lifted the motorcycle up, Maia angling the handlebars as they carefully lifted it above the doorstep and squeezed it into the house, setting it down a corner of the room. Ruby shut the door behind them, blocking out the cold, as Maia flicked the lantern on and illuminated the house.
Taking off her helmet, Maia shook out her ponytail and rubbed her ears. "Back to what I was saying- those faunus were all carnivores. They're definitely going to use this attack as justification to create an even larger divide between the herbivores and the carnivores."
"Crud crud crud," Ruby muttered. "What should I do?"
Maia set the helmet down on the table, beginning to take off her parka. "We're just going to have to step it up. Now that you know the city better, try to remember the way to their safehouse. I'm going to see if I can get in touch with the city guards and get them to help me raid the compound."
"I could get Mark to help us," Ruby offered. "He's a snake faunus, and the maybe he could bring some friends…"
Maia shook her head. "Think, Red. Do you really want to take the chance that he's one of the good ones? Not to mention the fact that he might tell other people about your new identity. And to be honest, I don't know how I feel about bringing a carnivore into our little group."
Ruby sighed. "Awww, okay. I just sort of wanna meet up with him again."
Ruby looked so dejected that Maia had to give her a hug, ruffling her hair. "Trust me, Red, this is for the best. The guards are much more reliable, and they can fight well. After all of this blows over, we can go find Mark, alright?"
The hug immediately made her happier, Ruby taking the chance to bury her head in Maia's chest, under her chin. "Alright," Ruby agreed, her voice a little muffled.
Maia pushed gently pushed Ruby away, glancing at the clock. "And it's time for you to get some sleep. You still have a job to do tomorrow morning, remember?"
Ruby looked at her expectantly, clenching her hands in excitement. "So we'll need to share a bed, right? Because you only have one bedroom?"
Maia smirked. "Nice try, Red. But this house has a guest bedroom." She pointed toward the bathroom and continued talking before Ruby could say anything. "There's an extra toothbrush by the sink. You should take those contacts out and wash the blood out of your hair before going to bed. I'm going to go make some tea, do you want any? You're going to need to drink a lot of fluids or else you'll have a nasty hangover tomorrow."
"Sure," Ruby said reluctantly. "Could I buy some other drinks sometime? Maybe stuff we could store in the basement, like some, uh, drinks, or something?"
Maia raised an eyebrow. "Are you an alcoholic now? After just one night of drinking?"
Ruby quickly shook her head. "N-no, nothing like that. I was just wondering if I could get anything to drink besides tea…"
Maia walked over to the sink, checking the pot on the stove. "Water is the best alternative, Red. It's good for you and it's cheap. If you want to drink, wait until we're at the bar." She lifted the lid of the pot, making as face as she sniffed the contents. "What are you going to do with this, ugh, soup? If you can call it that."
"Oh crud, I nearly forgot," Ruby said, hurrying over to the stove. "How does it look?"
"Terrible. I wouldn't trust it if I were you."
Ruby looked into the pot, seeing that the congealed mess looked incredibly unappetizing, the soup more solid than liquid. "You're probably right," she admitted, grabbing the pot handles. "Lesson learned: I shouldn't fill the entire pot with bones and try to make soup with them. So what should I do with this?"
Maia pointed outside. "The garbage collectors come once a week, so just dump the stuff in a bag and toss it into the trash bin outside."
Ruby complied, taking out a trash bag from under the sink and dumping the mess into it. The trash bins were at the side of the house, Ruby dropping the bag inside and replacing the lid. By the time she got back inside, Maia was already boiling water and beginning to add the tea leaves to the kettle.
"Go shower," Maia said, pointing toward the bathroom. "The tea will be ready before you're done. Maybe I can get you to like it if I make you drink enough of it."
Ruby made a bleh face. "Probably not," she said as she began heading toward the bathroom.
She flicked on a strategically placed lantern, lighting up the hallway so she could see where she was going.
She looked inside the closet, noticing that there was a fresh pile of towels inside. "How do you always have so many clean towels around?" Ruby shouted.
"I do my own laundry," Maia called back. "That reminds me, I'll show you where the laundromats are tomorrow."
Ruby stepped into the bathroom, turning on another light and undressing herself before entering the turning on the water and stepping in. The shower was nice and warm, her slightly aching bones welcoming the heat as her muscles relaxed. By the time she was done showering and brushing her teeth, Ruby was ready to collapse and fall asleep almost anywhere.
She stumbled into the kitchen, wrapped in nothing but a towel as she sat down at the table. Maia slid Ruby a cup of tea, engrossed in her tablet as she checked the latest police reports. She was dressed in a bathrobe, her hair still in a ponytail as she took another sip of tea.
Ruby perked up as Maia began to speak. "Like I predicted, those idiots are saying that this is the work of herbivore criminals. This whole settlement is going to shit even sooner than I expected." She sighed. "But I'm still going to have to play along with them and pretend that I belong."
"Do you have any friends or family in the settlement?" Ruby asked.
Maia shook her head. "Not really, no. It's probably a good thing that I barely even interact with other rabbits, and the only people I really know outside of the police force are the owners of the restaurant we go to. So I guess that makes this more bearable, although I'm going to patrol the restaurant more often in case something bad happens."
Ruby nodded, the two sitting in silence as Maia finished her tea and Ruby tried to enjoy her own cup of tea. After a few more minutes, Maia stood up, gulping down the rest of her drink and bringing the mug to the sink.
Ruby stared at Maia's bare neck as she washed the cup, wondering what her smooth skin felt and tasted like.
Maia yawned. "I'm really tired and I need to go take a shower. There's an extra set of blankets in the closet, and I put the clothes I bought into your dresser."
"Thanks," Ruby said absentmindedly, drooling a little as Maia let down her hair and began to untie her bathrobe.
"Good night, Red," Maia said, walking down the hallway.
Ruby got up after Maia closed the bathroom door, washing her mug in the sink and setting it upside-down on the counter to dry. She took the blankets out of the closet and walked to the guest room, looking inside. There was single window, a set of closed shutters over it. A bed was placed up against the wall, a dresser at the foot of the bed with a lantern on top of it. The rest of the small room was bare, Maia clearly having received few guests since her moving in.
Ruby set her towel down on the dresser and opened it up, flicking on the light and rummaging around. After going through the whole dresser, she had selected a gray tank top and gray shorts. Unfolding the blankets, she set them down on the bed and turned off the light before sliding under the covers.
Closing her eyes, she tried to go to sleep, but the image of Maia wearing nothing but a bathrobe kept returning to her mind. The sound of running water also kept her awake, her imagination conjuring scenes of Maia completely naked and covered in soapy water.
She was still awake when the shower stopped, Ruby listening closely as Maia stepped into the hallway and went to her own room, shutting the door.
An hour passed before Ruby felt it was safe. Carefully sneaking out of her room, she stealthily turned the doorknob and opened Maia's door, gazing at Maia's sleeping figure. The rabbit was bundled in blankets, her breathing unchanging as Ruby crept closer.
Ruby wanted to touch her, her finger's twitching a little, but she didn't want to wake her up. Gently sitting down on the bed, she lowered herself onto the bedcover, trying not to disturb the blanket. Hoping that Maia was too tired to wake up, she curled up on top of the bed, near Maia but not touching her.
Ruby slept like for the rest of the night, Maia's presence leaking into her dreams.
Ruby woke up to the sound of an alarm clock ringing. Wearily glancing to the side, she managed to get her arms out of the blanket around her and jab at the piece of black metal until it turned off. A bit of sunlight was leaking through the shutter as Ruby replaced the alarm clock and sat up.
Blanket?
Ruby looked down, surprised to find the thick comforter wrapped around her. Maia was already gone, a small piece of paper left on her pillow. Ruby picked it up and read it, smiling.
I'm off to run some errands, you little creeper. I set the alarm for you. Keys are on the table, lock the door when you leave. Don't do anything stupid and stay safe. – Maia
Folding up the piece of paper, Ruby checked the time and saw that it was already eight-thirty. Quickly walking to the bathroom, she found her clothes from the previous night and took out the jeans, the long-sleeved top, and the jacket that was permanently stained with her blood. Her boots were outside the bathroom door, and she paused to grab them too.
The jeans were still wearable so she put them on, taking the opportunity to brush her teeth and wash her face. She sprayed her hair black and put in her contacts, wondering if she should get a haircut sometime. Walking back to her room, she found a clean white t-shirt and a pair of white socks, which helped make herself look presentable for work.
The note was still in her pocket as she walked down to the basement, pulling out the key to the safe and unlocking the steel box. She unwrapped her cloak, finding that her belongings were all still there. Taking the opportunity, Ruby took out her weapon and unfolded it, swinging it around carefully in the low basement before returning it to the safe. Maia's note went into her pouch, a treasured belonging that she would always cherish. She took the tablet out of the safe, noticing that it was nearly out of power and needed recharging.
After relocking the safe, she went back upstairs and searched the cabinets, wondering if there was any food. Her body was a little hungry from the injuries sustained the previous night, but there wasn't any food in the cabinets, so she took a few pieces of meat from the basement and heated them over the stove. While the meat was warming, she opened a window and set the tablet on the countertop, letting it recharge while she cooked.
It was already nine-thirty by the time Ruby was done eating. She quickly washed her mouth and did the dishes, scrubbing the pan she had used with cold water and leaving it to dry on the counter. Toweling her hands, she made sure she had everything on her and grabbed the keys off of the table, locking the door as she exited like Maia told her to. The tablet was still too bulky to fit in her pocket, but she didn't have a purse or anything similar to carry it in, so she left it behind.
The sun was shining more brightly today, but the weather was still chilly. Ruby didn't really mind the cold as she ran down the road and toward the center of town while only wearing a t-shirt and jeans.
It was nearly ten by the time she got the Gray Wolf, having only made a single wrong turn on the way there. Rowan was already inside setting up the plates and napkins in anticipation of arriving customers.
Ruby pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Hey there, Rowan."
He turned at the sound of her voice, a grin spreading on his face. "Hi Rose!"
Ruby walked up to him, giving him a hug. "How are you doing?" she whispered. "Did anything happen last night?"
Rowan shook his head. "I'm okay," he said. "Everything went normally. Thanks for offering to help me."
"Not a problem," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Just keep doing what they tell you to do, and I'll see what I can do to help you."
At that moment Mingan stepped out of his office, tapping his tablet closed and setting it on the counter. "Glad you're here on time. There are some dishes from last night that need to be cleaned, and after that we're going to start prepping for the lunch rush."
Ruby nodded and headed toward the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves and grabbing an apron off of the counter. As she cleaned she heard the other employees arrive, greeting Mingan as they entered the kitchen. They started preparing a variety of food, taking things out of the refrigerators and the storeroom and chopping and boiling and mixing.
The smell of meat and spices filled the kitchen as Ruby finished the dishes. She wiped her hands dry, leaving the apron on as she made her way to the dining room. Rowan was sitting off the side and taking a break as customers began to come in. She sat down next to him, watching as the customers seated themselves and the waiters came over to take orders.
"So now what?" Ruby asked.
Rowan shrugged. "I usually just clear the dishes and bring them to the sink," he said. "Maybe you should just man the sink and wash everything that comes in. We can switch off whenever you feel like it."
"That sounds good," Ruby agreed. "So do you know when we get out paychecks?"
Rowan took a moment to respond, caught off-guard by her question. "Err, we get them on Fridays. You weren't here last Friday, so I don't think you'll get one until this Friday. Why do you want to know?"
"I don't really have any money," Ruby explained. "I was hoping to get some more money for, oh, I don't know, clothes and stuff."
Rowan nodded. "I understand. It'd be nice to have some extra money, although I'm not sure what I would do with it. Maybe I could get some self-defense weapons or something."
"Not a bad idea, considering what's going on right now and all…"
Rowan looked down. "I wish I could kill Cedric by myself," he muttered angrily. "I wish I could be as strong as you." He looked up again. "Did you know that Cedric is afraid of you? Last night I heard him talking with other people. He called you some bad names and told someone else that he thought you were crazy. What did you do to him?"
Ruby grinned. "We had a little encounter," she said, laughing. "Well, that'll make things easier."
Even Rowan managed a smile as he saw her delighted expression. "I think we should start working now. I'm sure the cooks will have some things that need cleaning." He looked directly at her. "Thanks for talking with me, Rose. I feel a lot better now."
"No problem," Ruby said, getting up. "If you need anything, I'd be glad to help you any time."
With that said, Ruby headed into the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves and getting ready to do some work.
Note:
First day of break, officially! Yay!
Sorry things are a bit slow, hold on :3
Thanks for reviewing, PM me if you have any questions, or put down reviews, etc :D
