Ruby opened her eyes, she had no idea how long she was asleep. The room she was in was dark, most likely it was the middle of the night. The bed she was laying in was soft, softer than she thought she would like. At first Ruby thought she was still inside her own head, until she felt another body snuggle to hers. Looking over she saw Weiss hugging her side.
Weiss' balled up fist was full of Ruby's shirt. Death is an inevitable event, the memory rang through Ruby's head. The words that came from Weiss' mouth, the words that would never be heard in reality, came rushing back to Ruby. The events that occurred in her mind, the white grimm that had a scar just like Weiss, Weiss telling Ruby to not fear death, no one but Ruby will know what happened.
Ruby took a slow breath before wrapping her arm around Weiss. With her free hand Ruby touched her face, half expecting the to feel the grimm mask covering her face. But it was just her skin. Ruby closed her eyes and sighed.
Hearing her sigh Weiss stirred, and slowly opened her eyes. "Ruby," Weiss murmured looking up to Ruby. Ruby looked down to Weiss in awe at the half asleep woman. Their eyes met, and Ruby just remembered the scene of her fading. Weiss saw Ruby's frown, and reached for her face. "What's wrong?" Weiss asked when her hand touched Ruby's cheek. Ruby again closed her eyes, she put her fear of losing Weiss out of her head, and smiled.
"Nothing," Ruby answered. "Go back to sleep," she whispered into Weiss' ear. Weiss, still shaking her tiredness away shook her head.
"I haven't had the chance to talk to you since we got here," Weiss yawned in the middle of her sentence. "I had to fight your mother to even share a room with you. Insisted your training requires you to be alone."
Ruby rubbed Weiss' arm as she spoke, listening to every word she said as if it might be the last. "I was starting to worry, when Summer had Raven carry you in here," Weiss said softly. "What did she make you do?"
"Mom didn't make me do anything," Ruby answered. "She just, got me started." Ruby saw the icey blue eyes looking towards her in the dark, and quickly averted her eyes. "You should really go back to sleep," Ruby said softly. Weiss yawned yet again, proving Ruby's point.
"Fine, but we'll finish this discussion in the morning," Weiss answered before she snuggled back into Ruby's side. Her eyes closed, and her breathing steadied. Ruby watched Weiss fall back to sleep, and once sure that she wouldn't wake up any time soon Ruby freed herself of Weiss' hold and left the room.
Alone Ruby wandered through the halls of the temple, her mind wandering just like she was. Ruby eventually found herself in the room she remembered her mother bringing her to. The snow covered ground, the plants that were still green.
Ruby sat herself on the ground, and crossed her legs. Ruby rested her hands in her lap, and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes to see she was standing in her mind's world.
"You came back sooner than I expected," a woman with a grimm mask said. The mask was the same as the one Ruby put on when she was last here. The woman was dressed in the same clothing Ruby wore when faced with her mind's version of Weiss.
"This is my head," Ruby shot back.
"I'll give you that," the woman answered. Her hair was cut short on the sides, while the top was longer and sent hair in all directions. Silence fell between the two, silence that made everything more comfortable. "You aren't going to ask who I am?"
"You're me," Ruby answered. She couldn't see the woman's face, but Ruby was sure she was smiling.
"Not exactly you," the woman answered with a laugh. "I'm more of a possibility." The woman reached for her mask, revealing a bandaged hand. She moved the mask away slowly, Ruby half expected to see her face covered with scars, but it was practically unschathed.
"A possibility if I embrace my maiden powers and let go of my fears," Ruby asked looking towards an older version of herself. The silver eyes that looked back clearly saw better days, but didn't seem held down by such days.
"You pick things up quickly."
"Why don't you have the cloak?" Ruby asked out of pure curiosity.
"Why do you still have yours?"
"I don't I let Weiss," Ruby stopped she understood why her possibility no longer had the cloak. "I gave it to Weiss," Ruby said softly.
"A sign of trust between the two of you. Some might even go as far as say a sign of true love," another laugh came from the woman. She seemed a lot like Ruby's younger self, care free, innocent.
"It also shows growth, doesn't it. I've always had that cloak, and now I've given it up," Ruby said. Her counterpart nodded. "You're an example of who I should strive to be, or what I'm slowly becoming."
"That's up for you to decide Ruby," she answered. "I'm simply an image of what you want. Whether or not you know it." The woman slid the mask back on, and walked into woods surrounding the clearing.
Ruby opened her eyes, and saw the wildlife roaming around her. "What I want, is to protect my family," Ruby said looking towards the hand that her counterpart had bandaged. A slight breeze carried Ruby's hair slightly, but she didn't feel the soothing cold she was expecting. She closed her eyes for a moment, and thought about how her counterpart was so much more relaxed, and lively.
"Maybe," Ruby muttered to herself. "Maybe."
Some more trippy mind stuff I suppose.
Some more character growth.
Some more WhiteRose.
Man... This chapter almost has it all.
- Nerdz :3
