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Menagerie pt. 2.
That thing about awkward family dinners was true, even when it wasn't her own family. Apparently, the doctor could do nothing to help with the poison except prescribe her painkillers; she now felt as if she was flying. It wouldn't last long. Humming as she listened to her father thank the Belladonnas for allowing them to stay, the reaper glanced over at Blake who was picking at her food. The black-haired girl was holding back her emotions, so Ruby knew she was going to snap soon. It would be easy to continue acting like she had no idea what was going on, but she would rather test her teammate's state of mind.
Ghira Belladonna was the former leader of the White Fang before Sienna took control; he was a powerful fighter. Khali Belladonna was a less known supporter of the White Fang in her youth. They were both honorable people so how did they have such a cowardly daughter. Ruby loved Blake, she was her kitten, but she also knew that her teammate had stood by and watched when Adam moved to kill Cardin. Understandable since it's Cardin; neither of the two had liked each other. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to say they hated each other; however, she'd sent the man there to protect Blake. The least her teammate could've done was return the favor.
She had come here not only to check on Blake but confront her about the incident. At least that had been the original plan. Now she also had to deal with an assassin after her, which was honestly much more fun. Most would call her insane for wanting to deal with an assassin rather than have nice dinners like this, but that was just who she was. In truth, she belonged on the battlefield rather than sitting idle.
Glancing at Sun who seemed nervous, she wondered if he could feel the tension in the air. When she'd set him up with Blake, she'd thought they would make a good match, she still did, but she didn't want him to get hurt. The faunus was loyal and strong, if Blake didn't want him then she would gladly set him up with someone less likely to break his heart. He didn't deserve to be treated like a disposable tool by her teammate.
"Before Blake decides to start hissing," she started causing her teammate to stiffen. The sudden dread that rushed over the black-haired girl was enough to make her bristle. Offering a wicked smile to Blake's suddenly tense parents, she said, "why don't I update my dear teammate on the status of our peers."
Welp, there goes his nice evening meal. Leaning back Sun stifled his urge to both laugh and leap out the window. Ruby was in one of her moods; he blamed the pain medicine. She'd just made a cat joke in a room full of feline faunus without an ounce of hesitation. The reaper was definitely in one of her moods. Ruby was adorable but that cuteness hid her demonic nature, it was likely she was getting impatient for something to start or she'd gotten tired of waiting for someone to speak. Still, she was usually more tactful than this.
She must be angry. He doubted she would lash out like this if she wasn't. At first, she'd been happy to see Blake and the cat faunus had felt the same; however, Blake had been avoiding her. She blamed herself for Ruby getting poisoned despite the fact Ruby had a habit of ticking people off. He was sure there were at least a dozen people at Beacon who'd wanted to poison the reaper. Ruby herself was likely to respect anyone who tried to kill her. Resisting the urge to groan he wondered why he had such weird friends.
"Jaune is fine, he's staying in Atlas with Pyrrha who's fallen into a coma. Weiss's team are all alive only Nora lost an arm," she stated taking their silence for approval. The careful smile never left her lips.
Glancing up from her plate she reached out for her teacup with careful movements. Blake had sunken in her seat; the shame and guilt on her face were all too adorable. This was why she liked to mess with her poor little kitten, however, she would rather Blake snap at her than bear the treatment in silence. Maybe she was being a bit mean, Blake's parents looked concerned, but she couldn't hold back. Not when she could feel just a tiny bit of anger rising.
"Cardin lost his eye, but you already knew about that."
This wasn't a tease. The words were said coldly as Ruby traced the rim of her cup. Anger burned in her tone catching them all off guard. It was so different from the cheerful girl who hid her pain; at the moment this was the girl who Sun called a demon. Watching her teammate sharply she gritted her teeth when Blake simply looked down at her hands. What was she going to do with her little cat? Flickering her gaze to Blake's worried parents, she sighed.
"He's a bit ticked by the way. He spent a while telling me to abandon you, should I?"
It was an honest question. If she continued to chase Blake, then she might be wasting her time that could be better spent addressing her plans. She still needed to head to Mistral and find Roman, holding out hope for Blake wasn't something she was able to keep doing forever. Meeting Blake's panicked golden eyes with her own frigid silver, she waited for her teammate's answer. She wanted to keep her teammate safe and by her side forever. She wanted the world. If Blake didn't choose to stay on her side, then she couldn't waste her time here on Menagerie trying to convince her differently.
For a moment, the cat faunus couldn't breathe. Ruby was her leader, she was supposed to always be on her side, yet everything the reaper said was true. After the fall of Beacon, she'd abandoned her teammates. Even before then she'd been hesitant to drag them into her problems, now that she had a goal in mind for her future, she knew that she would only hold Ruby back. Taking the White Fang back would be a long-term goal that might last for months, she couldn't ask her leader to stay and help her. Besides, Ruby had been right that she would have allowed Cardin to die.
"Yes," she stated causing everyone to freeze. Looking at Ruby she could tell that her teammate's gaze hadn't changed; her leader had expected this. She didn't blame her teammate for expecting this would happen, but she knew this also hurt her teammate. Ruby's gaze was cold, but she was willing to bet that those eyes hid pain. Shifting nervously, she said, "I know you have goals, but I have my own. If we wait, then we both might fail."
She wanted to argue; however, Blake was right. Them leaving one another was truly for the best. Her teammate still had business with the White Fang, and she wanted to help, but Blake had already decided that this was a battle she wanted to fight alone. That was fine even if she would've hand-delivered the White Fang on a platter if the faunus had asked. Lips stretching into a smirk, she leaned back as a laugh broke through her lips.
Blake would be fine. She could see the strength and determination in those golden eyes that sparkled like fire. Her kitten was finally growing into her own just like Jaune. They were both no longer people that needed to be protected. Downing her tea, she knew that there was only the matter of the assassin left to deal with, then she would be leaving. Her training wasn't going to wait and she had too much to do for her to simply stand by and wait.
"Fine with me, I'll be looking forward to seeing what you can do," she said brightly. The sudden shift of tension caused Sun to hesitate for a moment before sighing in relief. There was no question who would win in a fight between the reaper and Blake.
Returning the vibrant smile that Blake sent her with a bright grin, she knew there was something she wasn't saying. While Blake might have plans for the White Fang, Ruby couldn't promise she would stay out of the fight. The White Fang was an issue that she would have to deal with as well so there was a chance she wouldn't be able to let Blake have them. In truth, she wondered if starting a race for the White Fang might be fun.
(Adam)
It always brought a smile to his face to read the reports Viper sent him. The man had a way of describing things that made it easy to get sucked in. If the man wasn't such a talented assassin, he would suggest that he become a writer. As it was his partner was far more skilled than Blake.
Ruby Rose, the girl assigned to be the leader of Blake's team and, from Viper's report, a fellow student of Raven. The girl's record was impressive; she'd gotten into Beacon two years early along with becoming a team leader. She also didn't sub come to Viper's poison; that was what truly got his attention. Her strength wasn't just skin deep, and she wasn't a fool if Raven decided to train her. From what he understood, she'd sent that boy to protect Blake. The feline was important to her, which meant he could use that against her.
Still, as a fellow student of Raven, she was granted the benefit of the doubt. In truth, he was starting to want to meet her if for no other reason than to see her reaction. Viper would be sending over a video of his fight with her along with her fight with Ilia. He'd also ordered the assassin to ensure that Ruby was kept alive. The girl wouldn't be in any danger from his people either seeing as he'd given orders for her to remain alive. On the other hand, the same could not be said for Blake.
While the Albain brothers were twisting his orders, this gave him a chance to move the people loyal to him off the island without a chance for them to get hurt. The attack on the belladonnas would give enough cover for such an operation. His people would be safe while he would have a chance to test Ruby. It was doubtful that anything substantial would happen much less that he would see anything interesting. With Viper pulling Ilia in on their plans he would have a spy in Blake's inner circle; if the Albains managed to kill Ghira then that was simply a bonus.
"Just what are you up to Problem Child?"
Smirking, he glanced over at the open window and his teacher who leaned against it. The curiosity in her gaze was slightly worrying but he wasn't afraid, Raven was as close to a mother as he'd ever had, but her love for him was nothing compared to what she felt for her daughter. He knew that she wouldn't interfere with his schemes, since she liked to let them solve her own issues. It was almost a game for them to try and outmaneuver each other and he knew that it was all a test to decide who would take over the tribe when she was ready to retire.
"Just trying to sate my curiosity," he said causing her to chuckle. She knew more than him how out of control these little games could get.
It was amusing. Both her problem child and Ruby desired to test one another especially considering there were outcomes no one could predict. While she disliked seeing them go against each other she knew it could be much worse. Once the two actually met things would get much more interesting, she couldn't wait to see how they reacted to one another. With their personalities, there was a fifty-fifty chance they could either become friends or enemies. She needed to also have her students meet soon; it was almost time for the annual reunion. Vernal was getting anxious without seeing Dakota for so long while Adam had only just finished his soul searching.
"I'm planning a hunt."
Narrowing his eyes in thought, the redhead laid the files on his desk with a calm smile. Usually, their reunions were simple parties, but a hunt was new. That meant she wanted to kickstart Ruby's training while also introducing them to the girl. It was also possible that there was a grimm that the tribe was unable to defeat and she needed them to take care of it. He might be exaggerating but there was no grimm stronger than Raven unless it was a leviathan class, the amount of experience and power she had was unbelievable. She could easily take care of the grimm but she wanted them to do it, so this was going to be more of a training trip than a hunt.
"Do the others know?"
"Not yet."
"The target?"
"Nuckelavee."
That was new. Excitement curled in his chest at the thought of unknown prey. He wasn't big on hunting grimm, that was more Dakota's thing, but even he knew how powerful the horse like grimm was. Nodding he watched his teacher shift almost nervously. There was something strange in her gaze as she stared at him; it was almost unnerving. Considering the fact, he might've upset her he thought about apologizing only for her to sigh. Yeah, he wasn't going to open the lid on this box; not when she seemed to almost be pouting.
(Ruby)
The island smelled of salt which was even stronger since she'd left her window open.
Holding the long thin box in her hand, she considered her options. Blake had vanished along with Sun a few moments ago, but she was more worried about the necklace in her hand. It had a brightly colored pink teardrop gem that reminded her of Nora. The only issue was that she had no idea what wrapping paper to use for her gift. Sitting on her bed, in the guest room, she was surrounded by gift boxes as she tried to wrap her presents. Her weapons were on the dresser by the door while her combat outfit was being washed leaving her only dressed in her pajamas. Thankfully not the puppy pajamas Tai got her, instead it was a simple pair of black shorts and a red tank top.
Shifting she picked up the pink and green wrapping paper. While not a well-known fact to anyone outside her family, she was horrible at this. It was why Jaune's gift looked like someone had gotten a toddler to wrap it. Gift bags would be better. She had no idea why she did this to herself every single time. At this point, she was starting to think she was a masochist or that she should shove this job onto Ciel. The other girl would be happy to take over gift wrapping, and if she wasn't then Ruby didn't really care. Feeling the tape cling to her fingers, she winced. She could kill grimm twice her size but was defeated by tape. It wasn't fair.
Glancing at the open window, she slumped slightly. If not for the bottle of pain killers on the nightstand she wouldn't even be able to do this right now. The only issue was that she could feel them wearing off and she was just stubborn enough not to take any more. If Viper was going to attack, then it would be soon before the poison left her system. During battle she couldn't afford to have her mind clouded nor for her limbs to move sluggishly. Even a minor mistake could lead to death; she had no desire to die.
A soft knock drew her attention to her father who was standing in the doorway with an almost nervous look on his face. Tilting her head, she offered him a gentle smile that was only reserved for him.
"Ruby, you got a minute?"
"Of course," she said brightly. The words caused him to smile as he walked into the room. Watching him shut the door behind him she felt a bit amused especially when he sent a glance at the battle she was currently fighting. Watching him shift nervously she frowned before moving the evidence of her war against wrapping paper so that he could sit down.
For the first time in almost three months, he was completely sober, she couldn't see even a hint of intoxication on his face. He did this every few months when he was trying to prove he wasn't addicted to alcohol. She believed that he was, but she would never confront him about it. She knew that this was the only way he was able to hold back the ghosts of his past, as someone who had her own demons, she knew how dangerous they could be.
Sitting on her bed, he took a moment to look down at his hands before slumping. The haggard look on his face caused her stomach to sink. He was in a depressed mood. Frowning she huffed in annoyance before reaching out to grab his wrist. His pulse jumped the second she touched his skin, and his tension didn't fade as she curled up beside him. Although he did chuckle when she pointedly laid his hand on her head. Running a hand through her hair he relaxed slowly.
Moments like these were ones that she never wanted to end. In her first life, her father had been a cruel man who tried to sell her to expand his business. She would never forget that, but she no longer considered that man her father. Qrow was skittish and tended to flee when he felt emotion, but he was also a good man. She loved him.
"You were close to Cinder's team," he said softly. The gentle way his fingers brushed through her hair was comforting.
"You noticed."
"Of course, you're my daughter."
She'd meant the words to be teasing but his response caused her to hesitate. What would he do if she told him the truth, would he abandon her? She loved her father, but despite her best efforts, she couldn't bring herself to trust him. That was a part of herself that she hated.
"I..." cutting herself off when her throat tightened, she took a breath. She couldn't tell him the truth, ever. Forcing a hint of amusement in her tone she said, "You're worried."
He chuckled allowing her to feel a bit of relief. Then he was sighing as he rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Whatever you're planning, I'll be there to help."
Hi guys, the next chapter is the end of the Menagerie arc. After that will be three chapters until the next arc. What did you guys think about this chapter?
Stay safe and have a good day
- Shyla
