Figured I'd keep working on this while I'm on a roll. Content warnings for (brief) descriptions of dead bodies and mentions of vomiting. Enjoy!
The mood among their group is somehow icier and stormier than the snow and wind whirling around them.
Ruby wishes that she knew what to do. Her head is spinning, and she just wants to take a few hours to sit down and process what they just learned, and maybe ask a few more questions. She knows that she still doesn't have the full picture of everything that's happened, which frustrates her to no end. Unfortunately, getting a chance to rest and think doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.
For one, the snowstorm around them has only gotten worse. They need to get moving, to find a place to shelter and get warm and regroup. And, on top of that, Ruby doesn't think she's ever seen Yang so angry before. Qrow, too. They're both shouting at Oscar, absolutely furious, as the younger boy holds his hands up in surrender, trying in vain to calm everyone's turbulent emotions.
Blake, too, seems less than pleased, watching the argument unfold with her arms folded across her chest. Beside her, Weiss seems more sad than angry, a despondent look on her face as she murmurs Pyrrha's name again. Ruby is about to place a hand on her shoulder, to try to comfort her as best she can, when she hears the argument between Qrow, Yang, and Oscar escalate, their shouts growing louder.
As she watches in horror, Qrow advances on Oscar, his fist raised. Before anyone else can try to do or say anything, Ruby is on the move, appearing in a cloud of rose petals just in time to snatch Qrow's arm away before his fist connects with Oscar's face.
Whoa. That was weird. Ruby has always struggled to use her semblance consistently, especially when she's emotional. And if she isn't emotional right now, she doesn't know what she is. But she'd managed to use her semblance almost effortlessly right then.
It's definitely shocking, but unfortunately there's no time to think about it right now. Shaking her head to clear it, Ruby rounds on her sister and Qrow with a fierce scowl. "Leave him alone! He's just a kid. I get that you guys are angry right now, but fighting like this isn't going to help anything."
Before they can open their mouths to argue with her, Maria chimes in. "The girl's right," she says in an admonishing tone, striding over to them. "It's cold out here, and storming. We need to get to shelter before we freeze. You can continue your little argument once we're not stranded out here in the snow."
"Well, where do you suggest we go?" Yang snaps, ever the diplomat. "In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of lost right now."
Maria doesn't rise to the bait. "There's a trail over there," she announces, gesturing to it with her cane. "Trails usually lead somewhere." When none of them start walking, she sighs heavily. "C'mon! Let's get moving!" she says impatiently. "I've lived too long to die out in the cold like this.
They find the farmhouse just in time. The snow swirling outside has grown so thick that they can barely see more than a few feet in front of them. Any longer and they would have been lost in the snow with no chance of making it back to civilization.
Ruby hates it here.
Everything about this place just feels—wrong, for some reason. Her skin has been crawling ever since they stepped through the gate. She swears she can hear whispers in the dark corners of the abandoned rooms, and movement in the shadows out of the corners of her eyes.
It's probably nothing, she tries to tell herself. She's probably just imagining things, after the day they've had. They're all stressed right now. It's been a long day. She'll feel better after she gets some rest, gets her head on straight. She tries to stay calm while Yang and Weiss check out the rest of the house. They're just staying here until the storm clears, after all.
Still, she can't shake the feeling of being watched, the feeling that something is just not right about this place.
Weiss' scream shatters the tense silence. Within seconds, she's on her feet, rushing ahead of the rest of the group in a blur of red to check on her friend.
She finds Yang and Weiss in one of the bedrooms. Yang looks incredibly startled, her hands clamped over her mouth, while Weiss is sprawled on the floor, her face pale and her eyes wide. Ruby is about to try to comfort them when she sees what they've found.
There are dead bodies in the bed.
It's horrifying. The bodies are old—at least, Ruby thinks they are. She doesn't really have any experience with this sort of thing. They look like those mummies from her old History of Remnant textbook, all old and wrinkled and sagging and filling the room with the scent of death—
Ruby throws up. This is too much too fast, she doesn't know how much more she can take and she just wants to go home please please please—
She loses track of time for a while. The next time she's aware of what's happening around her, she's shivering on the couch, wrapped in several blankets while the others hover around her in concern. They're discussing something, but she can't quite seem to make out what they're saying. It sounds like they're having the conversation underwater, or in another room across the house from her.
Ruby shifts slightly, and suddenly, everyone's eyes are on her. Yang crouches in front of her, relief written clearly on her face. "Ruby!" she exclaims. "How are you feeling?"
It's uncomfortable with everyone staring at her expectantly. Ruby blinks, feeling sluggish. "Uh, not great," she admits. "But I'm okay."
"We need to get out of here," Weiss says. She still looks pretty shaken up from earlier.
"The storm outside is still pretty bad, but it should clear up a bit by morning," Qrow announces. "We should get a move on as soon as we can. I've got a bad feeling about this place."
"Is there anyone who doesn't?" Oscar mutters under his breath.
"Are we just planning to walk all the way to Argus?" Weiss asks, folding her arms over her chest.
"There's a storage shed next to the house. There might be something we can use in there," Blake suggests quietly.
"Yang, go with her and check it out," Qrow says. "None of you should go anywhere without a partner.
Yang looks torn. "But—" she starts to protest.
"I'll be okay," Ruby assures her, forcing herself to sit up straight and smile. Reluctantly, her sister turns to follow Blake.
Sitting on the couch, Ruby can practically feel the tension radiating off Weiss. She isn't startled at all when the white-haired girl opens her mouth. "Are you really okay?" she asks quietly, twisting her hands in her lap.
"I'm okay," Ruby tries to reassure her. "Just tired, and ready for this day to be over already." Weiss chuckles softly. "How about you? Are you okay?"
Weiss nods. "Yeah. I just—want to get out of this place."
"Me too," Ruby agrees. She's glad that she's not the only one sensing the bad vibes from this creepy old house.
"Um," Weiss mumbles, shifting next to her. "Do you want to go see if there's some food around here that we could eat? I think that Yang and I stumbled across the kitchen earlier. I know that you used to tell me that you always felt better after a good meal."
Ruby isn't even remotely hungry right now, and she highly doubts that there's anything edible available in this old, abandoned house, but she can recognize an attempt to make her feel better when she sees one. "Sure," she says, shooting Weiss a small smile. "Let's go."
They find a lot of cobwebs during their search, and a whole lot of alcohol, but eventually they stumble across a holy grail—a can of beans. Ruby asks Weiss to keep the lights off in the other rooms they pass through. Qrow tends to drink a lot more when he's angry or stressed or upset, and she knows that her uncle is all three of those right now. They're going to need him sharp if they want to make it out of here.
There's an uneasy feeling still gnawing at Ruby as they settle down to sleep. They're only staying here until morning comes, she reminds herself. As soon as the storm dies down a bit, and its light outside, they'll be out of here.
Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it.
Just a reminder that I do take requests for fics, so if there's an idea that you'd like to see me write, feel free to message me and if I like it, I might end up writing something for it. Also, if you like one of my ideas and want to write your own fic for it, feel free! I'm not possessive with my ideas, and most of my writing is self-indulgent anyway, so all that I ask is that you let me know so I can read it.