The sound of snow crunching underfoot was the only noise that accompanied Ruby as she made the familiar trek up to her destination. Nonetheless, one hand remained ready to draw the heavy blade on her back.
Finally arriving, Ruby reached up, removing the helm and dropping it into the disturbed snow before kneeling down, "Hey, Haurche."
The tombstone on Haurchefant Greystone was predictably silent. Not that Ruby expected or needed a response, "Sorry I haven't been to visit in a while, things went kinda plumshaped. Do they have that phrase in Ishgard? I remember Uncle Qrow used it once. It means something going wrong, because… actually, I dunno why. Maybe whoever came up with it didn't like the shape of plums?"
Ruby shook her head, "No, nevermind that, not important. Uh… the bad news is that Papalymo is… Well, he's with you now. Uhh… Fray popped back up, probably because of that… but don't worry! She's working with me now! Got that bit of craziness completely under control!"
Ruby gave a skittish laugh, "Anyways, back on topic! Me and Lyse, uh, that's Yda. It's a long story but turns out Yda died before I ever got to know her, and the Yda I knew was her sister. Crazy, right? And Thancred knew and never told me! What kinda jerk move is that?
Anyways, We went to Ala Mhigo to look into this Primal, Shinryu. The Garleans got it, because of course they did. Then we went to Doma and fought another Primal…"
Ruby lapsed into silence, staring at the broken shield leaning against the tombstone. Searching for something, anything to say. Finally, all she could give was a strangled, "I shouldn't have to tell you these things, Haurche. You shouldn't-"
Oh, do not look at me so. A smile better suits a hero.
"-Sorry," Ruby repeated, a forced smile coming to her lips, "We got a lead back to Remnant. One that should let us get back here too! That'll be cool, right? Let me wrap up those loose ends long enough that I can focus on saving Hydaelyn. Meanwhile, Thancred is gonna look into the Garleans. But that means I'm not gonna be able to visit for a while. So…"
"Ruby!"
Ruby turned as Lyse came over the edge of the cliff, "What's wrong this time?"
"Nothing," Lyse said with a sigh, "Just wanted to make sure you were alright. You just left in the middle of the night."
"I wanted to visit Haurche," Ruby defended, standing up.
"In full armor?"
"You can't be too safe," Ruby said, "Everyone seems to think bullying the Warrior of Light is a good idea!"
"Riiiight," Lyse said, "Well, are you gonna be done soon? Because if not, I'm heading back, since I'm not dressed in furred plate."
"No," Ruby started, "I mean, yeah, I'm good."
"Good!" Lyse chirped, grabbing Ruby's hand and tugging her along.
"Woah!" Ruby pinwheeled her free arm to stay steady as she suddenly began moving.
They were halfway back to camp before Lyse spoke, "Does it help? Talking to him?"
"Help with what?"
"Just… help," Lyse said, "I didn't do it after Yda died, but after Papalymo…"
"Sometimes it does," Ruby said.
Other times, it meshed with Ruby's soul crystal in unhealthy ways. But since Lyse didn't have that problem…
"I might try it," Lyse said, before looking at Ruby with an impish smile, "Now, I'll race you back!"
"Wai-!" Ruby sighed as the other Scion rushed off. That…
Oh, it was on!
- X Lyse X-
"You really don't have to come."
Lyse rolled her eyes as Ruby repeated herself for the millionth time, "We know that, we want to come."
"But-"
"Nope!" Lyse said, "No buts! Eorzea's had its butt saved more times than anyone can count by someone from Remnant, helping that someone is the least we can do."
"You know she's right," Thancred said, the eyepatched Scion was seated at the table in Ruby's Shirogane residence, "This isn't a rampaging Primal, you don't need to have this burden alone."
"She-" Urianger visibly recoiled as Lyse stepped on his toe, nodding towards the Scions unofficial leader, who was clutching her head. The Elezen was wise enough to shut his mouth.
"I- Shut up!" Ruby cut herself off, shaking her head, "Sorry. If you're with me, who's gonna watch things here?"
"Those of us who remain behind," Urianger said, "Four members does not the Scions make, we c-
"Sorry, what did you just say?" Lyse cut in, "Papalymo never said anything like that!"
"The point is, it's fine." Thancred continued for Urianger, "We can hold down the fort here."
"I-" Ruby's eyes watered, "I couldn't ask for a better family than you guys."
"We could say the same about you," Thancred said, "Now, I should probably be going, infiltrations won't do themselves."
"If anything goes wrong-"
"I'll tell Urianger, who will tell you," he said, catching the hug from Ruby, "I'll see you when we're both done."
"Yeah," Ruby said, "see you then. C'mon, Lyse."
- X Ruby X-
Hear. Feel. Think.
Ruby was floating in a void, looking around in exhaustion, "Wuzgoin'on?"
"Childe," a calm female voice called, "Come to mine embrace…"
Ruby blinked as she noticed a dot of light in the distance, floating towards it. Slowly, a giant rock came into view, "Uhhh… Hi?"
"Hello," Ruby jerked back as the rock pulsed, the calm voice echoing out of it, "Mine apologises, I did not wish to frighten thee."
"Why are you talking like that?
The crystal was silent for a minute, "Would thou hast me speak differently?"
"Uhhhhhh… What?"
The crystal was silent for even longer, "Is this better?"
The nine year old nodded, "Yeah!"
"Then I will speak like this," the crystal said, "Hello, Ruby. I am Hydaelyn, the All Made On-"
"Wait, howdya know my name?" Ruby asked.
Hydaelyn went quite again, just for a second, "I know many people's names. It's my job to know those who hold Light in their hear-"
"Like the Winter Maiden?"
Hydaelyn's voice was amused as it came back, "Very much like her, yes. Tell me, Ruby, is it true you wish to be a hero?"
"Course I do. Why?"
"What if I told you that there was a world out there in desperate need of a hero?"
"Why?"
"There are creatures encroaching that plan to consu-"
"What?"
"There are monsters of darkness getting ready to attack."
"Oh," Ruby said, "And you want me to be the hero?"
"If you are willing."
Ruby nodded, "Ok!"
"Are you certain? This won't-"
"If you're like the Winter Maiden, and you think they need me, then I'll be your gift to them!" Ruby said with a broad smile.
"Thank you," Hydaelyn said, her voice breaking from the calm tone it had for the first time as Ruby felt herself be pulled into a shining light behind her, "and I'm sorry."
Sorry? Sorry for wha-?
- X Jaune X-
Jaune looked up at the heavy thud that shook the house, pausing his game and pulling down his headphones. His door crashed open with a bang, showing his older sister panting on the doorway with a duffle bag, "Jaune, come on!"
"What's going on?"
"Grimm!" Aurora said, yanking open his dresser and stuffing the bag with his clothes, "They're evacuating!"
"What? Why?"
"Just to be sa-" Aurora was cut off by a roar, "There's a group of hunters dealing with them now! Come on!"
Jaune followed Aurora down the stairs and out the house, looking towards where the roars were coming from… and pausing as he caught sight of one of the Huntresses.
She was about the same age as Jaune, with white hair in a braid, a cream colored coat, a glowing purple rapier in one hand and a weird glowing ornament floating above the other. What the heck?
She dodged around a swing from a bear Grimm, driving her rapier into its side as another Grimm went flying by Jaune, a blur of red rushing past immediately after.
"Jaune!" Aurora called, grabbing his arm and tugging him along, "Come on!"
"Right!" Jaune nodded as they slipped around the back of their neighbor's house, leaving the red clad woman to pound on another Grimm, "Who are they?"
"Don't know," Aurora said, "Don't really care! Come on!"
They came back out around three houses down, and Jaune took another look behind them, only to stop dead and yell, "Look out!"
In hindsight, when he thought back to this moment, Jaune Arc would kick himself for distracting the white haired girl, realizing he had very nearly done all the more harm than good as she glanced even further away from the giant bear currently bearing down on her to look at him. At the moment, however, all Jaune could do was feel a spike of fear as he realized there was no one close enough to save her.
Or, at least, that's what he thought.
Dust exploded out from the point, blinding Jaune for a second before settling down and revealing the man clad in black plate armor, an absolutely massive black and red sword slanted over the girl to direct the bear's claws away from her.
"Alisaie," the swordsman said, voice distorted by the black helmet on their head.
"Of course!" the girl said, running the bear through in an explosion of red light. Turning, she span so she was pressed against the man's back, "Shall we finish this?"
"Lyse!" the man called to the woman in red, who looked up, "Go get Y'shtola, tell her we don't need to evacuate after all."
"Really?" Lyse asked.
"Yes," he said, "I'll deal with the leftovers."
"Fine," she said with a wave, "Fine…"
"Alisaie," he said, "Take those two inside."
"Are you certain? I can-"
"Trust me," he said, before shifting his sword.
"Very well," she sighed, gesturing for them to lead the way just before he stepped into the house, Jaune looked behind him in time to see the armored man draw his sword from the ground.
- X Lyse X-
Lyse looked behind her as Ruby shifted stances, Void tainted Aether rising off her as the last Grimm were drawn to it. The Warrior of Light paused for a second, before swinging her sword in a horizontal slash. A thin line of black and purple flame flowed from the tip of the blade before expanding explosively as it hit the Grimm.
Coiling her body like a spring, Lyse leapt onto the rooftops, rushing over them with ease. As she did, she raised her hand to the linkpearl embedded in an earring, "Y'shtola?"
"Yes?" the Miqo'te said.
"How far out are you?"
"Not very, unfortunately, there was a family insisting we remain behind long enough for their children to arrive. Unfortunately, they never did-"
"Yeah," Lyse said, "I think we met them, they're fine. Tell the villagers to turn around, Ruby's dealing with the last of the Grimm now."
"Very well," Y'shtola's voice cut out.
"Send up a flare, would you? I want to meet up."
Not far in the distance, a glowing ball launched up. Lyse took off in a rush of wind, dodging around trees and animals until she was even with the wagon Y'shtola was in, before hopping up and across from her, "Hi!"
"Hello," Y'shtola said, turning enough that she was facing Lyse, though her eyes were focused over the pugilist's shoulder.
"Anything?" Lyse asked.
"About the Grimm?" Y'shtola asked, nudging her staff, Ruby's extra weapons and the spare clothes and food they had brought with them, "To some extent. They are created of Aether, but not like Primals or summons."
"That's weird," Lyse said.
"Lyse?" Y'shtola said, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"Why did you return?" Y'shtola said, "You hardly…"
"When I was younger," Lyse started, "my sister came back from one of her missions with a group of Ala Mhigan refugees. One of them just… he stopped doing anything. He sat down outside our home and wasted away. When I asked Yda about it, she said something like 'There's only so much loss someone can take before they stop functioning, Lyse'... How much more do you think Ruby can take before she reaches that point? Remnant, Haurchefant, Ysayle, Papalymo, Minfilia… and those are the ones we know about. Even if I 'just' left the Scions for Ala Mhigo, it'd be another loss to Ruby. I couldn't do that to her."
"I see," Y'shtola said, "That's, I hadn't considered that but you are correct. Ruby already had a bad reaction to losing us after the Braves betrayed us."
"I still remember meeting back up with her," Lyse said, rubbing her side, "I think she broke three of my ribs with that hug."
- X Jaune X-
Jaune turned as his mother called his name, being quickly swept into a hug alongside his youngest sister, "Mom?"
"Do you know how worried we were?" Riley Arc whispered as the armored knight sidled around them with a large bag, disappearing into Orlena's room.
"Jaune was zoned out," Aurora said.
"I don't care," Riley said as Lyse followed the knight, causing Jaune to blurt out the first thing that came to his mind.
"Uh… What's going on? Where's dad?"
"Oh! Yes," Riley coughed, "Your father is at the CCT terminal, calling your sisters, assuming it isn't down. As for these four, they're going to be staying the night."
"Y'shtola," the white haired Faunus holding a staff said with a smile, "I'm told you're already acquainted with Lyse and Ru-"
"Hey, Y'shtola!" Jaune turned to see a woman around Lyse's age with brown and red hair sticking her head out of Orlena's room, "Which pocket didja stick my vest in?"
"Which?"
"My training one!"
"Left one."
Another call came from the room, "Lyse wants to know which left one!"
"The smaller!"
Lyse yelled something, causing the woman to nod, "She found it! Than-"
"You're a girl?" Jaune blurted out, causing Aurora's hand to hit her face with a loud smack.
"Smooth," Aurora muttered.
"Yep!" the woman said, apparently unfazed by Jaune's surprise, ducking back into the room as an awkward silence fell across the room.
"That was Ruby," Y'shtola said without blinking.
"Trust her to immediately jump from one fight to another," Alisaie groused from the couch, causing Jaune to jump as he was reminded she was there.
- X Ruby X-
Ruby hopped from one foot to the other, waiting for Lyse to finish getting ready for their spar. She heard the blond boy, Jaune, speak up from his spot next to Y'shtola, "Can I ask you something?"
"You may."
"What's that symbol on yours and Ruby's neck? I mean, it's gotta mean something if you both decided to get the same tattoo, right?"
"It is a symbol of the scholars of Sharlayan, only those who excel in their school are allowed to bear it."
"So that means Ruby is some sort of genius?"
Ruby was halfway through a snort when Y'shtola gave her answer. Her, a genius?
"It depends on who you ask, I suppose. Ruby's field tends to be looked down upon, and I am sure there are many of Sharlayan that would be enraged to see her bear it as she got it without permission. Nonetheless, Ruby is the foremost of her field."
"Which is?"
"The disruption of Aetheric condensation embodying the collective beliefs of sapient beings through spiritual refraction and control of Abyssal energy."
She had just made that up off the top of her head, hadn't she?
"What?"
"It isn't something easily explained," Y'shtola said, leaving Ruby to roll her eyes. She was sure her friend could if she wanted to, but-
"Alright, I'm ready!"
Ruby turned on her heel to look at Lyse, only to catch sight of the martial artist and lose control of the spin. Ruby winced as she crashed shoulder first into the ground, doing her best to ignore the popping noise.
Shaking her head, Ruby looked up at Lyse, who was standing over her wearing the outfit she had been wearing at the start of their journey to Ala Mhigo. Namely a red, open jacket, a sports bra, and her red greaves.
"Where's your normal stuff?" Ruby asked weakly, taking Lyse's outstretched hand and climbing to her feet.
"Oh, Riley offered to wash our gear," Lyse said, "and since I haven't worn this, I figured it would be better to get my normal outfit cleaned. Who knows the next time we'll get the chance, right?"
"Probably not until we get to Vale at the earliest," Ruby agreed, noticing Jaune sit up straighter at the mention of the kingdom, "Ready?"
"You know it!" Lyse said with a smile, jumping back until she was three yalms away from Ruby. The two hyur bowed to each other, before they settled into their preferred stances. Ruby took a deep breath, trying to activate the Echo.
A ghostly Lyse rushed across the gap, hand curled into a claw. Ruby swung a hand up, batting aside the actual Lyse's hand, ducking as the Echo Lyse's foot sailed through her head, grabbing Lyse's other foot and sending her into a flip.
Lyse landed gracefully, smiling at Ruby as her Echo launched to the side. Ruby waited for Lyse to begin moving before she launched to intercept, flames coiling around her hand as she swung for Lyse's gut.
The Echo dove into a roll, followed shortly by Lyse, and Ruby span in place as the Echo's foot sailed by her again. The Warrior of Light backpedaled, putting space in between her and Lyse.
If only she had gained enough control to do this before…
"Look out!"
Ruby turned in time to see the spear of white light strike Haurchefant's shield, energy leaching into the air before it gave out, blood flying from Haurchefant's mouth as the spear tore through his chain mail like paper. Ruby felt Gae Bolg nearly slip through numb fingers as he staggered back, "No…"
Ruby focused on the knight standing on a pillar, gripping her spear as tightly as possible… and launched it at him. His eyes widened, apparently startled by the brazen attack as the barbed spear sank into his gut through his armor and the leather strap holding his sword to his back and he fell back onto the deck of the airship.
Ruby turned back to Haurchefant, sinking to her knees as Aymeric propped the knight up, "Haurche?"
"You… you are unharmed?" the Silver Fuller asked weakly, "Forgive me, I couldn't bear the thought of…"
"And you think I want to?" Ruby croaked, gripping Haurchefant's hand, "I would have been fine, Haurche. I-"
"Oh," Haurchefant said, "do not look at me so. A smile better suits a hero."
Ruby hid a sob and forced herself to smile, "Right…"
Haurchefant gave another weak smile and tightened his grip on Ruby's hand the best he could before the Silver Fuller finished draining and he went still.
Ruby gave a broken sob, all but pulling Haurchefant from Aymeric and clutching him like a lifeline. Estinien placed a hand on her shoulder, the Azure Dragoon speaking quietly, "Ruby, we need to go. Every second we delay is a second they escape. Haurchefant would not have want that."
"Right," Ruby mumbled, standing up and looking around. A weapon... she needed a… there! "Alph, you get Haurche back to his family. I have a Primal to kill…"
"Ruby!" Alphinaud called as Ruby grabbed the greatsword, "Don't… Haurchefant wouldn't want you to throw your life-!"
"Alph," Ruby said, "I'm not gonna die to an old man and his friends playing Primal."
"Ruby!" Ruby blinked, staring at the sky. Had she just… had she really just had an Echo Vision? She supposed she deserved that, for thinking about it in full Echo mode, "Ruby, are you alright? You just, I don't know, you fell back and started to…"
Ruby reached up and felt the wetness on her cheeks, "'M fine."
"It was… What was it?" Lyse asked.
"Haurche," Ruby mumbled, feeling like someone had gouged open a wound. Twelve save her, Myste was gonna have a field day next time she reared her ugly...
Ok, so maybe it wasn't that ugly a head. It looked like a young Haurche.
"C'mon," Lyse said, throwing one of Ruby's arms over her shoulder and using it to prop up the barely responsive Warrior of Light, "Y'shtola, can you go make something to warm her up? Hot chocolate or tea if they have it?"
Y'shtola was silent for a moment in which everything seemed to get even more tense before she nodded, disappearing into the house as Ruby let herself be guided in after her.
- X Y'shtola X-
"I can't thank you enough," Y'shtola said to Riley as they moved around the kitchen, "We're already imposing upon your hospitality and now this…"
"It's fine," Riley said with a small frown, head turned towards where Ruby was curled up on a couch, Lyse running a hand through the catatonic Warrior's hair, "My oldest daughter… she occasionally has similar attacks."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Y'shtola said, looking around for Alisaie and noticing her Aetheric signature talking with the boy, Jaune. Twelve bless that girl, "Still we will try to leave as soon as possi-"
"Nonsense!" Riley said, "You saved the village and we have more than enough space. Remain for as long as you need."
"Thank you," Y'shtola said, "but we need to depart for Vale before too long anyways. We'll stay for a few days, but no longer."
And if Ruby hadn't recovered by then, Y'shtola was dragging her back to Hydaelyn and calling for Thancred. Actually...
- X Jaune X-
"So, uh," Jaune said, twiddling his thumbs, "How'd you get tied up with a bunch of older Huntresses?"
Alisaie looked up from where she was examining Jaune's still paused game with a look of interest before giving a slight laugh, "Of all the questions, that's the first you ask me?"
"Yeah?" Jaune asked.
"They used to work with my grandfather," Alisaie said, "and allowed me and my brother to join after he departed."
"Departed?"
"Died," Alisaie said.
"But… How'd your granddad get on a team with them then? I thought there was a rule about when you could start training?"
"The Scions don't act like regular Hunters," Alisaie said, "We feel that it's safer to field a larger group in the most dire situations."
"Then where were they today? And isn't it Huntsmen?"
Alisaie hesitated for a second, "Of course, how foolish of me. It's been a long day. As for the other Scions, they remained at our base while we go to visit Ruby's sister in Vale. They haven't seen each other in many years."
"Which school did you go to? Was it hard?"
"Quite," Alisaie said, "my brother was always the more clever of us, but while he whiled away the hours studying, I trained my body as well as my mind."
"So you need to know a lot to be a Huntsman? Isn't it just being a good fighter?"
"It's never enough to 'just' be a good fighter, Jaune," Alisaie sighed, "Do you think Ruby got where she was by being 'just' a good fighter?"
"What's Ruby got to do with it?" Jaune asked in confusion, looking down the hall towards the stairs raising a hand to wave at Y'shtola… who didn't respond to it.
"Oh," Alisaie recoiled into her jacket, a slight flush on her face, "Nothing, don't worry about it! Anyways, it-"
"Alisaie," Y'shtola spoke up from her place in the doorway, "Could I speak to you for a second, alone?"
"Of course," Alisaie said with a nod, following the faunus out of Jaune's room and into the one next door. Jaune leaned over, carefully pressing his ear against the thin wall, "What is it?"
"I'm considering calling upon Thancred," Y'shtola said.
"What? Why?"
"If there's anyone in the universe who can rally Ruby, it's him. They've known each other longer than anyone in the Scions… longer than you and your brother have been alive."
"But what about Alphin-?"
"That is exactly why I'm bringing it up to you," Y'shtola said, "I know you're worried about your brother, but if worst comes to worst-"
"-Ruby's more valuable than Alphinaud," Alisaie said with a sigh, "I know, but-"
"If that happens," Y'shtola said, "I'll depart to look for Alphinaud. I don't intend to abandon your brother, but I felt the need to warn you, so you don't become overly concerned if Thancred shows up."
"Is Ruby…?"
"Sleeping, at the moment," Y'shtola said, "Lyse is with her."
"I'm going to go check on her," Alisaie said, followed by the sound of the door opening, her walking away and-
"Tis rude to listen in on private conversations," Y'shtola said into the wall next to Jaune's ear, causing him to jump back off his bed with a yelp.
Probably should have seen that one coming.
- X Thancred X-
Thancred watched the other urchin carefully, gripping his knives and quickly assessing the situation.
They were in the alley outside one of Limsa Lomasia's bakeries, both prepared to scavenge the leftovers from that night's dinner. Thancred was used to coming to blows over this matter, Limsa wasn't a nice place and had an abundance of homeless looking for something to eat.
Most of them, however, didn't have a pair of rusted swords attached at the hilt in one hand and a finishing spear in the other, looking ready to attack Thancred over the matter.
"So," Thancred said, eyes locked onto the weapon, "I take it I can't convince you to just walk away?"
The girl shook her head, saying something in a different language.
"Would you please speak normally? It'd be much easier to work out a compromise if we could chat."
The girl said something, shaking her head and giving a resigned shrug.
Thancred narrowed his eyes, "You can't?"
The girl nodded.
"But you can understand me?"
She nodded again, saying something that Thancred was able to discern one word from, "Hydaelyn."
"Right then," Thancred said, "Let's start with something basic. I'm Thancred. What's your name?"
"Ruby."
"Ruby? That's your name?" the newly named 'Ruby' nodded, "Well then, Ruby, is there anything we can do to make things end in a way other than one of us becoming a nameless corpse in this alley?"
Ruby slowly, reluctantly, nodded. Before she could get any further, however, they were interrupted by the sound of laughter from down the alley, "Isn't that cute? The little bitch found a friend!"
Thancred turned, catching sight of the man holding a sword similar to Ruby's in one hand and a pistol in the other. Behind him were a pair of brutish looking roegadyn holding axes. Marauders.
"What's go-"
"I'll give you one chance kid," the captain said, pointing his gun at Ruby, "Run. This is between us and-"
Thancred blinked as Ruby's spear sailed across the space between them, stabbing into the captain's arm as she grabbed Thancred's hand, ducking as there was a clap of thunder behind them and Thancred heard something whiz by his ear.
Ruby pulled Thancred along, pulling him into another, smaller alley and pressing her fingers to her lips as the captain yelled, "Spread out and find her! That brat has made a fool of us too many times!"
Ruby grabbed her blades, splitting them as one of the roegadyn walked by. Thancred held his breath as they passed by a second time.
Ruby lashed out, slashing through the back of his leg and smashing the hilts into the back of his head. There was another bang and Thancred saw her fall back with a yelp, dropping one blade and running away. The other roegadyn passed by and Thancred coiled up, waiting for the captain to pass.
Instead, he heard a yell of pain and the captain fell, a pair of knives lodged in his back. The owner yanked one out and moved half a step forward, stabbing the roegadyn in the back of the head. With the other hand, he picked up the captain's pistol and pulled the trigger, "Damn bastards. Oi! Brat, come out 'ere! And you, other brat! Come over!"
Thancred carefully crawled out, clutching his daggers as the man in a dark green vest yanked a bit of cloth off the captain and cleaning his daggers. He gave a savage kick to the dead pirate's head, "I should thank ya, ya prat. Takes a special breed of idiot ta walk around so brazenly after hanging the code. Most would be lookin' for someplace far from Limsa to be hidin'. As for you, girl," he reached up, scooping up the pirate's sword and throwing it at Ruby, who caught it wide eyed, "you keep that. And if you ever need a job, ask for Jacke by the docks."
As he passed, Thancred heard him mutter, "Twelve knows you did it today."
Thancred turned at the jingle of metal, staring wide eyed at the bag of gil in Ruby's hand. The young girl looked just as startled, before her eyes met Thancred and she held it up.
Thancred didn't need to be able to speak the same language as her to understand the clear message.
Did he want to get some actual food for once in his life?
- X Ruby X-
Ruby lay on the couch in silence, not even bothering to let go of Lyse's hand as she stared at the ceiling. "Midg, you there?"
"How many times must I express my hatred of that accused name before thou stop using it?" the Father of Dragons said with a rumble as he landed on the table.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Thou shall do it even if I refuse," Midgardsormr said, "so ask."
"Do you think… do you think Hydaelyn chose wrong, when she picked me?"
"Once, I did," Midgardsormr said, "I believe you to be a child handed power without deserving it. I do not believe that anymore. Might I inquire why you ask?"
"Sometimes I wonder if she did," Ruby said, "for every time I've saved the day, there's another where I failed. I failed to stop Dalamud and the Calamity-"
"-A reckoning that had been forming for five millennia. Not even the twelve Themselves were capable of calming the rancor of the Primal wearing my son's face's-" Midgardsormr said.
"-Louisoix got tempered-"
"-After the Archon had thrown you through time and away from him-"
"-I didn't see the Brave's betrayal coming, and lost the Scions-"
"-The traitors were not thy responsibility either-"
"-Ysayle-"
"-The Lady made her choice to save thou-" Midgardsormr continued, abandoning much of the formality as he tore through each of Ruby's points.
"-Haurchefant-"
"-Stepped into the blow of his own free will, for he knew you were strong enough to continue on without him and, more pressingly, were more import-"
"Don't you DARE finish that sentence!" Ruby thundered, clenching her hand as tight as she could.
Midgardsormr, at least, had the decency to apologize, "Of course. That was out of line, and you hath my deepest apologies for it. Let me speak clearly, Ruby. You look at thy failures more than thy success. While thou hath lost those close to you, thou hath saved myriad more you will never meet. Those nameless, faceless woman and children of Ala Mhigo and Doma that thou hath saved will never come to thou in the streets and prostate themse-"
"I don't want them to-"
"I did not say that was thy desire. But if they did, thou would see that thou hast saved them all. The same holds true of the children of Ishgard, Limsa Lomasia, and Ul'dah. If I did not think thee worthy of Hydaelyn's blessing, I would not hath returned it. Our bond was formed so I could witness thy deeds, and I hath found thee worthy."
"Thanks, Midg," Ruby said with a smile, "I guess-"
"The Echo plays havoc with thy senses," Midgardsormr said, "Thou feel as if the Ishgardian passed in front of thou again. I hath bared witness to the Myste the loss and pain of his passing hath wrought. It is not thy fault it shakes thee. Rest and regain thy strength, there will be more in the days to come."
Ruby's smile took on a sad tinge as the dragon faded in Aether, "You stole that from Haurche…"
"He's right, you know," Ruby sat up straight, staring at Lyse, "I wouldn't be surprised if one of these days you get called to Ala Mhigo to kill a Primal version of yourself."
"How long have you been awake for?"
"Around the time you yelled at him and crushed my hand," Lyse said, rolling over to look at Ruby, "I'm sorry for not saying anything, but you sounded like you really needed that conversation."
"Sorry," Ruby said, "I didn't mean to wake you-"
"I wish you would have," Lyse said, "You didn't need an old dragon to tell you that. I could have just as easily. C'mon, let's get some sleep, we'll talk in the morning."
