Yang bonked Ruby on the back of the head. "Don't say it like that! She's definitely gonna get the wrong idea!" She scolded.
"Mmm!" Ruby pouted, realized what Yang meant, then turned back to Weiss. "Wait I mean uh I I want you safe! Yang is a good protector and she she'll do it good! Protecting you! If you need it!" Ruby nodded enthusiastically and tried to look serious. Her serious face slowly drooped into a sadder expression. "I want you to stay with me.. But, if you staying here gets you hurt, I don't, I.." Ruby rubbed her nose against the snot covered blanket next to her, tears forming in her eyes. "Heheh..." Ruby let out a small laugh. She sneezed into her hands, and laughed some more. Soon enough she was laughing and giggling like a maniac, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Weiss and Yang knew what was going on for the most part, so they just stood and backed up a little, watching silently as the waited for her to calm down. Blake kept whipping her head back and forth between Ruby and the other two, as if questioning their sanity at viewing this as even semi 'normal'.
"Her emotions are kinda, broken sometimes. Don't worry about it." Yang whispered at Blake. Blake nodded slowly, moving to the other side of the room where Weiss and Yang had migrated to while keeping her eyes fixated on Ruby.
Ruby was still in the middle of nearly screaming with laughter, when she abruptly stooped. "Huh. That was longer then usual." She said, wiping her eyes dry.
Weiss gingerly approached her. "You ok..?"
Ruby nodded. "Sometimes my sadness turns to laughing." she said softly. Weiss leaned down and hugged her.
"You don't really want me to leave?" Weiss asked gently. Ruby shook her head, looking away. "Well good. Because I don't want to leave you either. I'll stay by your side until you're all better, ok?" Weiss held Ruby's hand. Ruby's cheeks flushed a little more then they already were from her sickness, and she nodded. "It would help if we could diagnosis you more properly.. Yang?" Weiss turned to Yang. "She's sick, but do you know exactly with what? A cold? The plague? Knowing what would be helpful treatment. We know she has a fever, and a stuffy nose..."
Yang shrugged. "Don't ask me, I know more about rocks then I know about curing sickness's. And I don't know very much about rocks." Ah.. So helpful.. Weiss tuned to Blake. Blake shook her head.
"And I've been cooped up in a castle my whole life, so I barely have basic knowledge on how to treat people.." Weiss stared at Blake intensely, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Its up to you Blake!" She gave a thumbs up.
"Me? Why me?!" Blake raised her hands in front of her as a form of surrender.
"Because we've got a sheltered princess and two dragons who have less then three years of experience being a person in the real world combined. You've got like 15 years on us all Blake." Yang half smiled as she spoke. Blake looked at the floor in stressed defeat as she realized Yang and Weiss were right.
"I know basic things! Bed rest, honey bread, keeping warm.. Just, nothing about medicine." Weiss told Blake. "What should we give her?"
Blake put a hand to her forehead. "I'm not sure anything would even WORK on her, honestly. She's a dragon, does cold medicine work on dragons?" Blake asked no one in particular.
"We're asking you!" Weiss said.
"I'm no dragon expert! Ahhhhg ok lets, lets me and Yang go out and see what we can scrape up. Weiss, guard Ruby." Blake sighed. "I JUST got back too.. This is like the third time I'm going on an errand today." Blake and Yang left, locking the door behind them.
The silence that fell over the room was deafening. Weiss sat at the foot of the bed, thinking to herself again. She was glad that Ruby hadn't meant anything like 'I don't want you around right now', but.. For a split second, that WAS what she thought she'd meant. And for that split second Weiss's entire being had overwhelmed by a numbing wave of despair. That feeling had come from just thinking that the person she loved didn't want her around? Oh. Oh NO. Had Ruby felt that way when Weiss had left? Back when Blake first showed up? That must've been awful! That split second despair Weiss had had, would have been festering and growing inside of Ruby for an entire day, almost two days..!
Weiss turned to Ruby to apologize, but Ruby was fast asleep. Weiss looked at her. Her breathing was still labored, her face red. Weiss wished she could just take the sickness out of her and suffer through it herself.. If only, if only. Weiss noticed something poking her leg, and discovered Ruby's tail. She took it in her hands gently, feeling the texture of its tiny scales. The necklace she had on was a tail scale, Weiss remembered with a smile. Ruby's tail wiggled in her sleep, squirming out if Weiss's grasp. Weiss played a little game with it for a bit, a game she called 'see how long you can hold the tail before it wiggles out of you grasp'. Weiss wasn't very good at naming games.
Since Ruby's tail started getting a little agitated, Weiss stopped the game and left her be. There wasn't really anything she could do. Normally when Ruby was awake, the time seemed to fly by. But with her sick, obviously in pain, the minuets felt like hours. What could she do to pass the time? Strange.. This was the first time she'd felt board since she'd run away from home all those weeks ago.
Weiss sighed, looking up at the ceiling. This was indeed a familiar feeling. She closed her eyes, and began singing softly. Weiss hadn't sung in so long. She let the words flow out of her mouth, her memory taking over and knowing exactly how to place every note without her even having to think. This was her favorite song, one that she'd wrote. Her father had allowed her to sing it sometimes at concerts. That was her thing, back home. Winter was the future ruler who wanted to be a knight, Weiss was the musically gifted one, and her brother was.. What was he? Weiss felt like he'd never really liked her. She didn't see him that often at home.
Home. Weiss didn't have a home anymore, did she? Her thoughts spiraled downwards, sinking her ever deeper into darkness. That darkness was short lived however, as the sight of Ruby smiling in her sleep to the song Weiss was singing warmed her heart.
Since Ruby couldn't really leave the room in her current condition, Weiss, Yang, And Blake stayed with her. At all times someone was with Ruby, and the other two would go out. Weiss was Rubys girlfriend, and Yang was her sister, so they had a grand enough time alone with her. Blake on the other hand was a little more awkward. But Ruby soon warmed up to her when she learned how much Blake read. When Blake and Ruby were alone together, Blake would just read whatever she was currently reading out loud to Ruby, after giving her a quick run down of what had happened in the book before. That system worked perfectly. Blake also taught Ruby a few card games.
And there they spent a week. Ruby got worse first, but then started recovering. Blake and Yang went out and did a quest to get some more blanket funds, as they discovered that Rubys snot was SUPER flammable the first time Yang tried to use a blanket Ruby had blown her nose on as a way to catch her fire sleep sneeze.
Henry showed up at the inn every other day, asking Weiss If she wanted to go out somewhere. She declined each time, and yet he still kept coming. Weiss had somehow avoided letting him know which room she was staying in, the last thing she needed was him accidentally barging in on her and sick dragon Ruby. She still hadn't told him she was dating Ruby. A girl. She wasn't sure how he'd react, people could be unpredictable sometimes. She wanted to be sure they could leave at a moments notice before she told him, in case he wanted revenge or something on her or Ruby. It had happened to her before when she turned guys down back at the castle, while most accepted her rejection, some got so mad about it that they had actively tried to harm her. That was the main reason Winter had allowed her to train with the sword, really.
Henry aside, Weiss was still being followed by three people, but none of them made a move on her again. It just made her all the more anxious. Blake and Yang figured that the reason Weiss was ok, was because she was always with another person. As long as she wasn't alone, she was fine. So when Nora asked Weiss if she'd like to go shopping around town, Weiss took her up on the offer. Weiss had seen Nora from time to time, and chatted with her a bit throughout the week. Nora was a bit eccentric at times, but all around a good person.
Nora took Weiss window shopping essentially. They browsed the market stalls together and stopped whenever something caught their eye. "So, you dating anyone?" Nora asked cheerfully, examining some sort of metal rod at a cart carefully.
Weiss almost choked on her own spit when she heard Nora ask that, but was able to stay composed. She didn't answer yet. Weiss hadn't really gaged Nora's level of gay tolerance yet? She seemed like an accepting person, but you could never be to carful. "Yes.." She said.
"Ohh really~? What are they like?" Nora said in a teasing tone, as she bought the weird metal rod from the cart.
They, she used the word they. Was that a coincidence? Was she being considerate? Or was this a trap? Weiss didn't have people skills! She couldn't tell! "They're cute. And, a little weird, but they mean well." Nora stared at Weiss for a moment. It was like she was prying into Weiss's soul. "Whaaaat about you? Anyone you like?" Weiss tried to shift the spotlight off herself.
Nora blushed lightly. "Yeah, there's a guy I've been in love with for ages. I don't think we ever officially stated we were dating? But someone tried flirting with me once and he called me his girlfriend, so its basically happening~" Nora disappeared into a memory in her head for a second, and they pointed at Weiss. "Hey! I asked you first! You're good.." Nora squinted at Weiss. She then laughed to herself, and asked another question as they walked. "Is the person you're with a girl or a guy?" Weiss stayed silent. Nora smiled kindly "Its fine if its a girl, I won't judge." Nora waved a hand dismissively.
Weiss nodded, keeping silent for a little while longer. She felt herself blush, and covered her face. "She's just, so cute... Her very existence is pure cuteness!" Weiss felt her voice squeak a little on the last word.
Nora put a hand on Weiss's back. "You're head over heels for her, aren'tcha? I bet she thinks you're pretty cute too~!" Weiss kept her face covered, letting Nora's hand on her back guide her through the market place. "Hey.. Could I talk to you about something?" Weiss tensed up and lowered her hands. "No! No, not about lovey stuff this time. Something else. I know a quiet place, wanna go?" Nora
Weiss didn't see why not, so she agreed. Nora led her about the city, in a rather round about way. Through dark alleys, back to the crowded streets, in and out of a few secret passages Weiss didn't even know existed. "Where are we going again?" Weiss asked after they'd gone through the fifth dark creepy alley.
"We're almost there!" Nora told her.
They eventually arrived in a little wooden room. How they got there, Weiss couldn't tell you. After the 4th secret door they'd entered from a random point on the street, Weiss's already bad sense of direction had just plain concked out. The room was no bigger then the inn room Weiss and Ruby shared, but it had a creepy feel to it. Weiss didn't notice, but she was holding the hem of Nora's skirt tightly as a form of security. Nora gently brushed her hand off, and went to a door at the end of the room.
Weiss's mind was starting to go into overdrive. She was in a strange place, with a strange girl she had met less then 2 weeks ago. Last time she met some strange girl by chance, she'd ended up dating her. Ruby. But Nora was... Weiss didn't even know. She started imagining things, dark things. What if Nora knew who she was? Could this be a kidnapping? Was she in cahoot's with the ninja? WAS she the ninja? Weiss's mind kept spiraling deeper into such thoughts, making her so panicked that she got into position ready to draw her sword. She was glad Yang and Blake had made her take it.
Nora let someone in through the door. Weiss looked them over. A tall long haired guy with a streak of pink in his hair. Oh, he really pulled off that look well. Weiss glanced at Nora, and judging from how she was acting, this person was Nora's 'boyfriend'. Weiss relaxed a little. Maybe, Nora's boyfriend was some wanted war criminal and couldn't go out in public, making Nora have to bring people she wanted to introduce him to that weird way they'd taken to get here.
Weiss was semi relaxed, but still, she wondered. Hadn't Nora said that whatever she wanted to talk about wasn't love related? What could it be then, if it involved her boyfriend?
Nora pointed a finger gun at Weiss "You're thinking he's my boyfriend, aren't you?"
"Oh, sorry if he's not, I–"
"No! You're right! Ren is definitely mine! Do we really look that couple like? Aww~!" Nora smiled and hugged the guys arm. He looked to the side, and Weiss noticed a tiny blush on his face for a second. Aw, he's shy.
Ren cleared his throat and spoke"I wanted to apologize." Weiss tilted her head.
"For, what exactly?" Had Weiss met him before? She didn't think so? She'd definitely have remembered someone with a streak of pink in their hair. She'd have felt a sort of kinship, a 'we both have stupidly noticeable hair in a crowd' kinship.
Nora held his hand behind his back, giving him courage. Weiss pretended not to see. This whole situation was really starting to confuse her, but seeing another girl happy with the one she loved really warned Weiss heart. "For my.. Failed attempt at first contact."
"Please don't run away!" Nora blurted out. "Just hear us out first!"
Run away? Why would Weiss do that? She didn't she'd get far even if she did, that way Nora had brought her was like a maze, and Ren was blocking the only other exit.
Ren approached Weiss, and set a hand gently on her shoulder. All her fear washed away, and she was filled with a sense of calm. Wait... Wasn't that the same thing as..? Ren let go, and a flash of color reentered Weiss's vision. "You're the ninja?!" Weiss reached for her sword.
"Ninja?" Ren asked casually.
"Pleeeeeeease don't leave I promise we're not going to do anything to you..! That first plan was a bad idea I'll admit it!" Nora begged Weiss.
Weiss didn't move, but kept her hand on her sword. "...speak."
"Alright. So. We know your secret." Nora said, pressing her hands together.
Authors note: hi yeah I'm inconsistent as hell sry. I do either 15+ chapters in the span of three months or 1 chapter in the span of 8 months. Theres really no inbetween.