AN: Welcome back everyone. A Different Kind of Huntress now has cover art! If you are wondering why it seems so amateur, it's because it was made by an amateur, me. I don't have the money for a commission, so I made my own.
Reaching an underground garage, Ruby could see multiple rows of vehicles. Most of them seemed run down, or at least were on the older end.
Yang walked up to a large red truck with room for four and a covered bed. Like the rest down here it was at least fifteen years old and covered in dents. She unlocked the doors and made a grand gesture.
"I present to you our very own company car."
"That's ours?"
"She might not seem like much, but Milo has always done what we've asked of her. Even with Pyrrha's driving."
Ruby gave the truck a sidelong glance, unconvinced, "It's just, it doesn't seem like something a secret organization would use."
Yang held up a finger, "Firstly, that makes it perfect for us." She then put up another finger, "Second, Beacon doesn't make that much. We can't exactly charge anyone for what we do because of the secrecy thing. Some people donate when we save them though. That's where most of our money comes from actually; rich people we saved from a cursed object they bought."
Satisfied with the answer, Ruby hopped in the passenger seat while Yang turned the key. Milo started on the first try despite what Ruby expected. Slowly they trundled out of the underground garage into the streets of Vale. The secret entrance from the outside looked like an ordinary parking garage that required a special permit to use, which Ruby supposed was technically true.
The ride to Vale was spent in a tired silence. Both sisters were too mentally drained to truly start a conversation, so instead they turned on the radio and let the music fill the quiet truck.
Yang navigated out of the congested streets of Vale, onto a highway that took them to Patch twenty minutes down the road. After they reached the town limits it only took five minutes to drive to their home and park in the driveway. Yang used her spare key to unlock the door, then threw it open to stroll inside while loudly announcing their return..
"We're home, Dad! Did you miss me?"
Tai came out of the kitchen with a big grin on his face, "Yang! Of course I miss my eldest daughter who ran off to the big city with her girlfriend. Most days I'm beside myself with the feeling of insurmountable loss."
"Yeah, yeah. Play it up," Yang gave him a big hug, "I know you wanted to kick me out so you can do your old man things in peace. And that you were waiting for Ruby to go, too. Speaking of, she has some good news for you."
Ruby felt a small amount of shame when Yang said Tai wanted her to move out. She knew Yang was only teasing and hadn't meant anything by it, but being reminded of taking so long to find what she wanted wasn't pleasant.
That shame was quickly washed away when Ruby processed what Yang had said next. She did have a job and it was a damn good one. It was just one she couldn't tell her dad. She could tell that it might be difficult to always keep a secret.
"I went to Vale today for an interview and got a job as an editor." This time the lie wasn't difficult, a fact that continued to disturb her.
Tai gave Ruby a hug twice as big as Yang's, "That's great, Ruby. Why didn't you tell me you were working on that?"
Ruby was glad her face was hidden by the hug. She didn't know what to say that was believable. People didn't just have jobs fall in their laps without working for them.
"She wanted to keep it a surprise," Yang said, "Ruby told me on the way over. She took online classes and wanted to keep it to herself until she got it. When she called me I picked her up. What do you think Dad? Should we make her favorite dinner?"
"Lasagna? I think we can make that tonight. That is if Yang doesn't mess it up again and we need a new oven."
"That was only the first time!" Yang protested.
Yang and Tai continued bantering through cooking and dinner. Ruby was content to sit back and enjoy their style of teasing. The normalcy of it was a relief from the past two days.
They talked late into the night about anything and everything. Tai offered Yang her old room for the night, saying it hadn't been touched after she moved. Yang had to decline however, claiming she hadn't brought her pills with her. Sometime after eleven Yang gave her farewells, jokingly promising to call her old man more. Once she pulled out of the driveway Ruby went to bed herself.
That night however, Ruby slept fitfully. Dreams of different supernatural beings flit through her mind, only half remembered when she woke. It was five in the morning by the time she decided she wouldn't get anymore useful sleep.
Sitting up in bed, she opened her phone and went to the Beacon app. Yang had shown her the password, and how to use it while their dad was at the store, picking up ingredients the night before. Ruby navigated to the bestiary and started reading whatever looked interesting.
She found things she never would have thought of. There were werewolves, which were technically called lycanthropes and had multiple subsets, yetis, even dragons. More than that, the ways to beat them were incredible. Most curses had a loophole that could be used. For instance, vampires needed to be stabbed in the heart with silver, or even decapitated.. The myths about wooden stakes and garlic came from country folk believing decaying corpses were vampires.
Before she knew it, the sun was in the sky and the sounds of the world moving could be heard through her window. Looking at the clock revealed it was already ten. Ruby wasn't too surprised, knowing how a good book or something else could catch her attention for hours and she'd lose a lot of her day.
Putting her phone down and dressing for the day, Ruby went downstairs to the kitchen. She counted herself lucky when she saw her dad cooking eggs on the stove.
"Morning, sleepy head. Enjoying one last chance to sleep in before joining the real world?" Tai asked.
Ruby sat on one of the stools after grabbing two plates for them, "More like reading one more book."
"As long as you're ready for tomorrow that's fine," Tai served them both equal portions and put the pan in the sink, "That reminds me though. Stay here, I have something for you."
Tai ran upstairs and came back down holding something in his hand.
"I went to Old Miss Calavera down the street this morning. She couldn't get the stains completely out of it," Tai held out a red scarf to Ruby, "Apparently, not even she's that good with cloth. But she did the next best thing and dyed it."
With a slightly shaky hand, she reached out to grab the red scarf. "Is this...?"
"It is. It was the only thing of your mom's that they found, other than the, the blood..." Tai trailed off for a minute before swallowing, "I held onto it for all these years because I couldn't let go, not really. But I think you need it more. I already have the best thing to remember Summer by- you. I thought it might bring you some peace or comfort now that you're starting to become more independent."
Ruby enveloped her dad in a big hug, "Thanks, Dad. I love it!"
AN: It seems like I enjoy ending things on hugs. Coincidence, or a cry for hugs? I'm not completely happy with this chapter because it doesn't do too much in the way of characters or plot, but I find myself in a weird spot between ending the introduction and getting to the first monster of the week, while also having a few more things to add. But hey, that's over and we can get to what I've really been wanting to do