This takes place after Volume one, but still in the first semester, like two weeks before all exams are over with. That will give Cerise enough time to grow before she sees any real action.
Saturday, August 1
POV: Aaron
Aaron looked at the sprawling city before him. His nervousness about going into the strange place grew by the second. There were so many unknowns. He barely knew any words in Dwarvish, what if the people here spoke a language that didn't exist in Alagaësia? He knew he had to blend in, so that meant getting the right kind of clothes and acting like the majority of people on the street. Aaron's undercover training might as well not exist. Then again, he always did prefer learning on the job.
Nalia crawled up next to her Rider. I feel your doubts about going into to city, she said. Are you sure you don't want to search for the egg with me?
"I'm sure," Aaron replied. "We need to know who we'll be living with. We don't know if they'll like having a dragon sleeping just outside their walls."
They don't have any walls. Nalia chuckled at her own joke.
Aaron gave his dragon a playful shove. "You know what I mean. We don't want them storming this mountain to take us out." He shook his head and his tone turned serious. "We have to protect the remaining eggs. I know we'll find the other. We have to."
Nalia looked her bond-mate in the eyes. Be careful down there. Don't attract attention to yourself, and please, don't add any more scars.
Aaron placed a hand on his dragon's snout. "If I had reason to, by definition I'd be attracting attention. I'm more worried about you and those creatures." He stood up and shouldered his makeshift pack and buckled on his sword. "I'll be back before sundown, hopefully with some useful information. I'll contact you when I'm in the city." With that, the Rider and dragon separated on their respective missions.
Aaron hiked down the mountain and through the forest like he had many times in Alagaësia. The normal wildlife he'd see back home became less and less prominent as he walked. The bottom of the mountain just felt evil. He grabbed his sword and pulled it a few inches from its scabbard. Though he didn't see anything through most of his hike, a few black creatures popped in and out, but they didn't seem to notice him.
An hour into the hike, Aaron found a well-worn trail leading toward the city. He quickly cast an invisibility spell on himself and proceeded to the city. A few other people walked the trail and all of them were armed, with swords or otherwise. A couple carried black, rectangular things that had a hole in the front of them. The men with them carried them like one would a bow while hunting.
Eventually the tree line started to thin out, as did the evil feeling of the forest. The tall buildings seen from the mountain started peaking over the remaining trees. Aaron heard strange whirring noises getting louder with each step. He didn't know of anything that could make that kind of noise, and there were a lot of things making it. The Rider made a mental note to figure out what made it.
The trail suddenly converged into a full-fledged road and houses mixed in with the trees. Strange metal, wheeled contraptions sat outside or even inside many of the houses. No people walked down the center of the black, paved road, only on slightly raised gray sections, which struck Aaron as strange. In every city he'd been in every inch of the road was used by people. Why have such a wide road if most of it is unused? he thought to himself.
Aaron's answer wasn't long in coming. Another whirring noise started behind him and rapidly increased in volume. He turned around and saw one of the metal machines roll down the right side of the black section almost as fast as a horse at full gallop. A person sat inside holding another wheel. A light on its right side started flashing as it passed Aaron. The vehicle slowed down and turned a corner.
Nalia, Aaron called out with his mind. They have wagons that can move by themselves here.
The dragon took a few seconds to respond. It seems there are magic users here after all if they can do that.
Aaron stretched his mind out to a stationary carriage to gauge the amount of magic in it. He found none, so he searched one that was moving. Still, he only felt person inside the carriage, and he wasn't a magician. These things aren't magical, and they have no life of their own. They might as well be rocks.
Surprise radiated off Nalia. Is that even possible?
Unless there was something in the water this morning, I'm looking at it.
If that is the kind of transportation they have, I shudder to think of their weapons.
Aaron thought back to the travelers he saw on the trail. I've seen some of them. They still use weapons that we've seen before, along with some black rectangle thing that I think can be used in place of a bow. Still, if it comes to a fight, my wards should hold. Aaron paused. Anything on your end yet?
Nalia mentally sighed. Nothing yet, not even any more of those winged creatures. They seemed eager enough to attack us yesterday, I wonder what happened.
No news is good news. Keep looking, it's out there somewhere. I'll contact you again when I'm presentable in this city. Aaron broke the connection and turned his eyes to the people who lived in the area. If he wasn't invisible, he'd stick out like a sore thumb. More often than not, the people were exceptionally pale. Only a few had any tan color to them at all, but enough so Aaron didn't have to change his complexion. Men wore a wide range of clothing, from colorful shorts that stopped at the knee to heavy black jerkins with pieces of cloth tied around their necks. Women wore similar casual clothing as the men, but donned more familiar dresses for presumably formal events. Aaron frowned. He didn't have any of the local currency to get appropriate clothing for this city. Luckily, all cities were full of pickpockets. He'd just 'liberate' some of that currency, since fining the rightful owners would be nearly impossible.
The fact that random people carried weapons crossed all demographics in the area. Almost none of them looked like soldiers. Aaron couldn't place a pattern. This place must be in troubled times if so many take weapons everywhere, he thought.
Buildings got bigger as he moved near the center of the city. Aaron listened in on a few conversations, and surprisingly they spoke the same language. The writing on the buildings showed the same thing. He counted his lucky stars and pressed onward.
Aaron walked invisibly down a particularly busy street, searching with his mind for pickpockets. He focused in on a girl with green hair who seemed very confident with her skills. Aaron decided to knock her down a few notches. Getting up close, he cast a spell so the pickpocket would feel nothing, then pulled several wallets out of her own pocket.
Aaron quickly added the wallets to his invisibility spell and walked down a side alley. He couldn't believe he was back to his old childhood habit. In order to survive on the streets of Teirm, he had to steal money and food. He never liked it, but it was necessary until his adopted parents took him in. The Rider was appalled how easy it came back to him, and how easy it was with magic.
When he was sure he was alone and couldn't be seen, Aaron ended his invisibility spell to inspect the wallets. None of them felt particularly heavy, and all were less than an inch thick. He opened one of them and was instantly confused. Instead of the expected coin, several rigid rectangles of an unknown material lay in various sleeves. Each sleeve had a different color in it, presumably each with different values. The rest of the wallets had the same things in them. He sighed and recast his invisibility spell. While he had no idea how much he carried, he could always spy on businesses to see payment take place.
Aaron returned to the street and searched for a clothing shop, not that it was a hard task. They were everywhere. He eventually chose one called Old Blue and followed a group in, so he didn't have to use the doors himself. The store was huge compared to any in Alagaësia. The size of half of the men's section at Old Blue was the size of a normal shop back home. Aaron was at least glad he got some choices.
Still, Aaron chose clothing that most other people wore; some blue trousers called 'jeans,' white socks and shoes, and a plain blue tunic. He put them all in his already invisible pack, and wandered around the store to see if there was anything else was needed to complete his disguise. A green jerkin with white strips on the sleeve and under the armpits caught his eye. He picked that up as well. Aaron also picked up a black backpack, a green cap, blue 'sunglasses,' and a pair of white gloves to keep his gedwëy ignasia hidden from view. He assumed the numbers above the pieces of clothing were the prices.
At the front of the store, Aaron spied several people pay for their clothes for several minutes to figure out how much each of the 'Lien' cards was worth. Eventually he caught a pattern and grabbed the hundred and fifty 'Lien' needed to pay for everything. He slipped the cards into the drawer the salesperson used on the next customer. The process was a lot quicker than any he knew of.
He tried following someone out the doors, but as soon as he stepped between two tall, metal rectangles, something made a loud screeching noise. Aaron froze in place, in fear of being discovered. Instead one of the people who was receiving money waved the person Aaron was following through. "The system's been yelling all day," the woman said. "You're good."
With whatever that was out of the way, Aaron left the building behind another group. As he walked down the street, he felt something wet on his right arm. Was something he 'bought' wet in some way? He walked behind another building and ended his invisibility spell. He instantly saw a black ink stain that covered most of the jerkin. What? Where did this come from? He flipped the jerkin over and saw a circular tan button on the back. The mess appeared to be coming from that. "Jierda." The button broke off, spilling out even more ink. Aaron jumped back to avoid being caught in the splash. Why would they ruin a new jerkin like that? Aaron shook his head. It was probably something the locals did to prevent theft.
Aaron held a hand over the mess and started chanting in the Ancient Language. The spell he was using worked for blood, and so far it was working on the ink. It took a while, but the black mess was removed from the jerkin. He returned his attention to his other new clothes to see if any of them had been soiled. Luckily, one the jerkin caught any of the mess. He quickly changed into his new outfit, hoping no one would come down the alley. Once finished, he looked at his reflection from a puddle on the ground. Even with his sword at his side, he thought that his appearance suited the city. He nodded to himself and walked back to the busy street.
No one seemed to notice Aaron, and he was perfectly fine with that. He roamed the streets looking at all the people and buildings, keeping passive on the outside and gasping in wonder on the inside. All the buildings, vehicles, and food seemed extraordinary. No Alagaësian city would look like this for many hundreds of years. He had only seen humans in this city. Could they have built all of this themselves? Without magic?
In his visual tour of the city, Aaron accidentally bumped into someone. "Hey, watch it!" the guy said, then turned and walked away. Aaron looked after the man and was shocked to see a long tail come out of his trousers. He looked around again, and for the first time noticed animalistic features on many of the people in the city, mainly antlers, ears, and tails. Aaron tried not to stare at people as he tried to figure out if these people were elves or not. He knew some elves transformed their appearance to animals which they thought most beautiful, but he never got the appeal. On closer inspection, however, these people were not elves, and they certainly weren't entirely human.
Aaron extended his mind to contact his dragon. Find anything yet Nalia?
No, she sighed. I've searched every place we flew over yesterday and everywhere within a few hundred feet of that. There do seem to be a few sets of human footprints though.
You think someone took it?
I think we have to consider the possibility. I'll keep searching though. There has to be clue somewhere. Nalia pulled away, leaving Aaron alone in his head. He continued down the street and considered stretching his mind out to find out if someone in the city took the egg. It would be faster than looking door to door, but would also tip off any magicians that could prove hostile. The Rider shook his head in defeat. Either option left him open to hostilities, something he couldn't deal with while trying to keep a low profile.
Aaron worked over his problem so much he didn't notice the group of girls that came around the corner in front of him. He bumped forcibly into one of them and knocked her to the ground. The impact snapped him out of his trance, and he was horrified about what he did, and the reactions that were sure to come his way. "I'm sorry! My fault!" he said as he stuck out a hand to help the girl up. "I should have been paying more attention."
"You're right you should have been paying attention," the white-haired member of the group snapped. "You could have knocked her right into traffic!" The two other girls still standing seemed taken aback by the outburst.
"Weiss, I'm okay," the girl on the ground said as she and Aaron grabbed each other's gloved hands. He pulled the girl to her feet and got a good look at her. She looked to be about his age. Her hair was mainly black with some red accent. Silver eyes stared back. Her clothes consisted of a strange black dress and a red cloak around her shoulders. "It was an accident."
The one identified as Weiss stood down but still glared at Aaron. To avoid further confrontation he just walked down the street before anyone else could say anything. Still he looked back at the girl he knocked down with interest. There's something different about that girl…
POV: Ruby
"There's something different about that guy," Ruby said aloud.
"I'll say!" Weiss spat. "He completely bowled you over!"
"Weiss, calm down," Blake said. "I could tell he was having a bad day."
"And how, pray tell do you know that?"
"He was distracted enough to run right into Ruby, he spoke quickly, and he walked off in a hurry in the same direction."
"That is still no excuse to make other people's days worse."
"Don't judge Weiss, you never know what people are going through."
"What did you mean by different?" Yang chipped in to change the subject.
Ruby shrugged. "I don't really know; I just have a weird feeling that's all."
A large smile broke onto Yang's face. "Aww, my little sister has a crush on a guy she doesn't even know."
Ruby twirled around and punched Yang in the shoulder. "I do not! It's something else, it's…" she sighed. She had no idea how to describe it.
"You think it has something to do with you-know-who?" Blake asked.
"Probably? It was in my head whatever it was." The four girls continued walking towards the commercial district talking about random things but avoided talking about Cerise at Ruby's insistence. She didn't want news of her dragon getting out. If it was anything like Weiss said it could be, Ruby wouldn't be able to leave Beacon without having a camera directed at her or Cerise. It pained the girl to leave her dragon cooped up in their dorm all alone, but she didn't trust anyone outside her team with the dragon's well-being. Well, maybe JNPR, but Nora couldn't keep a secret to save her life. Possibly team Gray. Ozpin...maybe. Yang would have stayed behind, but she said she had to pick up something in the city that day.
The team split up, with Weiss and Yang heading further into the city to shop for Dust, clothes, and other necessities, and Ruby and Blake stopping at the Vale library to find some books on dragons. Ruby didn't know how to take care if her dragon in the long term, and even urban legends would help. Blake was there to help in the research and find the books that would most likely help.
There were plenty of books about dragons, but mainly narratives that took a while to find the information they were looking for. There were a few info books about them, but even then their information was conflicted. It seemed to be a fifty-fifty split on whether the book looked at dragons in a friendly light or as evil as Grimm. Also, it was a toss-up on whether dragon scales were worth as much as gold or as little as paper. Still, none explained the mark on Ruby's hand or the intrusions on her mind.
After a few hours the two teammates figured they'd gotten all they could get from the books provided. Ruby and Blake returned all the books to their places and made for the door. Just as they were about to leave, the guy that knocked Ruby over opened the door. He froze when he saw the girls, then quickly turned for the history section. Ruby stared after him as she left the library. Something was tugging at the corner of her mind, the same thing that happened when they first met. "What is it about that guy?" she whispered to herself. If Blake heard, she didn't let on.
Their next stop was the local Hi Dee to hopefully get enough food to feed Cerise for the week. Ruby hoped the baby dragon ate more than just meat, what with Grimm attacks on farms growing more frequent and driving up the cost, and hers and Yang's emergency credit card being directly linked to their dad's account. She knew she couldn't keep Cerise locked up forever, but she was still so little. There wouldn't be much stopping a fox trying to make a snack of her, let alone a gray wolf, or worse.
Still, meat was the only option that Ruby knew her dragon ate. Blake and she loaded up on fish, chicken, beef, and a few other things that they thought a dragon would like. Ruby even picked up a carton of strawberries, reasoning if she liked them so much, so would her dragon. If not, she got them. Blake just rolled her eyes while failing to hide a smile.
The team regrouped on the road back to Beacon. Everyone had both their hands full except Yang who only carried one unmarked bag. Ruby and Blake informed the other two about what they learned about taking care of the dragon, even though they had no idea if their information was accurate. Weiss simply laid out how uneventful Yang's and her trip was.
Yang was unusually silent through the walk back to Beacon. Ruby thought she saw an occasional smirk on her sister's face through the walk, but she had no idea what caused it. A light gust of wind blew past the group and carried a distinctive smell with it. Ruby snapped her head around to the bag Yang carried. "You didn't," she gasped.
Yang's shoulders slumped and she fake moaned, yet the smile gave her away. "It was supposed to be a surprise, dang wind." She pulled out a box of cookies from Ruby's favorite bakery in town. "Since I can't bake and I don't exactly have easy access to an oven, I figured I'd get you the next best thing."
Only the grocery bags Ruby carried kept her from jumping with joy. She settled with saying, "Yang, you're the best!"
Yang's smile grew on her face. "I am aren't I?" Suddenly she blinked a few times and she rubbed her head like she had a massive headache. "Uh, Ruby, I think I believe you about Cerise about being in your head now."
"What?" Ruby looked at her sister in confusion.
"I have to agree with Yang on this one," Weiss said while rubbing her own head. "Your overreactions to things can be infectious, but I actually felt it that time."
Ruby looked at Blake for a final confirmation. She just nodded.
Ruby took a few steps backward, unsure of what to say or do. She looked at her friends to see if she could get any support. Yang looked genuinely concerned while Weiss and Blake looked curious more than anything. Ruby meanwhile stood terrified. Where was this coming from? How'd it start? Then a worse thought came to her head and she looked back to the city. "How far did it go?" she whispered.
Yang put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "We'll figure this out, like we always do. Right now, we should get you back to Beacon. Less people will ask questions there." She turned and started back toward the school. "Hopefully."
The rest of the walk continued in silence, nobody wanting to incite another episode and Ruby trying to calm herself down. If she could do that, what else could she do? Could she read minds? Could she influence what other people thought? Ruby shook her head. She was excited yet terrified at the same time. It was too much to handle at once.
Could her little Cerise be behind all this?
Ruby was so caught up in her own thoughts she didn't even realize she made it back to Beacon. She looked around at other students walking around and they didn't act like anything different had happened. No one paid team RWBY any mind as they passed through campus, not even team JNPR who were studying for the upcoming exams. Ruby released a sigh of relief when they reached their room.
Yang opened the door and the rest of the team rushed right in. Ruby practically dropped her bags by the door and searched the room for her dragon. "Cerise! We're back!" Ruby called as the door closed. She heard a squeak come from her bed and Cerise poked her red head out from behind the white sheet. Relief flooded through Ruby, as well as the pure joy from her dragon.
Cerise dropped to the floor, took a few running steps toward Ruby, and leaped onto her shoulder. Ruby scratched under her dragon's chin. "I guess you missed me," she said, and her dragon squeaked in agreement.
"That dragon reminds me of Zwei as a puppy," Yang commented as she unpacked her bag.
Ruby laughed. "No, Zwei was crazier than Cerise." Her hatchling started sniffing the air in the room, then locked her gaze on the bags Ruby brought with her. "You hungry? We bought some food specifically for you today." Cerise squeaked in delight then jumped off Ruby's shoulder.
Ruby pulled a package of fish out of the bag. She barely had it open when Cerise pounced on it. Her small dragon went to town on the fish like, well, a wild animal. Ruby crossed the room and grabbed the box of cookies from Yang. She opened it and popped two cookies into her mouth at the same time. When she was about to eat a third Cerise squeaked for attention. Ruby looked over and saw her dragon had cleaned out the entire package.
"How?" Ruby asked, even though Cerise couldn't respond. "All those fish weighed as much as you." Her small dragon just squeaked and looked at Ruby with pleading eyes. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. This isn't going to work. "Yang? Does dad have a Scroll with video conferencing yet?"
Yang shrugged. "I don't think he's that far behind. Why?"
Ruby picked up Cerise, who chirped happily before licking Ruby's cheek. "I think it'll be easier to explain that way."
"Makes sense." Yang smirked. "Need me to call since your hands are full?"
"Please." Ruby smiled down at the cutie in her arms. Cerise hummed, then climbed onto Ruby's shoulder. She crawled around Ruby's back, so her neck and tail hung off opposite shoulders. "Comfortable?" Cerise hummed and rubbed her face against Ruby's.
Weiss squeaked from her bed. "Oh my gosh! How can she be so cute?"
"I like this new Weiss," Blake said. "Can Cerise stay like that forever?"
"Hey!" Weiss shot a glare at Blake.
"Can you two keep it down?" Yang fake shouted. "I'm making a call here." She turned back to her Scroll and waved Ruby over. "Hey dad. How's it going?"
"About normal," their dad said. "How's it Yanging?" Ruby stood off to the side. She could see her dad, but he couldn't see her.
Yang smirked, but it fell off just as quickly. "That's debatable right now, actually."
Their dad's smile disappeared. "Something wrong?"
"Something...different. Ruby can explain it better." Yang turned her Scroll's camera toward Ruby.
"Hi dad." Ruby raised a hand and waved as best she could without disturbing Cerise.
"Hi Ruby." Her dad returned the wave, then leaned forward. "What's that around your neck?"
Ruby ran a finger under her dragon's chin. "Go on, Cerise. Say hi."
Cerise purred and chirped at the Scroll. Taiyang's eyes widened. "You got a lizard?" he asked. "I didn't know you liked them."
"Well, you're partially right." Ruby turned around so hers and Cerise' back faced the Scroll. "She's a lizard, but she's more than that."
"Are those...wings?" Her dad asked.
"Yep." Ruby turned her head back as best as she could with Cerise wrapped around her. "We've all agreed that she's a dragon."
"Wow." Her dad blinked and leaned back in his chair. The corners of his lips raised. "What? Having one for a big sister wasn't enough for you?"
Yang turned her Scroll back to herself. "I'm right here you know." She turned the Scroll back to Ruby.
Their dad laughed then focused back on Ruby. "So what's the problem here? Looks like you've got a new friend."
Ruby turned back and bit her lower lip. "Unless we can somehow get her back to Patch, we have to feed her ourselves right now."
"That doesn't sound too hard. How much can she eat?"
"You know those big fish bundles from the Hi Dee Deli? She ate an entire package before I could blink."
Her dad slumped in his chair. "Oh. That is a problem"
POV: Ozpin
Professor Ozpin reviewed the latest reports handed to him by Glynda. "As you can see," his second in command said, "the concentration of Grimm in the Emerald Forest had dropped significantly in the past twenty-four hours. Expeditions professors had planned for today have had to be postponed or moved to Forever Fall. I haven't seen a drop this significant since the days before the last Grimm siege ten years ago."
"You believe this could be a prelude for an attack?" Ozpin asked, though he had his own theory on the matter.
"I think we should at least be cautious and warn the Huntsmen that guard the city if they haven't noticed already. If there is an attack, we can be ready."
"It would do us well to be cautious. Will you notify the defenders?"
"I will when I return to my office."
The intercom on Ozpin's desk buzzed. "Professor Ozpin, Ruby Rose is here to see you."
This was different. Occasionally team leaders would visit for one reason or another, usually to clear their teams for missions beyond their team's level. Ruby had yet to do so, not that it stopped her team in the past from going on unsanctioned missions. Ozpin flicked his eyes to Glynda. "We are almost done here," she said.
Ozpin pressed the button for the intercom. "Send her up." He took his finger off the intercom. "What else do you have for me?"
"Two fourth year teams have earned enough credits to graduate one semester early. I have the paperwork right here." Glynda placed a folder on Ozpin's desk.
The headmaster opened it and took a look through the teams. Teams CLOD and ISSS, both far ahead of their compatriots. All credits were in order, and they had proven successful on multiple missions, both school assigned and freelance. "Do they know graduating early will disqualify them from the Tournament?"
"They are aware, and they all have reasons for not entering, whether financial or otherwise."
"Very well." Ozpin signed on the dotted line. "Remnant has received eight more outstanding Huntsmen." He handed the folder back to Glynda.
"They will be glad to hear that." Glynda nodded.
The elevator beeped and the doors opened. Ruby stepped out, oddly with a backpack around her shoulders. Another first. "Miss Rose. This is a surprise."
"It's kind of one for me too." Ruby smiled, but it was forced. Her eyes flicked to Glynda and her smile disappeared altogether. She appeared even smaller than she usually did.
"Something from your assignment in the Forest last night?" Glynda asked.
"Yeah, but not in the way you're probably thinking." Ruby knelt down and took the backpack off. She grabbed the zippers on the top of the bag, but didn't open it. She looked between both professors. "Promise you won't freak out?"
"You have my word," Ozpin said, with Glynda saying much the same thing.
Ruby bit her lip and unzipped her bag. She pulled the top apart, but didn't reach inside. "It's okay, Cerise. You can come out now."
A flash of red shot out of the bag. It hid behind Ruby and hissed at the bag. Ozpin rose from his chair and placed his hands flat on his desk. It couldn't be.
"Miss Rose," Glynda said in a voice a step off a growl, "what is that?"
Ruby shrunk even more. "We think a dragon."
"And this...dragon came from the Emerald Forest?" Ozpin asked.
"Her egg did." Ruby scratched the dragon's head, drawing out a purr. "She hatched late last night. Scared the rest of my team half to death." She winced. "If you've heard about my team making noise last night, it was that. Anyway, she hasn't wanted to leave my side since she hatched." The dragon looked around Ruby and raised her neck. She trotted out from beside Ruby and to the window. "Except for right now."
Ozpin watched the dragon's progress. She reached the reached the window and gave another strange purr. Her neck and wings raised. She raced from one end of the office to the other, much like a kitten would do. Once she returned to her original spot, she turned to Ruby and chirped repeatedly at her.
"Not now, Cerise," Ruby said sadly. She walked forward and picked the dragon up. "I promise, when you get bigger and you can take care of yourself, you can go outside." The dragon's wings dropped, then she climbed onto Ruby's shoulder and looked outside again.
"You plan on keeping your new pet here?" Glynda crossed her arms.
"Where else can she go?" Ruby asked. "I don't want her going outside. I don't know how she'll act around crowds of people. I don't know how people will act around her. She's too small to protect herself." Ruby wrapped a hand around the dragon's back. "At least in my room, my team can give her food and keep her safe."
"And when she gets too big?"
Ruby winced. "Hopefully that won't happen for a while."
Ozpin weighed his options. He likely knew more about these creatures than Ruby did. This dragon could be a boon to Ruby and her team in more ways than one, but with what recently claimed a cave in the forest, would Ruby be a target? "Very well."
"What?" Ruby blinked at Ozpin, and Glynda glared at him. "Just like that."
"As long as...Cerise behaves herself, she will be welcome here for her own protection."
Ruby's face lit up like the sun, just like her mother's used to. "Thank you so much professor!" She bounced on her heels then returned her backpack. Cerise moaned then looked at the bag on the floor. She shrieked and jumped off Ruby's shoulder. She ran and hid behind Ozpin's desk. Ruby sighed and stuck a hand out to her dragon. "Come on, Cerise. Just one more time. After this, I promise you'll never go in here again." The dragon hung her head and walked forward with her tail dragging on the floor. She stepped into the bag and looked up.
Ruby leaned forward and kissed the dragon on the snout. She zipped up the bag and put the straps over her shoulders. "Thank you for your time, professors." She stood up and smiled at Ozpin and Glynda. She walked to the elevator and stepped inside.
As soon as the doors closed, Glynda turned on Ozpin. "I know Miss Rose is a special case, but this is too much. If people find out we're allowing pets on campus, we'll be flooded with cats, dogs, parrots, and who knows what else that we'll be responsible for if something happens here."
Ozpin grabbed his mug and took a sip. "You remember Tenga, correct?"
Glynda groaned. "I will be lucky if I ever forget him." She blinked and faced the elevator. "Wait...No. That's impossible. No one has a Semblance like that."
"If he is to be believed, it's not through a Semblance." Ozpin sat back down and picked up his Scroll. "This may also be the reason Grimm activity is down." He pressed a button on his Scroll and a holographic green dragon appeared in the center of the room fighting off a Nevermore.
"What?" Glynda stared at the projection. "Where and when was this taken?"
"Last night by the cameras we have placed around the Emerald Forest." Ozpin stood up and joined Glynda. "It appears what he said has come true."
Glynda crossed her arms. "That bears the question. Is this the ally, or an enemy?"
I know this is more of a filler chapter than anything, but some things pop up later and I'd rather not have people confused or anything like that.