Please, for the love of God, tell me what you think.
Saturday, August 15
POV: Ruby
Ruby rolled out her shoulders for the umpteenth time since waking up a half hour ago. Having her arms wrapped around Cerise all night didn't agree with her body. One of the dragon's wings was in a similar situation, having rested at an awkward angle all night while covering Ruby. Neither of them regretted it.
On the other side of the warehouse, Nalia yawned and stretched out like a cat. Aaron stood a few feet away from his dragon going through this own set of stretches. "Good morning!" Ruby called out.
Aaron looked over at the other Rider and laughed. "Good and morning don't belong in the same sentence."
"One of those people huh?" Ruby walked up to Aaron, shaking her head.
No, he likes the morning, Nalia said, he just doesn't like waking up and having to move.
Ruby chuckled. "That I can relate to." She heard a low growling sound and she turned to Aaron. He blushed and looked to the side.
"Uh, anywhere we can get something to eat around here?" he asked sheepishly.
Ruby worked hard to stop herself from laughing even more. "There's a cafeteria here where you can eat all you want. The others are supposed to be there right now. I'm sure they'll want to hear what's really going on here."
Aaron scratched behind his head. "I do have a lot of explaining to do. Honestly though, a lot of things might have to stay between me and you and our dragons."
The younger Rider cocked her head in confusion. "Why? You don't trust them?"
"Trust isn't an issue here," Aaron threw his hands up in defense. "I'm sure if you asked them, they wouldn't reveal anything. Some things though need to be kept between Riders."
Ruby nodded hesitantly. "Okay, well, this way to the cafeteria." She walked toward the doors, but stopped when she came in line with Cerise.
Food? the young dragon asked.
"Hey Nalia," Ruby called back. "Think you could get some food for Cerise again?"
Of course, the green dragon responded, I'll take her out to the forest so she can get some water as well. Ruby flinched at the mention of the forest. Don't worry, the Grimm won't get within one hundred feet of Cerise. They will die well before that.
Ruby nodded hesitantly and walked out of the warehouse with Aaron in tow. The two continued in silence until the warehouse was out of sight. "How long until Cerise is able to take care of herself again?" she eventually asked.
Aaron's eyes closed a fraction of the way like he was in deep thought. "She's strong, and she has you, so I'd give her about two or three more days until she can fly and hunt again."
"Me? What can I do?"
"You being there does more than you think, in addition to a few other perks of being bonded." Ruby kept looking at Aaron with interest, expecting him to go on. "Sorry, those are some of the things that need to be kept between us, and there are people with enhanced hearing around."
Ruby nodded and kept walking toward the cafeteria. She wasn't sure she liked how secretive Aaron was being, but if that's how things were ran back in, What was is called, Alagaësia? she would go with it.
Soon after the cafeteria came into sight. Ruby proceeded toward it like it was any other day. Aaron, however, pulled back a few steps. "This is the cafeteria?" he asked.
Ruby turned back to look at Aaron. His mouth hung open and his eyes were taking in the building in front of him. "Yeah, is that a problem?"
Aaron shook his head. "It's the size some of the houses on Doru Araeba, albeit the smaller ones." He winced and looked away. Ruby wasn't sure if she should be worried about the one who offered to train her, or laugh at him. Eventually she just shrugged and waved him on.
The pair entered the building and made their way to the serving line. Several people cast glances in their direction, but Ruby ignored them. They would get used to seeing Cerise around Beacon and wouldn't care anymore. At least, the young Rider hoped so. She didn't like the stares, and she didn't know how Cerise would act in the same situation.
As Ruby proceeded through the line, she felt Aaron's eyes on her the whole time, like he wasn't sure what to do. "Come on, Aaron, it's not rocket science," she said.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "What's 'rocket science?'"
Ruby chuckled. She had a lot of work to do. "Something that very few people understand." They reached the end of the line and Ruby scanned the large room for her team. It didn't take long since Yang was standing up and waving both arms frantically. The pair from the line slowly made their way to the waving girl, who was near team Gray.
"Hey Ruby," Yang called when the Riders got reasonably close, "what happened to you last night?"
"Not much," Ruby said as she sat down at the table. "I was about to come back, but Cerise put one of her wings over me and fell asleep. I couldn't leave then."
Yang and Blake just smiled. "Makes sense," Blake said.
Weiss, on the other hand, looked mortified. "You slept on that floor?" she asked.
"It wasn't that bad where Cerise was."
"Also," Aaron spoke up, "if your dragon needs you, no place is as comfortable as the space under a dragon's wing, even if you are sore in the morning or sleeping on a pile of rocks."
"We've certainly slept in worse conditions. Hey Zach, remember that time on Sigma Octanus IV when we had to sleep in a collapsed skyscraper?" Sakura said.
"Yeah, good times." Zach responded.
"What about sleeping in a collapsed skyscraper is a good time?" Weiss asked.
"The fact that it was fun." He stated, as if it was obvious.
"I don't think we have the same definition of that word." Aaron said.
"I'd have to agree with that." Ruby dug into her pancakes almost as fast as Nora. As fast as she was though, Aaron was faster. He took twice the stack as Ruby, and it was gone in about half the time. Shortly after his plate was empty he stood back up to go get more.
Yang whistled. "Dang, he sure eats a lot,"
"Eating at that rate can't be healthy," Weiss sighed.
"We could." Percy said, earning a knife handle to the back of the head courtesy of Gregor. "Ow, asshole." Gregor just flipped him off.
"Well, he did have a long day yesterday," Ruby defended. "I honestly don't think he had time for a real meal since lunch yesterday." Soon after Aaron returned with a plate full of bacon, sausage, and tater tots. All of it was drenched in maple syrup.
"The fuck?" Momaw questioned rhetorically.
"Well, I haven't seen that before," Blake said, looking at the soggy tater tots.
Aaron shrugged. "Essentially everything here is new to me, and I like to try new things."
Yang raised both her eyebrows. "Don't tell me you've never had syrup before." Aaron shook his head. "Okay, that' stuff's universal across Remnant, whether you're in a Kingdom or not. Where are you from?"
Aaron chuckled after he stuffed a few strips of bacon into his mouth. "I figured I'd have to answer this sooner or later," he sighed. He stayed quiet for several seconds and turned his head slightly to his shoulders. Ruby figured he was contacting Nalia, what for, she couldn't guess.
Eventually Aaron focused back on the group at the table. "In case you haven't figured it out, I'm not from Vacuo, or Vale, or Remnant at all. I'm from a land called Alagaësia. If I'm remembering your history books right, technologically we're about at what you call the Middle Ages." All of team RWBY at the table leaned in closer to Aaron, intrigued by his revelation. Even so, Weiss still looked skeptical.
"I grew up in the city of Teirm, a large, coastal trading city on the west coast of Alagaësia. I don't really remember much about my first five or so years, but I do know my parents died in a house fire when I was three." Blake and Weiss gasped in surprise. On the other hand, Ruby and Yang nodded in sympathy. Ruby also wondered why he was going into that kind of detail now.
"After the fire, I lived alone on the streets two years. Unlike here, there are no orphanages or homeless shelters in Alagaësia. There was no help for a 'street rat' like me. I did what I had to do in order to survive. Most of it I regret to this day."
Aaron paused, and his eyebrows contorted, as if was remembering something unpleasant. "One person in the city took pity on me and took me under his wing. I didn't know it at the time, but he was a master jewel thief. He could break into almost anywhere. Everyone had bounties on him from the elves to dwarves." He shuddered. "He was turning me into his apprentice, and I was too young and stupid to understand.
"I did everything he wanted me to do, from providing distractions to breaking into places myself. The only places he didn't have me break into were military and government buildings. The thing is, I was good at it. I was never caught or even noticed. No one even suspected me. Then again, who would suspect the orphan boy begging on the corner would be a master thief.
"This continued for three years. One night, he had me break into the house of the couple who owned the largest fishing company in Teirm. It was simple enough. The couple was supposed to be away on business with the house empty except for a few servants who would be asleep late at night. It started out like any other job; opening a window from the outside and creeping through the house. I made my way to the master bedroom where most of their valuables would most likely be kept. The jewels and coin were where I expected them to be, but then the couple entered the room behind me."
"I thought you said you were never caught?" Ruby interrupted.
Aaron chuckled. "Up until that point, that was true. That night was the first and only time I was ever caught, and it turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened."
The older Rider closed his eyes in thought. "Instead of trying to cut my hands off and leaving me in the street like any other people would have, they offered me food and most of the jewels in their bedroom. The food alone was enough. I only had rotten and stale food since my house burned down. At their table, they seemed genuinely interested in me. They were concerned for me. I had no idea why." Aaron sighed. "Never before had anyone showed me that kind of kindness. I never even deserved it.
"I didn't go back to that…criminal, after I left the house. I left with the jewels and spent the night on the opposite side of the city from him. In the morning, I went back to the couple's house and returned what I took. They asked where I learned to steal like that. I told them and they were mortified. They weren't mad at me; they were worried sick for me. Again, I had no idea why. They offered me a temporary room in their house that could become permanent if I behaved myself.
"I told them where to find," Aaron paused and contorted his face, "my…master…and later that day he was arrested. Two days later he met the noose. Can't say I feel sorry for the bastard, but I still don't think killing him was the best course of action. He was terrified of prison. They should have let him rot." He looked up to see shocked faces. "What?"
"They hanged him?" Weiss said, trying to keep her shock from being carried out of the group. "Two days after he was arrested?"
Aaron nodded. "Justice is swift in Alagaësia, and the punishment for many crimes is death.
"Back to more happy thoughts, the stay at the couple's house turned permanent. Apparently, they were friends of my parents before the fire. They moved to Teirm to take me in, but could never track me down. They stayed in hopes that they could find me, and I'm so glad they did. They raised me as their own after that.
"Two weeks after my tenth birthday, a Rider carrying eggs came to Teirm." Ruby's ears perked up. She leaned in even closer as to not miss a word. "Every ten-year-old is required to be brought before dragon eggs to see if they will hatch. Older kids may come as well as long as the eggs are different from what they've come in contact with before."
Aaron smiled. "The hatching time can be anywhere from a few hours to a couple of weeks. I only had to wait two days before Nalia hatched for me." He sighed. "That was the best day of my life. It's hard to describe in words, but it's like the other half of me I didn't know wasn't there came back." He looked Ruby in the eyes. "You may or may not feel that now, but you will."
Ruby looked away and blushed. "So what happened after that?" she asked.
Aaron hesitated. "All I can say is Nalia and I were brought to Vroengard, the Order's home base, for training. The rest needs to stay between you and me."
Yang crossed her arms. "So what brings you here?" she asked.
All of Aaron's previous happiness drained away in a second. "We were betrayed by one of our own. He built up an army and attacked Vroengard." He hung his head and his voice dropped even quieter. "All those loyal on the island were killed. As far as I know, Nalia and I are the last ones alive." Everyone but Ruby gasped. She heard that part in Ozpin's office. (Team Gray faked extremely well)
"You really don't have to go on," Blake said while putting a hand up. "All that can't be easy to say."
Aaron nodded. "I'll just say that we've been on the run for three years, and this is the first time since the Fall that we've felt even remotely safe." An awkward silence fell over the table for a few minutes. Aaron seemed out of it and all members of team RWBY were processing what they heard.
Eventually Ruby broke the silence. "Want to hear about my time with Cerise?" she asked, trying to improve the mood.
Aaron sighed and a corner of his lip slightly rose. "I would like that." Ruby began with finding Cerise' egg in the Emerald Forest. The other Rider breathed a sigh of relief when Ruby mentioned that there were no Grimm around the egg. She moved on to Cerise hatching that night and everything that happened. Aaron cast a cautious glance at Yang when he heard of her reaction to the bonding.
"If it means anything now, I would never even consider doing it again," she defended, with more than a hint of guilt in her voice.
Aaron nodded, then motioned for Ruby to continue. She explained the team's trip to the city the day after, intentionally glossing over their rather direct encounter that day. She outlined the research Blake and she conducted on dragons, most of which Aaron corrected or denied. Ruby then explained her first unintentional spreading of her mind. Aaron's attention increased tenfold. Ruby could practically see the gears turning behind his eyes.
She went on to explain the food struggles over the first week and how she found a place for Cerise in the forest. Ruby recapped the past week quickly, as the only things that happened were Ruby's occasional visits to the cave. Then came the apartment fire and the first time she intentionally sent her mind out of her own head, when not talking to Cerise anyway. This also caught Aaron's attention, the gears in his head turning even more. Ruby didn't know what he was thinking, but it probably involved whatever training she was in for.
Ruby then went on to explain how Cerise got her injuries the day before. She started with explaining why she was freaking out in the restaurant, then how she found Cerise and killed the Beowolf pack. The younger Rider explained how she did what she could to treat the injuries and try to get her to Beacon.
"That's about when you showed up," Ruby finished.
Aaron nodded. "Did Cerise kill any of those Beowolves before you showed up?" he asked.
Ruby hesitated. "I don't know." She stretched her mind out to Cerise and asked her.
Two, she replied, then too many. Ruby nodded then passed it on.
Aaron covered his mouth with his hand in thought. "So this is what I'm working with," Ruby heard from behind the blockage. "I must say, for someone with no formal instruction in your mental capabilities and having no idea how to take care of a dragon, you have done fairly well for yourself."
Ruby blushed. "Well, it's not like I haven't had any help." She looked at her teammates and smiled. "They all helped out in some way."
"So it would seem. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get more pancakes." Aaron got up and walked back to the serving line.
"Well, he has mood swings," Yang commented. "People don't go from depression to intense intrigue at the drop of a hat."
"Uh, Yang, remember me yesterday?" Ruby asked her sister.
Yang shrugged. "It must be a Rider thing."
POV: Aaron
Aaron and the girls of team RWBY talked for another hour in the cafeteria before they went their separate ways. Team Gray had gone to the Emerald Forest to "kill some shit" Ruby left with Aaron while the others walked to their room. The older Rider was putting together a possible training regimen with Nalia. Combat shouldn't be an issue, since that's the main point of this school. We'll have to work from the ground up with magic though. Where and when should we begin with that?
This is a problem, Nalia replied. She doesn't know any of the ancient language and I doubt she would go along with that education for long without some purpose. The green dragon fell silent for a second. I believe her magic training should begin soon. As for what to start with, why not start with making a rock float? That's simple enough and it doesn't take too much energy.
And it's trick number one after those crazy assignments. If I ever see that boulder again… Aaron let the thought hang. What about mental training? We can teach Ruby and Cerise how to defend their minds, but when it comes to attacking, we're not exactly experts.
We know the principles and how it's supposed to work, we just aren't strong in that area. They will be fine. Ruby has already shown strength in stretching out her mind, it won't take much more to teach her to break in.
That can be saved for last, though. We're the only other ones who can shield minds. Let's just hope it stays that way. Aaron sighed. We're not going to do a good job, are we?
Compared to Masters Oromis and Glaedr, no. But even they needed to start somewhere. We'll work with what we've got and do the best we can.
The dragons' warehouse came into view and Aaron stopped in his tracks. There are people doing something to the building.
Ruby cocked her head beside Aaron. "Motion sensors?"
Aaron looked at the other Rider. "Motion what?"
"Motion sensors. They, uh, track things that move in a certain way which in turn activates something. In this case, I'm guessing the doors so our dragons can come and go as they please."
Aaron looked back at the workers. Did Ozpin plan this before or after we showed ourselves, he thought to himself. He and Ruby entered the warehouse through the former staff door and once again was surprised. The stains on the floor had been removed and the lights on the ceiling were relit. That man really wants me to like him, doesn't he?
Soon after, Nalia landed outside and the door lifted on of its own accord. Both dragon and Rider stared at it in surprise. It was weird enough only pushing a button and that happening, even more so with no interaction at all. Nalia hesitantly walked inside while Cerise ran up to Ruby and tackled her again. As soon as the larger dragon's tail cleared the doorway, the newly self-controlled door closed itself.
The magic here is very strange, Nalia commented to everyone in the room.
Ruby laughed as she crawled out from under her dragon. "There's no such thing as magic," She blinked her eyes a few times and the smile dropped from her face. She looked back and forth between the two dragons in the room. "Or, wait, Zach just said that him and the rest of his team have magic yesterday."
Aaron looked to Nalia who shook her head. "We'll get to that later," he said. "Right now, I'd like to clarify a few things from what you said earlier. First of all, was Cerise born with her spikes? They seem unusually short for being two weeks old."
Ruby shook her head. "Nope, they started sprouting at day three. Is that normal?"
"It's not uncommon. When dragons are born without their spikes, they tend to be more passive than others of their kind. Cerise is also a red dragon, which are generally more aggressive than others. It will be interesting to see how she matures.
"Second, while you were helping Cerise walk back to Beacon, you said you felt your energy leaving you at an extraordinary rate right?"
"Yeah, even when we were both on the ground barely moving. I just thought it was because Cerise was…" Ruby cut herself off and shuddered.
"You were right, to an extent. The energy drain you felt can work both ways, but it normally flows from dragon to Rider. Every bonded pair uses it on a daily basis for normal things. For example: the Rider can use his or her dragon's energy to boost his or her strength." Ruby's eyes brightened up.
"Also, the energy from one can be used to keep the other alive if severely injured. I'm not sure if you unintentionally sent the energy or if Cerise drew it from you, but either way is very dangerous. Too much energy could be sent or taken, threatening the life of the uninjured member of the pair."
Once again, Ruby's excitement was dashed. She looked down at Cerise who was already looking up at her. "Will she remember any of this?" she asked Aaron.
Dragons have nearly perfect memory, Nalia answered. She'll remember her own hatching over two hundred years from now.
Ruby snapped her head over to Nalia. "Two hundred years?" she yelled. "How old can dragons get?"
Assuming we're not brought low by blade, poison, or incurable disease, we can live indefinitely.
Ruby's eyebrows raised. "Wow, so she'll still be around when I'm long gone."
"Hopefully not," Aaron replied with a straight face. "The same applies to Riders."
The younger Rider's face lit up like the sun. "This is so cool! I could live to see the last Grimm be killed! I could walk on other planets like it's nothing! Oh, wait until the others find out!" Ruby's mirth vanished slowly over ten seconds as she realized what immortality entailed. "Oh."
Aaron nodded sympathetically. "Many people have a similar reaction. It sounds amazing, but then they remember the people they will leave behind. To make matters worse, our bodies almost stop physically aging when we reach twenty years of age. We'll look nearly the same age for centuries. I have never met a Rider who looked over fifty."
Ruby started shaking and stared at the floor. "So when Yang is old and dy… and in her last years of life, I won't look much older than I do now?"
The older Rider nodded. "Such is the burden of being a Rider. With age comes experience so we are undoubtedly the best warriors in the land, but we lose many friends along the way, and most if not all of our family. Many of the older Riders secluded themselves away from the rest of the Order, only offering advice to those who sought it, but I think they did it to prevent the heartbreak that is losing another friend."
Ruby was struggling to fight back tears, then threw her arms around Cerise. "At least I'll have you," she whispered.
"Protect her, Ruby. Without her, there aren't many reasons to continue." Aaron stood back and watched the younger pair comfort each other. Even Cerise was upset, but Aaron couldn't tell if it was her own emotion or Ruby's spilling over. Eventually the older Rider left the warehouse to leave the pair alone.
Ruby kept her arms around Cerise' neck for several minutes. She was still trying to piece what Aaron said together. Immortality? Never aging? What was the point if most people she knew were going to die of old age? She opened her eyes she didn't know closed and stared down at her dragon's back.
Cerise. She was enough. Plus there was Aaron and Nalia, and there was the slim possibility of friendly Riders in Alagaësia that Aaron didn't know about. And then Zach had said that all of the members of his team were all at least 150 years old, so they would likely stick around for a long time too.
Still, Ruby didn't want to just leave her friends, or her sister. They had to know, sooner rather than later.
The young Rider let go of her dragon then looked up at Nalia. "Is there anything else Aaron wanted to go over?" she asked.
Yes, but first I must ask something of you, Nalia said. Aaron must not know I told you about this. Do you understand? Ruby simply nodded.
Aaron is not as put together as he seems. He is broken in ways that are hard to explain. He will shatter, it's only a matter of time. I know it may be wrong of me to ask this, but will you help pick up the pieces when it happens?
Ruby was taken aback. "What happened?"
Without going into detail, he continually blames himself for many decisions he's made, even if they are justified. He's been like this since I hatched for him, just the masks he's worn have changed. He…does things to himself whenever he does something even remotely regrettable. No matter how much I try, I…I can't stop him short of pinning him to the ground.
With this in mind, I'll ask again, will you help me look after my Rider. Nalia looked down at Ruby with pleading eyes.
The young Rider legitimately thought this one over. If Nalia asked, it had to be important. Ruby knew regular people hardly asked for that kind of help. She didn't know how prideful dragons were, but she suspected more than the average human or Faunus. Also, she might be the only one around when it happens, and she's not one to just let someone stay at a low point.
Ruby nodded, her decision made. "I will help any way I can."
Nalia breathed a sigh of relief. Thank you. Now, I believe you asked earlier about magic?