The Unseen World
Chapter 2: (Un)Dead by Daylight
The white-haired girl shot herself up from her prone position on the bed towards Ruby, hissing angrily and her arms outstretched. The silver-eyed huntress let out a small 'eep!' in surprise as she shuffled backward out of arm's reach of the newly-turned vampire. She fell to the ground with a solid thunk, convulsing wildly on the dirty concrete pavement as Ruby watched on cautiously, her guard now right back up and cursing herself for not being more careful.
Getting up on all fours, the vampire stared hard into Ruby's eyes, her fangs bared and breath ragged. There was a feral look in her eyes, wild and uncomprehending. It was the look of a starving beast, lashing out at anything and everything.
She lunged at Ruby again, fangs snapping hungrily and arms stretched out to grab ahold of her. However, thanks to her being more aware this time, Ruby managed to dodge out of the way. This vampire was sluggish, and weak, for vampire standards at least, and would have been an easy target. And, an even easier kill.
Except… as she sidestepped another desperate lung for her body, Ruby took into stock the situation that she was in and a well of pity settled in her gut. She hadn't hurt anyone nor had she killed anyone either. Honestly, judging by her appearance (like seriously, what kind of richly dressed girl would be down in the sewer of all places?) she had been most likely turned against her will, forced into something she didn't want to be. A victim as well.
"Is there any way I could save her though?" She thought, frowning as she dodged another wild lung. "Come on you big dumb brain think, think, think." And that's when it hit her.
It was rare, but not unheard of, for new vampires to regain control of themself before they killed someone. It was something to do with drinking human blood and endorphins or whatever that took over their senses and drove their lust for the life fluids of every human. If they managed to hold themselves back from doing so and partaking in that sin, then the vampire could retain some semblance of humanity. She owed it to this girl to at least give her that chance, since she didn't make it in time for any of them.
Moving swiftly with her resolve hardened to steel, Ruby brought her knife up to her chest in a reverse grip. Her stance widened slightly with her weight shifting to her left leg, preparing to launch into action as soon as- a loud snarl escaped past the rich girl's lips, cutting off Ruby's thoughts abruptly, as she lunged forward with her arms outstretched in an already repetitive and tried move. This time, though, as Ruby moved to the side at the last minute, she slipped forwards and grabbed the vampire's neck with her free hand and spun around in a half circle counter-clockwise, and launched her to the wall adjacent to where they were.
The girl's back slammed meatily against the wall, standing in a listless daze momentarily but that was all the time that the black-haired hunter needed. Ignoring the sounds of bones snapping under her foot, Ruby charged directly at the newborn vampire before she could register what exactly was going on. She shoulder-checked her first back against the wall, the sounds of her gagging on air being the indicator that she could move on to the next step of her plan. Moving back, she hurriedly grabbed her arm, turned around, and bucked her hips back, judo-flipping her over her body and causing the vampire to hit the ground hard.
While with the arm still in her hand, she reached and grabbed the other one and placed both in one hand and then stabbed the dagger through the both of them before embedding it into the ground along with the vampire's hands above her head. A piercing scream erupted from her as a blue fire burned her hands. Ruby, however, didn't give her enough time to focus on her pain as she straddled the girl just right under where her chest is and roughly pulled the vampire's head so that she was staring right into her own. Ice blue eyes gazing into silver.
"Listen to me." Ruby started, rough and commanding, "If you want to live then get a hold of yourself right now! If you don't, I'm going to kill you." The vampire struggled against her, snapping at her with sharp fangs. The silver-eyed girl clicked her tongue in disappointment, but even then she had a feeling that the hard cop routine wouldn't work… Not that she couldn't pull it off if she wanted to, that's not it at all.
Sighing forlornly as the struggle intensified, Ruby drew her face closer. It wasn't enough for the rich girl to bite her, but enough that she could be the center of her attention. "I know there's a part of you that's still human, a part of you that isn't a monster…" Ruby's voice softened as she moved her hand from the vampire's hair to her cheeks as the struggling began to subside. "You're scared, you're angry, you're hungry, but it's going to be alright. I won't hurt you if you don't give me a reason to." She squeezed the vampire's shoulder, hoping the gesture would convey her reassuring intent. "You have to fight it. You have to win. If not, then you won't be able to see the people who mean the most to you."
The struggling stopped, but for the longest time, Ruby saw another struggle happening in the eyes of the woman below her. A conflict that seemed too waged for dominance. Her eyes moved from side to side, they clenched shut only to snap open in a wild-eyed expression. The white-haired girl's body tensed up harder than an oaken tree and Ruby began to fear for the worse as she suddenly went limp. "Please tell me she's still ok… Can you even die from fighting your nature like that? Oh no, did I accidentally kill her?! Oh no oh no oh no!"
As panic slowly began to creep into her heart, the pinned girl groaned groggily. Ruby waited with bated breath at what would come next, her hands slowly slipping to the vampire's neck hoping and praying she did the right thing. Slowly, her eyes began to open, and what she saw caused the silver-eyed hunter to let out a long and tired sigh.
The red had faded from the vampire's eyes as her breathing slowed to a still. She was groggy still, but the fact that she was able to look at her, even though exhausted eyes, and still not literally trying to rip her face off showed just how much she had mellowed out. However, Ruby wanted to at least make one thing clear first before she went about lowering her guard. "So uh… You're not going to like, eat and or bite into my flesh when I let you go, are you?" She asked, albeit a bit awkwardly, of the pale woman.
I…" the woman began, her throat sounding parched and scratchy. "Barely have… the strength to… wiggle my toes…" She panted, listlessly staring up at the ceiling. "So… while… Tempting… And I am… Trying very… cough, cough… Very hard to keep… Those feelings down… No… I'm not… Going to… Eat you…"
"Oh… Yeah… Good point…" Ruby chuckled abashedly, rubbing the back of her head with one hand while moving the other one forward to remove the dagger from the white-haired girl's hands, careful not to cause any undue pain.
There was an airy yet throaty moan of pain that managed its way out of the girl's lips as the dagger was taken out, clutching her hands close to her… "Could you… Please… Get off…" She more so demanded than asked, giving the now embarrassed silver-eyed girl an icy glare. She looked down at the snowy-haired girl, who looked the epitome of exhaustion.
Letting out an embarrassed squeak, Ruby hopped off of the girl and kneeled at her side, sheepishly chuckling at what had just transpired. The atmosphere was left in an awkward void of silence, Ruby being lost on what to do next, and the girl breathing laboriously before her was trying and failing to find stride in her lungs. "So…" Ruby trailed off, causing ice-blue eyes to lazily track over to the silver-eyed hunter. "What's your name?" She asked, head tilted to the side. "Mine's Ruby, by the way."
The question was met with a searching look for quite a few moments before they blinked shut once, opened up and her mouth opened up slightly. "...Weiss…" A moment later, her eyes fluttered shut and she went limp.
Ruby picked up the girl in her arms, dropping her dagger in the process. Cradling the vampire in her arms, she turned her around and took a look at her. Strands of white hair covered parts of her face, and her skin seemed unearthly pale. As panic began to well up in the pit of her stomach, she took a better look at the newly named Weiss and relaxed with a relieved sigh. She was breathing regularly, but it was hitched, troubled. Her mouth opened and closed with each breath, revealing the sharp fangs that had replaced her canines.
Ruby frowned as she gently laid the girl onto the bed, before turning and pacing again.
"Great, Ruby, just great." She grumbled forlornly, smacking her forehead in disgruntlement. You're stuck in the sewers with no obvious way out, and now you've got a vampire to take care of now, good freaking job!" She tapped her foot down on the ground with her arms crossed, a pout on her face as she debated what to do next.
Weiss needed blood, that much was obvious. The process of turning a vampire didn't specifically require the victim to be emptied of blood, but it was common, especially among vampires who hoped for their progeny to kill early, thus sealing their fate as blood-thirsty monsters.
She didn't have a timetable on how long Weiss would be able to keep control of herself if she didn't get her something to drink, but it wouldn't be long. That was probably what the sleeping was about, too, attempting to preserve what little energy the body had. Ruby didn't know if a vampire could die from lack of blood, or if they would merely lose control and go on a hunger-induced rampage, the same as any starving predator.
Ruby also wasn't sure about the specifics of the vampiric diet, it had never seemed important until now, but she was fairly confident that vampires could subsist off animal blood if necessary.
She sighed as she began looking for a way out again. Her searching was rewarded a moment later when she found a section of the wall that seemed attached to some sort of sliding mechanism. Pressing the palms of her hands to it, Ruby grunted and slid the wall right, the wall moving with her hands and revealing the darkness of the sewers.
"Well…" Ruby said with a forced smile, "Time to do some rat catching."
When Ruby returned, struggling to contain the two rats in her hands, she saw that Weiss had awakened. Her hair shadowed the top half of her face, making it hard for the silver-eyed girl to make out any expression or feelings she could be having as Weiss sat on the bed. Her hands were folded in her lap, thumbs twirling around one another lazily as her knee bounced lightly, seemingly not knowing what to do with herself.
At the sound of her approaching footsteps, the snow-haired vampire's eyes zeroed in on her in an instant. "You're back." Her voice had a lethargy to it, but the nervousness mixed in with a slightly hostile tone showed that she at least had some fire in her. "I thought you had left." Her hands moved behind her back, in a vain attempt to hide them away from the hunter.
"Nope!" Ruby grinned as she stepped into the room, holding up the rats to her to show that she wasn't going to hurt her since she had her hands full. For all the uselessness that did. "Just had some things to do, how are you feeling?"
Eyeing her warily, Weiss straightened her posture up, trying to hold at least a bit of decorum in the face of unknown company as well as to show that she wasn't afraid of the stranger. "And why would you care to know that?" She asked testily, ice-blue eyes narrowing. "And where are we, who are you, why do you look like some kind of yard sale red riding hood, and how-"
"The sewer, I'm Ruby, diss the cloak again and I'll rethink about letting you live." The interruption had the girl about to go on a tirade, but as soon as she heard the last answer in the rigid tone of the young woman, she scoffed lightly before turning her head away and up in a haughty display of her indifference. However, Ruby could see that she was nervous by the way her shoulders slightly shook. "And the reason why I care so much," she began, this time her voice much more gentle, when the coast was clear that Weiss wasn't going to say anything. "Is because I'm trying to make sure that you're feeling better after everything that has happened."
The silence that followed was deafening, save for the rats in her hands, but ever so slowly the blue-eyed girl looked towards her again. The wariness was still there, but she seemed to realize that even if she were to deny this strange woman, there was still the fact that she didn't know where she was or what happened to her. Both things that only she held, so it was better to comply than not.
Shaking her head, she crossed her arms underneath her chest, almost like she was hugging herself. There were a couple of moments where she just said nothing. Her eyes flashed left to right, the inside of her lip being bit a little in a show of her indecision. When it seemed like it was dragging on, Ruby opened her mouth to say something but was beaten to the punch. "Tired…" She started in a small voice, confusion lacing her tone with a frown on her face. "Hungry…" With a sigh, the girl shook her head before looking directly at the hunter. "Which doesn't make sense, I know I ate not too long ago, but I feel like I'm starving." Weiss yawned suddenly, revealing her pointed fangs.
"And this is where the bombshell is gonna be dropped." Ruby thought grimly, hating what she was about to do to the once normal girl., "Weiss…" She spoke slowly, cautiously, and ready for anything. When people reacted to life-shattering truths like this, they would do anything in a panic even if they were well-meaning. "You're a vampire, you're hungry for blood, not food."
There was silence at first, Weiss looking confused at the proclamation before her face set in a thin line. "Excuse me?"
Ruby blinked several times, before repeating herself. "You're a vam-"
"No, I heard you." Weiss interrupted with a raised hand to stop her from speaking. "But do you honestly expect me to believe that I'm some kind of vampire?" She scoffed, her eyes narrowed harshly.
"Huh?" The dark-haired redhead blubbered. "But you are?"
"I'm not stupid." She bit back with a growl. "And to have you try to treat me as some kind of simpleminded child believing in a fantasy is not going to endear yourself to me." The girl gave her the nastiest, coldest glare that Ruby ever witnessed. "I was kidnapped. Are you an accomplice in this or are you here because my father… Wait." Weiss's head tilted a little bit to the side and looked her up and down. "You don't even look older than 13, how are you even-"
"Ok first off, rude." It was Ruby's turn to interrupt her, and the scowl on her face was enough to get the sharp-tongued woman to snap close. "Second off, I'm the one who saved you so a little appreciation is warranted here. And third, look at the ground."
Feeling her patience wear thin with the girl, Weiss rolled her eyes. "Oh please, what could possibly be enough to change my- OH MY GODS!?" Weiss's eyes grew huge and she scampered back into the bed, trying her hardest to get away from the mutilated bodies on the ground. "What the? What is this?" She was hyperventilating and her skin grew even more white. "Why is this, who, what, what? This is crazy who-"
"Woah woah woah, hey calm down it's going to be-" Ruby tried placating her, but Weiss was not having any of that.
"Children were killed and you think it's going to be fine?" She questioned hysterically. "That sick man kidnapped not just me but also these kids and murdered not just them but planned on doing the same to me in some kind of sick… Some kind of sick…" The realization seemed to dawn in her eyes in such a sad way, that Ruby could only feel sorrow for the girl. "Bloodsucking…"
"Weiss…" Looking over to her robotically, slowly. Her eyes were red, not from being a vampire in hunger mode, but from unshed tears that lingered in her ice-blue eyes. "Your teeth." In any other context, it wouldn't be enough. Not enough at all. But in this one…
Weiss blanched, touching the tips of her fangs hesitantly. There was a gasp as she grasped onto one of them and pulled. But nothing happened. Her eyes seemed to widen before she went to check her neck next. She ran two fingers up the left side of it first before moving over to the right side when she didn't feel anything. And there, she felt two streams of dried-up liquid on her neck and two small indents that could be puncture wounds. "I…I had hoped that had all been a dream…" The memories of being knocked out came to her mind. A feeling of intense fear. Hot breath, hovering over her neck. Pain. Screaming. Nothing.
She let out a shuddering breath. "Am… Am I really? How… There's no way that…"
"I'm sorry…" Ruby said, her tone gentle and soft. So extremely soft as her heart went out to the girl. "I understand that it's a lot to take in, but… You really are a vam-"
"Please… Don't say it." Weiss gulped, licking her lips nervously. "Please I…I don't know what to do…" She seemed honestly lost. "Is… Is this real? How is this real?"
Turning her head to the side, a random memory bombarded the redhead's thoughts as those words reminded her so painfully of a dark point in her life. "It is real… I'm so sorry."
There was a heavy silence that followed, one that included sniffling and small hiccups that caused Ruby to shuffle on her feet in awkwardness as the girl tried and failed to not cry. "What do I even do now…" Her voice sounded so small and broken, the emotions overflowing as she hugged her knees to her chest.
"I… I uh well…" Ruby searched for something to say but came up short. Her brain short-circuited at her question as she tried to fish for at least something to say."Well, this should help." She held out the rats to her. She had to hold back a flinch at the fact that this probably was… Ok, no actually dumb.
"..." Weiss stared at her uncomprehendingly. "What… Am I supposed to do with this?"
Ruby gave her a sheepish, if not apologetic smile. She knew this was coming, and simply another thing she's gonna have to break down to the woman. "You're a vampire Weiss, you need blood to survive."
Weiss blanched and looked at her like she was crazy, which was still up for debate. However, at least she was able to look past her current dilemma. "You…you can't be serious! You want me to drink the blood of a rat?!"
Ruby shrugged. "I mean… There aren't any people here and even if there were I wouldn't want you trying to feed on them for obvious reasons. So…rat blood will have to do."
"B-b-but it's a rat!" She exclaimed, pointing helplessly at the vermin in Ruby's hands as if it explained everything. And while it did, there was no other choice.
Ruby sighed, and, in the gentlest tone she could muster, "Weiss, you said it yourself, you're starving, and if you lose control of yourself again, I don't know if you'll regain control before I'm forced to kill you. You don't really have a choice. Drink, please."
With a hesitating hand, Weiss reached out toward the rats. When her hand brushed the dirty fur of the squirming creature, she pulled her hand back quickly, her face twisted in disgust.
Ruby rolled her eyes and muttered. "Okay Weiss, I'm not trying to be mean, but…." Dropping the flashlight that had been held in her other hand, she shoved one of the rats into Weiss's hands with her now free hand.
"Drink." She commanded, eyes serious as they met the ice-blue ones of the girl before her.
Hesitantly, and more than a little disgusted, Weiss lifted the rat to her mouth. The moment her fangs pierced the flesh of the rat, a change seemed to come over Weiss. A feral hunger took over her, and within seconds the rat was dead, having been drained of all its blood.
Wild-eyed, Weiss snatched the other rat from her hand and quickly drained it as well, before tossing the empty corpse to her side.
Ruby started a bit, blinking dumbly at what just happened, looking at the palm of her hand where the other squirming rat was before looking back to Weiss. "Are…you ok?" She would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit concerned.
Weiss was breathing heavily, her eyes wide and pupils small, "It's- it's- it's like being dehydrated and then having only a couple of sips of water…."
Ruby frowned. "Oh come on, it took me hours to even get those two rats. HOURS I SAY!" "It's not enough?" She asked instead, a small pout forming on her face.
However, the question went ignored by the overwhelmed youth. "I guess… I guess that just proves it then, yes..?" Weiss's body shook before she covered her face, a desperate wail clawing out of her throat. "Oh God, why did this happen to me?!" She shuddered and Ruby felt a pang of sympathy.
She hesitantly reached out to her only to retract her arm a second later. She didn't know what to do. All her life it had been simple, find a monster, kill a monster. Nothing in the middle. All the victims were either dead before she got there or were never turned. Or had already been turned. There was no need to ever save anyone and it's been something that she had been doing for…how long now?
It was hard to recall exactly how long it had been since she threw herself into her work.
Two years? Has it been at least that long since she started hunting? But her life had irreconcilably changed even further back. It had been… Five years since her easy carefree life had been uprooted forcefully. Five years since she'd been thrown into a world that she had never wanted to be part of.
Five years since everyone she knew and loved had been taken from her.
"My life was simple… Not the best but.." Weiss continued talking, rambling more so, with a thick tone, her throat tight, and the girl herself on the verge of tears. "I knew what I was going to do, I would inherit the company, marry some…some rich jerk somewhere..and…and…" A few tears escaped her eyes. "And now I'm not even human…"
Ruby shuffled from foot to foot, more than a little awkward about the situation she now put herself in. Damn her soft-hearted ways. "Weiss…" She started, scratching her cheek with a finger nervously. "I know it's hard, and I'm sorry, I really am." With her attention firmly on the red-cloaked woman, the silver-eyed girl coughed into her hand. "But we need to keep moving, find a way out of here, find you some…I don't know, IV drips or blood packs or…something!" her voice trailed off, struggling to try and be more sympathetic before finally giving up. "It sucks, it really does, but we need to move."
There was silence, then…
"That's your idea of a pep talk?!" Weiss looked at Ruby with a sort of fierce energy, "I just had my life turned upside down! The very least you could do is some words of encouragement!"
Ruby squawked indignantly as she felt her temper flare, "Well I'm sorry, princess! You know, most people like me wouldn't have even given you the chance, they would have just slit your neck or stabbed you with a stake!"
"If this is what you're like then maybe death would've been preferable!"
"I can't believe I went out of my way to get you something to eat when you act like this!"
"Oh right, the rats! How could I forget?! A girl gets turned into a vampire, a creature of myth and legend, and the first thing you think to do for her is get her a couple of rats?!"
"What, did you expect caviar and wine?!"
"It would have made me feel better than that half-hearted speech of yours!"
"Well excuse me for having terrible social skills! Being by yourself for years tends to do that to people!"
That took Weiss aback. "I…what?"
Calming down, Ruby realized what she had said, and a small blush formed on her face, "It's nothing…let's just get out of here…"
Weiss didn't offer any resistance this time, simply nodding. "Fine… Though I don't know why we just didn't take that manhole cover back there that was closest to us." She mumbled, hugging her arms around her chest, jumping at the scattering sounds of vermin. Funnily enough, she couldn't see any really near her for some strange reason.
The two of them made their way through the sewers, Ruby's flashlight lighting the way for her while Weiss proceeded unimpeded by the darkness. The running pathway of the sewage to the side of them grew more into sludge and small solid states that the snow-haired woman had to really not think too hard about what it was.
"Urgk, the stench…" Weiss gagged a bit as she looked away from the sewage water. It was so sickly, how could the girl before her even stand being in here without making much of a reaction than her?
"Yeah, it definitely reeks here." Ruby agreed absentmindedly, looking around for a ladder that would get them out.
As Weiss waited for whatever the young hunter was doing, she decided to fish for more information. "So… What else is there that exists then… Since I'm a…" Her nose scrunches up a little bit in contempt at the ridiculousness of the situation she was now in. "Vampire, what else is real?"
Ruby shrugged her shoulders, her flashlight lazily flickering left to right. "A lot of things are real that people think aren't, vampires are just one of them."
The newly turned vampire hummed a bit, shivering at what that all included and not at all liking the idea that the many fairy tales she grew up knowing could be real. For a while, they walked in silence not saying anything before another thought struck her. "Am I going to burn in the sun?" She asked, fearing the worst about how people would react to the coveted Schnee family if one of their daughters just went and burnt to a crisp in front of everyone's eyes.
Ruby snorted, waving it off with her free hand. "No, no, that really is a myth," The dark-haired girl heard the poorly disguised sigh of relief that escaped from the vampire's lips and cracked a small grin. "However, you are nocturnal now, though, so if you feel sleepy during the day, that's why."
"I suppose that is better than the alternative." She eventually said, her posture a little more straight and head a little bit higher. "What about garlic and crosses? And holy water? An-"
Before she could go any further, Ruby stopped her in her tracks with a look over her shoulder. "Look, I'll give you the full rundown of what I know once we find you a supply of blood and some shelter." Weiss looked away with a small scoff that caused the shorter girl to roll her eyes and look back toward the front. "Until then, avoid silver, pointy wooden objects, and fire. Everything else you should be able to heal from."
The sounds of running water and scuttling critters permeated the silence that overlapped between the two once again as they walked. At every sound, Weiss fidgeted, her nerves still frazzled by what had happened to her earlier. It was all a blur still to her. She didn't remember much of what happened before she woke up. There was a dark figure then darkness. There was a feeling in her neck. There was pain. There was a feeling of loss. But that was where it ended. She couldn't remember anymore after that and she hated it. All she could remember was waking up and the face of… Of…
"Oh, I suppose I never did ask…" Clearing her throat in an attempt to get her... she guessed her savior's if she could be called that, attention Weiss asked another question. "You never told me your name."
"More like you possibly forgot in your bloodthirsty frenzy." However, she acquiesced to the point though and decided to at least give her that much."I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose.
"And you hunt down and kill monsters… Monsters like me?." There was a bit of hesitation when she said that last part, rubbing her hands absentmindedly in remembrance of when the hunter had stabbed her hands. The pain still lingered and she wondered if it had to do with the fact that Ruby had stabbed her with her daggers that were made out of silver.
"Yes, that's right," Ruby confirmed, getting slightly annoyed with all the questions but also understanding that Weiss needed the answers.
"But if that is the case, then why am I alive still…" She asked, her eyes narrowing for a second. "Is it to get in with my family? Or is it to get the likely reward that comes with bringing me home yourself." Of course that had to be the reason, no way that she would have done that out of the kindness of her heart.
The dark-haired girl, however, just looked at her strangely. "What are you talking about?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's because you haven't killed anyone, you haven't hurt anyone. You didn't want to be a vampire."Shaking her head with a small sigh, Ruby focused intently on what was in front of her. "I don't kill monsters for the crime of being monsters." Her hand gripped the flashlight tighter as her pace began to pick up as she saw in the distance a ladder to climb back up to the top.
"I kill monsters that kill people. I kill monsters that hurt and terrorize people. I kill monsters because the death of some monsters will make this world a bit safer." Ruby smiled lightly, dazing off into nothing as if there was a far-off memory she was viewing. "I kill monsters to protect people. I kill monsters to save lives."
They stopped walking as they finally made it to the ladder, a quick check on her Scroll showed that the time was 2:38 AM. "Ok good. It's still early enough that there shouldn't be anyone out and about that it'll cause people to find two random girls out of a sewer hole." She looked over at Weiss with a meaningful look.
"I'm going up to get a good look at our surroundings." She said to her to which Weiss nodded her head, grumbling all the while, which is something that Ruby had gotten used to at this point. "In the meantime…I dunno…find some rats to snack on." Ignoring The pale girl's angry sputtering, she climbed up to the manhole cover and lifted it up slowly and discreetly to peer out of it.
The alleyway she was in was disheveled from what she could tell. Garbage lined up and down the walls with flies and gnats buzzing around it. The stench could be comparable with the sewers below, if not worse due to it probably being exposed to the sun. Murky puddles of water reflected lights from the streets and stars above that rippled from small dark creatures that squeaked and chittered every now and then. It was disgusting. It was vile. It was retched. It was completely revolting.
"It's perfect." Ruby thought with a small smile and a nod. She looked downwards and motioned for Weiss to follow her. She climbed out slowly as she moved the cover out of the way, looking around with a measured gaze. "Well princess, welcome to the Slums of Vale."
It was the furthest away from the other manhole that she could have managed to have maneuvered away from. Just in case, in some way, she was found out or someone had seen her go into that manhole earlier and called either Vale's forces to wait for her to resurface, or the dead bodies were found and somehow could trace them back to her. Both of those options were not something that she would have liked to be a reality.
The slums of Vale were called many things. The Crime District. The Home of Rejects. The Stench of the Kingdom. The Place to Make People Disappear. As it was, it was a place where homeless people (a disproportionate number of which sported animal traits that marked them as Faunus) were slumped around corners, dressed in torn and tattered clothes. Graffiti littered the abandoned buildings that lined the sides of the walls, doors, and glass broken. There were women scantily clad on the corners looking for any customers that walked the cracked sidewalks. Shady characters were hiding in the alleyways waiting either to make a deal or deal you in.
Weiss climbed out of the manhole right as Ruby held her hand out for her to grab onto. She hesitated slightly before grasping onto it, letting the deceptively strong girl hoist her out and onto the streets. She instantly gagged as the foul stench hit her nose. Dry heaving, she could feel the bile climb up her throat slowly holding her mouth with a dainty hand.
"What in the world?" She gasped, after a minute or so of trying to keep down the foul acid trying to rise up and out of her mouth. "What is this downright foul smell?"
"We're in the slums," Ruby explained nonchalantly, covering the manhole back up where it was. "So until we get you back to where you were, you're just gonna have to deal with it." Sparing her an apologetic look, she did seem to get that she wasn't used to this. "Sorry."
"It's…" Shuddering, she pulled up the collar of her white blouse to cover her twitching nose due to how hard the smell is hitting her. "It's not fine, but I'll manage somehow."
The pair made their way through the alleyway, weaving through the various twisting turns of the destitute labyrinthian city. Ruby had a destination in mind, a safe house she had deep within the city. It was a place that was as good of one as any to give them both the time to rest and for her to plan the next move. Especially to also think about what to do with the newly turned vampire.
Weiss suddenly stopped, her eyes darting back and forth.
"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, hands already moving towards her gun and knife. As she did so, she noticed how they had moved into a seemingly abandoned area of the slums. There was nobody around, but plenty of shadows and corners to hide behind.
"I… I hear movement…" She tried to explain, her nerves going haywire and goose bumps forming on her arms. "My senses weren't this sharp before…"
Ruby nodded her head in understanding. Of course, they wouldn't be. She hadn't been a vampire before so she would be able to hear things that even Ruby wouldn't be able to pick up on at first which explains why she was so jumpy in the sewers with all those sounds going on. However, before she could explain this to her, the sound of approaching footsteps snapped her attention back to the present.
People emerged from various buildings and alleyways, surrounding her and Weiss. They all wore tattered clothes and had wild, vibrant hair. They all also had guns. "Not good." Ruby bemoaned. "Not good at all."
There was a man in front of them that was obviously the leader of this small gang. His hair was slick and combed back a bright yellow. He wore a tank top that exposed his arms and shoulders, the right one holding a tattoo of a skull. He was wearing pants that were torn at the ankles and knees, and small scars covered his face. He kept an easy grin on his face, but it was tempered by the look of malice in his eyes.
"Well…" He started in a drawl, "Aren't you a pair of lovely ladies."
The moment they had emerged from the shadows, Ruby had gone analytical. A practiced, reflexive movement brought on from years of fighting and hunting.
There were two others to the right and left of them, as well as two behind them, a total of five. Three men, two women. One of them, the woman to her left, had a set of bear ears. They all held submachine guns that had seen better days.
Ruby didn't like her chances this close up to those guns, had she been at 100% it wouldn't have been an issue, her Aura would've been able to tank enough hits for her to figure something out. But she was tired, she'd been awake for nearly 18 hours, and there was also Weiss to worry about. Not to mention, that she didn't have enough to tank continuous gunfire if they all trained in on her the moment they found out that she had Aura to begin with. Also, it'd hurt like heck.
A starving vampire couldn't generate Aura, and while those bullets almost certainly couldn't kill her, there was always the ever-present risk of Weiss losing herself, especially if blood was drawn. She didn't know if these gangers had Aura, and if not, then the mere sight of blood might drive the newly-turned vampire into a hunger-induced rage. Something, she definitely didn't need to deal with.
Fighting was the last resort here, this called for diplomacy.
"Well…" Ruby said with a forced levity, her hands raised casually above her head. "Who do I owe this pleasure to?"
The man in front of her grinned again, revealing sharpened, canine teeth. "I got many names, but you can call me Slicks." He winked at her then, causing Weiss to shudder and Ruby to force back a snort.
"Slicks!?" She thought idly, her shoulders shaking slightly with mirth. "That's sooo lame!" He probably thought he sounded cool.
Slicks started pacing in front of them, never taking his eyes or gun off them, "Now, see, this area like here is me and my friends' turf, and I have to ask myself, what's a couple of young ladies like yourself doing here?" There was a hint of threatening inquisitiveness in his voice. He looked them both up and down, especially eyeing Weiss herself and Ruby had to thank the gods above that she convinced Weiss to allow her to put her jewelry in her hidden pockets on her person. Small mercies they said.
Ruby smiled, even as her hand slowly fell by her side towards her hidden weapons. "Not looking for trouble, if that's what you're asking. Was heading home, got turned around a bit." She shrugged in a 'what can ya do' sort of manner. "You know how confusing this city can be."
He laughed at that, "You got that right, but what's the story with her?" He then flicked the gun up in Weiss's direction, and the snow-haired vampire flinched, moving closer to Ruby instinctually. Watching her reaction, Ruby realized something: Weiss looked very much like a non-combatant when she had found her, could she even generate Aura?
"Oh, she's just a friend of mine," Ruby replied, thinking fast. "Oh no. How could I forget something like that? Nice going dummy dumbhead! Aaaaaah!" Well, more like thinking frantically. "We were just heading back to my place to get something to eat, maybe watch some TV, and get ready for school tomorrow. Ya know the usual." And Ruby hoped beyond hope that the implication that people were waiting for them would let the man in on the fact that there would be less hassle in letting them go than pushing them for anything unsavory.
Slicks hmm'd at that, tapping his chin with one finger as if thinking about something. There was a bit of waiting that caused Ruby to lick her lips nervously and Weiss to slightly shuffle where she moved even closer to the shorter hunter subconsciously.. "Well...You don't seem like much of an issue," Slicks eventually said, pointing his gun down to the ground and the others following suit, albeit with some groans here and there. "So I guess I'll be generous this time around." He flashed another toothy smile, that promised a lot that Ruby didn't like. "Now the two of you are gonna turn around and walk outta here, and if I ever catch ya here again I'll riddle your pretty faces full of holes, got it?"
Ruby nearly sighed a breath of relief, she couldn't believe that they were being let go. "Yes sir, you got it." She said, reaching for and grabbing Weiss's slightly shaking hand in hers. However, before they could leave…
A voice spoke up from behind them and the dark-haired girl froze, her heart nearly stopping at the sound."Hey boss…" Turning her head, Ruby caught sight of one of the gangsters behind them, a young man, only 18, from the looks of things, eyeing Weiss with suspicion. "This one…I think she's a Schnee.."
That got their attention, and they all looked at Weiss with new, appraising eyes. Ruby herself felt her eyes widen at this information. "Bwaaah?"
Slicks gave a wide-mouth grin, sharp teeth flashing, "Is she now?" He said in an even more dangerous drawl. His gun was brought right back up. "Now then that just makes this all the better."
"... You've gotta be kidding me…" Ruby moaned sadly, so close. They were so close.
Writing early Weiss is going to be the hardest part for me, I think. Both in terms of personality (I'm sorely tempted to skip the Ice Queen phase and get straight to Nice Weiss) and the fact that it feels like a disservice to her character to have her so lethargic and passive, even if it makes sense when you consider circumstances (She's still recovering from the whole "being turned into a vampire") Don't worry though, that won't last long.
As this will be going up the day before Thanksgiving, I'd like to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all spend some quality time with your families and enjoy some delicious food.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this and I appreciate any sort of feedback. A big thanks to PhonyManagka for being my beta reader on this