A soft and gentle warmth, that's what called to her from the dark and peaceful embrace of sleep, tugging her gently from the depths of her slumber. Her eyes squeezed shut softly in protest to the light that fell upon her face through the canopy, defiantly trying to return to her blissful dozing. The forest however, had her on its schedule and as the sun rose and the birds sang, her body's natural rhythm of wake and sleep fell into sync with the wilderness.
Her small frame shifted underneath her red hoodie, Ruby's little body curling into a ball, taking comfort in her own warmth against the cool morning breeze that flowed through the forest. At her feet her fire had burned out to a small mound of ash and charred wood, her bow too rested beside her with her blood stained arrow still miraculously intact after having taken down her kill the day before. Her fingers tingled, her blood cut off by her head resting on her arm, the only thing she had for a pillow in the woods. That, combined with a deep and permeating thirst that left her throat and mouth painfully dry was the final tipping point from restfulness to alertness.
A weak and very tired groan rumbled from her throat while she flopped onto her back, her hair catching dirt and debris from the forest floor as her head laid on bare dirt. She reached her tingling hand down, contracting and and extending her fingers in the dubious hope that it would give her sensation back sooner. The sunlight bathed her eyelids, a warm orange glow penetrating the sheaths of thin flesh allowing a fraction of it to still reach her eyes.
Fine… With a long and bitter sigh, she resigned herself to waking. Big and stunning eyes fluttered sleepily open, the silver in her eyes shining in the sun like the purest metal gleaming the purest light while the crimson that stained the perimeter of her iris seemed to absorb the light, only releasing it as subtle glow in the color of blood. She stared up at the big blue sky, light puffy clouds hung in the endless canvas that spanned the world and her thoughts and feelings ebbed, taking the tranquility of the moment to admire something she had taken for granted her entire life.
I don't think I've ever been alone this long before. I don't think I've gone this long without talking since I was able to talk. I've never been on the brink of starvation until yesterday and I've never killed my own food until yesterday… that was the first time I've taken a life. I looked right into its eyes, it was scared and in pain, all so I could eat it. It tasted good… better than anything I've had before. Maybe because I was so hungry? Still, I feel stronger, not just because I'm not starving, it's something else. This place is changing me and I haven't even found my familiar yet.
It was all so vivid in her mind. Every moment from her first glimpse of the deer to cutting its throat, all of her senses could clearly recall each detail and her heart remembered the emotions she felt. It was at once so surreal while being all too real, she couldn't be sure how she could even begin to process the changes the wilderness was imposing on her… And I'm not even sure I dislike it.
Introspection brought her mind to full alertness, her heart struggling with the changes it was experiencing. Though her mind felt heavy, her body was surprisingly light as she sat up, her muscles ached from the intense exercise but still she felt strong, stronger than ever despite the burning in her arms, legs, back and abs. In every possible way her mind, body as spirit were exhausted from being hardened by the forest but still she stood, firmly tying her hoodie around her waist, her eyes staring intently forward an unmatched resolve burning with an uncompromising will to survive.
Raven said that my Familiar will be an animal that will merge with my soul, whatever that means. She said it would be a creature I'd form a close bond with… She bent over and picked up her arrow and bow, holding both in a firm grip as she rose, her head turning to the crimson stained earth only meters away to her side. All that was left of her kill was a splash of red on the dirt dragged into a trail from where her late night visitor had taken it. Butterflies fluttered in the air, trying the take the nutrients from the deer's dried blood, the beautiful insects drawing out her own thirst for blood, her fangs aching subtly as her eyes followed their ornate wings down the streaks of bloods towards snapping branches and crushed grass.
The wolf is the first animal I've interacted with besides the deer I killed. He didn't kill me, he even let me feed him. There has to be a reason right? As she started off into the forest where the trail from the dragged corpse retreated her free hand instinctively moved to her side, unclipping her canteen from her belt, giving it a firm shake to confirm what she already knew. It's already all gone. I didn't drink water for my first few days here, guess I haven't had water since I've turned, blood was all I needed or wanted but once the mortal hunger kicked in so did mortal thirst… it really didn't last long from there.
I guess my priority now is finding more water. I think ate enough last night to get me through the day even though I'm still hungry... maybe. With the slightest shake of her head she banished the pangs of hunger from her mind, focusing instead on the motivation of thirst as she clipped her canteen to her side and began walking. The butterflies dispersed as the young woman walked along the blood stained path, the her nose so sensitive to the precious vital fluid that even hours after drying the scent still tantalized her. Even after her meal the night before she still couldn't shake the deep need for blood from another person. It wasn't a sensation like quite thirst or hunger though drinking from another's vein was unbelievably refreshing and satisfying. Instead, going without blood felt isolating and wrong, like a connection she longed for that she was being deprived of, something more intimate than sex and more blissful than love.
I guess it's just natural for a Vampire to want to have that connection with the ones they feed from. The second my fangs tap their vein it's not just me or them, we aren't separate anymore. It's the most amazing and beautiful experience and it never dulls no matter how much I drink. I- I wish I could tell Weiss that. I want her to know how precious my first feeding was to me, that I shared that with her, even if I got a bit carried away, it made it so much easier to accept what I am. The thought of never seeing her again… it hurts, but I finally feel at home, more so than I've felt anywhere else. I can't just leave when I- when I've finally found my family.
Her inner turmoil and ever growing thirst for both water and blood were all at once brought to an abrupt stop, her mind grinding to a halt as she pushed aside a branch in her was, obstructing her path. The branch broke with a loud snap that echoed through the tranquil woods and as the echoed faded into nothingness Ruby still stood frozen in place, staring forward with eyes wide in awe, time seeming to stop along with her heart and breath.
Before her only meters away nestled in the trees lay a giant and mighty beast, a creature with fur as black as night and eyes as cold as steel staring directly and intently into her own. The wolf's ears perked up atop its head and while its tail patted the dirt. The large predator watched Ruby as she watched it, though its gaze was deeper than awe, more cool and subtle, seeming to stare into her from its relaxed position. She watched the gentle rise and fall of its chest and found after her mind caught back up with time, that her breaths had at some point fallen in sync with his.
He's… bigger than I thought. She felt like she should be afraid of the near horse sized predator, her heart was racing and her body was frozen, but still she couldn't feel even the slightest hint of fear in her chest. The only word that could come close to describing the feeling that overtook her mind and body, the only thing that could convey the magnitude of what she felt for the beast… was reverence.
Finally, after what could have been seconds or hours as far as Ruby could tell, his ears relaxed and his eyes softened as he moved his head towards his chest, his mouth gently nipping and licking at his side, grooming his pitch black fur without regard for his spectator. All Ruby could do was watch him, his pelt looked soft and warm and extremely well maintained, she could tell he was a proud animal by the way he kept himself. His muscles rippled under his skin, firm and extremely toned and well defined denoting the power he was capable of, reminding her once more of how graciously he spared her life that he could have so easily taken instead.
He's beautiful. The thought rang through her mind and heart as one of pure truth and acceptance, a fact of reality that was inexorably right. She felt something deep within her, something beyond her heart or blood or mind, a gravitational attraction that tugged at her very soul, taking over her body as she walked forward without thought, never once for a moment taking her eyes off of him. Again his ears flicked and his head raised up to meet the approaching girl, his tongue giving his lips a quick lick before withdrawing back into his mouth.
It was only then that she noticed the scars that covered his body, the wounds of many hard fought battles and hard earned meals. Old lacerations littered his snout, one even crossing over his eye. He had the memories of old injuries etched into his skin all over his body and she knew he had lived a long and difficult life, but survived to reach the size and wisdom he possessed. She admired it, she didn't need to ask it if any of her assumptions were true, she just innately knew they were. That ferocity and uncompromising passion for living that she felt climbing the tree and taking down her first kill and the unimaginable satisfaction of eating it, things she never could have even begun to comprehend before she now shared with this great creature.
A quick huff from the wolf's nose snapped her to attention, bringing Ruby to a stop on command only just slightly more than an arm's length away. Despite the immensity of her desire to reach out and touch the wolf, she held too deep a respect to move when it had asked her to stop and somehow, she simply understood his desire. He watched Ruby for another long moment, his head tilting ever so subtly before finally turning his gaze towards the forest beside the, looking at something just out of view of Ruby's periphery.
Only when she turned her head could she see what he was looking at. The deer… the animal she had killed now lay in the dirt, its body picked apart and its skin and fur in shreds, flies and butterflies warmed it, eatings its soft exposed organs that the wolf had left them and drinking its remaining fluids. She felt like she should have been repulsed or guilty but unlike last night… I'm not. I don't feel bad and I don't feel like I did anything wrong. I was able to eat, to live another day and the wolf spared my life in exchange for the easier meal that I had killed. This is the way it works here in the forest… this is the way the world works removed from the control of people. Then again, maybe it's no different back in the kingdom, we just never see where our food comes from. I prefer this, I would rather be the one to take the life myself. At least what's left is returning to the forest where the deer lived its life.
"Thank you…" The words left her lips as she stared at the ripped up corpse, her eyes solemn but hard while her voice was soft with the deepest possible thankfulness and caring. She turned her attention back to the wolf, at first unsure why he wanted her to see her kill, thinking perhaps it was to drive home the lessons the forest had been teaching her. However, it was more than that, because when she looked up, she found herself face to face with the wolf, its head so close it could snap at her and break her neck in a heartbeat if it so wished.
"Thank you too, for showing me and for letting me live." She dipped her head respectfully, feeling his hot breath blow against her face. He didn't have to let her live. The deer she killed was small and he was massive, adding her body to his dinner probably would have been better for him. She could have easily been a corpse lying there by the deer, her remains being consumed by bugs, everything she was returning to the forest and sustaining the wolf. She was alive by his his will only, there was no way she could have fought him off in the state she was in the night before, so she bowed to him.
Another huff of breath left his lungs, washing over her face and for a second, she could have swore she saw him nod ever so slightly before he turned away… and began walking.
"Wait!" Her body stiffened in an instant as the words blurted from her mouth, the wolf coming to a slow stop while its ears swiveled back towards her. For the first time since she laid eyes on the wolf, she felt a pang of deep and intense mortal fear, her heart pounding frantically in her chest as its head turned painfully slowly back towards her until its eyes stared into hers once again. For a brief moment, and for a moment only, his eyes were so terrifyingly cold and hungry that her body screamed at her to run.
Then, they softened, becoming gentle and relaxed, its tail beginning to sweep back and forth while its mouth opened half way, letting its tongue hang out and revealing its large and sharp teeth, its top fang broken in half on one side but its mouth still as deadly a weapon as ever. He gave his head and body a rolling shake that started at his snout and rippled down to his tail before he gave a long and relaxed stretched, bringing his chin to the ground and his spine extending before standing back up, stretching his legs while he gave a deep and refreshing yawn.
He can be cute too. Watching his morning routine she couldn't help but smile, his stretching and grooming and preening, the contentment on his face when he stretched was unmistakable to her. Once more he turned his gaze back to her though this time expectant and urging, their eye contact fleeting as again he quickly looked forward and began walking into the trees.
"Okay… I'll follow you." This time she got his message loud and clear, whispering agreement before quietly following after him, keeping a respectful distance so as not to draw out his anger while always keeping him in her line of sight.
Ruby and the wolf walked deeper into the forest at a casual pace, every so often the wolf would look back at the young woman before quickly turning back. She took that as him caring that she was still close but not wanting to let down his tough and hardened facade, still, she didn't question it, following him obediently and never drawing too close or straying too far. She had no idea what direction they were going no how long they were walking but she could tell they seemed to be steadily going up hill though it was subtle and the sound of the forest over the distance and time they walked shifted, filling with different bird songs and thinner and more sparse trees than the high density forest she had been in up to that point.
The only measures of time she had was the sun which she looked up at periodically, finding hit now high in the middle of the sky while her internal clock told her it they had been walking for hours. She had to assume it was something around noon and they they had traversed quite a distance but the wolf showed no signs of fatigue nor slowing down even while Ruby was fairly certain that her own feet were blistered and bleeding. Still, she dared not fall behind, compelling her legs to match pace with her guide.
'He definitely knows where he's going, maybe this is a test? Either way I won't fall behind.' The pain and exhaustion of yesterday was returning almost as rapidly as her thirst. She could feel dehydration setting in and her mind was begging for relief that she could not provide. Her body ached and every step became a battle to keep from collapsing but her resolve, her conviction burned through it all, and she made each and every step as strong and certain as the last.
I wonder where he's leading me? It's far and I'm exhausted, he ate most of that deer but I only had enough to keep away hunger for the night, he's also stronger than me, is he just trying to see how long I can go before I collapse?' She rapidly shook her head to banish her pessimism, only succeeding in make her hungry mind even more dizzy. Okay, I need a distraction.
I wonder what my team has been up to? Has Ozpin assigned them a new leader or are they just going to be WBY now? I feel bad for leaving but at least Yang has Sun and Blake to keep her out of trouble… Weiss is alone now. There's a chance that the letter I wrote to her last night will be the last time we ever communicate if I decide to stay with Raven. There's no way Weiss would- I mean, asking her to become an Acolyte is too much, she wants to take over her father's company. She'll want to have a life, a family someday, her career, she wants to be a Huntress and help people. I can't ask her to give all that up to live in a community home with the other Acolytes and be fed off of by the me and the other Vampires back home, even if it would be that eventually she would become my Vassal… no matter how happy that would make me, I can't ask her to do that.
When Raven delivers this letter… I'll ask her to tell Weiss… goodbye for me. Okay, I have to stop this now, I can't waste the water in my body on crying. Um… I know! I'll write a letter to Raven! A bright but also wistful smile formed from her lips as she reached towards her pocket on her cargo pants, unbuttoning them and pulling out a pen and pad of paper. She looked back up to the wolf in front of her who slowed his pace for a moment, turning to look at her after the sound of her button draw his attention before seeming to shrug and keep walking forward. Feeling like he didn't mind, she put pen to paper, and started writing.
" Dear Raven Branwen;
I- I'm not really sure what to say. All my life you were the person that left Dad and made Yang sad, I was angry and sad that you weren't there, especially after mom died. I wish you had been there for so many milestones for Yang… and for me, if I'm being honest. Qrow was always like a father to me as much as Dad was, I guess now I know why. Still, I wish you could have been a part of my life, a part of our lives.
Now I know the truth, I understand that there were reasons you couldn't come back but I'm still having a hard time letting go of all those lost years. Yang is the best sister in the world… but she could never be my mom, no matter how hard she tried.
I've been living with you for weeks and I- I really wish I could have had this sooner. I know this might sound weird but I feel so comfortable around you sometimes I think that if you did come back, I really could have thought of you as my mom. I could have had a mom again… maybe then I wouldn't have grown up the way I did, I was always scared of people I never knew how to deal with them. I see you though, you're cool and confident and I know that comes from growing up in such an awesome family, our clan… I think of them as family, I really do.
Maybe if my Vampire side awakened sooner, or maybe if I wasn't born half Slayer I could have been raised in our clan when I was little. You know, I never really had that sense of belonging to happy family, a place where I really fit in… not since Mom died. I feel like I'm just starting to get that now being with our clan.
I know neither of us can do anything about the past, but I've made a decision about my future these last few days.
I want to stay. I want to be a part of the Rubrum Clan. I want to give our family my strength and I want to build my life back up with you and Iris and Alan and Calister and everyone else. I don't want to lose to my family, I don't want to leave.
I want to stay. I won't be going back to Beacon.
Raven… thank you for watching over me since I came to our Clan. I was scared and unsure, I was afraid of the changes I was experiencing and I didn't know what to do. I thought I was a monster, wanting to drink the blood of my friends. Now I see that it isn't a bad thing or something to be afraid of, it's beautiful and deep, I think I'm starting to understand what it means to be a Vampire. Still, that comes second to what I'm learning about being part of a family like ours and I- I'm just… I'm happy.
I love you and I can't wait to come home.
Your loving Niece; Ruby Rose."
As hard as she fought not to, Ruby felt tears welling up in her eyes, clouding her vision as her pen made that final stroke to the paper. This is the right decision. This is what's best for me. Maybe not for Yang or Blake, or Dad or Weiss… but I'm going to be selfish, and do this because I need it. I'm staying with my family. I'm staying home.
With a soft breath she put her pad of paper and pen away in her pocket, her heart flooded with a sense of overwhelming calm and clarity. There was no doubt anymore, it wasn't a question, it was the truth, and she wouldn't deny it for her friends or anyone else. She felt like a new chapter in her life was starting, and she was embracing it with the totality of her being.
I know this will hurt them… but I'm- Her thought's came to an abrupt and painful stop as her ankle nearly twisted, sending a wave of discomfort up through her leg as she caught herself before she could sustain any injury. Looking down at the ground, she found why; the soft earth of the forest had given way to uneven stone jutting up all over. Ruby's head slowly looked up, taking in the view of the new terrain, gasping in awe at the scene before her.
Volcanic rock had hardened and cooled long ago bathing the landscape in jagged stone with only a few paths passable, the pointed formations being crushed into more friendly terrain by massive and devastating ancient landslides. Towering over it all was a mountain, or more accurately, a large, dome like volcano that seemed to be long dormant with a trail cut up the side of the massive structure, the result of earthquakes shearing slabs of stone from the face of the mountain.
"Wow…" It was the first time in her life she felt the pure awe of nature's magnitude and grandeur. She was so small compared to it and the forces that shaped it were beyond anything a person could ever hope to achieve, no matter how powerful they were, they could never be as strong as nature. Her heart felt overcome with wonder and perspective, a sense of just how truly tiny she really was.
It was only the sudden blur of black in her periphery that snapped her mind back into focus, the flapping of wings as a dark bird took flight from its perch on a nearby jutting stone. Ruby's eyes followed it as it soared overhead, seeming to circle above them before flying away towards the volcano and then, as she followed its path, she found the wolf staring at her, watching her patiently, the wise and intuitive hunter giving Ruby her moment to take in the breadth of nature's grandeur.
Thank you. Ruby gave him a knowing and grateful nod before navigating the stones until she made her way to the path he was patiently waiting for her on. Once again, the wolf seemed to nod back, acknowledging her thanks before moving on, walking down the natural road towards the mountain with Ruby close behind.
The black bird cawed overhead as it soared through the cloudless sky, circling several times as it seemed to keep pace with them, following their trek up the mountain. Ruby couldn't help but envy the bird and its flight as their path took a very definite and steadily rising incline up the zigzagging trail. Even the wolf was finally but subtly showing signs of fatigue, his steps became less sure and strong, his pace slowed and his panting grew but still he was better off than the girl behind him who was struggling to merely stay upright.
Still, even through the pain and exhaustion and thirst Ruby kept moving, her teeth and fangs bared and her eyes burning with the fiercest determination as she struggled to keep up with him. She shut out the pain in her feet, overwhelming the suffering with conviction. It was just like when she climbed the tree the day before, her body and soul were being pushed to their limits, she was on the border of life and death as her dehydration grew more and more as she sweated out the precious water from her skin. Stopping would mean death, she couldn't turn around, she had to put her life in the wolf before her and have faith that he was leading her to water.
She was shaking, trembling from exhaustion and dehydration, probably hunger too. She felt like she was on the brink of death but with every step she defied it, both her body and her will that felt like they would give out. Her heart raced, flooding her body with something of magnitude to match the mountain they climbed, that same lust and love for life and living, the act of her existence a cry of defiance to death itself, it felt warm, it felt powerful like she was connected to the entire world, a perspective she could have never known. Being alive… nothing more, nothing less, that was the gift that filled her with such bliss and passion, drawing out a determined smile even through the pain that only served to tell her that she was still herself, she was still alive and she would survive, no matter what.
This is life, a struggle against death all the time. We're Vampires, we're immortal but we can still die, we can be killed, we can starve and die of thirst. Being out here, living like this, I've learned that living always comes at a cost to another life. If the wolf chose to eat me it would have been no different than me eating that deer. It's not just life, but water and even warmth, we need so much to live and experience things, but those things are worth the sacrifice of others, because that's what life is. Being here, halfway up this mountain without enough strength to turn back and without knowing if I have the strength to make it all the way up, I realized that I no matter what, I want to live and see what's next, I'll fight and struggle and do whatever it takes to take every step I can. I'll smile, I'll see the people I love, I'll suffer and fight and grow just like the wolf and I'll earn everything I gain by surviving.
The bird flew low, Ruby could hear its wing beats nearby, she could feel the wind generated by its flapping cool her sweat soaked face as it glided past the wolf who was standing still in the middle of the path, coming to perch atop a pile of rubble that was blocking the way. It watched Ruby as it preened itself, its beak grooming its feathers as she approached but its eye never faltering from the girl as she came to a stop beside her companion.
"Another landslide… this one's a lot newer." She caught her breath beside the wolf. His muscles were visibly shaking almost as much as hers and he was panting right alongside Ruby. A soft and frustrated whine left his throat as his eyes looked around, seemingly hoping for a way around though the narrow path was blocked. They were high up and the ground below was separated from them by a very steep and sudden drop off. The forest below was massive and stretched as far as the eye could see though from up high on the mountain the individual trees were so small she could barely discern the closest ones that immediately surrounded the towering structure.
"I'm not dying here." With a deep but shaky breath she felt her heart began to pound harder as adrenaline permeated her veins, her body pooling all of its remaining energy, drawing for stores of strength she had never tapped before as rose petals fluttered in the soft wind, falling down the side of the volcano. The wolf's ears twitched, sensing the change in her aura, smelling the strength and adrenaline mingling with the rose petals materializing from her body.
"You've taken me this far. Will you trust me to get us over this?" She stood only inches from the wolf, staring into its eyes, her own soft with compassion and reassurance but also overflowing with strength as she slowly reached her hand out, hesitating only for an instant, before laying it gently on his head.
His fur was so soft and his body was warm, her fingers sank into his coat between his ears and her eyes never broke from his. Rose petals now seemed to be materializing from both of their bodies, the crimson flowers drifting off as they materialized out of his fur, flowing in the wind alongside her own. The raven stopped preening and watched intently as the two shared their long stare into each other's eyes, exchanging something deep and meaningful that only the girl and the beast could understand.
"Thank you." She whispered those words softly to the wind and as the rose petals they shed swirled around them like a blizzard until she and the wolf were consumed in a blur of deep red. Even as the wolf felt Ruby's Semblance engulf him, her warm and tender touch never stopped reassuring him. So, as she had put her faith in him, so too did he with her, closing his big grey eyes. And putting himself in her hands.
The bird flew away an instant before the storm of petals launched up the side of the mountain, running along the steep face at breathtaking speed, bypassing the obstacle with ease. Ruby had never felt so light, her Semblance seemed stronger than ever, moving both her and the large wolf with ease she had never been able to achieve before even on herself. However… her strength was short lived.
The instant they hit the path on the other side Ruby felt her body give under the immense strain, her body thirsty, starving and exhausted unable to cope with the newfound strength of her aura sending a pain like lightning shooting through her nerves as her aura broke itself, collapsing under its own immensity while she used the last of her reserves to force them to a stop.
"Woof!" The wolf barked, his voice echoing loudly and frantically from up high as Ruby's body crumpled, dropping her bow and arrow while all her muscles giving out at once while her weight still carried the momentum of her Semblance sending her into a rapid tumble straight towards the edge of the cliff. A blur of black lunged forward, the wolf dived forward and his jaws snapping shut hard on the first thing he could grab. He felt her weight come to a sudden stop as it pulled at his teeth, her lower body dangling off the edge while her shoulder was clamped tight in the predator's jaws.
The dull and distant pain from her shoulder barely kept her above unconsciousness, even her adrenaline failed her, unable to summon any more bouts of strength even as she felt her legs dangling, only held up by the wolf's jaws. She felt her body pulled from the edge until her feet rested on solid stone and the teeth that held her retracted from her skin, blood trickling from the punctures.
I- I have to get up… I have to stand… Her arms shook in agonizing protect as she pulled them cross the stone, their weight alone being almost too much for them to lift. She could feel the wolf's tongue lapping up her blood, licking her wounds that he inflicted saving her life. Ruby was barely able to lift her upper body, her legs beyond the point of giving out, she couldn't feel anything from them except pain... No! No! I'm not dying here! I'm going to survive! I'm going to make it home!
Her heavy and labored gasps for breath stung her dry throat, as bad as the starvation of the day before was, the thirst was orders of magnitude worse. Her biceps burned like fire was pumping through her veins and all she wanted to do was close her eyes and give in. But I won't… He can't get back on his own, not with all that rubble in the way. If I die here, so will he. Just another reason that I… have to… get… up!
Her eyes that she didn't even realize she had close shot open and a new sensation, this one warm and tender but strong. Soft fur tickled her chest, neck and shoulders as the wolf lowered his head under her, supporting her weight with his strength. With a dry swallow Ruby calmed herself, relaxing her muscles letting them push her up as much as they could while the wolf raised his head, their combined strength getting her back up on her shaky legs.
"I- I'm sorry… I'm sorry I'm so weak." Ruby spoke between panting breaths, leaning heavily on the wolf's side, feeling his chest expand and contract with each breath he took. "I promise... I'll get you back down the mountain some how... and if I can't… eat me."
She was fading fast, her body felt like it was shutting down. Severe aura depletion coupled with exhaustion, thirst and hunger brought her weak body to its breaking point. Her vision dulled and darkened and sounds became more distant. Even the warmth of the wolf's body seemed to diminish as she faded out of consciousness. Her legs gave out and as the last vestiges of awareness faded, she could have swore she felt someone holding her.
"Take good care of her... please."
"M-Mom?" Tired eyes blinked blearily open, crimson and silver sparkling in the orange light of the setting sun as she stared out into the forest far, far below. At first, her senses and mind couldn't process what was happening, every muscle fiber in her body felt like it had been replaced with lead and her mind was weary and dulled but she could tell she was still somehow moving up the mountainside.
What's happening? Who was that? A dream? She tried to move but a sudden shift beneath her negated her movement and suddenly, she found out how she was still moving. Ruby's tiny, broken body had slept peacefully on the back of the giant wolf while he kept moving forward, keeping her safe.
The sun is setting. Pretty sure was it only mid afternoon when I passed out. Has he really carried me all this way? Despite her exhaustion, a small and weak smile pulled at her lips as she buried her face his his fur, feeling the powerful muscles working beneath it while his soft coat, warm and inviting enticed her back into sleep. "Thank you…"
A whine rumbled from his throat, his voice vibrating through his body and flowing into Ruby who rested on top of him. Her sleepy eyes blinked open and she felt them come to a steady stop, the wolf panting heavily as he gently laid himself down, giving his own legs a much needed rest. Getting the message, Ruby took a deep breath, bracing herself for impact on the hard stone below… and shifted her weight, rolling off the wolf that had carried her.
Her body landed with a dull impact on the flat and smooth rock leaving her laying on her back trying to catch her breath. The hours of rest had restored very little of her strength as she and the wolf lay on the ground panting together. However, a strangely cool flow of air washing over her from her side captured her exhausted attention as she weakly rolled her head over to see what it could be.
"A cave…" Ruby lay at the small mouth of a cave, barely big enough for her to fit in. Inside, light streamed in from a collapsed hole in the stone ceiling and that light reflected off of something that filled her body with renewed energy and desperation. She shot up, scrambling to her knees, staring with wide eyes into the cave as the warm orange rays of sun shimmered off a crystal clear pool in the middle of the hollowed out mountaintop. "Water!"
Her instincts took over as she crawled through the opening, her wounded shoulder scraping painfully against the jagged rock but even that didn't dissuade her. Her legs were still too weak to support her weight so she had to crawl, the tantalizing waters calling to her and her body and mind rejoicing even before she reached it.
Shakily she hunched over the pool, a spring that seeped up from the rocks, pure and clean and cool. She didn't hesitate, putting her face into the water, the cold instantly hitting her like a refreshing wave as she opened her mouth to imbibe the precious, life sustaining liquid. Her deep and frantic gulps echoed through the cave as she swallowed down what was without a doubt the best tasting water she had ever drank. Immediately she could feel her strength returning, dehydration staved off as she swallowed down more and and more, only finally stopping herself when she began to feel nauseous from drinking too fast. With the longest, most refreshed breath of relief she had ever given in her life she sat up, letting the water roll in drops down her chin and neck, cooling her down and carrying dirt and sweat from her skin.
I'm alive… I'm alive… Deep and satisfied breaths came with the most blissful smile. Something as simple as water that she always took for granted was suddenly the greatest blessing nature could bestow upon her for her resolve. Gently, she cupped her hands together, dipping them into the rippling spring, capturing as much water as she could before turning back to the entrance, seeing the wolf licking his lips impatiently at her.
"It's the least I could do." Her breaths steadied as she slowly and carefully made her way to the wolf, taking the greatest care to not spill even a drop.
"Here, I'll get you as much as you want." The small girl kneeled down in front of the large wolf, offering out her cupped hands over the threshold of the cave. She smiled so fondly and with such warmth as she felt the wolf's tongue splashed into the water, lapping it up thirstily from her hands. She didn't allow her hands to part until his tongue had licked clean every drop and his nose sniffed in her palms for more.
"We should stay together. I can help you, I won't slow you down again. I can help you hunt and I can build fires to keep us warm. You won't be a lone wolf… you don't have to be." Her weak arms fell limply to her side as she stared at the wolf expectantly and hopefully. After a long moment of staring into her eyes the wolf let out a long breath from his nose.
He stepped forward, just large body couldn't fit through the entrance but his head could, and it did. Ruby's eyes again widened in awe and happiness as she felt the wolf press his forehead against her own, there eyes only centimeters apart. She could feel it down to the core of her soul, in his touch and his eyes, it was obvious….
You're my familiar.