AN:This became much longer than expected. For any who are familiar with Dark souls I will be taking some liberties, not with the main game lore, going to leave that mostly alone, but the lore outside of it. Basically who your character was before they became the Ashen One. Expect a lot of world building on top of the dark souls lore. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Chapter 2: Ash Seeketh Embers

All Ruby could feel was the deep cold surrounding her as it sucked the heat from her body. She could not hear nor see anything. She was not surrounded by darkness devoid of light but, rather, a void where nothing existed.

Nothing except for her. Was this death, the afterlife?

She heard it was supposed to be a wonderful place, free from the Grimm and where the moon was whole. The better place where her mom should be, waiting for her— even though she's couple of decades early. It's what her dad told her. Did he lie?

Maybe the Grimm found and ate her body. Was this what happens to you when a Grimm eats you? Was she now trapped in a Grimm's belly forever? Was her mom trapped in one too? She did not want this. She did not want to be... where here was anymore. She felt so lonely here, and the absolute cold was suffocating.

Ruby clutched tighter the embers that were herself as the cold sunk its claws deeper into her being. It threatened to rip what was left of her apart and snuff her out like a candle light. Suddenly, a wave of calming heat washed over Ruby, driving away the unnatural cold.

It felt as if she was being bathed in fire. While it felt hot, it did not burn her in any way. The heat faded away until it was but a pleasant warmth that wrapped around her like a warm blanket. This warmth reminded her of the times she would sit on her mom's lap as she read her bedtime stories.

It was this same warm feeling that made her feel so loved. She could not help but bask in it. The void around her faded away to reveal a more familiar darkness. The heat that surrounded her shifted to bathe her front, leaving her back bare to the cold air. She could hear the crackling of a fire that reminded her of home. Ruby let out a sigh as she tried to snuggle deeper into her bed. Instead of her soft mattress and sheets, however, all she could feel was a solid, unyielding surface beneath her face.

Wait, was she not supposed to be dead?

Ruby realized that she was now aware of the world around her and that she could actually feel herself. She was not lying in bed; rather, she was upright and leaning on something. She could feel the heat from what she assumed was a campfire, along with the rest of her body. She felt stiff all over with a large numb spot on the top of her head.

She opened her eyes only to wince as the light of a campfire assaulted them. She glanced around and saw she was in a small clearing inside the forest.

"Awake now, I see."

Ruby yelped and flinched away from the sudden voice next to her, only to find herself held in place by what looked to be a steel gauntlet. As she gazed upon its owner, her eyes widened in surprised as she had expected... well, pretty much anything but certainly not this. All she knew was that the next time she saw her dad, she was going to demand he tell her the truth about the fact that her mother was secretly a queen, which made her a princess, because how else could she explain this.

Ruby had read stories about them, or rather, her mother had read the stories to her, but she never thought even once that an actual knight in shining armor would rescue her.

Ok, maybe not shining, but he was wearing actual knight armor. He was covered head to toe in solid metal armor with a helmet that concealed his face. His armor was filthy, though. There must not have been a single inch of metal that was not scratched or covered in dirt. The cape behind him was in tatters, as was the cloth that went down the front of his chest. The emblem on it had long faded away; the cloth was punctured with holes where the threads had disintegrated and pulled apart, leaving the icon indiscernible.

"Is something the matter, little one?" The stranger's voice startled her once again. "You had quite the head wound. I pray it has not impaired you in any way."

Ruby reflexively reached for the top of her head where she could still feel a large, numb spot above her forehead. It was the same sensation she could recall getting whenever one of her legs fell asleep. She was about to thank him when something he said registered with her. Instead, she crossed her arms and pouted at the knight, while muttering under her breath.

The knight titled his head with a soft clink as he stared down at the small girl before him. "What was that?"

"I said I'm not small," Ruby stated, hands on her hips. "I'm almost seven."

The knight stared at her for a long moment... before his shoulders shook with unrestrained laughter. He ignored the glare that she was sending him for, what she was no doubt assuming, mocking her.

"Forgive my assumption then, my lady." He reached out and brushed apart Ruby's hair. Other than a flinch from the cold feel of his gauntlet, she did not react as she stared at him with curiosity. There was no trace of the gash that had marred her scalp, not even a scar. She was lucky he had awakened when he did. She would have bled out otherwise. The miracles of healing are powerful things but not always absolute. "You did not answer my question, though. Are you alright?"

Ruby nodded her head. "I am. Thank you. For saving me." She shuffled nervously as she worked up the courage to ask the question on her mind. She didn't want to be rude. "Um... who are you?"

"I am, but a humble knight, little one."

She glared at him for the little comment again, though there was no heat behind it. He saved her life, so she would let it slide... but only this time.

"Tell me, how does one as young as yourself end up in the forest after dark? And in such a woeful condition too."

Ruby's face flushed red with shame as she remembered how and why she was in this situation. "I was stupid."

"I figured as much." The knight chuckled at her indignant squawk. "Regardless how old you claim to be, you are still a child roaming the forest after dark with no sign of there being anyone else who would, should, have accompanied you in such a trek. Your injury is not one received by marauders or bandits, much else from any of beasts that roam this forest, neither of whom would have left you alive. Considering we are sitting at the base of a cliff where I found you, I can make a guess as to the how. All that remains is the why."

He paused to glance around the clearing to ensure that none of the monsters that lay claim to this forest were trying to sneak up on their small camp site. The wolf shaped shadow was a bit of a surprise but nothing he had not dealt with before. It proved to be much more fragile than he expected for its size. Then again, he had not expected much from a simple beast. It was nothing like the countless foes he had faced during the fading Age of Fire.

When he glanced back to the girl, he found that she had buried her face in her knees that she clutched to her chest; no doubt thinking of how reckless this endeavor of hers was. He did not take any pleasure from her distress, but she needed to understand how dangerous this was for her regardless of her reasons. After a few moments of silence, he realized she would not be giving him any sort of response without a little prodding.

"Were you chased off the cliff?" A nod. "And why were you there? Were you driven from your home?" A small shake of the head. "Hmm... run away from home? A fight with your family?" Another shake of the head. The girl pulled her face from her knees to gaze into the fire. As he watched her eyes, the answer dawned on him. How many times had he seen the same pained, longing, look on another's face? How many times had he carried, no doubt, that same look? "You lost someone important to you," he said. "Hmm… you were visiting their grave."

Ruby couldn't help but nod. She knew she probably should not be speaking to a stranger about such personal things, but he had saved her. Now that she had time for all the events to catch up to her, she found the ache in her chest had transformed into a fresh pain almost as bad.

This night was not supposed to end up like this.

The words came tumbling out beyond her control.

"Whenever I had bad dreams, my mom would have me sit in her lap while she read me bedtime stories. She always promised me the nightmares wouldn't come back, and if I had new ones, she would keep chasing them away until I never had another one." Ruby struggled to control the hitch in her voice as she could feel tears bubbling up. "I just wanted to talk to her. I just wanted to hear her tell me that it would be ok. That everything would be better in the morning—that the nightmares would stop. I want to hear her say 'I'm home.' I want my mom back." She managed to hold back her tears, but not her sniffles.

"I understand your pain all too well."

Ruby turned to stare at the knight, though she found his form was suddenly blurry. She couldn't see his face, but she could hear and feel the sadness in his voice. It reminded her of her dad when it happened.

"Losing a loved one is never easy, child, no matter how old you get." He let out a despondent sigh as he stared up at the sky. "I can no longer remember my own parents—not even their names." Ruby couldn't help, but blink in disbelief. "I do not know when it happened. Just, one day, I realized I could not remember them along with most of my childhood. My family has always been those I adopted or have been adopted by. I have had so many that I doubt I could count them all." His shoulders shook with mirthless laughter. "But as you can see..." He spread his arms out, gesturing to the space around him. He didn't need to say anything else.

"I'm so sorry," Ruby whispered.

"What for? There is nothing for you to apologize for. It all happened long ago, and I made peace with it," he sighed. "It does not mean it hurts any less or that the pain goes away." He rested a hand on her head. Though the metal of his gauntlet was cold, she could feel a kind of warmth emitting from within. She didn't need to see past his helmet to know he was looking into her eyes, into her. "It does not mean it is not okay to cry."

Suddenly, the tears that Ruby had been holding back came pouring forth as she latched onto the stranger beside her. She did not care she was covering herself with the dirt and ash that coated his armor, that she would be filthy when she was finished. Right now, all she wanted to do was let all the pain that she had been storing out. She tried to be strong like her older sister, Yang, but it was hard. She knew how hard her dad was still struggling to hold himself together, how hard her sister worked to look after the both of them.

She wanted to be strong and make the pain go away, but it never did. It just kept building up, until she broke down. No matter what her dad or sister said, she still felt bad every time she broke down around them. It was hard on all of them.

She just wanted to be strong like her mom was—strong enough to make the pain go away.

Throughout it all, the knight did not say a word. He held her close as she emptied her tears. Sometimes, it was better to let out all the pain and frustration, rather than try to smother it. He would let her take all the time she needed. After all, it was the one thing that he had an infinite amount of.

Eventually, Ruby's sobs calmed down and she was able to extract herself from the knight's side. She tried to wipe away her tears, only to find herself smearing dirt on her face. She gave up with a frustrated sigh and gave the knight an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about that."

"Child." Ruby found herself surprised and startled by the weight and firmness behind his voice, more so when he reached out and took one of her hands in his. "I want you to make a promise, not just to me, but to yourself, your family, and anyone you come to care for in the future. Can you do this for me?" She nodded. "Never apologize for mourning someone; I want you to promise this. Those tears are the only undisputed truth we have to ourselves that prove how much we cared for those lost. You must never feel ashamed to shed those tears. That is a right no one can take from you. Understand?" Ruby found herself unable to speak, so she vigorously nodded instead.

"Good." With a sigh, the knight stood up and Ruby found herself surprised by how tall he really was. He had to be taller than dad!

"There is a natural path carved along the cliff face that climbs to the top. It is a bit steep, and it comes up not too far from where you must have fallen from. Now that the sun has cleared the horizon, we have enough light to navigate the forest safely."

Wait. What?

For the first time since she had awakened, Ruby looked to the sky and found that he was right. Instead of finding the star-filled midnight sky above her head, she found the light blue morning sky dashed with streaks of yellow light. She was unconscious during the entire night. It was morning. Her dad would wake up any minute now, if he had not already. She was so dead.

"My dad's going to kill me."

"As would be his right to."

Ruby pouted as she glared back at the knight. Wasn't he supposed to be helping her? Instead of cowering in front of her from her "intimidating" glare, he chuckled at her. How was Yang able to do it so well?

"Consider any punishment he deals you well deserved compared to how much worry he will go through when he discovers your bed empty." Ruby couldn't help but deflate at that. "Come let us get going before your family scours..."

She tilted her head as he trailed off. "What's—"

He raised a hand, cutting her off. "I hear something."

Ruby closed her eyes and tried to focus her hearing. It was faint, but she could hear something coming from above them. Multiple somethings in fact. Was that barking?

"Ruby? Ruby!"

"It's my dad!" She could also hear her sister. They must be using Zwei to follow her scent. She dashed towards the base of the cliff. Just like he said, there was a path going back up top. She turned around to find that the knight had not moved from his spot.

"Aren't you coming?"

"No."

Ruby blinked in surprise. "Why not?"

He looked away. "It is better this way."

"What do you mean?"

The knight let out an audible sigh. It made Ruby wonder just how old he was because of how tired, how exhausted he sounded. It reminded her of Uncle Qrow, in a way.

"I do not do well with company. I am used to being alone. In fact, I prefer it." He walked past her and took a spot, leaning on the wall. "Do not worry about having to give me any thanks. I did as my duty asked of me."

Ruby opened her mouth to argue, only to be cut off as the shouting started coming from directly above them. The knight rapped the back of his hand along the wall next to him, startling Ruby with the sudden noise.

"You should get going. Your family has worried enough."

Ruby hesitated, "Will I get to see you again?"

"Maybe. Now go." He sent her off with a wave of his hand.

She wanted to stay to convince him to come with her to meet her dad. No doubt, he would want to thank the man who saved her life. As much as she wanted to, she knew she had to get going before her dad and sister ran off elsewhere, looking for her. She did not have time to argue—not as if she would win anyway. She recognized the finality in his voice. Her dad used the same tone when he refused to budge on any subject.

Ruby began her trek back up the cliff as fast as she could. He was not kidding about the path being steep; she was leaning forward so much that she was almost kissing the ground.

Finally, she managed to clear the top. Not far from her, she could see her father and sister standing in front of her mother's grave as Zwei ran in circles, sniffing the ground.

"Come on, Zwei. You can do it. Her scent can't just end here."

"Dad! Yang! Zwei!" Ruby shouted, waving her hands as she ran towards her family. All three looked at her, surprised.

"Ruby!"

Ruby only got a couple of feet before her dad swept her up in a hug.

"Oh gods, Ruby! We were so worried about you. We thought something had happened to you." Her father, Taiyang, pulled her away enough so he could rest his forehead against hers. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"Yeah, Rubes," her sister, Yang, piped up. "This was not funny at all."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It's alright now," her dad reassured her. He set her down where her sister immediately pulled her into a hug, and after a moment, she pulled away.

"Geez, sis. What happened to you? You're filthy." Yang's eyes roamed over Ruby's form where they caught on a discoloration around the collar of her shirt. Her shirt was solid black, but the stain had a faint red tint to it. Yang wasn't the only one who saw it; her dad had also noticed, but was praying to the brothers that he was just seeing things. Ironically, both noticed at the same time how metallic the air around Ruby smelled and how the dirt smeared on her face had a reddish hue to it. Ruby glanced nervously between the two as she watched them pale.

"Ruby," her dad croaked, "is that blood on you?"

Ruby braced herself for the imminent storm as she nodded hesitantly. On cue, she found herself buried under a flurry of questions as her sister and father tried to examine every inch of her for injury. Even Zwei was running around her feet, trying to sniff anything out. It took some effort, but Ruby managed to break free, waving their hands away.

"Guys, I'm fine."

"Yeah… You see, we would be more inclined to believe you if you weren't such a mess right now." A new voice spoke up beside them. Ruby was surprised to see that her Uncle Qrow had joined them. She never noticed him approach. "I come home to find the house empty and now I find everyone out here. So, favorite niece of mine, wanna tells us what happened?"

"Nothing! Nothing happened," Ruby denied, shaking her head. "I'm fine, I swear."

Three flat looks stared back at her. Her dad sighed, before putting his hands on her shoulders, kneeling so they were eye level.

"Ruby, what happened? And don't lie to us, alright? Why were you out there, all alone?" The three watched as Ruby wilted under their combined gaze.

"I-I had a nightmare," she started. "I don't remember what it was about, but it hurt. A lot. I thought if I came and talked to mom, it would make all the pain go away. You told us the other day that you cleared the Grimm out, so I thought it'd be safe."

"Oh, Ruby."

Ruby found herself engulfed in another hug by her dad and sister. Zwei was doing his best to snuggle her. She was surprised when she glanced over her dad's shoulder and saw her uncle take out his flask.

"That's understandable, but there's one thing I want to be certain of. This happened this morning, right?" There was an almost pleading tone to his voice. Ruby could feel her dad and sister stiffen around her.

"Um... last night?"

Qrow's response was to chug most of his flask. Ruby squeaked as she felt her dad and sister tighten their grasps around her. Zwei whined in concern.

"Right. So, you spent the entire night out here. Alright. That's not good, but that's all that happened, right?"

"There was a Beowolf." Three sharp inhales. "It scared me, and I... um..." Ruby managed to pull an arm free to point at the cliff edge. "Fell."

Ruby winced as their grips became tighter. Qrow finished the rest of his flask off.

When her dad and sister pulled back to look at her, they wore matching looks of fear and worry. One that her uncle matched as he knelt beside them. They looked at her as if she would disappear the second they glanced away.

The knight was right. She should not have made them worry like this. After losing mom, could they even handle it if something happened to her? They already looked so close to breaking down.

"R-Ruby. Are you sure you are ok?"

"I'm fine now, dad."

"You sure, sis? You do not have to lie. You did falloff a cliff."

"I swear I'm fine. He saved me."

The three pairs of eyes narrowed at her response. "And who's he?"

Ruby opened her mouth to respond, only to close it as she realized she had never asked for his name, much less give him her own. Her face flushed red with embarrassment. "I didn't get his name?"

"Then, what did he look like?" There was an edge to her uncle's voice, but she couldn't quite place it.

"He looked like a knight."

"Rubes, I know you aren't the best with people, but you're—"

"He did, though. He was wearing a suit of armor and everything. He looked just like the ones in the storybooks mom used to read to me. He didn't take his helmet off, so I never saw his face."

Her uncle and dad shared a look. "You ever heard of a huntsman like that, Tai?"

"I know a few who use light armor, but no one who apparently wears full plate-mail."

"Wait, wait," her sister interrupted. "If this guy saved you, then where is he?"

"He... um... he didn't want to come." Ruby smiled nervously at the three surprised looks in front of her.

"Wait. So, this guy saves you, but then makes you walk back home alone?" Her sister's eyes flashed red for moment. "Who does that?"

"Yang, calm down."

"Sorry, Tai, but I'm gonna have to agree with Yang on this one."

"He didn't leave me alone!" Ruby defended. "He only sent me up here once he heard you guys were close."

"Wait. So, this guy's nearby?"

"Yeah! I left him at the bottom of the cliff." Ruby dashed back to the edge pointing down, practically giving the four watching her near heart attacks in the process. "There's a path that goes down over here."

"So, Tai. How about we go give the mystery hero our thanks."

"Sounds like a plan." Tai plucked Ruby from the ground, setting her on his side.

"Dad, I can walk," she pouted, but he ignored it the same way she was ignoring the snickers from Yang. "You don't have to carry me."

"Oh, yes I do," he chuckled. "After what you've pulled, I'm not letting you out of my sight. Let's not forget about the grounding you're going to get when we get back home."

Ruby paled as her family gave her smug smiles. Her uncle led the way down with Yang between them and Zwei following behind. She had not noticed it when she was making her way up, but the cliff curved. It was why she was not immediately able to see the spot where they sat by the campfire. When it popped into view a short moment after, she was surprised to see it empty.

"So, where's your friend?" Qrow asked as he glanced around.

"Yeah! I wanted to meet your shiny heroic knight," Yang stated.

"Looks like he left. I wonder why, though."

"Could be for a lot of reasons, Tai. Some—" Everyone stared at Qrow as he cut off. He had been staring at something on the ground, before he tried chugging his flask once more, forgetting that it was empty.

"What's the matter with you, Qrow? What are you looking... at..." Tai trailed off as he stepped up next to Qrow, and stared at the spot that he had noticed. Ruby felt her breath catch. She absently noticed her sister reaching up to clasp her hand, unable to tear her eyes away from the sight before her.

That was a lot of blood. After all, what else could the dried stain on the ground be? It also helped that an ashy white had bleached the ground here, or maybe it didn't. There had to be enough for at least three whole Rubys. For the first time since she woke up, Ruby questioned just how in Grimm was she alive.

"Qrow... tell me that's not what I think it is."

"Hate to break it to you, but it is."

Tai pulled Ruby close for a tight embrace as he planted a kiss on her forehead. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Well, at least now I can make a good guess as to why our mysterious huntsman ran off."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to be the one to say it, but Ruby should not be alive. From the size of this stain, she lost a lot of blood. For a grown adult like us, we would be able to survive, but a child Ruby's size? Need I say it?"

Everyone was silent as Qrow's words settled on them.

"So, how then?"

"Same reason he probably ran off. His Semblance."

"He has a healing Semblance."

"But wait," Yang cut in, "isn't that like, a good thing? I mean, he saved Ruby's life, so why would he run away?"

"Simple, Firecracker. You know how Semblances can be any sort of ability with varying degrees of potency." Yang nodded. "Well, the biggest issue is that there is no sure-fire way to know what your Semblance will be. As far as we know, it's pretty much random."

"With a few exceptions," Tai added.

"Which means that when you factor all of this together, some Semblances are going to be sought after for their utility outside of huntsman-related work. A healing Semblance is the most sought after, so you can kiss any chance of living a peaceful life goodbye. Hospitals, various corporations, militaries, private individuals, and even criminals will all be asking or threatening you to come work for them, which is why most who get one such Semblance, hide it."

"But-But it's not like we would tell anyone if he didn't want us to. We can keep a secret."

"Of course we can, Rubes, but it's not like he knows that. Probably had some bad experience that's left him paranoid."

"I didn't tell him goodbye."

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'll ask the professors at Signal, see if anyone knows him. Qrow?"

"Heh, sure. I'll ask around. If he really is dressed up like a knight, then he's going to stick out like a sore thumb. No doubt, someone had seen him, but that's a problem for tomorrow. For now, let's get you guys back home."

"Okay." Ruby rested her head on her dad's shoulder as they began the trek back home. She was bit upset that she didn't get to say goodbye, but with her dad and uncle looking for him, she would, no doubt, see him again.

"Now, let's talk about how long you're going to be grounded for, missy."

Was it too late to fall unconscious again?

AN:I try to keep detail down to what is important and needed to paint the scene without getting too carried away. I am trying to write from a 3rd person perspective based on what characters are currently being shadowed. There is going to be a bit of unreliable narrator based on which character is being followed. So if it seems as details brought up under one character, but missed under another, its not a mistake, but intentional. So don't be surprised if you have to do some reading between the lines from time to time.