Here's Arcanum! To those asking why it takes so long for this to upload… well, for one) two weeks isn't long. Back in my day (Grandpa Coeur moment) if I found a fic I liked, I could end up waiting six months for the bugger to upload, if it did at all! You whipper snappers don't know how good you got it.

Ahem. But the main reason this is every two weeks is because that is what my Tuesday slots are for. When another story finishes, Arcanum will be moved to that story's slot and become weekly. That could take a while, though.

Chapter 7

Ruby woke up with the taste of death in her mouth, rolled out of bed and thudded onto the floor. She was about to whisper for Yang, only to feel the soft rug under her face and recall she was in the Collegium. On a bed nearby, rolled over and wanting nothing to do with her, Weiss slept.

There were towels on the floor covering splotches of yesterday's dinner.

A rumble in her gut told her she was still not her best. Ruby clutched herself and moaned weakly, eyes flickering about in the low light of early dawn. Where was a chamber pot when you needed one? Not under the bed where it should be, that was where! Gritting her teeth, she crawled over to Weiss' bed, ignoring all warnings never to trespass, and rummaged around under there as well. Nothing.

Her eyes fixed on the door leading to the washroom.

The cool tiles of the washroom were refreshing, especially as she crawled across them dragging her face on the floor like a worm. The bath was out, and she wasn't about to figure out how to carry that downstairs. There still wasn't a chamber pot to see, but there was a privy made of some white pottery-like material. The problem was that it didn't have a hole in the bottom to take anything away. It was just a bucket.

Ruby's stomach roiled. There was no time to waste.

"Uwagh…"

/-/

There was nothing like getting sick out of your system to feel better. Next to that, a wash in the river was just what the herbalist ordered. Tugging her robes over her head and leaving herself in a cream blouse and brown hose, she waded into the river, shivering in delight when the icy water splashed over and chilled her to the bone. Compared to the nausea that had been threatening her the night before, the shock was a welcome one.

Ducking under the water, she soaked and ran her fingers through her hair, coming back up and shaking it off, already feeling better than she had.

"Man, I told you someone was dipping in the river."

Ruby's head perked up as she heard the voice and looked to the riverbank. Guards, was her first thought, except that it wasn't perfectly accurate. The two boys wore the uniform and leather armour of the Collegium Guards, but they lacked the tabards, wore no helmets and were unarmed. They were also young, very young and not even sporting hair on their chins.

"Nice day for a swim, eh?" The one who spoke was a faunus with blond hair and a tail swinging behind him. He had a smile full of teeth that was, for once, not meant for her in a sinister manner. If anything, he seemed friendly. Ruby was instantly suspicious.

No, wait. They think I'm an Arcanist now. They think I'm a noble or something.

"I thought it was just us newbloods who had to wake up at the crack of dawn. Looks like there's an initiate taking after us." He wiped a theatrical tear from his eye. "I'm so proud to have inspired the next generation of Arcanists."

"Don't be an idiot," the other – also blonde, but human and rather nervous-looking – said, elbowing his friend in the side. He also looked friendly, though less confident about it. "Sorry about that. We're up early for morning training and this guy thought he saw someone in the river. We wanted to make sure no one was drowning and-" He cut off with a choke. "Sun! What are you doing!?"

"What?" the faunus, Sun apparently, had already removed his leather cuirass and was now pulling his burgundy tunic up over his head. Ruby couldn't help but notice his abs and think Yang would have liked to be where she was at that moment. "Still an hour until training. This guy has the right idea."

So saying, the faunus tossed his tunic aside, kicked off his boots and dove into the water in just his breeches. He made a loud splash and cut through the current, coming back up on his back and spitting out crystal clear water.

"Damn, that's cold!" he laughed. "Come on, Jaune. It feels great."

The other boy looked around nervously. There was no one around at the early hour – only the guards on the gates and walls, and she'd chosen her spot away from those. The initiates in the dorms were all fast asleep. After a few seconds realising that, he shrugged and followed the example of Sun, undressed down to his underclothes and walking into the water a little more gingerly.

"Ayeee," Sun cheered. "That's the spirit. Feels good, yeah?"

"Would feel better after training," the boy replied, though not without a smile. "Cold water on sore muscles. Still, you're right. This is nice." His eyes flicked over to Ruby. "Still a little surprised to see an Arcanist up at this hour, though. Your guys lessons aren't until nine, right?"

Ruby nodded.

"Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves." The boy stepped a little closer. "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc. This is my friend Sun Wukong. We're both newbloods in the Collegium Guard."

"Can't believe they still call us newbloods," Sun said defensively, earning a roll of the eyes from his friend. "We've been training two years now. Why aren't we oldbloods? Middlebloods? I hate being lumped in with the new kids."

"You can complain to Lieutenant-Commander Winchester if you like."

"Eh. No thanks. I'd rather not be running laps around the Collegium until my legs fall off." Sun laughed it off and looked at her. "What about you?" he asked. "What's your name?"

"Ruby."

"Ruby?" Jaune tested the name. "That's… an interesting name."

Sun snorted. "What he means is it's a girl's name."

"Well, yeah." Ruby rolled her eyes, standing up, grabbing her blouse and squeezing it to make some of the water drain out. That also had the effect of showing some of her stomach and making her blouse tighten, showing off the barest hint of curves to her chest.

It also made the very wet and very much see-through material cling to her chest. She hadn't worn any underclothes or bindings since she knew she was going to get wet.

"I am a girl."

Jaune and Sun choked. They spun with loud splashes, babbling words she could barely understand. It was all too loud and high-pitched. Ruby stared at their bare backs, confused. Eventually, their ranting became more understandable, mostly when Jaune cried out. "You're a girl!?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes. It wasn't that hard to figure out. "Why are you both looking away?"

"B-Because you're a girl!" Sun said. "Because you're naked."

Naked? Ruby looked down at herself. Leather hose and a blouse. Her feet were bare, and sure, she'd heard some really weird bards talk about poetry around a woman's ankles, but she hadn't taken that seriously. Her feet were underwater, too.

"No, I'm not."

"W-Well, not naked," Sun amended. "But your blouse has gone all see-through."

"And what, you've never seen someone's chest before?"

"J-Just put some clothes on," Jaune begged. "Please."

Ruby sighed but did as asked, being done with her bath anyway. She didn't see what they were so worked up about herself, people bathed in the river all the time down in the slums and it wasn't like you could expect to find a spot alone. She'd washed in front of guys, girls, children, adults and the elderly since she was young. It was just a thing you did. Sometimes, it was too much trouble to haul water back and heat it up, especially when that meant walking through the slums with your hands occupied. It was asking to be mugged.

Padding up onto the grassy bank, Ruby peeled her wet top off and let it fall with a splat on the grass, then pulled her robes up over her body, letting them fall to her feet before reaching under and pushing her soaked hose down as well.

"I'm dressed." she called, sitting down on the bank to dry off.

The two boys turned. Their eyes fell on her, looking at her grey-robed form with pale feet poking out the bottom, then her wet clothes nearby. Jaune went red and looked away – which was weird again. Yes, she knew what sex was, but she was about as covered as you could get, and in a thick grey robe no less.

"You're naked under there. Aren't you?"

"Yep." Ruby shrugged, not seeing the problem. "Isn't everyone naked under their clothes?"

"Y-Yes, but… I just… argh." Jaune dipped down to hide his red face in the water, keeping his nose and eyes above. He mumbled something that came out as bubbles on the surface. His friend, Sun, was a little more in control, though also a little red.

"You're a confidant one, aren't ya? Not many would skinny dip right outside the dorms."

"I needed a wash."

"Why not use the bath?"

Because it didn't make sense! Because it couldn't be carried downstairs to fill with water, there was no room for a fire to be lit to heat it up and because she wasn't going to fill and empty it glass by class.

Also, the washroom smelled of vomit.

"I prefer the outdoors."

"Yeah, I get you there. Come on, Jaune, man up. She's fine, we're fine. Stop looking like a tomato." Sun waded over to his friend and hauled him up. "Not like she's going to tell on us and get us in trouble, right?"

The last bit was aimed at her, she was sure. Ruby shrugged, unsure what they'd get into trouble for, let alone why she'd be the one to rat on them. She could count the number of times she'd told a guard about a crime on no hands.

You didn't snitch in the slums and get away with it.

"I won't tell."

"See? She's good. We're good." Sun turned to her. "You might want to be careful about swimming in the river in future, though. Some of the people here are pretty old-fashioned and wouldn't like the idea of a girl being so undressed around us guys."

Oh, goodie. Those types. Ruby knew them, a few living on the farms outside the walls. They'd given her grief in the past for wearing trousers and not a dress. Usually accompanied with shouts of how she'd `never find a man and settle down` if she acted like that.

"I'll be fine," she said. "Besides, no one wakes up this early."

"Guards do," Sun pointed out.

"No, they don't. The next change of shift is in two hours, so I have an hour before anyone walks this way."

Sun and Jaune stared at her.

"You, uh, know the guard shifts already?" Jaune asked. "That's kind of impressive. And worrying."

"It was to let me have a swim without them seeing," she lied.

"Ah. That makes sense. We'll not tell if you don't tell."

Finally, something she understood. Mutual lying and covering one another for the benefit of all. Ruby smiled happily and nodded, making a gesture with her hand that they probably didn't understand, but which in the slums meant a universal agreement. "No one will find out from me," she said, putting it to words. "You two are guards, then?"

"In training." Sun slapped a hand to Jaune's chest. "It's a long-term kind of thing becoming a Collegium guard."

"Does that mean you can go outside the walls?"

"Yep!" Sun said it proudly, standing tall with hands on his hips. "We've been here two years now – starting our third soon. We can take leave outside the walls and even be sent on missions now. We're strong enough for it."

So, the guards could leave at will as long as they'd been at the Collegium a while. That was good to know. Sun and Jaune could be useful for her to get out and find Yang. The sun was rising, though, and she could hear some noise over by the older initiate's dorm. They'd be up and about soon.

"I should go." She stood and picked up her wet clothes. "Where can I find you to talk?"

"Eh? You want to?" Jaune sounded surprised.

Sun grinned and slapped his chest.

"O-Oh, right." Jaune flushed. "Well, we hang around the barracks most of the day. We train early morning and a lot of initiates come to watch that. You could always talk to us after. Other than that, we have free time in the evenings."

"You wanna give her your timetable and life history as well?" Sun teased.

Jaune's face burned with colour and he punched Sun in the arm. Ruby laughed. In a way, they reminded her of home. They were nowhere near as crass as Yang and the Malachites could be, but compared to prissy Arcanists like Weiss, they were downright dirty. She liked it. At the very least, they weren't nobles. That instantly made them easier to get along with.

Saying her goodbyes, she padded back to the dorms and snuck inside. A few people were up, but they didn't pay any attention to her. With her robes covering her from shoulder to her toes, they couldn't even tell what she was or wasn't wearing underneath. Really don't see what those two were so worked up about. They even said I looked like a boy, so it's not like they saw anything.

By the time she reached her and Weiss' shared room, Weiss was awake.

And angry.

"You left sick in the bowl!" she howled, shaking Ruby by her shoulders.

"M-M-Morning, Weiss."

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

"It's morning? You're Weiss? I was trying to be polite."

"Not the-" Weiss snarled like a wild animal. "The washroom! The vomit! Why!?"

"I couldn't throw it out the window." The choking sound Weiss made warned her she might have said something wrong. "And I didn't know what to do with it. I figured a servant would come and clean it up later."

It seemed like something nobles would have those poor bastards do. Alongside feeding them, wiping their behinds and otherwise bowing and scraping to their every demand. Not that she'd ever seen a servant or a noble before the Collegium, but it was just one of those things you knew.

"Why didn't you spell it away!?"

Ahah! So, it was magic! "I don't know the spell."

"You… you…" Snarling again, Weiss grabbed Ruby by her robe and dragged her into the washroom, pushing her up against the wall by the privy and pointing down at it. It was empty, clean and, to Ruby's surprise, smelling rather fresh. "Watch," Weiss snapped. "Imagine this bowl is full right now. Once it is, you touch this-" Weiss pressed her hand to a silvery stud on the top, "-and the enchantment senses your body heat. It then causes anything in the bowl to be transported away."

There was a rush of water and fresh air in the bowl, like a miniature whirlpool appearing from nowhere. It vanished a moment later, leaving the bowl clean. Suddenly, there was a rush of clean air that followed, before that ended as well.

"Whoah…"

"Whoah? Whoah!? Did they not have basic sanitary spells in Menagerie!?"

"I didn't actually get to go to Menagerie," Ruby reminded her, falling back on what she quickly realised was going to become a recurring excuse. "Maybe they did, but I never got to see one. So this gets rid of pee and poop as well?"

"Yes." Weiss had the horrified expression of a woman who just realised her roommate didn't know this but knew she must have relieved herself sometime in the last twenty-four hours. "Don't tell me," Weiss snapped, eyes closed. "I don't want to know. And we must be up soon. We have breakfast in half an hour and our first lessons in two. At least you're not lazily sleeping in. That's one good trait, at least."

"Breakfast?" Ruby's eyes lit up.

"Just greedy." Weiss shook her head and stormed out the washroom. "I can't believe you're excited for food after you ate to the point of throwing up. Couldn't you show at least a little poise? I have a reputation to maintain and you're going to ruin it!"

"You don't have to spend time with me," Ruby pointed out, stepping from the washroom and into the bedroom area. She peeled her damp robes off, ignoring Weiss' presence. The girl spun on her heel, giving her space with wide eyes. She ignored her, picking out some fresh underclothes and a dry robe. "You can go spend time with your other friends."

"T-That would not be fair; to leave you on your own, that is. You are new to Vale and as one of the ruling elite it is my responsibility to help you get used to life here." Weiss shuffled. "Are you decent?"

"I'm dressed if that's what you mean."

"Good." Weiss turned, breathing a sigh of relief when Ruby was indeed in full uniform, a grey initiate robe over a blouse and some hose, with flat shoes and her Arcanum pinned to her breast. Weiss' was the same, though her Arcanum was the one of Vale. "Today will be out first lessons," she said, a little excitement creeping in. "I cannot wait to see what mysteries will be laid before us."

"Hm. Me too."

That, at least, they could agree on. Weiss smiled tentatively at her.

Ruby's stomach grumbled. "But can we solve the mystery of whether we get food first?"

"Glutton! Pig! I can't believe you!"

/-/

Their first lesson. Ruby would have skipped into the room if she wasn't so full. Instead, she crept in at the back of their pack, led once more by their Warden, Coco Adel. She'd been chatty since the moment she collected them, telling them once more that she or Yatsuhashi would be taking them to their lessons until they got a grasp for the timetable and layout of the school building.

School. Classes. The very concept was still mindboggling. This would be the first time she'd ever attended something like this. Yang had taught her everything she knew, and Summer taught Yang. What they didn't know, someone would show them how to do if they did something for them in kind. Favour for favour, payment for knowledge. Yang had learned how to sew by defending a seamstress and pricking her fingers until they bled. She'd then taught Ruby in the same manner, until both of them were bloody and annoyed but able to sew up their own clothes.

The idea that people would be taught for nothing was kind of strange. Knowledge was expensive, wasn't it? A craftsman didn't want to pass that on to anyone other than their apprentice, because that person might then open a shop in competition. Most craftsmen tried to keep their secrets within the family. You either taught it to a son or daughter, or you taught it to an apprentice who you really tried to convince to marry said son or daughter.

Maybe magic was different, or maybe they had the security of knowing the students couldn't go and use that magic just about anywhere. Whatever the case, she wasn't sure what she expected coming in, but found a rather large and well-lit room with steepled windows on one side, a large desk at the back with a man behind it, and a number of benches risen upon step-like stone columns. It created a sort of sloped-up seating arrangement reminiscent of the theatre houses in the Merchant and Noble Quarters. She'd snuck in and watched a play once in the Merchant's Quarter.

It had been pretty boring honestly. Hopefully, learning magic would be better.

"Greetings," the teacher called. He was a rather tall person with bright green hair and rimmed glass things on his nose. "I am Arcanist Oobleck and welcome to your first lesson in the Arcane Academy. Warden Adel, thank you for bringing the initiates here."

"No problem, Arcanist." Coco bowed her head, then turned to them. "Now, if you little tykes will excuse me, I need to get to my own lessons. Wait outside once this one is done and I or Yatsu will come and pick you up."

"Thank you." The Arcanist, Oobleck, gestured to the seats. "Be seated and we shall begin."

Ruby looked up at the seats and naturally moved toward the back, putting her firmly at the highest point and the furthest to the side. It left her closest to the door. Weiss grumbled and stepped up to sit next to her, complaining about how they were so far away from the lesson that they wouldn't hear anything.

You didn't have to come sit with me…

"Silence please!" Oobleck called, holding his arms apart. The class quickly became quiet, eager for their first lesson. "Thank you." He dropped his arms and smiled. "Again, I am Bartholomew Oobleck, an Arcanist of the Brown and Blue Arcana, and a teacher at this academy. As your first instructor, allow me to welcome you all formally. I hope you will enjoy your time here as much as I did at your age."

"Now, while there are many rules and laws you will be learning in your first few weeks here, we do prefer to start with something practical. Don't worry," he added, "It won't be dangerous, and the exercise will help you learn to control your magic. That is the key to this exercise."

He turned and picked up some chalk, using it to write some scribbles on the board.

Ruby had no idea what it meant.

"Control!" he barked, placing the chalk down with a click. "Control is the single most important thing you can learn to become a better Arcanist. Every spell we cast relies on a degree of fine control. Let me provide an example." Oobleck held out his hand. "Gather flame; a fire that burns within my hand."

Ruby leaned forward, along with the rest of the class. With a flicker of light, almost like a spark being struck, a fire sprung to life in the palm of Oobleck's hand, floating perhaps an inch or two above it and burning without fuel. Was it hot? Did it still give heat? Ruby stared at it, excited.

"This is a rather simple spell that summons fire, as you can see. Now, let me give you an idea of what happens if you do not have fine control and put too little into this." He brought his hand forward and the flame shrunk, sputtering weakly. "Think of your magic as fuel for the fire. Too little and you create an ember, too much and, well…"

The flame leapt up, burning bright and fearsome for a few seconds, before diminishing back to a stable size and shape. Some in the audience gasped and made sounds of appreciation. Ruby was among them despite her earlier thoughts to stay quiet.

Laughing, Oobleck waved his hand and dispelled it.

"As you can see, learning how much to put into a spell is only one part of the equation. The other is having the fine control necessary to put in the right amount and no more. Early in your careers, you'll no doubt be upping and lowering the amount, finding the right balance through trial and error. Once you are more experienced in your spells, you'll start to know exactly how much you need and that won't be necessary. Practice makes perfect, ladies and gentlemen, but you won't be practicing with fire, believe me on that. We don't want any of you to burn the dorms down this early."

The audience laughed but Ruby didn't. That really was a danger, wasn't it? All it would take was someone dicking around with fire spells in their dorm and the whole school would go up. They probably have ways to track and prevent that. Or maybe it's like the washroom and the dorm becomes swamped with water if it sets on fire.

"You shall be practicing with these today." Oobleck brought out a small box of what looked like white balls with hollow holes in them. He gave the box to someone on the front row. "Please take one and pass the rest along. These are enchanted objects created by some of the older students here. Quite simply, they are balls that will float if you push magic energy – oftentimes known as mana – into them. You do not need to incant a spell or focus on what you are doing; you need only push mana into the ball, and it will float."

As an example, he held out his palm and presumably did as he said. The ball hopped up to hover in place beside his head. Though it was hard to tell for sure, it looked like air was pushed out of the holes in the ball to keep it up.

"Too little energy and it falters." The ball dipped. "Too much and it goes high." The ball pinged up like an arrow shot from a bow. It fell to the floor and bounced, caught a moment later by the Arcanist, who made it float around his head. "Fine control will let you do even more with it, but for now I want you to just get a feel for how much is too much and how little is too little. If you can, try to make it hover – but experiment. If you find it easy to hover, try to change the height and hover again. Or make it bounce, roll or move around a little. They're sturdy little things, so don't be afraid of dropping them."

Weiss took one for herself and then pushed the box to Ruby. There were a few left, and she took one, then handed the box to someone in front, who passed it back down toward the Arcanist. A few people on the front rows were already playing around. A ball pinged off the ceiling and fell to the floor. The girl who had done it winced and looked to Oobleck, but he only smiled and gestured for her to go collect it.

Permission given, everyone else began to play with their magic.

Ruby turned the ball over between her fingers. It was made of wood painted white, carved with little holes like a lattice structure. Inside, something made of stone or iron was suspended by several wooden spokes. It glowed faintly and she could feel something going on in there.

That must be the enchantment thing. It takes magic and makes it into air? I guess the wood is just so we can hold it, or maybe to stop it chipping when it falls.

Curiously, she pushed a little of her `mana` into the thing, forcing it up through her palm. The ball bounced, jumping up two feet and falling back down. Ruby caught it with a grin and repeated the process. It bounced up and down.

"Hmm. Hmmm!" Weiss' brow was creased, face scrunched up as she concentrated on the ball. Unlike those of the people in front, she had managed to make it hover somewhat in place, though it dipped up and down and wavered like it might fall.

"Wonderful!" Arcanist Oobleck exclaimed. "Truly wonderful control."

Weiss' face was split with a smile.

"Miss Rose, is it?"

"What!?" Weiss shrieked.

Ruby looked back with a raised eyebrow, her white ball floating in circles around her head while her hands were flat on the table. It kept itself at the perfect height and didn't once falter, orbiting slowly and then quickly, speeding up and slowing down as she willed it to. "This is a lot easier than I thought it would be," she said.

Weiss' ball dropped out the air and bounced along the table.

"Wonderful control, Miss Rose. I've never seen someone grasp this exercise so quickly. Simply marvellous." He clapped his hands together. "Can you make it stop in front of your forehead?"

Ruby blinked and focused her eyes on that spot. The ball stopped its spiral and arched up over her head, rolling across her hair until it came to a stop literally pressed against her head. It then pushed out with a small burst of air, cool against her skin, to float a few inches in front of her.

"Incredible! Well done, Miss Rose."

She couldn't help but beam; it wasn't everyday someone praised her, other than her sister. Seeing the Arcanist before her clapping with such a warm smile had her all tingly inside and she giggled. He was alright, she supposed. Maybe this `school` thing wouldn't be all that bad.

"How are you doing that?" Weiss hissed once Oobleck called for everyone else to keep trying. "How did you grasp it so quickly? That's unfai- Impossible."

"Heh?" Ruby blinked as her ball whipped up and balanced atop her finger. "What do you mean? It's easy."

Weiss' face burned with colour. "Explain!"

"It does what you want." For emphasis, Ruby made it dance and weave between the fingers of her hand. "You just tell the ball what you want it to do and it does it. I wanted it to hover in the air and it did. I don't get why everyone else is finding it so hard."

"That's not how magic works at all! You can't just will it to do what you want."

"Why not? I did."

"It's… it's…" Weiss' ball fell and bounced on the desk again. Her eyes scrunched shut and she trembled. "You're mocking me. You're mocking me for not being able to do this."

"I'm not-"

"You are!" she accused, eyes snapping open. "Magic doesn't work through will; it works through control. You have to push the exact amount of mana required into this and stabilise the flow at every opportunity. To make it do what yours is doing, you'd have to concentrate on which direction you want the air to flow out, at what speed and for how long."

Ruby hadn't needed to do any of that. She'd just looked at the ball, decided where she wanted it and pushed her mana into it. The thing was only too happy to do what she asked, little concentration required.

"To make it roll over your head, you needed to push air from the bottom, then change the angle as the ball rolled, making it blow from each hole one at a time until it reached the crown of your hair and rolled down." Weiss bit her lip. "And then you let it fall on its own and pinned it to your forehead with a blast of air going the opposite way?" It was more a question than a statement. "I don't understand how you could do that."

Neither did Ruby. Nothing of what Weiss had said was true.

"You've done this before. Haven't you!?" Weiss snapped to the only conclusion she could. "You already know how to do this!"

"Heh heh." Ruby laughed and looked away. "Y-You got me…"

An explosive sigh escaped the noble, who slumped back and glared at Ruby. "You- I can't believe you. And I got all worked up for nothing. Don't mock me like that again. I won't have it."

"Sorry. I thought it would be funny."

Grumbling, Weiss rolled her eyes and went back to her ball, cupping it between her hands and focusing intently on it. The object rose up, shaky still but better than it had been before. It was clear from the sweat on her brow that Weiss had to put intense effort into it. Looking over, Ruby saw that same concentration on the faces of every student there.

All except for her.

Swallowing, Ruby let her ball fall to the desk. It bounced loudly, making a constant pinging noise as it reached the edge of the desk and then fell to the floor. Arcanist Oobleck looked her way, along with a few other students.

"Whoops." Ruby laughed and rubbed her head. "Lost concentration for a second."

The teacher smiled at her, buying the lie.

/-/

"Eat slower or you'll be sick again."

"Smorry-"

"And don't eat with your mouth full!"

Ruby swallowed and repeated the apology again, wondering for the tenth time why Weiss continued to eat with her if she hated it so much. It might have had something to do with the dining halls being absolutely full of people and space limited. While the first two meals of the day were spaced out with younger students eating later on both accounts, dinner was universal between the years, meaning every student at the academy could be in the hall at once.

It certainly felt that way; the long tables were full of people and the queues for food had been ridiculous. If it wasn't for Weiss, she'd have pushed ahead. Apparently, that was impolite. Stupid Weiss and her stupid rules.

"Today was interesting, was it not?" Weiss picked at her much smaller plate with a fork. "I particularly liked the talk on the potentials of healing magic – the Green Arcana. Have you put any thought into which you'll be following?"

Ruby swallowed, knowing she'd be told off otherwise. "Nope."

"None?"

"Don't know them all yet."

"I suppose." Weiss let it go. "I read ahead, so I'm a little more knowledgeable. I can find you a book on them in the library if you'd like."

Ruby panicked and nearly choked. "N-No. I'm fine."

"No? I'm only trying to- No, fine. Forget it." Weiss huffed. "I'm sure we'll have lessons on the various Colour Arcana later. I'm not sure myself what I want to specialise in. It's a big decision. Once you pick your two, you can't choose another."

"Seems silly," Ruby mumbled. "What if people change their mind?"

"W-Well, they can't. It teaches us to be decisive."

"Still seems silly. Why not teach us everything?"

"Because we'd never have the time to master everything," Weiss drawled. "It takes a decade to become proficient in a given Arcana, even two or three to truly master the spells within it. That's why so many people just choose to focus on a few key spells. Healing does seem interesting, but I'm not sure it's for me. It feels so… so boring."

Boring? Healing? Ruby could think of hundreds of people who would beg on hands and knees for someone to heal themselves or their loved ones. It definitely didn't sound boring to her. It wasn't as flashy as the Red Arcana – the only other one Ruby knew of, the Gem Colour dedicated to combative magic – but flashy didn't always mean useful.

"I want to know about all the colours before I pick one," Ruby said.

"I can respect that. And I can respect your enthusiasm for the lessons here too," she said, shooting Ruby a sideways look. "Despite your… rather brusque mannerisms and frankly disgusting eating habits, you performed well in classes. You struggled in the later ones on sensing magic and reacting to it in time to avoid being hit, but your control in Arcanist Oobleck's class was impressive."

Weiss was referring to a later class they'd had with a fat Arcanist named Port, in which he'd attempted to teach them to sense magic by blindfolding them and shooting harmless spells at them. They were to either turn in the direction of the spell or, if possible, to dodge it. There were varying degrees of success from the students, Weiss identifying but being unable to dodge. Ruby performed worse, missing more than a few.

"Yeah, sensing it was hard."

"You'll do better, I'm sure. As my roommate and my peer, a lot of attention will be focused on you. It is good that you're willing and prepared to learn." Weiss preened a little. "And, of course, I will be more than willing to help you learn to better sense the magic being used around you. It is expected of one in my position to aid those less fortunate."

"Ha ha. Yeah."

Ruby didn't bother to point out she could sense a spell being used behind her, or another further on – or that she could feel an enchantment on the table they were eating on and even the plates. That she could feel the traces of magic all over the school.

Or that she'd felt each and every spell Arcanist Port cast long before it reached her. That she'd grasped every lesson they'd been to so easily that she could have been the best performing student throughout the day. Her control, senses and reserves were so much higher than those of the other first-year students, Weiss included.

Magic came easily to her.

Too easily.

If people are looking for my "where you got inspiration from" idea for the colour gem and Arcana ideas, it's basically a mix of DnD "Schools of Magic" mixed with Warhammer Fantasy "Wind of Magic". Lore of Beasts, Heavens, Fire, etc, but represented with colours. I'm sure a hundred different books have done this, etc. It's hardly shocking or new, but then what can be in a genre like this? There must be hundreds of novels about magic schools.

So far, the Arcanas we've seen are:

Red Arcana: Combat

Green Arcana: Healing

More `Arcana` will be introduced as the story goes on, though we've already seen `Blue`, `Brown` and `White` gems I think. And Blake obviously has her specialisation, though Ruby wasn't aware enough to spot any Arcanum on Blake.

On Ruby's `looking like a boy` I've tried to make it super clear (and I think most people got it) that this is due to her malnourishment, with a minor bonus being from her attitude (people at the Academy are used to Noble women like Weiss, all grace, femininity, etc).

I know that Ruby in the show has a feminine figure, but this Ruby is skin and bones and underdeveloped due to a terrible diet and poor lifestyle. She and Yang are street urchins and Ruby's hair is cut short. It would be no exaggeration to say Ruby's figure at the moment would be reminiscent to someone suffering from anorexia.

Believe me, she is going to grow now that she has good food.

Well, as long as she doesn't keep gorging so much she throws up.

P.s. I know people want to know what is happening re Yang, the hunt for the Wildmage in the slums, etc. That's next chapter.

Next Chapter: 30th July

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur