It has been so long I feel like I should relate to you a tale of a great and terrible quest which involves dragons, elves, dragon-elves…but no. Instead I'll just say
I'M SORRY!
But I'm back! And here is chapter twenty! I hope you enjoy!
Five years before Ruby Rose came to Beacon
Five years before Ruby Rose ran into Sun Wukong
Alone in the Kingdom of Mistral
Survived a Street Rose
"This isn't so bad." Sun Wukong, recent immigrant from the Kingdom of Vacuo, looked around at the sloping streets of Mistral. When he first moved here, though he would arguably disagree and say he was `forcibly dragged to this kingdom of pirate wannabes`, he had thought that he would hate it. His parents' reasons for moving from the arid Kingdom of Vacuo to the moist Kingdom of Mistral were…reasonable, but Sun was still firm in his belief that he would die amidst a figurative sea of horribleness.
But he didn't, much to his surprise. In fact, Sun Wukong had actually began to enjoy Mistral and its eccentricities! Even the natives of Mistral had begun to grow on him, albeit like some strange, nautical-obsessed fungi.
Sun avoided mentioning that specific description in public areas, however, as most people do not like being compared to fungi.
Breathing in the cool morning air, Sun moved on down the street; meandering through the city with only the wish to find something interesting to guide him.
A warm breeze pushed itself around the Faunus as he plowed further up the city's cobblestone streets, past the townhomes and the occasional small shop that dominated this part of the mountain city, past other Humans and Faunus, both of whom casted slightly suspicious glances at the newly-arrived adolescent moving past them.
Sun moved on, away from the clusters of buildings and into a small marketplace were the hum of voices filled the air. The Faunus past stands whose contents ranged from common household objects to dual-form weapons that gleamed in the sunlight, past merchants hawking their wares and buyers examining them with critical eyes.
Yeah, this isn't bad at all. Sun thought as he viewed the flowing movement around him. At the signs of life that completely surrounded hi-
"MOVE!"
Sun stumbled back as someone small and quick rushed past him, half-shoving him to the ground in their haste to get past. Regaining his footing and balance, Sun whirled around to see a girl kicking up puffs of dust as she rapidly snaked her way out of the marketplace.
"Hey, watch it!" The irritated Faunus shouted after her. Menace to my health!
Sun shook his head, turning back to continuing his stroll and…froze. There, running towards him like an insane herd of wildebeest, was a group of enraged Faunus. Their animal characteristics ranging from arching quills to squatty tails, and all had their sights set on the fleeing form of the girl.
Sun shielded himself as the older Faunus tore past him, his body being bruised by the careless and wild limbs that bludgeoned his small frame. The older, not to mention larger, Faunus never spared Sun a backwards glance.
"Uggh, whatever happened to the nice, polite people of the world!?" Sun groaned as he lowered his beaten arms and swayed slightly with the dull pain that thudded through his body. The pounding of footsteps stole Sun's attention away from his aches and focused it on the gang of Faunus that apparently, despite their breakneck speed, had still not caught the girl.
I should just leave or call the cops. Sun thought with logic and reasoning. But that would be much less exciting than just chasing after them myself! Sun thought with near-stupidity and recklessness.
The near-stupidity side won out.
Putting on his own burst of speed, Sun raced to the fringes of the pursuing gang of Faunus, trying to not be noticed as he followed them in their twist and turns and bounds all over the backstreets of Minstrel. Sun, at first, was extremely surprise that they group of Faunus had not caught the girl yet, but as he drew closer and the chase grew longer, Sun noticed the brief flashes of red that heralded the angry shouts that always echoed off the alleys at each vibrant flash.
What is going on up there? Gah, I can't see from back here!
Making up his mind, Sun set his eyes on the back of the slowest Faunus in front, a lumbering giant of a man with a think shell like an armadillo, and rushed towards him.
Getting close to the clattering shell, Sun bent his legs and leapt without breaking his rapid stride, landed on the Faunus's shell, bounced off that, hit an alley wall at a sideways angle, and landed in front of the pack of Faunus with a smile on his face.
Only to be swept up into the surprised arms of a fox Faunus like a bride on her wedding day. The man skidded to a stop, the rest of his brethren all rushing past him, and looked down in shock at the monkey Faunus in his arms.
"What the-WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Uh…I…" Despite the severity of the situation, Sun couldn't help, but look sheepish at the pure absurdity of it as well. "Donkey Kong?"
That reply was not one of Sun's best and he did not stick around to hear the fox Faunus's response. Leaping out of the Faunus's arms, Sun once again took off running after the rest of the Faunus, leaving the fox-eared man standing in the sunlight, overwhelmed by confusion.
Sun sprinted down a small street, following the nearby noises of pounding feet and loud voices. The young monkey Faunus rushed around a corner…and jumped back behind it. He slowly poked his head around the rough bricks only to see a situation that was so grave, Sun was surprised they weren't in a cemetery.
The pack of Faunus had caught the girl, cornering her in an alley where Sun could see the dull expanse of a dead end that the girl's back was pressed up against, the offending Faunus ringed around the opening of the alley like a flock of vultures, awaiting death.
Sun peered carefully at the group from his spot behind the corner, the thugs that had been pursuing her had formed an inescapable shield around the girl, creating a fleshy barrier of unspoken threats.
Man, what's going on?! What is this?! Sun tried to figure out what to do, obviously the girl was in danger and the gang of Faunus did not seem like they were there to help.
Or do anything remotely friendly.
WhatIamgoingtodo?! Sun looked all around desperately, trying to come up with any sort of plan that could help the girl.
Come on, think! Think! In a seemly hopeless gesture, Sun looked up in hopes of finding something, anything, that could strike hope back into some sort of plan.
What he found was a large crate hanging forgotten over the group of Faunus, the crate was beaten and worn by the elements, hanging by a frayed rope from an ancient wooden crane, the entire structure swayed creakily in the breeze.
That'll work.
Creeping out from around the corner, Sun set his sights on the wall of the building on whose roof was perched the timeworn crane and attempted to get there without attracting the attention of his fellow Faunus.
He failed.
"HEY! WHO ARE YOU!"
Sun whipped around just as the gang of other Faunus all turned to face him instead of the girl. With fighting head-on being insane and running a cowardly disgrace, Sun decided to try and talk his way out this until his brain come with something better.
Clapping his hands together, the monkey Faunus adapted an innocent look. "Oh, just out for a stroll, you know. These backstreets are always so peaceful and quiet." Sun paused. "Or, at least, they used to be."
The foremost Faunus in the group scoffed. "Get lost, kid, before you get hurt."
The kid looked shocked. "What? That's nothing but the gospel truth!" He slowly began to walk over to the crane-building. "By the way, who's that girl you have behind you?"
The question made the lead Faunus's gaze hardened. "She's nothing and no one, now go!"
Sun made it to the building, placing a hand on the rough wall, he could hear the groan of wood above him. "Really? That's weird. She doesn't look like a nothing and no one."
Sun looked the lead Faunus straight in the eye, ignoring the tusks protruding from his cheeks. "You're just trying to make me go away, aren't you?"
"Oh, did that just come to you?" The leader asked sarcastically, his gaze, and the gaze of the assorted Faunus, still as hard as flint. "Listen, if you don't go, you're going to regret it."
Sun face turned impassive. "And now, you're threatening me, okay then."
The tusked Faunus's impatience was becoming visible. "Okay then, what?" His hard look turning into a fully inflamed glare as he waited for Sun's answer.
The young Faunus shrugged. "Okay then, I no longer feel any regret about I'm going to do to you."
Sun had hoped his words come across with the air of someone you do not mess with, what he got was raucous laughter; from what little Sun could see of her, even the girl seemed to be on the verge of laughing at him.
"Oh, r-really?" The leader choked out between gasping for breath. "What are you going to do? Throw a banana at us?"
This set off a whole new round of stupid laughter.
Thoroughly peeved at the ridicule he was receiving, Sun glared the group of Faunus and lifted his arms, his hands curling into fists. "Laugh this up!"
Sun slammed his fist together and the laughter stopped as two glowing clones of the young Faunus boy appeared on either side of him. The clones wasted no time on theatrics, however, as they sprinted forward and somersaulted over the heads of the group. Bonding off the heads of some unlucky Faunus, the clones made it to the roof like some strange acrobats of light, and punched through the thick shaft of the crane.
The group of Faunus were still looking up as the crane fell downwards, the crate softening up the crowd before the colossal crash of the crane's impact blew them all away.
The dust, wood, and newly-airborne Faunus filled the air of the alley, masking Sun's sight and senses. Moments past, and Sun found himself waving away the dust that had collected around his head.
"I guess that works too." Sun blinked and looked at the carnage that surrounded him, shards of wood littered the ground, a fine snow of dust filled the air, and unconscious Faunus laid scattered as if they were all pummeled by an unbeatable opponent. "I guess that works very well."
Sun stepped forward, ready to find the girl, only to freeze as a horrifying sight greeted his eyes. One of the Faunus was sprawled on the ground, his thick forearms brushed and battered, but no enough to hid the striking scarlet of the tattoo adorned his arms.
A tattoo depicting a ragged claw mark dominated by a snarling wolf's head.
White Fang. And not the peaceful members of years past; these White Fangers were the extremely radical soldiers that had transformed the Faunus rights organization into a haven for fanatical terrorist and homicidal racists.
And he had just dropped a crane on an entire platoon of them.
"Oh my God, I just squished the White Fang!" Sun looked in horror at the wreckage before him. "Forget the encroaching assassins, Mom's so going to kill me!"
"I wouldn't sweat it; they weren't exactly the sweetest psychopaths to ever grace Remnant."
Sun jumped as a critical voice issued from behind him and whirled around to face the girl who he had went through massive amounts of trouble to save.
This close to her, face-to-face, Sun's mind went from fear for his own life to pure and unadulterated shock at the sight of the girl.
The girl was tattered. No other words seemed to fit her more perfectly then absolutely tattered by the world.
Her clothing was nothing but rags that appeared to only be held together by the coat of grime that stained her skin, her hair was in no better shape. Thick strand of filthiness that hung to the girls' malnourished waist, hair that seemed to absorb the light in their soiled inkiness. Then Sun saw her eyes.
And the world seemed to pause for just a moment, as if wanting to spar a glance at the only bright thing the girl had, her vivid sliver eyes. Eyes that didn't seem to be resigned to the world and its cruelties, but eyes that burned with an inner fire that made Sun sure, no matter what, one day, this girl was going to burn brighter than every star in the sky.
"Why did you help me?" The girl asked, causing Sun to come back to the present and the dust-choked alley. Her voice, though brimming with the sound of the streets, was still full of a youth that simmered with questions. "Why did you bother saving a human girl from a bunch of Faunus when you're a Faunus yourself?"
It was Sun's turn to look at the girl critically. "It doesn't matter who a person is or what they are, if they honestly need your help, you help them to the best of your abilities and ask for nothing in return."
The girl snorted. "Oh, you sound like some sort of monk, forget I asked." The girl stepped back, away from Sun. "Still, interesting to know you think that way, keep doing…that." The girl gestured vaguely at the tailed Faunus.
"Um…okay?" Sun was unsure on what to say or do; thankfully, the girl was not here to make chit-chat.
"Thank you for helping me, I needed it." The girl moved around Sun, stepping over both broken wood and unconscious bodies alike. "Lay low for a while, K'? I'm sure the White Fang isn't going to let their members having cranes dropped on them go unpunished."
Sun shrugged. "Planned on it. So…I guess I'll see you around, then?"
The girl paused in the mouth of the alley and looked back at Sun, amused. "I doubt that, but you know what, sure. I guess I will see you around." She turned to leave again, but Sun called out once again, stopping the girl in her tracks.
"Wait! I never told you my name! It's Sun! Sun Wukong!" He waited, but the girl didn't make a move nor sound. "Manners would dictate you tell me yours now."
Slowly, the girl turned back to the Faunus and studied him a long look before shrugging. "Oh, why not?" She turned away again, but called out over her shoulder as she weaved deeper into the maze of streets, her name.
"It's Ruby!"
Sun grinned. Ruby, uh? The Faunus nodded to himself and turned around, ready to go home, then he remembered he had crushed a dozen White Fang members and he should probably call someone to take care of this.
-four hours after the White Fang/Crane incident-
Persia Wukong stared at her son with fire burning in her golden eyes, her long, spotted tail twitching. Her son looked back with the sincere wish of being anywhere but in the family room of his house with his parents practically emitting off of him. The retelling of the day's events had just made Sun realize exactly how bad it sounds to tell someone that you dropped several large, wooden objects on a group of people.
"Sun, we need to talk." Persia looked him dead in the eye. "You, me, and your mother."
Ordinary people and the police were bad enough, but the worse was when Sun had to tell his mothers.
Amra Wukong looked in-between her wife and her son with careful eyes, her elegant antlers catching the light. After a minute, she broke the silence.
"Okay, let's get some things straight. Sun, the police said no one was killed, but nearly everyone was injured." Amra leveled her gaze at Sun. "The only exceptions being you and the girl, you said her name was Ruby, right?"
"Yes." Sun's eyes flickered between his mum and mom. "Did the cops find her?"
Amra shook her head. "No, you're the last one who saw her. Now, we are glad you're safe, but you have to realize what you did to those White Fang members was very dangerous, and am not talking about for them, I'm talking about for you."
Persia nodded. "The White Fang, no matter if you're just fighting thugs or trained warriors, are not to be trifled with lightly." There was a pause, and then. "Sun, this will not go unnoticed by the leaders. They will send someone, either an inquisitor or an assassin, to find the one responsible, do you understand? The White Fang will find the one they think bears responsibility for injuring their men."
Sun shifted in his seat. "Will, technically, it was semblance clones that did the injuring. I vote for blaming the clones."
All that response received was two pairs of raised eyebrows.
"I do not think they will see it that way." Persia said dryly, Amra nodded in agreement, her long amber hair swinging in its braid behind her.
"Even if you were not at fault." Amra looked levelly at Sun. "The White Fang would still come here to see what you know. Add the fact that it was your intervention that sent the group into custody, and I do not think the White Fang will be very forgiving."
A thought sparked in Sun's mind at these words, a spark that issued from his mouth in the form of protest.
"But I'm Faunus!"
"Yes, you are." Persia's long tail twitched with some unidentifiable emotion. "But you are a Faunus who willing injured, and then give up, White Fang members. I would imagine that would make you a race traitor in their eyes."
What?! What is wrong with them?! A race traitor?! Sun's mind went from thought to thought on the White Fang and their apparent view on helping humans against their psychotic wishes and what they did with whoever was guilty of opposing said wishes.
Sun did not like any of it, at all.
"So what am I going to do?" Sun looked from parent to parent, trying to find the answers he wanted to hear and the answers that he wanted locked away from his conciseness forever.
Instead, Persia looked to Amra, and Amra looked to Persia, it was one of those silent conversations that Sun hated! Mostly due the fact that he never knew what was going on and couldn't plot out a decent escape plan in time. Finally, Amra looked back at Sun and sighed. "What has been done is done; now, we should prepare for the outcome."
Sun looked at them both. "Like…what?"
Persia's gaze was deadpan. "Convincing the local White Fang faction leader that his men suffered a horrible accident that is in no way related to the young monkey Faunus that reported the entire incident."
Sun nodded. "So, you're going to be calling in all your secret favors that you've gained in works that you never tell me about."
"Exactly."
Sun shrugged, so his mother might very well have been a secret agent, he had just dropped a crane on a bunch of people, who was he to judge?
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have places to be and people to find." Sun tried to slide out of the family room and out the front door before anyone tried to stop him, but his moms stopped him.
Fairly quickly too.
"Oh no, you don't! You are still in trouble for becoming a target for assassins and will not be leaving this house until it's settled!"
Once Sun was safety in his room, and probably plotting escape, his parents' gazes lingering on his path to his room, thoughts racing through their minds of the protection of their family and the steps required to do so. After a long silence, Amra spoke.
"Do you think you can do it?"
Persia sighed heavily before answering. "Can I convince the White Fang to heel their dogs? Maybe." A slim hand ran through raven locks as Persia continued, her leopard tail still. "It's just…I left the Fang! I left on the coronation of Sienna Khan and have never looked back. Do you really think they'll hear what I have to say?"
Amra looked at her wife with eyes that spoke volumes. "Yes, I do. You never wanted to be warrior, but you could always convince an entire army to your side just by talking for five minutes." Amra smiled softly. "And you still can."
Persia stayed silent for a long minute. "The group Sun put in the hospital were little more than thugs, I doubt that the news of their defeat by a twelve-year-old boy has reached beyond Minstrel." Her lips quirked up in a smile.
"After all, Blacktip does have a reputation to keep up."
Amra shook her head. "Ah yes, the glorious leader of the Mistral White Fang. Persia, I am sure you can even convince him to let this go." The elk Faunus stretched as she rose from her chair, the long braid that dangled to the small of her back swaying gently with her movement.
"Now, I need to make sure Sun is not crawling out his window." Amra leaned forward, pecking Persia on the lips as she did so, and said. "And you probably need to contact Blacktip before he arranges our deaths."
Persia sighed. "Sometimes, I really wished I went into theater instead of the White Fang, my life would have been so much easier."
Her wife patted her hand lovely. "In all honesty? Yes, it would have probably been."
Sun crawled out his window and dropped down to the cobblestone below. Landing lightly, he nearly crawled towards the front gate; a thick door of wood that blocked the small courtyard of the Wukong household to the city street outside.
Okay, start in the market and go from there, Mistral isn't that big and she has to be somewhere!
Or, at least, Sun hoped so.
Once he feet were gliding along the pavement of the city street, Sun kept his grey eyes open for any sign for Ruby. For any signs of the tattered girl with sliver eyes.
It began to dawn upon the young Faunus that he was probably not going to find her among the townhomes of middle-class Mistral.
Brushing past fellow pedestrians, Sun made his way into the lower levels of the kingdom. The places where, especially if his moms found out he had been there, the White Fang would be the least of his problems.
As the scenery around him changed from respectful townhomes to the derelict buildings of Lower Mistral, Sun began to notice the feeling that he was now being hunted, through the streets that were little more than crooked allies, Sun had becoming prey.
It was not a pleasant feeling and Sun felt his palms go cold and slick with sweat.
She can't be here! She just…can't!
"You seem lost."
Sun's thoughts were cut short by voice and the monkey Faunus whirled around to see a thin youth leaning against the wall of the street, his obvious lack of animalistic feature marking him as human.
Sun shook his head. "No, I'm not lost. I'm just trying to find someone."
The youth's eyebrows raised, revealing clear eyes that remained Sun of winter and frost, and he pursed his lips.
"You're trying to find someone? In this place? They must be interesting to hang out with." The youth peeled himself away from the wall and strolled over to stand by Sun, his curling hair trapped beneath the grey fabric of his world-worn hat. "Who are you trying to find in the slums?"
Sun stared at the boy for a long moment and then narrowed his eyes. "How do I know you're not just here to mug me?"
The boy refined from speaking as a chorus of sniggers overtook him, Once the fit over, the youth smiled in Sun's indignant face.
"First off, you don't. Second off, if you do not trust me, the group of drooling morons just around the corner will make your day extremely unpleasant." The boy smiled. "K'?"
Sun's eye went wide. "Are you telling me that there is a gang of rapists waiting for me?!"
"What? No!" The boy looked disgusted. "If they were rapists, I would have already killed them myself." The youth shook his head again. "No, the people waiting for you is a local gang of known cannibals."
Sun was not comforted by this fact.
"ARE YOU FOR REAL?! THEY WANT TO EAT ME?!"
The youth just shrugged. "This place is called the Maze of Insanity; it's little wonder that there are people in here that are so beyond snapped."
"But eating people?!" Sun sputtered, still shocked. His fellow youth had no sympathy, and rolled his eyes at Sun's exclamation.
"Look, I could go all day describing the horribleness of which I have come to known, but weren't you looking for someone?"
Trying to clear the thoughts of approaching cannibals from his head, Sun nodded. "Y-yeah, I am. Her name's Ruby? She has sliver eyes, a little younger than me, around ten-years-old, maybe?"
The boy looked thoughtful. "Sliver eyes. Well, there cannot be too many people with those, but around ten-years-old and a girl, yes?"
Sun nodded, causing the human to delve deep into thought. After a moment, in which Sun fidgeted with worry of hungry cannibals, the youth spoke.
"I would look in West End. That's where the Maze's sanest inhabitants live, as well as being the safest area in the lower levels." The boy shrugged. "You know, relatively."
Sun sighed. "Fantastic. Thank you."
The youth laughed. "Oh, don't thank me yet! You still haven't found your person and you will probably have to run for your life before the day is out, but good luck!"
Sun lifted his hand. "Wait just a min-"
The human youth smiled and raised his arm to tap Sun on the forehead…and the alley exploded in the grips of a miniature blizzard that filled the air with the howling of sudden winds and nearly froze Sun where he stood. Fighting against the flurry of snowflakes, the young Faunus took a step forward and found himself blinking in the sunlight, the alley as calm and quiet as before.
"What…?" Sun casted his sight around the side street, but there was no sign of the human and the only smell that remained was the tang of garbage and the burst of rot. He stood for a long moment as the entire conversation with the human youth ran through his mind; eventually, Sun summed up his thoughts with a single sentence.
"What is wrong with this place?"
"SERIOUSLY! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?!"
Sun fled from the gang of what very might be the Faunus cannibals that he had been "warned" about. Dodging piles of garbage and other such obstacles of the slums, Sun ran for his life.
"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!" Sun spun around a corner and sped down the small street, still hearing the sounds of pursuit and heavy breathing that stated Sun's hunters were still close behind and coming closer.
"YOU PEOPLE NEED TO CHILL!" Sun called over his shoulder as he bashed through a heap of discarded cardboard. "AND STOP EATING PEOPLE!"
The only response he got was the sounds of his pursuers speeding up.
Must. Think. Of. Something! Sun casted glances all around him, searching and hoping for some inspiration to help save himself. But there was no ancient crane or rotting box, no time to summon the clones which Sun had barely learn to use, no time for anything.
Until it happened.
Just as Sun felt like his lungs were one breath from imploding, his vison was taken away be a rush of blinding red and he felt something like velvet caress his skin before it changed from velvet softness to ripping harshness, and Sun felt like he was flying.
Albeit, in an insane, nauseating manner.
Sun's stomach jumped into his mouth as the swirling, speeding, mass stop what felt like it's drunken flight and vanished, letting Sun fall to a grimy floor in a heap of dizzy limbs. A soft flowing sound caused him to glance beadily up just in time to see the rose petals vanish and the small form of a girl, clothed in rags, to appear.
"Boo." Ruby said, a small smirk on her face. "I see you were serious about meeting me again, then. Have to say, I am surprised."
Sun waited until the world stopped spinning before he responded.
"What was that? What did you do? Are you made of rose petals?"
She arched her eyebrow and answered each question in turn. "My semblance. Used my semblance. It's complicated."
Sun nodded vaguely, his mind still a swirl of adrenaline and weirdness. "Oh, okay. Cool."
Trying to clear his head with one final shake, he pushed himself off the floor and gazed around at the place where Ruby had hidden them.
The he wished he hadn't.
Whatever this place was, it was obviously made from discarded plastic and rusted tin, all held together by the spider-web of browning rope that crisscrossed the low flimsy ceiling. The light that washed through the plastic was tainted green with the slime that coated the outside. The floor was a warped surface of an unidentifiable substance.
Sun looked to Ruby where she was lounging on a ragged length of cloth which he realized was her bed.
"You live here?" It was hard not letting the horrified shock from flooding his voice.
Ruby shrugged. "Eh, I survive here if that's what you mean. Not so much as living." Her hands came up to make quotation marks when she said "living".
"But..." Sun looked around at the depleted hovel. "This is horrible."
"Hey!" Ruby raised her head in mock protest. "It's not that bad! After the slime grew, the water stopped keeping me up at night!" She looked at Sun's irritated face. "Wait, why are you mad?"
Sun breathed out slowly. "Because this is not right and should not be joked about!"
Ruby's mouth quirked upwards in the semblance of a smirk. "My house, my rules. Didn't your parents ever teach you that?"
The Faunus looked at her closely. "Where are yours? Your parents, I mean."
Whatever trace of amusement that Ruby did harbor, it all vanished in an instance at Sun's question. Her eyes dimmed as if a heavy veil had been draped over them, hiding emotions from view. Her face growing hard and cold as a wall of ice.
"Did I bring up something I shouldn't have?" Sun asked apprehensively at seeing the change he invoked in the girl.
Ruby glared frostily at him. "I really do not know the meaning of the word parents and I'll appreciate it if you don't bring it up again."
Hands spread wide in front of him, Sun surrendered. "I understand; it won't come up anymore."
The chilling glare on Ruby's face faded, but her eyes were still hidden and hard. The silence between the two stretched on until Sun could hear the faint thump of water hitting the slime-covered roof of the hovel.
This is so uncomfortable! Sun racked his brain desperately, searching for some sort of topic to break the awkward stillness.
"So…why were you at the market?"
The glare faded more at the innocent question. "I was foraging." Ruby paused, then shrugged. "In a way."
Something in her voice made Sun believe that Ruby had a very different definition of "foraging" then most of society. "You were stealing, weren't you?"
Ruby held up her hands in a mock helpless gesture. "Hey, what's an extremely poor girl to do?"
Sun crossed his arms over his chest, a gesture he adopted from parent figure all over the world. His voice was slightly condescending when he spoke.
"It was illegal."
"True."
"It was dangerous."
"Also true."
Sun studied Ruby's face. "The people you stole from were White Fang."
The young Faunus felt like this would change Ruby's careless demeanor and make her see the gravity of what she had done. The young Faunus was extremely disappointed.
"Pfft!" Ruby rolled her eyes. "Thugs of the White Fang, you mean. Those idiots were a charm to steal from, hardly any challenge at all! Plus…" She leaned back against the wall of her hovel and looked Sun straight in the eye.
"If you have to steal, steal from other criminals. They can't report to the cops and, usually, they are too stupid to notice you in the first place."
Sun stared at her in angry exasperation. This girl, this human girl, had stolen from the White Fang, the most human-loathing organization on the planet, and she was giving him advice on how to steal?!
"YOU COULD HAVE BEEN MURDERED! YOU STILL MIGHT BE MURDERED!"
Once again, the children of the lower boroughs of Mistral did not look impressed by Sun's outbursts. Ruby just rolled her eyes and looked bored.
"Calm down before you pop a blood vessel or something. The White Fang are a bunch of vicious lunatics, I'm sure. But down here, amidst my people? They're barely an inconvenience."
Sun's head swarmed with disbelief. This girl had acting like death threats from the White Fang amounted to about the same as death threats from a rock. Shaking his head, he tried once more to get the danger of the current situation across.
"Listen, if you would jus-"
"Nope! That's enough! I did not save your life so you could nag me. My life was somewhat fine before you and your doom came bothering me. Now, move it! Go! Out of my house!"
"It's a hovel!"
"And you're a jerk, you see? I can describe things too! Now, move it."
Sun let himself move with the unceasing shoving of Ruby until he was free from the close confines of the hut and in the open air of a…stinking alley that was filled with toxic-green slime and filthy water dripping down the walls of the buildings.
"Don't even start." Warned Ruby, her eyes cautioning Sun against mentioning the fact that the area around her hovel looks like a depleted, aboveground sewer. "I really do not care what you have to say."
"But…" Sun had a despairing look overcome his face. "This is-"
"Deplorable, I know. Thank you for your opinion. Leave."
Ruby give one, final shoe and Sun stumbled out of the alley into an equally stinking side street. Turning back to face her, Sun took in Ruby's hard expression. An expression that said-
"Now go." Ruby pointed down the street. "And do not come back until you can appreciate the value of slime-covered plastic!"
Sun was beginning to realize that this girl was not the most normal person he had ever met as he cast glances up and down the street in which he was standing, nothing standing out to him or marking the way back up to the upper levels.
That was when it hit Sun that he was totally and completely lost. He had no idea how to get back home and he was stuck in a place dubbed the 'Maze of Insanity' with a human who considered the White Fang the least of her life problems.
"Come on, what is taking you so long?" Ruby tapped her foot impatiently as Sun made no move to leave the street. "You did not claim squatting rights in this street, go home."
"I…can't." Sun felt the defeat creeping up on him. "I think I'm lost."
There was silence behind him. Not even the slightest sound of movement from the street girl.
Slowly turning back around, Sun came fact-to-face with a Ruby who looked like she was on the verge of strangling Sun.
"You're…" It sounded like Ruby was grounding out each word through a wall of clenched teeth. "You're lost!"
"Maybe." Sun said indignantly. "Well, more then maybe…yeah, I'm lost."
The frustrated groan that followed Sun's statement proved to him just how Ruby felt about that unfortunate fact.
"I don't believe this! Rescue one guy and suddenly he's an overly-concerned nimrod who can't even find his own way home!"
"Hey! That is a little harsh!" Sun protested. "It's not my fault that I was taken on a supersonic ride through places I had no idea even existed until I passed by them at the speed of freakin' sound!"
"Oh, you make it sound so much worse than it really was." Ruby crossed her arms. "But the fact still remains that you are lost and cannot find your way back home. Which means…" Ruby closed her eyes and sighed deeply. "Which means…I'm going to have to guide you out of here myself."
Sun's eyes widened to the size of tea cups. She's going to help me? But I thought she didn't even like me! He cocked his head to the side. "You're going to help me?
"Yes." Ruby replied shortly. "That or mug you when you least expect it, I'll decided on the way. Now, come on, we have a long walk ahead of us."
Ruby turned on her heels and started walking down the street, not waiting for her new companion to catch up.
"Great." Sun mumbled as he jogged after the human girl. "Just great."
"Why can't you do your rose-petal thing?" Sun asked over an hour later. "I would get out of your hair much faster if we did that again."
"Oh, trust me, I would use me semblance in a heartbeat…if I could, but I can't." Ruby hopped over a pile of broken wood as she spoke. "Unfortunately for the both of us, I used too much energy when I saved, and then carried, your heavy butt back when you were fleeing for your life."
"Um…thank you for that, by the way." Sun said, giving up on moving faster than they already and instead focusing on the fact that he still needed to thank Ruby for saving his life. "Back when I was being chased, thank you for saving me."
"Sure, don't mention it." Ruby snaked her gaze quickly to Sun. "You saved me, I saved you. Consider us even."
Consider us even? Sun's face scrunched up. "Is that how you see things? Repay the favor then you're done?"
"Yes." Ruby spun around and started to walk backwards down the twisting street as she spoke. "It's the best way to do things in here, no life-long debts, no future favors, just save their life like they did for you then you're gone and free."
"What happens if they save your life again?" Sun looked innocently at Ruby, who narrowed her eyes at him.
"Then we go into a never-ending loop until one gets tired of it and leaves the other to die."
"Are you threating me?"
Ruby shrugged. "Eh, maybe. Depends on how heroic you keep feeling. Now, hurry up before I change my mind about mugging you"
Spinning back around, Ruby quickened her pace. Rolling his eyes, Sun hurried after her.
And this day started off so perfectly too…I hate markets. Totally their fault for bring me into this mess.
"Ta-da!" Ruby flourished towards the wide street that lead upwards into the upper levels of Mistral and back to the warmth and home. An inviting entrance…for some.
For others, it would only stand for what they had lost or what they could never receive. A wistful reminder of dreams and hopes darkened by reality.
And the two who stood looking up into the mountainous kingdom were perfect examples of each.
"So, I see you again?" Sun looked away from the way home and glanced down at Ruby who snorted in response.
"Do you ever give up? Weren't you just insulting my hut, like, an hour ago? Didn't I save your life from crazed crazies? Why would you want to come back?!" Ruby jutted out her chin and looked hard at Sun, sliver eyes meeting grey irises, and the young Faunus felt like the she was probing for answers, trying to break into the inner vaults of Sun's mind and find out why he was doing this.
Sun hoped she succeeding. A little extra clarification would be nice.
Finally, Ruby's breath puffed out in a bothered sigh and she stepped back, away from Sun.
"Whatever, who knows why you keeping marching into deadly situations and people who might steal your kidneys. I don't know and I don't have the energy to find out." Ruby gestured back up the street, her eyes moving away from Sun. "Go home and eat cookies or whatever it is you do."
"I'm not five, you know." Sun crossed his arms. "You can stop patronizing me."
Ruby looked at him exasperatingly. "First off, I'm not. Second off, you're never too old for cookies. Third off, why are you still not leaving?"
Muttering irritably, Sun turned away from Ruby. Well, back home it is…I wonder if mom is about to start sending SWAT teams yet?
Sparred on by the desire to never face that outcome, Sun turned to Ruby for one last goodbye.
"Well, I'll be seeing you lat-uh, where are you going?"
Of all the things Sun expected Ruby to do upon their departure from each other's company, walking into the richer levels of Mistral was not of them.
"Sight-seeing." Ruby replied as she hiked up the steep incline of the road. "Going to see the mythical land of not-suck. Feel free to join me."
"Wait, what?" Not wanting to left behind at the entrance of the "Maze of Insanity", Sun jogged to catch up to the girl. "This is a way to my house."
"Cool. Guess that will be my first stop, yeah?"
"No! Not yeah! Definitely not yeah!" Sun looked slight wide-eyed at Ruby. What if the White Fang sees her?
"Well, that's awfully hypocritical of you. With your tailed-self bothering me all afternoon and evening, the least you can do is introduce me to the fine people that raised you." Ruby looked sideways at Sun. "Yeah?"
"But-"
"Yes, you have very nice one, if I do say so myself."
"Gah!"
Neither of them stopped walking forward. Neither of them so much as give a moment's pause as they marched into the upper levels of Mistral.
"It's in times like these." Persia reflected thoughtfully from her place at the table. "That I realize just how much pain and suffering that is put into raising a child."
"You're being dramatic again." Amra observed. Thought her voice was calm, Amra's rapid pacing around the kitchen revealed more to Persia than any distressing tone could have. "You did call the police, right?"
"Yes, I did."
"What did they say?"
"They said they would look into it, but the fact that it hasn't even been a full day yet since we've last saw Sun does not boost it high on their priority list." Persia felt the muscle in her hands clench, if only for a moment, but Amra said it before Persia could even open her mouth.
"Do they know who's after him?! Do they realize what will happen if the White Fang catches him?!" Amra's pacing stopped as she whirled around to face Persia, her eyes and the thorny tips of her antlers flashing in the light. "If Blacktip hurts him, I-"
Whatever fate Blacktip would have received was left unspoken as Persia jerked out of her seat, the wooden chair clattering down to the ground. Amra trailed off into silence as it dawned on her that the expression and emotion displayed on the leopard Faunus's face was as dark and stormy as a storm upon the sea.
"I know, Amra!" Persia's catlike face was fierce. "The White Fang have not contacted me back, they have given no sign they acknowledge Sun's innocence and I know what the White Fang will do to him if they catch him! I still remember what Blacktip does to those who he views as traitors! I know!"
The silence reigned only for a moment before Amra spoke again. "I'm sorry, I did not mean for to get upset like that."
"No, it's fine." Persia shook her head. "You worry about our son, there is nothing wrong about that." There was a short lull of sound, then Amra said something that made Persia want to crush her in an embrace and never let go.
"I'm terrified. I am terrified for Sun. Of what might happen to him. Of what the White Fang will do to him if they find him! I'm terrified that they already have and we will find the body of our boy-"
Amra could go no further as Persia crossed the space between them and enclosed her, now-shaking, wife into a tight embrace.
"Don't think that." Persia murmured. "Please, don't think that. Sun is alive, I'm sure of it."
"I hope the moron is alive! I worked hard enough to keep him that way!"
The closeness and solemnity of the moment before was broken as a voice that neither Amra or Persia, sounded right beside them. The two Faunus jumped apart and stared in different measures of shock at a small, human girl clothed in tatters standing defiantly in their kitchen like some conquering queen.
"Who are you?!" Persia was the first to clear the confusion from her mind.
"Call me Ruby." The girl peered around the kitchen curiously. Her eyes gleaming sliver and her inky hair hanging down to her waist. "Wow, this place is nice! From what I've learned from the Tailed Wonder, I expected a Mysophobic's version of paradise, but this place is…more normal, I guess?"
To say the Wukongs were confused would have been an understatement. Having a random human girl who looked like she was wearing dirty towels and who was examining their kitchen like it needed to pass some test of hers was a shock to the say the least
"Well, I have to say. This house is much calmer than I expected from being around Sun."
At the mention of their son's name, Persia and Amra pushed aside their desire to find out who this girl was and instead latched on to the fact that this girl, this Ruby, had seen Sun.
"You know Sun?" Amra leaned forward, her eyes eager and hopeful. Her voice alive with emotion.
The girl shrugged. "I wouldn't say I know him, but we've been together for most of today. Speaking of which…" Ruby turned away from the couple and shouted off behind her.
"Hey, Sun! Where are you already?!"
There was pure silence for a few seconds, then the sound of a slightly terrified monkey Faunus shuffling in filled the air.
"I am so sorry!" Sun figured that the immediate apology would be best, but judging from the glares he was getting, it might not have been enough.
"I'm really sorry?"
"SUN MING WUKONG!" Persia's shout sent Hell running for the hills, and both the children present into freezing statues of dread.
Oh, no. Sun mentally prayed to whatever merciful deity was listening, for help.
Why can't I move? What happened to my voice? Why does it feel like all my cells are screaming in terror?
These were the questions Ruby needed to answer.
Unfortunately for her, those answer would have to come later as Persia and Amra Wukong were just getting started.
"what were you thinking?!" Persia had her arms crossed and her face hardened as she stared at Sun. "You snuck out of the house and went off alone with full knowledge that the White Fang was out of revenge against you! Do you know how worried your mother and I were? What were you thinking?"
"I…um." Sun stammered. What could he say? That he snuck to see a girl? An unknown girl who was obviously on the wrong side of the White Fang. Because that would go over very well. As Sun was thinking and Persia was waiting, Amra looked over to see Ruby was missing from the scene.
Driven by some unknown emotion, Amra moved past her family, Sun trying to explain to Persia why he did what he did, and out of the kitchen.
Standing in the family room, Amra listened for any signs of the girl. For any footsteps or sounds of breath that might lead the Faunus to the girl who called herself Ruby.
"Hello?" Moving farther into the house, her ears listening for every, slight sound, Amra walked down the hall that lead to the rest of the Wukong's home. "Ruby, right?"
"As far as you know."
Amra paused, the mumble had come from the small mudroom leading to the small alley that ran the length of the house outside. Her footfalls almost silent, the Faunus quickly made her way down the hall and into the small area where a small girl in rags was sitting on the floor, nearly glaring at the backdoor.
Settling down beside her, Amra looked slantways out of her ochre eyes at Ruby whose sliver eyes refused to budge from their glaring. Neither of them spoke and, because of the silence, the sounds of muffled conversation could be heard drifting from the kitchen.
"…Is that why?" No hint of anger was left in Persia's voice, replaced by a strange veil of quiet that Amra frowned at. Before she could act on the strangeness in Persia's voice, Sun's voice answered.
"Pretty much, yeah. I knew she needed help just by seeing her, and then, when you said that the White Fang was after me even though I'm a Faunus; I knew that I had to find Ruby again and tell her that she was in danger." There was short pause before Sun spoke again, this time in a much grumpier voice.
"Of course, she had no worries at all and I risked my life and limbs for pretty much nothing."
Ruby snorted, the low sound making Amra's hypersensitive ears twitch, and tilted her head towards the kitchen, listening in just as Amra was, to the exchange of words flowing in the other room.
"...she saved you?"
There was a pause and Amra imagined Sun shrugging his lean shoulders as he answered. "Pretty much, swooped in and took me on what felt like a demonic roller coaster ride. It was not the best sensation of the day."
Demonic roller coaster ride? Amra glanced over to see Ruby arching her eyebrows as well.
"Was it really that bad?" Though her voice was quiet and kind, Ruby still jumped at Amra's sudden question. "This so-called demonic roller coaster ride?"
The human girl shrugged. "First times are hard for anybody, little wonder my semblance is no different."
Amra looked down at the girl. "You've unlocked your semblance?"
Ruby nodded. "Yeah. It's speed and…flowers."
"Flowers?"
"You have to be there." For the first time, sliver eyes met ochre, and Amra saw how much filth and scarps had stained the human girl's face, the walls of iron that lay in her metallic eyes, walls that let nothing shine through from whatever lie beyond it. This close, Amra smelt the stench that wafted off of Ruby like waves, saw the scum and creatures clogging her hair, and heard the sounds of a weakening body.
And was heartbroken.
"Judging from the way your face just went from normal to what I hazard a guess as hyper-motherly, I take it you're no more pleased then Sun was at my glamorous appearance?" Ruby voice was completely and utterly uncaring as she said this, as if it was no more importance then the weather on the next continent over.
Amra looked at Ruby for a long time, trying to decipher what was truly going on behind those veils that shrouded her sliver eyes, but the veils were not made to be torn apart and Amra was left answerless.
"Are you attempting to read my mind?" Ruby asked, her head cocked to the side. "Or is this just your thing to stare at people like...well, that."
"It's not my thing, no. But…" Amra shrugged. "I just don't believe you are really that uncaring about the condition of your life or the fact that your body is reaching its breaking point or the fact or the fact-"
"Stop it!"
The sudden shout of near rage cut of Amra and the Elk Faunus felt that two other pairs of Faunus ears were now listening to the backroom conversation.
Ruby was on her feet, her sliver eyes flashing though the darkness had crept into the room, and her hands were balled in trembling fists.
"Stop it." Ruby spat again. "I don't care! Okay?! I do not care!"
Amra remained seated, her head lifted up to stare into Ruby's face. "Why?"
With that one word, Ruby's anger faded into greyness.
"W-what?" Sliver eyes, once furious, were now questioning and confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…" Amra said gently. "Why do you not care.? Why do you not care about what condition you are in, what condition your life is in?"
The human stared at the Faunus before slowly collapsing back onto the ground, her thin legs tucked against her chest. "Because it's not important."
"I disagree." For the first time, a chill of ice entered Amra's voice. "A person's life is never not important and your life is no exception." Shifting closer to where Ruby sat, Amra looked deep into sliver eyes and spoke. "I believe your life is extremely important."
Ruby did not respond even with a sound, she just sat against the wall and looked at the backdoor as if it was not really there. How am I supposed to respond to that? What am I even supposed to say?!
This was why she didn't like deep conversations, answers never came easy.
It was annoying.
"You don't have to answer, if you don't want too." Amra joined Ruby in her staring at the door. "Just…mull it over, see what happens when you're done."
"Mmm." Ruby waited a beat in silence before shaking her head. "Fine, I'll mull it over. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go."
"What?" It was Amra's turn to be surprised. "Go where?"
Ruby shrugged. "Other places. It's late, so I'll probably have to hole up somewhere for the night and get back down in the morning."
"You mean to the lower levels." Amra rose to her feet the exact same time as Ruby. "You live there?"
The girl arched her eyebrow and gestured to herself. "Do I look like a person who lives somewhere plague-free? No, I do not."
She lives in the Maze. Amra looked at her with new eyes. And yet her spirt is still strong and she shows no sign of insanity.
Aloud, Amra showed nothing of what was running through her head. "You said you're not going back there tonight, where else are you planning to go?"
"I told you, other plac-OK! Fine!" Ruby's face creased as a wave of grumpiness blasted onto it at Amra's no-nonsense expression. "You don't need to look at me like that!"
Amra just continued to look at her.
"Be that way, then. I just want to see the rest of the kingdom, ok? Despite poplar opinion, street kids avoid the better parts of this kingdom more than the plague. No one among the homeless dares to enter the upper levels, I just want to see why."
At these words, an idea sparked to life inside Amra's head. An idea that might be either wonderful or completely idiotic, but Amra was more than willing to find out.
"Ruby." Amra began. "Can I ask you something?"
"Oh, no." Despite the mutter, Ruby stayed where she was and nodded. Pleased, Amra smiled and continued.
"If you truly want to see the upper levels of Mistral, there is a much easier way then sneaking up there and running the risk of being caught."
"What is it?" A hint of eagerness had entered Ruby's high voice and the veils in her eyes slipped, showing cracks of excitement.
"It will be much easier for you to go there." Amra said carefully. "If you pretend to be our daughter and let us take you there ourselves."
What?! Well…mmm, it does make sense.
"Okay." Ruby said simply. "That sounds alright to me. Should I start practicing now?"
While, in the back of her mind, Ruby thought Amra would have been slightly shocked on easily she agreed to the Faunus's plan, what she got was a wide smile from the mother.
Wonderful! Thought we should probably tell Persia before we start finding you a place to sleep."
"Okay, I'm fine with it." Persia looked up from her book in the family room with no surprise whatsoever at her wife's declaration that they will be taking Ruby sightseeing the very next day or that Ruby will be masquerading as their daughter.
"Is the fact that I'm not a Faunus going to be a problem?" Ruby asked as the realization struck her that she lacked any sort of extra animalistic qualities. Amra and Persia just looked at her.
"We'll just say we adopted you." Amra reassured. "People will not be surprised. Now, before anything else happens." Amra took a long, hard look at Ruby. "We need to get you cleaned up and something to eat!"
"I have some old clothes that might fit her." Persia volunteered. "We can add shopping of the things to do tomorrow."
"Good idea! If you don't mind me saying this, Ruby, I really believe red is your color!"
I'm going to label this entire ordeal under "Richer people problems". Ruby decided firmly. That, or "What-on-Remnant-Did-I-get-myself-into?". That's peachy too.
First month
"If you laugh, I swear, I will murder you." Ruby glared at Sun who had his hand plastered over his mouth in an effort to hold back the choking hysterics that threatened to overcome him.
The next morning had dawned in a rush of fiery color and Sun had awaken to find that he had a new family member sleeping in the guest room, one who had apparently discovered what Amra Wukong could do with hot water, scissors, and just a little time.
Standing there, like a naiad born from a spring, was a Ruby who was no longer blanketed in filth. Her skin, long covered in grime, was now clean and clear, her soiled rags replaced by a red blouse and jeans; though these were obviously too big for Ruby's small body. But, to Sun, the most notable change was her hair.
Long strands of disgustingness were now a pixie cut that revealed dark red streaks coloring the natural black of Ruby's hair. Free from the filth, the locks brushed against Ruby's face freely.
The only downside of the entire thing was that it made her look seven-years-old.
Something Sun found incredibly amusing.
"I'm sorry! But…" Sun held back other wave of laughter. "You look like a grumpy kitten playing dress-up!"
"I do not appreciate that comparison." Ruby muttered irritably as she looked down at herself, frowning at the oversized clothes. "And these feel weird!"
"Well, yeah! A, you have been wearing rags for who -knows-how-long! And B, those are my mom's and several times too big for you!" Sun shrugged. "Makes sense that they would feel weird."
"Mhm…" Rub turned away from Sun and peered into the full-size mirror that dominated the corner of Persia and Amra bedroom, taking in all that changed since last night. "I still think I could borrow some of your clothes, they would fit me a lot better."
"I told you, I do not own any shirts."
"I don't believe you! What kind of weirdo doesn't own a shirt?"
Sun looked offended. "One who has a healthy interest in sleeveless hoodies! At least, I keep them zipped up!"
"Still doesn't explain why you don't have a shirt!"
That was how Persia found the two children, standing on opposite sides of her bedroom, shouting about shirt ownership.
"A much as I want to find out the backstory behind this, we have to go." Persia looked at Ruby's clothes with a small frown. "Mm. Before we go to the upper levels, we definitely take you shopping, my clothes are just too big for you."
"I know!"
Second month
The ceiling vibrated with the sound of something heavy landing hard. The rumbling crash was soon followed by a pained. "Damn it!"
"Ruby! Language!" Amra called up the stairs. "Are you alright?"
Ruby's voice came drifting down the steps. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry!"
Even though the trip into the upper levels of Mistral had taken place over a month ago, Amra and Persia could not bear to leave Ruby to wander back into the streets and alleys of lower Mistral and, though she barely even wanted to admit it to herself, Ruby did not want to leave.
So, she stayed. Though always telling herself that she had to leave soon, but Amra and Persia still chose to turn the guest bedroom into Ruby's bedroom and give her a wardrobe of clothes that actually fit and, much to her surprise, Ruby found herself enjoying the reds and blacks that made up the color theme of the clothes.
Still, she had to leave soon. After all, it's not like I belong here.
Third month
Ruby didn't understand. She did not understand why she couldn't leave. She did not understand why she did not want to leave. It just didn't make any sense.
Unless…
Unless she liked it here. Unless she enjoyed reading with Persia, bustling here and there with Amra, finding new and exciting ways to annoy Sun and smuggle shirts into his room. But why would she enjoy those things? They were new and Ruby had learned long ago that new was not a synonym for good.
Even so, the time she had spent with the Wukongs was the best she had ever known. The peace that seemed to emit from their presence made Ruby feel safe and warm.
She liked those feelings…
Fourth month
"You're giving this to me?" Staring down with incredulous sliver eyes, Ruby turned the instrument over in her hands. "But it's beautiful!"
"I know." Persia replied simply, her tail swaying idly. "That's why I'm giving it to you."
The Ocarina lay in Ruby's hands like a glowing pendent. Six holes piercing the glazed surface like teardrops of darkness.
"It's not the best ocarina ever made." Persia said conversationally. "But it has always served me well in the past."
"Wait." Ruby tore her eyes off the instrument. "This was yours?"
Persia nodded. "Yes, it was. Actually, it was my very first. Don't feel like you're taking it from me." Persia added at seeing the indecision in Ruby's sliver eyes. "I have more in the bedroom and this ocarina is a good one to play until your hands grow."
"I don't know how to play." Ruby's eyes cast downwards, as if ashamed. "I don't know how to play anything!"
Persia placed a slender hand on the young girl's shoulder. "That's alright." She said gently. "That just means you have so much potential inside of you, waiting to be freed. Now, come on." Persia lead the way out of Ruby's bedroom and into the hall. "Let's teach you how to read some music. Do you know what vibrato is?"
"No."
"You'll learn that too, then."
Fifth month
"Ruby? Sun? Can you both come down here for a moment?" Something in Amra's voice made Ruby feel like something important about to happen. Heading down the stars, however, she could not keep a small wariness to sharpen her features, her sliver eyes shifting from place to place as they moved on into the family room.
"Okay? What is it?" Sun asked as they entered to find Persia and Amra already sitting down, facing the two children in the entranceway. Sun felt oddly cornered. "Should I be worried?"
"Oh, no!" Amra looked slightly alarmed. "No, that's not why we asked you down here at all!" Amra shifted in her seat before finally standing up. "We wanted you down here to ask you something. Well, more specifically, to ask Ruby something."
Something twisted inside of Ruby, a harsh feeling that made the sliver-eyed girl feel sick to her stomach.
"O-okay." Ruby put on her calm mask and faked her voice. "What is it?"
Amra looked to Persia and Persia looked back at Amra; off to the side, Sun made an annoyed noise in his throat. Turning back, Ruby saw a half-hidden light dwelling in Amra's eyes.
"Ruby…" She said, as if the words were coated in something bitter. "Do you want to stay with us?"
Do…
Ruby just stared with wide eyes as her mind attacked the question.
You…
Sun watched her, his own feelings and emotions rising up in fear and hope. Ruby had made the world a more interesting place. All her mischievous and everything that made her her, the fact that she never let anyone see her while she was changing, the fact that she frowned at long names and come up with new ones. All of it made Sun want to see Ruby not as a passing spark, but a continuous flame, a burning star, a sister.
Want…
Ruby felt the battle rage inside her, a war that attacked her urge just to see to herself and herself only and her desire to find a place where she can find out what's like to be a part of a family.
To…
Just as sudden as they roared up, the violently emotions came to a standstill. Ruby inhaled, she had come to her decision.
Stay?
"YES!" Instead of whirling inside of Ruby, all her emotion poured out. "I want to stay! I don't want to go back to my old life. I want to stay here!"
Almost immediately after her declaration, Ruby was enveloped into a warm hug and for the first time in forever, Ruby didn't flinch. Her smaller arms wrapping around Amra and Persia in return.
Sun just hugged everyone despite the fact that his arms were still too short for such a bear-hug.
Sixth month
(Sun and Ruby)
"Brotato chip."
"No."
Brotein shake."
"Quit it."
"Broconut."
"Stop it!"
"Bronkey."
"I will tie you up and lock you in your closet!"
Seventh month
(Amra and Ruby)
"Ruby! Can you help me with this Dragon fruit?"
"Just a minute, mum!"
Eighth month
(Persia and Ruby)
"Come on, you sliver-eyed hooligan, let's stop bothering Sun and practice some songs."
"Wait, no! It's for the good of shirts everywhere! They need a home! Mom, noooooo!"
Ninth month
(Sun and Ruby…again)
"Brozo the Clown."
"I will fight you!"
Tenth month
Has it really been nine months? Ruby looked around in no small amount of wonder at her room which glistened with afternoon sunlight. Sunlight that sparked off the large smiley face that had been splattered on the wall which bright, red paint in retaliation to replace every article of made of fabric in Sun's room with shirts.
Ruby was still congratulating herself on pulling that one off.
Lying in bed, Ruby turned her gaze out the window in which the sunlight poured. Sliver eyes picking out the faint clouds that drifted across the square of sky that dominated the view from the bedroom's window.
I probably need to move. Ruby thought as she sprawled across her blankets. I'm hungry.
A cloud drifted past Ruby's vision.
Nah.
However, as she lazed on her bed, Ruby could hear the quiet sounds of conversation that wandered up the stars. The sounds of Amra and Persia's voices.
"…and they still haven't contacted me." Persia's voice sounded drawn and worried. "Not so much as an acknowledgement to our existence."
"They were never the politest to begin with." Ruby heard Amra soothe even though her own voice had traces of worry hidden under its surface. "Maybe this their way of ignoring what Sun did?"
There was the briefest moment of silence before Persia spoke again.
"I hope you're right, Amra. I hope to the gods that you are right."
Eleventh month
"I swear that there was this creepy guy right here, like, two minutes ago!" Sun looked around the street-corner warily. "He was some weird drug dealer type."
"If I saw him, I could have told for sure. But…" Ruby turned in a full circle, taking in the streets surrounding her new home. "I see nothing, but cobblestones and the gathering dusk."
"He was totally here." Sun grumbled, but it was obvious that the appearance and disappearance of the strange man was leaving his mind. Ruby just shrugged in response.
"Maybe. But unless he was some sort of Chameleon Faunus, he's not here now."
"Actually, I think he was a Bat Faunus, he had some seriously heavy-duty ears."
The two loitered on in the gathering darkness for only a moment declaring the search done for and time to leave the chill of the outside air. As Ruby and Sun walked back up the street, each failed to notice the thin shadow perched on a stone building that laid to the side of the street, a shadow that watched as two children, a Faunus and a human, laugh as they wandered home together.
The hidden Faunus's eyes narrowed into dangerous silts. Blacktip must be told. This abomination cannot be tolerated!
Twelfth month
It started so well.
"Ruby, dinner is ready!
It was just like normal.
"Last try, how about Brona Lisa?" Ruby grinned as Sun joined her on the stars, Sun rolled his eyes in response.
"How about Sun? Unless I get to call you the Grumpy Midget." A smile forming on his own lips, Sun turned towards Ruby who now had a rather ironic expression on her face. "I kinda like that name!"
Ruby kicked him in the shins.
But the first sign put a scent of unease upon the air.
"Hey, what's that?" Sun pointed out the large window that nearly took up the entire wall in the dining nook. "Was I the only one who saw that?"
"You mean that large shadow?" Ruby peered out the glass and into the twilight along with Sun. "Because no. No, you're not the only one."
"It was probably nothing." Amra said casually from her own seat. "And if it was, I'm sure it wouldn't want the two of you looking at it like a pair of gremlins."
"Hey!"
"Yeah! Only Sun looks like a gremlin!"
"HEY!"
Though Amra laughed at the two's antics and Persia did smile, the Leopard Faunus's eyes looked out the window with worried unease.
And the next one turned worry into terror
Ruby gaze was fixed upon figures outside the window as the light faded fully from the sky. She was not even sure if those were actual people out there and not just the shadows and darkness playing tricks on her eyes. After all, being scared of something that might not even be there would be something that Ruby would never be able to live down.
Then the explosion knocked Ruby out of her seat, slamming her against the floor.
And the once peaceful night was lost amidst bloody chaos.
Her head pounding and in a daze, Ruby lifted herself off the dining nock floor and saw White Fang soldiers as they invaded the house.
"Sun, get Ruby and go!" Persia's voice echoed above the noise. "Now!"
Ruby felt Sun grab her shoulders and lifted her up into a crouch, still dazed from the blow to her head, Ruby let him guide her to wherever. Leaving Persia and Amra behind to fend off the White Fang to allow their children the time to get away.
The next moments were blurs in time.
"Amra, go, please! Sun and Ruby need-NO!" Persia's scream made something in Ruby's heart to twist, but the faint sound of blood and tearing flesh caused something in Ruby's mind to break.
Blurs of desperation.
Besides her, Ruby could feel Sun's heart beating rapidly and his breath hissing out like he was in agony. The warm air of the house was replaced by the cold air of the outside world, but despite everything, Ruby heard the sounds of pursuing feet.
Blurs of terror.
Rough hands, that were not Sun's, snatched at Ruby. As if the owners were just behind her and yet, just out of reach.
Gaining back her full consciousness bit by bit, Ruby helped Sun run faster, away from the nightmares behind her. Running into the alleys.
Blurs of failure.
They were just children. They couldn't run fast enough. They could not run long enough. And they were torn apart from each other. Their hands slipping away from each other.
Ruby was cast against a wall of brick and mortar, her head making first contact.
The last thing she heard before the darkness came was Sun's panicked cry.
"RUBY!"
A blur of despair.
Ruby's eyelids cracked as they opened, and Ruby saw the flakes of dried blood flutter around her vision. But it was the pair of armored boots that captured her focus.
Looking up, Ruby started into corpse-like black eyes that peered over the edge of an iron mask that covered the lower half of a face that belonged to a titanic being. A titanic being whose tunic bore the crest of the White Fang and whose back bore a weapon that bristled with harpoons.
"W-who are you?" Ruby croaked. "What have you down with everyone."
The figure didn't answer, it just tilted its hand as it continued to stare at the girl at its feet, long white hair darkened with black at the tips framing its face.
"Answer me." Ruby tried to shout, but the pain in her throat overwhelmed her. "Please, answer me…"
The figure bent down and took something from a pouch on its belt. It placed an object in front of Ruby's eyes and straightened up.
"The traitors?" The warrior of the White Fang spoke and in the fathomless depths of its voice the sound of bones striking off bone could be heard. "The traitors have been received by their ancestors." The figure turned and walked away, but its voice could still be heard. "And may the scavengers receive you."
Not believing, not wanting to believing; Ruby turned her eyes away from the retreating figure and looked at the object before her.
An ocarina, like a glowing pendent, covered in blood.
The strangled cry that ripped from Ruby echoed around the alley where she lay. Ruby was alone once more. No…not alone. The hellish pain of having the first family she had ever known torn always from her, murdered, stayed with her. Like a knife stabbed into bone, it stayed with her. A twisting agony that felt like it would never leave.
Ruby wept.
*Present Day*
The past faded from Ruby's mind and the present filled it. The terrible memories of Mistral faded and was replace by the smell of Vale and the warmth that emitted off of Sun's embrace.
"I'm sorry." Sun whispered as he held on tight. "I'm so sorry for letting you go." His voice broke. "I'm so, so sorry!"
Ruby clenched her eyes shut as she felt his teats hit her skin and simply held her brother close, her voice wavering as she spoke. "No, please. It's not your fault and I hate seeing you cry."
The two stayed like that, wrapped in trying to catch up on all the years they lost, caught in recovering everything that they had lost. Time seemed to…just pause, as if it wanted to see the human girl and the Faunus boy whose paths intertwined so long ago, being reunited once again.
Then someone else wrapped their arms around the siblings.
Ruby's hand jerked down to the place where Crescent Rose was strapped, but before she could bisect the offending hugger, Ruby saw the hugger's face…and she resisted the urge to kill him anyways.
"Crimson." She grounded out between gritted teeth. "What are you doing."
Crimson Shard smiled, a glaring smirk that both annoyed Ruby to no ends and showed the subtlest hints of the state of his mental health. "A better question would be what have I already done."
"What?" Ruby eyes were hard.
"Yeah, I may have done some thigs that might unleash some minor form of the Apocalypse upon us; but never mind that, who's your friend?"
"Crimson…"
"Shh, less hissing, more introducing."
So, how was it? Good? Bad? Little bit of both? Sun's story on how he's still alive will be in the next chapter (Don't worry, it will be short) and the next chapter will be out a lot sooner then the monstrosity that you've just read. Anyways, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, you are all awesome and I will see you in the next chapter!