Chapter Two – Sudden Storm
The sun had risen high into the sky as Ruby and Weiss continued their journey, picking their way through Forever Fall without having seen any Grimm all morning. While it was a bit odd, the two were in high spirits, so Grimm weren't about to sense them and flock all over them. Ruby was skipping along, swinging her scythe in circles as she went, while Weiss walked at a brisk pace beside her, easily keeping up.
Sunlight filtered through the red leaves, appearing golden here and there, and huge boulders occasionally dotted the scenery. The two expertly made their way around them, jumping down into clearings and ducking under low-hanging branches. They had chattered for the first few hours but now continued on in silence, each lost in her own thoughts.
Weiss jumped out of her thoughts, however, when she heard Ruby excitedly whisper, "Beowolf!" and rush off, leaving Weiss in a trail of rose petals. Waving the petals away, Weiss saw the Grimm about a hundred feet in front of them, but one was cut down almost immediately by Ruby, who declared, "Yes!"
"Ruby!" Weiss called out, half in exasperation and half in surprise, quickly loading up some dust in her weapon and hurrying over. She kept her posture in good firm and held her weapon firmly and securely in her hand. Whilst Ruby excitedly continued to attack two different Beowolves, Weiss aimed for another two, and soon the two were engaged in a heated battle.
There weren't that many Grimm, but they were tough. Weiss ignored a trickle of sweat down her temple as she attacked another Beowolf, as she did, felt a splash on her head. She faltered, glancing up at the sky as it began to rain big, fat raindrops. Her falter cost her; Weiss felt pain in her side as she was hit, and she was thrown into a tree.
"WEISS!" Ruby cried as Weiss crumpled to the forest floor, and she wasted no time in taking care of the rest of their enemies. It was starting rain harder, splattering against the leaves of the trees, and there was a deep rumble of thunder off in the distance.
Ruby slipped in the mud, almost falling, but she regained herself and destroyed the last Beowolf with a yell. She turned to Weiss, who was struggling to sit up, and rushed to her, putting away Crescent Rose. Ruby knelt in front of Weiss. "Weiss! Weiss! Are you alright?" She helped her partner to stand up.
Breathing harshly, Weiss nodded. "Yeah. Just winded. I'll be ok," she assured Ruby, nodding to her weapon. "Can you pick up Myternaster?"
Ruby rushed to pick up Weiss' weapon as Weiss leaned against the tree, still catching her breath. The rain began to come down harder, the sky darkened, and lightning flashed. Against both their better judgement, Ruby and Weiss screamed. Ruby hurried back to Weiss. "Come on," she huffed, not even giving Weiss a chance to protest as she boosted her up onto her back. "We need to get out of this rain!"
Weiss clutched Myternaster tightly as Ruby ran between the trees, being careful not to hit any of the trees. The feeling of being winded left Weiss as Ruby ran toward some cliffs, and through the trees ahead Weiss saw a cave.
"THERE!" she shouted, pointing with her weapon, and Ruby entered the cave, letting Weiss down now that Weiss had fully recovered herself. They stood in the mouth of the cave together, looking out at the pounding rain. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and Weiss sighed.
"We can't continue on in this storm," she pointed out almost unnecessarily, and Ruby nodded her agreement. Weiss turned to peer into the cave. It was gloomy and a little dim, but they could both still see. Sticks, dirt and leaves littered the mouth of the cave, and Weiss began picking up some of the sticks to start a fire.
This was frustrating. They needed to get this mission and head back to Beacon. Blake and Yang wouldn't worry about them, since they were more than capable, but Yang would definitely wonder about Ruby. And now a freak storm prevented them from pressing forward.
Ruby was still looking out into the forest. "That storm hit so fast, it was so sunny like ten minutes ago!" she complained, tugging slightly at the hem of her skirt. "We really need to keep going." She turned to Weiss and frowned. "Weiss… what are you doing?"
Weiss had put the sticks and some of the leaves in a small pile a few feet into the cave and was trying to use fire dust to light the pile. "We just need to wait until the lightning and thunder let up. Then we can keep going," she said sensibly, successfully lighting the fire. "It's better to keep our heads warm!"
She gestured for Ruby to join her, carefully setting Myrtenaster on the dusty ground. Ruby hesitated, but she knew Weiss was right. She moved to sit next to Weiss, putting Crescent Rose next to her. To Ruby's surprise, Weiss rested her head on Ruby's shoulder, closing her eyes.
Ruby tried to calm her harshly beating heart, gazing into the fire. She tried to forget that Weiss was even there but it was hard. An odd feeling was spreading through her, one that she always got whenever Weiss was too close. It had been that way when Ruby was at Signal and she liked one of her friends, but surely…
"I reckon we'll get there by tomorrow," Weiss mumbled, half-opening her eyes to look at the fire. "We got this. It's so simple." She lifted her head to smile at Ruby for a moment, then rested her head again. Ruby had barely let out a little "Heh," when Weiss sighed. She sounded tired again. Ruby had a feeling that blow Weiss took had really drained her.
"Weiss… maybe we should just stay in here tonight," Ruby suggested, looking back out at the storm. "Who knows when this storm will let up, and at least it's safe and dry in here!" Weiss didn't say anything. Hesitantly, Ruby reached out and took Weiss' hand in her own. "You can sleep first again. But we should probably check out the rest of this cave and make sure there's no Grimm."
Finally, Weiss made a sound. She laughed.
"That's oddly reasonable of you, Ruby," she said, lifting her head. "But a good suggestion. Let's go." She picked up Myternaster then stood, dragging Ruby to her feet. Ruby lit a small branch and the two headed deeper into the cave.
Ruby was glad it was dark. Weiss wouldn't be able to see her blushing at how Weiss still held onto Ruby's hand.
