*Authors Note* *To those of you who have made it this far, welcome to chapter 4 of Love is a Knight-mare. The story will start deviating from the main show here. I'm thankful that you guys are reading this, and I'm glad if you enjoy it. Now, my updates seem frequent, but that's because my time for writing is limited by many things. So I want to update this as often as possible without losing quality. Now this is going back to Ruby's perspective. If you enjoyed Jaune's point of view, let me know and I may try it again. Well, see you in the afterword.*
Again. It's that same forest again.
I'm running. From what, I'm not sure. But it's bright in behind me. It's dark all around, but it's bright behind me. I don't know what this could be. But I do know it's cold. The light. The snow. The darkness. The stars. My world has become Red, White, Black, and Yellow. The bright red of the lights behind me. The monochrome of this dark, snow-blanketed forest. And the yellow stars above me. Watching. Just watching.
And the scene shifts. I'm now walking calmly through that same forest. But it's not as dark now. The light is gone, and the stars seem almost dim. In contrast, the moon is above. It's fractured form reminiscent of scattering rose petals. A great silver rose in the sky. That is the moon.
I don't know why, but I am uncomfortable. I feel like I'm being watched. But I shuffle on ahead. As the trees begin to thin, I find myself in a strange clearing. And then, shadows. One, two, ten. Dozens. All watching me with their formless bodies and vivid red eyes. And then the shadows take shape. All of them take on the form of a wolfen humanoid. A Beowolf. I should feel panicked, but I'm not. I'm calm. Too calm.
Three of the Beowolves break off from the pack and charge me. I know I should feel some kind of fear. I know I should want them to stop. But I feel ease. Let them come, I think. Let them. And they do. As the first is about to strike me, I leap up in a flurry of petals. As they search for me below, I pull from my back my precious Crescent Rose, and blow one of their heads off. After proceeding to kill three more of the Grim, I unfold my precious into her full form. A large scythe, capable of rending the armor of even the greatest of Grim. So, let them come. I will not fear them.
Yes, I know this part. Here they will face me, an army of dozens of Beowolves. I will fight them, and I will win. But something is wrong. Who is this young man? Why is he here? And why does he have a sword and shield raised, as though ready to fight beside me? He's never been here before. This is my fight. So why is he here.
Meanwhile, the Beowolves grow ever more restless. But this boy. He turns to me. He says something. I cannot hear what, but something in the smile on his face. Something in his clear, vivid blue eyes. The tenderness in his expression. These make me feel at ease. And so, the Beowolves charge us. And sparing one last glance at me, the boy charges foreword. I must go too. This is my fight, not his. I rush foreword to meet the Beowolves, and to stop the boy. But I can't. I just can't stop him. Just him being here comforts me. I wonder why? I wonder. . .
"Good morning Ruby! How was my baby sister's first night at Beacon? Did you sleep well?" This is how Ruby's second day at Beacon Academy began. Being woken up by her boisterous and overly cheerful sister, Yang. Still a bit drowsy, she tentatively sat up, and removed her Beowolf-Eye print blindfold.
Ugh. Where am I? Glancing around, she saw other people, young men and women like herself, still sleeping or in the throes of waking up. Oh right. I was accepted into Beacon with Yang.
Finally managing to get up right, Ruby went with her older sister to the bathrooms to prepare for their first real day at Beacon. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, brushing her teeth, using the toilet, washing her face. Ruby did all of it to prepare for her first day of learning.
"Ruby! How many times have I told you to brush your hair in the morning. You look like a wolf or something with your hair all like that. Come here, lemme brush it," said Yang as she tried to beckon her sister over, hairbrush in hand.
"No thanks Yang. First, I like my hair this way. It looks cool. Second, my hair is short, so there's no need to brush it like you do yours. And third, you always pull too hard when you try to brush my hair." And indeed Yang did. More times than she cares to remember (or for that matter, even can remember), Yang had pulled more than just the knots out of her hair. And more times than not, Ruby came away rubbing her scalp and wanting some headaches medicine.
After a bit of fussing, and Yang eventually giving up, the two went and got dressed. Yang in her usual short black pants, leather jacket and top, and leather half skirt and boots. Ruby in her black and red-frilled one piece, black combat boots, and red hooded-cape. After feeling that they were fully prepared, the two went to the cafeteria to find a breakfast. A large plate of eggs and bacon for Yang, and a pile of chocolate chip pancakes for Ruby.
"Seriously sis, where do you put all of that sugar? You're going to get fat at this rate!"
"My dearest sister Yang, what are you saying? I can burn this amount off in no time! After a bit more bickering, the two simply went back to eating. Randomly, Yang had decided to ask Ruby a question.
"So Ruby, did you have a nightmare or something last night? You were tossing and turning. You seemed a bit stressed too. Was it. . . that dream again?" Having lived with one another for so long, Yang knew of Ruby's little dream. She knew her baby sister was constantly plagued by this nightmare. Well, it doesn't sound like a nightmare to her. But Ruby always mentioned it feeling so suffocating, so negative.
"Huh? Oh no. Well, yeah. But no. It was the dream again, but it was. . . different. I don't exactly remember what, but it felt less terrifying this time." Indeed it had. But Ruby could not seem to remember what had made the dream nicer this time. The more she tries to remember, the more she comes up empty handed. The most she could recollect was that this time, she was not alone. "It seems that someone was with me this time. I think. It's kind of blurry."
"So, was it me? I'd gladly fight an army of Grim for my baby sister!"
No Yang. I already told you, I don't remember who it was."
Letting the subject drop, the two sisters finished their respective breakfasts and headed to the locker rooms to grab their gear for the upcoming initiation. What it was, nobody knew. There were rumors about having to fight a giant Grim, or maybe a tournament style to sort out the best. Maybe it would be a practical examination, like Aura control or something. She would have been worried, but Ruby did not really know fear. Or worry. And besides, why worry when you have Crescent Rose?
"So sis, you seem a little more chipper today than you did previously. So, did you remember who was your mysterious partner in your dream this time? Was it a cute guy?"
Was it a cute guy? This set off an alarm in Ruby's head. She didn't know why, but it gave her pause for a second. A cute guy? A guy? Now that she thought about it, it might have been a guy who was with her. But who was he? Dad? Qrow? She quickly dismissed this thought, because she felt dwelling on it would not help her. She'll remember in due time.
"No Yang, I do not remember. And if you must know, it's because there's no more awkward small talk or introductions. Now, I get to let my sweet heart do the talking." Said 'sweet heart' being the bastardization of a six-foot long scythe and an anti-material sniper rifle, capable of channeling aura through the bullets. This 'sweet heart' being cuddled, caressed, and purred over as though it were a mere kitten.
"Err, Ruby? Maybe you should make some more friends besides Crescent Rose. I mean, meeting new people is an important part of forming a team and growing up."
"Uggh, you are starting to sound just like dad. First of all, what does meeting new people have to do with fighting? I'm plenty capable on my own! And second, I don't need people to help me grow up. I. Drink. Milk!" she says, as she puts her hands on her dainty little waist, looking all proud. Rolling her eyes at this, Yang simply takes Ruby's hood, drops it over her eyes, and proceeds to pat her sister on the head.
After completely readying herself, Ruby notices a couple of people talking. This pretty red haired girl who kinda looked like an Amazon, that mean Weiss girl from yesterday, and Jaune. Jaune?! All of the sudden, without realizing why, Ruby suddenly began to blush. No no no! Why am I blushing? Is it because I'm remembering what Yang said yesterday? Darn it Yang!
Curious as to what was going on, Ruby crept a bit closer and listened in on what they were saying. It seemed like Jaune was being flirty with the red haired one. She was unsure why, but this caused Ruby's chest to tighten a bit.
"Whoa, aren't you the Pumpkin Pete's Marshmallow Flakes mascot?! Oh my god, I love that cereal!"
"Yeah," says the red haired girl. Pyrrha, I think Weiss called her? "It was pretty cool. Sadly, the cereal's not all that good for you."
"Yeah, yeah. So, what are you doing still bothering us?" Weiss was up to her usual bad attitude. No surprise there. It seems she hates just about everyone, except Pyrrha it seemed. "We were having a nice conversation before you butted in."
"Whoa whoa, no need to be so hosti- err, wait. Aren't you the girl who was shouting at Ruby yesterday in front of the school and in the main hall?"
"Yeah? So what of it? She's a danger to my health. And she was quite rude. Why should I have treated her nicely?"
"Really? And so that poorly sealed bottle of dust had nothing to do with the explosion in front of the school. And your horrible attitude had nothing to do with her treating you rude? Do you think you can act like that and be treated with respect?" At this point, Jaune was getting annoyed. He didn't know why he was becoming defensive of a girl he had met just yesterday, but he didn't care. Getting in Weiss' face, he began to stare her down, a hint of disgust in his eyes. "So, Ice Queen. Do you?"
At this point, Weiss was starting to look noticeably worried. She seemed to be afraid of Jaune, somewhat.
"Pyrrha, help?"
Without warning, a spear was thrown in Jaune's direction. Barely dodging it by a hairs breadth, the spear embedded itself into a nearby locker. Jaune, black hoodie scratched, but otherwise unharmed, turned to the source of the spear. The red haired girl, Pyrrha, seemed to be surprised Jaune managed to dodge it at that range. Or maybe that was guilt in her eyes for trying to shiskabob someone she just met.
"Sorry."
After retrieving her spear from the wall, Pyrrha left with Weiss to the initiation grounds. Meanwhile, Ruby wet up to Jaune, concerned at what she had just witnessed, but also slightly impressed. Not only had he managed to avoid an otherwise troublesome injury, he also stood up for her. This made Ruby happy. She wasn't too sure why she felt so happy. Maybe it was because she had made such a kind and caring friend in Beacon.
"Are you okay Jaune?
"Oh, hey Ruby. Nah, I'm fine. Missed me by this much." And as if to illustrate his point, Jaune spread his hands apart, keeping them roughly shoulder width apart from each other. "Well, sorry you had to see that. It was an, err... difference of opinion. But it's fine, I'm all safe and sound."
Feeling relieved at Jaune's confirmation of his safety, Ruby, Jaune, and Yang headed out to the initiation grounds, followed by this oddly hyper orange haired girl in a pink and white outfit, and a rather handsome guy with a long black pony tail and a streak of pink in his hair. They seemed to be talking about sloths or something. Weird, but who was she to complain?
Meeting the others at the initiation grounds, and waiting for a few more to show up, Ruby and the rest got in line as instructed.
Okay. This is gonna be easy. I'm gonna team up with Yang, we'll beat this test down, and all will be good and easy for the next few years of Beacon. Yeah! I can do this! Ruby began to let her mind wander as the professors began to explain the situation.
"Hello. Welcome to initiation. Your goal is to retrieve a relic hidden in a ruin on the far North side of the forest. Be warned, this forest is filled with monsters. Be ready to fight, or you will die. You will be graded based on expediency, how well you can cooperate, and how well you protect your relic."
"As many of you know, rumors have been circulating about the formation of teams," began professor Goodwitch. Ohh, we're finally to this part! "I am here to put an end to these rumors. Teams will be decided once you are in the forest. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years here at Beacon." W-w-whaaat?! How could they? With that, they began to launch students into the forest.
"Ohhh, this looks like so much fun. See you in the forest Reeeen..." Ruby could hear that same hyperactive girl from before saying, as she was launched into the forest. The next to go, the Ren guy, seemed almost tired. Poor guy.
"So uhm,sir? How exactly is this supposed to go? Did you hand out parachutes or something?" asked Jaune. It seemed he was a bit nervous.
"No, young man. There were no parachutes. You will be using your own landing strategy."
At this, Ruby was luanched into the forest, ready to face this trial-by-fire. Glancing back at Jaune, she watched him get thrown into the air. No grace, no balance. Nothing, just spinning wildly, shouting something like "-hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"
Soaring through the sky, above the emerald forest below, Ruby began to focus on the task at hand. Alright. As soon as I land, I have to find Yang. I have to find her. My next four years here at Beacon depend on me finding her.
And so, focused as much as she ever could be, Ruby prepared to land into the dangerous, Grim infested forest below, and search out her older sister to form a team with. As the other students flew around her, varying distances and altitudes, she began to search for Yang. Oh please oh please. Let me find Yang.
*That concludes chapter 4. I changed quite a bit, but some of you may not be satisfied with it. Rest assured, this extra lengthy chapter was done to set up my next chapter. In chapter 5, expect the formation of partnerships, the trials and tribulations of our new teams, and maybe even a battle or two. Again, critique, comments, and maybe even suggestions are welcome. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed. I shall see you with chapter 5 next time.*