Chapter 4
I do not own RWBY, RWBY and its characters belong to Rooster teeth and Monty Oum.
I do, however own this story
Ren popped Nora's shoulder back into place, she, yelped, then groaned in relief, aura already easing the pain. Nora pulled him into an embrace, "Thank you, Ren." It was one of those rare moments where the overly excitable girl wasn't in some emotional extreme, but the hug was still the breath stopping hug of Nora. Ren winced, he could feel the ligaments connecting his wrist slowly rebuilding themselves. The world they live in would be impossible if not for the help of aura. "Let's get back to the fight!" Exclaimed Nora.
"Your shoulder still needs to heal, you might dislocate it again if you keep fighting." Responded Ren, unable to escape her grasp… at least being pressed against Nora's chest wasn't unpleasant.
Jaune walked past them and to the edge of the grassy cliff, hand holding his aching side. He surveyed the battlefield; the ground was sprinkled with ashes - a great fertilizer when composted. The sounds of gunshots were growing less frequent by the minute, as team RWBY tracked down and slaughtered the fleeing grimm. The four girls demonstrated skills honed over a decade. Suddenly, the distant gunfire ceased; there wasn't a single creature in the area. He turned to the rest of his group, "Mission accomplished" he announced awkwardly, having been out of the fight for the last third of the battle. He the winced as something moved in his side. Needless to say, the feeling of your bones fusing themselves together can be… uncomfortable.
Ruby somersaulted over the edge and landed, scythe still extended. She spun Crescent Rose into it's compact form, clipped it to her belt, then bowed, flourishing the blood red cloak. Jaune backed away and bumped into Pyrrha while trying to avoid decapitation.
"And that's how you hunt." Stated Ruby, cockily…"Right team?" She looked around for WBY.
"Team?"
Meanwhile, in the Forests near the cliff:
Blake and Yang made eye contact, it was time to settle a bet. Yang broke their diamond formation (a formation that was already broken as Ruby sped ahead) to whisper in Weiss's ear, "We need to talk, in private." And grabbed her. They snuck off and waited, and their leader was none the wiser.
"What do you need?" Asked the Ice Queen Impatiently after a few seconds. "And why can't we discuss this with the whole team?"
"Because we need to talk about Ruby." Blake responded calmly.
"The two of you spend a lot of time with each other, even though most people think you can't stand each other. What are your intentions for my little sister?" Yang accused.
Weiss was confused. Were they worried that she would exploit Ruby's genius engineering skills for the SDC? "My intentions… I don't know what you could possibly mean. You two are the ones talking behind her back!"
Blake thought of a way to lead Weiss, then grinned.
"I'm just here to confirm what I already know. Besides being near each other nearly every waking moment, I've seen you watching her as she sleeps, and sometimes, when you are in her presence, you smile."
"What? I'm not fatally attracted to that dolt, we're just friends." Weiss shot back, icy façade melting.
"You are forgetting about my ears, I can hear your heart speed up around her, and I didn't say anything about fatal attraction."
The heiress, looked around, flustered, thinking rapidly. She decided to not be in denial in this story, I am not a tsundere. It would probably reduce the teasing by 70%. "Yes, I fell for ruby. But, was I really that obvious?"
"Nah, only to a certain kitty with a gamboling problem could figure it out." Yang gazed at Weiss for a moment, then said, "Alright, you can date Ruby, but if you do anything to hurt her, I will break you, slowly." Her eyes flashed red.
Said 'kitten' suddenly threw her sword at a nearby bush, then reeled in a large beowulf, who fell onto it's belly. The sheath was used to chop between vertebrae, ending the grimm instantly. "Don't worry, I usually win. Speaking of which, same time, same place, Sunday."
Yang went pale, Weiss rested a hand on her forehead. "You too, Xiao Long, have a gambling problem unless you find whatever that might be enjoyable." "Let's hurry back to the cliff, our adorkable leader is probably looking for us."
They all broke into a sprint. "If it helps, Ruby also spends most of her time with you. I wonder why." Blake stated. Weiss processed this bit of suggestion.
Wings flapped above, and they saw a crow flying away. "I've seen that bird before."
A few minutes later, atop the cliff.
WBY pulled themselves onto the top in a far less spectacular fashion than Ruby did a few minutes ago. "You're here! Too fast for you?" teased ruby.
"Blake found a beowulf after you left us behind." Weiss half-lied.
They saw the slightly disabled team JNPR, then looked at their own bodies. Highly toned muscles with old scars, bruises, and new scratches and cuts from the battle, hair and clothes darkened by ash. Yang said, "Look at us, we look like real huntresses – and huntsmen. They say grimm ash is great for clearing out skin." It's also the secret to my hair, but I'll let everyone figure that out themselves.
Pyrrha shook the ash off her head, showing her scarlet locks. "It's good for your hair too." She explained. Everyone glanced at yang. "Ohhh"
I guess it's not a secret anymore.
Ruby stretched her arms, "Let's get back home, it gets cold enough to freeze in this area."
Ren sensed that the silver eyed girl seemed to have a full aura, even though she was using her semblance without restraint on the battle field. He focused his senses on the aura, filtering out a loud Nora hanging on his shoulder and the conversation. Besides the usual red of life blood, there seemed to be small traces of darkness- it gave off the same presence as grimm. These stains were slowly processed, becoming red. He would have to visit the library and see how Ruby eats(?) grimm.
,;/|"|\\
{ ]
[ }
?========+^=^[[[[[]7777777777Y****[****55 ~~~~~~lOl:D
|++ l|
OH NO /++ /
Crescie just slashed /++/
through the fabric /+ /
of narrative space time! /;,7
,;7
Ruby collapsed on the bunk after taking her shower, every muscle sore from 2 hours of relentless slaughter. At least she wasn't in as bad of shape as team JNPR, or CRDL, who ended up having to raid a massive cavern full of deathstalkers. Fortunately, everyone was still able to partake in the feast Ozpin had set out for whomever didn't die while on a mission. She dreamt of guns, cookies, chibi Weiss, and the Ragnarock that is drunk Nora.
Weiss, equally sore, but not benefitting from a full aura, was in no state to notice – or mind - that her partner was on the lower bunk. She fell asleep with the scent of roses in her nostrils.
The rest of the team pushed the door open as silently as possible. Yang, only slightly drunk, saw Ruby and Weiss, and whispered "So … cute" . She snapped a few pics with her scroll, then set the alarm to buzz so she can wake up earlier and see how they end up after moving around a bit.
Blake (also slightly drunk) was giggling, knowing of her girlfriend's antics. "I know." She whispered back.
A/N:
Finally! I'm back! Muhaha! I hope to update regularly now that I understand more about writing dialogue. Will we ever learn what 'that' is? What will Ren learn about silver eyes? What really happens when Nora gets drunk? But more importantly, what is 'that'?
You are free to guess what 'that' is. I am not sure myself.
A bunch of writing for me to practice my world building that you don't need to read:
Dust as I understand it:
In can be used in the conventional way (a gun), charged via electricity (a huge part of remnant's technology), or charged with aura (Glynda shoots fireballs and makes ice rain by charging and telekinetically moving dust.) You can control dust more directly if it's in your own body (Hazel), can be dangerous. It is also possible to draw glyphs with the dust that amplify and alter its effects when charged. Mixing different basic types also causes different effects.
Weiss's semblance:
I've always wondered what she does to turn powdered crystals into glyphs, and since I'm writing, might as well establish how it works. She forces the dust to rapidly grow into a shape she desires, making it become a crystalline form. She then charges the glyph with her aura to produce an effect. The glyphs are only a few molecules thick. The semblance allows her to create runes, without having to take time to draw them. These glyphs are more powerful than glyphs drawn through normal means because they are perfectly circular, and the crystal structure is aligned.
Ren:
He does not have an extra ability to sense aura, everyone has it to some degree unconsciously or otherwise, but nullified by his semblance that masks his aura. Ren is just especially skilled with aura, allowing him to direct it, shape it, and sense it precisely.
It's not that people can't see him when he uses semblance, rather, they can't notice him. Same situation with grimm.
Apologies for the failed text-art